Game, Set and Match

Deuce, advantage, deuce, advantage, game....I have to admit that I got hooked ~ on tennis! For those of you who know me well, this is quite a confession. You see, I headed off to bed at 2.00am this morning after being glued to the match between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Scotland's Andy Murray. And, yes, I was cheering for the underdog! As disappointed as I was to hear the words "Game, set and match Nadal", I revelled in the physical stamina shown by both players in their almost four hour on court battle.
Deuce ~ it's a frustrating part of the match for any spectator, especially when the advantage point is lost and keeps being refought. This made me ponder that life always has its 'deuce' moments of challenge. And during these times we often need to display our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual stamina to experience daily victories.
Love ~ another tennis term, though one with a negative outcome. What is the origin of 'love' meaning 'nil' in tennis scoring? One Oxford Dictionary commentator answers: "It seems to have been adapted from the phrase 'to play for love (of the game)', that is, to play for nothing. Although the theory is often heard that it represents the French word l'oeuf an 'egg' (from the resembance between an egg and a nought) this seems unlikely." Interesting! But I'm so glad that the real (spiritual) definition of love is positive and influential.
Game, set and match ~ the victor's war cry! The battle's won and the reward is now to be claimed. Today marked the "Game, set and match" for Nigel Steadman, a Salvationist acquaintance of mine who claimed his heavenly reward at the age of 48 years.
At the Thanksgiving Service this afternoon there was alot of referencing to the word 'Love' in describing Nigel's on-going influence in the lives of those he maintained relationships with, but also in connection to God's impact upon our own personal lives as He seeks us to live in relationship with Him.
The words of this chorus came prayerfully to mind ~ "Let there be love shared among us, let there be love in our eyes. May now Your love sweep this nation, cause us, O Lord, to arise. Give us a fresh understanding of brotherly love that is real. Let there be love shared among us, let there be love."
Yes ~ a real, positive, influential, eternal and relational love flowing from God through us!

No Better Place To Be

Two and a half hours of car travel affords one the opportunity to talk at some length and depth. This was our privilege today as we drove Major Florence Badenhop (97 years young) to Warragul and back. Our conversation centred around her family life and ministry as a Salvation Army Officer over 28 years ~ after having entered College as a cadet of the Steadfast session at 32 years of age! Praise God, her faith story proved that Major Flo was also steadfast in spiritual nature through her many corps, training college and most interesting outback ministry appointments, where she was in charge of the Army's rural mobile unit in the Northern Territory.
A comment Major Flo made as we neared home summed up her steadfast spirit of faith: "When we are in God's will, He will always guide and provide!" I echoed a hearty AMEN to that! Yes, Lord, make us steadfast in spirit and service. There's no better place we'd rather be.

This Is The God We Adore

Worship this morning was awesome! None the less, because we were privileged to sit under the preaching ministry of one of our dear chapel members, Sister Noreen Webster. Looking resplendent wearing her new summer uniform, our beloved Noreen put into practice all the skills she had learned through 25 years as Corps Cadet Guardian and a faithful Corps Sergeant Major (CSM), dutifully leading meetings and preaching sermons in the absence of her blessed Corps Officers of years gone by.
We are grateful for Noreen's timely reminder from Psalm 19 verse 1 ~ "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands". Yes, this is the God we adore ~ One who is truly great in His Creative ability, Holiness and Love. Yet, at the same time, One who is personal in His care and concern for each of us.
We believe that the sharing of one's platform definitely results in shared blessings for all. Ministry is never "one-sided" but always best accomplished working with and alongside others!

Tim The Toolman

Believe it or not, I really was in tradesman mode yesterday ~ all in the name of assembling a personal computer work station. However, it should be more aptly titled "Tim The Toolman Assists Dad The Doer". Breaking code with the normal rule of manhood, we found ourselves constantly referencing the written instructions for assembly, which often ended in frustrating confusion. On more than one occasion we found ourselves questioning "Why is it that one needs to have an engineering degree simply to read most instruction manuals nowadays?"

In the end, as life reminds us all too often ~ persistence always pays off!

Here is the result:

Food For Thought

Here are a couple of quotations that have been Food For Thought to inspire and challenge us today.

"The spiritual meaning of love is measured by what it can do. Love is meant to heal. Love is meant to renew. Love is meant to bring us closer to God. "

Deepak Chopra ~ sourced from www.boogle.com

"We have loved our local churches too much. They will come and go, rise and fall, grow and die. What endures is the mission of God. God calls your church to mission. God calls your church not to be the center of people’s lives, but rather to be in the center of their lives."

Kennon Callahan ~ sourced from Westlink (Western Australia Divisonal newsletter)

Amusing Signs

You've probably all seen amusing signs or read of quirky quotes on noticeboards that leave you with a grin and somehow lighten up your day with a serious smile! Well, while paying a parking fee today outside the PR Department in Box Hill, I was confronted with a sign that made me smile ~ "Insert Coins Slowly". I knew what it meant, but then laughed as the 'slowly-inserted' coin fell fast with a loud crash into the machine deposit box, causing me to realize that the speed of the fall is really beyond one's control.
Here is a photo of a church sign I came across that was taken last May in Sydney while a local businessman was on lunch.And, here is another ~ this one was an amusing plaque attached to a bench seat that I snapped personally while on holiday in New Zealand recently. Obviously, you really need to be aware of the "history behind the local legend" to fully appreciate it. Wouldn't you agree?

Plugged Into Constant Power

Picture this scene ~ it's 4.00pm and I stop off at our local supermarket to collect a few household items. With basket in hand, I peruse the frozen food aisle in search of our regular vegetable mix purchase, reach for the door, slowly pull it open and ~ BANG! ~ off goes the electricity supply throughout the whole store. Emergency lights light up the aisle like those on an aircraft pointing the way to the nearest exit. In my case, the express aisle. I had to get out as quick as possible, embarassed that I had somehow tripped the store's power supply the moment I opened the freezer door. On my return trip home, I suddenly realized that all the other stores in the street were blacked out too ~ obviously from lack of power. WOW! Did I really cause this problem? Tuning into the radio the announcer declared: "We have a state-wide blackout!" No way, it couldn't be! Well, you can imagine my relief to discover that bush fires in Benalla had tripped the main line of the electricity supply shared between Victoria and New South Wales that resulted in the two-hour blackout.
With a 41oC temperature outside, we really missed the air-conditioner, phone access, computer access, TV, radio, etc. that awaited us upon our arrival at home. How dependent we have become upon power utilities in our high-tech society! This knowledge caused us to rejoice that when we are plugged into the true 'Power Source of Life' ~ Jesus Christ ~ there are certainly no Blackouts. For God's supply is constantly-empowering.
"We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work." (2 Timothy 1:8, The Message)