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…

Waiting.
Waiting.
Delays to our flight. What a hassle.
We’ll make it to Paris eventually.
Thankfully we have stories of good times with Stu & Suse to chat about, good times spent with Tim & Maret, plus a crazy week in the Highlands.
Oh, and I just scored a free food voucher. £5 is nothing to sniff at!

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!

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!

1: God is Cool. He gives me strength when I feel like I have no idea about things, so exams are coming along OK. We have plans for the wedding that just fall into place and generous people who pop out of nowhere & deliver the very things we need to feel secure.
2: My friends are cool. It takes someone with an awesome sense of perspective to be walking to lunch with you and say “I really enjoyed my exam this morning when I remembered that I am writing about great truths.” and can follow up with “I am not sure I passed the exam, but I know I learned a lot from the course”. Nai is cool.
Matty is also cool. Involved in putting together my bucks day. It should be a hoot (Mexican, Wii, Barefoot bowling and Pub food!) plus he gets to stand next to me in a week and a half.
3: My family is cool. It was fun to be at C’s third birthday on the weekend. Always nice to see my immediate family & also a pleasure to see the O’Briens, my brother’s inlaws who are awesome & treat me like family too. Phil, as usual, is always enthusiastic & happy to step above & beyond the call of brotherhood, helping out with bucks stuff, invite stuff & lots of other little things he probably doesn’t have time for, but does anyway.
4: My fiance is cool. Well you know she has to be patient to go out with me in the first place, but she continues to put up with all my eccentricities as we spend more time together. She’s thoughtful in a hundred different little ways. Weddings are supposed to be this gigantic stress that tests the mettle of any relationship. If that’s true, I think we could be on a good wicket. I know it has been stressful & incredibly busy (I’d say moreso for Shona) but it has been great for us. I am sure the next 10 days are going to be even worse, moving house & final prep & all that jazz, but I’m also sure we’ll get through it OK.
5: So there you have it. Life is cool. I have to say though, if I am enjoying exams, being in marriage limbo, and having too many things to do with too little time. How good is it going to be in 11 days, when wedded bliss and Bonny Scotland arrive!
I hope you’re looking forward to some photos!

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….

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.

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!

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.>.

“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….)