Jono Miller

WHAT TYPE OF BOAT WAS THAT?

Friendship, fellowship, membership, relationship, worship. So many ships, so which boat should we hop on?

We had a great discussion after church tonight. We looked at Acts 2:42-47, Ephesians 5:15-20, Colossians 3:15-17 and Hebrews 10:24-25. It is great to be part of a small but core family of young people who want to see us grow intentionally and meaningfully in our pursuit of God as the body of Christ.

That sounds like a lot of big words and religious clichés, but genuinely seeking to live out our Christian lives in a real community is hard, messy, difficult and yet totally rewarding.

Don’t miss the boat! Get on board.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?

A favourite question of TV presenters when interviewing celebrities is: “What is the best advice you have ever been given?” The answers vary. Sometimes they relate to business or career paths. Often they will relate to the person’s inner thoughts or their relations to other people. Sometimes they are merely clever clichés.

What is the best advice you have ever been given? Feel free to share with me if you have the time and inclination. I love learning from others.

The best advice I have ever been given (the same many times over) is: “Jono, you have to do what God wants you to do.”

We often seek advice when big life decisions are before us. And this advice is the best advice in my view (even for you if you swap the name Jono with your name). Of course it is not very prescriptive or specific. But if we have a solid foundation of what is most important, then the next layers of our decision making processes will not topple.

ONE DAY IN TEXAS

On Thursday last week I walked from one end of Texas to the other, and back!

Texas is a quaint town, population 900. Dad and I spent an enjoyable hour there and I posted a picture of our muffin break on Facebook. The funny thing was getting FB messages from two people thinking I was in the state of Texas, USA. How easily we can be misunderstood. How easily we can misunderstand.

The tragedy in life is when we build premises around misunderstandings. We run the risk of believing half-truths, misrepresenting a loved one, or becoming bitter or resentful. And all because of a misunderstanding. Take the time and the care to understand the real intent and meaning behind the words you hear this week.

THE AMAZING SHEEP RACE

Kids Camp at Lonsdale Park this April took on the theme of The Amazing Race. I decided to entitle my talks 'The Amazing Sheep Race'. We had one team consisting of Sheep #1 and Sheep #2 (I'm creative when it comes to names). The final Pit Stop is Heaven. The Route Info is the Bible. Sheep #2 sets off by himself and from Isaiah 53:6 and Luke 15, learns that he is both a sinful and stuck (lost) sheep. Sheep #1 is like the sheep in Genesis 22 and the Lamb in Revelation and he is the substitute and super sheep.

RPD IN ONE PARAGRAPH!!

My head has been sore, my finger is sore, my knee is sore, my soul is downtrodden but not crushed, my emotions are fluctuating and my energy is waning.

Yet I am excited!

I am excited about what God has brought together, what he is doing and what He will do.

I am at kids camp in NZ at Lonsdale Park with Ruth and Jon and a great bunch of leaders. We have 46 children. Tonight as we prayed we recognized that there seems to be a spiritual heaviness amongst a few.

The battle belongs to the Lord and is fought on our knees. Please join with us in praying for salvation to come to the children of NZ's far north this week.

A camp report with pictures and plans for the next few weeks will come in the next RPD. Until then, thanks for checking in and praying.

PRAYER AND PRAISE

· Healing of injuries

· God's work to be done at camp

· Ruth and Jon leading camp

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING IN TO?

I'm sitting in a gem factory/display shop waiting for the pushy tuk tuk driver outside to give up on me and leave. I guess I got tricked into coming here. I'm not interested in buying any of their jewellery. I'm not interested in listening to someone explain that polishing the stones makes them shiny. I was happily sitting on the foot path waiting for a shopping centre to open when a man convinced me that there was one already open just around the corner. I didn't fully understand, but he promised air conditioning and coffee and everything I could possibly want. I guess I just didn't know what I was getting in to.

SENSORY OVERLOAD

India is an intense place! Well I can't judge all of India but 3 days in Mumbai have left me a plethora of experiences, emotions and challenging notions. I will continue to take processing time. Here the ears are bombarded with the varying pitches of the honkng of horns. The eyes are kept busy with an explosion of constant colour and constant movement. The nose is greeted with an array of aromas, curries and spices, incense near every corner shrine, and the reminders of how difficult sanitation is in over populated areas. The mouth has been host to a wonderful gourmet experience, yes even Jono has been loving the curries, garlic naans and mango lassis. And all you need to do is ride the train system to know what it means to touch a lot of people at one time. One certainly needs to redefine one's meaning of personal space.