Month: February 2016

This occurred to me in the shower this morning…

Possibly a couple of years ago, after I’d started going to church again but not immediately, I was reading the story of Moses from Exodus. I’d “had this thing about Moses” since my days in Newcastle i.e. it speaks to me, possibly because I expect it to.

Anyway I got to the part of the story where the Israelites have left Egypt but not crossed the Red Sea yet. Pharoah sends troops after them and they become trapped. We have this:

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14v13&14)

So for about a year I used to pray some variation of this most days. I would say “Fight for me God.” I would name my enemies, things like fear, lack of faith, etc.

I gave up eventually. Maybe I got disillusioned. Or maybe I just forgot. I used other prayers.

It occurred to me this morning that it’s all very well to be “still” and wait for God to fight for you, but this incident occurs after they’ve left Egypt. They’ve already set out in the direction God is leading them. Only when they reach a barrier they can’t overcome naturally – in that direction – does God intervene spectacularly.

I think I never left Egypt.

A wise friend asked me a while back, when I was complaining about not knowing what I should do about faith etc, whether there was anything outstanding that God has told me to do that I haven’t yet done. I said no. I wasn’t deliberately being dishonest but there is one thing. But it’s so big, so seemingly unachievable that I didn’t think of it as a possibility, so I’d ruled it out almost before bringing it to mind.

The trouble is it doesn’t seem possible because I can see the obstacles, I can see the Red Sea sitting there blocking my path.

But maybe, just maybe, I need to move in that direction anyway and then see what God will do.

And as I’ve written this I looked up the verses above and seen the next one which is:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

I’ve been challenged to write a blog post today by a friend – you know who you are! – but not sure what to write about so, I present to you a quick splurge about everything and nothing…

Books

So far this year I’ve read only two books – Trust and The Magician’s Nephew. The former because I saw it in WHSmiths and though what the hey, and the later because someone mentioned Jadis and The Deplorable Word.

Trust – debut novel by the creator of TV show Cold Feet – was OK but not great – why do I keep reading books that fall in that category? Is it because I want an easy read and most easy reads aren’t very substantial?

The Magician’s Nephew is of course Narnia book #1, and I am a lot less inclined to read these books than I was when I was more of a GLE*. I was also very aware that it’s a kids book. A lot shorter than I remember. The Deplorable Word section is told in a spoken flashback which was less impressive than I remember. Still I enjoyed it but I am free of the desire to read the other 6.

TV

So far this year I’ve watched Making a Murderer, Love and Better Call Saul S1 (and S2 has returned yay!). Also just caught up with Happy Valley S2.

Making a Murderer was fascinating (and righteously-anger-making) whilst I was watching it but it’s faded since then.

Better Call Saul was better on a second viewing I think, and it was good first time. Glad to see Kim and Jimmy becoming a thing in S2. Glad that Chuck’s still in the mix too. Breaking Bad was great, and I’ve watched the whole thing twice, but it becomes a bit of a grim slog toward the end. Better Call Saul has all the great elements that Breaking Bad had but with a lighter tone.

Happy Valley S1 was grim but gripping. S2 is equally gripping. Not sure about the flashbacks they’re using.

Writing

Haven’t done any writing for years. Have recently been thinking of it but then again it can cause my mind to take dark turns. (remember ‘Necropolis’?)

Life

I could do with simplifying my life. Maybe get rid of some stuff. Also just make time to think about where I want to go and what I want to do with my life. I’m closing in on 50 I should have something figured out by now! 😉

Blogging or Whatever

Is this the best platform for my thoughts? I’ve heard in a couple of places recently that no-one really reads blogs any more, and that Twitter’s dying, Facebook is for oldies, so…?

Podcasts

I have a huge backlog. And yet I keep subscribing to new ones. To be fair, I’m getting better at listening to an episode or two and if I don’t like it then unsubscribing. I did have to recently offload part of my 200Gb podcast archive onto an external drive to make space on my PC.

Which reminds me, I’m thinking about getting a NAS or possibly a new PC, but then I’d need to get rid of some of the old ones I still have. See earlier re: simplification.

Oh and I have thought about making my own podcast, but does the world really need another one…?

Music

As I write I’m listening to the Spotify playlist from Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s podcast. Since it’s merely a list of songs that have come up in conversation during the last few months of shows, it’s a bit eclectic, not to say random. Which is fun. I can put it on and be surprised.

Also, why don’t I listen to more music? It’s all podcasts, all the time, with me now.

Phew!

Not sure if any of that is interesting but it’s real, true and it’s on my blog.

*Good Little Evangelical