24 days to the start of the World Cup

I've been a bit poorly over the last couple of days, I have a strange pain in my abdomen that is uncomfortable and has also made me very tired. The doctor thinks it might be an inflamed gland but isn't really sure. I've gone to work today because it's only really bad in the morning by the afternoon it gets better, and I'm bored on daytime TV (although C4 on Monday was really educational!).

Anyway my mate Jennie sent me a couple of jokes this week so I thought I'd share one of them:

One day a guy died and found himself in hell. As he was wallowing in despair, he had his first meeting with a demon. The demon asked, "Why so glum?" The guy responded, "What do you think? I'm in hell!"

"Hell's not so bad," the demon said. "We actually have a lot of fun down here. You a drinking man?" "Sure," the man said, "I love to drink." "Well, you're gonna love Mondays then. On Mondays all we do is drink Whiskey, tequila, Guinness, wine coolers, diet Tab and Fresca We drink till we throw up and then we drink some more!" The guy is astounded. "Damn, that sounds great."

"You a smoker?" the demon asked. "You better believe it!" "You're gonna love Tuesdays. We get the finest cigars from all over the world and smoke our lungs out! . If you get cancer, no biggie You're already dead, remember?" "Wow, the guy said, "that's awesome!" The demon continued.

"I bet you like to gamble." "Why yes, as a matter of fact I do." "Wednesdays you can gamble all you want. Craps, blackjack, roulette, poker, slots, whatever. If you go bankrupt, well, you're dead anyhow. You into drugs?"

The guy said, "Are you kidding? I love drugs! You don't mean . . ." "That's right! Thursday is drug day. Help yourself to a great big bowl of crack, or smack. Smoke a doobie the size of a submarine. You can do all the drugs you want, you're dead, who cares!"

"Wow," the guy said, starting to feel better about his situation, "I never realized Hell was such a cool place!" The demon said, "You gay?" "No" "Ooooh, you're gonna hate Fridays!"

It's wrong......but it is a little funny.....

“ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. ”- Colossians 4:5-6

I think this verse could be enough to keep me challenged for a lifetime! I'd love to try and have my conversations seasoned with salt, I often worry that if I try to do that I might end up over doing it and seasoning with cheese!....

....this could also be the motto of politicians....hmmm....

my scary stapler....

“ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ”- Romans 12:12

Last nights small group was really good, I think it was the first time I didn't cry on the way home!

God gave us an interesting picture of a goldfish in a round bowl submerged in the sea. Its kind of to do with the kingdom of God being the sea and wanting to be outside of our own little bowl emerse in what God is doing no matter how scary or vast it seems.

It remined me of a pictuer Paul M gave me a while ago, it was of me in a boat tethered up, the boat went some way out into the sea but not very far, I really wanted to be free from the rope but the truth was that I wasn't.

Someone else had a picture for me before I left Sheffield that my boundaries were going to shift, I would have more freedom.

That's all very well but I kinda feel 9though that does n't mean that i'm not huh?) much less free than I did in Sheffield and I have no idea what God's doing here in Gloucester so that I can join in - it was a bit more obvious in Sheffield.

answers on the back of a stuck down envelope....

“ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. ”- 1 John 5:14-15

Oooh here's a good one - with reference to this verse what do you think the difference is between the confidence that is referred to in verse 14 and faith?

It would be really easy to look at this verse like a formula - and get upset when it doesn't retrun the expected result but I just don't think the Bible works like that despite the fact that I believe everything in the Bible...go figure....