HD is for hair dye.

In my last post I mentioned that one of young people I work with went to Nicuagua to suport the Street Child World Cup (SCWC) on behalf on the methodist church. Well this Saturday sees one of our football fun fundraising events take place! This is going to be so different from so many other fundraising events I've done in the past, as this is very family orientated, and there is someone I know who has been affected and been out and looked at the conditions and the way peoples lives can be changed. 

Most of the fundraising I've done has been very different. Some has been for charity's I know like guide dogs, which obviously affected me directly but also indirectly, but others have been for topical charity's. 

In my high school days I thought it would be great to dress in orange from head to toe, and raise funds for the tsunami appeal. (Why orange? Because satsuma and tsunami in my mind sounded simmilar) 

I did ten star jumps for fifty pence and jogged a bit sang a few songs and was generally enthusiastically  a bit mad. I can't remember how much I raised, but the money went to someone far away, who I was vaguely connected to because we live on the same planet and I'd heard about it on the news. Yes it fired up my need to help, and I was as passionate as I could be at the time but Saturday will be different.

When we hear the total, as we have done a fair bit of fundraising already, I will look at the young person who was out there, it might sound strange, but to me I can almost see the people who will benefit in here eyes. I can see how much it means to her, for them and that, more than the promotional videos, more than the songs, or prayers inspires me. Her compassion almost calls to mine. I'm helping organise this event, which is also very different from handing money over to a teacher after doing a few star jumps while singing postman pat (I hated that song but it was worth a pound!) 

It's going to be chaos! But good chaos! And I'm glad to do my part.

Alright so what has that do do with hair dye?

Well, before I get to that I'd better update you a bit further. I am delighted to say that the college I applied for accepted me!  I'll be starting in October on the YMM course. But I'm also going to summer school in June, nervous and excited and eager to start sums up how I feel in a few words but the feelings are so much bigger! Sometimes I'll catch myself smiling when I'm thinking about it as I do little things like emptying the dishwasher or making a cupper sometimes I find I'm immpatient to start, but I'm  stopping my immpatient feelings by reading the books, (so far I have one, I'm looking for cheaper copy's of the others!) in that one book, so far there is already so much I didn't understand. I hope I can keep up!

Local preaching wise I've now had my fourth on trial service and my second assessment, like YMM there is so much to learn still, but I'm still loving learning. Things are strangely starting to make sence now in a way they didn't before and instead of flat words with one message it's almost like the word is becoming alive, some parts are so big I can walk round them and look at them from every angle and still not grasp it all. My old love of words and their meanings and origins is slowly being bellowed back into fire, but I still get worried that I'll not have room for all this knowledge so I'm trying to stay calm and focused. It's very easy to go off to somewhere different when you start looking at Greek word origins! 

My next service is a family service, I'm looking foward to the challenge but feel I need a bit of advice before I start tackling it, so I'll ask. After Saturday.

My poor mum was taken ill agin this Friday, so I spent a lot of Friday in hospital with her, she's home now, but there is still no obvious answer to her shakes.

So, hair dye. 

Obviously from before my tsunami satsuma days... I've always been... Well a little odd.  And last year (or maybe the year before that) I decided that I would donate my hair to the little princess trust. Well it's now at its length. So it's ready to be cut off and posted. Hooray!

So last week I had a thought, I could after a little while of not being able to dye my hair. But why not do it for SCWC? Since yesterday people have been picking colours and donating, (I've raised £75! So far! Better than doing star jumps for 50p...)

So by Saturday night my short hair, will be a mass of crazy colour (even some glow in the dark!) and hopefully I will have raised a little more.  

Tonight I've had a patch test done to make sure I'm not allergic to they dye, and so far so good! 

 I'm gonna miss my dark hair, but like college I'm also quite excited. :)

So if you can spare a prayer, please think of us on Saturday doing our bit. And please please pray for all the SCWC teams.

God bless you. 

Trish XxX 

The state of things

I know I said I'd write sooner but believe me it's been a whirl wind ride and I'm only on the first of three laps I think. 

The day of the sleepover my mum was taken ill and had to be taken into hospital this was an hour or so before I left. It's been a week and a half now and she came home on the same day she went in but she's still not right. 

The sleepover was brilliant and out of it I could add to my Sunday service the Sunday just gone. With the sleepover I brought home a t shirt and a cold. The cold I promptly passed on to at least four people (I'm really really sorry!) and the tshirt I preached in on Sunday. 

The tshirt was for the Street Child World Cup, which if you haven't heard of, you should go and look up! 

I hadn't heard of it until last year when one of our youth group applied to go to Nicuagua. (And went!) She got to see the Nicuaguan teams which the Methodist church are supporting, and then came back and told us all about it. It's really interesting to hear her speak and I'm sure she'll go on to raise awareness for many places and people not just in Nicuagua. 

It feels like she's just starting out on this big journey, and I feel privileged to be there at the start and honored to be one of the people in her life encouraging her to follow her heart. I'm certainly watching that space!

My journey continued a bit today as I sent off my APEL form to Cliff College. I hope this next step won't be too long in appearing even if I do find it quite frightening.  

I'm still going on the 100 happy days challenge. Somedays it's hard to think of something but there always is something there.  Normally I find myself thinking of two or three things in the day time then I find something bigger at night. Once or twice I've switched my phone off without posting,then remembered while saying my prayers, and had to switch it back on and post. 

Today might be sending off my forms. As it did make me happy. But I have a local preachers meeting today so it might be getting a good report. Or maybe it'll be less complicated and I'll put catching up with a friend. Whatever it is, I'm sure today will give me something. 

God bless you and be with you. 

Trish xx 

Before the big sleepover

For the last three years I have been involved in the big sleepover. For the last three years I have started by doing the icebreakers. For the last three years  I have resisted using the fat penguin joke. Maybe this year will be the year to use it!

In truth I don't like organising games, I'd like a chance to do something more complex but I'm not sure what. For the first two sleepovers I was actively involved on leading the late night worship. I don't think we have one this year. It was an amazing feeling though and it's one I don't think I'll ever forget. Especially that first year!

The first year I led a session on me and my community too and I think it went well. People enjoyed it anyway.  

Each sleepover had brought a different set of challenges with it and by now all of the young people know each other quite well and they know the leaders quite well so Ice breakers aren't needed really except for the scattering of younger ones who haven't been before. 

I can't wait for Sunday evening! I'll have that fantastic happy exhaustion (hopefully!) I'll look back at everything that maybe didn't go exactly to plan and smile because it was probably better that way.  I might type again on Monday and tell you how it all went. 

I had another form from Cliff College too, this time it was an APEL form. This helps them assess how much work and experience and learning I have in the areas covered by the course I've applied for. 

I'm glad I'm going to their summer school and I hope it will help me with the YMM course application. It's a bit daunting not knowing if I'm on the course or not yet. I know it will help me get a perminant post as a youth worker and it's what I really really want to do! It's what I've been called to do and it's taken me far too long to realise that.  

I was given a song to listen to a few days ago, and yesterday I managed to find time to do so, a line of the lyrics is as follows. 

'Your worlds not falling apart, its falling into place

I'm on the throne, stop holding on and just be held

Just be held, just be held'

It's not falling apart. It's falling into place. And that's how I feel. And what I need to be reminded of. The next part  told me I was still looking in the right place. 

Last Sunday during evening service I kept my eyes on the wooden cross next too the lectern. 

'If your eyes are on the storm

You'll wonder if I love you still.

But if your eyes are on the cross

You'll know I always have and I always will.'

So I was looking in the right place. 

I can't quite forget that none of this is in my hands. All I can do is listen for that call and when I hear it answer loud and clear. So if God wants me to go to cliff college, and be on the YMM course then all I can do is say okay. 

Recently I've been thinking a lot about the leap of faith I did in November to encourage the little girl with me. All the way up I was thinking 'what am I doing!?' But I kept going. Struggled so hard to get onto that platform. And I shook so much when I finally got on it at the top! But I leapt off. And survived!

Right now I think I'm climbing.  The course will be me getting onto that platform. 

But I know all the way through God will be there. And when I jump off it will be for him. 

God, help me fly for you. Help me help other to fly!

Numb!

I've just returned from the dentist! (It's not going to all be about the dentist.) And I now have half a numb tounge and half of my mouth numb. I've not had this before so it's all a bit new. I'm lucky when It comes to the dentist, I don't have to have something done very often. It was very strange having my tooth out especially as I could feel it in my nose! 

It left me thinking about the things that we are numb about in our lives the things that we just ignore. Maybe situations or even people we pass.

All I can think about is that I'd really like a cup of tea right now! But I can't until this numbness goes.  

I've also been taking part in the 100 happy days challenge. Every day you have to put something your happy about that day. Sometimes it'll be hard finding something I'm happy about. I'm only on day five, and so far so good. The people who set the challenge said that only 71% fail the challenge Which is sad.  I really really hope I can be part of the 29% that manage to finish it. It will be may? When I finish if I keep going till the end.

So today I'm probably happy that my tooth extraction didn't hurt. And I'm happy it's over.

What are you happy about? Do you think you could do the challenge?

Hope you have a good happy time till I type again. XxX 

God bless you. 

Legends.

I've been trying to write a few legends for one of my book series recently. I've written four so far, three about landmarks and one about a monster. 

Legends are immportant. Not only are they part of history but they are also a fundamental way of life in some places.  Ask anyone about the grim who is a Harry Potter fan or anyone in Suffolk about the black dog (they sound similar) and they'll tell you all about it. As someone not native, and they'll give you a blank look. 

Yes legends are stories that are told so much they become a legend. But I don't know where I would be without knowing about King Arthur, and I know I would love to meet Robin Hood, (even if only to beat him wrestling, he want very good at it apparently!).  

Legends take time. Years and years to establish. But inspiring someone through being good and true to yourself is something you can do right now. 

So if maybe, you want to be a legend, someone who is remembered time and time year after year, just try and be the best person you can. 

Oh, and if you see a sword in a stone, maybe give it a little pull? After all, it can't hurt to try can it!

Happy Christmas.

So it's that time of the year again and it's getting close to another day. 

Maybe you've opened all your gifts, (if you had any!) and maybe you've fallen to sleep in front of the telly. 

Whatever's happened to you today I hope it's been a good day. 

Christmas started for me this time yesterday when shuffling through my Facebook feed I hit upon something and I started to cry. (Emotional lows heading to a blog near you!)  I was a bit sad but also suddenly happy. 

This is what I realised (it's a little bit obvious so please forgive me)

Those tiny baby hands.... They're going to grow. 

And they're going to have hard nails hit into them. Nails that aren't much bigger than the hands are now. And at the moment, while this tiny tiny baby is just a baby. No one knows here on earth what will happen thirty three years down the line. 

We had a four day old baby in church this morning, she was as good as gold, quiet and relaxed. After nearly everyone held her. I didn't want to. I was so scared I'd start to cry.  Instead I looked at her tiny little hands for a second. And then focused on her happy parents. 

I did cry today though. I was given a book by a relative and with it a beautiful carved book mark. (I will take a picture!)

The book mark is like a paperclip, but it has an elephant on. And with last nights realisation and Christmas in general. I couldn't stop crying.  What was worse was I had to (or felt I had to) explain why I was crying.

Once again I miss my nan. 

But this Christmas has been nice. And it's not quite over yet, as there are still people to see. 

I didn't give any presents this year, I didn't even write cards. So for all my friends I will get round to giving you something, (even if it's being quiet when you ask me to be!) just be aware it might be next November!

And even though it's only got half an hour to go, I'd like to say.

Happy Christmas. To all of you. 

I hope it was a good one. And if maybe like me it wasn't or you got upset. Here. Have this!(*HUG!*) it might not help, but there are many days yet to come. If your going up a tough steep hill, think of the view from the top! And the rush of running back down the other side. 

And to paraphrase tiny Tim 

God bless you, everyone. XxX 

My mum.

We fight, We yell.

We hug and love. 

We think the other is brilliant! 

We think the other is horrible! 

We look after the other, 

We couldn't care less about the other. We share clothes, 

We think what the other wears is silly. 

We talk, 

We ignore each other. 

We think the other is beautiful. 

We think the other is not pretty. 

We want the other to change.

We don't want the other to change a thing. 

But above all. 

Today my mum is 60!!!

I love her. I miss her when I'm not home. (At least a little bit!)

We have the same temper and the same sort of face. We have the same size feet. 

She annoys the life out of me sometimes but I wouldn't change her for anything. 

I love you mum. 

Happy birthday. 

Love Trish. XxX