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From Mankini to Magic
November 27, 2008 8:02 PM
Words cannot describe the horror one feels when browsing Facebook, only to have your eyes assailed by pictures of your cousin wearing only a fluorescent green “mankini” (as made famous by our good friend Borat).
This was part of the manhood ritual known as the Bucks day (Or “Stags party” if you are one of our American friends). What exactly is the point of removing a guy’s clothes & then trying to remove any vestiges of dignity or maturity that a man might possess?
Of course, I don’t blame Nick. I rest assured that the clothing, the activities & the indignities were all envisaged & supplied by his “best men.”
I’ve been thinking…. Is it an attempt to make the metamorphosis more apparent. One week he is protozoic, the next week he is an advanced life form? Or is it just, as the classics say, “his last taste of freedom”? (If that were the case, why would so many bucks days be a matter of a groom having things done TO him rather than BY him?)
Either way, it did make for some interesting photos. I am sure a psychologist will have a field day with the memories I am trying to repress, having looked at them, 10 years from now.
Meanwhile, I need to clear my mind of such stuff…
It’s nice to know that I can focus on Saturday. The day when all those memories are erased in a whirl of white silk (or insert your girly bridal gown fabric name here) and black suit.
Failing that, I have SMBC Graduation to focus on on Sunday…
Failing that, here are a couple of serene pictures I took last weekend, when I helped out with the kids programme at my mate Dan’s church camp.
“Ahhh the Serenity.” Water gently lapping, a boat or two on the lake, and a giant power station whirring away in the distance…. peace, perfect peace!
I fish-eyed view of the world at dusk.
Commenting on foreign elections.
November 7, 2008 7:35 AM
Once upon a time I might have balked at the idea.
“Why should I comment on their elections? They don’t even know who our Prime Minister is!”
But, of course, that is very ungracious. One has to acknowledge that we are a tiny country of 21-odd million on the “arse end of the world” (to quote a former prime minister, Paul Keating), while they, like it or lump it, are still the most powerful nation in the world & the biggest economic nation.
So, whether we have Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, or even the fat kid from “Hey Dad” as the Prime Minister it doesn’t really change their world, but I think there could be some big changes in ours.
So… on to my comments.
I am happy that Barack got in. I am sure that he has a lot to offer, but I can’t help but wonder how much of our feelings are swayed by media hype. Could any Australian really outline what any of his policies are? Could we outline McCains?
Maybe I am getting all “conspiracy theory” in my old age, but I can’t help but feel that lots of society get manipulated. Like J-Moff noted, there seems to be a real air where you are uncool, or out of touch if you voted for or were pro-McCain.
Whether or not you like the guy, I hope everyone respects his speech after defeat. He may not be the “Cool” choice, but I respect a man who just loses the biggest moment of his life & then openly embraces the new president elect & calls the nation to get behind him & make America great.
Meanwhile, I think the next 4 years should be an interesting time. Has America voted in the best man for the job, or have they voted the most charismatic man? I guess we’ll find out….
Weekend Away
October 30, 2008 1:16 PM
So last weekend was our parish weekend away.
We didn’t get the numbers we had hoped for, but those who were committed were there for a good time & a good time was what we had!
It’s nice to be able to spend some time away, just chill out and have fun, and hear from God’s word. My good mate Dan gave 2 talks & a study from Jonah (not that I heard them, as I was out the back helping with the kids) which went down a treat, and his kids worker, Nena, ran the kids programme. What a fantastic time!
Anyway, it’s all hands on deck for the next week or two, with my hospital training finishing up, and a couple of sermons on the boil.
No rest for the wicked!
Surprised?
October 20, 2008 5:08 PM
You shouldn’t be.. Well maybe you should. It has been over a month.
But you know I’m not like that usually right? I just need to get myself out of this blogging funk. I read other peoples blogs & I think about things to write all the time, so all I need to do is do it!
In the mean time, what a crazy ride it’s been.
Did you know that Shona is pregnant? Yeah, I know, crazy huh!!
Also, I am getting ordained next year. “Lucky they didn’t speak to me first” I hear you say! Well, I guess I am lucky aren’t I!
Anyway, maybe I will pull my finger out & write something properly in the next couple of days. In the mean time, you know I am always good for “Old Faithful,” the pictures….
This is… we’ll call her “A”, the brand spanking new daughter of Dave & Sim. She’s a gorgeous little one. We’ll have our own (maybe not a girl though) on or around April 10th!
This is what a cheeky little girl looks after 4 years. Who doesn’t love Bethy? What an awesome niece!
And here we have the male version of awesome. Tobliebobs is a funny kid!
Workin it
September 11, 2008 9:10 PM
I know I’m the heaviest I have ever been in my life.
My little bro & his wife both lost a whole heap of kilos on weight watchers, which is a nice spur, but really, I don’t know if I want to make the kind of life-changing commitment that I would have to for that. Shones & I certainly have made big changes to make sure that we are eating better quality stuff & less bad stuff, but I think there will always be a special place for food in my life. Even bad food…
At the same time as deciding that the weight is an issue, I am pretty sure that I am the least fit I have ever been. I walk around lots of places, but I really don’t do a great deal of real cardiovascular work.
Anyway, I have decided that maybe increasing my workload could be my weight loss strategy!
Why you ask?
Well, it looks like I have my own free personal trainer!
Byron is a South African guy I go to church with. Like many Saffies, he is direct, stubborn & determined. He is also mad about Mountain Biking, and only lives 8 minutes (ride) from me. Even better, there are literally hundreds of kilometers of awesome tracks behind his house!
This afternoon I went out for a ride with him. It was only 13kms (about 8 miles), but it was a LOT of up hills!
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t walk a fair bit of it. I would also be lying if I said there was a passage of time where I couldn’t talk, and it was all I could do not to spew either! That said, I would also be lying if I said that it wasn’t breath takingly beautiful on some of these ridge tops. So amazing, that you could hardly believe that you were on the edge of suburbia! Lots of national park, some nice windy tracks, and some good company.
I also remembered the best thing about Mountain Biking.
I’ll be honest, I was miserable a fair bit of the ride (physically, not emotionally) and some of the big drops scare me… I am a bit of a wus…. but MAN what a feeling about 30 minutes after the ride! The adrenaline is still pumping into the system & you get the awesome feeling of euphoria long after getting over the tiredness!
So, Byron & I are heading out tomorrow afternoon too (Remember? South African & Determined) and this time I will make sure to take along our little pocket camera & capture a little of the beauty.
Lets see if this one lasts… If I could feel as nice as I did this afternoon, I certainly hope it does!
Etiquette
August 27, 2008 11:09 PM
I’m not entirely sure what the appropriate way one talks about the death of people they love on their blogs, so I have come up with a little plan…
Firstly, the story. Last Wednesday afternoon, my Mum’s dad, known to parts of our family as “Bamma,” died at 94. There is limitless rhetoric available about “having a good innings” etc, but that doesn’t mean much to those who wish he were “still in the game.”
Anyway, I don’t really feel like the internet is the appropriate place for me to wax lyrical about Bamma. Some things really are better discussed in relationship, so instead I thought I would blog about a bunch of “Old” things that I have been enjoying recently, in honour of the old man whom I miss muchly….
1: Get the “Old Crew” together….
All of the family came up for the Funeral on Monday. On Sunday, however, we played. This included one of the “old classic” pastimes of cruising down to the beach, having a walk (and a shoulder ride, and a jump) on the beach, followed by an icecream!
You have to love Australia. Still within the bounds of Winter (I think… or are we just out of it by now? I get confused!) yet it is still nice icecream weather!!
2: Read some “Old” Books…
OK, so they are both new books that I bought, but the Calvin book is (loosely) about Calvinism, which is an old theology. When my friend Bruce pointed this book out to me, I had to have it. The second book is a collection of 145 short stories, compiled (and some written by) Dave Eggers, author of one of my favourite books, “You shall know our velocity”. Anyway, I got into short stories because of some Hemmingway and Poe that I’ve read, and they are both old, so it counts too.
3: Old foods.
I had Bible study over at my house this evening, and I enjoy cooking something nice for them. Again, they are new to me, but they are an “old classic” of the cafe scene, the humble Friand. These ones were Raspberry & White Chocolate, and went down a treat!
4: The Consumption of Old Drinks
Actually, it’s not Ardbeg I am drinking, it is “Highland Park,” and it isn’t 10 years old, it is 12, but this was the only photo that I could find in my archives of Whisky. I could have taken a picture of my Highland Park bottle, but you see, the drinking is something that I am about to do, not something I have done, so I didn’t want to waste time.
Whenever I write something like “the drinking” it makes it sound like I plan on knocking back a bottle. Truth be told, I’m just going to enjoy one simple dram as I sit back & enjoy one of my old books.
Sitting, reading & enjoying a nice Whisky fits my “ode to the old man” quite nicely…
Survival
August 18, 2008 10:13 AM
So I survived the 40-hour famine. I have to say that the not eating bit wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be. Once you don’t have breakfast, I felt like metabolism just sort of shut down. I didn’t have too many problems with hunger at all. My only real concern was that I like to eat & it is something that I do to break up the time. I would find myself bored & need to find something else to do instead of eat.
Maybe this is good training if the G-dawg wants to drop some kilos?
Of course, I am not saying that the famine was a walk in the park. The big killer, however, was the sleepover. It’s a sad reality in my life that I don’t have the sleep-deprivation stamina that I once exhibited. Come 3am, I was really starting to tire. Actually, I don’t know if it’s the stamina, as much as it is a realisation of other responsibilities & worry about my ability to carry them out.
I needed to work on my sermon on Saturday, then on Sunday I had a kids talk in the morning, followed by sitting in on a baptism class, then off to a reunion lunch, followed by a meeting for the evening church, followed by church itself, followed by dinner with a lovely couple from church. Lots of stuff to have to do back to back, when you’re tired & you don’t get to eat till 9:45 on Sunday morning.
Mother other slight miscalculation was that I thought if I finished my famine at 9:45am, that would be just in time for my kids talk. Unfortunately, I miscalculated it & had 7 minutes to go when my kids talk started. However, the kids thought it was twice as funny that I had brought in all this stuff for my little meal, and then had to sit there staring at it…
Anyway, the one down side to Sundays being a work day is that you get home, feeling like you have survived the week, but there is no weekend buffer before you start the next one. My day off, Saturday, kind of got swallowed up this week, so it’s monday morning & it’s back into the fray!
I guess that is the good thing about working for the church. It’s tiring, but it is nice to really believe in what your doing & not begrudge the little sacrifices that one might have to make to keep things going.
As a brief aside, here’s a pic that I kind of like. It’s a thin slice of kiwifruit held up against the sun.
Slow weekend...
August 15, 2008 9:55 AM
I know it’s going to be a slow weekend.
Not because I don’t have anything to do. In fact, I am pretty darn busy the whole time, but this weekend is 40 Hour Famine weekend at church, and it just wouldn’t be right for me to be a youth leader & not partake in the famine myself. I thought about giving up technology or something like that for the 40, but that would be a bit soft on my part.
Why is is that when you plan something like this, a time where you would hope to spend lots of it asleep, you end up having youth sleepovers? It just makes you hungrier! Still, it should be good fun, so that will be OK.
The following is just a little fun I had with Caleb after Bible Study on Wednesday. It’s been fun & encouraging to work through the book of Acts with him, and it is also good fun to see what bicarb soda does with vinegar!
Redemption
July 30, 2008 4:29 PM
It is a long road to redemption when one lets their blog lapse. What might once have been an active and enthusiastic readership is now just web-bots trawling for information & the occasional family member ensuring that I still exist.
Still, I do mean to get back into the swing of things here on timgoldsmith.com. I know that when I am in full-swing, it is a great avenue to encourage me to be creative. I need to think outside the box!
Of course, I get to do that lots with work! We're making some changes at the morning service at church, which means I get to do kids talks every week (I really love doing kids talks. It just feels natural) I will be preaching once a month in the morning (to supplement my preaching every second week in the evening) and I will be trying out some "Culture Spots" once a month too. Just an idea pilfered from my days at SMBC.
Creativity is a funny thing, when you're using that side of the brain, things just start coming more naturally. When you ignore it, it ignores you! I've been using certain parts of my creative brain, but other parts I have been ignoring & they've slowly moved toward an atrophic state. Time to stretch those muscles.
Anyway, photography is another of those muscles I need to continue to stretch. Here's a couple of pictures of new, and a couple of old...
"The Look"
Fliss & Andy got married a couple of weeks ago. I think she may have been joking with this look, but I think it's a classic!
The bridal Waltz? Not the way I remember it!
J-Moff has used the "Wordle" thing before, so I thought I would "Wordle" the sermon I did the other week on "Our Father" the beginning of the Lord's Prayer...
Finally, it has been a long time since I posted a shot of beer. It used to be a regular occurrence. This is taking things back to 2004. A fine beer to enjoy in Edinburgh at the "Monster Mash" Restaurant. Itself a fine establishment!
Zip
July 14, 2008 12:13 AM
So, it has already been a couple of weeks since the anniversary!
Who'd have thunk that time can move so fast? I've been working hard with normal work stuff, CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) stuff, and "Kids Games" (Everybody jump up!) running for the whole of last week!
Man, it has been a lot of work, but it has also been a lot of fun. We had upward of 140 kids come to Kids Games (no more than 120 on any on day though), about 75 of which were unchurched. It really is a great point of contact with the kids of surrounding area. It also proves to be a great ecumenical exercise. It was awesome to have the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Churches of Christ, and the"Liberty Church" (pentecostal) together!
Of course, the joys of child safety mean that I can't really show you any of the pictures (and there are lots)
Anyway...
I thought I would do a bit of a J-Moff & pose a question for those Christian readers out there (though you don't need to be Christian to reply).
I'm thinking of doing a series with my Youth Group entitled "Ten things you need to know about Christianity." What would you put on the list?
A week away
June 19, 2008 2:09 PM
On Monday week, I will have been married for a year!
Dang it, that's gone fast!
Boy things have changed in the intervening time. Different jobs for both of us, different suburb, and even different city to live in. I'm done with my study (or at least the Bible College study) and we're in a whole new world of experience on the coast.
With this in mind. It's great when you have a chance to spend time with the 'old crew.' I haven't had a chance to catch up with some of my crew recently. Matt, Cate & Kirt, being big examples, but a couple of weeks ago we did get to catch up with some of Shona's nearest & dearest.
It was great to spend some time with Felis and Andy, who are moving, daily, closer to their big day of transformation (i.e. their wedding) as well as Dave & Sim. Andy added another life-changing experience to my list, when I ENJOYED a vegetarian lunch! I know, I'm shocked too! (Mum, don't have a heart attack)
(The vege meal in question... Haloumi is nice!)
Of course, the day was much sweeter, being able to link up with some serious cupcake action from some mini-cupcake store in the city. Cute & tasty!
OK, so there is nothing serious to this post. I had an idea about a week ago for something big I wanted to write about, and now I am trying to remember what it is! That sucks!
Sorry
May 30, 2008 3:18 PM
Click on the picture for a bigger apology, or go to The Bureau to make an apology (or another announcement) of your own!
Casual conversations
May 5, 2008 6:19 PM
There is a family that lives on a corner block near my church. You can look down into their back yard as you walk by. As I walked by on Sunday afternoon I saw a young girl, under two sitting on a rope-swing by herself and the following conversation took place.
Girl: Hello
Me: Good afternoon.
Girl: Do you want to come and play at my house?
Me: No, but thank you for asking. You look like you have a nice swing there.
Girl: Yeah I am good at swings.
(five seconds later)
Girl: Bye Bye
Me: Bye bye, have a nice afternoon.
Girl: I love you.
It was one of those golden little moments in life. She was a lovely little kid & was just looking for someone who might play an assisting role in her afternoon swinging plans. She wasn't too concerned that I was a stranger, but was happy for some conversation and company. For one brief second I couldn't help but be filled with happiness. You can see why Jesus said that the Kingdom belonged to people such as this. Simple, innocent, friendly & completely trusting. Coming from a family who remind her how much they love her, she wanted to share the love around.
It breaks my heart that the moment following this revolved around my fears for a kid like this. Had I actually come down & joined her for a push of a swing, the chances are that an enraged parent would have barged out forthwith. What was I doing in their yard? Why was I hanging around with their young kid.
Far worse than that scenario is the idea that a more nefarious character might have happened upon such a sweet little child. That maybe the parents didn't come out fast enough & maybe she could have disappeared...
Moments like this surely have to make someone long for heaven. Oh for a day when golden moments aren't framed by the black clouds of fear. For the day when love can be given with the knowledge that there need not be loss to come in the future.
Maranatha
Easy decisions
April 30, 2008 5:08 AM
(Eggs Benedict)
Should we go up to visit my parents over the ANZAC weekend? Well, they are on a nice vineyard in the Hunter, I do enjoy spending time with them, it is a chance to get out of the house and relax... They are all good reasons, but the clincher is when mum says "How about I make you Eggs Benedict for breakfast?"
We weren't able to stay for the whole weekend, because I was preaching twice on Sunday morning (which went well, thank you for asking... I was preaching on the second half of Acts 17. Apparently, according to a reader at one of the services, Paul spoke at the Asparagus!), but we were able to head up on Thursday evening & stay till Saturday afternoon.
Rain was the name of the game, like most of the coast around Sydney, but with a warm fire going, a couple of scrabble games, and a cheeky red wine or two, the rain just added to the ambience.
Follow that up with a lovely misty morning on the Saturday & you have a recipe for success. The only downside to all the precipitation was that when we attempted to leave, the bridge at the end of road was under a metre of water! We had to drive 15km around to get off on another bridge. Again, all part of the fun.
Well, I have some other thoughts in my noodle that I would love to share, but they might have to wait for another post, which will hopefully only be in a day or so.
Instead, enjoy a couple of pics..
The foggy morning was lovely. There are a million little spiders webs on the vines!
Once the mist lifted, Saturday was magic. Not that that would make this a magic mushroom...
The road "should" continue down to a lovely wooden bridge.
A testimony to Shona's patience that she still looks happy having driven 15kms to get around to the this side of the bridge...
Comfort
April 22, 2008 6:30 PM
It will never be green like this photo in Australia.
But over the last week it has certainly had all the rain. To be honest, I had forgotten that it could rain like this in OZ. Deep, driving, constant rain. I think it's been going for about a week.
Days like today are fairly good for doing work. It's just the right kind of weather to camp out in front of your computer & bang out a bunch of Bible studies for youth group & spiff up your sermon for Sunday.
That said, it would be an even better day to be snuggled up in bed, a good book (for me the picture in my head will always be Lord of the Rings... a product of my childhood) some chocolate (again, my formative years declare that they must be "chocolate bullets", preferably the now defunct pascalls brand) with a Teddy bear (and now the option of my wife!) by your side.
Well, unfortunately, my day is more of the work & less of the vegging. Still, there's always a spare moment to remember lush green walks & rainy days with my niece's bear in bonny Scotland.
Hardly
April 21, 2008 12:31 AM
I don't know what you're talking about dude, it hasn't been that long!
Oh, what, ten days? OK, so maybe longer than I said I would leave without calling, but hardly the kind of timeframe that ruins a friendship or anything, right?
Right?
If it's any consolation, I have been fairly busy.
Hey, don't laugh!
Yeah, I know, I thought holiday time would mean that life is cruisy too, but it never seems to work that way.
Well, I guess it's like that because I wanted to make sure that I am on top of things for next term. That means putting together Bible study series....
Hey, as a digression, how do you pluralise a word like series? Serieses? series' serii? None of them ever sound right.
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah, between Bible study stuff for youth group, writing a couple of sermons... Did I mention that I got sick? Nothing serious, just a cough & a cold, but it was enough to take that sparkling edge off me. Anyway, add all the other minutiae that make up the average week, and things just disappeared.
Like I said though, it wasn't all bad. Do you remember Tom & Ruth? They're from the halcyon days at Dural Anglican. Anyway... hey, do I use the word "anyway" too often? anyway, Tom & Ruth offered us free tickets to come with them & see the Swans play at Telstra stadium! Yeah, I know, sweet, but it gets better. We were only 4 rows from the grass, right in the middle of the field. Dude, seriously, Barry Hall broke his wrist about 3 meters from where I sat. Unfortunately I had already put the camera away by then...
Yeah, I took the big camera.
Look, tell you what, let me go to bed now and I'll promise to get back to you real soon, and just to sweeten the deal, I'll pop in a couple of the pics from my night out. Deal?
Deal!
Look, I know it is obligatory, but it really catches the mood of AFL. As a sport, they continually seem to be tipping their hats to the 30s & 40s... gotta love the streamer-wall anyway...
I'm not going to pretend like I know any of their names. I can appreciate the sport, but you know I am a rugby guy. Anyway (there I go again!) you have to appreciate the athleticism, plus you get an idea in this pic of how truly close we were!
For some odd reason, a lot of my photos are of the Eagles taking marks. Quite odd, considering how much they got beaten by!
That's better. We got to see a lot of this that night, which is perfect for your first night of live AFL! I'll have to thank Tom & Ruth properly later!
Good times
April 10, 2008 4:26 PM
On Saturday I went to Matt & Lisa's place for lunch.
Good times.
It's nice to catch up with one of your oldest mates & just kind of chill.
It's even better when the two of you are married & you can bring along your wives (and not too bad when his lovely sister-in-law and husband are there too)
And it's truly good times when they have two gorgeous boys for you to hang out.
Young kids are just like free entertainment. Who needs foxtel when you can watch the wild hijinx of "T" and "W". Will "W" be able to fit a whole piece of cake in his mouth at once? How psyched up can we get "T" as he heads lots of sugary stuff, then how likely is it that we will be able to beat Matt at Wii tennis, if "T", a four year old, is his partner?
Here's a couple of pics from the day. (Oh, and much thanks needs to go to Lisa for all her fantastic hosting skills. We were serious when we said the lasagna tasted awesome!)
"T" is rockin' it out old-skool style.
I've never seen such a whole-body effort when it comes to eating lunch.
They must be used to cameras... "W" is trying to push "T" out of the way. Who wants to share a closeup?
This was one of the early attempts of "W" to use his hand to eat cake, before he resorted to simply diving his face into it. Very cute!
The world is Black and White
April 1, 2008 8:51 AM
Oh that it were true.
Instead there are so many shades. Ever more so today as truth becomes a subjective.
Anyway, here is some more pictures of Scotland to encourage my sister...
Merchant street. Down in the Grassmarket area.
You have to be ready at any time in Edinburgh to escape the rain. On this occasion (in 2004) escape lead to the excellent opportunity to try out a deep-fried mars bar!
Perspective
March 31, 2008 10:50 AM
(Looking down on St. Louis from "The Arch," July 2004)
What's old is new again.
March 30, 2008 10:08 PM
So I continue to potter around with old photos.
I have to admit that for the last little while I have worried that I have lost a bit of my passion for photography, but just playing around over the last little while has been great. I found a HEAP of old photos that I put onto lightroom & it's been great being able to breath new life into old shots, relive the old days & see how I have also developed in my craft.
With all that said, I think I will have to give my poor congregation a bit of a rest from the endless photo-essays at church. They get to enjoy every whim & fancy that I come up with.
Please enjoy a couple more shots from Scotland. No matter how I feel about photography, my love for all things caledonian remains!
The roof from the apartments across the road from where I lived. Why do they call them APARTments, when they are all stuck together?
They call this place "The Meadows." It is a lovely big park area just outside the centre of the city. Man it was nice to head there when the weather was warmish & thousands of people were just chilling & enjoying that foreign object to all Scots, the Sun!
Preset memories
March 28, 2008 12:56 PM
Occasionally I find out new things about certain programs on my computer. Just yesterday I found out that you can download "presets" for "Adobe Lightroom", which are the optimum technical settings for different styles of photo. A preset for the "Lomo effect", or HDR, even Velvia style... Lots of fun.
Occasionally I remember that I have thousands of old photos that I can look at & remember. It's nice to travel through Europe again, or relive first year of college.
When my revelation last night met my interest in some of my old photos, I decided to have a go at fixing/playing with some of the oldies. I am happy with the following, but would appreciate feedback. You never know as a photographer, whether you are more excited by the new process you have applied more than the photo itself...
Easyjet is a beautiful thing! Cheap flights everywhere. I think I got 6 flights for the equivalent of about $400!
I caught a train from Venice to Nice in this carriage. A short while after this shot I went to go to the bathroom. When I got there, the floor was flooded & I was just in socks, so I headed back to my cabin & found a guy fiddling with the door, trying to break into my room. He saw me & then just walked away. Had I not turned back, I could have lost my camera & a bunch of valuables! God is good!
Edinburgh itself is a beautiful city. I really love it. This is looking from George IV bridge, down onto the Cowgate.
New Things
March 26, 2008 1:20 PM
So it's back to work after a big weekend of Easter.
I had a good time over easter. We had Sim, Dave & Michelle up for the weekend, which was fun. I got to do a kids talk at church & felt like it went down a treat, so that was a bonus too. Finally, on Sunday evening we had a dinner as a church & it was great. Nice food, good company & instead of having a sermon, we had 4 readings done by different members of the congregation where they injected their own thoughts/feelings/ideas into the reading. It was a good time.
I've started a new blog for our Youth Group called "The WAY". At the moment, the only info on it is mirrored in stuff that is being done here, but I assure you (probably 5) readers that there will be lots of original information going up there in the very near future. Check it out anyway.
Well, It's also a sad week this week. My little Bro, his wife & child are moving down to Melbourne tomorrow, which will be the source of much sadness for Shona & I.
The only good news to come out of the move (hopefully) is that P,K & C will have to be more diligent in their blogging, so we can all keep up now... Here's hoping!
TCG.><>.
Unexpected benefits
March 16, 2008 2:09 PM
It appears that one of the unexpected benefits of living up on the Central Coast is that going into Sydney City itself becomes exponentially more exciting. As you roll over the Harbour Bridge in the train, looking out at the Opera House & the city splayed behind it, it's just breathtaking.
So the other week, Shona & I got to head into the city for dinner; a gift from a bunch of her Brisbane friends. We'd chosen to use this universal voucher at the Hotel Intercontinental, going to the "Cafe Opera" restaurant.
Now, even I am ready to admit that when I think of class & sophistication, the word "buffet" rarely appears in the list of words floating through my mind. However, "Cafe Opera" is a totally different story. Amazing Sushi & Sashimi, awe inspiring salads, lovely bread, seafood, and the desserts were so beautiful I didn't know whether or not to eat them or photograph them! (Amy, you would have liked the Creme Brulee that was the size of a large salad bowl...)
So we ate, we chatted, we ate, we laughed, we ate & then we ate some more just in case. It was a magical night, just to be in the city, around the buildings, watching people bustle by & feeling like we were in a different world to our daily experience at home.
I think I need to visit more often. Maybe a chance to really get stuck into some photo taking again?
Anyway, here are a couple of photos from the occasion. (Out of respect for my wife & the fine institution of going on a "date" I refrained from food photography in the restaurant...)
The foyer of the Intercontinental
Shona, waiting for the train on the way home.
March 12, 2008 11:24 PM
I was on one of my friend Jenn's pages today & it had this video. It certainly gets you thinking! I'd love to hear people's impressions/opinions...
While I'm pilfering stuff from Jenn, here's apparently how my theological mindset would break down. That said, I really disagreed with a number of the questions. I don't always like having to pick something categorically.
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What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Neo orthodox You are neo-orthodox. You reject the human-centredness and scepticism of liberal theology, but neither do you go to the other extreme and make the Bible the central issue for faith. You believe that Christ is God's most important revelation to humanity, and the Trinity is hugely important in your theology. The Bible is also important because it points us to the revelation of Christ. You are influenced by Karl Barth and P T Forsyth.
|
In news that I haven't pilfered from someone else.... actually there is none. I got inspired by a picture that I saw on Jodi's blog, and I decided to start my own series, where I get my youth kids to think up one (or several) word ideas that can be written on a hand (or other body part) and then expressed through a physical action & then photographed.
The following was just a test. The rest I suspect are going to be focussed more on "virtues."
Dreams
March 11, 2008 11:47 PM
I would love for you to have looked up this site & found a really interesting blog. Something that stimulates & challenges you. Something that informs your worldview, or causes you to want to inform me, but the truth is... well I'm tired, I have a big rest of my week & I think I'm just going to go to bed. You'll have to hold out for my critique of certain articles in the paper, my plans for an interesting photo series with my Youth Kids, and a review of the restaurant that I was lucky enough to go to last week with Shona...
Soon and very soon, my dear brothers and sisters...
Advantage who?
March 4, 2008 8:25 AM
I went to a Bible Society showcase morning tea the other day. The speaker dropped the statistic that over 40% of Australians say that they will most likely never read another book for pleasure once they have finished their education.
Never
Again
Read
A
Book!
It shocks and saddens me. Surely that statistic can't be right. Australians are supposed to be some of the biggest readers per capita in the world, but I suspect that this doesn't change the facts.
I guess I am pretty lucky. I read from a young age & had a love of reading patterned to me. I remember trawling through mum's home-library & visiting my dad in the country & seeing him sit up at night burning through Robert Ludlum style books.
I even remember the very moment that a casual interest in books moved to a passion. It was in 5th grade & the school librarian read out to us the beginning of Tolkien's "The Hobbit." I decided to read it for myself, and though the first page and a half was very different to the rest of the book (I was expecting something along the lines of "More Adventures of the Muddle Headed Wombat," the longest book I had read up to that point in time) I was hooked. Since then, my affair with good books has continued.
Viscount Herbert Samuel said "Libraries are thought in cold storage." I've always been fascinated by the fact that, on my shelf, is the collected thought, dreams, ideas, blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of men & women. Thousands, possibly millions of hours of deliberation, poured out onto the pages. Even if the subject doesn't interest you, the insight into the author can be fascinating. You can ignore the story & instead be lost in postulations on what kind of character or mind produces such ideas like this?, what headspace delivers such material? What do these characters say about this persons perception of reality & what does my reaction say in return?
Once you have a taste for literature, the bonds that time have on you are loosened. Anyone can now feel free to explore Paris in the enlightenment, reformation Germany, or the dark ages of Italy. Visit almost anywhere. Even better, visit almost anywhen!
Heck, why even limit ourselves to the terrestrial. The world is our oyster, but there is a whole ocean waiting to be explored beyond our little mollusk....
Middle Earth, the Disc Worlds, The Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy. It's all there before us.
All this lies at the feet of any man, woman, child. All they need is some basic literacy and a library card...
40% of Australians, never picking up another book....
I'm sure people still find a thousand other ways to inform themselves. They say that by the age of about 8, the average kid has received as much information as their grandparents did in a whole lifetime. But that doesn't change the facts. TV, the internet, mobile phones. None of these things ignites a fire in the heart like a good book.
It's a great challenge for me to think about how I am feeding myself while i work here on the coast. Too quickly people say that they don't have the time to read for pleasure any more. I'm convinced that the trick to longevity in ministry, and happiness in most walks of life, includes, in part, a paperback, 15 spare minutes a day (or longer on your day off) and the willingness to transport yourself into another mans life, or maybe even another world.
After all, as Twain once said "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't."
What are you reading at the moment?
---------------
On the menu at the moment:
1: The contemplative pastor- Eugene Peterson: I started it, loved the first 100 pages, then kind of stalled. I should finish it. Maybe if I start blogging about my books, this will help me finish things like this.
2: Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church- Don Carson: Another book that I have started & need to work through. Good help in understanding what I am working with & a counterbalance to some of my online reading on Emergents.
Gustavus Adolphus: A Hero of the Reformation- C.A. LaCroix: Adolphus was a Swedish King, and a defender of the protestant faith. I'm enjoying the chance to read a little about an "unsung hero."
Books I just finished:
1: What is the What- Dave Eggers: An awesome Biographical look into the life of Achak Deng. Born in Sudan, growing up in refugee camps and trying to eke out a life in the USA.
2: The Voyages of Sinbad- Unknown Author: An interesting book to read. Translated from Arabic. It's interesting to see certain people held up as heroes who display characteristics that might make us uncomfortable in the western world.
Skype me
February 18, 2008 1:39 PM
I have skype & it works properly even with video! Three cheers for broadband!
Feel free to drop me a line!
Just a couple of words.
February 18, 2008 6:59 AM
I was really struck by a couple of words in the second half of Philippians 1 while I was preparing for last night's sermon. I realised the true sincerity of Paul because of hte following.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.(underling, quite obviously, mine...)
Here is a man who is gaol. We don't know if he's in Rome, Ephesus or Caesarea, but what we do know is that he isn't in a good situation. In verse 13 he says "I am in chains for Christ". Like all gaoled people you expect him to talk about his deliverance, but his heavenly perspective comes into stark contrast when he follows it up with his wish that "Christ be exalted whether by life or by death."
Paul has grabbed on to the promise of a resurrection with both hands. There is no "foot in both camps", but a wholehearted longing for those things which are promised in Christ Jesus. I long for, and admit that I most often fail to attain, that kind of sincerity. I eagerly await the time when the Lord calls me home, but at the same time I want to suck the marrow out of this world just in case....
Well full-time gospel ministry is proving to be a good wakeup call in some regards. Not enough hours in the day. So many opportunities to be opening up & sharing with people. Making a difference in lives, or just trying to make connections. I can see that the very thing that makes this dangerous (that tiredness point where you see the work you do as a job, rather than a gracious gift from God) is also the thing that can make the work so helpful (setting aside your own interests to serve others.)
Of course, I don't want to come across smelling like a saint here (like chocolate and rosehip in my imagination). I am still as lazy as I have been throughout most of my life. I am sure I will look back at this time in a decade & wonder how I managed to fill so many hours with so little work! In the mean time, I'll continue to work & continue to pray that God would mold my heart, that I would be a person who serves in sincerity & looks forward to that day when I leave this earth & am called to serve in heaven.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Welcome to Wyoming
February 15, 2008 4:53 PM
It can be difficult moving to a new church, particularly when that new church is in a new city & this new city is where you will be practising your new job!
How do you really become part of the family? How do you make connections with people? How do you know if they have connected with you?
I'd posit that you know you are part of a church when, on your doorstep, on a Saturday afternoon, arrives
a) A Banana in Pajamas/Housewife/Santa
b)Strawberry Shortcake/Ballerina/Swimmer
c) A Kangaroo (that looks like a bear)
d) A pretty princess with goggles.
e) One slightly embaressed father.
So there I was, feverishly working away on my sermon. I had to ask Shona a question, so I ran into the bedroom, but before I managed to ask a thing, I saw a flash of colour outside & three giggling youth running to hide.
"I think we need to get dressed out of our PJs" says I.
"Why" says she to me.
"Let's just say that I think we could get visitors today." Tim replies.
I walked downstairs, heard a knock, then walked outside to see what the story is. "G", the father, is standing on the road & encouraging me to look around the corner.
Around said corner was the aforementioned youth. Should I mention that the aforementioned youth were also arme with a spray bottle filled with pineapple juice?
[Note to self: Never tell kids at your church that you hate, vehemently, pineapple...]
On the bright side, we got given some lovely berry muffins as an apology for the ambush.
So there you go. Now you know how to be part of a community. Just make sure you have a decent face towel to get all that pineapple juice off!
Enjoy some pictures of the day!
This is the motley crew. They look like the ambushing type, dont they!
Who could be mad & cute little munchkins like this?
B1-Claus & (musclebound) Ballet-Shortcake
The Happy Place
January 30, 2008 10:42 AM
This is certainly a picture of me in my happy place.
I was in Edinburgh, I had a new bride sitting opposite me & a pint of Guinness sitting in front of me. Can a man ask for more?
College. That was another happy place for me too. Right about now, everyone is going back to SMBC & jumping into the study.
I feel a little homesick for College & I definitely miss Scotland at the moment (hot days suck!) but I certainly wouldn't say that I have been robbed of my "happy place."
It turns out that life here on the Central Coast is pretty good. The congregation here is incredibly friendly, the teaching is sound, my boss is great, and I think there is almost unlimited potential when it comes to my job here. It all feels a little overwhelming, but that is OK.
Our house is also pretty nice. The good thing about living in a Townhouse as opposed to an apartment is that we really feel like there are different spaces. My study is a legitimately separate area, so Shona is free to watch TV & not feel like she is bothering me. Even better, I have my whole library together for the first time in years. Rest assured there will be pictures of the house coming very soon.
Anyway, I think I might be changing the tack of this blog in the near future. Maybe making it more about reflections on my time here, the stuff I am doing & the stuff I am reading. I'll have a think about confidentiality, about how much grovelling I will have to do to the always-generous Chris to help me give things a new look, then work out what is going to happen with photos & the like.
This might also give me more to write about on the blog, since I have really slackened off in the last 6 months or so. Of course, when we get the internet at home, that will make a huge difference too. Who knows when that will be though.
In the mean time, Wyoming is a happy place. Here's hoping it continues to be so.
Oh, I thought I would steal a leaf out of Veltmeyer's book & make this a prayer point blog for those who pray too. Here's a couple to start with.
Shona: Pray that she might be able to find work for the couple of spare days that she currently has.
Tim: Pray that I could learn people's names as quickly as possible & that I could find a good rhythm with all the different tasks in my calendar.
What happens when you get a taste of freedom?
November 26, 2007 5:12 PM
This is the crazy look you get when you are free from classes.... or the look you get when they have all-you-can-eat prosciutto at the graduates retreat. Dan & I were similarly enthusiastic about that one!
So, it has been a week since I finished up at college and have rediscovered reading for pleasure. So far I've read "Band of Brothers", the book that my favourite TV series was based on. It was worthwhile reading, even though I knew the story intimately, having watched the series about a zillion times. I'm also part way through "The Flying Scotsman", a biography of Eric Liddell, the man they made "Chariots of Fire" about. I'm definitely a fan of Eric's. One of the greatest sportsmen ever, and an inspirational Christian too! I'm also thinking that I'll start "Becoming Conversant with the Emergent Church" (Don Carson) soon, as a prep for next year.
I've also discovered working for an income! I've had a couple of days working for Anglicare again with the "Toys'n'Tucker" appeal. The first day I did a bit of ferrying in a station wagon, but today we got to pick up our vans. Big 1.8 tonne mammas! It certainly was fun today getting used to my van & trying to park it properly when doing pickups in the middle of Cronulla, then the middle of the Sydney CBD! That was a challenge!
Over the weekend, I enjoyed the pleasures of grad-celebrations and Bucks nights. Friday was college dinner, Sunday was grad ceremony. Saturday was Dave Kerridge's bucks, which involved Summer Hill Pub, Enfield Park, Absinthe, A shop Manequin & A police officer. Of course, this sounds very questionable, but I can assure you that it was all above board. Nice to have a bunch of guys together goofing around in a good-natured way, and I particularly liked praying together with the guys for Kerridge at the end of the night.
Otherwise, not too much to tell. We have a new Prime Minister, but I'll leave discussion of such a matter to those people more politically astute than myself. Oh, as promised, please find some more pictures. These are from the Sculptures by the sea exhibition.
Probably my fave sculpture & my fave picture from the day. I really liked the rusty colours in this.
"Attack of the Ants." These were pretty amazing. I particularly liked that each ant, made of machine parts, actually looked like it could have run as a real engine.
"The Master at Work." The morning was made by Joel coming along for photos too. He's a good man & a fun guy to take snaps with.
"Scary." This isn't from "Sculptures by the sea" and it certainly isn't a good picture of me, but it's important to be humble enough to put up the occasional "ugly, but interesting" shot right?
Last Withdrawal
November 19, 2007 6:56 AM
So this photo is from Friday.
Joel & I went to the "Sculptures by the Sea" exhibit to take some photos & check out what's new. I've been there each of the last three years during exams. I think this year was pretty good!
Anyway, I am sure I will post some pictures of the sculptures themselves, but first off, there is the blood.
I am fortunate that giving blood really doesn't bother me. My veins are easy to find (apparently). I bleed really quickly, so I don't take up too much time. To top it all off, I'm not really queasy about needles either, so it is interesting to watch something slip into your flesh & then see your lifeblood slowly seeping out.
However, I am busy, and I am lazy, so this means that I don't give blood nearly as often as I should.
So, back to the story. Joel and I had gone & taken photos on Friday morning. We had also enjoyed the yearly stop at a place in Bondi that has $6 big breakfasts (and I have to say, on this occasion, it tasted like it barely made the $6 value), then we headed into the city to check out a "Lomo" store. I found out the address in Elizabeth street, then we decided to walk there. Joel & I walked for about half an hour, but when we got to the right number on Elizabeth street, there was no Lomo store there.... wait for it....
But there was a blood bank!
It had just opened, it was new and shiny & we had some time to kill. I'd been meaning to give blood for months, but had not found the time to head down to Parramatta & do it. It was fun & nice to help out!
Anyway, there is a sign of God's sovereignty in the small things. I don't think I will use this story in my Old Testament Apocalyptic exam that I sit in less than two hours, even if it does fit with the flow of God's revelation in Daniel as both worldwide and personal....
Instead, enjoy another picture of my arm, if you are the praying type, then pray for my exam today, and if you are of age, then get off your butt & go & give blood. For those American readers out there, this is particularly aimed @ you! You suckers can even get paid for it I believe!!!!
Peace out!
(Oh, and I just remembered. The reason for the blog title is because this is my last exam before graduation! Praise the Lord!!!!)
Back, but for the last time....
November 12, 2007 2:47 PM
Don't worry dear reader (both of you), I am not talking about my blog. I am talking about College! Here I am, again, preparing for exams (and posting the obligatory study photo). This time, the ride is proving to be a fairly smooth one. Only two exams to write, only five essays in total. I also have my ethics reading to do, but as the previous post notes, I am enjoying that a fair bit.
In other news, we took a trip up to the Central coast yesterday. It was a chance for Shona to have a look at the church, the area, meet my new boss & finally to come along to an evening service. It was good to do all of these things, but I would say that the highlight had to be a lunch-break at "The Skillion," which is a sticky-outy (technical term) bit of land at the end of Terrigal beach. We sat and ate fish & chips & stared out over the ocean. Of course, this was all less than 20 minutes away from our parish, so you can rest assured that many days (and millions of photos) will be spent at this place in the future!
Anyway, I'll give you another picture of some books (just for good measure) then it's off to compare Calvin, Luther & Zwingli's views of the eucharist! Oh, the fun never ends!
To be truly Human
November 9, 2007 5:20 PM
You'd expect people to enjoy what they study when they come along to Bible college. After all, we're pretty much all mature-age students & this isn't just a course, but a calling. That said, my Ethics subject has been particularly awesome. Our set reading was to read 200 pages of one of 5 ethics books, but I managed to talk my lecturer into letting me read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Ethics." Having suffering in Nazi Germany, been (loosely) involved in the assassination attempts on Hitler & finally Hung by the order of Hitler himself, I am sure Bonhoeffer had a practical view about ethics that most of us don't get to experience.
At the moment, I have been reading his chapter called "Ethics as Formation" and it is just awesome. It is a real challenge to look at our nature as man & the Ethical formation of the Christian. As out modern society becomes absorbed by the idea that we can all be famous & that we will all find that niche where we can be "special", it is great to read paragraphs like the following, that acknowledges the "warts and all" nature of man, and points toward the one super-human...
To be conformed to the one who has become human (that is, Jesus Christ) - that is what being really human means. The human being should and may be human. All super-humanity, all efforts to outgrow one's nature as human, all struggle to be heroic or a demigod, all fall away from a person here, because they are untrue. The real human being is the object neither of contempt nor of deification, but he object of the love of God. The manifold riches of God's creation are not violated here by a false uniformity, by forcing people to submit to an idea, a type, or a particular image of the human. The real human being is allowed to be in freedom the creature of the Creator. To be conformed with the one who became human means that we may be the human beings that we really are. Pretension, hypocrisy, compulsion, forcing oneself to be something different, better, more ideal than one is- all are abolished. God loves the real human being. God became a real human being. To be conformed to the crucified- that means to be a human being judged by God. People carry with them every day God's death sentence, that they must die before God because of sin. They demonstrate in their lives that before God nothing can stand except in judgement and in grace. Human beings die daily the death of sinners. They bear humbly the scars and the wounds that sin inflicts on body and soul. They cannot lift themselves above other people or establish themselves as models because they recognise themselves as the greatest of all sinners. One can forgive the sins of others, never one's own. Human beings bear all suffering laid upon them, knowing that it serves them to die to their own will, and to let the justice of God prevail over them. Only by acknowledging that God is in the right over them and against them are they right before God. "In suffering does the master impress his all-sufficient image on the heart and on the spirit."
It's a helpful corrective to remind oneself that I too am a broken person & that as a minister, my goal and intention isn't to set an example per-se, but to point people toward the one true example in Jesus Christ. Do I approach my youthgroup kids with this kind of mindset? Am I humble before them in the same way that I humble myself before God?
I'm not a big fan of posing questions to my readers, especially since I've become a blog slacker & my stats imply that I have little readership left. Still, here's the question for the day. How open and broken should a minister appear before his congregation (insert "youth minister" or "Bible study leader" into the position of "minister" as required)? How does one marry their authentic christian humanity with their call to lead other people?
Props to Poochy
November 2, 2007 6:03 PM
He was a mild mannered engineer. Polite fellow, well kept room, eager smile. It wasn't his fault that he had to spend half a year in the dorm room opposite mine.
I decided he was too "nice", so I decided to give him a much more masculine, fear inspiring name. Poochy would do just nicely!
Reborn into a new level of danger, the pooch became an automatic chick magnet, succeeding, just before his return to Tasmania, in winning the attention of one Jackie (Jacqui? K works much better for me!) Brown. The fact that she shares a name with a Tarantino movie meant that she had automatic credibility with yours truly.
So it's two years later & the Pooch now officially has a Mrs Pooch! The Jury is still out re: whether she inherits the name "Mrs Pooch" or maintains "Jackie Brown". It's line-ball at the moment...
Anyway, in other news, I just had my last ever lecture for my Bth. I also handed in my last assignment & now I stand 2 exams (5 essays) away from graduation. What a crazy world!
Jackie made the dress herself! It was pretty darn cool!
What an awesome cake!
Happy Reformation Day!
October 31, 2007 12:50 PM
490 years since Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg.
Here's Luther's famous song "A Mighty Fortress is our God"
A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper he amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not His equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
You ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
The Lord of Hosts, His Name-
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us.
We will not fear, for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
we know his doom is sure,
the Word of God shall fell him.
That Word above all earthly pow'rs,
No thanks to them, is standing;
The Spirit and His gift is ours-
We answer His commanding.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body that may kill;
God's truth is ruling still-
His Kingdom is forever!
Amen!
Shock and Awe
October 9, 2007 1:10 PM
The only words one can use when describing the results in the Rugby last weekend. I'm quite willing to admit that Australia hasn't looked like a serious contender in the last year or two, but England has looked much worse. To go down in a similar fashion to the 2003 world cup is just horrible. Still, Australia losing was conceivable. What amazes me was New Zealand choking against France!
While I lived the dream that it would be the Aussies winning the world cup, if you looked at their form over the last 2 or 3 years, you'd say there is little chance it could be anyone other than the All Blacks winning the cup! I didn't get to see the game, and I am not sure I want to.
To top it off, the Springboks almost got done in by the Fijians. I decided to watch the first 10 minutes of this game and ended up staying there for the whole thing. It was awesome to see such a little nation schooling the big boys for so much of the game. It was one held-up try that kept the momentum from taking the fijians all the way.
On the other hand, it is good to have a Southern Hemisphere super-power still in the running. SA should account for Argentina, then it doesn't matter who they meet in the final. Hopefully the cup will come back to the right side of the globe!
Other news? I guess there isn't much. Still sorting out work for next year. I think we have it sorted, but you will have to wait till next monday to hear the result. Had a meeting for a wedding shoot in December. I need to get my head around a wedding shoot that I have this weekend too. Lots of stuff on!
So there you go. I still have these assignments hanging over my head, so I better see to them.
Getting back on track
October 4, 2007 5:29 PM
I really don't know what happened.
It's not like I have any negative feelings toward it or anything.
I just haven't been blogging.
I guess you can hit a patch where it becomes "just another thing you have to get done" and then it slows down.
It's been the same with the camera. I haven't pulled it out anywhere as much as I would have liked to. I think it will just be a matter of getting back into the swing of things.
I'm on holidays at the moment, so that should mean that I have more time for such stuff, but so far that is not proving to be the case. I am trying to get a couple of assignments done, and I have a sermon to prepare for 10 days time too, so it is all going on!
There is lots of other little stuff happening too (some not so little). I have been to a number of different job interviews over the last couple of weeks. There are no end to the awesome opportunities out there, so the holidays are also the opportunity for Shona & I to pray about stuff, think about stuff & make some of the big decisions about what we are going to do over the next little while, as well as waiting for the interview panels to make up their mind about whether their plans happen to coincide with our ideas.
So there you go. I am knee-deep in the Anabaptist "Radical Reformation", I'm thinking a little less about creating an evangelism tool, I need to knuckle down & work through Matthew 18 (and decide how much of it I want to preach on) and at the same time, I should probably clear head space for Shona & my future.
Don't worry though, I am hoping to get back on track with tg.com too.
Sam & Lisa
August 27, 2007 4:07 PM
It was a busy weekend.
Sam & Lisa's wedding on Saturday was a real blast. I really enjoyed taking the pictures & it was nice being told to try & be as arty as possible. Below is one of my faves.
Sunday morning it was preaching at 7:45am, then again at 10am, then a confirmation class to lead at 11:30, followed by afternoon tea (a delightful rest) at the Myer's house, then the confirmation service itself at 6pm, where I got to do a reading and an interview.
Lets just say that I was happy to get home that evening...
It's not often you get to do a photoshoot in "Goulds Second-hand Bookstore".
Graffiti
August 9, 2007 10:10 PM
I was fascinated by bits of graffiti around Scotland & France. I do think it is wrong to do, but I am often intrigued by the messages people put on places & also what an interesting statement it makes when you have a monument that will last a thousand years, with a message on it which will last maybe a month & probably only hase a weeks relevance to it.
Anyway, here is some graffiti...
This one will stay relevant for some time I suspect.
This was my favourite. I am not sure what it means, but it is pretty cool!
What do you think of Graffiti?
Back to reality.
July 23, 2007 8:52 AM
So we are back and we are safe.
The flights were just fine. 7pm flight from Paris, 11pm flight from London, midnight flight from Hong Kong, then 6:20 arrival in Sydney. Let's just say that I was a little worse for wear most of yesterday. By 4:30 we just couldn't function, so Shona & I went to bed.
This, of course, means that I woke up at got out of bed at 2:30 this morning!!!
So, from 6ish I have been here at college, catching up on emails & trying to return my world to some semblance of order. We're getting there.
You better believe there will be more photos, but for a taster, here are a couple from our time OS.
TCG.><>.
This is a shot from Stirling Castle. You can't see, but just past that tree & castle is a 100 meter drop down a cliff. It's a pretty awesome spot!
Nobody knows what Rodin's "The Thinker" was thinking about. I was thinking "How good is it to be in 30 centigrade days, when it appears to be frigid in Sydney!" That said, I am loving the cold now that I am back.
The Eiffel tower. Shona & I decided to walk up the tower, rather than catching the lift. It meant a shorter wait in line, plus it delivers a nice view. Of course, it also helped burn off some of the obscene amount of French pastry we've been eating. 'They' are right, the French really do know how to make good pastry!
This is the view from the second story of the Eiffel. Well, the view from one direction. Man, you can see EVERYWHERE from there!
So there you go. More to come... but not ultra-regularly, because now I am dependant on the internet when I am at college...
Expectations
July 8, 2007 8:53 PM
I guess there shouldn't be big expectations of me blogging a lot on my honeymoon, but I should at least let you know what is happening & that we arrived safely.
Our expectations were that we were going to be pretty hammered by the jetlag, but we have both been feeling pretty good and are on top of it. The fact that we didn't sleep too well coming up to the wedding itself probably helped us acclimatise.
My expectation was that Shona & I would be eating lots of Pub meals while we are here. This has been largely true, but a couple of nights ago, Shona & I got to go & eat at one of the fanciest restaurants in Edinburgh thanks to Cate, Dan, Eliot, N8, Amy & Kirty! Man, it was fantastic food & I got to eat Venison, so that was really exciting. Certainly unexpected & a lovely thing to do.
My expectation for the weekend was that I would be hanging out and spending quality time with Tim & Maret (Shona's Bro-in-Law & Sister), but yesterday, they took us out on a drive & we got to visit "Campbell Castle", which I hadn't been to (Don't confuse it with Inverary Castle, home of the Head of the Campbell Clan) & it was really fantastic. A dramatic position on the top of a steep ravine, a beautiful castle & awesome grounds.
I don't know what to expect over the next week. We pick up a car tomorrow morning & then head off into the highlands. It should be a great time & I hope to get some lovely pictures too. Whatever happens, even if we get a lot of the rain that we have avoided for the most part so far, I expect it will exceed expectations!
Count Down
June 26, 2007 9:08 PM
Friday: Finish exams.
Sunday: Last Church service for a month.
Monday: 8am, meet movers in Dural. Move a bunch of stuff to our NEW FLAT. Clean for most of the rest of the day & move a little stuff from College too.
Tuesday: Move some stuff from Shona's & then do a couple of trips to College. Sim & Bec came before lunch & did a lot of setting up stuff with Shona in the house. Sim makes a fabulous lunch! That evening, swing into college, planning to pick up more stuff, and end up taking everything, cleaning the room & being officially OUT OF COLLEGE.
So that is me at this point. I am sitting at the college internet cafe, typing in a blog before I head "home" where I get to sleep for the first night. It will be quite different being there all by myself. At the same time, it's all very exciting. This time 4 days from now, I will be a married man.
This time about 6 days from now, timgoldsmith.com will go back to a short stint as a travel blog!
Are you surprised?
June 17, 2007 11:56 PM
After all, I am getting ready for a wedding. I also had sermons & bible studies to write before getting some essays out of the way too!
Still, I know I should be doing better than this. I'll try & get some posts up over the next couple of weeks. All I have in the way is three exams & then moving house!
Dude, two weeks till I am married (actually under!)!!!! Who'd have thunk it.
Well, there really isn't much I can do to fill you in on all the crazy happenings over the last month. Dinner with Nic & Pete, Lunch with Ads & Dan, lots of fun times in between. A birthday party (for Ads again) & a whole pile of stuff I can't even remember. I had several ideas for blogs, which all got cut off when I invested my emotional energy into either church or college.
I haven't even taken that many photos over the last month. I did take some after the last week though. Please enjoy some more "people shots" portraits of one sort or another.
A cute kid is always a great way to start some pictures. This is my gorgeous little "C" at her 3rd birthday party. Tell me she isn't adorable & I'll call you a liar!
Ads had his birthday last week & we went in for a surprise dinner at the "Lowenbrau". Ads is a holy guy, so I was keen to give him a Halo. One that is actually advertising beer is even cooler!
"J" shows us one of the 9,500 cans, or general foodstuffs that were collected by our parish (some from us, lots from the local community) for our annual food drive today. It goes to Anglicare to help people in need over winter.
I'm ending with Dylan (or "the Canadian Hobo" as I call him at college) who is looking up at all those photos that have come before. him. He gets a lot of photos these days because he is expressive & always happy to get photographed. What a dream combination!
OK, back to study for exams. Let's see if I can resist the temptation to post a picture of my study stuff like I have done every semester over the last 2 1/2 years....
Blue Skies
May 20, 2007 1:29 PM
As you all know, I have been at college now for almost 2 1/2 years.That means a very long time without any serious form on income. This, in turn, means that there is great potential for stress as a guy moves closer and closer to being married. Rather than feeling a sense of responsibility being met, I am keenly aware of how I am going to be dependant on my (soon to be) wife for the next six months, while I finish of my studies.
As we look into our future, "concessions" is the word that seems to ring in our (or at least my) ears. Do we choose to live in a dump because you can't afford a nice place, you don't have much rental history and you only want a 6-month lease? Do we try & get some furniture when we have so many other things we could be getting? What about whitegoods.You need a fridge & a washing machine etc, but what do you do if you plan to move overseas next year & fridges & washing machines are just going to spend most of their warranty in storage?
These are all things that can weigh on the mind of a couple.
Or to put it another way, they were all things that could have weighed on our minds...
But fortunately, God is a good. Stresses have melted away as God has answered our prayers. Let me just run you through a couple of the blessings.
1: Finding a house: What a stress! We have to have a place that is handy to either my college or Shona's work. The places near here are not nice at all, the places near Shona have 20 or more couples going for each one!
Enter Nici & her two friends. Nici tells me that her friends are going to Bali to be missionaries & are looking to rent their place out. I make a quick phone call to them. One week later, we have a lovely place that is 10 mins walk to Shona's work PLUS with Nici and Jeremy living in the same block. I can carpool to college! God is good!
2: Furniture: We have been doing some marriage prep with Fergus (the minister) as we started off the first night in the church lounge room, Fergus notes how it is a little crowded with too many couches. 10 seconds later, Tim & Shona have a new (used) couch! Nice!
3: Whitegoods: I am staring into the mail room at college, hoping for some mail-love, when Allan walks up behind me.
"Hey Tim"
"Hey Allan", I reply.
"You don' need a fridge do you? It's not that big, but it's not too small either. It's a spare that we lent to T&C, but they don't need it anymore & now it is just sitting in our garage".
"That would be awesome!", Tim responds with unbridled enthusiasm.
I know Allan & his wife & I like them both, but we're not the closest of friends, yet they are thinking about my situation & actually approaching me about how they can help me!
4: Furniture (part B): I am reading my email & I notice I have one from the "Capt'n" who is living with his lovely wife in England these days.
"No.2", emails the Capt'n. "how are you going for furniture in your new place? We're about to put some stuff in storage from our house in Sydney. Could you use some?"
The captain, like Allan & Fergus, is a thoughtful, Godly and considerate man.
1:My good friends at college, thinking about me & seeking to help out. To be expected.
2: My minister, who has a thousand other worries on his mind, still keen to look for solutions for Shona & I. Something you would hope is the case in the church, yet are pleased when you find out it really is a reality.
3: Fellow students. In a different year of college, largely in different social circles, yet still looking out to serve. Unexpected. A great example of how and why Christian community can be a fantastic thing.
4: A friend, 12,000 kms away, yet right there with you in spirit. Thinking about you, praying for you and, even from that great distance, offering thoughtful and practical assistance to his brother and sister in Christ!
People ask me how I am handling the stress of all the things on my plate. Essays to write, Sermons to preach, exams coming up, followed by a wedding.
I have to say I am feeling pretty good. Certainly not because I am that organised or thoughtful. But, when houses, furniture and fridges get offered to a couple who are praying about how this kind of stuff will sort out, you can't help but feel confident that God is in control.
God is in control.
The Good word
May 15, 2007 12:12 AM
Last week's preaching conference was pretty intense, but it was also great.
I went in expecting that "The Don" would be good, but Dale Ralph Davis was a surprise. I've heard the name, I know he's a smart guy, but he was AWESOME as a preacher.
I'd love to put up some notes from some of the sermons, but I might wait till I get the tapes & I get to listen to them again.
In other news, it is a bit "same ole same ole" at the moment. Lots of work preparing for the wedding. Lots of work preparing for sermons. Lots of work preparing for essays. Lots of work preparing for exams. 7 months & I am done with college though!
Here, have a pic of Mandy. I get to photograph her wedding on Dec. 1st!
Sick little puppy
May 5, 2007 1:22 PM
It is going to be a little bit lean over the next week or so. My poor compy hasn't been feeling the best & I had to put him in for a service (what? It even happens to Macs? Yes! Macs too!).
Fortunately, he was able to hold on until after I managed to finish my theology essay. We have preaching conference over the next week, so what that means for me is that I get to spend my time doing readings for my final two essays. I'm looking forward to them both actually. One is a comparison of the structure of John with the Synoptic gospels with a focus on how John's distinctives accord with his purpose in writing. The other one I can't really decide on. Maybe I should do a bit of an online poll? You, yes you, could be involved in my theological education!
So, what do you thinik? Should I write an essay for my "Theology of Missions" subject on
"Religious dialogue in the context of interaction with other faiths" or,
"Establishing the boundary between contextualisation and syncretism"?
They are my top two choices out of seven options. Now you may have a chance to help me decide!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things are just plugging along happily I guess. Wedding prep is coming along nicely. Today is my little brother Phil's birthday, so Shona & I get to head out to "Lee's Lotus Inn", a chinese restaurant in Wahroonga, the suburb I grew up in as a kid, with all the family to celebrate. Even Amy is up from Wagga Wagga, though her hubby & kids are still there.
Preaching tomorrow morning at 8:45 and really looking forward to it, though I need to go through the sermon a couple more times if I am going to "make it mine". Then it is off to a "menu tasting" at my reception venue with my parents & Shona's parents. First time they have meet!
OK, you know, this is a really boring post. I might have to see if I can find a little time during the next week to actually sit down & type something worthwhile.
Meanwhile, know that even though I am not writing. I am thinking about you all!
TCG.><>.
Two minds?
April 27, 2007 5:02 PM
"Why does this strange phenomenon occur? What causes it? O Lord in your mercy give me light to see, for it may be that the answer to my question lies in the secret punishment of man and in the penitence which casts a deep shadow on the sons of Adam. Why does this strange phenomenon occur? What causes it? The mind gives an order to the body and is at once obeyed, but when it gives an order to itself, it is resisted. The mind commands the hand to move and is so readily obeyed that the order can scarcely be distinguished from its execution. Yet the mind is mind and the hand is part of the body.
But when the mind commands the mind to make an act of will, these two are one and the same and yet the order is not obeyed. Why does this happen? What is the cause of it? The mind orders itself to make an act of will, and it would not give this order unless it willed to do so; yet it does not carry out its own command. But it does not fully will to do this thing and therefore its orders are not fully given. It gives the order only in so far as it wills, and in so far as it does not will the order is not carried out. For the will commands that an act of will should be made, and it gives this command to itself, not to some other will. The reason, then, why the command is not obeyed is that it is not given with the full will. For if the will were full, it would not command itself to be full, since it would be so already. It is therefore no strange phenomenon partly to will to do something and partly to will not to do it. It is a disease of the mind, which does not wholly rise to the heights where it is lifted by the truth, because it is weighed down by habit. So there are two wills in us, because neither by itself is the whole will, and each possesses what the other lacks.”
→ Saint Augustine “the Confessions” Book VIII. Chapter 9.
My favourite line is "[the mind] does not wholly rise to the heights where it is lifted by the truth, because it is weighed down by habit"
If that doesn't describe my struggles to study and learn, I don't know what does.
----------------------
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there is my sister. She's fun, she's funny, she's a mother, a friend, and now a graduate! Amy, you see, is becoming me.... but a little bit better than me. It's lucky that I'm no longer practicing my trade as a Library Technician, cause I wouldn't want to be bossed around my my Librarian sister!
Congrats Amy! (Heapy, I hope you don't mind that I pilfered your picture....)
All Class
April 19, 2007 12:52 AM
Sometimes you write about "How different views of the Millennium express themselves politically", and sometimes... well... you make a snakes and ladders game with a mate that also manages to teach a Biblical Theology of Mission to primary aged kids!
Sometimes I really love this college.
The game Dan & I created has a case. That case has a cover. The cover has this picture on it. Of course, we are not supposed to identify ourselves in our essays, so we stick bits of paper over our eyes with our student numbers on them. Surely they wont be able to work it out will they?
That crazy bunny
April 12, 2007 1:28 AM
Is this the Bunny or the Bethy?
More things to write about & less time to do it. This is why I want to change this site as soon as I have a spare moment & turn it into a photosite!
Easter was great. A couple of church services & then off to the Hunter with Shona. The whole family was there! Phil, Kristin & Charlotte. Amy, Andrew, Joss, Tobes & Bethy! I am not sure, but I think the parents may have been more excited about all the chocolate than the kids!!!
Well, another pic or two for you, & I'm off to bed.
Charlotte had a vice-like grip on her little bucket of eggs!
It was awesome to have the whole family together!
Still struggling
April 8, 2007 1:28 AM
I'm not on top of everything yet.
I can't yet sit down & write about something meaningful.
I can, however, post a couple of photos. Firstly, Simon, a guy from Dan's "Buck's night", and secondly, Dan & Dave. I would note though, that despite their look, Dan & Dave were both very happy about Dan having just got married! I just think they look like good cop & bad cop together, so I always get them to do this pose!
Night night kids. Two posts in two days! You are lucky!!!!!
Watching clouds go by
April 7, 2007 9:59 AM
(I've been told the big cloud looks a little like a giant bunny crossing the sky! Hoping you'll get some eggs, boys and girls?)
I have a lot to say, but I don't currently have the time to say it.
A week away in Wee Waa was both fun and challenging. Debrief to follow.
Today Dan & Harriet get married! Debrief to follow.
Wedding plans coming along. Debrief to follow.
I got to catch up with some Uncles & Aunts in Coonamble! Debrief to follow.
Easter this weekend. That means time in the Hunter with the family (after having discharged my church responsibilities). Debrief to follow.
Will I get to them all? We'll just have to wait & see!
Revive
March 23, 2007 1:22 PM
So, last weekend, we had Revive come and play at church not once, but twice!
It's always nice to see the boys & it is particularly great to see how they are just going from strength to strength in terms of their songs & their performance! It's pretty cool to hear about how they got to open for "Third Day" a couple of times. I am sure if they make it to the US (and therefore to a legitimate Christian market) they will big be big!
And when that happens, I will be the one seeking vicarious fame as I claim "I knew them when" or "I beat two of them at virtua tennis so emphatically that I suspect they will never play again".
Sunday night's gig was cool & it is was an interesting night for me too. Fergus & I decided fairly last minute that it might be best to change the passage that was being preached on (James 5 is a bit full on, especially when you are hoping to have lots of people come for the band) , so on the Friday evening I started writing a first person narrative from Thomas' perspective, based on John 13-20.
I was quietly soiling myself with nervousness. That concern increased when, with 2 minutes before the service my powerpoint wouldn't work. Fortunately, thanks to the cool head of Fergus, and his always-able son "Juniour Burger", we were able to resurrect the computer & breathe new life into powerpoint.
The narrative went really well. I did it almost without notes, and am sure enough that with enough prep I could do it totally so next time. I got good feedback too, so that was appreciated.
Here are a couple of pics from the friday night.