Christmas Eve To Boxing Day

Christmas Eve was a long day, because I was working in the morning; so I was there from 9. I did wonder if it would be worth opening, but we did take about double what we took on the Monday. However, it was still quiet enough that I managed to watch a lot of T.V. clearly enough to remember. I saw most of 'The 'Gruffalo', and a children's version of  'A Christmas Carol' (with a robot called Robert), which ended in a huge party-so that's two this year. I also watched a bit of the Jim Carrey version, which is strange, because it's live action, but it looks kind of animated.
Anyway, I finished there about 1, and then went into town to finish my Christmas shopping. Hardly surprising, as I'm a bloke, and we're not allowed to be that organised. Actually, it wasn't that difficult, as I'd bought most stuff already; I just needed to buy a couple of other things for most people, and a lot of things for my niece. And, with the exception of my niece, I got most of the things in one shop. So, after that, I had a quick drink in Costa (where there appeared to be another new member of staff), and then went home. Where I then spent some time writing this post before going on facebook for a bit. And then I went to church, for the midnight Communion service. Which is one of my favourite services in the year. I like it because it's quiet and because it leads into Christmas, but mainly because of the atmosphere. It's a more thoughtful (and thought provoking) service than the standard ones. My absolute favourite is whatever happens on Good Friday, which is different every year, but that's also more thought provoking than normal. It's also good cos I get to see people I don't see that often, as people who used to live here come up to visit family. So, after that finished, I got to wish several people 'Happy Christmas' pretty much right at the beginning of the day. Which was nice. 

And so I got up the next morning ready to celebrate Wednesday *CHRISTMAS*!!! Which I think is worth celebrating. but my housemate had gone off to his parents, so there was no-one around-until my sister came to pick me up. But what with all the other things I had to do to get ready, I hadn't managed to wrap the presents. So my sister offered to do most of them, while I wrapped hers. Which took us about the same time. And then we went off to see the rest of the family at my mum's-and then all decamped to my sister's. Don't ask, because I don't know. I was told not to ask, so I didn't. And then we started the big event of the day, unwrapping presents. Or at least my niece did, and the rest of us caught up in a bit. A few hours went by, during which I saw some of 'Tangled', a splendid film (which reminded me of a couple of people) and I prayed a bit in the kitchen. Just because that was the only empty room at the time. And when my sister's bloke got home from work, we had food. Which was nice. And relaxed for a bit, before going back to my mum's (well, me and her, anyway); where I had more presents to unwrap. I was hoping for books and socks. I didn't really get many books for Christmas, but I did get gift cards; so there may well be more books arriving in my house before too long. And that took us to a surprisingly late time of evening; so that was pretty much it fo the day.

And thenwe get to St Stephen's Day. I know nothing about him, except when his feast day is-the day after Christmas. Which was a lazy day, because I could be. I got up late and didn't do anything much until the evening, when we went round to visit friends' of my mum, who always have a little something on this day. Which was brilliant as always. Nice and relaxing and fun and great company as ever. And plenty of food. More presents were exchanged, and I got another gift card; so I will definitely be buying something soon, though it may not be books. Who knows?

So, that was my Christmas time. And on the Friday, before going home, I managed to write a poem...

Monday To Mentoring To (More) Mulled Wine

And so we now get to Mon 16th, when I went to a friend's house to watch 'Scrooged' on their 92" screen. Very nice; so they make the most of it by having film nights while it is dark-not so much point in the Summer. Anyway, one of my personal Xmas traditions is to read or watch a version of 'A Christmas Carol' at some point in December. And that was one I hadn't seen before. Now I have; and I have to say it's worth it. Very funny, and it does a great job at doing the story differently. I'd definitely be up for watching it again.

Tuesday was so quiet I can't remember much happening. Apart from telephone conversations with friends I don't see that often-so two conversations kept me on the phone for almost four hours. Seriously. But on the other hand, I probably won't talk to them again for weeks, at least.

Wenesday, on the other hand, was very busy. After work (you know, that thing I go to every now and then), I met up with a friend who I'm kind of mentoring. I say 'kind of', as he doesn't really need to get my advice, so much as the opportunity to talk about what he's up to and turn it over himself. He's working as a Chaplain's Assistant at the University, and doing a Master's alongside it. But what he mostly talked about was the stuff he's doing in the Uni. His relationships with students, and churches; what good things he's been seeing; and what issues and opportunites he sees ahead. I think he has a very good idea of what God is doing in him and through him, and how to make the most of that. Which is brilliant.
And then, after that, I went home and got changed in time to go out again. For my cluster Christmas meal. There were quite a few of us, including a couple who aren't technically part of the cluster-yet. Nineteen in total. Which meant we couldn't all sit together, so there was a fair bit of wandering about; as well as a lot of noise and laughter. And at the end, we got a photo taken of the lot of us-don't we look wonderful.

On Thursday, I went out with Street Teams for the last time this year. It's always a bit strange going out when late night shopping is on, because it kind of feels a bit like we're in the way. I just have to think that we're there whatever; we're not doing it to show off in any way. We go out because people need help and because we can. I had a couple of interesting conversations with a couple who have both come off drugs recently and have no idea of going back-but that's the only point the conversations had in common. One was saying how he couldn't think how he could get a job, and his girlfriend was focussed on the fact that she had hope of something different, a different future. She was really looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years, and also her appointment with a counsellor in January. She said that, for her, drugs were about hiding, and she wasn't going to hide any more.

Friday nothing memorable happened (you know, cos I can't remember it), but Saturday I went to a party. Again with people I hadn't seen for a while-it seems as if that's something of a theme this month. Which is a good thing. Now I just have to keep in touch a bit better as we go into a new year.
And, finally, Sunday. Another party, sort of. It was actually more of a gathering of people, mainly from cluster before we all went to church for the carol service. But it was good fun, and I had the opportunity to have more mulled wine. And then the carol service itself; which was actually really beautiful. And after, I got the chance to catch up with a few people I hadn't seen for a while, which is always good-and plans were amde for the end of the week, maybe.

Sort-of Social Diary

And so, following on from my last post, I'll start telling you a few of the things I've been enjoying this December...

Starting on the 6th, which was a day earlier than I was expecting. The 7th was, unfortunately, triple booked, so I had to move one thing to the Friday; which was going to see friends at their house. Which was nice. Bit of a shame that one of them was ill, and couldn't really join us, but still a nice, relaxing evening was had by the two of us who remained. I was kind of half expecting to see the kids, but they were in bed; so we just had a bit of a random conversation and watched amusing T.V., and made fun of the cat. Because what else are cats for?
And then on the Saturday, I did one of the other things I'd agreed to do that evening-go to the theatre. It was easy to choose, because of the whole having paid for the ticket thing. It was the Jacob's Well performance of the year, with the profits once again going to charity-Hope for Justice this year. This year, the production was 'The Sound of Music', and it was brilliant. I've never seen the film, and I really enjoyed it-I'll have to get around to seeing it, so I can see how different it was. The main thing I was surprised by was how many of the songs I actually knew quite well; but, also, how sad the tone of the whole play was. Apparently, that was definitely down to the director; so I look forward to seeing the film at some point.
And then, on Sunday, I didn't go to church-at least not mine. I went to a event for people from any church in the local area, which is held once a month called Seek His Face. Again, as has been the case before, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be there, but felt that I should be; so I went. And was glad I did. On the way there, I was praying about something (well, sort of complaining, really)-something that I don't know how it's going to turn out or what to do about. And when I got there, that didn't seem to matter anymore. It definitely isn't sorted, and won't be for the forseeable future; but I spent some time with God, where He wanted me to be, and that's what mattered. The other thing I remember about the evening was the music. Often, when worship music is played, it sounds sort of like AOR, but this sounded different. More like folk/country/blues singer/songwriter sort of sound. Certainly not like anything else I've heard recently. And I really liked it.

Monday was quite quiet, with nothing in the evening, but Tuesday was quite different. It was my day off, as usual, but instead of me basically spending the day on my own until Alpha in the evening, I was with people from early afternoon. Because one of the Element evenings had been cancelled, that was on then, but there isn't so much to do for that, so the chefs had decided to hang around and play games; and I joined them. Which was great fun, with chocolate and music and Monty Python, followed by Cluedo. And then, in the evening, I went off to the cinema to meet a few friends to see 'Frozen'. And thoroughly enjoyed it, by the way. It's well worth seeing.

Wednesday was my cluster as usual, and we were meeting at the new house of one of the couples. And someone new joined the cluster. And it was very Christmassy, what with their tree being up, and 5 boxes of mince pies to be consumed. Other than that, it was a pretty normal cluster evening. Which is to say it was fiun and interesting. We ended by splitting into smaller groups and saying positive things to each other. True ones, obviously. Which was interesting as well as encouraging. And then some of us went to the pub at the end of my road, which is already a firm favourite. And even better, when we got there, I saw a couple of friends I hadn't seen for ages-months in one case. So we caught up a bit, and talked about meeting up soon.
Thursday likewise was pretty normal. I decided not to go out with Street Teams, though I definitely intended to the week after. But I did go to Hungry for God.
Friday was a surprisingly quiet evening. I did have the chance to go and see Riding Lights Theatre Company, but decided I was too tired, and actually quite fancied a night in. And then I was invited out to the pub, and thought about going. I didn't go, and later discovered it was someone's birthday celebration. Oh well, never mind-I probably needed the rest.

Saturday evening was quite busy, in contrast, so that was probably a good thing. I met up with one of the friends I saw on Wednesday in the early evening, and later on, I went to 'Christmas Drinks' at another friend's. It was good to see Rose, and catch up, as I hadn't seen her properly for literally months. It looks like I may be seeing quite a bit more of her in the future, as she may well join my cluster. Which will be nice, I think. And 'Christmas Drinks' was also good, catching up with a few other people I hadn't seen for a while-and mixing mulled wine with Archer's. Very nice.
And on Sunday, the talk at church was part of a series called 'A Christmas Carol'. It was based on 'Hark, The Herald Angels Sing', and it was about several things. It was about the fact that when God came, He came as the lowest of the low, only attended by His earthly family; it was about how the first people the news was proclaimed to were the lowest of the low, that right from the start, He was about inclusion; it was about the fact that He is a King worthy of beong proclaimed by a crowd of angels; and it was about the fact that when God speaks, we should respond in some way-different things said requiring different responses.

Coming Up To Christmas

Well, December seems to be a pretty busy month, and I'm fairly sure it's busier this year than last year. There are all sorts of events that people go to or put on just at this time of year, and I've been invited to lots. So many in fact, that I actually can't go to all of them, as some of them clash.

At the beginning of the month, there were only a few that I knew of, and now it's almost reached double figures. And that's without all the normal things I do in a week anyway. It's getting to the point where I almost don't have an evening free, though it's not there yet. Some of them were organised back in October, and some of them have just been decided on this week.
 There is one cinema trip, two plays, three Christmas drinks, one meal out, and one film at someone's house. That I can remember, anyway. There would have been another party, but that was one of the things that clashed. It's nice to so popular, and all of these people are good friends, so I do definitely want to see them. Some of them I haven't seen properly for quite some time now. And the films are both ones I definitely want to see, one of them for ages. I don't like seeing films on my own, so it's unlikely I would have seen them otherwise. One of them is 'Scrooged', which I particularly want to see, as I like to try to read or watch one version of 'A Christmas Carol' every year at this point, and that's one I haven't seen yet. So, it looks like it will be a very enjoyable and social time leading up to Christmas, which isn't the case every month...

But, while I think this is a great thing, and I definitely am going to be joining in (as a personal thing, mulled wine is one of the best things about Christmas, in my opinion-and roasted chestnuts); I have also been thinking about the other run-up to Christmas. You know, what Christmas is all about. That time of great sacrifice, where God led by example. It was a sacrifice for others as well, but essentially, it was all down to God. It's easy to think of Easter as a time of sacrifice (yes, remember, the two are linked), but not so easy to think the same at Christmas. I remember a friend once told me that she had a new appreciation for the Christmas story after the birth of her first child. She said in seeing just how helpless a baby actually is, and how dependent on her for absolutely everything, she just how vulnerable God had allowed Himself to be-and that thought really brought it home to me. I kind of realised before that God's sacrifice started there, rather than at Good Friday, or even when He first left home to become an itinerant preacher; but this really showed me how much love and trust He had in humans. And if He had that much trust then, it's not (quite) so difficult to believe that He might have some trust in me, too. And in you.