He's back

OK, CD review time.

Reviewers always seem to me like one of the faceless masses who just couldn't make it themselves, so I'm going to try and not be that guy. I'm doing this shout out cause I love The Boss.

Devils and Dust is pretty good. It grows on you. Some 'one man one guitar' stuff and some band numbers too.

Highlights and Low lights . . . .

Highlights:

• His story telling is alive and well. You will become part of tales of a bareknuckle boxer reflecting on his life, an uncomfortably graphic story of a visit to a prostitue (and how immensly unsatisfying it was) and even the story of Jesus walking up to the cross and the words he used to comfort his mother. Nice and diverse.

• No anthems, but the haunting sound of Bruce comes through loud and clear

• I got the double CD which includes a DVD

Lowlights

• The best story telling isn't always paired with the best musical tracks.

• He is becomiong less and less articulate, to the point that even a seasoned Bruce fan will have trouble working out what the heck he is singing about without the words

• You will have heard some of these tunes before - some of them sound suspiciously re-hashed from previous stuff.

But hey, I'll buy every CD he makes, cause you can't argue with the Boss.

Scott

I don't have much to say at the moment but I thought I would share this:

I just had an afternoon snack of some chilled dates from Libya.

So there.

Scott

Three posts in 3 days.

I must be trying to avoid something. Proctastination is a great inspiration.

Don't skipt the last 2 posts if you just arrived - I enjoyed them both. But also don't miss out on checking out this link

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/ultimate+showdown/#start

Ever wondered what would happen if all the superheroes fought each other in the ultimate show down?

Well, now you know.

Scott

The greatest adventure story ever told

It's a big call for the title of a book, "The greatest adventure story ever told", and I must admit, I was skeptical. But if you've got some spare cash, you'd be hard pushed for a more mind bending adventure. It might be a boy thing, but I'm pretty sure this will bake your noodle either way.

Shackelton started off to cross the Antartic - but before he even landed, his boat (The Endurance) got caught in an ice flow and over a period of a week or 2 the most modern and expensive ice going vessel of 1914 was crushed into pieces no bigger than your dining room table.

Thus began a 2 year (that's right, 2 year!) trek of survival. They spend most of it camped out on an ice pack drifting slowely towards a deserted island (no palm trees and coconuts here though - just a frozen lump of rock) from where they could launch their row boats for the 650 mile journey across the worst sea in the world to another lump of rock where there was a whaling station.

For 2 years they ate penguin and seal blubber, were almost never dry, spent 3 months in south pole winter (24 hrs of darkness) all got frostbite, had to kill and eat their sleigh dogs . . . the list goes on. But instead of re writing the book here, I'll let you go read it yourself.

It taught me 2 things.

1. The burden of command. For those of us who have people under their charge it can be a weighty load to bear. Most of us aren't trying to keep 27 others alive on an iceberg, but to be a leader is like being a parent, you worry that your best might not be good enough.

2. You can always push harder, go further, last longer. I now believe that we usually fail because we give up, not because all is lost.

"Success is never final, failure is never fatal. Courage is what counts.”
Churchill

Wortelgat 2006

Just got back from another great camp. It's our fav. spot with some of my fav. kids.
It is very photogenic, esp when it comes to QT's. Also had lots of first timers on camp who all clicked really well. We are tired but thanking God for another great weekend.

The only trouble was the bus. We got the campsite late, bouncing down a dirt road in the country. We went down the wrong path, ended up in a neighbours farm, and when we tried to reverse out got bogged! So at 9:15pm we unpacked the puss, got cars to shuttle the luggage, and Leights lead the kids on a night hike to the cape site. Then a tractor came and pulled the bus out. We ate dinner at 10pm and then all crashed.

Then on the way home on sunday, our bus had to stop 5 times becuase it was getting air in the fuel line. The bus driver 'knew' how to fix it, but is repair work was a bit scarey (he threw out one of the fuel filters!) We made it home an hour and a half late.

But ingoring the buses, or maybe because of them, it was a pretty memorable time.

Pray for me as I do it all again this coming weekend with the juniors . . . .

Scott

For a top thought on something serious, check out Monday the 18th on my brothers blog.

http://www.tubemantravels.blogspot.com/

Just go and spend the cash

Two nights ago I found a recipe for home made humus.

I love humus and it was a easy recipe so I thought I would give it a shot.

It looked like the real deal but . . . it tasted like dog food.
No really, if you don't respect the chick pea it becomes evil.

Bad humus

Scott

Legend!

On Sunday, my brother from another mother, ran his first full marathon (42km!)

This is a picture of him finishing whith his 'coach' (and soon to be father in law) the enegmatic Trevor. Coming in in just over 4 hours is a awesome feat (see the clock) and brother, you have spured me on to bigger and better things . . .


Scott

Hell in 6 hours

I had to get my car new second hand registered. Pretty simple right?

Yup.

I left home positive and up beat. I was in control, or so I thought. 6 hours and 14 min later I arrived back home again - mission comlete. But it took me 6 hours and 14 min to finally hold my weary sword arm high and let out the loud 'yarp' of victory.

Here are a few flashbacks to my 'adventure'

• Discovering that the traffic department don't accept passports as legit ID. Airports do, banks do, police do, but not the high and mighty traffic dept.

• Needing to pick up a form to take somehwere else, only to discover that need to fill out a preemptive form so that they can give me the actual form I really need. And to do this preemptive form, I need 2 passport photo's. Which I didn't have.

• Trying to withdraw R150 from the ATM only to hit the wrong button and withdraw R1000

• Driving out to some crazy place a long way from home and missing the turn off on the freeway and then get stuck in construction traffic as I'm heading off in the wrong direction.

That was my day. It was hard. It was painful. But now I have my new car in my name. But it wasn't easy. Damm, it wasn't easy.

Scott

The 'A' word

Last night was bible study and we gave Eph 5 a shot. Paul doesn't give you much room to move in the first 21 verses so there was not too much room to hide.

But we did end with a discussion by way of application with a word or two about accountability. Here are some of our thoughts, we were just flying a kite, but see what you think.

I think that in our Christian circles the word 'accountability' has gone the way of 'rebuke'. It has been overused and abused and no one really knows what it means anymore or even if they like what they think it might mean.

In our inevitable way, we have taken something very relationally driven and jammed it into a structure. In doing so we might have broken it. We realised that it is very hard to manufacture 'accountability' if it doesn't grow naturally out of friendship. You would hope that your group of friends is a soft place to land, and that in that kind of place, people can keep you walking the path with the kind of checks and balances that friends have.

So we decided not to pair up with accountability partners, but instead, work a little harder on the firednships in our Bible study and get them to 'do the work' that we have become so used to farming out to 'proffessional accoutnability friends'.

What sort of characteristics will these friendships have to make this work?

Well, we thought that we need to be gentle, but not soft with each other.
Compassionate, but not careless.

We also thought that rather than being a 'Mr Fix it' for each other, we should be more like guide dogs. Walking the road hand in hand. (Yes, know dog's don't have hands.)

Those are some of our thoughts from last night.

Got any more to add?

Scott

Ninja's

Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying.


I'd cough up and give him points for creativety



Scott

The call

What's the most amazing kind of emergency phone call you could get?

How about:

"Scott, we have a girl done where at the office who has just gone into labour and needs a lift to the hospital!"

Well, this morning, that's what I got when I answered the phone.
I buzzed Hayley to come over with me and we met a girl who lives in the block of flats opposite us who was, sure enough, just going into labour. The father was long gone and she was new in town with next to no friends. So she came to church.

In the end I took Ben, and Hayley took our new friend to the hospital. What struck me was that she was remarkably calm and even withdrawn. Sadly, when Hayley was chatting to her in the car it came out that she may of felt guilty or embarressed. Or maybe but just a very private person. Either way, she didn't even want Hayley to go in with her, not even to carry her bags.

But nevertheless, in a few days time we will pop over to flat 207 and meet the little one. I'll let you know how it goes!

Scott

If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day
John Archibald Wheeler

Precision

Meet Chris and Di. I don't have a picture of them so you'll have to use your imagination.

They work in a fancy building in the city with an uninterrupted view of Table Mt. Di is a power dresser, but Chris is happy to get around in a fairly ordinary suit. They are both very nice and very smart.

Chris and Di are tax consultants. My Dad and I went to see them last week to work out how we could loose the least amount of money between Sydney and Cape Town. It was a productive meeting (for R1250 per hr you would want it to be) and they even threw in a free pot of nicely brewed coffee (free, if you ignore the R1250 per hr)

But what impressed me with Chris and Di was their precision. As soon as we started taking shop, they were in the zone. They took notes, made flow diagrams and quized us on even the little points. They were ultra careful with the words they used, never wasting them, but picking just the right ones from their tax vocab, to ensure they conveyed exactly what they meant.

I liked Chris and Di, and it croswsed my mind that they would make good preachers. Maybe you are not burnt by this, but lately I have heard preachers say stuff like,
" . . . so God's wisdom is Jesus, it's the gospel, it's our salvation!"



Well, which one is it?

A good clear message is like a snipers bullet, not random machine gun fire.

I'm not asking for uptight theological nitpicking, but a clear train of thought where the words are chosen becuase they have a punch, a specific meaning, and not just because they sound Christian.
Putting together a sermon like this is a lot harder, but far more satisfying and effective.
What do you reckon?

Scott

[I write this blog as someone who needs big work on this too. Just so you know]

Men's Day

Last week in South Africa we celebrated Women's Day.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love women. In fact my best friend is a women ;)
Having a day to remember their part of the struggle is great.

But contrary to popular belief, everyday is not men's day. And even if we did have a day for us, most of us are so confused about what this would mean that I don't actually think we would know how to celebrate it anyway.

So, into the void speaks the wisdom of Fight Club.

"I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who have ever lived --

an entire generation pumping gas and waiting tables; or they're slaves

with white collars. Advertisements have them chasing cars and clothes,

working jobs they hate so they can buy shit they don't need. We are

the middle children of history, with no purpose or place. We have no

great war, or great depression. The great war is a spiritual war. The

great depression is our lives. We were raised by television to believe

that we'd be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won't.

And we're learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed-off."

Scott

I prayed to accept Jesus as Lord

There was a great gospel event a few weeks ago at the revival centre at Linfield. They even pulled Nathan Tasker to sing up a storm.

At the end of the evening, many people responded.

Apparently though, so did I.

Just so you get the flavour of the 'in joke' by my loyal yokefellows back in Aust., this isn't the first time in the last 10 years I have 'prayed the prayer' . . .

The best gag's are the ones that last for decades . . .

I've got Bible Study tonight on Eph Ch 1v15-23
Thought I might try and straighten my thoughts out here . . .

It’s a prayer that is packed full of big ideas.

Essentially, Paul is asking something for his Ephesians buddies. He wants them to ‘know God better’. Not that they might find extra secrets, but rather that they can plumb the depths of what they already have (1:1-14). We might say he wants them to ‘get’ something. Not ‘get’ as in receive, but ‘get’ as in he wants the penny to drop (v17).

(It’s worth keeping in mind that the Christians in Ephesus lived with the statue and temple of Diana towering over their city, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Paul has some serious convincing to do if he is to give them assurance that they haven’t backed the wrong horse! Which is why he repeats in v17 and 18 ‘so that you may know’. He wants them to see that their Christian assurance comes from their knowledge of God. Good lesson for us too!)

He wants them to know with their whole person (the eyes of their heart) their hope (v18) and God’s power (v19) In fact, he spends the rest of the passage fleshing out this idea of what it will mean for them to ‘get’ God’s power.

We know this power of course. We have seen it in action. It was the power that we saw when God raised Jesus from the dead (v20) and the same power that God used to give Jesus all authority to rule over everything for all time (v21).

Now the thing that should bake our noodle is that this power is for us! (v19) Because in v22-23 we read that God gave Jesus this power with a purpose – that he might rule over everything for the church! We probably would have expected to read that this great power was for the glory of Christ, but no! His power is manifest in the church so that it will be a neon sign flashing like crazy, drawing the world to God and his people (Ch 3:10)

I'm pretty excited by all this, but still wanting the pieces to fall into place.

What does it mean to be possessed by the power of God?
Is it meant to elevate our view of church? In what way?
Will it affect the way we do church? How?
How will this ‘knowledge of God’ change the way to think about yourself?

Scott

Are you happy?

I'm speaking at Westerford CU today, kind of a spur of the moment invite. They are looking at the fruit of the Spirit and asked me to talk about the difference between happiness and joy.

Huh?

Considering I'm giving the talk in 3 hours, it's way to late for my blog brothers and sisters to help, but let me tell you what I've got so far.

Happiness is FEELING good about life
Joy is KNOWING your life IS good.

Don't get me wrong, happiness is good, really good. But it is unpredictable (is what makes you happy now the same thing that made you happy when you were 15?), really circumstantial (and so to a big extend out of your control) and usually only lasts a short time.

And that's why people spend their whole life try to chase happiness, because it DOESN'T satisfy. It's like trying to nail jelly to a wall. I reckon in the evolution of stuff, when happiness grows up, it wants to become joy.

Joy is knowing who you are and where your going. It's knowing your forgiven, accepted and heaven bound. These facts of life might bring you hardship, but you will still have a peace, calmness, contentment, satisfaction that happiness alone can't deliver.

Happiness is just joy with amnesia, trying to drown out the uncertainty with sound and fury.

Where do you fall.? Happy, or joyful? Or both? (or neither?)

Scott

I love Cape Town. I really do.
But at times it starts to scare me.

I heard yesterday that in the last month 53 police men and women have been killed in the line of duty.

My question for the non Ct'ers is: If 53 policemen were killed in your country in the last month, what would the response be?

Scott

We are one, but we are many

My brothers blog has gently rebuked me. In two ways.
1. It has been used to share some great thoughts.
2. It shows that he is having great thoughts.

Lately this blog has been suffering a little decay, achieving neither of the above. But, good things are on the go. I've been spending a lot of time in Ephesians, a book I've never really gotten into because, I know this sounds childish, everyone one else was always into it. Well, now I can see what all the fuss is about. As great things hit me, I will blog them. (Not in any specific order or importance or chronology).

Jump to Eph 4:1-16
Paul tells us to keep the unity that we have in God's Spirit. Feeble attempts to create unity miss the point that he makes in verse 4. Christians are already one in the faith, and the togetherness of our body (the church) should reflect the one God, one Spirit, one faith we share. But at the same time God is the Father of many, who is over many and through many and in many. Unity with diversity, not uniformity.

In v11 we read that God spreads around the the teaching gifts so that the diversity of the body might prepare people for works of service, which in turn, build up the oneness of the body. How's that for tidy! So God gives these gifts to make the many 'one' in the church as they are alreay one in the Spirit. Or to spin it around, the gifts of v11 are there to make those who are one in the Lord become one in the church.

Cool!

Thoughts:
1. Can someone help me with how v 11 becomes v12. In other words, how does teaching the gospel result in works of service? When I teach the Bible I don't see crowds of people flocking to serve. am I doing it wrong?! (Let's take as a given that God's spirit works to convict people etc. I'm wondering about the mechanics of that conenction, humanly speaking.)

2. How does your church plug into peoples diversity and use those different gifts to build up the body? An good ideas?

Scott

Back

I'm back and to be honest I'm struggling to leave the holiday behind. So I'm going to try and drag the lingering memories into the week and see how that works for me. Staff meeting today was cancelled, so that helped a lot.

We all know that a holiday is more than just the sum of it's parts, but here are some of the parts that made it great . . .

• We had the one spot in Betty's Bay which had heaps of trees (I like trees)

• The house we were at was unreal! Verandah all the way around, a stream running by the house, fireplace in the main bedroom, beatuful garden and view of the mountian from the kitchen window (and all the other windows too). Very 'House and Garden'

• Found a great pie shop.

• Lots of chocolate and red wine.

• Numerus trips to the Harold Porter National park with walks up to the waterfall

• The discovery that Ash collects the BBC History magazine - I devoured about 20 of them.

And lots more, but I don't want to boast.

Scott

Bye

I'll be taking a break until the 10th of July.

Catch all you crazy cats then

Scott

Robbed

OK, last post about the world cup.

I don't know much about soccer (I'm not calling it football anymore, not after that ref dragged the beautiful game into shame) but as far as I can figure you can't foul someone when your laying on the ground?

But, I love you boys.

Scott

PS: for a pick me up go to my brothers blog and check out the dancing prancing ref http://tubemantravels.blogspot.com

???!!

Would you take oxygen from a dying man?

No, I didn't think so.

So why the heck did SABC 1 show a REPEAT of the Chec v Italy game at midnight rather than the Aussie v Croatia match??

Someone needs to tell those morons that I wasn't in Sydney for the Olympics and I'm sick and tired of missing these defining moments of my nation. I feel deficent, missing, incomplete. I feel like an oppressed person.

Like last nigths ref with the red, I hesitate to play this card, but personally I think it is because SA can't stomoach Aust being good at everything. But we are . So there.

Scott

Hell, Yes!!

I'll be honest. I watch soccer . . .sorry, football, once every 4 years. If I bumped into a member of the Socceroos walking down the street, I would be clueless. But now, I need to apologise to my team, my countrymen, my nation.

I'm sorry. Really.

With that apology in place want to say, You guys are bloody awesome!!!!!!!!

I pulled some comments off the Sydney Morning Herald. In the true spirit of mateship and the little Aussie battler, read on . . . .

“Vince Grella hunted like a dog, Brett Emerton had so much energy he could have run to Kaiserslautern from his teenage home near Cambelltown. When Craig Moore returns to Australia, he could move to near Uluru. He would not look out of place. Kewell toyed with defenders although to little avail. Chipperfield motored. Viduka actually ran, too. There was not a cheat among them.”

“Tim Cahill, the hero of the hour, grew up in Annandale, a freak at his school for playing "soccer" in the playground. He flew into Japan's penalty box to score Australia's equaliser and was a freak once more. Then there was the second.

Build that man a statue on Johnston Street.”

Scott

PS: sorry for stealing your pic Justin

Thirst

I've spent the last few days with Rico Tice (of All Souls London and Christianity Explored fame). He is quite simply a super guy.

He preached last night on John 4, the Samaritan women at the well. In passing he made some really insightful comments.

Our realtionships were designed with certian stress bearing load capacities. If we demand from our relationships - esp. marriage - things that they were never meant to deliever, we will break them beyond repair. The women in the story had a deep thirst. She had been through 5 husbands trying to quench it, but to no avail. She was looking in her husbands for what she could only get in Jesus. Jesus knows this of course, and tells her that she will not find what she is looking for in her relationships, or in Jerusalem or Samaria, but only in Him.

Rico passed on some top advice he got about marriage.
If you don't feed on Jesus, you will feed on each other.

Scott

They Return

This weekend was a big one. For lots of reasons. None the least of which was that it saw the return of Bible Man, Gospel Boy and Memory Verse Dude.

After a popular tour of Junior and Senior Youth in years gone by the 3 bible superheroes have come out of retirement for a skit infront of 1500 people on Sunday morning. They were a little rusty, but they won the hearts and minds of the people, yet again.

Bible Man is quite close to me and allowed me to publish his super badge.

Rest assured good people of the world, your heroes are back!

Scott

Smash that penguin!

My record is 320m. Can you beat that?

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf

Scott

The Wedding Feast

On saturday, Jenni and Andrew got married.
I was there.
It was great.

Just after the food came out I had to go and drop some honeymoon supplies into their car. Being the cautious man that I am and not wanting all the yummy treats to be hogged by the other wedding guests, I piled up a plate of snacks and headed out to the car (I was pretty hungry).

As I was fumbling with the boot, a man waled up to me and introduced himself and his wife. They were homeless, they looked pretty dirty, they looked pretty broken. I don't even remember their names. His wife had a baby wrapped to her back and it was starting to stir. He asked if I could help.

I told him the truth, that I was at a wedding and had no money on me, but they were welocome to help themselves to the sausage rolls and cheese cake on my little saucer. They took some, said thanks and wandered on. They even left me something for the walk back to the reception.

Those encounters always leave me feeling a bit empty, but this one more so than most. I think it was because Jesus told so many stories about weddings, and none of them ended like this. In Jesus' stories, it is usually guys like me who miss out on the wedding feast and guys like the one in the cart park who are invited in. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful I have already RSVP'ed for my invite. Which makes me all the more dark for having only shared my finger food with him.

Scott

The secret

Planning to be in conversation this week? Or going to give a talk or a bible study? Got any emails to write? Here's some good advice . . .

"The secret to being boring is to say everything."
Voltaire

The brand new Jonker!

Top stuff Ben and Kate!
Welcome Hugh!
Keen to chat while your on leave Benny! When are you on skype?

Scott

It's fathers day here in a few weeks time. I've been dobbed in for the family service talk again. So this time I'm putting out a pre-emptive strike. Can anyone throw me a bone? I'm talking about a passage, an idea, an illustration, a kiddies visual . . . anything If you get me something I can use, I'll mention your name in the sermon. Promise. Scott

Five

On Friday, we have been married for 5 years. To some, that is not very long. To others fo you, it will seem a very long time.

We went out for dinner to our favourite place and had a top time. It just all went too quickly.

As we have seen lately with postcard secrets, to post is to be, to validate what is.

So, it is with a full heart that I post that I love my wife and the last 5 years (plus the bit before). She is the greatest companion I could have wished for and she makes me laugh.



Scott

Breaking News

Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People December 8, 1999 Issue 35•45 AL JIZAH, EGYPT—A team of British and Egyptian archaeologists made a stunning discovery Monday, unearthing several intact specimens of "skeleton people"—skinless, organless humans who populated the Nile delta region an estimated 6,000 years ago. Enlarge Image An archaeologist examines the intact remains of a spooky "skeleton person." "This is an incredible find," said Dr. Christian Hutchins, Oxford University archaeologist and head of the dig team. "Imagine: At one time, this entire area was filled with spooky, bony, walking skeletons." "The implications are staggering," Hutchins continued. "We now know that the skeletons we see in horror films and on Halloween are not mere products of the imagination, but actually lived on Earth." Standing at the excavation site, a 20-by-20-foot square pit along the Nile River, Hutchins noted key elements of the find. "The skeletons lived in this mud-brick structure, which, based on what we know of these people, was probably haunted," he said. "Although we found crude cooking utensils in the area, as well as evidence of crafts like pottery and weaving, we are inclined to believe that the skeletons' chief activity was jumping out at nearby humans and scaring them. And though we know little of their language and means of communication, it is likely that they said 'boogedy-boogedy' a lot." Approximately 200 yards west of the excavation site, the archaeologists also found evidence of farming. "What's puzzling about this," Cambridge University archaeologist Sir Ian Edmund-White said, "is that skeletons would not benefit from harvested crops, as any food taken orally would immediately fall through the hole behind the jaw and down through the rib cage, eventually hitting the ground. Our best guess is that they scared away a group of human farmers, then remained behind to haunt the dwelling. Or perhaps they bartered goods in a nearby city to acquire skeleton accessories, such as chains, coffins and tattered, dirty clothing." Enlarge Image An artist's rendering of what a warrior-skeleton may have looked like. Continued Edmund-White: "The hole in that theory, however, is that a 1997 excavation of this area which yielded extensive records of local clans and merchants made no mention of even one animated mass of bones coming to town for the purpose of trade. But we are taking great pains to recover as much of the site as possible, while also being extremely careful not to fall victim to some kind of spooky skeleton curse." As for what led to the extinction of the skeletons, Edmund-White offered a theory. "Perhaps an Egyptian priest or king broke the curse of the skeletons, either by defeating the head skeleton in combat or by discovering the magic words needed to send their spirits back to Hell," Edmund-White said. "In any case, there is strong evidence that the Power of Greyskull played a significant role in the defeat of the skeleton people." According to Hutchins, the skeletons bear numerous similarities to humans, leading him to suspect that there may be an evolutionary link between the two species. "Like humans, these creatures walked upright on two legs and possessed highly developed opposable thumbs," Edmund-White said. "These and many other similarities lend credence to the theory that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human development passed through a skeletal stage. These skeletons may, in fact, be ancestors of us all." "Any of us could be part skeleton," he added. Other experts disagreed. "The evidence of an evolutionary link between humans and skeletons is sparse at best," said Dr. Terrance Schneider of the University of Chicago. "Furthermore, it is downright unscientific to theorize that skeleton life originated in Egypt merely because mummies, another species of monster, are indigenous to the area. Spooky creatures are found all over the world, from the vampires of Transylvania to the headless horsemen of Sleepy Hollow." www.onion.com

Fearless

I was tempted to put this on Ben's blog but this is something that really needed to go on mine. It is now 100% of who I am and what I love doing. The little guy loves to ride shotgun nowdays and at least part of the fun is eating my nose and steering me by the ears. He is fearless. I hope never looses it.

Scott (and Ben)

Justin's most recent post (www.moffattnyc.blogspot.com) gives you a glimpse into the world of postcard confessions. Scarey stuff. I've been picking up a few of these over the last while and hesitate to open a door to that place. But here are some to add to think ponderings. But by far and away the most scarey thing is that I reckon everyone you pass today could write one of these postcards, as well as that person who you saw in the mirror this morning too. For me, that's the most disturbing bit of all. So, thatnks J-man for the verses and reminder. Scott

Biting off more than I can Chomp?

"Noam Chomsky might be the most significant intellectual of the 20th Cent." That's the rap this professor of linguistic and philosophy at MIT gets on just about every book he has ever written. His bread and butter is his theory that the human brain has an innate language faculty and he calls this part of our biological make up 'universal grammar', a theory of principles common to all languages. His book, 'Syntatic Structures' was a "turning point on 20th century linguistics" and "epoch making". When was the last thing I did that was epoch making? I would even settle for a 'turning point'. If your about to click to another blog with some quirky story of how a guys kid fell off the bed, don't. Well, not quite yet. The other thing Chomsky is famous for (and this is what I'm interested in) is as an academic who rigorously criticzed social injustice and state violence. Guess what country he spends most of his time sweating over? That's right, the good old U S of A. Now it needs to be said from the outset, this is not consipricy theory stuff or emotionally charged witch hunts. This is one of the smartest guys in America. His stuff on linguists leaves me completely confused, but his stuff on empire building, power and justice , well . . . .It rocks. Ok, this post is already almost too long for the casual surf, but let me just give you a taste that will hopefully develop you an appetite for a meal of Chomsky. He observes, "If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post war (WII) American President would have been hanged." Want to know why? Read some Chomsky. Visit www.chomsky.info Scott

Garden Art

The other day Ben and I went for a wander in Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens. There are African Sculptures dotted around the place. Here are some of my favourites.

Scott

Magic Shorts

Another year, another Two Oceans. This year I was sporting my new club colours (The Mighty Celtic Harriers) and had a pair of those sexy running shorts (not included in the photo). I was hoping my magic shorts would give me the edge I needed. Instead, they gave me bad chaffing. But hey, I ran the exact same time as last year. At least I'm consistant. Scott

Rock the Chapel

Work in Progress
Enmity

We had our youth social on Friday. It was a band night with 2 home grown groups; "Work in Progress" and "Emnity". Good times my friend, good times. After that we did some singing of our own. It went completely caro of course, but it was worthwhile. Anyone with half a brain knows that a band night for evangelism is one step forward two steps back. But for just pure enjoyment, it's a winner.

How a brothel became a church

Two weeks ago, Mark Dickson preached at church on Joshua Ch 2. It was a ripper. Mark holds the C.S.Lewis Chair of Christian Thought at GWC. I've massaged some of his sermon into a post. I know it's a bit longer than usual, but do yourself a favour and give it a read. Joshua Ch 2 is a great story of rescue and intrigue. Was Rahab’s rescue a result of her quick thinking and ingenuity? Absolutely. But there’s more. Rahab’s rescue was because God had been preparing her heart to receive the good news. (“I know that the Lord has given you this land and a great fear has fallen on all of us . . . We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the red Sea . . When we heard of it our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God of heaven above and on the earth below . . .”) Out of everyone in the city, he picked a hooker. What it boiled down to was that Rahab was given 2 big realizations. 1. What was unfolding around her was the work of the true God 2. And anyone who stands against this God is doomed. Mark got us to ponder how the Kings soldiers managed to find their way to her brothel to look for the spies. Could it be that Rahab herself was the one who sent word to the king after hiding the Israelites? Why would she do that? By her own mouth, Rahab testifies that God had been softening her heart to receive him and his people. By dobbing them in, she could then create a situation where she could ‘rescue’ the spies and win their favor. In that way she would also win the favor of their God. There is no doubt about it, Rahab takes risks. She is full of cheeky gumption and uses every means at her disposal because she wants to be on the right side of God. God’s kingdom was bearing down upon her and she wanted in. It kind of reminds us of that story Jesus told of a man finding treasure in a field. He sees it’s value, and realizes that when compare to his life as it is, he would be a fool not to throw caution to the wind and do whatever he could to buy that field. Of course, there is always risk in that course of action. What if the plan went wrong? (Rahab would certainly die, either by an angry betrayed king or the marauding Israelites.) But as it turns out, Rahab’s house becomes an ark. A brothel becomes a place of rescue. So if God can turn a brothel into a church, what can he do for you? The kingdom of God is also bearing down on us and it is just as urgent as it was for Rahab in the city. Have you taken a risk to make sure you are counted as a friend of God’s and not an enemy? Did you once take that risk (at conversion) but have since been living a life of quiet ease? What risks can you take for the kingdom now?

Scott

Deep

I had a genuinely good experience on friday night. The kind of time that leaves you feeling deeply satisfied, content and full. I got it from spending a few hours in bible study with nine 13 year olds.

The soccer was great, but it was really only after that when I found the buzz. One of the guys, Ben, was so excited to be there with us, he was literally on the edge of his seat all night. We talked about 1 Peter 3:18. Which of course lead us to other questions like, "Did the dinasaurs come before or after Adam and Eve?" and "How did Cain have a family if it was just him and his parents?" (Although the question was asked by Tim in a way I have never encountered it before, "Did Cain do his mum?") But they weren't red herrings or trouble makers, the boys were really concerned about the answers and after we chatted, they left feeling calm and content that their God was trustworthy.

In the 6 or 7 weeks that the group has existed, one guy, Will, has already brought 3 friends. That does good things for my soul. I'm not sure if there is a deep lesson here, but I definately wanted to post it. God is drawing people to Himself despite their age, blindness and leaders who are, at the best of times, jars of clay. And that was more than enough to leave me deeply satisfied.

Scott

The test

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." Thomas McCaulay

Lost

Today was the day I got my voice back. I've been sick for a while, nothing deadly, but just enough to slow me down. But the real killer was that for the first time ever, I fully lost my voice. Now, for someone like me, that's quite a thing. To make it worse, this weekend was our Senior Youth Summer Camp. I was kind of hoping that it would mellow me out, get me to sit and listen better to some of the kids on a bit more of a one to one basis. And you gotta beleive me, I did really try. And a few chats kind of fell into this category. But as a general rule I struggled under my thorn in the flesh. I think that tells you something about me that is a bit sad really. Anyway - it was a top camp. Phumezo was our speaker and considering that he usually gives talks in Xhosa he did a fine job. Not really any photos to speak of I'm afraid. A bit to preoccupied in being sick to get my act together with the camera. But if it helps you visualize, we had a awesome game of sardines and managed to hide about 20 people under a ground level trampoline, we almost killed a neighbours chicken, and I discovered that some of the grade 12 girls are struggling to get dates to their matric dances. Guys? honestly, what is up with that??! I guess I'm going to have to draw them a picture . . . Scott

Out

It's beautiful, isn't it? Serene, romantic, mellow.

The only thing is that qualities like serenity, romance and mellowness can't be imposed upon you. You have to choose them because you want them. That's the whole point.

So when the nuclear power station in the Western Cape is busted and they announce 50 days of rolling blackouts - it's none of those beautiful things. It simply sucks. Not to mention we missed the last CSI for the season.

This is one attempt at a solution. It was one fo the last ones in Cape Town, everywhere is sold out of everything to do with power. I feel like I'm in Beruit in the 80's.

Or Zim . . .now.

Scott

Don't be afaid

I just read one of the best things I've read in a long time. My brother's blog of Saturday the 25th. Read it because it's really good, but also because it's exactly how I feel. I was thinking about just cutting and pasting it to my blog, but that's just nasty. So do yourself a favour and go check it out at http://tubemantravels.blogspot.com Plus, the photo of Bairdy is a hoot (for you locals, he is the guy with the dog) Scott

HELL YES!!!!

On Saturday night, Leights and Kitty went to Moyo. They went for a walk across a moonlit bridge. He asked her if she would. She said yes. They're getting married. We're so happy! Well done guys and here's toa quick and smooth ride to the big day. Scott PS: the 3rd person in the photo is their waitress at Moyo - she's in there for context

The Tree

I didn't get Hayley flowers for Valentines day. In fact, I almost got her nothing. After weeks of thinking I realized I would have been better off spending weeks actually DOING something. Alas, as I was calling restaurants at 9:30pm on the 13th of Feb, some of them actually laughed at me. Humiliated, but not completely crushed, I made a late arvo trip. I came home with a tree. A tree is better than flowers because flowers die real quick. What's the symbolisms there?! No, a tree is permanent. A tree grows. A tree is life. A tree takes time. I figured that's kind of what I wanted to say about us, so I said it with a tree. Scott

Strange night no more

Tim, Chad, Darren, William and Kyle. The first grade 8 men for 2006. And as it turns out my nerves were for nothing! Great indoor soccer, festy great big gatsby with some glow in the dark fizzy drink and a game of brandings with one of those small bouncy balls Chad picked up from the shops. All in all a top start. It's Summer camp this weekend - so looks like we'll go from strength to strength. Scott

Strange Night

Taking a leaf out of my brothers recent post I wish to begin by saying . . ."Tonight's going to be a strange night . . ." I've got my first bible study with the new grade 8 boys. With nothing more than a soccer ball, R15 each for dinner and my trust co leader Joel by my side, we will step out into the unknown (literally, as I dodn't even know their names yet) and try and do this crazy thing called the grade 8 guys BS. I've been doing this for over a decade now, but to be honest, I'm still a little anxious. I'll let you know how it goes. Scott

Welcome Talia

After long hours of much hard work, Jim and Em are now jointed by Talia Joy. Top stuff! Cute kid! Much love. Scott

Monday Morning

Here is the view that greets me when I look out my kitchen window at present. Kinda cool. Scott

Cut and Chat

Order. Routine. Predictablilty. Most of our day to day existense depends on this sort of stuff. When it's taken away it becomes dangerous . . . but exciting. I courted the danger yesterday at Partners Hair Design at Cavendish. For the last 10 years I have cut my own hair. A no. 2 all over will do nicely, thank you very much. But I broke the drought and went to have my hair cut and carefully dishevelled by a professional. When I told my mum she replied - "What hair?!" But I'll ignore those kind of comments for now. I was completely lost from the start. Didn't know where to sit, who to turn to for help. I was in the chair for about 30 seconds when I was invited for a wash. It made my head tingle. Then back to the chair for the cut and chat. Then it was back for a rinse, then back to the chair for a gel. Needless to say I got up to go thinking it was all over about 3 times but I think I managed to fake it pretty well. And even though they didn't have much to work with, they did an outstanding job. There was a weird 'Seven-degrees-of-seperation" factor at work though - the girl who did my hair turned out to be the same one who cut my brothers hair when he was in town over a year ago. Wow. Thanks Dominic. I'll be back. We all need a little more danger in our lives. Scott

Goodbyes

I just read my brothers blog about saying goodbyes at airports. I'm reading him loud and clear (I was there). After 26 hours of less than average air travel I think I put my finger on what's up with that. Saying goodbye is a kind of dying. I'll leave you with that thought. Scott

The Boys

Rich Rich and Scott came over today. Tops to see the boys - seems like almost from another life time. But they- and many others - are still strong in the faith all the way from 1994. It's good that our God is gracious and long suffering. And it's also good that I've still got mates around like this. I'm taking the grade 8 boys at St James this year - could we go this far? I'm hoping so.

Scott

Blood Brothers

When you miss people by a few years, the time is usually spent with catch up. It's all you've got. You missed the moments, you can hear about them, but it's more like Uncle Bob's slide show of the Grand Canyon then a friendship. But not this weekend.

This weekend I felt comforted, strengthened and full of a joy infusion. It wasn't a mile a minute rollercoaster, more like a well prepared meal or a long cigar - or both. I now think I am ready for '06. And I've finally resolved some of those burning questions of life; How much would they have to pay you to have a large horn on your head for the rest of your life, or to become a cyclops? Or if you had 3 wishes, would one of them be to be able to breath underwater and not to get crushed by the pressure becuase you had steel skin?

So a big 'hell yes!' to Benny, Chad, Steve, Ressy and Kenny. And to Gregers, until that day my friend. Thank you brothers. The song below by Bruce doesn't speak exactly to our situation but you will know what I'm getting at.

Scott

We played king of the mountain out on the end
The world come chargin' up the hill, and we were women and men
Now there's so much that time, time and memory fade away
We got our own roads to ride and chances we gotta take
We stood side by side each one fightin' for the other
We said until we died we'd always be blood brothers

Now the hardness of this world slowly grinds your dreams away
Makin' a fool's joke out of the promises we make
And what once seemed black and white turns to so many shades of
gray
We lose ourselves in work to do and bills to pay
And it's a ride, ride, ride, and there ain't much cover
With no one runnin' by your side my blood brother
On through the houses of the dead past those fallen in their
tracks
Always movin' ahead and never lookin' back

Now I don't know how I feel, I don't know how I feel tonight
If I've fallen 'neath the wheel, if I've lost or I've gained
sight
I don't even know why, I don't know why I made this call
Or if any of this matters anymore after all
But the stars are burnin' bright like some mystery uncovered
I'll keep movin' through the dark with you in my heart
My blood brother

Pics

Reesy and Finn doing lunch

Cafe Benny

Everyone

A gigged out Chad

Rant

Just got some disturbing news from the home front. We have a troublesome neighbour. What's the trouble I hear you ask? Did she play her music too loud or use a hose instead of a bucket? No. She locked my brother in law out of our house using a chain and padlock. She incurred the wrath of Irma but that was just her starter.

Before I spring into action in a weeks time when I return, any suggestions?

Scott

The goats and a grey Sydney Sky

Big Red

Bearly coping

We spent the day at Taronga Zoo. It was expensive and reality often finds it hard to match the childhood memories. But nevertheless it was a good trip. And for lunch we had a Moroccan wrap. A big step from the days of dagwood dogs - and one to be applauded.

Scott

The Lion Returns

I have dipped into some books over the last few days and struck gold. I’ll try and deposit some of the nuggets on the blog over the next little while. I don’t want to bore you (second hand insights can get a little try hard) but as I said, this stuff is gold and will shine – even if I am its messenger.

I’m up to see Narnia any day now and I just finished reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Check out this piece. (Aslan the lion has just been killed by the witch and risen, to the surprise of Susan and Lucy)

“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.

“It means”, said Aslan, “that though the witch knew the deep magic, there is magic deeper still which she still did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. If she could have looked back a little further, into the stillness and darkness before time dawned, she would have read there a different incarnation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”

The director of the movie said that he wanted to recreate the fantasy world he enjoyed from the novel as a kid. He didn’t think C.S. Lewis had any intention of making it a reflection of the gospel. For he who has ears to hear . . .

Scott

Comfort

Today we spent time with Andrew and Liz and little Finn and Jamie out at Kellyville. There are a lot of things you could say about Kellyville, but I'll limit it to one - it was hot. 41 degrees. Instead of doing the BBQ we could have just lef the meat in the sun for 10 min.

But it was great to hang with Reesy and Liz and join with the beleivers at Kellyville Anglican. A really friendly crowd. Andrew spoke from Luke Ch 2 where Simeon sees Jesus for the 1st time. He pointed out that all that filled Simeon's horizon, why he got up in the morning, was to wait for the comfort of Israel. He recognised it's arrival in the baby King. Reesy challenged us to consider what fills our horizons as we face this new year.

So, what's it going to be? And think carefully, because much of what we rate as important is really just an impulse, and many of our 'wants' are really just needs aren't they? I'm hoping to take a leaf out of Simeon's book. I'll let you know how it goes.

Scott