Hello 2010...

SO, here it is...the first post of this new decade! Worship First...had an amazing couple of gigs with the band at the end of January in St. Patrick's. The most worrying bit was that Ross the super guitarist ended up in hospital, leaving us a player down and me in a bit of a panic. Needn't have worried though...an ex-Blue Tree Axe-man stepped in (having just played a set with his current crew) and lit up the sound. Opened with Sweet Home Alabama (Cowboy hat and all), a bit of Chasing Cars, and then lots of worship, including The Splendour of the King...which has a nice break into a gentle version of U2's ONE. Great night - followed the night after with a super dinner, and more playing...

Big thanks to Bekah for singing with us as well. We all had a blast. Bishop Ken spoke, and we played a bit more. (The volume was a bit lower on Saturday night than it was on Friday on account of the major increase in the average age.) Thankyou St. Patrick's for having us...thankyou Colin for the invite.

And what about the wild life...well, not too wild, but I did see two amazing films inside the last couple of months. First up was Sherlock Holmes WHAT A MOVIE...if there had been another showing after the one me and Mrs McC went to, i think we'd have gone in for another watch...it was that good! The second was last saturday night, when the lovely (driving) Sarah offered her babysitting services! "Invictus" opened my eyes to the statesman that Nelson Mandela was and is...what a brilliant movie - you could feel the tension in the film. I think my favourite bit is where 4 white guys arrive to join Mandela's protection team...and the black guys are a bit put out (which you can understand given the white guys had probably been responsible for keeping them down in the very near past). When the head of the protection team sees that Mandela himself has signed the papers, he goes to complain...coming away again with Mandela's words ringing round the cinema..."if reconciliation is going to work in this country, it has to start here, with us" (or words to that effect!). Morgan Freeman really deserves an Oscar for that one!

And on the outdoor front...my boys have new bikes! And we spent a super weekend back in Bryansford, with lots of cycling, lots of walking, and some more night nav over Luke's Mountain, and back through Tollymore. The stars were amazing. You can't help but think of Indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky, and You know them by name...

My colleagues in work have now decided that I'll organise a walk up Donard in aid of Action Cancer, in May..so when you see a big crowd of not-very-fit-looking people heading upwards beside the Glen River, you'll know who it is. (And no girls, high-heels are not classed as suitable footwear!)

The start of February also saw a return to the blackbox for a second sampling of Ikon. (We did try to join the online event in January, but it didn't all go according to plan. February's LexIkon was a great wee thought provoking night. (You do need to be able to get past the widely varied range of people types who not only come to, but play a role in Ikon). If you think you can do that - come sometime...I particularly like the bit where you can order another beer from the bar! Traditional Church it ain't, but God is in the house!

And Snow - we've had more snow in the past few months than I remember in the last 5 years. It is lovely at first, but it's just FREEZING now - roll on spring, and sunshine, and BBQs.

So what's next? Dunamis on 6th March - I really must organise a practice, eh guys? Our friends Ali and Mark go back to Nepal soon, so it's farwell to them on Sunday night. (Did somebody say something about there being big mountains in Nepal? - What a fortunate series of events - perhaps!) I have a backlog of assignments for the Local Preachers Course (I am working on them, honest) and I got to speak (and sing, and play, and lead) in my mum and dad's church last Sunday night..not sure that they all got the Blacke Eyed Peas "Where is the love?", but nobody shouted "heretic" or anything like it, so I must have done something right.

June 5th will find me in Ward Park, with my lovely wife (and a few other people) listening to Snow Patrol - looking forward to that!

So lent is upon us - a time in my view, not to give up, but to take up...and wether you give up or take up, do it so that it brings you back to that heart of worship, and let the music and the clutter and the distractions fade, so that you can be what He wants you to be. Worship last Sunday was inspiring. As I choose songs on Saturday, Icouldn't get the words of "Draw me close to you" out of my head...partcularly in thinking about lent. "You're all I want, you're all I've ever needed" I think this wil be my soundtrack for lent - along with the Invictus 9000 days!

We are going to rock at Easter!