Brownlow Medal

In case you don't already know I love football, I love to watch games, I love to read the stats, and yes I am one of those silly few who love the Brownlow Medal. Last night I sat down again to watch hoping that Gary Ablett Junior or Jimmy Bartel would win "Charlie". Can I say I believe Adam Cooney is a very deserving winner but as I was watching last night I was continually amazed at the times when players like Ablett, Bartel and especially Brent Harvey from North Melbourne failed to receive votes in games when they had been rated the best player by every media outlet ! How could it be that the umpires could not see what everyone else had ?
In thinking about this I came to a couple of decisions. Firstly I think at times the umpires are too close to the action and struggle to see the overall value of a players performance. They don't always seem to judge everyone on the same level. For some of these "Stars" of the game they have to play at an extremely high level to get votes where as other players are judged on their so-called level and receive votes in games when they probably weren't in the best three. Secondly the umpires are human which means a couple of things; firstly they make mistakes and there will be times when they miss the outstanding player of that game, and secondly they have feelings and emotions so if someone has been giving them a hard time (maybe sledging or back chatting) human nature makes it hard to see past that.
I couldn't help thinking about real life, how often do we get upset with people when they judge us ? Are we quick to judge others ? The Bible is very clear that we shouldn't be judging others but that doesn't seem to slow us down at all.
So if someone seems to have been judging you should you get upset by it and let it alter your outlook on life and values ? The answer is No. Maybe the person judging you is too close to the situation to be able to see your real value to the team. Maybe you are being judged on a level that is above what should be expected. Maybe there is something personal in this judgement, maybe you have upset someone without knowing. Whatever it may be we should not let ourselves be overcome by other peoples judgement of us.
This is not too say that we shouldn't listen to people and take advise from people. We all need critical evaluation in our lives, but before you go and get too upset take time to look at who is delivering this advise and if it is valid and reasonable.
We all need to be very careful not to judge others, we don't know what is happening in peoples lives, we only see a very small percentage of a persons daily decisions. Next time before judging maybe step back and try and look at the positives as well as the negatives. People respond to positive feedback far better than constantly being given negatives.
Ultimately we all will have to face one day of judgement, and we should all be working hard to ensure that on that day we can stand before our Master and Lord and hear the words " Well done my good and faithful servant"

Ethan John Lamotte is 5

My little man Ethan turns five today !! It seems like yesterday that we were celebrating his birth, and yet in other ways it seems like a different world that he was born into. So much has happened and our family situation is so different to when he was born.
I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family, Susan is such a great Mother and wife and gets more beautiful everyday ! Amy-Lee is growing into a fine young lady (although a bit less attitude would be good at times), Zara is such a caring and fun girl and makes life very interesting (nothing is ever boring with Zara around) and then there is Ethan.
I could not be prouder of my son, he is energetic and playful without being hyper. He has an amazing imagination and loves to create and play different characters ( although at the moment it always seems to be Spiderman). He makes friends really well and has a softer side to him that not all young boys have. The other great thing about Ethan is his sense of humor, he loves to have a deep chuckle and to make people laugh, some of the dance moves in front of the TV are priceless !
I cannot be sure of what the future holds for Ethan but already I can see that he will be an intelligent, fun and friendly man. I pray that God would be a reality for him and that he would rely on God for the foundations of his life.
Happy Birthday my little man ! I am so proud of you and love you soooo much !!!

PS It is now only 13 years till he gets drafted by Geelong ! Go Cats !!!

Happy Fathers Day

In the middle of doing my final preparations for the meeting I am doing on Sunday I started to prepare a childrens story. It is always fun to share the message of God with kids and I was trying to work out what to share with them, obviously here in Australia this Sunday is Fathers Day, but for some of these kids that is not necessarily someone they want to celebrate. This got me thinking just how fortunate I was to have such a wonderful relationship with my father.
Three things stood out as I started to prepare this message, the first of these was discipline. There were times that I did some things that I wasn't supposed to and at times my father had to discipline me. Now I was never disciplined too hard (and in case you are getting worried I certainly was not abused in any way) and I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to discipline me when I needed it.
The second thing was Dad always had time for me and my pastimes, some fathers get too busy and never seem to have time to do things with their children. Dad took great delight in watching me play sport, and just spending time with me.The other part of this is neither Dad nor I were worried about showing our affection for each other and always greeted each other with a hug and kiss, Mum tells a story when we were all young of Dad saying "dont tell me you love me show me !" I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to take the time to do things with me.
The third thing was that Dad taught me the principles of the Bible and showed by example what it was to be a Man of Faith. From a very young age I was taught the values of the Bible and Mum and Dad taught me about God's love and how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I have made some pretty big mistakes along the path but the grounding that was placed in my life has eventually stood the test and God has nurtured me into a better person than I ever thought possible. I am glad that I had a father who loved me enough to teach me about God's love and more importantly to be a fine example of that love.
I thank God for my wonderful father and his example to me and pray that as my children grow they too will see the love of God their Heavenly Father through the life of their earthly father. Happy Fathers Day Dad !!