Just for interests sake, the Audio books I narrated 3 years ago have been downloaded as follows,
Penrod, By Booth Tarkington 6,152
Penrod and Sam By Booth Tarkington 3,759
Seventeen By Booth Tarkington 9,575
The Turmoil, (About ten chapters) By Booth Tarkington 3,104
The Clicking of Cuthbert By PG Wodehouse (2 Chapters) 64,435
Links to these are on the left column of the Blog....if one is interested They are free to download.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
And then we drove to Seattle
Sorry, it has been a week since I posted, or more. After we went to the Grand Canyon and the Meteorite crater, we drove down to Phoenix to go to church on Sunday. It was good to hear Pastor Iehl preach again. We took off a few minutes too early, as I found out later he was looking for me to go out to lunch. That is a pity, but he did disappear right after the service and I figured he had some important church business to attend to. When he introduced the visitors in the service he said I was one of the few people who could verify that he once had been thinner and had hair. The funny thing is I always thought he did have hair, so I went up to him during handshaking, and said he still had the same amount of hair, it was just....a different color now. As for the thinner part, it appears middle age spread falls on both the just and the unjust. He preached on the importance of being part of a local church. It was good to hear someone preach the truth of No Women Pastors and not apologise for it.
From Phoenix we drove to Las Vegas, stopping at Hoover Dam and walking out on the bypass bridge that was completed in 2010. It is approximately 900 feet over the Colorado River. Looking down gives you a tummy turn, but I have always loved high places with views.
If you look at the picture of the bridge above right, you can see a little sliver of the Colorado River...just in the lower right corner there is a black swatch. 900 feet down.
Hoover Dam is always impressive, when you consider the fact that it was built 80 years ago, with enough concrete to build a highway to New York from Los Angeles, with men hanging from ropes off the walls of Black Canyon with jack hammers smoothing out the canyon walls....Dangerous Much?
From there it was on to Las Vegas. We visited a couple of friends of my dad from when he worked at King County. He won some money at Blackjack and I lost a little on the slot machines. I am glad I don't gamble often, because it is kind of fun, and I can see how people could get addicted to it. Helen London and Lon Penton were his friends. Helen is a spry 88 years old who drives around in an enormous Chrysler Pacifica. We went to dinner at a Casino Buffet called Paseo Verde (Green Valley). Now the buffet was almost as impressive as Hoover Dam, if not quite as big. There was an Asian section, Mexican section, a salad bar, Carvery (roasts), a dessert bar that I didn't even approach, and an Italian Bar with more pizza than even Pizza Huts old lunch all you can eat deal had. I DID NOT leave the resaurant feeling like I would never eat again. I am kind of proud of myself, as I can be pretty rough on roast beef sometimes. I mean, I can eat a lot of it. Coz it's yummy. And theirs was prime rib I think. So I moderated.
We stayed for two nights in the Pyramid of the Luxor Hotel. It was the least expensive place we stayed. Of course all the Best Western Motels included a hot breakfast in the price of admission. Luxor didn't, but the Pyramid Cafe was very reasonably priced.
We ventured to another section of Vegas coz I wanted to look at some Pawnshops for some specific items. Once you get off the strip, it is no longer a pretty place. Just a dirty and fairly seedy desert town. In fact if it wasn't for gambling, I don't think it would even be there.
After Las Vegas, it was two twelve hour driving days to get back to my dad's place in Seattle. We stopped in Portland to visit my Iraq war veteran nephew Joel Gordon Moyer, of whom I am extremely proud, and who is now a student at Portland State University. That was pretty whirlwind, and we were back on the road to Seattle, where we arrived at about 8 pm. Molly was waiting for us, my sister Sara having dropped her off a couple hours earlier. (Molly is a ten year old Black Lab, who has grey hair around her muzzle now. She is the sweetest dog ever, after Jeeves, my Lab Border Collie cross who died in 2002) She barked at me. But I guess that is understandable when you only pop up once every four years. She has warmed up to me now and is now scratching at the door of the room I am in to get in.
I suppose that is enough for now. Hope all is well with all who read this. God Bless.
Jonathan
From Phoenix we drove to Las Vegas, stopping at Hoover Dam and walking out on the bypass bridge that was completed in 2010. It is approximately 900 feet over the Colorado River. Looking down gives you a tummy turn, but I have always loved high places with views.If you look at the picture of the bridge above right, you can see a little sliver of the Colorado River...just in the lower right corner there is a black swatch. 900 feet down.
Hoover Dam is always impressive, when you consider the fact that it was built 80 years ago, with enough concrete to build a highway to New York from Los Angeles, with men hanging from ropes off the walls of Black Canyon with jack hammers smoothing out the canyon walls....Dangerous Much?
From there it was on to Las Vegas. We visited a couple of friends of my dad from when he worked at King County. He won some money at Blackjack and I lost a little on the slot machines. I am glad I don't gamble often, because it is kind of fun, and I can see how people could get addicted to it. Helen London and Lon Penton were his friends. Helen is a spry 88 years old who drives around in an enormous Chrysler Pacifica. We went to dinner at a Casino Buffet called Paseo Verde (Green Valley). Now the buffet was almost as impressive as Hoover Dam, if not quite as big. There was an Asian section, Mexican section, a salad bar, Carvery (roasts), a dessert bar that I didn't even approach, and an Italian Bar with more pizza than even Pizza Huts old lunch all you can eat deal had. I DID NOT leave the resaurant feeling like I would never eat again. I am kind of proud of myself, as I can be pretty rough on roast beef sometimes. I mean, I can eat a lot of it. Coz it's yummy. And theirs was prime rib I think. So I moderated.
We stayed for two nights in the Pyramid of the Luxor Hotel. It was the least expensive place we stayed. Of course all the Best Western Motels included a hot breakfast in the price of admission. Luxor didn't, but the Pyramid Cafe was very reasonably priced.
We ventured to another section of Vegas coz I wanted to look at some Pawnshops for some specific items. Once you get off the strip, it is no longer a pretty place. Just a dirty and fairly seedy desert town. In fact if it wasn't for gambling, I don't think it would even be there.
After Las Vegas, it was two twelve hour driving days to get back to my dad's place in Seattle. We stopped in Portland to visit my Iraq war veteran nephew Joel Gordon Moyer, of whom I am extremely proud, and who is now a student at Portland State University. That was pretty whirlwind, and we were back on the road to Seattle, where we arrived at about 8 pm. Molly was waiting for us, my sister Sara having dropped her off a couple hours earlier. (Molly is a ten year old Black Lab, who has grey hair around her muzzle now. She is the sweetest dog ever, after Jeeves, my Lab Border Collie cross who died in 2002) She barked at me. But I guess that is understandable when you only pop up once every four years. She has warmed up to me now and is now scratching at the door of the room I am in to get in.
I suppose that is enough for now. Hope all is well with all who read this. God Bless.
Jonathan
Sunday, 6 January 2013
The Grand Canyon
What does one say about the Canyon that is Grand? A camera is so inadequate to capture the awesome beauty that God has provided for humanity in the north of Arizona. We drove to the main visitor centre, and walked straight out to Mather point, which is everyone's traditional first look at the canyon. So what if I have been there three times before? It is still mind blowing and....breathtaking.
We then caught a shuttle bus that travels from viewpoint to viewpoint, allowing you to see things from different perspectives. At the Yavapai viewpoint, there is a geological museum. Completely disregarding the millions of years rubbish, I noticed that the names of the rock formations have been changed from when I was here in 1978. Back then they were named things like Angel's Landing, God's throne, etc. Now they are Isis' Temple, Buddha's temple, Cheop's pyramid. God has been banished from his own creation.
Oh well, it doesn't take away from the beauty. It is just disappointing.
So we went back to the car and drove 7 miles west to a place called Hermit's rest, where it turned out that God had not been completely banished. This plaque was mounted on a rock there.
Again, a camera was inadequate, but I took a few (dozen) photos anyway.
While wating for the shuttle bus, a resident of the park came by.
I never tire of astronomical viewing. This is the moon at about 11 AM over the canyon.
A lone Scrub Pine on an outcropping at Mather Point.
The Indian Watchtower.
From Hermit's Rest we drove back to the main centre, and then south to a place called Desert View, where there is a very old looking watchtower built. It was built by one of the native American tribes of the area, and affords views all the way back to the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, and well north and east towards Lee's Ferry, the start of the Grand Canyon and the Little Colorado Gorge. Of course you can see the Grand Canyon better.
From there we headed south to Flagstaff, where we had lunch at Arby's. I didn't frequent Arby's much as a kid. I think that might have been the fourth time in my life I have been to one. It was okay as fast food goes. Better than Maccas or Hungry Jack's (Burger King). I am looking forward to cooking something when I get back to Seattle with my dad.
East on I-40 from Flagstaff is the result of a collision of two of God's creations. One is the earth, and the other was a 150 tonne meteorite that left a 4000 foot diameter, 570 foot deep crater in the earth. Again, it was an awesome site, but the best photos to be had of that are for sale in the gift shop. I took some photos, but they were inadequate.
This was from the internet....credit to (http://maravilhas-naturais.webnode.pt/english/usa/meteor-crater-arizona/)
The photo below is from my camera. That is as much as I could get in one shot. I will try to stitch a few shots together when I get back to Perth.
From there it was back to Flagstaff and then
south to Phoenix, where I am now, ready to head for church at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Greg Iehl, the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in England where I attended from 86 to 90, is now pastoring. Haven't seen them since 1992, so really looking forward to that.
More tonight or tomorrow perhaps.
God Bless,
Jonathan
We then caught a shuttle bus that travels from viewpoint to viewpoint, allowing you to see things from different perspectives. At the Yavapai viewpoint, there is a geological museum. Completely disregarding the millions of years rubbish, I noticed that the names of the rock formations have been changed from when I was here in 1978. Back then they were named things like Angel's Landing, God's throne, etc. Now they are Isis' Temple, Buddha's temple, Cheop's pyramid. God has been banished from his own creation.
Oh well, it doesn't take away from the beauty. It is just disappointing.So we went back to the car and drove 7 miles west to a place called Hermit's rest, where it turned out that God had not been completely banished. This plaque was mounted on a rock there.
Again, a camera was inadequate, but I took a few (dozen) photos anyway.
While wating for the shuttle bus, a resident of the park came by.I never tire of astronomical viewing. This is the moon at about 11 AM over the canyon.
From Hermit's Rest we drove back to the main centre, and then south to a place called Desert View, where there is a very old looking watchtower built. It was built by one of the native American tribes of the area, and affords views all the way back to the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, and well north and east towards Lee's Ferry, the start of the Grand Canyon and the Little Colorado Gorge. Of course you can see the Grand Canyon better.
From there we headed south to Flagstaff, where we had lunch at Arby's. I didn't frequent Arby's much as a kid. I think that might have been the fourth time in my life I have been to one. It was okay as fast food goes. Better than Maccas or Hungry Jack's (Burger King). I am looking forward to cooking something when I get back to Seattle with my dad.
East on I-40 from Flagstaff is the result of a collision of two of God's creations. One is the earth, and the other was a 150 tonne meteorite that left a 4000 foot diameter, 570 foot deep crater in the earth. Again, it was an awesome site, but the best photos to be had of that are for sale in the gift shop. I took some photos, but they were inadequate.
The photo below is from my camera. That is as much as I could get in one shot. I will try to stitch a few shots together when I get back to Perth.
From there it was back to Flagstaff and then
south to Phoenix, where I am now, ready to head for church at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Greg Iehl, the pastor of Faith Baptist Church in England where I attended from 86 to 90, is now pastoring. Haven't seen them since 1992, so really looking forward to that.
More tonight or tomorrow perhaps.
God Bless,
Jonathan
Getting our kicks on Route 66
Friday Morning, the 5th of January, we awoke in Barstow to the tuneful whistling of freight trains as they headed east and west on the tracks opposite the motel we were in. I slept like a baby, awaking at 12, 2, and 4 am. I wasn't crying and wanting to be fed though so I guess it was okay. It was -11 C.
We headed east on I-40 to Ludlow, California, where we exited and joined old Route 66. we spent the majority of the day on the old highway. There are dozens of abandoned businesses along the mother road, overgrown with weeds and covered with rust, grafitti and boarded up doors and windows.
We crossed the border into Arizona at Needles, California, and headed up into the hills to an old mining town called Oatman. When the gold mines tapped out, the prospectors released their burros into the wild and they have survived. Now Oatman is a thriving tourist town based around the wild burros that have descended from the beasts of burden released by prospectors long forgotten. They come right down into town and you can feed them carrots or cubes of hay. It's pretty quaint and it keeps the locals in business. There were probably 150 to 200 visitors there, and the lady at the Popcorn stand where we got our feedbags says there are 13 burros that come into town, and hundreds live wild in the hills, foraging for their food.
From there we headed further into the hills, up a steep, winding grade with plenty of blind switchbacks and sheer drops to a pass that was literally a crack in the hillside and then down the other side with seemingly steeper hills and more switchbacks and sheer drops.
This section of route 66 was realigned in 1953, with a longer but MUCH safer route connecting Needles and Kingman, which is where we next found ourselves.
From Kingman we headed east on Rt 66 to Williams, Arizona, which is the gateway to the Grand Canyon. I tried to do a couple of geocaches, but it was getting dark, and I was only able to find Old Route 66, in the general store belonging to John. He was just closing up, but allowed me to sign the log and drop a couple of travel bugs that I picked up in Western Australia.
So we arrived in Williams at around 8 pm, and there was snow on the grass and in the forests, but the streets were bare and dry. and it was COLD.
We headed east on I-40 to Ludlow, California, where we exited and joined old Route 66. we spent the majority of the day on the old highway. There are dozens of abandoned businesses along the mother road, overgrown with weeds and covered with rust, grafitti and boarded up doors and windows.
We crossed the border into Arizona at Needles, California, and headed up into the hills to an old mining town called Oatman. When the gold mines tapped out, the prospectors released their burros into the wild and they have survived. Now Oatman is a thriving tourist town based around the wild burros that have descended from the beasts of burden released by prospectors long forgotten. They come right down into town and you can feed them carrots or cubes of hay. It's pretty quaint and it keeps the locals in business. There were probably 150 to 200 visitors there, and the lady at the Popcorn stand where we got our feedbags says there are 13 burros that come into town, and hundreds live wild in the hills, foraging for their food.
From there we headed further into the hills, up a steep, winding grade with plenty of blind switchbacks and sheer drops to a pass that was literally a crack in the hillside and then down the other side with seemingly steeper hills and more switchbacks and sheer drops.
This section of route 66 was realigned in 1953, with a longer but MUCH safer route connecting Needles and Kingman, which is where we next found ourselves.
From Kingman we headed east on Rt 66 to Williams, Arizona, which is the gateway to the Grand Canyon. I tried to do a couple of geocaches, but it was getting dark, and I was only able to find Old Route 66, in the general store belonging to John. He was just closing up, but allowed me to sign the log and drop a couple of travel bugs that I picked up in Western Australia.
So we arrived in Williams at around 8 pm, and there was snow on the grass and in the forests, but the streets were bare and dry. and it was COLD.
Friday, 4 January 2013
Class of 1984 reunion...on a smallish scale
So tonight finds my dad and me in Barstow, California. We are staying in a motel on Route 66. Of course it isn't called that anymore, but it is the old Mother Road of Cars, Get your kicks, and Route 66 fame.
It has been a day of firsts for me. I ate my first ever In N Out burger today. It is streets ahead of anything McDonald's or Hungry Jack's puts out. And today is the first time I am aware of having driven on Route 66. (Whee!)
Tonight I had dinner with two old friends from High School, Craig Nystrom and Rick Efting. We had lots of laughs and reminiscing of good times and bad times at school. I haven't seen Rick since 1992 and Craig since 1984. It seemed like after a few minutes of warming up the conversation that we were just like old times, only with the 'wisdom' that comes from marriage, parenthood, and growing up to make us see things from a totally different Paradigm. We must have sat at the restaurant for three hours. We even had to sing happy birthday to Amber at a nearby table. Then we discovered that one of the other girls at the table had been Rick's student not too many years ago. Small world.
Short post tonight. Very tired and thinking I might get a good nights sleep tonight. More to come.
God Bless,
Jonathan
Left to right...Rick, Jonathan, Craig.
It has been a day of firsts for me. I ate my first ever In N Out burger today. It is streets ahead of anything McDonald's or Hungry Jack's puts out. And today is the first time I am aware of having driven on Route 66. (Whee!)
Tonight I had dinner with two old friends from High School, Craig Nystrom and Rick Efting. We had lots of laughs and reminiscing of good times and bad times at school. I haven't seen Rick since 1992 and Craig since 1984. It seemed like after a few minutes of warming up the conversation that we were just like old times, only with the 'wisdom' that comes from marriage, parenthood, and growing up to make us see things from a totally different Paradigm. We must have sat at the restaurant for three hours. We even had to sing happy birthday to Amber at a nearby table. Then we discovered that one of the other girls at the table had been Rick's student not too many years ago. Small world.
Short post tonight. Very tired and thinking I might get a good nights sleep tonight. More to come.
God Bless,
Jonathan
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Arrived in San Francisco safely. Met my dad and my cousin Tom and his wife Pam and headed downtown to Pier 39 for lunch. Had Clam chowder in a bowl made from a big sourdough bread roll for lunch. To be honest, I think I could make better chowder at home, and the bread was not super fresh. It was nice to see Tom and Pam again.
If possible, Tom is a more obssesive Geocacher than I am. After lunch we wandered down the waterfront to find a cache there. Tom eventually located it, because he was just a little more tenacious at sticking his head into shrubbery in front of hundreds of people walking around than I was, but I did log my first find in the USA.
Then we said our goodbyes and headed back to the motel in South San Francisco. There it was on the side of the freeway. Missed the exit. Drove to the next exit, circulated through the airport again, back on US 101 north, missed the exit again. Took San Bruno exit. Headed west towards somewhere on I-380, took El Camino Real, turned the wrong way. Went around the block, back onto 101, and...................nearly missed the exit because even with his indicator on no one seemed to want to let my dad in. But we made it and checked in.
The flight from Dubai. We took off from this massive mecca of human indulgence and flew straight north. After crossing the Persian Gulf we made landfall at Bandar Abbass and flew straight North over Iran, Turkmenistan, the Aral Sea, Uzbekhistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. I fell asleep just about the time we hit the Aral Sea.
Iran. I wonder if there is a correlation between the physical geography of this place and the hearts of the people that live there? I honestly don't think I have seen a less inviting terrain anywhere - even the red centre of Australia has colour. Iran is just brown. I didn't see a single patch of green. Not one. I know desolation has beauty in its own right, but this was...well take a look at the photo above.
When I woke again it was dark as we were well into the Arctic circle. In my previous post I mentioned daylight all the way, well I forgot about the permanent night over the north pole during winter. By the time it got light again, we were well into Canada, and there was snow.
In fact the snow was unbroken until well into California. I saw the San Andreas fault, which is quite obvious from the air. And then like magic, the terrain was green again.
This is me on final approach to San Francisco. I thought this was a pretty cool photo.
God Bless,
Jonathan
If possible, Tom is a more obssesive Geocacher than I am. After lunch we wandered down the waterfront to find a cache there. Tom eventually located it, because he was just a little more tenacious at sticking his head into shrubbery in front of hundreds of people walking around than I was, but I did log my first find in the USA.
Then we said our goodbyes and headed back to the motel in South San Francisco. There it was on the side of the freeway. Missed the exit. Drove to the next exit, circulated through the airport again, back on US 101 north, missed the exit again. Took San Bruno exit. Headed west towards somewhere on I-380, took El Camino Real, turned the wrong way. Went around the block, back onto 101, and...................nearly missed the exit because even with his indicator on no one seemed to want to let my dad in. But we made it and checked in.
The flight from Dubai. We took off from this massive mecca of human indulgence and flew straight north. After crossing the Persian Gulf we made landfall at Bandar Abbass and flew straight North over Iran, Turkmenistan, the Aral Sea, Uzbekhistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. I fell asleep just about the time we hit the Aral Sea.
In fact the snow was unbroken until well into California. I saw the San Andreas fault, which is quite obvious from the air. And then like magic, the terrain was green again.
This is me on final approach to San Francisco. I thought this was a pretty cool photo.
God Bless,
Jonathan
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Road Tripping...
On January 1 I am flying to the USA to spend two weeks with my dad. I am looking forward to this greatly because it will involve several firsts for me.
First I am flying Emirates. So I have layovers in Dubai. On my way to the states it is short but coming back I have time to go visit the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Secondly I am looking forward to eating at In 'n Out Burger for the first time ever.
Dad is meeting me in San Francisco and we are doing a road trip into Arizona. Ever since the movie "Cars" came along, I have had a fascination with all things Route 66. I have looked a thousands of Google images, read forums, and pored over maps of the Mother Road. We are going to drive the section of the route that remains in Arizona, and see some of the remnants of the old places along there.
We went to the Grand Canyon two times as a family when I was a kid. Both times were in late Summer and it was difficult to enjoy in the blazing heat. I have always wanted to visit there in Winter. So we are. It will be interesting to see the different ways the colours will be affected by the winter weather.
After that it is down to Phoenix, to visit some members of my mother's family, and to visit the church where Greg Iehl, my salvation pastor in England, is Pastoring. Really looking forward to that.
I really wanted to avoid Las Vegas. Of all the places I have ever been, it is the only place I can honestly say I hated. But that was 1992, and by all accounts they have cleaned thigs up. But my dad has an old work colleague tht lives there, so we will go visit them. I might hire a Harley Davidson for a day and do a desert ride, or we might take a Grand Canyon heicopter ride. After that it is back to Seattle for a week of visiting sisters, nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews, and a few old frends from school.
First I am flying Emirates. So I have layovers in Dubai. On my way to the states it is short but coming back I have time to go visit the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Secondly I am looking forward to eating at In 'n Out Burger for the first time ever.
Dad is meeting me in San Francisco and we are doing a road trip into Arizona. Ever since the movie "Cars" came along, I have had a fascination with all things Route 66. I have looked a thousands of Google images, read forums, and pored over maps of the Mother Road. We are going to drive the section of the route that remains in Arizona, and see some of the remnants of the old places along there.
We went to the Grand Canyon two times as a family when I was a kid. Both times were in late Summer and it was difficult to enjoy in the blazing heat. I have always wanted to visit there in Winter. So we are. It will be interesting to see the different ways the colours will be affected by the winter weather.
After that it is down to Phoenix, to visit some members of my mother's family, and to visit the church where Greg Iehl, my salvation pastor in England, is Pastoring. Really looking forward to that.
I really wanted to avoid Las Vegas. Of all the places I have ever been, it is the only place I can honestly say I hated. But that was 1992, and by all accounts they have cleaned thigs up. But my dad has an old work colleague tht lives there, so we will go visit them. I might hire a Harley Davidson for a day and do a desert ride, or we might take a Grand Canyon heicopter ride. After that it is back to Seattle for a week of visiting sisters, nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews, and a few old frends from school.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
If Salvation is a gift, why do so many people works so hard to keep it?
I have a friend whose church teaches that one can lose ones salvation. He qualifies the belief by saying that one would only 'lose' their salvation if the sin they committed was deliberate and habitual. Firstly, every sin is deliberate. We don't sin by accident. Further, being born sinners sin by our very nature is habitual. They go further to call it backsliding. That is where, say, a person gets saved, goes to church, becomes involved and active in the church, suddenly decides that this isn't the way they want to go, and leaves it all behind. My question is, why would anyone who had received Jesus want to do that? I mean, we have just received eternal life, been rescued from the maw of hell, and promised a home in heaven eternally. You would be mad if you threw that away. But according to the Bible, at least the way it speaks to me, one can't throw it away once one has received it. First of all, it is a passive receiving. In Ephesians, in the whole armour of God passage, all the 'takes' are active verbs, ie take the sword of the spirit, the shield of faith, the shoes of the gospel of peace, etc, EXCEPT for the one where it says "take the helmet of salvation". That is a passive verb. In other words the helmet of Salvation is placed upon the head of the one who receives it.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the Wages of Sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is a gift. When I was a kid, and I got a birthday gift or a Christmas gift, these were not gifts I picked out. These were gifts that were given to me. Free. And do yo know, my parents never came to me and said, you know, you don't deserve that gift anymore, I am taking it back to the store. (There was the one time where I was given a really nice Tonka VW Beetle for Christmas, and I smashed the roof in with a rock, and then told my mom it had been in a bad accident...that time I lost all my trucks and cars for a month I think) But what kind of father would take away a gift he had given his child. Furthermore, no matter what I say or do, I will always be the child of my parents. There is nothing I can do to change that. With God, not only are we Born Again (John 3:3) into His Family, we are also adopted as his heir (Galatians 4:4-8). So not only were we born, making us family by blood, but we were adopted. When a family fosters a child, they are looking after that child, meeting his needs practically, but when he comes of age, he goes out and is not part of that family. A family who adopts a child, however, has stated that not only do they wish to meet that child's needs practically, they want to make him one of their own, to meet his needs emotionally as well. So how can that be undone.
When Jesus met the woman at the well, he told her that "...He who drinks of the water I shall give him shall never thirst..." (John 4:14) To me, never means never. No matter what I do.
In another place Jesus says,
Romans 6:23 says, "For the Wages of Sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is a gift. When I was a kid, and I got a birthday gift or a Christmas gift, these were not gifts I picked out. These were gifts that were given to me. Free. And do yo know, my parents never came to me and said, you know, you don't deserve that gift anymore, I am taking it back to the store. (There was the one time where I was given a really nice Tonka VW Beetle for Christmas, and I smashed the roof in with a rock, and then told my mom it had been in a bad accident...that time I lost all my trucks and cars for a month I think) But what kind of father would take away a gift he had given his child. Furthermore, no matter what I say or do, I will always be the child of my parents. There is nothing I can do to change that. With God, not only are we Born Again (John 3:3) into His Family, we are also adopted as his heir (Galatians 4:4-8). So not only were we born, making us family by blood, but we were adopted. When a family fosters a child, they are looking after that child, meeting his needs practically, but when he comes of age, he goes out and is not part of that family. A family who adopts a child, however, has stated that not only do they wish to meet that child's needs practically, they want to make him one of their own, to meet his needs emotionally as well. So how can that be undone.
When Jesus met the woman at the well, he told her that "...He who drinks of the water I shall give him shall never thirst..." (John 4:14) To me, never means never. No matter what I do.
In another place Jesus says,
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. John 10:27-29
No man, means NO MAN, (Not even myself)
So what about backsliders? Good question. I went through a crisis of Faith for ten years from 1999 until 2009, when my mother died. There were many reasons for it, which I won't go into here, but at no time did I ever stop believing in Jesus. I knew when, where and how I had gotten saved, and I knew that this malaise I was going through was not permanent. It was my mother's death in February of 2009 that jerked me back onto the road. I felt perfect peace in my heart even as I sat there and held my dad's hand as she took her last breaths. She was gone, but I KNEW right then and there that she was in the presence of Jesus. So being backslidden, to me means that we stopped or strayed from the path He has us walking. But HE is always right there, and as soon as we turn our eyes on him and repent, bang, he forgives us. When the prodigal son returned to his home, and asked to be a servant, did his father say, "No you left me and your brother (and presumably his mother) and went and did what you wanted, and no way am I letting you back in this family."? No. He saw him from far away, and ran to him. This is of course a picture of Jesus waiting for his straying child. The lamb who strays still belongs to the flock.
I come to the conclusion that God is more powerful than me. If I am in His hands, how on earth can I get away? If I am His child, is He going to deny me? As He IS my Father, why would I ever deny Him? I would never tell someone that I don't know Wallace Gene Burchard. No way. That is my dad. My Daddy when I was little. And When in Galatians God says we cry "Abba Father" the meaning is the same. God wants to be that loving Daddy to us. Why on earth would he ever take that away from us. To my friends out there toiling to please Him and keep their salvation, take heart. He has given you a gift. HE isn't going to take it away, and you don't have the power to throw it away. So stop working to placate God, (because Jesus already did that once for all) and work because you LOVE HIM.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Something that really Bugs me
In this day and age when everyone is supposed to be "going green", there is a tred taking place in the retail area that is really disturbing to me. It is packaging and labelling. Yesterday I bought clothes. I bought 8 items of clothing and removed a total of 14 tags from them. Whenever we buy an item of small to medium size, it is packed in plastic (usually heat sealed Polyethylene) which will still be around for the next new millennium. I was thinking about the clothes though. If each item has an average of 1.4 tags on it, and a billion people buy an article of clothing every day, (random number, no statistical backup on that) that is that many pieces of cardboard that gets thrown in the trash. Hopefully people use their recycle bins. When I think of how much trash we generate as a family in a week, I feel okay, as we recycle a lot of things. But manufacturers of consumables should really work on cutting down on the packaging they use. The other day I opened a Little-est Pet Shop toy my daughter was given as a 'hope you feel better' gift after breaking her arm. It was in a cardboard box (1) sandwiched between two molded polyethylene sheets, (2 and 3) with another pet sheet wrapping each individual toy (4, 5 and 6) each one of them was tied to the cardboard box by two of those plastic twisty things that bread bags used to be closed with. (7,8,9,10, 11 and 12) So in a box 3 inches square by in inch thick there were 3 toys and 12 pieces of packaging. I don't think this is evil or insidious, but it is unnecessary and a waste of resources. It may not seem like much when looked at by itself, but imagine the millions of identical packages in toy stores all over the world....the mind boggles.
The thing is, we CAN do something about it. Go to the websites of the manufacturers of things you buy that you notice have excessive packaging. Every company has a feedback function on their site, or should. I once read that one letter received equates to 20 thought of but not sent, and companies do pay attention to that.
So let's get on them.
The thing is, we CAN do something about it. Go to the websites of the manufacturers of things you buy that you notice have excessive packaging. Every company has a feedback function on their site, or should. I once read that one letter received equates to 20 thought of but not sent, and companies do pay attention to that.
So let's get on them.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Feedback from Audio books!
I am going to a bit of self-back patting here...actually I am not, but I am going to tell everyone what someone else said about me...
CLICK!
I read this and nearly cried it was so nice.
I have many new blogs stewing in my head, and I will soon be posting them.
Take Care everyone.
CLICK!
I read this and nearly cried it was so nice.
I have many new blogs stewing in my head, and I will soon be posting them.
Take Care everyone.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
My Tribute To Fifi
If someone asked me what person in my life I remember first outside of my parents and sisters, and other extended family members, I would say that it was Fifi - Phyllis Pederson. If we had been Catholics, the Pederson's would have been our god-parents. I spoke to FiFi recently, after I got a letter from her with a few rememberances of my mother. Fifi was undergoing chemo at the time my mom died, and was unable to participate in her memorial activities. So I called her on skype from work that night, and we had a long talk and a bit of a cry. It was wonderful to catch up with her.
Like I said before, some of my earliest memories include Fifi and her family. It was Fifi with whom I stayed when my parents flew to Phoenix for the funeral of my great-grandfather. It was Fifi with whom my sister stayed one year when she didn't go on choir tour. Incidentally, it was Fifi's son Matt with whom Ruth's only known incidence of streaking took place.
I remember one time there was a spook house in the Pederson's Basement. I don't remember much about it, but I remember someone pulling on a light cord, or a clothesline attached to a light cord (the old kind that you pulled the string to turn on the light). I think that was Marilyn. I know that the Gatewood youth group
went there often for Afterglow or Singspiration after evening service. I recall Fifi's home always being a welcoming place, full of smells of baking and cooking. It was there, thanks to Matt, that I was introduced to the joys of a Peanut Butter Milkshake. Still have one now and then. Except I add chocolate to them now and call it a Reece's Milkshake.
Fifi told me in our last conversation that she counted my mom as her best friend ever outside of her family. What an honor! And she and my mom used to do much together. They sewed clothes for their families, the taught Eager Beavers together, I think it was Phyllis who taught my mom to can the dozens of jars of blueberries that then sat in our basement for years untouched...LOL. I think the joy was well and truly in the doing of it. I am guessing here, because the advent calendar, tree skirt and stockings are older than I am, but for years I always marveled that theirs were the same style as ours, but it occurs to one that they probably made them together. Fifi told us in a letter that one year when there was a lot of snow, mom pulled Sara and Ruth to her house on a sled. Now that involved going down Holden Street Hill, across Delridge Way and back up to get to the Pederson's home on. Now that is friendship.
Now Fifi and my mom are together again. I often wonder what heaven will be like as far as our relationships on earth are concerned. It has occurred to me that once we get there, we won't remember anything about here, because remembering earth would necessarily involve sad memories. But once we get there, will we remember the people who have gone before us? Will they remember and recognize us? or will be so rapt in the person and presence of Jesus Christ that all else will fade into insignificance? I tend to think that it is more towards that than anything else. Gods' word tells us very little about heaven. What little it tells boggles the mind though.
As the years go by, more and more of the people who were influential in my life are there. It will be good to get there, and I believe that all who believe in Jesus will be caught up together soon. God haste the day.
Like I said before, some of my earliest memories include Fifi and her family. It was Fifi with whom I stayed when my parents flew to Phoenix for the funeral of my great-grandfather. It was Fifi with whom my sister stayed one year when she didn't go on choir tour. Incidentally, it was Fifi's son Matt with whom Ruth's only known incidence of streaking took place.
I remember one time there was a spook house in the Pederson's Basement. I don't remember much about it, but I remember someone pulling on a light cord, or a clothesline attached to a light cord (the old kind that you pulled the string to turn on the light). I think that was Marilyn. I know that the Gatewood youth group
went there often for Afterglow or Singspiration after evening service. I recall Fifi's home always being a welcoming place, full of smells of baking and cooking. It was there, thanks to Matt, that I was introduced to the joys of a Peanut Butter Milkshake. Still have one now and then. Except I add chocolate to them now and call it a Reece's Milkshake.
Fifi told me in our last conversation that she counted my mom as her best friend ever outside of her family. What an honor! And she and my mom used to do much together. They sewed clothes for their families, the taught Eager Beavers together, I think it was Phyllis who taught my mom to can the dozens of jars of blueberries that then sat in our basement for years untouched...LOL. I think the joy was well and truly in the doing of it. I am guessing here, because the advent calendar, tree skirt and stockings are older than I am, but for years I always marveled that theirs were the same style as ours, but it occurs to one that they probably made them together. Fifi told us in a letter that one year when there was a lot of snow, mom pulled Sara and Ruth to her house on a sled. Now that involved going down Holden Street Hill, across Delridge Way and back up to get to the Pederson's home on. Now that is friendship.
Now Fifi and my mom are together again. I often wonder what heaven will be like as far as our relationships on earth are concerned. It has occurred to me that once we get there, we won't remember anything about here, because remembering earth would necessarily involve sad memories. But once we get there, will we remember the people who have gone before us? Will they remember and recognize us? or will be so rapt in the person and presence of Jesus Christ that all else will fade into insignificance? I tend to think that it is more towards that than anything else. Gods' word tells us very little about heaven. What little it tells boggles the mind though.
As the years go by, more and more of the people who were influential in my life are there. It will be good to get there, and I believe that all who believe in Jesus will be caught up together soon. God haste the day.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Classical Music
I have loved Classical music for many years. When I was a small boy, my parents bought a set of records from Reader's Digest that had 10 albums in it, each one from a differnet country, highlighting major composers from each of those nations. The countries included England, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Scandinavia, Italy and several others. This was my introduction to classical music. At this time, although I do not own an LP player, I still have that set of Records.
There are literally thousands of classical music pieces to choose from out there, and they vary in quality, listenability (?), and memorability. There are some composers that whilst I wouldn't cross the street to listen to, others find them to be the most divine music ever. An example is Mahler. My Father-in-law loves Mahler...I on the other hand am less than impressed. I like to compare classical pieces to professional athletes. (Huh?) Well, it's like this...there are say, 384 active players in the NBA and, at the moment, there are no Michael Jordans playing. There is the PGA tour, and then there is Tiger Woods (still a great player in spite of his recent trouble). There is the NHL, and there was Wayne Gretsky. You get the idea...I think. There are thousands of classical music pieces out there, and yet every now and then, I come across a movement of music that just stands out above the rest.
My list of favourite movements, in no particular order, goes something like this.
Rodrigo, Concierto Andaluz for 4 guitars, First movement.
Beethoven Symphony Number 8, second movement.
Mozart, Symphony Number 39 in E flat major Third Movement: Menuetto. Allegretto
Chopin Piano Concerto # 1 3rd Movement
Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major, Third movement
Handel Pastoral Symphony, from Messiah
Tchaikovsky Spanish Dance from Swan Lake
Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Peer Gynt
Grieg Morning Mood also from Peer Gynt
Mozart, Die Zauberflote: Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön,
and Der Vogelfangher
Mozart (Again) Le Nozze de Figaro, Sull'Aria, as heard in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemtion"
That is also one of my most goose pimply producing movie moments also....
Many people say they hate clssical music. I think it is a question of acclimatisation. Recently a woman who had lost a good deal of weight told me that her nutritionist told her to eat an apple every day. She said "But I hate apples" The nutritionist bet her her consultation fee that in 30 days, she wouldn't be able to go without an apple. The nutritionist won. I bet you, if you are a classical music hater, that if you try one small taste of something beautiful every day for a month, you will like it also.
There are literally thousands of classical music pieces to choose from out there, and they vary in quality, listenability (?), and memorability. There are some composers that whilst I wouldn't cross the street to listen to, others find them to be the most divine music ever. An example is Mahler. My Father-in-law loves Mahler...I on the other hand am less than impressed. I like to compare classical pieces to professional athletes. (Huh?) Well, it's like this...there are say, 384 active players in the NBA and, at the moment, there are no Michael Jordans playing. There is the PGA tour, and then there is Tiger Woods (still a great player in spite of his recent trouble). There is the NHL, and there was Wayne Gretsky. You get the idea...I think. There are thousands of classical music pieces out there, and yet every now and then, I come across a movement of music that just stands out above the rest.
My list of favourite movements, in no particular order, goes something like this.
Rodrigo, Concierto Andaluz for 4 guitars, First movement.
Beethoven Symphony Number 8, second movement.
Mozart, Symphony Number 39 in E flat major Third Movement: Menuetto. Allegretto
Chopin Piano Concerto # 1 3rd Movement
Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major, Third movement
Handel Pastoral Symphony, from Messiah
Tchaikovsky Spanish Dance from Swan Lake
Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Peer Gynt
Grieg Morning Mood also from Peer Gynt
Mozart, Die Zauberflote: Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön,
and Der Vogelfangher
Mozart (Again) Le Nozze de Figaro, Sull'Aria, as heard in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemtion"
That is also one of my most goose pimply producing movie moments also....
Many people say they hate clssical music. I think it is a question of acclimatisation. Recently a woman who had lost a good deal of weight told me that her nutritionist told her to eat an apple every day. She said "But I hate apples" The nutritionist bet her her consultation fee that in 30 days, she wouldn't be able to go without an apple. The nutritionist won. I bet you, if you are a classical music hater, that if you try one small taste of something beautiful every day for a month, you will like it also.
Friday, 25 September 2009
Mom's Memorial Service
For anyone who wasn't able to attend, I have uploaded an MP3 recording of the service at Galilee Baptist Church.
I hope it is a blessing to you.
Download Sally Burchard's Memorial Service.m4a from FileFactory.com
I hope it is a blessing to you.
Download Sally Burchard's Memorial Service.m4a from FileFactory.com
Monday, 17 August 2009
New Audio Book Finished
Woo Hoo! I have finally, after a rather unmotivated month, finished my reading of Booth Tarkington's Seventeen: A Tale of Youth, Summer and the Baxter Family, mainly William"
It can be found for download here. It is a very funny book. With a really nice twist in the tail end.
It can be found for download here. It is a very funny book. With a really nice twist in the tail end.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Another Audio book
I said in an earlier post that I would post whenever I finished an audio book or when an audio book project I was involved with was finished. Well another book is done. It is entitled THE TURMOIL, by Booth Tarkington. It is a dramatic work, rather than the humorous ones I have been reading. It is volume one of the Growth Trilogy, which includes The Magnificant Ambersons, which was a movie starring Orson Welles.
To download this book, click here. I read eleven out of thirty two chapters. You can download the entire book as a .zip file by clicking on the link that says as much, right under the introductory paragraph.
To download this book, click here. I read eleven out of thirty two chapters. You can download the entire book as a .zip file by clicking on the link that says as much, right under the introductory paragraph.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Family Trees and Stuff
Just recently I became interested in doing research on my ancestry. Maybe the fact of my Mother's passing away has something to do with this, or it could be another one of those things that I pick up like a pit bull with a bone in its mouth for a few months, and then move on to something else. On my Dad's side, on his father's side, I have traced back 5 generations from me. My Great-Great Grandfather was Hezekiah Burchard. He was a Union Officer in the Civil War, born in New York, and was a farmer in Michigan. His wife was Ellen Eliza Davis Burchard, and they had 5 children. One of them was Glenn, who was the father of Harold Ward, who was my dad's dad, my grandfather. They also had a daughter named Ethylin. I have attached their photos. Something else I have discovered that I didn't know until recently. My grandfather had a brother. (I know that is not a surprise, except when you don't find it out until you are 43) So now I discovered I have a second cousin in Seattle that I have never met. It is a funny thing about families. How can the descendants of 2 brothers become strangers within 2 generations? There was no bad blood between my Grandfather and his brother. My great uncle lived in Alaska. He was, if not a World War 2 hero, very brave. He was in the Army - a Warrant Officer, and he was captain of a ship. (yes you read that correctly) The Army had its own Navy in those days. He was based in the Aleutian Islands, and was on board a launch that got its bottom blown out by a Zero, but no one on board got a scratch. The Japanese actually invaded the Aleutians at one point in the war, so the action up there was probably pretty hot. My dad told me he gave him several war souveniers, including a Japanese Grenade. This is funny. My dad took it to school for show and tell (in the 40s)at Lake City Elementary School. He lost it that day, and then in the 60s they found a grenade in the bushes at the school, and my dad thinks that was probably his. Needless to say, he didn't step up to claim it. Can you imagine someone bringing a grenade to school for show and tell in today's post Columbine High School paranoia? I just have to chuckle.
So it is interesting to check out your family tree. Go for it. You might find out something interesting about yourself.
The Pictures, in order, are Ethylin Burchard Shelton and her father Hezekiah Burchard, and his wife Ellen Eliza Davis Burchard. She looks quite severe. But Ethylin could be classed as a beauty of her day.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Saying Goodbye to Oscar
Oscar went to his new home today. With mixed emotions we packed our lambie up in our car and headed 90 minutes northeast of Perth to the town of Toodyay (locally pronounced toojay). Oscar went to join another lamb named Barbie that was born on the same day as him. Oscar having been so sick was probably about 2/3 the size of Barbie. He will be living on about 11 acres, with some Cockatiels, and three dogs, a German Shepherd named Molly, and two Boxers named Dottie and Sebastian. My daughter was beside herself as we left. It is the first time she has had to say goodbye, maybe forever, to someone that she really loved. Fortunately the prospect of going to Albany, Western Australia for a week starting tomorrow lessened her grief. I'm not joking about her grieving either. Poo and Pee aside, we had become very attached to Oscar, but we know giving him up was right. He needed to be with other sheep - even though he is going to be neutered. Poor Guy. I feel ambivalent about that, because I wanted him to be able to make lots of other lambies. Oh well, he is not ours anymore. So that is the end of our time with Oscar the foster lamb. So what have we learned?
1. Farmers Deserve our respect. The work we put in to making one lamb survive makes me wonder how a bloke can get 5000 to survive.
2. There is a difference between cats and dogs and livestock. They may all be domesticated, but cats and Dogs can be trained to go to the door, whine or meow to go out and do their thing, or even go to the sandbox. Sheep just go. Wherever they happen to be, whenever they feel like it.
3. Most importantly, we discovered why Jesus is portrayed as a lamb. When Oscar was washed and clean, he was truly as white as snow. Oscar never cried out in pain. I was trying to catch him one day, and I made a grab for him and I know that I must have hurt him (not intentionally) but he didn't make a sound. The Bible says that "...as a Sheep before its sheerers is dumb (mute), so He opened not his mouth." The absolute humility of Jesus is truly personified in the person of a lamb.
Will we do it again? Maybe. We know what to expect now. We had no idea when Oscar came home that he would travel right to the point where he was within a day or two of being put to sleep; and then to see him turn around like he did, and just start eating like there was no tomorrow. We shall see. Take Care now.
1. Farmers Deserve our respect. The work we put in to making one lamb survive makes me wonder how a bloke can get 5000 to survive.
2. There is a difference between cats and dogs and livestock. They may all be domesticated, but cats and Dogs can be trained to go to the door, whine or meow to go out and do their thing, or even go to the sandbox. Sheep just go. Wherever they happen to be, whenever they feel like it.
3. Most importantly, we discovered why Jesus is portrayed as a lamb. When Oscar was washed and clean, he was truly as white as snow. Oscar never cried out in pain. I was trying to catch him one day, and I made a grab for him and I know that I must have hurt him (not intentionally) but he didn't make a sound. The Bible says that "...as a Sheep before its sheerers is dumb (mute), so He opened not his mouth." The absolute humility of Jesus is truly personified in the person of a lamb.
Will we do it again? Maybe. We know what to expect now. We had no idea when Oscar came home that he would travel right to the point where he was within a day or two of being put to sleep; and then to see him turn around like he did, and just start eating like there was no tomorrow. We shall see. Take Care now.
Thursday, 23 July 2009
The Mystique of Second Hand Goods
What is it about Garage Sales and Second Hand stores that is so fascinating? I have never actually found a treasure at one. I have heard of guys going to a garage sale and coming away with a mint condition set of Taylor Made Golf Clubs for 25 dollars, because the wife of a recently deceased man didn't know what she had there. But usually, it is nothing like that. Sometimes I think Garage sales are actually travelling shows. They go from house to house and set up with the same junk. Like the commemorative dish of Charles and Diana's visit to Sydney sometime in the 80s. Or spoons...you know the ones with the commemorative picture or something on the handle. Here is a good one. Records....I am talking vinyl here. Thousands. We went to three op shops (what we call second hand stores in Australia) today, looking for a cheapish sewing basket for Becky. I was browsing records. I would say that Tom Jones, Percy Faith, and Mantovani, if they could make a royalty off records given to second hand stores, would make more money than they did the first time around. Do these records breed, perhaps? I am a classical music lover, and I found a set of 10 Reader's Digest records, and a 2 record set of several different composers best known works. Funny, now that I think of it, I don't even own a turntable...at the moment. I am planning on getting one, and conntecting it to Audacity and capturing all my vinyl as MP3s. Then what? An op shop maybe....no. And what is it about Tea and Coffee cups and other glassware that makes people so afraid to throw them away? I mean, I doubt there is more than say, 3 people in the world who are going to walk into a second hand store and say, you know I have been looking far and wide for a set of America's Cup commemorative coffee cups from 1985! Oh look they are here! Somehow, I think not. I mean, have you ever purchased a coffee cup from a garage sale or second hand store? Today I did find a Delonghi Cappachino maker for $12.50. I put it on layby. Meaning we ran out of cash and the store didn't have a debit card machine and it was 3 minutes to 5 and the atm is a kilometre away. So we can go back and get this stuff tomorrow.
Honestly, with kids growing like weeds, the only place where it is worthwhile to get them clothes is the second hand store. That is the one thing that they are good for. One of the ones we went to today DID have some first edition books. But were they Dickens, or Jane Austen or anyone I had ever heard of? Nah. I can't even remember who it was now. But they were first editions, for $50 per book, under glass, right next to the chintzy costume pearls. They do say that one person's trash is another person's treasure, but really you would have to do a lot of digging to unearth a treasure in one of these stores. But still we go there, and we like it. Maybe it's the chance of finding a Reader's Digest condensed book of some famous novel...or maybe it is that decorarive tea towel from Ayer's Rock.
Honestly, with kids growing like weeds, the only place where it is worthwhile to get them clothes is the second hand store. That is the one thing that they are good for. One of the ones we went to today DID have some first edition books. But were they Dickens, or Jane Austen or anyone I had ever heard of? Nah. I can't even remember who it was now. But they were first editions, for $50 per book, under glass, right next to the chintzy costume pearls. They do say that one person's trash is another person's treasure, but really you would have to do a lot of digging to unearth a treasure in one of these stores. But still we go there, and we like it. Maybe it's the chance of finding a Reader's Digest condensed book of some famous novel...or maybe it is that decorarive tea towel from Ayer's Rock.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Oscar isn't everything... Some thoughts on Mark 9 38-40
In case you think my life is made up only of Oscar the lamb, rest assured, it isn't. He is just taking center stage at the moment. I wanted to take a minute to talk about something our Lord said in the Gospel of Mark. But let me give some background first.
I was associated with a group of Baptist Churches here in Australia that were cultish, if not a cult in themselves. There were many problems, and after a while, my eyes were opened and we removed ourselves from them. One of the beliefs they held was that, if one was not Baptised, not just in a baptist church, but an independent baptist church, and some even stretched it further to say not in a BBF church, then one's baptism was not valid. Now I am not going to go deeply into that here. In Mark chapter 9:38-40 we read...
"38: And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39: But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40: For he that is not against us is on our part. "
Pay particular attention to verse 40. "He that is not against us is ON OUR PART."
This calls to mind the work of an advocate, or a lawyer. Someone who is acting "on one's part" is acting in one's best interests. And Jesus certainly knew the heart of the man who the disciples saw casting out devils in His Own Name, being Omniscient and everything. So if Jesus said to his (for instance) Baptist Apostle John (not John the Baptist), don't stop the Calvary Chapel guy over there because he is acting on our part, then what business does an earthly pastor have trying to tell his congregation that theirs is the only right church? There are lots of churches around today that are doing things a little differently than we used to do. Is that wrong? Ritchie Miller, the youth pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida while I was a student at the college there, and now is the founding Pastor of The Avalon Church, in Atlanta, Georgia, told us in class that a church could and should be culturally relevant (I think that was his favourite phrase actually). Today's culture is different from the 90s, the 80s the 70s (praise the Lord for that) and especially different from the 50s and 60s. I am not saying to not preach against the world, the flesh and the Devil, but it has to be done in a way that gets the attention of the people who live today, playing their xboxes, listening to their Ipods and posting their facebook statuses every two seconds. Another church that has done things differently is the Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I haven't been there, but I have read their statement of Faith and it doesn't seem any different to what I believe. Granted, the video church service might not be everybodies cuppa tea, but there is no denying the fact that thousands of people each week are hearing the preaching of God's word at Mars Hill. In possibly one of the strongest bastions of politcal leftism in the country, outside of say, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
So what am I saying? Basically I am saying that all Christians should be more concerned with how they are worshipping our creator, not how other people or churches are doing it. Of course there are false religions. Mormonism, Islam, Seventh Day Adventists...the list is long and Walter Martin has covered most of it already, and I am not advocating alignment with these...and I am not advocating tolerance of sin either. But gluttony and greed are no different than homosexuality and stealing. There are no degrees of sin. There is no sin which is worse than another. And they ALL will be forgiven with just a word to God in repentence.
I was associated with a group of Baptist Churches here in Australia that were cultish, if not a cult in themselves. There were many problems, and after a while, my eyes were opened and we removed ourselves from them. One of the beliefs they held was that, if one was not Baptised, not just in a baptist church, but an independent baptist church, and some even stretched it further to say not in a BBF church, then one's baptism was not valid. Now I am not going to go deeply into that here. In Mark chapter 9:38-40 we read...
"38: And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39: But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40: For he that is not against us is on our part. "
Pay particular attention to verse 40. "He that is not against us is ON OUR PART."
This calls to mind the work of an advocate, or a lawyer. Someone who is acting "on one's part" is acting in one's best interests. And Jesus certainly knew the heart of the man who the disciples saw casting out devils in His Own Name, being Omniscient and everything. So if Jesus said to his (for instance) Baptist Apostle John (not John the Baptist), don't stop the Calvary Chapel guy over there because he is acting on our part, then what business does an earthly pastor have trying to tell his congregation that theirs is the only right church? There are lots of churches around today that are doing things a little differently than we used to do. Is that wrong? Ritchie Miller, the youth pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida while I was a student at the college there, and now is the founding Pastor of The Avalon Church, in Atlanta, Georgia, told us in class that a church could and should be culturally relevant (I think that was his favourite phrase actually). Today's culture is different from the 90s, the 80s the 70s (praise the Lord for that) and especially different from the 50s and 60s. I am not saying to not preach against the world, the flesh and the Devil, but it has to be done in a way that gets the attention of the people who live today, playing their xboxes, listening to their Ipods and posting their facebook statuses every two seconds. Another church that has done things differently is the Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I haven't been there, but I have read their statement of Faith and it doesn't seem any different to what I believe. Granted, the video church service might not be everybodies cuppa tea, but there is no denying the fact that thousands of people each week are hearing the preaching of God's word at Mars Hill. In possibly one of the strongest bastions of politcal leftism in the country, outside of say, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
So what am I saying? Basically I am saying that all Christians should be more concerned with how they are worshipping our creator, not how other people or churches are doing it. Of course there are false religions. Mormonism, Islam, Seventh Day Adventists...the list is long and Walter Martin has covered most of it already, and I am not advocating alignment with these...and I am not advocating tolerance of sin either. But gluttony and greed are no different than homosexuality and stealing. There are no degrees of sin. There is no sin which is worse than another. And they ALL will be forgiven with just a word to God in repentence.
So walk with God the way you feel he would have you walk with Him. As Christians, we are our own priests. We come directly to God in prayer. We do not go through an intermediary. Confession may be good for the soul but only if you confess to God himself, not to a priest in a confessional. God Bless everyone, and I will talk to you later.
Jonathan
Jonathan
Oscar
Well, it has been 8 days since my last update on Oscar the Foster. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Oscar is thriving. He drinks a 250 ml (1 Cup) baby bottle in about 30 seconds. Then he drinks another. First thing in the morning he drinks another half bottle. He is gaining weight exponentially and shows no sign of stopping. He had two doses of anti-biotics, and although at the start of the weekend things were looking grim, it seems that God wants our little lambie to hang around for just a little longer.
Now the bad news. All this food has to go somewhere. Unfortunately a good deal of it ends up on our floors. Fortunately they are cork tiles and very easy to clean. The trade off from this gorgeous little lost lamb not dying is that he has turned into a pooping and weeing machine. In fact he is peeing right now...Fortunately it is on a tarp. That I just brought in to make his bed on. I am sitting in another room and I could hear this pulsating noise. I thought my wife was giving him another bottle. No...he is having a slash. So I just cleaned that up...interestingly, as long as it took him to go there was only about a six inch puddle on the tarp. I just gave him two bottles. He guzzled one that was 250 ml in about 1:30. Amazing. I have posted a video of this last feeding session. Pay particular attention to his tail.
Now the bad news. All this food has to go somewhere. Unfortunately a good deal of it ends up on our floors. Fortunately they are cork tiles and very easy to clean. The trade off from this gorgeous little lost lamb not dying is that he has turned into a pooping and weeing machine. In fact he is peeing right now...Fortunately it is on a tarp. That I just brought in to make his bed on. I am sitting in another room and I could hear this pulsating noise. I thought my wife was giving him another bottle. No...he is having a slash. So I just cleaned that up...interestingly, as long as it took him to go there was only about a six inch puddle on the tarp. I just gave him two bottles. He guzzled one that was 250 ml in about 1:30. Amazing. I have posted a video of this last feeding session. Pay particular attention to his tail.
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