Welcome.

A belated welcome to the newest members of the Holly Rd flat, it's great to have you all onboard.

Previous members: Leah, P (Petrina), Bro (Bronwyn), Amanda, Colonal (Victoria), Reuben, Jessie (Layton), Sunny (Hwang Sunah) and T.F. (Tim)

The current cast includes, back row: Me (Opawa Baptist) on the left and James (Seaview Christian Fellowship) on the right. Front row from left to right are the new guys! Sarah (Beulah) , Paul (City New Life Church) and Joseph (Annesbrook Church of Christ)

I used to call the flat Ponderosa, because it looked like it had been built by cowboys, now, maybe it should be called Noah's Ark as it carries a vast array of animals from all walks of life!

Welcome onboard, hope you enjoy your stay.

You asked for it...

It's that time of week again and though there may not be too much visible difference from the photo, I know there's been a little bit of a change. The weights are getting a wee bit easier and I've been putting them up which is a positive step. Pretty soon I'll be doing some of the big weights!!! Like some of the older women in the gym!!! I feel like Rob Schneider from the movie Animal who gets run-down by an old man while going for a jog!

GO THE FAT BOY!!!

Small Defenseless Animals...

I love small defenseless animals, especially with a good gravy. But I couldn’t resist this photo while I was out for a walk yesterday. Mother Duck was out walking her children by Victoria square, just on the grass, off the side of the footpath. I stood on the footpath and got my phone/camera out and as I took a couple of photo’s they waddled a little closer for a better look and then, after their curiosity was satisfied waddled off on their merry way.

How blessed are we that we can live in a city with such a friendship between the wild and the urban.

Church Last night

For some people communication/preaching comes easier then for others. Last night at church, Aaron Stewart spoke of his biblical hero, Solomon. A man who had 700 wives, 300 concubines, great wealth, (though none of these were the main reasons behind AA's admiration) but also a man who put God first in his life (He built God a house before he built his own) and he was more interested in wisdom and understanding in order to lead the nation of Israel before he asked for power and riches.

I like this example. But I catch myself (sometimes too late!) looking to build my own kingdom before I'm even interested in God's.

TEN THINGS GOD WILL NOT ASK
1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3. God won't ask about your social status, but will ask what kind of class you displayed.
4. God won't ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.
5. God won't ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.
6. God won't ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.
7. God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.
8. God won't ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.
9. God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.
10. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you treated your neighbors.

God,

may your cross always be found among anything I'm building,

before I even begin to build,

give me the wisdom and understanding to keep you there.

Amen

It's been a week!!

It's been a week since my last photo from the Gym and you guessed it, i have an update for you! I weighed myself when I first began on the 9th, I was 115.8kg on Wednesday I was 115kg. That's not that much on the surface, but I'm feeling a little more comfortable on the crosstrainer. (I can't say it's getting easier or Candy might up the workload!!)

Anyway, here's the latest photo, (from my new camera!)

See if you can spot any differences...

GO THE FAT BOY!!!

Sin City

There's a story of a man falsely accused by a corrupt court, sentenced to judgment by those who know the fact of his innocence, who willingly gives up his life so that others may live and through his act, he buys the freedom of beloved sinners. It's a good story, a common story.

Last night I went to a late showing of the movie Sin City at Hoyts, Riccarton Mall. Sitting in the "Executive" seating, I was treated to an amazing visual display following the lives (and deaths) of three "Hero's", hero's whose lives were anything but clean, but showed genuine compassion, mercy and Agape love to the innocent and oppressed. (who were also "sinners")

Directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, there is more than a little violence, but the cinematography is exceptional and the story's themselves are very Christocentric.

Others may disagree, but I found myself in admiration of the three hero's, 8/10 for me.

Lite Cottage Cheese!

I've been suffering through this diet for over a week now and I'm handling it fairly well... I think. The hardest thing to come to terms with is the regularity of the meal requirements and the planning which needs to take place. But after just over a week, I finally think I'm getting the hang of it. For Example:

Meal 1 Porridge and fruit

Meal 2 Banana, Rice Crackers and Lite Cottage Cheese

Meal 3 6" Subway Sandwitch - Chicken fillet on wholemeal bread

Meal 4 Banana milkshake (1 1/2 cups of Calci-trim milk and a banana)

Meal 5 Banana, Rice Crackers and Lite Cottage Cheese

Meal 6 Roast Potato, Red Cof Fillets and Lite Cottage Cheese

Meals are tricky to plan, but they're not too bad.

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow...

What a great day out on Saturday! We left Opawa Baptist at 9.30am, 5 cars in all and we traveled to Lake Lyndon (tune in tomorrow for some pictures...) where we set up the BBQ in a little shelter by the lake. The food was good, the company was brilliant, the scenery was outstanding but the Snow was absent.

After a good feed, we traveled up the road for 20mins to a small carpark/clearing where we parked up for some good old fashioned 'rough-n-tumble' in the snow! There were snowballs flying all over the place, there was the odd moving target as someone was pushed through the clearing on a snowboard while being pelted from all sides. There was also the chance to gang-up on Andrew Wilson (who desperately needed it!) as we held him down and people came from far and wide to douse him in snow.

Saturday was finished off with dinner and a beer with friends at the RAT in Riccarton where we sat back to watch the All Blacks clean up the Aussies!

Lovely day out. We need more of these opportunities! Bring on "The Gumball Christchurch 500!" on the 11th of Sept. (If you want to know more, leave your e-mail address and I'll get you some info...)

Speaking of leaving e-mail addresses, whoever is posting anonymous comments, I bet you're lying down when you're typing them because it would be too hard to sit up without a spine!!!

(I know who you are...)

All I have to say is in reply to your comments is...

GO THE FAT BOY!!!

Before...

This is probably the scaryist thing you've ever seen on the internet!!!

Young children may want to look away, or if you have one of those Internet Blocking programmes, if it hasn't kicked in by now... it's broken!

This is the "before" shot of my "Body For Life" gym programme. I'm supposed to look as depressed and as overweight as possible. I think I do a good job of that??

I'll post another photo next week about the same time for a bit of a comparison.

GO THE FAT BOY!!!!!

(and yes, they are my own manerings, this has not been digitally enhanced.)

Of course you are...

Last night at the Gym was one of the most painful experiences I have been through! I'm still recovering from Tuesday with the pulled calf muscle, but last night was hell!

The Instructor's name is Candy. She's married with an invested interest in the Gym. She went home after my initial Gym sessions and told her husband that she's instructing a new member and he let her know that he was extremely jealous. The reason being is that He's doing religious studies at Massey University and when she told him I was a Pastor, he became very interested. Probably all the usual questions, "What's a Pastor doing at the Gym??" "I didn't think ministers were so young..." etc. (She thinks I'm still young! hehehe, mind you, she's being paid to flatter me!)

Anyway, I told her that if he needed any inside information on the religious stuff to get him to e-mail me as there could be a few things I could help him with when he moves into the Christian side of his studies. Candy seemed to think that would be helpful, hopefully I'll be able to get a bit of dialogue going there.

But at least my legs are feeling a wee bit better, although I am struggling to feed as my arms are so sore I'm struggling to bend them, which means getting a fork anywhere in the vicinity of my mouth is a unique challenge!

Help I'm Lost!

I took my computer into the Sony Shop to have the DVD burner repaired. After the guy behind the desk booked it in and printed off the paperwork, he told me it will be at least a week before I see it again! I've never felt so lost and alone as I did when I had to say goodbye to 'My Precious!'

It's mad me think how much I rely on my computer for my life -work/play/music/banking etc.

Scary stuff!

All the things I take for granted, Video editing, Promotional Flyers, having all my e-mails and contacts... Wireless jetstream!

All is not lost however, I still have this old Laptop which helped me through Bible College, but it has none of the features of my new computer or any of the information/files. In Fact, my PDA is more efficient!

Gone are the days when a pastor needed a Bible, a pencil and a writing pad! Maybe this is the opportunity I needed for me to get out off my arse and get a little more adventurous???

A Changed Man...

I feel a changed man already from just one session in the Gym!!!

Sore left Calf...

Tightened Back...

Sore shins...

And that's just from the Diet!

Tonight is onto the weights! I told the Gym instructor that one of my goals is to have more than one AB, she laughed.

I'm glad I can bring amusement into the world

Gym Junkie...

Tonight I'm going to the gym for my first Personal training session at the local gym up the road from work. When the Doctor told me I had a Liver condition called N.A.S.H. (Non-Alcoholic Steato Hepatitis) he laid out before me the option of a new diet and exercise schedule, or cirrhosis of the liver could be the result.

This means a change in "diet" and more exercise, hence the Gym.

The program I'm enrolled in at the Gym is tacked on as part of my membership called "Body for Life" is a 12 week intensive designed to "Shape" the body...

Imagine me... Shaped!

As if I wasn't shaped already??

Watch this space, the AB of Steel may become the AB's of Steel, how's that for a novel thought!

I thought I'd do one of those "Before" and "After" photo's, just for a bit of a laugh. When I figure out how to put pictures on this thing, we can have a little giggle.

New Car

I bought a new car on Sunday!! a nice wee 93' Fairmont. My old car had all but given up on me, i've had it for 8 years now and it's lasted me well, but the price was right (very cheep!) so i took the opportunity to "Upgrade." It's a great time to buy a 4L car, especially with the petrol at the price it is. Buy i think there's a but of a trade-off. on the one hand, i'm paying a bit more for petrol each week, but on the other hand, it's taking the guesswork out of whether my car will start each morning, and it certainly drives better then the old 626.

When i picked it up i had to visit my Dad to show him. He was impressed! I tossed him the keys and we went for a spin. Through the entire trip round the block, all he kept saying was "gee!" and finally as we were almost home, "I've always wanted a Ford!" (My Dad's a Ford man, i made the mistake of buying him a Holden t-shirt for Christmas, it didn't go down too well!) so my Dad's proud of me.

Being a big person, I feel a little more in my place driving a big car, not sure why that is, maybe it's the image thing? Not too sure about that, but i'm no longer embarrased to give someone a lift in my car now. Maybe there's a pride thing going on there also...

Blaa blaa blaa blaa...