I found a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses in the gutter on George St in the City today. I don’t think they actually belong to Ray Ban. Nor do I think they were even made by Ray Ban. Rather I think some guy pretending to be Ray Ban made them and sold them really cheaply. Then someone bought them. Then they lost them. Then I found then. The end.

Check this out for more LOST + FOUND action.

It’s exactly a year since our 6th anniversary. You know what that means – today is our 7th anniversary! Very cool. In the Bible, the number 7 is often symbolic of wholeness, completeness, or perfection. It means we have finally attained the perfect marriage!!

Okay, maybe it’s not perfect, but I think it’s getting better. We still love each other and we’re learning more and more how to forgive each other. Love ya Row!

Are you married? Tip: Work hard on your marriage. We’ve been reading this book, What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage – it’s brilliant. Check it out!

We spent 4 hours in the car today travelling. One of the games we played was which 3 business would you like to own & run. The aim wasn’t to make lots of money, but rather something you’d be interested in operating. It was fun. Feel free to share yours.

Dave’s List:

1. Cafe – I like the coffee thing, but probably more so the people thing.
2. Shoe Shop – during high school and my first few years out of school I worked in a sport shop. I like shoes. The shoe shop would specialise in sports shoes and casual/urban/street shoes.
3. Creative Suite – web/graphic design, marketing, advertising, PR etc.

Row’s List:

1. Florist – even though she’s allergic to grass, she likes flowers. That’s cool. (Mental note: buy row flowers)
2. Travel Agent – not just the opportunity to travel, but help people plan sweet trips.
3. Art House Cinema – operating an independent cinema. A little bit like the one at Avoca Beach (if you haven’t been there… make the trip one day/night)

If I could run a business…

I’ve been fighting against the sin of bitterness. On my commute this morning, I wasn’t winning. Bitterness is sin and it’s ugly. I don’t want to be ugly, or have ugliness going on inside (even if no-one can see it). Ephesians 4:31 says to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” I had the verse ringing through my head all morning. But how do I get rid of bitterness?

The next verse answers that with a positive statement: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph 4:32). So I get rid of the crap stuff from v31 and then take hold of kindness, compassion and forgiveness from v32. The key? It’s the motivation in the final clause, “just as in Christ God forgave you.” The way in which I can get rid of bitterness is by reflecting on the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Grace overcomes bitterness. Ephesians is a pretty sweet book to reflect on God’s grace. God’s grace is all about his incredible kindness shown to sinful people who don’t deserve it. God’s grace is all about Jesus dying in the place of sinners. God’s grace is all about being made alive with Christ.

Here’s how God’s grace helped me this morning to keep punching as bitterness reared its ugly face, I saw that:

1. my sin is ugly before God (see Eph 2:1-3)
2. God’s love expressed in Christ Jesus is beautiful and rich (see 2:4-5)
3. the debt against me is far less than my incalculable debt against God
4. grace now characterises my new life as one united with Christ (see ch 4-6)

(this post was written on monday, published on tuesday, then back-dated to monday!)

Luke 9:18-27 is a passage that I regularly preach on. Recently I have been challenged to think through whether I’m willing to put into practise what I’ve been preaching. Check out what Jesus says is non-negotiable for one of his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (verse 23)

Denying self, taking up cross and following Jesus. Recently I’ve been thinking and praying through where and how to serve Jesus once college has finished. I’ve realised that following Jesus may lead to doing things that would have never even crossed my mind a few years ago.

We’re really starting to count the costs of what this could mean, convinced that whatever we do, following Jesus “demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Sam Mak and Millie Sharp got married over the weekend! It was a beautiful wedding and celebration. I had lots of fun as part of Sam’s posse. Here are the boys:

For more photos, there are like a million on facebook.

(Shout out to Faith Wan. I ripped this pic from her FB album)

Row and Sam weren’t able to come to the Riverina Youth Convention. So Tim Blomfield joined me for the road trip. The air con wasn’t working in the car – so it was crazy hot on the way down, and fairly hot on the way back. But that didn’t get in the way of good times and lots of good conversation.

My theory in taking someone was that it would be good to:

• have company for the 10 hours of driving
• spend informal time encouraging and training a young punk
• have absolutely no opportunities to scoop fire (see v27)

So shout out to Tim!

I just drank my first cup of coffee in 40 days. Yum. I’ve been part of a group of people involved in 40 Days of Water. How did it work? You only drink tap-water for the 40 days. You keep a tally of how much money you saved by eliminating other drinks. You give that money toward providing clean drinking water in Africa.

It’s been a hard time to do it. It’s the middle of summer. I’ve hung out for a week in Clovelly with all its trendy cafes, no coffee allowed. I’ve hung out for a week in Bellingen with all its hippie cafes, no coffee allowed. I’ve been down to Terrigal a stack of times, no coffee allowed. And I’ve been offered countless coffees from friends and family, no coffee allowed.

It was a very useful exercise. I don’t really need coffee, but I did miss drinking it. Three things happened regularly for me when saying no to non-water drinks:

1. I realised how rich I am. I have access to whatever I want to drink, whenever I want to drink it. I have so much money that I can spend $4 on a coffee without it making too much of a financial impact!
2. I am so rich, such that, even when I don’t buy drinks, I have beautiful, clean, tasty water flowing like a teeming river form 6 taps in my house. What privilege.
3. It’s not that hard to be generous with even a few dollars to make a big difference in the lives of those in need.

Vous allez nous manquer! Last night we finished at Willoughby Anglican church. It really was a good year! I enjoyed leading a youth group bible study, playing guitar regularly and preaching. The highlight was the warm fellowship and encouragement of many people. We hope we were likewise an encouragement. As well as relationships, we’ll also fondly remember our time in Willoughby as the time when our first child was born.

Here’s some plans for 2010

• We’re part of the 1030 congregation at EV Church and Rowena is in a growth group – the plan is to continue there for the time being.
• I’ll have a bit more time for guest speaking at youth groups, camps, conferences, churches etc (this includes being available on Sunday nights). Let me know if you need a speaker.
• This is my final year at Moore College – so we’re hoping to work out the plan for 2011 within the next couple of months!
• I’ll continue to work as a casual youth worker with Gosford Council
• Here are specific resolutions for 2010 I wrote on January 1.

ps – if you were wondering why the title of this post is in French, there are at least two reasons: 1) I like using google translate 2) French is sexy.