Have a peaceful and blessed day.

I went to see King Kong today with my good friend Darrell.

It was a film with loads of action and emotion, but then the script is a winner with the great tale of the beauty winning over the beast. The story is well known and wonderful, although a sad tale of man destroying that which he is scared of and does not (take the time to) understand. Kind of a weird parallel with the church there, but that’s a blog for another time!

I loved the film, although Jackson could easily have made the film 20 or so minutes shorter (at just over 3 hours of action it is an epic!) as there was a seriously massive amount of monster on monster fight action – but I’m not going into that as I could then be accused of spoiling it for you.

This is a great holiday – 2 cinema movies, fun with the children – and tomorrow we still have the traditional Ryan ‘Birthday Party for Jesus’ tomorrow when we will see a house full of friends and their children.

The celebration of Christ’s birth will really start then!

Read this on Ooze just now – challenges me in a time of affluence that no doubt a number of us will experience at Christmas as well as providing the hope of a dream:

T’was the weeks before Christmas
And all through this nation
Not a fingers been lifted,
To address the injustice of illegal immigration.

The obsession at the moment, is on the fear of terror,
Lost in the madness is our duty to make life a bit fairer.
While millions of immigrant families live working scared,
Hoping they’ll awaken some day in a nation that cared.

The children of illegal immigrants are all snuggled in their beds,
While visions of deportation dance in their heads.
No stockings are hung by any chimney anywhere,
They can’t afford socks, as employment opportunities are gray-market and rare.

you can read the rest here

Today has been one of those days where I planned to get some reading done, maybe even start to write the conclusion to my essay (I like to work backwards!)but none of that happened. Well, I managed an hours reading – which is causing a little panic as I really wanted to get the meat of the stuff done before Christmas. I still have some leeway though before and after.

As I reflect on the day just now I ask where the time has gone and I initially felt guilty at how I had let time slip away – with Beth in B&Q messing about, watching most of Home Alone3 on the TV with the boys,finishing laminate/carpet join between the dining room whie listening to Beth singing songs from Oliver.

I reflected further, though, and the guilt started to slip away. I had spent quality time with my children who had wanted me to be there, with them, without distrations of laptop, book or paper. They wanted my undivided attention for no other reason than I am their dad.

Today I did not get the ‘urgent’ stuff done; but I did the important that I was not expecting.

I reflect and think ‘how cool is that!’

I have been thinking a bit about our ‘beasts’ and ‘fear’ recently in my ‘chilling with God’ times over the last few days.

I think we all have our personal beasts (By ‘beasts’ I mean those hang ups I have, or the issues I can’t get away from, the things I keep finding myself doing and really wish I could stop.); things that try to devour us, things that we try to run from, things that we try to ignore. The problem with that approach of ignoring and pretending, I have found, is that all the time I try to ignore my beasts they have more power over me to intimidate me, to frighten me, to control me and back me into corners. I sit and cower, they drool and laugh, I cower more, they laugh more … and we do not get very far!

I have started to confront some of this stuff. I am finding that if I stand up to the beasts, if I name them and define them, that they are easier to deal with and start to back into corners themselves.

I am starting, now, to wonder whether these beasts, these things that concern me, worry me and hold me back are not real beasts after all. I think they are just bullies. Bullies that try to intimidate with the fear of ‘what might happen’ rather than the what will, or is, going to happen. The great thing about bullies in my experience is that if you keep standing against them, you may will get bruised in the short term, but they soon run and cower themselves in search of easier ‘prey’.

Their power is in the grip of fear over you, the fear of the ‘what might happen’. Once they realise that fear is diminishing they have no power, no hold, no influence. I’m trying to confront my personal bullies – and actually I think thinking of them in that way means the battle is already half done!

Psalm 91

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I am trusting him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
He will shield you with his wings.
He will shelter you with his feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day,
nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
But you will see it with your eyes;
you will see how the wicked are punished.
If you make the LORD your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your dwelling.
For he orders his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you with their hands
to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
I will satisfy them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”

We saw Narnia this afternoon as a family.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my all time favourite book from childhood so I have been looking forward to seeing this film for a little while. I must admit, I was expecting to be disappointed at the Disney portrayal of a classic, but I needn’t have been.

Ok, the special effects could have been better (as Jonathan Ross said), but the accuracy of the film to the book was pretty good and the parts were played well. This was a great film, with Joe shouting ‘that was wicked!’ at the end of the performance – much to the amusement of those around us.

On our way home we always talk about favourite parts and characters. Lucy, Peter, Aslan were answers in the back of the car. My favourite character – Jadis, played fantastically by Tilda Swinton. She portrayed evil excellently, flowing sublimely from coercive deception, through manipulation, towards heartless cruelty.

A great film – go see!

I am just getting down to some reading for my latest essay, entitled ‘How has the understanding of the purposes of daily prayer changed from the beginnings of Christian history up to the present?’.

I think pretty much that the purpose throughout history has been all to do with marking time, to give a structure to the day and provide reference points to a persons relationship with God. It’s no coincidence that lots of religions mark certain times of the day with prayer; particularly morning, lunchtime and evening. In addition, prayer has developed to mark the seasons as well.

Until recently we, as humans have been pretty dependent on the cycle of the day and seasons. In 21st century western culture, however, there is no longer this dependence – we can but the same fruits all the year round, and when it gets dark and cold we turn the lights on and the heating up. In fact, I look at the cycle of my day, and I can re-create it very easily by turning night into day if I have a lot of work to do and looking deadlines.

So I am wondering if there is still a need to mark time in such a clear way. Maybe there is a greater need now than there has ever been. In the past daily prayer has been a response to sunrise, sunset etc. Are we now at the stage where we need to be pro-active in reminding ourselves that God is still in control of this techno age through a set pattern of daily prayer?

I am wondering what others may think – any of you people out there like to comment of what you think the purpose of daily prayer is today, or if there is a purpose for it at all?

David Walker blogs well at Thinking Anglicans on Advent being a time to look forward to eternity and prepare ourselves for that.

Some tasters which struck me:

In eternity, those with whom I have fallen out now, and to whom I may have behaved uncharitably, will be closer to me than the nearest human being in this present life. The Advent call to the Churches for reconciliation is therefore not so much “unity in diversity”, as “unity in eternity”.

A worship that is anticipatory of eternity will speak powerfully to our emotions, to our intellects and to our aesthetic senses. All too often we settle for being gently entertained.

To be ready means to be prepared to wait. To wait for a God who may act sooner or later than we expect.

You can read the whole thing here.

I found this on Pip Wilson’s blog.
Very challenging and personally moving.

The Infinite
who came in a feeding trough
is not the kind of God I want.
He is too powerless for my liking.
Such a God is an embarrassment,
not just to the Herods of this world,
but to all who are enamored with themselves and their own potency.
I don’t want this God.
I have an inn to offer,
decorated for Christmas,
not a stinking stall.

God exists in weakness
and comes to those
who reach up to him with empty hands.

He is neither useful nor helpful.
He came and still comes,
not to solve our problems
or answer our questions
or fulfill our needs or bless our endeavors,
but to expose our problems,
to question our answers,
to be our need,
and to point us to his kingdom.

In Christ, God enters time
and space
to turn our world upside down
and inside out.
“Valleys are made high, mountains are laid low.”
We are left bewildered,
undone.

Charles Moore

I always knew it was true … here is the evidence!
YFC people have been such good people this year that Santa decided to come to our Christmas team meeting and give us all presents! I even got to sit on his lap!