5 Days To Go!
After eight months of thinking and, praying and planning, my gap year is about to get under way!
It’s so weird that something that seemed so far off for so long now seems immensely real and immanent.
I’m spending these last few days at home, tying up a few loose ends and saying my good-byes, and even though I feel like I’m just waiting for Monday to arrive, I know God is still using me here.
Scared? Yes! Excited? Yes! And every step of the way I’m going with the One whose idea it was for me to do this in the first place!
See you…on the other side of the world!! 
Peru Anyone?
So, I’m going to Peru for my gap year, 1 months training, 6 months abroad and 2 months touring the UK, going to school and churches etc. My training starts in a few weeks, and I just thought I’d let you know what’s going through my mind in the run up.
It’s scary cause it’s such a long time away from home, but I know that it’ll be incredibly amazing. I’ll see God do some insane things, lives will be changed…including myown. Everyone tells me that the experience will change me, which isn’t exactly comforting…who will I become?! What if the whole thing turns out to be too difficult for me? And, I’m really looking forward to doing this, I think my team will be a great, but I’m the only guy… Yet, I know this is where God wants me, He’s brought my team together, He’s already provided for me in some awesome ways and I believe He will continue to look after me.
God want us to get involved with the stuff He’s doing. It’s not always going to be easy and fun, the Devil always tries and interferes with Gods work…but he never succeeds! “God is greater than the one who is in the world” and He never lets us get pushed beyond our limits. He’s faithful and will never abandon us, even in the toughest of situations.
Just thought I’d share this with you 
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DzlA5IDnpGhc&h=ZAQCMivV_
Two Beautiful Things
The first is the simplicity of water and sand coming together and making a massive tourist attraction all over the world! As God created beaches, I like to think He revelled in the joy that people would get from them
The second is the way that our lives inter-twine with others; like thousands of threads binding together to make a rope. We’re all on separate journeys, but our paths often cross and we get to travel some of the way with others. The idea that complete strangers can become friends amazes me! There have been people at various points in my life that I’ve seen on a regular basis but never actually spoken too…and then, some years later,we meet up again in different circumstances and become friends. I think it shows that our lives don’t just happen; we all have a purpose and our lives are going somewhere!
Just some random thoughts
For Zoe…
Zoe is my friend, and it turns out we’re in very similar places in life: she’s just finished school and is going onto to further education, I’ve just finished college and about to head out on my gap year. However, at the moment, we’re both waiting for these new adventures to happen and looking back on the ones we’ve already had. I wrote a song called “Between Chapters”, which is all about the tension of anticipating the future and letting go of the past. So here are the lyrics (dedicated to Zoe):
Is this the start, or is this the end?
I feel pulled in both directions;
The challenge of letting go
And the invitation to move on.
I’ve crossed the finished line,
But the race is about to begin.
Caught between the chapters
Of a book that’s still being written.
Tying up loose ends
And making new connections.
This time has a purpose, a reason:
To rest, to prepare, to be filled, to be sent out.
Where do I go from here?
Where do I go from here?
The path winds on,
But my feet won’t move.
I look over my shoulder
And all I can see…is home.
Optimisim In A Fallen World
I was walking into town the other day and I passed some kids playing out in the street. At one point, one of the kids (must have been about 4 years old) rode his bike round the corner and was out of sight of his parents, who were chatting in the door way. I didn’t see what happened, but the boy started crying…loudly! The parents then sprang into action, sprinting down the street and round the corner to their son. Neither of the parents was the athletic type, but that didn’t stop them from running to their child who was hurt.
This got me thinking (dangerous, I know ;-P), even with all the pain, suffering, injustice and all the nasty things in this world, there is still good reason to be optimistic. So these words came to my head:
“In the beginning the Earth was dark and void. Some think much hasn’t changed. They only see the half-empty glass.
Well my glass is half-full! I see a mothers love, the beauty of a purposefully built world, the forgiveness of a sinner.
There is light in the world and the darkness has not overcome it! A masterpiece can often look ugly before it becomes the beauty it was intentionally made for.”
A Natural Attraction
Most of us have seen a fire. Have you ever realised how enchanting (good word) they are? You can stare into them and completly loose track of what’s going on around you. You just get sucked into the dance of the flames. Fires seem to draw people to themselves, partly because of the warmth they can give, but there is something about them that is hugely attractive. That’s why people are encouraged to shout “fire!” instead of “rape!”, becasue fires draw the crowds.
Water is similar. We’ve got a water feature in the garden, it’s just a few ornate slabs with a pool at the bottom, but I often find myself captivated by the running water. I can stand there for a few moments, completly oblivious to my surroundings, then come back to my sences, as if coming out of a trance. maybe it’s just me…but I don’t think so.
Ever been surfing, skiing, snowboarding or something like that? If you have, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’ve never met anyone who’s said “oh, yeah, surfing, I’ve done that….it was a bit rubbish really”. Surfing, skiing…these things are immence! They give a kind of thrill that no man-made attraction could ever compete with. It feels so free and simple…it’s quirky (another good word)!
I’m certain most of us can think of a view that has just taken our breath away. We look up to the night sky and are over-awed by billions of twinkling lights, and, if you’re like me, you love being inside when a storm is rageing outside.
So, what is it about nature that draws us in (those of us who haven’t lost our souls to bussiness and money-making anyway)? Why is nature so attractive?
(P.S. How was my vocab? 
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Having the Right Words
I don’t know about you, but I often struggle to find the words that describe how I’m feeling. So I end up using the same words over and over, like: cool, awesome, amazing, exciting, like, so….the list goes on.
Even when people ask me how I’m doing, it’s often: fine, great, tired, it’s an automatic response. I say these things even when I’m not feeling any of them!
So, not only does this make writing things like essays, songs, stories and blogs really difficult and frustrating, it also makes the words that I use so often, meaningless. Cause I use them all the time, they loose all meaning…to me at least.
I’ve got to widen my vocabulary. So that’s my challenge, the use one new word everyday!
What D'you Say?!