emmsy has moved...

Well, I have finally succummed and signed up to WordPress. Therefore, there will be no more posts on this website. You can now find me over at http://emmsy.wordpress.com. The site has very cleverly imported all my Blogger posts to the shiny new WordPress site, so you can still view all the posts and comments that have been made here, there (does that make sense?).

Please update bookmarks etc, and come visit me soon!!

For now, its goodbye to Blogger... thanks for the memories.

The Weight of Small Things

"The great things that we long for and search for are found
among the small things we may ignore or even discard."

Simple truths are often the most hard-hitting, aren't they?

An Exercise in Praise

"I don't like being predictable, but I am a compulsive enjoyer of life and beauty. What began as an exercise in praise has resulted in a life of continuous astonishment. I look for the flower breaking through the rock. I stop to appreciate the beauty and artistry of every sunset I have the opportunity to experience. Life is an adventure to be explored and excavated for its endless unexpected suprises and treasures. There is so much to enjoy. How could even one moment be lived without overflowing gratitude?

When we recognise that life is a gift and we are overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude, when we fill every moment with praise for God's goodness and thanks for His generosity, we find wholeness, and our hearts increase in their capacity to experience and give love."

[Uprising - Erwin McManus]

I couldn't help but share this quote today, because I think I'm starting to undestand it better!

Class of 2006

Tomorrow night is my school formal (prom, whatever you want to call it). First off, I am not going. I've got no interest in it, never really was a big one for dressing up and all that.

I dont get it though - whats the point in spending a small fortune on one night, if you're going to get so drunk you wont remember any of it? I mean, the ticket costs £30 each to start with... then you've got a dress, I know a girl who bought a dress at £250! Then theres the handbag, the jewellery, the limo, the drinks, the taxi home.... Blah Blah Blah. Why would you spend so much on one evening, if you wont remember it?

Oh well. Here's hoping (no, praying) that everyone who does go, will have a fantastic evening, that everyone will remain safe, and that above all, God will be glorified. It's funny, a friend prayed that today, and it got me thinking... How can God be glorified in the formal? I'm still working that one out... and please dont take that as me saying He cant, becuase i FULLY believe He can, I'm just not sure what it looks like right now.

So, God, be glorified in the formal.

Sparodic

What a great word! I've noticed that my blogging has been a bit sparodic recently, and to be honest, I'm not quite sure why. Have I just not had anything to say? Unlikely, because when have I ever been lost for words for very long?

I've been dosing about doing random things. Went to Queens University Belfast yesterday for a open day for students with offers for the mathematics department, and was very pleasantly suprised that it was actually pretty interesting! Got chatting to one of the lectures after the official presentations, and it was pretty interesting. It's nice to sometimes just be able to talk about things your passionate about with someone who shares a similar passion. I mean, I'm a geek. No need to beat around the bush, I love maths and I love messing about with computers. I'm a geek. I'm happy with that! So sometimes it's nice to talk about maths for ages with other people who don't feel like running a mile!

Hmm is this one of those times? When I go on about my love of geeky things, and you dont really a) understand or b) care?!

Replies on a postcard.... I mean, the comments section!

Africa

Recently God has been breaking my heart over Africa, and laying it heavy on my heart. Some statistics about Africa for you (courtesy of National Geographic)...

• Percentage of worlds total landmass: 20
• Population: 900 million, 14% world total
• Number of languages spoken: over 2000
• Number of democratic governments: 19, of a total of 53 nations
• Average income: 50% of Africans live on less than $1 a day
• Average life expectancy: 46 in sub-Saharan Africa, 67 in North Africa.
• Infant mortality rates: 102 per 1000 in sub-Saharan Africa, 33 per 1000 in North Africa.
• Most common cause of death: AIDS

And you know, I just cant understand it. The following stats about HIV/AIDS break my heart...

• Number of people worldwide with HIV: 40 million
• Number in sub-Saharan Africa: 26 million
• Number of people in sub-Saharan Africa contracting HIV daily: 8,500
• Number dying of AIDS daily: 6,300
• Number South Africans needing ARV drugs to prevent progression of illness & death: 983,000
• Number receiving medication: 117,00
• Annual cost of three-drug, generic ARV regimen per patient in Africa: $650
• Cost per patient for ARV drugs in the US: $10,000

How can there be such pain and suffering caused by a PREVENTABLE disease? How can it cost so much more to provide treatment for the same disease in the US (and probably the UK and Ireland too, I dont know the stats), than it costs in Africa? If we cut down the costs here, couldnt we treat many more Africans? How can we let them die like this?? I dont understand it at all. I have to do something. I'm searching for some way to contribute to this great continent.

Sick

Been off school sick today... man it sucks! I hate being off sick. Lay all day, and watched some pathetic daytime TV... man who puts this stuff on TV?? So as you can possibly imagine, I am suitably bored.