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League World Cup final preview

League World Cup final preview

As the big day looms, and Australia gear up to win back the Rugby League World Cup for the tenth time, the question for me is who has had the best preparation in the lead up. The Kiwi's will certainly feel they've been thoroughly tested, and they'll be up for one more big performance of the year as they try to defend the world cup against the League world heavy weights..

  • Terrifying apathy

    Perhaps the most terrifying thing I face is apathy. Disconnection is a dreaded enemy on the horizon for many followers of Christ, yet it so often confronts me. As I sit here, cold coffee on the table, Jon Foreman lyrically massaging my heart, the warmth of the sun streaking in the window; it becomes more than natural to sit in blissful ignorance of the world that surrounds me.

  • The real problem with people

    Everyone loves to solve a problem. People, however, are not problems.

  • He chose a devil

    You know those parts of the Bible, those verses or passages, that just make you plain uncomfortable? The ones where understanding escapes you, and confusion sets in? You read and read, over and over, but the apparent meaning doesn't seem very pleasant. "It can't possibly mean that?", flies through your head. You all know what I am talking about.

  • Temptations and responses

    Temptation is something every one of us experiences. It happens anywhere, everywhere and it's consistent. One must never get the idea that temptation somehow tapers off when we become a follower of the Lord Jesus. It's insidious. It's ever present. It confronts us in the mundane. It confronts us in our spiritual highs.

  • Lead balloons

    I am learning what it means to sit still at the moment. I live in the middle of a whirlwind, fully occupied life and a fanciful, unrestricted imagination… I very rarely sit still. But recently, I have been plagued with a restlessness that knows no other direction than to be rooted to the spot.

  • A nobody in a somebody world

    The words "You're nobody 'til somebody loves you" continually echo in my mind as I ponder on this phrase. It's those famous words sung by singer/actor Frank Sinatra that prompted my deliberation on what such a view actually means to me. Do they mean that I am insignificant until somebody begins to love me? Does this "conclusive" statement mean that unless somebody loves me, I am meaningless? Does my significance as a person really depend on whether someone loves me or not?

  • Art for art's sake

    Do you ever get that feeling that when you experience something beautiful and something good, that it points to something bigger? Humans across all cultures celebrate this phenomenon in different ways, but I think it's the great leveller of humanity in that we all have this inherent need to participate in and enjoy creativity, art and beauty.

  • Going Shoeless for 1800 kids in Cambodia

    How many shoes are sitting in your closet? Many women love shoes. But one young woman from Hamilton decided to go barefoot for a year in order to help 1800 kids go to school in Cambodia.

  • Expect the Unaccepted

    When I moved to Sydney for university I had what I now refer to as '2 years off.' The Christian label without the Christian lifestyle, or something to that effect.

  • From Ashes to Ashes, The Aussies plan to turn the Pom's to Dust

    Besieged and bewildered, Oh how the once were mighty have fallen. This Thursday morning (tomorrow) the Australian Test Cricket side will embark on a six week journey to reclaim their stake as the greatest test playing side in the world.

  • I wept for a man executed for crimes against humanity

    I have cried when friends and loved ones have died. I have cried when friends of friends have died. I have even cried when someone famous has died, or a stranger has died but yet were "good people". I remember bawling while watching a YouTube video of a dying dad walk his unwed daughters down the aisle since he knew he only had a few months left to live.