It's our second week now, and we love it. That is, Christian Assembly Church in Eagle Rock. It is the first place that we have truly felt at home in. The direction, health and warmth of the community at CA has really appealed to us. As has the quality of the children's ministry, the solid teaching and the church's commitment to mission.
CA is not in Pasadena as such. But it's probably a 5-10 minute drive. Although the church is large in number, the actual building itself is not terribly big, so you attend one of four weekend services, and feel as though you are part of something a little more intimate. So although it is a big church, it doesn't have that 'big church' feel that can sometimes be overwhelming at first and difficult to connect with.
This weekend we attended the Sunday night service which is supposedly an identical service, but targeted toward 18 to 35s. We are interested in this service because there are a lot of Fuller students who attend. (It's also nice to have the weekend more freed up.) After Fusion services, they operate a cafe where they serve an afforable and tasty meal, coffees, smoothies etc with live music. The proceeds from the cafe go directly to support the Christian Assembly orphanage in Kenya. It's a good place to connect. Judah and Nathan had a bit of a dance, and toward the end of the night retreated to a corner to play with some toys that were there.
Next week we plan to visit a Life Group that meets in Pasadena. We're looking forward to getting involved and serving with this group of believers.
Monday, 30 April 2007
Sunday, 29 April 2007
Judah goes missing...
Today Judah decided that we would be playing a game of Hide and Seek, or as the Americans call it, Hide and Go Seek. Imagine the situation; we live in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment for which there is only a hand full of suitable hiding places, and since we had played hide and seek here a couple of times already, I was already pretty familiar with all of the hideout spots - or so I thought. There's the wardrobes, the pantry, and a couple of other tighter cupboards. Then there's more conspicuous places like under the rug! So you get the idea - when we play, I'm merely amusing them with my wondering around calling out "Where's Judah?" or "Where are you Nathan?" You can pretty much know for certain that their hiding places will be both obvious and unoriginal. The other thing is that when they hide, they are usually not all that focused on staying hidden, and will typically, make some noise or move around so that you can hear them.
Well, today it was different. Today our little game of hide and seek went to a whole new level. I took Nathan in to the bathroom with me (that's our counting room) while Judah went to hide. I counted out loud "One, two, three....eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!" We wondered around the apartment checking all of the usual places. Nathan looking with me saying "Where's Dudah gone?" "I don't know." I would reply. After checking all of the usual places and not having heard any movements, I started to get slightly concerned. "Judah? Judah where are you?" No reply. Could he have left the apartment? He had never done so before, and was generally the sort who would be too scared to venture off on his own. I decided that I would just need to look more thoroughly. I looked briefly under his bed, a place that we had never hidden before. No. Not there. I got Clayton involved in the search. By now, Nathan is well practised in asking and answering the question, "Dudah? Where's Dudah? - I dunno." We decided that we had better check outside in the corridor. No. "Clayton. Check the garbage disposal room. He could be in there." No not there either. Now, although not panicked, my concern is growing. He could have ventured off down the lift, and if he did that, and got out at the car park, he'd be stranded there without a key card. I ran down the corridor and checked the car park. I called out, "Judah? JUDAH? Judah are you there?" First floor, "Judah?" Still no sign.
It felt like it had been maybe 15 minutes since we had begun to play, but in reality it had probably only been 5 or 10. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. "Judah? Are you here? I've got ice-cream!" That didn't do it. A short time later he emerged. He had been so determined to stay hidden that he had accidentally wet his pants, and needed to make his way to the toilet. Where had he been? Hiding under his bed, behind a suitcase! I had looked there, but obviously not thoroughly.
We all had a good laugh and big sigh of relief. We congratulated him on his hiding skills, and thought it prudent to just remind him that he should never leave the apartment on his own. That was it for our little game today. Oh, and yes; it was not long before I was reminded of my earlier inducement for ice-cream.
Well, today it was different. Today our little game of hide and seek went to a whole new level. I took Nathan in to the bathroom with me (that's our counting room) while Judah went to hide. I counted out loud "One, two, three....eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!" We wondered around the apartment checking all of the usual places. Nathan looking with me saying "Where's Dudah gone?" "I don't know." I would reply. After checking all of the usual places and not having heard any movements, I started to get slightly concerned. "Judah? Judah where are you?" No reply. Could he have left the apartment? He had never done so before, and was generally the sort who would be too scared to venture off on his own. I decided that I would just need to look more thoroughly. I looked briefly under his bed, a place that we had never hidden before. No. Not there. I got Clayton involved in the search. By now, Nathan is well practised in asking and answering the question, "Dudah? Where's Dudah? - I dunno." We decided that we had better check outside in the corridor. No. "Clayton. Check the garbage disposal room. He could be in there." No not there either. Now, although not panicked, my concern is growing. He could have ventured off down the lift, and if he did that, and got out at the car park, he'd be stranded there without a key card. I ran down the corridor and checked the car park. I called out, "Judah? JUDAH? Judah are you there?" First floor, "Judah?" Still no sign.
It felt like it had been maybe 15 minutes since we had begun to play, but in reality it had probably only been 5 or 10. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. "Judah? Are you here? I've got ice-cream!" That didn't do it. A short time later he emerged. He had been so determined to stay hidden that he had accidentally wet his pants, and needed to make his way to the toilet. Where had he been? Hiding under his bed, behind a suitcase! I had looked there, but obviously not thoroughly.
We all had a good laugh and big sigh of relief. We congratulated him on his hiding skills, and thought it prudent to just remind him that he should never leave the apartment on his own. That was it for our little game today. Oh, and yes; it was not long before I was reminded of my earlier inducement for ice-cream.
Sunday, 22 April 2007
A word of wisdom from Judah
You remember that verse in John about Caiaphas prophesying without knowing it or intending to about the way Jesus' death should be interpreted (Check out Jn 11:51)? Well on a much smaller and less serious scale, Judah said something to me just before we left for the US, the significance of which he could not possibly have understood. It was a very innocent moment - fun too, but deeply profound. Here's how it happened:
Judah was playing with his lego, and rather than just sit there passively watching him, I decided to play with him. Actually I didn't really engage (I was thinking about something else) but I wanted him to have the benefit of thinking that I was. Perhaps externalising my frustration at just not getting activities like lego (I've never been much good at lego) I began to randomly stack one piece on another, ignoring their size, shape and colour, to see how high it would get before it toppled over. Judah was clearly put out, and kept saying 'no, NO that's not how you do it Dad!' I persisted assuming that I needed to expand his stubborn little mind to other possibilities, until in frustration he protested "It doesn't matter how high it goes Dad!"
Those words hit me between the eyes. I've often said that God seldom has any interest in revealing the 'grand plan' of our lives and frequently leads us simply by showing us the 'next step' (See Ps 37:23 - one of my favourite verses). I've actually forgotten exactly what thoughts I was preoccupied with that day that were preventing me from playing with my son, but to be honest, based on raw statistics, there is an extremely good chance I was thinking of the distant future (what's after the next step?).
For the first time Judah had my full attention. I looked down and suddenly realised what his project was and why he was so frustrated with me. He too wanted to see how high he could build, but was intent on laying a good foundation so it wouldn't fall over. He was fastidiously covering every square of the green base mat before he would allow the construction to proceed to the second level.
And then I got it. It doesn't matter how high it goes. It just doesn't matter what the distant future looks like. It doesn't matter how or even if every dream I have will come to pass. Actually there's an awful lot that doesn't matter and very little that does. What matters now is following Jesus and taking the next step of obedience. Again I felt God confirm to me the step of faith we had taken in early 06 because for us the next step is laying a foundation - not building a tower.
And then I just lightened up and played lego.
Judah was playing with his lego, and rather than just sit there passively watching him, I decided to play with him. Actually I didn't really engage (I was thinking about something else) but I wanted him to have the benefit of thinking that I was. Perhaps externalising my frustration at just not getting activities like lego (I've never been much good at lego) I began to randomly stack one piece on another, ignoring their size, shape and colour, to see how high it would get before it toppled over. Judah was clearly put out, and kept saying 'no, NO that's not how you do it Dad!' I persisted assuming that I needed to expand his stubborn little mind to other possibilities, until in frustration he protested "It doesn't matter how high it goes Dad!"
Those words hit me between the eyes. I've often said that God seldom has any interest in revealing the 'grand plan' of our lives and frequently leads us simply by showing us the 'next step' (See Ps 37:23 - one of my favourite verses). I've actually forgotten exactly what thoughts I was preoccupied with that day that were preventing me from playing with my son, but to be honest, based on raw statistics, there is an extremely good chance I was thinking of the distant future (what's after the next step?).
For the first time Judah had my full attention. I looked down and suddenly realised what his project was and why he was so frustrated with me. He too wanted to see how high he could build, but was intent on laying a good foundation so it wouldn't fall over. He was fastidiously covering every square of the green base mat before he would allow the construction to proceed to the second level.
And then I got it. It doesn't matter how high it goes. It just doesn't matter what the distant future looks like. It doesn't matter how or even if every dream I have will come to pass. Actually there's an awful lot that doesn't matter and very little that does. What matters now is following Jesus and taking the next step of obedience. Again I felt God confirm to me the step of faith we had taken in early 06 because for us the next step is laying a foundation - not building a tower.
And then I just lightened up and played lego.
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
Something I'm wresting with
[I have to apologise for the length of this posting. I won't apologise for it's content, but I do apologise for 'preaching'. Just know that it is myslef that I am preaching to. Writing this has really helped me crystallise my thoughts. It has been helpful to be able to articulate the stirrings that have been wrestling within me. It is more for my benefit that this is written, but I would be interested in your thoughts and invite your comments. - Ange.]
We are still probably feeling a bit displaced with the whole church thing. Not sure where we fit at the moment. This process of 'church shopping' [you need to know that I cringe at using the term] has been quite discouraging, and at times, disappointing. But negatives aside, I can see how God is using this process and our exposure to different expressions and traditions, to get us to start to really evaluate what we actually believe about church and the way that it should be. We have had to come to the realisation, that part of our dissatisfaction should really be put down to our cultural differences. I suppose that we have been looking for a CityLife Church here in Pasadena, and it just does not exist. That's probably a good thing. I mean we need to learn from and be exposed to a church expression that is different from where we have come from. Unfortunately, with that, a little discomfort is par for the course.
Before this past weekend we had only visited evangelical churches. I was starting to think, that it was obvious that the reason why we had not yet found a place that we felt comfortable in was because we had not yet visited a Pentecostal church. Surely, once we did, we'd feel more comfortable and at home right? I'm going to take a risk in sharing the following, (as I know that our blog attracts a rather varied audience), but at our recent visit to a local Pentecostal church, sadly, the reverse was true. Truth be known, we actually felt more uncomfortable there than we had at any other church. A strange admission coming from someone who grew up in a Pentecostal church.
We have firmly founded beliefs in the person and the power of the Holy Spirit, and believe that the gifts of the spirit are very definitely still for today, but are just wondering what a healthy expression of Pentecostalism looks like in the local church context today. God is God and I believe that it is up to Him to initiate any 'out pouring' or demonstration of His power. It is not our job to try to manipulate or generate some moving experience. Any efforts in this, are likely to lack authenticity and well let's face it - fruit.
Like the apostle Paul advises, we 'eagerly desire the greater gifts'. So yes we want to be instruments of God's miraculous power, healing the sick, being a prophetic voice, and so on, but can't get away from the sense that God has granted us these gifts for our equipping in our commission, and not just for a Christian 'bless me' session.
Why is it that we don't see so many signs and wonders in the church? Is it because the church has 'programmed away' the Holy Spirit? I don't think that's it (although I do concede that it could be part of it). The Holy Spirit is made welcome in our praise and God is much bigger than any time schedule or program. I suspect, that we don't see so much of His manifest presence anymore, because God in His wisdom, sees that we as His children, unfortunately have the propensity to get caught up and distracted by signs and wonders, loosing focus of our mission. The Corinthian church is case in point. The correction that Paul brought to the Corinthians was that we are to be more about love than the miraculous. Why do you think that Jesus performed miracles? Well he healed the sick because he loved people and had compassion, but I think that more generally speaking, He performed miracles as a sign so that people would believe that He was the Son of God and be saved. Is it possible that we don't see the miraculous in our churches because it is the lost who need a sign of God's love and we are not bringing them in to His house? Yes, prophesy is for the edification of the church, but edification to what end? The end of feeling good and being able to reassure ourselves that God is still moving? No. Edification to the end of becoming more Christlike and so, a better witness.
I ask a more basic question... For what purpose are we still here? I mean, why are we on earth? Is it not to be Christ's ambassadors, his army, his instruments to a lost and dying world? Let's not loose that focus. Jesus says in Matt 7:21-23, Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." What is that will? In Matt 25:31-46, Jesus talks about the how the sheep and the goats will be separated, and how only His sheep (the righteous) will be invited to take up their inheritance - eternal life. The righteous are commended by the King, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Getting back to Matt 7, Jesus says, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ' I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
I recall a time, that God used me to administer a miraculous healing. It was the most natural and yet amazing thing, and it was the biggest honour to be involved in what God wanted to do in this particular girls life. This girl was not in relationship with God and was suffering chronic back pain from an injury she sustained from getting beaten up on the streets. God used my then simple and childlike faith to demonstrate His love to this young woman. I never saw her again, so I don't know whether she came into right relationship with her heavenly Father, but I say all this to say, that I know, experientially, that God's power is still very much alive today, and that God does want us to be His instruments of love to reach this lost generation. So I'm not renouncing my Pentecostal heritage nor am I walking away from the expression of being a Pentecostal Christian, I'm just re-evaluating the place for spiritual gifts in the context of commission and church.
I believe that God has called us as His sons and daughters, to GO. But not just to 'go', but to go in His power. God's power will only flow through us, once we position ourselves to be poured out. Why would God bother to display His awesome power for any other reason, than to be glorified? I'd suggest that we do not glorify the King unless we are going about His business. The challenge that I am wrestling with at the moment is, what does that look like? How do I minister to the lost and dying world that is around me?
In a sense He has called each one of us to be missionaries. Missionaries don't travel to far off countries and different cultures just to minister in a kind of haphazard manner, sharing a smile with the check-out-chick who looked a little glum, or putting an arm around the shoulder of a colleague who was needing a little pick-me-up. Don't get me wrong, those things are great, but I suspect that missionaries give of them selves in a more intentional and purposeful way. I suspect that they focus their attention to the hungry and thirsty, to the lonely, the sick and those imprisoned with injustice. They travel to Burma and raise orphaned children who have had their innocence torn away from them to serve in an army that killed their parents. They live on the streets of Bangkok administering the love of Jesus to the family across the canal whose son is dying of AIDS. They go where Jesus is.
The question that faces me and you, is where is Jesus in our context? Where is my mission field? I don't think that we have to leave our own neighbourhoods to find injustice, hunger, brokenness, sickness, pain and suffering. I don't think that we have to look too far to find the people that Jesus came to save.
Anyway, this is just something that I'm (or we're) wrestling with at the moment. Please pray for us, as we wrestle with all of these things, that we would know where God is leading us, and that we would be doers of the word and actually GO. And getting back to our 'church shopping' (for want of a better term), at this stage, it's looking more and more likely that we will go back to Mosaic (not Pentecostal) but an extremely healthy and vital church that is getting on with the great commission. Please pray for us that we would be led by God in our decision of where to be planted, as it is with this body of believers that we will partner with in our 'GOing'.
We are still probably feeling a bit displaced with the whole church thing. Not sure where we fit at the moment. This process of 'church shopping' [you need to know that I cringe at using the term] has been quite discouraging, and at times, disappointing. But negatives aside, I can see how God is using this process and our exposure to different expressions and traditions, to get us to start to really evaluate what we actually believe about church and the way that it should be. We have had to come to the realisation, that part of our dissatisfaction should really be put down to our cultural differences. I suppose that we have been looking for a CityLife Church here in Pasadena, and it just does not exist. That's probably a good thing. I mean we need to learn from and be exposed to a church expression that is different from where we have come from. Unfortunately, with that, a little discomfort is par for the course.
Before this past weekend we had only visited evangelical churches. I was starting to think, that it was obvious that the reason why we had not yet found a place that we felt comfortable in was because we had not yet visited a Pentecostal church. Surely, once we did, we'd feel more comfortable and at home right? I'm going to take a risk in sharing the following, (as I know that our blog attracts a rather varied audience), but at our recent visit to a local Pentecostal church, sadly, the reverse was true. Truth be known, we actually felt more uncomfortable there than we had at any other church. A strange admission coming from someone who grew up in a Pentecostal church.
We have firmly founded beliefs in the person and the power of the Holy Spirit, and believe that the gifts of the spirit are very definitely still for today, but are just wondering what a healthy expression of Pentecostalism looks like in the local church context today. God is God and I believe that it is up to Him to initiate any 'out pouring' or demonstration of His power. It is not our job to try to manipulate or generate some moving experience. Any efforts in this, are likely to lack authenticity and well let's face it - fruit.
Like the apostle Paul advises, we 'eagerly desire the greater gifts'. So yes we want to be instruments of God's miraculous power, healing the sick, being a prophetic voice, and so on, but can't get away from the sense that God has granted us these gifts for our equipping in our commission, and not just for a Christian 'bless me' session.
Why is it that we don't see so many signs and wonders in the church? Is it because the church has 'programmed away' the Holy Spirit? I don't think that's it (although I do concede that it could be part of it). The Holy Spirit is made welcome in our praise and God is much bigger than any time schedule or program. I suspect, that we don't see so much of His manifest presence anymore, because God in His wisdom, sees that we as His children, unfortunately have the propensity to get caught up and distracted by signs and wonders, loosing focus of our mission. The Corinthian church is case in point. The correction that Paul brought to the Corinthians was that we are to be more about love than the miraculous. Why do you think that Jesus performed miracles? Well he healed the sick because he loved people and had compassion, but I think that more generally speaking, He performed miracles as a sign so that people would believe that He was the Son of God and be saved. Is it possible that we don't see the miraculous in our churches because it is the lost who need a sign of God's love and we are not bringing them in to His house? Yes, prophesy is for the edification of the church, but edification to what end? The end of feeling good and being able to reassure ourselves that God is still moving? No. Edification to the end of becoming more Christlike and so, a better witness.
I ask a more basic question... For what purpose are we still here? I mean, why are we on earth? Is it not to be Christ's ambassadors, his army, his instruments to a lost and dying world? Let's not loose that focus. Jesus says in Matt 7:21-23, Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." What is that will? In Matt 25:31-46, Jesus talks about the how the sheep and the goats will be separated, and how only His sheep (the righteous) will be invited to take up their inheritance - eternal life. The righteous are commended by the King, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Getting back to Matt 7, Jesus says, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ' I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
I recall a time, that God used me to administer a miraculous healing. It was the most natural and yet amazing thing, and it was the biggest honour to be involved in what God wanted to do in this particular girls life. This girl was not in relationship with God and was suffering chronic back pain from an injury she sustained from getting beaten up on the streets. God used my then simple and childlike faith to demonstrate His love to this young woman. I never saw her again, so I don't know whether she came into right relationship with her heavenly Father, but I say all this to say, that I know, experientially, that God's power is still very much alive today, and that God does want us to be His instruments of love to reach this lost generation. So I'm not renouncing my Pentecostal heritage nor am I walking away from the expression of being a Pentecostal Christian, I'm just re-evaluating the place for spiritual gifts in the context of commission and church.
I believe that God has called us as His sons and daughters, to GO. But not just to 'go', but to go in His power. God's power will only flow through us, once we position ourselves to be poured out. Why would God bother to display His awesome power for any other reason, than to be glorified? I'd suggest that we do not glorify the King unless we are going about His business. The challenge that I am wrestling with at the moment is, what does that look like? How do I minister to the lost and dying world that is around me?
In a sense He has called each one of us to be missionaries. Missionaries don't travel to far off countries and different cultures just to minister in a kind of haphazard manner, sharing a smile with the check-out-chick who looked a little glum, or putting an arm around the shoulder of a colleague who was needing a little pick-me-up. Don't get me wrong, those things are great, but I suspect that missionaries give of them selves in a more intentional and purposeful way. I suspect that they focus their attention to the hungry and thirsty, to the lonely, the sick and those imprisoned with injustice. They travel to Burma and raise orphaned children who have had their innocence torn away from them to serve in an army that killed their parents. They live on the streets of Bangkok administering the love of Jesus to the family across the canal whose son is dying of AIDS. They go where Jesus is.
The question that faces me and you, is where is Jesus in our context? Where is my mission field? I don't think that we have to leave our own neighbourhoods to find injustice, hunger, brokenness, sickness, pain and suffering. I don't think that we have to look too far to find the people that Jesus came to save.
Anyway, this is just something that I'm (or we're) wrestling with at the moment. Please pray for us, as we wrestle with all of these things, that we would know where God is leading us, and that we would be doers of the word and actually GO. And getting back to our 'church shopping' (for want of a better term), at this stage, it's looking more and more likely that we will go back to Mosaic (not Pentecostal) but an extremely healthy and vital church that is getting on with the great commission. Please pray for us that we would be led by God in our decision of where to be planted, as it is with this body of believers that we will partner with in our 'GOing'.
Thursday, 12 April 2007
Kidspace and our adopted caterpillar 'Mary'
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| Kidspace |
Yesterday, we went to the most wonderful place. It is called the Kidspace Children's Museum. It is located right next door to the Rosebowl, so it is a very short drive (within Pasadena). Anyway, the boys had a brilliant time climbing up massive 2-3 story high structures, exploring through caves and human size ant holes and stomping around in a man made creek. They played water games, tried to pedal around on a tricycle track, and we even adopted a caterpillar.
I've noticed that Judah is not your typical boy when it comes to bugs and creepy crawlies. He's actually a little bit scared of them. (Not sure if this is nurture or nature - actually I suspect that it's a bit of both, okay, it's a lot of both. I mean he's naturally cautious, but I have to admit to being a bit 'neurotic' when it comes to spiders.) So I decided to enquire about their caterpillar adoption program. I thought that this might help him (and me) overcome his (or our) fears a little. The shop assistant told me, that for just $4, we could take home a tiny caterpillar in a little container, watch it form a chrysalis, and then of course, become a butterfly. I was tickled by the concept, and delighted at the potential learning opportunity for my children, but with my aversion to creepy crawlies, I was starting to have second thoughts. I explained, "Oh, but we live in an apartment." "That's no excuse!" She cried. I was reasured that they came with a little instruction booklet. So I paid my $4 and carried home a bug in a gift shop bag.
I introduced the concept to Judah and he was delighted by it. I told him that we needed to name it and take good care of it. I suggested a couple of names that I thought would be cute. You know, Katie the Caterpillar, or Kurt. I was going for the 'c' sounds, but Judah would not be influenced. He had decided that her name was to be Mary. "But what about Cloe, or Kimmy?" I inquired. "No, it's Mary." Judah replied. So Mary it is.
So far we've watched Mary eat some of the sugary mixture at the bottom of her little enclosure, and we've noticed that she likes to sleep a lot. She seems to have started building her cocoon, so we'll have to get on to making her a larger shoe box home to transfer her into, so that once she becomes a butterfly she will have some space to move. The museum has a butterfly release ceremony day, but I think that we might just let her go free as soon as she is ready.
We're going to try to visit Kidspace at least once a fortnight. I'm looking forward to Judah getting those pedals going on the trike.
Sunday, 8 April 2007
Gratitude, contentment, trust
Hi all. Clayton here - at last!
This will be my first ever post on our blog. Sorry I've been silent for so long! I guess Ange is doing such a good job, I've been just slacking off.
Well God has truly been good to us. We are settling in well to our new life here and are really enjoying it. I was just wheeling Judah and Nathan back from the park last week and Judah said to me (as he now often says): "Dad, I just love this place. I love these buildings. I love our apartment. I love the park..." (then he went on to say how he loved a lot of other things including what he'd had for lunch, but you get the picture - I think he was happy). The boys have been really spoilt over the transition time with lots of time and attention from both parents. Things are settling into a more normal pattern now with me out of the house most days either at class, studying in the library, or reading in our apartment complex' very own study lounge.
Getting back to study has been absolutely wonderful. The teachers here are brilliant. I am taking three classes and not one dudder. In general the assessment tends to be more but smaller assignments which is good because you have to keep up and remain engaged in the subject material for a sustained period. Actually with one of my subjects (Hebrew exegesis:Minor Prophets) its just plain more than I'm used to, but I think that's probably my favorite subject. Most of the actual detail or at least many of the highlights of our family life in the US so far I see Ange has updated you on, so I will finish this post with a thought from friday's assigned reading. Christians should consider the past with GRATITUDE the present with CONTENTMENT and should look to the future with TRUST. That really hit me, firstly because all three I think are a challenge at one time or another, and its good to be reminded, but secondly, because I think this sums up where we're at right now, but at the risk of destroying the simplicity and profundity of the original let me personalise it. For our part, its: deep gratitude for what has been, delight at what is, and excitement concerning the future.
This will be my first ever post on our blog. Sorry I've been silent for so long! I guess Ange is doing such a good job, I've been just slacking off.
Well God has truly been good to us. We are settling in well to our new life here and are really enjoying it. I was just wheeling Judah and Nathan back from the park last week and Judah said to me (as he now often says): "Dad, I just love this place. I love these buildings. I love our apartment. I love the park..." (then he went on to say how he loved a lot of other things including what he'd had for lunch, but you get the picture - I think he was happy). The boys have been really spoilt over the transition time with lots of time and attention from both parents. Things are settling into a more normal pattern now with me out of the house most days either at class, studying in the library, or reading in our apartment complex' very own study lounge.
Getting back to study has been absolutely wonderful. The teachers here are brilliant. I am taking three classes and not one dudder. In general the assessment tends to be more but smaller assignments which is good because you have to keep up and remain engaged in the subject material for a sustained period. Actually with one of my subjects (Hebrew exegesis:Minor Prophets) its just plain more than I'm used to, but I think that's probably my favorite subject. Most of the actual detail or at least many of the highlights of our family life in the US so far I see Ange has updated you on, so I will finish this post with a thought from friday's assigned reading. Christians should consider the past with GRATITUDE the present with CONTENTMENT and should look to the future with TRUST. That really hit me, firstly because all three I think are a challenge at one time or another, and its good to be reminded, but secondly, because I think this sums up where we're at right now, but at the risk of destroying the simplicity and profundity of the original let me personalise it. For our part, its: deep gratitude for what has been, delight at what is, and excitement concerning the future.
Settling in
As anyone who has ever travelled will realise there are some cultural adjustments that we've had to make. Here is one humorous incident as an example:
Coffee creamer
What is coffee creamer?? I'm at a disadvantage here as I've never really developed a coffee habit, so I'm unaware generally of the world of coffee - we may well have this product in Australia. However, even if we do its prevalence and placement in the refrigerator section at the supermarket is definitely different over here. Oh, is coffee creamer any good I hear you ask. Well I don't know - I've never experienced it in coffee. But drinking it straight...well it sure ain't big M. Now the story.
Probably our third day here, and we were severely under resourced. We had no car, no mobile phones, no duna or blankets on the bed, no pillows, no rubbish bin, no food...for those who've seen Dumb and Dumber, it was one of those 'our pets HEADS keep falling off!' experiences. Apologies to those who haven't - um please don't rent it out and see it, it was squalid and mainly unfunny, though it had a few good lines! Anyway, it was a bit of a vicious circle. OK, lets go get some provisions. How shall we go? Ah no car. Go where? Um, lets call up and check? Ah, no phone (yes we had a landline, but we didn't realise until fully two weeks into our stay that you had to dial '1' in front of every number so we thought it didn't work - highly frustrating). Well lets get a mobile phone. But where? Lets call around...ah no phone...lets use the internet (one of our neighbours generously neglected to password protect their wireless network. Its OK. we have our own connection now. Hold the judgement...gosh). Ah nothing within walking distance. Well lets buy a car then...ah no car yards within walking distance...well lets call around...anyway, you get the picture. This particular day I had decided that I was GOING to get a mobile phone each for me and Ange in the morning and if I still had the energy, I'd jolly well buy a car in the afternoon.
Hmmm. the morning was a testing time. I walked probably 10 minutes to the local 'Target' store. They had prepaids, but in Australia, prepaids are a bad deal right - gotta get a contract. I asked somebody at Target where another mobile phone (Cell phone idiot) shop was. 'Oh you just continue down Lake' I was told. When I overcame my lack of a sense of direction (which is only further confounded by the fact the cars go the wrong way) I proceeded down Lake. I had walked another perhaps 10 or 15 minutes when I saw a bank. 'Focus on the task at hand' said the little white angel on my right shoulder'. 'But you'll need a bank account at some stage' argued the little black angel with horns on my left shoulder'. Guess who won? Well a full hour and a quarter later ("What's your social security number sir?" "Um what's that? I brought my passport...) I emerged from Wells Fargo bank and continued 'down Lake'. I walked for what felt like another half an hour and after asking several times to make sure I hadn't missed it, finally found the mobile phone shop. I waited for ages, and was finally served. I equivocated, educated myself about US cell phone connections, bantered backwards and forwards with the salesman (playing the naive Aussie card does make friends quickly but it didn't get me a discount this time). Finally (I seem to be using that word a lot) I made my decision and went to sign the contract...'what's your social security number sir?' 'What's that...I brought my passport...?'. The long and the short of it was with no 'social' and no credit history I would have to pay $400 per connection - 1000 bucks Aussie - to be held for a year, just in case I proved to be bad news at paying bills. Naive Aussie. Nope - no way around it. Sorry. YOU'RE SORRY?!?!
By this stage I was ready to get anything. I found a mobile phone shop I'd missed on my way back would you believe, heard the same story and just got two prepaid connections.
Where does coffee creamer fit into this story? Patience.
Anyway, on my way back, I stopped in at Target for some provisions. I might as well get some groceries while I'm here I thought (Target here sells groceries too). So I loaded up with a few essentials that I thought I could fit in my backpack, and before I checked out I thought - boy I need a big M. Of course I realised that they wouldn't have big M here, but, well any flavoured milk would do. Just beside the milk, where I expected flavoured milk to be I saw it. 'Macadamia and white chocolate' it said and 'coffee creamer' in fine print. What an interesting and irresistable comination I thought...coffee, macadamia, and white chocolate...must be tried. The sad thing is that even though it was not what I expected I toughed it out and drank most of the bottle. These americans sure do like rich things I thought. Rightly curious and feeling a little green I read the nutrition information table. Even then I didn't get it. 2 grams of fat it said (Big M has 4), and 9 grams of sugar (Big M has between 9 and 9.6 depending on the flavour...per 100 mL serving size). Convinced it was better for me than big M but just inexplicably sickly rich, I kept drinking...until I noticed the 'serving size'. Wait for it.
ONE TABLESPOON!
I guess you're supposed to just put it in your coffee...
Coffee creamer
What is coffee creamer?? I'm at a disadvantage here as I've never really developed a coffee habit, so I'm unaware generally of the world of coffee - we may well have this product in Australia. However, even if we do its prevalence and placement in the refrigerator section at the supermarket is definitely different over here. Oh, is coffee creamer any good I hear you ask. Well I don't know - I've never experienced it in coffee. But drinking it straight...well it sure ain't big M. Now the story.
Probably our third day here, and we were severely under resourced. We had no car, no mobile phones, no duna or blankets on the bed, no pillows, no rubbish bin, no food...for those who've seen Dumb and Dumber, it was one of those 'our pets HEADS keep falling off!' experiences. Apologies to those who haven't - um please don't rent it out and see it, it was squalid and mainly unfunny, though it had a few good lines! Anyway, it was a bit of a vicious circle. OK, lets go get some provisions. How shall we go? Ah no car. Go where? Um, lets call up and check? Ah, no phone (yes we had a landline, but we didn't realise until fully two weeks into our stay that you had to dial '1' in front of every number so we thought it didn't work - highly frustrating). Well lets get a mobile phone. But where? Lets call around...ah no phone...lets use the internet (one of our neighbours generously neglected to password protect their wireless network. Its OK. we have our own connection now. Hold the judgement...gosh). Ah nothing within walking distance. Well lets buy a car then...ah no car yards within walking distance...well lets call around...anyway, you get the picture. This particular day I had decided that I was GOING to get a mobile phone each for me and Ange in the morning and if I still had the energy, I'd jolly well buy a car in the afternoon.
Hmmm. the morning was a testing time. I walked probably 10 minutes to the local 'Target' store. They had prepaids, but in Australia, prepaids are a bad deal right - gotta get a contract. I asked somebody at Target where another mobile phone (Cell phone idiot) shop was. 'Oh you just continue down Lake' I was told. When I overcame my lack of a sense of direction (which is only further confounded by the fact the cars go the wrong way) I proceeded down Lake. I had walked another perhaps 10 or 15 minutes when I saw a bank. 'Focus on the task at hand' said the little white angel on my right shoulder'. 'But you'll need a bank account at some stage' argued the little black angel with horns on my left shoulder'. Guess who won? Well a full hour and a quarter later ("What's your social security number sir?" "Um what's that? I brought my passport...) I emerged from Wells Fargo bank and continued 'down Lake'. I walked for what felt like another half an hour and after asking several times to make sure I hadn't missed it, finally found the mobile phone shop. I waited for ages, and was finally served. I equivocated, educated myself about US cell phone connections, bantered backwards and forwards with the salesman (playing the naive Aussie card does make friends quickly but it didn't get me a discount this time). Finally (I seem to be using that word a lot) I made my decision and went to sign the contract...'what's your social security number sir?' 'What's that...I brought my passport...?'. The long and the short of it was with no 'social' and no credit history I would have to pay $400 per connection - 1000 bucks Aussie - to be held for a year, just in case I proved to be bad news at paying bills. Naive Aussie. Nope - no way around it. Sorry. YOU'RE SORRY?!?!
By this stage I was ready to get anything. I found a mobile phone shop I'd missed on my way back would you believe, heard the same story and just got two prepaid connections.
Where does coffee creamer fit into this story? Patience.
Anyway, on my way back, I stopped in at Target for some provisions. I might as well get some groceries while I'm here I thought (Target here sells groceries too). So I loaded up with a few essentials that I thought I could fit in my backpack, and before I checked out I thought - boy I need a big M. Of course I realised that they wouldn't have big M here, but, well any flavoured milk would do. Just beside the milk, where I expected flavoured milk to be I saw it. 'Macadamia and white chocolate' it said and 'coffee creamer' in fine print. What an interesting and irresistable comination I thought...coffee, macadamia, and white chocolate...must be tried. The sad thing is that even though it was not what I expected I toughed it out and drank most of the bottle. These americans sure do like rich things I thought. Rightly curious and feeling a little green I read the nutrition information table. Even then I didn't get it. 2 grams of fat it said (Big M has 4), and 9 grams of sugar (Big M has between 9 and 9.6 depending on the flavour...per 100 mL serving size). Convinced it was better for me than big M but just inexplicably sickly rich, I kept drinking...until I noticed the 'serving size'. Wait for it.
ONE TABLESPOON!
I guess you're supposed to just put it in your coffee...
Tipping
Hi all. For one of our class assignments we were asked to reflect on a cultural practice from a Christian perspective. I find it difficult to nail down exactly what a Christian perspective is supposed to be, so I just reflected on the cultural practice of tipping (which largely involved recounting ananecdote) from my perspective (as a Christian). Enjoy:
I’ll be honest. We’d been putting it off ever since we had arrived in the US, but there was an inviting looking pizza restaurant right in front of us, and well, we were hungry, we’d promised the kids dinner, we felt like pizza, and frankly, we were sick of fast food. ‘Looks good’ ventured Angela (my wife), ‘…I’ll go and check out the prices…?’ ‘Sure, whatever’, I said characteristically. ‘Looks like it might be a tipping joint though’. It was too late. Our 3 y.o. Judah piped up, ‘Oh yeah, pizza Dad! I want [to] eat pizza! I wike pizza. I’m hungwy Dad!’ We sat down awkwardly, but our discomfort soon dissipated. We were waited on zealously and persistently by an attractive young girl who loved our accents, asked us about Australia, brought crayons and coloring books for the kids (?!?), served the most magnificent complimentary bread unexpectedly ‘just so the kids would have something to start on’ and warmly welcomed us to California. Happy lass. Must have really enjoyed her job. ‘This is definitely a tipping joint’ I remarked wryly to Ange in one of the very few spare moments we got. The short story: we had an exceptional experience once we lightened up, it was a tipping joint, I tipped, it didn’t hurt, and we’ll do it again. Now some explanation.
Tipping is not a common practice in Australia, and it may sound silly but both my wife and I were particularly nervous of it when we first arrived. We just couldn’t work it out and we didn’t want to offend anybody. Fifteen percent of the total was easy enough to work out, but then we got confused. Tipping was obligatory for many services – not just in restaurants - we were told. Other services had different rules of thumb ranging between 10% and 20%. So far so good. But then you have to tip more if the service is ‘really good’. Well then, what is really good service and how is it measured? How much more for really good service? Wouldn’t it be better then to get served poorly so you didn’t have to tip much? What if the food is bad but the service is good – or the other way round? Are there circumstances under which a tip should be withheld? Is the size of the tip a reflection of the quality of the service only, or the generosity of the tipper also? Do kind people always tip more? Should rich people tip more? Do Christians tip more? Do we demonstrate ‘unmerited favor’ in how much we tip, or should we encourage young people to work harder and show respect by being stingy? And what about bill splitting? (Do people even do that here?) How do you even work out 15% without a calculator anyway?
As you can see, this relatively simply practice can be highly confusing and even intimidating for the outsider.
Now some brief critique. Actually I learned something from a practice which I previously despised (because I didn’t understand it). It doesn’t hurt to be generous. And if I have to get deep, well God is generous, and we should be generous. The ‘requirement’ to ‘be generous’ caused me to evaluate just how stingy I can be. What’s a few more bucks anyway when you swipe four and a half grand on your card four times a year at Fuller? So thumbs up for tipping…but I still don’t ‘get’ the rules of this strange new game.
I’ll be honest. We’d been putting it off ever since we had arrived in the US, but there was an inviting looking pizza restaurant right in front of us, and well, we were hungry, we’d promised the kids dinner, we felt like pizza, and frankly, we were sick of fast food. ‘Looks good’ ventured Angela (my wife), ‘…I’ll go and check out the prices…?’ ‘Sure, whatever’, I said characteristically. ‘Looks like it might be a tipping joint though’. It was too late. Our 3 y.o. Judah piped up, ‘Oh yeah, pizza Dad! I want [to] eat pizza! I wike pizza. I’m hungwy Dad!’ We sat down awkwardly, but our discomfort soon dissipated. We were waited on zealously and persistently by an attractive young girl who loved our accents, asked us about Australia, brought crayons and coloring books for the kids (?!?), served the most magnificent complimentary bread unexpectedly ‘just so the kids would have something to start on’ and warmly welcomed us to California. Happy lass. Must have really enjoyed her job. ‘This is definitely a tipping joint’ I remarked wryly to Ange in one of the very few spare moments we got. The short story: we had an exceptional experience once we lightened up, it was a tipping joint, I tipped, it didn’t hurt, and we’ll do it again. Now some explanation.
Tipping is not a common practice in Australia, and it may sound silly but both my wife and I were particularly nervous of it when we first arrived. We just couldn’t work it out and we didn’t want to offend anybody. Fifteen percent of the total was easy enough to work out, but then we got confused. Tipping was obligatory for many services – not just in restaurants - we were told. Other services had different rules of thumb ranging between 10% and 20%. So far so good. But then you have to tip more if the service is ‘really good’. Well then, what is really good service and how is it measured? How much more for really good service? Wouldn’t it be better then to get served poorly so you didn’t have to tip much? What if the food is bad but the service is good – or the other way round? Are there circumstances under which a tip should be withheld? Is the size of the tip a reflection of the quality of the service only, or the generosity of the tipper also? Do kind people always tip more? Should rich people tip more? Do Christians tip more? Do we demonstrate ‘unmerited favor’ in how much we tip, or should we encourage young people to work harder and show respect by being stingy? And what about bill splitting? (Do people even do that here?) How do you even work out 15% without a calculator anyway?
As you can see, this relatively simply practice can be highly confusing and even intimidating for the outsider.
Now some brief critique. Actually I learned something from a practice which I previously despised (because I didn’t understand it). It doesn’t hurt to be generous. And if I have to get deep, well God is generous, and we should be generous. The ‘requirement’ to ‘be generous’ caused me to evaluate just how stingy I can be. What’s a few more bucks anyway when you swipe four and a half grand on your card four times a year at Fuller? So thumbs up for tipping…but I still don’t ‘get’ the rules of this strange new game.
Cultural criticism and the Vietnam Vet
I think we all have a tendency to oversimplify issues which we've never had to really face - particularly a class full of zealous young idealistic bible college students. I particularly have struggled in this area and have learned through much pain to be at least a little quicker to listen and slower to speak; and not to pass judgement too quickly.
This tendency is intensified in a course where we are invited to do 'cultural criticism' (though I'm learning that doesn't always mean paying out on the culture in which we live). Anyway, I was sitting in a class the other night which I'm enjoying called 'Perspectives on Christ and Culture'. We were invited to critique a particular aspect of culture which the lecturer considered an obvious anomoly. 'In groups of two', he said, 'discuss whether you think its right to kill people under certain circumstances. Just say, you're government has sent you off to war. For the benefit of your country, is it right to kill?' He was asking patriotic Christian Americans to reflect on the circumstances under which their loyalty to their country overrode their loyalty to God and the precepts of Scripture.
I actually have thought about this question, though I've never had to face it. I was going to answer that I personally probably couldn't kill even under those circumstances, though I was honestly still uncertain whether that was because I am a Christian or because I lack the courage. But the guy sitting next to me answered first. He is a Vietnam Veteran. 'Well I've been there' he blurted out. 'I've had to face this. I was in Vietnam and yes I killed people...its all very well to sit here and theorise about it but none of these people have ever had to face it.' Even now, decades later, he was close to tears. He told me about the trauma of Vietnam, of wrestling with his own conscience, about being ordered to kill people, and about carrying out those orders, about how he'd come back from Vietnam and experienced the pain of rejection by the very country that sent him to war. And he told me how he'd lost his marriage and a lot of years to alcohol trying to make sense of it all. He also told me of the judgement of many Christians who only wanted to know 'so, did you kill anyone?'
I spent a lot of time talking with my new friend after that class. He has a burning passion for the people and the issues about which Christians don't seem to care. He now runs a mission to down and outers in downtown LA. Druggies and the homeless (he promised to take me down someday). He is passionate for God, and surrendered to the point of recklessness in his faith and obedience. 'I'll go where no-one else will go', he said, 'because I just don't care'.
I still don't really know what to make of all this, except that his life is a testimony of God's grace - and yet he has felt and still feels the crushing weight of the judgement of many Christians - I praise God that at least this time, I wasn't one of them, that I shut my mouth, opened my ears and learnt some stuff. I told him of my growing passion to help the down and out, and he told me unforgetabbly, 'I'll take you down there, but the best thing you can do is to survive the next twenty years. Love your wife, stay married and raise those boys good'. I pray that I'll be able to keep that perspective for the long term, no matter who else God gives me a passion to help.
This tendency is intensified in a course where we are invited to do 'cultural criticism' (though I'm learning that doesn't always mean paying out on the culture in which we live). Anyway, I was sitting in a class the other night which I'm enjoying called 'Perspectives on Christ and Culture'. We were invited to critique a particular aspect of culture which the lecturer considered an obvious anomoly. 'In groups of two', he said, 'discuss whether you think its right to kill people under certain circumstances. Just say, you're government has sent you off to war. For the benefit of your country, is it right to kill?' He was asking patriotic Christian Americans to reflect on the circumstances under which their loyalty to their country overrode their loyalty to God and the precepts of Scripture.
I actually have thought about this question, though I've never had to face it. I was going to answer that I personally probably couldn't kill even under those circumstances, though I was honestly still uncertain whether that was because I am a Christian or because I lack the courage. But the guy sitting next to me answered first. He is a Vietnam Veteran. 'Well I've been there' he blurted out. 'I've had to face this. I was in Vietnam and yes I killed people...its all very well to sit here and theorise about it but none of these people have ever had to face it.' Even now, decades later, he was close to tears. He told me about the trauma of Vietnam, of wrestling with his own conscience, about being ordered to kill people, and about carrying out those orders, about how he'd come back from Vietnam and experienced the pain of rejection by the very country that sent him to war. And he told me how he'd lost his marriage and a lot of years to alcohol trying to make sense of it all. He also told me of the judgement of many Christians who only wanted to know 'so, did you kill anyone?'
I spent a lot of time talking with my new friend after that class. He has a burning passion for the people and the issues about which Christians don't seem to care. He now runs a mission to down and outers in downtown LA. Druggies and the homeless (he promised to take me down someday). He is passionate for God, and surrendered to the point of recklessness in his faith and obedience. 'I'll go where no-one else will go', he said, 'because I just don't care'.
I still don't really know what to make of all this, except that his life is a testimony of God's grace - and yet he has felt and still feels the crushing weight of the judgement of many Christians - I praise God that at least this time, I wasn't one of them, that I shut my mouth, opened my ears and learnt some stuff. I told him of my growing passion to help the down and out, and he told me unforgetabbly, 'I'll take you down there, but the best thing you can do is to survive the next twenty years. Love your wife, stay married and raise those boys good'. I pray that I'll be able to keep that perspective for the long term, no matter who else God gives me a passion to help.
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