that radio thingy the other night was pretty funny & also a good insight into what it's like living with ms so if you did miss it, you can still hear it on the radio website (bbc.co.uk/radio4) & follow the link on the right under pick of the day

<<< Thank you! >>>

Just wanted to post and say thank you so much for the prayer cover this weekend- it made such a difference! The weekend actually went really well: I didn't freak out and a good time was had by all. So thank you all, and thank you God for being really wonderful and looking after me so much this weekend.
It's wierd, isn't it- things are so very rarely as bad as you expect. Wonder why that is? Anyway, thanks again, and looking forward to seeing you all again soon (it's been too long!)

love Abigail

... prayer request ...

hey, while you're praying for Dan, maybe you could send up a quick one for me as well?

I'm off back to Belfast this weekend (Grandmother's 80th birthday shindig), and it'll be the first time I've been home since Dad married Pauline in August 2003. Not that i've been completely avoiding the situation at all....
Anyhow, i'm completely freaking out, and could really do with some prayer cover. i know it's going to be so hard going back and having to confront so much grief/fear/memories, especially when i'll have to be on my "best behaviour" and be under a lot of pressure not to get upset- my family think i should be 'over it' by now and be all happy happy joy joy. so please pray for some grace on both parts and that i won't screw up the weekend by being a miserable bastard.

cheers y'all.

because we're all so old now...

...i know we all stay in on a friday night with a nice cup of cocoa, so if you want something to listen to while doing your knitting, on radio 4 at 9pm (hope that's not past bedtime) there's a comedian fella doing a monologue about living with ms. hopefully it'll be a bit more entertaining than my blog of late!...

for those of you of a praying nature, i've just done my first injection of rebif. i'm quite anxious about it, having had such a bad experience of the betaferon, so prayers would be appreciated that it does its job, & the side effects clear up quickly, cheers.

Are you thinking what we're thinking?

Just so you know, I and a few other special people will be congregating on May 5th/6th at our flat to watch the horror of the general election unfold. To make it all hip and fun, I'll be putting a few sweep stakes together (Phew! The excitement). You should all be there! It only happens every four or five years, so it's worth getting a little excited about it.

So if you've got any ideas for sweep stakes, let me know. Otherwise, May 5th, 249a Fulwood Road, election craziness!

(David Davis smells).

in limbo...

while our blog's home changes hands, you wont be able to check up on us (not that theres much to see these days) at moogaloo.com - we'll still be at http://www.andyandbea.blogspot.com/ in the mean time.

On a slightly less profoud note, Newcastle Utd play host to Man Utd in the FA Cup semi final on Sunday; would anyone like to join me in watching it?

It'd be cool to have loads of people over, create a bit of FA Cup atmosphere!

Kick off is 2pm.

Also... I am 26 years old on Monday. Will be going for a drink in The Washington in the evening. 8pm.

there you are.

links added to the calender on the side there. thought i'd also put our sister blog up, "the thing about it" too.
other links can go up to if people would like to make suggestions...

and while i'm here, if our blog goes down in a few days or generally acts a bit odd in the near future, dont worry - its all very technical and i dont really understand it either. it may or may not be fixed shortly.

by the way, this week (10th-17th) is ms awareness week, so be aware!

ooh, how exciting... an extra prayer meeting!!

yo! this is bea blogging.

we're praying round ours tomorrow evening (tuesday) from 7.30 only. not cluster specific in any way. feels like the enemy has found a crack in the matrix which we need to patch up quick.

i feel totally zany as i have had 2 coffees in quick succession and now my head is crazy.

ChurchClusterThingCalendar

Just to let you know in response to Beth's post I have tried to set up an online calendar for ChurchClusterThing. It can hopefully be accessed at http://my.calendars.net/churchcluster

I think people can put in events directly, but if not (i'm still not sure about all the settings) then I don't mind if people want to email me (as administrator?) and I can take responsibility for keeping it up to date (if that doesn't tread on anyone's toes).

What do you think? Is it a good idea? What else would you like to see on there? (eg, Dan's meal rota?) Andy- could we maybe put a link to it on the template for the blog?

Any feedback would be great!

A question for the house... can i chip in?

Just wondered if I could chip into the debate? All this talk of growth yea/nea has reminded me of an article/post on someone's blog that was discussed back in September, which makes a point I think might be relevant (feel free to ignore). You can read the post here, but I thought I'd maybe quote the paragraph that leapt out at me:

"what does it mean to be "in community"? one of the the most lateral thoughts of the the three days was the comment made by course content provider Dave Andrews when he said,
"community does not necessarily mean initmacy or friendship"

now this took me back a few steps because i have always associated in my mind, the concept of community with words like authentic, intimate, transparent, friendship.
But the point was made, in the context of a community that is open and accepting of all others - intimacy and friendship are both mutually exclusive rather than inclusive. If intimacy is the requirement for community then those people i am not intimate with cannot be a part of my community; likewise, if friendship is the requirement - only friends are welcome.
now, if a group of friends is what someone desires, then it might be ok if no one else feels welcome or comfortable unless they are friends - and no one in our group was denying the desire for friendships that are close and intimate.
However, it was suggested that these closer groups are actually sub-groups of a much greater intentional community, where people from all walks of life are welcome especially the marginalised of society.
The implications of such a community are grand and costly. it means there will be the potential (some would say promise, and I would tend to agree) for conflict, and disharmony. but it also means there will be the possibility of reconcilliation and restoration. it means there will be cultures and languages and traditions and religions from many different corners of society; along with skills and talents and stories and dreams. there would be a multitude of diversity."

What do you think?

by the way, a cambridge audio cd player remote control was left behind at me flat on sunday so come get it... or leave the cd player itself next time.

this is actually supposed to be a comment on the post below re growth, but when i try to add a comment it says error, so i'm posting here instead...

why does growth have to be numerical? isn't growth in faith, commitment to each other & God, and, ultimately, growth in our knowledge/experience of God's love for us & consequently our love for him just as, if not more, important? although most of us aren't particularly interested in numerical growth, we probably all want these things. And surely if we're growing in these, especially the latter, then growth in numbers will happen naturally & will become something that we'll actually want?

i got broadband...

Food Glorious Food

Just thought I'd post up a reminder of the food rota that was agreed at Dan's yesterday, just in case!

Mon 4th April: Hugh
Tues 5th April: Beth & Laul
Weds 6th April: Rachel
Thurs 7th April: Kate Cooper
Fri 8th April: Bea & Andy
Sat 9th April: Rob & Abigail
Sun 10th April: Kate Cooper

Mon 11th April: Rachel
Tues 12th April: Ben & Charlotte
Weds 13th April: Bea & Andy
Thurs 14th April: Kate Cooper
Fri 15th April: Hugh
Sat 16th April: NO-ONE (any volunteers?)
Sun 17th April: Kate Cooper

The same pattern will continue every two weeks. The only gaps at the moment are Saturdays (16th, 23rd & 30th April)- unfortunately Rob & I can't do them because of his crappy shifts. If anyone could volunteer, please either comment below or phone Dan directly (0114 273 0272) as he is now in charge of the diary (the wonders of technology!). I guess it would be the same process if anyone needs to swap a day- put up a comment to see if anyone can swap, and then let Dan know.

Hope that's all OK! Cheers buddy, A x