my Blue trike Life

what lies in wait

2008-02-25T10:28:00.003+10:30

So my first post for this year of 2008, and I am feeling at the moment that it will be one of the last here on my blue trike life blog. It was six years ago I flew the coup and moved to Ballarat from my beautiful little Sale to begin my new and exciting young adult life away from my family and the constraints of life at home.
In those years I have studied 4 different courses at University, TAFE, and online Bible College, without completing any full accreditation. Been unemployed, worked nights and weekends in a supermarket, and sold mobile phones. In those years of work it has mostly been casual and part time work, always weekends, often fluctuating hours, with never any real long term stability. Along with this has been in those six years living at nine different residences, from University residence, to a friends floor, to a share house, to boarding with two different older couples, to another share house, to back with my parents in a new city, to sharing a unit with a friend, to renting a room in another share house, and I might just move again soon, but if I do it would be for a couple years at least i feel.
My family and especially my parents have always supported me in many ways, they figured out if I was calling there was probably something I wanted.
I have to say in these testing and trying years though God has been my rock, and my two church communities Wendouree Baps and Enfiled Baps have been a real source of Love and support. God has been the one stable thing in my life that has helped me through each day, week, month and year, and when my family and friends couldn't be there for me He was and is.
It has been great to go through struggles in my faith in God and what I believed and sorting through what was real and needed to be held tightly with both hands and what was not important and needed throwing out the window or at least loosely holding or simply letting go of. As well as what was missing and allowing God to change me, and allowing God to Love me. All continuing processes too. God has used so many different people in all of this, from my unit 3&4 pals at Uni, to Harvey, and Tab, Christop and Trav, Blake, to a 16 yr old work mate, to Stefan and Scotty in more recent times, and many others too. Then there has been the books that I have read by Michael Frost, John Dickson, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Jim Palmer and others who have helped shape my thinking and ideas also. There is also this Author named Paul who wrote a whole bunch of letters to Churches in the couple thousand years ago vicinity who God has used to help me.
During these often stressful and crazy years there have been spells of being depressed and wanting an easy way out, and sometimes hating the way I am or can be. There have been great times as well of joy and love, and happiness, when life was wonderful and things were great. God is with me through all these times never letting go of me, His Love is like no other.
There have been many nights of fervent prayer, giving all i could that God's power would flow into the lives of others and seeking Him in my own times of despair. Prayer has shaped the way I am today, the times I have spent with the Lord crying out for others as well as for my self have been so powerful and growing and eye opening, some experiences I cannot even explain.

In the years to come I look for more stability, some settling down a bit, to be more responsible with my time and money, continuing growth, growing career, a stronger mind, a stronger self confidence, continued healing, some luck in love, and whatever else God has in plan.
There may be a new blog on the way too, with a better forward looking outlook on life. So thank you to all those past six years and here is to the next six years and what lies in wait.

Makes me feel better about being a Sony Ericsson lover

2007-11-29T23:07:00.000+10:30

Here is an article from Greenpeace about how environmentally friendly our electronic equipment is.

We first released our 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006. The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling. The sixth issue of the Guide has been expanded to include televisions and game consoles. Market leaders Microsoft, Nintendo, Philips and Sharp enter at the bottom of the ranking of environmental performance with Nintendo being the first company scoring zero out of a possible 10 points. Philips and Microsoft performed little better, scoring only 2 and 2.7, respectively. Sony Ericsson has taken over the top spot from Nokia while Samsung and Sony have surged ahead to now occupy second and third positions. Read the rest...

Gary Ablett on Depression, Drugs, and Jesus

2007-11-29T10:43:00.000+10:30

In an interview before his new book is released in early december Gary Ablett has spoken of the hardships in his life and how God has helped him. Read here...

The window or the door?

2007-10-19T09:57:00.000+09:30

So here is today's dilemma, after I woke up this morning I soon found out that the door knob was not turning and I may have to climb out my window to get out of my room. I then discovered that the screen for my window is very well secured and not easily coming out. So which do I try and force open possibly breaking something along the way, the window or the door?

What are the important things in life?

2007-10-04T10:59:00.000+09:30

So what is success?

Having a professional job so you can make money to do whatever it is you do with your money.
Being really involved in your local "church" where people heap praise on you for your great spirituality, knowledge of the bible, and how committed you are and how much time you spend serving in the church. Giving your 10% tithe every week. Being a small group leader or involved in some other leadership role in the church.
Buying your own home and having that nice new car you always wanted.
Having the big screen TV home cinema set up with a wall full of your favourite DVDs.
Having your nice church friends over for dinner and maybe inviting some people from work to come so you can get them to meet your church friends and come to your super seeker friendly church services.
Getting married and having kids, making sure you can give them everything you didn't have when you were a kid, even though all they probably really want is you.

Does money, how comfortable your life is, how much cool new stuff you have, and how highly rated you are by your pastor or others from your church really matter? or in the end will it mean nothing except wasted hours of this thing called life.

So could success look like this.
You work a job where you get paid enough to get by and have necessary things like a house, food, clothes and one used car.
You get to church services on a Sunday maybe once a month, meet fortnightly with a small group of friends where you talk about life, God and the people you care about.
Having that family from across the street over for dinner because you know they were going to have takeaway pizza again for the fifth time this week.
Getting married and loving your wife like crazy because intimate relationships are what God is about, and you have kids if you can and adopt a couple as well because children should have a loving family. You teach your children to care about other kids and not be selfish. You teach them about this God who you are always discovering more about who came to earth as a baby boy, spent his first years as a refugee and became a carpenter because his earthly father was, but when he was thirty years old, having a mid life crisis found God wanted him to go wander the country like a nomad telling people about a God who thought religious men were idiots and that the poor, sick and whoever else who knew they needed God's help were much better representatives for Him. Who was killed by the idiot religious men, a Roman emperor and God, died on a cross and rose back to life beating death so we could have life now. Sorry I think that was just a bit of an off the side rant. Anyways...

So what is life and what are the important things in life?

Daft Punk

2007-09-06T15:57:00.000+09:30

Daft Punk are coming to Australia finally!

I fell in love with their music when I first saw their debut single Da Funk on Rage at 13 I would have been, and bought their 1996 album Homework. So it has been more than 10 years I have been waiting to see these Frenchmen bring their show to Australia, so I will be Flying to Sydney for their December 22nd show, they are not coming to Adelaide, and I will probably need to be in Sydney around Christmas. Got my ticket today!

I am gonna go crazy that day!

in the deeper places of life

2007-09-06T15:12:00.000+09:30

Ok so I am still terrorising Adelaide, recent happenings include my birthday a couple weeks ago where I became twice as old as a twelve year old. Last weekend my Church held the Innagrual "Lifewell Conference" with Dr. Allen Meyer of Careforce speaking. It kicked off on the Friday night with a session open to the public, with another four sessions on the Saturday one being a split male/female session where Alan spoke on mens stuff and I don't know much about the other one that was for the ladies. Lifewell is a part of our Church and runs out of the old manse next to our main building. It's there that people go to be apart of Careforce Lifekeys programs, support groups such as a breast cancer support group, to join in greif share a help for those who have lost immediate family, for a good hair cut at a low price, for remedial massage, professional counselling and the list keeps going and growing. Most services are at a subsidised cost, with money from the New Begginings second hand store that also runs on our land as a part of our Church.
I got to play a role in the managing of the Auditorium and some technical stage management stuff as well at the conference, which was stressfull at times, but I really enjoyed it. We were excited to see plenty of people come and alot of lives impacted by God and I am sure some who will be experiencing a time of healing and restoration in the months to come. It was also great to be able to put out the message of "Hey we are the Church, lets really help people!" and hear people going yeah we can really do something. It was great to see how everything paned out after much prayer and a little effort. I am so greatful to God that I can be apart of my Church, it ain't perfect but as my Pastor John has said "the church should look more like a hospital than a fitness club" or something to that effect. That we are humans with messed up lives, and if we wear that on the outside, we create an environment where we can get healing on the inside, "in the deeper places of life" as Ps John would say.

Street Socceroos a big hit with the Copenhagen crowds

2007-08-04T22:00:00.000+09:30

The Street Socceroos unfortunately couldn't reproduce the magic that took the Socceroos through the group stage in the World Cup in Germany last year, none the less I am sure they fought on with the never say die Aussie spirit. First up against Scotland who are to play Poland in the final soon, Australia went down 13-0 in their opening Preliminary Group Stage match. In their next match against Finland the Street Socceroos fought hard but lost 7-3. After the Finland game the Aussies faced Liberia, having to ask the Danish keeper to stand in for the Australian keeper as he was on crutches cheering his team on from the side lines after being injured in the previous match. The Aussies fought hard for the ball but were out classed by the Liberians who kept their cool when finishing putting the Australians away 5-1 in the final game of the Prelim's. Even though Australia finished without any points and at the bottom of the group this did not mean the end of the tournament for the Aussies. This being no ordinary tournament the Street Socceroos had more matches competing for other cups against other similarly placed nations. The next day they were up against Mexico and with the crowd supporting the Aussies who were said to be just as happy when they lost as they would be when they won, they remained happy although losing 9-2 in the one sided affair. Greece then continued the Aussies run by beating them 6-2. Then in a closely hard fought match against Chile, at half-time it was 3-2 in favour of Chile but Australia won through in the second half and came out on top 7-5, with their first win of the tournament! Having gained some momentum the Street Socceroos continued their winning ways showing some excellent skill and finishing touches to beat Switzerland 6-1 after going into half time with a 4-1 lead, what a great performance from the Aussies. They then faced India and found themselves a goal down in the first minute of the match, but the Aussies kept their heads high and fought back to keep their winning streak going with a 7-2 scoreline. Their next encounter came up against Sweden and it was tight at half-time with the Swedes leading by one, eventually taking the match away from the Australians, Sweden won 10-5. Australia then faced Hong Kong in the wet, as the rain came down on Copenhagen, it was their tightest match yet ending 3-3 in normal time with Australia coming out victors in the penalty shootout.

After five days of matches Australia had fought their way into the INSP Trophy Quarterfinals coming up against Chile who the Socceroos had overcome 7-5 earlier in the tournament. It was another tight match as in their previous encounter, thankfully with a similar result and the Street Socceroos putting in the hard yards in the second half to come away with a 5-4 win. So the Aussies will play Kyrgyzstan in the Semi's of the INSP Trophy. The match was closely contested with the scores locked at 3-3 in the second half but the Aussies couldn't keep their opposition at bay losing to two good late goals and going down 5-3. So it was the 3rd/4th playoff for the Aussies. In a rematch against Sweden who ended the Street Socceroos winning streak earlier, both teams were keen to put in a good performance, with Australia grabbing the upper hand at half-time leading 3-1 going into the break. The second-half didn't bring any fruit forth for either side Australia winning the match and finishing 3-1 with the Aussies taking 3rd spot in the INSP Trophy. While Kyrgyzstan went on to win the INSP Trophy defeating Slovenia 7-5 in the final.

In the other Trophies Austria defeated Zimbabwe 3-1 in the Ombold Trophy Final. Mexico are to take on Netherlands in the Hus Forbi Trophy Final, Serbia are taking on Lithuania in the Cape Town Trophy, it's Kazakhstan versus Ghana in the Copenhagen Trophy final and Poland will fight in the World Homeless Cup Final against Scotland to see who will take the cup home this year. With the cup to be presented by the Crown Prince of Denmark.

Eric Cantona the famous frenchman who stared for Manchester United during the peak of his career, was also in Copenhagen after his duties with the French Beach Soccer European Cup Team had finished to support the French Homeless World Cup Team.

I made the magazine

2007-07-26T10:29:00.000+09:30

I picked up the current Australian FourFourTwo magazine, it is the August issue and for those of you who don't know how these monthly work that means it is the issue that came out in July, the first week of July for this magazine. I just thought I would comment on how ridiculous it is that they call it the August issue when at it's release all the articles would have been written in June, making all the information current as of June and then the issue released in July. So where does August come in there???
Anyway so back to what I was telling you, they published my letter I wrote to them, they titled it "There's More To Football" and it is actually the first of the published letters in the issue! They are at the very front of the magazine (page 11) and it was to my surprise as I went to read the letters I thought to myself this sounds a lot like something i would say, and then hold on I wrote them an email oh look that's my name at the end, cool!
So i am very excited by this. I always knew I would make a football magazine.
Also if you are puzzled by the name of the magazine 4-4-2 is a football formation, four defence, four midfielders, two forwards, this is often considered an English formation.

Homeless World Cup

2007-07-24T21:18:00.000+09:30

I was listening to Triple j this afternoon as I drove home from work, and who did they have come on but a homeless guy who is about to head over to Copenhagen Denmark for the Homeless World Cup where the Street Socceroos will play along with more than 45 other nations in Street Football. It will be the 5th of the annual tornament that is set to make it to Melbourne in 2008. The Australian team is backed by The Big Issue Australia, and has teams who train in most capital cities as well as some rural centres like Ballarat one of my old stomping grounds. Go the Street Socceroos, I think I will have to follow their progress.

hopefully I can sort this out

2007-06-25T00:27:00.000+09:30

"Our God is an awesome God"
"How great is our God"
These are two songs that get to me, and not because I don't like them, because I do, but because I find myself standing there before God asking myself "so why when I come to talk with my friends and others that I know and meet who don't know God can I not explain to them how great and awesome he is?"
Have I forgotten what God has done for me in my life? maybe.
Do I just think that because they might not feel that they need forgiveness from God because hey they haven't really done anything that bad, and so they wonder why Jesus had to live, die and rise again? I think this is a rationalisation on my behalf to not tell people about this part, although it's an important bit.
Do I think that God hasn't really done anything awesome or great in my life and so don't have anything to say on that? I think I would be lying if I said that.

I do feel like I would hit the same wall and answer as the young enthusiastic evangelist from South Africa who went to a group of young men saying to them that he had discovered this revolutionary movement that was life changing and all about love, real love. That they were this amazing community of people who lived extraordinary lives, loving each other and all people no matter their race or lifestyle. And when the young men replied fantastic where can we find this Jesus Church and see this, he replied "oh well there aren't any here...."

I also at the same time feel like I am apart of the problem. And that i can't blame everyone else, I know in the end it is my life and like as in Kingdom of Heaven
"A king may move a man, a father may claim a son. But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. When you stand before God you cannot say but I was told by others to do thus or that virtue was not convinient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that."
I can't stand before God and say well but everyone else was like that or but other people didn't do that.

I think that i expect that others will expect so much of me that I can't live up to right now and that I need permission to suck at being like Jesus so that I can have permission to grow. I think I am finding that we need to wear our imperfections on the outside so that we can give others around us the permission to suck at being like Jesus and grow, so that they don't feel like they have to live up to your standards before they can go any further.
I think I need to do more of what I say I believe and start to actually believe it.
If I really do believe not just think that God is so great and awesome than I know I will live it not just think it.
What I think and believe are two different things, hopefully I can sort this out.

Henry is leaving

2007-06-23T20:49:00.000+09:30

Henry is leaving.
Arsenal Football Club can confirm that it has reached an agreement with Barcelona for the transfer of Thierry Henry.

"This is my last contract. It is where I belong." Those words, uttered by Thierry Henry as he committed his future to Arsenal in May (2006), were music to the ears of anyone associated with the Club.
But just over twelve months later it is the exact opposite and the golden boy of Arsenal for the past 8 years will pull on a different coloured jersey next season, in a different league. Is he a liar who has dealt a cruel blow to his club? Or was it the club that dealt a cruel blow to it's greatest ever goalscorer and some would say greatest player?
It all started with the departure of David Dein from the club in April when he resigned from the Arsenal board apparently due to irreconcilable differences with other members of the board. David Dein was the man who brought Arsene Wenger to the club and who was Wenger's greatest supporter and a great help in getting the kind of great players who have graced the Arsenal shirt for the past 11 years that Wenger has been with the club, including the most prized Henry. With one year currently on his contract and his good mate Dein gone under ill circumstances Wenger was reluctant to sign a further contract, preferring to wait until it runs out to make any further decisions final. Henry simply could not wait another year to see if Wenger would stay or not and with the possibility of him not being at the club, who can really blame him for moving to Spain.
While hopefully Arsenal are a club bigger than a player and a manager, they may have underestimated the consequences of letting David Dein walk out the door. It well could truly be the end of an era if Wenger does leave at the end of the coming season. But one thing is for sure it will be the greatest challenge the club has faced in the past decade.

Thierry Henry
Born
August 17, 1977
Paris
France

Position
Striker

Squad Number
14

Previous Club(s)
Monaco
Juventus

Joined Arsenal
August 03, 1999

Arsenal Debut
Leicester City (h)
Premiership
August 7, 1999,
Won 2-1

Appearances (sub)
369 (32)

Goals
226

Honours
2 League Championships 2002, 2004
3 FA Cups 2002, 2003, 2005
2 Community Shields 2002, 2004
1 FA Cup Runners-up 2001
1 UEFA Champions League Runners-up 2006
2 Community Shield Runners-up 2003, 2005

You could call me homeless

2007-06-21T23:23:00.000+09:30

I in no way mean to be offensive to those who live at the other end of the scale in degrees of homelessness, who daily struggle with issues of safety, security and shelter.
I am writing an assignment at the moment on the effects of homelessness on young people, and after doing some research into who is defined as homless, I have discovered that I am pretty sure that I could be considered homeless. See there are many different degrees to which someone can be defined as homeless, and what it really comes down too is whether you have an adequatley safe and secure home. Now I would say that if I do fit in to this that I do fit right down the bottom of the scale but since I have moved at least once every year since I moved out of home at the start of 2002 and sometimes multiple times in a year I could be classified as not having a secure home. Now there have been times when I have been more homeless than others, like when i was staying in a friends place till I could find somewhere with just a sleeping bag and a bag of clothes and things. Then there was when I was sort of bording at a families house but I was only there for a short term. There was another time when I was bording somewhere for 6 months, and times when I have rented places for a year. All short term accommodatin really. Now at the end of the year I will be moving again, so at the moment it can be said that while I may have a safe home it is not a secure home. I don't know when I will end my homelessness, but hopefully sometime in the next few years I could settle somewhere for a while, maybe at least a 3 year spell. That would be a nice experience to live somewhere in the one house for 3 years, I think it would make a big difference, it would be challenging too.

Challenges to Christianity

2007-06-16T18:28:00.000+09:30

Found this on Smulo Space John Smulo's blog that I read-

"I'm not sure whether this is peculiar to American Christianity or not, but I seem to regularly hear Christians discuss challenges that face the church. These are virtually always discussions about external challenges such as secularism, atheism, or a particular Teletubby--oh wait, the latter was last year's news.
Contrary to this sentiment, I have relatively little concern about external challenges. I believe the church can withstand anything that might be thrown at it.
That said, with others, I do have serious concerns about challenges facing Christianity. But my concern has to do with internal, rather than external, pressures."
Read more here...

I have to say I agree that often we can be looking too much at the issues from the world we feel are threatening our mission and don't look at the issues within ourselves that are holding us back.

From XXXChurch

2007-06-12T17:13:00.000+09:30

Why do we bury our wounded?
How come sometimes we (Christians) act like anything but God?
Why are so many of us so ignorant?
There are a lot of books about why people don’t like Christians, what the church should do a better job of, statistics on what non Christians think and sound like. You name it there are study guides and all sorts of junk to read. Why not just listen. Why not just listen to people that want nothing to do with church and God and hear what they are saying. Don’t read a book about it. Go talk to those, befriend those that don’t like us and hear why and then start to change. Read whole thing...Anything But God

"more people, more like Jesus"

2007-06-04T23:09:00.000+09:30

So the church i am apart of has a little vision phrase that goes like this "more people, more like Jesus" but what i want to ask is this question what was Jesus like then? If we are trying to be more like Jesus and get other people to be more like Jesus then we had better know how to be like Jesus.
So tell me, what do you think? What in short points do you think Jesus is/was like and why?
I will start with this
Jesus preached God's good news and that the kingdom of God was near - Mark 1:14-15
He did this to announce the coming of the new age that John had been talking about and so that people would turn away from their sin and towards God.

Michael Frost

2007-06-01T14:25:00.000+09:30

I was on YouTube when i found these short clips with Mike Frost talking about Jesus on the poor and outcasts.
check them out:
Becoming The Poor
Jesus Etiquette
Jesus: Man Of The Streets

I love how looking at how things were in Jesus day can change your perspective so much on what he says and what is really going on.

be my everything

2007-05-11T13:28:00.000+09:30

God I want you to be my everything,
won't you be my everything,
be my everything.
You are in me,
and I am in you,
be my everything.
Be ever before me,
be always beside me,
be my everything.
May you always lead me,
I will always follow,
be my everything.
You have always loved me,
I will love you,
be my everything.
Through night watch over me,
each day help me,
be my everything.
You are my God,
I am your child,
be my everything.

Photos

2007-05-07T23:52:00.000+09:30

Don't forget my photo blog at http://eyeofthelense.blogspot.com/

need to get some order back into my life

2007-05-07T23:21:00.000+09:30

I find motivation a hard thing, i'm not lazy i just don't seem to be able to maintain motivation, i will start something and then neglect it after a while. like this blog, although some how i have reagained motivation to blog again after some neglect. i am not really any less busy, maybe i just have trouble sorting out my priorities in life and chop and change them to what suits me at the time. that could be it, or at least part of it, so here goes for a list of priorities in life it will not be a perfectly ordered list but a rough one.

*God and making time focused on Him a daily joy, living life filled with his spirit
*Have fun
*TAFE going to class, doing my assignments and finishing them early, putting in the effort required to make my placement as best as possible,getting up on time to make sure priority one doesn't get screwed
*Work getting there early, getting up on time to make sure priority one doesn't get screwed
*Keeping up my relationships family and friends, local and distant
*Sleep getting to bed by 11pm every weekday night so i can get sleep and get up early(note it is after 11pm already i should go to bed asap)
*Keep contact with and see small group guys growing good fruit pray for them lots
*Keep fit or play sport
*Eat well
*Maintain Blog
*Budget so i don't run out of money
*Plan my weeks in advance so i know what i have to do in advance

Now to try to stick to them

I don't do unorganised very well, need to get some order back into my life

the teachings of others that may lead us astray

2007-04-29T17:25:00.000+09:30

There is a young couple who i know from my church, they have been married for a year and a bit and are about my age. The father of the girl is apart of the Seventh Day Adventist faith, and has used his influence to teach them the different beliefs of his faith. The guy has really taken these teachings to heart, i think partly because it suits him to go to church on saturdays as he works sundays, and hadn't been to a service in a long time, although i am sure there is more to it than that. It seems that in their search for what it is to truely follow christ that they have decided to go this way.

This has caused some different reactions in our church, from my point of view some have had a very reactionary aproach by attacking the beliefs of the SDA's causing the couple to defend their decisions and to some degree push them further away. While the guy has a bit of a stuborn nature anyway and to argue with him is not a good form of discussion, so it just makes him take even more of a stand and i think make it harder for them to ever come back to be fully apart of our church again. Meanwhile some just listen and ok the move to the SDA church not seeing the core differences between the faiths.

One of the hard parts in this is that generally the SDA church is considered and excepted as Christian, yet some of their beliefs have similarities with Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses, who are clearly spoken of as sects by Christians. Then there is the case that the Uniting Church in recent years voted that homosexuals could be Ministers in their Churches which is not so in every other Christian Church denomination. This just throws into confusion for some, with all the slight differences between what would be called Christian denominations, who is in and who is out.

The fact is that we all interpret the scriptures in slightly different ways, and so do the different denominations and individual churches, but one thing i think sets some apart is the influence of claimed prophets who claim their teachings and writings are equal to or more important than the ones that make up what are the 66 books of the Holy Bible, which the Christian Church has used as the base of their teachings for centuries since it was put together to help the Christian Church fight off false teachings that were leading people away from the truth.

I pray that my friends would continue there journey in seeking faith, hope and love and find it always in the way, truth and life. May we all question our beliefs and ideas, and compare them with the 66 book Holy Bible the only authoritive source of truth and not simply the teachings of others that may lead us astray.

All My Tears

2007-04-24T18:18:00.000+09:30

As I heard the sad news today that a young guy I knew from my old church in Sale passed on a couple nights ago after suffering from bone cancer for the past 4 or 5 years, i think he would have maybe been about 16, it brought me to ponder this question:
If i were to be diagnosed with a life threatening condition with a good likelyness of dying in the near future would i change the things i do? Do i believe the things i am doing with my time to be truly worth while and what i belive God wants me doing? Would i continue my TAFE course in Youth Work? Would i pray more? Would i continue my youth small group? Would the people i spend my time with change? Would i keep working in my job as long as i could? Would i blog more? Would i spend my money differently? Would i do some things that i don't normally? If yes what would they be? Would my future plans change?

Just so you know i am pretty sure he knew the Lord, his celebration service is this friday, he asked that people where appropriate clothes, ie not black, i like that idea.

When I go don't cry for me, in my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul will all be healed and I'll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced with the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed, for my Savior knows my name

It don't matter where you bury me, I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay, All my tears be washed away.

Gold and silver blind the eye, temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store, come and drink and thirst no more

It don't matter where you bury me, I'l be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay, All my tears be washed away

So weep not for me my friends, when my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him, who will raise the dead again.

It don't matter where you bury me, 'cause I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay, all my tears be washed away

All My Tears by Jars Of Clay
From Good Monsters 2006

the most precious resource we have, water

2007-04-19T10:51:00.000+09:30

'THERE will only be enough water in the Murray-Darling system for "critical urban supplies" in the coming year - and none for irrigation or the environment - unless there is heavy rain in the next six weeks.' By Mark Schliebs and wires April 19, 2007 10:33am news.com.au

Why is every city in Australia not on the tightest water restrictions possible? I have not seen the situation improve, everywhere the only thing that seems to happen is water restrictions get put up a level. Obviosly this is not working and the restriction levels need to be higher earlier so that the situation might be helped. Why are we still allowed to water our plants and lawns at all when all over the country there are farmers who can't water their crops and livestock? Why if the situation is so critical for farmers is the situation not critical for everyone else? While the people in the cities and suburbs and even the country town dwellers are whinging about the latest water restrictions, the farmers are working away hard trying to keep what they have left going, trying to feed the family and keep the banks off their backs. When will our city life politicians wake up to the reality that this is an emergency and trying to stay popular with the city people is much less important than saving what is left of the most precious resource we have, water.

What I hope to achieve

2007-02-27T22:59:00.000+10:30

I know I haven't Blogged all this year so far, yes I have been busy but that is no excuse and i am going to try to write more often and make the time.

Am studying Certificate IV in Youth Work at the moment which I am enjoying. It is interesting to be around some other people who are more worried about helping others than the money they could earn in other jobs. One of our lecturers has made comment to the fact that you don't do it for the money, cause it ain't that great. But then again we do live in a country where even the poor can be compared to others as rich.
One of the interesting things I get to do is an assignment on Mahatma Gandhi and what he did for community development. I had bought a movie about his life at the beginning of the year as I have had a good respect for what he did mainly from knowing that Martin Luther King Jr had based a lot of his work on what Gandhi had done.
We also tend to have some interesting discussions on what can be controversial issues, and it is interesting to see the way some people reason their morals and where there values come from, as well as making me consider deeper into my own values and where they are from.

Work has changed a fair bit since I got back from my sister's wedding. My old bosses were selling the store that I was based in, which I knew about and had talked with the new owner about still working there and everything was going to work out there but when I had gotten back he no longer had the hours i needed with TAFE during the week and all. However the State Manager for Telechoice called me and asked if I would work for him at another store nearby that he is having to take back off a franchisee who is unable to continue running the store. But at this stage it has been over two weeks and I haven't heard that has happened yet and am not happy working all over the city until it changes hands. So I am probably going to start looking for more consistent work.

If you pray could you pray for me that i would make my studies at TAFE a high priority and not let myself down by giving up, being lazy and losing focus on what I hope to achieve.

Makes it more interesting though i suppose

2006-12-20T22:33:00.000+10:30

So I have i have moved out of home again, or did my parents move out on me? anyways they have moved to Canberra and my self up to Golden Grove, Worlds Best Location according to some signs on the way into the suburb. I don't know about that but at least i can get dsl and soon upgrading to dsl2 when i move again on boxing day. Yeah thats right move again, just around the corner though. See I moved in with one of my mates from church Mikey, into his mum's place where she doesn't live anymore because she has moved in with her boyfriend. But Mikey's sister and brother in law who live around the corner as in 1 minute away, are going to move into the house where we are and Mikey and I are moving into the unit they are currently occupying, and renting that. So on boxing day we are doing a house swap.
Meanwhile I had yesterday off work and am working everyday including Christmas eve up until Christmas, after i finish work at 5pm on Christmas eve am flying out to Sydney for Christmas day and then flying back to Adelaide early morning boxing day to move house, then back to work at 9am the next day for the post Christmas rush. So yeah am pretty busy at the moment.
Have started catching up with a bunch of young guys from youth church talking about who Jesus and God are. Looking to make sure this continues in the new year, and we can get a regular thing happening.
Has been a bit of a crazy year for me here in Adelaide, with work, friends, church and not knowing what might happen next. Makes it more interesting though i suppose.

choose life not the horror movie girl

2006-12-07T11:51:00.000+10:30

This idea came to me, that a lot of the time we are like the horror movie girl who for some reason even though you can see she is going to walk right into the hands of the serial killer she goes anyway and you sit there saying "no, no don't go in there."
She goes and walks straight into death. We alike even though we know where we are walking towards is likely to lead to sin/death we keep going and then act all surprised when we find it there waiting for us in the trap we willingly walked straight into.
So will we keep walking into death or choose to see it coming and walk away.
Wouldn't it be so much better to be living in life than death. So lets choose life not the horror movie girl.

go forth and see?

2006-11-15T17:15:00.001+10:30

why is life the way it is? does it have to be this way?
if God has a will for my life why do i find it so hard to see the life i am to live?
how can God do something good through my life, when though i may have potential, my strength of character often sees me fall?
how has my so called good life, been good at all, i have never been without need, always a place for my head and food in my stomach?
how without struggles am i to grow?
shall i run away and thrust myself into harms way?
do i not already run when troubles come, when things become too hard, too much to cope?
how will i stand and live life if my back is always turned?
why is this world so corrupted that we can't see truth?
why is so much truth seen as so much foolishness?
why is foolishness seen to be as success?
is to seek for success only foolishness?
why is it that people of the Church often see the same foolishness as success?
why is it that for those who for them success looks totally different are looked upon as failures?
how is it then that the church can have success?
is it that together we seek success for one another,that your success is my success?
but if i am helping you find success who then will help me?
is that a selfish question and should i just go forth and see?

now that would be fun

2006-11-13T23:14:00.000+10:30

Golden Grove, TAFE SA, and My Sister's Wedding, all places I will be heading in the next few months. Golden Grove, is a Suburb of Adelaide and I am moving there in December as my parents are moving to Canberra and so hence I move to Golden Grove, am moving in to a small unit with a mate from Church Mikey "Mikey Mike" Turner, his mum is moving too and so we had the common need of a place to live. I am also looking forward to Adsl 2, and more time on the net. TAFE SA to study Youth Work, starting with a Cert IV, and at this stage am hoping to complete a Diploma the following year. The wedding is in Sydney, 3rd February 2007, where Miss Kim Marchant will become Mrs Kim Rodgers, as long as Kim and Ben both say "I do" of course. I am lucky enough to be a groomsmen in the bridal party too. Might end up in Queensland on holiday with my brother after the wedding, now that would be fun.

there should be a cocktail called Life

2006-09-18T13:22:00.000+09:30

Yes I am still alive. I know my blog has had some great amount of neglect over recent times, and i am sorry. I haven't been on my computer alot, have been busy with work and life and not much time for my puter and no broadband means the internet is annoying. Something recent is my new other blog Eye Of The Lense it is gonna be my picture blog so if you look here and there aren't any updates there should be something there. Stuff with the youth here has been going well I am trying to get a couple of the young guys in yr 8 to get together for some discipleship stuff, they are two guys who are friends from school and kinda remind me of myself and best mate Dave in that they are good freinds but two pretty different people.
Am trying to nut out what i am going to do next year and if i will take a new direction or not in terms of maybe studying something.
My Nanna is pretty bad at the moment too, she has had a bad liver for quite some time and can't remember exactly what it is that damaged the liver but pretty much it is dying and so her body can't get rid of all the toxins that are now turning her yellow and getting to her brain and slowly killing her, she did try to get a transplant a little while ago but the couldn't do her because of there being too high risks involved in that kinda operation.
But on a high note Kimmy and Ben's Engagement Party is on this Saturday coming and is gonna be great! So look out for some photos especially on my new blog, i can post them from my phone so if i am not too busy having fun they should go up almost straight away. Life can really be an interesting mix, there should be a cocktail called Life, and taste a bit funny with a even more puzzling aftertaste.

cause i am not there yet

2006-07-18T13:33:00.000+09:30

have been thinking and these thoughts came to mind. have i been too worried about what i am doing next year and not concentrating on what i am doing this year. thinking too much about the future and trying to live for the future rather than now. realising that there is so much to be doing now and that worrying about what i am going to do with my life is something to do at certain points and not to distract me from today. to work with where God has me and not where i think i might like to be, cause i am not there yet.

will our stars play?

2006-07-18T12:51:00.000+09:30

yes i have neglected my blog for a bit i know. yes the World Cup was on and no i didn't get onto my PC enough during it and yes i was ecstatic for a while and then devastated for a long while after as Australia went out in such tragic circumstances, and yes i did have tears in my eyes.
so Australia were beaten by the eventual winners of the World Cup, and we can surely stand proud of our team and their performance. they have stood up on the biggest world stage and announced themselves as a world football contender. going further than any other nation from our now new home of Asia, and beating the Japanese rated at the top in our new confederation, the pressure is now on for Australia to win the Asian Cup.
but the question on the lips of all football fans in Australia is: will our stars play?

God made possible

2006-06-13T02:10:00.000+09:30

Jamie's lounge room, 3 of his close mates, 7 or 8 mates from church, and me and Stefan my mate from work, along with Jamie's wife Susan, who was a great host grabbing drinks and having hot food ready on the mark of half time, gotta get me a wife like that.
So nearly 15 people crammed the lounge room, some green and gold spread about. Australia vs Japan in the first Group F match of the world cup finals Germany 06. And we watched as a tragic mistake from the Referees assistant when Schwarzer was clearly impeded in the box and a goal was awarded anyway early in the first half. But Australia continued to domintate possession, making plenty of chances at goal but were kept out by the Japanese defense and some good saves by their goalkeeper. So 0-1 to Japan at half time was a travesty, but the match was not over at all yet. Australia continued strongly in the second half but the through ball tactics applied early on weren't working and so the master Guus made the changes, taking Bresciano, Moore and Wilkshire off, bringing on Aloisi, Cahill and Kennedy on to put the fresh legs up front needed to shake the Japanese defense and score as Tim Cahill did in the 84th min and then again in style 5 mins later in the 85th min, to make it Aus 2-1 Jap, with the win in their hands and some pressure applied by Japan Australia responded again and again wanting to seal the game they continued to press forward looking for another goal. and in the 92nd min in injury time the great Aloisi broke through beat the defender and shot beating the keeper to score and clinch the match for Australia!
A well deserved win and each time Australia scored there were men hugging and screaming in joy and excitement at the achievements of the Australian team in their first match in the top of the world arena for 32 years.
That was excitement and passion, with joy and love, zeal. They were kingdom moments where different people were together, sharing life in a way God made possible.

this is football heaven

2006-06-05T18:40:00.000+09:30

went to the Rosemont Hotel sports bar last night to watch the Aussies play Netherlands in a pre-world cup friendly. was a good night, made even better as i was joined by Jamie who is a mate from church and Stefan a friend from work. I wore my green and gold football australia shirt and Jamie stole my scarf so he wore that. was a fantastic match, full of good football and a bit of drama, ending in a 1-1 draw. quite alright for the 42nd ranked Aussies against the Dutch world football masters number 3 in the world.
can't wait till the world cup kicks off in a few days, this is football heaven.

to Kimmy and Benny

2006-06-05T18:12:00.000+09:30

my lil sista Kimmy is engaged!
her boyfriend of about a year (i think) Ben Rodgers asked her to marry him on saturday night. she said yes. he is a great bloke and am stoked to have him become my brother in-law, and marry my sister. he was in from day one, after all he is an Arsenal fan, how could my Dad say no, yes he did ask my Dad first a couple weeks ago now if he could marry my sister. and Ben did have a nice diamond ring for her too, proposed with a fair bit of style also, on the beach where he took Kimmy for their first date.
the other good thing is he knows, if he breaks her heart, i'll break his neck and then who knows what my big brother will do.
hey Benny we're gonna kill ya!

Ben and Kimmy are coming down to Adelaide at the end of the month, am looking forward to hanging out with them and having plenty of fun. Kelly will be down then too, so there will be lotsa crazy people having lotsa fun.

so congrats to Kimmy and Benny.

His kingdom there

2006-06-05T17:26:00.000+09:30

i mentioned in one of my previous posts and in an email i sent to some friends for prayer, that i might not be heading off to YWAM this year as planned, and......... suspense is always a little interesting, although can get a bit annoying if drawn out too far.........so after much prayer and questioning i have decided....that more suspense....means i am not going but staying in Adelaide, i might go next year, but right now the timing is not right and i have much to grow in this year here in Adelaide. so thanks to those who prayed and yes i am sure i have made the right decision.

on other notes, futsal and work are going well and went out with Scotty on saturday night to see Bluebottle Kiss at The Jive, was a great show from the Sydney band, made my week. There was this moment when the whole band were just giving their all on stage , playing their instruments with great passion and skill and in that moment i was reminded of how great God is and how cool it is that He gave us music and creativity. It was a spiritual moment and as i stood there my head nodding back and forth and the front of my foot thumping the ground amongst followers of Jesus and those on the other road, there was a glimpse of something of the kingdom of God there and i ask God to continue to grow His kingdom there.

31 May 2006 - World No Tobacco Day

2006-05-23T18:27:00.000+09:30

Got this in an email, click on the picture to continue the animated story. Good for a giggle, kinda serious too really though. I like the end endorsement also.

what am i going to do with today's?

2006-05-21T00:07:00.000+09:30

life is pretty crazy at the moment. really busy too. have been working every day since thursday a week ago and have my day off on monday which will be good. have started playing futsal here in adelaide, ended up contacting a guy in charge of a comp and getting onto one of the teams that happened to need an extra player. have also had the opportunity to lead the guys bible study at my church that i go to as our youth pastor who normally leads it is in europe for a bit. been up late/early watching UEFA Cup/FA Cup/Champions League finals. Well done to The Gunners who did lose but did it in style. Have been trying to work out what i am doing and if it is still feasable to go to YWAM Sports DTS since recently discovering the date has been moved forward a month and i had been budgeting for august not july. have been trying to refocus on priorities in life. God, life, work, sport balance. have had a couple of stressfull times at work recently, and praise God they ended out ok.
God has been stretching me more and more recently, teaching me to face problems more head on rather than just backing out.
watched a film tonight that made me think about life, a bit. one thought i have had is. each day is a gift, what am i going to do with today's?

just start

2006-05-01T00:08:00.000+09:30

i think too often i am too much talk and not enough action.
i often make plans to do things and never get around to doing them.
great ideas get into my head but not into life.
i am often unhappy with the way i live but don't do anything about changing it.
i think i need to get out of here, out of this lifestyle and into action.
i need to take responsibility for my actions/inaction.
i need to get my priorities sorted.
i need to start living life, and stop thinking that life will just start.

things often change

2006-04-30T23:52:00.000+09:30

am reminded at least weekly of how valuble some of my friends are, they are truly unique and unreplaceable. from my life of moving from one place to another i have generally just about dumped most if not all of my friends from the places i have previously lived and fairly successfully replaced them with new friends from my new place of residence. while i haven't purposely done this since moving to Adelaide at the start of the year, i think i have been trying to by just a way of survival that i have taught myself and at the same time trying to get myself to ring my friends that i know i need to keep in contact with and are people who i would hope to be life long friends, however realising of course that things often change.

that is what makes a dream complete

2006-04-08T22:57:00.000+09:30

so what could a dream look like in the end?
how about a community recreation centre aimed at young people.
an indoor skate park, bowl and street.
a bascketball court and futsal pitch side by side.
a pool room full of pool tables and foosball tables too of course.
a small hall for gigs and general use.
a cafe type area.
a skate and sport shop, maybe music too.
other areas to use for confronting social issues.
a study hall where young people are encouraged to learn and get help in their studies.
a place where young people are people and not "just kids", where they are empowered to overcome obstacles in life and help others do the same.
a place where they can meet real people, who live real lives, who have a real faith, offer real hope, and live a life of real love.
real faith, real hope and real love, that is what matters in the end.
that is what makes a dream complete.

enjoying being there at the moment

2006-03-21T19:48:00.000+10:30

so i have a job!
started yesterday, working for TeleChoice, an Optus Premium Dealer.
is good so far, am on a two week paid trial
enjoying being there at the moment

thats Adelaide :)

2006-03-12T23:34:00.000+10:30

so things are going better here in Adelaide, had a pretty good weekend, Youth was good on friday night and after went out to this outdoor club in the city that is temporaraly there for the Festival of Arts with the youth pastor and his wife. it is called the Persian Garden, was absoloutley packed, great atmosphere and done really well. the NY dj way pretty good too and even added some arab tunes at the beginning of his set, was different but he did it well.
went to see Lord Of War on Saturday which is an interesting film about the weapons trade that helps to fuel the violent wars the world over and just who is really responsible for the supply of those weapons. stars Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke.
spent today with the boys apart of our church, hanging out, was good.
is a public holiday over here tomorow so yeah, will hopefully get up to something.
oh and i have a job trial on tuesday with Telechoice so hopefully that goes really well and lands me a fine job.
so yeah at the moment thats Adelaide :)

i think Johnny Cash had a point

2006-02-27T23:13:00.000+10:30

went to see Walk The Line tonight, it is the story of Johnny Cash and his rise to fame and over coming of drugs. there was this one scene in the film that i thought was worth a mention. it is where Johnny Cash has just over come his drug addiction and gotten his life a bit more together, and he goes to his record company telling them that he wants to record a live album in a jail, Folsom Prison. the record company boys tell him it isn't a good idea and that his audience are christians and
"they don't want to hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists, to cheer them up a bit."
and Johnny Cash says to them,
"if they don't want that then they're not Christians."
(in my words as close as i could remember)
i think Johnny Cash had a point
Jesus probably would have agreed i reckon

don't let the creator down

2006-02-20T22:53:00.000+10:30

have these compelling thoughts about how God made us to live life and how he designed us and gave us different abilities as gifts, and how much joy those gifts can bring God, others and ourselves (purposeful order of there too) when we use those abilities. which is really cool, cause it means that when we do the things that we are good at, the things God made us able to do well, then how much Glory will we bring God when we do those things. so if God made you a musician then play, if to sing then sing, if to run then run, if to jump then jump, if to swim then swim, if to paint then paint, if to climb then climb, if to draw then draw, if to surf then surf, i don't know what God made you to do, but what ever it is, do it! don't let the creator down, bring Him joy each day.

how great He really is

2006-02-19T23:58:00.000+10:30

this morning at the church service we sang this song together, and it goes like this
"how great is our God,
sing with me how great is our God,
and all will see how great,
how great is our God"
i like this song because it does two things, declares that our God is great, which he is, and has that whole we can't really describe in words how great He is to it, that's the first thing. the second is that it cuts deep and makes me go well how and when will all people see how great God is, probably when the Church (which includes me) gets to really loving all people especially each other.
i seem to not be able to sing that song and not be cut deeply realising that the words we sing need to be lived out, and the question asked do i live every day in my realisation of how great my God really is? or do i live as if my God really isn't that great and therefore not really important to tell people who don't know how great He is about Him and that i can live as if God isn't great and all the implications that go with how great He really is.

God's love and perfection

2006-02-08T21:14:00.000+10:30

found this post and just thought i would link it here. it is an interesting story about God's love and perfection.

so check out her blog

2006-02-08T20:25:00.000+10:30

well my mum now has a Blog!
it is at
http://faithnurse.blogspot.com/
she is doing a course in Faith Nursing and being one, she is a nurse of many years and now is incorporating that with her faith community, they hence call it Faith Community Nursing.
so check out her blog and comment to encourage her to post.

to make authentic disciples of Jesus

2006-02-06T20:54:00.000+10:30

so now i am reading a new book, Promoting The Gospel, by John Dickson, a good Sydney Anglican guy who i have a lot of respect for as a follower of Jesus. so i read his mini-chapter introduction and pretty much agreed with what he had to say on most stuff. but as i lay along the two seater coach with my head on one end and my feet dangling off the end of the other, the one thing i could think was yeah but if i proclaim the gospel with someone and they respond to it wanting to follow Jesus, then i have this worry, and it is about the church community and that they would instead of ending up following Jesus, they will end up following the ways of that church community. if you don't get the distinction that i am trying to make here, it is that i think a lot of church communities are not doing what Jesus was or wanted. that when someone joins a church that they are told that they should come to the service on Sunday, the home group on Wednesday, the church social group on Friday night and hang out with your new christian friends on Saturday, oh and because your new to this stuff we will have "how to be a good christian classes" on Thursday afternoons, so you can forget anything you used to know, your now a christian, we don't do anything else that doesn't involve other christians, sport, hobbies, friends, you don't need them anymore you have us. no i am not joking i have seen it happen time and again, till i have either seen the person lose touch with the rest of the wordly and grown a christian bubble (oh i forgot to mention only listening to music that is about God and even on radio, and ditto if you can get "christian" TV too), or they get so bored with how not like the Jesus they first heard about and how much christians say and little that happens that they totally walk away from the faith that they began this journey with, after all it didn't seem any better than what the rest of religions reckon, it never lived up to what they said it was. now while this may sound like i am making an excuse for not sharing the gospel and that includes all what Jesus did from birth to ascention, i am making a good reason. but it will never stop me, and there never is an excuse. it has to be apart of me. and what i really want to say is, how can we get around all the imperfections of churches'? to make authentic disciples of Jesus.

so yeah let the dreams flow i say :)

2006-02-02T16:51:00.000+10:30

i just finished reading this book moments ago and the miracle is that it was a pb for me, read the whole book in one month. anyways it's Rob Bell's (Pastor at Mars Hill) book Velvet Elvis - Repainting the Christian Faith. it is definantly one of the best books i've read.

in it Rob Bell urges readers that faith is something to be honestly wrestled with and rethought constantly. that it is our responsibility to challenege the thoughts on and interpretations of the bible, to seek out God together, discussing how we can be putting the teachings of Jesus into action today. he very well points out that there is no such thing as reading the bible as it is, that it is always interpreted as it is filltered through your own knowledge and circumstances. Bell often looking back to the jewish traditions and life to draw out his meaningful interpretations from the Gospels. he tells the story of the beginnings of the Mars Hill Church community. the stories of some of the people he has come accross and the sadness and frustration with their views of God and themselves as Christians. finishing with a plea for those see the faults of many churches and pastors, to think ofwhat church could be and not to give up, but to strive on and dream big together.

from the epilogue:
"I am also like you because I have a Choice. To become bitter, cynical, jaded, and hard. Anybody can do that. A lot have."

"I am not going to stop dreaming of a new kind of faith for the millions of us who need it. I am not going to stop dreaming of new kinds of communities that put the love of God and the brilliance of Jesus on display in honest, compelling ways. I am not going to stop dreaming of new ways to live lives of faith and creativity and meaning and signifcance."

so yeah let the dreams flow i say :)

He is beyond even our imagination

2006-01-30T12:07:00.000+10:30

how great is our God
He is greater than the waves of a tsunami
how great is our God
He is greater than the greatest political dictators
how great is our God
He is greater than HIV Aids
how great is our God
He is greater than wealth or poverty
how great is our God
He is greater than mental illness
how great is our God
He is greater than a nuclear bomb
how great is our God
He is greater than whoever thinks they are the most powerful on this earth
how great is our God
He is greater than the skies that bring flood and drought
how great is our God
He is greater than a galaxy of planets and stars
how great is our God
He is greater than time it is no obstacle to Him
how great is our God
He is greater than any great wisdom we can comprehend
how great is our God
He is greater than your problems and mine
how great is our God
He is greater than
how great is our God
His true greatness our minds can not come to understand for He is beyond even our imagination
Matt
Mark

something interesting that actually matters to write about

2006-01-28T16:26:00.000+10:30

so i am here on the net and am bored, trying to think about what i could write in my blog, but i don't seem to like any of the ideas i am coming up with so i will go and find something interesting that actually matters to write about.

what you invest your time in will matter

2006-01-18T21:32:00.000+10:30

so life hasn't been too exciting since finally really moving in and making a room of my own at the start of the month. i suppose you could say that i have settled in. still trying to work this city out though, and trying to find my place in it. have visited a few different church communities, but am not really sure what i will do. there is this one that i think could be good to join, and maybe that my mother gave me a "oh we've been there" with a you won't like it tone, and my determination (others may call it other things) to get her to understand that she really doesn't get me, makes it more appealing.

i'm looking for a job so haven't fixed my car yet, or gone to play futsal any where, but one guy i have met said he'd give me a ring if he needed an extra player. the one thing about this sport is that generally you have to have a whole team to play and i am just one person and haven't found a team to join. i did go bodyboarding for the first time in over 4 years though, so that was exciting and something i will hopefully get to do more.

am off to Sydney on Friday for the weekend, it is my lil sister's 21st birthday on the Friday and her party on Saturday night. makes me feel old. will get back on Monday.

oh and my motherboard fried again so my computer is out of action at the moment, making that bit harder to get on the net (i won't bore you with all my troubles). but i am still alive and although sometimes things seem hard, every breath i take is a precious moment, and although i may not seem to live like it is a precious moment, i know that there are realities and at the same time there are no impossibilites with God. so can you really waist time? i don't know that you can, but i do suppose that in the end, what you invest your time in will matter.

the wedding of the year

2006-01-07T22:20:00.000+10:30

so that was Adelaide, and to continue my story, the very next day about 1pm i left for Melbourne, in my Dad's Charade F2, he didn't want me to drive my car, so i borowed his. arriving in Ballarat that night to crash, sleep, before continuing my journey, on the friday, i finally arrived in Melb to meet Christop, to hang out with for a while before going to the Forge Intensive Open Night at NCCC.
the next day was Dave's Bucks Day/Night, so early the next morining I drove out to Kingsbury/Bundoora, and stopped at the McDonalds around the corner from his new place for second breakfast, mainly coffee, as not to arrive too early. so the day went pretty well, lotsa meat for our bbq, plenty of cricket to go with it, a good bunch of blokes, a movie and 3 wild games at Dark Zone (laser wars). the rest of the week was pretty much spent hanging out with Dave and his soon to be wife Rosie helping them do whatever needed doing before the big day on the following Saturday. caught up with a few other people during this time as well.
the wedding was nothing but spectacular, was a real honour to be apart of the bridal party and made it an even more special wedding for me. we also got to ride in Rolls Royce Silver Clouds, picture real classic 1940s style cars. very nice, i was quite excited. we all looked stunning, the men that is, in our suits, and of course the ladies looked amazing in thier beautiful dresses. God took the Glory of the day as he should and everyone had a great time. definantly the wedding of the year.

sight seeing Adelaide

2005-12-21T19:12:00.000+10:30

the next week was spent sight seeing around Adelaide, with my lil sis Kimmy and her boy Benny who arrived from Sydney by plane the day after me. we went out that night to a pub in North Adelaide called The Archer, to catch up with one of Ben's mates who lives here, nice pub and the have Stella on tap, i was impressed. as Ben and i stood at the bar there was a bit of a question we had for each other, what do they call a standard size beer here? pot? schooner? we didn't find out till later and we both ended up with pints, not quite what we were after originally but oh well, saved us getting another one later.
the next day, Friday, we got up early and drove up to the lovely Barossa Valley, for a tour, some site tour, mostly wine tour. was quite an experience and i now know a lot more about wine and drinking it, but not too much of course. we had lots of fun and had a great time together.
Sunday afternoon we went to the A-League football top of the table clash, Adelaide vs Sydney, Ben, Kim and myself were amongst a handful of Sydney FC supporters there and although i called the score 3-2 Sydney win before the game i got the win bit wrong as some scrappy defending gave Adelaide two easy goals plus another, with Adelaide taking the win. was still a great experience with the stadium packed out, and one great football match.
on Monday we went to the Australia vs West Indies test match at the Adelaide Oval, it really is a beautiful ground, and was good to see some cricket.
the rest of the week was mainly spent shopping or going to the beach, and hanging out having fun together.
Kimmy and Ben left for Sydney on the Wednesday and so did some of the Australian Cricket team who we saw at the airport.

Start Here

2005-12-21T18:22:00.000+10:30

i don't know quite how to start, it was 4 weeks ago i flew the coop and moved to Adelaide. And i have certainly had some adventures since then.
the drive was long and slow, my newly acquired 4cyl camry struggled with the extra weight and drag due to the large enclosed trailer that i was towing all of my junk in. had many stops along the way to fill up with petrol, rest, stretch and some nourishment of the food variety.
driving down into Adelaide is always an experience, and driving down is about the best way to describe it, a few lanes that wind down and down, until you reach the old toll house and the traffic lights that greet you as Adelaide. i had my directions from mum and dad on how to get to their place, although i could have written them down better and made it easier to read. i pulled up to a set of traffic lights not a km from my parents house and read turn right so i did, oops that was for the traffic lights before. having realised at that set of lights that i needed to go left i did a u turn shortly after going through the lights. as i came down the hill i had just come up and back to the lights, heading in the right direction this time, with the lights red i braked, but didn't stop, until i hit the in front of me, a new mini cooper s. with the extra weight and my brakes too hot and gooey to help, i was left helpless and only to watch. we got out she was pissed, i was devastated, i really didn't need this, and neither did she. thankfully the collision was only minor really and just scratched the paint on her car, and with just a bent bumper on mine we were both ok. and luckily she hasn't worried to get it fixed so i didn't have to pay, just for my car anyways.

going away far far away party

2005-11-03T22:22:00.000+10:30

a quick post to let people know that my internet is due to be diconected on 7th Nov so i might post again between now and then but i might not, and i might try to go somewhere else to blog before i leave for Adelaide on the 23rd but who knows i might not get to. so i will at least blog something once i get to Adelaide but until then i dunno so have a great couple of weeks and don't do too many posts on your blogs cause then i will have too much catch up reading to do. christop and i have our going away far far away party tomorow night so that will be fun, almost anyone can come as long as we know you or you are a friend of a friend that is.

oh and they are called The Waiter's Union

2005-11-03T13:21:00.000+10:30

i found this ABC radio interview linked on Digger's blog, it is quite interesting and is mainly with these two guys who have this Christian community in brisbane who do alot of social work i suppose you would call it. they have a very interesting story to tell that includes some time spent living in India. oh and they are called The Waiter's Union.

the moral minority aiming to mend our ways

2005-11-02T00:57:00.000+10:30

I found this interesting article linked on christop's blog.

They're the New Puritans. A generation of young, educated and opinionated people determined to sidestep the consumerist perils of modern life. So if you own a 4x4, spend all your time shopping, or are simply overweight - watch your back. Lucy Siegle meets the moral minority aiming to mend our ways

i want to live a life that replicates the impact that Jesus had on this earth

2005-10-31T23:02:00.000+10:30

a comment i made and figured after writing it, that it was more worth it's own post:

i am trying to figure out what do i need, and how much do i need. what things can i do without and will i and the mission God has on this earth be better off with very little, and where is the balance of how well i live and how much i give to those who have not even close to what i have.

really i am not interested in giving the money God has given me to a church that does not much more than waste it on itself. i want to spend it wisely, and help those who have little.

i think about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and knowing of how many people accross the world living in poverty makes me question why i have what i do, and how can our society waste so much money and let so many people die, because we want to be comfortable.

i am confused about our mission and the best way to go about it. would it be better if we gave up all our worldy riches and just made do with much much less. because i know when you have much less you just make do and get used to it and it isn't such a big deal.

i know Jesus said we would always have the poor but i don't think he meant that we should just sit by and do nothing about it. i know that our mission is to Go make Disciples, but i also know that our mission is to Love our Neighbour. and i know that above all we should Love God, and to Love God is to obey his commands and they are not a burden.

i cannot place any boundries on my thoughts and understanding of what it truly means to follow Jesus. to to compare it to any other person is not do able. there is no greater benchmark, and that benchmark is way beyond anyone i know. i want to see God do so much in Australia, and i want to live a life that replicates the impact that Jesus had on this earth.

it would be also boring to be totally right

2005-10-27T23:42:00.000+09:30

i hope some will disagree with some of the things i have written in the previous post below, it would be also boring to be totally right, which i am pretty sure i am not always totally right.

life would be so boring if it was far to easy to follow Jesus

2005-10-27T12:18:00.000+09:30

God has been really continually putting on my heart in the last little while the question of "what does it really mean to follow Jesus?"
this has been mixed in with questions like, "well if i was going to tell someone what it means to follow Jesus, how would i do that?" and "if someone was to tell me they want to follow Jesus, how would i help them to do that and what would i encourage them to say, read or think about?"

talked about this with Christop on the way home from Melbourne yesterday where we, had lunch at Credo, a part of Urban Seed, visited the Immigration Museum, and went to the Forge Postcard event where Michael Duncan shared some of his story and passion.

some of our conversation included these thoughts and some i am adding in now:
- often the way we as "Christians" "share the gospel" it is done in such a way that it is made so easy to "become a Christian" that after this decision is made the people have just been told that they need to just have "faith" in God and accept His forgivness and you have eternal life. "giving your life to Jesus" may be mentioned also but i find rarely explained as to what it really means to "give your life to Jesus" and so the person is left with this "faith" in Jesus that they now have eternal life, as if Jesus is some kind of a vending machine for the consumer world and that eternal life in heaven, Jesus will sovle all your problems, or something similar is the product that they are getting. Jesus is not a vending machine for a happy comfortable life, if Jesus were a vending machine for life (which he is NOT) happy and comfortable would not be on the label, something more like DANGER will cause brockeness, persecution, suffering and lots of people who smell, are dirty, are sick and in need of help will come to you. Other possible side effects true joy, eternal life, relationship with God, healing, blessing, gifts, and more.

- one of the other things was about how often there is a dead faith, a faith without deeds, as James talks about in his book that is in the Bible. so often we show people who "become christians" a faith without deeds, and they soon follow, with some throwing it all away because they came and got what they wanted/needed from the vending machine and now they see something else they want from another vending machine so they go for that.

- i am guilty and ask for forgivness as i seek to change

- so what does Jesus and the bible (inspired by going through the gospel book of Mark) say about following him, what does Jesus do?
- come follow me and i will make you fishers of men
- the kingdom of God is near, repent and believe the good news
- call other people to follow
- teach people about God
- cast out demons
- heal people
- pray in solitary place
- have compassion
- let people know they can have forgiveness
- have dinner with people who are called the scum
- call those who are sinners not those who think they are good enough
- even when people stand against you still always do what is right and good in God's eyes
- appoint some to learn from you that you may send them out
- speak in parables, stories so that some may turn to God
- do God's will
- consider carefully what we hear
- have rest and sleep
- have faith in God
- restore peoples dignity
- raise the dead
- send out those who have been with you to do as you have been doing
- go to a quiet place to get rest
- feed the hungry
- walk on water ( hehehe :) ) don't let things of this world stop you from doing anything but have faith in God who created all and is above all things
- do not hold onto the traditions of man but the commands of God
- make the deaf hear and the mute speak, stick your fingers in their ears and spit and touch their tongue ??? do what God says even if you may think it weird
- If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- what does it mean to deny myself and take up my cross for Jesus? and lose my life for Jesus? will i give up the things in this world i desire to follow Jesus?
- go up a high mountain taking only your closet mates and talk with Moses and Elijah? Go with Jesus where ever he goes and when meeting with God don't forget the rest of the world, listen and remeber what Jesus has said
- help people overcome their unbelief
- be the very last, and the servant of all
- welcome those who are thought to be insignificant
- live in peace with others, don't quarrel with others who go by Jesus name
- have faith like a child, anything is possible don't question what God can do, trust him, speak it and surely it will happen
- bless those who are thought not worthy
- give up everything you have for Jesus
- leave everything you have for Jesus
- follow Jesus all the way even if it means being mocked, spat on, flogged and killed, if you feel like it raise from the dead three days later too, i'm sure it will be a sight
- do not live to be served, but to serve and give you life for others
- have mercy for those who ask
- throw people out of God's temple when they are doing the wrong things there. Get rid of the rubish from your life that corrupts the temple of God, our bodies. Don't muck around God is serious kick it out now!
- forgive other people so God may also forgive you
- don't let hypocrites get the better of you, don't be one yourself
- don't be swayed by men but hold strong to the way of God
- love God with everything in you and leave nothing out. do what he says, obey his every command. serve only the Lord God. Fear God alone. do what is right and good in God's eyes. live life for him only. love God because he loved you. (some of the inspiration for this came from Dueteronomy's correlating verses)
- love others as you do yourself. take care of others as you would yourself? treat others in a right manner with all integrity. treat people who are different than you with the same respect you would a fellow friend. be just and judge fairly showing no favouritism. speak well of others so that your words may show kindness, mercy and grace. do all you can to keep others from death. be of a pure heart towards others giving all the grace that has been given to us. love others as God has loved you. (some of the inspiration for this came from Leviticus' correlating verses)
- take the lowest seat in a house, treat others highly
- restore the dignity and respect of others
- be flogged
- stand as witnesses for Jesus before governors and kings
- preach the gospel to all natioins
- say whatever the Holy Spirit tells you when you are arrested and brought to trial
- hated by all men because of Jesus
- watch for the return of Jesus and don't be caught taking a nap
- go to the homes of those who no one visits
- protect the vunerable from those who would treat them harshly
- love even those who betray you, include them at your table when you eat
- sing a hymn with your brothers in Christ, praise God together
- when you are vulnerable openly make it clear to your close friends so that they may keep watch over you.
- seek God in your times of need, and always be mindful to follow his way and seek to do his will
- face the facts that seemingly bad things will happen to you by following God's ways, but do not be afraid God has his purposes and it is for his Glory that we must live
- stay true to the will of God no matter what it will cost you, even to death
- mockery and insults will come when you follow God's will
- go into all the world preaching the good news to everyone
- drive out demons
- snakes won't be able to harm them, neither will poison
- speak in new tongues
- heal the sick

i really like that Jesus lived by God's standards and not anyone elses, it makes following him so much more of a challenge, and getting a good kick up the ass by a real challenge is good for me. too often i have found it not so much of a challenge to be very "spiritual" in the eyes of many Christians and be an excellent "christian" by their standards, which are often far too low. i am glad God's standards are much too high. life would be so boring if it was far to easy to follow Jesus.

2000

2005-10-24T23:02:00.000+09:30

WOW! i just realised that my counter now says i have over 2000 hits on my blog!

so yeah i am on the move again

2005-10-21T12:21:00.000+09:30

so for those who haven't heard yet, i am moving to Adelaide and leaving the beautiful City of Ballarat that has been my home for nearly 4 years now, and the wonderful state of Victoria that has been my home for nearly 9 years now.
I will be leaving on either 22nd or 24th November.
Why you ask?(or maybe you don't care but i will tell you anyway)
i had been contemplating moving at the end of this year for quite some time, since probably about January maybe, and i had already been thinking about seeing if i could move in with my parents for a while when my mum asked me if i wanted to move to Adelaide with them, Pooraka to be specific, northern suburb i think it is maybe north and east a bit. to mainly to stay with my parents for a while, who now live there afte moving from Sale, to save money before going off to YWAM in Brisbane to do a Sports DTS. there are many other beneficial factors i find, like by moving there i have somewhere to have all of my things while i am away at YWAM.
so yeah i am on the move again

and may by our love we be known as Christians

2005-10-21T11:34:00.000+09:30

it has been put on my heart today that hopefully one day soon i will be able to be called a 'Christian' as the 'disciples' in Antioch were.

i think the title 'Christian' is used far too loosely and it has become so easy to be called a Christian by others who call themselves this, that people who don't even really believe in Jesus teaching call themselves this.

i just finished reading the first chapter of a book that jumped out at me, if you like, off the book shelf, one of Tab's books i am baby sitting. it's Charles M. Sheldon's book "In His Steps". and it occurred to me that part of being a disciple of Jesus is imitating him. as like this definition of a disciple from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary -
A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his
sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example

i am not saying i have left my faith in Jesus behind, or that i don't have assurance that i am saved from my sins by his more than sufficient grace, and am only by his grace given a place in heaven, because i do have these things.

but i believe that my imitating of his example is lacking and that is apart of being a disciple of Jesus, and therefore a Christian.

i really want this to change, i really want to change.

and may by our love we be known as Christians

Oxfam innovates to tackle shelter crisis in earthquake zone

2005-10-19T22:54:00.000+09:30

Oxfam are using their smarts to help deal with the shelter crisis.
relief web report
you can donate on the Oxfam Oz site
or the UK D.E.C. site mentioned in the article linked above

what in the end will we actually do?

2005-10-19T22:22:00.000+09:30

i would have to say it is the greatest disaster i can think of in my life time so far, the October 8 earthquake that hit Kashmir and has left an estimated 3.3 million homeless, about 80,000 injured, and about 54,000 dead if i read it right, maybe that's an estimate of the end total after winter hits. that would be like be like if over half the people in Ballarat died, like if everyone in Ballarat was injured and everyone in Melbourne was homeless.
There is now aslo a huge shortage of Tents for people to protect themselves from the winter cold.
'Major-General Farooq Ahmed Khan, Pakistan's top relief official, said 33,000 tents and 130,000 blankets had been distributed. But 260,000 tents and 2 million blankets were needed.'
'There are not enough tents in the world to protect refugees from the coming northern winter'
Winter threat to quake victims Article The Age Website
we can all at least pray...
most of us can at least give...
but the question is...
what in the end will we actually do?

some things to think about

2005-10-12T11:52:00.000+09:30

the words in my writings here (in the previous 2 posts) encompass alot of what i feel should be coming out the Church. It is the way i think i want to live my life, yet don't know yet quite how.
i would really appreciate any comments on what i have written, especially if you disagree with any of the statements or if they seem to be just not quite right to you, or whatever.

the first one "i will go" has taken some inspiration from Paul and a part of his second letter to the Corinthians.

the second one "follow Jesus there" has taken inspiration from Jesus and what he did and one of his parables.

some things to think about

follow Jesus there

2005-10-12T11:48:00.000+09:30

where there are hungry
we will feed them
to the poor we will go
with food and blankets
with love and care
with prayer and help
we will follow Jesus there

where there are sick
we will care for them
to those in need we will go
with medicine and bandages
with love and care
with prayer and help
we will follow Jesus there

where there are the broken
we will break for them
to the hurting we will go
with open arms and acceptance
with love and care
with prayer and help
we will follow Jesus there

where there are people
we will love them
to all peoples we will go
with Jesus and redemption
with love and care
with prayer and help
we will follow Jesus there

i will go

2005-10-12T11:03:00.000+09:30

Jesus you call me
i will follow
where you call me
i will go

though there will be hard times
i will follow
though there will be troubles
i will go

i could be beaten
i will follow
i could be jailed
i will go

when death stares me in the face
i will follow
when danger surrounds me
i will go

a gun may point at my head yet
i will follow
a knife may scrape my neck yet
i will go

Jesus Jesus Jesus
i will follow
Jesus Jesus Jesus
i will go

taking with me your love
i will follow
for the expansion of your kingdom
i will go

"Church as 'Place' or 'Service'"

2005-10-01T21:37:00.000+09:30

an interesting article on the Church and it's mission, at missiology.org

intelligent design vs evolution

2005-09-29T23:07:00.000+09:30

i read this article in the paper the other day, is interesting, pretty much intelligent design vs evolution being taught in U.S. schools, being fought out in court.

debate over the issue has reached our shores in Australia, this article reflects some Australian's points of view.

Purpose Driven in Rwanda, Rick Warren's sweeping plan to defeat poverty

2005-09-29T16:13:00.000+09:30

i found this through Stephen Said's blog, give it a read.

living for the people of this world and helping those in need

2005-09-29T14:33:00.000+09:30

last week (19th-22nd) was spent in Melbourne at the Crossway Conference. i had gone last year and registered for this years conference at last years conference. as this years conference approached i kinda didn't really want to go. but i had paid to go and plus my dad was going and i would get to see my mum and nana for a bit cause we were to stay at my nana's place in Mt Waverly. little did i know how much i would be encouraged and challenged at this conference. the two main speakers were to my surprise really great men of God who really knew what to do.

Paul Borden helped the Baptist Churhes in Northern California to turn around and become outward focused, missional churches. he told the stories of how churches that were going no where or dying grew immensely cause they were getting out there and changing their cities, and not from people moving from another church cause this one has better music or something, but from people who see the love of Jesus being shown to them and deciding they want to follow. all week he was telling everyone how the one real purpose of the church is to be missional, making disciples of the people of the world.

Murray Robertson is a New Zealender and Pastor of Spreydon Baptist Church, his church is the largest welfare organisation in Christchurch. with over 40 community ministries are seeing the poor, at risk, mentally ill, criminal, whatever other kind of people Jesus would have gone and helped, pretty much they are helping everyone in need in Christchurch. he has a heart for social justice and people and really challenged everyone who was at the conference to get real. on the tuesday night he pretty much left us speechless.

after the conference my mum asked me what i had gotten out of the conference, and probably it was mostly encouragement to do what i know i need to be doing, living for the people of this world and helping those in need.

Dog registered to vote

2005-09-23T19:48:00.000+09:30

A dog was registered to vote in the recent NZ election.
just thought this to be a bit amusing.

theage.com.au

go back to eating their dinners

2005-09-15T22:30:00.000+09:30

i watched "Hotel Rwanda" last night, was one of the most amazing films i have ever seen, i laughed, i cried, and i don't want to say much more. It is a tragic story really, and a true one.
The question is, "is a similar thing happening/happened with Sudan, and what is being done?"
if you haven't seen Hotel Rwanda yet i engourage you to do so.
if you don't know much about the situation in Sudan, check out UN Sudan

Hotel Rwanda really is agreat story, i have never seen anything like it.
"and then they go back to eating their dinners"

the different ones

2005-09-15T21:57:00.000+09:30

one thing i find a bit annoying is the terms that Christians use to describe other people. Paul Colman has been know to talk about a conversation he once had with a guy who was wondering what the go was with him being called a "non-christian". Paul being a teacher knows how "non" is a negtive prefix and is really quite a negative way to describe someone. i am not described as a non-black, or a non-pagan, but as what i am, not what i am not, a white, or a Christian.
the other thing to this is, why not just call people what they are then, "people", after all, we are the weird ones, we are the different ones, we are the aliens, the ones who do not belong to this world anymore(as citizens of heaven), but are here to live amongst the people of this world. not that this makes us higher than any people, but yes it makes us different. so let us start calling people who they are, "people" and not what they are not. after all it is us who are the different ones.

more Gulp to come

2005-09-15T20:57:00.000+09:30

Gulp @ Dictionary.com
v. gulped, gulp·ing, gulps
v. tr.
1.To swallow greedily or rapidly in large amounts: gulp down coffee.
2.To choke back by or as if by swallowing.

v. intr.
1.To choke or gasp, as in swallowing large amounts of liquid.
2.To swallow air audibly, as in nervousness.

n.
1.The act of gulping.
2.A large amount swallowed at one time.

n.
1.A whole bunch of young people in Ballarat, together connecting with God.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[From Middle English gulpen, or from Flemish or Dutch gulpen.]

Gulp was born out of the... well God i suppose and through the hearts of a bunch of youth who make up the Snr Teen Ministry Team from the youth of the Ballarat Baptist Churches. In particular one young man Mr. Daniel "Dan the man"/"Pantsdown" Lansdown has really been the man behind the vision and the dream for a community of young people in Ballarat to be connecting with God in a way that for them is real and understandable.
not to be be-littleing any other persons contribution though.
the first Gulp was held during the month of August at the Wendouree Baptist Church building, and went fairly well in that they did what they wanted to do, but what happened wasn't what they wanted (these are my comments and not necesarilly those of others), this was my understanding after a chat with Dan later that night. in other words, it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. this was due to a number of factors, some of which were totally unexpected by those involved.
it was a night of food, friends, fun, stories, short videos, and live music. God was apart of all these aspects of the night of course. oh and Gulp is NOT a Youth Service.
to discuss the future of Gulp and where exactly it was heading Daniel, Trav, Harvey, and myself met to nut it out, or more so, to get Daniel to nut out exactly where it was to go. Trav and I assured Daniel that it needed a leader and that he obviously should be that person. besides he came up with the name "Gulp", and he is a good leader, and does have the vision. many things came out of this night, but was mainly a brainstorm and a night to get together the vision and future of Gulp, so it could be then explained to others.
so last Sunday night a bunch of youth from the Baptist Churches in Ballarat gathered, with Dan leading with the vision of Gulp after watching a video about a youth church. the things that are valued at Gulp, and many aspects of what is to be were discussed. another meeting to dsicuss the first real episode of Gulp, you could just call the other one the pilot, is set and hopefully a Gulp Blog will be formed!
so if you would like to pray for Gulp and Daniel as he gets together a core team, i'm sure it would be greatly appreciated, as soon as they get something on the net, i will post it up, so you can see what is happening.
that's all for now but there will be more Gulp to come.

cause you don't learn to walk on your first go

2005-09-08T23:03:00.000+09:30

i cannot explain the struggles in my head at the moment, the questions and unsureness.
i say to God "lead me and i will follow", but i seem to always be asking the question, "where are we going?"
i continue to take steps forward, but find myself nervous when i don't know how things will turn out.
i don't want my life to be ruled by my circumstances, because yes reality is reality, but possibilities are almost endless.
there are often things i can do to change my circumstances, and often the things to change this seem scary, and too risky.
but afterall, what would life be without taking risks, one frustrated life of ifs and buts, filled only with regrets and failure to do something about changing that.
so here's to taking risks, hopefully i can be gutsy enough to take them, and less worried about what might happen, and more worried about what would happen if i was to wimp out.
this is something that i really need to put into practice in my life.
too often have i walked by, because i haven't had the guts to go where i haven't gone before.
for far too long have i let the fear of the unknown control my life, it's time to break out of my shell, to get out there and stop hiding behind my past.
there can be no more excuses, i need to swallow my pride and be ok with falling over, cause you don't learn to walk on your first go.

and follow what you love

2005-08-30T18:02:00.000+09:30

No. I won't get over it. It's football, the beautiful game. It's the game I love, it's a passion. It's not footy, no matter which brand of "football" in Australia is called that, it's not footy. I don't think it is understood. I want people to understand why i get up at 3,4am to watch men run around and kick the ball into the back of the net, because it is so much more than that. It is the world game, played in every country in the world. It brings waring nations together in peace. It is where sportsmanship and fairness are held in the highest regard.
It is the original football, the earliest form recorded is by the Chinese, "The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise of precisely this skilful technique dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. in China. A military manual dating from the period of the Han Dynasty includes among the physical education exercises, the "Tsu'Chu". This consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30 - 40 cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes - a feat which obviously demanded great skill and excellent technique." FIFA History of Football
It was only formalised into the game we see today in the late 1800's by the English, and forming the F.A.(Football Association).
Where the distinguishing Association Football comes from, not that anyone calls it Association Football cause it is Football.
I don't have a problem with some people calling it soccer, I just don't want people to expect me to call it that. If you ask me about soccer I will reply with Football, cause to me that's what it is.
I don't mean to be rude, but while i am on the subject. One thing i have found rather astounding from living in Victoria for 8 years now, having moved from New South Wales, the state where i was born and bred, is the persicution for the love of my game, especially from the country people. Ever since I moved down south in 1997 I have had people on my back about why I love my football and why don't I just forget about it and follow an AFL team of the Victorian grown Australian Rules as they call it. I've had the game I love called the girls game, a game for panzys or gays. Told by people who have never watched a whole match in their lives that it is too boring, and stupid.
'My opinion' is that there are a whole lot of Victorians who should open their eyes and see that the world is bigger than this small state, and while it is great to have passion for your state and sport, I find it just plain rude the amount of disrespect both myself and my sport is given.
If you don't understand something, then either shut up or find yourself learning more about it and then if you still don't like it fine I'm not saying you have to, just leave those of us who do alone, and follow what you love.
(I'd just like to make note that 'My opinion' here is not aimed at anyone or any persons comments, and I am not having a go at anyone here, it is mainly just a generalisation of my experince from many years.)

A-League

2005-08-26T00:29:00.000+09:30

thought i had better make sure peoples knew that it is not just my birthday but also another birthday, yes it is a new born, it is the birth of the newest professional football league in the world, the Australian born A-League or Huyindai A-League as with it's naming rights sponsor
check out the banner on the bottom right to link to the A-League site or the link below it to watch the mad new tv ad
it's football
but not as you know it
A-League

things God really wanted us to do

2005-08-19T21:55:00.000+09:30

have been getting frustrated with youth group a fair bit this year.
i think it is because of the lack of real discipleship going on.
the focus seems to have run away from discipling young people to running youth group.
some people may look at my small group and think how can i say that when i spend most of my time playing sport with my group and little sitting in a group doing discussion like we are supposed to.
but the thing is, i don't see how once a fortnight spending time talking with a bunch of guys who don't want to talk about life yet would do any good.
the other thing is that i only have like 3 guys which is great cause it means i can give them all attention and i actually have enough time for each of them.

this has also had me thinking about Jesus and how he had Peter, James and John as his 3 closest disciples.
there was the 12 and there was the 3 too in that 12.
so did Jesus just leave the other 9 out a bit or did the 3 have 3 of there own or what?
see i have been thinking about the whole small group thing and how if there are 5-12 people in a small group what happens there?
how do you make sure everyone is pouring their lives into others.
i mean surely one leader doesn't have enough time to spend with 6 let alone 12 people, and really be making an impact in all their lives.
and if everyone in the group has people they are putting time and life into to help them continue to grow then how are they supposed to do this outside the group as well?
like ya know the rest of the world, those people that God left us on earth to go and make disciples of.
hmmm... sometimes i wonder if our Church is so tangled in the things that we decided were important to do that we have forgotten about the things God really wanted us to do.

Stephen and Alan

2005-08-17T21:10:00.000+09:30

check out Stephen Said and Alan Hirsch talking about Alan's new book and the Church in China over at neurotribe
Podcast: Stephen Said and Alan Hirsch

God's beer brewers

2005-08-11T18:53:00.000+09:30

i was recently surfing the net and found some interesting things about the history of beer on the Fosters Group website

"3,000 year old beer mugs were uncovered in Israel in the 1960s. Archaeologists said that their find at Tel Isdar indicated that beer drinking in Israel went back to the days of King Saul and King David. An Assyrian tablet of 2,000 BC lists beer among the foods that Noah used to provision the ark."

"The Christian era"

"Beer really came into its own with the advent of the Christian era, largely through the influence of the monasteries which brewed and improved the beer. Monks often built the first breweries as pioneers of the hotel business, providing shelter, food and drink to pilgrims and other travellers.

Three Christian saints are listed as patrons of brewing, all distinguished members of the Christian faith: Saint Augustine of Hippo, author of the confessions; Saint Luke the Evangelist; and Saint Nicholas of Myra, better known as Santa Claus.

Other saints also had links with brewing. Saint Columban, doing missionary work in Germany, found people preparing to consume a cask of beer in a ceremony to a pagan god. He blew upon the case, which fell apart, and when the crowd became penitent he miraculously increased the small amount of beer left. Saint Bright is credited with changing water into beer to feed lepers. She personally brewed ale each Easter time to supply all of the churches in the neighbourhood.

Saint Mungo, the patron saint of Scotland's oldest city, Glasgow, established a religious brotherhood there in 540 AD, and one of the brothers started brewing to supply the others. Brewing is still regarded as the oldest industry in Glasgow. Saint Patrick, according to Senchus Mor, the book of the ancient laws of Ireland (438-441 AD), numbered among his household a brewer - a priest called Mescan."

when life happens, God happens

2005-08-10T22:59:00.000+09:30

when things seem to be falling apart
God is picking up the pieces
when people are a long way away
God is right there with me
when i lose sight of what i am doing
God reminds me of what's important
when i lose heart
God gives me a new one, his
when life happens
God happens

always

2005-08-10T22:53:00.000+09:30

always
God is there helping me along his way
always
God is in me, with me
always
God is
always

sometimes

2005-08-10T22:43:00.000+09:30

sometimes
things seem to be falling apart
sometimes
the people you love are a long way away
sometimes
i question if what i am doing is worth doing
sometimes
i really want to give up
sometimes
i just know i can't give up
sometimes
i know just how much worth there is in the things i do
sometimes
it's like the people who love you are right there with you
sometimes
things are going great
sometimes

with which i took the following photos

2005-07-30T18:07:00.000+09:30

i finally got my new camera yesterday!!!
it is a Panasonic DMC-FZ5, 5 Mega-pixel, 12 Optical zoom, it's black and i like it.
i picked it up yesterday afternoon and put the battery on charge as soon as i got home.
leaving it to have a good charge i went off to Teen Ministry Team.
for the older youth later on that night we had a re-gressive macca's crawl, or in other words, we went to three different McDonalds in town having coffee and cake first at Wendouree, then walked via the lake then Macarthur st and doveton st, to Sturt st for dessert, then onto Bakery Hill for dinner.
was a good night, a bit of fun and food, and a good opportunity for me to use my new camera.
so between dropping one of the guys in my team at the train station to go home and getting to Wendouree Macca's i dropped back into home and grabbed my now fully charged battery and new camera.
with which i took the following photos.

continuing on

2005-07-23T17:10:00.000+09:30

broken hill, Sunday we left and Sunday we returned.
had an eventful trip on the way up, as i have previously mentioned, and the week went like this.
Sunday night we arrived, Tab was at work, Pizza Runners, and we rocked up at Russ and Sue Hodge's place (Russ is the Broken Hill Cornerstone Training Centre Dean, the head staff guy there) where the week would begin with a Cornerstone community tea.
a good Aussie barbeque was in order and time to meet lotsa people and chat over dinner before we headed in the gallery/pool room (Sue is an artist and is opening the front of their house which is a shop front as her gallery and the pool table resisdes there also) for some Kelly pool.
while i didn't win i was there in the last few each game so that was alright.
eventually the reason we had just trekked about 800km walked in, Tab had finished work and we all got a hug :)
after hanging out and talking for a while we went to the houses where we were to stay, Kel and Em at Tab's house, and me and Christop at the Waggstaffes, Tim and Julz's place, just two doors down from Tab's place.
Cornerstone have their Centre on a corner and at least 5 houses in close proximity.
Tim and Julz are on staff and they are really cool! it was so great staying with them they are really great people!

so Monday morning came and we all gathered in the purple room, can't remember what they called it, for a time to respond to and connect with God, this was a daily thing, everymorning 9am.
the after this it was class time, lectures that aren't too lecturey more like a class, was good.
and the theme for the week, Christian Character, based on Galatians 5:22-23, also known as the Fruit Of The Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

each day we had class mixed with morning tea, and then lunch afterwards.
a couple times in the afternoons we had a time of "practicing the discipline of silence" where we were given something to read and relfect upon whilst being silent for and hour or so.
I can't remember the question we had but this is what i wrote after the first one.
"do things that will help me to change, have good positive input, take risks, try new things, discover things for myself, test and try, put myself in hard trying and dangerous positions, rely on God, get others to challenge me in areas they can see i need to be challenged in."

after about 4pm or so we just hung out or we went to the shopping centre (i didn't buy anything either, this is good for someone like me who can be a shopaholic sometimes), and one afternoon we went out to Silverton.

i was a bit depressed that after noon, it was over something really dumb and it was wrong for me to be upset so that made it worse, cause then i had this depressed angry thing going on, angry at myself.
so while i had a good time in Silverton, i didn't really want to be amongst so many people, crammed in a small bus, on a rainy day.
going over the dips in the road which made us all jump out of our seats was fun, and one of the galleries we went into was good too.
the Siverton Pub was the best though, with the Mad Max car out the front and all the different memorabilia and beer cans from all over the world.
we also saw the resivoir whilst out there too, wasn't any water in it really though.
there was a nice lookout over some plains too which was good, and we all braved the cold rainy weather for a group shot, others more than me as i had noticed the weather was looking like going bad and grabbed my new ski jacket before we left, it kept me plenty warm.
later when we returned i sat around with Kel and Tab for a bit before deciding i needed to go for a walk, had to go for a walk alone with God, i needed to say a few things and i needed him to rip, or beat the crap that was welling up inside of me and causing my glumness, out of me.
this took a while and i ended up walking all the way into town and back, was late for tea but, for once something else was more important.

each night we had tea different places, and Monday night me and Christop went to Russ and Sue's place, they are really great people too! had really good talks that night, they have really great hearts, such good people.

other highlights were watching equilibrium that night at the Wagstaffes after dinner.
Friday night eating pizza from Pizza runners, and playing Risk and then heading out to Pizza Runners till they closed at 2am on Saturday night to hang out with Tab and see where she works.

was a GREAT week! loved having fun with Tab again and meeting Jun a really cool Korean guy.
just seeing Tab's smiling face was all worth the trip, she's really great :)

it was real sad to have to leave Sunday morning, we all gathered around in a huddle, Kel, Christop, Em, Jun, Tab and myself, and prayed together for each other. probably my most fav moment of the week.

we had a good drive home and had luch with James and hi mate Damo in Mildura before continuing on home.

and blog more soon

2005-07-12T00:08:00.000+09:30

so we made it to Broken Hill, but not without drama, Kelly was driving when she felt it was bit too bumpy for everything to be ok with the car and pulled over, she jumped out and had a look at the nearest tyre (front right) and i jumped out and went straight to where i heard noise (rear left) what did we find but two flat tyres.
thank God for the RACV and Matt for having RACV membership (we were driving his car) so we could get to the nearest town, by getting towed, so we could get another tire and one of the tubes fixed.
and to think we had gone back to Matt's place to pick up his RACV stuff before leaving, we could have been in a lot of trouble if we hadn't.
so good seeing Tab again, to see her so happy and smiling is so great.
her friend from Seol Korea, Jun, is such a great guy, have gotten on with him well, is really good.
will get some photos up when i get home if not before, and blog more soon.

at least there is always improvisation

2005-07-10T00:11:00.000+09:30

today we will be leaving for broken hill in outback NSW.
finally finished packing which for me is a very long process, making sure i have got everything that i want to take, not always need to take, i tend to over pack, i will take some stuff "just incase i may want it."
like as if i am gonna need all 140 cds of mine, but have to take them all, and all the extra changes of clothes i take, just in case.
but that is just the way i am, like to try to be prepared for what ever circumstance.
not always like that, some times i am rushed and under prepare, but at least there is always improvisation.

This was a bus

2005-07-07T23:21:00.000+09:30

once again people are sadened and slightly shocked after the terrorist blast attacks on the people on the transport system in London
news live with BBC

Theological Worldview

2005-07-05T09:52:00.000+09:30

so apparently i am an Emergent Charismatic Evangelical, i suppose you could say that about me

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern

79%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

75%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

71%

Neo orthodox

57%

Classical Liberal

54%

Modern Liberal

50%

Fundamentalist

43%

Reformed Evangelical

32%

Roman Catholic

29%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Brett-Bix

2005-07-05T09:37:00.000+09:30

Brett-Bix Fastest Bowler how fast are you?
are you a pro, or a chucker, or is yours the way of the under arm?
see if you can be a pro like me
1250pts hatrick maiden

he will be missed

2005-07-04T23:35:00.000+09:30

so today in the Hunters Lodge it became the two, the drummer boy, and the football fan, as Jambo left and made his way to the far off land of Mildura.
it's not quite the same without him of course, he will be missed.

when you are waiting for something to happen

2005-07-04T23:20:00.000+09:30

in one weeks time i will be in Broken Hill on holidays, visiting Tab, miss her heaps, she is at the Cornerstone community there, and they have this discovery week on, so Kel, Christop, Em and myself are all heading up there!
The only thing is we have run into a little transport problem cause neither the cars that Kel or i have are bound to make it there and back and are waiting to hear on a current possibility i think, otherwise dunno may have to go the expensive hire a car route $$$, are gonna have to trust God will get us there and keep on praying.
i love getting away for a bit, helps me regan focus on what i am doing and think about the future too.
so i think this week will be a long one, it is always when you are waiting for something to happen.

Porn Sunday, are our Chruches game?

2005-06-30T20:34:00.000+09:30

on October 9 2005, this year, some Chruches accross the USA will be holding a special Porn Sunday to take the issue of pornography seriosly, and talk porn amongst their church
but i want to know, is the church in Australia game to talk Porn?
pornography is destroying lives all over the world, not just people viewing it but of course the poeple involved in the porn industry too
after purchasing the Flicker Rocks Harder compalation cd released by Flicker Records, record label of Pillar their most recognised band, i also got on the cd a free accountability program called X3 watch also available for download on the #1 Christian Porn Site XXXChruch.com, yep that's right, Christian Porn Site, #1 maybe cause they are probably also the only, but hey
XXXChruch is a website run by Mike Foster and Craig Gross two young Pastors who figured it was about time God's people decided to get serious about Porn
In a Nutshell: "XXXchurch exists to bring awareness, openness, accountability and recovery to the church, society and individuals in the issues of pornography and to begin to provide solutions through non-judgmental and creative means. XXXchurch is here to make you think, react and to decide where you stand on the issues of porn. We're not here to sling mud, but to shove the envelope and try and do some good." XXXChurch.com
more needs to be said and restoration needs to happen in so many peoples lives, because porn is trying to hide behind an cone of silence, and it's not a pretty thing
so Porn Sunday, or Porn Wednesday it doesn't matter, but what does matter is that we are willing to shine the light into the issue of porn and be prepared to lovingly help all those in need, and to some the amount of those in need may be much greater than they expect, but that's the reality, not turning a blind eye

i could be a little biased though

2005-06-15T15:10:00.000+09:30

Sydney, the old stomping ground
my birth place
my real earth home
here i am at Morling College
in "the block" where my sister lives
her room is covered with pictures
and her lonely computer sits in the corner
i have had a good time here so far
met Kimmy's boyfriend Ben
went to my Grandparents place for dinner
caught up with my friend Jannelle (jaja)
shopping at the Macq Centre and Burkenhead
going to rehearsals with Kimmy for her performance
watching 18 or so mainly girls in their 20's warm up every part of their bodies
vocals, tongue, jogging, slo-mo jogging, face stretch, muscle stretch
some are funny to watch and i tried not to laugh
but this one they did where they are pretending to shoot bow and arrow
i just couldn't not laugh after a while
their performance of Shakespeare's A Midnight Summers Dream is on thursday night
and the Blues show the Marrons who is Boss in tonights State of Origion
the weather is great
Sydney is great
i could be a little biased though

trying to have fun though

2005-06-09T12:36:00.000+09:30

so life isn't all bad
i am going to Sydney to visit Kimmy (my lil sis)
before she heads off to Canada for a few months
i haven't flown somewhere since about '96
my family flew up to darwin for my uncle David's wedding
but that was in a Herc there and back from Sydney
and not in a 747 since we flew into Melbourne after 3 years in the U.S. in '92
so that will be cool
and have been looking around at digital cameras
gonna get one soon
a good one
will blog about it when i get one
oh and have been hanging out a bit with a great guy Blake
he is over in Australia for a couple months
he is on a cultural mission experience as apart of a program from his church
he is from Texas, but doesn't have too bad an accent
and he is like only about 6 months older than me
we get on really well
was Kelly's birthday last week and that was lots of fun
me and Blake painted a skateboard together at the plaster funhouse
it is this place where you buy a moulded plaster object and paint it yourself
i have lots to do in the next couple days before i go to Sydney
just wish i could stop time so i could re-arange things the way i would like them
so i would have no worries at all
for somebody who never worries
i tend to be doing alot of it lately
trying to have fun though
that tends to keep things off my mind

i think i will go eat some ice cream

2005-06-09T12:00:00.000+09:30

no i am not on a blogging fast
i am not stopping blogging
i have just had alot of stuff on my mind at the moment
agonising over my job and how long i want to stay there
whether or not to start applying for jobs now or wait a little bit
planning what i am doing in the coming week
as i am going to Sydney to visit my lil sister
working out getting annual leave to go visit Tab in a month
trying to work out why i have become so much more selfish this year
wondering how to reignite my passions
i just feel pretty dull at the moment
and spending time with people to try to get out of that
i also haven't been spending as much time at the keyboard
dunno why just haven't
i have also been rethinking some other things i do
i have been continually frustrated
and talked about it
let people know i thought there was a problem
and although it has been recognised that there is
nothing has been done and nothing changed
i feel pretty un-valued
and like i am just waisting my time there
i think i will go eat some ice cream

lifted The FA Cup

2005-05-24T14:40:00.000+09:30

in the early hours of sunday morning a great war began
such had not been seen before
the evil Manchester United "Red Devils"
and the valiant Arsenal "The Gunners" took to the field
with my brother Henry (french name pronounced "onree") out injured
and a full strength Machester United squad
both teams with nothing to lose and everything to gain
this was always going to be a close and spiteful match
and so it was though no goals were scored in match time or extra time
Manchester may have had most of the best chances
but never were able to put one onto the score board
so in the end after ninety minutes of play, and 30 mins of extra time
the match was still locked at 0-0
to the penalty shoot-out it came
one on one, one by one the players shot for their teams chance at glory
only the goalkeepers stood in their way
and as it came to the red headed red devils man Paul Scholes
a trusted brilliant man
his shot was struck with some accuracy
but it was the hands of The Gunners big German Jens Lehnmann that kept it out
so with the scores locked once again at 4-4 in the shoot-out best of five
The Gunners had the last say with one more shot
the giant of a Frenchman Patrick Vieira stepped up to the mark and put that ball into the back of the net
Arsenal had won, Machester United had lost and it was always theirs to lose
and with great joy Vieira once again lifted The FA Cup