Time Flies When You're... Suddenly At the End of March!

My weekly excursions around the town of Maynooth have continued, especially as the weather has been so very grand! It has been between 45-55 F here for the past couple of weeks, and amazingly sunny considering the weeks of rain that had preceded it. But it is so very dull to talk about the weather!

In between the various social occasions, I have attempted to stay on top of all my readings and schoolwork. A great number of the students here seem to leave the reading until the end of the semester, but I don't think I could breath with a burden like that over my head. I have thus been reading many intriguing (and some very dull or, dare I say, slightly moronic) philosophical texts. Boethius' "Consolation of Philosophy" is particularly interesting, though I disagree heartily with some of his theology.

I had expected, as Spring arrived, that there would be many burnings here, as there is a good deal of dead material about (though not as much as in New England). Though I have not seen any bonfires, I have smelt fires when it was much too warm for it to be a woodstove.

I have continued with Gospel Choir, and Teenspace (which is still getting rolling, though I went to the movie night we had two weeks back and it went well, only we were hoping for more kids). I attended a Bible Study that brought together three of the surrounding churches, one of them Catholic, the Presbyterian one that I attend, and one is the Church of Ireland. It was fantastic to break up into groups that had multiple traditions in them to discuss the implications of the widow who God uses to provide for Elijah! It is really wonderful how God is bringing healing in the Christian body where there has been hatred for so long.

The Lovely "Village at Lyons" backview

A lovely couple from the church I am going to took me out for lunch one Sunday, and we went to The Village at Lyons. At the bottom of the page they have a great video, which is a good taste of the real thing. It was very beautiful, and had quite a medieval feel to it. We ate in the lovely canal cafe, where I had a bowl of deliciously creamy carrot-cumin soup with some of Ireland's finest wheaten soda bread. It is set on a wide farmland, at the top of which resides a mysterious estate, and includes a small shop, a large outdoor fireplace, and the cafe, all next to the main building where one can have weddings. The design of the building itself recalls that of a castle, but is not quite as grand as one. I cannot describe the statues, fountain, and gardens adequately. It would have been a time forgotten if not for the flush toilets, the fashion event that was apparently going on, and the tourists!

I will dedicate the next blog entirely to Saint Patrick's Day, I promise. There is too much to say, however, and I am in the middle of editing a paper for my Celtic Heroes class comparing the Youthful experiences of the great Cu Chulainn and Finn MacCumaill.

Please pray for:
1) Continued dedication in my studies
2) For all my friends here and church body: That I would be a blessing to them and that God would work in all our hearts here.
3) Dare I say, financial providence
4) Direction for what God will call me to next
6) To speak the truth boldly (with grace!) and to be faithful to God in all areas of my life
7) God to always remind me how much I need Him and the Cross
8) For  Believers to celebrate with on Easter!
9) For the Christian Union and the events coming up on The Resurrection and other topics (that God would bring in curious seekers, he would be glorified)
10) For Teenspace (that God would draw in teens from the area, esp. troubled ones, that it would be a place they could feel loved, accepted, and that the leaders would know how to communicate the love of Christ to them)
11) For continued healing in the church of Ireland, and for great revival here ( I recently met a pastor who was talking about this...God is up to something!)