July 2011
2 posts
What if everyone else had time off like...
This is a thought that occurred to me. What would happen if everyone else had a prolonged summer break like Footballers? During this time everyone, whether under contract or not, could be tempted by new jobs elsewhere - competitors, previously unheard of organisations, jobs abroad…
Imagine if you went into work tomorrow and your boss said: “We’ve had an offer for you from...
June 2011
1 post
Multiple Google Accounts
I’ve always used two (Chrome) tabs for two different Google Apps Email accounts. For some reason this morning it wouldn’t let me do this, it would sign me out of one before I could use another.
A fix for this seems to be: visit https://www.google.com/accounts, choose ‘Multiple Sign-in’; then click on the drop down arrow on the top right, add the other account and you seem...
April 2011
1 post
Some of my favourite John Wimber quotes
Some of my favourite quotes from John Wimber:
“It’s not enough to be Biblically literate; we must also be Biblically obedient..”
”One question you never want to ask God unless you want the answer is, ‘what’s wrong with me?’ He will tell you the truth..”
“It’s not the Churches job to hold onto people. That’s what cemeteries...
March 2011
2 posts
SagePay Test Card Details
Sagepay is one of the most popular online payment processors in the UK. Everyone at some point of the integration will need to test that the payment gateway is working and to do that you will need the test credit / debit card numbers. These are hidden away in the SagePay integration documents so here they are for easy reference:
Card TypeCard NumberCard ExpiryIssue NumberCV2 ValueAddress...
Numbers and Church
In answer to why it’s important to count people in the Church.
My answer:
Whilst it’s not all about the numbers, numbers are important to know how many people we’re reaching and so that we can measure the effectiveness of what we do.
Someone cared enough to count in the gospels: 5,000, 12, 72, 40, 3000 - the numbers of those present, disciples, those sent out, days, number of...
February 2011
4 posts
Devil behind the wheel
Article that appears on the BBC Leicester website:
Leicestershire NHS Trust has apologised for its care of a mentally-ill woman who ran over and killed a mother and daughter in her car.
Gemma Montanaro, 41, said she thought Satan was driving when she lost control in Saffron Lane, Leicester, in 2007.
The previous evening she had been assessed in hospital by mental health teams and allowed to...
One thing Remains
Incredible song from Jeremy Riddle.
Higher than the mountains that I face Stronger than the power of the grave Constant through the trial and the change One thing remains One thing remains Your love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me On and one and on and on it goes It overwhelms and satisfies my soul And I never ever have to be afraid One thing remains In death and in life...
“Do not recruit anybody. You can evangelise, but do not recruit anybody. Because...”
– God speaking to John & Eleanor Mumford in 1987.
“Seasons change. It’s never the same trying to live in summer when...”
– Me
January 2011
1 post
God. What do I do?
This topic crops up a lot, so I thought I’d pen some thoughts.
One question asked of my wife and I, in Church circles, tends to be: “Mark/Anna, I have a course of action to decide on, but don’t know what to do.”
A few thoughts. Wimber would describe disciples as
‘People who have a personal relationship with Christ, a relationship of trust and dependence, of giving...
December 2010
1 post
FUD
Why do people try to stop or respond negatively to something?
FUD
FearUncertaintyDoubt
October 2010
2 posts
“You cannot be holy except as you are engaged in making the world a better place....”
– John Wesley
This is why I'm committed to helping those... →
September 2010
1 post
6 tags
Parting of the Red Sea: Here's the facts
The parting of the Red Sea is a story that I grew up with. The fundamentals of the story are that Pharaoh is chasing the Israelites through the desert, the Israelites reach the shore of the Red Sea, Moses stretches out his hand as commanded by God, the seas part, the Israelites walk through on ‘dry’ land (presumably a bit damp though).
Today, the BBC news reported that this bible...
August 2010
1 post
Leicester Councillors set to play Angry Birds in...
All 54 Leicester city councillors could be playing Angry Birds and Flick Football on iPads after next year’s May elections, as the Council look to hand out iPads to al councillors.
Four councillors are currently playing part in a cross-party trial, which so far consists of widespread use of Snake, Angry Birds and Doodle Jump ahead of their potential roll-out across the council in May...
July 2010
5 posts
3 tags
Building your marriage
I love my wife very much and have learnt a lot over the last 6 years of marriage. There’s an awful lot we still have to learn, but we also really value marriage and so believe in helping others with their marriages.
This is an illustration that I played around with today. Which I found useful.
Marriage is like building a house. You begin with foundations, which need to be solid. If...
Even Raoul Moat is deserving of our compassion
This is the full article which I wrote for the Leicester Mercury. Their edited version appears on their website. I understand the editing process, so there are some phrasing differences and structure differences, nothing major:
Last week the country looked on as a broken man went on the run with a gun, the grand conclusion came when he took his own life following negotiations with Police.
...
Cameron: No Sympathy for Moat
David Cameron believes there should be no sympathy for the dead gunman Moat, he is quoted as saying: ”There should be no sympathy for him.”
Whilst the crimes Moat committed were horrendous, and his victims will be scarred emotionally and/or physically for life, there is still another point.
This is a section of the poem Vultures by Chinua Achebe, who writes about the Commandant of...
June 2010
5 posts
How to NOT build community in a Church
Community is brilliant, it’s great and it’s effective. Jesus was excellent at building community whilst also investing in a small group of people.
So here’s a list of 10 ways to avoid building community:
Keep conversations short. You are busy, you have a lot to deal with in your life, if you talk to someone you might get close to them and that takes time and energy that you...
Man 'banned' from using the NHS - suggestion
From BBC News:
A homeless man who became an expert at faking illness so he could stay in hospital has been given a criminal Asbo.
Christopher Dearlove, 41, used more than 70 aliases to trick NHS staff into admitting him to hospital.
Each time Dearlove was admitted to hospital, it cost an NHS trust between £400 and £1,000.
If Dearlove breaks the terms of his restrictions, he will be jailed for...
2 tags
Hashtag on a Mac
We’ve all thought about it at one point or another, and we’ve all searched Google for it, but it’s never easy to find the answer. So, once and for all, here is the answer.
All you need to do is press the ‘alt’ and ’3′ keys together and as if by magic you have your #.
Simple.
May 2010
1 post
April 2010
3 posts
Discount in the name? Leave well alone
Quote of the Day: Discount in the company name just screams “I don’t know what I’m doing - ooh, cheap is good”
This comes from a nightmare we had with a hosting company with discount in the name.
If you were ever tempted to do business with any company with ‘discount’ in the name, have a strong word with yourself and walk away.
3 tags
4 tags
Subway/Spurs April Fools Day
Spurs close to unveiling new stadium name
By Matthew Marinara TOTTENHAM hope to unveil the name of their new stadium as early as next month, after American sandwich giants Subway agreed to match the club’s sponsorship valuation in a record-breaking 15-year deal. Owned by Doctor’s Associates, Inc, the franchise is the second-largest restaurant operator in the world, with over 32,000...
March 2010
11 posts
Retro Nerd: Top 10 Reasons NOT to Choose a Web... →
A couple of Twitter conversation today prompted this post. Anyway these are my Top 10 reasons NOT to choose a web host…
The Staff Post Reviews. If your prospective host appears on review sites with very mixed reviews, something fishy is going on!
Unlimited Forever! There is no such…
3 tags
Banana Cake Recipe
This recipe comes from the Waitrose website, who sourced this Banana Cake recipe from the Royal Horticultural Society at its cafe at Wisley, their internationally renowned garen.
Makes 1 x 900g loaf
Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 40-45 minutes
2 ripe bananas (about 400g)
150g softened butter
150g soft brown sugar
80g sultanas
300g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2...
3 tags
Letter to Betterware
My good friend Lou wrote this to her Betterware representative. It’s brilliant:
Dear Sir, Let me introduce myself, I am a pet shop employee, not a very large one (the shop), one of those little ones which only seems to sell fish and rodents and always smells of something completely unique to small pet shops and vets practices. Surprisingly its a sweaty smell and I’m pretty sure fish...
The difference in business generations
I’m currently sat at the services, stocking up on food and drink. Whilst I sit here I’m checking my emails, responding to those that need it; also Reading the news through Twitter links; catching up with some blogs; checking the facebook pages that I admin for customers.
I do this whilst relaxing in jeans and a zipped top; reflecting on a morning filming.
In short I’m a...
2 tags
Marketing dull books
It’s amazing how as Marketers we can find exciting titles for the most boring of books.
For example, I’m currently looking at:
Crossing The Chasm
Inside the Tornado
Living on the Fault Line
Not books about living on the edge, but Business best sellers.
I guess titles that fit the book just don’t cut it anymore. Besides, I’m more likely to buy a ‘dangerous...
3 tags
Quote of the day
“Do Vineyard do tounges?”
“No, just a firm handshake.”
This was from one of our small group members, who then went bright red upon my response.
Naturally we were discussing speaking in tounges and spiritual gifts.
Vineyard: Naturally Supernatural
Last night at small group my ever lovely wife taught on one of the foundations of the Vineyard - being Naturally Supernatural.
I will try to prise her notes off her and post them up here. It was exceptionally good.
4 tags
Vox Bomb: WordPress to Tumblr →
I’ve dabbled in Wordpress for a few years on and off, but always find facebook and twitter so quick and easy to update. So I find myself revisiting my Tumblr account, to collate thoughts and interesting things from around the web. In the process I wanted to import all my posts from Wordpress to Tumblr and found this brilliant guide by Vox Bomb that works brilliantly.
4 tags
Vineyard: The now and the not yet
The following are the rough notes for a small group study, based on one of the key vineyard distinctives. It’s not meant to be the definitive guide to the Now and the Not Yet – and is written in note form, but it might be helpful for some people. I do also suggest listening to John Mumford’s (National Director of Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland) talk on the distincitves Distinctives: Things...
3 tags
Vineyard: The Main and the Plain
The following are the rough notes for a small group study, based on one of the key vineyard distinctives. It’s not meant to be the definitive guide to the Main and the Plain - and is written in note form, but it might be helpful for some people. I do also suggest listening to John Mumford’s (National Director of Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland) talk on the distincitves...
February 2010
1 post
Defoe vs Keane
Thanks to marcspurs from Spurs Odyssey who put together the following stats on Defoe and Keane: App. Goals Pens 2002/03: Robbie Keane 32+(6) 13 2 PL Only 29+(3) 13 2 2003/04: Robbie Keane 38+(3) 16 3 PL Only 31+(3) 14 3 Jermain Defoe 14+(1) 7 PL Only 14+(1) 7 2004/05: Robbie Keane...
June 2009
1 post
The Search for Steve Cram
Innocently enough I began my day with a bowl of Kellogg’s Start (bought from Asda for those who are struggling to find it), I used to like it as a kid and this was the first time I’d seen it, although I had heard rumours of it’s existence. This blast from the past led to my un-interesting post on twitter: “I’ve rediscovered Kellogg’s “Start” - it...
May 2009
1 post
The Jelly Joke - take 1
After taking inspiration from The Office I borrowed a stapler from a chap in the office, who is a bit too fond of his stapler. I then bought some jelly and attempted to recreate the famous scene. Sadly my mould was weak and it fell apart when it came out, but fear not I shall try again. [gallery]
February 2009
2 posts
Big Chef, Little Chef, Good PR?
As a Child, a highlight of any long journey was a stop at one of the many Little Chefs that littered the roads. So it was with sadness that over recent years we have witnessed the decline of the once-loved Little Chef and the closure of many of these roadside restaurants. Enter Heston Blumenthal, the famed Chef of the pioneering Fat Duck and someone who seems to be able to run a kitchen without...
PR blog
Just populating this blog with a quick test post.
January 2009
2 posts
“Tottenham sign goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer from Chelsea.”
– http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/7851011.stm
February 2007
1 post
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