Highlights of 2007

Sorry that I haven't been as active on the blog recently folks and that you've had to endure the dulcid tones of my colleague for so long but with silly coursework and other things its been a little hectic these past weeks.

But any way, as 2007 draws to a close James and I decided to write a post reflecting on the events of the past year and attempting to rank the experiences.

James' Top Ten Events

1. Cloughmills Go Team- August 5th-11th


2. Snow Patrol Concert, Ward Park, Bangor- Serptember 1st


3. Dromore Go Team- August 11th-17th


4. Family Holiday, Cornwall- July 7th-18th


5. EP Weekend- October 26th-28th


6. CY Summer Conference (including the 10 mile walk from Benone to Coleraine with Andy Mo)- August 25th


7. Sommerville New Year's Party (A day late!)- January 1st/2nd


8. Senior Camp- June 30th- July 7th


9. CY Outing- June 23rd


10. CY Spring Conference (including Caravelle Road Trip)- March 17th

Ali's Top Ten Events

1. Snow Patrol at Ward Park, was immense day complete with Winston
2. My Cricket Season in general, which includes getting 24 Wickets and making debut for School Cricket 1sts in McCullough Cup Final.
3. Family Holiday to the wilds of Galway, peace and serenity for 2 Weeks plus great weather.
4. The Road Trip to the CY Spring Conference, even with 2 Americans in the car it was brilliant bant.
5. Becoming an official member of Lisburn RPC. Woo!
6. Boys Adventure Camp-Being the oldest was brilliant plus book of Daniel is exceptional
7. Getting to know Brian Wright.........enough said............
8. Deleting my Bebo...I'd like to say I have a lot more free time now but........
9. Watching India play South Africa at Stormont, brilliant players every where!
10. Beating James' Rugby Team 41-0.... Hehehehe

Well thats it folks, feel free to comment on our lists, 2007 has been a special one and hope you all have a great new year (DV).

We'll be celebrating the New Year in style as usual, i'll be attending the homeland for the New Year Bash there and James will be..........tucked up in bed......... :D

Ali

Homeward Bound

"Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound."

These are the words of Simon and Garfunkel in their song "Homeward Bound". The longing to return home is an emotion we all experience at some stage. The desire to be with those who care for us and to be where we feel safe. This is not however the current experience of the songwriter as he sings "Everday's an endless stream" and "each town looks the same to me". This song reminded me of the difference there is between being a Christian and a non-Christian. Life is often described as a journey, for the non-Christian it is a journey into apparant nothingness with no real meaning but for the Christian it is a journey homeward towards heaven. Whilst the non-Christian may have an earthly home which may bring temporal happiness it will not fully satisfy unlike the eternal resting place awaiting those who have placed their trust in Christ. This confidence should set us apart from non-believers around us as we have a hope and a future whilst their lives have nothing of eternal significance in them. Thomas Manton describes the "best estate" of man as "vanity" whilst "a Christian's worst is happiness".

Homeward Bound is not however a unique title. It also forms part of a title for a Disney movie entitled "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey". If you haven't see the movie a brief plot summary can be found here. The incredible journey of Shadow (the Golden Retriever), Chance (the American Bulldog) and Sassy (the cat) involves passing through great mountain ranges to reach home. On our journey homeward as Christians we face many challenges and trials. There is one moment in which the characters climb the first mountain and believe they will see home on the other side. Instead they saw a great mountain range spanning as far as the eye could see. Often as Christians we feel like we face and endless range of trials yet unlike the animals in this movie we can rely on someone far greater than each other, Jesus Christ the Son of God, "who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy" (Jude 1:24), will be looking after us the entire Homeward Bound journey.

Modern Worship

Teddy Bear Muhammad

"A British teacher has been found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and will
then be deported." BBC News (read full story here)

This recent incident in Sudan regarding teacher Gillian Gibbons (pictured above) brought back memories to many of the Danish cartoon incident which took place over a year ago. Then the issue was also the dishonouring of the prophet Muhammad. We can easily be angered by such unreasonable behaviour or perhaps as Christians we begin to wonder if we should react in a similar way to the dishonouring of our Saviour, the true prophet, priest and king the Lord Jesus Christ. Should we take to the streets baying for blood in response to Jerry Springer the Opera, the Da Vinci Code or the upcoming Golden Compass movie? After the Danish Cartoons John Piper wrote an article which I found very helpful and I felt I should post a link to it due to the current controversey over Teddy Muhammad. Piper suggests that incidents such as this show a crucial difference between Christ and Muhammad.

CLICK HERE TO READ JOHN PIPER'S ARTICLE

My Teddy Bear (I call him Momo for short)