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

(8) Are we huuman, or are we hamsters? (8)

For my Dad's birthday i got him Louis Giglio's 'How Great is Our God' and 'Indescribable' dvds. A big part of the dvd looks at the vast hugeness of the universe and the amazing things in it, and how they point to God.

It's really cool, i recommend you watching

It got me thinking about the series that is just about to come on BBC - The Wonders of the Universe. Professor Brian Cox (the host/narrator) has suggested in his past documentaries that with the universe being soooo big and so complex, then surely, surely, there must be other life out there. The universe is just way too oversized to believe that we could be the only things in it.

And to a certain extent i agree. The universe is too oversized if it is simply a place for living things to dwell.

But what if that isn't the prime reason for the universe existing?

What if the prime reason for the universe is to show God's Glory, and just how fricking huge and powerful he is. After all, as the psalmist says : The Heavens declare the Glory of God (Psalm 19)

Then the universe is probably just the right size

An interesting thing that Louis said was that sin has a way of puffing us up, and shrinking God down. And aint that the truth? Maybe that is what is meant when we are told to 'fear' the Lord. He's saying 'dont forget who i truly am. I am ma-HOO-sive'. Its the whole 'dont put God in a box' thing - once you think you understand, and you've 'got' God, you've probably broken to second commandment, so watch out for that :P (out of the 10 commandments that is)

I randomly came up with an analogy to explain the whole 'The Universe is for God's Glory' thing, if you're not sure what that actually means.

Say the universe is God's bedroom, the earth is a hamster cage and we are the hamster.

God is really fond of us hamsters. He's made us an amazing cage with his own hands (he was a carpenter after all) for us. We've got the latest, most expensive soft floors, drink, food, a hamster wheel, thousands of tubes that we love to explore, our own little house to sleep in. And he just loves having us there.

God places us near enough to the window that we get enough fresh air and sunlight, but not too close that we get cold. He's put us near enough the radiator that we stay warm but dont overheat. everything is carefully laid out in God's room.

And then God goes about decorating his room with wallpaper or paint. He choose the patterns, the furniture the colour scheme, he puts up his favourite pictures, he puts on his favourite CD, He just makes the bedroom his own.

Now it would be pretty stupid to assume that God had chosen how to decorate his room based solely on the hamsters. He loves his hamsters, but this is his room, not the hamsters. the hamsters are just privileged enough to be able to live in it and benefit from it.

[the analogy is of course completely out of proportion, what with God being able to fit the entire universe in the span of his hand (cant remember the exact reference but i think its in Isaiah..). I know i cant fit my bedroom in the span of my hand :P And then of course he lives in Heaven, but lets not be picky with the accuracy of metaphors]

So, i feel i am now supposed to finish this blog with a 'left hook' or a 'big finale'. erm...

God's HUGE! We're small. But despite this he treasures us with his life.

Yes that will do.

The Hills Are Alive...

Here's some of my favourite speakers:

Joyce Meyer - www.joycemeyer.org (or youtube, or itunes podcasts)

Gotta love her, what a woman.

Ray Comfort, and others - www.livingwaters.com www.livingwatersonthebox.blogspot.com

Really good for evangelism, funny too :P very dry humour - my type of humour

Louis Giglio - www.youtube.com (type in 'how great is our God' / 'indescribable' plus 'Louis Giglio')

Shows us how amazing God is in science, (get to see NASA images and stuff, it's cool!)

Nick Vujicic - www.lifewithoutlimbs.org (or youtube)

Truly inspiring.

Andy Stanley - www.youtube.com (type in 'north point ministries')

Good teaching of scripture, i would listen to this at work while sending 10000 couriers :P

and my latest favourite:

Cliffe Knechtle - www.givemeananswer.org

he's goooood. very knowledgeable and interesting. Tough questions as you may have guessed from the web link. forgive the cheesy openings and questionable jumpers, it's defo worth watching.

Ok i'm not gonna lie the theme music is making my ears bleed and cringe. maybe just fast forward on them :P

Anyone have any other favourites?

Anti-gravity

i feel it is time for something light-hearted

here is a limerick

There was a young lady called Jess

Who's hair was a bit of a mess

When she went home

She got out her comb

And ended up looking the best!

:)

<-----This is a picture taken for an application, whereas the above? yeah that was specifically taken for this post :P