Making the right decision

Sorry I haven't blogged in a little while, I have been feeling pretty ill at the moment, but am feeling a lot better now, just the asthma to get rid of!
What I want to talk about is moral decisions that we make. I obviously base mine on christianity, but everyone has their set of morals, whether they have a faith or not.
Without going into too much detail, I have a personal dilema that involves my conscience, and my personal views (nothing illegal/rude and naughty). I have noticed that with me, I need to talk to people. It is my way of thinking a problem through, to rationalise it, and to think of a solution. I also want other people's opinion, and want 'their permission' in a sense. If they don't think what I am doing is wrong, and I trust their moral judgement, then in a sense, I don't care what others think- only those whose opinions matter to me. I asked three people tonight- a priest, my dad, and a good friend. Those are my three: my faith, family, and friends. They mean the world to me, and the people I talked to I care for and respect.
In the end, it is my decision. I cannot have someone make a decision for me (though I did try at one point :p), and this is the way we as humans learn, by the choices and mistakes we make.
At one point, I did think that asking people for their opinion was childish, that it shows I can't decide for myself, can't think for myself. Not gonna lie, that made me feel pretty crap. Hopefully it is actually a sign that I am thinking things through, that I put thought into my decisions, and that I am mature.
As I get the feeling most people don't think I'm mature, it'll be nice to prove them wrong.
Anyway, whatever I decide, I'll blame myself if I'm wrong, and thank the three if I'm right :) Thank goodness I have those people around, and that they are there for me. I'm very lucky to have them :) x

Surviving Lent Group :)

This is how I see Mary, strong, yet
somehow gentle

I had the lent group that I lead on Mary yesterday. I think it went quite well, and I just hope that the tweenies enjoyed it. I did my quiz on 10 things that you might not know about Mary, and I wanted to tackle different perceptions on Mary. Mary was such an important woman, and most pictures show her as a gentle, obedient mother. I think it would be unfair to Mary to class her as just a mother, because no woman is defined by the amount of children they have.
She was strong, loyal, and had unmovable faith. She didn't know for certain that Joseph would take her as his wife after Gabriel's message. She was put in serious danger of being stoned to death, but she put her immeasurable faith in God, and it worked out. Mary's inner strength could still give any woman today a run for their money, and still win hands down. Strength isn't necessarily physical, it's what you can go through, what you are willing to give up, that shows the strength of a person.
On a different note, I'm feeling pretty rundown at the moment, and I'm feeling pretty crappy about it. I can't go to the gym, which is saying something. If you said to me 8 months ago that I would miss going to the gym, I would call you crazy. I think it's the endorphins- I feel so much happier with the gym in my life. Even though my hormonal problem doesn't help, I can see the difference too. My body is changing, and hopefully the way I think about myself, and the way people see me now. I hopefully am getting stronger, and more myself again. Last, but by no means least, I am not to be judged on my body. There will always be someone who tries. I will be there when karma comes back to bite them in the arse.
Anyhoo, I need to go to sleep now if I have any chance of getting in the gym tomorrow/today. Night. x

What have I got myself in for..?!

So yesterday, I went to the third instalment of the lent group, 'Something borrowed'. I love learning, and I loved learning about the festival of Divali, as going to a Catholic school, I never really got taught about other religions.

I think it is good to learn about other religions, and it reminds me of what my mum believed, which was that all religions have the same god. I don't really know what I believe in that respect, but I think that in the end, it's not my job to judge others. 

The next lent group is 'Something blue', and the person leading originally couldn't do it, so I thought that I would do it. I have now realised how difficult it is going to be to do lent group on Mary!

The minute I got home, I started the research, and I remembered how much I enjoy researching, and presenting things. Coming up with ideas to get the message across without boring them, or making them feel as if I am lecturing them. It is going to be tough, because there is not much mention of Mary in the bible (except for Jesus' birth, obviously). Luckily, one of the ladies is going to give me some of her course information about Mary, and I might pick out some ideas from there. I am also lucky that I have 3 priests at my church, who can hopefully look over all the information I have gathered, and give me some good feedback.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, toodles! x

Songs of Praise + Ramin Karimloo!!

I have had such an amazing evening. I went to the BBC Songs of Praise recording tonight. Obviously Aled Jones was there, and he was such a nice, friendly, and funny man.

Colm Wilkinson and Ramin Karimloo

For me, the best surprise was that Ramin Karimloo was there, and because we got there really early, I was sitting right at the front, less than 10ft away from him! His voice sounded so perfect, I was awestruck for most of his singing (I also will swear till the day I die, he looked at me at the end of his song, Constant Angel).
He also sung 'Bring him Home' which was such a treat. I think I was melting in my seat.
I think what I have realised is that people in the limelight are normal people. I realised that I was saying that all those famous people 'were actually quite nice!' is doing them a bit of a dis-service. Just like everyday people, there are some knobs, but most are lovely people with kind hearts. We should not have this perception that famous people are arrogant and nasty. We should just take them for as they are in person. Unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures with any of them, which is sad, but I understand that they weren't going to hang around, just so people could get a photo with them. I wouldn't.
I'm going to be glad when it is Friday, as I have had recordings yesterday and today, and a concert I'm in tomorrow evening. I'll be glad for a quiet Friday in!
But until then, here's to being busy! x

Christians helping themselves, right??

I've been watching Loose Women lately, and Sanjeev Bhaskar was on promoting his daytime telly series, 'The Indian Doctor'. I thought why not? It's not as if I have anything interesting in my life at the moment! I actually really enjoyed watching it, and one thing really struck a chord with me. I know that this is fictional, but the premise of the story really interested me morally.
I have no qualms about me saying I am a Christian. I won't ram scripture down your throat, and I won't try to convert you (two disclaimers I always have to say just in case.) In the latest episode, a young boy has got smallpox (set in the 60s, it wasn't as rare as it is now) and is very distressed, having to be in isolation (as well as the whole village). The village folk that will/have come into contact with the child has to be vaccinated first. The health people only send 7 vaccinations at first, and the doctor has to decide who gets the first seven.
The interesting part in the story is when the parish priest declines the vaccine, saying that prayer will keep him safe. As a Christian, I find this a bit peculiar, and reminds me of a story once told to me:


"A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.

A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”

The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”

As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”

The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”

The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.

A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”

Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.

When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”

And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”

I know this is a very long story, but the point was that this priest is waiting for something from God, a miracle, but he misses the opportunity to help himself. I do not understand his logic. He then proceeds to join the boy in isolation (without being vaccinated) to give the boy some comfort.

I found this partly a brave thing to do, but partly so frustrating. It is as if he is trying to test God and his theory, alike to the Roman soldiers/pharisees at Jesus's death. God gave him his body, and I don't believe it is his right to deliberately put it in danger. On the other hand, he is risking his life to comfort a very distressed boy, with no thought of the consequence on him.

The storyline definitely re-inforces my belief that God offers opportunities via other people. He could of still comforted the boy, after he got vaccinated. I just don't understand why he put himself in danger when there is an obvious solution to the problem.

This may be a bit too much faith for some, but I had to let it off my chest. I'm sure the next post will be a bit less religious ;) x