Found this quotation from Johnny Cash in the Open House Festival programme. I think it’s great.
I love songs about horses, railroads, land, judgment day, family, hard times, whiskey, courtship, marriage, adultery, separation, murder, war, prison, rambling, damnation, home, salvation,. death, pride, humour, piety, rebellion, patriotism, larceny, determination, tragedy, rowdiness, heartbreak and love and mother. And God.
England’s latest football Messiah has returned with what appears to be a miraculously healed metatarsel. Capitalising on this second coming a certain sportwear manufacturer has captured the headlines with this image:
The image has appeared in newspapers and on a 20mx30m billboard alongside the M4.
OK, I see the cross of St George. Ok, I know that Rooney has a characteristic way of celebrating a goal. But am I the only one to find this image disturbing?
What do you think?
Picked this up on the BBC website:
“Spanish daily 20 Minutos claims Nostradamus tipped Spain to win the World Cup. It quotes one of his prophecies as follows: “In the sixth month of 2006 the King of Spain will cross the Pyrenees with his troops. The legions of Beelzebub will battle him in central Europe and suffer doom and destruction. The Holy Grail will then come to Spain.”
Didn’t I tell you England would get to the final???
The summer is here! It’s exam weather, hot and sunny, just like it’s supposed to be. Students are at home revising (allegedly) hoping that they can ‘make up’ for the lack of work done during the year. I continue to be amazed at the differences in approach to their studies shown by boys and girls at this time of year. I know that we are told to avoid gender bias and it’s probably a generalisation but, to me, there is a different dynamic to ‘study groups’ which are for the most part male when compared with those that are mixed or predominantly female. It is not that one is necessarily better than the other but the thought processes and discursive styles demonstrated need to recognised by a teacher if effective learning is to take place.
I don’t think that this issue is exclusive to exam revision techniques. It is not uncommon to find that men feel ‘uneasy’ in some church fellowship settings, such as Fellowship Groups, in which the majority of the members are female.
In some literature I have been reading recently, it has been suggested that this is one of the major issues facing churches in the west. It is considered that the language used and issues raised in a number of church settings can cause real problems for men. For example:
• How do men relate to God in a loving relationship with Him, which is, of course, why He created us in the first place?
• Do the words used in many of our modern praise songs really inspire the ‘male heart’ to worship God?
• When we say we are setting out to win hearts for Christ, do we really understand the ‘male heart’ and how it can be reached?
• If a man’s Spirit is inspired by adventure and challenge, does the church encourage and foster this?
• How does society view the image of the man, Jesus, as portrayed by the church?
Getting together on a Saturday morning for breakfast and Bible study once a month has become a not-to-be-missed occasion for those of us who contribute to this Blog. I have been finding that studying the Book of Amos from a male perspective has allowed my faith to deepen, spurred on by our reflections on how we are expected to live as Christian men in the testing world we live in. Facing up to issues such as God’s view of our sinful nature, how Judgement is viewed by His people and how we treat those in society with whom we have an acquaintance or are called to serve is a challenge which is helping me to discover why God created and shaped me to be the person I am. The issues that are involved with social justice and our responsibilities towards them are certainly becoming clearer. Arriving at a greater understanding of the role of groups such as the Prophets or Nazirites has helped in reaching an understanding of how God works amongst His people, particularly in times of disobedience, drifting and failure to speak the truth with conviction.
Male breakfasts are not just for the church. A group of my male colleagues and I have been meeting together for an ‘Ulster Fry’ in the school canteen each Friday morning. It just seems like a good idea, which we look forward to every week. I’m sure that there is a lesson here for the church in general as it addresses the problems caused by lack of male membership. I attended a joint Men’s Fellowship shared between three of our local churches this week and again found the time spent together to be both inspiring and encouraging. It is hoped to repeat it in the autumn.
Having said all this I must confess that June will be different! It won’t be a breakfast-time meeting for our ‘Where’s-Me-Breakfast’ group; instead a World Cup Barbeque is planned, to include study/ discussion, food and a match. I can assure all our readers that I am looking forward to it as much as ever.
As for the present, it’s an afternoon shared between watching van-Nistelrooy and the Stanley Cup Final between Carolina and Edmonton (ice-hockey for the uninitiated!).
“Let’s Go Oilers…….”
Salty Scrambled
Mars have apparently renamed their iconic bars 
Believe during the World Cup. The purpose I guess is to galvanise home support for the lads. As you can imagine, the Scots haven’t taken too kindly to it. Edinburgh-based design company have cashed in on a tee-shirt, the first batch of which have already sold out, which says ‘Believe? Ma arse!’
It is reported that sales of Mars have plunged catastrophically north of the border but shop keepers are unable to get batches without the new name.
It all starts today…a whole month’s worth of father’s days. The only downside is incessant English hype about their chances.
But how about this for overconfidence. Apparently, in a poll of 1,600 people in Russia, 10% make Brazil the favourites (no surprise), and 6% make Russia favourites to walk off with the trophy next month.
Only problem….Russia didn’t qualify.
Come on Ireland!
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