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"You take the shackles off my feet so I can dance"

written off?

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Shopping with Adelle.

Cwtches from Luc.

Games with Nathan, Mary, Ana and friends.

Kat and Jess.

i want to get off

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One from yesterday that I forgot...Mam giving me and the boys an interactive '24' game as an 'in-between-Christmas-and-new-year' present.

Watching Braveheart with Nathan. Again, it's Christmas.

"to speak to his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God"

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Gethin coming home from Spain.

Kat coming to visit.

Issy's present.

Dumplings. It's Christmas.

Jan popping in unexpectedly. Jan who has known me since I was born, who used to teach me in Sunday school and who I haven't seen properly for years, but cerainly not at all for at least 18 months. That was nice.

(Incidentally, why do people never just 'pop in' anymore?)

it's a naked malteaser

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Lying in till 10.30.

Bubble n squeak (I don't care what the rest of the south east team say, it's lush)

Traditional boxing day family get-together. Lots of children this time around coz my cousins will insist on having lots of babies. But that means lots of fun for me!

heads

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Christmas day!

Being back in Ebe. Always feels something like home, somehow.

Crying tears of joy at what we're celebrating today. "Who is he in yonder stall..?"

Being in the "Ebenezer Baptist Chapel's 100th Christmas" photo! Feeling ever so slightly cheeky as we don't go there anymore (except on Christmas day!), but deciding that the member of the congregation who's celebrated the most Christmasses in that church since it was built (around 80 of them, in fact) is my Nana, so I'm entitled to be in it...

Adelle's living room being COVERED in Luc's presents. Luc, of course, loving it. Making his toys with him. Wishing I had toys like that again! Spending the rest of the day wanting my presents to do something.

Making Christmas dinner with mam.

Eating Christmas dinner with family.

Being with family.

more of the same the day after today

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Playing Dingbats with Analia, Mary and Nathan, lots of laughs!

"It's Christmas for the blackbirds too"

lip lip

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Hanging out with Nathan, Mary, Owen and Analia (in birth order, very important).

Mary telling me about all God's done in and through her, and in the lives of her new friends in her first term at Bath Spa. Shiver down the spine stuff.

it's just not penguin

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Cwmbran being white as icing. And snow! The tiniest, minisculest (?!) little bit, but snow nonetheless. It's Christmas!

it's only conversation

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Seeing Ros.

what's the complication?

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Christmas with Kath and Jess in StarbuCks; LOTS of laughter for the first two Hours of team days, we just didn't know when to stop. In fact, we couldn't when we tRied; Kath: "If you voted for a Christan politicIan, you'd be voting for a nutter"; Ed: "I don't mean to patronise God, but He's kinda thought of everything haSn't he?"; 'The medical effets of nuclear war'; Bopit Extreme 2; table tennis in the 'bomb shelTer'. Lots of it; Kath: "So we can either be anarchists or reformers"; Wally...; daggers and dinosaurs; kangaroo father ChrIstmas; amazing spoons; Kath: "Jesus must have chaNged stuff"; Gareth: "Break up and buzz"; playing piano, with Em next to me on guitar and Jess and Carolina singing behind us, lush; lock 'n' load; Stephen: "The reason I can't remember your naMes is because I'm not here"; seeing Nikki; the family I stayed with; Peter and Heather; Christmas dinner; Gareth Eating a sprout; I'm sure there's so much more, but basically just being with the team again (I like them a lot); being reminded of stuff about God when I'm with them, learning great stuff together, praising God together for all He's done this term. It's been a lot. And the best bit, I think, was the reminder of the bit in capitals. Bit cryptic for you there. Anyway, in the words of my esteemed friend Jess, Woop.

Oh, and coming home. Ah.

training home for Christmas

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FINALLY finishing all the leftovers from Thursday's Christmas dinner. Even if I never want to eat Christmas dinner again, at least I didn't have to throw any of it out...

Lucy's ginormous parcel for pass the parcel.

Being honest, and friend who wants me to be, and supports me when I am.

i don't know why

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Wrapping Christmas presents - so much better than actually shopping for them in crowds of far too many people spending far too much money...

An evening chilling, watching X-factor with Lucy (who I feel like I haven't seen for ages) and Andy.

and the total is...

dau cant

Sleeping till 10.30.

Issy: "You know, I was thinking, paper invitations and even texts are so yesterday now we have Facebook."

it's all I have

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'Team Jess' (nicked from Ed, but still)

Roz's text

Gareth buying us chocolate

"Friends through thick and thin"

The most random game of Mafia I've ever played

Ed

Sitting in silence being 'what we do right now', and that being just fine

Visiting "The Heath"!

White hot chocolate

Christmas dinner with the LT

Jo's wonderful trifle recovery

The LT!

Housemate Christmas time

lost for words

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Finally getting past hold (in more ways than one) and booking an outpatient's appointment.

Good times with great students discussing an awesome God.

no drowning of flapjacks please

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I cannot tell why He Whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
When He the Savior, Savior of the world is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth, will answer:
At last the Savior, Savior of the world is King!

William Fullerton

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Rght now, I feel like today's not been a great day. Not by a long shot. But as I force myself to think of stuff for 365, here's what comes out -

A very long lie in!; seeing Hannah, Ruth, Clare and Bethan (and Chris!). Chris' excitement about cells. This made me VERY happy!; Lunch with Issy and Zarah and Kat; Being looked after; Kat being one of those friends it's ok to just sit and say nothing with; A letter from the hospital awaiting me back in Pompey.

Now, these are all good things. But on a day like today the best thing, the only thing, was that God is still God and the gospel is true (as a postcard I got in the post today reminded me - Godly timing indeed), and whatever happens has to be seen in the light of that.

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Jess and Kath's funny little dance when I got to Winchester;

Seeing Anna and Tuck and Rich and Jo again;

Anna's transition from "I'm so scared" before the interview to "wow that was fun" after it!

Playing 'cricket' with Jess;

Jess being lovely;

Road trip with Anna and Tuck;

Evening chilling with Kat and Annie.

let the good times roll

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The LT.

That feeling you get when you know God's at work.

FAA - Facebook addicts anonymous

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RELAY DAY!

Having fun with Jess on the train...

Kath's laughter when we turned up at her door in masks...

Ed, Jess and Carolina's presentation...

Carolina's 'brigadiers'...

There are Christians in Finland...

'Spoon's for lunch. The masks there and back...

Ceryn: What's the meaning of life, Ed?
Ed: It's a film

Talking about advent...

David's hearty 'hmmm' when Kath prayed that what we'd studied would take root in our lives...

Seeing Hayley...

Generally great to spend a day with those guys. I like them a lot!

In bed by 8pm!

focus

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The friendly woman on the train.

The irony of it being a nice sunny day at home, and the clouds darkening and rain descending when I got back to Portsmouth.

Being back at CU and people wanting to come to Word Alive without persuasion! (And people wanting to come with persuasion!)

everybody dance now

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Pretty much everything about being at home, from hearing Welsh accents, playing with my dog, Nana's reaction when she saw me, mam switching the contents of the kitchen cupboards AGAIN while I was away so I can't find anything when I return, the strangely comforting feeling of being back at my hairdresser's (I realised I've been going there for TEN YEARS!), an Asda decked out in Welsh flags, my bed/my room, 'shopping' in Adelle's wardrobe, meeting two new baby cousins, being back in my home church, to just being with family again. [contented sigh]

cant wyth deg pedwar - cant wyth deg saith

early mornings by the grace of God
cheerleading missions
(we're not odd)
wise words and chocolate post
leaving presents for the postman in the postbox
CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL
Al's hoody
Coz Jesus loves you
envisioned
passionate
loving
fun
fired up
smiley
STUDENTS.
seagulls playing chicken
neverending beach
me and Jess playing chicken
tired hysterical laughter
"quit scarfing me"
windy waves
ALIVE
encouraging texts
very late night God chats
hospitality
my lovely Portsmouth students texts
FAMILY
international students
chatting to non-Christians!
The words I got to use in pretty much every conversation this week: God, Jesus, love, complete, full, life, judgement, eternity, Jesus, cross, death, defeated, the Bible, the Bible says..., gospel, love, God, forever, amazin', Jesus, grace...”
A LITTLE MORE CONVERSATION?
like a traffic jam when you're already late
falling asleep (almost) in starbucks
al and motsy leg wrestling
"You park well when you're running late"
the sisterhood of the travelling pants
screwballs
bucket and spade
friendships made
facebook joined (oh dear)
FUN
"it's so great that we know that they know that you know but they don't know but we know they know"
road trip
we will see Him
Wales-bound
accented trains
back in the valley
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