May
30
2008
1

Ho Hum

I am feeling a little bit weepy tonight. Possibly half a bottle of delicious organic wine has got something to do with it, but I think it is more than that. I have had a brilliant, exciting few weeks, but suddenty I have had to go back to work and it all seems a bit boring. I am sure I’ll get over it but it has kind of hit me hard tonight. Anway, I am off to Reading at the weekend to see exciting and gorgeous people so hopefully I will pull myself together!

Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized |
May
27
2008
0

I’m home.

Well I made it back in one piece. I even successfully brought back a wrought-iron plant trough-stand-thing that I had from Gran’s house. I just stuck a label on it and checked it into hold baggage on the plane. I got a few funny looks but it got through. As did all the crockery I packed in my luggage. Marvellous 🙂

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May
26
2008
4

Endings and hats

Picture 336 Today has been a good, if slightly strange day.

This evening the majority of my large extended family congregated at my Gran’s house. My Gran Nora died in February and her house is now on the market so today was possibly the last opportunity we would have to get together as a family. So, we all arrived, ordered a large quantity of fish and chips and commenced on the wine. Also my aunts and mum had been up to the house to put out all the stuff (ornaments, jewellery, crockery, cutlery etc.) for everyone to go through and see if they wanted anything. Admittedly the vast majority of it was utter crap, but there were a few lovely bits and pieces.

I got a nice few bits, a vase, some plates, a couple of beaded necklaces and a few books, including one fabulous one called “Doris’s High School Days” which I thought was particularly appropriate. It’s not that I particularly wanted lots, just a couple of things to have as momentoes of my Gran. I have to admit that I found parts of the evening really hard. As I don’t live on the island this weekend was the first time I have been back to Gran’s house since she died. I really miss her, but at the same time I know that she is in a far better place. But it was still strange to be there without her.

Possibly one of the funniest bits of the evening came when we opened up Gran’s marvellous hat box. She had loads of hats dating back to the fifties and before I knew it everyone was wearing one and insisting we all went outside for photos. I haven’t laughed with my family so much for ages and they just reminded me how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful, loving and close family. We also saw an amazing rainbow… just beautiful.

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May
25
2008
0

RC Part 35 – Father to the Fatherless by Paul H. Boge

Father to the Fatherless: The Charles Mully Story by Paul H. Boge is about Charles Mully (funnily enough!!) who lives in Kenya and at the age of 6 he was abandoned by his parents. He had grown up listening to his father beat the living daylights out of his mother and during his early years he was forced to beg to survive. When he got older he was given a job and worked his way up to be a very successful businessman, however, he always had a compassion for the street children he encountered. He meets a lovely woman, marries, has children and then ‘hears from God’ and sells his businesses to set up charity working for street children. He clothed, housed and educated hundreds of them.

I was very taken with this book, mainly because Charles Mully clearly exhibits a level of faith that I do not possess. His stories of the tragic children he looked after tugged at my compassionate side, and his commitment to them was unwavering. I have to admit to feeling a bit sorry for his wife though who kind of trailed along in his wake, not quite knowing how they were going to manage. An interesting story about an inspirational man.

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May
24
2008
1

Eurovision

It is truly as crap as ever, but it definitely a more interesting watch after a few glasses of wine. My main problem was trying to remember which entry belonged to which country!

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May
24
2008
0

RC Part 34 – 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell

Next!!!….. 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell. This is a rather sweet little read about a poet landlord called Toby and the collection of waifs and strays he rents rooms out to. It is a fairly typical chick lit book but a nice read. It kept me entertained whilst I was waiting at the airport yesterday, although I seemed to read it particularly quickly, started and finished yesterday! Anyway, a nice read when you don’t want to have to think about anything too heavy.

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May
23
2008
4

RC Part 33 – A Churchless Faith by Alan Jamieson

I have just finished reading A Churchless Faith by Alan Jamieson . The book was basically his doctoral thesis and is about church leavers, their journies and how they have responded over time, both to the church, but also with pursuing (or not as the case may be) a relationship with God.

I first read this not long after I had left the church, about three years or so ago. It was a really tough book for me to read as so much of the content expressed my own sorrow and pain of leaving a church that I felt closely tied to. At the time the book also saddened me deeply as it it was expressing a degree of hope that I did not feel that I had.

So, a few years down the line I decided to re-read it and see if my feelings about it had changed. Jamieson believes that there are four different types of church-leavers; The Disillusioned Followers, Reflective Exiles, Transitional Explorers and Integrated Wayfinders. Whereas before I definitely fitted into the first category, it seems to me that I have progressed along my journey and I seem to fit more comfortably in the Integrated Wayfinders category. Of this group he says “Where Transitional Explorers are in the process of reconstructing their faith and developing an emerging self-ownership, the integrated faith people have to all intents and purposes completed this faith reconstruction work. While there is a sense in which the integrated faith is also still open and being constantly redefined and adapted, the major faith examination is now complete.”

Another reading of this book has been a bit of a revelation. For a start it completely reaffirmed for me that my decision to leave Newfrontiers was a good and a valid choice. It also reminded me of all the things I was most disillusioned with and it that some of those things were not about fixing the church, but more about fixing me. Jamieson says ”This [a new relationship with God] is the goal of faith for those who find their previous faith dislocating and shattering within them. It is not the journey away from pain, doubt and confession but the journey through struggle to a new appreciation of God at work.”

Maybe this is what it has been about for me. I need to start reframing all those experiences I had back then. Instead of it remembering how negative it was, I need to consider it as a fundamentally a positive experience. It showed me all the things that I didn’t want to be a part of. It deepened my faith and my relationship with God and it brought me into a new and quiet intimacy with a God who delights in me.

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May
21
2008
6

Crystal meth

I have had a very interesting day. I have been on a course about methamphetamine and amphetamine (or methamfetamine/amfetamine if you are being picky).

It was full of information that I didn’t know before and I learnt lots of useful things, like how to manufacture crystal meth, how to use it, how much I should be selling it for and the ways I might die from using it. Nice.

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May
20
2008
4

Chelsea Flower Show 2008

I have had a brilliant day today. I went to Chelsea Flower Show with my Dad. It was awesome… huge… and spectacular and I am shattered. We were there from about 10am until 5pm so it was a long day, but well worth it.

I was astonished by some of the exhibits. Some of these look like they have been there forever. For example this garden called Summer Solstice was my absolute favourite. At the bottom of the garden it had natural summer field planting, mixed in with wheat and then further up the garden it had a cottage garden which was planted in raised willow beds. It was absolutely gorgeous, but what really amazed me was the trees you an see on the left of the picture in the link. They were planted next to a ditch and they looked like they had been there forever, right down to the weeds at the base of the trees. It was so real that I asked the woman at the garden whether they had planted around original trees and made use of them in the display. She assured me that they were all transported in. I think I loved this garden the most though because of the random-like nature of the planting at the bottom of the garden, but the most beautiful fruit and vegetables at the top. If I could have a garden I would like one like this, although I also loved some of the little courtyard gardens.

I took nearly 200 photos, but my camera battery run out at about 3pm. One of my favourite photos is the one of the sign… I kept a close eye out for male exhibitors… some of them were actually quite pretty. Oh, I also saw Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. His photos are definitely touched up!!!

Anyway, here are a selection of pictures. If you want to see more just click on a a picture to go to my Flickr set 🙂

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: , ,
May
19
2008
7

Tough decisions

Tomorrow MP’s will debate, among other things, the time limits for termination. Currently this stands at 24 weeks (although I believe that even later terminations are possible if there are significant disabilities, or risks to the mother – someone might correct me on that one though!!)

My younger cousin Ali was born early, at about 24 weeks I think, weighing 1lb 11oz. She is now 17 years old and apart from being a typical pain in the arse she is perfectly normal. I remember at the time being absolutely horrified that a foetus could have been terminated right up until the time she was born. I also remember very well looking at her through the window into the special care unit and thinking she looked like a little monkey, and was really scrawny and funny looking.

Many years ago I was an avid pro-lifer, but I guess over time I have changed. Working as a social worker gives you a complete shift in thinking when you see what other people have to go through and some of the tough decisions they have to make. Whilst I still absolutely believe in the sanctity of life, I also recognise that for some people, termination may be the right solution in a very difficult situation. The one thing I have a really hard time with though is the fact that a foetus can be terminated so late… 24 weeks is far, far to late. If Ali could survive at 24 weeks, over 17 years ago, then surely medical technology has moved on significantly since then. I know that 20 weeks has been mooted as an option, but even that is too late… what about 16 weeks? Surely 4 months is long enough for someone to make a decision?

I know I have never been in that situation, and I would never, ever pass judgement on someone who make a choice to end a pregnancy, but I would hope that as a civilised society we can protect and care for the most vulnerable individuals, whether they have been born already, or whether they are yet to enter into this world. Responding with grace and compassion is essential when we enter a debate such as this. Without it we will always have polarised opinions and we will lose the people in the middle who are affected by the decisions.

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