Retrospective Recap

Well, I didn't think it had been quite that long since we'd posted! Sorry about that. Here's a quick recap since October 2008 of what we've been ensconced in.

Work and Study:
Bronwyn has enjoyed her first year teaching at Westside Christian School. Her class of six students expanded to include four Grade 6 students who moved up from the elementary class after Christmas. This class made coming to work a joy, and I will miss those who moved on to other places and schools at the end of the school year. Some highlights include the Christmas production, electives week, an overnight camp at Porteau Cove, and the end-of-year celebrations. The new school year commences in September, and I am looking forward to having many returning students, plus a few newcomers.

Nathan has also enjoyed his job as teaching-assistant (TA) for the history course, and has revelled in the teaching role. He undertook a history seminar course with three others on the Interwar Period, looking at the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy and Great Britain between the two world wars. Whilst very challenging, he loved the research, stimulating discussion and decisive essay writing that were part of the course - a highlight of the term. His other classes in Intermediate Greek and History of Doctrine also kept him busy learning during the term. In addition to research TA work this coming year, he has taken on leading a pilot internship programme for the Marketplace Institute at Regent. More details, next post.

Friends and Family:
We spent Christmas with our friend, April, in Wyoming with her family. The severe snowfall on the west coast at that time played havoc with our travel plans, but we had a great time meeting her family and friends, and becoming familiar with her university town, Laramie.

Our friend, Claire, also returned to Vancouver to study in January (after a 6-month stint in NZ). It has been great having her back and joining in our 'community meal' each Monday night with April, Susannah and ourselves. Claire and April are now flatting together, and we spend a lot of time at each other's places, eating and hanging out.

The end of semester saw us welcoming our friend, Matt, into our household for a few weeks. He was up from California visiting Regent friends, attending convocation (graduation), and going to some weddings. He left us with some great theological conversations and a beautiful sketch copied from a Van Gogh print in our house.

Sadly, Susannah has flown the Regent nest. She graduated with her MCS in April, and headed back to Australia. Our community meal most weeks now features a Skype conversation with her - allowing for time differences! This year we are hoping to be joined by another Regent friend from the US, Dave, who has also lived in NZ. Our UK friends, Esther and Kev, have headed back to the UK, and will finish studying there as their family expands with a baby due September.

Bronwyn's parents, Lynn and Robert, joined us for much of July. It was their first time in Canada, so much of our time together was spent sight-seeing in and around Vancouver, and venturing forth a bit further to Whistler, Vancouver Island, and down to Seattle in the US. They did a small road-trip through southern British Columbia and then caught the Rocky Mountaineer train from Calgary back into Vancouver. Some highlights (apart from seeing each other, of course) were a First Nations cultural centre in Whistler, seeing some of the countryside, discovering various artworks (chainsaw carving, jewellery, paintings...), seeing an exhibition in Victoria of artefacts from the Bristish Museum and visiting the Boeing factory at Everett. The summer weather was a bit of a treat for them too!

Church and Beyond:
We continue to worship at Holy Trinity Anglican, Vancouver. Our work and study commitments, and our Regent community keep us pretty busy, so we are enjoying being mostly "pew-sitters" for now!

Our "green thumbs" have got particularly itchy over the year, so we (April, Claire, and ourselves) have persuaded some friends to turn some of their back lawn into a small garden. So far we have harvested an abundance of lettuce, parsley, and chives. The beans and zucchini are becoming prolific, and the shoulder-height tomato plants have numerous green fruit developing. Plenty to offer the 'landlords' too. Yum!

Enough recapping! Check out some of our photos in the link to the right. I'll post soon with new and exciting developments for us in the near future.

Busy, Busy, Busy

You may have guessed that we've been busy. I'm bound to think of other things we've been doing after this is posted, but here is a brief run-down of our comings and goings in the past month or so:

• we've both been baking up a storm (see Bron's blog here and here)
• Nathan is enjoying TA-ing for the history paper
• I went to the IPIAT (arts thesis) poetry reading of Amanda Hawkins on Monday... (read about her thesis here in ETC., the Regent student news)
• ... then I shared a couple of her poems with my class the next day for our poetry unit and devotions time (They loved the double-yolk poem, Amanda!)
• last Sunday we visited an Orthodox church service for the first time with some friends - more on our impressions another time
• Nath has had multiple tests and quizzes for Intermediate Greek, and a paper for Systematic C to write
• school visited a pumpkin patch just after Thanksgiving and had lots of fun picking spectacular pumpkins
• my class helped count the seeds in 4 pumpkins (after we had estimated how many there would be) and were surprised to discover that there were approximately 460 seeds per pumpkin, no matter what the size of the pumpkin! (They were nice toasted anyway).
• our fridge now has an excess of pumpkin waiting to be made into pumpkin dishes
• we have already had pumpkin soup (x3), pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bars
• my class negotiated for extra math time before lunch - just as the principal walked in! :o)
• we enjoyed the Laing Lectures at Regent, featuring Walter Brueggemann
• Nath has 3 knitting projects on the go and I have been working on my queen-sized quilt again (three-sevenths of it is sewn together at last)
• school is going well for both of us, but we're starting to feel tired and Nathan has struggled to shake off a cold in the last week or so
• we've spent time with many friends... chatting, eating, crafting, talking...
• we are enjoying the lovely autumn/fall colours in the Vancouver trees before the rain sets in for the next few months
• the (burnt) house next door will be pulled down soon and another constructed in its place so we are anticipating a muddy hole for most of winter! Oh joy!
• we are looking forward to a slower weekend (sometime before Christmas we hope!)

We hope you are all doing well too, and have really enjoyed hearing your news lately, while we've left you wondering about ours!

A prayer for life

The prayer below is taken from the baptismal service, which we participated in this morning:

Heavenly Father,
we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit
you bestow upon your servants the forgiveness of sin,
and raise us to the new life of grace.
Sustain us, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit.
Give us an inquiring and discerning heart,
the courage to will and to persevere,
a spirit to know and to love you,
and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.
Amen.

After reading this prayer together as a congregation, the minister re-read the second part (which is italicised) and made the comment that it should be a prayer for all our lives. For me, what impressed me about this prayer, was how succinctly it asked God for what I need on my life's journey. As I have vowed to God that I will follow Him wherever He leads me and will do whatever He asks me (no matter what!), this prayer seemed so fitting because...

To follow God and to do what He asks... I need an inquiring and discerning heart to perceive what this is.

To follow God and to do what He asks, no matter how risky or radical that might be... I need the courage to will and to persevere.

To follow God and to do what He asks... I need to love Him more than anyone or anything else... therefore, I need a spirit to know and love Him

And to follow God and to do what He asks... I desperately need Him to sustain me.

P.S. One of my assignments during the last couple of weeks, has been translating John 15 from the Greek. A number of things have struck me as I've been doing that, and I hope to share some of these things soon.

This is my Hebrew teacher...

His name is Keith Ganzer. He is a brilliant teacher!

But his overhead slides can be hard to decipher at times!

Summer of Hebrew

'He-brew' could refer to Nathan's tendency to make a pot of tea every time his cup empties this summer (it runs in the family!), but it really refers to the intensive summer school course Nathan has been taking for the last month and a half. Along with our friends (April, Kristin, Sandy and Joyce), and neighbours (Cam and Marcus), Nathan is taking a 7-week course that covers the Introductory Hebrew content usually taught over the academic year (2 semesters) at Regent.

He and April (a language genius) have been study-buddies, spending most afternoons and evenings with their noses in textbooks, or uttering odd gutteral sounds as they work through their vocabulary cards. Some of their mnemonics are quite amusing. They just couldn't keep straight faces when I took their picture!

The class is now in its final week, with the final exam on Friday. Everyone seems to have "hit the Hebrew wall" physically, mentally and emotionally, so your prayers for energy and focus would be appreciated. We plan to celebrate on Friday with a nice dinner and then head to Vancouver Island for a few days over the weekend (to blob out!) with April.

Even though the schedule has been heavy, we've had a bit out time out together and with friends during the month. We helped Claudia celebrate her birthday with a picnic at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.

Nathan's high school friend Stephen and his wife Rosie were travelling through Vancouver so we had a great evening catching up on news and meeting Rosie for the first time.

I have been working on my first ever quilt project (again). I have now made all the blocks, and I'm in the process of sewing them all together now. Here they are, laid out on our floor. (Please excuse Nath's legs in the shot... he was so busy studying I just worked around him!)

Our little friend, Synova, celebrated her first birthday this past week too. The last time you saw her she was only a few days old!

Otherwise, we have been enjoying the summer weather. We have picked blackberries from behind the empty house next door; we've found some yummy fruit at the greengrocer and market (plumcot or yellow tomatoes anyone?); and only had the umbrellas out once!Vancouver hosts a fireworks competition each summer, so we watched a couple of evenings from the beach near our place, and enjoyed the entry from the USA and the finale night.

Sometimes you need to listen to your own sermons...

During the lead-up to Christmas 2005, I spent a bit of time meditating on the opening chapters of Luke’s gospel. This period of meditation resulted in two sermons, which I shared with our congregation in the opening weeks of January 2006, on Mary and Simeon.

I’ve been thinking about these messages today, so I decided to re-read my notes tonight. This post contains extracts from these notes.

Sometimes I’m amazed at the boldness of my own preaching. These words have been a fresh message from the Spirit for me today. Sometimes you need to listen to your own sermons...

Luke 1:26-55
The Example of Mary

• Here was a young woman who knew that she came from a humble background. Here was a young woman who had found her security – not in the fickle praise of others or in her own achievements – but in her relationship with God. Here was a young woman who was free from the need to compare and compete with others.
• What impresses me about Mary is her simple faith in God. When Gabriel tells Mary that she will be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit – she simply responds: "I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said." Although Mary probably had many questions about what was going to happen, she took God at his word. She believed what He said. That is why Elizabeth said to Mary: Blessed are [you] who has believed that [which] the Lord said will be accomplished (Luke 1:45)
• Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Often we equate faith with belief in a set of doctrinal statements. But first and foremost faith is about personally trusting God. You could stand-up each Sunday and say the Apostles’ Creed – you could say yes I believe intellectually in all I have just said, but still not have faith in God on a day-to-day basis.
• Mary personally trusted God. To put it bluntly: Even though she probably found it hard to understand how she was going to become pregnant, she trusted God that He would somehow give her a child. She was certain of what see did not see because she had faith in God. She personally trusted Him.
• I’ve shared this story before, but I want to share it again because it illustrates so well what true faith is all about. The great acrobat Karl Wallenda once had a long wire stretched across the Niagara Falls. In front of a large crowd Wallenda took a wheel barrow, put the wheelbarrow on the wire, and walked the wheel barrow across the Falls. The crowd watched in amazement. Wallenda turned to the crowd and asked whether they believed he could carry someone across the Niagara Falls in a wheelbarrow. Many in the crowd yelled out: “We believe you can do it Wallenda.” So Wallenda asked for someone from the crowd to get into his wheelbarrow so he could take him or her across the Niagara Falls. But there was no one from the crowd who was prepared to do this. There were no takers. The crowd mentally believed that Wallenda could take someone in the wheelbarrow across the Niagara Falls, but they didn’t really have faith in Wallenda. No one trusted Wallenda enough to get into the wheelbarrow.
• C.S Lewis once said: Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief. Mary took a real risk in trusting God that she would become pregnant. She took a risk in accepting God’s will for her life because it could have meant the end of her engagement to Joseph and perhaps even death (because she wasn’t married and had become pregnant). Yet, she simply trusted God. She was prepared to get into the wheelbarrow.
• The people found in the Bible do not doubt God’s existence; but what these people are tempted to do is to doubt whether God is love. To doubt whether God is good. To lose faith that God can be trusted. That’s the temptation that Eve faced in the Garden of Eden. The devil tried to make Eve doubt that God had her best interests at heart. Basically to make her doubt that God was acting in a loving way towards her and Adam. A loss of faith in the fact that God was good was also what Job struggled with. He didn’t struggle with whether or not God existed, but whether he could trust God when encountering a difficult time of poverty, sickness, grief and loss.
• And I daresay that Mary wrestled with this as well. Can I trust God to bring to pass what he promised? Can I have faith in Him to take care of my relationship with Joseph? Can I trust Him to help me take care of this baby? Mary’s simple faith answered “Yes”. She knew that God had been faithful to His people in the past and that He had been faithful to her. So she simply continued to trust Him.
• Likewise God’s revelation contained within these pages – and supremely revealed in Jesus Christ – provides us with the evidence that we can personally trust God; like Mary did. That God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect; and that for us to submit to anything else is to choose something that is second best. God has our best interests at heart, because he loves us.
• Mary was an ordinary person. She chose humility and had a simple faith in Almighty God. Yet God did extraordinary things in her life because she made herself available. And the Christmas story is full of people like her. Humble people. People of faith. Consider Joseph. Consider the shepherds. Consider Simeon and Anna. In the eyes of the world people of little note, but precious people in God’s eyes.
• I’m sure Mary didn’t regret living a life of humility and faith. Making her life available to God. So what about you and me? We’re ordinary people like Mary; like many of those found in the Christmas story. Will we choose to walk in humility? Will we choose to put our faith in God? Will we choose to echo Mary’s words: "I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said."

Luke 2:22-40
The Example of Simeon

• What strikes me about Simeon is his expectancy. Simeon was expectant that God would fulfil the promise he had made. So what about us? Are we expectantly awaiting the fulfilment of God’s promises? Are we expectant like Simeon.
• My challenge and my prayer is that we would be expectant as God fulfils his promise to be Immanuel – God with us! That moment by moment we would expect the Holy Spirit to lead us, to teach us, to refresh us, to challenge us, to transform us - as God with us! To live knowing that God is with us in the present and to walk expectantly into the future. Yes… I’m thankful for all that God has done in the past. I’m thankful that I know Christ and that I’m in Him. I praise God for the fullness of his Spirit. BUT (and it’s a big but)… I want to move forward… because I’m in a dynamic, not a static relationship with God. (Some Christians are in time warp like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day). Each day my aspiration should be to live expectantly, in anticipation that God will fulfil His promise to be with me.
• Another thing that impresses me about Simeon is his openness. His openness to the things of God. Simeon displays great openness to the ways of God. It’s possible that Simeon could have rejected what God was revealing to him because it didn’t fit in with his preconceived ideas of what he expected the Messiah to be. But because of his openness he experiences the blessing of God; he participates in the divine nature; in the unfolding of God’s story. You see God’s plan is higher than overthrowing the Roman rulers and restoring Israel. God’s purpose is more wonderful than just establishing a temporary earthly kingdom in Israel! The Messiah’s agenda is way more radical than bringing mercy and peace to one people. God is going to exceed everyone’s expectations! Rather than just overthrowing the Romans, God is going to overthrow the whole world order. God is going to establish more than just an earthly kingdom – but an earthly and heavenly Kingdom – the Kingdom of God – the rule and reign of Almighty God – a Kingdom that will open its doors to all people and will stretch through time and into eternity. And the Messiah’s agenda will map out a new way to live, leading to the expansion of this Kingdom. And the one who is going to set all of this into motion is... the baby in Simeon’s arms – the baby Jesus. (Does it blow your mind? It should).
• We see in Simeon’s story a tension. A tension between being expectant on the one hand, and open on the other. There’s always the danger that we allow our expectations to stifle our openness towards God. To let our expectations dictate the ways in which God is allowed to operate. But guess what? God is God! And he will not be boxed in: whether that box be our systematic theologies, what our society or culture deems as acceptable/unacceptable, or our limited understandings and experiences. We need to cultivate an openness to God, otherwise we run the risk of missing out on what God offers us.
• Expectancy and openness; that is what we see in Simeon. Simeon is expectant that God will fulfil his promises, yet he remains open as to the precise way in which God will do this. He is an example for each of us to emulate. And so it is my prayer that we would come to God in expectancy and openness.

Bronwyn's New Job

God has answered many of our prayers in recent weeks, particularly in providing me with a new job. For purely economic reasons, I need to work while Nathan finishes his degree, and then we'll swap; he'll work while I finish mine. So from September 2, I'll be working at Westside Christian School. You can check out their website here. (The site is a bit out of date, so ignore the faculty and employment pages, but you'll get the flavour of the place!)

While 'a job with income' was needed, many of our hopes were met in the position I have been offered. It is close to where we live, in fact, not far from Regent, so we don't need to get a car. It is full-time (in hours), but a combination of teaching and being a teacher-aide, so I only have to get my head around part of the BC curriculum, not the whole thing. It pays slightly more than we'd hoped. And it has very small classes, with about 40 students in the whole school!

My position is certain, but not in a finalised form yet, because being such a small school, any enrolments before school starts has a big impact on the balance of classes. From the current situation I am probably going to be teaching 'applied skills' (home ec, business, technology), maths, science, health & career, ICT, and PE in a multi-age Grade 7-11 class and teacher-aiding in the Grade 4-6 class. That equates to teaching the equivalent of mostly Form 2-6/Years 8-12. It is going to be an adventure and adjustment to teach older students in a format different from what I'm used to!

I am excited about this new job and would also appreciate your prayers for the following:
* that my application for teacher registration (here in BC) would be completed efficiently and successfully Update: I have now received a conditional teaching certificate, meaning I have 5 years to study 3 credits each in science, English composition, and Canadian studies to obtain a full certificate. It lets me teach now while I upskill - yay!
* that I would be able to plan and prepare adequately, despite the uncertain final form of my position
* that I would be able to relate well to the students in my class, their parents and my new colleagues
* that I can adjust to a different style of teaching quickly, and confidently use my skills and gifts
* that this time of transition from study to work will be restful now, and flow smoothly when school starts (particularly in leaving Regent, but needing to maintain many relationships on a social level and for when I return later)

30 Days of Birthday

"Welcome to the other side... of thirty!" my friend, Jodie, quipped as she greeted me this week. Thirty 'trips around the sun' is indeed a milestone for many women, although I haven't shared the dread many seem to experience. I hope I'm able to say, as Jodie has, "My thirties have been some of my best years so far." If the last few days have been an indication of what is to come, I'd have to agree. I feel more confident, attractive and assured than any other of my significant birthdays.


As one who doesn't like the spotlight overly much, my birthday celebrations have generally been low-key, and certainly enjoyed. I feel it has been a bit like the '12 days of Christmas', with little treats and gatherings spread over nearly a month. Perhaps I've had my own '30 days of Birthday'! Here's what's happened:

The day before we returned to Vancouver from our brief NZ visit Mum and Dad generously hosted a lunch and afternoon tea with friends and family in Feilding. As always, there was heaps of yummy food, including more-ish nibbles, warm wintery mains and veges, generous desserts (the macadamia nut sauce on the pavlova was a unique touch) and baking and asparagus rolls for afternoon tea (not that we needed any more food).
It was great to have my family and various friends all together, though I wish I'd been able to spend more time with each of them. Natasha flew down from Auckland; Claire (recently resident of Vancouver) drove up from Upper Hutt; Sara & Mike came in from Bulls; Andrew, Naomi & Zach did a day trip from Wellington, as did Grandma, Grandad and Uncle Verdon from Levin. Thank you for coming everyone.


Nathan's parents were not able to come that day, accurately anticipating other commitments after Al & Kim's wedding the day before, so Nathan, Ian, Chrissie and I had breakfast at Cafe Cuba in Palmerston North the previous weekend. Another yummy meal.

My actual birthday in Vancouver (if you don't consider the complications caused by time differences and the International Date Line) was a relaxing day of reading; meeting my friend, Esther, for coffee; responding to emailed birthday wishes; and preparing a nice meal for dinner while Nathan & April studied for their first major Hebrew test the next day.

Which leads me to yesterday. Their test out of the way, Nathan and April had arranged some 'birthday activities' for Thursday evening; an endeavour they both enjoyed immensely as they dropped anticipatory comments all through the week! So yesterday I had a personal treasure hunt.
Late afternoon I was presented with a box, with the instruction to "read the first piece of paper inside." I opened the box and found this clue:
This place is named after a famous anabaptist. It is also the Greek word for 'remain, live.' Go to this place!

The only anabaptist I can recall by name is Menno Simons, and as April (and the aforementioned Jodie) live at the Menno Simons Centre, a residential facility for students, that is where Nathan, April and I went. In April's room I discovered my birthday presents and, after I'd perused them, Nathan dutifully 'sherpa-ed' them home down the hill.


My next clue was read:
Your dad received a scholarship when you were young. This place is somehow related to this fact (cryptically). Go to this place for a pre-dinner drink!

Dad received the Woolf-Fisher Fellowship when I was about 2 years old, and our family travelled to Sydney for him to briefly explore technology teaching there. I first thought my destination may be the chocolate shop, Cocoa Nymph, up the street (whose owner has connections to our Australian friend, Karen, the one wearing a hat in the video clip).



Further thought proved the local Irish pub, the Wolf and Hound, was a more logical choice, and we enjoyed cocktails and beer before reading the next clue:
Complete the phrase: _______ is where the heart is. Go to this place for dinner!

Well, 'home' was the obvious conclusion. So, a little tiddly, we came home and Nathan put out crackers, cheese and olives while preparing a rustic dinner of spaghetti and pesto. (I'm detecting a theme to my celebrations now!)


Once dinner had settled, I read my final clue (with a fair idea of where it would lead):
This is quite cryptic. The opposite of false is _______. St. Augustine wrote a book called _______. Would you like some dessert?

Now, I seldom turn down dessert so the motivation to confirm my suspicions was strong! As any theological student worth their salt can tell you, St. Augustine wrote his "Confessions" in the late 4th century AD, detailing his misspent youth before converting to Christianity (an answer to fervent prayer by his mother, St. Monica). True Confections, the dessert cafe around the corner, seemed to fit the bill so we shared Boston Cream Pie and Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau and Chai Tea for dessert.
Truly sated, and a little high on sugar, we finished the evening with a few rounds of 'Farkel', a game April taught us (and Claire) last year. A pleasant finale to my birthday. I feel truly blessed by all my celebrations and the people who joined them.
Now all the remains to be done is to celebrate the birthdays of our friends Holly and Claudia this weekend. Bring on the candles!

Windy Weather

So... does this scene look somewhat familiar?
Today has been very windy by Vancouver standards (and averagely windy by Wellington standards) and we came home to find another tree had blown over.

You may remember that while we were in NZ last year one of the trees lining our street blew over, demolishing our gate and part of the neighbours' roof. This time there was no damage except to the tree itself. Strangely enough, Trevor (our landlord) had just braced a tree in the back yard that had been bending under the weight of its leaf canopy, but had thought nothing of the trees in the front!
This time, Jackson helped trim the leaves as Trevor snapped branches, and we managed to fit most of the tree in two 'yard trimmings' bins. The trunk will be dealt with in the next couple of days.

We're hoping this is the last mini-disaster to befall our place for a while! The neighbours suffered a fire a few months after the first tree damaged their roof and now this tree is the third major event. We don't think we live in a dangerous place, but you may want to keep your wits about you if you're visiting us on a windy day. :o)

The love of my life... (Part II)

How could I not reply to such a glowing proclamation of love? Nathan is obviously the love of my life! So here are some of my favourite photos of Nath...

Nath, I love you and your...
* willingness to try new things
* love for God
* tender heart and gentle, caring nature
* forward planning and deep thinking
* warm hands and hugs
* ability to think outside the square
* poetic tendencies
* hunger for learning (especially in people)
* twinkling blue eyes and expressive eyebrows
* and all the ways you show me how much you love me!

This incredible woman is only able to be incredible because you are so wonderful!

The love of my life...

... is, of course, Bronwyn. We have known each other for most of our lives - since she was 4 years old, and yours truly was 6 years old. Today we have been married 9 years!

The selection of pictures that go with this post, are some of my favourite pictures of Bronwyn.

Bronwyn, I love you and your...

* Ginger hair and beautiful smile

* Incredible intellect

* Love of learning

* Creativity and ability to innovate

* Generosity in opening our home and your heart to others

* Gifts of hospitality, teaching, encouragement, service, organisation and leadership

* Warm personality that makes people feel at home

* Love of cooking. Who can beat your luscious lemon cake, perfect pancakes,

and marvelous muffins (do you like the alliteration?)

* Practical faith

* Willingness to follow our Triune God wherever He leads us

* Love of children and your passion to see them learn and grow

* Ability to keep me grounded in the present, when I'm often thinking about the future

In a nutshell: You are an incredible woman! You are the love of my life!

From Pentecost Sunday

Sentence for the day:
"The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5

Prayer for the day:
Father, you have filled your people with the Spirit
who rested first on your Son
and united us in your Church;
open the channels for your Spirit
that we may freely work together,
and your kingdom and your rule increase.
Amen.

To which I add my own prayer...

It is amazing to think...
That the One who hovered over the earth at creation
Also dwells in my heart.
It is amazing to think...
That the One who empowered the God-Man, Jesus Christ
Also empowers my life.
Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Take hold of me
That every aspect of my life would reflect the image of the Triune God.
Grant me great sensitivity to Your voice
As You lead me into Your truth
Forgive me when I have grieved You by pursuing my own agenda instead of Your ways
Help me to seek the unity of the Church
To love all that the Father has created
And to yearn and to work for the renewal of all things.
In Christ's name I pray.
Amen.

Graduation and Goodbyes

Monday night was a time of celebration at Convocation (Graduation) for Regent College students. Bronwyn and Claire both graduated with the Diploma in Christian Studies. In addition, Bronwyn was awarded "The Board of Governors' Prize for Proficiency in the Diploma of Christian Studies". This is a very high honour; it basically means she was the top student of all those students graduating with the Diploma in Christian Studies. After the ceremony, Don Lewis, who is the Academic Dean at Regent College, came up to me and said: "You and I have something in common, Nathan." "What's that?" I replied. "We both married women who are smarter than we are!" I smiled; and heartily agreed! (Don's wife, Lindi, who is a gifted linguist, attends the same church as we do).

Claire - Bron and I are very proud of you! Congratulations! And Bron - "The Board of Governors' Prize for Proficiency in the Diploma of Christian Studies" is a reflection of your intelligence, creativity and innovation, hard work, and determination. I'm very, very, very proud of you!

The morning following Graduation, we drove down to Seattle to take April to the airport, so she could fly to Denver. We consider April to be part of our family, and we love her dearly, so we will miss her during the next couple of months while she is working in Wyoming.

Claire, Bron and I stayed down in Seattle over night. We spent Wednesday morning exploring Borders Bookshop, Pike Market, the surrounding shops, and the water front. We also enjoyed some scrummy crumpets and fish and chips. We drove back to Vancouver that afternoon. It was great to spend time with Claire before she returns to NZ. We're glad she's part of our family, too!

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The following are our plans for the next couple of months:

* Nathan returns to NZ this Friday to work at the NZ Treasury for about 6 weeks.

* Bronwyn returns to NZ mid-May, after completing the "Food Course" with Loren and Mary-Ruth Wilkinson on Galiano Island.

* Attend Alastair and Kim's wedding on 21 June.

* Fly back home to Vancouver on 23 June in time for Nathan to start Summer School Hebrew (aka "Suicide Hebrew").

P.S. We hope to update our web album in the next couple of days with pictures from Graduation and our trip to Seattle. You may notice that Nathan's pupils are quite dilated in these pictures. This is owing to the cold medication he was taking. The study hasn't made him crazy, yet! :0

I'm finished!

I'm surrounded by books, the place is a "bomb site", I'm tired (I didn't get to bed until 3am), I'm missing Bronwyn (who is on Galiano at the moment), BUT... I'm pleased to report that my academic year has come to an end, with the completion of my exegesis paper on Luke 3:21-22. And what a year it has been!

There are two things I want to quickly share, before I head off to Galiano. These may seem a bit random, but I hope not!

1. Just before we left NZ in 2006 I had a short dream (or was it a vision?) in which I saw a large footprint on the sand. A smaller human foot then placed itself on the larger footprint. As I awoke, I sensed the Lord saying to me: "I will lead you one step at a time, as you follow me." This dream has been my reality over the last academic year. I praise God for the way he has lead me step by step; and trust Him that he will continue to do so.

2. Ephesians 3:20 says: Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to the power that is at work within us. I now KNOW at the very core of my being that God can do more than I ask or imagine! He has shown me this over the last academic year. And my heartfelt response in knowing this is to complete Ephesians 3:20: to him be all glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!

Choosing to Trust

Feeling like a square peg in a round hole.
Recognising, once again, that my life will be unconventional; lived outside the square.
An oddity and a sign to others.
Feeling the tension of being a pioneer but not wanting to "rock the boat".
Needing to refocus on the One who can be totally trusted.
I offer this prayer of St Brendan to You, LORD.
Not only for me, but for my two brothers (LW & MM), and all those who choose to trust and to follow...
No matter what!

Lord, I will trust You,
help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.

Give me the faith to leave old ways
and to break fresh ground with You.

I determine amidst all the uncertainty
always to trust.

I choose to live beyond regret,
and let You recreate my life.

I believe You will make a way for me
and provide for me,
if only I trust You
and obey.

I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times are in Your hand.

I will believe You for my future,
chapter by chapter, until all the story is written.

Focus my mind and my heart upon You,
my attention always on You without alteration.

Strengthen me with Your blessing
and appoint to me the task.

Teach me to live with eternity in view.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven.

Feed me,
and, somehow,
make my obedience count for You.

Kierkegaard on Love

For one of my courses at Regent - which I have a love-hate relationship with - I'm required to do "additional reading". We have some choice in what we read. Tonight I sat down and read a selection of writings from Danish philosopher/theologian Soren Kierkegaard, collected under the title "The Works of Love" (kind of appropriate given it's Valentine's Day, I guess). There were several things that struck me about Kierkegaard's thoughts on love; especially, that true love perseveres.

These are a couple of the passages that I underlined in my book (apologies for the exclusive language):

The one who truly loves never falls away from love. He can never reach the breaking-point. Yet is it possible to prevent a break in a relationship between two persons, especially when the other has given up? If the lover is determined to not fall away from love, he can prevent the break, he can perform this miracle; for if he perseveres, a total break can never really come to be.

- - -

Does the dance cease because one dancer has gone away? In a certain sense, yes. But if the other still remains standing in the posture that expresses a turning towards the one who has left... then you will say, "Now the dance will begin just as soon as the other comes."

- - -

God perseveres in His love for us! He never reaches breaking-point! I believe the triune God is just like the dancer "standing in the posture that expresses a turning towards" each one of us. In many areas of our lives God perseveres; longing; waiting patiently for us to join Him in the divine dance.

When I read these extracts from Kierkegaard, I also thought of 1 Corinthians 13:7: Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This is God's love; a love he also wants us to show to others!

Responding to all of this, I wrote a very simple prayer: God - I pray that my love for you and others would be like this! I hope this will be your prayer too.

NICM

Christmas... again!

On Monday we took the opportunity to celebrate Christmas (again!) with our Vancouver family. We ate and drank well, laughed a lot (our cheeks were sore), exchanged gifts, and shared stories. We closed the evening with prayer, thanking God for all that he has done and is doing in our lives. It was a great night shared with April and Claire!