Genetik Week 4

1/10/2011 – After 4 weeks of being away from home, my parents couldn’t take it anymore, and so they came up to visit for the day. After inspecting the house, and finding it sufficient for living, they took me to the Trafford centre, where we had a look around the shops there, and hung out. It was a productive day, in which I got two tops from Fatface (love that shop) and had a lovely meal out at Gourmet Burger. We also spent a lot of time in the apple store, which can only be expected with my dad around. :P

^ Here's a tour of our, well, glorified kitchen or living room/kitchen. Common room maybe...

<- Notice our sofas are actually office chairs covered in blankets and cushions :P

2/10/2011 – Unfortunately, I forgot to write down what I did on this particular Sunday, other than the fact I went to church. And so it may have to remain a mystery. A good guess would probably be that we went food shopping, tidied the house a bit, and then watched a movie, but who knows?

3/10/2011 – The icebreakers are finally over, and the real stuff begins. Our very first teaching session was ‘How to read your bible’ by my mentor for the year, Anna. Suffice to say it was quite handy. We then had our first fitness session. Now I don’t usually mind fitness in general. However I am not a runner, I am a swimmer. To say I was like a fish out of water, was, I felt, quite accurate. I took the role of bringing up the rear very seriously, with my slow bobbing ‘dad jog’ mixed with intervals of walking. Unfortunately our fitness instructor for the day used to train with the marines, or something to that effect, and it turned out that the longest run I’d probably done in 5 years was in fact my warm up. The only good thing about the first fitness is that the only way for me to go is up. After lunch we then had a session with Tim Owen where we discussed how the arts, music etc affect the culture we live in. David, Rebs and I had our first placement in the evening at Ivy church, helping out in the youth club there. Our first evening was quite easy, as Twelve24 (a schools band) were doing a gig, and so we were effectively just stewards for the first night.

4/10/2011 – Our second teaching of the week was by Tim Owen on ‘Character’. A quote I quite liked was “Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are a gift, good character is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece, thought by thought, choice, courage, and determination.” – John Luther. After lunch all the singers had a singing lesson each, and I imagine the dancers had a dance lesson etc. Some of us then hung around in the dance studio, and mucked about. In the evening David, Rebs and I had our first meeting to try and organize a youth café in the youth centre below us.

5/10/2011 – This morning’s teaching was titled ‘Improving your serve’ and was all about being ‘servant-hearted’, and looking at 3 main points; attitude, availability, and adaptability. I then had my first meeting with my mentor, which was cool. In the afternoon we then split off into our genetic ‘tracks’ (Urban, Creative, and Worship). Being on the worship track I spent the afternoon in a justice workshop with David, Kommy, Tom, and Jonny. Our workshop leader for the term is Hannah Atkins/Latty (depending on whether you use her stage name or marital name :P) and this term seems pretty exciting. We’re going to be putting on an event to raise awareness about a social justice issue, and then we’re all gonna be writing and recording our own songs which should be good, as well as some other stuff thrown in. When we got back home, Rebs and I went for a jog, as part of our fitness homework, which wasn’t too bad, but I still don’t like running :P Then we joined David at our Church Mentors’ house where we were helping them paint a few of their room white.

6/10/2011 – Thursdays are ‘track’ days, so I was with the Worship crew in the morning, and we had a talk on being humble. Something which is particularly important with the celebrity culture we live in. Effectively are you pursuing what God has called you to do, or are you pursuing fame? The way Alistair (the speaker) demonstrated this to us was by bringing in a bowl full of M&Ms and telling us the story of Van Halen who supposedly demanded all the brown M&Ms be removed. We then demonstrated our diva-less-ness by eating all colours of the M&Ms :) In the afternoon I had my first piano lesson, in which I was taught the basic basics of keys playing in a worship band setting. In the evening David, Rebs, Kane and I went over to someone in our church’s house for cell group. It was quite enjoyable, especially as Krispy Kremes were on the menu.

7/10/2011 – Friday we had our second teaching on identity with Emma Owen, and Hannah Atkins, who also played us some of her songs. In the afternoon I ended up being a taxi for Tiff and Beaver, cant remember why, but there you go. Heidi then came around our house to hang out, and later we went to join a few others at the Trafford centre pizza hut for Beaver’s birthday meal. We worked out it was cheaper to get a take away, and so we ended up eating our pizza in the back of Griffin’s van.

Genetik Week 3

24/09/2011 – Today we decided to just get a mirror from Argos, which is only about 10 mins walk away, and we also bought a clock for the kitchen so that we actually know what the time is lol. Kane then had a BBQ at his college, which we all went to, and then followed on to have yet another social at the Harpurhey house.

25/09/2011 – As the day of rest I spent the morning sleeping and then went to church, as it is a Sunday. After church I had to go back to Argos as they had sold me a broken mirror. Tut tut Argos, you should know better. I don’t know why but you should. Because you are quite a big successful company that’s why. Anyway after that Rebs and I decided to not go to Audacious again but to have a girly night in, with facemasks, hot chocolate and marshmallows, and a bit of Gerard Butler :)

26/09/2011 – We heard the final six testimonies today, which were all interesting. After lunch we then planned a few things to do on the residential we are going on tomorrow, which is in North Wales. We split off into three teams, one on games, one on food, and one on worship sessions. As a worship student I opted for the worship team :P We were then given an option of various jobs to do around the message, to help tidy up etc. Initially I was on cleaning up random bits of rubbish, but then when that was done flitted around a bit, trying to find something to do and ended up washing 2 cars and a van. After our busy day of labour Rebs and I were invited around to Andrew and Natalie’s (church peeps) house for dinner, and got to meet their kids Emma and Amelia. Though remembering which child is which was interesting with such similar names.

27/09/2011 – Today we all set out for the residential trip to Quinta which is in North Wales. Once we’d arrived we were assigned our rooms, and chose our respective beds :P I was in a room with Heidi, Jess, Hege, Tiffany, and Gemma. We then began the fun with some games in the sports hall. We played a mini hockey tournament, and then several games of benchball. One of which resulted in me getting elbowed in the eye, which I wasn’t too impressed with :P We then had a talk from Jo, and did a little self-evaluation on our selves at the beginning of the course for us to keep and look back on. In the evening me and the rest of the team in charge of sorting out the worship sessions set out some prayer stations in the common room. The following worship session was a really powerful night for all of us I feel, and one of the first times we were able to get alongside each other, and support each other on a new level,which was pretty cool. We then finished the night off by splitting into teams and improvising our own fairytale, in the style of something we pulled out the hat. My group got the three little pigs in the style of a horror. And so we made good use of the left over spaghetti.

28/09/2011 – Second day of the residential and we may as well have slept on the ground. Those mattresses were, in my opinion, not mattresses. Had a nice morning which consisted of breakfast, hot chocolate, and a walk outside where there are TREES, a scarcity in Manchester/Salford. And also a little duck family, which was cute :P

Our main event for the day was a long walk through north Wales. It started off well, with us all having to jump over a steel gate, and then Beaver managed to scrape his arm as he climbed over, and so we had to wait until someone had gone back and got the first aid kit. We then proceeded to walk for a few hours, and I made my way around the group asking what animal they would be. At one point on our journey we had to walk through a pitch black canal tunnel, which went on for about 5 minutes at a slightly slower than average walking pace :P The idea was we weren’t allowed to talk to each other and we all had to hold hands, and try not to fall in the canal, as a kinda team building exercise. I quite enjoyed it, but Rebecca didn’t as she hates small spaces, and darkness is, in her words, too close. In the evening after our meal, the girls and boys split up, the boys had yet another walk, and the girls had a girly night

with facemasks and sweets. And then to finish the day off, we had a worship sesh outside. The theme for the evening was to remember the persecuted church around the world, and so we all walked out to the lake in silence, and held a candle each and said some prayers. The next hour or so was spent singing worship songs, under what was possibly the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen, it was beautiful. There’s something quite magical in singing God’s praises outside on a clear night with friends.

29/09/2011 – The last day of our residential trip, we started the day with a talk from Mat, and then began the scavenger hunt game, where we were given a list of things we had to find. Some of them were easy enough, like a feather, and a stick. However others required a bit more creativity such as a Duck’s fart and a fairy. By some strange miracle (and bribery in the form of a packet of frazzles) my team won! We followed lunch with some more games which included eating as many crackers as possible, and a very wet version of duck duck goose – drip drip drop. We then had a final photo and made our way back to Manchester. The Harpurhey house then had a bbq in the evening, which was a nice finish to the week.

30/09/2011 – Friday we had the day off and we went shopping at the Trafford centre again, and Rebs had her first ever Nandos. Me and Rebs then went over to Tiff and Lisa and had a mini girly night, in which I ended up dying my hair the colour it is :P

Genetik: Thats Not My Name...

While reading my blog, you probably have no idea who i'm talking about, and some names may seem a bit odd and so...

Here are all the people i'm on the genetik course with and their respective nicknames, and what i actually call them in my head :)

Name before Genetik / Genetik Name / In My Head

(to the best of my knowledge)

Abbie / Abbie / Abbie

Dan / Beaver / Beaver

David / Ireland or Irish / David

Dave / Griffin / Griffin

David / Skittles / Skittles

Gemma / Gemma / Gemma

Hege / Hege / Hege

Heidi / Heidi / Heidi - Hi

Jessica / Jess / Jess

Jessica (Me) / Ica or Jess / Me

Jonny / Jonny / Jonny

Kommy / Kommy / Kommy

Lisa / Lisa / Lisa

Paul / Paul / Paul

Rebecca / Rebs or Reblar / Rebs

Dack / Dack / Dack or Duck

Shaun / Shaun / Shaun

Sofie / Sofie / Sofie

Tiffany / Tiffany / Tiff

Tim / Tim / Tim

Tom or Tomyom / Tom or Tomyom / Tom

Profile: Kane Flaherty

Name: Kane Anthony Flaherty

Age: 19

Date of Birth: 05/04/1992

Relationship: Single

Place of Origin: Salford

In Jessica's Life Because: Housemate

This is Kane Flaherty.

He is my housemate in Salford, and despises having his picture taken. However I was lucky and managed to catch a shot of him looking slightly like a disney princess dreaming of rescue from his tower. He is currently studying BA Hons Theology at Nazarene Theological College (University of Manchester), and last year did an internship at Langworthy Community Church. This lovable character has taken on the role of 'Papa' in the Salford house, and is the patriarchal member of the Salford Crew. On our whiteboard he is described as: Intelligent, Wise, Gifted, Creative, Kind, Funny, Caring, Mature, Smile, Laugh, Great Speaker, Chosen, Humble, Blessed and a Blessing, and Youth Work. Not all of these are however adjectives. He is a pessimistic in hopes of becoming an optimistic, though this is usually only possible if he has a coffee in the morning. If i were to describe his humour, i'd say that he would be excellent in the role of a pantomime dame, or a pompous old man with too much money, or a cat. Kane would on the other hand describe himself as an owl, which fits in with his nocturnal nature. Kane chose an owl because he thinks he is a wise old owl. He is neither old or an owl, but this doesn't bother him too much. Occasionally he has the temperament of a toddler who was denied some sweets, but this is what we love about him. His facial expressions are particularly loved by fellow housemate David.

Genetik Week 2

17/09/2011 – Our second Saturday at my new house. We had a lie in, and then decided to rearrange the living room/kitchen area, so that is has basically flipped itself, but it makes it easier to move the chairs to watch a movie and makes the kitchen/lounge look more inviting and its easier to get to the washing machine, so lots of pluses. We also went to the Trafford centre for the first time and had a Zizzi meal, and looked around the many many shops there. We also bought a couple of bits and bobs from Asda including our new plants Boris and Daisy the orchid.

18/09/2011 – This was the kids service at church, and so we had kid games in the service, mostly involving foam fish. We then went over to the Gorton house (where Jess, Gemma, and Abbie live) for yet another social. Some of us then went on to go to Audacious which is a church of about 500 people. It was quite a good night, though I did feel the whole thing was generally a bit too long for my liking. It was a still a good evening out with other Genetiks.

19/09/2011 – The second week of Genetik induction, and we had Andy Hawhorne giving us the story of how The Message started up, and where it’s going. It was pretty interesting. We then had a really good talk from Andy Smith on what it means to worship and giving glory all to God. I found it really helpful. Especially as it’s really easy to become proud when you’re doing something creative. The picture he gave that I found really helpful, was that of you being a colander, and you get coated in some of the glory, but it all goes back to God. We then prayed together for encouraging words from God, which was very encouraging lol and hit the nail on the head in a lot of cases on where each of us were :)

20/09/2011 – On this day we had a prayer/worship session with just the Genetiks, which was cool. We then had a talk from someone who is involved in leading the Eden movement (Christians moving into tough estates to build relationships and make a positive difference to the lives of the people living there). And after lunch we had a talk on the basics of Child Safeguarding. This day was also Heidi’s birthday, and so once again we were at the Harpurhey house in the evening partying it up, with a special request from Heidi to have my cheesy ipod music. Cha Cha Slide got the party started :) It was a really fun night and we all got to dress up, and gave Heidi some CD’s and a card which said ‘To the Best Nana’ or something as it was the biggest card the person in charge could find lol.

21/09/2011 – Wednesday was our city centre tour day. And so we toured the city lol. We were shown where some cool clothing areas are, where the good bars are, where you’re best to avoid on a Saturday night, and a cathedral and library. I think my highlight of the tour though was being able to see an original segment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was pretty cool, especially with it being over 1000 years old and all that jazz. We then all went bowling together. Suffice to say I was pretty rubbish that game. I did however discover a talent in giving people massages and back tickles. So quite a productive day.

22/09/2011 – Today was Testimonies day, and so we all shared our testimonies, well as many as could fit into the day. We had 6 people left over. It was really amazing to hear everyone’s story, they were all really interesting and different. I do feel I could have told mine better, and so I may do a blog entry on my testimony. Watch this space. So yes. And then we came home and found out that someone had decided to burn down our council bin. There is a malicious bin burner in Salford. Lock up your daughters. We were wondering what the funny burning smell was. I thought it was a failed attempt at a full English breakfast.

(<--- where our bin used to be, and the smoke trail)

23/09/2011 – Fridays are half days, and a chance to reflect on the week, and have a talk from someone. This week we had a talk on identity, what culture says about us, what we says about ourselves, and what God says about us from Emma Owen. Yes this is the very same Emma Owen who was in the Tribe and did some presenting on God TV. Look at all this name dropping. Lol. Then me and Rebecca headed off to the Trafford centre to try and find a mirror and a clock and generally look around. We probably then watched a movie :P

In the beginning... Genetik Week 1

10/09/2011 – The day I moved in to my new house in Greater Manchester/Salford. I arrived around 1.30pm after a nice lie in at Carolyn and Jonathan’s house. I met my housemates, and was given a tour of the house. I’m living above a youth centre/café, so can use those facilities when the youth are not there, which is handy for inviting people around. My bedroom is having work done to it and so I haven’t been able to move in yet, and so I’m currently sharing a room with Rebecca, and our room is a tip, since wecant really unpack properly till I move into my own room.

We spent out first night together cleaning the whiteboard in our kitchen/lounge, which was quite a task, as it was covered in sticky tape, and was generally filthy. We also gained a pictoral pet cat, Gordon or Gordonerta depending on the gender. We also had dinner with our Eden mentors Abby and Lewis.

My Housemate Kane Flaherty was present in my life from this day on.

11/09/2011 – We had our first service at our new church, which starts at 12.30pm and gives out a free lunch, which is nice :) and then we probably watched a movie, it was either Eli or Annie… can't remember.

12/09/2011 – This was the first day at The Message HQ, where all the teaching and stuff happens, and so therefore was the first day I met people who aren’t my housemates. I tried driving to the HQ using lots of back roads to avoid traffic, however I ended up getting a bit lost a couple of times, and so we decided to rethink the route from then on. When we arrived we joined in with the morning office prayers which last 30mins. We then went off with just the other Genetik students and we played a few ‘getting to know each other’ games.

In the afternoon we were sorting out and filling in housing benefit forms, and getting them ready to send off. And then, even though we had only known each other for 7 or so hours, we all decided to gather in the largest house and have a social, which then turned into a cool worship session with the entire Genetik crew. It was defiantly a good start to the course.

13/09/2011 – Our first Tuesday consisted of having a ‘VIP Brunch’ and a team challenge. The VIP brunch was a chance to meet some of the other people that work at The Message, and are usually behind a desk or out doing other interesting work, like prison programmes, designing magazines, or writing a new play etc. It was also a good opportunity to eat free food :) We then had a team challenge in which we had tofind a way to drop an egg from a first floor window without it breaking. The catch was we were only allowed to use things that we found lying around the building or in the rubbish (trash if you are American :P). My team ended up using a sandwich bag filled with water with a cup inside to hold the egg. It sort of worked but not really :P

14/09/2011 – On Wednesday we had a controversial ‘What Do You Believe?’ session. We were asked questions such as ‘Do you think capital punishment is ok?’ ‘Is it ok for women to lead in church?” etc. However the topic that started to cause the most heat was whether or not people believed in Guardian Angels. Go Figure. However the more EXCITING part of the day was meeting the one and only Matt Redman. Yes you read that right. I will admit I was a bit star stricken for the first 30 mins or so lol. Especially when he was like ‘tell me your story, why you doing worship, what do you like about worship, what do you play, what’s your favourite music etc’. But I think I mangaged to get over it eventually lol. I had however decided that day to wear something quite quirky, and not my usual ‘I cant be bothered’ look. Interesting first impressions I imagine. The goal this year is to write an album with the other worship students under the guidance and tutoring of Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and Andy Smith (the resident Message worship leader). Exciting stuff!

15/09/2011 – Prayer Day number 1. You can probably guess what this involved. In a nutshell we had some time of worship, led by Matt while he was up in Manchester, we then had people from The Message sharing what is happening in various areas of the organization and then we were praying into those areas. We then had a talk/sermon from Beth Redman, and then she talked to us about a charity she is involved in which is fighting human trafficking (www.thea21campaign.org) check it out.

16/09/2011 – Prayer Day number 2. Similar to day 1, Andy Smith was leading worship, Andy Hawthorne talked to us about the new Enterprise Centre that The Message are preparing to open in a years time, and everyone prayed for all the Genetik students. Andy Hawthorne then treated us all to a meal at Gustos, which was pretty cool. We basically took over the whole restaurant. My house then invited everyone to ours, as we have a youth centre below us, which can convert into a small cinema and café. All was going well until my housemate Rebecca fell down a few stairs and had to be taken to A and E for her wrist. Another student on our course who was a first aid-er was pretty sure Rebs had broken her wrist. On first appearances (based on the bruising etc) the hospital peeps thought it actually had multiple fractures. However when you pray things happen. Especially when you have 20 people back at your house all worshiping and praying for healing. And low and behold, no breaks were found on the x-ray! Not even any hairline fractures. The x-ray nurse person was pretty shocked. I wasn’t lol. Thanks God :)

I Didnt Know These People 5 Weeks Ago :P

It's been 4 and 1/2 weeks since i moved to Manchester, and i havent really written any blogs since i've been here, and so following this blog will be an update/written depiction of Genetik so far and the people in it :)

Here we all are in Albert's Square in the city centre, sitting on the Albert Memorial 21/09/11

The idea was to do a weekly update, but as it's been 4 weeks and i haven't actually posted anything, 4 wonderful updates will be coming your way very soon. Though hopefully after this week, i'll remember to update my blog :P

i'll keep the weeks in separate blogs though, so it's easier for viewing and such things.

Welcome to a more updated version of my world :)

Genetik - Gap Year Number 2

As life would have it i am now living in Manchester. Well 'Greater Manchester' i'm actually in Salford (pronounced Sulford) which i'm told is a city in it's own right, and was here before Manchester....

But Manchester is more famous so i'll stick with that.

How did i get here you ask?

Well God really. But that's a cop out answer so I shall elaborate...

Having decided to rethink my life plan and not go down the root of Drama School, and not being able to decide on a course for uni, the second gap year was inevitable. I kinda got the sense at the end of summer last year (2010) that God wanted me to do an internship at a church or a similar course as a second gap year anyway, so i'm not too surprised to find myself here. But how come Manchester?... well children, if you're sitting comfortably i will begin.

Long ago in the summer of 2010, i was at New Wine once again, the camping event that hosts 10000 christians, all teaching, learning, worshipping, praying, playing, and fellowshipping with each other, and was helping to lead the 10-11 year olds. It just so happened one day that i was walking through the bookstore in the marketplace when i saw a book that caught my eye.

It caught my eye for several reasons. 1 - the whole way up to Somerset i was playing a song on my CD which was Israel Houghton's 'I am not forgotten', which also contains the lyrics 'God knows my name' (ba na na na na na). Secondly I like Beth Redman. And thirdly i like the cover.

But these arent usually the reasons i buy a book. God was like 'Hey Jess, buy the book' and i was like 'nah'. So i walked away from the bit i was in and looked at another shelf, where lo and behold someone had left a copy of the book right in my eyeline, and i was like 'Alright fine i'll get the book'. So i got the book and really enjoyed it. When i finished I saw an ad at the back of the book for another book which was about 'Equipping Females in Worship Leading'. That same week at New Wine, a complete stranger at a meeting had a picture for me about music being the way that God will use me to make heaven touch earth. i think that was the general gist anyway. And so in the back of my mind i had the whole 'worship leading' 'year out' thing ticking over.

A couple of months later i got a magazine sent to me in the post. I dont remember ever signing up for it, but there you go. I guess God signed up for it on my behalf or something lol. Any how, in the middle of the magazine was an advert for a year out doing youthwork and worship leading with no other than Matt and Beth Redman. So i looked into it, and from what i could gather it looked like quite a good course (both practical and fun), and you even get a qualification at the end of it which is handy. With nothing else really to go on, and all signs thus far pointing to this year out, i applied for it...

and got in!

So here i am, living in a house in Salford above a youth centre, on the eve before i begin my course with two of my housemates and an additional 19 people spread out across Greater Manchester.

I will save a more detailed explanation of the course on another blog, as i'll probably have a better idea of what i'm doing, once i've actually started doing it.

At the moment it hasnt really sunk in that i'm living away from home. And will be living away from home for the next 10 months. It still kinda feels like i'm just on holiday. I will however definitely miss a lot of people. I managed to get an impressive six 'goodbye' meals with my mates, 2x Carverys, 3x italians, and 1x wagamamas - which was actually supposed to be a nandos but there you go. Pictures to follow soon :)

but for now i shall say goodnight and try to get a good night's sleep before beginning the fun tomorrow.

xx

Top Cat

Recently, God has been talking to me more and more about fear, in my bible readings.

Most people who know me, would probably say i'm not the fearful type. And i would agree, i cant really think of all that many things that i am scared of. And usually I'm not scared to approach and talk to people.

So why is it that I fail miserably to follow Christ's final commandment: The 'Great Commission'.

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" Mark 16v15

Sure pretty much all my friends know i'm a christian. But i know for a fact that they dont all know the gospel, or worse dont understand it.

While listening to one of my favourite speakers, I heard something very interesting, which was quite hard to swallow.

Fear is another form of Pride.

At first i was like, pffft, what are you on about. Fear isnt pride... it's fear, it's being scared.

But then I came across this passage which really stuck out to me, in John chapter 12 verse 42 to 43. Now what has been happening is that Jesus has been performing miracles and people have been believing that he is the Christ (which has become dangerous at this point in time, because the pharisees have now got a price on his head). And so we read...

"Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than the praise from God."

Now a bit of bible context, if you're put out of the synagogue, you are a social reject. You're not 'in' anymore, you are both physically and socially 'out'. No-one wants to be a social reject, but i think the important part here is the motive as to why they would rather stay silent. It's not merely because they're afraid of admitting they believe Jesus is the Messiah. It is because they loved human praise more than the praise from God.

And isnt that the perfect definition of pride?

Have you ever wondered how God can command us time and time again not to be scared? A quick search on biblegateway says that the phrase 'Do not be afraid' appears over 100 times! I used to think that we shouldnt be scared because we should always remember that God is bigger and in control, and of course that is true. But i'm starting to wonder if maybe this whole 'do not fear' thing goes deeper than that.

I think if i had to choose what my greatest spiritual weakness was, (even before this post) i would have said it was pride. Not arrogance, but pride. I'm very prone to be proud of who I am and what I have achieved in my life. Proud of my intelligence, my skills, my confidence. All the things that I can't take credit for. All the things that were a gift from God himself, and should be used to glorify him, instead of myself.

And so it would seem that ultimately, my struggle with actively sharing the gospel is all down to pride. Much as i hate to admit it. But half the battle is knowing the problem, and so I have peace in knowing that something can be done about it with the help of God.

ahh phew

So how does one stop being proud?

Well, if pride is all about self-preservation, and big-ing yourself up, I guess the way you stop being proud is by doing the opposite. And so here is a nice diagram...

Self-preservation ~ Selflessness

Big-ing yourself up ~ Humility

In other words:

Pride ~ Love

(Here's some original art work from yours truly)

STOP! Hamster Time

God is odd sometimes :P

Gives me the idea using an analogy with hamsters in it which is random enough, and then hey presto hamsters on an advert on TV

In a guilded cage, and a fun slide and swimming pool

My previous post mentions God making hamsters the best hamster cage there is.

(if you're lost, i suggest reading the post :P)

I had not seen this advert prior to writing the previous post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgK_hDifx0

Are hamsters in the bible or something?

a quick search on biblegateway.com says no lol

I do wonder at God's sense of humour sometimes

Prophetic analogies involving hamsters?

You gotta admit, its original :P