The life and times of Michelle, Glenn, Zoë and Bethany
Remember the homeless this weekend
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
Out to lunch
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
It seems www.michelleandglenn.com has been out to lunch and we didn't know.
Thanks Colin for letting us know this morning.
For the technically minded it was a PHP error, not introduced by us, and a restore from a recent backup fixed it up for us.
We also fixed up some old modules; comments are gonesky!
UPDATE: Further investigation, caused by this very post bringing the site down again, has revealed that the email-to-blog software we use was trying to access a 'dodgy' email I'd sent in to the special email-to-blog address; this dodgy email was bringing the site down. Turns out that all I'd have to have done is to have deleted that 'dodgy' email and all would have been sweet. That's a lot of haves by the way!
Bath for Buddha's birthday bash - Illawarra Mercury
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
Bath for Buddha's birthday bash
Buddha is enjoying a raft of birthday celebrations in the Illawarra, but when you’re 2600 years old, you’re entitled to lengthy festivities.
It's Easter. And I'm getting rid of some old baggage
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
One of my primary goals of my present 5-week block of Annual Leave has been to de-clutter.
I have so much junk that has been with me forever.
I'm a hoarder.
There. I've confessed my shame.
But I don't just hoard anything. I have sentimental attachments to the things I hang on to. Every little worthless trinket has a story.
And on this Maundy Thursday, as we remember once again the Lord's grief and anguish at giving up everything that he might die for us and for the glory of the Father, I have finally listed my model trains on eBay for auction.
These little HO-scale items have no real value. For sure, there are some collectibles among them, but they are not worth a whole lot. And most of the stuff is, literally, junk. That is, junk to anyone other than me. Each half-assembled kit, each wagon missing a wheel here or a handbrake wheel there, tells a story.
So I'm going to tell the story over the next week or so of each piece. "Boring," I hear the cries from the masses.
Yup. But it's how I'm dealing with the grief of parting ways from things that do not count for eternity.
I used to be fond of quoting the missionary Jim Elliott who was famous for saying, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." He was later murdered by those with whom he sought to share the words of eternal life. And, unsurprisingly, it echoes Jesus' words, such as, "
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt 16:24-26, NIV84)
How that contrasts so with the bumper sticker we sold so often at the Hobby Shop I once worked in: "He who dies with the most trains wins!" I've seen how untrue that is. Not by dying, mind you! But because I've seen deceased estates. Deceased estates where the old man spent a lifetime amassing collections of unassembled kits, others fine works of craftsmanship, brass locomotives worth thousands apiece. And the relatives have no sense of the value of "dad's" or "uncle's" 'toys', and sell them at a garage sale for a pittance.
Besides, I model in N scale. I'm not abandoning modelling for some holy heavenly journey. This stuff is just surplus to my requirements. But it's been an emotional journey to part with it.
On the negative side, this is a sad critique of my materialism.
On the positive side, however, it is a reflection that each of those items has a story. A story involving people. And experiences. And events that made me who I am today.
But you know what? Apart from the random words of this blog, no one will ever know those stories, and fewer will care.
For me, it's part of 'healing'. Healing over the grief of getting rid of this junk-with-sentimental-attachment. And healing from rank, Western, materialism.
(And for those playing at home, I am not being contradictory about this materialism by 'raising money' by selling this stuff on eBay. Firstly, it won't get much money and secondly, what it will raise will go towards housing my family, because our free housing given us after the church abandoned us isn't available after October.)
Singapore's 747: A legend takes flight for the last time
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
Subject: A legend takes flight for the last time click here if you are unable to view this page
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Dear Mr xxxxxx,
On Friday 6 April 2012, Singapore Airlines bids a fond farewell to a legend of the air with special flights between Singapore and Hong Kong to mark the retirement of our B747 fleet after nearly four decades of service.
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Passengers who purchase First Class tickets* on this commemorative flight will receive
an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Singapore Airlines' cabin crew training facilities, experience our B747 flight simulator, tour SATS Inflight Catering Centre and enjoy
a specially prepared gourmet meal.
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To further enhance the journey, exclusive land packages in Singapore and Hong Kong are available on all classes of SQ747 and SQ748.
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Yours sincerely,


Sheldon Hee
Senior Manager
Marketing Communications & Development
Shirlene Teo
Manager
Loyalty Marketing
Time to dream
| Blogs - Glenn's Blog |
God is in control!
Last week some time I was sitting on an engine at Bombo, waiting for the opposing train to approach us. On single-line tracks like that through Bombo, just north of Kiama, trains in opposite directions can obviously only be on the track one train at a time. Stations like Bombo have a 'crossing loop' where a train is able to take to a siding to let the train coming in the opposite direction to go past, or cross. This is what we were doing. Bombo is the station on the NSW rail network that is closest to the beach and ocean, and as such is quite dramatically picturesque. Especially in times of rough weather like we were experiencing at the time, with many roads and towns flooded. When it occurs that we are waiting in a loop or for a signal, with all our work done in preparing the train, the cab swept out and so forth, we are permitted to read or do our own thing provided it's safe and legal. And so it was that I was reading an older copy of the Reformed Theological Review, which referenced Job 38:11:
Of course, in context it may make more sense. It is God speaking, asking a series of questions with God-like rhetorical flourish:
So here we were, watching the sea: it was pounding in on the beach to my right-hand-side. And yet it was staying within its limits. "Who shut up the sea behind doors... 'This far you my come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?" Of course the answer is God. Creation is not like a machine or clockwork clock. It was not set in place with 'rules' and God is sitting back in a lounge chair watching everything work automatically and, perhaps, wind down. Even in this time of the flooding of the inland of our great state and beyond, it is God who is in control. 'This far you may come and no farther.' The Spirit of God, inspiring the writings of the Apostle Paul, superintended him writing along a similar line in Colossians 1:
Every breath I take - and when I die, every breath I do not take - is governed by the very will of God. The fact that the universe does not blast apart; each atom going its own random way, is attributable to this active involvement of God in Christ. Isn't that a wonderful comfort in this time of wild weather and uncertain economic times? Why do 60% of Doctrine I students believe faith is a work?
![]() Before Christmas the Department of External Studies at Moore College rang me. They were in a bind, with 31 Doctrine I papers to have marked. Usually the bundles come in lots of 11! I accepted, thinking I'd be on a lot of TBA days (ie work days but on standby at home) leading up to Christmas. As it happened I was sent instead to an intensive block of "block school", also known as the "engine and air" course, completion of which allows me to take another step towards being a train driver. So it wasn't until this week I got to marking Doctrine I. It was interesting marking it, too. I always try to mark generously--both because I like to be marked generously but also because this is a certificate course and many, many students become rightly discouraged if marked by BD/MA educated markers who mark to the BD or MA standard! I prefer to ascertain if the students have a mastery of the subject and mark accordingly. The only time I've ever failed anyone was when the student answered two instead of three questions, back in the day when they had to write three essays. He demonstrated no mastery of the two answers he gave too!
A great speach by that statesman Aaron Sorkin!
He is perhaps less known or less appreciated for the 1995 rom-com The American President, although a number of cast members from The West Wing appeared in that film and they share similar styles, despite one being a serious drama and the other being a romantic comedy. Given that Sorkin is a keen Democrat, it is perhaps not surprising that last week Federal MP and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese lifted a speech from that movie, which the Liberal party wasted no time or effort in posting onto YouTube (" mce_href="/">). The left-leaning The Project on Channel 10 did its part to mock the indefensible, with a segment entitled, "And the Oscar goes to...". However they also gave Albanese a pretty easy ride with a cheesy interview. Interestingly, the interview is not on The Project's website, just a link to an AAP article under the title of their original segment. Here was Mr Albonese's defence on The Project:
Now, I suspect if a conservative tried to spin such an error of judgement as this in the same sort of way they'd laugh him out of the studio and mock him relentlessly. But for Mr Albanese, this was enough for all to be forgiven. At the end of the day I don't care what side of politics someone is on: if they rip off a speech from a movie or TV show, they they're pretty desperate. I love Sorkin's work but his speeches never really grabbed me as particularly statesmanlike! A letter written to Wran by Iemma
I am reading the book "Betrayal: The Underbelly of Australian Labor", by Simon Benson (Sydney: Pantera, 2010). On page 258 is a letter from Neville Wran to Morris Iemma on the day of the latter's forced resignation: > Dear Morris, > The circumstances of your departure and your conduct throughout the whole distasteful affair reflect great credit upon you which, of course, could not be said of those who orchestrated the debacle. You > will remembered your positive contribution to the party and > the community long, after the Lilliputians, who created the impossible situation that confronted you, have been forgotten. > Kindest regards, > Neville Wran AC, QC. The whole book resonates close to home; the ALP Party Machine with local, state, federal and factional rivalries is not at all dissimilar to the Sydney Diocese. ![]() |
- Give the ultimate gift... but it's already been given!
- What I always wanted to do, my contemporary did!
- Divinity and Humanity and the office of Archbishop
- That prayer from second form
- Interesting dictionary.com stats
- Apple FAIL: I waited 2 weeks and the buggers hung up on me!
- Worship the God of Judgement in Joyful Song... what the?
- Changing Bible Translations



Aaron Sorkin is one of the greatest scriptwriters of our time. His work includes much-loved and often quoted films such as 









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