Book Group-The Day Approaches..

So, I've been thinking a bit about how I'm going to do this Ecclesiastes book group.

I think I'm going to go fairly hard, and do a chapter a day pretty much (so it'll go for a couple of weeks). I won't try and go through entire chapters in detail, but will sort of pick out a bit to write about. As much as possible I'll try and keep it short and sweet (hopefully).

My plan is to probably start on Monday, and go from there. If anyone would like to contribute something for a particular passage, I'd love to post it. Or if anyone has any ideas of how I should do it, I'm all ears.

And remember, if the idea bores you, friendly reader, just skip to the next post.

Your Place In Society

Part of the deal of being in the silly old Rat Race, is an acceptance that you are part of a well-oiled machine. Each person is a cog that must do it's job, and if one cog stops, the whole machine will be affected. You can not take this responsibility lightly.

This is why you need to be prepared when you step up to the ticket machine at a train station. Prior to joining the line, get out your wallet or purse, find the appropriate money, and even have the note the right side up, and facing the right direction, ready to just effortlessly glide into the machine when your time comes. Even peer at the machine before your turn, to find the right button for your station. This is all part of knowing your place in society.

And this is why frustration comes when someone forgets their place. They stand in front of the machine baffled. They look over it as though trying to decipher the unintelligible runes of some ancient civilisation. After several minutes, they finally find the right button to push.

Now they must pay, but there is no money in their hand. No, they must delve into the bottomless pit that is their handbag, and scratch around like a dog after a bone.

I'm sure I had money the other day... oh, hang on, I think I've found some.. oops, nope, that's my make-up kit, hang on, maybe it's in here.. no, that's my iPhone and my expensive bottle of magic drinking water filtered from an untouched mountain stream... Ahhh! Here we go, I've found a big bag of five cent pieces, this will do the trick! Sorry, it shouldn't take more than thirty minutes or so to insert these.. Oh gosh! Machines, huh?!

Deep breaths. Deeeeeep breaths.

The First Seems Right

The first to present his case seems right,
till another comes forward and questions him.

~Proverbs 18:17

Song Of The Week

'Rhiannon'

Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Listen~

Even Barbarians..

..have paranoid delusions.

Listen

He who answers before listening—
that is his folly and his shame.

~Proverbs 18:13

Thursday Peanuts

Gen Y Watching

The urge in me to dack a stranger has scarcely been as strong as it was this morning, friends.

You know the drill. Young Gen Y cat walking up the street, without a care in the world. His jeans are very tight, yet the crutch is around the knee, and the waist, mid-thigh. And a lot of undie on display (is 'undy' or 'undie' the singular?).

Like a species of bird who has lost the need of flight and now just has little, stumpy featherless, useless wings, this species of Gen Y has developed a different style of walking to account for his new conditions.

Rather than the normal socially accepted manner of swinging one leg out in front of the other, he rotates out from the knee, like a penguin, and waddles slowly to his destination (probably drama school or something). This species must not venture out in windy conditions, as a stiff breeze may topple them, with their new, unusually low point of gravity.

This is why often you'll see large groups of them congregating, it is to prop each other up, to give each other balance in these uncertain times.

The Perils of the Subheading

You want to be impartial about different parts of the Bible, and try to read both the Old and New Testaments, keeping an eye on the big picture of God's plan.

But I find that those little subheadings that some fella whacked in, only serve to make me want to read some bits more than others. Please consider:

Subheading A: 1Samuel 28- "Saul and the Witch of Endor"

Subheading B: Leviticus 13:47- "Regulations About Mildew"

Now, come on. No one is going to want to read about mould, so you need to fancy the title up a bit. On the other hand, you immediately want to read about the Witch of Endor, because-

a) Witches, although wrong, sound kind of awesome
b) Endor, as you would know is the forest moon on which the Ewoks lived in Return of the Jedi.

So if you are a visual person, and you read these headings, you immediately picture what is to come, and call me crazy, but if I picture this:

or this:

I know which one I'm going to read.

Honor Follows Humility

Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.

~Proverbs 18:12

There Is A Time For Everything, Except For Long Shoes

You know what angers me? Those silly clown shoes that swanky guys like to wear.

Another Book Group? Are You Insane?

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I was daydreaming this morning about another Book Group on my blog. I know, you are rolling your eyes and slowly moving away from your computers already. I'm okay with that.

For those who weren't around for the heady days of Book Group's I and II, here's a run down of what happened:

*I had an awesome brainwave to have a book group, and a consensus was reached to read 'Crime and Punishment'. Punishment indeed. Anyways, it started off good, lots of participators and good discussions, but it all got too hard. Looooong chapters, tight deadlines, painful main characters. Soon the readership dropped from about 735 to 2. Bad stats, y'all.

*At a later date, having not learned my lesson I proposed BG II. This time 'we' read 'Life Together'. I say 'we' in the third person, because, well, I was the one person on board.

But you know, that was okay. It got me to finally read a Christian book cover to cover, which was an unprecedented occurrence. And committing to write about a chapter each week got me to think through some good stuff. So, all pain and heartache and the torment of cruel rejection aside, in hindsight it was worth it.

SO!

To cut a long story even longer, I was skimming through Ecclesiastes this morning and was thinking what a dope book it is. Not dope meaning bad, but dope meaning good. I thought, hey, 'we' can read a chapter a week and I'll post about it. Hush, hush, don't say anything. I'm just putting it out there. Don't worry, I don't look down on you- we all have our commitment issues.

Just give it some thought.

Speech Diary: Hurdles

The other night at the speech group thing I went to, somebody made the comment that a stutterers' biggest hurdle is the other person. That is, how well I speak is heavily swayed by the patience/impatience, understanding/lack of understanding of the listener.

I disagree. While this is all very true, I think the biggest hurdle is actually the amount I care about the other persons' reaction. That's the hurdle, being so swayed emotionally by the person in front of me.

This is a better hurdle though, because the problem is back in my hands, where I can at least work on it. If the problem is somebody else, then I am helpless. I can't change how people react, no matter how much I'd love to. But something that can be worked on is using the techniques I've learnt, regardless of what's happening in front of me.

That's the hurdle.

Even Barbarians..

..get the cold shoulder from time to time.

Double Jeopardy

That movie Double Jeopardy was on tele the other night, yet again. I reckon it was last on about three weeks ago.

But you know what? That's a good movie, and I happily watch it every time it's on. I know it so well now that I can quote lines before they're said. Other movies wish they were as good as Double Jeopardy.

Great direction, good premise, good script, good acting. Not too predictable, and with a satisfying ending. That's all I really need. Ashley Judd is good in it, and Tommy Lee Jones pretty much reprises his role from The Fugitive. Good fillum. 4/5.

E said 'I think this movie is blog-worthy'. So this is for you, E.

If You Quiz Me Now You'll Take Away The Biggest Part Of Me

1.White, milk or dark?
2.You're in a film. It's your first scene. The door opens and you enter the room. What song is playing in the background?
3.The first album you really loved
4.What time did you get up this morning?
5.A movie you've watched at least five times
6.Something you hate doing and procrastinate with
7.Three people who inspire you
8.I know it's silly, but I'm likely to lose my temper at..
9.The decade you get most nostalgic about
10.Your super power of choice

Good Weekend/Bad Weekend

Outwardly, it was a pretty good weekend. But my problem was what was going on in my heart, and all this negative angst that made it actually kind of a crumby couple of days.

I'll spare you the details, but that Ecclesiastes passage I just posted pretty much hits the nail on the head of where I was at. Another verse that rings very true for me is this one, Proverbs 19:3~

A man's own folly ruins his life,
yet his heart rages against the LORD.

Go You Mighty Tige's

The Tige's beat Canberra 25 to 4 yesterday, making it three wins on the trot. Great stuff.

I'm liking the reshuffle of Moltzen at halfback and Benji back into the five-eighth spot he's more comfortable in.

Two points outside the top eight now.

Stand In Awe Of God

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.

As a dream comes when there are many cares,
so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

~Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

Dreams

I woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream. It was really sad and awful, and it keeps making me feel down when I think about it.

What a rotten feeling it is to wake up in the dark, after a dream, with all those negative feelings amplified in the night.

Heads!

One for Nathan, and his new venture..

Werri Excited

E just booked our Summer holiday. Can't wait.

I'm so dropping a line off that there jetty.

Song Of The Week

'Millionaire'

Kelis feat. Andre 3000 (2003)

Great little song, great Andre production, great video.

Listen~

They Imagine It

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they imagine it an unscalable wall.

~Proverbs 18:11

If You Love Me..

..You'll update your blog more.

I Scream

When you're serving out ice cream with an ice cream scoop and there's no one around, do you sometimes eat a mouthful straight off the scoop before you put the lid back on, being gluttonous, and get your lips and tongue stuck to the scoop?

No, me neither, I've never done that.

Total Eclipse of the Brain

In Karnataka the other day, as the world was plunged into darkness by a solar eclipse, Indian parents buried their children with disabilities up to their necks in mud, on a river bank.

Doing so at the time of eclipse is apparently not child abuse, but rather will heal the children of their ailments. Oh, that's a relief then.

In completely unrelated news, yesterday I immersed my elbows into a vat of room-temperature peanut butter for several hours, whilst whistling the theme from M*A*S*H. Doing so on the 23rd day, of the month of July sustains my super-powers.

Even Barbarians..

..totally got hooked on Master Chef.

A Strong Tower

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

~Proverbs 18:10

Thursday Peanuts

Speech Diary- God In Our Struggles

Last night I went to a seminar about new online treatments for stuttering, but as it turned out, the speaker didn't turn up! So the group of fifteen or so people there just had a bit of a general discussion instead. While I was a bit disappointed, some pretty thought provoking things came out of the night for me.

'The Cost of Stuttering' is the topic of another seminar coming up, and for preparation the group put out their ideas. A lot of negativity came out of it, as people told their stories and talked about statistics and trends etc in stutterers. It opened my eyes to how much I have to be thankful for.

Cost to Relationships-

I am getting the impression that most stutterers are single. They struggle to get in to, and sustain relationships. Meeting people is hard, and finding a person who will be understanding is hard too. In the group last night, the majority were men, aged 40- 60, most apparently single. It seemed pretty bleak, the way they were describing their situations.

It made me realise how much God has blessed me by leading me to E, the most patient and supportive person I have ever met. To be a 31 year old married father with a stutter is apparently not such a common thing. God works through and uses our struggles, but thankfully He also limits the struggle itself. I can't imagine having to go it alone, both without a wife, and without God.

Cost to Work-

Another statistic that came up is that most stutterers are under-employed. I guess this is common sense, but to be honest I had never given it a lot of thought. A lot of stutterers wind up in jobs that are below their abilities, for varying reasons- lack of confidence, lack of understanding from employers etc etc. Last night various people spoke about being put on 'probation' in their jobs, and after that time, being let go, because the stuttering was deemed a hindrance. I'm not making a value call on this, it all makes sense. Still it is a hard thing for the individual to go through. They know their capabilities, but there are these limits to what they can attain.

This made me once again very relieved and thankful, when I thought about my own career. From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to draw, and God gave me the ability to draw. There was never any doubt for me, since childhood, that that's what I would do. What a wonderful blessing that God gave me that; something that stood on its own merits, aside from my speech.

I look at where I am now at work, and can't really imagine that I would be in a very different position if I didn't have the stutter. So yet again, God has allowed me to go against that trend, and has blessed me with ability to counteract or make up for to some extant, a disability. He's given me strong passions for other forms of expression, so as to 'minimise the damage' of struggling to express myself verbally.

All in all, I feel very grateful to Him, and the sad stories last night came as a timely reminder of just how much God has worked in my life, in, around and through the stuttering.

Great Scott

Had I a Delorean, 10:03am me would go back in time to tell 6:30am me to have some eggs for breakfast. 6:30am me was all annoying and 'oh, I'm not hungry yet, boo hoo, poor me, I don't want any breakfast', completely taking for granted that within arms' reach were:

1) a stove
2) a frying pan
3) eggs

Numbnuts.

Beautiful Day

Grumpy thoughts aside, what a beautiful day it is. Usually when I drive past the temperature gauge on Parramatta road it reads somewhere between 7 and 12 degrees lately, but this morning it said 19! Awesome!

If I was less self-conscious of sounding like a w_nker, I may have called this post "Ruminations of Spring". Nice, hey.

Binge and Purge

I just read a work-related email that was absolutely saturated with smiley faces and doubled, even tripled, exclamation points. At 8:46am the horrid sickliness of it all was too much for me to bear, and I very nearly was a little bit sick into my mouth.

;0<<<<<<<<<<

I will admit that I use the smiley face from time to time, (usually out of fear that someone will be offended by something that I mean as a joke) but honestly, the smiley and all his wicked cronies (winking face, tongue sticking out face etc), and also the! pointless! exclamation!! marks!!! are just so chronically over-used that it is ridiculous. And don't even get me started on 'LOL'.

Come on, people, there needs to be some boundaries. As they say in the classics, discretion is the key to non-annoyingness. Well, you know what?

As of this day, I am going to begin a 30 day vow of abstinence from all manner of typed faces. Sort of like a bloggers' detox. Anyone with me? You won't regret it. You even have my blessing to use the comments page of this post as a last binge. I'll go first. Look away.

:(:P;0:.<";))>:"?<><>?;():)P:p :(:P;0:.<";))>:"?<><>?;():):P

Urrr, I feel dirty.

Bugs In The System

I've typed the same post about 17 times just now, and then when I try to publish it it reduces about three paragraphs to about two lines. I am suitably peeved.

There's nothing as annoying as typing the same thing twice. There's nothing as annoying as typing the same thing twice - oh no I'm stuck in a loop.

Will try one more time, Blogger, then I'm coming over to your place to start a fist fight.

Fly Me To The Moon

Heh. I love the Google logo today celebrating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

Good stuff.

Piper Tweets

John Piper tweets. A LOT.

He wrote an interesting explanation of why he does so, that's worth a read. Here's a snippet--

'So I am not inclined to tweet that at 10AM the cat pulled the curtains down. But it might remind me that the Lion of Judah will roll up the heavens like a garment, and blow out the sun like a candle, because he just turned the light on. That tweet might distract someone from pornography and make them look up.'

The Slacker

One who is slack in his work
is brother to one who destroys.

~Proverbs 18:9

A Trip To The Hairdresser

I just got a haircut.

This is a momentous occasion in my life. I have gotten my hair cut professionally, maybe ten times in the last decade. I usually do it myself, simply because I don't trust people. Nobody knows what to do with curly hair. They either make me look like I'm in year 8 again, or they short-back-and-sides me, whilst brushing the top all tall and crap, ala Vanilla Ice.

So usually I give myself a #4 and be done with it, or occasionally get a bit creative with the scissors, but this option leaves me standing cold and covered in hair, in the bathroom for an hour and a half with ten mirrors aligned around the room so I can see all angles. A lot of effort.

I got jack of my 'funny turley hair' as my daughter calls it, this morning, and just on a whim decided to go to the professionals on the way to work. A big risk, but it looks okay. I guess.

The guy wisecracked 'the back turns into an afro doesn't it?' Just cut my hair, buddy, and spare me the comedy. He then asked, 'have you always worn it naturally?' Having no idea what the alternative would be, I said 'yeah...?' and for the rest of the time boggled my mind over just what 'unnatural' would look like, practically speaking.

Anyways, I am feeling less Frodo, less Mr Tumnus, and a bit more presentable.

A Beating

A fool's lips bring him strife,
and his mouth invites a beating.

~Proverbs 18:6

Quiz- This One Goes To Eleven

1.Chocolate or strawberry
2.Favourite insult
3.Can't imagine my life without..
4.Every country you've set foot in
5.Overrated
6.Underrated
7.Next book you plan to read
8.A nice thing someone said about you
9.Last time you cried
10.A word you hate
11.What you'd rather be doing right now

Bed Face- A Case Study

One of the several secret super powers that I possess, is the ability to tell whether someone has had a shower or not. No, don't quickly write this off as not being a super power, it actually is.

You'll find that most people aren't tuned in to the right frequency and attention to detail that allows for this penetrative talent. They will be fooled by the brushed teeth, the water-splashed face, and the hair combed through with a wet comb.

Not me. I know.

Here is a diagram that my computer made up from raw data that I gave it, which will help you notice the tell-tale signs. You can use it to learn a fraction of the skills that I was given at birth.

Great game of footy today. Tige's defeated the Cowboys 34 to 14. Rats, I wish I'd gone out to Leichhardt to see it live.

We played pretty well, and with lots of guts. League is in the bad books at the moment, and to some extent rightly so, but I still love it, and when I see my team playing great, at the old home ground, mate, I can't help getting a bit emotional.

Probably not gonna make the cut this year, but still...Go You Mighty Tige's!

Bankable Truth #712

That I'll have the sudden urge to go to the toilet when a sermon starts.

Song Of The Week

'Bachelorette'

Bjork (1997)

Listen~

The Findings

So, you will be interested to know I have compiled the data from The Experiment, made various studies, written a research paper and made the following graphs of my findings:

Please let me know if you'd like me to explain any of this to you.

Thanks for your participation.

An Experiment

For my own interest, I'm doing a little experiment. Afterwards I'll explain what the purpose was.

Here is a list of readers who comment on my blog now and then:




ALaird
Pedro
Nathan
Jen-e-ren
Goldy
Ali
Simone
SophG
RodeoClown
GeoffC
Maso
Stuart
SamR
OnlineSoph
Guthers
Drew
Tracy
Ruth
Mq2
ColinMac
Joanna
AY
Christine
Christine (Let's Paint Nature)
Georgina
Beth
Kristina
EmFolle
Aimee
Nixter
PeterY
Lu

As you will notice, they are divided in to two colour groups. Can you tell me what the categories are? It is actually very simple, but I'm just curious as to who will know the answer.

(oops I nearly forgot) Thursday Peanuts

The Commentator

Nathan, that ol' roustabout from the tropics, got me thinking today. He reckons there are five types of bloggers, and he pegged me as "The Commentator".

I kind of like his summary, and I don't mind my title, but I found myself wishing I was more the first category, "The Creator", because he gave them more props and said they were brilliant.

So anyways, I'm so gonna start making some awesome art and/or crafts to post, so that he will realise that I too, can be brilliant, and have been all along.

Dream Bedrooms

Do you ever look at your bedroom and think it's a little boring?

Since childhood I have had certain dreams of my perfect bedroom, and over the past week I have culled these dreams into my top 3, practicalities temporarily suspended. Here they are, counting down--

3.The Attic-

Not sure where exactly this dream came from, but it's probably a common one. Attics are awesome. Mysterious, a bit creepy, they have a triangle roof, and cool windows. Also, you are separate from the rest of the house, and you can hear any intruders coming up the stairs.

2.The Gypsy Caravan-

This one came from a book I loved as a kid, Danny The Champion of The World. This boy lives with his Dad, out in the country, in an old dilapidated gypsy caravan. They don't have electricity, but have a paraffin lamp. And they hunt pheasants. Awesome.

1.The Hollow Tree-

Oh, yeah. This is the greatest, most loved dream of mine. It started also from a book, called My Side Of The Mountain, which my teacher read to the class in grade 5. A boy runs away, and lives in a big hollow tree. He hunts, he fishes in a stream, he makes cool stuff. He communes with nature, and watches the seasons. He has a pet hawk. So great.

Imagine: It's winter, and you live in this big warm hollow tree (don't burst my bubble, in the dream it's warm- I even have a little campfire in my tree). You make a cool door flap out of an animal hide. You find a baby hawk and train it (actually, I would choose a baby owl, myself). You read at night by candle light, while you drink billy tea and write in your journal about your day, as the wind whirls about outside. Oh yeah.

Anybody feelin' me?

Ouch

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding
but delights in airing his own opinions.

~Proverbs 18:2

Origin III: Finally A Good Game

I was very unenthused about State of Origin III last night, but it actually turned out to be an awesome game, a great one to watch. The Blues were like a completely different team, far more confident and working together a lot better. Pity it took them until game 3 to get their act together. Also, there was just some amazing stuff, like Justin Hodges' near try.

The fights towards the end were pretty on the nose. I have mixed feelings though- on one hand, it is such a physical game, there is bound to be aggression. On the other hand, the way they all rushed in, obviously loving the idea of a fistfight, and the way Gus Gould was practically salivating about it, sort of turned my stomach.

An Unfriendly Man

An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;
he defies all sound judgment.

~Proverbs 18:1

Trade Secrets

Have you ever suspected that bus drivers see a group of people signalling, and stop, with pinpoint accuracy so that the pretty lady or the old person can get on first? Have you then disregarded this suspicion as paranoia? Don't be so hasty. Yesterday I was let in on some trade secrets.

I was waiting at a bus stop with a few other people. As the bus came in to view, I took my position and signalled first. The other people then tardily got in to their positions, in front of me, and needlessly signalled as well.

However, to my happy surprise, the bus doors stopped exactly and precisely in the spot so that I could get on first, before the interlopers.

As I smiled at the driver, he leaned over and divulged his special tactic with me, in whispered solemnity--

'Always aim for the bloke who signalled first', he said. 'Part of the system, you see'.

It was a great honour to be taken in to the bus drivers' circle of trust, a place I would not trade for all the worlds' riches.

A Bad Smell

I know I Twittered about this already, but some issues are so heady and important that they can be both tweeted and posted.

I discovered this morning a new and profound disgust for the unholy smell of scalp. The bus I was on was putrid with the stench, and it permeated my clothes, my pores, and my very being. I was on the verge of gagging for the whole trip, and when I alighted, onto the polluted city street, it was like waking up in a bed of roses.

Do you know the smell? If not, walk outside, find an unkempt youth, give them a quick vigorous head massage, and then smell your finger tips.

Scalp is not the worst smell out there, and in fact a newly shampooed scalp may be enjoyed in small, controlled doses. But it can fall quickly into decline. Infrequent washing, over-frequent hat wearing, or hot weather may putrify, ferment and mature this delicate smell into something that can only be tackled by a priest with some garlic and a wooden stake.

Even A Fool

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent,
and discerning if he holds his tongue.

~Proverbs 17:28

Quizerendum

1.Peanut butter or honey
2.Your first memory
3.Two of your favourite songs of all time
4.A show you watched last night
5.A fictional character you'd like to be
6.If I was less self-conscious I'd wear..
7.Everybody gets excited about...but I don't get what all the fuss is about
8.Two smells you like
9.A saying you find annoying
10.The last thing you bought

Just So You Know

Radiohead did not write three of the top 20 songs of all time. Or even one of them.

Sorry Nathan.

Speech Diary

On Saturday I tried out my first support group for stutterers. It felt like a big step, and I was really pleased to have finally done it. I was looking for any excuse to pull out, but E was really cool in encouraging me to go. I'd been meaning to since my intensive in February, but was, well, frightened.

It was a 'maintenance' day run by Speakeasy, and was a group of about ten or fifteen people. we just all worked on the techniques, and practiced talking, reading, and getting up in front of the group.

Most people there were between about 50 and 70, so I felt a bit out of place, but I still found it beneficial. I'll go along again, and at the same time try out another group I've heard about.

Feels good to not be alone in a struggle.

The Vigilante

I saw an old man with a tweed jacket, comb-over and walking cane this morning, angrily tearing down the posters stuck up on every available wall and telegraph pole in the city.

He tore with the vim and vigour of a man half his age, deftly using his cane to rend and tear the illegal atrocities from the streets of his beloved city. Bundles of paper, and miles of tangled sticky tape, all came down, and were tucked under one arm.

I immediately had great respect and admiration for this vigilante. I wanted to run over and give him a high five, and if it felt appropriate at the time, give him a vigilante man-hug.

Respect.

What Age Do You Stop Your Kids Seeing You Naked?

I noticed a link to a forum on the SMH page just now. It's something I often wonder about. The forum didn't give me much, but it got me thinking.

It's a tricky one, and I don't think there is a definitive answer. I don't think legalism's the answer. But still, there does need to be some sort of guidelines. I still have baths with my little two year old girl, and that feels to me a right and good thing.

But I won't do that forever, obviously, so what will be the determining factors in the turning point? When I feel uncomfortable? When she feels uncomfortable? Would it be different if she were a boy?

I don't know. I remember once thinking that it's good that I don't remember breast feeding. I have no memory of it, and I'm glad. Those people who breastfeed their kids until they're 5 or 6, well good for you, but it seems to me the kids will grow up a little confused, and with memories they shouldn't really have. I think it may have been designed so we don't remember.

Is it the same with nudity? Should we stop when our kids are old enough to remember? I really don't know.

Any ideas or advice? Any good or bad experiences?

Don't Do God Any Favours

If I do the right thing, I want a parade in my honour. I want the angels in Heaven to get their trumpets out. I want God to pat me on the back.

I've been looking at the illustration about 'duty' that Jesus uses in Luke 17. It opened my eyes to the foolish and arrogant attitude I have about serving God.

"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17:7-10)

Should I be thanked for doing what I was told? For simply doing my duty? Here is a scenario that I frequently have: I convince myself (rightly) to do a good thing. It is not the easy thing to do, but it's the thing I feel I should do. Although I don't voice it, I have an unspoken expectation of God at this point.

You should smooth the way for me, God. I have gone out on a limb for You, so You should make it all go well. There should be no hitches.

Now, often things don't go smoothly when I try to do the right thing, and there are hitches. What I did went unnoticed or unappreciated. What I did didn't 'work'. So I turn sullen.

While I still won't put the feelings in to words, what I'm thinking is, 'God, I did this for You. I didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway. The least You could have done was make it work.' It's as though I'm doing God a favour; I don't owe Him, He owes me.

This is all completely backwards. Everything has been done for me, I have been called, saved and richly blessed, all for free, all by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus.

We are His servants, not His peers. We don't do favours for God and expect favours back in return. We serve, and do what He tells us to do. And when your Master is perfect in love, and completely faithful and generous to you, you should be happy to serve Him. You should rejoice and run to serve Him. Out of gratitude for all He's done.

Thank God For A Special Little Life

Restraint

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint,
and a man of understanding is even-tempered.

~Proverbs 17:27

Quizzle Me This

1.Sausage roll or party pie
2.Optimist or pessimist
3.Favourite Arnie movie
4.Who'd you like to play you in a biopic
5.A good piece of advice somebody's given you
6.A bad piece of advice somebody's given you
7.Describe a bad haircut you've had
8.Your mood right now
9.A trait you find attractive
10.Something you're looking forward to

Thursday Peanuts

Some People

This bloke gets on the bus last night, and walks straight down the aisle without dipping his ticket. The driver turned and goes, 'hey, where's your ticket?' Fair question.

The man then angrily shouts, 'I get sick of putting these things in and out, it ruins them!', and swears at the driver, calling him a bunch of harsh and rude words.

I look closely as he pulls out his ticket, to see what kind it is. If it were a weekly travel pass, he would have a vague leg to stand on. But no, it's a travel ten, one that takes a ride off each time you dip it.

He dips it and yells over his shoulder, 'THERE! HAPPY NOW?!!'

Ecstatic.

In all seriousness, how dare this man have to pay to travel? He has paid his money for ten trips, surely this covers a lifetime of bus usage? Surely?

I hear you brother. It really frustrated me when we bought our unit, that the previous owner actually wanted us to give him some money, rather than just showing it to him. The nerve of some people.

Happiness Is A Red Frog

Bought a packet of red frogs yesterday, to be an occasional snack at work over the next week. Less than 24 hours later, I've pretty much single-handedly polished the packet off.

Not sure whether to feel proud, or ashamed of this achievement.

Not The Post To End All Posts

Bit behind the ol' eight ball today, as I stayed back to have my Weet-Bix with Little e. She's a funny kid. She nodded earnestly at me, spoonful of 'bix' in hand and said, 'it's not hot, it's werry nice'. Yeah.

Gotta say, I'm pretty uninspired to do anything today- work, blog or otherwise. All I wanted to do this morning was look slowly, in alphabetical order, through the metal section of JB HI-FI.

What are you doing today?

The Pharisees Get Owned

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them,

"You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight."

--Luke 16:14-15

How To, Like, Totally Talk Gen Y

If I were Gen Y, I would use the term, 'owned' whenever I could.

Many things these young whippersnappers do to the English language, I shake my head at and mumble cantankerously to myself, 'when I was a boy, I would never have..etc'

But I am pro-'owned', and I encourage you to be as well.

Here's some examples of how to use it:

'I, like, totally owned that maths test, LOL'

'I totally, like, love, like, Britney Spears.. she, like totally owns'

Now, go forth and use with boldness and abundance.

Biding My Time

If and when we get a place with a backyard, I will resurrect a hobby/obsession that I had a few years back, that's been on the back burner.

Pretty much from out of nowhere in 2004, I became hardcore obsessed with Bonsai trees. I didn't have a lot of space, so my practical capabilities were limited, and I had ,um, varying degrees of success in keeping them alive.

But what obsessed me was the theory of it all. From time to time I would shell out for a new book, and I would pore over it, reading every last word and footnote about it, learning as much as I could about the different styles, and memorising all the different species of trees.

Then we moved to a place without a yard or balcony, and my enthusiasm quickly dried up. But it's just in hibernation, and when/if we get a backyard, the first thing I'll do is pull all my books out again.

When Two Loves Collide

Okay, I love Kate Bush and I love Heavy Metal..

But together?

Nope.

Quizinator

1.Plain or sourdough
2.Two traits you'd like to be known for
3.Two traits you wish you didn't have
4.Most listened-to cd this year
5.Best moment from the weekend
6.Favourite night of the week
7.A guitarist you like
8.Your most visited non-blog website
9.A phobia you have
10.If you could eat anything right now it would be..

Something I Would Never Have Thought Jesus Would Say

I'll sometimes be reading the Bible and get really surprised as I come across something I've never read or noticed before. This morning I read these words of Jesus--

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)

The part in bold is what surprised me. I have not pondered it properly yet, so I won't give an interpretation, but does anyone have any ideas about what He's saying here? On a surface level it seems out of step with other things He says.

Here's the context of the verse.