signing off

will be out of internet access for the next few weeks, so this will be my last post for the year. i'm going to take the days before christmas to get some rest. why are the holidays busier and more stressful than 'normal'? they're a topsy-turvy twisted version of what they're supposed to be.

c.s. lewis's take on exmas:

"And beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and the north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed declares to be the same size and shape as Sicily, but it is larger, and though in calling it triangular a man would not miss the mark. It is densely inhabited by men who wear clothes not very different from other barbarians who occupy the north- western parts of Europe though they do not agree with them in language. These islanders, surpassing all the men of whom we know in patience and endurance, use the following customs.

In the middle of winter when fogs and rains most abound they have a great festival which they call Exmas, and for fifty days they prepare for it in the fashion I shall describe. First of all, every citizen is obliged to send to each of his friends and relations a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech is called an Exmas-card . But the pictures represent birds sitting on branches, or trees with a dark green prickly leaf, or else men in such garments as the Niatirbians believe that their ancestors wore two hundred years ago riding in coaches such as their ancestors used, or houses with snow on their roofs. And the Niatirbians are unwilling to say what these pictures have to do with the festival, guarding (as I suppose) some sacred mystery. And because all men must send these cards the market-place is filled with the crowd of those buying them, so that there is great labour and weariness.

But having bought as many as they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent to them. And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, they throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also. And let this account suffice about Exmas-cards."

been

away, been busy, been tired, been apathetic, been playing ev nova, been bag: you choose.

now procrastinating (which is an excuse i can buy) in writing a talk for wednesday about spiritual disciplines, particularly disciplines of abstinence:

w. r. inge, quoted by dallas willard in the spirit of the disciplines:

"If we feel that any habit or pursuit, harmless in itself, is keeping us from God and sinking us deeper in the things of earth; if we find that things which others can do with impunity are for us the occasion of falling, then abstinence is our only course. Abstinence alone can recover for us the real value of what should have been for our help but which has been an occasion of falling... it is necessary that we should steadily resolve to give up anything that comes between ourselves and God."

john stott said it all...

this post is dedicated to God and to his good and faithful servants. intrigued? then read on.

since our change in 'careers', mrs hope has kept a close eye on our household's finances. for my part, ignorance has been my shield. my usual practice on the occassions that i need pocket money is to approach my good wife, who provides me with whatever i need. this practice has carried on un-interrupted, but mrs hope has been fully aware of the state of our finances: in essence the need for slightly more of them.

thankfully, God has also kept himself fully appraised of our situation and for the last three months, we have been given, by three separate people (some known and some unknown to us) considerable sums of money. each month, it has been enough to meet those odd annual expenses like car insurance/house insurance/TV licence.

turning to stott:

"Towards the end of my time ... at Cambridge, the Rev. Paul Gibson retired as Principal [of Ridley Hall], and a portrait of him was unveiled. In expressing his thanks, he paid a well-deserved compliment to the artist. He said that in future he belived people looking at the picture would ask not 'Who is that man?' but rather 'Who painted that portrait?' Now in our case God has displayed more than skill. A patient after a major operation is a living testimony to his surgeon's skill, and a condemned man after a repreive to his sovereign's mercy. We are both - exhibits of God's skill and trophies of hs grace."

the latest gift was received this morning, in an appropriately non-descript brown envelope addressed (in an obviously disguised hand) to the 'Hope Family'. i'm putting it in our trophy cabinet.

just checking the way

so i downloaded and am trying a new web browser: camino. it's supposed to be mozilla's bespoke offering for mac's os X, and seems to work quite well. it certainly supports blogger better than safari. whether i start to use it as my default browser is another thing entirely though.

so our new car has a spot of rust on the rear off-side (left) wheel arch. if we leave it untended to it will mean, in due course, we need to replace the wheel arch. if we tend to it ourselves, it may well mean the same thing. unfortunately the garage we use recommended a body-work specialist who only does entire body panels - so for them to remedy a spot of rust the size of a 50p coin will mean they re-spray the entire panel (which even i will admit is OTT). but if we try and do it ourselves with a bit of sandpaper and touch-up spray we'll probably end up having to replace the entire panel too. perhaps i am being overly pessimistic about my wife's talents with sandpaper and spray paint, but surely there's another way...? i guess we'll be trawling the yellow pages for body-work shops for a more helpful solution.

did anyone else think phil and grant mitchell's re-appearance on eastenders last night was terrific? "hello mum" *smirk* - sheer brilliance. mrs hope and i had a tv binge last night, having had the two shows we watch (spooks and house) recorded for us last week (we'd plumped for spidey 2, which was only available on video, otherwise we'd have recorded it ourselves). spooks and house followed 'enders in merry fashion; dinner was eaten off laps on the couch - great stuff!

Due to an overwhelming response to the ticket pre-sale, some of Jack's shows have been moved to larger venues and additional shows have been added.



so in early march we'll be sitting in cardiff arena listening to jack's sunny hawaiian surf melodies. anyone else thinking what i'm thinking?

up north

it takes a while to get here by car on a friday. i have never had to queue to get out of a service station before, but that's just how bad the M6 northbound was last night. at 10.15pm. north of birmingham too.

my niece is now 27 weeks old - and looking ridiculously cute. granny and grandpa (didn't realise they wanted to be called that, but makes sense) are all cooey over her, which is really nice to see. and i am too actually, although she was totally freaked out by my resemblance to her father for most of the morning, and so burst into tears at the sight of me. mrs hope was always at hand to comfort me though, so don't worry, i'm alright. but amber did warm up to me at lunch thankfully, and i'm the happy receipient of several toothless, gummy, dribbly grins!

what is man that you are mindful of him?

wonders of the seas

the sea sponge (Poifera meaning 'pore-bearing') is one of the simplest of multi-cellular animals. a sponge is a bottom-dwelling creature which attaches itself to something solid in a place where it can, hopefully, receive enough food to grow. a sponge is covered with tiny pores, which lead internally to a system of canals and eventually out to one or more larger holes. specially designed cells force water in and through the canal system, allowing it to feed, respire and poo. this picture illustrates the pumping action of a sponge, as it absorbs water bearing a (non-toxic) dye at its foot and forces this up through itself and out the top.

my new job is something i can easily throw myself into, both whole-heartedly and whole-mindedly. it is a good thing. but i don't want to become my job - i don't want to eat, breathe and poo 'form'! what i want to do is to eat, breathe (and poo) jesus all the time. this is especially the case when i'm 'on the job', as it were (and now i am seriously begining to regret allowing the 'eat, breathe and poo' metaphor to carry on this far into my thought).

to leave the bodily references behind, i want to be defined by jesus, and not my job. in my previous job, i needed my identity reinforced to sustain me through a job i didn't like so much. now i again need my identity reinforced to prevent my enjoyable job from absorbing me entirely.

in other words, allow the sea sponge to interpret matthew 6:33 for you.

the circle of life

the roast chicken became a carcass that became chicken stock (i even tolerated celery for this purpose) that became pea risotto. it was yummy, but when it is repeated, it shall be in smaller amounts. you just cannot eat large amounts of pea risotto for a main course, but it would be terrific as a starter.

last year, we were blessed with a small but dedicated pod of students (the term 'pod' was used self-reflectively, so i feel able to use it with impunity here) who engaged in the community without much fuss on their part, nor lavish student-friendly events on ours. this year the pod has increased in size; mrs hope and i gate-crashed the student lunch and gorged on pizza and fizzy pop. we wait to see whether the numbers were swelled with migratory students or those seeking a home (and fast food).

mrs hope and i then drove to westonbirt arboretum, where the leaves are starting to turn. the website is worth checking out, even if only for the quote "Westonbirt's world-famous maples in Autumn are definitely among the top "100 things to see before you die"!" accompanied by the following picture:



hmm, i suppose you don't have to visit the website now, but the circle continues...

domesticated fowl

so with my new working arrangements, i am blessed with more time at home with mrs hope, as well as more energy to devote to household jobs. yesterday was an incredibly productive day on that front, which is just as well as mrs hope is currently under the weather with a cold. with ample time on my hands i planned and executed my first solo roast chicken, complete with roasted vegetables (okay, i'll admit i did consult nigella from time to time).

it hasn't been often that i've been able to cook, but i have for a long time now scanned the sunday rags for the odd recipe. one writer that has grown into a real favourite is nigel slater, with his evocative writing style, particularly that of roast dinners. a few years back, whilst at a friend's for dinner, i was treated to a 'slater-esque' roast. the meat was juicy and wonderfully fatty. the roast veg was finely cubed; crispy, crunchy and chewy in all the right proportions, it was scraped off the roasting tray in front of our goggling eyes. as i took my plate to the kitchen after the meal, i spied the roasting tray and the charred remains of the veg still glistening there. i was full, but i had also fully absorbed nigel's saying that the last scrapings of the tray are the best bits. i drew closer to the tray - the smell of lemon wafted up as i stirred up the caramelised fragments of potato, parsnip, carrot and onion from the corners of the tray. reverently i raised the heavy wooden spoon to my mouth and took a large mouthful of lemon washing-up liquid, which my efficient hostess had liberally doused the roasting pan in to remove the burnt-on remains. this taste-memory can still make me gag if i dwell on it too much.

the formettes have landed

as of last week i've been fairly busy with these lovely guys (well, one guy/four girls) from all over the world. tomorrow, we head off to wales for our bonding session - hopefully involving kubb on the beach.

pics and profiles will appear shortly (well, depending on our web-guy really)...

blast from the past

yesterday i managed to upload a bunch of pictures from our trip to america. i don't suppose it is apparent that we crammed three holidays into two weeks from the few photos i've posted, but we did it as follows:

(i) we (that is mrs hope and i) travelled down the east coast from washington, dc to charleston, sc. highlights included the shenandoah national park, the blue ridge parkway, being in ashville, nc. for the July 4th celebrations, stumbling across an ansel adams exhibition in roanoake, wv. and experiencing walmart complete with guns and easy-cheese;

(ii) arriving in charleston, we (still the two of us) spent a delightful week with the form network eating far too much than is healthy, sailing, surf-kayaking, thinking and getting bitten by mosquitos; and

(iii) we then experienced the long arm of hurricane dennis (after katrina, it's easy to forget that before it there were several hurricanes this year which caused significant damage to the gulf of mexico and the carribean) as torrential rain kept our flight from keeping to its intended schedule. it also kept our suitcase on the tarmac (in the rain) and meant we had to lay-over in detroit for the small hours of saturday, before re-routing to anaheim, ca through minneapolis-st paul. we joined our formettes in anaheim and together we were pampered for a week by all at the anaheim vineyard. we helped out, with great gusto, on their grocery packing and handouts, and swam and visited disneyland with equal enthusiasm.

man-flu and the muckle brig

man flu sucks. woke up yesterday and mrs hope mentioned i'd been keeping her awake with my sniffing during the night. as my nose ran freely into my first handerchief of the day i had to admit i might well be coming down with a cold.

work was fine, such as it was. i even managed to hook up with a good friend in the afternoon for a chat over a coffee (i have to say i am yet to find a coffee to rival a small fair-trade latte from 'the one on the corner' on baldwin street. even mrs hope's new place of employment, '232' on gloucester road, doesn't come close).

last night we flew up to edinburgh, thence to st. andrews, to see mrs hope's spiritual parents and surrogate family, the fosters. they have recently planted the kingdom vineyard, which makes it slightly harder to visit them, but all the more precious when we do. last night they collected us from edinburgh and we drove up on a beautifully clear, moonlight night. the forth bridge was resplendent in its scaffolding and striking red paint. we hope to take the train back to edinburgh tomorrow, and i think it will be the first time i will have crossed the firth of forth on the forth bridge, as opposed to the forth road bridge.

the journey was only marred by the incessant flow of snot from my nose, as well as the occassional sneeze. thankfully the fosters have a well-stocked 'drug-drawer' and i took full advantage of chewable vitamin c tablets and night-nurse before crashing. this morning the drugs are keeping me from eroding my nose any further (oh how i crave some kleenex balsaam) but my head is stuffed with cotton-wool. as usual when we stay with the fosters, our tummies are equally stuffed with a fried breakfast.

the scenery in the kingdom is stunning, and i hope mrs hope will take advantage of this with our camera.

perfectionism

just read an interesting take on the effects of perfectionism on leadership/followership on my friends' (lightning and sara) blog. my productivity has been severely affected by my tendency to perfectionism in moving to a new office where i'm not entirely familiar with processes and procedures. hence the whole morning spent typing and sending one letter.

i have a feeling it's going to be beaten out of me this year, but i should try to embrace the process.

i also uploaded a batch of photos from (i) a weekend with mrs hope to birmingham (which was a great surprise as to how nice the place actually is); and (ii) our week in dorset with our friends ralph, rachel and taya (which was very relaxed and good fun).

typically

i've been trying to carve out some time to blog this week, but haven't been able to. typically now that i've made it to the machine, i don't know where to begin in sticking stuff down.

changing jobs has been good and different. it took me a whole morning to write, print and post a letter. partly because i'm a perfectionist, and partly because i'm still getting used to the way things work in my new office.

and the same applies here, in that i'd say more, but would rather it be a polished post. so i'm off.

beginnings

first day in my new office; by some coincidence i am sitting close to my last desk. despite the surroundings being familiar, the whole thing feels very new, especially with my new job.

i wore jeans and a t-shirt to work. i strolled home to see mrs hope for lunch. i listened to music (miles davis, jack johnson) while i worked. i clocked off at 5pm because my boss was leaving and we had to lock up. i thought about taking some work home, but decided (in about 5 seconds) to leave it until tomorrow.

i like it.

a rare thing

i saw her perform her track You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go in what her website describes as a "sensational, and unprecedented live appearance on BBC flagship music programme Top of The Pops". i suppose my ears did register that she was different from all the other artists performing that day, but i guess those guys over at universal have got it sussed:

"She is that rare thing, an artist more interested in her music than in the glitz and glamour of showbusiness."

exploring the dark side...

to go with this:



we now have one of these:

he's got my vote...

even though i'm not entirely sure what he means about building houses and stuff.



go on, spread the word!

camping/form

pros:

• guaranteed fry-ups in the morning (that's all i can cook)
• mobility (let's try that piece of sloping ground of there...)
• the great outdoors (i.e. mrs hope is in a permanently good mood)
• the feeling of spontaneity (i.e. if it continues to chuck it down, we'll go home!)
• getting home

cons:

• no sleep (sleeping on the ground)
• no sleep (sleeping on sloping ground)
• no sleep (sleeping on sloping ground in a sleeping bag)
• no sleep ("next-door's" kids are scared of the dark)
• no sleep ("next-door" snores like an angle-grinder)
• british weather

mrs hope and i went to the gower last weekend, taking in the sights of rhossili bay on the sunday. there was hardly a patch of blue sky in sight, but we gamely walked the two and a bit miles to Llangennith into the teeth of a stiff westerly. mrs hope restrained herself admirably as only two shells were added to her enormous collection.

the day before was a wash-out; we took refuge from the elements in swansea, seeking out an aussie bar to watch the most recent instalment of the tri-nations.

not long now until mrs hope leaves her current employ (shameless plug for form), and only slightly longer until i take it up (another shameless plug for form/cack-handed attempt to push the website up seach engine rankings).

cutting edge

i might shamelessly borrow a phrase from the latest cutting edge magazine about 'jesus-brand spirituality' - the key term being 'jesus-brand'. i like it.

newfoundland daylight time

slowly adjusting my circadian rhythm back into sync with BST, but a late night last night and lack of sleep contribute to a general feeling of being a few hours off the pace.

it's nice to be home though - mrs hope arrived back this morning too. i've one more day in the office this week before we head off to france for a wedding. we're taking a long weekend, so that should be nice after our hectic fortnight across the pond.

children of the revolution

driving back from lancaster to anaheim we stopped by a computer store in the sprawling mass that is los angeles which was recommended to us by a friend. mrs hope and i have joined the 'dark side' and bought a mac. it's second-hand, wi-fi enabled, has the latest updates installed and is slightly scraped and smudged but otherwise fine. we were served by a graceful elderly man whom we instantly knew to be of middle eastern origin. it turned out he was a iranian jew, who had lived in leeds for two years before moving out to california. he had been forced to leave iran when the revolution took place (we smiled and pretended we knew what he was referring to, being kids ourselves when it took place) and could not go back. it was sad.

this trip has been very busy - hardly a holiday at all. it has felt like two weeks of meeting extended family - thoroughly exhausting but equally rewarding and fun. people have been so very very good to us and, by God's great grace, we have been a blessing in return by doing things that have been enjoyable to us!

deep down south

mrs hope and i are currently enjoying some amazing southern hospitality in charleston, south carolina. we're out here on work/holiday (respectively) for a few more days. on saturday we head over to los angeles for more work/holiday, nice huh?

it has been a great trip so far - we've enjoyed a wonderful three day road trip down through the mountains of virginia and north carolina. the scenery was amazing, both the natural and the man made.

charleston has also been good - we've met up with great old friends and made great new friends too. we've managed to work, rest and play in all the right proportions; we've also eaten tremendously well (but not too much!).

see you in l.a!

re changes

hmm. i suppose it was ambiguous (and, i confess, deliberately so) but mrs hope has instructed me to clarify that we are not expecting any numerical increase in our family unit in 9 months' time. rather the changes alluded to relate to our current positions of employment, and will take effect in a little under three months' time.

don't be afraid

almost every encounter by humans with the divine in the bible is marked by God's re-assurance that they needn't be afraid. i've been chewing on that this week, and i have to say that i have been struck by how re-assuring it is to know God is with us and on our side. we really ought not to be fearful with such a trustworthy God.

changes

there are changes a-foot, ahead, around. while the world is undoubtedly a scary place, both mrs hope and i are strangely peaceful.

my mum cried when we told her. she was very happy.

untitled

thanks to j-mo for this link (isle of jesus) to ben's space. good reading there.

mrs hope is poorly and her doctor has signed her off work to recover.

my bike's front brakes squeal. i can't stand it, nor seem to fix it.

why is a raven like a writing desk? because there is a 'b' in both and an 'n' in neither.

congratulations to charlie, juliet and amber!

why a d-lock sometimes just isn't enough

yesterday, mrs hope and i finished our sign language course and had the exam. it went quite well for me, and i think mrs hope will have passed as well.

the Bristol Deaf Club is on Kings Square, which is near Jamaica Street and Stokes Croft, as you know. i had cycled there from work, and after the exam we went to a pub, just off Jamaica Street, to relax. i secured my bike to a 9' post just down from the pub. we'd been there about half an hour when a guy comes in and asks if anyone owns a bike, because he's just seen a group of guys steal it and cycle off.

i ran outside with a guy from the sign language course called simon. we saw them away down the street and ran after them - as we were running i could see they were a group of six black lads, maybe 20 years old. i slowed down a bit!

simon, however, ran right up to them and i followed (it was my bike i suppose) and we confronted them. i said something dumb like, "Hey, you've got my bike, can I have it back please?" the guy riding it got really agitated and defensive and asked why i wanted 'his' bike. i told him i could see it was my bike - it still had the lock on it and i had the key in my pocket. he denied he had stolen it, but claimed he had bought it off a druggie. i apologised for saying he'd stolen it, but asked for it back nonetheless.

they didn't try and run away at any point, but all stood around while we spoke to the guy on the bike. but when simon put his hand on the handlebar to keep a hold of it, and the guy punched him in the chest, knocking his glasses off. simon bent down and i watched him pick his glasses up; we then both noticed that the guy had taken a 2" blade out of his pocket, which he held down by his side. we both backed off a bit; i tried to calm things down.

one of the other guys suggested we buy the bike back - as they had paid £10 for it I could have it back for £10. i said i wasn't carrying any cash on me, and showed them my wallet. they even said £5 would do. i said that my wife had some money on her back at the pub, and suggested we go back there and i'd pay for it. he put away his knife and said that would be fine; we shook hands on £10 and he gave me my bike back!

we walked back to the pub; i wheeled my bike, with simon ahead of me. the lad and his mate walked with me; i started chatting to them, introduced myself and asked their names. i think he told me a name, but i can't remember. all i was thinking was how to get to know them better! i asked where they were from, and they said Easton. i made some small talk about having good curry houses in Easton, but they replied they "hated Pakis", which was the end of that conversation.

by the time we got nearer the pub, mrs hope and our other friends were standing on the road. the two lads didn't approach the pub, but waited just around the corner. i assured him i was going to get him £10 and come back and pay him. so, carrying on with my bike, i took it inside the pub and asked mrs hope for a tenner. she gave it to me, but i was prevented from going back outside by my friends who insisted i shouldn't pay any money for my own bike. simon was on the phone to the police by that stage, and someone was trying to tell the barman what was going on.

as i hadn't returned with the money, the two lads outside came closer to the pub, and eventually were standing outside the window where we were seated. he asked me, through the window if i was going to pay him. i told him i wasn't being allowed to by my friends. he came and stood in the doorway of the pub, but didn't come in. he demanded the money again, and i said i couldn't pay him. he threatened me for a while, saying "If you don't give me my money, you'll get seriously messed up!", before the bar staff chased him and his friend off.

no-one got hurt - simon seemed fine despite the punch to his chest. i am slightly apprehensive about bumping into the guy again - it's a strange feeling to know that there is someone who might bear a grudge against me.

i'm not sure how i actually got my bike back - it all seems slightly surreal. i suppose i did use the magic word though.

time

my attitude to work was challenged on sunday. last week a workmate left for a new job; naturally he was all smiles and happiness all last week because he knew he was leaving. i want a piece of that! i know i'm not going to be here forever - can i use that to take the edge off the drudge that is endured here? yet at the same time, i cannot disregard the fact that my actions, no matter how small, have eternal consequences. somehow, i need to hold onto this as well, so my eternal perspective is focused on now as well as then.

work is tough at the moment, yet i know it is growing me somehow.

kairos (pronounced k-eye-ross): explains how touching a hot stove for a second seems longer than that extra minute in bed on a rainy monday morning.

chronos (pronounced k-ron-oss): is what your watch measures, second by regular '9,192,631,770 complete oscillations of a cesium-133 atom'-second.

time

my wife is nothing but gracious with giving me time to myself. yesterday she allowed my to spend the afternoon getting grubby with my bike; today i am allowed to take said newly cleaned, oiled, 'fitted with new front brake blocks' bike for a spin (wearing newly purchased helmet) (also returning dvd whilst at it).

not only have i managed to update this, i have also uploaded (at long last) some of our photos from, inter alios, our not so recent holiday to oman, our spring jaunt to bournemouth and a recent trip to see my brother and his wife in manchester. enjoy.

i do want to post this one here - my definite favourite person in definitely one of my favourite photos of her:

absence

i've been away from my blog for a while. paying the bills has something to do with it.

without wanting to jinx the upcoming easter weekend, i hope to be able to spend some time uploading some photos onto my flickr account (at long last) and, if so, update this too. having said that, mrs hope may have other plans about me spending time with a computer and camera and not her!

three years on

...if i have my dates right that is. i was but a humble intern sitting, as all interns should, at the feet of my pastor. all of a sudden i was overwhelmed by a vision of loveliness who came to chat with said pastor. i had my wits about me though and offered her a beer nut; which worked like a charm. she swears she can't remember a thing about our first meeting, except that i looked about 18 years old. and now, three years later, we're going back to the carrington house hotel as man and wife.

makepovertyhistory

our new toy

was given to us by my parents for christmas (hugely grateful!).

if you click on the newly added link, you will see my beautiful wife : ) and her formettes, courtesy of our new toy...

in anticipation of getting my act together, i set up a account. i have yet to upload any pics of course! there are two or three from our trip to oman that i like lots and do want to share. hopefully time will permit it soon.

la, la-dee-da, la-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-da-da.

some thoughts on singing.

in the vineyard movement, singing has been a essential factor in achieving intimacy with God. reports from the founders of the movement note two elements that contributed to this. the first was a marked hunger amongst the people for nearness to God. the second was the change from singing songs 'about God' to songs 'to God'. when hungry people began singing songs containing lyrics written in the first person, there was a markedly different atmosphere than would otherwise be present when songs about God were sung.

the songs written nowadays tend to be written in the first person singular. there aren't that many that i regularly hear in worship sets that are exclusively 'about God', nor many written using 'we, us, our' language.

it has been recognised for a long time that words set to music and rhythm are more easily memorised than speech. with songs, you have repetition to factor in as well. many people (almost unconsciously) learn about life, form their beliefs and worldviews through the songs they hear and the songs they sing. in recognition of this, it is not uncommon in christian circles for lyricists to seek the advice of trained theologians on the contents of their songs.

a nice to have:



and a very nice to have:



the pellucipod is currently being loaded with tunes, new and old.