The Blurb: November 2008
The IKEA flat pack life
Wednesday 26 November 2008 1.49 pm
I went to IKEA Croydon yesterday. You know IKEA of course - everyone does - that great emporium of cheap, carry-it-home-and-put-it-together-yourself furniture, a treasure trove of bizarre Swedish names, and a strange aura that mysteriously transforms your shopping list from "one small table" as you go in, to "two tables, three CD racks, four sets of tealights, two extension leads, four useful boxes and a plate of Swedish meatballs" as you finally emerge.
I followed the arrows around for a while, then decided to be rebellious and go against the flow in order to return to an item I had seen earlier. With strange looks from fellow sheep ... er, shoppers ... and a buzz of adrenalin from disobeying those little guiding floor markings, I made it. I avoided the lure of the wrapping paper multi-packs, the budget plants and the bargain bedroom sets. And I ended up coming out of the place with a table called INGO (pictured) and a waste-paper bin, which were exactly the two things I went in there to get. Oh, and an ice cream. Dang.
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Dramatic price cuts
Thursday 20 November 2008 6.17 pm
With half the world heading into recession, shops all down the high street are trying to stimulate the market by offering great deals. However, I think they could all take a leaf out of the book of this shop in South Africa, which certainly knows how to knock down prices.
Or the "Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish Distributors Ltd.", whose sign was proudly displayed outside their shop in Maseru, Lesotho. It's those sorts of people that got us into this mess.
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I don't care about the poor
Friday 14 November 2008 6.04 pm
That's right - you heard it here first. I love God, and God loves the poor, so why don't I love the poor? I read charity magazines like Tear Times, but it's more to feel that I've done it than because I really want to. I hear about 23 people being killed by a suicide bomber in Israel, and I forget about it two minutes later. I just don't care, and it really bugs me.
Am I really that cruel and heartless? No, I'm not. If 23 of my best friends were suddenly killed tomorrow, I'd care. I'd be crying for weeks. I'd go to every one of the funerals and make cards for every one of their families. My heart is functioning perfectly well.
I reckon this is a clue to how my heart works. It's designed to love, but it can't love everyone like God can. So I subconsciously choose who to love, and I do it partly according to who I know. The more I know someone, the more I love them. I love my family and best friends more than some random missing person in the papers, because I know them.
I even care slightly more about someone if I know something as simple as their name. There are one or two homeless guys whose names I know. I don't know anything more about them than that, but even with just this simple knowledge I would notice, and care, if I were to read of anything happening to them.
It's obvious, really, but it leads me to an interesting conclusion. If I want to care more about the poor, the way to do it isn't to try and love them more. I can't, so it's pointless me worrying about it. I just need to know them more - and love will follow on behind. That's why short-term "mission" trips are so good - they help "us" know "them" more. And then we might actually find it rather more natural to do something about it.
One final thought: that's why I've been going on about how great it is that Barack Obama's family are Kenyan. If he knows the poorest people - even just a very little bit - he will care about them too. It's just the way the heart works.
Discuss.
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President Obama
Wednesday 5 November 2008 5.43 am
Sounds good, doesn't it? I have just watched live on television a moment that will be recounted in history books for generations. That's incredible - absolutely incredible.
It's the ultimate symbol of Martin Luther King's dream of 40 years ago. An African-American just two family links away from the world's poorest people is just the sort of guy I want to see in that White House. You never know - he might just make a huge difference to the world. And Europeans might now be able to mention the phrase "US President" without sniggering.
Don't get me wrong - I don't like every bit of what Obama says. He's sounded more and more American (and not in a good way) as the last interminable year has gone on. But I still think he knows where his heart is. And I think it's good. He uses the proud, self-righteous words the Americans, sadly, want to hear, but I have a feeling that inside he's a much more humble man than that.
Well done, John McCain (if you're reading this), for an extremely gracious concession speech. In fact, for the first time today, I even found myself feeling proud of you. I can't believe what it feels like to give the most intense year of your life to a campaign like this, only to finally lose it all in one night. And I pray that you feel peace.
As for Barack Obama, I'm praying for him too. Can you imagine what it feels like to start a new job with the expectations of the world on your shoulders? Of course he won't meet them all. As he said himself, the real change needs to come from the people, not just the President. Now that's something I agree with. I wish him all the best, and I'll be praying for him.
Well worth losing sleep over.
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Welcome to church (Closed on Sundays)
Sunday 2 November 2008 6.00 am
What should we be allowed to do on Sundays? Getting out of bed and eating breakfast are probably admissible. You can help an old lady across the road as long as you don't make too much of a habit of it. And of course you can go to church. Just don't switch on your computer and surf to the church website.
Not if your church is the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland anyway. Try visiting their site today or on any Sunday and see what happens. Ironically, the Web server still needs to be switched on and maintained in order to display the "Sabbath" message to users...
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