So the other day I saw a stool in the level 4 bathroom. Like, one of the stools you find commonly in labs to sit on when you’re feeling lazy. Nonetheless, such a stool is oddly placed in a bathroom, next to the sink…

I said that I thought stools belonged in the toilet.

Someone then said what a shi!t joke.

Ha ha ha!

I quote:

yes it does....dota has taught us many life skills which we can like, use, in real life
like being in a lane alone, means u might get ganked
just like in real life
so its better to travel with teammates (friends) with stun/disable (muscles)

Gold.

Raving rabbits on Wii is fun too.

Went swimming today with Lorenzo… he is a beast. He did 30 laps pretty much in the time I did 14. Also, some chick overtook me while I was doing freestyle. She was doing breaststroke. Mmm. It just feels like I don’t get enough air… Still, was a great workout.

I think I’m going to read the whole Bible again this year, the 4th year I’ve done it. There are parts that, despite having read many times, you get something new out of. Wonderful stuff. Like:

1. Jacob and Esau: do you think Jacob was any more deserving to get God’s blessing than Esau? Absolutely not. In the same way, those people God chooses to become Christians are not deserving at all… and for those of us who do follow Jesus, that should make us appreciate how gracious God is to give us this gift, namely, himself through Jesus Christ.

2. Exodus!! God totally initiates a relationship with us, in the same way he saves his people out of Egypt. God wants this people to know and glorify him that he does the 10 plagues… pretty awesome huh? How should the Israelites feel and respond? Honour, praise, and worship!

In the same way, God wants us to know him so much, that he does something even more awesome and wonderful than those 10 plagues, which were pretty amazing already. He sends Jesus to willingly die in our place. He defeats not just the king of Egypt, but death itself. So how should we respond?

3. Following on from no. 2… how did the Israelites respond after God’s amazing salvation out of Egypt? They whined. They didn’t trust God. They complained and said it was better for them to be in slavery in Egypt. Now, how about us? The salvation we have is even greater. But a lot of Christians aren’t happy. Some may think, how awesome would it be to be a non-Christian, to be able to do all these things and have fun. I’ve thought those thoughts too. How insulting to God is that? God wants the very best for us, but we reject his wonderful gifts and his way of doing things.

We also aren’t happy with the way things are going, we complain when things aren’t going well for us. Wait a moment, things are going amazingly well for Christians… they have an amazing inheritance to look forward to, and the things of this world are nothing compared to our future glory (Romans 8:18). To complain and be unhappy about little things is absolutely ridiculous! It’s like, your parents have given you the most awesome gift: a pony/ps3/car/stereo system/boat/house (insert appropriate gift here.) It’s the BEST gift you could ever receive. Then, after a little while, you go back to them and complain that your shampoo isn’t as good as it could be…

If reading the Bible for you is a chore… you aren’t thinking about what you’re reading. You’re not seeing how awesome, wonderful, and glorious God is. You haven’t grasped yet how wonderful Jesus is.

Sigh. Had another bad dream about DOOM last night, this time the level was just dark and scary. Might stop playing it for a month or two now instead of the intended week…

Going overseas can be a real character-building exercise, but I think it’s better to save money and just play world of warcraft to build your character.

Played a bit of table tennis over the weekend. What an awesome game. I just want to play again, and practice properly… coach still owes me two lessons. Maybe should call him…

But I still want to play squash too. And a bit of tennis thrown in. Cricket is great too. These are all good things and I’m certain God loves it when we enjoy them, just as long as we don’t put them above Him.

Watched the twenty20 final between NSW and VIC at ANZ stadium on saturday night. It was actually my first time watching cricket in person (watching professionals that is.) Man those guys are amazing! Even the way they field is really impressive. The bowlers in person seem so much quicker than on TV… and the batsmen are freakish in their reaction time. The game was fantastic and went to the last ball. Would definitely do it again and highly recommended!

One thing that I think I’ll give a rest for a bit is doom 2. Up to level 26. Great game I must say, but last night I had some horrible dream where I was playing it (or in it? does it matter?) and there were so many baddies. Had to use up pretty much all my plasma cells to power the BFG 9000, but finished the level. Was terrified with no ammo for the next level though…

Got back Sunday 7pm. Definitely the best time away from home ever (so far, and from a learning point of view.) Totally awesome.

Reflections:

1. Definitely was worthwhile. CSB is a great way of preaching the great news about Jesus to people who may never otherwise get to hear about it. Kids come and hear the best news they could possibly hear, and a lot of them are from non-Christian families, and some actually come to accept Jesus as their saviour. Wonderful.

2. God loves the disadvantaged kids and those from broken families just as much as he loves us, right? Then why don't we love them like we love those who are similar to us? Difficult kids and people we might reject, but that's not what God wants us to do. Who are we to choose whom the Gospel goes to?

3. Older Christian guys are wonderful. There aren't enough of them around. I hope and pray God would raise up more to serve him. They just seem so content and joyful, and wise.

4. What are my motives when serving and doing things for God? Am I trying to please people, or please God?

5. Mission is a great place to meet and get to know people, girls included. Not that I would advocate going for those reasons... haha. Got to know some guys much better too.

6. Earplugs are wonderful, but can result in the translation of "the fans are off tonight" to "pants off tonight." Fortunately jono was in his sleeping bag so nothing untoward was seen.