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.

Let’s say that I am a little on struggle street at the moment. The last 10 hours have involved a good deal of eating. Actually, the last 3 days have been pretty good for that.
Amy should post all about the amazing dinner on thursday night (all I have to say about it is that I got to eat Haggis, a Scottish dessert called Cranachan, Pork Belly & a fantastic singlemalt Whisky from Glenkinchie), so I thought I would tell you about today. Actually, I remembered to bring along my Camera (unlike on thursday night) so I can SHOW you about today.
Here goes…

When Shona & I arrived at 9am (planned, so that we could a) catch up with Amy & b) score some free breakfast) we could think of no better picture to arrive to than two of my lovely nieces sitting down to breakfast. They are as cute as buttons & lots of fun!!

Cutie #1 (in no specific order)

Cutie #2. (aided by the static electricity of two balloons!)
Of course, hanging out at breakfast was only the beginning. After helping Amy book her accommodation for her may trip to Edinburgh (yay for her!) She & Bethy headed home & the rest of us headed into a great place called “Tatler” for some fantastic tapas, a dash of wine & some celebration for mum making the big “Six Ohhh”.
(The following food photography section is dedicated to Amy, whose food pictures inspired me, and Tricia & Jessica, who in turn inspired Amy! This has to be worth a comment from each of you?)

A fantastic menu & a nice Rose was a good way to start.

We can’t do anything before remembering the person whom we are celebrating.

The squid is a family favourite (so were the garlic prawns that I forgot to photo)

Kristin picked the field mushrooms & they were a hit!

Is Lamb Souvlaki ever a bad thing?
After our “Mains” Kristin, Charlotte & I went outside to feed the ducks. They were pretty from a distance, but gosh they were ugly to look at close up!

Ugly Ducks
The highlight of the day, however, had to be the desserts. I had a chance to have a shot at all of them!

Bavarian chocolate pudding with vanilla bean icecream.

Almond semifreddo with raspberry coulis & biscotti

Chocolate cookie sandwich with vanilla bean icecream filling.
Having gorged ourselves for a couple of hours, P&K headed back to stay at Mum & Dad’s house, while Shona & I headed home, because of church commitments tomorrow…
Now the only question that remains is “What will we try & do for dinner?”

I have skype & it works properly even with video! Three cheers for broadband!
Feel free to drop me a line!

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!

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

As of approximately 12:55, on the afternoon of Feb 15th, Tim & Shona got the internet at their house!
In 24 hours (phones have to charge) we’ll have a landline & then we officially exist!
Pictures of our new digs & other miscellanea to follow.

You know that it has been a good service when, afterwards, the preacher has to clean his own blood up from the floor…
It sounds so much more melodramatic than it actually was. I would love to concoct some great story about how I got into an argument about Supralapsarianism v. Amyraldism, which lead to a fist fight, but I’d be lying. The real story is so much less dramatic or cool.
At “The New Angle”, the congregation that I now pastor, we have the first half of our service (usually made up of singing, prayer, a special spot of some kind, and sharing time… but not always all of them), then we have some supper & chat for a while. During this time I ended up going outside in the drizzle with a couple of the kids, because they wanted to see how I can spit a grape & then catch it again in my mouth (a must-have trick, in my humble estimation *1 ). Anyway, this then moved on to “how far can we throw a grape that Tim can catch?” and while I was picking up a grape from the ground, a little leech must have grabbed onto me.
It turns out that Shona noticed it just as I was about to start my Sermon*2. She didn’t want to interrupt me, just in case I was feeling the flow, so she let the little sucker keep on drinking over the next 20 or so minutes.
the first I found out about it was when Greg, sitting next to me, told me after the sermon, by which time I had bumped it off with my other foot & there was blood all over the hall-floor. Anyway, it did make me worry that any interested look that I received during the sermon could have been because of the extraction that was happening on my person at the time.
In other news… I am not sure what the other news is. Just plugging along.
Dan & Harriet (two good friends from college, who will be working down the road at Kincumber) get back from the Middle East on Friday morning, so I’ll be going down to Sydney to pick them up at 7 something on Friday. Praise God for family. P&K have let me stay at their place, which will make the travel that much easier in the morning.
Oh, yeah, for those who pray…
Praise points
I really enjoyed having a meal with parishioners last night & the Ash Wednesday service this morning. Some aspects of church are quite foreign to me up here, but much of it is very encouraging.
Shona had a conference on Mon/Tuesday, which means I have her home for the rest of the week!
Prayer Points
Continue to pray for Shona as she looks for some part-time work.
Pray for me as I get ready for my first Youth Group on friday night.
Pray that I might be bold in calling people up to meet & stuff. I am a bit shy when it comes to calling people I don’t know well (embarrassing for a 32 year old guy, I know)
————————————-
*1 The only trick that outdoes that (not true, there are a thousand, but this is my favourite) is Sam Chan’s ability to play two recorders at the same time, using his nose as the wind-source!
*2 Romans 10:9-15. I really focussed on 10:9, looking at the Simplicity of the Christian message. The beautiful simplicity should be a great comfort to the Christian, but all too often it leads us to consternation. I think we all want things to be more complicated. Surely we have something to bring to the table? Surely I am actually earning some of my salvation? No, even the faith that I exercise is a gift from God! (Eph 2:8-9)
Still, as I prepared, I was struck by my/our need to constantly ask myself how I am transferring my belief from being a noun to a verb? How am I acting out my faith. I think Paul certainly had public confession of our faith as a way of living our beliefs, hence the placement of v.14-15 after the 9-13 section.
Anyway, that’s just a couple of my thoughts. I was challenged by Justin & Tubeo posting stuff before. Partly I have felt embarrassed to do so. Surely I’ll just get picked apart.

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.

I’m dying here people.
We had the internet all sorted out at our new house, but then the local exchange ran out of phone numbers!
Who the heck runs out of phone numbers?
Well, Wyoming has, and that means that in the mean time I don’t have a number & I don’t have the internet. I’ve poached my work’s computer for a couple of minutes, but photos & things like that will have to wait for a while.
Just to put some of you at rest, Shona & I have made the move to the Central Coast, I’ve started work & things are going well. Drop me a line at tim [at symbol] timgoldsmith.com if you want to come up & visit. We have lots of spare beds, so bring it on!
OK, I have to go get introduced to Glorea Jean’s!

OK, so here I am again, apologising for my slackness. In my defense, we have no internet access at home, and since I am not at college, or Dural anymore, I really don’t have access anywhere. At the moment, I am hiding out in a room at college, using the internet before my student number is removed from the system.
The good news is that Shona & I move up to the Central Coast on the 15th, and we should be getting the internet at home! Back to posting, back to putting up some pictures & back to the good life! I can’t wait.
In the mean time, it will be all quiet on the western front again, while I get some serious packing done.