Forge Intensive - Conversations around Re-thinking Paradigms of Mission in the Post-Christian West

On Saturday Russell and I went to a Forge Intensive held in Subi. It was a great chance to learn a little more about the emerging church – even though this isn’t really what the intensive was focused on.

I will start with the negatives as it’s always nice to end on a positive note. Now, I know I am not the easiest person to talk to. I tend to hide behind Russell and let him make conversation (I don’t even like to walk in front of him. I try make him pick the seats and walk through the door first) and when I feel comfortable enough I will make a comment. I did feel however a little on the outer. Like it was a group of people who all know each other and are in a bit of a click. This would be the only reason why I wouldn’t attend to another one. I’m not sure if Russell would be able to go to another one with me and without him I would be completely lost. I don’t have enough courage to walk across a room, introduce myself, and to maintain conversation. I’m sure that if I even met Sarah or Middo (although I’m pretty sure I already have met Middo) I would be at a loss as to what to say and would be too shy to say anything! I hate feeling like an outsider, and I know I cant just hide away from going to things, but I honestly didn’t feel very comfortable all day. Now, most of you who know me (and I mean really know me) would say that I am so outgoing and loud etc, but if you remember when you first met me, I wasn’t. Its not until I get to know someone a bit better, or am in a group of people, that I know, that I will ‘come out of my shell’ a bit.

The other thing was that I felt conflicted in my thoughts (as I would expect to happen at one of these things). I was so embarrassed as it actually made me cry, and in the afternoon tea break I was trying to shove those tears/snot back up so that it wouldn’t be seen that I had been crying. Then, of all things the main speaker decided to introduce himself while I was in this process of shoving! I really appreciated Steve introducing himself and I found it really valuable to chat with him (I’m getting teary even now and I’m at work!!!). He was the only person who introduced himself to me and I was blessed by chatting with him (how embarrassing, crying when you first meet someone!). I should probably explain why I was crying. We had just a session by Man A, (I’m not going to reveal who, but I’m sure someone will pick it!) who was talking about his ‘experience/church/small group. I have no problem with Man A’s experience, that’s nothing I can take away from him. Everyone has experiences and its not my place nor anyone else’s to take away from that experience and tell them they are wrong or have gone about things the wrong way etc. I just felt that some of the explanations and wording of certain things hurtful. I come from a traditional background, and it’s huge that I’m even attending a conference like this. I know Man A wasn’t attacking me or my family, but I just felt that there was no affirmation of what God’s church is doing right. It was all this, this, this, and this, are all wrong, and no but we did learn this. I know that the church they are talking about may have referred to themselves as ‘a machine’, but that doesn’t give license to then refer to other churches as ‘machines’ (It was said – just in case anyone wants to argue me on it. It was said by a Man B). My parents have devoted themselves to the church and to ministry for over 20 years and I get frustrated when people refer to what they are doing is simply running a machine. The church is not perfect and it NEVER will be! I know people get frustrated with church and they leave it, but how about this for an idea? :wouldn’t it be more effective if the handful of people who left the church actually stayed in the church and worked at making a positive change and then have 400+ people making a difference in their community and with their neighbours rather than just 20? That makes more sense to me. People and Man B probably don’t agree, that’s fine, but this is my blog and I’m going to say how I feel about things. Leave a comment if you have an issue. Though I don’t even think Man A reads this, as he has never made me feel ‘worthy’ of talking to him in person, thus why would he read this? I honestly don’t have a problem with Man A and his ‘groups’ experiences, I do have a problem, that when you leave the church you leave with a swinging bat and take a swing at anything in sight. Also, over half the points that Man A listed as to what his ‘church’ do, my small group do for me. Nurturing, serving, etc. I don’t have the list with me, but I did jot it down. I’m just going by memory (sorry – beat me up for being unprepared, I don’t care). I have never had an issue with what Man A is doing, I guess I just didn’t expect to hear half of what he said. (I can tell I’m going to get in trouble here). The point of this post is not to tear down Man A (I’m sorry if he hears this from someone else and feels torn down) I am simply diarising how I felt, aren’t diaries meant to be honest?
The main reason why that session upset me, was because I am caught in a tug-of-war at the moment. I am frustrated with church but am prepared to stick it out. Yet, I’m also looking at different ways of doing church. I just got a little defensive when I see so much of my parents lives devoted to serving in the church, and they get nothing back but criticism. It also hurts because my dad has made it clear that he will never retire – he will never stop ministry and his love for people will never stop! He, and mum, have literally devoted their entire life to serving God through the church.

Wow, I haven’t had a rant like that in a long time. I know I’ll get nasty comments, or comments saying I shouldn’t have said the things I’ve said, but I’m tired of not being honest about how I feel.

Positives!! – finally

Steve Said was amazing! He was so knowledgeable of the Scriptures which really appeals to me, and he also spoke from the Old Testament!! OH MY GOODNESS!! Someone actually did a couple of sessions from the OT! I LOVED this! Preaching from the OT has seriously been lacking and it was refreshing to have someone speak from the OT and to really know what he was talking about. Also, not one negative word about the church came out of his mouth. He didn’t ‘bag’ the church, but he encouraged us/me in the ministry that he and his wife are doing in their community. Did I mention he introduced himself? He made me feel comfortable and important. He didn’t just shy away when I probably wasn’t giving him much to work with. Doesn’t surprise me I scared him off with my tears and one word answers. I am trying to work on this and I think I am getting better, albeit at a snails pace (like many other things in my life). I don’t have my note book with me but I will definitely post my notes up tomorrow, or the next, depending on when I remember next. I planned on saying thankyou to him at the end of the day, but was too nervous and shy to go up to him so I didn’t. I am looking for his email address at the moment, so if anyone has it, can you please forward it too me? I know I’m doing this the chickens way, but I honestly couldn’t bring myself to do it, and I still didn’t feel comfortable around all the other people there to stay, so we left straight away.

I know I don’t have as many positives as I did negatives, but I would still say that the day was one of learning and stretching, and we ALL need that. Life would be boring if we just sat around and didn’t have opinions or conflicts about anything.

The intent of this post was not to have a go at Man A. I am trying to give a perspective of just 1 person who was there. I’m sure that everyone else who attended had no problem, maybe, but I doubt it. I’m probably going to regret this post, and if I do, then you will see it edited or it will have disappeared, but for the moment, it’s staying how it is.

*note: I originally wrote this with Man A’s name, but have decided not to disclose as I feel it would be unfair to not have taken it up with him before revealing him to all of the world wide web. I haven’t changed any sentences though as I believe they are fair enough for me to express.

morning-mares

I have dreams, no make that nightmares. Its not a uncommon for me to have a couple of them a week. Usually I am ok and they don’t bother me that much. Once in awhile however, I have really graphic ones. I dream about murders happening and usually I am watching the killer ‘do his work’. These are the ones that make me jump awake and cling to Russell through the night.

I also have dreams where, I believe, God is trying to tell me something. I had a dream once about my manager at work having an abortion, 3 days later she came and told me that she had one. God doesn’t just flat out tell me though. Sometimes it takes a little time for me to figure them out. For example with the abortion one, I dreamt that I was at work and there was a little baby girl, who was about the size of my fist, left out in our back storeroom. I spent all day trying to keep her alive, and my manager just kept telling me to leave it alone, and that she didn’t care if it died or not. I kept going out the back all day trying to look after her, but by the end of the day she died. I woke up thinking that it was a really weird dream and thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until she told me she had had the abortion that it clicked. Another one I have had is about my youngest brother. I usually dream about him in a protective manner, I dream that he is dead or I’ve lost him and am running around trying to find him. I believe this is just coming from a protective sister state though. A couple of months ago though, I had a dream that I was sitting at work and he came in to see me. He had scars and wounds all over his body and I was trying to look after all the scars and gaping wounds on his back. That was it. I was talking to my mum about it later that week and she mentioned that he has been going through a lot of spiritual battle lately and that he had been having a lot of rough nights, and maybe God was trying to tell me to pray for him. I kinda liked this dream because it really brought spiritual warfare to the front of my mind and made it a lot more real. My little brother was in a battle and although we cant see the scars that it left him, or the scars that we all have, we know its real.

As I said, I have crazy dreams, but what disturbs me are the ones that circle mainly around murder. I often dream that my parents are hunted down and killed in front of my eyes, or that my whole family gets killed.

Last night, well it was more like morning, I had a dream that Russell and I got hung. There is nothing worse than dreaming about watching your husband get strangled to death. This was another one of those detailed and gorey dreams. It wasn’t just me and him though, it was a couple of friends as well and we were all standing in line with nooses around our necks (we were all Christian by the way) and one by one we were strangled. It wasn’t like we were dropped though, it was more like hanging someone but in reverse. They would pull the rope up and then we would all dangle.

I am still trying to get the pictures out of my mind of Russell hanging there struggling to breathe. Then when it happened to me I was choking and struggling to breathe and this is what woke me up. I woke up struggling and choking for breath. I couldn’t breath properly and started to panic a little. I started to calm a little, and it wasn’t until around 1hr after the dream that my breathing pattern returned to normal and I was able to take proper breaths, which was roughly around 7.30am. I had to get ready for work but Russell was still asleep and I was too scared to go have a shower, so I turned ALL the lights on in the house and just washed my face. Now I’m sitting at work feeling filthy. Eewww…I know, I’m gross! I'm hanging out for a shower at the moment. In previous situations I have woken Russell up and made him sit on the floor in the bathroom so that he is there when I have a shower and I feel a little safer. He usually slumps against the wall and tries to stay awake, so I didnt have the heart to wake him up and drag him into the bathroom this morning.

Now as I write this I am still freaked out. Not only was the dream scary, but I think the fact that I felt like I was being strangled doesn’t help. After having a few hours to reflect, I am thinking that there is a little bit of spiritual warfare going on in my life. Its only since I have decided to start trying to get things sorted out with me and God, that my dreams have returned. I honestly don’t think Satan would be too happy about this, and is really trying to throw things at me along the way. I don’t mind having these dreams, and I reckon it’s a really cool way that God communicates with me, maybe I just have a sick mind and that’s the cause of my horrible dreams about death.

I’m pleased with myself though. For once I’m not blaming God for what happened, not just with my dream (I never blame him for those) but also in a few other situations that have come along in the past couple of weeks, and I feel a lot more peace because of it.

Friday Laugh

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.
>Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.
"Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOODNESS!
You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We
need more butter. Oh my GOODNESS! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?
They're going to STICK! Careful . CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER
listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you
CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you
always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think
I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels
like when I'm driving."

the out of bounds church

I just bought this book today and have already started reading it while trying to get work done at my desk.

I hopped on a bus during my lunch break and went down to Word Bookstore. They didnt have much range - it was either this book or only a couple of others (yet they manage to stock an entire shelf of Benny Hinn!!) so I grabbed this one and caught my bus back to work.

Of the whole 1 page Ive read, its good so far.

Has anyone else read this? Did I pick an ok one to start reading up on?

Hello Sanda & Co.

Hullo!!!
This is just a post to say hi to one of my closest mates, Sanda. Sanda is in my small group and is 1/8 people who has such a positive impact on my life! I love her to bits! I know she reads my blog at work (ssshhh....dont tell anyone shes not doing any work) while having her morning tea!

Sanda is such an amazing person to know! She is mum to Felix and little bun in the oven (which I shall name, Baby Bean) and adoring wife to LOUD ITALIAN RICK! What a family!! Sanda is smart, encouraging, wise, and the most servant-hearted person I know! She is loyal, and you can always count on her smile to brighten up your day (or church service hehehe). I LOVE YOU SANDA - you are a true blessing to my life, and also Russells (who is yet to post here! I might just erase his authorship if he doesnt hurry up!!)

Also, hullo to any of her work mates that may read this! They are all really smart. You all work in chemistry or something isnt it? Good grief!! The best I ever got on one of my Discreet Math tests was 6%! Six stinking percent! And that was a highlight for me!! Lets just say that maths wasnt my subject. Anyway, I dont even think maths has anything to do with chemistry! See! Im not really that smart.

So hello to Sanda and everyone at work - hope ya'll have a fantastic day doing smart things, while I sit at my desk, twiddling my thumbs and helping bankers that dont really have a clue. (man, you better appreciate this post - the amount of times I hit the wrong letter with my strapped finger and had to go back and retype all the time!! AAAHHH)

oops...I did it again!

ARRGGHH!! Remember how a few weeks ago I fractured my ring finger on my left hand, well last sunday (11th) I played netball and forgot to strap that finger and went for the ball in the last quarter and did it all over again!
This week (yesterday) I strapped my finger and continued to play until I got to the 3rd quarter where I did the same thing but this time on my right hand and my middle finger. I cant pull the rude sign to Russell anymore :p
This time though, it hurts more for some reason. So Im once again a bit of an invalid at work considering about 80% of my work load is emails - and Im not a very patient person!!

AARRGGHH this is driving me mad!!

sorry!

My apologies for no posts last week, I was on holidays and when I was trying to post that I would be away and there would be no updates, the server went down :(
So Im sorry!!

my little chat

Here is my communion talk:

Sometimes when I find myself refusing to allow myself to fall at the feet of the cross, I often find that pride, a fear of being vulnerable, and an unwillingness to serve are my main barriers.

Yet, everytime I come to the cross I am confronted by a picture of the most beautiful act of love this world has ever seen.

It is at this time that Christ strips away my pride and fear, and strenghthens me with his love and compassion.

When we come to this time of communion with our Lord, sometimes we may come tired and weary, doubting and beaten, but at this time of rememberence we can find a new hope, a new power and a new direction. When we commune with our Lord, we can return to face another day.

As we come and share this time together, I just want to encourage you to remember the love that motivated our Lord to the cross, a love that restores us, and that can strenghthen us.

I also read 1John 4:18a.

Going back over it, I see all the mistakes I made and probably contradictions, but I cant change it now, its already happened. Ah well....feel free to criticise :)

Update

Just a small update on how Im going.

On this post I slightly indicated that the world sucked and that my life was a joke and that God had pretty much abandoned me.I am slowly (like a snails pace) starting to turn. I hate having to admit that because it means I was wrong about God and the like.That doesnt mean that everything is better. I am realizing that I havnt spent 1-on-1 time with God for about 2 and a half years now "because Ive been busy". Im sick of my life being too busy to take 5-10mins with God during my day. This has really been my downfall. I have slowly been slipping away to a point where I dont feel that I can even admit to being a Christian, whatever that title means. I gave every excuse possible and at one point Russell said that I sound like 15yr old kids at youth who give every excuse possible to not trust in God. That was a bit of a wake up call because I used to get so frustrated with people like that, and now I was one of them.

I had a lot of pride. Pride that included:

1. Thinking I knew everything there was to know about the Bible and Church
2. I knew between right and wrong
3. I could do anything in my own strenght
4. And too much pride to admit that I had neither of these things and to admit that what I really needed was Christ

Wow this is really hard to admit

Im a bit of a bottler. I dont even allow myself to cry in front of Russell after having been together for 4 and a bit years. I guess my reasoning is that it is a sign of weakness, and I dont want to be caught being weak. This has also caused a bit of a problem because it all gets to be too much to hold in and I have to have a burst out somewhere, but somehow I manage to hold it back (I dont know how), but sometimes I will cry at the smallest of things which seems completely ridiculous to other people, but if they understood why it happens, then I guess it would make a little more sense. Because I hold back so much, I have to let it come out in little bits and BOY does it come out at the most inappropriate times!

Anyway. Russell and I watched a few of the sessions from the Global Leadership Summit (Im pretty sure Ive already posted about this, I cant remember) and one of the sessions was about having balance in our life. It is something that I really need to sort out. I need to re-establish what I have lost with God (which will take awhile) and then I believe I will feel Gods presence and I wont feel that he has completely abandoned me. I need to sort a few things out with God (I still have a few trust issues). I am endeavouring to have daily quiet times (not yet started-hopefully soon), and slowly am getting back on track.
It may seem that I am being too slow and it may even seem that Im even putting things off, but I dont think that this is something I should rush. If I rush things, issues wont get sorted out, and I will be running purely on adrenaline and fire but it wont be lasting. Adrenaline and fire will eventually run out and I will find myself back where I am now. They need to be fueled on something other than emotion.

One other thing that I need to sort out at the moment (and this is something that I think is far from being sorted out) is my self esteem level. It is sitting on empty.

Its not really something I will go into depth about, as it includes a 3rd party and I dont really want to spread it all over the net. But, its not a good situation anyway. Im just going to focus on one thing at a time for the meanwhile, but just thought I would update you on how everything was going. Its getting better, so maybe just pray, which is a really hard thing for me to ask, but I know its something I need. Prayer, and a lot of it. I think Ill leave it there. I dont want to burden you all with my problems, as we all have them. So, yeah....thats all I have to say about that.

Hear ye, Hear ye!! (bell ringing in the background)

I have an announcement.

I have added my husband to be a co-author of this blog. I dont know how often he will post something as he is quite busy, but when he does post something, Im sure it'll be good (it better be).

This is a bit of a step for me as I view this blog as an outlet for me to express myself, and it is something that is mine and now I have to share it. Nah, its ok...

Hopefully he will post something soon. Im not sure when. He is wanting to post about, what he calls "songology". I dunno...stuff about the music he likes and the lyrics and what not. So be on the lookout for his first post...whenever that may be!

water-ache

Did your mum ever tell you not to eat the white part of the watermelon or else you'll get a stomach ache?

I just ate 5 pieces and I went as low as I dared - for fear of the stomach ache of course.

Ive always wondered if this is true or not.

Has anyone had a stomach ache from eating past the pink stage of the watermelon?

communion and how I went

Hmmm…well it was interesting to say the least.

On Saturday morning I woke up with a line going through my head that I decided to run with for my little talk. I had pretty much written what I was going to speak on (in my head) and on Sunday morning I put it down on paper. This wasn’t too stressful and I was happy that I had something to go with.

As the song before communion is played I usually get a little nervous, but I am finding it more and more comfortable each time I speak. I no longer get wobbly legs and shaky hands, I get the odd butterfly or two, but that’s about it.

On Sunday I had decided to wear a pretty light green dress and I felt all feminine and cute, but I probably should have thought about my clothing options a little better that morning.

I got up on stage and was arranging my paper and Bible when the combination of the air con and fans attacked my skirt and I found myself in a bit of a Marilyn Monroe pose. My skirt was just going up everywhere, and I was lucky that no-one saw anything (I wasn’t wearing the most conservative undies!!)! Just what I needed to get everyone’s minds prepared for communion!! I looked down at Russell and he had this look that said "Only you"!
I managed to compose myself and grabbed the microphone, and stepped off the stage made a comment something along the lines of "Here I am trying to be all serious and that happens!" and then continued to proceed with what I had to say.

I wrapped things up and we took part of communion. THEN, I had to pray for the offering. I HATE praying out loud. It’s one of the things I really struggle with. I get really uncomfortable when I have to do it and this occasion was no exception. I started to pray and got stuck. Somewhere along the lines of "that you would use these funds to continue your work in the community and…." That’s where I got stuck!! I should have never said AND. I paused for ages and started tapping my chin going hmmm, um… I saw Russell look up with a pleading look and I said something stupid like "and that it would be good. Amen" or something silly. I was so embarrassed! I sort of giggled and hopped off stage and collapsed in Russells arms!

Afterwards I had people comment that I handled myself well considering the circumstances I had just endured. Others appreciated what I had to say. On the way home Russell said that "Only you would get yourself into that sort of situation" and that while I was praying and pausing for words, he was thinking "she’ll get it, she’ll get, just say something!!" Which I knew by his facial expressions. Then on the way home I was winding up my window and wound up my hair with the window. It was just one of those days.

Anyway, I think it went as well as it could have gone. I just wish that I had the confidence to really just speak to the congregation as if I was speaking to them one on one. I feel that sometimes I don’t speak with much emotion because I am reading my notes straight off my paper. This will come with time though, I hope. I will post what I said at communion on another post because I can’t remember off the top of my head. But the line that got me started was "Sometimes when I find myself refusing to allow myself to fall on my knees at the foot of the cross, I often find that pride, a fear of being vulnerable, and an unwillingness to serve are my main barriers." That’s the line that I had stuck in my head all Sat. morning. And I thank God that it came!

always light n tangy

I LOVE the 'Light 'n' Tangy' chips by Smiths,
but do you know what I just noticed?!?
They've changed the name to "Tangy Herb & Spice"

WHAT THE! It still tastes the same, and has the same colour packet (green).

If thats all their marketing dept. could come up with, then I should apply for a job!!

Anyway, Ill still eat the chips, was just wondering if anyone knew when this happened!!

Truth

This is going to be one big post! I have just started reading ‘Velvet Elvis’ by Rob Bell.
This morning while I was on the train I read the following and was greatly encouraged, challenged, and left feeling free after having felt bound by certain ideals for years.

Please do try read it all, its really insightful.

"Truth is everywhere, and it is available to everyone. But Paul takes it further,
because for him truth is bigger than his religion. Notice what he says in the
book of Titus. He is referring to the people who live on the island of Crete
when he writes that even one of their own prophets has said, "`Cretans are
always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.' He has surely told the truth." So
Paul quotes one of the Cretan prophets and then affirms that this guy was right
in what he said. "This testimony is true." What the prophet said was true, so
Paul quotes him. For Paul, anybody is capable of speaking truth. Anybody, from
any perspective, from any religion, from anywhere. And these words from the book
of Titus, the quote from a Cretan prophet, are in the Bible. So the Word of God
contains the words of a prophet from Crete.

Paul affirms the truth wherever he
finds it.

But he takes it further in the book of Acts. He is speaking at a place
called Mars Hill (which would be a great name for a church) and trying to
explain to a group of people who believe in hundreds of thousands of gods that
there is really only one God who made everything and everybody. At one point
he's talking about how God made us all, and he says to them, "As some of your
own poets have said, `We are his offspring.'" He quotes their own poets. And
their poets don't even believe in the God he's talking about. They were talking
about some other god and how we are all the offspring of that god, and Paul
takes their statement and makes it about his God. Amazing. Paul doesn't just
affirm the truth here; he claims it for himself. He doesn't care who said it or
who they were even saying it about. What they said was true, and so he claims it
as his own.

This affirming and claiming of truth wherever you find it is all through the writings of Paul. In 1 Corinthians, he tells his readers,
"All things are yours,... and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." He
essentially says to them, "It all belongs to God, and Christ is of God, and you
are of Christ, so...it's all yours."

Claim it. If it is true, if it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. Because it is from God. And you belong to God. The philosopher Arthur Holmes is known for saying, "All truth is God's truth." It is such a great statement, because what other kind of truth could there be? So as a Christian, I am free to claim the
good, the true, the holy, wherever and whenever I find it. I live with the
understanding that truth is bigger than any religion and the world is God's and
everything in it

Do you know anybody who grew up in a religious environment,
maybe even a Christian one, and walked away from faith/church/God when they
turned eighteen and went away to college?

…Let me suggest why. Imagine what happens when a young woman is raised in a Christian setting but hasn’t been taught that all things are hers and then goes to a university where she’s exposed to all sorts of new ideas and views and perspectives. She takes classes in psychology and anthropology and biology and world history, and her professors are people who have devoted themselves to their particular fields of study. Is it possible that in the course of lecturing on their field of interest, her
professors from time to time say things that are true? Of course. Truth is
available to everyone.

But lets say her professors aren’t Christians, it is
not a "Christian" university, and this young woman hasn’t been taught that all
things are hers. What if she has been taught that Christianity is the only thing
that is true? What if she has been taught that there is no truth outside the
Bible? She’s now faced with this dilemma: believe the truth she’s learning or
the Christian faith she was brought up with.

Or we could put her dilemma this way: intellectual honesty or Jesus?

How many times have you seen this? I can’t tell you the number of people in their late teens or early twenties that I know, or those I have been told about, who experience truth outside the boundaries of their religion and abandon the whole thing because they think it’s a choice (which is a fatal flaw in thinking we’ll address in a moment). They are experiencing truth in all sorts of new ways, and they need a faith that is big enough to handle it. Their box is getting blown apart, and the faith they were handed doesn’t have room for what they are learning. "

GET THE BOOK!

hmmm...

Found this interesting report on ninemsn.

Jesus wants Osama brought to justice: NileThursday Feb 1 15:00 AEDT
By Shaun Daviesninemsn with wires

Messages outside Sydney churches proclaiming Jesus' love for Osama Bin Laden are akin to proclaiming the Messiah's love for Hitler or Pol Pot, says the Reverend Fred Nile.A sign reading "Jesus loves Osama" was first sighted outside the Central Baptist Church on George Street. More have since appeared on other churches around Sydney. Reverend Nile, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party, said the signs were insensitive to families whose loved ones had died in terrorist attacks. "Certainly if you had any association with the 3000 people that were killed through Bin Laden's attacks on New York, I don't think you'd want to say how much you love him," Reverend Nile said. "It's like saying Jesus loves Hitler or Jesus loves Pol Pot." Reverend Nile said he believed the message was a simplistic interpretation of the Bible's message. "I think it should be more something like, 'Jesus wants Bin Laden brought to justice'," he said. Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen said he had not been involved in any decision to display the signs and had reservations about them. "I'm hesitant about it frankly, it's a bit misleading," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting. "I say to myself, 'If I were a relative of one of the victims of Osama's activities, I might take affront at this'." Archbishop Jensen said he understood what the sign was trying to say, that Christianity taught loving everyone - even the al-Qaeda head. "There is a truth in it (but) what we've got to say is, Jesus doesn't approve of Osama, it makes it sounds like, 'Oh, Osama's doing the right thing."

I think it is important to take notice of that last comment.
Jesus doesnt approve of what Osama has done, but that doesnt mean he doesnt love him. I think the Rev. Nile is just playing politics and trying to please the majority.

Dont get me wrong, I think it is a little overbearing to have it up on the sign of your church, but I do think it is something that we need to think about. Its hard to swallow, but we all fall into the same category as Osama, Hussein, Hitler, and Pol Pot: Sinners.

As you can probably tell....I like these things

This Moment: I am at work at 1.38pm precisely and am bored.
Your Shoes: Massive heels, black with cork soles
Craving: My man, and a fruit salad
The State of Your Home: Relatively clean, needs a vacuum and a bit of a dust, but ok
Annoyed By: Currently - an idiot I work with. Generally - I forgot to tag off for two days with the new silly 'smartrider' card so now Ive lost about $20!!
Noise In the Background: Fingers typing away at their keyboard, people chatting, phones ringing, and voices singing in my head :)
Really Want To: Go HOME and SLEEP!
Thinking About: My man and having a sleep
Your Keyboard: Is black
Smelling: The leftovers of my re-heated spaghetti from lunch (too much garlic)
Favorite Product In Office Supply Aisle: Hole punches
Don't Ever Want To: Regreting choices I have made
Your Eye Color: Blue
The Weather: Hot and cloudy
Have Never Tried: To make out in the cinema (though Im sure it would be fun)
Think Everyone Should Try: Vegemite & Peanut butter sandwiches
Last Vacation Destination: Yanchep
The Last Thing You Had to Drink: Berocca
Your Bad Habit: Thinking I always know the way, and then having to admit Russell was right all along. Russell would say something else that I wont mention because its too embarassing!
What You're Going To Do Now: Go pee the berocca I just drank

Left for words...

Im rostered on for communion leading on Sunday. This will make it about the 4th time Ive done it (I think).
However, this time Im having a little trouble coming up with any sort of material. The past 3 times Ive used ideas that I have often thought about or that I have learnt off my dad. I should actually post them up here and see what people think. You know, constructive criticism. But I dunno if Im ready to be so vulnerable - after all its something Ive put alot of work into and dont want it to be torn down.
I hate feeling unprepared. Thats when I get really nervous. When Im trying to finish and polish what Im saying a few minutes before I get up. I hate it. So this week Ive been thinking about it and putting down thoughts when one comes to mind. But Im still stuck!! Nothing is really coming together, and now Im starting to stress!!
Hopefully everything will come together and I wont be trying to put things together on Sunday morn (Ive only done this once and it was horrible)!

Please pray :)

Tattoo update

No itchiness yet, not much scabbing yet. I must be pretty lucky!
Ive been lathering up the bepanthem (I think thats how its spelt) and Ive had no pain since the minute after I got it! Its great.
So theres not much to update except that all is going well.