Yesterday when I took the kids to their swimming lessons, there was a mum there, obviously frustrated with her son, who was about 10 or 11.
He would not get out of the ‘kiddies’ pool despite her protesting. Eventually he got out, and because he took so long, and was beligerant, he got a couple of good whacks in the bottom.

Thats the story, true as I saw it….

Here is what I think.

Whatever you think about smacking your kids…….

1. Don’t discipline your child in front of a whole heap of people you don’t know, in a public place. It is embarassing for the child, and for you.

2. By the time a boy hits ten years old, most mums are going to find smacking pretty inneffectual as a detterant or punishment, most 10 year old boys will find it hard to contain their mirth.

Pastor Wayne Field of Australind Baptist is one of my best friends. We are very similar in our style and values of ministry.
Very happy to see his church doing some seriously good things in Australind.
MEDIA RELEASE 14th August 2009
Community Boost brings Award Nomination

‘Boost’, a service program initiated by local church, Australind Baptist, has been nominated for the 2009 Curtin University of Technology Regional Service Award and Australia Post Community Of The Year Award, which forms part of the Regional Achievement and Community Awards for Western Australia.
The church was nominated by Australind Primary School Principal, Mr Darrin Tinley, in response to the support given to the primary school. In his submission he noted in the past 12 months members of the church has donated approximately $30,000 and an estimated 830 hours of voluntary service to initiatives which benefited the school community.

As well as financing a Chaplain, volunteers provide non-religious tutoring and mentoring to students, supervision for excursions, and gift vouchers to help cover personal expenses for people in need.

“They have given their time, hearts and minds to our students and staff and we are a much better school for their involvement. They would never do what they do to gain awards, however, we felt they deserved the recognition for the amazing support they give.” Mr Tinley said.

“This wonderful group of dedicated people is a significant boost to many in our school community; many of our students have benefited from the pastoral care they have provided.”

Australind Baptist Pastor, Wayne Field, says the nomination is a great encouragement, “In an age where some would question the value of the church, this nomination affirms that our people really do play a significant role in the community.”

“The ‘Boost’ program has evolved out of a genuine affection we have for the community. We did not go looking for it, but rather it developed over time as needs in the school became evident and as people in our church responded to meeting those needs.” Pastor Field said.

“Part of Australind Baptist Church’s vision statement is to demonstrate ‘life-changing love and compassion’ to the local community; the ‘Boost’ programme at Australind Primary School is the means by which we can assist people in our local community who need practical help to get back on their feet.”

Pastor Wayne Field and Principal Darrin Tinley outside Australind Primary School

And got through a lot of it….just waiting for a rather large file to print….Jazz in the Wood is coming!
stay tuned for details…but essentially we are doing a Jazz Concert at Inglewood.
Supported by City of Stirling, aimed at a more mature audience than we normally attract.
Should be great!

My son and I came up with this title for yesterdays game, are we clever or what?

This was the best game to watch for us all year, as the result was really known after the first quarter, and for the Dockers, that is saying something. Having said that, the third quarter was superb. The young Dockers could have been forgiven for letting their intensity down, but the third quarter was a great one to watch.

Suban, Broughton, Hill and Mayne. Right there is a team of first year players, who played well beyond their years against a much more fancied team.
I don’t think anyone really doubts that the Dockers have the best group of young players.
With Johnson, Hayden, McPharlin, Palmer, Crowley to come back next year…roll on 2010.

We even got to kick on the oval after the game, which has become a bit of a rarity this year, and we enjoyed that together as well.

If you choose to lead, you must choose who you will offend.

So therefore the question is, who did Jesus offend?

He offended the religious folk, those who would tie others up in knots, those who had a ‘them and us’ mentality, those who would look and judge, those who thought they had a mortgage on the truth.

Let me not be one of those people, and let me choose to instead, take their offence.