Hello Australia!

I know a lot of you back home (Cape Town) were keen to hear how brother Craig is going. Well, it's good to be back with Craig. Some things - like filling up your Seattle Coffee card and getting a freebie are good - but this is good in a whole other way. The deeply satisfying feels just right kind of good. We've had DVD's on the plasma big screen and more beer in a week than I've had in 6 months. And I've realised that my brother is solar powered or something. Because . . . he never sleeps. But in a healthy 'I'm sucking the marrow out of life' kind of way.

And just to get you all feeling very Aussie, here is some wildlife action in the backyard.

Scott

PS: I've got a bunch of Ben pictures on his site if your keen

Our very own rich fool

"The good news is that there is no devil. The bad news is that there is no heaven either."

Thus speaketh Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man who clocks in at around 7 billion dollars. Yesterday he died. And the lesson here folks is that the richest man in the contry still dies like any other. He has now got the chance to see if what he thought about the future is true. I wouldn't wish his fate on a dying dog.

But his story is an amzing one. There is how he single handly invented day night cricket. His absolute power over his empire. That his helicopter pilot would donate him a kidney. His billions and billions of dollars. But here is the bit that amazes me the most.

Kerry Packer had already had 2 heart atacks, in 1990 and 1994. After he was rushed to hospital in an ambulance without defibulaters (spelling?) he donated enough money so that every ambulance in NSW could be equiped with this life saving device. When interviewed it was put to him that it was a very generous thing he had done, he looked confused and replied, "No, I gave them the money so that next time I'm sure to get an ambulance that can save me!"

But Kerry Packer died at home in bed. The only man to ever win victory over death seems to be the one man Kerry didn't want to have anything to do with. Take note my friends, men live in crowds, but they die alone. But it doesn't have to be that way if you turn your eyes towards Jesus (as the song goes). The choice is simple. We can let Jesus pay for our sins on the cross or we can pay for them ourselves in hell. Somehow I don't see how Kerry Packers 7 billion is going to help him that much right now.

Scott

Touchdown

When Jimmy and I email, we just cut to the chase. We have devopled and finely honed the 'dot point' summary of life via email. We simply call it 'dots'. For the first time on my blog, here are some dots . . .

* The flight to Sydney was fine - Ben slept the whole way, I got to see 3 movies. The down side was that 'The Grim Brothers' was a crap movie and Quantas really need to work on their in flight schedule - they are messed up.

* It's hot here in Sydney town. Christmas Eve was 39 degrees, tommorrow is 38. But the neighhbours next door are gone and we are in their pool. Ben has taken to it like a baby to water.

* For me, arrival 'back home' was weird because . . . it wasn't weird. It felt amazingly normal. I'm not sure what that means.

* For those Cape folk who know Dr Benny, Reesy and Steve - we have all hung out on boxing day with the kids. A different vibe but just like slipping into an old pair of undies (in the non grossly groinal kind of way)

* We are still finding our way into holiday mode - takes a bit of adjustment but we're determined to make it.

Scott

PS: I've got some great pics on the way . . .

I'm packed

(You know the tune, you can sing along. I won't tell anybody)

All my bags are packed
the runny poo has ceased
Ben's passports arrived
so we can leave at least
I'm so very tired I gotta sleep

The next question will be,
"Is it chicken or fish?"
How long will Ben sleep?
Twelve hours is my wish
And, will I get all the good movies that I need?

Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
The fuel strike's on and everyone is shifting blame
Please let us clear the ground . . .

do, wa do wa do wa do wa . . .

Scott

My last 2 posts are a bit out of time. Hayley, Ben, myself and 370 others have just come back from Crossword (end of year youth camp for our gang here in CT). It was a generally good time - I gave 5 talks, Ray Galea gave 10. I thought rather than a dry post I would try and massage some life into it with some Sylvia Plath style poetry (not sure why, becuase I hate Sylvia Plath);

A gathering in anticipation
of leaders
and chops to braai

but with the fellowshiops comes
intestinal bugs.
And a toliet paper crisis.

Between sickness and
shocking food
I ate good food elsewhere.

Don't merely listen and not do
is what I mouthed,
but am I all talk?

Ray is a man I would
love
to be like

But times were good
The Lord sought out ten .
All else was a footnote.

Scott

Go Figure

It is now offically a week with diarrhoea.

Now I don't care who you are, but that 'aint much fun.

So I popped into the chemist for a solution. I got this milky white goo to swallow, but it's got electrolytes which must be a good thing.

Anyway, one of the side effects of my anit diarrhoea medicine is that it may cause nausea and vomitting. I'm not sure how that helps me.

Go figure

Scott

Can you feel the power?

I’m pretty good with advertising. I’m not a sucker. But every now and then comes a product so amazing that it deserves whatever excess you can throw at it. Not since the PV10X power mop (seen at 1am on an infomercial) has something gripped me with as much satisfaction.

I’m speaking, of course, of the M3 Power. The first battery operated razor.

Yes, it’s got the 3 blades, the lubricating strip and the special thingy’s that do that other thing, but this time around it is powered by a battery that vibrates the whole contraption thus stimulating the hairs away from your face for a smoother closer shave. And it’s green.

I was mocked, I was laughed at, when I sung the praise of this great new product but now who’s laughing . . .huh??!

Scott

Camping

The weekend just gone by saw us head off camping with my leaders.

For Neil, it was his first time sleeping in a tent

For Terence, he graduated to 'fire-master'

And for Kim, it was a miracle he found the place.

But anyway you slice it, it was a heck of a lot of fun.

Thanks guys, you rock and and are much loved.

Scott

Weird fire

Kitty, fireside

Steve and Meryl

Steph not doing well in 'Pit'

Please . . . don't do it

I've got a lot of pent up blogging to do but I'll try and keep each post as its own little universe. So we begin this week with a sordid tale. For those who don't know, my house backs onto the church carpark. The other night our dogs woke us up at 3am barking themselves stupid. I saw a bakkie (ute) parked next to my car right outside our back gate (which is weird because the car park has a couple of hundred empty spaces at 3am) There were 2 guys hoping in and out of the back of their bakkie for about 10 min. Then a women got out and wandered off. Soon after, the men drove away. In the morning I woke to find 2 used condoms in the parking space next to my car. Basically, the St James church carpark has become a brothel. After doing some investigation with the local security guys, it turns out that the flat across the road has a new resident - a Nigerian pimp who works from home and sends his clients into our carpark for business. How do you respond to that?! (We have done all the 'right' things, alerted the police etc) I feel as if I need to put a sign on my back wall - maybe the Nike 'tick' and the words - "Please . . .don't do it" I don't know! I'm feeling a bit grossed out by all this. I was thinking about getting rid of the dogs but maybe not. I think I also need a better back gate. Scott

Last Words

“Either that wallpaper goes or I do” Oscar Wilde “All is lost. Monks! Monks! Monks!” Henry VIII 1547 “Friends appladue – the comedy is over” Beethoven “I’m so bored with it all.” Winston Churchill “All my possessions for a moment of time.” Elizabeth I “Why are you weeping? Did you think I was immortal?” Louis XIV “I have not told half of what I saw” Marco polo “Young man, attend to he voice of one who has possessed a certian degree of fame in the world, and who is about to appear before his maker. Read the Bible every day of your life.” Samuel Johnson

Easy and Hard

Here's a thought. Doing Christian ministry is not that hard. On a human level, it's a skill like anything else. Writing a talk, doing a bible study - assuming your not a complete moron you can learn how to do these things and, once learnt, the skills stay with you. But living the Christian life is very different. It's not a skill, it's a matter of obedience. And I don't care who you are, that's tough. I find it particularly hard at times. Although these 2 things should go together (ministry and the Christian life) I have discovered its very possible to be good at the first while neglecting the later. Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy that it shouldn't be like that, 'godliness before giftedness' is the often quoted phrase. And that's spot on. But how to balance a learned skill with faithful obedience is something I have certiabnly not mastered as yet. Scott

My Boy

I know this is my blog, not Ben's, but I love this picture.

And besides, if I can fill my blog with stuff about bizzare twists of life, the Simpsons and other photos, then Ben definately deserves a post.

After just being the 2 of us for 4 years, its weird that there is a thrid who is a completely seperate person - an individual who is part me, part Hayley but also fully someone else.

I'm lovin' it.

Scott

PS: Can someone tell me how to get rid of all this empty space at the bottom of each post?

I love boobies!

I know sharing a Simpson’s moment over the blog probably rates me as an A-1 nerdlinger but hey, it’s my blog!

In Wednesday’s episode, Bart and Lisa get a glimpse 8 years into the future of when they are teenagers. One scene has Smithers arrive back at the Monty Burns mansion with his date . . a women! (For those unsimpson-a-fied, Smithers is gay). Bart looks in disbelief and says, "But Smithers, I thought you were . . .well, you know . .. ?“ To which he replies. “Oh no Bart – I’m as straight as they come – as long as I take this injection every 10 minutes!” He produces a mini needle and jabs himself in the arm. His eyes dilate and then in a crazed voice he punches the air and yells, “I love boobies!”

Now this is funny just cause it is. But again a great example of how the Simpson’s seeks to usurp. The comment between the lines? That people are who they are – if your ‘born’ gay, you can’t help it, it’s who God made you and no matter how we try and ‘fix’ the problem (thru drugs, religion etc) we can’t – because there is no problem in the first place.

Now of course, I don’t buy that for a second but you got to take your hat off to the Simpson’s for cramming all that into a 7 second bit of cartoon.

Scott

Light

Every morning as I walk to the kitchen to get the coffee, I see this on the wall.

And every morning I just have to reach out and touch it.

And every morning, I'm glad I did.

Scott

What the hell was he thinking?!

Ever had a conversation that caught you completely by surprise? Well, that was me yesterday at Mug and Bean (for the Aussie crowd - a coffee shop chain). Waiting for my mate Craig to arrive I was shown to my seat by one of the regular waiters. I had my bible with me and as soon as it hit the table . . . . "Is that the Holy Bible?" he asked. Actually it was more of an accusation that a question. "It sure is" I replied. "Let me show you something", and with that he helped himself and flipped straight to Mark Ch 16. I thought I was about to be harassed for the fact that the end of Mark gets all weird, but instead he started pointing out something about the Sabbath. "When was the Sabbath held in Jesus day?" Then it started to fall into place. Ahhh, this was to be a test. "Probably Saturday" said I. He felt he was close to the kill and flipped his way to Exodus and the 10 commandments. Smelling blood in the water he proudly pointed out that God had said to keep the Sabbath holy. Straightening up he asked smugly "So, what day do you go to church?" When I told him Sunday he just smirked and wagged his finger at me! I didn't know if I wanted to break his finger off or laugh. Instead I said, "But you've forgotten a verse. Let's have a look at Heb Ch 4." And I tried to show him that the Sabbath rest God is really concerned with is eternal rest with him in heaven and that it probably didn't really matter what day he went to church. Unfortunately it probably didn't quite come out that clearly at the time. He looked wounded and scurried back to the kitchen. I think I had won the fight but I didn't really feel good about it. I responded like an scholar when I really should have responded like an evangelist. Still, I always wondered where good ideas for blogs came from. Now I know. Scott

A quiet night in

Mood Music

I've had a crap day. There's reasons for it, good arguements to back me up, but that doesn't really matter does it? At the end of the day, you can't polish a turd. But I have found the perfect companion for this sort of Tuesday. Cake - not the food, the band, specifically their album 'Fashion Nugget'. The loud, hard sounds help exercise the demons. It's almost angry music. My advice - if your having a day like mine, don't listen to the new age sounds of streams in the forest - do yourself a favour and turn up Fashion Nugget. Scott PS: I don't want this post to take away from the one I put up a mintue ago. So scroll down and meet Jacques, he is a lot more deserving of your attention than my whinging.

Jacques

This picture has been a long time coming.

Meet Jacques and Daniel.
(Daniel is the tiny one.)

Jacques and I are anti natal class buddies but fortunately have a friendship that is self sufficent enough to dump the tiresome "anti-natal" bit.

Daniel was born just a month or so before Ben. (As you can tell from his collared shirt Jacques has a real job while I manage to slouch around in ill fitting t-shirts)

Anyway, here is a big "Howzit" to Jacques and Daniel!

Scott

1968, Protesters and the Gospel

On Saturday, Hayley was at the baby shower of a good friend (who is shooting for number four! I always get worried when the kids outnumber the parents) and that left a bunch of us men with a bunch of kids. Four of us blokes and seven kids all under the age of five to be precise. Potential chaos. The only thing that saved us was our “she’ll be right mate” attitude to looking after kids. It was actually kind of funny to watch. But what makes this blog worthy is that it produced the best gospel chat I’ve heard all year.

We were talking about the riots in Paris and it reminded Doug of a book he had about all the revolutions and uprisings in 1968 – as it turns out there were heaps. As he was paging thru the book giving us a run down Thomas, his four year old son asked,

“What’s a protester?”

“Well, a protester is someone who doesn’t like the way things are and wants to change them. The world isn’t the way it should be is it? What made it so bad?”

“Sin” Thomas replied.

“Spot on! But throwing rocks at police can’t solve that problem can it? How does God deal with sin?”

Thomas and his older brother James had a few shots at this one – Jesus coming back, God killing Satan, but eventually decided that it was when Jesus died on the cross.

Doug concluded with something like, “So you see protesting can’t solve the real problem of sin in this world, only Jesus could do that when he died on the cross for us.”

I sat back amazed. It wasn’t planned; Doug was just shooting from the hip. But what I witnessed in those few minutes was a brilliant gospel explanation. Not in a fake vacuum but in relation to social action, political ambition and the real state of mankind. Wow. It was the best gospel chat I’ve had all year.

Scott

Hate

You need to know I HATE working on Saturdays. I just really needed to get that of my chest. Scott