Here is an investment that worked out...

"A 30-SECOND phone call left Darwin Sportsbet the only losing betting outlet after Geelong's record-breaking Grand Final win.
A regular client rang three hours before the bounce of the ball and bet a staggering $340,000 at $3.50 on the Cats to win by 40 points or more. He won $850,000.
"It's by far the biggest bet we've ever taken," Darwin Sportsbet's Phil Hannah said. "We were out of our misery pretty early. It was a horror result." "

Herald Sun Story

How many headlines can you make up after that game?
Power shock, power fade, power cut...
as good as Geelong was, was as dissapointing as Port were.

I suppose Port were not expected to do anything this year, and they finished up making the GF...so we should not be too harsh....but they were disapointing.

Geelong on the other hand were incredibly skillful, watching Ablett, Bartel, Scarlet, Chapman and Johnston weave through traffic, kick and handball accurately under pressure to their team mates...a joy to watch.

And on a side point, what utter class they showed in receiving their medals. Looked the kids in the eye, gave them a second of invaluable time, shook their hands, gave them a cap......obviously after the disgraceful display exhibited last year, Geelong made sure they did the right thing.

"When missionaries approach a cannibal tribe, they don't protest outside the village, call them names, put an ad in the paper, or complain that they eat people. Missionaries develop a relationship with the tribe, earn their trust, and become part of the community. Once they do that, the tribe is far more open to listening to their message."

Christianity has changed a lot over the years. One thing that will never change is the truth of the bodily and literal resurection of Christ. Without it, there is no Christianity.

" the Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, who was in Australia recently on a lecture tour. An eminent theologian, an expert on the historical and biblical Jesus and a staunch believer in the resurrection, he baulks at denouncing those who are not.
"I have friends who I am quite sure are Christians who do not believe in the bodily resurrection," he says carefully, citing another eminent scholar, American theologian Marcus Borg, co-author with Wright of The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions.
"But the view I take of them - and they know this - is that they are very, very muddled. They would probably return the compliment.
"Marcus Borg really does not believe Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. But I know Marcus well: he loves Jesus and believes in him passionately. The philosophical and cultural world he has lived in has made it very, very difficult for him to believe in the bodily resurrection. "

Is it possible to be a Christian, to love Jesus, but not believe He rose from the dead? No....

"How would you communicate (your) message if your eighteen year old son had made up his mind to walk away from everything you taught him, morally, ethically, and theologically, unless he had a complelling reason not to?"

Amazing...not....

Let me first states I think Sumich would probably make a half decent coach...in fact he was one guy who should be used to unwarranted abuse...he copped enough of it when he was full forward of the wee girls....(by Weagles fans I should add)

But the frenzy created by 6peagle and channel eagle (7) in support of him becoming the next coach of Freo bordered on hysteria, especially when he was not even considered for the role.
Is it suprising then that none of the 3 eastern states clubs he applied for did not appoint him?
I hope he gets the chance to coach at the highest level, he probably deserves it. But there is such a thing as preservation of club culture...we dont want Suma at Freo...pretty simple really.

History on markedly

At last nights Brownlow...I know I know...how can anyone watch 2 hours of votes being read out.....I admit it, I am a very boring person....anyhoo, back to the topic....

At last nights Brownlow when the votes where read out for round 16 when Freo smashed West Toast during the second derby, and Josh Carr won the Glendinning medal, you should have seen Cox's face when Demetriou read out, "J Carr, 3 votes", I thought he was going to vomit all over Chris Judd.......... :)

I must be one of the few pastors in Perth to have a group of passionate Geelong supporters in his church, and after Ablett singlehandedly demolished Freo, at Subiaco, you would think I would dislike Geelong, but I dont. Their coach is a very likeable person, honest and forthright.....Ablett seems very decent, and unaffected by his obvious talent. What strikes me about Geelong is that they work like a team.....and besides, who could possibly barrack for a team that wears teal??

$4190.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

We have a lot of women who come to our church without their husbands. Some of the husbands came yesterday...to see their kids perform.
It is a common malady of the contemporary church, as most of us in ministry know...but what to do about it?
In my own situation our ladies have done a superb job of ministering and setting up relevant programs for women in our church, and they naturally network together. Us men...not so much. We have done some things, and are doing some more...but a mans time is not as easy to access.

Men also seem to be less reluctant to invite other men to events 'within the saucer', to pinch a phrase. We have had some success with our mens events, MUD, men under duress...but it seems to me that the demands on a modern father are immense. I am not for a second trying to say they are more pressing that on a modern mother....but for many of the men I know, the wheel has turned a little at least. Many of them provide financially for their families, and feel pressure to be a success at work, so they need to put the hours in, in fact, something drives them, their maleness drives them.
Then, their family also puts pressure on them, pressure they invite and welcome, but pressure none the less.

Recently we planned an event, and deliberatly started in at 8pm.....which was simply because it then gave the blokes time to get home from work, have dinner, help get the kids tucked in... and then be able to go out without feeling either pressure or guilt.

Blokes need time to be blokes....but maybe the greatest concern for me, is that we are not giving them much purpose or adventure in their spiritual lives.

One of our best services ever......Kids Celebration Service 2007

Stacks of visitors, too many to mention, the kids were great...lots of fun, music, drama, multi-media...
New coffee machine cranking out some good 5 senses coffee, bouncy castle and sausage sizzle...what church should be like every week!

Soul Jam choir sounded the best it ever has, and music was wonderful...

Most of all, a wonderful opportunity to worship God, share love with our community, share our faith....

Today was an example of what a church which is mobilised, unified and purposeful can do....I am so proud of them all!!!!
I will post some video this week...

Go Jeff in 2008!

"what does it profit a man to gain a flag but lose his soul?"

From Dockerdave

Breaking news today that Police are back at the Rayney's family home. Apparently breaking the door down to get in.....Sad if it turns out to be the husband who did it.

Police have named the parents of Madeleine Mc Cann as suspects...something I mentioned to my wife would very likely happen a number of weeks ago.

Unfortunately it is very often the family, or people close to the victim. Very often a child who has been abused is abused by a member of their family.
What does it say about us as humans that the people we are related to, and trust the most, let us down?

I thank God every day for my family....and I am sure you thank God for yours.....

Sometimes the more interesting part of the story are the little details.
Anothony Jones won this years Sandover medal, well deserved too. One of the well presented guys in football, he always gave what he could to Fremantle, but injuries and the Drum factor may have robbed us of his best. Those of you who follow the WAFL will know that Anthony has played some blinding last quarters, which have often made the difference between Claremont winning or not.
I loved this story about his dad, Mark Jones. When accepting his medal Anthony talked about his dads support.
He shared the story about how his dad is a 'tight arse' and knows hardly anything about sport. So Mark Jones comes to the game after the 3rd quarter because the WAFL lets people in for free during the last quarter. Anthony's dad lets out a big coooeee to let his son know he is watching. Is there any correlation between Anthony's great last quarters and the fact his dad turns up in the last quarter, and lets his son know he is there? Yes, I would suggest there is. Next year the WAFL is going to give him a season pass, so maybe Anthony can put in a four quarter effort!

Scene : All Australian Night
Clinton Grybas: in light of whats happened in the last 24hrs, Carlton offered you $4m for 4yrs, how close were you to leaving?

Pav: Not close at all, I'm the captain of this footy club and whilst we've had a tumultous year, we've still got a lot to achieve in the future and the boys 100% behind Harvs!!!


mmmmm.....

From the pen of Jason Chatterfield Cartoon

I am really enjoying church at the moment.
As I am speaking through the series on 'who is Jesus' it seems that God is speaking to me and revealing things to me that I had never considered before, or perhaps, had just not stopped to think about.
Jesus got mad, really mad.
I spoke from Mark 2, and the story of how Jesus got in trouble with the Pharisees because the disciples were picking grain on the Sabbat. Jesus brushes aside their concerns by referring to the precedent of David and the Holy bread. But I finished my message referring to the next story in Mark 3, where Jesus heals the man with the crippled hand, on the Sabbath, in direct, public, defiance of the mean spirited Pharisees. The Bible says he got mad, and the anger was something that was deep within him. What a hero!!

"He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!"

Judd has announced he is returning back to Victoria....cant blame him really, considering the culture at West Coast. Chris seems to me to be a decent, really decent, hard working bloke. Why would he want to stay at West Coast???

I cheered on Collingwood tonight.....thats once for the season.....
no more...thank goodness..

Go Geelong.....

Intense game...very intense. You could tell that WC were running out of legs by the end of the 4th quarter, and Collingwood's running and pressure was going to get them over the line.
Amd Worsfolds decision to take Glass and Cox off the ground was quite puzzling..why didn't he go for the jugular when he had the chance? In my view, they could have built a match winning lead...but instead, when those two were off, Rocca kicked two quick goals, and the Pies were back in it!
Great game by both sides though, have to admit W Toast were brave, this week and last...but out in straight sets for the finals. Not often a top four side do that! Straight to Bali for the boys....End of an era.....cant say I am sorry, because I am not.....Now to see whether Judd will re-sign, whether Cousins will resign, and whether the biggest liar....Chick, will get a late reprieve.

Am waiting for my Five Senses coffee to arrive, a Australian single origin from Capricorn Estate this time, and I was dying (literally...ask my wife if you dont believe me) for a coffee so I picked up some Fiori Beans from Fresh Provisions.
These were from Hondorus....and it appears to be Fair Trade Coffee. This is the nation of the child I sponsor, so I picked them on that basis alone.
It is a deep dark rich, almost oily bean.....and nice and strong.
After a fair old grind with my new burr type machine, the Latte was made.....beautiful.

The head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is man.....
Interesting debate could follow.
The word for head is not 'Lord' nor master, but is in fact more the sense of 'origin'. Paul goes back to Genesis where woman is said to have come from, found her origin in man, when God made her from Adam's rib. (and started a whole heap of dud jokes!)
Later on Paul pleads for us to be aware that we need each other, when he states we are not independent of each other, because every man has come from a woman (except Adam of course). We need each other.

Paul also has the interesting point that woman was made for man, not man for woman. Woman was made to make up for the weaknesses than man has. She is the strong helper than comes alongside man and gives him what he does not have.
This is certainly true of me.

Interestingly enough, when I was going through this passage which a bunch of active smart 20 year olds, the overwhelming sense I got was that they wanted a return to old values, and blamed a lot of the issues with modern relationships with a moving away from this passage, they were more conservative in their views than I would have expected, or stated myself .
We talked about the modern malady of singleness in churches, which is a real issue. I feel deeply for those woman and men who hit 35-40, and realise they might not find a partner for life. Melinda and I often pray together for people....and we pray for those who just want to find someone, have kids and all that.

Their is certainly joy to be found in being single...and flexibility, and that too should be celebrated.

Now this might be controversial...but in community...in journeying together with other families...there would be situations where parents picking partners for their children would not be such a bad thing. If that was something the child understood from a young age, maybe was not bound too, it could be good.

Here is my first message on "Who is Jesus" and the second in the series. Is Jesus meek and mild???? Nooooo.

Here is a video I have done up to show at Toddler Jam and BBC....

Geelong are the real deal...that was a comprehensive thumping of a side which has shown immense character this year, the Roos.....
I would be happy to see the Cats take it out this year...and even happier to see the Pies knock the weages out of the finals......

One of the main hits I get on this blog through search engines is because of this post

It seems people agree with my assesment. Someone has just posted that they have the mp3 of it, which they will email to you........

Great Sunday at church....had coffee mid service.....great! Kicked off my first message on who Jesus is....got a lot of comments after when I spoke about demon possession. Nothing like talking about that topic to get people started....:)

Then headed off to Whiteman Park for a BBQ and kick of the footy....what a beautiful part of the world we live in.

Came home and took my time making a lovely latte....and ate a Cherry Ripe with it.....I love Sundays....

Hi all....
This is my blog...
this blog is not a forum for those who want to incessantly slag off other churches....

Christ loves His Bride....thats it...its not perfect.....none of us are....
but bitter people with agendas, who cannot seem to direct their energy towards something positive, can find plenty of places to chat with like minded individuals, there are plenty of places for that...this blog is not one of them.

This blog is a bit of fun, sometimes serious, a place I slag off the Eagles, look at the Dockers through purple coloured glasses, a bit of a release for me.....and I like interaction with people, even Eagles supporters, and the occaisional serious poster, so I don't want to stop comments all together....so please, if you feel a need to slag off other churches incessantly, please comment elsewhere.

Either way, its my blog, with my policy........if you dont like it, fair enough....but I would encourage you to get your own blog...they are free.....
I remind all people of Matthew 18.

Jesus was an authoritative figure. He had authority. He goes into the synagogue and in the midst of all the argy bargy and vigorous discussion, and men arguing amongst themselves, he spoke with real authority. And it was not what He said so much as the challenge he made. Like he had just called those commercial fisherman to come and follow Him, he challenges the people. Its like someone got up in parliament and stopped saying what the people wanted to hear, and gave it to them straight. No silk ties, no Armani suites, no rhetoric, and empty promises. Jesus told it as it was, and took no prisoners. No one could speak against him. In fact indications are that the people sat there in stunned silence. There was nothing much to say, Jesus was right.

"I don’t know exactly how my faith affects the spiritual battle that is waged for the souls of people, but I do know this: When I expect unbelievers to respond to Christ, more do so than when I don’t expect people to be saved." - Rick Warren

Amazing isn't it....none of the Vic clubs did any more than be polite to Sumich as they showed him the door.......

All the experts on 6pr and the hundreds of indignant Weagle fans couldn't be wrong....could they???

Surely Freo should have seen what all the rest of the footy world couldn't???? Mmmmmmm

Here are the two passes the Chaser boys used...easy to see how they could be mistaken for the real thing....NOT!!!

Story

A source inside the show has told The Daily Telegraph the team never expected to get so far. The skit had been approved by ABC lawyers but was written in the assumption they would be stopped at the first checkpoint. Instead they were waved through the first on Macquarie St, then a second, which had sniffer dogs, and eventually stopped themselves at Bridge St. "As they did Chas got out of a car dressed as Osama bin Laden and said something like 'I'm an important world leader why don't I have a seat at the APEC table?'. Apparently that was the first time the police realised it was not authentic and they swooped in and arrested everybody," the source said. The ABC statement said the Chaser team members were wearing mock "insecurity" passes, which expressly stated they were a joke.
But the head of the APEC investigation squad, NSW Police Force Detective Superintendent Ken McKay was not amused.

Heres something interesting....
did the rock that the Israelites got water from while travelling in the desert travel with them?
Jewish tradition says yes, and this verse might suggest it did as well.....

1 Cor 10: 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

Recently I posted about how Demetriou was evading responsibility over the whole Channel Seven drug scandal....I stand by the basic sentiment that Demetriou appears to deflect responsibility off himself....



But....I was wrong about this particular incident.


After watching Peter Meekin (Director of News and Current Affairs, Seven Network) try to defend the indefesible on Media Watch last night, its pretty obvious that Channel Seven were grossly irresponsible in running the story and were the primary instigator of it all and need to take responsibility for it. Revealing stolen medical documents was pretty dishonourable, and
something that they appear to have done all by themselves.

.
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Matt Price has the ability to encapsulate what many Freo supporters feel. And he has a fairly impressive medium to write about it, the Australian Newpaper. Here are some quotes from his latest article.

"Except a disturbingly large chunk of me - and, from what I gather, many other Dockers fans - won't be entirely dissatisfied with a loss. Don't get me wrong; a win over Port, who is flying right now, would be encouraging. But the odds are Freo will lose and, if so, an unmerciful thumping would suit better than a nail-biter.
This has nought to do with tanking for draft preferences and absolutely everything to do with spite, envy and immaturity.
"You want the Dockers to get beaten, don't you?" a wizened footy scribe surmised before I mentioned as much.
"Well, er, it's not that simple, but sort of," I stuttered. "How could you tell?"
"Because your mob is weak, vindictive, unprofessional, complacent, small-minded and insular and it's the reason you'll almost certainly never win a flag before you die."
Which rather overstates the case, but he has a point.
Fremantle may be out of the finals race, but tonight's result has a deliciously significant bearing on West Coast's September prospects. By the time the ball is bounced in Adelaide, West Coast will almost certainly have beaten Essendon at Subiaco. If Fremantle conspires to lose by more than the Bombers, the Eagles will finish third behind Port. A Dockers victory - or a defeat by less than the Subiaco margin - elevates West Coast to second.
If you are still with me here, you will understand the difference. Second delivers a home game in the first week of the finals, third means playing away. Ergo, a Fremantle victory would provide the dreaded cross-town foe with a much smoother path to the grand final."

story

Another of The Australian Opinion writers Patrick Smith, does not think much of Cousins...

"WENDELL SAILOR, cocaine. Ben Cousins, crystal methamphetamine. Andrew Johns, ecstasy. The three poster boys of Australian football have been illicit drug users.Two have apologised. One in Perth just smirks.

West Coast knew it had a drug culture and chose to ignore it. Only when Cousins became unmanageable through his addiction did the club suspend him.

West Coast coach John Worsfold said players lied to him and that as many as eight later admitted taking illicit drugs. Worsfold is not sanctioned for overseeing an environment so out of control that one player nearly died of an overdose on an overseas trip.

Cousins has not apologised nor has he been sanctioned by the AFL, and that is fundamentally wrong. There is grave doubt now that he will ever explain the dangers of drug use to the football community that adored him and made him rich enough to pay for his habit. Though he collected 38 possessions in his first game back from finishing rehabilitation, he sneers behind the tissue of medical advice. "

story

Man....I really enjoyed church this morning.....Its always good when there is lots of laughter in church.....and have a look at this video below for one of the reasons...There was also a packed church...which is good. Dads got given a mint pattie, but also our KFC teacher arranged for the 5-9 year olds to give dad a small mars bar....gee he is doing a good job.....and the Sunbeams did something great as well......The music was really good, and Q did a great job of leading.....
There was a really good 'spirit' in the place....and I think God inhabited the praises of His people.

Sunday afternoon we cleaned our house, which looked like a bomb had hit it.
Then I slow cooked some roast lamb on the bbq. We packed it full of garlic, rosemary and olive oil. I coooked it so it came out crispy and tasty on the outside, and just a slight juicy bit of pink on inside...I love BBQ lamb. I also had some James Boag Wheat Ale....superb, and finished off with lattes all round in the new latte glasses I got for fathers day.

Being a dad is such a privilege and responsibility....I am so blessed.