Making the move with a Kindle

October 25, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

kindle.jpgI wonder how much easier moving house would be if we had a couple of Kindles instead of a few bookcases full of books.

Even though I don’t get to do nearly enough of it, I love reading. I enjoy grabbing a book and a coffee and sprawling out on a couch to disappear into another world as I leaf through the pages.

I’m not entirely convinced that the Kindle would give the same experience as a book but I know it’d be easier to move your library from one place to another.

If you haven’t heard of the kindle before, it’s Amazon’s wireless electronic book. It’s kind of like an iPod for books. It’ll hold a couple of hundred books, magazines and newspapers and is said to read just like a book. The big news for them at the moment is that Oprah has jumped on board and named it as her new favourite gadget. That should move sales along nicely.

Unfortunately they haven’t made them available in Australia yet so I guess we’ll just have to pack all our books into boxes and move them the old fashioned way.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Making the move with a Kindle? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Book Give Away

October 23, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

Justin_Herald.jpgJohn_Smith.jpgGary_Bates.jpgJohn_Eldredge.jpg

I’ve got four books to give away to readers of RodneyOlsen.net. They’re all in brand new condition and have never been read.

So you have a great idea for a business…: Now what? by Justin Herald. So, you’ve got a great idea for a business, and you’ve plucked up the courage to take the plunge. But unless you prepare yourself properly for the journey you’re about to embark on your great idea may lead to some unpleasant surprises.

On the Side of the Angels by John Smith. Rev Dr John Smith is the founding Director of Concern Australia and the founding President of God’s Squad Christian Motorcycle Club of 34 years. An elder of the radical discipleship movement, he is a defender of the poor, an ethics consultant to corporate Australia, a prominent social commentator and a blues lover.

Alien Intrusion by Gary Bates. Are there really alien civilizations in our vast universe? In Alien Intrusion, Gary Bates gives a thorough treatment of this fascinating subject. What is behind the numerous sightings from around the world? Does the U.S. Government have evidence of alien craft? Can we hope to mkae contact in our lifetime?

Waking the Dead by John Eldridge. Eldredge, who helped to redefine the Christian men’s movement with Wild at Heart, broadens his scope to offer this more general spirituality title on being “fully alive.” Such a state of total animation is achieved only when Christians can integrate all four “streams” of their lives: discipleship, counseling, healing and warfare.

If you want one of the books all you need to do is leave a comment below this post telling me which book you’d prefer. If you’re the first to ask for that particular book it’s yours.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Book Give Away? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Christian Carnival 247

October 22, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

carnival.jpgThe carnival is back in town and we’ve had another great response this week. It’s always wonderful to see some first timers joining the carnival as well as some of the regulars at their thought provoking best.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify.

As always it’s a real honour to be able to present such a diverse range of great posts.

Please take the time to read through each post … it’s worth it. You might also like to link to this week’s carnival so that your blog readers can enjoy the variety of styles and thought.

FMF sent in the first submission this week asking Do You Really Want to Change Your Financial Future? posted at Free Money Finance.

Kathryn says work can be a joy and a ministry. All you need to do is find your God given passion and the follow it. Read more of Kathryn’s thoughts in Find Your Passion posted at Living the Proverbs 31 Life.

The current global financial crisis has prompted Peter to write Words of Hope In Turbulent Times: Don’t Be Afraid posted at Bible Money Matters.

ChristianPF is also searching for what the Bible has to say about the financial crisis with Encouraging Bible Verses for the Financial Crisis over at Christian Personal Finance.

Lynn Fowler presents Christian Spiritual Warfare » Not Just a Talisman at her blog Christian Spiritual Warfare.

Alex Huggett took part in Blog Action Day and brings us his insights in Blog Action Day – Compassion and Poverty at his excellent blog Alex Rants.

Being a cat lover I immediately identified with Heath Countryman’s contribution, Black Cat Ministry, posted at Esprit d’escalier. Whether you love cats or not, you’ll gain valuable insights from this one.

Diane R is getting tired of the New Christian Tolerance Police and wonders if you are too. Find out what she means by reading The New Christian Tolerance Police posted at Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

Danny, the Success Professor, encourages you to Simplify Your Budget. Great advice in difficult times.

Tiffany presents So Right, You’re Wrong as she delves into the discovery that being right isn’t nearly as important as being humble and teachable over at her blog Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God.

Mark from A Sower’s Heart looks at putting your hand to the plow in his post Plowing Along.

Brian Russell of the Real Meal blog has written Moving Through the Maze: Reflection on Bible Translations. His essay explores the differences between modern English translations of the Bible. It also reflects on the pros and cons of the various approaches to Bible translation.

Mark at Pseudo-Polymath provides a starting point for political ethics from Genesis to modern political ideas of rights and limiting governmental authority in the post Ethics and the State.

Ken’s post Literalism and the Ascension discusses what it means, and whether it is legitimate, to take the Bible’s miraculous stories “literally” over at C Orthodoxy.

You can investigate how people’s ideas about sacrifice differ from those of the ancient world and a bit about the impact of this for teaching a passage such as Hebrews 7-9 at Henry’s Participatory Bible Study Blog with the post Sacrifice Then and Now.

Jeremy has written a criticism of an argument from Bart Ehrman’s Misquoting Jesus in Ehrman on John 1:18 posted at Parableman.

Rey from the Bible Archive shares what he describes as his likely heretical vision for the western Protestant church in The Once and Future Church.

Raffi Shahinian’s contribution is the post Top 10 Things I Learned from N.T. Wright, Bart Ehrman and The Problem of Evil posted at parables of a prodigal world.

And that’s it for this edition of the Christian Carnival. I hope you’re already thinking about your posts for the next edition which is being hosted at Fish and Cans.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Christian Carnival 247? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

In conversation with Aled Jones

October 20, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
7 Comments

reasontobelieve.jpgAled Jones has been a household name for over 25 years. He joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral when he was just nine and was lead soloist within two years.

His remarkable voice led to a recording career and before his voice broke at the age of sixteen he had already sold more than six million albums, sung for the Pope performed a private recital for Prince Charles and Lady Diana, and sung at the wedding of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.

After his voice broke he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

In 1995 he secured the leading role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and met his future wife, Claire Fossett, while touring in Blackpool. The couple married in 2001 and now live in London with their two young children, Emilia and Lucas.

These days he has a busy broadcasting career working in both radio and television.

He’s in Perth this Thursday for a concert at the Concert Hall and so I caught up with him  98.5 Sonshine FM.

Aled was a real delight to speak with and if you’d like to hear what we chatted about just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading In conversation with Aled Jones? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

The Carnival's back in town

October 18, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
3 Comments

I’m having some friends drop in next week. They’ll be visiting from all over the world and you’re invited to join us. The next Christian Carnival is being hosted here at RodneyOlsen.net.

The most recent edition is posted at Tale of a Kansas Girl.

The weekly Christian Carnival is an opportunity for Christian blog writers to share their best posts from the previous week. The topic of the post doesn’t necessarily have to focus on Christianity but it must reflect a Christian worldview, and the writer must be Christian to qualify. You may wish to consider that the readership of the Christian Carnival will be more varied than your usual readership, and you might do better contributing a post with broad appeal.

I’ve taken part in the carnival many times over the years and this will be the third time I’ve hosted the carnival. I’ve already received a number of contributions and I’m looking forward to offering readers of this blog some great links when the carnival is published.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve never contributed before, or if it’s been a while since you have, how about having a look through your posts for this week and choosing something to contribute. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just a post that outlines your point of view or is designed to get others thinking. Being part of the carnival could be a great way to gain a little extra traffic at your blog.

The easiest way to get involved is to submit your article through the Blog Carnival Submission Form. Otherwise, you can email the submission address.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday evening at midnight, Eastern (US) Standard Time. (EST is GMT minus five hours.) That means it’s midday Wednesday here in Perth, Western Australia.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading The Carnival's back in town? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.