Bits of Life in April

Random things from life:

• Recent Movie: Ten Canoes. Unlike anything I've seen before. Worth watching once.
• Recent Foodie's Discovery: There is a massive difference between the Bagel-House bagels you buy at the supermarket and Bagel-House bagels you buy at a bakery. The former taste like bubblegum, the latter are fantastic
• Recent Foodie's Discovery #2: Bagels from a Jewish bakery, such as Glick's in Bondi Junction, are different again!
• Recent piece of Advice: "Learn to be a good re-reader rather than try to read absolutely everything. Who cares if you can read 1000s of mediocre books and articles? Find the best. Read them carefully." from Michael Jensen. It was advice to doctoral students. I recently read Spurgeon say a similar thing.
  
• Recent Software: ProVoc. If you're learning vocab for a language. Get ProVoc. It's free and brilliant.
• Recent Essay Submission: On the secrecy surrounding Jesus being the King in Mark's Gospel (The "Messianic Secret'). Addresses stuff like why Jesus told his disciples not to tell people that he's the Christ.

Ahhh... bananas.

A Reflexive Post: On Blogging your Refections

Two things crossed my mind recently on the topic of 'Reflective Blog Posts'.

1. Beware Blogging as the Sole Means of Processing your Reflections

It seems to me that whenever you publish your thoughts, or have in mind to do so, you inevitably shape them for your audience. That's great in that you are forced to clearly articulate what you're saying (or risk an impenetrably long post).

But, I think there's a nasty barb, too: you might find that there are some reflections you're no-longer willing to pursue because you don't think they're blogable; some directions that you won't take your reflections in, lest you touch on a subject that isn't palatable: Real fears, your nasty side, things that you just can't put succinctly, struggles.

The short: Blog your reflections, by all means; but make sure you save some head-space to reflect on stuff that will never get to your blog.

2. Beware Reading Blogs as your Sole Means of Personal Reflection

Blogs are a great window into people's lives and minds. As a result, they're fantastic for keeping in touch; they can be entertaining; they can be really thought-provoking. So here's my thing: In this digital-revolution-thing-a-majig are we leaving the truly great thinkers of history, and getting inside their heads, only to bounce comparatively simple thoughts about? Are we being satisfied with less than the best? We have the resources to get inside Spurgeon's head, to read Don Carson's thoughts... even to know Jesus' mind.

The short: read blogs of friends, loved ones, and interesting strangers. But dwell on other things, too; greater things, even.

Thanks, families!

Thanks to my lovely, generous families I'm now the proud owner of one of these:



It's a Yamaha FG-700S, for those who care about such detail.

I've been sorely missing my old guitar. So it was really wonderful to receive a new one for my recent birthday.

Thanks very much to the Canes and Hansards!

I'm now busy working-up fresh callouses on my fingers. It sure makes washing-up a bit more painful, but that's ok - it's well worth it ;)

'The wife'

Disclaimer: this is the first time I have written a blog entry (which is quite an achievement as I have struggled with the communication style of the Blogger's world for some time) and have absolutely no gifts in the creative writing area. Please excuse the dullness which may be found in any entry of mine!

Bernard and I have been married for 5 years now, and I have never been so conscious that I am a wife. The usual first question when meeting someone new at college is 'are you studying, or are you a wife?' - to which I reply 'a wife'. This question is valid and I'm happy to be a wife, but it's weird having that title be my main identity. I'm not a student, I'm not an employee, I'm not a women's leader, I'm not a bible-study leader, I'm not really a 'useful' member of a church, and I'm hardly anyone's friend up here! I'm not part of anything that gives me an identity outside of being a 'college wife', and that is a strange feeling. I'm so thankful that God has made me one of his - I belong to something far greater than what the world considers important. I think these years will be humbling for me, as outside of being a mum and a wife I won't have anything to boast in nor rely on to make me 'who I am'. I'm really hoping that God will use this jar of clay for his own power-displaying purposes, and that I will be a worthy 'college wife'.

If your dying to hear more of the adventures in my Sydney life, stay tuned for exciting posts on 'washing cloth nappies; does napisan really work?', and 'The best foods for pureeing; will corn make the list?' ; )

Hawks Nest on a Shoestring

Thanks to Clive, a second-year in my prayer group, our little family got away to Hawks Nest for a few nights this week.

Hawks Nest is a little coastal town several hours North of the big smoke (South of Taree, near Karuah). It's so tiny and unpretentious and beautiful; the beach reminded us of the Tassie east coast but the water was warm enough to swim in for ages and ages. It really felt like a piece of home :)


The unit we stayed in, 'Booneroo', was pretty musty and dark; but who's complaining? (Such a classic name! The block is on Booner St.)


The highlight was definitely the beach. But the quiet was just wonderful. We sat, we read, we ate, we hooned around in a hire car (no birds!), we drank coffee, and we marvelled at the quiet.


The biggest bummer was the debacle of driving there. I have to take the blame for it: it took about an hour longer than it should have. There were several contributing factors that I won't go into, but one worth mentioning are the mistakes in the 'Whereis' directions... Whereis told us to make turns in suburbs that were on the opposite side of a body of water to where we should have been! My resolution: don't rely on whereis - get a map.

And yes, I did eventually ask directions ;)

And the award for favourite subject of first term goes to...

... Doctrine 1.

Sound boring? I'll give you an example of what a typical doctrine lecture might be spent thinking about.

Let me ask a question. It's a question of significance to the entire human race: What does it mean if God has revealed who He is - his mind, his will - by speaking? The Bible's basic assertion is that God has opened-up what He thinks to us in words. That is, the Bible is God's word to humanity. So what's that mean for people in this world?

Surely the first thing it means is this: the right way to relate to God is first of all to hear and heed. If the Creator has spoken, then the creature must be a listening creature.

In a sense, this touches on questions like - How can anyone claim to know God? How can your efforts to know God be more effective than anyone else's?

The Christian claim is that it's not related to how hard we try or what technique we use to figure God out... it's a question of whether we're listening to what He has said and is saying. It turns the popular conception of spirituality on it's head: that each person can figure-out God in their own little way.

So there are two questions for us:

1. Has God really spoken?
2. Are you hearing and heeding?

Some highlights of Doctrine 1 in term 1 :

• The lecture on what, if anything, we can know of God from looking at the world. ('General Revelation' and 'Natural Theology').
• Anything John Woodhouse says. He is genuinely that interesting. (John's the lecturer).