2010 welcome

Greetings!

I've just spent most of the beginning of this year moving house. The feelings and thoughts swirling around in my poor tired body remind me of what it was like being a tertiary student – the beginning of the year is all crazy with a lot of organizing, meeting with people, planning, trying to do everything on a shoestring budget. Often you need advice and practical help.

If this is you, then you’ve come to the right place. There is a lot of support if you need it. You can refer back to this page – because you never have to go it alone!


LSF = Lutheran Students and Friends

Lutheran Students and Friends
A friendly group of Christian students who organise camps, conferences, monthly worship services and guest speakers, social events and a quarterly newsletter called ‘Grapevine’. Check them out.

The overseer, the Man, the head-honcho, the big-cheese is Rev Mike Pietsch
he is very approachable - so don't hesitate to contact him if you have any questions about LSF - or, indeed, being a tertiary student:

Contact Rev. Mike Pietsch: 0409 725 573 (mob)

or LSF South Australia president:

Andrew O'Loughlin - Email: sapresident@lsf.org.au


COMMENCEMENT CAMP 2010

*There’s a commencement camp coming up 19-21 March at Aldinga – great way to get to know people!

Here are a few details:

Theme: "Jesus Vs Buddha?"
( I don't think it is aggressive, but a looking at other religions from a Christian point of view)

Speaker: Rev Dr Dean Zweck

Dates: 19th - 21 March 2010

Where: Aldinga Beach Holiday Park

Prices: 1st time LSF campers= $55
"Students who already know how great LSF camps are" (I didn't write this)= $60
Workers=$65


Contact Mike or Andrew for more details.

See also: LSF on Facebook
and/ or submit an enquiry about it on the LSF/SA site

Your Local Lutheran Churches

Don’t be shy to set foot in a church – many of the people will not pounce on you and will be willing to lend a hand if needed.

See below (last post) for all the contact details!

And I’m in at Magill on Tuesdays and Mawson Lakes campus on Friday afternoons – don’t hesitate to contact me if you need someone to talk to.

Tim Oestmann, Chaplain,
UniSA Magill and Mawson Lakes
(mob: 0404 303 084)

contacts

Hey, as things start to slow down on campus and if you find yourself still in town - here are a few contacts that you might want to consider. No one has to be lonely this side of town :)


If you live around the Magill campus, you'll find the Magill Lutheran Church nearby here:







21 Edward St Magill SA 5072 Australia
Telephone:
08 8364 3957


If you live near Mawson Lakes Campus, you'll find the Mawson Lakes Lutheran Church here:

Unit 4 5 Goodall PdeMawson Lakes SA 5095 Australia (during the week)

Endeavour College, 85 Mawson Lakes BoulevardMawson Lakes SA 5095 Australia
(for Sunday morning service)

If you find yourself in a sticky situation there are emergency numbers you can ring. Here are a list of people who can help you:

General Crisis Help
Life threatening emergencies - phone: 000

Police - phone: 131 444

Lifeline - phone: 131 114 Counselling for people with any type of crisis.

Living Hope - phone: 8277 4033 Counselling for people with any type of crisis.

Domestic Violence helpline - phone:1800 800 098Counselling for victims of domestic violence and their concerned friends. Counselling for people who commit domestic violence

Addiction Help
Al-Anon and Alateen - phone: 8231 2959 Support for people affected by the alcohol problems of relatives or friends.

Alcoholics Anonymous - phone: 8346 3255 Counselling and support if you have an alcohol problem.

Nar-Anon - phone - phone: 8272 8228Support for people affected by the drug problems of relatives or friends.

Narcotics Anonymous - phone: 8231 4233Support group for people with drug problems.

Gambling Helpline - phone: 1800 060 757Counselling, information and referral for people who are concerned about their own, or another person’s gambling.

Mental Health Help
Emergency mental health help 24 hours - phone: 131 465

...and don't forget that God offers real hope to all of us "Call to me and I will answer you ". I certainly don't always 'feel it' but I do certainly 'believe it'. When something cr*ppy happens, it's my first instincts now to call on him. He is not stingy, nor waiting to punish - in fact the opposite is true: "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

God be with you

-Tim O

National Conference LSF (28 Dec 09 - 3 Jan 10)

If you are a regular LSFer or not - you are welcome to register and attend the 'national conference' where Christian students (and friends) meet together from around Australia.

This year the conference will be in good 'ol South Australia where the gum trees grow and we talk slowly.

Theme: Love is a Verb

Where is it: Woodhouse campsite (not far from Adelaide)

When is it: Monday 28th Dec 2009 from 3pm to Sunday morning, 3rd Jan 2010
(you can tell your family that you are going away this year and only coming back next year)

Cost:
􀂅 Year 12 ($180)
􀂅 Student ($225/$240)
􀂅 Worker ($245/$260)

Interested??????

Go to the LSF Registration Page

or download the (pdf) registration form here

any questions? ask these wonderful people:

Contact People:
Mike Pietsch 08 8370 3615
or 0409 725 573
mike.pietsch@lca.org.au

Ben Kuchel 08 8480 7942
or 0419 845 980
conference@lsf.org.au

becoming sharper at study via Christian meditation

Meditation and Study

Many, many years ago, I remember having a friendly argument with a student about "meditation". I was in a neo-conservative-christian-bible-believing phase (one of my many phases) and I understood all meditation to be 'evil' and 'opening yourself up to demons' etc. His argument was that it is scientific also and is a proven way of relaxing and gaining concentration. Well in hindsight, I guess I have to say I was wrong.

When I first went to Bible College, I had an opportunity to do a major study on "Christian Meditation" as a project. So, I immersed myself in many books and lectures old and new and made an amazing discovery = we meditate already, it is natural.

Daydreaming is meditation, thinking about your next holidays is meditation, worrying is a negative form of meditation. We do it anyway.

So what's all this hocus pocus stuff about meditation? And what does it have to do with study?

When you study you need to be in a state of mind to concentrate and not be stressed out of your head - meditation techniques can calm you down and help your mind be in a better place of concentration

Here are the methods common to all sorts of meditation in a nutshell. They come from (gasp!) a non-Christian site Psyblog:
(1)Relax the body and the mind: through controlled breathing, posture, relaxing muscles
(2)Be mindful: don't pass judgement on your thoughts let em go gently pulling em back
(3)Concentrate on something: Often meditators concentrate on their breath
(4)Concentrate on nothing: Most say this can't be achieved without a lot of practice, so I'll say no more about it here. Master the basics first
(5) Zzzzz Zzzzz: That's not meditating, that's sleeping.

But, seeing I'm a Christian - this is where the difference is:
the point of concentration is on Jesus or a Bible truth or Christian prayer.

I'm not a super meditator but usually make time for it when things are getting heavy and full on.
I always ask the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts at the beginning (because I don't trust my human nature or anything else floating out there) - and when unrelated thoughts or 'things I have to do' pop up in my head, I don't shoo them away - but pray about them because I believe God may be bringing them to my mind to get dealt with.

Also, years ago I gave up the hope of seeing 'rainbow ponys' in the sky or 'streams of light' flooding my soul. It's actually quite lame really. However, I've found that after taking time out to pray and meditate that I often feel better and more focussed to deal with whatever is at hand.
So, if you are stressed out with study - make sure you fit in some time (20 minutes possibly) to get in a better state of mind and body...and spiritually. Then you can say "bring it on!"

Let me know your thoughts on this.


*Here's more about Christian Meditaion:
http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-meditation.htm

spooks part 2

Earlier (June 2009) I wrote about my "Casper the friendly ghost" experiences and my understanding of the Bible's view of contacting departed spirits. Today, I received this short article which I found encouraging that there are others who feel the same way as I do about the subject. I'm quoting it direct from Weekly Wisdom Christ notes:

"Are you looking for right answers in wrong places?
People in the world are desperately looking for answers: answers to problems, answers to difficult questions, answers to pain and suffering -- everyone wants answers to life's questions. But so many people look for right answers in all the wrong places: psychics, mediums, weegie boards (ie ouija board), star charts, spiritists, astrological signs, and other similar places. Sadly, some of the most visited sites on the Internet contain popular horoscopes.


However, God sternly warns His people not to turn to such things. In Leviticus 19:31, God tells us, "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them." Only a few verses later, He again warns: "I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people" (Leviticus 20:6).

The Bible instructs us not to turn to worldly things for answers. Instead, we are to turn to Jesus, who is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Jesus is not one of the ways; He is the way. You will get real answers to life's difficult questions only from God.
So, instead of spending $3.99 per minute looking for right answers in wrong places, turn to the all-knowing God, himself, the creator of the universe!"

So what does God think?

If you ever think "someone up there doesn't like me!" - have a look at these:

We say: “It’s impossible"
God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

We say: “I’m too tired”
God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

We say: “Nobody really loves me”
God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 13:34)

We say: “I can’t go on”
God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9)

We say: “I can’t figure things out”
God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We say: “I can’t do it”
God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

We say: “I’m not able”
God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

We say: “It’s not worth it”
God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28)

We say: “I can’t forgive myself”
God says: I forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

We say: “I can’t manage”
God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

We say: “I’m afraid”
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)

We say: “I’m always worried and frustrated”
God says: Cast all your cares on me (I Peter 5:7)

We say: “I don’t have enough faith”
God says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

We say: “I’m not smart enough”
God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

We say: “I feel all alone”
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

LSF on Facebook

Last post I spoke about Facebook - if you are interested in the

Lutheran Students facebook Page

-you can find it-

here

Social Networking

(cartoon from www.computerweekly.com)

Are you on MySpace, Facebook or another 'social networking' site?
Which side do you stand on - just a bit of fun and self promotion or big brother and cyber crims stealing your identity? Here's a few of my thoughts on the whole 'social networking' thingo - and I stress, my own opinion at the moment. If you have an opinion - I'd be interested to hear it also.

As an introduction, I -am - on Facebook and use it a fair bit mainly to catch up with friends and 'friends' and a lot of mindless fun. I'm also on MySpace - which actually totally horrified a girl I knew. She wasn't aware that, even though I am "mature", I use it to get to know other guitar players and musicians which is a hobby.

I'm currently playing around with Linkedin as a professional tool, but it's early days yet. And for those of you who know that I hang out on the computer a bit - I want you to know for perspective sake, that I still mow lawns, do dishes, vacuum the house, go to a paid job and work and get exercise and (personally) am not an online gamer. I don't play WOW, Call of Duty, or even Hello Kitty's Island Adventures; I'll leave that to other pure pwnage fans.

OK here's my main point: I think in essence social networking is a fantastic way of "networking" with people, getting a bit of perspective into the views and beliefs of others, learning a bit of tolerance, developing social skills and having a bit of fun. However - there are dangers - and it pays to learn about them and to consider all warnings thoughtfully.

First the bad news...and I'm going to only talk about Facebook here...but similar will apply to other networks

Not all people are good - does that surprise you? There are crims out there. Read this article about Facebook cybercrime and viruses
(See also www.fbhive.com for both the good and the bad.)
They can be invisible too. Like most crims who don't break in during the daylight - they may find ways into your site through a back door. A personal example of this is a friend of mine had his account hacked. I personally had this'friend' pop up in Chat (real time writing to each other) and he asked "how I was" and after a few preliminaries, this "friend" said that they were "stuck in London and could I send over $800 straight away" because they had "lost a ticket".

I smelled a rat.
A really smelly rat.

I asked my supposive 'friend' (who was using my poor real-friend's hacked legitimate chat and profile photo) a few questions...and then I asked him if he remembered HOW we first met? After being greeted with silence, I explained to this scammer - in words he could clearly understand, and not be mistaken about - what I thought of his little scamming game; and instantly deleted his account. So, yes - it does actually happen. There will always be a percentage of any large group of people, online or offline who have not-so-good intentions about you. So be careful.

You probably already know that you are best to screen what you say and what pictures you allow on your site (if you can help it). I'm told that many employers and human resource companies are getting quite good at roaming the internet for details about you and your online 'private' life to suss you out if you apply for a job.
So, as far as it's up to you - refrain from posting last Fridays drunken binge pix on your site. Also, updates like "my work colleagues are $%#@$%^'s" can get you in an uncomfortable situation or even fired from your part time job.

Finally - assume anything put on the net is public - no matter what you are told.
We all make mistakes - and let me tell, the older we get - the larger the catalogue :(

Facebook has had criticism that it declares that it 'owns' all information on it's site - which the CEO denies (see article in the age ). There is however, encouraging news that Facebook is being pressured in being more open about information it is giving away See Australian IT 28 Aug 09

Here are a few hints if you are concerned about your privacy settings on Facebook: Sophos recommended privacy settings



Back in the old days (I mean about ten years ago) we used to have mainly segmented lives but in the social networking world you can have 'friends' who you wouldn't usually mix with in the real world, so boundaries can get a little blurred sometimes. For example, I have 'friends' who are real long term friends, 'friends' who live overseas and I've never actually met, 'friends' who others would call "clients" from work, 'friends' who are work colleagues, 'friends' who I know from church, 'friends' who I hardly know but somehow we got connected and so on.

For me - and this is what i think is GOOD about online social networking:

It is an unnatural community - yet it is community. I often enjoy the online conversation and remarks people make. I like the interaction. Yes, it's technology, but behind each computer is a human being with all the glory and failings of humanity that we share. It's about people.

As far as it being public - at this stage - besides common sense online precautions (like locking your car in Hindley street), I'm not too worried about the public-ness. If you have nothing to hide, then it's not going to be a big problem. If you stuff up, like we all do - then apologise.

There are many Biblical principles, particularly of love and respect of others that will serve you well online as they do in our normal communities.