talents

Well I told you about the Christmas Shopping night but I am not able to do that now as the church isn't available when I am able to organise it so instead I have been selling Tea lights with hope 08 stickers in little viol bags for £1, lets see if I managed to raise anything. A bit if a smaller project but every little helps as Tescos say!

Alpha Guest

I talked before about the 2nd guest that we had realised was involved in spiritualist church and we talked quite heavily about this as she couldn't understand why this was wrong. Afterwards I felt like we may have come across a bit harsh but I was just trying to answer her questions honestly. She missed out on the holy spirit weekend so she missed hearing others in the group talking about their involvement in spiritualist church or palm readying etc so I think she felt abit alone during this session. Anyway she didn't return the following week which upset me alot because I felt like I had pushed her away. This got me thinking, am I being judgemental, am I as bad as people I have talked about in my blogs? I didn't have the answers, I wasn't trying to come across that way, I just felt deep sadness that she felt more fulfilment from spiritualist church then in Jesus. So I prayed about it and one of the helpers from my group spoke to me last night and confirmed that she had spoke to this guest and they said they wanted to give me a big hug, their not ready to return yet as they need to have time to think but that they are ok with us. This was great because this was the piece of mind I needed. It is ashamed that they are not returning but that will be in gods time so we just have to keep praying.

Very Exciting

Well I am off to London tomorrow courtesy of my work, I won a competition which was for a weekend in a Holiday Inn for 2. So me and boyfriend picked to go to London just before Christmas. Really looking forward to it, nice bit of time just the two of us away from the norm.

We also booked to go to Dublin for New Year last night too so I have that to look forward to as well. Decided this year that we would do something different as there is a big hype about new year and then its always a let down. So this year there really will be something to look forward to, 4 days away together!!

Christmas day has been a really issue this year because we were gonna spend it together just the two of us but I think the family are keen to see us so the plan is to see them for Christmas day, boxing day etc and then go off just the two of us for new year. I was quite looking forward to having a Christmas dinner especially for 2 with no one else around but I realised that people around us want to share this nice time of year with us. I think we will try to do it next year instead.

Busy Busy

Then when I got home after the meal, I realised I volunteered myself to make Lasagne for alpha tomorrow night so would need to prepare it ready. When I counted though with all guests and helpers I was making lasagne for 30 people! So 3 lasagne's later I managed to sit down with a glass of baileys and watched spooks.

Can I just say I normally really hate winter, but this year it doesn't seem to be bothering me so much. This maybe down to the fact that I have tried to take on board the advise a friend gave me which was to appreciate winter for the things you can do then but you cant do in Summer like curling up in the sofa with a blanket to keep warm with a hot chocolate or a baileys (only tend to drink this in winter, very chrismasy)
But this year I have gone one step further and my and boyfriend have decided to have Christmas day on our own with no family just us two. This may sound a bit odd but I just fancy a change this year. With my parents being separated we have 3 sets of parents to see and I cant be bothered this year to try and fit them all in and worry about who is gonna be upset if we don't see them so we're seeing none of them. Then after dinner my boyfriend suggested that we go for a walk which I thought was a great idea. wrap up warm, scarf, hat and gloves and stroll down the canal. Then come back to a warm cosy house and curl up on sofa watching crap Christmas TV together. How Exciting.
Also I have booked us into a Cottage in the Cotswold's for valentines weekend as a Christmas present to my boyfriend ( he knows about this it isn't a surprise) which again means I have something nice to look forward to during this time of cold.
My boyfriend also suggested that we go Dublin for New Year just the two of us again which sounds fantastic, some of my family are over there but I think I'm gonna miss seeing them this time as they all live in Cork and its double the cost to go to Cork.

My brother

For those who you who read my blog but don't know me that well, my parents are separated and did so about 10 years ago but they both have new partners etc and my dad lives in an area just outside where I live so once a week we make a point of getting together for dinner with my brother to try and get to see each other regularly.
My Brother currently doesn't have a job and hasn't had a steady job for a number of years, he does bits here and there and then does nothing again for ages. anyway we got on to talking about stuff last night and my brother discussed the kind of job he would like and my dad tried to explain that until that kind of job came up really he needs to take another job to tie him over. he didn't get what my dad was saying so I tried to explain on his behalf and my brother got all defensive and basically said he's not having this conversation while I was present. so I left. We'd already had dinner by this point by the way but I'm sick of him just taking my parents for a ride. He talked about morals last night, he clearly doesn't have any morals when he is happy to have no job and live off my parents. The problem is everyone tip toes round him and dare not say, look get a job. Now I don't know whether he has issues that he needs to go see a councillor about but if he does then go and get that sorted.
Sorry if my views don't sound very Christian when I talk about him but I've had enough, this has been going on for 5yrs now or more (he's 30yrs old too) and I'm fed up with it. The amount of times I come back from this weekly meal with my Dad upset because my brother's comments. I do pray about him, I pray that he will have a Saul experience of God so he will know that God is real. I just know that if God was in his life then he would have a completely different outlook on life and not always be the way he is. So anyone who wants to pray about him too is more then welcome.

Alpha

I have been praying for our guests in my group each week on the way home from alpha in the car. I particularly prayed for one guests as she was still having doubts and she had previously been involved in a spiritualist church and this was holding her back. I just prayer that God would show himself more to her, that she may no longer need to question. Then the following week she seemed so much more confident in her faith and seemed less inclined to doubt it. So my prayers were answered again. We then established that there was another person in the group who was in the same boat, had doubts and had involvement in the spiritualist church so again I have prayed for this person too hoping that God will answer in the same way. How strange that we had 2 people in the same group brought to us with the same situation. Back to the first person though, after the second week I prayed again asking God to make even more of an impact in her life and I felt him saying that shes opened the door a crack but not enough for me to squeeze through, she needs to push the door wide open for him. I shared this with her the other day and she said she felt that what I had said was correct. Nice to feel like God is talking to you isn't it!!

Lets see what this week of alpha brings, I will keep you updated.

Service

Service on Sunday was really good because the Youth Leader lead the service and told the bible story The parable of the talents because previously as a church we have agreed to raise £1000 for one of our young members to do a year out for XLP and he suggested that we all have talents and we should put them to good use. He suggested that those who wanted to could take on the challenge of taking £10 and by 9th Dec coming back with at least £10.01. He had £400 to give out so there are 40 people who have taken on the challenge. I am trying to arrange a Christmas shopping evening at the church with mine £10. I figure we could charge £1 entry and charge the people hosting a stall £5 for the privilege and sell tea/coffee and cakes. Could make some good money, just waiting on the lady from church who looks after the diary to check the date is available. Good way to get the message across in service though.

Talking Space

Well I cant remember if I have mentioned that I was getting involved in this or not, but basically on Friday I was in town giving out free tea/coffee to people who had come out of the pubs and clubs in the city. It a thing that has been set up by a church in the town centre that are situated at the end of the road where the majority of the pubs and clubs are in town. Most people walk past it to get a taxi when they have finished drinking for the night. Anyway the church have set up that every other Friday a team of volunteers hand out tea/coffee and the people can come and site down and drink if they wish too. We don't open up the church but we set up chairs and tables in the church grounds with a big gazebo and candles etc. It was a fantastic night, I wasn't really sure at first how this would touch the people as they've all had a drink and I thought they probably wouldn't care about a free tea/coffee but amazingly I was to be proved wrong.
We had quite alot of people come, I was out on the street inviting them in and the responses I got were very varied. Some people didn't answer, others were very polite and said no thank you, others stopped and thought it was a very strange thing to do and asked why were we doing it and couldn't understand when I replied we're just being nice!!. Others came in no questions asked, some wanted the tea but didn't dear step foot over the boundary of the church property, I even had to get a few drinks for people and take them out purely for this reason.
I had one guy who was reluctant to go in and then ended up staying for about 2 hours (5 drinks late!!!) I passed a couple sitting down with there tea discussing the fact that she thought there was a God and he didn't, so I made a joke and said don't worry my boyfriends not a christian, you'll get used to it. Then I ended up sitting with them for about 1/2 hour discussing different things.
At the End of it there was alot of people to pray for, and I felt really encourage to want to do it again. This week was my first week and it was a tester basically for me to see if I want to be involved more regularly. I am looking to put my name down on the rota from next year as the next 2 Fridays they are doing I am busy.

I am also still looking to get involved with the Christian drug rehabilitation place in Coventry as a volunteer too but I haven't heard anything about that yet if you want to pray about that for me.

We also had a meeting last night about the next alpha that we are running in January as we obviously need to promote and plan that and there is still HOPE 08 of course which will be going on through next year, so lots of stuff going on at the moment.

Return of the other half & catherdral Praise

Well it's Monday which means my boyfriend is coming home from his jollies will the lads. Looking forward to it, Part of me was looking forward to the time on my own as when he is not around I tend to spend a bit more time with God, reading my bible or praying etc so that side of it was really good. And this isn't my boyfriends fault I just find when he's not around I have more spare time to spend with God. but I have really missed him as well, arrhh I hear you all say or YUK! either way I don't care I just cant wait to see him and give him big cuddles and kisses.



Went to cathedral last night instead of going church in the morning. They do a service at the local cathedral called 'cathedral praise' on a Sunday evening which is open to people from other Church's. Its great cos its on in the evening so I fancied a lay in yesterday so I went their instead of my own church. Two of my friends came with me and then we went to a bar round the corner afterwards. During the service John Irvin asked whether anyone had anything to share from the alpha holy spirit day and he said he felt someone had something to share. I thought is he talking about me? so I just sat there and didn't say anything and then the moment passed and no one shared their experiences. So I later caught his attention and ended up sharing with the congregation my experiences.

I remembered also that when it came prayer time on the holy spirit day I was very nervous about praying for the guests, as I pray for people normally but not for them to receive the holy spirit. So I said a quick prayer in my head and asked God for some help. the next minute John came over and said he felt God compelling him to pray with me and this guest. Afterwards I realised God had answered me then too. He had provided John as support for me when I was praying. So I shared that and also shared about the message God had given me for this other guest. I felt a bit nervous getting up in front of all these people at the cathedral but afterwards realised that its a good thing because sharing these experiences of God working in your life can really encourage others.

My friend text me today as well and the message was really nice, she has been sharing stuff with me at the moment and she asked for prayer last night at the cathedral. She shared with me the issue and I gave her my advise and opinion etc. Today's message says 'Praying God will bless you tons today babe! Thanks for being such a special and understanding friend. I thank God for you. Be encouraged today' how nice of her, I do have a lovely friend in her.

Experiencing God Again!!

Recently I have had a situation at work where myself and a colleague were clashing, so in the end I confronted the person about it to get this issue out in the open. After I spoke to them I prayed and asked God to work in that situation and asked that all would be good. Anyway next minute the person came back to me later in the day and said they were sorry about the whole thing and they just wanted us to start a fresh. This is great because 2 good things from this. 1 the situation at work is much better, 2 I had a another real god answered pray moment AGAIN!!

Today was our Holy Spirit Day for alpha and John Irvin does the talk, he is the dean of Coventry Cathedral where I live but he was also involved in putting together the alpha with Nicki Gumble back in the day as I think John was the minister of holy trinity brompton at the time (which is the church where Nicki is the minister for now) So its a really good talk. As a leader of one of our small groups this year it meant I had to pray for the guests at the end of the talk. It was really scary as I have never had to do this before. I mean, I do pray for others but usually for a particular situation or a particular request etc but this was totally different. Obviously you pray for them to be filled with the spirit etc. Anyway I did it but one particular person I prayed for I felt God saying to them 'You just have to let me in, open the door, I'm waiting to be in your life, its like picking up the telephone and I'll be at the other end'. I was like WOW where did that come from and it obviously was from God because they got upset and so that really moved me then because I realised that God had used me to pass on this message. So obviously i started blubbing then too. but all was good. really good.

Also I spoke to a women there who is involved in a local christian project that helps young men get off drug and alcohol addictions, she was saying they need loads of volunteer. I have thought about volunteering for this group before but then never did but I think I may consider getting involved. Also it would be a good way to give HOURS OF KINDNESS for Hope 08. It would be a case of volunteering myself to help teach the men how to cook, so that when they finish the programme and have to look after themselves that they have got basic skills in the kitchen. Anyway gonna pray about this and see if that's where God wants me. Who knows he my have other plans for me.

Weekend to myself

Well my boyfriend is going away with the lads this weekend, well I say weekend he's going tomorrow and not coming back til Monday. Its great because he gets to spend time with the lads and have a good laugh and I can just get on with doing my thing while he is away.

Thursday I'm helping my mum with a party, Friday seeing my friend, Saturday going to our Holiday Spirit day for alpha, Saturday night seeing my other friend and then Sunday roast dinner at mums. so all it good. Really looking forward to the holy spirit day, most of the guests are going so we'll see how that's goes.

Not very much exciting to say at the mo so that's why I'm not blogging as often as before.