Tim Goldsmith

I’ve been thinking a whole lot about blogging. I just haven’t done any. It’s been a big couple of weeks. Silent retreat, ordination, Shona’s big conference, mum’s birthday, it’s all been happening. I’ve been thinking about a lot of it & not writing. I think I might just start again. I’m committing myself to blogging weekly at our Youth Group webpage, but I think I need to extend that commitment to here. I think I’ll spend more time writing about what I am thinking of, what I am preaching on, and then see if I can fit a photo or two in there too. Anyway, I do have a couple of photos for you. The one above was from the roof of a tunnel in Sydney city. The ones below are from a “high tea” that Shona & I had on Saturday. The last chance we have to go out on a date before the baby? Who knows? Just some of the minis on offer. I know Amy would kill me if I didn’t blog the food. I’m looking forward to Amy putting up some stiff competition in the Creme Brulee stakes… they were tasty! You’d look happy if you had this food ahead of you! We also had a 3 page list of different teas available to us. I had an awesome Ayam (sp?) tea that had malty & cocoa undertones… very nice

I know, I should have something profound to say, but don’t worry, I am sure I will have something by the time I blog next. By this time next week I will be the Rev. Tim Goldsmith! I’m off to ordination retreat tomorrow morning, and I stay there till Friday afternoon, when I head back to Newcastle & get ordained on Friday night! I’m excited at the prospect & excited about the idea of having a week (OK, only 5 days) to spend in prayer and contemplation, even if the threat of a “silent retreat” freaks me out a little. So I should be more inspired to write, but I miss my wife who is down in Sydney for the week for her big conference. So it looks like your luck is out! But instead, here are a couple of cute pictures of my soon-to-be God-daughter! I think this one has a very “Girl Power’ feel to it. The raised fist makes it for me! More of the standard cute shot, but I still like it…

So the big news was looking like it was going to be that Shona & I are house owners, but as it turns out, it wasn’t to be. Right to the very moment of signing we were, but then we got back pest & building inspections & they were pretty darn questionable. We made another, amended offer, allowing for all the work that would need to be done, but didn’t get a favourable reply. In the end, when the other party refused to show documentation that a converted garage was council approved, and when they couldn’t show that they had done any protection work after having a history of termites, we decided to cut our losses… So, it’s sad news there. The good news is that we’re not lumped with a big mortgage on a place that needs lots of work! Now it’s just a matter of seeing where the church will put us!