post-TWIST review...

Last week I went to a conference called TWIST... Love Christian acronyms... cos TWIST stands for "The Word In Song Together".

I must admit... i always find TWIST refreshing... it's really encouraging seeing so many people singing at the top of their lungs in praise to God.

The speaker was Mike Raiter and he gave 3 talks that were based on some songs through the bible. Something that struck me or gave me something to think about was something i'd heard before and i think that Moore college holds this view of singing worship...
I was challenged to look more closely at lyrics of the songs that are chosen... There are some songs that are repetitive in their "praise God" but never elaborate on the gospel truth behind WHY we praise Him. ND has just put together a music book earlier this year... I think because of the time frame we could have been very hasty in including songs that sounded good but i think i'm gonna have a look back at what we've chosen and carefully examine the lyrics. I remember at the time reading through them and seeing that none were heretical lol so i think we're ok there!

Second talk was from a Psalm... i must admit... sometimes i'm not great at recalling what i've heard... hehe or taking notes during talks... Something i do remember him saying that has kinda stuck with me is the fact that when we sing, we sing with passion because we feel the truth of the gospel. Was chatting to a friend after and we were talking about singing... we dont sing with passion because it makes us feel more spiritual but rather the gospel impacts us to sing with passion... which brings me back to what we're actually singing (lyrics)....

Next time i'm songleading, i might pick one song... let people scroll through the words first before singing it to really think about it... cos sometimes we just sing without really thinking about it... heheeh dunno how that would work... have to think about that one...

There were also workshops at TWIST.. i decided to pick all practical ones this year.
Went to a drumming workshop... figured out that i have no rhythm or co-ordination!!
The band workshop was really good as well. It's really important for the band to work as one and this involves listening to each other and working with one another... It's not a loudness contest (which sometimes ticks me off a bit at church) but a way to build up the rest of the music team and the congregation.

Anyway... what do u do at the end of a music conference?? well jam of course... was really fun just hanging out with brothers and sisters and enjoying music together. Something else from the talks i remember is... in the midst of trouble we can remember that in heaven, nothing will stop God's people from singing his praises... How cool!

Totally over the 60-70hr weeks.

Well... it's been a while since i posted...
I'm the owner of Absolute Care Chiropractic... with all the responsibilities associated with owning a business...

It's been a tough few weeks... long hours... little sleep... i feel like all i do is sleep, work... and sometimes eat...

Hehe very funny actually... my patients must think i'm getting lean (although i think i can afford to lose the weight...) They've started bringing me food! Lol or am i now accepting payment in food?!?

8 days and counting....

Gee it's been a while... I dont blog when i get busy...
At the moment this is the calm before the storm though...

So big news... In 8 days... The Eastwood clinic I work at will be MINE!! I will own it!!
What a scary thought... and all i've been doing for the last 6 weeks has been running around getting a loan, getting contracts drawn up, interviewing for an associate to work with me.

So exciting but so scary at the same time. I just pray for God's guidance and provision at this time cos I have noooo idea what is going to happen. If you're reading this... please pray for me!

Quad Biking is fun!!!

Feb 18th: Quad Biking at Stockton dunes, Anna Bay

Heaps and heaps of fun!!

I must admit i was pretty scared at first... Going down hills, ur meant to just go straight down and not try to go down diagonally. Just lock ur back brakes and go straight down... soooo scary... but major adrenaline rush.

It was fun in the end... My major accomplishment was to roll my quadbike... how did i manage it?? Well... i was hooning around the sand dunes... and all the sand looks the same really... sometimes it's hard to see the contours... So i was going really really fast and didnt realise infront of me was a straight drop... So i managed to go flying off a straight drop. My mind wasnt thinking well enough to jam on the back brakes so... but anyway... i hit the dune nose first... got flung off my bike... it went rolling... i went rolling and it landed semi on top of me at the bottom... Felt like such a fool... but i guess u gotta have those kinda accidents to make it all memorable...

Anyway if ur reading... dont be put off... it's mad fun!! I'd go again!

The group of us that went up... i got the blue bike!!

A posed photo at the meeting place before our quadbike ride. I thought it looked cool...

Quad Biking is fun!!!

Feb 18th: Quad Biking at Stockton dunes, Anna Bay

Heaps and heaps of fun!!
I must admit i was pretty scared at first...
Going down hills, ur meant to just go straight down and not try to go down diagonally. Just lock ur back brakes and go straight down... soooo scary... but major adrenaline rush. It was fun in the end...

My major accomplishment was to roll my quadbike... how did i manage it??
Well... i was hooning around the sand dunes... and all the sand looks the same really... sometimes it's hard to see the contours...
So i was going really really fast and didnt realise infront of me was a straight drop... So i managed to go flying off a straight drop. My mind wasnt thinking well enough to jam on the back brakes so... but anyway... i hit the dune nose first... got flung off my bike... it went rolling... i went rolling and it landed semi on top of me at the bottom... Felt like such a fool... but i guess u gotta have those kinda accidents to make it all memorable...

Anyway if ur reading... dont be put off... it's mad fun!! I'd go again!

Melbourne... a month later...

Well it's well into the new year now...
I've kinda been either busy or lazy so havent posted for a while.

So... what's been happening...

Well in January I went to Melbourne for a week. This is my week:

Sat 13th Jan: Flew down on a saturday morning, dropped bags and checked into the hotel and then went straight to Kooyong for the final of the AAMI classic.
My favourite player has been Andy Roddick for a while and so it was good to be able to see him play Roger Federer in the final.
Erica (my friend whom i went to melb with) likes Safin and we were both treated cos we got to see the play-off for 3rd and 4th between Andy Murray of England and Marat Safin.
Was a great day cos Andy beat Roger in 3 exciting sets.

Sunday we went to Victoria markets where i bought heaps of earrings!! Walked around melbourne city and Docklands for a bit and then went to dinner at the Sofitel.

The restaurant at the Sofitel is on the 35th floor and boasts a really nice view over the Yarra and tennis centre, MCG etc... Also nice that I get 50% off there so i ordered the seafood platter... mmmmmm!!


Monday - at the tennis. Took heaps of photos... First match was Mauresmo and then Roger played. Since i'd seen them before, i wasnt really that fussed and didnt really stay in centre court. Went to go cheer on Ai Sugiyama who is a Japanese player i know from when i worked at the tennis... she's prob the only player that remembers me from my days at the tennis. Sat with a bunch of Japanese ppl and i think i might have been one of only a few that called out encouragement while she was playing... the Japanese ppl just sit there politely and watch. On the other hand, the swedish supports (her opponent was swedish) were very vocal!

Went round the centre collecting various freebies... It was nice to have an American express card cos u get a free radio and also free frappes in the AMEX marquee. It would come in handy the next day when i kept going back every hour for a free drink cos it was 40 degrees.

Mon night we went to Lygon st for pasta!! yummmm. there's also this lolly shop that has all kinds of unusual lollies... yummmm.

Tue went to the tennis again. Funny story... a girl was walking up some stairs and suddenly one of her thongs came off. The stairs are badly designed and she unluckily flung her thong between the stairs to the area below... which nobody could seem to get to. At around the same time... i happened to drop my program between the stairs too! So... off to ask somebody in security to help. But i was chatting to the event staff person who helped us and mentioned i used to work at the tennis in sydney... she was really nice... and i dont know how i got the info but she ended up telling me where all the important players would be that day... like when they had booked practise courts and which court they would be on at what time. Handy info to know... took heaps more photos.


Wed... no tennis... had lunch at Fifteen, which is Jamie Oliver's restaurant - the one that has been on TV... What can i say... big plate, little food. Think I paid $40 for an entree and dessert. The service was great and the staff were so polite and even offered to take photos for us.
Trev calls Fifteen "the zoo" because "you're only going there to eat so you can see the 'freaks' (his words) that work there". I think i can say i've been there but i prob wouldnt go back.



Caught up with Cath Wan at night... it's been yonks since i've seen her... had tapas and then went out for coffee. Great to catch up!

Thursday... sleep in day... no tennis today either... but lots of shopping. It's amazing how Melbourne weather changes... on tuesday it was like 40 degrees, wed 20 degrees - freezing cold and rainy. Thursday was rainy in patches. Went down to Bridge St. which is where the factory outlets are... bought lots but mainly presents for upcoming b'days and things like that.

Friday.. went shopping again... hey melb is good for shopping... this time chapel st. It's factory outlets again but more upmarket clothing brands. Not as many bargains. At night went to the tennis. I've been a bit disappointed at not seeing Andy at all at the Aust open... he played on the Vodafone arena on the first day and we only had tix to the Rod Laver Arena. So... was great that the match we got to see at night was... Roddick vs Safin... My favourite vs Erica's favourite... was gonna be interesting... although now i think she's an andy fan... a convert!! And andy won!! GO ANDY!

Sat 20th Jan... slept in and then wandered around melb city for a bit. More shopping in the city before going to the airport and flying home...

James Blake


Roger Federer


Rafa Nadal