I forgot...

...that studying for economics exams makes you want to do MORE blogging.
I am now up to date with all my friends who blog - even if Linus' recent attempt can only JUST be called an update.

And in big news just in, I am currently eating my first chocolate easter bunny (love biting those ears off!) of the season (thanks to the generous purchase by my great husband)!

A quick recap

I have been away at our leaders retreat, which was a great few days of planning, worshipping, seeking God, and hearing from Him.

Hence the lack of blogging.

Now after shooting off various emails for things that need to be set in motion, I am preparing to study for my economic exam which is in two days. So I probably won't blog much between now and Wednesday morning! On a positive note, I just got my results back from the awful economic assignment that kept me up till 3am a few weeks ago - 78%. (Thanks to Dad for the access to those reference materials) So that's all good.

What words of wisdom am I sharing today? Don't do Summer semester! So short and quick and so much else happening in life at the same time! Oh well, at least it's nearly over !!!!

I want to be an extremist too!

"... though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label ... In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime - the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists." - Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail

Frustrations!

One tiny little thing that isn't installed on my computer and a whole night's opportunity to get a chunk of my assignment done wasted. It's just one small wizard in Access that allows me to determine what type of data mask gets entered in (how the data is formatted basically).

It's not installed. (boo hoo) I found my Office CD. (yay!) Windows installer can't seem to locate this small installation package (boo hoo).

Stupid Microsoft!

Isn't it amazing how leaving little things unattended to can cause a huge roadblock for us - hm, there's a sermon in that!

A momentous day

Well today the greatest guy in the world turned 30!

I was also given the news that I definitely have to have 3 wisdom teeth removed. (Apparently the 4th one just never appeared!) I must say, while I have some trepidation - being someone who really prefers to avoid pain and discomfort - it is also a relief as I have been getting terrible headaches from them.

Big computer assignment due next Wednesday, which means one of two things for this blog. Either I will write nothing - or, I will procrasitinate a lot and will write many little irrelevant posts. I am also glad this is the only time I ever have to do two subjects in summer semester. See - there is ALWAYS a reason to be thankful!

Lies That Go Unchallenged-Free PowerPoint

Lies That Go Unchallenged-Free PowerPoint:
Rights of the Individual
Lie #1: We have the freedom of choice to be who we want and to do what we want.

Marriage and the Family
Lie #2: Marriage can be between any two people, and it lasts only as long as both are happy.

Society and Toleration
Lie #3: We’ll live in harmony if we tolerate the beliefs of others.

The Arts
Lie #4: Art should break traditional norms and challenge outworn beliefs.

Christians in Culture
Lie #5: Christian beliefs are a private matter.

The Media
Lie #6: Entertainment is a vehicle to help us fulfill personal desires.

Spirituality in Culture
Lie #7: God accepts us as we are, and there are many ways to him."

Sitting at my kitchen table...

a computer in front of me
Textbooks to my left
a nearly empty ice-cream container on my right
sherbet lemon lollies to the top right of the table

ah, economics assignments :-)

Not that this would ever happen to you

Bumper Sticker Hypocrisy

A police officer pulled a driver aside and asked for his license and registration. "What's wrong, officer?" the driver asked. "I didn't go through any red lights, and I certainly wasn't speeding."

"No, you weren't," said the officer, "but I saw you waving your fist as you swerved around the lady driving in the left lane, and I further observed your flushed and angry face as you shouted at the driver of the Hummer who cut you off, and how you pounded your steering wheel when the traffic came to a stop near the bridge."

"Is that a crime, officer?"

"No, but when I saw the 'Jesus loves you and so do I' bumper sticker on the car, I figured this car had to be stolen."

Citation: Adapted from Homiletics magazine (May 2004); submitted by Gino Grunberg, Gig Harbor, Washington.

Crisis averted

Well my Vaio was terminally ill. After slipping into unconsciousness Thursday night, it never recovered and I bade it a sad farewell on Friday, with not a little consternation as to how we were going to solve this small problem.

And then......

an angel rang me and said that they wanted to buy my a new laptop....!

It is a seriously cute 12.1" Asus (and I can just hear all the guys cringing at my description of this piece of technolocgy as cut but hey - it is!) and after an early hiccup with the wireless, it is performing exceptionally well.

So now I am about to begin my economics assignment. At least I have a cute computer to work on!

A very, very big thank you to my angel...... :-)

A small crisis

My relatively new (second-hand) seriously cute 12" Vaio has just decided to not start.

I turned it off at work, took it home, had dinner and went to turn it on - and nothing. Stephen looked at it, pulled batteries out, poked and prodded and nothing.

Normally this would be rather annoying. However, it is rather troubling as I have a sermon to prepare for Sunday as well as a major assignment due next week which I was due to start tonight.

So if you read this, please pray that this situtaion resolves itself and I don't have to send it away!

The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe

Wow! What an amazing film. If you haven't seen it, see it.

I got the Chronicles of Narnia for Christmas and have been re-reading the series. I am up to the 4th book - Prince Caspian. They are such a great series. The allegorical account of the creation of Narnia is fantastic.

My favourite quote from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - which I loved when I read it and also when I heard it in the film, was a description of Aslan. When Mr Tumnus was asked if Aslan was safe, he replied, "Safe? He's not safe - but he is good".

What an amazing description of God! He's not safe - but He is good.

And the newer kids on the block...

Just read this about the Baby Busters and Mosaic generation (born from 1984 to 2002) that is also in the report referenced in the post below this one. This report can be found at www.barna.org

It's about young adults in the church - v v interesting and resonates with my experiences.

A final pattern discovered by Barna this year relates to the faith trajectory of the young adult generations (the Baby Busters and the Mosaics). “Overall, they are interested in matters of faith, but they have few assumptions about what a life of faith must entail. They are leaders in the pursuit of new models of faith experience and expression, such as house churches, cyberchurches and marketplace experiences. They are the most prolific practitioners of newer forms of evangelistic outreach, such as Socratic evangelism. They are pioneering language that bridges the gap between postmodern cultural imperatives and first-century biblical principles, to create new buzz words and expressions for believers. And they have certainly championed a novel universe of relational networks in which faith is a cornerstone of friendships and shared experiences.” He predicted that within the next five years young adults will boldly introduce a blizzard of unique expressions of faith that will cause heightened tension with the older generations of believers.

"The Energizing of Evangelicals" according to Barna

George Barna, a social and religious trends researcher said the following in his latest report. It is related to America but contains intersting insights for Aussies.

Although the data show that just 7% of adults are evangelicals, their voice gets an unusually large share of media attention. Further, Barna provided numbers showing how substantially different evangelicals are from the rest of society. “They are by far the most active in evangelism, most likely to read the Bible, to pray, to attend church services, to volunteer at a church, and to engage in a small group during the week, and give away almost three times as much money as do other Americans. They are several times more likely to possess a Biblical worldview as are others, are the only people group among whom a majority consider their faith to be their top priority in life, are more involved in alternative models of church than anyone else, are the most concerned about how their children are raised, and are also the most well-informed among Christians regarding the interaction between their faith in Christ and current public issues.”

Asked why he felt evangelicals became more active in various public and spiritual matters this past year, Barna offered three possibilities. “Certainly the 2004 presidential election, with its heavy emphasis upon evangelicals, gave them platforms for communication and organizing that were not previously available. Second, we also find that increasing numbers of evangelicals are simply fed up with the nonsense that our society is proposing or producing. They have been driven to a deeper relationship with, and reliance upon God, as a result. Third, it appears that a larger share of evangelicals is choosing to exercise their freedom as religious people in America before that freedom is taken away. It’s kind of an example of the ‘use it or lose it’ philosophy.”

A thought to reflect upon

We spend a lot of time thinking about a lot of things at this time of the year.
Presents, food, special events and services, holidays.....

In the midst of that, I like to reflect upon what this celebration is all about....

A God who chose to come near
A saviour who dwells with us
A creator who makes himself at home in the human heart.

We could have had a God who made us chase Him but instead He came near... to love, and to make a way.

In the midst of everything, it's good to take a few moments to reflect on this. Is 7:14 Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel--`God is with us.'

A re-emerging.....

Well, I feel like I have re-emerged from my week of the Christmas dinner cocoon! I basically lived, ate and breathed Christmas dinner.... but it was certainly all worthwhile! They were both great nights in so many ways- food, entertainment, ambience.. all of it was great.

It's funny when you oversee something - it's a strange mixture of big picture and little picture. From
Overall theme
Items
Ambience
To
Cutting an inch off every candle cause they were too tall for the hurricane lamps
Making sure all teapoons all out and placed in the same direction on the plate
Fixing up candles that were leaning over in the centrepieces

It was a great mix of wonderful and exhausting and satisfying!

One of the greatest things is seeing the multitudes of people working together and using their gifts to pull off a fantastic event! THANK YOU to everyone who made these nights possible!

We are the champions!

We have finished all our Christmas Shopping!!!!!

Why the silence?

Why do you think that there is a deafening silence about abortion and it's negative health effects on women?

Could it be that abortion is the perfect 'poster child' for the materialistic and humanistic world view that we are masters of our own bodies, rather than stewards of them?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that abortion is a very profitable business?

Could it be because it is really difficult to admit that the tune you've been singing for the past 30 years - that it's safe and harmless - is in fact wrong?

Could it be that it's just too hard to fix the real reason women get abortions - the lack of support to continue the pregnancy?

And why, do we hear over and over again, that it's about choice? Because all the women I have spoken too who have had abortions have done so because their doctor has essentially said - you don't have a choice.

You're too young to have this baby. Adoption is too emotionally messy. You are all alone. Raising a child will be too difficult for you. You should really consider an abortion.

A doctor who spoke at the Pro-woman, Pro-life Forum last week was encouraged in her work by a 40 year old woman who said she had an abortion 23 years ago and there is not a day that goes by that she doesn't think about. She said when she really thinks about it, she drinks herself under the table.

Why do you think there is a deafening silence about abortion and it's negative health effects on women?

Thoughts on the current abortion debate

Listening to the claims and counter-claims over whether the RU-486 is safe and should be more widely available, I have many questions. My biggest question is about what we aren’t hearing. Where are all the other voices in the abortion debate?

We are used to two voices - ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’. In both camps we find the compassionate and the zealot. There are those who trade insults and those who argue with reason and logic. We argue as if this matter is solely about abortion. In reality though, abortion is simply an element of a much larger issue. By failing to recognise that, we have excluded many voices that need to be a part of this discussion.

Where, for instance, are the voices of the childless couples? I find it disconcerting that the only option our society is discussing - with regards to women with unwanted pregnancies - is abortion. In a nation where countless childless couples ache to hold a baby in their arms, there are less than 80 Australian children available for adoption in a year. There are also over 90,000 pregnancies ended each year.

Do we not find it a curious tragedy that in our nation women will weep with the grief of childlessness, whilst other women will grieve because they feel they have no choice but to abort? Why have we made it easier to end life rather than nurture life?

Adoption is now almost considered the unmentionable. A friend of mine who has been adopted however, expresses nothing but gratitude for both their biological mother who gave them life, and also for their adopted parents who have nurtured them.

Imagine if our community considered adoption as an alternative that we would support, both emotionally and economically? Imagine the dignity we would bestow upon women if we empowered them, in the midst of uncertainty, to be givers of life and joy to those couples whose are unable to conceive.

No-one is pretending, of course, that adoption doesn't carry an emotional burden. However, once an unplanned pregnancy occurs, there are no detached, easy options. We are simply naive if we think that abortion has no psychological or emotional side-effects.

In fact, where are the voices of post-abortive women who experience great grief and regret? Why are they not a part, and a vital part, of the policy decisions we make as a society? After all, they can tell us, more than most, what the costs of these procedures really are. They may be the voices who challenge us to come up with constructive solutions for women who face an uncertain future. I find it hard to believe that the most ‘compassionate’ option we can provide is to suggest women end their pregnancy.

Where are the voices of courageous women who give birth despite their child being diagnosed with chromosomal abnormalities such as Downs Syndrome? The immense pressure placed on women to abort children who are seen as ‘less than perfect’ not only fails to affirm the value of those in our society living with such conditions, but it also fails to give women true choice. We should celebrate the courage of women who defy society’s quest for perfection and choose to love extravagantly and unconditionally instead.

In all of this we would be wise to remember that abortion is big business, and that those who profit from it do so at the expense of women across our nation.

We must make a place for the many voices that are currently being silenced in this issue. At the very least, someone needs to speak for the women who are calling for a pro-woman approach in its fullest sense. To be truly pro-woman, life-affirming choices should be as passionately and creatively supported as any other.

If we really care about the rights of women in our nation, let’s listen carefully to all their voices - for in a multitude of counsellors, there is wisdom.

Apparently..

Apparently - so one headline proclaimed the other day - the abortion pill is just as safe as an abortion..

To which I would say - "so not very hey?"

Suspicions!

We have some suspicions that Melody may be pregnant (again). She is our dog for those of you who don't know this. Roland (our other dog) even went to stay with friends to prevent this but it seems they may not have been apart long enough?

This may explain her rather unusual behaviour lately. She has taken to crawling under the couches in the living room and just lying there by herself and whining. Maybe it's Doggy morning sickness? Or hormone misery? Do dogs have hormones? I don't know....

We were already going to the vet Saturday so that may shed some more light on things!