This is a very annoying website. I do need to sit down and engage with some of the arguments contained therein at some point, but not tonight, not tonight.
(posting so that I can discard the paper printouts from the site).
Just a quick plug for Kidz Klub in Bradford where a dear friend of mine works.
It is based on a model developed in the States known as 'Metro Ministries' by(quoting now):
providing a large scale, high quality weekly event that can be enjoyed by all children;
nurturing a sense of worth, hope and aspiration through creating a safe and secure environment;
empowering children to make informed lifestyle choices through a programe of dynamic, relevant and age-appropriate educational material, through explanation of some practical, biblical principles that will help children to grow and become good, responsible and productive people; and
modelling compassionate citizenship to the children, their families and neighbourhoods through a progam of regular, systematic, long-term home visits.
Motivated by the believe that the offer of hope and regeneration offered through Jesus Christ can have a positive influence on our city and the individual children who live there.
Aunty J is still without water and so is popping over to GC's for showers etc. Electric is back tho'. According to Dad, the water at home may go off tomorrow. Something to do with the reservoirs having run dry. Contingency plans being made (largely around sterilising the slurry tanker and utilising nearby rivers....) but hopefully it won't come to that. Apparently the cows are all shut up still (since it was wet earlier on in the month).
In other news:
Joe's had some preliminary driving lessons and has managed to steer the Land Rover in a straight line in first gear. Martha is beginning to toddle (having bypassed the crawling stage it seems) and is beginning to create havoc.
Dad's farmers' collective have bought a couple of seats near the centre line in the new stand at Kingsholm. Nice!
And should the array of blogs available be too distracting, some wise words on "How to be a better blog reader"
I now have a good selection of blogs to which I subscribe via the RSS feeder (at least, I think that that is what it is) at Google Reader (reader.google.com).
Some interesting articles picked up recently:
The consistently entertaining and educational David Field on singing Psalms (well, referencing through to another blog).
Again, David Field on wages and support of Christian workers which I thought was useful in bringing together the various relevant passages in the Bible, and in outlining some of the considerations in applying these passages.
What it means to be 'salt' on the blog of a friend's husband.
Doug Wilson's blog contains a strand named 'Chrestomathy' which is currently looking at public prayer. I'm enjoying this strand generally, but I particularly liked this one because of the phrase (as an example of how not to do it) 'And dear Lord, You know that the Greek verb in verse seventeen is the aorist tense . . .'"
Found this at Monergism.com. Seems to be a useful, clear overview of the main elements of heresies over the past twenty centuries. Has given me a few distinctions upon which to build a more detailed framework/understanding (e.g. the idea that heresies are either soteriological or Christological [or sometimes both]) and the link between 'historic' heresies and their modern-day offspring.
Gargh, dyspraxia! ... unloading the dishwasher and putting the bowls away in the cupboard I felt things falling out of the cupboard and put my hand up to stop them but couldn't quite get there in time..... bowls and glasses smashed all over the floor......
Up in Newcastle this weekend and didn't see much of the news/newspapers, but became aware of the unprecedented flooding in deepest, darkest Gloucestershire. I sent Tombob a text message enquiring whether he had floated away (or similar) but no response - so I assume that all is well with him. Checked in with GC this morning and found that she was OK, but Aunty Jude (who lives in Longlevens) only narrowly escaped flooding (the flood water came to within six houses of her house) but has no water and no electricity as they have been affected by the sub-station going down. GW is OK. Both are filling water bottles in case the water supply goes down.
T- Mr&Mrs at church went to a wedding in Gloucester at the weekend, and should have been attending a reception in Tewkesbury, but instead ended up being relocated to Cheltenham (Tewkesbury has been badly affected as it is near the junction of the River Avon and the River Severn).
More rain and flooding is expected and people are comparing it with the flooding of 1947. GW doesn't remember anything this bad (and is slightly over 80)...
A collection of jottings from recent time spent reading Numbers in the mornings (July 2007).
Numbers 11
11v11 - Moses actually argues with the LORD (I know that this is known as something which he does, but it still comes as a shock to see it in print).
11v21 - 600,000 people. A huge number now, as well as then (frequently I find that the numbers in the OT are not that big, so I have to imagine myself back in OT times and think how big they would be for them. Not so here).
11v29 - would that all the LORD's people were prophets.
12v3 - Moses was the meekest man. What is meek?
12v6 - special relationship with Moses.
14v10 - the people are ready to stone those who are faithful to God.
14vv11-12 - 11And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."
Numbers 15
(within the context of offerings for intentional and unintentional sin:
30But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him."
Am intrigued by the 'high hand'. Must find commentary on Numbers at some point.
Numbers 16 - I've not noticed before the way that the phrases are repeated here as the rebels mock Moses(Korah's rebellion).
e.g.
16v9 Moses says "9is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, "
16v13 the rebels say "13Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? "
16vv31-32 - the earth opens its mouth to swallow up Korah and his people for their rebellion.
16v41 - the next day the congregation of the people of Israel grumble against Moses and Aaron.
It seems so stark, against the context of Moses having been shown (by the swallowing up) to have been sent to do the LORD's works.
vv44-46 - the plague starts as soon as the LORD has said that He will consume these people. Moses runs and offers atonement, and stands between the dead and the living. Not entirely sure why the 'standing between the dead and the living' strikes me, but it does.
Numbers 20
v28 - Aaron's death - mused gently about whether Aaron dies because he's taken his clothes off on the mountaintop, or whether his clothes are removed because he dies. A question for coffee I suspect.
Moses ... the meekest man (12v3), probably in his eighties (need to find a source for this - Exodus??, leads a troublesome people through the wilderness, is told that he won't be entering into the Promised Land, but still leads them on, obediently, through confrontation with Edom, Arad and the Amorites.
I've started reading through "Partnership (Philippians)" with a small group of friends. Well, I say started: we met today for the first time. It's been far too long since I met up with a small group of girls to do something like this. It has probably been two years since my prayer triplet dissolved (due to members moving to other church services/church plants) and I had forgotten how wonderful it is to sit and chat and discuss God and His Word. Really, really enjoyable afternoon, and just what I needed after quite a difficult morning (just feeling exhausted and spread quite thin). However, plans to read through the book in five sessions (two chapters at a time) may prove to be optimistic... we spent two and a half hours on one chapter (and associated digressions!)
This was hilarious. The Lady in the Lake was a diva. Simon Russell Beale camped up the role of Arthur marvellously. I could happily watch again.
Ni, Ni, Ni! We want shrubbery!
(posted 25 July 2007)
Booking for New Word Alive has opened!
Most exciting. Now to see if Doctor Fi and Adrian can come. I think it will be excellent - Piper, Carson and Virgo all lined up to speak. See the website here
A lovely year of birthday presents: all thoroughly useful/entertaining/well thought out. Writing a quick note to self here to make sure that I have a list from which to write my thank you cards.....
So...
a steamer and some vouchers
a set cake airing racks (three tiers - so handy) and some mini whisks
a slow cooker cookbook and some money
a board game
a necklace
a book on learning Hebrew
a collection of poems
a cookbook about cooking MEAT (called 'MEAT'!)
a nice easy listening CD
a good CD for the motorway (i.e. loud rock music!)
a pot plant
two nice tea towels
So, cooking, books and music. Does very nicely indeed and I am very grateful.
My wonderful brother has bought me "Introduction to Biblical Hebrew" by Dobson, which was on my Amazon Wishlist, so not entirely a surprise, but I never thought that he would buy it for me. (That said, he did say to F last weekend that the present he had bought me was very D---ish, so perhaps not that much of a surprise).
Anyhow - this prompts me to write a small list of verses which I am looking forward to being able to read in the original:
.Judges 14:14 which I heard on my MP3 player walking to the bus recently (shuffle function does produce some odd playlists ... I think Judges may have been followed by the Pet Shop Boys or similar....). I'm intrigued by what the underlying Hebrew says, given that it has been translated into English as quite a good riddle/rhyme.
Genesis 49:19. The footnote notes that 'Gad' sounds like the Hebrew for 'raid', which must make this verse a bit of a Hebrew tongue-twister
Left the office at 5pm (after bringing in Krispy Kremes for colleagues which meant tragically that I had to have one too). Up to Bethnal Green by 5.45pm to meet F+A who had been well looked after by MGS. Tea, flapjacks (from the recipe last weekend) and then walking over to Brick Lane which was much closer than I had thought (although possibly my heeled boots were not the best choice of footwear).
All in all we were 12: The (Lovely) Lawyer, the Clever Engineer, F+A, MGS, me, AP JohnLiz (the latter half only at the end), Brocko, PC (Hellenist) and Mrs PC and Mrs Vicar. Really, really lovely and relaxed evening, with good food. 7-11pm ish.
Panorama from Frocester Hill, filmed during a brief moment of sunshine on Sunday 1 July before church.