Pilgrims Down Under

Our recent week-long family holiday (vacation) began with a three+ hour drive to Northland.  The car discussion centred on whether or not a such a trip is actually a biblical concept and pursuit.  Every Christian should wrestle with this question.

We were blessed to receive true Christian hospitality and have free accommodation for the week.  We spent a few nights at Emmanuel outside of Waipu.  The cottage was built on farmland for the sole purpose of being a blessing to Christians in need of a holiday.  The accommodation is free, but the owners will accept a maximum donation of $10 per night.  The location is close to a long stretch of coastline with many beaches, caves, and other places to explore.  Hospitality is fresh on our minds since the ladies at GNBC are currently studying biblical hospitality.  Our family truly sensed the biblical “love for the stranger” displayed by our host and hostess at this accommodation.  The remainder of the week we hung out at the home of friends just outside Whangarei.  We attended their mid-week service at Calvary Baptist Church, where we no longer feel like visitors due to much fellowship over the years.   

Sometimes the camera was forgotten when we went out for an adventure.  Sometimes the camera was lost in the van…under wetsuits and towels, dog equipment, games, you-name-it paraphernalia for a family vacation.  The photos we did manage to get show at least a decent glimpse of God’s beautiful handiwork and our enjoyment of it.  Next time we’ll try to get a few whole family photos…looks like we only snapped the kids this time!

This month the lady of our house had another birthday.  Our daughter has developed an enthusiasm for kitchen work (i.e. baking and cooking -- not the cleanup) and volunteered to make the birthday cake.  This was a welcome plan.  Surely there are many ladies of the world who don't particularly relish making their own birthday cake.

Having been engaged in morning routine and relying on her husband to keep an eye on the children during that time, the lady of our house was surprised when the lovely daughter reported at 9 a.m. that the cake was in the oven.  Thoughts of surprise were quickly escalated as the daughter proceeded to report that she thought the cake batter was lumpy.  The conversation proceeded in this manner:

Lady:  Did you use cold butter?

Daughter:  No, the recipe didn’t call for any butter.

Lady:  (thinking to herself) Hmm…I’m sure that recipe would call for butter.  (speaking aloud)  Did the recipe say to use oil?

Daughter:  No, it didn’t.

Lady:  (thinking to herself)  Very strange…a cake recipe with no oil or butter.  (speaking aloud)  Did you find the cake batter to be quite thick?

Daughter:  No.  I added extra milk. 

Lady:  How much extra milk?

Daughter: A cup and a half.

Lady:  Well, I think you might find the cake will need to bake a bit longer than the recipe stated for the cooking time.  I’ll go have a look.

The daughter happily ran off to play, and the lady went to inspect the kitchen proceedings.  The lady discovered several more surprising issues with the cake.  The oven was cooking the cake at the highest possible temperature on the dial -- 280 degrees Celsius.  This amounts to over 500 degrees Fahrenheit.  (The daughter must surely have forgotten that one must convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and simply got the temperature as close to the requested 350 as possible).  The cake was rapidly baking on the very top oven rack, just three inches from the oven element.  All concerns about extended bake time quickly vanished.  The cake was already finished baking.  Fifteen minutes in those conditions was more than sufficient.

An inspection of the recipe revealed it called for shortening, instead of butter or oil.  American shortening is a precious commodity reserved for pure white frosting and one other special recipe.  On questioning, the daughter reported that she didn’t know what shortening was (which was true), so she decided to just leave it out.

All these circumstances resulted in a rather firm cake which had the consistency of sour dough bread.  The lady, fully expecting said daughter to ask for help to get the cake done, was truly appreciative of the efforts to serve and let mother have a break.  However, many giggles privately escaped, and the events are now permanently recorded for future use and your enjoyment.

Heidi has written a story.  In classic Heidi style, it is full of exuberance, imagination, and surprise...and it is not "short-winded," if there is such a concept.  We enjoy it and think you will, too.  The project turned out to be a high percentage of our third grade (NZ Year 4) English grammar studies.  It certainly was more interesting than workbook exercises.  Heidi would love to receive feedback, if you care to share your thoughts.  You can download it here.

Scott and I are both reading voraciously. I squeeze it out of my time in very small bites.  Our children now being ages nine and five make a world of difference in what I can manage compared to recent years when they needed constant supervision.

Not long ago I picked up Building Strong Families which was edited by Dennis Rainey for Crossway. I am finding I don’t necessarily prefer books with chapters written by multiple people. In this case, overlap of thought did not disturb the flow.

Since Scott and I were married 14 years ago, I have read numerous books on marriage and family, an effort which has certainly helped develop my own strong and healthy marriage. I always enjoy reading more, because growth is always possible. In this particular book, I believe I found and read what I consider to be the best possible presentation of the Biblically-ordained role differences between a man and a woman. Wayne Grudem’s chapter [2] entitled “Key Issues in the Manhood-Womanhood Controversy” addresses the paradox of equality and headship with a very helpful evaluation of common arguments, such as “mutual submission.” Grudem also includes a fascinating chart which compares how various modern philosophical thought structures on these issues compare to each other. The chart demonstrates how easily and totally the underlying philosophy, whether Biblical or flawed, permeates all aspects of life.

That chapter alone merits purchasing the book. Several of the chapters contain mentoring strategies which some people would label as "seeker sensitive."  My point in sharing my excitement over Chapter 2 does not, of course, indicate that Scott or I would endorse every thought in the book.  As always, read with discretion.  Another reader (A. Sutono) concurs, which I have discovered in the Amazon reader reviews of this book.  If you are struggling with questions on your role as a male or female, I can't currently recommend a better evaluation of the Biblical principles or synopsis of the thoughts you'll get from other books.

We don't intend to use this blog to brag incessantly about our kids...but God seems to have given them some talents to be developed.  They are learning to appreciate the arts in His creation.

Heidi is a budding artist.  She has natural talent.  We are excited about the possibility of a neighbour giving her private art lessons in exchange for Lori giving the neighbour's son piano lessons.  We are working on the details there.

Daniel shows promise of being a gifted musician.  He loves music.  It showed up when he was about nine months old.  In a furlough meeting where there was not an evening nursery, the man leading music on the platform was extremely distracted, and pleased, to see baby Daniel trying to conduct each and every hymn. Since the age of one, Daniel has enjoyed sitting at the piano and composing his own music. Mostly it is quite avant-garde, or could be classfiied as modern (hee, hee).  But, he doesn't bang like many children.  He listens, carefully, and attempts to make it beautiful.  One recent day we managed to grab a quick excerpt.  You'll be surprised.  Remember...he's only five!  Hear his composition, and see his self-defense on our video blog here.