Forget the prosperity doctrine, forget the golden rule, forget being baptised in the Spirit... I discovered the answer of how to feel the touch of God attached to the end of a chain email today.

Email  this. 
Title : This is beautiful !  Try not to cry. 

Send this to 10 people in 2 minutes and you will feel the Holy Spirit 
brightning your life in just an  hour.

We've all forwarded emails so that we meet the loves of our lives, or so that we don't have bad luck for the next seven years, or so that the ghost of a dead girl with no eyes won't appear beside our beds with a knife while we sleep. Now it seems even GOD is jumping on the chain-mail bandwagon!

Well there you go! Forget about the whole "living a Christian life" thing, just forward the email, and God will brighten your life in no more than an hour! Life brightening is nothing more than an email away.

Unfortunately, in the time that it's taken me to write this blog, I've missed the two minute deadline. What does this mean? Does this mean that I can't possibly experience the brightening from the Holy Spirit for at least the next hour? Does it mean I'll never again feel it? Who knows? I would say that God works in mysterious ways... but, as has just been proven, it's quite easy to pinpoint exactly how He works.

Does God have one of those Hotmail trackers? You know the sort - the ones that they use when they only have 6000 email address possibilities left, so they start deleting people's to make room, and if you don't forward the email to twenty people in the next two days, then they'll delete yours. Is that how He knows who to bless (anyone who forwards the email), and who to smite (those dreadful pagans like myself who didn't)? Or is He simply omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, knowing exactly who has and hasn't? That sounds like the God I know - completely unbound by space, time, law, or logic - but bound to His agreements to bless those who forward this email.

Man, does my life feel un-brightened now. The post-not-forwarding-the-email depression is starting to set in.

But seriously. God does brighten lives, and for all I know, He could choose to brighten it as a result of forwarding a chain email. But the way that He brightens can never and WILL never be chosen by humans. To try and tell someone exactly how and when the Spirit will move is absolutely ludicrous. If you want to get blessed (and face it, who doesn't?), then how that happens is up to God.

If you want your life brightened, I can think of two things straight off the bat...

Follow His will for your life ("Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and enjoy being with God ("Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37;4).

And another top way is to stop forwarding emails to me... but I couldn't find a good biblical passage to back that one up. Nuts.

I hardly ever use this blog anymore, BUT, it is useful to upload masses of photos onto. If I were staying here for longer, I'd write a blog about the formal... but I really don't have time, going out now. Someday I'll also caption all the photos too. Maybe. We'll see. Have fun flicking through what was a fantastic night with fantastic people! (Aww, that was so mushy.)

I sit here writing a blog, knowing the end of an era has come. Part of that era is evidently MSN spaces, considering I'm writing this on MySpace first... but will probably post it on MSN too. Everybody wave at the people that still read my MSN space!!!

But that's not the main part of the era.

Rather, the era revolves around school, to an extent. As I type, we have but 4 days of school left... only two of which are proper, actual school. 13 years all speeding to a churning stop... concluding with a metaphor that really doesn't make all that much sense, as I read it back to myself. But you get that.

I spose technically it's the end of 16 years of school... seeing as I went to two kindergartens (or preschools for you NSWers) and a preschool (which is the year before you start school... gah, ruddy QLD/NSW comparisons!). But realistically, that's not the biggest part of the era that's finishing.

No, the era that is about to conclude in my life is that of the $11 haircut. Barry's offers haircuts for $11 to school students... and that's all about to change. I'm going to have to pay the full $14. That's anywhere between 12 and 18 dollars I'm going to be losing every year... you could buy one and a half haircuts for that. There's only one way to go out in style.

From the morning of the graduation assembly, I'm not going to shave whatsoever. Then the morning of the formal, I'm going in to Barry's. But I'm not going to get an $11 haircut. Instead, I'm going to get a $12 shave. Just because I can. And you've gotta look schmick for your formal. Seems a fine and fitting way to wave goodbye to the times that I've enjoyed for so long.

There is truly no better way to kick off an online blog than with an entry about facial hair.

Why is that, you ask? Because we don't get ruddy Internet in our new house. (Our new house is absolutely awesome by the way, when I get the chance I'll upload some pictures of my domain, aka the room at the bottom that's mine) - no one gives us it. Not even my mate Al who offered me a job when he was supposed to be selling Foxtel or something.

 

It's both a blessing and a curse really... a blessing because it's forced me to overcome my MSN addiction (heh, who doesn't have one these days?), but a curse because it's quite inconvenient when you need to get stuff for assessments. But, not too many of them left! Tomorrow's my last day of holidays...

 

...ever.

 

AUGH!

 

Anywho, so yeah. Maybe if and when we get Internet, I'll update again. But most people appear to be pretty much over MSN spaces these days... ah well, what can you do. Watch this space!

 

...but not too carefully, because to be perfectly honest, not having the Internet is kinda relaxing.

Three hopeless refs in four games, what can you do?!? Ah well, maybe now I'll start getting enough sleep. Hey, State of Origin's on next week, remember Rugby League? Forgot about that sport.

For anyone who hasn't moved, this will mean nothing to you... but how bad is the taste of masking tape?!? SO bad!!!

 

I did a week. Forever more people will sing odes to Nick, who against all odds, held off MSN for an entire week. Minus the weekend.

 

Anywho, if you haven't done it yet, read my last blog.

  

The end of an era has arrived... after five and a half years of attendance, involvement and love for the place, my time at Metford Baptist is no more. All that remains is the love for the place.

 

God told me it was time to leave. That might seem strange to people, but it's absolutely 100% true. And I know it is, because anyone who knows me knows that I'm stubborn - I do NOT give up easily (or, in fact, ever). If it wasn't God, there's no way I'd be leaving. But it is God, and I have left. Wanna know how He told me? Huh? Huh? Well, I'll tell you how He told me.

 

Philippians 4:7:
"And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

 

Yeah, I know I posted it about a fortnight ago, but it's even truer to me now than it ever has been. I have complete peace with the situation, which from all logical standpoints doesn't make sense. Metford Baps is my church, I love everyone there, I love playing music and running youth and everything else I've done there, right from the overhead projector back when I was 12, to teaching and watching all the SC@T kids grow up, to speaking from the pulpit. I was baptised there, I grew up there. I still love so many people there.

 

I love that church. And God has big plans for it.

 

Yeah, it's going through a rough patch. A really, REALLY rough patch. But even so, it's been going through a rough patch for the last year at least, longer for some people. My leaving isn't coz it's going through a rough patch, coz if it was, I'd have gone about 8 months ago when Dad left. My leaving isn't because of people either, because most of the people I love (the only people I don't are the ones I haven't met, but whenever I meet them, I find they're AWESOME! Like Pat, the guy that looks like Morpheus! Meet him, go on, do it), and I know God will fix those he has to fix.

 

My leaving is, pure and simple, because God told me to. And if it was for anything else, I wouldn't have that peace in my heart, soul and mind. And without that peace, I wouldn't be leaving. See how it all works in a nice little circle?

 

God is bigger than Metford. God is bigger than Maitland. God is bigger than Australia. This paragraph is sounding WAY too corny... umm... God is bigger than a cyclone... made... of... octopus... brains. (Hard to believe, I know). All that said, God's planned the lot. If you doubt that, ask me sometime how God's been making changes in our family and poviding for us, both spiritually and financially.

 

I've been reading Jeremiah, and this passage just completely struck me. Even through the harder times, this is what we can look forward to:

Jeremiah 31
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
       after that time," declares the LORD.
       "I will put my law in their minds
       and write it on their hearts.
       I will be their God,
       and they will be my people.

 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
       or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
       because they will all know me,
       from the least of them to the greatest,"
       declares the LORD.
       "For I will forgive their wickedness
       and will remember their sins no more."

 

Still haven't been on MSN... but just to pre-warn you: After youth on Friday and Saturdays are allowable. So you may catch me then.

Just for your information...

 

I'm going on an MSN fast for an indefinite period of time. So after I sign out tonight, that's it. For a while. I'll keep updating this, but because none of you will see my star flashing, just remember to keep checking back, k?

 

Have a good one

I have three free periods today, just English first. Speaking of which, yesterday in support group I out-punned Mr Taylor, which as many people can attest, is a very high achievement indeed. Kareena was saying how her brother was... actually, I'll post a transcript. Here we go:

 

Mr Taylor: "So are there any other prayer points?"
Kareena: "Yeah, my brother's having an interview to get into the defencel force."
Mr Taylor: "Oh, very good. What area?"
Kareena: "Air Force I think."
Mr Taylor: "So he's a real high-flyer then?"
Me: "Yeah, but it's all up in the air at the moment."

Mr Taylor: "..."
Mr Taylor: "I have absolutely no reply to that. Well done."

Me: *pumps fist in air*

 

But you see, I didn't actually GO to school today, because I have a ruddy cold. Ruddy colds. Ruddy. Who needs them anyway.

 

This afternoon, I cleaned out my Hotmail inbox for the first time in ages... managed to get 8 pages of emails back down to 2. There must have been some 300 emails or something between Dictionary.com's Word of the Day, bebo notices and GamesbyEmail notices... at least. Plus all the forwards that people insist on sending that you get a smile out of maybe and never actually get around to deleting.

 

What I noticed was just how far my life has progressed... the earliest email I had was (and still is) from July 30, 2004. Stretches all the way from there to about three days ago. That's not even two years all up, and yet it seems like so much longer.

 

Reading over some old stuff also led me to realise - on May 22nd it had been a year since writing some words that I posted here a while ago. I shall re-post them now for your convenience:

"I feel like my life is building up to something really big. Like, really, really big. But I also feel like it's going to be really emotionally taxing at the same time.

 

Who would have guessed how right that was. There's a lot of church stuff which some of you have probably picked up on, and I can't be bothered to go into right now, but basically... looking back the last year has been the toughest on my family that I've ever had. And yet... as tough as I can look back and see that it's been...

 

Philippians 4:7:
"And the peace of God, that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

 

Newsboys - "Joy"
You give me joy that's unspeakable, and I like it

 

Those two pieces of writing are the things that I have undeniably learnt in the last year. Yes, "it" hit hard. Real hard. Lots of people have been very, very hurt, probably myself included. But as hard as it hit, it's kinda bounced off me. Peace that transcends all understanding.

 

God is a God of peace. Even when everything's falling down, He brings peace. That sounds corny, but man, it's true. Believe me, it's true. If you're not at peace with something, you're either doing the wrong thing, or fighting a battle you don't need to fight.

 

Let me define peace. When Dad first said to me "I'm resigning from Metford Baptist.", I felt peace. Sure, there was the "That's not right!", the "The church can't handle that!", the "I want to kill someone!"s, but underneath all that, there was peace. God has it under control. He uses us. He uses our emotions, He uses what we think and feel and know. But He gives us peace. Not a peace that leads to nothingness, but a peace that keeps up going.

 

Some people see peace as a means to mediocrity - when you have peace, you have nothing to fight for. I disagree. The kind of peace I've experienced is one that says "It's all going to be ok in the end. So you just keep going til you hit the end." Paul wrote about running the race, and not stopping running. Peace tells you that there is a finish line, even if you can't see it. Peace keeps you running.

 

In 2004 I was the eternal optimist. In 2005 I was too. But around June 2005, I added a dose of cynicism to my optimist. An optimistic cynicist, who'd have thought it would work? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. I don't know. Am I an optimist, or am I a realist? I have no idea anymore. I'm cynical about a lot of things, but I'm optimistic about a whole lot more. I can't describe myself anymore.

 

I have a question for you: If you had to use five words to describe me, what would they be?

 

I'm not doing any soul searching, meaning-desiring "Who am I?" stuff... I'm just interested in how other people see me. Something I came to a fresh realisation of the other night:

I love my life.

 

I really do. I can look back and see all this stuff that was damn difficult (whoa, I said damn. Look out), but again, I re-iterate: "Peace that transcends all understanding". I have no idea exactly what it is I like about my life, but it basically comes down to God and people. Without both, I wouldn't be who I am today.

 

Yadda yadda yadda, gush gush gush. I'm getting sick of this deep meaningful stuff already. Suffice it to say, life is good, as is God, and I love reminiscing.

Yes, that's right... email or comment with the best captions/speech for the comic, and I'll insert the best ones into the comic itself. This is gonna be fun : )

Two things. Firstly, check out my photo album, I finally uploaded some pics from my 18th. Whoooooo!

 

Secondly, I'm testing out a different uploader for the comic, coz the MSN one shrinks it and makes the words harder to read. So let's see if this works, shall we?

 

I haven't done a dedication entry in like, forever, so here goes.

 

Young Chris Coffee. If you take the birth process to be a literal 9 months, he was conceived on my birthday. Which I spose kinda makes him my birthday present. Which in turn means that... I own him? Score! Chris Coffee is pretty much one of the biggest legends known to man. I mean, just look at his name. Chris Coffee. He could so be a wrestler or a terminator or something with that name.
*deep voice*
I am Chriscof. EE. I vill decaffeinate you.

*normal voice*

 

To be honest, it's no wonder all the girls want him... odds are eventually they're gonna get married, and have to change their name. And if I had to chang my last name, Coffee would be right up there. I worked out him and Clare should get married, coz her middle name's Elizabeth...so then her name backwards would be...
*drumroll*

Coffee E. Clare.

 

Yeah, I'm hilarious.

 

All good name jokes aside (and preferably some of the lame ones too), Chris Coffee is... well... no better way to put it than an absolute legend. I've only known him since about last September, but in that time he's proven to be a great mate. He has an awesome singing voice, and he shouted me Subway once.

 

Chris Coffee was Fagin, and did an awesome job. A venerable crack-up. Hilarity ensues. It seems like whenever I speak to him, he's tons positive and makes people laugh. Making stupid, STUPID jokes (almost as lame as mine on occasion), singing random songs and always putting on that gay voice that he does WAY too well. Hmm, he's also the only person that still laughs when I say "Hello Hungry!"

 

Chriscof is also on track with the big guy, which is always an awesome encouragement. I don't think I've ever caught him putting anyone down, or gossiping, or any of those other "little" sins that we all fall into so easily. Murder, sex and manslaughter, sure, but none of those little ones. It's awesomely encouraging, and I know that if I need to confide in him, it'll be a conversation with just him, not with everyone he speaks to from that point on.

 

So yeah. Chris Coffee's a champion, everyone post your favourite Chris Coffee memories and attributes!

So we had to do an "Interest Study Project" for Studies of Religion... and I chose Disney, specifically - all the Disney movies from The Little Mermaid to Tarzan. I'm guessing the majority of people who read this will have grown up watching some or all of these movies fairly religiously, so I'm taking a wild punt and posting my findings here. I found it interesting for one... who knows, maybe you will too. (I also can't think of anything else to put up at the present time. So deal with it.)

 

How is the Christian ethic of loving others portrayed in the animated features created during Disney’s "Renaissance Period" (1989-1999)?

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) reads: "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." This, coupled with Jesus’ instructions to "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34, NIV) forms the basis of the moral teachings of Disney’s films during the "Renaissance Period". Even if someone’s appearance is different to yours, you should love them just the same.

The "Renaissance Period" was a time of change in the morals and themes of animated features. The Little Mermaid brought with it the theme of loving those who are different to you – a theme continued in every animated feature through to Tarzan, extending the moral to loving those of a different gender, race, physicality or social class.

Year