This book definitely fell into the category of can’t-put-it-down; I read the first half in 2 days, and 3 days later had finished it!
Following the first book we’ve moved on a little while, and deal with the fall out of the events. There are so many twists and turns, I don’t want to write anything for fear of giving away the plot, but just to say, in places this book actually made me gasp audibly – very highly recommended!
Last year I brought you my five favourite Easter songs, so I was wondering what to do this Good Friday. I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite songs by one of my favourite bands at the moment. Last year I was particularly struck by “Eastery” elements to a lot of their songs, and I guess you might pick that up below.
It seems I first heard Rend Collective Experiment when they did a video called Worship on an iPhone and until today I never realised that was the same band as that I’ve come to love in the last couple of years!
Their style is so different to anything else in the Christian music circles at the moment. They have the most interesting instruments (check out the stick thing in Build Your Kingdom Here). And the lyrics are superb. Sometimes we can get so struck by a melody, when really the words are the depth and real meaning of the piece.
As Sophie Fisher says in the wonderfully tacky film, Music and Lyrics: “A melody is like seeing someone for the first time. The physical attraction. But then, as you get to know the person, that’s the lyrics. Their story. Who they are underneath.”
So here we go, in no particular order, some lively, some very chilled out. Most are from their second album, but there’s one from the first!
Listen to all 5 and tell me you’re not a Rend convert!
Second Chance
Build Your Kingdom Here
You Bled
Desert Soul
The Cost
I picked up this book because it was half price by the door in WHSmiths, the film had just come out, and it felt like it was one of those books I “should” have read. I wasn’t sure what to expect, I thought it’d be very difficult and complicated and ye olde English, but I’d heard it was meant to be lighter than Lord of the Rings, and a bit more aimed at children, so thought it was worth a shot!
It got tough in places – got pretty confused towards the end with all the different groups of people, but I actually did enjoy it! There was humour and drama, and not too much of all the battly stuff, which I always struggle to follow! And of course it was written in relatively normal English – I forget this was written by a guy who was friends with C.S. Lewis who wrote Narnia which again is ‘normal’ language – I shouldn’t have been so apprehensive! Of course there’s all the crazy names of people, creatures and places, and way too many of them to keep track, but that normally happens!
Obviously the first film for this has just come out and there’s two more to go, but I couldn’t help but wonder given it’s format of lots of mini adventures within a greater adventure, whether it wouldn’t have worked really well serialised for TV? I guess budgets are lower for that sort of thing and you don’t get the epicness of the big screen, but it definitely felt like it would break down into chunks quite nicely!
I’ll leave you with my favourite quote, which comes early on in the book:
“He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of The Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole, and in this way the battle was won, and the game of Golf invented at the same moment.”
Who isn’t a McFly fan in all reality?! They’ve always had catchy, lively, cheerful songs, but I think the break they took to do a load of reality TV etc a couple of years ago also means it now feels like we all know them all and are their buddies! With that in mind, here’s my five favourite McFly songs 🙂
Love is Easy
All About You – (with the added bonus of a Comic Relief comedy video :))
Obviously
The Heart Never Lies
Star Girl – Couldn’t find the proper version of this, but maybe that’s a good thing, because the Chris Moyles version is better 🙂
And of course, we can’t forget this beautiful customised Medley Tom did for his wife on their wedding day!
Don’t comment on your Facebook posts when no one else has. All that will happen is that you’ll scroll past it, see “1 comment” and click on it in that needy way we all do (or at least I do!) to see who’s done it,only to see it was yourself. ..
I’ve told this story a couple of times lately for various reasons so thought I may as well share it on here. You know there’s those stories you have that you bring up when relevant, just little anecdotes from your life because they were the handful of times you had something happen that was interesting enough that others might care? Well why not bung them on here I thought 🙂
And this one suits Mothering Sunday well!
When I was younger, probably about 6, I remember being allowed a square of dad’s whole nut chocolate. I remember saying to Mum that there was a nut too hard for me to bite through. Now for this to be taken in context, I was a very fussy eater as a child, some would say I still am, but I’m a million times better now! So when I said it was too hard to eat, mum just told me to put it in the bin and be done with it!
Later that evening, I remember I was climbing up the ladder to my bunk bed when I felt a gap in my teeth! I’d never lost a tooth before! I went downstairs and told Mum, who twigged that that must have been the nut that I couldn’t chew earlier! We worked out that it was now deep in the kitchen bin. This is where my Mum is a super hero – she got the bin bag out of the bin, and went right through it to the bottom and found my first tooth. I’m not sure I’d’ve been that dedicated!
Thanks Mum!
Is there a story behind how you lost your first tooth?
I’m definitely one for sentimentality, so here, unashamedly, is my five favourite Sunday school songs from when I was little!
Jesus loves me this I know
slightly trippy video!
My God is so big
do the Brucey pose!
Jesus’ love is very wonderful
slightly modified words – “oh wonderful love!”
Only a boy named David
123 Jesus Loves Me
starts at 2min
One of the oldest ones I remember I really don’t remember hearing anywhere else ever, it doesn’t seem to be on the internet anywhere either!
My Sunday school teacher, Janet, held up picture cards for us to sing it of the main words because it was when we were too young to read!
Fortunately, my mum having the amazing memory she does, has remembered all the words!:
Lots of faces in a class
Lots of faces in a class,
Lots of classes in a school,
Aren’t we far too many for,
Jesus to look after?
No, for…
Nobody else is just like me,
Nobody else is just like me,
Nobody else is just like me,
I’m important to Jesus.
Different faces, hands and feet,
Clothes untidy, clean or neat,
Aren’t we much too muddling for
Jesus to look after.
No, for…
Chorus
Sleeping, waking eating meals,
Jesus knows just how it feels,
Running, jumping, sitting still,
Jesus knows us always.
Yes, for…
Chorus
This one I only learnt last year so it doesn’t count as one of my Sunday school songs, but it’s amazing!
Jesus is my superhero
I’m not a fan of the commercial aspect of today (well, at least not while I’m single!)
So let’s have a look at the Ultimate Love instead, just a couple of videos that today always reminds me of, enjoy x
This still gives me goosebumps
At the start of the year I set myself some resolutions, and then added some more a few days later – here’s check-up number one!
So my favourite food is chocolate, no questions asked. But when it comes to other forms of confectionary, I still have a pretty sweet tooth, so thought I’d try to pick my five favourite (non chocolate) sweets!
Dolly Mixture
Fruit Pastilles (blackcurrant and strawberry are the best!)
Jelly Babies (got to be the proper dusted ones, not the mini ones!)
Marshmallows (lighter than air, so surely nothing bad for you in them!)
Ice cream flavoured Chewits (not very common, but that doesn’t make them bad!)
What are your favourite sweets?!
