Spidergeek

Watched Spiderman 2 the other night. Now I'm not usually one for big blockbuster, franchise type movies, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film, possibly more than the first one, although it does have some really cheesy moments. I know Peter Parker was always meant to be a bit of a dork, but I can't help thinking they overdid it a bit, I mean 'Sort it out, Spidey!'.
I liked the whole thing of being faced with an identity crisis, and losing his powers until he decided what he was supposed to be. He thought he had to choose between fighting justice and getting his dream girl. He tries to go for the dream but can't deny the 'hero' part of him. So he gives up on the dream to pursue his 'calling' and then ends up getting the girl anyway. Aah!
Now, yet again we are waiting for the 3rd film of the trilogy, or will there be more? Is it possible for Hollywood to make a one off movie anymore?

Plagiarism

Enjoyed this C.S. Lewis quote that I saw on Dr. Winn's blog so much that I just had to nick it.

“Everyone has warned me not to tell you what I am going to tell you…They all say “the ordinary reader does not want Theology; give him plain practical religion.” I have rejected their advice. I do not think the ordinary reader is such a fool. Theology means “the science of God,” and I think any man who wants to think about God at all would like to have the clearest and most accurate ideas about Him which are available. You are not children: why should you be treated like children?

“Theology is practical. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today, are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England (or America) is retrogression—like believing the earth is flat” Mere Christianity, 135-136).

I often hear Christians question the validity of theology, 'but what's the point?, what's the application of that?' as if something that does not appear to have an immediate practical application is not worth knowing. Obviously there can be a danger of theologians sitting in their ivory towers inventing irrelevent problems for themselves to solve, but this is no excuse for not doing theology. I think it's Dallas Willard who says that one of the key requirements of leaders in the church is profundity or depth of insight. This can only come from serious thought on who God is and what he's called us to do.
I believe that the best theology should lead to worship - doxology, like when Paul says 'Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord?..... For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen'

wedding, church, walk, pub, Tozer, books, blah

Had a great time at Pete and Hayley's wedding on Saturday. I love the way everybody mucks in and helps to make everything come together. It was a privilege to be part of. On Sunday I visited Holy Trinity church for a change. Always nice to worship with a different congregation. In the afternoon we went walking in the Cotswolds, around Broadway, with Tom and Angie. Is there a more pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon? (Finished off with pub grub and a pint of course).

I've been reading some classic Tozer, The Pursuit of God which is always good after I've spent so much time with the academic books. That guy was a prophet, he was saying some of the things Dallas Willard is saying, only 50 odd years ago. Always fresh, challenging, inspiring. Here's one of his prayers I liked :

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus' name. Amen

Bought some books last week, for the first time since college, which I 've been working my way through. Post-Christendom by Stuart Murray, which is fascinating, although all the way through I've been acutely aware that it is obviously from an Anabaptist viewpoint. I would like to read a review of this book by Tom Wright. The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge, I haven't got very far with this yet, althought it seems quite similar to his 'Wild at Heart' which I've read, all about being a passionate man, who does what's in his heart, what makes him come alive etc. This is all very nice, and quite inspiring, but I can't help agreeing with the Amazon reviewer who wrote 'The question naturally arises as to the "wayward" desire that lies within us and how it is to be controlled let alone differentiated from our true desires. While the answer isn't clear...." Maybe he will address this later in the book. One called With The Grain of the Universe by Stanley Hauerwas, which is pretty much inpenetrable so far, way over my head. May have to come back to this, and lastly At The Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green, which I thought might be a nice introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy, which I know virtually nothing about, but would like to.

Hoorah!

Todd Hunter has reentered the world of blog. I think this is great news as I really respect him as a very wise bloke. Lets see if he sticks to his plan to post several times a week, I know I can't.

More essays online

I have put nearly all my college essays online now. They are in pdf format. I found I could simply create the pdfs through the print option on Word without using any extra software, which was a lot easier than faffing with the html.

Visiting family

Spent most of the weekend visiting friends and family. Saturday we went to see Karl, Rachel and James. Baby James has chickenpox :(, but he's still smiling :), he's such a chilled out kid, it's amazing. Saturday evening we spent with Steve and Jo in Warwick. Steve and I got beat again by the girls at pictionary. This has got to stop, it's getting embarrasing. Trivial Pursuits next time I think, then we'll show them.

Yesterday was Aiden Randall's dedication up at South Liverpool Vineyard. It was such a good day. There is always a real sense of family when we go and spend time with those guys (Dave & Lorna et al). I love the way they are so open with their home and family. We learn a lot about life from them. When the church were praying for baby Aiden there was such a strong sense of God's presence and his favour, and there was also a deep love evident in the friends and family who were there.

Truffle Shuffle

This animated gif which I found via Eric Keck over at Allelon made me laugh out loud :



The Goonies! what a film.

We had a top weekend up in the Lake District to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Did loads of walking (bagged 8 peaks over the three days), and the weather was beautiful (for the most part). Just what I needed to clear my head a bit and get some perspective.
Had my 'graduation' ceremony last Thursday, which was kinda nice but a bit strange. Lots of people saying I should go back and finish the degree. Lots of praying still to do on this one.
Spending my days looking for jobs, sorting our house out a bit and waging full scale war on the ants which have decided to take up residence in our kitchen and bathroom

Essays online

I've started to put my college essays online. It's been taking ages 'cos msword seems to produce the crappiest, most bloated html ever, and it takes a bit of sorting out. Any feedback/comments greatly appreciated.

Results

Got my college results yesterday. I managed to get a 72.7% average over the year which obviously I'm really pleased about. In the exams which I was really stressed about I got 71% in Pauline theology, 72% in Christ and the Spirit and 67% in Joshua/Kings. Everyone else seemed to know that I would do well, but I wasn't so sure. The college principal Dr. Massey has been trying to get me to go back next year to complete the degree. (He says it would be a shame for someone of my calibre not to see it through). Whilst part of me would like to do this, I feel the need to get established in a job before we think about having kids. I originally only signed up for a year, so this year has been a bit of a bonus really. If I was to do another year it would have to be a God thing. (so you better shout Lord, 'cos I'm pretty hard of hearing).
I have a love/hate relationship with study. I love the reading, the research and the learning. I hate completing the essays (which usually happens in the early hours of the day they have to be in), I love the sense of satisfaction when they are handed in. I love getting my essays back and receiving feedback on them. I hate preparing for exams, but I actually enjoy sitting them (after the initial panic is over).
I feel the need to do some 'real' work though. I don't think it's healthy for me to spend too long 'in my own head'. I also need to take more opportunities to 'give out' the stuff I've taken in. And I need to learn to stop thinking sometimes.

Weekender

Had a great weekend, the first one for a while in which I have been able to relax properly. Went on a 36 mile bikeride on Saturday to a place called Draycote water near Rugby, which was good, but I was ready to come home after about 25. Must be out of practise. Went out for a friend's birthday meal on Saturday night at a place called Inspire in Coventry (It is actually in a spire). Sat next to someone called Ray who had an amazing ability to tell a funny story containing any 5 random words you gave him (eg balloon, Rolls Royce, pigeon, custard), quite a gift.
Yesterday afternoon, we went to the Godiva festival at the memorial park for a picnic and some servant outreach. We gave away several hundred drinks and chocolate bars in about 10 minutes flat, which was good fun while it lasted.
As for the football last night, well the less said about that the better I think :(

Jason Clarke has posted an interview he did with Todd Hunter about his move to Alpha USA which is quite interesting. I always thought that people who equated Alpha with old-school, bullet point presentations of the gospel (say this prayer, so that you go to heaven when you die), had either not done an Alpha course, or must have seen a really badly run one.

The Faithfulness of God

'Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King, His love endures forever'. We sang these words at church this morning, as we were looking at the whole idea of faithfulness. I love it when I can take my eyes off my own shaky, wobbly life and circumstances and focus on the absolutely unshakeable love and faithfulness of God.
Tom Wright argues that the major theme in the book of Romans is 'The righteousness of God'. He defines this righteousness as God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. These promises were made to Abraham in order to set the world to rights. Although Israel failed in the covenant task, God is faithful to the covenant plan. How has this covenant faithfulness, this righteousness of God, been revealed? Romans 3:21,22 says,
'But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah.'
Although this has not been the traditional translation of this famous passage, it is a perfectly valid one, and perhaps the more likely. The 'climax of the covenant', God's plan to set the world to rights, has taken place in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. He is the faithful one. Forever. I do believe, Lord help me overcome my unbelief.

I is back! Ok so it's been a while. I've finished all my essays and exams now and I promised myself I'd start blogging again when they finished. I think the exams went ok, but I was quite unprepared for how nervous I would get, and how this would affect the rest of my life. The brain does funny things. I've found myself lying awake at night worrying about stuff - church, what job I'll get, everything, and all because of some stupid exams! I'm sure I've been a nightmare to live with (sorry su). I'm feeling a lot better now. I feel like the rest of my life can begin again.
As part of my preparation for my Pauline theology exam, I was dipping into Tom Wright's commentary on Roman's. It's awesome stuff. I was thinking of putting up little snippets from the 'reflections' sections but then I realised it would be a flagrant breach of copyright! Oh well, here is a recent interview he did for Christianity Today.
On a completely different subject this is very exciting.

And here is the little man himself - Mr. James John Sturtridge!

Too cute for words




Aah lurve him sooo much!! (Raising Arizona)

wow, what an eventful few days I've had. As I cycled into college on Wednesday morning, the predicted severe weather decided to turn up. I cycled along the canal towpath to Selly Oak in a blizzard. Managed to avoid falling off this time, but turned up to college looking like a snowman, and with an 'ice-cream' headache. As I sat trying to do my Hebrew test I couldn't help but stare out the window as the world turned white. Wow, this was proper snow, we never get proper snow these days. I was already kind of excited 'cos Rachel had phoned first thing in the morning to let us know her 'waters' had broken during the night, whatever they are, I'm sure she could get some new ones. Anyway, she seemed excited, so I was as well.
Su texted me 'cos she was worried I'd try and cycle back in the snow (as if!), so after college I decided to go round to Rachel's and wait for Su to come and pick me up after work.
Rachel had been having mild contractions on and off all morning but wasn't ready to go in yet. The snow stopped and started to melt pretty quickly. We spent the afternoon watching movies and listening to music. Later in the afternoon, it started to snow again, heavily. Rachel's contractions were getting stronger, but no more regular. By the evening she was getting really fed up and a bit teary. When was baby James going to arrive? It was difficult to see her in pain and so frustrated, we felt so helpless. But we prayed and waited, and Karl was a pillar of strength. Meanwhile poor old Su had got stuck in the now gridlocked Birmingham traffic. Dad was trying to get over from Coventry, and after being stuck on the Aston Expressway for 3 hours, decided to give up and turn round. Trust Rachel to go into labour on the worst traffic day in Birmingham's history. Su finally got to Rachel's by 10 o'clock, having left the office at 6.00. We all went to bed, but at 1 am Karl took Rachel into hospital with irregular but painful contractions.
The next morning I woke up with a migraine. Tried to go to lectures, but couldn't cope and had to leave early to go and lie down. Finally at 2.30pm we got the phonecall from Karl to say that baby James had arrived, both him and Rach were fine, although obviously knackered (and somewhat drugged up!). At around 4, we all went in to see them. James is amazing, at 8lbs13, he has quite a long body, perfect skin, punky hair and cute features. He has none of the new-born mankyness that I've seen with other babies, and he looks very tranquil and at peace with the world. Talk about joy coming out of pain!
It turns out that 5 women had babies in their cars stuck in traffic on the way to hospital! So in the end I guess James knew what he was doing by staying in as long as he did. God bless them all!

OK, so I'm supposed to have been keeping a weekly prayer journal type thing for one of my courses at college. In my ineptitude and crapness I think I've managed one entry so far this year. So I thought I'd maybe try and blog at least once a week and try and count that for my prayer journal. The course is called 'theology in action', but it is basically a discussion group where we are supposed to try and pull together all the different strands from the courses and apply them to our lives. I think its meant to be a sort of safety valve to make sure our heads aren't being screwed up by all the 'high filutin' theology we are studying.
For the discussions we are reading a book called 'To the Usual Suspects' by John Goldingay, each week we read a chapter which has a one word title on a different subject. This week was joy. As I reflected on the chapter, I realised that for the most part, I have been blessed with the gift of joy. I also realised that I quite often feel guilty for feeling joyful because I am aware of many people, some near to me, some not, who are in great pain and suffering. Somehow it is possible to experience joy and sorrow almost simultaneously. We are told to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, and unless we don't know many people, these things must overlap. So I pray that God would continue to keep me joyful but make me sensitive enough to express compassion in practical ways to those who are suffering.

One of the highlights of 'The Story We Find Ourselves In' for me was this creedal poem - We Believe :

We believe that You created all things
In all their beauty and mystery.
We believe we broke the boundaries You gave
To keep this world in harmony.
We believe You called a family,
Blessing them to bless all families.
We believe You spoke and listened through sage
And prophet, priest and poet.
We believe.
We believe You walked among us in
Human flesh, to share our history.
We believe You reconciled us,
Upon a cross, brought hope from agony.
We believe You raised Jesus
From death to life, for our salvation.
We believe You send us out with saving love
For all creation.
We believe.
We believe Your Spirit dwells in us now
With power for life and mission.
We believe Your Spirit makes us one
In purpose, hope, and vision.
We believe You'll banish evil and fill the earth
With holy glory.
We believe You call all people to life
Forever in Your story.
We believe.

Well, that wasnt very soon was it? A 3 month blog gap. Like so many diaries I have attempted to start over the years and then given up before the end of January. To be honest I haven't had the time or the inclination. But as I've got a new toy I thought I'd have another bash.


Yes, I've seen the light and gone Apple, and so far I'm loving it. Spent about a week putting my entire CD collection onto the iBook and now I'm compiling playlists to my hearts content, a bedroom DJ's dream. (although I can't help feeling I've betrayed my vinyl collection).

College has been going well, although far too quickly. I have posted some of my essays in my iDisk, although it's only on a 60 day trial on .Mac so then I'll have to think again.

What else? Oh yeah, I got my new bike stolen from outside college on Tuesday afternoon which was a bit gutting, but thankfully it was covered under our house insurance. They have replaced the bike and all the fittings and it was delivered yesterday -2 days after the theft! amazing. I take back everything I ever said about insurance companies.

My sister Rachel is about to pop! She is due anyday now, and then I'll be Uncle Jon. Can't wait!

hello there, haven't blogged for ages. (mainly 'cos a strange german bloke has been living in my computer room) (sorry, Wil, you're not really strange. You and Anna are welcome to stay as long as you want). so what brings me back to the blogger? well, some amazing news. Only 10 days overdue, after a 24 hour labour, our good friends Lorna and Dave have had a baby boy! Baby Aiden (sp?), a mere! 9lbs 15oz, our first God-son, welcome to the world. Tres exciting.
What have I been up to? Well, had a fantastic week down in Cornwall. Had a birthday (thanx to all who came to Habibi, it was a great night). Started back at college. Had 17 people round for lunch on Sunday,.Fell off my bike this morning, twisting my knee and narrowly avoiding falling in the canal, oh well, these things happen. will blog more soon hopefully.

Started back at college this week after what seemed like an incredibly long summer break. I have really been looking forward to coming back this year and getting stuck back into some study.
I am really grateful to God that He has enabled me to take this time to study His word. I was originally only planning to do one year at BCC, but I enjoyed the 1st year so much, that I was keen to come back for more. God has provided abundantly to help with the course fees and our living costs. I am also so grateful to Su, without whom I could not have done what I'm doing now. Not only has she been working hard in a difficult job, but she has been constantly faithful in supporting me, encouraging me when I've been down and bearing with me when I've been tearing my hair out (eg when I'm finishing off an essay at 4 o' clock in the morning).
I have been so impressed with the lectures this week. There is a noticable increase in the level of study this year, which I relish.
Increasingly I am asking the Lord to give me wisdom and understanding, I have no interest in becoming 'Bible Answer Man', being able to quote chapter and verse on any given subject, but I do want to become more familiar with the whole biblical story, being shaped by the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.