confession...

i did it.

yup, i was suckered in to getting a wordpress blog... so you'll find me here

bye bye blogger.. :(

last post in january

how exciting!

i feel like i should lots to say but then i've spent a whole day talking asnd am going to spend the whole night doing the same.. so... yeah.

not much to say really..

:)

knitting

writing reading

ijust wish my essay were written.
its mostly there. just needs a couple hundred words morebut i am tired.

and slightly addicted to scrabulous. though usually i suck at scrabble.. hmm

gah!! write it for me someone!!!

God is breaking my heart

seriously.

i cry at everything.

its not cool.



(but, God, if this is all part of something, fine, but can i know what???)

(thanks.)

water lillies (don't know who wrote it)

Late summer: the white
flowers are blown,
but the furled leaf cones

persist in rising
through the peat-stained
lochan's shallows

till they reach the open
border where water
becomes air, and there

unfold: pale green
almost heart shapes
almost upturned hands

2007:a year in review

well, now, thats a mighty formal title for a post thats really just a bit of a ramble about the past year.. i think this is becoming a bit of a habit...

so, last year.

january: uhm.. i took on a position on jordanhill cu committee.. i started placement with giant, all those jolly japes. less fun, bobs dad passed and i went to his funeral.

february: hmm.. i wish i had last years diary here to remind me wgat all happened, sadly its at home in newport. uhm, just more placement i think.. had some really good times at housegroup...

march: mums birthday, easter holidays? camp? planning for cu.. leaders weekend??
started reading the bible along that read it in a year type style... didn't last all that long. started looking for a new flat.. not particularly fun, but hey ho. it happened.

april: spring harvest!!! amazing!! er.. easter hols and camp were april not march.. oh well.. good chats with people, starting planning freshers week and mentalness like that..

may: uhm... lots of assignments, finalising the flat business, uhrm... art in the environment, flat cooling party (bizarrely early, but kendra was off to other countries.. ah, bless)

june: still doing the chapter a day thing.. though may have missed some out.. oops..
went to the states to pick up megs from school and for a holiday.. good fun all round. lots of bridge was played.. :)

july: moved out of kersland hmmm.. where to start, a mammoth run of camps and weddings.. so, creative arts then urban back to back, two weddings, with a week in between to rest, then watersports... another wedding and a yard sale. all go.

august: moved into the new flat, travelled between fife and glasgow a fair bit... worked..

september:read habakkuk 3.17-19 again. love that passage. just enjoyed being in glasgow, prepared for freshers week, got ready for class, worked, met people for coffee... all that fun stuff.. :)

october: another slightly mental month- freshers week, a haloween party, uni work, work work, catching up with folk properly.. jhcu beginning the process of thinking about merging with strath earlier rather than later.. stress..

november: eventually decided to join strath at christmas... eek! i got the YES!!! feeling about where i was in life, with God etc, realised that i'd made an extra really good friend or two in the past couple of months.. and i quote "ah, God is good. good friends & good scripture- thats all you need. Praise the Lord." so i was in a good place... placement started, with all the mentalness of that, we started talking as a big huge comittee about who should be on next years joint committee...

december: i was uber excited about christmas!! saw bob and marie (his wife!! how exciting!) for mulled wne and mince pies along with the rest of the dogs.. met up with more friends, enjoyed making all my christmas gifts this year.. i like the feeling of knowing that you've made something that someone is going to really enjoy.. i also enjoyed not being stressed since i was giving a secret santa and gifts to my family... ha! no stress for suzi! woohoo.

and then it was christmas and now its january.
and i'm not sure where i'mstarting the year from, but hopefully God'll clear all that up for me and i'll get to go away on mission in the summer and will pass third year and get to start final year in october, and will be able to be really effective in serving the cu in whatever capacity... hmmm.. so lots to think about for this year...

like emmsy said: live simply. love extravagantly. pursue jesus.

...

I don't know if you want me, but I'll be here anyway
I've got a smile to give you, and I'm not leaving till you smile back at me
Frown all you want to, the tears are running down your face,
But I can assure you, I'm not leaving till you're smiling back at me

(the gentlemen, i'm not leaving)

now i believe in something

i'm turning into an emotional wreck... last night i was crying my eyes out at the end of "the book thief" ( i won't ruin the ending, suffice it to say that it is sad!) and then earlier tonight i was in a state over RENT... its not fun.
well, it kinda is. but not really.
ah shut up.

anyhoo, so there are a few things on my mind- a descision to make, an essay that MUST be finished tomorrow.. along with pictures (er... of what? i have no photos.. no ideas... oh! i know, first year placement photos, they'll do.. ha! one good thing has come of my late night.. yippee!) and then all thee rest of them to do after that.. i need to get my hair cut.. my dad might be bringing me big speakers for the old ipod- cos they are a bit faulty and the company sent him new ones and as far as we know they don't want them back.. i tidied my room tonight.. its looking pretty good.. i even sorted out my cupboard, tidied up my clothes- of which i probably have too many..

oh yeah, a couple extra "resolutions":

*to learn how to do more things with the sewing machine

*make a pair of trousers

*have less stuff- or at least be less attached to what i have. here todaygone tomrrow.


i need to hoover my room.. but thats ok, i can do that tomorrow when i'm ignoring the essay that MUST be written.

the first distraction of the day.. church :) not a distraction as such, but time i am taking off to do something good with. but then its straight home and to work for me.. ahhhh.. how i love that word. not.

go to sleep!!

night night.

may your year be blessed, all you say and all you do.

merry new year

yo ho ho

well, a brand new blank canvas year.. lots of work to do, but hey ho. thats ok. i'll get through it.

sad that i'm sitting at the start of the new year watching bb. gah.

but the stuff this art student is doing... oh goodness. i want to slap everyone with a big community arts pamphlet and get them to sort out their priorities... gah.

i'll stop now. go and do something useful... :)

happy new year

well, folks its that time again. the beginning of another new year.
and here are a few "resolutions"

*watch less tv

*spend more time with people

*watch requeim for a dream

*drink more tea

*cook more

*have more people over for dinner

*do my coursework as i get it, rather than leaving it and leaving it.. not fun.

*be more deliberate in my bible study, make time for it.

*pray more

*make more things- sewing, knitting...

*ask for prayer more

*get up earlier

*be happy with myself as i am

*enjoy the year as it happens

*be open to experiences, opportunities, the world...

*converse more

*laugh more, loudly, quietly, all the time.

*learn to crochet...

maybe they knew more than we do

well, merry christmas!

its been a busy old time around here. working in glasgow, not writing essays, trying to write essays deciding its not going to happen right now and trying not to feel guilty....

we had family friends round yesterday. it was lots of fun, we made a book. the story went something like this: "it was a stormy night / there was snow / it turned into a snow storm / but inside it was nice and warm. it was christmas! / josh and ellie gave their aunty flowers for christmas / outside it was snowing a lot / everyone went out for a walk in the woods / they saw lots of pretty leaves / then they went back home where it was warm. "

i think thats roughly how it went. Josh (2 and a half) drew the storms and stuck on the flowers. ellie (5) drew the other pictures and stuck on lots of leaves and things. I (20) cut out the tree shaped front cover and wrote the words for them. josh decorated with lots of feathers. it was a lovely book. uncle puncle took it home with him.. :)

i think i will create some sort of resolutions/things i'd like to do next year list for 2008. my, 2008 already... hmmm.

if, as i have been thinking, i do move onto wordpress, i'll do it in the new year... ah its all so complicated.. but maybe a new start for a new year would be good...??

anyhoo.

it was a good day yesterday. today, not so. i decided i needed to get going with some of my essays... didn't get all that far. i think i shall have a break for a bit, do something fun- like cook or bake oir vegetate in front of the tv... and get ready for the excitement that is hogmanay tomorrow- not that i have any plans- none whatsoever,.... bit sad really. but hey ho.. maybe i'll make a puppet instead. that would be fun. I LOVE having access to a sewing machine. it makes me very happy. i shall have to learn to make trousers... and then i could make beautiful baggy purple cords... oh, how cool would that be??? so cool... hmmm.. a project for 2008 me thinks.

i have a few things i'd like to learn to do. not least crocheting. i hope jim managed to make that hat.. haha. :)

anyhoo.. i hope you are all habing very merry and contented christmasses and if you're not, know people care for you and are thinking of you..

keep the faith

so, i'm watching scrubs, making a random quiche-y type thing and not doing anything else of use at the moment... grr.
i have lots of essays that i need to write, but they are not getting written at the mo...
watched extreme home makeover today. it made me cry. a master card advert just made me well up.. jeezo i am getting a little emotional. who knows why. and laverne just died on scrubs (hope that didn't spoil it for you...) ah, man.

oh now blackadder is on and thats amazingly funny... ah, i do love hugh laurie and rowan atkinson. and tony robinson. aaaaah.

so

heres the deal.
jhcu are merging with strath, as of christmas. new joint committee emerges.

i'm also seriously copnsidering short term mission this summer.

i'd really like to do some sort of "mission" after i graduate in a year and a bit, not necessarily going places intending to spread the gospel but going to teach and do workshops and try and equip people..

i just have a lot going on in my head. and i have the cold so all the thoughts are kinda muggy right now.. anyhoo. i am going to sleep.

Pay It Forward

exciting...

Here's the deal:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

so hopefully i get something cool from donnaz (who i don't know..)
feel free to join too- i like making things- who knows what you'd get!! :)

everything is fragile

i should be doing some work, but i am not in the mood for writing essays. i'll do that later, so, instead, i'm working on christmas presents.

its fun.

i still want you.

to remind you where to stop

i have a couple wise friends. one told me today that i should look after myself after i answered her question: how are you doing at looking after yourself? with: er.. not well..?

so, i had catherine (another wise person..) over for sillyness.. we made sock puppets, and laughed a lot! it was awesome. this evening has been an evening for laughing lots. i like it. kirsty and i were really silly and hyper in starbucks afrer some caffeine and good leviticus chat and some pen borrowage (of my pen) by a beardy boy reading into the wild and exclaiming at things. it was awesome. we left the staff a note on a napkin along the lines: thanks for making coffee for us and clearing up after us- we're messy people. i love red cups. i love gingerbread lattes. ps jesus loves you.

thats how it goes- you gotta tell the truth- get it out there!!

my room smells weird.. kinda uhu-y but weirder...
i am tired and i hoovered today- thats the excitement of my life!!!!!!! :)

bagels

were inveted in 1610 in krakow and given to pregnant women in childbirth.

also- according to Jim, they are hotter than your average slice of bread when you compare the agony of taking either out of a toaster once toasted.

and they are the equivalent - again, according to Jim, fount of all knowledge that he is :) - of five slices of bread...

bet your day has been made better.

this post sponsored by the letter b.

you gotta breathe in and out

funny how the simplest things seem really profound sometimes...

anyway, i was walking home tonight all fired up to write about leviticus and then i ... didn't. i got sidetracked making my sisters christmas present.. still not sure how that one will work out- thats what happens when you try to add in too many things...

anyway, so, leviticus- well, we're up to chapter 16 now and there have been a few significant moments, like the first 7chapters and all the detail therein about sacrifices. then other things and most recently ch16 itself that talks about the holy of holies and how a priest should respect it as well as the day known as Yom Kippur- the day of atonement- our spring clean.

the book has really made me realise how lightly i take God and His promises to me- like, the israelites had to over continual sacrifices to make sure they were right with God and be really specific in asking for forgiveness and thats a real challenge- i find it really hard to be so specific, and i sin unintentionally all the time too. God has a sacrifice for that too. there are so many rules, but there are also so many good reasons for them. You must be holy because I am Holy- lev 15. kirsty and i had a really good conversation about our section. i think i need to reread it and rethink it tomorrow. if i don't post my thoughts, shout at me.

in other news... jules and i have doubled the length of the script we're writing today which is really really really food news.. :) yay! just a couple of all-nighters away from a complete draft.. uhm, so when i said "food" news, i meant good, but maybe it was freudian and i'm really hungry?? i think i might bake tomorroe too, since i don't get to go home or to the camp reunion... both sad things.

oh goodness, it takes a very long time for photos to upload to photobox... but we are close. once its done i get to sleep. hurrah!!! :)

toodles

no music day

i was reading a skinny mag article the other day at work that was talking about how this one guy decided that 21st november would be the day he listened to no music inorder to get a better understanding of it. i can't rember all that much about it, nor can i be bothered to pick my skinny off the floor and reread it, so you'll all just have to go out and pick up iss.26 with a picture of the darjeeling limited on the front and read the interview.

anyway, i was thinking about joining in with him and radio scotland and having a no music day. but then i realised i had teickets for jo mangos hootenany. which was great fun and included lots of new music that i'd never heard, so you know, thats got to be a goodthing... onyhoo.. i'm procrastinating. i need to get some work done. its hard though. i'm going to set myself a target and then i'll do something fun... four pages of dialogue? that sounds reasonable-ish. wish me luck.

edom had it coming.... right?

so i'm reading the book of obadiah. i've read it three times in three days now. its a short book. 21 verses. so maybe 50 sentences or so. not a lot. but it says quite big things- like be kind to your brothers nation, even though you hate them. (edomites were the descendents of Esau and israelites of Jacob, the brothers that fought a lot.) and that your day will come to be judged so don't be too harsh, don't sell people out to their enemies and gloat about it and don't think you're safe wherever you are- money won't protect you, nor can your friends...

but the thing thats really cool is that after wreaking destruction on the whole edomite race, God puts the israelites back in charge where they reign fairly and justly. so thats nice. even though they were persecuted, they ain't gonna take an eye for an eye.

so those are my random thoughts on obadiah. i'll let you knowe as i have more. jo mango's hootenany was awesome tonight- you should have been there.

sleepy time for suzi!