I Wish I Had A Girl Arm

Monday night. Indoor soccer night. I love playing indoor footy.

But tonight, disaster struck. I turned up to play and there was only five minutes of the game to go! I was extremely late! I had checked my season draw and read the wrong time. I was gutted. So I ran on and played those five minutes, but it just didn't cut it.

Let me fill you in on the source of my confusion.

That inconsiderate earthquake had caused the building that I play in to be closed for a week. This caused the draw to be mixed up. A new draw was produced and distributed. The original draw was now wrong and the new draw was right. I had the wrong draw. According to MY draw, I turned up on time. According to the (new) REAL draw. I was late.

Life's like this. If we do things when we want to, according to OUR plan, to OUR timetable, then we will miss out in the game of life. We may turn up late. Or too early. And wonder why life is unfair and nothing good ever happens. We miss out on the action because, instead of going with the real timetable, we blindly go ahead in our self-deceived state, hoping things will work the way we want.

The only way to get in on the action is to accept that there is a bigger, REAL timetable that is often different from OUR timetable. In other words, God's timing is different from our timing. The world doesn't revolve around us and follow our desires. We are not God!

The choice is simple, although never easy to make. Relax, be patient and do things in God's timing, OR make God do things in YOUR timing...

There's only ever gonna be one person who wins that arm wrestle! And the funny thing is that if you let yourself lose, you are actually winning, because God is on your side, working it all out for you anyway! Just in an infinitely better way...

If I had turned up at the REAL time, I may have scored several goals and had an amazing game, but coz I turned up at MY time, I only saw a glimpse of what might have been. I don't want my life to be like that:)

Grace Makes Your World A Better Place

I love watching rugby league, especially the NRL playoffs. Sadly the Warriors are no longer with us. R.I.P.

In the game last night, the Wests Tigers defeated the Canberra Raiders 26-24. The Raiders missed an easy kick on full time which would have tied the game. Exciting stuff!

During the game, some Raiders supporters were holding a sign which said "In Croker We Trust".

Croker was their kicker. Who missed the important kick. In hindsight, it seems a bit unwise to have put your trust in someone who ultimately let you down doesn't it!

Now, i'm not taking their level of trust too seriously, it was a sign at a sports ground! but it does highlight a couple of important questions.

Firstly, who do you trust your life to? God? Your family? Friends? Tv? Money?... Think about that...

Secondly, do you trust people in your life, and if so, how much? "Everyone is trustworthy somewhere in their lives, but nobody is trustworthy everywhere in their lives". I.e There is good in everyone, yet no one is perfect. For example, Croker can be trusted to play a great game of league, but he can't be trusted to make 100% of his kicks for his entire career! We all make the mistake of judging people as either "good" or "bad". I like them or I don't. But in fact, that is a very unhealthy way to conduct our relationships. Only God is completely trustworthy, and only the devil is completely untrustworthy. Everyone else is somewhere in between!

So when someone lets you down, just relax! Cut them some slack, (also, you may have let them down before and not realised). And if someone you know seems to be just awesome, they will probably let you down one day in the future, so don't put them on a pedestal and worship them!

Our human tendency is to swing between the extremes, but wisdom is reasonable, easily reasoned with, and knows when a healthy balance is needed.

We shouldn't trust everyone completely. Conversely, we shouldn't shut down and trust no one. Trust is a risk, and you choose how much you are willing to risk, how much trust have they earned? We will all get hurt, that is life, but what you do when that happens will shape your life. Often, the best thing to do is to talk to the person who has hurt you, and tell them what they need to do to earn your trust back. If they get an attitude and want a fight etc, then you know you can't trust them yet! But if they apologise and sincerely want your trust in them to be restored, then your relationship can be healed.

No one is perfect, and love covers a multitude of sins. Trust still needs to be earned though. That is simple wisdom 101.

We are saved by grace and our relationships are saved by showing eachother grace.

Ooh I like that! Seems like a good place to end:)

Paved With Good Intentions

You may know that my day job is as a landscaper. I've been doing it for about four years, and am now a "qualified" tradesman. I've still got a lot to learn though! At the moment, I am doing some paving. Should take about three weeks, unless I do some long days to finish it quicker. Might do that!

For the uninitiated, when paving, you mix up mortar (sand, cement and water) and then put the pavers on top of that, making sure that they are flat, or sloping to allow water to drain off, without any edges sticking up to trip on.

Bored yet?!

SO... anyway... It's important to get the consistency of the mortar right. Too dry and it will be impossible to use. Too wet and it won't support the weight of the paver, it will just be sloppy. But the right balance is very rewarding and makes the job much easier and enjoyable.

Too much water also makes the mortar weaker. I don't know why. And I don't NEED to know why! All I need to know is not to put too much water in the mix. Maybe one day I will read some boring article... (other than this one) and it will tell me the chemistry etc, but for now, all I need to know is not to put too much water in.

Life is a bit like that. God is a bit like that. We all know what we should do, what right and wrong is etc... so let's just do it. If I didn't start paving until I knew every single detail about it, then I would be a very ineffective employee, giving my company /boss a bad reputation. I would be dead weight, worse than that, I would be a complete nuisance!

I know enough to do a great paving job, and then everyone is happy! I know enough to do what I get paid to do. So I just do it.

In life we all know enough to just get on and do it, and to be really effective at it. The problem comes when we want to know everything before we do anything. We should just use what we know already and get on with it. More knowledge will come as life goes on. Don't hide behind your intellect, waiting until you get every single answer to every single question that you have. You'll be long dead before you ever understand a fraction of what you want to know!

Nice Blocks

Living through a major earthquake hasn't been the most enjoyable experience that i've been through. And I have got off relatively lightly when compared to those who have lost their homes and jobs etc. Thankfully, no one was killed in the earthquake!

While there has been all sorts of damage throughout our city, and wider region, a substantial amount of the damage has occurred to older brick buildings. Which made me think. Just like these buildings, our lives are made up of many "bricks". In life we build foundations and then slowly constuct our lives, piece by piece, brick by brick.

The problem with these buildings was that the mortar and reinforcing etc that was holding the bricks together gave way. It was not necessarily the bricks that were the problem. The problem was the stuff that was supposed to hold all of these parts together.

You can have all shapes, sizes, colours of bricks, and they can all be added together to build all different types of amazing buildings and structures, but none of these buildings will stand the test of time, or the earthquakes of life, if there is nothing holding them together.

We are no different. We each have different personalities, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, experiences, jobs, bodies, mindsets... that uniquely combine to form us as individuals. Just remember, you are unique, just like everyone else!

Do you trust the "mortar" that you have decided to use?

I see our beliefs, our worldview, God, gods or our own idols as that mortar. You may be relying on your own knowledge, or maybe some tarot cards, or maybe the government, or maybe "the universe". I personally dont trust the universe. When was the last time continuously changing gas, vacuum, rock, fire and various elements helped you out? It just doesn't make any logical sense... Oh dear... so sad...

It is my belief that the only 100% safe mortar of life is a guy called Jesus. If you put all of your trust in him to hold your life together and help you build an amazing life, then you will be on the right track! The Great Architect always uses the best materials, it would be foolish to create our own mortar when the best possible product is available. And it's FREE!!!

Sticky Camel Situation

I was picking up sticks at work yesterday. Not the game. Tree prunings. I was thinking about sticks, and in particular, how many sticks could you put on a camel's back. You have probably heard the old saying "It is the final stick that breaks the camel’s back". There was nothing special about that particular stick, it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, it was the cumulative effect of all the other ones added together that did the damage. The camel may have been collecting sticks on it's back for a while (mental picture of camel picking up sticks), and finally it's resolve comes to an end.

Sometimes in life there will be a person or event etc that causes us to get angry etc and we can easily blame that person but in reality it was our unwise decisions leading up to that event that really did the damage.

Maybe your husband or wife or sibling or best friend has upset you or made you angry, so you blame them, but in reality, the last few nights you have stayed up too late, or maybe you have been eating poorly and not exercising regularly and that has made you less able to deal with stress. My advice would be to look at your life instead and see if you have been making unwise lifestyle decisions etc instead of just blaming the person or event that has triggered your emotional event.

Maybe you have unhealthy thought patterns that cause you to "pick up sticks" when you see them lying around. You don't actually have to pick up these sticks. You aren't the boss of the world!. You can let someone else, God, carry those burdens. It makes life vastly more enjoyable if you can leave the sticks to God. If you do pick one up, because let's face it, we all naturally want to, just remember to pass it on as quick as you can, otherwise you will accumulate stuff in your life that you just don't need to have. Stress in our lives often occurs because we try to carry too much.

Lots of things happen in life that are unfair, unjust, just plain wrong! We cannot, and should not, try to right every one. Every time we take up a cause, no matter how right you are, stress is added to our lives. A camel cannot fight on every single hill, it must choose it's battles, it must not pick up a stick every time it sees one. God is our Vindicator, and all we have to do is tell him what we have seen and then TRUST HIM to deal with it. Stop trying to wrestle it back of Him. Just leave it!

Jesus was completely right in everything he did, and he still remained silent before his accusers. Because he knew that his Father would take care of it. We should be the same. Just chill out, stop defending yourself and move on.

So next time you are feeling tired or annoyed or whatever, don't blame that person or situation that seems to have caused it. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It may have been all of the other things you have been trying to carry that have caused the real problems. Jesus is waiting to carry your load if you want to GIVE IT to him, he won't steal it! The only responsiblity you have in this situation is to choose to GIVE it to Him. It's better to give than receive;)

Welcome Back

You probably didn't notice, but I have had a long hiatus from writing blogs. Primarily this is because I have had not had internet access since January of this year. Several generous friends have allowed me to use their laptops for short periods of time to clear my emails etc. To those bastions of generosity, I would like to formally give my thanks.

So this got me thinking.

The other day I wrote my first blog since the Great Hibernation. The response to this has been pleasing to me. A handful of people have "liked" it or even said it was "cool" and "interesting". I have even acquired another follower! 15 now! That has been very encouraging for me. I felt encouraged. I felt good about myself. Hooray.

This made me think about the story of the prodigal son. He was there, then he wasn't, then he came back. I think the most important part of the story is not the time before he left, nor the time he was away. I think the most important part of the story for me is when he came back. More specifically, how his father responded to him from the moment he first saw him.

The glimpse of encouragement we receive when someone likes us or likes our work etc... Is just a fraction of the emotion we would experience if we fully understood how much God loves us, and what his response is towards us when we "return" to him. Maybe we didn't really pray much for a few months. Maybe church has been a routine for a while. Maybe our bible has dust on it. The songs we sing aren't really being sung to anyone in particular. I'm sure you know what I mean. But the "cool" thing is, God doesn't hate us because we go off and do our own thing from time to time, He is there, waiting for you to turn around and go back to Him!

We are the ones who remember wrongs. We are the ones who don't forgive. We are the ones who judge others wrongly. We are the ones who hide. God does none of these. He forgets everything wrong that we have ever done, and he forgives us as soon as we ask. He always judges fairly and will never hide himself from us. If we would only look for him!

So, maybe tonight it's time to go back? Tell him where you've been and that you're sorry for ignoring him. Your body may have been doing all the right, nice looking religious things, but if your heart wasn't there, it was just empty actions. He will forgive you and forget your sins as quickly as you can click your fingers.

I hope you can forgive my sin of not having the internet. In this day and age this is something that deserves to be punished harshly, but I hope you will forgive. Unforgiveness is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die. You don't want to do that do you? ;)

An Inconvenient Truth

I've been thinking about our culture of convenience lately. Our society tells us that if life is easier, we will be happier. And we believe this. All we need is the latest phone, the quickest checkout aisle, the fastest car, the microwave meal... It's all around us. While there is nothing wrong with these things in themselves, there is a problem when we rely on these things to make us happy. I have noticed a similarity with lust. Both convenience and lust say to us:

"I need a quicker, more powerful, bigger, cooler gadget, meal, experience, etc that does everything I want it to do. When I get what I want I will be satisfied."

It is the same principle as tying a carrot to a stick and dangling it in front of a donkey so that it will keep walking towards it. It never gets what it wants, but it keeps on going in the vain hope that it's desire will be met.

This is a trap.

Don't be a dumbass.

The bible tells us that those who want to keep their life, will ultimately lose it, but those who give their life up will ultimately receive life in it's fullest. That doesn't seem to make sense, but it's true!

It's my thesis that when we decide to inconvenience ourselves for someone else, our lives will be far better than they could ever have been if we had stayed on the convenience path. It's inconvenient, but it's true!

Convenience WILL NOT make your life better. It WILL NOT make YOU better! It might make it EASIER, but that's a different thing. I believe it is a lie. And when we believe lies, we are basically inviting the enemy into our lives to do what he wants. We are supposed to believe the truth. Convenience may make life easier in the short-term, and in our busy culture, many of us only think that far. But if you want your life to count, and you want the world to be a better place, you choosing to inconvenience yourself for others will go a long way.

People who get everything they want when they want become spoilt, overweight, lazy, selfish, complaining....etc

People who decide to put other's needs ahead of their own, will become, humble, healthy, motivated, selfless, thankful, loving...etc

I dare you to try. Use a little bit of faith and see what happens:)

It's inconvenient, but it's true!