Amazed & Confused

God on Mute

This week I've been catching a couple of hours here, half an hour there to read Pete's latest manuscript, as I hold it I can feel the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this particular baby.  Apparantly being able to rip apart Dan Brown's appalling writing style qualifies you to be one of the lucky few who get a first glimpse at Pete's latest musing, "God on Mute"...

Low Level Stress

I feel like I'm juggling incredibly delicate spun glass balls today and I'm terrified of dropping one. I'm working out the invite list to 24-7's international gatherings in September and with the mixture of too many friends, not enough spaces at the party and a lovely but long weekend involving lots of people. I have that slightly elevated pulse and buzzing mind that lets me know stress is my constant companion.

Be Just and Fear Not

Through a happy discovery of distant family my Dad's been musing on our family history and ethos today. He sent Deborah and I an email with a brief history of the Trundle family and included something I'd never heard before.  We have a family motto, and it's a pretty fantastic one: Be just and fear not...

I'll get my coat...

The purpose of 24-7 Prayer is not to take over the world, one prayer room at a time. It’s not to conquer every high point in youth culture with trendy teams living lives with missional intent. 24-7 exists to put a rocket up the bottoms of those who responded when Jesus said, “Come follow me”. Follow we did, the decision, whether instant or long-winded was pretty much the easy part. The challenge is to live with the same commitment, determination and motivation as the day we said, “I’ll get my coat”.

Hope for the super-spandex

I have to admit that I have been dreading the upcoming Superman film.  I fear that a much loved mythology is about to be masacred by an over-enthusiastic director on an ego trip.  I frowned at the blatant attempt at cloning Christopher Reeves, I balked at their flagrant abuse of the superman costume and I watched with a heavy heart the first few trailers and tid bits.  My hope is marginally re-awakened though by the latest international trailer that makes me think Brandon Roth may actually be able to act.  Will the caped crusader be victorious again?  Or will this dive to the depths of Batman and Robin?

Ice cream Sundays and other adventures

My overwhelming impression of Belgrade is one of endearing chaos.  I had no idea what to expect when  from my first foray into Eastern Europe but I've left with a wanderlust that's propelling me to visit again.  I've added a few nations to my destination list of our we've-been-married-six-months-lets-take-off-around-Europe trip...

The Goldfish Bowl – Saturday

Today is probably the hottest day since we arrived, I’d make a stab at somewhere in the early thirties. Sadly today is also our most meeting intensive day and as I’m leading through discussion sessions I keep gazing longingly out of the window wishing we could meet in the park so I could work on my tan…

Stacking it in Serbia – Friday

It appears I bring my clumsy nature wherever I go. I had the embarrassment of stepping onto a marble floor today and gaping dumbstruck as my legs flew into a painful split and several Serbian men rushed to my aid. They were very polite, they didn’t even smirk at my unexpected acrobatics…

Food with Fins - Thursday

Belgrade is like a collision of cultures caught in a time warp. Snapshots of Eastern Germany, Spain and Greece all preserved in the 70s with flashes of the 21st century in a magazine here and a perfume advert there. It’s probably the most intriguing city I’ve been to in a long time…

Where is Belgrade?

I'm ashamed to admit it, but until I searched high and low on my map of Europe on Monday I had no idea which country I was traveling to tomorrow.  Pathetic eh?  Tomorrow I fly from the most paranoid airport in England (Heathrow) to the rather intrigueing city of Belgrade...

Delightful finds in a random day

Mmm today's little joys have been:
*Grapes in fromage frais
*Smiles blogging about the trials of parenthood
*An excellent meeting with my International boys
*Charlotte running like a weirdo from her desk to the stock cupboard
*Anna New's excessively delicious Brownie's!
*Thinking up snappy Postcard slogans for 24-7.  Check 'em out here...
*Planning my trip to South Africa
*My camouflaged outfit (joggers and T-Shirt blending with the office walls, I was born to be a ninja!)

Beauty in Chaos

Transition seems to be a permanent word on my lips at the moment, I wonder if there's ever a time when things aren't changing.  It feels like nearly every area of life is in flux; 24-7 Prayer, my role, my name, my independance, my home, my friendships, my church and my purpose...  Hmm interesting list...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

There's something about the perspective of a child that brings an entirely fresh, sublte and straight forward take on a well trodden subject. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a fabulous example of this perspective used with menacing yet enchanting effectiveness. I can't say what the book's about as part of it's charm is your own journey through the clues of a child to dicifer the world he's living in but I reccomend this book to anyone who fancies a weighty subject told by a fresh and intrigueing voice. xc

Bex & Smiles

I've been thinking a lot today about the two wonderful women I live with.  I wrote a few days ago about all the ways God's been showing off and using our community to answer prayers and impacting people's lives.  Bex and Smiles have been smack bang in the middle of much of what he's doing...

Cream Dream

If there's anyone who can win through persistance alone it is Miss Charlotte New.  Pete Ward is probably the most resilliant man to her charms I have met, but even he succumbed this week to Charlotte's incessant badgering for a serious overhaul to the 24-7 International Office...

A cunning plan

There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness.  I hate it, yet it seems to be spreading like a plague through society.  People aren't being taught respect, dignity and good plain manners anymore, so I have come up with a cunning plan...

New Experiences: shy Charlotte

I have never seen Charlotte so frightened as she was last night. With her face a pale shade of green, pleaing eyes and a desperate smell about her she was begging me to take her talk to 100 teenagers so she could run away and hide. I wonder whether that's what I look like during my pre-talk freak out?

Colour me happy

I just spent the last half hour changing my blog from bland but effective grey, to toothpaste green, then to bright, soothing, slightly guys loo blue.  As always happens when I try to change the look, I couldn't find anything better than this!  Still, I persevere, one day I will find that Holy Grail of colour schemes that will be simultaneously legible and uplifting... Suggestions on a postcard please. xc

The Good times just keep on rolling

For the past week I am convinced that God has been showing off.  Don't get me wrong, if anyone can show off it's the infinite, omnipotent creator of the Universe, but after six months of subtlety He's pulling out the big guns...

The Ludite

Yesterday's trauma is today's blessing.  Sans iBook and cruelly deprived of headphones (my current pair spluttered to a deserved death this morning) I mounted the train to Victoria without any of my usually technological companions...

Losing my religion

I am having a crisis of faith, not in my dear Lord, but in that other shining icon of our times; the bright white apple with the missing bite.  This morning, with the best of intentions, I arrived in the office bright and early to attack my never ending to-do list, a large mug of tea and a bowl of piping hot porridge in my hands.  As I sang along with Dolly and plonked down infront of my iBook my face slackened as I watched my screen snap black...

It has begun...

It has begun. Steve has officially started blogging and I have to admit I am worried. Blogging is my thing, what if he becomes funnier and more popular in the cyber world than me? Only schmoking, I am very proud of my lovely man and look forward to reading his musings. If you'd like to join me check out his blog here...