Personal Direction

Ever wondered where you should be heading in life?

Too many roads and turnings ahead of you?

Try looking at where you are now for a bit
then glance to the amazing place you could be tomorrow
and follow that path - to a place of discovery

Death

I'm writing thig blog because of reading comments made on Youtube by people responding to the Eva Cassidy song, 'Fields of Gold'. I must admit, a majority of this post is from an assembly I took last year...

Call it what you will, one thing is inevitable.

It's difficult to talk about, but I believe it's something as humans we must face straight on. It's so easy to talk about sex, relationships, the evil of murderers and child abusers. But looking at one thing seems to be a huge taboo in this country. So I wish to start with a few definitions as given in the film Patch Adams...


Preview of coming attractions,

First, death:

To die
To expire
To pass on
To perish
To peg out
Push up daisies
Push up posies
Become extinct
Curtains

Deceased
Demised
Departed
And Defunct

Dead as a doornail
Dead as a herring
Dead as a mutton
Dead as nits
The last breath
Paying a debt to nature
The big sleep
God's way of saying 'slow down'
To check out
To shuffle off this mortal coil
To head for the happy hunting ground
To blink for an exceptionally long period of time
Find oneself without breath
To be the incredible decaying man
Worm buffet
Kick the bucket
Cash in your chips

And if we bury you arse up, we have a place to park my bike.
A while ago, I heard some parents responding to their child's question of 'Where do you go when you die?'
The response was something along the lines of 'They go to heaven and are surrounded by rose petals'

Do we need protection from death?
Or do we need acceptance of it?

Another quote from Patch Adams is in the context of Patch up before a panel to decide whether he had been appropriately dismissed from his medical training, or whether he should be reinstated. The question is asked by the man in charge of the panel and the response is, obviously, from Patch.


What if one of your patients had died?

What's wrong with death, sir? What are we so mortally afraid of?
Why can't we deal with death with a certain amount of dignity and decency and maybe even, God forbid, humour?
Death isn't the enemy here, sir, if we're going to fight a disease, let's fight one of the biggest of them all: indifference.


My faith says one thing to me about death, your belief may be the same, it may be different.
We don't know the day, the year, the place or the reason, and that can be scary sometimes.

When people close to us die, especially when they die young, it can be hard to cope with - partly because of the shock of the suddenness but partly because I believe, in Britain, we don't talk about this. The posts on Youtube just go to prove how people are crying out for the opportunity to discuss death - even if that's just a chance to tell a part of their own story to someone who is open to listening.

Yin Yang?

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"

Modern Spirituality?

New Age?

Nope, this is nothing new!

Written sometime between 56-58 A.D. by a guy called Paul who had experienced it first hand.

From persecutor to persecuted because he recognised something greater than himself.

I Needed a Laugh

At the moment in my life, there are various decisions to be made.

Today, i got fed up of trying to work it all out - it was all a bit too much for me.
Then, while I was taking a look at ASBO Jesus, I came across a site which I thought I may as well look at.
It's called 'The Dullest Blog in the World' and it is, as it says, very dull.
But funny!
Just when I really needed a laugh, or I may have cried, along came this blog. It's worth a look!

Decisions, Decisions...

"I'm a data-based decision maker, and I like to weigh all the information I can before I make a decision or a commitment. And that's a good thing until it paralyzes you; until it keeps you from exercising the one thing the Bible says you have to have to please God - faith."

Ron Hutchcraft

This year there will be many times where you arrive at the proverbial 'fork in the road';
a decision which may change your life for better or worse.
The thing to remember is sometimes neither one is the wrong direction, but merely the chance to follow your dreams

Suffering in Silence: The Migraine of Life?

This is an MRI image of a migraine.

Migraines can't be seen or heard and, unless you are suffering from one, they can't be felt.

Without three tiny tablets a day I get frequent severe migraines, which means feeling like my head is about to implode, having to be in a quiet & darkened room, violent sickness and can be paralysed for a few hours.


So many people suffer in silence, in many ways, throughout life. It's like they are in a dark, isolated, place with no way of getting away from it.

There is no prevention for this and no miracle tablets. There is, however, an abundance of people around to give support and guidance. All you have to do is ask.

Actions Spoke Louder than Words?

I've recently been doing a lot of thinking about one of the verses in the Gospels - John 11:35, "Jesus wept"
and came up with a 'zone' about it for a Sunday Cafe session a month or so ago.

Sunday Cafe is a group for 15-25s and is a cafe style group which also looks at various issues.
a "Zones" evening consists of a theme being chosen a few weeks before - in this instance it was, "Jesus said..."
The various leaders of the group then plan something based around this - it could involve video, painting, thinking, etc
The young people are then free to go round to them in any order and take however long they want at each.
The zones are created to encourage the young people to think through different things from an angle which they may not have approached them before.

Because the leaders don't plan the zones together, it also means that we get the chance to be involved on this journey alongside the young people, rather than just doing something 'for them'

I was trying to figure out how best to describe this particular zone to you, but have decided just to upload the file for you, should you wish to read it.

Word Document: "Jesus Wept"