Lest we forget
By Asiri | April 25, 2009
Today we commemorate ANZAC day. Anzac Day is a national public holiday in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I and also to commemorate the soldiers who fought in France and Belgium. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga. It is a proud remembrance of an occasion worthy of such.
I was wondering how in the years to come we will remember the Sri Lankan war being waged for the past 3 decades. At what cost… ? Often, not everything is as it appears on the outside as Ken Silverstein reports. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Politics, Sri Lanka | No Comments »
Teenage affluenza
By Asiri | March 13, 2009
Of our four children, two are teenagers. Even though they were born and spent much of their early childhood in a so called “third-world-country”, today I find them to be quite “westernised”. This while being quite acceptable to us as parents, has it’s inherent attributes which we need to be aware of as seen in the following video clip. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Church & Missions, Family, Philosophy, Sri Lanka | No Comments »
Institutionalised Christianity vs. the Church
By Asiri | February 14, 2009
I believe that Institutional churches are important, and will remain important. However, I also realise that it is quite a challenge to be relevant so that they do not become a thing of the past. In order to accomplish this, many of those churches must adapt and not conform to the changing culture around us. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Church & Missions, Philosophy, Religion | No Comments »
SRI LANKA: War and the Humanitarian Crisis in Vanni
By Asiri | January 31, 2009
The ongoing war in Sri Lanka is one that neither side can win. It’s the type of war which even if you win, you lose. It’s not a war between the good and the evil as much as it is a tussle between the iniquitous and the peccant at the cost of civilians. The scars will last forever.
The following article written by Col R Hariharan - a retired Military Intelligence specialist on South Asia, who served as the head of intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka 1987-90 and is associated with the South Asia Analysis Group and the Chennai Centre for China Studies explains… Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Politics, Sri Lanka | No Comments »
Sky Angel Cowboy
By Asiri | January 21, 2009
A friend emailed this clip to me the other day….. brought tears to my eyes.
“They call him the ‘Sky Angel Cowboy’. Thirteen-year-old Logan Henderson lives on a ranch located in the middle of Nebraska.
Isolated from much of the world - he often listens to KSBJ Christian radio out of Houston, Texas, which he picks up on Sky Angel. In late October - Logan made a call to the station that would soon be heard around the world.” Via - CBNNews.com
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Psalms 8:2 - “Out of the mouth of babes…..”
Topics: Church & Missions, General, Religion | No Comments »
Lanka Faith Centre
By Asiri | November 30, 2008
Just thought I’d post some history (from the Godage family). This video is from 1999 when we were in Sri Lanka establishing a church as a part of Christian City Church International.
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Topics: Church & Missions, Personal, Religion, Sri Lanka | 1 Comment »
Black and white in a grey world!!!
By Asiri | November 21, 2008
As my beautiful wife points out (see Peta’s muse), the events surrounding the US presidential elections have been nothing short of a saga in itself. Seldom have I seen people globally have such strong and potentially volatile views on a particular event as this. I have a few questions though….
If Obama were white, would he still have won so convincingly. I somehow am not too sure. Let’s face it - many who I spoke with, who were quite determined to see Obama win did so mainly on the basis of him being “black”. Most of them had no idea whatsoever of Obama’s policies or intent in office at all.
What if Obama were white and McCain black?
It seems to me that in a contest between a “black” and a “white”, in todays environment, one stands at a distinct disadvantage purely based on skin tone. Sound familiar….?
How I wish we could be colour-blind some times.
Topics: General, Philosophy, Politics | No Comments »
Josh’s Poem
By Asiri | November 12, 2008
The following poem was presented by our son Joshua (age 15) for his English class. I thought it was great. But then, I’m biased… Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Family, Personal | 1 Comment »
Peta’s muse
By Asiri | November 12, 2008
My beautiful wife has been wondering what this fuss about a “first black American President” is all about. She wrote a blurb in her facebook which seemed to generate quite some interest. So I thought I’d copy it here (with her express permission of course). Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Family, Personal, Politics | No Comments »
How the stock market works
By Asiri | October 17, 2008
Tony Stott writes: Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Humour | No Comments »
CHRONOLOGY: Sri Lanka — 25 years of civil war
By Asiri | September 8, 2008
The following article… via Reuters Foundation
Sept 7 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s advance into the rebel Tamil Tigers’ heartland has unleashed the bloodiest combat in a decade and opened a new phase of the 25-year-old conflict.
Tamil Tiger rebels are fighting for an independent state in the north and east of the island and tens of thousands of people have died in the war and many more displaced.
Here are some milestones charting the conflict, whose end seems elusive after the collapse of a barely observed 2002 ceasefire in January. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Politics, Sri Lanka | No Comments »
Clergy vs. Laity
By Asiri | September 5, 2008
One of the many things I have had to change over the years has been my notion of the so called clergy and laity.
While serving in the mission field some years ago, I remember hearing the president of our church movement challenge the idea of “full-time paid pastors”. In fact, he further encouraged his own pastoral staff to gain employment in the secular field as he himself went on to suppliment his income by selling his own paintings. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Church & Missions, Religion | No Comments »
Thinking or Feeling
By Asiri | July 16, 2008
In my work as an IT professional, I am often confronted with issues which seem to elicit contrasting views depending on ones’ temperament. Sometimes a solution to a problem may very well depend on your perception - whether you are a “thinker” or a “feeler”. I often find myself moving between these two realms. I suppose that makes me quite unpredictable.
Last year, along with some of my work collegues, I had the oppertunity to undergo a test which determined me to be within the rare category of an “INFP”.
If you are interested to find out more about why you act the way you do, perhaps this site could help.
Topics: General, Personal | No Comments »
An ignorant war!
By Asiri | June 5, 2008
The Sri Lankan ethnic conflict stretches way beyond the history of the LTTE. In fact, the study of history shows that it existed in 500 BC.
The ancient chronicle Mahavamsa tells of Tamils from South India in conflict with the Sinhalese. However, the root of modern conflict goes back to British colonial rule when the country was known as Ceylon (which my parents called “the good ol’ days”). A nationalist political movement from Sinhalese communities arose in the country in the early 20th century with the aim of obtaining political independence, which was eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948. After the independence Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Politics, Sri Lanka | No Comments »
Questions?
By Asiri | May 28, 2008
Our youngest son who just turned 4 seems to have mastered a subtle form of torture by the way he says “but why?” whenever his mother or I ask him to do something particularly unsuited to his extremely strong will. I have now come to understand that this is something kids never actually grow out of especially since noting that his other (3) older siblings - the oldest being 14 - still keep doing it. Just that we don’t seem to notice as much since we have grown accustomed to it. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Church & Missions, Family, Philosophy | No Comments »
Catholic Education Office
By Asiri | May 10, 2008
For those who haven’t yet heard, I now work at the Catholic Education office in Leederville - Perth Western Australia. Here’s a brief tour (Courtesy of Bradley Ford) of the beautiful and heritage listed building and its surrounds.
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Topics: Australia, General | No Comments »
Do I go to church…. or…. be the church!
By Asiri | May 4, 2008
Mostly due to a change in career I made recently, I have had the opportunity to ponder upon many issues facing life in general, but none so piercingly as finding the balance between self, family, God, church and ministry. How many of us are so busy with the work of the “church” to become the church ourselves. How many concentrate on going to “church” more so than being the church themselves. I realise that these are perhaps clichés we have become accustomed to hearing often, but nevertheless are truths we cannot escape from.
This in fact has brought me to try and define the word “church” as I see it. I do realise what people mean when they ask about where I attend church, even though, to me the church is hardly a location or an institution. It is time we realised that we who are united to the body of Christ are the church.
I am not by any means saying that there is no place for an institution calling itself a “church” any more than an administrative unit designed to impart knowledge to students being called a school. However, the problem occurs when some students start thinking that there can be no learning outside of a school. Some of the greatest lessons I have learnt have happened outside of my “school” period just as some of the biggest opportunities for ministry in my life have been outside of any particular “church” that I was a part of. At this point I am happy to realise that I, being a part of the body of Christ (or THE church) cannot leave the church unless I actively separate myself from Christ Himself.
(This cartoon is copyrighted by Lance Bowen of Geezer Graphics in Maui, Hawaii and is used with permission.)
I have appended below an article I found quite interesting. It was titled “Why I don’t go to church anymore!” by Wayne Jacobsen. (Please note that this is not in any way an endorsement or an agreement to views shared by Mr. Jacobsen, but presented as a very interesting viewpoint.) Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Church & Missions, Personal, Philosophy, Religion | 2 Comments »
THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE
By Asiri | April 16, 2008
This…. attributed to George Carlin….
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints;
we spend more, but have less;
we buy more, but enjoy it less. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: General, Philosophy | No Comments »
Change vs Transition
By Asiri | April 13, 2008
What a month it has been. After much deliberation, consultation and contemplation I made the decision to change my place of employment just over a month ago. I must say that it was not the easiest of decisions I have had to make. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Family, Personal, Religion | No Comments »
Have you ever wondered….
By Asiri | April 9, 2008
Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard when he lives in the jungle without a razor?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
Why do banks charge a fee on ‘insufficient funds’ when they know there is not enough?
Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: General | No Comments »