Beat Robin 2-1 at snooker. Very scrappy set of frames though. No real conclusion can be drawn from the outcome.

I must admit to being slightly bemused at a report submitted by “Muslim educationalists” to government ministers as reported by the BBC. I agree that Muslim children should be educated in their faith, as should all children in this country. However, I also believe all children should be educated in the basics of all the major religions and be allowed to delve deeper and decide for themselves what the truth is. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe all religions to be equal in truth, but I do believe in freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The conclusion of the report is that more muslim schools should be set up, but I’m not sure this is the solution – will Muslim schools present all religions to the children, or just Islam? Various proponents of muslim schools cite Church of England schools – but from experience, whilst having a Christian ethos, the basics of all the major religions are taught. Would the same be true of a Muslim school?

The last rehersal before the concert on Saturday (7:30pm, Harlington Parish Church). I think the choir had their best performance of the year so far. The troublesome pieces were dispatched with pleasing musicality, despite enduring possibly the warmest day of the year so far.

Still not sure about this Beethoven Violin Sonata – had the first rehersal with the violinist, and I got unstuck in a couple of places! A little more practice required I think.

Jacob, Leah and Rachael. Leah was in a loveless marriage because of custom and deceit – the oldest daughter would marry first, and Jacob was tricked. Jacob loved Rachael who was the younger daughter. There are quite a few points which arise from this passage.
Marriage should be between one man and one woman. If polygamy is allowed, there is a good chance someone will be left out.
If we do things because of man-made customs, we could be doing things for the wrong reason. For example, if I go to church because I have always gone to church, it might become a drudgery and disliked. It would also mean I would be deceiving myself, as the reason for doing good (e.g. going to church) should not be because of any attempt to make myself presentable to God, as such a thing is impossible.
If we do things out of love, it will usually be enjoyable. Jacob laboured for seven years, yet because he loved Rachael, it passed very quickly. For me, it would mean that, because I love God, I would do what God wants, e.g. enjoy going to church to hear the Word of God and to meet with God’s people.

Phew, what a day. The Camberwell girls organised a rather fun-packed day in London. It all started just after noon with a boat from Waterloo Pier to Greenwich, taking in some of London’s most famous sights, including the Palace of Westminster, the London Eye, Somerset House, St Paul’s, and Canary Wharf, along the way.
After procurement of lunch, we settled in Greenwich Park – quite a view across London from the top of the hill. Bumped into a chap doing a pavement rubbing who had a rather interesting claim. A trip to the Planetarium and Observatory followed, allowing the more mature members to catch up on some sleep! General socialising on the grass followed until it was time to get the boat back into Waterloo.
The evening was spent in a Pizza Express, enjoying good food and good company, with a brief spell of what only be described as anti-flirting with a certain young lady. A good time was had by all, and I was rather sad to have to go home. Ah well.

Lost 12-3 to Nigel at table tennis this evening. (Yes, that’s fifteen games in total!) Losing is not a problem, but a certain spectator remarked “Ah well, at least you tried your best”. What is the purpose of this saying? Is it to say I will never beat Nigel, as I played my best and lost? (Although it does raise the question of how does someone else know if I’ve played my best?) Or is it one of those comments which are supposed to make you feel better, as long as you don’t attempt to understand the words?

Ah well, time for bed I think… 🙂

Prayer meeting this evening. We were reminded why we could pray to God from Isaiah 63:15-19.

We have all turned away from God, even though he is our Creator and sustainer.
Yet, if we trust in Christ, he has redeemed us, and justified us, allowing us to approach him.
Moreover, we are more than justified before him, but adopted as sons and daughters of God, and we can approach him as Father.

Quite a thought.

Saw The Day After Tomorrow this evening. Very impressive effects, with various ways of wreaking havoc and destruction on several well-known cities. The story is slightly silly in places, ok very silly in places, but entertaining and it does raise the profile of the environment.

Strange Bank Holiday…I had planned to lounge around and file all my paperwork.

Instead, I had a text from Zack inviting me to the Amyand Park Chapel trip to Virginia Water. Had a picnic by the lake, caught up with old friends and made some new ones. Played rounders and football, and generally had a cool time.

Played Robin at snooker in the early evening, 3-0 to me. Admittedly Robin was acclimatising with a new cue he had just acquired – however, he used to play with the house cues…

To finish off the evening went bowling with Nige and Steve, and came second both games, with respectable three-figure scores, and then playing pool and table tennis.

I just hope I can wake up tomorrow.

Strangely enough, both morning and evening services were on Pentecost. Strange because I had taken a friend to Wilton Community Church as he is looking for a church near to him, whilst still going to Hounslow West in the evening. I guess it’s not that strange as today is Pentecost in the church calendar.

The evening sermon probably sums it up best:
The Holy Spirit has power. He is sovereign – he is God.
The Holy Spirit is purifying, like a purifying fire. He is able to cleanse the heart of those who trust in the Son.
The Holy Spirit is global. (The preacher used a word beginning with P, but I don’t remember it) Whilst drawing people from all cultures and backgrounds, He is able to unify all believers in Christ, whilst allowing diversity in culture.

Witnessed a wonderful wedding today. I’ve known them both as a couple for around two years, so it was great to see them tie the knot in the sight of God and us. May their life together be blessed.

The service was conducted by Joy’s father, and the main address was by Az’s pastor. The address was focussed mainly on Ephesians 5:22-33, which was read in Amharic as well as English, with brief references to Genesis 2 and 3.

Some of the photos from the event are in my online photo album.

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful for ever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The LORD reigns for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD. (NIV)

Just seen “Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind” at the Odeon in Uxbridge – what a cool film. I’m not usually into romantic films, but this one was different. There was substance to the characters and their relationships, and it was portrayed in a very interesting way. Needless to say, worth seeing. Only thing left hanging in my mind is – Is it true? Is there one girl out there, with whom I’m destined to spend the rest of my life? We’ll see I guess.

Snooker: Lost 0-1 against Robin and 0-1 against Dave H.

Well, it’s been a week since I bought the Z600, and despite quite heavy use (for me), as well as the tinkering required with a new purchase, it has gone the whole week on a single charge and is still going.

Hez’s birthday today, so a few of us went out for a celebratory meal. Good conversation, good company and the food wasn’t bad either. 🙂 However, something went awry with the bill. Somehow, even though everyone paid their bit, the amount collected came out short of the total. This isn’t an isolated incident, it seems to happen quite often, with different groups of friends – What gives? Ah well.

On a complete tangent, Fedora Core 2 is now installed and patched up (already!) So far, it appears very similar to Core 1, except it now has a 2.6 kernel. Will need to delve a little deeper to see what else is different.

After many weeks of rehersals, some of which have been doubt inducing, I think the choir I accompany will be ready for their concert in two weeks time. They sang Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “As Torrents in Summer” with aplomb, and breezed through the conductor’s arrangement of “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside”, amongst various other pieces rehersed this evening.

I only hope they don’t forget everything in the last two weeks.

Saying that, I’m still not entirely sure about this Beethoven Violin Sonata….

The sermon this morning was on the claim of Jesus – “Trust in God, trust also in me”. If Jesus were not God, this statement would be that of a madman, yet his life shows he was not. Jesus also gave people reasons to believe in him, that he would prepare us a room in his Fathers house, and that he would return to take those who trust in him to that room. Very straightforward and to the point.

Lunch was very good, being at a friends house. Unusual combination of prawn crackers and traditional Sunday Roast. Still very palatable though. A very good afternoon.