Quick getaway...

My brother, Tim, & a friend are doing a 'Jailbreak' event this Friday/Saturday in aid of Oxfam...
"This Friday, a housemate and I are taking part in a charity 'Jailbreak' event at the university. We are one of many teams that starts at our Union on Friday at midday, and has to get as far away as possible in 24 hours - without spending any money on transport - so by blagging journeys from taxi firms, bus companies, train stations and... airports.
Now here's the new exciting part - I need sponsorship. The charity is Oxfam. Sponsorship can be done simply as a straight pledge, or as a "per mile" incentive. Although I will warn you people have reached Tokyo, Hawaii & San Francisco before, and while we don't hold out much hope of that, nothing's impossible - so you may want to put a cap on that sort of pledge!
If you're interested in sponsoring however much or however little, I need a response ASAP, with your address & postcode and pledge/incentive. If you pay taxes you can choose to include Gift Aid so that Oxfam can claim back the tax you've paid on your donations (28p for every £1)."

So, if you would like to sponsor him, drop me an email and I'll pass on your details to him.

(PS. Prayers/thoughts for their safety would be appreciated too).

Quick Update...

Just a quick one to let people know a little of what's going on in my not-very-interesting world just now...

I got back a letter on Friday saying that Leicester don't want me. (Roehampton already said that the course was full). So, I'm not sure what's going to happen next year, but I know that God has a plan. I just wish he'd tell me!

I've got a new phone contract and will soon have a new handset too. I will be back with O2 online, but my number's coming with me, so that won't change.

Finally, I have decided to not go to Word Alive this year, for various reasons. I hope everyone who is going has an amazing time though!

I think that's all that I wanted to say for now...

God bless!

PS. I think I will be in St.Albans from the 18th/19th March for about a week, and then again from about the 4th-18th April.

Submission

Hi,

Just a quick one to say that I just submitted my GTTR form.

First choice is Roehampton University to teach Lower Primary, specialising in Mathematics.
Second choice is University of Leicester to do Lower Primary.

Other than that, there isn't much happening around here at the moment, although next week is Hope 2006 week (Mission week to us old-timers) so that will probably be pretty hectic.

Christian Action & Thought's going well too. Kentish is coming this week to talk about HIV/AIDS and what can be done, which should be good.

Hope all is well with everyone,

God bless!

Nearly there...

Hi,
Not much going on around here, but just thought I'd put in a random entry...

Today I got up for church, which was great. (I even managed to get there on time!). The service was Covenant and Communion. The covenant service is a specifically Methodist thing. It is the first main service of the year (usually) and is a chance to come back to God and rededicate ourselves to Him for the coming year. The most well known part of this service, and the most beautiful, is the Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

Last year, I had this pinned to the wall above my desk. I may well do the same this year, actually. It was a good and constant reminder of what is important in life and where our priorities should lie.

Also, in the process of hunting out that text, I came across this which I thought a few of you might find interesting. Now, even though I am a Methodist, I don't necessarily agree with everything this says - but in general, it's quite close. :o)

Well, after church, I went for lunch at the George with friends from church. Lunch was lovely, as was the company. :o)

This afternoon was spent not doing much, finishing my unpacking and trying to persuade MSN that I really was online, despite it's determined efforts to declare me otherwise.

Then this evening, Mum, Dad & Tim came down to go out for dinner, as it's my birthday tomorrow. We went to the Waterfall Indian Restaurant. It was delicious and a good time was had by all, I think. Also, they brought my presents from home, so I opened them while they were here - but I'm saving my cards for tomorrow.
The first present from my parents was a Wok, which is great as my old one was, well, no longer non-stick (and probably no longer fit to be called a wok!).
From my brother, I got the 'new' Kanye West album (Late Registration), which I'm listening to now and definitely enjoying... :o)
Well, the last present was a mystery. It was big, heavy, square and had handles. Unwrapped it looked like this:



But opened, it looked like this! :



It was a food parcel of really nice stuff! All sorts of jars of pasta sauce, cans of soup, Nando's sauces, biscuits, tupperware pots, pasta, basmati rice, soy sauce, milkshake syrup... There's so much stuff in there and it's all my favourites. :o) I love it! Plus the box is great too. Maybe I'll get around to decorating it or something at some point. That'd be fun! :o)

Well, I think that's it for tonight.
God bless!

I beg your pardon!?

Since Steve L-W has stopped recording quotes that he didn't witness personally, I have chosed to take up the baton...

Andrew Waugh: We're trying to calculate the muzzle-velocity of a potato.

Dad: (holding up a coat) Is this anyone's or is it someone else's?

Tim C: Argh! I'm a 12-year-old girl!

Chris: Ros has been eating tablecloths again.
Ryoko: Is she still very ill?

Tim C: I was just trying to de-cheese my knee.

Patrick: True love is good, I suppose.

Tim C: There are elements of megalomania within the CU exec.

Tim C: Ooh, an organic nightdress. Woot!

Sal: Where's the bin? Oh, it's on the toilet. Of course.

Sal: Where's Ceryn actually gone?
Tim C: The library to print out, oh, naked people!

Tim C: I'm not a good Fran.


Oh, and one of my personal favourites, from Freshers Week 2004...

Nick: I'm a vegan.
Sal: Oh, you might get on well with Fish then.
Nick: You what!?

Self-Improvement

The other day, whilst Christmas shopping, I saw this book in WHSmiths and it really tickled me.

"Yay! Now I can read my own mind..." (!?)

Look-alikes

Just a quick one...
I was just watching the BBC News and was struck how much the newsreader (Peter Sissons) looks like the Ukranian president (Viktor Yushenko).

Happy Hogmanay!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you and yours
many blessings and much happiness
in 2006!

Seven times seven is forty-nine...

Things to do before i die:
1. Have kids
2. Be first to tell someone about Christ
3. Learn to speak Japanese
4. Qualify as a teacher
5. Write a book
6. Learn to drive
7. Learn sign language

Things i cannot do:
1. Wink my right eye
2. See without my glasses/contact lenses
3. Be tall
4. Knit
5. Read Arabic
6. Solve differential equations
7. Sit still

Things i say most often:
1. Sorry.
2. I don't know.
3. It's over there *points in direction of requested object*
4. Ooh, I'd love a coffee...
5. Cool.
6. Well...
7. Hang on...

Seven Books i Love:
1. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
2. Anything by Robin Hobb
3. Hollowtree House - Enid Blyton
4. The Lost Message of Jesus - Steve Chalke
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. Messy Spirituality - Mike Yaconelli
7. The Bartimaeus Trilogy - Jonathan Stroud (his parents & sister go to my church!)

Seven movies i can watch over and over:
1. The Truman Show
2. Monsters Inc.
3. Mona Lisa Smile
4. West Side Story
5. Forrest Gump
6. The Great Escape
7. School of Rock

Seven things I got for Christmas:
1. Divine Chocolate
2. Grow-Your-Own Spices
3. Jewel in the Crown - Fairport Convention (CD)
4. Teach yourself Japanese - Beginner's edition (book)
5. PDA - HP iPaq 2200
6. A frame for my map cross-stitch
7. Book of very random and yet very interesting lists.

Seven people to do this next:
1. Chris F
2. James
3. Hannah
4. Aaron
5. Beth
6. Tim C
7. Erm, some more people need to get blogs ...

A long-delayed update

I guess you want/deserve an explanation of why it’s been so long since I last updated this. This entry will not be easy to write and may well be quite long, but please bear with me.
This term has been very eventful for me. Despite the fact that I have been in Reading, as I have been for the past 3 years, I have started a new job and my role has changed a lot. I am no longer a student, yet I am surrounded by students at all times. My role is now more pastoral and responsible than before, which has caused me to grow up a lot, very rapidly. I have also had to become more self-reliant and confident – something that I never dreamed possible.
This change has led me to re-evaluate everything in my life. As most of you know, I have been with James for slightly over 5 years. Various events this term have made me wonder whether our relationship is still what it had been or whether, to an extent, we had grown apart and were not ‘right for each other’ anymore. There have been a few issues between us for a while. I still care about him deeply, but I’m not sure whether that is enough and I’m not sure I’m ready to make decisions about marriage (yes, I know I’ve been a little delayed in realising this!). So, James and I are now ‘on a break’ for the time being, until March, when we will come back and see where we are. We are remaining friends throughout, however (we’re going for coffee on Tuesday). I’m still a little bewildered at the moment, but I think we are doing the right thing.
That has been the main thing that has been going on in my life and because I wasn’t sure what was going on, I didn’t have anything I could write.Now that I’ve explained that one, I may be able to post about other stuff. Some time this week (I hope), I will update about what has been happening in the Chaplaincy this term, but for now, that will have to do.