I'm the Doctor

Quoting Harriet Jones, Prime Minister:

"You're the Doctor, what happened to MY Doctor? Is this just some title that gets passed around?"

Unfortunately the answer is true- My 39 year-old Doctor has regenerated himself into the 20-something year-old Matt Smith. Probably won't be until later this year or next when we get to see this new guy in action, but he has some pretty BIG shoes to fill.

Will he talk too much?
Does he like little shops?
Does his love nibbles?

Bye Bye Mr Tennant- at least I still own 4 seasons of you.

I think I've aged 10 years...

It's only the 2nd day into the Chinese New Year and 15 days into 2010 and:

Someone is out of a job.
Someone is minus an appendix.
Our bathroom has been pulled to pieces and gradually being restored.
Have possibly 5 weddings this year(and counting) and attended 1 already.
Have received matron-of-honour dress already for 2011 Feb wedding (must watch weight)
Read 7 books in one week of the 'Tomorrow Series' by John Marsden.
Next couple of weekends getting booked up quickly.

And I thought 2010 was going to be a more relaxing year.....

Definite ATO scam

The ATO has never, ever accepted 'credit card' as a payment option for paying off your income tax bills.

Why then would they even bother asking you for your credit card details when a tax refund is due to you?

ATO Scam

MAJOR EPIC FAIL for whoever is behind this, but then again there are so many people out there that are doing it tough and anything remotely close to getting money from the government is hard to pass up.

Interview Snippets

Some snippets from a Dr B. Winter interview in the Briefing a couple of months ago:

PH: How are Christians being affected by contemporary worldviews?

BH: 30 years ago, the favourite text amongst Christians was John 3:16. However, in a recent poll, the most quoted text was Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged”. I think that tells us something. Modern Australian culture says you mustn’t judge, and now Christians are following the world by claiming this text as their basis for remaining dumb about the culture. Christians are following non-Christian society by refusing to make these judgements.

PH: Are you saying that Christians have capitulated to the modern age by refusing to distinguish between truth and error?

BH: Yes, I am. Furthermore, they are misapplying the text “Judge not, that you be not judged” in doing so. The reality is that Christians are meant to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:5). Nowhere does the Bible say that believers are meant to keep quiet when people challenge the notion of truth and say that there is no difference between right and wrong.

The church today has imbibed a playboy theology that goes back to Greek philosophical heathenism. The central idea of this Greek view was that our aim in life is to pursue happiness. Many Christians have bought into this idea. They want to serve God, but they also want to be happy. This creates a problem for them because they have no place for pain or suffering in their experience.

Christian young people who follow this line are putting themselves on the same trajectory as the young playboys and playgirls in the first century who said, “Everything is permitted for me; I can do what I like”. As far as they were concerned, life was about enjoying oneself and being happy.

People forget that God’s plan for us Christians also includes trouble and persecution. If our aim is only to have a pain-free and happy life, then we will fall away from Christ when we experience adversity.

The Bible never promises a life that is free of trouble and suffering.

Slight Glitch

Abit of a blip has already occurred this year.

Will work through this prayerfully with God and see what His plans are from here.

Buying in Bulk and Future plans

Why the sudden trend of buying 10kg lots of beef steaks at cheap, wholesale prices and then having this shared around your friends?

Maybe we should consider this for fruit and veggies also, where you could buy boxes of fruit and veg from the markets and then have this divided up also.

Problem is we are only limited to 1 small freezer, and with a bathroom renovation finally taking place in Feb we are saving as much as possible for the rest of the year.

An aside, we have been prayerfully considering where God wants us to be and what He wants us to do in the next couple of years. Both of us at the moment feel that some sort of church-based ministry or bible college may be on the cards.

It's getting to the point where we have both spent a fair number of years working in the secular world. (almost 9 years each)
Both of us feel that we need to do something more productive, and the things we have seen and experienced through working can be valuable for ministry to the church family and/or community.

Attending Brisbane Leadership Training next week- may get to have some meaningful discussions with like-minded people there.

2010

In 6 days time I will mark my 5 years working at Peak.

I shall be 1 step closer towards the 4th decade in my life.

Here's hoping 'Gus Junior' will last longer than 'Gus'.

Trip to Melbourne in Dec for Boxing Day Test?

1 year sabbatical from ministry?

New bathroom

Rent a bigger holiday house on stayz.com.au?

Continue doing weights whilst watching DVD box sets?

Randoms

Saw a car drive on the wrong side of the road yesterday. Was an Asian at the wheel.

Saw many people in various spots in suburbia and street corners wheeling suitcases around.

Checked to see the trading hours of A-Mart All Sports to replenish fishing gear and Woolies and Coles for Christmas Eve trading so we can get cheap meat.

Got the urge to make dumplings again after purchasing a packet of pork mince.

Went to bed at 9:30pm last night- the earliest in like a year.

Finally finished watching all 60ish Dae Jang Geum episodes. What should I do now?

My Life is Average

Had Bryse and Dilz over for dinner this week.

Told us about this website where people submit their random, mundane life stories from time to time. Quite interesting time-waster.

www.mylifeisaverage.com

Apparently it is pretty difficult to have your submission published on their site.

Life is Pretty Normal Today.

Shout out to the Empire

Dropping a note to say how nice it wass to see Empire of the Sun win a number of ARIAs recently.

Does this mean their concert tickets will skyrocket now????

It's that time again!

To kick start the summer 2009/10 season, will be heading to the annual Twenty/20 Johnny Walker ACA All Stars vs KFC Australian XI match at the Gabba on Sunday Nov 22nd.

Sweeeeeeet!!!

Old men I'm looking forward to seeing in action again:

Gilly
Ooh Aah Pigeon
The Bat
Bing (well, he isn't exactly old so he would have to be the 'nicer-looking man' I'm looking forward to seeing, if he is picked)

Geeky

I would never have thought that I would say this:

I love watching Doctor Who.

Looking past the scary music (which was scary when you were 7) and opening sequences, you get a extremely fun and enjoyable TV series. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff aside, I've found myself hooked to this show, courtesy of the lovely David Tennant.

Now all the hard-core fans will probably say that I'm not the genuine article as I haven't watched any episodes from the Tom Baker/William Hartnell/Jon Pertwee/Peter Davidson/Colin Baker/Sylvestor McCoy series or even the Paul McGann telemovie. (speaking of, I now remember Paul in another favourite movie of mine The 3 Musketeers).

Is it acceptable enough that I have watched the revamped series from Season 1 through to Planet of the Dead? (First of the 2009 Specials, with 3 more to go and *sniff* the last 3 specials to feature David before he leaves)

I don't know much about Matt Smith (the new Doctor after David) and am apprehensive as to what quirky facets he will bring to the role next year.

Am I a geek?
What is the female version of a geek?
A geekette?
A geekress?

I'd like a sonic screwdriver for Christmas this year.

Running the Treadmill of Emptiness

I feel as if my life has been really empty and meaningless over the past 3 months.

Each week is spent doing the work of 2 full-time workers. Do people there see I'm at least trying my best and doing what I can to keep this boat afloat? This was not meant to be a long-term thing but as 3 months have gone by without any answers, I just cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Outside of work there is also uncertainty and many unanswered questions. Another tunnel that I cannot see the end of.

A number of thoughts have crossed my mind of late:

- Whether the indecisiveness of some will make others look bad or be frowned upon?
- Why do some people make promises that they clearly cannot keep?
- How can your life be so hectic and busy that every single day for the last 6 months is spent in back-to-back engagements, so the only time you have to breath is a 5 minute toilet break or transport to the next appointment?
- Am I the cause of this uncertainty, by hanging on to something that clearly is not meant to be?
- People say that they won't let things happen the way they did again, but then it happens all over again.

I need your prayers, I need answers, I need people to make some really big decisions soon, otherwise I will probably lose my mind.

One thing I am certain about, is that I honestly don't understand what it truly means to be busy.

If you think that your life is busy then think again. I thought my life was, but now I don't think so.

You don't have time to attend that important meeting. But you can find time to catch up with a friend at the last minute for a coffee.

You don't have time help someone who is lonely and in need of your friendship. But you can somehow find time to spend with your partner who you see everyday.

How many nights every week do you spend at home?

Is Sunday your most busiest day of the week?

My ramblings for the week.

I need a boat

I'm so jealous.

A family at church are spending the next 2 weeks fishing at 1770 with their boat :(
grrrrrrrr.

Would love to take 6 months off and just fish my way around Australia.

Its times like this that I realise how peaceful and uncrowded Townsville was with its beaches, jetties, rock walls and ports. Everything was so close you could wake up at 7am, get to the beach by 7:15am and fish the entire day away until night fell.

Who has a big boat they are willing to lend me?

More Food-related Banter

Special Sunday morning service this weekend with 7 people getting baptised. (good stuff)

We were asked last week to bring a plate to share for a lunch that will be held after the service.

I'm pondering what to bring and some things I have been thinking about are:

- Being a baptismal service, there will likely be people that are friends of the people getting baptised that are invited and will come who don't normally come to church. They obviously won't be bringing a plate for lunch, but will most likely stay for the lunch. Does this mean that we should be providing more food (ie. say bringing 2-3 plates of food) in order to cater for the extra numbers? (Christian hospitality)

- Types of food to bring. The usual, no-mess fare would be sandwiches and store-bought cakes, muffins and dare-I-say Pizza. The 'foodie' in me suggests that there should be more savouries than sweets (being lunch, not afternoon tea) and more hot/warm dishes as it is winter.

- Finger food vs Food which needs to be eaten with a fork
(the monthly Chinese lunches is never fingerfood fare- always plated goodies that require eating utensils)

My current list of foods for consideration:

- Cheerios
- Honey Soy Chicken Wings and mini-drums
- Meatballs and sauce
- Antipasto platter with fresh bread
- Pasta bake

What I got up to on leave

House was utilised for last minute RICE meetings and accommodation for Sydney visitors.

Study room in the house was used by 'someone outside of the family' to create/complete youth group artwork express.........this youth group ended up winning the competition!!! (*tsk* *tsk* grumble grumble)

Made Russiana and Ox-Tail soup and very 'Chinese homely-type' dinner for Sydney guests and RICE team. Ox-tail was a big hit, as was the Chinese BBQ dishes.

Went to the dentist for 6 month check-up- all good.....just need to keep flossing.

Decided on a whim to get a haircut at the Hairdressing School in the CBD. Got a shampoo, condition, stylecut and blowdry for only $10 :)

Bought lots of breakfast foods for Sydney visitors, but then realising that they don't eat breakfast :S

Became Aunty for the group of visitors and took them to Dreamworld, Surfers Paradise and Harbourtown- got early entry into Dreamworld so went on the big rides without the line-ups. (did Tower of Terror and Cyclone, but chickened out on the rest)

Week off

1st day of annual leave for a week.

28 hours to go til RICE 2009 kicks off in Brisbane!!
Still fighting a sore throat obtained at last weekend's staff retreat.

Been deciding what to do in this 'spare' week off:

-Hang out with Sydney people coming up for RICE
-Take them to the beach
-Head to any Gold Coast Theme Park
-Catch up with friends who have children
-Go to the dentist
-Get a haircut
-Get a massage

Well that's pretty much all I can squeeze in, amongst the awesomeness and craziness of RICE.

Bring on the transformation of kids lives and power of our Lord!!

The attack is on

The spiritual attack that is.

Have taken quite a few hits already from Satan as RICE gets closer and closer. Firstly, He takes out one Big Day Out speaker, and appears to be in the process of taking out the 2nd speaker also. (wife has swine flu)

Only 2 weeks to go, how many more hits can we expect?

All of today's best laid plans did not happen at all, one way or another. A mere extra 15 minutes would have made all the difference. W is home with a cold so had to fill in his roles for the day and to top things right off, the work staff conference is next weekend, which takes out the entire weekend before E1.

Admin team is stressed about numbers and food team is anxious about quantities.

Plus I've misplaced that neighbourhood letter that MUST be letterbox-dropped next weekend. With the stupid work conference who on earth is going to do this???

*DEEP BREATH*

At the end of the day I should have expected all these plans to be manipulated and destroyed by the evil one. He would raze RICE to the ground if he could, but he will not.

He will not deter us.
He will not stop us.
He will not tear us apart, because we have the full armour of God and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords fighting the fight with us. Whilst he will strike the heel, Our Lord will crush his head.

Will you pray for us? Pray that many young lives will be saved and turn to the Lord.

We only have 48 hours after RICE to ensure that this happens. Otherwise they will be lost and the oppportunity is gone.

No Hot Water

For the past 2 weeks our hot water system has been dying a excruitiating death.

One night (around 9:30pm) we tried for 45 mins to get hot water. My theory was that somehow the old system would only work during the day, when the sun was out and actually warming up the old gas system. The system also wouldn't work in the mornings as the sun usually isn't up when we wake.

We tested this theory a few nights later, with W using our small fan heater to warm up the hot water system around 5:30pm when the sun was already down. 5 minutes later the hot water came. This also meant that we only had limited opportunity to use the bathroom. Therefore a highly effective system was created where one person would go first and then the other would take their place 3 minutes later.

This system was so effective that we were actually having trouble converting back, when a temporary electric system had been installed this week. The hot water comes so quickly I keep burning myself.

Our only problem now is that the electric system only allows 5 mins of hot water at any one time. Afterwards you have to wait for 20 minutes until the system heats up the water again.

Good to know that we are saving water, but for those wishing to stay with us who enjoy their 30 minute showers will have to make alternative arrangements :)

Not that anyone should be having 30 minute showers anyway *tsk* *tsk*
Water Restrictions.

Paperwork, Paperwork

Inundated at work, inundated at home.

30th June stuff to complete, Qld Blue Card Applications and Letters galore.

The tally so far for Blue Cards being held up in processing due to missing information now stands at four (4). This is the first time this has happened, and strangely enough, all the culprits have been male :)

What is frustrating is that 3 out of the 4 forms submitted have been held up due to the applicants not specifying whether they had a middle name or not. All they have been asked to do is sign another form which states 'they do not have a middle name' and then send it straight back.

As for the 1 out of the 4, this person forgot to sign the application form altogether :) oops!

Paperwork aside, it is W's brother's wedding this weekend :)