rhythm+hue
My musings, writings, observations, ideas, & thoughts about God, Life, and following Jesus in Suburbia.
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Archive of "life" Category
Where is Dr House when you need him?
UPDATE: Well the Doc still doesn’t know what it is but has decided to go with the gout approach, even though the uric acid levels were nowhere near being what they are when you have gout. Regardless, I will continue the medication and will be having more blood tests on Wednesday to see if the inflammatory markers and uric acid levels have changed at all. And yes, the right ankle is feeling MUCH better, although still swollen and the left has been much better, with the swelling being more of the pain than the ankle movement. Left wrist is still a little painful but all round it is healing but so slowly - whatever it is!
Thanks for your prayers and thoughts everyone!
I have been pretty quiet on here for almost two weeks and wasn’t sure if I was going to post about this but decided to as perhaps someone out there maybe able to help or this may help someone who also is on the same boat. So, what am I talking about? Regular readers here would know that I am overweight and endeavouring to change my lifestyle, so what has happened, is happening, is very frustrating.
Two weeks ago, I awoke to have my legs feel as if they had been used exhaustively the day before. You know the feeling - tired muscles, achy but in a good way. Problem was, I had not done anything remotely to warrant it. During the following day the pain in the left leg intensified and seemed to localize around my knee and ankle. (more…)
Posted in Family, Personal, life, prayer |
1 Comment »We can create Christians so very well, what about Disciples?
Recently Wolfgang Simson was in Melbourne for a Simple Church convention - the MP3’s of the week long conference can be downloaded from here from the convention. While Wolfgang is controversial and confrontational to many in the mainstream church, there was one point that I heard, and mulled over it and must say that I agree with it 100%.
Of course there are many more things that I agree with but it was this issue that I think becomes relevant and when viewed in the larger context of consumerist church - see my mate Mark Sayers for more on that, the issue of actually creating Disciples of Jesus is central to the state of the Church today and the fact that there is even talk of consumerist christians and church. (more…)
Posted in Australia, Church, Jesus, Kingdom, Social Justice, church life, croydon, life, protest |
2 Comments »With these small arms
Unfortunately one of our semi-regular guests at The Dining Room felt the need to take his own life last week. I only found out the next day when his ex-wife came to Vive Cafe. She was heartbroken and I did what I could to console and comfort her.
But it was my three year old daughter that helped the most. She saw this lady crying and went and gave her a hug and stayed with her for a while. The relief and joy of my daughter’s show of love were evident as this brave lady left that evening.
Posted in Family, Grace, Personal, croydon, life |
No Comments »Intellectualising the Gospel
Over the course of my academic career and church life - ok - let me narrow that down to the past ten years, I have noticed that there is a trend to romanticise the clergy, whatever you call them - pastor, minister etc. We tend to hold these folks up as being the way we should live - and I think that on the whole, many of these folk are wonderful people, something tends to happen to many people that study theology, whether for a degree or for “ordination” - the gospel message and what it means tends to move from being heart felt to head felt. What do I mean by that?
Well, this is not saying that it is common, but I have many friends and acquantices that I feel who have done this - taken the gospel, they know it inside and out, can quote scholars and verses, but the message, the central feel, the call to action or the love-motivation from following Jesus tends to become known very well in their heads but very little in their hearts. Oh sure, they are church goers and such, but sadly I feel that they have the knowledge and think that that is it, without putting that knowledge to use.
It’s like having the core message - the simplicity of the love of God - covered, criticised, talked about, debated, ripped apart and put together again, and clouded by too much talk and thinking. I would call this a knowing the Gospel in the head but not the heart. And I fear that many of our churches today are producing clones of these people, who while they may not know the same as the PHD lead Pastor, intellectualise the Gospel to Sunday and the latest popular authors book - more than likely telling them that knowign Jesus will bless them financially!
Enough!
Posted in Australia, Church, Jesus, Kingdom, church life, church planting, life, prayer |
No Comments »Reflections from a new Victorian drivers licence
Well, a couple of days ago my wife and I renewed our Victorian drivers licences. This gave thought and pause for reflection on a number of fronts. Do I mention that my wife was given a 25% discount for three years of exemplery driving with no tickets and fines! I didn’t mention the fact that I most of the driving! But, regardless I am proud of her and the discount!
Anyway, firstly it gave me pause to think about the past three years. Yeah, not long you might say but that was the last time I renewed my licence, or should I say that was when I changed back from a Queensland licence to a Victorian one - and the three years? Well it was cheaper than the ten years and at that time we were skint from the move back here! But that is besides the point (hey, I do have a tendency to become distracted!) - what gave me pause to think was about the period of three years. (more…)
Posted in Australia, Family, Grace, Jesus, Kingdom, Personal, Uncategorized, church life, church planting, failure, life, prayer |
No Comments »Becoming Anabaptist…
I have found myself lately considering my own faith and where is it is leading me.
I grew up in the church of Christ (non-denominational/accapella) where my father was a minister for a few years in Brisbane. So, for a couple of years we lived in USAmerica while he studied to become a minister with the churchof Christ. While, most of the folk I have met along my journey in the cofC have been wonderful, caring and loving folk, I must say that the cofC as a whole is very legalistic and extremely conservative. There are even a couple of unwritten beliefs that when expressed publically get denied.
Anyway, now as I approach forty and have travelled away from the cofC, done the Forge internship, and continue to read, pray and explore, I do find myself identifying more and more with the Anabaptist’s. I have been lent some great material from Bessie at Oikos about the Anabaptist’s which I am thoroughly enjoying.
I must admit that a small part of me still says No! It’s not the Church of Christ! Silly, I know! So, I continue to explore and question, pray and read, talk and listen to wiser ones than I. I believe that some of the reasons for identifying more with the Anabaptist’s has a lot to do with the stripping away of the man-made crap that has become religion and the church in the last few centuries (Pagan Christianity by Barna and Viola was a great read and help in this area)! Social justice and following Jesus as a disciple are other reasons for identifying with them.
But, at this stage, I also find myself going to a post-modern but kinda tradiitonal we’re-not-offcially-baptist-but-are-baptist church.
I’ll write more about this as I can. But as for prayers and any comments you may have!
Posted in Church, Jesus, Personal, life, prayer |
3 Comments »I would appreciate your prayers and thoughts…
When I started the year and began to study the course I am doing, it was planned that Forge Victoria would continue to pay me half-a-day a week to do graphics and manage the website for Forge. But, for many reasons beyond my control, and I might add, very unhappily, I was told earlier that they could not afford to do so. The problem was, I had budgeted for the money, it was going to pay the college fees for the year!
So, I found myself not long into my course with no income. I applied for and now receive Austudy - the Aussie Gov’t’s financial, ahhh, “contribution” to help you through the course. This is of course for a full-time course and with a family. So, since then we have been getting by and I have been busy searching for a part-time job to help pay the bills and keep the wolf from the door!
Posted in Diploma Coursework, Family, Fund raiser, Personal, church life, croydon, life, prayer |
No Comments »HUSH for Homelessness
Mission Australia are running this very cool event next month, HUSH for the Homeless, inviting us to experience what it’s like to be voiceless!They are challenging us all to experience what it is like to be voiceless, by not speaking for an hour (or more!) on Wednesday 2 July 2008, and to seek sponsorship for the silence!
Tonight, as temperatures drop and winter takes hold, almost 100,000 Australians have no place to call home. Of these people, almost 50% are yet to have their 25th birthday and 10,000 are children aged under 12! This is why Mission Australia is running HUSH for Homelessness; an event to raise money to assist homeless men, women and children across the country.
HUSH for Homelessness symbolises the ‘invisible’ and ‘voiceless’ lives that homeless Australians lead.
All donations raised will go to support the work that Mission Australia do around the country with the homeless, including the provision of crisis and transitional accomodation and support services.
I have registered! Please check out my HUSH page here. I encourage you all to join, as an individual, or group and support this effort for an organisation that is taking what the Aussie Gov’t (and for that matter many churches) talk about and make a difference by doing something.
Go here to register and find out some more information! And please, if you do register - raise some sponsors!
Posted in Australia, Compassion, Fund raiser, Personal, Social Justice, Web, church life, life |
No Comments »Aligning my body with the Planet
Further to my post about my affect on the Planet, I happened upon a fellow called Jon Gabriel.Now before I go any further, let me share that yes I am have tried many, many diets in my life time and the only success I could boast would have been the time with Weight Watchers… but costs and a move interstate put that to rest amidst the stress of moving etc. So yes, I am overweight and yes, I have tried many diets and in fact would consider myself skeptical of anything that promotes weight loss - even the tv reality show - the one I won’t mention but you know what I mean.
Posted in Personal, Uncategorized, life, weight |
No Comments »failure=life
This is an interesting video that explores some of the most influential people of the modern age and the fact that they… failed. (HT Bob Carlton)
Posted in Blogging, Grace, Web, failure, life, youtube |
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