Tuesday, January 29, 2008

One BIG Garden of Sound



So I've been back from what could be the best weekend of my life! Yeah, thats a big call I know, and as I'm writing this entry, I struggle to find the right words to express myself. 4 days, over 40 bands, 9 stage and 25 000 people!! And thats the number of people camping over the weekend.. Thousands more came for the day for the main bands namely Switchfoot, Hillsongs United, Israel, Leigh Nash and a whole lot more.

Highlights of the festival for me :
  • Imagine this..25 000 people all dancing and singing their hearts out.. wait, maybe you don't get me.. I mean EVERYONE, all the 25000 people there! At one point during one of the main sessions, I turned around and I dont see a single person standing still. Such a joyful atmosphere..
  • Leigh Nash was just soooo lovely. For those who don't know her, she is the lead singer for Sixpence None The Richer (and she broke the news to us that the band is coming back together).
  • It's amazing how all the bands are just so humble. Leigh Nash in particular kept saying thank you and you just know how much she means it. If she was 10 years younger, I'd ask her to marry me! lol.. Switchfoot are cool too, they're so passionate bout what they do.
  • It was a good time catching up with friends from Christchurch. A total of 15 of them made the journey up here
I think the main highlight of the festival for me was going through the Mission Experience (something like One Life Experience).. It gave me a renewed sense of purpose.

Copying the Mastercard advert:
Parachute ticket: $140
Food over the weekend: $20
The joy and fun : Priceless.. :)


more pictures available here

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Relationships ;)

This is so good that it must be shared. It's a long post obtained from perrynoble.com but its well worth your time reading it. ;) Oh, and it is written by a christian pastor, so if you are not a christian, please don't let that turn you off. I think this is just what every girl wants deep down in them. It's a good read anyways. Guys scroll down halfway down the post and take notes.

Four Things A Single Girl Should Know

Last year I did a post entitled “Five Things A Single Dude Needs To Know” that I felt like really challenged guys and gals…at least the e-mails proved that to be true. AND…one of the questions I received for several week after was, “What about the girls, when are you going to challenge them?” Well–after about eleven months here goes…

#1 - Girls Chase Boys, Women Wait To Be Pursued.

Ladies, please believe me when I say that if you are pursuable then a godly man will take notice at just the right time…wait. If you have to pursue a guy and initiate all of the conversations and planning then the dude is not ready to lead…which would automatically disqualify him biblically from being your husband.

Ladies–admit it–the desire of your heart is to know that someone thinks you are lovely enough to pursue…and when a guy makes an effort to win your heart–there’s just something about that that makes you feel special.

God created you–designed you…and it wasn’t so you can throw yourself at a guy, hoping that he notices. Fall in love with Jesus and a godly guy will notice, I promise.

(If you are whining right now saying, “But I am in love with Jesus and no one is noticing” then you need to stop and listen to yourself…trust me, a dude doesn’t want to pursue a woman who whines!)

#2 - Set High Expectations

This sort of goes along with the first thing…but ladies–let me say this clearly–Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, which means that you should not look at a guy and say, “I can fix him up and he might work.” As I often say, you are NOT the Holy Spirit–”fixing people” is the job of Jesus…not you!

When you get married you need to be willing to say, “I will love this person AS IS for the rest of my life, if NOTHING changes I will love them!” BECAUSE, when you get married, change is NOT a guarantee…so don’t listen to promises of change if evidence is not shown beforehand.

I am SICK and TIRED of godly Christian young ladies settling because of insecurities in their lives OR because their friends are getting married and they think that they are going to be 28 and single–which would be the end of the world!!! I have seen girls get here and panic–and then date and marry some dude, only to be in divorce court in less than five years–which brings about another set of issues altogether!

Ladies–remember–Ephesians 3:20! Is he more than you could ever ask for or imagine?

#3 - Don’t Over Analyze!

Girls are HORRIBLE as this…a guy will ask them out and they will think the following…

  • “He just asked me out–what does he mean by going “out?”
  • “If I go out this once then does that mean we are dating?”
  • “What if I don’t like going out with him–and he asks me out again?”
  • “Is he thinking marriage? Oh my–if we had kids they just wouldn’t be cute!”
  • “He hasn’t called me in a day, he hates me, did I have broccoli in my teeth?”

I could literally go on and on…but ladies, if a guy ask you out and you want to go–then go, and don’t spend the 72 hours before and after trying to analyze things that probably will never happen. Seriously, God probably hasn’t even invented some of the problems that ladies get stressed out about–CHILL!

#4 - Be Honest!

If I have one pet peeve with girls…it’s this–they will go out with a guy, say they had a great time…he will ask can they go out again and she says, “Call me.”

So he calls…and calls…and calls! The girl never answers when she sees its him on caller ID, she thinks if she ignores him then he may just go away. BUT, because he’s a guy and probably a little clueless–he keeps calling.

Finally they accidentally run into each other somewhere…I say “accidentally” because she had NO INTENTIONS of ever speaking to him again. He says, “I’ve been trying to call you,” and she replies, “Really…yeah, uh, I’ve been…uh…you know…busy.”

He says, “That’s cool–I understand…so, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night? Uh…well…uh…I have plans.” (This is always the safest answer, right?)

“Plans–well what about the night after that…”

This conversation goes on and on with the girl making some obscure reference to having to check her schedule and for him to call her–and the game goes on.

Ladies–please–be honest. If you like the guy and want to go back out–and he asks you–then say yes. Don’t play games…say yes and go. BUT…if you have no intentions of ever going back out with him again…then please, tell him because he is probably driving his friends crazy!!!

Those are just a few hints…we are doing an entire series for singles next year–should be FUN!


Five Things A Single Dude NEEDS To Know…

OK guys…here we go…I’ve been wanting to do this one for a long time. Please keep in mind that I made TONS of mistakes as a single dude…so these lessons are NOT all as a result of my success stories. BUT…I did manage to do some things right…and I have a red hot wife to prove it. (Thank You Jesus!!!)

#1 - If You Are Interested In A Girl…YOU Need To Talk To HER.

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:22 that he who FINDS a wife finds what is good (AMEN!) Men…it is up to you to FIND a wife…that means YOU are to be the one to initiate things…if you want to be the leader IN the relationship then you should take steps to be the leader at the beginning of the relationship!

This means, if you are interested in a girl…you talk to her!!! You don’t call HER friends and ask them to drop hints for you…unless you are a pathetic wimp. You don’t get YOUR friends to drop hints to her friends. BE A MAN! If you want to ask her out…ASK HER OUT! Trust me…her friends don’t want to talk to you about it anymore…and if you keep bothering them they are going to tell HER to stay away from you!

I did this right…when I finally decided that I was interested in Lucretia I told a couple of buddies so they could pray for me…and then I had a conversation with her and was completely honest and transparent about the way that I felt. She said she would “pray about it” and that she was “not saying no,” which was NOT very encouraging. BUT…I found out later that she always told her friends that if a guy was interested in her then she expected him to talk to her…NOT anyone else.

#2 - When You Talk With Her–BE HONEST & DON’T PLAY GAMES!!!

One of a man’s top fears is rejection. SO…in order to stay away from this pain and hurt he will not come out and say he is interested in a girl…he won’t say, “I would like to take you out for dinner.” Nope–he plays games…drops hints…all the while hoping that the young lady will pick up on his pathetic attempts to “woo her” and then begin to pursue him.

Dude–stop it, right now!!! If you are interested in a young lady–tell her. Just come out and say it. If you are not sure…but you think you would like to get to know her better…then tell her, “Hey, I would like to get to know you a little better…can we have some supper?”

DO NOT SAY, “Hey…uh…well…maybe, you know, if you like food…uh, do you like food,” hoping that she will say, “Yes, take me to get some.”

Ladies want a man that can be honest…and if you can’t be honest with her from the beginning then how in the world will you ever convince her to trust you in the future?

One more thing…another reason that dude play games is so that they can fuel their pathetically weak male ego…they string girls along…they are not interested–but do want someone to make out with on the weekends. To be honest–I want to punch guys like this in the nose. (And if you are ANY sort of man…and you have a daughter…and a dude does that to her…you want to punch him as well–no matter “how godly” you are!!!) :-)

#3 - On The Date–Be Creative

Ladies–please…if a guy ever takes you to supper and then a movie ON THE FIRST DATE…DROP HIM like a bad habit. Trust me…this relationship has started off on the wrong foot…and here is why…

When you go to a movie on the first date you learn NOTHING about one another…there is NO interaction, no conversation…and so when you get home one person will lie to the other one and say they had a nice time…when they really didn’t because time and money were spent on getting to know all about the lives of the fictional character on the screen.

Guys–think enough about her to PLAN the date…and when you PLAN…PLAN it well! (This is where you CAN get advice from her friends.) When you pick her up–don’t ask her where she would like to go eat…HAVE IT PLANNED. (There should be a conversation somewhere about particular restaurants that are liked and are not liked.)

I know one dude that took a young lady to eat and then they went to Wal Mart where he said, “Let’s get a buggy–go through and pick out five things that we identify with…and then meet back here and write them down…and then go somewhere and talk about them.” DING DING DING–we have a WINNER!!!

(Note: Movies are NOT a bad date idea…they are just a bad first or second date idea!!!)

#4 - On The Date–Be A Gentleman

Dude–you have GOT to treat her like a lady. Walk her to her car door and open it for her. I have had guys argue with me & say, “My dad doesn’t open the door for my mom.” I always reply, “Well…maybe your dad is an insensitive jerk!” Just a thought.

(Ladies…if he does not open the door…just stand outside of his car–he will get the hint. If he doesn’t find you valuable enough to open the door for you…trust me, it’s going to go downhill.)

Guys–a lady wants to feel special…like someone really wants to take care of her…and trust me, the little things matter…so open her car door.

Oh yeah, one more thing…when you come to her house to pick her up…cut your car off, walk up to the door, and ask for her like a man. If you pull up in her driveway and call her from your cell phone–you are a loser. If you pull up in her driveway and honk your car horn…you are REALLY a loser.

(A dude came to pick up my sister once a blew the horn…she got up to leave & my dad told her to sit down. The guy outside then began to hold down on the horn…my dad, who had drank a beer or twelve, got up, walked outside, opened his car door and hit him in the nose, knocking him across the car. He said he was going to go home and tell his father…to which my father proceeded to invite him to do so, telling him that he would be glad to give his father the same treatment. The dude left & came back an hour later cleaned up and apologized for the way he had treated my sister.) I LOVE TELLING THAT STORY!!! :-)

#5 - If She Says “NO,” That Means NO!

Guys–if you ask a girl out on a date & she tell you no–back off…stay away…you can be her friend but do NOT begin to try to put pressure on her…this freaks her out.

I have had so many single dudes tell me, “But Perry, you talk about how you pursued Lucretia for nearly two years before she even went out with you.”

YEP–that is true…but I was her friend and not a freaky stalker. During my two year friendship with Lucretia we maybe had five conversations about the possibility of us dating one day…and she NEVER told me NO or to never bring the conversation up again. We were friends…we hung out…with NO strings attached. She never told me to back off.

If a young lady tells you no and you continue to pursue–dude–you are NOT being romantic…you are being stupid. Let it GO!!!

That’s about it for now–just curious–what are some things a single lady needs to know? (I will post about this–but remember–this Sunday is the message for the women at NewSpring…the men came out in full force…ladies…don’t miss this!!!)


So, what do u think? I think guys should restore their manhood and be bold and girls should keep to their standards. Guys if you are trying to make up excuses, suck it in and be a man!

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

A day at work with Raymond

It's been 3 days since Christmas/New Years break was over. Work has been really really slow. I've not done anything worthy to be called work so far. Here is what my last 3 days looked like

The first thing i do everyday at work is set up my laptop. Then i go make myself a cup of tea. As I sip my morning tea, i would log on to soccernet.com, bbc.com , cnn.com, stuff.co.nz, thestaronline.com.my and whatever .coms thats i could think of. Ussually at this stage i just scan through everything. After an hour or so, I would go pay my colleague a visit. Start asking if they got any job for me. For the last 3 days it's been no but i stayed around and have a chat anyways. Ussually the topic range from their good old days as a newbie engineer to fishing (today was about terrorist). After that i would go back to my room and go back to all those .coms and start to read anything that is vaguely interesting. Just found out today that stuff.co.nz has daily sudoku..that would be something to look forward to everyday i guess. When i run out of stuff to read, i'll start emailing my dear friend. Haha.. Oh, lately i've been reading lotsa blogs as well. Been reading lots from www.perrynoble.com. Very strong words from a great guy. I'll copy and paste 2 of his post which i thought was hilarious in the coming days. I'm sure it'll bring a smile to you as well ;).

Tomorrow morning i've got a meeting with the job manager. Finally something for me to do.. I kinda can guess what he's got for me to do and i think it would be boring..but hey, its something to do at least.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

2008

So far 2008 looks like it’s going to be amazing. The fact that it could be my final year as a student adds lots of excitement and anticipation to it. I found myself asking this question.. What do I want to see happen this year? A great guy once said this, “to see extraordinary things happen, one have to do extraordinary things”. Can’t get the real quote, but you know what I mean :P I don’t believe life is meant to be ordinary. So why live a mundane routine life?? This year is going to be life changing with lots of big decision makings that would orchestrate my path for the next 3-5 years at least!!

So here are a few stuff that I want to see happen (call it my new year’s resolution if you like)..

  • End uni with a bang! That means to do well in my studies..
  • Build relationships that last. It’s sad (and also exciting at the same time) to know that after this year, most of my friends would go our separate ways. It’s been cool rubbing shoulders with you guys so let’s make this year a memorable one.
  • Live a healthy life. That means working out, exercise and healthy eating. Note that that doesn’t mean in any way that I’m going on a diet. Hahaha, that would be the joke of the year if I ever do go on a diet. Sports, sports and lotsa sports
  • Be more active in church. Had always wanted to get involve with sound and with Paul moving to Aussie, there’s no better time than now! Quite keen to see small group move up one level as well.
  • Find my soulmate – haha, what a joke ;)

Nothing really extraordinary there just yet but check with me again at the end of the year. I’ll tell you the great things that took place ;)


Let me end with the quote thats on my page :

"The future belongs to those who believes in the beauty of their dreams"
I have a dream.. and it's purposeful and beautiful :) How bout you?

Friday, January 4, 2008

Northland and Beyond..

Happy new year people!!

I've just been back from a wonderful adventure. Had so much fun doing stuff and spending time with friends. So here's some of the highlight of the trip..

I guess the most exciting day of the trip would be the day that we spent at Koofai Bay. It is a private beach only accessible from Andy's farm on a 4WD. Felt like we own the whole bay to ourselves (well, actually we did, kinda...it belongs to Andy's family).. The journey started with us on the back of the 4WD truck, hanging on to the metal railings on an open carriage. After a short lunch, we walked around the cliff/rocks to the fishing spot. I don't think I've been to a better fishing spot ever! They were biting the moment you put the bait in the water. The water were so clear that you could see schools of fish swimming around every 10 minutes or so. The first two fish that we caught were filleted and smoked straightaway, doesn't come any fresher than that :)

Other stuff that we did were camping, climb Mount. Camel, went to Cape Reinga, bonfire and heaps more. Check out Celest's blog for more details. Feeling very lazy to blog on it. Going to enjoy my weekend before going back into work.

One thing I realised from the trip is that theres no better way to recharge after a hectic year than just spending time in good company. Man bond by doing stuff together, be it fishing, football, board games or just getting into a car and have a good long drive. :)

*check out more pics on my facebook album