Near Drowning

Chicken the egg whisk, nearly drowned today as a result of a partially blocked drain hole in the kitchen sink. The washing machine poured water into the sink before considering the possible consequences. Chicken could not swim - obviously, because he has no arms. 

I am offensive (sometimes)

I have two categories for offending people. One is intentional, the other is by mistake.

Sometimes it is intentional by mistake and other times it is by mistake intentional. (huh!??!) I'll explain later.

The root of my offensiveness is the admiration I have had for the great iconoclasts of our past, those who have ridden the sacred cow in and out of the proverbial abbertoir... My favourite bit of art is sometimes Marcel DuChamp's Fountain. (For an interesting interpretation check this out.)

A signed urinal, exhibited as art and I saw it at the Tate Gallery. Didn't smell it though.

What got me thinking about this is the thought that I might have offended some people at the college chapel this morning. Someone found a clerical collar outside, I announced it, asking if anyone had lost their collar, when no one claimed it I threw it down; as if someone was leaving the ministry - taking it off.

Well apparently I offended some people - and this falls into the 'by mistake' cattegory of offenses. This kind of offense makes me feel really bad for a while - I like people, so I don't want to offend them. In fact I am so sensitive about offending people - making them angry - that if I cut someone off in traffic (by mistake) I feel bad for about a week.

(Tell me Dr Phil; am I OK?)

(Psychotic I think.)

I wanna go camping!!!! 

Nature

Went to Pilanesberg today, we took Heather's parents for a sight seeing trip... I think I could climb into one of those hides and watch hippos, terrapins and crocodiles all day, with a side show of warthogs, wildebees and some ducks.

Nature rules. Living in the city has deprived me of my regular country commutes, it was good to get out there... Next camping trip---- have no idea.

Luke... Cute hey?
 

Heather's Graduation

Another Graduation in the family, Heather graduated from UNISA last night with a BEd. suits her... a Bed. (She likes to sleep.) I'm not supposed to boast but she graduated with distinction! (I only marry clever people) I don't have a decent picture of Heather graduating but heres a picture of the whole auditorium. 

"The purported objectivity of hermeneutical epistemology remained elusive."

Sometimes I have no idea why I bother to study Theology, this sentence is in one of my textbooks.

Graduation

On Saturday morning John Wesley College held a graduation service and I graduated - WOW, I now have a real live diploma in Theology - framed and not yet hanging on my wall. It was motivating to graduate, to realise that the work I had done did bear some fruit. I was also motivated to work hard towards my next degree. So I guess I should stop writing and get back to reading.

In the picture: Myself on the left, Bongenkosi Matthenjwa in the middle and the Dean of Students, Dion Forster on the right. (Handsome bunch if you ask me)

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.