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LOVE tennis

Not another tennis post i hear you say?

Fortunately not... rather a shameless plug for the website me and my mate Peter have just started. It is to do with all things tennis, so if you are a bit of a tennis geek like us or simply are a summer player because you got the itch from watching Wimbledon, I'm sure you'll love what we have to say. You can find us at the link below or on twitter and facebook. We're also on the look out for those who would be interested in blogging with us to lighten the blogging burden! Please check us out @

http://www.lovetennisblog.com

hobbies

Recently I have taken up the art of knitting. Now one might think this is hardly a man's sport and I would tend to agree with them. Nevertheless, I find knitting thoroughly therapudic especially while watching sport on tv. I decided to start knitting because I have no money this Christmas and needed to be inventive with my gifts. So I decided to knit my mum and scarf and you can see the fruits of my labour below.

This is a new hobby that I believe I will keep up. I have many other hobbies as well. I love tennis, playing guitar, outdoor pursuits to name a few and I believe these hobbies are part of what makes up our being, and therefore contributes to our witness to the world.

Through the exercise of these hobbies we can genuinely connect with the world. Quite often when we witness it's in a false manner, trying to meet people where they are at and we know nothing of the culture. I do not question the method of 'meeting people where they're at', in fact I agree with it, but I believe we can do this in a more intentional way.

Let me give an example. I go to a tennis club. I thorughly enjoy tennis and have my own personal interest and opinions on it. I can witness to my fellow club members on a genuine level because we have a mutual interest in the sport and can develop a good relationship based on our mutual interest.

It is through hobbies that we can get into the world. The more hobbies and interests we take up the more people we are likely to be able to reach and gain access into their world. Paul claims in 1 Cor 9:19-23 that has become 'all things to all men so that by all possible means he might save a few'. To the skater I have become like a skater, to the surfer I have become like a surfer, to the knitter I have become like a knitter, that for the sake of the gospel, some might be saved. I encourage you all to take up some hobbies!

red frustration

It was the 50th anniversary of the take over at the Liverpool helm by Bill Shankly. Roll in the glory days that seen the likes of Paisley and Dalglish continue his success, leading Liverpool to being the most successful team in England with 18 championships and 4 european cups to their name. My how times have changed. Nobody thought Liverpool's record could be equalled, certainly not so quickly by Manchester United. But ever since that fateful day at Anfield in May 1990 when Arsenal stormed back to win by two clear goals and steal the championship, Liverpool have never been the same.

Sure there has been the odd moment of glory. The 2001 season where Liverpool won everything but the championship; the incredible 2005 champions league triumph, but there has simply just been too many false dawns. Enter Rafael Benitez, the supposed messiah. Last season he led Liverpool to 2nd in the league, with their highest ever points total of 86pts, and they were very unlucky to prevent United equalling their record. Had only one to two incidents gone a different way, things could be a lot different (isn't that always the case). However, from steam rolling all opposition that stood in their way in the close of last season, Liverpool have gone right back into their mediorce shell.

7 games already this season (11 in all competitions) we have lost in comparison to last season's 1 at the same stage. One of the reasons for this could be put down to the loss of the quality Xabi Alonso. Xabi could have found Gerrard in the dark; he was the glue that held that what seemed a perfect 4-2-3-1 system together. This may have be part of the reason, but I believe it's only a sympton of a deeper problem - Benitez's iron fist belief in his methods.

Toward the end of last season, it looked like Rafa had finally caught a glimpse of how to win the Premier league, the spirit of Shankly - throw caution to the wind attack! He had to, if he had any hope of chasing down United. But this season he has gone back to the same old cautious approach. In the recent loss to Portsmouth, he fielded 7 defensive outfield players in a match Liverpool simply had to win. I mean come on! This is the team bottom of the table; if they can't be confident in their ability to attack that, when else will they be?!

Benitez spends too much time worrying about what the other team will do. This is not the spirit of Shankly. The reason why Shankly erected the 'This is Anfield' sign in the Liverpool tunnel, was to let his opponents know they were there to be beaten. It's time Benitez stopped worrying what the opposition will do and instead let them to worry about what Liverpool will do. Sure in the bigger games against the likes of Chelsea, ManU, Barcelona etc he can spend more time on the tactics (which we have seen him gloriously do in the champions league) but I wanna watch a Liverpool side who attacks!

He will need to bring the title to Liverpool quick, because the fans will get impatient and he won't be able to live off that champions league victory forever. I would say next season should be his last chance. I recall Alex Ferguson almost getting sacked in his 7th season and United - boy aren't they glad they held on to him. First off he needs to secure 4th place. 8pts behind Villa is a disgrace, but with some positive play like last season I think Liverpool have the squad to do it. I have listed below how I think Liverpool should play (at least at home).

Riena

Degen Carragher Agger Insua

Johnson Gerrard Aquiliani Riera

Ngog Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, Aurelio, Mascherano, Benayoun, Kuyt

I think they should return to a simple attacking 4-4-2 formation, and try 2 stikers up top. Also Glen Johnson played his best football for Portsmouth last season when on the wing, hence why I have put him there; it would also relieve him of his defensive duties. Gerrard would still play the middle of the park and can connect with Torres and Aquiliani should be given a chance to show what he can do (he can also shield the back 4). There is plenty of quality on the bench but the defense is what is lacking at the moment. Perhaps the experience of Kyrgiakos might come in handy to an ailing back four. Benayoun has been a revelation this year and we'd do well to keep the likes of him and Kuyt.

I would also like to see some investment. I believe Liverpool need an Adebayor/Drogba type striker, and could use an experienced versaille defender. I would also like to see either Downing or Ashley Young brought in from Villa. Given Liverpool are in some financial problems, the likes of Lucas, Babel, Skrtyl, Dossena, Voronin and El Zhar could fund these puchases.

A long rant I know -but come on the pool! It's amazing the passion one can muster for football. Pity we struggle to do the same for a God who loves us.

Christmas carols

I love Christmas carols. One of my favourite services in the whole year is carols by candlelight. I have missed this tradition in free evangelical circles. I don't mean to tarnish all with the same brush, but these churches tend to avoid anything traditional like the plague. I'm all for changing with the times, but not all traditions are poisonous!

Anyway this blog isn't about pentecostal bashing, but rather my favourite Christmas carol. There are so many to choose from; Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come all Ye Faithful, but my all-time favourite has to be O Holy Night. I know it's about the lyrics, but some of these are accompanied by the most simple beautiful melodies as well. And speaking of songs being about the lyrics; there are also some really bad carols out there too. I mean what do 'The Holly and the Ivy' and 'In the Bleak Midwinter' have to do with the Nativity story!

We have had a big snow here, in the UK & Ireland this year and many are going to get that 'white Christmas' they so much hope for. But this begs the question for me that where do these stereotypes comes from. Surely a 'white' Christmas is a very Western northern hemisphere thing. Because the nativity story would have been set in the hot middle east, with Jesus fleeing from Herod across the desert to Egypt. Also, does anyone ever wonder what ever happened to the wise men after they depart from Jesus company?

The BBC have done a good article on this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8425357.stm. It must get tiresome listening to Christians bash on about the true reason for the season, but in a culture where these traditions are being etched ever so slowly out, we must continue to be the voice crying in the wilderness.

We'll sing His praise forever

We'll sing His praise forever

We'll sing His praise forever
Christ, the Lord.

Happy Christmas everyone.

my rebirthday

μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ~ John 3:3

I just realised that today was my 10th rebirth-day, that is, I became a Christian exactly 10 years ago. My old self had passed away and my new life in Christ had begun. When I was young I always had a 'fear' of God but I never really committed myself to idea of following Jesus until I met my friend Mark.

My mother wanted for me to go through confirmation classes in a church. At the time we went to Magheralin Church of Ireland but I also attended the Boys Brigade at High Street Methodist in Lurgan. Mum said I could choose between the two and High Street offered a 12 week course in comparison to Magheralin's 18 months. So being a teenager, weighing up the options, obviously I chose High Street!

Little did I know God had a use for this vanity. This is where I met my mate Mark. It was his zeal, his lifestyle, his passion for God like I'd not seen before that intrigued me. For the first time, I had met a Christian who actually seemed to be living out the promise given to us in John 10:10 and I wanted some of this. There was something so much more exciting and fulfilling in Mark's witness, than what the world had to offer.

So the 12 weeks passed, I still hadn't made a commitment and it was the eve of my confirmation. I felt a stirring in my spirit, a choking in my gut, in response to the fact that I was about to stand up in front of the church and declare my faith in a God I hadn't commited to. So simply, in the stillness of my bedroom, I asked Jesus into my heart. Now since then I probably have 'given my life to Jesus' about 20 times in various meetings. You know - those meetings where the speaker tries to convince impressionable teenagers that maybe we didn't do it right the first time. However, I look upon that day, December 19th 1999, as the day God saved my life.

So rather cliché, there has been both mountains and valleys since then, but I praise God for my salvation, and I have indeed experienced the promises of John 10:10 in my own life. I realise my testimoney is not exactly exotic in compared to drugs and alcohol testimoneys, but I believe every Christian has an exiting testimoney. I mean come on, try to wrap your imagination around this - we have met with the living God, the very being that holds the world in one hand, and can speak galaxies into existance...

holy cow!

so now I encourage you to share your story...

Another Psalm

This week in my tutor group, I encouraged everyone to try and write a psalm. I was able to scratch something down in the short space of time, and like my first attempt, this is very raw so please don't be too hard.

Rock of Ages, Giver of truth
I stand firm upon Your foundations
You give source to this light
Supplication for my needs
Strength in my heart
Hope for my spirit
You have made all things new

I praise You for Your faithfulness O' God
You have raised me up from the miry clay
Inspire my soul to do Your will O Lord
For none can match mighty works!
It is futile even to try
They are like the waves of the ocean
Untameable, unrelenting, irresistable

So my life I offer to thee
Creator and Sustainer of all things
To lift up Your name
To serve the purposes of Your kingdom
And at the foot of the cross is where I'll find You
My sanctuary where You restore my soul

Come in power my king
The rocks are crying out for Your glory!

Upside down tennis

I said it last year and I'll say it again... I can not believe it's that time again - time for my annual tennis review. It's been a strange year this year, by which i mean tennis has become somewhat unpredictable. In the last 5 years of dominance in what I'm gonna call the Federer years, there has been an air of predictability about the big tournaments, that is Nadal wins the French open and Federer wins the rest. However, perhaps we were given a hint right at the very beginning of this year that this was to be no ordinary year.

Following a great 2008 for Nadal, where he wrestled the Wimbledon title and no.1 ranking from Federer, these two giants locked horns once more in Nadal's first hard court grand slam final - the Australian Open. Federer, twice winner in oz, was hot favourite to win despite Nadal's form, but it was not to be the case, and he only had himself to blame. In a similar fashion to last year he did not take his chances. He should have won the first and third sets, but Nadal took them both and inevitably the title which led to Federer's heavily critized emotional outburst. I had nothing but sympathy for the man who thought that this would be the day he would win the record equalling 14th grand slam and enter his legendary status in tennis history. Instead Rafa had now beaten him in finals on all surfaces, and it looked like it was slipping from Federer's grasp.

Enter the clay court season. In the lead up to this event, two extrodinary events occured. First Federer smashed a racket in his loss to Djokovic in Miami. It looked like Federer's reign was finally falling apart at the seams. Amazingly though he fought back his way back into form, beating Nadal on clay for only the second time, in Hamburg. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and this years french open will be remembered as one of the most famous in history. Roger Federer finally completed the golden slam and achieved his 14th grand slam, but even more memorable than that, was the biggest shock in tennis for years... Rafael Nadal losing on clay, more specifically in the french open. Four time winner, current champion, never lost a match at Roland Garros and it wasn't even to Federer , but to someone who was considered an also-ran until this year - Robin Soderling.

This victory helped Federer ragain his mojo that took a massive weight of his shoulders, allowing him to play freely, showing some of the best tennis of his career. Coupled with his new drop shot and new found ability to grind matches out, Federer was unstoppable for the next couple of months, also winning Wimbledon and Cincinatti. Nadal on the other hand was having the complete opposite to his year last year, losing his french open, wimbledon and world no.1 crowns back to Federer.

Then came the US Open. Federer strolled through to the final. Murray has a disappointing 4th round exit after much hype. Then came the next big shock of the year, Juan Martin Del Potro beating an in form Federer in the final of the US Open. Del Potro has been considered to have the potential to be the next big thing for the last few years and I would tend to agree, going by the evidence of this break through year for him. He has a forehand to die for and an appetite for the big matches. I believe he will cause more damage to the fading established order than Murray or Djokovic.

Toward the end of the season Murray and Nadal came back from injury both with varying fortunes. Nadal could barely win a match and Murray won in Valencia. In fact Nadal's form is worrying for next year as he doesn't look anything like the man that nobody could touch at the start of the season. Murray had a brilliant first half of the season, but has been disappointing since winning in Montreal. It should be noted he hasn't beaten anyone in the top 4 since Indian Wells and will need to do something special in the off season to keep up with the rest.

Finally, the end of season tournament - the Masters Cup summed - up the season with upset after upset. Despite beating Del Potro and winning 2 matches, Del Potro and Federer made it out of Murray's group. The second group was way more interesting. Djokovic who has been back in descent form and favourite to qualify. Instead it was Soderling and Davydenko. Then amazingly Davydenko beat Federer for the first time in 13 attempts to make the final, and buoyed by this victory, took the title by beating Del Potro. He would have been my last pick to win the tournament, maybe now hes showing he can fight with the big boys, but I doubt it. I still don't think he has the class to consistantly challenge for big prizes, but he deserves credit for his efforts here.

So the season has now ended, and who knows what 2010 will bring. I am already looking forward to Australia and for the first time in a long time, I have no idea what the outcome will be. Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro all with equal and realistic chances to win, making tennis so much more interesting. Can the rest of the world put up a challenge to break this mould? On the evidence of this season I wouldn't want to hazard a guess!

short term mission

Every Friday I get a lecture from diferent mission agencies from the U.K. It's a privilege to hear and see the amazing work that men and women across the U.K. are doing in the name of Jesus. Perhaps one day I'll find myself working for one of these agencies, but (and there always is a but isn't there?) I am failing to see the sense in going out with these organisations to random countries on the short term.

You know what I'm talking about. These 2-4 weeks summer teams that people go on spending from one to three thousand pounds to get there and look after themselves. To be honest, that money would have been far better spent just being sent to the communities we visit, rather than dragging our unskilled butts over there on a glorfied holiday.

Don't get me wrong I am not judging the motives of the people who take part in these trips, for I myself have done them. In fact their heart is good, because they see a need and want to do something about it. However, that desire is not being used to its full potential in the current way it is being exercised. Perhaps it is good to go once, in order to have our hearts and minds opened to the poverty in the world, but to keep doing it simply isn't productive.

I mean what do we really have to offer a remote community in the middle of Africa anyway (sorry to stereotype)? Sure we can go build a school, but there are plenty of people in those countries who have building skills themselves, and we only take the trade away from the locals. It's white colonialism gone wrong all over again. We made the mess in the first place. Now we see the mess and think we've got all the answers to fix it.

Yes indeed however it is the responsibility of the better off to take care of the poor, but we need to be more creative, more sensitive in how we approach it, and we need to act fast. I don't have all the answers and I'm certainly willing to listen to other points of view but here are some of the things I think we can do:

We can pray. We can rally organisations, governments and powers at be into doing the action they should be. We can carefully give of our finances and resources from our vast reserves. There is a scope for churches partnering alongside other churches (the same body of Christ) in different countries for the long term. We could even go and teach for the long term. Although we would need to be careful how we do that, because I don't think that Africa really needs to be 'westernised' in the cultural sense of the word, as I believe it would lose it's own cultural and spiritual richness.

These are all very raw thoughts and feelings from a naive young man, but watch this space as I hope to develop them into something tangible real soon.

To my granny

My granny passed away on November 4th. She bravely battled cancer for a little over a year. When she was first diagnosed, things seemed ominous, but God blessed us with one more year with her. It's hard to believe how fast things happened when only 2 weeks ago she was gardening but in a sense it was a blessing, for she passed without any pain and even got to enjoy a last meal (little did she know it).

I praise God for this and the fact that she is with Him in heaven. For she loved the Lord and it's a great comfort to my family that she's now with her Maker. It's just so hard though seeing the anguish in my mother, uncle and especially my grandfather. There is just no way of understanding the kind of pain that comes with losing a life partner.

I've never really had anyone close to me die before. My grans passing has got me thinking a lot about death recently. It's not so much death that I fear, but rather eternity. The inifite idea of never endingingness scares the daylights out of me. I know as a Christian I have eternal hope but I simply do not have a strong enough grasp of the marvels of heaven and what it will be like to worship God forever. Am I the only one who thinks like this?

Dorothy McCarthy

Back to my granny. I said at her funeral that I think she would appreciate somebody saying something in their own words in memory of her, and my little brother, Adam, chose a wonderful verse - 1 Corinthians 13 (often read at weddings, paraphrased) to aid this.

Dorothy was patient and kind; she did not envy nor boast; she was never arrogant nor rude. She wouldn't insist on her own way; she was not irritable nor resentful; she never rejoiced at wrongdoing, but rejoiced with the truth. Dorothy bore all things, believed in all the things of God, hoped for all things, endured all things, her love will never die in us the people she loved...So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

If there was one thing to describe my gran it's that she was a loving person. We know from God's word that God is love, and also when we become Christians, God perfects us to become more like Christ - love. So I think the most special thing about Dorothy was that we caught just a glimpse of what the love, God the Father has for us.

My gran taught us all how to love better. We'll miss you Dorothy.

man card

Last weekend 5 men in college completed the 28oz meat challenge at Iford Bridge. This consisted of 2 chicken breasts (or cumberland sausages), 1 gammon steak and 1 80z rump steak with a side of chips and salad (the salad being a non compulsory item of the challenge as it is not manly).

The completion of this challenge was dubbed so worthy that we have decided to award them with the Red Man Card. There are 3 levels of man card and they are listed as follows:

Man Card Red: Completion of the 28oz Steak Challenge or equivalent
Man Card Silver: An overnight stay in the wild or equivalent. Creating fire is mandatory.
Man Card Gold: An outstanding honourary award, that can not be defined any single act of valor. The worthiness of an act for a Gold man card shall be voted upon by fellow man card holders.

Got your eggs in one basket?

The first thing I want to make clear is that this is not a blog comparatively arguing the theologies of some of the greatest Christian minds in history for that would take a dissertation, not a blog! But rather, this an exasperation as to why we put them on such a pedistool.

Calvin, Luther, Arminius, Wesley, there are so many to choose from but what really drives me mad is why people insist on defining themselves as one or the other. What is so special about these guys that we feel the need to come under their yolk like they're some kind of Jewish Rabbi.

In methodist circles, there is barely a week that goes by without some kind of trumpeting of the Wesleys. Now that I am in Bible college, people simply just have to make it painfully clear that they are either 5 point Calvanist or 5 point Arminian.

I think it is some very shaky ground to be stood upon if we are putting all our eggs into one theologians basket, because no man is infalliable. Otherwise we create a kind of papacy that the above mentioned reformists were all against! I am not saying either that we should go around creating our own theology willy nilly, but rather that we find the security of our beliefs in Christ Jesus

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." ~ Galatians 6:14

Heaven Rejoices

This is a song I came across a long time ago, but I still love the lyrics today. We quite often sing songs about what we feel about God, but this is a song about how the writer thinks God feels about us, and I agree. I particularly like the line

I know my ways are hard to understand
But my plan is greater than you can imagine
Through all the darkness, I've never left your side

A new chapter

Isn't life amazing? It's amazing for a lot of reasons. It's mysterious, it's entropic, it's infinitely diverse, it's full of experience and feelings and depth. I love life, and I love the God who designed it. How amazing is our God who made all of this just for his names sake, and he lavishes this creativity upon us, his prize possesion of all His creation (Ps 8).

I have got to experience so much of that beauty over the last 24 years back home in Northern Ireland. Stuff like StreetReach, Queen's University, High Street Methodist, the Mourne mountains, stuff I will never forget. But it's a funny ol' world isn't it? And God in His grace has begun writing a new chapter for me to play a part in His story.

When I look at my life 5 years ago, and indeed even from just this time last year, it's almost unrecognisable. The people whom I am surrounded by, the things I dedicate my 'nine til five' to have completely changed, but I do not lament this fact. Of course I miss people, but I praise God that he is revealing his will to me in new ways every single day.

After a short flirtation with banking, I have finally decided to go England and train as a youth worker. It is a move surrounded entirely by faith as I have no clue how I am going to pay for it all! So if if any of you reading would like to commit that to prayer, it would be greatly appreciated! I should also give a mention to the East Africa stuff I was involved in over the summer (see previous posts). It seems we have poked the bear, and now God is opening up a whole stream of possibilty there, so watch this space!

This last year for me has definitely been the hardest and most painful of my life, but in my pain God has proven faithful and is rebuilding my heart into something He can use. And for those of you who are suffering, I want you to know that God has seen your pain, and His heart breaks with yours.

The same man that the winds and waves obeyed,
Is the same man who was the first one to know pain
Same man could keep control of everything
Same man knows more than me about suffering

28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

working 9 to 5

As I wrap up my time with Northern Bank Ltd, I would like to say some things about the rat race that is the nine to five work culture. First of all I should say I have rather surprisingly enjoyed working for the bank. Beforehand I struggled with the idea of being trapped in a weekly routine commitment. However, I have enjoyed learning how to live in the professional world, and I have seen vast potential for God to work in this arena.

A lot can be said about the office. It's a lot like how my friend Donna puts it - like a "goldfish bowl". The dynamic/politics of it all can be at times complicated and intense. On the other hand, I can find the great beauty God intended for His creation in the diversity of the people I work with.

The common denominator I find with nearly all people is the desire for the weekend to come. Phrases like "I can not believe it's Monday", or "roll on Friday". Even during the day people watch every painstaking movement of the second hand on the clock, and it's this kind of living that moves me to frustration and then sorrow.

WHAT A WASTE

How much of your life do you want to have spent wishing away? Everytime you wish for it to be 5 oclock and then it comes, or wish for the weekend and then it passes, that is time you are never getting back. Oh how I wish people would realise that you can feel as much fulfilment in your life at 9am on a Wednesday morning as you can at 9pm on a Saturday night.

We need to see our daily routines as more than just going through the motions. We need to stop waiting for the weekends. In the end, what really all that special happens at the weekend? We need to stop waiting for something to happen in our lives. We only get to live it once, and we have got to make every second count.

How do we do this? We can work to the best of our abilities. We can purposefully bless those around us. We can be thankful for what we have, when there are plenty in the world who have a lot less. We can be the joy that we want to have in our lives. But more than this, we can make everything we do about our worship to our Creator. Not everyone believes in God, but if they would give it just one chance, to see that God came to give us life and life in its fullest (John 10:10) and not the nine to five monotony that we have become so familiar with in our lives.

He's desperate to give it to us, don't settle for anything less.

Student Loans

I can't decide if the student loan company is good or evil

It's good because you can take a huge loan, and it doesn't effect your credit rating for other borrowing. If you can't pay it back you don't. If you haven't paid it off within 20 years, your debt is forgiven. You can't default on any payments because it comes out of your wages before you get them. At the end of the day it's just glorified income tax.

It's evil because their rules are ridiculous. For example it discriminates against the middle class. If your parents earn less than a certain amount you get grants and fees paid for you. If you're parents are wealthy they can pay you through college. But if you're middle class, and you live in a family or 1, 2 or maybe even 3 siblings; your parents are expected to pay you through university with a minimal loan. This on top of having other children, a mortgage, and rising living costs to deal with, not to mention in this current climate - job insecurity!

Also if you're a second degree student, you can not get funding unless in special circumstances. What about the countless number of people who choose a degree when they're 18 and decide when they're done, or even worse when they don't even complete it, that the course leads to a path they do not want to pursue for their career. That is way too much pressure on someone not old enough to make a decision that will decide the path for the REST of their life. I mean how many 18 year olds really know what they want to do with their lives? Only a select few.

It leaves people feeling trapped and miserable in what they do. How many people aren't even using their degrees? Their should be more support for people who wish to retrain because often with a little bit of life experience they've found out what really drives them. This has been my experience, and if I have children I will be encouraging them to wait a few years after A Levels to try a few things, enjoy a bit of life, figure out what they're passionate about and then go for it.

Especially because there's big bursaries for those who are over 25, as they are considered "independant of their parents". What a pile of poppycock! So I'm living away from home permanently but just because I'm only 24 I'm still dependant on my parents?!

Another thing about all of this that bothers me is that 15 years ago, people were practically being paid to go to university. There was no such thing as the Student Loans company, because there was no need for one. The government was giving out grants practically saying "There you go son, go and get pissed for three years". Since then there's been tuition fees, top up fees, and now they're considering even doubling that.

I get it. I understand that universities need money to progress, but it's getting blind ridiculous. The only advantage to increased tuition fees will be that it will discourage people from taking on unnecessary degrees. There are too many degrees out there at the moment. The value of the degree has been cheapened. "I have a degree.....Oh who hasn't", which is a great shame.

/end rant

lip service

Everyone has pet hates, and one of my biggest ones is lip service. You know when people say something with their mouths, but you know it's a pile of bull, and they'll never follow through.

But there's a worse kind of lip service, the type when you actually believe what someone tells you, and you get disappointed or even hurt that they don't live up to their word.

I mean for goodness sake, don't say you'll do something if you never had any intention of making any kind of effort to follow it through. It's infinitely better to just be honest, so people know what to expect from each other.

As with all people in the hypocrites anonymous club, I have been guilty of my own pet hate.

my mate dave

Has anyone noticed that Dave is actually the most common name ever? You can actually walk into a room of people and exclaim "Dave!" and it's almost a dead-cert someone will react.

This post is about my friend Dave, whom I met camped beside the spar on botanic avenue on a freezing cold November night. I had just bought a new hat, that I was particularly fond of, and as I got chatting to him, he asked me if he could have my hat, and my heart was immediately endeared him.

As we shared with each other about our lives, mostly his, I could see a life of sorrow. His weather beaten face suggested years of being exposed to the elements, sleeping rough, and alchohol abuse. As I got to know him better I discovered that he had an amazing faith in Jesus Christ, and even more so that he writes hauntingly beautiful poetry about it. His faith brings him great joy in the midst of adversity.

Which makes me feel great shame. I'm not gonna do the whole "his faith puts us to shame" thing, but rather the churches inability to live out it's mandate given to us from Christ. That is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the prisoner. Why is a man like this who has such faith, on the streets? Why isn't the church doing it's job and taking in people like this? And this guy is a Christian, God help the unbelievers!

This guy even went to a church, that turned him away for his appearance, because they thought he looked like a "bum". I mean what? Have they not even read the Gospel? Jesus came to heal the sick, not the healthy! Is it too far to expect a Christian to invite people like Dave into their homes for a hot meal, even for a nights rest and a shower? Where does our responsibility end? Is it not up to the church to rehabilitate these people?

Anyway time passes by and I haven't seen Dave in a good few months. Don't know where he's been. On Saturday passed there I randomly decide after leaving some people off to the boat, that I wanna buy a hat from the Rusty Zip on Botanic Avenue. And yes, you guessed it, as I walked down the street, there was Dave sitting on that familiar spot beside the spar. I was so excited so see him, and I believe now, that it was no random act that I found myself there.

It turns out that Dave has pluracy on his lungs. He's in his 50's now, and with sleeping rough, and no one to take care of him, it's likely he's going to die someone soon. So he's decided to go to Edinburgh to see out the rest of his days in a place that he loves. I really hope he finds peace there. As he continued to share with me about his struggles with alcohol, his face lit up with joy in the knowledge that his faith covers his sin by the blood of the Lamb, and that someday real soon he is going to be redeemed with his maker.

His faith in an inspiration to me. One of his favourite sayings is "I have nothing yet I have everything, in the Lord". That is the kind of deep revelation one can only get by being close to the Father. It will be a sad day when he leaves this earth, and I believe the earth will notice his goodness missing. Please pray for Dave, for peace, for health, for his continued faith, for someone on this earth to love him.

I have another friend called Dave. He's just swanned off to East Africa for the indefinite future. He and his wife are wonderful people and I will miss them immensely, so please keep them in your thoughts too. There really is something about the name Dave!

Romania 2009

So I have just spent 2 weeks with 15 members of the church youth group (that of course includes Maurice) in a little village called Parhida, just off the Hungarian border in Romania. I received from God far more than I thought I would on this trip, as I continue through this journey I am on. It should be no surprise of course, as I remember God speaking to me before I left to expect more of him.

During the first week, everyday began with a beautifully designed study of 2 Corinthians that Maurice did, that give us an image to carry with us each day such as being the fragrance of Christ. We then split into 2 groups doing kids clubs in Parhida and Nuyved where between the two, over 100 children came!

I was part of the Nuyved group, and we were caught off guard when we found over 15 teenagers in our club. So we had to adapt quickly and 'wing' a programme for them. As it turned out, when we were put in a position where we weren't prepared, we found ourselves relying more on God to deliver, and as I am well discovering, unlike us He never fails.

We instantly developed a real chemsitry with this group without really having to do anything complicated. We played games, shared the Word of God, sang, and simply just hung out. It was hard to leave but we found a great sense of God's purposes for this trip, as we found out that one of the translators is in the process of setting up a permanent youth group after their experiences over the week. Please continue to pray for this

Later in the afternoon, we visited many locals, just sharing with each other and bringing small gifts of food parcels. It gave a real sense of our theme for the church services, "the body of Christ". We would often sing, and during one of the visits after singing Seek ye first, the lady said that the world "Hallelujah" transcends all languages. For some reason we then sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Just the chorus of course, but it moved this lady to tears. It was a special moment, little did Cohen know when he wrote this song that it would be claimed for the kingdom of God in a small house in the middle of Romania.

We were then usually treated to some of Hungary's finest cuisine, as we were spoilt by Andrea, our host. This was followed by one of the highlights of the trip, the "man shower". This included the boys stripping down to their togs and getting washed under tap and hose.


Over the second weekend we spent a few days living wildly in the bush 3 hours from Parhida. There was much apprehension within the group, as they all wondered how they would cope without some of the things we formally considered "basic needs". However I was so impressed with the attitude of the whole group, as we all got stuck into everything we were asked to do. The team grew closer, as we exerted testorone together chopping wood, as we gazed upon the stars beside the campfire, as we all stepped out of our comfort zones and did crazy things like jumping into dirty water.

Finally, on a personal level I have learnt so much here. I have learned much from our hosts about the freedom that comes in Christ, something I may share later. I have learned how ridiculous some of my insecurities are. And as maurice challenged us with on our last night, I have learned that God is able. I pray that we will all be more like Joshua & Caleb (Joshua 4), and return from enemy territory to say, "yep, with God we can do this, anything is possible", even in the refugee camps in the Congo.

faith begats faith

As I return from my travels in Africa and move on to Romania with the youth group, I'm feeling rather emotionless. I do not feel sorrow, I do not feel joy, just overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I'm having to take in, in such a short space of time, with no time in between to digest it all.

One thing I have learnt though is that...

faith begats faith

I'll explain what I mean. Simply put that means, the more faith one exercises the more faith one receives. When I try to step out in faith, the more faith I have that God can do more immeasurably that I can imagine. The more I resist the urge to say silent and speak the word of God, the more daring I become for the kingdom. The more I hand over my burdens to God, the more and more I see Him move in my life.

Faith itself is described as a Spiritual gift in 1 Cor 12. I believe everyone has a measure of this gift in their lives, for example it takes some faith just to believe in Jesus Christ. But like any Spiritual gift, you have to practice at it in order for it to improve. It requires a step of faith just to act out a gift.

So my prayer for Romania for myself and indeed all the youth is that we will step out in faith, speaking out God's word, prophesying, praying without ceasing, loving unconditionally, claiming the Kingdom of God, in order to grow in even more faith. If it requires only the faith of a mustard seed to move a mountain, just imagine what God could do with a group of 15 young people (one not so young! =D ) who are growing their faith everyday by exercising faith. God bless you and see you in 2 weeks.