Humility is a bit like a bad pie. Think spinich pie, or a broccoli pie. A pie full of good things, full of nutrition, full of the stuff that our bodies need to grow and develop - that is hard to swallow and doesn't taste all that great.
Weird analogy? It probably is. But today in CBM, we were looking at the book of Daniel and looking at the way that God really humbles Nebuchadnezzar by removing his kingdom. You can read it for yourself in Daniel 4. Nebuchadnezzar pretty much gets a dream from God about how great his kingdom is, but how if he doesn't turn to God, he'll lose it all. Daniel tells him this, and yet, King Nebby just doesn't listen!
I just don't understand how King Nebby can still be so proud and ignore God - even when God himself warns him of his impending destruction.
But then, I guess I'm a little like good old King Nebby at times. I guess there are times when God just has to remove those things that stand in our way to teach us who really is boss after all. Nebby lost his entire kingdom - reduced to eating grass like a cow - just so God could really teach him and build him up from nothing.
People say things like the financial crisis are terrible, and sure, lots of people are struggling and lots of people are facing hard times right now because of it, but how wonderful is God for giving us the opportunity to become humble before him?
Now I'm not blaming the GFC on God, or saying that God is happy about the people who are suffering - these terrible things happen because we live in a terrible world who doesn't want anything to do with God. I am saying that even in these dark times, God is still lovingly providing for us and teaching us about the important things, those things that will last eternally, and giving us the chance to be humbled before him. If we don't have anything to be proud about, how then can we be proud?
Food for thought. God making us humble is a wonderful thing, yet painful at the time. God teaching us patience, testing our love, and continually shaping us to be like his Son hurts, because it costs us and requires sacrifice. But for eternal life, I don't think that's really much to pay at all.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Hello Assignments
Approaches To Text
- I should really check what is due
- Apparently I'm meant to read all of Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde by last Monday. Sigh.
Radio Journalism
- Some group activity for Monday
- At least 3 western sydney radio stories but most like 5 or 6
Television Journalism
- Finish editing sequence
- Record narration
- Export the entire thing onto another tape
Visual Thinking
- Analysis of Fantasia by Thursday
- Presentation by Thursday on FAntasia and other animation
- Presentation summary by the thursday after
- 3000 word essay due week 12 (OMG THREE WEEKS NOT EVEN *DIE DIE DIE*)
Sorry. I will now have no social life. Please bear with me in these hard times.
If you wish to see me, come to church on Sunday night ;)
- I should really check what is due
- Apparently I'm meant to read all of Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde by last Monday. Sigh.
Radio Journalism
- Some group activity for Monday
- At least 3 western sydney radio stories but most like 5 or 6
Television Journalism
- Finish editing sequence
- Record narration
- Export the entire thing onto another tape
Visual Thinking
- Analysis of Fantasia by Thursday
- Presentation by Thursday on FAntasia and other animation
- Presentation summary by the thursday after
- 3000 word essay due week 12 (OMG THREE WEEKS NOT EVEN *DIE DIE DIE*)
Sorry. I will now have no social life. Please bear with me in these hard times.
If you wish to see me, come to church on Sunday night ;)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Manning St Take Away - good cheap uni food :)
During a mad hunt for free on street parking at Kingswood campus the other day, I discovered a little row of shops tucked away neatly in Manning St. For those of you unfamilliar with street names, Manning St is opposite the park with the swings and is the first street you come across when walking from the uni past the primary school. Right at the end of these little shops, hidden in a back corner, was a small takeaway shop with a little yellow sign bearing faded words that read "Manning St Take Away".
The store was cluttered with a narrow passage between the counters and hot food display and shelving behind. A small Asian lady with a friendly smile stood awaiting my order.
The first thing to appeal to me about this obscure little eatery were the prices. Less than half the price of any UWS Connect store, I was able to buy a chicken burger for $3.50, chips for $2.50, potato scollops at 70 cents each - prices I hadn't seen in a long time! Lunch suddenly became affordable once again to a poor starved Centerlink receiving student like me. The lady nodded as she took my order, and returned shortly with my food all wrapped and ready to go.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I unwrapped my chicken burger. The store was hidden, narrow and dark inside, the little Asian lady seemed friendly enough, but for the price I had paid, would the burger be safe, let alone tasty?
It was marvelous. Among the best chicken burgers I had ever had. The meat was moist and the right texture, the lettuce crunchy, the tomato fresh and ripe, the maonaise tangy and sweet, the bread roll light and fluffy. The only downside to my burger was that it ended too soon. The chips and potato scollops were fairly average - there isn't really much that changes between stores in the flavor of chips except for their price. And for $2.50, the portion we were served was very generous.
All up, my chicken burger, chips and potato scollop lunch cost me $6.70 - which for the same price at UWS Connect, I could possibly get a packet of wedges with sour cream and have 20 cents change. If you're going to be bothered to walk up the stairs to get to the food court, walk that extra five minutes and save your money. It's much better value.
:-)
The store was cluttered with a narrow passage between the counters and hot food display and shelving behind. A small Asian lady with a friendly smile stood awaiting my order.
The first thing to appeal to me about this obscure little eatery were the prices. Less than half the price of any UWS Connect store, I was able to buy a chicken burger for $3.50, chips for $2.50, potato scollops at 70 cents each - prices I hadn't seen in a long time! Lunch suddenly became affordable once again to a poor starved Centerlink receiving student like me. The lady nodded as she took my order, and returned shortly with my food all wrapped and ready to go.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I unwrapped my chicken burger. The store was hidden, narrow and dark inside, the little Asian lady seemed friendly enough, but for the price I had paid, would the burger be safe, let alone tasty?
It was marvelous. Among the best chicken burgers I had ever had. The meat was moist and the right texture, the lettuce crunchy, the tomato fresh and ripe, the maonaise tangy and sweet, the bread roll light and fluffy. The only downside to my burger was that it ended too soon. The chips and potato scollops were fairly average - there isn't really much that changes between stores in the flavor of chips except for their price. And for $2.50, the portion we were served was very generous.
All up, my chicken burger, chips and potato scollop lunch cost me $6.70 - which for the same price at UWS Connect, I could possibly get a packet of wedges with sour cream and have 20 cents change. If you're going to be bothered to walk up the stairs to get to the food court, walk that extra five minutes and save your money. It's much better value.
:-)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Being Bold, Yet Gentle (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Went away to Kiah Ridge with the church on our Weekend Away - and came back once again refueled and ready for action of a different kind.
The weekend was very challenging practically, which is the kind of challenge I love. If I can't take it and go "Okay! This is what I am going to change about x y and z!" then I seem to get frustrated and confused how to apply it to my life.
Looking at Hebrews, and in particular Hebrews 10:24 - 25, I was so challenged as to what church is and what it means and how we can be encouraging our friends and people at church. Praise God ! It's fantastic to be encouraged and challenged about these things and I've been so pumped ever since.
Usually, when someone says "Don't give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing" and explains the importance of following people up, making sure that they are okay in their walk with God and all that other stuff, I immediatley run out and tackle anyone who wasn't at church the previous week, screaming and yelling things like "WHY WEREN'T YOU AT CHURCH?! WHY ARE YOU TURNING AWAY FROM GOD?!"
God is ever patient and forgiving with me. Thank goodness for that. He lovingly showed me over the weekend something that seems so ridiculously obvious now that I look at it, but that I couldn't see before.
"Meeting together" isn't meeting together at a 9:30 service, or a 10:30 service, or at 6pm service, or at youth group, or bible study, or any other structured activity. Meeting together is simply, meeting together, catching up, hanging out - and when there are two or more, it's church! Augh, so simple. How could I be so dumb not to realise it?
The whole point is to not get hung up on attending a service or activity, but to keep meeting with Christians, keep encouraging them to honor God and to encourage others. It just makes so much sense.
And so now, I'm trying to be a lot more gentle. It's okay if the conversation doens't result in a total commitment from the other person to church, and it's also okay to invite people to church / youth group / whatever. The most important thing is that they (and us) don't stop meeting up with other Christians and encouraging each other. I'm not saying that church is irrelevant or anything like that - I'm just making the point that Hebrews isn't specifically talking about a 6pm service or anything.
Which has been view changing for me.
Praise God :)
The weekend was very challenging practically, which is the kind of challenge I love. If I can't take it and go "Okay! This is what I am going to change about x y and z!" then I seem to get frustrated and confused how to apply it to my life.
Looking at Hebrews, and in particular Hebrews 10:24 - 25, I was so challenged as to what church is and what it means and how we can be encouraging our friends and people at church. Praise God ! It's fantastic to be encouraged and challenged about these things and I've been so pumped ever since.
Usually, when someone says "Don't give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing" and explains the importance of following people up, making sure that they are okay in their walk with God and all that other stuff, I immediatley run out and tackle anyone who wasn't at church the previous week, screaming and yelling things like "WHY WEREN'T YOU AT CHURCH?! WHY ARE YOU TURNING AWAY FROM GOD?!"
God is ever patient and forgiving with me. Thank goodness for that. He lovingly showed me over the weekend something that seems so ridiculously obvious now that I look at it, but that I couldn't see before.
"Meeting together" isn't meeting together at a 9:30 service, or a 10:30 service, or at 6pm service, or at youth group, or bible study, or any other structured activity. Meeting together is simply, meeting together, catching up, hanging out - and when there are two or more, it's church! Augh, so simple. How could I be so dumb not to realise it?
The whole point is to not get hung up on attending a service or activity, but to keep meeting with Christians, keep encouraging them to honor God and to encourage others. It just makes so much sense.
And so now, I'm trying to be a lot more gentle. It's okay if the conversation doens't result in a total commitment from the other person to church, and it's also okay to invite people to church / youth group / whatever. The most important thing is that they (and us) don't stop meeting up with other Christians and encouraging each other. I'm not saying that church is irrelevant or anything like that - I'm just making the point that Hebrews isn't specifically talking about a 6pm service or anything.
Which has been view changing for me.
Praise God :)
Dragon Ball - Best Served as a Cartoon
Dragon Ball
Directed by: James Wong
Released into Cinemas: A few weeks ago. Thursday 9th April?
It was a cold, dreary, rainy Tuesday night, leaving me depressed and unmotivated to go outside. Upon remembering that Tuesday night was Tight-Ass Tuesday, and that movie prices were a mere $10, I decided to go and experience the wonders of the Dragon Ball movie myself.
I had heard it was rated 1.5 stars, which I found hard to believe. If Twilight had gotten 2 stars, how bad could Dragon Ball really be?
I think James Wong has really mastered the art of butchering cartoons, because that's what he seems to do with Dragon Ball. The first two minutes left me feeling like I had walked into The Karate Kid by mistake. This was followed by an hour and a half of cheesy dialogue, cliched lines, fake characters and terrible acting. Themes such as avenging the grandfathers death, saving the world, and getting the girl were nothing new, and were horribly done. I cringed every time Bulma dramatically declaired that they would find the Dragon Balls.
As for links to the cartoon - poorly done Mr Wong. The costuming is terrible and cheesy, and frankly, Goku and Bulma looked ridiculous. Bulma's hair was also blue originally, I don't think the costuming department really cut it by putting one blue hair extension in her fringe. Surely they could've invested in a wig if they couldn't afford to do a real job? The only person who I thought was done fairly well was Master Roshi, bearing the same Hawaiian shirt he was famous for in the series.
If you loved the cartoon as I did, you'll spend the entire movie waiting to see how they portray characters in real life. Sadly, you'll be disappointed. Picollo, the green alien from Planet Namek, appeared as though he'd just walked off the set of Doctor Who rather than the brutal creature he was in the cartoon. Only very few characters feature in the Dragon Ball movie, leaving you disappointed when you realise old favourites, like Vegeta and Krillen, aren't even mentioned.
Dragon Ball left me feeling nostalgic and remeniscent of my days as a kid when I didn't mind being late to school for the sake of watching Dragon Ball Z. Like majority of the audience, the movie continuously made me laugh, leaving me unable to take it seriously. Overall, it was cheesy and poorly done, but I'm glad I was part of that experience. It gives me yet one more thing to complain to my friends about.
I don't think I'm alone in saying that Dragon Ball really works best as a cartoon.
Directed by: James Wong
Released into Cinemas: A few weeks ago. Thursday 9th April?
It was a cold, dreary, rainy Tuesday night, leaving me depressed and unmotivated to go outside. Upon remembering that Tuesday night was Tight-Ass Tuesday, and that movie prices were a mere $10, I decided to go and experience the wonders of the Dragon Ball movie myself.
I had heard it was rated 1.5 stars, which I found hard to believe. If Twilight had gotten 2 stars, how bad could Dragon Ball really be?
I think James Wong has really mastered the art of butchering cartoons, because that's what he seems to do with Dragon Ball. The first two minutes left me feeling like I had walked into The Karate Kid by mistake. This was followed by an hour and a half of cheesy dialogue, cliched lines, fake characters and terrible acting. Themes such as avenging the grandfathers death, saving the world, and getting the girl were nothing new, and were horribly done. I cringed every time Bulma dramatically declaired that they would find the Dragon Balls.
As for links to the cartoon - poorly done Mr Wong. The costuming is terrible and cheesy, and frankly, Goku and Bulma looked ridiculous. Bulma's hair was also blue originally, I don't think the costuming department really cut it by putting one blue hair extension in her fringe. Surely they could've invested in a wig if they couldn't afford to do a real job? The only person who I thought was done fairly well was Master Roshi, bearing the same Hawaiian shirt he was famous for in the series.
If you loved the cartoon as I did, you'll spend the entire movie waiting to see how they portray characters in real life. Sadly, you'll be disappointed. Picollo, the green alien from Planet Namek, appeared as though he'd just walked off the set of Doctor Who rather than the brutal creature he was in the cartoon. Only very few characters feature in the Dragon Ball movie, leaving you disappointed when you realise old favourites, like Vegeta and Krillen, aren't even mentioned.
Dragon Ball left me feeling nostalgic and remeniscent of my days as a kid when I didn't mind being late to school for the sake of watching Dragon Ball Z. Like majority of the audience, the movie continuously made me laugh, leaving me unable to take it seriously. Overall, it was cheesy and poorly done, but I'm glad I was part of that experience. It gives me yet one more thing to complain to my friends about.
I don't think I'm alone in saying that Dragon Ball really works best as a cartoon.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Dear Christine
I like your blogs. You are interesting to read, and I actually took the time today to go onto blogger and read your blogspot blogs because you refuse to post them on Facebook.
Please come back to facebook.
The end
Please come back to facebook.
The end
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