Have a blessed 2008.

Well, 2007 is just about over, where did it go? As we enter 2008 my prayer is that you will draw closer to God. For the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit I continue to pray for rain, both physical and spiritual.God is calling more and more of his people to prayer. Australia has a unique and special destiny in God, the best is yet to come. It is my dream to see revival sweep our country, that Australian's of all types and backgrounds will come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. That our great sporting arena's will be filled with people seeeking and praising God instead of sport. (Not that I don't like sport.} May Jesus be the guiding light that directs your path in 2008.

Christmas blessings.

Well I have done all my shopping and nearly all my baking. I have given out heaps of packages of shortbread and other goodies that I baked. Written all my cards and generally submerged myself in Christmas, which I love. Even though it can be a lot of effort, it is always a joy to bless others.

So as you celebrate this Christmas season with your loved ones I would wish you much happiness and remind you of our greatest gift. Jesus. Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." A David Meece song expresses my thoughts beautifully.

We Are The Reason
As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

We were the reason
That He gave His life
We were the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by
We learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves
And what that means
On a dark and cloudy day
A man hung crying in the rain
All because of love, all because of love

I've finally found the reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

He is my reason to live

It is my prayer this Christmas that Jesus would be your reason to live.

I am a survivor.

Last week was the anniversary of the car accident that has greatly impacted my life. It's funny I can still remember that morning so clearly, my plans for the day. Then I have a gap of time that I have never recovered, till I regained consciousness in casualty. You never believe it is going to happen to you, till it does.It's amazing the thoughts that go through your mind. I remember being glad that I had had a shower that morning. I also thought that I was dying, because of the pain I was in.This is actually a good thing as I remember clearly that I wasn't afraid because I loved God.All my life I had not had one broken one bone, till that day when I had 16 fractures all on my left side.

What I didn't realise then was how greatly my life was changed.I have always felt that the person I was before the accident, died or disappeared on that morning. Because the person that emerged afterwards was distinctly different. How I tried to get my life quickly back to normal. But normal didn't hide those things I was now struggling with. Pain entered my life than and has not left since. Post traumatic stress and interesting term but not an enjoyable process. Car accident victims should all be referred to counselling, which I wasn't.Trying to find my own answers was not easy. If I had not been a Christian I do not think I could have survived those days. So, here I am another year gone, I still stand a survivor. Christine's advice for when you are having a dark day and depression surrounds you. You must keep this one rule at those times. I will not make a decision that impacts my life when I can not trust my emotions to rule my life. My thoughts and prayers are with all those other survivors who deal daily with the consequences of a car accident.

Bowling and where is Jesus?

Hi, I have had a nice week not working.Although there always seems to be so much to do for Christmas. I have done a lot of walking around shopping centres in the last 2 days. A few more presents bought but a I have still have a bit to do. I had my first experience on Ebay the other day and to my surprise I actually won the auction, so I am just waiting to see what the item is like when it turns up. I hope it is ok as it is a Christmas present.

I went bowling the other night for my work Christmas break up. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately my physio had told me not to bowl one handed, nor was I to bend my knee. Ok you try and bowl with those instructions. So to no ones great surprise I came last however I was awarded the cutest little trophy. Anyway everyone had a good time which was the point of the exercise.

I stopped off at a cake decorating place yesterday to look for something to top my Christmas cake. All I found was Santa's and Merry Christmas.I went and asked the sales assistance if they any Nativity ones only to be told no. Interestingly enough she said that they have commercialised Christmas too much. I said to her there was no point celebrating Christmas if they take Jesus out of it. He is the reason for the season.

Fruit cake.

Well it took me a few hours but I now have a number of containers filled with shortbread. They turned out really well this year, stars, hearts, christmas trees, angels and those with the traditional scotch thistle pattern. Tonight I cut up the fruit for the fruit cake. I have to admit to hating this task, it is sticky, time consuming and plain hard work. Then at the end I add the rum, all this for a cake I will never eat. I hate fruit cake, however I am told I make a good one. I don't drink and have always disliked alcohol. So I am always astonished how much rum costs when I go and buy it for the Christmas cake. People actually choose to pay that much and drink this stuff!

My Christmas tree is up but I imagine I will still be tweaking it for days.I had a drama with the lights this year. For the first time they didn't work when I unpacked them. Trying to find the bulb that does not work amongst 100 bulbs is a challenge. I took my self off to the hardware store only to come back with the wrong bulbs. Yes, I will take one with me next time. So, I was disappointed a Christmas tree really needs it's lights. Then I got innovative the greenery I have hanging above my tree also has lights. On checking they were same size bulbs so I found one then two bulbs to replace. Holding my breath I turned the power on and it still didn't work. Not liking to be stumped I tried again today and found another bulb to replace and yes I have lights!

December already!

Since I have last blogged I recieved good news. I don't have to have the surgery I thought I did. So Praise God all systems go for Christmas preparation. I have already wrapped my first present. I am a little behind with my tree, I like to have it ready for the 1st December at the moment it is a work in progress. My weekend was flat out. I hit a popular market which I go to with a friend every December, it has become a Christmas tradition. Last year it rained, this year it was hot and the Australia's infamous flies were out in force. What is it with them this year? However I had a great time and got a few presents. Bonus!Then I dashed home to write a sermon which I finished at 11:30 pm. Talk about tired, Sunday I preached and then worked in the afternoon. Now I am on holiday for a little while, hooray. Sleep ins here I come. Tomorrow I plan to make a quadraple, it that a word, mix of shortbread. I can't help it I just love everything about Christmas.

Just me now!

So I have finished the course that got me started with my blog. Now I can put what I want on my blog. I have been a little quiet lately as I had some bad news recently. One great thing about being a Christian is that God is absolutely there when you need Him. I never have to go through anything alone. In my life I have had to deal with a lot of physical pain and sometimes that can be draining emotionally and physically. However I have found new depths in God during this time. We all have choices in our lives. We choose everyday to go towards God or away from Him. Choose life and light, choose God, find Jesus. It was the best decision I ever made in my life. Anyway you can pray for me in the next few weeks, I will let you know how I go.

Of course Christmas is coming, so my blog will probably have a strong Christmas theme from now on. Have you started your Christmas shopping? Do you find those who have finished already to be slightly annoying? I love all the rush and bustle to do with Christmas and all the cooking.

Learning 2.0

For someone who was initally reluctant to do this course, (how much time is this going to take?) I really got addicted to working on my blog. There was times I was doing it in my freetime at home. I was keen to see all the features I could add to it and very willing to show it to anyone who would have a look. Just yesterday I recommended Flickr to one of our library users. So what were my favourite things? I enjoyed Flickr, image generators, Youtube and Library Thing. But most of all I enjoyed having the experience of creating my blog. What I hated was everyones pet hate Newsfeeds. So all and all I will have to say I am glad that I have had this experience, it has made me feel a lot better informed and equipped to help our borrowers. Thanks to those administering the course for all the work you put in reading all our blogs. I have decided to keep mine going.

Audiobooks or the end is in sight!

Wow, my second to last exercise. Ok Audiobooks there is a wide range of audio books to be downloaded on the internet. Some are free the rest you obviously had to pay. My fist observation was a lot of the material was old or classic material. I found the Christian Classics Etheral Library http://worldebookfair.com/CCEL.htm. This site had a lot of classic Christian texts ie The imitations of Christ, Martin Luther and various translations of the Bible. My other observation was the sheer range of subjects and topics covered. I am not the type of person who likes to listen to an sudio book. I will have a go however downloading one on to Windows Media Player. With more and more people carrying ipods I am sure this is an area that will only grow and grow.

Podcasts

This whole exercise has shown me that the internet is a whole lot bigger than I knew. Being able to search for podcasts wouldnt have occured to me before. As far as libraries go you could do a podcast of classes that are taught. In our case Internet classes. You could also do podcasts of borrowers sharing about their favourite books, or you could add oral histories to the Local history pages. Interestingly enough my Church has just begun using a program similar to Audacity to record our sermons through a laptop. This is very useful as it can be recorded using our sound equipment and the laptop we use to play our music so we need no extra equipment. Best of all it is free.

Youtube

I acutally like Youtube. I have managed to find a few things I like as you can tell from the number of videos I have added to my blog. I choose the video raised from the dead because I have seen it on dvd. It is the true experience of a man who was dead for three days who God bought back to life. He was in a car accident, declared dead by a hospital and placed in a morgue for three days. His experience of heaven is also worth hearing. The other parts of this dvd are on Youtube. I didnt find the categories very helpful. I think they need a librarian to organize their site. It would be useful to add videos to our library webpages. We have just added a new electronic chute outside our library. If we had a video going on our webpages we might cut down the number of times we have to go out and show people how to use it.

Raised from the Dead - part 1

This is part one of a series you can find on Youtube. The true story of a man dead 3 days who was raised from the dead and his experience of heaven.

Third Day-Cry Out To Jesus

Third Day is one of my favourite Christian bands. Check them out.

19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools.

Ok I admit it. For someone who is not really into computer games I really like playing Guess the google. I am pretty sure for a librarian I should have a better hit rate with my guesses of the tags, half the time I am not sure what the pictures are of. I comfort myself with the fact that I am not a cataloguer. I also had fun with montage-a-google. You can see my skye terrier montage on the side of my blog. Some of the websites seem to be only applicable for America for example Yelp. These tools seem to cover every aspect of life from business to exercise. You can see the internet is just going to grow and grow in the ways it can impact our lives.

100 Million Souls! (www.cfan.org)

God is still moving today. Check out the awesome ministry of german missionary Reinhard Bonnke.

Zoho Writer

Zoho writer enabled me to import a recent sermon to its files and then it converted it so I could add it to my blog. How cool is that. I still have a lot to find out. But so far I can see me using this application to add things to my blog and my Church web page.

 

FAITH OUR ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT PREACHED PATTERSON LAKES 19/8/07.

 

What is the essential ingredient to the Christian life? Faith.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) Tells us that without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So what is faith? Faith is belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  One of the greatest visual examples I have seen comes from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indiana is faced with the impossible. All he sees is the sheer cliff edge and the vast gulf beneath him. Then, as he studies his guidebook, his face relaxes in realization, and he says, "It's a leap of faith." With his father whispering, "You must believe, boy, you must believe," Indiana looks straight ahead, gathers his courage, and slowly raises one foot into the empty air in front of him. With a thud, his foot lands on solid ground. The camera pans to show Indiana standing on a narrow rock bridge, deceptively carved to match the exact outline of the ravine beneath it. The steps of faith fall on the seeming void and find the rock beneath. - Whittier

When we became Christians we took a leap of faith. There was no scientific proof or evidence to back up our step. We took that step out into what seems to be nothing and found ourselves firmly in God’s loving arms. Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. - Augustine

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us. - John Emmons

Martin Luthers definition of faith says, “ Instead, faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn't stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks it, already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing.  Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever.  He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.

 

Notice Martin Luther says works come out of faith. This is instead of our works, showing faith or earning us salvation points. Ephes. 2:8-9 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. “ However when we begin the faith walk it should be one of ever increasing faith. Imagine this, that when you got saved you only took the tiniest step in faith. Now daily we need to be exercising the faith that we have.

The disciples asked Jesus in Luke 17:5 (KJV) Increase our faith. Luke 17:6 (MsgB) But the Master said, "You don't need more faith. There is no 'more' or 'less' in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, 'Go jump in the lake,' and it would do it.” Matthew 17:20 (MsgB)  "Because you're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." - George Mueller” God delights to increase the faith of His children...I say, and say it deliberately—trials, difficulties and sometimes defeat, are the very food of faith...We should take them out of His hands as evidences of His love and care for us in developing more and more that faith which He is seeking to strengthen in us.”

Jesus was telling the disciples you don’t need more faith you just need to use the faith that you have already. I believe faith is like a muscle we need to exercise it. The more we exercise it the bigger it grows. A couple of years ago I started to lift weights I started off small but soon I needed to move up to a heavier weight. Why because as I exercised my muscle had grown stronger. If we are not exercising our faith it will not grow. Jesus says our faith in God is like a seed. God changes the nature of a seed so that it becomes a plant; and the power of life that surges into the young plant is so great that even the mountain of the earth cannot stop it from pushing upwards. When we put faith into action, that is, when we release it unto God. It takes on a whole new nature, that of a miracle in the making.

 

Reinhard Bonnke "I’ve always had faith," somebody said to me. I asked what they had faith in, but it had never occurred to them. Faith in anything, maybe “nebulous hopefulness,” “pink pills for pale people,” “their ship coming in,” or just being lucky. Cheerful souls, trusting things would turn out well, somehow, by chance, or some unknown friendly providence. The agent for such transformation power, is resurrection faith, as Christ said "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Millions, perhaps victims of dope and spirits, find hope and new spirit, authentic life in Christ who said "I am the living One." Paul talked about "putting on Christ," getting inside resurrection life. "We put no confidence in the flesh," he said. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection." They have faith in faith, but not faith in God. I don’t believe in the power of faith, but in the power of God. Faith is only the wiring system. It needs plugging into to the power sources, the Cross of Christ and the empty tomb; the world’s highest potential.

Reinhard Bonnke certainly has learnt how to use the wiring system. In 1974 in obedience to a word from the Lord, Reinhard led his fledgling team to the national stadium of the country of Botswana in the city of Gaberones, to hold a city-wide Gospel Crusade. Although he had never preached in a stadium before, he trusted God for a miracle as one church after the other declined to participate, wondering who this unknown preacher was and why he was so enthusiastic about an obvious impossibility. With only one small fellowship co-operating, the meetings began and Reinhard's disappointment can be imagined when only one hundred people came to the first meeting. He nevertheless preached as if the place were full and to his complete amazement, after only a few minutes, a man in the congregation jumped to his feet and disrupted the proceedings by shouting out, "I've just been healed!" This was repeated five times over as others shouted out the same thing, resulting in an outburst of joyous praise. The news that God was doing miracles in the stadium soon spread across the city and by the final meeting, for the first time in his short ministry, Reinhard preached to a packed stadium. Thousands streamed forward for forgiveness of their sins, hundreds were healed and thousands more were baptized in the Holy Spirit - and this was just the beginning. Now he has seen over 28 million people saved. We may struggle believing for one person to be saved whilst Reinhard has exercised his muscle so the can confidently say he is believing for one million to be saved and he fully believes and knows that God can do it.

Our actions reveal our faith levels. We show in what we do how much we trust God in any given situation. If we are praying one thing and our actions are doing the opposite. How much are we trusting God. During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, "I can't see you!"

The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father. The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known.

When we stand on the promises of God we can trust our Father God that He will catch us. Do we believe what He said in His word is true. Do we trust Him when things go wrong? Do we trust Him when we don’t understand. Do we trust Him that He loves and cares for us? (Job 13:15) "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." Often the depth of our trust will depend on the depth of our knowledge of God. Do we trust Him with out lives, or only part of them. In order to trust in God, you must totally surrender your will, your ideas, your desires, and your future in to God's hands. Many of us are "control freaks." We don't want to give the control of any part of our lives over to another. If you don't believe that God loves you fully and really does have your best interests at heart and desires the very best for you, trusting Him is going to be extremely difficult. It takes a very special relationship to allow that measure of surrender. Most of us have a tendency to claim trust in God. However, at the first sign of any difficulty or trial, we think that God must not love us because He is allowing this difficulty to happen. The trial is exactly what God is using to test the level of trust that we have in Him. Hebrews 12:2 (KJV) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.Oswald Chambers. Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.

A number of times in scripture actions proceeded miracle’s. The woman, who had been sick for many years, pressing through the crowd. Her only thought, “ if I could just touch his clothes, he will heal me.” The sheer physical effort it would have taken her to drag her body there. Already her faith was a live wire filled with electricity that enabled her miracle. Mark 5:29-40 (MsgB)  The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with. [30] At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?"  [31] His disciples said, "What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you're asking, 'Who touched me?' Dozens have touched you!" [32] But he went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. [33] The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before him, and gave him the whole story. [34] Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague." The woman received her miracle because she acted on her belief.

 

There are other examples of great faith. The centurion soldier, who came to seek Jesus on behalf of his sick servant. When Jesus offered to come and heal him. The centurion   Matthew 8:9 (MsgB) I'm a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." Matthew 8:10 (KJV) When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. “

Unlike many of us who would have dragged Jesus home he believed He only had to say it and it would be so, as it turned out to be.

 

The Cananite woman, who begged and begged for Jesus to help her daughter who was afflicted by an evil spirit. She nagged and nagged until the disciples said to Jesus, do something she is driving us crazy. Matthew 15:26-31 (MsgB) He said, "It's not right to take bread out of children's mouths and throw it to dogs." [27] She was quick: "You're right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master's table." [28] Jesus gave in. "Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!" Right then her daughter became well.

If we truly believe our actions will show our faith. Our lives reflect our faith. We show it by our words, our giving, our witness. We give God the priority in all we do.

 

James 2:14-19 (MsgB) Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? [15] For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved [16] and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? [17] Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?     [18] I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."  Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

    [19] Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them?

James here is showing our faith should be resulting in works not because we think we have to.  We do it because the love of God, within us stirs us to minister to others. The two are closely entwined.William Booth in The Founder’s Messages to Soldiers,  “Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other. “

Growing in Faith.

 

1. Obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22 (KJV) And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  Obedience is again showing trust in God and His word. It is also submitting to Him as Lord of our lives. We bow our will to him. Galatians 2:20 (KJV)  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
    

2. Know the word. Romans 10:17 (KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Dr. B. J. Miller once said, “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” - MBI’s Today In The Word, November, 1989, p.11

3. Be in fellowship. If God is a priority, Church is not an option on Sunday mornings, it is an essential part of your week. Iron sharpens iron. I don’t care how long you have been in the faith, you stay out of fellowship your walk will grow cold. Hebrews 10:25 (KJV) 

    Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

4. Servanthood.  Alarge group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world’s only famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret.

When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never know by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant’s heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.

5. Prayer. It is in prayer that we truly see faith in action. We ask in His name boldly because He has given the promise. We ask in expectation and believe of His answer. James 5:16b (MsgB)  The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Laying a grasp of Gods promise we release them along the wire of faith, directly to Gods throne room. Knowing that He who is faithful will answer them.
 

          6. Love. Galatians 5:6 (MsgB)   For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. The more love we express to God and to our fellowman, the more our faith is improved.  It is that simple. Love is the motivation to obey God, to read His word with sincerity, to do good works, to be exhorted, and  to pray.  These are things that develop our faith to be what God desires for us to be. 

Let us all be expanding our faith. Romans 5:1 (KJV Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Romans 5:1 (MsgB) By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. God is desperate for strong men and woman of faith, the He can walk hand in hand with.

 

 

 

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No Internet.

Hi all I have been feeling isolated with no internet access for the last few days. I still have to face the large number of emails I have waiting. So poor blog you have been deserted. What happened, my keyboard died. As I am still in the process of changing pcs I tried to plug my keyboard into my new pc, which I finally using now, to find that the connection cord was broken. As chance would happen this was the day after my hard rubbish had been picked up. So I now have a new keyboard and mouse which is cordless, cool. However I still need one of the old keyboards to rescue some documents from my old pc. Soon I will be down to one pc. Enough of techno dramas. I have started to get ready for Christmas, my favourite time of the year. This is the time that reminds of us of the greatest gift we ever recieved, Jesus who is my best friend.

Wiki's

There are many applications for libraries using wikis. Obviously libraries have to make decisions on who can add to the wikis. I noticed library ones were open for public editing and others closed. Obviously vandalism and unwanted posts would mean staff need to keep an eye on content.

Otherwise the possiblities are endless, book reviews, subject guides, staff manuals, training etc. The great advantage is that you edit easily, keeping your wiki up to date. It is up to libraries how far they want to go. Specialist groups within the library service for example A Genealogy wiki which borrowers could add to. Outside community groups could have a page where they post upcoming events.

Keegan vs. Big Blue Ball 2

This cute skye terrier is having some trouble with the blue ball.

On Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

I know libraries have to keep adapting to the times to remain relevant. With a current generation who will turn to the internet rather than a book, which could be the easier option. We need to be visible on the internet in a variety of ways. Obviously this goes beyond out own library web pages.Last week I joined a borrower who had travelled to our Library system because she found on the internet through Libraries Australia that we had a book. We as Librarians need to keep up with our patrons and find new groups of users through the way we market our services on the web. The number of times people have said to me I didn't know libraries had... shows me that non users have an outdated concept of what a library is. The internet archives information we are the key managers of information resources we need to get on board. The time has come to fully embrace the wider information rescources that now make up our Libraries.

New Poll

Hi All, I have added a new poll. Please check it out and vote. There is hard rubbish near where I live. I always find it amazing to watch people checking out others junk. Of course one persons junk is another's treasure. I can't talk as I picked my lounge suite up from the side of the street.

My poll.

My poll is finished giving me results I don't like. At least people know I didn't rig the poll. 65% responded that they didn't believe in God. To be honest this makes me sad as God is the most real thing in my life. He gives me purpose and hope.There is nothing more exciting than knowing Jesus and entering into relationship with God the Father. It makes life a great adventure. If you ever want know anything about God please just ask. Anyway keep an eye out for next poll coming soon.

J. McDowell, Answers to Tough Questions, under “Miracles
People refuse to believe that which they don’t want to believe, in spite of evidence. When explorers first went to Australia they found a mammal which laid eggs; spent some time in water, some on land; had a broad, flat tail, webbed feet, and a bill similar to a duck.

Upon their return to England, they told the populace of this, and all felt it was a hoax. They returned to Australia and found a pelt from this animal and took it back to England, but the people still felt it was a hoax. In spite of the evidence, they disbelieved because they didn’t want to believe.

”

Tradesmen.

Ok this is going to sound like a winge because it is. Why do tradesmen never come on time. I spent a few hours today waiting for a tradesmen to turn up when I really had other things to do. As this is my main day off I was a little annoyed by the time he finally turned up. The Christian in me reminded me not to be too nasty. However a phone call to let me know that he was runnning late have been nice.

Re del.icio.us

Hi All,

I have a del.icio.us account. http://del.icio.us/skyegirl. It has been interesting to check out the websites shared by others who posted the same webpages. I also added a couple from the http://del.icio.us/PLCMCL2/ website. As I am in process of changing computers this could be a useful way of saving my websites online.

CLC - I'm A Pentecostal

Re Rollyo.

Hi All,

I created my own Rollyo roll called Top Christian sites combining some of my favourite sites. I found this really useful to use as I was researching the sermon I preached this morning. Instead of having to do the search a number of times I could do it once, and choose results from whatever webpage I wanted. Really cool! I will definately use this again. Feel free to use my Rollyo you can find it here on my blog.

Road encounter.

Hi all. I was just driving along yesterday when suddenly trees or rather bits of trees appeared directly in front of me. Slightly panicking I braked quickly just managing to stop in time. Fortunately the car behind me had time to stop. There I was stuck looking at these big bits of tree that had fallen off the trailer that was ahead of me. Finally I managed to get round and continue my journey. As I did however I was reminded of God's promise to me. This is the Message version of the Bible Psalm 91:11-12 He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. 12] If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. I thank God for His continued presence and protection in my life.

Make your own Dummies cover.

dummies
Originally uploaded by christinewhaley

Hi All look at the Dummies book cover I created.

It was easy you can do it too all you have to do is to go to

http://www.signgenerator.org/books/dummies/

re Image generators

Hi I have been having fun with image generators. I have designed a plate on the delftware generator put makeup on a Blythe doll and found out my blues name which is Fingers Eva Jenkins. I was also able to use the Bob Dylan generator to create a message for a big Bob Dylan fan I know. I will trying a few more of these websites.

I don't like bloglines.

Hi, well I have set up my bloglines account. I found it to be one of the least helpful websites I have ever been on. Could I for the life of me work out how to get my url . And yes, I saw the diagram on the screen could I see the same thing on my screen, no! Here are the feeds I have subscribed to.
BBC News News Front Page World Edition (0) (157)
Bloglines News (0) (10)
Christianity Today Magazine (0) (13)
THE ELIJAH LIST (0) (10)
Ps Christine's Corner (0) (2)
Quotes of the Day (0) (5)
The Shifted Librarian (0) (11)
Supernatural Living Messages (0) (4)
Unshelved (0) (1)
So far I am not a huge fan.

Adventures at the Gym.

Hi all went to the gym today. Is it just me or is hard to make some of the equipment work. My last two trips I have not been able to get the exercise bike to work properly. Yes, I can cycle on it but I can't get the electronic bit that counts calories etc to come on. So today I was feeling like an idiot too embarrassed to ask someone when at the end of my exercises I tried another bike and worked out maybe it was the bike I was using that didn't work. The lat pulldown is not made for short people I am glad no one was there to see me stand on the seat to pull it down.

Persecution in Eritrea.

Listening to Radio Australia last night I was shocked to hear a BBC report from Eritrea in Africa. Eritrea is small East African County bordered by Ethopia, Sudan and Djibouti. Christians are being tortured and being asked to recant their faith. In May 1992 the government banned all faiths except for Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran and Islam. Pentecostal and Evangelical Churches have been especially targeted with many christians having to flee the country. Reports of Christians being locked in shipping containers and being tortured abound. Patriarch Abune Antonios, the head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church afo has been under house arrest for almost two years. Check these news reports yourselves.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7015033.stm
http://www.human-rights-and-christian-persecution.org/eritrea.html
Please pray for the Church in Eritrea.

#5 flickr

S1, originally uploaded by christinewhaley.

HI, this is a picture of Samantha which I have added from my Flickr account. I have learnt how to add photos although I am still having trouble emailing some accross from my yahoo account. It is amazing the wide range of photos that you can find on flickr on nearly every subject imageable. What a great way to keep photos especially as you can choose who views them.

Greyfriar's Bobby

Greyfriar's Bobby, originally uploaded by WordRidden.

Samantha is a Skye Terrier as was the famous Greyfriars Bobby. After his master died Greyfriars Bobby sat on his grave for 14 years only leaving for food. When a new bylaw was passed that required all dogs to be licenced the Lord Provost of Edinburgh Sir William Chambers paid for his licence. This Skye Terrier showed the ultimate devotation master for dog. Today you can see this statue in Endinburgh.

Computers!

Hi, I got a new computer today which should be fun. However getting the files across from my old computer onto the new one is proving to be a drama. At the moment I am on my old one till I figure out what to do. Did some gardening on the weekend. I have been planting seedlings as I love to see flowers in my garden. I see God in the garden, as Paul wrote your reap what you sow. That applies to life as it does to gardening.

Samaritan's Purse.

I did some shopping today for my Samaritan's Purse boxes. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get an empty shoe box. I asked at 5 shops before I got one. Samaritans Purse is a great way to bless a child in another country. The children are often orphans or from impoverished families.
Check it out yourself on http://www.samaritanspurse.org/.

Why is my blog called Ps Christine's corner?

I called my blog Ps. Christine's corner because I have two professions. Part of the week I work in a thriving Public library service and the rest I am a Associate Pastor at my Church. All this keeps me very busy. More later.

Hi from Christine

Hi All,

Welcome to my first blog. It is a lovely day in Melbourne today and the library I am working at is buzzing along.