Faithful Catholic Girl

Papal Visit 2010

2010-09-19T13:19:00.000+01:00

I attended the Big Assembly in Twickenham, London on Friday. Despite the early start (we left school at 3 am!), it was a truly amazing occasion with over 3000 pupils from Catholic schools all over the UK, I felt so privileged to be there for the first papal state visit. There was a lot of waiting and security, plus it was quite a long journey to get there, but I think that it was completely worth it. The atmosphere was incredible, we were cheering and waving our flags like mad!

Me with my flags! We were really blessed with the weather- it was really sunny and quite warm. We had been worried it might be wet and cold.

The Pope greeting us! We were also very blessed to get a really good spot near the front, so I managed to get lots of pictures :)

The Pope wearing a stole given to him by pupils from Holy Cross Primary School in Plymouth. This school established a link with St. John Vianney School in Gambia, who were with us via video link!

The Pope's address to pupils was really good, and I felt that it really spoke to me, so here is the full text of it:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Dear young friends,

First of all, I want to say how glad I am to be here with you today. I greet you most warmly, those who have come to Saint Mary’s University from Catholic schools and colleges across the United Kingdom, and all who are watching on television and via the internet. I thank Bishop McMahon for his gracious welcome, I thank the choir and the band for the lovely music which began our celebration, and I thank Miss Bellot for her kind words on behalf of all the young people present. In view of London’s forthcoming Olympic Games, it has been a pleasure to inaugurate this Sports Foundation, named in honour of Pope John Paul II, and I pray that all who come here will give glory to God through their sporting activities, as well as bringing enjoyment to themselves and to others.

It is not often that a Pope, or indeed anyone else, has the opportunity to speak to the students of all the Catholic schools of England, Wales and Scotland at the same time. And since I have the chance now, there is something I very much want to say to you. I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some of the future saints of the twenty-first century. What God wants most of all for each one of you is that you should become holy. He loves you much more than you could ever begin to imagine, and he wants the very best for you. And by far the best thing for you is to grow in holiness.

Perhaps some of you have never thought about this before. Perhaps some of you think being a saint is not for you. Let me explain what I mean. When we are young, we can usually think of people that we look up to, people we admire, people we want to be like. It could be someone we meet in our daily lives that we hold in great esteem. Or it could be someone famous. We live in a celebrity culture, and young people are often encouraged to model themselves on figures from the world of sport or entertainment. My question for you is this: what are the qualities you see in others that you would most like to have yourselves? What kind of person would you really like to be?

When I invite you to become saints, I am asking you not to be content with second best. I am asking you not to pursue one limited goal and ignore all the others. Having money makes it possible to be generous and to do good in the world, but on its own, it is not enough to make us happy. Being highly skilled in some activity or profession is good, but it will not satisfy us unless we aim for something greater still. It might make us famous, but it will not make us happy. Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.

Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue. You begin to see greed and selfishness and all the other sins for what they really are, destructive and dangerous tendencies that cause deep suffering and do great damage, and you want to avoid falling into that trap yourselves. You begin to feel compassion for people in difficulties and you are eager to do something to help them. You want to come to the aid of the poor and the hungry, you want to comfort the sorrowful, you want to be kind and generous. And once these things begin to matter to you, you are well on the way to becoming saints.

In your Catholic schools, there is always a bigger picture over and above the individual subjects you study, the different skills you learn. All the work you do is placed in the context of growing in friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship. So you learn not just to be good students, but good citizens, good people. As you move higher up the school, you have to make choices regarding the subjects you study, you begin to specialize with a view to what you are going to do later on in life. That is right and proper. But always remember that every subject you study is part of a bigger picture. Never allow yourselves to become narrow. The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world. We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray.

A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints. I know that there are many non-Catholics studying in the Catholic schools in Great Britain, and I wish to include all of you in my words today. I pray that you too will feel encouraged to practise virtue and to grow in knowledge and friendship with God alongside your Catholic classmates. You are a reminder to them of the bigger picture that exists outside the school, and indeed, it is only right that respect and friendship for members of other religious traditions should be among the virtues learned in a Catholic school. I hope too that you will want to share with everyone you meet the values and insights you have learned through the Christian education you have received.

Dear friends, I thank you for your attention, I promise to pray for you, and I ask you to pray for me. I hope to see many of you next August, at the World Youth Day in Madrid. In the meantime, may God bless you all!

You can watch footage from the Big Assembly on the official Papal visit website here.

Yesterday, my family and I watched the prayer vigil in Hyde Park, London via the internet and that looked absolutely fantastic as well. My brother managed to attend that and also said it was amazing!

This morning, we watched the Mass in Birmingham where Cardinal John Henry Newman was beatified, becoming Blessed.

School & the past week or so

2010-09-06T21:42:00.001+01:00

I've been at school three days and already it's a drag. It's all same old, same old, with only one of my teachers actually changing.

I now have a new geography teacher who seems much better than the previous one already. I wasn't doing too well in geography last year, so hopefully I can change that this year.

I need to make more of an effort to change, it's so easy to slip back into old habits, especially when everything is pretty much the same. The thing is, it takes effort, and I just feel so lazy all the time.

I need to do more viola practice and finish my music composition this week. I also need to decide if I'm going to take my grade 4 in viola this term or not, in any case I really need to do more than one or two nights practice.

I sort of felt like I fell away from God during the last week or so. I felt like I'd done some stuff which couldn't be forgiven and I felt like giving up and giving in. But I managed to get through it going to mass on Sunday really revitalised me and helped me see that God really loves me, and I can always come back into his presence, no matter what I've done and no matter how broken I am. There will be challenges, but we do not walk alone.

Summer

2010-08-21T21:09:00.001+01:00

Wow, this summer's going by so quickly. I now have less than 2 weeks left until it's back to school time.

I've been working and reading mostly. I'm working for this 'Brand Consultancy and Marketing Communications' company. Basically what I'm doing is updating websites and also helping to create our Parish Church website. I work 3 days a week, for only a few hours each day, but it's a good start, especially doing something I love doing - website design :)

The internet wasn't working all day today until this evening, but this has shown me how much more productive I can be without it. I finally got down to working on my English original writing coursework, which, although not quite finished yet, is well on it's way to being finished soon now. I've also done a bit more work on the September issue of the magazine and rediscovered the use of books as a source of information - they can often be quicker and more useful than the Internet. I tend not to use non-fiction books now, what with the Internet and all.

I haven't started my music composition that was set over the summer yet. My last one was really bad. I have a real problem holding a pulse and a melody in my head at the same time. For example, I can't sing and clap at the same time and I find it hard to count the beat and play (my viola) at the same time. I know I just need to practice, but I just can't seem to get round to it.

I really need to buck my ideas up and get myself motivated for next year - exams coming up. I need to get rid of all the 'I don't care' masks I put up because really, deep down, I do care about my grades, and I need to stop telling myself and others I don't.

New school year, new start. Hopefully.

Book Review: Taming the Tiger

2010-08-08T18:38:00.002+01:00

Taming the Tiger by Tony Anthony with Angela Little

"From the depths of hell to the heights of glory"

From the back:
Tony Anthony knew no fear. Three times World Kung Fu Champion, he was self-assured, powerful and at the pinnacle of his art. An extraordinary career awaited him. working in the higher echelons of close protection security he travelled he globe, guarding some of the world's wealthiest, most powerful and influential people.

This fast-paced, compelling and, at times, chilling account is Tony's deeply moving true story.

At the age of four he was sent away to be brought up by his mother's parents in China. He received brutal training in the way of Kung Fu and his Grandfather entered him in Kung Fu competitions all over China and beyond and he went on to win the World Championship three times in a row. Eventually, he returned to his ailing parents in England and started an extraordinary career in close protection security, but he was captured by the police in Cyprus and charged with theft and assault. He was found guilty and sent to the notorious Nicosia Central Prison. It was there, after many different, life-changing experiences and the faithfulness of a prison visitor called Michael, that he was brought to his knees and he met Jesus.

I was deeply moved by this story and it was truly amazing to see how many lives were changed by the simple kindness of the man who visited Tony and others in the prison.

God loves you.

2010-08-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

God loves you so so much.

He doesn't laugh at you when you make mistakes. He weeps. He so wants you to follow the plan he sets out for you, but there's always a way for you to turn back and head back onto His way.

I didn't realise how much God loved me, and I don't think I really do, because our human hearts are so small we cannot fill ourselves with that much loves, it's just too bug. Going to Festival Sanctus really helped me see that God really does love me, just as he loves you, and everyone else. Nothing I can do, or anyone else can do, will make Him love me more or less. His love is steady and unchanging and just the same for everyone.

I also found it quite hard to know exactly how to love Jesus. I prayed to Him, and said that I loved Him, but I never really felt that I actually did love him as much as I could/should. I think it's a journey, and each step you take will help you to love him more.

We did this prayer/meditation thing at Festival Sanctus where you just lay down and simply ask God to show you how much he loves you, and then you just let go and open your heart up to listen to Him. I really think God showed me how to love Him more and the extent of His love during that week.

I also thought that God was telling me to try harder to stop judging people and just to love them. If God loves everyone, then why shouldn't I?

Keep going, keep praying and I also will pray for you.

I originally posted this as a comment on my friend's blog, but then I decided to share it on here as well.

Book Stack

2010-08-05T16:10:00.001+01:00

I have a stack of books that is over 20 books high on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.

They're all library books except one, which is my brothers.

From the bottom up:
For the win by Cory Doctorow
Battleground by Chris Ryan
Leviathan by Scott Westerfield
Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy
Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende
Mirrorshade by Mike Wilks
Dragonfly by Julia Golding
Paper Towns by John Green
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers by J K Rowling - Harry Potter in french, my attempt to improve my french a little
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle - Yep, a bit of Sherlock Holmes
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding - For school
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Taming the Tiger by Tony Anthony - The only book in this stack that I've read so far. An amazing book, I may do a post in it in the near future.
Rift by Beverley Birch
Breathing Underwater by Julia Green
The Vipers Nest (39 Clues) by Peter

Lerangis

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Nathan Fox, Dangerous Times by L. Brittney
Furnace, lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith
Waves by Sharon Dogar
Falling by Sharon Dogar

Another book that should be here, but isn't (I think my brother's borrowed it) is June by Gabrielle Lord, which is part of the Conspiracy 365 series.

I also have a few books that aren't in that stack because I'm currently in the middle of reading them. These are:
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
The 'R' Father by Mark Hart
The School of Prayer by Anthony Bloom

And Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel, but that doesn't really count because I haven't read any of it for a long while.

And there we have it, all the books I hope to read in the next few weeks :)

Blogs

2010-08-01T15:00:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to share a couple of new blogs I've come across recently.

The first is my friend Hannah's blog: I Like Flying Sheep. She's just started out, but I really want to encourage her to carry on!

And the second is Emily's Cancer Blog. She is very inspiring and strong especially with all that she has to deal with. I really encourage you to go and read her blog!

Festival Sanctus!

2010-07-31T14:26:00.000+01:00

On Thursday evening I got back from an amazing week at Festival Sanctus. Festival Sanctus is a summer camp held in Brentwood, Essex run by the Sion Youth Ministry, which is a part of Sion Catholic Community for Evangelism.

It was an absolutely awesome week and I met so many amazing people. We did a whole load of great stuff from praise and worship, to small group discussions and games, to quiet prayer time. I really enjoyed having Mass everyday, because it was such a different experience to at home.

I came to festival sanctus feeling pretty nervous, as I was coming on my own and didn't really know many people, but everyone immediately made me feel so welcome and I made so many friends.

It was a very different experience to anything I've had before as it's a part of the Charismatic movement. There was a lot of loud praise and worship with dancing and moving about, hands up in the air etc. Also there is a lot about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, for example the gift of tongues. I've never actually heard anyone speaking in tongues before so it was actually a pretty amazing experience and wasn't at all like I'd imagined it to be. I really believe now that it really is the Holy Spirit at work in people.

I really felt like I experienced Jesus' love during this past week and it's really make me see just how important love is. Now I need to keep the fire burning in my life back home, and not just slip back into my old ways. It's so great knowing there are so many people there to support me, and we can still chat on facebook, twitter and skype!

I so recommend Festival Sanctus to anyone living in the UK and I would just say, don't worry about coming on your own, or for the first time, as everyone will make you feel so welcome!

Walking

2010-07-18T15:40:00.000+01:00

I don't very often go out with the main purpose of having a nice walk, usually I am walking somewhere, but I do enjoy walking. It's a great time to just immerse myself in my own thoughts and get some fresh air.

Walking has always been a normal part of my life. If I'm going somewhere within the town, I usually will just walk. I walk across town to Church most Sundays, and I used to walk across town to school everyday when I was in primary school. I only get the bus now to school because it is so far (in the next town), I would much prefer to walk.

People's attitudes to walking surprise me. I'm often being offered lifts to or from Church and when I have suggested that I walk home from some event people are surprised when I tell them where I live. People are just so ready to jump into the car, they don't even consider walking. It's just quite sad really.

Books & DVDs

2010-07-17T17:43:00.000+01:00

Books I've read in the past couple of weeks:

Closer by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
The Year We Disappeared by Cylin & John Busby
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Scat by Carl Hiaasen
Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Spells by Aprilynne Pike

I've almost finished Hello Mum by Bernadine Evaristo and I'm also currently reading Amata means beloved by Sister Mary Catharine Perry.

My brother got a free trial on Lovefilm, so we've watched UP and Wall-E during the past week, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Teen Girl's Daybook #12

2010-07-04T21:03:00.001+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 4th July 2010
Starting time: 8:56 pm
Mood: tired
Outside my window: the light's fading
I'm thinking: I'm really not looking forward to getting up and going to school tomorrow
I'm reading: Closer by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams
I'm listening to: The song on the credits to over the hedge (my sister & brother were watching it)
I'm wearing: brown cropped trousers and a pink striped t-shirt
Yesterday, I: didn't really do much, stayed at home, went on my computer, read
I'm excited for: The end of school
I'm sad because: I have to go to school tomorrow.
I'm hungry for: a snack
The song stuck inside my head is: Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North
I want: to just have lots of lazy summer days
I love: solving problems
I loathe: writing stories for school
This week, my goal is to: write that story for my english coursework
Did I meet last post's goal? I think I did a fair amount of revision, yes.
Ending time: 9:03 pm

The Catholic Bookworm Blog

2010-07-03T23:51:00.001+01:00

Constance at Laudate Dominum (amdggg.blogspot.com) has started a Catholic book club blog. It's looks like a great place to read and discuss great Catholic books! You can check it out over at:

http://thecatholicbookworm.blogspot.com/

Random thoughts

2010-07-02T09:29:00.000+01:00

Why is it that my best thoughts and ideas come to me in the shower or in bed before I go to sleep? When I can't write them down.

I really am very strange: I find maths tests and staring at a computer screen all day fun.

So many insects around our house. Ants, flies and daddy long legs. I thought insects were only supposed to be a problem in hot countries.

Work experience has been a good experience. It's increased my confidence and forced me to confront my fears.

Writing when you can't see what your writing is pretty hard: in bed at night - I think I did pretty well (no, I didn't write this in bed, I wrote something else :P)

God is in everyone, some people just choose not to listen.

Book Review: City of the Beasts & Kingdom of the Golden Dragon

2010-07-01T21:23:00.000+01:00

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende is the first book in a trilogy about Alex Cold and his adventures around the world with his grandmother, Kate.

Here is the blurb taken from the back of the book:
With his mother in hospital Alex Cold is sent to his fierce, wonderful grandmother Kate - a pipe-smoking, vodka-drinking old reporter with blue eyes "as sharp as daggers' points". Kate is about to embark on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the rainforest, but rather than change her plans, she simply takes Alex along with her...

I found learning about the Amazon and the Indians with Alexander was really enjoyable and gave a great insight into a world completely different to our own. On top of that was the mystery and adventure, which picked up the pace a little and kept me reading. I'm not sure how good a role-model Kate is though, with her smoking and drinking.

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon is the second book in this trilogy.

Kingdom of the Golden Dragon:
Alex Cold, his friend Nadia and his journalist grandmother Kate journey to report on the Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, a hidden land high in the Himalayas, for the International Geographic. Governed by a king who values ecology above all else, the kingdom has remained untouched by the modern world for generations. But it's rich and peaceful, spiritual lifestyle is under threat. 'The Collector', a rich westerner is plotting to steal the kingdom's greatest treasure: the Golden Dragon, a valuable statue that can foretell the future...

I'm actually only halfway through this one, but I'm enjoying it even though after reading City of the Beasts it seems to be quite predictable as to who the bad people are and how the plot is going to go, but I'll have to wait and see if I'm right with my assumptions!

The books both focus quite a bit on the religion of the countries they are mostly set in. In the Amazon, the spirituality of the Indians and in the Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, Buddhism. It's quite interesting to read about the practices and beliefs of these religions as long as you don't get too involved and forget what we believe as Christians.

The third book is called Forest of the Pygmies and I'm hoping to read it soon.

Prolific Blog Award!

2010-06-30T18:11:00.000+01:00

Sveta has awarded me with the Prolific Blog Award! Thank you so much!

The Prolific blog award goes to bloggers who blogs consistently. Once you get it you have to give it to 7 other people.

I award:

Eldarwen at The Faithful Elven Princess

Izori at Evening Stars

Avery at Lead me along...

Everyone at Garden of Violets

Kathleen at Shieldmaiden of God

Thats all I can think of now... not quite seven :S

I worry

2010-06-28T23:08:00.000+01:00

I worry a lot.

I worry about what people think of me. I worry that people will laugh at me or think I'm weird.

I worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. I worry about what's going to happen next year. I worry that I'll do something wrong, be in the wrong place or say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I like routine. Routine dictates what I am going to be doing at a specific time and I know exactly what I've got to do or where I have to go because I've done it many times before. I don't mind breaks to my routine as long as I know exactly what I have to do at every moment, but this is seldom the case.

I go through everything in my head, practising exactly what I'm going to say and do, building myself up into a state.

It's even worse when I don't know what I'm going to be doing or what I have to say. I'll just sit and worry, fear building up in the pit of my stomach until I feel sick.

I'll try and ignore the worry by reading or doing some other activity to take my mind off it, but it's never gone completely, it always returns.

I know that there is no need for me to worry, and I should be able to trust in God completely, but I'm just not sure exactly how. I'm trying every time I start to worry to pray. Often just some simple words such as: "Lord, I trust in you."

I also like to keep in mind some Bible verses:

"“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" - Matthew 6:25 (the life God has given me is so much more important than what others think of me)

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" - Matthew 6:27 (what can I actually change by worrying?)

"Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

Work experience

2010-06-26T09:44:00.000+01:00

I've just finished one of my two weeks of work experience. I'm working at a Catholic Communications place and at the moment they're mostly doing newspapers and advertising, but they also do websites and other projects to help parishes and organisations communicate with each other.

It's been a good experience. On the first two days I didn't really do much and then I had Wednesday off because of the world cup. On Thursday and Friday I was given the task of phoning priests to ask if they could recommend any companies who might want to advertise in the diocesan newspaper. Now, I have a massive phobia of using the telephone, and I will always try and get someone else to phone people for me, so this was quite a big challenge for me. I think I've done quite well so far and I'm getting more confident using the phone already. I was given a big long list of around 100 parishes to phone and I think I've done about half of them. It's certainly helped me a lot.

Also, I showed my employer my website and magazine and he's very interested in helping me getting it published and distributed. It would need to have adverts to help cover the costs. We haven't worked anything much out yet, but I've always dreamed of one day getting the magazine printed up into a hard copy, so this is quite exciting for me!

My Confirmation!

2010-06-20T15:53:00.000+01:00

I was confirmed yesterday evening and it was truly amazing, words just can't cover it, but here are some pictures :)

The newly confirmed :)

Me and the Bishop

Me, my friends & the bishop. It was so good to have, my friends come down to my Church to be there for my Confirmation. Thank you!

Me, my family (without Greg, my youngest brother, for some reason) and the Bishop.

The presents I received from my friends and family :)

Two down, one to go.

2010-06-16T19:43:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had my first real GCSE RE exam and today I had my second real GCSE science exam (my first real science exam was back in January), so that's two down and one to go (RE tomorrow).

I think the RE yesterday went okay, but I didn't do as well as I thought in the mock so I'm not really sure. I don't think I made enough different points in the longer end questions and my arguments often get muddled and I forget what I was going to write.

I'm pretty confident about the science. I've got A*s in all the mocks we've done and there were only a couple of questions I wasn't completely sure on.

In other news:

We've got solar panels on our roof now and they were all wired up today so we should start saving on the electricity!

We've had some nice weather these past few days and this afternoon we practically sat out on the school field for the whole afternoon. We were making our ICT video, but it mostly just consists of us dancing around & having fun :P

Joel's coming home tomorrow for my Confirmation (on Saturday) :D

Teen Girl's Daybook #11

2010-06-13T17:19:00.000+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 13th June 2010
Starting time: 5:13 pm
Mood: A bit hungry and tired
Outside my window: It's cloudy, typical british weather really.
I'm thinking: I need o do some revision, but I just can't seem to be bothered
I'm reading: Ostrich boys by Keith Gray.
I'm listening to: The LOst GEt found by Britt Nicole
I'm wearing: blue jeans and a pink & white striped top
Yesterday, I: Went to my friends' party which was really fun :)
I'm excited for: My confirmation - next Saturday!
I'm sad because: I missed Church today
I'm hungry for: lunch - I know, I should have had it by now :P
The song stuck inside my head is: Headphones by Britt Nicole
I want: to just do nothing
I love: just doing nothing
I loathe: it when my ipod won't show up on my computer :/
This week, my goal is to: revise and then do as well as I can in the exams
Did I meet last week's goal? Yep. I managed to go to the library, as well as buy some shoes and birthday presents!
Ending time: 5:19 pm

Music

2010-06-13T15:43:00.000+01:00

It's so hard to stay pure these days. Music, movies and tv shows are all so full of imorality that it's hard to get away from it.

I now mostly only listen to explictly Christian music because I know then that it will be safe to listen to.

Listening back to some of the music I used to listen to and hearing what other people are listening to actually scares me. I now notice the message and lyrics of the songs a lot more than I used to and mostly it's not good. The music videos also are not good, mostly filled with women scantily dressed doing suggestive dances.How can we expect men to respect us when we don't even respect our own bodies?

Other people seem to be able to switch off and not listen to what the songs are saying, but I find this impossible. The songs all seem to be about sex or at least suggesting it. Perhaps I am reading too much into the lyrics, but when I watch the music videos that go with the songs, I am inclined to believe that I am not and that is really what these songs seem to be about.

My future?

2010-06-08T19:58:00.000+01:00

When I was little I wanted to be a teacher because I thought it was fun to take the register. Then I wanted to be a nurse, because I wanted to help people. I think I went through all the usual job aspirations of a little kid. Now though, I don't really know what to do. There's so much stuff I could possibly see myself doing.

My vague answer when someone asks what I want to do/be in the future is usually 'something to do with maths or computers', but that covers a wide range of career options.

I really feel called to become a nun, but then again that throws up more possibilities of different orders and locations, them all being so different. I have reached a big dilemma with this. Should I use my talents and do what I love to honor and serve the Lord or should I sacrifice it and offer it up? i.e. should I use my computing/website design skills in a way that honors Him (in a convent or out), or should I sacrifice computers and live somewhere without much technology, and devote my time and energy to loving Him more.

I love being on the computer so much it has become a bit of an obsession and addiction. I can barely live without the internet, going on holiday was a challenge. I feel listless and starved without access to my emails, twitter, blog feed, and google at least every few hours. When the internet goes down from time to time, or when my computer breaks, it really worries me. No all this makes be feel that I really do need a break and I should just force myself to give it up. I know I could if I really set my mind to it, but I never seem to be able to do exactly that. I think about it, but then manage to come up with hundreds of excuses as to why not, right at this moment I can feel myself shying away from the idea of giving up my computer/internet etc. even for a day.

I'm going to stay on at 6th form and I would like to take Maths and further maths as well as possibly physics, computing and/or history. After that I suppose I will go to University. I'm pretty sure I can get in somewhere good, as long as I don't slack off too much now. I don't feel that strongly about going to University, I guess I kind of want to, but really it doesn't feel like the path that is right for me, and I'm not really sure whether it's part of God's plan. St Therese managed to enter the convent at 15, when many said she was too young, so I am slightly encouraged to pursue, my dream of becoming a nun as soon as I can.

Whatever happens, I need to work hard now so I can be ready for the future. Come on Anna, get off that computer and go do some work!

Random Musings

2010-06-02T20:05:00.000+01:00

Some random thoughts I've had so far this week.

Do I use my talents to honor the Lord or sacrifice what I love doing and offer it up?

I love going out in the rain - there's no-one about & it's so quiet.

Why does the library not have the book I want to read!? Oh... it hasn't actually come out yet.

I would really, really like to visit Lisieux someday.

Buying presents for friends is hard.

Do I really trust and love the Lord with my whole heart, mind and soul?

Teen Girl's Daybook #10

2010-05-30T21:47:00.000+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 30th May 2010
Starting time: 9:38 pm
Mood: Quite tired
Outside my window: It's almost completely dark now and I can see the scaffolding that was put up on Thursday because we're getting solar panels put on the roof.
I'm thinking: I'm actually quite tired!
I'm reading: Cuckoo in the nest by Michelle Magorian
I'm listening to: Dad watching something on the computer
I'm wearing: jeans and a grey top
Yesterday, I: stayed in and watched a few episodes of Lost
I'm excited for: My confirmation -it was actually 3 weeks from yesterday not from last week as I said previously :P
I'm sad because: I need to do revision this half term
I'm hungry for: chocolate or something
The song stuck inside my head is: deliverer by vicky beeching
I want: to relax
I love: my family :)
I loathe: revision
This week, my goal is to: go to the library and also buy some shoes for my friend's party. Oh, and buy some birthday presents!
Did I meet last week's goal? I revised for history, but then hardly at all for music :S
Ending time: 9:47 pm

Inspirational Blog Award

2010-05-30T13:44:00.000+01:00

I was awarded this by Jessica: http://jessicaishis.blogspot.com/. Thanks so much!

I award:

Laura: http://laurasmission.blogspot.com/

Sr. Ann Marie: http://franciscanlife.blogspot.com/

Teen Girl's Daybook #9

2010-05-23T20:25:00.000+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 23rd May 2010
Starting time: 8:11 pm
Mood: So-so
Outside my window: I can see blue sky and the tops of the houses and trees opposite.
I'm thinking: About the History test on Tuesday
I'm reading: Autobiography of a Saint: St. Thérèse of Lisieux
I'm listening to: The sound of my computers fan and the ticking of the clock. Oh, and some faint noises from downstairs of my sister laughing & talking.
I'm wearing: Navy and pink (mainly) floral dress
Yesterday, I: went shopping with my friends and had a great time! It was so hot though.
I'm excited for: My confirmation (less than 3 weeks to go now!)
I'm sad because: we have a music test next week that I really need to revise for.
I'm hungry for: nothing right now - just had tea.
The song stuck inside my head is: nothing's really stuck in my head.
I want: the exams to be over
I love: my little sister, even if I don't always show it too well.
I loathe: the school bus
This week, my goal is to: revise for history and music.
Did I meet last week's goal? Well, I finished my physics, bur I don't think I really revised enough.
Ending time: 8:25 pm

Sunshine Award!

2010-05-23T17:30:00.003+01:00

I have been awarded the Sunshine Award by Sr. Ann Marie, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. (Thank you so much!) You can visit her blog here: http://franciscanlife.blogspot.com/

This award comes with some rules:

1. Post the logo on your blog and/or within the post.
2. Pass it on to 12 other bloggers.
3. Add links to these 12 bloggers within your blog.
4. Let them know they are receiving the award.
5. Share the link of the person from whom you received the award.

So.. 12 other bloggers. Right, here we go:

http://jessicaishis.blogspot.com/
http://authorintrainingizori.blogspot.com/

http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/

http://alilobitofeverything.blogspot.com/

http://www.onlinewithsveta.blogspot.com/

http://thefaithfulelvenprincess.blogspot.com/

http://livewtl.blogspot.com/

http://ladyoftherose.blogspot.com/

http://catholicteenz.blogspot.com/

http://flowersforchrist.blogspot.com/

http://loveforthefather.blogspot.com/

http://peaceonearthsomeday.blogspot.com/

Lovely weather :)

2010-05-22T07:57:00.001+01:00

We've been havig some hot sunny weather, more typical of July and August rather May. Of course, being British it's far too hot for me :P (I moan when it's hot and I moan when it's cold - I'm British)

Always more

2010-05-22T07:56:00.000+01:00

I used to think that I had done it all, my relationship with God was as deep as it could get and I was at the end of my faith journey. Of course I soon came to realise that this is not true. There is always a deeper level of love, trust and understanding when it comes to my relationship with God. There is always more, always something deeper to strive for.

Jealous

2010-05-19T23:14:00.001+01:00

It's so hard not to feel jealous when I hear my friends talk about going on the French exchange next year. I would quite like to go, I think. However, I can't afford it becuase it costs £250 plus I don't have a passport so that would be an extra £50. I end up consoling myself by thinking up reasons why I wouldn't really enjoy it - a strange country with a strange family, teachers I don't particularly like and unknown situations all make be squirm. Not to mention the fact that we couldn't really host a french person in return anyway. Not really sure if this is the right way to deal with it :/

And then there's the London theatre trip to the globe which is quite a bit cheaper, but still quite expensive for me. Oh and the trips at the end of term - paintballing or theme park. To be honest I'd much rather stay at home, but then I'd much rather stay at home than do a lot of things.

I've been reading St. Thérèse of Lisieux's autobiography and all about her 'little way'. Small opportunities for sacrifice can help our souls a great deal. Perhaps I should be looking and trying harder to find more opportunities in my everyday life.

Still more exams...

2010-05-19T23:01:00.000+01:00

I still have even more year 10 exams that I'd forgotton about. I have two extension maths papers over the next two days, and a history exam and a music exam next week.

We're currently doing our geography coursework on the incidence of obesity accross the UK. It's quite boring because mostly it's just the obvious stuff. We then have a geography exam when we have finished the coursework.

Also, I have three exams coming up in June, which I really need to revise for. Although I did quite well in the mock for the science, I probably could have done better. As for the RE, I'm not really sure how I did in the papers we took, hopefully we'll get out marks tomorrow.

Exams

2010-05-10T19:50:00.000+01:00

Today we had the first of our Year 10 mocks - Maths and RE. We have another five I think over the course of this week and some others the following week. I found the maths paper very easy as it was a foundation paper and the RE paper was pretty straight forward - views (Catholic and other Christian views) on issues such as divorce, cloning, abortion, fertility treatment etc. I also got my mark back for my French Speaking and I got an A* which I'm pretty chuffed about :D

Election results

2010-05-08T17:04:00.000+01:00

Well the results are in and we have a hung parliament. The Conservatives have the most seats, but don't have an overall majority. The Lib Dems are talking about making a deal with the Conservatives. This isn't really the outcome a lot of people I know, me included, really wanted.

On a sidenote, this is the first general election I have really followed and been interested in since I was only 10 during the last election. It's been really interesting learning about how the election works with all the different parties and constituencies as well as the complicated overall majority idea and hung parliament!

General Election

2010-05-06T22:26:00.000+01:00

Voting's now over and we are awaiting the results of the UK's general election.

Personally I don't much like any of the three main parties, but definitely don't want the Conservatives to get in. The liberal democrats seem to promise a lot, but I'm not really sure they can deliver so labour seems the best bet in my opinion.

Polls are showing that it will probably be a hung parliament with Conservatives getting more seats, but not enough for a majority. We'll have to wait and see!

Why?

2010-05-05T22:07:00.001+01:00

I've come to realise that even several of the few young Catholics I do know don't really take the Church seriously. It's just something to laugh at and they don't seem to understand why the church teaches what it does, they just think it's silly rules. What is the future of our Church if even its members mock it? I've also realised that my Catholic school is pretty much the best school around, much better than the private Catholic school, and I thank God for this school. But, why does it have to be me who answers the questions? Why do I have to be the only one who seems to care? I feel so alone a lot of the time.

My Sister's Ballet Show

2010-05-03T17:16:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I went to my 6 year old little sister's ballet show. She was so cute in her fairy costume and did so well in her performance :)

Teen Girl's Daybook #8

2010-05-02T20:56:00.000+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 2nd May 2010
Starting time: 8:50 pm
Mood: Tired, but happy it's bank holiday tomorrow - no school!
Outside my window: It's pretty dark, and pretty cold.
I'm thinking: About my sister's ballet show I just got back from.
I'm reading: Rebel by RJ Anderson
I'm listening to: The sound of my typing and the computer's fan
I'm wearing: Blue jeans, grey top, purple cardigan and neon pink socks :)
Yesterday, I: Didn't really do much - was on the computer for most of the day - did a little of my physics homework.
I'm excited for: Not much at the moment
I'm sad because: we have exams coming up soon
I'm hungry for: Biscuits, cake or something :P
The song stuck inside my head is: Be still for the presence of the Lord (we sang it this morning at Church)
I want: to read
I love: reading :)
I loathe: school
This week, my goal is to: study & finish my physics homework
Did I meet last week's goal? Not really.
Ending time: 8:56 pm

French Speaking exam

2010-04-27T23:15:00.000+01:00

We had a French speaking exam yesterday. I think it counts towards our actual GCSE, but I'm not really sure. It's quite funny how I posted and worried a lot more about the mock and then didn't do much work, but this time I haven't posted about it and I think I learnt it properly this time! I think I did okay, at least quite a bit better than last time :)

We've got Year Ten exams in a few weeks and then three GCSEs (Science & two RE) in June - I must revise!

Will you come and follow me...

2010-04-27T17:51:00.001+01:00

We sang this hymn at church just over a week ago and my brother and I both got it stuck in our heads :P - I love it!

The Summons:

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the pris’ners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?

Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

Pope Benedict's address to the young people of Malta

2010-04-19T10:41:00.000+01:00

MEETING WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Great Port of Valletta
Third Sunday of Easter, 18 April 2010

Dear young people of Malta and Gozo, I am very happy to be with you,

What a joy it is for me to be with you today on your native soil! On this significant anniversary, we thank God for sending the Apostle Paul to these islands, which were thus among the first to receive the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I warmly greet Archbishop Cremona, as well as Bishop Grech whom I thank for his kind words, and all the bishops, priests and religious who are here. Most especially, I greet you, young people of Malta and Gozo, and I thank you for speaking to me of the matters that concern you most deeply. I appreciate your desire to seek and find the truth, and to know what you must do to attain the fullness of life.
Saint Paul, as a young man, had an experience that changed him for ever. As you know, he was once an enemy of the Church, and did all he could to destroy it. While he was travelling to Damascus, intending to hunt down any Christians he could find there, the Lord appeared to him in a vision. A blinding light shone around him and he heard a voice saying, “Why do you persecute me? … I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:4-5). Paul was completely overcome by this encounter with the Lord, and his whole life was transformed. He became a disciple, and went on to be a great apostle and missionary. Here in Malta, you have particular reason to give thanks for Paul’s missionary labours, which spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean.

Every personal encounter with Jesus is an overwhelming experience of love. Previously, as Paul himself admits, he had “persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Gal 1:13). But the hatred and anger expressed in those words was completely swept away by the power of Christ’s love. For the rest of his life, Paul had a burning desire to carry the news of that love to the ends of the earth.

Maybe some of you will say to me, Saint Paul is often severe in his writings. How can I say that he was spreading a message of love? My answer is this. God loves every one of us with a depth and intensity that we can hardly begin to imagine. And he knows us intimately, he knows all our strengths and all our faults. Because he loves us so much, he wants to purify us of our faults and build up our virtues so that we can have life in abundance. When he challenges us because something in our lives is displeasing to him, he is not rejecting us, but he is asking us to change and become more perfect. That is what he asked of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus. God rejects no one. And the Church rejects no one. Yet in his great love, God challenges all of us to change and to become more perfect.

Saint John tells us that perfect love casts out fear (cf. 1 Jn 4:18). And so I say to all of you, “Do not be afraid!” How many times we hear those words in the Scriptures! They are addressed by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation, by Jesus to Peter when calling him to be a disciple, and by the angel to Paul on the eve of his shipwreck. To all of you who wish to follow Christ, as married couples, as parents, as priests, as religious, as lay faithful bringing the message of the Gospel to the world, I say, do not be afraid! You may well encounter opposition to the Gospel message. Today’s culture, like every culture, promotes ideas and values that are sometimes at variance with those lived and preached by our Lord Jesus Christ. Often they are presented with great persuasive power, reinforced by the media and by social pressure from groups hostile to the Christian faith. It is easy, when we are young and impressionable, to be swayed by our peers to accept ideas and values that we know are not what the Lord truly wants for us. That is why I say to you: do not be afraid, but rejoice in his love for you; trust him, answer his call to discipleship, and find nourishment and spiritual healing in the sacraments of the Church.

Here in Malta, you live in a society that is steeped in Christian faith and values. You should be proud that your country both defends the unborn and promotes stable family life by saying no to abortion and divorce. I urge you to maintain this courageous witness to the sanctity of life and the centrality of marriage and family life for a healthy society. In Malta and Gozo, families know how to value and care for their elderly and infirm members, and they welcome children as gifts from God. Other nations can learn from your Christian example. In the context of European society, Gospel values are once again becoming counter-cultural, just as they were at the time of Saint Paul.

In this Year for Priests, I ask you to be open to the possibility that the Lord may be calling some of you to give yourselves totally to the service of his people in the priesthood or the consecrated life. Your country has given many fine priests and religious to the Church. Be inspired by their example, and recognize the profound joy that comes from dedicating one’s life to spreading the message of God’s love for all people, without exception.

I have spoken already of the need to care for the very young, and for the elderly and infirm. Yet a Christian is called to bring the healing message of the Gospel to everyone. God loves every single person in this world, indeed he loves everyone who has ever lived throughout the history of the world. In the death and Resurrection of Jesus, which is made present whenever we celebrate the Mass, he offers life in abundance to all those people. As Christians we are called to manifest God’s all-inclusive love. So we should seek out the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized; we should have a special care for those who are in distress, those suffering from depression or anxiety; we should care for the disabled, and do all we can to promote their dignity and quality of life; we should be attentive to the needs of immigrants and asylum seekers in our midst; we should extend the hand of friendship to members of all faiths and none. That is the noble vocation of love and service that we have all received. Let it inspire you to dedicate your lives to following Christ. Do not be afraid to be intimate friends of Christ.

Dear young people, as I take my leave of you, I want you to know that I am close to you and I remember you and your families and friends in my prayers.

This is a great message for all young people around the world as well as those in Malta and Gozo!

You can find this speech by Pope Benedict XVI and more on the vatican website.

Wales Holiday Photos

2010-04-15T15:30:00.002+01:00

Here are some of our Wales Holiday photos, almost all taken by my 12 year old brother Greg :)

Me on the train to Wales

Greg on the train to Wales

Joel on one of the walks we went on

My whole family (excluding Greg who was taking the photo)

Maisie

The river we were walking beside

Me and Joel waiting at a station doing a crossword :)

Oh, and I have bought myself a camera so hopefully I will be posting more photos in the future :)

Holiday!

2010-04-12T09:59:00.000+01:00

Last week my family and I went on holiday to Wales. We went on Holy Saturday (the 3rd of April) and came back this Saturday (the 10th). It was a very relaxed holiday this year and I found it very enjoyable.

It was warm enough to go and sit on the beach on Thursday and on Wednesday I went on a rather epic 15 mile walk with my two older brothers, Joel and Josh.

I really should have posted sooner, but I've been lazy since we got back just watching BBC iplayer and talking to my friends on facebook and MSN.

I'm looking at buying a camera. I really wish I had bought one before the holiday so I could capture all the amazing views and other pictures of my family I would have liked to take. I may be able to post some of te pictures my brothers took though :)

Delirious? to the top of the UK charts!

2010-03-31T18:28:00.003+01:00

There is a campaign going on this week to get Delirious? to number 1 in the UK pop charts this Easter Sunday!

They have released a song called History Makers (live and studio versions) which is currently number 6 in midweek chart update but we have until Sunday to get it higher, and get people talking about God, at Easter... rather than the usual pop tat!

This is the perfect time of the year to make a positive impact through actions that are both cheap (under £2 to download both versions of their single) and relatively easy. The track is available to download through iTunes (both versions 79p) and Amazon (both versions 49p) as well as several other sites.

For info: www.invadetheairwaves.org.uk

The campaign was first organised on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/invadetheairwaves

The song can be bought here:

Amazon:
Studio version

Live version

iTunes:

Studio version

Live version

Any readers in the UK please help the campaign by clicking on the links above and downloading at least one version if not both!

Teen Girl's Daybook #7

2010-03-28T22:38:00.000+01:00

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 28th March 2010
Starting time: 10:31 pm
Mood: Tired and a little worried I may have forgotten to do some homework.
Outside my window: It's dark :)
I'm thinking: My brother is being quite annoying...
I'm reading: Hunger by Michael Grant
I'm listening to: My brother watching some program about bread
I'm wearing: White pajamas with pink and turquoise hearts on
Yesterday, I: Went to a confirmation reconciliation service
I'm excited for: The Easter holidays
I'm sad because: we still have another 4 days of school
I'm hungry for: Chocolate - as always!
The song stuck inside my head is: History Maker by Delirious?
I want: this week to go quickly.
I love: all my magazine readers!
I loathe: having to do homework
This week, my goal is to: focus in lessons and stop going with the crowd
Did I meet last week's goal? Maybe a little, but it still needs more work!
Ending time: 10:37 pm

Barabbas

2010-03-28T22:25:00.001+01:00

I was listening to Lifeteen's Sunday Sunday Sunday podcast for today. Mark Hart was saying that we can identify with many of the different characters during the readings of the passion of Christ, but one character we can really put ourselves in the place of is Barabbas.

I was quite surprised when I heard this. I've never really thought much about Barabbas before. But as it was explained it all made sense. Barabbas was set free in the place of Jesus and he was a sinner. We are all sinners and Jesus died in our place, just as he dies in Barabbas' place. Certainly something to think about over the coming week.

Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T22:17:00.000+01:00

I hope you have or have had a very blessed Palm Sunday :)

Live WTL Podcast

2010-03-27T13:20:00.001Z

I recently discovered, by way of Avery (the host) posting on Faithful's website, a great podcast for Catholic kids and teens.

It is called Live WTL with the 'WTL' standing for Way, Truth and Life. It was created by Avery and focuses on saints, apologetics, evangelism, the Mass, and your personal relationship with Christ.

I have been looking for a Catholic podcast for teens for a while, and was just amazed when I listened to Live WTL!

Check out the website: http://www.livewtl.com/

Favourite Posts

2010-03-26T18:06:00.002Z

I just thought I'd post links to a few of the blog posts I've enjoyed recently.

Prodigal Son - A Teen Striving for Holiness

Salvation of the World - A Rose in Bloom

The Easter Bunny Must Die - Pat Archbold's Blog @ National Catholic Register

Reducing Faith to a Flu Shot? - Archdiocese of Washington

Judging and forgiving

2010-03-25T21:34:00.001Z

I've been thinking over the past few weeks about how much I judge people just on appearance and first impressions. I have realised that I have been quite wrong about some people and have judged them far too quickly. It is so hard to refrain from judging people though. It really takes a lot of effort to keep an open mind and remember that it is not up to us to judge people.

I've also been thinking about forgiving people. I find I will remember things which people said or did to me years ago and hold this against them even now. I really need to forgive and forget more often. I need to be ready to give people second chances.

Teen Girl's Daybook #6

2010-03-21T13:12:00.000Z

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 21st March 2010
Starting time: 1:03 pm
Mood: Happy :)
Outside my window: It's cloudy. it was sunny earlier and nice and warm, so i hope it's not turning colder again!
I'm thinking: That I really need to write some more of my tessay (essay on Tess of the d'Urbervilles).
I'm reading: Nothing right now
I'm listening to: The sound of me tying, my computer's fan and the clock ticking
I'm wearing: Black skinny jeans, a black and white striped top, black cardigan, pink scarf and florescent pink and yellow stripy socks.
Yesterday, I: went to Cambridge with my friend and my mum, brother and sister. We met my oldest brother at the station back from Uni, then went to McDonalds and went shopping!
I'm excited for: Joel (my oldest brother) coming home in a few hours!
I'm sad because: I'm not sure if my friend enjoyed her stay round my house...
I'm hungry for: Some lunch.
The song stuck inside my head is: Nothing right now.
I want: to finish my tessay
I love: Joel :)
I loathe: losing things
This week, my goal is to: not be so judgmental and be more forgiving.
Did I meet last week's goal? Not really... I missed quite a few english lessons and needed to do a little more work in the lessons I was there for.
Ending time: 1:12 pm

Tidying, Mass and Granny's

2010-03-13T20:58:00.001Z

I spent pretty much all of today tidying my room - yes it was that bad! Then this evening we went to Mass because we're going to Granny's early tomorrow morning. It was our Confirmation Mass of Commitment this weekend and it turned out that I was the only one who went this evening (the others will probably go tomorrow) so I was a little nervous having to say the responses by myself! It went okay though :) Anyhow I need to try not to go to bed too late tonight - I need to be able to get up tomorrow!

New Release Tuesday

2010-03-09T17:33:00.000Z

This week New Release Tuesday has two songs available for free download :D

They are:
"Forgiven" by Sanctus Real from Pieces Of A Real Heart
and
"Our God" by Chris Tomlin from Passion: Awakening

Red Weekend!

2010-03-07T19:31:00.000Z

Red Weekend was amazing :D

I had a really great time and met a whole load of amazing people. The weekend included praise and worship, sessions, small group time, Mass, and of course great food! it was run by young people aged about 18-25 who were really on fire for Jesus, so encouraging, and really just amazing!

More info:
http://www.sionyouth.org.uk/

New Release Tuesday

2010-03-02T17:58:00.005Z

I've discovered this great music website called New Release Tuesday. It contains a huge about of information about Christian music and artists and what new music is coming out.

Also every tuesday they give out free songs to download on this page. All you have to do is register for free and they're yours!

This week they've got:

"Jesus Died My Soul To Save" by Pocket Full Of Rocks from their album, More Than Noise.

"Anchor" by Satellites & Sirens from their debut album, Satellites & Sirens.

"Rediscover You" by Starfield from The Saving One

These tracks are available until the 8th March.

http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/

Faithful Magazine - March '10 issue

2010-03-01T19:31:00.002Z

The March 2010 issue of my magazine, Faithful is now out! You can get it from the download page on the website here.

Teen Girl's Daybook #5

2010-02-28T21:42:00.001Z

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Click on the image above to find out how.

Date: 28th February 2010
Starting time: 9:34 pm
Mood: Happy, but concerned about my friend.
Outside my window: It's dark and I can see into my back garden as I'm sitting in the lounge writing this on my iPod.
I'm thinking: That I really should be going to bed soon.
I'm reading: The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (the sequel to 'The knife of never letting go')
I'm listening to: The washing machine!
I'm wearing: Pink pajamas with monkeys on!
Yesterday, I: worked on my magazine.
I'm excited for: RED Weekend! -It's next weekend!!
I'm sad because: My friend is feeling very unhappy at the moment.
I'm hungry for: Chocolate :)
The song stuck inside my head is: One of Vicky Beeching's songs (I can't remember what it was called!)
I want: this week to go quickly.
I love: my family
I loathe: having to do homework
This week, my goal is to: pay good attention in English.
Did I meet last week's goal? Yes, I have done my History essay now, although I don't really think my conclusion was long enough and I think I did my Geography homework, at least I did the one that was due in last week.
Ending time: 9:42 pm

Magazine...

2010-02-27T15:47:00.000Z

Well, I'm trying to work on the magazine, but keep getting very distracted. It's very empty this time around. I just can't think of anything to put in it and then I just don't seem to be able to apply myself to writing anything. I really shouldn't leave it to the last minute like this!

French grade

2010-02-24T21:07:00.000Z

Well I got a C for my French speaking. Not too terrible, it is a pass afterall, but not up to my target grade of A/A*... I really do need to do more preparation for the real thing.

French speaking assesment

2010-02-22T19:25:00.001Z

Well I had my french speaking assesment today. I don't think it went too well and I don't think I really prepared enough for it. I forgot to say some bits and just completely forgot how to form one of the tenses.

Ahh well it was only a mock... There'll be more chances to do better.

Teen Girl's Daybook #4

2010-02-21T17:55:00.000Z

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Find out how here.

Date: 21st February 2010

Starting time: 5:50 pm

Mood: Happy, but a little bit worried about my French speaking assessment tomorrow

Outside my window: It's almost dark and very cold.

I'm thinking: About my French speaking tomorrow

I'm reading: Nothing, but just finished The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Talon by Janet Lee Carey

I'm listening to: My typing and the noise of my computer

I'm wearing: Black skinny jeans, Bright pink t-shirt with a bow on the front and a black cardigan

Yesterday, I: Went to the library for the book group

I'm excited for: RED Weekend!

I'm sad because: My hands and feet are cold.

I'm hungry for: Biscuits :)

The song stuck inside my head is: None

I want: to get my homework done

I love: my Mum

I loathe: french speaking presentations

This week, my goal is to: do my History essay and my Geography homework
Did I meet last week's goal? No. I haven't done my History essay yet, and haven't really donme nearly enough French preparation.

Ending time: 5:55 pm

Mum's Birthday

2010-02-19T21:48:00.001Z

It's my mum's birthday today so we went out for lunch then went shopping and finished up with a Chinese :)

Love you mum!

Magazine & Homework

2010-02-18T19:00:00.000Z

Just been working on the magazine a little today. I really need to do some homework as well though - I've got a History essay, Geography homework and a French oral presentation that needs preparing. Also I think I have English homework and probably more.

I went to the library this morning to pick up a couple of books, perhaps that wasn't such a good idea - already finished one and halfway through the second one. I got rather distracted and so haven't done very much work today after all.

Ash Wednesday :)

2010-02-17T22:00:00.001Z

And the beginning of Lent.

I really did mean to go to an Ash Wednesday service, but then it was too late :(

Also, I was trying to avoid snacking between meals today. Quite hard to resist the temptation I must say!

Shrove Tuesday

2010-02-16T12:04:00.001Z

Happy Shrove Tuesday :)
We should be eating pancakes this evening :D

New Years Resolutions...

2010-02-15T12:04:00.001Z

So, those New Years Resolutions I made so optimistically a month and a half ago, How are they going?

1. Try to be less lazy - Hmm.. not going so well, I am still very lazy indeed. Specifically when it comes to helping around the house, I really think I should make more of an effort.

2. Try to blog more - Well let's see.. In January I had 10 posts which is a lot more than the very few posts at the end of last year, but then so far this month I have only posted 2 posts (well.. with this one it will be 3). All this is nothing compared with the 29 posts in January 2009. I really need to set a goal of posting everyday or perhaps every other day.

3. Revise & do more homework - I did do quite a bit of revision for my science exam, but I'm slipping behind with my homework again, and mostly simply not doing it and hoping I can get away with it. I have at least 3 pieces of homework to do this week so I really will have to make the effort.

4. Try and pray the rosary more - And this one isn't going so well either. It's just quite difficult to find the quiet space and time I need. I think perhaps I should just do one decade, instead of trying to pray the whole thing all at once.

With Lent fast approaching I think these will have to be my Lenten promises as well :)

Teen Girl's Daybook #3

2010-02-14T20:10:00.001Z

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Find out how here.

Date: 14th February 2010

Starting time: 8:05 pm

Mood: A little worried

Outside my window: It's dark

I'm thinking: About what to type here

I'm reading: TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow

I'm listening to: My computer's fan making a very loud noise...

I'm wearing: Pajamas :P

Yesterday, I: Visited the nuns and then went to see my Granny :)

I'm excited for: This week - half term :D

I'm sad because: I have to do homework...

I'm hungry for: A sandwich

The song stuck inside my head is: None

I want: to have a lazy week

I love: my Dad

I loathe: french oral presentations

This week, my goal is to: do my History essay and prepare for my French oral assessment
Did I meet last week's goal? No. I haven't done any french homework for the past few weeks

Ending time: 8:10 pm

Quite a lot...

2010-02-14T19:59:00.001Z

Quite a lot has been happening since I last posted and I just haven't got round to posting...

Last weekend (the 5th to the 8th of February) I stayed round my friend's house and had an awesome time :)

On Friday night we went to their vineyard church youth group called Under The Cross (UTX) and then on Sunday we went along to their Sunday morning celebration. Although it was all very different to what I have experienced before I enjoyed it immensely. At UTX there was worship which was singing and praying all together. Then we split off into different age groups and talked about random acts of kindness and went on to just random chatter.

Church on Sunday consisted of worship with communion in the middle and then a talk about abortion. I actually have never been to a non-catholic communion service before so I was interested to hear the same parts of the Bible read out, but with different emphasis and meaning. I can understand better now how they get their meaning of just remembering the last Supper and Jesus' death as opposed to the Catholic teaching of transubstantiation. The talk about abortion was very good, and I think they seemed to pretty much agree with what the Catholic Church teaches on the issue of abortion, for example that all life is sacred. I was discussing this with my friend afterwards and I think that the talk was done in a very compassionate and forgiving way, so as to not make people who may have been affected by abortion not feel estranged and condemned. I think that we, as Catholics, in my experience can sometimes come across too harshly and can be a little insensitive, at least I know that I can be sometimes.

Several people from my school go to this church and youth group so it was great to see them there and I also met several of their friends there, which was great :)

For more information about Vineyard Churches visit: http://www.vineyardchurches.org.uk/

On the Saturday me and three of my friends went by train to Norwich to go shopping. We had a great day out and I had my first ever Subway :)

Yesterday, Saturday 13th February, I went to visit the Nuns in East Hendred near Oxford. I had been communicating with them for a little while through their website and their virtual chapters, so it was great to meet them!

The monastery.

The nuns run a small design company called Veil Press Ltd in order to survive financially as they do not have an endowment. They also run St Cecilia's Guild, a free audio book lending library service for the visually impaired.

You can read more about their life and work on their website: http://www.benedictinenuns.org.uk/

We also went and looked in the Catholic Church just across the road from the monastery. My Dad and I was excited to see a stained glass window with St. Richard (my Dad's name) on one side and then on the other side, St. Anne. At least, on the information sheet we had it said it was St. Anne, but under the image on the stained glass it actually said St. Anna :)

St Mary's Church, East Hendred

The Church's website, http://www.catholichendredandilsley.org.uk/, was created by Veil Press Ltd. :)

So beautiful

2010-01-29T16:18:00.000Z

Coming home on the bus today the sun was setting, casting a beautiful glow across the fields and lighting up the clouds.

So very beautiful. What an amzing thing the Lord has made.

Thank You, Lord

2010-01-26T20:39:00.001Z

There are many things to be thankful for, but I am especially thankful for my friends. They have helped me so much and I am a lot happier now than I can ever remember being.

Thank you Lord for my friends. Thank you Hannah, Katie, Carli, Emily and everyone else :)

Teen Girl's Daybook #2

2010-01-17T14:47:00.006Z

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Find out how here.

Date: 17th January 2010

Starting time: 2:40 pm

Mood: Happy, but a little worried

Outside my window: It's actually a blue sky, but still cold!

I'm thinking: About my french homework/presentation

I'm reading: I really can't remember the title right now...

I'm listening to: Me typing on the keyboard and my computer

I'm wearing: Grey Jeans and a new purple t-shirt

Yesterday, I: went to a faith and friendship teenagers group at a priory near where I live

I'm excited for: Red Weekend (Catholic teen weekend away) in March

I'm sad because: I have homework due tomorrow that i still need to do

I'm hungry for: Chocolate

The song stuck inside my head is: None really

I want: to stop being so lazy about doing homework

I love: my iPod Touch

I loathe: french oral presentations

This week, my goal is to: try and do my french homework to a good standard
Did I meet last week's goal? Yes, I think I did quite a bit of revision last week :)

Ending time: 2:47 pm

Podcasts

2010-01-17T12:25:00.003Z

I just thought I'd do an update on the podcasts I listen to as I find them really encouraging!

Firstly, a great resource for podcasts is Lifeteen. They currently have four wonderful podcasts:

The first, is called The Sunday Sunday Sunday Podcast and prepares you for the upcoming Sunday Catholic Mass readings. it really helps to get more meaning out of the readings at Church and really helps me! Listen Online. or Subscribe in iTunes.

The second podcast is Catholic Movie Reviews. It provides a great Catholic insight into recently released movies and provides information that can help you to decide whether to go and see a movie or not. Listen online. or Subscribe in iTunes.

Lifeteen's third podcast is called The 171. This podcast answers questions on many different aspects of the Catholic faith in an easy to understand way! Listen online. or Subscribe in iTunes.

And the fourth and newest podcast is the Love Life podcast. It contains real questions (and answers) from teenagers about love, dating and relationships. So far there's only been two episodes, but it sounds good! Subscribe in iTunes.

Also I am subscribed to the Pray as you go podcast, which is a really good weekdaily prayer podcast.

Science exam

2010-01-15T08:21:00.000Z

I had my first GCSE science exam yesterday. I think it went pretty well :)

We've been at school all this week and the snow's melting away again now :( I love snow, it makes everything look so pretty!

Teen Girl's Daybook #1

2010-01-10T19:17:00.002Z

Saw this on someone's blog and thought it might be quite fun to do :)

Want to do the Teen Girl's Daybook? Find out how here.

Date: 10th January 2009

Starting time: 7:10 pm

Mood: Content

Outside my window: It's dark and the snow is thawing :(

I'm thinking: About school tomorrow

I'm reading: One of the Spy Girl books (can't remember the exact title or who it's by!)

I'm listening to: An advert on Spotify (I was just listening to some tracks by Josh Groban)

I'm wearing: Blue jeans, pink striped long sleeved top and pink fleece.

Yesterday, I: didn't really do much.

I'm excited for: seeing my friends at school tomorrow.

I'm sad because: we have a french lesson at school tomorrow

I'm hungry for: nothing really - just ate my tea!

The song stuck inside my head is: Here We Go Again by PureNRG

I want: it to snow some more!

I love: my computer

I loathe: french homework

This week, my goal is to: do lots of revision for my science exam on Thursday

Ending time: 7:17 pm

No School..

2010-01-08T12:45:00.000Z

School was closed yesterday and now it's closed again today because of the snow. There's not really that much, but the roads can be quite icy so they're just thinking about the safety of people who drive & get buses to school. Some of the schools in my town seem to be open though. I think the school may be open on Monday though as my brother's school has said it will be.

Also Girls Brigade starts again this evening :)

More Snow :)

2010-01-06T16:23:00.000Z

Had a bit more snow today :D

It wasn't really that much in the end, but it was snowing quite heavily so we got to go home early from school. Many people get buses (including me) so it could have got quite dangerous if it had carried on snowing. We had to sit in a classroom doing nothing for over an hour waiting for the bus though :/

No school for two weeks, then we go back today, and only have half a day. A little pointless! Hopefully there'll be no school tomorrow :)

Dominican Nuns Sledding!

2010-01-03T11:27:00.000Z

A group of sledding sisters!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T00:12:00.001Z

Happy New Year! It is now 12:12 AM on the 1st January 2010.

So.. New Years resolutions... Well I don't usually make any, but this year I think I will, so here goes:

1. Try to be less lazy
2. Try to blog more
3. Revise & do more homework
4. Try and pray the rosary more

Also this blog is now 1 year old! Happy Birthday Blog! :P

Yes, it's still Christmas!

2009-12-28T18:44:00.001Z

I hope you're alll enjoying your Christmas! It's been pretty good so far :)

We had snow in the week up to Christmas but unfortunately it had almost all melted away by Christmas day and I think it's all gone now :( Ahh well, it was good while it lasted and that was the longest I remener snow staying on the ground for - usually it melts after one day!

I was disappointed to hear that here in the UK they moved Epiphany to the Sunday (as they did many other feast days) so we only get nine days of Christmas this year :P Well, only technically, really I think we'll just carry on to the 6th! I really don't like the feast days being moved as it makes them less special. It was always fun going to church in the middle of the week!

Well anyway, I hope you have a good 8 more days of Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T09:51:00.001Z

I probably won't get a chance to wish you Merry Christmas tomorrow so here it is:

I hope you all have a very Happy and Merry Christmas. May God bless you and all your families!

Christmas is almost upon us!

2009-12-23T10:12:00.000Z

Wow... How quickly Christmas has crept up on us this year. It hardly seems real that it is only two days away now. I guess the snow that is still here (Yay!) makes it seem more Christmassy, but we haven't really been getting into the spirit of Christmas much yet!

It doesn't really help that we haven't been to church for three weeks. Bad, I know. I don't really have much excuse, okay so the weather hasn't been the nicest of weather, but really should I let that stop me? I could have walked to church. I was even up early enough on two of those three Sundays to walk to church. To be quite honest I was just feeling too lazy.

I've been far too lazy lately. I've barely done anything to help around the house and to help my mum get ready for Christmas. I've mostly just been on my computer, not really doing anything: facebook, watching movies etc. And now, thinking about it make me seem really bad. I really will have to try harder to do things to help my mum, when asked, and before she asks.

This is to be my goal for the next two days and on into the new year.

I also need to stop being so lazy with my schoolwork. I usually only do the bare minimum necessary to get the teachers off my back. I need to put more time and effort into my work. Also I need to revise for my first GCSE exam (Science) which takes place in January. I only just scraped an A* in my mock so a little more revision is necessary.

Snow..

2009-12-18T11:27:00.001Z

Well it finally snowed! I'm happy about that, but it's a shame it had to wait until the last day of term (today) to snow. Today was going to be quite a good day at school with no lessons and a talent show.

Our school carol concert was supposed to be on last night, but it was cancelled due to the weather warnings. I am in the orchestra and string ensemble (I play the viola) and we've been rehearsing such a lot, it's such a shame the concert got cancelled.

I love how in this country we get a little bit of snow and everyone's panicking! Most of the schools are closed and there's been problems on the roads. Everything comes to a standstill here when it snows whereas other countries are very prepared for snow. I suppose it doesn't matter so much as in this country we don't get that much snow that often unfortunately.

We're still hoping for a White Christmas, but the snow will probably melt away in the time between now and Christmas :(

Busy :)

2009-11-29T11:22:00.000Z

I've been quite busy lately with school work - lots of homework and revision for a fairly important exam coming up!

I've also been involved in a parish concert that took place last Sunday, which took up quite a lot of time with rehearsals etc.

Hopefully I'll have a bit more to blog about soon with my birthday & Christmas coming up :)

Beautiful Picture

2009-11-01T09:02:00.000Z

I saw this picture on The Inkworld blog (http://ennainkgirl.blogspot.com) and I just thought that it was so beautiful and magical I had to share it :)

Confirmation

2009-10-12T21:46:00.001+01:00

I'm going to be confirmed this May :) The preparation meetings are starting already and there's a great group of us :)

World Youth Day Launch!

2009-10-04T20:30:00.001+01:00

Today I went to my diocese launch of World Youth Day 2011. We have to start preparing for it early as we have to raise around £900 each! We saw some videos of WYD 2008 in Sydney and it looked amazing so I really hope that I can raise the money to go and as it will be in Madrid, Spain then it's not too far to go this time! There were 5 of us from my parish and also many people from the other parishes in our diocese including a few people I know from school. The people who went in 2008 said that it really was a great experiance.

I am already starting to come up with ways to earn money so that I can go. It's a lot of money but I do think it will be worth it!

Who else is going?

Joel's Gone :(

2009-10-03T14:03:00.001+01:00

Joel's going back up to uni today :( He left this morning quite early for his girlfriend's house. However now there are severe gales up in the north so they're not going up until a bit later. It's quite windy here too!

Forest Born

2009-09-27T17:32:00.007+01:00

I just found out that there is a new book just come out in Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern series! It's called Forest Born and looks pretty good!

Rin is sure that something is wrong with her...something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she's lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all.

When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies, magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters, as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin's own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure.

The Christian Blog Awards - Award Ceremony!

2009-09-19T14:01:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I went to the Christian Web and New Media awards ceremony.

My Dad and I set off in the morning and spent the day in London. We visited several different churches which had been rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666. We also visited some other churches which I don't think were Wren churches.

St. Bartholomew the Great

St. Bart's is on of the oldest churches in London. It escaped the Great Fire of London and also was one of the few churches to escape the London Bombing during World War 2.

You walk through this gate:

And then you can see the front of the Church:

You have to pay to go in and look around, but it's free to go in and pray so my Dad and I just went in to pray, but you can see most of the interior from the prayer chapel.

Here's a picture of the inside:

Inside it is really old and you can see bits from from lots of different times.

Their Website:

http://www.greatstbarts.com/

St. Brides

http://www.stbrides.com/

The site of St. Bride's has been a place of worship for 2000 years!

We went down into the Crypt that they only discovered after World War 2 bombing and there was displays about the history of St. Brides. It was really interesting to see that there were bits that they had found from Roman and Saxon Churches. Down in the crypt there was pieces of Roman pavement!

After the Great Fire of London, when St. Bride's was burnt to the ground, it was rebuilt by Christopher Wren. it was one of his most expensive and elaborate churches.

Since the 16th Century the area was known for printing and newspaper-making so St. Bride's became known as the Journalists' Church.

During the Blitz the church was fire-bombed and the nave was completely destroyed. In 1953 the restoration work began and the church was rededicated in 1957.

The Spire:

The inside:

St. Vedast

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Vedast_Foster_Lane

St. Vedast's was not completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London, but required quite a lot of work which was designed by Christopher Wren. The church was gutted by fire-bombs during the Blitz and was then restored.

Inside:

St. Mary-le-Bow

We only got to this church as it was closing so we were only able to have a quick look inside. The stain glass windows were amazing though!

They have a good website, with more information and pictures here: http://www.stmarylebow.co.uk/

We also went into St. Anne & St. Agnes and another one which I can't remember the name of.

We visited John Soane's house. He was an architect and filled his house with interesting things to help his students. It's a pretty crazy house, absolutely crammed full of strange things!

We also visited Dr. Johnson's house. He wrote a dictionary. His house was pretty empty really, so it wasn't really very interesting!

The Award Ceremony

The award ceremony took place in St. Stephen Walbrook (this church was also rebuilt by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London).

Here is a picture of the church:

And the big dome inside:

When we arrived I was greeted by two of the people who were running the event and I was told that I was going to get a gift and not to be too nervous! I then knew that I was going to get something, but I didn't know what or what for!

At the start there was a champagne reception, but of course I just had to have orange juice! Then there was a welcoming speech.

Following that, dinner was served. It was all very posh, with candles on the tables and waiters/waitresses bringing the food. We had a three course meal! The starter was Baked Asparagus, wrapped in puff pastry with Béarnaise sauce. The Main course was a Paupiette of Sole with leek and tarragon stuffing and fine herb butter sauce. That was served with Broad Bean and Potato Puree and Sweet Peppers stuffed with Butternut Squash. For dessert there was Rhubarb and Elderflower Crème Brûlée with Honey Shortbread. Then fairtrade coffee and a selection of teas were served along with homemade fudge and mini chocolate brownies.

After we had finished Dinner we were onto the Awards Ceremony!

You can see a full list of all the winners (plus more information about the event) here: http://christianblogawards.com/

When the winner & runner up for the Best Christian blog for the under 25s were announced I was a bit disappointed and puzzled as I hadn't won. Then up came the 'Special Recognition'. It was me :D I got special recognition for being the youngest entrant! I received a certificate and a nintendo DS lite!! I was so amazed and really nervous :P However I managed to say a few words about my blog etc. so that was good :)

The winners of the People's Choice award was the website of the Benedictine nuns from Holy Trinity Monastery, East Hendred (http://www.benedictinenuns.org.uk/). As they are a closed monastery they could not come to the award ceremony to collect their award! Instead they sent in a video for us to watch containing a little snapshot of their lives!

It was totally amazing to be there and see what other Christians have been doing on the web and also to get to meet them :) I had a wonderful time!

Premature baby left to die

2009-09-12T17:53:00.006+01:00

Doctors left a premature baby to die because he was born two days too early. Jayden was born at 21 weeks and 5 days old. Doctors refused to help him and he died in his mother's arms two hours later because under current guidelines pediatricians treat only babies born after 22 weeks gestation.

He was born breathing and moving and his mother begged for the doctors to help, but they would not even take a look at him. His mother is now fighting for the law to be changed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1212924/Doctors-said-Id-miscarriage-did-premature-baby-fought-life.html#ixzz0Qud3UtEb

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211950/Premature-baby-left-die-doctors-mother-gives-birth-just-days-22-week-care-limit.html#ixzz0QucHEzpj

Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44595174482

Website:

http://justice4jayden.webs.com/

This story is so sad and makes me so angry when I think that they could have just done something! If he had been born just 48 hours later they would have saved his life. All he probably needed was an incubator and he could have lived as they think he died from the cold.

St. Mark's Gospel

2009-09-08T20:55:00.001+01:00

In RE we've been looking at St. Mark's Gospel. It's actually quite interesting learning about the background of St. Mark and why he wrote his Gospel etc.

According to tradition the last supper was held in Mark's mother's house. Mark was Barnabas' cousin and went with Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey. However, for some unknown reason he returned home.

St. Mark had many different sources for his Gospel including: St. Peter himself, written documents, eyewitness accounts and oral recitations.

It is believed that he wrote his Gospel in Rome for the early persecuted Christians. Mark's Gospel contains encouragement and accounts of how it can be hard to follow Christ, but worth it in the end.

School

2009-09-03T17:49:00.001+01:00

Went back to school today... Was pretty boring to be honest. Lots of sitting/standing around!

It's just pretty much the same as last year except I'm in Year 10 now and I've got a different timetable...

September 09 issue!

2009-09-01T15:23:00.001+01:00

The September 09 issue of my magazine, Faithful, is now up!

Go here to download or view it :)

Pictures

2009-09-01T15:09:00.002+01:00

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday at the beach.

Me and my brother swimming :)

Hopeless Romanticism Tag

2009-09-01T09:06:00.002+01:00

I was tagged by LM. Although I think I am called to the religious life, not married life, I will just answer it for fun and as if I was going to get married :P

What two qualities do you want most in your future husband?
A good Catholic faith and chaste

Is there a fictional character you see as a model for your future husband?
Not really, apart from a character I made up once :P

Where do you want your wedding?
A catholic church

What are your views on courtship?
I don't really know that much about courtship, but it seems okay. I think that it's good to get to know and spend time with eachother's families, but also some time togthr alone can also be good.

What are your views on your first kiss?
Already had it :S

Do you have or want a purity ring/locket?
I do kind of want one, but then I think I don't really need a purity ring to stay pure.

Do you have or want a hope chest?
Nope

Will you wear a veil at your wedding?
Yeah I probably would.

What kind of wedding dress do you want?
I don't really know what kind if wedding dress I would want.

What flowers do you want in your bouquet?
Again I don't really know.

What do you want to name one of your daughters?
I like the name Naomi.

What do you want to name one of your sons?
Well, I like these names: Josiah, Isaac, Zacchaeus, Benedict...

Do you believe in the 'knight-in-shining-armor' view of courtship?
Perhaps I used to, and occasionally I do still think about how it would change my life if my 'knight-in-shining-armor' turned up. But then I don't really think I'm called to married life anyway.

What music do you want to play at your wedding?
I haven't really ever thought a out what music...

Are you a hopeless romantic?
No, not really!

And I shall tag anyone who wants to do this...

Short break :)

2009-08-31T20:00:00.001+01:00

We just went on a short break away. We went up to the coast and stayed last night at a Youth Hostel. It was a bank holiday weekend so my Dad and brother had today off work.

We had some nice weather for a change. It was quite hot - hot enough for the beach and swimming in the sea. But then I will go in the sea even if it isn't quite warm enough :P Had some fun and ended up wanting to stay longer :)

An Ant Parable

2009-08-24T21:37:00.001+01:00

Ingo

2009-08-22T10:08:00.002+01:00

Ingo is a series of fantasy adventures which follow Sapphire and Conor under the sea. There are four books in the Ingo series: Ingo, The Tide Knot, The Deep and The Crossing of Ingo. They are all by Helen Dunmore I have read the first three, but I'm still waiting for the fourth book to come to my library.

Ingo (the first book)

The Blurb:
Everything is wet and shining with mist. The rocks are hidden, the sea hidden. Everything slippery and dangerous... the sea pulling me like a magnet.

Swimming, surfing, exploring - Sapphire and her brother Conor enjoy life by the sea in Cornwall. But why does Conor keep disappearing for hours on end? And who is the mysterious girl talking to him on the rocks?

Following Conor down to the cove one day, Sapphire discovers Ingo - an exciting and dangerous world where all you breathe is adventure.

Ingo is full of mystery and fun as Conor and Sapphire meet the Mer and discover the world beneath the sea.

I thought Ingo was the best of the Ingo books that I've read so far becuase there is more mystery wheras the next two books started to seem a bit samey.

The next two books continue Sapphire and Conor's adventures in Ingo. In The Tide Knot a crisis is brewing beneath the Ocean and in The Deep Sapphire and Conor plus their Mer friend Faro have to go into The Deep - where most Mer cannot go - to fight a terrifying creature.

I have really enjoyed these books as they have a good pace to them and there is a lot of adventures.

There are a couple of things I think I should point out though. There are a few times in these books when the Lord's name is taken in vain. Sapphire and Conor's mum has a boyfriend who it seems lives with them in later books.

Also Conor and Sapphire lie to their Mum about where they've been. However, on a good note, Conor does seem uncomfortable with this a lot of the time.

I do like the fact that Conor and Sapphire have a really good brother-sister relationship. They get on well most of the time and are pretty quickto make up after an argument. Conor spends a lot of time with his little sister, Sapphire, as many characters in books often do not.

Catholic Calendar/Universalis

2009-08-21T14:55:00.009+01:00

Catholic Calendar

Catholic Calendar is a liturgical calendar for the iPhone and iPod Touch for every year from 1970 to 2300 and beyond!

Feasts and celebrations according to the General Calendar and the local calendars of the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and Malta.

Also features "About Today" pages giving more information about the saint of the day.

NEW: Allows you to download the Liturgy of the Hours and the Mass readings for yesterday, today and tomorrow from the Universalis web site - requires an Internet connection.

This is a great app and the fact that you can now download the Liturgy of the Hours and the Mass readings makes it quite a bit better. I think you can download the readings when you have an interent connection, then view them offline, but I'm not entirely sure! Plus it's free :)

Universalis

Universalis does the same thing as Catholic Calendar, except you don't need to connect to the internet to download any content once you've downloaded the app. The Universalis application contains all the pages, for everyday, forever. This is the equivalent of over 5000 printed pages!

Buying this app also gives you free access to the Universalis application on your PC or Mac.

For more information: http://www.universalis.com/

This iPhone app cost £14.99/$24.99, which may seem quite a lot, but I think for what it is it's worth it :D

Finalist!

2009-08-21T10:45:00.001+01:00

I've been selected as a finalist in the under 25's category at the Christian Blog awards!
http://www.christianblogawards.com

Next issue of Faithful

2009-08-21T10:39:00.001+01:00

The next issue of Faithful Magazine will be out in the beginning of September. I'm currently working on it so it's not too late to send in any submissions!

http://www.faithfulmagazine.webs.com/