The PASSION Blog

Hi all,

I had a database problem today and lost some of my posts. I am slowly going through them and trying to restore or re-enter them. Apologies to those who have taken the time to post comments on them. I will see what I can do.

God Bless,

Dave

I recently purchased a copy of John Bevere’s “Driven by Eternity” and it arrived today. It is a book that I have been meaning to get a copy of for a while and the title has caught my attention. The sub title has also grabbed me too “Making you life count for today and forever”.

I believe that living your life in light of eternity is a key for living a successful Christian life. We need to live in the here and now, but we also remember that we will spend more time in eternity than we will on earth. We also need to remember that how we live our lives on earth will impact our personal eternal destiny.

As I read through Driven by Eternity I will share some reflections that have impacted me personally.

My wife Larissa set up a new blog the other day called “Homeschooling Day-by-Day“. She set it up so people could follow our journey of homeschooling and find out a little bit about how we do things and what we are up to. We are on holidays at the moment, so it will take a few weeks until the posts really start to flow.

While I am on the subject of homeschooling I thought I might answer one of the questions I am often asked. The question is, “Are we against sending your kids to normal schools?” The answer to that is a big no! We are not against normal schools - whether government or private. We have just chosen to homeschool as it is something we feel led to do and it fits our family life and situation.

By homeschooling we are not judging the public school system or parents who send their kids to them. We are just exercising one of the options that is available to educate your kids. For us as a family we just feel it is the best option and best fit in our situation.

I just think that no matter what option you chose for your kids education - public, private or at home - there are positives and negatives for each of them. It is a matter of making the best of the situation and preparing your kids the best you can for their lives ahead.

I hope that makes sense

Hi all,

I added a new link to my “Blogs I currently follow” section today. It is Mark Conner’s Space. Here’s a bit of a blurb from his about page…

Mark is the Senior Minister of CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia - a church with over 5000 people attending each weekend in a number of locations. He is an author and speaker on topics such as personal development, leadership and church growth. Mark is 46 years of age and is married to Nicole. They have three teenage children.

I have only been reading Mark’s blog for a few weeks, but have really enjoyed the posts so far. Check it out if you have some time.

God Bless,

Dave

A few days ago I mentioned that we are having a heatwave in Merredin. Yesterday our top temperature was 44.2 degress (111.5 F). It was nearly the hottest place in Australia. Today is a mild 35! It is only 9 degrees difference, but today feels beautiful by comparrison.

I never thought I would be so happy to see mid thirty temperatures. When it comes to summer temperatures 35 sure beats 44

At the start of each year when I prayerfully write my goals down I include things that I want to achieve during the year. These are usually new things that I have never done before, making things better for family life or working towards something. Most of them are measurable and very practical.

Another type of goal I also include is the things that I want to continue on doing. These are usually things that I have done in the past and have benefitted my growth, our family life or those around me. I think it is important to write down these things that I want to continue doing as it keeps them on my list and on my radar.

Three things I want to continue doing this year is support my wife and kids as they homeschool, continue my fitness program I started when I was 17 (25 years ago!) and continue my written prayer journal. For each of these things I write down ways I can continue them.

With homeschooling for example. I can pray each day for the girls lessons, I can take some of the classes when Larissa needs a break or I can take the kids out to give her some space to do some planning of lessons. If I write those things down it helps me to keep focussed and be aware when the need for me to step up arises.

Likewise with my prayer journal. It is something that has worked for me in the past and it has helped me to grow spiritually and personally, so my goal is to keep it up in 2009.

So how about you? Are you someone who writes down goals at the start of the year? Do you write down the things you want to continue on doing or do you just write down the new things?

My wife Larissa did a new year post that I really enjoyed today. It touches on Ephesians 3:20-21.

You can read here at her blog “In Him”

I am finding it hard to believe that another year is over already. It seems like I was sitting here five minutes ago writing about the beginning of 2008!

Overall I feel very positive about 2009. I feel like it will be a good year. Last year was a very good year for us as a family and I think we will build on that in 2009. Some of the personal goals for this year that I can talk about publicly are:

• Complete 6-8 units on my Bachelor of Ministry
• Continue to support my wife and kids as we homeschool
• Continue to spend lots of time with my wife and kids
• Continue my daily devotions and prayer journal
• Build the coolest playground for our kids out in the back yard
• Add some streaming video sermonettes to my PASSION website
• Finish the pool area with shade sails and a seated area around it
• Continue my health and fitness program into its 25th year (my 42nd)
• Write four letters to our sponsor child Neema in Tanzania

These goals might seem quite insular from the world around us, but I feel this is what I am meant to do for the next couple of years. With my studies and a lot of family time it really feels like a time of preparation for me personally and for us as a family.

I hope and pray that you and your family have a great year in 2009.

God Bless,

Dave

I just looked up the forecast for the next week to see when it was going to cool down. The pic below is what I found on the Elders website. It is going to be 37-43 C (100-110 F) for the next week.

The good news is that there is no risk of any frost…the farmers will be happy!!!

I went out to our pool this morning to see if the water needed cleaning as it is going to be very hot today (41-42 C). When I got there I found a little lizard balancing precariously on some of the pool toys. The funny thing is that it was sitting on some that had floated into the shape of the cross.

It is funny how that over the years I have felt a little like that tiny lizard. I have had times where I have felt like the waters were all around and I had to cling to the cross of Christ to survive. The good news is that like me, the little lizard survived the waters to live on another day.

How about you? Have you had times where you had to cling to the cross to survive?