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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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Saturday, May 31, 2003 Just visited this online exhibition with images of jesus and relevant information after picking up a link at jonny baker's blog. Worth a flick through some of the different perspectives on jesus over time and space. posted by charlie | 10:41 PM | I went down to lend a hand at the carwash and boot sale today in Carryduff and was able to pick up a few bargains :- Battleships game - real good nick - £3 from Sadie A pine tree seedling - 40p - i was going to buy one of these at the Balmoral show but never did - i'm not sure where i'll plant it but good to get it anyway! 3 CS Lewis books for £1.50 The giant turnip fairytale - 10p A boules set - £1 i think i might go to a few more of these things - i love bargains!! We also washed a pile of cars and made quite a bit of cash for Ukraine. Planning to do a car wash at Ballynahinch Baptist on the 21st of June to get some more doe for Ukraine so don't wash your car on the 20th if you're going to be in the vicinity! posted by charlie | 10:02 PM | Friday, May 30, 2003 CAR BOOT SALE* + Carwash Saturday 31st May 10-5 @ Elkana Christian Fellowship, Carryduff. * Someone donated a Piano - bound to be a bargain that one!!! posted by charlie | 10:52 PM | Fun moments this week:- Mountain Biking around Drumkeeragh with Sadie and Dave Vernor on Monday - we did fall of a few times and get our saddle thrust into our crotch plenty but it was fun!! Watching Ben Jone's video production about Ballynahinch - a very professional and insightful video into some of the issues facing young people in Ballynahinch Playing at Spa as part of the church golf day yesterday - the highlight being when Keith Hamilton jumped on an electric fence - he did reckon it calmed his nerves afterwards - he beat by 2 strokes and the end of our round. Canoeing about the lake this morning with Jamie McPhail - we did bring the fishing rods but didn't get any. We also took Nala out on the canoe for the first time. Cycling about the local backroads today in the cracking weather - a time to enjoy the local sights, sounds and smells. I met a cool big horse and also found a field full of massive pigs! Listening to Stocki at the Ballynahinch Townhouse - talking about salt and light and the word becoming flesh - stuff i've heard before but in a refreshingly new way - felt encouraged and reminded of what the gospel is all about - particuarly loving your enemies - BTW - check out the movie 'To end all wars' - very powerful true story about allied soldiers in a Japanese POW camp during world war II and with alot to say about loving your enemies.However, be prepared for a bit of challenge - if i'm honest it made me feel pretty uncomfortable - it's message is pretty explicit.(XTRA VISION have it in stock at the minute) posted by charlie | 10:45 PM | Thursday, May 22, 2003 'It seemed obscene of us to be rattling around in such a large home when others had nowhere to live' Pink Floyd guitarist, Dave Gilmour who has just sold his £3.6 million mansion and given the money to provide housing for the homeless. via Daily Express posted by charlie | 11:05 AM | Wednesday, May 21, 2003 Easter is gone a few weeks now but I stumbled across this gallery which retells the events of the Passion week(easter story) through the eyes of many different artists throughout history. The pictures are accompanied by the relevant scriptures. Worth taking some time to look through. I especially liked the expression on the guys face in the 'Road to Emmaus' painting by Velazquez. posted by charlie | 6:00 PM | I almost forgot how good it was...... I'm not sure if you've ever played with the Sound Recorder on Windows. The kids in school were using it today and i was able to show them the effects like speeding up, slowing down and adding an echo to the voice etc. If you've never played with this simple little funtion on the computer i highly recommend it - particuarly recording you home made farm/animal noises and speeding them up - especially a chicken noise! The kids liked it anyway!!! posted by charlie | 5:28 PM | Tuesday, May 20, 2003 From the funeral of June Carter Cash In another testament of June's character, Rosanne recalled how years ago she was sitting with June in the living room at home when the phone rang. June picked it up and started talking to someone, and after several minutes Rosanne wandered off to another room because it seemed she was deep in conversation. She went back 10 or 15 minutes later and June was still completely engrossed. "I was sitting in the kitchen when she hung up a good 20 minutes later, and she had a big smile on her face, and she said, 'I just had the nicest conversation,'" Rosanne said. "And she started telling me about this other woman's life and her children and that she had just lost her father and where she lived and on and on. And I said, 'Well, June, who was it?' And she said, 'Well, honey, it was a wrong number.' That was June. In her eyes there were two kinds of people: those she knew and loved, and those she didn't know and loved. She looked for the best in everyone. It was a way of life for her. ... She was forever lifting people up." A big hearted woman! I'm reading Johnny Cash's auto-biography at the moment and just read last night about the beginning of his relationship with June Carter. They met when he was severely addicted to amphetamines and this had near fatal repercussions for his health, family life, social life and his career. She was a faithful friend who resiliently commited herself to loving Johnny even when he through all her efforts back in her face. When she looked at johnny she saw what God wanted him to be and made it her goal to see that vision realised whatever resistance might come along. I've been thinking alot about this type of character recently, particuarly in Jesus ministry, in Hudson taylor and more latterly inJune Carter. People who had massive hearts, overflowing with kindness and compassion - who made people around them feel welcomed and valued. And yet all these people weren't wusses either - they didn't accept the status quo - they left people feeling challenged, they were sacrificially commited to their goals, they were shrewd when it came to things of the kingdom. I would love to strike this balance of being sold out, bold, unafraid to challenge but also to be loving, and tenderhearted - i believe miracles are needed! posted by charlie | 10:03 PM | Thursday, May 15, 2003 Hangin out with Culchies Visited the Balmoral Show this morning with Colesy. Thanks to Big Al I got a free ticket (compared to a £10 entry fee) and even better Paul found a free ticket lying on the footpath on the way down towards to complex - i love free stuff! The show was great. First of all it brought back some childhood memories - the Balmoral show was an annual event for us as kids and it was cool today to see some of the same sites, sounds and SMELLS from all those years ago! I particuarly enjoyed the Rare Breeds tent - with lots of little piglets, The Falconry place with all the birds of prey, The bulls enclosure - boy some of them are big, and the Civil Service enclosure was also pretty impressive with some good technology and interactive displays. Overall it was just good to spend a morning immersed in the agricultural culture - Farmers etc. do take a lot of stick but let's face it, they contribute so much to our well being in many, many ways. I suppose as i dandered i was just able to thank God for this very important part of our community in Northern Ireland and also for his beautiful and diverse creation that i could see, hear, smell and touch all around me (and taste - me and Paul had a hot Roast Beef roll for elevensies!) I also joined the National Trust today at the reasonable price of £11.62. I've wanted to do this for a while for a few reasons: One, it gets me into NT places for free and two, the national trust does a good job of protecting some pretty impressive and important sites around Ireland - not least Slieve Donard and Murlough. posted by charlie | 6:03 PM | Monday, May 12, 2003 Sad but true..... A girl working in as a Waitress said this...... 'The worst, for some reason, are the Visible Christians--like the ten person table, all jolly and sanctified after Sunday night service, who run me mercilessly and then leave me $1 on a $92 bill. Or the guy with the crucifixion T-shirt (someone to look up to) who complains that his baked potato is too hard and his iced tea too icy (I cheerfully fix both) and leaves no tip at all. As a general rule, people wearing crosses of WWJD ("What Would Jesus Do") buttons look at us disapprovingly no matter what we do, as if they were confusing waitressing with Mary Magdalene's original profession.' Barbara Ehrenreich via jordon cooper Unfortnately this reminds me of stuff i've seen at Burger King, Pizza Hut and McDonalds after Mannafest. posted by charlie | 11:09 PM | Church Weekend in Louth This weekend past i headed to the Tain Holiday Village in Omeath for our church weekend. I managed to do it all pretty cheap, as Pete Rice paid for my ticket and the lots of other nice brothers and sisters donated much food to my cause over the course of the weekend. Accomodation was my tent, although i did hang out plenty with those who lived it up in Caravans. The whole weekend was great craic, a chance to hang out with and get to know a few people better and a chance to do some things that aren't options all the time. The craic started on Friday night when i was able to sample some 'After Eight Sandwiches' created by Valerie Dumigan - boy did they send the blood sugar levels rocketing. Later on that night Micah displayed his pyroglyphic skills setting fire to the milk carton without breaking the skin. Later on that night he displayed more of his adventurous genes when he returned to the tent in the early hours having just climbed the mountain behind the campsite. On Saturday morning, Davey Brown cooked up a lovely fry and then in the afternoon i walked it off up the mountain that Micah had scaled the night before. The walk was tough but the view made it very worthwhile - Carlingford lough and the Mournes at the far side were beautiful. I took mty kite to the top of the hill too but wasn't able to fly it very well and ended up wrecking it after one too many nose dives onto the rocks. On the way down i noticed a pile of what seemed like rubbish lying on the hill, so i headed down to investigate and as i got closer it became obvious that it was actually the remains of a Helicopter crash. Since i came home I've been able to discover that 3 people were killed in the accident which took place in 1996. It was a Sikorsky 76 chopper owned by the owner of Norbrook Laboratries, Eddie Haughey and it crashed into the hill due to poor navigation in misty weather on route from Aldergrove to Ballyedmond. Anyway it was interesting to find that and particuarly to find so much of the chopper still left on the hillside. Later on Saturday afternoon i was privelaged to have a chat with Carson Harte, who is a member of the church from the Dromare region and who is also the international director of the Cambodia Trust, an organisation who working in Cambodia and other parts of Asia working to restore mobility, dignity and self-sufficiency to people disabled by landmines and crippling diseases like polio. Carson seems to be a cracking guy, he has warm and encouraging heart, he's very down to earth, honest and real and he also thinks outside the box. I look forward to getting to know him better and would also like to know more about the Trust and the stuff it does - do drop by the website and spread the word - they seem to be doing some cracking stuff. On Saturday evening i headed down to Mannafest. Andrea Wharton(formerly Fleming) was speaking on Hope. She wasn't really funny, on really loud but what she said was really heartfelt, really honest and ultimately really powerful. She reminded us to 'be patient' for 'God had not finished with us.' This was a reassuring reminder for me - there's plenty more to go Charlie!! I suppose it reminded me always to display the signs 'Under repair' and 'Work in progress' over my life or 'God at Work'. Anyway what we see is not the finished article - the best is still to come - i just pray for the Hebrews 11 faith that believes it what i don't yet see. On Sunday morning we had a fun service with Robert Harpur doing some really creative teaching. It was about Buzz light year who disobeyed God's call to go to Londonderry/ Derry and who instead jumped on the HSS only for the ship to get into a spot of bad weather (kindly provided by Ali Brown + Andy Hewitt). The captain of the ship ended up having to throw Buzz over board, but luckily Moby Dick was on hand to swallow buzz up. Moby happened to be on a three day tour of the North Antrim coastline and brought Buzz with him, however after one Morrelli's Ice cream too many he threw Buzz up onto Portstewart Strand. Buzz ended up obeying God and Londonderry/Derry was saved......i must say the story did sound strangely familiar. Also of note in the a.m. was the Billy Bladder sketch and Kit's excellent teaching on Unity from Psalm 133 - he did a great job of explaining the pictures used and brought much new light on what otherwise sounded pretty confusing. So all in all a great weekend, cheap, great craic, great food, great creation all around and a few nites in a tent - can't beat it - Suzanne Johnston may differ in opinion!! posted by charlie | 10:40 PM | We've all heard of iniation stories, we've all been wedgied or toothpasted but this story takes iniation a few steps further. After reading it, thinking about getting one's head flushed down a bog doesn't really sound so bad. posted by charlie | 8:48 PM | Friday, May 09, 2003 I had a dream last night where i was, believe it or not, evangelising a bunch of chickens. In my dream a load of them got saved but then i woke up and thought Chickens can't speak english, i must have been dreaming. Random stuff. posted by charlie | 5:49 PM | Wednesday, May 07, 2003 Fancied a wee change up north - just playing around with some different colours!! posted by charlie | 6:20 PM | Friday, May 02, 2003 Funny A teacher was doing spellings with a kid in school the other morning. The kids should have learnt them at home the night before along with their clues. So the teacher reads out the clue, 'You get one of these when you hit a piece of metal with something hard', expecting the kid to write and spell the word dent. However the kid forgets the word and so she prompts, 'You wouldn't want one of these in a new car', so the kid ponders and after a second or two's thought, he replies......'a fart?' The teacher doesn't like his response and he goes to the cooler. posted by charlie | 3:23 PM | If we give up on him, he does not give up-- for there's no way he can be false to himself A cool verse, the truth of which i've experienced today.Indebted! posted by charlie | 3:18 PM | Thursday, May 01, 2003 We won the Harden Cup last night, beating Malone 3's pretty well over at Dromore - i also managed a score which adds the cherry to the cake. Rugby is pretty much finished now for this season and it's been nice not to have lost a game all season and also to have picked up 2 league titles (1 with the 2's and 1 with the 3's) and to win two cup finals. Also been good this year getting to know more of the boys about the club, particuarly connecting with some of the other christian blokes and getting a chance to think a little more about what it means for us to play and hang around at the club as Christians. So a good season it was. Now looking forward to the rest - by body has many injuries - and the chance to pursue some of my other interests! posted by charlie | 10:17 PM | |
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