A thought for today…

“Make every effort to [show] … kindness.”
2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV

Have you noticed that sometimes the busier we get, the less we seem to show kindness to others? Kindness doesn’t happen in a vacuum, or as the result of a good Sunday morning sermon. We have to practice it.

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

Dead Tookae

Dead Tookae

Originally uploaded by bhojman

I’m back in Thailand for a few weeks. It’s great to be here… but it is HOT! I’m mad to come at this time of year but as the conference I was attending was held over Songkhran there wasn’t much I could do about the timing of the trip.
The conference was held at a resort out from Chiang Mai. After a day or two we found this Tookae on the wall of the closet… very dead. No idea what killed him but he wasn’t there when we arrived.
Told the housekeeper about it and asked her to remove it, which she didn’t… too terrified, I suspect. I finally, very gingerly brushed it off the wall into the waste basket. It was beginning to pong and it was time to act.
The poor housekeeper got quite a fright the next morning when she cleaned the room… but a very dead Tookae was finally disposed of.

Sunrise, Easter Morn

Sunrise, Easter Morn

Originally uploaded by bhojman

I am rarely up at dawn but this Easter as I was going to church at 7:30am I managed it, and was delighted to see a spectacular sunrise. I see plenty of sunsets and take heaps of photos of them… but sunrises… uh uh… no way.
Anyway, the beauty of the morning touched my heart in a lovely way and I was delighted to rejoice afresh in the resurrection of Jesus…
The sunrise spoke to me of a new day, new life, freshness, hope…
Great!

Queen Victoria and QE2 in Sydney

Queen Victoria and QE2 in Sydney

Originally uploaded by bhojman

The QV (right) and the QE2 (left) tap dance around Fort Dennison on Sydney Harbour. It was a very lovely sight. After spending several hours wandering around Circular Quay taking photos of QV, I then walked back up onto the bridge walkway. It was a great spot to observe the events on the harbour.

Gang-gang Cockatoos eating hawthorn berries

Gang-gang Cockatoos eating hawthorn berries

Originally uploaded by bhojman

I was camped at my property in Majors Creek last week and had a fun time watching the gang-gang cockatoos eating the hawthorn berries. The trees were full of them, all cracking open the berries and eating the centre. They did this all day! I was ignored as I walked around taking photos of them. I’ve been told that as the berries ferment the gang-gangs get tipsy. I suspect they were beginning to experience that as I watched them. The morning I left they were screeching and it reminded me of someone with a hangover….
The one in the photo here is female. The male has a red head with a red tuft. They’re really quite lovely to watch.

Abortion survivor bombshell

Here’s word of a very welcome move from the medical profession! How anyone could kill a baby born alive after an abortion is beyond me. I am glad to see that the medical profession is now taking a stand. I’ve never been able to understand how anyone could terminate a pregnancy simply because the baby was inconvenient. That feels to me like someone else is playing “God” in the life of another, and committing murder.

In my role as a healing prayer minister, I’ve worked with women who’ve lived with the unexpectedly huge guilt of having had an abortion… it seemed so clinical to them at the time but ended up reverberating through their souls and emotions causing guilt, depression, physical sickness, etc. I’ve also worked with several who survived abortion attempts on them. The pain of the rejection was immense for them… they felt as if they were supposed to be dead and sometimes had a death wish that dogged them in their attempts to be alive. This may not make sense to some out there but it happens. Such people have needed God’s deep healing work in their hearts and memories.

We don’t know when a foetus becomes a human life with a soul. My belief is that it’s at conception! This probably does not sit well with some but, again, in my experience with healing prayer I prayed with folk who, in some deep hidden part of their spirits, have known things from the time of their conception. They knew they were conceived in love, or in violence; they knew whether they were wanted, or not; they knew how peaceful or fearful their mothers were; and they even had a sense of harmony or disharmony in the home. It is amazing what we know if we give ourselves the time and place to be still enough to listen to those deep inner places of our beings.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I share this with you in hopes that it will help some make good desicions for themselves and for the lives of their unborn children.

Italian Doctors: Abortion Survivors Must be Given Care, Even Against Mother’s Wishes

Doctors from four different Roman universities have issued a joint declaration affirming the duty of doctors to rescue and care for infants born alive after an abortion attempt, even against the wishes of the mother.

The declaration, made by doctors at the obstetric clinics of La Sapienza, Tor Vergata, Campus Biomedico and Sacro Cuore, represent both the secular and religious sides of the Italian university system. The first two universities are public, and the second two are Catholic.

“An extremely premature newborn must be treated like any other person in danger, and assisted adequately,” said Domenico Arduni, director of the Tor Vergata gynecological clinic.

Arduini added that this principle would hold even if the child had survived an abortion, and “even if the mother is not in agreement.”

The four physicians issued the statement together during a meeting at Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome last Saturday.

According to the Spanish publication El Pais, the doctors’ declaration and the Vatican’s recent campaign for a “moratorium” on abortion in Italy (which has now become a global campaign), “has fallen like a bomb among scientists and politicians”.

Emma Bonino, the Italian Minister of European Policy, complained to El Pais that “the political class should not allow others to set their agenda.

The Italian health minister, Livia Turco, told the publication that protecting the life of such children was “senseless cruelty. A prominent physician reportedly suggested that abortions be done by poisoning the baby with potassium chloride, thus ensuring his death before exiting the womb.

However, the ANSA news agency reports that the liberal bioethicist Cinzia Caporale has endorsed the physicians’ declaration, stating that while she is in favor of allowing euthanasia for adults who want it, children who leave the womb alive should be cared for, even against the will of the parents. “I don’t even consider their consent necessary if the fetus has survived an abortion,” she said.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

A sad response to Heath Ledger’s death

This past Friday on Channel 9’s “A Current Affair” there was the most unbelievably awful interview with a pastor in the USA (Westboro, Kansas). It was distressing to hear him as he railed against Heath Ledger, his family, gays, the war in Iraq and Australia. The introductory hymn was “God hates the world” with a catchy tune but a horrible message.

This pastor, Fred Phelps, and his brand of “christianity” bear no resemblance to the Christianity I know. It bears no resemblance to my own experiences with God and Jesus Christ. When I read the Bible, I see God’s love towards all and his desire that we all know and experience love and forgiveness. The only crushing condemnation that came from Jesus’ lips was against the self-righteous religious leaders of the day who felt they were better than everyone else. Jesus said they were blind, and hypocrites… people who wouldn’t lift a finger to help the poor and downtrodden. I do wonder at what Jesus’s response would be to the vitriol of Mr Phelps.

What was even sadder to me was the way the young children in his congregation were spewing the same kinds of words… hatred.

When asked about Australia, he said that they pray for Australia… and they have a map of Australia with the word “sodom” written in large letters over the whole continent. He said we were “the land of the sodomite damned”. Shudder! Has God (or god?) given him the mantle of a judge over us all? Absolutely not. Jesus Christ is the judge, he’s the only one worthy enough to be the judge. And, he’s already made clear through his death and resurrection that he’s paid the penalty for all sins and wickedness. Our part is simply to accept that.

Anyway, if you would like to watch the video, follow the link below:

Heath Ledger: Minister speaks

Thought for the day.

In response to so many lonely deaths here in NSW, the following is a good word for today.

“Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

Don’t put off until tomorrow the loving words you can say today.

94 year old marathon runner

A great story from today’s Bangkok Post!

GRANDPA’S OFF TO RUN A MARATHON
There’s no stopping this 94-year-old

Most 94-year-olds walk very slowly, some with the aid of a walking stick.  Some strong and healthy 94-year-old people manage to jog slowly for a few minutes a day.
But that is not the case with Peng Perngsa. The sprightly 94-year-old Mr Peng is looking forward to today’s Chom Bung Marathon, an event organised by the Chom Bung Rajabhat University. He will take part in the mini-marathon, which means running 10 kilometres. At his age, there is no doubt that he is the oldest runner in Thailand and probably one of the oldest runners in the world.
Today’s mini-marathon is not his first. In fact, he never misses the annual event in Chom Bung district, which started 22 years ago. He has become a symbol of the Chom Bung Marathon, one of the major running events in Thailand.
There are four Grand Slam marathons in Thailand - the Bangkok Marathon, Khon Kaen Marathon, Pattaya Marathon and Chom Bung Marathon.
“Grandfather” Peng, as he is known, started running about 24 years ago when he retired from rice farming at 70 years old. During the past 24 years he has won many prizes, despite being a late starter in the sport.
With a lean and wind-whipped build like a cheetah, Grandfather Peng even runs with the rolling, steady gait of a man half his age.
He said that when he was forced to retire from farming by his children, he was still physically active so he wanted to find something to do.
He recalled seeing a group of young people running past his house in Ratchaburi. The group inspired him and he was confident he was still strong enough to run. He said he felt it was a challenge and wondered whether he could start running at 70.
After making the decision to take up running, Grandfather Peng stepped into his first pair of running shoes, which belonged to his grandson, left his home and started his first long run.
“When my daughter saw me running, she shouted at me, asking where I got the shoes. When I told her, she said I should not run in other people’s shoes. Then she went and bought a new pair for me,” he said.
Since that first outing he gradually became more serious about running. He started studying how to run better and faster.
Over the years he kept learning how to fine-tune his training programme. One day he learned that Chom Bung Rajabhat University was organising a marathon, and it interested him.
By that time, he had been running for more than one year and was very interested in taking part in the marathon.
“Why not?” he asked himself.
On race day, when the first of the now famous Chom Bung Marathons was held, he was ready. “I got up early, put on my shoes and went to join the field of runners,” he recalled.
It was his first competition, and he did not hesitate to join in the full marathon run, covering a distance of 42.195 kilometres.
At the time he was 72.
Now he has completed in a total of four full marathons and cannot remember how many half-marathons (21.1 kilometres) and mini-marathons (10 kilometres) he has run, or how many trophies and medals he has won.
His best time for the full marathon was four hours, 20 minutes. Only a few amateur runners, even the younger ones, can finish marathons in less than four and a half hours.
Over the years his relentless enthusiasm for running marathons has coaxed his family members into supporting him as he enters marathons across the country.
Grandfather Peng was born in Photharam district in Ratchaburi and later moved to neighbouring Chom Bung. He and his wife, “Grandmother” Chak, 82, have one son and four daughters. All work as teachers after graduating from universities.
Being a farmer has helped keep him healthy, he said, but running made him fit and his serious training for marathons has made his children think more about his nutrition and calorie intake.
“I eat Thai traditional food which contain not too many fats, and I don’t smoke and drink alcohol, or even coffee,” Grandfather Peng said, adding that his children are also pretty careful about what he eats.
But his brown eyes twinkle when he admits he sometimes eats fatty foods. On race day mornings, when his children are not around to take care of him, he secretly eats fatty foods, such as khao kha moo - steamed rice with pork fat legs - before the race.
It’s hard to eat anything when you have to run as far as 10 kilometres, Grandfather Peng says, but the energy acquired from food is what helps him get to the finish line.
The beautiful views along the marathon routes is another key to his success, he said. “I enjoy looking at the view and before you know it, it’s over.”
“Dad used to go out farming and deal with traders of agricultural products and he had to walk through the fields, up and down farmland all day all of the time, and that gave him huge amounts of exercise, helping him stay healthy this long,” said Kanyarat Perngsa, 47, his daughter.
“Now he’s addicted to running, and can’t stop.”
However, now he only takes on mini-marathons. When he was in his 80s, he competed in almost every running event around the country, and completed four full marathons, she said.
As he gets older, he is getting slower. At his age, it is too risky for him to participate in a full, or even a half-marathon.
Although he feels he is too old to run full or half-marathons, he has no plans to retire just yet.
Story and photo by SOMBAT RAKSAKUL

Many die alone in Oz

A sad statistic has come to light. So many lonely deaths in one state! Some of these lonely deaths have been high profile in that they made the news media and there was much to-do and beating of chests as a result. However, it comes to light now that there are hundreds of such deaths each year in NSW alone. The sadness of some soul spending their last moments in utter loneliness is hard to imagine… I wonder what fear overwhelmed them before that final moment of life when knowledge disappeared.
I grieve for what we have lost as we’ve progressed to affluence and self-serving. We have become so distant (and seemingly uncaring) from our neighbours, if we even know who our neighbours are. There are so many people to relate to these days… I can well understand a need to limit or contain the emotional drain and stress of so much interaction, especially so as I’m an introvert and find relating to many people at once very exhausting!. There’s also the issue of lawlessness abounding everywhere. Who can be trusted? Home invasions, robberies, muggings, and such mean that folk are much more careful. I wonder if some of the lonely have become more lonely because of fear. We may never know. One thing I do know, I want to be caring and aware of others, to encourage them with kindness and mercy, to love and appreciate who others are.
Have a good day!

Discovered: 300 who died alone - National - smh.com.au:

ALMOST 300 people died alone in NSW last year, only to be found weeks or months after they passed away.
Yesterday the body of a woman in her 70s, who may have been dead for up to two months, was found in her Belmore home. Neighbours called police after becoming concerned that the woman, who lived alone, had not collected her mail and that her yard was overgrown.
The State Coroner took custody of 299 decomposed or decomposing bodies in 2006 and 283 last year, figures show. All had been dead for at least seven days before their death was reported; some had been dead for almost two years.
Most deaths were due to natural causes, but some died by their own hand or in accidents. Most were found in their bedroom or lounge room. And only 22 of almost 600 had died in Housing Department flats over those two years.
On August 8, 2006, three sets of remains were brought into the morgue. A person whose body was found by a roadway had been dead for 627 days, it was discovered. Two other bodies, found separately, had been decomposing for more than 14 months. Some deaths were made public, such as those of two men who lived in Housing Department tenements in Waterloo. When their bodies were discovered in 2006 that all that remained were skeletons.
The latest such discovery was Jorge Coloma, an immigrant from El Salvador whose body was found in his Yagoona flat last week, 12 months after he died.
Sue Schreiner, a long-serving NSW magistrate and now an acting magistrate in Sydney, has been concerned about unreported deaths for 30 years. While working in the coroner’s office in the early 1980s she was so moved by the number of long-dead bodies being discovered that she conducted her own research into who all these people dying alone were.
She examined the 269 cases that came through Glebe morgue in 1981 and 1982 and found most were elderly, single men. Some were so isolated that their only human contact was with a rent collector or a bank teller.
Many of the bodies were only discovered because of the smell. The body of one woman was found only after her neighbours grew annoyed by blowflies.
At the time, Ms Schreiner mourned the loss of neighbourliness. Her feelings have not changed more than two decades later. “It seemed to me then, and it is still so today, that the solution lies with each of us,” she said.
The State Coroner, Mary Jerram, agrees. “We don’t have a sort of vigilant community that keeps an eye on each other.” Pat Daley, a Salvation Army spokesman and a founder of the now-defunct Neighbourhood Watch, said isolation of the elderly was worse than ever because necessities that once provided contact, such as bill payments, were now automatic.
“Australians are an uncaring society, generally speaking, compared to Asian communities and some European communities,” he said. “They tend to look after their elderly. It’s appalling the way we treat our senior citizens in some situations.”
The chief executive of Meals on Wheels, Les MacDonald, said only a fraction of elderly, isolated people used available services.
“Many people … objectively really shouldn’t be living by themselves, but they have the choice,” he said.
“There’s this level of pride … There’s also this sort of hangover of older people in their own homes who really do need a service like Meals on Wheels but look at it as accepting charity.”

Jordan Baker Chief Police Reporter