A New Blog Launch

January 31, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

I’ve never been one of those bloggers who has thought a lot of keeping a number of blogs but that’s only because I’ve never really had the need to keep more than one blog. Publishing one blog has always seemed like enough effort for me.

All that changes soon with the launch a new blog but first I’d like you to check it out. I want you to get in first and give me some feedback.

The Morning Programme is now up and getting ready to provide another way for me to connect with listeners to my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM. Ash Wright, Sonshine FM’s technical guru and master of all trades, has put the blog together over the past few days.

There are only a few posts there at the moment but in time there’ll be a lot more content. The plan is to highlight features and interviews from the programme.

The posts you’ll see there at the moment have mostly been pinched from this blog. A lot of the posts I’ve published regarding my radio guests will now be found on The Morning Programme but I’ll certainly still be highlighting things here that I think a wider audience will find interesting.

I’ll be launching the blog to my listeners in the coming days but I’d really like you to have a look and let me know what you think. Please leave a comment or two at the new blog so that we can see that everything’s working.



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Sy Rogers talks sexuality and the church

January 18, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
3 Comments

Sy RogersI wrote quite some time ago that I had the pleasure of chatting with Sy Rogers for a radio interview on 98.5 Sonshine FM. That was back in October 2004 when Sy was in Perth for a conference.

I was reminded of that interview recently when I read the post Special Guest on BobFranquiz.com. Bob has invited Sy to speak at Calvary Fellowship, Miami Lakes on Sunday the 27th of January.

Sy is a very interesting guy and has some great stuff to share, especially on the subject of sexuality and how it relates to all of us.

His website says:

Regarded as a gifted international communicator, award-winning talk show host, recording artist and pastor, Sy has served for over two decades in ministry, and 17 years as a pastoral care specialist regarding sexuality. His seminars and speaking events are conducted transdenominationally on 6 continents, for leadership conferences, counselling training, youth festivals, and men’s events such as Promise Keepers.

His insights and dramatic life story have been featured in numerous international media interviews & articles (such as Donohue, 700 Club, Good Morning Australia), as well as being featured in several books written by authors such as Dr. James Kennedy and Philip Baker.

Back in 2004 when I chatted to Sy we didn’t have the opportunity to make the audio of our interview more widely available but with Sonshine FM’s Audio on Demand now available I thought I’d trawl through the archives and let you listen to Sy Rogers.

Just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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Are you really insured?

January 18, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Do you know what your insurance policy covers and what it doesn’t?

If your keys were stolen would your insurance company pay to have your locks replaced?

Many of us feel secure in the knowledge that our homes, contents and vehicles are insured but when the time comes to make a claim will we be caught out by the fine print?

Simply Living

Life Skills Trainer, Jill Bonanno, joined me this morning on 98.5 Sonshine FM for our regular Friday morning radio segment, Simply Living. We talked about a variety of things but one of the major issues we discussed was insurance.

Jill recently spoke to a lady who had her handbag stolen while she was out. She did the right thing and cancelled all her cards but as her bag contained items that would identify her home address and her house keys she decided to change all her door locks.

Unfortunately, her insurance company didn’t cover the bag or any of the items in the bag because it wasn’t at her home at the time.

I know that some policies do cover such things but it’s really up to each of us to know what our policy does and doesn’t cover.

Lock up your bikes

During the programme this morning we took a call from June who said that she found out the hard way that her bicycles were only insured while they were locked up at her home. She now has full insurance on her bikes wherever they might be.

Bill had a different story. He had four quad motorbikes. When the two smallest ones were stolen from a locked shed, his insurer told him that they didn’t cover quad bikes. Bill politely stood his ground and will now have the bikes replaced. Apparently, they do cover quads up to 250cc. Strangely enough, they won’t cover the damage the thieves did to the two bigger quads while pinching the smaller ones because they’re bigger than 250cc.

Bill also found himself out of pocket on a recent holiday. His vehicle insurer refused to cover the cost of his broken windscreen because he hadn’t informed them that he would be taking his car above the 26th parallel. Weird.

Make a list and check it twice

The advice Bill gave is to write down everything you want to make sure is included in your policy and have your insurance company confirm that you’re covered.

Have you ever been caught out by the fine print of your insurance policy? Do you know what is and isn’t covered?

You can listen to today’s Simply Living segment using the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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Heading to Haiti

January 10, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
7 Comments

ha-map.gifI’ve hinted a couple of times that I’ll be taking a long trip in 2008.

In April this year I’ll be joining a small group of others to fly to Haiti to observe the aid work of Compassion.

Compassion works with the poorest of the poor children in over 25 developing countries around the world in Africa, Asia, Central and South America.

Compassion works in partnership with local churches in developing countries; providing resources, training and expertise to assist in the operation of holistic child development programmes.

Each year in May, 98.5 Sonshine FM runs Compassion Day, a day where we highlight the great need to sponsor children in developing countries to provide a better life for them and their families. My trip will help me to communicate the vast need and the effectiveness of Compassion’s work.

The CIA’s World Factbook tells me that Haiti is a country in desperate poverty.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Two-thirds of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country’s widespread deforestation.

I’ll spend one day in Miami before about a week and a half in Haiti. Planning is in the early stages at the moment so I’ll tell you more as the journey gets closer.



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At work on Christmas Day

December 25, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

I’m always amazed that so many people think that I shouldn’t have to work Christmas Day.

Each year when I tell people that I’ll be at work on Christmas morning they seem to think it’s rather sad but of course you can’t just switch off a radio station so that everyone can have the day off.

I’ve got to admit that I don’t really mind working on Christmas morning. It does take me away from my family for a few hours on this very special day but it’s not too bad.

No matter what day the 25th of December falls each year, all the regular weekday announcers at 98.5 Sonshine FM make their way to the studios to spread some Christmas cheer.

I’m sitting at the broadcast desk right now. I’ve got Christmas music playing and I’ve been talking about Christmas stuff all morning. Each year for Christmas Day we play Christmas music for the entire 24 hours. In fact, we started playing only Christmas music at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon and we’ll keep it going until midnight tonight.

I’ve already had a couple of listeners phone to wish me, my family and the rest of the team here a very happy Christmas. I’m sure there’ll be more calls before the morning’s over.

I’ll still have plenty of time to spend with family but it’s wonderful to be able to join the celebrations of thousands of other families on such a special day.



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