Tag: Christmas

Old friends, refreshed deck, beautiful Advent service


It was a very nice weekend of catching up with old friends. On Friday night, we caught up with YC, someone we (particularly I), have known since I was a teenager. YC and I were both in the youth fellowship group of our local church in Klang. She went on to be a paediatric and married another doctor – a thoracic specialist, I believe. They have 2 children here in Melbourne so they visit pretty regularly. Once I was on a same flight as her husband and I gave him a ride from the airport to their children’s home in Caulfield. YC messaged me earlier on Friday arvo and I asked her to join Tress and I in our favourite local in Donvale. We caught up well and she shared her journey with us – her son has been facing challenges in his Masters’ course in Monash Uni and it has been quite a bumpy ride. They recently moved to Bentleigh East and when we gave her a ride home, we stopped by their new place, just on Warrigal Road.

On Saturday, we had a leisurely morning – sleeping in a little bit before taking the little fellow on a leisurely and a bit extended walk. Back from the walk, we drove as the crow flies, for Tress to pick up a toy for Abby. Tress recently joined a FB group where people offered up stuff that are no longer needed and the little toy that looked like a cockpit of a car, appears to be a wonderful toy. We then came back, and Tress did the vacuuming, giving the house a much needed cleaning. I tidied up the lawns – mowed, trimmed and swept, and then we went to lunch at Brendon Park before getting ready for another catch up with old friends in the city. King Ing and his family (his wife Lucy, and two adult children) had gone to Tassie for his daughter’s graduation. She finished medical school in Uni Tasmania and they came over to Melbourne for a short holiday. We hadn’t met them since we left uni in Sydney back in the late 80s’ so it has been over 30 years… they live and work in Singapore and we had a wonderful catch up, also taking in the Christmas decor that has lit up the city. We hadn’t been into the city for a while and it was certainly buzzing and it did feel like downtown Melbourne was already celebrating Christmas.

Yesterday at St Alf’s it was the third Sunday of Advent. Ben Clements, the new minister that replaced Mike McNamara, gave a wonderful sermon about the coming King. The text was on Manasseh, the king who turned badly against God and it contrasted with the faithful King that is Jesus. Ross had, earlier in the kids’ talk, spoken about Jesus who was born King. He gave a beautiful picture of a King’s bust made up of ice cream lids and it brought home the message well. Jesus was, from the moment he was born, King. He is, now, as Ben brought home so well, the coming King. It was a wonderful service that really heralded the coming true festivity of celebrating Christmas. It was terrific. Ben was a bit emotional at the end of his sermon and I think I get that. The songs we sang after, filled me with emotions too. I kept them in check of course, as always (often)…

After St Alf’s we headed to Donvale again, to have our final lunch for the year at our favourite joint. We bumped into Jason and Mel there, and Jason came to our table for a quick chat to say hello. Jason remarked that I looked “not myself” a few Fridays ago (!) when we caught up for dinner. I thought that was very strange, that he should have waited several weeks to tell me that when he could have asked me about it that night itself when we caught up. We had also met after that, together with Gerry and Jesslyn and he didn’t mention it that time either, so it was a very strange thing to say, after all these weeks. Part of me said maybe I was “not myself” because I had felt that catching up with him had felt underwhelming in recent times. I don’t believe he respects us/me, from the numerous signs and signals that he emits over the course of time, but these signals have sort of just washed past me like water off a duck’s back. They didn’t bother me much, and I still treasure our friendship, but I did feel the way I did – underwhelmed (maybe it’s the lack of generosity, maybe it’s the keeping and distribution of old unflattering pictures despite my requests, maybe it’s the annoying re gifting of kitsch that we get from them, maybe it’s… I don’t know…)

After lunch, we came home and as it was a gloriously sunny day, so I decided to oil the deck. I had bought the stuff for the job weeks ago, but it had been raining most weekends so I hadn’t had a chance for the job, until yesterday. So we “cleared the deck” of the furniture, plants and barbeque sets, hosed and scrubbed the flooring timber, and then applied the 2 coats of decking paint. Some 3 hours later, the deck looks far healthier and livelier. I’m just glad that this job, which had been sitting at the back of my mind for a little while, was finally done. Pity we’re not doing Christmas at our home…

As I rested my tired body last night, I thought of Ben’s sermon and that wonderful Advent service again. I am taught, again, that He is King. I need to live as though that is what matters. Again and for the umpteenth time, I wonder what is it I need to do in response. Come, Lord Jesus…

The ebbs and flows of 2013


As I stood in the shower in the gym this morning, I realised I wanted badly to just stand there and let the water run down my neck. It would only be a few hours at work this morning before we all go home as the office would be shut at noon.

There was no pressing work needing to be done and as long as I make it in by 9am I should be fine. I didn’t need to be in at my usual 8am and I had taken longer on the cross trainer and moved on to the stationary bike and my gear had been soaked. I was just going to stand under this hot shower and imagine being washed and rinsed of all my cares which have piled up over the year.

I had started this year looking for a home, church wise. I got to a point I didn’t bother if I was going to church on a Sunday. I could only see the negatives in churches and the people in them. The brouhaha in my previous church had escalated, affecting people I cared about. I did things in response which though I would do again in a heartbeat, I wished I didn’t have to do.

I have had Kiddo leave home a second time, to a land close to my childhood home. Singapore feels foreign now. The new felt old. Or is it the old felt new. It is a city state which is modern and yet traditional and conservative at the same time. It is singularly far from home where Tress and I are. Other than a little dog, all we had was our work and our home.

Work was increasingly busy. I was asked to be in arenas I didn’t want to be in. Locking horns and battling in cauldrons and with people I did not think or wish to be in or with. An environment which is chalky at best permeated. Unhappy shareholders who no longer trust the board or management, translating into a cascading tide of finger pointing and – dare I say it – bullying. All I want is work. I want to go in, do my work and go home and drink my wine. Watch my footy. Walk my dog. Be with my lovely wife. But the mistrust, the second guessing, the finger pointing, all add up to make each day a laboured one, from which I continue to seek to escape. But the scriptures have taught that work is good and all that is part of work, so I remain grateful. Head down…

It has been a year with various changes and challenges. As tiring as it has been, I almost don’t want it any other way. I am learning to take each tide as it comes and ebbs. It all adds to this tapestry I did not know was being weaved. And in the midst of all that, I have had the constant love of Tress and Kiddo and the soothing, blessing presence and company of Tress my lovely and loving wife. I am ever grateful for her.

2013, in as much as I want to be washed and rinsed away as though I am standing under a shower, I also simply want to experience the sensation of being pushed and sucked by the ebbs and flows of the tides. Thank you my Lord for 2013…

Related articles

Yummy leatherjackets… Maybe it’s the company


I used to strip the skin off a fish called “leatherjackets”, when I was doing part time work in a fish market in Sydney during uni days. I’d stand next to a stack of 4-5 boxes all filled with that fish, packed in ice, and methodically strip each fish off its leathery skin.

In spite of it being one of the cheaper fish, I’d seldom bought that fish. Recently however, Tress, Kiddo and I have begun enjoying it on the barbie. Marinated with lemon pepper, turmeric, paprika, chilli and some cooking oil, it was delicious.

We had leatherjackets barbequed last Friday night. They were delicious. We had 2 each, which was a lot. And so when we decided to have it again last night, we only had one each. We had gone to papa rich in Nunawading for lunch after church so we weren’t hungry to start with but the leatherjackets, with some chicken wing and a fresh spinach, mango and tomato salad made a very good dinner.

On Sat we went to Blairgowrie at the Mornington Peninsula and had lunch at Sorrento – we indulged in the very good vanilla slice at the “Just Fine Foods” café. Tress and I had been there on Cup Day and had discovered their very good Moroccan salad so we had that again. Kiddo dug into it as well and really enjoyed it.

On our way home from Mornington we stopped by Ing Tung and Chin Moi’s to drop their Christmas present off for them – we had forgotten to give it to them on Christmas day when they came over for dinner. After that, we got home, had some fruits for dinner and then went out and watched “American Hustle”, which saw great performances from the leads, especially Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, whom I’ve come to like a lot.

Channel 9 screened yet another re-run of LOTR on Friday night. It was probably the zillionth time Fellowship of the Ring was shown on TV but we watched it anyway and about midway, when we realised we’d be too tired to sit through the scheduled 4 hour screening, we switched to our own DVD version… we had wanted to do it from the beginning but thought the commercial breaks on free TV were useful. Anyway, we continued after that, with The Two Towers and last night, we put on the third DVD and watched half of the Return of the King. It was crazy, but loads of fun.

Yesterday in church the pastor had called kiddo “Esther” and since it was a passing greet, we thought perhaps there was no need to correct him. Especially – kiddo reminded me of this – seeing it was only one more Sunday in St Alf’s for her. It would be months before she’d be here again by which time we’d take the opportunity to refresh pastor’s data… but it did strike home that it would only be a short while left before she heads of to Singapore again. Sure, 10 or so days is a lot of time but it is also a very short time…       I’d stand and skin leatherjackets all day anyday, if she’s around to enjoy the delicious fish with Tress and I…

Related articles

Great finish to the week


I left the office early today- just on 4.30. Tress and kiddo picked me up from the station and we went home and I started preps to get dinner going. The girls had gone shopping and picked up some fish (leather jackets) and chook wings for the barbie and I went about with the marinade as soon as I got home. Dinner was great and we were all stuffed silly.

Dinner done, all three of us pottered around in the gardens. Kiddo and I watered the plants while Tress did some weeding. We started at the back and side gardens and finished up on the front. The neighbours’ kids were in full flight on their bicycles and scooters and as the little black Jedi mossied around with the kids while we did the gardening stuff, I felt very grateful and contented.

We went back indoors just after 8 and Jackson/Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings came on and we sat through it, switching to our own DVD versions mid way and continuing with the Two Towers. It was a satisfying and peaceful evening for which I was (am) so very grateful.

Related articles

Christmas and Abundant Dwelling


I slept in and woke up just after 7am this morning. I made coffee and toasts, sat down with Tress, packed lunch from Christmas leftovers, and showered, changed and hopped into the car just after 8am. Tress drove me to the station and I got in just after 8.30. All this was partly made possible because the gym is still closed for the holidays and I had decided not to take any time off work, which feels like a mistake now… sigh…

We were at Uncle Seng’s last night and as always, Auntie Anne had whipped up a fabulous array of delicious food spread across the entire kitchen bench-top of their home in Mount Waverley. Tress’ cousins and other relatives were there.

Earlier that day, we had just stayed home, watched the cricket and pottered about the home. I cleaned out the weber after cooking on it on Christmas Day, and generally just did small stuff, alternating with watching the cricket. England looked like they were determined not to lose – more than a desire to win – so the run rate was a boring 2+ and it was easy to just do other stuff while leaving the cricket on or alternating with other channels. Tress did the same thing, with all sorts of tasks like laundry, taking out bags of trash, letting the little fellow in and out while I got in and out in the course of cleaning the barbie… it was that kind of day.

Christmas Day we had slept in, after a late night on Christmas Eve. Sleeping in these days often means we wake up at 7 instead of 5, so we could have made it to church for the service but we had planned not to, so we just spent the day getting ready for the guests who were coming.

Ing Tung and Chin Moi are some of our oldest friends in Melbourne. While chatting later night with our other guests, it dawned on us it was nearly 30 years ago when we first met. They were very helpful when we first came to Melbourne and continue to be our very dear friends. The Tongs on the other hand, are our newest friends in Melbourne. We only met them maybe 6 months ago, when I was shopping for a new suit in the Doncaster Westfield Myer store. Jason and Mel joined us later that night for drinks and we reminisced even more, as Jason, Ing Tung and I were all with OCF Sydney back in the day – in the mid to late 80’s…

By the time everyone left it was nearly midnight and after we cleaned up it was just past 1am, but it was wonderful to have reconnected with old friends as well as strengthened new bonds.

On Christmas Eve I had left work at noon – the office closed at 12pm – and I dragged Tress and Kiddo to Indian Delight for lunch as I had become really hungry by the time I got home. The midday train was running the city loop – ie Parliament was the first stop, making its way through the loop and left for Blackburn only via Flinders. Stopping every station, it was a long trek home but thankfully the driver put a smile on everyone’s face. He playfully said he wanted to let everyone know the next day was a public holiday and went on to explain the reason for it. He explained the Christian faith in a 1 minute summary – essentially saying Jesus came into the world to save sinners – and wished everyone a wonderful Christmas. I was very happy the driver did what he did and the longer than usual journey home became very pleasant. It didn’t make me less hungry though so to Indian Delight we went and it wasn’t until 8pm that night I did another barbeque. Tress had bought a large piece of barramundi earlier that day.

After a dinner of very juicy fish and fresh salad, we sat down to watch the Sidney Myer music bowl Christmas Carol.

Just after 10.30, we drove to church for the Christmas Eve carol and communion service. The church was packed out and we had to park on the Uniting Church ground across the road on Koonung Road. The focus was pleasantly on Jesus and what He came to do, what our response should be and all that. For a while Tress and Kiddo were worried because as we were walking from the car park we thought we saw people very dressed up but as we settled down at our seats we realised that was only a handful of people. Peter and his staff though were dressed up more than usual and it was very nice to see the extent to which Peter and the church had gone, to make this occasion a pointed and important one. The service ended about 12.40am, and we got home just after 1.

Late nights, lots of food, lots of time with families and people you care for, all surrounding the central theme of Jesus’ coming. One of the numerous readings on Christmas Eve in church was John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The abundance of providence and fellowship is, I’d like to think, very possibly a result of the Word having made a dwelling amongst us. Perhaps…

Related articles

Deo, Dad, Dongzhi and Dread


 

Lots of stuff happens at this time of the year. Today’s my late father’s birthday. He would have been 75. Yesterday was the winter solstice and we were at Gerry and Jesslyn’s for some “Dongzhi”. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. We’d had a few parties already. Events at work too, other than the usual year end rush to complete tasks.

In all of these events one’s attention is spread across different parts of one’s life. What matters most is being with people you care about. After all that’s what started it all in the first place – God wanting to dwell amongst men. Some events you don’t particularly care about but you attend anyway, because otherwise for the rest of the year it become awkward. Like work events. Some events you look forward to because it is with people you care about and you just want to be with them. Some events you brush off with no hesitation because they involve people you don’t particularly want to socialise with.

And so when we got a missed call and a text from someone I can’t particularly care for, I simply responded by asking him to stay away. Just as I have several times now.

Lots of stuff happens at this time of the year. Some are meaningful. Some are curious. As long as I can give the best of my time and effort and it is with people I care about, I work at being with people. It’s not at all a bad time of the year…

Related articles

Emmanuel – or Manuel (as in Fawlty Towers)


Last Sunday we had a pulpit exchange amongst three churches in Blackburn north and a minister from a church on Surrey Road spoke. His mention of this being the silly season rang in my ears this morning as I went in to the office to be greeted by a string of emails flying around.

The rush in the shopping centres at this time of the year which churches like ours have bemoaned is often accompanied by an annoying parallel in the workplace. In a corporation like the one I’m working for, somehow the rush to get stuff signed before Christmas/New Year never goes away. My cynical mind tells me the smoke and mirrors that prop up places like these, require reports to show things have been done. To-do lists and task list need be marked off to evince accomplishment within a specified timeframe – in this case the calendar year is obviously the parameter.

I was asked to work on a document last week and proposed some communications to people affected by that document. I sent that communication to the relevant senior executive late last week (Thursday) and this morning I was asked to provide an update. I said I had not heard back from that senior executive and was asked to remind that person as senior executives are presently distracted by a range of matters now.

Similarly, in a discussion with the boss yesterday, I was told the Board is presently “a bit twitchy” and so there is a need to manage communications more closely.

I can’t say it is the silly season per se which caused all this running around in a sense of near panic at so much to do and so little time to do it in, but I am quite certain it doesn’t alleviate it to say the least. I get the bit about people going away for a few weeks and wanting to ensure as much gets resolved as possible before that. To stress for weeks – often unnecessarily – to make that happen however, almost make the whole thing a bit of a self-created much ado about nothing.

Yesterday I spoke to an external adviser who, after nearly a week of sweating over some advice he provided, came one big circle to land on nearly the same spot. Much ado about nothing has a resonance about it on many occasions in corporate space but at a time like the silly season, when I get to ask “what does this all mean”, it resonated more resoundingly.

It’s one week to Christmas Eve. Emmanuel? We’re too silly in this season with all our busy-ness to make Him welcome, I’m afraid.

Related articles

Emmanuel?


  • Little Ezra. Ms SS. Madam Lee. Madam Lim. One little boy and three elderly ladies.
  • 2 elderly men, both tethered on life’s edge and back again. Back again to give thanks to God in a church service.
  • Ms BS. Smart, educated and looked like awarm loving lady, incapacitated by long term illness. Gave thanks to God for others who could live normal lives.
  • Ms YLT. Strong willed lady who willed her family through storms. Husband fought against stage 4 cancer and came out healed. Willed her children through poignant moments of challenges.
  • Mr MS. Smart, successful, educated and warm and loving man who carried his family strongly in support.
  • Ms N and Mr A J. Smart, energetic and sacrificial servants of God. Qualified business people, they headed offshore and have had to deal with wide range of challenges in serving God in obedience.

God has blessed us with a journey that helped us come into connection with such people in the past few weeks. Some closer than others, some more distant. Every one of those people touched us in ways which made us reflect on life, God and our journey on earth. These connections, whether by merely listening to them in a public forum or sitting in their kitchen listening to them, deepened my conviction that engagement and a desire to be there with and for someone is fundamental to ministry.

This is against type for me. I have been one for being by myself – in a corner at home reading a book, listening to a CD or watching a movie has always been a preferred activity for me. Yet this wasn’t what God did. He always wanted to engage with His people – be among them, eat, work, weep, teach and make lives better by being with His people. Jesus died so that God’s people can be with Him in perpetuity.

With about 4 weeks to Christmas, this message of Emmanuel is a timely one perhaps…

Related articles

Time with friends and family – what is the cost?


This is a busy time for most people. Periods leading up to Christmas is a hectic time for work, and prevalence of school exams  plus end of school terms also add up to mean a busy period for kids and parents. At such times, the church becomes an important source of respite, refreshments and affirmation and encouragement. Given the centrality of Sunday services, church at this time is an important factor.

This is also a time for planning for the coming year. Ministers generally embark on the planning process at this time and often lend support and momentum to the process and all who are involved in it.

Notwithstanding a long weekend (Melbourne Cup Day) therefore, the question of everyone counting on everyone else to be around on Sundays is one all church goers need to think about at this time. We cannot exhort each other, hand on heart, and expect to prop each other up, build each other and encourage each other if we are consistently away on Sundays. It becomes even more difficult when Sundays are often the only times we have where we can otherwise expect to see each other.

Maybe I am old schooled. Maybe my expectation that when I go to church I want to see everyone there – especially the shepherd – is misplaced, in this day and age. There is now so much emphasis on family time and time for good friends, that the cost is that of the wider community. Maybe out of necessity we focus on increasingly small groups to build relationships, especially with family, relatives and close friends. Hence if we are with these people, being with the wider community of faith becomes less important. Maybe that is acceptable now.

I guess if that is the situation it will take more effort than ever before, to build a community of faith, because the cost – that of giving up exclusive recreation time with family and close friends – gets increasingly higher and such sacrifices and priorities become increasingly harder to bear.

Related articles

Footy Grand Final (Cricket after – yay!)


As is often the case, Greece stands as a focus of world attention. If the Germans didn’t agree to prop it up, it was going to unplug the sinkhole for the rest of the world. Or so it appears. Maybe it is just the big German banks which needed protection.

While Europe worked overtime to prevent a crisis, down under we’re all working overtime to prepare ourselves for something far more important – footy Grand Final. I think it was Bob Paisley who said football isn’t about life and death – it is far more important than that. It felt like that once or twice last Friday when the Hawks went agonizingly close to beating the zebras to stake a claim for tomorrow’s big one. As it turned out, we couldn’t get that one goal we needed and went down by just 3 points, to see Collingwood line up against Geelong tomorrow.

I guess I will take a couple of hours off to watch the game at home, busy times notwithstanding.

I have an essay assignment due middle next week, but had to also prepare the home cell meeting tonight as well as prepare a presentation for a Christmas missions launch on Sunday. It all required a bit of ground work and not helping is a busy office – a colleague is away on medical leave, leaving only 2.5 staff to carry the work, which meant I have been busier than usual.

On top of all that, there has been a slew of meals planned with different people and I have been wondering what to cook and all that. Also, the storms recently mean the garden was in a mess and although I spent a couple of hours last weekend cleaning up, the continuing storm meant all that work would have to be repeated some time in the next few days.

All of that would have to be parked aside though – to honour, (no longer “One Saturday in September”) the climactic end of what has been a really interesting footy season. Bring on the cricket!

Related articles