Being Proactive…

by Peter Starr

I love to see people taking responsibility for their actions. Some things we cannot change but all we can do is do the best with what we have been given. The following comes from the book “Successful Christian Ministry” by Mark Conner.

“We cannot choose how many years we will live, but we can choose how much life those years will have.

We cannot control the beauty of our face, but we can control the expression on it.

We cannot control life’s difficult moments, but we can choose to make life less difficult.

We cannot control the negative atmosphere of the world, but we can control the atmosphere of our minds.

Too often, we try to choose and control things we cannot.

Too seldom, we choose to control what we can…our attitude.”

What can you do?

Are you making the most with what you have been given?

Would the word proactive be used by your peers in describing you?

We cannot change our past but I believe we can change our future!

A couple of the best April fools jokes ever…

by Pete Starr.

Here are a couple of the best April fool jokes ever done. Taken from a top 10 list in “Time”.

The Left-Handed Whopper – 1998

Burger King cooked up a whopper of a different sort in 1998, but that didn’t mean fast-food customers were any less willing to swallow it. In a full-page ad in USA Today, Burger King announced a solution for the 1.4 million left-handed customers visiting their restaurants every day: the Left-Handed Whopper. Burger King said all the condiments were rotated 180° to suit the left-handed burger connoisseur. Southpaws eagerly tried to order the burger the next day, but they had to wait in line behind right-handed folks equally caught up with making sure they got the correct Whopper. The thought that a burger is basically, you know, a circle apparently never crossed their minds.

Planetary Alignment – 1976

The British media have a unique affinity for pulling April Fools’ pranks, matched only by the British public’s unique ability to fall for them. On April 1, 1976, BBC Radio 2 astronomer Sir Patrick Moore gave listeners some bunk about how, at 9:47 a.m., Pluto and Jupiter would align in such a way as to temporarily reduce Earth’s gravity. Moore told listeners to jump at exactly that time to experience the once-in-a-lifetime effect. At 9:48, callers flooded the lines, eager to describe how they had briefly floated. News that Moore had played them no doubt brought everyone crashing back to earth.

Atheism: Why the argument?

by Pete Starr

There has been a lot of debate in the media regarding the existence of God which has been fueled by the recent visit to Australia of some of the worlds leading atheists. Newspaper editors have commented that they are surprised by the number of letters and the passion of the writers no matter what their view is. As a Christian I have been embarrassed by the rudeness or lack of respect shown to others who may possess a view different to our own.  Anyway best stick to some facts of the big picture.

• No one can ever win an argument. I cannot prove the existence of God any more than Richard Dawkins can prove that he does not exist. If fact as a Christian for nearly 30 years it is still possible for me to personally doubt the existence of God. Having said that I have decided to live God’s way which is a life lived by faith.

• The Bible teaches that people who do not believe in Christ are if fact not able to discern the truth of His Word. Finding God is not a matter of intelligence on the part of man or proving God through an argument. Although, christian people should be a people of prayer, good attitude and some intelligence. It’s the Holy Spirit who convicts of the need for one to change his or her way. It’s impossible for one to come to Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit.

• Believing in God is a good thing. I personally was lost, without hope and feeling pretty empty until my conversion. AA is well known throughout the world for helping people overcome their addiction to alcohol. People who go to AA are not trying to find God but step 2 is about believing in a power greater than oneself can restore a person to sanity. Believing in God or a higher power is vital for the person to move on in life.

• I always said to my kids when they were in high school to check out their friends. If family life was better in their families then we could learn something. It has been statistically proven that people with faith live longer, have a greater chance of staying married and have more sex within marriage than non- believers. Christian people should be upright people who work hard and pay taxes. It is unfortunate that many of my Christian brothers and sisters seem hung up on judging others but Jesus was never like that. He modeled love. Our message is positive and many are helped through the good news of Christ. I would hate to come across judgmental of those who do not have faith but I would also like them to not judge me. I was reading a Lady GaGa quote taken out of recent Sydney Morning Herald article where she says “Have filthy thoughts. Express them constantly. The more provocative you are the more publicity you get.”  I personally do not think that those attitudes are helpful and would hope that the common sense of that opinion would be shared with those who do not believe in Christ.