21.12.07
Kids Cut
If only I wasn’t going away… I would so be doing this!!
20.12.07
Counting down….
I’ve had an interesting time recently… and more surprisingly it’s been at work!
I’ve managed to stumble across quite a few people at work who are several varieties of Christian. Recently I discovered that a group of them are regularly having lunch together. I’ve managed to join them a couple of times now… and it’s been… educational.
The thing is, although I am rejoicing in the fact that they all know Jesus, they are all so sadly misled when it comes to teaching. One particular lady is a strong Catholic – quite conservative compared to the rest who are various forms of Pentecostal.
I am still trying to figure out how to hold a good conversation with them about their faith and what they believe. I get so angry at the false teaching they have been fed. They don’t talk about the Bible. They talk about the latest book they read by that famous author or the talk by that priest. I don’t want to be the one who isn’t tolerant of other’s beliefs and argues the authority of the Bible. But I know I have to… in a loving way of course.
Not much other news. Last minute gifts (yes I know I said that I had them all done….) a lazy weekend, some gingerbread cookie making, and looking forward to some time off.
10.12.07
Country Ministry
A couple of the students we had visiting of the last week were from regional areas (enjoying the richness of great bible teaching and training – like I did when I first moved to Sydney). I had some interesting conversations with them about ministering to people in the country and why it is really hard. Read the rest of this entry »
Ok… now Christmas!
What a crazy weekend. Thank goodness it only happens once a year! Read the rest of this entry »
06.12.07
A rainy welcome
So the house got cleaned – and the tree went up. I didn’t sew anything – but I’ll get to that later… hopefully.
It has been raining so much! My plants are loving it and getting all green and big. And I have my first strawberry flower!! But it is summer…. right? It felt weird putting up my Christmas tree and not getting all sweaty and puffy – that’s been the tradition so far!
H arrived back last night along with a UNSW mission team who will be with us for the rest of the week. They were all pretty tired but, after a BBQ dinner, we made it through introductions and admin stuff. We even found a last minute band for the Supporters Dinner!
It’s nice to have H home again. He gets such a kick out of these conferences and comes back on a ‘change the world’ high – so I try not to discourage him too much. But… you know.. it’s nice to have him back 
.
With all the cleaning up and organising and last minute admin stuff.. we got home at 10:15pm with our billet. Haoran laughed at the way I had stuffed our old 4 seater dining table into a corner of our tiny laundry (really need to get rid of that thing!) to make room for our guest. And I felt bad when our guest spotted a box in the hallway and asked if we had just moved in. No. We just have alot of stuff that we really should get rid of – but haven’t got around to it yet.
This is the advantage of moving often. You sort out your junk. The stuff you haven’t unpacked since the last move mustn’t be essential – therefore it’s easy to elimimate and chuck. When I was single, I moved every 12 to 18 months, so the clean out was fairly consistent. But since we haven’t moved since we were married (almost 2 years!).. and have no storage space, our place looks junky.
Eeeenway.. I’m looking forward to the Supporters Dinner and seeing both sides of the family plus friends. It’s the marker for the end of H’s first year of (full-time) MTS. And it’s one more step toward Christmas, time with family and a nice rest.
03.12.07
Trees and things
So H is away in Canberra until Wednesday, and I have a nice long list of things to be done by the time he gets back. Like cleaning and tidying (so the billet who stays with us won’t think that we’re absolute slobs). Like painting banners for Mission. Like sewing Christmas gifts. Like wrapping said Christmas gifts.
Last, but not least, I must must must have the Christmas tree up by the time he gets back. I’m pretty sure that it’s well documented that H has a moral objection to Christmas trees. So this is perfect opportunity to get it up and avoid all that moral objection-y stuff.
Personally I love Christmas trees (how could you not when they’re so purty??). I can’t wait until we’ll actually use ours properly as a family. For now it’s just a reminder that it’s that time of year.. and that we’ll be sure to expect a ‘real meaning of Christmas’ sermon any time soon..