Papa's Home - Onyx's Blog

The Doctor (3 replies)

onyx — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:36:28 -0500

Hello my friends, it's been a while...the busy season is not yet over, but I felt to come spend some time with y'all!

I've been thinking about this :

Quote
Matthew 9
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, " Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, " Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?"

But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

"But go and learn what this means: ' I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

The institutions I have been part of all put the adherent's ability to perform mentally and physically and socially and emotionally at the top of the priority list for people that they would value...people that they could use to further their aims. Hence they left out those of "unsound" mind, body, temperament, social acceptability.

Whilst praying for my old Grandpa (93!), I was made aware of Papa's love and value for this old man, despite the fact that his body barely works, and his communication is shot, and his senility is set in...those are the outer things that man looks at...Jesus is the lover of our heart! So then, how can we say to those of other belief systems / persuasions / mental capacity that they will never see Him? For it is He who looks upon our heart, it is He who gave His all for the purchase of that soul.

Therefore is it really even necessary for any one of us to follow Christianity's pat line of "you MUST confess the Jesus Christ is Lord with your mouth in front of a congregation of people!"??? Not to denigrate that stand...but it cannot stand up to His love, nor can it stand up against logic...as it confines all of the mentally infirm, the too-young, the mute...to hell.

Papa forgive me for the times that I have valued your people according to their perceived worth! Help me to see their value in your eyes!!!

Encouraging the servers (9 replies)

onyx — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:08:09 -0500

Yesterday we were in our capital city, Wellington. We arrived by train, and I took the children to the zoo by bus whilst wifey went to do some genealogical research. The weather was typically miserable for this city ; rain, cold wind. But what I found most disturbing was the grumpiness of the city dwellers towards those who serve them on the trains and the bus. Surly grunts were in place of polite communication, and the lack of thanks was deafening! (badday) So I felt to go out of my way to thank them for the good job they do. They seemed to appreciate it, and I got some smiles (happydance)

Why do the big city dwellers take for grunted (pun intended) those who are around them serving them?

Happy 18th Anniversary Darling (4 replies)

onyx — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:32:11 -0500

To my darling Wifey...thanks for putting up with me for 18 years (<3)(happy)(<3)

Life happens (3 replies)

onyx — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:25:30 -0500

Sorry I've not been around lately guys..."life happens" at the moment...just got back from my Aunty's funeral, and had a stack of work to do (which is good, it keeps the kids fed!).

I travelled to Auckland for the funeral, and stayed with my parents. My "little bro'" is also staying there at the moment, so it was kind of like old times, and we got into as much philosophical/theological discussion as we could ;) Mum and Dad are Anglican, bro is agnostic, and they are all wondering what the heck I am (rofl) ... considering Mum+Dad became Christians because of the religion that I was following!!! Now they are a little shocked to see me drop kick the religion in favour of the relationship.

Also had a great chat with Mark, as he had to drive to Auckland, so I caught a lift :D ... we discussed much of his life, the "church life", etc.

All singing and dancing (happydance) (5 replies)

onyx — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:39:31 -0500

(rofl) Last night I took my eldest girl (13yo) to a drama class; and I joined in too. Talk about out of my depth! 99% of the class was under 18. I was the old duffer in the class, providing the deepest voice :D It was fun to learn something different; singing and dancing; we are eventually going to be doing Les Miserables as a group. Though, with all that singing and dancing it was easy to see why Les was so Miserable: - particularly if he has 3 left feet and a bung knee like me. I hope no one gets video of me trying to dance- it would go viral on Youtube in no time. Talk about spastic octopus. Anyhoo, I can sing better than dance, so will stick around for that. My girl had fun too, despite the embarrassment of a Dad who makes a fool of himself in front of other teens!

It was interesting to note that she felt free and able to enjoy herself- enough for the teacher to hold her up as an example- whereas the other teens were very self-conscious and concerned with what their peers thought. Home-schooling her, and getting out of the IC, has been wonderful in that regard!

Iron sharpens iron(warrior) (6 replies)

onyx — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:22:14 -0500

Proverbs 27:17 (New American Standard Bible)

17Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.

Ok, I guess we can all agree on that one; we need each other to rub-up-against, in order to become sharper. Papa spoke to me today about this concept, making me realise that I CRAVE for that sharpening, particularly at an intellectual level. And as I examined how PapasHome came to be, I realised that in being a moderator, and the administrator, of this place, I was specifically removing myself from some of the hard tools in the cutlery drawer without even being aware of it; because people don't want to challenge me on my turf, so to speak.

So this is an apology. Sorry for being in the position where it seems I would be "untouchable". I am asking now that you good folk challenge me on anything and everything; I am not always right (ask Wifey!!!), and I need to have many of my rough edges knocked off. And no I am not going to take offence and ban you. (:D (<3)

How to control people(devil) (5 replies)

onyx — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:12:42 -0500

I have been marvelling recently at the way that my children have been working with the computer. Even though we run an IT business, the kids have not had the freedom to use a computer at all until recently, when I let them at my laptop. A couple of weeks later, and I am amazed at how well they have picked it up. I run a custom version of linux on it, that I put together...that's all rocket science to most people ... but the point is that the kids are able to use it easily; "Miss 13" uses it to do assignments and create stunning vector art, "Miss 7" uses it to play mind games, fiddle with appearance settings, and do basic paintings, and the two "Mr 4s" use it to colour-in pictures and play educational games.

The point is that until they had the FREEDOM to explore and learn and develop their own skills, they did not know that they could do these things. Until we are given the FREEDOM to learn and grow and develop outside of the controlling artifice of an institution that tries to protect us from ourselves, we will never know the joy of using the gifts that we are given that lie dormant.

This is how we control others; remove that FREEDOM to make mistakes, the FREEDOM to explore, and put them into a box; where they are "nice and safe"; "for their own good" of course!!! Then we can prove how valuable we are by doing everything for them! (yuk)

Good for a giggle (23 replies)

onyx — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:50:40 -0500

Liberals, atheists have higher IQs

(eeek)(crazy)(lol)

gah $#@%@% muslim fanatics (10 replies)

onyx — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:50:33 -0500

Yesterday and today, I have spent at least a dozen hours tracking down and fixing problems caused by an attack against our server done by a Turkish Muslim Extremist with terrible language (and his breath is probably no better!). Jesus loves 'em. Which is just as well, cos' I'd have a thing or 3 to say to the clown if I ever got hold of him!

me is grumpy (badday)

Skin On (5 replies)

onyx — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:26:13 -0500

Tonight I saw some friends again... they came over, we chatted. Nothing earth-shaking, nothing profound...but it was good. And it got me to thinking, how even as an introvert, as I age, I appreciate more and more the people around me. And I appreciate you people here. And so this post is just a way to say THANK YOU to you all (grouphug)!

And even though I have not yet met most of you "with skin on", I long for that day, that I can deliver the hugs in person.

Ok? Nuff' of Onyx being sappy?(blush)

(happydance)Final wall stripped(happydance) (6 replies)

onyx — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:15:24 -0500

hd600.jpg

Finally, after 4 slow years, I have all the weatherboards of our old villa stripped of lead-paint. Still fiddly bits to do like inner window frames and porch ceiling...but the hard work is done :D Me is happy

Not a competition (2 replies)

onyx — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:09:31 -0600

I was musing today, as I mowed the lawns, about how everything in religion is staged as a competition. You are not as spiritual as the guy up the front. For that matter you are not as spiritual as the guy next to you. You need to try harder, move faster, tithe more, give more of time and money, be bigger smarter stronger richer more-attractive...you get the picture.

But IF you are feeling like you have to compete, IF you are feeling small , insignificant, poor, frumpy, plain, and just not with it, then please check where that comparison is coming from. Papa does not call us to compete with one another. It's not a race to him, not a competition. He just wants us AS WE ARE. And he can shape and mould us much better without the corrupting influence of the world (religion's pressure too!).

When I have examined a lot of my depression, it was because I was busily trying to compare myself to what I saw of someone else's life, trying to compete with a shadow. And of course I could never win. Thanks be to my loving Father that I don't have to look at others, I can be me, be free, and love him unfettered!

Rejoice, for Christ is in you, and He doesn't make rubbish!

Off to the Races (6 replies)

onyx — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:03:06 -0500

Today we went as a family to the horse racing. It was something new for us all, and we went because it was an Art Deco day :- chance to dress up, and there was a low entry fee for us, and free for the kids.

It was a fun day, although the weather turned foul. Wifey and eldest girl had worked really hard making the costumes for us to wear...we looked like Deco-era horsey people!

Funny too that when in the religious institution, we would never have considered it, as the gambling that takes place there makes it a "den of iniquity".

races.jpg

Of Geeks and Humans (8 replies)

onyx — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:10:41 -0600

I've been at a geeky conference for the past 5 days, and it was very interesting for me - I've never been with so many fellow geeks at one time, so it was eye-opening to see how geeks relate to one another.

Check this out : [www.stanford.edu] as it is highly accurate, if you want to understand why geeks appear awkward socially (lol).

And I learnt something about myself from all of this too; that I am not as socially awkward as most geeks, in fact acting as an interpreter, making sure that the non-geek gets an explanation that they are happy with.

The Origin of Sin(devil) (1 reply)

onyx — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:52:10 -0600

On the last day of my vacation I was spending some time chatting to Papa when I asked what the origin of sin was ( it was topical ), and he told me that in most cases it is because we compare ourselves to one another, not Him. 'Hmmmm,' I said,' whaddya mean?' 'Think about it.' So I have.

I was taught that the origin of sin was the devil. Actually, when you break it down, it's really about comparisons.

Lucifer wanted what God had...he was comparing himself to God.

Eve was wanting the "secret" knowledge that God had; Genesis3:
4The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!

5"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

When I compare my house/car/job/clothes/body/whatever to those of my neighbour, then I find they are lacking somehow...and so I want to change that by chasing the dollar required, or stealing.

The opposite must also be true; the life and walk of faith is one of being sure of who we are and what we have, regardless of what others around us have. Knowing that we are secure in him, and being content with what we have acknowledges his Lordship in our life...and enables him to grow our joy and faith because we are not fighting him!

Sweet As (3 replies)

onyx — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:40:00 -0600

We have a Kiwi-ism known as "Sweet As!" which is said whenever we mean great, excellent, cool. I just wanted to say Sweet As to you guys, for having fun whilst I was away, loving on one another, supporting each other, and having fun. It does my heart good to see that I am not required, but rather that I am loved here by you all! Thank you (grouphug)

Revolution (2 replies)

onyx — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:54:07 -0600

It is Sunday, May 29, 30 A.D. It is about 5:00 a.m. The sun is not yet up. Jerusalem is still dark.

The doors of the temple swing slightly open. A lone priest makes his way through the door, down
the stairs, and through the streets of Jerusalem. The streets, as far as he can see in the morning gray,
are packed with sleeping pilgrims who lie everywhere on the stone pavement. He threads his way
through the slumbering maze, passes through the city gate and out into the open countryside. He is on
his way to a nearby field, the same field he inspected exactly forty-nine days ago.

This priest is not the only one out so early. A few other people are also up. A few of the Lord's
disciples can be seen carefully working their way through the sleeping crowds, along the narrow city
corridors and up the stairs of a two story building. (This building is located quite near the temple area.)

We know what the priest is doing on this particular Sunday morning, but why are over 100 disciples
up so early? The answer can be traced back to the Passover and the events of the ensuing forty-nine
days. Just a little over seven weeks earlier Jesus Christ had been crucified during the Passover. Just
about every one who had been meeting in the upstairs room was an eyewitness to his execution. The
two days that followed His execution were the darkest, saddest days these men and women ever lived.
The whole experience was crushing-almost beyond human endurance. But forty-nine days ago all this
unbearable sorrow was turned into inexpressible joy. Why? Because it was then that Mary Magdalene
returned from visiting Jesus' tomb declaring that it was empty. Furthermore, she insisted she had seen
the Lord ... alive!

During the next five weeks the Lord appeared, from time to time, to all these people. On the fortieth
day after His resurrection He had a short talk with a small group of them on a hilltop near Jerusalem
called the Mount of Olives. At that time He gave His disciples a few words of instruction. He
specifically singled out twelve of them, looked them straight in the eye and said, "You are going to
receive power." He then told all those who were with Him to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of
the Holy Spirit. When He had finished giving these brief instructions, He began to ascend from the earth
and disappeared into the skies.

The disciples had stood there a moment, dumbfounded.

Not one of them knew what, or who, the Holy Spirit was, nor when it, He, would come. But with
the few words of instruction they had been given, they all decided to move to Jerusalem, rent a large
room where they could meet together and, as the Lord had said, wait. Since they knew nothing else to
do, they decided their time would best be spent in fasting and prayer.

It was still dark. Someone began to softly sing a Psalm; others joined in. The most historic prayer
meeting in human history was underway!

The temple priest arrived at the grain field just outside the city. The sun's first rays began to spread
across the land before him. Seven weeks ago, on the day of First Fruits, this same priest had inspected
this same field. Unlike seven weeks ago when only little sprouts had been coming up, now the field was
full and rich with a very ripe crop of grain. The seed planted during the Passover season had come up
as a high, abundant crop, ready for harvest. The priest stepped out into the field and began cutting
some of the stalks. He carefully gathered two bundles, turned, and started back to Jerusalem.

Darkness gave way to day. Jerusalem had begun to stir under the first bright beams of the morning
light. The priest re-entered the temple. The next important step of the Pentecost ritual was about to
begin.

The priest walked to a table and began to beat the seed from the stalks he had gathered. Next he
took a smooth, convex stone and worked it carefully back and forth over the seed. He kept pressing the
seed until it was thoroughly crushed. He continued the grinding until the seed was a heap of finely
ground flour.

The priest heaped up the finely ground flour. Carefully he poured some water on it and molded it
into dough. He fashioned the dough into loaves. He then took the loaves and slipped them into the
depths of a fired oven. He stepped back, and waited.

The oven was very hot. Soon the dough would be bread; the priest would soon reach again into the
depths of the heat, this time to take the finished loaf out of the oven.
In just a few moments the priest would open the oven door, lift out the loaf, take it to the altar and
hold it up before the Lord. That offering would be the high hour of Pentecost-and that very moment
was at hand.

It was about 8:00 a.m.

The prayers in the upper room had become awesomely real, and very bold. The presence of the
Lord was also very real. Suddenly there was a loud sound. It seemed to be coming from the heavens.
It was a mighty, deafening roar. It grew louder and closer.

The room almost rocked under the fury of its blowing. Something incredible was happening. What
was it? Was it the life Christ spoke of? The Holy Spirit He promised? The power He promised to give?
The kingdom of which He spoke? One thing was sure, something heavenly was about to strike earth.

Then it happened, right there among them. The sound of the wind from heaven entered that room
on earth. That wonderful sense of the reality and the closeness and the presence of Christ, a sense they
had only experienced when they sat in His very presence while He was here on earth-that same glorious
presence filled the room. Even more, an awesome sense of His divine authority was there.

Suddenly everyone knew!

The Holy Spirit had come! The divine breath was there - resting upon every person in the room.
The whole room was filled, absolutely filled, saturated, and running over, with the Holy Spirit. The
presence of that One enveloped and immersed them all!

There had never been anything like it, not ever! Someone shouted. A cry of unutterable joy went
up. Then another. And another. They were expressions of praise and glory to the Lord for what He
had done in their midst. But there was no way a human being could give adequate expression to such
a moment. Yet everyone had to try. To withhold praise at such a time would have been both
unthinkable and impossible. The joy of all the believers blended into one great, rising crescendo of
praise.

The priest pulled the loaf from the oven. He took it before the altar and lifted it up to the Lord.
The high hour of Pentecost had come. The loaf was complete.

A divine seed had come up! That divine life had once dwelt in only one man; today it dwelt in
more than one man! There was even more to it than that. Those men who had divine life were
now all one - one body. But there was still more: the Holy Spirit had come. But there was still
more: men had been enveloped and saturated in that Spirit. Yes, but there was more. Is it
possible? Could there be more?

Yes!

The priest lifted up the loaf of bread before the Lord. The day of Pentecost had come. No!
The day of Pentecost had more than come: the day of Pentecost was fulfilled! The most titanic
event in creation's history had finally arrived. The divine purpose for the existence of this universe
had at last begun. The highest thought God ever had was at last visible upon earth.

What was it? As of the day, in the city of Jerusalem, the rule and the Kingdom that until then
only Heaven had known - at last - invaded the earth. The Kingdom of Heaven touched earth. What
an awesome event. At last God's Kingdom had enlarged! It had moved to the offensive. It had
taken new territory. A beachhead for the Kingdom of Heaven was established on this planet. It
might appear to have been a small beginning, but it was destined to enlarge.

What had happened?
The most awesome event in human history. A seed had become one loaf!
The church was born.

Mad week (16 replies)

onyx — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:06:52 -0600

I've had a kind of mad week; with a client's website being cracked by Nigerian fraudsters because the webhosting wasn't doing their job properly ::o ... that was hard to clean up, and took a lot of time, but they are now hosted with the good folk at DownTownHost too.

And today I start a "Juice Fast" with wifey, where we don't eat solids for 28 days, in order to cleanse our systems and maybe lose some weight. (I had become addicted to the christian drug-of-choice; coffee. And I am about 5kg over what I should weigh, and feeling worse for wear in general.) So I expect I may get a bit grumpy shortly...please pray for my family!

I am reading a book at the moment that is fascinating, eye-opening, and life-changing. It's an old one wifey picked up at a book fair, called "Revolution: The Story of the Early Church" by Gene Edwards. I think I will need to go back through it and glean some good snippets for sharing here.

A Chosen Race (2 replies)

onyx — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:12:55 -0600

The scripture for today is one that has come to mind a few times lately:
“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9)

A chosen Race?
A royal Priesthood?
A Holy Nation?
People for God's own possession?

What does all that mean to you?

Off the Air (5 replies)

onyx — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:21:26 -0500

I'm going to be off the air for a week or so...what's that saying about the cat being away, and the mice playing? Just don't chew on the red wire guys!

The Main Attraction (6 replies)

onyx — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:47:55 -0500

We went as a family on a long car trip to the Manawatu today. Had an interesting day; on the way down it was early morning, and I spotted a hunched up body lying in a ditch at the side of the road. I quickly did a u-turn, and stopped opposite the ditch, and crossed the road. Thankfully the person got up, and answered that he had been snoozing! He wanted a ride back to his town, so we obliged (thankfully we have a big people-mover). His town was barely 5 minutes up the road, but still it was an interesting thing for the kids to see, as we don't often get a chance to help someone at the side of the road!

On the way back from a long day's working and playing, we spotted an EPIC FAIL on a church sign.. It read, "Seeking to become the Main Attraction" !!!! !!!!
I could not believe my eyes. There it was, black and white, plain as day, the problem with the church of today.

Seeking to become the Main Attraction.

Ok, class, hands up all those who see a problem with this statement!(rockon)

Unexpected Places (4 replies)

onyx — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:23:13 -0500

I am sure if you look at your own life and journey with Papa that you will find refreshment is brought to you from unexpected places.

When I was in my old ~~church~~ club, it was intimated and inferred and outright that we would not receive refreshing from God if we were "outside His will"; and that was defined as not doing what the church had ordained us to do. This is, as you can see, a control mechanism to encourage and foster dependence upon the "system" and organization of the church, as well as the dependence upon someone "higher up" the chain of authority to give us the necessary "covering" or "mandate" or "blessing" in order to do anything. All so that God will meet our needs and bless us.

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (excited) This just happened to be the scripture verse for today, from Hebrews 10! So, wait ... it doesn't say : “Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of following what those in authority say, and asking and receiving their blessing, so that when you have done the will of God and the church elders, you may receive what was promised.” !! NO...this is between you and God.

Let me tell you a story from my life that illustrates this nicely:

My wife went away to a church "spiritual gifts" seminar, and whilst there befriended a 15 year old girl. The girl came over often to our house, to talk with us, and got to know our family quite well, over a period of a few weeks.
Then she confided to my wife that she was being beaten by her mother, as well as being subject to emotional abuse. Whoa, heavy. We asked her if we could contact our government child protection agency, she gave permission, so we went to them to ask what happens in this scenario. They sent a social worker to visit her at school, but decided against doing anything about it (we're not sure why). The next weekend she stayed at our house over Saturday night, as we had thought she had permission. This was something that apparently enraged her mother. Sunday afternoon she received a cell phone call from her mother where we could hear the shouting coming down the line, and left the girl visibly shaking. She asked us to take her home, but to stay with her because she needed some protection. So we organized a baby sitter very quickly, and took her home. The mother, stepfather and aunty were waiting for us when we arrived, and asked us to sit, outside, at a picnic table, so they could berate her for how irresponsible she was; in front of us, and to deride our christian faith. I called out the abuse for what it was, and they manifested, yelling at us to leave the property, to leave her there, or the stepfather was going to grab his samurai sword or shotgun from under the bed and "deal" to us. We had no choice but to retreat to common-ground driveway, where we could still view the house (still trying to protect her), and call the police.
When the police arrived, they asked us to go home, that they would handle the matter from there. And that we were asked not to contact the girl.
Later that week, the mother rang a pastor at our church, and demanded that we be put out of the church. He had no idea what was going on, but after some investigation, gave us a call, then came and saw us with the "youth pastor". They were both "terribly disappointed" with what we had done (as the youth pastor had thought she was making headway in evangelism of the mother!) They didn't really seem at all concerned with the girl's welfare, more about saving face, as otherwise the mother would file charges against us and the church (for what, I still have no idea!) We asked to be informed of her welfare and situation by the pastors, and they promised that they would. (Can you say "liars"?)
She rang the pastor a second time, after a couple of weeks, ranting again, because we were still in the church(not because we were doing anything wrong)...but this time she knew "who we were, and where to find us", so he'd better do something. So he told us to lay low for a while. 8-)

So why am I telling you this? It was one of those (doh) moments, where I suddenly realized that because we had acted outside of the church's control and "authority" in trying to protect this girl, we had put ourselves at odds with their system. We had proven that we weren't to be trusted 8-) and therefore we weren't worth anything to them. It explains so much about the entire attitude from then on...4 months later we ceased to attend that nasty, toxic club.

And pragmatically, I can see their point of view, too. They have a business to run, and everyone who is not a "team-player" under their control, that doesn't bring in the big tithe checks, can find somewhere else to be.

But you know what? It is something that I rejoice in now, for Papa has set us free of that burdensome religion. We are free to care for others without being under anyone's "authority" (Or face-saving), except His authority. That is refreshing, and it is a refreshing that has come from going through a tough time.

Thank you, Papa!

Papa's Home(happydance) (6 replies)

onyx — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:56:19 -0500

Well, in case you are not aware of the story of how this all came to be, I am one of the founders of this site, and right now I'm going to let you know.

In March 2009, I joined an online forum called The God Journey. Having been well-versed in forums through dealing with computer-support forums for years (I'm a computer techie), I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of people that actually created a community of caring rather than a whole lot of individuals that couldn't care less. Up until then Papa had been leading me through the detox process of coming out of a toxic institutional church environment, so a community of believers living outside the box was also something new to me. I thought it was great, and jumped in. I met some really interesting people, some people with some really interesting ideas, and I made some friends. I also joined another forum community, along the same lines. The two had very different dynamics; the latter was sedate, mainly women, and tended to focus on the teachings of one man. TGJ was often in turmoil, many men, and had as a side issue the podcasts of the TGJ main site, but seemed a lot more real to me. (Again, all this is my opinion, please don't take offence if you see it differently)

I wondered how hard it would be to build that sort of community, but didn't really give it a second thought. Until recently, when dealing with some issues within the forum, and hearing Papa's voice saying that this was not how it was supposed to be. I began to hear from people who had been hurt, and left. This concerned me and pained me.

The issues got bigger, they exploded, and I saw that through the unwillingness of the community to provide a safe haven for those who were not as strong as me, nor the vocal ones there, they were destroying the freedom that they had sought to create. Sounds melodramatic, but that's what it came to. Papa began saying to me that he had given me my skills for a reason, and that it was now time to start implementing them for this cause of his. I resisted, and thought I could help fix TGJ. I tried. Lead balloon. Then I started to talk to a friend from TGJ, also embroiled in the explosion, and confided that I had had these thoughts of creating a new forum. I expected her to laugh it off. She told me she would be there with rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, and a bone in her nose!

Papa worked with us as we brainstormed, and I coded, based on a forum software that was new to me, but which I thought would be a good fit for the intended purpose ( I am used to working with large CMSs, not small and fast single purpose forums...but I also knew PhpBB and SMF well enough to know that I could have some better flexibility...and found Phorum ). I found Phorum brilliantly easy to theme, creating the custom theme you see before you now, which I called "Heavenly", and brilliantly easy to add modules for extra functionality. Meanwhile we brainstormed...by email. One Kiwi boy, and one Yankee lass, only she began to call it 'spiritstorming', because that's what it felt like, so I did too :)

The temporary name for the site, "Wings Like Eagles", began to fall behind on the direction the spiritstorming was going...it just didn't fit...but Papa gave us the new one; I believe somewhat miraculously, in the term "Papa's Home", because it spoke so well, meant so many positive things to us, reminded us of the Shack Book, and the domain name was available (incredibly; have you ever tried getting exactly the domain name you wanted? Not easy these days! And this one used to be owned, but not populated, up until Oct08. So a year later there is new life in it!)

Then it came down to testing, polishing, building the structure, and so on again. Just as it was getting ready to go, another friend on TGJ mentioned that he was going to take a break from there for a while (he'd had enough of the drama too), so I invited him to come aboard to help test; also knowing that he'd had much experience on forums like this in the past. He leapt at the opportunity. Then so did another friend, a brother in 3d also. And so on...until here we are.

That was the mercifully quick version, but I wanted it to be known.

This forum is far from perfect; it is only as good as we can make it, as a community. Papa willing, that community will grow, and we will grow with it, as we learn from one another, encourage one another, serving Him.

Thank you to all who have made it what it is so far! Thank you for joining in! Thanks for your efforts in making this a safe place of blessing we can honestly call Papa's Home!