Counting Down?

For some friends i know, they are each counting down to a new beginning of yet another chapter in their lives - 15 days to Melbourne for studies; 15 days to Perth for Murdoch; 20 days to New York for work & counting... I would like to think that Pepper (my dog) is also counting down for my return... hee!

Ever wonder if people do count down for the end of the world? Okay... we won't know exactly what date & time this will happen to do the actual counting down but haven't we been warned to be prepared & watched for signs? Mark 13:7-8, Jesus said: "And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately. Nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, and famines. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come." Behold! We had earthquake that hit Tasmania (8.1 richter scale) on 25-Dec; earthquake hit Indonesia (9 richter scale) on 26-Dec which also resulted in Tsunami which affected 15 countries; earthquake hit eastern coast of Japan (6.8 richter scale) on 19-Jan; earthquake hit New Zealand (5.5 richter scale) on 20-Jan. See how many earthquakes within a short span of time? Think about it - are you ready for what is yet to come?

Well, i was with some colleagues at the Australian Open Tennis Championship yesterday, 21-Jan (Fri) evening watching a tennis match between Spain's Feliciano Lopez & Swede Joachim Johansson. We had to pay A$20 for a "After 5pm" ground pass & have access to all courts (except Rod Laver Arena) to watch any tennis matches going on that evening. It was at the Vodaphone arena where i watched my first "live" tennis match between the Spanish & Swedish. Very exciting & the match actually lasted for 4 hours - great fight! You should see how the Swedish supporter/fans - most of them painted their faces in blue & yellow (ie. the Sweden flag) - gathered to cheer & shout for J. Johansson. The results? Joachim Johansson (Swe) beat Feliciano Lopez (Sp) 6-3 3-6 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 13-11.

As we were heading back to the Federation Square, the whole Swedish gang was walking right behind us - still cheering & dancing to the victory of their home player! They went: "We are yellow, we are blue, we are Swedish, who are you?" - among the other forms of cheers which i couldn't make out... Anyway, good for them!