This time next week!!

Woohooo!! This time next week I'll hopefully be sleeping peacefully in Becky Rasdall's apartment in Washington DC, ready for a day touring Congress and the Holocaust Museum!! I am so looking forward to it....my first real break from home, Holywell, Church and family in 2 years (though that was a holiday in Greece with Dad!!) and I am definitely in need of it...just to get away, refresh, get a different perspective on things.

Between now and then though I still have to work my normal week, 2 lunches out with work colleagues, a dental appointment, youth group, ladies cell group, meet a friend, dinner at Anne's, a weekend in Ellel doing the course, pick Becky Hill up from the airport, School of Leaders.....oh and pack!! I'm hoping I'll sleep on the plane as don't think there'll be that much on the agenda otherwise!!!

On another note I was so blessed last night, a dear friend/encourager/mentor e-mailed me what she saw as my good qualities and gifts....I cried while I read it as I found it difficult to believe that someone would think such nice things about me...awful how we believe the lies of the devil so much easier than the truth....and I am claiming it to be the truth what this person has written about me.....I was so blessed by it. We live in such a society at the moment where it's easier to rip people down than build them up. Where we fear encouraging people incase we look like a goody-too-shoes or we will have risked something of ourselves with gaining nothing in return. I know in youth group last week we did an exercise where you wrote your own name at the top of the piece of paper and then it was passed around the group and everyone wrote a positive comment about you...some of the kids were blown away that others actually thought that they were pretty and had a nice a smile, were fun to be with and had a caring nature. So sad that this isn't the norm.

Anyway must run and start my hectic schedule for the day!!!

Bonfire party

It's Guy Fawkes night here tomorrow evening which is normally celebrated with bonfires and fireworks. We had ours (as a church) as it was a Saturday evening. Had a good time and I was really blessed as my Dad came along. He normally keeps away from these kind of things as he fears that he's going to be hit around the head with a bible and told to convert, but he seemed to really enjoy himself....was such a blessing.

Apart from that, seems to be all quiet. Am shattered and though it's only 21:50 on a Saturday evening, think that I'l be going to bed once Friends finishes on TV in 10 minutes! How sad!!

~Blessings!~

What a cool evening! A group of 10 of us went to Manchester to see Delirious in concert with Tim Hughes supporting! They were awesome....it was worshipful and their music definitely seems to have taken on a more challenging and 'calling' tone than what it was 3 or 4 years ago. It got me thinking about the first time that I saw Delirious and that was in Michigan when I was living there and was in April 2001. I had only been a Christian 2 months, but it was such a great introduction for me into the Chrisitian music scene. I have a photo up of all of us at that concert; myself, Amy, Becky R, James, Brandon, Cherry, Tomo, Chris W, Keith and Mawasi....as well as some others that I can't remember the names of! Such a great time!

Anyway just wanted to share....off to bed now! Another late night! I need to get off this merry go round of life soon! ;- )

My Dad and his gadgets!

I just had to blog about this little thing. My Dad keeps ordering things from those little magazines that you get in the newspaper. So far he's ordered a feather mattress topper, 3 pairs of trousers, a pair of shoes, a single persons deep fat fryer and now this which would you believe is a single persons cooker!! I will explain...
The black tray on the top is the frying pan; when you open the glass door you have both a grill and an oven in there; on the side there is a coffee machine and the jug is enough for a cup of coffee for one person and the finale is that there is a built in radio!!
I was chatting to him today and asking whether or not he'd used it; he was quite excited to tell me that he'd used the radio and that was fantastic...he was then slow to admit that he was a little nervous about using the rest of it, but reitterated that the radio was fantastic!! Bless him!

I had an awesome conversation with him yesterday when he admitted that he thought God had a lot to do with the fact that he gave up alcohol last year......you know when you have one of those moments when you're quiet on the outside but on the inside you are jumping up and down.....it was definitely one of those moments as this is a huge step for my Dad to take! 

Sunrise this morning, I live in such an awesome area and am so blessed by God with the natural beauty that surrounds me.....as always pictures never quite do it justice
~blessings~

 

Sunset with a difference

How cool is this!! This is sunset on mars! Just found it on Wikipedia.

So a couple of things have happened the past couple of days which have made me sit up and take notice....you know those kind of things that give you a bit of a shake and make you think about things a little deeper than you would on an average day.

1) I was chatting to someone yesterday and they were talking about the fact that their daughter wouldn't attend school, she hadn't been for 2 weeks. I was asking her why this was and she came up with every excuse; the teachers were horrible to her, she didn't like Physical Education, the Social Worker was no help. Basically she got to the point in the end where I think she'd have blamed the school crossing lady before shouldering her part of the blame as a mother. We live in this culture now that says, "Don't take responsibilty as there will be someone else you can blame for it and probably someone you can sue". It got me thinking about our School of Leaders that we've been doing in church; we've just started level 2 which is teaching on us opening our own cells. In level 1 they looked a lot at families and we were always told that as Christians if we don't model family to the world, who will. It is so true, who will model parenting and the fact it is healthy and godly to discipline your childen; or that there is a structure to the family that God created which is best represented through a father and mother. Are we representing a godly family within the church or are we copying the worlds trend? So many thoughts going through my head at the moment!

2) I then watched a fictitious documentary last night on the assasination of George W Bush called "The Death of a President". Was very interesting and definitely gave food for thought as to whether or not it could happen. It was very much a dig at the sitting President and his actions and went along a route that could be possible with his actions during the Iraq war. What I found most chilling was the fact that this was aired on the same day that North Korea announced their nuclear weapons test....we live in such an unstable world.....am glad that I know that though I don't know everything that is going on, God does!

My guys!

You know what, after my rant of what a crappy day I'd had, I go and see these guys and they just brighten up my day. Just watching Lowri throwing a tantrum on the floor and do this attention seeking crying because nobody is picking her up, and Osian is telling me "No Memma, I'm not full of beans, I'm full of sausage and chips cracks me up and blows all my cares away...... imagine what I'll be like with my own kids!

 

It feels like it's been one of those days today.....

I arrive at work and am sat at my desk for 1/2 an hour before I realise that I'm wearing my caridgan inside out...thank goodness I was the one that noticed and not anyone else.

Next I'm walking back to my desk and nearly fall on my bum as I ungracefully twist my ankle in my new shoes and fall into my chair, with everyone looking!

Then I walk to my Dads for lunch thinking it's a lovely day and the fresh air will do me good and it decides to rain just as I'm getting ready to return to the office

And I have toothache.......

I wish I'd stayed in bed!!!! ;0

In the whole spectrum of things (poverty, war, world peace) though.....I'm doing great!! ;-)

Sunrise this morning....the picutre really doesn't do it justice