The Name of God

I've been trying to get this post finished for weeks, and I guess it's finally here, finished or otherwise.

It came from a conversation I had with someone whose basic problem with religion was along the lines that if there is a God, he must be so far beyond our understanding that giving him a name (or a gender for that matter) is somehow constraining God.

My issue with that point of view is that, basically, it's true. I have met religious people who believe it's their purpose to understand God (that's for another post), but I'm not sure I'd want to worship any deity that could be fully understood by some chick with a couple of mediocre A-levels, none of which are in theology.

Yes, God is outside our understanding. Of course he is, he's God. But just because he doesn't fit into our human ideas of gender or indeed anything else we may try to use to describe him, does that mean we stop referring to him? That doesn't seem to make any sense. Any conversation about - or with - God, by definition needs a term for God. We need a name for Him, it's as simple as that.

Aside from the practical issues, God wants us to speak to him. I don't know how many times in the Bible he urges people to 'call on my name', but I bet it's a lot. And he gives us plenty of names to use - but that, too, is for another post. I suppose it's something of a quandary: God knows we cannot fully understand Him, but neither does He want us to constrain Him in any way. He doesn't expect us to understand Him (except in as much as He reveals of Himself in the Bible or personal experiences) but He longs for us to know him.

And I think that's what I came away from that conversation with. Maybe there is no name that can really encompass who or what God really is, but there is a name that he invited me to call him, a name that he loves to hear from anyone who will use it.

God just loves it when I call him Daddy.

Musical Monday: Cliche

The official video for the new single from one of my fave rock chicks of the moment, Eowyn. It's kind of a fun video, but the song is about how sometimes as Christians we just go through the church/bible study/prayer routine the same way every week until it loses any real meaning... and we become a cliche.

Musical Monday

Just because I didn't want it to end, and to celebrate the awesomeness of Team GB. Again.

And because it's an awesome video to a classic tune, naturally!

Snog Marry Avoid?

Confession time: I think I'm getting a tiny bit addicted to this particular piece of trash TV.

For those with sufficient taste to have avoided it so far, the basic idea is the Personal Overhaul Device (POD) hunts out ludicrously over the top girls (and occasionally boys) and turns them into 'natural beauties'.

Sometimes I do wonder whether these people are for real, like Charlene who was on last night - the most tanned woman in Scotland:

Never mind avoid, I couldn't run away fast enough! She looked like she didn't so much apply fake tan as colour herself in with a Crayola Supertip. Seriously, if you must use that much fake tan, at least learn to apply it evenly!

But the thing that really surprised me last night was after Charlene's makeunder: 'What the crap?' I exclaimed. 'She is properly gorgeous!'

And I guess that's why I like the show. Sure, some of the girls - like Charlene - are such outrageous caricatures of the girls I saw in my clubbing days (not that long ago, you sniggering at the back!), that I wonder if the fakery isn't at least exaggerated for TV, but it does make the point: you look terrible. You're better than you think you are. You don't need to show your bum or your boobs to get attention.

On the other hand, the other girl on the same show, Lacey Cakes, whose Daddy paid for all manner of tarty outfits to display Teeny and Tiny to best effect (a whole new level of messed up going on there that I'm not going to touch!), actually looked sad, if unsurprised, that 100% of people wanted to avoid her with her original look, and genuinely moved by some of the comments afterwards....

Yeah it may be trash TV, but it's worth it just to hear Lacey say the words 'covering up is still sexy'.... Amen to that sister!

Musical Monday: Velodrome

Just because I'm gonna miss it now it's done its job for London 2012... Oh, and by the way, sorry it's been so long!

How awesome is this?

Who knew Great Britain would actually turn out to be so... Great?

OK, I may be slightly biased, but from where I'm looking Team GB totally dominated the velodrome over the last few days. Queen Vic is totally my hero! And the rowing for that matter - we don't just win these things, we own them!

And who the heck is Greg Rutherford? Didn't see that one coming!

But, congratulations to Greg, whoever you are, but Super Saturday surely belongs to one person.

When you look up 'inspirational' in the dictionary from now on, it'll simply say:

The sheer dedication it must take to be that good at seven sports boggles my mind, but wow, what a role model, what an example to every one of us.

And you gotta love the crowd.... not that you can blame them, I was on my feet cheering her on too! But the way they cheered her home, and Mo Farah too.... Right now, I just love being British :)

Olympomania #2

So, I got to cheer Cav and the team on on Saturday :D

I'm not sure whether Animal has quite forgiven me for getting him up at 5am, driving for 2 and a half hours, camping out at the road side for another two hours, cheering like an ecstatic banshee for 30 seconds and then driving for another 2 and a half hours, but, well, tough. For better for worse and all that malarkey eh? Besides, we're not going to get a better chance to see the Olympics, and it'll be something to tell the little Sadimals about some day won't it?

At the moment the two groups came flying past me - about an hour or so into the race - the gap was worringly big, given that Team GB were in the second group, but they should have had time to pull it back. And indeed they nearly did,but I think there was just too much expectation on Cav, and the other teams just didn't want to make the effort to compete, so our boys ended up wearing themselves out to no avail.

So, gutted for Cav, still no Olympic medal, but Vino was a deserving winner, and of course: Yay Lizzie!

And if I see any empty seats in that velodrome next week, I'ma gonna kick somebody's backside....