Last week my workmate Bryan asked me to pray for him. He was due to receive his replacement tuition vehicle, which we get every 6-7 months whilst working with a national driving school. So far every vehicle he received has been black. He desperately wanted a change this time and wanted any other colour apart from black.
He knows I am a Christian from me mentioning about church and also from reading my sharing on Facebook. Last week on the 15th of January he received news he'll be soon receiving his new replacement vehicle and he asked me to pray for him. I told him I would pray for him this time. Last time he mentioned about not wanting another black coloured vehicle and ended up disappointed when another black vehicle showed. This time he asked me to pray for anything but black colour and I took up the challenge.
I wanted to take this opportunity to show how powerful God is and how simple it is to communicate with God and trust Him to make a difference. After I agreed to pray for Bryan I briefly thought to myself that it was a risky move, to pray for something when there was no guarantee there will be the ideal outcome. I then thought back to when Aaron shared that Sunday when he wanted to pray for his Indian friends who were sick, but was a bit scared in case the prayer was not answered and he'd be embarrassed. Back then God reminded him that it was God's problem not Aaron's problem, and so Aaron went ahead and prayed for his friend who immediately felt better and started eating and sleeping properly. That was great powerful testimony of the power of God. So after reminding myself of that I started praying for Bryan each night just before I went to bed. I told my mum about this challenge as well and a few days later she told me she prayed about this for Bryan as well. How nice :)
There was a short delay of Bryan getting his vehicle. The due date was last Tuesday (18th Jan) but it has now been postponed to next Monday (24th Jan) and he found out by telephone this afternoon that he will be getting a blue vehicle!! The same colour as the vehicle I received yesterday! That was amazing!! When Bryan told me through the phone I had to immediately pray to thank God for the outcome, for listening to our prayers. Bryan is now delighted with the news and is so looking forward to receiving his car. I'm delighted that another person has been touched by the love of God.
The lesson of the day is, God listens to our prayers, no matter how big or small they may be. Prayers can make a difference =)
22 January 2011
13 January 2011
God the Deliverer
Near midnight of 3rd Jan I ordered a protein supplement from Affordablesupplements.co.uk, my usual online source and I opted for my usual '3-4 Days - Not Recorded' shipping and expected it to arrive in a few days and for me to receive a text message on the day of delivery, and the parcel would be delivered by DPD usually. However, on 5th January I received an email from Affordablesupplements.co.uk telling me they had just shipping my parcel through DHL Express and they gave me a tracking code so I could look online. I tracked the parcel and the status on the evening of 5th Jan at 20:46hrs was "Arrived at Depot - Leeds Terminal". By 08:53 on the 6th the status was "Passed to delivery courier" and "Out for delivery". Later in the evening the status changed to "Delayed due to adverse weather". However, there was no snow or anything in Glasgow. So I contacted DHL Customer Care to ask for the status of my parcel and to ask if I could pick it up. No response from them on the 7th nor the 8th. In fact, on the 7th the status was "Possible delay, vehicle breakdown". By then I was getting worried about my parcel. Where was the courier that he was having so many problems? The weather in Glasgow is fine, no snow or anything. What's wrong?
Then the snow came upon us on Saturday 8th. Once again the status changed to "Delayed due to adverse weather". This time I could understand, so I emailed DHL Express again to ask them if I could just pick up the parcel myself. Still no response. I kept checking for updates through the weekend etc but the website was apparently "experiencing technical issues and will be resolved as soon as possible". How sick!! Made me worried that my parcel would be lost now. I was eager to get this parcel, my only parcel left to wait for after my Canon camera arrived last Friday.
Last night in a conversation with my mum and sister where the three of us moaned about stuff that is annoying us at the moment and problems that we are facing etc, I mentioned this issue. That I was afraid I had lost my parcel and would not know where to track it especially if the website is down and the Customer Care is only a link to email them. After that moaning I felt better and went back on the computer to try the tracking link again. This time it updated as "Arrived At Depot" at 19:51hrs. Cool! Promising eh... might get it in the next day.
This morning I woke up to find the status changed to "In Transit" then "Out for Delivery" at 09:37hrs. Great, it must be on it's way and should get to me between 7am-9pm or something like that, I think. But cos we were all working nobody was at home to collect it. Ok, don't worry, just go to work. So off I went to work and I felt very peaceful. I didn't have to think about the parcel again until I got home around 3pm for a break. I looked at the pile of mail on the floor to try and find a DHL "we missed you" kind of car. Nothing there. Not to worry. Who knows I might even be fortunate enough to be in when they deliver it. I only had one hour at home before leaving for next lesson.
At 15:53hrs I was in the kitchen writing a card and was writing a nice message etc. I heard somebody had entered my close and stomped up the stairs and stopped somewhere to knock on a door. I was surprised why this person did not use doorbell or even letterbox to get attention. The heavy knocking happened twice but there seemed no response. Then the footsteps started to move upwards and came up to our second landing. The footsteps came up to our doormat and the person stood still. I heard the pressing of some sort of electronic device which resembled a utility person taking meter readings or something. Then there was knocking on my door. I walked up to the spyhole and looked through it half expecting a utilities man asking ot read our meter. But the man on the other side was actually from DHL with it's red and yellow fleece on. He held on to a round parcel and a handheld machine. It was in fact my protein supplement!! =D
I was so happy to receive it that was I happy enough to sign for the parcel that belonged to my neighbours below because they were not in. Imagine I was not in as well, this guy would have nowhere to put our parcels and might have just left a card through our door advising we missed him then he'd have to put the parcels back into the depot. So fortunately I was at home to receive the parcel, just in good time. I thank God for providing the parcel to arrive at this very moment. Everything has it's moments, all part of God's timing. I guess if it arrived any earlier on the week the delivery man might have had to return the goods which would have delayed my getting my hands on it. So I thank God that everything worked out now. God my Deliverer. Praise Him! =)
Then the snow came upon us on Saturday 8th. Once again the status changed to "Delayed due to adverse weather". This time I could understand, so I emailed DHL Express again to ask them if I could just pick up the parcel myself. Still no response. I kept checking for updates through the weekend etc but the website was apparently "experiencing technical issues and will be resolved as soon as possible". How sick!! Made me worried that my parcel would be lost now. I was eager to get this parcel, my only parcel left to wait for after my Canon camera arrived last Friday.
Last night in a conversation with my mum and sister where the three of us moaned about stuff that is annoying us at the moment and problems that we are facing etc, I mentioned this issue. That I was afraid I had lost my parcel and would not know where to track it especially if the website is down and the Customer Care is only a link to email them. After that moaning I felt better and went back on the computer to try the tracking link again. This time it updated as "Arrived At Depot" at 19:51hrs. Cool! Promising eh... might get it in the next day.
This morning I woke up to find the status changed to "In Transit" then "Out for Delivery" at 09:37hrs. Great, it must be on it's way and should get to me between 7am-9pm or something like that, I think. But cos we were all working nobody was at home to collect it. Ok, don't worry, just go to work. So off I went to work and I felt very peaceful. I didn't have to think about the parcel again until I got home around 3pm for a break. I looked at the pile of mail on the floor to try and find a DHL "we missed you" kind of car. Nothing there. Not to worry. Who knows I might even be fortunate enough to be in when they deliver it. I only had one hour at home before leaving for next lesson.
At 15:53hrs I was in the kitchen writing a card and was writing a nice message etc. I heard somebody had entered my close and stomped up the stairs and stopped somewhere to knock on a door. I was surprised why this person did not use doorbell or even letterbox to get attention. The heavy knocking happened twice but there seemed no response. Then the footsteps started to move upwards and came up to our second landing. The footsteps came up to our doormat and the person stood still. I heard the pressing of some sort of electronic device which resembled a utility person taking meter readings or something. Then there was knocking on my door. I walked up to the spyhole and looked through it half expecting a utilities man asking ot read our meter. But the man on the other side was actually from DHL with it's red and yellow fleece on. He held on to a round parcel and a handheld machine. It was in fact my protein supplement!! =D
I was so happy to receive it that was I happy enough to sign for the parcel that belonged to my neighbours below because they were not in. Imagine I was not in as well, this guy would have nowhere to put our parcels and might have just left a card through our door advising we missed him then he'd have to put the parcels back into the depot. So fortunately I was at home to receive the parcel, just in good time. I thank God for providing the parcel to arrive at this very moment. Everything has it's moments, all part of God's timing. I guess if it arrived any earlier on the week the delivery man might have had to return the goods which would have delayed my getting my hands on it. So I thank God that everything worked out now. God my Deliverer. Praise Him! =)
09 January 2011
God the Helper
Didn't share anything at the thanksgiving part of EM service, but definitely have something to be thankful for now!
This afternoon it was my turn to transport the PA equipment from Church Centre to Findlay Church. On the way there Jenni helped carry the keyboard stand and David helped me carry my guitar. They went in Jenni's car. In my car I put the big Roland keyboard on the back seat (can only fit diagonally) and two guitar amps in the rear footwell. The front seat was occupied by the projector and laptop. My boot space was already taken up by my usual box of stuff, my shoulder bag and my gym bag as I was planning to go to the gym with James after service. The roads were extremely icy this morning after yesterday's snowfall, so extra care had to be taken when carrying the equipment to and from the car.
After the service ended the PA was all tidied up and it was time to bring everything back to Church Centre again. So I filled up the car as follows: front seat my guitar and my shoulder bag, back seat keyboard and keyboard stand, footwell one guitar amp, boot space I put the laptop and projector which I managed to squeeze in after reshuffling stuff around. So off I drove to Church Centre. James was meant to meet me at Church Centre who was to follow me to Greens after it was all done.
I parked at Church Centre and decided to take the keyboard and the keyboard stand up first because it needed to go to the second floor of the flat. The Roland keyboard must weigh around 30-40kg and it zipped in a big bag and these straps as handles. These handles cut into your shoulders when you carry it up but it's the only way cos carrying it by hand would be too heavy. It is heavy and it is expensive so care is always taken when moving it, especially when walking over the snow and ice. So off I went and climbed the two flights of stairs up to the second floor. Whilst ascending up I was thinking of what I carry up next - the guitar amp belonged to the second floor and the laptop and projector belonged to the first floor (but not only that, the laptop and projector is kept in a locked cupboard where the key is kept in separate room). Once I got into the second floor I put down the keyboard and stand in the worship room. Chris McAdam was there with a few others and he asked if I had other stuff to bring up and if I needed help. I accepted Chris's kind offer and we walked down to my car. I thought I could ask Chris to bring the guitar amp up to the second floor as that would safe me a trip and I'll just handle the first floor cupboard.
Just as we reached the bottom of the stairs James came in to the close carrying the laptop and projector!! I didn't lock my car because it was such a short trip up the stairs and I couldn't get my key to lock it after having the keyboard on my shoulder. Turns out James arrived after me, parked behind my car and actually opened my boot to get the laptop and projector boxes! That was amazing!! I was so happy when I saw that, because it also meant I could give Chris the guitar amp to bring upstairs and the job's done!
I am thankful to God for providing people to help me today. Usually the PA duties are carried out in pairs but due to circumstances I transport and move stuff myself. When I feel it is tough I remind myself it is for God and that it is an honour so I should not complain or be negative. Just head down and carry on. Although I did not ask God for help, He still blessed me with Chris and James who helped out and I am grateful for it. It was such a nice surprise, especially on the part of James. All things worked out according to God's plan: car was not locked, James arriving and checking my boot and Chris being on the second floor.
Thank you God! =)
This afternoon it was my turn to transport the PA equipment from Church Centre to Findlay Church. On the way there Jenni helped carry the keyboard stand and David helped me carry my guitar. They went in Jenni's car. In my car I put the big Roland keyboard on the back seat (can only fit diagonally) and two guitar amps in the rear footwell. The front seat was occupied by the projector and laptop. My boot space was already taken up by my usual box of stuff, my shoulder bag and my gym bag as I was planning to go to the gym with James after service. The roads were extremely icy this morning after yesterday's snowfall, so extra care had to be taken when carrying the equipment to and from the car.
After the service ended the PA was all tidied up and it was time to bring everything back to Church Centre again. So I filled up the car as follows: front seat my guitar and my shoulder bag, back seat keyboard and keyboard stand, footwell one guitar amp, boot space I put the laptop and projector which I managed to squeeze in after reshuffling stuff around. So off I drove to Church Centre. James was meant to meet me at Church Centre who was to follow me to Greens after it was all done.
I parked at Church Centre and decided to take the keyboard and the keyboard stand up first because it needed to go to the second floor of the flat. The Roland keyboard must weigh around 30-40kg and it zipped in a big bag and these straps as handles. These handles cut into your shoulders when you carry it up but it's the only way cos carrying it by hand would be too heavy. It is heavy and it is expensive so care is always taken when moving it, especially when walking over the snow and ice. So off I went and climbed the two flights of stairs up to the second floor. Whilst ascending up I was thinking of what I carry up next - the guitar amp belonged to the second floor and the laptop and projector belonged to the first floor (but not only that, the laptop and projector is kept in a locked cupboard where the key is kept in separate room). Once I got into the second floor I put down the keyboard and stand in the worship room. Chris McAdam was there with a few others and he asked if I had other stuff to bring up and if I needed help. I accepted Chris's kind offer and we walked down to my car. I thought I could ask Chris to bring the guitar amp up to the second floor as that would safe me a trip and I'll just handle the first floor cupboard.
Just as we reached the bottom of the stairs James came in to the close carrying the laptop and projector!! I didn't lock my car because it was such a short trip up the stairs and I couldn't get my key to lock it after having the keyboard on my shoulder. Turns out James arrived after me, parked behind my car and actually opened my boot to get the laptop and projector boxes! That was amazing!! I was so happy when I saw that, because it also meant I could give Chris the guitar amp to bring upstairs and the job's done!
I am thankful to God for providing people to help me today. Usually the PA duties are carried out in pairs but due to circumstances I transport and move stuff myself. When I feel it is tough I remind myself it is for God and that it is an honour so I should not complain or be negative. Just head down and carry on. Although I did not ask God for help, He still blessed me with Chris and James who helped out and I am grateful for it. It was such a nice surprise, especially on the part of James. All things worked out according to God's plan: car was not locked, James arriving and checking my boot and Chris being on the second floor.
Thank you God! =)
04 January 2011
Vodafone
God knows what's on our hearts, he really does. Cos although I am not happy with my finance at the moment, He provided me with some help. I was sitting in the car sorting out my diary etc when my phone lit up whilst on silent and the call was from 08080600832. From previous experience I somehow knew it was a call centre call but wasn't too sure which one it was. So I picked up the call and held phone to my ear without saying anything. Was thinking if this were a cold calling agent I'd waste their time as much as they'd waste mine, cos I've had a fair share of these calls before. Sometimes a missed call which you call back and get cut off or they give you funny answering machine service. Anyway, I held on silently for five seconds before an agent introduced himself and said he was calling from Vodafone to discuss with me about my current contract as I am due an upgrade soon. I totally forgot my 18 month contract was due to end soon. So I listened to what he had to say and he asked me if I were happy with my current handset (HTC Magic) and I told him I was very pleased with it as it was my first time using Android and it is so good to use, everything so convient with Google etc. He then told me he could offer me my current tariff (600 Anytime minutes, Unlimited texts, Unlimited mobile internet and Stop the Clock) for half the price on a 12 month contract, if I were to keep the phone. The first nine months would be £17.50 a month and the last three would be back to £35 a month because my contract was not due to finish until mid-Feb. That sounded amazing! However, I was also quite interested to know if I could get a new handset, another HTC phone. He searched on the system for me and said the latest HTC handset is HTC Desire HD and if I were to get that on an 18 month or 24 month contract I could get the phone for free, but the tariff is back to £35 a month. I thought about it for a short moment.
I could hear my heart telling me to go for a new flashy shiny gadget. I could hear my head telling me to save money as my HTC Magic is working perfectly fine! I could hear the background noise of the Vodafone office in Manchester. In the end I opted to go for the 12 month half price line rental and it takes effect as of midnight tonight according to Oz on the phone. So I thank God that my February bill will now be £17.50 and I get the full benefits of my normal tariff without costing me anything. My phone's working fine, minus a few nicks from accidental drops but everything is hunky-dorey. One year will pass by really quickly and I will have saved £192.50 through the year. Once I hung up I thanked God for this blessing. I am very glad I chose to receive this blessing rather than go for a new gadget. =)
I could hear my heart telling me to go for a new flashy shiny gadget. I could hear my head telling me to save money as my HTC Magic is working perfectly fine! I could hear the background noise of the Vodafone office in Manchester. In the end I opted to go for the 12 month half price line rental and it takes effect as of midnight tonight according to Oz on the phone. So I thank God that my February bill will now be £17.50 and I get the full benefits of my normal tariff without costing me anything. My phone's working fine, minus a few nicks from accidental drops but everything is hunky-dorey. One year will pass by really quickly and I will have saved £192.50 through the year. Once I hung up I thanked God for this blessing. I am very glad I chose to receive this blessing rather than go for a new gadget. =)
03 January 2011
"JOSHUAB"
It was on the evening of Thursday 23rd December when a group of us played Scrabble after Christmas dinner. At the start of Scrabble each player grabs a handful of seven word tiles from the bag to begin. I took out seven letters and whilst I sorted them out I managed to spell out the name Joshua and still had a letter B left. So I stuck it on at the end to make JOSHUAB. I was very surprised that I got this word and showed everyone else and we had a laugh. There is a book in the Bible called Joshua so I was quite intrigued to read if there was a message in there for me. Since the word I had was JOSHUAB I thought it looked like Joshua8 and decided to check out Joshua chapter 8. Here's how it started at verse one:
"Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land."
I've recently been going through some difficult times with the bad weather affecting my income and some challenging issues with matters of the heart. I've had to make some difficult decisions as well and overall it has been quite a discouraging time. But the part of the verse which really stood out to me is at the start where it said do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. The rest didn't apply to me directly as it was about a time of war where God said to Joshua to bring people up for an attack. However, Joshua was at that time facing a challenging time of having such a big task to do, to take an army to conquer another city. But because the Lord assured him everything was ok he went ahead and did it and everything went in his favour. So I believe this verse did not appear out of the Scrabble bag by coincidence. I believe there was a message on it for me and God is telling me that although I face challenging times and I might be scared, that He will still be with me and when I do things His way, everything will be ok. =)
I hope I managed to encourage people with my short sharing. It was unplanned and it was certainly not shared with any pride on my behalf, but what I boast of is God's power. I share as a person who is sinful, broken and lost, yet God can still speak to me. If God can speak to me, He can speak to you too. But are you listening or aware of His presence? =)
"Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land."
I've recently been going through some difficult times with the bad weather affecting my income and some challenging issues with matters of the heart. I've had to make some difficult decisions as well and overall it has been quite a discouraging time. But the part of the verse which really stood out to me is at the start where it said do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. The rest didn't apply to me directly as it was about a time of war where God said to Joshua to bring people up for an attack. However, Joshua was at that time facing a challenging time of having such a big task to do, to take an army to conquer another city. But because the Lord assured him everything was ok he went ahead and did it and everything went in his favour. So I believe this verse did not appear out of the Scrabble bag by coincidence. I believe there was a message on it for me and God is telling me that although I face challenging times and I might be scared, that He will still be with me and when I do things His way, everything will be ok. =)
I hope I managed to encourage people with my short sharing. It was unplanned and it was certainly not shared with any pride on my behalf, but what I boast of is God's power. I share as a person who is sinful, broken and lost, yet God can still speak to me. If God can speak to me, He can speak to you too. But are you listening or aware of His presence? =)
02 January 2011
Dublin Trip
I went to Dublin between 27th to 30th December and the trip was amazing. The time out was what I really needed and I come back feeling refreshed and recharged with God. I have really enjoyed my time in Dublin, although I often wished I had a toothpick with me. Haha! The past few days I spent by myself, just me and God in an environment that is new and that is foreign. A place were nobody knew me. A place were I could walk whatever speed I want, didn't have to drive (wah-hey!), check out tourist sites, drink Guinness, drink Baileys on ice, walk about the hotel room nakes if I wished. One word: freedom. This freedom does not last long because I knew once I got home I return to responsbility, a business, family, church and matters of the heart.
Trip has been refreshing for me because the said freedom has given me time to think about things properly, to consult in God about matters weighing in my heart and to fully submit to Him. I acknowledge and confess that I have been very wrong in the handling of certain areas of my life, especially matters of the heart. I know what the main cause is and I know I have to seriously take action in order to change. Tuesday night was the second night in which I chatted to God very openly about these issues. It was also when I felt the need to really study the verse "Seek first the Kingdom of God" and see how it applies to me. The notes I made goes on for ages and I will share that in another blog post, cos I don't want to bore anybody here. I will post it up later though =)
Thanksgiving
Well guys, I want to tell you I felt very blessed by God during my time at Dublin. For starters when I arrived at the airport I was faced with a choice of taking Air Coach (blue) or Air Link (green) to the city centre. It seemed these two companies were the main two competing. I chose the Air Link bus because it also provided an Airport Return ticket and a 2-day Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour package for total of €22. When the bus arrived at it's O'Connell Street stop, I asked the bus driver if he knew where on O'Connell Street the Gresham Hotel was and he told me it was just a few metres away from the bus stop. Wow! How convenient! I didn't even have to walk far with my luggage! =) Blessed!
Some might think I booked the hotel myself and so shouldn't be surprised at where it was located. But in fact, I did not choose this hotel. Originally I had booked the Croke Park Hotel next to Croke Park Stadium. But in mid-November Alpharooms informed me the hotel had closed down and they had to relocate me to another hotel. They chose Gresham Hotel which was the same star rating and same room type. I was ok with it as I didn't have time to look up different places again. Croke Park Hotel would have been a few miles away from O'Connell Street the heart of the city centre and I might have had to take another bus to the hotel. So I thank God that my accommodation was relocated to this particular hotel. How very convenient. Blessed!
Tuesday morning I walked out of the hotel with a wee map and was looking for a Parnell Street where I should expect to see the start of the Dublin Tours green bus route. However when I walked to the end of the street on the right and looked right onto Cathal Brugha Street and there sat a green tour bus stationary. When I consulted the wee tour bus map it turned out that the Cathal Brugha Street stop was the first stop of the tour!! How cool was that!! I got to begin the 23 stop tour from just around the corner of my hotel. AND I got to choose my best seat before any other people came onboard. Hehe! Blessed!
These are just a few of the things that made me feel blessed whilst being on holiday. There were other things like getting charged a concession rate when I went to Christ Church Cathedral, when people agreed to take pictures of me with my camera, feeling safe walking about even at night time without any bother from the locals or others. The peace of God was with me, giving me the confidence, even when a man and a woman stopped me on the street asking for money and I told them I was a tourist with "only €10 on me" and that was for dinner. We had a nice chat on the street and we shook hands, hugged and wished each other well for the new year. I would never have done that in Glasgow, or at least felt comfortable doing that in Glasgow, but I felt peaceful about it last night. God bless Michael (who was also blind) and Rosie. =)
I shall share more later when I have the time. Right now I'm quite tired and looking forward to sleeping on my memory foam bed and memory foam pillow =) Scheduled in the gym tomorrow at 1pm. Must go even earlier in order to get more cardio work done. Have eaten sooooo much (unhealthy!) food in the past few days!! =P
Special thanks!
Before I forget I want to give special thanks to a few more people. Cat my sister took me to the airport on Monday morning. It was cold, it was wet, but my wee sis drove me in her wee Micra before going to the gym. She was shocked to hear that the taxi would have cost £24. As was Bryan my driving instructor friend. He was also disgusted at the cost of the taxi fare and said he'd take me and pick me up. Vince also kindly offered to take me and pick me up. In fact, he texted me on Monday morning and also this afternoon to ask when I was landing. God has blessed me with great friends and family who are kind to me. They show love and kindness amidst their busy schedule. I opted to take the 500 bus to George Square then then local 41 bus back home. Although I declined their offers (I'm never one to bother people if I can help it), their kindness will not be forgotten and I am gratefully touched. Cheers again guys! =)
Trip has been refreshing for me because the said freedom has given me time to think about things properly, to consult in God about matters weighing in my heart and to fully submit to Him. I acknowledge and confess that I have been very wrong in the handling of certain areas of my life, especially matters of the heart. I know what the main cause is and I know I have to seriously take action in order to change. Tuesday night was the second night in which I chatted to God very openly about these issues. It was also when I felt the need to really study the verse "Seek first the Kingdom of God" and see how it applies to me. The notes I made goes on for ages and I will share that in another blog post, cos I don't want to bore anybody here. I will post it up later though =)
Thanksgiving
Well guys, I want to tell you I felt very blessed by God during my time at Dublin. For starters when I arrived at the airport I was faced with a choice of taking Air Coach (blue) or Air Link (green) to the city centre. It seemed these two companies were the main two competing. I chose the Air Link bus because it also provided an Airport Return ticket and a 2-day Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour package for total of €22. When the bus arrived at it's O'Connell Street stop, I asked the bus driver if he knew where on O'Connell Street the Gresham Hotel was and he told me it was just a few metres away from the bus stop. Wow! How convenient! I didn't even have to walk far with my luggage! =) Blessed!
Some might think I booked the hotel myself and so shouldn't be surprised at where it was located. But in fact, I did not choose this hotel. Originally I had booked the Croke Park Hotel next to Croke Park Stadium. But in mid-November Alpharooms informed me the hotel had closed down and they had to relocate me to another hotel. They chose Gresham Hotel which was the same star rating and same room type. I was ok with it as I didn't have time to look up different places again. Croke Park Hotel would have been a few miles away from O'Connell Street the heart of the city centre and I might have had to take another bus to the hotel. So I thank God that my accommodation was relocated to this particular hotel. How very convenient. Blessed!
Tuesday morning I walked out of the hotel with a wee map and was looking for a Parnell Street where I should expect to see the start of the Dublin Tours green bus route. However when I walked to the end of the street on the right and looked right onto Cathal Brugha Street and there sat a green tour bus stationary. When I consulted the wee tour bus map it turned out that the Cathal Brugha Street stop was the first stop of the tour!! How cool was that!! I got to begin the 23 stop tour from just around the corner of my hotel. AND I got to choose my best seat before any other people came onboard. Hehe! Blessed!
These are just a few of the things that made me feel blessed whilst being on holiday. There were other things like getting charged a concession rate when I went to Christ Church Cathedral, when people agreed to take pictures of me with my camera, feeling safe walking about even at night time without any bother from the locals or others. The peace of God was with me, giving me the confidence, even when a man and a woman stopped me on the street asking for money and I told them I was a tourist with "only €10 on me" and that was for dinner. We had a nice chat on the street and we shook hands, hugged and wished each other well for the new year. I would never have done that in Glasgow, or at least felt comfortable doing that in Glasgow, but I felt peaceful about it last night. God bless Michael (who was also blind) and Rosie. =)
I shall share more later when I have the time. Right now I'm quite tired and looking forward to sleeping on my memory foam bed and memory foam pillow =) Scheduled in the gym tomorrow at 1pm. Must go even earlier in order to get more cardio work done. Have eaten sooooo much (unhealthy!) food in the past few days!! =P
Special thanks!
Before I forget I want to give special thanks to a few more people. Cat my sister took me to the airport on Monday morning. It was cold, it was wet, but my wee sis drove me in her wee Micra before going to the gym. She was shocked to hear that the taxi would have cost £24. As was Bryan my driving instructor friend. He was also disgusted at the cost of the taxi fare and said he'd take me and pick me up. Vince also kindly offered to take me and pick me up. In fact, he texted me on Monday morning and also this afternoon to ask when I was landing. God has blessed me with great friends and family who are kind to me. They show love and kindness amidst their busy schedule. I opted to take the 500 bus to George Square then then local 41 bus back home. Although I declined their offers (I'm never one to bother people if I can help it), their kindness will not be forgotten and I am gratefully touched. Cheers again guys! =)
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