A song of Despair

The beautiful thing about music is you can interpret it anyway you like and that based on your life experiences you will interpret it differently than someone else may. Now I’m not blind when it comes to music and money making, artists simply sing to the emotions and feelings of the target audience. Their songs may be irrelevant to them but in order to make a dollar they can sing about something that is close to their target audience. I have recently found a fond liking to the band Fort Minor and a lot of their songs have meaning behind them and are not songs about useless crap. One particular song struck me not because I can relate to it as I feel I can’t but because I felt sympathy for the person who does relate to it, to me this song is about someone feeling so useless and helpless and most of all hope less. Imagine living life with absolutely no hope. Listen to the song.

Paranormal Activity

Opps guys another heavy post on God issues.
I find it awesome looking back sometimes at how God works, how he has absolute control, and how awesome some of the stuff he does is. Several months ago a few friends of mine organised a night out, dinner and a movie scheduled and as per usual i was told last minute and thus had no say in what we were eating, where we were eating or what dribble i was going to be forced to sit through. Sure enough when Bree is involved we were going to see some ridiculous film that safely lands within the Horror category. Not a fan of Horror films by any stretch of the imagination and here i was ill informed and unimpressed. The film was "Paranormal activity".

Basically the film was deliberately low budget and made to look like it was filmed on a home camera. The plot is a couple are dealing with a demon who is out to get them and they have set up a camera to try and catch the demon making the film very believable as your told as the viewer that what you are seeing is real footage. At the end of the day the film is surprisingly scary.

When leaving the cinema a lengthy conversation went down with a few of my friends which started with "why are you not scared Dannie, do you not believe in the supernatural" on the contrary "I believe in more supernatural than you can dream of, i just have no need to fear demons as i know I'm on the right side" as you can imagine this sparked lots more questions and hours of discussion on God, Jesus and faith matters whilst sitting on a curb in the middle of the night. In the end the final question asked of me came from a close friend of mine and she asked something along the lines of "what if i want a sign to prove to me God is real and he wants me to explore this Christianity stuff, and how will i know if its a sign?" i answered just ask for one and you will know it when you see it.

......On her way home she saw a shooting star.

Amazing things.

In the build up to my departure from work and as I prepare to depart for my first trip, I have witnessed an assortment of awesome stuff just fall into place. I have not yet received my TAFE certificate saying I completed my studies almost three years ago. I required this for my Mechanics licence which is proof I am a mechanic. This is required for me to work as a mechanic interstate (if required). Well a TAFE teacher from years back who happens to be a Christian arrived at my wok two days before I left with the certificate and an invoice for it (a cheap bottle of Brandy). Items I felt I would need to buy such as Ipod (needed for lengthy train rides) and a camera to document where I go and what I see, have just arrived as friends within my church have donated or loaned them to me. In addition to this trip one destined for Bathurst on Tuesday had and still has no agenda however it does turn out that some members from the cube (a church group) have friends up there that can assist with helping me get in contact with locals who may be in need of me.
There are still a few bumps on the way, saying goodbye to my work colleagues was no easy task. These are a group of top blokes I have spent nine hours a day, five days a week for two years in very close quarters with, not the easiest of tasks to turn and leave. I am also careful on bailing out too quick as I have big commitments with The Cube and am currently slowly working with a few of my friends who have started asking questions and exploring my faith, I need to strike while the iron is hot with these guys.
Some awesome friends have got my back at home with my home group supporting me and family and friends volunteering time to help, contacts with their friends and family they have interstate and generally getting excited about what I’m doing. So in just a few days time I will be off and looking forward to seeing where my adventures take me.

A Good Wheeze .

Whilst I have spent the week witnessing all sorts of awesome things fall into place I have had a little bit of time to try and wind down and get myself set to head off on my travels. Various items that I need/wanted for my travels seem to just turn up, friends have giving me allsorts of items before I even voiced my need or desire for such items. A few heart to heart conversations with some close friends on God matters and the mistreatment of one of my colleagues at work have all confirmed to me I’m heading in the right direction. Still some times you just can’t beat a good relaxing session with pommy humor. Red Dwarf (the story of a man trapped on a space ship 3 Million years in the future with his cat now evolved into a human like creature, a hologram of a man he despises and a robot) An entire season viewed in one sitting shows something hit a button in me and I laughed, oh I laughed.

If you don’t Jump God can’t catch you.

A good friend of mine worded it like that to me this evening, is it comfort to me? I don’t know yet. A flood of fear, doubt and uncertainty has attacked me these past few days. Something to be expected I suppose but at this stage nothing has managed to calm the nerves. My entire life I have planned as best I could, lined things in order and always had enough money to cover life’s little surprises. Now I have stepped out from the shelter of my self sustaining life and am relying on God (something that does not come so easily for me). I can look at all rational arguments placed before me and they are all logical and all suggest I am heading in the right direction, but it still has not comforted me. It’s a very nervous feeling but on the upside if I look back over the past few months of my life the battle playing out in my spiritual world has been savage. Many conversations arising about Faith matters with colleagues, friends and family are a great source of encouragement coupled with the de-motivating parts of life that get in the way and I have no doubt that some of these things are from the devil himself trying to strike me down as I venture out to change the world and the lives of people I come in contact with.

This post is a little heavy on the God stuff for some of my “followers” (sounds like I'm starting a cult) but I make no apology, this is what I live by, you should try it on for size.

Valentines day.

With a little bit of History, some of life more annoying aspects have more meaning to some. I find Valentines day important only due to her dignified skill in placing discreet reminders that the expensive day is rapidly approaching. That is to say "in the unforeseeable event that i do nothing on Feb 14 i may find myself looking for somewhere to live" I Honestly feel if she did not care for the day that males globally would save a few dollars and not bother and rightfully so. The celebration these days pushed and promoted by those known not to carry the beloved Y chromosome making florists and card makers wealthy for a small period of the year, to me is possibly a large waste of time and money. However with a little bit of history my appreciation for the day has mildly increased. So the history behind Valentines day. (How accurate is it? who knows as many different accounts and theory's are around)

The Story behind St. Valentines Day is a fascinating one. Although February 14th is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, Valentine's Day card and other gifts between couples in love, it originated as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.

As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite of passage to the God Lupercus. It's earliest orgin was the Roman festival Lupercalia, observed on Feb. 15. Lupercalia celebrated the coming of Spring on the Roman calendar. Lupercalia became a celebration intended to ensure the fertility of flocks, fields and people.

The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion (a sexual partner) for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice.

In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes.

Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in 270 AD had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius.

According to church tradition, St. Valentine was a priest near Rome. At that time the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, had issued an edict forbidding marriage. Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers because they were emotionally attached to their families. So he banned marriage from his empire.

Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met with them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. When Claudius found out about this "friend of lovers," Valentine was thrown in jail and condemned to death.

While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he befriended his jailer, Asterius, who had a blind daughter. Asterius' daughter befriended the kind priest by bringing food and messages to him. Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter. Asterius requested that he heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter and converted the two of them to Christianity.

After some time in prison the priest was ordered to appear before the Emperor. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, first tried to convert him to paganism to save him from certain execution. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. He failed. Just before his execution, he asked for pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to the jailer's daughter and signed it, "From Your Valentine." He was stoned and beheaded on February 24, 270 AD.

Valentine become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of the annual festival. Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine, involved young Romans offering women they admired and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14th.

The greetings eventually acquired the St. Valentine's name. One of the earliest cards was sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

Not so straight sailing

Amongst they hype and excitement that comes with winding down at work, lining up all the new and exciting things that stand before myself comes the humps in the road. The preparations for trip one were well underway with a six day ordeal scheduled for the end of February when an annoying phone call landed in my lap. A company known as the ARL is after four and a half grand from me for a motor vehicle accident I was involved in back in 2007. I disputed who was at fault at the time and the matter was dropped years latter a mob turns up demanding half of the money I have put aside for my days of hop scotching around the world. Very frustrating. But I trust it will all be sorted by the time I depart.

Step one

Done and dusted and there is no turning back now. I Resigned from Honda so from this point on I have committed to the plans. Goodbye to guaranteed income, sick leave, holiday pay and all the things that come with full time employment. So what’s the plan from here? I have two weeks of draining oil remaining and then im out on my own. From there I have a few options but im out to see the world, travel and get involved with community programs along the way. It’s all a little frightening but as it was put to me it would not be normal if I was not a little cautious. So from here the adventure starts.
The days of working for a company that tread the fine line that is between twisting words and outright theft. Thats soon to be of the past and you just can't beat the emotions that come with leaving a collective bunch of tossers behind you.(note: they are not all tossers some genuine top blokes from Honda.

At another mans Mercy

When you sit down for post Christmas wind down on boxing day one does not plan to spend the day ankle deep in crap. Boxing day just passed saw a new relationship with Sophie truly tested and the true attitude of our real estate agent brought to light. Plumbing issue resulted in the sewage returning up the pipe work entering the house through the drain in my bathroom, noted that this did occur around seven pm and no plumber wanted to help us. The result was liquid the consistency of mud filling the bedroom and the foyer and myself standing in it with a shovel.

The real estate and local plumbers were of no help and left us high and dry ( well actually low and slightly damp) but to their credit Sydney Water came, rectified the fault and paid to have it all sorted out. All part of life’s experience. I can now say I really have shoveled shit. It’s a shame to think it might have been my own.

How much evidence do you need?

Recently I was rung by a friend who was heavily intoxicated. I answered the phone and before I had time to say “hello” my friend shot his challenge down the line.
“You have one chance to prove to me there is a God”
At times like this I freeze up and never know what to say however whenever I’m challenged like this the answers always come to me.
I replied “Sit down take off your shoe and your sock, look at your foot, move it around bend your toes and look at all the detail in it, then try to tell me there is no creator”

Ned Flanders Style Christians

Those who know me well know I get fired up about things that I consider to be important to me. Some of these topics are Mothers at the Mall, Four wheel drives and songs about utter dribble. These topics are saved for some other time however dig deep enough and I will fire up on such topics. There are two such topics relating to my faith that I become equally passionate about. One of them is the image of Christs Army which I will address latter but the other is the Ned Flanders Christians.

Before I strip threads of Ned its important to acknowledge there are positives to this character as well. He is completely uncompromising on his beliefs to the extent that the community walk all over him and at the end of the day i believe what Ned believes i just don't believe in his methods. I believe that Christians like Ned do more damage than good. Also referred to as Vomit Christians Ned Flanders and sadly many believers like him are so far over the top that anyone remotely interested in exploring religion would steer clear of Christianity. One person close to me whom I have had several discussions about faith with threw this Question at me “why would I want to be a Christian if it means I will end up like that?” He is spot on the money. Too many Christians are not Grounded these days they are not living in the real world and frankly are scaring new comers away.

Let me challenge you with this if you do call yourself a Christian what is your attitude towards body piercing, skydiving, tattoos, Alcohol, Loud audio systems in cars , Mohawks, Sports Cars, adrenaline sports, dyed hair, ripped pants, jewellery on males, mini skirts and low cut tops showing cleavage. These are the things young people are into these days and too many church goers are anti one or many of these items. Change your attitudes or the church will die with its people.

The Cube

In my opening post I mention several things that will require additional explanations so I will kick off with the cube. The Cube is a young adults group set up by myself and a few other leaders within our church. The Cube focus is on engaging people we associate throughout the week and just hanging out with them. It’s not a bible study and its not a opportunity for a bunch of church goers to preach at new comers. It’s a small group of people aged between 18 and late 20’s and many people who attend do not have a church background or would not even call themselves a Christian. The group gather on a Sunday evening however the venue alternates weekly. With some meets finding us at the beach, coffee shops or even the local pub. It’s a baby in our world as it has only operated for a few months so far but so far it has had a great response from several people who have attended.
The drive behind this group and the concept come from several people.
Michael Henderson
Nick & Hannah Alexander
Greg and Sara Howle
Amy Junor
Photo is of many members from this group on a recent trip to South Australia.

It all begins here

Frenchs Forrest Baptist Church.
This is my church and it’s a raging battle field, squabbling, arguing and disagreements and the dramas that accompany the politics of any organisation. Take comfort in that, a church with no issues is not under attack from the devil and if the devil feels the church is not a threat to him then were doing something wrong. That aside it is my church and this is where my journey begins with the support of some amazing people.

I plan to fill the Blog with crap from my day to day life, which is there for anyone stupid enough to read it however i also want to use this blog to show many young people through our church and specifically through The Cube (a young adults group) what its like to live a life for Christ, that its an amazing journey, that its well worth the hardships but above all that you can be a Christian and still be a grounded level very real person as opposed to the Ned Flanders style Christians that turn so many people away from pursuing any sort of research into Christianity.