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4Ü #208

Thinking big

20 October 2005

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WASSUP - Thinking big

I've been exercising my mind to see how big I can think.
It's mind boggling!

That's big!
The sun is only one of more than 200 billion stars in our galaxy, the milky way.
The milky way is only one of billions of galaxies in our universe.

That's fast!
Light travels at 300,000 kilometres per second (that's very fast), so when you look at the stars at night you are seeing 10 billion light years away.
A "light year" is a measure of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels in a year and is equal to about 9.5 trillion kilometres, or about 6 trillion miles.

We are on the move!
The Earth is rotating on its axis at a rate of 460 metres per second at the equator and is orbiting the sun at a rate of about 30 kilometres per second. The sun is orbiting the centre of the Milky Way at a rate of about 220 kilometres per second. The Milky Way is moving at a speed of about 1000 kilometres per second towards a region of space 150 million light years away called the Great Attractor.

There is more than meets the eye.
About 25% of the universe consists of "dark matter", and about 70% consists of "dark energy", leaving only about 5% of the universe visible to us.

Have a look at the following web pages and after you have done that go outside. In the light that is coming to you from 30,000 light years away (the sun) stand in front of you mail box and ask yourself, "what is my address?"

That's thinking big.

And that is just for starters!

Andrew

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INSIGHT OUT - Wonders that cannot be fathomed

"He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

Job 9:8-10

Just when I thought I had God all worked out
my mind is blown away by wonder and mystery that cannot be understood
height, breadth, length and depth
dimensions in which I live
yet they know no bounds
finite and infinite meet in a place called today
the light that guides at night travels from the edge of the universe
sees even me
worlds beyond worlds
light beyond light
life beginning and be-coming

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OUTSIGHT IN - Freedom to fail

To fail is inevitable.
To be a failure is a choice.
To live your life in such a way as to protect yourself from failing is not to live at all.
Failing was the teacher that taught you how to walk, talk and ride your bike.
Some days it wasn't pretty.
But you got up, and that's what makes you the person you are today.
It's not how many times you have fallen off that matters .
It's how many times you get up.
All you need to do is get up one more time than you have fallen off.
The maths is very simple!
That's the difference between failing and a failure.
Thomas Edison's teacher called him a dunce and Albert Einstein failed maths.
Every great success is preceded by countless failings.
So if you want to succeed the first lesson you need to learn is ...

...how to fail.

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SEE YA SUNDAY - "In the battle"

This Sunday morning - 8.30am & 10.30am - "In the battle"
Part five in a series on 1 John - Real life / Real faith
Once you have made your stand you can be sure of this ... you will be tested.
This week we'll be looking at how our faith is tested by the culture in which we live.
These are precarious days.
How well do you stand in the midst of the battle?

Bread & Wine - 9.45am - Weekly Communion

The Ride - 5.30pm - Diagonal parking in a parallel universe

Thanks for this time to chat.

Andrew
St Columba
Where Life and Faith Meet
andrew.norton@stcolumba.org.nz

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It's free but don't steal

If this is of help to others, you are welcome to forward it. This e-mail letter is 97% original - 3% cut and paste & 100% fat free. 4U is copyright to Andrew Norton. That means you can't cut and paste it and call it your own (that's stealing). I'm happy for it to be used but please refer to the author.

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LAST WORD - Smile

The most destitute person in the world is the one without a smile.

Zig Ziglar


© 2008, St Columba Presbyterian Church, Auckland