Top 13 in 2013

Dear Subscribers/Readers… I’ve switched blogs to christthetruth.net. If you haven’t yet switched, please do.

My blogging output hasn’t quite been what it was in previous years. But there are still some posts that got my blood pumping in 2013. If you missed them first time around, here they are again.

13. Emma’s epic 4Thought went out and, inexplicably, received a record number of thumbs downs (as well as a record number of thumbs up). We responded…

… Read the whole post ON THE NEW BLOG

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Christmas in Dark Places

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It used to be summer when Christmas came round,
Neath tall southern skies, over sun-scorched ground,
With the backyard cricket, the barbies, the beach,
And munching on mangoes to watch the Queen’s Speech.
The slatherings of sunscreen, the glorious glare
And toasting the glow in the warm evening air.

It used to be summer… when I was young.
A golden age in a land far flung.
But there came a point, I crossed a divide,
Went up in the world and summer had died.
December is dark now, the nights close in,
So we huddle together as kith and as kin.

It’s winter now when Christmas rolls round,
We celebrate still though with different surrounds.
We mull the wine and strike the matches,
Light the fires, batten the hatches,
Gather around the warming beam
Of family love or a TV screen.
So safe inside, no place to go,
We toast marshmallows and let it snow.

Our summer’s gone, if you’ve been around,
you’ve felt the fall: life’s run aground.
We’ve gone up in the world, seen summer die.
So what’s our hope? The dark defy?
Stoke the hearth? Retreat indoors?
Rug up warm with you and yours?
The shadow reaches even here,
But THIS is the place for Christmas cheer.

It’s dark, in the bible, when Christmas is spoken.
Always a bolt from the blue for the broken.
It’s the valley of shadow, the land of the dead,
It’s, “No place in the inn,” so He stoops to the shed.
He’s born to the shameful, bends to the weak,
becomes the lowly: the God who can’t speak!
And yet, what a Word, this Saviour who comes,
Our dismal, abysmal depths He plumbs.
Through crib and then cross, to compass our life.
To carry and conquer. Our Brother in strife.
He became what we are: our failures He shouldered,
To bring us to His life: forever enfolded.
He took on our frailty, He took on all-comers,
To turn all our winters to glorious summers.

It’s Christmas now… whatever the weather,
Some soak in the sun, some huddle together.
But fair days or foul, our plight He embraces.
Real Christmas can shine in the darkest of places.

Halloween Explained in 3 Minutes

The origins of Halloween lie with the church. This video shows how medieval Christians saw Halloween as “a final fling” for the powers of darkness, safe in the knowledge that the Light  is always stronger. (For more on the thinking behind the video, read this).

And please share on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Vast armies undead do tread through the night and
In hordes march towards hapless victims to frighten.
They stumble in step with glass-eyes on the prizes;
Bunched hither, hunched over in monstrous disguises;
In sizes not lofty but numb’ring a throng;
To unleash on their prey the dreaded DING DONG.
Small faces with traces of mother’s eye-liner,
Peer up to the resident candy provider.

And there to intone ancient threats learnt verbatim;
They lisp “TRICK OR TREAT!” Tis their stark ultimatum.
Thus: region by region such legions take plunder.
Does this spector-full spectacle cause you to wonder?
Just how did our fair festive forebears conceive,
Of this primeval practice called All Hallows Eve?
The answer, if anyone cares to research,
Surprises, it rises from old mother church.

On the cusp of the customary All Saints Day
The Christ-i-an kinsfolk made mocking display.
These children of light both to tease and deride;
Don darkness, doll down as the sinister side.
In pre-post-er-ous pageants and dress diabolic,
They hand to the damned just one final frolick.
You see with the light of the dawn on the morrow,
The sunrise will swallow such darkness and sorrow.

The future is futile for forces of evil;
And so they did scorn them in times Medieval.
For this is the nature of shadow and gloom;
In the gleaming of glory there can be no room.
What force is resourced by the echoing black?
When the brightness ignites can the shadow push back?
These ‘powers’ of darkness, if such can be called,
Are banished by brilliance, by blazing enthralled.

So the bible begins with this fore-resolved fight;
For a moment the darkness…. then “Let there be Light!”
First grief in the gloom, then joy from the East.
First valley of shadow, then mountaintop feast.
First wait for Messiah, then long-promised Dawn.
First desolate Friday and then Easter Morn.
The armies of darkness when doing their worst,
Can never extinguish this Dazzling Sunburst.

So… ridicule rogues if you must play a role;
But beware getting lost in that bottomless hole.
The triumph is not with the forces of night.
It dawned with the One who said “I am the Light!”

Change of Address

I’ve been here for nearly 7 years – 12 000 comments, 2148 posts.

Time for a change! I’m now self-hosted at christthetruth.net

Come on over to my new place, we’ll continue the discussion. (Please update your feeds/subscriptions if need be,)

 

New Blog – Help Needed

Thanks to Kev, I have a new blog design at christthetruth.net.

I’m going to jump over to the new site just as soon as I can figure out one problem, and for this maybe one of you can help me…

With wordpress.com blogs you embed youtube videos using the code (without the spaces):

[ youtube = url ]

With self-hosted blogs you just write the url. Is there any way I can automatically find and replace all [ youtube = url ] and replace with the video’s url.  Been searching online for a solution for hours. I’m pretty sure the answer will involve using my regex plugin, but don’t quite know the patterns to use.

Any help gratefully received in comments.

 

Sifted but Lifted

These are stunning verses from the night before Jesus’ death:

‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ (Luke 22:31-32)

Notice these 10 contrasts:

• Satan makes a fearful proposal. Jesus gives a fearful permission.
• Satan treats Simon like an inanimate object. Jesus calls Simon by name – three times in one sentence.
• Satan is ruthless with Simon. Jesus is personal.
• Satan sifts Simon before the world. Jesus lifts Simon before the Father.
• Satan is weaker than Jesus but Simon is weaker than Satan.
• Simon thinks of himself as iron for Jesus (see v32). Jesus doesn’t call him Peter (‘Rock’), He considers Simon to be as ‘flaky’ as wheat.
• Simon thinks his resolve will motivate his brothers (v32), Jesus knows it will be his weakness that strengthens his brothers (v31).
• Jesus prays for Simon, but His support will include the need for Simon to turn back.
• While Jesus prays for Simon’s faith not to fail. Simon fails big time.
• It’s not Simon who “fail’s not”, it’s Jesus’ prayer.

Live in the Story

The guys at Together for Adoption have just launched a new initiative called Live in the Story. Already there are some great resources on the website and that will build over time.

They asked me to voice the introductory video, I think, because reedy nasal whining is very now. So in this video I attempt the word “Mommy” and MLK’s “I have a dream” speech. Both were bold undertakings. I found “mommy” harder.