Saturday 30 May 2015

the brain has power #zentangle #poetry


Touch, hearing
Sight, reading
The brain has power
To stop me reeling
Yet often it turns
Those skills against me
My mental health
It fails in strength

love is a cross #zentangle #poetry

Love is not only a heart
It is a cross
#Jesuslovesyou
and me
and everyone who
believes in him
and follows him
in love!

Confusion #zentangle #poetry


Confusion
Elaborate state
so many thoughts
very few of them straight

Ups and Downs #zentangle #poetry



Ups and Downs
Round abouts
Through all the mess
Love has a shout

Discovery Geology #zentangle #poetry


Life over thousands of years
Discovered in fossils and rocks
Puts our problems in context
Now that's an archaeological shock

Eyes #zentangle #poetry


Eyes
windows to the soul
see the tangles
make sense of all
don't stp looking
view the truth
feel the warmth
love wins through

me? #zentangle #poetry

If I drew what I do
Would you see this as me?

Music sets the tone #zentangle

Music sets the tone
allows my mind to roam
the heart rules over all
even when I'm feeling small

watching watching #zentangle

Watching watching
eyes all searching
through the tangled ways
falling, lurching

Amazing stone #photo #geology #poetry

Amazing Stone
Rachel found on the beach
Not much on the edge
But there underneath
Like bubbles of lava
But volcanoes weren't here
Not that I know of
Though could have been there

Cats Eyes #photo #poetry

Tommy Tommy
Where do you stare
Stay away from the road
Or drivers beware

Blossom #photo #poetry

Beautiful bloom
First of the year
Blossom is budding
Bringing bees near
Wants to be visited
Brings forth the fruit
Blossom so lovely
The trees early suit

Pentecost People #poetry #selfie

We are pentecost people
Dressed in red of fire
We receive the holy spirit
And it changes our lives all the time

Pentecost at St Nicolas Earley


This Pentecost the Everyone Together Service at St Nicolas Earley was led by the Children's and Young People's Team.

There were three key elements to the service:

Receive - Change - Share

The Focus team (age 9-13) played the Brick Testament Clip about Pentecost and acted out the receiving of the Holy Spirit and how it would have felt for the disciples.

The Focus Plus team (age 14-18) shared a testimony of the movement of the Holy Spirit and how it changed on of their lives.  They also led the intercessions, handing out flames and asking people to write their prayers on the flames before bringing them to the front to build an image of a huge flame of the Holy Spirit.

The God Squad team (age 4-9) then shared a clip from UP and thought about how we can share the Holy Spirit with others before asking everyone to write on a Dove something they will share about their faith with someone else.  These are now up in church as an installation of our mission to share our faith.

It was a wonderful service which loads of people said moved and inspired them.

Early May Sunset #hampshire #photo

Early in spring
a bunch of us went
down to hayling island
for a bit of a rest

we travelled back late
on the sunday night
and through deepest hampshire
we saw wonderful sights

as the sun did set
the sky glowed red
for 40 minutes
in its glow we went

and I caught some photos
though none very good
but they'll remind me of that day
and a chilled out mood

Tangled Moods #art #poetry #mentalhealth @CharitySANE

Tangled Moods
by Emma Major exhibited and auctioned at NeuroArtworks at UCL

"Since my bipolar diagnosis I have railed against, analysed, and started the process of acceptance. This Zentangle (a form of art therapy) captures my complex experiences of living with bipolar disorder; it speaks of my moods, my fears, my creativity, and my life in all its fullness. When accompanied by the following poem, it also expresses how I feel living with bipolar disorder in society.

Bubble wrap
Protecting all I am
From all that might scare
In the dark before the dawn

Bubble wrap
Shutting myself away
Not letting many get too close
My mind is not a game to play.

The process of producing this piece of art and accompanying poem has been therapeutic; a gift for my mental health. Now, as I look at the outcome, I can see my emotions alive in all their variations, something to be celebrated and harnessed rather than controlled and hidden."

Super Stick vs Stupid Stick


This is the super stick
It's really changed my life
I know that might sound crazy
But it gets me out of strife

It gives me extra confidence
When I'm trying to walk around
Stops me feeling panicked
Takes away my frown

It might seem like a downer
For some to have a crutch
But for me it is empowering
So please see it as such

But sometimes it's a stupid stick
To this I must admit
It's always falling over
Which isn't helpful one bit

#selfieesteem


Do you feel good about your selfies?
That was the question posed
I couldn't always answer yes
But to the challenge I rose

I took one photo with Rachel
Tried not to delete it on sight
Published it straight online
Hope it didn't give you a fright

Anniversary Selfie #photo


In April we had
Our anniversary
I wasn't in a great place
But Mike wanted to celebrate "we"
So we had a few days
Just us and peace
And it did me some good
As you can see in this piece
We don't make enough time
Just for us two
Life gets in the way
As it always will do
But once a year
We will try to make time
We'll rekindle our coupling
Make sure we're just fine


Oakwood Forest Church 2015

As posted on the Oakwood Forest Church Website

Starting On Sunday May 10th 2015 Oakwood Forest Church will be meeting four times a year on a Sunday afternoon/evening at The Interpretation Centre at Maiden Erlegh Nature Reserve.

This change has been made by the steering group for the following reasons:
1 – this makes Oakwood accessible to people of all physical abilities
2 – we will be able to use the facilities of the centre for toilets, hot drinks and focused activities
3 – the steering group will be able to lead the group better at each meeting with activities for all ages
4 – we will be supporting the vision and mission of the rangers of the nature reserve who would like to see the interpretation centre used by community groups



The schedule for the year ahead is as follows

Sunday 10th May 3-4pm He is Risen: Easter meets Pentecost
Sunday 19th July 5-6pm God, creation and families
Sunday 27th September 3-4pm Harvest, food banks and nature’s bounty
Sunday 10th January 3-4pm Epiphany: The Kings’ Journey
Sunday 20th March 3-4pm Palm Sunday; The Easter Journey to Jerusalem and Beyond

Bible Bags #mission #children #church

Bible Bags



Vision
To make bible bags which contain a bible reading, toys, games and activities to help children go deeper into their interaction and understanding of the bible.

Detail
Bible Bags:
- are inspired by the successful story sack concept
- are designed to be used by an adult and the children in their care
- contain items suitable for a child over 3 years old to use or play with independently
- include a copy of the Children's Bible Stories in English and Bemba books which contain the Bible passage in question (ISBN: 978-1-326-15421-9)

The Bible Bags are being initially produced for use in St Nicolas Church kids work including Noah's Ark toddler service; People, prayer and potatoes Messy Church; and God Squad Sunday School.  The Bible Bags will also be available for families at St Nicolas to take home and enjoy with their children.

The longer term aim is to make Bible Bags commercially viable and available for sale to other churches, groups or individuals.  The cost is currently £20 per Bible Bag.

For more information visit the Bible Bags Page or visit the Bible Bags Facebook Page 

Dear Jay #poetry

Photo by Helen Dewar
Dear Jay
It's nice of you to come by
Just to say hi
I wish I saw you more
Hopping along the floor
But at least for today
You've come my way

Meadow Brown #poetry

Photo by Helen Dewar

Meadow brown
But so much more
Basking on purple thistle
Your beauty shines for sure

Holly Blue #poetry

Photo by Helen Dewar

Upon the floor
Holly blue butterfly
Watch where you walk
You'll never know who there lies

Blue Bell #poetry

Photo by Helen Dewar

Blue bell
Decadent indeed
What's that there on your side
I know it's not a leaf

The road of life #poetry #onestepatatime

Photo taken by Helen Dewar

In your life
There may be clouds
But time will go
And winds will blow
And blue skies
Will appear
So keep on
Walking
Talking
Exploring
Allowing
Hope to fill you
And I'll be with you
On that road
Wherever you go