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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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Thursday, January 27, 2005 Sad.... 'The "tarnishing" of Muslims since the 11 September attacks is worse in Northern Ireland than elsewhere, a leading law professor has said. Javaid Rehman said prejudice against the 4,000-strong community had deepened. They felt vulnerable because of misrepresentation in the west of the true nature of Islam, he said....more'I feel for these neighbours of ours. So often i stumble across situations where christianity has been misrepresented or tarnished. Often this is because of indivduals or institutions who have said things or done things in the name of faith that in reality are far from what faith in Jesus is about. I know its not nice when people have the wrong idea about you(or you're faith) based on their negative experiences of others. Sadly, like so many other problems in northern ireland, the situation referred to above just looks like another bad case of ignorance and prejudice. Even sadder is that one can't help but feel that misrepresenting christians have played some part in shaping this 'islamaphobic' culture that Dr Rehman refers to. I hope I'm wrong and that the christianity that keeps love for neighbours (samaritan story etc) high up the to do list will rise up and communicate a different message to these folks. posted by charlie | 10:42 PM | Tuesday, January 25, 2005 '..Feeling out of it...' I've been feeling fairly out of it in the staff room recently. Usually the staff room brings a welcome relief from the noise about the school, a chance to unwind for a few moments or time just to catch up on the news with different folks. However lately conversation has been curdled by an emerging trend, by the return of an ancient practice...and it appears whats going on in our place is part of a growing epidemic.............Knitting. Lately its all thats been talked about in the staffroom. Now knitting isn't new to me. Every time I visit my granny she's either knitting or has plenty of projects sitting about. She must have knitted 1000's of blankets for children in Africa. However most of the stuff my granny does usually isn't that 'in'. It appears knitting is redefining 'cool'. Different styles of wool, different techniques, different rhymes to help you with your different techniques, different places to buy your wool, different things you can make, there's even talk of starting a knitting club for the kids. It's all very isolating to people like me! posted by charlie | 10:03 PM | Monday, January 24, 2005 Patience with others is Love, Patience with self is Hope, Patience with God is Faith. Adel Bestavros via dave dunlop posted by charlie | 10:29 PM | Monday, January 10, 2005 University etc...... I've spent the past number of months preparing my UCAS application for university. Having eventually negotiated the personal statement and with the help of the online system i got the application sent away at the weekend. I've applied for 6 courses. 2 at Jordanstown, 1 in Lancaster, 1 in Chester, 1 in Manchester and 1 in Edinburgh. Now just have to wait to see what offers(if any!) come back and then I'll make up my mind. Either Jordanstown for Sports Science or Lancaster for a 3 year PE degree appeal most. England scares me, so does leaving home but i figure its going to happen one of these days, otherwise i'll be institutionalised!! I also figure it could be useful to learn some essential life skills. For example, how to prepare a balanced diet for yourself - ie. something other than beans, soup or pizza. I could also do with learning how to use a washing machine. I have done so on the very odd occasion in the past but never without some intense consultation with mother beforehand for step by step guidelines telling me exactly which buttons to press etc. If she is away she usually leaves a step by step list. Anyway. I don't know that I'll be going to England. But it may happen. We'll see. Whatever the case my goal is to be teaching within 3 or 4 years depending on which course i get. I'd like to teach PE/Geography/RE or thereabouts. Teaching scares me a wee bit too. It seems to be the case that when you are a teacher young people very often automatically assume you are the enemy. Its hard to show them you're not without them taking advantage or you looking like a pushover. I don't think its necessary that they like you, thats not the job, but it definitely helps when there is a good relationship. Well we'll see how it goes. I do believe its possible to get a balance, over the past year or so i've been able to observe several teachers who do a pretty good job. The amount of work is also a sobering thought but theres no two ways around that. I suppose the whole upside is that i enjoy the challenge of communicating stuff to young people.I enjoy seeing young people discover something, or understand something for themselves. I enjoy seeing young people being given space to be creative. There is also the practical issue of money and I'd be lying if i said the holidays weren't a little appealing!! posted by charlie | 10:53 PM | Friday, January 07, 2005 7 things we didn't know this time last year Brussels sprouts have three times as much vitamin C as oranges. The heat generated by a laptop, and the knees-together pose needed to balance it, can damage a man's fertility. Germany has an 18-year-old MP - Julia Bonk, a member of the Saxony legislature. Her name is not funny in German. A "jiffy" is 10 milliseconds in computer science terms. Half of Britons have a collection of more than 20 carrier bags at home, according to a survey. One in 10 people has up to 80. There are at least 17 Maxine Carrs in the UK, all of whom are ex-directory. Bill Clinton sent just two e-mails while he was president. for 93 other things. click.... posted by charlie | 6:59 PM | Wednesday, January 05, 2005 Jo Shannon is heading away to the Pacific this month for a while with YWAM on their DTS programme. She has a set up a blog(click to link) for her time there. You can also keep up to date on the Marine Reach Website. posted by charlie | 5:52 PM | Don't forget Africa...
posted by charlie | 5:40 PM | Tuesday, January 04, 2005 Paying it forward *this generous gift to the tsunami aid fund stood out Reminds me of a story Jesus told about a widow's giving. posted by charlie | 9:55 PM | Monday, January 03, 2005 Night # 3: New Years Eve @ Kell's 
The Kells girls opened their home again for us all this year again. The theme was supposed to be 80's. I didn't know what 80's was except that someone told me it was 'rare'. So i went rare, as you can see. Had a good nights craic. Some more dancing, a drop of food and drink and plenty of laughs. At 11:00 we all headed to church for the watchnight service. About 5 or 6 people shared quite openely different stuff that had happened in 2004 and gave thanks to God. Was nice to hear them. I like real stories. Finished off the evening back at kells with some more dancing. posted by charlie | 1:03 AM | |
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