Go the Crusaders

Ok so it was the semi-finals of the Super 14 rugby competition this weekend. My team, the crusaders made it into the finals with seeming ease compared to the Hurricanes (the other NZ) team. I'm glad they did though. Its nice to have an all NZ final. It will make my life interesting next weekend when I stay with Rebecca (an avid Hurricanes fan). We're at a conference, although I have a feeling we might both start to feel unwell at about 7:25 and need to leave for the night! I love watching rugby, I even attempted to play it for the last couple of years. The first year our team won the competition so we got Medals, at which point I thought I should retire on a winning note, but decided to give it another season, in which we lost the final by 1 point. I learnt a lot from my couple of years playing. It's one thing to stand on the sideline and yell advice, its a whole nother thing to be trying to play your game when some girl from the other side decides to smack you in the nose, or its so wet and muddy that catching that ball and holding onto through the tackles becomes a mission in itself. I also learnt that you have to be prepared to get hurt, to get tackled and to get your face planted in the mud from time to time. If you aren't able to reconcile that then rugby really isnt the sport for you. Its an odd sport in that the most important thing is the ball, and your body is used to protect that ball at all costs. Unlike other sports where you try and avoid contact between your body, the ball and the opposition.
As I reflect on my short career as a rugby player I am challenged by the similiarities with my walk with Jesus. That too is a contact 'sport'. I have to be prepared to get hurt, get tackled and yes even end up with my face in the mud. Getting dirty is a part of both. I never felt like I'd had a good game unless I came home with mud on me. Am I prepared to put my body on the line for Jesus? Am i prepared to put in the hours of preparation needed for a 'game'. Do I ready my mind, and spirit through reading the word and prayer? Or do I just want to skip the season and get to the medal ceremony at the end......

got to go get ready for kidzone, I've leave with one final thought.

GO THE CRUSADERS!!!!!

PS. picture of Hurricanes playing the Crusaders - wicked sky aye!

me

I seem to be having some trouble with getting a photo into my profile...oh well, for now this will have to do.

Jo & Ross's wedding

I had the pleasure of performing the wedding of my dear friend Jo and her handsome man Ross. It was on the 1st April which might seem out of date now, but since it was 2005 since i last posted a real blog I feel ok about sharing the news now. It was a fantastic day, full of really mixed emotions. Jo and I had been the terrible twosome for so long. We are both officers (ministers) in The Salvation Army and shared the journey as two single officers. We'd spent many a night talking about the possibility of marriage, or for that matter, singleness forever!!! Ross and Jo coming together was so a God thing. I am reminded again that he is the eternal matchmaker! If I had married who I thought would be good for me I would have married my standard 2 teacher! (Ok I was only 8yrs old when I thought he was dreamy). The wedding was so much fun and I felt so priviledged to be a part of the day. She looked absolutley beautiful and it was so awesome to see that God had blessed them both with a partner who would bring out the best in the other. One of the things that impresses me about Ross, despite his misguided loyality when it comes to rugby, is that he loves to see Jo blossom and lets her be who she is, without trying to change her, or quieten her down!
I remember Jo telling me about how she had said to God "Im prepared to be single forever, if that will help me fulfill your call on my life better." Seeing Ross and Jo together, I know that God has definately brought them together for a purpose. So while she is no longer my single friend, she will always be the other half of the terrible twosome that we are!

Flip, I forgot I had a blog!

Well as you can see by the slight delay since my last blog, that I am not so good at remembering to visit. I was looking at a friends blog today, thinking how great it would be to be able share my thoughts in a little corner of the world, and I suddenly thought, I think I've been here before. A quick search with my email address brought me back home here. It's good to be home. I've dusted the cobwebs from the keyboard, polished the screen and made sweeping promises never to leave for so long again. So I hope to be here regularly, talking, reflecting, listening and most of all growing.