De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

When I listen to so much music (mainly Christian songs… for myself and for use in school) and end up with 3 iTunes playlists of favourite songs of the year, containing about 110 songs in total, it’s hard to choose my favourites, but here I go.... Lyric Of The Year and Song Of the Year: “I Won’t Let You Go” - Switchfoot "When your fear is currency And you feel that urgency You want peace but there's war in your head Maybe that's where life is born When our façades are torn Pain gives birth to the promise ahead" See previous posts about Switchfoot. They take me from darkness to light... Bridge Section Of The Year + Pre-Chorus Of The Year: “Hypnotised” - Coldplay This band is my guilty pleasure. Their first album, “Parachutes”, won me over, and although they have at times frustrated me over the years, they’ve always been capable of songs that somehow defy cynicism and touch the heart in a way that very few “secular” bands manage to do to me nowadays. When such songs do t...

What a beautifully written review of the much-anticipated new film by one of my favourite directors, Guillermo del Toro (click here ). Not for everyone perhaps, but it's going straight on my "must see" list. The wonderful Sally Hawkins will be worth the admission price alone.

I love the website brainpickings.org (+ its newsletter) for its fascinating reflections at the intersection of the arts (visual, literary, musical...), science and spirituality and for the way it distils the essential ideas from a wide range of books that I would otherwise not have the time to read. Its founder and sole contributor, Maria Popova relies on voluntary donations to keep the service afloat. The reflection that can be found here , which makes reference to the highly influential writings of the great cosmologist and communicator Carl Sagan, encourages us all to take a step back as we approach the end of this tumultuous year so as to better reflect on our lives, our purpose and then continue to "do the work which our time asks of us". Here's an explanation of exactly what "Brain Pickings" is: "Brain Pickings is my one-woman labor of love — a subjective lens on what matters in the world and why. Mostly, it’s a record of my own becoming as a person —...

I sung this at our school Carol Service on Tues. with our pupil worship band: a 6th former on bass + sharing vocals, 2 Yr. 9s on kit (brushes) + assorted percussion. Sent tingles down my spine as we did it. It offers a beautiful reflection on Mary’s persepective, not only of the birth of her child, but of the events of his life thereafter. Prayerful and moving.

"Wise men were packing, angels were watching and the shepherds had no idea whose mother just walked past them. Everything was about to change – forever." Bob Goff

Having a bit of fun listening to some old favourite 1980s songs nice and loud in my bedroom... feel 17 again!! The menu is an eclectic mix of The Icicle Works, XTC, early REM, The Cocteau Twins, Talk Talk, Prefab Sprout, Ultravox, early OMD + Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure, Clannad, Kate Bush, Crowded House and more... What do "Vienna" by Ultravox and "Hollow Horse" by The Icicle Works (a song that has a very important place in my personal journey) have in common? Well, in my opinion, both have very well written and constructed bridge sections (typically the section of the song after the 2nd chorus that introduces contrasting music/lyrics that provide - in the best of cases - fresh momentum in the build-up to a barnstorming final chorus) and when, in each case, the final chorus does arrive it does so on a wave of emotion and sound that just sends shivers down my spine, even now, all these years after having first heard them. Now THAT'S what I call good songw...