Yesterday we handed out chocolate on Gloucester Road. On each bar was a sticker which read: "This is our simple way of saying that God loves you."

My favourite quote came from Emma:
"They may not believe in God, but everyone believes in free chocolate."

I've been running around like a bit of a headless chicken today. Nic is ill, so I'm looking after Rowland and the Formettes for the next two weeks, which should be a lot of fun.

Garageband has become my new favourite piece of software. I love the fact that you can take a basic demo and turn it into something resembling a professional recording.

BTW Ben has an interesting blog on the go, which is guaranteed to satisfy fans of the frequently updated website.

Saturday was all about chilling. As the weather wasn't great we visited the mummies in Bristol Museum, drank coffee, and ascended the Cabot Tower.

Speaking of coffee, when we arrived at The Boston Teaparty, one of the best coffee houses in Bristol, it was completely rammed. We went for a stroll, came back and it was still standing room only, so, consumed by thirst, we decided to visit the monstrosity that is Starbucks. Stood in the queue I decided that I would have a fairtrade latte. At the counter I was quickly informed that, unfortunately the only fairtrade coffee available was filter coffee. I succumbed.

How can it be that an independent coffee company like 'Boston' can offer all varieties of coffee made with their 'Revolution' (fairtrade) beans and yet the superpower that is Starbucks only offer fairly traded filter coffee?

It seems that Megan is getting more and more animated the closer she gets to her 2nd birthday. Steve taught her that when you place your clenched fist in front of her and say "respect" she clenches her fist and taps it against yours.

Yesterday I was trying to teach her to say "dude." The exchange went something like this:
"Megan, can you say dude?"
She points at me, a big smile on her face.
"Megan, can you say dude?"
She points at me again...

Yesterday I stumbled across one of the many mysteries of the blogging world. I was reading Eddie's blog for the first time in months and noticed this post, in which he announces that he's bo be married in a matter of months. The last time I read Eddie's blog he was talking about the struggles of being single, so you can imagine how surprised I was to learn not only is he going out with someone, but he is to be wed. Judging from comments he received I wasn't the only one.

Anyhow this got me thinking about the public nature of blogging and the fact that, particularly if you are embarking on a relationship, you will be reluctant to divulge details until you are sure of where you stand with the other person - after all you don't want the world knowing your feelings and assumptions when they do not, and you don't want to find yourself communicating with them via the medium of blog.

As a result we find these shocking marriage announcements from people who, as far as we knew, were grappling with what it means to be content and single!

On Saturday I went to Cardiff with Bill for a Myers Briggs day with the cv leadership team. It was great fun learning some more about myself and how I think, and why other people think the way they do. Here are my results:

ENFJ
Extravert I get energy from being with people.
iNtuitive I'm more inclined towards the big picture than fine detail.
Feeling When a problem arises involving people I like to dive in and solve it rather than to stand back and look at it dispassionately.
Judging I value order above spontaneity.

Ethics vs. Customer Service
While I was at home over Easter I visited a H&M store with Zoë. Ever since I heard about H&M, and the low prices of their clothing, I believed that at some stage in the production chain individuals must be suffering. I mean you just can't offer t-shirts for £3 and guarantee that producers in the third world aren't receiving a raw deal. Right?

So while Zoë was trying on some garments I decided to make some enquiries.
"Hi there, I was wondering if you have any information on the origins of your clothes?" I asked the girl at the counter.
As she looked at me, processing my question, I caught a glimpse of what was going on behind her eyes: 'ok, ok, question I don't understand, pretend you have some idea of what's just been asked' (smiles, pretends to make a phonecall, wanders around the store appearing to make enquiries of her co-workers, comes back, whispers in the ear of the guy at the till next to her)
So the guy leans over and asks, "what do you want?"
"I was just wondering if you have any information on the conditions under which your clothes are produced?"
(In broad Cardiff accent) "Mate, do you really need to know?"
"Well, yeah, I'd like to know..."
(Wanders around for a few minutes in similar fashion to his colleague, then comes back shaking his head)
I decide to throw him some rope..."Do you have an email address for someone who would know?"
(Wanders around for a few minutes before returning) "Yeah mate, www.h&m."

On checking out the website I discovered this - clear information on their ethical concerns. Finally!

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K..." (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure)

I've been in the office the past two days and each day a strange thing has happened:

Tuesday
A guy comes in who visits at least once a week for a cup of tea and a chat. Anyhow this time he's telling me all kinds of bad things that are going on in his life. I'm listening and listening and he's getting more and more worked up, then goes into a lull of emotion, then carries on. So I'm listening and I'm praying: "Lord, what should I do? Should I offer to pray for him?" I felt that the answer was "yes" so I waited for a lull and asked, "hey, can I pray for you?" To which he replied, "no...in fact I'm offended at that" and walks straight out slamming the door behind him.

Wednesday
Three kids with Irish accents come into the office asking "what do you do here?" so Grace explains that it is the office of a church. The smallest of the boys is wandering around and one of the others is calling "Pete, come back here..." I notice that he's heading back towards my desk and decide to follow him, arriving just in time to see him turn around quickly and walk back out towards the front door. I scower my (rather untidy) desk to see what is missing and twig just in time that my phone isn't there. I make my way towards the front door, but I'm not completely certain that my phone was even on my desk and am wary of grabbing an eight year old boy and demanding my phone off him for all the legal implications. So I literally watch them leave and inform Grace, "I'm sure that kid just stole my phone." In the back of my mind I'm trying to look on the bright side - 'at least my life will be more simple...'

Five minutes pass and the little boy returns, two phones in hand. He tells Grace, "I'm sorry I took these phones, I thought they were toys."

Ingredients for a Risk night:
- Doritos
- Salsa dip
- Dr. Pepper
- Joosters

Job prospects?
Apparently it is possible to earn a living by blogging. (via)

Heroes
One of the pioneers of just treatment in the mills of England was a welshman called Robert Owen. Unlike his counterparts Owen was concerned not only with making money, but with establishing a community in which people could realise their full potential. He fought against young children being allowed to work in the mills and treated those in his employment well. As he did this he discovered that the response that these people had to being treated in this way was working harder!

GOD enters the courtroom.
He takes his place at the bench to judge his people.
GOD calls for order in the court,
hauls the leaders of his people into the dock:

"You've played havoc with this country.
Your houses are stuffed with what you've stolen from the poor.
What is this anyway?
Stomping on my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?"

That's what the Master,
GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, says.
(Isaiah 3:13-15 in The Message)

I'm back in the office today, finishing some work on the next edition of cutting edge. It was really nice to be at home last week, although in the pause, where there was more space to think, my mind kind of went into overdrive thinking about the future.

I've finally started reading The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson. I love the way that he defines the role of pastor not as 'someone who runs a church,' but as someone whose task it is to call people into the life of another Kingdom, and to unravel what that means in the midst of day to day life.

Currently listening to...

Easter
I'm enjoying hanging out in Cardiff this week. The easter weekend was fun - spending time with Rob and Mark over the weekend, chilling out with the family, walking in the park.

On Monday Emelie came over with Mia, her friend from Sweden and we did the tourist thang - we visited Cardiff Castle (see photos). It's always fun seeing Cardiff through the eyes of a visitor - the surprise at finding a castle and acres and acres of grassland bang in the middle of the city.

Tomorrow I'm hanging out with my little sis - something I don't get to do as much as I'd like.

My Sister

courtesy of Mark

Sometimes it's hard being true to yourself. This morning I received an application form and job description from a Christian organisation who are looking for a lobbyist. For a moment I was tempted - a good salary, a variety of political responsibilities and the opportunity to stretch myself.

The problem is that in recent years I've become less and less convinced that the Church's role is to pursuade politicians to formulate policies which force those who aren't followers of Jesus to act as though they are. That just oozes a Christendom mindset, the need to assert power on a political level.

I believe we are called to be a voice for the voiceless and to be actively involved in addressing justice, but I'm not too worried about us 'followers of The Way' getting marginalised in society. We might even rediscover the radical way of life that Jesus calls us to!

The B-movies that are shown on channel five (UK) have three main plots...

Plot 1
A plane flight crash, survivors left in a remote and icy location, two of them survive but not without the need for amputative surgery on their toes to deal with the frostbite they have suffered. Happily ever after (they generally leave the story of their recovery sans-toes to the imagination).

Plot 2
When she hears that her daughter is unable to have children, X offers to carry the child on her behalf. The tale of love, joy and tension that this incurrs.

Plot 3
A 'cop' whose partner was killed in action goes in search of revenge.

Have I missed any out?

Drinking Beer with Vikings
We had a great weekend hanging out at Copenhagen Vineyard. They are a great bunch of people, mostly around my age and lots of whom are fairly new to following Jesus. God showed up in power on both Saturday and Sunday and it was a great privilege to bless what He was doing.

Things I liked about Denmark:
- Big, powerful showers.
- Wood burning stoves that heat the houses.
- Architecture.
- Comprehensive bike lanes.
- Snow (that actually sticks).
- Copenhagen Vineyard.
- Candles.
- etc.

We're sat in the business departure lounge for our flight to Copenhagen and I've been contemplating the transience of these places. They're like a no-where zone between life in one country and life in another. Existence hangs, on hold, as we sit savouring our free drinks.