Catching up with old friends & Elijah House

Mark from New Zealand got in contact with me as a result of the email about miscellaneous information about myself and ended up staying here Thursday night while he was on business in Sydney. Darren from up north stayed here that night as well as he had a job interview in Sydney the next morning. Mark took us out to dinner and we had a good chat & catch up. Then on Monday night I got a call from a friend of mine who moved to France seven years ago who I saw on my round the world trip but hadn't been able to get in contact with since. She got married & had a baby since the last time I was in contact. Looks like I might be helping her with a web site. That will be the third site I'll be doing for friends recently.

From Friday to Tuesday I've been doing the first week of the Basic Course in Prayer Ministry by Elijah House. I did this course last year & wrote a bit about in my '2003 in a nutshell' entry in the December 2003 archives. This time I'm the assistant sound person & really I did most of the sound stuff as the person I was assisting was one of the main course leaders and was very busy. I've wanted to learn how to use a sound desk for many years & am glad I've finally done it & had so few problems. I was a bit daunted by the fact that I've seen so many people with a lot of experience have problems (often because they forgot to turn on phantom power from the desk). The course was really excellent but I found I really knew the stuff this time & was just applying it to new areas of my life. For example I realise part of my problem with being sick and unable to work is because I judged my dad for being sick & not providing an income for the family. Also somewhere along the line I have made an inner vow not to help my family. Having repented of these things & received forgiveness it will be interesting to see what happens when I apply for a job at the Randwick Ritz this week.

The basis of Elijah House teaching is that a lot of problems we experience in our lives are because we have made bitter root judgments at an early age against some primary person in our lives (usually our parents), which mean we are judged as we have judged and as we have sown so shall we reap (Matt. 7:1-2, Lk. 6:37, Gal. 6:7). Sometimes we make inner vows on top of this judgments. We need to repent of any such vows & ask Jesus to put them to death on the cross, repent of any such judgments & ask Jesus to put them to death on the cross, forgive whomever it is we made a judgment ask (we forgive according to our perception of what occurred, hence even where they did not sin we may need to forgive & we may even need to forgive God for a perceived injustice) & ask Jesus to be that forgiveness through us by the Holy Spirit as it is not within ourselves to forgive apart from the Holy Spirit, ask forgiveness from God for making all these judgments & inner vows & ask him to wash away our guilt with the blood of Jesus (which is what it was shed for). Unless we forgive we cannot be forgiven (Matt. 6:12-15, 18:21-35, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:37, 11:4).

Blessings,
Joe :-)

Miscellaneous info about me

Someone sent me an email:

Welcome to the 2004 edition of getting to know your friends. What you're supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you.

Then, send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you'll learn a lot of little known facts about your friends... here goes...

1. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?

Often 8:30am, otherwise between 4:30am (self talk "go back to bed, DO NOT start playing computer games again!") & 12pm mid-day.

2. IF YOU COULD EAT LUNCH WITH ONE FAMOUS PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Nicole Kidman. I want to know if she remembers any of my friends from Australian Theatre for Young People.

3. GOLD OR SILVER?

As a colour I like gold.

4. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA?

Shrek 2. It's as good as ther first one and they've done another good soundtrack.

5. FAVOURITE TV SHOW?

The Goodies. Favourite one still on, ER.

6. WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?

Wheat Bix (actually home brand bix) most of the time & something else occasionally to break up the monotony.

7. WHO WOULD YOU MOST NOT WANT TO BE STUCK IN A ROOM WITH?

John Howard.

8. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE

No

9. WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

People empathising with the suffering of others.

10. WHAT'S YOUR MIDDLE NAME?

Krishna, which was my first name until I stuck a Joe on the front from 1989 to 1992 (1992 was the year I changed it by deed poll).

11. BEACH, CITY, OR COUNTRY?

Yes. I love the beach, I love being in the city & I love visiting the country (but I don't think I could handle living there, which is a pity because people with CFS who move to the country almost always at least improve).

12. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Autumn.

13. FAVOURITE ICE-CREAM?

Boysonberry.

14. BUTTER, PLAIN or SALTED POPCORN?

Whatever arrives (I prefer plain because it's healthier, buttered because it tastes good & salted because I don't put salt in or on anything & an occasional dose is nice).

15. FAVOURITE COLOUR?

Aqua.

16. FAVOURITE CAR?

Audi TT convertible.
2nd hand MX-5 will do just fine one day
Actually I prefer public transport (costs me less than the cost of a Green Slip for a years worth, means I get some exercise & I don't have to worry about a car getting scratched or stolen which happens too often where I live, & I like being around people).

17. FAVOURITE SANDWICH?

Vegemite, although I've switched to Marmite because it's made by an Australian company (and it works out slightly cheaper), but it's not quite the same.

18. TRUE LOVE?

Jesus.

19. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE?

Lack of mercy, being hard on people who are having a hard time (eg. refugees & indigenous Australians, hence 7).

20. FAVOURITE FLOWERS?

Roses in a variety of colours.

21. IF YOU HAD A BIG WIN IN THE LOTTERY, HOW LONG WOULD YOU WAIT TO TELL PEOPLE?

The time it took me to run to the phone.

22. FIZZY OR STILL WATER AS A DRINK?

Still, my favourite drink is chilled tap water (I may be responsible for Waragamba being at 43% [actually I use 60% of the average water consumption for a single person house]).

23. WHAT COLOUR IS YOUR BATHROOM?

Used to be white & light blue (now more greyish). I don't know what this says about anyone though (unless someone painted it themselves or something).

22. HOW MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING?

8. A few keys to guitar cases & the like.

25. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO?

Heaven.

26. CAN YOU JUGGLE?

I've had a go at learning but need more practice.

27. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK?

Sunday. My most socially interactive day of the week, and the day when I get to play music with my friends (sometimes).

28. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY?

Nothing. But I'm already thinking about doing something big & spectacular for my 40th in 3 years time.

29. DO YOU CARRY A DONOR CARD?

No, it's marked on my drivers lisence.

30. SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU.

He's a family man who is often the reminder for me to get in touch with our mutual friends.

31. WHO DO YOU LEAST EXPECT WILL RETURN THIS TO YOU?

Don't know. There's a few people who might not be all that interested in it.

32. WHO DO YOU EXPECT TO BE THE FIRST PERSON TO RETURN THIS TO YOU?

Either Paul even though he just got married (I'm sure it wouldn't come back for at least a few weeks). Congraulations. Or Darren even though his internet connection isn't working & he'll be reading this on his phone.

Got this wrong, first reply was Mark from NZ & 2nd reply following closely was Daniel from the US neither of whom were interested in answering all the questions and continuing the chain letter but just in saying hello.

So did I get any questions right?
_________________________________________________
Joe's extra credit:
33. IF YOU COULD HAVE A SUPER-POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Heat vision so I can zap cockroaches just by looking at them.

Blessings,
Joe :-)

World Refugee Day

Well I made it to the World Refugee Day rally & march, just missing a few speeches after going to the worship ministry meeting at Gracepoint. The meeting was really good as well & I'll be back to playing bass once a fortnight as of the 11th of July. I met a few friends at the rally, Ben & Sole, & Jodie & their friend Kate who I hadn't met before. We did end up running down the road to catch up with the end of the march, but that was because Catherine from 2SER was interviewing us & Sole & Jodie got busy signing petitions after the march had started. I had signed the ones I wanted to sign earlier. After walking around the blocks between Market & Bathurst & Hyde Park & George Sts & yelling "Free the refugees, now" & "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" until our voices were hoarse we got back to the park for a few more speeches. I left when someone from an organisation that had been distributing a petition to have someone declared "not a terrorist" because "armed resistance is legitimate" started preaching about how to solve the problem of refugees we really need to deal with the wars causing the problem. Actually what she was saying was quite right - refugees would rather be living in their own countries than fleeing in overcrowded unsafe boats to places where they get locked up for years before being released into the community (in the 90% of cases that are found to be legitimate), & if there were no wars there would be no refugees. It's just that the utter hypocrisy & complete stupidity of some of these groups that would support anyone doing anything as long as it's against the government & do things like disrupt funerals for indigenous Australians with their chanting & slogans even when everyone has been asked to observe a minutes silence really gets to me.

Blessings,
Joe :-)

I picked myself up an Expresso maker the other day. Although I'm not a huge hot drinks person & would often prefer a milkshake to a coffee, I do enjoy a decent cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate from time to time, particularly when I'm with friends enjoying the same. Mainly it'll be so people can have a decent cup of coffee when they drop in.

I have to develop my basic cooking skills again. Although I can whip up a decent (by Australian standards) curry or Beef Stroganoff or Chicken Paprika (or probably Bolagnaise if I put my mind to it), I'm really out of practice at scrambled eggs, omlettes, mash potato, potato salad, or any kind of salad, & stuff. I hope to brush up on my basic cooking skills (including learning how to at least cook a damper), start making use of the recipe books I've got lying around & maybe take a course from the Eastern Suburbs Evening Colleges to really sharpen my skills & then start throwing weekly regular dinner parties for a season. Then I'll be looking forward to my next visit to Malaysia to pick up some of those family recipes I've missed out on.

Also I hope to start making a place on my site for discussion about philosophical issues. Maybe a Yahoo group for discussion about what happens to us after we die. I was hoping to use my web site as a forum to air all those views & accumulated wisdom I've been dying to express but don't get the chance since I haven't preached in years (must get around to asking why & if those in authority at Gracepoint don't see my future in preaching after all), and to start putting down those historical events I will one day want to incorporate into an autobiography, but I am also intensely curious about how people from other cultures, religions & points of view understand what happens to us after we die. Often I find my understanding of Scripture illuminated by something from some other culture or perspective. Although my Beliefnet daily inspiration tells me "It's taken me my whole life to understand I don't need to understand everything," I love having a go at it.

Blessings,
Joe :-)

A bit sick

I'm letting my average down here, previously averaging one post per week & now not posting anything for a month. Well I've been a bit sick with a cold for the last week & a bad cough every since the family camp (going on two months). I actually knocked myself out momentarily blowing my nose the other day, fortunately I was in a chair at the time so I didn't fall over; it nearly blew my eardrum out. The coughing has worn out my side muscles and because I'm particularly prone to cramp because of CFS I was getting about half a dozen bad side cramps a day for a few weeks. This has all taken its toll at a time when I'm living by myself again.

I've been working on my web site, adding a little bit about doing a web page. So far my site is edited versions of stuff I had posted up in 1996 except for the 'About Me' page & my Blog. It is my ambition to but a whole heap of stuff about the physics of sound, it's relationship to music, music theory & stuff about bass & guitar playing up; as well as stuff about creating a web site & using various operating systems. One problem is that apart from the loss of physical energy associated with CFS, it has also sapped my mental energy so my concentration is shot. I was getting better but I've gone backwards a little bit for the last couple of months. As a result I haven't got past whacking up an old page with a bit of editing from time to time as I realise what I said all those years ago could still be useful to someone. I still have a couple of articles on using ResEdit on a Mac I haven't put up because I don't think it would apply to anything past Mac OS 8 (& even then I'd be dubious, they were written for OS 7.1 & work under 7.62).

Well mum headed back up to Crescent Head a few weeks ago & I won't be headed up that way until July for the July 3rd Beranghi meeting. In the meantime I'm here by myself which would have been really great if I hadn't gotten so sick. Even so at least I'm having a few good worship sessions, but I've gone back to using the nylon string guitar & it's really hurting my hand making it stretch accross the neck (a nylon string guitar generally has a wider neck than a steel string or electric guitar), so they're generally fairly short. Like my web site, there's a whole heap of stuff in my head just waiting on a long season of not hiding in my room to keep out of people's way because the house is so small & not having too many problems with my hands because of RSI & not being too worn out with CFS or colds & coughing to practice.

I did make it to a protest about the treatment of refugee children in detention on Thursday at the Sydney Town Hall, so at least I haven't come to a complete stop in my efforts to do something about the treatment of refugees. I've gotten a bit behind in writing to one I keep in touch with in Baxter & I haven't been back to Villawood since that failed visit in March. There's another protest meeting to end mandatory detention in Hyde Park north at 1pm Sunday the 20th of June, World Refugee Day, & marching to the Sydney Town Hall in case anyone's interested. Unfortunately I have a meeting of the Gracepoint worship team at that time but I'll try & leave as early as possible & get there even if I'm running down the street to join the end of the march. This is another area where I'm waiting on the energy to do something more substantial than I'm able to do now.

Other things waiting on some energy are reading. I'm slowly getting my way through Mudrooroo's "Us Mob" (Angus & Robertson publishing, 1995), a brilliant book for anyone who would like to understand Kooris, Murris, Nangas, Nyungars, Gooris, Booris, Yolngu, Yamadjis & Anangus (indigenous Australians) [however it turns out Mudrooroo is not one of them despite his claims to be but is the son of a couple of African Americans]; but I have several shelves of books waiting for my concentration to pick up. When I'm on a roll I can read a book a day but I've been working on "Us Mob" for over a month and it's only a small book. On a related note I've been keeping up with Tamarack Song's email list which has opened my eyes to some very different views on education. Here's a quote from him:

"I personally have found much value in our institutions of higher education -- I have gathered delicious wild foods around the peripheries of their sporting fields and the ornamental plantings of their well-manicured grounds provide excellent cover for relieving one's self."

On another positive note I've finally started making it to my church's prayer meetings for the first time in a few years. At least between church, lunch after church, pizza & wine at Bill & Judy's on Sunday nights, Tuesday lunchtime prayer in the city, homegroup Tuesday nights, walking around Centennial Park with Rebecca & Friday night prayer meetings I'm not just sitting at home on my own playing computer games all the time. Apart from this I will be assisting in the Elijah House school about to be run at Gracepoint (probably as Ian's assistant on sound) & we have been meeting on Tuesday mornings to prepray the school. Between all this and the occasional regional prayer meeting, Sunday school, refugee protest march or community meeting I'm about as busy as I can manage at the moment.

Finally I've started on a massive reorganisation of my study which will precipitate a major clean up & reorganisation of the house, hopefully in time to bomb the place for cockroaches when I go to Crescent Head in July. This is not only waiting on my health & energy but I've reached the point in the reorganisation where I will need a couple of people to help me. Hopefully the next month will be one of good health & much activity.

Blessings,
Joe :-)