Thoughts to Think About

TWITTER HAS BROUGHT IT TO THE SURFACE!!!

2009-05-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone who reads this blog!

So I'm a twitter follower. No it's not a replacement for Jesus but it could ba new religion 4 some. The talk is that Jennifer Aniston dumped John Mayer cos he spent more time with 'Twitter' than with her! For those of u who haven't logged on yet - twitter is kinda like the new facebook - except shorter and easier 2 use. Updates about your life basically. And people follow u & u follow people. I follow more people than people follow me.

So one of the people I am following is someone whom I think is great, someone I look up to. And they were following me ... all cool ... all cool until I went 2 send them a message & found out they were no longer following me. YES - I had been removed as someone whom this person wanted to follow!!!

Now its funny - cos this in the scheme of life it's pretty small, not really worth mentioning - when compared with my relationship with Jesus, my family & friends, maturing as a man of God, man of Character (you get the point), the things others r going through at this time - but isn't it always the way that the small, the tiny, the little unexpecteds - seem 2b the things that remind us the most that we're not all we r cracked up 2b when it comes 2 our character, where we place our security, what our flesh STILL longs 4 even tho we USED to struggle with these things!?!

WELL I FOUND MYSELF STRUGGLING! My brain was going nutso 4 about a day - what did I do 4 this person 2 stop following me on their twitter? & All the flesh questions come at once - have I been too in their face, not in their face enough, what happens if they're upset with me, what did I do 2 upset them? Does this mean i'm losing influence, did I have influence in the 1st place? U get the picture!

Now I know some reading this may think - "ARAN, you've got to be kidding, you're more mature than this." And this actually is part of the problem - uc sometimes I DO think i'm more mature than this!! Forgetting that it is only because of Christ in me ACKNOWLEDGED & REALISED & RELIANT that I CAN be more mature than this. I wonder if every so often The Holy Spirit just gives us a little bit more space to discover just how messed up we can be without him. I wonder.

We ALL have areas of continual struggle in the area of personal security & where we get our esteem. I know we are encouraged 2 get NEW problems in life & that is very true. But looking at my own life & the lives of those closest 2 me I find that there r one or two underlying, root challenges that seem to always be with me. At the very least they leave 4a time but then come back & try & get me 2 doubt my knowing that my security & value comes from no man, woman, position, job, feeling, opportunity, dollar or thing but in a everyday normal yet supernatural relationship with God - God Himself! God Father, God Son & God Holy Spirit! God!!!

What to do with these most challenging areas of our lives that raise their little heads out of the ground, whilst their deep roots are hidden, deep below the surface, seemingly impossible 2 remove?? I know the following isn't new - but i think its helpful (well it has been 4 me & my mini twitter melt down)

1. ADMIT THE PROBLEM
- It goes something like this "In this area of my life, I think wrongly". It's not "This is a challenge but God is working on me, glory be Hallelujah" - its "I NEED GOD IN THIS AREA OF MY LIFE NOW!" In Christ we HAVE been redeemed from our flesh AND at the same time our flesh is still being redeemed. I have had to admit a couple of times this week that my security in Christ is still not where it can be, it's still flawed, still has immaturities & only God, through His Holy Spirirt partnering with my choices can change this. ADMIT THE FLESH!

2. SUBMIT THE PROBLEM
- This goes something like "My Flesh wants me 2 get all bent out of shape because such & such took me off their twitter (even tho it could've just been a mistake); My flesh wants 2 feel insecure, isolated, alone, broken, annoyed - but ME, The CHRIST IN ME knows that this 'twitter' moment is an opportunity for Christ in Me to say to my flesh 'What a great opportunity to cement even more my security, my value, my worth, my personhood IN JESUS & not in any man, woman, man, woman, position, job, feeling, opportunity, dollar or thing! SUBMIT THE FLESH! (Daily I find - & i'm sure it's NOT a twitter moment 4u :)

3. COMMIT MY WAY TO THE LORD
- I plan my way, my friends, my dreams, my schemes, my relationships, my opportunities - but it IS GOD ALONE who directs my steps. What a thought, as Sy Rogers shared at our Church recently, that it is GOD who is ULTIMATELY responsible 4 everything that happens to me!!! And that whether a family member or friend comes or goes, whether an economy rises or falls, whether a joy or grief, gain or loss, promotion or demotion, palace or prison, kept or discarded, twitter follower or twitter deleter - IT IS GOD who allows what happens in MY life 4 His reason & His purpose & I am asked to TRUST HIM through it all!!! As the old song says "He's got the whole world in His hands" - so I think the best thing to do in it is to give Him what is His anyway in a willing, voluntary capacity where, under the shadow of His wing, he can protect me when i need protection, expose me when I need exposing, lead me & guide either by green pasture or the shepherds rod & foot on my back as he pushes me through the dirt (as are the literal pictures of Psalm 23.) COMMIT MY WAY TO THE LORD!!! For in the end He WILL have HIS way!

I know this one is heaps longer - but felt it was OK - felt like my moment maybe could help others this week + I haven't said much later.

And the end of my twitter story? The situation hasn't changed but hopefully (please Jesus) I have! Ha! We will see!

TILL NEXT TIME!!!

TIME TO TALK AGAIN

2009-04-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

So its been a while I know - almost 2 months actually - has been a big 2 months! We've had a number of big events in the last 2 months - 3 album recordings, an amazing conference, this weekend we hit Easter - my favourite time to reflect on God & His Love - whilst the team including myself work on bringing this same message to as many people as we can over our weekend services & ART FROM THE HEART film & art festival. So all that to say when i was at home I was working on being at home!

I also think I didn't blog cos I've felt like i haven't had much to say ..... NOW FOR EVERYONE WHO KNOWS ME & HAS FALLEN OFF THEIR CHAIR AT THAT STATEMENT ... U CAN GET OFF THE FLOOR & BACK ON YOUR CHAIR :)

It's so easy to talk & talk & talk ... & talk some more - & not actually say anything that's really worth saying!I find this with my wife & challenges she faces. I can talk to her about what she could do, stuff that could help overcome the obstacle, stuff that would 'save' her potential pain & its all good stuff - but maybe not worth saying, cos it doesn't help her it only brings hindrance she doesn't need.

God's Word is His seed - life came into being by His word - & if all life comes through a seed then I think its OK to say His Word is His seed. But seed can't just be planted at any old time. For the seed to reap 100 fold the planter in His wisdom & experience knows when to & when not to plant it. Just because He has the seed doesn't mean the seed will produce. God takes pretty seriously what we do with our seed - in the old testament he was pretty full on with a guy who decided to 'spill his seed' - as in not do with it what was designed. & Jesus cursed a tree whose seed had not fully produced.

So if, like Jesus, my words create my world then my words better be weighty - what I mean weighty is NOT a 'Christianize' language or spiritual veneer or religious language or Church-Culture language - I'm finding more & more that when i TRY to be religious, TRY to be a Christian, TRY to be the answer to someone's problem, TRY to rescue someone - it does not carry God's weight, God's answers - it falls over, sometimes with pretty big consequences.

But when I just be normal - as in WAIT with the "deep things" or "my latest revelation" (or wanting to validate my own esteem by elevating myself in public)- till there is actually something weighty & timely to say - when i just be normal as in wisdom's normal, when i speak common sense - when I don't try to be someone's saviour or someones answer or someones prophet but just be - in close relationship with Jesus, following after Him - loving people, treating them with value & respect, engaging in the present with an eye for God in the future then my words have weight, they have power well beyond what i could manufacture, they are filled with the creative power of God to bring comfort, courage & compassion

If this week ur looking 4 an explanation, an answer, something to say to make sense of a situation or circumstance that just doesn't make sense - well maybe we can together - WAIT PATIENTLY, HOPE EXPECTANTLY & place our TRUST in the only one who is able to be always Trusted - He is the one we celebrate this Easter Time

TILL NEXT .... WELL NOT SURE ... MAYBE MONDAY - if that's when I have something to say!

BLOG FEB 16 09 - Hedged In???

2009-02-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of a strange week ... have been focusing since coming back from holidays on 4 things - rest, peace, slow down, engage - saying it to myself over & over, almost like a mantra (or a meditation, don't freak on me now) - & last week it seemed that no matter what I attempted to do i felt my rest, peace, slowing down & engaging to be slipping like water down a slide.

Why???? I'm not sure - work got a little fuller & some last minute stuff, but that's nothing new, family were pretty crazy & tired, but just being kids u know ... (after our boy almost getting his hand bitten off by a baby Alligator on holiday & surviving he has returned with a new found determination to beat the tripe out of most things that move .. especially boys his age - help us Jesus :) Sometimes in life we know the right way to respond real well - as we r responding in the complete opposite way - last week, that was me! It's these times when I go "There r still parts of me that r so ugly!!" My wife thought I was having my time of the month :) - if u know my wife u know that isn't surprising! It was like for some moments I was an annoyed teenager!

So as I'm trying to figure all this out (which probably wasn't smart either) I eventually had the phrase come to me through something I read "You're being hedged in". Hedged In - not a normal saying I know but this is what it was kind of saying to me

"ARAN - the things that r coming out of u, that u don't like, those adolescent things - they r like weeds - weeds of incorrect thinking, incorrect issues of the soul that have been there most of your life, that are now coming to the surface to be rooted out & weeded out - just STAY where ur, keep living life, keep managing what u need to manage while I (GOD) hedge you in, so u can't go anywhere except wait & endure while I weed out that which has been deeply rooted in u in order to replace it with new seed that will EVENTUALLY produce new fruit in days to come - fruit that will feed OTHERS."

Maybe u feel hedged in too - that u have tried & tried but nothing u can do can get u out of your present living situation & issues of the soul - maybe just maybe the hedge is actually a help, a protection not a hindrance while the Gardener goes to work uprooting those weeds that always seem to come back ... the hedge means that no one can see the work that's being done until they come into the yard of our lives & get to see the difference of our garden - from old weeds to new seeds! God only hides us to heal us!!!

TILL NEXT MONDAY

FEB 9 BLOG - AUSTRALIA - AN AMAZING PLACE!!!

2009-02-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty glued to the TV right now ... like most people I suppose - I've never really known much about Victoria - I've lived in NSW & Queensland - thought Victoria was AFL land & I've never got into AFL! Also thought their State government was ... well anyway!

But watching what has unfolded the last 48 hours in Rural Victoria - watching the people - in a disaster worse than the Bali Bombings, than many things that get world coverage - watching ordinary people act, love & respond in extraordinary ways - I've got to say - There's something special about OUR country - yep OUR means MY! Now all my New Zealand brothers & sisters please don't kill me or call me traitor - i still love my country, my homeland, my people, my food, I still support NZ in all sports - but Australia is also MY COUNTRY! I love this land & I love it's people.

God has placed the most amazing people in a most amazing culture in The Great Southland! Really ordinary people live in Australia, really real people - they can smell a fake a mile off.

I am a part of a local Church & their generosity is something else. For example, each year our people give a lot to help people that need a lot of help. Put this in perspective - when the Tsunami happened our Church gave amounts that were close to surpassing some of the biggest multi-billion dollar companies, please don't believe the reports u may read about certain Churches (like ours) - instead go talk to the people at the Detention Centres, prisons, orphans & widows in nations all around the world - the people in the cities, the suburbs, the outback - the real people with a real perspective.

But it's not just the Church - there is a generosity in most Australians which is simply astounding - $7 Million dollars has been given by our country to the wonderful people in Victoria who have fought the fire to stay alive - FOUGHT, oh man that's an understatement: A Mother & her 2 daughters, hiding in a wombats hole covered in wet sheets & blankets!!! - What a country, ordinary people - fighters, givers - even the media & Politicians - people we normally reserve judgment for are allowing themselves to be moved in ways not seen before!

Wherever ur right now - Australia, New Zealand, America, Uganda, England, Korea, Malaysia - God has placed us where we r NOT to be Superstars but to be met by Him & from knowing him that we would love in extraordinary ways - love God, love people, love living - cos we just don't know when TODAY may be our LAST Day

P.S - Advance Australia Fair!!!

TILL NEXT MONDAY

February 2 BLOG - A New Day

2009-02-01T15:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone ... so after having a magnificent holiday on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland ("QUEENSLANDER!" - A cry given to amp up the best State of Origin team in Australia :) my family & I are back into life & it has been a wonderful start to the year because - by God's Grace I am finding myself living in ... TODAY! I've actually always lived in "Today" whatever day that was but I am starting to REALLY LIVE in TODAY!

Have done some pretty big things for me this year in order to see freshness & difference in my life ... things like ... building my relationship with God in a pretty different way ... involves a lot more rest, less structure, greater reliance & more romance (yes Romance!) - starting to not do things because I SHOULD do but because i WANT to - not selfishly but from a place of Love & Care from god & 4 others.

God's love oh man! HE LOVES US!!! He Love U! No matter where your life is at today - today is a new day & today can bring change you've always wanted & some u never knew u wanted, if just 4a bit today u can stop & think - GOD LOVES ME! God loves the me I am now & not just the me I want to be! He loves the broken me, the happy me, the sad me, the joyful me, the stressed me, the procrastinating me, the confused me, the backslidden me, the tormented me - HE LOVES ME! & it's HIM & His love that is fiercely committed to bring me to a place that KNOWS He loves Me - where life changes forever!

This blog won't be long as I'm about to go to take my kids to swimming lessons (Jiana's 1st one) - but I pray that for YOU that TODAY would be experienced as a new day, not a wasted day or an undervalued day but a NEW day filled with opportunity to live life & know Jesus! Give time for the people u love - it is the very best!!!

MUCH LOVE EVERYONE - TILL NEXT MONDAY!!!

NEW YEARS BLOG - 2009: The Year to Care

2008-12-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Original I know ... but sometimes the classics are too good to pass up! Hope you had a memorable time of celebration in this last week ... I still am ... have had almost a week's break & on Tuesday am looking forward to another 2 & a half weeks!!! WOOOOO!!!

So on January 1st, for the last 15 years now I've taken some time out to get some perspective for 2009 & hear what God is saying ... or attempt to ... attempt to as in up till last year I would be hearing more based out of what I wanted to have happen in the coming year as opposed to just listening if God had anything to say about the coming year - so I've just concluded this time & thought it would be good to use as my blog for January 1st 2009 - at 11am I went to find my daily devotional, that I've used for the past 16 years & discovered it was missing - can't find it anywhere - & so i thought ... well maybe instead of using the same pattern that I've used for a decade a half it's probably time to try something new .. & this is what came out from.

I believe 2009 is ... THE YEAR TO CARE - Caring for others, caring for ourselves & receiving God's care to live in & out of both!

Sounds silly I know cos every year is a year to care & a year to live ... it's not rocket science or incredibly exciting ... not like breakthrough, miracles (although I'm sure all those will be our portion this year) ... but i feel like it's a real time to focus on Caring ... in the normality of our everyday lives ... at home, work, church & personally for ourselves - loving people, loving ourselves & loving God ALL FROM RECEIVING & KNOWING HIS LOVE FOR US!!!

I feel like the word VICTORY is a key word this year - Going beyond in care for others & ourselves, overcoming in ourselves to care for others through the LOVE of Jesus. It's a year to LIVE!

"When I live to love, I live to God, with God, for God & through God"

My Key Verse for 2009 - 1 John 4:11 "Dear ... (put your name here), since God loved (& loves) you (& sent Jesus, His Son, to be the sacrifice for ALL our sins), you surely ought (must) LOVE PEOPLE!"

In 09, as we come to our Father, not firstly for strategic purpose but for intimate relationship our trust in Him will automatically mature. As we live intimately in His love the best we know how today, our love for people matures - 2008 for me was a manifestation of maturity & I feel like 2009 is going to be the next step in this - step by step, line by line - normal by normal. Our love-life & care-life, our steadiness & depth in God will be seen & measured by our love & care for people. Watch for certain things that have taken time to take up far less of your time so you can be with people!

I'll close with this thought ... In the Greek 1 John 4:11 is pretty much translated as one word -AGAPAO - many of you would know the word AGAPE - which has exactly the same meaning as AGAPAO except for one difference = Both Words mean "the active love of God for His Son & His people & the active love His people are to have for Him, each other & even their enemies." The only difference is that AGAPE'S literal mean is 'THE LOVE FEAST' (extraordinary, unconditional, unfailing love) - whereas AGAPAO doesn't have that ... it's like "The common Love, the Normal Love" It's the Love that says

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TOO DIFFERENT ... JUST LOVE AS YOU LIVE!" or maybe JUST LIVE & LOVE AS YOU GO ... help us Lord to know you love & care for us because it all comes out of this

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! Much Love!!!

Might be a few weeks with no blogs as I go on holiday ... spread the love to some of your friends & family if these have helped you ... or maybe get your own thoughts out there!!!

TILL AFTER HOLIDAYS!!!

CHRISTMAS BLOG ... He Lives among us!!!

2008-12-23T03:37:00.000-08:00

hey Everyone ... I love Christmas ... so much ... our Church celebrates Christmas so wonderfully ... hope yours does too ... if u don't go to Church maybe this is a good time 2 check one out or maybe go back to one .. don't worry you won't stand out .. it's the time of the year where heaps of the 'extended community'come ...

In whatever Church u enter or thing u do I pray this Christmas that everyone one of u reading this blog will find JESUS! I hear it often said that Jesus was born to die ... & that's definitely true ... but Jesus was firstly born to live ... to live with humanity, be with humanity & to make known who The Father really is & what he is really like - so this Christmas - JESUS LIVING AMONG US: Some thoughts to think about:

* Jesus was brought to us by the Grace of God - AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING GRACE - I gotta feeling I'm gonna find this out a whole lot more in the next 12 months. Every single thing of value & worth in our lives has only been brought to us by the scandalous Grace of our Father God!

* Jesus was tempted in every point we are (not specifics we are - Jesus wasn't tempted to smoke Crack I don't think ... Peter might've been :) Jesus was tempted to perceive for self, protect self & position & promote self ... or the lust of the eyes, flesh & pride of life .... he's knows us & our depravity, our weakness ... it doesn't surprise him in the least & at the same time he doesn't remember or view us in any of it if we have ACCEPTED that GOD LOVES US & HAS FORGIVEN US OF ALL SIN - past, present & future - Father: I believe - help my unbelief (My Friend Jamie asked me today "ARAN: Does God love you", my reply - "I believe he does" - Jamie's reply in essence was "Do u talk to everyone that clinically?" - big thought hey!!!)

* Jesus had no permanent living place on earth because He came to make His living place with us

*Jesus was relationally let down & still brought these people back to the place of heart-to-heart relationship with Him ... I'm believing for reconciliation in all our lives this Christmas ... think of that one person right now & pray & believe for reconciliation in Jesus name ... we come into agreement with u on it

* Jesus was tired & weary ... so we can't feel guilty for feeling weary or tired because Jesus was .. it's just life

* finally (just for a bit of controversy) had Jesus been on earth before? Some way or another ... not as Jesus but as the 2nd member of the Godhead in another form? Won't even go into it ... just asking :) Naughty I know

Wherever ur this Christmas, whether this time means joy, sorrow or both be at peace & rest, knowing that the God who became human & made his dwelling among us STILL is WITH US & lives right in the middle of us ... if it looks like a mess it's most likely where Jesus will be

Merry Christmas - TILL NEXT MONDAY??? (We will see, I'll be on holidays :)

BLOG #7 - NO ONE OWES ME ANYTHING

2008-12-15T03:58:00.000-08:00

So I had an interesting week .. u know those weeks that start well, good feelings, u do something right, encouragement comes your way ... that was Tuesday ... & then by Thursday you figure out why u received that encouragement ... to draw on in the middle of discouragement!

The last 5 years for me have brought some big inward change ... & feel like it's just beginning. The purpose I know for all this stuff is Christ-Likeness ... that suffering responded to in faith produces endurance, character, HOPE!

Well ... by Thursday I wasn't thinking about that stuff ... I was feeling ... something I'm not really sure as a result of some loving correction I received ... not confused about the correction for that was 100% right but confused when it came to my dreams ... or lack of them now ... I have lived up until the last 12 months so much in dreams for the future that now when I live in the present I don't know quite what to do with dreams, desires etc ... do I have them, don't I, just continue to live believing & trusting God & it will all come together ... all this stuff at once.

So as I'm attempting to find some sense of what God is doing in me my mother-in-law, Karen, comes around today & tells me she's had a revelation - that God doesn't owe us anything .. Think about that ... God doesn't owe us anything ... when it comes to the life i live & the joys, tests & sorrows - in all these God, the Lord, the Master as well as Father ... doesn't owe me anything ... Mum/Karen talked about the sacrifices they've made over the years ... & how those sacrifices are not a points tally that if we get 10 sacrifices or obedience ticks or 10 acts of living kindness we reap a blessing ... we reap a blessing because God the Father chooses to bless us out of His Father Heart .. but as Lord & Master he is under no obligation to fulfill any dream, bring any healing, establish any plan ... He does these things because He Has chosen to out of love

And that makes me think about Thanksgiving ... My Vitamin supplier Dr Yvonne ends her emails with the old Hymn "Count your blessings, name them one by one & it will surprise you what The Lord has done!"

So some "Thoughts to think about" are Thanksgiving Thoughts to help remind me when I want to tell god what i think I'm entitled to ... that really He owes me nothing :)

1. I Thank My Father & Master that he has made me righteous! Most people live under so much guilt ... particularly when it comes to things like family, parenting, husband/wife, battles with addictions that are results of far more deeper situations than just the ending action ... i thank God that through Jesus He has made me right especially when i don't feel right ... In Him I'm still right even when I don't believe I am right ... we gotta be wrong & right at the same time ... I am wrong & need help to change ... & that change is believing that Jesus has made me right!!! Father - I believe; help my unbelief!

2. I Thank My Father & Master for My Family & Friends - Oh Lord ... "Jesus with skin on" as I've heard it described ... we went to the beach today as a staff with so many wonderful people whom have become so important to Kelista & I this year in particular - over the weeks I'm gonna start doing an honour board ... where I just give what's due 2 some phenomenal people - It's starts off with ... my wife ... Kelista Puddle ... she knows more about me than anyone ... like THE STUFF about me ... & she still loves me, still believes in me & that i can be who I am in Jesus but don't yet see in the natural ... Kelista - Love, kisses, flowers, round-the-world trips, the dream house, the most amazing cameras or classic b&w movies will NEVER be able to give enough back to what you give me out of who Ur!

What have u got 2b thankful 4 today? Not in a nebulous way but a really practical way - maybe it's your liver? That it works - you'd sure be thankful if it worked once it wasn't working! What is it ... who is it? Let it out!

TILL NEXT MONDAY (even tho this was Tuesday :)

BLOG #6 - I CAN'T CHANGE

2008-12-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like this? "I can't Change!" - I sure have ... & to be honest over the last little bit this thought has been coming at me more than normal ... "I can't change!"

Now some people I'm sure immediately think "Aran, that's negative, u can change u can do all things through Christ who strengthens you" - & that's true; I can do all things THAT ENTAIL TO GOD'S PLANS & PURPOSES 4 ME through Christ who gives me strength! I know I can change in Jesus - that's the truth - & then there's the specifics of change :)

On the weekend I began to write down things that I felt really needed to change in & around me - things i'd started to feel a little powerless in - not huge things, & u might read them & go "Gees you can change that if you'd just changed!"

Things like: Looking after my garden consistently, eating right, exercise regularly, what can i contribute in Church on the weekends as besides special events I'm not serving like I have for most of my life - do i pick up my drumming, bass playing, singing again, further education, learning how to make more money for the right reasons, areas of long-term struggle when it comes to thinking patterns, particularly what my everyday looks like compared to what I thought it would look like - JESUS I KNOW YOU'VE CHANGED ME & AT THE SAME TIME HOW DO I CHANGE?

ONE THOUGHT TO THINK ABOUT (& we'll stay on this blog for a few weeks)

1. Admit "I am Wrong"

This is a crazy place. To look at yourself & go "In this area of my life I've been living wrong or "The way I live in this area simply doesn't work, it's broken!" ... and if u don't have at least one of these - I reckon there could be some denial going on!

Normally we don't want to go there & so we find all sorts of things to try & prove to ourselves & others that we are OK, that we're NOT wrong. I had some massive areas here that I discovered between August & March of 07/08... but I am learning what happens when u admit you are wrong - some really good stuff comes out of it:

* We see the unholy goals we live with & get to take on New Christ-like goals - u know the ones that we plan out in our subconscious that we believe if we live a certain way, speak a certain way, be with the right kinds of people, get them to live our way of living, coming alongside our dreams, that we will live the lives we've always wanted & we will be able to push past the stuff from our pasts we haven't dealt to & the thrill of success will superseede the feelings of guilt, failure & insecurity - & it's just not true! Well it is True but not entirely true.

THE GREATEST JOYS SEEM 2B FOUND IN THE MOST NORMAL THINGS! Like waking up when you set your alarm, helping your kids get ready for school, letting your wife have a few minutes to get ready for the day, going out into the garden, making your home look as good as you can because it's just as important as that big job at work or role at Church (this was my morning)- because it's all worship! It's all about worship - Romans 12:1-2 in the Message "So here's what I want u2 do God helping you: Take your everyday life, your sleeping, eating, walking-around life & place it before God as an offering (your first & your best)

Matthew 7 says the house (the life) that stands through all of life's storms is the one that is built on The Rock (no not the wrestler) - Jesus! & it is the kindness & goodness of Jesus that leads us to repentance - admitting I am wrong & i need help to change (that will be next week's ... I need help to change!)

What do u feel like you can't change right now ... it might be deep or simple but maybe we can help each other with a few thoughts to know Christ's transforming power in our normal everyday living!

I know this is all over the place .. but anyone who knows me ... my thoughts kind of r :)

TILL NEXT MONDAY!

BLOG #5 - PEACE

2008-11-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

It's what I've been reading about these last few days ... Peace! Actually something I've been thinking on quite a bit over the last 12-18 months! How many people actually live with peace? I reckon we think it's a pretty tranquil sort of peace - maybe we think peace is quiet - I'm in the house right now & it's quiet - i know strange - well it was; Eden's come back home :)

BUT PEACE - I believe December is a month for peace - specifically this December 2008 - in a week where things in Mumbai(pray for Mumbai, in particular Ps Biju Thampy who is doing such an amazing work there), Bangkok (kind of crazy for me, I was in the airport for 8 hours 2 months ago)have been wild - in the middle of the Chaos is where Peace is most needed!

I've been studying the names of God this last month - one of His more well known names JEHOVAH SHALOM the Lord our peace - The Lord, who possesses all divine power, who desires intimate relationship with us - HE IS OUR PEACE! What does it mean then to experience GOD OUR PEACE - some thoughts to think about (these are NOT complex)

1. Believe in Jesus
- It starts the same as every other way to truly experiencing God - believe in Jesus! Believing in Jesus - GOD OUR PEACE IS EXPERIENCED IN THE PERSON OF JESUS! Jesus - the one we love, adore, live to be more like, am indebted to forever: JESUS! Kind of makes it interesting then for people who have never heard of Jesus or maybe have him represented as someone he is not ... a rule giver, a guilt bringer, a good man but not God ... how do these people, millions in the world now & in times past, experience the real Jesus ... maybe we'll chat about that one later ... not meaning to rob u of peace :)

2. Trust in Jesus & therefore don't worry
- How easy to say is that! "Don't worry"! usually much easier to say than do! But it's true worry robs us of peace - take worry to the "end result" - the extreme of worry! If u allow yourself to worry until you have worried all u can worry what ru left with? Exactly the same result as when you started worrying ... nothing!!! Its a journey that takes us no where ... the treadmill of worry! It slims us of trust, faith & peace!!! Our options - trust in Jesus or trust in ourselves ... trusting in ourselves = saving ourselves & saving ourselves is the NUMBER 1 TEMPTATION WE ALL FACE - saving ourselves - something we could never do & that's why Jesus did it for us - even Jesus was tempted to save himself - quite a lot actually - in the wilderness with satan & then exactly the same words were used by the Pharisees & Criminal when Jesus was dying. Maybe today we can begin to get off the treadmill of worry & walk the road of trust! JESUS HELP ME WITH THIS AGAIN TODAY!

3. Pray
- Told u this was simple!
a) Tell God what u need - he already knows but when we tell Him we are paying Him a pretty big compliment - our asking is actually worship if done with a pure heart - would be like if I went to you "can i have a million dollars ... by Wednesday?" It's either a ridiculous request or a pretty big compliment saying "I actually believe you could do this for me ...& want to as well!" TODAY TELL GOD WHAT U NEED ... For me it's "God, I need your wisdom & strength in being a Godly Husband, father, mature, Christ-like person - with nothing to lose & no reason to hide"

b) Thank Him for all he has done ... take 30 seconds & thank Him 4 as much as u can possibly think - the really normal things - like your spleen works properly - that you have eyes to see, ears to hear, clean water to drink, a home to live in, in the "rich list" of the world compared to most, that your children are alive today ... & then for the intangibles - JESUS, His love 4u, His Grace, He will never leave u, He's here right now ... I'll leave u2 come up with the rest!!!

Such a simple thought today ... PEACE! Might do part 2 later in the week ... probably should & deal to the apathy I've discovered I am facing ... oh boy another blog ... apathy!!!

TILL NEXT MONDAY! (or this Wednesday???)

BLOG 4 - God has a Plan for My Life/Your Present is your present!

2008-11-23T20:12:00.000-08:00

A Bit of a 'theological one' today - stay with me :)

Jeremiah 29 vs 11 "For I know the plans I have for you", says The Lord. "Plans to prosper you & not to harm you; Plans to give you a hope & a future."

Maybe one of the most well known Bible verses - GOD HAS A PLAN FOR MY LIFE! There are so many thoughts to think about regarding this verse: If you are not a "Christian" or if you are not living with Jesus right now ... please don't close the blog now thinking this doesn't relate to you ... just keep reading & see what happens :) Maybe it wasn't an accident? Some thoughts to think about re "God has a plan for my life"

1. God has plans for us - In the joys, heartaches or very normals of what life may look like for you TODAY, God has plans for you! It's pretty wild to think that if God is real he has plans for your life. If He is who he says He is then our today is not a waste - there is purpose & plans to be found in living this very ordinary or extraordinary day! YOUR LIFE IS NOT A MISTAKE!!! Feel like these words are significant for someone on this day! Everything that has happened to you - every single thing - need not be a waste - At the very beginning of our earth the God who possess all divine power took nothing & made something out of nothing - & not only did he make something out of nothing - He was IN the nothing making something! Whatever seems like "nothing" in your life is where God is right now making something ... so if you're away from God perhaps & your walk with Jesus seems like nothing - God hasn't left you, He is still there in your 'nothing'.

2. God's plans prosper us & don't harm us. The word 'Prosper' here means God's plans are designed to being us peace which brings security, safety which brings satisfaction, well-being which brings contentment, keeping us intact in wholeness & maturity. Hmmmm MATURITY!!! Maturity means growth, development, discipline, correction, the unveiling of "I am wrong & I need help to change". Maturity - has been my key word in 08 - will have to chat about this b4 the end of the year

3. God's plans give us a hope & a future. FUTURE. A word I've been thinking about this week. Is there such a thing as "The Future" - in the way we often think about it? We can never live in the future ... because when we live in the future we are living in today - living for something that will come one day seems to never come - because we always end up in "Today" - maybe that future is reversing the "Monsters Incorporated" slogan ... instead of a "Better tomorrow today" it should read "a better today tomorrow". I lived most of life for "something in the future" ... this last 12 months that's been changing ... it's hard ... but it seems to be working ... as I'm embracing God's plans for my life & realising that God's present to me (after the gift of Jesus) is my present ... sure wasn't the way I thought 'my dreams' would be outworked ... but they are his plans & so they will be the best in the end! He is the Master Planner after all

TILL NEXT MONDAY!!!
P.S - If these blogs r helping, challenging or stirring you, maybe you could pass them onto friends, family, leaders - if they're not a help, I'll try something else :) gotta aim to make the most of THIS DAY hey!

BLOG PT3 - Balance???

2008-11-16T21:04:00.001-08:00

Balance - Hmmm now there's an interesting word! Living life with balance - is there such a thing?

Whether you are a follower of Jesus Christ or not we all live lives where balance at one time or another brings pressure - HOW MUCH TIME DO I GIVE TO THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF MY LIFE? In essence that's the journey of balance. Things I love, that I have to do & therefore do, things I should do but don't do ... so many different scenarios hey! how much time do i give to God, family, church, getting ahead financially, my own recreational time, not to mention development of the gifts God has given at the expense of doing things that could benefit others particularly time with my children for example.

It starts as kids - I watch my kids (I'll put some latest pictures of them on my blogspot for anyone who wants an update of The Puddle Clan) - they're trying to figure balance & its fruit & consequences - the balance of what they want to do vs what i want them to do, t & them trying to figure out the balance question - "should I do it?" - & if they don't should I (Daddy) give them as they always tell me with longing looks & loud crys "One more Chance, Daddy one more chance" - the balance of parental discipline (that's a whole 'nother blog - old testament vs new testament parenting :)

Doesn't change much as adults I reckon - today kelista (my magnificent wife) & I ... well we got into a pretty deep discussion (yes started by me) over a drain!!! I had planned to go to the Book Shop at 1:25pm then pick up Kilaya from school when Kelista at 1:20pm asked if I could fix a drain ... hmmm my day off, time to rest, recooperate, helps the family in the end vs laying my desires down for my wife, the call of every husband - now if I had been a child & my mother had asked me to do this my choice is pretty easy ... do what i'm told or suffer the consequences ... but as an adult I get to make my own decisions & must live with the fruit of my decisions ... I chose to stay home & try to fix the drain ... which I couldn't! I was a bit ... annoyed! Not at Kelista but at the tension of balance I had faced & my feelings of smallness & guilt as a result. That I'm still not 'adult enough' to be content with my final decisions & find the joy in the moment ...whether that joy be in that I have been secure enough in myself to do what I wanted to do (with in Godly reason of course) or that moment was something I wasn't expecting but could "go with the flow" & find joy in (like a better looking drain:)

Here's a few things I think I'm learning about balance

1. There are Balance Principles but they outwork differently in every life
- The Bible speaks very little about balance. Its main mention is to do with unjust weights or unjust balance - where the balance corruptly favours the rich for example instead of the poor. Balance Principles come from things like faith, hope & love - eternal things that last

2. Balance is about my choices for my life & not others expectations - even those closest to me
- So many of our decisions are reactionary & not out of purposed actions - we often do so many things we really don't want to do or believe we r called to do! At the end of the day I will stand before God & give account for my life. He will ask we about my life of worship unto Him - my worship is the way I live my life - I have got to live my life according to the revelation of God that i have - not my spouses, mother's, fathers, Pastors or anyone elses - MINE - I have to be true to what I know today.

It's pretty intersting that people whom in the past I have thought to be most selfish are actually people who are least intimidated by others & yet are actually pretty Christ-Like - they stand up for what they believe God would have them do, they don't blame the fruit of their decisions on someone else & yet they're pretty quick to give the 'glory' of their acolades to their teams or people they do life with - the Balance seems to be there!!!

TILL NEXT MONDAY!!!

Blog Pt2 - The Times are a Changing!

2008-11-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well it's been a big week! So much change in just one week! It's been a massively historic week & one we will never forget with the election of Senator Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States. Pretty Massive with masisve consequences & change. It's not the only big thing tho!

I'm sure you are going through some sort of change as well - it might be at home relationally, financially with reevaluation of your savings & spendings, work & the possible reality of retresnchment, socially & what you're community is going to look like under new leadership or spiritually & where you are (or seemingly aren't) heading right now as far as the purpose of your life! My change right now is ME - I am growing from a teenager inside to an adult inside - long story & will talk about that another time ("Changes that Heal" by Dr Henry Cloud - WHAT A BOOK!)

I'm real intrigued by our world at present. I'm intrigued by our responses to pressure, mine included. My Pastor Brian Houston has been teaching on this subject of pressure as of late (you can get these messages by simply going to www.hillsong.com, Brian's Podcast will be on the front page & have a listen - well worth it!!!)

So on a very big subject that's probably gonna take a lot of weeks I will just put a few things out there & see what comes of them - remember the whole purpose for this blog are thoughts to think about, chew on & be challenged to live our dreams everyday

1. The New President of the USA - I have some American friends who are pretty upset - scared for their nation & its morals. All I know is that God has included this as part of His plans at this time for His reason & His purpose - & that purpose is always a fresh revelation of who God is & what he is like - God has chosen leaders before in the past regardless of their public moral standing for His plan & purpose - if u don't believe me just look at King David - a far more 'imoral man' than King Saul (the way they figured out David was dead is pretty interesting ... they sent a virgin into his bed & when she came out 'untouched' his closest men basically said 'He must be Dead!) - & at the same time a man after God's own heart. Is the New President a man after God's own heart - I don't know - I'm not saying he is & I'm not saying He isn't (just don't believe everything you read on the Net or on the Prophetic Emails either :) This hasn't taken our God by surprise though & He has His plans & purposes right in the middle of it all!

2. Where I live - my brother-in-law Paul & his wife Karrina have just moved, today, from Sydney back to Mount Isa, in the outback of Queensland, Australia - where the biggest shopping centre is K-Mart (for some of you that's suffering & pestilance right there!) Our family & close friends r gonna miss them a lot - & we are real pumped for them, its a good & needed decision at this time for them in a number of ways! Where i'm living or situated reflects my present in life, where I am settling, thriving, excelling, becoming apathetic, offended or lost - it's all occuring in the context of where I live - my present! If we know the purpose for our present we will have a strong sense of hope about our future - so where r you living right now (not 'Sydney' or 'Mt Isa but within yourself)? In clarity or confussion, in hope or hopelessness, in peace or anxiety? If you are struggling with why you are doing what you are doing PLEASE get a copy of this book "Changes that Heal" - I cannot recommend it enough! It is causing me to actually become a big person in a big person's world & not remain small within myself.

This has got way too long already - they say a short blog is much better cos it leaves people wanting more... so i'll stop now & see how this goes ... i'm enjoying getting my thoughts out nonetheless

TILL NEXT MONDAY!!!

My 1st Blog

2008-11-07T13:53:00.001-08:00

So here I am .. sitting in my usual computer chair with my wife next to me ... & her hassling my typing ... I have written about 16 spelling errors in the first two lines ... started with Blog being blob .... & here I am showing one of my usual qualities (not always good) .. I talk ... a lot!!!!

Must be a little bit of female I have in me ... that & I do ask for directions! Words .. I can speak a lot of them ... and people that know me would know that potentially i could write the longest blogs known to man ... but ... I want this Blog & my words to actually be significant, not just plentiful ...to inspire people to change ... changes that heal ... It's the title of a book i'm reading ... the most challenging, confronting & impacting book i've ever read!! It's about why we do what we do, in a really specific way ... & that all the challenges we face in life usually have something to do with bonding, separating, boundaries, figuring out how to live with the concepts of good & bad & adulthood - which many of us including myself are in body but not in our inner person (if the definiton of an adult is going through the normal growth development from childhood to adolesence to adulthood)

So these blogs will hopefully stir someone's thinking which will stir emotion which will stir choice which will bring change - & whether you're a follower of Jesus or not I reckon there's some stuff we can all chat about that will bring positive change in our respective worlds & the collective world in which we live ... Ps Gary Clarke said at our Mens Conference this weekend "what is the thing that has taken u off the stage where u were making your 'I am going to change the world' speech?'" ... well maybe we can figure it out together & then in our everyday, normal lives go out together & ... change the world .. one bite at a time!

TILL NEXT MONDAY :)