[Kid Inspiration]

Have been on a break the last week.

A whole week without a phone, a TV or people.

I highly recommend it.

Back into blogging and society in general from Monday this week.

So it’s midnight and I just finished a song (hopefully) for our upcoming kids album.

My wife Beci is in bed and here I am all inspired about kids worshipping God and keeping her awake.

I think it will be a powerful song. Talking about Jesus being near, and wanting to spend the rest of our lives in His house. “I’m so glad you’re here, I’m so glad you’re near…” well I don’t want to ruin it

But man is it a process. Getting a song written is like giving birth to a baby that sometimes refuses to come out. Or at least that is our experience.

This year has proven to be just as tough as always to find the God songs. But I guess not much worthwhile is easy. The pain of creating can lead to great beauty.

I hope and pray that is true for this years album, that the kids at our church and ultimately around the world would encounter Jesus. Because if they do, they will never forget it. And they will never forget him.

On holiday for a week with the family – but before I go, here is some muppet youtube awesomeness!

So I think I got a little excited and may have not been clear in my previous posts re: the Apple Store opening.

I didn’t actually sleep out overnight, but did go to the opening (5pm) the following day, the queues were huge, so came back later that night with Mike ‘Voltage‘ Vogel.

Here is MIke who now has almost completed his transformation into an uber-nerd… just like me

So I drove into the city before heading home tonight as people had started queuing for the opening of the Sydney Apple Store from 8:15am this morning. I got there about 9pm… there are about 20 people camping out for the opening of the new store!

I mean, there’s not even a new product coming out, just a store to sell stuff in. Which isn’t to say I am not heading in tomorrow at 5pm for the official opening… but camp out over night!!

Front of store… lot’s of glass, and apparently second largest in world after London.

Now the iPhone comes out here on July 11, so Apple really has got twice the mileage out of this launch. A bunch of pres for the opening, and then what’s sure to be bunch of press for the iPhone!

Start of the queue, first five have iPhones… (apparently there are 25,000 on the Optus Network already)

More Queue.

SO I reckoned there might be a few thousand here by tomorrow 5pm… and I will be one of them!

In 2001 my Dad began his first journey to India that would set in motion the journey towards establishing the Children’s Home in Bhachau…

On January 26, 2001, a large earthquake, registering 7.9 on the Richter Scale, devastated the area of Gujarat, northwest India. Five year old Rukshana emerged from the rubble an orphan. Her mother had been killed a week before in an electrical accident; her father was crushed in the rubble of their house. A photo of Rukshana, with a bandage over one eye, featured in the March edition of World Vision’s Impact magazine last year. Her image haunted many New Zealanders, among them Steve Wakerley of Christchurch… [Read On]

It has been a massive journey for my parents… as their three boys (me being one of them), left for parts uncharted (to Australia), they both have found that better late than never is the theme of the second half of their lives!

When I was growing up I remember conversations/discussion/prayers about Bali, which I imagined an exotic paradise filled with wild natives (any one who has grown up hearing about missionaries will know exactly what I mean). In some parallel universe it seemed I could have grown up a missionary kid, instead of playing left wing in my local Southbridge Rugby team in country New Zealand.

Now I may be completely off course and remember things through the filter of memory but Bali could have been an opportunity that never eventuated for whatever reason for us.

Now that their life has taken them to this incredibly challenging, frustrating, totally out-of-depth, but eternally significant experience I am in awe at their tenacity and faithfulness to the call of God in their lives.

They are making steady progress toward the finishing of a fantastic facility to eventually be used for::

• An orphanage for local children
• A free medical facility for those who can’t afford any kind of health-care
• A vocational training centre.

The people that will benefit from this ministry will be the poorest of the poor – children and adults who haven’t the means to bring up their children, eg. widows, orphans and the disabled.

So anyway, check out the site at: bhachau.org for more info.

As you may know I am holding a domain auction with the (however small or large) proceeds going directly to them, have look here.

I’m proud of you Mum and Dad!

Apple Store Sydney

Next Thursday 19 June – Me, George St Sydney, 5pm… Apple store opening!

So I am visiting a leader in the city at about 4pm maybe then I can totally make it a work meeting!!!!!

He he…

Man I am super nerd, king of all nerds… I am about to participate in a line just to visit a store with no intention to buy anything… sigh.

Colour conference was sensational!

I was twittering all week as a little experiment you can check that out here: http://twitter.com/kidinspiration

But just had to post these two images of my newly two year boy having some quality time.

Firstly on the Wii:

Then on Guitar Hero:

Look at that concentration!! What can I say, I’m a proud dad…

Let me give you the run down from last weekend and camp last week!

A lot of things happening:

• Voltage! We started a brand new age group this weekend (pre-teen; Yr5 and 6 for those in Aus) and had a camp last week – from Wed to Fri, couple hundred kids having a VERY powerful time with God!
• Primary/Elementary age groups are now: Fun House K-1, All Stars 2-4, Voltage 5-6 (not sure how they translate in different countries, but Kindergarten (K) is first year of school)
• 8 Massive services – Phew, I love Mondays!
• Pre-teens are different… a whole new style needed to really reach them!
• Camp can be a really powerful and defining time in a life, set apart from the familiar kids can experience God!
• We will be starting mid-week small groups with Voltage age group, so the only way you can be involved in this age group is to commit to this! Very pumped about that, a greater level of commitment and ministry!
• Parents reported some awesome conversations with their kids after camp!
• I talked about Song of Solomon a lot during a message at camp… Song 2:5… look it up!
• Pre-teens need the ‘talk’ at camp! No boyfriends/girlfriends stuff like that! Never thought I would have to deal with hormones in Children’s Ministry!
• Rearranging a room can add big time freshness to a program! Need to do it more often!
• I love camps! The best time of the year you get feedback from parents!

Two weekends brings up our Vision Sunday weekend… that will be huge!

C Ya

Little family update here — you may wish to avoid unless you like cute pictures…

Brooklyn NYE in Sydney 2008