From Under The Duvet..: November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Fashionwise Maybe, Philosophically No

A couple of weeks ago I was walking through the men’s clothing section of H&M and saw a t-shirt boldly saying “Grey is the New Black”. Now, I do not pretend to be in the least bit fashion conscious. When my parents were over last weekend I showed my mum a gorgeous purple coat I’ve been looking at for some time only to be informed that it would be “out” next season. So maybe this season, fashion wise, grey is the new black.
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But I got to thinking just how true that statement is in this post-modern world – a world in which there are no absolutes. And what nowhere displays this philosophy more so than university where the phrase is “If it feels good and no one gets hurt, why not?” Although there is a certain irony in saying “There are no absolutes” because surely you’ve just said one…
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But 2000 years ago someone came along who said “I am THE way, THE truth, THE life, no one gets to the Father except through me”. Ouch. Jesus didn’t say “Well, I’m one of the ways you can get to heaven, you know – different paths up the same mountain” and He didn’t say “There is no real truth, but you can accept me as your particular brand of truth, if you feel like it”.
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And that is incredibly unpolitically correct these days. And I’m pretty sure if some people I know read my blog they’re currently thinking “Oh, that’s a bit narrow minded”. And it is. But I believe it’s true.
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I believe that God created the world and we messed up. God, in His infinite love for us, sent His only Son to die for us, receiving the punishment we justly deserved. And when we accept that Christ did this for us and we can have a relationship with the Creator of this world. In this relationship we are made completely spotless so before God we are sinless and without fault and when we die we don’t go to hell but receive eternal life and life with God forever.
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I believe the world is not grey. There are absolutes. There is black and white. Jesus is the only way to inherit eternal life. Sadly, the t-shirt summed up what many people hold to be their philosophy. But, it’s just not right.
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Labels: faith, God

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Wonderful Friendships...

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In my last post I talked about how busy I am and yet I’ve not long hung up on a fifty minute phone conversation. In fact, on Sunday night I called my parents, my granny, my best friend Rose and Val!
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So who was tonight’s phone call with? Well, I say phone call but really no phones were used – instead it was the wonderful Skype through two computers in different cities, different countries, different continents. I got to talk to the amazing Julianne in Chicago who has served in First Saintfield in the past two summers with a team from her church in Colorado.
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I can’t quite recall all that we talked about in fifty minutes – I reckon that it’s a safe bet though that I talked more than Julianne! We talked about school and friendships – including my lecturer today who said “as a good atheist I think the only good thing to come out of religion is this memory experiment” and the fact Julianne is able to take knitting projects to class! Maybe something I should try out in social psychology tomorrow, eh?
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Me in the hat (just in from the rain!)

We talked about faith, and the glorious God who brought us together. We laughed about how good it was to hear the other. I even tried to pronounce mirror the “proper” way and protested that being from Northern Ireland surely I am one of the more qualified people to say how the word “cow” is pronounced! We talked about First Saintfield and the memories we have as well as what’s going on now.
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We talked about the routine and tradition we see in churches that has replaced passion and the desire to know God. What a sad and heartbreaking substitution that is and it may have untold consequences for many years to come – why would anyone want to go to a stuffy place that lacks life, which is so ironic for a place which promises life to the full.

Julianne and I.

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I talked about wanting to give certain people a good old shake and I’m confident one person (a youth worker perhaps?) will have a fair idea who I mean when I say that we want certain people to show some joy of the Lord! Or at least shake them so they don’t appear to be sleeping during sermons…
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We talked about knowing who we are in Christ and about future ministry (we also had a good old laugh about the prediction made about me). I am so aware that the teenage years can be so challenging and conflicting for girls, how alone they can seem and I think as a church we should be providing ways to stand beside people in a time of great change and say that we are there for them. We also talked about how great it would be to even “just” be a wife and a mother.
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We talked about food too. Because, let’s face it, it’s a bond (especially the firm belief about how nasty that substance passing as tea in America is). Julianne sent me the most amazing package for my birthday – pictured below – and I’ve just munched on a Reese’s cup. She also crocheted me the amazing hat! I love it! I told her about my biblical scarf – the world says that scarves should have rows which are the same length and shouldn’t have gaping holes so my scarf is truly nonconforming. Julianne found McVities biscuits in the cultural food aisle and paid $9 for them! Craziness! The craziness being the fact the shop charges $9 for food I can get for less than £1, although we can all understand why people still buy it at that!

The Package: Jolly Ranchers, Reeses, apple cider, hot cocoa, Rice Krispies, Hersey kisses, a card that was oh so true and a hat!.

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We also prayed together and talked about a million other things – haha including the fact Julianne is coming to my wedding. It has been decided. There is only one missing detail that we decided was completely arbitrary – that minor detail being the lack of groom.
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It was so good to talk to Julianne and on the birthday box she sent me she wrote the verse from Philippians 1 v 3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” – although I’m not sure which translation she uses as it ended with “you far away sister”. How true that is.

Julianne and I.

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How amazing is it in this modern world that I can talk to someone dearly loved in Chicago and how blessed I have been in meeting this wonderful sister in Christ. And I thank God for this relationship and many others I have been blessed with. People who encourage me. People who challenge me. People who are there for me when I text them telling them I want Ben and Jerrys and to stuff the work – people who tell me to pray about said work and are utterly sensible! People who stand beside me when I’m grouchy or feeling down and tell me to keep going. People who regularly get texts asking prayer or send texts to say they’re praying. People who just help me laugh and chill out. People who get texts the second flights are booked exactly when we can next have lunch. People who I have four hour msn conversations with about how, and I quote, “Christian boys are in short supply and there is not enough of me to go around” (hint: said guy was in the Czech Republic with us and that limits number of candidates significantly!) I could go on forever but I am aware that that could be boring!
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Equally, how amazing is it that in this modern world that we don’t take the time in friendships – we are constantly “too busy” with “too much” to do. And it’s not just friendships that can be pushed aside – we can be too busy, or too tired to spend time with the wonderful Creator of the universe. The phrase a wise person (well, a person anyway) said comes to mind, “If you’re too busy to spend time with God you’re busier than He ever intended you to be.”
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May you all have a blessed week – may you all spend some time with those who love you even though they’ve seen you first thing in the morning or know about that skeleton in your closet. May you all spend some time getting to know new people better. But, most of all, may you all spend some time just resting in God and who you are in Him, He who knows you better than anyone else and still loves you completely.
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Labels: busy, friends, God, good times, memories

Saturday, November 24, 2007

I know, you thought I'd died

No such luck though, I'm just immensely busy at the moment. This time three weeks I'll have been home two days and before then I have three beautiful deadlines, a CU houseparty, Christmas shopping (although, very little - I'll explain later), Christmas meals, iceskating etc etc to deal with or do.

My parents have been over since Thursday morning and left this morning. So I've been out of the uni loop for a couple of days - which has been good - as well as having Ben and Jerries in the freezer. However, I now have lots of emails to catch up on as well as aforementioned work.

I will blog soon, really. Well, I'll try not to leave it two weeks again (to be fair, I still haven't uploaded by birthday photos either!).

Hope you're all smiling.

Labels: uni life, update

Friday, November 09, 2007

What a year...

So, today I turned 19...

Insert birthday post here - will be up in 30 hours or so.

... and I can't believe I've entered my last year as a teenager. I'm definitely older, but I'm unsure about the whole "wiser" aspect that is supposed to follow. The evening of the 8th was spent lying in bed trying to get rid of my flu-type-thing before it properly started and I was thinking about all I've done in the past year:

I survived my A levels. I went to the Czech Republic and taught English. I had my first "job" and worked alongside my best friend. I filled in my first form to get money back from the Inland Revenue. I got a laptop. I went to Glasgow for three days. I survived 7 years at a school! I got to hang out with some crazy Americans for a second year. I passed my driving test! (I get off my R-plates in 4 days - not that that matters!) I got into university (one just named in the top 100 in the world). I survived my first 8 weeks of uni. I deepened lots of friendships. I said goodbye to a few too - under various circumstances. I have had the amazing opportunity to make new friendships. I remained single (and usually quite happily so!). I made lots of food - cheesecake probably deserves an honourable mention not to mention the cookies I've just pulled out of the oven. I took a lot of photos. I attended birthday parties. I didn't attend any funerals (that I can remember...). I didn't attend any weddings. I took communion for the first (and, last week, the second) time. I became a fully fledged member of my wonderful home church. I began attending a new church in my new country. Yeah, for uni, I moved countries!

I've done a lot! And I'm sure there's so much I've left out of that (read the last year of blog posts if you're really wondering! And if I've left out anything significant please comment to let me know - or comment to share a memory of this last year with me). I've laughed. Loved. Cried. Smiled. Been worried. Been petrified. Felt alone. Felt loved. Felt unworthy. Realised I'm not. Spent time with old friends. Made new ones. I've learned a lot - academically, faith wise, me wise, world wise, friend wise... life wise.

Perhaps most of all I've LIVED. I've seen a lot. Done a lot. Felt a lot. Lived a lot. And that's my prayer for this next year and every other minute of my life I'm blessed with. That I would live it to the full. That I would not shy away from life and live contently in some little bubble. But that I would experience life to the full, not wasting any opportunity. The world is on my doorstep, and I've every intention of opening that door...

"So go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up real bad. But, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you didn't live."
Rich Mullins

“Life shouldn’t be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting…”Wow! What a ride! Thanks You Lord!”
Author Unknown

Please consider leaving a comment about a memory from this past year - I'd love to hear it! I don't think anyone sits around by fires just sharing memories any more and that's so sad. So please consider it!

Labels: birthday, life, memories

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Memories

So.. I'm in Term Week 6 and Friday I'll have been in Cardiff for a whole eight weeks! Gosh, time has flown. I'm absolutely loving it. That's not to say that I am so glad I left Saintfield because there's so much I miss about home (at the same time I would not describe as anything near "homesick" though) but this is where God has me for now. (Oh, and I fly home Thursday 13th December - missing my last stats lecture and I've a stats exam in Jan.. oh well! The handouts are downloadable!)

I've just got back from CU (and the open house after) and I am smiling. I have made so many memories already, in just eight weeks. Things I never want to forget. Silly conversations that make no sense out of context but.. oh, it's indescribable. Conversations like the following:

"So, Dave, have you decided if you want another guy other than Mike in our house?"

"errr... Jesus" (at hall groups we're re-discovering Sunday school answers!)

"But we can't charge Him rent..."

Yes, we know who we're living with next year - I'll be in a house with Annie, Jo, Dave, Mike and possibly another guy.

Scene: Annie and Dave trying to get Mike to say something like they'd say it in Leciester

Me: Guys, only people from Leciester would be that grammatically challenged.

Annie: We speak well proper we do.

A few minutes later there was spontaneous leaf fight underway (at last!) which was incredibly fun.

On Sunday night Dave also came out with, completely unprompted, that he thinks I will end up marrying a minister/youth worker. Apparently this is because I'm supportive, bubbly, humble (I doubt that!) and I make good cakes. When asked, Annie, Jo and Freya all completely agreed. Tonight, when I was rhyming off the recipe for colcannon (I'd given Dave the final portion that was going to be thrown out) it was whispered "Oh, she is such a minister's wife!". I've told both Paul and James to be on the look out for eligeable bachelors out and about at Union.

I came to university to learn. And, I guess I am learning some psychology. But the most important things I'm learning, and what I'm learning 90% of the time, is about me, about life and about my glorious Saviour.

And I wouldn't change it for the world.

Labels: Cardiff, friends, God, good times, memories

An Amazing Quotation and Reminder

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Keep fighting the good fight.

Labels: quotations, reminder

Sunday, November 04, 2007

“There are fireworks at 8 with a £6 entrance fee”

Tonight there was a huge firework display in the big park just a couple of minutes (ahem) away from here. They were absolutely beautiful! You can see some photos here. However, those photos will never do it justice. It was such a beautiful night – there was music playing in the background (U2, Stereophonics… followed by Pavarotti...) and some great company – not to mention an amazing hat!
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And, of course, it’s almost impossible to get great photos of something that look so beautiful, especially as they look great for such a fleeting period. I could put in a Calvin and Hobbes quotation: “Sometimes it seems things go by too quickly. We are so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take the time to enjoy where we are.” – I love that quotation. Sometimes I know I get so caught up in all that needs to be done that I miss what I have right here.
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But it had to be dark to make out the fireworks. I remember sitting in yf one night when Marty was talking on (I think) pain and suffering. He used the analogy that whenever he was picking out Kathy’s engagement ring the jeweller put the ring on a dark cloth so the ring could really be seen distinctly. If we look at it in a different context Christians are called to be salt and light, a city on a hill.
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Many of us find ourselves in situations of darkness – work places, communities, families, universities. We can be huge, beautifully bright fireworks trying, in some way, to show the glory of God in the darkest of situations.
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“You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!" (Matthew 5. The Message Paraphrase)
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And there was a reason for that other part of the title. I have had the following conversations in the past week:
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Me: “What flat is Dave in?”
Tom: “Flat *8*.”
Me: After a little confusion “Oh Flat **8**?”
Tom: “No, flat *8*.”
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Me: “I can’t believe we got a *pound* for filling out a silly questionnaire that was only one page”
Amy: “I know. But I got a **pound** and that is so much better.”
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It turns out, in addition to words like “cow” causing problems “pound” and “eight” have regional-translation problems. The above conversations don’t really make sense unless you factor in that I’m from Northern Ireland, Tom’s from St Albans (north of London, but his mum’s from Belfast so he knew what I was getting at with **eight**) and Amy’s from Wales (although I have a good pronunciation shaped card to retaliate with! Love you lots girl!). The accents lead to some fun and gentle mocking...
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Also, I am appalled by the lack of apostrophes on campus. “Mens Cricket” should have an apostrophe! MS Word even knows it needs an apostrophe! So please tell me how “Mens Cricket” got printed onto dear-only-knows how many cricket jackets? The same is true for many other teams, I will admit, but that just makes it worse!
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I saw the offending jacket as we left the library yesterday and after shrieking “There should be an apostrophe!” Amy said “I love you sometimes” – I’m glad someone loves my grammar pedantry!
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I wonder if the offensive Ramones’ “Hey Ho Lets Go” shirt is still in existence, eh Rach? I realise the Ramones (or whoever is in charge of their affairs) may not have apostrophes high on their trashing hotel room agenda but my goodness, if I was going to get a shirt designed for people to wear to advertise my band I would do a wee spell check first.
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The movie Rendition is good, by the way. Pretty scary though – that that could, perhaps, potentially happen. And there are some good movies coming out soon – we saw trailers for Vantage Point (Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid, American FBI thing – looks great! When is that Lost dude's movie out?) and Lions for Lambs (about the War on Terror – again, looks great). I loved the tag line for “Lions for Lambs”:
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“This year what will you stand for?
This year what will you fight for?
This year what will you live for?
This year what will you die for?”
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(The changed words flicked on and off the screen, while the others stayed the same)
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What an amazing question to ask ourselves…
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Labels: faith, films, fireworks, friends, NI, question, world

Friday, November 02, 2007

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?

As little as possible! On gifts anyway. See this amazing site for a brilliant idea! I think all churches should do something like this!

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Soup

What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?

Television.. what's a television? The last thing I watched was probably Criminal Minds when I was home.

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Salad

If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?

Blue. Not that I have a living room but when I do I want it to be blue (or maybe a great mossy green).

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Main Course

Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.

Bernard's Watch. No question.

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Dessert

List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.

- a rugby shirt (santa)

- an external hard-drive (santa)

- nothing else really... there's nothing I need! I want to get some photos developed (ok, ok, hundreds of photos developed) so maybe some money towards that. A couple of goats - for African farmers (although I really really really want a goat!).