Netbook Fun

Last Saturday i enjoyed a rare experience of what is commonly described as 'retail therapy'. I have never been much of a believer in the medicinal properties of shopping, mostly because i have never had access to enough money to feel simple joy and release when buying new things, my purchases, rather, tend to be infused with feelings of worry and regret.

On Saturday, however, it was different. This time i had money in my pocket that had no other purpose except to be spent AND the thing i was buying could not only be justified as useful but could also be considered a bit of a bargain.

The money had come from the belly of a yellow spotted elephant i keep on my bedside.In a flashback to the simple days of childhood spending i have been saving my pocket money. Spending was always so much easier when you were a kid, you earned it, you saved it, you spent it. It never entered your head that perhaps this money should be kept on one side in case the boiler broke or the exhaust fell off the car. If you managed to save £25 from your paper round (which believe me was no mean feat round our way.......our paper shop paid a whopping £3.60 a week for a paper round- that was 60p a day for between 50 and 60 papers- an hours worth of delivery- per day- six days a week- i believe we would call that child slave labour these days, in fact, i'm not sure why we didn't back then- it was only the nineties!!!). What was i saying?........Oh yeah so IF you managed to save £25 from your paper round then you had no qualms about blowing it all on that new babyliss product that must surely be the breakthrough you've been waiting for in hairstyling technology, the one that will finally give you the glossy curls you've always dreamed of. I'm afraid i was a bit of a sucker for the promise of the beauty section in the argos catalogue as a youngster, not a birthday or Christmas passed by without the receipt of a much requested and highly anticipated but eventually tragically disappointing electrical beauty product.

Anyway in an effort to rekindle this kind of guilt free spending i have been saving up little scraps of money i get here and there, namely the tips i get in the cafe two days a week and the money i earn from an extremely professional and important ironing service i provide for my sister-in-law. And so, many months of saving later and i have enough to treat myself to a new computer...... one of those cute little miniature ones........i believe the technical term is a 'netbook'. I love it!! It's black and shiny and makes cute little noises when you turn it on. Lindon tells me it's also a very good computer in terms of it's processing power yadayada but i've no idea really, it works........... and it's black and shiny!

The other really great thing about this computer is it's mine! I'm aware that this makes me sound very greedy and selfish but i don't really mean it like that. I just mean it's not the house computer, or the work computer or the uni computer. It's not full of things i don't understand or know how to get the best out of. The desktop is not swimming in icons that dazzle me and prevent me from seeing the only one that i want. It's not that i don't want anyone else to use this computer it's just that i really like that it's tailored to me. In fact, i'm becoming somewhat of a computer nerd now i have one of my own. Suddenly it occurrs to me that all kinds of things could be done on computer.......accounts, sermons, journalling, to do lists, christmas shopping (i've traditionally been quite attached to the old pen and paper).

I also particularly enjoy the miniature aspect of my computer. You can literally take it anywhere with you. I have acquired a new pink pouch in which to carry my shiny new toy and have subsequently taken it shopping with me twice. I have yet to actually USE it out and about but i am full of good intention. The theory, on both the aforementioned trips to the shops, was that i would get my jobs done in town and do a bit of computer work in a cafe and enjoy the change of scenery (not to mention getting to feel all important sitting in the cafe tapping away as if my work was so important that the world could not afford to wait for me to finish my coffee and get back to the office lol).

Many people have grown up with a picture of God that kinda resembles their parents dusty old computer which sits on a giant computer desk taking up the whole study. It's not really their's, and it's not really useful, except in emergencies. The bible paints a different picture of God. It describes a God who is personalised, who knows us and wants us to know him. It describes a God who can and will be involved (and indeed, helpful) in any aspect of life we choose to invite Him into. It describes a God who will go with us anywhere we go, whether we acknowledge Him or not. This miniature, portable netbook that is mine all mine has completely revolutionised my thinking about computers. I wonder if anyone is ready to revolutionise their thinking about God??

A stroll in the countryside.....

Last Saturday 7 friends and i walked the 3 peaks of Yorkshire. That's 3 mountains (perhaps officially large hills but definitely high- complete with their own weather systems) one after the other in a big loop totalling 25 miles!! The challenge is to complete the walk within 12 hours......but for some people on our team it was a challenge to get half way up the first hill so for their sake we just concentrated on making it round at all!!

Our reason for undertaking this seemingly pointless explosion of effort was to raise money for a trip we are planning to take to Romania in December taking food and clothes etc to distribute to those in need. Our friends had been generous and all that stood between us and the money we needed was one very early morning and 3 mountains. The alarm went off at 5am! At five thirty we were in the car and on our way to Horton in Ribblesdale- the dales village where it all starts. We arrived at 6.30am but by the time we finished faffing around, meeting up with the rest of the team, visiting the loo etc it was 6.55am and we were twenty five minutes delayed on our starting time. Nonetheless spirits were high as we set off into the grey dawn and up the first mountain. Pen-y-ghent, however, was not in such a great mood. The fog was thick and the winds were high when we got to the top, but with one mountain down and only two to go we were still feeling pretty confident about our endeavour.

Once we reached the bottom of the first mountain we began the treacherous journey across the bogs..... sinking, wading, leaping, slipping and falling- this was no stroll in the countryside. Thankfully the fog prevented us from seeing just how far away the second mountain was. We eventually reached our rest stop two hours later than expected. The second mountain, Whernside, has a more gentle ascent however the weather that greeted us when we reached the top was outrageous! Thick fog and gale force winds battered us as we tried to navigate our way along the ridge that runs along the summit. Walking sideways and being blown into the wall was exciting for the first 5 mins but after twenty it was no longer funny! Finally we staggered into the shelter that marks the top and hid behind the wall- Phew, 2 down!!

The descent from Whernside ought to have been a pleasure considering the hideous weather conditions we were leaving behind and the promise of being two thirds of the way there, but unfortunately injury struck! Hannah, who had persevered without complaint despite acquiring serious blisters within the first hour was now suffering with a serious knee injury and could hardly walk down the hill. Limping and wincing with every step i tried to help her hobble down to safety.

Enter the hero.

Feeling sprightly and good natured and upset that Hannah was upset Lindon stepped up to save the day. Knight in shining armour- he would give Hannah a piggy back down the hill! It was a lovely idea but unfortunately it resulted in a second knee injury and we had to leave both Hannah and Lindon with the support team at the bottom.

We were five now and we were tired. We'd been walking for 9 hours already and we still had one mountain to climb. With a distance still to go before we even reached the base of Ingleborough, plus a long long walk back to the car it was starting to feel like a bad idea. I was particularly worried about the daylight situation, we were never going to make it back before the sun set in 2 hours time, thank goodness i'd put torch on the list of important things to bring!!!

The ascent to Ingleborough is short and sharp.......at least it would have been short if we hadn't had to stop for a rest every three steps. The summit was, once again, insanely windy and foggy and so despite climbing three mountains that day we enjoyed exactly NO panoramic vista's. Instead we were lucky enough to receive an insight into what life would be like on pluto......cold, bleak and lifeless. It appeared that anyone else climbing Ingleborough that day had sensibly set off home a few hours ago to make sure they didn't get caught out in the dark.

We began our descent home feeling satisfied.....we had done it....... 3 mountains, one day......lots of money .....and all for a good cause. Now all we had to do was stumble back to the car and we would never have to use our legs again!!!

Unfortunately stumbling back to the car took forever!!

It was SO dark!!! You know when you go the the beach at midnight and it's completely dark. There's no street lights for miles and you look up into the sky and you go "woah"..... "look at all those stars!!!" As long as your lying on your back looking up at those stars it's beautiful right? But then you try and find your way back to the car and you can't see a thing, at all, and your stumbling and tripping and you can't remember where the path was.......

Oh well at least we had torches..........

Or so i thought........ Mine had a dead battery, Jimbob had dropped his on the way down the last mountain and it no longer worked, no one else had read the list of important things to bring and so it turned out that between the 5 of us we had my back-up emergency wind up torch and Steve's iphone. Brilliant!

It took some time and we got a bit scared but with the help of sonar technology (i.e Lindon shouting "hello" from the car and us walking towards his voice) we made it back. Thirteen hours and twenty minutes after we set off. Not exactly a world record speed wise but a world changing example of team spirit. We had helped and encouraged each other all the way and together we have raised about £1500, enough to make our trip to Romania a reality!!

In anticipation of our trip to Romania in December i have spent some time today looking at the country's history and current status on the internet. Previous to our recent plans to visit my only knowledge of Romania was the harrowing images of the orphanages, discovered there after the revolution, and broadcast on our news programs in the early nineties.

Since then Romania has undergone a dramatic transformation. It's economy has boomed and the cities and industries have grown. Romania is now classified as an upper-middle income country. However, this is not the whole story. Many people in Romania are still living in extreme poverty, struggling to satisfy the basic needs of their family; food, medicine, warmth.

http://www.networks.org.ro/

It's pretty depressing looking at the difficult circumstances in which some people are forced to live. And there's so much of it..... all over the world people are suffering in poverty and hardship. And you feel so useless- how can we possibly help them all? Our attempts to help seem so pitiful- like we turned up at an earthquake with a dustpan and brush.

The temptation is to bury our heads in the sand. It's so easy to do that living here in our little Western bubble. Feeling hard done by because we can't afford brand names or a fancy car. It's impossible for us to fully comprehend such lack when we're living amongst such plenty.

But incomprehension and feelings of inadequacy never got anything done. We may not be able to meet all the needs in the world but if we recognise at least one we can focus on doing something about it.

Our trip to Romania in December is not going to meet the needs of the whole country, it's not even gonna come close to meeting the needs of the city we are visiting. But hopefully it will make some small difference to the lives of the people and families we encounter- and if it does......it's still worth doing right???

Chillin out Max and Relaxin all cool

It's funny how time marches on. You look forward to something for months. It feels like it's never gonna come. And then it's here, and your doing it and it's amazing. And then it's over. And your home. And you've been back to normality for a week, and it seems like a distant memory.

Still- it's a very pleasant distant memory!

We had a fantastic time in Portugal. The weather was amazing, 35 degrees centigrade and clear blue skies (bit of shock to the system arriving home!!), the beaches were beautiful and the company (i.e just my lovely husband) was perfect! We swam, walked, read, dozed, snorkelled, sailed and explored our way through a week of pleasure. It was awesome!

One day while visiting the beautiful little beach town of Luz we found a quiet spot on the rocks and dug out our picnic; Chicken sandwiches on white crusty bread with loads of butter, a huge bag of crisps and a bar of chocolate (everyone knows the 5 a day recommendations are suspended when your on holiday). While nourishing our bodies with white carbs, sugar and fat we were treated to the comedy of watching people getting dragged on inflatables across the ocean. Our particular favourite was a giant inflatable sail which we later discovered was named the 'flying fish'. This thing bounced and flew up in the air every time the wind blew- leaving it's passengers clinging on-to what was they're seat, legs flailing out behind them like a flag. Needless to say much screaming and laughing and falling off ensued. We decided we had to have a go!!!

Strolling down the beach we sauntered casually up to the inflatable station trying not to look like two giddy school children and cautiously inquired whether the 'Flying Fish' would be making any more trips today. To our delight and hopelessly disguised excitement we were invited to ride the beast immediately. The gauntlet had been clearly thrown down..... the challenge was clear..... do not fall off this thing no matter what!!

I'm not sure if it was simply because i was a girl or because i screamed like child being tickled the moment we started moving but the man driving the boat seemed to have mercy on me. Lindon not so much. I think the driver thought it would be more funny if he could get the guy to fall in the water but keep the girl on.....and he'd be right!!! The boat sped along and twisted and turned and the fish flew up in the air and I screamed and laughed and was thrown onto the inside of the sail where i could easily climb back on.........meanwhile Lindon was flung to the other side and dragged along with his whole body in the water stubbornly/ valiantly refusing to let go. Fifteen minutes later and i was still smiling (apart from the chafing) while Lindon, though yet to fall, was providing a living explanation for the phrase 'white knuckle ride'. The next day Lindon's arm was so stiff he couldn't lift it up to his mouth, not even when it was holding something good like ice cream.

It's funny what we do for fun. We all love to sit and relax and sleep. But lets face it we'd get kinda bored if that's all we did. God has wired us with a passion for adventure and challenge. Some more than others i concede, for instance, the guys and girls featured in the triathlon magazine i was reading in the waiting room at the dentist today, clearly got more than their fair share. But it's present in all of us. We all have the capacity to embrace hardship and come through to a (hopefully) glorious finish. I know it can be really hard when your going through a difficult time and clinging on for dear life- but when you make through without falling off it feels good right?

The bible has a lot to say about endurance and perseverance because they're a big part of life, and we are encouraged to be strong and not give in when times are hard. But it's not just about what we have to do. The Bible also teaches that in those times of difficulty when we are struggling to hold on, we can call out to him and He will help us.

He's listening.

He's not spying or trying to catch us out.

He's waiting.

Waiting for people to look up from all the chaos that surrounds them and recognise His goodness and love. Waiting for us to ask for His help.

And if we do...... He is ready to answer.

Holiday!!!!!

The day after tomorrow i will be waking up in Yorkshire, lunching in the sky and going to bed in Portugal.

That is blinkin amazing!

It's SO crazy that we can just whizz anywhere in the world in a matter of hours........ and yet we complain that it takes too long! Most of the time i take it for granted but every now and then it hits me how lucky we are to live at a time when it's possible to visit all the different places in the world and see all the different animals and scenery and cultures. Not only are we lucky enough to see all these things described and pictured in a book or filmed and presented on T.V we can ACTUALLY go and visit.

Which brings me to my visit to Portugal. I've never been to Portugal before but apparently everyone i know has. And they all say it's lovely...... so that's a bonus. Ever since i booked it people who've been already have been telling me about it. What the weather was like when they were there, what the beaches are like, what things they saw and did there. Similarly i have had a quick look on the internet at pictures and weather forecasts. I know what the hotel looks like, what the beach looks like and what the temperature will be when we get there on Thursday. (28 degreees C and gloriously sunny in case anyone's interested- not to rub it in or anything!). In theory i know everything there is to know about holidaying in Portugal......i don't really need to go.............but i still WANT to.

Just because you know a bit about a place and have seen some pictures doesn't mean you really know what it's like to be there. The sights, the smells, the atmosphere...... these things can all be described or depicted perfectly but they cannot be truly 'felt' unless you ACTUALLY go. Just because someone you know and trust has been to place and told you all about it, and showed you pictures and given you their opinion doesn't mean you can tick it off your list of places you'd like to visit.

It's funny how we know this instinctively when it come to things like holidays. We want to experience these things for ourselves. If anything, the things other people have told me about Portugal are the very things that make me really want to go. They don't satisfy my desire to holiday, they stir it up.

Some things need to be experienced, they need to be felt. It's not enough just to read about someone else's holiday. It's not enough to watch a romantic comedy and watch the happy couple live a happy ever after. It's not enough to watch that skinny girl on T.V eat a bar of Chocolate!!!

Christianity is one of those things that really needs to be experienced.....that needs to be felt. Your not doing it justice if you just glance at the brochure or take someone else's word for it. You have to invest in something properly to truly discover what it has to offer. I may think i know what it is to holiday in Portugal from my friends and the internet but i won't really know til i fork out my money, take time off work, and get my butt out there.

If your interested in taking some time to investigate the concept of God. If your looking to go deeper than the thoughts and theories about God that you have simply accepted and begin to experience the reality of knowing God in your life then this is what you should do......

Come to an Alpha Course at Cobbles and Clay. Beginning Monday 4th October at 7.30pm and running every Monday for ten weeks, the Alpha Course is an opportunity to explore the Christian Faith. A friendly environment to question and discuss thoughts, fears and hopes.

Bear Grylls did it!!!!

For more information find 'Grapevine 2.0' on Facebook or email grapevinetwopointoh@yahoo.co.uk

Baptism

On Sunday i went to FERN Christian Fellowship's annual baptism service. The baptisms take place in the river at the bottom of the valley........the freezing, stony bottomed, muddy watered river at the bottom of the valley. The sun was shining (which seems unlikely looking out the window at the rain today) and the river looked lovely. Green leafed branches dipping in the dappled water, a squirrel dashing along the bank (honestly there actually was.... i'm not just saying it for effect!). It actually looked quite inviting.

Then people started going in!! Apparently; judging by the screams, contorted faces and chattering teeth, it was FREEZING!!! Four people got baptized i.e. dunked completely under the water, and the photographs i took confirmed my original suspicions........ the water was definitely FREEZING!!

It's a funny thing getting baptized.......especially if your perspective is that of an unsuspecting dog walker who encountered an unusual bunch of people gathered by the river! I like to think of it as being a bit like a wedding........ apart from the obvious difference in outfit choice. When you decide you believe in God and your going to try and follow after his ways with your life, you usually say a prayer to this effect and remember that day as the day you became a Christian. This is kinda like getting engaged......you have decided you and God are going to spend the rest of your lives together...... you plan on involving God in your life till the day you die. This commitment is between you and God...... you tell people, but only you really know how serious you are.

Now you see where i'm going with the whole baptism/ wedding thing. Getting baptised is like the big day...... you invite all you friends and celebrate the commitment you've made to God. It's the big display, the sign to everyone else of the commitment you made in your heart!

Getting baptised is not magic. It's not a ticket to heaven or an initiation ceremony into a mystical society to which you are forever bound. It's a person, making a commitment, to follow God.

Is it worth the effort?

I think my dog has 'ADHD'. He's a twitcher. He cannot stand to be still. Right now he is lying down in front of me in an awkward 'i'm lying down because you made me, not because i'm comfy' kind of position, whining relentlessly. I wouldn't mind if he was badly done to, but we're talking about a dog who has just got back from an hours walk in the wind and the rain, been fed a big bowl of gross smelling dog food and is now in trapped (poor soul) in a room full of toys with a warm fire blazing. What kind of dog doesn't settle in front of the fire and go to sleep in that scenario. Or even if he wasn't sleepy you would think he would be happy to curl up with a chew toy. But not Blue, bless him.......he just cannot understand why i would want to do anything other than throw his ball or tug his rope.

Ok so the dog seems to have settled now that he's been in and out of the room several times creating draughts and being a general nuisance. Now it's the cats turn. Independent and stand- off-ish as she normally is Bell has decided that today she wants to sit on my lap.....on the laptop on my lap (I just very nearly lost everything i have written so far). She would also like to use the corner of the laptop screen to scratch her head, which would be fine if the hinge on our laptop wasn't broken and the screen didn't keep falling flat. Bell would also like to go out now please. And back in again now please. That's lovely......out again please...... i'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Pets eh! They get in the way, they make lots of mess, they cost lots of money and they take lots of work. And yet........i'd hate to be without them. They're my little buddies, they keep me company, they bring me so much joy, i love to watch them and marvel at their crazy little characters. Taking a dog on a walk is so much more rewarding than just going for a walk by yourself. They just love it so much. Every day i take Bluey for a walk. And every day when i pick up his lead he looks like he just won the lottery. All his dreams have come true. It doesn't matter that we're walking the exact same route we did yesterday. It doesn't matter that it's rainy and cold and blowing a gale (secretly i think this is in fact Bluey particular favourite kind of weather). And then when your out walking his tails up and he's bounding around like he's just been released from a ten year stint down a mine. I feel like i just gave him the gift of a lifetime, and honestly, it really wasn't that much effort on my part.

I love my pets. Sometimes they drive me crazy..... but they're always worth it.

The best things in life always take bit of work don't they. Family, for instance. Families always require effort and patience, money and time but who would be without them. Relationships of any kind are complicated and require sacrifice but very few people would be happy living all alone. Sometime when i'm tired and stressed out and everything seems hard work i just want to curl up in a ball and not have to deal with or think about anyone or anything. But if i'm honest, i think i'd soon get bored. Not to mention the pins and needles and the compulsion to eat!!!

Some things are worth the effort. We each get to decide what's worth the effort for us. Some relationships are worth the effort, some aren't. I think pets are worth the effort, many people don't. Families are usually worth the effort. Careers are worth a certain amount of effort, though we have to be careful not to put all our efforts in this particular basket. Health is probably worth the effort, even if it's sometimes hard to see that when faced with the option of walk or a run vs the sofa and a bag of malteasers!

I think faith is worth the effort. Some days it seems like it would be a lot easier not to believe in God. I could just live my life however i wanted, i could be entirely selfish. I could stay in an watch TV on sundays and mondays. But then i wouldn't know the comfort and security of having God by my side through every situation. I wouldn't have an overriding purpose for my life that makes everything seem worth while. I wouldn't know God's unconditional love and forgiveness in my heart giving me value and self worth. Jesus said that if we chose to follow his way with our lives it would be like choosing a narrow path instead of a big broad easy route. But he also said that if we did choose to follow him...........it would definitely be worth the effort!