The Block Porn Campaign, headed by Claire Perry MP, calls for UK-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide anti-porn filters at network level.   This would stop most pornography from reaching our computers and internet-enabled devices, and protect children much more effectively.   Convergence, which means the internet can be viewed on our TV screens, makes this doubly important.

Safermedia are asking for your support of their 2011 Block Porn Campaign.

Here’s the latest update on the campaign:

Safermedia news’n’action no. 89

Dear Friends,

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and MPs respond to growing public concern – well done!

On 20 June, Claire Perry MP, Safermedia and several other groups attended a meeting in Parliament of ISPA, the Internet Service Providers Association. Your support is making a big difference, and we were able to put some good points to the meeting. Despite a diverse range of views, there was general and encouraging agreement that more would indeed be done to block internet pornography.

The ISPs are coming under ever more pressure. Seventy MPs are now supporting Claire and have just set up a Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Child Protection in September and October. This is another major step forward.

Next Stage of the Campaign

We are continuing to press for ISP-level filters plus a default OFF setting for porn, rather than device-level filters (see our templates for more detail). However the ISPs are still reluctant to go this far, and when they will act is far from clear. Claire has emphasized that we must continue to rally more MPs to maintain the momentum of this groundswell of public opinion. In David Cameron’s statement to Parliament on the NewsCorp scandal, he said this was a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity to try and get media regulation right.’

ACTION

So, if you have not already done so, please write to both your MP and ISP.

If you have already sent those letters, our thanks, and please now:

Send David Cameron a copy of the letter to your MP (by filling in the MPs letter again, writing COPY across the top and posting it 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA or emailing it at https://email.number10.gov.uk/Contact.aspx).

Please forward this email to your contacts.

INSTRUCTIONS

Please use our 2 template letters for your MP and ISP, shown below and downloadable at: http://www.safermedia.org.uk/2011internetfiltercampaign.htm

You will find all the addresses you need on these templates. If you prefer, you can use the template simply as a guide and write a letter in your own words. (NB: The details about an opt-IN system being required are vital.)

Can you also make hard copies of the templates and distribute them to clubs, churches, your workplace, friends and family too? Numbers matter.

Please spread this information as widely as possible to all your contacts. (NB: If you are an organisation, it is best to pass on the template letter, approved by Claire Perry’s office, as it is.

Thank God for answered prayer and pray for continued progress in this campaign. Also ask for God’s will to be done in the current scandal surrounding the Murdoch empire – that it will eventually lead to higher standards throughout the media world.

We now have a new website! Check it out for updates and more information: http://www.safermedia.org.uk/welcome.htm

Thank you and best wishes for the summer break,

Miranda, Pippa, Tushar and the SafermediaTeam

Well there I was working quite happily in Afghanistan with over six months to go until the end of my contract. After some spiritual kick up the bum from a few friends of mine I was back on track with God and disciplined enough to be in the word everyday, this was also spurred on through lent and a sermon I heard from one of the US Army chaplains talking about ‘Giving God the first fruits’.

This was translated to me to get my life in order and start giving God the first part of my day and not waiting till the end of the day when I was tired and full up on God’s gifts that He had given me. So I got up earlier, not easy at first, and started praying, and then reading the Bible and using a study. It got easier as do many things after time of perseverance and effort.

It was a strange time of spiritual growth, not only with me, but with a core group of friends that I had made where I was based. We had just set up a church for the contractors from a shared belief that it was needed due to the fact that the Military had their military chaplaincy and we didn’t want to take more resources away from the ones who were doing the nitty gritty stuff.

Through this time also, I was getting a sense of God telling me that He had more for me. Its strange when you are happy in what you are doing and quite happy that things were in the right place that God then spurs you on or moves you on. You see I had been in touch with Carl Beech, who heads up Christian Vision for Men over a course of two years with an intention of meeting up to discuss men’s ministry. But with me being away four times a year, only being in the UK for about eight weeks a year and Carl being on the road most of the time, this was proving difficult.

The time had come though when we had booked into Spring Harvest as a family and then found out that Carl was going to be there the same week. It was also apparent that the seminar that my wife and I wanted to go to was in fact the one that Carl was co running with Tarn called the ‘doing zone’. Brilliant, this meant that we could meet up over a beer and catch up.

I attended a blokes seminar and waited behind to catch up with Carl. After a greeting mans hug, the next words that came from Carl mouth were ‘when are you coming back from Afghanistan’ in which I replied ‘December this year, why?’. The following conversation was nothing in which I would ever imagine but the exact plan that God was sharing with me previously. Those words were ‘CVM has some vacancies, would you be interested?’.

The following days/weeks after many discussions and prayers were exciting and to cut a long story short, I can say that I am now a member of the CVM team. Amazing, I am now working for God and for something that I have great passion about, to see men saved through the power of the cross and what Jesus sacrificed His life for.

What I am trying to say and what I have found with my walk with God is that when you are trying your hardest to be with God and trying your hardest to impress God, this is the time when you need to learn that you have much to learn. When you are looking you are not in the right place, but its in the ‘not looking’ and just ‘being’ when you find that God wants more for you and when its time to move on with what God wants you to do.

This is the place where God ultimately wants you to be. ‘Love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.’ Luke 10:27

God created all men differently. That is a fact. And though we know the term ‘Christian Man’ is about as ambiguous as the term ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, I know two other facts. 1) I am a Christian. 2) I am a man.

But recently I have felt a lot less like a ‘man’.

Let me give you a few other facts. God has created me in such a way that I enjoy certain things which used to be popular back in the Stone Age. (Let me warn you that these things may seriously offend you more than anything you have heard in your life.)

I sometimes shout at the TV when there’s sport on.

I like steak.

I drink beer.

I frequent my local pub where I play darts and pool with a man called Dean.

I often laugh at what I deem to be funny things…like jokes or comedic programmes.

I wear jeans slightly above my waistline.

I don’t read magazines about celebrities.

I like bands who play music with words.

Now I know exactly what this makes me and I’m not afraid to say the word. I am a dinosaur. And some people would actually wish the same fate of that which befell the Jurassic creatures on all men like me.

So why am I addressing this issue? Well, this year alone I have been called a ‘hooligan’ for liking football, a ‘thug’ for drinking beer, a ‘chav’ for liking the band Oasis, a ‘gorilla’ for thinking steak tastes better than Quorn and a ‘moron’ for watching boxing on pay-per-view. And these titles have been kindly distributed to me…by Christians.

Now, I might have started this war between me and what I call the ‘new man brigade’ when I said the guy off the aftershave advert was about “as manly as couscous”. (I apologised for this lame attempt at humour).

But on the whole, I have shown respect to my quieter, more sedated new man. I have shown great sympathy for those who used to be a minority group amongst beer-guzzling bears shouting at random women from scaffolding tops and street corners. However, that group of isolated men, who have less respect for sport than I do for the shopping channel, are no longer the minority.

Magazines are screaming at me to moisturise my skin, self-tan, whiten my teeth, listen to Franz Ferdinand and apply mascara for men daily. Any hint of seemingly old-fashioned banter is looked upon as insensitive, whole-hearted jokes are written off as rude and recently scientists have created artificial sperm.

And the fact that my outdated expression of masculinity is infuriating some of the Christians around me more than the recent invention of artificial sperm, makes me want to go live in a cave with a troll and a bag of biscuits.

What a wonderful sign of the times when some Christians are too busy berating the ‘barbarian’ for liking football and at the same time turning a blind eye to humanity literally playing God around them.

I couldn’t give a flying flute what music you listen to unless that music defines you. I couldn’t care less about how you dress or if you wear Lipstick for Lenny’s most recent product.

What I do care about though, is two–fold: 1) I am no less of a man than you are just because I like old-fashioned things. 2) The same God who invented the written word also invented mud.

How dare you think less of me for the passions God has given me? I’m your brother in Christ, and yes, I’m into seemingly ‘blokey’ things. But not once have I accused you of being weak or feminine. I would lay my life down for my brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of their hobbies or make-up products.

Now I don’t expect you to do the same for me, but I do expect you to trust that though God has created me differently to you, I have just as many rights as you.

And there we have it.

So, to end my literary defensive to the barrage of attacks that my friends and I have suffered of late, I think it is only fitting to quote one of the most gifted writers of all time.

R.S. Thomas

I am the farmer, stripped of love and thought and grace by the land’s hardness:

But what I am saying over the fields’ desolate acres, rough with dew, is, listen, listen, I am a man like you.

The wind goes over the hill pastures year after year, and the ewes starve, milkless, for want of new grass. And I starve, too, for something the spring can never foster in veins run dry.

The pig is a friend, the cattle’s breath mingles with mine in the still lanes; I wear it willingly like a cloak to shelter me from your curious gaze.

The hens go in and out at the door from sun to shadows, as stray thoughts pass over the floor of my wide skull. The dirt is under my cracked nails; the tale of my life is smirched with dung.

The phlegm rattles.

But what I am saying over the grasses rough with dew is, listen, listen, I am a man like you.

(The Hill Farmer Speaks)

(Originally published at carlbeech.com)

I promised in the opening paragraphs of my recent Blog Post “real men ain’t wimps” that I would clarify my comments in more detail over the next few months. What I’ve therefore decided to do is work through each point one by one. First up is the whole issue of what we might call “friendly fire.”

In all honesty I’m pretty sick and tired of seeing followers of Jesus smacking each other around on twitter, Facebook and via blogs. To those outside the church we must look pretty weak and pathetic. Note that I’m not saying we can’t debate and argue an issue. This is more about the very personally derogatory posts that I see. Sometimes we need to remember that we are destined to spend eternity together!

Many verses from the Bible spring to mind in this instance and they are so numerous I won’t list them all but they range from verses about cherishing each other, living in peace, resolving disputes privately, not touching the Lords anointed and many, many more. Perhaps though, in this instance Rom 12:6-20 springs to mind. Have a read of it now. As I read this, I feel that a Kingdom culture is one that is positive, forward facing, believes the best and gives the benefit of the doubt.

So here are some bullet points on this issue;

1) I and many others have found it to be true that we have only ever been opposed in ministry by other believers. Sad but true. We have become very good at the precise and accurate targeting of deliberate friendly fire. We talk about the enemy opposing ministry and the apathy in our culture towards the gospel but the reality is this; As an evangelist I have found those apparently outside the Kingdom of God to be hugely interested in our message and willing to engage in quite interesting debate and conversation. In the last few months the ministry I lead has been subjected to some interesting “attacks”. Even down to being called a cult and of the devil! This has only come from my brothers and sisters in Christ.

My view is this. If you have nothing positive to say (critical and positive feedback because you want the best outcome is different) then don’t open your mouth. (1 Thess 5:11) In my opinion, followers of Jesus are characterised by optimistic hope, not pessimistic cynicism and complaint.

2) If you are so aggrieved that you have something to say and feel personally offended, speak to the person privately, ideally face to face. (Matt 18). If that person is not easily accessed then write to them. Washing dirty laundry on twitter or Facebook smacks of low character and sub-kingdom behaviour. I have been truly dismayed at the number of leading figures who use their platform to villify and practically slander others. To me it doesn’t compute. It speaks of insecurity, anger and jealousy. Have nothing to do with it.

3) Leaders of ministries are worthy of double honour. 1Tim 5:18-19. Somewhere, somehow we lost a culture of honour for leadership. Does it mean they cannot be corrected? Of course not. However there is a way and a means to do so. You will not find me naming and shaming on the internet. I will however speak or engage privately with those I have issue with. I have friends who have taken me aside in the past and on occasion put pen to paper. The context of love and concern in which they wrote touched my heart and I credit such action as keeping me on the narrow path! Im grateful this was done privately.

4) Is there a time for ever correcting publicly? Of course there is. In the case of heresy, false teaching and dangerous activity. I personally would only do this however after seeking to resolve privately. Protecting the church and believers would on occasion call for radical action.

5) Beware factions and cult like followings! Paul the Apostle seems to lose his rag over this one. Look at 1Cor1:10-17. The appeal is to live in harmony. the enemy of this a teacher or three who has some clever insight that no one else has noticed, therefore gaining a following! (Paul says he didn’t use clever speech in case the cross loses its power…perhaps indicating thats what others may have been doing?) The answer is to keep the focus on Jesus and his message and work. As a teacher/evangelist, my job is to point beyond myself to Jesus. If the pointing is to a particular clever message or ministry then trouble normally follows. (Although you may gain a big following in human terms).

6) On a practical note, if you are doing something new and fresh, expect some flack. It goes with the territory.

7) Don’t take yourself too seriously but take your mission and the gospel very seriously. That way you’ll get through the tough times and inevitable criticism.

More to follow on this blog subject in due course.

Grace to you

Carl

Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix to go third in the Formula One driver’s championship.

The Englishman snatched the lead from Mark Webber at the start but lost it and regained it before holding off Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished fourth but still holds a 77-point advantage over second-placed Webber with Hamilton five further back, four ahead of Alonso.

Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, became Britain’s first winner of the Tour de France’s green jersey for the best sprinter.

Cavendish won the final stage of the tour, which finished in Paris. Australia’s Cadel Evans took the overall prize, the coveted yellow jersey.

Amir Khan knocked out Zab Judah in five rounds to unite Boxing’s light-welterweight titles in Las Vegas.

The 24-year-old defended his WBA belt and took Judah’s IBF crown, ultimately by landing a right-hand blow to the body.

Rugby League’s Challenge Cup semi-final draw has thrown up two derbies with Wigan to face arch-rivals St Helens and Castleford meeting Leeds.

In the quarter-finals Wigan beat Warrington 44-24, St Helens thrashed Hull KR 54-6, Castleford edged Huddersfield 22-18 and Leeds overcame Hull FC 38-22.

In Cricket, England’s first Test with India at Lord’s was set for an enthralling final day with the hosts requiring nine wickets for victory and the tourists an unlikely further 378 runs.

Kevin Pietersen’s first-innings double century put England in control before Rahul Dravid’s hundred ensured India avoided the follow-on. Andrew Strauss’ side were in trouble at 62 for five in their second innings but Matt Prior’s ton allowed Strauss to declare, setting India 458 to win.

County Championship Division One leaders Durham lost by nine wickets to Somerset, leaving the title-race open after second-placed Lancashire and third-placed Warwickshire beat Yorkshire and Sussex respectively. Bottom side Hampshire drew with Nottinghamshire.

Division Two leaders Northamptonshire drew with Derbyshire, second-placed Middlesex beat Surrey and third-placed Gloucestershire saw off Kent.

In the Pro40, Sussex and Surrey remained on course for the semi-finals with victories over Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Lancashire also boosted their prospects with wins.

The former Director General of the BBC welcomed the graduates onto the stage for an informal handshake before they collected their well-earned pieces of paper with letters on. The audience clapped like a thousand seals at mealtime.

Climb up stairs…shake hands…climb down stairs.

It was strangely hypnotic watching hundreds of young wizard-lookalikes graduate. The reasons I was one of the spectators at the University of York, was of course to celebrate my girlfriend Miriam’s academic achievement.

After the first 200 students passed along the stage littered with senior wizards, I spotted one of my friends Naomi stepping up for her handshake. She’s Northern Irish. Her nationality has no bearing on this story but it is a lovely fact.

On her approach to the former Director General of the BBC, something very odd took place. The well-dressed man actually spoke to young Naomi. Gasps broke out across the auditorium as if we had all witnessed Caesar acknowledge one the locals. After a few moments of exchanging pleasantries, the Northern Irish wizard made a sharp exit off the stage before collecting her degree certificate.

Everyone desired the same thing. We all wanted to know what was said on the stage between two strangers. Would we ever find out? Yes is the simple answer. I asked her within five minutes of the ceremony.

The former Director General of the BBC asked Naomi: “So, what will you do now?”

Personally, I think that is not the sort of question to pose at someone who is standing in front of thousands of human beings, 98% of which are total strangers. But maybe that’s why I will never become the Director General of the BBC.

However, Naomi’s answer was probably the most beautiful thing I have heard for a long time. She smiled at the handshake genius before replying: “I’m going to walk down the stairs”.

Obviously the former BBC captain was enquiring about Naomi’s life choice, but the young Northern Irish lass thought he was talking about something far more immediate.

Isn’t it funny what we Westerners are fascinated with what life will look like down the road before we’ve even got our trainers on? It made me think of one of the most wonderfully counter-cultural proverbs in the Bible.

Proverbs 16:9

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

And for Naomi, the Lord’s immediate plan was for her to go down the stairs. (And sometimes, God’s will is as simple as that.)

Peace

(Originally published at carlbeech.com)

Being the leader of the largest UK men’s movement, I’ve been asked more than a few times lately where we are with some of the teaching coming from the United States.

I need to take serious time to start to put my thoughts down in a considered manner but as my schedule through to September is extremely heavy, to say the least, I thought I would begin with a few bullet points. Come September I hope to have a series of articles in development. One thing I am convinced of is the need for British men to be speaking to British men…I hope I can deliver that over time.

At this time, my primary concern is not to teach the church on issues of gender but to focus on evangelism. By this I mean words and actions. I believe that by reaching men we can start to tackle some of the issues that men face and the sins they perpetrate upon society. With violence against women “off the chart” and sex trafficking able to thrive because of sex addicted men, the last thing we need is macho posturing. We need men to use their strength and testosterone in pursuit of more noble causes.

That’s why I founded the movement based around “the code”.

So here you go:

1. Unlike some ministries and individuals we don’t criticise another man or woman’s ministry from the pulpit or blog. We have enough to do without worrying about targeting friendly fire on each other. We get on with the job in hand and trust that our own message and teaching will get out there in the end. What follows is not directed at any individual.

2. I believe there is no one-way of being a man. Portraying stereotypes is unhelpful and shallow. Human beings are far more complex than any stereotype. People hear my accent and see my build and assume I’m into everything that’s macho and despise anything that looks weak or wimpy. Assumption is the mother of all catastrophe. I play piano, write poems and don’t like football. I also love to cook and don’t mind watching a chick flick with the girls. However, it is true I also love gadgets, shooting stuff, meat, fire and loud music. Big deal. I have testosterone. Some of my mates who also of course have testosterone like none of these things. Big deal. Lets get on with the real task in hand. Millions are dying without Christ. We need all our talents, eccentricities and personalities on task.

3. Projecting ‘macho” as the only type of man speaks to me of deep inadequacy and insecurity. If you were truly a man (of whatever type) you wouldn’t keep needing to talk about it. You would simply live it, demonstrate you are truly comfortable in your own skin and point beyond yourself to Jesus. We tend to bleat on about what we struggle with most. Be mindful of this next time you get a hobby horse!

4. I believe people should be allowed to be comfortable to be whatever they have been made by God to be, within the framework that the bible gives us. Some men will be artistic, others born to lift heavy weights. One is not superior to the other IMO.

5. Being a husband is a huge privilege. The bible tells us to lay down our lives for our wives. I see myself as the thorn on the rose, protecting the rose so that it can flourish and take the lime light. I am called to apologise first, take the hit and carry the can. I love my wife as Christ loved the church….by dying to myself. Lets talk about that before we talk about anything else. IMO, if you take the ability to do that away from me I don’t have much else. This is where feminism goes wrong. More on this another time.

6. Men should use their strength to protect the weak and stand against the abuse of power. There’s a good use for our testosterone. I can’t think of a better one.

7. Do I think my wife is weaker and more easily deceived and that for this reason I should be in charge? Of course not! In fact I feel that this sort of teaching massively insults my wife and I take issue with it in the strongest possible terms. How dare women be spoken of in this way. In fact, if Genesis is used for that argument we should conclude that men are less intelligent and gullible for eating the fruit offered in the first place. This smacks of culture deeply affecting the reading of scripture and control stemming from fear.

8. Every human being is an amazing and stunning creation. There is no place for bullying, intimidating, harassing, stereotyping or squashing another person or ministry. Taking strong issue with something is a different matter.

9. Jesus exercised power and strength with nails through his skin and bone. Sometimes we need to remember this.

10. My greatest heroes are those who serve humbly, walk diligently before God and lay their lives down. It’s not about following someone with greater physical strength who can handle himself in a dark alleyway.

Hope that helps for now to at least begin to understand where we are at with some issues. Don’t forget to check out the code. Its going ballistic and men are finding faith in Jesus through it.

Grace to you

Carl

He should have died at the scene. That was what they were saying. His first 24 hours after the car crash were to be his last. That was what everyone was preparing themselves for.

So when he walked into the living room last week, smiling, I don’t think any of us quite had the words to express just what that moment meant.

A couple of my housemates had lived with the guy in question, we’ll call him Jacob, and so he was kind of a friend of a friend. Yet, on the day of his accident, a whole community of students were mobilised into support and concern for a lad about to do the final year of his degree. Jacob’s hopes for the future were resting on a life-support machine and accomplished surgeons.

Suddenly, being the only Christian in my house became glaringly obvious, as we sat around the phone waiting for news, no one knowing how they should respond or how we could help. I had nothing to offer but prayer. Yet, at the same time, out of the woodwork came all of Jacob’s friends who also knew Jesus, and suddenly, a prayer network was born, interceding for the student in a coma with head injuries beyond belief and a leg that had been chewed up by the wreckage.

Eight months later, to see the person whose survival we had been pleading with God for, stroll into my house and settle down for a pizza with us, was like witnessing a miracle. But more than that, I got to tell him just how significant that was. I had asked God to one day give me the opportunity to tell Jacob just how many people had been praying for him. I wanted him to know that as followers of Jesus, we believe in the power of calling upon God to bring life and fullness even in the most seemingly impossible circumstances.

In short, when the bible says ‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer’ (Romans 12:12) that’s what it means. I want to get better at persevering in prayer even when the odds seem stacked against the answer being the one I ask for. Because Jacob proves that anything is possible. But more than that, I want to get better at sharing this with the person I’m praying for. Imagine if you actually told your mate at work, the guy you play alongside on the pitch, that parent you meet at the school gate that you have been and will be praying for them. I think I’m going to try that this coming week.

We trust God with the prayers he says yes or no to, but God trusts us with praying in all circumstances.

As I handed the keys of my beloved first car ‘Stan’ over to the scrapyard owner, I contemplated crying. That contemplation became a reality when I saw how much cars actually cost. Auto-trader became my nemesis less than an hour of Stan getting put down.

The problem is that I’m at that sort of age where I need to start saving money. House deposits, holidays, women (singular tense) have all started drip-drying my wallet. Forking out a few grand for a car which may be no better than the green machine which fell apart on the M1 last week is about as appealing as rugby tackling a wasp’s nest.

I knelt at the side of my bed and had a brief chat with my creator. I asked if he could sort me out but I understood if that’s not how things work.

Two days ago a man called Paul, who heads up an engineering firm, told me he would like to donate his company car to me on a long-term loan to help me out. On Monday I will be picking up a Ford Focus Zetec. Nothing is expected in return.

Believe me, I’ve had more prayers sent back than approved, but this is an example of the latter.

Matthew 6:6-8

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Cheers Paul.

It was only for an hour or so, and I was adamant that it would be productive. I really didn’t see a problem. I didn’t really need to be anywhere else.

I get paid very little for what I do; nowhere near enough, frankly. The teachers look down on us teaching assistants if I’m being honest – even the kids know we’re not teachers. Not really. But we work hard, and we get very little credit despite the fact that it’s often our job to take the tougher, more disruptive, academically challenged pupils out of the classroom. I was owed a free hour. To do what I wanted. No-one would know; no-one would care.

The Year 8 lad I usually supported at this time on a Wednesday had been sent home for swearing at a teacher. I could have wandered into a handful of other lessons to assist; there was even a display in the English department that required completion, but I couldn’t be bothered. The staff room was deserted and the computers were free.

I began by checking my e-mails; the usual stuff that went out to all members of staff and wasn’t of any particular relevance to me but, inevitably, I began browsing websites to quench my thirst for film and footy gossip. But a dozen or so minutes into reading about the latest transfer rumours and a review of the latest mediocre Marvel comic movie, I began to feel guilty. I was blatantly and undeniably breaking a commandment; I was stealing. A sneaky, no-need-to-justify type of stealing which I imagine most of us are guilty of now and again. I may not have stolen an old lady’s purse or a packet of skittles, but I was stealing time from work. Time that I was getting paid for.

I lacked a huge chunk of something I try to live by daily: integrity. The four months I’d been working in this school, as I gain the experience that will hopefully result in my landing a place on the PGCE teaching course next year, I’ve made a good impression; been a good role model. I engage with the kids, they seem to respond to me – the Senior Vice Principle is even trying to create a support position in order to keep me on in September.

Ephesians 6:7 reads: ‘Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.’ God is always watching, even when I almost convince myself that there must be a million and six bigger sins taking place.