live like that


I cried when I heard this testimony on #klove . Here is the Australian version of the story.

When Ice cream used to cost a lot less, a little boy waited patiently in line to sit in a restaurant. The waitress came and the boy asked the waitress how much an icecream sunday costs. She said 50c. He counted his coins and asked how much a plain ice cream costs. By this time, the waitress was getting impatient because there was a line for tables. She replied 30c. So the little boy ordered a plain ice cream. She came back with the ice cream and put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the icecream and counted out his coins, paid the cashier and left. The waitress came to clear the table and cried. He had left her a tip. He had ordered a plain ice cream because he couldn't afford to buy the sunday and leave her a tip.

My thoughts: Can we be like the boy? Can we live less comfortably so that others can be touched by how we live? Can we bring others to Christ by living less comfortably? Being more baring? Letting others take advantage of us?


Guitar tabs

live like that 


Intro G,D, Em,C,D
(It's the same chord progression through the whole song)(Except for the tag)

Capo 3
Verse 1

G 
Sometimes I think 
                        D
What will people say of me 
                        Em
When I'm only just a memory 
                                C           D
When I'm home where my soul belongs 

        G
Was I love
                             D 
When no one else would show up 
                              Em
Was I Jesus to the least of those
                                  C        D 
Was my worship more than just a song 

Chorus

           G
I want to live like that
             D
And give it all I have
             Em
So that everything I say and do
 C                  D
Points to You 

     G
If love is who I am 
                    D
Then this is where I'll stand 
    Em
Recklessly abandoned 
               C         D
Never holding back 

G,D,Em,C
I want to live like that 
I want to live like that 

Verse 2

Am I proof 
That You are who you say You are 
That grace can really change a heart 
Do I live like Your love is true 
People pass 
And even if they don't know my name 
Is there evidence that I've been changed 
When they see me, do they see You 

I want to live like that 
And give it all I have 
So that everything I say and do 
Points to You 

If love is who I am 
Then this is where I'll stand 
Recklessly abandoned 
Never holding back 

I want to live like that 
I want to live like that 
Tag
A           C                 G                 D
I want to show the world the love You gave for me
A                      C                G             D
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King 

Chorus
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Movie Review: Courageous (2011)

Movie Review: Courageous (2011)

Movie summary: The movie opens with a father chasing after the thief of his car, risking his life. Then the onlookers realise that his baby was in the car. This father is a new member of the police force in a town. A few of the other members of the force are Christians and fathers. The new guys asks: where have all the good fathers gone?

The daughter of the main character passes away in a car accident and the father blames himself for not being there for her. They realise that having the lack of a role model and a fatherly figure is largely causing many problems in young people. These men make resolutions to love their family and to train them to love God and others. Pursue justice love mercy. Work diligently to provide for my family. As for me and my house, we will serve the lord.

They stick to their resolutions even if meant putting their jobs on the line, their friendship on the line.


My thoughts: Another good Christian family film by the team. I would encourage men out there to spare some time and watch this film.

Families are so important in the upbringing of a child. Being a parent takes responsibility. That's why my research looks at the roles of families in the development of substance use in young people. Preliminary results indicate that family conflict is an important and preventable risk factor for children. We also know that monitoring - knowing where your kids are is also very important.

The bible calls for the man to be spiritual head of the house, to lead his house to serve the Lord.

Where are you men of courage?


http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/c/casting_crowns/courageous_crd.htm 


Intro:
                       F#m7
We were made to be courageous
                         D
We were made to lead the way
                     Asus2
We could be the generation
                         E (hold)
the finally breaks the chains


Chorus 1:
                       D  Asus2  F#m7  E
We were made to be courageous
                       D  Asus2  E (hold)
We were made to be courageous


Verse 1:
                         F#m7
We were warriors on the front lines
                D
Standing, unafraid
                             Asus2
But now were watchers on the sidelines
                          E
While our families slip away
                        F#m7
Where are you men of courage?
                          D
You were made for so much more
                          Asus2
Let the pounding of our hearts cry
                  E
We will serve the Lord


Chorus 2:
                        D
 We were made to be courageous
          Asus2           E
And were taking back the fight
                       D
We were made to be courageous
          F#m7           Asus2
And it starts with us tonight

          D               Asus2
The only way we’ll ever stand
            F#m7                E
Is on our knees, we’re lifting hands
            D  Asus2  F#m7
Make us courageous
E                 D  Asus2  E (hold)
Lord, make us courageous


Verse 1:
This is our resolution
Our answer to the call
We will love our wives and children
We refuse to let them fall
We will reignite the passion
That we buried deep inside
May the watchers become warriors
Let the men of God arise


Instrumental:  D  Asus2  F#m7  E  D  
Asus2  F#m7  E


Bridge 1
D            Asus2       F#m7         E
Seek justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.
D            Asus2       F#m7         E
Seek justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.

Bridge 2
In the war of the mind I will make my stand
In the battle of the heart and the battle of the hand
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A love everyone deserves

My thoughts about: A love everyone deserves

We are sold stories about happily ever after as children. Sometimes we can see examples of how love lasts. There are stories about people growing old together and still being in love but these are few and far between.

I made a short film of my grandma. She had a stroke several years ago and is half paralized can has lost most of her speech. In the film, I asked her whether she loved my grandfather. Her eyes filled with tears but she did not speak. She just looked intensely at the camera. I took this video with me to the hospital to visit my grandpa. As soon as he saw the video, he reached for the camera and started to speak to my grandma- how are you, have you eaten, are you well? Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Even on his death bed my grandpa was concerned about my grandmother. Despite the many years of turmoil my grandma had put my grandfather through, the years of verbal abuse and complaint, he loved his wife.

We all have someone who loves us. Believe it. When we were swore enemies of Jesus- while our actions hurled insults at him, he loved us. And even on the cross, he forgave those who had persecuted him, he died for us, while we were still sinners. And this love, it's guaranteed to last!

I'm back in training after a torturous hike on the weekend. Please continue to support me!

_____________________________________________________________________________

Original article
http://spirituallythinking.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/love-everyone-deserves.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/JRhZc+(....and+Spiritually+Speaking)


A Love Everyone Deserves


"It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80′s arrived at the hospital
 to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.
 The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before
someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not
busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked
to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
 While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning,
 as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home
to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for
a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would
be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not
 recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning,
even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said,
‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’"
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research digest: Exercise does it again!


http://bps-occupational-digest.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/depression-and-burnout-vicious-cycles.html?spref=tw 


Depression and burnout: vicious cycles and the saving grace of exercise


Summary: Depression -> burn out, burn out -> depression and exercise can help to stop this vicious cycle. Exercise is good for sleep, helps with the physical consequence for stress, and psychological wellbeing. 

My thoughts: It's easy to say. My experience in therapy is that the rationale needs to be explained well. When you are depressed, one of the symptoms is a lack of motivation and unwillingness to get going. So to tell someone to simply go and go for a 10km run isn't going to work. When someone is burnt out and stressed, having to squeeze in an hour long pilates session seems almost impossible. 

Research like this provides a stronger rationale to present to clients. Some tips I have for introducing exercise include: 1) starting small- even walking out to the mailbox, and increasing the distance each day 2) be accountable to someone 3) making it something they would enjoy 4) check the homework 5) maybe even start a therapy session outside requiring low levels of exercise 6) always work with a team and seek medical advice before starting an exercise program. 

There is another type of exercise that often feels neglected. That is spiritual exercise. Ah, when things are positive it's easy to remember to pray and read the bible. But when things get tough, you have assignments, exams, and feel burned out, it may seem like it's impossible to fit spiritual things in. This spiritual exercise can also break down the negative cycle of complaints, lack of time etc. Our God's grace is always sufficient- so do some spiritual exercise today!
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Movie review: Jack and Jill (2011)

Movie review: Jack and Jill (2011)

Movie summary: Jack and Jill are twins. Now in their 40s, Jack works in advertising and has a beautiful wife, home and kids. His twin Jill is less bright, loud and comes across as annoying (that voice!) and lived with their mother until she passed away. Jill visits the family and over stays her welcome. Her brother constantly voices his annoyance and how embarrassed he is of her and all she does is cry about it. Then they discover that all she needs is someone to give her love to. In jumps Godfather al and mexican. Through this journey, Jack learns that although our family can be annoying and embarrassing sometimes, they are family and are to be loved and treasured.

My thoughts: When you watch this movie, you have to expect the roughness of an Adam Sandler film. As long as you realise you are not judging this film as an arts house film then you will find this film touching and full of lessons to be learned. Adam sandler plays both roles in the movie and although he doesn't live up to the greats who have done this in film previously, I don't think he was trying to. Like most of Adam's films the moral of the story is very very obvious.

Family, no matter who they are, what they do to us, they are gifts from God. Friends you get to choose, but family you don't. Friends you can replace, but family, we are bound by blood. Let us take more time to treasure our loved ones.
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Movie review: Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows (2011)

Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows (2011) 
Movie summary: Our hero is back. There have been a series of bombings that the media believes to be politically related. Watson is about to get married and will not longer be a partner for Sherlock. On the night before his wedding, he finds Sherlock hiding out in his home in camouflage.  He suspects that Holmes forgot to organize his bachelor party. And indeed, the party seems to be an excuse for Holmes to do some snooping. He both get roughed up and look quite messy at the wedding on the next day. 
As Watson sets out on his honeymoon to brighton, Sherlock meets Moriety- the suspected cause of the latest series of bombings and genius. He bargains with Moriety to leave Watson alone but he refuses. So Sherlock goes and rescues both Watson and his wife. The pair then work together to solve the crime. They work out that Moriety is behind the bombings and he intends to create a war and to make money selling weapons. Holmes works out that in order to take Moriety out of the picture, he himself must also be removed. And they both leap to a watery grave? At the end you see Watson writing about Sherlock and types "THE END" but this is followed by a question mark typed by our hero!



My thoughts: Being true to the original tale both this movie and Sherlock, the tv series has the same themes. And what I love about films like this is, they give you just enough information, presented in a seemingly random way then piecing it all back together to make perfectly coherent sense. And let's face it, I'm a big fan of the actor! 

My thoughts about this film. I think there was a bit too much action and compared to the tv series, it lacked the time for suspense building. The characters and Holmes abilities really stole the show. 

I wrote a post early about not putting a question mark where God has put a full stop. But the opposite can also be true, don't put a full stop where God has put a question mark. It's so hard though. People ask me, how do I know if God has put a full stop or a question mark in front of me? I can't tell you. Really can't. But the bible does give people some pretty specific advice at times. For David, he asked if he should attack- sometimes God will give you the green light- do it. Other times, God will give you a detour. But if we ask, he will answer. Great and unsearchable things you do not know!

1Chronicles 14: 
8 When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; 10 so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered him, “Go, I will deliver them into your hands.”
11 So David and his men went up to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, God has broken out against my enemies by my hand.” So that place was called Baal Perazim.[e] 12 The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, and David gave orders to burn them in the fire.
13 Once more the Philistines raided the valley; 14 so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 15 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 16 So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
17 So David’s fame spread throughout every land, and the Lord made all the nations fear him.
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Movie review: Hunger games 2012


Happy Hunger Games and May the Odds forever be in your favour. 


The Hunger games (2012) Summary: The story goes something like this. A a really weird and twisted world, there were 13 districts which served the Capitol. The 13th district rebelled against the capitol and was wiped out. To remember this, each year there is a Hunger Games- a survivor styled contest where each district sends 2 tributes (children selected at random) to compete for survival. The children kill each other and the sole winner is allowed to live and will be rewarded. Our heroine is from the 12th district. Her sister was chosen as a tribute but she goes in her place. Also from her district is a guy who claims to have loved her since the moment they first saw each other. This Hunger Games is a reality tv show that is watched by all but much to the delight and political power of the people living in the capitol. When the games begin, the children start killing themselves off.  There are only a few people left and while our heroine hides, the others have formed an alliance. But still, members keep dying off. Our heroine has captured the hearts of the people as she mourns the death of an young companion in battle. And she does this in full view of the public who salute her actions. The organisers of the games, fearing a public rebellion change the rules and allow two victors so our heroine and her love work together to survive. The organisers start to send other creatures to try to kill off the remaining contestants. Until the very end, our heroine and her lover try to commit suicide in front of the camera, there are both announced as winners and the movie concludes with their journey home.  The pair bring hope to those who support the rebellion. They were able to influence the way the games were played.

My thoughts: This is the first time I've seen a movie before reading the book. I just wanted to see what the hype was about and didn't have time to read. Fantastic cast, script and props. Everything was very realistic and surreal at the same time. And truly, after watching the movie, I wanted to know more. But I digress, I do not recommend this book or movie to very young people. There is a lot of graphic killing in this depiction. And I think deep within the book are many political messages. It leaves viewers wondering is killing necessary? Is it necessary to kill others to survive? And it reeks of rebellion against rules. On the positive side, young people are being taught to think for themselves, but truly, this film requires parental guidance.

Young people in the games are forced to believe that the only way to survive is to kill others off. That's the rules of the game. You see the pain and fear in each child's eyes as they realise that they are facing death and a slight chance of survival.  Because we are descendants of Adam, we too were faced with certain doom. From the moment we were born, we were heading towards this doom. No matter what we offer as a sacrifice, what good deeds we do, we would still die. We couldn't escape our fate. But the rules changed. Jesus came here to set us free from our sins, sins of origin, and we are made clean and right with God. Under this new rule, as long as we believe Jesus died for our sins and allow him to be lord over our life we are saved from this doom.

Can we too start a rebellion? The rules have already changed, can we follow our new leader Jesus Christ into a future full of hope?  
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