links to other blogs

Does any one know how to put a list of links to other peoples sites/blogs up?
I know it sounds easy, but i can't work out how to do it.
any ideas?

Influence

Sitting on my bed I’m thinking back over this week. It’s been a busy and eventful week with a lot of things to think about. One subject though, seems to have come up over and over.

Influence.

Have you ever thought about what influence you have on other people?

We influence people all the time. We think about it some of the time when we try and be good role models, or people with good character, etc. Some of the time though we forget what influence we do have on people, and sometimes its much greater than we think.

This was brought home to me very clearly when I was at boys group and a guy called Tam came in and told me he had got my message.

I had no idea what he was talking about.

Tam is a teacher at a local school, a maths teacher. Now most people who know me, know about my further maths classes. Our year is still very much remembered by the maths department.

<>At this school we have been running a course called "Fame Academy" where we have been coaching some bands to play and perform better together. One particular band had a lot of problems with the idea of moving, so we spent some time getting them to dance and to lose their fear of looking silly in front of other people.

This is a hilarious session... in which Roger and I basically dance like idiots to prove that it is possible to move, and enjoy it, in that in front of people. This class took a lot of hard work to get moving, and at the end a couple of the girls as they were leaving said they were going back to Mr McNut's class. I replied with a throwaway remark.

"To lose the fear, you just have to do all this stuff in front of people - like, when you're in your class with Mr McNut you should stand on the table, and do a dance. Ff you get in trouble just tell the teacher that I told you to do it... Mr McNut will find it funny... I hope"

So these girls go back to class, and one of them says to Mr McNut. "Sir, I have a message from Jeff, can I give it to you?" He said yes, and up she gets on the table and does a crazy dance and sits down.

<>Tam is Mr McNut.
I never expected her to actually do it!
Crazy huh. I think I may need to be careful about what I influence other people to do.

Influence is powerful. We influence people every day, and most of the time we don't realise it. We don't realise the power of some of our small statements or actions, yet they affect over people greatly.

< style="font-family: arial;">When I think about it. I'm glad Tam saw the funny side!!!

competitiveness

I spent my evening with a couple from church, Chris and Louise, and stewart...

we ate and chatted, and then played trival pursuits.
It was so interesting watching different peoples styles of playing.

Some people play to win. They have to win.

I couldn't find it any where in me to want to win, or to even pretend to want to win.
Got me thinking about being competitive.
I've never really been competitive about any thing, or i suppose on the surface.
I don't care if i lose at games (apart from Bond... but since being in kurios i've pretty much lost most games), but I do care if I don't reach the standards I set in drumming, in leading, in self control, in life.

Actually I am very competitive, just not against other people.
I will fight to improve things, I will fight for a belief or cause, I will fight against things that are wrong - and i will fight hard. I will not want to lose.
If one of my friends or family were in danger, I would fight. To win their safety.

but still i can't bring it up in myself to want to win trival pursuits....
oh well - prob a good thing as I have no general knowledge....

Luton

I have just had a whistle stop trip to Luton.
There for just 2 days.

It has been really good.
Got to see some of my good friends, and also my Dad, Mum and brother.
Which was so cool.

Unfortunatly there were several people i didn't get to see and that was a bit upsetting.

When ever i have some time off I think of all the things i could do with it, and still it shocks me how quickly time goes.
I didn't get much of the "work" i had planned to do done. Why do i plan work for when i'm meant to be having time off?
I didn't get much of my personal stuff done either.

But seeing my friends was very refreshing. I needed that.
Those of you I did see, thank you very much.
For those of you i didn't see, I'm really sorry, I would have loved to have seen you.
Time always puts a limit on what is possible.

Everyone... go to gadget shop and buy the shocking guns... they are amazing. They hurt just enough to make you not to want to be hit :-) !!!

Exercise video pt 2 and not being a girl

Ok. I have now done it 3 nights in a row.
And my stomach hurts :-)
In fact the last "warm down" section literally has us all screaming/shouting in pain.
I know, its pretty pathetic.
But this is us doing more exercise than we have done in quite a while :-)
Of course, now any one who visits will have to enjoy the experience!


But... It has been said that I might be turning in to a girl.
I reject that.
Yesterday on my way to a school we were driving alone a road with a sharp drop either side, and we hit a bad patch of ice (it had snowed all night), and i had to wrestle with the minibus to save us (from may be not death but needing a new minibus and embarrasment, and prob some minor injurys).
All with out any panic or emotional outburst.
(you should have seen it, it was pretty impressive. Needless to say that I drove a bit slower after that. I already was going slower than normal on that road, I wasn't being silly)

Then we got to school - found out we were working in the town hall.
In the town hall was a big hall with a balcony, and some gym stuff.
So in a break, out came the crash mats, and then us very "girly" boys jumped off the balcony on to the crash mats below :-)
Very much fun.

then...
on the way home from school we were driving past a loch and realised that it was frozen. So we stopped the van and went to have a look. Of course, Roger and I went on the ice to try it out... i got about 1 or 2 metres out... then fell straight through :-) Roger came to help me, and fell straight through too... :-)

It wasn't very deep... but was very very very cold. And fun!
And that was just one day...

Then this morning I was crawling under my van to attach a tow rope so we could tow the van till it started... blah blah blah...

:-) Just in case any one was worrying that I had lost the plot :-)

Laptop and phone...

You really can work anywhere...
I'm in a garage getting our van fixed and working in the reception. Its amazing. No

one comes in and interupts.
May be i should come here next time I need to get loads of work done.
The crazy thing is that with a phone and a laptop I have access to internet. I can

talk to people over the phone... etc.
Weird. and of course there are no cables...

Encouragement

Last sunday night (27th feb) Kurios led the baptist churches service again.
Its amazing that the pastor has that much trust in us to hand over all control to us like that. Its a privilage.
The service went well, ie we led the congregation in worship and prayer and paul challenged and encouraged them through romans 14.

The congragation were very encouraging.

but for me a lady came up to me and said something that really really touched me.

She's between 60 and 80 (I'm not good at working out peoples ages).
She came up to me and said something a long the lines of...

I really have a problem with the drums. Pastor Richard has often talked about possibly bringing in the drums one in to crieff baptist church, and i always declared that when they come in, I would go out.
I came to your last service just to support you, because i believe in the work you are doing. And i came out of the service touched.
For a long time, its not just the fact that drums are loud, and that its not my type of music, but drums really seem to stir up something primitive in me. It makes me want to scream and run. to get out of the building.
FOr some reason i was able to stay in the last service. SO i dared to come again tonight.
Again I was really able to worship God, even when the music (and the drums) got louder I was able to worship, more and more.
I don't know what it is, may be its the way you play, but i think God has done something in me, so the next time Pastor Richard talks about getting drums in the church, I will listen.


Isn't that just amazing! Jesus was so kind to this lady. She was actually scared of the drums, but she still came to support us, and now Jesus has done something in her so she could enjoy herself worshipping with us.

I am so touched by that lady's honesty.

Angela Griffins work out

At the start of this year (academic) one of my goals was to try and start getting a bit fitter... it hasn't really happened. I've been too busy - and too bad with my boundaries to make it happen. Its something i want to do, but obviously i don't want to do it enough to actually make it happen.
I was challenged about this when i read some old entries in my journal, and i prayed one of those dangerous prayers.
I asked God to give me opportunities to get fit. Since then I've had to run to get to shops before they've shut, I've had to unpack and pack lots of vans. I've had to jump to encourage young people to jump... and Caroline bought Angela Griffins work out video...

Its got five sections...
a warm up
a pop section
a hiphop section
a salsa section
and a warm down section

so... we've started doing it.. time seems to fly pretty quick, but its about an hour long i think, and its basically doing some simple dance routines.
I say simple... but I can't quite manage them yet.
It has nothing to do with pop, hiphop or salsa, but it is fun.
and painful
The warm down section just hurts. like being hit a lot in the stomach :-)

we've only done it twice, but after my first time, I made it compulsery for everyone to do it tonight (apart from paul who has a hernia).

its so much fun!!!
so please keep me to it. I want to get a bit fitter :-)

does any one have any idea who Angela Griffin is? - its quite funny, but she's not great at it, I like the fact that she is on it as well as her trainer... cause she makes me feel better when i don't quite get how to do it!!!