On that note...i would love to see all of my friends take up this challenge! Give your mind and body a break from the booze this Feb! Too easy for me, these days... but i know a lot harder for some of my friends. You can dooooo eeeeeet! x
January 31, 2011
Stay in Constant Contact with God
'...be persistent in your prayers...' Ephesians 6:18 NLT
Nicole's party was a great success. It is nice to see my children doing things that i never really did as a kid. I never had parties...you know, REAL ones...with BOYS and stuffff. Probably mainly, because i was not all that popular. I didn't have a big group of friends, like my girls seem to have...when i was at school. People used to say i was "snobby"...i wasn't though, i was just shy, insecure, and lacked self esteem, in the hugest way possible.
Anyway, my girls are the opposite, of what i was like at their age, and it is so cool to watch. Even if it does mean that i am up until 3am, making sure that they behave - from my bedroom of course. I did get a bit worried at times. One of the boys that turned up here last night, decided that Nicole's stereo was not quite loud enough - you know - the whole neighbourhood could not hear it. I was standing in the lounge, looking out the ranch slider, chewing my nails, as i watched this kid awkwardly attempt a 3 point turn in my driveway then reverse his car - way too fast - into my garage. I saw him smashing into my car, the fence, and the garage all at once, as he did that. I guess i should have more faith, in the youth of today's driving skills. My car, fence, and garage are all still in tact....and his car stereo provided the thumping sounds for the rest of the evening - until noise control turned up at 2am.
Amusing, also, was the conversation that i could not help overhearing, while a few lads, decided to urinate in the rose bushes right under my bedroom window. I guess they did not realise that was my bedroom window, and that Nicole's mum was listening to every word they said. Overhearing that conversation, ensured that i did not get any sleep at all last night.
On a brighter note though, i emerged from my bedroom at about 11am this morning, to find Nicole and all her friends had already cleaned up all the mess! I have also now decided, after hearing that Nicole's friends, who had not met me before, thought i was her sister - that they are all welcome back ANYTIME!YEP...what a lovely bunch of friends my daughter has! haha
My house is now empty, for a couple of hours. They have all gone out for lunch with Nick and his family. I am going to make the most of the peace and quiet that is my home right now...while it lasts! I have not had the whole house to myself, in about 3 weeks. I am going to enjoy the next couple of hours, like you have no idea!
Andrew Murray wrote, 'Many Christians look upon it as a burden and a duty and a difficulty to get alone with God! That is the great hindrance to our Christian life everywhere.' God says, 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great...things, which you do not know' (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV). The answers you seek can be found on your knees. Jesus said, 'If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you' (John 15:7 NKJV). Prayer is like a platinum card; it gives you access to God's wisdom and resources. Paul writes: '...continuing steadfastly in prayer' (Romans 12:12 NKJV).I. Am. So. Tired.
The story's told of a soldier in World War II who was caught creeping back into his quarters from some nearby woods. Brought before his commanding officer and charged with communicating with the enemy, he said he had just gone out to pray. His commanding officer asked, 'Do you make a habit of spending hours alone in prayer?' 'Yes, sir,' he replied. 'Then get down on your knees and pray now,' roared the officer, 'for you've never needed it more!' The soldier kneeled down and prayed so powerfully that his CO shouted, 'Enough, you may go, I believe you! If you hadn't been so often at drill, you wouldn't have done so well at review.'
Prayer isn't like a spare tyre; you can't just leave it in your boot and expect it to be effective when you need it. You must 'be persistent in your prayers.' In other words, stay in constant contact with God.
Nicole's party was a great success. It is nice to see my children doing things that i never really did as a kid. I never had parties...you know, REAL ones...with BOYS and stuffff. Probably mainly, because i was not all that popular. I didn't have a big group of friends, like my girls seem to have...when i was at school. People used to say i was "snobby"...i wasn't though, i was just shy, insecure, and lacked self esteem, in the hugest way possible.
Anyway, my girls are the opposite, of what i was like at their age, and it is so cool to watch. Even if it does mean that i am up until 3am, making sure that they behave - from my bedroom of course. I did get a bit worried at times. One of the boys that turned up here last night, decided that Nicole's stereo was not quite loud enough - you know - the whole neighbourhood could not hear it. I was standing in the lounge, looking out the ranch slider, chewing my nails, as i watched this kid awkwardly attempt a 3 point turn in my driveway then reverse his car - way too fast - into my garage. I saw him smashing into my car, the fence, and the garage all at once, as he did that. I guess i should have more faith, in the youth of today's driving skills. My car, fence, and garage are all still in tact....and his car stereo provided the thumping sounds for the rest of the evening - until noise control turned up at 2am.
Amusing, also, was the conversation that i could not help overhearing, while a few lads, decided to urinate in the rose bushes right under my bedroom window. I guess they did not realise that was my bedroom window, and that Nicole's mum was listening to every word they said. Overhearing that conversation, ensured that i did not get any sleep at all last night.
On a brighter note though, i emerged from my bedroom at about 11am this morning, to find Nicole and all her friends had already cleaned up all the mess! I have also now decided, after hearing that Nicole's friends, who had not met me before, thought i was her sister - that they are all welcome back ANYTIME!YEP...what a lovely bunch of friends my daughter has! haha
My house is now empty, for a couple of hours. They have all gone out for lunch with Nick and his family. I am going to make the most of the peace and quiet that is my home right now...while it lasts! I have not had the whole house to myself, in about 3 weeks. I am going to enjoy the next couple of hours, like you have no idea!
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| Happy Anniversary Day - Yay for public holidays! |
January 30, 2011
Pray about Everything
'...pray about everything...Tell God what you need...' Philippians 4:6 NLT
Huh...maybe that is something that i need to start doing! I thank him, every single day for everything that i have, and for that fact that i am even still here...but i never pray for anything. I never ask for anything.
I have had a very busy day. It is my little 5lb baby's 16th birthday today. Yep...my little Nicole, who is not so little anymore, is 16. I was telling her, and her friends this morning how i remember my own 16th, like it was yesterday. I still have the mixed tape that my Dad made me, full of old songs about being "Sweet 16" ...somewhere.
They all went to a party last night. I had to pick them up, at midnight...so i have been tired all day from a late one last night. Then today, after a bit of a sleep in...Nicole, and I, and her friends drove out to Waiuku to Nick's place, to collect her present. Nick and i had gone halves on an Ipod Touch for her. She had wanted one for Christmas, but had missed out...so she was over the moon with that.
I went for my run with Nixon, then the girls and I headed out to the shops for party food. I am now locked in my bedroom for the night. There are about 30 (last i counted) 16 - 17 year old kids out on my patio, and back lawn. The music is booming. The conversation, and laughter is loud. I got told about an hour ago - "Can you go to your room now mum?...people are arriving..." hahaha
Kids aye...It is going to be another late one.
Happy 16th Birthday Coley. I love you. xxx
The four-year-old son of a missionary family in Africa spotted a picture of a little pink dinosaur in a magazine and set his heart on having one. His mum knew it was impossible (the magazine was three years old), but her son never doubted God would come through for him. On Christmas Eve, a box packed ten months earlier arrived from home. At first glance it seemed to contain something special for everyone - except a four-year-old boy. Then they reached the bottom - and they were stunned. The lady who sent the box had no way of knowing God would use her to answer a little boy's prayer. Before taping up the box, at the last minute, she tossed in the one item impossible for his parents to provide - something so insignificant no rational adult would ever have been foolish enough to ask God for...a pink plastic brontosaurus from a fast-food restaurant promotion!
Sometimes we feel foolish bothering God with little things, but we shouldn't. The Bible says: '...pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.' God is interested in every detail of your life; if something is important to you, it's important to Him. In Bible times two sparrows were sold for a penny (on sale you could buy five for two pennies!) yet Jesus said, '...not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it...the very hairs on your head are all numbered' (Matthew 10:29-30 NLT).
When you learn to trust God in little things, you'll be able to trust Him in big ones.
Huh...maybe that is something that i need to start doing! I thank him, every single day for everything that i have, and for that fact that i am even still here...but i never pray for anything. I never ask for anything.
I have had a very busy day. It is my little 5lb baby's 16th birthday today. Yep...my little Nicole, who is not so little anymore, is 16. I was telling her, and her friends this morning how i remember my own 16th, like it was yesterday. I still have the mixed tape that my Dad made me, full of old songs about being "Sweet 16" ...somewhere.
They all went to a party last night. I had to pick them up, at midnight...so i have been tired all day from a late one last night. Then today, after a bit of a sleep in...Nicole, and I, and her friends drove out to Waiuku to Nick's place, to collect her present. Nick and i had gone halves on an Ipod Touch for her. She had wanted one for Christmas, but had missed out...so she was over the moon with that.
I went for my run with Nixon, then the girls and I headed out to the shops for party food. I am now locked in my bedroom for the night. There are about 30 (last i counted) 16 - 17 year old kids out on my patio, and back lawn. The music is booming. The conversation, and laughter is loud. I got told about an hour ago - "Can you go to your room now mum?...people are arriving..." hahaha
Kids aye...It is going to be another late one.
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| I have no idea how Nicole went from that little baby that would go to no one else but me - to that thing on the right that won't even be my friend on Facebook! ...in the blink of an eye. Where have the years gone? |
Happy 16th Birthday Coley. I love you. xxx
January 29, 2011
Parent, That's Your Job Description
"... teach them diligently to your children... " - Deuteronomy 6:7 NKJV
Discipline them - that is the one that i struggle with the most. I did do something the other night though, that made me feel rather proud of myself, in this area.
Nicole had been out all day with friends. She had been at the beach, and then wandering around Botany Town Centre. Billy, Jorgia, Ants, and i had made plans to go to Mum and Graham's house for dinner, at 5:30...Nicole had said that she would catch the bus home, and be home by 5.
At 5:30 when it was time to leave, she still was not home, so i text her. She was still at Botany. She said they were about to catch the bus back to her friend's place. Her friend's place is about a half an hour walk, from my Mum's home. I told Nicole that was fine, and that she could walk to Mum's and meet us there.
Well that did not go down too well. My children are pretty lazy when it comes to exercise, and Nicole did not like being told that the taxi would not be ready and waiting for her. I received all sorts of "poor me" texts about having to walk with all of her bags, how far it is, how it would be getting dark soon (at 6pm!) and how utterly mean i was for making her walk.
I ignored her moaning texts, and told her i would see her at Mum and Graham's when she got there.
Well she never arrived. I phoned her to see where she was while driving home from Mum's a couple of hours later, and she hung up on me. I arrived home, went inside...i have to admit that i was kind of worried about where she was. It turned out she was in her bedroom, being super duper quiet, hoping i would not notice she was home, and very obviously enjoying the fact that i might be worried about her. I guess she was trying to teach me a lesson, that next time i should just pick her up.
She had walked an EXTRA half an hour home - my house is further from her friend's place than my Mum's home is...just to try to make me feel bad and worry about her.
FAIL Nicole!
I was rather proud of myself, for sticking to my guns, and making her walk. Maybe next time, she will make it home, when she says she is going to be home. If not - she will be walking again!
Anyway...i am so tired this morning. I had another crappy sleep, and seemed to wake up every hour on the hour. I think that might have been due to the noise from all the wind and rain that Wilma caused, overnight. I have a friend up here from Dunedin, visiting me today, for lunch, so i better drag my tired butt out of bed, and clean the mess that is my home right now.
Ugh.
Abraham had a nephew called Lot who succeeded in business, but lost his family. How come? Because:
a) He had the wrong emphasis-he placed material success above spiritual success.
b) He had the wrong environment-he thought his children could live in Sodom and not be affected by it.
c) He had the wrong expectation-he thought he could change his surroundings by compromising with them. d) He set the wrong example-he thought his family would follow his instructions; instead they followed his lifestyle.
e) He had the wrong relationships-he didn't realise, until it was too late, how much Sodom had influenced his family (Genesis 19:4-5).
If you think you can live by the world's rules and expect your children to follow God's, you're kidding yourself. Instead of preaching about the shoes you want your children to fill, walk in them! Lead by example.
Outside of your influence as a parent, the four greatest influences in your child's life are their peers, the internet, media, and music. And all four are either working for you or against you. You say, 'But I'm really busy right now.' Get un-busy! Rethink your priorities. Your child's character is being moulded each day; the question is, by whom?
God's Word clearly states that these six things constitute your job description as a parent:
1) Instruct them (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
2) Train them (Proverbs 22:6).
3) Provide for them (2 Corinthians 12:14).
4) Nurture them (Ephesians 6:4).
5) Discipline them (1 Timothy 3:4).
6) Love them (Titus 2:4).
The truth is, you have no greater responsibility!
Discipline them - that is the one that i struggle with the most. I did do something the other night though, that made me feel rather proud of myself, in this area.
Nicole had been out all day with friends. She had been at the beach, and then wandering around Botany Town Centre. Billy, Jorgia, Ants, and i had made plans to go to Mum and Graham's house for dinner, at 5:30...Nicole had said that she would catch the bus home, and be home by 5.
At 5:30 when it was time to leave, she still was not home, so i text her. She was still at Botany. She said they were about to catch the bus back to her friend's place. Her friend's place is about a half an hour walk, from my Mum's home. I told Nicole that was fine, and that she could walk to Mum's and meet us there.
Well that did not go down too well. My children are pretty lazy when it comes to exercise, and Nicole did not like being told that the taxi would not be ready and waiting for her. I received all sorts of "poor me" texts about having to walk with all of her bags, how far it is, how it would be getting dark soon (at 6pm!) and how utterly mean i was for making her walk.
I ignored her moaning texts, and told her i would see her at Mum and Graham's when she got there.
Well she never arrived. I phoned her to see where she was while driving home from Mum's a couple of hours later, and she hung up on me. I arrived home, went inside...i have to admit that i was kind of worried about where she was. It turned out she was in her bedroom, being super duper quiet, hoping i would not notice she was home, and very obviously enjoying the fact that i might be worried about her. I guess she was trying to teach me a lesson, that next time i should just pick her up.
She had walked an EXTRA half an hour home - my house is further from her friend's place than my Mum's home is...just to try to make me feel bad and worry about her.
FAIL Nicole!
I was rather proud of myself, for sticking to my guns, and making her walk. Maybe next time, she will make it home, when she says she is going to be home. If not - she will be walking again!
Anyway...i am so tired this morning. I had another crappy sleep, and seemed to wake up every hour on the hour. I think that might have been due to the noise from all the wind and rain that Wilma caused, overnight. I have a friend up here from Dunedin, visiting me today, for lunch, so i better drag my tired butt out of bed, and clean the mess that is my home right now.
Ugh.
January 28, 2011
Jevan Goulter is a Psycho Magnet! ...Cont
I have kind of been disappointed today to witness the behaviour of a lot of people. People who i don't think would normally jump on bandwagons, make judgements and spread gossip and lies without getting the facts first have been doing just that.
They have been sharing and spreading a terribly written and false press release by long term fraudster and con woman, Paulette Edser (just google her name to find out how dodgy this woman is - it takes 0.015 seconds for her checkered history to pop up before your eyes) in relation to Jevan Goulter and Chandra Osborne's attempts at fundraising to help the flood victims in Queensland and Victoria.
Although in saying i have been disappointed some of the people are just huge gossip mongers who are always in the middle of the latest drama. One would expect that kind of behaviour from the likes of former TVNZ 'Good Morning' host and current junkie Steve Gray. He blogged the press release - but that is to be expected considering Jevan Goulter publicly outed him last year in relation to his drug addiction. Not that Steve needed outing. It was always fairly obvious even when he was still employed at TVNZ that he is a drug addict - you only have to take one look at his teeth.
Michael Laws also slid off his computer chair in excitement without first looking into Paulette Edser's background and took her terribly written and false press release as fact. Perhaps he thought he was looking in the mirror?
I expect that from the likes of Steve Gray and Michael Laws. I didn't though, expect it from quite a few respectable people that i know.
Watching this kind of behaviour has been a reminder for me of how it seems to be an inherent human trait to get excited when we hear something bad or scandalous about someone else - whether it is true or not - most people love to hear it. I guess that is why the tabloids and the gossip mags are so popular.
Jevan Goulter and Chandra Osborne as well as other local Australian talent have spent their own time and no doubt money recording a song in order to fund raise for flood victims. Their fund raising efforts turned into a big sh*t fight (for lack of better words) with con woman Paulette Edser when she decided that she wanted to be paid from the proceeds for introducing Jevan to the vocalist on the track - Alana Patmore.
The song has been recorded. It is ready to be released. Everyone is happy except Paulette Edser - because 100% of the funds raised are going to flood victims. So she packed a tantrum, released a dodgy press statement and in doing that the whole purpose of the exercise - TO HELP THE FLOOD VICTIMS - has been forgotten, causing a very needless and pointless delay in getting help to people who need help.
Here are photos of Jevan Goulter with Crown Susie Douglas of the Gold Coast City Council signing the agreement that 100% of the funds raised from the sale of this track will go to the flood victims The lawyer for Alana - the vocalist on the track has advised that they are happy for the song to be released. Everyone is happy...except for con woman Paulette Edser and her sense of greed.
Paulette Edser - do the right thing for ONCE in your life. Your latest con was a fail. Accept that and let the people who have organised this fundraiser succeed in helping people that need help. It doesn't have to be this hard.
They have been sharing and spreading a terribly written and false press release by long term fraudster and con woman, Paulette Edser (just google her name to find out how dodgy this woman is - it takes 0.015 seconds for her checkered history to pop up before your eyes) in relation to Jevan Goulter and Chandra Osborne's attempts at fundraising to help the flood victims in Queensland and Victoria.
Although in saying i have been disappointed some of the people are just huge gossip mongers who are always in the middle of the latest drama. One would expect that kind of behaviour from the likes of former TVNZ 'Good Morning' host and current junkie Steve Gray. He blogged the press release - but that is to be expected considering Jevan Goulter publicly outed him last year in relation to his drug addiction. Not that Steve needed outing. It was always fairly obvious even when he was still employed at TVNZ that he is a drug addict - you only have to take one look at his teeth.
Michael Laws also slid off his computer chair in excitement without first looking into Paulette Edser's background and took her terribly written and false press release as fact. Perhaps he thought he was looking in the mirror?
I expect that from the likes of Steve Gray and Michael Laws. I didn't though, expect it from quite a few respectable people that i know.
Watching this kind of behaviour has been a reminder for me of how it seems to be an inherent human trait to get excited when we hear something bad or scandalous about someone else - whether it is true or not - most people love to hear it. I guess that is why the tabloids and the gossip mags are so popular.
Jevan Goulter and Chandra Osborne as well as other local Australian talent have spent their own time and no doubt money recording a song in order to fund raise for flood victims. Their fund raising efforts turned into a big sh*t fight (for lack of better words) with con woman Paulette Edser when she decided that she wanted to be paid from the proceeds for introducing Jevan to the vocalist on the track - Alana Patmore.
The song has been recorded. It is ready to be released. Everyone is happy except Paulette Edser - because 100% of the funds raised are going to flood victims. So she packed a tantrum, released a dodgy press statement and in doing that the whole purpose of the exercise - TO HELP THE FLOOD VICTIMS - has been forgotten, causing a very needless and pointless delay in getting help to people who need help.
Here are photos of Jevan Goulter with Crown Susie Douglas of the Gold Coast City Council signing the agreement that 100% of the funds raised from the sale of this track will go to the flood victims The lawyer for Alana - the vocalist on the track has advised that they are happy for the song to be released. Everyone is happy...except for con woman Paulette Edser and her sense of greed.
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| Councillor Susie Douglas and Jevan Goulter |
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| With the signed contract - 100% to go to flood victims |
Scribe confesses to addiction trouble
Scribe confesses to addiction trouble - Campbell Live - Video - 3 News
Campbell Live was actually worth watching tonight...for a change.
I can only imagine how difficult it would be for someone like Scribe to recover. If the New Zealand public knew just how many NZ "Celebrities" are on P...they would be shocked.
Or maybe not.
How fortunate he is to have a supportive and loving partner that has stuck by him through his addiction - along with the support of the rest of his family. He says that without them he would still be caught in that rut. He states that he feels blessed and knows for certain how much his partner loves him, after she helped him through this.
The stigma that is attached to most addictions causes a lot of people to go through their recovery mostly alone. Good on his partner and family for supporting him through this. That is love. He is truly blessed. I would have given anything at the time to have had the support that he describes. I begged for help - and no one answered me. I hope he realises just HOW blessed he is and shows the gratitude that his family deserve to be shown, by staying clean.
I know for me, not a day goes by that i don't wish i could go back in time and do things differently and get back the things that i loved - and that i lost. Because of that, not a day goes by that i am not reminded of how awful my choices were, how awful that life was and why i will never go back down that road.
God works in mysterious ways. Maybe he is not meant to get his awards back for a reason. If things come back to him too easily, he may not learn the lesson that he needs to learn.
Who knows - but i am pretty sure that is how it worked for me.
Campbell Live was actually worth watching tonight...for a change.
I can only imagine how difficult it would be for someone like Scribe to recover. If the New Zealand public knew just how many NZ "Celebrities" are on P...they would be shocked.
Or maybe not.
How fortunate he is to have a supportive and loving partner that has stuck by him through his addiction - along with the support of the rest of his family. He says that without them he would still be caught in that rut. He states that he feels blessed and knows for certain how much his partner loves him, after she helped him through this.
The stigma that is attached to most addictions causes a lot of people to go through their recovery mostly alone. Good on his partner and family for supporting him through this. That is love. He is truly blessed. I would have given anything at the time to have had the support that he describes. I begged for help - and no one answered me. I hope he realises just HOW blessed he is and shows the gratitude that his family deserve to be shown, by staying clean.
I know for me, not a day goes by that i don't wish i could go back in time and do things differently and get back the things that i loved - and that i lost. Because of that, not a day goes by that i am not reminded of how awful my choices were, how awful that life was and why i will never go back down that road.
God works in mysterious ways. Maybe he is not meant to get his awards back for a reason. If things come back to him too easily, he may not learn the lesson that he needs to learn.
Who knows - but i am pretty sure that is how it worked for me.
Beware Of Self-Righteousness
"... you who judge others do these very same things." - Romans 2:1 NLT
I love it.
I had a shockingly bad sleep over night, then had to be up at 6am to drive Billy to work. I am attributing my terrible sleep, to the fact that i got a bit too much sun yesterday. I did an early morning run. Then i headed down to the beach with a friend for a couple of hours. It was high tide at 1pm - Eastern Beach is just amazing during high tide. Low tide - not so much...unless you like swimming in mud, but you can't fault it during high tide. The sun was absolutely blazing, so i spent a lot of time in the water.
I thought we had headed home before getting too much sun, however, once inside, and out of the direct sunlight, I started feeling rather drained, and red. Being the glutton for punishment that i am though, Jorgia and i accepted mum's invitation to head over to Lloyd Elsmore Park, to watch the Baseball that was going on, over there. Guam were playing Australia.
There was no shade at the park. We sat on bleachers, and the whole time, i could feel myself literally cooking. Don't ask me who won the game. Between worrying about what kind of sauce would taste nice on my skin, later that evening once i was well done, and attempting to ignore the fact that my mother just picks random men out of thin air to try to set me up with, every single time we are out in public, i completely missed the game...except for a couple of fly balls that one instinctively doesn't miss, because you want to make sure that the ball doesn't land on your head.
Yesterday's victim, of my mother trying to de-single me, was a talent scout from the Philadelphia Phillies. He is here looking for talent to take back to America. Odd - one would assume that in all of the United States, and with Baseball being their national sport, Americans would not have to look overseas for talent...but there you go. Hilarious, and very interesting man, who cracked Jorgia and I up non stop, by not letting my mother get away with lying about her age. It was rather amusing. I am though, starting to cringe whenever i have to go out with her in public. I am sure that soon, she will want to put a For Sale sign on my forehead...or something.
Anyway, i ended up in bed last night, tapping away on my laptop, without my bedside lamp on - my forehead provided all the light that i needed. Once again, after a wonderful day in the sun, i ended up looking like something out of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes...
A woman looked out of her window every morning and commented on the dirty laundry on her neighbour's line. One day she noticed it was sparkling clean: 'Maybe she's using a new detergent,' she remarked. 'No,' said her husband. 'I got up early and cleaned our windows.' Hello!
When Paul talks about '... greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception... gossip' (Romans 1:29 NLT), it's tempting to think it doesn't apply to you. Then he says, 'You are just as bad... you... do these very same things.' Maybe you've never embezzled money, but have you ever short-changed somebody? Or taken an 'iffy' tax deduction? How about when you're stuck in traffic, or you overhear some juicy gossip? Phil Yancey says: 'Murder and adultery differ from hatred and lust only by degree.
Paul reserves his most scathing comments for self-righteous people. A Pharisee of Pharisees, he knew the pattern... the danger that accompanies a feeling of moral superiority. Just as denial keeps you from seeing a doctor about a lump or lesion, denial of sin leads to worse consequences.
I accepted a speaking engagement from some Christians involved in Twelve-Step Programmes. As I pondered what to say, it occurred to me that what recovering alcoholics confess daily - personal failure and the need for grace... represent high hurdles for those of us who take pride in independence and self-sufficiency.
Romans 3:10 NKJV says, '... "There is none righteous... ' and God's grace is the only solution. It comes free of charge, apart from the law and human efforts towards self-improvement. We need only hold out open, needy hands - the most difficult gesture for a self-righteous person.'
I love it.
I had a shockingly bad sleep over night, then had to be up at 6am to drive Billy to work. I am attributing my terrible sleep, to the fact that i got a bit too much sun yesterday. I did an early morning run. Then i headed down to the beach with a friend for a couple of hours. It was high tide at 1pm - Eastern Beach is just amazing during high tide. Low tide - not so much...unless you like swimming in mud, but you can't fault it during high tide. The sun was absolutely blazing, so i spent a lot of time in the water.
I thought we had headed home before getting too much sun, however, once inside, and out of the direct sunlight, I started feeling rather drained, and red. Being the glutton for punishment that i am though, Jorgia and i accepted mum's invitation to head over to Lloyd Elsmore Park, to watch the Baseball that was going on, over there. Guam were playing Australia.
There was no shade at the park. We sat on bleachers, and the whole time, i could feel myself literally cooking. Don't ask me who won the game. Between worrying about what kind of sauce would taste nice on my skin, later that evening once i was well done, and attempting to ignore the fact that my mother just picks random men out of thin air to try to set me up with, every single time we are out in public, i completely missed the game...except for a couple of fly balls that one instinctively doesn't miss, because you want to make sure that the ball doesn't land on your head.
Yesterday's victim, of my mother trying to de-single me, was a talent scout from the Philadelphia Phillies. He is here looking for talent to take back to America. Odd - one would assume that in all of the United States, and with Baseball being their national sport, Americans would not have to look overseas for talent...but there you go. Hilarious, and very interesting man, who cracked Jorgia and I up non stop, by not letting my mother get away with lying about her age. It was rather amusing. I am though, starting to cringe whenever i have to go out with her in public. I am sure that soon, she will want to put a For Sale sign on my forehead...or something.
Anyway, i ended up in bed last night, tapping away on my laptop, without my bedside lamp on - my forehead provided all the light that i needed. Once again, after a wonderful day in the sun, i ended up looking like something out of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes...
National and Labour select Botany candidates
National and Labour select Botany candidates - National - NZ Herald News
The National Party has chosen Auckland councillor Jami-Lee Ross as its candidate for the March 5 Botany by-election, a seat he will almost certainly win.What awesome, AWESOME news! Congratulations to Jami-Lee Ross!
The selection meeting went down to the wire late tonight, with Mr Ross selected over former broadcaster Maggie Barry, TV3 reported.
A total of five nominees were in the running and three were eliminated before the final vote.
Botany is a safe National seat and the by-election was caused by the resignation from Parliament of Pansy Wong, who retained it in the 2008 general election with a majority of more than 10,000.
Mr Ross was elected to the Manukau City Council in 2004 and was returned in 2007.
When he announced he was putting his name up for Botany, he said he had strong links with the electorate and had lived there for the past four years.
Ms Barry was a high profile contender but only joined National late last year and doesn't live in the electorate.
The Labour Party also selected its candidate for the by-election tonight, choosing Michael Wood, an Auckland local board member.
Party president Andrew Little announced the decision after the selection meeting, saying the process had been "rigorous".
Mr Wood, a former union organiser, said he was honoured to be the party's candidate.
"This week the National Government announced its plans to sell off our assets and I am determined to fight these plans and let the people of Botany know how they can be part of Labour's campaign to oppose this ridiculous privatisation agenda," he said.
Mr Wood is an elected member of Puketapapa Local Board, and was Labour's candidate in the Pakuranga electorate in the 2002 and 2005 general elections.
The other nominees announced by Labour last week were electrician David Collings and management consultant Roy Bootle.
Mr Little said Labour would use the by-election to promote policies, issues and values that he believed were important for Botany and all New Zealand.
January 27, 2011
Jevan Goulter is a Psycho Magnet!
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| Fraudster Paulette Edser |
As if spending much of last year, getting verbally abused, and physically assaulted by Michael Laws was not enough...it appears my favourite 'should be' stand up comedian, has gone and attracted the attention of another press releasing, attention seeking, public fund troughing, nutter.
How low can one possibly go? Well...if you look into Paulette Edser's background, it appears she has been on a downhill slide to this kind of low, for the past 15 years...She has featured on Fair Go several times since 1995.
Model update;
Model Stacie Bennett has finally won her battle against Auckland-based modelling agency, VMA Models and Talent.
The agency and its owner, Paulette Edser, first appeared on Fair Go more than ten years ago accused of failing to keep promises to women chasing modelling careers.
This year, Stacie came to Fair Go complaining about her experiences with the agency. Paulette Edser then took Stacie to the Disputes Tribunal to recover a $2,000 bill. Stacie said she never owed that money. The Tribunal dismissed Paulette Edser's claim. It said the credibility of the agency's owner had been put on the line by the revelations made about her past history, together with the very strong negative statements from witnesses.
Stacie said after her bad experience with the agency, she would advise other aspiring models to steer clear of VMA Models and Talent. ~ Fair Go
It seems that Jevan Goulter and producer, Count Effectz put together a track. The entire purpose of this was to raise money for flood victims. Paulette Edser, had introduced Jevan to the female vocalist on the track, as a friend, and all was well until Paulette Edser decided that she wanted a cut of the proceeds from this fundraiser. Money that was meant for flood victims - you know - those people that had lost everything? Yeah them.
So now it appears that Paulette has graduated from ripping off, and scamming hopeful models, to ripping off, and scamming flood victims, who have lost everything. Congrats Paulette, it took you 16 years of lying, thieving, absconding to Australia in order to hide from New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department, as well as a stint in prison...but i think you have now officially gone about as low as a person can go.
The only way is up! :)
So now what? Jevan, the producer, and the vocalist produced a song, that could potentially raise a lot of money for flood victims, and this woman is sitting around writing vitriolic press releases, stating that 100% of the funds raised, once the song is released will go to flood victims. Rigggghhhtttt....what's the problem then?
Singer Jimmy Buffett hurt in Aussie stage fall
Singer Jimmy Buffett hurt in Aussie stage fall: report - Yahoo!Xtra Entertainment
Oh noooooo! I hope is he ok! I LOVE Jimmy Buffett!
Oh noooooo! I hope is he ok! I LOVE Jimmy Buffett!
Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett was taken to hospital in Australia with a head injury after crashing off the stage at a concert, a report said Thursday.
The US-based musician, best known for his 1977 hit Margaritaville, fell from the stage in front of a sell-out crowd in Sydney on Wednesday, the Daily Telegraph reported on its website.
The paper said he was taken to hospital.
It quoted concert-goer Dan Bateman as saying: "It looked like he did a massive face plant after his encore and pretty much didn't get up.
"We were told to leave the premises. No one really wanted to leave because everyone was anxious to know if he survived the fall. Everyone was pretty horrified."
The Telegraph said Buffett, 64, had performed three sold-out shows at Sydney's Opera House and Wednesday evening's concert had been added to the tour in response to fan demand.
The promoter has indicated the NZ concert is at risk.
"We are in constant touch with Chugg Entertainment, the event promoters, and will post a definitive answer regarding the Auckland concert as soon as we hear it," said Michael Turner, CEO, EventFinder.
Christian enough for Parachute?
Christian enough for Parachute? Stuff.co.nz
What next, people calling themselves 'loosely a brain surgeon' ???
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| Dave Gibson "Guesses" you "Could loosely call him a Christian." |
One of the main acts for this weekend's Parachute music festival has been accused of not being Christian enough to play there.
The frontman for Kiwi rock band Elemeno P, Dave Gibson, has delighted in a debate on social networking site Facebook over the suitability of his band for the festival.
Kegan Wrightson, 18, who posted a comment on Parachute's Facebook page as Keegs the Baptist, complained Elemeno P should not play at Mystery Creek Events Centre, alongside 100 other international acts, because it was not a Christian band. "I saw them a few weeks ago, the bassist (Lani Perkis) had a she-devil on her strap!" he wrote before suggesting organisers get thrash metal group Slayer next year.
In another post, Josiah Claasen said Elemeno P's live act had plenty of swearing. "Individual members may be Christian, no argument there, but the live act is not."
David Hannah's post said Parachute festival-goers went to hear Christian bands, or bands with Christians in them who "actually admit to being Christians. Since when did Parachute hire a secular band to play at the festival? If this happens next year, I'm not coming."
"I like it that we are controversial," Gibson said. "We are not very controversial in the real world. We won't be worshipping the she devil, they will be happy to know, and the performance will be very PG rated at Parachute. It's a family show."
Gibson said he, and Elemeno P drummer Scotty Pearson, had both played at early Parachute festivals in other bands.
"I guess you could loosely call me a Christian," he said. "I don't like calling myself a Christian because of some of the negative connotations it conjures up."
Festival founder Mark de Jong said he was encouraged to see debate over the lineup. "What we are trying to do is put together an event with great music, without bad influences in it. We don't vet the lyrics, or anything like that, but we are not going to invite anybody if we feel they are going to be a negative influence."
Mr de Jong said there was no debate over the likes of Brooke Fraser, a Christian musician whose songs were not necessarily about God, who had previously performed at Parachute. Amy Grant, who released a cover version of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi in 1995, was accused of turning her back on her Christian roots and selling out.
What next, people calling themselves 'loosely a brain surgeon' ???
Stand on God's Promises
'He always does exactly what He says.' 2 Corinthians 1:19 TLB
Friends will let us down. Isn't that the truth? I have evicted - for lack of a better word- a friend from my life over the past 24 hours. All i have to say on that matter is this...
Ever had a friend break a promise? The cheque doesn't come, the repairman doesn't show up, your date doesn't call? Count on it, people will let you down. But God won't, 'He always does exactly what He says. He...fulfills all...[His] promises' (2 Corinthians 1:19-20 TLB). Knowing that enables you to keep walking by faith while you wait for them to be fulfilled.
James MacDonald says: 'It's this not-knowing that crushes us. We doubt...worry...despair...falter and fail...If we knew how this was going to play out we'd be ok. We...can take a bad day...month...year...or decade...as long as we know how it will end. A health crisis...a question about your marriage...uncertainty over a child...we all have areas...where we need to hold on to what God has said...He knows what He promised, He can't lie, and He can't forget. He'll deliver on time. Who else can make promises like that? Now I wish I could tell you it always figures out perfectly in our lifetimes, but I'd be lying...You cannot make sense of [His] promises...with this life only. You must factor in the reality of eternity...Eternity brings it all together...eternal life...and the assurance of Heaven are what make His promises so precious.'
Victor Frankl, who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, said, 'A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes, whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them.' A Sunday school class was memorising Psalm 23 and little Tommy couldn't get beyond the first verse. On the big day he stepped up to the microphone, grinned at the audience and announced, 'The Lord is my Shepherd - and that's all I know!' And it's all you need to know for now.
Friends will let us down. Isn't that the truth? I have evicted - for lack of a better word- a friend from my life over the past 24 hours. All i have to say on that matter is this...
January 26, 2011
My Blackberry is not working!
Haha! That was a crack up...until right about the time that it reminded me of the dreaded Xbox!
I have been busy today. I had an appointment this morning at 9am. Then i had to pick Jorgia up. Then i ran 7 k with Nixon - well i call it running but it was really walking, because he had to stop and pant like a steam train every time he saw shade. High tide was at 1pm, or around there, so i cooled off in the ocean...came home and had a shower...and here i am. The day is nearly gone.
All is peaceful in my home right now. What a blessing! Normal blogging will resume...when i feel like it. ;)
Worthless women and the men who make them
Single Dad Laughing: Worthless women and the men who make them
A bit long winded, and not sure i agree with everything he has written...everyone needs to take responsibility for their own thoughts, and actions. No one can make us feel inferior without our permission ;) ...but a good read all the same.
A bit long winded, and not sure i agree with everything he has written...everyone needs to take responsibility for their own thoughts, and actions. No one can make us feel inferior without our permission ;) ...but a good read all the same.
January 25, 2011
Dog whose puppies were drowned needs new home
Dog whose puppies were drowned needs new home - National - NZ Herald News
Ugh...this just makes me sick. I will never understand how human beings can have the propensity to be so cruel. I hope the owners have been charged, and hopefully Faith finds a new, and loving home.
Ugh...this just makes me sick. I will never understand how human beings can have the propensity to be so cruel. I hope the owners have been charged, and hopefully Faith finds a new, and loving home.
A dog whose six puppies were drowned in a shopping bag last month needs a new home.
The dog, Faith, howled for days after she fished her dead two-day-old puppies out of an estuary at Welcome Bay, Tauranga, where they were dumped and drowned.
She was seen running up and down the road with the puppies in her mouth and with the shopping bag they were drowned in.
Another dog, thought to be the father, was also seen with the puppies.
Tauranga SPCA inspector Jason Blair said Faith, an American pitbull-cross, had been removed from her previous owners' care and appealed for her to be adopted and given a loving home.
Mr Blair said she should go to a home outside of Tauranga so her old owners would not be able to get her back.
Anyone interested in adopting Faith can contact the Tauranga SPCA.
Upside Down
Someone just sent me the link to this lady, and her very cool song. It just had to be shared...
The email said...
Isn't that the truth!?! What a funky song though...i like it. I like it a lot.
The email said...
I was catching up on your blog and listening to this at the same time,jeez talk about a 'syncronised blog soundtrack' haha!
Isn't that the truth!?! What a funky song though...i like it. I like it a lot.
You're on a Mission
'Go! I am sending you.' Luke 10:3 NIV
I just woke up from a lovely, lovely dream. It was so lovely, that the reality of being awake is a tad depressing, and has made me start my day on a bit of a sad note. Oh well...back to the real world, i go!
I had another big argument with Billy last night. I had made all the kids dinner, and had done all the dishes, except for the ones they were eating off. I asked Billy nicely, to do those dishes. All of the kids had just piled the dishes up on the counter, and left them there for me to do. I asked Billy to do them. I got "in a minute"..."when i am done with this game"...etc etc for about half an hour. I put my running gear on, and was about to head out the door. I said to him..."Make sure those bloody dishes are done when i get back"...he said something smart back to me...and it just escalated from there.
He had been playing xbox ALL DAY. I don't ask much of that kid, but when i DO ask him to do something, it would be nice if he could just FLIPPING DO IT without talking back, and do it when i ask him to do it!
He knows my buttons to push, to make me lose my temper, and it appears that he loves pushing them. Four times, i tried to walk out the door, to go on my run, and end the argument, but his mouth just kept going and going and going...
His attitude, and behaviour is effecting my relationship with the girls. The girls had been back living with me for a year, when Billy returned from the States, and everything was perfect in our home. Sure, we argued every once in awhile, but it rarely turned into raised voices. Now, the whole house is arguing.
Lots of people give me advice regarding this. I think the most popular advice has been to just not argue with him...let his dishes build up in his room and on my kitchen counter, and refuse to argue with him...let him live in his own stink. Isn't that just enabling and encouraging behaviour that i do not want in my home though? Why should i have to put up with constant Xbox noise, and his bedroom, and the kitchen full of dirty dishes just because it will turn into an argument if i ask him to do anything? I ask bugger all of that kid, so shouldn't he just flipping do what he is told...WHEN he is told, if he is living under my roof for FREE?
The second most popular bit of advice i get is to just kick him out. Tough love...and all that jazz. I don't want to do that though. I want to help him out, during this time of his life. I want him to be able to concentrate on his studies, and not have to work too much in order to be able to pay bills. I don't want him to be struggling financially, while he is studying.
I am feeling like i can't win right now. I really am. I think i will just go back to sleep for a little while, and hope that dream picks up where it left off.
Oh yeah...and Toys R Us, must have gotten a bit drunk...for a change. Or. Something. : / I woke up to about a hundred texts from him...Here are the exact texts, in the exact order, that i received...just out. Of. The. Blue.
LOL!!! I woke up to all of that yesterday - sorry i forgot to share this yesterday, as i had other things on my mind, but number 3 in the above reading, reminded me of them. I woke up to all those texts yesterday. They had been sent in the middle of the night, while my phone was turned off. I had not heard from him in days...I had not replied to one of them, however it appears that he was having a conversation with SOMEONE! lol ....possibly someone in his head? Maybe he was going off at one of the other women in the Auckland area that he has been bludging off, and got our numbers mixed up?
Who knows what all that was about...funny though, so it just had to be shared. If anyone can make any sense of any of that...please feel free to enlighten me. I just had to laugh.
Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission saying, 'Do not take a purse or bag...and do not greet anyone on the road' (Luke 10:4 NIV).
Observe three things He emphasised:
(1) 'Do not take a purse' - no hoarding! God will bless the man or woman who says, 'Every penny You give me above my needs, Lord, I'll use to fulfil Your purposes.' Imagine standing at the judgment seat of Christ with your riches uninvested, your assignment unfulfilled, and your sphere of influence unreached for Christ. What could you possibly say?
(2) 'Do not take a...bag' - no excess baggage! God's Word says, '...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us' (Hebrews 12:1 NLT). Whatever can get your attention can influence you, and whatever can keep your attention can master you. Satan dreads the completion of your assignment, so you must fight to keep your focus.
(3) 'Do not greet anyone on the road' - don't waste time! Question any relationship that doesn't contribute to your destiny. Paul was single-minded on this issue: '...if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him...'
The hour is too late and the need too great. In the old days, in certain agricultural states in America they closed the schools for a few weeks and everyone was sent into the fields to gather the harvest. Why? Because to wait is to be too late!
I just woke up from a lovely, lovely dream. It was so lovely, that the reality of being awake is a tad depressing, and has made me start my day on a bit of a sad note. Oh well...back to the real world, i go!
I had another big argument with Billy last night. I had made all the kids dinner, and had done all the dishes, except for the ones they were eating off. I asked Billy nicely, to do those dishes. All of the kids had just piled the dishes up on the counter, and left them there for me to do. I asked Billy to do them. I got "in a minute"..."when i am done with this game"...etc etc for about half an hour. I put my running gear on, and was about to head out the door. I said to him..."Make sure those bloody dishes are done when i get back"...he said something smart back to me...and it just escalated from there.
He had been playing xbox ALL DAY. I don't ask much of that kid, but when i DO ask him to do something, it would be nice if he could just FLIPPING DO IT without talking back, and do it when i ask him to do it!
He knows my buttons to push, to make me lose my temper, and it appears that he loves pushing them. Four times, i tried to walk out the door, to go on my run, and end the argument, but his mouth just kept going and going and going...
His attitude, and behaviour is effecting my relationship with the girls. The girls had been back living with me for a year, when Billy returned from the States, and everything was perfect in our home. Sure, we argued every once in awhile, but it rarely turned into raised voices. Now, the whole house is arguing.
Lots of people give me advice regarding this. I think the most popular advice has been to just not argue with him...let his dishes build up in his room and on my kitchen counter, and refuse to argue with him...let him live in his own stink. Isn't that just enabling and encouraging behaviour that i do not want in my home though? Why should i have to put up with constant Xbox noise, and his bedroom, and the kitchen full of dirty dishes just because it will turn into an argument if i ask him to do anything? I ask bugger all of that kid, so shouldn't he just flipping do what he is told...WHEN he is told, if he is living under my roof for FREE?
The second most popular bit of advice i get is to just kick him out. Tough love...and all that jazz. I don't want to do that though. I want to help him out, during this time of his life. I want him to be able to concentrate on his studies, and not have to work too much in order to be able to pay bills. I don't want him to be struggling financially, while he is studying.
I am feeling like i can't win right now. I really am. I think i will just go back to sleep for a little while, and hope that dream picks up where it left off.
Oh yeah...and Toys R Us, must have gotten a bit drunk...for a change. Or. Something. : / I woke up to about a hundred texts from him...Here are the exact texts, in the exact order, that i received...just out. Of. The. Blue.
1. "rember u txt to me bout"
2. "the"
3. "cops u dnt knw jack sh*t and im sure probation and ur cops mates boss would love to knw a few thngs! F*ck"
4. "told me to stayaway f*ck u thougt u were awsme but u are f*cken ugly on the inside u fake nut job u are nasty if i find out a thng ul pay"
5. "have a nice day"
6. "with my life in the sligtest and il f*ck with urs u"
7. "serious probs"
8. "f*ck u skitzo u"
9. "didnt"
10. "so what else did dadtel u?"
11. "wtf tel me who u Spoke to"
12. "bye"
LOL!!! I woke up to all of that yesterday - sorry i forgot to share this yesterday, as i had other things on my mind, but number 3 in the above reading, reminded me of them. I woke up to all those texts yesterday. They had been sent in the middle of the night, while my phone was turned off. I had not heard from him in days...I had not replied to one of them, however it appears that he was having a conversation with SOMEONE! lol ....possibly someone in his head? Maybe he was going off at one of the other women in the Auckland area that he has been bludging off, and got our numbers mixed up?
Who knows what all that was about...funny though, so it just had to be shared. If anyone can make any sense of any of that...please feel free to enlighten me. I just had to laugh.
Sex worker Lisa Lewis' new life
Sex worker Lisa Lewis' new life - Entertainment - Video - 3 News
Someone once told me to "Never trust a sympathetic journalist"...i think that advice might have applied here.
I wonder if Lisa realises how much TV3 were taking the piss out of her? It was horrible to watch. Really mean.
Someone once told me to "Never trust a sympathetic journalist"...i think that advice might have applied here.
I wonder if Lisa realises how much TV3 were taking the piss out of her? It was horrible to watch. Really mean.
January 24, 2011
'Really? What next?
'Bath salts' are growing drug problem...
So crack was the poor man's cocaine. Then meth was the poor man's crack. Now bath salts are the poor man's P. Where does this kind of thing ever end?
I can't believe this.
What kind of moron sits around going...shoot, i can't afford my daily meth habit today, so i think i will snort some bath salts instead? I can honestly say that even at the dryest of times, never did it once occur to me that snorting bath salts might be a viable alternative.
The world has gone mad.
When Neil Brown got high on dangerous chemicals sold as bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Wave, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Some say the effects of the powders are as powerful as abusing methamphetamine. Increasingly, law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the advertised bath salts with complex chemical names are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale.
From the Deep South to California, emergency calls are being reported over-exposure to the stimulants the powders often contain: mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV.
Sold under such names as Ivory Wave, Bliss, White Lightning and Hurricane Charlie, the chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates and suicidal thoughts, authorities say. The chemicals are in products sold legally at convenience stores and on the Internet as bath salts and even plant foods. However, they aren't necessarily being used for the purposes on the label.
Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale of the powders, and a similar step is being sought in Kentucky. In Louisiana, the bath salts were outlawed by an emergency order after the state's poison center received more than 125 calls in the last three months of 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.
In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack and was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the advertised bath salts.
"I couldn't tell you why I did it," Brown said, pointing to his scars. "The psychological effects are still there."
While Brown survived, sheriff's authorities in one Mississippi county say they believe one woman overdosed on the powders there. In southern Louisiana, the family of a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat and ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death of a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence of the bath salts.
The stimulants aren't regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, but are facing federal scrutiny. Law officers say some of the substances are being shipped from Europe, but origins are still unclear.
Gary Boggs, an executive assistant at the DEA, said there's a lengthy process to restrict these types of designer chemicals, including reviewing the abuse data. But it's a process that can take years.
Dr. Mark Ryan, director of Louisiana's poison control center, said he thinks state bans on the chemicals can be effective. He said calls about the chemicals have dropped sharply since Louisiana banned their sale in January.
Ryan said cathinone, the parent substance of the drugs, comes from a plant grown in Africa and is regulated. He said MDPV and mephedrone are made in a lab, and they aren't regulated because they're not marketed for human consumption. The stimulants affect neurotransmitters in the brain, he said.
So crack was the poor man's cocaine. Then meth was the poor man's crack. Now bath salts are the poor man's P. Where does this kind of thing ever end?
I can't believe this.
What kind of moron sits around going...shoot, i can't afford my daily meth habit today, so i think i will snort some bath salts instead? I can honestly say that even at the dryest of times, never did it once occur to me that snorting bath salts might be a viable alternative.
The world has gone mad.
Brazilian model named in Kiwi's love triangle
Brazilian model named in Kiwi's love triangle - Relationships - NZ Herald News
This story made me laugh. However, something that i read, that was written on a blog about it, made me laugh even more.
I wonder if it ever occurred to the author of the above blog, that life is not all about what we look like on the outside? That perhaps, maybe there is just a wee tiny chance, that this guy dumped Priscilla because he saw in her, the propensity to become an evil, knife wielding lunatic when she was faced with rejection, or did not get her own way?
It doesn't matter how attractive someone is on the outside, we can all tell when someone has that kind of behaviour in them, and that is bound to turn even the most physically appealing person, ugly, in anyone's eyes.
This story made me laugh. However, something that i read, that was written on a blog about it, made me laugh even more.
Well, well, well.
It turns out the knife-wielding ex-girlfriend in Dubai last week - the one who smashed up her ex-boyriends apartment after she walked in on him screwing another woman, the same day he'd broken up with her - is a drop dead gorgeous Brazilian model.
The NZ Herald have identified her as 24 year old Priscila Ferreira. What can we say, this woman is stunning. God knows what her dumbass kwi ex-boyfriend kiwi Toby Carroll was thinking, to break up with her. I'm pretty certain she won't have too much difficulty replacing him, anyway.
I wonder if it ever occurred to the author of the above blog, that life is not all about what we look like on the outside? That perhaps, maybe there is just a wee tiny chance, that this guy dumped Priscilla because he saw in her, the propensity to become an evil, knife wielding lunatic when she was faced with rejection, or did not get her own way?
It doesn't matter how attractive someone is on the outside, we can all tell when someone has that kind of behaviour in them, and that is bound to turn even the most physically appealing person, ugly, in anyone's eyes.
Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. ~ Ghandi
Your Trial Is Producing Maturity
"After you have suffered... God... will... establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10 NAS
That is so true. I can remember when just getting out of bed was too much of an obstacle. Going to the doctor, going in to WINZ to get help so that i could move away from that awful apartment in Mt Eden, opening a bank account, even just going to look at places that i had found that were available for rent...all took too much effort. Things were just too bad, and i didn't see how doing any of those things was going to make life any better.
I remember crying on the phone to Dan, when i was in the middle of shifting all of my furniture, on my own, and him telling me to just keep going because life was about to get so much better for me. I just couldn't see how things could get better by just shifting...but it wasn't just mustering the energy to move, in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold rain, that made my life better. It was overcoming every little obstacle that was put in front of me....even if i overcame it the hard way...which in true Jackie form, i usually did! I am having flashbacks right now, of not opening my own bank account until after my "friend" Tans, had made off with all of my money that had gone into her bank account! haha
These days, my obstacles are bigger than just getting out of bed! haha They are normal obstacles that every one faces i guess...job hunting, strife with teenagers, financial issues, dating disasters...I have never thought about this before this morning, but i should be so grateful for the obstacles that i face, and am able to face every day now. Even if i sometimes think it is all too much - it isn't.
On that note...i am going to go back to torturing myself by browsing rental properties - in Papamoa!
Stephanie Voiland writes: 'My friend...spent months job-hunting, and as leads failed to pan into pay cheques she became discouraged. Yet...she refused to anaesthetise the waiting ache...She fasted from TV, believing God had given her this time to reflect on where she was headed. Through those agonising months God showed up in ways more profound than a job offer.
She looked for a way to support herself; He taught her a new level of dependence on Him. As she waited for a potential employer's call, God spoke into her soul...She searched for a 'genie-god' to instantly meet her needs; God blew her away by revealing He's bigger than she ever dreamed. Eventually she landed a job and was grateful...but she was even more grateful to learn how God meets us through waiting in ways beyond those we can ask or imagine...Sometimes in the bleakest moments, His intervention manifests itself...we receive the perfect job, the physical healing, the necessary funds, and the wait is over. Other times He does the miracle in us.'
Gold only becomes valuable when the impurities have been removed in the fire, and God uses tough times like a refining process to bring out the best in us. He controls the heat, because His goal isn't to destroy you but to develop you. He tailors the trial to the area in your life that needs work, and as you mature He ups the intensity. Athletes start out training with light weights, and as they grow stronger they progress to heavier ones.
As you grow in Christ, obstacles that once seemed overwhelming will be par for the course.
That is so true. I can remember when just getting out of bed was too much of an obstacle. Going to the doctor, going in to WINZ to get help so that i could move away from that awful apartment in Mt Eden, opening a bank account, even just going to look at places that i had found that were available for rent...all took too much effort. Things were just too bad, and i didn't see how doing any of those things was going to make life any better.
I remember crying on the phone to Dan, when i was in the middle of shifting all of my furniture, on my own, and him telling me to just keep going because life was about to get so much better for me. I just couldn't see how things could get better by just shifting...but it wasn't just mustering the energy to move, in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold rain, that made my life better. It was overcoming every little obstacle that was put in front of me....even if i overcame it the hard way...which in true Jackie form, i usually did! I am having flashbacks right now, of not opening my own bank account until after my "friend" Tans, had made off with all of my money that had gone into her bank account! haha
These days, my obstacles are bigger than just getting out of bed! haha They are normal obstacles that every one faces i guess...job hunting, strife with teenagers, financial issues, dating disasters...I have never thought about this before this morning, but i should be so grateful for the obstacles that i face, and am able to face every day now. Even if i sometimes think it is all too much - it isn't.
"If you are disturbed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it: and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." ~ Marcus Aurelis (Philosopher/Roman Emperor 121-180 AD) - From my favourite Monday morning book - Monday Musings by Niki Gunning.
On that note...i am going to go back to torturing myself by browsing rental properties - in Papamoa!
January 23, 2011
Celeb name suppression brings web row
What is it with Radiolive and their DODGY employees??? I am making a list of prerequisites that it appears one must have in order to get a job at Radiolive. Here is my list so far...
1 - Must be a pathological liar
2 - Must be on drugs
3 - Must be an alcoholic
4 - Must have anger management issues
5 - Must have destructive personal relationships that involve violence
Please feel free to add to this list of disfunctional requirements. We can help Radiolive write their job descriptions.
Celeb name suppression brings web row - National - NZ Herald News
The funniest part about this...is that apparently, prior to his arrest, this man was heard yelling "Do you know who i am???" to bar and restaurant staff. What an amazing change of heart he has had - NOW he wants no one to know who he is.
Crack up. I would not have known who he was anyway. Never heard of him, or seen him before...but then i am not a big sports fan. Over inflated sense of self worth / ego should probably be added to the above list?
1 - Must be a pathological liar
2 - Must be on drugs
3 - Must be an alcoholic
4 - Must have anger management issues
5 - Must have destructive personal relationships that involve violence
Please feel free to add to this list of disfunctional requirements. We can help Radiolive write their job descriptions.
Celeb name suppression brings web row - National - NZ Herald News
Police are investigating a breach of name suppression in the case of the "household name" charged with disorderly conduct.
And it may not be the only one they have to check - an internet battle is being waged to get his name into cyberspace with his Wikipedia profile being altered, and then realtered, repeatedly.
The 46-year-old man was arrested last month. The New Zealand Herald reported he had jumped on to the bonnet of a car during a blazing row with his wife in downtown Auckland on December 29. It said a member of the public became so alarmed at the man's behaviour that they called over a police officer and he was charged.
A spokesman for police national headquarters said: "Auckland central police were notified yesterday of an alleged breach of name suppression on the internet in relation to this case which is currently being assessed."
But the Herald on Sunday has discovered numerous breaches of the name suppression online. They include a TV journalist posting the celebrity's name on Twitter. It has since been removed.
The celebrity's Wikipedia page has also been altered at least seven times since his court appearance in an apparent battle between internet users trying to reveal his identity.
Each time the information is added, it is deleted.
The celebrity's lawyer, Jenny Smith, said: "When suppression orders are in place people have to abide by them. I am sure the police will investigate and things will take their course."
Smith will be back in the Auckland District Court tomorrow on the name suppression issue. A final hearing on suppression was due next month, but Smith has brought the date forward. She would not say why. The man has been offered police diversion, which can be granted to first-time offenders and lets them escape conviction if they admit the charge and possibly undertake community work.
Prosecutions for breaches of suppression, which carry a maximum penalty of $1000, are quite rare.
The funniest part about this...is that apparently, prior to his arrest, this man was heard yelling "Do you know who i am???" to bar and restaurant staff. What an amazing change of heart he has had - NOW he wants no one to know who he is.
Crack up. I would not have known who he was anyway. Never heard of him, or seen him before...but then i am not a big sports fan. Over inflated sense of self worth / ego should probably be added to the above list?
Be Humble
'...no...messenger [is] greater than the one who sent him.' John 13:16 NIV
I love this one. I often get told that i should be proud of how far i have come, and the changes that i have made to myself, and my life. I get told that i should be proud of the fact that i just walked away from such a hideous life, and that evil drug, and have never looked back. I have been told how difficult it is to recover from a methamphetamine addiction, and that not many people can do it. People always look at me with a stunned look on their face, when i tell them that i did not need rehab, or any drug addiction program.
Sometimes, i do feel proud of myself.
But then i remember that voice that was in my head, that day while i stood on that bridge. The voice that said to me "Fix this. Get off that evil drug, and away from all the evil people that you have in your life, and if things are STILL this bad, after you have done that...then you can jump...but you have to try, first." My brain was so fried, and so crazy at the time. I remember not even being able to think straight. I remember putting my hands on either side of my head, just holding my head, and shaking it, because i could not make sense of any of the bad thoughts in my head...yet i heard that voice, and it made sense.
I know that was God, and i know i would not be here without him. He has used me in his fight against that evil drug, and that hideous lifestyle. He found the most hopeless drug addict that he could find, at that point in time, and he has used me, to prove how much happiness is possible, on the other side of such terrible choices and mistakes. He used me to show that recovery from an addiction like that, is not only possible...but with his help, it is not that difficult either. I did not recover from that drug. God cured me. God is my rehab. ;)
I was talking about this the other day...i found giving up P, easier than giving up smoking! I am an expert at giving up smoking...i have done it hundreds of times ... ;) Please God, can you use me to show that giving up smoking is not impossible now? I think i will pray about this one. I am loving exercise, and getting fit so much at the moment, and it would be so much better, if i could just do that, as well. I felt like a million bucks, after climbing the mount the other day...and the only thing that slowed me down, was my lung capacity!
Right...on that note....it is raining HARD at the moment. I think i will put on a documentary, and hang out in bed, until it stops. This might be a lazy day! I am enjoying the silence that is in my home at the moment, while Ants and Billy are still asleep, and the Xbox is still turned off!
I still can't quite believe that i agreed to take on another teenager for a week! arrrrrgggghhhhh! Ants is a lovely kid....but he is 14!!! lol I hope Nicky and Craig are making the most of their time alone, and wandering around the house naked all day...or some....thing!
One of the reasons God chose John the Baptist as Jesus' forerunner is because he was humble. He's introduced simply as a '...voice...crying in the wilderness' (Mark 1:3 NKJV), no pretentious preambles or highfalutin' titles. Many notable saints came before John, but Jesus said, '...Among those born...no one has arisen greater than John...' John had no hidden agenda or overblown ego; his message was: 'He must increase, but I must decrease' (John 3:30 NKJV).
John Barnett says: 'Pride is the sin of competing with God...it makes me self-reliant, self-absorbed, self-deceived, self-confident, self-conscious, self-sufficient, self-satisfied, self-focused, self-centred and self-driven. It makes me unreliable, because nobody can tell me what to do...unloving, because I won't sacrifice for you...unteachable, because you can't correct me...competitive, because I will always try to outdo you.
Humility means not always having to be asked, reminded and recognised ...I go round looking for ways to serve.' Somebody asked Hudson Taylor, 'Are you conscious of the way God has prospered you in the China Inland Mission? I doubt any man has had greater honour.' Taylor replied, 'I don't see it like that. I think God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough to use so that all the glory might be His...and He found me.'
Bottom line: 'God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets Himself against those who are proud' (1 Peter 5:5 TLB). So, be humble!
I love this one. I often get told that i should be proud of how far i have come, and the changes that i have made to myself, and my life. I get told that i should be proud of the fact that i just walked away from such a hideous life, and that evil drug, and have never looked back. I have been told how difficult it is to recover from a methamphetamine addiction, and that not many people can do it. People always look at me with a stunned look on their face, when i tell them that i did not need rehab, or any drug addiction program.
Sometimes, i do feel proud of myself.
But then i remember that voice that was in my head, that day while i stood on that bridge. The voice that said to me "Fix this. Get off that evil drug, and away from all the evil people that you have in your life, and if things are STILL this bad, after you have done that...then you can jump...but you have to try, first." My brain was so fried, and so crazy at the time. I remember not even being able to think straight. I remember putting my hands on either side of my head, just holding my head, and shaking it, because i could not make sense of any of the bad thoughts in my head...yet i heard that voice, and it made sense.
I know that was God, and i know i would not be here without him. He has used me in his fight against that evil drug, and that hideous lifestyle. He found the most hopeless drug addict that he could find, at that point in time, and he has used me, to prove how much happiness is possible, on the other side of such terrible choices and mistakes. He used me to show that recovery from an addiction like that, is not only possible...but with his help, it is not that difficult either. I did not recover from that drug. God cured me. God is my rehab. ;)
I was talking about this the other day...i found giving up P, easier than giving up smoking! I am an expert at giving up smoking...i have done it hundreds of times ... ;) Please God, can you use me to show that giving up smoking is not impossible now? I think i will pray about this one. I am loving exercise, and getting fit so much at the moment, and it would be so much better, if i could just do that, as well. I felt like a million bucks, after climbing the mount the other day...and the only thing that slowed me down, was my lung capacity!
Right...on that note....it is raining HARD at the moment. I think i will put on a documentary, and hang out in bed, until it stops. This might be a lazy day! I am enjoying the silence that is in my home at the moment, while Ants and Billy are still asleep, and the Xbox is still turned off!
I still can't quite believe that i agreed to take on another teenager for a week! arrrrrgggghhhhh! Ants is a lovely kid....but he is 14!!! lol I hope Nicky and Craig are making the most of their time alone, and wandering around the house naked all day...or some....thing!
January 22, 2011
All Good Things Come To An End
We had to leave my best mate, and The Mount to come home today. That was very depressing. Not literally....but you know what i mean. I would love to move down there. The only things keeping me in Auckland...are the kids really.
One day......
We had the best time though. I ran down Papamoa beach every morning. Then i surfed every afternoon...we climbed the mount...we had tons of laughs. Nicole and Lydia had a great time stalking the local surf life savers!
I wore myself out, so much, with exercise, that i had to pike out on drinks last night. I went to bed instead, while Nicky and Craig went out with friends. It was all couples anyway...i would have been the ummmm...7th wheel. :( O well!
The drive home was stress free, and the girls did not even moan when the only CD that i could find while i was driving was an old one...and they got stuck listening to Donna Summer and her Hot stuff! haha In fact, i secretly think they liked it...i caught them singing along. ;)
Miss you already Nicky - but i have stolen her son for the week to make up for it...now i have FOUR teenagers!!! ARRRRGGGHHHH! That's true friendshipfor ya!
Came home to dog poos inside, on the living room floor. A washing machine full of Billy's clothes that he had not bothered to turn on...and the house stunk of a dog that had been locked inside the whole time i had been gone...and Nixon going nuts.
Not impressed with that.
One day......
We had the best time though. I ran down Papamoa beach every morning. Then i surfed every afternoon...we climbed the mount...we had tons of laughs. Nicole and Lydia had a great time stalking the local surf life savers!
I wore myself out, so much, with exercise, that i had to pike out on drinks last night. I went to bed instead, while Nicky and Craig went out with friends. It was all couples anyway...i would have been the ummmm...7th wheel. :( O well!
The drive home was stress free, and the girls did not even moan when the only CD that i could find while i was driving was an old one...and they got stuck listening to Donna Summer and her Hot stuff! haha In fact, i secretly think they liked it...i caught them singing along. ;)
Miss you already Nicky - but i have stolen her son for the week to make up for it...now i have FOUR teenagers!!! ARRRRGGGHHHH! That's true friendshipfor ya!
 |
| With my best mate - Nix |
Came home to dog poos inside, on the living room floor. A washing machine full of Billy's clothes that he had not bothered to turn on...and the house stunk of a dog that had been locked inside the whole time i had been gone...and Nixon going nuts.
Not impressed with that.
We did it...
We managed to get Nicky to attempt the mount climb.
Even though she looks like she is still holding a wine glass in the only photographic proof that i managed to get of this mean feat. It was about here, that she put her hand out, towards Craig, and he instinctively knew that it was time to hand over the car keys...and she turned around and headed back down the hill! haha
I said...watch this space...lol
 |
| Nicky and her imaginary wine glass...lol |
Even though she looks like she is still holding a wine glass in the only photographic proof that i managed to get of this mean feat. It was about here, that she put her hand out, towards Craig, and he instinctively knew that it was time to hand over the car keys...and she turned around and headed back down the hill! haha
I said...watch this space...lol
January 21, 2011
I am tired!
Today, i have run 6k, surfed for an hour, then i hiked to the top of Mount Maunganui. I am having an absolute blast...but now, i am STARVING! And tired!
I don't get, how i could have spent so many holidays down here, and never once climbed this mountain before. I missed out on so much, back when i was a lazy booze hag! I adore being healthy.
 |
| At the top! |
The Domino Effect Of Praise (2)
"My mouth is filled with Your praise... all day long." - Psalm 71:8 NAS
Nicole, Lydia, and I are having the most amazing time at The Mount. As much as i hate the fact that my best mate left me in Auckland, and moved down here...i LOVE that she moved to such an awesome place to visit, for when i feel like getting away from Auckland. I always have a free place to stay, at one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. It's awesome.
We were going to head home today, but have decided to stay another night. Pete is up here from Wanganui, and we are all going to climb to the top of the mount this afternoon. EVEN NICKY...even if the three of us have to carry her. She has advised us that she has already climbed it once, and once was more than enough, and that the afternoon is her "Wine time"...but we are not letting her off that easy.
Watch this space...
In 2007, after battling leukemia, pianist/song-writer Roger Bennett died. He thought he was in remission but the disease returned with a vengeance. He wrote on his website: 'Our enemy stalks us exactly the way the Bible describes, as a roaring lion. He hides in the bushes waiting for any sign of weakness. Then he strikes.
He didn't strike me physically. He struck a more critical part-my joy... confidence... and hope. Every thought I turned towards heaven bounced back like it was made of brass. Every time I tried to look on the bright side, I ended up imagining a dark future. Then he threw his most effective dart-doubt.
"You call yourself a Christian. What a hypocrite! You're more afraid than ever... more filled with despair. So much for your faith, Mr. Gospel Singer!" I believed everything he said. I tried everything I knew to pull out of it... I thought if I dozed off it would pass... but the clock seemed to move in slow motion. Sleep was nowhere near. I tried to lose myself in the Bible, but the words blurred and I couldn't make sense of them.'
Then Bennett had an epiphany, as he thought about Paul and Silas in prison. 'They didn't despair,' he wrote. 'They sang praises and that became their weapon. One after another... old songs came to me and I sang them to my empty room. It wasn't a great performance, but it may be the most powerful blessing I've received.' The Psalmist wrote, 'My mouth is filled with Your praise... all day long.'(Psalm 71:8 NAS) Try it. It's a strategy that works!
Nicole, Lydia, and I are having the most amazing time at The Mount. As much as i hate the fact that my best mate left me in Auckland, and moved down here...i LOVE that she moved to such an awesome place to visit, for when i feel like getting away from Auckland. I always have a free place to stay, at one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. It's awesome.
We were going to head home today, but have decided to stay another night. Pete is up here from Wanganui, and we are all going to climb to the top of the mount this afternoon. EVEN NICKY...even if the three of us have to carry her. She has advised us that she has already climbed it once, and once was more than enough, and that the afternoon is her "Wine time"...but we are not letting her off that easy.
Watch this space...
January 20, 2011
I love Papamoa
...and my best friend Nicky, and her partner Craig.
Although...i am a bit sunburnt after today. My head looks a bit like a tomato...with blonde hair : /
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| That little dot...is me...on a surfboard :) |
January 19, 2011
Support following mauling in email
Support following mauling in email - Local News - Wanganui Chronicle
Oh poor wee Laws feels left out. How sad. That man is so full of a sense of his own importance. Too bad he is the only person that doesn't realise, that he is not very important, at all!
As much as i think it totally bites that Annette Main has to put up with that nasty man - i do have to admit that i love it every time he shows his true colours, with his tantrums and name calling.
It makes me laugh.
Good on you Ray...and Jack.
Nine Wanganui District councillors have given their support to mayor Annette Main after an email attack on her by another councillor.
A group of councillors met Ms Main yesterday and gave her a letter, signed by the nine expressing their support for her.
Ms Main confirmed the councillors' support.
"A group of councillors gave me a message of support, relating to the restrained manner in which I dealt with an email from Cr Michael Laws," she said.
"The councillors wanted me to know they were comfortable with how I dealt with it."
She said she appreciated the support.
The Wanganui Chronicle understands the nine were Allan Anderson, Philippa Baker-Hogan, Jack Bullock, Randhir Dahya, Hamish McDouall, Ray Stevens, Rob Vinsen, Sue Westwood, and deputy mayor Rangi Wills.
Crs Laws, Nicki Higgie and Clive Solomon did not sign the letter.
In December Ms Main emailed Mr Laws asking him to remove, from his Facebook website, a picture of 5-year-old Sahara Koro-Baker, a Wanganui child who was killed in her home in December.
Ms Main said the request came on behalf of Sahara's mother.
Former Wanganui man Kerry Charles Ratana, 24, has since been charged with sexually violating Sahara.
He has been remanded in custody until February 2.
In her email to Mr Laws Ms Main said: "While we all share your disgust that there are people in this country who are capable of destroying a young girl's life, I wonder if you would respect her mother's wishes that you do not include her little girl's photo on your site."
Mr Laws, in an email that he copied to all councillors and numerous media organisations, accused Ms Main of "seeking to misuse your position as mayor of Wanganui to influence both an elected official and a national media commentator, to be silent about the latest child killing in this country."
Ms Main responded that she had simply passed on a message from Sahara's mother.
Mr Laws' response was to accuse Ms Main of "protecting a feral family you don't know".
"And you did way more than pass on a message, you liar. You sought to get a course of action from me."
Despite numerous other emails on the subject from Mr Laws, Ms Main did not respond further.
Mr Laws told the Wanganui Chronicle Ms Main and the council were "keeping me out of the loop".
He said the council didn't take child abuse in Wanganui seriously. "I intend to ensure that they are shamed into doing so. The council don't care about dead Maori children: they are manifestly unfit to be community leaders."
The Wanganui Chronicle has not seen the letter that was given to Ms Main, and councillors were reluctant to speak to us yesterday.
Oh poor wee Laws feels left out. How sad. That man is so full of a sense of his own importance. Too bad he is the only person that doesn't realise, that he is not very important, at all!
As much as i think it totally bites that Annette Main has to put up with that nasty man - i do have to admit that i love it every time he shows his true colours, with his tantrums and name calling.
It makes me laugh.
Good on you Ray...and Jack.
The Walking Eagle
Hone Harawira, New Zealand Maori Party Member of Parliament (alias John
Hadfield, his true name, his grandfather was a pakeha)
On a recent trip to the U.S.A. Hone Harawira was invited to address a major
gathering of the American Indian Nations in Kitimat, B.C.
Due to his recent examples of how to inflame the Maori Indigenous situation
in New Zealand ...
He spoke for almost an hour, echoing his racist mother's doomed-to-fail
radical ideas for increasing any First Nation's standard of living.
At the conclusion of his speech, the tribes presented Hone with a plaque
inscribed with his new Indian name - "Walking Eagle".
The proud Hone then departed with his entourage, waving to the crowd as he
left.
A news reporter later asked the American Indian Chiefs how they came to
select the new name given to Hone ...
They explained that "Walking Eagle" is the name given to a bird so full of
shit it can no longer fly.
LOL I love it!
Thanks to the friend that sent this to me today...along with this joke he reminded me, after reading my previous post, that my "problem" is that i have a "heart of gold."
I can think of worse problems to have. I have always said that i would rather get walked over every once in awhile, than be cynical and suspicious of everyone that i meet. I always want to look for the good in people....even when it is darn near impossible to find.
I am very lucky that the bad people that i meet these days, are BY FAR the minority. It was not that long ago, that it was the other way around.
I am blessed.
The Domino Effect of Praise (1)
'...I will praise you more and more.' Psalm 71:14 NLT
I am praising God right now, that someone is gone from my home, and my life....for good this time!
I have not written much this past week because i have been preoccupied, and had a house guest staying with me. I use the term "House guest" very loosely. I really had a bludger that turned up on my doorstep, with a bag of clothes, that i felt like i had no choice but to let in, last Wednesday night, after i had been to quiz night with mum and Graham.
You see...I guess things had not been going well for Mr Toys R Us, since the last time i had seen him. Shame. Boohoo for him. He was a complete creep to me between Christmas and New Years, which had caused me to tell him that i did not want to see him again. That was fine, he was not concerned about that, at the time....until things went to crap for him AGAIN. THEN i start getting apologetic text messages telling me that he knew he was being an asshole to me, and that he was only being like that because he was completely falling for me and that scared him. Cough cough *BULLSHIT* Cough cough - give the boy a medal for trying though, i guess.
I pretty much ignored those texts. At one stage they got a bit suicidal sounding, so i replied and told him that if he needed a friend, he knew where i was, but that was all it would ever be.
Next thing i know...he has moved in. He turned up on my doorstep, with his clothes, and a sob story, a big bandage on his foot, and a limping like his leg was about to fall off. Apparently...he fell down the stairs at work (he works for his Dad) and "broke" his foot. Since he is a truck driver, that meant he could not work. His Dad then caught him at the pub, while he was having this time off work, and they had a big fight because in his Dad's view, if he can be at the pub drinking, then he can be at work...i guess the Dad also felt that booze was what caused the dork to fall down the stairs in the first place. So Daddy fired him from his job, i guess. Since he lives at the factory at Daddy's work, i guess he lost his home as well. Since he drove a company ute...i guess he lost his vehicle as well.
The foot was not broken. Two days later the bandage came off, to reveal nothing more than a few cuts. A broken foot, turned into a fractured pinkie toe. Boohoo. Whatever. This guy turned up on my doorstep after losing his job, his home, his vehicle, and after spending all his money - correction - he had $17 in his bank account after he spent an hour on the phone with the bank, and managed to get them to reverse fees...and for some reason he thought i would want him turning up on my doorstep!
I can NOT BELIEVE this so far - but WAIT! It gets worse!
He basically beaches himself between my couch and my bed for the next 6 days. Only moving, to accompany me to the supermarket because he wants beer, and knew i would not buy that on my own. So he accompanies me to Foodtown, where he wanders off straight to the booze aisle, as soon as we arrive there, and just stands there until i find him, and ask him if he wants some beer. lol This is kind of funny - typing this all out is making me laugh. The memory of him standing there staring at beer, and knowing he had no money to pay for it, is a laugh. I give in and tell him i will get him a 6 pack and he can pay me back...he then discusses with me how it is much cheaper to buy it by the dozen. This happens every time i need to go to Foodtown, for 6 days.
He ate just about everything in my home. He slept until 3pm everyday, making it darn near impossible for me to go anywhere, or do anything - Nicole was here the whole time and there was no way that i was leaving her alone with him. At one stage he had not showered in 2 days, and i had to tell him that he was not getting in my bed, until he washed himself. I saw him brush his teeth ONCE. In fact, i did not even witness that...he mentioned brushing his teeth once. I don't think he even had a toothbrush with him....i didn't see one.
I spent 6 days uncomfortable in my own home, wondering how the heck i was going to get rid of him. He was making NOT ONE leaving noise. The last 3 days were the worst. I spent every single second trying to work out how to tell him i wanted him to leave. At one stage i used the fact that he had been up until 4am texting God only knows who, and then had spent all day playing with his phone, doing his secretive texts and phone calls. On Saturday night, I told him that if there was somewhere else he would rather be, that i was happy to drive him, wherever he wanted to go. Heck, i would have driven him to Dunedin, just to get rid of him by that stage. I told him that his constant secretive texting was insulting. He got angry at this, and we had an argument. He then went outside, to ensure that i could not hear what he was saying - made a phone call - then came back inside, and greased. He said there was nowhere else he wants to be, that he could be lots of places, but that he wanted to be with me.
Sure there is a whole world out there where he COULD have been, but nowhere that gave him free food, beer, and smokes! Of course i was the most appealing option. Honestly - i don't understand why, i find it so hard to stick up for myself, when i know that someone is a liar and just being mean. Instead of telling them that i know they are lying to me, instead of listening to my gut instinct that is telling me to get this hideous person out of my life...i just sit there and smile, and pretend to them that i am stupid. I did the same thing with that creep Laws.
Anyway, long story...ummmm long....his beached ass emerged from my bedroom at 3pm on Monday afternoon, and went straight for the fridge to the beer, then plonked itself down on the couch, where it stayed for the next 6 hours, while i tried to muster the guts to tell him i wanted him to leave. After a much needed email conversation with my friend Rachelle, on Facebook - and her threatening to send "heavies" around to get rid of him for me...i told him he needed to go.
He did not seem too concerned by this. He picked up his phone, and said he could get picked up. I told him i was happy to drop him off wherever. He insisted on getting picked up. It took two more, VERY long, and uncomfortable hours for someone to collect him. Just enough time for him to polish off every beer in my fridge, one right after the other.
He is gone. FOR GOOD. With a promise to return on Wednesday - today - when he gets paid money that his Dad supposedly owes him, to pay me back for all the food, and beer that he consumed while he was here. Yeah right...he reminds me of those crackheads that i used to know. Ones like Brian and Danny's friend Dave that are just like fleas that take and take, and suck up everything that they can, and the only way to get rid of them is to make sure that they owe you money when they leave, because you know they will never pay you back, so if they owe you something, you know you will never hear from them again. I used to get rid of people that i didn't like, like that, back when i was involved in that hideous world. If i did not want to see someone again, i would loan them 200 bucks. That was often a cheaper option, than continuing to have them around...in the long run.
Everything about Curtis - yes that is Toys R Us' name - Curtis - He even has a gay name haha - reminds me of the crackheads that i used to know. His behaviour over the past week is text book behaviour for someone who is coming down off a big fat P binge. The constant drama, and mood swings. The sleeping and eating non stop. The lack of any kind of personal hygiene...the basically having screwed up his entire life and losing everything. I felt like i was in the land of deja vu. It was horrible.
I am thanking God, so much right now, that there is no smelly man beached in my bed right now, and that it had been that time of the month over the past week, so the dork did not get laid as well!
NEVER AGAIN even replying to a text or answering the phone to that hideous man. I don't even want to the money that he owes me. I just never want to hear from him again. I have also had many other offers of the use of "heavies" since i have shared this story, with friends, and i will not hesitate to use them if he ever turns up here again! haha None of my friends knew what was going on, at the time, because when i am feeling like a stupid idiot - i say nothing.
The end.
On a brighter note. I had a fantastic night out with my parents last night, at the quiz night at O'Hagan's in Highland Park. I had not been to that pub in years...i used to love that pub. It's still an awesome place to hang out, although their potato wedges were a bit gross last night. haha...we came 3rd, and won a bar tab for next week, so that was good fun. My friend Pete from Wanganui is coming to stay with me for a few days next week, so i am going to drag him along next week!
I think i am going to take Nicole and her friend, Lydia down to the Mount for a couple of days...Life is good. Thank you God!
Don't limit yourself to worshipping God in church. Be like the Psalmist: 'I will bless the Lord at all times...' (Psalm 34:1 NKJV). When you don't feel like praising God but you do it because you want to please Him, that's called '...the sacrifice of praise...' And when praise becomes a lifestyle it has a domino effect (that's where one change causes another, which in turn causes another). When you tell God how wonderful He is, how much you love Him and want to spend time with Him, you're more likely to find your mate telling you how wonderful you are, how much they love and enjoy being around you. Over time your family and friends start to feel the effect. On the other hand, when you withhold from God the praise He deserves, you deprive yourself of what you need in your own life.
David said, '...magnify the Lord with me...let us exalt His name together' (Psalm 34:3 NKJV). God inhabits the praises of His people. When you tell Him, 'You're wonderful, there's no problem You can't solve and no need You can't meet. I'm casting all my care on You. I know You love me and I'm not going to give in to depression and defeat. I'm trusting You to conquer my enemies, break down the doors that are locked and give me victory,' God sends angels to fight and win the battle on your behalf. No wonder David said, '...I will praise you more and more' (Psalm 71:14 NLT).
It works! Isn't it time you started thinking along the same lines?
I am praising God right now, that someone is gone from my home, and my life....for good this time!
I have not written much this past week because i have been preoccupied, and had a house guest staying with me. I use the term "House guest" very loosely. I really had a bludger that turned up on my doorstep, with a bag of clothes, that i felt like i had no choice but to let in, last Wednesday night, after i had been to quiz night with mum and Graham.
You see...I guess things had not been going well for Mr Toys R Us, since the last time i had seen him. Shame. Boohoo for him. He was a complete creep to me between Christmas and New Years, which had caused me to tell him that i did not want to see him again. That was fine, he was not concerned about that, at the time....until things went to crap for him AGAIN. THEN i start getting apologetic text messages telling me that he knew he was being an asshole to me, and that he was only being like that because he was completely falling for me and that scared him. Cough cough *BULLSHIT* Cough cough - give the boy a medal for trying though, i guess.
I pretty much ignored those texts. At one stage they got a bit suicidal sounding, so i replied and told him that if he needed a friend, he knew where i was, but that was all it would ever be.
Next thing i know...he has moved in. He turned up on my doorstep, with his clothes, and a sob story, a big bandage on his foot, and a limping like his leg was about to fall off. Apparently...he fell down the stairs at work (he works for his Dad) and "broke" his foot. Since he is a truck driver, that meant he could not work. His Dad then caught him at the pub, while he was having this time off work, and they had a big fight because in his Dad's view, if he can be at the pub drinking, then he can be at work...i guess the Dad also felt that booze was what caused the dork to fall down the stairs in the first place. So Daddy fired him from his job, i guess. Since he lives at the factory at Daddy's work, i guess he lost his home as well. Since he drove a company ute...i guess he lost his vehicle as well.
The foot was not broken. Two days later the bandage came off, to reveal nothing more than a few cuts. A broken foot, turned into a fractured pinkie toe. Boohoo. Whatever. This guy turned up on my doorstep after losing his job, his home, his vehicle, and after spending all his money - correction - he had $17 in his bank account after he spent an hour on the phone with the bank, and managed to get them to reverse fees...and for some reason he thought i would want him turning up on my doorstep!
I can NOT BELIEVE this so far - but WAIT! It gets worse!
He basically beaches himself between my couch and my bed for the next 6 days. Only moving, to accompany me to the supermarket because he wants beer, and knew i would not buy that on my own. So he accompanies me to Foodtown, where he wanders off straight to the booze aisle, as soon as we arrive there, and just stands there until i find him, and ask him if he wants some beer. lol This is kind of funny - typing this all out is making me laugh. The memory of him standing there staring at beer, and knowing he had no money to pay for it, is a laugh. I give in and tell him i will get him a 6 pack and he can pay me back...he then discusses with me how it is much cheaper to buy it by the dozen. This happens every time i need to go to Foodtown, for 6 days.
He ate just about everything in my home. He slept until 3pm everyday, making it darn near impossible for me to go anywhere, or do anything - Nicole was here the whole time and there was no way that i was leaving her alone with him. At one stage he had not showered in 2 days, and i had to tell him that he was not getting in my bed, until he washed himself. I saw him brush his teeth ONCE. In fact, i did not even witness that...he mentioned brushing his teeth once. I don't think he even had a toothbrush with him....i didn't see one.
I spent 6 days uncomfortable in my own home, wondering how the heck i was going to get rid of him. He was making NOT ONE leaving noise. The last 3 days were the worst. I spent every single second trying to work out how to tell him i wanted him to leave. At one stage i used the fact that he had been up until 4am texting God only knows who, and then had spent all day playing with his phone, doing his secretive texts and phone calls. On Saturday night, I told him that if there was somewhere else he would rather be, that i was happy to drive him, wherever he wanted to go. Heck, i would have driven him to Dunedin, just to get rid of him by that stage. I told him that his constant secretive texting was insulting. He got angry at this, and we had an argument. He then went outside, to ensure that i could not hear what he was saying - made a phone call - then came back inside, and greased. He said there was nowhere else he wants to be, that he could be lots of places, but that he wanted to be with me.
Sure there is a whole world out there where he COULD have been, but nowhere that gave him free food, beer, and smokes! Of course i was the most appealing option. Honestly - i don't understand why, i find it so hard to stick up for myself, when i know that someone is a liar and just being mean. Instead of telling them that i know they are lying to me, instead of listening to my gut instinct that is telling me to get this hideous person out of my life...i just sit there and smile, and pretend to them that i am stupid. I did the same thing with that creep Laws.
Anyway, long story...ummmm long....his beached ass emerged from my bedroom at 3pm on Monday afternoon, and went straight for the fridge to the beer, then plonked itself down on the couch, where it stayed for the next 6 hours, while i tried to muster the guts to tell him i wanted him to leave. After a much needed email conversation with my friend Rachelle, on Facebook - and her threatening to send "heavies" around to get rid of him for me...i told him he needed to go.
He did not seem too concerned by this. He picked up his phone, and said he could get picked up. I told him i was happy to drop him off wherever. He insisted on getting picked up. It took two more, VERY long, and uncomfortable hours for someone to collect him. Just enough time for him to polish off every beer in my fridge, one right after the other.
He is gone. FOR GOOD. With a promise to return on Wednesday - today - when he gets paid money that his Dad supposedly owes him, to pay me back for all the food, and beer that he consumed while he was here. Yeah right...he reminds me of those crackheads that i used to know. Ones like Brian and Danny's friend Dave that are just like fleas that take and take, and suck up everything that they can, and the only way to get rid of them is to make sure that they owe you money when they leave, because you know they will never pay you back, so if they owe you something, you know you will never hear from them again. I used to get rid of people that i didn't like, like that, back when i was involved in that hideous world. If i did not want to see someone again, i would loan them 200 bucks. That was often a cheaper option, than continuing to have them around...in the long run.
Everything about Curtis - yes that is Toys R Us' name - Curtis - He even has a gay name haha - reminds me of the crackheads that i used to know. His behaviour over the past week is text book behaviour for someone who is coming down off a big fat P binge. The constant drama, and mood swings. The sleeping and eating non stop. The lack of any kind of personal hygiene...the basically having screwed up his entire life and losing everything. I felt like i was in the land of deja vu. It was horrible.
I am thanking God, so much right now, that there is no smelly man beached in my bed right now, and that it had been that time of the month over the past week, so the dork did not get laid as well!
NEVER AGAIN even replying to a text or answering the phone to that hideous man. I don't even want to the money that he owes me. I just never want to hear from him again. I have also had many other offers of the use of "heavies" since i have shared this story, with friends, and i will not hesitate to use them if he ever turns up here again! haha None of my friends knew what was going on, at the time, because when i am feeling like a stupid idiot - i say nothing.
The end.
On a brighter note. I had a fantastic night out with my parents last night, at the quiz night at O'Hagan's in Highland Park. I had not been to that pub in years...i used to love that pub. It's still an awesome place to hang out, although their potato wedges were a bit gross last night. haha...we came 3rd, and won a bar tab for next week, so that was good fun. My friend Pete from Wanganui is coming to stay with me for a few days next week, so i am going to drag him along next week!
I think i am going to take Nicole and her friend, Lydia down to the Mount for a couple of days...Life is good. Thank you God!
January 17, 2011
You've got to work at it...
'Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.' 1 Corinthians 13:7 CEV
I have been busy these past few days. I have a house guest staying with me, and we have been busy just doing stuff. I have been out to Piha to swim in the surf. We packed a picnic and spent the day out there. It was lovely. I have been to the museum. There was an awesome jazz band playing in the domain as well. It was awesome sitting in the shade, listening to relaxing music, in the middle of a crowd that was just lying around on blankets, doing the same thing.
I have been running every day, and have done a total of 90 odd kilometres so far this year, and i have also been for a swim down at Eastern Beach, every day. It has been awesome, although i am not convinced that the salt water is all that great for the condition of my hair! I drive home looking like i have a sheepskin rug on my head, every day. Lucky it is only a five minute drive i guess!
Went to a quiz night at the local pub with Mum and Graham...that was fun, although i don't think i was much help. I did get the question regarding who played Richard Nixon in a couple of movies about him right though! So that was all good!
It's amazing just how much there is to do in Auckland, that is free. Pretty awesome really.
Today - I am concentrating on job hunting. The PMS has subsided. I. Think. haha
Clara Null writes: 'At a wedding my granddaughter Melissa asked, "Why is the bride always dressed in white?" I replied, "Because white represents happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life." Her next question was: "Then why's the groom dressed in black?" Marriage only works if you "work at it"'.Ugh...this just makes me sad. Corinthians 13:7 was part of Danny and I's wedding vows. What a load of crap that was...
So here are three principles for strengthening your marriage:
(1) Become a good listener. Jesus said, '...consider carefully how you listen...' (Luke 8:18 NIV). Sometimes the most important thing in communicating with your mate is to hear what is not being said, to learn to read between the lines. Just 'being there' isn't enough; your mate needs to feel heard - and validated. When they are, they'll open up and accept what you have to say.
(2) '...speak the truth in love...' (Ephesians 4:15 NLT). Nobody likes to be corrected, but when someone is heading down the wrong road, love will 'get in your face'. Our marriages break down when truth is violated, integrity is forsaken, trust is broken, manipulation is allowed, self-interest is the rule, control is the goal, and time isn't invested.
(3) Always believe the best. Love sees you at your worst but never forgets your best; thinks you're a little bit more wonderful than you really are; will talk with you endlessly or just sit with you in silence; is happier about your success than you are; doesn't try to know more, act smarter or be your constant teacher; it listens even when what you have to say is not particularly interesting. That's because love believes you're important!
I have been busy these past few days. I have a house guest staying with me, and we have been busy just doing stuff. I have been out to Piha to swim in the surf. We packed a picnic and spent the day out there. It was lovely. I have been to the museum. There was an awesome jazz band playing in the domain as well. It was awesome sitting in the shade, listening to relaxing music, in the middle of a crowd that was just lying around on blankets, doing the same thing.
I have been running every day, and have done a total of 90 odd kilometres so far this year, and i have also been for a swim down at Eastern Beach, every day. It has been awesome, although i am not convinced that the salt water is all that great for the condition of my hair! I drive home looking like i have a sheepskin rug on my head, every day. Lucky it is only a five minute drive i guess!
Went to a quiz night at the local pub with Mum and Graham...that was fun, although i don't think i was much help. I did get the question regarding who played Richard Nixon in a couple of movies about him right though! So that was all good!
It's amazing just how much there is to do in Auckland, that is free. Pretty awesome really.
Today - I am concentrating on job hunting. The PMS has subsided. I. Think. haha
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| This made me giggle ... |
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