I am back.

My! It has been awhile.  A lot has happened during my three year absence.  I ceased blogging when natural disaster after natural disaster after natural disaster struck.  I needed to focus my attention in other areas and let this part of my life go.

But, I have been missing you.  I enjoy blogging.  I enjoy the self reflection and the opportunity to capture moments in time by the written word.  So dear reader, I blog for myself not necessarily for you.  I am happy to entertain your comments however.

It really has been a full three year absence.  A grandson, two household moves, state committees and now I believe the beginning of a settled life.  I am not sure I know how to live a settled life, but I have moved into a ministry placement with the commitment to stay.

I feel a commitment to including reflections here is a part of the settledness; part of the routine; a discipline.

That is what I feel the call to this place is about - discipline.  Exercise, reflection, building up, and action.  I am not sure I expect a particular pattern, that might get boring, but I do expect well... discipline.

Wish me luck, or better yet pray.

Matthew 25:35-36

"...when I was a stranger you invited me in..." Well we didn't quite invite so does it still apply? This morning Mal and I woke up to a young man sleeping in our guest room. He had left his shoes at the front door and curled up and went to sleep, apparently. Mal and I don't know - we didn't hear a thing.

Mal and I discussed when this may have happened wondering if he had just come in after Mal had unlocked the front door this morning. Then Mal remembered the shoes were in front of the door when he opened it. At that time, Mal had blamed me for the shoes in front of the door. Mal and I had walked around the house and Mal had actually entered the room with the sleeping young man a couple of times before we even realized we had a house guest.

Before we knew his story, while discussing what to do, we quickly decided that he must have really only wanted/needed a bed because that was what he took. He had even been polite enough to leave his shoes at the door. So we left him, sleeping and I began to call him Jesus.

We thought that maybe, the boarder in the flat next door might have sent him over. Nope. Mal tried to wake him and he said he was cold so we put another blanket on the bed and let him sleep. Eventually, Mal had to leave the house (I had left for a meeting) so Mal woke him and he was confused at first then embarrassed.

"Weren't there people and a party here last night?" he asked. "No" Mal replied. He said, Maybe, I drank too much. I just remember being so cold." No wonder it was 35F/2C last night and he had no coat. He told Mal his name, where he worked and apologized many times.

He apparently wandered out of his party and thinking he was wandering back in entered our 'locked' house. Okay, the door locks but the house has moved and sometimes it doesn't really latch and a push on the door opens it in spite of the lock but that only happens once in a while....I thought.

I will actually be more diligent in ensuring the door is locked at night but also know I will feel a bit guilty and wonder if there is someone out there that needs an unlocked door. I pray they ring the bell....

Resolution

How are you doing at your New Year's resolutions? I have lost a small bit of weight but overall, I have not done too well and have maintained the fitness level I had at New Year.

Now it is Lent, the 40 days plus Sundays before Easter. It is the season that in tradition people sacrificed something in penitence remembering that Jesus sacrificed His life. Following this tradition can be a holy and sacred experience for people who go into it for those reasons. I have for many years, given up different things each year for Lent. Each year, I realize how dependent I am on things rather than God. Last year I gave up coffee and struggled because I learned that coffee is a crutch I use in stressful times, I suppose like some people use cigarettes or alcohol. Most days, I did not miss the coffee but when stuff happened, the craving was - well I usually gave in.

Lenten sacrifices can be like New Years resolutions, we forget the purpose behind the resolution. We forget the lessons that life taught us so we do not keep the resolution. This weekend, I remembered why I made the New Years resolution to be more fit. There was a tug-of-war competition at the family reunion. I do want to be fit enough to do these things - so back on track for fitness.

I am still dependent on coffee, even this morning waiting for a tough phone call I had another cup. I, however, turned to God first and thanked God for allowing me to have the crutch and hoped that God knew I need God more than the coffee.

I am glad that Lent (and New Year for that matter) come around regularly so that I can each year renew afresh my memory and commitment of what I believe.

Deep sigh

Well being cut off by flood water was not the end of the story. I found myself in Goodna, a flood devastated community between Ipswich and Brisbane. I spent ten days there and found myself humbled by the enormity of our God.

The enormity of the flood was too big for my imagination and during the ten days, God proved many times that he is indeed bigger.

Cyclone Yasi steam rolled a good part of N. Queensland and I expect that many there will be humbled by God's grace.

No, I did not see supernatural stuff, just people responding, because God had whispered in their ear to respond. People who rang up and said, "I have a (fill in the blank) is that something that will help?" exactly at the time that (fill in the blank) was needed. This happened over and over again. I was overwhelmed at the generosity of so many.

Like in Roma last year or The Gap a couple of years ago, I know that the work will take months to complete the work ahead; homes to be rebuilt or torn down. Lives will take years to normalize.

Right now all that I have to offer is a deep sigh.

2011 look back at 2010

This time last year, rain had started to fall in the Maranoa Region of Queensland staving off what was expected to be one of the worst drought related mass killing of starving livestock. In one week's time this country turn from a dust bowl that I thought would not grow anything into lush and beautiful country. The area here still looks lovely. There was an abundance of spring flowers. Every thing is green. 2010 will be known as the second wettest year on record for this region, averaging 2/3 an inch of rain per week (that is 17 mil/week).

This week was dry. Yay. But only here. The rest of Queensland only miles from us is under water. Our road has been cut off for some time. It is expected that our McDonalds will close tomorrow from lack of supplies. Milk is being flown in. When we do get food again they will be expensive because all the prime agricultural land in Queensland is flooded. At our local grocery store the only fresh fruit or veg is lemons.

Today, I am making lemonade.

Where does time go?

I am not sure where time goes. I have heard many people say that recently near the end of the year. Where did the year go they ask? I reply, "if you find where it went let me know I need it back." Since my last post in Sept. I have spent a week at Australian Catholic University in Brisbane for a Masters unit (intensive) on reconciliation. Good choice. I have been to Western Australia for a Rural Ministry Conference. Again Good choice. There have been numerous other meetings, my regular full-time work, reading and writing to complete the subject I took, and then a few funerals. Funerals in a regional centre means quite a bit of travel. The result, badabing, no time or more correctly time has passed without me doing the wonderful projects that I wanted to get to. I assume that those cool projects were not too important, of course, if I didn't start no one knows they if they were or not.

The result seems to be that I am not motivated. I don't want to start as I am not sure if there is time to do a good job. There is a bit of why bother. There is a bit of feeling overwhelmed. There is a bit of being tired and after a rush period needing a slow time. Plod is the word of the day. Advent is around the corner and I will encourage people to wait with anticipation. Guess, I am leading the way.

ouch!

My question is does worker's compensation cover injuries inflicted by magpies?

This morning, Mal was at a men's breakfast and I was doing some reading and preparation to meet a family this afternoon to plan a funeral. After my reading was complete, I wanted to shift modes and do some reflection on the sermon text, Luke 16, Jesus seems to say choose God or money in a reality that in the West Christian have both (topic for some other blog entry).

I decided that it was a quiet cool morning and that I should go for a walk to be with God in his creation and set out to pass the railway dam thinking the destination should be McDonald's for a coffee (knowing Mal would be by that way shortly and would love to drive me home).

I knew there were magpies in the school yard near the McDonald's but was not overly concerned. I now know the great emotional and physical distress a small melodious creation of God can cause.....

After being swooped, I ran as hard as I could past the school yard with my jacket over my head. I looked back to see the magpie a half a block behind still on the corner. I had stepped out a block and a half and being only metres from McDonalds slowed to a walk and lowered my jacket. In a moment, I received a whack on the head that I knew had drawn blood. Greatly startled, I took cover while uttering a curse and wished evil on part of God's creation; yes, the very creation that I had just left my house to be close to. Close enough to draw blood had not been the idea and I insist is simply too close.

Very quickly, I realized that I am in a small town and people know that I am the Uniting Church minister so embarrassed I looked around to see who may have witnessed me audibly cursing one of God's creatures. I stopped; asked God to bless the bird and walk slowly with my hand on my head to my destination.

I ordered my sandwich and Mal arrived before the coffee came. He was sympathetic and promised to "kiss it better". I have now had a shower and am nursing the lump on head wondering if and how this was meant to enlighten my sermon....

Dulacca, Queensland

Roma is a 6 hour drive from Brisbane. We were driving home to Roma from Brisbane on Friday. As it turned out we were a bit over an hour from home at noon. We were both tired and a bit hungry so we decided not to push through to get home but to stop at the next small town and have some lunch and a break.

We have driven through this town several times by now and have always notices how popular the pub seemed to be so we thought that it would be a good choice for lunch. When we got there the pub looked closed. Well, this is a small town so that can appear to be so but may not be the case so Mal walked over and pulled on the door and it was in fact open. He went in and asked if they served lunch. The young woman there said, "The cook is down at the servo (read gas station in America) and I don't know when he will be back." Mal questioned and learned that the cook owns the servo. I giggled so hard that shortly after noon we get sent to the servo when the normal stop is the pub.

So down to the servo, we see there is a new Chinese restaurant. We go in and are met by a Chinese man. We ordered the lunch special and had piping hot fresh Chinese food that was better than most. We had a five star meal in a two star town.

So if you are ever in Dulacca. Stop at the servo. Cheers.

the north wind doth blow and we shall have....

Hayfever! That is right. The north wind in Roma this time of year brings with it pollen from grass. I have never had hayfever before I moved to Roma. Now, I understand, the watery eyes, runny nose, and oh the sneezing, violent sneezing. There is something in the air that my immune library is totally unfamiliar with and it is reacting full on.

The locals when they hear me snuffle first ask if I have a cold and when I respond, "Hayfever." They say, "Oh yes, the north wind. Hayfever sufferers are often bothered by the north wind." Funny, I had never been a hayfever sufferer. But there ya go, now I am. I hope that I grow out of it.

Why God won't let me take myself too seriously - Part 5

Even in Roma, God does not let me take myself too seriously. The church is running the canteen (read concession stand in America) and I asked one of the ladies at church to pick me up and drive me. I told her Mal had the car which is true and that I would need a lift. She sounded a bit hesitant but I insisted and she agreed. So this morning, she comes by, picks me up, drives me the 2 blocks down our street to the field and parks. I laughed so hard. I had never seen the field used and presumed it sort of abandoned like the park across the street from me. But no, it was soon loaded with kids and parents from across the region. I had assumed all the fields were across town where I had seen activity when I asked for the lift. While I was laughing, she asked if she hadn't told me the name of the field. I assured her she had but the name meant nothing to me having only been here 8 months there is still a lot I don't know. There were more laughs during the day. But next week, I will walk to the rugby.

The word for today is....

Theodicy. Yup. Theodicy. A word coined (made up) by Leibniz to refer to a theoretical justification of the goodness of God in the face of the presence of evil in the world (McGrath, Christian Theology, glossary). Or in my language what has a good God to do with suffering.

Our town Roma has been partly under flood waters. There are many not complaining because most people knew that it would take a flood to break the decade long drought. But for those who lost so much....where is God, in this? Sunday's reading may help. Luke 13:1-9.

I know that this passage can be misused but Jesus seems to be insisting that the question is not about God but about us. What are we doing different because life is fragile? Change your mind, turn back, remember God' s grace, you have another chance.

Compliments to Working Preacher for some of these ideas.

Discipline

I have not posted for a month or so. I struggle with maintaining the discipline. This is not only evident in my blogging but also in other areas of my life; fitness, prayer, and fasting for example. These are things that I really want to do, in fact, really need to do, however; I do them well for a while then they drift away for a time.

As we approach the Church season of Lent, I am reminded of my commitment to these disciplines in my life. As I look back over the past few weeks, I recognize that I have been pretty slack about maintaining them. I have even spent a bit of time, feeling overly guilty and weak for not being able to do what in my heart I so would like to. This guilt should not turn to self-abasement but guilt should result in a repentance so to speak a turning back to the discipline. But I do feel bad, I wonder why can't I do this? When I see so many disciplined people around me, I wonder what is wrong with me? The answer nothing is wrong with me.

I have been convinced over and over again in my life the reason I am not as successful at something is because I am attempting to do it alone. My successes have never been me by myself, actions, there has been a community supporting me. For example, I don't have trouble with finances, because a grew up in a family that taught and encouraged fiscal responsibility. It continued to be part of family discussions for my whole life and didn't just crop up during the global economic crisis. I learned as a young person to keep a budget and continue to keep one so that I can demonstrate that to my children. We do this together, my family by in large is unaffected the recent economic downturn. I am proud of our kids, who in spite of obstacles like no job, continue to be resourceful and manage what they have.

At New Years, I resolved to get fitter, loose a few pounds/kilos and till now have not been very successful. I have not been a part of a community to which fitness is important. Yesterday, I joined a gym. I entered a community that would support me and keep me accountable, as in miss me when I am not there and tell me so. I did this after trying to drum up some support from people I already knew. However, fitness is not a priority in their lives at the moment. I am suffering for my choice a bit today, I had never really heard of body pump before and have discovered that neither had my muscles.

But what about other disciplines I mentioned at first? What about prayer? Well the Christian community here in Roma prays together in a seven hour vigil one Saturday per month. That is good. I pray in worship every Sunday. I try to do daily prayers, morning and evening, however, I am certain that praying the offices is easier to do when in a monastic community as the prayers are done together. I wonder if I will find others willing to stop their day and pray? Otherwise, I will continue to do a patchy job at it.

Fasting. I have encouraged people to consider fasting for Lent. Many here have not done so. For years now, my family has used Lent as an opportunity to remind ourselves that we do not need everything that we think we do. We use the opportunity to give up sweets or even one year meat, in order to understand communities that do not have those things. I have been fortunate that my family is part of the community that makes fasting a priority.

Overall, I really can't complain too much because I do have supportive communities around me. I pray for all those people out there who seem to think that they must go it alone.

Rain

We have gone from the above to the below in only a couple of weeks. Creation is amazing.

Novelty items

Yes, I admit I have purchased novelties in the past. In a cedar chest in South Dakota I have a Ronald Reagan drinking glass. There is a story behind this purchase. You see, I was in Washington D.C. the week before Mr. Reagan was inaugurated as president of the United States. I had the opportunity to attend the inauguration thanks to Rep. Clint Roberts; however, because I was on a school trip, the school would not let me stay even with my parents permission. I knew this was for me a once in a lifetime experience and since I live in Australia, I was probably right.

So I sulked and purchased Reagan memorabilia.

Today, in the grocery store in Roma, I found and interesting novelty item. Yes, indeed, Obama dolls, many of them stacked above a couple of Churchill dolls. I was very interested to see US presidential stuff in the grocery store in Roma. Churchill didn't surprise me because, the Queen of England is still a figure head of some sort here.

I may have expected to find Obama dolls in the city but out here? Well, and above Churchill well only 60 years or so will verify that.

So the photo, sorry for the quality, I am still learn to use the phone camera.

Happy New Year to you and whatever doll you play with!.

A week before Christmas

A week before Christmas

and all through the house

is disorder and chaos

and could be a mouse.

The stockings are hung by the

gas heater with care

but heat won't be needed

its summer out here.

Nestling in bed might be nice

but there's work to be done.

Carol services to finish

meals to plan

The kids will be visiting

and friends will stop too.

And what about those here

with nothing else to do?

I expect that on Christmas

there will be a clatter

of voices and dishes

relationships ringing!

Sorry Santa you're not the star

of the day we celebrate

but relationship with God

his Son incarnate.

Merry Christmas.

The things you see

Mal and I were driving down a residential street this week and suddenly we saw a weedeater or whippersnipper (you get the picture) fly onto the sidewalk with great force. There was a disgruntled man walking away. He happened to look up at us just as we passed. Mal and I kept straight faces until we were by but then lost it. Mal said, "I have wanted to do that on many occasion." I thought he must have been embarrassed a bit by being caught. It was really funny. I hope the bloke had a bit of a laugh over it too.

Then today we had a coffee at a nice coffee shop. For those who don't know you leave a door or window open when using an evaporative cooler. This coffee shop had the door open and in flies a willy wagtail. This bird fly directly in lit in front of the counter momentarily. Hopped around tables, flew to the window where the food comes from the kitchen. Flew past the women at the register barely clearing her head, which made all the staff and us laugh. He checked things out very thoroughly. Then left out the door again. He clearly knew his way around. The staff then told us, through their laughter and ours that they had named the bird Hoover and he comes in two or three times a day making a circuit. We were clearly in his territory.

Fencing

Building our faith, or discipling, is a bit like building fence. We have these theological concepts that form the corner post or strainers. Concepts, on hand that God reigns, Christ is king and on the other hand, Jesus came to serve and was crucified. These seemingly opposing ideas give us hymns like "The Servant King". But I imagine a fence. The opposing ideas at each end; the divine Jesus on one end and the human Jesus on the other. Our faith is wire that stretches in between. If we have one end but not the other the wire is propped up on one end and one end and lays down at the other and you don't have a fence. If you don't have well developed corner strainers then the will not hold the weight of the wire and will eventually sag and the result again is no fence. Both ends must be strong, then the faith wire must be held taut between the two. Too tight, the wire breaks. Not tight enough, it sags and again no fence. But wait, there's more! Between the two corners are many little ideas, I'll call them posts. They must line up between the two. They do not need to be level or even too straight to begin with. But if a post is out of alignment for a long time it will wear on the wire and create rust and the wire may break. So it is imperative that you walk the fence from time to time; regularly, starting at one end and check each post for weakness moving posts and adjusting wire along the way. A good fence draws admiration to the property it creates the boundary for. A good fence can stand alone for some time. It can take the normal pressure of livestock but also can often withstand flood, blizzard, and small fires, in Australia called cool burns. After huge disasters fences need repair. We need to spend time again starting at one end walking to the other repairing the damage. Rarely, though do you have to repair the corners, if they were well built in the beginning. Yesterday, I took my congregation fencing. Some even seemed to enjoy it.

Desert Limes

Today, Mal and I experience a Roma treat. Desert Lime Jam. A member of the congregation with connections to Tourism Roma gave us a small introductory size sampler. It came with a brochure that gave serving suggestions. We tried the Desert Lime Jam over a bit of vanilla ice cream and we were both sold. Mal stated the more he ate the more he liked it. I found quite good and dipped into the jar for a bit more as I had been maybe a bit conservative at the onset. I will look for new ways to enjoy this local treat. And for any readers in desert locales that enjoy citrus, the tree is an Australian native citrus glauca. The product that I can honestly recommend is found at Australian Desert Limes. Enjoy

interesting conversation

What do you talk about after church during fellowship time? Maybe you get into a deeper discussion about the sermon. Or maybe just polite conversation about the weather, boys, girls, relationships, kids, grandkids, or work. Maybe it is about natural disasters, news items, global economics, or world poverty. Maybe you chat about upcoming projects or studies. Sometimes you have conversations, that are just fun - light banter. Do you remember any of these conversations. Recently, after worship during the fellowship, we had a conversation that I just can't seem to stop thinking about. The topic - snakes, yes, snakes. All kinds, the King Brown, the Red Belly Black, the Tiger Snake, and Death Adder to name them specifically. All can be found around here. Now, people who know me know I don't like snakes. But I learned a bit about them. I learned that they can be found in washing machines. I learned that "in the good ol' days" snakes were routinely shot. Now because of animal protection, people call have them them removed. So there were several stories about snake removal. I learned that the gas pipeline crew employs a snake handler to go ahead of the work crews and relocate the snakes. I learned that you can often tell if you have a snake around by listening to the frogs. Apparently, frogs make a very distressed sound when being eaten by a snake. I will be listening for that for sure. I also learned a few ways people keep snakes away. Apparently, if you drape the shade material used for shade sails around fences, snakes will get trapped like a net so that they can be removed before you happen across one accidently. I will not forget this conversation for some time.

Mental Health Week

I got this joke from my family, that said they had heard that all the mentally ill were being deported and that they thought of me and said, "Run my crazy little friend! run!" I thought it was funny and forwarded to a friend of mine who also thought that it was funny. I think we thought it was funny because we feel a bit crazy sometimes (okay, many times). However, mental health is not a joke. I have family, friends and acquaintances that suffer from mental illness. This week in Australia is mental health awareness week and I encourage people to go along to activities in their communities to learn more about mental health. It should be a subject that we speak about as freely as breast cancer or seat belt safety. Mental health issues should not be deep dark secrets. We as a community should profess to support and pray for people we know with mental health issues the same as we support and pray for friends with other problem. No problem. Okay then.