From Phil Bakers blog today:
“After much thought, prayer and conversation, Phil has decided that it is best to close this blog for the time being. Phil would like to pass on his sincere thanks to everyone who has been involved and for your prayers for his recovery. Our hope is that Phil will one day be well enough to take up blogging again. It has been an amazing journey totalling 6,225 posts.

If you are interested in following Mark Edwards and his blog entries, you can do that by going to www.totalaccess.org.au/blog

Thank you so much again to everyone who has been involved.”

It has been great to follow the thoughts of Phil Baker over the years.
He has a great sense of humour, great wisdom, and great insight into life, church and faith.

When our church first heard of Phil’s health issues, we went to prayer. I have met Phil a number of times and organised him to speak at the Baptist Pastors Conference. It was excellent, inspiring, engaging and interesting. It was great to get to know him a little as someone whom God has used significantly.

I pray God will continue to heal him and bless him and Heather in this next part of their journey.

(As an aside, a number of people mistakenly thought I was the ‘Mark Edwards’ who posted on Phil’s blog. This was embarassing for me…but perhaps more so for the ‘real’ Mark Edwards who pastors a large church in Queensland.)

Couple of brief thoughts.

When in a meeting, particularly a church one….if appropriate…share the extra 10%
What he mean is that often the extra little bit we are wondering whether we should say or not, is the most important!
If it is a trusting and loving environment…that extra 10% we may be embarrassed to share, might just be the point which transforms people and direction…in a positive sense.

Encourage people. Someone who was significant in my life a few years back said to me once, “I dont encourage people often, so when I do, they take it seriously” He was dead wrong. People are generally bereft of encouragement in their life. So many take on board comments and words that they shouldn’t. Negative stuff. A word of encouragement, joy, praise…can make all the difference. Be known as someone who shares words of joy and life into peoplt.

Involved in a Pastors Conference coming up as a speaker.

Thinking through some of the language barriers and cultural differences we will encounter.

None the less, convinced of this…people are people.

Which leads me to my next thought….
I wonder if this is true…I think it might be.

“The key skill you need as a Pastor is dealing with conflict”

More important than any other skill you have.

Conflict management, conflict confrontation, personal journey through conflict…
even this…encouraging a place where there is minimal unnecessary conflict.
Highlighting conflict…perhaps even provoking it…when needed.

Melinda has to leave early to set up for the ‘Fresh Conference’ today, so that meant the rest of the family slept in….
Dad (thats me) was awoken from a lovely sleep in at about 8am with a polite ‘dad, dad’ which turns into a more incessant ‘DAD DAD!” about 10 minutes later when the polite one did not work.
Turns out number one son and daughter wanted pancakes for breakfast.
Thank goodness there were eggs and the other necessary condiments to fulfill the request.

Son wanted his smothered with maple syrup and cream……
Daughter wanted lemon and sugar.

Dad…well after making himself a monster one….also made a lovely Yahava coffee…

Life is not too bad on a Saturday morning…..

There is a difficulty about disagreeing with God.
He is the source from which all your reasoning power comes
C.S.Lewis

No one laughs at God in a hospital
Regina Spektor

Downloaded some music yesterday…some of the Christian Music of my youth.
These two artists where two of the many my cousin introduced to me when I was a teenager living in Albany during the late ’80’s.
I had just committed my life to God, and this music was part of that journey.
I really enjoyed them at the time…and actually still do!
Here are two of the best.

Here are some incredible and moving photos….
This one…with the young brisk man walking purposefully past the older guys…huddling against a building with some serious health and safety issues….
and there are a a lot more…which say something about the human spirit…
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