Last week went well, managed to sort out my hair for the photoshoot (last minute curling in the tech office!) – photos to come once Simon has sifted through and picked out the best ones! We had a great time on Wednesday morning going through one of the lessons with the guys, getting them to pretend to be 12 year olds! Our day with Den was fantastic – despite having done the session with him before, it was so good again! Looking at the Bible and how it fits together – in 2 hours we got to the beginning of Exodus! I had a really lovely time with my cousin as well, we had dinner at Prezzo and then went back to my house. We chatted non stop and I found out loads that I didn’t know and generally a really good catch up. The weekend was busy but i always love spending time with my sister and the children, babysitting was good fun, even being woken up on Sunday morning by a very excited Maddie and Emi bouncing on my airbed! Was also treated to Mum’s Gammon Roast Dinner and home-made apple crumble…yum!

This week began with a bit of sad news; Tom Tonks decided that Taste wasn’t for him right now and so unfortunately won’t be continuing with us this year. This has big implications both for us and him and we’d really appreciate your prayers for him as he seeks what is right for him, and for Andy and Joy as they make decisions about the future. For now Andy is swapping back to guitar, Joy is singing and bass is on backing tracks. This is as temporary measure for the events coming up.

So this week…

• Monday: We had a session with Beth Powney (Rich’s mum) on surviving spiritually which was very good and challenging, then more rehearsals in the afternoon.
• Tuesday: This morning Keel and I took Andrew and Jonny to McDonald’s for breakfast and a chat about office etiquette and host housing…we made it fun! This afternoon has been Abi Rehearsals and admin.
• Wednesday: Planning meeting for ‘More Than A Story’, Media meeting, more rehearsals and then a trip to Lakeside in the evening woop!
• Thursday: Photo shoot for All About Abi visuals, writing and more rehearsals.
• Friday: Day in the barn for rehearsals and set up practice.

Sunday is Taste’s first gig in Gorleston. Please pray!!! Andy, Joy and Andrew are rehearsing frantically to be ready in time. Keel and I are going along to help with tech.

I read this yesterday and was really encouraged:

1 Corinthians 3: 5-9
⁵What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labour.⁹For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Actually it’s not down to us to make people ‘grow’, to ‘make Christians’ – it’s only God that can do that. We’re all called to our own individual tasks, but ultimately it’s God working through us.

Tags: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, All About Abi, Bible, Exodus, Gorleston, More Than A Story, Roast Dinner, Taste

Lay in today!!!! But i was awake at 6.38…doh! Rachel picked me up at 8.55am and we picked up Ollie from his house and Ami from the station. Off we went to the Barn. Yes this truly is an amazing place in amazing grounds with lots of random statues. Inside are lots of very random and distracting pictures!

So there are 3 retreat days in a year where all of the Viz-a-Viz Ministries people meet. So this was the first time I met the 2nd years and the church based people. We started off with some Worship and then a kind of introduction to all the various ministries of Viz-A-Viz which was realy interesting, they do so much!! Found out plans for a youth event INSIDE chelmsford cathedral involving skate ramps! We had a time of prayer in twos, and later on walking around praying for all the various ministries and people. Lunch was at 1pm by which time everyone was starving and our stomachs were rumbling loudly, especially during the quiet times! Then the afternoon was a little education on ‘More To Life’, and we discussed a question, well I wrote all the notes while everyone else watched and talked about other things! We had a time of worship and communion and then Kathryn (who has done 2 years with Optimum, and is about to go off to Spurgeons college to train to be a baptist minister) spoke which was really good. The chairs were really squeaky which was especially awkward/amusing when everyone sat down ‘remaining in a state of worship’ *SQUEAK, SHUFFLE, CREAK*

Then a group of us (La Roche – Taste’s DJ, Matt – Taste’s Drummer, SammyJ (Gammy) – Taste’s Bassist, Keel – Taste’s Techie, Claire – Taste’s lead vocals, Rachel, Ollie, Ami and Jenni (second year optimum students), Dan – techie, Paul (not sure who he was!) and me) went bowling. It was fabulous fun, involved me getting laughed at, ridiculed and entirely surrounded by the taste boys who thought it was hilarious! Randomly you only give one shoe in when you get your bowling shoes…so of course there would be one who lost their one shoe they had to look after…Dan! I got two strikes in a row – my moment of glory but then it kinda went downhill, though i beat a few boys first time round

Came home and had chilli and rice. Settled down to watch Hollyoaks on E4+1…steph, what were you thinking?!?! Watched ‘Lost in Austen’ on ITV1 which was actually pretty good!

Bedtime now….

*1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ‘What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.’*

Tags: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, Bowling, Lost In Austen, More To Life, Retreat, The Barn