rugby rivalry

when it comes to rugby, william cheers for wales and harry cheers for england. wales beat england in the rugby world cup this weekend. 
and i'm a fan of this picture.

Yom Kippur

"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with his commandments..."
 
I always want to celebrate the Jewish feasts, but never have the opportunity to. Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a day of confession and repentance. I didn't really observe it, because while I knew it was coming up, I was too busy to look into when exactly it was, and then figured I missed it. Which I technically did. 
However, Wednesday night I missed church because happy hour with work (a goodbye for gotsg :( ) went too long. I had really wanted to go to church because I knew I needed it. But in missing church, I got home earlier than I would've, which left me time for a good quiet time, which I came to realize I needed even more. I needed a time of digging. I told God that I was going to be selfish that night and not pray for anyone else, not use my rosary beads for anything other than things pertaining to me. And I felt Him saying, 'Go ahead.' And so I dug. And it was yucky. But as CS Lewis said, 'The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object.' I know I was in His presence. I squirmed a lot - both literally and figuratively. I was convicted of many things, and so confessed many things, and begged Him to help me be more in tune to them and help me to take them more seriously so that I may fight them and stop letting them get in the way of my relationship with Him. 
So this year I kind of observed Yom Kippur almost on the day. I just thought that was kind of cool when I figured that out.

weddings

current feelings toward them:
part of me wants to get married just to not have a wedding and showers and all that crud, just to prove that it can be done without all this falderal.

"I Need Thee Every Hour," by Annie S. Hawkes

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

 

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

 

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

 

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

Book Review: "Fians, Fairies, and Picts," by David MacRitchie

I have been curious about the Picts (the people who were in Scotland before the Scots) ever since I heard about them, probably mostly because I never had. I finally checked the library website to see if they had anything on them. They have three books, one of which is for in-library use only. The website didn't give any info about any of the books, so I just chose one. The one I chose sounded like it could be about their legends and mythology, also the newest of the two.
Nope. It's from 1893 (the website said 1974, but that's when it was reprinted apparently), and it's about how the Picts were Fairies and Fians. I hadn't heard of Fians before, but it appears they were a warrior people in Ireland way back when Picts were around. I wouldn't have thought they were Fairies either.
I found the book fascinating, not so much because of the topic (the book didn't really say anything), but because of the way it was written and the glimpse into what research was like in the late 1800's. His basic argument seemed to be something like, "These peoples were all short in stature, therefore they're the same." He was a tad racist, but in an ignorant, 1893 way, not an offensive way. Seeing the history of his writing style was just plain interesting.

"In regarding the Fians as a race of dwarfs, I do not overlook the fact that they are also spoken of as 'giants.'....the word 'giant' has very frequently been used to denote a savage, or a cave-dweller. No more appropriate illustration of this can be found than the local tradition that a certain artificially hollowed rock in the island of Hoy, Orkney, was the abode of a 'giant and his wife.' Now, this same 'giant' is also remembered as a 'dwarf,' and the largest cell in his dwelling in only 5 feet 8 inches long. Similarly, there is in Iceland a certain Trollakyrkia (literally 'the dwarf's church') which is translated 'the giants' church.'...Fians, then, are closely connected with the 'little people' called 'Fairies.'"
And Fians and Picts are the same because they lived in the same kinds of houses. Which local people sometimes called Fairy houses. So Fians and Picts are the same, and clearly are Fairies.

Yes, of course.

I wouldn't go to this book for any kind of archaeological or ethnographical purpose as far as the Picts and Fians go, but for the ethnography of 1893 researchers, I found it very entertaining.

Movie Review: "Robin Hood"

Apparently I'm kind of on a Russell Crowe kick. "Gladiator," "Les Miserables," and now "Robin Hood." It all started because the "Gladiator" and "Robin Hood" soundtracks popped up on (one of) my movie scores soundtrack station(s) on Pandora. They both have amazing soundtracks. A-mazing. But I had never seen "Robin Hood," so I decided I should.
I liked it well enough, though it's a little slow - I watched it in two sittings. I remember when it came out thinking, "Russell Crowe as Robin Hood? He's too old and not dashing, as one expects Robin Hood to be." But I liked him in the role anyway. He may not be dashing, but he's manly, and that worked. I also liked Kevin Durand as Little John, but as I have a soft spot for big guys no matter what, I probably would've liked whoever they had in that role. (Though I guess I did have a guilty thing for him when he was a mercenary on "Lost." Though the fact that he's big may have influenced me then as well.) The movie was lacking a little in their relationship, though, which is sad because I really like the friendship of Robin Hood and Little John. This version just didn't take much time for it.

The saddest thing, though, is that it felt like it was setting up for more movies, but as it wasn't a hit there won't be more. I think it's sequels would have been better, and better for having had this go ahead of them. It even ended with something saying, "And so the story begins" or something like that. 
One other thought was something I first noticed when watching "Gladiator" again and then paid attention to in "Robin Hood." While yes, both movies are rated R for violence, for the most part they aren't gross. Yes, there are a few things in each, but for the most part, at least in these two movies, Ridley Scott gives you a sense of violence, rather than a view of it. Primarily he uses chaos to give the effect in a battle or whatnot. And that would be why I can watch his movies without having to peek through my fingers like I did for "The Patriot" and do for some others. That's better directing as far as I'm concerned.
Overall "Robin Hood" is good; the problem is that it's a bit like it's setting you up for a story that you never quite get to. So take that as you will. I say if you want to watch it, watch it; if you don't care, you don't have to bother.

faith night, the sadly non-important part

i was sitting next to a man who was there with what appeared to be a jr high baseball team. there was a row of them sitting behind us with one adult, and then the man next to me and a younger boy, probably a younger brother who got to tag along, and one other boy, who was able to move back with the rest of the team when they saw there was an open seat. when they all came to sit down, i thought, ooh, maybe the man will sit next to me. he really should. 35-40ish, no ring, light brown hair, stubbly beard, nice eye wrinkles, and he smelled good (like soap, not like strong cologne or something). i'd guess two of the boys were his, but i don't mind. they were all very well-behaved, and they went to faith night after the game.
but i'm so bad at the whole 'hi, what a nice group of kids you have here. is it a baseball team?'-type talking to attractive men, that i remain single.
he did have a sweatshirt that said the name of the town that my parents are vacationing at this week, so i told them if they go to church to keep an eye out for him. my dad said he would be sure to sniff all the young men to see if they fit my description.

twins faith night

the twins haven't had a faith night since moving to target field five years ago. finally they had one! and estimates are that there were about 4,500 in attendance (and there wasn't even a band for an extra draw). they're hoping to be able to do it again next year. :) in the past I've done quick summaries of what the boys talked about, so i'll do the same now.

brian dozier went first. he talked about glorifying God in all that we do. and he had a really good quote, but i can't remember it. :(








next was eduardo escobar (in spanish, with the spanish chapel leader translating). the interpreter's accent was thick, which made it difficult, but one thing that struck me was that he said it was his wife's influence that led him to Christ and that keeps him on fire. steven baldwin says the same thing. it shows what an influence a wife has, and what an impact non-preachy living out of one's faith can have.


blaine boyer was third, and he was just excited to get to be sharing his testimony and encouraging people. i can't remember what he said specifically, but you could tell he's living for Christ. the man behind me said, 'boyer should be an evangelist!'





kyle gibson came next and he talked about trusting God through the hard things, and how He is always faithful.







then the chaplain spoke. he talked about a local boy who died recently from meningitis, but they thought originally it was a bacteria in a lake he had been swimming in. this story apparently has been in the media in different places in the country and around the world. shortly before he died he had felt that God was calling him to share Christ among the nations. this was probably not the way he had in mind, but it's an example of God fulfilling His purposes for us. it may be in days or weeks or years, and it may or may not be how we expect it, but God is always faithful.

and finally came torii hunter, sharing his faith, and then also laying out the Gospel, encouraging people to read the Gospels to know and understand Christ more intimately. a good finish.


although that wasn't completely the finish because we all sang 'amazing grace' (with dozier on guitar), with the worship team that had led us in a few songs earlier. a great night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18q1Fo1IDYo

yay three day weekend - if i can make it til then

i have things to post, but just don't have time right now. work has been so busy, and i've had stuff going on every day on top of that. i'm not good at this!