Exams

So it's finally arrived. Exam time. I travelled to Bridgend, Wales by car, hauling a ton of books with me. Had a microwave curry (Tesco's finest, don't you know) and then settled down to revise for my 3 hour Greek exam tomorrow. I then fancied a cup of tea and so nipped downstairs to pop the kettle on. Neglecting to wear any shoes proved to be a significant error. By the time I had entered the kitchen my socks were augmented by a number of new accessories - what's is that sticking to my sock? A piece of cereal? Rogue pea? A new life-form perhaps? Grim. Anyway, have managed to dust off the soles and return to the relative safety of my room. It's not all bad though - did have a nice little chat with a brother called Hue - he is going to be an assistant pastor at a church (somewhere). Good for him, I hope it all goes well for him. Now back to my Greek. Ahhh.

Laziness can be a great motivator

There are a number of things that men feel obliged to fulfil in order to feel as though they are being a Real Man: protecting and providing for their family; being funny and/or respected; to be able to barbecue; being able to operate technology without instructions... and being able to fix things. This last requirement, in particular, can be a cause of some concern, especially among the younger generation. For, gone are the days when men seemed to be born with an intrinsic knowledge of mechanics, house maintenance and general handiness. Instead, not all, but many modern professional men seem more inclined to 'call in the expert', than to get their hands dirty. Unfortunately, I myself, fall into this bracket. Some may see this as laziness, others as a simple consequence of the need to specialise, and so therefore to be accomplished in their field, but hopeless in others.

However, there are a number of factors that can sway even the most 'specialised' of men to dust off his toolkit, role up his sleeves and get stuck in. In my recent case, these were money and washing-up.

It all started when the dishwasher decided that enough was enough and that it had been faithfully washing our dishes for quite long enough and that it was time for a break. This minor rebellion manifested itself in the fact that the dishes no longer came out sparkling and dry, but wet and smeary. The thought of the cost of calling out a repair man plus the cost of parts was too much to bare, and so it was I found myself scouring the internet for answers. After a little investigation it became apparent that the problem was due to the water not being heated, which could be caused by either a faulty heating element or a fault with the PCB (printed circuit board). What also became apparent was that my particular model of dishwasher was prone to suffering from a dry-joint on the PCB where the relay was soldered on. This all sounded a bit too complicated for my liking.

The wiring loom attached to the PCB,
contained within it's plastic case

Now, my dear wife had been baking and the kitchen was a mess and it became apparent that it was my job to clear up. However, I reasoned that if I could fix the dishwasher, my task would be achieved much quicker. And so it was, that out of sheer laziness and a fear of the washing up mountain, I recalled the instructions and set about the rather daunting task of taking apart my dishwasher. This involved a lot of head-scratching, sweating and procrastinating, but upon investigation, the suspected fault was found, the dry-joint re-soldered and the dishwasher reassembled.

Having fixed the dishwasher, it called for a trial run, and so I loaded everything I could lay my hands on into the dishwasher and set it going – hence I have time to sit and right this blog. But did it work? I've just this moment run downstairs and opened the door mid-cycle and... was engulfed by a cloud of steam. So it appears the dishwasher has been recalled from it's brief holiday and is now merrily heating up the water again. And I feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction – I feel like a Real Man. Who said being lazy was all bad?

Greek principal parts.

Sorry about the lack of updates recently; life has been hectic. The exam season is fast approaching and I'm bogged down in second semester Greek. John Kendall, my lecturer in Greek, feels that it would be beneficial for us to learn the principal parts for a good number of Greek verbs. Good stuff, but... to say it's doing my head in would be an understatement. Oh well, it'll all be worth it in the end :)

New life for the humble Shoe Horn

I don't usually have much use for that rather quaint little tool known as a shoe horn. However, the other day I was preaching at a church in London. A good friend was picking me up on his motorbike and brought along all the necessary gear – including a helmet. Unfortunately, I have been blessed with a rather ample set of ears. And so it was, early one Sunday morning, I found myself trying to squeeze my head and it's accompanying appendages into a rather snug helmet. Let me assure you, undertaking a 45 minute journey on the back of a bike with one's ears folded in half is not to be recommended.

When I thought about this I came upon the solution – a shoe horn. Yes, the humble shoe horn could be used to keep one's ears flat and allow the helmet to be slid on neatly and thus avoid the unpleasant problem of ear folding. Although admittedly whizzing about on a super-bike with a shoe horn stuck in your belt doesn't seem to fit with the biker image, it does make for more comfortable riding!

Flash mob with a difference...

The parting of the Red Sea

A couple of days ago, research was featured in several news stories offering a scientific explanation as to how the waters in the Red Sea could have been parted for Moses. Some concluded that therefore the miracle of the waters parting was not down to the intervention of God, but merely fluid dynamics.

The fact that the waters could have parted at all is no surprise to bible believing Christians. If in the first case one believes in God then His ability to perform the miraculous is a given and so does not present a problem. If however, one struggles with the concept of an miracle-working God, then this research may be of interest, in as far as it appears that what happened is indeed feasible, thus adding weight to the accuracy of biblical account.

So was it an act of God or a freak of nature? If it was a freak of nature we would have to rewrite the account as follows:

After the Israelites had been allowed to leave Egypt, they reached the red sea. However, Pharaoh had second thoughts about releasing his workforce and gave chase. Thankfully, as chance would have it, when Moses stretched out his hand (as directed by the voices is in head), the wind began to blow in just the right direction and at just the right time to open up the sea to allow them to cross on dry land. As the Israelites finished crossing, the Egyptians came to the red sea, saw their chance and followed. Thankfully for the Israelites (and unluckily for the Egyptians) the wind ceased and so the waters came crashing back and removed the threat of an Egyptian attack, thus saving the fleeing Israelites. 

I don't know about you, but the story without God leads to an account which seems more incredible than actual history that the bible claims to record. Furthermore, if the researchers had read Exodus, they could have saved themselves all their efforts into how it happened.

Exodus 14:21: 'Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.' And if they had read Exodus 15:8 they would have found that it was 'by the blast of your [God's] nostrils the waters piled up' and in verse 10: 'But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.'

So I conclude that either the whole story is false, in which case the research is interesting, but of limited relevance in relation to religion. Alternatively, if we believe the biblical account, but ascribe the events to natural causes, we have to accept an awful lot of chance, coincidence and good luck for it to have happened without God. So my view is that God did indeed use the wind – but it wasn't a freak of nature, it was God intervening to save his people – just as we have known and believed for centuries.

Goodbye The Good Agency. Hello God.

After working for over seven years The Good Agency, yesterday my final day was upon me. I've known this day was coming for about two years... but I still can't get my head around what's happening. After an incredibly hectic day I was presented with a card and some vouchers. The card was a piece of technical brilliance, a carefully hand-cut folding TARDIS card (our studio manager had truly outdone himself, I personally thing the BBC could sell this idea). A short time later, a number of us headed off to celebrate my leaving. Everyone has been really nice about it – although I'm still surprised at most people's reactions when discovering I'm going to Bible college – the usual response is an exclamation of blasphemy. 

It was about 10.30pm when I made my weary walk home from the station. Having handed back my mobile phone and said my goodbyes, I was incredibly aware that this, was it; I have waved goodbye to my nice stable job and have stepped out in faith in what I believe the Lord has told me to do. Part of me is petrified at what I have done, but the other part can't wait to see what the Lord will do.