Murphy and the Bricks (The Sick Note by Pat Cooksey)

Some days I think My days can't get much worse but... Here is a song about a brickie. (Sorry about the video i couldn't upload the better ones)

The Little Red Hen

One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat.

"This wheat should be planted," she said. "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

Soon the wheat grew to be tall and yellow.

"The wheat is ripe," said the Little Red Hen. "Who will cut the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will thresh the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she said, "Who will make this flour into bread?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She made and baked the bread. Then she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

"Oh! I will," said the Duck.

"And I will," said the Cat.

"And I will," said the Dog.

"No, No!" said the Little Red Hen. "I will do that." And she did.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phil 2:3-4

Not a happy one

When a felon's not engaged in his employment
Or maturing his felonious little plans,
His capacity for innocent enjoyment
Is just as great as any honest man's.
Our feelings we with difficulty smother
When constabulary duty's to be done.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.
Ah, when constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one, happy one.
When the enterprising burglar's not a-burgling
When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime,
He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling
And listen to the merry village chime.
When the coster's finished jumping on his mother,
He loves to lie a-basking in the sun.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.
Ah, when constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one, happy one.
(Pirates of penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan)

Why is it that we constantly look down upon people who are just doing their job especially policemen. When we get caught speeding we moan and groan (myself included) about Police fundraising when we are actually breaking the law, We condemn them for being heavy handed when arresting people not remember that it is their lives on the line. We criticise their every move. But as a Christian what is to be our response.

Col 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

Tit 3:1-2 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

Rom 13:1-7 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Personally i wouldn't like to be a policeman- umpiring is hard enough. But how about we respect those who make such sacrifices to keep us safe.

Too much

Let me just state right off the bat that I'm a conservationist. I posted on that in one of my earlier blogs. http://howfastcanavango.blogspot.com/2006/06/we-kill-world.html but that doesn't mean I encourage extreme methods of the greenie groups. For example putting nails in large tree forests so when the lumber jacks cut their chain on their chainsaws snap potentially killing them. I do believe the environment is important but not of equal importance to human life- we were put here to steward the world not be equal with it.
I did have a good chuckle at reading an article though- remember the whaling "letter delivery" aka piracy where 2 crewman jumped aboard a japanese whaler. The media seized on the vision of the people zip tied a rail saying- they were only just giving a letter to the captain. Well were they? apparently not. In an interview Capt Watson of the Steve Irwan said the two crewmen who boarded the Japanese whaling ship in January planted several tracking devices aboard which has enabled the Steve Irwin to keep in touch with the fleet. (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=72873)
Well well well- Calling upon the government in the article to act to seize the whalers who are breaching australian law while breaking them yourself... How different what we are called to as christians. We are called to be light in this world. The end never justifies the means. How we act is just as important as what we do.
Slightly off topic Carly has posted some good thoughts about image (http://carlys-ramblings.blogspot.com/) as is well worth reading.

A stinging sensation

Couldn't help laughing when i saw this on the news- Western bulldogs afl player Jarrad Grant was stung by a stingray. The humorous thing is the irony- he was picked to make his debut this weekend replacing Farren Ray. To top it all off, the club he was recruited from? Why the Dandenong Stingrays of course.

God isn't forgetful even when we are.

Rather than blog about things which most people don't care about e.g. liverpool beating inter milan or collingwood getting thumped in AFL I thought i'd tell you guys about how i was encouraged by God yesterday. To go back a few years: (wavy dreamy music plays)
Background- I live in a house managed by the pressie church and as such there are rules/ regulations about who can move in. For example the person must be a christian and looking to be actively involved in serving at the church. (next door). We are expected (gentleman's agreement ;) ) to live lives as Christians (apparently this means mowing the lawn )
Now a few years ago a guy (Woody) moved into the house from ayr a relative of a person on the board- indeed i think might have even been our landlord (not 100% sure on that we have had so many) So imagine our surprise when we found out that this person was quite honest about his lack of Christianity. However he was a good bloke and we included him in everything and he abided to the house rules and over time began to learn more and more about God and Christianity. he was very keen on learning about God and really made some major changes in his life. He had made some bad choices in friends at home in Ayr and these friends were getting him into trouble/fighting/alcohol and so was often going home to ayr for weekends and coming back with stories of "defending people" and massive brawls. Over time he came to realize that it wasn't helping him and he was affecting his life by making bad choices. He then made a commitment to serving God. All seemed to be going great.
Imagie my frustration when he got involved in a relationship with a Church girl who "needed him" and so stopped coming to bible study and stopped growing. We kept trying but...
Anyways to make a long story short there was a major explosion involving nervous breakdowns, stalking, other girls, paranoia and many other things- he decided he was really missing his family, his dad offered him a job and so he moved back to Ayr and straight back to his old lifestyle and friends emerging every now and again when we went down or he came up. Over the years his mobile number changed and we lost contact for a year or so- every now and again we'd hear rumours through friends or he'd give me a call often a bit tipsy and we'd have a good chat.
I'd often been blaming myself, if only i hadn't been so busy, if only i'd done that, if only i had a few other guys i could have let int the whole situation instead of keeping quiet, if only.
Now recently we had the joy of having some one come to Townsville on a bible college mission and over a year or so they were lead to come up here to take over at the congregations at Ayr and Home Hill (they had no minister our church had been rotating with guys going down to preach for the last 2 years or so). As we were planning to go down to celebrate with the people there for the induction service- i thought- wouldn't it be great if woody was there. (Could i just put in that although he sounds like a thug he is actually a top bloke)
So i called his mobile- no response, tried to find his e-mail address- no luck. and had just about given up. Then on Tuesday i remembered he worked at the ford dealership a year earlier. doubting if he still worked there i gave them a call- and Woody answered. he had a chat and i invited him to the event on wed night. He indicated he might be keen but was in Bowen that day and would see how he went- he only finished work at 5 and the bbq started at 5:30.
Now I mentioned to the new minister at Ayr that a friend of mine might show up and i wanted to introduce him but wasn't really expecting him to show.
Well lo and behold in walked woody straight from work having driven an hour to come up for it. he stayed for the bbq and then for the church service and then hung around for hours afterwards chatting to us and to the new minister. In fact he was still there chatting to Gavin (the new minister) when we left and indicated he'd come back to the church and invited Gav to drop in on him at work or for a coffee etc.
I felt like dancing around (partying right now) and was reminded about how God is in control. I'd almost given up- actually i probably had but yet God was in control to give woody an active christian contact in his home town.
Now I'm not saying i know what the future will bring but i know God is in control- I'd love for you to join with me praying for Woody and for Gavin and janelle (his wife) as they get settled into this new area. Pray that God might encourage them in their ministry. And don't ever give up on a friend thinking they are too hard: God is in control.

Finally Tim has come back Blogging

Inspired by Leah's return to blogging ( http://missleahmaria.blogspot.com ) i thought I should place some thoughts on screen. Last night a group of us went to see Les Miserables put on by the Townsville Choral Society. I was struck about how much of there is of a portray of Christians (something I'd never picked up before) there is in the musical. To begin with when the Convict Jean Valjean is released he is shown nothing but cruelty and hatred hardening his heart and looking to fight for what ever he can get. However he is broken of this by a Bishop who brings him in for a meal and a bed. Jean then repays him by stealing his silver. being brought back by the police the bishop admonishes Jean and says did i not tell you to take the candlesticks too. This act of Grace is turning point for Jean Valjean and a point where he fails to understand Why...
The bishop continues But remember this, my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man
By the witness of the martyrs
By the Passion and the Blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God!
Whilst I don't agree fully with the practise of buying some one :) it is a nice little summery of our state in todays world.
If only there was more of that in todays media/entertainment.
Maybe thats a challenge to us to live as Christians in our day to day living and generosity to others- that we might show to others the grace that was shown to us.
The ending of the musical is probably my favourite part so i thought I'd share it.

Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief
At last, at last behind you.
Lord in Heaven,
Look down on him in mercy.

VALJEAN
Forgive me all my trespasses
And take me to your glory.

FANTINE & EPONINE
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation.
Take my love,
For love is everlasting.

VALJEAN, FANTINE & EPONINE
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God!

CHORUS
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.

For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.

They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!

New World Leader

Every now and again a moment defines a country. A country takes a stand and says This is me and I have an identity. For us Aussies some say it was Galipoli or the Kokoda trail. For the Americans it was the declaration of independence- The french hmmmm ummmm maybe a surrender here or there. Germany when the wall was knocked down.England The Magna Carter or the battle of hastings. At the time they don't seem like big events but they change the shape of the world just like 9/11 (could anyone tell me where afganistan was located before that) One possible one happened at Bali where a nation took a stand and made the most powerful nation in the world back down. Was it Australia with their new Pm full of talk on climate Change. Or North Korea with their nuclear weapons? No it was the country of Papua New Guinea. Sure it may be a small thing but so was a bunch of vandals pouring tea crates into the ocean to protest taxes. And look what that led to (Boston tea party).
So let's hope this is the chance PNG has to develop some character and self belief instead of being known as a corrupt dangerous place.

People of Faith post 1

Many of the people who read this know I like looking to people for inspiration or am fascinated at what makes people tick. I believe you can find out a lot about people in who their role models are. I'm thinking of doing a few post on some people who have inspired me in their faith. Now I would like to add these aren't perfect people and with my luck will probably come out and renounce their faith but I thought I'd go ahead and post- many of these people you only will have heard about if you are in that particular field.
My first person is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. Ring any bells? Yes Brazilian and yes soccer player but when most soccer player score goals they show off by pointing to their name on their back- doing athletic flips or do many other things to bring adulation to themselves. Ricardo just puts his arms in the air face up and prays a prayer of thanksgiving. This public showing of his faith was even more evident when his team won the champions league (Europe's Top Club competition). moments after the whistle blew this photo was taken.



You may know him as Kaka, playmaker for AC Milan .

What you may not know is that in the year 2000 he broke his neck in a swimming pool accident. Doctors told him he wouldn't be able to walk properly again. A year later he had cemented his spot in the senior side. He quite openly uses his celebrity to promote the Gospel. Ironically the shirt above is in a language he doesn't even speak. In an interview with a soccer magazine he was answering questions sent in by readers about improving their skills. He was asked if there was anything he'd like to say to his fans. Instead of a feel good message like try your best he instead said " To those who already have Jesus: you have made the best choice and are in the best team. Go ahead. Do not give up. The fight is great, but we can only win being on Jesus’ side. To those who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus: What are you doing being outside of this team?! Come to learn the Word of God, come to know who God really is." Proud to be a Virgin when he married he is also a UN Ambassador against hunger (the youngest ever appointed) and yesterday won the Ballon D'or the award given to the world footballer of the Year. And guess who he thanked first :)
What can we learn from Kaka- well firstly nothing is an accident- God puts you in various situations- what are you there for- preach the Gospel openly.
Secondly Be mindful of how you conduct yourself whatever you do. people are watching.
as kaka says "But I am not supposed to be punching people up on the field or swearing. I don't want people to be saying of me," Look, that guy says one thing and does another". My concern before my fellow players and my adversaries is to be what I am and never say one thing and be something else. I seek to be a role model in the club. I seek to demonstrate what God has done for me and that He can do it in their lives as well. As much as possible I try saying something about Jesus, about life with God, to counsel and help others." (he also has refused many sponsorships for various Wine or beer companies as ' It wouldn't look good')
Finally God is faithful- At least that is what is stitched onto the tongues of his boots along with I belong to Jesus. Why? Every time he looks down he sees it and is reminded of what God has done for him. Your own ego vanishes in the realisation of the power and faithfulness of God.
So as Kaka says “Stop eating cookies, while God offers us a banquet.”

The Condemned.

I was watching a movie last night called "The condemned." this is the plot from IMDB:

"The story of Joe Conrad, who is awaiting the death penalty in a corrupt Central American prison. He is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island where he must fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world, with freedom going to the sole survivor."

Whilst this may seem like an over the top blood and guts movie (which it was) and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone; there was a few points that really made you think. At one stage in the movie two of the people involved get squeamish and have second thoughts about what they are showing and the producers says look its entertainment- nothing is real these day- If people didn't watch it- it wouldn't be made.

Later on in the film a reporter sums up the violence saying that those of us in our culture are condemned for actually paying money to watch it- however the movie's anti-violence message is then quickly forgotten as we get back to the violence.
Watching this made me too aware that we get too acclimatised or numb to today's culture- we need to step back have a think and re-centre ourselves. Where? In the Bible because without Christ as our centre we are all Condemned

I like Football

I like football. I especially like Aussies doing well at the "European Game" This Goal by one of my favorite players is worth watching over and over again. Go aussie

Motor mouth Mason

Well the biggest Sport story once again is of course Willie Mason. And Good Riddance. What sort of player would leave a club because they wouldn't allow him to have a professional boxing match? Of course you wouldn't allow some one to do that- he is one of their star players on over 400,000 grand a year. And he wants to do boxing? How about you actually preform for your club first. Then to top it off Mason complains about the culture of the club changing in the last 3 years and that that is bad. Well I dunno if you remember but wasn't that the time when there was the gang rape allegations. Just shows.... i didn't think i could respect him any less but its happened. I hope he goes to England where the media will have fun with him. Of course we'll miss him here I honestly believe that they would have beaten the cowboys in the last 2 games here if Mason had of kept quiet and not fired up the cowboys both times.
I couldn't resist posting this video- appologies for the bad language. i could watch it over and over again.
But let me know Do you want Mason at your club?
Are the Bulldogs better off without him?
Is he more trouble than he is worth?

Election getting silly

I didn't think it would happen this quickly- have a look at this http://election2007.yahoo.com.au/BlogEntry.59.aspx

Rappin' Rudd vs Hip-hop Howard

If only we had a musical debate or maybe get them both to go on Thank God your here- I'd vote for the winner

Singleness

Jumped in a car recently with a friend who i haven't talked to in a while and the first thing he said to me was "So another of your friends is dating- not many left ey?"
Or "You can't really understand unless your in a relationship."
PIGS EYE.

There is nothing more sinful that sort of attitude.
Firstly Why is it an assumtion that to be Happy you must be in a relationship? The amount of times i have been set up by every man and his dog(thats a saying -not calling anyone a dog) and every time they do "Its for your good" or "we just want you to be happy".
TRANSLATION: "The only way for you to be happy is to be like us"

What pride. and so anti scripture.
1 cor 7: 25-28
Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

Or how about verse 8 and 9 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

This seems to indicate that Singles seem to be in a higher standing. However is this the way things are in your church? Think about your social circles in the church and think who are the ones who don't really fit in? I'm guessing its the singles
Marrieds and couple have a think how you can serve/encourage singles better in your church and i'll give you a clue- IT ISN'T BY TRYING TO SET THEM UP!!!

Unforgiven 2007 Undertaker's Return

Thought I'd show the return since i built up to it.

Message from Bob Dylan