The Vultures are circling

It's not often that I feel able to think at 10:15pm but as I am on holiday and pretty much spent the day playing playstation, my brain is more active than usual at this time of night.
Anyway, so I have been playing this game called, "Red Dead Redemption." It is so big that you can get lost in it but my thought today hasn't been of how often we can create our own little world that we lock ourselves into and get lost in, no, my thought has been about vultures.
The vultures circle whenever someone is in trouble or has been shot in the game. You see vultures and you know that your path is about to become a bit more complicated and bit more "troublesome".
Mmmmmmm . . . ever notice how that happens in real life? I don't write this out of current experience but I have experienced it often. Just when you think you might be comfortable, or have something figured out or have made a big decision, the vultures circle and complicate it.
In the game its not always a bad thing, it usually means progress possible (that's if the vultures are not circling around your corpse). It might mean that but it is never nice or comfortable to have to deal with in real life. I guess that's the problem with life . . . it's messy and complicated and fuzzy. At the same time that's what makes it worth it.

Jesus said, "Do you finally believe? In fact, you're about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I'm not abandoned. The Father is with me. I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." John 16

Vitamin String Quartet

I've been listening to the Vitamin String Quartet on Spotify this week. Yeah, I know, you are familiar with who they are! Well if you have fallen off the end of the world and have no idea who this fantastic string quartet are, let me explain. VSQ as they are known are a very talented string quartet whose main purpose in life is to rearrange modern pop, rock, metal and alternative music into really great string quartet type music. So for instance you can listen to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica or "Thriller" by Michael Jackson or "Mood Rings" by Relient K, and the list goes on. I reckon they churn out about a zillion albums a year judging from the pain in my right hand from all the scrolling down I had to do in Spotify. The thing is they are very good. The arrangements are well thought out, fun and nice to listen to. Good background sort of stuff. But I have been left wanting more if I am honest. I found myself wanting to listen to James Hetfield singing, and actually at some point I swapped to the REAL thing. I gave up on the "reworked" imitation because the real thing is far more inspiring and impacting on my life.
I know what you're thinking and yes its only music but it made me wonder about how often we settle in our lives for a "reworked" image of someone else's inspiration and creativity? How often are our desires, values, aspirations and actions simply are reaction to what we have seen in someone else's life? How often are our lives simply a re-imagining of what someone else has done or said?
I know why we do it. It because it's easier. The other way is much more work. It is much easier live in Mark Driscoll's thoughts and opinions on faith (by the way I love Mark Driscoll in case you think I am slamming him) than to actually experience what God has to say to me in his Word. And it isn't just about faith stuff, it applies to all of life.
It's a challenging thought. It seems to me those that make the most impact in their world are the one's who don't settle for someone else's life or someone else's thoughts on things.

"No one's ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him."
1 Cor 2:9

Burnsdown Day #10

Today is Burnsdown Day. My own personal holiday. Not that I ever get to take it off but still it's my day! On 7 Feb I remember one of the most significant events in my life, the day my flat burned down. Depressing right? Not really. You see for me Burnsdown Day is a marker that set a lot of God's plans in my life into motion. Most importantly it is marks the beginning of my relationship with my beautiful wife, Monique. You see when I was homeless, I was taken in by Monique's family and our friendship grew from there. It's not often that someone is thankful for a personal disaster, and believe me I wasn't at the time, but looking back 10 years I am so thankful for that night and would not change it for the world.
So today is the tenth Burnsdown Day. The tradition I keep on Burnsdown Day is to replace one of the CD's that I lost in the fire. It's become a difficult task 10 years down the road, mainly because I have forgotten so many and also because so many of them are not in "print."
So what to do . . . As it's 10 years I think that means I can change the rules a bit. So iTunes is fair game and perhaps I will start to look forward slightly and get something that I have always wanted but have never gotten around to getting.
I guess what I am trying to say is that I think its important in life to look back and see what God has done but there comes a time to use what you have experienced and learned and move forward or in a new direction.

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."
Philippians 3:12 - 14

Noisetrade

I have this week been discovering the joys of an awesome website called Noisetrade. It is a site where you can download free music. Yes I said free music. Yes you can "tip" the artists but ultimately if you don't want to then you are still able to download the entire album. The only thing they ask for is a trade. You have to give them your email address!
The site is all about giving "indie" artists exposure so they are happy for you to have their music and hope that you will tell others about it using Facebook etc.
Its a great idea!
The downside, if any, is wading through the heaps of music to find stuff that you like but there is certainly something for everyone.