John Stott Has Died

John Stott Has Died | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction:

"John Stott died today at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott's death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott today as they listened to Handel's Messiah. Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. 'I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders,' Homan said. 'He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior.' Billy Graham's spokesperson released the following statement from the evangelist: 'The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to Heaven.'"

John Stott had a great impact on my early Christian life. I purchased many of his books and found them both challenging and encouraging in my life with Jesus. I had not realised he was still alive till the other day and now I find that he's gone home to Jesus. I'm glad for him.

Related articles

• Evangelical Leader the Rev. John Stott Dies at 90 (foxnews.com)
• John Stott: The Passing of a Giant (1921-2011) (antagoniz.wordpress.com)
• In remembrance of John Stott (petegreenwood.wordpress.com)

A couple of his books:

Old cottage @ Jembaicumbene, NSW - photo art

Old cottage @ Jembaicumbene, NSW - photo art, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

I pass this old cottage each time I go into Braidwood to check my mail or to shop. It's old and it's abandoned yet there's something very appealing about it. I often wonder about the people who used to live there and the stories they could tell.,
I've stopped to photograph it many times. Lately I've been experimenting on my photos using some of my computer art programs, especially one called Dynamic Auto Painter (DAP). The computer is my canvas and this is something I like to do. I quite like this particular result.
Recently someone has begun a restoration project on the cottage. I hope they retain something of the its character.

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo

Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo, a photo by bhojman on Flickr.

I was up in Sydney this past weekend and was very delighted to see a small flock of black cockatoos in my friends' trees. These cockatoos are not often seen around Sydney. I see them more down my way in the Southern Tablelands. The flock allowed me to creep quite close and take plenty of photos... a satisfying experience! They stopped all their screeching and watched me closely but stayed put in the tree.

Winter woes...

It's winter down here in Australia... and it's cold, of course. The last few days have been extremely windy. In fact, Sydney and the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney have been battered by gale force winds. Stately old trees have succumbed to the fierceness of the winds, houses have shuddered and shook and some roofs have come off. It's none too pleasant to go outside.
On Tuesday I drove down from Sydney back to my little house in the Southern Tablelands. My car was loaded down which helped me stay on the road. As it was my arms got very weary just steering and keeping on the road. The winds were blowing from the side and at time they were very fierce. After leaving Goulburn I sadly noticed a lot of trees had come down though none blocked the road.
I was very glad to finally arrive home. The wind was way too strong to even think about unpacking the car. It wasn't quite as cold as predicted but still cold enough in the wind. The house shuddered and shook, the chimney whistled, and I was glad to go to bed where I could be cosy and warm secure from the the wind.
My muscles are all aching today. Maybe that's from all my rushing yesterday--unpacking the car early in the morning before the winds picked up again, splitting wood and carting it to my woodbox at the house, battling to get the wood fire to light and stay alight, watering my plants, and entertaining visitors, etc. I'm sore!
The forecast says that really cold weather is coming...

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• More wild weather across south-east NSW (news.ninemsn.com.au)
• Wild weather strands NSW passengers (news.ninemsn.com.au)