Recommitment

Today was an exciting day at Reservoir Salvos as myself, along with 3 others, re-signed our Articles of War, as a re-commitment to being a soldier of the Salvation Army. Two others also joined as adherents. While I could have spoken for an hour or more regarding my thoughts on the subject, my 2-minute-abridged testimony went as follows:

"My decision to recommit as a Salvation Army soldier is one I have made after a lot of thought and prayerful consideration. I first became a soldier in 1996, aged 16, at Hobart. I did all the classes studying what soldiership was about, and most of the time I kept a similar standard to the soldiers I saw around me. But I never really revisited the promise I had made on any kind of regular basis, and seemed content to leave it hanging in a nice frame on my wall next to my uni degree and other assorted certificates. 

"Having re-studied the doctrines and the words of the soldiers promise last year, it means much more to me now than merely a qualification to join the brass band and songsters. The last eleven years of my life have added to my understanding of what it means, and the practicalities it involves. When discussing soldiership here last year, the point was made that what our church needs is not a great number of soldiers, but a few soldiers who wholeheartedly commit themselves to diligently living the covenant out every day. And it is my desire to be one of those few here at Resi.

"For me, the whole basis for being a soldier is a desire to know Jesus, and to love and follow Him. I see Jesus as the ideal person to imitate, and in Jesus I find an example of how God wants me to live my own life. I've been a Christian since I was a kid, so it's hard to describe exactly how my life is different because of Him. However, there have been lots of times when I have been apart from Him, temporarily choosing to go my own way, and trying do life in my own strength. Those times never go well, and they have always seemed to result in negative feelings and bad consequences. I end up hungry and thirsty to experience Jesus again, and wishing I had just followed His way in the first place, instead of being dumb, selfish and lame.

"In being a soldier, I not only commit to aligning my life with God, but also the Salvation Army. I see the Salvation Army as a great organisation that, in its ideal form, strives to please God and help others. However, it is obvious that, being comprised almost entirely of humans, the Army often falls short. There's been many times when I have had issues with the Salvos, disagreeing with stuff, or just felt disappointed or let down by certain people or attitudes they have had. I guess I am recommitting to the Salvation Army in it's ideal form, how it was intended by God to be, and recognising that it will never be perfect.

"The fact that I have decided to re-sign the soldiers covenant implies that I want to know God more deeply and do better in my relationships with others. I want to get better at helping other people know Jesus, which is what soldiership is all about. I've only ever really scratched the surface with these things, and intend to do them a lot better. It's important for me to strive to be pure and holy, and also recognise that I may come under opposition, or generally just have difficult times. I also intend to be more relient on God to help me, knowing that I will fail if I try and do it all on my own.

"So to sum up, I'm excited but scared at the same time. If I follow Jesus too closely what if he completely rearranges my life? I really have no idea what lies ahead, but I know following Jesus will bring fulfillment. I'm priveleged to have friends and family who support me, and Jesus as an example. In the end, I just hope I can do my best, and hope my efforts are pleasing and useful to God. Thats it..."

'nuff said

Now I just have to get on with it!

Cheers - Nath

Hunger Fairies

The whole "small things with great love" theory was confirmed for me again today in an unexpected circumstance. And I was on the receiving end! 

I work a sunday shift every month and it happened to be today. I start at 8 in the morning and am usually too disorganised to get myself brekky, let alone lunch. So when the 12 o'clock hunger fairies brutally attacked my stomach and I had nothing to eat, I was left with no option but to visit Safeway for some tasty and nutritious 2-minute noodles. 

I only had 10 minutes to eat lunch. To put that in perspective, my break on a regular day is 50 minutes, and I spend the majority of those minutes ingesting various edibles. Basically, I was in a hurry, needing to select, purchase, cook and eat my meal in no more than 600 seconds. However the supermarket was packed and the queue for each aisle was upsettingly long. Selecting my one item, and avoiding the so-called "express lanes" I strode the length of the store to find the shortest checkout line, finding one with just 2 people. 

The lady in front, immediately aware of my situation, let me ahead of her! At that moment I felt really cared for. Like there are actually people out there who do consider others, and put the needs of their neighbor ahead of their own. A few thoughts came to mind:

- the "small things with great love" is a top concept

- I really don't practice it enough, I should be on the lookout for chances to do it

- it shouldn't take a non-Christian to teach me this - we should be leading the way

Cheers - Nath

A little shrine of quietness

Time for a longer entry today. 

Following the departure of 3 housemates, January this year found me living in a big four bedroom house all on my own. Far from feeling abandoned, however, I have relished the solitude! It's great to be able to come home and hear yourself think. It's also much easier to focus on God in the absence of noise and distraction. 

Today, after an all-too-short four-hour night's sleep, the operating system of my consciousness required a more protracted booting time. It took much longer to realise who and where I was, in other words, and I lethargically prepared my disheveled facade for the day ahead. Soon after embarking on the short journey to work, I noticed the traffic on Dalton road was slower than usual. My initial reaction was frustration. Admittedly my threshold for road-induced vexation is usually significantly diminished during the morning hours, and the self-inflicted sleep deprivation didn't help either. But discontent turned quickly to confusion as I approached the Western Ring Road underpass. All the traffic lights were out and it occurred to me that I had best proceed with caution. 

I came to a stop and surveyed the chaotic scene. Lines of vehicles were coming from all angles with nothing to govern who should stop and who should go. Horns sounded as some drivers impatiently and dangerously attempted to weave a right-hand turn through oncoming traffic. Other folk, obviously in two minds, changed their course without indication. To my left brakes squealed as a collision was narrowly avoided. To my right, wheels spun in frustration as someone finally got their turn. Fearing for my life, I forced myself to pause,  and collected my thoughts. It was far too much anarchy for such an early hour! After a while I finally had my chance to move on, but not before absorbing the abuse from the bloke behind me, who had obviously expected me to simply close my eyes and plant my foot!

The parking area behind the pharmacy where I work was in similar disarray. It's a 200 metre stretch of car spaces in between the rear of our shop and the local school oval on the other side. Parents, whom I contend are the worst drivers of all, drop their kids off there to avoid the congestion in front of the school. They randomly zoomed into and reversed out of car spaces, changed direction at random without indicating, and tooted away on their horns. Small and vulnerable children running energetically back and forth across the road were met with oblivion by mums and dads in SUV's obviously late for work. I settled for an outlying parking spot, and trudged the remaining distance on foot. I had made it to work intact!

Somnolence plagued the entire day, reducing my ability to cope with the demands of making important decisions regarding people's health. Difficult, multiple and simultaneous tasks demanded my attention for the whole shift. Doctors with illegible handwriting. Dodgy folk shopping around for Sudafed to manufacture illicit amphetamines. New staff members who couldn't tell a Predmix from a bread mix, or an Amoxil from a Coloxyl! Whilst constant interruption is usually tolerable to me, I kinda struggled today. There was only so much I could endure before I began to yearn for the peace and quietness of home. 

Once I finally made it back to the house I realised just how precious it is to just spend time in silence. To be still and know He is God. For me (an ISFJ for you wacky Myers-Briggs enthusiasts out there) it was replenishing and energizing. I was reminded of an old hymn (which my former Songster brigade butchered brutally one time) and it blessed me to read these words:

’Mid all the traffic of the ways, 

Turmoils without, within, 

Make in my heart a quiet place, 

And come and dwell therein.

A little shrine of quietness, 

All sacred to Thyself, 

Where Thou shalt all my soul possess, 

And I may find myself.

A little shelter from life’s stress, 

Where I may lay me prone, 

And bare my soul in loneliness, 

And know as I am known.

A little place of mystic grace, 

Of self and sin swept bare, 

Where I may look upon Thy face, 

And talk with Thee in prayer.

Cheers - Nath

Country and Western Music

Recently my mind has been devoid of anything resembling an original thought, worthy of publishing on this site. As a consequence, I give you an entry from an old blog that continues to amuse me: 

"SHE GOT THE RING AND I GOT THE FINGER......and 11 other great redneck song titles:

1. I Haven't Gone To Bed With Ugly Women, But I've Sure Woke Up With A Few

2. You're The Reason (Our Kids Are So Ugly)

3. Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye

4. She's Actin' Single and I'm Drinkin' Doubles

5. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend, And I Sure Do Miss Him

6. Mamma Get a Hammer (There's a Fly On Papa's Head)

7. Her Teeth Was Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure

8. You Darn Tore Out My Heart And Stomped That Sucker Flat

9. She's Lookin' Better After Every Beer

10. I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better

11. I Sold a Car To a Guy Who Stole My Girl, But It Don't Run (So We're Even)"

Can you imagine Troy Casser-Daly or Willie Nelson pumping out any of those? I believe it would be quite an achievement if one day I actually managed to get acquainted with the whole country and western genre. I'm sure there's some good stuff out there to listen to. But for now I'll stick to my beloved Chili Peppers and fighters of foo...

Cheers - Nath