Remembering the Dead

Bjork - Unravel

Spare Phone?

My Little Empire

My little empire
Has risen and it's set
My little empire
Is as good as it can get
My little empire
Is coming around
My little empire
It don't make a sound

My royalty it does not exist
It is extinct for the eye to see
My ideology it is dead and gone
Almost forgotten for the eye to see

My little empire
I'm sick of being sick
My little empire
I'm tired of being tired
My little empire
I'm bored of being bored
My little empire
I'm happy being sad

All of my sins are attempts to fill the voids
All of my voids they are filled with sin
All of my demons they are kept within
And all my violence it does not exist

My little empire
I'm happy being sad

The Rise and Fall of the TV Journalist

Superman

I always enjoyed the Superman stories/films/tv shows etc. but I never really loved them... I never really connected with the character.... The most powerful man on the planet who was also a total puritan hero... and he was too, well, 'American' for me to truly love.... i'd rather of had a dark and conflicted Batman any day.... and there are too many Jesus/Messiah ideas floating around the character for him to be engaging.

Recently though I've read a few stories where Superman has relied on his friends (the Alan Moore stories - 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow' and 'What do you get the man who has everything?', a Superman/Batman story by Jeph Loeb and various Justice League stories). 

And I've been surprised by how my view of Superman has changed....  he has a weakness other than 'Kryptonite'! - He wants to save everyone... and he wants to do it himself. 

Superman usually relates to Hercules in Greek Mythology - but in the stories I've been reading recently he has more of an air of Atlas - the man who is carrying the world upon his shoulders. He has the power to rescue everyone so he feels like he must rescue everyone. But not even Superman can do it all himself; he has greater success when he relies on and uses his friends - both those who are superheroes and those who are not.

In the book of Numbers we hear Moses cry out to the Lord because he is exhausted from leading the people

"Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ....I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me." (Numbers 11:11&14)

We may find ourselves in similar situations - that burden maybe leadership in church or the workplace or even in the family - where the weight of the responsibility is totally crushing. And in that place we so often pray one of two things: either 'Lord, give me more strength' or 'Take the burden from me'.

They are not necessarily the wrong prayers - more strength is always good and even Jesus prayed 'take this cup away from me'. But there is a third option.

And the Lord chose this third way to deal with Moses' problem

"Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take off the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone." (Numbers 11:16-17)

He could have given him more strength or he could have taken the burden off of him completely... but he chose a third way... he sent others to share it. Often this is not our first choice of dealing with burdens - we either want to escape or we want to play Superman and rescue everyone ourselves. 

No-one can do it all on their own, not even Superman.

Will I try and be a Superman or will I let the Batmans, Wonder Womans, Green Lanterns and Robins help me take the strain?

dg

Sonnet 20 - William Shakespeare

A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all 'hues' in his controlling,
Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.

The Only Comprehensible Reason to Endure 'Moulin Rouge'

LOST Q&A

Well there were quite a lot of questions and not so many answers... but they were hardly going to spell it our for us a year early...

Emilie and I won tickets to this 'LOST' Q&A with the Creators/Writers/Exec-Producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof... who are heroes of mine if you are regular readers.... and Director/Exec-Producer Jack Bender....





So what insights into season 6 can i pass on.... Jack's purpose will be revealed sooner rather than later... The Smoke Monster will be a character in the last season.... everyone will be together again like in season 1 (in a circular way)..... someone had a copy of the Half Blood Prince there to be signed and Damon wrote that "Locke is VERY much like Snape".... (good guy looking bad? - on a secret mission?)

They showed a whole bunch of the best loved clips on the big cinema screen. Made me realise that LOST is better than most films.

I loved it.

Heart Head Hands

Last weekend we held a conference at our church for worship leaders/teams etc. 

We had a great day but the real highlights of the day were the two talks Alan Scott, from the Causeway Vineyard, gave in the morning... these are the best talks I've heard on worship for a long time.

You can download them from our website for free here: www.trinitycheltenham.com

If you are a member of Trinity or enjoy what you hear from the HHH day then check out the following day's talk from last Sunday morning - amazing stuff....

Hope you enjoy them

dg

You Go To My Head

You go to my head and you linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning 'round in my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
You go to my head like a sip of sparkling Burgundy brew
And I find the very mention of you
Like the kicker in a julep or two

The thrill of the thought that you might give a thought to my plea
Cast a spell over me
Still I say to myself get a hold of yourself
Can't you see that it never can be

You go to my head with a smile that makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand Julys
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance
You go to my head
You go to my head