I had an unexpected encouragement this week I'd like to share with you. I was searching for a Bible study on Jeremiah amongst the collection of notes amassed on top of my bookcase. I didn't find the book I wanted but bumped into another study from Jeremiah on the topic of endurance. Like many Bible studies, it starts with a general question to facilitate discussion: Comp...
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On the 8th April 1802, Matthew Flinders sailed his ship, the Investigator, into a sheltered harbour near what is now Adelaide. He was on a voyage of exploration, mapping the 'Unknown' south Australian coastline. Much to his surprise he discovered a French vessel, the Geographe, captained by Nicolas Baudin, at anchor in the same harbour. France, ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte,...
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I love this poem. Flying Crooked The butterfly, a cabbage white,(His honest idiocy of flight)Will never now, it is too late,Master the art of flying straight,Yet has who knows so well as I?-A just sense of how not to fly:He lurches here and here by guessAnd God and hope and hopelessness.Even the acrobatic swiftHas not his flying-crooked gift. Robert Graves ...
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The word 'peculiar', in common usage, means, 'different to what is normal or expected; strange'. So, wearing a clown suit on a commuter train that's peculiar. Planning a romantic weekend getaway in Bankstown that's peculiar. Writing a novel with a crayon that's really peculiar. This year's church camp theme is 'Peculiar People' because Christians are supposed to be p...
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The following devotion from Matthew Jacoby challenges my 'bouncing ball' personality. 'A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger' (Proverbs 15:1). Conflict is like one of those very bouncy bouncing balls. Every time it hits a hard surface it is propelled back up in the air. Likewise, conflict is perpetuated by hard hearts and anger bounces back ...
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Listening to Jonny's teaching from the Book of Ruth, I couldn't help but be reminded of 'Wisdom's Call' in Proverbs 8:1-11 when I thought about Naomi's response to despair. "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? YES, they do on the heights along the way where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at entra...
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Last week I accompanied Isaac's class as a parent volunteer on an excursion to Rouse Hill House. It was a lovely day and I benefitted from the experience probably just as much as the children did. The children were given the opportunity to explore how one family lived in this property for six generations and left behind fragments of their lives. The cumulative result is on...
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Dear Lord, I went to Penshurst the other day. I'd never been to Penshurst before. It's just next to Hurstville and Oatley and Beverly Hills. How is it that I've managed to miss Penshurst all these years? I saw lots of people in Penshurst, which is, I suppose, to be expected. How is it, Lord, that although I know next to nothing about Penshurst, you have an intimate knowl...
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