The Cactus Patch

The Playoffs are Here!

2006-01-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it - The Bears are No 2 Seed in the NFC this year. Guess who I thinks going to the Superbowl. :)

For all of you who take an interest in the NFL here's my breakdown of the playoffs and whats gonna happen. Lets see just how much I know or whether my blind faith in the Bears is gonna lead me astray.

Wildcard Week:
AFC NFC
Steelers @ Bengals = Steelers Win Redskins @ Bucs = Bucs Win
Jaguars @ Patriots = Patriots Win Panthers @ Giants = Panthers Win

Divisonal Week:
AFC NFC
Steelers @ Colts = Colts Win Panthers @ Seahawks = Seahawks Win
Patriots @ Bronco's = Patriots Win Bucs @ Bears = Bears Win

Championship Games:
AFC NFC
Patriots @ Colts = Colts Win Bears @ Seahawks = Bears Win

Superbowl:
Colts v Bears

2005 Review

2006-01-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Alright - Just to shut you all up (Keep on bugging me to update this darn thing) :D

Lets start with my review of 2005...And what an interesting year it was. Just a highlights review though otherwise I’ll be here all night.

In January I kept up my record of never being with Ali on her Birthday of Valentines day - She beggered off to

China

for three months to work with ICC. If you ever want to hear someone speak passionately about something that has profoundly effected them then just ask her about her time there.

I went to

Thailand

to visit the Wongs in Feb. That was one excellent week and I cant wait to go again (Thanks for the invite J&K). Joint 6th Place in Highlights of 2005.

March was the most boring month of the year. I'm sure something must have happened, I just can't think what it was.

April brought Spring Harvest. Now if I ever offer you any advice it's this: @ Spring Harvest never take your laptop with you and never do three weeks working with youth and kids in a row.

It was absolutely fantastic with great teams to work with both at Minehead and Skeggy. However by the end of Skegness both Dave Johnson and I wanted to kill ourselves to stop the Butlins hell. I'm going again this year :) Minehead week one gets 7th place.

I did however have instant relief from the living nightmare of Butlins hell as I left two days early (Leaving Dave J to tough it out alone) to go and pick up Ali from the Airport. Seeing her after three months was wonderful and 4th Place in my highlights of 2005. Its was a bit of a difficult time though trying to relate and understand Ali's experience in

China

and how it had affected her. But all in all I do think it was a strengthening time for both of us.

May brought Work, Work, Work and

Portugal

(Hooray!) Thanks to the West’s for taking me with them for a week on the

Algarve

(Joint 6th Place) Spending a week out there with them I really felt like family and was the first time I really thought seriously about proposing to Ali. May also brought a day trip to London With Ali to Celebrate being together a year, Went to see the Lion King (Only 5 months late Honey - Sorry :) This gets 8th Place.

Four bands - Coldplay, Green Day, U2 and REM. Four sets of Concert Tickets. Gigs actually attended by Pete = 1 :(

Coldplay where amazing up at Crystal Palace but due to Work commitments, Food Poisoning, The London Bombs and Dans Wedding I didn't get to go to the others. Although I’m told they where great. Having since seen Bullet in a Bible and Vertigo I can well believe it. look forward to catching them in the future. (Still can't cross Green Day off the must see list - GRRRR!) Coldplay gets 10th Place though.

June also brought Dans Stag Night which with food poisoning aside was a great night. Paintballing was fun, Dan in a dress was worth the wait - and although I wasn’t on the beach I’m told Dan in some random girls underwere was just plain scary. Would have been much higher but having to go home due to food poisoning drops Dans Stag day to 9th place.

July Was Dan and Ruth’s Wedding (No 3) Thanks so much for asking me to be best man. So proud to be able to stand with you then and always. Although I do suspect that the photographer was related to Adolf Hitler - "You will do this, NOW!" :) I have a video'd copy of my Best Mans speech on my computer - How fast do I talk??? its ridiculous.

Faith Camp in Peterborough was in August. I had such a fantastic team with me (A lot of guys first timers from Arun) and it was such a special time for both the 280 kids we where working with as well as the team. I will always remember Michael getting touched by the spirit and setting off a 4 hour long contagious move of the joy of the God in that place. Some people couldn't stand they where laughing so much. Also Michael wet himself twice which only added to the laughter :) Faith camp gets 5th Place. Jenny and mum, You where amazing with what you did @ livewires. Jim, Caveman, Ali, Jill and the Kids. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Grapevine was also in August and this time there where more kids (600) and more team from Arun both working with Powerpack and other events onsite. 2005's Grapevine was just out of this world. The presence of God in that place was awesome and I am humbled by his use of me and the guys to speak to and impact the kids we had there.

I can't say enough about Bens bass playing and teamwork - For someone who had never been in this situation before he was amazing and really connected with what God was doing in that place. Dave J - Thank you sooo much, you made it all so easy! Jim playing a dustbin is something I wont soon forget. Adrian and Jenny - What can I say, God has blessed you and your family with so many giftings and such a heart. Keep going. Mum - Don't underestimate yourself and what God wants to do in children’s lives through you. Ali - Never thought you'd dance with a flag did you baby :) You where great! If GV 2006 is half as good as last year I cant wait. GV 2005 gets 2nd Place.

By the way I also turned 26 in August (Getting old) And no honey - I’m not almost 30! :)

September brought Ali leaving again (Do you see a recurring pattern here) Uni was an adventure that she had to do and I must admit that although I didn’t want to see here go, I was really interested to see how she dealt with the whole experience. I can safely say that your doing fantastic baby, I am so impressed and proud of you. I also was forced to leave my job @ SBS in Sept because of an argument over hours. (If I wanted to carry on doing Powerpack I had to leave) This was a bit of a leap for me. And has proved really difficult since (Sorry everyone if I’ve been a bit of a miserable beggar) but God is true to his word and has consistently been there for me.

Also in September - Dan and Ruth got married again! It all seems a bit Deja vu but if you where there then you'll understand.

October was quiet apart from a long weekend in Durham which I really enjoyed. This was also when I decided that I needed to do something about asking Ali to marry me. Scary!

November was just too long. Was really a month spent waiting for Ali to come home. The word explosion was fun though and I discovered the joys of E-bay. Its amazing what you can get some people to pay for random stuff. Quite often more than they would in the shops.

The classical worship explosion was an experience not to be missed. We need to do stuff like this more often. Rich Lush also made it to his 21st birthday (a miracle in intself) but in his defence he did though a good party to celebrate.

Highlight of December though (and No 1 for the year) was asking Ali to marry me on the 17^th. Amazingly she said yes (I say this not out of surprise but out of bewilderment as I still can’t figure out why she loves me). So I had to wait till the end of the year for my No 1 Highlight, but it was defiantly worth the wait. I cant think of anything that could possibly be better.

There you go – That was 2005. There was a lot of other stuff that happened as well that didn’t even get mentioned – but that was what was so great about the last year.

I’ll leave you with my favourite quote and a thought for 2006.

“Some of the worlds greatest feats where achieved by people too dumb to know they where impossible!”

Its the Football season!

2005-09-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Bring it on - The first Sunday of the regular season.

Here are my thoughts on the teams some of my friends support...and some scores predictions. Lets see just how good I am :)

Oakland will play New England and although they look good on Offence I dont thibk they're ready yet to challenge the superbowl chanpions. Randy Moss should do something special at some point but it wont be enough. Supporters: Matt J. Predition: Patriots by 10

The Bears face off against the Redskins in Washington. The defence should be very strong with all its starters returned since the injuries of last season. The offence is still the big question mark though especially starting a rookie QB on opening day. Supporters: Pete, Dan D. Predition : Bears by 10

Seattle play Jacksonville and the game will hinge on whether Shawn Alexander can get the yards against the Jags front 7. If he can get the ball moving then the Seahawks will win but it will be tough. Supporters: Ben. Prediction: Jacksonville by 4

Huston play Buffalo. With the Bills staring a new QB and the Texans returning looking stronger for the fourth year in a row I expect the bills to go down fighting in this one. Domanic Davis will be the major player and the difference between the teams. Supporters: Ruth. Predition: Texans by 3

The Titans take on Pittsburgh and I think they're gonna have a rough time against a strong Steelers team. Ball control in they're hope but against the opposition Defence i'm not convinced they can hold on to the ball long enough to keep the Steelers of the field and out of the endzone. Supporters: Andy, Mark, Pete K. Predicition: Steelers by 13

Tampa are at The Vikings. Widely tipped to win the NFC North this year with their new defence even though they lost Moss on Offence This will be a good test of just how good the Vikings are. Supporters: Steve. Predition: Vikings by 14

Miami are playing Denver and to be honest just have to be better than last year. Williams isnt back yet as he has a four game suspension so its gonna be up to Rookie Running back Ronnie Brown and this I think will mean the Broncos come out on top. Supporters: Matt S. Predition: Bronco's by 10.

St Louis V San Fransisco shouldn't throw up any suprises. The niners wont be up to the Rams level yet even though they have probably imporved in the pre season. Expect the niners to be better throughout the season but not yet. Supporters: Rich. Prediction: Rams by 17

The Packers at The Lions is going to be a defining battle in the NFC North as the Old Guard of the Packers lead by Farve fight to stave off the young guns from Detriot. The Lions receivers against the Packers Secondary is a complete mismatch and should provide plenty on yards it just remains to be seen if Harrington can step up and provide the service. Although the Lions look the stronger team - being a Bears fan i've learnt not to bet against Farve. Supporters: Sam, Shaun. Prediction: Packers by 7

The Colts at The Ravens is pure offence V defence but overall i expect the Colts to win through. the Colts new D was bolstered even further by the arrival of Corey Simon at the end of pre-season and this move could spell the difference between a post season Colts Team and A Superbowl Team. Supporters: Chris, Dan. Prediction: Colts by 14

Philadelphia V Atlanta is a real battle of the QB's, but it could prove to be the available receivers that make the difference as the targets open to the QB's are gonna dictate they're effectiveness. Look for good defences on both sides of the ball and fireworks from both QB's. Supporters: Ali. Prediction: Eagles by 7.

Looking forward to a good season and a Bears Superbowl Victory in 2006.

Nice to be home

2005-09-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Isnt it weird. I've basically been away all summer doing this camp or that event, living out of a tent most of the time...all greatly rewarding but you wouldn't believe how much I missed my own bed by the end of the summer. Is this the point of this post - no I just wanted to give you the image of me in bed to mull over :)

The thing is I got home from Grapevine last Tuesday and it was nice to be home but I didn't feel home properly until Monday evening when I went back to Cell. Home is not the house, Its not where you lay your head. Its the family that god has put around you and the feeling of safety and security gained through that. Its the encouragement and excitement gained from hearing everyones experiances over the summer and knowing that in that place I can be as open as I like and share whats really on my heart cos I know i'm in a place of acceptance and understanding. Isnt God wonderful to surround us with huge family such as this.

"We can not do great things. We can only do little things with great love" - Mother Teresa

Welcome to The Cactus Patch

2005-09-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

This is The Cactus Patch.

I suppose I should start by giving you a profile of me...So you know who your reading about.

Name: Pete Gray
Nicknames: Alvincacti (Dont ask why cos no-body can remember)
Sully
Age: 26

"I live in Littlehampton, West Sussex, @ home with my parents cos its cheap and my mums a chef so i've yet to discover a reason for moving out. I have a girlfriend - Ali, also known as Sweetness who i've been with for a year and a half. I am a christian and go to Arun Community Church who meet in the sports hall of our local secondary school. I work for 'The Powerpack Trust' based in Woking but also working at home. This means I am mainly an administrator but also a childrens and youth worker. I work with all age groups from 5 - 25. This is a huge challenge but also increadably rewarding. Im my spare time I like films, NFL, Cricket, Rugby, I'm a climber (Training to be an instructor) and Chinese food."

Favorite Books:
1: The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkein
2: The Word on the Street - Rob Lacey
3: The City Watch Trilogy - Terry Pratchett
4: Facing Up - Bear Grylls
5: The Harry Potter Series - J K Rowling

Favorite Music:
1: Aerosmith
2: Tracy Chapman
3: The Foo Fighters
4: Blur
5: Coldplay

Favorite Films:
1: The Shawshank Redemption
2: Star Wars, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
3: The Italian Job
4: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5: Any Given Sunday

"Some of the Worlds Greatest Feats where achieved by people too dumb to know they where impossible" - Anon