Dragonflies

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a dragonfly had been hanging around Brent's car, right outside our house. It would fly in, land on the antenna, sit for a while, fly off and come back, and repeat this over and over, day after day. It was a lovely, vivid red colour and moved in a charming way. Why, I wondered, was it here? Why did it hang around Brent's car, on our doorstep? I think the answer for this dragonfly's presence was love, for, about a week after it appeared, another dragonfly appeared, the same vivid red. He (I guess the gender) waited for the dragonfly to land on the antenna and proceeded to glide prettily around it. When the first dragonfly took off, the second followed, dancing all the while around the steady flight of the first. It warmed my heart. And I wrote a song about dragonflies. Find that song here: http://www.myspace.com/mrgavinlewiswright

As I write, hundreds of thousands of people from all over Lebanon (and quite a few from outside Lebanon) are casting their votes in the national general election. The race is tight—both coalitions promise change, both promise safety, security, stability, higher wages, better living conditions and things that people the world over are promised by various politicians on a reasonably frequent basis. And many believe them, many place their hope for the future of this country in the hands of a few men that have promised good things for them.
The only problem is this: men (and women) let us down. Our politicians rarely fulfil all of their promises. Historically, no human leader (as far as I’m aware) has left his constituents perfectly satisfied, perfectly affluent, or perfectly safe. And I don't think this election will be any different.
Humans have a pretty poor track record in leading selflessly, honestly and faithfully. The Bible says that “...there is no one who does good, not even one” that is, not that we do no good things, but that even in our best moments, we are not perfectly good—each of us tainted by sin, often by selfishness or by self-glorifying motives. None of us, then, is completely trustworthy, or completely honourable, which makes voting hard.
What to do then? Should we put our hope somewhere? Or consider everything as hopeless? Psalm 145 says that “The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving to all he has made.” Unlike humans, God actually does what he says he will do. In the Old Testament, God promised a nation for himself and a land for that nation. Promises fulfilled. God promised a Saviour who would be King forever but would first die to save humans from their corruptness and its consequences. Promise fulfilled. And now, for those who trust in that Saviour, God promises life after death, he promises a new world without sin or sickness or poverty or death. And I trust him because he has always been, and will always be faithful to his word.
So don’t put your hope in the Conservatives, or Obama or your friends. Don’t invest your trust for the future in Tottenham (who would?), Andy Murray, your vicar or your family. Enjoy them, love them, honour them as appropriate, but don’t put your hope in them. They will let you down. Trust God, the beginning and the end, always the same, unchanging, and faithful to promises so much better than any human will be able to make to you

Jokes With Monkey Episode 3

He's brown, he's beautiful, and he's back.

The Itching Song

Spring is a troubling time of year in Lebanon.
This is a thoughtful piece, which wrestles with the pressing issues of itching, anger and insect death. Specifically discussed are the current perpetrators of the crimes in question - the mosquito and the dood.
The dark and emotional lyrics are made all the haunting by their juxtaposition with what could almost be described as a jovial musical backing.



I love these guys.

Exiled Inside

Exiled inside
You know I can't reveal
Exiled inside
My feelings I conceal
The words I want to say
Fall down and die away

My Favourite Buttons

Two nights ago, I had a dream. I don't remember much about most of it, but what I do remember is this: I was on some kind of generic gameshow, and to win the prize, I had to answer this question: "Name your top ten favourite buttons." And so I did. I don't remember what they all were, and I don't know if I won the prize, but I do remember what some of my favourite buttons were. These are they (in no particular order):
1. A big red button
2. Button Moon
3. Jensen Button
4. Milkybar buttons
5. Benjamin Button
6. Do not push this button
7. Buttons with cats on

fin

A Perfect Day?

Boxing Day, December 2008.

Dad, Mags, Phil and I went for a walk. It was a nice walk. A very nice walk indeed. It was somewhere in the Peak District (probably - my geography of the Midlands isn't that great) and it was extremely pretty. We walked along some kind of valley. It was cold (I could see my breath) and there were patches of woodland dotted about among the rough country side. In the low December sun, which covered everything in sight with a king of golden haze, we paused to eat what Dad had packed in his bag. I had smoked salmon and brie sandwiches and glass of surprisingly pleasant Spanish red wine. We then walked another mile or so to the pub (I can't remember the name) outside of which we drunk our hot chocolate before walking back the whole route again.
I felt very happy, a bit awed by the beauty of what God has made for us to enjoy, and appreciating the love of my family.
Now, I know that because of Jesus, I have a New Creation to look forward to - where everything will be perfect, where no one will die or feel pain or hunger or sadness of any sort. I know this Boxing Day was not a patch on what is to come, but I praise God for his mercy in giving me this day to help tide me over until I get to taste the real thing.

2 tasty little treats for you

Hello! Here are two things. Firstly, being extremely excited to hear that my Blur are playing again for the first time in about nine years ( http://www.nme.com/news/blur/41530 ), I started listening to some old tracks, and forgot how delightful 'Ernold Same' was. I think Ken Livingstone does some speaking on it. I danced around my room.





There is also this, the long awaited second installment in the popular 'Jokes With Monkey' series. It features a monkey and some Christmas lights.



Love you! Byee!

Why I Cannot Sleep

Recently, I have been having a little trouble dozing off at night. This (taken from my bedroom window) will explain why...

Wordle

Hey, this is cool. Most common words from my last 5 blogs:

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