Blinkin' Blockers

I wrote my 'Blocking the blockers' blog on my birthday at the end of October.

Sad to say that some of the distractions are still, well, erm, distracting.

Why can't we get rid of those blinkin' blockers.

Agree that some of it is still in my head - but my worship is often support by sight and sound.

Test your geography

Use the gadget to the right and test your knowledge.

Let me know how you do.

Happy landings!

Nordic Dragon

Just thought I'd introduce you to the new helmet.

Although I may have partially cured the leaking visor on my Caberg, the thought that it was actually too big for me convinced me to swap it out for one that fits.

Having had an L for such a long time, it's weird squeezing into an S, but once on, it's nice.

Getting the helmet off is a bit like being born again, from what I can remember.

It has the all important flip down sun visor that really helps when it's sunny, obviously, but more essentially makes me feel like a fighter pilot when it's flipped down.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy looking at it as much I like wearing it.

Blocking out the blockers

I don't read much. When I do, I enjoy it. However, in order for me to enjoy reading, and really get into a book I need things around me to be just right.

I can't just sit in a noisy room and block everything out, it just doesn't work for me.

It's sort of the same for worship. I find it really difficult losing myself in worship and I've been wracking my brains to think why. Then it came to me. I need to concentrate too much!

What I mean is, I shouldn't need to concentrate, I should be able to focus completely on God. But I can't, or haven't been able to at least while we met at the URC. The conditions just have been right for me.

Why then, have I been able to completely lose myself in a huge tent with plastic seats and temporary floor - at Roots? Here's why:

- everybody is there for the same reason
- nobody cares what I'm doing or why
- the music is loud and my bad singing voice can't be heard
- the words to the songs hit the screen before they are needed

Not an exhaustive list - another reason is that the songs become so well known over a few days that the words aren't often needed to be seen - we know them. There's nothing else to think about - just Him.

I can't do much to change the conditions I find myself in back in Romford. I have to change myself!

The refurbished worship hall has the ingredients in technology and comfort to help me block out the blockers - with a bit of training and awareness in the AV room, volume, timely words, wandering cameras etc. will settle down and take more of those distractions away.

In my head I need to enter Romford citadel with a Big Top attitude. Jesus gave his life for me, is it too much to ask that conditions, at least in my head, are as perfect as they can be?

Let the work begin.

All I know.........

After a year of worshipping at the URC I have to say that I haven't enjoyed it all. I have been frustrated, uncomfortable, tired (sunday afternoons are for snoozing!) and have been slow getting there and quick getting home.

There are several reasons for this which I won't go into here, but suffice to say that it has affected my approach to worship. I've really tried to focus on what God has been saying to me.

This Sunday, the last in the afternoon at the URC (bless them for kindly opening their doors to us in an act of Christian love) God spoke loud and clear through the voices of the Singing company:

All I know is that You died for me, so that I can be forgiven
And all I know is that you lived on earth, so that I can live in Heaven.

The verses talk about not knowing the answers or reasons to a whole bunch of things, like why the sun keeps burning. There's lots of things I don't get, and probably never will.

Thank you God that I do get that single truth.

As we move back into our refurbished Church, help us make it possible for others to 'get' also.

Please pray for Chris Taylor

Unusual for me to request prayer I know, but my thoughts over the past few weeks have been with the family of one of my colleagues.

Chris Taylor, who has only been with our company for a couple of months, tragically lost his daughter in a car accident a few weeks ago. He has returned to work this week, and it's not surprising that he is finding it difficult.

I learned a little about the circumstances of the accident today and it sounded horrific.

My prayers, and I hope yours too, are with Chris and his family as they somehow continue to live day by day without their precious daughter.

Worth the wait?

The tickets were bought, holidays had, and the day arrived. It was Maze in concert night.

We arrived early as there was no indication of what time Maze would hit the stage.....but coffee and cake with friends we met at Hammersmith helped the time to pass. Then, into the auditaurium. Tickets in the stalls, we walked and walked further toward the front and stopped at Row H, 8 rows from the front, almost smack in the middle. What a view!

We waited. While 2 fellas (once of light of the world) sang covers of old classics. They were actually quite good.

We waited. While the crew checked all kit for the umpteenth time.

We waited. While the guys on stage tried to attract the attention of the guys in charge of house lights. They finally went down and in the darkness we could see the band take their places.

I love that feeling of anticipation, seconds before the moment in time you've been waiting for, and excited about.

The stage lights came up and the band hit their first note. For the first time in 10 years in the UK, and over 20 since we last saw them.

With a huge cheer, Frankie Beverly ran onto the stage and at 61 looked very fit (physically) all in white with trademark baseball cap. He still sounds fantastic too.

I was surprised that it took a few numbers for the crowd to get to it's feet, but we we were finally all up the whole atmosphere changed into something more like a huge party.

At such events, I feel so free to do what I want, nobody cares, and if they do so what? I can't dance to save my life, and being amongst a predominantly black audience I should have felt intimidated by their natural rhythm but no, I just enjoyed myself. It's a shame I don't feel the same when I'm at Church, but I don't and that is that.

Back to Maze. They didn't let us down, and sang all the favorites. The time was ticking on and we knew the evening couldn't end without one particular song, and when the crew rolled on the keyboard to centre stage we knew that time had come......it was Joy and Pain. It's a classic. At the end, we were all singing Joy and and pain, is like sunshine and rain over and over, just like in the live album Live in New Orleans. Sent shivers up the back of my neck it did.

All too soon, the band had completed their set, come back for an encore and the lights were back up. Leg achy and weiry we made our way home, with favorite melodies still ringing in our heads.

Maze sing a song called 'I wanna thank you' I've always been sure it's aimed at God. While I wanna thank God too (cos he made it this way), tonight Frankie Beverly, I wanna thank you, it was well worth the wait.

8 un-fascinating things about me

Thanks to Dawn for tagging me, here goes:


1. - I wanted to become a policeman – still do!

2. - When I was in hospital having my appendix out, the nurse (a large black lady/mamma), in her haste to give me an injection on my buttock, ripped my pyjama trousers in half. I called out to my mum for help as she was waiting outside the curtain. I was 18 at the time!

3. - When I worked for Lloyds Bank I used to go the Post Office every day, and vowed that I would never work in a Post office. I have worked for the Post Office for 22 years.

4. - When I was younger I hated motorbikes and vowed I would never ride one – I have been riding a motorbike for the past 14 years

5. - I will never vow to never do something again.

6. - I have a tattoo of Jesus on my arm, but most people can't work out what it is. Some have said "oh yeah, it says Jesus in Chinese, right?"

7. - I’m rubbish at knowing what to buy people (Liz!) for Christmas. It’s always inappropriate or unwanted. Oh yeah, Birkenstocks? – why didn’t I think of that, doh!

8. - I once missed the school sports day to see the Queen visit Hackney, with my Auntie. I got spotted at the bus stop, ah, not part of the plan – in making the point that I had the form down, the bullies made me do all the track and field events before class each morning – the whole school could see the sports field from the form rooms! I learnt the value of taking my commitments seriously (and preferred embarrassment to being beaten up!). My spiritual gift is now ‘Helps’.

Can't tag anybody as eveybody I know has done this now!

Wanna get into the groove?

As has been advertised at the bottom of this blog for some time, we are off to see Maze on the 20th Sept (Hammersmith Apollo). I purchased 3 tickets as that was the only way could get great seats (in the middle near the front!). However, we haven't really thought about who might want to come along.

If you like Maze and want to come, or are not sure who Maze are (have a look at the clip of Joy and Pain) and still want to come, then leave a comment.

It promises to be a great night!

What was I doing when....?

I feel fortunate and valued to have been nominated to provide my whereabouts at time of the following 5 historical days:

Princess Diana's death - 31 August 1997

I was in bed, when Liz woke me up to tell me the news. Shocked, I got up and watched the news unfold. I'm still in shock now!

Margaret Thatcher's resignation - 22 November 1990

Although I remember this happening, I've never really followed politics too closely, so cannot remember the events that led to the Iron Lady resigning.

Attack on the twin towers - 11 September 2001

I remember being at work, when somebody mentioned that plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. There were a couple of still pictures on the net, but I didn't get to know the full horror until I got home from work. Tragic!

England's World Cup semi final v Germany - 4 July 1990

(Quoted from Liz's blog as we share the memory) This was the Saturday that the Romford Youth were involved in the Territorial Congress doing Drama, under the tutilage of Stuart Grinstead. So, as we were still in The Youth then, we all piled round to Keith and Fiona's afterwards to watch it on their tele - wasn't it the one where Gazza cried and... we lost. I recall Liz being obsessed with seeing images of Lothar Matteus ( SP??)

President Kennedy's Assassination - 22 November 1963

I was only 1 and had no idea what a grassy knoll was, or book depository store for that matter!

I'm going to be boring and not nominate, as the only people I know have already been nominated. Sorry folks!

A55 or A5 that is the question

The website of the campsite where we are going on holiday suggest that SatNav will not direct you the best route – they kindly provided a map which still doesn’t give you the proper route, but suggests the A55 is better then the A5.

The problem is, to get onto the A55 we would have to stay on the M6 right up to, almost, Liverpool and then go across on the A55.

I couldn’t see where the gain was, so I emailed the campsite people for advice.

I received a response:

Hello,

Yes, the A55 is a much faster route than the A5.


I then received another response:

Hello again,

Have had a debate with my husband and he says that the A5 would be a more direct route. So, it is really a matter of preference I suppose. Good luck anyway

Question – can you have a preference if you don’t understand the difference between the 2 choices?

Culture Change

At work, I volunteered to be part of a focus group whose remit was to look at the Culture of our department (approx 150 people). Recent surveys suggested there might be some Cultural problems and our ‘Head of’ wants to get to bottom of the problems. (thump table with fist when you say ‘problems’ - Try this now.)

Over the past months we have undertaken some surveys, workshops etc. to establish where the biggest gaps (between where we are and where we should be) are. We’re currently asking people what’s causing the gaps, and what could be done about it? The information coming in has some common themes, which seem to underlie a feeling of ‘resentment’ ‘injustice’ ‘fear’ etc.

Here’s the thing.

Culture isn’t something you can apply a new process to to fix/change. You can apply processes differently/fairly which might make people feel better, over a period of time, but there aren’t many quick wins with this. However, the ‘Boss’ is getting restless, and is putting pressure on the group (who are doing this in ‘spare time’) to come up with the solutions and plans to deploy. He wants to see results, (thump) now! I think he’s missed the point.

A definition of Organisational Culture is:

Organisational culture refers to the patterns of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience that have developed during the course of an organisation’s history, and which tend to be manifested in its material arrangements and in the behaviours of its members”.

We have our work cut out!

What about culture in our church?

Ditto – I think.

Reading this back I’ve realised that for church, I have the same attitude as ‘the Boss’ – but at work I see the need to tread carefully. A lesson in life for me.

The Great Walker Takes A Tumble

You may be aware that my family and a group of friends travelled into darkest Derbyshire last weekend for some walking.

I was going to blog about the experience, which will now have to wait.

My Son, and walker of great standing, is now not standing so well.

On a day out with Mum, Brother and Sister, the big fella cracked his knee open AGAIN!

This is the 3rd time this particular bendy bit has been bashed over the past 12 months. A year ago, just before a trip to Austria he cut it open, and probably should have gone to hospital, but his Mum and Dad made an executive decision not to bother.

This time, however, we did bother and the brave soldier now has 9 stitches in his knee. This may scupper his nocturnile escapades during his week away with Church.



In tribute to his efforts on Saturday, here he is taking a well earned break. There's a prize for correctly guessing what he is eating.

Well done Joe!