Dan and Clare the wedding

A wintery cold Hobart morning
(Notice the snow on the mountain in the background)

Clare

Dan

In between the wedding the reception I went to... well you know.

Support and Report FOCUS

My fantastic computer has been utilised for last few days by my mate Joe. This is the movie he has been working on. The aim is to support and report what has been happening at FOCUS this year. Joe works for FOCUS Utas and is working in the same position that I'll be in next year. It's a longish movie about 7 mins. Enjoy... you might even see some awful footage of me.

Christine

Some of you may have noticed that I don’t post about Christine much here. There are many reasons for this. The biggest is that already a great deal of our relationship is online and available simply by Googling our names… we need some privacy.

Having said that many people will be interested in how things are going and others may find it useful to see how our relationship is lived out.

Christine and I have a very close relationship considering the distance between us. This has really surprised me. We talk via webcam usually twice a day for about an hour or so. We talk about our days and just regular everyday stuff like “normal people” might. After each conversation we pray together.

Thursdays is “our day”. We usually spend five or more hours catching up. On this day we read the Bible together and pray. We chat about the future our hopes and struggles. We share each other’s pain and burdens. These things might seem strange (and did a bit at first) but now it feels totally normal to me now. I’ve gotten to know many of Christine’s friends via email and through their blogs. She has spoken to a good number of my friends via the webcam.

We try to listen to the talks from each other churches through the week and spend time talking about them. Quite often we read blogs together and work on comments, posts and even some emails concurrently. If you read our blogs we’ve probably stalked you out at one time or another. We often watch short YouTube movies and the like together of both Australian and American TV shows.

Christine and I really seem to click and I think we have a surprisingly good understanding of each other. Our communication skills are also good (they have to be). Being so far apart has been difficult. It’s especially hard to see someone you love who is going through pain and difficulty and not being there to hug them and dry their tears.

There are many things that might be different or change when I actually get to the US and we meet. Surprisingly I’m far less apprehensive about it than I thought I would be. It’s my hope that you are too. Please keep us in your prayers that whatever the future holds this whole rollercoaster ride will work out for God’s glory.

Oh America Why?

(See here)

supportMIKE tour... continues

The supportMIKE tour moves ever onwards.

This morning I visited Holy Trinity Anglican church. I was particularly impressed with their friendliness. I was also impressed with the current move toward a gospel focus being made in a number of Anglican churches in Hobart including Holy Trinity. These moves will see a number of congregations combine and possibly a couple of churches shut. Please keep our Anglican brothers in your prayers.

I’m also pushing my written letter campaign forward this week. My aim is to have most of my support letters and support visits organized before I leave for my jaunt in the US of A.

12 days to go... not that I'm counting ;)

This Weekend

It has been a busy and productive weekend. I wore a suit AND a tie

I spent all Saturday at my mate Sam’s wedding/reception in Launceston. Sam is an old mate from school. See if you can spot Dave (my bro) in the wedding party?

Between the wedding and the reception Benny and Bernie went on a shopping trip into Launceston. I tagged along in my suit. I felt a little over dressed for Launceston.

Never the less I was tempted to buy things...


But ended up buying....


I'll let you know what it is like.

Respect 2.0

I was asked to elaborate on why I thought Romans 13 teaches not just submission but also respect.

Firstly let me say that the main point of this passage is not respect per say but submission. My understanding is that Godly submission is respectful submission.

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

I’d understand this in the context of the preceding verses to be teaching respect and honour even for governments/authorities that we think are bad. I’d also argue that 1 Peter 2 also supports this idea.

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

It’s important to note that no qualification is given that I should respect only when the Government/authority is good, rather the context (slaves are to submit to their masters even bad ones) would suggest that submission and respect are owed even for bad governments.

Relationships again

In a discussion a while back someone talked about being friends with a girl first before asking her out. Interestingly I read this recently.

But men should assume that if a woman is spending a lot of time with him, she is interested and she is investing her emotions. (I suspect men realize this more often than they'll admit, but hold onto these ego-boosting relationships anyway.)

Women, on the other hand, need to assume less. A woman should not assume that a guy friend she's spending time with is: a) just too shy to make a move; b) thinking she's the woman of his dreams but the timing isn't right; c) in denial of God's will that they be together.

whole article (see here)

My question is where is the line... between friendship/spending time together and giving the girl the wrong idea?

SUV loving Americans... might be interested.

I'm not sure I'm pumped for all that this site is on about however I'd agree with the sentiments expressed.

Today I met...

Bringing you up to date.

So far in quest for world domination* I have

• Asked Presbytery for support for next year.
• Asked Crossroads for support next year.
• Approached CCC and discussed ways to open a dialogue between them and FOCUS.
• Gained a couple of one off contributions for nest year.
• Approached a couple of other churches to ask for opportunities to gain support.
• Thought about how I'll keep my supporters informed of my progress and give them things to pray for.
• Filled out a forest worth of forms and paper work.
• Signed my name more times than I can remember.
  
• Begun a list of ideas and things to do next year.
• Begun thinking how I will structure each day that I am working. What time to get up etc.
  

I am currently waiting to

• Plug FOCUS in a couple of different churches in Hobart
• Hand writing a number of letters to ask for support for next year.
• Printing out a large number of letters for individuals who I am asking to support me in my work next year.
• Planing to email still more churches about getting support.
• Go to America to retrieve my hot girlfriend**.
  

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I seek to do all thse things. More soon.
*World domination here refers to working fulltime for the University Christian Group in 2007.
**Hot girlfriend here refers to Christine in a humorous sense. I appreciate her for much more than her "hotness". “Retrieve” refers to the act of bringing Christine back to Australia and should be read in a humorous rather than derogatory sense.

Respect.. these guys?

I don’t like George Bush in fact I don’t really like John Howard either. In fact most politicians make me frustrated and angry. I don’t agree or like many of their rules and policies. The war in Iraq, asylum seekers, the environment, the funding of universities and schools… I could go on but I wont.

However I am sick of two things.

Firstly a blatant disrespect for our nations leaders. At this point I want to again affirm I my strong disagreement with many of John Howard’s policies and more of George Bush’s.

As a Christian I am called to respect the leaders that I have over me even if I disagree with them*. Bands such as The Herd on Triple J, do nothing to endear themselves to the listening audience with their pejorative language… phrases like “John has a taste of George’s d--k”. The bottom line is that our leaders have difficult jobs and are called upon to make decisions daily that can’t please everyone. Even if I disagree I should respect the decision they make.

Romans 13 teaches us that we must respect them not because we like them or even agree with them but because they are placed over us by God**. Similarly in 1 Timothy 2 we must pray for our leaders that they would make Godly and wise decisions.



The second thing that gets my goat up is the attribution of a leaders personal failure to a people as whole. For example George Bush is a w----r therefore all Americans are w----rs. This sort of language is stupid when you think about it if only for the reason that not all Americans voted for Bush… (in fact not even all Americans voted).

So for the record I’ll make it clear Americans don’t all agree with what George Bush says anymore than all Australian’s agree with what John Howard says. So next time you see an American or talk to one don’t assume they subscribe to George Bush’s worldview.

Rant over.


*Not to say there isn’t room to protest, write letters, lobby, sign petitions etc. These would be all things that as a Christian I would be happy to do.
**It’s also worth pointing out that slaves were commanded to respect masters who were not only good and considerate but also harsh (1 Peter 2:18).

I hate smokers...*

Now before you get your nickers in a knot... I don't actually hate smoking in fact I've been know to have the odd puff now and again (shock horror). In fact I don't even hate all smokers.

Why do I hate smokers you ask? Well dear reader because of this....



Cigarette butts. If you are going to smoke put your freaking butt in the bin and don’t be a lazy slob. If I see you throw it on the ground I'll be forced to take drastic action… maybe even ask you to put it in the bin or give it back to you.

supportMIKE is on his soapbox

* Someone is sure to object. "Hate is not a very nice Christian attitude Jolly”... and they'd be right but this is a rant and is only supposed to be taken semi seriously so stop over analysing everything I write.

Christine...

Click here to enlarge picture (a good laugh)

...isn't American. (see here)

Blokes read this... maybe girls too

Christine gives some excellent dating advice... before she met me too.

(see here)