the voice

No I didn't take that photo :)

I just came back from the Octagon Theatre at UWA to watch Brooke Fraser perform. It was absolutely amazing - except for the slightly tone-deaf girl sitting behind us who kept singing really loudly (I think she thought she was Brooke or something). She (Brooke) sang:

Lifeline
Love, Where is Your Fire?
Shadowfeet
Better
Deciphering Me
Hymn
CS Lewis Song
Albertine
Waste Another Day
Arithmetic
Seeds
Hosea's Wife
Faithful
And a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's Sound of Silence

Brooke has an amazing voice and is soooo talented - she plays the piano and the guitar really well and can sing at the same time (something I can never do - it takes all my concentration to do an average job on the guitar. As soon as I try to sing at the same time, the guitar turns crappy, so people like her who can musically multi-task I really, really, really applaud).

The support act was pretty good too! His name is Eran James - Truc and I both thought he was pretty impressive.

modern chivalry

Since starting to do work at QV1, there is something that has caught my attention. The majority of men will stand back and let women into and out of the lifts first, before entering or exiting themselves. They hold the door open and some even ask you what level you are on and press the button for you. It's a small thing, but me and the other girls from my work have noticed it (our normal building isn't really like that as much) - and it's pretty obvious when a guy walks in without letting the girls go first.

On a similar note, today I saw a businessman on the bus stand up for a lady holding lots of stuff, and offered her a seat (no other guys, even those who were younger, did the same thing). And the other week, an old couple were at dinner and as they were leaving, I noticed the husband helping his wife put on her coat. It was a small gesture, but I thought it was nice!

It's also good to see some of the brothers at church being chivalrous by helping sisters carry things, escorting them to their car or elsewhere at night, opening doors, allowing them to go first in lunch fellowship lines and all that kinda stuff. (Good on ya fellas! Keep it up! We sisters do notice your kindness and do appreciate it!)

It might be a sign of the times, but I have noticed that such acts of chivalry are a rarity in today's society. It just doesn't happen very much - so much so that it's a pleasant surprise when as a woman, you see or experience a chivalrous act from a kind stranger. I think it is something that should be encouraged and brought back!

I found this interesting article online which I thought was worth sharing (well at least part of it anyway). Although the writer may not be a Christian (I don't know myself), the principles (I believe) are quite good and worth taking note. Let's bring back chivalry!

The virtues of chivalry offer more than pleasantries and politeness. They give purpose and meaning to male strength, and therefore support the overall workings of society. They remind us that Camelot is an ideal worth striving for, the reflection of who we are when we are at our best. Here is a short summary:

Truth provides the foundation of chivalry. A man who lies cannot be trusted. His strength and ambitions cannot be counted on. Truth should always remain our greatest concern.

Loyalty denotes a relationship that is based on truth and commitment. If we are fortunate, we have companions who are loyal to us—but we must be loyal to others as well. Remember, loyalty is a virtue to cultivate, even when it is not reciprocated.

Courtesy provides the means for cordial and meaningful relationships. A society cannot be healthy without courteous interaction. We sometimes admire people who trample on courtesy to get what they want—but keep in mind, the contentious world they create is very disappointing, and we all have to live in it.

Chivalry calls men to honor women, and to serve as their helpmates. This precept merely states the natural order of things. Men should honor women first as people, and then as the conduits and nurturers of life. That certain men commit violence against women, or treat them with disrespect, is an outrage against nature, and presents a poor image of manhood.

Justice involves little more than treating people fairly. It also calls for mercy. We all make mistakes.

We admire men who are strong, but if their strength is not directed to uphold what is good, what value does it have? We are therefore called to use our strength to defend those who cannot defend themselves, and commit ourselves to just causes. Never oppress other people.

Nothing is more unmanly and corruptive to society than delighting in scandal and gossip. Not only do you harm those who are victims of gossip, you harm yourself as well. How? By becoming a creature who is unloving. It is wrong to delight in the guilt or suffering of others, or to feed the flames of scandal, a major occupation of nightly television shows. No one is perfect. That fact in itself unites us all.

Chivalry also speaks about romantic love. People today often find romantic love disappointing. It promises more than it delivers, especially in regards to permanence. Why? Because we
perceive romantic love as something spontaneous, something that does not demand work and a strong moral base. Medieval literature tells us quite the opposite. The very essence of romantic love is commitment. This is where chivalry provides a vital ingredient. Love relationships provide the laboratory where the virtues of chivalry are tested to their fullest, and manliness is finally proved. An added bonus shows that proper love encourages us to do our best in all things.

We often take who we are for granted—as if our beliefs and behaviors are fixed in stone. The truth is that we are creatures constantly in the making. We either move forward in our development, or backwards. Staying still is the same as going backwards. Why? Because the movement of time never holds still. We either progress with it, or are left behind.

the Washer machine

Last night at Regeneration, we listened to a sermon by Paul Washer (yep they guy in the picture - I like to call him the Washer machine) and it was a ripper.

You can listen to it here.

This sermon was an eye-opener. Make sure you check it out.

bowl-a-rama

Regeneration had their first ever bowling outreach on Thursday night at AMF Cannington. In true el-cheapo-asian style, we planned our outreach for 'tight-as-Thursday' where we got to bowl for $6 per game (including shoe hire).

Praise God because the event went really well and a lot of new people joined us from our various workplaces. Fellowship was had, games were played, pins were knocked over, bowling balls were magnitised into the gutter, the gospel was shared, lollies were eaten and fun was had. It was a great night out - and one that no doubt will be repeated in the future. When I told some of my work buddies the next day that I went bowling (I didn't get the chance to invite them because I totally forgot!), they were like 'MAN, how come you didn't ask us to go??' - and I was like, O Crap! So hopefully another one will be organised in the near future.

I won't go into scores because they aren't important - all that matters is that we had fun!! :) Here are some piccies...

Free shoe hire!

Shoe-fitting ceremony

Clap-clap-clap

The action was shared over 5 lanes

Ball selection is half the battle

All smiles!

Smile if ya love bowling!

We love bowling!

Can you feel the love?

What is a sport without spectators?

Laughin' it up

I got the style, but not the skill

every second...

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature [Mark 16:15]

What are you going to do about it?

26 August: City Evangelism
26 August: 30in30 Pack Distribution
31 August - 1 September: 24 hour prayer loop 30in30
1 September: 30in30 Launch: The Big Breakfast
1-30 September: 30in30

NOW: Sign up for the above
NOW: Your Testimony - upload it to I Chose Life
NOW: Your 30in30 updates - upload it to the 30in30 blog
NOW: Pray
NOW: Obey the Great Commission and fight this Spiritual Battle together

sunday school bootcamp

To me, Sunday School is one of the most important ministries in the church - it was, after all, one of biggest contributing factors to my own salvation. A child-like faith to most people seems like something that is superficial and the result of brain-washing, but for me, it was the foundation to how I became the Christian I am today.

Growing up going to Public Schools and learning in a secular education system, Sunday School gave me the unshakable understanding of what the Bible taught to combat what I was being taught at school. When my poor Human Biol teacher tried to teach me about Evolution, I wouldn't have a bar of it - and subsequently made him earn his salary for that year of teaching - hehe. Sunday School also gave me an ethical and moral grounding that was supported by my Christian parents. It helped me pull through my 'rebellious teenage years' and use my own free will to choose to follow Christ rather than seek after what the world had to offer.

In my Spiritual Life, it gave me a head start in Basic Bible Knowledge, and not only came in handy during Bible Quizzes, but also in my every day life. When situations came up in my life, I could reflect on people in the Bible who faced similar situations and be encouraged by what God did to help them. Knowing that God has an awesome track record of helping people in such situations, it reminded me that He will be there and will do something similar to help me.

So I guess when I was approached about three or so years ago to start teaching Sunday School, I saw it as a great opportunity to have the same kind of impact that so many of my Sunday School teachers had on me, on the youngins in church. Teaching Sunday School is not only really entertaining (the kids never fail to make me laugh with the crazy things they say and do), it is challenging, rewarding and enjoyable. What makes it great too is seeing them enjoy Sunday School - which wasn't the case all the time when I was in Sunday School. Plus, it was always that little bit cooler, for me anyways, when we got taught by one of the 'young people' rather than one of the aunties (not that there was anything wrong with the aunties, they were all so nice and sweet... but having people closer to our age was always that little bit more special!).

At the moment, there are a few young people helping out with Sunday School, but let's face it, there could be a lot more. There is a need for more people with new ideas and enthusiasm to get the kids more excited about Sunday School, and Lord willing, bring their friends and siblings to church too! You can help in heaps of different areas - teaching, assisting, leading songs, playing guitar or piano, helping with art and craft, leading games, inviting the kids you know to church, or even just being the gor gors and jie jies the littlies look up to as role models.

So with that, I just wanted to encourage all who read this blog to consider coming along to the Sunday School Bootcamp (hardly a bootcamp - it's only 3 hours of sitting there listening to Pastor Ed) - even if you have never taught Sunday School and are just interested to hear what goes on, come! Even if the thought has merely crossed your mind, come and find out more! You're not locking yourself into anything by coming along - but you will never never know if you never never go. Hope to see you there :)

boaz meets girl

Tonight at Regen we did a DHW Bible Study on Ruth Chapter 2. Hehehe... Trust Regen to pick the love story book! Just Kidding... Better quit that before I get busted by the Committee :P

Chapter 2 is the bit where Boaz meets Ruth - the great love story in the Bible. So it was an interesting one to look at. The sisters split into our own group and we talked at length about Boaz's motive of being so nice to Ruth. I thought it was pretty clear that Boaz thought Ruth was pretty cute and was being nice to her because of that so I was actually quite surprised that a lot of the girls thought that Boaz was just being nice. I mean, the Bible doesn't say what his intentions were but c'mon... Boaz was soooooo interested in Ruth! You don't just single some one out and (a) ask about her as soon as you see her, (b) tell the other fellas around her to stay away from her, (c) give instructions to leave extra barley for her to glean, (d) invite her out to dinner and then (d) give her heaps of food to eat. Boaz had a thing for Ruth - full on!

To be honest, when all the other girls thought Boaz was just being nice, I kinda felt a bit alone with my own outspoken opinion (a feeling I am all too familiar with)... And then I started to think Hmmm, maybe Boaz WAS being a nice boss and being caring in a totally not-interested-in-Ruth-at-all-kinda way. But that was until I asked what the guys thought about Boaz's actions. I think Adrian's exact words were 'Boaz had game' hahaha.. I think it's so funny how guys and girls can think so differently.

Again, the Bible doesn't say what Boaz's intentions were, but the fact remains that even if Boaz was interested in Ruth and was being nice to her in an attempt to pursue her, there's not actually anything wrong with that! Boaz was, after all, human and Ruth was, after all, one pretty hot damsel (Hehehe I love how the KJV calls Ruth a damsel - love it). And really, it was God's plan for the two of them to end up together.

What's funny is that the one story has so many different interpretations - you have the Regen sisters saying that Boaz was just being nice, the Regen lads saying that Boaz 'had game' and then another article that I read recently that Ruth was the one who was workin' it. The article was in Boundless (Christian Webzine) and it was about women making their intentions known to guys. It was called 'Pulling a Ruth'. I don't agree with it completely (I reckon the guy should be the one that initiates), but here is a bit of the article that explains how Ruth erm, pulled a Ruth...

Mary responded matter-of-factly: “Sometimes you have to ‘Pull a Ruth.’”

“What’s that?” I asked.

Mary went on to tell us the story of Ruth — one of two women to get her own book of the Bible. Set in the time of Judges — some of Israel’s darkest days — Ruth left her homeland and her dead husband and headed to a foreign country with her mother-in-law. Once there, she found that her prospects for marriage were pretty slim.

Then she saw Boaz — a wealthy hunk — who just happened to be available and related to Ruth’s mother-in-law. For Ruth, Boaz was the most eligible bachelor around.

Not content to just wait for Boaz to take notice of her, Ruth’s mother-in-law encouraged her to place herself in Boaz’s path. Ruth went to Boaz’s threshing floor and covered herself with his cloak: That was the Old Testament way of saying “I’m available.”

She made her intentions known — that she wanted to get married — and it worked. Not only did she get a husband, she got God’s blessing and a baby named Obed who became the grandfather of King David and a direct ancestor of Jesus.

Interesting... Just another story of Boaz Meets Girl... Or Ruth's story, I Kissed Gleaning Goodbye! hahahah - I am so funny - a legend in my own lunch box :P

current reading

Since my last reading update, I have finished a few books - Boy Meets Girl; Acts; Daniel; Job; and Zechariah. Not the most impressive effort - I know, but at least it's something.

Well, recently Pastor Sam gave me a set of CDs with a KJV Audio Bible on them. The guy on the CD reads out the Bible, and all you do is sit back and listen! (He's pretty good too - a lot of expression). Now THAT's a cool idea! I later found out you can get the same thing online for free - and that there's another one with music in the background! Coooool!

So I have gone through and 'read' or more accurately listened to a big chunk of Luke.

No... Not that Luke! The BOOK of Luke - in the Bible! hehehe

Other current reads...

Confessions of St Augustine - St Augustine (still)
Tired of Do-List Christianity - Scott Morton (oops - yeah this one still too)
Leviticus
2 Samuel

go to the ant...

Those were the words that got me out of bed this morning. It was freeeeezing cold (BITTERLY cold), and I had decided to go to work just over an hour earlier than normal to try to get through my mountain of stuff to do. It was tough, and the battle between the flesh and the spirit was in full swing...

Oh no... it's so COLD
Get up! You NEED to go to work!
Can't even open my eyes..
Stop being lazy.
I won't even be able to work if my stupid eyes don't open
C'mon! You'll miss the bus!
No!
Go to the ant, thou sluggard!
Oh man, not even the ants are out at this hour!

But after thinking about that verse more, I decided to get out of bed and go to work. The rest of the verse - found in Proverbs Chapter 6, goes like this...

Proverbs 6:6-11 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Yep. God's word is pretty convicting. So I got ready for work, rugged up and braved the cold. But thank God for it, because today ended up being a pretty good and productive day. And contrary to my first thoughts in the morning, my brain did work and I ended up getting heaps done!

Some things to thank God for today:

- getting a nagging report done (had been procrastinating big time on this little sucker)
- knocking off a few things on my massive to-do list
- one of my problem-workers getting closed!
- getting a new work phone :D
- getting some petty cash back that I had forgotten about (it was only $6.60, but that's like 2 coffees, so I'm happy with that)
- going to Jaws for lunch (YUM!)
- billing heaps and heaps (ka-ching! for work anyway)
- having the energy to do all of the above :D

Thanks God! Couldn't have done it without Your strength!

linerider

It was 8pm. Caleb sends me a link through msn (he's next door with the door open but still writes to me saying 'its fun'). I click on that link. And with that, my eyes were opened to a whole new world.

http://www.linerider.com/play.html

After trying (and quickly failing) to make my own little line rider track, I gave up, decided that this is for all the people out there who have too much time on their hands, and instead, looked up ones that had been prepared earlier on YouTube. It's a great idea, and mate, these people are physics-whizzes, but I shudder to think how long people spent making the videos below... Still, they entertained Caleb and I and for the next half hour or so, we 'WoooooooOOOOOooOOOOOOOOOooOOooooooooooo!'-ed our way through a fair few of them.

stress

It's been pretty crazy at work in the last few weeks. I feel like every day I am constantly on the go doing several things at once and always having a whole list of things that needed to be done the day before. Yuk.

Admittedly, the days go a lot faster during these busy times (too quickly in fact) and it's been good in a way because I have definitely not been feeling bored. But I have started to feel a bit stressed - kinda like the lady in the picture (I usually have a pretty organised system when it comes to work, but in recent weeks I have been inundated with work and my usually organised desk has turned ugly). I'm not normally the type to get stressed, well at least I don't think I am, but I have noticed it starting to creep up on me.

The other night I woke up thinking I needed to go and do an Ergonomic Assessment for someone and then I realised that I was in bed and then I had to spend the next few minutes telling myself there is no way that I had to do an Ergo right there and then - in my PJs - in my bedroom - on a weekend - in the middle of the night... Weird stuff. Sometimes it makes me wonder how God has wired our brains to be so convinced of things so absurd - well I guess that explains the people who believe in evolution hehe.

But I have found that the whole experience was (and is currently still) pointing me to a few key verses that I really need to cram into my brain...

Firstly...

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

And to always remember...

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Because...

Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

God's Word is awesome. Once again He tells me that though I am faced with so much stuff and it just seems SO overwhelming, He is with me, He will give me the strength that I need, and that through His grace - it can and will be done.

ENFP

Your Type is
ENFP
Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
67 25 38 33

You are:
distinctively expressed extravert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
moderately expressed perceiving personality

That was what my 'score' read after doing the Myers-Briggs Typology Test online tonight.

Don't ask me why I did it again - I guess I was really really bored. But I thought it was interesting because I am usually an ESFP and I guess I have change somewhat to be more intuitive - whatever that means :P

happy birthday mum!

It's this lovely lady's birthday today...

Yep, that's my mama! She looks pretty awesome for a ___ year old hey? hehe

I thank God always for my mum. She's the bestest mum ever in the whole wide world!

She is getting older all the time, and the more I get older myself, the more I realise that my times I will have with her and my dad on this earth are getting shorter and shorter. So happy birthday mum! Praying that there will be heaps and heaps and heaps more birthdays to come!

acts

I finished reading Acts last night. It was a pretty good read. So many cool miracles and stuff - would have been great to live in those times. What I liked most about it was how people like Paul, Barnabus, Peter, John, Stephen, Philip and all the others kept making the most out of opportunities to evangelise to the people they met. Acts had so many accounts of people coming to believe in Christ and people like these fellas being used to lead them to salvation.

That's one thing that I really want in my life - to be used by God in the same way. Lord willing, I would like to go on a mission trip someday and go from city to city telling people about God. How awesome would that be?? I hope this is in God's will for me somewhere down the track of my life - whether it be while I am single, or with church, or with my future husband, or with friends, or with my family. And if it doesn't happen, well, I guess I could always read Acts again and pretend that I am there hehe.

I also love how Paul was so brave and was just so determined to live for God and proclaim His word - regardless of the consequences. And I love even more, that God preserved him through so many situations and delivered him from prison, riots and even death. It is SO good to be a Christian! Knowing that God is on our side, we can also have that same confidence as Paul - imagine the possibilities if we realised that and lived life like Paul did...

Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him [Acts 28:31]

acoustic tunes

27 years...

+

=

Today is my parent's 27th Wedding Anniversary! Yep.. These two lovebirds got married way back in 1980 and through God's grace and their own love for one another, are still going strong into their old fogey years!

I have to say, having Christian parents who set an example by their own relationship is an awesome blessing to have in life. They aren't the perfect example (no one is really), but their relationship shows me (and others) that marriage for life is not only possible, but God's plan.

I was trying to explain this same thing to one of my friends at work who's getting married because she said to me something like:

'I don't think we will stay married forever'
And I just thought (in my head) WHAT?? So I asked her,
'then why do you want to get married?'
'because I'm in love'

She said that it wouldn't really bother her if she got married and had kids and then got separated leaving her kids in limbo because she thought it was more important to be 'true to her heart'. I just remember thinking it was so sad that she thought this way. So being a Greg Mazak fan, you can guess what I talked to her about next (if you can't guess, check this out).

The sermon actually says that we should choose to love (even when we don't feel it) because we can't base our vow-before-God-of-marriage-for-life on something as fickle as feelings. If we do, then when we stop feeling in love with our spouse, and fall in love with someone else, it will make perfect sense to get a divorce and remarry. OK, it's not the best summary, but you should really listen to it yourself if you haven't already done so.

She somewhat agreed with me, but was still pretty convinced that she was right in her own belief. All I can say is that I did my part in telling her, the rest is up to God.

As for my parents, I just thank God for them and their example for me. After 27 years of marriage, they still hang out together, go for walks, play scrabble, watch SBS foreign movies together, go on holidays with just the two of them, work together, pray together and bicker with each other too hehehe.

I thank God that they have stayed together and have, through that, provided the three of us children with the security that comes from a home united in Christ, and that they have worked together to raise us into the people we have become. I hope and pray that they will have at least 27 more years together - when they will be well and truly into their old fogey / mouldy oldie years!

brooke playing at the octagon

I just bought tickets to Brooke Fraser's performance at the Octagon on 29 August! Yay! So excited...

Brooke Fraser is one of my favourite artists - her lyrics are always so good (see my previous post =]) she's got an awesome voice, she plays the guitar, AND she's a Christian! I'm really looking forward to this one :D

*clapping hands with gleeful excitement*

She was actually touring earlier this year and I really really really really really really wanted to go BUT the venue was questionable and it was on a Friday night (and therefore clashed with Regeneration), so I reluctantly decided not to go. Thank God, because now she is touring again (only a few months later) and it's at a nice venue AND on a Wednesday night (I have joined EBI, but the classes are on video and I can always catch up hehe) so I am super happy about it.

I guess it taught me that if you do the right thing, God will remember what you have done and won't make you suffer because you chose to do what was right. So yeah, thanks God for making Brooke do a theatre tour so I can go with a clear conscience!

CS Lewis Song

The lyrics of this song are awesome.

C.s. Lewis Song (Album Version)

If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy
I can only conclude that I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary
Then of course I'll feel nude when to where I'm destined I'm compared

CHORUS
Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
As I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found,
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me,
Is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?

`Cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
Of who I was born to become

CHORUS

Bridge
For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath
So we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live
I was made to love
I was made to know you

Hope is coming for me

CHORUS


Copyright Brooke Fraser