The 'Isaac Challenge' Day 1

Today was the first day of a two week challenge to read my bible and pray that i have decided to journey into. I serious need this. For a good while now 6months I havn't really regularily read much of the bible and havn't had had a regular prayer life. To help me achieve this I am reading a couple of books and have a general plan to try and help me out.

THE HOUR THAT CHANGES THE WORLD- A Practical Plan for Personal Prayer

Dick Eastman
1978
Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan.

In this classic Dick Eastman talks about the power of prayer and the need for prayer and reccomends that you give an hour to God in prayer. And breaks this hour into 12 parts..5 mins each. These "points of focus" help you to be intentional in what you are doing. These parts are

• Praise
  
• Waiting
• Confession
• Scripture Praying
• Watching
• Intercession
• Petition
• Thanksgiving
• Singing
• Meditation
• Listening
• Praise

The other book I am reading is

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE
Rick Warren
2002
Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan

The most basic question everyone faces in life is Why am I here? What is my purpose? Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God’s purposes for putting us on earth... Warren enables them to see the big picture of what life is all about and begin to live the life God created them to live.

Using biblical stories and letting the Bible speak for itself, Warren clearly explains God’s five purposes for each of us:

• We were planned for God’s pleasure, so your first purpose is to offer real worship.
• We were formed for God’s family, so your second purpose is to enjoy real fellowship.
• We were created to become like Christ, so your third purpose is to learn real discipleship.
• We were shaped for serving God, so your fourth purpose is to practice real ministry.
• We were made for a mission, so your fifth purpose is to live out real evangelism.
  
  above From Purpose Driven Life Website.

Apart from those books I plan to read the Bible and blog about what I read...

The Isaac Challenge

Today I embark on another 'Isaac Challenge'...

Isaac Bent was my youth leader when I was 12-13. Me and one other guy and Isaac would go and have 'sunday school' which usually included some extreme challenge on the playground at Vardon Rd School in Hamilton and then would be followed by sitting on the steps talking about girls, and jesus and the bible and Issac trying to help us be awesome.

He once gave me a challenge.. he said
"read your bible for two weeks and let me know how it goes, let me know if anything bad happens during that time".

I have done this a couple of times before and so today I start again. At a time in my life where I am in a new city, and asking myself and God some big questions, I know I really need to be reading the Bible and praying.

So this is now public so I can't not do it. For the next two weeks I am gonna try my hardest to have a 'quiet time' with God. Time set aside to focus on God, to read the bible and to talk to God about whats going on, to journal. If possible before anything else in my day.

I'll try and blog about it and let you know my thoughts and developments. It's gonna be good.

Smoke Photography..

Lately iv'e been experimenting with Smoke Photography. NZ Photographer a online Photography magazine which is subsribe to in the latest issue published a 'how to' section abotu Smoke Photography. I'm looking at entering into a competition they are holding.

I'll be posting and adding more photos as I get better at it. Let me know what you think and which one I should enter in for the competition.

Click on the images to enlarge

How much is one man of God be worth?

At work on friday morning I hear from my work mate that Bishop Brian Tamaki of Destiny church is rumoured to be getting a salary of 1.1 million dollars. I have done some research this morning and found the following article..

"Cash for preaching lifts Tamaki's pay to $1m"

How much is one man of God worth? I wonder, I really wonder just how much should one brain, one mouth, one man be worth.

Obviously in our modern age many public servants are earning a million plus a year, so why is there a problem with a church Pastor earning the same.

I personally have little problem with public servants such as politions and large corporate CEO's earning a million plus a year, as they live to a different standard. The real problem for me is when you say you are a Christian, you say you believe in the God of the Bible, you say you worship Jesus Christ and yet take home a million plus a year.

Why would this be a problem? Shouldn't someone committed and working for such a great cause be able to be rewarded for their efforts?

Recently coming out of Christian minstry I know how hard you work and how much effort goes into the running of a small ministry, let alone a church the size of Destiny. But at what stage does reward drift into excess and really how much is one person worth?

What are your thoughts?

Isn't there something wrong when young children are leaving there delapidated homes with empty stomachs to attend school while Men of "God" are living in millon dollar mansions and playing on half million dollar boats.

As Christian are we not called to help the needy.. to clothe the naked.. the feed the hungry?

Problems with problems?

"It is much easier to point out problems than to offer solutions."

Steven James

I was thinking and journalling today about my last church and how it was lead and the style of church it was, and the problems in which that organisation had. I found myself naming problems and analising them in great detail. Then I thought how would I lead it.

If I had the opportunity what would I change? How would I do it? And I had no idea. This quote by Steven James is so true, and so challenging.

Underoath- Some will seek forgivness, others escape

A freind showed this video at church in 2009 and only recently did I read the lyrics and really think about what it is saying.


Underoath- Some will seek forgivness, others escape


I heard a voice through the discord
A deluge of passersby
I saw one gaze frozen in time
Watching me passing by

And I swear I'll know your face in the crowd
And I'll hear your voice so loud
When you're whispering

Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger, to be stronger
Hey ungraceful I will teach you
To forgive one another.

Here's my kiss to betray (Kiss to betray)
Desperate to brush the lips of grace (Brush the lips of grace)
Do you feel hollow when you think of how I lied?

Oh sweet angel of mercy
With your grace like the morning
Wrap your loving arms around me
Oh sweet angel of mercy
With your grace like the morning
Wrap your loving arms around me

Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger, to be stronger
Hey ungraceful I will teach you
To forgive one another

Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger, to be stronger
Hey unloving
I will love you
I will love you
I will love you

And Jesus I'm ready to come home
Jesus, I'm ready to come home(home)
home (home)
I'm ready to come (home)
Hey Unfaithful
Hey Ungraceful
Hey Unloving
I will love you
Hey Unloving (Hey Unloving)
I will love you

A New Era

In Janurary 2010 I moved from Hamilton to Auckland to be closer to my girlfriend who lives here. After 4 months of long distance dating we had had enough and I decided to move.

I work as a Restaurant Manager for The Beach House Restaurant, in Bucklands Beach in Eastern Suburbs of Auckland. I have been at this job for only 3 weeks and it is proving to be quite challenging. The restaurant is great, with a solid reputaion and excellent food. The owners are passionate about food and great service and the other staff are all very good at what they do.


This week has be quite hard. I have just had a week off for a friends wedding in Napier. But i found it very interesting how when I come back I can forget so much. Tuesday, my first day back wasn't that fun.

For starters I was late as I forgot that I needed to shave for work..dawk. and then just little things which I had forgotten to do or how to do.

The night started out quite horribly as we were out of one type of champagne and so they requested a bottle of moet which we also didn't have that evening, so I then offered the table a different bottle of champagne only to find out they couldn't have that brand because of allergies. This little fiasco ended with the table decided upon a bottle of top shelf champagne for $20 less than normal as we didn't have what they wanted originally.

This lead to the whole night being a bit of a shambles and didn't make me very happy. I am finding it hard to remember and do everything as it needs to be done and when it needs to be done. I'm hoping that it is just new job jitters and that all will be well in a few weeks once I learn more and it all becomes easier.

About this Blog

I guess my first post should be about why I have decided to start a blog. I have blogged in the past when at Bible College as a place to practice what I was learning as I studied, but stopped as my work load grew and my free time seemed to be stretched more and more. However in a new chapter of my life, i find myself with more time once again and thoughts which need sharing.

This blog is a place for me to write and express my thoughts and musings of life and its complexities, trials, struggles, and joy. A home for thoughts on marriage, love and romance. A bounching board for my own personal soul searching questions of God and religion, jesus and mankind. Dotted with photography, adventure and travel ideas and future plans.

I make no apologises for my poor grammar or formatting. This blog is personal, it is me.

This blog is about my life, your life. Life.
This is life