Forgiving

October 10, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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Are you able to forgive?

Offering forgiveness can be hard on so many levels. Forgiveness means giving up our right to revenge and working towards getting rid of the feelings of resentment and hurt that we can enjoy so much. Forgiveness is especially hard when the person who has wronged us still refuses to accept responsibility for their actions.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we discussed Marion Jones and Forgiveness. The Olympic Gold Medal winner recently revealed that she used performance enhancing drugs at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She has handed back her medals and is now facing the consequences of her actions.

It’s very easy to condemn her and consider her nothing more than a drug cheat but when we point the finger at the mistakes and wrong actions of others are we just as open for others to point out our faults?

Sports people around the world are under increasing pressure to perform at higher and higher levels. Millions of dollars are on the line and both spectators and sponsors want more and more from athletes. We expect super human performances yet cry foul whenever we find that someone has crossed the line to live up to our expectations. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that it’s just sport. Sport is good and healthy but are we placing too much emphasis on sport to the detriment of athletes?

As well as forgiving those in public life we need to be ready to forgive those close to us who hurt us.

Forgiveness in many areas of life often needs to be a process. It can be hard to ‘feel’ like forgiving someone who has wronged us and so we need to be able to start walking a path towards forgiveness long before the healing can begin.

During our discussion this morning Ross recommended a book title Breaking Through by Cathy Ann Matthews in which the author reveals her journey to forgive her abusive father and her mother who stood by and let the abuse continue.

If you’d like to hear our conversations just click play on the media player below.

Have you got a story of forgiveness to share? I’d love to hear how forgiveness help you to move forward in your life. Please leave your story in the comments section of this post or link to a post on your own blog.



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Win over 40 books

October 9, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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October GiveawayI told you last month that Tim Challies was giving stuff away again.

This month you’ve got another chance to win a great prize. Or forty one of them to be exact.

This month’s sponsor is Ligonier Ministries which is a ministry based upon the teaching of R.C. Sproul. It was established in 1971 to equip Christians to articulate what they believe and why they believe it. Ligonier has been doing that faithfully ever since. Dr. Sproul’s most recent book, The Truth of the Cross is ideal for both personal growth and for evangelism.

So what can you win?

First prize: One case (Forty copies!) of The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul along with a copy of Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips (that’s a retail value of over $600.). The forty books are not to be sold, but are to be given away or used for evangelism.

Second prize: One copy of Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips and admission for two to the Ligonier Ministries 2008 National Conference, Evangelism According to Jesus.

Third Prize: One copy of Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips and admission for two to the Ligonier Ministries 2008 National Conference, Evangelism According to Jesus.

What are you waiting for? Click here or on the picture in this post to enter.

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Hints for better reading habits

October 9, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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I spotted a post by Bob Franquiz a few days back titled How I Read a Book … and have been meaning to highlight it for you since then. We’re talking about a guy who reckons that he will have read 60 books this year by the end of the December.

Any one that can read through that much material is likely to have a few good tips for the rest of us who struggle to take the time to enjoy one of life’s greatest pleasures.

I’ll list the main headings he posted but remember this is just the bare bones. You really need to visit his post to let Bob flesh it out for you.

The things that Bob says help him to read are:

1. I like to read
2. Bring a book everywhere with you
3. Give yourself “reading time” every day
4. Read while you’re watching TV
5. Set goals
6. Read with a pen in hand
7. Get into a rhythm
8. Skip irrelevant sections
9. If a genre is working, stick with it
10. Keep a log of what you read

Do you have any tips that you think might help others to read more?

How many books would you get through in a year?

Are you someone who has taught yourself to develop a reading habit? How did you do it?

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Thumbs Up! Edition Nine

October 9, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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I’m thrilled that there are bloggers who want to continue contributing something positive to the blogoshpere through Thumbs Up! Time for our ninth edition.

If this is the first you’ve heard of Thumbs Up! and you’re scratching your head wondering what it’s about you can read the details here.

If you want to see the idea spread, and you use Stumble Upon, can I ask that you click the Stumble Upon button at the bottom of this post? It’d be great to see more bloggers accentuating the positive. You might like to write a post on your blog promoting the idea too.

G Purtee presentsthe oddly titled post, Here I raise my Ebenezer, at his excellent blog BigDadGib.net. Most of the time Thumbs Up! post remind us of the good things that others have done. You’ll find that this post highlights the things that help us remember God’s faithfulness and goodness.

Always good to have a post from Romi at Romi’s Journal. This time she presents a post titles Annie which highlights a wonderful blogger with a gift of encouragement. Defenitely worth a read.

I love deano’s post this week. His post is titled Garry Coleman and before you say “What you talkin’ ’bout Willis” let me assure you it’s a very different Garry Coleman he’s talking about at My Jarrol Spot. This Garry’s a V8 Supercar Chaplain who has gained the respect and admiration of many in the motor racing industry.

I don’t think I’ve left anyone out but if you did post a submission this week and you can’t see it here, please email me so that I can add your post. If you missed out on being a part of Thumbs Up! this week, get posting now and submit for next week.

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The Discipline to do the Things We Love

October 8, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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It’s a weird concept but I’ve been thinking about the self discipline we require to do the things we love.

We generally think that we’ll just get on and do the stuff we love doing and that we only need to discipline ourselves to do the things that we don’t like to do but have to anyway.

It takes real discipline and resolve for me to do any gardening and a bunch of other things that aren’t really my thing but what about the things I really enjoy doing? Shouldn’t those things come easy to me?

Perth’s beautiful weather makes my city the perfect place for cycling. It’s one of my favourite pass times yet if I don’t discipline myself to get out there on my bike I’ll miss out on something I love. It’s easy to sleep in on a Saturday morning instead of rising early to ride with my cycling friends but I know that if I put in the effort I’ll get greater benefits from cycling than I would from an extra hour in bed.

Last week during the Perth Royal Show I cycled to and from the show every day. I did over three times the distance on my daily commute. Instead of a 13 km round trip each day I was doing around 44 km each day. Rather than feeling more worn out from the extra effort I felt surprisingly energised.

If I love reading so much why do I need to discipline myself to sit down with a book for an hour? A week or two can often go past without me sitting down to soak in some words from the pages of a good book yet when I make the time to read I can easily get lost among the words and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of it. Sitting down with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other is one of the most satisfying things in the world yet I can waste my time on the trivial things of life rather than reading.

Do you find the same thing happening? Are there things that you really love yet you find you have to discipline yourself to invest your time pursuing them?

I find the same thing with my faith. I’m never happier than when I feel that I’m in tune with the Creator yet I can let time slip through my fingers without making the effort to recharge my spiritual batteries.

It’s somehow strange that we should have to exercise discipline and self-control to do the things that make us feel most alive but sadly it’s true. I guess that’s where priority setting comes into play.

What are you like at doing the things that you love?

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