Native New Zealand Tui
Today standing under a lovely bright blossom, I spotted 5 NZ Native Tui's frolicking in the tree top. Took a while but got some got shots. Let me know which one is best...
Comment below on your favorite..
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
VMPHOTOS
This is my first lot of photos from the Hamilton Gardens, 3 days after I got my first DSLR.
The simple and yet so elegant beauty of Gods creation astounds me contantly.
The simple and yet so elegant beauty of Gods creation astounds me contantly.
Click on images to enlarge
Friday, 24 October 2008
The Rules of Engagement...
In the Military there is such a thing called "The Rules of Engagment".
Below has been condensed from http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-7273223/The-rules-of-engagement-in.html.
"The term 'rules of engagement'...can apply to the detailed plans of a military campaign which can take into account political considerations, such as setting out what may be military objectives but which should not be attacked... Once given the task by the government, senior commanders are most commonly required to draw up an operational plan to achieve it. This is likely to provide considerable detail on the administrative and other arrangements involved in the mission... During a period of occupation, however, soldiers and their commanders will seek to avoid 'engagement' with civilians... clearly defining who and what may be attacked in the context of an international armed conflict, as well as other relevant details such as the appropriate treatment of any prisoners... They may then include instructions such as the challenging of intruders to areas being guarded, whether warning shots should be fired and how anyone detained should be treated."
In a movie called the "Rules of Engagment" which I watched when I was a child, as I remember a military squaron thinking it was being fired on opened fire on a village killing many civilians. The court marshal which follow proved that they were not fired upon and therefore should not have attacke the village.
Becuase the military has a distinct set of guidelines for when in a conflict situation all the soldiers are aware and hopefully react in the same manner and this saves lives and means a more effecient military force.
I believe as Christ followers we need a similar set of guidelines, which gladly we do have in the Bible. So as christians we can all be aware of the way in which we are to act and live our lives, and even saving lives and being effecient representatives of Christ to a dark and lost world.
I have this year been reading more and more of the Psalms, I would read one a day out of duty when I was a new christian but they never really came alive until I began to really look into them and read them from my heart everyday.
Only recently have I really been focusing on the Psalms and ejoying them. I was away at a conference and I was having some serious issues with a couple of people at work. I had taken something that was said to me and had been offended by this and it was eating away at my heart. So one morning I had decided to spend time with God and "sort this out", I planned to tell God all about it and I did.
I began journalling in prayer, telling God how annoyed and hurt I was at this person and then I felt the Holy Spirit say "stop typing". I was mid sentence and thought " na" im having a good moan, and I need to tell god all about this person." But I obeyed and stoped typing. I knew why I needed to stop.
I have in the past many times told my youthgroup and leaders that when we come to God we need to put him first and a great way to do this is through praise. And that is exactly what I needed to do. I had come to God in prayer and was just moaning, asking God to change this person and sort it out and I hadn't even thought about God or what he wanted.
Below is the exact insert from my personal journal...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below has been condensed from http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-7273223/The-rules-of-engagement-in.html.
"The term 'rules of engagement'...can apply to the detailed plans of a military campaign which can take into account political considerations, such as setting out what may be military objectives but which should not be attacked... Once given the task by the government, senior commanders are most commonly required to draw up an operational plan to achieve it. This is likely to provide considerable detail on the administrative and other arrangements involved in the mission... During a period of occupation, however, soldiers and their commanders will seek to avoid 'engagement' with civilians... clearly defining who and what may be attacked in the context of an international armed conflict, as well as other relevant details such as the appropriate treatment of any prisoners... They may then include instructions such as the challenging of intruders to areas being guarded, whether warning shots should be fired and how anyone detained should be treated."
In a movie called the "Rules of Engagment" which I watched when I was a child, as I remember a military squaron thinking it was being fired on opened fire on a village killing many civilians. The court marshal which follow proved that they were not fired upon and therefore should not have attacke the village.
Becuase the military has a distinct set of guidelines for when in a conflict situation all the soldiers are aware and hopefully react in the same manner and this saves lives and means a more effecient military force.
I believe as Christ followers we need a similar set of guidelines, which gladly we do have in the Bible. So as christians we can all be aware of the way in which we are to act and live our lives, and even saving lives and being effecient representatives of Christ to a dark and lost world.
I have this year been reading more and more of the Psalms, I would read one a day out of duty when I was a new christian but they never really came alive until I began to really look into them and read them from my heart everyday.
Only recently have I really been focusing on the Psalms and ejoying them. I was away at a conference and I was having some serious issues with a couple of people at work. I had taken something that was said to me and had been offended by this and it was eating away at my heart. So one morning I had decided to spend time with God and "sort this out", I planned to tell God all about it and I did.
I began journalling in prayer, telling God how annoyed and hurt I was at this person and then I felt the Holy Spirit say "stop typing". I was mid sentence and thought " na" im having a good moan, and I need to tell god all about this person." But I obeyed and stoped typing. I knew why I needed to stop.
I have in the past many times told my youthgroup and leaders that when we come to God we need to put him first and a great way to do this is through praise. And that is exactly what I needed to do. I had come to God in prayer and was just moaning, asking God to change this person and sort it out and I hadn't even thought about God or what he wanted.
Below is the exact insert from my personal journal...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...Like me helping _____ ___ _____ ________... that just annoyed me. I have better uses for my time than to _____ _____ _____...do I not. God?
(This is where God spoke to me and I stopped)
I will thankyou first God. Praise you, and lift your name up High first, because I need perspective. I need your perspective.
Psalm 100
1Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth. 2Serve the LORD with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs. 3Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His, His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.
God you are good. When I read this Psalm I see that in a way the terms that we must come to you are with thanksgiving and praise. As a people needed to bring gifts to the king so he would accept them, so to do we need to come in thanksgiving to God.
So God I thankyou for who you are this morning. God I am never upset with you. You can do anything with my life. God it is your people that I struggle with. But I must love people, for if I love God and not people I am a liar and a fake. And I rufuse to live a faithless life. So I must, I must, I have no option but to love God's people. And that requires me to change.
Ha thats funny I think I said to you at the start of the conference... God do anything you need to do with me, and my Character to achieve what you need to. Dangerous stuff, effective stuff... not comfortable stuff.
God I ask that you help me to forget. God you did it for Jospeh and you can do it for me. If Joseph failed to forget/forgive he would have been unable to help his brothers and inturn his own father and that in turn his own destiny. So we can in essence, screw up own destinys by the descisions we make. If Joseph had not forgot he would have not been able to furfil his dream and would have even sabotaged his own dream.
God help me to not do the same thing.
Father God... you say in your word.
Philpians 2:1-18 ...thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3Do nothing out of rivary or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others...14Do everything without grumbling and arguing... Father if I truly was a slave for Christ, I wouldn't care would I.
God I wonder how far I serve men. I will serve you all the days of my life to whatever end you desire and ask of me Father God. But it is your people who I have issues with once again.
God is holy and of course.. why would I have any issues with God. He has never wronged me and even if he did want to he could, because he is soverign and just to do what he likes. But his people..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See I knew, I knew what praising God would do. It gave me perspective, it gave me Gods perspective on the situation, and that was that I needed to change, that I needed to serve that person, because together we are serving one purpose and one goal, and that is the Kingdom of God.
But back on track, "The Rules of Engagment"...
Well Psalm 100, which I happened to read that day...after hearing it in church...says
Psalm 100
1Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth. 2Serve the LORD with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs. 3Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His, His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.
This Psalm I beleive shows us a glimps of what I believe are God's "Rules of Engagement" for coming to him.
Have a read and see what you think... and I will write more another day.
Monday, 29 September 2008
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Day 9, Music Fast
As I thought about journaling and having my time with you this morning God, I thought
“I should listen to that intrumental song, “as the Deer” it really helped me feel close to God, actually just think about God last time...”
But did it really help. The Song is a great song and the saxaphone instrumental version is beautiful but it is really going to connect me to God or am I just wanting an easy way out. If I think about it, it is an easy way out, I type in the link to you and sit here for 3 mins and listen to it, sure I might think about God a little, or maybe I will just fell like I am thinking of God, when really I am wasting 3 minutes of my life and not actually seeking God.
All good stuff to think about. But what I did do was read the Psalm that it came from, Psalm 42
Psalm 42
42:1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God.
42:2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?
42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, “Where is your God”?
42:4 I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession tot he house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts.
42:5 Why amI so depressed?Why this turmoil within me?Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.
42:6 I am depply depressed;therefore I remember You from the land Jordan, and the peaks of Hermon,from mount Mizar.
42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept me over.
42:8 The LORD will send His faithful love by day, His song will be with me in the night—a prayer to the God of my life.
42:9 I will say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's opression?”
42:10 My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
42:11 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.
The song only focuses on the first line, but I like to type/write out scripture cos then it goes into my head. And now you have had a chance to read it.
My sugesstion if you don't feel like having a time with God or talking to him and you are about to put music on to help you. Pause and think what other way you could help usher you into the presence of God. Considering he is always there and we can never leave his presence...the issue is with us. I have found that praise(thankfulness) to God is the best way. So you could read someone elses praise in the midst of adversity, like the Psalm this morning... or you could simply thank God for three things, write those down on paper or in your journal and it will help you focus on God and then you will be ready and more will to come into His presence. Enjoy.
Friday, 19 September 2008
Umm music fast day 6...
Hey God.Its amazing how a song from nearly 10 years can come out of my brain and help me soo much. I broke the fast tho, but im back on again now, just listened to that song like 10 times. But I have had a pretty sweet week just talking to God and it has only been hard when im tired or late at night. Its been really cool too cos when ur in the car with someone you talk to them instead of just listening to music. I think it is a very valid tool for getting closer to you God, specially for people who always have music, and for also getting closer to your fellow man. Its been fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
