Quotation: Worship – Jeremiah Burroughs

‘All things in God’s worship must have a warrant out of God’s word, must be commanded; it is not enough that it is not forbidden, and what hurt is there in it? but it must be commanded – When we come to matters of religion, and the worship of God we must either have a command, or some-what out of God’s word, by some consequence drawn from some command, wherein God manifests his will; either a direct command, or by comparing one thing with another, or drawing consequences plainly from the words, we must have a warrant for the worship of God, &c. – When any creature is raised in a religious way above what it hath in it by nature, if I have not Scripture to warrant me, I am therein superstitious – we must be willing worshippers, but not will worshippers. You see how severe God was to Nadab and Abihu, for but taking other fire, than that which God appointed, to offer up incense, though there was no direct commandment against it, &c.’

‘In the matters of worship God stands upon little things; such things as seem to be very small and little to us, yet God stands much upon them in the matter of worship. For there is nothing wherein the prerogative of God doth more appear than in worship, as princes stand much upon their prerogatives – There are things in the worship of God that are not written in our hearts, that only depend upon the will of God revealed in his word; which were no duties except that they were revealed there. And these are of such a nature as we can see no reason for, but only this, because God will have them – Though men would think it a little matter, whether this fire or that fire, and will not this burn as well as that? but God stands upon it – When Uzzah did but touch the ark, when it was ready to fall, we would think it no great matter; but one touch of the ark cost him his life. There is not a Minim in the worship of God, but God stands mightily upon it – For a man to gather a few sticks on the Sabbath, what great matter was it? but God stands upon it. So when the men Bethshemesh did but look into the ark, it cost the lives of fifty thousand and seventy men, &c.’

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John Lennon Look – Sort Of

This is a photo of myself from quite some time ago – I would say at least 15 years ago, if not 20 years ago. From the look of it it was taken at the Blackbutt Reserve near Newcastle and probably at a Sunday SchoolPicnic with the church I was at back then.

I had a lot more hair then, a lot less grey hair also and may have weighed a bit less than I do now, though that is difficult to tell from this photo. I was almost certainly far fitter than I currently am.

Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

 

ABOVE: The Southern Wetlands Boardwalk – Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

Late last week I decided I should do something with the final day of my annual leave that I had taken this time round, so I thought I’d pop into the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens near Raymond Terrace in New South Wales, Australia. I had been here before, but that was a long time ago. I wasn’t impressed on that first visit, so after more then a decade had it improved? Well that was the question I was keen to answer.

ABOVE: The Rotunda  BELOW: Succulents Section

There was a $4.00 ‘escape’ fee, which would allow a token to be purchased and then the boom gate would rise once it was placed into the proper slot at the exit. So no entrance fee, just an exit fee. I was willing to pay this for a quick look and wander around the gardens.

So has it improved. Yes it has thankfully, but I still don’t rate it as brilliant or even what would come close to mildly impressing me for a botanic gardens. It is probably on the right track, but has a long way to go. And here’s the thing I think – a botanic gardens really needs time to develop, so those who will really benefit from the gardens are those who will visit it in about 25 years or so, when the plants have been allowed to mature somewhat across the gardens. It will also allow other pieces of infrastructure to be completed and for the gardens to achieve some ‘polish,’ so to speak. The central section of the gardens is very good and has been progressing well over the years (yes, it is a relatively young botanic gardens) – areas such as the bromeliad section, orchids, etc – even the succulent section a bit further away.

ABOVE: Orchid  BELOW: Bromeliads

So should you go? Look, it’s only $4.00 to get out of the place once you are there and you can get to see some great plants and do some good, easy walks – especially into the natural bush and wetland areas. So I’d say yes, just don’t expect a fully developed botanic gardens.

For more on the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens visit:
http://www.huntergardens.org.au/

ABOVE: Tree Ferns and Palms

Native Wildlife of the Area

It’s another wet and windy day in paradise, so not much to do but sit it out. It also means I haven’t got a lot to type about (as opposed to write about, given I’m using the keyboard). So I’m going back a little and posting about some photos I’ve taken in recent months here. In fact, what I’m posting about today is one of the great things about living here in Tea Gardens, which differs a great deal from other places I have lived down Newcastle and Lake Macquarie way and that is the abundance of wildlife around here. Sadly we have managed to kill of most of the wildlife down around Newcastle, or at the very least drove it all away. Here it abounds and I love it being so.

I’m not talking about just the smaller animal and bird species you might expect to find in a suburban area, but even the bigger examples of wildlife also. Kangaroos and Wallabies can be found all over the place in this area and it isn’t unusual to see them bounding down the main street in numbers. In fact, sadly, you often find them as road kill on the main road out to the highway. Where I work we have smaller wallabies and kangaroos actually living in and amongst the homes, with joeys in their pouches as well. The odd Dingo can also be seen from time to time. Koalas are known to live in healthy numbers around the area – not that I have spotted one here yet.

Reptiles abound here also, with large numbers of Red Belly Black Snakes, Diamond Pythons (pictured at above left) and Tree Snakes readily found in the warmer months, along with Blue-Tongued Lizards and Goannas. I have seen some Goannas that have been at least 1 metre long. Some of the Diamond Pythons have been closer to 2 metres in length.

It is the bird life that really thrives around here, especially the wetland varieties. The area is rich in bird life. At work you can see on a daily basis Wattle Birds, Blue Wrens, Finches, various Parrots and Rosellas, Black Cockatoos, Galahs, Water Fowl, Wood Ducks, Ibis, Egrets, Spoonbills, Herons, Black Swans and many, many more species of birds. There are the rarer sightings of birds also. A Tawny Frogmouth (pictured at below right) has made its home near where I live, trying its best to look like part of the tree in which it chooses to roost.

The area also abounds in sea life, of various types and sizes. It is not unusual to have Humpback Whales sighted of the coast here and Dolphins can be spotted almost every morning if you know where to look. The Sting Rays are also easy spot at the right time of the day.

You do get your not so welcome species of wildlife also, such as mosquitos and sand flies, but I guess these play their part in the general run of things, being food perhaps for the more welcome members of wildlife society.

One of the things I’m doing down here, tieing in my interest in web applications and social networks, is being involved with the Project Noah social network. This is a place to log wildlife spots with GPS markings using the iPhone application, along with the web application. I haven’t long been involved in it, but it is something I will be doing more and more. It will be good to build up a more complete picture of what species live in the area. Others can get involved in recording and mapping the wildlife of the area here by joining the ‘mission’ I have started at Project Noah.

The mission I have started for Tea Gardens can be found at:
http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/12346009

Save the Words

Save the Words is an interesting little site set up by the Oxford Dictionary. It is all about saving words that are no longer used much these days by encouraging members of the site to use them each day. Worth a look – and join as I have to save the English language. The site has a lot more potential and it will be interesting to see if it is developed any further.

http://www.savethewords.org/

Blogging Platforms

Today’s link is to a Blog post on Blogging platforms. This list of Blogging platforms is well over 100 in length. Some perhaps are not what one would consider when looking for a Blogging platform on which to establish a Blog – such as Facebook, Bebo and even Twitter. But the best choices are there including WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr and Posterous. Have a look and choose well.

http://tentblogger.com/the-ultimate-list-of-blogging-platforms-blog-software-100/

The Fridge

If you’re interested in setting up a group/community/social network, perhaps you might like to check out ‘The Fridge.’ The Fridge is a place where you can set up a free group/community/social network. There are plenty of places these days for setting up a group and/or a social network. You could of course try Google Groups, Grou.ps and/or Yahoo Groups. If you are happy to pay there are other possibilities including Ning. The Fridge is not a site I had even heard of until a few days ago, but it could be worth a look or worth experimenting with for a while.

A member of a Fridge group gets a personal profile, which has a wall similar to Facebook. You can also post a photo for your profile. It really is a very simple social network providing a very basic service. It really seems to be a way of having very basic communication with other members of the group. You can post a picture with a post. So basically it provides a secure and private place for communicating. I guess email really accomplishes the same thing to some degree.

Have a look at:

http://www.frid.ge

SlideShare

Today’s link is to SlideShare, which is a web application/resource that allows you to share documents, videos, and presentations with others. It could also be described as a social networking type site. There is a free version and a pro version (more services).

With slideshare you can embed your material into your Blog and/or websites. There are plenty of things to like about SlideShare, so have a bit of a look at:

http://www.slideshare.net/

Trailmeme

This link is to another social networking site/tool. What is the point of this particular site? Well, it is a little difficult to explain – it is probably best to head to the site and take a look. Could be well worth a look and an inclusion in your social network sharing experience.

http://trailmeme.com/

TeeFury

If you like T-shirts, then you might want to check out TeeFury. This site offers a different cheap T-shirt every day. The company will send their T-shirts to various countries around the world, including Australia. So check it out – you don’t have to buy, so having a look won’t hurt.

http://www.teefury.com/