{"id":6524,"date":"2015-12-23T08:58:52","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T08:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=6524"},"modified":"2015-12-23T08:59:51","modified_gmt":"2015-12-23T08:59:51","slug":"the-ultimate-away-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/rawfaith\/the-ultimate-away-day\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Away Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, news broke about one fan in particular who had travelled quite a bit further than your usual away day supporter. Unfortunately for Andrew Urry from Brisbane, Australia, he was unable to watch his team Southend United take on Bradford City away at Valley Parade due to the match being postponed as a result of the pitch being waterlogged.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew, who used to live in Southend, is able to keep up to date with the Shrimpers via the internet but while\u00a0on a trip\u00a0to Europe he\u00a0planned to see his team play in person once more. Andrew Urry has been quoted as saying, \u201cWe were told as the coach pulled up outside the stadium\u201d; \u201cI got off the coach to have a couple of pictures taken outside the away turnstile, and then we were straight back on the road again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For this disappointment, Andrew travelled 10,000 miles from his home in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<p>I have always been struck by the lengths many supporters go when following their club. Travelling with the team for away games is not for the faint hearted and takes a real commitment. But, regardless of how far you have ever travelled to support your team, God has been further. Becoming a human, God became flesh and lived among us on earth &#8211; was this the ultimate away day? Out of his comfort zone he humbled Himself to our level in order to be the light to a world in darkness.<\/p>\n<p><em>In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God.\u00a0From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made\u00a0without the Word. Everything that was created\u00a0received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone.\u00a0The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.<\/em> &#8211; John 1:1-5 (CEV)<\/p>\n<p>For Andrew, the club did attempt to soften the blow by offering the committed supporter a signed ball for his troubles. However, this momentary lift in spirits is nothing in comparison to what God has already done for every one of us in and through Jesus. The lengths that He has gone for us are awesome and are certainly worth a moments thought as we celebrate Jesus&#8217; birth &#8211; <em>\u201cthank God for His gift that is too wonderful for words!\u201d<\/em> &#8211; 2 Corinthians 9:15 (CEV)<\/p>\n<p>Merry Christmas and God bless.<\/p>\n<p>What has been your best\/worst\/funniest away day experience?<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/rawfaith\/the-ultimate-away-day\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, news broke about one fan in particular who had travelled quite a bit further than your usual away day supporter. Unfortunately for Andrew Urry from Brisbane, Australia, he was unable to watch his team Southend United take on Bradford City away at Valley Parade due to the match being postponed as a result [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1073],"tags":[1170,38,74,83,110],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-1He","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1241,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/news\/cvm-christmas-appeal\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":0},"title":"A Personal Message from Carl","date":"13 December 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We recently\u00a0launched our Christmas appeal, you can\u00a0view that here. I\u2019m writing to ask if you would consider\u00a0sending CVM a gift of say \u00a310.00 or more towards the ongoing work we are all involved in, of seeing men come to faith in Jesus. My aim is to provide you guys with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3689,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/dont-take-care-take-risks\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":1},"title":"DON\u2019T TAKE CARE, TAKE RISKS!","date":"28 February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Struggling with your faith and its outworking? Two people recently have shown me the contemporary truth of transforming grace in their lives (Romans 12:1-2). The second I know, the first I don\u2019t. Faith Under Fire. Andrew White has been the vicar of St George\u2019s in Baghdad since 2005. Remarkably by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9284,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/confessions-of-a-personal-trainer-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":2},"title":"Confessions of a Personal Trainer #2","date":"2 March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cGiving UP\u201d Well, it\u2019s that time of lent when I delve deeper within myself and ask, what are those things that prevent me from growing as a human being, living life with Hope and freedom? But most importantly what stops me building a closer relationship with the one myself and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/confessions-of-a-pt-blog.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8562,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":3},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 1)","date":"17 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins When I look out of the kitchen window at home, I marvel at how prolific and healthy the garden is.\u00a0\u00a0Not the good stuff (flowers or shrubs which we might actually have chosen and planted) but the weeds \u2013 they seem unstoppable!\u00a0\u00a0Every nook and cranny\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8573,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":4},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 2)","date":"24 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From pride to humility When you do a good job, it\u2019s nice to get the appreciation, the praise; just a simple \u201cthank you\u201d can make a difference to the whole day. That might be from solving the missing number on a spreadsheet, bringing a team member up to speed on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8582,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt4\/","url_meta":{"origin":6524,"position":5},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 4)","date":"7 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From lust to love When an unexploded bomb is discovered in one of the many harbour and dockyard areas which operate around the English Channel, such as an old WW2 mine or a payload from a bomber, the Royal Navy will often tow the device out into the Channel before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6524"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6524"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6526,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6524\/revisions\/6526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}