Next Stop, Hillsong Church London

I can almost hear the tinny voice of the driver crackling over the static of the radio: 'Next Stop. Tottenham Court Road. Please change here for Hillsong Church London and The Northern Line. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform and ensure you have all belongings with you. If you are changing for Hillsong Church, service times are 11am, 1:30pm and 6pm. Have a nice day.'



Tottenham Court Road, Eastbound Central Line

Oh No... Not AGAIN?!?!?!

Surely this can't be right- can we be saying goodbye to another friend? Saying goodbye AGAIN? I am honestly beginning to despise the airport. I am getting to a point where I can't bear the idea of getting close to Heathrow, because it seems the only time I am ever there is when someone in my life is leaving. Forget people who get all excited about airports because they signify holidays and sun and sea and all such beautiful things... But no, not me. In my life they are associated with a parting of ways.

Our housemate Debbie is heading off to sunny SA tomorrow for we don't know how long. This is due to the fact that there were some work permit issues happening and basically, she didn't get a new job in time. We only found out on Thursday, and she's already flying out tomorrow (Sat). Talk about short notice. Though we're trying to be all cool about it, we're actually really bummed. Our house has become a haven to us, and the people living there have become more than housemates...more than friends even...they have become family.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love
(Jars Of Clay)

As I have mentioned before, this is one of my favourite songs, and the truth of these lyrics has become the centre of our living. We are ONE in the Spirit. Very much so.

Romans 12:5
We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

Have you ever had the type of relationship where no matter what is said you could not possibly take offence, because you absolutely understand that whatever is said is done in Love? That it is all out of a desire to see you grow and flourish and maybe even get over yourself? Well, that's where we're at, so 'losing' a member of this family is like losing a part of yourself. It means that you are now less because you alone do not make up yourself anymore. Hmmm, interesting.

I think one of the biggest things for me is that I know that this is signifying the end of a season for us. All of us are heading off in different directions soon, and what we have now will change. Deb will come back a married woman. Kate flies off to Brisbane in March and will be getting married in January. I'm heading to Sydney in January to start bible college. Zoe starts Uni soon. Anneke is moving to Paris. Jenny is stepping into a bigger season than ever before. Amy is already back in Sydney building a new life. Our time together is drawing to a close. I know that what we have built will be ours forever, and these are people we will carry with us on our walk everywhere we go, but it will never look the same again. We will never be the Greystoke Palace Princesses again, not the way we are now. And though I know that it is time to step into the new season, the next level, I will miss this. I am reminded of a line in the film Little Women.

Beth: I am not afraid. I can be brave like you. But I know I shall be homesick for you, even in Heaven.

I guess what it all comes down to is this- no matter where this life may take us and which roads we end up travelling along, I shall always remember these days, and I shall be homesick for my girls until we are reunited again. In the meantime though, I plan on making the most of the time we have together and hopefully we will begin to see the next chapter of our respective lives take shape. And also which part we will all play in each other's.

Bye Deb. See you when you get back.

A Critical Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.

This is a very popular and well-known verse among most Christians. It is widely used as a measure for our lives and a guide to becoming more Christ-like. However, I am slighly confused, because I do not see 'criticism' in there among the other fruits. Surely it should read: love, joy, peace, criticism, patience, kindness etc...? Let me explain:
I enjoy doing research about books I would like to read or authors I'm interested in. Most often this research is internet based as it literally becomes 'the world at your fingertips'. I find it incredible the amount of information you can gain simply by searching for a single word or topic. Hundreds of thousands of results appear at the click of a mouse-button. My issue arises when I start to research Christian books and authors. To my shock and dismay many of the results that are returned on my searches are negative reports on these books or people. Critical reports on any and all aspects of the person or the resource. What's worse is that these critics are Christians. Christians slagging off Christians. What is that all about?

Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that people will not always agree. I also understand that different people have different views and opinions. But when did the goal become finding something that you disagree with? Not only that, finding something and then airing your long-winded, supposedly 'expert' opinion on the matter. Do you know everything there is to know about any one topic? Do you know anything about anything for that matter? So you disagree with someone- SO WHAT? You cannot honestly believe that everyone always agrees with you, can you? Worst of all is that these people are always writing in the name of some church or the other. Don't get me started on THAT! Who are you as an individual to speak on behalf of the church? Do you even know what the church really is? Do you know that the church is the vessel through which God speaks and acts? Not through which he gives pious members on a powertrip the opportunity to share their views with the world. If you want to do that, go to speaker's corner, mate. You might find an audience who cares.

So please, PLEASE consider this- the next time you disagree with someone or something, ask yourself the following question: Have I earned the right to express my opinion here? Or do I just want to make myself feel useful by contributing my own cynicism to the situation? If it's tha latter, why don't you try something new and SHUT IT until you have a foot to stand on?

Remember:
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 13:35)

JEREMIAH 1:9-10

Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me,
"Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant."

Condemnation vs Conviction

Pastor Gary was speaking this week end, still on things that will define your life and he spoke a message that was both painful and liberating. He was focusing especially on your relationship with yourself as a defining factor. He also mentioned that there are 2 things that are guaranteed to come your way as a Christian.

• People around you will speak out against you.
• The Accuser will bring accusation against you.
  

In John 18 and 19 we find Jesus standing before Pilate being accused by the religious leaders.

John 18:28
Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast.

The accusers didn't go in. They stood on the sidelines and threw their slander from a safe distance. In life the same thing happens. You will mainly find that the people who air opinions on everything are the people who never actually participate in the reality of the situation, they simply wish to be heard. The main thing to remember is this: the voices from the sideline will always try and get you out of the game, you have a choice as to whether youlisten to them or not.

John 19:9-10
He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. "You won't talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?"

Jesus knew exactly who he was. His identity was firm and unshakeable. Therefore he had no need to defend himself against false accusations because what people said and thought about him would not change who he was. Knowing who you are will also allow you to choose which voices you listen to.

Secondly- the voice of the Accuser comes against you. The Accuser uses a form of truth to mislead you and bring condemnation. In a manner of speaking he uses equivocation against us.

equivocation

n 1: a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth [syn: evasion] 2: intentionally vague or ambiguous [syn: prevarication, evasiveness] 3: falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language [syn: tergiversation]

Equivocation is to mislead with a half truth. The Accuser is a great equivocator. He will throw condemnation at us and the thing is, he will always use things that we have actually done. This is far more effective than trying to fabricate something. What we don't realise is that he will always leave out the most important part of the truth- because of Jesus, it doesn't matter what we have done, we are forgiven already. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of the things we do that are outside the will of God, but where condemnation drives us away from the purposes of God for our lives, conviction will draw us closer to them.

gary explained this beautifully. He said that the Accuser will shout at us about the things we have done wrong. About how useless we are and how we have no hope. To get away from his shouting we step further away from the source of the voice. With every step the voice dimms, but we do not realise that we are also walking away from the purposes of God. The Holy Spirit speaks to us about what we have done, but about how God uses imperfect people and about how we are made righteous in Christ. When we step toward that voice we step closer to the purposes of God. It doesn't stop the shouting of the Accuser, but we choose to not listen to him and to listen to the voice of God.

See the diagram-





So- which voice are you going to listen to?

Post Secret

This is an amazing website where people send in anonymous home made postcards with secrets on. The site gets updated weekly with the best postcards for the week.

For more info see:

Post Secret Info

Post Secret Blog

Two great postcards:

Friday Sports Life: Action Netball

Netball

So last Friday we had a great evening in Canary Wharf with 'indoor sports life'. It went really well, because Saturday mornings have become WAY too cold to attempt outdoor activities, so it's been shifted to Friday nights. There was action netball, football and cricket in our venue and there must have been about 80 girls just for netball. It was so much fun being on the court again. I had almost forgotten how much I love the game (which is not surprising, considering it's been about 3 years since I've set foot on a course...). But once we got started we got into the groove of things and everything sort of came flooding back. It was as though I'd never stopped playing, except for one small little detail- I was so unfit that I nearly passed out, or threw up, or did whatever it is you're supposed to do when you realise that your chest is too small for your lungs that are desperately trying to draw a nice deep breath and are being constricted by your ribcage. I was sweating and seeing stars (or was it black dots...?) and the worst thing of all- I tasted blood after 5 minutes!!!! 5 minutes!!!!!! (anyone who knows sport knows that this is the worst sign of unfitness in the world) Somehow that was not part of the nice idyllic image I had conjured about getting fit again. I knew there'd be sweat and heat, and possibly a bit of out-of-breathness going on, but not blood. I was horrified.

(Indoor Court)

Another thing I had failed to remember was that this was ACTION netball,
which meant nets at the sides and top of the court, as well as a narrower court with only 6 players a side. This whole formula pretty much means that the ball doesn't go out, so the game doesn't stop. There are fewer players, so you're running more and pretty much you're going at double time. Great. Lucky for us we only played 2 halves of 10 minutes each, not the usual 4 quarters of 10-15 minutes. I would have died. But it gets worse...yes, I said WORSE. After the game once we had more or less regained our composure we were sitting around chatting, and I had this wonderfully insane idea that it all ended there, and that I would have forgotten the whole ordeal by the following morning. HA! I wish. When I woke up on Saturday to get ready for work I tried to get out of bed. Uhm, bad idea. 'Methinks the muscles doth protest too much!' I hurt. Badly. All over. I had pains where I didn't even know it was anatomically possibly to have muscles. I was stooped over like a 90 year old grandmother for about 20 minutes until I got everything warmed up. And even then it was a struggle to get through the day without wincing at every step.

(Court info)

So what am I going to about it I hear you ask? Get right back on that court next Friday and do it all again. Crazy, I know, but I love it.

Award Acceptance Speech

Right, blog challenge number one: Write an Award acceptance speech. (Amy, I cannot believe you're gonna make me attempt this!!!! Actually, I can't believe I'm actually gonna try.) Well, ready or not, here I go.

"Ladies and Gentlemen..." (This is too formal, I don't like it. Ok, scrap that)

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears..." (Nope not sounding right either. Man, this speech thing isn't for sissies! Third time lucky?)

"Wow (a tear glistens in the corner of my eye and I take a deep breath to compose myself. The roar of the crowd dies down). As many of you will know, this day has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. A dream that I never thought could become a reality. But now I stand here, accepting this award with great gratitute and affection.

This day could never have happened without certain key people in my life whom I would like to take a moment to thank. Firstly I would like to thank my parents who brought me into this world and raised me the way they did, my family- both direct and extended- I love you guys! (the camera pans across our table, capturing the brave, teary smiles) My friends who are here tonight, as well as the ones scattered across the world- you have been the people who have seen quite literally the good the bad and the ugly (laughs) and still stuck with it, I would be lost without you. No writer is complete without his muse, and I am lucky to have many of you.

Receiving the Orange prize is an honour any woman writer would happily accept (I take the prize) . This is for all you ladies out there with a dream, if I can do it, so can you- go for it!!!!! (the crowd unanimously rise to their feet in deafening applause).

Ok, so maybe writing speeches is not my strong point. Sum it up in one sentence: "You like me, you REALLY like me!"

For assistance writing your own acceptance speeces, please see the following link: Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Generator

Photos

Marcia, Anneke, Jenny- Hi Everyone!
Hyde Park in the summer- let's have a Picnic!





Marcia and Anneke in Paris.


Mary, Rachel and Pam- 1st service in Leatherhead.



Amy's Pink party.




The Summer Ball '05





Thought I'd load up some photos of my friends and life in London. Just a random collection of stuff. Enjoy.

Thank You For The Music

What is it about music that intrigues us so? There's something magical about combining words to a tune that captures our imagination. Like a smell, music can instantly take you to a memory, a place, a time in your life and make it just as real as it was the first time you experienced it. Ever noticed how some songs just want to make you cry because they remind you of someone or something, and others will always bring a smile to your face as they conjure memories of things long gone. Maybe that's part of the magic of music- it has a power of association 2nd to none.

More than that though, it doesn't only speak of the past, it speaks of the future and the now and about every real thing in your life. Like the poets of old who wrote their poetry, I believe, to the music in their hearts. They all had a way of creating a motion with words that could conjure a melody in your own ears just by whispering them. They could make fantasy seem more real than reality and they could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary by the simple power of the imagination. In 'Finding Neverland' we find the story of young Peter Davies inspiring Sir James Barrie to write the famous Peter Pan and in an unforgettable scene the imagination of man and boy clash:

Peter Llewelyn Davies: This is absurd. It's just a dog.
Sir James Matthew Barrie: 'Just' a dog? 'Just'? Porthos, don't listen to him. Porthos dreams of being a bear and you want to dash those dreams by saying he's 'just' a dog. What a horrible, candle-snuffing word. That's like saying 'he can't climb that mountain, he's just a man' or 'that's not a diamond, it's just a rock.' 'Just'.

James Barrie 'danced to his own tune' or 'marched to his own drumbeat'. He would not accept the 'just' of life. He would not live the 'if only' life. He heard the music and he had to dance.

William Shakespeare heard it too, so did Keats and Yeats and Wordsworth and Browning... and not just writers- musians, artists, inventors, politicians and my all time favourite- the Anonymous. The 'unsung' heroes of our time (or rather of the timeless) heard the music and understood it. And that's why they remain unsung. Think of an echo. The creator of the echo makes an original sound that bounces off various surfaces and gets distorted, sometimes beyond recognition. Better to be silent than to set off an explosion of sound that will come back sounding nothing like it was intented to. Yet all of these struck a chord with their whispers... never so loud as to cause a disturbance, but loud enough to be heard by those willing to listen.

So I encourage you to listen. Stop. Close your eyes and listen- do you hear it? No, it's not 'just' a noise- it's music.

Finding Neverland
Dead Poets Society
Amelie
Big Fish
Peter Pan

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Yellow Pages - Got YOUR Number!

I suppose that Yellow Pages is almost an institution worldwide. It's found in many countries and referred to in many movies- Grease, in particular springs to mind:

Danny: Well I do not know. Maybe there's two of us. Why don't you take out a
missing person's ad? Or try the yellow pages, I don't know.



Well now we really can try the Yellow Pages. In a recent advertising plight my boss decided that it was time to send out our new brochures to potential customers and companies. Great idea! But unfortunately he also decided that the place to get the information for our potential customers was in the Yellow Pages. So far all this sounds pretty logical, but wait for it- the story is not finished yet.

Anyway, so I found out about all the various listings in the UK to see which would be most relevant to us. I discovered that there was a grand total of 102 different Yellow Pages Directories for the UK. Yep, that's right- one hundred and two. I also found out that they were £7.50 each, plus p&p. You can imagine my surprise when I was told to 'order them'. The conversations went something like:

'Yes, order them.'
'All of them?'
'Yes, all of them.'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes, of course I'm sure.'
'But there's 102 of them.'
'Yes.'
'And they're £7.50 each...plus postage.'
'Yes, that's fine, order them.'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes, how many of them were there?'
'102'
'And they cost how much?'
'£7.50 plus postage.'
'Yeah, get them.'

You're the boss. So the directories were ordered- much to the surprise of the unsuspecting telephone operator. 'You're sure you want ALL of them? All 102?' Yes. At a cost of £830.64 (including postage) FOR TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES!!!!!!!! But wait- it's not over yet! The directories arrived yesterday and what was the reaction?
'Why are there so many of them?' (You can imagine what's going through my head at this time...)
'How much did we pay for them?' (pause)
'We paid HOW MUCH?!?!?!?!'

(Yes, that's right, 102 directories at £7.50 each plus postage- You do the math.)

'No, I don't want them, send them back.'
Send them back? After we spent 10 minutes trying to convince them that 'Yes, we know how many there are. Yes, we know how much they are. Yes, we would like ALL of them.'
Send them back. Ok, I'll send them back... only... Yellow Pages do not do refunds or take back directories. (so I find out when I'm speaking to customer services feeling like a plonker)

To cut a long story short, a few phone calls and a lot of frazzled nerves later, the directories are being collected tomorrow...Yes, ALL of them.




No, no no... I've got YOUR number!

What Will Define Your Life in 2006?

This was the subject of the great message pastor Gary spoke about this week-end. It was a really though provoking message, because it got me thinking about what I have allowed to define my life over the last few years and where that has brought me to.

'Where you're at in your life is entirely your own fault.'

And that applies both positively and negatively. That means that what you do with where you are now determines where you will be tomorrow. So often we refer to 'defining moments', but the truth is, a moment can only define you if you allow it to.

The challenge we have out of this is to take the 'Jesus approach'. In Mark 14:36 we find Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying that he be relieved of the responsibility if he could, but 'nevertheless let not my will but your will be done.' Nevertheless. Never the less. Now THERE'S a thought! Never being the lesser, or choosing the lesser or living the lesser. He lived for the greater- the knowledge of what would be achieved through the self denial and self sacrifice (which was NOT something as insignificant as cutting coffee out of his diet, we're talking Death here) and because of that he allowed his purpose to define his life, not his circumstances. Suddenly the phrase 'take up your cross daily and follow me' takes on a whole new perspective.

Perhaps there's a lesson here, just waiting to be learned. What do you think?
Perhaps.

The Passion

Tonight is a big night in the Greystoke Palace. Three of us (the other three decided that we were not interesting enough to hang out with) are cooking a nice meal of roast chicken, salad and veggies (there will be wine and dessert as well) and then watching the Passion of Christ film. Why all together? Because we'll need each other for moral support! As Anneke said to me in her last e-mail: 'Do we have enough tissues?'. I certainly hope so! (can you see us all with puffy eyes in the morning? )

It's really funny, last night we were sitting in our room when Debbie got home and she had started reading The Final Quest, which is what I'm reading at the moment and I highly recommend it, and was so excited about the book that we spent the next hour reading part 1 of the book together. It went down so well that we are having session 2 (ie part 2 of the book) as our prelude to The Passion. What more could you ask for- Great food, great company and great entertainment. Bring it on!

London Weather Farce

5-Day Forecast for London

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
42 ° | 32 °	41 ° | 33 °	41 ° | 35 °	39 ° | 35 °	42 ° | 39 °
Overcast	Partly Cloudy	Partly Cloudy	Scattered Clouds	Partly Cloudy

So here you can see London's weather forecast for the next 5 days. Tell me one thing- is it right for it to be this cold AND NOT SNOW?!?!?!?! (to give you an idea- 42 Deg's Fahrenheit is only 6 Deg's Celcius.) Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the cold too much. It used to drive me crazy, but I've actually learned to live with it in a strange kind of way. (That may be because I get to wear funky hats and scraves and things which you can't do in warm weather, and I do love my hats...) But be serious, this weather is just teasing us. One day it's nice and mild, the next it feels like your skin is freezing to your face. You know the pins and needles sensation? Yeah, THAT COLD! And no snow, come on! You know what I hear? It's too cold for snow. Too cold. For Snow. I mean really.

Quotes Etc.

Some of my favourite quotes. (And other random bits of wisdom.)

"A foolish man thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."
William Shakespeare

"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."
Albert Einstein

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

"Seek the wisdom of ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child."
Ron Wild

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird. It would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present and you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."
C.S Lewis

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae

All's fair in love and war.
Proverb

A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.
Chinese Proverb

Skype

There's this great internet chat facility called SKYPE and it's such and easy way to keep in touch that I would seriously recommend it to anyone- especially if you have friends and family abroad!

Check it out:



Get Skype and call me for free.

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

Back to Reality

I'm sitting here on the couch, watching 'What Women Want' for the 100th time and enjoying my last few hours of holiday. I can't believe that tomorrow is back to reality. I've had such a great week of doing nothing and chilling out that I almost can't face the idea of getting back to work, but such is life. As the Monty Python Boys say: 'Always Look at the Bright Side of Life'.
(They say a great many other things that we will not discuss here...)
It's been an interesting day, one of those where you think to yourself- if my head wasn't screwed onto my body I would have left it somewhere. I stayed over at a friend's place in Thamesmead last night and then had to travel in to South West London to have lunch with someone today. We went to TGI Fridays (which was really great, good food and cool decor) and had WAY too much to eat. But of course I had to go and forget my backpack in the restaurant, not my phone or wallet or anything simple like that, it had to be the WHOLE BACKPACK. Go big or go home I suppose. To make things worse, I only realised that I didn't have my bag by the time I got home, so I had to phone the restaurant and arrange for the waiter to keep the bag aside and then phone Tim to collect the bag for me so I can pick it up from him tomorrow, because (get this) my house keys are in the bag. Great, huh? What a start to the new year. Hehehe. I'm reminded of a song: Things can only get better...
I sure hope so!

Now, for entertainment value, here are a few more pictures of Christmas and New Year and so on... Enjoy.

(Oooooh... Mel Gibson just got the girl! How sweet! No matter how many times I watch this film, it never gets dull!)




Breakfast in Covent Garden. Not quite My Fair Lady Style, but close enough.



We had our New Year's Services in the Wembley Conference Centre yesterday with the Katinas.



Welcome Home, in Wembley. ( I can see this becoming a regular venue in future...)



Va Va Voom! Fireworks!

2-0-0-6

Officially 2006. Wow, what happened to 2005? What happened to 1999 for that matter? You know, it's true that time moves faster with every year that passes. It seems like a year now passes in the equivalent of 6 months, especially in London. You've heard of the "New York Minute"? Well try the London Annum for a change. Don't get me wrong- I really love London, and I have come to appreciate the fast-paced life and the excitement of this city I call home. Living here has taught me much about life. About how scary and daunting and wonderful it is and how your own perspective determines your own reality.

What does 2006 look like for you? What dreams are coming to the forefront and what is your greatest desire for the year? Are you nervous? Excited? Scared? All of the above? It feels like we have just broken the ice and are now plunging into the water to see how deep it goes. I believe that this will be a year of big things and many defining moments. And even though I know that there will be many challenges, I am almost holding my breath in anticipation... It is unknown and undiscovered, but never have I started the year with such a faith that 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'

What is waiting around the corner? Only God knows, and maybe, just maybe, that's exactly the way it is supposed to be.

Bring it on 2006!

A Beautiful Card from PostSecret

Wisdom

When I have ceased to break my wings
Against the faultiness of things,
And learned that compromises wait
Behind each hardly opened gate,
When I have looked Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange -- my youth.

Sara Teasdale