Graduation

It has been a while since my last post, so thought I better write an update!! I graduated last week for my MSc in Applied Statistics!!! YIPPEE!!! What a wonderful feeling of relief and excitement! It was a lovely day and the Lord worked it out for all of my family to be there!! Awesome!!!

Can you tell I'm excited!!!!

Completion....or .....Beginning?!

Well, the MSc days are complete and thankfully with passing results!!! What a relief to be finished and know that I have achieved this goal!! The Lord is to be praised, for without HIS strength and the knowledge that this was what I was to be doing, I would have given up many times!

Next week is the start of some newer things,....assessment centre for a certain Bank one day...eek the job sounds pretty terrifying, but then they do have a knack of talking up the jobs! It sounds quite interesting and very challenging. At least the assessment centre will be experience and who knows,,they may like me and ask me back for stage two! :0)

Sunshine and blue sky!

I need a holiday!!! Thought I'd post a lovely holiday photo from my lovely holiday in Menorca from June...ahhh...lovely!! Maybe one day!!! ,,,,next year! Lovely view from the hotel balcony!

Exciting Day!!!

Handed in my dissertation just after 9am this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a wonderful feeling of freedom and a weight lifted off my shoulders! I still have my viva to do - 27th September...sadly it's the day after my birthday,,,but thankfully it is not on my birthday!

Freedom.......what a lovely feeling!!!! So looking forward to a long lie-in tomorrow morning,,,,well, today now.

So, on that note, goodnight my friends and God bless you! God is good and God is good all the time!

Nearly there!!

First draft of Masters Dissertation handed in today!! YIPPEE!!! Still more to do, but this is a step and there is light at the end of the tunnel!! I hope to hand it in on Thursday 14th - at least that would be 1 day early!!

Anyway, exhausted and work and more dissertation to do tomorrow! Lord willing only a week and a half to go!!

Crazy Statistician?!

Who would have thought, way back in high school, that I would one day be applying for a job as an assistant statistician and hopefully to become a statistician?!!! Exciting, scary, funny, crazy,,,,,statistician's and mathematicians (eek, maths is very hard!!) are often painted as wierd and wonderful people..
.....
take for instance the man I read about in the Sunday Telegraph, Grigory "Grisha" Perelman who has worked out a century old riddle called the Poincare conjecture - if a loop can be shrunk down to a point, no matter where it is drawn, the surphace must be spherical!!! He is tipped to win the Field's Prize (the Nobel Prize of mathematics), but he does not think that anyone will take any notice of his work or that it will be of any interest. Poor guy, I hope he does claim his prize!...

So, are all mathematicians and statisticians crazy or "bonkers" as the Telegraph equation states?! ...
...
I hope not! I like to think that I am changing the look of statistics in some ways - it's not all boring and can be fun and interesting (at times!! - I actually enjoyed this article!!) and life is not all about stats!

Speaking of stats....back to my dissertation!

A Couple of Proverbs

He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will died. Proverbs 19:16

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Proverbs 19:20

The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23

Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"? Proverbs 20:9

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
Proverbs 20:15

A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?
Proverbs 20:24

The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of man; it searches out his inmost being.
Proverbs 20:27

Character Building

Why is that whenever you're working on assignments etc on the computer that it decides not to save properly and closes on you?! It's been a long day, but getting there....seems so slowly and like I'm hitting my head on a brick wall at times....guess it's a lesson in patience and character building...learning to rely on God's strength - my own is sooooooooo feeble and HE's so strong and able to take my worries and fears if I'll let HIM!

Tired eyes, hands, back...sleepy...more to do, but must stop soon so I can sleep!

Reminders..

I had the privilege of a visit to the National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh today! Rembrandt's etchings were awesome to see and especially thought provoking were his etchings of the crucifixion of Christ. One of his original ones had light shining on all three crosses, but the second painting had darkness covering the people around the crosses and the unrepentant man on the cross as a symbol of separation from God - light was only shining on Christ, the repentant man on the cross and some of the other people as a symbol of Christ's forgiveness and future hope.

The Trinity Altar Piece by Hugo van der Goes was another thought provoking picture. What a reminder of Christ being the "exact representation of the Father".

Ok, I'm very tired tonight and not sure if this had made much sense! Hope it has!

LET IT FLOW

Lord I feel Your presence
By Your spirit You have come
The promise of Your word is ours today
For we've gathered and in praise
We seek to honour You
Oh fill us Lord we pray

Let it flow, Oh let Your people be
Set on fire with power and energy
To be true only unto You
Come Oh Lord today

Lord revive in me that I may be
A holy flame
Take away all self, come take control
Keep me free from sin and pure within
That evermore
My heart shall be Your throne

And together as we seek to do
Your perfect will
Our reward is sure, Your word is true
We shall see them come to you
To find that You alone
Can satisfy the soul

(from 'Who the Son Sets Free' - The Evidence Teen Challenge UK)

SAS

Exciting day - learning more about macros and creating dummy variables in SAS for my dissertation!! teehee! It is actually quite exciting seeing my dissertation continuing to take shape! Pretty tiring though....so...just keep swimming, just keep swimming, as Dorrie says in Finding Nemo!!

In You Alone

In You Alone (song by Kim Hill)

In You alone, is where I find my comforts.
In You alone, You're my only hope.
In You alone, my heart has found a resting place.
In You alone
In You alone.

In You alone, is promise I can cling to.
In You alone, You're my security.
In You alone, my soul has found a resting place.
Only in You alone.


"Look to the Lord,... and HE will show you the best way to live for HIM". (Elizabeth George)

Thinking....

Are we willing to wait on the Lord's timing in every area of our lives or are we constantly rushing ahead trying to fulfill our own desires and what we believe to be God's will for us? Are we patient on HIS timing?! Not ours?!

Am I learning to rest in HIS will for my life in the knowledge that HE knows best? HE knows what is happening and will happen and has always known! I may not understand why things happen as they do, but God does! Am I willing to leave everything with HIM?

Jesus

Encouraging video of encouraging thoughts about Jesus:

http://www.dayspring.com/movies/view.asp?moviename=allabout.swf

Trusting God in the Dark

Romans 11:33
"Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

"We must accept in faith that the events of our lives are accomplishing something in God's plan for us and for HIS world. HE is at work and in control of our universe and our lives, and HE has HIS reasons...which are un-understandable, unsearchable, inscrutable, inexhaustible, unfathomable, and impossible to grasp. The reasons behind HIS decisions remain in the realm of God, and you and I must rest in the knowledge that they are HIS domain, not ours. Therefore, we probably won't understand the how's and the why's on this side of heaven."
(from Loving God with all Your Mind by Elizabeth George - pg269)

Jelly Babies

Yummy!!! I am in work again today (sadly) still muddling with this data! EEk!! Pretty much there, but for some reason I had missed one small category and now another category is looking a bit odd! Never mind! The Jelly Babies are a nice little tonic to my day!!

I wonder...

I am probably posting lots of posts today and not realising they'll all eventually show up!!

Fiddlesticks

Just tried posting some pictures and a poem, but they're not showing! hhhmmm....never mind!

My Favourite Poem!

I love this poem! Sadly it's not too clear here, but I was so excited to see the Arrundel Tomb in real life in Chichester Cathedral a couple of months ago! What a sweet poem!

Exciting!

Had a good couple of hours working on my dissertation tonight and produced some pretty looking charts!! Fun! Very exciting for me to see it coming together! I have two days off work now to focus more fully on my dissertation and to see my tutor - hope I get a lot done and am encouraged! I'm excited for the chance to work on it! Yes, I know excited about charts and things! :0)

Flowers!

Pretty!

Christ our hope!

There will never be loss for those whose defining is Christ for every relationship.

Amen

I just read this quote by Martin Luther and loved it:

"Finally, mark this, that you must always speak the Amen firmly. Never doubt that God in his mercy will surely hear you and say "yes" to your prayers. Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of Christendom, all devout Christians, are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain. Do not leave your prayer without having said or thought, "Very well, God has heard my prayer; this I know as a certainty and a truth." That is what Amen means."

Martin Luther, 'A Simple Way to Pray'

What an awesome God we serve! HE hears our prayers! Amen!

Glorious Day!

What a beautiful day! Wish I could be outside more to enjoy it, but alas it's not meant to be right now! Sure does make work easier though on beautiful days! Off now to enjoy the warmth, relax and chill with an iced tea, ben and jerry's icecream cookie and then .... most exciting of all (NOT!!) write out some dissertation ideas. It has to be done...."Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" - going in the Lord's strength! Sure do need HIS strength - always!
Blessings.

hhhmmm

Look Up: Answered Prayers!

Haven't quite managed to work out how this blog fully works! Oh, well...guess I'll get there eventually!!

Answered Prayers!

Answered Prayer!!
I am so excited tonight after so many answers to prayer!! What an awesome God we have! May we serve HIM always and give our lives fully to HIM!
AND CAN IT BE that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the first-born seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!
’Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;J
esus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

(Charles Wesley)

Amen!!

Look Up

Look Up

Yeah!!! Data has finally worked!! I'm on my way now!! Exciting stuff!

Tester

1st time of trying a blog, so we'll see if it works!!

On a lovely day like today and I'm in work working on my dissertation data! Eek! Has to be done!!!

Anyway, back to it!