Upcoming gigs...

I've been busy. There are several upcoming musical events at which I am playing...
- If anyone is free tomorrow and would like an evening of music in Cambridge (see flyer above)... This event is to raise money for this year's Romanian summer camp, of the variety I helped with last summer.

- Also, if anyone fancies a trip to Leicester in a couple of weeks, then I am accompanying a friend of mine at the Big Session Folk festival (See: http://www.bigsessionfestival.com) !!! We have a lunchtime slot on the Saturday in the Marquee Stage ! Exciting stuff...

Lifehouse's Everything skit

You guys all have to watch this ! Beautiful song, and beautiful skit. It moved me to tears.

The Waterfront Project !!!

For those of you who still read this blog (well done if you do) and who are vaguely interested, I have some news to share...

At the moment I am involved in a 'music project' with several extremely talented musicians, all of whom were at Bristol University like me, (but I didn't really get to meet any of them until we had all left Bristol Uni !) Together we are called 'The Waterfront Project'. The overall aim is to eventually record an album, putting in lots of hard work and having lots of fun along the way, perhaps also leading to some gigs. Anyway...we had our first 'full band' rehearsal a couple of weeks ago and not only was it amazing, but we made a few rough recordings (to see how we sounded). What we all I think agree were the best of these have recently been put up on Glyn's website (links about half-way down the homepage) and so please feel free to have a listen ! Enjoy and let me know what you think - bearing in mind these are very rough recordings. Technically speaking, you might call us 'folk-rock' of a kind, but we're hard to define.

I have never been involved in anything like this before. It's exciting, and hard and so tiring and truly wonderful all at once, and much more besides. I feel like I am growing so much as a musician at the moment and in many other ways too; well, playing with other musicians at this level and for rehearsals this long kinda makes you want to 'raise your game'; you want to learn to play your parts really well so that you're not the one who messes the song up ! It's a really practical demonstration of what it means to be a small part contributing to an overall big picture, which in this case is each song. I'm also learning just how much hard work music can be - I lose track now of how many times I've played some of these songs (although, I am still not bored of any of them!) and the sheer number of hours I have spent working out harmony for some songs, but it is SO worth it. I feel so very priviliged to have been asked to be a part of this and can't wait til our next session :-)



p.s. to anyone who has stuck out the long months of no posts, I do apologise for not keeping this site up-to-date in the last few months. I just seem to have too much else on my plate/mind at the moment. Besides, I think facebook really has taken over from the fad of blogging - well, for some things anyway. I may still post exciting news like this on here, but don't expect 'regular' updates like I used to give. I can't promise anything like that anymore !

The New Root come to Cambridge in a week's time !!!

-p.s. this gig is part of their 2008 UK tour promoting their single "Sick of Me". The single was released on monday this week and is avaliable to download from their website: www.thenewroot.com If you're in Cambridge, be there ! (If you're not, then check out their other tour dates and locations! It'll be well worth it.)

Wholly Yours

My new favourite album at the moment is "A Collision" by David Crowder band (which my brother got me for Christmas). I love David Crowder band; they're amazing musicians who aren't afraid to experiment with music and generally with art. Their albums aren't just a series of songs one after the other (although in some senses they are of course), they are very cleverly put together and lead you on a journey. Because of that, maybe they aren't quite as accessible on first glance but they allow you to think and explore. This album, as described on the back of the album booklet: "...for the past two years we have ended most nights in concert with the following statement: 'when our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision.' This recording is about that collision. It is the collision of our fallen state and our Maker's transcendance. It is a rendering of our mortality and eternal life." The song below particularly struck me on first listening, and does so again every time I hear it. The lyrics are just so beautiful ! Very cleverly crafted, and so true. So I thought I'd share them with you. Take time to ponder on them and enjoy. I wish you all a Happy New Year. May you this year know more the awe and wonder of this beautiful collision. Ro xx


"I am full of earth. You are heaven's worth.
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity.
You are everything, that is bright and clean,
The antonym of me, You are divinity.
But a certain sign of grace is this:
From the broken earth, flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy,
All heaven cries, "Holy, holy God."
You are holy, holy, holy.
I want to be holy like You are.

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You're covering me with Your majesty.
And the truest sign of grace was this:
From wounded hands redemption fell down,
Liberating man

You are holy, holy, holy,
All heaven cries, "Holy, holy God."
You are holy, holy, holy.
I want to be holy like You are.

But the harder I try the more clearly can I
Feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all.
And so this might be the most impossible thing:
Your grandness in me making me clean.

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah

So here I am all of me
Finally everything.
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly Yours.
I am full of earth and dirt and You."
-David Crowder 2005 (from A Collision)


p.s. chords for this song are in Soul Survivor book 4. And if, like me, you like linking songs together, then you'll be glad to hear that this is another song which you can easily link with 'The stand', 'inside out', 'awesome God', 'mighty to save', etc. via the chorus and bridge.

Chapter 4

And so, the time has come to fill you all in briefly on what is happening and has been happening in the world of Ro - although, apart from one or two people I'm aware of, I'm not entirely sure who reads blogs still; Facebook seems to have taken over from Blogger now really as the trendiest method of communication, but oh well...

Anyway, tomorrow is the day I move to Cambridge (well, when I say MOVE, it's complicated). For those who I haven't gotten round to telling yet, I now have a job there, working in a lab. I start this coming friday. I now also have a place to live - I am renting a flat, but the contract only begins on monday so I am staying overnight in a hotel tomorrow night, so I can get to work on friday. I also now have a car (which I love driving), which I somehow have to get up to Cambridge during the course of the next week or so, I think the plan atm is to drive it up at the weekend. It feels like there is a lot of change going on in my life at the moment, with everything happening at once - so many new things I have never had to think about before. But although I will miss everyone at home and in Bristol, and I'm really sorry that I won't be around to be a support to certain people, and although I feel nervous about starting somewhere new (although, not completely from scratch this time) I nevertheless do feel good about the move - it's a bit late to get out of it now anyway (!) I think it's the right thing for me at this time, if such a thing exists. I will feel a bit less hastled though and will be able to think about things more once I have moved and settled in ! I will be back, both to home and Bristol, to visit people and I would love it if anyone wanted to come to visit me, once I'm a bit settled.

Anyway, that's the short version of the story as it's all I have time for at the minute. I have things to go and sort out before tomorrow. (No more of this spending every waking hour on the internet - not that I have ever done that, but hey...) I hope everyone is well whatever they are all up to. I shall still try to post occasionally on here about how I'm getting on in Cambridge. But until the next time, so long ! Tomorrow chapter 4 officially begins...

One day, I'll blog again...

...but in the meantime, until I get around to trying to fill bloggers in on the craziness that has been the last few months, here's something to amuse you. (Amused me anyway). Taken from the current edition of Reader's Digest (which is a humour special). :-D

The radical middle

Well, it's now been just over a week since I moved back home for a bit. I've been missing everyone in Bristol, despite having been glad to also see a few friends here and spend time with family, and I still very much feel like I'm trying to come to terms with everything that happened in Romania. (It was good, if slightly unexpected, though to see two friends from Woodies at Riverside for the morning service yesterday). I now won't be online tho much for the next month(ish) as this thursday we go away on holiday for a while (yet more foreign languages to pretend to be able to speak!). I don't know still what happens when we return. I'll have to play that by ear somehow. However, before I go I wanted to make a book recommendation...

I'm currently reading a book called "The quest for the radical middle - a history of the Vineyard". I haven't got a long way into it yet, but what I've read so far is very interesting. I'd recommend it not only those who have a history with Vineyard churches but also anyone who is interested in general Church history and also any Christian who knows what it means to be trying to hold together so many of the tensions of the Christian life.

We're back !

In case you hadn’t worked it out or I haven’t had the chance to be in contact, I am now safely back in the UK after our trip to Romania. We got back late last tuesday night, so I'm sorry for not updating you all until now. We had a good trip overall – many challenges (as some of you will know), but we saw and learnt a lot of good things and we saw God move in amazing ways. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for the team while we were in Romania. Much appreciated. I have now written a mammoth report of our trip, detailing some of the things we got up to. Many of you should have received this already, but in case you've been left off the list for some reason but you would like a copy, then do let me know. (And when I say it's a mammoth one, I really mean that ! But it's hopefully worth taking the time to read.)

p.s. some of my photos are now up on facebook, if you haven't discovered that already.

p.p.s. The New Root are playing a gig at The Croft this friday. Details should hopefully by on their website as usual. Should be a great night. Do come along - I'd love to see people if they're around, as I should be there and it will be my last evening in Bristol ! :-( (Unless I manage to find a job and come back in September that is). Although, what better way is there to spend my last evening than with a New Root gig ?!!

Well here we go !

I can't believe we're actually going tomorrow. There's been so much preparation going on this last week, but we're finally leaving early tomorrow morning. This week has been interesting -both last placements and lots of goodbyes at the same time as preparations for Romania. I don't think it's really sunk in yet that I'm no longer a year teamer. I'm focusing on next week first really, which I guess is a good thing otherwise I might be even sadder than I am. But I am excited about this trip now. We've met most of the team we're going with twice now. They all seem great and it's going to be good getting to know them better. In a way it feels like this is now the chance to see if we can put into action all that we've been learning this year; can we do in big team what we've been doing in small team all year. It's amazing to be so supported in prayer too. There are so many people who have said they'll be praying for me and who have prayed for me, and I appreciate it so much ! Without God being at work, what would be the point of this trip and camp ?!

Anyway, I should stop rambling now. I finished packing a while ago but I need to go get something to eat and then have an early night, in preparation for a long day of travelling tomorrow.

I won't be able to be contacted for the next 9 days now (from tomorrow) as I shouldn't think we'll have any internet access and mobile phone coverage might be sketchy. But I will post again once I'm back to let you all know how the trip went. In the meanwhile, have a good 9 days everyone !!! Continued prayers while we are away are much appreciated.

Trip to Romania July 2007

At the end of our year on year team, 5 of us from the team are going out to Romania next sunday (8th) for 9 days, to help with a kids camp and to visit some families. We are going as part of a team of 25ish. It's so soon! (We had a training morning yesterday). It's exciting but also fairly daunting too. I am just in the process of sending out a prayer letter, about the end of year team and more details of our trip and some prayer points. If any of you don't receive a copy (either because I forget to put you on the list or I don't have your correct details) but you would like a copy then please do let me know and I'll e-mail one to you !

You can find out more about the work of Eurovangelism, the Bristol-based organisation who have organised the trip and who do a lot of work in Eastern Europe, either on their website or their prayer blog

You know you've been on the woodies year team when...

-when you can tell, just by scanning around a room, which chairs are in stacks of 8 and which aren't
-Chairs in stacks other than 8's just 'look wrong'
-You get a lot of satisfaction every time you look at the sink that you've just cleaned
-You've become an expert at looking for the joins in carpets to enable easier vacumming of big open spaces
-spending an evening scraping walls no longer sounds like an odd thing to do
-You're starting to come round to the idea that orange sofas with red cushions might not look quite so bad together after all
-You have many new skills to add to your cv, including: making an excellent tea or coffee (even if you don't drink it yourself), lining up chairs in straight lines, being able to carry a tray of wine glasses up/down steps without dropping them, being able to carry a stack of 8 chairs using your knees, mopping floors, being able to read childrens' books upside down (so they can see the pictures), filling up baptistry tanks, oh and did I mention being able to put out chairs in straight lines ?

:-D More seriously though...It's hard to believe year team is coming to an end already. In some senses it has gone by so quickly, yet I had my end of year review today and in other senses so much has happened ! We officially have one and a bit more weeks on year team, and then are off to Romania for 10days to help with a kids camp. Before I started year team people said to me that I would be challenged physically, emotionally, spiritually, and any other -ally's I could think of, but that it would be a good year. I do feel that is very true. But it is so hard saying goodbye to so many people, those that I have worked with for a year as I end my placements this week and next as well as to those who are themselves moving on. I know that this is not, by far, the end but is in fact only the beginning of something, yet I still cannot help but feel an ache in my heart, despite the fact that I know I still have another week.

A song I have found most helpful this week (one which I had in my head during my driving test but has since been used for more than that) is "Well with my soul", or the arrangement of it by Brenton Brown. (I know the context it was written in is very different to how I'm using it, but it nevertheless seems to fit how I'm feeling). It goes:

"Sometimes it's hard, sometimes I cry
Sometimes my heart, wants to know why
But Your yoke is easy, and Your burden is light
And though my heart is aching and there're tears in my eyes

Whatever my lot, You have taught me to know
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It's not always easy, I'm not always right
Sometimes I do things that are wrong in Your sight
But I have decided I'm going to follow Jesus
And there's no turning back, there's no turning back

But please hold my hand Lord, and hold on tight
'Cause the road here is narrow
Yes the road here is narrow"
-Brenton Brown

Whatever I've learnt this year I am not going to just forget. God has been building foundations in me (which implies now building on top of them?!) and I won't be going back. There's no turning back, only keeping on going forwards !

I PASSED !!!

I passed my driving test this morning !!! (9 minors) A big relief. Thank you so much to all of you who have been so supportive, encouraging and have prayed for me !!!

I was so unbelievably nervous this morning after I woke up - I spent about an hour trying to calm myself down by listening to worship songs. I think that did help, as during my actual test I wasn't really very nervous at all, just concentrating on what I had to do, and I was able to hold onto some of those songs as I started to feel nervous. (In particular I had: "how Great" - David Crowder, "It is well with my soul" - the Brenton Brown version and "We are one tonight" - Switchfoot stuck in my head).

One more thing ticked off the list. (It might be a little while though before I have my own car, much as everyone would now like me to take them out for a drive!) Just now have to finish my Mullers assignments for tomorrow - when it's my last day at our Theology course. We have the last of everything at the moment, which is really sad. I don't want to leave Woodies.

Driving (again)

I feel so exhausted ! Nervous energy is so draining. I've just come back from my last driving lesson before my test (on monday!) Hopefully it will be ok - my instructor reckons it will anyway - as long as I manage to stay calm !!! A couple of weeks ago I failed my mock test, purely because I was driving far too fast and so made more mistakes (as I was so nervous!) Today i really concentrated on trying to keep my nerves down; trying to think of other things, to pretend there's noone else in the car with me and just enjoy driving...; but it's so hard !!! Especially after you make one mistake, trying to not let the nerves spiral. Well, I'm going home this weekend - for my Mum's birthday but I should also be able to get a bit of driving practise in too, in which I'll have to work on this ! So, for those of you reading this who are Christians and know God, prayers would be much appreciated - both in the run up and on monday morning itself ! I'll be sure to post up here after monday to let you all know how I've done ! But for now, I just need to concentrate on work I have to do and try to regain a bit of energy before I go out again in a bit !

More fun

I found this postcard in Wesley Owen the other day. A little out of season, but I bought it anyway 'cause it made me laugh lots. (It says on the back of the postcard: "God has brought me laughter" Genesis 21:6) I hope you appreciate it as much as I did ! :-)

Oh, and if you would like to see (rather than just hear about) a bit of what we got up to on the W3 pastorate weekend away in May then go here and here (the post on fri 15th June) to see some short videos ! (See if you can spot me - I feature a couple of times I think.)

Star Wars,Star Trek and Monty Python

I seem to be very good at procrastinating at the moment - I think it's because I have a lot to do, which I don't want to have to do. (The usual reasons). But anyway, last night I discovered a lot of funny video clips on youtube (courtesy of a friend's link on facebook) which I thought I'd share. There are a lot of good ones involving star wars, star trek, Monty Python or a combination of the 3. I thought I'd share a couple of the best (in my opinion) ones:

Monthy Python (black knight) meets Star Wars

Star Trek meets Monty Python

Star Wars vs Star Trek

Star Wars mistakes

Star Wars help desk

Star Wars episode 1 bloopers

They should all be funny in their own right, but the first 3 might be more amusing if you actually know the proper scenes to which these are refering. Well, at least they were funny late last night !

In other news I've started saying "Genius" a lot (instead of for example, that's great or brilliant). Don't know where I've picked that one up from !

Google bombs

I learnt many things over this last weekend. One of which, is that you should go to google, type in french military victories, and click "I'm feeling lucky". It's quite amusing. I won't tell you what happens as it will spoil the surprise !

In other news, this weekend is the Bristol Festival of Nature. You may remember me mentionning it about this time last year. It's a great event; great for a day out. Do go check out the website and this year's programme. I'm not sure whether I'll make it down this year, but I'm sure it will be good as always.

W3 weekend away

A couple of hours ago we got back from the W3 pastorate weekend away. I am quite exhausted, purely from the drive back I think (as I slept fairly well on the weekend) but it was an amazing weekend. It was quite unlike any other weekend away I've been on. I'm used to, when you go on a weekend away, everything being very regimented in terms of timings and packing as much in as possible. But it was really refreshing to have a weekend away which was just that, a weekend away; where it was really chilled, with a retreat-like feel, where we could just have fun hanging out with each other and with God (I almost didn't know what to do with myself at the beginning, but then it flew by so fast!) We did have so much fun. I couldn't possibly do justice in summing it up, but some of the highlights included the drives down and back, the beach on saturday afternoon, the French evening on sat (some amazing costumes - photos going up on facebook soon), the worship time this morning, the duck race in Porlock (very funny), and just hanging out with friends. Basically, it was all great.

I love W3 so much and am so glad I joined this year. It takes a little while to feel comfortable anywhere, and there are still so many people I don't know too well, but at the same time, W3 does contain some of my best friends at church. And what I love most about W3 is just that sense of being family. That's what it felt like this weekend - just hanging out with each other as family. It got me thinking about how, it's not just a case of how W3 'feels' like family. Actually, we ARE family. We're all part of the body of Christ; sons and daughters of Christ (the whole Church - in the widest sense, not just W3). So we ARE family. That is our identity, whether we accept it or not. It's just a case of how well do we live out of that new identity, showing that it is true. (Something I've been thinking about a lot, not just in terms of family. Cause that's what a lot of the Christian life seems to be about - we HAVE been given this new identity; it's learning to live out of that and to live believing that it's true.) It's difficult being family a lot of the time. We can annoy each other, have the potential to hurt each other more as we're so close. But when it works, it's amazing.

Another hard thing about family is leaving. When I go home for a bit to see my family and then leave again, I feel SO homesick. Like a big part of me has been torn out. I'm beginning to feel that maybe this year, W3 and generally Woodies has been beginning to also feel a bit more like a second family. My wider family. I'm scared that if I end up leaving Bristol at the end of this year, I'll feel homesick in the same way; like a big part of me has been torn out. For that reason I find it hard sometimes to let myself get close to people, when there isn't anything I want more really. But I do know that, as people have said to me, that family is family. I'll still be welcomed back when/if I stay/come back. And there is a wider family I'm part of now, which I'll always now be part of. And even if I do end up leaving Bristol, that won't stop be being a part of that amazing family, and God will find me another part of his family to start to belong to.

I think being family with one another is something we're all learning how to live out and something which we will be working out for the our whole lives. But personally, I think the start W3 has in this area isn't too bad :-D

computers, grrr...

Is it just me, or does anyone else hate applying for jobs ? I always feel so vulnerable. Ok, so I've just sent someone I've never met a letter, CV and application form e-mail trying to sum up everything I am and have ever 'achieved', in a worldly sense and why I'd be perfect for this job you're advertising. And it's not just that sense of vulnerability - I could cope with that if it wasn't just so annoyingly complicated ! It has just taken me, basically a whole afternoon and evening to try and apply for one job. My computer being annoying hasn't helped - I had to type out the covering letter three times before it let me save it and print without crashing (I was getting good at writing it by the end). Then, to top that off, I think I've finished then realise that I've just printed out my CV and covering letter with the wrong Bristol postcode on them, so I need to reprint, but my computer won't reopen them without crashing !!! And I still have to pack for the W3 weekend away. My Mullers assignment won't get done tonight now. Grrr.

Am feeling better now, apart from the left-over cough (sounds worse than it is now) and feeling of being drained of energy - which staying up til midnight applying for a job I probably won't even get doesn't help ! So what am I doing writing this you might ask ? I don't know. Perhaps giving my computer some time to decide it would like to be nice to me again ?! (I can hope anyway). I'd better crack on anyway. I just hope I can get SOME sleep on the W3 weekend away. Lol.

Vern strikes again...

I've not been wonderfully well (again!) the last couple of days. Vern has been creeping up on me gradually during the last week, but he finally got me about thursday evening. The reference (as a few of you might be aware) is to a blog post Rhys made a few months ago, when he was ill. I completely agree with what he said (apart from the bit about the whiskey), especially the bit about the "bin resembling a snow-capped Himalayan mountain from all the tissues" - that is how mine does look at the moment ! He puts it much more eloquently than I ever could.

I'm already a lot better than I was on thursday evening and friday - I even slept well last night and have been hungry at meal times again today ! And I'm sure it will pass completely in a few more days (I hope.) It's just so annoying. I don't like taking time off and cancelling things, as I feel like I'm letting people down. And I'm not much good at resting either - there's only so many films one can take in a weekend before you wish you could just get back to doing 'normal' things again. It would be ok if I could use this time I have productively, say doing some of the reading I have to do for my next theology assignment (which is now going to probably be in late) or applying for jobs, but I can't concentrate. I guess if I could, then I wouldn't be ill or be able to justify time off :-D

I also try and put what I'm going through into perspective, and think of how this will pass soon, some of my flatmates have also had similar things recently, and that it's absolutely nothing in compared with what some people experience every day of their lives! Yet, somehow that perspective is nigh impossible to hold onto when you can't breath without really concentrating and your head and ears feel like they are about to explode ! Well, I just hope that Vern doesn't stick around to get any of my other flatmates, especially during this exam season.



p.s. On a more cheery note, The New Root were truly amazing on monday !!! Thankfully I wasn't ill earlier in the week and so was able to go to the gig ! Do check out some of my photos in my public facebook album . (They're not great pictures, but will give you an idea.)