A.R.T. Antics

So after 24 hours on a coach I actually needed some space by the next day. Anybody who knows me is in disbelief here, but even I need quiet sometimes and perhaps more so since I lived on my own. I managed to hide away for a few hours upstairs in the hotel to spend some time with Papa (God) I may have stolen this from the shack but you catch the sentiment. I got to the beach for a couple of hours and dangled my feet in the water but generally kept dry . I loved staring at the waves coming in and out I could stare for hours, there is something captivating about the sea. We had already formed our group we were the gang from the coach. Even on the first day which was a Sunday it felt like time slowed down. That couple of hours seemed to quite extensive. Then there was dinner and our first meeting, dinner Usually consisted of lots of salad. I needed to make sure I didn't just fill up on salad although it was quite easy to do and friends had to remind me. I imagine that my energy level...

A few weeks ago I went on holiday which was a welcome break to my usual activities. I embarked first of all on a journey across the UK to the south east coast. Of course my travels were not without their dramas as my middle name or should I say my blog name is not antics. So the first drama was like something straight out of Bridget Jones.  As I anticipated getting on the coach with my suitcase which I was convinced was going to not be allowed on the coach as I hadn't managed to weigh. I don't own a pair of weighing scales, maybe it is time to invest.  I had a Bridget jones moment with my suitcase, I didn't realise that it wouldn't fit down the aisle, what suitcase doesn't fit down an aisle. Clearly my case doesn't. I can imagine Bridget Jones dragging her suitcase down the aisle of a train, knocking everyone over just as I did. Thankfully my amazing travel buddy came to the rescue along with a couple of unsuspecting male bystanders who took pity on a poor weak ...

I did a park run which is 5K in this heat on Saturday, although it wasn’t too hot so I was fine and managed it. I have signed up to do the colour run a week on Saturday. I’m going to be doing it for Hope for Justice which is an anti -slavery organisation they are amazing. There is some really lovely countryside near me which was so nice to see and I must go for a walk there when I’m not running, probably with someone as it would be a bit secluded. Still there were over 300 people who came on the park run.  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/angela-thompson12?newPage=True    SO I am back into the swing of work again, Spain feels like years ago. Even though it was only 2 weeks ago. Thankfully I am still in touch with some of the friends I made, they may become lifelong friends, I do hope so. It’s been an interesting week so far me and some of the girls from my family went to the Britannia hotel for afternoon tea. It was really lovely and so reasonable, ther...

 The weekend just gone it included a singles meal where I am quite sure I was the youngest it’s usually the way. We went to Sweet Mandarin in the northern quarter which is actually owned by our very own Lisa Tse, I believe she is part of the evening site which is now called HOME, more about that in a minute. Lisa is a bit of a celebrity she has a recipe book out, a range of sauces which you can find in Sainsbury’s. She has even cooked for the prime-minister and to top it all off she has an MBE. Despite all this fame she addressed me personally and we got the star treatment. Saturday I went to Chester to see some of my old Uni friends some of which I had not seen in 15 years, yes I am that old. We had a good boogie and chatted to the early hours of the morning. So, the next day I get up (don’t make it to church) I have an enormous headache but it wasn’t an alcoholic hangover because I kid you not I only had one glass of wine. So, after a bit of deduction and a chat to my partn...

There is something I have been pondering for a while and that is the world of the child and the imagination. I have thought about the world of the artist and how it links into the spiritual many times. As an artist and a christian I have come to realise in my own journey that Art is a most spiritual thing and imagination is a gateway into the spiritual. The many paintings I have produced have been ones that I have captured through prayer. I have said that painting is a kind of praying. I believe that I have interacted with the spiritual world through my painting which I will embark on once again in the near future. It's funny the way that we seem to do away with imagination when we get into our adult years as if it does not have any use to us anymore. We relegate imagination to our kindergarten years, it's like we are scared of our imaginations. So we put our imagination in a box at the back of our minds and pretend we do t need it or want it. Because we have filed it away so...

They say it's after you complete a bible course that the real learning kicks in and I think they are right. The truth is I now have a lot more light, that means a lot more responsibility for my actions than I was before. So although at the moment I work in the corporate world even though we provide a public service I believe myself to be an urban missionary. Since starting there almost 6 months ago I have learnt so much. I don't think I was totally aware how the world thought. In lots of ways I've been in Christian surrounding for quite sometime with Ywam and doing the bible school last year. So in some ways it has been a refreshing change being in the real world so to speak. I'm continually reminded that most people's thoughts are on money, it's what most people talk about that together with getting as many material objects as possible. Buying items is talked about as a necessity rather than a luxury. Now I have been buying a few more things because I h...

During a social media fast recently I felt God speak to me really clearly which set me off on a train of thought which results in this blog. It is so true when you take the distractions out of our lives such as social media. You can be left with a lot of time on your hands. Beyond this you are faced with yourself and those things you try to distract by social media that are your own sometimes painful realities. So one morning at the beginning of this media fast I had been faced with one of these painful realities ( that's perhaps for another time) and was struggling and thought to myself I could sure do with a quiet time right now but I was so busy, oh boy Jesus how . After a day of full activity I was sat on my bed and thought well I feel better I can't remember why I was struggling and I don't really need to spend time with God now. In that instance I had this revelation was that it, did I just go to God when I needed something or I was feeling down. I mean what kind of r...