Flashback :2007

Hi! I've been sorting through my old files, with the intention of cleaning up my computer and I came across a few of these old blogs from a time before Facebook was popular. The deep, dark past of 2007... This one is from MySpace! Remember that? I wrote it in May 2007! In fact, I wrote it on my last ever sick day!(before my current enforced holiday!)Interesting glimpse into the past. (Disclaimer: this article reflects my thoughts, attitudes and beliefs of the time, not necessarily now. It reminded me that life is a journey and we are always learning and growing) Hope you enjoy it :)

BEGIN HERE: MAY 2007

Hello

I have the day off because I have a cold and it is raining. So I can take some time out and write something. I'm looking forward to this... lets see what happens.

Some of you may know, but most probably don't, that I have been studying at the Living Wisdom night school for the past 18 weeks. In short, this school is teaching us some life and counseling skills. It also has many other goals, such as teaching us how to speak the truth in love, how to see ourselves how God sees us, and to teach us how to renew our minds. It has been my experience that we are often told to do many Christian things but find it hard coz we don’t know exactly "how" to do it.

So that’s what this course has done for my classmates and I. Now I know how to take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. Now I know why I believe lies and don’t want to embrace the truth. It’s often easier to live in delusion coz its all we have known, in some cases, for our entire lives. But Jesus promised that when we know the truth it will set us free, and I have finally been persuaded that this is the case, even if I have to go through hell first!

But enough about that. I was just thinking "yeah it’s great that I have been studying a course on wisdom, but why? what’s the point of getting wisdom anyway?" So I thought, the bible might tell me. It’s good like that!

I first checked my concordance to see what "wisdom" translates to in the original Hebrew. "hokma" wisdom, skill, learning, this can refer to skill in life, trade, war, or spiritual things. This is cool. It seems to be telling me that wisdom is a skill. Skills can be learned can’t they? Cool so wisdom isn't necessarily something super-spiritual (although there is that element) but it’s a skill! Sweet as. We can learn wisdom, and with practice get better skilled at life and other various things.

Cool.

Anyway, Proverbs chapters two and three seem to give some pretty cool advice about these benefits of wisdom. So I started to read it and here's some of the stuff that it says. I think there seems to be a lot of things so I will just list a few off them.

Verse 5: You will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. (Well that’s good, if discretion and understanding are protecting and guarding me, then surely that means I don't have to protect myself. I don't have to be on the defensive, I can let my walls down, I can express who I am and not be afraid. All of our relationships and lives will be much more fulfilling if we all let our walls down and came closer to each other. Isn't that what God intends? He will protect us. Relax).

Wisdom will save us from wicked men.

It will save us from the adulteress.

We will live in the land. (What land?) The Promised Land (what's your Promised Land?) wisdom will let you live in your Promised Land, where your dreams and goals are fulfilled and the desires of your heart are met. I want to live there!

Our lives will be prolonged and prosperous, our bodies healthy and nourished.

Wisdom will bring peace to our lives. (Not necessarily our circumstances, but in our souls (heart/mind/emotions) instead).

Well, there’s heaps more in there, I highly recommend that you read it yourself...

In Proverbs 3:7 Solomon warns us not to be wise in our own eyes. My thoughts here would be, to remember who gives you the wisdom = God, not yourself! And also to check why you are gaining wisdom. Is it for purely selfish reasons? To feel good about yourself and improve you life. Or is it purely to please other people? If we always please people, then how can we always please God? Both are wrong. We should be seeking wisdom so that we can find a healthy balance of helping both ourselves and others and ultimately bring some positive attention to our heavenly Father.

Its not always selfish to want good things, and its not always loving to help other people (they might just need to learn how to swim on their own for example). So seek wisdom for everyone's benefit and ask God to help you remain humble as you do so.

Well I might go get some breakfast now. I have only just touched the tip of this huge iceberg, and I am in desperate need of a coffee. Hope you get something from my ramblings and seek a bit more wisdom in your lives.

Might come back later, got the day off, so there’s only so much relaxing I can do without getting bored!

Bye

END HERE: JULY 2012

Well, I did come back later! Took my time though! Since then I have done many wise and unwise things, but with the intention of increasing the wise things and learning to weed out those unwise things.

I was thinking that our lives are like gardens, with many beautiful and fruitful plants growing in them. If we keep making unwise decisions, it's like allowing the weeds to grow and choke those God-given plants, making it difficult for us to produce anything of any value! You would have to rely on going to the supermarket every week and giving your money to someone else just to get fed! I would rather grow my own veges to feed my family, and even have so many that I would take my extra food to the supermarket and give it to them! That sounds very rewarding!

(Of course we will always need to go to the supermarket regularly to get stuff, if we want our lives to actually taste any good!) ;)

I don't want my life to be like that neglected, old compost heap! With a few old spuds growing in it, and lots of weeds!

And let's be honest... it smells a bit funny...

I would rather my tomato plants, for example, were straining under the weight of masses of fruit, needing others to take the fruit off! This helps everyone! I would have to help others, just to survive! A weak spindly tomato plant with weeds growing all over it won't help anyone. Sometimes it even struggles to help itself!

While some things change over time, and we should all be wanting to grow, some things remain the same. I am still in desperate need of a coffee!

:)

Birthday

It's my birthday! Yay!

What a year!

21 years ago, I was born! And the world has been in trouble ever since! 21 years ago, a brand new person came into the world. I don't have many memories of the day, and those that I do have are a little bit graphic, so I will keep them to myself. ( All the visual people feel a bit grossed out at this point, sorry).

With all the ups and downs I've been through lately, I have come to understand those old cliches, "one day at a time". Each day is gift, that's why we call it the present. His mercies are new each day. Weeping comes at night, but joy comes in the morning...

So, while today is officially, in the natural world, my Birthday, I genuinely believe and feel like everyday is my birthday, because each morning I wake up, I am a new person, with a whole new day ahead of me. Something I have never experienced before.

Same for you! Yay!

Today has never happened before, just like the first ever day I experienced. Just like the first day we all experienced.

We all know the cliches such as, I don't need to celebrate just one day, "every day is Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day, Christmas Day?..." Why don't we add "every day is my Birthday!" to that list? I've never been the biggest fan of cheesy cliches, but often that's because of my small-minded, cynical NZ cultured attitude. Ah yes, cynicism, the destroyer of hope. Not evidence of intelligence. I was wrong.

But they are often cliches because they are true! They can be deeper truths that most people never quite grasp or fully understand. A lot has to do with our busy, shallow, Hollywood, selfish culture, which discourages people from anything that is "too hard" (whiney voice).

Why can't we be new people every day, celebrating that we are alive. Why can't we celebrate that our friends and family are alive, after all, it's their birthday too if they want it! Why can't we celebrate together?

For many of us, this has been the hardest year of our lives. Earthquakes, lost city, lost family, lost friends, lost jobs, serious health problems, damaged homes, lost freedoms (I just got engaged;)),and that's just my list! But we can't focus on that stuff! As our Pastor Paul Bennetts said yesterday at church, if you lose your hope for the future, it's only a matter of time before bitterness takes you over (paraphrased). I don't know about you, but I can't stand hanging out with bitter people! I don't know how they can live with themselves 24/7!

All that's in the past, and can be hard to deal with, but we do need to eventually get over it. Often, It's not as simple as that. Get counseling, go to church, talk with your friends, pray or whatever, but you need to forget what is behind and press on to the future. Self pity would say, but that's too hard, don't you understand how I feel!? My life sucks, I feel like I've lost everything, you just don't understand...

Yes. I probably understand a little bit. God understands fully. Tell Him. If you don't believe in God, well that's your choice, but I know from experience, that you will never regret just one little prayer, when no one else is around to know you did it. You could be pleasantly surprised.

After all, it's your birthday isn't it!? I don't want to sulk all day in self pity so that others feel sorry for me! What a waste of a birthday! I know I've got lots left, but they do run out. That's the shocking news here folks, life is terminal. 100% of people infected with life will die. Thankfully, there's something else to look forward to after this life. A new, completely different life that none of us really have any idea will be like! Sweeeeeeet..... But as far as life as you know on this planet with these worn out old bodies, the clock is ticking. Will you keep wasting it?

I highly recommend not to.

Life is all about perspective. When people go up the mountains to enjoy the view, they don't go up there to stare at the ground beneath their feet!

It's the same with our lives. This world and our lives can be anything we want them to be. It just takes one choice to not follow our feelings, but let our feelings follow our choices!

Right, it's such a beautiful day outside, I'd better make the most of my birthday and get out there!

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Hello and welcome, to myself.

Hi, this is my first blog, written because I have a job to go to in the morning which I am not entirely passionate about. What's so special about that? Sadly, nothing. I would say most people in our culture would have similar, if not as frequent, dissatisfactions with their life-sapping occupations. I would say because many people are doing a job that they are not made for. But that is a topic for another day. If you were looking for the answers to your life crisis, I cannot promise to answer them. But of course, in a completely un-PC fashion, I will rant about things that the majority of people will take for granted or overlook. Not insignificant things, but on the contrary, things of deep value to every human life, that fall in to the "too hard basket" in our fast paced society. I think people in general, are far too shallow and results focussed. I on the other hand care far more about depth and authenticity and the process, or journey. I am a human being, not a human doing, and I am not alone in holding those values. Sorry about that. So, I must head to bed now, as the 9-5 slave trade requires that I have a certain level of energy, enthusiasm and verticalness attributed to my persona. Falling over at work does not pay well, unless you are a stunt double. I am excited about this.