i am sparticus: Words

Everyone Loves Windows

I love the way windows lets you take photos of it breaking.

More about One Big Weekend later, probably. Or possibly stuff about Helen's job. Woo yeah.

Oh come let us adore him

Lately I've been thinking. I've been thinking that thinking is probably a good habit to get into if I'm going to be doing a degree. I've also been thinking about more profound theological stuff, which I will get on to. However, right now I'm thinking that the word thinking has lost all meaning and looks like it is spelt completely wrong.

Anyway, my theological (theo - God, ology - study of) thought was about worship. More specifically it was about corporate worship. You see as Christians, we worship God as a response to what he has done for us. Individually we worship God by following him and obeying him, which while hard to do, is easy enough to understand. The bible is clear on the subject, so the issue of individual worship is clear in my mind.

However, what isn't so clear is what happens when Christians come together to worship. Do we come together to share in fellowship and learn about God, and by doing so worship Him? Or do we come together to also explicitly worship him through singing songs? Or are these songs for our benefit or for Gods? Do they have to actually speak about God? Do they have to have words?
In 1 Corinthians 14:26 Paul, speaks about how that everything done when Christians meet together should build up the Christians spiritually, and later on he speaks of how everything should be done orderly. By which he doesn't mean strictly time-tabled and rigid, but more, it shouldn't be anarchical. I guess this means that certain things are out, but does it mean that songs that don't teach us anything of God shouldn't be sung?

Anyway, I had a very good talk to Helen about all this, and she was far more sensible that me, in that she agreed with me that I was probably over analysing it all, and told me that we sing songs because singing songs is a way of expressing love for something. Which made me realise that I was being a bit stupid about it all, and that I should get on with worshipping God in times of coming-together-with-other-christian-ness properly, rather than thinking about how I could rationalise this all theologically.

Anyway, In conclusion, I'm going to sing more songs, and try to concentrate on God whilst doing so. I'm also going to buy myself a nice shiny book on Worship when I get the chance.

And if you've read this far, even though you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a big word you can use in conversation, Eschatalogical.
Of perhaps more use, is this. badger badger badger mushroom mushroom badger badger SNAKE

Going MIA

So, I've been away. Again. This time however, I come back much the poorer, and not much really that much the wiser. I do however, now have a nice Oxford Brookes NUS card and a folder full of pieces of paper. Rock and roll.
The more observant of you will notice that, as a student I should be at a university drinking, sleeping, watching trisha, doing all the stuff that students do, but I'm clearly not. You see due to the cunning nature of the course I'm on, I'm actually going to be doing it working at a placement, in Ipswich, and then studying in Cambridge. Thus Oxford Brookes itself will only play a very small part of my life. Needless to say it's all very confusing.
Anyway to save you the hassle of remembering this, I've made a cut-out and keep card, that you can print off, cut-out, and indeed keep! Then whenever someone asks you, you can whip it out to remind you.

Mark "Sparticus" Walley

Will be in Ipswich, studying a degree in youth and community work and applied theology at Cambridge

Helen "Stetler" Irvine

Will be working for NGM just outside Bristol

And with that out of the way, I can finally go to bed.

Oh but if anyone can find out the pop/smtp mail address for all the oxford brookes e-mail addresses, it would be most appreciated.

Lots of exciting news from

Lots of exciting news from both of us soon, but first something completely different.
I love trains, not in a sad, obsessive, "look it's the number 24 triple riveted ply-mo steam engine" way. More in a "fun to travel on way". However trains do bring about what has to be the most annoying behaviour on earth. You see people when they get on trains, want lots of space. So quite often they sit at the nice big tables. Then when groups of 3's or 4's come along, they politely look away and pretend like they are not being entirely selfish by hogging the table. How self centered do you have to be to not feel guilty when your behaviour causes a family to have to sit apart. Stupid selfish people.
Did i mention i was in the sun yesterday?

Life's so much better in the sun

Today in The Sun (national tabloid rag), between Geri Halliwell (page 6) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (page 9) resides an article on blogs. And quoted is me.

"Most bloggers are not celebrities or politicians but ordinary people like Mark Walley, 19 From South Yorkshire. On his site at www.iamsparticus.co.uk he says 'it is a relaxing way of getting of my head whatever is in it. It's very theraputic.'

So I'm in the Sun. Me. In the Sun. Oh yes. That's even better than the time e-boy (of the deceased everfelt.com) was in the news of the world.
I think they must have found out about my site through why blog? (seems to be down), Paulo's thesis site about weblogs. I think that's where the quote is from, it seems more likely them finding about my website that way anyway.
Still, the important issue is whether or not Paulo copyrighted his website, or Creative Common'ed it in a certain way. Because if he did, it's LAWSUITS A PLENTY! Quote me without my permission! MURDOCH MUST PAY!

Lack of Coffee

This house has no instant coffee. NONE! I'm so going to cry.