Reflections

Reflections
Originally uploaded by mulledvine

Ok, so I've gone a bit nuts with my mobile phone camera, but I love this pic. I went on a 3 hour walk in the Kentish countryside around where I live and took a number of relective pics.

Easter

Dragged the family out for a walk this weekend and took some more pictures on my mobile. Here are a couple (the rest are on flickr). I really fancy buying a decent digital camera and taking some more serious shots but this will do for now.




Right at the end of the walk, I saw the following which is a bit interesting given my current still unemployed, patiently waiting for the promised offer state of being.

Glimpses of unemployment

Some random pics from my phone camera.

London's Canary Wharf, before an interview with a leading Investment Bank. This one is looking very promising, final interview on Monday.



Took this pic from a bench on the green outside my youngest daughter's school.



Lunch on a park bench outside St Paul's Cathedral, London. What a place to eat a sandwhich!

Drama: The Forgiven Debt

Context:

The Forgiven Debts (Luke 7 41 – 43)

Cast:

Trick shop owner


Props:

Phone
Letter
Phone ring sound clip


Script:

[Open to theme music. Owner reading a letter]

Owner: What am I going to do? Ten thousand pounds!! I don’t have that kind of money! [Looks really worried]

Owner to children: I’m in big trouble. I borrowed lots of money from the bank to start my business and now they want the money back straight away! What am I going to do… Hmmmm… .... I know!... I’ll get everyone who owes me money to pay me back! It won't be enough to pay back my debt but I don’t see why I should suffer on my own!

[Owner phones customer]

Owner: Hello, this is Mr Snookums from the Trick Shop... I’m fine, thanks…. I’m calling today about your recent purchase of 20 tricks – I believe it was for your daughter’s birthday party… Hmmm… Aha …. Yes …. Well I’m glad they all had a wonderful time and love the tricks… The thing is, your cheque bounced and you still have to pay me for the tricks… Yes, the cheque bounced. I’m sure. Yes, I’m definite…. Look, it’s not a huge amount of money, but are you going to pay me or not? … What do you mean you don’t have the money? … You should have thought of that before you had a big party… How am I supposed to run a business like this??? … I know you love your daughter but business is business … Uhuh… Uhuh……. Yes … I know it can be tough being without a job … Uhuh … Yes the children do suffer too…. You wanted to do something special for your daughter, yes…. Uhuh… Look. I tell you what, you can pay me back when you get a job… I’m sure, yes… No need to thank me. Really…. Good bye.

Owner to children: Well! That was a long call. Someone owed me some money and I was going to be very tough with him and demand that he pay, but in the end I felt sorry for him. Do you think I did the right thing? [Responses]

[Phone rings]

Owner: Hello, Me Snookums here…. Uhuh… Yes, I got your letter asking for the money back. I was going to try to pay you back, but the business has only really just started, and I spent all the money on the shop and cool tricks and … Yes… Yes…. Oh? … Yes…. Really? Oh thank you so much. Yes definitely. By the end of the year my business will be in a much better position to repay you. I’m so grateful. Thank you. Good bye.

Owner to children: You’ll never guess what happened? [Wait for guesses] Oh, you guessed! That was the bank. They have changed their mind about wanting the loan back straight away because I am such a good customer of theirs. Yippeee! Isn’t it brilliant when people are nice to you!

[Close to music]

Causing offence

I read this this morning - its about a hair advert being banned because it causes offense to Christians.

My first reaction was "here we go again - a small minority of Christians harming our cause because of some trite supposedly offensive item", but the ad is a bit near the mark, even for tolerant old me. It also makes quite a nice change that this minority group of ours in the UK is listened to. I get so sick of the phrase "culturally sensitive" being applied to every other group apart from Christians.

But this is not the real purpose of this mull. I wanted to consider the business of "being offended". There is a lot in this world of ours that is offensive to us Christians, but why do we choose not to be up in arms about that? We do so little public "being offended" that when someone is offended it is usually "Mr Disgusted from Royal Tunbridge Wells", who is bound to be a pompous old fart with more religion than Christ, and results in much unnecessary loss of credibility.

Perhaps if we were consistently offended then the world would mock us less, respecting us for making a moral stand. Of course that presupposes a consistent moral stance on the part of the Church, but that's another rant altogether!

The Father's Song

This is a great song, one of my favourites:

Drama: The Foolish Trickster

Context:

The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16 – 21)

Cast:

Trick shop owner
Burly assistant
Storm sound clip

Props:

Multiple trick shop facades
Table
Chair
Newspaper

Script:

[Open to theme music. Owner sits on a chair with his feet up on a table reading a newspaper. Puts paper down, leans back in his chair, arms behind his head, looking smug. Gets up, stretches and speaks to the children]

Owner: Oh, hello there. I didn’t see you. I was miles away, day dreaming.

[Leans forward secretively towards children]

Can I let you into a secret? [Response] Can I? [Response] What? [Response]. OK. [Rubs hands]

Its going to be big. Huge in fact. I have made lots of money selling my tricks. So much that I can start expanding my business. Then I can hire other trick shop managers and retire.

[Owner looks around]

Where is my burly assistant?

[Burly assistant arrives]

Owner: I want you to build me some more trick shops.
Assistant: Wha?
Owner: More trick shops, like this one. [Points to trick shop façade]
Assistant: Ah! [and runs off to get another trick shop façade]
Owner: Excellent. Put it there … uhm … no there … there!

[Repeat with all available facades until a number of trick shops are standing. Ensure children are a short distance away.]

[Burly assistant leaves]

Owner: Perfect. I will be famous. Biggest trick shop business in the world. I will be GREAT!!! I’ll even have a picture in The Courier!

[Suddenly storm arrives to sound of storm clip]

Owner: What’s going on? Oh no, a storm. My lovely new shops! They will all be blown down!!

[Owner holds on to each façade, trying to hold them up but eventually fails and they fall over (he knocks them over).]

Owner: NOOOOOOooooooo…… All gone. Even my first trick shop. All my big plans blown away! In an instant! Boohoooo!!!

[Closes to theme music]

Answered Prayer?

Maxine was driving down the street in a sweat because she had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.

Looking up toward heaven, she said, "Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up sex and tequila."

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

She looked up again and said, "Never mind. I found one."

-----

Thanks to Josey@SillyGoLucky for this one. Funny and profound at the same time!

Milk

Farmer John was very worried - he had gone to milk his beloved cows that morning but they weren't giving any milk. Something must have spooked them. But when he had asked the cows about it they just eyed each other and moo'd. Farmer John knew he would learn nothing from them - they were blaming each udder.