007 Picture - forgotten, but just for a moment...

Oops, I forgot to put this one with the Bunyan pictures.

The Bunyan places we visited were especially meaningful to me because 

I was already quite familiar with his life and works. 

We actually saw this later in the week when we visited Bunhill Fields in London.

 John Bunyan's Grave

 For a list of other notable names in this cemetery, including Susanna Wesley, go to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunhill_fields#Notable_graves

~ A Song of Joy

Cambridge, England 007

We only got to visit Cambridge for the greater part of a day, but I did enjoy it. I do wish we had had a little more time to feel the place. We practically flew everywhere!

 Punting anyone?

 

Look familiar anyone?

Ready? Set?

.....

RUN!

 Clock-tower... (chiming in the background)

 

and courtyard in...

Chariots of Fire!

(Love that movie!)

Actually, all the above pictures except the first two are part of this courtyard.
Too bad I can't remember which college it was. Go watch the movie or something... :)

 Really neat place!

I like this picture, because this is what Cambridge was like.

Lots of bikes. Think MAJOR college town because, well, it is.

Hustle, bustle, and tourists!

We spent all morning in a great bookstore before we hurried off to our tour. (which we were late for because in between, we decided to take a shopping excursion for teapots) Fun memories!

~ A Song of Joy

Bristol, England 007

 Traveling to Bristol on Tuesday

This was the only rainy day we got on our whole trip!

We were expecting more, but I couldn't have been happier

that it came on this day. Windy, drizzly, and all from the inside of a private coach!

 

D, Caleb, and Caitlin outside Bristol Cathedral

We did a midday concert here.

 The side of the Cathedral

 This was our WARM-UP ROOM!!!

Talk about acoustics! Second only to St. Paul's and the choir room there!

A typical English sight

 

 Tortworth Court (four pillars hotel)

Yes, we stayed in a CASTLE!

Manor might be a better word, but the two nights/days there

were definitely highlights!

 The back of the hotel looked out on this...

 and beyond...

*sigh*

a fairytale!

(go search "Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel" to see more!)

http://tortworth-court-hotel.four-pillars.co.uk/grounds-and-arboretum-_9/ 

*larger sigh*

ANYWAY...

 Our breakfast room!

*even LARGER sigh*

I could live in this room!

We went to Wesley's Chapel

 and the Bristol Lord Mayor's House

where we met the Deputy Lord Mayor.

We also did a concert in Bedford and visited the John Bunyan Museum where we got to see

the door to the prison cell behind which John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress.

In the chapel there, we saw these eight beautiful stained glass windows.

 Whew! Getting them all on here was a nightmare, but finally, I did!
I'm skipping around just a bit, but hope y'all enjoy!

~ A Song of Joy

London, England 007

My first plane ride was on this trip.

Oh my! We look like babies!

 Windsor Castle

This was our first stop after getting off the plane

and man were we tired. That ride my eyes kept slipping shut

and I kept wrenching the open again, and again!

 The Queen was at Windsor celebrating her birthday while we were there.

We couldn't go in some places because of that, but it was cool to think we were so close!

 Later that night, (Saturday, our first night there) 

we went to see the London Eye.

Amazing!

 Our view from the Eye.

 Cool huh?

 

 The Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge)

 Siblings at the Tower of London on Sunday afternoon.

Btw... the marathon was taking place this afternoon.

TALK about traffic! I think one of our coach drivers 

even got a ticket that day while letting us off somewhere.

 The Crown Jewels were right through this door!

Another part of the tower.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Where we gave a noontime a cappella concert on Monday.

The sound just wafted around long after we finished singing.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure!

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag!"

On the front steps of St. Paul's

There is a brief overview of our three days in London.

These pictures are courtesy of my mom as mine were taken on 

FILM *gasp*

I know, unbelievable right?

Well, our trip certainly was!

~ A Song of Joy

As a Vapor They Pass

Life is short and we never know how many days we, or the ones we love, will have.  I found this video a while back, but in light of recent events I thought it was appropriate.

 

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

~ A Song of Joy

Yet Another Post on Hunger (part 3)

(I am skimming over so many things so I apologize if I leave thoughts rather undeveloped. Also, I will try not to dwell exclusively on the negative side!)

I think the books can be dangerous even for a person who knows what they believe.  It is challenging to read them without getting emotionally involved.  Honestly, the story kept getting more and more depressing and I kept waiting for a change that never really came.  At the end I felt that I had almost been let down or used by the author.  Certainly dissatisfied.  What did I learn from them?  Well, a lot of things NOT to be like.

Anyway, I found it interesting that there was no mention of God whatsoever.  This did not surprise me that much, but think about the implications.  No God, no standard, EXCEPT what the government gives, which in the case of the story was corrupt.  Because it was flawed it was right to disregard it, leaving no standard at all.  Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  I suppose in that way the story was pretty accurate because when people just do what they like it doesn’t usually work!  The lack of morals and standards also shows in the relational choices Katniss makes.  She has no standard and is obviously wandering.  At the end of the story, I remember just thanking God for giving truth from which we can know how to live our lives.  I felt relieved that I live in this world at this time.

There were some interesting points about our culture and government and the story has a scary element to it because there are enough similarities between our society and the one in the story that it is not too hard to see how we could be there in years to come.  (I personally don’t think we will go that far.)  The story is also very interesting.  It’s a page turner.  It is hard to put down because you do want to find out what will happen – another selling point.  It is vivid and therefore translated well into a movie.  Here I know I differ from a lot of people, but I actually thought the movie was much better than the books.  Here is why.

> The books were crammed full of emotional drama.  Not only was it stated, but it was explained and hashed and rehashed.  In the movie, it did not have to be said so many times.  You could follow and understand the tension from looks or gestures.  Thankfully, there was not nearly as much in the movie as the book, or at least it did not demand as much of your attention.

> The books were visual.  They seemed to be written to be a movie and were well suited as one.  The movie did not need anything added to it to keep it going and was quite true to the books in terms of plot.

> The casting was excellent.  Every actor looked right for the part and did a great job acting.

> The effects were not corny.

> The setting was realistic and appropriate.

> The costumes were much as I had imagined.

> The movie pulled me into the story and made me feel the sadness, concern, fear, tension, etc. Which it should!

I think that may be a good place to wrap up my thoughts.  Here is the fun part!  The PREMIER!

"May the odds be EVER in your favor!"

Someone did this in chalk outside!

bbj, Alyssa, Shannon, Caitlin and Me - Waiting Outside

Shannon got there early and saved us spots!  What a friend!

Friends Forever! Me and 3xabigsis

Then Inside Waiting...

Our Theater

 Sisters... notice the gold eyeliner!

MORE WAITING
So 3xabigsis and I did some HG inspired nails!
Red for "The Girl on Fire"
Gold for Cinna

 Sorry the pic is bad... the lighting wasn't good.
It was so fun and since we can both be perfectionists at times
*coughcough*
it was a great way to pass the time.

Much fun!  So glad I got to go!  I enjoyed it enough to go again!
I am hopefully finished with this silly post title!
Thanks for bearing through this long saga!

~ A Song of Joy

The Fifth Aniversary of an Important Day

We interrupt your regular broadcast to bring you a special message from... well... Robert Browning!

Oh to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!
- Robert Browning

The fifth anniversary of our trip to England!  OO7!!!
Olney '07

I would love to be there now!  One trip was great, but it stirred something inside of me... I just can't wait to go back!

~ A Song of Joy

Another Post on Hunger (part 2)

(This post will not get into specifics... still overall stuff.)

This three book series seems to have been written for the express purpose of turning them into movies.  They are not what I would call, “well written.”  There were some grammatical errors but the main objection I have is the amount of fluff.  So much of the book simply does not need to be there and the style makes much more sense if you believe that it was written to be a movie.  For example, many unimportant things were mapped out in excessive detail.  It felt to me, even initially, that the book was a more a guideline for movie-makers or meant to be little notes to actors.  I almost felt like the book was telling me how to feel rather than making me feel that way.  (Granted I have only read the books once.)  Ok, that may be true, you say, but is that a bad thing?  Well, maybe not for most people, but I cannot categorize it as a good work.   

Suzanne Collins set out to write something that would sell, and she succeeded.  At first, I really had a problem with this idea.  I did not understand why a person would write something without trying to create an excellent work.  Of course, then I realized that I’m the odd one for thinking that a person would.  People write what there is a market for.  That gives insight into the story and the majority of our culture.  I asked myself what it was about these books that caused them to sell.  What was it that people found so appealing?  Considering that the fan base is populated primarily by teen girls, it seems realistic to assume that the drama and romance is a large part of the appeal.  The main character pretends she is in love, in order to save her life, with someone who really does like her while a good (and good-looking) friend back home has to look on helplessly.  Y’all, this sounds like high-school drama!  And I never even went to school!  (If you wonder how I know, let me just say that despite my every effort, I could not escape that ominous cloud of drama!)  Romance is something most teenage girls are looking for.  Media, books, and celebrities all pound it into their heads.  How can we expect otherwise when they are not taught or shown examples of anything else?  But even sadder to me is the fact that many mothers are just the same as these teenage girls.  They may be married, but they still look to media and literature to fill these romantic desires.

Friends, it is not healthy or good to be dwelling on this kind of stuff.  I find that the more I dwell on it, the closer I find myself to sinning either through thoughts or discontentment.  I sometimes catch myself wishing that I were in a similar situation as a fictional character or fantasizing over something I consider to be ideal.  These indulgences steal valuable time and encourage us to live anywhere except where and when we do.  They cause us to not live in the present, which, by the way, is the only place where we can actually accomplish anything.

“Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for He himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5

Now before I go any farther, let me clarify a bit.  I believe that this type of literature and media can be quite dangerous, however, I am not saying that it is always bad.  I have read all three books and have seen the movie three times.  I looked forward to the movie coming out and thought it was done well.  I have had to be careful though that I did not get too involved or concerned with it.  I don't want it to overtake my thought life or to become some sort of unstated standard.  I look to scripture for that.

 

We are constantly surrounded with things that are wrong or not best because we live in a sinful world.  However, we can still learn from them.  But in order to do so, we must be clear about them.  We have to recognize and identify things properly.  (It is not right to use this idea as an excuse to read trash or as a way to gratify our fleshly desires.)  Re-labeling or redefining things in order to ease our conscience or to classify something as acceptable is wrong.  We have to evaluate everything according to scripture so that we do not let sin slip into our hearts unnoticed.  We must be careful to see things for what they are and to react accordingly.

~ A Song of Joy

Another Post on Hunger

Ok, y'all!  I have been meaning to post about Hunger Games... (cheering and applause from my HG friends)  Before I begin I want to warn you that this may not be what you expect.  And also, I am splitting this in two so that maybe some people will actually read it!

So, you have heard about Hunger Games.  Who hasn’t?  It would be practically impossible to avoid the myriad of posters, books, and magazines circulating here in the United States.  An appropriate word for it is, “massive.” Alright, so you are probably either excited about it or tired of it.  I apologize if you are the latter, but I am going to share my opinion.

It seems to me that there are two camps of people.  One includes the people who are determined not to read any of the books or even glance at the posters, because they know they cannot possibly like a book where teenagers kill each other.  (Or end that sentence any other way you like)  These people are not willing to check it out for themselves.  They assume that it must be bad.  Most of us would call that extreme, and I would have to agree.  But the majority of people are extreme as well, only at the other end of the spectrum.  They are the fanatics.  They read all of the books and memorized every little detail.  They oohed and ahhed to everyone about how wonderful the books were and how they couldn’t wait for the movie to come out while strongly encouraging everyone to get the books before the premier. (side note, if you are going to see the movie then you should read the books first!!!)

Those are the two most prominent camps and to be frank, just about everyone I have talked to seems to fall into one of those. (To differing extents of course.)  People don’t want to be in the middle.  The books are either good or bad.  The majority thinks they are great, but there are still plenty on the other side ready to band together in steady opposition.

So far, these are mainly observations.  I hate to let any of you down, but I disagree with both of these camps.  I disagree with those who make assumptions and judgements on something they have not read or seen, and I also disagree with those who are so obsessed that they are only concerned with the surface level story or gloss over the legitimate dangers of this kind of literature.  Christians are to take what they see around them and put it all through the grid of scripture in order to discern what is right and true and what is not.  This applies to ALL Christians!  With that said, plenty of literature is not wholly good or bad.  Yes, often there are major ideas that are either right or wrong from which we can characterize the work as a whole, but even within those same works there are often little bits that we can agree or disagree with.  That is one reason why I immediately have a problem with saying that the books are all good or all bad.  This particular series was not written from a Christian worldview, thus it is practically guaranteed that there will be parts I won’t agree with.

(A quick insert before I really get going! ;) *Which will actually be post two!*

 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  Romans 8:5-6

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2

-----

Sorry for the abrupt ending, but there wasn't a good place to break it down.  Please comment and if there is anything you would like for me to clarify I will be happy to do so.  I have post two written but will be happy to add an extra post if necessary.

~ A Song of Joy