things that have made me laugh in the past 7 days… September 30, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: banter, funny, laughter, talksport, tim vine
1 comment so far
:: following police/ambulance blue lights around belfast on sat night until 3am in my mates 7 seater
:: football bus banter on the way back from our match in cookstown on saturday
:: watching the tim vine dvd last night which sarah had kindly bought me
:: the fact that i accidentally used the words ‘experimental lesbainism’ at the front of my church service on sunday morning
:: talksport radio station
:: buff’s mach-3 shaven head
:: newcastle united jokes
:: mock the week tv show
:: sarah’s made up scrabble words on friday night
:: football team-mate slipping when taking a shot in training…so childish i know
:: seeing a friend’s powerpoint for their talk at youth fellowship on sunday night - funny & creative
:: asbo jesus blog site – more to come on that soon!
this sunday September 26, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: muckamore presbyterian, muckamore youth, promo video, pulse
add a comment
brand new podcast resource September 25, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: bible, devotional resource, itunes, podcast, scripture union ni
4 comments
really wanted to let you all know of an exciting new resource that is now available from Scripture Union NI. over the past year, along with a team of volunteers, I have been developing a number of podcast episodes to aid young people in their devotional life. we think this is a great way to communicate with secondary school pupils and a simple way for them to be inspired from God’s word. teenagers can listen along as they surf the net, or grab an episode on their way to school on the bus, or in their room alone at night.
each episode is up to 10 minutes long, full of stories, thoughts, bible passages, conversations and music brought to you by a small team of contributors. the first series is all about discovering the bible with fresh eyes and will contain 9 episodes uploaded fortnightly throughout the autumn term.
click here to download the first episode of the podcast, and if you click on the ‘subscribe’ option, each episode will download automatically when they are made available.
by this weekend you will also be able to access it by searching for ‘scripture union ni secondary schools podcast’ in the iTunes store (it’s in the Religion & Spirituality’ section) or through a link which will be appearing soon on our website – www.suni.co.uk
hoping this will ignite fresh enthusiasm for God and His word, spark conversations between friends and equip young people better in their faith.
yet another inspiring song… September 24, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: at the cross, hillsongs, inspirational songs, mighty to save, worship
3 comments
every so often i like to stick a wee song up here that’s been inspiring me. was at a friend’s church on sunday night to do some youth stuff and the song they did after the talk just floored me.
i’d heard it on a hillsongs cd a good while back but the context in which it was used on sunday was perfect. i really feel this should be injected into some of our corporate worship times at the minute.
“i know You love me…”
the must see film that i don’t really recommend!! September 22, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: films, holocaust, jews, nazis, reviews, the boy in the striped pyjamas
1 comment so far
so the last time i reviewed a movie on this blog it wasn’t pretty – a fairly negative experience all round. check that out here
but i don’t think i’ve ever been moved by a film as much as i was last week when sarah and i trotted off to yorkgate on our friday night to see ‘the boy in the striped pyjamas’
i’d specifically said that i wanted a good chill out film to end the busy week at work so i’ve no idea how we ended up watching a film that had sarah in floods of tears and haunted me to my very core.
as many films are, it’s based on the book of the same name. based in wartime, the film takes a look at the horror of the holocaust from a fairly original perspective – through the eyes of an innocent little german boy, the son of the commanding chief of a jewish concentration camp in poland.
the boy befriends a young jewish boy of the same age and through conversation and typically childish games, they develop a love and friendship for one another that betrays the indoctrination and propoganda the young german has been subjected to.
i felt that the film dealt so well with the issue of prejudice, challenging our misconceptions of the ‘other side’ in all aspects of our lives. we need more of this…
however, the cruel twist at the very climax of the film leaves you numb and had me cursing at the inhumanity of this regime. i guess the horror of it all hit me like never before. sarah said the same thing. she’d heard about the holocaust before, but only this visual and powerful interpretation impacts your whole being. i suppose it emphasises the power of media.
so it wasn’t the type of film i was looking for. and not an enjoyable watch. but gripping and powerful all the same. i reluctantly recommend it but go prepared!
pulse: muckamore youth September 19, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: christianity, muckamore presbyterian, pulse, youth
2 comments
here’s the promo flier for the brand new sunday night youth programme at my church. it’s called ‘pulse’ and it’s all kicking off next sunday night. i’m really excited to be involved in this and by the potential of it.
pulse creates space every sunday night for young people to develop friendships, discover more about God’s heart and laugh with others. for 11-18 year olds, pulse is all about energising hearts. everyone welcome…
green cars & the voice of today September 16, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: christianity, generation, God's voice, green cars, now, psalm 24
1 comment so far
green cars. i used to think that hardly any green cars existed. and then one day i started looking for them. suddenly they stood out from the crowd. there were thousands of them. i challenge you to try the same thing!!
and i’ve seen this ‘green car effect’ mirrored in other ways too.
you see, every so often over the the past few years, a biblical theme, passage or story has really stood out to me as being a ‘now’ passage for my life. through these passages, i’ve realised that God is saying something strongly to me…and also sometimes its seemed that He has also been saying a similar thing to our wider generation.
for example, i’ve maybe been reading a passage and someone mentions it to me. then it gets read in church, i read a blog about it, a hear a song based on it, someone preaches on it, its on the latest nooma dvd, it makes it on a bookmark in the faith mission and advertising banners use it as part of their slogan. suddenly everyones talking about this story or passage. is it just a cool passage or is it something deeper?
psalm 24, psalm 40, colossians 3:17 & 1 kings 19 are all such passages for me…and it has seemed many others at a time.
and so what i want to know is this: are there any particular ‘now’ passages for this generation at the minute? is there any biblical theme that you feel God is wanting to impress upon people’s hearts? or can i be more specific and ask it for the world of young people in particular…?
…and thinking of the power of story and how story connects with young people…any biblical stories? what isn’t being highlighted that needs to be? what is God’s heart for now? what is He wanting to communicate today?
in fact, what passages/stories are standing out for you at the minute? what has God been saying to you today? this week?
would love your input. might leave this as the top post of my blog for a wee while as i’d love to hear your thoughts on this…thanks!
another strange fascination… September 13, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: God's heart, jill boyd, maps, travelling, world
5 comments
reading Jill Boyd’s latest great post sparked something within me. i’ve always been fascinated with maps. even as a kid, i used to draw maps of the world straight out of the atlas and memorise capital cities of countries. sad i know but this has stayed with me. i can honestly say that i could stare at maps for hours.
strange though because i’ve never felt any desire to live outside of this island. i love this country and it feels like i’m meant to be here. to keep living here. working here. ministering here. maybe that will change some day, but part of me doesn’t believe the sentence i’ve just typed.
however, i do have a love for travelling, especially around european cities which i’ve had the privilege of doing a fair of over the last few years.
but…back to maps…has it ever struck you how big canada is? or how many islands greece have? or how short a distance it is from spain to africa? or how tiny northern ireland really is? what about the vast pacific islands and the thousands of unknown islands? or how russia always seems to span half the map?
no? just me then…!
but seriously, thanks for the reminder Jill that God’s heart is for ALL this world. and i may just glimpse it in parts throughout my small blip in comparison to eternity…but i’m determined to mirror and display that heart in every place i step.
i’m off to buy a big map for my room……
fuel 09 & the david crowder band September 10, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: ballymena, concert, david crowder band, ecos centre, fuel 09, june 09
8 comments
have seen this band live a couple of times and i can hardly believe the poster i’m about to upload on this blog!!
ladies and gentlemen, introducing david crowder*band to ballymena…
anyone else excited or is it just me?!
leadership is… September 7, 2008
Posted by rickhill in Thoughts.Tags: leadership
1 comment so far
been thinking a lot about leadership in the past year. reading and listening and talking about it as well. leadership is something i actually enjoy. yet, also am desperate to become a better leader in all that i do.
came across this on a blog i stumbled across and i really like it…
Leadership is:
- removing the me and replacing it with the we when things go well.
- removing the we and replacing it with the me when things go wrong.
- being willing to stretch everyone, including yourself and how YOU think.
- not asking anyone to do anything you would not do, today.
- being willing to delegate, especially when it hurts.
- trust
- surrounding yourself with people who are better than you, for the betterment of the team, not your ego.
- keeping a good balance of “seasoned vets” and “top draft picks” (old and young)
- not being afraid to change course.
- running with the best idea, even it if came from the UPS guy.
- worrying less about the pat on the back, and more on the execution of the dream.
