By his stripes

Well - what a gap since I lost blogged - 12 days - sorry blog fans.

Things have been just as hectic despite the fact that my course has finished, Dads + Lads too, and the talk I was going to give at a church is done and dusted. That went well - even had a round of applause - most embarrassing!!

Anyway it is a relief not to have those 3 locos coming down the tracks at me!

It was my birthday last Thursday - I was 30/11 :o)
Was out to dinner with Ned - had a rack of ribs - fab!

Ned (with some prompting from me) got his mum to fund a birthday present (for once), so I was expecting a picture frame or candle!

To my surprise the wrapped parcel was the C4 box set of the Ashes series last year. Yeeeee haaaaaa.

Ned was with mum at the weekend so I spent an a.m. delighting in:

• Simon Jones's reverse swing
• Freddie - the Aussie nightmare (what a player)
• Trescothick's class
• Vaughan's captaincy
• Pietersen's power with the bat (slippery fingers though)
• the Straus diving flying slip catch - unbelievable
• and the sheer joy of seeing sport played in such a good spirit (all bar Ponting's run out - keep running Ricky !!!).

Given I have been running Dads + Lads the last six Saturday mornings I figured I was owed a chill?

Saturday night I was out clubbing with friends - it was a good evening ... mostly ... a cool band playing live, called 'Bosh' or something like that.

Saw a girl in there - thought "Wow she's lovely". Had a fab smile.

However, I was too shy to go and say hello. Chicken. :o(

Kinda still thinking about her. I was disappointed with myself, but guess I was afraid (as ever) of rejection - for not being handsome nor witty enough, not smart enough, too old (!), too clumsy... inarticulate, lacking confidence.....

On the other hand, it was partly that everyone was dancing and she had a girl friend stuck to her like glue, so the opportunity was hard to spot - was also near the end of the evening but even then I would have had to shout at her to be heard !!! Tried to work out an opportunity but never happened and I couldn't quite see how to ... bugger.

'Ads' chatted to her for her a while (ignorant of my interest) but later remembered nothing about her except her leather strides - DOH!

Sunday night spent with T & T - roast chicken (hmmmm) and some gorgeous NZ wine. Boy, did we laugh at ... pretty much everything under the sun. The ground we covered in a 3 hours - phew!

Looking forward to Easter - special time. Got a couple of days off - Ned not away this holiday for once - so nice mix of work, rest and play.

Gonna watch the Passion of the Christ again with friends on Friday night - blows my mind. I hadn't really understood "by his stripes we are healed" until I watched the flogging scene. Harrowing is an understatement.

Praying for healing for myself - of the fear, doubt etc. described above.

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see

Like Neo (meaning new) I am "starting to believe" despite the evidence of Saturday night.

That one event does not define who I am.

I am more than that 'failure' and growing such that I do feel more confident in myself. Setbacks are ok, ne? We learn. We move forward. We stretch and, in doing, so we are stretched.

Some victories are greater even than the Ashes.

Some resurrections more amazing even than the England team.

Gotta run baby, run

Hey Guys,

Sorry I've been absent - sooooooo busy.

Saturday was the 5th of six Dads + Lads sessions. Great discussion, mostly with the boys, about boundaries and how they are a sign of a parents love - they knew it already - made me wonder why there are ever arguements! Thought about 'time outs' to cool off before coming back to talk through issues. A good principle I think, because especially as kids get older they need to feel that their point of view is heard and respected, even if the decision goes the 'against' them.

From there we took a trip to the RAF Museum at Hendon to admire aeroplanes from the early Hawkers to the Euro Fighter. We had a tour of the bombers by 86 year old Jumbo who had seen action with the Pathfinder Squadron. He spoke with a quiet command, humour and humility. How I respect his generation and the sacrifice made for our freedom.

So, not home until 3.30 pm for a short break, and then out to prepare for Mammas. This is an evening that this year sold out with 120 mums chauffered to our church turned restaurant for a three course Mexican meal prepared, cooked and served by men. A lot of wives came but single moms had tickets bought for them by the guys - cool.

I was Maitre D' to about 20 'staff' - mainly my mates - but what an effort to keep some of them in line!!! . A very successful evening, but I was exhausted by the time we got out of church at 1pm!

Had the final two exams of my course on Monday night then a celebratory curry afterwards. It has been a great trip with my friends over 2.5 years. We have all learnt and grown loads. Hard to quantify but definitely life changing stuff.

Preparing to speak at a church this Sunday morning - the subject is PASSION !!

Meanwhile, work busy but fun. Submitted a new idea today to buy a house boat for our homeless residents to use as move on accomodation - i.e. the final stage of support in helping young people onto independant living.

The YMCA owns a tower block and the Grand Union Canal runs adjacent to it. Gonna work with British Waterways and the lcal MP on this one. Fun eh!

Ok, gotta run - collect Ned and cook dinner... luv ya x

Grapple Fans & Bush Kangaroos

"And welcome Grapple Fans..." was the introduction (as far as I remember) to the wrestling on ITV's World of Sport, Saturday afternoons. My dad used to love it: Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy (real name Shirley something?), Rocco, Mick McManus and co including a hooded character I can't quite place?

Don't know why I thought of that, but these days we have WWF - I hate it. It is violent, false, demeaning and has nothing good about it. Grrrrrr.

Feeling positive right now (despite the rant above!!). Feel I am understanding myself a little bit more and I feel more confident for it. More aware. More in control. Relaxed.

Still working on my smiling... can even scold Ned and smile now. Or pretend to smile when I don't feel like it, which actually makes us both laugh because of the bizarre contortions of my face!

Try this: when you are out walking with someone - doesn't have to be a child - see if one of you can skip 15 yards to the other...WITHOUT smiling. Then switch. It's almost impossible to do. You can't help but smile. Ned, myself and others have had fun with that for years. Doh!

Now I'm thinking of Skippy... Skippy... Skippy, the bush kangaroo....

Not going there, besides I doubt they would allow the term 'bush kangaroo' these days !!!! (Ooh you are awful !!!!). Captain Pugwash and his crew were bad enough... NO COMMENTS PLEASE !!!!!

You can't bottle that

I was at the a funeral yesterday of Edie Dunning, a wonderful lady, who has left us aged 87 to join her heavenly father and husband George. Her surviving son, Ron, paid tribute to her and the Vicar related the tale of how Edie and George met by chance in Walpole Park, Ealing, in 1944. They courted for a year before marrying and were together for 51 years.

A sad day but wonderful to celebrate Edie's life - one of selfless service to her husband, son and a faithful friend - Edie had met every Thursday afternoon with Joyce for the last 15 years.

My friend, Ron, has been a wonderful support for his Mum, giving up his job in the autumn to care for her while she was poorly. Edie died in peace having, I understand, said all she wanted to Ron and vice versa.

Death is draining - seeing Ron's pain and that of Edie's nephew and friends. I returned home at 4pm and, still suited, with coat and gloves on, lay on the sofa and slept for an hour.

Yet, I am grateful for the Christian hope, indeed certainty, of reconciliation in the 'afterlife'.

Ron spoke of his inner peace countless times yesterday. You can't bottle that. You can't buy it. All you need is a mustard seed.

Syriana

Saw this film Saturday night. Not a moment of it was I not thinking. Thinking. Thinking. What's going on? What's happening? What does that mean? How do those relate to one another? Lawyers, politicians, terrorists, FBI, young Muslims, families, foreign policy, Princes, poverty, fat cats, oil men, my car, suicide bombers.

Some of the critics have said, and I agree:

"Syriana is the starting point for an intense and lengthy conversation."

"it'll make you angry, it'll make you think and it'll scare the hell out of you."

"Seldom have form, content and cultural sensibility been so excitably aligned as in this fascinating, exasperating film about the unholy marriage of power politics and global business."

"The thematic temperature of "Syriana" runs hot and doesn't waste a single second of film time."

"a profound reflection of our own scary reality."

"Adept at delivering macro and micro perspectives without moralism or conviction."

For me, this is a thriller that did not thrill so much as leave a bitter taste in the mouth. It again frames some of the reasons for global military and political posturing, while leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions and perhaps, judgements. And, finally I concluded, as this writer did, that the film shows:

"a little of how the world really works -- and that the world's dark machinations are every bit as sordid and pitiless as your worst suspicions." There are times when I loath America :o(

Overwhelmed?

Was thinking today about what being overwhelmed means?

The dictionary says:
[1] overpower, esp. emotionally.
[2] Defeat by force

Re [1] - I imagined being overwhelmed to be moments of extreme pressure and, because too much was happening at once, to be unable to cope, function, or think straight.

I haven't changed my mind on that except for the context of my definition, or is it an interpretation? Either way, I have typically assumed the pressure to be from external circumstances - the stuff I talked about in September:

The treadmill - the pressure I feel at the lowest point of my day - when I'm tired from work and haven't yet eaten - the interruptions that can cause me to explode - "can I have a drink? I'm hungry what's for dinner. Look at this! Dad...come here a minute please".

I have been reminded today that to be overwhelmed can be due to internal pressures too, particularly in times of real trauma - bereavement, diagnosis of terminal illness, major health issues, being made redundant, marriage breakdown etc. Sounds obvious, ne?

But what of the feelings that can overwhelm us daily.

If you stopped to think and analyse it, how often in a day do we experience (in no particular order and to name only a few) fear, panic, prevarication, isolation, desperation. I have realised that for me a combination of feelings, or even a single emotion, can leave me frozen inside with simply no sense of feeling anything. Isn't that another form of being overwhelmed?

Perhaps the second definition Defeat by force is applicable here. Because that state of being frozen means, in effect, that I am not able to function. I am defeated - "at a loss" in everyday language, even if only momentarily.

Have any of the following ever happened to you? Hearing bad news and grinning - it's like a nervous reaction. Being near someone who is crying and wanting to run away. Being in a train carriage with a few noisy youths and feeling panicky ... threatened. Being in a lift feeling trapped. Having to talk to someone you don't know and wanting to run and hide.

Being overwhelmed for me can take various forms and be caused be any number of things. Even compliments can be very confusing!!

The good news for today is that, having concluded that I have a heart of stone, because I often seem to feel nothing in some situations, perhaps, after all, I am feeling so much... it is... too much? Overwhelming.

All I need to do now ... is figure out what to do about it !!!!

If this sounds familiar please leave a message. Anon is fine. Dan x

That was the week that was

What a week. Busy every night. Ups and down. Finishing it feeling strong. In summary:

Monday - Vision night - thinking about the year ahead for our church. Brilliant that we gave away £110,000 this last year. Excited about the plans ahead. "better to fail trying than to fail to try".

Heard about another male suicide at lunchtime. 4th in six/eight months - what is going on guys? See my post on 2nd November "Uno, dos, tres.... "

Tuesday - parenting support group - thinking about how Ned perceives my love and what I need to do to adjust my behaviour to meet his needs. For instance, for Lent I haven't given anything up, but last week I decided I must smile more. Ned agreed !! I think when I am listening to Ned and he is describing his day I am too intent (listening for issues like bullying, performance or whatever) and probably look rather stern! I need to lighten up and respond in more overtly positive ways. SMILE!

Later - friend came over. Tragic news in her family. One of the toughest things I have ever heard. Can't say more - confidential.

Wednesday - line management meeting with Tom, football coach. Good planning time. He's a *

Felt I was hard on a friend this afternoon and perhaps hurt him. It hurt me to think so because he has been so gracious - I cannot always understand why such a great man would spend time with me - there it is again..."am I lovable" Bob Marley: "could ya be, could ya be, could ya be loved?

Thursday - a very dear friend lost his mum today. He is devasted, having no close family now.
He has asked me to support him at the funeral next Thursday and I am honoured. He has been an amazing support to me over 20 years.

M, know you are struggling too. Feio. You're on my mind and in my prayers. Likewise Jean.

Friday - intensive study weekend on team building. Hosting at my house tonight. Missing tomorrow morning because although I got the dates right I wrote them down in February - Doh! So, will be at Dads and Lads tomorrow. Great session last week so hoping for the same again.

Crucial six nations matches this weekend - looking forward to those.
Going home now.
Grace abounds.
Thanks for reading.

"Ooh, you are awful...

...but I like you!" Goes one of Dick Emery's larger than life 'female' characters, as she jovially shoves over another unsuspecting male!

Am I lovable? Are you lovable?

The answer to that question is an indication to much of our worldview today. If we have received positive messages of love, appreciation, encouragement and care, both explicitly and implicitly, throughout our lives (particularly in our formative years) then we probably believe that we are worth something; are of value; if only to someone else.

What if, say (as I heard told by someone) you are the youngest in a family; you weren't 'planned' and, as you grow, your mum introduces you to friends and associates as "our little mistake"?

What if your are the daughter that came instead of a son?
What if your are a son and not a daughter?

What if you were given away - adopted? Taken away and fostered?

What if your parents split up and their behaviour lead you to think (as a child) that it was your fault - that if only you had been better behaved or...something... they would have stayed together and not torn your world in half?

What if you had a domineering or abusive or violent or absent Dad?
What if you had a controlling mother who would not let you grow up?

What if you learnt to get attention from your parents by getting good grades in school, or shoplifting? What's your "if"....?

Are you lovable? You are. Yes, you are.
Am I lovable? I am. Yes, I am.

What if we believed it? What might we achieve? What healing might come? Which relationship might we start, sustain, or thrive in?

"Ooh, you are lovable..." :o)

High hopes

Derived from the Indo-European root kam / kem, which means, "to cover, to veil, to hide and to wound" comes the word shame.

We may experience shame following an experience of exposure, particularly when what is sensitive, intimate and vulnerable for us, is revealed or laid bare. The exposure may not only be to others, but perhaps a revelation to ourselves, e.g. how we behave when we are drunk, can be so out of "character". We all have a tendency not to admit to certain personal qualities!

What is common in all experiences of shame is feeling we have failed to meet our personal expectations and standards. Thoughts and feelings of self-dislike, self-condemnation and self-denigration will be present and perhaps be almost overwhelming.

The psychological impact of shame can be amazingly subtle, yet can cripple our journey towards wholeness.

Shame means we believe ourselves to be bad, defective and wanting. A deficit of love, a need for comfort and reassurance are familiar to me.

"Shame is associated with helplessness, weakness and loss of control; it is an experience involving intense feelings of painful embarrassment, humiliated anger and a sense of devastation. There are feelings of shrinkage and diminution, which is quite the opposite of feeling a rooted sense of competence and self worth." © Terry Bi rchmore. 1997.

Shame

Shame - [Collins dict.] a painful emotion caused by awareness of having done something dishonourable or foolish. Capacity to feel shame; cause of shame; cause for regret; disgrace.

Good night...and good luck

How are you today my friend. I'm feeling strangely bright and breezy for a Monday morning!

Interesting weekend. Stood up on Friday night! ha ha!
A friend in crisis prevented my date keeping our appointment.

Stood up Sunday night aswell by two of my best friends. Their different excuses came on text within a minute of one another!

Dads + Lads was good - everyone came and (I think) had a good time.
The discussion was around "what does fatherhood mean to you?"
The opening question I posed for the guys was "what's good about being a dad?" Silence. A stumbling attempt at an answer. A dictate about what 'you' should do as a dad.

Maybe there was reticence to speak up in the first session?
But felt discouraged that the question was such a struggle for the dads. Hope, however, that it will provoke thought this week.

Decided to go to the cafe my church has recently bought in the high street to wind down. Had I gone straight home I know the session would have been a complete disaster after 30 minutes reflection and pondering!! Patience, Dan. I have to remember that each course resets to the beginning - I am carrying on from the last one, in a way, but the dads aren't. AND, isn't this why I am running the course in the first place - to celebrate fatherhood and 'big up' our children.

Good to chill out at the cafe with a couple of guys who I haven't seen for a while. Phil and I used to be in an accountability group, so fab to switch back to level 5 so quickly.

Went to the late night show Saturday (after the enthralling repeat of The Apprentice) to see "Good night...and good luck" the first of two George Clooney films out now. Interesting stuff, won't go into the politics of it now, but I will always remember this film as the first in which I had the theatre completely to myself!!

Gonna end with a moan - the Calcutta Cup Saturday - groan. How did Ben Cohen not score in the corner? We were poor. Scotland deserved their victory.

And so it came to pass....

that I was indeed crunching a carrot during preparations for dinner! Had a fab time with Ian & Amanda, friends of 12 years. Actually, I think Cirencester is in Gloucestershire but, either way, I wish they lived closer. Level 5 conversations with both, one of which moved me to tears due to the love, care and concern expressed for Ned and I. It was beautiful and painful simultaneously. The downside was the fact that we were sitting outside about 10.30 in freezing temperatures; in a brief snow flurry; sustained by Johnny Walker and a cigar ...ahhh... that's why we were outside - now I remember!

Similarly, on Wednesday night I had dinner with a couple who have known me longer than anyone outside my adopted family (who now barely know me at all). Chris and Lucy - my youth group leaders sufferred me when I was a spotty, pain in the arse, teenager - so they tell me!! At least I have lost the spots!! Again, it was wonderful to talk about the deeper magic and, sadly, the absence of it for each of us at times, and those around us. I'm not sure we made any more sense of life's journey by 11.30 but I feel an incredible bond with them both, who have seen me go through my difficult times, and are heroes to me.

Ned and I had a great time at the weekend dismantling his 2 metre high fort in the garden which, I am hoping, will partly remain (yes...recycling man!) as a pergola. Wonderful time showing him how to saw, mark the wood beforehand, use a hammer, chisel, screws and screwdriver etc etc.

The Dads + Lads program I run starts tomorrow. I retired early to bed last night with a stinking headache, only to rise at 3.45 a.m. to spend an hour and a half preparing for it. Guess it was stressing me! http://www.westlondonymca.org/news/dadsandlads.htm

Looking forward to the weekend then. Meeting good, good mates Sunday night for some accountability and sharing. Little Mary Alice's baptism is on Sunday morning. Football tonight followed by a second 'date' with the lady I met a fortnight ago. Ooh er! Not finding that easy. Been on my own for a while now and know that trust is something I find very difficult. Still, I hope we will have fun conversation as before. She challanged me about my beliefs, which was a tad like facing a firing squad, but a great debate about Christianity nonetheless, and how it relates to real life! Lovin' it, lovin' it.

Talking with the men's group yesterday how I feel at pains that words can be very cheap with regards opinions, attitudes, beliefs and that our visible, tangible integrity speaks volumes. I'm trying to live up to that. The stakes are high. Gotta stand before a group of Dads tomorrow and be vulnerable enough not to appear arrogant that I am somehow a model Dad, yet for them to have confidence that together the course will enrich their lives and relationships. The stakes are high.

And so it came to pass... another week has passed. Another blog. Another thought / wish / prayer... that you... the reader... would know how wide and high and long and deep is the love of God, who loves us so much that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The price is paid.

Crunching carrots

I have a couple of days off now - going away with Ned to see my friends, his godparents, and one of my godsons, in Wiltshire.

Sorry didn't really download my many, many thoughts into a blog this week - been really busy.

Catch u later. :o)

Just like that!

From the master.... Tommy Cooper:

Phone answering machine message ... 'If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key.'

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but couldn't find any.

I went to the butcher's the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, 'No, the steaks are too high.'

My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in.

A man came round in hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, 'Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!' The doctor replied, '! I know you can't, I've cut your arms off.'

I went to a seafood disco last week ... and pulled a muscle!

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. They lit a fire in the craft and it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

Our ice-cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered with hundreds and thousands. Police say that he topped himself.

A man goes to the doctor, with a strawberry growing out of his head. The doctor says, 'I'll give you some cream to put on it.'

'Doc, I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home.' 'That's the Tom Jones syndrome.' 'Is it common?' 'It's not unusual.'

A man takes his Rotweiller to the vet. 'My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?' 'Well,' says the vet, 'let's have a look at him.' So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. Finally, he says, 'I'm going to have to put him down.' 'What, because he's cross-eyed?' 'No, because he's really heavy.'

A guy goes into the doctor's.'Doc, I've got a cricket ball stuck up my backside.' 'How's that?' 'Now don't you start!'

Two elephants walk off a cliff ... boom, boom!

So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me, 'Can you give me a lift?' I said, 'Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.'

Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's not me so it's either my Mum or my Dad, my older brother Colin or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu. I think it's Colin.

Two fat blokes in a pub. One says to the other, 'Your round. 'The other one says, 'So are you, you fat git!'

Police arrested two youths yesterday. One was drinking battery acid and the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.

A man walked into the doctor ' and said, 'I've hurt my arm in several places.' The doctor said, 'Well don't go there anymore.'

Ireland's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a small two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery. Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 1826 bodies so far and expect that number to rise as digging continues into the night.

A secret...

Checkin' out for the weekend. Tired. Ned has had a heavy cold all week. He climbs in bed in the small hours and coughs and splutters all over me! Poor lad - we've been waking up pretty much every hour the last few nights. Sunday I actually sent him back to his bed because I had two exams Monday night. He was great about it.

So, looking forward to playing football later - nearly always rejuvenates me. Otherwise a chilled weekend awaits as Ned will be with his mum.

"A secret is something you tell one other person" - gotta 'blind date' tomorrow..... Hope it's a fun evening. Think Lebanese is on the menu. Expanding my networks. Meeting new people. Cool.

P.S. Hope this font size is better for some of my more mature blogites!

Like the sunshine

At the weekend my friend Mark conjured up a cool visual aid using a newsletter. He was describing how broken relationships leave us scarred. Torn. He ripped a strip from the edge of the paper.
Broken promises. Tear.
Broken marriages. Tear.
Broken dreams. Tear.

The simplicity of it was upsetting and it felt like my life was sitting in the palm of his hand... in shreds.

Like my last post, I am the guy who knew he was overdrawn, but didn't realise by how much....the bank statement just came in. Oh. Bugger.

On the upside, part of my Course has been considering the importance of evaluation.

You have to know where you are and where you are not in order to plot a course to your chosen destination.

Mark's message was of grace - God's Grace. I was lost - now I am found.
Not healed completely. But completely loved.

As I write I'm reminded of the Corgi's song "Everybody's gotta learn sometime"

"Change your heart, look around you
Change your heart, it will astound you
I need your lovin', like the sunshine
Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Everybody's gotta learn sometime
Everybody's gotta learn sometime"

The drum keeps on turning

Re my post on 24th Jan. "When it all comes out in the wash". Had a follow up to that this week when I was able to feedback to the people concerned on most of my list of 12 frustrations!

Kinda scary to deliver 'news' like that. Not only because it's a group but also because of the individuals who make it up. I realised later that I was trembling inside. Lasted probably an hour. Gut churning.

I had ascertained in the autumn that I was going to set aside what people might think of me when I related back thoughts and feelings, so that I was being totally honest, and not minimising the affect of this stuff for me or others. Nor spinning information to big me up. A constant battle!

But there was I... Trembling inside... Meaning... What?

I think I underestimate just how much others opinion of me really matters to me. I think perhaps I am realising why that is?

It's the desire to be liked. To be taken seriously. To be important. Noticed. Included. Respected. Loved. So I guess I'm in deficit in some area of my life?

This lead me to consider what my life would look like if I didn't have activities or shared interests in common with my friends. Would I still have those friends. Would they like me for who I am? How much does my position and role dictate that?
Aim: to pursue a path on which the influence of others lessens, and the real me can stroll on in integrity. Here's hoping!

Bricking it

A young and successful executive was driving along a suburban street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked vehicle shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you for stopping - may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

With thanks to Robin

Oddities of the last 48 hours

[1] Architect, building contractor, surveyor, council officers from Planning and Conservation depts.

I have never so clearly failed to connect with an individual in a business meeting as I did yesterday with the last on this list. In my defence, understanding the issues and the statutory requirements, was like nailing jelly to a wall. But this person was cold, unhelpful, specific, vague and contradictory all at the same time. Arghh. Frustration.

I doubt when Jesus said "love your neighbour as yourself" that he had tried to get a extension approved on his bungalow!

[2] Have you ever.....

...walked along a road when everyone coming the other way is staring at you?

What goes through your mind?

Hair - check. Flies - check. Nose - check. Dribble - check. Right?

Happened to me this week..... weird feeling.

P.S. Check out the show STOMP in the West End. Saw it Tuesday night. FAB!

The offside rule...

...EXPLAINED FOR GIRLS [blogfans remember this is purely for your consideration, without any personal liability for its contents, its tone or regarding any broader interpretation or inference! Got a problem see Steve W - now of no fixed abode!!]

You're in a shoe shop, second in the queue for the till.

Behind the shop assistant on the till is a pair of shoes which you have seen and which you must have.

The female shopper in front of you has seen them also and is eyeing them with desire.

Both of you have forgotten your purses.

It would be totally rude to push in front of the first woman if you had no money to pay for the shoes.

The shop assistant remains at the till waiting.

Your friend is trying on another pair of shoes at the back of the shop and sees your dilemma.

She prepares to throw her purse to you.

If she does so, you can catch the purse, then walk round the other shopper and buy the shoes.

At a pinch she could throw the purse ahead of the other shopper and, *whilst it is in flight* you could nip around the other shopper, catch the purse and buy the shoes.

Always remembering that until the purse has *actually been thrown* it would be plain wrong to be forward of the other shopper.

There you go poppet!!