That's right - you're here for dinner

You arrive at a house.
Ring the doorbell.
A face that you recognise opens the door.
You say hello and enter the house.
You then see someone else so you introduce yourself.
The person who just opened the door looks at you blankly ...
and then clicks onto something and tells you the x (his wife) is in the kitchen.

You go into the kitchen and someone else is standing there as well as x.
You assume that they decided to invite some other people over for dinner as well ...
Then x admits - they'd forgotten you were coming ...
Y who answered the door recognised my voice but not my face (it was a work dinner) ...

So you have a pleasant dinner with great people who you barely know,
don't know how much of what you came to talk about is appropriate to say in present company.
Eventually, y asks you whether there was more to your visit and gives you an in to talk about the stuff you specifically want to talk about ...

A great, useful night - and fun ....
but a wierd situation to walk into with people you barely know.

Revealing answers

"Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so."
Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

My book pile

Thought that it would be interesting to comment on books that I'm either reading, have read recently or want to read soon:
The other day my boss put a book on my desk that I have been wanting to read for ages: Join Me by Danny Wallace. Have heard alot about it from a number of people and looking forward to reading it.
I am reading Blue Light Jazz at the moment - a book that says it is "nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality". I've heard lots about it from a friend and also on various blogs. It's good.
I'm dipping in and out of Liberation Management by Tom Peters - a book recommended by the person I work with. Very good, crazy read and I love it, but I can only take so much at a time.
I'm re-reading bits of Children Finding Faith, one of the best books I know on childrens ministry.
Also at times reading bits of The Singer Trilogy - gets me so excited about life, catches me up in the song!
A book that came into the Resource Centre at work recently was Meet Them Where They are At - really about youth work but actually a great book about mission and incarnational theology (that is, "meeting people where they are").
And of course, having written about it the other week - I finished Brian McLaren's latest book The Last Word and the Word after That a few weeks ago and it is slowly making it's way around my friends.
And I am waiting to get my hands on another book by Brian McLaren - A Generous Orthodoxy, I just need to get one friends copy off another friend.

There are some other books around - but they are some key ones! That's plenty!

Too much to say to say anything!

I've been planning on posting for days and days ... but it seems that every time I go to post I either don't have the energy ... but also like I go "which of the many, many things that I've been doing or thinking about do I post on" ... and then there's the good old things being too confidential, personal or tricky to write on a blog ... I imagine you bloggers out there will relate.

Other people have commented on Paul's absense at Lynda's 21st and on scattering his ashes on Eleoura Beach - I had a lovely few days with Julie last week, including one day where we went to the Yarra Valley, which was a favourite place to go with Paul and had a lovely lunch and scattered some of his ashes together. It was one of those times where words can never do justice to it - but definately something that was immensely special. One of my friends said that what she hoped and prayed for us was that it was "a time of love, joy, tears, fear and grief and that it was profound" ... yep that just about sums it up.
And by the way - Yering Station is a very very nice place to go for lunch - we sat watching the cows thinking that Paul would definately have enjoyed!
You move on and you never move on hey!

My week

It's been one of my biggest rollercoaster weeks for years. There have been huge highs and low lows. Deeply in it all, I know God's goodness and sufficiency.
Two things that speak of some things in my week are:
- I had coffee with a friend and in the midst of talking about many things this person (who has known me for more than half my life) asked me what my name meant ("just something I've been meaning to ask you for ages"). I had no clue but came home and looked it up on the net: Barbara - stranger, foreigner, exotic, mysterious. I and the person I was talking to were both fairly blown away by that - as have other people who I have spoken to since about it.
- These words on a post by Anj speak volumes for me: "It is true that sin has caused your pain and sadness….but now all is well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

Healthy Kind of Sadness

Today is a happy/sad day! Today a group of close friends/kindrid spirits farewelled some very close friends of mine - they are off to England "for a time". I am so excited to see them go, I have journeyed this decision with them every step of the way, and believe that it is so right. But that doesn't make the grief of parting easier, it does make it much more mixed but not easier. My relationship with these guys is some of the most close and healthy of my life and seeing them move to the other side of the world fills me with grief. But as I reflect on it, I reckon it's a healthy kind of sadness - we were made for the kind of relationships that I have with these guys and there is great sadness, that is appropriate, in parting locations for a time (at least). We were also made to be free with each other to enable us to go and be where God would have us be and this is also something that is very real in our relationship - that is what we most long for for each other and that freedom is deeply present ... and I am barracking for them the whole way to England. I know they will be warmly welcomed by the community they are going to and that God will take good care of them.
So deep grief and deep joy are both deeply present today.
Farewell from Australia Kate, Tri, Celia and the youngest one of the family.