Is your pet in your will?

February 25, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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kitten.jpgWhat responsibility do we have to our pets? Should we make provision for our pets in our wills?

I wonder how many people are aware that William Wilberforce, the British politician who led the charge on the abolition of human slavery, was also led by his Christian convictions to help found the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Just last week the Animal Law Committee of the New South Wales Young Lawyers launched a brochure titled What About Me? It’s a plain language brochure designed to help people understand the options available when preparing their wills if they want to include provision for their pets.

Pets share the lives of the majority of Australians with approximately 65% of all Australian households owning a pet. While they are beloved members of our family, how many of us have thought about what might happen if our furry family members outlive us?

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 our responsibility to our pets and whether we should make provision in our wills for our furry and feathered friends.

You can hear today’s segment by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What do you think about the place of pets in our lives? Do we place too much emphasis on animals or not enough? I’d appreciate your thoughts in the comments section of this post.



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A Surprising Bank Bungle

February 25, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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bankonline.jpgI was reading this morning that a Swedish woman was rather surprised at her bank balance when she checked out her account on line recently.

The balance was the equivalent of $1.76 billion higher than she expected.

Cornelia Johansson logged on to her internet bank to pay some bills. I guess you could pay a lot of bills with that kind of money. The amount had supposedly been deposited as a correction for a credit card purchase. The money was still credited to her account the following morning but a few hours later it was gone as mysteriously as it had arrived.

A spokeswoman for Nordea Bank later explained the mystery as “a technical mistake made by a company”.

What would you do if you found that much extra money in your account? Buy a small country? Would you spend wildly and hope that no one noticed? Would you be straight on the phone to your bank to get things sorted out?

I wouldn’t mind if I had $1.76 billion in my account for just one day as long as I got to keep the interest it accrued for the day.

I admit that I do sometimes get surprised when I check my balance online but it’s not because there’s any extra money in my account.



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The Building Blocks of a Good Marriage

February 24, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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lovers.jpgAccording to Australian Family First senator Steve Fielding, divorce adds to the impact of global warming as couples switch to wasteful single lifestyles.

His claims were highlighted today in the News.com.au story, Divorce adds to climate change says Family First senator Steve Fielding.

We understand that there is a social problem (with divorce), but now we’re seeing there is also environmental impact as well on the footprint.

He’s certainly got a point. If divorce means that families that once occupied one household are now split between two homes, they will be using up more resources than if they stayed together.

While I think there is merit in looking after the planet, I think there are far greater reasons to keep marriages together. I understand that it may not always be possible and that many readers already know the pain of divorce. Although I’ve never experienced it I know that it must be a devastating experience and that there aren’t too many people who would take such a step lightly.

So if we’re to keep marriages together, even turning difficult marriages around, we need to go back to basics and understand the building blocks of marriage and our part in keeping a relationship not only alive but thriving and growing.

Once a fortnight during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM I chat to Rob Furlong about relationships of various kinds. We discuss how to develop better relationships. The only person we can truly control in our relationships is our self so we also discuss ways to move forward personally so that we can bring everything we should to a relationship.

This morning we started discussing the building blocks of marriage. Today’s segment was just the beginning in a journey that we’ll take over the coming months as we seek to look at the most important characteristics of a good, solid marriage.

If you’d like to hear what Rob has to say just click the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What do you think are the essentials of a good marriage? Are there things you know now that you wish you’d known before you married? If you’re single, how are you discovering what you need to know to equip you for marriage?

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/ROB240209_1251.mp3]

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A Boomer Birthday Competition

February 24, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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ESV.jpgOne of the blogs that you’ll find in my Blogroll, and which I regularly read, Boomer in the Pew, has just celebrated its first birthday.

The blog’s writer, David, believes that every birthday party should have presents but in this instance, he’s the one doing the giving.

One Boomer in the Pew reader is going to win a premium calfskin leather version of the new ESV Study Bible.

The Bible retails for $239.99, and is available free courtesy of his friends at Crossway.

David has all the details on how you can enter his birthday competition at his post, Win a Calfskin Version of the ESV Study Bible!

I’d really prefer to win the Bible myself but if I can’t win I’m hoping that one the readers of RodneyOlsen.net will win.

By the way, even if you don’t want to try to win the Bible, make sure you check out David’s blog and spend a bit of time following his journey.



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Paws for a Cause this Friday

February 24, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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RSPCA_Logo.JPGThis Friday 98.5 Sonshine FM will be celebrating Paws for a Cause 2009 with the RSPCA.

From 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. I’ll be joined by fellow announcer Tim Long and other special guests as we broadcast live from Perth’s Forrest Place.

If you’re in the city on Friday I hope you’ll come and say hello and help us in supportting the RSPCA and its on going work protecting, housing and healing animals in need.



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