more about nothing

I found Chromasia the other day - basically it's a photographical blog - some of the photos are amazing! It's also available as an RSS feed, so you can have a beautiful photo to start off each day with.

This comes from Adrian Warnock's blog. Seeing as it looks as though we may need an Ark this weekend, it seems like a good weekend project: Hopefully, I'll post my reply to this on Monday.

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A blogging challenge for all you intrepid men and women out there.

A new challenge: Explore a chain of bible verses together. Taken together, these verses together form a convincing picture. Your task is to paint it. I am not after bold statements of doctrine, certainly not throughout the post. But, given this string of verses and tackling them in this order, what does the bible have to say about issues of authority and submission and how that impacts on family church and work life?

The verses are Is 66:2, Phil 2:3-10, Mt 23:11-12, 1 Cor 11:3, Col 3:18-24, 1 Tim2:11-14, Titus 2:3-4, 2 Tim 1:5, Acts 18:26, Gen 1:27, Gen 2:18, 20-21, 23, 3:1, 9, 16, 17

The prize? Well, mostly the reward of doing it to be honest. But, for those who want such a thing, a Warnie award is likely to go to whoever I feel has done the best post exploring the issues, provided I like the rest of the blog, and provided they actually want one!

For the purposes of this task you are not in this journey permitted to make many detours. I will allow you an extra 3 detours tops where another verse is brought in to explain matters relating to these.

Your entry should be posted on your blog, if necessary divided into sections. Comments received and in particular the kind of comments of the original author will weigh in my decision. I want to see this idea linked to so there is a chance for others to get involved. So remember let the word and the spirit be your guide and take us through this warnie wild ride through the bible. What does it all mean today? Do these verses hang together?

I came across this today. Basically, it's an MP3 player that you plug into your cigarette lighter. The MP3's aren't stored in the device - they're stored in USB flash drives that you plug into the player. It also has ports to allow you to connect other devices such as iPods or CD Players, and it plays through your FM radio. Apparently, the sound quality is that of FM radio (makes sense.).

It has the normal features of play, stop, rewind and fast forward, and even remembers where you were up to in the song when the car was turned off.

Unfortunately, I'm yet to find somewhere to purchase the player in Australia.

If I find it anywhere, I'm going to seriously consider the purchase - it has to be cheaper than getting a new cd player!

** Edit ** The link should now take you to a page about the VR3, not to a blank shopping cart!

I found this site and a few others via Time's "50 Coolest Websites". (Please be cautioned that some entries contain not-so-nice language). I was browsing the site, and came across this overheard conversation....it reminds me of a scene out of Lano & Woodley, so I just had to post it.

Girl: Are you mad at me?
Guy: No.
Girl: Are you being sarcastic?
Guy: No.
Girl: Now are you being sarcastic?
Guy: No.
Girl: Now are you being sarcastic?
Guy: Well yeah, now.

Well I went off to the doctor this morning - fat lot of good that did. I didn't really get any answers beyond what I already suspected. However the doctor did refer me onto a heart specialist - probably so she could get him to take my blood pressure - something, amazingly, this doctor failed to do. She tried alright - the digital cuff that nearly cut my arm off each time she pressed the inflate button, but still no blood pressure reading. I felt like telling her to get her good ol' cuff out and do it herself - manually!

Then she told me to go to the hospital if the pain gets worse...so I may be heading off to the hospital for a nice long wait in emergency. I might go via home so I can pick up those three books that I need to finish...

My weekend began with me finding out that I'd double-booked myself for saturday night - on friday night!!! Both things were non-negotiable, so I compromised and went to half of each.

First off was a long awaited "cell social" with the girls from my life group; it had already been postponed, and so I went out with the girls for a night of 10-pin, played two games with the girls, then headed off to a planning meeting for our youth conference "Intensifire". I got there just in time, as the meeting was just about to start (after a couple of hours of playing games and eating). It was a great night though.

Sunday was a huge day. I'm still in the end stages of having a cold, and I was required to sing at all three services, plus do an item in each of those services! Thankfully, after a week of "vocal pampering" and medications, I was ok. I'm feeling a little worse for wear today, but I could be feeling worse!

Here's hoping that this week's a little less hectic!

I found this via Rodney Olsen's blog, and so I thought I'd give it a go too.

Feel free to do the same.

Oooh! Look at me! I'm a sock!


Random Object Quiz
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Apparently, I'm a sock.

Take the quiz here.

Yet another fantastic post by Shaun Groves:

"Day and night, waters and skies, birds and cattle. All of this was incomplete without man and man was incomplete without her. And she is so treasured and essential that God couldn't pull His pen through even one book of His epic without her flowing from His heart and onto the page. There she is on the pedestal of Adam's adoration and God's provision."

[more]

I love reading Shaun's insights on things. He has a way with words - maybe that's why he's a songwriter!

Following up on the sever shortage of water over in the eastern states, I was speaking with my Mum (in South Australia) the other day. Lately it seems that every time we speak they're in the middle of a raging storm - rain, thunder, lightning, wind - the whole deal. I think our HUGE rain tank is almost full. After having no rain for a long time, the farmers weren't able to go and rip up the ground as it was TOO WET!

On a side note, local aboriginal groups in the area have begin to Sand-bag; they all think that the droughts about to break and are preparing for it. Maybe they know something we dont?

It's finished. Well, nearly. I think there's only 2 days left of reading, most of which I've kept up to date with. That's a miracle in itself - trust me. It must be a throw-back from school days. "You must read up to page xx by monday"...and of course, come monday, it's not done :)

I think the topic that I've "enjoyed" the most was "Serving - we were shaped for serving God". For a long time in my old church, I felt like I was "almost" serving in the right area - I felt as though I was a square peg in a round hole. In one of the chapters, Rick Warren is explaining what happens when you're not serving in the right ministry for your gifting, listing examples such as frustration, stress, serving becoming a chore, etc. As I was reading that list, I found myself mentally ticking nearly every "symptom" that he described.

After prayer and counsel with a friend, I've recently made some changes in the areas in which I serve, which included stopping playing the piano for youth. (there's a post about this earlier). It was not an easy decision to make, and I didn't realise how much of my identity I had wrapped up in playing keys for youth! Not a nice thing to realise. But then, God's been showing me things about myself that I don't really like...so I guess it's time for some hard work!

Too often God reminds me that I'm only where I am today by His grace, and not because of me. My identity needs to be found in God, and not in the gifts, not in the ministry that He's given me. What if, for some reason, I could no longer sing? What if I couldn't play piano AT ALL? Utilising my gifting through ministry should only ever be secondary to my relationship with Jesus. If that's not going well, than how am I supposed to minister, to worship in Spirit and Truth?

Last night, being the night-owl that I am, I was heading off to bed at around 12:30am. I went into the bathroom to wash my face, only to discover that there was no hot water (literally - nothing came out of the tap), there was very little cold water, and the water pressure was non-existant. I was confused. (You see, my brain stops operating around 11pm).

But then I realised that there were "truck noises" coming from outside, and our street was lit by floodlights. Curious, I went outside to see what was going on. And what had happened? The water pipe that delivers water to our street had burst further up the road. There was a truck outside my house "emptying" the pipes further down from the burst main, so they could replace it.

Ok, so there was my answer. But you know what annoyed me most? The fact that our country is in the grips of the worst drought we've seen for over 100 years, and there was the man from Sydney Water, flushing out the pipes - just letting hundreds and hundreds of litres of water flow down the drain. I understand that there's not much he could have done, but at a time when they're increasing the cost of water, and we're nearly at level 4 restrictions, to see water go to waste like that is frustrating.

I was thinking about the first time that I heard the songs of certain bands that were later to become my favourites. Many times, especially when I was younger, I was introduced to different bands by my friends. It's only just in the past few years that I've been actively searching out new music, and defining my own personal musical preferences.

I'd heard DC Talk's "Free At Last" on a TV Commercial. The CD "Free At Last" was one of the first three CD's my family purchased. (The other two were Hillsong's "The Stone's Been Rolled Away", and Youth Alive NSW's "The Flock Still Rocks".) Dad read all the lyrics to make sure that there was nothing "untoward" in there, and then approved it for our listening. I loved that CD.

Then one day, a friend called me and invited me over to listen to her new CD (or possibly even cassette!). As soon as I arrived, we went into her lounge room, shut all the blinds, turned off the lights, and layed on the couch. She then turned on DC Talk's "Jesus Freak". I remember hearing the song "What If I Stumble?" and connecting with the song immediately - it was like it was written for me.

That same friend, on another occasion, placed me in the centre of her bedroom (so I'd get the full impact of her stereo speakers set up all around the room), and put on Third Day's first album - the one with the bus on the cover. I was blown away by the sound! It was incredible.

I think for the next few years, all I listened to was DC Talk, Third Day, and Jars of Clay. The perfect trifecta for any 90's christian teenager :) (oh, and I'm still a fan!)

More recent musical discoveries that I've made include Shawn McDonald (I loved his stuff before any of my friends had heard of him - they're now addicted too!); Tim Hughes - I was into his stuff before his first album came out; TobyMac - Ok, not technically a discovery, but his stuff continues to amaze me; Shaun Groves - incredibly, I can remember some of his first songs, songs that I heard on a sampler tape from the local Christian bookstore!

I'm also discovering some great local (ie Australian!) bands, and also your Indie bands from the US. Good Australian music is hard to find (in large quantities). Of course, there's your well known groups such as Hillsong, Planetshakers, Hillsong United, the various Youth Alives, and CCC Oxford Falls. But there's a lot of "lesser-known" groups - groups that often only put out 1 or two albums, then go their separate ways. One of my faves is/was Blind, from Wollongong. I've followed their stuff since their "Long Walk Home" album. I also like "Sons of Korah" from Melbourne. Their albums are great - their songs are straight from the Psalms. I'm loving "Lukas" at the moment (Luke Munns' band), and I love the only CD put out (so far) by Revolution - the youth band of Lakes CLC.

It's exciting to discover new music and new bands. I still get excited when my favourite artists release new albums :)

I've been pondering this for a while...

How often, especially in church, do we find ourselves using words that we really have no idea of their meaning? Or if we think about it, the word we so often use, isn't even really appropriate?

Last friday at our young adults meeting, I heard this following phrase:
"You are worthy of our Praise"

On the surface, it seems ok. It's something that we hear/say all the time. But on that friday night, something made me stop and think about it.

So, stop and think about it. Doesn't it seem strange? In effect, we're deeming God worthy enough to receive OUR praise. The reality is, we're not even worthy enough to BRING our praise to Him. It's only by God's grace that we can enter His throne room to bring our praise to Him. Wouldn't it make more sense to say "You are worthy, so we praise You"?

Just a thought.

This is an interesting plug-in for media players -it keeps record of what you're listening to, and creates personal charts for you - so you know who your "Top 10" is. You can also find people who like the same music as you, and also create friend networks...check it out...I'm going to give it a try!

[via here and here]

I keep hearing two different results for the Michael Jackson trial. Maybe the way I understand it is wrong?

The two versions that I hear is that he's:

1. Been acquitted
2. Been found not guilty

My understanding of an acquittal is that the charges have been cleared, in the sense that there was no case, almost like the charge was never made, whereas when you're found not guilty, it's saying that there was grounds for a case, but the prosecution did not prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Well that's what I remember from 2 years of legal studies...correct me if I'm wrong

Edit: Then, I found this. Maybe it's the difference between two countries legal system?

"You couldn't believe in God without believing in the Devil. I always tell bands that the most dangerous thing you can do is to believe in the concept of the Devil or the concept of God, because you're not giving them full credit. When you believe in God, you've got to believe in the all-powerful God. He's not just God, He's the all-powerful God and He has total control over everyone's life. The Devil, on the other hand, is a real character that's trying his hardest to tear your life apart. If you believe that this is just mythology, you're a prime target because you know that's exactly what Satan wants: To be a myth. But he's not a myth, of this I'm totally convinced. More than anything in the world, I'm convinced of that."

[more]

The Three Sisters 

The Three Sisters 

The Three Sisters at night 

The Three Sisters 

Blue Mountains, Katoomba - The Three Sisters 

Yesterday (monday 13th) was the Queen's Birthday public holiday. If I was still in Sth Australia, I'd have been at my "old" church's young adults camp, which is one of the best ways to spend the long weekend. This year would have been my 10th year at camp. Gee - I guess that makes me old?

So, instead, I went with some friends up to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. We walked down part of the "great staircase" to sit inside one of the "Three Sisters". As a result, I'm finding it hard today to walk down stairs. The good thing about yesterday (apart from all the beautiful scenery, or shrubbery, as one of my friends called it), was that it rained solidly for 4 hours. Luckily, it was after we'd finished our walk to the sisters.

We finished the day by discovering a cafe called "The Flapping Curtain", and sat down to a slow, but beautiful meal, which they proudly informed us was mostly organic. The clientele (and staff) were slightly bohemian - which made us feel like we were in a small cafe in Newtown, without the hustle and bustle...

I'm going to find some photos of Katoomba and the Three sisters and post them for you all to stare at in wonder :)

"In that moment, I think I realized that God could handle severe honesty. Authenticity, in all its messiness, was not offensive to him. There was room for doubt and anger and confusion. There was room for the real me." [more]

This quote came from an article that Spencer Burke, the founder of "TheOoze" wrote about his spiritual journey. It's an interesting article - follow the link above to read the entire thing.

Tonight will be my third night off in a row....except for that time I spent doing the recording on tuesday. This is unheard of - I'm usually out at least every other night...maybe I'll be able to catch up on my 40 days reading, and read a bit more of my "new" purchase (well, I bought it when it was released - a few months ago) - John Grisham's "The Broker".

I was advised to "Googlise" myself, and so I did. Makes for interesting reading. Here are some "highlights": (comments in brackets added by ME!)

paula is my name
paula is a fine white cat
paula is a succesfull singer (yeah babY!!)
paula is the limerick rose for 2001
paula is mentioned (?)
paula is a succesfull singer/songwriter who when destiny kicks in meets the love of her life howie (who's howie - and when does destiny kick in?)
paula is a vip of the coffee world (especially considering I'm a tea drinker!)
paula is jealous of tracey
paula is so at ease on
paula is a halve
paula is a dominant fetish tv with a chamber in the east of england (!)
paula is not a purist about scratchboard technique
paula is (that's right - I just AM)
paula is a skilled networker within the field of real estate
paula is a young startup company
paula is situated in the beautiful santa clara river valley
paula is still up to her old adult ways (hmm I don't even believe that I'm a "young" adult!)
paula is married to dale rahmanovic and in april 2000 created history by becoming the first female tasmanian mp or minister to have a child while in office
paula is a freelance writer and editor
paula is still great (got that right!)
paula is done eating lunch (that too)
paula is running around the garden
paula is at once an autobiography
paula is in
paula is her recent appointment as jazz coordinator at the welsh college of music and drama
paula is very sweet (aw thanks!)
paula is your agent
paula is a regular feature writer for numerous national magazines
paula is committed to the health and well being of the animals that share our lives and so richly give their love
paula is able to determine the chemical factors that optimize the capture of...osama!!
paula is a great instructor and has earned herself a new fan (yup...the old one broke)
paula is a new version of the game show classic "to tell the truth
paula is president emerita of the association of american colleges and universities and former president and professor of chemistry at hollins college
paula is not just the girl next door (well...)
paula is recommended by fellow agents for honesty and integrity as an experienced massachusetts real estate agent professional
paula is not happy to leave all her toronto friends behind and move to edmonton after her grandmother dies (would you be happy to do that?)
paula is up in years now
paula is approximately 25 (approximately 24 would be better)
paula is the perfect example of how difficult it is to remain on top in the showbiz world because for a time (all washed up before I even get started)
paula is a perfect symbol of one of the most fun
paula is a fiercely independent young woman with two children who is told she will not survive the birth of a third (well it's a good thing I only want 2 kids then!)
paula is a working airport so play close attention to spinning propellers
paula is highly thought of by her peers
paula is not a book you can read at one sitting (that's because I'm not a book)
paula is a wine educator and promoter with 19 years experience (I started early)
paula is experiencing a "near death experience" in this section
paula is one of the few female singers to have six number one singles from her first album (yes!!! six number ones! I'm famous!)
paula is sure to please this year's gathering attendees with her slide show on extreme solo trekking in the himalayas (not the real himalayas - ones I built to scale in the backyard)
paula is very energetic and cues very well
paula is still in awe of how dedicated her cross stitch audience is (really....)
paula is busily working on a whole bunch of new songs for the next album (I wish that were true)
paula is considered 9 (out of 10?)
paula is a particular concern
paula is accessible
paula is going to rosita's retirement party on thursday (any excuse to party)
paula is getting dressed paula is getting dressed (ok I'm dressed already!)
paula is committed to serving him right where she's at (TRUE)
paula is afraid of death (not death itself, just the dying part)
paula is a natural teacher with the unusual ability to teach at any level

Let me know what your Googlism turned up!

I've been a fan of the movie "Josie and the Pussycats" for some time now.

Don't be turned off by the name, or the fact that it used to be a cartoon...comic....whatever.

And, it's NOT a chick flick.

I was introduced to this movie by some friends of mine, and I have since introduced it to many of my friends...for a movie that's good fun, actually funny, and with hardly any language, innuendo or anything distasteful, it's great!

A group of friends and I watched it in the wee hours of Saturday morning...the line that got the most laughs (well from one of the girls - we were all laughing at her!) was said by "an FBI guy" to Alexandra (remember - the girl with the white streak in her hair?)....and it goes something like this:

"Holy c**p! That girl's got a skunk on her head! Oops - my mistake, it's just her hair..."

My friend made us watch that line at least 5 times over! She was laughing so hard that she was crying - and we were all rolling around on the floor, laughing at her!

Good fun.

Well, actually our Music Pastor's home studio...

It's CM update and new songs time again, so I was asked to help out and lend my vocalising skills to some new songs that may end up on our latest update (available only to members of the Liverpool CM team!!! Ha!)

It's still weird to be asked to improvise/record "spontaneous" worship during instrumentals on songs...

Good fun though. The first few times you record like that, it's weird. I hate it when the song's played back, because then you realise how shocking you sound...even if it sounds average, I still have the uncanny ability to pick it to pieces.

That's probably why I rarely listen to the track I sang on our church album...(it's harder at home - that's the only track that my mum listens to!)

I've just discovered KanTong's new "Wok-Star" stir fry sauces. Last night I made a delicious stir fry using their Ginger, Lime and Lemongrass sauce. Mmm, delicious!!!

A group (well, large group) of my friends and I went and saw the latest Adam Sandler movie on Saturday night. Surprisingly, the screening we went to sold out - I had to plead with the attendant to get my ticket!

I must say, Adam Sandler is beginning to redeem himself! In my opinion (for all that's worth), he went a bit off the rails there for a while - and all his characters were the same as in the previous movie! However, in the past month I have now seen Spanglish, and The Longest Yard. They're very different movies, but I feel that we're getting a new Adam Sandler here. I loved Spanglish. And I enjoyed The Longest Yard. Stiller actually plays a character that undergoes a transformation into a reasonable person! Character Development - LOVE IT! :)

Btw - Rob Schneider is still there, with his required "YOU CAN DO IT!"

Shaun Groves, on his Shlog, has a series of posts called "You Don't Need Nashville..." Each post is full of fascinating insights as to how life as a recoring artist really works. The latest installment is called "Money Money Money", and Shaun is amazingly frank as to how the money thing really works. It's a real eye-opener.

Read it here.

I hope I didn't scare anyone off with that previous post! Let me say that I've since had an indepth discussion with a friend , and I've also prayed about it (what I wrote about in the previous post), and I'm at peace with the situation. I've tried to speak with the person involved, but he doesn't seem to keen to sit down and discuss it. However, I've decided that it's in my best interest just to let it go. It still needs to be resolved, but I'm at peace with my decision.

(Sitting through a weekend - friday & 3xsunday! of tailor-made sermons seems to help too!)

Warning Warning! Long post ahead!

We're at the end of all our CM rosters, as June has just started. The new church CM roster arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago, while our youth CM roster hasn't been written yet.

So, I was expecting to receive a phone call asking me to play this week for youth. What I didn't expect was to receive a SMS at 10:50pm on a Tuesday night, with the song list. I was a bit peeved that they would assume that I was available (or even able) to play on Friday - without even checking in with me first, so I sent a text message back asking "when did the rosters come out? No one asked me if I was available" (that's exactly what it said...I just checked my outgoing messages). The reply came 60 seconds later "don't worry about it have da night off."

Imagine my confusion when the next morning I get a phone call from my friend (who does the youth cm rosters), asking me to play on Friday night! Thankfully, we realised that some wires had been crossed, and communication had failed (wow - that's something different haha). So, I've got the night off.

However, there's more to it than that...

You see, I have RSI, OSS, or whatever it's currently called, in both arms, from just above the elbow, down into the wrist. It's aggravated by typing and playing piano, both of which I do. It's also aggravated by stress, which is caused by my boss ( ! ). Because it's not a visible injury, many people don't understand it, or even thing that it's psychological, or that it's just an excuse to not do something. Sometimes for me though, it's so painful that I'm at the physio 3 times a week and sometimes even taking anti-inflammatories just to get to sleep. So I've learnt how to balance work and play - it's just a matter of little bits at a time, and not too much at once.

Recently, it was assumed that I would play keyboards for the whole of our youth conference - something I honestly had no intention of doing. It was mentioned to me that I would be one of the principal vocalists, but nothing was mentioned about playing keys instead. I attended a couple of mid-week rehearsals, for what I assumed were for the gig at Chullora, or even for the album we're recording, but it turns out that we're the band for the conference, and that we were going to be rehearsing mid-week and playing every friday night until the end of September.

At the risk of sounding like my mum, this really got my back up. If I had been asked if I was available to play for the conference, I would have been able to let them know that I'd really only be able to play for a couple of meetings, not all of them. 3 hour rehearsals, plus friday rehearsals and playing, plus all the typing that I do for work - that's too much for me to handle.

This is my dilemma:

1. It's not that I don't want to play, it's just that I have to restrict what I do, otherwise I won't be able to function, and I'll do more damage to the muscles. (Once it got so bad that my mother had to cut up my food for me, and it was very hard to lift the food to my mouth).

2. Since I moved to Sydney, I don't have a piano or keyboard at home to practice on, so I can't rehearse inbetween practices, which means that I can't improve, or even memorise the music.

3. I don't believe that playing piano is my primary calling. For many years, piano has been secondary to my role as a vocalist.

4. People making assumptions about me immediately gets me off-side. For years (I've been involved in church CM teams for nearly half my life - or 12 years) people assumed that I'd always be there to play piano - sometimes even to the point where I felt guilty for taking a holiday. If someone asks me to play, that's fine, because then I can decide; yes or no. But when people assume? I find that extremely rude, disrespectful and unappreciative.

I shared all of this with my friend when she called to see if I could play on friday night. Talk about dumpin on her!
So then she shared it with the youth music director, who then said "they'll call me when they need me to play"....and now I'm feeling guilty for saying what I said! Grr. Sometimes it feels like a never-ending vicious circle.

Let me know what you think - even if you think I'm in the wrong. I'm interested to hear what others think about this...

I know, I know. I'm a day late. Seems like that's been the case with everything lately :)

I love winter - I love being warm inside, while it's freezing cold, raining, and blowing a gale outside.

My friends think I'm crazy for liking winter, but I figure - it's always easier to get warm than it is to cool down.

Now it just has to rain. Sydney's water reserves are only 40% full, and even the farmers near my home town in SA are facing the possibility of no crops this year. That hasn't happened for longer than I've been alive.

But then again:

2 Chronicles 7:11-16 (NLT)

The LORDs Response to Solomon

¹¹So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. ¹²Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. ¹³At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues among you. ¹⁴Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. ¹⁵I will listen to every prayer made in this place, ¹⁶for I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be my home forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here.

L-R : Ham Solo, R2 Cheese-2, Chew-broccoli, c3-Peanuts, Cuke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Canoli, Princess Lettuce, Yoghurt