I'd appreciate your prayers if you are reading this.
I've been invited to speak at the local Rotary Club Christmas dinner to share a special Christmas message. It's quite exciting really- the kind of thing I really like about being in ministry- telling others about Jesus.
Pray I'd be clear, interesting and challenging. I'm speaking on Monday night, 6:30pm. Ta!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A Christmas Meme
Ali tagged me for this Christmas meme. I'm tagging JT, Tim, and Matt.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Neither, I prefer presents.
2. Real tree or artificial? Real tree, Christmas tree farm down the road (I live in the sticks!) Will this be affected by signing Kyoto?
3. When do you put up your tree? Sometime this week? Get a life peeps!
4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January…if it’s a real tree, make it last, I say. (And get a life peeps!)
5. Do you like eggnog? I’ll drink anything with cinnamon and honey in it.
6. Favourite gift received as a child? My golf game. You pull a lever and a golf ball pops up and rolls onto the tee. You pull another lever and a little man tees it off into a hole. And you pull another lever for it to sink and start all over again. I still have it.
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? No.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad. He has all he needs.
9. Easiest person to buy for? My brother. He needs comic books.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing springs to mind. But my sister once received a fake pearl necklace from my grandmother one year, and since she got it, we have had an ongoing game (running over 10 years now) where we have hidden it in each other’s room/ place. Once she went to sleep with the pearls in her pillow case. Another time I found them in my backpack at Uni. They are currently in the top drawer of my desk. Does she think I haven’t found them? Just you wait little sister…mwah mwah mwah!!
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? How about a hearty ‘Merry Christmas’?
12. Favorite Christmas movie? When I was growing up, me and my brother would watch ‘The Year without a Santa Claus’ without fail. Right now, I’d say ‘It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie’.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Um, how many days do I have left?
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but I’m currently using the coffee percolator I gave to my Dad one Christmas. Does that count? Hey wait a second, that gives me an idea for question 8!
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? BBQ prawns are an essential part of any Christmas day eating.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? The soft glow of clear lights reflects the soothing, ambient atmosphere which I like to relax in.
17. Favorite Christmas song? "Let it snow let it snow let it snow…" only because it features in Die Hard 2, and I can’t get the song out of my head.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel down the road to my folks place.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? On Dasher, on Dancer, on Vixen, on Comet…on the rest of ya’s….Hmmmm…guess not. Points for trying?
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. There’s only room for one angel in my household. Isn’t that right Maddie? *cough cough*
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. Well, not anymore. I live alone, and I don’t give presents to myself. So, it’s afternoon now.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the altruistic nonsense you read in the newspapers which just helps selfish people feel better about themselves. Ok, maybe I’m just cynical?
23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? Each year my siblings and I have a ‘Christmas meeting’ to work out the finer details of making sure that Christmas works well in our family. Plus my brother and I used to go out on Christmas Eve yelling ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ for the neighbourhood kiddies. Ain’t we stinkers?
24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Blow-up Santa’s. What’s with that?
25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Homey? Yo! What’s up wiv dat homee tree bro?
26. What does Christmas mean to you? Jesus: God Saves.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Neither, I prefer presents.
2. Real tree or artificial? Real tree, Christmas tree farm down the road (I live in the sticks!) Will this be affected by signing Kyoto?
3. When do you put up your tree? Sometime this week? Get a life peeps!
4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January…if it’s a real tree, make it last, I say. (And get a life peeps!)
5. Do you like eggnog? I’ll drink anything with cinnamon and honey in it.
6. Favourite gift received as a child? My golf game. You pull a lever and a golf ball pops up and rolls onto the tee. You pull another lever and a little man tees it off into a hole. And you pull another lever for it to sink and start all over again. I still have it.
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? No.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad. He has all he needs.
9. Easiest person to buy for? My brother. He needs comic books.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing springs to mind. But my sister once received a fake pearl necklace from my grandmother one year, and since she got it, we have had an ongoing game (running over 10 years now) where we have hidden it in each other’s room/ place. Once she went to sleep with the pearls in her pillow case. Another time I found them in my backpack at Uni. They are currently in the top drawer of my desk. Does she think I haven’t found them? Just you wait little sister…mwah mwah mwah!!
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? How about a hearty ‘Merry Christmas’?
12. Favorite Christmas movie? When I was growing up, me and my brother would watch ‘The Year without a Santa Claus’ without fail. Right now, I’d say ‘It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie’.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Um, how many days do I have left?
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but I’m currently using the coffee percolator I gave to my Dad one Christmas. Does that count? Hey wait a second, that gives me an idea for question 8!
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? BBQ prawns are an essential part of any Christmas day eating.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? The soft glow of clear lights reflects the soothing, ambient atmosphere which I like to relax in.
17. Favorite Christmas song? "Let it snow let it snow let it snow…" only because it features in Die Hard 2, and I can’t get the song out of my head.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel down the road to my folks place.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? On Dasher, on Dancer, on Vixen, on Comet…on the rest of ya’s….Hmmmm…guess not. Points for trying?
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. There’s only room for one angel in my household. Isn’t that right Maddie? *cough cough*
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. Well, not anymore. I live alone, and I don’t give presents to myself. So, it’s afternoon now.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the altruistic nonsense you read in the newspapers which just helps selfish people feel better about themselves. Ok, maybe I’m just cynical?
23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? Each year my siblings and I have a ‘Christmas meeting’ to work out the finer details of making sure that Christmas works well in our family. Plus my brother and I used to go out on Christmas Eve yelling ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’ for the neighbourhood kiddies. Ain’t we stinkers?
24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Blow-up Santa’s. What’s with that?
25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Homey? Yo! What’s up wiv dat homee tree bro?
26. What does Christmas mean to you? Jesus: God Saves.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
It's OK, you can swear!
I’m back. I’ve been away for a little bit, and plan to keep posting here. But in the meantime kiddies you can sit back, grab a coffee and read on, dear reader.
I’ve sustained a jogging injury which I’ve had for a few years now, and decided for my next plan of attack to visit a chiropractor. While I was lying face down on the bench, having the chiropractor poke my stiff muscles, he called in his assistant to do the massaging.
Now when someone massages me (and I’ve had a few) my preference is to at least meet them. But alas, I was not afforded this opportunity since, as I said, I was lying face down.
The girl just came in and just started massaging me as she was chatting to me. We were talking about muscle groups and the Bay run, among other things. She also studied anatomy at NatureCare, where I used to do some casual teaching so I could pay the bills whilst at Bible college. The funny thing was how at ease she seemed to be. Her talk was casual and unguarded. She was swearing like a trooper as she talked to me. She was saying ‘s&^% yeah’ to this and ‘effin’ oath’ to that. The conversation was quite jolly. Obviously she had done this many times. And then she asked me ‘so what do you do?’
I knew the conversation was about to change.
‘I work for a church’
‘Really?? What do you do there?’
(After all, maybe I mowed the grass and trimmed the hedges)
‘I am a minister’
I could hear her brain thinking back over all the expletives that she had used within the last five minutes.
‘That’s quite a change…’
‘Yeah’ (me agreeing)
‘What made you decide to do that?’
Now before I continue, can I just admit that I’ve never come up with a clever answer to this question? I mean, an knock-out answer which will make the best use of having a good gospel conversation. Once I said to a whole church (answering the same question) ‘because there is a heaven and there is a hell, and everyone is going to one place or the other’. I also once said to a hairdresser ‘so I can help people know about Jesus’. And this time? Well I paused for some moment. (Put it down to the massage I was clearly enjoying).
‘Because I want people to think through the big questions in life. About knowing God’
She politely agreed.
The conversation didn’t really go anywhere after that.
But it made me think that the world really does put us ministers into a different box than everyone else. I feel as though they don’t know what to do with us. Sometimes even I don’t know what to do with me! But it’s interesting that the world feels the need to stop swearing and behave around me! Perhaps they feel judged, or guilty. Maybe even unholy.
Whatever it is, I wished she felt as though she could be herself. I wanted her to keep swearing at me! I wanted her to be at ease. I wished the conversation could go on. I wished she could know I’m just like her- I’m a sinner in need of grace too! I wanted to stay in the same box as her, and not be put in a different box.
Stay tuned, I'm going back on Monday.
In the meantime, help me out. What would you say if someone asked you ‘what do you do?’ and you are seeking to share the gospel with them?
I’ve sustained a jogging injury which I’ve had for a few years now, and decided for my next plan of attack to visit a chiropractor. While I was lying face down on the bench, having the chiropractor poke my stiff muscles, he called in his assistant to do the massaging.
Now when someone massages me (and I’ve had a few) my preference is to at least meet them. But alas, I was not afforded this opportunity since, as I said, I was lying face down.
The girl just came in and just started massaging me as she was chatting to me. We were talking about muscle groups and the Bay run, among other things. She also studied anatomy at NatureCare, where I used to do some casual teaching so I could pay the bills whilst at Bible college. The funny thing was how at ease she seemed to be. Her talk was casual and unguarded. She was swearing like a trooper as she talked to me. She was saying ‘s&^% yeah’ to this and ‘effin’ oath’ to that. The conversation was quite jolly. Obviously she had done this many times. And then she asked me ‘so what do you do?’
I knew the conversation was about to change.
‘I work for a church’
‘Really?? What do you do there?’
(After all, maybe I mowed the grass and trimmed the hedges)
‘I am a minister’
I could hear her brain thinking back over all the expletives that she had used within the last five minutes.
‘That’s quite a change…’
‘Yeah’ (me agreeing)
‘What made you decide to do that?’
Now before I continue, can I just admit that I’ve never come up with a clever answer to this question? I mean, an knock-out answer which will make the best use of having a good gospel conversation. Once I said to a whole church (answering the same question) ‘because there is a heaven and there is a hell, and everyone is going to one place or the other’. I also once said to a hairdresser ‘so I can help people know about Jesus’. And this time? Well I paused for some moment. (Put it down to the massage I was clearly enjoying).
‘Because I want people to think through the big questions in life. About knowing God’
She politely agreed.
The conversation didn’t really go anywhere after that.
But it made me think that the world really does put us ministers into a different box than everyone else. I feel as though they don’t know what to do with us. Sometimes even I don’t know what to do with me! But it’s interesting that the world feels the need to stop swearing and behave around me! Perhaps they feel judged, or guilty. Maybe even unholy.
Whatever it is, I wished she felt as though she could be herself. I wanted her to keep swearing at me! I wanted her to be at ease. I wished the conversation could go on. I wished she could know I’m just like her- I’m a sinner in need of grace too! I wanted to stay in the same box as her, and not be put in a different box.
Stay tuned, I'm going back on Monday.
In the meantime, help me out. What would you say if someone asked you ‘what do you do?’ and you are seeking to share the gospel with them?
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