Novel advertising strategy

Saw an advertising poster today, near the computer games section of a music store I was in, which made me chuckle. Thought I'd share the amusement...(I so wish I'd plucked up the courage to take a photo!)...


"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.........for I have 3 lives left."

Nothing is as it seems

"For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing." Romans 7

I've just recently (last night) finished reading the book "Three" by Ted Dekker. It's one of his earlier books (2003) but I hadn't read it before. I'm very glad I did. People have mixed opinions about Dekker, but I think he's a genius. He writes fiction, of the thriller/suspense type. Fast paced stories with, as the reviewers say, "unexpected plot twists" - I never saw the plot twist of 'Three' coming at all ! (What's going to be interesting now, is rereading it, knowing what I know now!) He makes you think about life in a new and deeper way. I won't give too much away, as it would spoil the story, but I would very highly recommend Three, if you like thriller-type stories and haven't read it yet. You might even discover a new author that you like - I recommend starting with some of his earlier books, like 'Three',, 'Blink', 'the martrys song series'. Below I've written out what's on the back of the "Three"; it doesn't really do it justice, but then it's hard to do it justice without giving something away !
Just read it for yourselves. :-)

"Enter a world where nothing is what it seems. Where your closest friend could be your greatest enemy.

Kevin Parson is alone in his car when his cell phone rings. A man calling himself Slater offers a deadly ultimatum: You have exactly three minutes to confess your sin to the world. Refuse, and the car you're driving will blow sky high. Then the phone goes dead.

Kevin panics. Who would make such a demand? What sin? Yet not sure what else to do, Kevin swerves ino a parking lot and runs from his car, just in case.

Precisely three minutes later, a massive explosion sets his world on a collision course with madness. And that's only the first move in this deadly game.

From the #1 best-selling fiction author comes a powerful story of good, evil and all that lies between."

You're where my heart is satisfied

"You're where my heart is satisfied
Apart from You there is no other
When I'm with You I am home
So as I come to know You more
Lord grip my heart and make it Yours

Hold me in Your arms Lord
So close I'd never leave
Let me worship at Your feet
My tears will be my offering
Though I run from You my God
Your love is always drawing me
My life is found in You
That's where I want to be

God have mercy on Your child
The one who bears Your name
For chasing not Your heart
Just going on my way
I want to fall in love with You Lord
And only see Your face
So as I come to see You more
Lord grip my heart and make it Yours"

- Dan Whiteman,
taken from the Vineyard album Unspoken Truth

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Christmas Hilarity

A little while ago now, the Woodies website had a bit of a facelift and they now have a blog, which they keep updated regularly. I enjoy reading this, to keep up to date a bit with what's going on in Bristol, and today I read their most recent post. It's entitled "How to torture your flatmate", and lists 20 ways in which to torture your flatmate/family this Christmas time. While I do not condone any of the listed activities, lol, they are nevertheless very amusing to read. I especially like no. 18: "Steal a life size nativity scene and display it in your room. When your flatmate asks, tell them, "I had to let them stay here, there's no room at the inn."" :-D Enjoy !

:-)

Guess what I did today ?!...I bought a new guitar :-) (Still hasn't quite sunk in that it's mine yet!) It was fairly expensive, but it is very beautiful (I wasn't too keen on the colour at first, but it's growing on me) and sounds truly amazing. I was very much in need of a new guitar, and have been looking around for a while, but we found this one today. (For anyone interested, it's a handcrafted Tanglewood, brazillian rosewood back and sides and a spruce top. mmmm... Still needs to have a pick-up and a pick-guard fitted, but that's a problem for another day). No regrets so far. Good decision I think. I shouldn't ever need to buy another guitar again. Oh, and it truly was a profitable (but expensive) day as Glyn also managed to find himself a new bouzouki too, very excitingly, from a Luthier in East London. It's not every day you get to see the inside of an instrument maker's workshop ! Was very interesting. All in all, a very good day :-D

Make them go away

I'm on the mailing list of Oliver Gearing, an amazing musician I met once whilst performing at an open mic night in Cambridge. Anyway, since I'm on his mailing list I get to hear about all he gets up to, and he recently sent out the following e-mail about the use of one of his songs...


"Breaking news: Make them Go Away has been selected by The Department for Children, Families and Schools to feature in their latest anti-bullying campaign. The song forms the backbone for poignant short film created by Nick Webber and his team at Take One Productions
Currently being distributed to schools across the UK, you can watch it now at olivergearing.com

I am delighted to be involved in such a good cause and thought provoking campaign."



I've just watched the video and would recommend watching it - although, don't watch it unless you're prepared to be challenged. The song is good, of course, but the film is very moving. It moved me to tears anyway.

There's so much wrong in this world, and sometimes one feels overwhelmed and helpless to know what one can do to make any difference at all ! Although, I do know that because of Jesus there is hope...we can make a difference, not in our own strength but by learning how to be his body and hands on this earth. I'm not trying to preach, just trying to be real as I'm struggling to work out my reactions to stuff in life. I didn't have this in mind when I started this post, but oh well...it seems appropriate to post the lyrics of another Ginny Owens song I have been impacted by in the past, which me starting this post brought to mind. The song is basically talking about various people from the Bible (who, were actually real people like us too!), and how some of the stuff God asked them to do seemed so overwhelmingly huge, yet God just asked them to be obedient and to trust in Him; that He had a plan and would use us to "show them I Am". Seems relevant in many ways:

"No Lord, he said, you've got the wrong guy.
Simple conversation gets me tongue-tied.
And you're telling me to speak with a maniac king.
Could it be I've lost my mind?
And besides, I am weak, don't you want someone strong,
To lead them out of Egypt when they've been there so long?
And anyway, they wont believe You ever spoke to me.
That's not your problem, God replied.
And the rest is history.

There's a bigger picture you can't see.
You don't have to change the world, just trust in me.
'Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you I will show them, I Am.

Now Lord, are you sure? He's just a shepherd boy,
Too small for battle gear with a giant to destroy.
What on earth can he do with five stones and a sling?
That's not your problem, God replied.
'Cause I can do anything.

There's a bigger picture you can't see.
You don't have to change the world, just trust in me.
'Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you, I will show them,
I Am the first, I Am the last,
I Am the present and the past,
I Am tomorrow and today,
I Am the only way.

Great Lord, she said, I'm just a simple girl.
You say that I will bring your son into the world.
How can I understand this thing You're gonna do?
That's not your problem, God replied.

'Cause, there's a bigger picture,
And you don't have to change the world.
I'm your creator, I am working out my plan.
And through you, I will show them,
There is a bigger picture, you can't see.
You don't have to change the world, just trust in me.
I'm your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you, I will show them, I Am."
- I Am by Ginny Owens

Sorry for rambling (again) - it's late, I'm tired, that's my excuse ! Having said that, I need some sleep now (and to finish my work for tonight, which is the reason I'm on the internet in the first place!) Before I do, let me commend the rest of Oliver Gearing's music to you. You can download most (if not all?) his music for free from his website, as cited above. Enjoy and goodnight !

p.s. I don't know why the song lyrics format has lost all the formatting between preview and posting...I hope you can still read it, but I'm too tired now to try and mess around sorting it out. I'll try and sort it out another day.

Fireworks

The University of Surrey held a big fireworks display last friday evening, to which I went along. It was great ! Fireworks are so pretty. I love them - although, I love the colours more than the noise. (Also, it does seem a little odd that we celebrate the fact that the houses of parliament weren't blown up, by blowing things up ! But hey.) This is probably the best photo I managed to take over the evening. Not too bad. (Note all the lights - from cameras and mobile phones not glow sticks, lol.)

Thought for the day...

Does anyone else ever have this problem ?...That one can have an extended period of not really blogging much (as one doesn't feel one has a lot to say), followed by a period when you can think of so much you want to blog about that none of it ends up getting written down ?! Anyway, at the moment my brain is working faster than I have time to sit down and type ! I guess my brain is at the moment just having to readjust to being used in ways it hasn't been used for 2 years (or a bit more), so it's in fast mode. So yes, I'm feeling more like blogging again, but hopefully once I'm more settled I'll make more time to sit down and actually write it out to share with those of you who still read this, rather than it just being in my head !

That said, random thought for the day for you all...The nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty:
"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again."
Now, where in that rhyme, does it state that Humpty is an egg ? I'd never thought about this fact until a friend pointed it out to me last night ! This Wikipedia article is most enlightening on the topic.

:-D

(In other news, my friend Glyn Collinson and I are playing in the Sheffield Folk Festival this coming weekend !!!!!! AAAhhhh!!! Currently very excited but also very nervous :)

Chapter 5

Brief update - as I'm sitting here one of the Surrey Uni computer rooms twiddling my thumbs (so to speak) for a couple of hours...

For those who don't know, I've just this week started at The University of Surrey. I'm going to be doing a PhD here but this week is mainly full up with induction lectures and meeting new people etc. I've met some lovely people, I am slowly getting to find my way round the maze that is campus - with much help from new friends - and the sessions (those for which the speakers have turned up anyway - hence my free hours today) have been helpful, especially for someone like me who is new to the Uni. But nevertheless, I'm itching now to actually get launched into some proper work. Although I've done some great things over the past few months (not least of which have involved many music things and several family holidays) and I needed some time to sort out practical things like getting rid of my Cambridge flat, I guess I didn't realise til now quite how much I've missed actually having something 'proper' to do - you can only do 'nothing' for so long...It was such a weird feeling being in that inbetween place. But still, I have to try to be patient and make the most of this week while I can, and try to get used to all these changes that are going on around me and in me. Plus I'm sure that soon enough I will have far too much to do again !

I am also still enjoying the music, with rehearsals every week now and various performances having been/upcoming - for instance the listings for the Sheffield Folk Festival (in which we're playing) are now up here ! Do check it out, if only to see that our names are actually on the website for a Folk Festival ! :-) It's all very hard work, but so worth it. We're working on new material at the moment, which is all very exciting - although, the songs do have a tendency to get very stuck in my head, to the extent that all the people round me must wonder what I'm going round humming to myself !

Anyway, enough rambling from me for now...since I'm here on Campus, I'd better go and use the time a bit productively and go do some more exploring, before the talks we have later this evening !

The Waterfront Project myspace

Tis very exciting - The Waterfront Project now has a myspace page ! Go check it out at: www.myspace.com/waterfrontproject !!!

Book recommendation

"Don’t miss this! If there’s a better book out there capturing God’s engaging nature and his ability to crawl into our darkest nightmare with his love, light and healing, I’ve not seen it. For the most ardent believer or newest spiritual seeker, the shack is a must-read."
Wayne Jacobsen, author of So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore
-just one of many reviews for this book.

-->I just finished reading this book yesterday (it took me just under a day to read it as I couldn't put it down, although, I will have to reread it as there is too much to take in properly in one reading!) It is an amazing book, and I think that everyone should read it !!! It has really touched me deeply. It has blown through a lot of preconceptions that I have (and probably many of us have, even without realising that we do) about who we think God is and really gets back to the heart of what everything in life is all about - relationship. And a lot of things I thought I knew, I find I don't really know at all. The book is hard to explain, but you just need to read it and I know you will be touched too. Click on the picture below to be taken straight to the book's website where you can find out more for yourself...

Upcoming gigs...

I've been busy. There are several upcoming musical events at which I am playing...
- If anyone is free tomorrow and would like an evening of music in Cambridge (see flyer above)... This event is to raise money for this year's Romanian summer camp, of the variety I helped with last summer.

- Also, if anyone fancies a trip to Leicester in a couple of weeks, then I am accompanying a friend of mine at the Big Session Folk festival (See: http://www.bigsessionfestival.com) !!! We have a lunchtime slot on the Saturday in the Marquee Stage ! Exciting stuff...

Lifehouse's Everything skit

You guys all have to watch this ! Beautiful song, and beautiful skit. It moved me to tears.

The Waterfront Project !!!

For those of you who still read this blog (well done if you do) and who are vaguely interested, I have some news to share...

At the moment I am involved in a 'music project' with several extremely talented musicians, all of whom were at Bristol University like me, (but I didn't really get to meet any of them until we had all left Bristol Uni !) Together we are called 'The Waterfront Project'. The overall aim is to eventually record an album, putting in lots of hard work and having lots of fun along the way, perhaps also leading to some gigs. Anyway...we had our first 'full band' rehearsal a couple of weeks ago and not only was it amazing, but we made a few rough recordings (to see how we sounded). What we all I think agree were the best of these have recently been put up on Glyn's website (links about half-way down the homepage) and so please feel free to have a listen ! Enjoy and let me know what you think - bearing in mind these are very rough recordings. Technically speaking, you might call us 'folk-rock' of a kind, but we're hard to define.

I have never been involved in anything like this before. It's exciting, and hard and so tiring and truly wonderful all at once, and much more besides. I feel like I am growing so much as a musician at the moment and in many other ways too; well, playing with other musicians at this level and for rehearsals this long kinda makes you want to 'raise your game'; you want to learn to play your parts really well so that you're not the one who messes the song up ! It's a really practical demonstration of what it means to be a small part contributing to an overall big picture, which in this case is each song. I'm also learning just how much hard work music can be - I lose track now of how many times I've played some of these songs (although, I am still not bored of any of them!) and the sheer number of hours I have spent working out harmony for some songs, but it is SO worth it. I feel so very priviliged to have been asked to be a part of this and can't wait til our next session :-)



p.s. to anyone who has stuck out the long months of no posts, I do apologise for not keeping this site up-to-date in the last few months. I just seem to have too much else on my plate/mind at the moment. Besides, I think facebook really has taken over from the fad of blogging - well, for some things anyway. I may still post exciting news like this on here, but don't expect 'regular' updates like I used to give. I can't promise anything like that anymore !

The New Root come to Cambridge in a week's time !!!

-p.s. this gig is part of their 2008 UK tour promoting their single "Sick of Me". The single was released on monday this week and is avaliable to download from their website: www.thenewroot.com If you're in Cambridge, be there ! (If you're not, then check out their other tour dates and locations! It'll be well worth it.)

Wholly Yours

My new favourite album at the moment is "A Collision" by David Crowder band (which my brother got me for Christmas). I love David Crowder band; they're amazing musicians who aren't afraid to experiment with music and generally with art. Their albums aren't just a series of songs one after the other (although in some senses they are of course), they are very cleverly put together and lead you on a journey. Because of that, maybe they aren't quite as accessible on first glance but they allow you to think and explore. This album, as described on the back of the album booklet: "...for the past two years we have ended most nights in concert with the following statement: 'when our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision.' This recording is about that collision. It is the collision of our fallen state and our Maker's transcendance. It is a rendering of our mortality and eternal life." The song below particularly struck me on first listening, and does so again every time I hear it. The lyrics are just so beautiful ! Very cleverly crafted, and so true. So I thought I'd share them with you. Take time to ponder on them and enjoy. I wish you all a Happy New Year. May you this year know more the awe and wonder of this beautiful collision. Ro xx


"I am full of earth. You are heaven's worth.
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity.
You are everything, that is bright and clean,
The antonym of me, You are divinity.
But a certain sign of grace is this:
From the broken earth, flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy,
All heaven cries, "Holy, holy God."
You are holy, holy, holy.
I want to be holy like You are.

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You're covering me with Your majesty.
And the truest sign of grace was this:
From wounded hands redemption fell down,
Liberating man

You are holy, holy, holy,
All heaven cries, "Holy, holy God."
You are holy, holy, holy.
I want to be holy like You are.

But the harder I try the more clearly can I
Feel the depth of our fall and the weight of it all.
And so this might be the most impossible thing:
Your grandness in me making me clean.

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah

So here I am all of me
Finally everything.
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly Yours.
I am full of earth and dirt and You."
-David Crowder 2005 (from A Collision)


p.s. chords for this song are in Soul Survivor book 4. And if, like me, you like linking songs together, then you'll be glad to hear that this is another song which you can easily link with 'The stand', 'inside out', 'awesome God', 'mighty to save', etc. via the chorus and bridge.

Chapter 4

And so, the time has come to fill you all in briefly on what is happening and has been happening in the world of Ro - although, apart from one or two people I'm aware of, I'm not entirely sure who reads blogs still; Facebook seems to have taken over from Blogger now really as the trendiest method of communication, but oh well...

Anyway, tomorrow is the day I move to Cambridge (well, when I say MOVE, it's complicated). For those who I haven't gotten round to telling yet, I now have a job there, working in a lab. I start this coming friday. I now also have a place to live - I am renting a flat, but the contract only begins on monday so I am staying overnight in a hotel tomorrow night, so I can get to work on friday. I also now have a car (which I love driving), which I somehow have to get up to Cambridge during the course of the next week or so, I think the plan atm is to drive it up at the weekend. It feels like there is a lot of change going on in my life at the moment, with everything happening at once - so many new things I have never had to think about before. But although I will miss everyone at home and in Bristol, and I'm really sorry that I won't be around to be a support to certain people, and although I feel nervous about starting somewhere new (although, not completely from scratch this time) I nevertheless do feel good about the move - it's a bit late to get out of it now anyway (!) I think it's the right thing for me at this time, if such a thing exists. I will feel a bit less hastled though and will be able to think about things more once I have moved and settled in ! I will be back, both to home and Bristol, to visit people and I would love it if anyone wanted to come to visit me, once I'm a bit settled.

Anyway, that's the short version of the story as it's all I have time for at the minute. I have things to go and sort out before tomorrow. (No more of this spending every waking hour on the internet - not that I have ever done that, but hey...) I hope everyone is well whatever they are all up to. I shall still try to post occasionally on here about how I'm getting on in Cambridge. But until the next time, so long ! Tomorrow chapter 4 officially begins...

One day, I'll blog again...

...but in the meantime, until I get around to trying to fill bloggers in on the craziness that has been the last few months, here's something to amuse you. (Amused me anyway). Taken from the current edition of Reader's Digest (which is a humour special). :-D

The radical middle

Well, it's now been just over a week since I moved back home for a bit. I've been missing everyone in Bristol, despite having been glad to also see a few friends here and spend time with family, and I still very much feel like I'm trying to come to terms with everything that happened in Romania. (It was good, if slightly unexpected, though to see two friends from Woodies at Riverside for the morning service yesterday). I now won't be online tho much for the next month(ish) as this thursday we go away on holiday for a while (yet more foreign languages to pretend to be able to speak!). I don't know still what happens when we return. I'll have to play that by ear somehow. However, before I go I wanted to make a book recommendation...

I'm currently reading a book called "The quest for the radical middle - a history of the Vineyard". I haven't got a long way into it yet, but what I've read so far is very interesting. I'd recommend it not only those who have a history with Vineyard churches but also anyone who is interested in general Church history and also any Christian who knows what it means to be trying to hold together so many of the tensions of the Christian life.