You can bank on security

Yesterday I heard a news story about the National Bank here in NZ implementing a security dress code for customers using their branches.

They have announced that they are banning Hoodies (hooded jumpers), beanies & balaclava's, and helmets to be worn inside their branches. Anyone caught wearing these items inside the bank, will be asked to remove it so that their face is visible.

I think it is a great idea to improve security & to reduce the robbery rate. I wonder how long it will take for the other banks to follow suit.

A white Christmas......not quite

Living in New Zealand, you're bound to see snow somewhere; and even though I grew up here, I never actually saw a snowfall. Now while I have been skiing at the ski fields, I've never actually physically seen the white stuff fall from the sky like rain.

Today we were expecting rain in the afternoon, but we were all pleasantly suprized when it started snowing. It was light at first, but gradually got heavier and covered both cars & turned our green lawn whiter than white.

According to the Metservice weather forecast, the entire country copped something out of the wintry blast. The temperature here in Christchurch dropped from 7 deg C at 2pm to 2 deg C by 3pm.

Now the snowflakes have turned into rain, & the white blanket of crisp snow is turning into a slippery, sludgy mess.

The photo in this post is one of a few that I took during the snowstorm; to view more photo's, CLICK HERE to go to my Facebook page.

So why did I title this post "White Christmas....not quite? Well I've always wanted a white Christmas, it's just the wrong time of year for those of us in the southern hemisphere.

First steps

Little Chloe just took her first couple of steps. Just 2 steps between mummy & daddy. Very exciting.

It's all good

You may or may not know that Jo is 20 weeks pregnant with our second baby. Yesterday we had our Anatomy scan of our little baby to check that everything is where it should be and also to determine the baby's gender.

The good news is that everything is all good, AND we are having a little boy. I never thought I'd be a little boy's dad. Am I happy about it? Absolutely!

Here is the image of the anatomy scan.

When it rains...things get wet

Here in Christchurch we've had allot of rain over the past 24-48 hours, check it out here.

As you would know, my family & I have recently moved here from Perth, and as a result we have several boxes & other household item stored in our garage. During heavy rainfall, the water seems to get into the garage under the side door.

We had allot of stuff on the floor at the front of the garage where the water was getting in, after the rain had stopped this morning I went out to the shed to asses the damage. I spent about half an hour clearing stuff away from where the water was & then sweeping the water out of the garage, onto the lawn.

There were a few boxes that had water damage on the bottom, but they were empty anyway, so it didn't really matter.

So now I have moved all the stuff to the back of the shed so that when it rains again, nothing will get wet.

Rain is good, and we need it, but just make sure nothing valuable will get in the path of the water.

The Principle of Tithing

I have always believed in the principle of tithing. In the Bible, God commands us to give back to Him 10% of our income. Now this can be in a number of ways, whether you put money into the offering bag when it comes around at church, or whether you give to a ministry or individual, or however else God tells you to give.

Over the last 18 months is has not been easy for Jo & I, after Jo quit her job to have a baby, and so we went from 2 good incomes down to one which proved a challenge. At times we were living from one pay check to another & often we found that we didn't have enough money to tithe after all our expenses had gone out.

I was thinking about the whole tithing principle & all of a sudden God gave me a revelation that I have never realized before. God says that He requires the first 10% of our income, and in Matthew 6:33 it says "Seek first the kingdom of God, then all these things will be added to you". So basically if I honour God with my tithe first, he will make sure there is enough for everything else. It's a simple principle, but one that I have never considered until now.

I don't know what tithing means for you, if anything, but I truly believe that if you apply the Biblical principles as God has commanded, you will feel such satisfaction & peace, just like I have now.

Flex

I've been posting a few video clips lately; I get a few of them through the email, and a few of them really are worth sharing. I'm actually thinking of starting a video blog.

I had a friend whose nickname was flexi-man. Well the man in this video certainly does suit that name.

WARNING - This video contains twisting body parts.

Gentle Thoughts for Today

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement .

He who hesitates is probably right.

Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are ' XL.'

If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.

If you can smile when things go wrong , you have someone in mind to blame.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.

There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt .

Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs.'

Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper. It's worse when you forget to pull it down.

Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf

Lord,
Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth... AMEN..!

Free Phone Calls

I know you've probably heard of Skype already, but I just wanted to give it a good report.

I've attempted to use Skype in the past, but I gave up because firstly, none of my friends used it and secondly because my internet connection was obviously not quick enough, and I had allot of trouble with delay & crackly reception.

I've now got a quicker internet speed here in NZ & have re-installed Skype, and it works perfectly. I made my first phone call to my sister in Perth about 10 minutes ago.

What about you, do you use Skype? Does it work well for you. I know I'm behind the times a bit, but the internet certainly make life easier and cheaper.

Partial Movie Syndrome

What is Partial movie syndrome? It's when you see a movie several time without actually seeing it in it's entirety.

Now while I have seen Terminator 2 once in it's entirety, I have seen it many times in parts; usually the first half and then bits of the ending.

It was on the telly last night again, but it started quite late, so I only saw up to where Sarah Connor escapes from the hospital, then it was bed time.

Do you have the same trouble? Isn't it annoying when you don't quite get to see a movie all the way through, more than once?

What movies have you had Partial Movie Syndrome with? I think I might have to purchase my own copy of T2 on DVD.