Proverbs 17:22

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

The latest incarnation of my blog

I've been wondering for a while what I should do with this blog, since facebook and our website have taken over my "photos and stories" mode of blogging. Because I do like blogging (and I like the idea that maybe someone, somewhere will actually read this blog) and so I want to keep it, I've decided to give it a new reason for being.

So in spiritual exercise to keep myself looking positively at the world (Phil 2:14), I will post all manner of things that are in accordance with Philippians 4:8. "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (NLT)

Hopefully someone, somewhere will also be encouraged by the mishmash of things that are posted here...

Prayer is like riding a bicycle

“I think it was the “blue” that did it. A shiny blue bike of my very own… I had always hated the A to B-ness of life. Now, I could go where I liked. I could start at A, head for M, and stop off for a while at F if it took my fancy. If I changed my mind at F, I might forget M and pay a little visit to Q, which, as we all know, is only down the road from R. It was lovely, and I loved it… In the course of just riding easily to and fro, I made real contact with the child inside myself, and in the process learned a simple and profound truth about contact with God. I discovered that a prayer didn’t have to start at A and end at B either. I learned or started to learn that it is quite legitimate, and –dare I say- enjoyable, to meander aimlessly around, just enjoying the nearness of God, in the same way that you don’t have to arrange special activities to enjoy being with a friend or a parent. God sat quite happily on his back doorstep, watching me as I pedaled happily around in my prayers, looking up occasionally to smile at him, and feel reassured by the way in which he smiled back. It was a new experience and a very pleasant one, despite the occasions when I fell off my metaphorical bike and bawled like a kid with a bruised knee.”

Adrian Plass “ The growing up pains of Adrian Plass”

The Will

And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father,

Until it be according unto mine?

But, no, Lord, no, that never shall be, rather

I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.

I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing,

I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire-

See in my quiet places, wishes thronging-

Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.

And work in me to will and do thy pleasure

Let all within me, peaceful, reconciled,

Tarry content my Well-Beloved’s leisure,

At last, at last, even as a weaned child.

Amy Carmichael

More Amy Carmichael

Thou who art my quietness, my deep repose,

My rest from strife of tongues, my holy hill,

Fair is Thy pavilion, where I hold me still.

Back let them fall from me, my clamorous foes,

Confusions multiplied;

From crowding things of sense I flee, and in Thee hide.

Until this tyranny be overpast,

Thy hand will hold me fast;

What though the tumult of the storm increase,

Grant to Thy servant strength, O Lord, and bless with peace.

Amy Carmichael

Flame of God

From prayer that ask that I may be

Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee

From fearing when I should aspire

From faltering when I should climb higher

From silken self, O Captain, free

Thy soldier who would follow Thee.



From subtle love of softening things

From easy choices weakenings

(Not thus are spirits fortified

Not this way went the crucified)

From all that dims thy Calvary

O Lamb of God deliver me.



Give me the love that leads the way

The faith that nothing can dismay

The hope no disappointments tire

The passion that will burn like fire

Let me not sink to be a clod

Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.


By Amy Carmichael

Jesus says...

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

Zephaniah 3:17

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing.”

The Solitary Reaper

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?-
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of today?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been and may be again?
Whate’er the theme the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o’er the sickle bending:-
I listened motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

William Wordsworth (1807)

Cloth vs Disposable Nappies - Environmental Footprint

I have heard many people say that there is no difference in the environmental impact of disposable vs cloth nappies - I found this fairly hard to believe so I did some research (read "googling") and found this very scientific study, click here.

In the opening "Summary" this study says: "there was no significant difference between any of the environmental impacts" of the different types of nappies. I wonder if this is where people are getting their information from? It seems to me that there are some serious misunderstandings happening here with regards this study, and there are also some problems with the study itself.

Keep reading if you're interested...

Firstly, there being "no significant difference" is not the same as being "no difference". The first is a technical statistical term, the second is a laymans term. What you need to find a "significant difference" is big enough numbers of people using both cloth and disposable nappies. This study had heaps of people using dispoable, but very small numbers of people using cloth - this lowered its chances of getting a significant result at the start.

Looking at the results graphs at the end, I bet that if they had studied large numbers of people using cloth then the results would have been, on almost every measure, that cloth nappies are better than disposable.

I read the whole report and throughout I found that they weren't trying to find out how environmentally friendly you could be when using cloth, but how they thought people in the UK actually did clean their cloth nappies.

They had a whole lot of assumptions, many of which did not match with how I clean my son's cloth nappies.

They assumed that:

• Cloth nappies were produced in the US, and disposables were produced within Europe (so the environmental costs of transport were larger for cloth, per nappy).
  
• 80 of people using cloth will soak and 100% of them will use a nappy soaking solution. The chemical composition has been assumed the be the highest level indicated on the label.
  some people will use a detergent when they wash (after using a sanitiser)
  
• 49% of people will use fabric softener in their wash (and that the softener contains the maximum level of chemicals indicated on the packet).
  
• 19% of nappy wash loads are tumble dried, then they adjusted the data to assume it was 60% (based on how many people own tumble driers even though only 19% of people said they used them). A tumble drier uses about 15 times as much energy as a cold water wash - so this is a significant amount of energy.
  
• 10% of people iron their nappies (who could be bothered!)
  
• 86% of people used one nappy liner per change (though no evidence for this - I reuse my nappy liners)
  
• they argue that the number of cloth nappies bought over the 2.5 year period is 47 per child, though they have only evidence that people buy 43, and they do not take into consideration reusing some nappies on subsequent children - something that can't be done with disposables.

Even with these assumptions cloth nappies perform better than disposables on most of the measures that they calculated.

I don't recall any mention of where the energy that you use in the house is coming from: if you have a green energy provider, wash in cold water and dry your nappies in the sun (like I do) - your total environmental footprint for your nappies must be many times lower than for disposables. Considering that each disposable you use needs to be grown, harvested, produced, transported, and disposed of, each with their costs to the environment.

People can make the choice to use disposables, if they like, for whatever reason. But it shouldn't be because they think there is "no difference" in the environmental footprint between cloth and disposable nappies.

By the way, I think that cloth nappies should be called "reusable" and disposable should be called "land-fillable" nappies. Do you think that would go down well? :-)

By popular demand...

Here are some more pictures of Oscar, lying on the ground, and heading out for a walk with his new blue hat on.

Often he only goes to sleep (when there is a bit of light in the room) with a hand over his eyes. As you can see he's getting too big for the bassinette, he's 7.3kg and 64cm long! We're getting a cot very soon.

Matt loves reading to him, here he's reading the rhyming bible that we were given - which we love reading, and Oscar likes hearing. He's just learned how to smile in the last few weeks, and so so whenever we chat to him, he gives us a big smile and starts "chatting" back. So far his "talking" consist of lots of strange and not-so-strange vowel sounds, and the odd "ga".

Oscar relaxing

Oscar!

Our baby son Oscar was born on Tuesday the 13th March by casarian section after a long labor.



The three of us meeting for the first time on the operating table.



Leaving the hospital after a three day / two night stay.



Some quality father son time. 

It's a foot! This one of our ultrasound pictures - we're expecting a baby in early March! We've had a great time studying in Sydney in 2006 and we look forward to more study next year, in preparation for going back to South Asia. And of course we look forward to meeting our little one as well! We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, we'll keep it a suprise.

This is Matt and a church elder handing out sweets on our last day of church - we also gave them our guitar which they were glad to receive since they didn't have one. 

This is the day we said goodbye to our house help. She and Donna were both very sad - we had seen her six days a week when we were at home. 

Up close with a baby elephant

Yes, this elephant was a baby, it was only about 5 feet high! It shakes the grass around first before putting it into its mouth. 

Getting some language survey work done

Matt getting some survey work done with some of our colleagues. They actually just finished about three weeks of hard work - hence the big smiles!

The lighter side

I am yet to find out if this cow paid the two rupees for the parking space. 

The Himalayas

This was taken from near our house, on one of the few days in the year that you can see the mountain from the plains. And no they're not clouds . . .