in London

Yesterday I moved to London...well for 6 weeks at least but I think it sounds better if I say I live here now....if only for 6 weeks.

I'm staying with my wee sis in Acton, London while I do my placement with Invisible Children. I'm pretty excited but I'm the kind of person that usually doesn't get really excited about something until I am actually into it and going. But it is pretty cool to be here.

Today we headed into the city centre, walked aroung Leicester Square, bought a birthday present, had lunch and headed up Carnaby street for a dander. I've been to London a fair few times before so everything doesn't have quite the 'awe' factor that London usually provokes.

So my sis went home to do some work and I hung about, got a coffee (a caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks to be exact) and had a sit in Golden square, watching the world go by.

It was nice and sunny and I was a bit annoyed I hadn't brought a book. Next time.
So that's that really. Pretty uneventful so far and I think it hasn't completely sunk in that this will be my home for the next 6 weeks.

Still I am just eager to get started with my placement. I don't know exactly what it will hold but I know it will be good. Until Monday then...

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We've ALL been RESCUED!!!

Last week I wrote a bit about the RESCUE that was happening in 100 cities. Well I went and we were rescued. It was awesome. We started a revolution to save abducted children. It was good. That was 6 days ago

And 6 days later every city was rescued. Well almost!

Chicago waited and they waited and they moved, and then waited some more, then moved again, then waited, then moved once more and waited. For 6 days hundreds of people waited to be rescued. Reinforcements came. Thousands of emails to Oprah Winfrey pleading to be rescued, as many if not more tweets to get her to come out.

It took 6 days but finally the peoples voice was heard and today on her Friday LIVE broadcast she will rescue Chicago. Amazing. We thought she didn't hear but she did. In fact there were times when many thought she was ignoring us. It seemed that way. But you know what?

Her timing could not have been more perfect.

The one day that the show goes LIVE and she decides to answer. She could have answered 6 days ago but her voice will be clearer now than it would have been then. In other words the best possible scenario is what is going on now! If she had answered on Saturday then all the media wouldnt have been out to see what the heck all these people were doing hanging around Chicago for nearly a week.

What's happening to the Child Soldiers will be heard by thousands of more people than if it happened earlier. All it required was a little bit of patience. A bit of hope. A belief that something was around the corner.

And for all the people waiting their hope was rewarded. Their belief was shown to be true. That's awesome to me. Sometimes we need to have hope. We want something to happen now. But we don't realise that it might not be the best if it happens now. If it happens now, we might miss out on something that is going to happen then. What if we just stick it out. What if we stopped now just because we don't see results now? That would be a tragedy

I'm glad the kids in Chicago didn't stop. I'm glad they kept going. They are inspiring to me. I want to be like them. I want to not give up even if all the evidence says I should. But the evidence isn't all their is. It may be all we see sometimes, but it is definatley not all there is.

That's a good enough reason to keep going.

Well done Chicago!
Well done Oprah!

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Want To End a War?

A long time ago I wrote about some excting things that were coming up. Some of those didn't come to fruition but tomorrow the thing that I was probably most excited about is happening.

For years now there has been a war in Uganda where Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (nothing to with God!) has been kidnapping young children to fight for him. Kids who are just like you and me (well a few years ago now!). Kids who like to laugh and play and mess around with their friends just like kids anywhere. But they aren't getting the chance to be children because someone is taking it away from them.

Thankfully 3 film students from California decided that they could do something to help these kids. Thankfully through them over 50'000 young people throughout the world are also going to do something to help.

So this Saturday the 25th April, no matter where you are, get yourself along to the RESCUE

March with hundreds of other people in a united stance for the child soldiers and show the people doing their shopping that there is something wrong going on in the world right now. The great thing is WE CAN do something. We have a voice and we use it so much but we don't use it for other people enough. Tomorrow you can have a real chance to make a difference.

So for anyone reading this and if you are in Ireland tomorrow, get yourself to Dublin tomorrow. Just go. Don't question whether you can afford the time off, or whether you have a paper due in or whether you miss the next episode of American Idol, or whether you need to see the new Wolverine movie.

The abducted child soldiers don't get to way up those thoughts when they leave their homes.

Get down to St Patrick's cathedral at 3 pm and join up with others to walk through the city and show people what is going on in Uganda. This is going to be the most amazing thing you will be involved with.

Once chance to really change another human beings life

Don't miss it.

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Cause and Effect Part 1

I believe that everyone needs something to get their teeth into. I think there is more to our being alive than just the normal everyday stuff we go through. I think we all need something that inspires us to get up and help others. Something that we are specifically meant to be working at.

For me there have been several over the years. Ministries that I have been involved with, supported, been excited by. One of those is xxxchurch. This is the type of thing I want to be involved in. This is what I want to do. I want to help people by sharing my story and encouraging and not being afraid to go where others are. I want to go first.

I was talking to my Principal at Bible College last week about this ministry and about myself, about what I see my picture in the world looking like and I was really encouraged by his words. I am passionate about porn and I want the church in Ireland to start talking about it. He told me that I should pursue this. That he would encourage me with this. And coming from a guy who I look up to I can't tell you how much it meant to me to hear that.

I have struggled with it pretty badly in the past. I struggle with it still daily. But sometimes I feel I am the only one that struggles with these types of things.

Two options.

One. That is true.
Two. I am not the only one, it's just we don't want to talk about it. And who could blame us. It took me a long time to tell someone.

I think the second option is true.

I have been encouraged by others I have spoken to who also see porn as a problem in the Church and want to help.

I wrote in a post previously about how sometimes we struggle with the very things that we are called to. So for me I see my struggle with porn as a sure fire sign that I am called to help people who struggle with porn.

So this is where I am right now. This is what I am thinking.

I think we all have heard stories or met people and something in us just can't accept what is going on and wants to start moving. For me that is helping people who struggle with porn. For you it might be something else.

Check out Jordy's story. The video was shot 4 years ago when he struggled with porn daily and now he is working for xxxchurch.

That's awesome.

Simply he heard about a cause, was excited, was convicted and changed his life. Now the effect is clear to see.

Again.

Awesome.

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Aren't we all the same?!

For pretty much my whole life I have been learning from Sunday School and in Church and any where else where there are Christians that I am in need of being saved from my sins. Verses are quoted at me about how none of us are Ok and all of us need salvation.

So far so good.

The problem is that somewhere along the line I started to believe that some sins are worse than others. Where did I get this from? I know that we all need saved but somehow this has turned into "we all need saved (but really some of us need saved more)" And I think this is damgaing.

I have been pretty open on here about struggles I have with porn and with temptation but other than 3 or 4 people who I have been close to, I haven't really been open to many people about it.

Why is that?

Surely if we all need saved then that means no sin is worse than another. If some sins are worse then there would need to be different levels of salvation. But thank God we don't. And thank God there aren't.

But still some sins are seen as disgusting and dark and murky and should never be talked about. We think that our junk is bigger and smellier than the person sat next to us on Sunday morning. Or we think that if people really knew what we were like or what we got up to in out room last night, then they wouldn't be able to look us in the eye. But this is crap. Because like I have said we all need saved.

If only we really believed this. Sure, ask any Christian and they will agree with this statement. But do they really? Do I really? Because of this strange complex we have about not looking bad to others we don't mention our sins. And if we do, then it is that we aren't praying enough or we were kind of rude to someone or if you are a really hardcore sinner you dropped the 'f' bomb.

We are so taken in by the lie that now we are saved we need people to see us as perfect. Yeah we all need saved but where does it say anywhere that we need to have everything completely sorted. The Bible does say that we should be accountable to each other and pray for each other but how can we do that if we aren't completely honest.

Because people find it hard enough to admit small things to others, it leaves the bigger things (or should I say 'bigger' as how other people see them, but remember not 'bigger' as God sees them) then we don't mention the tough things we go through, or the struggles that are really grinding us down every day. Instead we keep them to ourselves and pretend that we are doing OK.

The point of this post is really that you and I will stop acting like your sin is bigger. If you are struggling with being nice to someone who you find annoying then this is just as big a sin as looking at naked women. If you are jealous of someone who is getting something you have always wanted yourself, this is just as big a sin as lusting after a girl/boy.

Jesus said that if we even imagine sleeping with someone elses wife this is just like actually doing it. There is no difference whatsoever. Thinking is as bad as doing? How does that work?
Because sin is sin. It's all the same.

So my challenge to myself is to stop stressing over looking good to others and be real and to be courageous and step up and not be afraid to talk about the darkest stuff. Because this will allow someone else to step up too, who has also been afraid.

If you are struggling with something that you have built up in your head as being this 'unforgivable sin' then please stop because it isn't.

I remember hearing or reading somewhere that we look at sin like we are at the base of some mountains. Some of them look bigger to us than others. We differentiate between them. But God looks at them from above, from far away. He can't tell what is big and what is small. He has a different view of them than us. To him they look all the same.

Let's start looking at sin like God does.

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