Faith Noodles

A quirky little piece from  stuff.co.nz Butterbeer (Harry Potter) On cold winter nights, who wouldn't give their left arm for a foaming tankard of butterbeer - the drink of choice in the wizarding world? Heck, you can even get cold butterbeer for summer, but as the taste has been described as like "less-sickly butterscotch", I'm not sure ice-cold is the way to go. Since Harry and his mates were underage in the novels, I'm presuming there's not much alcoholic content in these and hey, because it's magic, maybe it's calorie-free too! Pan-galactic gargle blaster (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)  Described as the best drink in existence, it's meant to have an effect on you "like having your brains smashed in with a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick". It was invented by Zaphod Beeblebrox, who says it's the alcoholic equivalent to mugging: expensive and bad for the head. Here's the recipe. ...

Following on from  my previous post on materialism , these excerpts are a further extension of my reflections on the wanton futility of materialism From the chapter, " Good News to the Rich "  taken from the book, "Good News to the Poor" by Tim Chester. Shopping is the religion of our age. Just look at shopping centres. Just as the medieval architects built cathedrals to glorify God, so we build wonderful shopping centres to glorify what we believe is important: shopping. Alan Storkey warns that consumerism 'is the chief rival to God in our culture'. He recognises that may seem an odd claim: 'it is, after all, just shopping'. 'But the servants of the Lord God are dwarfed in number and working hours by the servants of consumption. Its ability to recruit seems unlimited'.  Today's culture advocates the notion that consumer goods are what give meaning and satisfaction. 'I shop, therefore I am.' Consumerism tell us that t...

By Greg Furguson. i met a wise old soul who let me in on a secret consider if you will he said three possible destinations Yesterday is better known by the name Regret journey there and you will find it contains great masses of people Tomorrow is famously known as Worry and it too is overcrowded the ancient eyes of the wise old soul brightened I submit for your approval said he the third destination Now it's best known as This Moment it's almost uninhabited it's vast and spacious and absolutely brimming with possibility all it requires is a keen eye and a bit of faith truth be told he said in a whisper it’s the only real place to live i wanted to hear more but I was running late and I had to go i wonder if he’s still there

Almost everyone in my social circle who are of the "wealthier or at least middle class" are constantly talking about the latest phones and gadgets.. and I went through this phase where I was pretty determined to buy an S3, spent a lot of time comparing the specs of the S3, S2 and iPhone 4S, and the prices online and at stores etc. Then, I had this conversation with friends who aren't dependent on their parents and are living by the $180 student allowance a week the government is offering them. I was just telling them about the features of the S3 and how I'd like one etc, and immediately the three of them retorted: "Oh wow, I'd never consider buying an S3, I can't afford it. I've got to pay my rent, save up to repay my student loan, I got my phone for only $50 from a friend etc, so that's way too expensive for me."  And then, we launched into a conversation on finances, and one of my friends talked about how after she left home, her dad...

Whenever I feel like I've accomplished a sizeable number of tasks that I'd have never dreamt I'd accomplish at the start of my day, my favourite thing to say is: "I feel like I've just climbed Mt. Everest!" :D And the satisfaction of being able to say that after working pretty hard through out the day puts me in such a good mood. Was going through my tweets this morning and this tweet by Max Lucado caught my eye:  "The sweetest satisfaction lies not in climbing your own Mt. Everest, but in helping others climb theirs." Maybe, instead of aiming to conquer my own Everest each day, I need to make an effort to help others in conquering theirs too. Ah, I just think God uses the coolest ways to speak to each of us!

I was just thinking about the prayer chain some of my friends in Fiji commit to every Friday, and basically, they pray all night long from 9pm to 6am in the morning. They all gather at the office, and they each take an hour or two hour slots any time within that time frame. A friend of mine who participated in that prayer chain for the first time was relaying to me what the experience was like. He was telling me how it was just so inspiring that the Fijians looked forward to that Friday, every single week, saying that it was their favourite time of the whole week.  He was also telling me how he had the 2 to 3am shift, half asleep and jet-lagged, he prayed for Fiji and the areas affected by the floods, for the world, for things that God had put on his heart to pray for. At 2:45am, my exhausted and relieved friend nudged this 55-year-old Fijian lady, telling her that it was soon her turn to pray at 3am, and  this was her enthused reply: "Ohhh, I can't wai...

One of my most loved movies/ books are the Anne series - written by L. M. Montgomery. A skinny red-haired orphan, Anne comes to live with the elderly siblings, Marilla and Matthew who had intended to adopt a boy to help them out with the farm work. Every character, every scene is just so relatable, so vivid, so beautifully depicted. Montgomery's gift and love for the beauty of words is so captivating and makes you want to re-read her books and re-watch the movies again and again.  I personally feel that her books have this uncanny way of putting things into perspective, they bid you to slow down in this fast-paced world where you are able to appreciate the overlooked and long-forgotten beauty that lies in the simple pleasures of life. There's something very powerful about enjoying the moment you are in, as opposed to fretting over future or past events. A taster: “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or e...