Do you believe in mum?

This was shown in church today. It made me chuckle, so I thought I’d share it here!

 

Thursday Thoughts

It’s been 4 months since I last posted a blog entry. I’ve been quite busy… I’m going to take a leaf out of a friends book and write a compilation of random thoughts.

1. I have now (successfully) made it through the first half of medical finals, and have the second half in a months time. Thank God that I passed the first half! Now my focus is on Him as I try to be organised with revision, and to keep calm as the exams get ever closer.
2. I have a job to go to in August – I’m moving back home, and starting working in Blackpool Vic hospital. I am SO excited about this, especially with the prospect of being able to be more involved with All Saints.
3. On the flip side to this, as I mentioned in my last blog post, I am really sad about the prospect of moving away from Brighton. I know there are exciting times ahead, but I don’t like change!
4. This final year malarkey is fairly heavy on the old workload. A friend commented the other day that between last August and this May, we will have had a total of one week off. Ouch.
5. This week a whole bunch of people from church went to New Word Alive. I was very disappointed to not be able to go with them, but it did mean that I got to hang out with the ‘left behind crew’, which was a really good opportunity to spend time with people I don’t often see much.
6. I went to my last ever student CMF conference in February. As ever, it was a wonderful time of bible teaching, fellowship and encouragement. My take-home message was that in life, my role as a Christian beats all other identities I may have. So God is always the most important thing.
7. I met 4 other students that will be working in the north west next year on the CMF conference, and THREE of them will also be working in Blackpool hospital. There are only 36 new doctors starting. What an encouragement to have other Christians to work alongside whilst we are all getting our feet as new doctors!
8. 2 years ago today I watched ‘The Passion of the Christ’ with a friends, then blogged about it. Since then, that blog post has been far away the most read on this site, with a total individual views to date of almost 6,000. I can’t believe that everyone that read it is a Christian, but it just shows that the story of Jesus, and the Passion He showed at the end of his life is a story people can’t quite turn away from. There’s something in it. Because it’s gloriously true. I haven’t watched that film since then, and I think I may take the time out this weekend to watch it again.
9. I am here, in Brighton this Easter for the first time in a few years. I am very excited about being able to go to BH (my church) on Sunday to celebrate, and spend the time with lots of lovely friends!
10. Last Easter I posted a blog about the fact Brighton were hosting its own outdoor Passion Play. I was disappointed then that I couldn’t go. Well, it was such a success last year that it’s happening again! If anyone local fancies it – come down to the seafront for 2pm on Easter Day. I will be there!

I think that’s enough of my random wittering.

This holiday weekend I hope you can take the time to look into the life of Jesus, and see what an amazing sacrifice He made so that you may have a relationship with Him.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

I love Brighton

6 years ago when I was applying for medical schools, I wanted to be reasonably close to home (Lancashire). So on first try, I applied to Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham universities. It wasn’t to be, however, and I didn’t get the grades to get in to any of those places.
Second time round, I had to apply to places that would accept applicants who had retaken some/ all of their A-levels. This meant I wasn’t able to choose universities geographically, and I applied to Peninsula (Exeter), East Anglia, Sheffield and Brighton & Sussex.
Brighton was where I ended up. I wasn’t very happy about this, it’s a good 7 hour train journey/ 5 hour car journey home – not so easy to pop home for the weekend. I was fairly miserable for the first term, but as I got to know people and the city, I settled in.

Over the years I have come to LOVE Brighton. It will always hold a special place for me, since it was here that I came to know Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Not only that, but it’s a fantastic place to live, and I will be very sad to leave  in summer, when (hopefully!) I will start my job in Lancashire. I don’t know what the future holds though, maybe I’ll be back here someday!

This video started to appear on my facebook feed yesterday, as more and more people saw it, commented on it and posted it for others to see. It is a fantastic representation of Brighton. The person who shot this is a very talented 13 year old boy.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

Part of this video was played in our Carol Service this morning. I just found the full version, and it’s completely brilliant. Some very talented people put this together!!!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

It has been about 3 and a 1/2 months since I last wrote a blog entry… the longest time I have gone in between posts since I started ‘A New Beginning’ almost 2 years ago.

It’s not a case of me wanting to stop blogging, it’s more of a case of life getting in the way! Medical finals (part 1) are coming up in January, and things have been very busy. After being in nice, (relatively) lazy 4th year, 5th year has hit hard, with long days, regular assessments and lots of work to do.

Trying to keep Jesus at the centre of everything I am doing is proving to be quite a challenge, and I am currently struggling somewhat with the stress of impending exams. I have been feeling quite distant in my relationship with God, and although I know He is ever-present and never-changing, the absence I feel is making me miss the security, love, comfort and peace I have in Jesus. In this case, although absence isn’t making the heart grow finder exactly, it is making me want to be closer to Jesus.

I’m not sure any of you actually noticed my absence (I don’t know exactly who reads this?!), but I am going to try and blog more regularly again!

My chains fell off

Here’s another song for you. This is awesome – it’s a really old hymn (It was written in 1738), and we have recently started singing it at church. Timeless lyrics about an unchanging, loving God. Love it

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Saviors blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Fathers throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adams helpless race:
Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and natures night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

All I have is Christ

This song was taught to us when at New Word Alive a month or so ago.

It has become the soundtrack to my life at the moment – the lyrics are so incredibly powerful, and every time I am stressed or worried about the dissertation I am currently frantically trying to complete, I listen to this to remind me of the insignificance of my work.

Hallelujah, all I have is Christ,

Hallelujah, Jesus is my life.

What is faith, anyway?

A few weeks ago I went away for New Word Alive – a Christian conference in Pwllheli, Wales. It was a fantastic week – loads of great speakers, lots of quality time spent in fellowship with people from church, singing worship with 5,000 people, and meeting other Christians from every walk of life imaginable.

One night in the main meeting, a guy came on stage and recited an incredible poem. I loved it, and I’ve just found a recording of it, so thought I’d share it here for all of you to enjoy!

The benefits of faith!

So it appears that being a Christian can extend your lifespan by 14 years!!! See the articles below…

Health benefits of Christian faith <– the original report.

‘Doing God’ is good for your health <– this is a really interesting article published on the CMF blog about the above report.

Faith ‘good for you health’  <– and this is the Telegraph newspaper article about said blog post.

Spring has sprung!

I officially LOVE Spring. I have come home to the Lancashire countryside for a week, and yesterday I arrived to be greeted by these lovely images!