Weep with us...

Weep, Oh World! The Four Horsemen Team has lost a dear, dear member - well, several in fact...

Simon and his family have departed for South Africa!

Simon, we miss you more then you can possibly know. It's down to you that the dream and fledgling idea of the Four Horsemen was enacted - we couldn't have done it without your drive, vision and enthusiasm!
You and yours will be greatly missed.

(Observe moment of silence here...)

At least he left us Sam...even if the plays will never be the same without Simon improvising during fight scenes and scaring us all to death :P.*sobs*

I have to stop now.

Of Updates and Soundtracks...

Well, what's been going on this end recently?

Sam's at summer camp in South Africa, so it's just as well Faye learned his lines (she got to put them into action last weekend in Kingston, woo hoo!). Cate's in Washington at the moment for a family reunion, so once we have our team back together, Edinburgh is a green light!

Thought I'd post the soundtrack to the Four Horsemen play here - and yes, that's the full, unabridged versions of the songs we use for the intro and fight scene!

Just a bit of background on these lyrics: The book of Revelations talks about four horsemen that represent different elements fighting for control of the world in the final days before Jesus' return. War, Death, Greed and the fourth horseman... Jesus of course (cuz he's the shizz :D).





And in this one, we hear the actual text quoted from Revelations about the Battle of Armageddon, in which the Lamb (Jesus) brings an army down from Heaven to kick the Beast (yeah that would be the big bad guy) back to hell and bring peace on Earth.

Three Horsemen and a Lady....

GAME ON

Been practicing a lot recently as there's a fair bit of role-swapping going on.
For example, Faye is being trained as Sammy's protege in the role of Death (that's right, all - another female horseman!).

(Apparently she plans on killing them with kindness?? :P)

Phil (a dear old friend who's become a temporary addition to the team) is donning Money's cloak...

All gearing up for a big road trip in Edinburgh this summer (still don't have those details for you guys, but bear with me! All will be revealed...once it's solidified that is. You know how temperamental men can be? Try four of'em with swords lol :P)...

Party in the Park!

A couple of us lent a helping hand at The Party in the Park in Uxbridge on the 26th of June.

(Josh, Cate and Dee Jay with the Mayor)

We dolled ourselves up snazzily to match with the buoyancy of the sunny day (England's now flooded in the torrential rain that a few weeks of intense sunshine tends to bring around here) and face painted, crafted balloons and handed out colorful leaflets for Churches Together.

Have a look at the pix and enjoy!

(Cate, Jo and David on the far left with some of the organizers)


Oh and... if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me. But it turns out...*glances around shiftily*...

The Four Horsemen team may make an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival this summer!

Which festival, you ask? Well that remains to be seen - but keep your eyes open - cuz I'll post as soon as I know, m'kay? :D

Community Service :P...

What with the rain and all (yep, the sunny weather's taken flight this end...hope it's better wherever you are), our team hasn't been as active on the streets over the past week or so.
BUT...we have done a good deed in the meantime - volunteering for a community clean-up project to try and clear some of the junk littering our lovely canal!


Inglorious? I think not! We merely swapped our theater costumes for yellow jackets and our props for awesome pick-up sticks and wallah!
We had a lot of fun despite the perpetual rain, working together with the organizers of the event. Some of us even got to use grappling hooks to fling into the water and drag stuff from the bottom (I was the only girl to try it and let me tell you, there was about two warehouses worth of clothing down there...disgusting).


We found all sorts of stuff, from random floating coconuts to empty gasoline containers and even a buggy. I think for me the biggest find was the realization that the environment is seriously going to hell - all of us have contributed to the massive amounts of waste at some point in our lives (yes, that empty gum wrapper DID count :P).


But it's also cool to know that there are people out there dedicated to trying to save what they can and make the environment a better place. Sort of like the way each of us decide to do a good deed even though it just seems like a drop in the bucket when everyone else around us is making the wrong decisions.

Just makes life...nicer, I guess. Certainly makes us feel better anyway! :D

Some food for thot on the current financial crisis :D

Stability in Unstable Times

—A message from Jesus

You're on a hotline with someone special on the other end, someone who can really help you. Someone who has answers, complete with landing gear—specific answers tailor made for you in your situation.

Is that hard to believe? You may feel like you've heard or read many such promises before. Each time, they failed to deliver, even those that were advertised as "guaranteed for life." You may have believed those promises and bought into them, devoting your time and effort to attaining the rewards they painted in glowing colors before you.

Now, maybe you're not so sure anymore. You or others close to you, your friends and family, may have lost a promising job, financial stability, perhaps even a dream home—and worst of all, there doesn't appear to be any hope of a quick recovery. Everything you loved and valued feels like it could slip away any minute.

But will it?

Turn your focus for a moment toward your family and others you love and care for. Do you still have your kids, or your wife or husband, or your parents, or your sisters and brothers, or your friends? Consider the love, care, support, and encouragement you receive from those who are close to you. You can't see or tally these blessings, but you can certainly feel them. If you look at your life with the right perspective, you'll find that you really haven't lost as much as you might at first think you have.

A wise man once said that even if you lost the entire world but still held onto your faith, then really you've lost nothing. If you have faith, the world is at your command. There are no unscalable heights, no uncrossable rivers, no impregnable walls, and no tsunami of economic depression that can pull you under.

Faith is the currency of the unseen world. Its exchange rate isn't subject to economic fluctuations or stock market "corrections." Faith's intrinsic value is immeasurable. Faith can change your circumstances, conditions, and even your outlook on life. It doesn't disappear in any recession, natural disaster, accident, or any other calamity. Faith can lift you up and out of any crisis, misery, debt, or loss, even those of your own doing.

You can securely put your faith in Me, because I will never let you down. Will you look to Me and ask Me for My gift of faith? I can place it in your heart, even if you can't find it there yourself. In fact, if you ask Me, I can do something wonderful inside of you that will totally eclipse all loss. I love you so much that there's nothing I won't do for you—as long as it's good for you—if you ask Me in faith.

If you would like to experience the inner peace and stability that only I can give, you can. It starts by accepting Me as your Savior and inviting Me into your life, which you can do by saying these words to Me:

Jesus, I want to know You personally, so I invite You to come into my heart. Thank You for giving Your life for me so I could be forgiven for my sins, find peace of heart and mind here and now, and receive God's gift of eternal life. Amen.

Eagerly awaiting requests,
Jesus

Smile :)

A few notable quotes on keeping our chins up on rainy days like these :).

SMILE!

1. If you see someone without a smile, give him one of yours.


2. Smile and the whole world will smile with you, weep and you weep alone.

3. Smiling is contagious--frowning outrageous.


4. All people smile in the same language.


5.The curve of a smile can set a lot of things straight.

6. It takes 72 muscles to frown--only 14 to smile!

Squeeze, Don't Jerk!

Another awesome thotbyte for y'all!
-- Heather ;).

SQUEEZE, DON'T JERK!
- By D.B.Berg

There is hardly anything that can be enjoyed in a hurry!-- A glass of wine, a walk, a talk, a ride, a view, a meal or an embrace!

GOD IS HARDLY EVER IN A HURRY! It takes Him time to make a baby, a flower, a tree, a sunset, or even a blade of grass. He is hardly ever in a hurry, UNLESS HE IS ANGRY! He hardly ever does anything suddenly--except Judgement!

Speed kills! Haste makes waste! Patience takes faith! If you're in a hurry, you miss things, lose things, forget things & wear out quickly.


If you go slow, you get there quicker--at least you get there. If you stop to LOOK before you LEAP, you may not HAVE to leap at all! A MISS is as good as a MILE!

In the army we had targets that moved, or were there just for a moment & then disappeared. Some were in such a hurry they got so excited their rifles waved around & they jerked the trigger so quick it jerked the whole rifle & caused them to miss the mark!

I took time to rest my elbow FIRMLY, hold my rifle SECURELY, aim ACCURATELY & SQUEEZE the trigger SLOWLY!


Rest in Jesus! Patience takes faith. Difficult times breed patience, because they COMPEL you to trust in God, to have faith in God for the outcome!



Sometimes people get very impatient with me, because I don't answer them immediately when they ask me a question. But it takes TIME to THINK & be sure you give the RIGHT ANSWER. Anybody can shoot off his mouth immediately, but is he really saying anything? Be slow to speak & slow to anger.

Go slow, take your time, you'll enjoy it more! You'll get more out of life.

So squeeze, don't jerk, or you'll miss the mark!

Be So Happy!

Yes, it's another one of those 'Heather found something really noteworthy and decided to stick it up here' posts. It's another David Berg article and YES I LOVE IT *squee* :D.

BE SO HAPPY
- By D.B.Berg



WE ALL NEED A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR! "A merry heart does good like medicine!" God created us with a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at things that are funny. So I'm sure He Himself has a sense of humour, especially when I look at some of the things and people He has created and the funny situations He lets them get into. Someone has said that a sense of humour is the ability to see the funny side of a serious situation and to laugh at things when they're not the way they ought to be.



THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BEING TOO SERIOUS AND TOO SOBER about some things and taking some things too seriously, especially yourself! The ability to laugh at yourself and your own silly mistakes is a great asset and helps keep you humble. But he who can't laugh at his own mistakes or take the mistakes of others with sense of humour either has too much pride or too severe a sense of life.



GOD INTENDED FOR US TO enjoy living and He has given us the ability, the senses and the environment to enjoy it, including Himself, and our main purpose in life, as Martin Luther said, is "to love God and enjoy Him forever!"


WE ALL NEED A GOOD LAUGH! Have a sense of humour! Keep humble with good humour! Laugh at yourself! Just don't let's overdo it, as there's a time for everything, as you pointed out. There's a time to laugh, and a time to weep--a time for everything.



BUT LET'S ALWAYS BE ABLE to smile through our tears--a ray of sunshine is even more beautiful in the midst of rain. Let's have a little more sunshine and laughter and not so much gloom and doom! Instead of giving them so much Hell, let's give them a little more Heaven! "Laugh and the world will laugh with you!--Cry, and you'll cry alone!"


THE WORLD KNOWS ENOUGH HELL! Let's show them a little more Heaven--"Love and laughter and peace ever after", and that today you can be free!

Valentine's II

Oh I almost forgot! Guess what else we did for Valentine's?
That's right...more singing!


(Here's our singing team's promo poster for one of our shows! I know, SO MUCH PINK! It's wonderful!)

A few of us girls got together a repertoire of romantic songs from all the different eras of music.
We performed for a few Care Homes as well as the pubs and restaurants we sung for at Christmas.

They loved it! People were very touched by the music and it was great fun for all of us girls to get out and do something different (well, when you're part of a theater team, 'different' is relative, I guess :P).
Hope you enjoy the pictures!


(Rocking out to Rockin' Robin)


(Shaking it out for 'La Bamba')


(Tina and Liz with some Care Home residents who enjoyed our show!)


(Faye and me smiling away)

Let it snow...

Yes, one again it's the great frrreeze... (shivers). UK's experiencing a sudden cold front and today the world is silent. Trains and buses aren't running, streets are empty...the silence is golden.
Well...I give it five minutes before the snowballs start flying around *grin*



What's special about snow is that it's kind of like a big white blanket covering the world. Everything that was dirty or ugly is transformed into something white and glistening and beautiful.



They say that's what God's love is like in our lives - the clean white blanket that just covers everything that's bad and ugly and horrible.

All the things we hate about ourselves or our situations, that we wish other people didn't have to see - God's love just falls down like soft, beautiful snowflakes and blankets it all away, makes everything look clean again. Kinda cool, isn't it?



Plus, snow is just WAY too fun to play in ;).

Memorabilia...

A Very Four Horsemen Christmas...

Just thought you guys might get a kick out of a little peek into some of our team's holiday celebrations. All wierd and whacky and wonderful fun!


Tina digging in on Cmas Day


Tina, Cate and Faye at our Teen-Movie-themed New Year's bash...


A roman soldier and a Vampire Hunter...what an odd couple...


G.I Joe (he was COVERED in marker tatoos about Britney and his mother, but we won't go there :P) and that Vamp Hunter again...tsk tsk..how promiscuous...


Faye putting on a Mona Lisa smile


Well they came as Jim's parents from American Pie..something weird was bound to come of it...


Uh, they don't really have an excuse. Boys will be boys :P?