Claude's Day as a Movie Star

Well, here is the obligatory ultrasound pic (or U/S pic for those 'hip' enough to be 'up' or 'down' with the lingo).

The Dr wanted to get an image of Claude's face, however Claude had other ideas. So this is the best we can do.

This is the wrong thing to say, but if you ask me, Claude looks like every other 18 week old foetus (and a little like an alien of some type).

It becomes very 'real' when you see a picture. There is a small human that is going to be totally and utterly helpless and dependent!

Can't wait!!!!

Options...

I wish I had this information previously -

Should I get a Dog or have a Child?

Dog option...

Child Option...

Either way, I figure they will end up at the RSPCA (or sold on the internet)

Baby Baldwin

If you haven't heard already, there is going to be another Baldwin as of early May 2007. Yes, Rach is pregnant! It is customary for expectant bloggers to post the ultrasound of the little tacker so below you will find said image. I must admit, I thought it would be a little higher definition, perhaps I was expecting too much. In addition I didn't realise that an ultrasound was a 'full body shot'!

We have given our Foetus/Embryo/Offspring the name 'Claude'

Newbie

Well here it is - the new Baldwin Chariot. Yes we do feel absolutely blessed! It is a 2003 Subaru Liberty Wagon.

We didn't choose the color on purpose. There were very few liberty's around, and the one that was available and in our price range happened to be the same color as Rach's squashed Lancer!

For some reason, Rach has decided that I get to drive the new car!

What do you reckon, is it a bit nice?

Rach's New Convertible

On Sunday, Rach and I came home to see that Rach's car wasn't as tall as it used to be. The insurance company classifies it as "An Act of God". I don't think they know how right they are! You see, we were wondering if we should trade Rach's car in the next month or two, before it hit 100,000kms. As it turns out, with the odometer on 90,000kms, that decision has been made for us!

No one was hurt, our neighbors were entertained for a bit and we get a new car out of it. All good if you ask me!

Spewin' - i missed it!

I was SO annoyed when I saw on this video that Jesus had already come back. I had some ideas as to what it would be like - definatly didn't realise Jesus would be wearing sunglasses....


All i can say is "Cuckoo"

Prayer

For those of you who are familiar with Myers Briggs personality test, I think this will be amusing (ripped from Steves site..thanks Steve!)
If you have done a MB personality test, comment with your type, I'd be interested if you think the prayer is on the mark!


ISTJ: Lord help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.
ISTP: God help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.
ESTP: God help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they're usually NOT my fault.
ESTJ: God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.
ISFJ: Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.
ISFP: Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).
ESFP: God help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.
ESFJ: God give me patience, and I mean right NOW.
INFJ: Lord help me not be a perfectionist. (did I spell that correctly?)
INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta
ENFP: God,help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.
ENFJ: God help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?
INTJ: Lord keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.
INTP: Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.
ENTP: Lord help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes.
ENTJ: Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwatIdo.
Amen.

WIN WIN WIN

I won our first game of Netball last night...... I mean, the team played really well! We won 21 to 11. Sure the opposition were all amputee pygmy midgets with emphysema and a penchant for mid game naps....BUT WE WON NONE THE LESS. Admittedly, I may have gone a little over the top after the game when I started dancing around the aforementioned sleeping midgets shrieking "LOSERS LOSERS - NAH NAH NI NAH NAH – WE ARE THE WINNERS – SUCK IT UP MIDGET BOY"


Note: I actually like midgets, some of my best friends are little people.

Laminate

You can't laminate a lollie snake....too big to get through the gap

Acronym Competition

Following a some posts on Steve's blog, I thought it might be fun to get some healthy competition going. This is how it works. I will give you some letters, your job is to tell us what they stand for.

The letters are:
PHAT

Example competition entry:
PHAT= pygmy Hunters Association of Tahiti


So, tell me, what does PHAT stand for?

Interesting....

I don't usually go out of my way to get into politics (sorry Steve, can we still be friends?), but I just couldn't dismiss this with my usual 'I don't do politics' quip.

I got an email from Wire about a survey the Democrats have on their website regarding God and government. I usually hate these things, but I don't think I could bear to hear them crapping on for the next 3 years that the 'results of our survey showed that Australians don't see any value in religion' etc etc. SO, here is the link, it is about 20 Q's, will take most people less than 5mins.


I just can't resist this opportunity...."Do the survey if you want good luck for the next 486 years. Send it to 890 people in the next 2 minutes if you love Jesus........."

What If...

At a recent Youth Hub meeting, we were talking about how our church as a community can reach Eltham High (as another community). We were talking about how in the past we have tended to segregate and neglect some parties in that community. Eg, Eltham high is largely made up of 3 groups - kids, teachers and parents. We have tended to only engage the kids (at a limited level).

The idea of 'incarnational' ministry is that we as Christians must follow Jesus' example and go into the world. And not just to go into the world, but to immerse ourselves in THEIR culture, and hang out in THEIR territory and become like THEM. We have fallen into the exact opposite of these statements.

SO.

I wonder what would be required to reach Eltham High School (as a whole) and to go to them as a community rather than expecting them to come to us!

Imagine the potential...imagine the relationships.....imagine sipping the perfect latte in heaven at at a table with a kid or parent or teacher who says "I'm really glad your church loved Eltham High otherwise I wouldn't be here in heaven enjoying this divine, never ending latte - FOREVER!!

The potential is to change the world...To change the world for the people of Eltham High....to change their eternity!

We Need Your Money!!!

Well the time has come for the cash to flow...flow freely indeed! Yes this is a shameless call for your money. Shameless because the money is not for me. A call because I don't have access to your bank accounts!. Money, because you can't feed kids with good intentions (we all know what Mr Lewis says about good intentions!!!)

One of my challenges in this world is that there are so many issues, I often feel insignificant. There are also so many options to help, that the feelings of insignificance are bolstered. That doesn't mean I shouldn't try!

I also have another confession to make. I have become immune to the footage on TV of hungry African kids in crisis and I hate that!

SO my challenge to you is to go to here and read some stories. LET IT GET TO YOU!!

Yes, I am doing the World Vision 40 Hour Famine. If you don’t know what I am talking about, each year people all around the world people get sponsored to ‘do without’ for 40 hours. The money goes to help some of the poorest and most struggling of our fellow humans, usually kids.

That’s where you come in. Can I ask for your money again? Could you please sponsor me?

If it’s a YES, let me know, or go to ‘Help kids by sponsoring Billy’.

If you are asked for the Famine Number, please enter 26192073-0. This makes sure that the donation is recorded against me and that I'm sent a record of your donation (the important bit!!!)

If it’s a NO, go to the start of this post and start reading again because you must have missed something!

"We need to talk"

This is really hard for me to say. I started out being ashamed but then I decided "NO, this is who I am and people should know the truth". I have become something that I never thought I would become. I do something that I never thought I would do. I hope you will understand. I hope you won't judge me. I hope we can still be friends after you hear my confession.

OK...here goes....I am a netballer. There. I said OK. Rach and I have started playing mixed netball with some friends. It is hilarious. I spend most of my time trying to figure out what I did wrong, where to stand, where not to stand, who my opponent is and the code that the umpires are speaking.

Please don't judge me!

"Filled with the Spirit"

This is truly hilarious......
my favorite line "Make the booty drop like the wall of Jeriocho"

"Welcome Back Welcome Back"

BACK IN ACTION!!!! After a week of sun 'n' fun (in no particular order) I am back into it. Another week would have been lovely, but alas, schedules did not allow. I can assure everyone that the sun is still existent, it is interstate at the moment.

I also have a question. What is it that makes people volunteer in a church? What are the TRUE motivators? I am interested, not in the reasons that we should volunteer, but the reasons that we do volunteer.

I like this....

The American president, Mr Bush is getting his daily briefing. The aide giving the briefing concludes with: “Yesterday, three Brazilian soldiers were killed.”
“OH NO!” the President exclaims. “That’s terrible!”
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks, “How many is a brazillion?”

Vertical and Horizontal Communion

Sunday night saw an awesome time at church. We did some worship, then I spoke about thanksgiving and how important it is that we give thanks to God. We then had a time of communion. I had been thinking lately that we 'miss out' on one part of communion. We so often take communion and in a quiet solemn time, reflect on what Jesus has done for me and thank him for dying for me. We are encouraged to have some time, just God and I. That is the 'vertical' relationship - the relationship between God and an individual.

But I believe there is suppose to be more. The idea that we are one body (Paul talks in Corinthians about the significance of breaking one loaf to signify one body) seems to often be missed.

So on Sunday night after sharing how I imagined the last supper to be (a bunch of blokes having a good time, telling jokes, retelling stories etc) I asked people to come and get a cup of juice and some bread and to find two other people that they had not spoken to in the last month. I encouraged them to 'catch up', have a yak, talk, tell a joke, tell a story and finish up by sharing some stuff that they are thankful for. That is the horizontal part of communion - the relationship between two or more people in a community in the name of Jesus.

What a great time it proved to be and the feedback from people was positive.

STOP..caption time!

"Although Henry hated the dentist, he just excelled at the 'open wide' part."

OK people, you know the drill. Captions, headlines, explanations etc etc....

Camping!!!!

Over the long weekend, I had the opportunity to go camping...so a camping did I go. Friday night saw representatives of the Baldwin, Stewart and Toohey families travel to the Cathedral Ranges, about 1.5 hours from Eltham, near Eildon.

The highlights were many (including wildlife, fire, coffee, fire, unsuccessfully warding off kleptomaniac Kookaburras from Ness's breakfast, fire and coffee). I also learnt that Kathryn just LOVES tuna. The girl can't get enough of the stuff!!!

On the down side, Matty got sick and fair to say, the weather was a little 'fresh'!

The thing I love about camping is that it is so slow!!! For example, If you want a cup of coffee (which I often did), you can't just press a button and have boiling water 1 minute later. You first have to go to the river and get some water, boil it on camp burner etc etc. The whole process takes a lot of time. As a result of everything taking longer, you basically only have time to sleep, eat, drink coffee and build and maintain fires. I LOVE THE SLOW LIFE!!!

I think the thing that makes or breaks a camping trip is the people that you camp with. In this case, excellent people made an excellent trip!

So Close......

Today I hand in my last assignment. It is an Exegetical Notebook' That is basically the whole semesters work. Exegesis is just a fancy-shmancy word for extracting the meaning from a text. In this case, the bible. It is a technical subject, but is absolutely fascinating how often we (I) actually insert meaning into the bible (its called eisegesis).

After I finish off this assignment, perhaps I will give some examples as to what I am talking about....yes, yes I will. That is a good idea Billy, you should do that. Ok I will, thank you...me.....for the encouragement. I really appreciate it.......

OK So I can't be bothered studying..Can you tell?

Stuck in my head....

I am in need of serious help. You know when you have a song stuck in your head and it is really annoying? Well I have something else stuck in my head. The "special" SMS alert on a Nokia Mobile. Do you have any idea how enraging it is? The worst thing is, that I can't just sing another song to get it out of my head!

I know someone that had the sound of the pedestrian crossing stuck in their head.

Any solutions? (that don't involve surgical intervention...WIRE!)

Back by popular demand

"yes Mum I know you told me not to pick up hitchhikers, but since I upgraded my wheels, I couldn't very well claim not to have room for a passenger!"


Captions/headlines/thoughts/explanations?

"The end is nigh"

Well the pointy end of the semester is upon us students. For me it means jumping through the hoops of essays etc. For others it means exams and cramming. I am a pressure person. I work best when the pressure is on. It is amazing how easy 3000 words come on any given topic when the essay is due in 2 days.

In addition I am a 'night-worker', meaning I do my best work in the night time. So my questions are two-fold.
1. Do you work better or worse under pressure?
2. Do you work better during the middle of the night or during the day?

OK Fine I'm over it!

After the compassion shown by my oldest sibling, it is time to get on with it. A special 'shout-out' to Rev, who filled in for me speaking on Sunday night at church (I think your main point was "Jesus is coming again on November 15...Gary told me so)

So after 4 days on the couch, more daytime TV than the legal limit and an acquired allergy to fresh air, it is time that someone took me out for a 'glass of SHUT UP'. Any takers?

Sickness is Sucks

Hey Dan, I'm sick, not coming into work today....hang on you are not my boss anymore! Actually, I am going horse riding........I wish

I have been STRUCK DOWN!!!!! Got a head full of gunk and it's making its way down into my chest for a party in my bronchioles. Anyone wanna party?

This IS sucks

Comments?

"In their haste to make the Ukrainian New Inventors and Science Show, Gavin, Todd and Brian failed to realise that their 'hover car' was facing the wrong way"

Backseat driving at its best

Lets pretend for a second that you are a witty newspaper editor and have to come up with a caption for this pic.

At the very least, an explanation as to what is happening here. For example, I don't actually think that he realises she is there and is saying to himself "this scooter is not performing like it usually does, will have to get a tune up"

Sometimes I feel like a fish...

This is not really about 'ambition' but what are you going to do, sack me?

I wonder how my journey is going to end....a little morbid yes, but am I the only one who wonders 'how will I go?'

Did you know that...

...the average person will spend two weeks over their lifetime waiting for the traffic light to change.

I have taken it upon myself to bring that average down. If everyone would just run a red light every now and then, or halve the time they wait for the green...this world would be a better place

Publicity?

I was thinking today, how funny would it be if the whole trapped miners thing in Tassie was just a stunt. I really don't think it was, and I'm glad they are out and all that, but how do we really know that they were in fact stuck underground?

SOUP IS NOT A MEAL

Here it is Ludi -

SOUP IS NOT A MEAL

Soup is a 'pre-meal', a warm up, an appetiser, an entrée. It is NOT a meal in itself. I do not care how 'chunky' it is. I don't care how much bread you consume with it....SOUP IS NOT A MEAL



I actually like soup

The Death of One

Is it just me, or should Cockatoos refrain from dying in your front garden. We made the unfortunate discovery yesterday. I will admit that I am kind of hoping a little fox will come and take it away as a delightful meal for him and his little foxettes. Is it wrong to wish native animals to die? I think it is OK because there are lots of them. I think if there are lots of something, it is OK for them to die.....like ants and flies and English people

What more could you need?

In a moment of deep reflection, I have decided that all we need to survive this world is coffee and iced donuts (chocolate and pink). There are 13.5 things that we need more than coffee and donuts. One of which is a bakery that makes coffee, but another is eBay.

Classes - who needs them?

I didn't go to class today. I'm going to say it was out of respect for the ANZACS. No one should be forced to learn on such an important patriotic day.
Actually, I just have too much college stuff to do.
I think I hate the fact that a bachelor level of study, they still take a role and make 'chapel' type components compulsory. Isn't that right Revhead?

I think I will just get my mum to write me a note....

Instant Family

This past weekend saw Rach and I become instant parents. We had the ....pleasure (yeah that's it) of taking care of 2 nephews and 1 Niece from Friday to today. Mitch, Hayden and Becky. It was awesome, strange and tiring all at the same time. I reckon we should get rid of all the sex education in schools and churches, and just give everyone the responsibility to look after 3 kids at once. NOW THAT is contraception at its most effective...

Influenced or influencer?

The passage for this weeks sermon at EBC is Mark 4:1-34. What a great passage, the general crux is this: The first part is the parable of the Sower. The four different types of soil etc. The point being, we need to be influenced by the Gospel. The second part, which is perfectly 'ripe for the picken' is about sharing the gospel, or being an influencer.
So the answer to the title question is BOTH!

Easter: going... going... gone?

Rach and I had an awesome weekend away with friends, eating good food (well it was food) and playing cards to 2am. Gold I tell you!

I was thinking that I hope Easter doesn't fade into the 'another holiday' category like Christmas for Christians as it has for non-Christians. I guess Easter should be the most important time for a Christian and it pains me to think that it would become a 'hollow' time.

I also had a bit of a cynical harsh thought (one that I can't believe I am about to post publicly!!) Do you think that holidays should be specific to a persons particular religion?
Eg A Christian has Easter and Christmas, but should a Muslim, Jew or Buddhist person have the same public holidays? What about the Agnostic or atheist, should they 'ride the public holiday wagon' of Christianity? I have heard people say (very hilariously) 'get your own public holidays (I think that is a contradiction of terms!).

But it is an interesting thought no?

Who invented....

I was wondering (as Dboy would say, 'I thunk a thought') have all the things worth inventing already been invented? I would like to be an inventor. If I was, I would invent a 'mood-explainer'. It would allow both men and women to not only read the mood of their respective partner, but it would provide a reason for that particular mood. For example: If I was in a grumpy mood, the mood-explainer would not only tell Rach that I was grumpy (just In case wasn't clear) but it would tell her WHY I was grumpy. It would work vice-versa, allowing me to interpret Rachs moods too!

I think I'll call it 'MOOD-X 2000' (as in MOOD-eXplainer...get it?). There will also be a MOOD-X 3000, which speeds up the process, delivering the explanation more rapidly.

I think more men will buy this product than women.

Bachelor for a day...

Rach has gone to visit her sister in Bairnsdale for a couple of days. If I was 10 years younger there would be crazy parties, loud music and......ah, who am I kidding

In reality, I am sitting on the couch with a rug over my knees, sipping a cup of tea, watching whatever is on TV and complaining out loud that someone just said a rude word, then threaten to write a complaint letter, knowing full well that I will forget why I was complaining as soon as I get off the couch. This is what I imagine retirement to be like. I think I might retire early.

I also miss my wife (there is this weird thing when you have been married for a couple of years, even when your spouse is not home, you still sleep on your own side of the bed!)

Day off? What's that?

Today I do not have classes, that does not mean I have the day off. There are doors to hang, cables to run, frames to paint, dare I say it, kitchens to install. Gotta go, much to do!

By the way, I'm not complaining, I actually love it!

"I am...Therefore I think"

I was thinking today, following the weekend, just how short our time here on earth is. I found myself thinking 'what will be the result of my time on earth, what am I going to achieve through my 80 odd years as a human 'bean' (as I thought the term was for more than half my life). Am I the only freak that thinks these things? What about you?

Holidays!

Tabor has holidays over the next 2 week....I mean 'reading and research'. The only thing I am going to be reading is the newspaper, and the only research will be into what movies are on.

Actually that is not true, I hope to move ahead with our kitchen....it is less than finished! As well as that, I am not really on holidays, I still have lots to do at church (with church) By the way, I love my job!!!!!

The Gospel According to.....

Last night at church we started a new series on Marks Gospel. I think I am looking forward to going through a whole book with our guys. I am getting increasingly worried that we don't know our bibles well at all (me included). I think we have somehow missed the gap between Sunday school 'bible stories' and a full and real understanding of the scriptures. (at least for kids that grew/grow up in the church) I wonder why that is?

"I don't have a theology"

I have heard people say that they do not have a theology in certain areas. I read someone else (I am really bad a remembering sources) say that EVERYONE has a theology, it is either a good theology or a bad theology.

Dictionary.com:
the·ol·o·gy (th-l-j)n. pl. the·ol·o·gies: A system or school of opinions concerning God and religious questions

I wonder if this is true? Does everyone have a theology be it good (correct) or bad (incorrect/inaccurate)?

I had a long talk with a close friend tonight. Makes me thank God for the people He has put in my life. God has this habit of pouring blessings on us, particularly through people. I wonder if God is particularly grieved when relationships between people are not as he intended them to be? (Thanks for the chat Stevie!)

Oops, I forgot

I just realised that this is week 6 of college. You all know what that means don't you......no? That's ok, either did I until I looked at my subject outlines and realised I have two assignments due tomorrow. One may ask "Why are you posting when you should be writing assignments?"
That, my friends is a great question, one that deserves a great answer. Unfortunately I am fresh out of 'great' answers, all I have are these measly 'excuses'

It got me thinking(procrastinating) what makes for a good excuse? Is there a ratio of believability vs shock...ativity (or is it 'shockness')? If so, what is that magical ratio....not that I will be needing it.........

all down hill from here

I did half a day of work for Dan at Dr Audio today (does 5.5 hours count as half a day?). Fair to say, my body forgot that it was doing manual work!!

Off to the Comm games tonight with Rach - Athletics is the flavor. I'm not overly excited about going, but should be good. I think I struggle with the amount of money that has been spent on the games......

What now????

Well, now that I have exhausted my creative genius, what is the next step in my glorious blogging career. After but a few days I have experienced the highs and the lows of blogging. Where else is there to go?

...and they're off and running

Well, great, just as I was trying to have my own little experiment (after all I am a scientist) dboy goes an announces....."Billy Baldwin's got a Blog! Huzzah!"

Well, there has hardly been an influx....

Newbie

Well, here we go, who knows what will become of this!!! Stay awhile, put you feet up....on your own desk and be nice to me, it's my first time!