Friday, March 16, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
It feels like an age since I actually wrote something on this ("That's because it is Charlie" I hear you shouting at your screen) Things have been very busy and very intense in our lives for a multitude of reasons. However, though I have not been writing, does not mean I have not been thinking and journeying anyways. I know it is hard to believe, but lifes journey continues whether we blog or not!!!
January was a busy and stressful month for numerous reasons. Mainly it signalled the beginning of a hectic three month period of time in terms of my candidating for the church. I had medical and pyschological testing at the beginning of the month which was then followed by two exams that I had to take to part ensure my entry into university again. The medical was fine and I was not told anything I did not already know. The psychological stuff was fine also, though the result of it I would not find out until February. The exams were okay. I had prepared pretty well (which is a first in my life in terms of school work) in that I had been working specifically for them since the end of November. Paper one went as I expected and I got the questions that I thought would come up and so was well prepared. However, paper two was a different story. I came out of that exam wondering if I had done well at all, questioning if I had even answered any of the questions that were being asked.
So February arrived and I had another hurdle to jump in the candidates procedure. The 'Candidates Committee' is a two night/three day residential that takes the form of intense interviewing by the church of those putting themselves forward to serve as ministers. It was a good couple of days work if not a little draining. I was asked about my conversion and the my perceived call to the ministry, I was asked about my work experience and about my personal spirituality as well as about how Margaret and I would cope with the pressures and rigours of ordained life. I also got feedback on my psychological testing which was interesting. I agreed with some of what the psychologist had to say and did not agree with some. Basically I discovered that I (and some other candidates) read different key words in questions than what we should have. The psychologist made the observation that I reached the top of the scale in the stress test, i.e. I handle stress well. She then wondered was I "extremely emotionally stable or was I so laid back that I was horizontal", and asked me was there anything that causes me stress or anxiousness. I told her that there were things in life that would stress me, though not many. It was an interesting interview and confirmed some things and revealed some others. Mostly though, it taught me that a person cannot be defined or known by the answers they give in a psychological test.
Towards the end of February, Eva got the chicken pox and suffered for a week or so with it. She got them pretty bad and it was painful for Margaret and I to watch her. but she is a wee fighter and took it all very well - they did knock her off form a wee bit but she did not seem to moan or complain much. After she got over the pox, some viral thing found its way into her wee body and she woke up a few night red hot all over with a temperature (fever). This actually affected her more than the chicken pox did. Poor wee Eva, she seems to be over the worst of it all now and is back at her laughing and entertaining best.
In March, I got some good news regarding my plans to study for ministry. On march 12th I got the result of the exams I sat in January and I got an A grade. This is the half way point in the course I am taking to get into university and it is good to be sitting with an A grade at this stage. I also came before the Belfast Synod of the Methodist Church as part of my candidacy for ordained ministry. This involves being interviewed by one minister in front of around 30 other ministers. Again I got through and was voted onto the next stage unanimously. Things are very much on course for university studies and ministry training starting in September of this year.
On the 24th of this month we will be picking up Miss Molly Skinner who is travelling from Florida to visit us and some other friends in Northern Ireland. We are very excited for her to come and it gives us the opportunity to make our first visit to the North Coast of 2007 - it really is beautiful up there.
I had a flash of home sickness for Florida this morning for one reason or another. Margaret and I miss our friends a lot and we miss our church family big time. We always find ourselves reflecting on how good a time we had there. We are glad to be home and we love having our friends and family here close by, but there are just times (like there were in Florida) when you miss people and you wish you were closer to them. Today's homesickness for Florida was one of those times.
That's enough for now. Lisa, if you are reading this, could you e-mail us your new contact details to Margaret's e-mail address?
Blessings
January was a busy and stressful month for numerous reasons. Mainly it signalled the beginning of a hectic three month period of time in terms of my candidating for the church. I had medical and pyschological testing at the beginning of the month which was then followed by two exams that I had to take to part ensure my entry into university again. The medical was fine and I was not told anything I did not already know. The psychological stuff was fine also, though the result of it I would not find out until February. The exams were okay. I had prepared pretty well (which is a first in my life in terms of school work) in that I had been working specifically for them since the end of November. Paper one went as I expected and I got the questions that I thought would come up and so was well prepared. However, paper two was a different story. I came out of that exam wondering if I had done well at all, questioning if I had even answered any of the questions that were being asked.
So February arrived and I had another hurdle to jump in the candidates procedure. The 'Candidates Committee' is a two night/three day residential that takes the form of intense interviewing by the church of those putting themselves forward to serve as ministers. It was a good couple of days work if not a little draining. I was asked about my conversion and the my perceived call to the ministry, I was asked about my work experience and about my personal spirituality as well as about how Margaret and I would cope with the pressures and rigours of ordained life. I also got feedback on my psychological testing which was interesting. I agreed with some of what the psychologist had to say and did not agree with some. Basically I discovered that I (and some other candidates) read different key words in questions than what we should have. The psychologist made the observation that I reached the top of the scale in the stress test, i.e. I handle stress well. She then wondered was I "extremely emotionally stable or was I so laid back that I was horizontal", and asked me was there anything that causes me stress or anxiousness. I told her that there were things in life that would stress me, though not many. It was an interesting interview and confirmed some things and revealed some others. Mostly though, it taught me that a person cannot be defined or known by the answers they give in a psychological test.
Towards the end of February, Eva got the chicken pox and suffered for a week or so with it. She got them pretty bad and it was painful for Margaret and I to watch her. but she is a wee fighter and took it all very well - they did knock her off form a wee bit but she did not seem to moan or complain much. After she got over the pox, some viral thing found its way into her wee body and she woke up a few night red hot all over with a temperature (fever). This actually affected her more than the chicken pox did. Poor wee Eva, she seems to be over the worst of it all now and is back at her laughing and entertaining best.
In March, I got some good news regarding my plans to study for ministry. On march 12th I got the result of the exams I sat in January and I got an A grade. This is the half way point in the course I am taking to get into university and it is good to be sitting with an A grade at this stage. I also came before the Belfast Synod of the Methodist Church as part of my candidacy for ordained ministry. This involves being interviewed by one minister in front of around 30 other ministers. Again I got through and was voted onto the next stage unanimously. Things are very much on course for university studies and ministry training starting in September of this year.
On the 24th of this month we will be picking up Miss Molly Skinner who is travelling from Florida to visit us and some other friends in Northern Ireland. We are very excited for her to come and it gives us the opportunity to make our first visit to the North Coast of 2007 - it really is beautiful up there.
I had a flash of home sickness for Florida this morning for one reason or another. Margaret and I miss our friends a lot and we miss our church family big time. We always find ourselves reflecting on how good a time we had there. We are glad to be home and we love having our friends and family here close by, but there are just times (like there were in Florida) when you miss people and you wish you were closer to them. Today's homesickness for Florida was one of those times.
That's enough for now. Lisa, if you are reading this, could you e-mail us your new contact details to Margaret's e-mail address?
Blessings
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
A couple of months since last update...sorry seems to be the only word. I am getting very bad at written updates in terms of their frequency but it is quality not quantity right? I thought so.
Firstly, let me say to all that read this and any friends of ours you are talking to that we sincerely hope you had an amazing holiday time and wish you a very blessed and dream filled 2007. The last month has been extremely busy for us in a number of areas. Let me explain.
At the end of November/beginning December, Margaret got to make a flying visit to Florida. A friend had made this possible for us to afford and so for her birthday and Christmas present she got to make the trip and stay with her best friend Jen. She got to see a few people but was generally flying below radar because the purpose of her trip was rest and relaxation as well as catch up with Jen and our Florida family, the Lawrence's. Meanwhile, I was at home with Eva and we got along just fine except for missing Mummy terribly. The trip was a success and Margaret got to indulge herself a little in what she loves to do most - shopping. She arrived home with all the Christmas shopping more or less done and I made a mental note to myself that this is a good and worthy thing to do in that it means I do not have a lot of dreaded shopping to do around Christmas.
I have continued my studies and speaking engagements and all is going well. I got results back from my candidates examinations that the church had me doing. I received a mark of 81% in the biblical studies paper and 73% in the theology paper and was very well pleased with these results as I have never achieved very highly in any examination I have done. Go me!!! The next stage of the candidates procedure that I am moving through is to have medical and psychological tests. These are both happening on the 9th January. As for the A level in Religious Studies that I have to complete for entrance into Queens University, I have two exams to sit this month on the 17th and 24th. I have been working hard for these for the last six weeks or so and am now at the final stage of preparation for them. I would ask for your prayers as these are important exams in terms of my academic progress. Preaching wise, I have had a couple of engagements at the start of December and then a nice break over Christmas and now have a couple more coming up at the end of this month and the beginning of February. The opportunities keep arising for preaching and I am very happy to take them. I have a particularly 'big' opportunity coming up in February, when I am speaking at an event called Mannafest (www.yfcni.org/index.cfm?id=23). This is the largest regular youth event that happens in Northern Ireland. I have been asked to speak on fasting - some of you may be laughing right now - and am in the middle of the journey of preparation for that in terms of both practice and study. Please pray that preparations for that night will continue to go well and that the 'big' stage will not be intimidating for me.
Christmas for us was lovely this year. It was our first at home for three years and much food and fun was had. Eva did not know fully what was going on in the run up Christmas day but when she got into opening presents on Christmas morning she got used to it pretty quickly. Her face was a picture every time she opened a present and saw what was inside and has been playing with everything since then. After opening gifts we got ourselves down to church for the Christmas morning service before setting off to get to my Mum and Dad's for christmas dinner. What a feast it was, if not a little over indulgent on my part - when I say over indulgent, I should say very over indulgent, in fact so over indulgent that I hurt after it (it was worth the pain though!!!!!) We enjoyed a lovely meal with my Mum and Dad and then later my brother and his wife and kids came and we had a lot of fun together playing games and generally enjoying each others company. It was a beautiful day. The next day is also a holiday here in Northern Ireland and it is called Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day. On this day we traditionally go to Margaret's Mum and Dad's house and have Christmas with her whole family. This was another great day with lots of eating!!! I have to say though, following the antics of the day before, I was a little less over indulgent - just a little!!!! We had a lovely relaxing day there and exchanged gifts together.
Yesterday, was New Year's Eve and this coincided with the last ever game of rugby to be played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin. lansdowne Road is the oldest international rugby stadium in the world and has been the head quarters of Irish Rugby for many years. The first ever game there was played over a 130 years ago between the two provinces of Leinster and Ulster. Ulster is my home province and a team that I regularly go to watch here in Belfast. Quite fittingly, the last ever game there was going to be played between the same teams that started everything all those years ago and so myself and a few friends got our hands on some tickets and made our way down to the ground to take part in a bit of history making. We had a great day together and watched our team play well in the first half. Unfortunately in the second half they forgot how to play and eventually lost the game. I will post a few pics of this occasion. Lansdowne Road as we know it will never host a game of rugby again but our current loss will be a future gain as the ground is to be re-developed and a new 50,000 all seater stadium is to be erected. They reckon it will be complete in 2008 and I look forward to attending games there in the future. For now though, it was a good feeling to be part of an historic occasion yesterday - even if my team got beat!!
Last night was relatively quiet for us. We normally host a party or attend a party on New Years Eve, but last night we stayed in. Eva had been a little ill over the last couple of days and we did not want to unsettle her any further, plus after all the festivities of the previous week we were probably due a break. It was nice to bring in the new year just the two of us together. We declared 2006 to have been a good year for us and now look forward to what 2007 will bring. My personal goals are to get through the A Level course I am studying and to continue in the candidating process for the church with view to starting university studies in September. I also want to continue building my preaching network up (If you know anyone that thinks I could do a service for them pass my number on!!!! I am willing to travel!!) In terms of my relationship with Christ, I hope 2007 will bring more depth and closeness, more questions and maybe even a few answers, a continued sense of call and purpose as well as the boldness to answer that call and fulfill that purpose. Together Margaret and I long for 2007 to be a year in which we grow as a couple and as parents. There are no New Year resolutions for us (apart from the usual 'lose the weight the holiday season helped me gain' one), just a desire to continue in our walk with God.
We really hope this year brings you all you wish for and a little bit more. Keep it real this year and walk closely and humbly with your God.
Blessings
Firstly, let me say to all that read this and any friends of ours you are talking to that we sincerely hope you had an amazing holiday time and wish you a very blessed and dream filled 2007. The last month has been extremely busy for us in a number of areas. Let me explain.
At the end of November/beginning December, Margaret got to make a flying visit to Florida. A friend had made this possible for us to afford and so for her birthday and Christmas present she got to make the trip and stay with her best friend Jen. She got to see a few people but was generally flying below radar because the purpose of her trip was rest and relaxation as well as catch up with Jen and our Florida family, the Lawrence's. Meanwhile, I was at home with Eva and we got along just fine except for missing Mummy terribly. The trip was a success and Margaret got to indulge herself a little in what she loves to do most - shopping. She arrived home with all the Christmas shopping more or less done and I made a mental note to myself that this is a good and worthy thing to do in that it means I do not have a lot of dreaded shopping to do around Christmas.
I have continued my studies and speaking engagements and all is going well. I got results back from my candidates examinations that the church had me doing. I received a mark of 81% in the biblical studies paper and 73% in the theology paper and was very well pleased with these results as I have never achieved very highly in any examination I have done. Go me!!! The next stage of the candidates procedure that I am moving through is to have medical and psychological tests. These are both happening on the 9th January. As for the A level in Religious Studies that I have to complete for entrance into Queens University, I have two exams to sit this month on the 17th and 24th. I have been working hard for these for the last six weeks or so and am now at the final stage of preparation for them. I would ask for your prayers as these are important exams in terms of my academic progress. Preaching wise, I have had a couple of engagements at the start of December and then a nice break over Christmas and now have a couple more coming up at the end of this month and the beginning of February. The opportunities keep arising for preaching and I am very happy to take them. I have a particularly 'big' opportunity coming up in February, when I am speaking at an event called Mannafest (www.yfcni.org/index.cfm?id=23). This is the largest regular youth event that happens in Northern Ireland. I have been asked to speak on fasting - some of you may be laughing right now - and am in the middle of the journey of preparation for that in terms of both practice and study. Please pray that preparations for that night will continue to go well and that the 'big' stage will not be intimidating for me.
Christmas for us was lovely this year. It was our first at home for three years and much food and fun was had. Eva did not know fully what was going on in the run up Christmas day but when she got into opening presents on Christmas morning she got used to it pretty quickly. Her face was a picture every time she opened a present and saw what was inside and has been playing with everything since then. After opening gifts we got ourselves down to church for the Christmas morning service before setting off to get to my Mum and Dad's for christmas dinner. What a feast it was, if not a little over indulgent on my part - when I say over indulgent, I should say very over indulgent, in fact so over indulgent that I hurt after it (it was worth the pain though!!!!!) We enjoyed a lovely meal with my Mum and Dad and then later my brother and his wife and kids came and we had a lot of fun together playing games and generally enjoying each others company. It was a beautiful day. The next day is also a holiday here in Northern Ireland and it is called Boxing Day or St Stephen's Day. On this day we traditionally go to Margaret's Mum and Dad's house and have Christmas with her whole family. This was another great day with lots of eating!!! I have to say though, following the antics of the day before, I was a little less over indulgent - just a little!!!! We had a lovely relaxing day there and exchanged gifts together.
Yesterday, was New Year's Eve and this coincided with the last ever game of rugby to be played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin. lansdowne Road is the oldest international rugby stadium in the world and has been the head quarters of Irish Rugby for many years. The first ever game there was played over a 130 years ago between the two provinces of Leinster and Ulster. Ulster is my home province and a team that I regularly go to watch here in Belfast. Quite fittingly, the last ever game there was going to be played between the same teams that started everything all those years ago and so myself and a few friends got our hands on some tickets and made our way down to the ground to take part in a bit of history making. We had a great day together and watched our team play well in the first half. Unfortunately in the second half they forgot how to play and eventually lost the game. I will post a few pics of this occasion. Lansdowne Road as we know it will never host a game of rugby again but our current loss will be a future gain as the ground is to be re-developed and a new 50,000 all seater stadium is to be erected. They reckon it will be complete in 2008 and I look forward to attending games there in the future. For now though, it was a good feeling to be part of an historic occasion yesterday - even if my team got beat!!
Last night was relatively quiet for us. We normally host a party or attend a party on New Years Eve, but last night we stayed in. Eva had been a little ill over the last couple of days and we did not want to unsettle her any further, plus after all the festivities of the previous week we were probably due a break. It was nice to bring in the new year just the two of us together. We declared 2006 to have been a good year for us and now look forward to what 2007 will bring. My personal goals are to get through the A Level course I am studying and to continue in the candidating process for the church with view to starting university studies in September. I also want to continue building my preaching network up (If you know anyone that thinks I could do a service for them pass my number on!!!! I am willing to travel!!) In terms of my relationship with Christ, I hope 2007 will bring more depth and closeness, more questions and maybe even a few answers, a continued sense of call and purpose as well as the boldness to answer that call and fulfill that purpose. Together Margaret and I long for 2007 to be a year in which we grow as a couple and as parents. There are no New Year resolutions for us (apart from the usual 'lose the weight the holiday season helped me gain' one), just a desire to continue in our walk with God.
We really hope this year brings you all you wish for and a little bit more. Keep it real this year and walk closely and humbly with your God.
Blessings
Monday, December 25, 2006
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