The Christian Foodie: January 2013

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Long time no see

Hello Blog readers!!!

Sorry its been a bit of a long time since my last blog, and since then quite a lot has happened, I've had a summer of fun (playing cricket, laughing around, getting stuck in with the cafe and generally enjoying life) before coming back to uni! (Praise God passed my 2 modules and so on to final year!)

So Uni started off well, the freshers events I was very busy with, car parking and freshers BBQs went very well thanks to a little help from a friendly gammer! (thanks Mike brown!) and CU had started well, I'd also got what I thought was a great topic for my dissertation

However a few weeks in, things started piling up on top of me, my dissertation hit a brick wall with ethics, and a number of personal issues from people around me started dragging me down, and rather than pulling them up and through things, I'd let my self get dragged down and getting to a dark place, finally snapping when I'd heard that my Grandma Had died (although this had been coming for the last few years since her stroke, it was still a surprise), and things kind of went bad from there

However this in some ways were what was needed, a weekend away from home to revitalise and refresh things, yes it was a upsetting weekend but everyone was incredibly supportive and so this was what I needed to get a foothold back to a stable level and work on things from their

Getting back to normal has taken the rest of term but its taught me a lot of lessons

First of all God is there in everything, i've had so many people praying for me so if that you thank you for that, and to have people speaking truth in to your life regardless of weather they know what's going on or not has been a great help. This is summed up in a song realised by a friend of mine (which I helped write the lyrics to)https://soundcloud.com/dave-lamm/all-these-things
It speaks about God being there and providing what we need when the world is against us and we have fallen short, and looking back at it, having the lyrics to the song in the back of my head was a big help during the recovery- so its good to see it finally realised!)

Secondly, that there are people to rely on that I can trust, willing to put and arm round me and confort me, put up with me when I screw up, or just showing me there is a problem! so if your one of thoes people thanks again

So thats the past- what about the future

First of all mission week is coming up and I'm hoping to be involved with it somewhere (depending on how uni work plans out) so this should be a great chance to get re-involved with CU, I've missed being involved the last few months, especialy on getting to know the freshers

Secondly, plowing on with my dissertation, january starts the start of the questionair season so I'll probibly sending them out far and wide to get the numbers needed, before I can get on to the fun (in my view) of analysis and conclusions so that needs doing

thirdly I (hopefully) Graduate this year, which is a scary thing- after 18 years of education, this could be my last year before entering the 'real world' so could be intresting in terms of looking for jobs and stuff- my plan is currently to stay in huddersfield, but a lot could change depening on the job situation

so thats my blog, hopefully it won't be to long the next one!

so on that bombshow
danny-d-b signing out!

My testomony

I grew up in a Christian family, dragged to church on a Sunday morning, where I'd sit in church, before going to the sunday school and learning all about God, and the bible and the people in it. Once I'd got to secondy school I'd moved out of the sunday school to the teen group on a sunday morning- however being a rather quiet child, as well as being one of the youngest in the year, as well as my dislexa/dispraxia ment I appered quite young than my age, and thus I didn't make many friends, my few good ones where in the year below me, and thus the first year of secondary school was hard for me, as being the new kid with new mates, and having been brought up in a family who didn't sware or talk about sex openly, the subjects other kids in the school where talking about I didn't have a clue about, also my parents where semi strict on what I was and wasn't allowed to watch, (I'd never even heard of the simpsons till year 8, when I mannaged to make my parents let me watch, so I could be semi cool) and so had very little to interact with my class mates about, and so with the teasing this lead to, I retreated in to my shell even more than before, not realy talking to anyone in my class, and only have a few conversations with my mates in the libary

The seconday school I went to was on split sites, so when I got to year 10, I left my few mates in the year below in the other sight, it was also at this time, the church youth group for my age swiched from a sunday morning, to a sunday evening, and thus allowed me to not attend church very offen, when I did, I mostly talked though the worship and word, with my mates at the back rather than listing, the idea of having a relationship with God had never even crossed my mind,

However the lack of friends, quiet nature and slightly shelted upbringing ment that I was an easy target for the school bullys, and they quickly laid in to me, stealing my lunch money, throwing my Bag and P.E. kit around (the fact I was with the class that contained most of the school rugby team didn't help) and the old favorate of taking the sciance equipment off my desk at the start of every expermant so I'd have to get 5 or 6 sets, and dumping it back on my desk at the end, so I'd have 5 or 6 sets to put back, thus offen making me over run

However during this time one of my favorate lessions was Food tecnology, partly cos it was mixed classes, and though I still didn't have any friends in the group, the main culprits wern't in the class, and the teacher was one of my favorates

However After christmas someone had picked up that I went to church and so this was added to the list of insults they would throw at me, and shortly after easter I dropped out of church completely, and only occasionally went to the youth group.

Then about half term/easter (can never rember which) I'd desided that there was nothing left in my life, nothing worth living for, my friends had abandoned me (so I thought, in theory I abandoned them when I stopped going to church) and my class mates hated me, and so I diesided there was no way out except though Death, suiside- after all my parents and sister was out, even they had 'abandoned' me

I got down stairs and was heading for the kitchen, when the phone rang, and for some reason I answered it (normal I don't if my parents weren't in as it was never for me, and anyone who did want me normally rang my mobile)

It was my mate from church who invited me to join him on a 10 day long Christian Adventure camp, I'd agreed before I'd even though about it, and then spent 10 mins discussing it (all the time thinking in my head "I'm just about to commit suside, what am I doing agreeing to go away in the summer?")

anyway by the time I'd finished talking to my mate, my parents and sister was back, and I'd desided, that if I was to end my life, I might as well go out enjoying my self, with this summer camp I'd agreed to go on

Somehow (I 'blame' God) I mannaged to get through the next few terms, rejoining the youth group and going to 1 or 2 sunday mornings, before going on the youth camp, fully expecting to slit my wrists or something as soon as was possible when I got back after it

However during a worship session (my mate had got saved a few months before so while he sang his heart out I just stood there, thinking) that God 'hit me' so to speak, and I just broke down in middle of about 200 young people, some who were christians, some who where just church going kids and I relised that what ever I had been though God had been there protecting me and providing the people and situations and suddenly my quietness and timid nature had been replaced by a confindance and energy that I'd never felt before (the closisited had prob been while I'd been in the food classes, however that was nothing compared to this) and I admited then that I needed God as part of my life, and then turned from someone who didn't sing, to someone who couldn't sing, but didn't let that stop him

I returned to school the next year, all thoughts of suicide banished, to find, in the year I'd left my mates behind (them being in the year below) they had made a group of christian friends and I got involved, part of which was a weekly cell group which I was invited to join

I took to it like a duck to warter, and as it was run by the youth for the youth, 6 months later (roughtly a year after I'd got the phone call) I was asked to take over the leadership of the small group, which I agreed to

From there my church life blossomed- I was no longer the quiet timmid boy hiding in the back of church, but did everything I could to get involved with christian life, however the church I went to, as good as it was for moden worship and the like, the rigid structure of the way things were set out ment there was very little chance for me to get involved with anything, and though i lead the small group for a year and a half (I steped down to concentrate on my A-levels after nearly failing the first year) and so i felt that my christian growth had stoped, just as I got to university stage, and then found out I'd been accesspeted to huddesfield

From there I immidatly signed up from the Cu fully getting involved with small groups (which if you know anything about me, you would probiably know is probiably riviling food for my top love after God) and from there got involved with community church- who intrduced me 'so to speack' to the holy spirit, before then I'd just though (it was implyed at my old church) that it was just for the church leaders and the very very privlage christians, not something young Christians had accesses to and though slightly scary at first, relising that knowing the holy spirit was an important part of Christian life, was a huge step to my development, as well as the mentoring from many of the more experanced member of CU (Jonny and Hannah Bowly especialy) /the student group at community turned me from some over exsited new christian, to someone who could use there enthusuasm in usefull areas, and thus I was very very happy to accept the offer of being a small group leader just 4 months after starting uni

Picking up small groups was probibly one of the best, but most challenging parts of my small group life, and I owe a lot to not just the members of town small group, but also to heather, who co-lead amazingly, I still say at the time I couldn't of done it with out her, she mannage to sort out all my crazy ideas and helped to channel my enthusuasam and energy and knollage, while organising the group and adding her own ideas and I loved every minnuiet of small group leading

Getting in to 2nd year I'd desided that I needed to be baptised, and so attempted to get that sorted, when I ran in to a brick wall in the form of my parents- who as members of the church back home which was C of E and so taught infant baptisam and so had to spend a few months convcing them this needed to be done

at around the same time I was asked to lead another small group and agreed, and this time got paired up with Katie, who dispight being a southen (we can't all be amazing KG- love you realy!) has been a compleate joy to work with, and one of the most natualy talented small group leaders I've come across, and doesn't seam to be intimidated by the task in hand (I would of though co-leading with someone who can be as loud and as vocal as me and is also more experanced, could be quite intimidating) however she has been superb in it, and has allowed me to take a slightly less active role, thus allowing me more time to concentrate on church/uni life than last year

The Christian Foodie

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Long time no see

About Me

Blog Archive