Arkyp Stoller
I was browsing the Blogger site for other bloggers my age. I found a guy named Arkyp Stoller.
His blog is WELL WORTH A READ! Apparently he is trapped in our Present (his Past) from the Future year of 2317 (his Present). I'm unsure of his location, and I think he is equally disoriented after arriving in 2006 last night (June 29, 2006). It would appear though that he's still confined to the room in which he first arrived. Maybe he's already made it back to 2317?
I am going to follow his blog, and hopefully find that he unravels the mystery and makes it back to 2317. Arkyp's blog might also give us some insight into the future!
Go read it for yourself: Arkyp Stoller's Blog.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
I stumbled on this song
While flipping through the Salvation Army songbook, I found this song. I've never heard it sung and I don't know how the tune goes, but the lyrics are brilliant.
Song 30
God of concrete, God of steel,
God of piston and of wheel,
God of pylon, God of steam,
God of girder and of beam,
God of atom, God of mine,
All the world of power is thine.
Lord of cable, Lord of rail,
Lord of motorway and of mail,
Lord of rocket, Lord of flight,
Lord of soaring satellite,
Lord of lightning’s livid line,
All the world of speed is thine.
Lord of science, Lord of art,
Lord of map and graph and chart,
Lord of physics and research,
Word of Bible, Faith of church,
Lord of sequence and design,
All the world of truth is thine.
God whose glory fills the earth,
Gave the universe its birth,
Loosed the Christ with Easter’s might,
Saves the world from evil’s blight,
Claims us all by grace divine,
All the world of love is thine.
Richard Granville Jones
SAGALA training done!
KATOOMBA, I love you
Janene and I took Melissa and Elizabeth (twins) in our car to the Katoomba Christian Convention center on the weekend. John and Jennifer Armstrong took their car with Sarah Radburn and Adeline McDougal - that makes 8 from Dubbo!
The weekend was for training for leaders of SAGALA (Salvation Army Guards And Legion Activities) and there were about 86 leaders all up from all over the country, including South Australia, Victoria, ACT, NSW and Queensland.
Dubbo is about to start doing SAGALA again (after 8 or so years since it was last run). So we spent the weekend learning all about SAGALA and preparing ourselves for the new challenge.
I loved the cold weather in Katoomba, and also enjoyed our visit to Scenic World. I went on the railway car thingy down the side of the mountain (wasn't as fast, long or as scarey as I hoped). Then I walked around amongst the beautiful trees and ferns before catching the Cableway back up over the valley to the top of the cliffs again.
The most fun part of the training for me was probably learning to tie knots :D Next time someone falls in the river, I'm gonna be so excited! I'll grab a piece of rope, tie a rescue knot - secured with a half-hitch - chuck it in and rescue that drowning person.
I also passed my First Aid Course a couple of months ago, so I could then bring em back to life if they happened to be dead.
So anyway, being a SAGALA leader is going to be great - I think... I hope! I will be leading the Adventurers group, which is the boys aged 7 - 11. I already have my SAGALA badge and my shirt... so I'm really looking forward to decking out in the whole uniform.
It may be a fanciful goal, but I hope we can do enough fundraising to attend the next World SAGALA Jambouree. This year it will be in the Netherlands, so you can imagine how badly I wanted to go to that. :-( Maybe it'll be in Russia! Wow, that'd be cool.
Check out my select photos of the Katoomba weekend.
Janene and I took Melissa and Elizabeth (twins) in our car to the Katoomba Christian Convention center on the weekend. John and Jennifer Armstrong took their car with Sarah Radburn and Adeline McDougal - that makes 8 from Dubbo!
The weekend was for training for leaders of SAGALA (Salvation Army Guards And Legion Activities) and there were about 86 leaders all up from all over the country, including South Australia, Victoria, ACT, NSW and Queensland.Dubbo is about to start doing SAGALA again (after 8 or so years since it was last run). So we spent the weekend learning all about SAGALA and preparing ourselves for the new challenge.
I loved the cold weather in Katoomba, and also enjoyed our visit to Scenic World. I went on the railway car thingy down the side of the mountain (wasn't as fast, long or as scarey as I hoped). Then I walked around amongst the beautiful trees and ferns before catching the Cableway back up over the valley to the top of the cliffs again.
The most fun part of the training for me was probably learning to tie knots :D Next time someone falls in the river, I'm gonna be so excited! I'll grab a piece of rope, tie a rescue knot - secured with a half-hitch - chuck it in and rescue that drowning person.
I also passed my First Aid Course a couple of months ago, so I could then bring em back to life if they happened to be dead.
So anyway, being a SAGALA leader is going to be great - I think... I hope! I will be leading the Adventurers group, which is the boys aged 7 - 11. I already have my SAGALA badge and my shirt... so I'm really looking forward to decking out in the whole uniform.
It may be a fanciful goal, but I hope we can do enough fundraising to attend the next World SAGALA Jambouree. This year it will be in the Netherlands, so you can imagine how badly I wanted to go to that. :-( Maybe it'll be in Russia! Wow, that'd be cool.
Check out my select photos of the Katoomba weekend.
Monday, May 15, 2006
ANZAC Day - belated diary entry
Salvos MARCH!
ANZAC Day took on quite a new meaning for the Dubbo Salvation Army this year. For the first time in a long time (Adeline McDougall says it has been at least 20 years) our Corps participated in the ANZAC Day march down Wingewarra Street, up Macquarie Street, up Talbragar Street and through Victoria Park to the cenotaph for the ANZAC ceremony.
I was privileged to bear the Salvation Army flag and march at the front.
We were placed quite forward in the march, with only military in front of us (the diggers, Army Cadets, Air Cadets). The feeling was awesome, and the crowds lining the streets was amazing.
There was no city band in the march this year, only drums. There was a van with recordings of the pipe band behind us, but it didn't create the same atmosphere that a real band would (having memories of marching with the Paramatta City Corps a couple of years ago!).
The best part of Salvos marching was the women and kids playing their timbrels. They had quite a good rhythm going and created a lot of interest for the public that were lining the streets.
The day wasn't perfect, we were a bit rusty on protocol and later found out that no flag in your group should be higher than the Australian flag... where ours was about 6 foot taller :D (In fact, I think the Salvo flag towered much higher than any other flag or banner in the whole parade). Also, when we reached the cenotaph, the diggers and military cadets stopped to one side, which meant WE were at the front of the parade entering the circle around the cenotaph.
Amid the cheers and claps I heard two contradictory instructions "GO LEFT" and "GO RIGHT". Well we went right... and looked back as the other groups went left. D'OH! But nobody noticed (or at least nobody commented) and people were just happy to see the Salvation Army marching again.
Once we'd entered and found our spot in the circle surrounding the cenotaph, I slipped over to play hymns with the Dubbo City Brass Band - another new experience for me. It became apparent to a few band members at that time that I was involved in the Salvos. I felt no negative vibes for wearing my Salvation Army uniform in the band (I was nervous about doing it), but conversely, I did get a much warmer greeting from a couple of members that I haven't had any real interaction with previously.
Overall, an excellent day for the Salvation Army - a wonderful honor to pay tribute to our heroic diggers who paid the ultimate price for our country's freedom.
LEST WE FORGET
ANZAC Day took on quite a new meaning for the Dubbo Salvation Army this year. For the first time in a long time (Adeline McDougall says it has been at least 20 years) our Corps participated in the ANZAC Day march down Wingewarra Street, up Macquarie Street, up Talbragar Street and through Victoria Park to the cenotaph for the ANZAC ceremony.
I was privileged to bear the Salvation Army flag and march at the front.
We were placed quite forward in the march, with only military in front of us (the diggers, Army Cadets, Air Cadets). The feeling was awesome, and the crowds lining the streets was amazing.
There was no city band in the march this year, only drums. There was a van with recordings of the pipe band behind us, but it didn't create the same atmosphere that a real band would (having memories of marching with the Paramatta City Corps a couple of years ago!).
The best part of Salvos marching was the women and kids playing their timbrels. They had quite a good rhythm going and created a lot of interest for the public that were lining the streets.
The day wasn't perfect, we were a bit rusty on protocol and later found out that no flag in your group should be higher than the Australian flag... where ours was about 6 foot taller :D (In fact, I think the Salvo flag towered much higher than any other flag or banner in the whole parade). Also, when we reached the cenotaph, the diggers and military cadets stopped to one side, which meant WE were at the front of the parade entering the circle around the cenotaph.
Amid the cheers and claps I heard two contradictory instructions "GO LEFT" and "GO RIGHT". Well we went right... and looked back as the other groups went left. D'OH! But nobody noticed (or at least nobody commented) and people were just happy to see the Salvation Army marching again.
Once we'd entered and found our spot in the circle surrounding the cenotaph, I slipped over to play hymns with the Dubbo City Brass Band - another new experience for me. It became apparent to a few band members at that time that I was involved in the Salvos. I felt no negative vibes for wearing my Salvation Army uniform in the band (I was nervous about doing it), but conversely, I did get a much warmer greeting from a couple of members that I haven't had any real interaction with previously.
Overall, an excellent day for the Salvation Army - a wonderful honor to pay tribute to our heroic diggers who paid the ultimate price for our country's freedom.
LEST WE FORGET
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Secret is out!
Well we've started telling everyone - family at least.
Nipper number 3 is on the way!!
I said in an earlier blog post, that I wanted more kids, but Janene probably wouldn't cope with more than the two we've got. Well much can change in 12 months. One day Janene basically said well if you want more kids, better have em now!. I figured out she was for real, and we soon made the final decision to have another. A couple of months later there was a bun in the oven (I won't go into details).
I guess age and wisdom played a huge role in this decision. We often comment on how a large number of "professionals" these days are likely to have a maximum of one child, many choosing to have none at all. It seems to us the family unit is of much less importance, and "parent" a much less desired title in this current generation.
I look at my family tree and see that we come from a line of big families. Family was always the focus. Entertainment was always the family. Most of the social events involved family. Many businesses ran in the family. Suddenly we've hit a generation that to me appears to be focused on something else, and I find it sad...
I observe that many people are in persuit of a different word, a different kind of asset... Financial assets... material things. Family is on the backburner, first comes Career, House, Car, Holidays, living life... and then by 35 maybe have a kid. Funny that in years gone by, some of our relatives were GRANDparents not long after 35.
Janene and I figured out something so very valuable. It's a shame many others fail to learn - LEGACY is not in your property, your business achievements, your social status... A truly fulfiling and lasting legacy is the family you raise.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the wonderful revelation that has led us to make this decision. Thank you Lord for blessing us with fertility and the opportunity to raise another child. Equip us for the task ahead I pray. May others see joy in the Phillips family and then be inspired to take a different outlook in their own lives.
You're an awesome God worthy of reverence and praise! Thank you.
In the name of Jesus, my saviour, I pray.
Amen.
Nipper number 3 is on the way!!
I said in an earlier blog post, that I wanted more kids, but Janene probably wouldn't cope with more than the two we've got. Well much can change in 12 months. One day Janene basically said well if you want more kids, better have em now!. I figured out she was for real, and we soon made the final decision to have another. A couple of months later there was a bun in the oven (I won't go into details).
I guess age and wisdom played a huge role in this decision. We often comment on how a large number of "professionals" these days are likely to have a maximum of one child, many choosing to have none at all. It seems to us the family unit is of much less importance, and "parent" a much less desired title in this current generation.
I look at my family tree and see that we come from a line of big families. Family was always the focus. Entertainment was always the family. Most of the social events involved family. Many businesses ran in the family. Suddenly we've hit a generation that to me appears to be focused on something else, and I find it sad...
I observe that many people are in persuit of a different word, a different kind of asset... Financial assets... material things. Family is on the backburner, first comes Career, House, Car, Holidays, living life... and then by 35 maybe have a kid. Funny that in years gone by, some of our relatives were GRANDparents not long after 35.
Janene and I figured out something so very valuable. It's a shame many others fail to learn - LEGACY is not in your property, your business achievements, your social status... A truly fulfiling and lasting legacy is the family you raise.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the wonderful revelation that has led us to make this decision. Thank you Lord for blessing us with fertility and the opportunity to raise another child. Equip us for the task ahead I pray. May others see joy in the Phillips family and then be inspired to take a different outlook in their own lives.
You're an awesome God worthy of reverence and praise! Thank you.
In the name of Jesus, my saviour, I pray.
Amen.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Weekend of Learning
To Sydney!
Janene and I travelled to Sydney on Wednesday and stayed at Adam & Jeanette's house for a couple of nights. On Thursday Janene did a course through Focus on the Family called "Starting Points". It was basically a training course to prepare Janene as a facilitator to teach the Starting Points course, which is a program to help parents of kids 0 to 5 years old with parenting strategies (Christian based).
Nene said it was a good course... and she has a whole stack of books and pamphlets to read now. I think she'll be a good facilitator, cos she always was a good studier... she'll know the course content really well. I hope God will use her new knowledge here in Dubbo!
With bro...
While Nene studied, I hang out with big bro. He took me to the city for some shopping, and showed me how to be angry at everyone and everything. I don't think the angry lesson sunk in (or at least I didn't let it), but the rest of the time I had fun with Adam.
I spent some money buying books (mostly Russian language tutors), some music stuff (trumpet book, violin stand) from Allan's Music, and we browsed a lot of other stuff.
One thing I decided for certain was that I hate spending too much time in the city. It really is so impersonal, dirty and "grey". I think if I was there much more than a week or so, I'd start developing the same kind of negative outlook Adam has. In fact, Adam said to me that the city sometimes makes him hate everyone, everything and has pretty much killed off any remaining faith he ever had. Sad :-( Count me out.
Bro's Winnings
Adam got an email while I was there on Thursday telling him he'd won the FlashForward award AGAIN! He gets a big fat rubber arrow, like the last two times. I watched him work on his new movie too... interesting to see how he does it.
Collaroy...
After our time in Ashfield, we headed to Collaroy for the "Children Matter" conference run by the Salvation Army. We turned up early and went for a strole together on the beach. It was lovely, and even romantic :-) We played with the sealife in the rockpools and basically enjoyed being alone together.
Once we booked in we realised we were in separate cabins, sharing with people we didn't know (i.e. men and women were separated). I tried to stow away in Janene's cabin, but some other ladies arrived and I realised it might be uncomfortable for everyone with one guy in a room of girls... so I moved to my cabin.
In my cabin were a few other guys, including Allan Brunton. We had a few long chats, and we were alike in a number of ways. He's from a small corps in Deniliquin where Lyn Cathcart (Twells) is captain.
Sarah and Jennifer attended the weekend too, and their plane was delayed so they arrived after dinner.
The weekend itself was inspiring and gave all of us some good ideas in our various areas of youth ministry. Our challenge now is to implement what we learnt, but also not to overcommit to too many programs and just burn out.
I pray God will bless the efforts we make, and we'll see fruit in future days, months and years.
Janene and I travelled to Sydney on Wednesday and stayed at Adam & Jeanette's house for a couple of nights. On Thursday Janene did a course through Focus on the Family called "Starting Points". It was basically a training course to prepare Janene as a facilitator to teach the Starting Points course, which is a program to help parents of kids 0 to 5 years old with parenting strategies (Christian based).
Nene said it was a good course... and she has a whole stack of books and pamphlets to read now. I think she'll be a good facilitator, cos she always was a good studier... she'll know the course content really well. I hope God will use her new knowledge here in Dubbo!
With bro...
While Nene studied, I hang out with big bro. He took me to the city for some shopping, and showed me how to be angry at everyone and everything. I don't think the angry lesson sunk in (or at least I didn't let it), but the rest of the time I had fun with Adam.
I spent some money buying books (mostly Russian language tutors), some music stuff (trumpet book, violin stand) from Allan's Music, and we browsed a lot of other stuff.
One thing I decided for certain was that I hate spending too much time in the city. It really is so impersonal, dirty and "grey". I think if I was there much more than a week or so, I'd start developing the same kind of negative outlook Adam has. In fact, Adam said to me that the city sometimes makes him hate everyone, everything and has pretty much killed off any remaining faith he ever had. Sad :-( Count me out.
Bro's Winnings
Adam got an email while I was there on Thursday telling him he'd won the FlashForward award AGAIN! He gets a big fat rubber arrow, like the last two times. I watched him work on his new movie too... interesting to see how he does it.
Collaroy...
After our time in Ashfield, we headed to Collaroy for the "Children Matter" conference run by the Salvation Army. We turned up early and went for a strole together on the beach. It was lovely, and even romantic :-) We played with the sealife in the rockpools and basically enjoyed being alone together.
Once we booked in we realised we were in separate cabins, sharing with people we didn't know (i.e. men and women were separated). I tried to stow away in Janene's cabin, but some other ladies arrived and I realised it might be uncomfortable for everyone with one guy in a room of girls... so I moved to my cabin.
In my cabin were a few other guys, including Allan Brunton. We had a few long chats, and we were alike in a number of ways. He's from a small corps in Deniliquin where Lyn Cathcart (Twells) is captain.
Sarah and Jennifer attended the weekend too, and their plane was delayed so they arrived after dinner.
The weekend itself was inspiring and gave all of us some good ideas in our various areas of youth ministry. Our challenge now is to implement what we learnt, but also not to overcommit to too many programs and just burn out.
I pray God will bless the efforts we make, and we'll see fruit in future days, months and years.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Indoor Cricket milestone
The last few days have been memorable as far as indoor cricket goes.
We've had a lot of guys away from the team. Pete was in China for a while, Dave was in China, then in USA. Tim has been all over the state (Bourke, Wellington, Cobar) working for the National Australia Bank. Ben Morris moved to Northern Territory cos of his Army training. Nathan has gone back to Orange for a couple of weeks too.
Fortunately we haven't been doing much losing, even with a skeleton team. We have a couple of strong new players. Banjo (Brendan) joined up a few weeks ago and is showing some class. Last week he brought along a friend, Dallas, who also has some good cricket skills.
Tonight we had another of Brendan's friends fill in, his name is Ivan, and he also seemed to know a thing or two about cricket.
BUT the biggest thing worth noting is the batting partnership between Banjo and I. FINALLY I started seeing the ball well and playing like I did when I was younger.
Last Thursday against Nunfa, Brendan and I made 104. We clocked the scoreboard, cos it only goes to 99 for each skin.
Then tonight, to prove it wasn't a fluke, we played a more confident team than Nunfa - Tracey's Tilers. They got a respectable score, then proceeded to defend their skins. Salvos looked a bit down, taking only 1 of the first 3 skins. Brendan and I went in to try and get our skin of 41, but the game itself was about 70 or more runs out of reach.
Luckily we had our eyes locked in on the ball, cos we got the skin, then I sealed the game by hitting a six on jackpot ball. We got 80-something, and a total of 4 game points.
SWEET!
I'm hoping that form carries through for a while. I'm enjoying hitting the ball again.
We've had a lot of guys away from the team. Pete was in China for a while, Dave was in China, then in USA. Tim has been all over the state (Bourke, Wellington, Cobar) working for the National Australia Bank. Ben Morris moved to Northern Territory cos of his Army training. Nathan has gone back to Orange for a couple of weeks too.
Fortunately we haven't been doing much losing, even with a skeleton team. We have a couple of strong new players. Banjo (Brendan) joined up a few weeks ago and is showing some class. Last week he brought along a friend, Dallas, who also has some good cricket skills.
Tonight we had another of Brendan's friends fill in, his name is Ivan, and he also seemed to know a thing or two about cricket.
BUT the biggest thing worth noting is the batting partnership between Banjo and I. FINALLY I started seeing the ball well and playing like I did when I was younger.
Last Thursday against Nunfa, Brendan and I made 104. We clocked the scoreboard, cos it only goes to 99 for each skin.
Then tonight, to prove it wasn't a fluke, we played a more confident team than Nunfa - Tracey's Tilers. They got a respectable score, then proceeded to defend their skins. Salvos looked a bit down, taking only 1 of the first 3 skins. Brendan and I went in to try and get our skin of 41, but the game itself was about 70 or more runs out of reach.
Luckily we had our eyes locked in on the ball, cos we got the skin, then I sealed the game by hitting a six on jackpot ball. We got 80-something, and a total of 4 game points.
SWEET!
I'm hoping that form carries through for a while. I'm enjoying hitting the ball again.
BIG weekend
Janene and I had to hurry up and do some extra work on the house, cos the bank was sending around an independent valuer to check we'd spent money on the renovations.
Our builder (and christian friend) John Parker offered to come over on Saturday and do some construction jobs (free of charge).
We put in a hard day's work, from about 8:30am til maybe 7:30pm. I did a whole lot of painting, and Janene did lots of cleaning and staining of the timber woodwork.
John spent the day putting shelving in the laundry cupboard, as well as other odd jobs, such as fixing the kitchen floor.
The valuer rocked up on Monday, asked a few questions, looked around for ages then left.
Once all that is finalised, we get to pay back the $130k!! Yay... joy!
Check out my Flickr album, I have put some photos of the painted dining room wall (first coat only).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mogsta/
Our builder (and christian friend) John Parker offered to come over on Saturday and do some construction jobs (free of charge).
We put in a hard day's work, from about 8:30am til maybe 7:30pm. I did a whole lot of painting, and Janene did lots of cleaning and staining of the timber woodwork.
John spent the day putting shelving in the laundry cupboard, as well as other odd jobs, such as fixing the kitchen floor.
The valuer rocked up on Monday, asked a few questions, looked around for ages then left.
Once all that is finalised, we get to pay back the $130k!! Yay... joy!
Check out my Flickr album, I have put some photos of the painted dining room wall (first coat only).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mogsta/
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
First Sermon
First what?!
Yeah, after lots of coaxing and some sly tricks, Cpt. Chris Radburn finally got me to do a sermon. Of course I tried to find excuses, and up until then I'd managed to find plenty.
But I had holidays, so I had time to plan... and the Radburns needed a holiday, so us laypeople volunteered to fill in so they could have that holiday.
So I wrote my own sermon on a topic that I find very applicable in the current culture climate. I titled it Truth Revealed: Is the Bible really the Word of God?
The good thing about this exercise is that it made me study the history of the Bible and the content of the Bible itself, and in doing so, I really answered a lot of my own questions.
The message examined three categories of proof to answer skepticism on whether the Bible is accurate and divinely inspired. I won't re-write the sermon here, but the transcript (which varied a bit from my spoken sermon, since I did adlib a bit rather than read word for word) can be found here: Brett's First Sermon (note, because I refuse to buy M$ Office at insane prices, I created this file in )
So the sermon was held in a Cafe style. Instead of pulpits in rows, we held the meeting in the Youth Hall and had cafe tables with baskets of cakes etc. Lindsay brought the coffee machine from the Salvo store and set it up so people could make cappuccinos, lattes, hot chocolates etc.
Despite feeling nervous to start with, I felt very comfortable once I got started. Knowing and BELIEVING what I spoke about is what helped, as well as strength through the Holy Spirit.
After the meeting, there was a good response. I had a number of people come up to me with a big smile, saying how the sermon helped their understanding and their belief. I thought that, due to the response, it makes way for running a bible study on Christian apologetics.
Mum came along and did the Bible reading for me. She was very impressed by the message and told me how it answered all the doubts she'd been having. I believe God sent her along that day, and her spiritual needs were met. It makes me happy that I could do that for me lil ol' mum.
Dad couldn't make it because of work (he had to irrigate), but I gave him those notes from the meeting and he read them. I also lent him one of my books/resources. Paul Little's "Know Why You Believe".
There were a lot of young people that I wish could have been there on the day.
Mothers, fathers, brothers, neighbours etc... If we're Christians, we need to be ready to give an answer when people throw darts at our faith. I've come to realise that's why society is rejecting Christian faith, because there's a lack of smart Christians defending it and strongly convicted Christians presenting it... only "dabblers", such as me. I am keen to get into some apologetics and teach it.
Perhaps that's my new years resolution?
Yeah, after lots of coaxing and some sly tricks, Cpt. Chris Radburn finally got me to do a sermon. Of course I tried to find excuses, and up until then I'd managed to find plenty.
But I had holidays, so I had time to plan... and the Radburns needed a holiday, so us laypeople volunteered to fill in so they could have that holiday.
So I wrote my own sermon on a topic that I find very applicable in the current culture climate. I titled it Truth Revealed: Is the Bible really the Word of God?
The good thing about this exercise is that it made me study the history of the Bible and the content of the Bible itself, and in doing so, I really answered a lot of my own questions.
The message examined three categories of proof to answer skepticism on whether the Bible is accurate and divinely inspired. I won't re-write the sermon here, but the transcript (which varied a bit from my spoken sermon, since I did adlib a bit rather than read word for word) can be found here: Brett's First Sermon (note, because I refuse to buy M$ Office at insane prices, I created this file in )
So the sermon was held in a Cafe style. Instead of pulpits in rows, we held the meeting in the Youth Hall and had cafe tables with baskets of cakes etc. Lindsay brought the coffee machine from the Salvo store and set it up so people could make cappuccinos, lattes, hot chocolates etc.
Despite feeling nervous to start with, I felt very comfortable once I got started. Knowing and BELIEVING what I spoke about is what helped, as well as strength through the Holy Spirit.
After the meeting, there was a good response. I had a number of people come up to me with a big smile, saying how the sermon helped their understanding and their belief. I thought that, due to the response, it makes way for running a bible study on Christian apologetics.
Mum came along and did the Bible reading for me. She was very impressed by the message and told me how it answered all the doubts she'd been having. I believe God sent her along that day, and her spiritual needs were met. It makes me happy that I could do that for me lil ol' mum.
Dad couldn't make it because of work (he had to irrigate), but I gave him those notes from the meeting and he read them. I also lent him one of my books/resources. Paul Little's "Know Why You Believe".
There were a lot of young people that I wish could have been there on the day.
Mothers, fathers, brothers, neighbours etc... If we're Christians, we need to be ready to give an answer when people throw darts at our faith. I've come to realise that's why society is rejecting Christian faith, because there's a lack of smart Christians defending it and strongly convicted Christians presenting it... only "dabblers", such as me. I am keen to get into some apologetics and teach it.
Perhaps that's my new years resolution?
Thursday, January 19, 2006
HIDDEN MESSAGE
Can you see a hidden message within this text? You need to really concentrate and wonder what it might be. Although, c'mon, stop kidding yourself. Maybe if you sit back and use your eyes, you might just realise it was staring you in the face!
Happy 2006
Well Christmas and New Year came and went pretty fast! I didn't even write about them. Here's the brief of it:
Christmas Day
We spent Christmas morning together, just the four of us. We opened all our presents and had a Christmas breakfast together. Eli got a bike, Clayton got a big table with trainset and other things. I gave Janene some hubcaps (cos I ordered some beading stuff for her from ebay but it never came on time).
Janene actually loves her new hubcaps! She'd told people at work "all I want for Christmas is a new hubcap", since she had lost one of them one day and the car lost it's appeal.
I was thrilled with my cordless drill, and soon got busy doing lots of little jobs with it, like hanging some curtain rods.
Of course we all got other pressies to play with, but those were the big ones.
Afterwards we went to Aunty Di's house and had a Christmas lunch there with all the cousins, aunties and Pop. The cuzes played some "backyard cricket". I got sunburnt, but the fact I clean bowled Michael and Craig made it worth it.
Boxing Day
I took the boys out to the farm, and along with Juanita, Ted, her boys and his two kids, we all went crayfishing with Pa. We got a couple of buckets full, we threw back the small ones and cooked the rest. There were actually more yabbies than we felt like eating.
I got more sunburnt.
New Years Eve
The regular event again, we had dinner at the Radburn's house with other church folk. It was a good time to catch up, eat lotsa food and watch illegal fireworks over the back fence.
There were lots of good little discussions going on as the night progressed, and Patty Arnis sat glued to Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not sure how much a guy from Papua New Guinea with limited english skills would get from that movie, but he sure watched it right through!
As usual too, Flo Sunderland saw the new year in. She may be the oldest church member, but she's really a stayer... or a goer... or whatever.
Well at midnight we watched the display of fireworks on TV... and imagined what else those millions of dollars could have be used for. Oh well.
We saw the new year in with a prayer led by Cpt. Chris Radburn.
RESOLUTIONS?
So, I didn't bother making any New Years Resolutions, because I still have last year's to keep. I know what they are... they're private.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Christmas Day
We spent Christmas morning together, just the four of us. We opened all our presents and had a Christmas breakfast together. Eli got a bike, Clayton got a big table with trainset and other things. I gave Janene some hubcaps (cos I ordered some beading stuff for her from ebay but it never came on time).
Janene actually loves her new hubcaps! She'd told people at work "all I want for Christmas is a new hubcap", since she had lost one of them one day and the car lost it's appeal.
I was thrilled with my cordless drill, and soon got busy doing lots of little jobs with it, like hanging some curtain rods.
Of course we all got other pressies to play with, but those were the big ones.
Afterwards we went to Aunty Di's house and had a Christmas lunch there with all the cousins, aunties and Pop. The cuzes played some "backyard cricket". I got sunburnt, but the fact I clean bowled Michael and Craig made it worth it.
Boxing Day
I took the boys out to the farm, and along with Juanita, Ted, her boys and his two kids, we all went crayfishing with Pa. We got a couple of buckets full, we threw back the small ones and cooked the rest. There were actually more yabbies than we felt like eating.
I got more sunburnt.
New Years Eve
The regular event again, we had dinner at the Radburn's house with other church folk. It was a good time to catch up, eat lotsa food and watch illegal fireworks over the back fence.
There were lots of good little discussions going on as the night progressed, and Patty Arnis sat glued to Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not sure how much a guy from Papua New Guinea with limited english skills would get from that movie, but he sure watched it right through!
As usual too, Flo Sunderland saw the new year in. She may be the oldest church member, but she's really a stayer... or a goer... or whatever.
Well at midnight we watched the display of fireworks on TV... and imagined what else those millions of dollars could have be used for. Oh well.
We saw the new year in with a prayer led by Cpt. Chris Radburn.
RESOLUTIONS?
So, I didn't bother making any New Years Resolutions, because I still have last year's to keep. I know what they are... they're private.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Ya big ol' 30
I'm gettin on a bit...
Well, I hit the big THREE-OH this month, and I guess I'm feeling things slip away a little. Though there's a lot I wanna do before I hit something like FIVE-OH, I can't say that life so far has been at all boring.
My birthday was a regular work day, but it all turned out much more special than I'd hoped.
I was first out of bed, cos being a Monday, I was the only one that had to be somewhere. School holidays had started and Nene and Clayton have every Monday off. So I got myself ready and Eli was the first one up. He was very cuddly and made me feel like a special dad.
Later when I was ready to goto work, I went into my bedroom and the kids and Nene gave me presents. Now that I'm 30, practical gifts are much more enjoyable, so I wasn't disappointed when I got a pair of good quality safety glasses.
But a man of 30 also needs leisure time, and lately I've been doing a lot more reading that I have for the past 15 years. Janene bought me the Narnia Chronicles in a boxed book set (seven books). I had already read the first two, and now that I have my new set, I find it easier to hold a thin book, rather than the billion page all-in-one Chronicle that I borrowed from Cpt. Neroli. Now I'm half way through book 3 (The Boy and His Horse).
The last present I got before heading to work was another practical book from Janene, which speaks to the Dad side of me. This book is entitled "Preparing Your Son for Every Man's Battle". Now, for all us blokes, we know what "every man's battle" is... right?
Eli followed me around everywhere that morning, and as I jumped in the car, he opened the gate for me. As I was about to drive off, he signaled for me to stop. I wound down my window, and with a smirk and in a grown up manner he said "Ya big ol' 30!". He smiled at me like a dad proud of a son, and waved me off to work.
So anyway, my day at work was equally warming. I honestly thought I'd get an unimaginative $2.50 mud cake from Woolies - assuming anyone remembered. Well good old Donna, the mother of the office, surprised me alright. She made a donut mountain -- literally... It was 44 iced and cinamon donuts, complete with icing sugar mortar, built into a huge mountain probably a foot high.
Needless to say, by lunch time I wasn't even tempted to use my FREE LARGE TAKEAWAY at Jimmy's kitchen! Yeah... cool present from the Panscott mob :D I used it the following day.
And lastly, to remind me what friends are, Lynton displayed his mateship by giving me a $40 voucher at Mitre 10. I'm carefully writing a list of items to spend it on.
So... with the help of loved ones and good friends/workmates, I eased out of my 20s and into my 30s focusing on things more important than age.
Well, I hit the big THREE-OH this month, and I guess I'm feeling things slip away a little. Though there's a lot I wanna do before I hit something like FIVE-OH, I can't say that life so far has been at all boring.
My birthday was a regular work day, but it all turned out much more special than I'd hoped.
I was first out of bed, cos being a Monday, I was the only one that had to be somewhere. School holidays had started and Nene and Clayton have every Monday off. So I got myself ready and Eli was the first one up. He was very cuddly and made me feel like a special dad.
Later when I was ready to goto work, I went into my bedroom and the kids and Nene gave me presents. Now that I'm 30, practical gifts are much more enjoyable, so I wasn't disappointed when I got a pair of good quality safety glasses.
But a man of 30 also needs leisure time, and lately I've been doing a lot more reading that I have for the past 15 years. Janene bought me the Narnia Chronicles in a boxed book set (seven books). I had already read the first two, and now that I have my new set, I find it easier to hold a thin book, rather than the billion page all-in-one Chronicle that I borrowed from Cpt. Neroli. Now I'm half way through book 3 (The Boy and His Horse).
The last present I got before heading to work was another practical book from Janene, which speaks to the Dad side of me. This book is entitled "Preparing Your Son for Every Man's Battle". Now, for all us blokes, we know what "every man's battle" is... right?
Eli followed me around everywhere that morning, and as I jumped in the car, he opened the gate for me. As I was about to drive off, he signaled for me to stop. I wound down my window, and with a smirk and in a grown up manner he said "Ya big ol' 30!". He smiled at me like a dad proud of a son, and waved me off to work.
So anyway, my day at work was equally warming. I honestly thought I'd get an unimaginative $2.50 mud cake from Woolies - assuming anyone remembered. Well good old Donna, the mother of the office, surprised me alright. She made a donut mountain -- literally... It was 44 iced and cinamon donuts, complete with icing sugar mortar, built into a huge mountain probably a foot high.
Needless to say, by lunch time I wasn't even tempted to use my FREE LARGE TAKEAWAY at Jimmy's kitchen! Yeah... cool present from the Panscott mob :D I used it the following day.
And lastly, to remind me what friends are, Lynton displayed his mateship by giving me a $40 voucher at Mitre 10. I'm carefully writing a list of items to spend it on.
So... with the help of loved ones and good friends/workmates, I eased out of my 20s and into my 30s focusing on things more important than age.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Online traineeship!
FINALLY, a positive outcome to my months of email-sending all over the earth.
On Monday morning I opened up my email to find a reply to an earlier email I sent out. It came from Johnny Paul's instrument repair shop, and it was his wife (Jeanan), basically offering to teach me everything they know via email, pictures etc.
This is excellent news and I'm really happy :D
So far, we've already exchanged two lengthy emails regarding what I'll need to get started and what kind of things are best to start working on.
Because I have the tools needed, Jeanan Paul (the wife of the guy) is going to have me learn how to soft solder with 60/40 solder. I've got a little checklist of extra tools and stuff I need to outfit my workshop to the point where I can start doin some real work.
Jeanan also suggests I get a stack of old clarinets to start practicing on. I'll have to keep my eye out for some on ebay.
Well, I'm keeping a folder of all her instructions, so I can quickly reference them later. And now, it's time to start cleaning up my workshop!
On Monday morning I opened up my email to find a reply to an earlier email I sent out. It came from Johnny Paul's instrument repair shop, and it was his wife (Jeanan), basically offering to teach me everything they know via email, pictures etc.
This is excellent news and I'm really happy :D
So far, we've already exchanged two lengthy emails regarding what I'll need to get started and what kind of things are best to start working on.
Because I have the tools needed, Jeanan Paul (the wife of the guy) is going to have me learn how to soft solder with 60/40 solder. I've got a little checklist of extra tools and stuff I need to outfit my workshop to the point where I can start doin some real work.
Jeanan also suggests I get a stack of old clarinets to start practicing on. I'll have to keep my eye out for some on ebay.
Well, I'm keeping a folder of all her instructions, so I can quickly reference them later. And now, it's time to start cleaning up my workshop!
Three down!
Yesterday both Janene, Eli and I both ended up at home with a stomach bug. It started Monday night with Eli throwing up all night, and then both Nene and I feeling rather crap early in the morning.
By the afternoon we were mostly OK, but still way tired from being up all night.
Sarah Radburn looked after us by taking Clayton to and from Little Learners.
Today I'm feelin tons better... good enough to be grabbin some Jimmy's Kitchen for lunch! What better way to sort my sort out my internal imbalance!?
By the afternoon we were mostly OK, but still way tired from being up all night.
Sarah Radburn looked after us by taking Clayton to and from Little Learners.
Today I'm feelin tons better... good enough to be grabbin some Jimmy's Kitchen for lunch! What better way to sort my sort out my internal imbalance!?
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
My debut with the band
First playout
One blue polo - $14.98
Grey dress pants - $49.95
20 mins using the quick-unpik to remove the logo on the polo...
NOW I'm set.
So Sunday afternoon I made my debut with the Dubbo & District Brass Band, and I had a great time. I know I'm not as good as the rest of the band, but I'm a lot more confident now, and my sight-reading has really improved due to the level of difficulty of the stuff we play. Odd timings, fast tempos, key changes and so on.
We played at the Delroy Gardens park, next to the water. Most songs we played were carols, but we did a few other pieces like Teddy Bear's Picnic and Broadway Lullaby.
Janene, Eli and Clayton came along for a while, but the boys got a little crazy and I could tell Janene was frustrated, so I suggested she could take em home and she did.
Linda and Lindsay Foggon rocked up later and heard the last few songs.
A nice day overall! Next playout is on Saturday at the Orana Mall.
One blue polo - $14.98
Grey dress pants - $49.95
20 mins using the quick-unpik to remove the logo on the polo...
NOW I'm set.
So Sunday afternoon I made my debut with the Dubbo & District Brass Band, and I had a great time. I know I'm not as good as the rest of the band, but I'm a lot more confident now, and my sight-reading has really improved due to the level of difficulty of the stuff we play. Odd timings, fast tempos, key changes and so on.
We played at the Delroy Gardens park, next to the water. Most songs we played were carols, but we did a few other pieces like Teddy Bear's Picnic and Broadway Lullaby.
Janene, Eli and Clayton came along for a while, but the boys got a little crazy and I could tell Janene was frustrated, so I suggested she could take em home and she did.
Linda and Lindsay Foggon rocked up later and heard the last few songs.
A nice day overall! Next playout is on Saturday at the Orana Mall.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Random Thought No.1
I've decided that now and then I'll post a random thought, if only to make things a little more interesting.
For anyone out there reading this, and not being fully aware of who I am, these penned thoughts will each serve as a tiny brush stroke of colour on the canvas which slowly reveals the obscure parts of my character. The rest of you will already know I'm a quirky, yet harmless guy.
ENJOY, Random Thought No.1
It really is a terrible misfortune when attending a public toilet, and while leaning over to flush the loo, $1000 dollars falls out of your breast pocket into the bowl.
After a moment of hesitation you fish out the $1000, which consists mostly of coins. Then later you ponder "Was that worth $1000?"
Even worse is when later you realise, "Actually, I'd do that for $10".
Think about it.
For anyone out there reading this, and not being fully aware of who I am, these penned thoughts will each serve as a tiny brush stroke of colour on the canvas which slowly reveals the obscure parts of my character. The rest of you will already know I'm a quirky, yet harmless guy.
ENJOY, Random Thought No.1
It really is a terrible misfortune when attending a public toilet, and while leaning over to flush the loo, $1000 dollars falls out of your breast pocket into the bowl.
After a moment of hesitation you fish out the $1000, which consists mostly of coins. Then later you ponder "Was that worth $1000?"
Even worse is when later you realise, "Actually, I'd do that for $10".
Think about it.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Say grace, Eli
Big, Tough God
Tonight Eli offered to say grace before dinner. We all held hands and Eli proceeded with a nice long prayer... which included the following:
"And God, we know that you are so tough and nobody can beat you up, cos you will just beat them up worser..."
I couldn't help but be bouncing up and down in silent laughter while Eli finished his prayer. When he opened his eyes he got cranky at me for laughing at his prayer. I blamed my laughter on something else (Clayton's crumb-covered fingers).
Eli loves battles and stuff, so every game he plays, and most things he thinks about (yes, even God) he somehow manages to relate back to battles and fighting etc.
That's just our Eli.
Tonight Eli offered to say grace before dinner. We all held hands and Eli proceeded with a nice long prayer... which included the following:
"And God, we know that you are so tough and nobody can beat you up, cos you will just beat them up worser..."
I couldn't help but be bouncing up and down in silent laughter while Eli finished his prayer. When he opened his eyes he got cranky at me for laughing at his prayer. I blamed my laughter on something else (Clayton's crumb-covered fingers).
Eli loves battles and stuff, so every game he plays, and most things he thinks about (yes, even God) he somehow manages to relate back to battles and fighting etc.
That's just our Eli.
Happy 6th Birthday Eli
Eli enters second half of first decade
Today we had a day off to take Eli to Orange and also to celebrate Eli's birthday. So as a family we drove to Orange, did some shopping (I bought some books at Landers Music - the kids ran riot and we had to leave there early), saw the doc and then we had some lunch at Maccas (Eli's choice).
Eli's ears are pretty good, apart from a slight ear infection. Just through watching his progress in reading and general academic stuff, it's very obvious he's not having any trouble hearing.
Today we had a day off to take Eli to Orange and also to celebrate Eli's birthday. So as a family we drove to Orange, did some shopping (I bought some books at Landers Music - the kids ran riot and we had to leave there early), saw the doc and then we had some lunch at Maccas (Eli's choice).
Eli's ears are pretty good, apart from a slight ear infection. Just through watching his progress in reading and general academic stuff, it's very obvious he's not having any trouble hearing.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Expressivenessessyness
Eli uses great expression
This afternoon Eli told me that after lunch he dragged himself into the classroom and exclaimed to Miss Parker "oh... I'm so hot. As hot as the sun". She replied encouragingly that he was very good at using verbal expressions to describe things.
Then tonight, Janene told me how when he was in the shower, Clayton put the stool down on Eli's foot. Eli screamed "ARGH! That hurt so bad, it felt like a blade... A... SHOULDER BLADE!" then a moment later he asked Janene "Mum, what's a shoulder blade?"
Kids. Who needs TV?
This afternoon Eli told me that after lunch he dragged himself into the classroom and exclaimed to Miss Parker "oh... I'm so hot. As hot as the sun". She replied encouragingly that he was very good at using verbal expressions to describe things.
Then tonight, Janene told me how when he was in the shower, Clayton put the stool down on Eli's foot. Eli screamed "ARGH! That hurt so bad, it felt like a blade... A... SHOULDER BLADE!" then a moment later he asked Janene "Mum, what's a shoulder blade?"
Kids. Who needs TV?
Saturday, October 22, 2005
"I'm still here"
Tonight on the farm, while packing my things into the back of the car, I was alone in the dark and after finishing what I was doing, I suddenly felt compelled to gaze at the sky. It was awesome! It seemed so clear and beautiful and at that moment a single line of How Great Thou Art echoed in my mind: I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
While I stood there, in awesome wonder I uttered to a prayer, a simple question "Heavenly Father... where are you?". Immediately, perfectly queued, and in my direct vision a bright shooting star dashed across the sky. It still gives me a chill remembering it.
These are the simple, profound moments where God offers a response to remind me of His presence in my life. They don't come every day, I've learnt to not ask for them every day. But they come often enough to keep me certain I serve a living God.
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
Amen!
While I stood there, in awesome wonder I uttered to a prayer, a simple question "Heavenly Father... where are you?". Immediately, perfectly queued, and in my direct vision a bright shooting star dashed across the sky. It still gives me a chill remembering it.
These are the simple, profound moments where God offers a response to remind me of His presence in my life. They don't come every day, I've learnt to not ask for them every day. But they come often enough to keep me certain I serve a living God.
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
Amen!
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