Risk, is it worth it?

Beautiful piece of writing, picked up from a great blog I have just come across, Brain Heasley's, he heads up a prayer project in Ibiza called 24/7

The writing below was written by Jean Vanier

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out is to risk involvement
To disclose feelings is to risk disclosing your true self
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk their love
To live is to risk dying
To hope is to risk despair
To try is to risk failure
But the greatest hazard is to risk nothing
The one who risks nothing,does nothing and has
Nothing - and finally is nothing
They may avoid sufferings and sorrow,
But simply cannot learn, feel,change,grow or love
Only one who risks is free

Jean Vanier

No Regrets?

Just listening to some music and shocked to find out that the song I am listening to is 20 yrs old!

When I look back over the last 20 yrs unfortunately I am not one of those people who can say "If i had my time again I would do exactly the same", I would do many things differently! I would try and be kinder, more considerate, less wasteful, more forgiving, more loving....the list could go on forever.

However I am also one of those people who try not to get too caught up in the past. I am forever looking to the future, seeing what tomorrow will bring but more importantly how I can shape tomorrow for the better.

So this is the challenge to myself to make sure I have as few regrets about the next 20 years, no regrets, that indeed is my aim!

Andy

Reform begins within!

Just received this great leadership quote today from John Maxwell..please read on:

Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 2 Kings 22:11

Throughout his thirty-one years of godly leadership, King Josiah wholeheartedly followed the Lord and devoted himself to leading the people well. His own spiritual passion soon began to influence Judah and eventually brought about public reform.
Even today Josiah remains a vivid example of a key biblical principle: Outward reform begins with inward renewal. The leader must experience personal change before he or she can implement public change. Leaders make an impact the same way an atomic bomb does: They implode before they explode.

How did the young king "implode" before he "exploded"? After ten years on the throne, while he was still a teenager, Josiah sent several men to the high priest to re-energize the process of repairing the temple. While cleaning up the rubble, the high priest found "the Book of the Law." Shaphan the scribe read it, then reported its contents to the young king. And how did Josiah respond? He imploded. He ripped his clothes. His tender heart and humility prompted him to embark on a national program of spiritual reform. The cycle worked this way for King Josiah:

Personal Renewal >>> Personal Change >>> Public Change Implemented >>> Public Reform

The Maxwell Leadership Bible

Andy

Many thanks!

Just to say a big thank you to everyone who supported and sponsored Daniel, Martin and myself for the Cardiff Half Marathon. We raised approximately £700 for Jessie May Nursing Trust. We have now registered to run the Bath Half Marathon on behalf of Little Bridge House (Children's Hospice Southwest), please see www.forjosh.org for more details.

Andy

Life....live it!

Apparently blogging is now out of fashion, so as I'm not really into fashion I have decided to continue!

The past few months have been interesting/ I've had a really bad chest infection for about a month, see Muse Live at Wembley (great band but Wembley acoustics not brilliant), saw OMD live for the first time in well over 20 yrs (still pretty good), finally, finally completing my fist half marathon in Cardiff two weeks ago and seeing The Police live at The Millennium Stadium (again very good but Andy Summers the guitarist did look really old!), so overall its been a busy few months.

Anyway life continues 'a pace' as always, so along with Church life, decorating the house, running the business and having some family time, life is busy, interesting and at times strained, but I am increasingly grateful for all that I have and experiencing but most of all that I am never alone as I go through life as David declares in Psalm 23, wherever I walk He (God) is always with me (paraphrase).

Finally life is to be lived not survived or avoided, so let's get on with it.

Andy

Nothing...simply nothing at all!!

That has been my inspiration level recently, nothing. So anyway just thought I would log on and say that.

Mind you one thing recently is that I have seen '300', fantastic film which tells the story of 300 Spartans defending the 'Hot Gates' officially called the Battle of Thermopylae. I know that the film is 'loosely' based on the true historical account but shows what team work can achieve in the face of insurmountable odds.

Anyway get to see it whilst you can.

Andy

316!

On Sunday a few of us went to see Bristol Rovers in the Football League Trophy Final (can't bring myself to call it the Johnstones Paint Trophy, just doesn't sound right.) Anyway our tickets stated we had to enter the Millennium Stadium through gate 316.

So we made our way to the ground and waited outside at an appropriate spot, to which Tom Smye says "So where is gate 316", I reply simply by saying "Look up Tom" for him to see directly in front a 30ft post with a 4ft sign attached to it with the number 316 on it! Tom bursts out laughing and states "You're going to have to blog that" so I have!

We had a great day, shame about the result but if you decide that you're not going to play for the first 5 minutes then you will go 2-0 down. But if you ever have to go to the Millennium Stadium:
1/ Drive there, don't get the train!
2/ When you join a queue to catch the train home, don't join the one for Bristol Parkway join the one for Temple Meads wherever you live, you will definitely get home a lot quicker!

Andy

Great quote!

Just heard this...."Remember..your focus determines your reality."

Great line, loads of truth.

Andy

The Virtues of Running.....finally!!

Having begun my training for Half Marathon I can honestly say I am starting to enjoy running..sorry that definitely should be jogging. If anybody has seen Peter Kay I am currently 'dad running.'

Anyway exercise really does make you feel better! I am starting to regret those wasted years of a very sedentary lifestyle.

Let me give you a tip, if you are thinking about it get out there and do it, you definitely wont regret it.

Andy

Belief vs Faith

Have been thinking about faith today and also sometimes how I really do lack faith, whether this be a natural or a supernatural thing and in doing so came across this great story about belief vs faith...

Have you ever heard about the guy who walked a tight rope across Niagara Falls? Many people watched him do it. To them he asked, "Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls?" They all replied, "Yes." They had already seen him do it.

Then he pushed a wheel barrow on a tight rope across Niagara Falls. When he completed the feat, he asked the onlookers, "Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow?" To that they replied unanimously, "Yes." Because they saw him do that too.

Finally, a buddy of the tight rope walker climbs into the wheel barrow and the tight rope walker pushes him across the Falls. Wow, what a daring feat! When they finished, the tight rope walker asked the crowd, "Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheel barrow with a person in it?" To that they exclaimed, "Yes!" For they were now believers in this guy's awesome abilities.

Then he looked at the crowd and asked, "Who's next?"

There you have it... Belief vs. Faith...!

Great story, great challenge!

Andy

Quote of the day...week...Year!

Stated very confidently and loudly in the office the other day...."if my husband is like that I am not going to marry him!"

Guess who said that? First letter L second letter O ...yes you guessed it Lozza. Worthy of making it on onto 'It's a Norm' I think.

Andy

Music!

Music is so powerful.

I am just sat here in my office as I type listening to one of my favourite tracks of all time, Stay by Me by Annie Lennox off her album Diva. This album first came out in 1992 (had it first on tape, how old is that!)and yet I can instantly recall feelings and emotions that I felt at that time. It's as though the track has the power of time travel, as I remember specific situations around that time. It's as though I can instantly re-live, hear and see everything as if it was here and now. Without music I doubt I would be able to have such specific recollections.

Have you ever listened to a track and thought that someone had just read your mind and written something specifically for you. It's almost like the greatest songwriters and musicians have the ability to tap into the very atmosphere around them and somehow put it into words and music.

Music also has the ability to unite and bring people together unlike anything else I know. Ever been to a concert where suddenly everyone is singing the same thing, all having the same shared experience, and suddenly you realise you are all in this together! Amazing!

Maybe next time negotiations break down over some major treaty or employment stand off they should take a break and get everyone to a U2 concert and get everyone singing 'In the Name of Love', just a suggestion!

Music, quite simply I couldn't live my life without it.

Andy

Permanent?

Is there really anything on this planet of ours that is permanent?

We have all sort of products that are meant to have permanent properties, but in in my view there is only one thing that is really permanent, and that is God himself.

In the bible He is refereed to as our foundation, our rock, our salvation. He existed before creation itself, before the heavens (the universe)and before the earth. As always this prompts the question that recently my son asked me "So if God created everything who created God?"

God's answer (again from the bible) is that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He has always 'been' and always 'will be', or more simply He is permanent.

Andy

The Journey of Righteousness

This has been a phrase that has been going round in my head for the past few days and although I am aware that as a Christian my belief is that righteousness or right living is given as a gift, there is something about that phrase that has got me thinking.

I will never be perfect although my aim is always to be the best person that I can be. I have realised more and more over the years that life is a journey and here's that word again, a process. It is something that we are always working our way through. For me the time when we feel we have arrived is the time that we may as well give up and go home. In order to understand righteousness we must also understand who and what we are. We will make mistakes, we will have bad days, we are not perfect. But it is by being all those things that makes the journey of righteousness that much more intriguing and the fact that we have been given, by the gift of Christ, through God's grace, righteousness. Maybe it is not so much a journey of righteousness but more about me understanding a little more each day about what God has done for me, what He has given me. More like unwrapping a present a little bit each day.

God's grace never ceases to amaze me, his love and understanding are sometimes completely beyond my way of thinking. But there is one thing I do know, He has committed to take the journey with me every step of the way. With that in mind it makes the journey that much more enjoyable and achievable.

Enjoy the walk.

Andy

For Josh

....or that should be www.forjosh.org. I have set up a new web page with the very kind help of Mr T. The purpose of this site is simple, to raise money for two great charities (Jessie May Nursing Trust and Little Bridge House) that work with my nephew Josh who suffers with MLD a rare life limiting condition that affects the synaptic pathways of the brain. I am aiming to raise money by doing two things:
1/ lose weight as I am a bit of bloater and
2/ to run the Bristol Half Marathon on the 7th September of this year ..hence as of today I have started a training programme (see aforementioned web site) and healthier eating habits (only 5 bags of crisps a day as opposed to 10!!)

My aim is to keep the site updated with a journal, photo's and even maybe some video footage, if I can work out how to do that!

Finally the site is all about raising money so if you log on, and once we have the pledges page sorted out and/or the Pay Pal account, please be generous, not for me for Josh.

Thanks

Andy