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Of Mice and Men – by John Steinbeck

12 09 2014

The final book in my “I need to finally read all the stuff I was meant to read at school but didn’t!” list.

I never realised just how short this book is! Only 120 pages – I could probably have done this in one sitting if I’d had a quieter week. And just as when I read To Kill A Mockingbird, it was much better than I remember at school. Again supporting my argument that books were meant to be read and enjoyed, not analysed to within an inch of their life.

The story is based around George and Lennie, two men who travel together and find ranches to work on. George is a smart guy, Lennie is something of a gentle giant, and really quite simple. He is adorable, doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, and has a love for cuddly small animals – which leads to trouble when he doesn’t realise his own strength.

It’s not the happiest of reads, but there’s a reason this book has stood the test of time and is still well read today. Like most books, it’s about getting to know the characters and wanting to know more about them.

of mice and men

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Tags: book reviews, gcse english, of mice and mean
Categories : Books I've Read

Sermon Notes: What is Spiritual Warfare?

7 09 2014

We started our new series on spiritual warfare today, here are my notes!

Mark 1 vv 14-39

Spiritual warfare affects everyone

The world often tells us that the only things out there are the things that we can see, touch or feel.
“The modern world often does seem at times to be so evil, and human actions so wicked, that only a supernatural explanation can suffice” – secular view from The Daily Telegraph

“…the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” – 1 John 5v19b. But God is King over all creation, including the evil powers. Things like Nazism come from the evil one, but demons flee at the name of Jesus. Mark 1-3 is about demonstrating the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Satan’s rule is only temporary!

There are two ages: the present evil age, and the age to come of the kingdom of God. We as believers live between these two. The present evil age will come to an end, and we’ll have a new heaven and a new earth.

How can we see the pain and despair in this world without being driven to our knees? Watching the news is sometimes just too hard. Christian life is not easy, we live in thee world between the two ages.

D-Day was the decisive turning point in the second world war, but there were many more battles to fight before VE/VJ Day. The cross was D-Day. Get to the end of the book, we’re on the winning side!

The struggle we’re in is much bigger than us, but it’s not bigger than God, it’s not an even match! The final outcome is secure.

Satan will target the church, his tactics are subtle. There are so many sermons and teachings around on the internet we can feed ourselves so much. We need to be discerning with the teachings out there. There is a lot on self help, health and wealth, and blessings on individuals without mentioning Jesus out there, we have to be careful.

Things go wrong for all of us from time to time, and that’s when Satan whispers in our ear “Is Jesus really in control? Is He really Lord and King?”. But we know that we have a Redeemer. God’s Kingdom lasts forever.

Will we fight the good fight? The war has turned in the favour of Christ, but we’re to march on until He comes again. The one thing that will get us through is the power of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Tags: sermon notes, spiritual warfare
Categories : Christian, From Church

Sermon Notes: The blessing of unity in the church – Psalm 133

7 09 2014

We had our final service of the summer series last weekend, I’m a bit behind, but here are my notes!

1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore. – Psalm 133

Western culture is individualistic, and because of that, we tend to crave community.

We seek advice from peer groups and friends, generally those who’s opinions and views line up with our own, it’s harder to maintain a friendship circle when people don’t agree. But it can be dangerous to restrict ourselves to a small group, it means our views aren’t challenged.

We’d called to relate and to one-another with the whole church: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3v28. Mixing ages and backgrounds means that by cross-pollination we can learn from each other. The church is the family of God, and you can’t choose your family. We’re all brothers and sisters, and that changes how we should relate to each other.

Families experience tensions, it’s normal to not all get on easily: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4 vv 1-3. It’s hard, but when we do it, we get the benefits in Psalm 133 above.

Oil is poured out over Aaron, God pours out the joy of the Holy Spirit and immerses us in His presence. We want to be a church where the Holy Spirit brings us to care for one another deeply, but we need unity to create the fertile ground for the Spirit to work in.

The value of facebook is to know what’s going on in people’s lives and so be able to respond to it. We need to bear with one-another, have grace for one-another, even when they’re irritating. There will be times when we need to forgive, need to be gentle, need to be humble.

But what a motivation to be united people – the pouring out of the Holy Spirit!

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Tags: psalm 133, sermon notes
Categories : Christian, From Church

Internet highlights w/c 31st August 2014

7 09 2014

Some Disney Easter Eggs

“The number of ‘followers’ you have does not make you better than anyone else. Hitler had millions, Jesus had 12”. – Unknown

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery that they will have to donate my body to a Tupperware party” – Joan Rivers

Art from crayons – but not what you’d expect!

How to feel awful about yourself first thing in the morning

Satellite photos over time

All 90 outfits Rachel wore on Friends series 1

Chocolate cake for breakfast can help you lose weight!

Ill dog had 43 socks in its stomach

We were thinking about renaming parsnip crisps. ‘Parsnisps’. Thoughts?

— Tesco (@Tesco) August 31, 2014

https://twitter.com/Fascinatingpics/status/508008173174018048

A London train station gave a cheeky tribute to Joan Rivers today (h/t @byronhamburgers) http://t.co/u2aUJlZDWc pic.twitter.com/kMTGQtUikS

— BuzzFeed UK (@BuzzFeedUK) September 5, 2014

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A post shared by TomFletcher (@tomfletcher)

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Tags: internet
Categories : The Best of the Internet

Internet highlights w/c 24th August 2014

31 08 2014

What [one person claims] Harry Potter is really about – a mental institution

Woman finds 3ft wasps nest on her bed

Portland, Oregon builds tiny houses for homeless people

Supermarkets’ back-to-school deals get a bit interesting

https://twitter.com/History_Pics/status/503265926696144897

https://twitter.com/AnimaILife/status/503995487469707265

My @compassionuk sponsor child wanted to know if I played in World Cup for England.After this years display, I guess not that implausible 😉

— Andy Frost (@andythefrosty) August 29, 2014

View post on imgur.com

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Tags: back to school, internet
Categories : The Best of the Internet

The Rosie Project – by Graeme Simsion

29 08 2014

Firstly, this is the first book review I’ve not managed to find the correct book cover for online, and it annoys me more than it should! Mine is the same as below but turquoise!

Anyway, enough of that, from the back of this book I gathered it was about a guy who decided to find the perfect woman he’d start matching them up to criteria and find the one who literally ticked all the boxes – then met Rosie who didn’t tick all the boxes, “and yet…”

However, it’s so much more than that. From the outset it’s clear that this guy is massively socially awkward, somewhere on “the spectrum” (well we all are, but this guy further along than most), and his whole life is rigidly set by schedules, criteria, etc, and so he tries this stance with women too. The book is narrated by this character, so it’s great to see how he thinks – not dissimilarly to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

There’s a fairly major sub plot to this book too, and much as it’s often perceived as a bad thing, I kind of saw where it was going from pretty early on. But as there were some major curveballs thrown in which massively made me doubt myself, it definitely kept me going, and I really was hooked, I read this in less than a week I think?! Brilliant.

the rosie project

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Tags: aspergers, autism, book reviews, fiction
Categories : Books I've Read

Internet highlights w/c 17th August 2014

23 08 2014

Creative alternative solutions to problems

A Dad Took His Sons to Israel and Syria to Show Them the Difference Between War and Video Games

Downton Stars able to laugh at themselves 🙂

Troubles of the 00s teens

Best jokes from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe

The 90s button – not even going to explain, just click!

Fawlty Towers made of Lego

Doctor Who Tardis as a public toilet

Phenomenal episode of The Last Leg last night, the first 20min entirely dedicated to telling Westboro Baptist Church and Richard Dawkins where to go!

The girl from Afghanistan is found 17 years later – her story told

Suspicious quotation marks

This could be the most poignant tribute to Robin Williams yet http://t.co/LtfEHkoZoN pic.twitter.com/izshUzpLqd

— indy100 (@indy100) August 16, 2014

Late night toast is so good. Why is that? It's definitely better than morning toast. Toast and cereal should pack up and move to nighttime.

— Tom Fletcher (@TomFletcher) August 17, 2014

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Tags: internet, syria
Categories : The Best of the Internet

Sermon notes: Blessed for the glory of God – Psalm 127

22 08 2014

It’s a long time since I’ve put my sermon notes on here, probably because it’s a while since I’ve been at my home church for more than one Sunday in a row! Last Sunday I went to the 9am service as I was on kids at the 10.30, and this way I still got to hear the sermon!

Psalm 127

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat –
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.

In our current society people suffer from “status anxiety” – comparing ourselves to others, or worrying out to reach their expectations. The media portrays hyper-reality, people who are seemingly perfect. We’re far more affected by these images than we’d like to admit.

We can work hard, but without God it’s not going to be what it could be (v1)
We can rest and enjoy life because God is in control, not us (v2)

The farmer can plant the seed, water the land, but he can never grow the crop, only God can do that.

Society says that if we don’t work as hard as the next person then we won’t be as successful as them.
But God gives us joy and contentment.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” – Philippians 4v12
Paul’s circumstances didn’t dictate if he was happy or sad, because he was rooted in Jesus Christ.

If we constantly compare ourselves to others, or want to be more like others, then we are not contented, but are continuing to toil and strive.

There is no higher status available than to be a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to be adopted into His family; there is no need to compare to others!

“God is most glorified through us when we are most satisfied in him” – John Piper

It’s evangelistic. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

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Categories : Christian, From Church

Call the Midwife – by Jennifer Worth

21 08 2014

Having watched one series of Call the Midwife I picked up the book somewhere and goodness I loved it! It is definitely a little more graphic and descriptive than the TV show…

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it all, the book is autobiographical, and the TV series is based on it. After discovering that there is very little mention of midwifery in literature, Jennifer Worth took up the challenge to correct this. She was a midwife in 1950s East London, amidst an awful lot of poverty.

This book is an education. I learnt about biology (the obvious), PSHE (again, fairly obvious), but probably above all, history.

I’d heard bits and pieces about like in 1950s London, but never in this much detail, particularly the poverty. The idea that there were high rises with about 10 members of a family in each 2 room home and that was normal, is insane. It may sound odd, but even though I’m used to hearing stories of families living like this in the developing world, I never realised it was that bad in the UK that recently. Being a book that features a lot of pregnancies, and a lot of poverty, there was also a fair amount of coverage of the brothels and life in them – again pretty eye opening.
I definitely feel better educated about life in 50s London now.

The other thing that really interested me in the book was right at the end. All through the book Jenny is clear that while she is a midwife based in a convent, she is probably agnostic. She respects the nuns, but the faith thing isn’t for her. Over the book, she softens a little, and then, right at the end after talking with Sister Monica Joan and pondering, more, the last line reads “That evening, I started to read the gospels.”

I was gutted it finished there, I want to know more! The next book is more about the workhouses as this was touched on in the first book, so I don’t know if it’ll pick up on that theme again or not, I’ll have to find out when I get round to it!

The book is essentially a book of anecdotes, and really was fascinating. I’d definitely recommend it, I really feel I learnt a lot in a lot of different areas!

call the midwife