The front deck is gone and some of the fellows that Dave works with are starting to build a new one.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Renovation Update
Work begins on the garden.
The front deck is gone and some of the fellows that Dave works with are starting to build a new one.
The front deck is gone and some of the fellows that Dave works with are starting to build a new one.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Twenty20 Cricket and Saint Kilda
We went to the Twenty20 Cricket match between Australia and India on Friday February 1 at the MCG. Drove out to Frankston and along the Nepean Highway to St Kilda and booked into the motel. Went for a walk along Fitzroy Road and round the Esplanade. Caught the Bus along Punt Road to the MCG. It took forever as there was so much traffic. We were in a family area at the ground which meant no alcohol so it was really good. We were surrounded by Indian families. Another family from Grantville went with us - one of the sons is Patricks mate from school, one plays cricket with Nick, another is in Nick's class and their younger brother and Mum. It was good to catch up with them after not having seen them much over the holidays.
It was a good match just very short. India were all out for 74 and Australia got those runs in only 10 overs.
Spent Saturday morning down on the beach front. Walked out along the pier and had brunch overlooking the water. It is a great little spot. It seems like you are a long way from the city when you are only about 10 minutes from the CBD. It is nice to be beside the water. There were a lot of people out and about. There were jetskiers, speedboats, sail boats, kids doing sailing lessons, sunbathers, fishermen, walkers, cyclists, joggers. Great spot. We then drove along the coast until it joined up with the Nepean Highway again. Stopped off at a Nursery at Pearcedale on the way home and bought about 20 plants to plant in the front garden.
Got home and there was a message asking if I could go into work and so had a shower and raced in and did a 5 hour shift until 9:15pm.
Started planting out Sunday afternoon. Will do some more this afternoon when it cools off.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sting Concert
Hey everyone. How are you all? We are all well. Still working continuously but looks like it will start to slow down now that school is going back. We went to the Sting and the Police concert on Saturday night. Worked from 8am to 12 noon, had lunch, drove to Melbourne, booked into hotel in Glen Waverley, showers and tea, train ride to MCG, Concert, train ride back, sleep, check out, breakfast, drive back to Phillip Island (slow trip due to traffic), shower, lunch, work 2pm to 10pm. Dave worked 9pm to 5am Friday night, slept till I came home at lunchtime Saturday and worked 7pm to Midnight Sunday night. Needless to say we are a wee bit weary. However the concert was really good. Fiction Plane played from 7pm to 7:30pm (Sting's sons band), Fergie was from about 8pm to 8:45pm and Sting from 9:15 to 11:30ish. Because the concert was not sold out they were offering free upgrades so instead of sitting 3 floors up in row QQ we were in the first floor in row Z so that was pretty cool. The people still looked about the size of dolls moving on the stage but there were 3 big screens. The sound was amazing. Took some photos and sound recordings on the mobile phone will try and find the connections so I can download them onto the computer.
We've been looking at the possibility of moving on to somewhere else but haven't had a clear direction of where yet. Dave needs to move out of the cold but I don't want to go back to the heat so we need to find either somewhere hot that has airconditioning and a pool or somewhere in between. Please pray for clear direction for us.
We've been looking at the possibility of moving on to somewhere else but haven't had a clear direction of where yet. Dave needs to move out of the cold but I don't want to go back to the heat so we need to find either somewhere hot that has airconditioning and a pool or somewhere in between. Please pray for clear direction for us.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The Renovation Process
Thought I would give you a pictorial view of our outdoor renovations. Things have been happening inside too but I'll wait till they are a bit further advanced before posting them.
This is the house when we first bought it in July 2007. It was a bit of a mess. The lady left in a hurry on the day we were supposed to move in and there was lots of junk left lying around.
We began to clean up the yard and these photos were taken in August. These are of the front yard. We took down the fence and took out all the half dead plants from inside the fence. Also took down the conifers that were being held up by the fence posts and demolished the collapsing garden seat under the tree.
Removed the back deck that was poorly constructed and dangerous.
Trees that don't look so big in winter become enormous when in full leaf in spring. The back yard was overtaken by the 2 trees there. The sideways photo is of the one in the front yard. The second photo is of the one closest to the house in the back yard.
The removal of the 3 big ash trees from the yard involved council approval which meant heaps of paperwork which of course was not on the right forms the first time and then got lost the second time. But eventually we got permission to have them removed. We have to replace each tree with 6 others but that is okay. We kept all the wood for firewood and they chipped everything else. So we have plenty of mulch. I have started planting in the front yard now and laying down weed mat and covering it with mulch.
The back yard looks enormous without the 2 trees overcrowding it. Once I've got the front yard under control I will start planting some natives around the boundary of the backyard. We have to pay to go to the dump down here so we have slowly been getting rid of the junk in our household bin and the neighbours bin each week. We have also had two 3m skips but they are quite expensive at $140 each.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Shack Book
I have copy and pasted this book review from Julie's blog sight. She lives in America and has a devotional blog sight. This book "The Shack" is selling very well in America at the moment and I am sure it will soon reach our shores if it hasn't already. So I asked Julie if I could let people know what she thought of the book so we had some info before we were faced with it.
The Shack
I bought and read The Shack a few days ago on the emotional recommendation of a friend who admitted that while he was not an avid reader this book moved him to tears.
The Shack is a book written by William Young that is flying off the store shelves. People are buying a copy , then coming back to buying several more to pass out to family or friends. The emotional reaction triggered by The Shack seems almost unprecedented and the book is enthusiastically endorsed by Christian bookstore staff as THE book to read !
But wait !!I don’t know if you have read the book yet or not… if not, it is only a matter of time before someone hands you a copy or encourages you to run out and buy your own.I am writing this post for those of you who have read the book and are wondering what to think about it.
We are called to be discerners of good and evil, of truth and error. We are called to test all things and to be on guard.“Prove (test , examine) all things.. hold fast that which is good !” (I Thess. 5:21)And we are warned that we need to be even more on guard as the end approaches when "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables...." ( II Tim. 4:3,4)These are frightening words and should stir us up to be doubly careful and take to heart the admonition following in verse 5.."But you be watchful in all things"!!
Is this book what it is hailed to be ? A book on par with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress -- or is there something dangerously deceptive lurking in its pages?Have you questioned what you read in light of scripture ?
To be honest - I am very troubled by the book…. not because there is nothing good in it …the best deception has the MOST truth in it…. but because the foundation on which the truth is laid is not the same as the foundation we find in the pages of our bibles.
Is God ever pictured to be like a large black woman in an apron swaying to funk music?No, of course not…and I know the defenders of the book will be quick to say that the author was employing his analogy to break people loose from a false preconceived idea of who God is ..Granted … but consider this …what if your daughter is a chain smoker and out of concern for her health you endeavour to free her from her smoking habit by introducing her to alcohol instead . Not an advisable treatment plan, is it?So also - to present a God so contrary to the God of our scripture is not setting anyone on a solid rock.
The Papa of the Shack is God stripped of His majesty, His glory, His Holiness. I personally am not attracted to the playful, at times silly god of The Shack, the god that would laughingly feed his child a dish of greens that would make him sick.The God I know is Holy and Righteous and One to whom I gladly bow my knee… but how I love Him, knowing that He is my Father and I know I can run to Him any time , sit at His feet with my head on His knee and listen to His amazing Words of truth and comfort.".... and Holy is His name!" (Luke 1:49)
The god of The Shack winks at sin and the consequences of sin, reassuring Mack that there is not one child of her’s that she will send to hell…but all will be brought into relationship with her in the end. And then she shows Mack that his abusive, cruel father who died in a drunken stupor after drinking his poisoned liquor - is indeed enjoying the delights of heaven.“Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor DRUNKARDS, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Cor. 6:10)
The Shack also takes license to change the Words of scripture. When Mack accuses Papa of deserting Jesus at the cross, Papa reassures Mack that this was not so. She insists that at no point did Papa ever turn away from Jesus on the cross but was there with Him the whole time. Really? What does William Young know that Jesus did not?“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” is Jesus cry from the cross. (Matt.27:46)
Papa also teaches Mack that she does not require anything of him other than relationship. She has no intentions of turning any one into a Christian. Expectations and responsibilities are only part of a dead relationship …be it between you and God or in a marriage relationship.Consider , my friend! Think of your best relationship…be it marriage or friendship. Is it free of expectations or responsibilities? Does a wife not expect certain things of her husband? I know I do .. I expect my husband to be faithful to his marriage vows “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health” , I expect him to care for me, I expect him to react in certain ways in certain circumstances .. I expect him to be true to how I know him to be., I expect him to be home for dinner. … And yes , he has responsibilities as well. It is his responsibility to make sure our vehicles are in good repair, his responsibility to fix whatever goes wrong in the house, his responsibility to take out the garbage.What Young seems to have overlooked is that expectations and responsibilities are not wrong in themselves… they can become bondage only when the LOVE dies in a relationship. Where love is strong, expectations and responsibilities are fulfilled with joy !“You are my friends, IF you do whatsoever I command you !” (John 15:14) "He that says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him." (I John 2:4)
In the writing of The Shack, William Young employs a couple of clever literary tactics.A foreword of a book is usually written by someone other than the author for the purpose of introducing the author and speaking for his credibility. Young writes his own foreword to introduce and give credibility to the main character of his story , going so far as to explain why he himself is part of the story. Because a foreword is expected to be factual, I know of several people who were convinced that this book was the real experience of a real person.Then in a clever plot twist at the end of the book the author divorces himself from being held accountable for any doctrinal positions he presented by revealing that the whole shack experience may have been nothing more than the imagined images in the mind of a man in a coma.
If this book was meant to be nothing more than a well written piece of fiction with a clever and entertaining plot… then why is it having such a deep spiritual impact on its readers?What is the power in and behind this book?Is it the power of the Holy Spirit?Or is it an example of the ‘winds of doctrine’ we are warned against? (Eph.4:14)
Does this book align itself with scripture or is it presenting another Jesus, another God?These are questions that must be asked.Truth is never threatened or offended when questioned."And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free !" (John 8:32)
The Shack
I bought and read The Shack a few days ago on the emotional recommendation of a friend who admitted that while he was not an avid reader this book moved him to tears.
The Shack is a book written by William Young that is flying off the store shelves. People are buying a copy , then coming back to buying several more to pass out to family or friends. The emotional reaction triggered by The Shack seems almost unprecedented and the book is enthusiastically endorsed by Christian bookstore staff as THE book to read !
But wait !!I don’t know if you have read the book yet or not… if not, it is only a matter of time before someone hands you a copy or encourages you to run out and buy your own.I am writing this post for those of you who have read the book and are wondering what to think about it.
We are called to be discerners of good and evil, of truth and error. We are called to test all things and to be on guard.“Prove (test , examine) all things.. hold fast that which is good !” (I Thess. 5:21)And we are warned that we need to be even more on guard as the end approaches when "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables...." ( II Tim. 4:3,4)These are frightening words and should stir us up to be doubly careful and take to heart the admonition following in verse 5.."But you be watchful in all things"!!
Is this book what it is hailed to be ? A book on par with John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress -- or is there something dangerously deceptive lurking in its pages?Have you questioned what you read in light of scripture ?
To be honest - I am very troubled by the book…. not because there is nothing good in it …the best deception has the MOST truth in it…. but because the foundation on which the truth is laid is not the same as the foundation we find in the pages of our bibles.
Is God ever pictured to be like a large black woman in an apron swaying to funk music?No, of course not…and I know the defenders of the book will be quick to say that the author was employing his analogy to break people loose from a false preconceived idea of who God is ..Granted … but consider this …what if your daughter is a chain smoker and out of concern for her health you endeavour to free her from her smoking habit by introducing her to alcohol instead . Not an advisable treatment plan, is it?So also - to present a God so contrary to the God of our scripture is not setting anyone on a solid rock.
The Papa of the Shack is God stripped of His majesty, His glory, His Holiness. I personally am not attracted to the playful, at times silly god of The Shack, the god that would laughingly feed his child a dish of greens that would make him sick.The God I know is Holy and Righteous and One to whom I gladly bow my knee… but how I love Him, knowing that He is my Father and I know I can run to Him any time , sit at His feet with my head on His knee and listen to His amazing Words of truth and comfort.".... and Holy is His name!" (Luke 1:49)
The god of The Shack winks at sin and the consequences of sin, reassuring Mack that there is not one child of her’s that she will send to hell…but all will be brought into relationship with her in the end. And then she shows Mack that his abusive, cruel father who died in a drunken stupor after drinking his poisoned liquor - is indeed enjoying the delights of heaven.“Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor DRUNKARDS, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Cor. 6:10)
The Shack also takes license to change the Words of scripture. When Mack accuses Papa of deserting Jesus at the cross, Papa reassures Mack that this was not so. She insists that at no point did Papa ever turn away from Jesus on the cross but was there with Him the whole time. Really? What does William Young know that Jesus did not?“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” is Jesus cry from the cross. (Matt.27:46)
Papa also teaches Mack that she does not require anything of him other than relationship. She has no intentions of turning any one into a Christian. Expectations and responsibilities are only part of a dead relationship …be it between you and God or in a marriage relationship.Consider , my friend! Think of your best relationship…be it marriage or friendship. Is it free of expectations or responsibilities? Does a wife not expect certain things of her husband? I know I do .. I expect my husband to be faithful to his marriage vows “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health” , I expect him to care for me, I expect him to react in certain ways in certain circumstances .. I expect him to be true to how I know him to be., I expect him to be home for dinner. … And yes , he has responsibilities as well. It is his responsibility to make sure our vehicles are in good repair, his responsibility to fix whatever goes wrong in the house, his responsibility to take out the garbage.What Young seems to have overlooked is that expectations and responsibilities are not wrong in themselves… they can become bondage only when the LOVE dies in a relationship. Where love is strong, expectations and responsibilities are fulfilled with joy !“You are my friends, IF you do whatsoever I command you !” (John 15:14) "He that says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him." (I John 2:4)
In the writing of The Shack, William Young employs a couple of clever literary tactics.A foreword of a book is usually written by someone other than the author for the purpose of introducing the author and speaking for his credibility. Young writes his own foreword to introduce and give credibility to the main character of his story , going so far as to explain why he himself is part of the story. Because a foreword is expected to be factual, I know of several people who were convinced that this book was the real experience of a real person.Then in a clever plot twist at the end of the book the author divorces himself from being held accountable for any doctrinal positions he presented by revealing that the whole shack experience may have been nothing more than the imagined images in the mind of a man in a coma.
If this book was meant to be nothing more than a well written piece of fiction with a clever and entertaining plot… then why is it having such a deep spiritual impact on its readers?What is the power in and behind this book?Is it the power of the Holy Spirit?Or is it an example of the ‘winds of doctrine’ we are warned against? (Eph.4:14)
Does this book align itself with scripture or is it presenting another Jesus, another God?These are questions that must be asked.Truth is never threatened or offended when questioned."And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free !" (John 8:32)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
New Years
Well happy New Year to everyone. We had a very quiet New Years Eve I fell asleep at 7:30 and Dave went to work at 10. Our Coles jobs have become something a little different to what we expected. I have worked the last 11 days straight - 9 hour days and 1 12 hour shift. After not having worked for 5 months this was hard on the body. Really struggled on Friday but finished at 5pm and didn't have to start to 1pm Saturday - slept for 14 hours. Had today off. The major Christmas New Year rush is over now and things will start to slow down. David has worked the last 8 nights straight. He usually works from 10pm to 6 am. Most days I am getting home as he is getting ready for work and he is going to bed as I am getting ready to go to work. The boys are entertaining themselves with computer and Xbox. I have 3 5 hour shifts, 1 6 hour and 2 9 hours this week with Wednesday off. So it should be a lot easier. Dave finds out in the afternoon if he is working that night. Hopefully as things start to settle down they will have more of an idea when trucks are coming and when nightfill are needed. The Cowes store goes from the lowest sales in the state during winter to the highest sales in the state over summer. After the new years weekend it took people up to 5 hours to get off the island due to traffic (it usually takes 15 minutes). So many people. Our sleepy little island getaway turned into something very different. The sun cancer message is also not getting through. I saw so many badly burnt people this last 2 weeks.
Will blog again during the week. Love to all.
Will blog again during the week. Love to all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)