A New Nephew!!!!

Anouncing to the world the birth of another Nephew - this one's name is Luke Daniel Field - he was born this morning at 7h30, 3.3kg and in the words of his dad - "Kicking like a mule." Before I forget, the one holding Luke is my big sister Nicola.

21st Century Shrine

Recently I went house browsing... (You know that Sunday show house thing where you go to people's houses and look at them) The thing I noticed was how people build their houses around their televisions. Big TVs with speakers and DVD players and all sorts of things. Well I guess I'm guilty of having built a little shrine to my TV, with windows and even a little Desmond tutu doll on the side to administer the sacrament.

Just a thought

Mail & Guardian Online: From parable to paradox

Read this article on the mail and guardian online... thought you might be interested.

From parable to paradoxApart from the fact that they all call themselves Christian, what do the following people have in common? Right-wing, ultra-conservative Roman Catholic Mel Gibson and former bishop of Newark John Spong, who says: "I do not believe that any propositional statement about God can be literally true."

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=269280&area=/insight/insight__international/

Happy Easter!

Just thought I'd wish everyone a happy easter! May God be made alive in your hearts and lives.

And don't eat too much chocolate.

Don't let them break your spirit.

Dassie and the Restless Rock have been motorbiking. And what adventures they have had and will have - I am jealous and pleased. So I'll refer to scripture: The book of Seuss. (see below.)

But it got me thinking... Am I too cautious? I won't get a motorbike 'cos I think they're dangerous (chicken I know); and my wife will never ever let me get away with it ('Whipped?' I hear you ask.)

Although I won't go motorbiking; my friends have inspired me to try and live a little beyond the boundaries I have been carefully erecting for myself. (Maybe I will one day drive that landrover I always wanted.)

You see, I am becoming a nerd, I am letting the bigger system get the better of me - I am towing the line: When I was a teenager I used to stand up and challenge and argue for a different point of view. Now I couldn't be bothered with the conflict, in fact I sometimes argue for what I once so vehemently challenged! Sometimes I think and let think - a good policy, but like all good policies, only good in appropriate quantities.

If I carry on like this - what will happen to me?

I'll let them break my spirit.
And I will break other people's spirit in turn (whether I like it or not.)

Remind me; when I tow the line, when I settle for mediocrity, that God challenges me to challenge.
Remind me that when I was called to this work I felt as if God was saying to me, "I made you just the way I like you." And for God's sake I better stay that person.
Remind me that this work is not about this work but it is about me being who God created me to be.
Remind me to take more risks - risks of failure, risks of pain, risks of insecurity.

Don't let me forget who I am and who God made me to be.
I think I need to go on a road trip in my nice safe car with airbags and ABS brakes.



Dr Seuss inspires me too:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction
you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to
go.

You'll look up and down streets.
Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go
there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're
too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener therein the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainyand footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

After a threatening email...

The time has come! You can no longer put it off....

Update your blog or the Ninja's will come for you!

I look forward to killing.... sorry reading your blog... soon!

Ninja Dion

I guess I better write something on my blog... Heather and I have been working hard - Heather has been working harder though. As I mentioned I'm enrolled at the University of Pretoria for an Honours in Theology, specialising in New Testament Studies.

I've been thinking about the line I would like to go down as far as assignments etc. go - and this is the plan... not the whole plan, just an idea of the plan.

A comparison of the development of the Christology in the gospel of John and St. Paul's letter to the Romans taking into account the historical, philosophical, social and theological backgrounds of both works.

Something like that for the propeller heads among us who can give me some ideas? Some suggestions? Some creative insight? The goal of the paper is to lead to a Masters which will look deeper at New Testament Christology and the development of an African Christology... hmmmmmmm Ideas.

This is why I haven't blogged anything... studying will make a bored man out of you. Except for one thing, we went to the Zoo for Zulu class the other day and I saw the emperor penguins you see at the top... I think they may have sent the threatening e-mail.

Memorial Service

We held a memorial service for my gran and grandpa this morning. The service, held at Christ Church in Kenilworth, Cape Town, was really beautiful - the toughest part, for my brother and I was reading a tribute / history of my granparents which my mother put together. We are sentimental souls. I don't know where we get it from... But I am very proud of my grandparents, and am always amazed at all they have been through. Here is the tribute that my mother wrote: Athol and Erica

Erica Hall 30 September 1919 to 19 February 2006

(87 years old)

My grandmother, Erica, passed away this morning at about 5 to 7, South African time. She died in her sleep. We're going to miss her! But I am proud to have known her, to have been taught 'manners' by her, (and she's probably correcting my grammar right now as I write) and to have been her grand child. Oh and thanks gran for making me eat all my vegetables before I could have Ice-Cream, I am still big, strong and overweight! And I'll get my hair cut soon I promise.

Photo: I like this picture of my gran because she's holding one of my nephews. She lived to see 4 great-grand children! Wow!

Tertullian

“…a controversy over the Scriptures can, clearly, produce no other effect than help to upset either the stomach or the brain.”

-Tertullian

I like it, studying at John Wesley College now, lots of work to do, busy reading and getting easily distracted by erroneous passages and things, came accross this one this morning. Tertullian is a funny guy.

hullo world....

I am without internet until the 17th! I am reduced to internet cafes... Yuck, how boring. I feel somehow disconnected from the world.

Anyways, we now live in Pretoria and I will be beginning my honours soon. Heather has a Job at one of the local schools, with a class of 38 children, in a classroom designed for 25. Oh Well...

Peace, will be more colourful when we're connected again, just waiting for helkom.

need I say more?

We went to the Basotho cultural village where they gave us sorghum beer to drink... not so appetising I'm afraid.

We just got back from a camping trip at Golden Gate National Park - celebrating the end of the phase one year! What a beautiful spot.

We had a Christmas party at Church today, Father Christmas had a flat tyre somewhere between here and Botswana, so he gave me permision to borrow his suit and stand in... what fun - need to lose some weight to get down those chimneys though,

Holidays are coming!

Just so you know... If you see us somewhere in the bundu, or racing towards Cape Town in the next few weeks this is our loyal friend and travelling companion: Goldbug. A Peugeot Partner Grand Raid.

Holidays are coming and we're planning another exploration of South Africa, this time heading down the West Coast, via Augrabies falls, the Cedarberg and then on to see the family in Somerset West. I dream of vacations.... 

I love the Church!

HOS 3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

Sometimes I just wanna be a Fundamentalist, Evangelical, sacred Raisin Cake Loving, Bible Believing, Holy Ghost Baptised, Thrice Baptised, Charismatic.

This is the chapel at John Wesley College in Pretoria, where I will be studying next year... beautiful i'nit?

the blurry end of year feeling

The idea of ‘end’ kind of blurrs.

The goal of this year has been my education… most of it practical ‘in the field’ I guess they call it.  Now – as the year draws to a close it is my task – job – calling – to reflect a bit on the lessons I’ve learned.

One significant and over riding factor this year has been my awareness of its brevity.  It all happened with an attitude of this too will pass.  A bit negative, but I am a soft and sentimental sort of person…  I have tried to keep myself from growing too close to those around me, but as I leave I find that I got close to them anyways.  

As I realise that I got close to them I realise that I missed the opportunity to invest in their friendships.

In my work I carried on with the attitude – ‘what difference can I make?  I’m only here for a year.’ But I realise that I have made some difference, I have done some thing… if I did it more intentionally would I have been more effective.

But, at the same time, I regret little.

Heather and I have had an almost honeymoon kind of year, our schedules have been quite flexible, although I have been away from home a lot we have managed to grow closer to each other; cementing our relationship, learning to understand one another…

Which reminds me… Its my turn to clean the toilets.

Peace