Christmas message

So yes it’s been about a month since my last blog and I was planning to do this more often but anyway… Happy New Year everyone!!  Or at least my very few subscribers J

In this last month quite a few things have happened.  There has been a lot of work on the farm (weaning, mouthing, drenching, sowing, ridging – it’s a language all to itself (maybe that can be another blog entry…)).  I also had a Malaysian friend come to stay for about 10 days, a family Christmas, Preaching the Christmas message at my parent’s church, playing the keyboard for worship at the Boxing Day service at my church (O’ come all ye faithful is a killer!) and New Years!  Have I forgotten anything??

I thought that I might share a little about my Christmas message this time and I pray that you enjoy it and if you don’t – Don’t tell me J

My parent’s church asked if I could talk about “Christmas in Malaysia” – I thought that it wouldn’t be too difficult, but as I carried on I found that it wasn’t as easy as I thought.  So I slightly changed it to what makes Christmas special for me.

For Christmas 2008 I was dreading it with a vengeance.  I wasn’t like Scrooge and “Bah-humbugging” the whole idea but I was lonely, bored and everything that was “usual” for me wasn’t around.  To tell the truth I really wanted Christmas to be over with so I could get on with “life-as-normal”.  God had other plans in mind however. – as He does J

I was invited out for an open house to some wonderful friends of mine (who shall remain nameless but I know that Ms. V happens to read my blog) and later to some expat friends of mine who were having a BIG American Christmas dinner.  Although my attitude didn’t change instantly, it ended up being one of the most special Christmases in my life and I was blown away by the amazing time I had!

So I got to thinking about “What makes Christmas special?”

·      Is it family?  – not really, mine weren’t around

·      Is it friends?  – not really coz this year I didn’t have a single non-family member around but it was special for me

·      Is it lots of big presents or expensive ones?  – If you really need to ask the question then you probably won’t like the answer J

·      Is it all of the wonderful food that we have?  – again sorry coz even though they say we are what we eat I don’t want to become a fruitcake (NO COMMENTS ALLOWED!! :p )

I think that all of these do however have an important part in Christmas, but I think that to really enjoy Christmas or for it to be really special you need two things.

1. Be fully in the moment.  Enjoy every single person, thing, moment, burnt piece of food and broken glass bauble underfoot that you possibly can.  This may not come again for some, but you are more than able to change your attitude and your way of thinking to keep Christmas as something special.
   
   Luke 2:19  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

2. The most special part of Christmas is Christ.  Otherwise all we have is a “mess” – This is the time when we think about God sending us His son
   
   Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 Anyway that's about it :) More to come in the future...

GBU, Tony

"I'm not as think as you crazy I am!"

It's been an odd day... One minute I'm on a high and singing out at the top of my lungs - this is where I thank God for a large farm with no one around - and the next I'm on a downer... And the thing that I realised is -

I'm just a little Psycho.  I don't mean like kitchen knife *eek eek eek eek* stabbing people through shower curtains psycho but just a little more than unusually odd.  Don't get me wrong I think that everyone has their own little bizzare things they do, but am I being 'up myself' when I say that I'm a little more odd than most?

I catch myself doing very weird things sometimes (with no reason) and I can't really tell if I am enjoying the process or vaguely observing it a little disassociated from myself. (now I really sound like I'm crazy) I mean generally I am a very dependable, steady guy (I'd like to believe) but I do things that are really odd.  I walk backwards down the footpath so as to hold a face-to-face conversation with someone, I am 33 years old and still have stuffed toys (I don't play with them, that's just weird with a capital "W" they just sit at the head of my bed.  Two such examples of my oddity, even though many of my friends didn't need told.  Just looking around my room is enough to give me a headache sometimes, I have a Chinese character hanging on the wall next to my B.Sc. Degree and on my dresser I have (amongst other things) a 3D jigsaw puzzle of a couple kissing, 2 money boxes (one is a green plastic dragon and the other is a pig made out of a plastic soda bottle), a duck caller that doesn't work and a packet of DampRid.

I don't know why I sharing all these things but maybe it's because I have learnt through teaching that you can have no shame to get the point across.  I mean that has freed me to look at myself a little and see that I am odd and that is ok.  I also want to get you prepared for what may come ahead.  I may talk about bubbles, politics and God, and that my all be in the same post!  I don't promise to be the best blog you will ever read but I will try to at least open you up to the world of me as it is the one thing that I've had 33 years experience at :D

cya
Tony

Why did I do this?

I honestly don't know why exactly I started this... Maybe I thought that my ideas and thoughts would sound better if they were written out, or maybe I'm just narcissitic and think that everyone is as interested in me as I am :) ...

Truth be told I have no real reason for doing this exactly. I mean, I've noticed that I write a lot different to how I verbally communicate and some people reading this may actually end up being surprised on what I may/may not write about.
I just think that maybe through doing this I might grow a little and understand things a little more and maybe people could understand me too.
(more of that in future posts!)
I have no real direction for this so just watch as it comes and maybe you'll be amused, disgusted, surprised entertained or bored but I'll make no apologies.  This is "Me, as I see it"

cya
Tony