I fear that God may judge me.... For having a Medical Aid scheme

Megan and I have been truly thankful for our medical aid scheme. We are members of one of the larger private medical health administration schemes in Southern Africa. They have offered us good care.

Sure, our benefits could be better... Sometimes we feel the pinch when we have to take one of our kids to a doctor, or if Liam has to see a specialist more than once in a month and we have to find R500 each time to pay up front.

However, we have good hospital care. This last stint that Liam spent in hospital (just under a week) will only cost us about R9 000 - which is the maximum we should ever have to pay for covered care. Sure, when our little guy was in ICU for a few months we ran out of cover and ended up taking a second bond on our home to pay that off. However, for all intents and purposes we probably only paid for about few weeks of ICU care, whereas the medical aid scheme paid for months!

We have nothing to complain about.

Yesterday the nurse who looks after Liam fell ill. She was truly not well! So, Megie and I took her to our local doctor (knowing that there was no way that she would get to see a doctor within a day, let alone on the same night, at a government clinic). She was bent over in pain. Our doctors gave her compassionate and expert care - unlike many other doctors in the country they are not overworked, under inordinate pressure, under equipped, or under staffed.

They are able to offer the care they can because they serve people like us, people who have money to pay.

Our nurse, however, is not one of those people. She has to rely on the overburdened public health system. In a nation where the death rate has exceeded the birth rate (because of HIV / AIDS) that is a SCARY thought! In truth, unless you are dying it is unlikely that you will get swift care... That is not an indictment on the women and men who do their best to offer the best possibel care for the most possible people, under less than ideal circumstances....

NO, it is an indictment upon me...

I am one of those persons who 'props' up the system of abuse that ensures that people who have money (not people who are most in need of treatment and care) receive the best, fasted, and friendliest care...

Something is wrong with this picture! Sadly, I don't have the courage to change it. I cannot bear the thought of giving up my medical aid - I fear for the life of my children. But, by the same token I cannot bear that my medical aid contributes to the widening gap of care that exists.

Lord, help me!

Surely there must be a better system where those who have give so that those who don't can also have?

I know that Megan and I can make a difference in the life of this one woman, but I long to change a nation. I long for us to change the world so that it reflects the Kingdom of God! I long for a world where everyone can have the best, fastest, friendliest, and necessary care - not because they have money, but simply because they are human. I need to pray, and think, and work - but in the meantime I need to repent. I have unwittingly contributed towards the suffering of others.

A system that turns the suffering of others into a commodity MUST be wrong, and if it is wrong, then I have a responsibility to change it.

Today I pray for all those people who did not sleep last night because they, or someone they love, is sick... They're sick and they know they cannot access the treatment they need... Today I pray for all doctors, nurses, care givers, and healers, who wish they could do more for those who 'live their lives in the dark', 'giving all that they can, wishing they could give more'...

Technorati tags: Medical Aid, God's judgement, The Kingdom of God, prayer for healing, change the world

Liam already love's my Mac! Good boy!

A great application for Mobile Blogging! Shozu, post photos directly from your cell phone to your blog.

I guess the title says it all!

I have been looking for an application that will allow me to post photos to my blog directly from my mobile phone - that is exactly what Shozu does!

I signed up for my Shozu account and can post photos take on my phone directly to Blogger, Facebook, and a host of other social networking services (like Flickr, Typepad etc.) Unfortunately you can't enter text in the body of your post (Shozu only allows you to post the photo together with a title - I may be missing something, so if someone knows how to post text for the body of the post please drop me a line!) However, all that I do is take the photo and then email it to the email address that Shozu gave me, and viola, within second the photo appears with my heading and the little Shozu icon you see above.

I am aware that you can also send photos via MMS (if your phone supports MMS).

I did try the blogger mobile posting service - but like many other similar services it only works in the USA.

So, expect to see a photos posted here in the weeks to come. I will be on holiday with my family in Knysna and Durban for two weeks, so I'll send a few photos through during that period.

Have a blessed day, and a blessed week. Remember to take time during advent to ponder the significance of God born among us!

Technorati tags: iphone blogger, Shozu, posting photos from your phone to your blog, facebook, flickr

My wonderful wife taking care of our little Liam.

A video of me taking my Vespa for a little ride in the country ;-) [Vid]

Yup, those lazy Sunday mornings... Nothing better to do than take my Vespa for a gentle spin the country.

Thankfully someone was on hand with a camera to catch the leisurely event!

PS. You'll notice that's not me (sure, my style is the same... But this is small frame Vespa - probably a 50cc, perphaps a 125cc!)

Technorati tags: Vespa Wheelie, Vespa, Vespa Video

The Church of Vespa! The Pretoria Vespa fun ride [Pics]

This morning I was not preaching, although I was engaged in a sacred activity. The Monks of the 13th century called it otium sanctum (that's Latin for 'Holy leisure').

This morning I met up with about 20 other Vespa riders at the Pretoria Vespa showroom in Duncan Street Pretoria (that is a place of great temptation for me! They have THE MOST incredible stuff for sale - caps, jackets, mugs, clocks, books, AND OF COURSE, all the latest Vespa models! I think the time may have come to sell my kidneys to buy the NEW GTS250ie!!!)

Anyway, Markus and Freddie were there to meet us, and within about 30 minutes 20 0r so new (and some slightly older) Vespa's had arrived (with their owners, and owners' spouses of course). It could be a scene from an alley way in Italy! The bikes were looking great, and so were their owners.

These folks were in for a morning of fun, relaxation, and enjoyment - they were here to enjoy God's good creation (and of course God's preferred mode of transportation, the Vespa!) I felt tempted to go on my 'beast' so that I could ride with them.... But I thought they may just smurk at a BMW among the stylish Vespas... So, instead I took my Orange Bomber (my 1967 Vespa Sprint 150cc - pictured here). You can see in the photo at the top that my old Girl is parked in the background, but just look at this incredible PX200 collectors item. This bike came standard with white wall tires, a brown leather seat and all the Chrome. It was one of the last 10 two-stroke Vespa's sold in South Africa!

I knew that I wouldn't be able to ride with them out to Cullinan / Bronkorspruit. The older Vespas (like mine) simply don't run at the speeds of these new models. Moreover, the orange bomber has been a little tempramental in the last few weeks... I didn't want to get caught somewhere far from home. Not to mention that I had work to do...

So, I met all the folks, had a chat with many likeminded people. We talked about favourite rides, longest rides, favourite responses to our cool bikes from friends, family and passers by... It was a sacred hour!

When they took off on their ride I started up the Orange bomber and headed home. My heart was glad. I was glad that I had taken the time to meet with these cool people, and share in our common joy!

You know, I think the Church will need to become much more like this... Going to people, not expecting people to come to us. I think that in a consumer driven culture we will need to find people and address their needs and desires directly. I suppose at the end of the day if the purpose of the Church is establish the Kingdom of God here on earth, then what I did this morning is truly the work of ministry!

Now, if only I could have taken a collection (a tithe!) I'm sure I would have been able to buy that brand new Vespa on the spot... Well, we pray!

Technorati tags: Vespa, Church of Vespa, Pretoria, otium sanctum

Why the Shepherds are central to the story of the birth of Jesus - an emergent perspective

Our God is intentional – there is not a single detail in all of creation that is not filled with purpose, meaning, and God’s loving intention.

I must admit that I have become so accustomed to the Christmas story, and to the characters of this narrative, that I no longer notice the subtler details. When I think of the characters of Christmas I often tend to wander towards what they have become, rather than the truth of who they were. What they have become for me are those cute kids who play Mary, Joseph, the Angels, the Shepherds, the wise men, and of course the 'Baby born' doll (or light bulb) that plays Baby Jesus in the school nativity play!

Yet, I think that sometimes we forget that the very reason why there is a record of the lives of particular people is because God desires to communicate something particular and important to us. God encounters people with a purpose. These characters are no different. Today we shall encounter some very interesting characters - the shepherds that we read about Luke 2:8-20, and we shall see what lessons we can learn about them, about ourselves, and about the God who deliberately wishes to encounter us this Christmas.

I want to encourage you to put the 'school play nativity' scenes out of your mind for the next few minutes. I want to encourage you to ask God to speak to you about the REAL shepherds that were encountered in that field outside of Bethlehem that night. Ask God to speak to you about your REAL life as God speaks to you about their real lives!

I am weary of all the cliched messages in Advent that try to get people to stop shopping and get them out of the malls and into Church... I have wasted many hours preaching sermons like those... We cannot stop people from doing these things with a 30 minute sermon on a Sunday. Rather, we should be encouraging people to find Christ, and the miracle of the Christ of Christmas, in their everyday lives. The Lord has really been telling me that we need something more substantial than the conflict between the economy of Christmas and the Gospel. Thankfully this week's scripture reading has a wealth of meaty stuff to consider!

This message will look at the principles of God's Kingdom that come to the fore in the encounter with the shepherds at Bethlehem. Some social history of the time tells us that these shepherds would have been poor, possibly among the poorest in their community. They were certainly unskilled, and were often people who had a criminal record or were outcasts in society (hence the choice to work at night). Bethlehem, as we know, was not the centre of the Universe! In fact it was a bit like the 'Piet Retief' of it's day... far from everywhere, no great political, economic and social prestige.... Yet, the Christ goes there to be born, and God sends angels to a field outside of this little town to announce the miracle of his birth! So this encounter is about people who don't really matter, from a place that doesn't truly count. Yet somehow they make it into the most popular book in history, and they get a focus one Sunday a year for the past thousand and some years! There must be something significant here.

In this message we shall see what lessons we can learn from these people and their role in the Christmas narrative.

Here we'll look at 5 lessons we can learn from the shepherds as we prepare ourselves to understand anew the miracle of the birth of God, in Christ, at Christmas [to read the rest click here to download the MS Word file....]

For another truly exception sermon the Shepherds please click here.

Technorati tags: Christian, emergent, advent, sermon, Shepherds

All your questions about the internets answered by LEGENDS 'Gabe and Max', internetxperts! [Vid]

These guys crack me up! Why bother Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or even that weird Steve Wozniak!? No, rather ask Max and Gabe all your questions about the interanets!

BoingBoing tv posted the following very cool Video!

Gabe and Max, who have taught so many of us how to achieve the dream lives of our dreams using the internet, answer questions from the Bing Bong audience. Then, aliens discover Mark Frauenfelder's book, "Rule the Web."

Link to video and full post with comments, on Boing Boing TV.

Don't confuse me with this guy - we're identical (it's amazing!) except for a few SMALL differences...

There is a notion, in popular mythology, that each of us has an identical twin somewhere in the world.... Well, in my case it seems to be true... How WEIRD is that!?

My friend Pete Grassow alerted me to this guy from America. We're, like [to coin a popular phrase], identical twins!

Oh, sure there are a few small differences:

- His surname is Foster, mine is FoRster (note the 'R')
- He's an American, and I'm a South African
- He's black, I'm white
- He runs an anti Gay website, and I believe that God loves and accepts gay people

Here's what we have in common (that makes us, like, identical twins):

- His name is Rev DL Foster
- My name is Rev DA Forster

The likeness is uncanny! So, there are a few small (hardly noticeable) differences... other than those we're like exactly the same!

Amazing isn't it!?

Ha ha, I wonder if one of his friends has even contacted him to say "Rev Foster, did you know that there is a Rev Forster in South Africa who could be your twin in every way (except for a few small points)! Do you think people will be able to tell the difference between the two of you!?"

I see that he's an 'Executive director' - sounds important!

Fun times!

Humour for today... What to do if you encounter an atheist...

In the light of the Gareth Cliff 'web storm' (don't worry, I love you Gareth!) I thought this was quite a funny picture... So, kids if you encounter an atheist, here's what you do ;-)

Oooohhh.... At least Mr Grouch haz da coffeez on the intrewebs...

Come on folks, let's laugh at ourselves!

Technorati tags: spiritual humour, atheist, Garreth Cliff, God is petty

For all bloggers, researches, and journalists out there - a fool proof way to see if a post is true or not....

I thought this was FUNNY! My students must have been using this method for some years know (without my knowledge), when I consider some of the stuff they put in their papers!

From BoingBoing

The truth, as revealed by Sean Bonner, who is, incidentally, kickin' it in Vienna this month with the freaks from monochrom. Here's a post he did today about a presentation by Scott Blake on Barcode Art.

Finally! A place to RANT about the South African Airline industry...

I am a REGULAR commuter on South Africa's budget airlines... At this stage of race 1Time is the most reliable, friendly, and least likely to be delayed (plus! When you arrive at Johannesburg, 1Time flights park right at the terminal so you don't have to get onto one of those deathtrap buses to get into the airport to find that your luggage is missing!)

The least friendly, most likely to be late (more than an hour or so... All of the airlines are delayed by AT LEAST one hour now days, so I only count it as a delay when the flight leaves more than an hour late), least comfortable airline has to be kulula.com... In the last three months I have not had a single kulula flight that has been on time! My record was a 6 hour delay leaving Cape Town a few Friday's ago....

The worst airport in the 6 nations of Southern Africa? (yes, this list includes places like Umtata and Manzini in Swaziland!).... The prize goes to - Cape Town domestic departures! Overcrowded, not enough seats, a narrow strip of hell with shops to steal your money....

So, if you have a horror story to share about a flight delay here in South Africa, or anywhere in the world, the please feel free to post a comment here.

You can also formalize your complaint by posting it here:

David Pogue is happy about a new website that lets you share your bad flight experiences, called MyBadFlight.com.

PS. The picture above was taken at Cape Town (a.k.a Hell) domestic departures - note all the flights that were delayed, indefinitely delayed, and canceled....

;-)

Technorati tags: complain about the airline industry, Cape Town Airport, kulula.com, 1time