Superbowl Jesus?

This white man knows that the NFL Superbowl is on this weekend but a quarterback Christ?

Touchdown!

Nature's Fury...

Flickering flames of frenzied fury

Fanned by a freshening breeze.

Terrible tortuous tongues of fire

Hungrily lick at the trees.

With a roaring rush, the raging inferno

Famishes forest and farm,

'Til the land is blackened, barren and bare

And the world once wild is calm.

And the stillness settles on silent soil

Which once was the place of trees,

While the animals dead, or long since gone

Are merely memories.

But the green grass grows as time goes by,

And sinewy saplings soar;

For nature nourishes new grown trees

'Til the bush is there once more.

by Oliver Thomas

Unspeakable...

A four-year-old girl allegedly thrown from Melbourne's West Gate Bridge has died. A Royal Children's Hospital spokeswoman said the girl died at 1.35pm (AEDT) today.
Police say a 36-year-old Hawthorn man has been charged with murder and will face the Melbourne Magistrates' Court later today. The girl was rescued from the Yarra River this morning after she was allegedly thrown over the West Gate Bridge. Water police reached the injured girl in the Yarra River within 10 minutes of the fall.
She was treated by paramedics before being airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition, but later died.
The 36-year-old Hawthorn man was spotted with a Landcruiser and two children near the Federal Court in central Melbourne about 10.30am.
He was taken into custody and interviewed by police before being charged with one count of murder. The girl's mother had been informed of the situation, Detective Inspector Clark said.
Det Insp Clark said the incident was "particularly distressing" for both family members and witnesses. "This is a dreadful set of circumstances and often you think you've seen it all but you haven't," he said.

Unspeakably tragic...No more words can be said...

HOT!

The bitumen road shimmers

The beach is full of swimmers

The stifling hot air choking

Dry scrub ablaze and smoking

The seat belt's hot and burning

The air-con I am yearning

The temperature keeps rising

Stay cool they keep advising

The sweat sticks on me clinging

Drips in my eyes it's stinging

A dog's desperately drinking

The puddle's water shrinking

Great southern sun is blazing

Yet God I AM still praising

For sun and light and living

My parched throat breathes

Thanksgiving!

The Dream Ends & My Freedom Awaits...

Tonight this white man just witnessed the end of the tennis resurrection of Jelena Dokic. The fairy-tale return was thwarted by Russian world number 3 Dinara Safina in a closely fought match. But as happens so many times in the world of sport, the real story is not confined to the arena but centres more meaningfully on the locker room of life. And whilst tonight Dokic walks away a loser on-court, I believe she walks away head held high as a winner in life. All credit to her for winning back the respect and hearts of Australia in what was a truly a memorable week in her life.

Today also saw this white man begin to catch a glimpse of something he hasn't seen for a while, his life! A trip to my two boys primary school today to pick up their bookpacks and some school uniform items induced a stirring my heart. A teacher asked Kim and Luc if they were looking forward to returning to school next week. They replied the right way, saying they were really looking forward to their new year levels. Not half as much as their Dad is! And so in six days I re-claim my life and can return to normality. Gym workouts, church flexibility and so on. Don't get me wrong - time with one's children is precious and can never be taken for granted. I love being a house-dad during the boys holidays and I'm blessed to be able to manouever my work and life demands around them. But six weeks is really just about enough; for them and for me! So roll on next week and bench press, get ready!

Diversity...

Today this white man again found himself between cultures as he celebrated both Australia Day and Vietnamese Lunar New Year together at the same time. I can't remember this happening before, so this quirky syncronisation of occasions provides an interesting conundrum for the Vietnamese-Australian community, including their adopted Aussies like me. And so, in the true spirit of multiculturism I, along with Phuong and the boys and my parents decided to have lunch to celebrate the curious blend of festivities. But the dilemma still remained... Should we have a steaming hot Vietnamese pho bo beef noodle broth to welcome the Year of the Buffalo/Ox? Or should we heed the advice of Sam Kekovich and do the 'patriotic' thing by indulging in some good old Aussie lamb chops on Australia Day?

Some beautiful fresh pizzas at La Porchetta solved our dilemma in the best way possible! So there you have it - an Italian lunch to celebrate both Australia Day and the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. That's culinary multiculturalism at it's best and that's why this white man loves Australia!

Verse of the Day...

Soccer Jesus?

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAL?!

Un-Grace...then ?

This white man was astonished to hear in the news this week of an Australian journalist, Harry Nicolaides, being sentenced to three-years imprisonment in Thailand for insulting the Thai monarchy. A more detailed account of the story can be accessed from this link;

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_australia_monarchyyahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_australia_monarchy

I can understand that in some countries and within their national psyche, the monarchy is still held up to be beyond contempt. As a mere, humble antipodean subject from the great southern convict colony, my regard for HRH Queen Elizabeth II is proportionate to the distance between my home and hers accordingly. What they do is their business and what I do is mine and as they say, "ne'er the twain shall meet!" Yet I do understand well that Thai's regard their royal family with a level of reverence not understood by most Westerners, let alone Australians. I can clearly remember whilst staying in Bangkok at some point in my overseas travels going to watch a movie in a local cinema. Before the feature started all in the theatre had to stand to their feet as the Thailand national anthem was played whilst patriotic images of the Thai king and queen filled the movie screen. And trust me, you stood up, even if you weren't a Thai national or regardless if you couldn't even care less for their monarchy.

Yet something seems a little harsh about this story regarding the Aussie journalist Nicolaides in his Bangkok jail cell. He wrote a fictional novel that alluded to there being impropriety in the Thai royal family in what amounted to only a few sentences of text. And it's not as if this novel is a Pulitzer Prize winning best-selling novel either. According to Nicolaides himself the book has sold a grand total of seven copies. Could it be that there is just a hint of "un-grace" in this whole shabby episode? The sentenced journalist has expressed profuse apology for his offending lapse in literary judgment. How will the royals respond? When will the King of Thailand show some grace to a contrite man facing a bleak future in the Bangkok Hilton? A royal pardon has been requested...will grace abound? This white man certainly hopes so!

Un-Grace...then Grace...

Amazing isn't it in life that from incidences of 'un-grace', moments of grace can spring out and surprise us. Around eight years ago his white man remembers well a pitiful young teenage girl stepping out onto one of the most famous sporting stages in the world, Melbourne's Rod Laver arena. She was playing a first-round match in the 2001 Australian Open Tennis Championship and she was jeered on the court by a stadium full of rabidly outraged Australian spectators. The reason for their grievance? Jelena Dokic was a naturalised Australian of Serbian background, but because of her father, his irrational logic and a number of ridiculous outbursts against the Australian Tennis Association, he dictated that his daughter denounce her Australian identity and revert to Serbian nationality. And Jelena bore the brunt that day, on the court and in the media, of an Australian public venemously unforgiving of any person who would dare turn their backs on all the opportunities they had been afforded in this "lucky country" and as a parting gesture of 'appreciation' figuratively spit in this nations face.

Much has happened between then and now. A confused and controlled teenage girl grew into an independant woman and severed ties with the family influences that made her life miserable. She battled with depression, lost her passion for tennis and slipped in her world ranking. As a result, when again she was in the news prior to this years Australian tennis summer, people had every reason to wonder with interest what Jelena Dokic would bring to her again, adopted homeland of Australia. And last night she arrived back at the 2009 Australian Open Tennis Championships and for the first time since the nightmare of 2001, strode out onto centre court probably wondering what would happen this time. What happened? Grace happened! Sure Dokic won a great match over her 18th seeded Russian opponent but in this white man's opinion, the greatest moment of victory happened after the match. A once-hostile crowd now cheered and embraced Jelena Dokic and brought her to tears. That moment was truly momentous and Jelena herself acknowledged that regardless of what happened for the rest of this tournament or beyond, she would never forget this moment. Why? Because this moment in time wasn't about tennis, it was about a moment of grace. In that young woman's life in that one moment, this white man sensed that tennis itself was an irrelevance. What really mattered was that a once un-graceful incident had been totally put behind her and that now, in grace, Jelena Dokic could finally move on into a place of contentment.

And that's what life is all about. Moving from moments of un-grace to grace. God, the grace giver desperately wants all of His children to live in wholeness and fullness, enjoying the reality of grace everyday. And He reminded this white man again of this unchanging principle using a tennis court to teach me. From ungrace to grace...totally amazing!

Mr President...

Today, Barack Hussein Obama, at 47 years of age, became the 44th President of the United States of America as he took the oath of office at the US Capitol. Obama, who becomes the first black president in US history, proclaimed America had chosen "hope over fear" and must unite in a "new era of responsibility" to triumph over its multiple crises.

...and may God bless the United States of America!

The True Leader...

Yesterday this white man read a great blog entry by Timothy Lynn, the Salvation Army pastor to my parent's place of worship, Inala Chapel. As a leader and having just finished a leadership workshop with many of my church youth, it was a wonderful reminder to me what true leadership is all about. So I thought I would share it with you too;

HUMILITY IN LEADERSHIP

"When most people think of leadership, they picture a military officer giving out orders, a king lording it over his subjects or an employer closely supervising his employees, making sure all the work gets done. These aspects can be part of leadership, but they are not the essence of spiritual leadership. Spiritual leadership is the opposite of what most people think.

Spiritual leadership is primarily servant leadership. Jesus Christ Himself taught us, "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). Jesus was most definitely a leader. He was the leader of the twelve disciples, as well as a greater group of followers (Luke 10:1-17). Jesus did not lead by giving out orders or by supervising. Jesus led by being a servant and serving alongside of His followers.

Spiritual leadership involves humility - humbling oneself in order to do the tasks that no one else wants to do. In Jesus' time, the act of washing feet was to be assigned to the lowest of servants. However, at the last supper, Jesus humbled Himself and washed the disciples' feet. Afterwards he declared, "Do you understand what I have done for you? ... You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:12-17).

Genuine spiritual leadership, characterized by a spirit of humility and service, will cause people to follow you because they want to, not because they have to. Genuine humility in spiritual leadership is attractive. People want to follow a person who serves alongside them and sets an example for them. Perhaps the Apostle Paul sums it up best, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Spiritual leadership insists on humility - the attitude of putting others ahead of yourself, and considering others more important than yourself. Thinking too highly of yourself prevents you from genuinely caring for others. Humility enables leaders to serve others wholeheartedly and, in doing so, set an example that others will follow.Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of spiritual leadership. Let's not be swayed by popular opinion or a desire to popular. Let's follow Christ's example only!"

tdlynn.blogspot.com

And to that this white man says AMEN!

Verse of the Day...

I AM

I AM the creator of all things great and small.

I AM the rain and the snow that falls.

I AM the wind, which blows in many ways.

I AM the ones that changes the night into day.

I AM the faith Christians believe.

I AM the foundation of the church, I withstand its weight it bears on me.


I AM the mountain that you try hard to climb.

I AM the light, that within your soul I shine.

I AM the rock, for which you stand.

I AM your guidance, the unseen HAND.

I AM salvation of many, but takers are few.

I AM the judge who is straight and true.

I AM the truth,the light, and narrow is my way.

I AM the forgiver so please believe what I say.

I AM the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.

I am the storm of judgment that I am sending.

I AM your friend will you be mine?

For the day is drawing near, there is so little time.

I AM HIM that has Sent me

I AM who I AM, so therefore you are FREE!

by Tracy Scroggins

Patience & Queue-Hopping!

This white man has advocated for a long time that if one wants to see people at their worst then all they need do is watch a queue for ten minutes. Even better, watch a series of queues waiting at multiple registers. Again my theory of malevolent human behaviour was proved correct in a local K-Mart today. Sure enough, the store was busy with sales flying out the door; yet of course there were not enough staff operating the registers as is the inconvenient norm at the most busy of times. One well-heeled dressed-to-the-nines middle-aged lady started up the typical anxious stretching and fidgeting behaviour that is the usual trigger for something worse to come. The craning of the neck, looking at the other queues and watching their progress. Then came the inevitable mumbling to self at the seemingly quicker progress of the adjacent queue to her. Her next move was obviously predictable...she made her first jump.

And then, as if the register gods needed to have a good belly laugh in that moment, the quicker queue she thought she'd moved to suddenly was halted by the customer at the register needing a price check on something. And on cue began the gesticulation of hands and louder cursing and general objections. Another neck crane and scan of the register scene and jump two took place...back to her original line but much to her chagrin she was now behind the people who were originally behind her (like you could see in her mind that she felt she had some 'right' to assume her 'rightful' place back in front of them!). Not to be! And of course, after waiting back in that queue, the people in front of her got to the register and, would you believe it, required a price check on one of their items! This woman was beside herself! She turned around to this white man, who had been waiting behind her patiently amused and started seeking third-party support for her injustice, which is another common reaction of aggrieved people in queues. "They should have more staff! This is ridiculous and so on..." The white man just smiled and nodded - agreeing that more staff would be advantageous but inwardly agreeing more certainly that this woman needed to "get a life!"

Proverbs 19:11 says "a man's wisdom gives him patience." If that is true, and I have no reason to question otherwise, then it simply confirms that there are just too many foolish people in queues in shopping centres and supermarkets everywhere. And they prove themselves foolish everyday when they can't stop for five minutes in their lives and just wait. Just wait. Just wait...Patience is a virtue for sure - so I guess this patient white man is just impatiently waiting for the rest of the queue to be more virtuous! Maybe I need to be more patient too!

Contemplative Christian Art...

Truly Name(s) Above All Names!

Technology...

As this white man writes at this late hour he is amazed by the technology of communication. As I write, Phuong is speaking to her sister over the internet - a conversation spanning half the world, from the UK to here in Australia. Also in conference with these two rapid staccato-tongued sisters is their younger brother, trying to get a word in from Hoi An, Vietnam. So there it is - a three-way conversation over three continents that sounds like audible chop suey but still is amazing!

Technology really is so amazing. Sometimes scarily so. Mobile phones as small as match-boxes would seem only a key tap away. How creative the human mind is to invent the incredibly intricate systems of communications we have today. Fibre-optic jumbled bundles criss-cross the planet connecting this to that. Satellite signals are floating around our midst and we don't even know it. It's all such a mind-blowing mystery to try and comprehend - all of the wires, cables, signals, transmissions and so on...This white man will never his head around it all!

And yet still all of the technological ingenuity, communications-wise or whatever else, that humanity will ever create on this planet pale in comparison to God and His omniscience, His omnipresence and His omnipotence. Nothing can ever compare to the most awesome Creator God who can hold a simultaneous conversation not just between three of his children but 3 billion plus more! Infinitely limitless in His Divinity, God is still God and He still works better than a billion broadbands! And that's why, for as much as I may marvel at a three-way conversation over three continents thousands of kilometres away from each other, I stand more in awe of the God who created it ALL! Amen!

The Simplicity of God's Provision...

This white man was reminded recently of the incredibly simple nature of God's creative genius in relation to how He designed this earth's water cycle. Although the memory is a little vague, I think I can recall in grade 6 learning the importance of water and how water continuously cycles in the natural world. To refresh your memory - the earth is approximately 2/3's ocean and sea. The sun's radiant heat evaporates the water and it rises into the atmosphere to form clouds. These clouds build and rise rapidly, causing rain formations in those stormy clouds. The rain falls back to the earth and eventually makes it's way back into the earth's marine eco-system. I'm sure there are other things that happen in and through that process but that's the basics of nature's own water recycling system.

And I drink...

What it reminds this white man is that in an amazingly simple way our Creator God continues to provide for the world He loves so much. The earth is held in such a precarious stasis position-wise in relation to the sun - any further away and the planet would freeze over; any closer in and we would all be burned to a crisp. We breathe oxygen from green plants which also absorb our carbon dioxide and recycle that back into life-giving oxygen again - another cycle that maintains our lifespan on earth.

And I breathe...

May we all learn to appreciate more the incredible gift of living life the way we were designed to do on this planet. And may we appreciate more the Maker of all things under heaven and on earth.

And I praise...

And live!

Verse for the Day...

Rodeo Redeemer?

Holy cow?!

Jesus the Biker!

I guess He's the real God Squad!

Young, Free, Warm and Blessed!

It took just one week for this white man to blot his perfect daily blog entry sequence for this new year 2009. Oh well...that's something I don't need to stress about any more. And that's exactly why I don't make new year's resolutions. But I digress. For this white man really just wants to praise God for the fact that he lives in such a beautiful country, Australia. That's not to say that Australia is the most beautiful or even the best country on earth. But it is perfect for someone like me and I feel privileged and blessed to, as Peter Allen and Qantas would remind me, "still call Australia home."

Recently I was looking at some really stunning pictures from northern England, placed on Facebook by my sister-in-law's partner Nick. Currently he and Nguyet are spending a chilly Christmas and New Year in his homeland, the UK. One photo really stood out in it's beauty and antiquity.

It's the very old Durham Castle and Cathedral, magnificently illuminated for maximum effect. As I pondered over this photo it made me realise how young the nation of Australia is. The words of the national anthem began to ring in my head; "Australians all, let us rejoice for we are young and free..." We really do live in a young, fresh and still vibrant country. We may not have ancient castles and grand cathedrals but we are still so rich in what we do have. Freedom, natural wonders, prosperity and a bearable climate. I mention climate as poor Nick and particularly Nguyet currently shiver in 1 degree average daily temperatures in Durham. So thank you LORD for gifting me with a much blessed homeland, this great south land Australia!

Happy Birthday Luc!

Happy birthday to our little Luc who turned 6 years old today! Who would have known that our skinny little 31 week 1500 gram toothpick of a boy would have grown so much in six short years! And so handsome too....

A Stay in the Country-side

This white man writes this short blog entry for today from Korumburra, in the south-eastern region of Victoria known as Gippsland. Phuong, the boys and I are staying over at our good friends Ernst and An's farm-house for a couple of days of R&R. And yet whilst we are away from the hustle and bustle of the city life we aren't far enough away to be free of the trappings of technology. Hence this visit to my blog which is, in part, a testament to my stubborn desire to keep a daily blog entry going as long as I can! But life down here is really wonderful and I treasure the opportunities I have to come down here to get away from things for a while. So this white man is enjoying this New Year cathartic break but will return back to normality sometime tomorrow afternoon. Cést la vie!

Verse for the Day...

Surf's Up!

This white man has seen some interesting depictions of the God-man from Nazareth, Jesus Christ, but this one, a figurine, is definitely on the fringes of extreme.

It leaves me with just one question - would He really have needed the surfboard? Amen!

New Year's Resolution?

This white man has never been a believer in making new year's resolutions. For it seems patently obvious to me that as soon as a resolution is focused on, made, spoken of and glorified then it merely becomes a means for failure. And inevitably it becomes a pitfall of shame and self-defeat, when the full burden of guilt comes crashing down in that pitiful moment when the realisation occurs that goes something like "I'm so hopeless, I couldn't even hold true to my resolution for __ (insert number of choice) weeks/months... "

So I say have goals and objectives for your year but don't exalt it unrealistically by naming it a "new year's resolution". And work your hardest to the best of your ability to achieve your goals in your life. But don't be too brutal on yourself when things deviate from their original course. Life is too short to be in the business of torturous self-inquisition for the sake of appeasing your sense of guilt. God hates that kind of pathetic masochistic soul-berating stuff! He's not a condemning God so don't be a self-condemning child of God.

So if you want this white man's opinion, resolve to rid yourself of the resolution! And have a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year 2009

May your 2009 be blessed, joyous and infused with the peace of God in all circumstances!