Now that was daylight saving!
Daylight saving starts in some parts of Australia today. God did it years ago – properly.
50 Things We Learnt From Our Father
One of my favourite possessions is a framed poster made by two of my daughters when I turned 50 … that is, a long time ago. This poster has hung in my study ever since. They called it, “50 Things We Learnt From Our Father.” It contains a whole range of ideas from the humorous to the serious. Some of the lessons came from their own experience and some are dated. An example, “Don’t dance near the record player.”
My favourites include:
But there are others which are more serious:
My favourites, which bring a lump to my throat are:
Family life is a treasure of the big and small, the mundane and spectacular. All of it is a wonderful stage to grow a family. If you are starting out with your children remember that everything you do is being observed, from your fashion sense to your faith!
For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nothing is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.
John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion,Signalman Publishing. Kindle Edition.
The title above was a sign at the 30 metre round Wilpena Pound Panorama in Hawker, S.A.
View From Tanderra Saddle near St Mary’s Peak, Flinders Ranges
Yesterday I commented on the amazing work done during WW2 by the people at Bletchley Park as they worked on deciphering German Enigma messages.
The brilliance of the work at Bletchley was the fact that a team of people with a range of different skills were brought together in one place for one task. There were maths geniuses, people who had an eye for patterns and how they repeated, there were engineering and scientific experts who knew their fields as well as stenographers and radio operators. Further afield there were brave men who boarded enemy submarines and ships as they were sinking to retrieve code books and enigma machines and there were spies in enemy territory risking their lives by the minute.
It is not unlike the picture that Paul gives us in Romans and 1 Corinthians as to how the body of Christ is called to work with its gifts and talents in order to further the Kingdom of God. At the risk of repeating myself, if this can be done in wartime for the common good, the body of Christ has an even greater good to promote by using its many gifts in a unified effort.
I have just completed reading Enigma by Hugh Montefiore. It details the history of the attempt by the Allies to decrypt the messages of the German military, just before, and during WW2.
It is a tale of spies, subterfuge, boffins and hours of hard, and often fruitless, work in which the unlocking of a message that could save or cost thousands of lives. This tale of daring do was brought home to me when we lived in Bletchley, UK. One of the first visits I made was to Bletchley Park – the home of decryption in the war.
The unlocking of the Enigma Code played an enormous role in WW2, possibly changing the outcome but certainly shortening its length.
The passion and sacrifice of these men and women to defeat Hitler’s ambitions was staggering. Human lives, especially in the UK and on the high seas, depended on their work.
There is an even greater battle that we face on a daily basis. It is evil and life denying. It is the person and power of Satan. The battle may not seem so obvious but it is even more deadly than that fought in WW2.
Hearts and lives are at stake – the health of our children, families and society. Psalm 1 reminds us that our natural inclination and direction is evil. It challenges us to (in God’s strength) choose wisely and be anchored in the life giving soil and life that comes from God, (in Christ) alone.
The Enigma tale has reminded me that if we understand the dangers we can also find the passion and zeal to withstand and conquer them – through a faithful God.
When we travel we like to listen to our favourite music. Having been on the road for the last week we listened to a lot of music. Michael Card is one singer/song writer whose songs we both like.
In the song, “For F.F.B.” he sings of his grandfather with the words, “In you I learned the kind of faith that looked up to the mountains. In you I saw just what I’d like to be. Oh, Grandad, I wish you could be here to tell me what to do, ‘cause I first saw the light of Christ through you.”
The phrase, “‘cause I first saw the light of Christ through you” made me think of those who first allowed me to see the light of Christ. When we were impressionable children who were those people through whom Christ shone? Parents? Grandparents? Family? Friends?
This is such a profoundly important concept, than for no other reason than the eternal faith of our children, our aim as adults should be to grow in Christlikeness.
Just after our fist child was conceived we received a visit from our pastor who reminded us that a child is conceived into an eternity of heaven or hell. Very blunt! But his point was simple, nothing is more important than the faith of our children and as parents we must do everything we can to prepare our children for an eternity with God. Or in Michael Card’s words to allow our children to see “the light of Christ through” us.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26
A Cemetery in Alesund Norway
One of my more macabre pastimes is to visit cemeteries. They are a fount of history and stories. We can learn much about places and people from headstones.
But the point is, they are everywhere. There is no escaping them. Towns, villages, cities and rural areas all have them. They can be found on the outskirts of town, next to churches, in churches and even in prisons. I have found these sober reminders of our mortality in all sorts of places. Simply put, millions have gone before us.
Why is it that so many of us live as though death doesn’t exist, or that it doesn’t matter?
A Pilgrims’ Cemetery on the Camino to Santiago
1 Corinthians 15 is the Apostle Paul’s wonderful exploration and apologetic for the reality of the resurrection. He declares that for the believer “death has lost its sting”. Sadly, for many, the sting hasn’t been removed from death because they refuse to rely on Christ – the sting remover.
Cemeteries are a constant reminder for me of what Christ has done but also a challenge to seek and find the lost before it is too late.
Burial Mounds at Gamla Uppsala Sweden
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus … Ephesians 2:6
Image courtesy: Nadeau’s Auctions.
When I was five years old we lived in a small country town where phone numbers were between one and one hundred and everybody knew everybody. There was a General Store that supplied all our needs from cereal to rakes.
As we were recent immigrants, money was scarce and every penny (pre-decimal days) had to be turned over twice. On a high shelf of the General Store was the “toy department”. It had cars, dolls and games. But there was also one big red Tonka tow truck. It was every young boy’s dream. I left my mother in no doubt that I liked this truck. However the answer was always the same. We can’t afford it.
So each time we went shopping, as my mother stood at the counter I would wander off and stare wistfully at the red truck. Then horror! One day it was gone. I was shattered. All my dreams had disappeared in one cruel blow. That was it!
A few days later I was trawling through a cupboard looking for something when I noticed a brown paper parcel. On closer inspection the contents had torn one small corner open and I noticed the hook end of a red tow truck.
Mum had bought the truck! I knew it was mine. My brother had not been born and my dad was too old. It was mine! Oh the joy!. There was one problem. My birthday was not for another few months. So I had to wait to receive the present. But the truck was mine!
In some ways our place in heaven is like that. As Ephesians tells us, we are already seated with Christ in heavenly realms. Because Jesus is there, we are there. That is a reality. On the other hand we have not seen it or received it clearly yet. We are still waiting for God’s call. In the meantime we can rejoice at the reality and the anticipation.
See how the flowers of the field grow
Travels from Ur 