New life in NZ

It took some prodding!!

2008-10-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Finally getting off my backside, recovered my password and started a new post. I really should get to grips with this you know....

Anyway, what shall I bemoan today? Well nothing really. In fact I want to tell you guys about an event I recently attended called Promise Keepers.

This is a Christian event focused on and designed for men. It talks about and tackles real issues that men face and is intended to help men in the following ways:

1. To become the man God intends them to be
2. To become the husband your wife wants
3. To become the father your children need

I was seriously sceptical as this conference orginated in the states and had all the American hype and ra ra going on. Needless to say I was proved wrong on every front. It had been given a unique kiwi twist, was down to earth and more importantly the point.

It hit home with such issues as Marriage, Porn, Violence, fear and how feminie men were becoming. To cut a long story short, I have returned with a new pardigm on my life, my relationship to God and my wife and family.

Have a look here:

www.promisekeepers.org.nz

How manly are you guys????

For the Love of.....

2008-07-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

....Just seemed like a catchy title I guess ;)

Life flies by sometimes and you can easily wonder where it has all gone. Here we are in the middle of Winter, looking back at 15 month in NZ. Man it has flown by so fast. You know, this gets me thinking, how often do we just let it all fly past without taking in what is really going on around us?

A lot of people I come across at work are mainly concerned with booze and beating the wife up and more than likly will never leave the backwater twon of Huntly. Their life is for all intents and purposes a meaningless endevour on a road to no where.

Every human being, no matter where they are born or what circumstances they are born into has the unique oppourtunity to make the most of life, yet how many of us really, really sieze upon it?

All too often lifes 'victims' complain that it is always somebody elses fault that they are in debt or haven't any material things. These 'Victims' are generally claiming the benefit which the rest of us pays for. They are short sighted and refuse to believe that they are the answer to their own issues.

Is there and answer? I doubt it as you cannot change the way a person thisnks or acts. Naturally it is easier to be a victim than a proactive person, but I wonder; when they are facing death how will they consider their legacy? How will you consider yours? The same goes for me.

2008-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Now compared to this stuff, Morris Dancing hasn't a chance!

Haka

2008-04-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

We did the whole cultural thing and watched these guys rip it up on the dance floor. Quite impressive actually and it beats Morris Dancing by miles!

It stinks!!!!!!!

2008-04-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

Oh man does it smell, get me outta here!

Yes that is Rotorua for you, a haven of tourist sites, geysers, bubbling mud and rotten eggs and sulpher. Lovely. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the smell lingered in our van for days!

It's like a Loaded gun.....but worse!

2008-04-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Well I thought of a catchy title but no content to come anywhere near it! About time for an update from us lot to you lot I suppose.

So I last post in January and it is now April. So what has happened? Well Lots really, the question is where do I start?

Well most importantly I will start with the Spiritual Side. As many of you know, we are committed Christians and have been for many years (Even with a few hiccups). We found ourselves in a position of really having to trust God for everything and I mean everything. It is not every day when you find you have NO food and no way of buying any. The questions is this 'Do you beleive God or not'.

He really stretched out faith in him and it was a really tough time, both spiritually and mentally. When you have anonymous food parcels arrive, money and the like you begin to realise just what a great God he is. The most important thing is that in our lives Jesus was glorified and lifted up.

Our faith deepened and has really matured. It has proved a blessing to be able to share our experience with others to encourasge them with the reality of Gods love.

The question for you is:

DO YOU KNOW THE FORGIVENESS AND LOVE OF CHRIST IN YOUR HEART?

I havenow returned to full duties, thankfully after a stint in the office I was glad to get back to proper police work.

Sara is now working from home in child care. this gets a biot mad at times with upto 4 kids running around.

Coffee wise? Well I am getting to taste some great Coffees from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Kenya, Colombia, Yemen etc. Still getting used to this:

But it is pulling some great shots, but is really sensitive to grind, dose and tamp. Not quite the brute Oscar was!

Roasting is proving tiresome. I really have to time it right during the day in regards to Electrical output. If I roast during peak times, forget it. The optimum time for me is 1300 hrs during the week!

God bless y'all.

Some of my favourite Pics from the past 6 months...

2008-01-31T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favourite pics from the past six months.

The first is a gratuitous coffee related picture - Sad I know, but tough!

Next one is of 'My girls' at Bridal Veils Fall near to Raglan

This next one was taken on a flight over the South West Coast going over Paraparaumu whilst at College in Porirua.

This is one from our back yard...

Crumbs where did January go?

2008-01-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well I can answer that...it mostly went on a great camping holiday to the far north of NZ. Saw some great sights and generally had a good time.

It was a welcome break from being stuck at home I have to admit. Having a prolapsed disc is no fun at all and being unable drive has been sending me mad! On our return I had an appointment with a specialist who considered that the best way to go was to have an epidural in my spine. Not that I really had much time to think about it to bee honest as I had it that same afternoon!

Now having a rather large needle shoved in your spine twice is not the most pleasent of experiences, however it should fix the issue, but will take another 2 weeks to see if it has worked.

We are still trying to sell our house and have just reduced the price.

We have had to regroup and refocus on what we want and have decided a smaller, cheaper property is the way to go. This doesn't mean we are going to live in a shack. Far from it. There are plently of good properties out there in maybe not the flashiest of areas. At the end of the day we need to afford to live eh?

We have really been supported by church through this (Hamilton Central Baptist Church) and they have helped in some dire circumstances.

It hasn't helped these past couple of days when I have been coming off tramadol, a very strong painkiller. It is a type of Opiate Painkiller and I have had a terrible time with withdrawl effects. That and running out of coffee!

No more ranting...honest Guv!

2007-12-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

Well 'tis the end of Boxing Day and our first Kiwi CHristmas experience. And what an experience it was. What really struck me was just how much more laid back it was here. You know, back in the UK people stress about the dinner and who sits where and then the inevitable family politics...well what I found this year was a relaxed, informal affair. First it was church for 45 mins which was nice as we sung some traditional songs. Very relaxed and the gospel was preached. I did notice a lot of new/visitors there. Hopefully the message gets through.

It was then off to the cuzzies. Again very informal and relaxed with our new extended family here. Lovely buffet food and a roast. The kids enjoyed a dip in the pool and then it was home in the late afternoon. Chilled out for a bit and got things ready for todays BBQ.

Boxing Day was great as we invited freinds and family around toshare some food. We were overflowing with Pavlovas for sure! I broke my Kiwi BBQ cherry on my $50 bargin and was complemented on my new found skills!

Saying that I did learn not to pick up Bamboo skewers whilst they are on fire.....OUCH!

Yeas there were less presents, but the fun we have had with family really compensated for any material loss!!!!

All in all I doubt very much I will need to put on the Ba Humbug hat on again as I have found it so much more enjoyable this year.

Hopefully I will hear about my back Op too in the near future.

HAppy 2008!

Ticked off....

2007-12-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

And rightly so...

Firstly it is CHristmas. I am a Bah Humbug at heart and have spent many years cultivating this trait in my chracter. But these days, the boss says that I ma not allowed to be a Scrooge and I MUST enjoy myself.

So why do I feel like this at this time of year? Well to be completly Politically Incorrect and inflammatory...why the heck do non christians insist on celebrating a christian festival? Does the avergae Joe Bloggs celebrate Ramadan or Hanukka? No, of course not.

"Hey lets jump on this band wagon and use it as an excuse to get pissed!"

That is why I am ticked off at Christmas!

The advert reverberating on TV is from the Warehouse and calls it the silly season. Well I don't think that there is anything silly about about God giving his only Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Nor do I think it is silly to gather with other christians to celebrate the New Life we have in Christ.

I do think it is silly to get drunk at CHristmas, to be a glutton and to get into debt just to save face. I do resent buying presents for people who generally do not get Christmas. I resent seeing all manner of "Seasonal Sales".

This is why I am a Bah Humbug!

What I do love though is sharing with my family the true meaning of Christmas and sharing presents which reminds us of the presents the Wise Men brought the infant Jesus. I enjoy sining Gods praise in Church on Christmas morning.

BUT

Didn't the Medieaval church take over december 25th from Pagans? Wasn't it originally a Pagan Festival? Hmmm, then pagans could equally say the same as what I have said, but put it back onto Christians?

Whay do we need to celebrate Christs Birth only once a year? It should be a Year round, life long celebration of his birth death and ressurection!

Ah well, who am I to moan?

Bah Humbug!!!!!

2007-12-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of our Christmas preperations...Kids were really enjoying it and it all felt a bit odd. Thankfully this was all fuelled by some Injerto coffee. This is simply one of my favourite coffees ever. Full bodied, choclate tones with a nicebright fruit finish that lingers. With milk it goes into Stratospheric proportions...it seemed to add a creamy buttery ness to a cappacino and a real nutty flavour...stunning!

2007-12-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

I seem to have wiped my last post which was quite deep. bugger!

Still it could be worse. I could be freezing cold sat in a samll dumpy Ford Focus on Patrol, or I could be sunning myself sipping luxury homemade hot choclate...you choose!

2007-12-14T17:15:00.001-08:00

Just another stunning sunset....

Christmas...

2007-12-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah well our heads are really spinning at the moment. We cannot believe it is Christmas in just over a week and we are in shorts. All fundamentally wrong!!! However I feel for my mates back in the UK.

Not just the weather though. Seems like the government have shafted the Police again by regaining on the annual pay deal. I pity the poor sods you know. The again, they are part of the population that voted them in too. Whilst I do not condone the governmanet, I hope the Forces actually do something other than moan. Make a change for Poms to be a little proactive.

Anyway enough of that eh?

just been reading my mate Cakey's blog (www.cakeboy.com), all good stuff!

We are still experiencing lts of challenges, however it keeps our hearts and minds fixed upon the author and perfector of our faith, Jesus Christ. We doubt we would have got as far in life if we didn't have his strength to be honest.

On the coffee front, just going to be roasting some Herbazu up and still trying to temp Sara with both a new grinder and roaster...it isn't working!

Ellen received an excellence award lat week from school and is doing really well at swimming.

Enough rambles.....

2007-10-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

Oh and here are the Davis Clan at the falls.....

Time flies and we have been here in Hmailton for wht, seven months now. Thankfully the weather is on the up and we can look forward to some great trips out. Not that the rain ever stops us anyway.

Realistically, there are good days and bad days. We miss things about the UK, who wouldn't, it was home for a long time. But now this is our home and we really do love it here.

Thankfully, slao, the good days far outweigh the bad by a long shot.

Seeing the kids happy too makes all the other "hassle" (Mortgage etc) worth it!!!

2007-10-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from around the Waikato in NZ. We have been out and about to Bridal Veil Falls near to Raglan. Stunning Falls for sure!

55 metres straight down....

The next is of a Fern Fond and the spiral is pretty much a national symbol here.

2007-10-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

First post on our family Blog...we might even update it every week. More of a chance for you guys to see our photos and read our news and goings on in NZ. Don't expect any philosophical debate or loads of humour...just day to day life from us lot.