lifeincolour.com

Settling in

We’ve been in Launceston for about six weeks now, and are really beginning to feel like this is home. A big part of this was moving into our own house at the end of April, after a month of living in a temporary house. It really makes a big difference having a ‘home’ to go to, and the house we are living in now is great. While we still have some boxes around the place, and haven’t got round to getting pictures up on the wall or curtains on the windows – it really feels like home now.

Having said that, neither Liz nor I ever want to move house again! Olivia says she likes having new houses though, and on learning that we couldn’t hang her swing up here because there is no porch to hang it in, she stated that ‘in our next house, I might be able to have my swing again.’ No chance! There will be no ‘next house’ for a long time!

Now we’re ‘home’ again, I have been able to begin getting my head around the job, and have enjoyed beginning to get to know people around the place, in churches, at the uni, and through the ‘Mainly Music’ group that Liz and Olivia have been going to.

We had our first friends round for a meal in the new house on Saturday (a Tassie-Brit and a German – very fitting for us!) – and have our first overnight guest coming this week too.

It’s good to be home!

New Beginnings….

Well, we’ve been here in Launceston, Tasmania for just over two weeks now, having had a great two weeks of holiday on the East Coast of Tasmania before that. We’re in temporary accommodation for another fortnight, then we should be in our own home – which will be great!

It’s still pretty early days as for as developing my role here goes, but if you are interested, there are a few good resources, related to my role, available on the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania website. The Bishop’s vision for the diocese document, ‘A Healthy Church… Transforming Life‘ is very inspiring. This was one of the first things I read as I was considering taking this job. Also, there is a page on the Diocese’s website with good links to a few other documents about the Imagine Project. My role is financed primarily by the Bush Church Aid Society, an Anglican mission organisation serving the church in regional and rural Australia.

Jesus / Avatar / Jesus / Avatar?

First up – I loved the movie Avatar when I finally got to watch it last week. The whole 3D thing was pretty cool, and it is certainly a great looking film – and a really enjoyable storyline too. I’d heard a few people saying it was a good film for making connections to ‘The Big Story’ too… Wasn’t so convinced about this, but a great story nevertheless.

This morning I listened to a great sermon by Greg Boyd called ‘Jesus: Avatar or God’ (which you can download from the very bottom of this page) – a really good refresher on the uniqueness of Jesus, particularly in the light of the Avatar film.

The big difference between Avatar and Jesus, as Boyd makes really clear, is that Jesus is the only human ever to also be fully God, and the only God who ever became fully human. Ever.

Still a great film though….

A Psalm

Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried (in a non-details, change-is-as-good-as-a-rest kind of way) to follow the lectionary readings of the C of E each morning. One of the best things about this is reading a couple of Psalms each morning…. And this morning reminded me again why that’s a good idea:

Lord, you have assigned me my portion​​ and my cup;​
you have made my lot​ secure.
The boundary lines​ have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.​
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;​
even at night​ my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand,​ I will not be shaken.​
Therefore my heart is glad​ and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,​
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,​
nor will you let your faithful​ one​ see decay.​
You make known to me the path of life;​
you will fill me with joy in your presence,​
with eternal pleasures​ at your right hand.

Psalm 16:5-11 (TNIV)
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