The Bible tells us that during Joseph's time, the Hebrew people enjoyed peace and prosperity in the land of Egypt.  Then Joseph and the Pharoah die.  Over time, new kings take the throne, eventually forgetting the history leading to their times.  Archaeologist have uncovered ruins that show that historical events were being recorded, yet all that happened the previous 400 years faded into oblivion.  Why? Wasnt someone interested in learning from the past? Isnt that how we prevent like situations from repeating themselves, yet here all was buried and forgotten.

Prejudiced attitudes werent just things of our times.  These same attitudes existed from the beginning of time and the story here is a good example.  Though the Israelites experienced peace and prosperity during the times of Joseph's ambassadorship, the Egyptians still looked upon them with suspicion and caution.  Think about it - Egypt had reached a height of economic, educational, and religious advancement that surpassed none.  They looked upon themselves as superior to all others.  The Bible tells us that Joseph instructed his family not to disclose to Pharoah their occupation as shepherds because he knew how the felt about them.  How could the Egyptians allow such an inferior people to pollute an elite society?  Yet for Joseph's sake, the Pharoah gave them the best of the land.  Dont think this was of pure intent.  The Egyptians gave the good, but they also ensured their separation from them.

The Egyptian attitude didnt change over time.  It remained deeply rooted in their hearts.  Deeply rooted attitudes and forgotten history paved the way to insecurities and fears, hidden by brutality and oppression.  No amount of hardship seemed to affect God's peole.  The harder times became, the more they prospered.  Where would it all end, so the Pharoah thought???

In one short story of oppression, we learn more lessons than one can count.  In Exodus 1, we learn that hard times dont erase God's promises, that harsh times dont escape God's notice and that heavy tests dont eclipse God's concern.  God's promises in Genesis 15 to send a deliverer,  Though hundreds of years have passed before Moses popped up on the scene, God didnt forget His promise he made to Abraham earlier. 

Exodus 3 tells us that God saw the misery of His people, heard their cry, was concerned about them and as a result came down to rescue them.  Oppression and hardship didnt blind God from what was happening to His people no more than it does for us today.  Sometimes in our misery, we feel He is far from us, but that is the farthest from the turth.  God, I mean, the Holy God came down from heaven to rescue His people.  That says alot doesnt it?  No matter how great the pain, God cared.  No matter the severity of the hurt, He felt the pain and came down to us.  Never underestimate the power of God's love for us.

The Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever more.  That means that even our tests today will summon God to us.  His ears are not deafened to our cries.  His eyes see our every agony.  His heart feels our every pain and just as in Exodus, He still rescues us from them all.

He is represented as a descendant of the house of David. Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.

Of Joseph's personal history practically nothing is recorded in the Bible.  It is probable that he had died before the public ministry of Christ;

He was known as Joseph, son of Jacob, to the people in the town of Nazareth in Galilee's southern hills.

Outside of Nazareth he was called Joseph of Nazareth, the carpenter.

Worth to Note
Joseph's First Dream
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit and would save His people from their sins. You can read about it in Matthew 1:20-25. Joseph obeyed this message from God.

Joseph's Second Dream
Matthew 2:13 After the wise men were gone, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. “ Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and Mary, ” the angel said. “ Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the Child. ”
And he did as the Lord commanded.

Joseph's Third Dream
Matthew 2:19-21 After Herod died, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, “Get up and take the child and his mother back to the Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother.

Joseph's Fourth Dream
Matthew 2:22-23 When he learned that the new ruler was Archelaus, Herod’s son , he was afraid. Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee. So they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets said concerning the Messiah: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Worth to follow
Good and compassionate
Yet Joseph was a good and compassionate man. According to Matthew 1:19 Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.

Obedient
Joseph was obedient in all things God directed him. He was obedient in all four instances when the angel of God instructed him to relocate to save Jesus.

[audio http://boxstr.com/files/2870970_kpxtz/JosephPrincesamplemessage.mp3]

Destiny is revealed in an infinite number of ways. Some are appointed a destiny, others receive prophecies alike David. Most of us, however, have our destinies revealed to us one step at a time. Often, We find ourselves gifted or interested in a specific area or perhaps, like Joseph or as Ade mentioned before, we dream of becoming something or somebody. We keep this image, this goal or desire, in our minds and continue with our lives the best we can. Some of us even endure tough times, experiencing loss of loved ones, persecution, apparent failure, abuse, discrimination, poverty, or even wrongful imprisonment. The key seems to be that we continue on attempting to live righteously and valuing God’s will as number one. Doesn’t it seem a bit strange to think that we might fulfill our occupational or spiritual destiny by focusing more on God's plan rather than our own? Isn't that counterintuitive? Most of us think more like this:I want be a lawyer and lawyers need good grades so I’ll focus entirely on school to get good grades, right? Not necessarily. Let’s continue our look at a rough moment in Joseph's life. He was a slave, a lowly Israelite in a kingdom of “intelligent” and “sophisticated” Egyptians, even after dreaming of one day being a leader amongst men. All he had was God, his giftedness, and his dream. Lets read and think of how his life can continue to contribute to our discussion of our destiny.

Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."

19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

A few things in this lesson really stand out. People you love and trust may turn on you or hate you for your giftedness. Even those that are supposed to love and support you the most, like Joseph's brothers, and even those who once looked out for you, Potifer. Also, contrary to popular belief, God rewards those who follow his will, regardless of whether that reward is immediately apparent. Joseph was punished despite the fact that he turned away from sin. Some might say that he should have just sinned if he was going to be punished anyway. How many of us would have done the right thing even if the wrong thing offered immediate reward? Rather than seeking a careers aman of power, Joseph focused first on being a man of God and God handled the rest. At times making things happen in ways that no man could ever have done on their own.. Together, we must strive to do the same as men of :Christ and Men of integrity. We too can achieve our destiny, despite the mysteriousness, by focusing primarily on being Men of god, utilizing our God-given gifts, and having faith.

Questions? Thoughts? Disagreements? Epiphanies? This is a discussion nd we all grow through participation.

Bill Reif, who led the Sports Camp thread at Camp Macon, was able every evening to share with the Volunteers and Youth Team Captains various truths that were 'grabbing' him. He talked about the idea of "Oh God!" versus "Oh God, please help me (Fill in the blank)…" As I was walking around the perimeter on this truth, I began to see and gain some clarity of why Emptiness is absolutely foundational to being a Jesus Follower. You see, when I come with my "Junk"--good or bad--my talents…my dreams…my desires…my pains...my capacity…my wounds...my giftedness…my experiences…my 'good deeds'…my positive opinion and reputation with others…my self-grit…my goals…my resources...you name it…whatever I come "with" to Jesus, He wants me to "Discharge" ALL of it to Him and lay it at His feet…everything…both the 'good' and the 'bad' junk. If I come with anything, then the equation still points to a 'Jared and his "stuff" + Jesus' and that's not the equation He wants or desires in me. He wants me "Emptied" of all…completely discharged of all self contents…laid out before Him in absolute and complete Surrender declaring quietly and humbly in my heart to Him: Jesus, I can't…I absolutely cannot…I am not…I give you everything…You can…and You are…Jesus, live in, with, and through me so that Your painting and story with my life can be perfected and completed as You see best. "Empty" is nothing more than just another thread and color depicting absolute Surrender to our Father. It's not easy. It's not natural. It's tough. And, as I am writing and smiling and crying with tears of joy, I think, isn't it ironic and amazing how God with so much creativity can "press our buttons" in such a way to help you and me embrace being "Empty" to walk down the path of Surrender? Think back to those 'defining moments' in your own Journey, where and when did the Father meet you and 'press your buttons' to cause you to drop all your "Stuff" or junk down so that there was nothing left of you but you humbled, broken, and surrendered laid out before Him saying, "Father, I can't…but You can…I lay it all down before You…Your will be done and not mine…" Bill said it best when he depicted a classic two-word prayer on the canvas of being "Empty" and Surrendered to Him: "Oh God!" Two short words of prayer with so much depth and color…I need You…I can't…I am nothing…Help Me, God.

I have fallen in love with David's prayer of Emptiness in Psalm 40:17 (The Message): "…And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing: make something of me (God)." Do you see David in the process of completely "Discharging all his stuff" before God with his humble declaration; that is the essence of being "Emptied" of self and embracing the path of Surrender to Him. We need "Empty" anchors to point and connect our own lives with when we are in the process of 'wrestling' with God; we all need them. I love the "anchors" God gives us to showcase and model this truth of Emptiness. Men like Joseph, full of ambition and self-drive, and yet he had to embrace the path of laying and dying to his dreams, goals, aspirations and self-confidence all down at the Father's feet in complete Emptiness so that when God showed up and restored Joseph to #2 in charge of all Egypt and reunited him with his family, it was all God…Joseph had nothing to do with it anymore…He had ran on the path of Emptiness, learning to let go and lay everything down at God's feet. Then, we look at Job, with all of his wealth, gifts, and capacity…how for no reason other than Satan's desire to afflict and tempt him, God allowed Job to be tormented losing nearly everything…his family, his wealth, his capacity, even his health. Job went from having 'everything' in the world's terms to having 'nothing' and being "Emptied" of all…why…because God is God…and God gives, and God takes, and Job finally embracing this reality saw that the only color on the canvas of his life was the color of God painting, at whatever speed and whatever color He chose to paint on Job's canvas. Then, there is Jonah, with his spiritual pride (he remind us of many today in "Christian America" with all of our "Religiosity" and formal practices and traditions yielding inflated spiritual pride with so many) who had to learn a very tough lesson on the pathway of Emptiness…Jonah had to die and let go of his spiritual pride and finally did so after spending several days in the fish's body. Then, there is Paul, who was a scholar of all scholars…intellectual genius…learned and schooled in the most elite of Jewish rabbinical schools. Yet, with all of Paul's elite status and stature, God had to "push his buttons" to take him down the pathway of Emptiness and Surrender…letting go of all 'his eliteness' and seeing it was only God in, with, and through Him who was going to do anything good in life. So, where is the Father pressing into you today to "Discharge your stuff" to Him…where is He asking you to be "Emptied" and embrace His pathway of Surrender? May you and I cry out in humble reflection today on His pathway of Emptiness and Surrender the simple heart prayer…"Oh, God!"

Resting in Him,

Jared S. Faellaci

Wiesel manages to infuse these Biblical individuals with traits and characteristics, giving them a sense of substance, whether it be superficial or sincere. He brings emotion and life into them, and a sense of spirituality. We see how the successive generations gain logic, insight and knowledge...both emotional and spiritual.

As the generations continue on from Adam and Eve, Wiesel gives the individuals emotional qualities, qualities he feels didn't truly exist within Adam and Eve. He feels that they (Adam and Eve) didn't have the history or the references in which to understand the immense responsibility they had, not only for their children, but for future generations. They did not, or would not trust entirely in God. They lacked in familial background and human role models, and we see the succeeding generations of individuals begin to develop more human-like emotional qualities, and the ability to reason within their daily setting.

We watch the characters grow, some gain weakness, and others gain strength. We see them learn right and wrong, and develop chaos and a sense of peace in their lives. Mainly, we see how the Biblical characters and their lives can be placed in a modern-day setting, through Wiesel's brilliant writing, and his use of midrash, parables and sayings at the end of each chapter. We ponder their stories from Wiesel's perspective.

Life holds many challenges and struggles for all of us, And Wiesel has shown us how some of our favorite Biblical individuals might have gained a sense of their humanity, and might have felt and thought about issues relevant to them and their world, trying to resolve them, whether rightly or wrongly, justly or unjustly. We are witness as the story teller blends death and annihilation into the lives of the characters, and leaves them to ascertain how to begin again. The Holocaust is underlying, and ever present within the stories, including sacrificial aspects. Lessons are learned, and spirituality is gained, as each person's humanness is exposed. Their lives live on, in the present, in order to teach us, to bring insight into the human condition and atrocities that continue to occur.

Elie Wiesel's brilliant story telling in "Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends", in my opinion, is a metaphor for right and wrong, good and evil, within a Holocaust type of situation, and how to begin life anew from such an adverse event.
~~~~~~
Jew Wishes...Peace to you all.
© Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved - No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my expresss written consent/permission.

Okay....... here is what God revealed to me…..Joseph represents all of the chosen vessels of destiny. Joseph's siblings represent religious leaders and organizations that have tried to kill the Elect, because of jealousy! Today, in this time we have men and women of God who think they will receive a greater crown from God, because they have been in the Christian way for a long time. Sadly, by being around them, they will make you feel as if; you are not qualified, even to be on their level of anointing. In fact, if you have not been in the ministry as long as they have, they will not receive a prophetic word from you! Not knowing the scriptures, for if God can have a donkey speak to a prophet warning him, what make you any different! Listen! Sir or madam, I got news for you, Whom God has called, him also he predestined. Whom God predestined, he also qualifies, and whom he qualifies, he justifies! Also, those leaders have failed to read the parable of the master's vineyard. First, he declared to his servants to occupy, until he come! And at his return, he will pay every servant according to his works. Then, we have the parable of the master of his vineyard. He paid all his servants a penny for their work. The servants who came in the first hour failed to realize, they had agreed with the master to get paid a penny, however, when the master returned, he paid the servant who had worked for only an hour the same. Surprisingly, the servants who worked the longest had become angry!

Beloved of God, we must realize, it is God the master of the vineyard who will do the rewarding, not a man or woman. And the more anger or jealousy you feel toward your fellow worker, it is not the spirit from God but a religious spirit! Sir or madaam, you have to be careful not to complain because you run the risk of God taking your penny and give it to someone who has not complained. Also, You must realize the job God gave you to perform, do it heartily as unto him. For the anointed vessels that you have been holding back in your assembly, God put them there not to hurt you but to learn from you, and at the appointed time God will activate their purpose in the kingdom. For it is by God's design, they are in your assembly to make you look good. Their destiny as your seed is to redeem your land for God. You have to understand God only gave you only part of his plan but he gave the other part to your seed. So stop trying to kill them but love them. For in fighting your seed, you are only fighting yourself! In closing, this word is to the Elect! God has activated Joseph's dream in you. You may have thought you were forgotten. You may have thought you were not good enough to preach, prophesy, or sing! But I declare to you your day has come to arise out of your pit. In all your bad experiences may have made you feel left for dead, however, I declare to you, your sickness was not unto death but it was by God's design, to put you in Potiphars' house, and you will be the one who will interpret the King's dream! Your destiny is to be God's kinsman redeemer! The Vessel God prepared and designed, to lead the people of God, into the next dimension of power!

With today's technology allowing just about anyone to record and release music from the comfort of home, you'd think much of what is released would be amateurish to just plain awful. It's not true. I receive a lot of CD releases in the mail. Most have not been requested by me and almost all come from independent artists who are not particularly famous away from home. I've been writing music reviews since the Sixties, and online now for a dozen years. I'm constantly surprised, and very pleasantly, when I open a new release and start listening. In general, the quality of these releases is as good as anything released in earlier years, and some of it is among the best I've heard. This brings us to Perry Conticchio's Speak Your Truth.

Eight of the twelve songs here were composed by Conticchio, and the remaining four are arranged by him. Jazz composition, and to some degree arrangement of jazz works, requires very special skills. Based on this suite of songs, Conticchio has honed his skills well and is a consummate master of his form. Performed by six musicians at the top of their form, these songs are fully rounded and seamless, flowing across the listener with gentle dexterity. The effect is not of a dozen single songs played in isolation but of a full, rich jazz suite that includes all of these songs in just the right sequence.

While saxman Conticchio takes the lead in many of the songs, he also gives his colleagues plenty of room to strut their stuff. The combo at the core of this music is tight and refined with excellent, well-balanced performances by Conticchio on tenor and soprano sax, Rodney Richardson on guitar, Andrew Elliot Cox on acoustic bass, and Lawrence "bubbles" Dean on drums. Joseph Brotherton plays trumpet on two songs and Wayne Wilentz plays piano on two others. The trumpet and piano blend organically into the mix, never sounding extra or added-in. All of this is a tribute to both Conticchio's skill as an arranger and the talents of the musicians with whom he works.

While it never sounds dated in any way, this music does have an old feel. I'm reminded of the jazz I was buying on albums during the Sixties and early-Seventies. Although the sound of the songs is unified and the set holds together very well, Conticchio seems to have pulled in elements from a number of the jazz variations of mid-century and made musical allusions to several more, creating his own brand of subtle fusion. It's in his particular blend of styles that this music sounds fresh and new.

Besides Conticchio's refined sax sound, this release features exceptional playing and outstanding moments featuring the other musicians. There are some impressive solos on bass and drums, cool piano bits, very Wes Montgomery sounding guitar, trumpet that at times takes me back to Bobby Hackett, and much more. Because of these many high points, this music welcomes the close listener who has a taste for excellence in jazz performance. At the same time, this is quiet club-jazz well suited to become background for a quiet meal and conversation or to be played at home while cuddling in front of the fireplace.

While I enjoy listening to this set, I keep thinking how much more enjoyable it would be to walk into a club somewhere and discover Perry Conticchio and the boys on stage. It would be a pleasure to watch such a masterful group of musicians at work. If you can't make it to a live performance, then this CD is the next best thing.

If you want to learn more about saxman Perry Conticchio, go to PerryConticchio.com. If you go to the Speak Your Truth page, you can hear samples of four of the songs on this release.

Support this independent roots music CD reviews blog.

I just go by if I enjoy the entertainment and was it worth the money to go. So many times people pay money to see a movie and it sucks. Not so here and I would recommend that if you get a chance to go that you take the opportunity. I believe it normally starts at 8PM and goes to about 10:15PM or so. You are allowed to bring your own refreshments which I recommend. I even saw someone have a veggie platter which was cool. You can either pay to sit in reserved seating or sit on the ground on blankets ( you have to provide the blankets). This performance is very fast pace and is enjoyed by all ages. Thanks for listening. You can check out their web site at:http://www.trollwood.org

Heath Ledger's final film role as The Joker is amazing. He inhabits the role. One completely forgets the actor. Even when he isn't on screen, the Joker's presence is palpable.

This Joker is someone who should and probably has danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight. This Joker, like his best appearances in the comics is NOT a super villain, but a force of nature. In the film, Joker mentions to The Batman that he is an "Agent of chaos." I agree. My impression of the Joker is as a Trickster. More closely aligned with Loki, Anansi or Manabozho than Lex Luthor, The Riddler or Scarecrow.

In Native American traditions, the Trickster alternately scandalizes, disgusts, amuses, disrupts, chastises, and humiliates (or is humiliated by) the animal-like (Bat?) proto-people of pre-history, yet he is also a creative force transforming their world, sometimes in bizarre and outrageous ways, with his instinctive energies and cunning. Eternally scavenging, he represents the most basic instincts of chaos.

As Bruce Wayne's long serving friend and mentor, Alfred wisely notes: "Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."

The landscape of the film is that of the unconscious, where archetypes roam unfettered by the restraints of the waking world. This is the realm of the hero’s journey, fraught with all the peril that implies.

In Tim Burton's Batman, the Joker's origin is shown in detail. It's revealed that he's the street hood who kills Bruce Wayne's Parent's, thus creating the psychotic schism in young Bruce. It's in turn shown that the newly minted Batman inadvertently creates the Joker.  The Yin and the Yang. The balancing forces or the Father and Son in Star Wars, literally balancing The Force.

In the comics, except for a few unsatisfying exceptions, the Joker's origins are never fully revealed. When they are, they're purposefully contradictory, just as Ledger's Joker's many versions of how he got his scars. Writer and Director, Chris Nolan goes out of his way to make the Joker's origin very vague. The Joker does say, very earnestly to The Batman, "You complete me." It's as if he sprang out of mid-air. No prints, no dental records, no DNA, no labels in his clothes, nothing but, "lint and knives."

The character of the Joker represents The Batman's ID. In this world of archetypes that the movie inhabits, where super-powered beings live, help and menace the World. It's not a great leap to believe that the existence of The Batman in this World called into existence the antithesis of his force. Just by being, The Batman, created the Joker. Existence needed the Joker, not as a man, but a force of nature. In this case, a Trickster.

The Joker's complete detachment from the material world, from life itself, renders him beyond simple good and evil and into another category altogether, the complete and impersonal danger of anarchy.

Ledger's Joker, giggling with delight over the mayhem he causes with a perfect indifference over the outcome is such an overwhelmingly dynamic performance that it overshadows everyone else, despite excellent work, including Christian Bale, who is wonderfully tortured, dark and achingly vulnerable. Joker is the Trickster in the archetypal sense. It's my prediction that when Heath Ledger is nominated for an OSCAR, it's as Best Actor, not Supporting.

Nolan's two Batman movies and Joseph Campbell

Best known for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion, Joseph Campbell relied often upon the writings of Carl Jung as an explanation of psychological phenomena, as experienced through archetypes.

The role of the hero figured largely in Campbell's comparative studies. In 1949 The Hero with a Thousand Faces introduced his idea of the monomyth (a word borrowed from Joyce), which outlined some of the archetypal patterns Campbell recognized. Heroes were important to Campbell because, to him, they conveyed universal truths about one's personal self-discovery and self-transcendence, one's role in society, and the relationship between the two. Below are Campbell's steps of the Monomyth and my notes of how they are represented in the two films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

There are 3 parts and 16 steps to the Monomyth.
part 1. Departure
a. The call to Adventure - The death of his parents
b. The refusal of the call - Living an empty and pointless life leading to trying to take Chill's life
c. Supernatural Aid - Ra's Al Goul and his Ninja's
d. The crossing of the Threshold (symbolic Death) - Bruce was literally declared dead by the Wayne Foundation
e. Rebirth - The Batman
part 2. Initiation
a. The road of Trials - Year One
b. Marriage (meeting of a companion) - Jim Gordon
c. The woman as a temptress (for male heroes, obviously) - Various, usually Cat Woman, in this case Rachel Dawes
d. Atonement with the Father - The Batman's pledge to never use a gun or take a life
e. Apotheosis - Becoming an Icon, creating a vacuum, thus creating the need for a balancing force. Creation of the Joker
f. The Ultimate Boon - The end of the Mob
part 3. Return
a. The refusal of the return - Harvey Dent cleans up Gotham
b. The magic flight (the return trip is always faster then the initial trip) - Bruce's moral quandary and turmoil is wrapped up pretty quickly
c. The crossing of the RETURN Threshold
d. Master of two worlds
e. Freedom to Live

Remember, Joseph was the youngest son of the 12 sons of Jacob, and he was envied by his older brothers because of his closeness to their father, and the things their father did for Joseph that were not done for the older brothers. The father made Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, a coat that had to have been product of a lot of hard work. The brothers set up a plan, or rather, a plot to remove Joseph from their presence, and the presence of their father. The destroyed his coat one day, threw him into a pit of limestone, left him to be sold into slavery, and lied to their father and said that a wild beast devoured Joseph, and tore his coat of many colors.

Joseph never once took out revenge towards his brothers or had any sense of hate. Joseph was always loving, and kind. This will be seen later in the story when Joseph has the job of providing for, and feeding the people of the lands of Pharaoh, with food, particularly corn, during the seven years of famine that came about. Joseph's father, who had no idea of Joseph's position as the right hand man of Pharaoh, and the one in charge of the food supply, sent his sons to Egypt to purchase food, since the famine was impacting all the world around Egypt. Joseph loving supplied his brothers with corn, and filled their bags to overflowing, and also gave them their money back so that in reality, they received food for free. Joseph had the power to hurt his brothers and put them away for ever, but he loved them regardless of their animosity toward's him, the loving Joseph.

This story is so filled with the abundance of Life, Truth and Love. Life expressed in that Joseph was not destroyed, the people were not destroyed during the horrible famine, and Joseph's family were not harmed. Truth was expressed by the healing power of God's lovingkindness, reflected in the care and affection shown by Joseph towards his brothers. He even cried after revealing him to them. They felt that divine Love that corrects every situation, and felt bad for what they did years ago to Joseph. They overcame their envy, their hate, and learned a lesson of love.

Mary Baker Eddy in her work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, gives the spiritual meaning of the bible character, Joseph. She says in the Glossary chapter, page 589, that Joseph, is "a higher sense of Truth rebuking mortal belief, or error, and showing the immortality and supremacy of Truth; pure affection blessing its enemies."

Does that not fit the character Joseph. We too, can put on this Joseph thinking, being, character and express those qualities of affection, blessedness, truthfulness, and have a higher sense of Truth instead of a limiting human sense. Each bible character serves to lead us higher in our spiritual understanding. It is not so much the events of a story rather than the development of the main character in the story that is important.

Last week, Ade made a great point regarding one understanding and being sure of what God has destined for us, especially with regard to sacrifice. He makes a great point. Can you honestly say that you know your destiny? How might one know when they have found their destiny? The questions are baffling. Our destiny eludes, confounds, and frightens most of us for many reasons, especially because of its mysterious nature. It feels concrete; almost too defining. Not to mention that none of us wrestle angels on a daily basis (like Jacob) or have prophets that anoint us as Samuel did David. The fact is that our destiny often seems unclear and indistinct. We aren’t explicitly told why we are wherever we are and often see no connections between the choices that we make. This fact is equally troubling and is but one of many reasons why “destiny” is such a difficult topic to cover. I searched through the bible for wisdom on this topic and surprisingly stumbled upon a useful story for us to study. Hopefully, this two part look at the life of Joseph will serve as an example of how we can fulfill our destiny when all we have are our gifts and dreams.

Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, a son that God had promised them both long ago. As such, Jacob (now known as Israel) loved and adored Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born of his old age. Joseph was a shepherd, like David, and was also an interpreter of dreams. He himself had a dream (Genesis 37:8) that his brothers interpreted to mean that Joseph would one day reign over the family (37:9). Here is the whole story.

Genesis 37:2-36 (New International Version)

2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented ^[a] robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."

8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them."
"Very well," he replied.

14 So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?"

16 He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?"

17 "They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' "
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. 20 "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said. 22 "Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing- 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels ^[b] of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Joseph dreamt of something greater than even his father could imagine. He dreamt of things for which his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery for twenty shekels. Joseph was not told by an angel or a prophet or a preacher that he would one day become the ruler of many. It was his own dream that preceded his destiny. I imagine that there were times where he questioned the validity of that dream. Imagine yourself sitting at the bottom of that cistern wondering, “Lord why did you give me this crazy dream” or even “why have you forsaken me”. Do any of you see a point where Joseph receives an explicit mandate from God of his dream? This inspirational story serves as a template for our lives as Christians. We are often not given prophecies of grandeur or ever receive messages from angels of God, but rather we develop a relationship with God and allow ourselves to submit to God’s Will. Joseph did the same and was ultimately rewarded. Continue to think about your own life and your own walk. It is our job as men to discern whether we are aligned with God’s will and to keep faith that the Lord will provide abundantly. For Joseph to have survived imprisonment and slavery, he must have been focused on something other than his dream, and I would venture to say that his dedication to the Lord sustained him through his trials. Continue to think about Joseph’s situation as we prepare to move on to part II.

Thought Questions:
Did Joseph deserve to be persecuted and sold into slavery?
Does it seem strange that even Jacob was angered by Josephs dream?
Is it surprising that Joseph’s brothers were so spiteful?
Do you often despise others for their gifts?
Do others despise you for your gifts?Should Joseph been mad at God? Was he mad?
Do you focus more on your chasing your dream than on pleasing God? Has God ever failed you?Have you ever experienced difficulty when focusing on yourself and success after you focused more on God?
Why do we focus so much on school, ambition, careers, if God is truly our provider?
If the Lord delivered Joseph under the covenant of Law, how much more will he deliver us through our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus?

It was therefore with a great deal of anticipation that I entered the Adelphi last night, and in hindsight, I'd say that the show only partly met my expectations. When I reviewed the Mountview Showcase last week, I limited my post to highlights and lowlights, and I'm going to do something similar with last night's show. If you want to read a more traditional review, you can see a positive one in the Times or a negative one in the Guardian.

The highlights

1. Fiona Reyes, the understudy Narrator
The usual narrator, Jenna Lee-James, was not performing last night, but her understudy was tremendous. In fact, her performance was probably as good as anyone and I'd expect to see her go on to bigger roles in her own right very soon. She handled a very demanding vocal part with ease. If I were a director, my only would be that she seems to bend her knees before every high note, which can be a little disconcerting for an overly observant audience member.

2. Lee Mead
Judging by the audience reaction, Mead was the highlight for much of the audience. Vocally he wasn't as strong as I had expected - he was a little flat on numerous occasions - but his amazing charisma more than made up for that on this occasion. He commanded the stage with ease, and I have no doubt that he has a huge career ahead of him, even after his BBC-influenced fame diminishes outside of typical theatre audiences (although a continued relationship with Denise Van Outen won't hurt)

3. The updated orchestration
Thank goodness the orchestration isn't the same as the 90s production, so the reliance on synthesisers isn't there. Having listened to the soundtrack of the original production, I was pretty worried, but last night's band were great. I particularly enjoyed the performance of the bassist, who appears to have convinced the sound desk to turn his volume up more than would normally be acceptable!

4. The pastiche of multiple musical styles
Joseph is unusual in using a plethora of musical styles within the show. From country and western to calypso, and from french romance to 60s pop, the show moves seamlessly between the influences. Whilst it doesn't make for a particularly coherent show, it's enjoyable to hear the mix of styles.

5. The songs
At times I thought I might have wandered into a 'Sing-a-long Joseph' performance, given the obvious desire of some audience members to join in. Thankfully the majority of the time, they restrained themselves to tapping along with the beat, but there's no doubt that if requested, much of the audience could have recited the songs' lyrics. For me, Joseph's main appeal still lies with the fact that there are numerous hits that everyone knows. Not a major surprise given that many of us grew up singing the songs at school I suppose.

The lowlights
Despite the many positives about the show, I left the show somewhat disappointed, finding the overall experience somewhat underwhelming. I've tried putting my finger on it, and whilst this is not an exhaustive list, I've identified a number of reasons for my reaction:

1. The choice of theatre
When I last saw the show (starring Jason Donavan), it was on at the Palladium, which is a hugely impressive venue with a massive stage. Unfortunately, the Adelphi doesn't feel quite right for this show, and ends up limiting how spectacular it can be. The Adelphi was perfect for Chicago, which ran there for around 10 years, precisely because it was a scaled-back production that didn't rely on set pieces. Unfortunately, the re-used direction and design from the original production feels far less impressive in this theatre. The technical problems that resulted in a 10-minute interruption to the first half didn't help matters, but I was already unimpressed. 

2. Pharaoh
Dean Collinson played the Pharao-as-Elvis role, one which lends itself to easy laughs. And whilst he certainly milked the laughs effectively, that didn't excuse his dreadful diction. I can honestly say that if I counted the words I understood in his two solo numbers, I wouldn't need more than one hand. It was a truly lazy performance, and I find it remarkable that the artistic team haven't pointed this out to him during the year that it has been running.

3. The lack of coherence
I mentioned in my highlights that there are a number of different musical styles. Unfortunately, as a result, there is no consistency to the show, and it ends up feeling a little like a pastiche of itself. New musical styles appear out of nowhere and at times, it is just confusing. In the end, its strength became a weakness in my eyes, and I found myself wishing for less variety and more consistency.

4. The children's choir
I still don't really understand why the show has a children's choir in it, as they really didn't add anything at all to proceedings. But if there is going to be a group of children, it would help if they could sing. Unfortunately, they were pretty poor - given that the music is not exactly complex, it was pretty frustrating and I found myself cringing on far too many occasions.

5. The dated nature of the production
I appreciate that Stephen Pimlott was a fantastic director, and when I first saw the show, I loved it. However, I wish that when choosing to do this show again, Andrew Lloyd Webber had hired a new director and allowed them to create an entirely new production. Instead, we got a recreation of something that had already been done well, which feels a little lazy. Given that the show was cast in a primetime BBC show, it was always likely to succeed commercially, so this was a perfect time to take a risk and try something new. Unfortunately the producers shied away from that, so we got a perfectly adequate, but dated, production.

In conclusion
A fun night out, but not quite as good as I had hoped. Worth a trip, but I wouldn't recommend paying £50 for your tickets... Make sure you see Lee Mead though...

Joseph is just delicious ... I bought a sheepskin rug especially to take his photo as every baby should be photographed on a sheepskin rug at least once ...

Joseph's mum is lovely too ... 

And I think granddad is pretty keen on Joseph also ...

Thanks again for letting me get to know lovely baby Joseph (and his gorgeous sister Grace) and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.  xxx

Azuri não esconde o pessimismo com o cenário econômico global de curto prazo. Para ele, a alta da inflação é a segunda parte da crise, que começou em agosto do ano passado com as hipotecas de alto risco americanas. "O Brasil ficou seis meses incólume graças à balança comercial e à alta das commodities, mas agora a crise tem a ver com os mercados emergentes e com o país", afirma. A avaliação da gestora é que os emergentes estavam crescendo acima do seu potencial, o que levou à alta das commodities, mas agora isso bateu na inflação e seu combate deve levar a uma desaceleração global em 2009. Nesse cenário, o melhor, diz Azuri, é ficar fora de bolsa, e arriscar pouco em renda fixa, pois não se sabe até onde o Banco Central brasileiro vai puxar as taxas para segurar a inflação. "A hora é de reduzir risco".