Merry Christmas!

God Bless you and your family.

Theo

A different kind of Christmas

I think you should all be empowered by this new video, which has become my favourite clip on the cost of materialism. I think it says very simply what we all know about the price of a consumerist society, and what we can simply do to have a better life and community now.

It was posted by Christine Sine on her blog with a lot of other cool tips and resources on how to do Christmas differently. I highly recommend checking it out. Merry Christmas.

The future that may never come

Jess and I try to live our lives as presently as we can, and prioritise our families and relationships. One thing we often say is that we wont ‘Sacrifice the present for the future’. That may hit your ears oddly, as it still does mine. Aren’t we supposed to work now and play later? Didn’t the ant live through the winter while the lazy grasshopper froze to death outside. This type of living seems odd in our current uncertain times, when many are trying to secure their financial future. But we find we have more than enough, and that the future is even more uncertain than we realise. Perhaps the future we’re trying to save is not the one we want, better to enjoy the present. Just my thoughts…

SMBC - I thought this was funny.

I saw this on another web comic, and decided to spread the love of it.

I also liked this one:

Fish and more Fish

Fish are graceful creatures as they float through the waters of a river or the sea. In giant schools they seamlessly manoeuvre through their environment. Beautiful elegant, look at them go!

 

I've never actually tried to juggle fish, though I imagine it is very difficult indeed. My experiences of handling only a few at a time lead me to believe that if I were entrusted with any greater number my exploits would be comically haphazard. Forget about juggling, I can barely get by holding all of the things at once.

Holding them is almost impossible as they casually flop and fall out of my slime covered hands. But the real fun begins when every time try to pick one up an avalanche of fish stream from my arms to the floor. Let's just say that Juggling fish is very difficult, and very very fun. You're probably expecting me to get to a metaphor soon, and here it is: I find balancing lifestyle much like fish juggling. This season has been enjoyable, with many ventures, opportunities and successes. But everything seems to be flying everywhere (like fish) and I have a relatively low pressure life style. So I guess I'm learning the lesson of trust and immersion; throwing myself into things with faith in the guidance and provision of God. I'm enjoying spending time with my family, working at SU, being creative on my blog and working in the garden. Most of all I'm enjoying the opportunity to discover how I want to invest my time and resources, talking about my gifts and the future, and working in the call God has for all to be a part of something amazing. Hopefully I’ll be Juggling fish soon!

 

Summer–How I loath thee

I try to keep this site a positive place. I like to focus on strength for the times that are hard and hope for a better tomorrow. I like to post about what I am discovering is good in the world. This is not one of those posts. This is a sad post. This post is about Summer.

While I’m sure you’re all happy about the warm days we’ve been receiving, I am worried. Very worried. I don’t like Summer, in case you were still wondering, for with it come a stream of impossible situations that cannot be borne by common man. Or at least it makes me reasonably upset, and that’s why I’ve gone to the effort of creating the following TOP THREE THINGS I HATE ABOUT SUMMER.
Thing 3! My Wardrobe
Many of you probably notice that when summer comes around, you’re left with fewer clothes to wear. For some however, you have an entirely new look dedicated to summer, or maybe you were wearing those clothes all winter round, under your jacket. For me, this is the opposite.
Instead of having fewer clothes, my decidedly European stylings require that I can wear none of my clothes in the summer, unless I become immune to heatstroke. Vanity has often led me to try variations on my clothes, maintaining something of my image without overheating:

This has not been successful. Here’s a pro-tip for you: vest on bare skin is weird for everyone.
Thing 2! Sweat
Closely linked to my clothing problem is the fact that when the sun comes out, all the moisture in my body is drawn to it. They’re like little sun-worshipers, who get all anxious when they hear their god is coming round. I am not pleased. I am not a believer in this faith of damp smells.
I think my confidence must also be linked to my moisture, as it seems to evaporate just in the way my pooling perspirant doesn’t at these times. Leaving me a wilting mess, my garments drenched and my friends absent. This is not my idea of a fun day.




Thing 1! The Car
The absolute worst thing I hate about Summer is getting in the car.

I can’t express in words what it’s like, getting in a sweltering heat-box, desperately trying to turn on the air-con, holding my breath so the air doesn’t burn my lungs. Then the air comes on, but it takes ages to cool down, and it’s just blowing super heated air around in my face, and my hands get burnt on the wheel. That’s why I drew a picture. Enough said.
I hope you didn’t mind my whinging too much, it’s good to get it out. I’ll resume hopeful broadcasting soon. Until then please let me know what you hate/love about the summer in the comment section.

Cars Go Fast

Life isn’t fast all the time, that’s just perception. Maybe we should relax a bit and try lose momentum. I think it’s in times like that that we’re best able to see where the car is going, who we’re going with, and what we have to do to get there; if we want to truly get ‘there’ at all. Funny that the thing that slows us down can be going too fast. This was fun to draw.

Man, that girl is smoking!

Soooooo, I was reading comics from this site called Draw Until it’s Funny which basically involves unplanned comics that get longer and longer until they end somewhere. Sometimes they’re a bit hit and miss, but there’s something for everyone and you can see Justin Boyd’s (the author) more developed work at Invisible Bread. You can follow the link and check it out! Anyway, feeling inspired I made this comic, which I then gave two endings.

 

And even though it was largely unplanned, I’m now going to justify and explain this comic:

Ahhh, yeah, so the smoking represents the equality of people…and the Girl represents women of a female gender…

Ok, let’s not try to explain, I hope you enjoy it though. Maybe you can add meaning to it and let me know in the comment section below!

Hungry People

Right now I’m pretty hungry. But I guess that’s not really anything compared with the way millions of people living in poverty feel. People in my city, people in the world. Right now there’s serious famine starving Africa in a destructive way.

 

It’s difficult to imagine what we could do to change that, but the truth is we can. People have already jumped onboard to make a difference to the needy. These great and inspiring people work for organisations that see and (try to) fill the needs of the world. No one joins an NGO or not-for-profit for their own gains, these people are paying a great cost so others may live/eat/marry/grow. Spare a thought and a prayer for those people. Maybe you’re one of them, maybe you could be.

So what do we lack? Well that’s where everyone comes in: people are acting to help those in trouble, but their financial resources are not up to the task. You could change the world for real people, make a difference in the lives of our human brothers and sisters. You could be a hero, and all you have to do is click your mouse a few times. Or you could think about how your lifestyle affects those on the other side of the world, think about how you could live your life to give others a better chance. You could be one of those people, living a call to help others.

Change is possible, but it always costs us. Then again, not changing costs us to. You don’t have to take a vow of poverty, but you can think before you buy “Do I need this? Or could I be a hero instead?”

If you want to make a difference right now, do it! I recommend TEAR Australia as a personal favourite. But there’s obviously World Vision, UNICEF and Oxfam and countless others. I thought I’d do a little for sharing what I thought with you, may be you can share it with others. The world is full of problems that you have the ability to solve, be empowered!

What to do…

I spent some time on this week’s comic. It’s supposed to be encouraging really. See, it’s about the ingenuity and achievement of people, who do amazing things, but are stumped when it comes to solving problems. We can use our creativity and smarts to solve the worlds issues, we just have to fight the fear and want it. i think that’s where faith comes in, at least for me, and where hope for something better is so important.

Flow Chart

I have this stupid survival instinct that makes me try and be perfect all the time. It clearly doesn’t work.

Support/Bullying

I’m not quite sure what this cartoon is about, I think it’s about how good it feels to have someone back you up in a situation. But then I got thinking about the little guy, I bet he doesn’t feel real great. Maybe the others went to far, and didn’t take care of him. I guess it’s tricky to balance backing our mates and going overboard.

Guest Blogger!

Hey, my exciting news is that I was asked to write a post for the SUNO blog about my exploits with Drama Church. I got to do some drawings and talk about my involvement in trying to make faith make sense in my world. You can check it out by clicking HERE! You may recognise the pictures from an older blog post, but there’s some new doodles in there too.

Thanks for reading,

Sincerely,

Theo

Desperate times call for…

Strange how in life the harder path is so often the better path. And by ‘harder’ I mean more costly to us and by ‘better’ I mean more beneficial for everyone. When things get tough it’s so easy to sell out others, rather than take to brunt ourselves, I guess that’s a broken survival instinct (broken in that it is short sighted).

The world will no doubt be transformed by those who take the harder path, not by those who save themselves. I hope I don’t cry out “I have no other choice!”, I hope to put others first in all circumstance.

Technology will kill us all! …Probably

The most pain my computer can give me is if it doesn’t work. Based on this, I’d say the Robot Apocalypse is a long way off of it’s full realisation. Still, Jess and I have become more aware of the devastating impact our technology has.

I had heard a long time ago that for each mobile phone there’s 80 garbage bins worth of waste in the manufacturing process. That’s to say, a lot; I reckon I probably don’t produce 80 bin loads in a year!

It was one of those vague, ambiguous, possibly non-true type facts that you never really check up on to see if it’s accurate, but keep you scared none the less. Well the other night, Jess and I were looking into maybe getting a new phone for Jess. Her plan had expired so we thought we could get one for practically free, and besides that’s what you do right? Jess and I try to be conscious of the human and ethical implications of anything we buy, so she did some research into what brands were ‘ethical’. Forebode….

Apparate

Verb -

1. (neologism) To appear (magically)

Hazel has developed the ability to make items appear out of thin air. Yesterday she apparated a plastic jug of water, which she promptly flung to the floor. While this super-skill is exciting, it is a little alarming as she tends to apparate potentially dangerous items (Knives, scissors, shavers, etc.).

I know you’re thinking ‘Well you shouldn’t leave stuff lying around’ but seriously, we don’t even know where the jug came from, or how it got within arm reach of Hazel. So far a very wet floor is the only consequence of this skill. Though she did apparate Jess’ lost watch two days ago (it’s been missing for months!), that was pretty good.

Hazel continues to grow, develop and grow, remaining the tallest baby in her acquaintance. She is also beginning to explore the world as thoroughly as possible.

Absence

Hi All,

I haven’t been posting as regularly recently, Jess has been working and our timetables are both a bit stretched. I have some pics to share so I hope to keep up the pace of my posts for the next month and hopefully onward. Thanks for reading my Blog!

Sincerely,

Theo

Creativity!

God is creative. Right at the beginning of the Bible, before they describe God as 'good' or 'powerful' or 'loving' or anything they say “God Created”. And what amazing stuff he created! Suns, plants, gravity, electrons, values, experience, consciousness, everything! He loved it so much he did it non-stop for a week. Then he got all excited and got Man to be involved in the creative process.
I reckon we're just like that, creating and building relationships with each other. Some of us create solid things like cars and sandwiches, some of us create abstract things like art or romance. Some of us create solutions to problems and build better futures.
I think that we get starved when we’re deprived of the opportunity to create, just as we’re starved when we’re deprived of relationship. Creating gives us expression and allows us to communicate who we are. Go and create something, you’ll thank me if you do! Comment what you created, that’d be awesome!

Pointing the Finger

There are many voices that tell us not to judge others, or to judge by the standard we wish to be judged by. I think there must be a lot of (perhaps more subtle) voices telling us we should isolate others, seeing as we do almost every day.
I’ve heard it said that when you point at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you. Jesus said that it was pretty stupid to highlight the flaws and weaknesses in others and not expect it to expose your own shortcomings. Not accepting others has the worst affect on us though, we fear the judgment of others more when we are judgemental.
When we accept others I think we assume that others will accept us more. At any rate the world would be a better place with less fear and intolerance. Let’s not get caught out as the ones trying to catch others out!

So, now what…?

I always wonder about the day after. What the ‘end of the world’ style cults will do when the world doesn’t end. As a teen I was amused when this happened, now I’m pretty sad. Lot’s of people invested fully in the idea that something was going to happen, and then it didn’t. I’m especially sad to read all the articles about pensioners investing all their savings into ad campaigns warning people, or parents who have neglected their children’s interests in the same pursuit. There’s nothing amusing about this. I don’t think these people should be punished for committing to what they believed in, I just hope there’s some understanding in their community for them.

So, what now? I think Richard Dahlstrom summed it up in “And if the world doesn’t end this Saturday… Getting our Priorities straight” this week. But to put my own two cents in...

I think that we clean it up. The world isn't going anywhere fast, and though we have a lot of work before us there is really no other option. Some look at the mess and are willing to give up because of the size of the damage, but I'm more hopeful than that. A comment I saw recently said:

“I just don’t see everyone learning to love each other happening without His direct intervention. I don’t see the mega-rich stopping their exploitative business practices. I don’t see the rights of indigenous people being recognised; instead the genocide is covered up. I don’t see the poor and the disposed being cared for. I don’t see swords being beaten into ploughshares. I don’t see slavery and oppression coming to an end. So in a sense I am looking forward to the end of the world”

I think we can all relate to that pain of living in this broken world. But I see something different. I know that there is so much war, but then I do see places where swords are being beaten into ploughs. There is oppression, but I do see a transformation where that oppression is replaced with justice. I do see hate and greed and exploitation and genocide and lies and fear, but for all that God is working and transforming lives in real ways that brings about His kingdom on earth. I think this world would have rotted a long time ago if it was in constant decay, but it hasn't, because it's being slowly built up as well. I have a big hope for the future. A future that starts now.

Saturday for Christ’s Return

I'm a big fan of unity, and so I don't like to take up a negative stance against those who believe much of what I believe as well. Still, I think that we should be able to think independently and disagree on many things, constantly trying to find the truth and broaden each others minds. That said, I find it rather amusing that yet another Christian group has picked the date of Christ’s return. Guess what, it's this Saturday!

More accurately, Jesus' return to earth is Saturday, with the subsequent destruction of the Earth on the 21st of October. My sister is miffed that she'll miss her 25th birthday this year.

Wecanknow.com makes the argument that 'Noah knew, and so can we' but their site is so bulky that the actual details of their reason for believing this, and their reason for picking this Saturday, are well hidden. Never-the-less, they invite you to pour through the data and pray for a revelation of the truth.

focussing on the destruction of the world is dangerous. We begin to live as thought the planet and our lives don't matter. It's like the old hypothetical 'What would you do if you had only a day left to live?' Provocative perhaps, but I think a way more challenging and telling questions is 'What will you do if you don't die tomorrow?' 'What will you do if the earth doesn't burn?' 'What if we have to lie in the bed we made for ourselves?'

Maybe we'll make a better bed. Maybe we'll treat the earth better. Maybe we'll live our lives more like we'd hoped. We have to put in the effort to heal and transform, because there's no reset button. I hope my life can be different because I have hope for the world we have. How about you?

Simple things

My monitor got scratched this week. It’s sort of a dramatic scratch that stretches out over the expanse of the corner, starting on the piano black frame and bursting onto the LCD.

At first I was furious and desperate to fix it. And then I realised that there was no real need. There was nothing wrong with it. I wouldn’t even notice it after a day or two, it didn’t affect my experience at all. It’s strange how I worry so much about stuff that doesn’t really matter. I want to live more simply.

[Verb] Something

Recently I was going through some old files at work and came across a pile of student responses to a play we had performed a few years back. The play dealt with some heavy issues and after the show students could write/draw a response to the performance from their perspective. There was lots of cool stuff, Some dirty musings, some absent scribbling's and some thoughtful, heartfelt messages too. This image was one that stood out to me and I wanted to share with you.

I thought it was profound in that it drew a clear distinction between our thoughts and actions. My intentions and ideals will have little impact on this world, but my movements and actions will affect it greatly.

In the Shade

We’re told so often to shine and grow and lead and be the best.

Recently I’ve been very pleased to let go a bit. Not try to run all the activities and groups I’m involved with. I think I’ve always desired to be the leader of the group, and that’s a stressful position to constantly take. I’m getting the message that it’s healthy to let others do the work, let others take charge and make the hard calls, the decisions and mistakes. I hope it’ll be good to live in the shade, under the tremendous effort and inspiration of my peers and leaders. When I feel healthy, maybe I’ll come into the sun again.

How to Crucify a Rabbit

Symbols get really messed up and thrown around by the pseudo-religious/secular holidays we keep having. I think the confusion will continue to grow as each invested party (ie, the market and the church) get more forceful and more extreme. I can't help but wonder if we're all just getting more confused.

Who is this Easter Bunny? What's his motives? Why would he give us candy for free? Can we take chocolate from strange bunnies? Is he in cahoots with this Santa figure who lures us in with the promise of free gifts? There's aksi a dead body in this story, did they kill Jesus to keep it a secret? Being God's son they must have figured He knew too much and hired the Judas to silence him. The Tooth fairy probably funded the thirty pieces of silver, he's pretty cashed up. And where are all those teeth going I wonder...

It's hard enough to pass on accurate information let alone all the hype. And now that I've got a daughter the prospect of telling her their's a bunny that lays chocolate eggs seems creepy. In a non-Christian sense even the new-life and fertility symbols of Easter have been forgotten for chocolate and excess. What does a hunt for chocolate eggs really symbolize? Do we really need an excuse to eat chocolate or give each other gifts? I'mlooking forward to focusing on the symbols that matter to me, and stripping away the rest. Easter is about freedom and victory, sacrifice and gain, Hope and rescue. For me, Jesus shows the world a way to find the freedom they've been looking for. I think symbols are important, they inform who we are and what we do. Think about whether your symbols are the ones you want guiding you, and if not, look for the ones that will inspire you.

Some cool links I found: Matt Stone Blog: Easter Fail Godspace: Resurrection Life - Christ or the Easter Bunny

Passover Delight!

As I'm not a Jew, you may think it strange that I'm celebrating 'passover' this year. It came to my attention recently (through this article) that Passover was not just a ceremony with relevance to Jews, but to all of God's people. God said that his people should celebrate it for...well for ever, remembering his mighty acts to bring about freedom, justice and hope for his people.

It appealed to me for a number of reasons - 

1. Easter had always seemed a bit hollow to me. The whole holiday seemed distracted by the fertility symbols that it had inherited from it's historical 'pagan' counterpart. New life is meant to be the theme, but with no real ritual or structure, it sort of felt like we were just trying really hard to think of what had happened on the Cross and what Jesus had done. Don't get me wrong, those images, mesages and themes are strong, but i guess they lost their meaning for me in the consumer hype and repetition without structure.

2. Passover is so interactive, why wouldn't it be awesome to interact with our faith.

3. community is intrinsic to the process and is built by sharing and learning together.

4. There's stacks of food to eat. We eat because we're free!

So I loved it, and tried to interpret the ceremony and the symbols in the light of our new understanding of being God's people as Christians. There was plenty to work with, but I found it a bit difficult to find info on Christian Passover. I'm sad that so many people of God are missing out on this great and wonderful message, with an outstretched arm, God has save his people from bondage!

Don't miss out! Get involved!

The Hard way out.

Perhaps it’s hard to remember that hanging from shackles is painful too, when we see the dynamite come out. In the long run you’ll be better off if you grab the bull by the horns, and deal with the source of your real pain. I’m sorry it’s hard. You’re totally up for it. May God be with you.

Overstated

I once worked for a power generation museum that educated school groups on how electricity was made and transported to our homes. One of the team working there was quite keen on educating students about the long term effects of burning fossil-fuels, and he used to regularly tell groups, “Every time you turn on a light switch, a little fish like Nemo DIES!” (Finding Nemo was a pretty big deal back then).

This was all good and well for a long time, until one day he said this to a group of students who were maybe a bit to young to cope with his poetic description of everyday pollution. A gasp went throughout the room, some tears were shed, they asked if they could turn off the lights in the museum and, needless to say,  they were more than a little traumatised.

Exaggerating is fun, and enhancing stories with near-facts is a raw and creative poetic licence for our often routine lives.  But in a world where so many causes compete for our attention (global warming, morality, human issues, marketing, relationships, Facebook) it seems that everything is blown out of proportion. My life is so larger than life, that it no longer all fits in: it’s bursting at the seems.

The world will end in 2012! If you eat your crusts your hair will turn curly! Your Ipad is ‘Magical’! Nine out of Ten Nutritionists recommend…! Certain unspeakable acts will make you go blind! If you litter a Kitten will get axed! All of these extreme messages, all of the time.

And do we believe it all? Or do we come to expect that things are less satisfactory than they present. After all, marketing must be based on convincing people that their experience of a product will be completely satisfying, life-alteringly so! And to convince you that those needs are actually met after you do purchase the product, they reduce your expectation of what a satisfying, life-altering experience is.

So here’s my thought, let’s start to talk about the world more accurately. Not the worst, not the best. Just is. And then let’s raise our expectations of what satisfactory is. We’ll strive for more and love even harder and ironically, I think we’ll be more satisfied. Thanks for reading, I love your comments!

Carpe Diem

I made this image in paint when I was a teenager, and I’ve decided to use it (in its incorrectly-spelled glory) here. The intent is “never let an opportunity go by”. What kind of opportunity? Well, I guess the opportunity to push a friend in a hole.
Chances are you’ll enjoy it, and they’ll enjoy it, and everyone will laugh about it later. Just choose your friends and the holes you choose to stand next to wisely.

Out of reach

One of my earliest memories is of trying to reach the door handle, and it being too high. I can remember frustration in that moment, of being unable to attain something so simple. Now days I often feel like I’m not quite there. Stretching for something only just out of my reach but entirely unattainable.
I guess I’m comforted by the fact that I can now reach door handles with ease. Also, there were always those around who could open doors for me. I’m not doing it on my own. I don’t really have the world on my shoulders. I’ll keep stretching till I reach the goal. Keep growing.

XK3d - My contribution to world events!

Hi all, for April 1st (which it still is in America) Randall Munroe, the author of webcomic xkcd, has converted his webcomic into 3D. More awesome than this however, is the fact that the community were able to pick comics to convert into 3D, so they could help out and be a part of the action.

So, with no understanding of java script I decided to pitch in! Check out http://xkcd.com/108/ and notice my name down the bottom.

For me this is the opportunity to be a 'guest' of sorts on someone whose comic is far more famous than mine. I'm pretty excited. Check out the site and happy April 1st (for yesterday).
Theo

Persistent!

There’s something to be said about persistence, but Hazel will sometimes sacrifice all in search of the goal. I think that some things come with too high a price, and people are more important than our goals as well. Or at least my eyes think so.

Right Here, Right now!

How often do we live in the moment? How often are we really present with ourselves right now?

I was once told that we can only really experience God, others, and ourselves in the present, but we spend all our time focussing on the past or the future. Not even on the people we’re with right now.

Try being present. Not here, you’re looking at a screen, go somewhere interesting. And try and be present. think about only things in that moment. How your body feels, how the air feels, sounds and sights, but only things in that moment. Try and enjoy it.