the value of journaling

Write down what you have seen (Revelation 1:19, NLT).
Dear friends: Sheila had an exciting job at a rapidly growing public relations firm. Her supervisor was energetic and talented, but he had a short temper and was not always reasonable or gracious. Nevertheless, despite her difficulties, Sheila firmly believed that God had provided her with this job, and she determined to trust Him to help her as she labored. One afternoon a phone call nearly ruined Sheila's whole week. Her boss was angry over a misunderstanding and accused her of irresponsibility and disloyalty. Her heart sank. She hung up the phone in tears. "Lord," she prayed silently, "You know how unfair he is sometimes. What do you want me to do?" The spiritual journal, which she had been keeping for the past several months, came to mind. She had been writing down prayer requests, Scriptures or Bible promises that applied to her circumstances, and insights that the Holy Spirit had given her. Quietly, in her heart, Sheila felt prompted to pick up the journal and read it. Through tears of joy she saw that in page after page she had recorded verses of Scripture for the very problem she faced that day. Before putting the journal away, Sheila made a note of the day's troubles and thanked God for the comfort of His Word. In less than an hour, her boss called back and apologized! For Sheila, keeping a spiritual journal proved to be of great encouragement in a moment of stress. Writing is important to God. He gave us His written Word. There are numerous instances in the Bible where God says to "write," such as in Revelation 1:19: "Write down what you have seen" (NLT). You might enjoy a word study on that. Such references are certainly not a legalistic requirement to journal, but it is a reminder that writing things down helps us to remember. There are also numerous exhortations in the Bible to "remember." Scientists have shown that if we see something as well as hear it, if it goes through our eye gate as well as our ear gate, we are more apt to remember. Journaling helps us to remember what God may have previously revealed to us, which we might otherwise forget. Sometimes it proves helpful if we journal our journey. Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns, Bill Bright

glandular fever

The link is the reflection of the wife of a friend of mine who wrote about her journey with Glandular Fever. It's a neat read about the lessons learnt through a difficult experience.

christian book summaries

www.christianbooksummaries.com is a site dedicated to providing summaries of recent Christian books. It's worth checking every once in a while for hints about a book worth reading.

spiritual health report

The Apostle Paul was right when he discussed in Romans 7 the struggle we all have with sin. He said in Romans 7:19-20 "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing."
Who of us has not found ourselves doing what we know to be wrong and hating ourselves for it.
Prompted by my discovery that I believed some modern myths about health (see previous blog on Health Report) I decided to re-read the bible and see what it said about dealing with sin, and not just to rely upon commonly held ideas and theories. I'll let you know what I discover, but for know I'd like to suggest something that has been very helpful for me. I have found it more important to concentrate on my intimacy with Jesus than on trying not to sin. When I focus on not sinning I find temptation becomes more powerful, but when I concentrate on Jesus and my relationship with him, then I discover that temptation loses much of its power.
Let me know your thoughts and learning on this important subject for the life of the follower of Jesus.

the health report

Was listening to the ABC Health Report and discovered just how easily we are persuaded by modern myths, things everyone knows to be true, but aren't. This reminded me how important it is to have a solid foundation of truth which is not influenced by current trends and hence why I believe having a strong bible understanding is important for the follower of Jesus.
Check out the ABC Health Report at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/healthreport/default.htm and see if your views about health is influenced by modern myth or backed up by scientific research, you might just be surprised, I certainly was.

helpful files

When I'm looking for online software the first place I check, especially for freeware or shareware, is www.tucows.com

the teaching company

The Teaching Company (www.teach12.com) is a great source of quality resources on subjects such as History, Philosophy, Literature, Business & Economics, etc.
I have bought a number of courses on Philosophy and Thinking and found them valuable and very reasonably priced.
Someone else's view on The Teaching Company can be found at http://www.intuitive.com/blog/the_teaching_company_selling_by_giving_away.html

the fifth point

Dear friends: The huge, beautiful ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in Chicago was crowded to capacity with more than 1,300 college students and Campus Crusade for Christ staff. The spiritually hungry students seemed to hang onto my every word as I explained one of the most exciting spiritual discoveries I had ever made. For years I had spoken on the subject of love. I had a beautiful four-point outline: First, God loves us unconditionally. Second, we are commanded to love others -- God, our neighbors, and even our enemies. Third, we are incapable of loving others in our own strength. Fourth, we can love others with God's love. But, as in the case of most sermons on love, something was missing. Later, early one morning some years ago, I was awakened from a deep sleep. I felt impressed to get up, open my Bible, and kneel to read and pray. What I discovered during the next two hours has since enriched my life and the lives of tens of thousands of others. In that life-changing time of fellowship with the Lord, I was given a fifth point for my future sermons on love: We love by faith! Suddenly I was able to more clearly see that love is not a mushy feeling, but a decision -- an act of our wills. We can "choose" to love, and we do so "by faith." We may not feel like it. A person may have hurt us and even hate us, but we can love that person by faith. And we know that God operates through our faith. Previously I shared about when I spoke to a group of pastors on the importance of God's supernatural love and loving by faith. One of the pastors came up to me after the meeting and said, "Six months ago, there was a man in my church who opposed everything I wanted to do. Frankly, I couldn't stand the man, and he couldn't stand me. We were at an impasse, and the church was being split because of it. I heard you speak on 'loving by faith,' and I determined that I would love him. I began to claim God's love for him by faith. Six months have passed, and that man is now my very best friend." God's love is real and His power to love people through us by our faith is also real. "Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8, NIV.) Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns, Bill Bright

an unusual event, I won!

Gloating is a terrible thing, but sometimes it just has to be done!
Thanks Alex for the great game of squash today but just so everyone knows, here's the score that had Alex sobbing in the corner like a baby. 15-11, 15-10, 15-11, 11-15.

chuck colson

Click on the link to check out the Break Point site for Chuck Colson's daily radio commentaries, which focus on issues of living out a Christian life in turbulent post-modern society.
For those that don't know, Chuck Colson was one of the key figures in the President Nixon years and a man who ended up in jail for his part in the events that caused the fall of Nixon. Chuck became a Christian while in prison and now has an amazing ministry around the world and more particularly in prisons around the world.

weight loss

So everyone has there own theories about weight loss. For what they are worth here are some of the things that have worked for me. (I've gone from 90 to 84kg in the last three months or so and feel fitter than I have for 20 years.)
1) Have a minimum / maximum goal instead of just one goal. So instead of aiming for 75kg, I am going for 75kg - 80kg as my goal. The minimum goal is the best I think I can do, the maximum is what I would be really happy with.
2) Drink more water. Don't go crazy, just add more water on a daily basis. I have 600ml bottles of cold water in the fridge and everyday just grab one and drink it down.
3) Keep a running tally of your lowest weight. Weighing scales are inaccurate, even if you weigh the same the scales will vary because of how they work. So I simply weigh myself every morning at the same time and just keep a tally of the weight when it is lower than the last time. If it's higher I just ignore it! So on my board I have a tally that looks something like this: 90, 89.8, 89.2, 88.0 ... 74.3.
This system takes account of the changes in weight that happen because of life and scale design, and just gives you a weight that motivates.
4) Take the simple exercise option. These days I walk the stairs instead of using the lift. I walk the dog more. I say yes to offers to play tennis, squash. I jump in the water and have a swim. I don't stress out about an exercise regime, I just do something more in every day and don't berate myself if I have a day off.
5) Get more sleep. The recommendation from the experts is 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours sleep a night. If you do this you WILL feel much better and consequently have more energy to be more active and more motivated.
6) Don't rush. Do the above and just relax and let it happen in its own time. As long as you occassionally get a lower weight on your running tally it will keep you motivated. I don't have a target date, I just everyday do a little extra, take a few more steps, eat a bit less junk food, and every few days or weeks I notice a lower weight.

close call

Edward Steichen, who eventually became one of the world's most renowned photographers, almost gave up on the day he shot his first pictures. At 16, young Steichen bought a camera and took 50 photos. Only one turned out -- a portrait of his sister at the piano. Edward's father thought that was a poor showing. But his mother insisted that the photograph of his sister was so beautiful that it more than compensated for 49 failures. Her encouragement convinced the youngster to stick with his new hobby. He stayed with it for the rest of his life, but it had been a close call. What tipped the scales? The vision to spot excellence in the midst of a lot of failure. (Bits & Pieces, February 4, 1993)

"The culture you create is largely a product of how you see those whom God has placed you with. You have to think rightly in order to lead well. What your mind dwells upon determines your vantage point, and your vantage point as a leader affects the culture you shape. Culture shapes the church, and leaders make the culture." (Culture Shift, Robert Lewis & Wayne Cordeiro, P28)
Comment: The author makes the point, if you look at your people and see hopelessness, that is what you will get. But if you look at your people and see people whom God has strategically given you and as possessing what God wants them to have to achieve what God wants to achieve, then you will fulfill God's vision for your church.
Me, I look at the people God has given to us here at CMP and I see ordinary people like me who are able to do extraordinary things because of what God is doing in us and through us.