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 Charlie Knox26, m, resident of spa, northern ireland, a thinker, who tries to be real, enjoys the company of nala(left), indebted to jesus for his grace and instruction in life and whose, amongst other things, studying sports science at UUJ. enjoy rugby a whole lot! |
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Friday, January 31, 2003 I think I may have got caught speeding yesterday near the High School. I was doing somewhere in the region of 40mph and then I spotted a little copper standing up against a wall with one of them cameras in his hand. I'll be expecting a little envelope someday this week! posted by charlie | 7:44 PM | Micah Jones hits the big time! posted by charlie | 7:42 PM | Sunday, January 26, 2003 Zoe joins the crew posted by charlie | 11:58 PM | Tuesday, January 21, 2003 Just a random thought i had today I wonder why it is that when people get ‘the call’ it is only ever out of the workplace. I often wonder - does god not need people in the work place? Wouldn’t it be great if we began to see some pastors get ‘the call’ to go back to work or maybe even better - that those people already in the workplace began to see their job as their call! posted by charlie | 5:48 PM | The Spiritual Discipline of Dog walking. (an excerpt from an Emma Duncan email. Not used by permission - hope thats alright emma!) ...The dog is liking Bristol. It is good to have a mut about the place and he is turning out to be quite ferocious when it comes to hoodlums outside the house late at night. I walk him around the community which is cool because people smile at you when you have a dog, it provokes a response, and it makes it easy to talk to people - especially other dog owners - there is like a kinship I never knew about before, a kind of comradeship or something. And it forces me to walk around the community so prayer walking is easy. I like it. Hopefully when Nala is old enough i can practice this Holy Habit. posted by charlie | 2:38 PM | Get your very own barcode here. posted by charlie | 2:00 PM | Monday, January 20, 2003 Last Weeks Highlights (in no particular order) 1. Flying the Kite i got for Christmas for the first time. 2. Watching 'Minority report' - i think i may watch it again though - serious head engagement needed! 3. Getting a 143 in bowling 4. Sliding down the hill on my backside at Snotsninsky x2 5. Watching Chris run in fear as i pelted him with sheep dung 6. Noting how unphased Paul Coles was about being pelted with sheep dung 7. Hearing Gordon say that clothes are a product of fallen world (maybe thats twisting his words a wee bit!) 8. Chatting with my U-14 guys about sex, drink and cigarettes on the way to Cavan 9. Getting a ride in an ambulance for the first time in Cavan 10. Hearing that Nadine beat Niall in bowling with a fine score of 111 on Saturday night 11. Hearing about Ricey's recurring dream about a bull 12. Hearing God speak after doing some things that would have driven anyone else away 13. Reading an article about the ethics/moral issues of sport - helpful as i try to work out what it really means to be a christian rugby player 14.The launch of Pete Martin's blog! Lowlights 1. Loosing £10 in Brackenvale 2. Not finding a book i was looking for in Faith Mission (now there's a surprise!) 3. Having to take one of the U-14s to hosipital with a neck injury (although the ambulance bit was fun - i can say that cos he is ok!) 4. Seeing a bloke in A+E with major wounds after an angle grinder blade shot off and hit his wrist 5. Struggling with some old temptations 6. Not getting to play rugby again because of this injury 7. Cleaning up Nala's poo - dog poo just stinks - you just don't get use to it! The final thing about last week is a question. Is this time of year the fox mating season? It's just i've seen an awful lot more of them recently than i usually do. I have even seen a few of them during the day which is particuarly unusual. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated!! posted by charlie | 2:00 AM | Thursday, January 16, 2003 '...we hide our true selves from God in prayer. We simply do not trust that he can handle all that goes on in our minds and hearts. Can he accept our hateful thoughts, our cruel fantasies, and our bizarre dreams? we wonder. Can he cope with our primitve images, our inflated illusions, and our exotic mental castles? We conclude that he cannot and thus withhold from Jesus what is most in need of his healing touch.' Brennan Manning (Ruthless Trust) Sparkle has been posting some thoughtful stuff about opening our hearts - i think part of this also means exposing some of the less nice stuff in our lives for Gods healing. How do we go about this? Still working this through but i think confession, repentance and saying sorry are stepping stones in the right direction - often i think we're scared of taking these steps because we wonder if God can handle our real selves, we feel God is touchy or naieve to our struggles. I reckon we could all do with a time of just being honest with God - less of the niceness, less of the right answers, less head and more heart. 'for we do not have a high priest who is unable to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses but one who has been tempted in everyway like us' hebrews 4.15 God isn't some naieve little schoolboy who doesn't know anything about the real struggles of this world. he's been here, been tempted, knows how tough it gets at times, he's experienced and he can also do something with our weaknesses. he didn't come to condemn us, he came to help us and build us up - remember he said something about bringing life to the full - check out John 10:10 if you don't believe me. I stand with Sparkle in saying dare to open your heart to him - krud and all. opening one's heart is risky business, at least much of our experiences in life tell us so, maybe in jesus you will find a different story. posted by charlie | 7:09 PM | Tuesday, January 14, 2003 Two new blog links Pete Martin and Les Prentice posted by charlie | 9:54 AM | Saturday, January 11, 2003 'If at the end of my term of office every Brazilian has the opportunity to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, then I will have completed my mission in life' Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva - newly elected president of Brazil Big name and Big vision! posted by charlie | 2:56 AM | Thoughts from a leading futurologist(a guy who speculates about the future!) A great challenge for the church will be to show deep spirituality and total integrity. The attraction of Islamic fundamentalism has been the utter devotion of followers. We need a new generation to rise up with radical faith, and a total commitment in every area to lifestyles that are consistent with the teachings of Jesus. But when that happens it will be an uncomfortable time indeed for millions of church-goers who have been content enough to attend on a Sunday, but live in un-Christian ways for some of the rest of each week. Personal morality will be a key issue, and I am not just talking about paedophile priests. Faithfulness in relationships, monogamy, abstinence before marriage, moderation or abstention from alcohol and zero drug use, paying every cent due to the revenue, being totally open and transparent at work about things that matter (except when required by law), treating people with respect and care, acting honourably. The test is this: if people get to know me inside and out, will they be more likely or less likely to become committed disciples of Christ? via jordon cooper posted by charlie | 2:52 AM | Thursday, January 09, 2003 Tight jeans can damage health I think i saw Stu wearing some recently! posted by charlie | 4:10 PM | Tuesday, January 07, 2003 Went up Hen Mountain this afternoon with Weeksy, his sister (naomi) and brother in law (adam). It twas cold but bearable, very windy at the top (i tried to pee and got covered!!), absolutely beautiful (the mix of snow capped mountains, sun splitting through the clouds, the lovely patchwork fields, and the pools of iced water etc), great craic (adam falling!) and spiritually enriching chats. We also visited Drumeena Cashel - the place with the underground passage - one of Ulster's lesser spotted landmarks! We finshed the day in Castlewellan for a chip whose warmth was very much welcomed. A Good day's craic. posted by charlie | 1:09 AM | We got back from Avoca last night. I had a great time. Here's some of the things I've been thinking about since. - Great getting to work as a team - in order for camp to work, everyone has to pull their weight - there isn't any heroes/ all are equal - each role is important - the cooks are as important as the speaker, occasionally the speaker has to help with the cooking and the cooks with speaking. I learn to live for the whole body knowing that my existance depends on others and theirs on me. Kinda like what church should be - doesn't work like that though - first of all most people don't feel their role is that important, secondly a few people end up being heroes with too many roles and too much expectation that they can't possibly live up to. A Community and its goals requires input from everybody - the needs that the church is here to do something about are massive - don't say you aren't needed! We're about to begin defining some of our goals as a community at Ballynahinch baptist - do play your part in the discussion (Vision Forums - every other wednesday night) Buy into this folks - church isn't about spectators or passive observers - its about all of us being involved. Come see what our goals are, come help us define them and also begin to find out how God wants you to slot into the dreams and plans he is giving us. Come young, come old, come novices, come veterans, come passionate, come dried out, come bold, come scared - whereever you're at - we need you - we need to live as a community - as one body. 1 corinithians 12 says it all - check it out. - Great spending time with young teenagers. I am a questioner now - very little of my life is spontaneous and flowing - the teenagers i just witnessed this weekend were different and i like that - they are so less suspicious and a heck load more vulnerable to joys and pains. They have a lot less filters and editing suites on their lives than I do. It would be nice if they were able to remain themselves - i have a feeling the world may shape them into something they are not, or at least severely restrict them from getting near life to the full. Hopefully they can remain in Jesus who affirms them and allows them to live,grow and flourish rather than being potbound( a phrase Johnny coined to describe many of our lives - like a plant that is kept in a pot that never reaches its full potential). Basically seeing the kids give me extra motivation not to become pot bound but to chase hard after life to the full - not to settle for a mediocre existance but to live wildly. So there's just 2 of a few things I've been thinking about. Thanks to Johnny for the pot-bound picture, and to Big Al who helped me work through some of this stuff tonight. posted by charlie | 12:58 AM | Thursday, January 02, 2003 Me and Chris are heading to Avoca tomorrow morning for 4 days to help lead a camp down there. I'm looking forward to it alot. I love the camp experience - even as a leader. I love to see new relationships built, kids enjoying themselves as they explore life beyond the living room, plenty of banter, and generally just kids discovering Jesus really does love them and has big plans for them. Please pray if you have a moment or two. Ps Also pray i put the right fuel in my car this time - cheers! posted by charlie | 2:12 AM | Happy new year all!! I had planned to say that on the 1st of January but never got round to it. As rachel commented, Happy New year is a phrase that has been rightly paraded about over the last few hours and unfortunately it kinda takes away from the significance of it. But for all you who i know, I wish every blessing for the year ahead - that 2003 may be a year of adventure and of growth whatever that looks like for each of you. One of my wishes is that i can get some more time with more of you this year and to hear about how things are unfolding in your lives - I love to hear people's stories. Alternatively - maybe in 2003 you can set up a blog for us all to read!! Anyway - may God bless you in 2003 - for his glory and the awesome Kingdom he's building up. posted by charlie | 2:11 AM | |
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