This season's must have....

Me and my cousin thought we'd try this season's look...... in none other than Harrods!!

What about these?? (Bargain at £165!)




These are by far the best - don't you think?!

Starbucks 'n other things....

Just thought I'd let you know that I checked out the re-furbished Starbucks today (and their new range of muffins!!) - definitely worth a visit (or 6)!

I went to see Jo's new flat last night - very exciting it was too (and a good supply of coffee and cakes)!

Not that I'm overly concerned about coffee and cakes you realise.....

Anyway....I'm off to CRE tomorrow (Christian Resource Exhibition). First stop I think will be the 'African Praise Church Vestments' stand, to see if they have any suitable 'Youth Pastor' wear. As long as it comes in pink - I'm happy!!

Thursday afternoon is the funeral - so would value your prayers!

Friday I'll be back at work - ready for youth - yay!! By the way: if anyone from the youth band (who played in church on Sunday night) is reading - you guys were awesome!!

Have a good week all!!
Pen x

New job!!!

Today I started my new job, as Youth Pastor at Church! Ann and I have a month's handover time - before she leaves to have her ickle baby - bless!

It's cool for lots of reasons - but also because I knew from the age of 16/17 that I would be in full-time ministry one day. When people used to ask me that question 'what do you do?', I always used to reply with 'well, I work in insurance, but one day I believe I'll be in full-time ministry'.

I realised that over the years, I had stopped saying the last part, because although I believed that it would happen, I couldn't quite see how and when. It was only three weeks' ago - when I remembered this and thought 'hey, in three weeks' time, I'm going to be in full-time ministry!' Even though it's only for seven months, and I'm now 30 (not 17) - it's all part of God's plan - which is pretty awesome really!

So, if God's put something in your heart - trust Him with it! It may take a few years to come to fruition - but it's worth the wait!

Have a great week!
Pen x

PS: you might want to pray for the Elim crew who have to work with me now!! :-)

Goodbye to a very special person....

Last weekend, my Gran passed away peacefully in her sleep, whilst on a family holiday in France. It's been a very sad week for us as a family, and a complete shock, as she was full of laughter, life and health - and very close and special to us all.

....But faith in Christ alone, gives us the assurance of heaven. When you die - what then? John Maxwell tells of attending a funeral where the following poem was read: "I am standing on the seashore. A ship appears, spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till last she fades away on the horizon. Somebody at my side quietly says, 'She is gone.' Gone where? Gone from my vision, that is all; she is just as large as when I saw her last. The diminished size and loss of sight is in me, not her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says 'She is gone,' there are others who are watching her coming, and voices take up the joyful shout, 'Here she comes!'"

Thanks for all your texts, e-mails, cards, phone calls and prayers - they have been appreciated more than you know.
Pen xx

The gym induction......

Well.....I survived!!! Oh my goodness, what a LAUGH!!! Where do I start? I'm afraid to say that I laughed my way through the whole thing, and couldn't bring myself to take it too seriously! Thankfully I had an understanding young guy who was very helpful (but couldn't understand what was so funny!) I'm still not sure what WAS actually funny - but there you go!

One of the funniest things, was those big exercise ball things (the ones that look like space hoppers)! When I sat on it, I said that it was like being on a space hopper, but it would be better if it had the handles (you know what I mean) to hang on to (and bounce around)!! He just looked at me with a look of bewilderment - and smiled (he couldn't have done a lot else really!) I guess it could've been worse.....I could have suggested they paint smiley faces on them like my space hopper used to have (should point out that I was about 5 at the time!) ah, fond memories!

Moving on....
I didn't like the bit where they weigh you (probably because now they will know that I lied on my form!!) ah, confession is good for the soul!
The guy asked me about my job, and I explained what I do - and then went on to say that I did a sleep in last night (which means you don't always get much sleep). He asked me if this was the reason for me being a little 'lethargic' so I said yes, although, I figure that actually, I was just being lethargic because I was in a gym - doing exercise!!!!

It got better..... my blood pressure is apparently v.good and heart rate good too. I was asked if I'd had any caffeine this morning, and when I answered '4-5 cups of coffee', I realised that to have this many by 11am really wasn't displaying 'healthy living'! (Good job they have a Starbucks on site - ha ha!)

So.....to sum it up - an interesting morning!
I should add that I did then do 25mins on the treadmill, but of course, the guy only happened to walk by when I was doing the 'cooling off' bit, so I spent the next five minutes trying to prove that I had actually been exercising, and was taking it seriously! Not sure if he was convinced......not sure if I am yet either - but will continue!

Watch this space.....

Oh my goodness - I'm at the gym!!!!

Yes, I'm as shocked as you are! I should add though, that I'm on the internet, and have just finished a cappuccino (courtesy of Helen - thanks!), and would you believe, I've just signed up!!! It probably has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it's got a Starbucks on site, and free internet access etc!!! However, I thought it was about time that I thought about getting fit (again!) and the fact that I can sit here (with a coffee), updating my blog and THINK about fitness, is just about perfect! I feel better already, and I've only been here a little while. The added bonus is that in the space of a short time this afternoon I've met half (ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration) of the church here!

Happy days!!
Watch this space for news of any progress! Ha ha ha!

PS - I have an induction booked for 10th April - so if you could all pray that I just survive that - that would be fab! I think I'm still in shock....!

I'm off for a 10 mile run now.....

Surprises......

I've had a couple of surprises this week! Today was a good surprise.....I went to Heathrow Airport (I was missing the place - ha ha!) to pick up my Aunt who was flying in from Australia. My Aunt walked through with my cousin Lynette, and I had no idea she was coming over as well, so that was a nice surprise!

My other surprise was yesterday - when I took my car to the garage.... I'd figured the tracking was out a little, so thought I'd better get it checked out. To cut a long story short (a first for me) it was an expensive surprise! My almost new front tyres have to be replaced - as my tracking has been WAY out. I also need new wishbone bushes, and some other boring stuff done (such an exciting thing for a girl to spend her money on - not!!!)

Anyone else had a surprise recently??
Answers on a postcard, or post a comment!

New Job!!!

All change - again!!!

As most of you know - I've been working as a Residential Worker in a Childrens Crisis Unit (for 11-16s) since December (quite different to my previous job - but there you go!!). Originally, they needed people up until mid March (ie, now) which was fine, as I was planning to go and live in Rwanda for four months (March to July) and help with Hope Rwanda. The idea of living in Africa was pretty cool, and everything was coming together nicely (so I thought)....

Less than 24hrs after replying about Rwanda, I then had another job emailed to me, which would've meant moving to Birmingham....and if two options weren't enough, I was then offered a permanent position where I currently work, and then came another offer which I wasn't expecting..... It's kinda like buses - you know, you either get none - or three at once!

So....for all who've been wondering - I've been praying about Rwanda, Birmingham and Chelmsford (how different can you get?)

For those in church today, you will have now heard the news! I'm staying in Chelmsford - and will be covering Ann's maternity leave. I'm going to be a full-time Youth Worker at Church with effect from 1st May! How cool?!

So, thanks for all your prayers etc - it's v.appreciated! Just thinking back to this time last year, I was working in an office in London. Since then, I've been to six new countries - and COMPLETELY changed my work. I'm thinking that I've now got out of my last 'comfort zone' - so I'm ready for the challenge! The challenge may be just to stay in the country for the next 7mths or so!

Pen x

A few more ads....

The offside rule explained for girls

You're in a shoe shop, second in the queue for the till.
Behind the shop assistant on the till is a pair of shoes which you have seen and which you must have.
The female shopper in front of you has seen them also and is eyeing them with desire.
Both of you have forgotten your purses.
It would be totally rude to push in front of the first woman if you had no money to pay for the shoes.
The shop assistant remains at the till waiting.
Your friend is trying on another pair of shoes at the back of the shop and sees your dilemma.
She prepares to throw her purse to you.
If she does so, you can catch the purse, then walk round the other shopper and buy the shoes.
At a pinch she could throw the purse ahead of the other shopper and, *whilst it is in flight* you could nip around the other shopper, catch the purse and buy the shoes.
Always remembering that until the purse has *actually been thrown* it would be plain wrong to be forward of the other shopper.

If women built roads.....

More ads....

The following ads are from a press campaign, run by the Church of Singapore. By all accounts, the campaign was a great success! Enjoy...

Change

Last week I took the plunge......I finally upgraded my phone (not only did I get a new phone - but 10% off my line rental AND £20 back - bargain!!) The only problem was, that I was changing from a Nokia to a Sony Ericsson. I had the big deliberation in the shop - do I keep with what I know (ie Nokia, because I've had them for years) - or do I take the plunge, and get to grips with a completely different phone?! After about 4hrs - I finally decided to go a bit mad and got the Sony. It's taken me a week to get used to the space bar being in the wrong place (for texting) - amongst other things! However, this little nifty thing does just about everything (except make coffee!) and I'm now in the process of downloading music to it - so that I can have 'Oh Happy Day' as my ringtone, or the guitar riff from the start of 'What the World Will Never Take' on the latest Hillsong album.

All in all, it was a good change!

It also made me think about changes in our lives.....sometimes, it's easier to stick with what we know and feel comfortable with, rather than trying something new (which actually might be better than what we had before). Pat K preached a really good message on 'Change' recently. If you want to borrow the CD, let me know.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Pen :-)

PS: If anyone's got time to explain the rules of golf to me, it would make the golf game on here a lot better! I have no idea!

Suzette Hattingh's in London....

Next week - and it will be awesome!!
For dates/times etc, click here or visit Voice in the City homepage.

Quick update.....

Well, work's busy (but good) - and I'm now a Keyworker, which means that I'm basically responsible for sorting out one young person’s medical, educational and personal needs. If any of you have watched 'Brat Camp' (Channel 4 9pm Weds) - you'll get an understanding of the type of YP that I work with, day in day out! Really quite interesting....one minute they swear at you (which can also involve being hit and spat at - on a bad day!) - I've also had water thrown over me, but at least the YP made sure it was warm beforehand (very considerate)!....never mind that I had to go to an appointment looking like I'd wet myself....but that's another story! Other times, they are little angels - and a complete delight to spend time with! This week has been great - because it's half-term - which means lots of fun and activities. So far this week, I've spent a couple of hours at Quasar (lazer) - and tomorrow we're heading off to Warwick Castle for the day! I'm a bit gutted though, because it was meant to be Cadburyworld (SO much more my kind of thing) - but the prospect of a group of us arriving for their last available slot at 9.20AM!!! was just way too early to even think about, so we've settled for the castle instead.

Work was erm, interesting today - we were told to take a blindfold and something to eat, to the team meeting!! Not knowing what was going to happen (and whether even the food would be analysed) - I played it safe, and took Angel slices (Mr Kipling's - and if you haven't tried them - it's worth it!) - they're sweet, pink - and angelic! :-)

I'd better explain.....

We had to get into twos, and then one person had to be blindfolded, and sit on their hands - then the other person had to feed them something (could've been ANYTHING!) It was quite amusing, but illustrated a good point - about how vulnerable people can feel when they don't have all of their senses - or are put into a different kind of environment.

I'm enjoying my job - but also have a few other options to pray about at the moment. Those of you who know, know what I'm talking about. Anyone who doesn't know - watch this space! Life certainly continues to be exciting!

More soon....
Pen x

25 most played on the ipod.....

Simple friends......and real friends....

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps themselves.
A simple friend has never seen you cry.
A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names.
A real friend has their phone numbers in their address book.
A simple friend brings a bottle to your party.
A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
A simple friend hates it when you call after they have gone to bed.
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.
A simple friend wonders about your romantic history.
A real friend could blackmail you with it.
A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.
A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.
A real friend expects to always be there for you!

How bizarre....

Quick hello!

Hi!

Just a quick hello from me (so I don't get hassle from fellow bloggers :-)!) It's been a busy few weeks.....work's been great - but busy! It's sooooo different to what I was doing before, I can't even begin to tell you.....I'll try and elaborate on here sometime!

In the last week, me and my little car have spent some quality time together, covering approx 700 miles in one week! Last Tuesday, I went to Folkestone for Caroline's surprise 30th birthday party - it was a great evening - and fab to catch up with friends again. Came back on Wednesday, and then worked Thursday, and had my first sleep in! Thankfully the YP were fairly well behaved (and I got 5hrs sleep), and then drove up to Birmingham Friday morning, to see friends from Voice in the City. Had a great evening with Joylyn, and had some interesting discussions about toilets (you have to have been on a mission trip to appreciate the conversation!! - and no, I won't be elaborating here!)

Got back home v.late Friday evening - then worked on Saturday (and got paid to go out for a Chinese meal.....sometimes my job's really tough!!) Led worship Sunday morning and evening, then it was back to work yesterday - and I'm not due a day off for 9 days - so don't expect too much blogging! I've got some great pics though, which I'll try and post on here soon.

Keep smiling! :-)
Be blessed!
Pen xx