Just a very quick post (as I don't have time for a proper update right now) to plug a couple of things. Most importantly...this week and the week after the Bristol University Christian Union are hosting a range of events to help people explore the meaning of life, look at what Christianity is really about, and trying to provide a Christian viewpoint on some of the hard questions in life. I'd recommend going along. The programme of events is here, (you will also be able to download the talks from here.) There are talks every lunchtime in the Powell lecture theatre (in the Physics department) and evening events spread between various locations, as well as other events going on in halls. Ask me if you've got any questions.
Also, Livesoc tonight. Ar2 (aka Mandela Bar) in the Bristol Student Union if anyone in Bristol is interested. An evening of live music, provided by some very talented musicians. Doors open at 8, music from 8.30 and is only £1 to non-livesoc members.
Lastly, a couple of rather amusing videos on youtube - one of which I was passed the link to, the other I randomly found while watching the first: "Title of the song" and The ebay song
First, quality of the singing and video isn't amazing (as you'll see), but the song itself is very amusing. Ebay song is a take-off of I think a backstreet boys song. Enjoy and do come along to some of the Cu talks ! :-D
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Making an effort vs being a branch
It was a first for me this morning. I went to Sainsbury's to do my weekly food shop as usual. But this morning, to carry my shopping back I used no plastic bags ! I've discovered the heavy duty bags that Sainsbury's sells (50p each) which are designed to be reused for each shop. I had two of these this morning which held all my shopping. They're great. Not only is it good for the environment as I'm not using up plastic bags (which try as I might I always forget to take back to Sainsbury's the following week), but they are also a lot better for carrying shopping as they spread the weight better and don't break easily ! I might start using them for student lunch shopping too.
It's amazing isn't it. Something so simple, yet I've only just started doing it. I think, subconsciously a lot of the time but nevertheless, I very often just assume that if I 'go with the flow' things will just happen, with no effort on my part. If I'm like that, with all that I know, then how can I expect others who know less to be any different ? I've been having a lot of eye-opening experiences this week, in the midst of a hard week. I spoke specifically about recycling bags, but I think this applies to all things. How often do I assume things like, making time for God will just happen, and that living for God will just come naturally? When a lot of the time they don't - there needs to be an effort and a choice on my part. For example, I know that I need to consciously carve time out for God during my week (am hoping that Woodies prayer week will help start me on that road). But on the other hand, although I need to seek God, at the same time, as Jesus said in John 15*, we are branches in the vine, and we can do nothing without Him. There is another sense in which the branch doesn't have to strive, but the sap which flows through it does the work. There's a danger in going too far the other way, and thinking that everything is completely up to me (both traps I have been falling into the last few weeks, if not far longer). So many things (in fact, most things in my limited experience) in this life are about getting the balance between two extremes. Balance is such a hard thing. But then, sometimes just realising you are doing something is half of the battle.
Some of this stuff has come up from my year team review, some stuff from Devotion yesterday, some from Mullers, and some stuff just as I have been mulling things over in my head during the extra time that being ill somehow gives you. It applies to me, but if it challenges anyone else who reads my rambles and gives you food for thought too then I am extra glad. And remember, this all started with a simple plastic bag ! Any thoughts in response ?
*"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
-Jesus speaking in John 15:5 (Italics mine)
It's amazing isn't it. Something so simple, yet I've only just started doing it. I think, subconsciously a lot of the time but nevertheless, I very often just assume that if I 'go with the flow' things will just happen, with no effort on my part. If I'm like that, with all that I know, then how can I expect others who know less to be any different ? I've been having a lot of eye-opening experiences this week, in the midst of a hard week. I spoke specifically about recycling bags, but I think this applies to all things. How often do I assume things like, making time for God will just happen, and that living for God will just come naturally? When a lot of the time they don't - there needs to be an effort and a choice on my part. For example, I know that I need to consciously carve time out for God during my week (am hoping that Woodies prayer week will help start me on that road). But on the other hand, although I need to seek God, at the same time, as Jesus said in John 15*, we are branches in the vine, and we can do nothing without Him. There is another sense in which the branch doesn't have to strive, but the sap which flows through it does the work. There's a danger in going too far the other way, and thinking that everything is completely up to me (both traps I have been falling into the last few weeks, if not far longer). So many things (in fact, most things in my limited experience) in this life are about getting the balance between two extremes. Balance is such a hard thing. But then, sometimes just realising you are doing something is half of the battle.
Some of this stuff has come up from my year team review, some stuff from Devotion yesterday, some from Mullers, and some stuff just as I have been mulling things over in my head during the extra time that being ill somehow gives you. It applies to me, but if it challenges anyone else who reads my rambles and gives you food for thought too then I am extra glad. And remember, this all started with a simple plastic bag ! Any thoughts in response ?
*"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
-Jesus speaking in John 15:5 (Italics mine)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
To continue on the theme of the North Wind...
I think that last post must have been pre-empting (if that's how you spell it) my return to Bristol ! It's been so wet and windy...today especially. Living as high up as I do at the moment, means the sound of the whistling wind is amplified, and with windows like skylights, at the moment it sounds a bit like someone has a chainsaw going just outside my window ! Means it's a bit chilly too in the communal areas as the wind whips through the vents !
But no matter. Wind just makes living here fun. I've been back in Bristol about a week and a half. It has been very mixed. As per usual, hard being back but good to see people. Had fun at the weekend as (among various things) on saturday the year team was helping to look after all the kids for a Henleaze Leaders' morning. Very fun, but also very tiring - I was helping with the 3-7s. They have a lot of energy ! (At the end of the morning we were trying to wrack our brains for all the "who can stand really still and quietly" games we could think of) :-) Also on sunday saw a friend who I haven't seen since about last May but who was in Bristol for the afternoon. Was good to have a long chat.
There have also been cold-type things going round the flats. I can't feel too sorry for myself as most of us have gone down with something or other, but I think most of us are on the mend. Just not what you really want to come back to in a new term - yesterday was the first time I've had to take time off from one of my placements due to illness. Due to not feeling amazing this week, I have been investing a fair bit of time in watching dvds on my laptop from bed. On tuesday evening I just finished Narnia (which I was watching in installments). Although I don't really like their portrayal of Aslan (but then again, how would they ever capture Aslan how he should be ?) on the whole I think the film is really well done. Somehow, a film can often bring out things which you didn't notice from reading the book. Primarily from the film I get the senses of how fast things happen, how scared they were (you always think an adventure is exciting until you're in one), how they'd been just sent away from one war only to join in another one. But another sense, is when Edmund meets the White Witch for the first time. She says to him that he's just the kind of boy who could be king of Narnia, and makes a load of promises to him (which she obviously doesn't keep). But it just strikes me that what she offers him is actually what he will actually become anyway through Aslan. Moving the analogy aside, isn't that so often true in real life ? That the things we get tempted by most are just shadows of what we can actually already have access to through Jesus (Aslan) ?
Anyway...enough of rambling...am feeling a little better today so am going to try and catch up with some things and do what I should be doing on a thursday. Didn't that post just feel like a Simpson's episode ? - where it starts with one thing and ends with something completely different, which you know must have been connected somehow in a weird kind of way ? And with that thought... :-D
But no matter. Wind just makes living here fun. I've been back in Bristol about a week and a half. It has been very mixed. As per usual, hard being back but good to see people. Had fun at the weekend as (among various things) on saturday the year team was helping to look after all the kids for a Henleaze Leaders' morning. Very fun, but also very tiring - I was helping with the 3-7s. They have a lot of energy ! (At the end of the morning we were trying to wrack our brains for all the "who can stand really still and quietly" games we could think of) :-) Also on sunday saw a friend who I haven't seen since about last May but who was in Bristol for the afternoon. Was good to have a long chat.
There have also been cold-type things going round the flats. I can't feel too sorry for myself as most of us have gone down with something or other, but I think most of us are on the mend. Just not what you really want to come back to in a new term - yesterday was the first time I've had to take time off from one of my placements due to illness. Due to not feeling amazing this week, I have been investing a fair bit of time in watching dvds on my laptop from bed. On tuesday evening I just finished Narnia (which I was watching in installments). Although I don't really like their portrayal of Aslan (but then again, how would they ever capture Aslan how he should be ?) on the whole I think the film is really well done. Somehow, a film can often bring out things which you didn't notice from reading the book. Primarily from the film I get the senses of how fast things happen, how scared they were (you always think an adventure is exciting until you're in one), how they'd been just sent away from one war only to join in another one. But another sense, is when Edmund meets the White Witch for the first time. She says to him that he's just the kind of boy who could be king of Narnia, and makes a load of promises to him (which she obviously doesn't keep). But it just strikes me that what she offers him is actually what he will actually become anyway through Aslan. Moving the analogy aside, isn't that so often true in real life ? That the things we get tempted by most are just shadows of what we can actually already have access to through Jesus (Aslan) ?
Anyway...enough of rambling...am feeling a little better today so am going to try and catch up with some things and do what I should be doing on a thursday. Didn't that post just feel like a Simpson's episode ? - where it starts with one thing and ends with something completely different, which you know must have been connected somehow in a weird kind of way ? And with that thought... :-D
Saturday, January 06, 2007
The North Wind doth blow...
For some reason, at lunchtime today, the topic of the North Wind came up. I was trying to remember how that rhyme about it went (could remember the first bit only). So, oh how I love google, I looked it up. The whole rhyme goes something like this...
"The North Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow
And what will poor robin do then ?
Poor thing.
He'll sit in the barn
And keep himself warm
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing."
Having told you that, that isn't really the point of this post. This rhyme about the North WInd reminded me about a fairystory I vaguely remembered bits of, including that it had the North Wind in it. So, again i turned to google and I found the story ! Here is a link to it. It's basically a bit like Jack and the Beanstalk, without the Beanstalk. The writer hasn't gotten it down wonderfully here, as the narrative doesn't flow amazingly well and the Landlady appears to turn into a Landlord halfway through, but this was the only version I could find online. Even if you don't know it and it doesn't bring back a whole load of memories like it did for me, do still have a quick read. :-) Out of interest, had anyone heard this story before ?
Back to Bristol tomorrow !
"The North Wind doth blow
And we shall have snow
And what will poor robin do then ?
Poor thing.
He'll sit in the barn
And keep himself warm
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing."
Having told you that, that isn't really the point of this post. This rhyme about the North WInd reminded me about a fairystory I vaguely remembered bits of, including that it had the North Wind in it. So, again i turned to google and I found the story ! Here is a link to it. It's basically a bit like Jack and the Beanstalk, without the Beanstalk. The writer hasn't gotten it down wonderfully here, as the narrative doesn't flow amazingly well and the Landlady appears to turn into a Landlord halfway through, but this was the only version I could find online. Even if you don't know it and it doesn't bring back a whole load of memories like it did for me, do still have a quick read. :-) Out of interest, had anyone heard this story before ?
Back to Bristol tomorrow !
Friday, January 05, 2007
Shipwreck
...In fact, it's already growing on me as I listen to it more and more. This song particularly struck me last night:
"I built a fortress, with a hundred thousand faces,
I'll keep it safe, with a hundred thousand more.
But these masks are wearing thin, as You draw me in.
I spent my time on the empty and the fleeting.
I spent my life on much less than what I'd dreamed.
But I'm reaching out to You, to make me new.
'Cause I am just a beggar, here at Your door.
I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore.
I come empty handed, ready to see,
Your life in me changing who I've been,
To who I need to be.
You tell my story as You sift between the pages.
I feel redemption in the space between each turn.
Could You take me in Your arms, And tell it just once more?
Could You take me in Your arms, And tell it just once more?"
-Shipwreck by Starfield (from the album "Beauty in the Broken")
"I built a fortress, with a hundred thousand faces,
I'll keep it safe, with a hundred thousand more.
But these masks are wearing thin, as You draw me in.
I spent my time on the empty and the fleeting.
I spent my life on much less than what I'd dreamed.
But I'm reaching out to You, to make me new.
'Cause I am just a beggar, here at Your door.
I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore.
I come empty handed, ready to see,
Your life in me changing who I've been,
To who I need to be.
You tell my story as You sift between the pages.
I feel redemption in the space between each turn.
Could You take me in Your arms, And tell it just once more?
Could You take me in Your arms, And tell it just once more?"
-Shipwreck by Starfield (from the album "Beauty in the Broken")
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Last few days of holiday...
Going back to Bristol this sunday for the start of another term (my first job is stewarding at the Mix on sunday night). And, although I haven't even come back yet, I'm already starting to feel homesick ! It will be good to see people but nevertheless, very strange to come back.
I do also have a fair few things left to do before then, however I did still make time to go to see the film Eragon yesterday with my brother. It's a good film; worth seeing if you like films of that genre (fantasy, action, involving dragons...) I was glad we did go to see it. But it wasn't a patch on the book. They had messed around with the storyline so much and cut out or changed major parts, so much so, that I'm not really sure how they'll be able to do the next part of the trilogy. But although that disappointed me slightly, I can see why they did, as it was always going to be a challenge getting a book of that kind into a 1hr30 film, and they were obviously trying to leave enough time to do justice to some of the big battle scenes (= special effects). It could have done with being LOTR length really. I think I need to see the film a couple more times (probably get the DVD when it comes out), now that I know the basics of the film, so I can appreciate it more for what it is, rather than always be comparing it with the book. And don't let me put you off. Go to see it, regardless of whether you've read the book or not (I think the story just about hangs together even if you haven't). And I'm already looking forward to seeing the film of the second part !
One more thing...I have in the past mentionned a band called Starfield. Well, I also purchased their second album, "Beauty in the Broken" yesterday (with Christmas money). It's a good album. Very different feel to the first one, which I loved immediately, but I think it will grow on me. There are some (in my opinion) good songs and some not so good/not very memorable or original ones, but all in all, worth the £8 I paid for it I think ! And the sentiments expressed in the words are good ones. Gives me more ammunition for quoting song lyrics at whoever reads this blog still :-)
I do also have a fair few things left to do before then, however I did still make time to go to see the film Eragon yesterday with my brother. It's a good film; worth seeing if you like films of that genre (fantasy, action, involving dragons...) I was glad we did go to see it. But it wasn't a patch on the book. They had messed around with the storyline so much and cut out or changed major parts, so much so, that I'm not really sure how they'll be able to do the next part of the trilogy. But although that disappointed me slightly, I can see why they did, as it was always going to be a challenge getting a book of that kind into a 1hr30 film, and they were obviously trying to leave enough time to do justice to some of the big battle scenes (= special effects). It could have done with being LOTR length really. I think I need to see the film a couple more times (probably get the DVD when it comes out), now that I know the basics of the film, so I can appreciate it more for what it is, rather than always be comparing it with the book. And don't let me put you off. Go to see it, regardless of whether you've read the book or not (I think the story just about hangs together even if you haven't). And I'm already looking forward to seeing the film of the second part !
One more thing...I have in the past mentionned a band called Starfield. Well, I also purchased their second album, "Beauty in the Broken" yesterday (with Christmas money). It's a good album. Very different feel to the first one, which I loved immediately, but I think it will grow on me. There are some (in my opinion) good songs and some not so good/not very memorable or original ones, but all in all, worth the £8 I paid for it I think ! And the sentiments expressed in the words are good ones. Gives me more ammunition for quoting song lyrics at whoever reads this blog still :-)
Monday, January 01, 2007
HAPPY 2007 !!!
Well, another year gone by. It's now 2007 ! (And I'd only just gotten used to writing 2006 on everything!) Happy New Year ! I hope that you have all had a good Christmas and New Year. Mine has been a little mixed, but good mostly. Has been good to have some time at home and I had great fun at a friends' party last night for New Year.
I always find it strange at New Year, cause I tend to think of the beginning of a new year in September, i.e. the new academic year, and so do the whole 'reflecting on the past year' thing then, but I guess it can't hurt to do it twice ! I hope you all have a good day today, but in that, I challenge you all to think about what your best moment(s) of 2006 were. I was challenged to do that by my small group (aka Huddle) at the Woodies staff Christmas lunch a couple of weeks ago. I had to think quite hard to narrow it down, but was a good thing to do as it brought back a lot of memories (both good and bad). And I think (to get everyone started) I narrowed mine down to two very good moments:
1) In the Easter holidays when I gotten a lift back with a friend to Bristol after a week in Skegness for Spring Harvest, I stayed the night in my house at the time, and the next evening went to the last (with their current line-up at the time) New Root gig, at the Fleece. It was the first time I've actually gone with a group of people, rather than just seeing other Rooters there. And I just really had such an AMAZING night; listening to the New Root and seeing how much they were enjoying playing, and spending time with so many good friends :-)
2) Seeing the Grand Canyon in the summer. It's just amazing ! It really showed me the literal meaning of the word breathtaking. People say seeing is believing, but I couldn't even believe it when I saw it with my own eyes. So huge and amazing. Can't be described. Was altogether a great holiday this summer. Was great to be with my family and the Grand Canyon was only one of so many amazing things we saw.
I always find it strange at New Year, cause I tend to think of the beginning of a new year in September, i.e. the new academic year, and so do the whole 'reflecting on the past year' thing then, but I guess it can't hurt to do it twice ! I hope you all have a good day today, but in that, I challenge you all to think about what your best moment(s) of 2006 were. I was challenged to do that by my small group (aka Huddle) at the Woodies staff Christmas lunch a couple of weeks ago. I had to think quite hard to narrow it down, but was a good thing to do as it brought back a lot of memories (both good and bad). And I think (to get everyone started) I narrowed mine down to two very good moments:
1) In the Easter holidays when I gotten a lift back with a friend to Bristol after a week in Skegness for Spring Harvest, I stayed the night in my house at the time, and the next evening went to the last (with their current line-up at the time) New Root gig, at the Fleece. It was the first time I've actually gone with a group of people, rather than just seeing other Rooters there. And I just really had such an AMAZING night; listening to the New Root and seeing how much they were enjoying playing, and spending time with so many good friends :-)
2) Seeing the Grand Canyon in the summer. It's just amazing ! It really showed me the literal meaning of the word breathtaking. People say seeing is believing, but I couldn't even believe it when I saw it with my own eyes. So huge and amazing. Can't be described. Was altogether a great holiday this summer. Was great to be with my family and the Grand Canyon was only one of so many amazing things we saw.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
