This one's a bit of an update on a post a couple of times back. If you missed it, this one.
So I took a bit of time to think about what I actually want to be doing with my life and such. And actually came up with some thoughts. Nothing particularly definite and concrete, I'll admit, but a bit more than I had before.
My two big passions are my 'creative' stuff (which encompasses quite a bit), and people. And essentially, what I figured out was just that I don't want those to be only 'spare time' things. I don't want them to be given just whatever I have leftover - I want these to be my focus, what I'm really putting my time and energy into. And with the way the world works, that means getting paid for that in some fashion, or for part/s of that. Which is tricky! But that's the idea.
And in some senses, I think I always knew that. Because I'm not a 9 to 5 worker. I currently work three days a week - when I tell some people that, they ask me why I don't work full-time. I said that that was all that I asked for - and often they look at me like I'm crazy. But I couldn't do full-time work. I really couldn't. I need variety, I need to be doing different things, not just the one thing. And particularly because the jobs I've done have been quite physically demanding - when I'm not exactly built for that - it means that I don't have nearly as much energy or headspace for other things when I'm done. I have no interest in doing a trade, or working in an office, or working as a dishie, or in a warehouse, or basically any standard job, for the rest of my life. That's not me. I'm not a pecker. (My own term. Just go with it.)
So yeah. That's where my thoughtspace is right now. I don't know exactly what that looks like going forward - kinda just praying that God will lead me the right way, open up opportunities for me. Because I can have a million dreams, and thoughts, and ideas (and I often do, being a 4), but I can't do them all; and particularly not if I'm having to do a job at the same time to support myself, let alone a family (hopefully!) at some point.
Think that's about it :)
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Saturday, 16 May 2015
On Trusting Yourself.
So, tonight I was part of this event called Beauties At The Movies. It's essentially a woman's movie night our church does for the women in the community (not just us churchies), and we use it as a bit of a fundraiser for The Hub (which is our community pantry). It's a bit of a night to make the ladies feel special. So I'm there in my top hat, bow tie, suit jacket, vest and suspenders (though you can't see them because of the jacket and vest), and escort the ladies up the stairs as they come in. I also make all the sound and tech stuff work, but that's the important part :)
The movie that we watched tonight was called Mom's Night Out. It was a Christian movie, and one of the things that it really dwelled on was being enough, just in yourself. That as a mum, so often you can try to live up to some perfect standard that you think you have to reach, to try and be "good enough" - but the point of it was, God loves you, just as you are. And God made you, just as you are. So be you. Stop trying to be something more than you. Because you are enough.
I think that's an awesome message. But it actually got me thinking about quite a different idea, as my brain tends to do, in its own weird way. And maybe this is the guy equivalent, I don't know. Though being enough can certainly be a message for guys as well.
One thing I've always struggled with is trusting myself. I do not trust myself with much at all - and even that which I do trust myself with, I almost expect that I'm going to muck it up before long. And, to be honest, that's something that I still struggle with, even now. Even after Impart, after I've revolutionised my ideas of who I am, and who God is. I still find it hard to trust myself.
But here's the crazy thing, right. God does. He seems to trust me. A lot more than I do, pretty much all of the time. He trusts me with situations, people, things - that I probably never would. I might wish for them, hope for them - but I wouldn't trust myself with them. Particularly people. That's kind of a big one. Him trusting me with one of his sons or daughters. Especially the latter, being a guy and all. But he does trust me. And other people seem to as well, more and more. Which is kinda scary sometimes.
Because these are big, important, precious things. And when you see that, part of you says that you want it - but the other part says that you don't want to mess it up. You don't want to break it. And you don't want to risk it. You don't trust yourself. That's been me. But he is trusting me, with the big, important, precious things. And I get the feeling that's not going to change too soon.
And perhaps, if other people are saying they can trust me, and God is saying he can trust me - then maybe I can trust myself, too. And then - God only knows.
The movie that we watched tonight was called Mom's Night Out. It was a Christian movie, and one of the things that it really dwelled on was being enough, just in yourself. That as a mum, so often you can try to live up to some perfect standard that you think you have to reach, to try and be "good enough" - but the point of it was, God loves you, just as you are. And God made you, just as you are. So be you. Stop trying to be something more than you. Because you are enough.
I think that's an awesome message. But it actually got me thinking about quite a different idea, as my brain tends to do, in its own weird way. And maybe this is the guy equivalent, I don't know. Though being enough can certainly be a message for guys as well.
One thing I've always struggled with is trusting myself. I do not trust myself with much at all - and even that which I do trust myself with, I almost expect that I'm going to muck it up before long. And, to be honest, that's something that I still struggle with, even now. Even after Impart, after I've revolutionised my ideas of who I am, and who God is. I still find it hard to trust myself.
But here's the crazy thing, right. God does. He seems to trust me. A lot more than I do, pretty much all of the time. He trusts me with situations, people, things - that I probably never would. I might wish for them, hope for them - but I wouldn't trust myself with them. Particularly people. That's kind of a big one. Him trusting me with one of his sons or daughters. Especially the latter, being a guy and all. But he does trust me. And other people seem to as well, more and more. Which is kinda scary sometimes.
Because these are big, important, precious things. And when you see that, part of you says that you want it - but the other part says that you don't want to mess it up. You don't want to break it. And you don't want to risk it. You don't trust yourself. That's been me. But he is trusting me, with the big, important, precious things. And I get the feeling that's not going to change too soon.
And perhaps, if other people are saying they can trust me, and God is saying he can trust me - then maybe I can trust myself, too. And then - God only knows.
Monday, 11 May 2015
On the Power of Stories and Memory.
I've touched on this a fair few times before, yes. Hopefully this isn't just a re-hash of what I've said before. I don't really know, I don't go back and read my old posts much. But anyway.
One of the ways you know that you've made a good story is if people remember it; and not just that they remember it, but also how they remember it - if they remember it with fondness, joy, excitement, expectation. That's certainly one of the reasons I've always loved writing, and reading - but also what I've often tried to do in songwriting. And it's also, incidentally, what I enjoy the most about gaming. My favourite games are ones that have a great story, that I can really get into. That take time, and develop their characters, and explore and challenge. That's the sort of story I love.
But there's a little advantage, I've discovered, that books, and movies, and TV shows, and games, have over songs in this aspect. You can come back to the same story - the same people, the same situations, and develop that even more. See familiar faces again, familiar places, hear the old voices. And that can be so powerful. (Unfortunately, media companies often know that and milk it for all it's worth, which isn't so great.) And that's not really possible with song - and yet, in a way, it is.
When you write a story in song, you are writing your story. And each time you write another song, you write a different part of that story. They won't always fit together as nicely - but they are still all part of your story that you're telling. And that's pretty cool, I think. :)
As an aside, I decided to do this post because I found out that one of my favourite stories/games is continuing - Mass Effect. That's probably old news now, but I'm pretty excited :) I may just play through it again....
One of the ways you know that you've made a good story is if people remember it; and not just that they remember it, but also how they remember it - if they remember it with fondness, joy, excitement, expectation. That's certainly one of the reasons I've always loved writing, and reading - but also what I've often tried to do in songwriting. And it's also, incidentally, what I enjoy the most about gaming. My favourite games are ones that have a great story, that I can really get into. That take time, and develop their characters, and explore and challenge. That's the sort of story I love.
But there's a little advantage, I've discovered, that books, and movies, and TV shows, and games, have over songs in this aspect. You can come back to the same story - the same people, the same situations, and develop that even more. See familiar faces again, familiar places, hear the old voices. And that can be so powerful. (Unfortunately, media companies often know that and milk it for all it's worth, which isn't so great.) And that's not really possible with song - and yet, in a way, it is.
When you write a story in song, you are writing your story. And each time you write another song, you write a different part of that story. They won't always fit together as nicely - but they are still all part of your story that you're telling. And that's pretty cool, I think. :)
As an aside, I decided to do this post because I found out that one of my favourite stories/games is continuing - Mass Effect. That's probably old news now, but I'm pretty excited :) I may just play through it again....
Thursday, 7 May 2015
On Busyness and Planning.
Hey folks, sorry I haven't been posting much for a while! I've had a few ideas for posts (so hopefully you'll see a couple more in the not-too-distant future, otherwise I'll just have more piling up), but I've had no time - because I've gotten a job! :D
So I now work three days a week as a Casual Warehouse Assistant for Koorong at their warehouse in Erskine Park. For those who don't know, Koorong is a Christian bookstore (in Australia, for overseas readers [which seems to be a lot of you, interestingly!]), and they have about fifteen stores over the country, but just the one main warehouse. I believe they have a smaller one at Ryde/Sydney, but ours is the big one that essentially sends out to all of the stores. So I'm working there 8 - 4, three days a week, and that's kept me pretty busy.
"But Brendan," you say. "That still gives you two other days that you're doing nothing with! Why aren't you working four or five days a week?" Au contraire, my friend. So. Two nights a week, I'm rehearsing for Spamalot with the Campbelltown Theatre Group. (Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam....) I'm Sir Bedevere :) Which is a lot of fun. One night a week, I'm practicing with the Campbelltown Catholic Club Choir (C4). Then I'm also helping out a charity put on another musical in July, and leading the Songwriting Ministry at my church. And part of a band/ministry called Shalom that practices one afternoon a week. So yeah, pretty busy. And then I'm trying to record an album this year as well :P
It's all awesome and great stuff, but it's also a lot of stuff to be happening all at once! It means that I really don't have a lot of time to be working on my own bits and pieces like the album and my music, or do gigs. But I am really enjoying everything that I'm doing :) Which is good.
The thing is, though, I've never really been much of a planner. The most I can think ahead is a few months, maybe. Anything ahead of that is just me dreaming - and I've got too many dreams for that to be any help. Which means it's really hard for me to understand things that are on a bigger scale - things that I might be doing for a year, or two years, or more. My mindset has really just been, "this is what I'm doing for now," but I almost expect it to change. So it's a surprise when it does last for a long time.
But that means that I've never really thought about where I want my life to be going. I've had dreams, like I said. But never any solid or definite ideas, nothing concrete. Some abstract concepts and ideas I want to stick by, but no real direction or focus. And I think that's something that needs to change, particularly because there are so many different things I could do or enjoy. But that doesn't mean that just because I can do it, or do it well, or enjoy it, that I should be doing it. So that's something that I'm going to be trying to figure out, probably for the next while. But we'll see. Hopefully God can help me out a fair bit on this one, because I don't really have any bright ideas.
So I now work three days a week as a Casual Warehouse Assistant for Koorong at their warehouse in Erskine Park. For those who don't know, Koorong is a Christian bookstore (in Australia, for overseas readers [which seems to be a lot of you, interestingly!]), and they have about fifteen stores over the country, but just the one main warehouse. I believe they have a smaller one at Ryde/Sydney, but ours is the big one that essentially sends out to all of the stores. So I'm working there 8 - 4, three days a week, and that's kept me pretty busy.
"But Brendan," you say. "That still gives you two other days that you're doing nothing with! Why aren't you working four or five days a week?" Au contraire, my friend. So. Two nights a week, I'm rehearsing for Spamalot with the Campbelltown Theatre Group. (Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam....) I'm Sir Bedevere :) Which is a lot of fun. One night a week, I'm practicing with the Campbelltown Catholic Club Choir (C4). Then I'm also helping out a charity put on another musical in July, and leading the Songwriting Ministry at my church. And part of a band/ministry called Shalom that practices one afternoon a week. So yeah, pretty busy. And then I'm trying to record an album this year as well :P
It's all awesome and great stuff, but it's also a lot of stuff to be happening all at once! It means that I really don't have a lot of time to be working on my own bits and pieces like the album and my music, or do gigs. But I am really enjoying everything that I'm doing :) Which is good.
The thing is, though, I've never really been much of a planner. The most I can think ahead is a few months, maybe. Anything ahead of that is just me dreaming - and I've got too many dreams for that to be any help. Which means it's really hard for me to understand things that are on a bigger scale - things that I might be doing for a year, or two years, or more. My mindset has really just been, "this is what I'm doing for now," but I almost expect it to change. So it's a surprise when it does last for a long time.
But that means that I've never really thought about where I want my life to be going. I've had dreams, like I said. But never any solid or definite ideas, nothing concrete. Some abstract concepts and ideas I want to stick by, but no real direction or focus. And I think that's something that needs to change, particularly because there are so many different things I could do or enjoy. But that doesn't mean that just because I can do it, or do it well, or enjoy it, that I should be doing it. So that's something that I'm going to be trying to figure out, probably for the next while. But we'll see. Hopefully God can help me out a fair bit on this one, because I don't really have any bright ideas.
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Avengers 2: Re-Avenging!
Firstly, yes, there will be spoilers. I'll try not to have big ones, but there will be.
Sorry about the lack of posting. Been busy lately with a new job. Now working at Koorong's warehouse three days a week! Is cool. But, for now, Avengers!
So, I went to watch the second Avengers movie last night. And yes.
It. Was. Awesome.
As I think I have mentioned before, I am very much a Marvel fan, so I am quite biased. So keep this in mind.
The film launches straight into what we saw at the end of Captain America: Winter Soldier - with the twins and the sceptre. The Avengers launch an assault on the Hydra base holding the sceptre, and manage to recover it, though are a bit shaken up after encountering the twins. (For those who don't know, the twins were basically raised by Hydra, hate Stark, one can go really really fast, the other can do telekinesis and mind games.) They celebrate finally recovering the sceptre; but Banner and Stark happen to find something in the gem of the sceptre - what seems to be the key to unlocking AI. They debate, but decide to go ahead, the idea being that it will protect the world for them. But the simulations keep failing - until they don't, right in the middle of the party. The new AI, Ultron, hears that he has come to bring 'peace' - and sees the Avengers as bringing war, so they must be destroyed. So he crashes the party, with some drone friends - though first killing JARVIS. Avengers are caught by surprise, but they manage to get the upper hand. Only thing is, Ultron is an AI, not a body - and now he's on the Net. They track him down to another spot, where they find he's recruited the twins - to quite disastrous effect. Scarlet Witch basically makes a mess of almost all of the team, and leaves them pretty bad, so they take some rest time, where Thor gets a dream telling them what to do. (Okay, that is pretty bad.) Nick Fury also comes in and gives them a pep talk. Meanwhile, Ultron is trying to get a real body, and when Cap, Barton and Romanoff steal it back, the latter gets taken by Ultron. But in getting a body, Scarlet Witch is able to read his thoughts and see what he's actually up to (destroying the world). So they're now on the Avengers side. They come back with Barton, but that doesn't make people so happy, so everyone starts shouting at each other, particularly when it comes up that Stark is trying to finish what Ultron started with the body, except putting in JARVIS, who has miraculously reappeared! Thor comes back and with his dream, jump-starting JARVIS into the body, creating Vision. Yay, more superheroes! The Avengers then find out where Ultron is keeping Romanoff, and head over there to find out he's lifting up the whole city. Fury arrives in time to get everyone out, and they manage to save the day, of course. The movie ends by showing Cap and Romanoff looking at a bunch of new Avengers - Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, and Falcon.
Phew. Okay.
What I loved about this movie was the character development, and the little stories. I loved Natasha's lullaby for Bruce, and the little play that they had happening. You also really see Barton develop a lot more - we meet his family! - and the interaction between Stark and Bruce was good. You also had a lot more tension happening within the team coming out. One thing that was also great was having characters from the individual franchises come in - first seeing them at the party, but then War Machine hanging around for a bit, and Fury/SHIELD dropping by was cool. Also liked the creation of Vision from JARVIS :D That was quite nicely done.
Admittedly, Thor's dream was a bit of a cheat there. So not entirely happy with that. Also, the Avengers seem to suddenly be traffic controllers, directing dozens and dozens of people out of the way and such. They had a bit of that before, particularly with Cap - but there seems to be more of an emphasis on that, especially at the end of the movie. Cap also now has a thing on his arm specifically to bring the shield back, just like it already magically did before! Doesn't stop him from losing it once, though.
Ultron is also portrayed very well - and quite interestingly, actually. If you've watched a lot of the trailers, he's a lot less serious in the movies, and there's a bit of Stark's humour in there (funnily enough, since he was made by Stark). Which was a bit surprising, but it's a welcome change to have something a bit different.
The next movies coming up are Ant-Man and Civil War - there wasn't any set-up for the former, but there was a bit of tension between Cap and Stark happening to foreshadow the latter. The mid-credits scene also points again towards Avengers 3, like Thor's dream and a whole bunch from Guardians Of The Galaxy.
All up, I really enjoyed this movie - but that's coming from an avid Marvel fan. If you have a different opinion (as I know many do), comment below!
Admittedly, Thor's dream was a bit of a cheat there. So not entirely happy with that. Also, the Avengers seem to suddenly be traffic controllers, directing dozens and dozens of people out of the way and such. They had a bit of that before, particularly with Cap - but there seems to be more of an emphasis on that, especially at the end of the movie. Cap also now has a thing on his arm specifically to bring the shield back, just like it already magically did before! Doesn't stop him from losing it once, though.
Ultron is also portrayed very well - and quite interestingly, actually. If you've watched a lot of the trailers, he's a lot less serious in the movies, and there's a bit of Stark's humour in there (funnily enough, since he was made by Stark). Which was a bit surprising, but it's a welcome change to have something a bit different.
The next movies coming up are Ant-Man and Civil War - there wasn't any set-up for the former, but there was a bit of tension between Cap and Stark happening to foreshadow the latter. The mid-credits scene also points again towards Avengers 3, like Thor's dream and a whole bunch from Guardians Of The Galaxy.
All up, I really enjoyed this movie - but that's coming from an avid Marvel fan. If you have a different opinion (as I know many do), comment below!
Saturday, 4 April 2015
An Easter Prayer.
Did you know that the Bible actually records a prayer Jesus made for us? It's true. You can find it in John 17:20-21, and occurs right before Jesus goes with his disciples to the olive grove, where Judas and the soldiers found them. The words are below.
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."
I love that Jesus' prayer for us was one of unity. Particularly when today, Christians are all over the world, and represent so many different ideas, beliefs, denominations - and we can focus so easily and so often on our differences. But unity is what Jesus wanted for us - and the sort of unity that he and the Father had, being so close as to be one. Each being in the other, together as one.
And I think that it's at times like these - like Easter - that we perhaps come closest to this. Because right now, all over the world, there are Christians celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. No matter whether they're Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Indian, African, Indonesian, English, young, old, male, female - together, they commemorate and rejoice in this time. And I love that :)
Have a joy-filled Easter, everyone :)
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."
I love that Jesus' prayer for us was one of unity. Particularly when today, Christians are all over the world, and represent so many different ideas, beliefs, denominations - and we can focus so easily and so often on our differences. But unity is what Jesus wanted for us - and the sort of unity that he and the Father had, being so close as to be one. Each being in the other, together as one.
And I think that it's at times like these - like Easter - that we perhaps come closest to this. Because right now, all over the world, there are Christians celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. No matter whether they're Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Indian, African, Indonesian, English, young, old, male, female - together, they commemorate and rejoice in this time. And I love that :)
Have a joy-filled Easter, everyone :)
Sunday, 15 March 2015
The great debate!
This isn't so much a review - more just a bit of a response, I think.
A couple of weeks back, I saw the movie God's Not Dead.
If you're not familiar with the movie, the basic idea is that this Christian (Josh) going to university is taking this Philosophy class. The first thing the lecturer, Professor Raddigan does, is to tell all of the students to write the words "God is dead" on a piece of paper, sign it, and hand it to him; this way, they can skip all of the religious debate - which he believes is wasted, because the conclusion is already obvious. Josh, however, won't do it; so Raddigan says he's going to have to argue the antithesis - that is, argue that God's not dead. Josh manages to convince him that the class should be the deciding vote as to what is true; and the rest of the film centres around the debate between Josh and Raddigan, who is an atheist.
Now, there are some things that are done quite well in the film; I love the way that there are lots of different stories being told, and they all weave together towards the end. (Strangely enough, at a Newsboys concert, where the big song is also the title of the movie.) I also quite like that it shows the pastor as not being all-knowing, and not always getting it right - but in a more realistic light, as being human too. Which is good, because they are! I also liked some of the different arguments that were presented in the debate, which were often the more well-known ones, so it does give answers to those if you're not familiar with them.
What I didn't like, though, was how the film portrayed Professor Raddigan. For almost all of the film, he's basically made out to be the big bad guy. He's set in his ways, he's mean, and imposing - and there's really only two times we see this not being the case, maybe three. The first is when we see him with his girlfriend - who, interestingly, is a Christian. And he's quite nice to her; but the deal is, they don't talk about religion, and Christianity. Or rather, she can't. Not too long afterwards, we get a scene where he is quite putting-down of Christians in front of her to a group of his friends, and she leaves.
The second time is when he starts quoting some Scripture in response to something that Josh says - and then Josh asks him, "what happened to you?"
The moment here is probably one of the best in the film. Raddigan turns around and says, "When a twelve-year-old watches his mother dying of cancer, it's only natural to beg God for her life. And he'll promise anything to his make-believe Grandfather in the sky - including to love and worship him forever - if only he will spare her." There's a great exchange, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ozBJgRCJgc
Here, for once, we can see past Raddigan's exterior, and see his inner pain. And this could have been an opportunity for Josh to talk to him, to speak into that - but instead, what do we see happening? In the last argument, Raddigan has decided to go up against Josh in a proper debate, rather than just pitching in at the end. And Josh isn't going easy here - he absolutely slams Raddigan; in the end, coming up to him and asking, "Why do you hate God?" This, repeatedly, insistently, increasingly louder. Until Raddigan finally answers - "Because he took everything away from me! Yes! I hate God! All I have for him is hate!" Josh replies - "How can you hate someone that doesn't exist?"
The class all say that God's not dead (yay, title!), and Raddigan walks out.
In the end, Raddigan is trying to get on to his girlfriend (now ex, because she dumped him); he figures out she's at the Newsboys concert, and starts to walk there. He gets hit by a car running a red light, that speeds away. At the same light happens to be the pastor, who gets out and talks to him - and in his last moments, he accepts Jesus into his life, and the pastor prays for him.
At the beginning of the film, I was following along with Josh; but by the end of it, I was feeling sorry for Raddigan. He was vulnerable with Josh, and then got slammed by him and ridiculed in front of his entire class (about sixty people or so). He's been on a ridiculous emotional journey, and all he gets in the movie to end up with is a deathbed conversion.
I can't say I'm particularly happy with that, to be honest. I think he deserved more of a look, and I think that his character was one of the deeper ones in the film. I think that Christians going to watch this will be encouraged - but atheists going to watch this could well feel quite discouraged, or angry at how they've been portrayed (incidentally, if there are any atheists who have seen the film who are reading this, I would love to hear what you did think about it - I could be wrong!). And I think, given the nature of what the movie is supposed to be, that that's really not helpful.
But anyway - that's what I thought. I think it's a good movie for Christians, or maybe agnostics - but not so much atheists. But what did you think? I'd love to hear your comments about this movie if you've seen it :)
A couple of weeks back, I saw the movie God's Not Dead.
If you're not familiar with the movie, the basic idea is that this Christian (Josh) going to university is taking this Philosophy class. The first thing the lecturer, Professor Raddigan does, is to tell all of the students to write the words "God is dead" on a piece of paper, sign it, and hand it to him; this way, they can skip all of the religious debate - which he believes is wasted, because the conclusion is already obvious. Josh, however, won't do it; so Raddigan says he's going to have to argue the antithesis - that is, argue that God's not dead. Josh manages to convince him that the class should be the deciding vote as to what is true; and the rest of the film centres around the debate between Josh and Raddigan, who is an atheist.
Now, there are some things that are done quite well in the film; I love the way that there are lots of different stories being told, and they all weave together towards the end. (Strangely enough, at a Newsboys concert, where the big song is also the title of the movie.) I also quite like that it shows the pastor as not being all-knowing, and not always getting it right - but in a more realistic light, as being human too. Which is good, because they are! I also liked some of the different arguments that were presented in the debate, which were often the more well-known ones, so it does give answers to those if you're not familiar with them.
What I didn't like, though, was how the film portrayed Professor Raddigan. For almost all of the film, he's basically made out to be the big bad guy. He's set in his ways, he's mean, and imposing - and there's really only two times we see this not being the case, maybe three. The first is when we see him with his girlfriend - who, interestingly, is a Christian. And he's quite nice to her; but the deal is, they don't talk about religion, and Christianity. Or rather, she can't. Not too long afterwards, we get a scene where he is quite putting-down of Christians in front of her to a group of his friends, and she leaves.
The second time is when he starts quoting some Scripture in response to something that Josh says - and then Josh asks him, "what happened to you?"
The moment here is probably one of the best in the film. Raddigan turns around and says, "When a twelve-year-old watches his mother dying of cancer, it's only natural to beg God for her life. And he'll promise anything to his make-believe Grandfather in the sky - including to love and worship him forever - if only he will spare her." There's a great exchange, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ozBJgRCJgc
Here, for once, we can see past Raddigan's exterior, and see his inner pain. And this could have been an opportunity for Josh to talk to him, to speak into that - but instead, what do we see happening? In the last argument, Raddigan has decided to go up against Josh in a proper debate, rather than just pitching in at the end. And Josh isn't going easy here - he absolutely slams Raddigan; in the end, coming up to him and asking, "Why do you hate God?" This, repeatedly, insistently, increasingly louder. Until Raddigan finally answers - "Because he took everything away from me! Yes! I hate God! All I have for him is hate!" Josh replies - "How can you hate someone that doesn't exist?"
The class all say that God's not dead (yay, title!), and Raddigan walks out.
In the end, Raddigan is trying to get on to his girlfriend (now ex, because she dumped him); he figures out she's at the Newsboys concert, and starts to walk there. He gets hit by a car running a red light, that speeds away. At the same light happens to be the pastor, who gets out and talks to him - and in his last moments, he accepts Jesus into his life, and the pastor prays for him.
At the beginning of the film, I was following along with Josh; but by the end of it, I was feeling sorry for Raddigan. He was vulnerable with Josh, and then got slammed by him and ridiculed in front of his entire class (about sixty people or so). He's been on a ridiculous emotional journey, and all he gets in the movie to end up with is a deathbed conversion.
I can't say I'm particularly happy with that, to be honest. I think he deserved more of a look, and I think that his character was one of the deeper ones in the film. I think that Christians going to watch this will be encouraged - but atheists going to watch this could well feel quite discouraged, or angry at how they've been portrayed (incidentally, if there are any atheists who have seen the film who are reading this, I would love to hear what you did think about it - I could be wrong!). And I think, given the nature of what the movie is supposed to be, that that's really not helpful.
But anyway - that's what I thought. I think it's a good movie for Christians, or maybe agnostics - but not so much atheists. But what did you think? I'd love to hear your comments about this movie if you've seen it :)
Monday, 9 March 2015
My Flat Cap.
So. I have a few hats that I have accumulated over the years. But the one that I probably use the most - particularly in the last year or so - has been my flat cap. Picture below!
And my flat cap has a bit of a history, so I thought I might share that.
A few years back, when I was in my second year of uni, I got a job doing catalogue distribution. It had it's high points and low points. High - when it was a nice day, and you didn't have too much to deliver, it could actually be quite nice. Also, since my family was helping me collate it all, that was our unofficial 'family time' together each week. :P Low points: ...most of the rest of it. Low pay, took a long time to do (particularly for someone slow like me), and was not fun on days with bad weather. (Particularly rain, wind, or a combination of the two. Wind in particular would grab your catalogues out of your hands if it could, while rain would absolutely ruin them. Not fun.)
So, I had some weeks I really didn't like it. The other annoying thing was that sometimes we had quite thick bundles.
This was one such week. We had a sample that was included in the bundle, and because of that, it really didn't fit in letterbox slots for the most part. Circles were okay, slots were not. I was tired. And so I had started dropping them on the ground.
Someone noticed, and came up to me. Asked who I worked for. Said he'd be giving them a call, and I should clean up the mess I made. I was a bit startled, but I started to do that. I remember there was a kid playing in the streets there, and he asked me why I was doing it. "Because people don't like it like that," I said. "Oh," he said. I think he found it confusing why people would worry about something like that.
Shortly thereafter, I got a call from my boss. "Someone said you've been throwing catalogues." "Dropping them, not throwing them. They won't really fit in the letterbox slots." "Well...do what you can to fit them in. You can't just have them lying around in the streets." "Yep." "Bye." "Bye."
Not long after that, I got the peak cap. And I wore it on every delivery run I did afterwards. To remind me that, even if I don't like the work I do, I should still do it professionally. I still take it to work with me now, though I don't wear it. But it's a good reminder of that for me. And I'm also told it suits me quite nicely :)
So that's the story of my peak cap! Hope you enjoyed that.
And my flat cap has a bit of a history, so I thought I might share that.
A few years back, when I was in my second year of uni, I got a job doing catalogue distribution. It had it's high points and low points. High - when it was a nice day, and you didn't have too much to deliver, it could actually be quite nice. Also, since my family was helping me collate it all, that was our unofficial 'family time' together each week. :P Low points: ...most of the rest of it. Low pay, took a long time to do (particularly for someone slow like me), and was not fun on days with bad weather. (Particularly rain, wind, or a combination of the two. Wind in particular would grab your catalogues out of your hands if it could, while rain would absolutely ruin them. Not fun.)
So, I had some weeks I really didn't like it. The other annoying thing was that sometimes we had quite thick bundles.
This was one such week. We had a sample that was included in the bundle, and because of that, it really didn't fit in letterbox slots for the most part. Circles were okay, slots were not. I was tired. And so I had started dropping them on the ground.
Someone noticed, and came up to me. Asked who I worked for. Said he'd be giving them a call, and I should clean up the mess I made. I was a bit startled, but I started to do that. I remember there was a kid playing in the streets there, and he asked me why I was doing it. "Because people don't like it like that," I said. "Oh," he said. I think he found it confusing why people would worry about something like that.
Shortly thereafter, I got a call from my boss. "Someone said you've been throwing catalogues." "Dropping them, not throwing them. They won't really fit in the letterbox slots." "Well...do what you can to fit them in. You can't just have them lying around in the streets." "Yep." "Bye." "Bye."
Not long after that, I got the peak cap. And I wore it on every delivery run I did afterwards. To remind me that, even if I don't like the work I do, I should still do it professionally. I still take it to work with me now, though I don't wear it. But it's a good reminder of that for me. And I'm also told it suits me quite nicely :)
So that's the story of my peak cap! Hope you enjoyed that.
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
Learning On The Job + Faith.
Life lessons are called that for a reason. You learn them by living. Through experience - often bad, unfortunately. It seems that those who have had the hardest and most difficult lives can often teach you the most about life.
As such, it feels like a lot of the time I don't have a lot to say. I'm a middle-class white guy, who has always had a roof over his head and food to eat, at the very least. I got to go to school, and university. (And TAFE and Bible college.) I've been able to work, and earn money. I've had incredible friends and family. I have had hard times and things that I've struggled with - things like emotions, and not having money, and people, and my own spiritual journey.
But I haven't had to deal with death. I haven't had to deal with starving, or being homeless. I haven't had to worry about what I say, in fear of the police or the government. I haven't even had to worry too much about peer pressure to do things like alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, or get piercings or tattoos.
And in some ways, I'm really grateful. Because it means that I can focus on helping people that do. But it also means that it's tricky for me to help those people - because I've never gone through it myself! Which is an interesting conundrum.
But one thing I got to talk about recently, which I think I have had some experience in, is faith. And I looked at the example of Abram, or Abraham. Looking at his life, I came up with three main things.
As such, it feels like a lot of the time I don't have a lot to say. I'm a middle-class white guy, who has always had a roof over his head and food to eat, at the very least. I got to go to school, and university. (And TAFE and Bible college.) I've been able to work, and earn money. I've had incredible friends and family. I have had hard times and things that I've struggled with - things like emotions, and not having money, and people, and my own spiritual journey.
But I haven't had to deal with death. I haven't had to deal with starving, or being homeless. I haven't had to worry about what I say, in fear of the police or the government. I haven't even had to worry too much about peer pressure to do things like alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, or get piercings or tattoos.
And in some ways, I'm really grateful. Because it means that I can focus on helping people that do. But it also means that it's tricky for me to help those people - because I've never gone through it myself! Which is an interesting conundrum.
But one thing I got to talk about recently, which I think I have had some experience in, is faith. And I looked at the example of Abram, or Abraham. Looking at his life, I came up with three main things.
God tested, and Abraham worshipped.
God promised, and Abraham believed.
God called, and Abraham listened.
And I think that those are the real markers of faith. Worshipping when you're tested, not just when things go well; believing when God makes promises (and showing that through what you do); and listening when God calls you (not listening to others, or to your fear, or to the world).
Think that's it for now. 'Til next time :)
Friday, 27 February 2015
Jehovah-Jireh.
So, I was struggling for a fair while, economically. I was proper broke for a little bit there, which was not fun. But during that time, I was getting help all over the place from different people that I didn't expect, which was really great and really helpful.
But now, God has come through :D Which is muchly awesome. And in more ways than I expected. And better ways than I expected. And all this sort of thing.
So, Centrelink payments just started to come through, I got my first one yesterday. Thought they would still be a couple of weeks away, so that's pretty cool :)
I also got some work from last week - which isn't great work, it's doing cold calls from a call centre (not as bad as I thought, but still not great) - so that's giving me some money as well.
But, more interestingly/importantly, I got some more work just this week, with a charity - someone had posted up about it on a page that I was following, and they were looking for creatives. So I thought, sure, why not. I met the guy this week, and he's pretty enthusiastic, and he wants me on board :D At present, it's not paid - though he's given me a little money to start off - but we're working towards a musical (yes, you read that right, a full-blown musical) in July (yes, this July), and after that I'll start to get paid. But it's pretty much awesome. It's using basically all of what I know and have learned, and lots of my different skills and passions, which is awesome. And I'm working from home - at least at the moment - so it's really flexible. And it's all going towards something that really matters. So it's a bit of a dream job, you could say. :)
It's made me realise that when you're in a fix and you cry out to God, he doesn't want to just get you out of that place. He wants to bless you, and put you in an awesome place. And yeah, he's really done that for me right now. So I'm pretty happy, as you might be able to tell :)
But now, God has come through :D Which is muchly awesome. And in more ways than I expected. And better ways than I expected. And all this sort of thing.
So, Centrelink payments just started to come through, I got my first one yesterday. Thought they would still be a couple of weeks away, so that's pretty cool :)
I also got some work from last week - which isn't great work, it's doing cold calls from a call centre (not as bad as I thought, but still not great) - so that's giving me some money as well.
But, more interestingly/importantly, I got some more work just this week, with a charity - someone had posted up about it on a page that I was following, and they were looking for creatives. So I thought, sure, why not. I met the guy this week, and he's pretty enthusiastic, and he wants me on board :D At present, it's not paid - though he's given me a little money to start off - but we're working towards a musical (yes, you read that right, a full-blown musical) in July (yes, this July), and after that I'll start to get paid. But it's pretty much awesome. It's using basically all of what I know and have learned, and lots of my different skills and passions, which is awesome. And I'm working from home - at least at the moment - so it's really flexible. And it's all going towards something that really matters. So it's a bit of a dream job, you could say. :)
It's made me realise that when you're in a fix and you cry out to God, he doesn't want to just get you out of that place. He wants to bless you, and put you in an awesome place. And yeah, he's really done that for me right now. So I'm pretty happy, as you might be able to tell :)
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