Taking a dip in the deep end

2006-05-16T13:27:00.000Z

Just found a really good article on Mooncups/Keepers (a different brand) which raises some very interesting points about why we think that periods are something to be ashamed of and kept hidden. We don't want people to know we're 'on' so we get sold really cute, discreet sanitary (even that word is indicative) products which can be mistaken for a packet of sweets. Let's stand up and be counted -

2006-03-27T22:01:00.000Z

Grr Argh!!A rather tangential topic but while I was in the gym today I was forced to watch a Madonna video - Sorry - and I got really annoyed about the complete inherent sexism. Madonna was pretending to be 19 all over again and guess what, it didn't work!!! They spent the whole video grabbing men and lap-dancing around them, why oh why are women constantly sexual objects?? And why do we feel

2006-01-27T03:20:00.000Z

Oh and by the way, can some semi-technical person help me out with my blog template, as you can see - it's all wonky!!!! Muchas gracias!

2006-01-27T03:06:00.000Z

Hi there to anyone who still logs in here even occasionally! As a blogger I am so so shite!!! My huge apologies! I think that part of my lack of blogging is due to the changes that I have been experiencing over the last number of months - in myself, my spirituality, my ethos and my mind. Right now, I am in a 'no man's land' (forgive the andocentrisim) and it is not a nice place to be. One

2005-07-25T17:42:00.000Z

I just finished reading a wonderful book, Desert Flower by Waris Dirie. <> It's an amazing story of her life, she was born in Somalia into a nomadic family. She was raped at four, underwent female circumcision/female genital mutilation at five and ran away to Mogadishu at 14 to escape an

2005-06-25T09:34:00.000Z

The Mooncup - Alternative to overpriced sanitary productsI've made a recent discovery that all women need to hear about. A friend told me about these cup things that you use instead of tampons ages ago but I didn't give it much thought until I stumbled upon a shitload of websites which promoted alternatives to traditional sanitary products. There are massive movements out there which I had never

2005-05-17T00:07:00.000Z

Hi there!Long time no read eh?! Sorry about the long absence, lots of stuff going on in my life. some good, some bad, but I'm still here - for better or worse!!I really feel that I should write something profound and meaningful after such a long time away from blogland, but honestly, I can't think of anything except the wonder of everyday life and awesome people. The joy that is to be found in

2004-11-14T13:31:00.000Z

Don't find a flaw, find a remedy. Read this yesterday and felt really challenged. Bummer really, finding a remedy is a lot more difficult than finding a flaw!

2004-11-04T19:54:00.000Z

Continuing on the vegetarian theme I was reading The Ecologist yesterday (BTW an excellent excellent magazine, i think I'll add it to my Favourites) and read an article which was a debate between Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, River Cottage guy, and a professor of theology. it was a very enlightening, balanced and challenging article. You can find it at http://http://www.theecologist.org/

2004-10-26T18:39:00.000Z

I don't often get on my Vegetarian hobby horse but today i will, just for you! (yes I know, how lucky can you get eh?) Although animal rights is something I don't speak about very often, (mainly because my choice not to eat meat comes up when people around me are eating meat) it is something I feel very strongly about. I am amazed at how little we think about what we put in our mouths and

2004-07-05T15:27:00.000Z

Something that is incredibly important and moving for me is the whole issue of justice, particularly when we examine more closely how our western lifestyles affect the rest of the world. It's no use telling ourselves that we're not materialistic, and anyway, i'm only one person, how much can i do? Jesus challenges not to think like this any longer, but to put on a new way of thinking and acting

2004-02-29T22:20:00.000Z

Golly gosh - it's been so long since i blogged! Sorry about that. Looking but not seeing A few things recently have made me wonder how little we notice what's going on with the people around us. We spend time with people, talk to them and have a laugh but sometimes we just don't really know what's happening in their lives. I think that the reasons for this are multiple and sometimes complex,

2004-02-03T23:59:00.000Z

Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world'. God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light. David said, 'The Lord is my light and my salvation'. We can say, 'The Lord is the light of my life.' But does that always feel true? Sometimes the light seems far away All around us is darkness, gloom and shadow Where is the Lord then? 'I am there, In the darkness with you' He says To be completed (

2004-01-20T20:47:00.000Z

Sharing in one another's lives To be a person is to spend time with other people, to get to know them and vice versa. Our relations with them may take many different forms; we may be someone's son, we may chat to the bus driver in the mornings, we may work at the same desk as one of our colleagues or we may be married to someone. All of these, although varied in levels of intimacy and

2004-01-19T22:23:00.000Z

To look for God in unexpected places and people requires so much more discipline than giving God sections of our time, whether that's church or in our quiet times. to be constantly on the lookout for God, wondering where we'll spot God's kingdom at work in our world is demanding and strenuous. It needs attention span way beyond that of a goldfish and it needs hope. To hope that we will

2003-12-26T20:05:00.000Z

I would like to wish everyone a very merry, if slightly belated, Christmas! I hope that it has been a fun time and that we've all been able to spend time with people we love and care about. I also hope that we all received some lovely pressies! To be able to celebrate the reality that God became a helpless little baby for pesky humans is rather amazing eh?! So however you did that, I hope it

2003-12-12T23:53:00.000Z

To answer my own question about what kind of room our mind would be; I think mine would be a loft apartment with lots of different areas for different functions - eating, sitting, computer, storage etc. They're all in the same room but got their own areas, also there are some dark corners that you don't often look in. Which Star Trek character? Probably Seven of Nine or Janeway, or perhaps

2003-12-01T00:21:00.000Z

I must once again offer my apologies for being such an intermittent blogger! A month between blogs is a bit inexcusable really. This week has been very interesting for me, some really big decisions have been made and some big changes are in store for me but I'm strangely calm. the thought that is forming in my head is that sometimes things happen naturally and more easily than we might have

2003-10-29T15:31:00.000Z

In The Observerat the weekend they had a supplement all about the body, our attitudes to our bodies, with some interesting stories from a guy who sees his as a reflection of his life and was recently branded; a contortionist and a ballet dancer. There are some facts and figures, some encouraging and some not so. One of the articles discusses the pros and cons of young children and teenagers

2003-10-20T22:03:00.000Z

On the issue of sex here are a few articles I have found which bring a new perspective on it. The Rowan Williams one is well worth a read, it's quite long so it may be best to print it off and read it at your leisure. The PomoseXuality article looks at sexuality in our post-modern (?) times and how sexuality is perceived and worked out. Very interesting reading.

2003-10-20T21:49:00.000Z

When does the struggle end? Introducing another tension of the Christian life - struggle v. peace. There are many verses in the Bible about the peace of God, being content, allowing the peace that passes all understanding to fill our hearts and minds etc. But is there a point at which contentedness becomes apathy? And are we not called to engage in the struggle to redeem the world? This

2003-10-17T23:16:00.000Z

Just a quick question for you pro-bloggers out there, last night I made some changes to my sidebar and when I previewed it they looked fine. However when I looked at my blog today it is still the same with no changes! why why why??? BTW I think I will have to go on record by saying that The West Wing is by far the best show on TV at the moment. Yes, it even surpasses Star Trek! If you're not

2003-10-15T23:35:00.000Z

This time I'm going to save it as I go along! Much of my thinking time, as this blog demonstrates, is taken up with thinking and reflecting theologically, about theological concepts, about concepts of church and community etc. I've felt, for quite a while now, an emptiness, a spiritual emptiness. This has been particularly apparent since I came back to Blackwood (don't go any further into the

2003-10-07T00:08:00.000Z

Oops! Two apologies - one for the long absence and another for another absence. I just wrote a really long blog which was great but then by some lack of gumption I managed to delete it all. Unfortunately as it's getting late and I'm pretty tired it's not getting rewritten! I'll try again tomorrow.

2003-09-22T21:32:00.000Z

Here are some poems that I have trawled from various websites and blogs, apologies for the lack of authors and where they came from but I didn't write any of that down! oops. They have all struck me in various ways, I hope that you find some of the same. Burning Bushes You are going about your everyday business. It's an ordinary day, just like any other, nothing special. The only difference

2003-09-04T22:32:00.000Z

I think i should win!! Today I went into my office after six weeks away and discovered a lone coffee mug that I had forgotten to remove before I left, the resulting mould in the bottom was very impressive! It was all furry and everything. Only after a few hours serious soaking did it make its departure. It felt almost like I was extinguishing a new form of life. Oh no, I'm a mould murderer!

2003-09-03T23:48:00.000Z

Just a few thoughts that popped up as I was reading the paper this evening. Do we think that politics ever obscures real life, or is politics real life? It reminds me of the chicken and egg conundrum often applied to TV, does it mirror society or does society mirror it? How much does politics influence our everyday lives? Obviously having studied social policy and politics I know the answer

2003-08-17T14:53:00.000Z

i've been browsing through the Stephen Covey book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have found it to be an inspiring and clarifying read, so i thought that I would share some tidbits with you. If you've already read it to death, then feel free to skip this! "Albert Einstein observed "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we

2003-08-13T16:16:00.000Z

Apologies for the lengthy absence from blog-world - been a bit uninspired really! Few random thoughts to get us going...how much do we think about the sayings we use? E.g. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Very true, but should we be throwing stones anyway? Don't count your chickens before they've hatched. What, not even a rough estimate? That's not very wise! Too many cooks

2003-07-14T00:02:00.000Z

A few weeks ago I found this interview with eugene Peterson, Eugene Peterson interviewthe guy who wrote the Message. A lot of it connected with my thinking and created sparks of new thought. Part of it is his way with words, sort of like Max Lucado. He says some stuff about using words, being intentional but also spontaneous. so here are lots of exerpts from it that, sorry if it's a lot to

2003-07-08T14:41:00.000Z

The past few days have been taken up with thoughts and reflections about church. Read an article by a guy called Mark Norridge about post-modernity and the age of the Spirit which was interesting. (Can't remember the exact site name but I found through Organic Church's website) It talks about experience, identity and community in the post-modern age. I would agree that there is more emphasis

2003-07-04T12:17:00.000Z

Was just browsing through some other blogs and found a few things of interest on www.sacmission.blogspot.com, thought I'd share... "It's dangerous to define what being Christian looks like because w/o even realizing it, we are imposing on others what we think is "godly." The bottom line is that we are all trying to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Our relationship with Christ is

2003-07-01T23:52:00.000Z

Ok first things first - how do I change my blog template thingy? I don't know how to get those little links up or how to enable people to feedback. I also have no clue where to start on customising the page a bit more but that could get a bit advanced for me so perhaps I should just stick to the basics! So...if anyone could help me out by emailing me how to do it I'd be most grateful!! I've

2003-06-30T21:48:00.000Z

Patience is a virtue - how true! My lack of patience became quite clear tonight at Girls Brigade! Lots of little girls chattering and running around and generally having fun, but not playing the game! My game no less! I had to work hard to stay patient and calm which made me realise the value in cultivating peacefulness. I've always wanted to be that person who never gets ruffled or flustered

2003-06-29T13:24:00.000Z

Here's my blog!! Can't promise it'll be interesting or exciting, but I hope that some of it may provoke some thought, and maybe even some 'lightbulb' moments for you! Don't expect too many web-links, I don't spend a lot of time online, I'm more comfortable with a good book! Speaking of books, who's read Harry Potter? What did you think? I read it in about two days because I had an essay to do