Friday 25 October 2013
Home Again
Hello, I'm sorry I didn't post last week, as you can imagine my first week back in the UK was hectic.
It's amazing to be back home in the UK after 5 months away. Its been great to meet back up with my girlfriend, friends and family; and I still have more excitement to come as tomorrow I will be returning to Cornwall to meet up with my family.
But just because I have not been at work does not mean I have not been busy! In fact, I think I will have to go back to work soon for a rest!
One thing I have been up to in the past week is helping out with the local food bank. Food bank is something I have known about for a long time, but not really known much about. Every time I go to ASDA I have seen their bins for collecting food, and I have often thought I should put something in, but if I am honest I never have.
Food bank exists to provide emergency food to people and families when they really need it. But if I am honest I have thought in the past, people cant really be at risk of starving here in the UK, that's what benefits are for; to help people out when they really need it; Surely these people are just trying it on.
Helping out at the food bank distribution point last week was a real eye opener. I was quite shocked at how many people turned up and the different and varied stories they had. These people certainly were not trying it on, and I feel ashamed now that I might have thought that at times.
So next time you go shopping at your local supermarket why not pick up one extra tin and put it into the food bank bin, it really is needed and the people who use the food bank really are in need.
The Sailing Salvationist
It's amazing to be back home in the UK after 5 months away. Its been great to meet back up with my girlfriend, friends and family; and I still have more excitement to come as tomorrow I will be returning to Cornwall to meet up with my family.
But just because I have not been at work does not mean I have not been busy! In fact, I think I will have to go back to work soon for a rest!
One thing I have been up to in the past week is helping out with the local food bank. Food bank is something I have known about for a long time, but not really known much about. Every time I go to ASDA I have seen their bins for collecting food, and I have often thought I should put something in, but if I am honest I never have.
Food bank exists to provide emergency food to people and families when they really need it. But if I am honest I have thought in the past, people cant really be at risk of starving here in the UK, that's what benefits are for; to help people out when they really need it; Surely these people are just trying it on.
Helping out at the food bank distribution point last week was a real eye opener. I was quite shocked at how many people turned up and the different and varied stories they had. These people certainly were not trying it on, and I feel ashamed now that I might have thought that at times.
So next time you go shopping at your local supermarket why not pick up one extra tin and put it into the food bank bin, it really is needed and the people who use the food bank really are in need.
The Sailing Salvationist
Friday 11 October 2013
Homeward Bound!
Well this is the post I have been looking forward to writing for months. This time tomorrow I will be sat at the airport waiting to fly back to the UK! This post will be slightly different as there is not really going to be any of my usual spiritual ramblings in it, as I am currently doing my hand over to my relief so time is short.
The past week has been another week of ups and downs; there have been a lot of problems with flights, which of course is very stressful when all you want to do is get home. At first we were due home on an RAF flight, which is an epic journey. It is not rare to spend over 30 hours trying to get home that way. Which when you hate flying as much as I do is a nightmare. Then we were told there was no space on the weekend RAF flight so we would have to leave the ship and stay at the military airport until the mid week flight; not a good thing to be told! But then there was no space on the mid week flight, so we were told they were looking into civilian flights. After being told we were booked on flights twice only to find out we actually were not I was not really a happy chap. But then finally we got our flight conformation and it was certain we were booked onto a civilian flight straight home. Believe me that is such a good feeling!
I also had an e mail this week which confirmed I had a place to run next years London Marathon for The Salvation Army. I was really happy about this, although it does mean to do a 6 month training plan I have to start training on Monday! Oh well may as well get straight back to the UK and hit the ground running!
Looking back over this trip it seems like this has been the longest 5 months of my life. I really have not enjoyed this trip. There are a few reasons of this, my heart is not really in the Navy anymore, I used to love going to sea, but this trip I just did not want to be away. The trip itself has also been quite bad, usually you have some good port stops to look forward to and break the trip up. But this trip we have only really had one good stop.
This trip has been so hard for me, I have never ever struggled with being away before, and I have always loved it. But there have been times this trip where I was ready to jump off the side of the ship, swim to shore and then get a flight home. But then anyone who read my triathlon post will know I would not have got very far in the swim!
I really have enjoyed writing this blog over the past few months. I was not sure if anyone would actually be interested in anything I had to say! But nearly 2000 people have read this blog and some weeks over 100 people read the posts. That's way more than I ever imagined. Thank you to everyone who has read it and even more to the people who have been coming back every week! I also need to say a big thank you to my Girlfriend, as due to the ships rubbish internet I cannot actually get onto blogspot, so each week I have e mailed here my posts and she has taken the time to upload them for me.
I was only going to do this blog for the trip, but I feel there has been such interest in it I will carry it on when I get back to the UK. So hopefully I will speak to you all again next week when I am back in the UK! (It feels so good to say that!)
The Sailing Salvationist
The past week has been another week of ups and downs; there have been a lot of problems with flights, which of course is very stressful when all you want to do is get home. At first we were due home on an RAF flight, which is an epic journey. It is not rare to spend over 30 hours trying to get home that way. Which when you hate flying as much as I do is a nightmare. Then we were told there was no space on the weekend RAF flight so we would have to leave the ship and stay at the military airport until the mid week flight; not a good thing to be told! But then there was no space on the mid week flight, so we were told they were looking into civilian flights. After being told we were booked on flights twice only to find out we actually were not I was not really a happy chap. But then finally we got our flight conformation and it was certain we were booked onto a civilian flight straight home. Believe me that is such a good feeling!
I also had an e mail this week which confirmed I had a place to run next years London Marathon for The Salvation Army. I was really happy about this, although it does mean to do a 6 month training plan I have to start training on Monday! Oh well may as well get straight back to the UK and hit the ground running!
Looking back over this trip it seems like this has been the longest 5 months of my life. I really have not enjoyed this trip. There are a few reasons of this, my heart is not really in the Navy anymore, I used to love going to sea, but this trip I just did not want to be away. The trip itself has also been quite bad, usually you have some good port stops to look forward to and break the trip up. But this trip we have only really had one good stop.
This trip has been so hard for me, I have never ever struggled with being away before, and I have always loved it. But there have been times this trip where I was ready to jump off the side of the ship, swim to shore and then get a flight home. But then anyone who read my triathlon post will know I would not have got very far in the swim!
I really have enjoyed writing this blog over the past few months. I was not sure if anyone would actually be interested in anything I had to say! But nearly 2000 people have read this blog and some weeks over 100 people read the posts. That's way more than I ever imagined. Thank you to everyone who has read it and even more to the people who have been coming back every week! I also need to say a big thank you to my Girlfriend, as due to the ships rubbish internet I cannot actually get onto blogspot, so each week I have e mailed here my posts and she has taken the time to upload them for me.
I was only going to do this blog for the trip, but I feel there has been such interest in it I will carry it on when I get back to the UK. So hopefully I will speak to you all again next week when I am back in the UK! (It feels so good to say that!)
The Sailing Salvationist
Friday 4 October 2013
Spiritual Man Flu!
Hello again, today is a big day. The day count is now in single figures, only 9 days until I get back to the UK! Whoop Whoop!
This week has been quite rubbish really, for the past few weeks there has been this nasty virus making its way around the ship. That is the problem with living in such cramped conditions with re-circulated air conditioning. Once a germ gets onto the ship it goes around and around from person to person; and this week it was my turn to get it.
I knew I was getting it one day this week when I woke up with a sore throat, this got worse and worse through the day. I went to bed thinking "Hopefully it will be better when I wake up". But that was not the case; much to the joy of everyone else on the ship I woke up and couldn't speak! Then I started getting the symptoms of full on man flu! Sorry ladies, you just can't understand how bad man flu actually is! I had a couple of really bad days, but I think now, although I am still a bit groggy and rough I am through the worst. I hope so because I want to be well when I go home!
I think one of the reasons I got this illness is because about two weeks ago I thought "I am fed up of getting up at 5 am, I only have a few weeks left, I'm going to stop going training." Since I have stopped going training it seems my body has just decided it has had enough and I end up waking up every morning feeling more rough and tired than I ever did when I was getting up at 5am.
But what has this little moan got to do with spiritual life? Well quite a lot really. When you look at it, this illness is a lot like sin in our lives. I stopped physical training and as soon as I did illness, aches and pains crept into my body. Much in the same way if I stopped my spiritual training, if I stopped reading my Bible and praying sin could easily creep back into my life.
That sin can also be infectious, spreading into others, as my actions could affect what others do and how they act. Just as this virus is spread around the ship via the cramped conditions. So my actions and what others see me doing in these cramped conditions could affect the
way other people act.
In the Bible Paul knew about how important keeping your spiritual training on track was, he wrote a letter to a young lad called Timothy. Timothy was a young Christian who Paul took under his wing and sent out to preach the Gospel. In a letter of guidance and encouragement
Paul said to him:
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
I am quite surprised how my body has reacted so badly to simply stopping training for a few weeks, I thought it would give it a rest and make me feel better and more energetic; but I could not have been more wrong. It is also essential we keep our spiritual training up, even when
we find it hard and tough going.
So what is the point of this post? I know it has turned into a bit of a rant! Well the point is, keep up your spiritual training, even when it is tough, or there are other things you want to do instead. Don't get spiritually lazy. Because when you do, sin and old habits can easily creep back into your life.
The Sailing Salvationist
This week has been quite rubbish really, for the past few weeks there has been this nasty virus making its way around the ship. That is the problem with living in such cramped conditions with re-circulated air conditioning. Once a germ gets onto the ship it goes around and around from person to person; and this week it was my turn to get it.
I knew I was getting it one day this week when I woke up with a sore throat, this got worse and worse through the day. I went to bed thinking "Hopefully it will be better when I wake up". But that was not the case; much to the joy of everyone else on the ship I woke up and couldn't speak! Then I started getting the symptoms of full on man flu! Sorry ladies, you just can't understand how bad man flu actually is! I had a couple of really bad days, but I think now, although I am still a bit groggy and rough I am through the worst. I hope so because I want to be well when I go home!
I think one of the reasons I got this illness is because about two weeks ago I thought "I am fed up of getting up at 5 am, I only have a few weeks left, I'm going to stop going training." Since I have stopped going training it seems my body has just decided it has had enough and I end up waking up every morning feeling more rough and tired than I ever did when I was getting up at 5am.
But what has this little moan got to do with spiritual life? Well quite a lot really. When you look at it, this illness is a lot like sin in our lives. I stopped physical training and as soon as I did illness, aches and pains crept into my body. Much in the same way if I stopped my spiritual training, if I stopped reading my Bible and praying sin could easily creep back into my life.
That sin can also be infectious, spreading into others, as my actions could affect what others do and how they act. Just as this virus is spread around the ship via the cramped conditions. So my actions and what others see me doing in these cramped conditions could affect the
way other people act.
In the Bible Paul knew about how important keeping your spiritual training on track was, he wrote a letter to a young lad called Timothy. Timothy was a young Christian who Paul took under his wing and sent out to preach the Gospel. In a letter of guidance and encouragement
Paul said to him:
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
I am quite surprised how my body has reacted so badly to simply stopping training for a few weeks, I thought it would give it a rest and make me feel better and more energetic; but I could not have been more wrong. It is also essential we keep our spiritual training up, even when
we find it hard and tough going.
So what is the point of this post? I know it has turned into a bit of a rant! Well the point is, keep up your spiritual training, even when it is tough, or there are other things you want to do instead. Don't get spiritually lazy. Because when you do, sin and old habits can easily creep back into your life.
The Sailing Salvationist
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