Do you thank?

You know when you're driving along and you let the car at the other end of the road go first (because there's one lane free due to parked cars...)? This is a daily event for me on the school run(s) and I've been considering my reaction when people don't raise a hand to say thanks. My knee jerk reaction is to get annoyed. Then I think about it and it doesn't make much sense, does it? I form an opinion about someone based on whether they can be bothered to wave at me? Why do I do that?

A while ago I did hear this discussed on the radio - the guy was saying that in letting someone else go first we imagine we have unilaterally entered into a form of social contract with the other party. I'll let you go first and you will thank me. But you don't thank me and therefore you have broken the contract. So that's what sort of person you are, eh? Someone who would break a contract, go back on your word, hypocrite!!

Consequently I ALWAYS say thanks very obviously (hand high in the windscreen, fingers spread and mouthing, "Thank you, thank you!") when I'm let through to leave the other person in no doubt as to the quality of my fine character.

Webtastic 2

Well Youtube continues to amaze me - it's part of the reason I've not blogged recently, my attention has been on the "new" thing. 2 weeks since my vid postings and I'm nearly on 2000 viewings! Makes the old blog traffic look a bit paltry but don't worry, I value both of you very very much :-)

Webtastic!

Yesterday I posted on Youtube some guitar chord instruction videos recorded via my webcam. I wanted to show people it's so much more straightforward than it looks. I've posted my tips and tricks for easier playing, you see I don't do anything technically difficult - I just try and do simple things as well as I can.

Anyway, since yesterday I've had 140 video views! Amazing! I have two people subscribing to my "Channel" both in the States.

I find the whole thing mind boggling - in a few minutes I can record and make available a video that could be viewed all over the world :-0

Chair manufacture...

At the meeting posted about below we sang, "You are the hungry" for the first time together. It really is one of the great joys in my life to successfully communicate something of God with song. I only write songs for the body to sing. This song hit it's mark - the people "got it" and I could see it happening! It's not so much about me and my songs but about being used by God to further his purposes. Of course it's rewarding if someone likes your song, but so much more important is the successful communication of something from God. That's what does it for me, that is so much more rewarding.

So, if this communication is the crux of the matter then I am presented with a problem as I have quite a few songs now just sitting here. Each one on the blog (and lots don't make it...) is there because I feel they contain something worth passing on. I believe these songs can be a blessing to people. If I were a chair maker I would want people to sit on my chairs. That's what chairs are for. Songs are written to be listened to, that's what they're for.

So I've been thinking about a way to use these chairs. What I'm after is a dynamic, immediate, responsive, easy and cheap way for songs from the body to be available to the body. Well, of course, it's the web isn't it? I can record a song at my home in a day, upload it and there it is available to whomever wants to listen to it! Amazing! So, the new song you sang at your meeting can be in your car or in your kitchen on the Monday! (Download and burn, if you don't know what that means ask someone...) The song may only have a lifespan of a month, in which case, no problem as we haven't invested a huge amount of time, money and energy into it. It served its purpose and we simply move on!

So, help yourselves to my songs and enjoy!

Cultural differences?

Sunday we had Marc Dupont speaking at our meeting, hear what he said here. He was giving church incredibly encouraging words and as he did he'd say, "try not to look so encouraged as you look right now..." - cos we're all sitting there in silence! Inside, I was going, "Yes, yes!! That is FANTASTIC!!" and on the outside I was, well, British? We loosened up a bit towards the end when I definitely heard someone say, "Yes."

School place trauma

It's that time of year when I'm reminded of last year's school place trauma. Kids 1 and 2 safely ensconced in their schools (Infant and Junior) but kid 3 doesn't get a place. I was beside myself as the reason for this was our acceptance form was late. We'd had two weeks to get it back to them but left it until two days before the deadline and then posted it. I don't know what we were thinking. It took ten days to go a few miles. I could see my A1 plan going out the window and we had no excuse! We went on the waiting list for out of area kids (we'd moved since the boys started at the school...) thinking there'd be little chance of success but asking God for another demonstration of his MERCY - and we got a place for her! PHEW!!

Kid 4 had a place in the adjoining pre-school (where you need to put your name down as soon as the line changes colour on the pregnancy test) but they realised we'd moved and they rightly had to take her place back. We went on their waiting list for unlikely cancellations and... we got her back in again!! The irony was that a place had become available as several families hadn't managed to get their forms back on time! Really, that is so irresponsible!! Ahem... as I said at the time, "Praise God for other people's lackadaisical attitude!"

No problems this year - continuing siblings you see. Kid 2 goes to Juniors and kid 4 goes to Infants and I took NO chances. I personally handed the forms in and saw them stamped in my presence.

One Mum was describing her sleepless nights and tears every now and then due to the pressure of having to decide which school to try for her daughter, as she'd not got a place at her first choice.

Imagine not having our Father to ask about everything!

That is a scary situation - I don't know how people do it.

Alright, that's un oeuf (Sorry MH...)

Supermarket this morning and I coped better than last time when I was nearly in tears by the time I reached the leeks.

We needed eggs. The egg aisle set me thinking. It seemed that at one end you have the cheapest full deliberate vindictive cruelty to chickens option and at the other end you have the most expensive chickens living a life of conspicuous total luxury option.

So these chickens that are particularly happy - what does that look like? I'm wondering if they each have an eggs-box360 to play games on? Oh yes! I just HAD to put that in! Andy Fay will high five me for that :-)

I was thinking as I went along, "OK, at which point will I crack?" (Hey, that's another great pun!! Hot tonight!) I am assessing the lifestyle of these hens in relation to the price of the eggs. At what point do I say, "OK, no further, they're only chickens, these ones here are taken to the movies every Wednesday and get dental** - the eggs are £137 a dozen..." So I made a cost benefit judgement and bought Barn eggs: "Fresh eggs (good, not stale...) laid by hens (that's preferable...) that are housed in cage free barns." I will sleep soundly tonight.

**This should, in my opinion, counts as cruelty in itself, lulling chickens into your barn on the promise of a dental plan is just plain wrong. It's beyond a yoke.

Babel

Saw a very short clip from the film "Babel" last night, it made a big impression on me. A guy approaches a woman and says, "Can I pray with you?" (it's subtitled...) and she replies in her own language, "Can you say that a bit slower?" - the guy gives up and walks away.