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Lots of metal going on in my world today.

We showed DD a little bit of Iron Maiden's Live After Death video a few days ago. She loved Eddie as the mummy! This morning she proceeded to put her kee kee (her blankie) on her head and walk around saying "I am Eddie the mummy". Gotta love the imagination of a 3 1/2 year old :)

Would love to hear what fun things your kids do relating to metal.

Oktober 1985: Melding fra Posten Storlien (Sverige). Det ligger ett paket och ventar på dig här. Moder'n fikk den illegale sjåførjobben (Man kunne spare flere 10-ere på LP-import fra Sverige). Hun forsto at dette var viktig og at det hastet. Pakken kom fra Svenska Skivklubben og inneholdt Iron Maidens "Live after death". Dobbel LP med utbrettscover og booklet. Heavy var det eneste gangbare innen musikk for fjortiser i Meråker den gangen, og her kom plata som overgikk alt annet. Kompisene samlet seg til gjennomhøring mens coveret gikk på rundgang. Det ble studert med argusøyne for å finne symboler som refererte til låter og plater.

23 år senere holder sannelig Iron Maiden plassen øverst på pallen som klodens beste heavy metal-band gjennom alle tider. Det som var en eksklusiv greie for kjennere har blitt et monster som selger over 23000 billetter i Trondheim. I morgen er Lerkendal arena for den største rocke-happeningen nord for Dovre så langt. I likhet med andre gamle storheter flyter også Maiden på gammelt materiale, men i motseting til de andre dinosaurene så klarer de å være så aktuelle at de trekker tusenvis av publikummere som ikke var født den strålende høstdagen på 80-tallet.

Det har de klart gjennom å være trofaste mot det originale bandet de engang var, og ved å unngå å hive seg på trendene som blåste forbi. Det som slo an på 80-tallet gikk totalt av moten da Kurt Cobain drepte heavy'en og selv Maiden sto i fare for å bli en parodi på seg selv. De valgte likevel å fortsette i noenlunde samme spor og nå står de her og ler sist og aller best. Det står det respekt av for stramme skinnbukser har ikke alltid vært like tøft.

På denne turneen spiller de materiale utgitt fram til og med Seventh Son fra 1988, noe som passer perfekt for oss som hang med til kvaliteten begynte å dale med No Paryer for the dying i 1990. Nå blir det gjenhør med Revelations, Run to the hills, Wasted years og andre klassikere, og er vi ekstra heldige får vi endelig sett Eddie i levende live også. Etterpå er det bare å skru tida fram til 2008 for å oppdage at vi er gamle nok til selv å kjøre hjem.

PS: Godt å være fullstendig enig med kritikerne. Både Adressa og Dagbladet har vært på samme konsert som meg.

Han pasado casi 25 años desde que el lanzamiento de Powerslave y el disco en vivo de aquella gira, Live After Death, encumbraran al grupo a la cima del heavy metal y están demostrando que cada vez están a más distancia del resto. No sólo son ya y por derecho propio la mejor banda de heavy metal de la historia, sino que son actualmente uno de los grupos más grandes sobre el planeta. Y Steve Harris es un genio del negocio, dicho sea de paso. Es capaz de darle a los fans, a los de siempre y a las nuevas generaciones -había críos de 6 o 7 años a montones- lo que piden, y hacerlo con coherencia, con mimo, sin desacreditar el mito. Y cómo llevan lo del merchandising. Montones de camisetas distintas, para todos los gustos. Juraría que más de la mitad del público llevaba una camiseta del grupo, lo nunca visto.

Seguramente sus últimos discos no sean para echar cohetes -excepción hecha de Brave New World-, pero saben combinar lo nuevo con lo viejo de forma alucinante. Si hace cuatro años se marcaron una gira con material de sus cuatro primeros discos, y en el 2006 se cascaron sobre los escenarios su novísimo disco entero (un coñazo, todo hay que decirlo), ahora vuelven a satisfacer al personal con este Somewhere Back on Tour que recrea su escenario más espectacular y con un setlist formado por sus clásicos imperecederos de los 80's. A prueba de bombas, vamos. ¿Imaginas a los Stones interpretando exclusivamente material 60's y 70's? Pues algo así.

Lo de ayer en el Twickenham stadium fue grandioso. A unos 20 minutos de Londres, el estadio sirve de sede al equipo nacional inglés de rugby. Tiene una capacidad de 75.000 espectadores que se convierten en 50.000 en los conciertos. Ayer, aunque no estaba lleno (habría unos 40.000), Maiden jugaba en casa y a pesar de lo que señalaba el marcador, ya tenía la victoria asegurada. Y desde luego conmigo iban a tiro fijo, pues ésta es la gira y el repertorio que me perdí en mi adolescencia, cuando con 14 años soñaba con poder asistir a uno de estos shows. Aunque con los años he visto a Iron Maiden infinidad de veces, he tenido que esperar y mucho para presenciar esta regreso al pasado, así que hace tiempo que tenía decido que allí me plantaba, a ver a Maiden ante sus paisanos.

Empiezo con los peros y así me lo quito de encima: 1) el sonido malo, como siempre; Maiden, despedid de una vez al técnico de sonido; lleváis toda la vida sonando igual de mal en directo. 2) el setlist habría que variarlo un poco; ni una sorpresa en relación al resto de la gira, ni tocando en casa. Dicho lo cual, a todo lo demás no se le puede poner ni un pero. La perfección más absoluta.

El Doctor Doctor de UFO de fondo indicando que el espectáculo va a comenzar, seguida de la instrumental Transylvania de su primer disco y que sirve de sintonia a unas imagenes tipo 'footage' del grupo en las pantallas, y a continuación la intro de Churchill y Aces High. Y sin descanso, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Revelations, The Trooper y The Number of the Beast. ¡Apabullante!.

Bruce Dickinson está inmenso, es el auténtico protagonista, con una vitalidad increíble, confirmándose como uno de los frontmen definitivos. Y el resto del grupo en general toca como nunca. El tempo de las canciones es perfecto, ni aceleradas, ni pesadas; cada nota cae en su sitio y observo que como los solos de la época los hacían entre Dave Murray y Adrian Smith, en este repertorio Janick Gers se limitó a cumplir como rítmica.

Sonaron también Can I play with madness (el único tema flojillo; por supuesto, The Evil That Men Do o Infinite Dreams, de ese mismo disco, hubiesen sabido a gloria), Wasted Years -un clásico en toda regla, como lo demostró la reacción del público-, y los dos temas legendarios que identificaban el World Slavery Tour: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner y Powerslave. Sobre todo, el primero, es espectacular en vivo. Maiden saben que es un tema que los fans queremos oir y lo presenta Dickinson aún con mayor aura. Y claro, el clímax, justo cuando cuando explota el solo, casi a los 10 minutos de canción, es apoteósico.

Y después, la recta final con ese Heaven Can Wait en el que sube el público a cantar y que me trae muchos recuerdos, pues yo también fui invitado a subir al escenario en Barcelona, en su primera gira con Blaze Bailey, hace unos 12 años, y me planté justo a lado de Steve Harris a cantar los coros (ver la cara atónica de algunos colegas al vernos allí arriba era impagable). Run to The Hills y Fear of the Dark son prácticamente coreados por el público, como siempre, y luego llega el tema homónimo, Iron Maiden, que presenciado allí en Londres, con la reacción del público, resulta más impactante y clásico que cuando lo interpretan por ejemplo en nuestro país. Imagino que hay un montón de gente que los vio en los clubs de Londres, en sus inicios, antes de su disco de debut, interpretando ese tema, y se les debe poner la piel de gallina, como me ocurre a mi con los clásicos del 82 al 84 con los que crecí.

Ya en los bises, Moonchild, la siempre estupenda Clairvoyant y la que suele estar considerada su mejor canción, Hallowed be thy name. Son 2 horas de concierto sin respiro. Podían ser más, cierto, porque hay mucho clásico aún en el tintero, pero lo que ofrecen estos tipos es impagable. Up the irons!

So, I'm just letting you know Bruce Dickinson will be joining me on the show at 4pm on Fri.

Also, we have more tickets for the PNC show to give away and I'm also gonna hook you up with the Somewhere Back In Time CD and Live After Death DVD.

I saw this show in Jersey back in March, it was amazing.  And this time around the show is on a bigger scale.  The set is from the Powerslave era, possibly Maiden's best stage, and there are two Eddies!

O DVD, num primeiro momento, parece ser importado, mas na contracapa existem algumas informações em português. Disco 1 em 4:3 e o disco 2 (extras) em 16:9 (o que é curioso, pois o que acontece geralmente é o contrário)!

Com áudio restaurado e remixado pelo próprio engenheiro de som da época do show, esse DVD é obrigatório na DVDteca de qualquer um que goste do gênero.

Obs.: Como o recurso de anotações do YouTube ainda está em fase beta, é possível que não apareça no vídeo publicado aí em cima. Experimente visualizar o vídeo direto no ambiente do YouTube, que a chance de ver as anotações é maior.

Iron Maiden - Long Beach Arena : March 16, 1985

I heard the news, big news - Maiden is playing 4 nights at Long Beach Arena. I knew I had to go! Then I heard more news, bigger news - Maiden is filming all 4 shows for their first ever live home video. I knew I had to go all 4 nights! I smuggled my camera into 2 of the shows. One night I managed to scoot by security and found myself crushed up against the stage. I tried my best to snap as many shots as I could, but because I am not the tallest guy in the world, I was pressed up against peoples' armpits and backs, not to mention my face was slammed up against my camera. The lack of oxygen soon got to me and I passed out in the arena. I awoke and found myself lying on my back in the main lobby of the arena with two paramedics hovering over me, giving me oxygen. Terrified that I had lost my camera, I patted myself down and discovered that somehow, just before I passed out, I was smart enough to shove my camera and lens into my pants. As soon as the paramedics allowed me to leave, I rushed back into the arena to shoot more. This was the last photo I shot just before I passed out.

Photographed while gasping for air with my trusty, smuggled in Canon AE-1 and an 80mm-300mm zoom lens.

barusan dapet lagu2nya...

LAGU???

iya, mmg cuma lagu, karena ini sebenernya kompilasi DVD dari Iron Maiden selama beberapa tahun...

track listnya :

DVD1

01. Churchill Speech-Aces High [05:28] (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985)

02. 2 Minutes To Midnight (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [06:28]

03. The Trooper (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [04:14]

04. Revalations (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [06:48]

05. Flight Of Icarus (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [03:52]

06. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner [15:23] (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985)

07. Powerslave (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [07:18]

08. Number Of The Beast (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [05:00]

09. Halloweed Be Thy Name (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [07:23]

10. Iron Maiden (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [05:10]

11. Run To The Hills (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [06:00]

12. Running Free (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [07:49]

13. Sanctuary (Live At Long Beach L.A 1985) [08:28]

DVD2

01. 2 Minutes To Midnight (Promotional Video Version) [06:16]

02. Aces High (Promotional Video Version) [05:06]

03. Aces High (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [04:23]

04. 2 Minues To Midnight (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [06:43]

05. The Trooper (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [04:21]

06. Revelations (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [06:21]

07. Powerslave (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [10:31]

08. Iron Maiden (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [04:26]

09. Run To The Hills (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [04:10]

10. Running Free (Live At Rock In Rio 1985) [07:47]

dengan set list member sekarang ini :

mereka walaupun dah tua2 namun tetep sangar bin mantabh...minjem istilah temen2 di i-rock : mantabhlika...

sayang banget aku cuma dapet mp3'nya,,,tapi lumayanlah...karena kualitasnya bagus... tar juga kalo dah dapet info tu DVD dah muncul di jalan mataram, aku bakal beli...hehehehe...

lagu2 macam Halloweed be Thy Name, The Trooper, Number of The Beast ada di album ini...di beberapa lagu tampak Bruce yg berbincang-bincang dgn penonton, menandakan bahwa ini rippingan dari video...namun sayang Fear Of The Dark gak ada...atau lagu baru sperti The Wicker Man, atau The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg,,,

ketika aku dapet album ini aku langsung teringat lagi sama Pak Pappilon...karena beliau sangat mengidolakan band ini...khayalanku terbawa pada gambaran jika beliau aku kasih album ini pasti seneng banget dan bakal langsung diputer di komputernya di ruangannya di Lab Avi...

yah tapi sayang seribu sayang itu hanya khayalan saja...namun pasti beliau telah mendengarkan album ini di Atas sana...karena di Atas sana segala sesuatunya pasti ada...yah sama seperti judul album ini...Live After Death...

Οι Iron Maiden είναι ένα heavy metal μουσικό συγκρότημα από την Αγγλία. Είναι από τους δημοφιλέστερους εκπροσώπους του heavy metal και ειδικά του New Wave Of British Heavy Metal παγκοσμίως για πάνω από 25 χρόνια. Κομμάτια όπως το The Τrooper, Number of the Beast, Fear of the Dark, Run to the Hills και Hallowed be Thy Name αποτελούν ιστορικές στιγμές όχι μόνο για το metal αλλά και γενικά για την rock σκηνή. Στο ενεργητικό τους έχουν πολλές πρωτιές σε εμπορικό επίπεδο αλλά έχουν βραβευτεί πολλές φορές και από κριτικούς αλλά και από το κοινό.

Ιστορία

Δημιουργήθηκαν το 1975 από τον Steve Harris (μπάσο) ο οποίος μαζί με τον Dave Murray (κιθάρα) είναι και τα μόνα μέλη που παραμένουν μέχρι σήμερα στην σύνθεση της μπάντας. Το όνομά τους προέρχεται από τη Σιδηρά κόρη της Νυρεμβέργης, ένα όργανο βασανισμού. Ο πρώτος τραγουδιστής της μπάντας ήταν ο Paul Di Anno ο οποίος και είχε μια εντονότερη αίσθηση πανκ, από τον μετέπειτα αντικαταστάτη του Bruce Dickinson, του οποίου οι φωνητικές ικανότητες έδωσαν πραγματικά σημαντική ώθηση στις συνθέσεις του συγκροτήματος. Πολύ αργότερα ο Ντίκινσον αντικαταστάθηκε από τον Μπλέιζ Μπέιλι για κάποιο διάστημα. Στο συγκρότημα επέστρεψαν το 1999 ο Bruce Dickinson και ο Adrian Smith.

Δισκογραφία

* 1979: The Soundhouse Tapes
* 1980: Iron Maiden + Bonus Disc
* 1980: Live!! + 1
* 1980: Metal For Muthas Vol 1 (Reissue-2000)
* 1981: Killers + Bonus Disc
* 1982: The Number of the Beast (A-Remastered-1998) + Bonus Disc
* 1983: Piece of Mind + Bonus Disc
* 1984: Powerslave + Bonus Disc
* 1985: Live After Death (2CD) + Bonus Disc
* 1986: Somewhere in Time + Bonus Disc
* 1988: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son + Bonus Disc
* 1990: No Prayer for the Dying + Bonus Disc
* 1992: Fear of the Dark + Bonus Disc
* 1992: Live At Donnington (2CD)
* 1993: A Real Dead One
* 1993: A Real Live One
* 1995: The X Factor
* 1996: Best Of The Beast (2CD)
* 1998: In Profile
* 1998: Virtual XI
* 1999: Ed Hunter (2CD)
* 2000: Brave New World
* 2002: Eddie's Archive-Beast Over Hammersmith (2CD)
* 2002: Eddie's Archive-BBC Archives (2CD)
* 2002: Eddie's Archive-Best Of The B΄Sides (2CD)
* 2003: Edward The Great
* 2003: Dance of Death
* 2004: Rock In Rio (2CD)
* 2003: Dance Of Death
* 2005: Death On The Road (2CD)
* 2005: The Essential Iron Maiden (2CD)
* 2006: A Matter Of Life And Death
* 2006: The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
* 2006: Different World

In this two DVD set, you get one disc that is a full concert from the 1985 Powerslave tour. This was originally released on VHS several years ago, but I never got a copy of it. This new version, is released in 5.1 Surround Sound. This is the way to listen to Iron Maiden Show!!

The Concert Video is worth the price of admission by itself, but this is a two CD set and you get more.

Disc Two bring you the History of Iron Maiden, Part 2, (Part 1 was on the Early Years disc). You also get the Behind the Iron Curtain Documentary, and Live Footage from the 1985 Rock In Rio show.

All in all, this set is over three hours of Iron Maiden for you to enjoy. You will definitely want to replay these DVD's over and over again.

Live After Death is a must own DVD release for all Iron Maiden Fans! Watching this DVD Set has me anxious for the 2008 tour. I can't wait to see Iron Maiden Live again! Until then, I will be watching the Live After Death DVD's.

Rating: Out of 10

]

O novo DVD da banda alcançou a primeira posição no Reino Unido vendendo mais que o Top6 junto! É também número um em vários países, tais como França, Itália, Suécia, Espanha, Nova Zelândia, Dinamarca, Finlândia, Alemanha e Austrália (alcançou "Ouro" no 1º dia). Em Portugal, está na 2º posição assim como na Irlanda e na Noruega. Espera-se também que atinga o Top3 nos EUA e no Canadá no decorrer desta semana.

Podem ver as outras reviews em www.ironmaiden.com

El hecho de ir a ver al cine algo que puedes descargarte desde hace años en cualquier programa P2P con pasmosa facilidad, o comprar a partir de hoy mismo en DVD y verlo en tu casa hace que uno se plantee seriamente si vale la pena pagar 7 euros por esto.

Pero finalmente, y me alegro por mí y mis 7 euros invertidos (xD), la proyección valió muchísimo la pena. El cine que elegí fue el Cinesa Diagonal (Barcelona), básicamente por cuestiones de distancia y tal (los otros quedaban bastante lejos xD).

A medida que uno se iba acercando al cine, el ambiente metalero de los alrededores se hacía cada vez más palpable. No nos vamos a engañar, no había realmente una multitud abrumadora, pero la sala finalmente estuvo hasta los topes. Tras completar el (carisimo) ritual de comprar palomitas y bebida (gracias por la invitación, Cobo! xD), tomamos asiento y en dos minutos empezó la proyección (made in DVD, del que pudimos ver el menú en la pantalla xD). Hay que decir que la sala está muy bien acondicionada, asientos cómodos, buena visibilidad, buena calidad de sonido y calidad de imagen aceptable (hay que tener en cuenta también que, por muy remasterizado que estuviese el concierto, los 23 años que tiene hace que sea muy difícil conseguir una imagen perfecta).

La mayor baza de la proyección era, simple y llanamente, el público. A pesar de tratarse de una pantalla de cine, la gente (entre los que me incluyo xD) coreaba y aplaudía los temas, e incluso respondían a Bruce cuando animaba al público de Los Angeles en este mítico concierto... simplemente una pasada, el setlist nos lo conocíamos todos, e incluso bien seguro que el 90% de los presentes ya había visto el concierto, pero poder disfrutar de Maiden con una buena y gran pantalla de cine y a un volumen aceptable (los de la sala se comportaron genial, ante las súplicas de los presentes subieron el volumen sin dudarlo xD) no tiene precio xD.

En conclusión, una experiencia obviamente no comparable a la de asistir a un concierto en persona de Maiden, pero desde luego se trató de una más que buena forma de prepararse e ir calentando para los conciertos que la banda hará en España este verano, rememorando esos grandes discos que fueron Powerslave, Somewhere in time y Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (prácticamente mis tres preferidos).

Un saludo y... up the irons!!

P.D: Intenté hacer "afotos", pero las pilas gastadas de mi cámara frustraron mi intento. Lástima.

El día escogido es el (lunes :S) 4 de febrero, a las 21.00h (única sesión), por 7 leros.

Aquí la lista de cines que la proyectarán:

Palma de Mallorca:
Cinesa Festival Park

Madrid:
Cinesa Proyecciones
Cinesa Principe Pio
Cinesa Las Rozas

Santander
Cinesa Bahía de Santander

Barcelona
Cinesa Diagonal
Cinesa Diagonal mar
Cinesa Maquinista
Cinesa Park Valles

Bilbao
Cinesa Artea

Santiago de Compostela
Cinesa Área Central

Oviedo
Cinesa Parque Principado

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Cinesa Siete Palmas

Sevilla
Cinesa Plaza de las Armas

Zaragoza
Cinesa Gran Casa

Valencia
Cinesa Bonaire

Yo intentaré ir, será impagable ver un cine lleno de heavies xD Lo malo es el día elegido, pero se hará lo que se pueda...alguien se apunta? xD

El box contendra el show entero asi como tambien documentales y extras con un total de 5hs de video.

Aca les dejo la descripción del DVD y un link a la página oficial de la bestia.

Link: http://www.ironmaiden.com/index.php?categoryid=8&p2_articleid=688

So I thank the God of a SECOND CHANCE!!!

Loosed!

Devil you should have killed me when you had the chance…. 

When I walked out of God’s plan, out of His purpose and destiny for me, and let myself get tainted, diluted and separated from Him……to the point that when my Lord went looking; could not find me, only to see me bound and chained by my own habits that did not glorify Him….

 I was ugly and in dispair I was without the glory my Lord had put on me….Yet He came and paid the costly price to release and save me. You saved me, cleansed me, and started to prepare me. With my head down you lifted me.You told me (reminded me) who I was ….

You gave me beauty for all my ashes, joy for all my pain.You clothe me with your righteousness again!

You stayed with me to teach me how to walk with you, again! You restored my purpose for you loosed me!

 Devil you should have killed me when you had the chance….

‘Cos now, I am loosed! and set free!

Amen!

Authour:  Refinedone

Have you ever lost something that you thought you had already lost only to find out that you where just about to loose it for real…? (If that make sense to you, then you have been there).
We make decision to help, protect oursleves, or stop other people hurting us...
We rationalise wrong decisions, cos we are in a pain or afraid.

This month we are talking all about LOVE
I am just going to write without qualifying what I am saying, I just feel the need to do this; so if someone gets something from it… so be it.

The girl loves to be loved..., loves hard work and determination: big attraction.
The girl was young when her heart was given away for ever, but let’s tracks back...

Before then, the girl was looking for love in all the wrong places, she had nothing else but that to Have you ever lost something that you thought you had already lost only to find out that you where give (she did not know that at the time) you see how the best things about you can be blinded by you …. Just before girlfriend’s heart became cold and shut …love walked in … lovewalked in so different from what GF was use to…lovelooked different, spoke different , did not real fit GF ideal…but she gave it a go…love said “ what do you have against  a men taking you out for dinner and bring you back home in good time” love said I know about the others that took your love and could not appreciate it for the gold it was, I promise to wipe those tears away’ not to be remembered again…promise to look after you with all my love ….( at this point GF was not really ready to open up again, but was curious to see what would happen .
Loved was constant, love was solid, and was always there….GF felt protected, valued, possessed, content and poured out!... did not feel vulnerable or afraid to LOVE!

As GF  fellowships  with love, and found out that GF could be loved for real... love brought yellow roes, art materials, and counted the copper coins to cover and provide for GF, she loved love even when other could not see what love could offer. But GF did!
In the mist of all the love, there where clouds of darkness (sometimes) but too often (chipping away) the glow of Love…At that time GF felt (rightly or wrongly) that lovedid not love GF anymore in their special way! Too many criticisms, too many let-downs, explained way …always explained…always explained…was it necessary? (Will find out)

…..then what happened, love started chipping away from GF …Little by little, little things... Little things…
Harsh words, a hard thoughts,  lots of little excess, no control. love started to shake...I think Love forgot “I’ll wipe the tears from your eyes” and stated to bring tears to GF the pain….the pain…
OK! So the wounds would heal, the heart forgiven... was love taking GF for granted or just had other things on the mind….did life come in and  steal the atmosphere of their love? Did they both take their love for granted and not guard it with all their heart?

….anyway, time passed, blue clouds and dark clouds came and went...the rains came and sunshine shone as hearts are broken and mended, broken and mended…healed hearts with scar tissues building around…the heart.

(Let’s not forget the God factor!!) That was only what was holding things up, together and somewhat moving… hope was driving the bus (maybe trust, patience, courage and faith should have been passengers too)

For as time passed GF decided...why must my heart keep on breaking? …yes there were fun times…plenty …so much fun, so much births have come and gone. Blessings that could not be returned and responsible for…
As we where saying GF made a decision that what would make or break the love (she never knew)
A heart that has felt betrayed (I say felt…cos that is the deception here), been bruised but had a high sense of duty would look for a balance, for sanity, for numbing the pain past or expected… (Does all that make sense?) well so it was…..

….so here comes he that is good at magnifying your supposed pain and bruises to the level of destruction of one’s self…you know him...the enemy of LOVE...the usurper of life …the life source of darkness …in his disguise as a solution.

…watch here as he set the stage for his devastation…in come the players onto stage.
Love….
GF….
“The solution”
Their love...
The birthing of their love…

All to be destroyed.

GF says...love it lost, fast spent and not ever going to see just me again…but we have a duty to do
Love is brilliant on duty…you cannot fault Love on that…nothing special anymore but duty.

Love on the other hand says …yes! I have not been fair, I have seen the light…I have a plan to go back to my promises…to lift GF again… (but the evil one has plans)

The solution… did not even know was a pawn in the distractions of the Love for love and GF and even "Solution" (how sad).

…..Solution come just as GF decision is made…soon GF feels this balm for the pain past and the pain to come…
The evil one( EVO) dressed “solution” in the old clothes of love...( you guessed it GF is  deceived and so is solution) as always EVO tells you he is giving you what has been taken from you when you had it all the time…for when you take it then you lose everything!

In comes riding on His white horse wielding his sword, exposing and causing what seem like distruction…in the commotion ….in the mess….in the confusion….in the pain…in tears … in the breaking ..There is a pouring out of Truth! The lies are exposed!  Love and GF are saved… even “solution” is saved form a future that would have been smeared …
….so do I have a conclusion? No…you make yours.

But I have this to say ….before any major decisions, make sure HOPE, FAITH, TRUTH, PATIENCE, Unity OF MIND, and COURAGE AND LONG-SUFFERING ARE driving and riding on the bus….

PS: 11 days to go o! :)

We are on earth for a moment ( a dash ) . We are travellers through this world, who we really are, our destination and resting place is in eternity. Death is but a transition, and what you do in the DASH is valuable currency in eternity...

 So, we should not just enjoy this poem but reflect on our DASH in this life.

  Author: Linda Ellis 

 I read of a man who stood to speak
  at the funeral of a friend
  He referred to the dates on her tombstone
  from the beginning to the end  He noted that first came her date of her birth
  and spoke the following date with tears,
  But he said what mattered most of all
  was the dash between those years  For that dash represents all the time
  that she spent alive on earth.
  And now only those who loved her
  Know what that little line is worth.  For it matters not how much we own;
  the cars, the house, the cash,
  what matters is how we live and love
  and how we spend our dash.  So think about this long and hard.
  Are there things you’d like to change?
  For you never know how much time is left,
  that can still be rearranged.  If we could just slow down enough
  to consider what’s true and real
  and always try to understand
  the way other people feel.  And be less quick to anger,
  and show appreciation more
  and love the people in our lives
  like we’ve never loved before.  If we treat each other with respect,
  and more often wear a smile
  Remembering that this special dash
  Might only last a little while.  So, when your eulogy is being read
  with your life’s actions to rehash
  would you be proud of the things they say
  about how you spent your dash?

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It’s that time of the year when you’re returning back to work, school or wherever it might be.

The question that everyone asks is how was your Christmas? That is after they have wished you Happy New Year.

Whatever season you’re in, my question to you is have you arrived?

I was having a conversation with a friend recently and we were discussing individual’s perception about when they have arrived in life.

Some people consider being married as arriving in life; some people think because they have all the material wealth in life that they have arrived and the list goes on.

Well I have had a new revelation and that revelation is we arrive when we get to heaven and completed our earthly purpose.

This year I decided to do something different for Christmas. I spent my Christmas holidays doing voluntary work with an organisation called CRISIS.

CRISIS provides shelter for homeless people during the Christmas period. This year the shelter opened it doors on the Saturday 23rd of December to Saturday 30th December. During the period they provided homeless people with food, shelter, clothing, medical care, dentist, counselling, library facilities, Internet access, housing referral, career opportunities, chiropody, hairdressing and entertainment.

Well I must say it was an eye opener for me. When we think about homeless people most of us think about the person who’s on the streets because of such things as drugs, alcohol and mental issues.

Well it’s amazing some of the stories that you hear.  I can now tell you that the above is just some of the reasons why people are homeless.

I looked around and to my amazement there were people who we would pass on the streets and never think they were homeless who were staying in the shelter. Even some of your colleagues who may be sitting next to you in the office are sleeping rough at nights. People from varying backgrounds, classes and ages resided at the shelter for the week.

There were people in the shelter up to about six months ago had all the material wealth such as houses, cars, 2.4 children, qualifications, earning in the high income bracket, you know the things we use to measure success.

But guess what things happened and their circumstances changed. A percentage of some of these people lost everything and they ended up in a homeless shelter alone with nothing to their name except a few items of clothing.

One of the guys said at least he’s still alive and because he’s still got life he has hope. He’s actually planning to get his life back on track and come back next year as a volunteer.
Some of the people that I spoke to said if anyone had said to them a year ago that they would be spending Christmas in a homeless shelter their response would have probably been no.

So where did they go wrong?

Did they become proud, did they become boastful, did they become arrogant, did they become selfish, what happened? To be quite honest I do not want to be judge or juror of their case. But just to remind myself and also to remind others that it’s a fine line.

So have you arrived?

"It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
So let’s just humble ourselves, give thanks continuously remember he gives grace to the humble" Ephesians 2: 6-8

Author: Alicia Camile Douglas.

" CHRISTMAS, the REASON for the SEASON is out of the mess of the first Christmas is the massage of LOVE, LIFE and HOPE"