A few years ago, shortly after moving into the manse, I planted a frangipani tree in the backyard next to our neighbour’s fence. At first it grew well with some healthy leaves and even its first flower. I was looking forward to seeing more growth and flowers last year, but the frosts that hit the... Continue Reading →
A Trustworthy Saying (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
What makes a saying trustworthy? The English language has a huge range of sayings that people use in various situations. We can say things like, ‘Many hands make light work’, ‘It’s always darkest before the dawn’, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’, and ‘Easy come, easy go’ for example. However often we might use... Continue Reading →
Giving Thanks in Good and Bad (Philippians 4:4-9)
It has been a tough year for farmers and grape growers in the Barossa Valley. Poor seasonal rain, a couple of severe frosts and challenging market conditions has made life really difficult. Over the last six months or more I’ve heard stories of people having almost nothing to show for the year’s work as they... Continue Reading →
Joy (Philippians 4:4-7)
In 1974, a Hungarian sculptor and architecture professor named Ernö Rubik invented a puzzle which has challenged and frustrated people ever since. If you’ve never seen a Rubik’s Cube, it is a small cube with nine tiles on each face. When you buy a Rubiks’ Cube, the tiles on each face are the same colour... Continue Reading →
Hope (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
Not too long ago, before digital technology, if we were taking a photograph, we would need to load film into a camera, take the shot, wait until we had filled the roll of film, take the film to a chemist or some other place to be developed, and then wait at least a few more... Continue Reading →