Cycle-tastic

Recently I've become much more likely to cycle somewhere than take the bus/train. 

Various reasons:

• Cheaper
• Sometimes quicker
• Good exercise
• Makes me know areas better

CHEAPER: 

Now my head office has moved into central London it costs me £5.10 at peak times to get there/back. Whereas I could just hop on a bus (and my work pay for my bus pass...), now I have to get a train and tube. Thankfully I only HAVE to do this on Mondays for staff meeting...but even still I have tested out cycling into work and it's doable. It takes about 50 mins from my house which is roughly the same amount of time it takes to go by train (when you include walking from my house to the station). I don't think I'll be doing it all the time (defo not in rain/adverse weather conditions) but as much as is feasibly possible.

QUICKER: 

Around Lewisham sometimes it is quicker just to cycle. Means I don't have to wait for a bus. Places aren't near enough that you can walk to them all, but cycling is generally quicker than waiting for a bus and then stopping every few mins at stops. 

GOOD EXERCISE:

If you know me you know that I love sports. I always have. I used to play loads of things at uni but since coming to London it's been really tricky to find a sports team which I can flexibly join. Work/Church means I don't have loads of spare time in evenings/weekends and so I can never be free enough to train and play in games. Cycling is good exercise seeing as I am not doing any other form of it any more!

MAKES ME KNOW AREAS BETTER:

I've been living in Lewisham for over a year now and feel like I know it quite well. I know pretty much every bus route, all the stations, generally know how areas link up....BUT I don't know short cuts...to me knowing short cuts is a sign you know a place inside out :) Cycling helps to really know areas better as you don't always stick to roads. 

HOWEVER..cycling in London does not have a good press. It is a bit mental. What would your top tips be for me cycling about? 

Revenge

No I'm not talking about revenge against someone, I'm talking about the TV series that has been running on E4. The first series finished last week and to be quite honest I am hooked! I am really sad it has stopped for a while as it means I have to wait to find out what happens next.

Now firstly who know's exactly what I'm talking about?

Everyone else I'll give you a very brief overview. 

Main protagonist is a lady called Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke. Her REAL name is Amanda Clarke but she's switched identities with someone else because she is trying to avenge her father's death. 

When she was about 6-7 her dad was framed for a crime he didn't commit. He was framed by the woman (Victoria) he was having an affair with, her husband (Conrad) and his insurance company (Grayson Global). They are called the Grayson's. While he was in prison Conrad paid someone to kill him and make it look accidental. 

Amanda grows up and is in and out of juvenile detention because she's been in care most of her young life and when she leaves she meets a guy called Nolan who was someone her dad trusted and who gives her a box of all the journals her dad wrote while he was in prison and all the letters he wrote to her about what happened. Her dad's message is DON'T TAKE REVENGE. 

However, Amanda is adamant that she has to bring the Grayson's to justice, but instead of doing it legally the whole series is about how she, one by one, targets everyone who was involved in the trial. So she burns someone's house down, kills a security guard, orchestrates events so that various people are attacked/kidnapped. All to wreak havoc for the Graysons.

While this is going on she also starts to date the Grayson's son Daniel and whereas at one point she really thinks he is not going to be like his parents, slowly she realises he is a Grayson through and through and so he makes himself a target.

Ultimately Amanda/Emily is really evil - she can't let things go and will stop at nothing to pay people back for what they've done. However, the way the series is means that you end up being on her side the whole way through and totally wanting her to succeed. 

I have LOVED this series and can't wait for series 2 to appear so I can find out how the next events will unfold. However, is it good to like a series which clearly is not teaching good, biblical morals?

Adam Young

Over the past couple weeks I have read a few blog posts and been listening to some music by a guy called Adam Young....otherwise known as the main dude in Owl City (a band for those of you who I can guess are thinking whaaaa?)

Anyway, I found out that Adam Young is a Christian. Now I find this very exciting/surprising because:
a) there are generally VERY few Christian artists who are in the secular charts 
b) this guy is decent - like it's not he's begging Christians to buy his music, the music is good!

I was reading this blog I started to follow not too long ago and that was after having read my friend Karis' blog a few days earlier...both were saying how awesome Adam Young was and both were speaking about praying for him in his position. Firstly I hadn't even realised who he was and even when I had I hadn't thought of praying for him. But yea he's someone a lot of people look up to. No doubt there are a lot of temptations.

Anyway - I thought I would give you some links that Adam has written himself on his blog so you can see what I mean about wanting to support and encourage someone like this.
http://www.ayoungblog.com/post/28347099150/ebullient

http://www.ayoungblog.com/post/28347353944/rainbow-in-the-cloud

Also here is a song from Owl City's latest album - it is talking about staying alive forever.

I'm here!!

So today has been pretty jam-packed so far what with doing last min packing and then getting it into various cars and moving it across. But thanks to the help of Luke, Jo (and Tim) and Ada I am here!!

So I have been unpacking and trying to organise myself very vaguely. However I have been doing that for a couple of hours and now I am having a break and while I am on it I'll take you on a tour of the new place 

First up - the living room. Sorry about the quality of the photos, I took them with the camera on my laptop (my actual camera is packed somewhere) and it's not fantastic picture-wise. I'm standing where the door of the room is and just out of shot to the right is another sofa (which I am sitting on as I type).

This is the kitchen - and it has a view into our garden!! Which I have to confess could do with a little work but it's cool I have a garden. Also I am living with a baker-extraordinaire, she has like 15 baking books in the kitchen alone!

Bathroom - you can't see but the shower to the right is HUGE. I reckon you could get 4 people comfortably in there...not that I will be testing it as I shower but it's good to know that I have to space as I sing in the shower. 

This is my new room! As you can see...still lots of work to do but that's cool. I have a huge mirror in there which makes it seem very bright and I am enjoying finding places for everything.

My new housemate Beth is out today which is kind of cool as I can just blast the unpacking and not worry right now about the mess I'm creating. I am very aware that this house is very white and clean....eeek. 

Right now must get back on with the unpacking.

3 days 3 dates

Before you all start with the "dates ay....*wink wink*" the title of this post is more to do with social engagements rather than romantic dates so don't get your hopes up. 3 days 3 social engagements didn't quite have the same ring.

Anyway this post is all about the first part of this week and how I managed to see 3 totally cool sets of people in that time.

First up on Monday was Lucy - what a winner. I have known Lucy since year 7 and miraculously we have managed to stay in touch despite going to different 6th forms and universities. We met up for the first time in over a year and had such a GOOD catch up. Like really ace to be able to have the depth that only comes really with knowing someone for a long time. She is a very big encouragement to me. 

Second on Tuesday were my friends Rebecca and Aziz. So I know Rebecca because she is a teacher in one of the schools I work in. We have become friends over the last 6 months and she and her husband have just moved house. They invited me over for dinner and to pass on a load of boxes in an effort to help my packing. Now this evening was great for 2 reasons - 1. It was really cool to get to know them both a bit better - I love getting to know people and these guys are LOVELY. 2. They live in a house where kareoke is actively encouraged :) I was loving it!

Thirdly on Wednesday I got to see my friends the Seedhouses. Katy, Dave and baby Joseph. Katy and I have literally grown up together (family friends) and it's been really exciting over the last 6 months to see how she has transitioned to being a mummy. I spent the afternoon with her catching up and playing with Joseph (SUCH A CUTIE). She is a fab mum and seems to know loads already! If I ever have kids I reckon she will be a good port of call for all my queries. 

Now it's Friday and I am moving house TOMORROW. ARGH. 

Lots to do. Like pack....eek!

This is gross

So today I was at work minding my own business when...

BAM!

I read this article and it has FREAKED me out!

Don't read if you are in any way OCD

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19834975

Keep or Chuck

Who has ever had to move house?

Who has ever had to go through the painful and mind-numbing-ly boring job of packing?

Who has ever had a conundrum of what to keep and what to chuck?

If you answered yes to those 3 questions then you have a vaguely good idea of whereabouts mentally I am at right now.

My room has been 1/4 packed. All my books, cd's and dvds are in boxes, along with some folders and files. Now that took me about 3-4 hours to do. I still have to pack all my clothes and shoes, everything that is on top of my desk, my bedding, sports gear and miscellaneous items. 

However I have a slight issue. I am somewhat of a hoarder. Like I don't hold onto random drawings kids have done for me...but I do have 2 shoe boxes full of letters people have written to me over the years...and a file of old uni essays I have written. Is that wrong?!

Is it wrong to hold onto sentimental items that I feel show me where I have come from? 

I have a TERRIBLE memory. Literally it is very bad. I often will not be able to remember a conversation had a few days ago. I cannot remember significant events in my own life! Like I genuinely couldn't remember that I had gone on a trip to the French Alps in year 9 until someone showed me a photo of me being there. 

So on the pro side for keeping items, I feel like they are a part of my history and so by looking at them, reading them, remembering the stories behind them, it pieces together things I have done in the past which I might otherwise forget.

On the con side of keeping items. They take up room. They ultimately might sit in a box or draw completely forgotten about until I decide to rummage through...which could be once a year...or not until the next time I move...

It's difficult. How do you choose whether to keep or chuck?! What happens if I throw things away and then really regret it? But then what happens if I keep things for ages just because I'm worried about potentially missing something that I won't actually miss??

HOW DO I DECIDE??

Any advice? Please!  

Kisumu

I don't know how many of you know that I am a Trustee of a charity that runs an orphanage in Kenya??

Well I am!

It's called the Kisumu Children's Trust and has been running for about 14 years in an official capacity. 

We run an orphanage based in Tieng're which is a village on the outskirts of Kisumu (the 3rd largest city in Kenya - see map below). The orphanage houses about 48 kids and supports more children in the community through feeding projects. 

The aim of the charity is to help the children of this community and:

• To help those in greatest need
• To love and care for them individually
• To raise them in a Christian environment
• To educate them and so enable them to achieve their full potential
• To prepare them for life in the community
• To encourage them to be an asset to society

So you might be wondering how and why I got into this. Both valid questions...

How: So my mum does some casual admin work for a guy called Peter - he heads up this charity. One day when he needed some extra help I went along and we got chatting about how I love Africa and about some of my excursions out there. He went away and then wrote to me asking me if I would consider becoming a Trustee involving promoting the work of KCT. I had a think...

Why: I decided to say YES for 2 reasons:

• #1. Because I think as a Christian I should help other people as far as I possibly can - serve them and bless them because I have the capacity to be able to do that. This was an opportunity to reach kids who had no parents and to look after them.
• #2. When I was 16 I went to Malawi. It was my first jaunt to Africa and during that trip I got a real heart for the country. I have always felt that at some point God will call me back to work there in some way. This was an opportunity to get involved in something that could turn into bigger opportunities. 

So since January I have been a Trustee. What does that actually mean? 

Well we have meetings 5 times a year to discuss the running of the home, finances, community work and development. I am then on a sub-committee that's focus is on the promotion of the charity. So we look for opportunities to fund-raise or get a wider audience to know more about us. 

In that regard, if you have any brilliant fund raising ideas please pass them on. Or if you are thinking about doing a sponsored event (run, cycle, bounce etc) please think about supporting Kisumu Children's Trust. Because we are a small charity we are really personal and so can tell you exactly where your money goes and how it's used. 

If you want to keep up to date with things we do maybe think about "liking" us on facebook

I am also trying to plan a trip to Kenya in the summer of 2013 so if you are interested in potentially coming too - let me know! 

Encourage

I know I've probably said it before (and there is most likely a post to prove it) but I love it when people send me Bible verses.

Especially when I'm just sitting on the bus on the way to work and I get a text out of the blue from someone I haven't seen in a while and they say "was just reading this and was encouraged and so wanted to share it with you"....

In case you haven't clocked, that happened to me today - my friend Becca sent me a verse which actually changed my attitude this morning.

I was on my way to work and I don't think I was in a bad mood or anything, but I don't think my focus was on going to serve God (which is ultimately where I want it to be). Bec texts me with a verse (Romans 1:16) which was all about not being ashamed about believing in Jesus and what he has done. It was such a wake up call to help focus me for the day...I think I can easily become complacent and lulled into this false sense of security that because everything is going well and that I am on top of things that I don't need to "work" as hard with my spiritual life. In fact actually I think I need to be consistent in my relationship with God and not get get lazy about what I believe. There is a verse which says to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, and there are times when I'm not ready...I mean I can do a fairly hodge-podge job of it...but if this is important to me I should be ready. 

I love how the Bible has power. Like it says that God's word is living and active and I believe it because I know that there are times when I read verses and it's like I breathe a bit deeper - like I am drinking in something that I can't get from anywhere else. That verse this morning had the impact of changing my attitude and then I shared it in my team meeting to help focus us for the day...hopefully the impact was passed on. 

I think there is always something nice when you are encouraged by someone. For me I love to be encouraged, but there is something deeper when you encourage me with the Bible. I mean words are words - you can tell me anything really, but God's word doesn't change, in 2 Timothy 16 it says:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

One of my favourite parts of the Bible is Psalm 119 - it is also the longest chapter of the Bible so be prepared for lots of reading if you want to give it a go. But the reason I like it is because of the writers love for God's word...I want my heart to be like this -  
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (v11)
"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long" (v97)

Wherever I'm at there is always something in God's word that gives me strength. Thanks Becca for reminding me today.

Cannabis

Only something short today but this article made me laugh and I wanted to share for your enjoyment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-19868327

many thanks to Jess for sharing this with me :)

Big News

Well done those of you who have been patient enough to wait for the news...

...I've been wanting to share for a couple days now but had to tell a few people first.

Firstly, no I am not going out with, engaged, married or pregnant to or with anyone.

BUT...

I am moving house!

To me that is big news. 

I couldn't say before because a) I had to confirm it, and b) thought I should actually tell my current land lady I was moving out. 

Now both of those things have been done and it is all sorted and in 2 weeks I am moving to the other side of Catford, to live with a girl I know from Church in our very own little house. 

I will post some pics once I've moved but it's an ace house - also has a garden with an apple (or pear...can't quite remember) tree in it. 

Feel free to bombard me with new house cards/gifts :)

A week in brief

Every night this week I have thought to myself "I want to blog, but I'm too tired...I'll do it tomorrow". 

BUT not tonight! I just want to get things out of my head so I can have some more room for new things. Here is the week in brief:

Monday: Had my appraisal, which was really positive. Got given a few goals and challenges to work towards which have been making my brain spin non-stop. I went to see a young person we work with and their parents to speak about the person's behaviour at one of our projects and wow - reminded me that some families are really broken. Also made me realise how lucky I have been.

Tuesday: Was a bit of a rubbish day - me reacting and being misunderstood got me into trouble at work and the day after a really good appraisal I was then on the verge of having disciplinary action. Thankfully it was all sorted by the end of the day, but it was a bit of a stress in the meantime. Spent my evening catching up with Sian (friend from school/uni) at a really nice restaurant. Yes I did manage to throw a glass of water EVERYWHERE pretty much as soon as we sat down but the waitress was lovely and the evening was a lot of fun.

Wednesday: Spent the morning looking after a little guy called Theo - we went and did a tour of estate play parks in Deptford...there are a lot! Then had an afternoon in the office sorting out various bits and bobs. In the evening went to see a play in Peckham called "The Girls - Stories from the PRU*". It was immense - defo not a happy story but it was a story about what goes on in young people's lives to make them end up in PRU's (pupil referral units - where you get sent if you are kicked out of school and no other school will take you...full of naughty kids). All the actors were playing themselves 4 years earlier and it was very very powerful. Would recommend - it's moving to Brighton next I think.

Thursday: Had a lie in! Also at our Girls Group in the evening they had had an invite to Alpha at my Church. Surprisingly they wanted to go and see what it was about. Now these girls generally don't go to Church - a couple have never been, some have gone just for special occasions and others are forced to go every week. So we took 9 and they got on pretty well - we had chicken for dinner which was always going to go down well! They listened to the talk and engaged (some more than others) in a discussion. 3 of them want to go back which is really positive. I had been convinced it was going to be a nightmare and that they would be really anti. God is bigger than my expectations - thank goodness.

Friday: LONG day. Had a meeting first thing and then managed to squeeze in a quick coffee/cake with my friend Rebecca from Church/school. Came back to the office and had my teams first pastoral meeting with Sarah (another friend from Church) who is looking out for my team this year. Other work happened and then this evening I was on the bus project we run in Deptford and it was a bit mental because just getting there on the bus I saw a motorcyclist get knocked off their bike, and then while we were setting up 2 cars crashed just next to where the bus was parked. Kids were great though and had a really enjoyable session.

It's been really busy this week - got a chilled weekend though. Also got some news to share, but can't quite share it yet...watch this space.

Reuniting

Last night I had the joy of meeting up with some of my friends from uni. 

It was joyful for 2 main reasons:
#1. They are super good friends who I don't see very much so it was great to catch up
#2. They are the type of people who know me so well I don't have to worry about what I say or how it's interpreted because they know me.

Who were they?!

First up. Lydia.

an ex-housemate of mine. 

English and creative writing graduate, tea addict, book worm and general wise woman.

In brief - absolute hoot.

Next up. Sarah.

My successor as CU VP (Christian Union Vice President). Contemporary dancer, artist, photographer, and serial apologiser.

aka - the creative one.

Lastly but not least. Chris

(note. very old photo - both our hair has changed a lot since then!) Friend of old, advice giver, historian, theological debater.

aka. the one who's getting a phd.

Chris and Sarah = married

This was only the second time I had seen them since their wedding in August, even though they just live down the road in Crayford.

I had such a winner of an evening reminiscing over events that happened while we were at uni, as well as chuckling about where we are all at now. 

I loved it. Friends are so so good. Let's do it again soon please. Lydia...move to London. Now.