Fasting and Prep for Tomorrow's All Age

The whole squad went to Costco in Leeds to buy all the stuff for the All Age Worship event tomorrow morning. Followed by late lunch at the same place. Home for an hour and then set the church up with the Egans and Ben - involved removing all the chairs and relaying it out with round tables the blue chairs and all the stuff for eating with etc. Also fasting since lunchtime as part of the set-up for the "Hunger" theme at All Age.

U2: Magnificent

Great track - Magnificent - from the new U2 album, No Line on the Horizon.

Sounds like a worship song to me!

Live version from the roof of the BBC in London (2nd track of the 4)

Lyrics:

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent



I was born
I was born to be with you 

In this space and time

After that and ever after
I haven't had a clue


Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue



Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


I was born
I was born to sing for you 

I didn’t have a choice
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die
You and I will magnify

Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love unites our hearts



Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Magnificent

Singer: Taylor Swift

24/7 Prayer for Bradford

Took part for 2 hours of the church's 6 hour stint of this regular city-wide prayer initiative between 10 and midnight. I led the final hour using the Common Purpose themes for the city as prayer prompts such as health, education, sport, leisure, crime and justice. John was there for the first of the 2 hours and we closed off with Mark, Sue and Anthony.

U2 at the BBC

This day become a U2 extravaganza as they were interviewed and performed a number of their songs live on a variety of programmes.



U2 BBC page



Jo Whiley and U2 in the Live Lounge playing Get On Your Boots, Beautiful Day and Breathe

Rooftop gig playing Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Vertigo and Beautiful Day

Zane Lowe interviews Bono and the Edge:



Live performances on the Jonathon Ross show:



Jonathon Ross taking the mickey:

Film: The Italian Job

Trailer:



Wikipedia entry

Rachael's Mium burgled

A sad day as we got a call from Jean at 7:50 saying she had been burgled in the night while she was asleep. Lots of stuff taken including handbag and cards.

Lent Reading starts today

Mark has got the church reading Kay Arthur's book "Lord, Teach Me To Pray in 28 Days" for Lent. So I am now reading 2 of her books. We are reading her warfare book in the life group that I am a part of.

Leadership Skills Training: Time Management

First session of 2009 due to all the other Tuesday meetings. Mark made pancakes ahead of the meeting. Good discussion with Mark, Eryl, Iain (first time attendee), Dave, Christine, Ben and Jon. Included part of a David Allen talk at Google.

Teachers Consultation on the Kids

Another great set of feedback on the kids from the teachers at St John's. Very proud Mum and Dad again. Isaac hears about his secondary school on Monday.

The Archbishop of York on Theology at Work and Why Work Matters

From an official article:

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, today outlined the "desperate need" to reconnect faith in God with the workplace.

Speaking at the launch of the new God at Work course at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), the Archbishop said: "There should not be a separation from what goes on in Church and in our prayers with what goes on in the boardroom, office or shop floor."

Transcript

Litter Pick

Another litter pick after the Sunday service with the life group. Maria made the lunch - full English breakfast.

Church: Meeting Notes: Sermon on the Mount #5 (Mark)

Matthew 5:17-20

one of most debated/argued about sections of the Bible, lots of controversy

how can you be that righteous?

hard to relate to us in 2009

cultural context of time: people were saying that Jesus’ words meant OT not important, misunderstood Jesus, especially the Pharisees

main theme is one of attitude towards God’s law

remember who you are! e.g. school trips, representing school

the whole sermon is about doing what is right, what God wants us to do

early verses are the foundations/principles: e.g. beatitudes, salt and light

Jesus’ words even tougher than the law

thousands have been martyred over the years

if Christianity was illegal, how many of us would be in jail?

how different are we?

God is after our loyalty not legalism

God wants our awe and fear of Him

our generation does not fear parents/teachers/police etc, do not fear God

YHWH: feared saying the name so did not even use the full word, a respectful fear

many responses to the OT, re replaced by the NT etc

OT is the foundation no the NT, without it it would be incomplete

fulfil the what of the IT: all the prophecies

to get practical . . . live lives that are beyond reproach

would you work for extra hour without pay cf walking an extra mile

does our attitude change when boss not around

do we give our all at work, 200%, throwing sickies

God knows what your attitude is

Family Saturday

Another lazy day.

Made my Thai soup with everyone having a try.

Still recovering from a bad cough.

This was the GEAR conference weekend that we had to miss through lack of money. A real shame becuase the kids love going. May be next year again.

Film Night

Went to church to pick up Isaac who did not want to stay to see the Mamma Mia film show. Hilary organised that and had a great take up. Managed to stay for some pizza. David and Joseph came back with Isaac and I and we watched Transformers. Great film with something for everyone.

Life Group: Meeting Notes: Warfare (Ephesians) #2

Maria led Ben, Joly, Tracey, Dave, Ronnie, Dorothy. Lynsey (?) and I through the second study going through the group questions. Good discussion and a great prayer time after the study.

The Guardian's U2 page

Bought the Observer on Sunday just for the U2 feature in the Observer Music Monthly. Look for the 2 new album recording videos linked to from this page.

Games: "About Time" Board Game

Saw this game advertised in Saturday's Guardian.

Guardian shop page

Book: "Totally Wired", Simon Reynolds

From the publisher's book page:

From the author of the bestselling post-punk history "Rip It Up and Start Again" comes "Totally Wired", a companion book of conversations with the brilliant minds who made the late seventies and early eighties such a creative era for radical music and alternative culture.

Totally Wired features thirty-two interviews with post-punk’s most innovative musicians and colourful personalities - Ari Up, Jah Wobble, David Byrne, Green Gartside, Lydia Lunch, Edwyn Collins - as well as other movers and shakers of the period: label bosses and managers like Anthony H. Wilson and Bill Drummond, record producers such as Trevor Horn and Martin Rushent, and influential DJs and journalists like John Peel and Paul Morley.

Guardian review

Elders Meeting: Social Action

Getting into the swing now of these alternate elders meeting focussing on church and then social action. Good prayer time before the meeting. I was very poorly and stressed re work so good to be still for a while.

Half Term Week

Not a good week. Me working, kids off only Monday to Wednesday and Rachael off all week!

Culture Club: Into the Wild

Watched the Into the Wild film as the latest session of the Culture Club. Details of the session here. Attended by Michael, Eryl, Mark, Tracey, Hilary, Ben, Ann, David, Anthony and Sue. Divided opinion about the film but loads of great discussion. A thought provoker.

All Age Worship Planning

Our turn to host the planning session, Lunch with the Egans and Ben and then planned the next in the "Marks of a Disciple" series. Went really well on the theme of "hunger" with loads of ideas.

Church: Meeting Notes: Sermon on the Mount #4 (Salt and Light), Mark

Matthew 5:13-16

“At first, the church thought only of mission . . . focus on the spread of the faith rather than thinking about the shape of the church” (Invading Secular Space)

273 AD Constantine, church became the norm, evangelism went via Rome taking countries, Christian state, evangelism went out of the window

mission-shaped church to church-shaped mission

are we people of the church or a missionary people?

do we see every day as opportunity to share Jesus? to be salt and light?

18th Century: Wesley/Whitfield stopped huge social evil

our call is to stop thinking about methods to reverse the decline of the church, rather we need to rediscover the calling of the church

is there too much focus on building church and not enough on building Kingdom?

nothing in NT re buildings or settling down, instead was all about urgency of bringing people to faith

not necessarily about doing more

1 month to live, how would your life change?

cf Westfield study called “One Month To Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life”

not saying that buildings are not important

problem comes when we see buildings as God or when they become sacred

a problem when they detract from people knowing God

do we see the world around us as a place of mission or a place of immense danger/ threat

Jesus never said you have salt/light to dispense to the world, He actually said you ARE the salt and light of the world

not called to be salt cellars to Holme Wood in buildings

salt no good in pot

Acts 2:46: enjoy the favour of all people because church seen as unique with special role to care for people, people saw that and were attracted to it

Lev 2:13: Ez, God says to priests, season your sacrifices with salt

salt pure, holy and pleasing to God

preservative

world is naturallty decaying

flavouring: to be like Jesus and to be Jesus to people

melting agent for ice: melt the hardness of this world

light: warning as in lighthouses

world: you need to get your act together

we are all doomed without Jesus

attractive

guide, path: helping people walk that way

until you have been illuminated you cannot share the light

let the world see your good works

preaching competition:
(1) first preacher, awesome preacher say the people
(2) second preacher, people say that’s an awesome God

so HOW are we salt and light?

act out the beatitudes

we will be salt and light only if the characteristics of the blessed life are seen in us

BBC: Margaret

New drama covering the last year of Thatcher's reign as PM.



Press release
Official site
Wikipedia entry

World Press Photo 2008

The overall winner:



Press release

Gallery of winners

Official site

Film: The International

Trailer:



Official site
Wikipedia entry

iPod transmitter

Now on to my 3rd transmitter - it is always the lead that gives up first. Got an eMana EF-6227 from Maplin. Going well already!

Valentine's Day

Restful day with Rachael doing a candleit dinner for the family in the evening. Very enjoyable especially with the round robin of why we loved each member of the family.

Film: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Found this film via the current Cineworld mag - appropriate timing for Valentine's Day,



Official site
Wikipedia entry

Music: Linzi Stoppard, "Adagio For Strings"

Another great version of this piece . .

Music: Fuse, "I Love Rock and Roll"

An electric violin version . . .

Film: Man on Wire

Stumbled over this film again a moment ago

Football: Spain 2 England 0

A friendly match. Spain were a joy to behold re passing fluency, vision and speed. Scary stuff.

BBC match report

David Beckham equalled Bobby Moore's record of 108 England caps for an outfield player after coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat in Spain. (BBC article)

Editorial: Darwin's 200th anniversary

Guardian lead article

Wikiepdia entry for Darwin and creationism

Church Meeting: Notes

2 meetings in 1 with the Care Centre AGM followed by church meeting. Sheila Duncan from the Leeds URC office explained about property trustees. Unsuccessfully tried to play the Andy Crouch "Culture Making" book video but we did get the soundtrack without the pictures.

Interview: Lenny Henry

Guardian interview

Official site
Wikipedia entry

Example sketch (Women are telepathic):



(Clubbing):

In praise of ... Staffordshire oatcakes

Sounds tasty!

Another in the "In praise of ..." series from The Guardian.

Recipe

And while Google-ing for the article, I found this main oatcake "In praise of ..." article.

Book: "The Snow Tourist", Adam Watson

"We were flying down the slopes, faster than we knew was safe, our eyes streaming, a great wide, white softness ahead, a fifty-mile view hovering at the edge of our vision, shouting with excitement. From that moment, I was hooked. Since then, I have been a snow person."

What is it about snow that leaves us spellbound? What draws us to play with it, sledge over it, tell stories about it, build our homes out of it, and sometimes even risk our lives in it? In this unique book - a sparkling mixture of eulogy, history and travelogue - self-confessed snow obsessive Charlie English wraps up warm and goes in search of the answers.

Combining on-the-slopes experience with off-piste research, Charlie follows in the footsteps of the Romantic poets across the Alps; learns how to build igloos with the Inuit on Baffin Island; examines snow-patches in the Cairngorms to detect signs of global warming; and tests his mettle on some of the most perilous peaks on earth, along the way meeting up with a flurry of fellow enthusiasts from avalanche survivors and resort operators to climate scientists and champion skiers.

Book web site

Few people know more about snow than Adam Watson, who fell in love with it at the age of seven and has been studying it ever since

Guardian interview

Sunday lunch . .

... at East Bierley Cricket Club with the Egans and the Harrisons. Good value and tasty food for a £5 3-course lunch. I had soup, cottage pie and apple pie and custard. Watched some footie with Isaac in the bar.

Church: Meeting Notes

Ronnie was snowed in so couldn't preach today - his theme was going to be "Love" using 1 Cor 13.

Instead we had a sharing time with people's fave verses and words of encouragement.

Family Saturday

No ballet for Isobel today so we all went to see City of Ember and all had a good time.

Lazy rest of the day.

After kids went to bed, Rachael and I watched the remake of The Italian Job.

TV: Mad Men Series 2

Mad Men series 2 starts on Tuesday on BBC Four.

Official site

TV: John Adams theme tune

Enjoying watching this series and love the theme by Rob Lane.

Internet: Clay Shirky

Clay Shirky is the author of ok, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations.

Official site#
Here Comes Everybody blog
Wikpedia entires for Clay Shirky and Here Comes Everybody

Restaurant and Takeway: The Three SInghs, Sticker Lane, Bradford

Tremendous food from The Three Singhs and good value on a Monday when all the curries are buy one get one free if you eat in or take out.

Song: "You To Me Are Everything" and "Can You Feel The Force", The Real Thing

A golden oldie from the 70s - "You To Me Are Everything" by The Real Thing.

Song: "Song 2", Blur

One of my faves - reminded of it a moment ago - "Song 2" by Blur.

Fashion Your Firefox

A big fan of Firefox. This page gives a good summary of the different types of add-ons that are available.

From that page:

You spend more time online than on the road, but you probably think more about avoiding traffic than enjoying the best of the Web.

So, why not customize your Firefox for the things you really love to do? Take your browser from simple to spectacular.

Firefox add-ons are little extras that allow you to add a personal touch to your browser. Select your favorites from the categories below to accessorize your Web!

Song: "Toss the Feathers", The Corrs

Music: Serebro

Serebro are a Russian girl band.



Official site

Via

U2 site from Q Magazine

A U2 site from Q Magazine that covers the new album, "No Line on the Horizon".

Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist, on how the Web challenges managers

Video interview from The McKinsey Quarterly

Official site

Film: Clara et Moi

Trailer:



Official site

Song: U2, "Get On Your Boots"

"Get On Your Boots", the first single from U2's new album "No Line On The Horizon", will be released as a digital download on February 15th with a physical format to follow on February 16 through Mercury/Universal.

Listen here

Film: Frozen River

Trailer:



Official site
Wikipedia entry

TV: Mad Men

I originally missed the season one finale of Mad Men but stumbled over a repeat episode last week and luckily it was the 12th of 13 episodes so managed to tape it earlier this week. Watched it with Rachael tonight and series 2 starts next week on BBC 4.

In praise of ... cricket scorers

Another ine the In praise of ... series in the Guardian

Students have been sold a lie

A provocative Guardian article and the consequent letters to the editor.

Obituary: Hans Beck, toy designer (Playmobil)

Times Obituary

Official site for Playmobil
Wikipedia entry for Hans Beck and Playmobil

Film: Espion(s)

Trailer:



Intervew with the director and lead actress:



Guardian article

Film: The Silence Before Bach

Mentioned in the BBC Four 2009 World Cinema Awards.

Trailer:



BFI site

Spring Harvest 2009: Intro to the Theme: Apprentice

'Come to me... learn from me...' said Jesus, 'for I am gentle and humble in heart.' (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus' constant challenge to the people he met, was 'follow me'. His first disciples were apprentices, learning from his words, his stories, his actions and his attitudes.

Steve Chalke video

Music: Cara Dillon, "Hill of Thieves"

A new album, "Hill of Thieves" from Cara Dillon.

TV ad:



Official site

Live performance:

Life Group: Meeting Notes: Warfare (Ephesians) #1

Maria led Ben, Lynsey, Joly, Tracey and I through the first study going through the group questions and then playing a CD of Kay Arthur (the author of the book we are using). Discussion after about the approach and we agreed to drop the CD and discuss more. A good start.

Facebook's 5th Birthday

A blog post from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.

Song: "It's My Life", Dr Alban

This song came to mind when reading a cheeky Alistair comment on my facebook page

It's My Life by Dr Alban

Poorly Car

Car had more work done re the damp from cold start issue. Westfield replaced the leads, spark plugs and silicone spray (plus a new tyre, the old one was apparently "square"!). Happier that we did something but we will see if its finally sorted. More expense . . .

Cold Snowy Week

Snow started last night. Kids eventually were off school both Monday and Tuesday. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when they finally went back today.

Elders Meeting (Church): Notes

Good meeting reviewing people's level of involvement and the top 6 issues we "scored" a while ago. We agreed we would use the Kay Arthur book "Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days" during Lent.

Sunday Afternoon

After lunch, Hannah kept Rachael company while the rest of us went to see what the new buildings were like at Shibden Park. Very cold but good to get fresh air. The new cafe looked good with big windows overlooking the park. Kids played on the playground in the just starting snow.

Rachael had tea at Collette's with Cassie (an Ozzie special curry).

Film: Om Shanti Om

Mentioned in the BBC Four World Cinema Awards.

Trailer

Official site
Wikipedia entry
"Making of" video.

Deewangi Deewangi (the track with 31 stars in it):

Film: Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (English: Welcome to the Land of Shtis)

Mentioned in the BBC Four 2009 World Cinema Awards.

Trailer:



Wikipedia entry

BBC Four 2009 World Cinema Awards

A big fan of world cinema. I had already heard of a number of the nominated films.

Nominations for best film were:-

• Gomorrah
• Persepolis
• The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
• The Orphanage
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (and the winner!)

BBC site
Wikipedia entry for the awards

Film: The Orphanage

One of the nominees for the BBC Four 2009 World Cinema Awards.

Trailer:



Official site
Wikipedia entry

Online Personal Financial Service: Kublax

Stumbled over this site when looking for a UK equivalent to Mint.com.

www.kublax.com

Kublax allows you to take control of your finances in a simple and secure manner, with all your accounts in one place. You can track your spending, set budgets for different categories, compare your finances with others, get alerts on bills and reminders, and also benefit from the collective experiences of other Kublax members. Kublax makes managing your personal finances easier and more effective.

Church: Meeting Notes: Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:9-12 (Mark)

v9, peacemakers

who wants to be called son of God?

peace: definition:
state prevailing during absence of war, harmonious relations; freedom from disputes, the absence of mental stress or anxiety, the general security of public places, a treaty to cease hostilities

called to be people of peace but also actively pursue peace

Ephesians: gospel of peace

devil is a troublemaker

has he influenced us to gossip about others, speaking ill of others?

Is 11:6: God of reconciliation, loves making peace

conflict: humans thrive on conflict, sells newspapers, as Christians we should never seek conflict or be responsible for it BUT note righteous anger, not losing temper, up tight, getting angry

zealots: a group in Jesus’ time, fantastic passion to see Kingdom come BUT they would fight for it to get there

disciples were looking for a physical king to take the land  by force but Jesus had different idea

can’t fight, argue someone into the Kingdom

people only come through love, compassion, your actions

story re coat on person in wind/sun to get coat off: sun achieved it by growing warmer

Luke 18:15-17; let little children come to me

called sons of God because they seek to do what their Father does

Col 1:20

God made peace with us at immense cost, price of the life blood of HIs only Son

even for us peace making is costly because it is not what the Lord expects

straight after peace, the writer talks about persecution

5:10-12

peacemaking and persecution often go hand in hand

we cannot really say we have experienced persecution

Barnabas Fund helps people in various areas

persecution is a calling to stand up and lift the cross high

are we willing to face opposition and even death for the gospel?

if we hide behind our walls, the devil will be happy, we will not face persecution

stand and be counted, say what’s right, say we are people of God, serve Him, we step into that persecution

trouble at the door, not everyone will want peace

for the Pharisees, the rules become their God

our struggle is with principalities and powers, rejoice and be glad

blessed means made happy by God