tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-235464492024-03-07T23:00:49.123+13:00Off The RecordThoughts ideas and questions to share with any one who has way to much time on their hands to read this blog.DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-74325806703012124572008-04-21T08:00:00.001+12:002008-04-21T08:00:02.722+12:00Cry MercyAfter the events that occurred last Tuesday at Elim Christian College, I have been trying hard to process. My father in law is the DP at ECC and although I didn't personally know any of the victims, being separated by 1 degree has given me an inside view of things - much closer than I would have gotten from just the media.<br /><br />As the victims get laid to rest and I struggle with the why, I have been drawn to a song by David Crowder. It helps me - I don't know how - it just does. Here are the lyrics, but the dynamics of the song excel passed the sum of the lyrics so I encourage you try and listen to it.<br /><br />r<br /><br />Cry Mercy<br /><br />I will wait<br />I will wait for Your peace<br />I will wait<br />I will wait and You comfort me<br /><br />I lift my head<br />I lift my heart, my soul<br />I lift my hands<br />I give myself, my life my all<br /><br />And I cry mercy Lord<br />A cry of freedom to be heard<br />And I cry mercy Lord<br />A cry of freedom from this world<br /><div class="flockcredit" style="text-align: right; color: #CCC; font-size: x-small;">Blogged with the <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" style="color: #999; font-weight: bold;" target="_new" title="Flock Browser">Flock Browser</a></div>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-54422465132274285362008-04-10T10:23:00.003+12:002008-04-10T13:33:12.857+12:004.00am phone callApart from being cold this morning, I got a phone call @ 4.00am. Not as bad as you might think as my alarm goes off at 4.30am - but anyways back to the call - it was our neighbor and good friend - Josh.<br /><br /><blockquote>Hey Reuben it's Josh, Becca's contractions are 5 mins apart. I'm gonna jump in the shower and bring Cail over</blockquote><br />Exciting I replied. So I set up the porta cot for Cail - but had to think why Josh did you need to wait till they were 5 mins apart???<br /><br />They then found out the the Maternity hospital at Kura was full - so off to hotel birthcare - so traffic was a breeze.<br /><br />They made it at 5.00am and Averie Mae was born at 6.09am This morning! Praise the Lord!<br /><br />Awesome.DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-59040504509074737622008-01-31T09:06:00.000+13:002008-01-31T09:13:07.001+13:00It's getting darker...It's been a great summer this year - and we didn't even go on holiday!<br /><br />I have noticed however that it's getting darker in the morning. I usually roll out of bed around 5am and I have noticed quite a difference with the light. Sux!<br /><br />The long days are coming to an end...<br /><br />Hei aha never mind it will be a lot easier to get the kids to bed when it's darker and not so hot...DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-29806537627769658362007-09-12T08:41:00.000+12:002008-12-09T22:31:09.300+13:00Behold a boy!<div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Baby Coco was born September 11 at 9.40pm and Baby Coco is a boy.<br /><br />Baby coco has not officially been named yet, so is still being referred by it's womb name. Stay tuned for details.<br /><br />Baby weighed 4.555kg which is 10.1 lbs<br />Length 57cm<br />Head Circumference 36.5cm<br /><br />Mum, dad and big sista's are doing well. Vania is at Birthcare in Parnell. Visiting hours are from 2pm - 8pm.<br /><br />Thanks for all the prayers and messages of support<br /><br />Photos posted below<br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCytfrnMkv8NVGoDIc8M_rNVe5GK18I9LaT99Tw9XeVrM1smhE_IODLtAdz7o3NaDgj0ZFMibY2wMCwxB58nkDjoXU2Hb6osLi2DVdSwrMukdzBzV3ZHbXEqDIiho-X3vSQGjsA/s1600-h/BabyCocoa.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109056175688582226" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCytfrnMkv8NVGoDIc8M_rNVe5GK18I9LaT99Tw9XeVrM1smhE_IODLtAdz7o3NaDgj0ZFMibY2wMCwxB58nkDjoXU2Hb6osLi2DVdSwrMukdzBzV3ZHbXEqDIiho-X3vSQGjsA/s320/BabyCocoa.JPG" border="0" /></a>Baby Coco just born</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorDhNfE_MmeIdkK9nP1Q2_Be8ZRAHfCC5D86PImEnpY36n-bZKbeHBAwAM0Fo5hNk6wq9T_Buzow1phvIzquffC08it9_W2nf4WSCfdv3wA7wOtdMS2ay3m9ykrONkf9W2tcEIg/s1600-h/BabyCocoa1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109057047566943330" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorDhNfE_MmeIdkK9nP1Q2_Be8ZRAHfCC5D86PImEnpY36n-bZKbeHBAwAM0Fo5hNk6wq9T_Buzow1phvIzquffC08it9_W2nf4WSCfdv3wA7wOtdMS2ay3m9ykrONkf9W2tcEIg/s320/BabyCocoa1.JPG" border="0" /> </a><p align="center">Baby Coco with his new threads<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdqYVqPPUXcxHfR-vI7ITS9VpH2YT_e_uLLEl3uFo1dzON86XCT_bnJBRQ7WQyA7lTZtsAzqZ3Aagz0ddlb26udIf-Qrd_bumF5AyFEjA_qcnhJwNRMCq609dSF7supZOcT4jjg/s1600-h/BabyCocoa2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5109057889380533362" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdqYVqPPUXcxHfR-vI7ITS9VpH2YT_e_uLLEl3uFo1dzON86XCT_bnJBRQ7WQyA7lTZtsAzqZ3Aagz0ddlb26udIf-Qrd_bumF5AyFEjA_qcnhJwNRMCq609dSF7supZOcT4jjg/s320/BabyCocoa2.JPG" border="0" /> </a><p align="center">Proud Mum and Dad<br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><br />rDefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-42223742056108484392007-04-13T09:26:00.000+12:002007-04-13T09:38:44.702+12:00Greatest ROIFor those of you outside IT/IS and business levels, ROI is a term that stands for <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Return on Investment</span><br /><br />It is quite a common term which it's basic philosphy is <span style="font-style:italic;">what gain am I going to get for that cost?</span><br /><br />When I was flicking through <a href="http://churchrelevance.com">ChurchRelevance.com</a> I found an intersting post about the best ROI for church growth.<br /><br /><blockquote> If you want to build your church, you need to put your best with the kids.<br /><br /> If you love people’s kids, you’ll get their time and attention.</blockquote><br /><br />This was at this year’s <a href="http://www.creativepastors.com/c32007.php">C3 Conference</a>, Dr. Ed Young of <a href="http://www.second.org/global/default.aspx">Second Baptist Church</a> (Houston, TX) shared his thoughts on the link between church growth and children’s ministry<br /><br />This was interesting to me becasue of the timing. cession|community run a Easter Egg Hunt where we were budgeting on 50 kids attending. We had 104 kids turn up.<br /><br />I guess now we know we can get their attention, the next step is to reflect God's love to the kids.<br /><br />I have always wanted to atttend a C3 conference I have a DVD of the 2nd conference which featured Ed Young, Greg Laurie and Andy Stanley.<br /><br />I have just order the DVD's for 2006 & 2005. Can't wait to check em out.<br /><br />Don't worry hun, comapny expense - Professional DevelopmentDefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1176242319586364352007-04-11T09:54:00.000+12:002007-04-11T10:06:25.976+12:00InspiredIt's been awhile since my last post but I found this on a new blog I found today<br /><br /><blockquote>Paradoxes<br /><br />It's odd but:<br /><br />-when we are at work we look forward to home/leisure time. And yet when we are at home we worry about work. Decide that wherever you are, you will be there.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Be here now.</span><br /><br />-the more we earn, the more we spend. Decide to manage your finances and <span style="font-weight: bold;">build your financial independence.</span><br /><br />-we spend a lot of time buying stuff to make us happy although we know that want we really want is some time to ourself.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Decide to be time-rich rather than stuff-rich and time-poor.</span><br /><br />-we want to be happy so we buy the porshe (err Audi) because it will make us feel young again and will atttract the girls and that will make us happy.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why not simply decide to be happy?</span><br /><br />-we put a load of money into our pension fund, but we have no idea what it will provide for us.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ask questions.</span><br /></blockquote><br /><br />Check out more <a href="http://nicholasbate.typepad.com/nicholas_bate/2007/04/paradoxes.html">here</a><br /><br />The other post that got my attention is<br /><br /><blockquote><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">S is Success</span><br /><br />Help your child understand what success really is. Increasingly society will seduce them into believing it is money, fame and stuff. Ironically most who acquire those find they do not really help at all.<br /><br />Help your son or daughter to realise true success is doing what they are passionate about. To achieve that they will have to put aside much 'good' advice of others and learn to be true to themselves. You can help them have courage in this area.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Check it out <a href="http://nicholasbate.typepad.com/nicholas_bate/2007/04/the_a_to_z_of_g_2.html">here</a>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1166496773131273192006-12-19T15:44:00.000+13:002006-12-19T15:56:55.506+13:00your awesome dad...I was helping my little girl, Isabella, go to the toilet. After she successfully completed her mission, as we were leaving she said<br /><blockquote>Thanks dad! Your awesome</blockquote> <br /><br />I felt awesomeDefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1161223866425013522006-10-19T14:18:00.000+13:002006-10-19T15:18:04.853+13:00The difference between theoretical and real world lifeI had the joy to come across an interesting book review today by the crew over at <a href="http://800ceoread.com/blog/">8CR . </a><br /><br />It's reviewd a book called <a href="http://800ceoread.com/excerpts/archives/006520.html">Banker to the Poor: Micro lennding and the battle against world poverty</a> by Muhammad Yunus.<br /><br />Here's the quote that caught my attention:<br /><blockquote>The starving people did not chant any slogans. They did not demand anything from us well-fed city folk. They simply lay down very quietly on our doorsteps and waited to die.<br /><br />There are many ways for people to die, but somehow dying of starvation is the most unacceptable of all. It happens in slow motion. Second by second, the distance between life and death becomes smaller and smaller, until the two are in such close proximity that one can hardly tell the difference. Like sleep, death by starvation happens so quietly, so inexorably, one does not even sense it happening. And all for lack of a handful of rice at each meal. In this world of plenty, a tiny baby, who does not yet understand the mystery of the world, is allowed to cry and cry and finally fall asleep without the milk she needs to survive. The next day she may not have the strength to continue living.</blockquote>Now I am interested in a lot of buisness books but this one has caught my attention because it can highlight the situation where what we know and have been tought, my not be the answer people are looking for.<br /><br />Another quote:<br /><br /><blockquote>I wanted to teach my university students how to understand the life of one single poor person. When you hold the world in your palm and inspect it only from a bird’s eye view, you tend to become arrogant—you do not realize that things get blurred when seen from an enormous distance. I opted instead for “the worm’s eye view.” I hoped that if I studied poverty at close range, I would understand it more keenly.</blockquote>I think it comes down to perspective. This book is probably my next read beacuse we can all do with the worm's evey view.DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1159777240401293372006-10-02T21:10:00.000+13:002006-10-02T21:24:20.326+13:00Money isn't all you need - especially for media and technical pastors & leadersI came across this fantastic post by the boys over at <a href="http://churchmarketingsucks.com">Church Marketing Sucks.</a> It was so good I had to post it here. It helps remind us that for those of us in the tech and media space that you don't always need money to make an impact. It reads:<br /><br /><blockquote>Sometimes the best things in life don't cost any money. This is a fact that is very easily overlooked in the realm of church marketing. From fliers and mailers to complete demographic surveys--there is a lot of money you can spend in marketing your church.<br /><br />Let's face it, to market your church effectively you are going to have to spend some money--but I think I'm preaching to the choir on this blog. There is a potential hazard down this road, however, and it is overlooking the simple, inexpensive ways to find out about our market. One of the most effective and least expensive things I've ever done to learn about my church's market is simply going around the neighborhood and asking people questions.</blockquote><br /><br />And here are the questions:<br /><br /><ol><br /><li>What do you think is the greatest need in this community?</li><br /><li>How often have you attended a church in the last year?</li><br /><li>Why do you think people in the area don't attend church regularly?</li><br /><li>If you were looking for a church in the area, what would it be like?</li><br /><li>What advice would you give to a new pastor?</li><br /></ol><br /><br />You can read the full article <a href="http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2006/09/do_it_yourself_1.html">here</a>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1158405518225787812006-09-16T23:18:00.000+12:002006-09-16T23:19:47.360+12:00Technorati<a href="http://www.technorati.com/claim/5q79uevvkm" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1157686712992498682006-09-08T15:31:00.000+12:002006-09-19T09:10:08.650+12:00Success of Religion...Saw this post on Seth Godin's blog entitled <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/good_thoughts_g.html">Good thoughts, good words, good deeds</a> which was kinda interesting. I'll paste the important parts below:<br /><br /><blockquote>If you want to build a religion that spreads, here are some things to build into it:<br /><br /> * Bias for evangelism<br /> * Sharp distinction between insiders and outsiders<br /> * Presumption that insiders are 'right' or 'blessed' or 'advantaged'<br /> * Proscription against intermarriage without conversion<br /> * Forbid one gender to work outside the home<br /> * Central hierarchy that maintains the faith and settles disputes<br /> * Offer significant (very) long-term benefits to believers<br /><br />Very few organizations have the ability to deliver on all of these opportunities, but in the secular world, many brands do most of them. This works for Harley-Davidson (and certainly the Hells Angels). It works for the latest teenage trends. It works for some politicians. It even works for some computer operating systems and languages.<br /><br />According to the Times, the Zoroastrians are fading away because they believe being good is just about enough and didn't build enough of the elements of an ideavirus into their culture. As they traveled the world, their attitude and hard work rewarded them with success and the ability to mix with other cultures. As a result, they were successful as a people but a failure as a long-term growing religion. It's a fascinating choice, isn't it?</blockquote><br /><br />I wrestled with his ideas and tried to applied to a Christain beleif. Thats when I found this trackback which I thought was very well done. It is from a guy called <a href="http://www.johnlaeger.typepad.com/johnlaegercom/">John Laeger</a>. You can view it <a href="http://www.johnlaeger.typepad.com/johnlaegercom/2006/09/building_a_reli.html">here</a>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1157686223044755882006-09-08T15:28:00.000+12:002006-09-08T15:31:07.830+12:00Bling Bling...Hello there, got a bit inspired today and applied this new template. Still in the midst of ironing out some css bugs and planning to change the home page image.<br /><br />Who knows maybe I'll blog more frequently...DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1157586491195024162006-09-07T10:25:00.000+12:002006-09-07T12:28:01.306+12:00I wanna be like Steve...I liked Steve. He was unique definately, but what made him so apealing was not how close he could get to crocs, snakes and the like (which you would never see me do...) but two simple yet profund things.<br /><br />1. He lived his life to the fulliest. In full tecnocolour. Regardless of the danger, he was where his passion was. He had the <span style="font-style: italic;">disciplines</span> to live his passion. I'm sure when his children were born that he entertained thoughts of being more conservative - easing off a bit perhaps- but my guess is this would have been for a mere nano second - becuase he's who he is and that's how he can offer so much. I have heard both in general comment and in the media people say there's risk invovled with what he did, and sooner or later it was gonna catch up with him. Some people even say he's crazy and well that's why he died. I find crazy and normal/abnormal relative words and well have different meanings to different folk. My crazy is anothers sane. So was he really that crazy? I think not. I think that the majority of people fear the pursuit of their passion, and after runing their passion through the risk analysis app, decide to stick with the monochrome tones of life(if at all they know what they're passion is) In all his life Steve lived it in full technocolour. I cannot help but admire that.<br /><br />2. The second thing that I cannot but admire is how he delivered is cause. Plain and simple he made himself likeable - and once you liked Steve, it was only a matter of time until you would like and support his cause for conservation. This angle is subtle but IMHO can provide much more return on investment. Comparing this to other conservation organisations who tend to communictae their opinions in more confrontational means, Steve's modus operrandi still have a much broder appeal. This can be seen by the tributes at his zoo. I suspect this will have an effect long after he is laid to rest.<br /><br />What excits me most is that this example Steve has set can be applied by all. In Christain circles the Steve's MO makes plain sense. If God has a plan for you then surely it makes sense to find out what it is and make it happen. Live it in full technocolour. Do not settle for the monochrome tones of life, no matter how much resistance you face nor how much discipline it takes.<br /><br />And what better way to share to love of Christ than to be likeable. Surely you'll have much less resistance to the cause of Christ if people like you. More people have respect(maybe tolerence) for Christianity when you speak of Michael Jones and Inga the winger as opposed to say Brain Tamaki, yet all fight for the cause of Christ.<br /><br />I think a better metric to use is not how long(or short) you live, but perhaps what you've done. Take this comparsion - if you lived twice as long as Steve, but only acheived half as much as Steve, then Steve would of acheived 25% more. Makes me think.<br /><br />Thanks for everything Steve.DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1148117761157008602006-05-20T21:28:00.000+12:002006-05-20T22:17:53.176+12:00The Significance of the Insignificant<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I have been somewhat challenged over the last mmmmm 2 months to post. My brothers and sisters in the blogging community have being showering me with Grace - and encouraging me to post. Like I have anything that they would want to read... At the moment things have been crazy! Yet my brothers and sisters feel compelled to offer such grace and encouragement to "just put it in your diary". Everyone knows if it's not in your list, it won't ever get done.<br /><br />I do have a friend (well he may not be my friend after this post...) whom shall remain anonymous (much respect ;-) ) has no problems posting nearly every single day. Thus I thought wouldn't be great to get paid to post, like as a job. And on the odd occasion sell a few records... Whom thought that my insignificant ramblings would be to someone else, well, significant ramblings. Then it dawned on me - how much other stuff is well insignificant, but then in the blink of an eye - becomes very significant.<br /><br />I was somewhat shocked at how many things I could name that fell into this category, or vice-versa. The significant "big" meeting, exam, work do, even a date that turned out to be, well insignificant. I Also then looked at how things became significant. Usually there was some change in the universe that cause a reaction that not only changed the ball park, but the game too. Some of the examples that I read in a book about people who work in the twin towers on 9/11. People that are still alive today through some insignificant event - spilling their drink and having to change, having to get change for the subway, even missing the train/bus to even having your baby give you a nice fat baby badge. All these seemingly insignificant events are now truly remembered in time. Then I thought, what about me and God. mmmmm.<br /><br />I have always had a "mission" philosophy towards my faith. I truly believed that God has a plan for me and well all need to do is wait for take off. I have always had this idea of being on a space mission, ready to take off and do my thing. Yet each day I go through the preparations, put on my space suit, buckle into the shuttle and get ready for take off. Inevitably the mission always gets scrubbed. Bad whether, mechanical or technical difficulties. Sometimes I don't even know why - it's just cancelled. As this can happen all the time, you get "programmed" to wait for the significant event.<br /><br />But then I thought, what if the space mission I think is the "mission" is truly not the "mission". What if my mission was to be Christ to what I thought were the insignificant people helping me to get to space. Perhaps I could be helping the doctor who checks me out each time I prep for take off. Or perhaps the mission controller I speak to every minute. What I think is insignificance has now become very significant.<br /><br />Then I thought, who are these insignificant people in my life today? Perhaps someone I see on the bus? Someone at work? My neighbor's? My family? People I don't even know? This has had quite the profound affect on me. I now actively look for the insignificant, for now I know how significant this may be.<br /></span></span>DefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23546449.post-1141692083852820102006-03-07T13:32:00.000+13:002006-03-07T13:45:53.866+13:00In the beginning...Well I'm onto my first post and what do you know, I can't think of anything to post. I'm more interested in how this things works... Carving up all the html code... Nice<br /><br />I will leave with this - I think everyone is a perfectionist! True, and I'm not saying that to defened my little corner of the universe (I am a recovering perfectionist) - but in our own little way there are certain limits to when the quality of work is, well unacceptable.<br /><br />Regardless if it is having the sound cables laid neatly, sheets on the bed laid evenly or symmetrical or ensuring all the factors to making great coffee are adhered too... We all define our limits.<br /><br />My challenge is for you to discover you area of perfection...<br /><br />rDefSolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15919519174963396449noreply@blogger.com12