Saturday 31st May 2008 Why men?

Happy birthday Stephanie for yesterday. I wont mention your age. That wouldn't be nice.
Yes, Stephanie reads this. She is my number 1 fan club member.
Why the above question in the Title? Because it was a question that was asked in St Lukes forum by a lady who I think is wise and a great help to those who know her. But she took it that because St Lukes is trying to raise up more male leaders that it was discriminating against the women. She is wrong. The Bible, God's written word to us, repeatedly calls for men to be leaders and exercise leadership. Trouble is that when people see leadership, they automatically think "boss", "dictator". Wrong. They think that men are there to tell them what to do. Wrong. Wrong, wrong! If that is how you, the reader, see that then you are wrong. If I have to "boss" my wife around then I am failing in my position as leader in the home.
A question. Would you agree that Jesus was a leader? Did He "boss" people around? He did a lot of stuff and showed people the way. That is true leadership.
Mine is to lead by serving and setting an example. Only. Asking is good. Telling is bad.
And that is enough of that.
I am a bit of an on again off again fan of Andrew Bolt. Who, do I hear you ask, is Andrew Bolt? Well, Andrew Bolt is like me. He is an egotistical self opinionated twit. But there is one big difference. He gets paid for his opinion by the Herald Sun newspaper.
What is an opinion? I think it good to get the definition correct at the outset. This is from Wikipedia. "An opinion is a person's ideas and thoughts towards something."
What is a fact? "Generally, a fact is defined as something that is true, something that actually exists, or something that can be verified according to an established standard of evaluation."
I think it is important to establish that at the outset. My wife might define it like this. "Fact is something that can be proven to be true. An opinion can't."
Another way to put an opinion might be "I think this or that".
My Bolt and I both do that. He gets paid for his opinion, I don't. Boo hoo.
Why have I raised the subject of Mr Bolt and his ego? I am glad you asked. It goes like this. Sometimes I agree with him. Sometimes I don't. For example, he supports the war in Iraq. I don't. And I wrote and told him so. He thinks Mr Sam Newman is being wrongly penalised by some sections of the media. I agree with him, oh, shock horror. Do I see you throw your arms up in horror, or maybe you haven't heard of Mr Sam Newman. Read about him here. He isn't, in my opinion a very nice person. I disagree with his treatment of women. That is not the issue. The issue is one of free speech. He spoke. People didn't like it. Instead of telling him to pull his head in or sacking him they didn't. They told him to get counselling for his "problem". In other words, he didn't "think" right. He needed to be "re-educated". Read what Andrew Bolt says here. I think Andrew is right on the money.
Another area where young Andrew and I agree is on the so called "stolen generation" thing and Australia saying "sorry". Sorry for what? Why should I say sorry? Sorry for people who may have been treated wrongly in the past? So what. Get over it! Don't use your past as an excuse to continue to get drunk or what ever crutch you use. Get a life. I was treated wrong in the past as well. Does that give me the right to wallow in a pool of self pity? No. Get over it. Move on.
Now, some of Andrew's insights into some of our high profile people who claim to have been stolen make for interesting reading. Guess what? This isn't the first time Andrew has said this. Guess what else? No one has taken him to court to sue him or prove him wrong. Now don't that beat all?
And now this. "TODDLERS as young as two are being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed drugs including Ritalin." Follow the link to read more. Lou Priolo has something to say on ADHD here. It is at the end of this sermon.
I am very surprised that kids as young as 2 are being diagnosed. How much of it is true and how much can be traced to parenting life style?
Maybe when Michele misbehaves I should classify her as being ADHD.
Good by May.

Tuesday 27th May 2008 Life is a journey

We all do it. That is, those of us blessed by God to have children do. And it is a journey. And there are mile stones along the way. Not the children. We all know they have milestones. Us. The parents. We evolve as parents. As we go along, if we have a listening ear tuned to God we will be tentative to what He wants us to do. We started in pacifier style. That is,we did what it took to keep Michele happy, at least by our definition, and reasonably quiet. Then she started getting loud and "touching stuff". We then progressed to reactive parenting. We followed a philosophy that whereby we "corrected" Michele when ever she "touched stuff" and we aimed for "first time obedience". Then we happen to chance upon (read: God led us to) Michael Pearl. And we learned about "training". He also got us looking at what we were doing. He started the process of changing us. But not in earnest. Then, which is where I am at now, we found (read: God led me to) Lou Priolo. What Mr Pearl started, no, what Christ started, is now happening more. I am currently listing to a parenting seminar that Lou Priolo conducted at some time. Now, it appears that Lou is some sort of councillor. But one with a difference. I you have a problem with your child, he doesn't look firstly at the child. No, the first few sessions are with the parents to see what we are doing and how we go about doing what we do. I have listened to the first of these sermons. I look forward to listening to the rest.
Oh, and I think I have set a record. Two days without a photo. Wow!

Monday 26th May 2008 I must have a look.

At what? Well see this? That is from this company. Now, Subway is running that competition in the good old USA. Is this so in Australia? Well, I am not sure. Their home page didn't tell me much. So I will have to go visit. It is a good thing we like Subway.
Just as a point of interest to all "junk" food fans, McDonald's is the least healthy and Subway is the most healthy of the fast food chains.
Back to the competition. This is a discriminatory competition. It excludes one section of the schooling population from entering. That needs to change and the only way it is going to change is if we the people make it change. We can stand idly by or we can get off our collective backsides and write. That is, those who are in the good old USA can. I don't know if the competition is open in Australia. When I find out I will act accordingly.
Can we get change? Yes, we most certainly can. My wife did. You see my daring just happens to have a little deficiency with her vision. A certain credit card vending business could only be obtained on line by placing certain detail;s in a box. Problem wad those details are visual. Bit of a problem if you can't see. Now the company don't like bad press. So when my sweetheart wrote, the company sat up and took notice and made the changes.
Want Subway, and other companies, to change? Write and drive the change.
Are you a home-schooling in USA? Get your children to write, and you write also. Mobilise your home-schooling friends to write.
That is my 2 cents worth!

Sunday 25th May 2008 Why

That is the title of my last blog entry. It is a question that didn't get asked then and isn't going to get asked now. Well not about what I intended to ask now.
Can some one please explain to me how a 12 year old child can possibly have the maturity to make decisions about matters which will effect them for the rest of their life? There are somethings which a 12 year old cannot fathom. This is on the front page of the Melbourne's Herald Sun. I am amazed at some things in this story. Some of the things that this child has been permitted to decide beggar understanding. How long has this child been permitted to decide which gender clothing it should be allowed to wear? Maybe I am living in the past, but when I was a child my parents made the choice as to what I would wear.
From where I am standing this child's parents have let it down. Especially the mother, who shows clearly that she is not prepared to make decisions that are in the best interests of the child.
From where I am standing, the judge also has, I believe, let, not only this child down, but also all future children who may make decisions of which they are not mentally mature enough to make.
The only personal who, in my egotistical opinion, has half a brain, is the father. As as always, he unfortunately is wearing a dress, his wife is wearing the pants. He is trying to exercise leadership, but is not permitted to.
Which leads me to believe that there is absolutely no hope what so ever for humanity.
We Christians need to stop worrying about this and that and start being the salt of the earth and standing up for what is right and to stand up to idiots who force what is wrong upon us!

Saturday 24th May 2008 Why?

OK, that is not a typical scene in our house. Michele helping, yes. Cathy looking on, no. In fact that is the first time Cathy has been up on a chair at the counter where we prepare our meals. Cathy is looking on, hopefully learning by example. She is about 5 months ahead of her her elder sister. What do I mean by that? Michele was around 20 months old when we read a book by Jean Leidloff entitled The Continuum Concept. We decided to try some of the principles found in that book. Both girls are standing on chairs. Michele is pricking sausages with a fork to prevent them from splitting when cooked. Now, prior to reading the book, and later, reading some articles by Michael Pearl, we wouldn't have dreamed of letting Michele do what you see her doing here. In fact she would have been playing, no doubt bored, with toys on the floor. At that time Michele was a handful. She was a happy child, but dreadfully self willed and head strong. We were trying to discipline her, and failing, miserably. Looking back now I believe she was bored. That book was a turning point in our lives as parents. We would not go back to there for a moment. Not a single moment.
We determined then, that any other children we had would be as involved in our everyday lives as much as possible. To do this with your children is nerve wracking. There is a lot of trust in a child's ability to have a sense of danger and self preservation. Yes, Michele has been hurt over the time. The second time she attempted to use a potato peeler she peeled her finger instead of the potato. Blood everywhere. I have lost count of the number of times she disappeared from sight when she fell of the chair. Cathy is younger. Much younger and so we watch her on the chair. She hasn't fallen of yet. She will, and there will be some squawking.
Unfortunately, what we do does have its down side. Like at Christmas when we were in Adelaide. We, at home, all eat together at the same time. There is no segregation of children and adults. This was not so in Adelaide. This was so "the adults could have their meal in peace without small children interrupting every five minutes". The fact that an adult had to get up and attend to the children every five minutes didn't occur to our hosts. Also at home, what we eat the children eat. We use to buy "kids" meals for Michele when we ate out. It never worked. She always turned her nose up and we finished up feeding her off our plate. Not so in Adelaide. "The children wont like what we eat" was the catch cry. Good thing they cant read minds. Michele missed out on trying new foods. Since then we have tried her on some of those foods. She loves them, just as we knew she would.
Are our kids the exception? No. They are just every day average kids. No better, no worse that any other kid on the block. The difference is that we tend to think and look outside of the box. We like the principles in the Continuum Concept. They make sense to us. We like what the Pearls do with their kids. It makes sense to us. And we have proven that it works.
Have we changed our parenting style? You better believe we have. No more seen and not heard. We still discipline. We demand first time obedience and swat very firmly when it doesn't happen. But we also train. For hours at a time, in fact, all the time. If our children are involved in what we are doing then they will be trained. The Israelites were told to teach their children day and night. To write God's law in their heart and to teach their children. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he grows old he will not depart from it. The Bible also says, correctly so, he who hates his son, or in our case daughters, does not correct him. If you beat him with the rod you will not kill him. Not sure about the beating bit, think I will leave that outside the camp. But, how can a child know right from wrong if they are not taught? How can a child know about consequences if they are not disciplined? If you fail in the area of discipline, in my book of rules, you hate your child; you don't love your child. How can a child learn self disciplined if they are never corrected, sometimes when necessary, harshly?
On the other side of the ledger, and this is where we failed Michele, if you don't train, how can your child know what is expected of them and in turn, what society will expect of them? This is the major difference between the girls. Cathy we trained. Michele we managed and growled at until we woke up. That's the difference. Right there. I started with Cathy when she was 8 weeks old. Now we are reaping the benefits. With both of them. We have done some hard yards with Michele. More so once we assumed the position that she knew absolutely nothing and started training in earnest.
Enough for one night.
Would you believe I was going to write more on the future of humanity. Not so now. Another post for another time.
Just one more little thing before I go. Discipline is important. Training is more important!

Friday 23rd May 2008 Is there any hope for man?

My darling is suffering with Gastroenteritis again. Just when we thought all was well, we decide to have soy sauce on steak. With a matter of hours, Stephanie was sitting and you know what and the following morning it was burps with bits all over again. Since then we have been to Dr Doctor and he prescribed some pills to help the symptoms, which shall remain nameless. I got into trouble for last graphic description, so this time I will just leave to you to work out. The pills have made her sleepy. But at least the symptoms have eased up. I am off work to play Mr Mum again. I am happy with the Mr Mum bit, but not the other bit. Some one down there must be awfully cranky with us I think. Maybe we helped some one he didn't want to be helped. Mind you we have been involved in some politics lately that saw all the browny points I had built up over a long period of time, disappear in one telephone call. Or maybe it is just the season and we it is all a matter of "fate".
You know I would not like to be Fate. Fate gets the blame for all sorts of things. Bit like "Chance". Chance gets the blame also.
So, back to dear wife and her interesting life experience. Here sit I with one daughter snoring beside Mum and the other sitting here beside me doing Leap Frog Letter Pad. She is happy. I am happy.
Like the subject line? There was once upon a time a religious group who would come a calling and that question was their opening line. I haven't seen them for years. No I am not going to name them. But if they have a come a calling then most likely that was the question they would ask.
I use to dread them calling. I would keep watch and when I saw them I would try to make out I wasn't interested. I was always polite. Then one day they came a calling and asked that question. Did I think there was any hope for humanity? Well, at that time, yes I did. I told them so. As I said to them, 2000 years ago Christ died on a cross on a hill for the sin and sins off all man kind. For God so loved the world...... I then proceeded to give them a gospel message. They couldn't/wouldn't refute what I was saying. They then suddenly decided that they had better places to be and an urgent appointment that they were late for. That was being said as they were leaving/running down my path. Funny, I never saw them again. The pastor of the church that I was in was spending hours talking to one of the lady's from that group. Days in fact. Going around in circles and not making any progress. In the end it started to impact on our church and he was requested to pack it in and get back to the job in hand.
Well, that was a long story about the past. Now to the present. That was 30 years ago almost. Would my answer be the same today? I was a young, brash, egotistical brand new believer then, with more mouth than common sense and no experience. In many ways I was living purely on faith. A good thing. But that's another story. Let me not get side tracked.
If I was asked to day, the 23rd day of May in the year 2008 AD, what would my answer be to the question: "Is there any hope for man?"
No. For individuals here and there, yes. For man kind? No. The message is the same. Christ died for our sin. That's the same. The life that He lived qualified Him for the death He died. He died to redeem you and I from our wilful sins, of which there are many. But that death and resurrection only has effect if we ask for it. Apart from that it is and was an utter waste of time. Shocked? If you are a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ then you ought not to be. Observe your fellow man. Go on. Take a good solid look at him/her/them. Take a good look at them. They want to live and independent life and not acknowledge God's rightful claim to their life. They do not want God. Full stop, end of story. Does God have a right to lay claim to their life? Yes. Why? Because He created them. And because He died on a wooden cross to save them from their sin, to live within them the life He wants for them to live.
You know, it is a pretty scary thought that when Noah built the ark, also known as a dirty big box, that there were possible 8 billion people on earth. How many went into that ark and were saved from the impending rain shower? 8. That's it. The sum total of all the people alive on the earth at that time that survived the flood was........ eight.
OK. Now lets fast forward to today. How many people alive on the late great planet earth today? As of May 2008 the world's population is believed to be just over 6.7 billion. OK, now for a little maths. If 8 out of approximately 8 billion survived the flood, how many out of approximately 6.7 billion will be saved if God were to pull the switch right now. 6.7. I believe it is called a remnant.
Now I have a question for you. Why? Why would God allow this? And no pat Biblical answers please. Don't get me wrong. God is quite justified in this. If for now other reason that it is His sand pit and He can do what ever He pleases with His sand pit. Why is it so that God will save one billionth of all the people who have ever lived and the rest will disappear into nothingness.
And now for another question. Is this the action of a God of love?
That leads to anther question. How can God like something as obnoxious as man? Remember God created us.
That leads to another interesting theory. Calvinist's, or those who believe in double predestination would have us believe that that with the exception of one billionth of man kind, every single person is destined to hell. Now that is an interesting thought I am sure you will agree. That sort of goes with the thought that God is evil.
I will be very interested to hear your thoughts. Maybe you wish to respond. Probably not.

Sunday 18th May 2008 It's not real.

It looks like a pelican, doesn't it? Well it's not. It is a sculpture of a pelican on a pole. Looks real. And when you are there it does too. But it's not. There is another. It is on the other side of the river, also on a pole, also looks real, also is not. But I like them. And I tried to get a good photo. That was the best I could do. I ran out of time and also to get the shot I want, I really need a camera stand. I can't hold the camera steady enough to do the job.
Why is there no new current photo of my girls? I don't have one on the computer. There are a few on the camera, but not on the computer. Yes, I know I am lazy, but I am a male when all is said and done.
Both girls are sleeping. Wow, that wont last long.
Friday was a good/bad day in this house. My dearly beloved, God's gift to me a sinner, wife was in bed with Gastroenteritis. That was not good. She looked dreadful and felt worse. That was the bad news. I know one shouldn't gloat, but there was an upside. All Stephanie could do was burps with chunks and the other is best left to your vivid imagination. That was bad. But, as the best she could do was to walk to the place where those needs can be best catered for and back to bed, I got to be Mr Mum for a day. That was good. And I had a ball. Mind you the worst for Stephanie was over by the afternoon, but still we deemed it best I stay home from work and be Mr Mum. I was happy to oblige.
In the morning, Michele had preschool from 0830 to 1200. I took her there and picked her. She goes to East Karingal Pre-school and loves it. We take her there and as soon as she is in the door, that's it. We don't see or hear from her until we pick her up. I personally think it is an excellent pre-school. The teachers consult with the parents. The teachers also back up what the parents want. So, we have had a problem with our little girl telling lies. I walked down had a talk with the teachers and as a result, some time soon there will be a session on lying and getting your sibling into trouble. No child will be named. It will be done as part of the curriculum.
Now Cathy, she is amazing. It was as though she knew Mum wasn't up to par. So we hung out together, spent time in the garden and Dad's garage. We also played inside. Every now and then Cathy would go check Mum, sort of like touch base. No whining or complaining. It was excellent. there wasn't much I could do for Stephanie. If we had gone to the doctor, he would have told us to do what we were doing.
At around 1130 Cathy wanted a sleep, so off she went, climbed into bed beside Mum and slept until 2 pm. At midday I picked up Michele and we did what Dad and daughters do. We prepared the evening meal. Michele decided she wanted to do some schooling. Out came the Rod and Staff work books. Then it was off to Starfall. She really loved StarFall. I guess because it is so interactive. Then it was on to Hooked on Phonics.
Now listen up real good. Don't want people should get the wrong impression here. We don't push Michele with this stuff. In fact we would have preferred not to do any of the extra. But she wants to do it. So what do we do? Say to her "no you can't"? I think people have tried that in the past. Utter waste of time because the kids are going to learn one way or the other. So we might as well give in and let her go. I want her to do the learning at her own place. All we do is give her the tools to do the discovery on her own. And no, it is not our intention to home school. I know the arguments for and against. Our leading at this time is to mainstream school for the first 2 or 3 years then, when Cathy is ready, go to Bayside Christian College maybe. On the other hand we may decide to home school. I have some issues with home-schooling that I haven't been able to resolve yet.
As the day progressed, so did the improvement with Stephanie. She was able to join us for our evening meal. It was straight back to bed after.
So a good day was had by all. And whilst Stephanie illness wasn't good, it did have a good side. She got healed. Ask Michele. She asked Jesus to heal her Mum, which He did, and one of her friends from preschool who had to go home.
Now, You want to know where the photo was taken, right? The mouth of the Torrens River, Adelaide, South Australia.