Brain Teaser for today

What is at the beginning of eternity, the end of time, the
beginning of every end, and the end of every place?

Answer tomorrow :D

Parental Potential

I can imagine being a dad. To be honest with you I can't wait for the opportunity. The great responsibility that rest on your shoulders though to raise another life can be a little daunting. Thank God that He gives us wisdom when we seek it.

Our children become the fruit of our lives and the decisions we make in how we cultivate that fruit will always have an effect on it condition. I thought this add served a great double meaning.

1. They were given the opportunity to have life - Gift of Life
2. They were raised in an opportunistic environment - Gift of Love

Culture

There's a lot to be said for the way a vision effects the culture of an organisation. What you set yourself on will alter your behaviour, you become the person you set out to be, even if you say "Well I've never set out to be anything" you will acheive it.

Thought this vid really captured that thought :)

waste not...want not

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. Muhammad Ali

Value of a Life

Kerryann Louise Filipek is one of our champion local girls here in Townsville, with a very real challenge at her door, her father is dying of cancer.

One of the seemingly ever increasing cases around Australia today, reminds us of how important a life truly is and how little it costs us to lend a hand where we can and receive help when we really need it.

For my facebook friends, you can join the cause Here, or simply become a bone marrow donor if you are not already. I am one of the few on the Bone Marrow registry and they are always looking for more donors.

Something to think about...

Discipline of Faith

Discipline - Controlled behaviour resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.

Controlled behaviour, what an interesting thought. If I make a decision and then allow my decision to influence my behaviour, then I am controlling my behaviour and acheiving what I set out to do.

Here is a great article on discipline. It's in regards to physical training, although it prompts a whole range of thoughts and Idea's. For example;

"I can’t just train for three months to do a show and take the rest of the year off. This is why most people could never do what we do. Most people don’t have the discipline that we have. "

It's a challenging thought. Is my life of faith one I work really hard at for a little while and then slack off? What kind of person am I becoming by doing that. These hard core body builders have their minds set on achieving their goals with no compromise. They daily build on the strong foundations they have set in place and are painfully aware of the consequences of "taking it easy"

The same can be said for a life of Faith. If we lack the discipline to daily exercise our faith, how can we expect to build anything of significance for God in our lives?

Living in the discipline of faith is not difficult and the small steps of faith will build quickly into larger leaps. Here are some tips to building super strong faith.

1. Be obedient
2. Tithe
3. Pray
4. Evangelise - "we have overcome...by the word of our testimony" (The book of the Revelation)
5. Seek out opportunity

Inconceivable!

I've not really been a follower of AFL until this year. This guy is unbelievable though!

On the road again

The amount of time people spend on average travelling is 1.1 hours a day, with the world's worst traffic jam occurs during the summer on the road from Paris to Toulouse, France. The 2000 record of 604km was well beaten in 2001 when holiday makers jammed up for 661km. Reminded me about the importance of enjoying the journey.

John Cameron from Arise Church in Wellington in NZ, used to get caught in traffic jams frequently (too many sheep crossing's I suppose.) So John always travelled with a notebook filled with his favourite scripture and would use the time to memorise the Word of God. What a great idea! The best way for me to enjoy the journey and not get caught up with the pressures and stresses of life is to fellowship with God.

If you were sitting in the car with the hottest girl/guy you've ever met and were having an awesome conversation, you wouldn't really care about the traffic. Actually you would probably thank God for the extra time! She's trapped! I've got her! Seriously though, if it is then more about who I am with then what I am doing, it makes sense to include God in every aspect of my life.

No one loves me like God loves me.

Something From Sunday

Healthy living

"who of you by worrying can add one cubit to your stature" Matt 6:27

It's a great scripture that has always been on the forefront of my mind. Preventive Medicine Research Institute and the University of California, San Francisco, published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that changing your lifestyle changes your genes

It relates to a substance in our bodies known as "telomeres." Telomeres are the ends of our chromosomes that control how long we live. As telomeres become shorter, then cells age and die faster. Likewise, healthy living, diet, adequate sleep and excercise have the reverse effect making the telomeres longer.

Same can be said for the spirit. Exercising your faith, feeding on the word and getting adequate rest in God will help you to live a much stronger life in faith in Jesus Christ.

"I have come that you might have life and have it to the full" John 10:10

My favourite fluids

They used to tell me

"You are what you eat"
"You get out what you put in"
"The man makes the clothes"

Let's hope one of these is true :)

What are you asking for?

Two hunters are out in the wild hunting, when out of nowhere, one of the hunters falls to the ground. The other hunter checks if he's breathing, but there's no sign of life, so he calls 911:

"Please! Help me! I think my friend is dead!"the operator says: "ok, ok, calm down, first, make sure if he's dead". After a short moment of silence, a gunshot is heard, then the frantic hunter says: "ok, now what?!"

Scent of Success

The company Chanel claims that every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, a bottle of Chanel No 5 is sold. You can see the full story here

It makes an interesting thought, a single bottle of perfume created in 1922 is sold in greater demand than ever before, in more stores around the globe and has set the Chanel name up for a very long period of time.

Reminds me of another bottle of perfume in an alibaster jar, that was smashed on the feet of Jesus. Matt 6:13 "Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

She is remembered more for what she did with what she had, rather than what she spent her life creating... Just a thought.

Leadership

Theodore Hesburgh:
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision.

Great leaders often take a path not yet travelled for the sake of the ones to follow. They know where they are going and don't go there alone. They take others with them, leaving a legacy for others to walk along and make it possible for them to extend the journey far beyond that of themselves.

Bright and Balanced

I had a friend leave me a nice email yesterday. They had been sifting through the collection of posts I've left over the last couple of months and were rather humoured.

"Some days it's really full on and deep, yet other days you are fully random"

I've been learning about becoming more balanced. Breaking up the seriousness of life. It's important to be on the move in life, heading towards a goal and achieving a purpose, however the balance is in giving yourself little commercial breaks, finding something to laugh about or creating little moments for yourself.

A random moment of my own, I was travelling from the Gold Coast back to Brisbane in a bright, yellow, convertable VW Beetle. The sun was shinning on the way down to the coast, then it rained all the way back from Nerang to Brisbane. The problem was I forgot to bring the canopy expecting it would be a sunny day out! To add to the event, I got every red light possible on the way back to Brisbane! Cars with small children were pointing and smiling at the funny looking couple in the bright, yellow covertable, windscreen wipers working madly.

What could have been a stressful time, worrying about damage to the car, the fact that I was soaking wet and what everyone else thought, ended up quite different. I thought it was hilarious. I took the time to laugh, saw my situation as a little ranom, smilied at waved at all the spectators of this ridiculous event.

I'm sure it was the main topic of conversation for many that night.

There is always a choice to react or respond. Always a choice to stress or to smile.

What you loose in saving face

Saw this picture during a surf session...

Thought:

Sometimes I strive so hard to save something that is seemingly valuable only to find I completely fall apart in the process. Learning to let go might mean that somethings fall apart around me, but I stand knowing that I am still becoming the best I can be.

If the things around me and my possessions dictate what I am, then I am hollow and will eventually fall apart. However, if I am a man of substance "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

...

LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

Brain Stretch

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - the fear of long words. I didn't know this until today, but this is a noun that is definately causing me some stress!

Another word I found amusing today was Hippophobia - the fear of Horses. Go figure.

A Tip for Life

The word "tip" is related to coffee (how very appealing to me.) It comes from old London coffeehouses where the waiters' brass boxes were etched with the inscription, "To Insure Promptness," no explaination required. In fact, it was in one such coffeehouses which belonged to a Mr Lloyd that a few cargo insurers got together to start the Lloyd's insurance company, one of the largest in the USA.

Bach wrote a coffee cantata in 1732, the founding fathers of the U.S., during the revolution, formed their national strategies in coffeehouses and in the old days in Constantinople, the first coffeehouses were called qahveh khaneh (schools of wisdom) because they were the meeting places of men of arts and literature.

Today I also had a very profitable conversation with a local member of parliment over a cup of coffee...sounds like we may be on to something...

Sanity in letting go

"If I am willing to let go of the past without trying to change the unchangeable, and accpet the future without hoping to control the uncontrollable, I will be able to live now, which is the only time I have for living" David Augsburger

International No Diet Day

This is a worldwide event raising awareness of the health risks associated with weight-loss diets, body image and self esteem.

It's all about feeling comfortable in your own skin, so grab an extra Tim Tam with your coffee, skip the gym and remember it's not what you look like that defines who you are. Beauty is for a moment but character, integrity and tenderness of heart last for a lifetime...

"I do's" and dont's

I've been asked to be an MC for a friends wedding in September and as a result have been madly surfing the internet for ideas tips and protocols.

Found this story today and thought you would enjoy.

"I was at a wedding reception where the Best Man in his speech was explaining how the couple met (the Groom and Best Man had been on holiday together). 'We saw these two women ... tossed for them .... and he lost'.

No one laughed!"

Loving on Love

Was thinking this week about the 5 love languages from the viewpoint of how I treat other people in my life and God dropped something on me. I said "I love you God" to the Lord and suddenly recognised that as words of affirmation...cause God said, in what other ways do you show me you love me....was a cool thought, check this out.

1. Physical touch - Touching the heart of God, raising my hands in worship...loving on the poor and needy "what you DID for the least of these you did to me. Fasting, by denying my flesh I build my spirit, less of me meaning more of Him in my life.

2. Words of Affirmation - Telling God we love Him, singing praise and worship, speaking with love to one another, speaking out God's promises and declaring His goodness to us and preaching the gospel to all man.

3. Acts of service - Helping the poor, needy, widows, children, lending a hand, offering my life as a servant to the Lord and as a tool for Him to use in all things.

4. Quality Time - Spending time reading the word, praying, worshipping Him. Telling Him what is on my heart and listening to what is on His heart.

5. Giving - Tithes, offerings, giving to the poor, needy and widow.


Just thought these were cool thoughts…

Driving Your Spouse Mad

In Memphis, Tennessee, a woman is not to drive a car unless a man warns approaching motorists or pedestrians by walking in front of the car that is being driven.

SPOILT

Tonight was SPOILT! A night were we bless all our lovely ladies by provding an environment o lesiure where they can sit back, relax, unwind and be SPOILT ROTTEN!

There was an insane amount of ladies at the Calvary Centre tonight and although we had an army of men dedicated to making the night a memorable pleasure, we were definately overwhelemed by the numbers.

Tonight I sang Jazz in a 4 piece band with Ryan "Mr Solo" Ward (Electric Guitar), "G Funk Daddy" (Bass) and "The Sticks" Ian Northey.

Was a really incredicle night and a great testament to the effort of all those who planned, prepared and pampered. Great Job to all!

There'll be some photo's floating around for sure very shortly, keep your eye out ;)