precious1

nearly there....

2007-01-16T14:28:00.000Z

Well here we are...at the end of the first semester! What ever one of them is!!

Most of you are now looking forward I'm sure to your first placement. I have to admit a slight pang of jealousy towards you all. The thought of starting at a brand new project sounds really exciting. None the less, I am endeavouring to offer new experiences to the young people that we already work with, just to keep it fresh and exciting.

We are opening the centre for another drop-in session from today. Aimed at the local high school youth who walk past our door by the hundreds at 3.15pm. The debate that Colin and I have is whether to advertise it or not. We currently have a turnover of about 15YP who come on a Friday and hope that they will take advantage of Tuesdays' too. The centre has the capacity to hold more nut currently it is Colin and I who are manning the sessions. thus if we advertise it to more YP then we have the dilemma of either finding more volunteers (always a dodgy thought as you never know who you might get) or putting a limit on the number of YP who can get in at any one time...first come first served basis!!

A topic for your prayers if you feel inclined....God is great and gives us wonderful opportunities, pray that we are not slow to follow His lead or indeed miss the opportunity.....

blessings

Moira

2007-01-15T16:13:00.000Z

Alex Ferguson Job offer

2006-11-28T00:49:00.000Z

Yes, Fergie himself has been sacked and Colin and I have been offered joint managership of Manchester united. Obviously we have had to decline the offer on grounds of 'they couldn't affored us!!'

Why Colin and I? Well having had five teams in the 3 leagues of the AIS SUPER SIXES competition I think that that would be enough. But add to that the winning of the U12's league coming second in U12's and U16's and then the creme de la creme on Saturday night we won not one CUP, not two CUPs but yea we cleared the board and won all three cup competitions in all three leagues!!!! It was blatently obvious that we would be the ones to take over from fergie's 20 year run and Man U!! Shame that Colin is a hoops man and me a blue nose!!

Well done to the lads and girls of our football teams, it was they that won those awards, NOT Colin and I.

Does God allow bad things to happen?

2006-11-27T23:37:00.000Z

This could so easily develop into a discussion on freewill and predestination. To a degree I believe it is actually both. A bit like Danny Brierley and his book Joined Up, I don't think it's an either or but a both and situation.

To explain further; We were created in His image and given freewill. Genesis tells us this. That freewill led us into various situations which God already knew about. After all he created us. He knew that we would get it wrong, but He created us with freewill so that we would choose to love Him, not out of some strange dictatorship but out of a pure desire and delight to be in relationship with Him.

Does He allow bad things to happen? YES is the short answer. It's not that He doesn't care, rather that He loves us. I am sure that as each 'bad' thing happens He stands and looks at us and weeps for us. Weeps for the people who do not yet understand His love. It is being bound by His own rule of love that He cannot intervene.

Many feel that there is a cause and effect on humanity, especially when we are talking about environmental issues. However, lets not forget that as Christians we are chosen by Him (John 15: 16) and therefore not all 'bad' things are of our doing. Jesus talks about there being wars and rumours of wars and famines, and as we journey in our faith we will surely realise that as these things become progressively closer then so to do the 'bad' things that we see and hear about almost daily. These are things that God has already prophesied about. Then surely as Christians should we (not) 'delight' in such happenings, but be mindful that it has already been foretold!

Just as in the same way as we have been chosen and some will not be chosen. 'Well if we are already chosen then why bother ?' This does not mean that we do not evangelise or

continue in our missionary roles. Yes some will be saved and others not, but our responsibility is to act responsibly. Could you live knowing what you do about God and not endeavour to tell others about a man who loves you regardless? Could you live with yourself if you didn't?

Almost three years ago now I had one of those moments in my life where I praised God for looking after me. I was traveling to work along my second choice of routes; the first being quicker but having rolled my car into the ditch 6 months previously having spun out on black ice I decided this April morning that the longer route was better.

The A7 from Galashiels to Edinburgh is the main road north from the borders, however it is not dual carriageway and still very windy (something to do with the hills I think). I was traveling north bound a good three/four car lengths behind a transit van, when a fiesta came south bound around a bend on the wrong side of the road. It collided with the van, driver wing to driver wing, into a spin the fiesta came into my line of travel and all I could do was brace my arms and brake hard. The police say that it was an 80mph impact with the combined speeds of the two cars. I hit the passenger side of the fiesta with the front/drivers side of my car. I spun a full 90 degrees to face east.

The first thing I wondered was why were my glasses in the passenger footwell; basically I had turned my head left and the airbag blew them that way! Next I saw smoke coming through the air vents; 'o yes I have had an accident, turn off the ignition'. If I have had an accident I wonder if the door opens; yes it does. Wait what is that noise; o the alarm maybe, no I always drive with side lights on and the ignition is now off so turn off the lights. Can I move? Yes lets get out of here then.

I had more presence of mind then probably than at any other time in my life. I climbed back into the back of my car to retrieve the travel rug for the girl in the fiesta who was much worse.

Basically I walked out of a major road traffic accident, granted I had 5 weeks off work, but in essence I walked out. I had everything to be grateful for. God had most definitely spared me. Or had He?

I spent those five weeks of work trying to make sense of it. I was grateful for Him saving me but why had he let it happen in the first place? This was just a great inconvenience, May was the busiest month in the garden centre business, surely He would know that! In truth, God knew exactly what He was doing, afterall 6 months previously I wrote off the car and went to work the same day as if it was the norm. I hadn't questioned it, it was just bad luck, wrong place wrong time. How was I to know about black ice! What I hadn't realised was that WORK was all I was doing. He didn't allow my accidents to happen, He made them happen!

I know now that God used my love of work and love of driving to invade my heart again. So that I would bring Him back to being the main focus of my life. No I am not a bad driver, God is!! It's God's fault that I am here today in youth work. My 5 week's bizarrely enough was spent reading and praying and testing things out. What was on my heart really? Was I prepared to step out of my comfort zone? He knew where He wanted me to be, I just wasn't paying attention to the great big road signs that He had left in my life so drastic action was required!!

Does God allow 'bad' things to happen? Sometimes He is the catalyst.........

AND THE WINNER IS.......

2006-11-25T12:27:00.000Z

Firstly I would like to give my thanks to those of you who supported me in this competition, I would also like to thank my friends, my family and of course God.....

seriously, now, thanks

in reverse order we have

BATMAN with a staggering 3 out of 12 - well done

then we have joint second

LAURA & RICHARD with a stupendous 6 out of 12

and in joint first place we have

RUTH & EMMA with an outstanding 7 out of 12

The chocolate is already in the boot of the car awaiting the winners for Tuesday....

well done every one, I hope you have picked up a few more things that might come in handy!!! Or not

By the way

What song do you sing at a snowman's birthday party?

Freeze a jolly good fellow

c ya

Fun, football, and freezing

2006-11-19T20:53:00.000Z

Saturday arrived all to quickly this week and it arrived with a headache too. It was the perfect excuse not to go to training in the morning, so I left it to Colin while I stayed in bed. Mind you it felt like they were using my head to practice with.

I recovered enough to sit on the sofa to watch the Glorious Scots win their fifth rugby game in a row...not quite as memorable a number as Englands seven consectuive defeats......

Braving the cold Colin and I took our five teams to play in the last week of the league games. It was a night of events...We arrived with the minibus, picked up the necessary kids and went to the grounds for the games. On arriving I got a phonecall saying the bus had been double booked and should be heading for a wedding in Chester...great...stuck ona Saturday night with no transport back home!!

The U16's league was close, we were in second place, 5 points seperated us and the top team but we had a game inhand. So quick calculations and a few moments of despair we realised that if both teams won all their games it would come down to the game between them to decide the winners. Not just that but it was the last game of the evening. True to form both teams won all their other games and as predicted it was down to the last game. Hoarse, I have never shouted so much in my life. The final whistle blew and we had lost 1-0. Gutted. Absolutely gutted. The lads were very good about it, especially as the other teams managers had brought champagne to celebrate...a little presumptious and a little neglegent of the law.

U14's Had struggled all season with committement from some team members, despite this they played every week, some weeks with just 4 players (6-a-side) to end the season a valiant 3rd. All credit to them for outstanding efforts, how well they would have done with one or two more players.

U12's- Now we had two teams in this league both at the top two spots of the table. Who would win. Obviously Colin and I did!! Interestingly enough our team with the youngest player in the league did. He also happened to be the goal keeper, so definetly all credit to him.

What next well this saturday coming is the cup night, where all teams start again with 0 points and play a tournament in one evening (please pray that it stays nice, not cold and not wet!!). The U16's are once again determined to win, the U14's should make a good go of it and the U12's -well as long as the goal keeper turns up we should be ok there too....

more football scores soon......

Audacious

2006-11-18T00:21:00.000Z

I have just come back from taking some of our youth to an event in WIGAN!!! It was definetly geared up for them music wise...well if you are into rock and jumping around a lot...I thought that's what we did when I was a teenager...

They had an Australian youth leader speaking. Yes he was quite powerful. He started his talk by saying that as ageneration of youth today we are fed up of words...in as much as words don't phase us any more. We listen to people swear, tell us that they have been in fights, sleeping around etc...nothing has a huge impact on our lives....Fair point I thought, I know how hard it is to get a reaction out of our kids in assembly...I guess we have become desensitised to the life around us. Ok I',m with him so far....He used stories to 'back up' or reference!!!! his talk, some bible based others life based (not quite sure how you reference life based evidence.....)so yes going well.

We have a super natural God who is naturally super. Yes repitition is good it makes things stick. Don't thinkI will ever forget this one...he nearly made a song out of it!!

Starting to lose me now, what was his first point...o yes we are fed up with words and should show Jesus more....when did he say this...ah, that would be 40 minutes ago....yes fed up with words...that's me!!

By the way this was preceeded by 1hour of live music and a 20 minute talk on the offering!! and superceeded by a 30 minute slot for ministry.....

It was a good night but so based around words despite his initial point.

Maybe I am just getting old!!!

JLS

2006-11-16T23:43:00.000Z

Just to controversial I thought I would leave my feelings about this book here. That way I can choose to have this as its final resting place or a place to learn some more!!!

That sounds quite harsh, I actually liked it as a book. Which for some people may come as a huge shock that I am even admitting to reading one book...(Dot and Richard...I did actually have to read a few bits of others too...THANKS!!)

The hardest part (other than reading more books ;-) ) was actually trying to limit myself to 800 words...as you will all have realised by now I can talk for as long as you have time to listen...writing however has been one of those strange anomalies, well academic writing anyway...I last wrote an essay type thing in 1986, before some of you were even born, which I have to admit scares me a little, I certainly don't feel that much older!!! In those olden days we didn't get given word limits and certainly not a laptop which would count it up for you either!! No the general rule was that an essay should be a minimum of two sides of A4 paper and hand written...me in my desire to get things finished and to get outside rather than to be stuck in a school managed to open the story, tell the story and conclude that same story in about 2/3rds of one side!!!!

So JLS was somewhat of an academic challenge shall we say...I have to admit that if I have to spend a similar amount of time sitting on this chair for future assignments then I am putting in for one of those ones like they have at the ODEON cinemas!! If i work out the workrate per word then it wouldn't look good at all...

I am putting it down to experience and am hoping that sometime soon, something-no matter how small-no matter how strange, may just click in my brain to make this process easier or at least more comprehendable next time.

did i just say next time....this time last night there wasn't even going to be a this time......

some questions to ask your young people

2006-11-02T20:10:00.000Z

If you need an alternative conversation starter!!!

I have the answers but try answering yourself to see how many you get right...I got 7 out of 12 the first time i did it....no cheating now...be honest...

1. How old does a child have to be to buy a pet?

2. Do you need parental consent to join the Armed Forces at 16years old?

3. A child under 10 years may be ordered to be at home at certain times or to stay away from certain places or people? True or False

4. At what age do you have to be to receive contraceptive advice/treatment from a GP or family planning clinic without your parents knowing?

5. What is the youngest age that a child may legally drink alcohol in a private place e.g. home?

6. Can a person under 16 years old change their name?

7. What is the age of criminal liability in England and Wales?

8. Do the police have the right to confiscate alcohol if a 15 year old is drinking on the street?

9. How much work can a child of 13 years undertake before school?

10. How old do you have to be to donate blood?

11. Should a 16 year old be charged for prescription medicines?

12. If a 16 year old marries without parental consent, is the marriage valid?

answers on a postcard!!! may even shout the winner to a bar of chocolate...(that always works with the YP!!)

Life on the slopes....

2006-10-15T20:46:00.000+01:00

Well I would love to say at this point that I had had a really relaxing weekend, spent loads of time reading books for the course and preparing myself for the week ahead. I would really love that to be part of my life....Sadly it isn't...

The Chaos started really as I left Chester at Thursday lunchtime (I have to say at this point that none of what has happened is bad or negative!!)

I went 'snowboarding' for the first time ever and it was awesome....Yes it was real snow a great place call Xscape at Castleford, www.xscape.co.uk

Friday was filled with the usual fullness of breakfast club, followed by a school assembly, a quick coffee and phoning session then into school at lunchtime for some positive play, stop at the sandwich shop and grab lunch to be eaten at the church community centre where we set up for after schools club (yr7+) Its just a place for them to come on a Friday to release their frustrations of the week!!! Quickly get myself to one of the other churches in the team to help with the Friday Night Chill Out part of the mission weekend, fantastic as it was and with 25 unchurched young people in all hearing the 4points (check out www.the4points.com) it was a privilege to be part of their lives.

Saturday morning football practice....For some reason Colin and I have got 5 teams entered into the Ambassadors In Sport 6-a-side league...yep that's a minimum of 30 under 16's....

sustenance was on hand directly afterwards as part two of the mission weekend kicked in (like the link eh!) St Matthews Big Brunch....Again we had 20+ members of the surrounding community come in and share a free breakfast and hear the gospel.....Well I had to work of the breakfast so there was no choice but to inflate the two sofas...Praise God for the man who invented the double action air pump!! Quickly home for a shower then visit some parents re-football matches in the evening.

Part three on the mission weekend (still Saturday) a Girls' only Pamper day, 2 hrs where you could have a foot spa, a fun face lift, a facial, hand massage, fruit cocktail and not to forget the chocolate fountain....I gave hand massages. This time we had catered for about 30 but where completely bowled over when we had 40+ ladies turn up...It was absolutely buzzing, we all had a fab time and the best bit was once again having the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus not just through the talks but also through the talking...If you know what I mean...

anyway no time to waste...Pick up minibus and head for the football....a mixed bag of wins and losses but all in good spirit and all with 30+ young people who would otherwise would not necessarily have contact with God in any other way.

Sunday - well I thought it was to be a day off....Not quite. A parishioner raised a doubt in my mind that I was preaching at the 10.30am service, this was confirmed by finding the provisional rota for Oct. I hadn't even had this on my radar so was ever so slightly un-prepared...None the less, I read the lectionary readings for the day and prepared what I could in short notice....Up and out with the dog at the early hours to help with the thought process...Only to discover on arrival at said church that the provisional rota had changed (it doesn't normally) so I found myself sitting in a pew slightly shell shocked and with 11 packets of smarties all to myself....

Part four of mission weekend - a mellow cafe with live music - just enough time to grab a bit of toast (nothing to put on it as not been shopping yet!!) then move an electric piano from one house to the church....visit a family then back to the church community centre for 6pm to great my faithful 4 (extreme teen-started 2yrs ago as my first confirmation class and continued to meet!!!)

This is where I thought God was really taking things to the extreme right enough. I didn't have just my faithful 4 but rather another 6 on top. This was a break through 6 of the young people who have been coming to our open club for the past year came in. They didn't settle down completely but they interacted at the appropriate times (mostly) as one of my 4 was leading!

Why do we do what we do.......me, I do it for exactly the reasons given above....over this one weekend we have talked lived and breathed God to over 100 people who are normally on the outside of our radar...we have introduced them, whether they realise it or not, to the most important person they will ever need to know....2 years ago God changed me more than I could have anticipated and as part of that change my heart cried out for the young people of today....not as a mass but one at a time.....I'm living that heart felt desire every day, watching these young people change, deciding that actually it might be better sitting down with these weird folk on Sunday and hearing that they are loved than trawling the streets cold and lost....am I tired, yes, do I want more......bring it on......I love it

The Church and its future

2006-10-10T23:56:00.000+01:00

Have you ever sat down and wondered about where all this is going? I don't mean pre-destination/heaven etc...no I mean the here and now or rather the now and then. I do sometimes wonder if the churches that I am asked to go into and try to develop some for of youth work actually realise what they are asking for. My main response is " I can't promise more bums on seats for you! I can't do all the work without you! and the strongest one...I won't spend my time with young people trying to get them to conform to your idea of church adn worship!"

Some strong and sometimes brave things to say (you should meet some of the PCC members - school teachers have nothing on these guys - I love them all of course!!). But what is the future? What should be our areas of evangelism? To whom? and for want of a better phrased question What can we do with the new christians we come in contact with?

If you can take yourself out of what we see as church for just now, can you see what will become of the established church as we know it?

Can you forsee a future where the Godhead is still worshipped?

What can we do to continue God's plan for this world without becoming to self obssessed about what we want?

Lots of questions....open to all discussions...

M

is football intune with nature!?

2006-10-08T00:00:00.000+01:00

there is an advert on the tv just now basically talking about the butterfly effect....you know the one if a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the planet then there is a tidal wave on the other...the balance of life type of thing...

well I never really thought much about it until tonight. I have to say that i can see some truth in the point and would even dare to say that I have evidence to back it up.....

there I was sat in the highest point of old trafford stadium (any higher and God would be sitting next to me...oh yes He was - well high enough to be mindful of nose bleeds!!!) watching what has got to be said was one of the most boring games of international football I have ever seen. The final score never reflects the play but neither side really deserved to win so I suppose the result stands.....and as by contrast there as the complete underdogs was Scotland. Faced by no less than the 'auld alliance' who when they last played scotland hammered them 5-0. So what a great delight, nay pleasure, nay overwhelming sense of achievement when the text message came from Scotland telling me that the 'auld allince' had played, dived, objected and been denied all efforts and Scotland were victors to make them the top of their league without question.

So you see perhaps the butterfly theory works, not only restoring the balance of mankind but restoring the Scottish team to the rightful place....at the top of the country!!!

My condolances to Rich...it was unlucky to let in 5 right enough.....

M

Me

2006-10-07T00:10:00.000+01:00

Ok so I can upload a pic but can't work out how to make it small enough to post it in my profile....all help gratefully recieved....apparently it needs to be less than 50 kilobytes.....

O by the way this was taken on a train from Edinburgh to Dundee earlier this year....not sure that it does me any favours!!!!!

Moira

Old Friends....sat on a park bench liike bookends...

2006-10-07T00:00:00.000+01:00

So here they are the two best boys in the world...best friends too and long overdue a haircut in this photo....if this uploads then I am getting the hang of this blogging stuff.....

Joe is the one on the left and Benson on the right...

where am i...who am i and why!!!!

2006-10-05T01:00:00.000+01:00

well thanks to God's amazing (or sick depends on what aspect you take it from!!) sense of humour, i moved from the beautiful borders of scotland two years ago to bolton!! God has been amazing even though i may disagree with his humour and i have been totally blessed by what he has done in my life so far...

bolton is not one of the most desirable places in the uk to live yet i have been given a love for the people here more than i could have dreamt.
currently I have the privilage of working with the young people in Halliwell regardless of their faith/belief or religion. I work with nice kids, even the ones who smack you in the teeth on the first day of term!! O yes he did!! they allow me to be part of their life, and in that i hope and pray that they see more in me of Jesus than the me that is always trying to get out.

We do fun things together, some come to play pool/table tennis/football etc some come because you are there. some come because they want to find out more about God.

so here I am, alongwith a fellow Scot - Colin-(God obviously has a plan for Bolton!!!) to do what ever God wants, whenever He wants it.

o I work for a really funkily named voluntary organisation called H.A.F.W.A.Y Halliwell Action For Working Alongside Youth told you it was funky!!!

This is scary stuff....Not sure what I am doing but never fear....

2006-10-05T00:23:00.000+01:00

It is amazing what different challenges come your way in life...Here I am at 37 thinking that really I was pretty up with it but finding that this new gadget is one I should have looked at earlier!!! Blogging? What? maybe I use a different dictionary than people from the North West!! (well that in it's self is a fallacy!!!) maybe a different dialect..who knows...here's to weeks of 'blogging' with all my heart!! Moira