When to start
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To start anything, or the things you've always wanted to do.

The best time to start is when you've got enough money in the bank to support all contingencies. The best time to start is when the study semester is over.
The best time to start is when holidays are here.
The best time to start is when you finish studying.

The best time to start is when you're settled down in a stable job.
The best time to start is when everything at home is stable and you can really focus.
The best time to start is when you're out of debt.
The best time to start is when the government is supporting my cause.

The best time to start is when you're sure it's going to work.
The best time to start is when you're found a lifetime partner.
The best time to start is when you've finished your honeymoon period.
The best time to start is when you've settled down into marriage life.

The best time to start is when you'd have your kids grow up enough to look after themselves.
The best time to start is when your kids have all married off.
The best time to start is when you've decided to get yourself right with God.
The best time to start is when you fully understand everything that's going on.

The best time to start is when you've gotten tired of doing the things you're doing.
The best time to start is when you've taken care of all the other responsibilities that you have.
The best time to start is when you feel you're finally more matured to handle things.
The best time to start is when you stop feeling unsure and fearful of taking that first step.

For most of the things above, some conditions might never ever come until we decide to make a change to the way we see things.

Actually, as you've probably guessed, the best time to start was last year, or last month.
The second best time to start is right now, keeping in mind that there's a time for everything in every season.

Are our reasons, really reasons, or just excuses.
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Inspired by http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/11/when_to_start.html

For those who watch what they eat.

http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

And a related article on how to eat less pesticides :)

http://www.epicurious.com/features/news/dailydish/110606

Building well sometimes means first tearing down.

Recently my dad and my younger brother Joel attended a birthday party for Stephen Taylor, one of Joel's best friends. It was a very special occasion. Stephen was turning thirteen, and his dad wanted to make Stephen's entrance into young adulthood memorable. Nice presents woudn't suffice; Stephen's dad wanted to impart wisdom. To accomplish this he asked fathers to come with their sons to the party and to bring a special gift - a tool that served them in their specific lines of work.

Each father gave his tool to Stephen along with its accompanying life lesson for the "toolbox" of principles Stephen would carry into life. The tools were as unique as the men who used them. My dad gave Stephen a quality writing pen and explained that a pen not only served him when he wrote his ideas but also represented his word when he signed an agreement.

During the gift giving, a father who was a professional home builder handed Stephen a small box. "Inside that box is the tool i use most," he said. Stephen opened it and found a nail puller.

"My nail puller, simple as it might seem," the father explained, "is one of the most important tools I have" This father told the story of how once, while in the middle of building a wall, he discovered that it was crooked. Instead of halting the construction and undoing a little work to fix the wall, he decided to proceed, hoping that the problem would go away as he continued to build. However, the problem only worsened. Eventually, at a great loss of materials and time, he had to tear down the nearly completed wall and totally rebuild it.

"Stephen," the father said gravely, "times will come in life when you realize that you've made a mistake. At that moment, you have two choices: You can swallow your pride and 'pull a few nails', or you can foolishly continue your course, hoping the problem will go away. Most of the time the problem will only get worse. I'm giving you this tool to remind you of this principle: When you realize you've made a mistake, the best thing you can do it tear down the wall and start over."

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Extracted from Joshua Harris - "Starting with a Clean Slate"

Sting - Englishman In New York Lyrics

I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on one side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York

See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety
You could end up as the only one
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society
At night a candle's brighter than the sun

Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say

I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

Dating often becomes an End in Itself

I once talked to Marty, a guy in his midtwenties who enthusiastically told me about his girlfriend, Claire. They'd been dating for four years. She was a wonderful girl, he said, and they had a terrific relationship.

I assumed since they'd been together so long that engagement must be on the horizon and asked, "When do you think you guys will get married?"

Marty was shocked that I'd even mentioned marriage and begun to vigorously backpedal. "Well, gosh, we're just dating," he stammered. "That doesn't mean...well, I don't know if I want to marry her."

I wouldn't encourage anyone to marry someone just because they'd dated a long time. But I wondered what Marty needed to learn about Clarie after 4 years together that would help him decide. I suspect that, like many relationships today, Marty and Claire were stuck in what I call "dating limbo." Instead of acting as a bridge between friendship and marriage, dating becomes the destination - not ending but not moving on, either.

Singles who grow accustomed to dating limbo often find it difficult to leave. It's so comfortable! Because they can experience many of the emotional and, sadly, even physical priviledges of marriage in their dating relationships, many people (men in particular) find little motivation for committing to themselves to marriage.

For the man or woman who is ready to get married, the dating scene and the habits it encourages aren't helpful. It can seem like you're making something happen but you might just be getting into a holding pattern of one short-term relationship after another.

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Extracted from "I kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris

How do we know what spiritual disciplines to practice?
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In a sense, the answer comes from thinking backward:

First, we must understand clearly what it means to live in the kingdom of God. Jesus spent much of his time helping people see what true spirituality looks like.

Second, we must learn what particular barriers keep us from living this kind of life.

Third, we must discover what particular practices, experiences, or relationships can help us overcome these barriers.

For instance, we know that we are called to be loving. One thing I discovered when I spent a day trying to live in a loving fashion is that love requires an enormous amount of energy. And I was just too tired to give it. So I realized that - as unspiritual as it sounds - if I was serious about becoming a more loving person, I was going to have to get more sleep.

I have discovered I have a very hard time thinking and feeling and acting like Jesus when I lack sleep. An article in Time magazine suggested that America has a sleep deficit that is worse than the national budget deficit, and it results in everything from increased irritability to fatal car accidents.

I was surprised to find that the Bible has much to say about what John Ballie called the theology of sleep. Sleep is a gift from God:

' I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.'

It is an act of trust: I am reminded when I go to sleep that the world is in God's hands, not mine. The world will get along very well even though I am not awake to try to control things. At the appropriate time, my eyes will open and I will receive the gift of wakefullness once again.

' I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the LORD sustains me. '

Have you ever tried to pray when you are lacking sleep? Before Elijah was to spend a prolonged time in solitude and prayer at Mount Horeb, the angel of the Lord had him take not one, but two long naps. Contrast this with the disciples at Gethsemane, who could not pray becaused they kept falling asleep. Sleep is a gift from God.

' It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved. '
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Extracted from " The life you've always wanted " by John Ortberg

Habakuk 2:18-20 (NIV)

18: Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
19: Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.
20: But the Lord is in his hold temple; let all the earth be silent before him.

Adapted from Neil Anderson's "Victory Over the darkness"

Dont Ignore the Warning Signs of you emotions

I played sports as a young man and I have the scars on my knees to prove it. The incision of my first knee surgery cut across a nerve and I had no feeling around that area of my leg for several months. Sometimes I would sit down to watch TV and, without thinking, rest a cup of hot coffee on my numb knee. I couldn't feel anthing, but before long I could sure smell something; my skin burning! For awhile i had a neat little brown ring on the top of my knee, the result of not being able to feel anything there.

You emotions are to your soul what your physical feelings are to your body. Nobody in their right mind enjoys serious injury and infection. And if you didn't feel anger, sorrow, job, etc. Your sould would be in trouble. Emotions are God's indicators to let you know what is going on inside. They are neither good nor bad; they're amoral, just part of your humanity. Just like you respond to the warnings of physical pain, so you need to learn to respond to your emotional indicators.

Someone has likened emotions to the red light on the dashboard of a car which indicates an engine problem. There are several ways you can respond to the red light's warning. You can cover it with a piece of duct tape. "I can't see the light now," you say, "so i don't have to think about the problem." You can smash out the light with a hammer. "That'll teach you for glaring in my face!" Or you can respond to the light as the manufacturers intended for you to respond by looking under the hood and fixing the problem.

You have the same three options in responding gto your emotions. You can respond by covering over them, ignoring them, stifling them. That's called suppression. You can respond by thoughtlessly lashing out, giving someone a piece of your mind, flying off at the handle. I call that indiscriminate expression. Or you can peer inside to see what's going on. That's called acknowledgement.

Lend me you hope for awhile,
I seem to have mislaid mine.
Lost and hopeless feelings accompany me daily,
pain and confusion are my companions.
I know not where to turn;
looking ahead to future times does not bring forth
images of renewed hope.
I see troubled times, pain-filled days, and more tragedy.

Lend me your hope for awhile,
I seem to have mislaid mine.
Hold my hand and hug me;
listen to my ramblings, recovery seems so far distant.
The road to healing seems like a long and lonely one.

Lend me your hope for awhile,
I seem to have mislaid mine.
Stand by me, offer me your presence, your heart and your love.
Acknowledge my pain, it is so real and ever present.
I am overwhelmed with sad and conflicting thoughts.

Lend me your hope for awhile;
a time will come when I will heal,
and I will share my renewal, hope and love with others.

- Extracted from Neil T.Anderson's Victory over darkness

From a decision to put the foot down before 06,
the change has come and taken place.
It's different now, i can feel.
And i know...
Not by me.
Not by the world.

Nows another time ...
Breaking out of this comfort zone.
Slowly slowly...
It'll come...

Verse 1:
There must be more than this
oh breath of God come breath within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for you
Fill us anew we pray
Fill us anew we pray

Chorus:
Consuming Fire
Fan into flame
a passion for your name
Spirit of God
fall in this place
Lord have ur way
Lord have ur way with us

Verse 2:
Come like a rushing wind
Fill us with power from on high
Now set the captives free
leave us abandoned to your praise
Lord let your glory fall
Lord let your glory fall

~ Prayer of St Francis ~

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~ Much About Corn ~

Corn
Corn: a versatile crop
Popcorn, cornflakes, cornstarch, tortillas, cooking oil, corn syrup, corn on the cob, corn
in the can – all these products, and more, are derived from a single, very versatile plant –
maize. It is an important human food and a source of industrial raw materials. But
its main use, accounting for almost two-thirds of total production world-wide, is feeding
animals.
Maize is a grass that was first domesticated in Mexico more than 8000 years ago, and
is now the world’s third most planted crop after wheat and rice. Its two names – maize
and corn – are both derived from ancient names for the plant.
The largest grower is the United States, which produced 241 million metric tons in
2001, followed by China at 115 million metric tons and Brazil at 41 million metric tons.
While between them, these three countries account for two-thirds of total world
production, other significant producers in 2001 were Mexico at 16 million tons, France
at 15 million tons, Argentina at 15 million tons, Italy at 10 million tons and Canada
at 8 million tons.
One of the reasons there are so many uses for corn is that there are many different types,
which generate different levels of starch, sugar and water in their seeds. Popcorn, for
example, has a relatively high moisture content, while sweet corn is grown as a vegetable
because of its high sugar content. There are also many varieties of what is termed “field”
corn, grown for livestock feed, food processing and industrial uses.
Depending on the variety and the conditions under which it is grown, a corn plant
can take from 60 to 330 days to reach maturity, when it can be from 0.5 meters to 5
meters high. Because of its economic importance, corn has been extensively and
intensively bred to produce high-yielding hybrids that are resistant to disease, pests and
environmental stresses, suited to differing climatic conditions, and easy to harvest.


Even with the advantages of modern hybrids, growers face a range of challenges in
maintaining production levels and, at the same time, conserving soil fertility and
structure, and protecting the environment. Yields can be reduced by weather damage,
by weeds and by a huge number of pests, including insects, nematode worms, and a
wide range of bacteria and fungi.
A number of insects prey on corn but one of the most damaging is the corn borer, so
called because the larvae of this moth tunnel into the plant, eating it as they go. It
is estimated that each year 40 million tons of corn never reach the market because of
damage by the corn borer – equivalent to the entire production of Brazil. Damage
and control costs in North America alone exceed US$1 billion per annum; a single
outbreak in Minnesota in 1995 cost US$285 million.
Chemical insecticides and biological control methods are available to control outbreaks
of corn borer, but the nature of the infestation makes it difficult and expensive to
deal with.

Adapted from BTcorn

http://member.melbpc.org.au/~grjallen/anna.htm

A link to a book. Just thought of posting it up. :)

~ An inspiration of the night ~

Long in me have i seen,
Not my own understanding of this world.
Yet within it chooses to stay.
Unsure of how, it should reveal.

As now the hands have tried,
writing out my previous thoughts.
Find once again the words to rhyme.
To create this prose that's yet undone.

Least i've found in this day,
that strength in anguish creates much pain.
A strength from Grace slowly reveals,
That much is seen when one shall yield...

Much is left in this jigsaw mind,
Of pieces, pictures, clear to me.
With fumbling hands do i try,
To speak to you, with my words.

How i've missed the days before,
where i might rattle on and on.
Now a purpose grows in me.
And i hope to grow in Him.

Until another time that comes,
that these hands should percieve.
The tinkling of the itch to type,
Shall i now asleep, tonight.