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Life

Don’t Give Up On Living

I was watching a Youtube video a couple of days back that showed a rather elderly lady dancing up a storm at a concert. She was extremely agile, not just for someone her age, but for someone of any age. A friend said that he’d like to be able to do that when he reaches her age.

His comment made me think about what I’d like to still be able to do when I reach my senior years. For me it’s always been cycling. I’d like to still be on my bike in thirty or forty years. While I’d like to retire from work at some stage, I don’t ever want to retire from life.

What is it for you? Dancing wildly? Cycling? Some other kind of exercise?

Another thing I want to be doing when I’m much older is enjoying life with my wonderful wife, Pauline.

I’d love to hear from you. Have you seen someone in their senior years and thought I hope I’m still doing that at their age?

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Have we forgotten Haiti?

It’s a story we seem to have let slip into history. Just before 5:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday the 12th of January 2010, two years ago today, a a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit just outside Port-au-Prince, the capital of the impoverished nation of Haiti. Within the first fortnight after that event, at least 52 major aftershocks had been recorded.

The quake killed around 220 000, injured more than 300 000 and affected 3.5 million people. Even before the quake, 86% of people in Port au Prince were living in slum conditions. Compassion was there and continues to work with the people of Haiti.

While we heard story after story about the tragedy in the weeks immediately following the earthquake, the plight of the Haitian people has already faded from our TV screens and newspapers. The rebuilding isn’t even close to being finished but we’ve already moved on.

Compassion International has been working in Haiti for over forty years so they were one of the first aid agencies to begin helping the people of the affected area. They’re committed to the people of Haiti and they’ll continue to help them in the years and even decades that it will take to return life to what we might consider normal.

Just ten days after the quake I spoke to Tim Glenn from Compassion live from Haiti. You can hear that radio interview by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been looking back at my visit to Haiti and Dominican Republic with Compassion Australia in April 2008. That visit is the main reason I’m passionate about taking park in the 25000 Spins Great Ocean Road Challenge. Next month I’ll be riding 290 kilometres in three days and I need your support. By sponsoring my efforts on the challenge you’ll be releasing children from poverty. You’ll be giving children a real chance at life. Please visit my fundraising page and make a contribution. Maybe you can afford to sponsor me for a dollar a kilometre, maybe 50 cents a kilometre, or perhaps you’d just like to donate $10, $20, $50 or any other amount.

The ride isn’t specifically raising money for Haiti but I know that whatever is raised will go to those who need it most right now. Please consider how much you can afford to give.

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Losing Everything

How would you cope if everything you owned was suddenly gone? What would you do if you not only lost all your possessions but your family was completely wiped out? Would you be able to rebuild your life if you lost everything?

Yesterday marked a year since heart breaking floods swept through parts of Queensland. Lives were lost, homes were destroyed, some people lost everything.

The earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan last year were absolutely devastating. We saw vision of entire towns being destroyed as a massive, surging wall of water forced its way through community after community. The death toll was over 15 000 with many more lost or injured. We don’t have to think back too far to remember the Haitian earthquake that killed around 220 000, injured more than 300 000 and affected 3.5 million people. At the end of 2004 there was the Tsunami that killed over 230 000 people in fourteen countries

Over the last several years we’ve seen an increase in floods, earthquakes, fires, natural disasters, wars and continuing instability in various regions around the world.

It seems that millions of people around the world are being faced with the reality of losing everything. World events have caused me to ask myself how I would cope in such a situation.

Sometimes the loss isn’t on such a large scale. We hear of family homes burning down leaving the occupants with just the clothes on their backs. How do you recover from something like that?

Where is my security?

The question I’m forced to ask is, “Where is my security?” Am I placing my security in the ‘stuff’ I accumulate? Is my security in my family or friends? Do I place my security in my own health? All of these could be ripped away from me in seconds.

I’ve seen brave people on television talking about how they’ve rebuilt their lives after tragedy. Could I do that? Could you?

My hope is that I’m never faced with having to rebuild my after losing everything but if something did happen I hope that I would put my security in the only real constant I know.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39

How would you begin again if you ever lost everything?

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Happy Christmas 2011

It might be Christmas Eve 2011 where you are but here in Perth it’s well and truly Christmas Day.

I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very happy day as you celebrate Christmas wherever you are in the world. Many will be experiencing a white Christmas while here in Perth, Western Australia, we have a hot summer day forecast.

Remember to pace yourself throughout the day so that you don’t regret it all tomorrow and don’t forget to take time out to reflect on what Christmas is truly all about.

Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:14

We went to a Christmas Eve service at church last night and we’ll be catching up with both sides of our family throughout the day.

I’d really love to hear how you’ll be celebrating. Please leave a comment or two to let me know.

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Christmas Shopping Goes Postal

I was reading this morning that Australia Post is expected to deliver a million more parcels to homes this Christmas compared to last year and they’ll increase their workload 24%.

It’s all to do with online shopping. People are switching to the convenience of buying from the comfort of their own home or office.

It makes sense to avoid the queues, save money, and have goods delivered directly to your door. It’s no wonder that online shopping has taken off over the last couple of years.

Have you done your Christmas shopping online this year? Did you buy everything online or just a few bits and pieces? If you haven’t been buying online, what’s the main thing that is holding you back?

Mind you, for blokes like me there’s still a long way to go before we embrace online shopping for Christmas gifts. I really can’t see them finding a way to allow us to shop on Christmas Eve and have the gifts delivered before Christmas.

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