Star of the Month

I have been nominated as 'Star of the Month' in the current Step Into Life monthly newsletter! Hooray!!! ;-) This is how I answered the searching questions:

Where were you born?

I was born in Mona Vale hospital and have lived on the Northern Beaches for my entire life. It was fun running past it during the recent Pub2Pub run -- what a magnificent location! Two of my three children have also been born there.


What is your current profession?

I am a qualified CPA, but I am currently working for an Australia software company based in North Ryde as a consultant in the business intelligence (no it's not an oxymoron!) department. My boss is a 'health nut' who loves riding bikes, swimming and sailing. She makes us walk the stairs instead of taking the lift; and we often go for bush walks during lunch breaks.


What sports have you been involved with during your life/best achievement?

Sadly 'sport' was a four letter word in my family, although we did enjoy camping and bush walking when growing up. I have really loved watching all my children play soccer. It is only in the past 12 months that I have been personally inspired with exercise -- thank you Karen!!! My biggest sporting achievement was being able to run the 14km City2Surf in 89 minutes and 55 seconds! I last did the City2Surf in 2004, walking the whole way; in 2008 I managed to run (I use the term loosely -- read 'steady jog') the whole way!

My best achievement, however, would easily be marrying my lovely wife Belinda almost 19 years ago.

What is your favourite Step into Life session?

Definitely the Wednesday morning cardio class -- although Saturday morning is good fun -- especially when the sun is shining and everyone turns up!


What is your favourite naughty treat when your instructors aren't looking?

Come on -- who doesn't enjoy an excellent curry, a glass of fine red and maybe some Connoisseur ice cream (any flavour will do!) every so often?

What is family?

My friend Heather shared some interesting thoughts in her comments. She said that...

Family are those who share the experiences life; the highs, lows and all that is in between. So what is blood? That which runs through our veins -- family extends beyond blood.

It is also fair to say that often those who share 'blood' ties, fail to share with us in the experiences of life. 

I think that friendship is surely one of the most profound gifts that God has given to the human race.  Deep friendships, full of love, sacrifice and devotion are surely the glue that hold all of us together.  Friendship sets us apart from the animal kingdom.

I believe that the goal of healthy parenting is to be able to count your children among your closest friends when they have reached maturity.

Pub2Pub Success

Once again a successful run. The official distance was 13km, but a friend from my exercise class had a GPS device that measured it as 13.7km. Essentially the same as the City2Surf at 14km, especially when you consider that the first 800m is run on the beach!

My official time was 1:28:44 and I was delighted to have been able to run all the way (apart from a couple of bottlenecks when running up from the beach). My fitness instructor, Karen Boath, only managed to beat my time by 4 mins! My recovery has also been much faster this time around.

I personally found this race a little harder than the City2Surf as this time I was running north directly into the sun. It just happened to be an overcast day for the City2Surf; and you are running east and south anyway, so the sun isn't as much of a problem.

Simon (my 9 year old) is now keen for me to take him for a run...

My Friend Heather

Tonight is a special celebration for a very dear friend. Her name is Heather Joy Hansby (she is the one on the left in the above photo) and she is turning 50.

Heather has been an integral part of my life for over two decades. She attended my wedding, has walked with Belinda and I through the highs and lows of church life, the birth of all our children, parenting struggles, changing work situations and various family dramas. I find it hard to imagine life without her!

Some precious qualities of Heather:

1. full of love for God
2. dependable
3. loyal
4. devoted
5. honours others
6. never lacking in zeal
7. joyful in hope
8. patient in affliction
9. faithful in prayer
10. shares what she has
11. hospitable
12. humble

There qualities come together so wonderfully in the following passage:

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position (Or willing to do menial work). Do not be conceited.

Romans 12:9-16

I think that the above scripture verses sum up so beautifully the quality of love in Heather's life. I have so much appreciated her friendship and support. She has become an extension to our family, our children still refer to her as 'Aunty' Heather. 'Aunty' is a title reserved for just one other person in their world apart from blood relatives! She and Jess have shared Christmas with us for many years also.

Heather, I remember fondly your 40th birthday at Sweet Emma's. The joy of seeing you sing (impromptu!) with the jazz band that night! Your love of music and drama is a defining aspect of your personality and character -- you have passed on that same passion to your daughter also. I remember only a few months ago when you sang at my 40th birthday. I chose the song 'You've Got a Friend' (made famous by James Taylor) so deliberately.

The songwriter, Carole King, captured something very special about friendship in the chorus:

You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am;
I'll come running, to see you again;
Winter Spring Summer or Fall,
All you gotta do is call,
And I'll be there -- you've got a friend.

This is how I feel about you my friend -- Thank You!

May you have a happy 50th birthday and be thoroughly blessed.

Tired teens risking their hearts

Might be worth showing this article to Tom!

Tired teens risking their hearts - AtHome - Technology - theage.com.au

Jill Stark
August 19, 2008

Sleep-deprived teenagers are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks - and their mobile phones, computer games and iPods could be to blame, research suggests.

A study of teens aged 13 to 16 found those who slept less than 6½ hours a night were up to three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.

Researchers said the "technological invasion of the bedroom" was responsible for creating a generation of sleep-starved youngsters.

The study, published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, looked at the sleeping patterns of 238 teenagers and found that the duration of sleep directly affected blood pressure.

Those who had trouble nodding off at night or waking up in the morning were also at increased risk.

It is the first study of its kind to look at the link between sleep and blood pressure in healthy teens.

The author of the research, Susan Redline from University Hospital's Sleep Disorders Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, said "sleep insufficiency" was often related to mobile phones, music and computers in the bedroom.

"There are teens who text message or listen to music all night, compounded by early school hours. Adolescents need nine hours of sleep," Professor Redline said.

"Parents should optimise sleep quality for their family with regular sleep and wake times and bedrooms should be quiet, dark and conducive to sleep."

High blood pressure in childhood is linked to heart disease in adulthood.

Professor Redline said the results could have huge public health implications.

A group of Australian health specialists told the Herald in February that sleep should be a national health priority on par with alcohol abuse and obesity.

Problems with sleep underlie up to 70 per cent of GP visits and cost the economy more than $10 billion a year.

Fatigue is also implicated in a high proportion of car accidents, workplace injuries and cases of depression.

Sleep experts accused the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, of setting a bad example by admitting that he survives on less than five hours of sleep a night.

Eleven Marks of Perverted Authority

This is a heavy topic, but I found this list to be useful some years ago and rediscovered it today. I think it is still pretty much 'on the money':

1. The claim of direct authority from God, rather than testing things by the Word. Many today have set "personal" revelation and experience above the final authority of God's Word. When this occurs there is no longer any basis for ascertaining the will of God, as one would not be able to discern truth from error because the standard is "personal" rather than the Word of God.
2. The command is to "submit to me," rather than "I will serve you."
3. The method of leadership is to "order" people around, rather than to appeal for them to do the right things.
4. There is a dominating, "pushy" drive instead of a dependence on God to direct.
5. There is a sense of control, rather than a sense of support.
6. A gift is exploited so that others are made to feel dependent on it.
7. There is an inflexibility - "don't question me" - "don't touch the Lord's anointed."
8. There is unapproachability and intimidation - the "aura" around the leader keeps the followers in "awe."
9. There emerges an organisation built around a man and his peculiar emphases instead of around Christ and His Word.
10. There will be cyclical challenges to the authority figure (which are immediately and forcefully purged).
11. There is more concern for maintaining the authoritarian structure than there is for caring about the people in it.

by Wanda Mason

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Romans 12:3

I had a recent conversation with someone who gave me their opinion on a personal decision that I had made, and by extension their view of the character implications of it.  It was a subtle thing, but the person concerned made the assumption that I valued and desired their view and counsel.

It reminded me of times I have 'spoken into' peoples lives in the past when my counsel was neither sought nor really required.  We have to be so careful not to let our pride get the better of us.

Sober judgement and humility are always the best policy.  I'm sure that's why the Bible says:

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6b