We all spend our lives trying to work out which way to go, and as a man it’s even harder, because we men hate to ask for directions. We would rather spend two hours driving in circles than stop the car and ask someone how to get somewhere. My dad used to say “we are not lost – I just don’t know where we are!”
What does this have to do with anything? Well I want to tell you something, and that’s that some of us in this room are lost, and some of us don’t even know where we want to go, let alone how to get there. But I have good news for you, and that’s that not only can I tell you where you should want to go I can even tell you how to get there.
But before I tell you anything I thought Id tell you a bad joke.
A vicar was arriving at a small village church once and he had an important letter to post, he saw this young lad and asked where the nearest post office was. The boy told him the directions and so the vicar thanked him and said, "If you come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven." "I don't think I'll be there," the boy said. "You don't even know your way to the post office."
So lets start at the beginning… where are we going? Or put in the way that is used a lot more – what is the meaning of life?
This question is a question asked by everyone at some point in their lives, and many people say there is no answer to this. Well I have to tell you that those people are wrong, and you don’t even have to look very far to find the answer.
God created us in his image, and he created us to look after the world he created and to be best friends with God. When the earth was created everything was perfect, he was an artist who had put every little detail in place so that the earth was the exact way he wanted, every tree, every stream, every animal. He could have kept all of this too himself, his own private universe, but he wanted to share it, he created men and women, and he created them in his image and then he said “Fill the earth and Govern it!”
From the moment man and women were created God gave life meaning. That meaning can be summed up by one simple word. Love.
We were given the task to love the earth he created and to look after every part of it.
We were given the task to love each other and to look after each other.
And we were given these tasks because God loved us and wanted to share with us the perfect world he created.
So what happened, why is the world not still the perfect place he created?
Why is there more hate in the world than love?
Why is it that there is so much hurt in the world, with people beating people up and in some cases killing people for fun?
The answer to these questions, and the many others I could ask is amazingly simple, we forgot, ignored, and lost contact with the very thing that gave our lives meaning.
We all know the story of what happened. God gave one small rule, and even told what would happen if that rule was broken “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
No tricks here, No room for misunderstandings – a nice clear “if you do this you will die!” if only the story ended here, but it doesn’t does it!
Before I move on let me remind you what we had.
We had a relationship with God where we could walk and talk to him about anything
We had Gods trust and had been given the responsibility of looking after his perfect creation
We had a life with meaning – with love at its centre.
So the devil got involved and whispered
“That piece of fruit you’ve been told not to eat looks really tasty doesn’t it!”
“That piece of fruit looks so much nicer than the others!”
“Gods messing with you, hes keeping the best to himself!”
“Go on eat the fruit – you know you want to!”
“If you eat the fruit you won’t die!”
“If you eat the fruit you will be like God and know good and evil!”
Let’s face it, when something is whispered it’s so much louder and much more convincing and tempting, and yes the fruit was eaten. God was disobeyed and the result was death.
We lost the relationship with our, still perfect creator
We lost Gods trust
His creation was no longer perfect and so looking after it would be much harder
(smash glass)
Life’s meaning was shattered and we were doomed.
This time we have to be glad the story doesn’t end here.
Even though we disobeyed God and lost the very reason he had created us, which meant we were living life with no meaning, he still loved us and wanted the close relationship back.
He gave us some simple and clear laws to show us how far we were from him and to show us what we had to do and promised that if they were followed some of that meaning, that loving relationship, would be back, but we all know what happens when us stupid humans are told not to do something, we do the opposite and keep messing up.
Why did we keep messing up? Because we were searching for the meaning of life and ignoring God when he tried to point out what the real meaning was.
This left God with one option, that of punishment.
Before I continue lets have a quick recap, in-case I’ve lost you.
The meaning of Life is Love
Love of each other
Love of the world
Love of God
We messed up and life lost meaning
God wanted to give our lives meaning again but we ignored him.
Nice and simple, and it does help us to understand the world that we live in.
Over 70% of children and young people say they don’t fill loved.
People search for love wherever they can get it, with many doing whatever they can to make sure they don’t lose it when they think they have it.
The top reason for people drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs, having sex for the first time is often “I was scared they wouldn’t like me or love me if I didn’t!”
We were created to love and be loved, but because we have forgotten this and have lost this we have a hole in our lives. Most people know it is there, we try to fill it with so many things.
We try drugs and alcohol in order to forget that something’s missing, or to give our lives meaning, but these things destroy our lives even more and the hole get bigger and we need more to fill it, and the hole gets bigger so we take more, and then eventually all we have is the drugs and alcohol – every part of our lives becomes about getting a hit or a drink. We wake up, take a drink or a smoke, get dressed, take a drink or a smoke, eat lunch, take a drink or a smoke etc. It is no longer about filling a hole and making life easier it is about not being able to live without it and is infact the reason we live.
Its not just drugs or alcohol, it could be sex, work, money, football. I’m sure there are hundreds of things that people use in order to add meaning to their lives, but I want to tell you it simply and bluntly – we don’t need these things because they will never satisfy us!
The only thing that will satisfy us and make our lives the way they are meant to be is love – love of God, each other and the world!
You may be feeling lonely at school, work or at home – with God you always have someone and he will never leave you.
Your family may sometimes hurt you and you may not feel loved by them – with God you are always part of his family, and he will always love you.
Your friends may only seem to like you when you do things you don’t thing you should do – God will always be there for you and will never ask you to do anything that will harm you!
You may be jumping from one addiction to another trying to block out how you feel by using drugs, alcohol, sex, work, whatever – God is the only thing which will truly make things better.
The meaning of life is love
And the place we should want to go is back to God.
Earlier I said I was going to give you directions to how to get there, but before I do here’s another bad joke.
Two nuns were travelling through Europe in their car. They got to Transylvania and were stopped at a traffic light. Suddenly Dracula jumps onto the hood of their car and scratches the windshield!
"Quick, quick!" shouts the first nun, "What shall I do?"
"Turn on the wipers, that will get rid of this abomination," shouts the second.
The nun switches them on, knocking Dracula about, but he clings on and hisses at them loudly!
"What shall I do now?" shouts the first nun.
"Switch on the windshield washer, I filled it with Holy Water when we stopped in the Vatican!" says the second.
Dracula steams as the water burns his skin, but somehow manages to hang on. He hisses at the nuns even louder now!
"Now what?" screams the first nun.
"Show him your cross!" replies the second.
So the first nun rolls down the window and shouts: "GET OFF MY HOOD YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!!"
God knew we deserve to be punished for the way we were living. He had given us simple and effective rules to guide us back to him, we ignored them, we had turned his perfect creation into a world falling apart at its seams. But God still loved us.
The bible says it simply like this “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”
God loves us so much, and wants us to live our God given lives so much that he gave up his own son’s life so that we can live!
Its hard for us to understand why God does this, because we live in a world where love is something we can easily throw away, parents choose to leave their children, husbands choose to leave their wives, love doesn’t matter other than when something is wanted.
With God, and the love that gives our lives meaning, it’s different. This is a love which will always be there.
God looked at the world he created, the people he made and loves it, even though he doesn’t like what we do. Because of this love he wants us to experience life the way he meant it.
We needed to be punished but he wanted to give us one last chance, because he loves us so much. His solution – to send Jesus to be punished for each one of us! He was sent and died for you!
Even if you were the only person that existed he still would have sent Jesus – because he loves you!
He wants to have a relationship with you!
He wants to give your life meaning!
He wants to replace the addiction you have with love!
He wants to hold you when you cry!
He wants to share your problems!
He wants carry you when you get tired!
He didn’t do this in order to create a religion, to get you to come to church on Sunday. He did this because he wants to give your life a meaning and he wants a relationship with you the way it was originally – where we walk and talk to him, and where we look after the world he created.
Gods done his part – he’s taken the punishment so we don’t have to BUT there’s one thing we need to do, we need to accept the sacrifice and offer him back our life in return.
If you go to hug someone and they just stand there it is not a hug.
If you go to kiss someone and they turn away the kiss doesn’t happen.
If you don’t accept the sacrifice made for you, say sorry for the things you have done wrong, ask for help to stop doing things wrong, and then (with Gods help) try to change the way you live then it’s a wasted sacrifice.
Today you have an amazing opportunity to change your life and to give your life a meaning.
You have an opportunity to fill the hole you have in your life with the very love that you were created for. Don’t pass up the opportunity, start living today.
The meaning of life is the opposite to death.
God wants a relationship with you today, accept it.
Let’s Pray
Lord thank you that you love us no matter what we do
Fill our lives with that love today so that our lives have meaning again
Speak to each of us and reveal you love to us personally.
Remove any addictions we have in our lives so that we can see you clearer
Take control of our lives whether the first, second or hundredth time
Amen
Friday 19 September 2008
Tuesday 22 April 2008
letting go
A strange thing happened to me this weekend.
Now to fully understand this I have to go into a long story and as its now 1:38am Im not going to go into a long story so you probably wont understand it but oh well, no one reads this anyways so it doesnt matter does it!
Basicaly in church for the last 3 Sundays they have been doing a series on blessings and curses. This isnt a subject I'm a huge fan off because some Christians blame every bad thing on curses and forget that some people just make bad choices. I remember when i was younger I spoke to someone and said "nothing good ever happens to me, everything touch goes wrong" or words to that effect. The answer was "maybe your cursed, shall I pray for you to be freed from it?" now i was about 14 - I will leave it up to you to decide what i thought of that suggestion.
Anyways back to the present....
This Sunday was the final Sunday of the series and the theme was how to break curses and ensure blessings (or words to that effect). now Im not one to spiritualise every little thing in my life, but my story starts on Saturday night.
I went to a party and left it early in order to get a goods night sleep before church, i didnt event drink much. I got home, went to bed and then had the worst night sleep since I moved to Liverpool. I heard noises outside my window which kept me awake, I randomly felt really ill, every time i fell asleep something woke me up, and if i said i had about 2 hours sleep id be exagerating.
Sunday morning I felt very rough. I was so close to not going to church but I had a job to do which meant I had to be there, but I felt shocking. I got to church and felt even worse, I was coughing, and at one point I was sure I was going to be sick.
The worship began and I just kept feeling like I should leave but something was telling me I had to stay. The opening worship took place and did my job and went back to my seat and more worship took place and then there was the sermon. Now I cant honestly say I can tell you much about what was said but basicaly during it memories of the last nine years kept popping into my head.
Depression
parent issues
Fear of love
Fear of being hurt
Fear of being me
etc etc
all these and more kept coming up and I felt God say "today you will be healed" Now again I must say this is weird for me because many of the above are things I dont think of as major issues but at the same time I know they are.
But the main thing came after I felt God say this I suddenly became really scared.
What if I let go of all of these things and am healed and freed from the binds of past curses etc? who will I become? Will I still be me? Will I still be a good youth worker? and more questions just flowed into my head.
I know it sounds silly but in reality Ive always believed that the things i have gone through have made me who i am and the fear I had was that letting go of my past will change my present and so mess up my future.
I struggled with all of these questions and listed all the things I believed God wanted to heal and the reasons why I didnt want to let them go (in my head) and cried a few times whilst hoping no one noticed. Then Pastor said we were going to have a time of prayer ministry and anyone who wanted to be freed from things should come forward etc etc.
I stood there and watched and ignored my instincts and just sang more worship songs as people went forward but eventually I went forward and joined the big crowd and was eventually prayed for.
Now I believe that God done something to me on Sunday and I believe I am free of my pasts burdens and curses etc and am healed of depression because of Jesus. I beleive Satan was throwing everything in his power to stop me gettign to church on Sunday to stop me being ministerd to by God, but he didnt stop there. Even after the service I felt even sicker in the evening and doubts started coming into my mind. But when I awoke the next morning I knew that I was a free person because of God and whilst the devil will try to fool me the person I will listen to is God.
So whats my point? Im not actually sure.
I guess Im saying Gods amazing and dont forget it!
I guess Im saying God heals, dont let the devil stop it happening!
I guess Im saying dont be scared to let go!
I still have the devil (even as I type) whispering "what if youve lost you ability as a youth worker with it" but I am not prepared to listen because Gods on my side.
Not every bad thing is down to curses
Not every sickness is down to curses
God promises us all blessings so to each of you I say "God Bless you!" and pray that he heals anything in your lives that need healing, I pray that any curses or binds which are in your life (including those you dont know off) are broken in Jesus name.
Amen
God is good - enjoy his freedom!
Now to fully understand this I have to go into a long story and as its now 1:38am Im not going to go into a long story so you probably wont understand it but oh well, no one reads this anyways so it doesnt matter does it!
Basicaly in church for the last 3 Sundays they have been doing a series on blessings and curses. This isnt a subject I'm a huge fan off because some Christians blame every bad thing on curses and forget that some people just make bad choices. I remember when i was younger I spoke to someone and said "nothing good ever happens to me, everything touch goes wrong" or words to that effect. The answer was "maybe your cursed, shall I pray for you to be freed from it?" now i was about 14 - I will leave it up to you to decide what i thought of that suggestion.
Anyways back to the present....
This Sunday was the final Sunday of the series and the theme was how to break curses and ensure blessings (or words to that effect). now Im not one to spiritualise every little thing in my life, but my story starts on Saturday night.
I went to a party and left it early in order to get a goods night sleep before church, i didnt event drink much. I got home, went to bed and then had the worst night sleep since I moved to Liverpool. I heard noises outside my window which kept me awake, I randomly felt really ill, every time i fell asleep something woke me up, and if i said i had about 2 hours sleep id be exagerating.
Sunday morning I felt very rough. I was so close to not going to church but I had a job to do which meant I had to be there, but I felt shocking. I got to church and felt even worse, I was coughing, and at one point I was sure I was going to be sick.
The worship began and I just kept feeling like I should leave but something was telling me I had to stay. The opening worship took place and did my job and went back to my seat and more worship took place and then there was the sermon. Now I cant honestly say I can tell you much about what was said but basicaly during it memories of the last nine years kept popping into my head.
Depression
parent issues
Fear of love
Fear of being hurt
Fear of being me
etc etc
all these and more kept coming up and I felt God say "today you will be healed" Now again I must say this is weird for me because many of the above are things I dont think of as major issues but at the same time I know they are.
But the main thing came after I felt God say this I suddenly became really scared.
What if I let go of all of these things and am healed and freed from the binds of past curses etc? who will I become? Will I still be me? Will I still be a good youth worker? and more questions just flowed into my head.
I know it sounds silly but in reality Ive always believed that the things i have gone through have made me who i am and the fear I had was that letting go of my past will change my present and so mess up my future.
I struggled with all of these questions and listed all the things I believed God wanted to heal and the reasons why I didnt want to let them go (in my head) and cried a few times whilst hoping no one noticed. Then Pastor said we were going to have a time of prayer ministry and anyone who wanted to be freed from things should come forward etc etc.
I stood there and watched and ignored my instincts and just sang more worship songs as people went forward but eventually I went forward and joined the big crowd and was eventually prayed for.
Now I believe that God done something to me on Sunday and I believe I am free of my pasts burdens and curses etc and am healed of depression because of Jesus. I beleive Satan was throwing everything in his power to stop me gettign to church on Sunday to stop me being ministerd to by God, but he didnt stop there. Even after the service I felt even sicker in the evening and doubts started coming into my mind. But when I awoke the next morning I knew that I was a free person because of God and whilst the devil will try to fool me the person I will listen to is God.
So whats my point? Im not actually sure.
I guess Im saying Gods amazing and dont forget it!
I guess Im saying God heals, dont let the devil stop it happening!
I guess Im saying dont be scared to let go!
I still have the devil (even as I type) whispering "what if youve lost you ability as a youth worker with it" but I am not prepared to listen because Gods on my side.
Not every bad thing is down to curses
Not every sickness is down to curses
God promises us all blessings so to each of you I say "God Bless you!" and pray that he heals anything in your lives that need healing, I pray that any curses or binds which are in your life (including those you dont know off) are broken in Jesus name.
Amen
God is good - enjoy his freedom!
Friday 28 March 2008
Is it just me?
Today I begin my first proper break from work since starting my new job in January. I do not have to do any work until Wednesday. I dont have to get up early, to do any planning, or anything associated with work! so.....
is it just me that has this problem?
While I'm at it I have some more questions: -
- why did I wake up at 4:30am this morning with lots of work issues running through my head?
- why did I at 6:30am decide the only way I was going to be able to relax is if I finished a funding bid off and so proceeded to finish it and send it off?
- why am I trying to find things to do which will remove the temptation to pop into work to just check out a couple of things, just in case?
is it just me that has this problem?
While I'm at it I have some more questions: -
- is it just me who finally finds people who want to spend time with him off line and as such finds a "social life" and then doesnt have the time to actually spend time with the aformentioned people?
- is it just me who has lost many on line friends because of lack of time or energy to be online, but also have found other people have "disapeared" themselves and now seem un-contactable?
- Is it just me who has lost the passion for the internet but at the same time cant leave it alone (hense the blog)?
For those of you who still read these blogs heres a quick update on my life: -
- Works going well but is very stressful, with the old adage of "youth work being easy if it wasnt for the adults" being as true now as it ever was!
- social wise Ive attended 2 wine parties and hosted one dinner party in the last month - which is more social action than i had for the previous 6 years lol
- house wise im planning on using my few days off to get it sorted, 3 months after moving in!
- holiday wise im planning on taking 2 weeks off in April to go abroad somewhere hot - if anyone wants to go with me let me know (seriously!)
so thats it for now.
No promises of regular blogs, bo promises of being online more often, basicaly nothing at all!
does anyone else think this was just anouther waste of time, or is it just me?
Sunday 3 February 2008
well January was busy.....
This month has been a weird and busy one.
Obviously, as you know, I started a new job in Anfield (Liverpool) but on top of that Ive had a house to get sorted, football to go and watch, and a life to lead.
My job has started and seems to have never stopped. Basicaly I have been getting to know the area and the young people of the area, working with them to make plans for a youth programme, suggesting the programme to the leaders of the church and the agency, re-writting the youth programme after heated discusions about some of the programmes (mainly to do with timings), working on the streets to get to know the local youths who do not attend current activities, and finally making plans to launch the programme (which starts next week). Ive done all this and more this month but you get the picture.
Theres been frustrations and theres been joy and excitement, and I am 100% convinced I have made the right decisions in moving here and doing this job and am pleased with how this month has gone.
House wise the gas situation finally got sorted on the 9th of December, although the issue never seems to fully disapear - but I wont go into that now. The house is half way to being home. I finally put my bed together and so am no longer sleeping on my sofa. every room still looks messy as I basicaly have no time to get my teeth into sorting it out, which is very annoying as I want to start inviting people round and turning it into a proper home - but I'l get there eventually.
Ive been to 4 liverpool matches since I moved here, so that has been good, even tho liverpool are not exactly playing brilliantly at the moment.
Spiritually its a bit weird at the moment, church is great, the 2 hour services go quicker than any of the 1 hour services Ive been to recently and the pastor is an amazing man who speaks real sense both spiritually and in other parts of life.
Ive also been rewarded by God for taking the risk of following his path and taking a pay cut to change jobs. Basicaly when my grandad died last year he left my dad some money and after Christmas my dad told me and my brother and sister he was giving us £1000 each from Grandads money for us to use to have fun in his memory. I then recieved £600 back from British gas for overpaying bills, £210 back from the council for overpaying council tax, my landlord has said I would have the whole of January rent free and so saved £375 and there was one or two other small amounts of money which have arrived unexpectably. This all adds up to about £2200 and when put together with rent savings of £100 a month it meens my pay £3000 a year pay cut has been completely payed off. Thank You God!
So why did I say things spiritually have been weird? Well I'm struggling to get my head around some issues from my past which will effect my future and still sometimes start thinking about how I am 27, single, living alone, still isolated sometimes etc and sometimes this makes me resent the fact God has called me to be doing the work I do. But thats only some times so dont let that fool you, I definitly feel closer to God than I have done for a while.
Other issues I have at the moment which no matter how much I tell myself to forget about it wont go away, is things happening at my previous job since I left. Basically I was recently told by someone that since I left my name is mud due to things I did and didnt do whilst I was running the place. I dont pretend I ran the place perfectly and I know I made mistakes but it worries and annoys me that I hear that my succesor has started to go beyond questioning the ways I did things and things I didnt do for whatever reason and has now started basicaly accusing me of lieing about things because shes having more issues in here first couple of months than I did in 3 years. I know it shouldnt bother me but all I have is my reputation and for that to be questioned to the extreme of me being called a liar really hurts, especially as I cant defend myself because they are being done in such a way that in theory I shouldnt find out shes making them.
but anyways.....
Please pray for all of the above, especially about the next 2 weeks which is the biggest challenge Ive had for a while.
Anyways enough about me... hows you? what have I missed?
Obviously, as you know, I started a new job in Anfield (Liverpool) but on top of that Ive had a house to get sorted, football to go and watch, and a life to lead.
My job has started and seems to have never stopped. Basicaly I have been getting to know the area and the young people of the area, working with them to make plans for a youth programme, suggesting the programme to the leaders of the church and the agency, re-writting the youth programme after heated discusions about some of the programmes (mainly to do with timings), working on the streets to get to know the local youths who do not attend current activities, and finally making plans to launch the programme (which starts next week). Ive done all this and more this month but you get the picture.
Theres been frustrations and theres been joy and excitement, and I am 100% convinced I have made the right decisions in moving here and doing this job and am pleased with how this month has gone.
House wise the gas situation finally got sorted on the 9th of December, although the issue never seems to fully disapear - but I wont go into that now. The house is half way to being home. I finally put my bed together and so am no longer sleeping on my sofa. every room still looks messy as I basicaly have no time to get my teeth into sorting it out, which is very annoying as I want to start inviting people round and turning it into a proper home - but I'l get there eventually.
Ive been to 4 liverpool matches since I moved here, so that has been good, even tho liverpool are not exactly playing brilliantly at the moment.
Spiritually its a bit weird at the moment, church is great, the 2 hour services go quicker than any of the 1 hour services Ive been to recently and the pastor is an amazing man who speaks real sense both spiritually and in other parts of life.
Ive also been rewarded by God for taking the risk of following his path and taking a pay cut to change jobs. Basicaly when my grandad died last year he left my dad some money and after Christmas my dad told me and my brother and sister he was giving us £1000 each from Grandads money for us to use to have fun in his memory. I then recieved £600 back from British gas for overpaying bills, £210 back from the council for overpaying council tax, my landlord has said I would have the whole of January rent free and so saved £375 and there was one or two other small amounts of money which have arrived unexpectably. This all adds up to about £2200 and when put together with rent savings of £100 a month it meens my pay £3000 a year pay cut has been completely payed off. Thank You God!
So why did I say things spiritually have been weird? Well I'm struggling to get my head around some issues from my past which will effect my future and still sometimes start thinking about how I am 27, single, living alone, still isolated sometimes etc and sometimes this makes me resent the fact God has called me to be doing the work I do. But thats only some times so dont let that fool you, I definitly feel closer to God than I have done for a while.
Other issues I have at the moment which no matter how much I tell myself to forget about it wont go away, is things happening at my previous job since I left. Basically I was recently told by someone that since I left my name is mud due to things I did and didnt do whilst I was running the place. I dont pretend I ran the place perfectly and I know I made mistakes but it worries and annoys me that I hear that my succesor has started to go beyond questioning the ways I did things and things I didnt do for whatever reason and has now started basicaly accusing me of lieing about things because shes having more issues in here first couple of months than I did in 3 years. I know it shouldnt bother me but all I have is my reputation and for that to be questioned to the extreme of me being called a liar really hurts, especially as I cant defend myself because they are being done in such a way that in theory I shouldnt find out shes making them.
but anyways.....
Please pray for all of the above, especially about the next 2 weeks which is the biggest challenge Ive had for a while.
Anyways enough about me... hows you? what have I missed?
Thursday 3 January 2008
I should be working but..... (and new years resolutions)
Well today is the 2nd day of my new job, and the 3rd day of the new Year so it really is time I should blog, the problem, as Ive read so often on others blogs, is I currently dont have internet at home so am shockingly writing this at my desk when I should be working - shhhh dont tell my bosses.
So where to begin?
The move went well, way back on the 19th December, last year (how time flies) and a lot of great people helped fill a van up with my belongings before my dad drove it up to Liverpool for some more great people to help unpack the van. That all went very smoothly, but then disaster stuck!
(cue dramatic noise)
NO GAS!!!!!!!!!
to cut a long story short it turns out that for some reason Transco had turned the gas supply to the house off from the street, which is a lot more complicated that just turning a switch and meant that it could take 8 weeks to fix. No one was prepared to take the blame for this, Transco say they did it but dont know why they did it but are sure that the reason they did it was a valid reason, British Gas were shocked to find out this has happened and didnt know how to fix it but were sure that it could get fixed, and the Landlord was flabbergasted to have to deal with this whole situation!
It has meant that I havent paid my rent as I have no heating or hot water and thats illegal, so it has saved me money, but its still not exactly a nice thing to happen in the middle of Winter. As of today Transco have promised that it will definitly be fixed by early next week!
Luckily Christmas came up, and so on 24th December I jumped on a train and escaped my nice but cold house for the warm welcome of my mothers, and I stayed there until 1st Jaunary 2008.
So then we reached this year (yes im skipping Christmas and New year as, although they were great and I really enjoiyed them not much actually happened). On the 2nd of January I began my new job as Youth Connect Officer.
I got into work at 9am and was greeted and told someone would be with me soon but just to make myself comfortable and use the computer until someone does arrive. I decided to surf the web and search for other youth agencies in anfield who i should contact, so i used my time wisely. An hour past, then a second and then at 11:30 someone said "are you ok to come to a meeting tonight where we are planning the next years programme for youth work" I asked the time and the reply "I dont know yet" came. they left and I sat there still with no work, no knowledge of what I was supposed to be doing, but with a meeting to go to where I was planning my years worth of work. This was going to be interesting.
I left work at 3pm and discovered the meeting was at 8pm and so went and done a bit more housework and watched TV then went to the meeting. This was very productive, with me getting a real sense that, whilst the work will fill my time up a lot, there is lots of potential for amazing work to take place here.
So far my job is, running and overseeing lots of youth activities (in church and out)
Do detached work
Manage and supervise a careforce worker
and thats just on day 2 so by next week I may be even busier lol
thats all for now, but before I go I should give you my new years resolutions....
1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
3. Read less. Makes me think more.
4. Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
6. Stop bringing lunch from home: Eat out more.
7. Get in a whole NEW rut!
8. Spend my summer holiday in Cyberspace.
9. Get further in debt.
10. Don't believe politicians.
11. Avoid airplanes that spontaneously drop 1000 feet.
12. Don't swim with piranhas or sharks.
13. Associate with even worse people.
14. Spread out priorities beyond ability to keep track of them.
15. Wait around for opportunity.
16. Focus on the faults of others.
17. Mope about faults.
18. Never make New Year's resolutions again.
Now those I will keep to!
So where to begin?
The move went well, way back on the 19th December, last year (how time flies) and a lot of great people helped fill a van up with my belongings before my dad drove it up to Liverpool for some more great people to help unpack the van. That all went very smoothly, but then disaster stuck!
(cue dramatic noise)
NO GAS!!!!!!!!!
to cut a long story short it turns out that for some reason Transco had turned the gas supply to the house off from the street, which is a lot more complicated that just turning a switch and meant that it could take 8 weeks to fix. No one was prepared to take the blame for this, Transco say they did it but dont know why they did it but are sure that the reason they did it was a valid reason, British Gas were shocked to find out this has happened and didnt know how to fix it but were sure that it could get fixed, and the Landlord was flabbergasted to have to deal with this whole situation!
It has meant that I havent paid my rent as I have no heating or hot water and thats illegal, so it has saved me money, but its still not exactly a nice thing to happen in the middle of Winter. As of today Transco have promised that it will definitly be fixed by early next week!
Luckily Christmas came up, and so on 24th December I jumped on a train and escaped my nice but cold house for the warm welcome of my mothers, and I stayed there until 1st Jaunary 2008.
So then we reached this year (yes im skipping Christmas and New year as, although they were great and I really enjoiyed them not much actually happened). On the 2nd of January I began my new job as Youth Connect Officer.
I got into work at 9am and was greeted and told someone would be with me soon but just to make myself comfortable and use the computer until someone does arrive. I decided to surf the web and search for other youth agencies in anfield who i should contact, so i used my time wisely. An hour past, then a second and then at 11:30 someone said "are you ok to come to a meeting tonight where we are planning the next years programme for youth work" I asked the time and the reply "I dont know yet" came. they left and I sat there still with no work, no knowledge of what I was supposed to be doing, but with a meeting to go to where I was planning my years worth of work. This was going to be interesting.
I left work at 3pm and discovered the meeting was at 8pm and so went and done a bit more housework and watched TV then went to the meeting. This was very productive, with me getting a real sense that, whilst the work will fill my time up a lot, there is lots of potential for amazing work to take place here.
So far my job is, running and overseeing lots of youth activities (in church and out)
Do detached work
Manage and supervise a careforce worker
and thats just on day 2 so by next week I may be even busier lol
thats all for now, but before I go I should give you my new years resolutions....
1. Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
3. Read less. Makes me think more.
4. Watch more TV. I've been missing some good stuff.
5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
6. Stop bringing lunch from home: Eat out more.
7. Get in a whole NEW rut!
8. Spend my summer holiday in Cyberspace.
9. Get further in debt.
10. Don't believe politicians.
11. Avoid airplanes that spontaneously drop 1000 feet.
12. Don't swim with piranhas or sharks.
13. Associate with even worse people.
14. Spread out priorities beyond ability to keep track of them.
15. Wait around for opportunity.
16. Focus on the faults of others.
17. Mope about faults.
18. Never make New Year's resolutions again.
Now those I will keep to!
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