An Even Keel

After a couple of lousy weeks we do now seem to be in much better state. Everybody is almost better from their various ailments, even Liz is up and around again. It's a classic risk assement job: Have the flu jab knowing it'll make you feel ill for a week, but might stop you getting flu badly in the winter, or don't have it and run the risk of coming down with a nasty bout over Christmas.

I had the college quiet day yesterday, which was a welcome opportunity to spend some time getting centred after the last fortnight. Really good guy, David Runcorn (Ministerial development guy in Lichfield diocese), leading the day. Gave us some excellent stuff to ponder and chew over about mercy and ministry, and the necessity of being grounded in love.

Today Nick the Vic (ar) came up from Luton to see us, which was much appreciated. Caught up on all the news from St Mary's - it's amazing how quickly things change when you're not there to see them.

So, as I said, back on an even keel and heading for the weekend, with "Together" on Saturday (see earlier post if that means nothing to you). Lots of praying going on that the keel stays even, that we remember the dependance on God that we've had to renew our grip on, and that we catch the wind of the Spirit for Saturday and rise on wings as eagles.

TimC

The Lurgy

What a weekend, we invented a new game in our house. How many illnesses can you collect in the same household? We managed to get: throat infection; croup; ear infection; loose stool syndrome; high temperatures; achy limbs; and general lethargy.
Hooray for CBeebies, Mermaidia and International Rugby Union. Calpol also made its usual star appearance.
Almost all up and running on at least 3 cylinders by this evening, though Liz had her flu jab yesterday and is feeling the aftereffects.
But, do you know the best bit? If this had hit us anytime in the past, Liz would have been laid up for at least a week as the lot hit her chest. But it hasn't, she's been unwell but not wiped out. That might seem an odd thing to be immensely grateful to God for, but we are.

TimC

A couple of weeks ago we got a letter home from T's school asking for nominations for parent governors. I thought to myself 'maybe I should go for that.' Tim and various friends encouraged me to so I did, thinking that there'd be lots of applicants and I wouldn't be elected being new and all that. Errrrr, no. On Wednesday T came home with a letter saying there had only been 2 applicants and both of them were now..yes....parent governors. gulp. What have I done? Seriously, I'm very pleased and excited about this role, not sure what it'll be as yet but looking forward to being more involved in school. The head said she'll be having a chat soon with me and the other newbie, but the next big meeting isn't til February, so not a lot to do yet. Exciting stuff though!
Had another mornings work this Monday which was fun, and I'm officially on the supply list now. Hopefully after Christmas I'll get some more regular work there, it's great fun and N enjoys me being there 'working' with him.
N is going to be an innkeeper in his first ever nativity. Awwwww...can't wait. Not sure what T will be in her play yet. She's very excited about it, whatever it is!
Tomorrow I'm helping at the KWON sale, which is this huge NCT type sale at college, on a large scale, churches from all over Nottingham are involved and we spend all tomorrow night sorting out stuff and setting up, then the sale goes on all saturday. Hoping to pick up some clothes for the kids and other bargains, and should be fun, if very chaotic by the sounds of it. Basically a percentage goes to an orphanage (in Romania I think?) and the rest goes back to the seller, so there's a lot of keeping track involved.
off to play on the PlayStation :o)

Power League

Despite being beaten by the Methodists last week, St John's FC decided to go ahead with our debut match at the Nottingham Powerleague last night. The story that was agreed at the end of the game to be relayed back to college was: We took the lead, Joel got a hat trick, we lost count of the score. All of these things are true, but incomplete. Truth is we got hammered 23 - 4. And we had subs, and they didn't. Apparently this match was to decide what league we should be put in. I think the answer is a pretty low one :-) I've never been to one of these places before and I was gob-smacked at the number of pitches and people there. Whoever thought this up must be minting it. 30 pitches, in use all evening, every evening, plus bar takings. There must be hundreds of guys go there every week.
On the plus side, I did win my first squash ladder game today. If it ever happens again, I'll let you know.

TimC

The Lord is One

Excellent preacher in chapel tonight. He did have a bit of a challenge. The Bible reading was a bit where Jesus is asked what the most important thing in the whole of the Jewish law was. The answer was: God is one, love God with all that you are, and love each other. Not much sermon in that, it's simple: Love God and Love each other. As preachers do, he did find a fair amount to talk about anyway. One thing he said, that struck me, was this:

God is one. That means that God is the God of your work, your home, your family, your pub, everywhere you go and everything you do, God is God there. You can't have one God at church, or with your family and then have a completely different God in other parts of your life. God is one God, and you are to love God with your whole life.

Even the bit where you lose a football match to the local Methodist college 3-1 as we did yesterday :-(

Even the bit where you've finished all the lectures for a module :-) but still have to write 3,000 words to complete the assessed assignment :-(

Perhaps I'd better stop blogging and get on with it.

TimC

Together

We have been given the provisional go ahead for our Praise Party/Great big God thingy celebration which is now called Together, pending definate chapel hire confirmation, so very exciting! heres the poster I had fun making.

Tabitha is the second left, it was taken at a baptism of a child at college the other week.
Hopefully we'll get enough interest and a good turnout, seems to be quite a well received idea anyway.


For those of you who haven't seen us in a while thought you'd appreciate this pic:


Going for the grungy student look. :o)

Catch up on me

I haven't disappeared, I've just been v busy lately. Tim is having some fun setting up our new PlayStation (he's got this thing called eyetoy which has a little camera thingy and you can play interactive games, at the moment he is being an American footballer, which seems to entail knocking all your opponents out as far as I can see. :o)) So anyway I'm coming to say hello.
Just been to chapel, was great as tonight it was a cafe style service - chapel all changed round as tables and chairs, with coffee, tea and cakes, lots of chatting and a fab talk, really enjoyed it, love experiencing different styles.
On Tuesday night we went to a Light party (alternative halloween as we don't do it) which was good, the dad running it had set up loads of games eg apple bobbing but insisted we all had a go, which was ermmm interesting. We then had an impromptu dance/praise party as this family has a huuuuge house (jealous, moi?) And the kids loved it. Here is Tabitha at said party:-



One of the girls at college is great at face painting and is in high demand for the many parties that go on. Nathaniel still refuses to have his face painted though, conservative little chap that he is, bless.
Loved half term - lovely time at the in laws, and my very dear friend Ulrike from Luton came up on Friday with her four, including baby Peter who I'd never met as he had the cheek to be born on the day I left. ;o) He is gorgeous of course and it was just fantastic to see them all again.
Tim, myself and three others are having fun planning a Great Big God - esque praise party type thing at college for december, the premise being to get families together to worship and have a great time, we're just waiting for it to be approved by the powers that be and then we can go ahead. Hoping for it to be an at least termly thing if it goes down well. we shall see - very exciting stuff. :o)

Modern Slavery

Thursday is college lecture day. Today we were given some real heart rending stuff on modern slavery. Next year is the bicentennial of the Abolition of the Slave Trade legislation in the UK, pioneered by William Wilberforce. However, it is reckoned that there are still at least 26 million people in the world living in slavery today. And that is not counting those in child labour, child soldiers, or economic migrants. Slaves range from people in India selling themselves in to bond labour to pay off debts that they can never repay, and their children being born into that bond labour, to women forced to work in brothels in European cities, to labourers shipped across continents to work in sweat shops to provide us with cheap clothes and food.

Jesus came to set the captives free, it's one of the first things he said in his public ministry.

How can we take our part in that work? Well, that will be different for all of us, but what we can all do is look at how we live, and the impact it has in this arena. We can all raise the public conciousness of these issues. There are some good resources and ideas from Anti Slavery International.

Sorry for the preach, but it hit me hard.

TimC