POV:  You're on the cross next to Jesus. You're in anguish and your need release. Peace. And Jesus says to you "This day you will be with me in paradise."

​This is the feeling that washed over you:

One line in this one has stuck with me more than anything else.

My understanding is that you can't. The golden rule in so many walks of life is a variation on "Love Thy Neighbour", which gets more focus than "As you love yourself." If you don't know how to love you well, I'm not sure I want you to love me in the same way. Or if you think you can love me as your neighbour, I want you to be able to love yourself in the same way.

I found this one whilst planning an Act of Worship for a Secondary School... On "Resilience" believe it or not...

Resilience isn’t mentioned in the bible. I tried to find a greek word as to what it means so that I could check in the geeky apps and things I use to make sure.

The word that came back was this one… ελαστικότητα (Elastikótita)
However you pronounce it, that first bit is where we get our word “Elastic” (I could tell that without looking it up)
So what have I learned? Let's think about Elastic vs Plastic…

Ever have one of those moments where you start listening to a song and you kind of recognise the voice but it just doesn't quite fit with the music you're hearing?

My friend Sarah introduced me to the Arctic Monkeys way back when she got their first album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" before they properly made it big. And then I kept up with them into the second album, but after that they drifted off my radar.

Coming back into listening in 2022 with "The Car" I realised I'd missed a lot. There was a whole musical journey that had gone on in the four albums in between! The voice was the same, but the rest of it left me thinking that I ain't quite where I think I am!

Anti-heroes are complicated and misunderstood... And I find them fascinating!
Are they heroes?
Don't they kind of look a lot like the villain?
Do the ends really justify the means?

A while ago I did a podcast with a friend of mine thinking about the "Black Adam" film and theology, and I talked a bit about anti-heroes there.

But what about me?

Here's something you probably need to hear:

Nothing I need to add.

There's a degree of pressure on us when we do that.

To “hold a mirror up to" is a phrase meaning “to take a look at oneself objectively to examine or reflect on things (issues) stemming from the reality of reflection; to reveal to someone about the way they look (differently) to the rest of the world (so that they can reflect upon themselves); expose, show up, bring to light (some (unpleasant) aspects to oneself)”.

Community done badly holds up images of the ideal alongside the mirror and tells us all the ways we don't measure up.

This one is about forgiveness.

Watch this long, uncomfortable and difficult TED talk, and then have a listen to the song.

Sometimes songs just get an "AMEN!"

This is one of those. And I think it speaks for itself as a song... I'm not sure what I can add!

Anyone else feel it?

Human kind has been on a journey round light:
We sat round a fire and told stories as communities and clans;
We moved indoors and read stories around the fireplace, or listened to them on the radio;
The radio got replaced by the television and we continued to have less responsibility in telling the story, though we were all still pointing in the same direction;
Nowadays the TV is still in the corner of the living room, and the seats still point towards it, and it ever continues to burn out a light and tell stories, but whilst it tells its stories I tune it out and disappear into the light of the screen in my hand. It tells stories, paints pictures and shows things to me. I experience them alone, along with millions of other people, and occasionally I send them to other people on social media so that they too can enjoy them alone.