Sunday 28th October 2007 and a 4 day break

Two images. The bottom one is of the best females I know! The top one is my wife and her sister with our 2 angels. It was taken on Friday. This evening is the last day of my 4 day break. Thursday, day 1 we had a big breakfast followed by preschool in the park. Friday was the Victoria Markets to meet Stephanie's sister. They didn't stop long so we spent the rest of the day roaming around the markets and eating. We ate so much that when we arrived home we were still full.

Saturday I had a few little jobs to do at our church then off to get the foundation slabs for our rain water tank. Yes, Melbourne is in the grip of a drought and mass water restrictions. If you search on line you can read all about it. But here is something to wet your whistle while you wait.

The other day I was asked a very interesting question. Did I think that the Californian bush fires were a judgement of God on the life style of the people who lived there. Well, at the risk of upsetting some folks of tender conscience I have to say, in part, yes. I do believe so. I also believe, again in part, so was Katrina, the Twin Towers plain crashes, the Bali Bombings, the London underground bombing, Australia's current drought to list but a few. Each of those incidents is a judgement of some aspect of our current life. The Twin Towers Represents our World Monetary system; the Bali Bombings represents Australia's behaviour as overseas tourists, or terrorists as the local might think of us. The London Underground is maybe a statement of the UK, and other countries, involvement in Iraq and so on we could go. But on reflection maybe there is something else going on here. Maybe God is calling us to repentance. Maybe God is calling our attention to Him and the Love He wants to bestow upon us, and maybe through us and our prosperity, to the countries we are involved in. Look at something Jesus said. He longed to gather Jerusalem under His wing. But they would have none of it. What happened? Less than 50 years later Jerusalem lay in ruins. God takes no pleasure in destruction. Sin and the way we treat others grieves Him. It is like a lost loved one to Him. He is not willing that any should perish. When Adam and Eve plotted their collective copy books in Eden God was hurt. He knew what was going to happen, but all the same, it hurt Him. He has got to get our attention some how. You the reader make up your mind.

Thursday 4th October 2007 I thought after ...

... yesterday I had best be a bit positive today. Today was the second day of my 2 day break. We planed to go to the hotel at the top of Arthur's Seat for our midday meal then on to Arthur's Seat Maze for the afternoon. It all hinged on the weather forecast for today. It said fine and warm with showers late in the day. We did our grocery shopping in the morning and then off to the hotel for lunch. It was, the last time we were there, excellent. The food was also excellent. That was then and this is now. A lot has changed and not all of it for the better. Then it was off to the maze. Only problem is that the dart board the weather forecasters used was different to the one God used. God's ruled. It was cold wet and windy. Now, normally I would grumble louder than Cathy when she is teething. Not so this time. Just in case you may have missed it, we are smack dab in the middle of a 3 year drought. Any rain is welcome. I didn't grumble and when we had our family prayer time tonight I was abler to praise the Lord enthusiastically for thew rain.
Now on the subject of bellyaching and such I found this today:
Romans 9:20 (King James Version) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
I think I shall memorize that verse to remind me the next time I have bad thoughts about God.
I'll shut up about now!

Wednesday 3rd October 2007 'I could have...

... saved you 80,000 lives and $US499 billion. That is the headline of the Melbourne MX newspaper of 27 Th September 2007. The article reads as follows and I quote in full:
Saddam's Secret offer
It has cost 80,000 lives and more than $500 billion, but the Iraq war could have been averted for just over $1 billion.
That's the claim today after details emerged of an extraordinary offer by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to go into exile.
It has been claimed that Saddam offered to go a month before the invasion if he could take the $1 billion with him, saving about $499 billion, not to mention the many thousands of lives.
The transcript of talks between US President George W Bush and the then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar at Bush's Texas ranch has raised new questions about the need for the disastrous four year war.
It comes as the Bush administration asked the Congress for another $217.8 billion for conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to the tapes, Bush believed Saddam was serious.
"He's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to $US i billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction."
Asked if Saddam, who was executed last December, could really leave, Bush replied, "Yes, that possibility exists."
The transcript, published in Spain's El Pais newspaper was recorded by a diplomat.
The White House has refused to comment.
Days before the invasion on March 22, 2003, the UAE proposed to Arab leaders that Saddam go into exile, but the plan was drowned out by the drums of war.
Australia has about 900 troops in Iraq, while the US currently has 165,000.
End of article.
Any one who knows me, knows exactly what my position is on the Iraq war. Those of you who don't are about to. This is the second time the US has got stuck into Iraq. The first time was when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Mr Hussein was their president at that time. George "dubya" senior was the first Bush to have a bash. He got cold feet because of the carnage that would result, even though one of his own generals had a plan to go in and take out Saddam. The second George "dubya" had no such qualms. He was quite happy to go blow them of the face of the earth. Or cost his country billions in the process. Why? Because the US has this bee in its bonnet over terrorists. Maybe. That's the stated reason. Even before the war has got under way, GW was informed that Iraq didn't have any weapons of mass destruction. But did he listen? No. Neither did our own PM. The "Coalition of the Willing". That's what it was called. Willing to go invade a sovereign nation without invitation.
Now let's be reasonable here. Mr Hussein wasn't exactly the sort of fellow you would invite to dinner. He was a rather nasty gentleman at best. However, in their efforts to to get ride of him, the US and others have turned the country into a ghetto that would barely be recognised as a "third world" country. What ever that might be. Personally I think maybe the US and some other countries would better fit the tag of a "third world" country. Having said all that. I agree, Mr Saddam Hussein had to go. That was all. Mr Hussein and a few of his not so nice helpers. Not the whole country. Not the people in the street who were just going about their daily lives. Just Mr Hussein. One bullet was all it would take.
Is this the first time the US has done this? No. Iran was the first way back in 1953. Then Vietnam, and the list goes on. Now Mr Hitler had delusions of grandeur and wanted to take over the world. Now who wants that title? I will let you, the reader, decide who I think may be the person.
I believe that we do not have the right to invade a sovereign nation without invitation of her people. The US was and is wrong to have invaded Iraq. So was Australia, the UK and others involved. I believe we need to repent of the evil deed. I would further suggest that this current drought that Australia is facing is due to God trying to get our attention as a nation, to repent of our collective evil and change our ways.
You, the reader, are entitled to disagree with me. That is your right. But before you write me off as another crack pot, think about it. Think how you would feel if some one came in off the street and raped, pillaged and blundered your house and family. Iraq is now a mess. It has descended into civil war, despite what others would claim. Think about it.
Enough.