Derek the snow-giant

Snow-giants aren't too well known, they keep themselves hidden away and only come out of hiding once or twice a year.

Some Snow-giants are cruel and heartless, they have the power to make people late for work or cancel plays and concerts.  Snow-giants can be so cruel that they just love making people slip and fall and look really really silly when they are out in the street.

Derek was different from the other Snow-giants.  He was kindly and loving.  He loved to see kiddies playing in the snow, sledging, having snowball fights and making mini replica snow-giants in their front gardens.



Derek was a real people person

 The problem with Derek was that whenever he had nice kind thoughts towards something he would warm up and start to melt a little so being nice was quite dangerous for him.  In order to keep himself safe, Derek had to stop thinking nice things and instead join in with the other snow-giants and be cruel and inconvenient like them.  This made Derek sad but he figured it was for the best.

One day when, when all the Snow-giants where having there annual winter conference in Newtownabbey, Derek was out blocking a main arterial route into the city when he spotted a Snow-giant he had never seen before - a girl snow-giant named Tracy.  Tracy was very beautiful indeed, she had a wonderful wide girth, eye's the colour of £2 coins, lips of purest coal and a Kashmir scarf from Marks and Spencer.

Immediately Derek started to melt and he dashed into a nearby back garden before Tracy noticed but it was too late.

'What's wrong Derek, why are you hiding? Don't you like me?'  Derek was so touched by her venerability that he started to melt some more leaving a little puddle by his base. 

'Ah, I see', said Tracy, 'You just needed the loo, my mistake.'

Derek was so embarrassed and ashamed that he could not let Tracy go still thinking that he was incontinent rather than in love.  He slid after her and called out, 'Tracy wait!'

She turned and looked at him with those golden eyes, Derek melted faster, starting with his heart.  He could see the confused look on Tracy's facey.  But then she began to realise what was happening.  She had heard about the danger of warm feelings and, as a well behaved girl had always controlled hers but this was different from anything she had seen.

'Tracy I, I...'  Derek's head started to become runny and one of his eyes was sliding down his cheek.  He was finding it hard to speak because one-by-one the pieces of coal that made up his mouth where dropping down to his feet.  He only had time to blurt out, ' I think I love you!'

At this Tracy was overcome with emotion.  All kinds of new feelings started welling up inside her.  She thought about fighting them but before long she just gave in and she started to melt as well.

Derek saw Tracy start to melt, she felt the same.  They slid towards each other and embraced and they melted into each others arms, happy and content and free from their bondage of hate.

The steam from there bepuddled bodies was too much for the other snow-giants and, seeing the joy on the faces of Derek and Tracy, seeing the happiness that love can bring, seeing that it is better to sacrifice for love that live in selfish preservation they gave in to the feelings they had been battling for so long.  They turned to each other, some as friends, some as family, others in romance and let out the warmth that was within.  Soon all that remained were large puddles slowly drying in the winter sun.

All the people where glad to see the back of the Snow-giants and their cursed snow, little did they know that their lives where made easier by Derek and Tracy, the first love-puddles.

Snow is falling

Today is the type of day Shakin' Stevens lives for.

It is cold and miserable and slushy and cold and slow and cold. Did I mention cold?  Despite all this I still love the snow. 

The thing that makes snow so very wonderful is that it makes everything so pretty. All things are white (apart from a little yellow spot near each lamp post - thanks Rocky) and that beautifies them.  It takes away all their impurities, it covers up all the blemishes, it makes everything clean and fresh.

If only the stains on our character and on our hearts caused by the dye of sin could be covered over and made clean in this way, if only we could be made as white as snow.  Oh wait...

Come now, let us settle the matter,”
   says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be as white as snow"

Isaiah 1:18

Beautiful.

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You see Bing, dreams can come true.

Simply having a wonderful Christmas crime

A car was hijacked on the Lisburn Road, Belfast, last night (read the BBC report here).

Clearly this was a very shocking experience for the twenty-five year old driver.  He was punched in the face and thrown out of the car before it was driven off at pace. However it was probably even more shocking for the driver's nine year old sister who the hijakers hadn't spotted in the back seat.  In fact they didn't notice her until after they had backed the car into a wall and driven a distance down the road.  It was only then that they turfed her out of the vehicle.

Is this a modern day commentary on what is happening to Christmas?  The three thieves who took the car certainly could not be described as wise men but lets think about this story.

Christmas has been hijaked by people who are in a hurry.  In a hurry to eat, to have fun, to make money and to spend money.  It seems to me that they have forgotten there is a child at the heart of all this. Not a helpless child but one who would become the Saviour of the world.  A child-King born in a manger.

I fear that at some point the hijakers will remember that child, stop the runaway car-crash that Christmas is becoming and throw Him out of the vehicle altogether.

But them maybe I'm just too grumpy and cynical.

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The 12 Days of Christmas by Reliant K. Enjoy.

Different

Week 2. Done.

Another seven days have past and the 90 Day plan has taken us through the books of Leviticus, Numbers and most of Deutoronomy.  We are almost at the end of the Torah, the Law books.

Some of these books have a pretty bad reputation, they are seen as boring and irrelevent and I wasn't really looking forward to them too much.  Having done this weeks reading though I've got to say that I enjoyed it very much.

It maybe helped that the finish line was only a couple of days away for each book but I think the main thing was that when you are still very aware of what went before (because you read it the day before yesterday) it's easier to understand why the different laws were given and why the ancestry etc is so important to the Israelite people.

In yesterday's reading there was a verse that really stood out to me.

You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.

Deuteronomy 12:4

Not only were the Israelites to worship a different God from the ones worship by the inhabitants of Canaan but they where to worship Him in a different way.   God is unlike other gods, He is different.  Other religions are lost in superstition and despair whereas the God of Israel brings hope and deliverence.

We too are to worship God in a different way than the world worships her idols.  Our God is not a popstar or a shiny car or sport. Our God is different, He is alive and full of power, He is holy, He should be treated that way.

There are many other things that could be learnt from the weeks readings, maybe you'd like to share them?

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Some mid-week music now, as is our custom.  Here's Jars of Clay with a new take on a Christmas classic.

You better watch out

Voting has all all but closed on the Santa poll so I thought it might be good to reflect on the whole issue again.

Most of you who voted have gone for the 'He's OK in the right amount' option.  Fair enough.  Over the last wee while I've had some interesting discussions with a number of people about the big fat imaginary lump of a man.  I have been sent video clips and newspaper articles, I have been supported and criticized, and quite frankly I've thoroughly enjoyed it all.

But can any good come of this discussion?  I certainly cannot change the opinion of anyone, I cannot force a parent to unveil Santa as a fraud nor would I want to.   The point of the discussion is simply to recognise the issue and encourage us all to have an opinion on it.  It is not healthy for any of us, least of all Christians to blindly accept cultural norms without running them through our Christian sieve as it were, to test them and ensure they do not force us to compromise what we know to be right.

In all the conversations I've had about Santa in the last month or so I have found no-one who accepts Santa as completely harmless and entirely positive.  The concept of Father Christmas, it seems, is something to be cautious about at the very least.

The fact of the matter is that Santa is present in our culture, we cannot eradicate him and so we need to deal with him.  How you do that is up to you but I urge you sincerely to be very careful with the Santa myth.  Ensure that Jesus remains distinct from him, That Jesus is the be all and end all.  He is the great gift -giver, He is the one that hears prayers, He is the one that brings joy.  It is not good for your family or your kids (whether present or future) if you put yourself in debt and danger just to hold up the pretence  that Santa is capable of delivering every present they want.

Children need real love at Christmas more than they need gifts.  Their family and friends are the ones who can give them that, not a figment of someone else's imagination.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12If you want to read an article by Mark Driscoll on the subject click here (thanks Nic).  you can also watch the most excellent video below (thanks Rick)

From the Cardle to the grave

I don't know who Matt Cardle is.

Well of course I know that he won The X Factor but that's about all I know.  He was in the final with some teen band called 'no direction' and another female contestant.

I also know that little Matt is going to release a cover version of a song by Biffy Clyro - whoever she is - and he hopes to get to number one.  Some people are all annoyed by this and have started an internet campaign to get the original version to number one instead as a victory for 'real music'.

I think all this is great I just wish I knew what they were all on about.  As a cool down-with-the homies kinda dude I should really be keeping up with all the latest 911's, picking up the word on the street and slammin' some beats on ma ipod - Tuune!  But the truth of  the matter is that I am a little out of touch with popular cultural trends.

This was very apparent when I went to see The Messiah on Friday night and actually quite enjoyed it, changed times.

The question is, does it matter?  If the trendy young things are into different things than I was at their age does that mean we've nothing to learn from one another? I hope not.  I have the genuine privilege of spending a bit of time with some young people through stuff I do in church.  I can honestly say that just because their taste in music is awful and their fashion sense is virtually non-existant doesn't mean they are a bunch of wasters.  In fact quite the opposite.  I learn a lot from their new outlook, their fresh approach to each other, their capacity for handling technological advances, their desire to work hard and their graciousness to accomodate people like me.



This lot were too grumpy to win



Wisdom can certainly be increased with experience but it doesn't start in old age.  In fact their is no shortage of old fools about.  Of course some of young people think they know it all - they don't - but some older people think they know it all too - they don't either.

If you think people judge you because of your age take heart in what the Bible says. It teaches that you shouldn't be belittled because of your age but it also says you should set an example to others through your behaviour and attitude.  Be good young people, be wise, be courageous, be Godly so that we can learn from you.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Sicky bad and boke-ing

My poor wife is sick.

She felt unwell yesterday evening and then around half 9 it all came out.  Being sick is a realy horrible thing as you all know, your body trying to rid itself of whatever poison it has picked up and it does it pretty violently.

It's amazing the inbuilt protection systems that our body has. Pain, fear, our conscience... Sometimes we don't like to be protected in that way because of the pain or the emotion or the guilt, sometimes we even wish that we could be 'cured' from the effects of the very things that protect us but where would that leave us?

Our bodies and minds are very well designed.  They were undoubtedly created by someone who knew what He was doing; they are not an accident and they are not the result of ramdom chance.

I hate to see my wife sick but I'm glad she is in the care of a God who can design her body in such a way that it can protect itself against germs and bugs - even my computer can't do that!

 Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5