It's All About Attitude

Justin Herald (a well known business personality in Australia) started his "career" with a simple phrase on a tshirt... In the end it's all about attitude!

How we perceive things, how we respond to things... it's all determined by our attitude. We can choose to be either a thermometer or a thermostat. Huh?!?

Let me explain. A thermometer is designed to react to its surroundings, so if it gets hotter the "mercury" rises, and when it gets cold the level drops. It's reactionary. It is determined by its surroundings. When things go well, it's happy. When things don't go so well, it's not so happy.

A thermostat, on the other hand, determines the temperature. The surroundings are set by the thermostat. It decides when things get hotter or colder. When things start to heat up, the thermostat kicks in and says "Hey! Cool down!" When things don't go so well, it's not a case of indifference, but rather bringing the focus back to where it should be.

Last time I wrote about being proactive or reactive. It's the thermostat or the thermometer.

When we are being a thermostat, we do our best work. We are confident about ourselves. We exude optimism, confidence, and that springs creativity and innovation.

When was the last time you went out on a limb and took a risk on something or someone? Be a thermostat. Get your groove on and be creative.

Remember, in the end... it's all about your attitude!

To Act or REact?

To act (or be proactive) is to take responsibility. It is to live as you are called to live. It is taking action in your calling, living by the Spirit. This is freedom.

To REact is to allow your circumstances to determine your state of mind. It results in you to palming off responsibilities to others, shifting blame, constantly feeling pressured. Excuses abound and you strive to please others because what they think determines how you feel about yourself. This is slavery.

Based on the above (very simplified) responses to the question, I'm pretty certain I'd like to act, rather than REact.

How about you?

Common Nokia Problem... and They'll Tell You It's Not!

Well, well, well. After two weeks of being stuffed around by 3 mobile and their service centre because my Nokia 6110 Navigator decided to pack up and go home, I've just found an article that suggests it's a well known problem and has been for a long, long time.

My 6110 lcd screen started doing funny things, like flipping upside down and then just going blank. It was ok at first, being very intermittent and pretty rare. Then it got worse, and suddenly the screen went off altogether. The phone was still on, and I could see that it was on because the black screen was slightly lit up. I could still receive calls and make calls if I was careful with what I was pressing... although it wouldn't always work.

Anyway, I took it to the 3 service centre and found it was out of warranty (yay!) by 2 months, with 9 or 10 months still to run on my contract (also yay!). Not fun. Even though it is no fault of mine, the 3 service guys told me I'd have to pay for the repairs, and that they thought it was a software issue... then it was a screen issue.... then it had liquid damage!?!?

I refused to pay for the "quote" and lack of repair, and while I tried to remain relatively polite about the whole thing, informed them in no uncertain terms that I would not be paying for anything to be done to the phone.

In the end, I've got myself a Samsung Omnia i900, which is usually free on my contract but I'm having to pay $15 a month for the duration of the contract (not happy about it but I'll survive for the moment... unless I can prove this is without a doubt a common problem) and 3 have waived my contract termination fee. So I've come out ahead anyway (well not really) in that I should have paid $451 to pay out my contract (even though it's NOKIAs fault my phone died!) but I'll only be paying $360 over the course of 2 years. So it's less, and over a long period.

Anyway.... a long story later, and here we are. Today I found a link to an article telling me that this is a common problem, and that Nokia knew about it all along (and I dare say so did 3... and every other phone company)... but I'm paying for it!

Here it is: http://www.dexigner.com/design_news/705.html

Enjoy.

If you have a 6110 or any of the other slide phones mentioned in the article, get it checked out.

Cheers
Allan

Amazing Grace

Well, I saw this video today and thought it was really well done. I figured I'd share it with you guys.

If you've seen Josh Wilson's Amazing Grace Loop then you know what I'm about to show you. For those who haven't seen it before, be prepared to sit and just say "Wow".




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd4PBZgxCB4

So what do you think?

Have I got it wrong?

I wrote this song for my youngest daughter's dedication. I've been reflecting on it lately, post Creative Living, and wondering if it really applies or not. I'd love to find out what you think. Feel free to comment.

At the moment, it still doesn't have a title. Perhaps you could help me with that part too!

--------------------------

Purchased by Your blood
You became the Lamb of God, Saviour
Ransomed just for me
Jesus, You have set me free
Now I bring my offering to the King

Pardon for my soul
Saviour, You have made me whole
Lord, You gave me a new start
Revolutionised my heart
Now I bring my offering to the King

I'll live for You all my life
Through all the joy and the strife
Blessed Redeemer, Saviour
Now I'll live for you all my life, my King.

--------------------------

Let me know what you think.

Forgiveness

Wow! Everything I know about being a Christian is being challenged this week!

I always thought that I was to forgive and to forget, but now I find out I've got it all wrong! I'm not meant to forget! How liberating!

"What are you talking about?" I hear you screaming at your monitor!

Well, I was given 11 points on forgiveness today. 2 of them struck me like lightning.

The first:

Forgiveness is not excusing!

What does this mean? Well, it means to forgive someone is to acknowledge that they did something wrong. It is to judge! I didn't think we were supposed to judge as Christians, BUT WE ARE! We HAVE to judge, so that we can forgive! If we excused it, or dismissed it, we'd be doing the other person a disservice. We HAVE to judge the action to acknowledge that it was wrong. Then we forgive them to give them freedom. We forgive out of freedom. Freedom to love the other person. We judge the action (not the person) so that we can restore our relationship with that person!

The second:

Forgiveness is not forgetting!

Huh?!? Aren't we supposed to forgive and forget?!?!?!? NO!!! We're supposed to remember! We're supposed to be angry! It's ok to be angry with someone for hurting you! What a liberating revelation!!!

Remembering is the secret of redemption! You see, God remembers everything. But doesn't it say that God will forget our transgressions when we confess and repent? Well, no, it doesn't. It says, God remembers our sin no more. That means, he won't judge us according to our sins. He still remembers that we've sinned, but he loves us anyway. He chooses not to judge us based on our actions. When God "remembers", He acts to save!


We forgive because God first forgave us. You can only forgive someone after you have known what it is to be forgiven. Because God forgives us, we should forgive others.

But forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. To forget would be wrong. It would allow ourselves to to wander into the same type of situation to get hurt all over again. No, no. The scars are there for us to remember. After a while, they stop hurting, but they are always there to remind us. But the scars don't stop us from releasing the desire for revenge.

Forgiveness is simply relinquishing your demand to get even with someone that hurt you. You can be angry. You can be upset. You can be disappointed. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is an action. It is something you do! It doesn't mean you have to forget that you wer ehurt, angry or disappointed. It is simply giving up the need for revenge.

You know, someone has probably hurt you, and you feel like you've never really forgiven them for it, but you never set out to hurt them back. You know what? You've already forgiven them! But you still feel angry about it? Well, that's ok. That will heal. The scar will be there forever, but after a while it won't hurt anymore. God loves you. God forgives you. Because he forgives you, you can forgive others.

Blessings!
Allan

My World Turned Upside Down!!

This week, having started my Theology degree at Tabor, my world has been completely turned upside down. Everything I thought I knew has been tossed out the window.

A Revelation! GOD IS LOVE. Ok, nothing new. We've all heard it before.

So have you ever stopped to think about it? GOD. IS. LOVE.

He has forgiven us. He forgave us for our sins long before we ever existed. Jesus repented for us when he was baptised by John. He confessed for us when he was crucified on the cross. He was obedient for us throughout his life. Jesus Christ did everything for us, so that we might be able to do it in him, here and now!

Doesn't make sense? Jesus did it all, and because HE did it, we are now able to do it IN HIM, through the Holy Spirit. He carries us along as we go for the ride.

God the Father forgives us, but if we don't acknowledge that we've done anything wrong then that forgiveness is useless to us. It's still there, but we simply refuse to accept it.

When we confess our sins, that's like us saying "Hey God! You know what? You're right! I realise now that I have done something wrong! I know that I can't fix it by myself, and that I need you to do it for me. Thank you for taking responsibility for my wrong doings!! THANK YOU for REDEEMING ME! I accept your forgiveness and love, and I thank you for making me your son, a joint-heir sharing in the inheritance of Jesus Christ, your son!"

God's love is like a raging waterfall that never ceases, much like Niagara. Ignoring the overwhelming force of the water in that fall, imagine you're in a little boat at the base of the falls. That boat is Jesus. Now, there's a problem. The boat is shielded by a great umbrella. That umbrella is our sin, our refusal to accept God's love and forgiveness. Our refusal to let God's love rain down on us.

When we confess, it's like asking the Holy Spirit to give you a hand pulling this great umbrella down so you can be showered in the love and forgiveness that God the Father has always been offering you.

I always thought that I had to confess my sins and ask God to forgive me before he'd do such a thing. Now I realise that I was being ridiculous. If God's forgiveness was dependent upon me, what if I didn't ask properly? What if I wasn't sincere enough? What if I missed something? How could I possibly recount, and even KNOW, every sin I commited each day? I was destined for failure and damned to Hell.

Now I realise, God's forgiveness is always there. We just have to put the umbrella down and accept it. Say "Thank You, Lord", and know that we are all children of God the Father, adopted in Christ.

You see, Jesus died on the cross so that God the Father could adopt you and I as sons (and daughters) of The Most High. He gave himself (Jesus) on the cross, so that the pathway would be open for us to become a son/daughter of God the Father.

This is mind-blowing stuff! I can't wait to find out more!