Jude Smith

I just realised that the internet really can be quite boring after a while: there really is just only so much thats worth finding and looking at! Its so much more fun when you only have a little bit of time to look at it. After 3 hours of not much else but internet and video prepping.. Well I'm watching for email every two minutes.. seeing which of my friends has blogged about every ten.. and am generally quite bored! Yawn! Maybe I should go to bored.com.. but I think its banned by the school filter.. hmmm

Thought I would give you a little insight into my salubrious new place of work... theres a way to go yet but as we gathered to pray there on Friday it was all a bit spine tingly.. more on that later!! this will be our reception, a little kitchen and a room where I can have a siesta! prayer cell, lift shaft, cupboard.. who knows! anyone who has been journeying in the Marsh Farm thing will understand the irony/comedy/tragedy of finding an unlocked padlock and chain!

Alas not an apple plug! This is unPC as in politically correct and feminist of me... I caught this in my daily scan of the papers and thought... "where would we be without the quality journalism of the Sun?". I'll leave you with that whiel I toddle off to the greengrocers!

I'm afraid that this isn't an Apple product plug: Where to start? Well just really to talk a wee bit about how God chose to talk to me yesterday. To be honest I had busied myself out of spending a lot of quality time with Him.. so He came found me! I was heading into Lodnin yesterday so as usual, flicked through my iPod before I set out. Usually I'll find an upbeat album for the walk to Leagrave Station but yesterday I randomly chose an "On The Go" playlist. I recognised the first couple of songs and figured it would be fine. This is where it starts to get weird. After the first tracks it becomes really apparent that a) I didn't put this playlist together (was it Tim at the party, or Lorraine.. fess up now if it was you!!) and b) God was going to speak through it. To cut a long story short the playlist provided the backdrop to a very honest dialogue with God.. some highlights: on reflecting on a few relational things, suddenly I hear "take this mout

! Thats all I have to say about that!

Hmmm... seems like we're all a bit fed up at the mo. By "all", I mean me and a bunch of friends. Not sure that anything worse is happening than previously. Theres lots changing: loads of us have new things starting and are moving and stuff, but nothing huge. We just all seem to be a fed up. Maybe God's stirring us all to something more? Maybe this is that nasty sultry feeling before a massive storm that really clears the air? Maybe its attack? Maybe its just after Valentines? Maybe its the weather? Maybe God decided that we have mucked it up just once too many times? Maybe God is hiding so that we will seek? Maybe we all need to do some exercise? Maybe we need to stop saying maybe and let God be God in this? Maybe we should ask God to come and meet us in this? Maybe we should find comfort in the myriad psalms that talk of this? Maybe we should let God love us even when we feel unlovely? Maybe?

So I get up at stupid o'clock this morning when I'm supposed to be on 'holiday' to pick up my car.. which needed £700 of work on it for no reason other than being responsible. Get there... hand back the courtesy car.. pick up mine.. am happy to find that it will cost £80 less than I thought. So toddle off to do the day and just as I approach town... the accelerator pedal retreats to the floor of the footwell where it stays. Unable to stir it from its slumber I call the garage.. then the AA. I read the paper and have a cake (comfort food).. the nice AA man says that its just one of those things and my throttle cable has snapped. So I go back to the garage.. they can't fix it today.. so I have to get up early to take it back to get it fixed in the morning. And it will cost me teh £80 I "saved" first go round. Whats the deal with that huh? Pah!

My personal email is being rubbish with a capital Crap... so- don't even go there with trying on that.. try me at my 24-7prayer address. Pah!

So yesterday was the fifth birthday party of 24-7prayer. Was also my commissioning for my new job as Abbess of the City of London Boiler Room. I loved it. I was reminded again of the privilege of being part of a movement that God seems to be stirring all the time. I loved being a bit old in that context. I loved feeling not very cool. I loved the sense of acceptance and challenge. And I loved being crowd surfed. Who could not want to be part of something that sends you into a mission field borne literally on the hands of many, and then washes your feet?

Today was less relaxing. School has been a bit nuts in the last couple of weeks: mainly fights and things. So today it gets a little more crazy: in the course of 20 minutes; I took a chair off a student who was "playfully" attcking his friends with it, stopped a year seven student from picking up a stick to beat another kid with.. and had to bear hug a young man who was pretty much out of control.. Wonder if they will put that in the teacher training agency ads? On the plus side had good coffee catch up with a friend and have the prospect of two hours in the prayer room later! Yay!!

Days of contrast really. All a bit crazyyy.. Yesterday started in sunny Southgate (though it was dark!). Said bye to the rats (who really are cute as pets). Got the tube into St Pauls and walked through the City (only getting slightly lost) taking in the sites and sounds. Found this: Tee hee. Had a great meeting and then headed to Chichester to talk finance and generally disrupt the 24-7 international office. Really enjoyed reading about Moravians and Methodists. Quite enjoyed the note taking study thing too.. Watched part of the Notebook on the way home.. Such a good weepy film.. And had pancakes and watched the OC when I got home... Tired but happy!

This week is the anniversary of the death of two lads from my school. They were killed in a joyriding accident. This week their friends wanted to acknowledge that one year anniversary with a one minute silence in school. At first school didn't acknowledge that request. So in a direct non-violent protest, the campaigning students set off the fire alarm. Twice. Then they went back to the head and asked again. A one minute silence was granted. The alarms were not set off again. A triumph for protest and direct action. I'm quite proud of these young people. As a teacher I probably should be all disapproving- but what a show of consciousness. Surely thats what education is about, encouraging active citizenship! Thoughts?

I'm sure many others of you have seen the email about lobbying Government over the incitement to racial/ religious hatred stuff. There is a fear that this might mean the beginning of the end of freedom to preach. Call me controversial but BRING IT ON!!!!! Whats the worst that can happen? We might not be able to carry on in an insensitive bigoted way, which can't be bad. Or we face persecution, which refines our faith, Jesus says is inevitable and seems to be quite key in major moves of God.. Win win!! Let's stop trying to pretend that Government is our friend and get ready for having to live this faith of ours on the edge, trusting God, not our favour with number 10!