Christmas Angel vs The Grinch

Well, it's Christmas - that time of year which either brings out the Christmas Angel or the Grinch in millions of people worldwide!

It's that time of year when you begin to suspect there's an invisible hole in your wallet. It's also when you might convince yourself that each of the people on your gift list would be overjoyed to benefit from the five- for- a -pound sock deal at Primark.

I don't know what Christmas means for you. Maybe it's long-awaited excuse to kick back and party... on the other hand, maybe it's just another reminder of how alone you feel, how materialistic the world around you has become, and how much you realize you remind yourself of Ebenzer Scrooge.

You know, this may surprise you, but Christmas never used to be about wasting money on useless gifts, or being stuffed with more Tesco mince pies then you could ever hope to digest, or standing in massive queues for hours on end waiting to see 'Santa Claus'.

Christmas was, and still is, a magical time! It's the birthday of Jesus and the anniversary of the day when love, hope, joy and peace walked the earth in human form. It's about the miracle of God's love for us, and about turning around and giving that love to others in whatever way you can!

Christmas is all about the heart! So many people still think they can buy Christmas, but the only way to really feel that magic which you've always heard of but perhaps never experienced is to give Christmas away!

Try something new and tell Jesus 'happy birthday'! Stop and think of some gifts which you can give Him - things like showing love to others, forgiving those who've hurt you, stepping out to help someone in need.

It may sound unheard-of or a little too simple... but you should try it all the same! I guarantee you that you'll discover the warmth and magic and peace of Christmas as you do it!

The Horsemen at the Hilton!

Our group (The Family) held a Christmas celebration at the Hilton Metropole hotel on Edgeware Road! It was also the official launch of the charity Touchstone Projects, which is comprised of various members of our group who perform for detention centres and prisons all over the UK!

It was a really amazing experience, but one of the greatest things about it was the fact that we got to perform our Four Horsemen play live for an audience of over 200 people! We were all a little nervous, especially since it was on stage and we had to pass microphones, which can get a little complicated - hah! But all in all, it was a roaring success! People loved it and we got a super good response from the crowd... especially when the newly-updated fight sequence got into sway and War (Dee Jay) was flipped head over heels by Jesus (Josh)!

I (Heather) had never actually seen the play live and have to personally say how impressed I was with it! When being interviewed, I made an appeal for sponsorship so that we can take the play on the road even m0re! It would be so awesome and having experienced the power of the play myself, I'm convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that everyone, everywhere needs to see it!

The Four Horsemen - by Heather

Jesus is definitely the winner of this round- in fact, it's awesome to remember that He already won 2,007 years ago when He died on the cross for the sins of mankind! Satan's just a sour loser in denial!

Death has no meaning to anyone who has received Jesus' free gift of salvation- He promises us eternal life, so even though our frail human bodies will someday die, our spirits will live on in Heaven enjoying Jesus' love and peace forever!

Some people slave for Money for years and years, and they think that once they reach a certain goal, buy that dream house and pay off the Mercedes that they'll be satisifed. It never happens. They just want more, and Money has them chasing a carrot on a stick that they'll never sink their teeth into. Jesus promises us freedom from this bondage- he says 'I will provide all your needs accordng to My riches'- imagine the size of that bank account!

I remember a quote from the film Troy- 'War is old men talking and young men dying'. War is even more then that. War and Money work hand in hand (of course, Death doesn't do too badly either), because it's always about who gets what. That's the bottom line- selfishness and greed. No matter how heroic and glorious the media try to paint it, War is hideous and cruel. I can't wait until Jesus comes back to rule the Earth! He promises that 'There will be War no more'! Think of how wonderful that will be :) !

Goodbye, Steve! - by Heather

It's farewell to Steve (Money) and his girlfriend Olivia as they have now officially 'flown the coop' to parts unknown...well actually, they've gone to Turkey for the moment and will heading off to a Family centre im Lebanon to join Steve's relatives there! So Sam (who played death) has now taken up the torch of Money for the time being! Changes, changes, changes!

Oh yes! With Christmas coming up, the Horsemen team is going to adapting their play to 'suit the season' (which also means warmer costumes, hah!). We're also branching out to hopefully perform in various schools over Christmas, which makes for very exciting times, people!

But before I get carried away, let's remember to bid Steve a fond farewell and keep him in our prayers! We'll miss you, Steve! (Sniff, sniff)...

The XD Core! -- By Heather

Hey everybody! Thought you’d like to know the cause of our unexplained absence and blog inactivity over the last month. Well, a good chunk of our team was away attending… (drumroll) the XD Core!

Okay, so you’re probably wondering “what on earth is that?”! Well, the Xtreme Discipleship Core was a three week seminar that the Family International hosted in Italy for its members aged between 18 and 25. Its goal; to help us become better, more professional and committed missionaries and disciples of Jesus. There were classes, assignments, singing and dancing, activity nights, parties and of course…football (woo hoo!)

From our team, Tina, Steve, Josh, Heather (me), Olivia (Steve’s girlfriend) and Steven attended. It was a blast! We studied on all kinds of topics ranging from being more professional in our work to relationships and dating, telling others about Jesus, even about the economic system of today’s society and how a financial crash is pending if things continue at this rate. It was very eye-opening…and also a lot of fun!

The grounds were situated in the hills just outside of Rome, so we were surrounded by olive trees, khaki trees and wild boars. Wait a minute…did I just say wild boars? Yep, the local herds began prowling around our property when the water ran short, and some of the attendees had some close encounters of the hair-raising kind- myself included! (I heard what I thought was a wild boar grunting at me from behind the garbage bins one night. I turned and ran, tripped on a rock, saw my life flash before my eyes, before I got up and skedaddled to safety! I later discovered that my assailant wasn’t a ‘boar’ but a ‘bored’ pair of individuals with too much time on their hands who had been hiding out and scaring people…oh well, God’s justice prevailed and when they tried it on some of the guys, they got rocks thrown at them!.)

Anyway, it was a very exciting and growing experience to say the least! Included are some pictures of various game nights, singing, activities etc! Hope you laugh as much as we did! It's great to be back, guys! You Rock! God Bless you!

Photo captions:

(pics 1 and 2) This was a really hilarious game we played one evening. There was a girls team (left) and a boy's team (right)...don't we look ferocious, hah! The boys had to catch us before we could kiss the poor victim sitting on a chair inbetween the two teams! It was war!

(pic 3:) Lifting our arms in happiness and thanks to Jesus- the one who made it all possible!

(pic4:) Steve (Money- centre) showing off his football skills on the court.

(pic 5:) I couldn't resist posting this one :) It's Josh (Jesus) looking stern as he explains our beliefs to a mock crowd of lawyers in a professional application acitivity!

(pic:7:) Tina, Steve and Olivia digging in!

(pic 6:) Tina and me at a dress-up party! She's a tree and I'm a green peace activist- we match so perfectly :)

Heaven at last

here is a picture of heaven ..... our final destination!

looks nice doesn't it...

no more war.... (Micah 4:3)

no more politicians.... the government will be on His (Jesus') shoulder..... (Isaiah 9:6)

no more depression..... for in His presence is fulness of joy.. (Proverbs 16:11, Revelations 21:4)

no more need for drugs and drink.... for at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore... (Prov 16:11)

just lots of love and freedom and happiness ...apparently we can't even imagine how good it will be (1 Corinthians 2:9)

c u there !......

(we can also have a pretty good taste of heaven here so come and find out)

I little Update on what we been up to.......

Hey U all. Sorry about the Month long absent. The Four Horse Men went to a 3 week Seminar in Italy & a few went to visit them Folks for 2 weeks after that. Pictures will come stortly & a little write up on why we went to Italy & had an 3 week Christian Seminar in the Mountains of Italy...(awesome huh)

''Anyways today we did our last street show & FourHorseMen Videos flim. I don't think we will do it till next year, cause we have other things in mind for Christmas. ( U know the cold, wind etc, half of the Horse Men aren't dressed for the winter) We will do some something for Christmas but not sure yet. ''Will keep u posted on that''.

So in a week the flim will be up (Stay Tuned For That) & a little updated on the team & what we hope to do for the next 2 months''.

''Sadly, ''Money'', (Steve) will be leaving to Lebanon stortly with his Girl-Friend, to do some Voluntary work, but do not fear for we will fine a other Money''.
''Steve'' as the the past post said grew up in the Middle East Doing Voluntary Work & is going back cause he misses being there''

''So More Flims & Pictures Coming your way, so hang on to your Seats for there are lots to come.

''Roger Out''