dinner over

Went well.

[People are fascinating creatures, don't you think? Our guests were my gym buddy, her partner, her daughter + boyfriend and her 19 y.o. son. Excellent time!]

One catering adventure down, 3 to go.

I can do this.

domestic adventures

I have a big catering weekend. 7 adults for dinner sat night, church morning tea, extended family dinner Sunday night (7 adults, 6 kids), birthday party Monday.

Tried to start getting the food organised today. Truth is, I'm too absent minded and uninterested to be a good cook. I burnt the biscuits and did terrible things to the quiche pastry. There is a chicken cooking in the oven. I hope it survives.

Still, I'm reasonably confident that I can pull off the weekend's entertaining. My friends are coming to dinner to hang with us, surely... Food isn't that important. Right?

Acts Sunday School Material

I am writing Sunday School material based on the book of Acts. I'm after a cool title to tie it all together.

Here are some ideas I've had so far:

God on the move - I'm thinking of Stephen's speech

To the ends of the earth - I'm thinking Acts 1:8.

King of the World - I like that the word 'king' is in this one. If the material is good, it will become part 3 in the 'The King the Snake and the Promise', 'Meet the King' trilogy.

What do you think? Any other ideas?

a short prayer

Consider, Lord, the sufferings of your people from the time of Abel until now. Consider our fear and weakness and strengthen us to live for Jesus and boldly proclaim him to our world. Amen.

A Prayer for Today: Barth and Calvin

By your judgment, Almighty God, we stand and fall. Grant that we may see our weakness and powerlessness aright, and let us remember always that you are our power and strength. Help us to let go of all trust in ourselves and in the goods of this world. Teach us to seek refuge in you, and to place confidently in your hands our present life and our eternal salvation, that we may always be yours, and give you honour. Help us to rest in you alone and to live in a manner pleasing to you.

You are the beginning and end of our salvation; grant, therefore, O God, that we may be subject to you in fear and trembling and follow wherever you call us to go. Grant that we may constantly call upon you and cast our sorrows upon you, until we have finally escaped all dangers and come to that eternal peace prepared for us by the suffering, death, and resurrection of your only begotten Son. Amen.

Karl Bath, A Selection of Barth's Pastoral Prayers, VI (Based on a prayer by Calvin).

I have a new phone

It's not great, but at least I'm connected to the world again.

angular momentum

From here.

puritan prayers

I'm on the hunt for good prayers to pray. I've lost my BCP and was trawling the shelves this morning for other prayer books.

I found my copy of 'Valley of Vision: A collection of puritan prayers'. I've used this in the past and it is good, but...

Here are my issues with it.
1.) when I use pre-written prayers, I'm often after something to lift me out of myself and give me a wider perspective. These prayers don't do that. They encourage naval gazing, which is no doubt useful for some, but I'm plenty good at it already.
2.) They are really long. Seems the policy is, if something is worth saying once, it's worth saying 15 times. These puritans love their parallel phrases. Adore sentences which say the same thing as the last one. Delight to find another way to present the same idea. Appreciate close range repetition...
3.) I'm all for confessing sin but in these prayers it almost feels like the pray-er is trying to earn his or her forgiveness by so thoroughly stating how rotten he or she is. And once again, this may be useful for some, but it not great for me. I'm already convinced.
4.) The nice words are a distraction. I'm constantly stopping and thinking 'I could steal that phrase for a song!'

Has anyone else encountered these prayers? What's your experience? Got anything better for me to try?

'this will hurt me more than it will hurt you'

We say it or think it when we're doing something (we believe to be) for someone else's benefit or for some higher good. But is it true?

Sometimes. Like when we pull the kids away from the computer after the 3rd hour. They are hurting because they've been robbed of one amusement. But my house has gone from happy to sad, quiet to noisy, harmonious to aggressive, tidy to messy all in the space of a few minutes. I'm hurting more! Or so I think.

But perhaps not. Because when I impose my discipline (or whatever) on others I'm in the power position. Even if it's unpleasant, I'm still the one calling the shots and there is something in that that makes the pain different.

I have broken my phone

It doesn't work anymore.

I am sad.

God's judgement on me for liking it too much?

things are looking up!

• #2 almost enjoyed school today. At any rate, it wasn't 'bad' like it normally is.
• I had a call from the guidance officer who has arranged a meeting next week for me, #2's teachers, the deputy principal who organises the gifted and talented program, and #2's learning support teachers... so I feel that things are underway and pretty soon some direction might be set for #2's education.
• the lunch box if found!
• we have our new car.

George Matheson's Story

If you are one of the many who come this way looking to find out about hymn writer George Matheson, can I suggest you go here. Start at the bottom of the page and read to the top. Great stuff.

first day of school over

• 2 happy kids (#1 and #3)
• one not-so-unhappy-as-might-have-been-expected kid (praise God!)
  
• one clean kitchen
• one missing lunch box

my policy for this year

pray more, fret less.

easy.

Pastoral accountability questionairre from Piper's church

Wow, look at this. Full on.

I think I need one of my own. But I can't imagine giving myself a good report ever. Praise God for grace.

And while we're talking about Australia...

These are the correct lyrics to Advance Australia Fair:

ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

Don't worry about the second verse. You don't need to know it.

But teachers, really! Learn the correct words and teach them to the kids! Line 6 begins with the word 'of'. Not 'our' like the previous two lines. In three of the schools I teach in, the kids all get this wrong. It's never been corrected because the teachers are singing it wrong too. Peter McCormick would turn over in his grave. Respect, people, respect!

[This is how my patriotism expresses itself. Not in silly flag waving.]

What's with all the flags?

I'm as patriotic as the next person, but really, when did we become a nation of flag-wavers? They are everywhere today. Hanging off balconies, draped across fences, five stuck on each car (except ours). I saw a man walking past our place in an Australian flag hat, shirt and shorts. Australia Day, yes, but way too much.

school goes back tomorrow...

...ready or not.

Our youngest starts at prep. The official end of my little-kids-at-home years.

I'm not sure whether I'll cheer or cry after drop off. Maybe I'll just go to the uniform shop and spend up big. He will be going to school tomorrow in a third hand uniform. A bit embarrassing, but I'm disorganised.

Our second child had a horrible time at school last year and is anxious about returning tomorrow. He has been putting on quite a show for us tonight and is now complaining of stomach cramps. I am hopeful that this will be a better year for him. He has two teachers (3 days/2 days) which isn't ideal for a complicated kid, but from what I've heard they are both fantastic. He does not like his main teacher. She was involved in his detested literacy support program last year (which took him out of the classroom during art time), but his main problem is that this particular teacher doesn't look nice. She is approaching retirement age, has short grey hair and a solid figure. What's more, she wears straight work dresses rather than nice flowing skirts. Dear me!

Child #1, however, is happy and excited about returning to school. He has a male teacher who plays the piano, eats white chocolate, and is as camp as they come!

be kind to the environment...

... do not cover your kids' school books this year.

[What an excellent excuse!]

The Shape Song

My friend Kate P. and her daughter L. wrote a new verse for the Colour Song. I polished it up a bit. What do you think?

Imagine if the world did not have shapes
And circles could not be found
Houses without squares or triangles
The sun would not be round.
Blibs and blobs not thin or fat
I'm glad that it is not like that
Thank you God for shapes within our world.

I don't want to gloat...

... but how excellent is it to live in wonderful, temperate Brisbane!

Today was a bit hot, though. Got up to 29 degrees.

I've just had a great day

• I did a pump class
• The kids and I swam
  
• We watched lots of HSM
• We had dinner and a sing-a-long with my family-in-law
• 2 of my lyrics (this one and this one) got tunes (good ones, too!)
• The kids are happy because 2 more levels of lego star wars are 'completed'
• the washing, which was desperately out of control, is also 'completed'

Loving life today. Do we have to move on to tomorrow?

Is it pathetic to admit...

... that I enjoyed High School Musical more than any movie I've seen for a long long time?

Got the dvd this afternoon and have watched it twice already. The kids are keen to see it again (they've only watched it once) so we may have a re-run tomorrow.

How cool that there are another two out there waiting for me!

expiry dates on christian songs

Nicole's Seventies Jesus post confirms my view that songs, and particularly christian songs, should come with used-by dates. Some songs are timeless but most aren't. Face the fact and ditch them before they become an embarrassment and make our faith seem silly.

Too harsh?

Car bought!

This is it.

It's a 2007 MITSUBISHI 380 DB Series 2 SX. Not that I care.

But it's a deep red colour. In the end, the only colours we could choose between were this red or 'adrenaline' - a metallic baby poo goldy colour- which I quite liked, but am not awesome enough to pull off. And anyway, red goes faster.

The kids didn't want a new car. Or if they did want one, it had to be the same as our last - Magna station wagon in ugly shape (1997), lower than base model, scratched and wrecked exterior. Filthy and disgusting interior. The car salesman didn't have one of those, so they'll have to learn to be content with this.

New Car

Seems it's time to buy us a new car.

Andrew has chosen the model: 2007 MITSUBISHI 380 DB Series 2 SX

But I get to choose the colour. Do you like this gold? Or maybe white, silver or red?

What would you choose?

c.s. lewis on using 'ready made' prayers as well as the 'home-made' variety

The ready-made modicum has its use. ... First, it keeps me in touch with "sound doctrine." Left to oneself, one could easily slide away from "the faith once given" into a phantom called "my religion."

Secondly, it reminds me "what things I ought to ask" (perhaps especially when I am praying for other people). The crisis of the present moment, like the nearest telegraph-post, will always loom largest. Isn't there a danger that our great, permanent, objective necessities — often more important — may get crowded out? ...

Finally, they provide an element of the ceremonial. On your view, that is just what we don't want. On mine, it is part of what we want. I see what you mean when you say that using ready-made prayers would be like "making love to your own wife out of Petrarch or Donne" (Incidentally, might you not quote them — to such a literary wife as Betty?) The parallel won't do.

I fully agree that the relationship between God and a man is more private and intimate than any possible relation between two fellow creatures. Yes, but at the same time there is, in another way, a greater distance between the participants. We are approaching... the Unimaginably and Insupportably Other. We ought to be — sometimes I hope one is — simultaneously aware of the closest proximity and infinite distance. You make things far too snug and confiding. Your erotic analogy needs to be supplemented by "I fell at His feet as one dead"....

A few formal, ready-made prayers serve me as a corrective. ... They keep one side of the paradox alive. Of course, it is only one side. It would be better not to be reverent at all than to have recourse to a reverence which denied the proximity.

(Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, no. 2)

Do you use 'ready made' prayers or exclusively 'home-made'? Why?

swimming

I've been swimming 2kms most days lately as well as my normal gym stuff.

I'm not trying to loose weight. I would just rather not put it on. Seems, though, the swimming has probably been useless (and possibly worse than useless) as an additional exercise.

Research published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine shows that in the absence of a controlled diet, swimming has little or no effect on weight loss [1].

Professor Grant Gwinup compared three exercise programs for three months. Each program began with up to 10 minutes of daily exercise. The length of each workout was increased by five minutes every week.

• Test subjects following the walking program lost 17 pounds of weight during the three-month study.

• Those following the cycling program lost 19 pounds of weight.

• However, subjects following the swimming program actually gained 5 pounds.

Assuming that all three groups burned a similar number of calories, the swimmers must have compensated by eating more. "Presumably," speculates Professor Gwinup, "swimming in cold water stimulates the appetite to increase caloric consumption."

D'oh.

I do enjoy it, though, so not all is lost!

I'm writing for a new kids cd

This is my inspiration.

a question

Why do I get comments on my silly posts but not on my serious ones?

(L. you comment. I know.)

Maybe I do silly better than serious.

Is there anything I can do to SR Flour to make it plain again?

What could I add to counter the baking powder?

more honesty

The discussion on honesty continues over at Jean's blog.

In my experience, the situation usually goes something like this. We're hanging out with friends and someone says "I find that I'm getting angry with my kids all the time. It's horrible." Then I, wanting to sympathise with her, will jump in saying something like, "Me too. Just yesterday...." then proceed to give an account of my dreadful anger the day before. My friend feels much better because I understand and her sin is 'normal'. I feel better for having helped her to feel better. We also feel better because it's theraputic to talk about what's bothering us. We've gotten it off our chests. Other friends around us will feel better because their experience of anger is not as bad as ours. There has been no repentance, no change, no prayer, no further dependance on God. Nothing has been gained.

I plan to change how I respond in this situation, right from the beginning. Here's how.

1. Take the focus off me. This is about my friend and her godliness, not mine. I need to use my conversational skills to draw her out, not to tell funny (or horrible) stories about myself. I should ask questions about when the sin occurs, how she feels about it at the time (is it a relief?), are the things that she seems to be angry about the things she is really angry about - or are they just an outlet for some deeper anger, discontent or resentment that she has.

2. Agree with her that the sin is significant and horrible, but admit that it's something that we struggle with too (no details!) Don't let her off the hook!

3. Ask questions to help her work out what repentance might look like. For example, if she finds she is angry with her kids because she'd rather read blogs than play with them, perhaps she needs to tackle her blog addiction... (not that I know anything about that!)

4. Pray if appropriate and tell her you'll ask how she's going next week (or whenever).

You can ask me in a few weeks how this is going.

Now what about talking about our sins as part of a bible talk or seminar or something like that?

I think women often do this very unhelpfully. Mature preacher men don't do it much at all. We so want to connect to our hearers that we overshare. When I hear a speaker go into details of her sin I feel self-righteous because I realise I'm doing better than she is - and hey, she's a super christian! - so I stop trying. If we're going about the same, the sin is normalised. It's unlikely that her sin will seem less than mine because she will tell the story so well. I think the policy here should be, more time on what God wants, fewer details about me.

The (male) preacher who has most compellingly called me to repentance is one who has experienced significant struggle with sin. This comes out, not in the details, but in the empathetic way in which he preaches. Without sharing any of his own, I know that he understands my battles and he points me to Jesus for forgiveness and strength.

gym

I worked out at the gym 4 times in the last 36 hours and am now tired tired tired.

I normally do light weights (reasonably light, anyway), high reps (4-6 minutes constant). This morning I did heavier weights but low reps. This afternoon I felt like I was swimming uphill. Hard work.

Hard to feel fidgetty when your body is so stuffed. Time for sleep.

just in case you were wondering...

... a post that vanished a little while ago is back now.

And thanks everyone...

... for all the blog love. I've never been linked to so much in one day!

I'm thinking of writing a book, the five love languages of blogdom.

1. the click
2. the comment
3. the link
4. the email contact
5. the... something about moving blog discussions/relationships into real life discussions/relationships

Maybe four and five could merge and we create another.

Any ideas?

[If it were a facebook thing, one language would have to be gift-giving. When you send a friend a cupcake or something...]

women's bible study

I've been wondering lately if there is something in the traditional question/answer bible study format that is unhelpful for women, and for young mums in particular. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Understanding the bible is often unavoidably abstract. Yes, we try to earth things and application must be thoroughly done, but you can't get away from the fact that nutting out what the text actually says can be hard, intellectual work. If the group is to work it out together, everyone will need to concentrate.

I live in the world of ideas. I like abstractions. But most women don't. Especially women with babies and little kids. It is very hard to concentrate at bible study when you've got a baby on your breast and you can hear your toddler screaming outside. Even if your kids are bigger, you've arrived at bible study after a hectic and frustrating morning, getting everyone ready for school, the washing done, lunches made, weetbix split... Hard to be in a frame of mind to sit and think when you're exhausted with the effort its taken just to get there.

2. Women hate disagreeing with eachother. We even find discussion difficult if there are competing ideas. A question/answer study format will necessarily include this. And however nicely we ask, when there is a question there is always the possibility of a wrong answer.

3. As women, we are very good at intimidating one another. The comparison thing is a killer. We feel inadequate because we are not as smart, thoughtful, competent, creative, nice, attractive, fashionable, godly, whatever as the other women around us. (The 'nice' one is my particular struggle. I'm less nice than almost anyone else I know. And surely nice-ness matters more than the other things!) As many women feel that their brains came out with their baby's placenta, there are great opportunities for feelings of intellectual inferiority. As we talk about our weeks and compare what we've done, there are opportunities for feelings of incompetence etc. It's possible for every single woman to leave bible study feeling like they never want to go back.

Some questions to consider.

1. Is meeting together mid week to look at the bible in a group important? Why/why not?

2. Would one-to-one be a better thing to focus on?

3. Is the traditional question/answer thing best? Why not a talk, a 'devotion' (I so hate that word!), or an extended bible reading? Why not more a desks-in-line classroom thing with a teacher out the front and everyone doing individual worksheets? (just tossing in ideas!) Why not all listen to an online talk during the week and then just have a prayer meeting?

I'd love any ideas. We need to be speaking the word of God to eachother and praying for eachother. How we do it doesn't matter. So how can we make it work for women?

honesty again

Paul (over at the Sola Panel) and Jean have resurrected our discussion about honesty, sharing and over sharing from earlier in the year.

To get you up to speed... Paul points out very helpfully that confessing sin to eachother can actually be a devious way of avoiding dealing with the sin and appearing righteous and humble before others. What he says resonates painfully.

"You're sitting in church feeling a little more nervous than normal. If you had known that the sermon was going to be about that, you might have decided to stay in bed this morning. But there it is, front and centre on the service outline. What should you do? Thinking at a speed that would normally startle you, you hit upon the perfect strategy: talk to others about ‘it’ before they talk to you. If you start the conversation and talk about how you struggle with ‘it’ before they raise the topic, you're home free! People will think you're godly and open, and you'll be able to walk away feeling good about yourself without having to change a thing. The best defence is a good offence."

Jean has some helpful suggestions to guide our 'honesty' with others. My favourite is that honesty is not an end in itself, but a beginning.

Back when I did my original post, a commenter said what I think is the most helpful thing. There are many things which may not and should not be shared with others - not even with the most trusted and mature christian friend. But there is an outlet. Private prayer.

"What can never enter the corporate prayer of the fellowship may here be silently made known to God." Life Together p64 Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Jesus knows our troubles more fully than we do, he sympathizes with our weakness, pleads to God for our forgiveness and strengthens us that we might change. May we be most honest and open with him.

feeling fidgetty...

... despite the amazing amount of blog-love rolling around.

Keep those links coming!

a joke

A Russian couple walks down a street in Moscow when the man feels a drop hit his nose.

"I think it's raining," he says to his wife.

"No, that feels like snow to me, dear," she replies.

Just then, a minor communist party official walks towards them.

"Let's not fight about it," the man says. "Let's ask Comrade Rudolph whether it's officially raining or snowing."

"It's raining, of course" Comrade Rudolph says and walks on.

But the woman insists, "I know that felt like snow."

To which the man quietly says, "Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."


from here. I enjoyed it, anyway.

Jesus, Love So Fierce, So Strong (2)

I need to collapse this lyric into 3 verses. I planned to do a re-write combining verses 2 and 3 (cross and resurrection) but now wonder if anything would be lost if I just removed the 3rd verse (resurrection). Its content is not strictly necessary to my theme and there are problems with some of the words. I hesitate though, because Andrew liked this verse best (in fact, I think it may have been the only verse that he liked at all!)

Any ideas? The only bits I'm committed to are the title line and the first half of the last verse.


Jesus, love so fierce, so strong

Jesus, love so fierce, so strong
Stronger than the world for me,
Mighty, ever holding on
Hold me now, my refuge be.
Firm your arm and tight your hold
Though my hand is weak, unsure
Though my heart is bleak and cold
Yours is ever rich and warm.

Sorrow building, flooding waves
Tears of blood fall to the ground,
'Not my will but yours,' he prays
Takes the cup and grief rains down.
Love defying piercing thorns,
Jesus, what is this you've done?
Bloody nails and splintered cross
Oh what love, so fierce, so strong!

[Darkness, day is as the night,
Can the chords of death subdue?
Will the darkness drown the light?
Will the morning dawn anew?
Shouts of joy, an empty tomb,
Love a flame of hope within,
Hearts are burning with the news,
Christ alive, alive again!]

Jesus, love so fierce, so strong
Stronger than all fear within,
Love, an everlasting song
through our struggles, pain and sin.
Cast all darkened doubts away
They can never triumph long,
For within his arms we'll stay
Jesus, love so fierce, so strong!

SAR 2009

the love language of blogdom...

...is the link.

If I love you I will link to you.

If you link to me I will feel loved.

Go on. Share some love.

my sea kitten

Create Your Own Sea Kitten at peta.org!

Nathan's friends over here are concerned that fish have a PR problem. People, even many vegetarians, have no problem eating them. So they're looking at rebranding the entire fish family as 'sea kittens' to boost their image. I made my own sea-kitten. She's a salmon and I've called her 'tasty' because I think she would be.

Why do I not change when the calender does?

Because I was away from home, I could not post my new years resolutions. Probably just as well, because two weeks into the new year I find them all in shatters.

C.S.Lewis Letters (Volume 3)

I got this book for Christmas. It's the kind of thing I love to read. Personal, insightful, bite-sized. What could be better?

celebration

There are many things I love about my family-in-law. Today I particularly love that they celebrate things. We've just enjoyed great family time in Fiji. Today we have a brisbane-family 70th birthday celebration. Life is good.

the trouble with sin...

... is that it makes God seem less important to those around us.

I wonder how many of my friends have been tempted to take God less seriously because they've seen me blatantly sin.

Something to think about.

Jesus, Love So Fierce, So Strong

Jesus, love so fierce, so strong
Stronger than the world for me,
Mighty, ever holding on
Hold me now, my refuge be.
Firm your arm and tight your hold
Though my hand is weak and poor,
Though my heart is bleak and cold
Yours is ever rich and warm.

Sorrow building, flooding waves
Tears of blood fall to the ground,
'Not my will but yours,' he prays
Takes the cup and grief rains down.
Love defying piercing thorns,
Jesus, what is this you've done?
Bloody nails and splintered cross
Oh what love, so fierce, so strong!

Darkness, day is as the night,
Can the chords of death subdue?
Will the darkness drown the light?
Will the morning dawn anew?
Shouts of joy, an empty tomb,
Love a flame of hope within,
Hearts are burning with the news,
Christ alive, alive again!

Jesus, love so fierce, so strong
Stronger than all fear within,
Love, an everlasting song
through our struggles, pain and sin.
Cast all darkened doubts away
They can never triumph long,
For within his arms we'll stay
Jesus, love so fierce, so strong!

SAR 2009

Things I learnt during our holidays

I like holidaying with my family-in-law

I like swimming

I like swimming up and down pools, over and over again

I like swimming across bays

Goggles are unnecessary

Snorkels aren't a great help for lap swimming

It is easy to stand up on a wind surfer when the board is the size of a small island

Wind surfing isn't that much fun when there's no wind

Kayaking works best with the correct number of people on board

I like deserted beaches

I like a good romance as much (and probably more) than the next person, but Mamma-Mia was dumb.

Being on a tropical island is great

Being stuck on a tropical island is quite a different thing to being on a tropical island

Room service is good, but some prefer to wash up before the maid arrives

Resort holidays are relaxing

I'd prefer an adventure holiday over a resort holiday

Nadi (Fiji) looks alot like Innisfail or Tully in North Qld.

QLD has better coral.

New Zealand is an interesting place

One can only sit in a hot pool for so long

Hot mud smells

I'm very interested in volcanoes.

Tall mountains don't have trees on top.

Doing weights after a 12 day break hurts.

I like bush walking.

My children whinge while bush walking

I like look outs more than my kids do

I am turning into my parents.

Groceries are much cheaper in Australia than in NZ or Fiji

Corrugated iron is all the rage for any kind of signage around Hamilton, NZ.

I prefer to watch TV shows on planes than movies

Doctor Who is cool

I write some of my best stuff on planes and in airports

I love Australia.

I'm hopelessly, embarrassingly, patriotic.

I'm pleased to be home.

holiday pics

I've uploaded our holiday photos onto fb. Have a look if you're interested.

prawn fishing in nz

I caught 2 of these. They tasted nice.

"I will be sorry to lose them."

This is what Micah (age 5) said while watching Aunty Jo and Uncle Andrew sail away. (Imagine a long pause between each sentence.)

"I will be sorry to lose them. I like their computer. They have a game that is fun to play."

Such affection!

back from holidays!