I googled my name and the city of sails - Auckland. Look at that - I have a blog page and last wrote something in June! Such a busy life! How quickly the winter has whistled along. It's been a bad winter. Mind you summer was pretty bad too. One hopes that something will be normal again, but Auckland's climate is quite odd. There was a cereal advert some time back that went "I got it all this morning". It may have been bran or corn flakes, but actually it's just weather. In one day we have it all. So if you live in South Africa where I was born, best not moan that it is snowing. It is after all winter!
When I wrote in June I confessed my role as pianist at church. This too continues, and what a fascinating job it is. I really don't mind leading from keys. I do have to practice more of course! I took a five year break from that kind of thing. Our local church continues to shiver through the cold months with a lot of flu and sick people here and there. The heaters help of course! Our house on the other hand is vacuous and damp downstairs. So we do tend to move from warm room to pre- heated next rooms, if that makes sense. Roll on summer.
The last weeks have been preoccupied by various athletes doing amazing things in London. The kiwi teams have done pretty well considering how small the country is. And we have revisited watching too much TV - only those with Sky sport have multiple channels with all the events. And of course there have been some great South African successes too.
Our only break over this period was a weekend back in Wellington. The windy city was sunny and calm for three days of our four, and the fourth was mild. We enjoyed "Fame" - a joint musical between Scots College and Queen Margaret College. Great talent and amazing energy - and it was brilliant to catch up with so many people. And there were various meals over the weekend with all kinds of friends. A real treat.
Sixteen months down the track I have only had one week's leave. Thankfully we will escape in September for a two week break! Crossing the ditch has never been so attractive (and believe me our Australian trips are always wonderful).
So what great pearls of wisdom do I have for you this August 12th? Probably very little that's new. I'm thinking that there needs to be a publication coming up called "Chicken soup for the Pastor". At a particularly challenging point I asked a friend what kept him going. He referred me to Peterson's latest book "The Pastor - a Memoir". Worth a look if you are into this kind of thing. Here we go then:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/march/petersonpastorsjourney.html
I will get to finish it this time - unlike many books I start. I am rediscovering something of the essence of this pastor thing - in that I am slowly getting to know people in their place. It takes time of course. The pastor's job is less about performance and entertainment, less about planning and control - and more about responding to the interruptions in our living and looking out for what God is doing in our lives. That takes time - and off course you simply have to set the tone and direction as a leader. Sheep - in theory - will follow.
On the national front, we have had a long spell of recovery from earthquakes (which for our friends in Christchurch is mainly too long) - and our latest traumas are coming from volcanoes rumbling away. We have two busy mountains right now. And of course the very nice man on TV (a vocanologist I believe) - when asked about the volcanoes under this city, proceeded to mention that we are more likely to have a new one form, for example, popping up under our main street. They seem to love their work, of course. The shaky islands are actually quite capable of flipping their lid, as it were.
Well I am sure that should one of our rumbling giants blow their stacks, you will hear about this. On a daily basis we carry on undaunted. And likewise one has to carry on undaunted by the challenges of life in general. Within a few weeks Spring will be here, on paper anyway. Daylight saving will kick in at the end of September and the long summer days will change our lives for a while (assuming that in the multi-climatic days of our beloved city, summer will break through). And then it will be Advent before you can say Christmas! What an exciting prospect!
Stay safe and keep warm! Kia kaha in the mighty power of God!
