regainingparadise

2007-03-05T19:39:00.000+11:00

It's official.

I've moved house.

Come and visit me at my new blog @ WordPress - where the grass is greener.
Don't worry, I'm still regainingparadise.

2007-03-04T10:36:00.000+11:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Waht does it all mean?

2007-03-04T09:46:00.000+11:00

I think I'm going to move over here .

.

2007-03-03T23:04:00.000+11:00

2007-02-28T20:50:00.000+11:00

For the word lovers amongst us...
alternate title: this is just too funny!

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. The winners are:

Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavoured mouthwash.
Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:

Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
Giraffiti (n):Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seemsmarter when they come at you rapidly.
Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after m,finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

Do you have any of your own neologisms?

2007-02-25T12:09:00.000+11:00

Anybody know of some good books on Christian Ethics suitable for students aged 16-18 years old? I need to furnish our school library.

2007-02-25T09:08:00.000+11:00

I found Jesus in Kmart!
I can't quite decide if this is blasphemous or not, but there is something a little wrong about paying $25 for Jesus. Yet, look at him, he is just so irresistible.

My search for Jesus started a few weeks ago when a friend's sister decided she wanted one of these Jesus dolls. We looked everywhere for one but to no avail. Then, just when I had given up hope of finding a Jesus doll, one seemed to find me for just as I turned the corner there was Jesus sitting on a shelf in Kmart.

The lady who sold me this doll at Kmart said that she had not sold many Jesus dolls. He is not that popular. I think the problem is that people - like my friends and I - are also looking in the wrong places. Sounds a bit like life really.

So I bought this Jesus doll and have passed it onto my friend's sister who is very happy to have finally found Jesus, and I am happy to have led her to him, but now I wonder what she will do with him.

We had a lot of fun with Jesus in the staff room at school. One of my collegues saw me holding Jesus and said, "Could you just hold him up over your head for a minute, I want to see Jesus lifted high." Of course, I obliged. Then when my friend placed Jesus under her desk we all exclaimed, "Hide him under a bushel? No!"

I'm sure if non-christians were treating a Jesus doll this way I wouldn't find it very amusing, yet here we were, in a christian school, making jokes about Jesus. Like one of my friends said: "It's like 'ha, ha!' and 'Oh, no!' all at once."

So my question is: What would you do with a Jesus doll?
Is anyone else thinking 'graven image,' or is this harmless?
I'm just not sure.

2007-02-17T20:20:00.000+11:00

Cricket 101: What is cricket?
For Beck and Kim who asked and for all my Canadian and American friends who didn't - you know who you are.

"You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!"

If that was unhelpful, perhaps this video, which is certainly not as fun, will make it clearer:

From aussiefox @ YouTube.

So there you go, that's cricket.

2007-02-16T22:23:00.000+11:00

For Island Sparrow, who asked me what a Tim Tam is:

"Tim Tam is Australia’s favourite chocolate biscuit. Around 35 million packs are sold each year - that's nearly 400 million biscuits. There are 8 delicious varieties of Tim Tam biscuits:

Tim Tam Original, Tim Tam Chewy Caramel, Tim Tam Double Coat, Tim Tam Dark, Tim Tam Love Potions Double Chocolate and Raspberry, Tim Tam Love Potions Chocolate Mud, Tim Tam Love Potions Sticky Vanilla Toffee, Tim Tam Latte.

And of course, Tim Tam Balls, which were launched in September 2005!

Tim Tam biscuits first hit supermarket shelves in 1964. They were named after a horse that won the Kentucky Derby in 1958. A member of the Arnott family, Ross Arnott, attended the race day and decided ‘Tim Tam’ was the perfect name for his new biscuit. The chocolate used to make Tim Tam biscuits has been specially developed by Arnott’s to give a slightly caramel taste. The cream flavour is a delicate mixture of vanilla, butter and chocolate that complements the biscuit base and the chocolate. It’s this unique cream which sets Tim Tam apart from any other chocolate biscuit.

You can buy Tim Tam in a variety of pack sizes including Tim Tam Fingers, Tim Tam Indulgence pack, Tim Tam Multipack and Tim Tam Balls."

From the Arnotts website.

This is a Tim Tam:

This is how you eat a Tim Tam:

You bite off each end, then suck your coffee through it very quickly while the Tim Tam melts between your lips and becomes a delicious gooey warm blob of chocolate that threatens to become a globby mess at the bottom of your warm beverage if you fail to throw your head back and down the melting Tim Tam in a timely fashion. It is not called the Tim Tam Slam for nothing. Look at the competitive stare on the face of our slammer above. This is a serious Australian past-time.

SO there you go, K, all you ever wanted to know about the divine Tim Tam. I'm glad you asked.

2007-02-16T21:26:00.000+11:00

Taking Comfort in a Metaphor

Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood its ground.

By way of explanation, I've had a run-in with my son's cricket coach. He made the boys - who are only 8 years old! - do pushups - without showing them how - as a punishment for dropping catches in training. I complained. These boys are CHILDREN! They are meant to be having fun and learning skills not being humiliated for making mistakes.

Anyway, I had an opportunity to speak to the coach as he asked me if I was happy with the way the team was going. I said "Yes, I was happy with training last week, except for the pushups." We differed, very politely. He stated his case: aversion to punishment makes children work harder - I am being nice, he didn't say it that eloquently - and I stated mine: but humiliation doesn't. He disagreed and was too intoxicated to reason coherently at which point he decided to flirt with me and touch my hair instead!

Argh! I am infuriated and thus am venting here while taking comfort in a metaphor. Oh, and the metaphor applies to ME not him as he is not a nut he is only a DRUNKEN PHILANDERER who thinks I am a nut to be cracked - interpret that metaphor as you wish!

Did I say Grrrrr!? 'cause I should have!

Grrrr!

2007-02-11T23:26:00.000+11:00

The Poms Rain.

SCG, February 11, 2007

England kicked our soggy butts!

As much as we hate it, congratulations.

2007-02-08T21:12:00.000+11:00

NO time to blog, life is crazy busy but just by way of an update I thought I'd tell you - ever so briefly, 'cause it's past my bedtime - what I've been up to:

Teaching kids - they're great! so well behaved - so far! - and most of them are interested in the content I am teaching. Amazing!

Nearly got struck by a bolt of fluro pink lightning! Scary and deafening! My ears still hurt.

Caused near traffic disaster when my blinkers and all electricals suddenly failed just before my car died. I blamed the disaster on my close call with the bolt of fluro pink lightning, mentioned above - How was I supposed to know batteries need water!? I thought the mechanics were meant to do that kind of thing when they serviced my car. It seems I pay them too much.

Ate 1/2 a Raspberry Tim Tam - Oh, how life improves with TimTams!

Signed off Blogger and curled up to sleep. Well, that's yet to be acomplished.

Miss you all.

What have you been up to?

2007-02-04T16:42:00.000+11:00

Tipped, I'm It!

Its fashionable, tight enclosure of sense and sensibility became an emblem for the times.
AEMILIA LANYER
from The Description of Cooke-ham
Now let me come unto that stately tree,
Wherein such goodly prospects you did see;
That oak that did in height his fellows pass,
As much as lofty trees, low growing grass,
Much like a comely cedar straight and tall,
Whose beauteous stature far exceeded all.
How often did you visit this fair tree,
Which seeming joyful in receiving thee,
Would like a palm tree spread his arms abroad,
Desirous that you there should make abode;
Whose fair green leaves much like a comely veil,
Defended Phoebus when he would assail,
Whose pleasing boughs did yeild a cool fresh air
Joying his happiness when you were there.

The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, Mark Strand and Eavan Boland on The Heroic Couplet: The History of the Form.

Kim @ The Upward Call has invited here readers to take part in a random book meme. I chose to take part.

HERE ARE THE RULES:

1. Grab the book closest to you.

2. Open to page 123; go down to the fourth sentence.

3. Post the text of the following three sentences.

4. Name the author and book title.

5. Tag three people to do the same.

Now that you know the rules, I guess all that's left to say is:

Tip! You're it!

Play along if you like. I'm not limiting it to three. If you want to play, please do. Let me know in the comments.

2007-02-01T22:35:00.000+11:00

Students return to school on Monday and I am spending this week preparing for my new job: English/Studies of Religion teacher to Years 9-12. I am hoping that throughout this year my English students will gain a love for figurative language. I wonder if they will write things as entertaining as these Examples of Figurative Language Found in NSW Year 12 English Essays. That would give me a real laugh.

Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature prime English beef.

She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you‚re on vacation in another city and Sex in the City comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot oil.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

Even in his last years, Grandad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

Oh, Jason, take me! she panted, her breasts heaving like a Uni student on $1-a-beer night.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.

She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.

It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

2007-01-28T17:56:00.000+11:00

Shark Island, Australia Day, 2007

2007-01-25T20:48:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow is Australia Day. There will be celebrations happening throughout the country but if you can't see any of it from where you are check out Sydney Harbour Web Cam. There will be a lot of events happening on the harbour. Some of which are:

Australia Day Surfboard Challenge 08:30 AM 11:30 AM
Best Dressed Vessels Competition 09:00 AM 06:00 PM
Ferrython 10:45 AM 11:45 AM
Australia Day Parade 12:00 PM 12:30 PM
Awesome Forces - 21 Gun Salute 12:00 PM 12:15 PM
Awesome Forces - RAAF Defence Aerial Display 01:00 PM 01:15 PM
171st Australia Day Regatta 01:30 PM 06:00 PM
Awesome Forces - RAAF Defence Aerial Display 02:00 PM 02:15 PM
Awesome Forces - Search and Rescue 02:00 PM 02:30 PM
Awesome Forces - Red Berets splash into Circular Quay 03:00 PM 03:15 PM
Australia Day Tall Ships Race 03:00 PM 03:30 PM
Sydney Ports Jazz on the Water 05:00 PM 09:00 PM

If you watch the web cam at these times you may be able to see a bit of the action. I will be celebrating, somewhere, eating a vegemite sanger, enjoying my beautiful country.

For now I will leave you with a list of Aussie slang words. Your job is to tell me what you think they mean.

Al Capone
she'll be apples
bickie
big bickies
big smoke
billabong
billy
bit o' all right
blue
Bluey
chinwag
chuffed
dead-set
ear basher
fair dinkum
fang it
gone troppo
grouse
half your luck
hooroo
Joe Blake
knackered
lair
nong
ol' cheese
ripper
rock up
thongs
yonks
zilch
zonked

Leave your answers in the comments and I'll let you know how you went on my return. Go on, 'av' a go! Aussies, why not add some of your own slang words or tell us a story of your experiences with Aussie slang.

Till I return, avagoodweegend.

Oh! and don't forget to look up and smile!

2007-01-25T20:43:00.000+11:00

I heart Happy Feet!

If you haven't seen it you really better jump 'n' move into your cinema to see it!

The music rocks, or rather grooves and so will you.

You'll love it!

2007-01-22T21:22:00.000+11:00

Dans l'adversité de nos meilleurs amis nous trouvons quelque chose, qui ne nous déplaît pas.

- Jonathan Swift

2007-01-20T19:58:00.000+11:00

if promises are like piecrusts
so are faces, hearts, doors, chairs,
bottles, walls, families,
cups, toys, pets, fists, heads,
hopes, dreams, schemes,
and many other things.

Reflections on Rossetti

2007-01-17T20:34:00.000+11:00

Luckytheyneversarus

Their eyes looked so real it was difficult to remember that they weren't. These towering, powerful giants from long ago were splendidly recreated in a magnificent performance, Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience. Today we watched mesmerised as lifesize animatronic dinosaurs came to life before us. They growled, they breathed, they snorted, they lept playfully and they looked at us with their amazingly life like eyes. But, thankfully, they never saw us.

The Dinosaur Workshop
The Live Experience: Torosaur VS. Utahraptor

2007-01-15T17:21:00.000+11:00

Trees

(For Mrs. Henry Mills Alden)

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

2007-01-15T13:54:00.000+11:00

Magnolia, Port Macquarie, 2007

2007-01-14T20:34:00.000+11:00

Do you remember the song

Don't build your house on the sandy land
Don't build it too near the shore
Well it might look kinda nice but you'll have to build it twice
Oh you'll have to build your house once more.

You better build your house upon the Rock
Make a good foundation on a solid spot
Though the storms may come and go
The peace of God you will know.

I was thinking of this song as I was watching the boys build a sandcastle at the beach the other day. As a big wave came up and washed half of the front wall of our beachside mansion away, my brother said, "Now boys that's what happens if you build your house on the sand. You must remember to NEVER build your house on the sand." Of course I started singing "it might look kinda nice but you'll have to build it twice..." and before I was singing the refrain my sister-in-law - you have to know she is an architect - says, "Well, you can you know you just need a really good foundation."

Of course she is right - as usual - and so I wondered, Do you think Jesus would still use his 'the foolish man built his house on the sand' story if he were addressing a large crowd today? Imagine if there were architects in the crowd. The story just wouldn't work. The truth of the story has not changed. Even with architectural advances you still need a good foundation on which to build your 'house' (ie, life), nevertheless, I wonder if Jesus would still use this example today, and I wonder if I would use it when witnessing to an architect? What do you think?

2007-01-12T21:35:00.000+11:00

After an extremely hot day, a thunderstorm has rolled in over my house.

We have waited in the suffocating heat all day for this storm and now it is here. I lie in a hammock on my deck reading A Portrait of a Lady, listening to the different rhythms of the night: a chorus of courting frogs croak by the pond, the rain falls in soothing pitter-patters on the roof and I wait for it to build to a pouring crescendo while the thunder rolls and booms like loose skin on a big bass drum closer and closer, until it is directly overhead.

I read my book by the light of my flickering candle. The white light is dulled to insignificance in comparison to the brilliant blue flashes the lightning casts across the sky. I see the sky as an ocean, vast and wild, yet comforting in its unfathomable immensity. I am sure I see frothing white water lick at the sides of the lightning, like a line being thrown out and disrupting the smooth surface of the water.

I smell the freshness of the rain as all is being washed clean. I breathe deeply and drink it in.
I love it. The sounds, the sights, the smells, for this is summer in Australia, the land of incredible heat and summer rains.

2007-01-12T18:16:00.000+11:00

A Snapshot From a Holiday

A Baby Staghorn in a Gigantic Tree,

Port Macquarie, Australia.

2007-01-11T10:19:00.000+11:00

It's still the month of lists over at Rebecca Writes, so in keeping with this month's theme, I offer you

A List Challenge

The names of 72 bands are depicted in this picture (click picture to enlarge). I wonder if we could list them all?

To start us off I see:

1) Smashing Pumpkins

2)Green Day

3) Garbage

4) Guns'n'Roses

How many can you see?

Make a list in the comments and we'll see if we can get all 72. There is no way I could get them all on my own so I definately need your help.

UPDATE: Christopher has advised that there is another site on which you may view the picture above in an extended, or wide, version. As this may help us to solve the remaining band titles, it is most necessary that you follow this link to the complete picture. It even comes with a magnifying glass! The game continues. Play on! It certainly reveals more, like, for example, the inclusion of The Pet Shop Boys. There is much more we have not yet seen. Christoper also knows where the answers lie but I am not sure we are ready to give up yet. What do you think?

Oh!UPDATE #2: There are 74 bands to identify.

2007-01-09T13:02:00.000+11:00

While I have been away, Rebecca has declared that it is list month. Lacking words after being on holidays for a while, I thought I could just write a list of things I did on holidays thus updating you all on my adventures while taking part in a blog list fest. This way we're all winners. This list is called:

Things missmellifluous Did on Her Holidays

1) Got very sunburnt on an overcast day. Ouch!

2) Went for a run with sunstroke - I do not recommend this.

3) Swam in the beautiful salty sea!

4) Swam in clean fresh rivers.

5) Caught a tiny and very pretty Butterfish and threw it back, and an ugly big Flathead and ate it. Yum!

6) Tried to ride my dad's longboard.

For the record, this is not me wiping out,

although I did many times, noone caught it on camera.

7) Got hit in the nose with my dad's longboard while trying to undo the leg rope to hand longboard over to brother.

8) Remembered, as my nose started to bleed after being hit with the longboard, that sharks like blood and would perhaps be attracted to our surfing refuge buy the scent of my seemingly copious amounts of blood.

9) Was too dazed to get out of the water.

10) Teased brother with the thought of sharks being attracted to blood!

11) Scared myself instead.

12) Consoled myself with the thought that the water was too cold for even the hungriest sharks to brave. Only stupid sufers would dare enter such icy waters.

13) Read books.

14) Bought books I didn't and perhaps will not read.

15) Saw and caught some of the tinniest, cutest little green frogs I've ever seen.

Look hard and you may see one too!

16) Contemplated stealing said frogs to release in my garden but abandoned the idea when I realised I was a long way from home without suitable frog housing, and remembered that I think it is illegal, but was not sure as the frogs were on private property...nevertheless decided not to risk it.

17) Got caught in a magnificent but freezing downpour on New Years Eve and ran home enjoying the exhilaration of the surprise storm.

18) Walked everywhere.

19) Became salt encrusted.

20) Beat my sister-in-law - the Monopoly champion - at Monopoly!

21) Watched Karate Kid 1 & 2 again, and 3 for the first time.

22) Saw many beautiful plants and animals.

23) Had a great time with my family.

24) Took quite a few photos. Not as many as usual because I spent a lot of my time in the water. I'll post more pics later.

25) Realised that I cannot live without salt on my skin and in my hair and sand under my feet. I need the salt sand wave!

2007-01-09T12:23:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year!

from me to you

I have been away holidaying and will update you all soon.

Till then...

2006-12-24T22:15:00.000+11:00

It's Christmas!

A baby is born
A life is given
Our King has come
It’s Christmas

Joy to the world
The angels proclaim
Our Saviour has come
It’s Christmas

All glory to God in the highest
All glory to Jesus the King
Jesus has come
May His name be heard
All glory to God
It’s Christmas

The shepherds look on
Creation’s amazed
God as a man
It’s Christmas

They fall on their knees
All glory to Him
Jesus has come
It’s Christmas

All glory to God in the highest
All glory to Jesus the King
Jesus has come
May His name be heard
All glory to God
It’s Christmas

From a baby so small
To a man on a cross
Salvation has come
It’s Christmas

I bow down my knee
I burst into song
All glory to God
It’s Christmas

Happy Christmas all! I'll be back in the new year. Till then, God bless. May you know and love the true meaning of Christmas for it is incredible and amazing but completely true!

2006-12-19T18:18:00.000+11:00

Time for a Christmas Recipe

As many people in the blog world are sharing Christmas recipes, I thought it was about time I contributed.

Christmas in Australia is usually pretty darn hot so we usually go for a lunch that consists of a variety of cold dishes many of which are old family recipes. On the menu are a variety of cold meats, seafood and salads. One of the dishes I usually prepare is Pancetta and Basil Wrapped Chicken. It is one of my specialties. On Christmas day we usually eat this cold, cut into strips with various bean, watermelon, greek and potato salads. However, as this dish is meant to be served hot wth a delicious creamy gravy, I thought I would share it with those of you in colder climates. However you choose to serve this dish you can be sure it will be well received because it is scrumdiddlyumptious and dead easy to cook!

pancetta and basil wrapped chicken

you will need:

4 skinned chicken breasts
8 slices of pancetta
a good handful of FRESH basil leaves (Do NOT use anything but FRESH leaves - I feel very strongly about this)
butter
pepper

Gravy (optional)
575ml/ 1 pt [2 1/2 cups] of strongly flavoured chicken stock
100ml / 3/1/2 fl oz double cream [7 tbsp heavy cream]
chives
pepper

Preheat the oven to 220˚C/425˚F.

Lay 2 slices of pancetta slightly overlapping on a work surface. Put a good sprinkling of fresh basil leaves on top. Season with pepper (no salt the pancetta is salty enough) and place a chicken breast on top. Wrap the pancetta securely around the chicken breast.

Put olive oil and about a tea spoon of butter in a frying pan. Lay the chicken breasts in the pan and fry for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a roasting tray and put in the oven for 10 minutes (or longer depending on how big the chicken breasts are).

Gravy
As soon as the chicken breasts go in the oven, pour the stock into the pan and reduce by half over a high heat, scraping any bits from the pan and including them in the stock. Off the heat, whisk in the cream and all but 8 of the chopped chive stalks which you can use later for garnishing. Taste and add more pepper if needed. Keep warm.

serves 4

I like to serve this dish warm with beans, baby carrots, asparagus, and baby potatoes - I don't often cook the gravy as it is very delicious but very rich - or cold, cut into strips with salads. Either way the chicken is absolutely delicious!

What will you be eating for Christmas lunch?

2006-12-15T18:06:00.000+11:00

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." Matthew 2:1-2

Last Christmas, my sister-in-law wrapped one of my presents in this beautiful red and gold foil paper pictured below. I loved the paper just about as much as the present and thus have kept it. The three men look just like what I imagine the Three Wise Men of the Orient would have looked like. What I love about this paper is that it was not even really Christmas paper. It was some kind of delicate asian paper my sister-in-law found in China Town for some ridiculously cheap price. A bundle of it cost 20 cents or something crazy. Anyway, the paper captured my attention and imagination and leads me to share with you one of my favourite Christmas Carols, We Three Kings.

Please feel free to sing along with the midi version here.

We three kings of Orient are;

Bearing gifts we traverse afar,

Field and fountain,

moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

Refrain

O star of wonder,

star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading,

still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain

Gold I bring to crown Him again,

King forever, ceasing never,

Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;

Incense owns a Deity nigh;

Prayer and praising,

voices raising,

Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine,

its bitter perfume

Breathes a life of gathering gloom;

Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,

Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;

King and God and sacrifice;

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain

2006-12-15T17:09:00.000+11:00

Last night, after posting the random nonsense which is below, I realised the true reason for my scattyness: I was grieving.

Before you wish me your deepest sympathies, I better explain. You see, yesterday, I finished a book. A good book and when good books end I always feel like I have lost a good friend or two and don't quite know what to do with myself anymore. So, I wander aimlessly, post random nonsense, graze in the kitchen, and sit around doing nothing. And that was when it dawned on me - I miss Eragon.

I am not usually a fan of the fantasy genre, however, a student at school suggested - with some urgency - that I read "the most fantastic fantasy novel" he'd read and "quickly, before the movie comes out next week." As I like to take an interest in what my students are reading outside the classroom, I thought I'd give it a go.

The first few chapters were a little s l o w, however, I very quickly became absorbed; so much so that I could not put the book down. Thus, when I came to the end of the novel, quite unsatisfied with the partial resolution and the fact that there were no more pages to read, I was dying to find out what would happen next! The void I felt at the ending of Eragon was immense. Aimless hours followed.

I wanted desperately to escape my sense of loss by immersing myself in a new book, but I couldn't choose what to read. Another book would not be Eragon. I considered reading Eragon again, immediately, but sometimes you just have to acknowledge when things come to an end, no matter how good they were while they lasted. I quickly realised I was on the rebound - from a book! - and sought to distract myself with some house tidying. I was desperate!

My mum must have sensed my grief because today, - wonderful woman that she is - she bought me Eldest, the next book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Trilogy. So from my grief I have emerged and thus shall soon depart to read part two because clearly the first four hundred and ninety seven pages were not enough.

Could this be the beginning of my love for fantasy?

2006-12-14T19:46:00.000+11:00

sometimes there is nothing to say

.

2006-12-14T19:44:00.000+11:00

2006-12-14T19:42:00.000+11:00

2006-12-14T19:41:00.000+11:00

2006-12-14T19:38:00.000+11:00

2006-12-04T19:54:00.000+11:00

The Tale of Tiddly The Caterpillar

When I was in Year 9 at school I had a great love of nature, so it should not have been a surprise to my Geography teacher that I would bring a caterpillar to class. You see, one day during my lunch hour I found a gorgeous little green caterpillar. He was so small and so delicate that I could almost see through his translucent fluro green skin. When I plucked him from his happy nibbling place I was sure I was doing him some grand favour.

I bet I'm saving him from certain death, I thought, out here, in the open -- camouflaged as he was -- he is sure to be consumed by some ravenous bird.

With such love, such care and concern, I carefully picked up the little caterpillar, making sure I took a branch or two with me -- wildlife need their natural habitat to survive -- I carried this forlorn creature with me around the playground. As happens, the bell went and I promptly -- well as promptly as a Year 9 student with a caterpillar can -- made my way to my next class - Geography.

My Geography teacher was a nature loving hippie if ever I saw one. She loved the outdoors as much as she loved a good tan -- her leathery suncrisped skin attested that that was a whole lot! I naturally thought young Tiddly -- for that is what I named my cherished caterpillar -- would find certain refuge in the class of such a teacher.

You cannot imagine my horror, my pain, my sheer disbelief when this esteemed teacher of mine approached my desk, noticed Tiddly and before they could be properly introduced, squashed all the delicate greeness out of his tiny little body.

"NOOOOO!" I wailed, "You killed Tiddly! That was Tiddly!"

I felt defeated. My respect for my Geography teacher plummeted and I was thrust into a world of grief and loss.

"It's a bug," shrugged my Geo teacher. I could hardly believe the words had left her lips. I could hardly believe it. Who would have thought that losing such a tiny thing would have such a massive impact.

Remembering Tiddly, I was greatly encouraged by the sight of three Year 10 boys ambling into my Geography class today, 10 minutes late, with a caterpillar, a gorgeous green caterpillar and a lesson's supply of jucy green leaves.

I allowed the boys to enter and take their seats and with the loss of Tiddly still burning in my heart I approached the boys. They looked at me warily.

"It's a caterpillar, Miss. We saved it from a huge bird. We saw this leaf wiggling and thought we'd look and then we saw this...the caterpillar, it wasn't a leaf at all, it was a caterpillar and we saved it, Miss. The bird was going to eat it. We saved it!"

My heart swelled with pride and joy till it almost burst. Here, in my class, were young men who cared for the plight of insects! Here, so many years after the senseless slaughter of innocent Tiddly, were young men seeking refuge for beautiful defenseless caterpillars in a Geography class, in the very same school at which I attended. It was like I was being offered a second chance. A chance to redeem my attempts to save Tiddly so many painful years before.

"Alright, boys, you can keep the caterpillar as long as it doesn't distract you from the lesson."

"Okay, Miss. We saved it you know."

"I know. It's beautiful. You are real insect warriors." I said approvingly.

They grinned. I felt proud. I lovingly patted the gorgeous caterpillar and walked back to the front of the classroom.

It was a beautiful day.

I am a successful teacher, I thought, for I, -- unlike my own Geography teacher -- have encouraged my students to care for small defenseless creatures and have provided refuge for caterpillars.

What more could a teacher hope for?

"Miss," the boys called out to me as I walked across the pick-up zone at the end of the day. "Miss!" It was my insect warriors.

"Yes," I smiled.

"We cut the caterpillar in half!"

"You wha--!"

"We cut the caterpillar in hal--"

"...and we squashed it!"

It took all the strength I could muster to refrain from screaming out, Not Tiddly! You killed Tiddly! I can't believe you killed Tiddly!

"I thought you could be trusted with caterpillars! I thought you were insect warriors!" I exclaimed.

"Humph, you though wrong, Miss," scoffed one of the boys till the spiky haired boy interrupted with earnesty, "We had to, Miss. We let it go and a bird bit it in half. It was going to eat it, it bit it in half, so we had to stomp on it."

A likely act of mercy, I thought as I departed, once again deflated, once again plummeting into a world of loss and woe! Another caterpillar that will never see its destiny fulfilled. Another caterpillar who will never see the sky, will never fly, will never soar above this dark cold earth.

I left school today with a profound sense of failure, loss and grief, and a realisation that all these years on, I still miss little Tiddly. Despite it all, I still believe teachers can make a difference. One day, one fine day, I'll teach students to love caterpillars as I do and then the world will be a better place. Then the world will be beautiful. It's bound to be with so many more butterflies around. There ought to be more butterflies.

2006-12-02T20:05:00.001+11:00

It's Jesse Tree time and look at the treasure I found in Dymocks the other day!

It doesn't replace the daily readings but it is a good book which also introduces children to the history and tradition of making a Jesse Tree.

I am not prepared for the making of our Jesse Tree, we are still debating what we will use this year.

Those of you who are unfamiliar may be asking: What is a Jesse Tree?
A Jesse Tree is like an Advent calendar. It is a branch on which we tie pictures representing God's plan of salvation from Creation to Christmas. Everyday we read a story from the Bible and paint or draw a picture that represents this story. These pictures are tied on to our Jesse Tree: a branch from our garden. 'Jesse Tree' refers to the prophecy in Isaiah that a saviour will come from the root of Jesse. This saviour is Jesus. At Christmas time we celebrate the coming of this saviour as a little child: God become man. It is amazing. It is true. It is the story of Christmas.

Here are some pictures of different ways people have made Jesse Trees in the past:

Let me know if you are doing or have done a Jesse Tree in the past. I'd love to hear ideas and stories...

2006-12-02T17:29:00.000+11:00

I have a cold again.

Fortunately, it is rainy, which is just how I like it to be when I have a cold, and I have just begun another good book, The Portrait of A Lady, Henry James. The novel begins like this:

Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not--some people of course never do--the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house, in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. Part of the afternoon had waned, but much of it was left, and what was left was of the finest and rarest quality. Real dusk would not arrive for many hours; but the flood of summer light had begun to ebb, the air had grown mellow, the shadows were long upon the smooth, dense turf.

...which sets a wonderfully cosy scene that I believe is just perfect for creating the snuggly atmosphere I need right now. So, as the weather and the novel are so obliging of my mood, I must away to indulge in my sniffles and read until my sore head bids me stop, or the beautiful language combined with the sound or rain drumming on the roof lulls me to sleep. I promise to return and post when my head is working better.

2006-11-29T11:24:00.000+11:00

How cool is this!? Mon blog en français.
Your comments are also in French as will be your blog if you click on a link to it from mon blog en français.

Sadly, I do not always make sense in French.

2006-11-29T11:08:00.000+11:00

Look! I have mangoes!

2006-11-29T11:00:00.000+11:00

What do you give to the brother who has everything?

2006-11-27T08:35:00.000+11:00

During a lull in the conversation yesterday I found myself pining for a book. It was not without guilt that I felt this intense longing to duck away from the conversation, bury myself in my room and read. My brother and sister-in-law were over for their birthday lunch and I absolutely love them visiting. They are two of my favourite people in the whole entire universe. Yet, here I was, after a lovely indulgent lunch of rack of lamb on roast provincial vegetables with a warm salad of roast tomatoes, asparagus, rocket, peas and haloumi and a glass or two of champagne, thinking about running away to read.

My sister-in-law would not have minded, she loves books too, but I decided that a better use of my time would be to enjoy my sister-in-law's company, and I'm glad I did. Yet this strange and all to common feeling I have surprised me as being very anti-social and almost obsessive. It has caused me to reflect upon my book reading practice.

In the past my friends have been offended by my practice of carrying two or three books in my bag when I go out places with them.

"What's in your bag, K______? Are you carrying bricks in there or something?"
"No, it's just a couple of books I'm reading at the moment."
"Why did you bring books? Did you think you'd be bored with us, K____?" they ask.

Of course, they never understand that I always carry two or three books with me because I never know when I will have to wait in line for a few minutes or if my car may unexpectedly break down, and I cannot be sure which book I would like to read at that particular time so I have to bring a few options. Imagine breaking down and having to wait for the NRMA for half an hour without a book! That would be pure torture. I have also noticed that I tend to think that a day spent in good company could often only be improved by the presence of a good book and some time to read it. This doesn't mean I don't enjoy the company I am in or that I am bored, it just means I really love books.

After being on prac as a Drama teacher all last term I started to feel agitated and grumpy. I couldn't place what was going on until I realised that I hadn't read a book, not properly anyway, for three months! Three months! I had not realised how completely disturbing this lack of book reading was to me until an English teacher I was working with asked me if I preferred teaching Drama or English. "When I don't read, I feel empty inside!" was my reply which was met with "Ah! Spoken like a true Drama teacher."

It is true though, I do feel empty and unsettled, agitated and cranky if I have not read for a while. It's just because I love books. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm not obsessed or anything.

Am I?

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Hat Tip: Waterfall

I guess that explains the twitching and shaking I feel after not having read a book for a day or two.

How obsessed are you?

2006-11-23T17:58:00.000+11:00

What Does the Bible Say about Dinosaurs?

I found this question, this passage, and these articles very interesting today. These articles refer to the description of the Behemoth in Job 40 as being a possible reference to dinosaurs in the Bible.

Here is how William Blake imagined the Behemoth and the Leviathan to be.

I had always thought of the Behemoth as a kind of bull-like creature, however, today when reading Job 40 I thought it sounded way more dinosaur-like with its tail swaying like a cedar. How intriguing the Behemoth and the Leviathan are! Blake depicts the Leviathan as a dragon-like creature and from the description in Job 41 it certainly sounds like one. Yet, I had always imagined the Leviathan to be a kind of mythical Loch Ness Monster-like creature due to its sea dwelling snake-like nature described in Psalm 104 and Isaiah 27.

What do you think they could be?

2006-11-23T17:18:00.000+11:00

Bushfire Sky, 22 November 2006

If the sky turned orange for any other reason it would be considered beautiful rather than ominous. Yesterday the smoke and ash were thick in the air and the hot wind was blowing strongly from the west heralding the begining of our summer and the beginning of bushfire season. Many of my friends live in the mountains and over the last couple of days the strong winds were pushing the blazing bushfires ever closer to their houses. They would leave their houses of a morning and drive to work as charred leaves fell on their lawns. Fortunately, the southerly arrived late yesterday afternoon putting an end to the threat of fires and subduing the heat - for now.

2006-11-23T16:39:00.000+11:00

I saw this at John Dekker's Journal and thought I'd have a go because I am a sucker for quizzes.

You are a
Social Liberal
(65% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(10% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Socialist

You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.

Link: The Politics Test

2006-11-21T20:45:00.000+11:00

When the dog bites
when the bee stings
when I'm feeling
sad
I simply
remember my favourite things
and then I don't feel
so bad

These are a few of my favourite things:

The Art of Tea. Ever since I first bought and tasted this tea at Salamanca Markets in Tasmania I have not been able to drink any other without feeling it is terribly inferior. I have become such a tea snob that now I will only drink this tea and have to have it shipped up to me by the kilo every month. I love it! I cannot live without it!

Tip Top 9 Grain + Pumpkin Seeds Bread! Yum!

Hammocks

& books.

Especially books in hammocks...with a cup of Earl Grey Rooibos from the Art of Tea.

The smell of rain, the feel of rain, the coolness of rain after a hot day.

Words. I love words.

and pictures

and poetry

and cats

and many many more things but right now I love sleep too much to tell you about them.

What are some of your favourite things?

2006-11-21T19:31:00.000+11:00

From snow to 38 degree heat, the only way I am going to get to toboggan is if I play this game.

2006-11-20T09:38:00.000+11:00

Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us.
~ Roy Adzak

There is a lot that I love about casual teaching: the pay is great, the flexibility of working or not working on any given day is excellent, the students are enjoyable but mostly I love the variety.

On Friday I was called in to teach Art. I so love art and almost became an Art teacher. In fact, I was enrolled in a Bachelor of Art/Education before I changed my mind and became an English/Drama teacher. The choice was awful! I really wanted to teach English and Art but the combination was not offered, so I went with the practical choice of English/Drama thinking I would always be assured of a job as an English teacher. It was a hard decision to make. Knowing this you can begin to imagine how happy I was to spend a day in the Art classroom on Friday.

With encouragement from the head of Art to join in as the students worked I found myself drawn to a small off cut of lino. It was a little square, about 5cms x 5cms. Perfect for a little botanical, I thought, just the right size for a frog to land on. And so I sketched out a little frog. Remembering my school days and numerous incidents with slipping blades I carefully approached the task of cutting out my little shape and then mixed up my colour and printed him out.

The frog is still a work in progress. I have done the first colour and must now keep cutting away and then print the next colour over the top.

The day's activity left me feeling refreshed and inspired. I hadn't done a lino cut for a very long time and I quite like the feeling of cutting away, the smell of the lino, the pleasure of seeing an image take shape, and the precision needed to capture the form, shape and detail of an image in this medium. My frog is not outstanding as a work of art but I like it because it is mine and because I enjoyed working alongside students in a creative way. It was a great day.

One day I think I will add Art teaching to my teaching methods. I'd so love to. For now, I'm going out to buy my own cutters, lino, and roller.

In keeping with Rebecca's month of Thanksgiving, today I am thankful for casual teaching: for the joy of working creatively with children; for flexibility and variety; for the oportunity to get my hands dirty; for frogs; for lino cutting; for a day off to buy art supplies; and for the anticipation of creating!

I am also thankful that this post pushes the last one down the page a little so I don't have to look at that disturbing picture anymore.

2006-11-18T18:10:00.000+11:00

Shoes Off at the Door Please has a great article on Tramplian and Offalist Theology. You really must check it out.

It's not as weird as this picture.
I promise.

Overstepping, Julie Rrap

2006-11-18T17:17:00.000+11:00

Eating corriander that has gone to seed is kind of like eating ants, which is fine - if you are a bear.

2006-11-16T14:45:00.000+11:00

It's Snowing in Summer!

Today is freezing! After sitting at the cricket on monday in the sweltering heat today is freezing! Our weather here is crazy. Apparently some areas of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania are experiencing snow in November! The icy wind outside blows straight through you. It feels like a Hobart day rather than a Sydney one. Brrr! This is completely strange.

Here are a few news articles I've been reading regarding this strange phenomenon.

Fires Rage and Snow's Falling

Arctic Air Brings Snow and Hail

Snow and Fire Herald Start of Summer

2006-11-16T12:13:00.000+11:00

Sitting in class on Tuesday I pleasantly welcomed the daily delivery of the paper by the messengers as my class was working nicely and I thought I might have a moment or two to skim the headlines. You cannot imagine my surprise, horror and sheer panic when I noticed that I, yes, little old insignificant me, had sparked a national debate. My U2 video was smack bang on the cover of the Sydney Morning Herald!

Gasp! was the only response I could give as I nearly fell off my chair. The headline read, "Hold those phones, rockers, soon your recordings will be a crime," and underneath the picture of fans taking happy snaps of Bono was my video (GULP) with a caption stating Arresting image...fan video of the same show already on YouTube.com. My audible gasp alarmed the class who were most distracted by my reaction and thus neither the students or the teacher could concentrate for the rest of the lesson. I barely had the composure to read the word "soon" in the headline and was sure I was to spend the rest of my days behind bars. All I could think of was "what kind of an example have I been to the children!?"

The staff room was greatly amused by my infamy and my dad has been collecting as many copies of the paper as he can - for me to distribute to my friends! It seems that someone at the Herald noticed my little YouTube videos of the U2 concert and thought it would be a great time to discuss the new laws which Mr Howard is wanting to rush through parliament pertaining to copyright and piracy, and my videos were an example of the kind of activity that may result in heavy fines, and possibly gaol time!, in the future.

Apparently, under these new laws, it may even be illegal to upload a video of somone singing Happy Birthday as the Happy Birthday song is not public domain! I was so tempted to record myself singing Happy Birthday to a member of U2 and upload that, just for fun, but I thought it better not to flirt with danger. It is a little ridiculous to try to police the singing of Happy Birthday, I think, and most other people do too. Imagine the trouble you could get into if you recorded U2 singing Happy Birthday and uploaded that to the internet! That's asking for double trouble.

This little issue has now been discussed on the evening news, on breakfast television, on the radio (so people have told me) and at HSC marking centres in Sydney. Apparently I am set to become a case study in Legal Studies classrooms regarding what happens when laws change. The news has even been in Melbourne papers. Apparently, my videos are not illegal - yet. There is no law stating I cannot record a public performance on my phone and upload it to YouTube. U2 could possibly prosecute re breach of copyright but since Bono was encouraging people to take photos of him throughout the concert, I don't think that is likely.

To be sure, I have removed my videos and do not plan on posting them again. I don't usually like to be made an example of, especially when it is because I am engaging in potentially illegal activities, so I think removing the video is for the best. I have decided instead to burn copies to cd and distribute them at a small cost to interested persons, or perhaps not! My dad reckons that while I have a bright future ahead, I should probably hold onto that.

2006-11-15T20:16:00.000+11:00

I got the job!

2006-11-13T23:15:00.000+11:00

My Mum often says that as a mother her occupation is to 'Raise a Nation,' so I wasn't really surprised when she quoted the following to me:

"When you educate women, they share that knowledge with their children, families and communities, so when you invest in women, almost every other statistic in a society improves."

“When you educate a woman, she teaches her family. Give a woman a micro-grant so she can start a small business in her home and she will buy shoes, milk and books for her children with the profits,”

While I am not one to quote politicians or spout feminist rhetoric, Karen Hughes, U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, has a point. Generally women do care for their children, desire a better world for them to live in, and seek to make changes so that this may be. Without education does a woman have the power to do this? Does a woman have the power to act locally, nationally and globally to make changes for the better?

Hughes also states that as she "traveled around the world, [she has] seen that "women are increasingly agents of change, arbiters of peace and reconciliation, and advocates of education and health." Considering Hughes' statements, do you think women, because of their care for their children, desire peace, equality, health, justice, mercy and reconciliation and through being educated have the potential to change the world? If so, is the education of women worldwide about more than just a woman's "rights"?

2006-11-08T20:57:00.000+11:00

Have you ever had a really narrow escape?

This couple certainly did.

Imagine the sheer panic they would have felt as the train approached. The dread, the anticipation.... will it hit...will it...? Imagine the million questions that may have raced around their heads in the seconds before they made it to the safety of the platform. Imagine how they must have held their breath and wondered if they would ever breathe again. Then imagine the relief as the train passed.

I felt like this today. No, I was not running across the train lines. Nothing that spectacular happened yet I felt the same panic, the same anticipation, dread, fear and subsequent relief. The occasion was mundane, yet I believe, life changing.

I found out today that I did not receive a job I applied for. I had been feeling so nervous going for this job. So anxious, so unsettled. I wondered what I would do if I was offered the job. I agonised over it. I prayed and found found no peace, until I found out that I didn't get the job.

When I found out I was surprised by my response. I was relieved! Relieved. This is a good school I applied for. This school has a great reputation. Yet I was relieved not to get a job there. Am I crazy?

I don't think so. In hindsight, having already taught at the school, I know I would have had numerous difficulties working there. The job would have caused me to neglect other more important responsibilities, would have added stress to my life because of expectations, time demands, and certain politics I am opposed to.

It is really strange to be feeling so relieved at not being offered what most in my profession would consider the ultimate job. I am so glad that God is in control and has a place for me where I can best serve Him. I know it was not this school and I feel so much peace about not getting the position.

Today I am thankful for not getting a job and for good friends - like you - who prayed for me during this process! Thank you all! I feel as though I have just survived a narrow escape with an oncoming train.

2006-11-07T21:29:00.000+11:00

I saw this at TulipGirl's site and had to have a go.
What have you done?
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside outside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (Methinks this is a little personal. There are some things that should be kept in the bathroom.)
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (oops)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero (What do you mean pretended?)
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (Does my own SuperHero movie count?)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship (Does the Spirit of Tasmania count?)
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised/ing children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication (...still writing)
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (Uni)
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach (ew!)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Your turn: What have you done?

2006-11-05T12:31:00.000+11:00

Today is very rainy and overcast and kind of miserable, which makes me happy because I have the sniffles and I like it when the weather suits my mood.

Being sniffly means thatI have been able to stay in bed nice and snuggly all weekend reading. I woke up at 7am on Saturday morning ready to do all the things I should be doing, even though I am sniffly and miserable, and my very lovely mum sent me back to bed saying, "No, missy. You stay home. We'll do that for you." Those words were the best words I could have heard and even though I was up and cold, I felt snuggly already because someone cared enough to do all my running around things for me.

So, when my mum came home later on she had bought me a present - because we are very good present givers in my family, and every occassion is occassion for a present - and when I opened it, it was this book:

Mum bought it for me to stop me worrying about what I should be doing next year: Should I get a permanent job? Should I do an honours year? Should I get part time work and do an honours year? Should I write all my achievements on my cv? How much modesty is appropriate? Should I apply for this school or that school or all the schools and choose later? And why haven't the schools I applied for rung me yet?

Clarice Bean keeps a book of her "Worst Worries - because people say things aren't so bad if you make a list.
And then you can tick things off when they are solved.
So far I havent ticked anything off," says Clarice Bean(p7).

Clarice Bean wants to be a spy lie Ruby Redfort and so she studies lots of Ruby's spy books so that she can Know How to Know Things Without Knowing Things. Ruby Redfort says

"Always remember:
it's the worry you haven't even thought to worry about that should worry you the most."

Thus, Clarice Bean studies Ruby's survival books which are "crammed with useful information, like How to Deal with Alien Life Forms: give them the slip and run like crazy." One of Clarice Bean's biggest fears is "Worry no. 3: change, And how sometimes it comes along when you least expect it. Unfortunately it's not always possible to give change the slip and run like crazy..."

Unlike Clarice, I am not so worried about change. I am worried about no change. There needs to be some change. Then I remember, that if God looks after the birds of the air, surely he will look after me and I am comforted because I really can know things without knowing anything.

I am thankful for sniffles and rainy days and God being in control and me not having to worry. Oh! and mums and surprise presents and words that make you feel snuggly when you are cold.

2006-11-01T19:58:00.000+11:00

Kim's Reformation Day Post got me thinking: what exactly does this mean and how do we know it from Scripture?

IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.

From: The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter V: Of Providence

This excerpt is saying God not only permits our sin but is so in control of it that he guides it wisely and powerfully for his own holy ends yet is without blame. The Bible tells us that God does not tempt man, man is only tempted when his own wicked desires entice him.

So, I ask you, what exactly does this mean and how do we know it from Scripture?

All thoughts are welcome.

2006-11-01T17:22:00.001+11:00

Fascinated as I am with beginnings lately, I have started reading At Swim-Two-Birds by Irish writerFlann O'Brien. I have read but a little but I like it a lot.

HAVING placed in my mouth sufficient bread for three minutes' chewing, I withdrew my powers of sensual perception and retired into the privacy of my mind, my eyes and face assuming a vacant and preoccupied expression. I reflected on the subject of my spare-time literary activities. One Beginning and one ending for a book was a thing I did not agree with. A good book may have three openings entirely dissimiliar and inter-related only in the prescience of the author, or for that matter one hundred times as many endings.

Examples of three separate openings - the first: The Pooka MacPhellimey, a member of the devil class, sat in his hut in the middle of a firwood meditating on the nature of numerals and segregating in his mind the odd ones from the even. He was seated at his diptych or ancient two-leaved writing-table with inner sides waxed. His rough long-nailed fingers toyed with a snuff-box of perfect rotundity and through a gap in his teeth he whistled a civil cavatina. He was a courtly man and received honour by reason of the generous treatment he gave his wife, one of the Corrigans of Carlow.

The second opening: There was nothing unusual in the appearance of Mr John Furriskey but actually he has one distinction that is rarely encountered - he was born at the age of twenty-five and entered the world with a memory but without personal experience to account for it. His teeth were well formed but stained by tabacco, with two molars filled and a cavity threatened in the left canine. His knowledge of physics was moderate and extended to Boyle's Law and the Parallelogram of Forces.

The third opening: Finn Mac Cool was a legendary hero of old Ireland. Though not mentally robust, he was a man of superb physique and development. Each of his thighs was as thick as a horses belly, narrowing to a calf as thick as the belly of a foal. Three fifties of fosterlings could engage with handball against the wideness of his backside, which was large enough to halt the march of men through a mountain-pass.

Carol Taaffe of Trinity College Dublin describes At Swim-Two-Birds as "a comic novel concerning a student who is writing a novel about an author, also writing a novel, whose characters beging to write about him." I am very interested in reading the novel to see how this takes place.

I hopethat the ending is as good as the beginning[s]. However, after reading these comments by Eric Mader-Lin:

I myself feel I've less of a readerly future to look forward to because, alas, I've already read At Swim-Two-Birds. This is to say that the novel is good enough to make me somewhat envious of those who haven't yet gotten to it. Yes, it is that good.

...perhaps I should not rush to the end.

Note of interest:Apparently one of Flann O'Brien's books appeared in an episode of Lost.

2006-11-01T09:26:00.000+11:00

"Galump!" said the little brown frog the other day...
About three years ago we had some little pet tadpoles in a fish tank outside. The tadpoles grew, as tadpoles do, into frogs. When they were about 2cms big we released about five of them into the pond at my parents house. Since then, these little frogs have sung to us on summer evenings as we eat our dinner outside in the garden. We are not sure how many frogs we have in our garden. There are at least two because they sing to eachother from different places in the yard, and we know we must have a boy and a girl because we have had more tadpoles since. We know the frogs are there because we hear them but we rarely see them. Sometimes we find them when we are rearranging logs in the garden. It is always so exciting when we find one because then we know they are surviving well. Last week we found this little froggie. I am not sure what kind of frogs mine are but I hope to find out on the Frogs Australia Network site. They have grown so much bigger now!

The frog population is in sad decline in Sydney and indeed the world, some say:

THANKS to our living habits, we may soon live in a world devoid of frogs and their amphibious friends.

Fifty international amphibian experts have predicted a mass extinction of the world's frogs, toads and salamanders due largely to rising pollution levels, climatic change and a killer fungal disease - with its effect being felt in Sydney.

This is one of the reasons we chose to nurture these little frogs in the first place. I like that our garden is a little well functioning ecosystem. In a world where frog populations are under such threat, I am pleased to have a few little frogs living in my garden. I hope we can help them before they croak.

UPDATE: I discovered that our little frogs are of the Limnodynastes peronii variety.
Family: Myobatrachidae
Common names: Striped Marshfrog; Brown-striped Frog; Brown Frog

They are not endangered - Yay! - but this doesn't make them any less special. You can hear my frog's call here. These frogs sound like little dripping taps. It's very cute.

2006-10-28T19:35:00.000+10:00

Argh! Blogger is not letting me post.

2006-10-28T18:47:00.000+10:00

All this contemplation was provoked by a simple quiz I found today and prompts me to ask the question: How well do you remember the openings of famous novels?

Novel Quiz: Famous Opening Lines

From which famous novel are these first lines taken?

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

a) Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
b) Angels and Insects, A. S. Byatt
c) The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
d) Kiss of the Spider Woman, Manuel Puig

To find the answer, take the quiz. Good luck! Let me know how you go.

2006-10-28T17:52:00.000+10:00

How do you choose a book to read? Are you a first line or paragraph reader? Do you dip in somewhere in the middle and then decide if you like the book? Do you go on recommendations, or do you pick a book by its cover?

While I am sometimes tempted to choose a novel by its cover, I am predominantly a first line reader. If the beginning of a book doesn't grab me, I may not buy it. One of my most favourite books of all time has the most beautiful beginning:

• There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.

The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.

Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green hills break down. They fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature. For they grow red and bare; they cannot hold the rain and mist, and the streams are dry in the kloofs. Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet. It is not kept, or guarded, or cared for, it no longer keeps men, guards men, cares for men. The titihoya does not cry here any more.

The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.

From Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton

It is a beautiful beginning to a beautiful novel! It's a beginning I will never forget.

(You may read more about the novel here and you may read more quotes - like this one: "[W]e do what is in us, and why it is in us, that is also a secret. It is Christ in us, crying that men may be succoured and forgiven, even when He Himself is forsaken."- Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country, Chapter 15 from the novel - here)

If you haven't read Cry, the Beloved Country, you really must!

How does your favourite novel begin?

2006-10-28T16:38:00.000+10:00

Can you find the face amongst the coffee beans?

2006-10-26T20:03:00.000+10:00

I submitted my cv today.

If you feel so inclined, please pray!

I feel so nervous.

2006-10-24T23:12:00.000+10:00

I just handed in my last uni assignment ever!

2006-10-22T18:23:00.000+10:00

I am not distracted...
The Analysis Starts Here
While I am supposed to be completing my second last assignment for my degree, I have been very distracted by, oh, all sorts of important things, such as handwriting analysis quizzes. I found this on Kim's blog - which, incidently, I said I was not going back to today because it was too distracting and she posted this post on how important hard work and study are, which is true, and I felt guilty and fled committed to finishing my assessment until I felt strangely drawn back again, which is when I found this post on handwriting analysis. So, I had to take the quiz. It could possibly help my work...?

Anyway, this is what my handwriting reveals about me:

Some of my y's are out of control but this is a good thing
missmellifluous has a very unusual lower zone y loop. If the data input is correct, missmellifluous' y or g is large and opens up to the left side of the page. This is not a common trait, but the implications are very interesting. As you begin to study handwriting analysis, you will learn any loop indicates imagination. This lower loop indicates the amount of imagination missmellifluous has regarding physical things. So, her lower zone stroke is large, so her imagination is large and open.

Some of my y's make small loops but wide circles
missmellifluous has a healthy imagination and displays a fair amount of trust. She lets new people into her circle of friends. She uses her imagination to understand new ideas, things, and people.

I Sigh
Something is incomplete in missmellifluous' life. She feels frustration relating to her physical needs and desires. Somewhere in her life there is some disappointment, non-fulfillment, and interruption.

My t's are pointy on the end, apparently like my tongue
missmellifluous is sarcastic. This is a defense mechanism designed to protect her ego when she feels hurt. She pokes people harder than she gets poked. These sarcastic remarks can be very funny. They can also be harsh, bitter, and caustic at the same time.

I am obviously not completing my work because I do not have a clear vision of the end point...
missmellifluous is a practical person whose goals are planned, practical, and down to earth. This is typical of people with normal healthy self-esteem. She needs to visualize the end of a project before she starts. She finds joy in anticipation and planning. Notice that I said she plans everything she is going to do, that doesn't necessarily mean things go as planned. missmellifluous basically feels good about herself. She has a positive self-esteem which contributes to her success. She feels she has the ability to achieve anything she sets her mind to. However, she sets her goals using practicality-- not too "out of reach". She has enough self-confidence to leave a bad situation, yet, she will not take great risks, as they relate to her goals. A good esteem is one key to a happy life. Although there is room for improvement in the confidence category, her self-perception is better than average.

My m's are pointy and curved and I am definately in the slow phase of my creative process
In reference to missmellifluous’ mental abilities, she has a very investigating and creating mind. She investigates projects rapidly because she is curious about many things. She gets involved in many projects that seem good at the beginning, but she soon must slow down and look at all the angles. She probably gets too many things going at once. When missmellifluous slows down, then she becomes more creative than before. Since it takes time to be creative, she must slow down to do it. She then decides what projects she has time to finish. Thus she finishes at a slower pace than when she started the project. She has the best of two kinds of minds. One is the quick investigating mind. The other is the creative mind. Her mind thinks quick and rapidly in the investigative mode. She can learn quicker, investigate more, and think faster. missmellifluous can then switch into her low gear. When she is in the slower mode, she can be creative, remember longer and stack facts in a logical manner. She is more logical this way and can climb mental mountains with a much better grip.

- obviously my 'distractedness' is evidence of my need to get involved in multiple tasks simultaneously. This is not avoidance, this is an investigating and creative mind at work. And I just realised, I really am sarcastic!

If cornered, I may equivocate!
Regarding honesty, she is basically honest with a tendency to lie in certain circumstances. This results from a combination of secretiveness (the desire to keep things private) and self deceit (the desire to not accept something in her life at the moment). She deliberately strays from or evades the truth. She feels the truth is not what she wants people to know. This is not always bad. Have you ever known a good secretary that could not say "the Boss isn't in", when the Boss is standing next to the phone? When missmellifluous is in a position that she can't find a truthful way out, she might prevaricate.

I am loopy and this makes me sensitive but it doesn't stop me from sharing
missmellifluous is sensitive to criticism about her ideas and philosophies. She will sometimes worry what people will think if she tells them what she believes in. This doesn't mean she won't talk, or that she feels ashamed. It merely means she is sensitive to what others think, regarding her beliefs.

I am getting tired of posting about myself
missmellifluous is moderately outgoing. Her emotions are stirred by sympathy and heart rendering stories. In fact, she can be kind, friendly, affectionate and considerate of others. She has the ability to put herself into the other person's shoes. missmellifluous will be somewhat moody, with highs and lows. Sometimes she will be happy, the next day she might be sad. She has the unique ability to get along equally well with what psychology calls introverts and extroverts. This is because she is in between. Psychology calls missmellifluous an ambivert. She understands the needs of both types. Although they get along, she will not tolerate anyone that is too "far out." She doesn't sway too far one way or the other. When convincing her to buy a product or an idea, a heart rendering story could mean a great deal to her. She puts herself in the same situation as the person in the story, yet she will not buy anything that seems overly impractical or illogical. missmellifluous is an expressive person. She outwardly shows her emotions. She may even show traces of tears when hearing a sad story. missmellifluous is a "middle-of-the-roader," politically as well as logically. She weighs both sides of an issue, sits on the fence, and then will decide when she finally has to. She basically doesn't relate to any far out ideas and usually won't go to the extreme on any issue.

- I am not sure about the fence part - I'll make up my mind about it when I have to.

I am average
People that write their letters in an average height and average size are moderate in their ability to interact socially. According to the data input, missmellifluous doesn't write too large or too small, indicating a balanced ability to be social and interact with others.

If you would like to analyse your own handwriting, or somebody else's - heh heh - you may take the quiz here.

2006-10-22T16:00:00.000+10:00

In answer to Rebecca,

Digging
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests;
as snug as a gun.

Under my window a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade,
Just like his old man.

My grandfather could cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, digging down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.

Seamus Heaney (1939-)
- from Death of a Naturalist (1966)

2006-10-21T09:17:00.000+10:00

A while ago I wrote of my love for Huey. It was then that I said:

I love Huey!

You'll be happy to know, I have a new love!

He's quite tall, blonde, very strong, so beautiful, so rugged. He is quite a bit older than me. He has a very rough exterior but he has an incredibly soft heart! He always smells nice and he is a great healer...if you ever need antiseptic, he has it. He hardly ever gets sick. He loves the outdoors and the water. He really is a rare breed and I love him soooo much!

You may remember that I asked you what I should do with Huey. Huey has now come to live with me. He resides in my garden.

Huey turned out to be more gorgeous than I had anticipated.The photos of him on the net didn't do him justice. He is such a gorgeous specimen that I didn't have the heart to cut him in half and make the seat out of him like I said I would. Besides, the tree we were to build the seat around died and had to be cut down before it came crashing down - don't worry we have planted another three, smaller trees in its place - so we had to find something else for Huey. Something that would make him a feature and preserve his natural beauty. Here is what we came up with:

Huey has become a seat/sculpture in our garden...

...and I think he's just as gorgeous as ever.

2006-10-20T12:26:00.000+10:00

Should public hospital authorities be prevented from placing Gideon Bibles by patients' bedsides?

This question is taken from an online poll conducted by Tony Abbott, the Minister for Health and Ageing - Liberal Party Australia. There seems to be a move in Australia to remove Bibles from hospitals. Here is an excerpt from an email I received earlier today:

Dear friends,

This request is endorsed by Rick Sewell, Anglican Chalpain at Cumberland Hospital, and the Anglican Western Sydney Regional leadership.

Tony Abbot has put out a survey regarding whether Bibles should continue to be allowed to be placed in hospitals.

Please take a moment to go to the site and vote NO (if you agree that Bibles should still be available in Hospitals).

The Hon Tony Abbott MP is the Minister for Health and Ageing ~ Liberal Party of Australia

Please click on the link provided and vote "No" to help allow Bibles in Australian hospitals.
Please don't let them take the Bible out of our hospitals!!! We have enough trouble sharing the Gospel in this country we need the Word of God!

Thanks and may God bless you!

Tony Abbott's online Poll:

Should public hospital authorities be prevented from placing Gideon Bibles by patients' bedsides?

Poll Link: Vote "No" here.

I am a little shocked at this. I didn't think Australia had come to the point where the placing of Bibles at bedsides has become something people want to stop. I don't know the history of this debate, I only know that I am concerned that people in government are considering preventing hospital authorities from leaving Bibles by hospital beds. It makes me wonder, what will be banned next?

Your votes and prayers are appreciated.

2006-10-17T21:11:00.000+10:00

U2 Yahweh - Live in Chicago

2006-10-15T22:01:00.000+10:00

I can't believe I haven't posted this song before - I think perhaps I posted it on my blog prior to deletion; however, it should be on this blog because I love it sooo much! It is a brilliant hymn. The lyrics are solid and I love to sing this hymn with a sense of victory because that is what I have in Christ alone. As usual, click on the title and you can hear a snippet. I hope you enjoy this hymn as much as I do!

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground;
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love! what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My comforter, my all in all;
Here in the love of Christ I stand!

In Christ alone - who took on flesh;
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness;
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
'Till on that cross as Jesus died;
The wrath of God was satisfied.
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live!

There in the ground His body lay;
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day:
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death:
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

From In Christ Alone: New Hymns of Prayer and Worship

2006-10-14T20:41:00.000+10:00

John of Dublin has such a great post on a Good Teacher he had when he was 11 years old that I really must refer you all to his site for a read. John has such a great way with story telling that I'm sure you'll enjoy his post. I found it inspiring.

2006-10-14T16:29:00.000+10:00

Do you think 955 words over the 2000 word limit is too much?

2006-10-12T09:56:00.000+10:00

A Potato Joke for Rebecca's Potato Fest:

An ageing man lived alone in Ireland. His only son was in Long Kesh prison, and he didn't know anyone who would dig up his potato garden. The old man wrote to his son about it, and received this reply, "For HEAVENS SAKE, Dad, don't dig in that garden, that's where I buried the GUNS!"

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen British soldiers showed up and dug up the entire garden but didn't find any guns.

Confused, the man wrote to his son telling him what happened and asking him what to do next.

His son's reply was: "Just plant your potatoes."

2006-10-11T17:23:00.000+10:00

I was sitting in front of my computer lamenting about how little energy I had whe I decided to vent my frustration on Google. I do this sometimes...I don't know why, just to vent I guess. So, I typed into a google search "My computer is sapping my energy!" thinking that that would be me expressing myself and then I could get back to my work. But one of articles that came up grabbed my attention. It was this:

Pendant Power
London Sunday Times - Style Magazine, April 2nd, 2000

by Eva Gizowska

Worried that your mobile phone could be frazzling your brain, or that your computer is sapping your energy?

Yes! Yes! I am.

Apparently others are too.

Do you think this could be an answer to my sleepy question of last week? Perhaps I feel sleepy everytime I go to write an essay because the computer is indeed sapping my energy!

If there is anyone scientific out there who would like to offer an opinion on this article and the possibility that the computer could be sapping my energy, I would like to hear from them. That is providing you have enough energy to type a response.

But I would also like to hear if it is the experience of anyone else that the computer seems to sap your energy. If U2's Adam Clayton thinks these Qlinks help then I am inclined to consider it because Adam seems like a sensible guy - he plays bass, after all.

2006-10-10T11:00:00.000+10:00

I found this picture entitled Cast Aside in the Summer Rain. It is such an intriguing image. I think there could be a story behind this picture. What do you think?

2006-10-10T09:56:00.000+10:00

While looking for inspiration in images for a design project I am working on, I came across these most gorgeous pictures:

They have nothing at all to do with my project but they are beautiful. You can see more like them here.

2006-10-10T08:29:00.000+10:00

time: that which my computer devours

They: Other, a group apart from us. This word disturbs me greatly especially when it is written with a capital T. They is so exclusive. I don't like 'They'.

done: my favourite word after days, weeks, even years of research, writing and rehearsing. This word makes me feel both relief and angst: "It's done! Wahoo!" & "Gasp! What if I haven't done enough, or done it right?" "Let it go. It's done."

attention: a right foot stamping the ground

And there we have my word meme for Kim. Now I am to tag four people I would like to play. I tag Kim, Rebecca, Andrew, & momrn2. These are your words:

ethereal

jubilate

cossie

feign

How hard to only choose four words!

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to tell us what these words mean to you.

2006-10-08T18:58:00.000+10:00

Candyinsierra has posted a great Spurgeon quote on her site. You must go and read it. Here is but a taste:

What blessed trust-to trust Him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never weaken, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never fail, whose wisdom will never be overruled, and whose perfect goodness can never be impaired! You are happy, reader, if this trust is yours! So trusting, you will enjoy sweet peace now and glory later, and the foundation of your trust will never be removed.

Her post posits the question Who do you Trust? - a very important question.

2006-10-08T18:57:00.000+10:00

Church today was great! For today I was reminded that my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. My hope is so sure. It's so amazing. You may know another version of this hymn. This is the Nicky Chiswell version we sang in church today. I love it. You may listen to a part of the song by clicking on the title. Sadly, I can't find a version of the whole song for you. This is sad because the song builds beautifully as the song progresses. The lyrics are great!

My Hope is Built

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand

When long appears my toilsome race
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When every earthly prop gives way
He then is still my Strength and Stay

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand

When the last trumpet call shall sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking
All other ground is sinking
All other ground is sinking sand

2006-10-08T17:38:00.000+10:00

I am writing my cv at the moment. I wrote it last week, printed it out very professionally and had it bound. I then drove it to the school I am applying for had one last look over it, noticed some grammatical errors and drove away again without handing it in. How can I submit a grammatically flawed cv if I am applying for a job as an English teacher?! I couldn't. So anyway, not handing my cv in has bought me some time.

I also felt that my cv was not very dynamic. Not very innovative. Not very exciting and thus did not really reflect the kind of teacher I hope to be. It is good, but it is not fabulous. So, I am taking this opportunity to revamp it - any suggestions would be most welcome.

For inspiration I am looking at some of my favourite writers and their works. Today I took another look at Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller. I love his melodromatic play, The Robbers and today I have discovered that I also love his poem To Joy: a poem Beethoven used as the foundation for his 9th symphony.

Words written by Beethoven, not Schiller, are shown in italics.

German original

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere
anstimmen und freudenvollere.
Freude! Freude!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
(Schillers Original:
Was der Mode Schwert geteilt;
Bettler werden Fürstenbrüder,)
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.
Finale repeats the words:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken

English translation

Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather let us sing more
cheerful and more joyful ones.
Joy! Joy!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
We approach fire-drunk,
Heavenly One, your shrine.
Your magic reunites
What custom sternly divides;
All people become brothers
(Schiller's original:
What custom's sword separates;
Beggars become princes' brothers)
Where your gentle wing alights.
Whoever succeeds in the great attempt
To be a friend of a friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Let him add his jubilation!
Yes, whoever calls even one soul
His own on the earth's globe!
And who never has, let him steal,
Weeping, away from this group.
All creatures drink joy
At the breasts of nature;
All the good, all the evil
Follow her roses' trail.
Kisses gave she us, and wine,
A friend, proven unto death;
Pleasure was to the worm granted,
And the cherub stands before God.
Glad, as his suns fly
Through the Heavens' glorious plan,
Run, brothers, your race,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods .

I love the finale - except for the reference to 'the gods,' what's with that! These lines, " beyond the star-canopy /Must a loving Father dwell" are worthy of a post all of their own!

While reading Schiller again, I remembered a previous post in which I was studying the possibilities of emulating the writing styles of the most brilliant writers. In this post I wrote about how Schiller used to write with his feet in a bucket of ice-cold water while invigorated by the smell of rotting apples. No wonder his works are so dramatic! Ice-cold water has to elicit a very intense response.

As I ponder all these things I am not sure that I am any closer to writing a dynamic cv. Perhaps I should put my feet in a bucket of ice-cold water...nah! the wind is chilly enough tonight.

I would gladly welcome any cv writing suggestions as I am not a very seasoned cv writer. I am thinking of including some quotes about teaching, reading, writing, poetry, prose and all things literary. If you have any favourite quotes about literature, I'd love to hear them. Leave me a link or a quote in the comments. If you have any inspiration or advice, leave that too.

Wish me luck. I'm sure I can prove I am an inspired and dynamic teacher somehow...

2006-10-07T17:37:00.000+10:00

I do love to cut a good rug. For those of you who love to dance, here are a few moves I would only try at home:

2006-10-05T21:31:00.001+10:00

Save the Missionaries!

Well clearly I am not as logical as Rebecca which is why I have spent way too long trying to save these missionaries to no avail! The solution is beyond me but I'm sure there's someone out there who can do it. So, here is the challenge: if you can save the missionaries let me know. There is no prize because I am prizeless; however, you will be able to say proudly that you are incredibly logical and that you have helped to save the missionaries. I thought missionaries were supposed to do the saving anyhow...

2006-10-02T13:45:00.000+10:00

Why every time I have to write an essay do I feel incredibly sleepy?

I am so distracted from study. I have four weeks to go to complete my degree and then I am done! I have received really good results up till now and just have to keep going and get through the last four assignments maintaining my average so I can graduate with distinction. But I can't get there! I am soooo tired. I worked through my holiday to earn money and finish off jobs at my internship and now I feel like I could sleep anywhere. Up until now I have thought I would go on and study for another year after this one to obtain honours but now the thought of further study is so hard. I love study but another year?! And if I did honours and did well I would be so tempted to take up the invitation some of my professors have offered me to study PhD under their supervision. I am distracted. The sun is warm, summer is creeping in, I want to be outside and I want my degree to be over so I can prepare my CV for job applications. But then I hate the idea of saying goodbye to study. I am distracted by the many decisions I need to be making soon and can't seem to focus on the finish line ahead.

I'm sleepy.

2006-10-02T12:17:00.000+10:00

Today's verse reminds me of a song we used to sing when I lived in community. It reminds me of this song because the song was actually written in response to this verse.

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

The song went a little exactly like this:

"It's dangerous

to be concerned

with what others think of you

but if you trust

in the Lord

you are safe and that is true."

It was a good reminder to a whole heap of insecure teenagers and this is what we were. But you know, I find it encouraging now too. I worry all too often about what others think of me and forget that it really doesn't matter and can indeed be misleading to try to please people. Yet if I am concerned about how God sees me, I'll be fine.

I often worry about what people think of me and my situation. Will people think I am a bad person or bad christian for divorcing? Will people assume I was adulterous without trying to figure out the truth? Will people think I am looking to find a replacement father for my children? Will women think I am after their man just because I am a single mum? Will people think I am a bad mother for studying? Will people assume all of these things without getting to know me first. Inevitably the answer is yes. Yes they will and have assumed all of these things without trying to establish the truth. And it's sucky. But it's not important. Those who truly care stick around to find out the facts and get to know me. Those who care are direct enough to ask the questions they have about me and do so to understand, not to judge. Those who do care, care regardless of my situation and get to know my heart. It is more important that I know what God thinks of me. And I know he loves me no matter what. In this I am safe.

2006-10-01T20:39:00.000+10:00

I have not posted at length for a while because of a very silly reason. Yes, I have been busy but I have had moments spare in which posting would have been possible if it were not for one small detail: my fingernails.

You see, lately I have taken to having longer fingernails than usual. I like longer fingernails - especially of the French manicured variety - as they make my hand look far more feminine, tidy, clean and sophistocated. However, they are totally impractical. During the recent weeks in which I have been sporting these longer nails, I have discovered so many things I could not physically do because of my nails. Some of these are as follows:

Open cans of soft drink
Button my shirts
Rig boats
Type
Take out my contact lenses
Find things in the bottom of my bag
Screw cameras onto tripods
Play bass
Get a strong grip on anything
Post
SMS with ease and precision

This is not a lot of things but it is enough to make life rather tricky. I now have a dilemma: I like the look of long nails but the maintenance and the upkeep is incredible. The sporting of lovely long French manicured nails seems only possible for ladies of leisure rather than ladies who engage in real work. In fact this is exactly why in some countries long fingernails are a symbol of status and leisure. For example,

"In some Asian cultures men may also grow long fingernails, or only the nail on the little finger, to show that they do not do much manual labor, but instead work in an office setting."

Obviously these men do not type.

My question to you is this, how do you prefer your nails? If longish, how do you overcome the limitations longer nails impose? What is a comfortable length? Do you polish or go natural?

2006-09-26T21:25:00.000+10:00

I love rigging.

2006-09-16T23:18:00.000+10:00

The Cherax destructor: a wonderful pet.

This is a Yabbie:

Kim asked me what a blue claw yabbie was and I must admit that I was a little casual with the title. I should have called our yabbie the Cherax destructor; for this is it's real name.

The yabbie is a crayfish. The Cherax destructor is native to Australia and can grow to 20cms. They are quite amazing creatures. They look and act like little knights in armour; they are a fantastic blue colour; they shed their shell and then eat it; they catch live fish and eat them; they swim and crawl backwards if startled; they can escape from seemingly secure tanks; they dig and build little houses and hollows; they are really quite intriuging to watch.

This is what I found under my bed at 2 in the morning - a delightful little Cherax destructor. Aren't they gorgeous!

2006-09-16T19:50:00.000+10:00

The pet meme , for Kim

If I remember correctly I was supposed to post 5 weird things my pets do. I have thought and thought and thought about this and really my pets are quite normal, it's the people who live in my house who are weird. So, I thought I'd tell you about our weird pet behaviour, or our weird behaviour towards our pets, or actually a bit of both.

One:
I have immense trouble naming pets. I bought a beautiful part persian kitten one day when I was a young girl - I was forbidden to buy a kitten as my family had been devestated by the death of our last cat and my parents had banned pets because the pain of losing them was too great: a rule I was destined to defy! - and this gorgeous cat had just the airs and graces of a supermodel. She was beautiful in every way. My little kitten even had a beauty spot just where Cindy Crawford has her beauty spot. So, because Cindy sounded too Brady Bunch-ish and Crawford sounded so elegant and sophisticated, I decided to call my beautiful kitten Crawford.

I took Crawford home and my family fell in love with her and I was allowed to keep her despite my blatant disobedience and we all admired her beauty spot. Until the next day. Strangely, the next day, the beauty spot had disappeared. It turned out that that which I had deemed so beautiful was really just a piece of dirt and had been removed from my little kitten's face. The cat I thought was such a refined creature was nothing more than a grot. However, the name - unlike the dirt - stuck.

I think it is kind of weird to name a pet after their distinguishing features and then have these very distinctive features change. It is even weirder when this happens twice! Which leads me to weird pet scenario two:

Our next cat - we still have Crawford but I tested the bounds and bought another cat - is also a part persian. She has beautiful black fur which has a tinge of red to it. Thus, she was named Ruby and this suited her well until one day I noticed that Ruby didn't look quite so Ruby anymore. What was once black with a ruby tinge became a lighter brownish with a white underbelly! Our little Ruby cat's fur changed colour. It was the weirdest thing, yet her name - unlike her fur - didn't change.

Weird pet scenario three:
One night at about two in the morning I awoke to the sound of scratching on the floor under my bed. Thinking the worst - I thought my room had been invaded by a massive cockroach or a (cringe) mouse - I took a bleary-eyed look under my bed to discover our blue claw yabbie. The little yabbie, whom we affectionately call Killer - yes, he does kill; unfortunately, he didn't trick us by changing to a placid temperament after we named him - had escaped from his tank and had travelled all the way down the other end of the house and had crawled under my door, into my room and under my bed. That is a pet sight you don't want to see at 2 in the morning. At least Killer wasn't in my bed.

Weird pet scenario four:
My littlest child thinks our cat can read. He can't read but he thinks our cat can. So, a while ago he asked me to write a note to our cat. It read:

Dear Ruby,
Please remember that God loves you.
Never forget to love Him too.
xxoo

This note was stuck to the end of a string which was then dragged in front of the cat so she could play and remember to never forget God.

Weird pet scenario five:
Ruby is such a lady that she will not leave the house if you rush and chase her out. Instead she waits for the door to be opened in a civilised manner and then she leaves the house calmly on request. All the shooing in the world cannot achieve what a polite gesture does.

2006-09-16T19:48:00.000+10:00

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13

2006-09-16T19:30:00.000+10:00

When you are confronted with evil and corruption, what do you do?

How do you deal with it?

How do you treat the people who are acting in a corrupt manner and hurting others?

How do you feel towards them?

I once talked about this with a friend of mine and he was of the opinion that HATING was ok. In fact, he went as far to say that hating was godly. He backed it up with Biblical evidence based on how God responds to those who are evil and corrupt.

At the time I thought it abhorrent to hate people so much for the evil acts they commit. I thought, there is no way I could do that, after all if I hated someone for doing wrong I would be bringing judgement upon myself; for, I have done things wrong and tried to live a life independant of God myself.

Recently, I have had reason to contemplate these issues again. This time I have found myself verging - o.k. verging is an euphamisim - plunging headlong into pure hatred for people who commit terrible acts which hurt others. I hate them. Intensely. And I despise myself for doing it. Still I am physically sickened by the acts of some people and the way they abuse others and I find it really hard to contain my hatred. What do you do when you feel like this?

I am saddened to the very core of my being. Please pray. I need to be wise and act for justice and the protection of others. Please pray.

2006-09-08T21:10:00.000+10:00

I hate that kids at school have to deal with really heavy issues and that I have to breach their confidence in order to help them out.
I love that they tell me so I can help them out!

I hate that married men think it is ok to hit on me. I hate that with a passion!
I love that there are some marriages that really work! I love fidelity.

I hate that I am labeled a MIWF!
There is nothing to love about that!

I hate that the world is so cut throat and people lie just to get ahead.
I love that some people risk their career and their happiness to maintain their integrity and tell the truth, no matter what the cost.

I hate that I can't trust some people, even though I really like them.
I love that I like people, even when I can't trust them.

I hate that I don't spend enough time in God's word to give sound advice all the time.
I love that I can recognise this and repent and read God's word and that He is gracious enough to continue to speak to me despite my lack of commitment to his word.

I hate that I have to be guarded with people for fear of being betrayed.
I love that I don't have to be guarded with everyone.

I hate that I long to relate to people on a real level but this rarely happens.
I love the rare moments when I can be real with someone.

I hate that sometime when I get home my children are already asleep and I have seen them for less than one hour in the whole day.
I love that I have children and they are so lovely and they leave me kisses under my pillow. I love that tomorrow is Saturday and I can be with them all day!

I hate that there is so much death and pain in the world.
I love that one day there will be no more pain: people will not die or get sick or live in pain or hurt each other or cry or lie or suffer.

2006-08-30T20:47:00.000+10:00

I want to post but really don't have much to say. Well, actually I do but I realise there is a lot I cannot really post about on the web. I'd love to tell you how much I am loving my work at the moment, but I am not really at liberty to post about my place of work, or the people I work with. Just know that I'm a teacher and I'm loving it! I would love to post about my life but I feel really transparent when I post about myself. For the same reasons I can't post about my family. This is why I usually post quotes or random thoughts or pictures. Sometimes I post about myself. Sometimes in quite a bit of detail but not today.

Today I don't feel like posting any of those things but I do want to say hi.

So, hi!

How are you?

I miss the blog world and the people in it. Things are really busy. Great but busy! Know that I'm here and thinking of all of you who keep in touch in the blog realm, and I'm missing you too. And I'm well and content. And I hope to post more soon.

Till then, go well!

2006-08-20T09:30:00.000+10:00

An Ode to break the drought

............... ..Ode

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great original proclaim:
Th' unwearied Sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty Hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The Moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the list'ning Earth
Repeats the story of her birth:
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though nor real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In Reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing, as they shine,
"The Hand that made us is Divine."

Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

There are a few things I find interesting about this Ode. Firstly, I just love the beautiful imagery of "the spacious firmament," "the blue ethereal sky," "the unwearied sun," and the many other beautiful word pictures created by Addison. These make me ponder the great expanse and beauty of the universe and I love how Addison derives from creation that "the hand that made us is divine." All this gets me pondering though because these kind of associations immediately bring to mind this verse from Romans 1:

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Yet some years ago, a christian friend I really respect stated that he didn't think this verse referred to creation as being a testimony to the nature of God, but this is how I had always read the verse. So, my question is how do you interpret this verse?

The next thing I find interesting about this ode is that in it Addison asserts that to conclude from the evidence in creation that "the hand that made us is divine" is not a matter of faith but of reason. So my next question is this: Do you think it is a matter of faith or reason, or both, to believe that God exists and has eternal power and divine nature?

2006-08-12T17:41:00.000+10:00

Tasmania, 2006

2006-08-04T10:02:00.000+10:00

It's pouring today! I love it. I love the sound of heavy rain on the roof. I love watching the fat drops of water bounce as they hit the ground. I love watching the fern fronds flutter and tremble in the wind as rain drops tickle their delicate tendrils. I love the smell of the rain, the swish, the roar as the rain falls heavier and heavier. I love the shimmer upon everything: so clean and lush and new. I love that I don't have to go anywhere today; that I can stay inside, warm, watching the falling rain play upon the leaves like a master pianist tinkling the keys on a beautiful piano while I listen, in awe.

2006-08-03T19:01:00.000+10:00

"Work Backwards" has been a mantra of mine ever since I read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It is an amazing fantasy written in response to Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The book is a great example of Lewis' ability to create amazing imaginary landscapes which communicate profound spirtiual truths while delighting the soul with vivid images. It is a masterpiece.

I was reminded of my favourite C.S. Lewis quote earlier today by a confessional post by Gloamer in which he admits to being a "fan". What I truly love about this book is the way that Lewis suggests that "earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the begining part of Heaven itself." The following excerpt communicates this in a very powerful way:

'Son,' he said, 'ye cannot in your present state understand eternity: when Anodos looked through the door of the Timelsee he brought no message back. But ye can get some likeness of it if ye say that both good and evil, when they are fully grown become retrospective. Not only in this valley but all their earthly past will have been Heaven to those who are saved. Not only the twighlight in that town, but all their life on earth too, will then be seen by the damned to have been Hell. That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it, " not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me but have this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already confirms his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why, at the end of all things, when the sun rises and the twighlight turns to blackness down there, the Blessed will say "We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven", and the Lost, "We were always in Hell." And both will speak truly.'

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Geoffrey Bless: London, 1952, pp 61&62

I am sure that I will be of those who look back and say "I have always been in Heaven," for despite the "remembered sorrows" I am sure that the joy of knowing Jesus will outweigh everything else; it will, and does, infuse all with value, meaning, enjoyment and life.

So with Heaven as my destination I determine to remember that every action works backwards and makes my life either Heaven or Hell. I don't want to get to the end of my life and say, "I have always lived in Hell." I don't want every joy and pleasure to be tainted by sin, selfishness and greed so that what I thought was sweet leaves nothing but a bitter taste. I want to get to the end and say "I never lived anywhere but Heaven." I want the sadness and pain to be turned to joy and light because I made Heaven my goal and loving the King of the Universe my prize. So now, I work backwards, changing my past because I have hope in the future.