Jono Miller

WHAT CONSUMES YOUR TIME?

I ask this question to you and me – but not in a sense of what you do – but what you think.

Last night I was at a party and wrote down something someone said to me

“If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.”

Not a new concept, but spoken in a fresh way.

TIME

Both judgement and love start as thoughts. What consumes my thoughts? For my spiritual family and for all my neighbours. Do I harbour thoughts of judgement, and how that person could be better if . . . . or do I store up thoughts of love – thoughts that will most likely spur me towards deeds of mercy?

Don’t let your time this week be filled with

WHEN I BECOME MAYOR OF RZHYSHCHIV . . . .

Last week I wanted to start a survey of the top 5 things you will do if you become Mayor of Rzhyshchiv. So maybe all Rzh readers (both of you) can give me your responses.

1. Round up stray dogs
2. Turn on the streetlights at night
3. Scrape the snow and ice off the road
4. Cable internet
5. Rubbish collection

So where does this come from? Occasionally something (usually small) annoys me enough that I have a spout off about it. Usually Ruth and Jon are the recipients of my bursts of indignation. I guess it happened again this week as I got splashed by a passing truck walking home on a dark unlit street, and I couldn’t get out of the way in time because of the metre high wall of snow and ice in the way.

7 AM

On Friday I thought about the story that Jesus tells in the Bible about a man who goes to visit his friend at midnight. And he keeps on banging on the door and eventually the friend lets him in, not because he is a friend but just so he’ll stop banging. Finding a friend whose house is open at 7 am in the morning is also difficult. I woke Sasha with a phone call but he said come over later. I rang the doorbell twice at Yura’s place. Eventually I ended up at Micah and Christy’s. I had arrived in Kaharlyk early but the building where my office is was closed. And when it’s raining ice and below zero you don’t really want to stay outside. Sorry to my friends to whom I was an inconvenience. I guess there is a culturally acceptable right time to call on people.

Isn’t it great to know that we can call on our God at ANY time. The God who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is on hand watching, leading, guiding, comforting, protecting. That is a great thought to take into any week.

J-SERIES DOESN'T EXIST

In reaction to Apple's I technology (iPod, iPad, iPhone etc.), I developed what I call J-series idealogical technology. It is every users dream. It always works and every piece of technology is compatible with another piece. Unlike all the iCovet gear, it can be purchased for its functional value not its perceived status.

The only problem is that it is idealogical - i.e. it doesn't actually exist.

So right now I am enduring a computerless stage. The motherboard on my laptop died and it is currently getting repaired. I apologise for lack of communication. I have everything I need on that computer.

It's a good thing our relationship with God is not idealogical - but real.

More real than anything we can even see or touch, smell or hear. Even our senses can fool us. But God is real. Praise Him for that

ELECTIONS

Tomorrow is Election Day here in Ukraine. This is the first round of presidential elections. Ukraine shot to world fame five years ago with the Orange Revolution after an attempted poisoning and then vote rigging. There probably won’t be much fuss this time round but then many people are rather despondent. There doesn’t seem to be anyone to choose who wants to do anything to combat the rampant corruption in this country. Most candidates are considered as much a thief and a bandit as the next one.

BOXING DAY

It’s Boxing Day. I miss watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart and the Boxing Day test. I miss summer at Eureka and cricket out the front and beating Rog’s team. However, yesterday we had a great dinner and hang out at Ruth and Jon’s. The pudding was fantastic.

I know you are all on holidays, so I’ll make this a quick one. Please pray for you and me that holidays from normal life will not be holidays from time with God.

UTSIM

Holidays, holidays, holidays!! But there had to be a twist.

DESPERATELY

Water!! Living without water is not nice. On Wednesday night I arrived home to hear that the water had stopped working – there was ice in the system somewhere and Igor said he would fix it in the morning. I woke up at six to find the house freezing (about minus 18 outside). The furnace lost pressure over night and shut off. And we had no water to refill it. Igor, Tom and Zhenya worked all day on it while I was at work. They got the water going and heat to all rooms but two – there is some serious ice blocking the pipes somewhere. I am so desperate for water in the house, for a shower, for water in the kitchen, and so happy when it works.

We need water to live – it is true. But even more important should be my desperation for God. Yet too often I think I can live without Him. Then I become really desperate. I want it to be ‘normal’. To have a constant awareness of the presence of God – like a waterfall ever flowing, bringing me the life I need. I’m desperate for this.

UTSIM

AN APPOINTMENT

Have you ever had an appointment you didn’t arrange? Didn’t know about? Some may say circumstantial, some may say divine. Yesterday I came out of an underground shop in Kyiv after trying to buy some specialty ingredients to make Christmas pudding. Looking like a lost person I bumped into Tanya. I’ve met Tanya and Dave (a fellow Kiwi) a handful of times watching rugby. We chatted for well over an hour (sorry if you got in trouble for a long lunch break Tanya). I can’t put it all into words, yet I am convinced that God organised that appointment. Tanya is a psychologist and has a dream to start a school. I hope to be able to catch up with them often.

I thank God for the way He ordains these appointments in my life – so often I don’t even recognise them. My friend Ted Boyce has a few favourite sayings. One of which is: “God has you in this place at this time for His purposes.”

UTSIM

There are just two weeks left before

LOVES TRUCK!!

Last week I had one of my students write an interesting homework task. She had to write a list of the qualities she desired in a husband. Boys, no pressure here, but this is apparently everything we need to be:

• Courageous
• Sincere
• Decisive
• Kind
• Understanding
• Love struck (with her)
• Determined
• Have a sense of humour
• Intelligent
• Caring

As I was reading through her list I started laughing at love struck because she had written the words closely together and I read loves truck. Wow! I had no idea this student of mine was so into trucks!

RPD

In case you had forgotten, RPD stands for Read, Pray, Delete. You get one every week and hopefully that triggers you into praying. Why? Why should you pray for me? There are many things to pray for and most of us are busy people. I don’t have a good answer, but I am so thankful to every one of you who prays. I don’t even understand a lot about it, but please continue to pray – let God lead you as you pray – and know that you are an encouragement to me.

UTSIM

Please pray for me. I feel like I’ve lost some of the impetus needed for UTSIM. We have now finished three weeks of quarantine and today I found out that Monday and Tuesday are also definitely quarantine and they will decide later if it will go further. So it could drag out til the end of November. Not only are we missing most of our classes, but it is very hard to plan with these day by day decisions.