School Chaplains get the thumbs up

October 15, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

school.jpgAustralia’s first ever national research findings on chaplaincy in Australian government schools have just been released and the results are very positive.

According to the 688 principals who participated in the national study, chaplains in their government schools were helping to build the sense of community in the school , support the school ethos and were assisting the integration of those who were considered potentially ‘at risk’ students.

A couple of days ago on my morning radio programme I spoke to Fiona Pitkin, Head of Chaplaincy Services for YouthCare in Western Australia. Fiona explained more about the work of chaplains in Australian schools.

You can hear what she had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Did you have a chaplain at your school? What do you think of the idea of having chaplains in governemnt schools? Have you seen the beenfits of chaplains in your life or in the life of your children? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment in the comments section of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR131009_1234.mp3]

Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading School Chaplains get the thumbs up? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Mark Seaby endorses Jesus All About Life

September 12, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

I count it a privilege to know AFL player Mark Seaby. He’s not only a great footballer, he’s a thoroughly great guy.

While it doesn’t look like he’ll be playing for my favourite AFL team, West Coast Eagles, next year, he’s playing his part on a winning team by getting involved with the Jesus All About Life campaign.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Mark Seaby endorses Jesus All About Life? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Father's Day 2009

September 7, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

fathersday.gifI love my kids … and it would seem they love me. 🙂

They put a couple of notices in the Father’s Day section of yesterday’s Sunday Times newspaper.

Emily wrote:

Daddy, thank you for being my stronghold when I don’t know what to do. Thank you for giving me hugs when I really need one from you.

I pray the Lord will answer you every time you pray. And that you have a really special Father’s Day!

Love, Emily

While James said:

Dear Dad, thank you for teaching me how to ride my bike and for teaching me about God’s love.

I hope you have a great day today.

From your loving son, James.

PS: I love you.

I am truly blessed.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Father's Day 2009? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Home Sweet Sweet Home

August 10, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

I haven’t been around here for a while. I’m sure that you figured out that it’s nothing you said or did, it’s more the fact that we’ve been moving house.

We are now proud co-owners, with the bank, of our lovely new home. Well, it’s new to us. It’s actually an eight year old home but it’s so much nicer than the home we sold. And the best part? It already feels like home. In fact, it felt like home almost as soon as we got here last Wednesday.

We are surrounded by boxes and our days have been filled with wondering what goes best where. We’ve also had a few friends and family members dropping in to see our new place. The busyness is sure to continue for quite a while. I had last week off work to help make the move happen and this week off work to try and get things in some kind of order. We’re discovering all the things that don’t quite suit our style of living and making plans to make the minor changes required to have it even more feel like ‘our place’.

The new home is within walking distance to the school that Emily and James are attending. Up until now, Pauline had been driving around 130 km a day to drop them off in the morning then to go back and pick them up in the afternoon. We had planned this move last year and so Emily and James started at their new school in February, at the beginning of the new school year. We had imagined that Pauline might have a few weeks of driving that distance. We never imagined that it would be over half a year.

It’s so very good to finally be here and settling in.

I certainly couldn’t write this post without acknowledging the fact that so many people helped make this happen. I won’t start mentioning names because I’m sure to forget someone. I’ll just say that from our real estate agent to family members, friends from our old church, friends from our new church and various other dear friends, this whole process has been an incredible team effort. Those who have helped may never know just how much we have appreciated their kindness and extreme generosity.

We also need to thank God for teaching us so much about patience and for providing the right home at exactly the right time.

It’s good to be home.



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

Chuck Missler

July 17, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
Add Comment

missler.jpgChuck Missler packs venues across the world when he speaks. People are eager to hear his insights on what’s happening in the world today.

After a distinguished military career and more than thirty successful years in the business world, Chuck Missler decided to pursue his life-long love of teaching the Bible on a full-time basis.

He founded Koinonia House, an organisation devoted to encouraging people to study the Bible.

He has spent many years studying the links between the scriptures and current day events. He recently joined me in the 98.5 Sonshine FM studios to talk about his views on Scripture and how words written thousands of years ago are relevant for the 21st century. His main emphasis is on knowing what’s really going on in the world. Where are we headed today? What part do we need to play in this rapidly chaning world?

You can hear what he had to say by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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