the blessing of health

I haven't been having a very good run health-wise this year. My immune system has seemed to struggle and as a result, I have been getting sick. After getting sick in May, and having that sickness become laryngitis, and then getting sick again a few weeks ago, and then on Friday coming home from work early because of sharp pains in my stomach (not sure of the cause of this - it was painful to stand or walk - but thank God it subsided by about 6ish) - I woke up on Saturday night (well technically Sunday morning) with a sore throat and I kinda freaked out.

How could I possibly be getting sick AGAIN! I can't get sick now, I have too many things to do at work!

I guess it wasn't just the fact that the sore throat was a sign of an impending cold or flu - it was more because I knew the reason that I was getting sick was that I had not been getting a good night's sleep for a few nights.

As I fret about my health situation I try to remind myself that God is always up to something good in my life - always. And I also up the Vitamin C and garlic tablets!

numbers

Woooo! I finished Numbers!

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was expecting boring genealogies - and even though there were some very repetitive chapters (like chapter 26, oh! and 29..), - there was also heaps of action and even some jaw-dropping moments.

Take for example this excerpt from Numbers 16, Moses is trying to show everyone that Korah, Dathan and Abiram have sinned against God. The people were not entirely convinced so Moses says...

Numbers 16:29-34 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

:O Whoa.... That beats the genealogies for sure.

But Numbers is really a book about God's leadership of His people and their defiant rebellions in the wilderness. Ken Casillas gave us some really good points during the Old Testament Survey in EBI. Casillas took a closer look at the many rebellions of the Israelites in the book of Numbers - complaints about food, water, going to battle, and pretty much everything else they had to do. Add to this idolatry, immorality, demands for power and it amazes you that God still gave them a second, third, fourth (and it goes on) chance - you really see just how merciful God was (and still is).

We also see the different causes of rebellion and we realise that the causes back then are the same causes for rebellion today. Casillas identified five:

1. Discontentment (with God's provisions is really discontentment with God Himself)
2. Inordinate physical desire
3. Ambition
4. Faithlessness (failure to trust what God had said)
5. Ungodly influences

So another book is done and dusted and I am one small step closer to finishing the Bible in a year.

song: deathbed

Relient K are a band that I like and not like at the same time. Some of their songs are just dumb, but there are quite a few that I think are fantastic. On their recent album, Fivescore and Seven Years Ago, the very last track is a song called Deathbed.



This is one of the fantastic songs.

The song is about a man on his deathbed. He looks back at his life and remembers all the milestones in his life - when his parents divorced, when his dad abandoned him, how he became addicted to alcohol and nicotine, getting married to his pregnant wife on his 21st (after being encouraged by his gun-toting-father-in-law-to-be hehe), getting divorced - and finally how on his deathbed, he thinks about his sinful life and wonders whether God will forgive him of his sins. He finally comes to realise that there is a blessed hope in Christ. My favourite part of the song is:

I was so scared of Jesus
But He sought me out
Like the cancer in my lungs
That's killing me now
And I've given up hope
On the days I have left
But I cling to the hope
Of my life in the next

After this, he realises he is a sinner - a wolf guilty of the blood of the Lamb - and he seeks forgiveness. The song then ends with 'Jesus' (sung really nicely by Jon Foreman of Switchfoot) reaching out to the man and asking him to follow Him.

Other bits in the song I like - all the different instruments in (like the toy piano tinkling at the end) and how they perfectly reflect the mood of the lyrics, the witty lyrics ('If life was a highway, I was drunk at the wheel'), and Jon Foreman's voice at the end (SUCH a good voice).

Love them or hate them, Relient K came up with a goody with this song. It's kinda like a hopeful version of Bohemian Rhapsody. The lyrics in full are below.

'Deathbed' by Relient K
I can smell the death on the sheets
Covering me
I can't believe this is the end

But this is my deathbed
I lie here alone
If I close my eyes tonight
I know I'll be home

The year was nineteen forty one
I was eight years old and
Far far too young
To know that the stories
Of battles and glory
Was a tale a kind mother
Made up for her son
You see
Dad was a traveling preacher
Teaching the words of the Teacher
My mother left mourning
Went off to the war
And died there with honor
Somewhere on a beach there
But he left once to never return
Which taught me that I should unlearn
Whatever I thought a father should be
I abandoned that thought
Like he abandoned me

By forty seven I was fourteen
I'd acquired a taste for liquor and nicotine
I smoked until I threw up
Yet I still lit 'em up for thirty more years
Like a machine

So right there you have it
That one filthy habit
Is what got me where I am today

I can smell the death on the sheets
Covering me
I can't believe this is the end
I can hear those sad memories
Still haunting me
So many things
I'd do again

But this is my deathbed
I lie here alone
If I close my eyes tonight
I know I'll be home

I got married on my twenty first
Eight months before my wife would give birth
It's easier to be sure you love someone
When her father inquires with the barrel of a gun
The union was far from harmonious
No two people could have been more alone than us
The years would go by and she'd love someone else
And I realized I hadn't been loved yet myself

And there's your typical spiel
Yeah if life was a highway
I was drunk at the wheel
I was seeing the loose ends
All fall apart
Yeah I swear I was destined to fail
And fail from the start

I bowled about six times a week

The bottle of Beam kept the memories from me
The marriage had taken a seven-ten split
Along with my pride the ex-wife took the kids

I can smell the death on the sheets
Covering me
I can't believe this is the end
I can hear those sad memories
Still haunting me
So many things
I'd do again

But this is my deathbed
I lie here alone
If I close my eyes tonight
I know I'll be home

I was so scared of Jesus
But He sought me out
Like the cancer in my lungs
That's killing me now
And I've given up hope
On the days I have left
But I cling to the hope
Of my life in the next
Then Jesus showed up
Said "Before we go"
"I thought that we might reminisce"
"See one night in your life"
"When you turned out the light"
"You asked for and prayed for my forgiveness"

You cried wolf
The tears they soaked your fur
The blood dripped from your fangs
You said, "What have I done?"
You loved that lamb
With every sinful bone
And there you wept alone
Your heart was so contrite

You said, "Jesus, please forgive me of my crimes
Sanctify this withered heart of mine
Stay with me until my life is through
And on that day please take me home with you"

I can smell the death on the sheets
Covering me
I can't believe this is the end
I can hear You whisper to me,
"It's time to leave
You'll never be lonely again"

But this was my deathbed
I died there alone
When I closed my eyes tonight
You carried me home

[Jon Foreman of Switchfoot sings, as the voice of Jesus:]
I am the Way
Follow Me
And take My hand
And I am the Truth
Embrace Me and you'll understand
And I am the Light
And for Me you'll live again
For I am Love
I am Love
I, I am Love

in need of divine enablement

At Regeneration last night, we went through Session 16 of Quieting a Noisy Soul. When Jim Berg described this lesson as one of the most important lessons he had ever learned in his spiritual life, it caught my attention. And as he started speaking, I realised that this message was something that I really needed to hear.

The message was titled Qualifying for Divine Help and it was based on Hebrews 12:15-16 and 1 Peter 5:5b. JB defined Grace as 'divine enablement' or 'help from God' and explained that God gives us grace to resist temptation and rejoice and endure times of trouble. When we don't have grace from God consequences include bitterness, moral failure and temporal values. And to get grace, we need to humble ourselves and ask God who gives grace abundantly.

It was a really good message but there were a few points that I thought were worth sharing...

>> When we feel as though we don't want to do anything for God or that we can't - we are in need of Divine enablement. God wants us to do His will and He will give us all the grace we need to do His will.

>> There are two doors - God's will and Satan's will. If we don't go through the God's Will door, we will go through the Satan's Will door by default. It requires effort to go follow God's Will - but God will give us divine enablement (grace) to follow His will, because ultimately he wants us to obey Him. Likewise, if we go through the Satan's Will door, Satan will also give us help (un-grace, hell-p, anti-grace - whatever you want to call it) to keep following our flesh and going deeper into disobedience.

>> When we are going through trials, God doesn't remove them, He just 'turns up' the grace. As we ask Him for more grace to overcome the trial, He will in turn, overcome us with His grace - so much so that we may often find ourselves surprised at our own actions because we never thought we were capable of doing what we did (and rightly so, because we could have only done what we did because God gave us the grace to do it). Confused yet? hehe

>> If we have the wrong value system, we can be easily ripped off. If we value temporal things more than eternal things, we will make bad decisions. We will swap our dimes (10c coins) of integrity and purity, for nickels (5c coins) of pleasure. Satan has confused us by 'swapping the price tags' of things - giving temporal things more value than they are worth.

>> To get grace, we need to come to God with a humble heart. He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We need to ask God for help to do what He wants us to do.

JB's conclusion?

Believers who are humbling themselves before God and others will be filled with the grace of God and will experience the desire and the power to do what is right. They will be filled with joy and peace, not discontent, anxiety, anger and despair.

don't leave it on the desk

I have received this email a few times and every time I read it, it reminds me of the type of sacrifice Christ made for us on Calvary and just how ungrateful some people can be when they reject the gift that God paid for with His own blood. I thought I would share it here for your encouragement.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class. One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

'How many push-ups can you do?'

Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.'

'200? That's pretty good, Steve,' Dr Christianson said. 'Do you think you could do 300?'

Steve replied, 'I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time.'

'Do you think you could?' again asked Dr. Christianson.

'Well, I can try,' said Steve.

'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,' said the professor.

Steve said, 'Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it.'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Good. I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.'

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.

Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, 'Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?'
Cynthia said, 'Yes.'

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?'

'Sure.' Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe, do you want a donut?'

Joe said, 'Yes.' Dr. Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?'

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, 'Scott do you want a donut?'

Scott's reply was, 'Well, can I do my own pushups?'

Dr. Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.'

Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want one then.'

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?' With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten pushups.

Scott said, 'Hey, I said I didn't want one' Dr. Christianson said, 'Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it' And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?'

Sternly, Jenny said, 'No.'

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?' Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say 'No' and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?'

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your pushups. You are in charge now You can do them any way that you want.' And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, 'NO, don't come in Stay out!'

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.'

Professor Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him?'

Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now Jason, do you want a donut?'

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. 'Yes,' he said, 'give me a donut'

'Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?' Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, 'Linda, do you want a doughnut?'

Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.'

Professor Christianson quietly asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?' Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. 'Susan, do you want a donut?'

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. 'Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?'

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, 'No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.'

'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?' As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said. 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.'

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

'Well done, good and faithful servant,' said the professor, adding, 'Not all sermons are preached in words'

Turning to his class, the professor said, 'My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.'

'Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?'

a lesson from seal

I don't know whether it is because I have been a bit stressed at work recently, or the lack of sleep, or just eating too much crap on the weekend (it was probably a combination of all of the above), but I came down with yucky cold/flu symptoms today and I subsequently stayed at home and kept the germies to myself - those 'I have the flu - pass it on campaigns' have been drummed into me pretty well. :D

So after sleeping for most of the day, I got out of bed and had lunch with my old friend Oprah. What I found interesting about today's show was that Seal and Heidi Klum were on and they were talking about their marriage. Oprah asked them questions about their married life and because they seemed to be very much in love after four years together (which is like a lifetime for celebrities), she asked them what the secret to their good marriage was.

Seal replied saying something along the lines of 'We have always believed that we should be putting each other first in the marriage, then the children, then our work'. When he said this, Oprah and the rest of the audience were like WHOA! And Oprah then said something like 'you should be some kind of teacher to all the other men in the world', and then they gave Seal some of his childhood photos in a photo album from times when he was with his foster family (which he explained were his only really happy times growing up because he came from a broken family), and then they reunited him with his foster sister (who he had not seen for 40 years), and then they embraced, and then the tears flowed, and then everyone got emotional and in the end it was all very good day-time television.

But back to the point... What Seal said about marriage - I believe - is the Biblical view of marriage (you just need to add God as the very first priority - before the wife / husband). I'm not saying by any means that Seal is a Christian (cos he isn't, otherwise there'd be no need to add God into the hierarchy cos He would be there already), but I believe that the reason why what he said came as some kind of revelation to Oprah, the studio audience, and probably all the people watching at home, was because the world teaches us something completely different - the doctrine of self - and as a result, people go into marriage thinking they will get something out of it, rather than going into a marriage with the mindset to put something in and serve the other person.

The reason why he received an applause from Oprah and the audience after he said it was not only because it was Oprah, where the audience clap at the drop of a hat, but because it just makes sense. If you are both in a marriage with the idea of serving each other, of course the marriage will be a happy one. If you are trying really hard to serve the other person all the time, of course they are going to happier and therefore more likely to do the same for yourself. Likewise, if all you think about is the children or work, then of course the other person is going to feel neglected and a strain will result in the bond between man and wife. It's not rocket science.

This can definitely work for a non-Christian couple too - the only stickler is that a non-Christian couple, if they can't be bothered trying any more, can always opt for a divorce (which they so often do) - whereas the Christian couple will ask God for more help and never even contemplate the notion of a divorce - They're in it for life. Hehe sounds pretty daunting, but if the marriage is as God planned it to be - life will just not be long enough!

the great clothes swap

It was just after lunchtime on Saturday. The Cheng Household seemed eerily calm. But at around 1:30pm, a loud rumbling appeared to be approaching at a rapid pace. The brothers ran for cover, one had anticipated the attack and was already in the Library seeking shelter and the other one locked himself in his room. The sisters however, came prepared for the event and armed themselves with a mess high in carbohydrates and simple sugars. And then it happened - the Op Shop gave birth in the Living Room.


After weeks of anticipation, the Clothes Swap finally arrived today! And I have to say, it was a great success! Not only did we have enough clothes to dress an army of young girls, but we also managed to: find a few little things for ourselves, hang out with fellow sisters in Christ, play DRESS-UPS!, enjoy some afternoon tea (including Krispy Kremes straight from Melby!! - Lovingly couriered over by the lovely Sel-Belle :D), and help the Good Sammy's with a significant donation later that night before we went for coffee (so we can go back there one day and buy them back at the Op Shop haha!).

It was so much fun.

Here are some pics from today... We are SOOOO doing this again!

the swappers

the swapping

the dress-ups
the facebook shots hehe

the home-made scones

(recipe by Darrell, labour by Shirls and I)

wednesdays at Leah's

Every Wednesday, a few of us girls come together for a small dinner and Bible Study at Leah's place. Nothing fancy, just sitting in front of the heater enjoying both physical and spiritual food. Though we have only really just started, I am really enjoying it, and am looking forward to the rest of it. It's sweet-mid-week-fellowship.

We are studying Ecclesiastes and though it can be challenging, I always come away from it having learnt something new and finding truths in the Word that had previously been overlooked. And that's the way (a-huh a-huh) I like it.

For example, last night, this verse came up...

Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

After we first read it, we all paused and went back to dig around the verse to find out what it was actually trying to say. There were a few parallel verses and as we read these, the meaning became clear.

We concluded that when the righteous work, God gives them enjoyment. However, when the sinners work and gain riches while on earth, God will (through death - the great equalizer) take away the earthly riches from the sinners (because they can't take this with them when they die) and then divide this amongst the righteous. But does this mean that the righteous are given the inheritance of the sinners? I don't think so. Because the verse also describes what God will give the righteous as 'good in his sight'. This could mean that God will give material goods according to what He deems most appropriate, or it could simply be referring to heavenly riches - after all, why would God use earthly treasures for blessing when He can use heavenly ones?! So in the end, we can conclude that the work of the sinner is vanity (like everything else under the sun!), but the work of the righteous will be rewarded with enjoyment as well as real rewards in heaven.

May the learning and fellowshipping continue!

road trip

It wasn't too bad a day at work today. I had to go to Bunbury to do an assessment, it was going to be a long road trip and I didn't get much sleep the night before. So my Mum offered to come with me to keep me company (and to keep me awake). So the two of us had a little bit of an impromptu road trip - it felt like the weekend had come a day early!

The drive to Bunbury is quite a long one (around 2 hours each way - longer coming back due to traffic) and it can be quite boring sitting in the car with nothing but the radio to keep you company, so having Mum there to chat to about stuff was really good. We talked about all sorts of things including Europe, cancer, evangelism, the history of Abba (which is really quite interesting), and so many other really random things. We also had a bit of a singing session with Paul Colman and ate junkfood on the way there and back. It was great.

But what was really good was that before I got onto the Freeway, she prayed for me asking God that we would get there safely and on time and that I would have enough energy to do the work I needed to do. And we sure needed His help too, because the weather was really bad for some parts of the trip. At times, I could only just see where I was going! Scary stuff! So thank God for anwered prayers, and thank God for Mum praying the prayers!

The more I get older, the more I appreciate the times I have with my parents. They are getting older too and as they do, it always reminds me how short life is - and how much more we should be doing things like what we did today.

david attenborough

For the last few months, Monday nights have been special for me. Special because every Monday night, I will spend an hour with an Old English guy who loves animals and who also happens to be a knight.

I LOVE the hair! haha! Yes, it's Sir David Attenborough. I first started watching his documentary on reptiles which started about two months ago - Life in Cold Blood. I initially thought it wouldn't be that interesting because I don't really like reptiles (they're just, I dunno, slimy and gross), but it was actually quite fascinating! I saw frogs who put on 'sunscreen', lizards giving birth, snakes swimming, turtles mating (and in the process getting attacked by other turtles (!) I kid you not), and all sorts of crazy and remarkable things.

When that series had concluded, Channel 9 did the very clever thing of lining up more Attenborough documentaries. This time, the documentaries were on lions and tigers and bears (Oh My!). Spy cameras followed these animals and the viewer was able to get a glimpse into the private lives of each of theses animals - again it was fascinating. Attenborough is such a character - he gets so excited about animals, he talks to them, and loves to get up close and personal with them.

Last night, a new Attenborough series on mammals started - one of the highlights for me was seeing a foetus-like baby kangaroo emerge from it's mother (looked like the size of a reel of cotton), and then crawl up slowly to her abdomen and then into her pouch. It continued to stay in the pouch and suckled on Mum until it grew up into a joey 9 months later. It was only then that it emerged from the pouch. Crazy stuff... Great television!

God's creation never fails to make me stand in awe at His marvelous works! Every animal is so different to the the next, they have fascinating little habits, and the intelligent design of each creation has just so much planning behind it and as a result, the life processes it goes through can be completed with efficiency and effectiveness.

What I find most interesting when watching Attenborough, is that he knows each little feature on each little creature, he's able to comment on and explain how intelligently stuff just seems to work as well as how each animal has adapted to it's environment - yet he believes in evolution - a theory that maintains that life (in all it's diversity) happened by accident. On second thoughts, it's not so much interesting than it is a shame - he is surrounded by ample evidence supporting intelligent design, but fails to see the truth. David Attenborough needs to get in touch with Answers in Genesis!

The Answers in Genesis ministry has been a blessing to me. I remember back in 2003 (I think) when Ken Ham came to Perth to hold a talk about Genesis chapters 1 to 11. It was such a revelation for me as I had always believed in Creation, but could never really give much more of a rebuttal to evolutionists than my usual 'Oh yeah? Well where's your missing link?? I rest my case.' Hee hee. And to know that dinosaurs were mentioned in the Bible SPUN ME OUT! That night was the tip of the iceberg, as I have since been able to learn more about how to defend the faith when it comes to creation vs evolution. If you haven't come across this WONDERFUL resource, check out the Answers in Genesis website. I can't help but think how cool it would be if Ken Ham talked to David Attenborough, and Attenborough became a believer. I think that would be the start of a beautiful friendship!

making skinny-leg jeans

As I was looking through piles of old clothes, I found a pair of old jeans that I had stopped wearing for some reason. I tried them on and they didn't look too bad. Nice colour, stretchy, comfy, a high-ish cut that didn't show off the plumber's cleavage (like many jeans around these days). The only problem was that the cut was a bit 90s - fitted flare.

So I had a quick think and thought - it couldn't be too hard taking in the leg of the jeans and converting them into skinny leg jeans. So I did.

I kinda estimated how much I needed to take in from the bottom, and found a point just above the knee where the jeans had finished being flared and had become fitted (if you want to try this at home, I would suggest that you use a pair of stretchy-denim and that you stitch on the outer leg rather than the inner leg as the inner leg always has a double stitch - unless you are super smart and you know how to double-stitch on your sewing machine!). I got out a pen and my trusty tape measure and drew a line from one point (at the bottom of the jeans) to another (the point above the knee). I then got out my sewing machine and stitched along the line.

After trying on the finished product and seeing that it was a good fit, I got a pair of scissors and chopped off the excess - and voila! Instant skinnies! I have to say, they don't actually look too bad - perfect for tucking into your boots during winter!

It's easy peasy lemon-squeezy! Have a go ladies, and let me know how you went!

This is NOT the finished product hehe: