and so it continues…

i didn’t expect anything too random and eventful to happen again so soon but alas, animals are unpredictable! Thankfully I slept much better last night. No barking! I was awoken by the door bell…which sorta freaked me out but it was ok. Just a wee man collecting something. Anyway I sorted that out then was just outside letting the dogs out and came back inside to discover that somehow…a robin had flown into the house! I nearly freaked out!!! I didn’t want to scare it because I didn’t want it to crap all over the place so I very gingerly walked over to the windows and opened them and opened the door to try and get it out! But…then came Colo the cat! … the poor bird was done for! It tried to fly out but zoomed right into the window and knocked itself out and Colo got it and took it away somewhere…I don’t really know where…

So that was the mornings drama! And thankfully nothing else has really happened today.  Have spent the day watching Bleak House and then went for a lovely refreshing walk with the dogs!

Another relaxing day tomorow after church then graduation on Monday! AH

Well…I’ll keep ya updated!

Greensleeves!

and so the summer begins…

It is being quite the annual occurrance that for one, two, three or four weeks of the summer, i find myself house sitting for people in church. Who knew looking after a house, two dogs, two cats and countless chickens would be so…interesting!  So I’ve decided to share all the events and happenings of the next month with you all…just to keep you amused!

Lets go back to the start, just 2 days ago. I hardly got a wink of sleep on Thursday night, my first night in the house, because Crumble, the Labrador started barking and it feared me so much that I couldn’t fall asleep! I eventually did at some point in the night but I was woken up at 6am by more barking! I lay for a while, then gave up and got up to let the dogs out. I was then sitting minding my own business on the sofa when out of the corner of my eye chickens were just randomly dandering about the garden…and not in the hen house where they should be! If I’m honest though, I didn’t bolt up to chase them into their run/hutch thing, instead I just let them be and brought the dogs back in and went upstairs and got ready for work. When I came back downstairs I got some breakfast and let the dogs out one last time. By this stage stage the chickens has wandered by to their hutch area, although not quite inside it. I then went to get the dogs into their run to find that Daisy, the schnauzer had decided to run off! I went looking for her and found her down the lane. So I chased her back to the house and got them locked in. Finally on my way to work although I was a little late! As if my week hadn’t been hectic enough what with working 9-5 everyday and then having holiday bible club in church every night!!…

why do dogs bark at night?!

I went to bed almost 2 hours ago…it is now 2am and I am still awake! It is always in this time of not sleeping at night that my mind races about all sorts of things!

Well tonight it has been thinking about how every little aspect of our life, past, present and future matters and has already be planned out for us and contributes to life! I’ve probably written about something similar to this before, about how sometimes I find myself waiting for my life to start and how I generally find myself not living my life now, but waiting or planning for the next stage! Don’t get me wrong, planning is sometimes necessary, thinking about the future is important, but it’s also funny to think that really we can plan and plan and plan till our heart’s content, but unless we talk to God and seek His will for our lives, we may as well write a book that never gets published…because in my mind that’s sort of a waste of time! Sorry if you disagree!

Like the message I received earlier today said which I mentioned in my 365 – ‘keep your eyes on Jesus!’ Something which I do need to be reminded to do! Too often, I don’t do this! How easy is it to just live, and forget about the full picture. (my housemate has been thinking along slightly similar lines!) Forget that every small detail of our life is part of bigger things which we don’t always see at the time! I live life everyday (obviously) and sometimes hardly give a second thought to Jesus, who, let’s face it, ultimately gave me life! When I am reminded to keep my eyes on Jesus, I find myself getting happier, I feel a comforting presence which sometimes I can’t even describe but it is amazing though! Almost overwhelming!

God loves us and fills us with His love! He is there when we go through hard times! We have the promise of eternity to cling to when things are going rough! Life on earth isn’t very long compared to eternal life, with Jesus, in Heaven! I cannot wait to see what it’s gonna be like! To be honest I can’t even really begin to imagine what Heaven will be like! Life with no pain, no sadness, no suffering, no hunger, no thirst, no guilt, no worries….oh my goodness

Exciting!!

Here’s a little taster of God’s promises for our lives! I love youtube videos! don’t be distracted by the backgrounds…read the words of our Heavenly Father! Meditate on them, listen to what God is saying to you through these words:

except I hate how one video leads to another because I’ve just watched about 30 and its now 2:29am!! BOKE!

Its always when I set my alarm for 8am or earlier that I can’t sleep!!

Oh and with regard to the title of this blog…a dog has been barking nearly the whole time I’ve been in bed, and as soon as I typed the title…it stopped!! WOW!

good night all!

greensleeves!

community…lacking?!

All day long…I hadn’t had a millilitre of diet coke…I was doing so well…until I decided to go a wee dander into the town with my dog…I past a shop…diet coke called my name…I caved…life goes on!

Anyway as I was walking I was utterly amazed at how many houses I walked past all watching the same TV channel…well I’m guessing it was the same channel because it was a green screen with a lot of wee dots running around it…yes isn’t there some big match on tonight?! It’s been all over facebook all day…’can’t wait for g.a.w.a tonight’ and statuses to that effect…! I was particularly struck by the string of about 10 terrace houses all with the same channel on…now please don’t get me wrong here…I don’t intentionally stare into people’s living rooms to see what they’re watching, it’s just hard to miss a big green screen when it’s starting to get dark outside…it shines out!! Anyway this string of 10 houses made me a little sad because I just couldn’t help but think that this match gives so much opportunity for community! A chance to get to know your neighbor and share in a common interest and then maybe a drink or too and good craic and company, to be human beings together! Are we even capable of this anymore?!  Instead people are just sitting in their own houses, in their own company watching a green screen with dots all over it not interacting with others!! What has happened to the desire to have friends, to be friends and to need friends!?

It also made me think about how much of an opportunity the church has to reach out in this case! Not with a sermon, not with a praise night necessarily, but with a simple chance to love the community! To stick up a big screen in an empty church hall (church halls sit empty from week to week apart from the odd organisation…what a waste…when it could be put to use…!)and invite people in to watch said match with other people, Christian and non Christian! To extend an invitation into the wider community, to share fellowship just by watching a match! I cannot begin to count how many times this summer alone I have heard people ask…’how can we reach the community? How can we make church more appealing?’  Things are screaming out to be used! An empty church hall, a football match, tea and coffee…do the maths!! It soo simple and yet perish the thought that a church hall would be used for such heathen behaviour!

But even getting back to the houses in a row I mentioned, like is it so unthinkable for people to talk to their neighbours these days?! I mean why do people not want to have friends? There is SO much opportunity to do this but people just don’t take these opportunities! Opportunities to have community, to have friendships in their lives and they are literally on their doorstep…! I don’t really understand politics enough to go on a rant about sectarian divides and whatever else but I do know that the world in is a sad state if neighbours on the same street can’t even watch a football match together in the same room! Maybe I’ve got it all wrong and they just want to be in on their own enjoying it…but somehow tat just doesn’t strike me as a good enough reason!

To be honest I don’t know why I feel so strongly about this, I guess this summer I have just learnt a lot about the importance of community and impact that it has on our individuals lives! You can learn SO much from other people and it is a gift from God!

Christians especially, we should be going that extra mile to include people, we are commanded to love our neighbours, and so what a simple way to do it…!

Lost and Found

Last Christmas I was sitting watching tv when I received a message from my friend saying there was some cartoon on with a penguin in it! I LOVE penguins and so switched it on and oh my gosh was it the best half hour of tv I watched ALL christmas! Such a simple little programme with such a beautiful message of friendship and kindness (between man and penguin )

So basically it was based on a book ‘Lost and Found’ by Oliver Jeffers, who studied at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown (I think!), about a little penguin who just wants a friend!

‘The penguin looked sad and the boy thought it must be lost…the penguin wasn’t lost, he was just lonely!’

If you ever see it on tv watch it because it really is such a heart warming little story! The book is also gorge…I have it…I actually have 2 copies of it!

ha…I’m so cool!!

enjoy!

PS…I also have just discovered you can change the colour of your font! I love wordpress!!!

headache and sore throat…SWINE FLU??!!

you mention that you have a sore throat and a headache and all of a sudden…it blows out of proportion and people think you’ve swine flu and tell you to stay away!! I admit I am guilty of the same accusation but now…I’m seeing the non-funny side!!

It is amazing how one develops a common cold…so quickly!! or just develops such symptoms that will not evolve into something too sinister…she hopes!

right now I’m sitting in bed with a busting headache, a sore throat, a hot water bottle and some lemsip…this doesn’t bode well for the next few days! But…here’s hopin its just a bita tiredness mixed with the sniffles/bunged-uples!!

dogs, cats…hens…goats AND a pig!

I don’t know how I end up looking after animals such as the ones in the title of this entry…but this weekend…I am!! ok so dogs and cats…no problem…goats are ok because they just wander about aimlessly in the field eating grass…the pig…EUGH…but just throw some pig feed into sty thingy and its all good…but hens?! I just don’t understand them!! So I have to admit that when I arrived at the house last night very tired after a busy night at Holiday Bible Club, I very quickly skimmed the animal instructions I’d been left and there was no mention of the hens and it was dark so completely forgot about them until this morning! You know when you think you’re still dreaming because you are seeing things?! Like when you open the curtains and look out and the patio is swarming with flippin hens!…then you realise that you were actually woken by a real life rooster!…WELL…that happened to me this morning! I could hear in the background the cock-a-doodle-dooo of a rooster, I thought I was dreaming then I got up, opened the curtains and saw hens dandering around the patio and then i thought CRAAAP…I was meant to put the little door down on the chicken coop…OOOPS!! aww well!! and the funny thing is…I don’t no how many hens there’s supposed to be so I don’t no if any of them have like…run away…do hens runaway?!?! who knows?!

but apart from the animal antics, today has been great! on the go since 6:45am but a totally productive day…drove from ballymena to hillsborough, helped my uncle and his family load up the removal van and several cars with the contents of their house and move 40miles down the road!!great craic, great memories and agreat opportunity to spend time with my extended family and friends!

then…last night of holiday bible club…to be honest, i was so tired it was all a bit of a blur, but the kids enjoyed themselves! Its amazing how God uses his people to plant seeds in the hearts of the kids that came and as Christians we must pray that God helps those seeds to grow in whatever ways he chooses!

a thoroughly enjoyable day! finished off with some one tree hill!!