Is it bad, when a home is no longer a home?
When the place you called Safe your whole Life
becomes a chamber for your near and necessary death-
your Lonely and Small, execution.

If you listen to Imagine Dragons lyrics, especially “Night Visions,” they are very honest about the nature of human existence. As we listen, it rings true with our own experience. But as we’ll see, the hope clung to is more sentimental and not so grounded in reality. The Bible shows us our problematic reality as well but also reveals God’s way of salvation from it.

On 26th July millions of people watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. The event marks 100 years since the Games were last held there, in 1924. The 1981 Oscar-winning movie, Chariots of Fire, portrays two men aiming for Olympic glory at the 1924 Games, Harold Abrahams – running for glory and acceptance – and Eric Liddell, running in obedience to God. The film ends with these few brief words, “Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied-China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.” He was a man who ran his race in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Since you’re reading this article, presumably you agree with me that written words matter. In fact, they matter a great deal. As the digital revolution continues to change the way men and women communicate around the world, there have been some who bemoan the lack of interest in written words: many traditional libraries have either disappeared or morphed into internet cafes; older people complain that young people are too “glued to their phones” to do any serious reading; a sharp drop in the use of Christmas cards, postcards and private letters all suggest that the written word doesn’t hold the same importance as once it did.

I’m not naturally a very sociable person. I once famously told all the girls at GAC that I hated meeting new people (not a very encouraging thing to say as a leader). However, it is true that I find any form of socialising tiring and draining particularly if I do not know the people well. Nevertheless, having grown up as a minister’s daughter the idea of having many people in and out of your house is a normal one. Growing up our dinner table frequently hosted our congregation, visiting missionaries and many of our childhood friends. Perhaps because of this I see that hospitality is a way of life despite my introverted tendencies. Butterfield seeks in her book to show that hospitality is indeed inevitably part of the Christian life.

An alabaster jar, easy broken, easy spilled,

is brought before him who had it filled.

The jar is broken and out pours love

upon Love’s feet, soon pierced high above

The Prayers of Matthew Perry, A.I designed Supercar. and South African Rugby Captain Siya Kolisi

How many times have you been warned that we live in “an increasingly secular world”? How many evangelism videos have you seen preparing you to deal with the critical, cynical atheist? Of course, this is a real and pressing issue of our day, and the opening verse of Psalm 14 assures us that man’s outright denial of God’s existence is not a modern phenomenon, but that it is a rather persistent fruit on the tree of sin

How much do you actually know about Islam, aside from dress codes and extremists? Perhaps, because we live in Northern Ireland, it is not something that you have encountered, or you don’t see much benefit in engaging with it.

What do you think of when you think of emotions? Perhaps it is a movie scene which brings overwhelming sobs, maybe your mind flicks to that anger that flooded over you when that driver cut dangerously close across you, or maybe the characters from Inside Out pop up in your head.

There is something incredible about fantasy fiction. Not only the ability to conjure up a new storybut to create a new world with different landscapes, creatures and dialects. None in my view have accomplished this so well as CS Lewis or Tolkien. Nevertheless, I do enjoy a venture into a new world and enjoyed my foray into Aerwiar, the world created by Andrew Peterson in his Wingfeather Saga.

A wet February night at 10:15pm. YES at 10:15PM!! The
latest showing at a cinema I’ve ever been to...and probably ever will. Despite the time of night you
never really noticed 1. Because the film was superb
and 2. Because the VIP seating in Maghera is excellent. Quiet, Reclining seats, armchairs and its only an extra £1! the only downfall is that it’s in Maghera.... I’m sure Maghera is lovely but it’s a wee bit off the beaten track. However, would highly
recommend the VIP cinema its superb at no extra cost.

In January 2018 Rachael Denhollander was catapulted into the international eye through her powerful speech in the case brought before the American courts regarding Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics’ doctor, one of the most prolific sexual abusers in recorded history. Perhaps you remember the startling account of her bravery and her strength in fighting for all victims of sexual abuse.  

Our family car used to boast several road maps of Ireland which were laboriously puzzled over each summer as the McCulloughs winded their way across incredibly small roads with a caravan and roof box attached (such roads were not conducive for Gameboys or reading). Perhaps for you, your memory of maps is the dreaded task of map reader on a Duke of Edinburgh excursion. 

He has strengthened her faith in fire, it is stronger than steel.

In her hands, a weapon like no other;

The Spirit of God and he is like fire unquenching.

She is untouchable, as His child, and she is in battle for him.

Opposition is rising, and though her ranks may fail

The battle has already been won,

Jesus Christ is victorious.

I think it’s fairly safe to say that all readers of this review will not be shocked by the idea that tolerance could in fact be intolerant. After all, we live in a society where court cases arise from refusing to make a cake promoting gay rights, where banks have asked Christian charities to close their accounts and where Christian university groups across the UK have been forced to disband. D.A. Carson’s book could not be more apt to help speak a voice of biblical reason into the chaos of a society that has made so called “tolerance” its god.

This film like the other follows famous detective Hercule Poirot, this time to a wedding. Not just any wedding though, a wedding for the illustrious and wealthy Simon and Linnet Doyle. Poirot is attending a destination wedding (the worst kind!) in a small village in Egypt. The wedding reception and festivities, however, are aboard a luxurious boat steaming up the Nile River.

Andrea Levy was a British writer of Jamaican descent who poured her heritage and the history of her family’s home country into her writings. Though this is the first book I have read written by Andrea Levy I doubt it will be my last as her witty, yet strikingly blunt writing is compelling and thought-provoking.

DISNEY’S LIVE-ACTION remake of classic tale Beauty and the Beast has been one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2017. Such an enduring, enchanting tale could hardly fail to bring in the big bucks, and so it was little surprise that, in its opening weeks at the box office, it became the biggest film on the planet.