PGCE Husband Support!

My wife has just started her PGCE course. She has been attending now for 2 weeks and already has loads of work to do. She is very stressed and tearful at times and more tired than I have ever seen her before.

I knew going in to this that it would be a tough year for her and I am right behind her ready to support her in any way I can. However I don't think I realised what a tough year I am going to find it. I thought that I would have more time to myself and be able to catch up on stuff life recorded TV series, drumming and the odd pc game. However I am realising this is not going to be the case. Housework and cooking seem to be constantly rearing their heads. I had got off lightly over the summer holiday as my wife was at home and had done most of the jobs.

Now quite rightly I am having to do lots of things, which I don't begrudge as it is part of marriage and my pledge to support her. As well as the emotional support required for any PGCE student I hear. It makes me realise how much she does in the background sometimes.

Now don't get me wrong I am not grumbling or regretting her doing this course. I am 100% behind it and think she will make a remarkable teacher. It has just taken me a little by surprise on just how much I need to step up to the mark to help her.

Is there anyone else who has shared or is going through similar things with their partner on a PGCE course? I would be interested to hear from you!

Cornwall how I love thee!

I recently came back from a week spent down in Devon. That's not Cornwall I hear you say. Well quite correct it isn't. We, my lovely wife and I, thought we would try somewhere different this year. Different in as far as the next county along from Cornwall. We stayed in a log cabin in a woods a few miles south of Barnstable on the north Coast of Devon.

Now the cabin was nice enough and had its own outdoor hot tub. It was very nice to sit in and watch the stars come out to play. That is until the last night when it was quite clear the chlorine content had gone mental and caused my wife and I mild chemical burns over parts of our bodies, but that is another story.

We investigated some of north Devon like Woolacombe sands and parts of Exmoor. It was nice and all that but it just seemed to be missing that sparkle and heart. The drivers on the narrow roads were quite unfriendly and you could tell when they were locals as they just barged through not caring you had to break hard and reverse etc... I don't know what it was but Devon just didn't do it for us. Maybe we were in the wrong part and the south is nicer for touristy type things.

As we were near the border we drove several times in to Cornwall and immediately felt better. I love Boscastle as a place and we had a fantastic Cream Tea in the Spinning Wheel cafe there. They are recovering well and I was glad to see that the Tourists are flocking to see it as they need the money to recover. In fact it is busier now than ever before.

I just love the coastline of Cornwall. I can always sit and watch the sea whatever coast I am at but Cornwall is special. It just seems more alive than anywhere else. I was pondering while sitting out rock from where I took the above photo what it was that calmed me when I am in places like that. I realised that it gives an inkling into the awesome power and beauty of its creator. Some places are like that and I am sure everyone has their special place. For me the rocky cliffs and sandy beaches of the Cornish coast seem to life my spirit, calm my heart and bring me nearer to God.
We sat and watched the sun go down over Widemouth Bay near Bude eating a takeaway fish and chips.

Widemouth Bay as the Sun sets. Stunning!

I would one day like to move to Corwnall. However there is not much work for a Computer person there. Oh well, stop day dreaming and get back to the realities of work etc...

Doubts voiced over emergency pill!

A recent article on the BBC website states the following:

Making emergency contraception more available has failed to reduce abortion rates, a family planning expert says!

Well 'No **** Sherlock' was my first though on that report. I know not a great thing to immediately think but nevertheless I did. Sadly the solution by the experts is better education in getting people to use contraception before and during sex rather than think of this as a form of adequate protection against pregnancy.

When will these so called experts see that it is a far wider issue than a bit of education or a pill that will fix the problem of high abortion rates in the UK. A GP on the news this morning said a sensible thing that she thought it was partly to do with the fact that it is now seen as more morally acceptable to have an abortion in the UK now than it was 20 years ago.

I think she is right and I think it is incredibly sad that we in the UK have the highest abortion rate in the EU and that is it socially and morally acceptable to kill an innocent child before it has the chance of living its life because a selfish person has sex and is not prepared to take the consequences of their actions.

Once again no one is saying that maybe the attitude to sex and contraception and the way sex education is done is failing and that teaching people to hold back and wait before having sex outside of a relationship strong enough to accept the birth of a child. It is a culture that devalues the life of a child by its definition of at what point a thing growing inside you becomes a child with the rights that endows.

What a crazy mixed up world this is!

The following link is an article that has a much more sensible response to the research.

Mel Gibson messed up! (don't we all?)

If you have read my favorite film list on my MSN space then you may have guessed I am a big Mel Gibson fan. It was with sadness I read of his re-lapse with alcohol and of his comments when stopped for speeding.

Of course there is no excuse for drink driving on any level and thank goodness the Police stopped him before he injured or killed himself or someone else. He must face whatever penalty the law requires of him with humility.

The statement he put out I thought was honest and fairly humble. He has battled alcoholism for years and this re-lapse must be very upsetting for both him and his family. He has wisely sought to get help for this episode and I hope he picks himself up and is all the stronger for it in his recovery.

Now for the remarks he made in a rant after he was stopped. I don't know what prompted the remarks or what his actual feelings are but it is fair to say that when drunk people say things that are not necessarily what they mean and wouldn't otherwise say.

I think it is deeply sad and shameful that the press has jumped on and focused on the comments rather than the tragic re-lapse of falling off the wagon and the potentially deadly drink driving. Those above all must have been incredibly difficult for his family and him.

In this day and age supposed free speech has absolutely gone out the window. What used to be just passed off as criticism or someones opinion is now taken as say Islamophobia, homophobia or Anti-semitic. It is fine to criticise certain groups in this country or the US but say anything against minority groups who happen to have a big loud voice and you are immediately labelled as a phobic of some sort. The PC crowd go mad!

The Jews may yet have some sort of part to play in the future before the return of Christ, depending on your theology, however as they have done many times in the past they have lost their way currently I think and must still acknowledge Christ as the only way to be saved. I don't agree with the intense military action being carried out by either side in Lebanon. But Israel is being very heavy handed in targetting civilians and if any other western country did the same there would be hell to pay, as indeed there will be. Of course Hezbollah targets civilians, they are a terrorist movement and have dumb rockets and there is no justification for it at all. But even the US, with their reputation for missing sometimes with accurate smart bombs, don't target civilians if they can help it at all. Western democratic nations must set a higher example of compassion for the innocent and bringing justice to murderers.

I am not Anti-Semitic in any way but that doesn't mean I can't criticise them! A large amount of the problems in the Middle East are indirectly associated with Israel. Don't get me wrong I am not saying they are the cause of most of it. But with fundamental Islamics desire to see 'Zionist Israel' wiped off the map then there is not much hope for peace in the region until all sides accept violence absolutely will not sort this problem out. History shows that to be the case!

As is obvious from reading anything I tend to post I am a card carrying Christian. Last year when Jerry Springer the Opera was shown on BBC2 there was a lot of complaints from Christians as quite frankly the content of that play is blasphemous in the extreme. However the Christians who complained were labelled as fundamental evangelicals and then ignored completely. If that play had been about Islam or Judaism or any other religion for that matter then the outcome would have been very different. The inbalance and hypocrisy is quite staggering in the media.

Well my own rant over back to Mel. As for if he will work again etc... in hollywood. Of course he will! He is a brilliant actor and a great director. I know Hollywood has a lot of Jewish influence within it but I doubt very much if it is enough to affect Icon or Mel himself in any long term way. I also think he is wise enough and has indeed done so, to build bridges with the Jewish community.

Keep on that Wagon Mel!

Superman Returns - Review

Well I finally saw Superman Returns last Saturday. I had watched the trailer several times and was looking forward to the film. The original Superman the Movie with Christopher Reeve had a great impact on me as a child so I was hoping Bryan Singer had been faithful to its source. I had heard several reports from folks who didn't like the film for various reasons.

After more trailers than I have ever seen at a film it started. With the first note of that iconic theme tune you knew this was more than a passing nod to what had gone before. The titles were similar to the original, obviously updated with modern graphics. This was definitely a superman film!

Brandon Routh bears more than a passing resemblance to CR and his Clark Kent even sounded very much like him, almost spooky! I thought he did a good job and stepped up to the role with conviction and heart.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor hammed it up as you would expect and demand when given such a classic villain to play. He does over the top insane menace like no other.

Kate Bosworth is the main weak point of the movie. Her portrayal of Lois Lane was a bit limp. Lois is supposed to be a feisty and strong headed character but here we get a slightly annoying and far too young Ms Lane. It doesn't spoil the overall film however.

The special effects are outstanding with the major set pieces show casing the capabilities of modern technology. I particularly liked the smaller details like the sonic wave whenever Superman flew off quickly.

I had previously read about the Christ references throughout the film and thought they would be very subtle. However there are some startlingly obvious references throughout. I don't know if they were intended or not. Two obvious ones are where Superman has his first deep chat with Lois after he's been away for five years. She has written an article entitled 'why the world doesn't need Superman'. He takes her for a fly and says "...you say the world doesn't need a saviour, yet every day I hear millions of people crying out for one." and the other comes from Jor-El along the lines of "...the world just needs a light to show them the way, for that reason I sent you, my only son!". I found it interesting that they are there. I guess we are used to the other darker, flawed super heroes that are portrayed in modern films, that we can relate to better. Superman comes out of the remnants of the second world war where people needed hope and a pure hero to look up to. A character that stands for truth and justice etc...

(speaking of the traditional truth, justice and the American way that superman has always been mooted as standing forI thought it was good they left off the American Way bit when Perry White states that line. At least the script writers are aware of the worlds opinion of 'the American Way' and wisely chose to leave it out)

I thought the film was well done overall. Superman is a character that makes you feel hopeful and safe. However bleak things look superman wins out in the end. It has the feel of nostalgia along with the modern look. A nice touch is the dedication to Christopher and Dana Reeve in the end credits.

Judging by what is going on in the world at the moment it is quite obvious the world does need a saviour. That saviour is not a fantasy figure but is real and brings hope and security in a world with very little. Superman is fiction, Jesus Christ is not!

Genome Cracker becomes Christian

The man who cracked the human Genome has become a Christian. See this article! I hope he will eventually go one step further away from Theistic evolution to Biblical creation.

This goes slightly against the article on the BBC site currently regarding 'Scientists urge evolution lessons'. A load of 'eminent' scientists have got together to say how Evolution 'facts' must be taught in school. The article to quote 'It lists key facts on evolution that "scientific evidence has never contradicted"'.

I read the PDF file linked on the site that is the scientific community's statement. I am sorry I didn't read any statement there that is scientific fact, theory yes but not fact. Many scientific theories contradict every one of those supposed facts. What they quote as fact cannot possibly be proved because it cannot be observed. True science is about observable testifiable fact. Yes that means Creation cannot be proved either, but it is just as scientific since it takes the same evidence and applies the same scientific method but comes to different conclusions and theories. It is purely from what world point of view you approach the evidence as that shapes your conclusions regardless of how much you protest you are impartial.

It is perfectly understandable and expected that some scientists will turn to God when they study creation '...since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.' - Romans 1:20

A response to the Scientists publication from Answers in Genesis can be found here!

Sexual Abstinence vs Be Careful!

There has been a lot in the media recently about a growing movement in the UK promoting sexual abstinence (don't have sex until married) as opposed to the liberal normal view of it's ok to have sex as long as you use contraception and are careful etc...

The media attention has focused around an issue between a school and pupils over not allowing them to wear a ring signifying their pledge to sexual purity. I am very aware of this since the father of the family involved is the Leader of my church.

It started last year with an article in the West Sussex county Times about the school refusing to allow Phil's daughter to wear the ring in school as it went against the schools dress code. Recently this has gone to national press in the Guardian news paper and on GMTV on Monday 19th June. These article seem to me to actually give a fair representation for once. As opposed to when it was mentioned in a recent Channel 4 dispatches programme by Rod Liddle entitled 'The New Fundamentalists'. This was an appalling piece of journalism but should have been expected given the history of the journalist in question. For a challenge to the claims made in this programme click here.

My church is at the forefront of this movement in the UK and is fully backing what is called the Silver Ring Thing (click on the link to find out more). Now while I am deeply skeptical about these kind of programmes as they can so often be just another bandwagon to jump on, I think this has some important things to say.

I live close to Crawley in West Sussex and Crawley has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the UK. Now I am not going to point the finger at any one thing that may be behind the UK's escalating STD, teen pregnancy and abortion rates. I am not that naive as to think it is all caused by one particular issue. However it is clear that something is quite staggeringly wrong with the way things are at present. Why do so many teenagers think it is ok to have underage sex, why are so many ignorant about the choices they have? How in this day and age and so called 'respect' for life is the attitude 'if I get pregnant I can always have an abortion' allowed to be maintained as a respectable if not regrettable choice.

The SRT basically educates teenagers, although not exclusively, that Sexual abstinence is a choice open to them. Standing against what is presented day in and day out in the media and saying that being a virgin before you are married is a perfectly valid choice and all this rubbish about the more partners you have the better love life you will have is exactly that, rubbish!

Now I cannot comment first hand on the material of the SRT and the criticisms against it about not teaching teenagers about contraceptive choices leading to greater risk of pregnancy and STD's if they break the pledge. If all the education they got was that then I would possibly agree but teenagers are bombarded with info about it in school and out so there is no reason to also include it in SRT at this point. On the other hand clearly all the info teenagers do get isn't working to reduce the rates of pregnancy and STD's so it is not such a good argument anyway.

At the end of the day you make your own choice. Abstinence is a valid choice and from a Christian point of view biblical way to live outside marriage. We should be giving our young folks all the support they need to make valid choices. Present them with both sides, educate them about contraception and its pro's and cons and that abstinence is the only 100% way to steer clear of STD's and unwanted pregnancy. Educate young people to GASP! Take responsibility for the choices they make. If you have sex you must expect the possibility of a baby and killing it isn't really the option without consequences that is so often spouted by 'pro-choice' groups. Let common sense prevail and call an end to this wishy washy liberal attitude of no moral absolutes in modern society.

For Christians the Bible is clear that you should only have one sexual partner in life, excluding your marriage partner dying and re-marrying after that and divorce being a big grey area. But on the other hand there is total forgiveness and restoration if/when you fail to keep that pledge or live up to that ideal. No matter what you have done God will forgive you when you turn to him! That is not licence to carry on Sinning (shock he used the S word).

Daily Mail Article re this issue

(You) Understand

Understand

Every time I fall down on my face
I see the one who bore all my shame
To know that you are everything I need you to be
You're my ever present help in time of need

I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again
Every Pain I feel inside my heart
It takes a faith I know I can't depart

To know that you hear every cry I raise to you
Bringing thoughts of hope
The words I bring I know are few

I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again
You hear me when I call
You're there when I fall
You hear me when I call
I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again

Words by Jeremy Camp from the Album Stay (p) 2002 Bec

Changing Rooms or Changing Lives?

I have recently been doing some DIY type stuff. Mainly tiling in my kitchen at the moment. Boring I hear you say................................. 'boring' - (thank you!) However it is whilst I am doing those kinds of things that God tends to point things out to me and last week He did just that.

We have just had our Kitchen and bathroom replaced, hence the DIY. Whilst I was tiling I realised I was covering over some very ropey walls with nice new tiles. Also you fill holes and then paint over them. The end product looks all new and clean and you look on it with some pride at what you have achieved. You then welcome visitors to see your nice new look!

But it is all skin deep! The paint has covered over filler and cracks, the tiles cover over the dodgy wall underneath. Take it all off and you are still left with grey plaster, old paint etc... This is exactly what we do with our lives. Often DIY can be a way of making surface changes to cover over how we feel underneath as people. We re-arrange our lives quite regularly, new job, new clothes, new look, new car etc... In the church we can be guilty of doing the same thing except we dress it up in spiritual language. What spiritual gifts can I get this week, what new fad can we get involved with this year. I am not saying at all that this is always the case or that individual giftings are always used this way. But the church and church members are not immune by any stretch.

All these things are designed to take our focus away from what is underneath. Often we feel unlovely, unloved, hopeless, unacceptable, dirty etc... underneath the surface of our lives. By doing the above changes it helps us not feel those things. I Corinthians 13 is possibly the greatest description of Love ever put on paper. The first 3 verses describe having everything but without love it is all for nothing. Now what God said to me in that was that those verses do not just mean doing those things described with love as is commonly interpreted. It also means that we must firstly have God's love rooted in our hearts from which we can then do those things in love.

If we focused more attention on learning who we are before God and how much His Love for us has the power to change us inside out we would spend less time focusing on covering over and redecorating the surface of our lives. We would also be in a position to actually look at what is under the surface with the confidence that it won't overwhelm us knowing that God is right there with us holding us in His arms!

To My Beautiful Wife!

What I love about you:

I love that you married me!
I love the way you dance.
I love your beautiful big smile.
I love that you are humble enough to say you are sorry!
I love that you will put up with my choice of films.
I love your arms wrapped around me.
I love your dedication to study to do the job you have always wanted to do.
I love your sexy eyes!
I love that you still want to snuggle up on the sofa.
I love that you keep my feet on the ground.
I love your loyalty
I love your quick wit.
I love walking with you
I love sitting on a beach with you
I love the bits you hate!

Most of all I Love You!