Radio – Page 24 – RodneyOlsen.net

Hope for those with Autism

December 2, 2008

Grab your tissues and watch this video.

A new centre, the first of its kind in Western Australia, designed to help children with autism and developmental delays, was launched in East Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia on Wednesday of last week.

The centre, known as the Learning, Education and Research Network (L.E.A.R.N.), aims to ensure that children suspected of having autism or developmental delays are diagnosed and receive intensive treatment at the earliest possible time.

L.E.A.R.N. was established by Perth woman Mandy Mason, whose daughter was diagnosed with autism in 2006 at the age of two. That’s Mandy and Juliette in the video.

I had the privilege of interviewing Mandy during my morning radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM last week. It was a delight to hear the passion Mandy has for the centre and the help that is being provided for dozens of families.

You can hear my chat with Mandy by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

If you’ve had experience with Autism I’d really appreciate hearing a little bit of your story through the comments section of this post.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MOR281108_1550.mp3]

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Post Secret

October 29, 2008

by Rodney Olsen

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What’s your secret? Is there something that gnaws away inside you that you wish you could share with someone?

I spotted this article from OC Register a few weeks back. It talks about how Frank Warren’s plan to create a unique art exhibit has turned into an international phenomenon.

In preparation for a local art show, Frank left 3,000 postcards in pizza parlors, bookstores and Washington, D.C., subways that read: “Send Frank a secret.”

Ha, ha. Art.

He got a few hundred replies, which he displayed at his booth. But the postcards kept coming – from places like China, Australia and Tupelo, Mississippi.

Their messages ranged from: I am secretly involved with my best friend’s wife. To: Everyone who knew me before 9-11 believes I’m dead.

Frank’s blog – PostSecret.com -continues to display the innermost secrets of all those who send him their postcards. If you plan on visiting the site you need to know that there are some very frank admissions with several being sexual in nature. Never the less, I think a visit to the site is worthwhile to get a better understanding of the hurts many people are carrying.

Here’s a sample of some of the most recent secrets.

If it hadn’t been for an unplanned pregnancy, my next attempt at ending life would have succeeded.

Tomorrow is my 24th birthday. It has taken that long for me to figure out who I am, and love myself. But I am finally getting there.

I’m obsessed with the fear that I will die while my husband is in Iraq and he’ll have no one to come home to.

I yelled at her for weeks about how wrong her abortion was and she still held my hand when I had one.

I pray over your package before I mail it to you. – eBay power seller.

Trick or Treat? I am haunted by the end of my first marriage and afraid this one is doomed too.

I strongly suspect that I use a lot more toilet paper than other people …. but I have no way of knowing.

I was one of those kids who always made fun of the ‘different’ kids. Now I teach the ‘different’ kids. My heart breaks every day. I’m so sorry for being a horrible person when I was younger. Eventually we grow up and realize we were wrong.

I secretly believe God lets people into Heaven based on how they treat animals.

After 38 years of using drugs I’m finally clean at the age of 50, and I’m so grateful.

My brother and sister make fun of me for not doing drugs.

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.

We discussed the human need to confess our secrets during today’s segment and talked about what drives people to send their thoughts to Post Secret.

You can hear our conversations by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

Would you send your secrets to Post Secret? Do have trusted friends with whom you can share your deep dark thoughts and secrets?

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/MEN291008_1145.mp3]

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In conversation with Aled Jones

October 20, 2008

by Rodney Olsen

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Aled 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.

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Gambling on God

August 15, 2008

by Rodney Olsen

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Is it right to gamble on God? If we’re not absolutely convinced that God even exists does it make any sense to live as if he does?

Many people will say that they are absolutely convinced that God is real and that they know him. Others seem equally as convinced that God doesn’t exist. What about those who aren’t completely sure one way or the other? Is there a place for stepping across the line and living as if they believed one way or the other? If so, which is better, to live as if God is real or to live as if he is a fabrication of human imagination?

Blaise Pascal’s posthumously published writings, known as Pascal’s Wager, suggested that knowing absolutely isn’t a prerequisite for faith.

Pascal’s Wager (or Pascal’s Gambit) is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should “wager” as though God exists, because so living has potentially everything to gain, and certainly nothing to lose.

Pascal figured that if the person who lives as if God is real is wrong, they’ve lost nothing, but if the person who lives as if God doesn’t exist is wrong, they lose everything.

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.

This week we discussed the idea of gambling on God and Ross recounted stories of people who came very close to believing in God but there was still a gap between what they’d been told about God and what they truly believed. Many people have felt that the gap to God is smaller than the gap away from him and so they’ve taken the step to believe and then felt an enormous confirmation within their spirits that they’ve connected with the Creator.

You can hear our conversation by clicking play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What has your experience been? Have you stepped across the line to belief in God? Did that come after you were totally convinced of the truth of who God is or did you still have doubt? What happened after you took that step?

Maybe you’ve heard people talking about God but you’re not sufficiently convinced that the evidence stacks up. What would it take to convince you that God exists?

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A Christian Response to Climate Change

August 6, 2008

by Rodney Olsen

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Are we responsible for what happens to our planet? Do we have a part to play in creating a more sustainable future for the earth?

Some Christians prefer to ignore the evidence of global warming while for others environmental issues become all consuming. Is there a balance that will let us care for the environment without losing sight of the essentials of faith?

Should we as people of faith be looking at driving smaller cars, using public transport, recycling and becoming more environmentally aware or are green issues taking us off on a tangent, forcing us to take our eye off the ball?

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 the growing concern among people of faith that we have failed our God given responsibility to be good stewards of the planet. Our desire to consume at rapidly rising levels is having a massive effect on poorer nations who don’t have the resources to respond.

You can listen to our discussion by clicking the play button of the audio player at the bottom of this post.

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Tag - Radio