Friday, March 09, 2007
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Ballinderry Abandonment
We played last night in a beautiful wee spot of the world in Ballinderry. I feeling under the weather before the night and was struggling to gear myself up for it, but when we actually arrived, set up and started playing, it was such a class night. JP and Hambette have similar posts up on this so I don't want to echo what has been gone over already.
I looked down into the crowd during playing (i don't usually) and i couldn't help but notice one wee girl during 'Rescuer' (cracking new song of Johnny's) totally abandoned to the singing of this song, really belting it out and (i think) really touched by the words she was singing. I couldn't help but think after about how often i struggle to lose myself in something for the sake of worship. It doesn't obviously have to be singing, but how many barriers (self imposed and otherwise) do we find in place when we go to give glory to God in something? Before, as I said, I struggled - why? I was just about to have the privilege of helping some young people worship through my playing.
Often when we stop and think about the glorious majesty of God those barriers don't matter....sorry, scratch that, they matter in so far as that's exactly the place we are in when we come to worship. When we can choose to worship God in whatever we are doing through whatever we are going through at the time then His Glory cant fail to amaze and leave us in awe.
I looked down into the crowd during playing (i don't usually) and i couldn't help but notice one wee girl during 'Rescuer' (cracking new song of Johnny's) totally abandoned to the singing of this song, really belting it out and (i think) really touched by the words she was singing. I couldn't help but think after about how often i struggle to lose myself in something for the sake of worship. It doesn't obviously have to be singing, but how many barriers (self imposed and otherwise) do we find in place when we go to give glory to God in something? Before, as I said, I struggled - why? I was just about to have the privilege of helping some young people worship through my playing.
Often when we stop and think about the glorious majesty of God those barriers don't matter....sorry, scratch that, they matter in so far as that's exactly the place we are in when we come to worship. When we can choose to worship God in whatever we are doing through whatever we are going through at the time then His Glory cant fail to amaze and leave us in awe.
Thanks to all in Ballinderry, great night all in.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Iraq endgame
Thank God? Tony Blair has announced the stepped withdrawal of all troops from Iraq. Too little too late? See more here
Friday, February 09, 2007
Corporate Greenification...
An extract from a recent George Monbiot article on the green-ification of the big supermarkets(click here for the full thing)
"...Today the Competition Commission will publish the initial results of its inquiry into the market dominance of the superstores. One of the issues it is investigating is the “land bank” accumulated by Tesco – a huge portfolio of sites on which the company appears to be sitting until it can obtain planning permission. Many of them are out of town. If Tesco develops them, it will drag even more cars onto the road. Out-of-town shopping is incompatible with sustainability.
So, perhaps, is the sheer scale of the business. Walmart and Tesco can change the world at the stroke of a pen, but one decision they will not make voluntarily is to relax their grip on local economies. It will always be harder for small businesses to work with a global behemoth than with the local baker or butcher; Tesco’s economy will continue to favour the big, distant supplier over the man down the road. And what of the sense of community independent small shops help to foster, which encourages people to make their friends close to home? If love miles are the most intractable cause of climate change, we need to start cultivating as much community spirit as we can.
But there is a bigger contradiction than this, which has been overlooked by both the supermarkets and many of their critics. “The green movement,” Terry Leahy tells us, “must become a mass movement in green consumption.”(10) But what about consuming less? Less is the one thing the superstores cannot sell us. As further efficiencies become harder to extract, their growth will eventually outstrip all their reductions in the use of energy. This is not Tesco’s problem alone: the green movement’s economic alternatives still lack force.
The big retailers are competing to convince us that they are greener than their rivals, and this should make us glad. But we still need governments, and we still need campaigners."
Thought provoking. What do you think?
"...Today the Competition Commission will publish the initial results of its inquiry into the market dominance of the superstores. One of the issues it is investigating is the “land bank” accumulated by Tesco – a huge portfolio of sites on which the company appears to be sitting until it can obtain planning permission. Many of them are out of town. If Tesco develops them, it will drag even more cars onto the road. Out-of-town shopping is incompatible with sustainability.
So, perhaps, is the sheer scale of the business. Walmart and Tesco can change the world at the stroke of a pen, but one decision they will not make voluntarily is to relax their grip on local economies. It will always be harder for small businesses to work with a global behemoth than with the local baker or butcher; Tesco’s economy will continue to favour the big, distant supplier over the man down the road. And what of the sense of community independent small shops help to foster, which encourages people to make their friends close to home? If love miles are the most intractable cause of climate change, we need to start cultivating as much community spirit as we can.
But there is a bigger contradiction than this, which has been overlooked by both the supermarkets and many of their critics. “The green movement,” Terry Leahy tells us, “must become a mass movement in green consumption.”(10) But what about consuming less? Less is the one thing the superstores cannot sell us. As further efficiencies become harder to extract, their growth will eventually outstrip all their reductions in the use of energy. This is not Tesco’s problem alone: the green movement’s economic alternatives still lack force.
The big retailers are competing to convince us that they are greener than their rivals, and this should make us glad. But we still need governments, and we still need campaigners."
Thought provoking. What do you think?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
How do you like bass?
Get your Special Wheels NOW!
The mighty mighty Duke Special has his single 'Freewheel' out this week - I downloaded it to help the cause of all things Duke. I applaud V2 for the space they are allowing Duke in creative terms - the video for freewheel, for example, is a 10 minute feature film and I hope he succesfully negotiates the tricky waters of artistic creativity versus major label-ness. It seems so far so good!
The Duke is playing in Belfast and Derry this month.
Keep 'er lit
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
time to engage....
Check out engagehivaids.com, an iniviate to raise awareness of the plight of HIV/AIDS around the globe, with particular emphasis on Sub-Sahara Africa. One of the guys involved, Tre Sheppard, has recently started coming to our church (check out his band here). It clearly comes across that these guys are incredibly passionate about justice and driven to action surrounding this plight. It stirred me to thinking what am I passionate about? As a human being do I need to be passionate about anything and if so does it have to make a difference to the world around me?
I love that verse in James were it says that the true form of religeon is looking after the widows and orphans in distress. Its a call to real action in the community that the believers found themselves in.
Stirring rhetoric is exactly that - designed to provoke us to more. What difference does that make if we hear and nod our heads, then go home and forgot about what it was that stirred us up? All to often we fail to translate saying into doing. I think that is ok to a point because if we followed after everything that even slightly stirred us up, we would be burnt out shells. But should we not be stirred to something?
I'd love to hear what moves you.
I love that verse in James were it says that the true form of religeon is looking after the widows and orphans in distress. Its a call to real action in the community that the believers found themselves in.
Stirring rhetoric is exactly that - designed to provoke us to more. What difference does that make if we hear and nod our heads, then go home and forgot about what it was that stirred us up? All to often we fail to translate saying into doing. I think that is ok to a point because if we followed after everything that even slightly stirred us up, we would be burnt out shells. But should we not be stirred to something?
I'd love to hear what moves you.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
the pressure
I have been literally inundated (!?) by requests to change the blog back to the old brown. so here goes. damn im a sucker for peer pressure
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
JP and the music
I've recently started playing bass for Johnny Parks who is a singer/songwriter/worship leader. (Check him out at www.johnnyparks.com). The music being crafted is exciting and walks a wonderful line between accessibility and creativity (a great debate in itself for a different post over which there has been a lot written by more experienced than myself). I'm enjoying hugely playing and its stretching me both as a worshipper and a musician (they are interconnected all the same so it stands to reason).
Check out the dates and see if the JP band are playing in a space near you. Watch out for a new album sometime soon too.
Peace
Check out the dates and see if the JP band are playing in a space near you. Watch out for a new album sometime soon too.
Peace
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Love and marriage, love and marriage...
I got married there on the 27th October 2006. Three months have now past since our vows were exchanged and life is great. You soon realise that if you weren't meant to be married, it would be the worst possible thing. No one can really prepare you for it as much as you try. You cant legislate fo the fact there is a new person in your life 24/7 - that takes a bit of getting used to. Learning to give of yourself constantly to another, to love before being loved, to consider the other before anything (apart from the almighty 
of course)But something I realised rather quickly - I wouldn't have it any other way. Its not all plain sailing like you think it will be. You have arguments and insecurities that you need to deal with. But there is nowhere else on earth id rather be than my own home with my wife, no-one else id rather be with. She is amazing, gentle, kind, funny, huggable (and an amazing cook!)
I love her - sure love needs worked on, but its the best thing ever when you do!
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