Small Group Ground Rules

When a group is first established, it's a good idea to setup some ground rules that people all adhere to.  The aim is to make the group a safe place where people can be challenged to grow and not be hurt or offended.

Here is a suggested set of rules.  You can choose to modify these.  You could also print out a copy for each member to serve as a reminder.  These ground rules are adapted from the "Careforce Recovery Facilitator Training" notes.

1.I agree that what is spoken in the group stays in the group.  Confidentiality is essential.  (A spoken commitment from each member is required.)

2.I agree to be personal, not abstract, when sharing needs, attitudes, feelings and causes.  "I" statements.  (If I wander off, please bring me back to the things relevant to the working group.)

3.I agree it is important to process past experiences that continue to make us less effective people today.  I also recognise it is equally important to move on and confront the issues that challenge me.  (I don't recognise/understand all the pieces of the puzzle - yet.)

4.I agree that intellectual opinions play no part in our discussions, except as they bear on our own lives.  (No debates.  We are to get into our lives and feelings and not theorize everything.)

5.I agree that each person has a right to their feelings and will not be condemned for those feelings, even though they may be different from other group members.  (I will not push my advice onto someone else.)

6.I agree that we will be careful not to accuse or pass judgement on one another.  We are called to confess our own faults and deficiencies. (This is an opportunity for Gods grace to work on us)

7.I agree to give and receive feedback.  (Open to how we come across)

8.I agree to daily set aside time for study, reflection and prayer. (Creates flow, allowing continuity between weeks.)

9.I agree to replace "can't" with "I choose not to" and thereby learn to take responsibility for and control of my life.

10. I agree to make a long term commitment to myself and the group.

And now the end begins

I think we're heading toward the "end times" as the bible puts it. I came across an interesting website, that talks about end time prophecies, and there's a link to a very interesting page titled If you missed the Rapture, now what?

If you've ever read the Left Behind Series of books, it tells the story of what might happen if the Rapture occurs. In the story, a pastor pre-recorded a video message for those who were left behind because they did not follow Jesus Christ. In the video he outlines God's plan for salvation. There is a second chance for those who missed the Rapture, but it's not easy.

There are many many prophecies that point to the end times. Each one of them will be fulfilled before the end comes. I'm no bible scholar, but I can tell you some of these are going to be obvious to see:

• A one-world monetary system. All currencies will be merged into the one system.
  
• Everyone will be required to take a mark on the right hand or forehead. No one will be able to buy or sell without it
  
• The world's focus will shift to the middle-east with Israel at the centre. America as a super-power will fade away into insignificance.
  
• There will be an "anti-christ", which could mean either "Against Christ" or "Instead of Christ", like a Jesus-substitute. Look out for anyone that sets themselves up as God in Israel
  
• The temple will be rebuilt in Israel.
  

So, this is my "where did all the christians go?" webpage. If we're gone, now you know. Where do you stand with God? It's time to respond to God's call to repentance.

WotUSeek.com

The same friend of mine that started WotUThink.com has now started WotUSeek.com, a Family and Business Friendly search engine that blocks adult content, gambling and hate sites from the search results.



They say this on their website:

About WotUSeek.com
Our mission is to be the Number One Family friendly search Engine along being a competitive alternative to the Major Search Engines.
What seperates WotUSeek.com from the other major search engines is that it filters out Adult and Hate Content. Unlike many other search engines THIS IS a PERMANENT filter that cannot be switched off. WotUSeek.com regularly updates this filter and welcomes feedback from individuals that may discover inappropriate sites. WotUSeek.com unlike other major search engines does not profit, promote or advertise pornography and have already removed over 200,000,000 inappropriate sites.

History of WotUSeek.com
WotUSeek.com was started by its Directors Jermayn Parker and Simon Clayson. It was created out of a frustration with the major search engines returning random and inappropriate adult sites when searching.
Jermayn and Simon are both happily married business men who are passionate about strengthening families and promoting ethical businesses that change the world.

Check it out!

Worship

A friend sent me this link today:

CamSpace creates a Wii for everyone

I saw this article on TechCrunch

It’s a Wii without the $250 console. It’s virtual Pong and so much more. Any object is now an input device, even your fingers. Bang, bang! But there’s no better way to introduce you to CamSpace than by letting you watch the demo video below:

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In the comments for the entry, there was a link to this cool site, where someone has figured out how to use a Wii remote connected to a PC as a multi-touch input device. How about a low-cost multi-touch interactive whiteboard using a Wii remote?



That is very cool.

Wot U Think.com

A friend of mine has setup a website to allow people to post their own reviews of movies, music and books. From their website:

WotUThink.com is a collection of Australian Popular entertainment and were you can give your opinion of it. Not only can you comment and express your views but you can also buy and watch/ listen to samples of it so you can give your view.
All sponsors and links presented are guaranteed and used by the team of WotUThink.com. All money that is made by the advertising, buying through us and sponsorships is accounted for with 10% given to the Jubilee World Harvest church and 10% given to Compassion Australia. The other 80% goes towards the maintenance of this website and to the team who keep it running.

Check it out!

Multi-touch

Apple's iPhone has a multi-touch display that allows you to do some amazing things. This is what someone else has done, with inexpensive gear. Very cool.

Snapshots

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Larry Norman - End of an era

I heard the other day that Larry Norman passed away. The press release is below:

Larry Norman, the so called “father of Christian Rock Music” has passed away, aged 60.

The man who was featured in a couple of Simpsons comics leaves a string of Christian hits including Why Should the Devil Have all the Good Music, Sweet Sweet Song of Salvation, and I Wish We'd All Been Ready.

Always a controversial figure, his songs spoke about politics, (The Great American Novel), witchcraft and the occult (Forget Your Hexagram), religious hypocrisy (Right Here In America) and free love (Pardon Me).

Norman stated in 1969 that he “wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet music, break down the church doors, and let the hippies and the prostitutes, and other unwashed rabble into the sanctuary”.

He added that most modern music was “anaemic and needed a transfusion”.

More than 300 artists have recorded his music including Sir Cliff Richard, Sammy Davis Jnr, Rebecca St James, and dc Talk.

Van Morrison, John Mellencamp and members of U2 are reportedly fans of his music, and Larry is often cited for influencing Keith Green and Randy Stonehill in their conversions.

In Larry’s farewell message to fans from his death bed, he said (in part):

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone… My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside....

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God. Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Our sincerest condolences to Larry’s family in America, and Australia. You are in our thoughts.

Larry Norman born 8 April 1947, died 24 February 2008.

I first heard about Larry when the lead singer of our band started teaching us his songs. Our first gig was mainly Larry Norman songs, and when we started playing all our friends started chanting "Larry, Larry". We sang his songs - Wish We'd All Been Ready, Forget Your Hexagram, Look Into Jesus, The Outlaw, and one of my favourites Out of My System. It was a fantastic time.

I found some clips of Larry performing on You Tube.



It's the end of an era.

Mark Cullen

I was talking with a friend today, who goes to Riverview Church, and she loaned me a live CD of their worship. While I was looking for lyrics for the songs, I came across Mark Cullen's blog. Mark is involved with Riverview, and his blog looks interesting.

Check it out!

Street Art 3D

While browsing through blogs, I came across this site.  Among the art I came across the following picture.

It's a chalk drawing, on the road.  Isn't it amazing?

Celebrate Testimony

My good friend posted her testimony on her celebrate recovery blog.  Take some time to read of her struggle to overcome addiction.  If you find yourself saying "me too", then please do something about it.  A friend once told me "how bad does it have to get - how low do you have to sink - before you realise that you can't do it by yourself?"  If that's you, check out the celebrate recovery site.  There is hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, loving arms waiting to catch you when you're at the end of your rope.  While browsing through the blogs, I came across One Day At A Time online, which is a site dedicated to the recovery process.

Do it.  It's important.

Animusic

Someone emailed me the following video clip the other day:

Celebrate Recovery

A good friend of mine is championing the cause of Celebrate Recovery in Australia, in her new blog which can be found here. For those who don't know, Celebrate Recovery was born out of Saddleback Church. CR is based on a twelve-step program to help people recover from destructive behaviours, restore relationships and build new lives. In their own words,

"It was designed as a program to help those struggling with hurts, habits and hang-ups by showing them the loving power of Jesus Christ through a recovery process"

Other programs to come out of Saddleback include the Purpose Driven Life.

Check it out!

US cat 'predicts patient deaths'

We were talking about this article the other day. A US cat that is reportedly able to sense when a nursing home's residents are about to die is baffling doctors. Oscar has a habit of curling up next to patients at the home in Providence, Rhode Island, in their final hours.

One of my friends said that perhaps Oscar can see the angels with the patient, just before they're about to pass into the afterlife.

All I know is that I'd freak if he sat on my bed. Hmmm, what are you trying to tell me ...

Take the coffee quiz

It's amazing what you find on the internet. Take the following test for example:

I am 77% Addicted to Coffee

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Caedmon's Call

Someone asked me the other day where Caedmon's Call got their name from. After a quick Google search, I found the following on wikipedia:

The band's unusual name was inspired by Cædmon, an Anglo-Saxon monk who lived during the 7th century. Legend has it that Caedmon was afraid to sing in public due to a lack of musical talent, and shied away from occasions where he had to sing. One day, he heard God calling him to sing, but Caedmon refused at first out of fear. Eventually he decided to listen to God, and when he did, he sang beautiful verses that had never been heard before. Many songwriters tried in vain to write songs as good as or better than Caedmon's, but could not because Caedmon's songs came from God. Founding band members Cliff, Danielle, and Aaron decided on the name "Caedmon's Call" after all three heard this story during the same week and thought it was fitting.

Thunderbirds - the meaning of FAB

We were watching "Thunderbirds" original episodes the other day, to show my kids what I used to watch when I was a boy. The show has lots of catchphrases, like "5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. Thunderbirds are go!", "Yes M'Lady", and my favourite "FAB". Of course, then the question was "What does FAB stand for?"

Wikipedia has this to say:

The characters use the radio sign-off "F.A.B." rather than "Roger" or "Over and out". Anderson was often asked what F.A.B. stood for, but stated it in fact simply stood for "fab" (short for "fabulous"), a 1960s catchphrase. During radio broadcasts it also stood for Fully Acknowledged Broadcast.

On a website where they interviewed Gerry Anderson, the producer of Thunderbirds, was this answer:

11. What does "F.A.B." stand for?

Perhaps the most frequently asked question by new THUNDERBIRDS fans, the definitive answer came from Sylvia Anderson herself during her promotional tour for her book YES, M'LADY. According to Sylvia, F.A.B. stands for...
...absolutely nothing.

It was something they made up on the spur of the moment during a writing session, Sylvia says, and it was never intended to stand for anything other than to spell out the letters of a popular British slang word--"fab"--during that era. Many people have attempted to find other meanings ("Filed, Actioned, Briefed", "Fine--Acknowledge Broadcast"), but it never meant anything other than "fabulous".

The Fun Trivia website says this:

The characters use the radio sign-off "F. A. B." rather than "Roger" or "Over and out". Anderson was often asked what F. A. B. stood for, but in fact it simply stood for "fab" (short for "fabulous"), which was a 1960s catchphrase. Later this was unofficially decided to mean Fully Advised and Briefed, following on from P-W-O-R (Proceeding With Orders Received), a similar radio confirmation code in the series Stingray. In Anderson's next series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, S.I.G. (Spectrum is Green) would continue the tradition of initialled call signs.

Another saying that has lost it's meaning in the sands of time.

Self-Pruning Trees

My son asked why the branches of some trees seem to fall off without any reason.

I found the following quote on the National Association of Forest Industries website:

The self-pruning habit can be a disadvantage in a town, and the choice and positioning of some species need careful planning. The limbs of some eucalypt species are dropped progressively from the tree by a natural process: a fungus weakens the base of the limbs and the growth of the stem forces the branch to break off at that point. The limbs have a habit of dropping without warning on calm, hot days and for this reason many Australians are wary of picnicking or camping under large, old eucalypts. Bushmen refer to these limbs as 'widow makers'.

I also found some research articles on the same topic. John H. Schaffnew says in his paper that some trees develop "brittle zones" and "cleavage planes", which form weak spots in the branches. When the limb grows, it causes these branches to break off. Brittle zones and cleavage planes exist in deciduous plants which allows them to shed their leaves in winter. They also exist in fruits, which is why we can pluck a strawberry, or an orange and not take off half the branch as well.

End of an Era

It's the end of an era, the demolition of my old house. It was originally built as temporary housing in the early 1950's for people returning home from the war. Many houses in Western Australia were built with the same design. My father-in-law's house is a mirror image, except that he has extended it in most directions, nearly doubling it's size.

Our neighbour has lived in her original house since it was built. She has told us about the changes in the neighbourhood, how we didn't have a road out front, only a dirt track. The mail man, milkman, ice man, and veggie man all delivered their goods to the road at the top of the dirt track, and all the people used to walk up to the road to collect their mail and things. Out to the east was a dairy, where the cows grazed in the paddocks. Now there's two major highways. Out to the west was a pine plantation, now there's a university and a retirement village.

Even the last 15 years that we have been there, we have seen changes - our neighbour's house is now one of the very few original houses left. All the other original houses have been knocked down and converted into units.

Now all that's left of this house is a pile of wood, and the brickwork chimney and laundry. The end of an innings.