Its been a busy 5 months since the notion of going away for the year had jumped into my head.
After a few conversations and a lot of God provision, its got to the point where im heading out to Canada, to Redwood Park Church (http://www.redwoodpark.org/) for the year! i'm excited and nervous about the year to come, but cant wait to get stuck in and learn!
I got back from Romania there on the 24th July and been getting so frustrated about waiting around having nothing to do, being unemployed and all that! Romania was probably one of the best teams i've ever been on... they are absolute legends every last one of them.
My time out there was personally pretty challenging with the poverty but also God was working away on changing my heart too. I can only best describe the 2 weeks in 2 words... SIGNIFICANT and LOVE. (thanks mate, you know who you are)
so here we go on the countdown... leaving on Wednesday, only 5 days left in Northern Ireland for at least a year! i wont be home until the end of summer 2010. I don't really like goodbyes.. they are very final and lets face it, its only a year, plus who's gonna miss me really :-D
so maybe its more appropriate to say 'cheers for now' and hope that in the year Trans-Atlantic friendship maintenance is effective in keeping our journeys going!
i will miss hanging out with old friends, and with relatively new friends, i'm gonna miss milk chocolate and the good old Irish sense of humour and wit, i'm gonna miss inappropriate jokes with my bros, the ulster frys and maybe even the random weather, im gonna miss long telephone conversations with new mates who don't realise how funny they are... but here's to the beginning of the next chapter... taking every opportunity to learn and experience all the fullness of life that Jesus talks about.
SIGNIFICANT, LOVE... i hope that this next year is an extension of the last month in terms of significance and love!
So for all of you who can hack it...
i love u!
for the rest... i like u :-)
Paul
Monday, 3 August 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
16months later!!
Hey all...
16 months ago I wrote a blog...
Thats a long time ago! I almost forgot I had this thing!
Its funny how things change... since I last blogged ive changed job, America has a new President and we are now on season 7 of 24... :):) an I got an iphone, playing in a new band, been to USA 5 times and canada once and moved out of my house onto the Lisburn Road, own a royal python, changed car 3 times...206-> landrover -> golf... 3 mates got married -> 3 more this year, going to Romania this summer, friends moved on, new friends arrive, single->GF->single again, grew a beard... twice, Got a tattoo... twice and one lip piercing...
...and in the last 16 months approx 1,290,240 young girls have been sold into the sex traffiking trade out of Cambodia and Phillipines to perverts in brothels. check out http://www.love146.org
what has changed for you in the last 16 months?
Paul
16 months ago I wrote a blog...
Thats a long time ago! I almost forgot I had this thing!
Its funny how things change... since I last blogged ive changed job, America has a new President and we are now on season 7 of 24... :):) an I got an iphone, playing in a new band, been to USA 5 times and canada once and moved out of my house onto the Lisburn Road, own a royal python, changed car 3 times...206-> landrover -> golf... 3 mates got married -> 3 more this year, going to Romania this summer, friends moved on, new friends arrive, single->GF->single again, grew a beard... twice, Got a tattoo... twice and one lip piercing...
...and in the last 16 months approx 1,290,240 young girls have been sold into the sex traffiking trade out of Cambodia and Phillipines to perverts in brothels. check out http://www.love146.org
what has changed for you in the last 16 months?
Paul
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Journey
Sorry for the post drought but im guessing that theres not a whole lot of people read this mind dumping zone anyhow...
a 'journey' according to dictionary.com is...
–noun
1.a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip: a six-day journey across the desert.
2.a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling: a desert journey.
3.a period of travel: a week's journey.
4.passage or progress from one stage to another: the journey to success.
I have been thinking about what it means to journey.
usually u are well prepared and equipt for your journey... most of the time u know where you are going.
Life is a journey and im not sure how well prepared and equipt i am at the moment, not sure what direction im going in!
My life has been, to me, an amazing journey... one that i take great comfort and joy in sharing with those who i love most!
Journeys are always better when you have company... like on the 8 hour flight or the 3 month whirlwind tour of the east coast of the USA... and such is that in life... i owe lots to those who Journey with me... along side me... in the good and the bad times... through the craic and the confusion... even if its just sharing good times on the phone or over the internet or texts or in the 9 hour games of halo 3, or watching the waves, the stars, or even eating pigs in blankets over a good chat...
my journey would be very painful without those closest to me...
good times
My journey with my God, my father... its different now... and im not sure how best to describe it... as my head knowledge has increased i think my heart response has decreased... sometimes im apathetic... sometimes i just cant practice his presence... sometimes i just dont want to... so things are not going to well on this journey... my focus has un focused... my drive has grinded to a steady slow to halt speed and my fire is more like a tiny spark that falls from a Halloween firework.
so many battles, struggles, trials, little in the way of victory, and the thought of 'i dont care' keeps springing to mind more often that i like.
I, like everyone else, am on a journey home to him... and i am not prepared or equipt and have no clue in which direction to aim my eyes and body in...
not so good times
some journeys are great, some are bad, some get better, some get worse... but all journeys will end at some point... i hope to finish the race/journey strong... with all i have in me i will try but this reality of a journey gone bad keeps smackin me between the eyes... and it is a daunting thought... one with grave implications if it comes to pass!
i often write these long posts... and it helps me to gather my thoughts, then i never actually publish them... i hate being/feeling vulnerable so i tend to hit the back space button and move onto the next distraction! but this time its the big orange button im gonna click next.
so here we are... the moment of truth... the day of reckoning (In the 'voice' lolBen)
reader... I hope this finds u well and makes some sense and maybe even some good may come from it!
Paul
a 'journey' according to dictionary.com is...
–noun
1.a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip: a six-day journey across the desert.
2.a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling: a desert journey.
3.a period of travel: a week's journey.
4.passage or progress from one stage to another: the journey to success.
I have been thinking about what it means to journey.
usually u are well prepared and equipt for your journey... most of the time u know where you are going.
Life is a journey and im not sure how well prepared and equipt i am at the moment, not sure what direction im going in!
My life has been, to me, an amazing journey... one that i take great comfort and joy in sharing with those who i love most!
Journeys are always better when you have company... like on the 8 hour flight or the 3 month whirlwind tour of the east coast of the USA... and such is that in life... i owe lots to those who Journey with me... along side me... in the good and the bad times... through the craic and the confusion... even if its just sharing good times on the phone or over the internet or texts or in the 9 hour games of halo 3, or watching the waves, the stars, or even eating pigs in blankets over a good chat...
my journey would be very painful without those closest to me...
good times
My journey with my God, my father... its different now... and im not sure how best to describe it... as my head knowledge has increased i think my heart response has decreased... sometimes im apathetic... sometimes i just cant practice his presence... sometimes i just dont want to... so things are not going to well on this journey... my focus has un focused... my drive has grinded to a steady slow to halt speed and my fire is more like a tiny spark that falls from a Halloween firework.
so many battles, struggles, trials, little in the way of victory, and the thought of 'i dont care' keeps springing to mind more often that i like.
I, like everyone else, am on a journey home to him... and i am not prepared or equipt and have no clue in which direction to aim my eyes and body in...
not so good times
some journeys are great, some are bad, some get better, some get worse... but all journeys will end at some point... i hope to finish the race/journey strong... with all i have in me i will try but this reality of a journey gone bad keeps smackin me between the eyes... and it is a daunting thought... one with grave implications if it comes to pass!
i often write these long posts... and it helps me to gather my thoughts, then i never actually publish them... i hate being/feeling vulnerable so i tend to hit the back space button and move onto the next distraction! but this time its the big orange button im gonna click next.
so here we are... the moment of truth... the day of reckoning (In the 'voice' lolBen)
reader... I hope this finds u well and makes some sense and maybe even some good may come from it!
Paul
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Some updates!
hey everyone... or you 1 or 2 who check this thing...
some updates from a very busy summer!
Spain holiday with the lads, mark dave steve an me... good times... food, sun, pool, naked in the pool, nice hotel roller coaster (dave an steve are complete pansys "i'll hold the coats"
summermadness- immense!!
this is what 5000 people praising God looks like.
Worship Ireland team- pretty awesome week... great to spend time with friends... old and new!
Summer stuff at work... Good but tiring... Zoo visits, golfing BBQ games in the park...
SPARK... loved it... some amazing people... ballykeel ballykeel ballykeel... most enjoyed being team leader and my bro Ben being in my team.
he is one of the best!
REACH- Newtonabbey streetreach thing... was good... was tied and was collecting rubbish all week... we found a canoe one day tho...
Going snowboarding with loadsa mates over the new year... getting excited about it apart from being skint and just hoping i have enough money come OCT6th to pay for it!
And this is rach. (on the right... excuse the ridiculas sunglasses)
we have been going out since June... she is class... love spending time with her... haven't seen her much over the summer because its been so flat out busy but makes the times like sitting watching anchorman at 1am and lunch at la cuisine so much better!!
Back to porridge now!
some updates from a very busy summer!
Spain holiday with the lads, mark dave steve an me... good times... food, sun, pool, naked in the pool, nice hotel roller coaster (dave an steve are complete pansys "i'll hold the coats"
summermadness- immense!!
this is what 5000 people praising God looks like.
Worship Ireland team- pretty awesome week... great to spend time with friends... old and new!
Summer stuff at work... Good but tiring... Zoo visits, golfing BBQ games in the park...
SPARK... loved it... some amazing people... ballykeel ballykeel ballykeel... most enjoyed being team leader and my bro Ben being in my team.
he is one of the best!
REACH- Newtonabbey streetreach thing... was good... was tied and was collecting rubbish all week... we found a canoe one day tho...
Going snowboarding with loadsa mates over the new year... getting excited about it apart from being skint and just hoping i have enough money come OCT6th to pay for it!
And this is rach. (on the right... excuse the ridiculas sunglasses)
we have been going out since June... she is class... love spending time with her... haven't seen her much over the summer because its been so flat out busy but makes the times like sitting watching anchorman at 1am and lunch at la cuisine so much better!!
Back to porridge now!
Thursday, 12 July 2007
injustice...
God hates injustice! it goes against everything he is...
over the course of summer madness God has been dealing with my apathy to the injustice going on around the globe... i see things with new eyes now...
27 million people today are enslaved
(http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Default.aspx)
Each year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders (some international and non-governmental organizations place the number far higher), and the trade is growing. (U.S. Department of State. 2004. Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State.)
Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. (Ibid.)
(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg5l.html)
According to the World Health Organization 34.3 million people in the world have the AIDS virus
1. 24.5 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Nearly 19 million have died from AIDS, 3.8 million of them children under the age 15.
we have a voice to deal with this... there are more of us than we could imagine when we stand up instead of standing by....
BUT...
as much as i am burdened about at least 35 million people, including an estimated 17 to 21 million children, are facing serious food shortages...
my heart breaks for... Steven, 15... Christian guy struggling to maintain his faith amongst dealing with the temptation of booze all around him,
'roody' 17, right eye swollen, right arm bleeding after falling on the street, but he doesn't care because his mates just handed him another bud...
Ashley 16, annoyed at her mum because she wont let her drink tonight... so she heads round the corner with her mates for a quick WKD when no one is watching...
for Alan 19, telling me about how the condom split this afternoon while 'ridin' some girl he just met... and laughing about it as if its a normal occurrence... it probably is...
for Glen 16, just taken to hospital after getting a kickin for looking at someone the wrong way...
for 'legend' 16... who so graves someone to love him and pay him some atention that he takes his clothes of and streaks down the road in front of a couple of hundred people... then gets arrested for indecent exposure while his 'mates' cheer on and throw empty drink bottles at the police.
for Kirk 12, some responsible adult has bought him his first carry-out... i've just left him home after he fell asleep in his own sick in the rain at the side of the shops...
for 'mo' 19, i asked him has he got a Job, 'fuck no' he replies, 'am on the brew... an shes pregnant so we're getting a house for free, happy days'
injustice...??
i only spent 90 minutes at the Ballysillan bon-fire tonight and this is what i saw... there are many more stories from this brief encounter tonight... kids i used to work with from the BB, youth club... this is injustice if i ever seen it...
tonight it was wet, miserable... thats how i feel... i know that God must feel far worse about it...
he wants this to stop... he wants it different... he needs to use us... we are his hands and feet on the planet...
how can we show them the hope that we have!
stand by or stand up...
over the course of summer madness God has been dealing with my apathy to the injustice going on around the globe... i see things with new eyes now...
27 million people today are enslaved
(http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Default.aspx)
Each year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders (some international and non-governmental organizations place the number far higher), and the trade is growing. (U.S. Department of State. 2004. Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State.)
Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. (Ibid.)
(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ncvrw/2005/pg5l.html)
According to the World Health Organization 34.3 million people in the world have the AIDS virus
1. 24.5 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Nearly 19 million have died from AIDS, 3.8 million of them children under the age 15.
we have a voice to deal with this... there are more of us than we could imagine when we stand up instead of standing by....
BUT...
as much as i am burdened about at least 35 million people, including an estimated 17 to 21 million children, are facing serious food shortages...
my heart breaks for... Steven, 15... Christian guy struggling to maintain his faith amongst dealing with the temptation of booze all around him,
'roody' 17, right eye swollen, right arm bleeding after falling on the street, but he doesn't care because his mates just handed him another bud...
Ashley 16, annoyed at her mum because she wont let her drink tonight... so she heads round the corner with her mates for a quick WKD when no one is watching...
for Alan 19, telling me about how the condom split this afternoon while 'ridin' some girl he just met... and laughing about it as if its a normal occurrence... it probably is...
for Glen 16, just taken to hospital after getting a kickin for looking at someone the wrong way...
for 'legend' 16... who so graves someone to love him and pay him some atention that he takes his clothes of and streaks down the road in front of a couple of hundred people... then gets arrested for indecent exposure while his 'mates' cheer on and throw empty drink bottles at the police.
for Kirk 12, some responsible adult has bought him his first carry-out... i've just left him home after he fell asleep in his own sick in the rain at the side of the shops...
for 'mo' 19, i asked him has he got a Job, 'fuck no' he replies, 'am on the brew... an shes pregnant so we're getting a house for free, happy days'
injustice...??
i only spent 90 minutes at the Ballysillan bon-fire tonight and this is what i saw... there are many more stories from this brief encounter tonight... kids i used to work with from the BB, youth club... this is injustice if i ever seen it...
tonight it was wet, miserable... thats how i feel... i know that God must feel far worse about it...
he wants this to stop... he wants it different... he needs to use us... we are his hands and feet on the planet...
how can we show them the hope that we have!
stand by or stand up...
Saturday, 26 May 2007
A new addition...
I got a new pet today! went and bought him this afternoon!
heres a picture...
Am lovin it!
i need a name tho... so help me out... any suggestions just leave a wee comment for me!
He will grow to become about 4 or 5 feet long... cant wait!
Peace out
buff
heres a picture...
Am lovin it!
i need a name tho... so help me out... any suggestions just leave a wee comment for me!
He will grow to become about 4 or 5 feet long... cant wait!
Peace out
buff
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