7 from 8 :: S*N*A*C :: bellshill salvation army

How do you define success? I have spoken about this before and I will answer my question by saying numbers do not necessarily denote success. I mean... Motherwell are the best football (Soccer for my US pals) team in the world... but they don't have the numbers to prove it.

S*N*A*C (Sunday Night After Church) scratches an itch for our crowd in Bellshill Salvation Army. Not everyone gets it... not everyone wants to get it! This has annoyed me before... but it doesn't now. Why?

Every S*N*A*C has brought someone new to Bellshill... and, for me and mine, that's success!

Carol-Anne, Dan, Dawn, Jon G & John B

Anyway, 7 from 8 was our interpretation of the traditional nine service... just kind of shortened to seven.

I kicked off with a movie entitled :: O holy night :: that follows someone building up Christmas decorations. I then went straight into a reading from Rob Lacey that highlighted the absurdity of Christmas without Jesus... or at least a wee, harmless we'an. "1" was completed with Olly's rendition of Heaven's Child by The Martins which is just simply wonderful.

Marianne (from Estonia!) and Liz

We then had some fab readings from The Message and New King James translations by various volunteers. Interspersed with songs led by BLOC and In the bleak mid winter from Laura and Liz accompanied by Colin on acoustic guitar (I thought at one point he was going to start playing Stairway to Heaven).

All in... it was a tremendous experience that was completed by a lovely time of fellowship over coffee and mince pies.

One thing that is important for me is that Chris and Dawn (the officers from Glenrothes corps), Carol-Anne & Dan, and Jon & Lorna G came along. Its great to spend time with my friends... to meet Carol-Anne & Dan for the first time... and to minister to my peers. Its great to give back to the people who have given me so much!

Chris, Olly and Laura

This is what Dan & Chris thought of S*N*A*C ::
Dan
Chris

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Technorati Tags: bellshill, salvation army

Its great to be home...

Funny!

Thanks to Roberto in Auld Reekie for sending this in.

Christmas Praise :: Bellshill Salvation Army Band

I've been listening to the new CD by Olly's band - the Bellshill Salvation Army Band - called Christmas Praise and I think its fab!

Brass bands make Christmas for a lot of folk... and if you are one of these people then you'll love it. I'm not a huge brass fan... has to say something new to me like the seminal Lester Bowie and his Brass Fantasy did a long time back. (saw them with Olly in Edinburgh around 1993 and were blown away - he's dead now - shame!)

What makes this CD special for me is Olly's solo :: Heaven's Child :: a song originally recorded by The Martins and a song that's guaranteed to refocus Christmas for a lot of people.

Tonight was the CD launch... and I missed it because Dayna is unwell and I had bowl-and-hair-holding duties (poor lamb is literally sick). By all reports, Olly sang well and the night was a success with approximately 420 folk in for the launch and a community carol service.

I recommend this CD... Its going to be on permanently over Christmas.

Check out the Band's website for more info :: BSAB.co.uk

Now... how do I go about getting a CD recorded???

Technorati Tags: salvation army, bellshill

7 from 8 :: S*N*A*C :: bellshill salvation army

Number 7 by NoiseHead
Number 8 by Claudecf

What do you get when you take 7 from 8? You get 1.

Technorati Tags: advent, bellshill

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 02

Loving these...

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody)

Nice!

Nintendo Family Tree :: NerdyShirts

I love tees... they are my second favourite clothes after flowery Laura Ashley dresses... I like a good design... not just a logo! I like an idea... a concept that speaks volumes. That's why I like Lardmonkey, Threadless, Stussy, and blagging free tees from Crocodile Catering and the fundy-baiting Rockstar Games!!!

Anyway... I have another company to consider :: Nerdy Shirts :: especially when I saw this supersweet tee that details The Nintendo Family Tree - love it.

They have some pretty amazing tees on offer like this one in honour of scalectrix...

...and I'd love to get this one for Dayna : she's such a bookworm.


Recommended. Thanks to The Soos for the heads-up.

Technorati Tags: nerdy shirts, tees

work :: ups and downs

I try not to talk about my work... but lately I have felt overwhelmed by what I have to do. Swamped. Inadequate. Incapable. Not smiling as much as I usually do (see above). The last few days have been some of the worst of my life. The pressure is getting to me. I still feel the role is new to me... even though I have been in it for about 6 months or so.

I lead a team of business designers - our job is to shape the product according to the requirements of the "business" we represent. Its hard. I have never managed a team before... and my project experience has always been direct... hands-on... focussed! Now I need to be aware of what's going on... have a breadth of knowledge... defend our position continually from people who, maybe justifiably, want to shape the product to their view... their requirements... instead of the "business" and the customers they represent.

As I said above... I have never managed a team before and I believe, from the feedback I received at a recent appraisal, that I have taken a group of talented individuals and built a great team... a dream team... I enjoy their company and we do a good job. We get it done.

So why are things getting me down? Well... Last month one of the team moved to another team on the project. 1 person down... more work. Could handle it... I suppose.

Until now...

This week I have been interviewed by an auditor... had my team's work challenged... presented the product prototype to our design forum... and senior management. Been undermined. Oh and an invaluable member of my team is leaving at the end of the month... because of... well, I'd prefer not to say other than neither of us had any control in the matter.

Where am I going with this pretty personal post? (nice ilteration)

Well in all this I have been thinking about this old fashioned painting in the Salvation Army corps in Port Glasgow:

I can't do this on my own... I need my team... but it is more than that. I need the Shepherd... I need His goodness and mercy... as I walk, metaphorically, in some pretty dark places... I don't fear because I know He is with me... I know that He cares!

Life isn't meant to be easy :: just as Mrs Pitt's tat says :: What doesn't kill me makes me stronger! I know the love that surrounds me. My Lord loves me... Olly and the kids love me...and keep me together. My family love me... and my friends love me. You guys in the Nanolog community love me. I am surrounded by this love and it is appreciated ... welcomed... needed!

Where do I go from here? Who knows. How can I replace someone I consider to be invaluable? I need to try... and do it soon. I also need to focus on now... stop dreaming about where I want to be... what I want to do... and centre myself of what I do and where I am now.

The Nanolog is about the whole of me... and I need to realise that my work... what I do now... is part of me, too.

So here's to now! With all its ups and downs... its pleasures and heartbreaks. Here's to being exactly where I am meant to be today.

Sorry for the personal nature of this post... please keep me in your thoughts and prayers... and please work don't sack me for talking about you!

Starbucks is the Cheers of postmodernism!

What a great quote from this fab article in Relevant Magazine :: Where everybody knows your name by Allison Hennessy... in it she talks about the connectedness she feels to the third place in her area:

With the global advent of coffee shops like Starbucks, Caribou and the great local-owned places like the shop around the corner from where I live, 21 century American culture has created a new space for the Cheers crowd.../

/...When I meditate on it—being vulnerable and unashamed in front of my Creator after I have left this temporary body behind—I get a bit melancholy. It’s as if I am nostalgic for something I have not yet experienced. I am teased with it when I go to the coffee shop, when I spend time with the friends I love and trust, when I watch a rerun of Cheers. I think and hope that this nostalgia is the sign of a healthy longing after the unhindered presence of God.

The next time I go to the coffee shop and order a cup of liquid indulgence, I hope that my conversation with the barista, the sense of connectedness I feel and the peace of my third place remind me of the longing that dwells so warmly in my soul.

Makes sense to me.

I'm starting to get that Cheers feeling at the indie near my work :: Coffee Merchant :: and I have to say it feels good. Good in that I have connected... I recognise... and am recognised. Don't think I have Norm status yet... but I am working on it. Had lunch there today... its an oasis of calm from my work. We all need a third place and I like the way Alison has described hers.

Check it out.

Technorati Tags: starbucks, thought