The MECS signs are up in the flesh. It’s a bit odd seeing them. The still haven’t cut the posts down (so you can’t see the tops) but there you go. I am not super impressed with the top bubble’s light-brown as it looks more yellowish than it should. I guess Pantone can let you down a little afterall… might be the surface?
A belated wedding present from Tim S. We were after a wine rack, saw this and got it instead – multi purpose. I swear it looked a much lighter colour in the shop but I think it almost suits better. I might change the handles one day as they are a bit country for me and gold isn’t really my thing, but they aren’t that bad and I think the whole thing is rather lovely. It’s moments like these that make our old semi-broken birch-veneer ‘entertainment unit’ look really crappy.
I am in the process of repurposing a pallet to become a coffee table. I bought some supplies this morning, although might need to get my hands on a planer or/and electric sander – it’s very slow going with the good old piece of cork wrapped in the diy stuff. We may also get a piece of glass for free – which will cut back the cost even more. Haven’t worked out if I should stain the pallet… probably not.
There is a Album meme going around. I had to cheat a bit because I needed to find a Flickr image that wasn’t space-balled.
Head over to “Wikipedia.†hit Random and the first article you get is the name of your band. Then go to Random Quotations and the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. Then, go to Flickr and click on Explore the Last Seven Days and the third picture, across will be your album cover.
Put it together. Be free to cheat. It’s more fun.
So… this is “It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head” by Father’s Doing Fine.
Geoff and I recently, tentatively are beginning the move from Yarra Valley Vineyard to Ranges Community Church. We love Yarra Valley and think they do exceptional things and serve the community of Lilydale well, we like the people, we have lots of ties there, both our families are there, we got married there. YVV has grown remarkably in the last while and there is still a gaping pull there for me with the youth, it’s a good place.
It’s interesting, transition. I am marvelously familiar with it due to my highly nomadic upbringing although I must say it was often more of a wrench and a snap than something that brewed – a shift in perspective or perhaps just direction.
Many of you might know that Geoff and I spend a fair bit of time thinking about church, mind you, sometimes it doesn’t feel like it and I think that Geoff’s thinking probably translates in to practicality more than my ideas – which have never actually evolved into something concrete – they are still floating quite abstractly. Regardless, we’re keen to one day be involved in something a bit different. Ranges isn’t violently out-there. It’s definitely much smaller and unfortunately even further from us and not in our local community. It’s a different and perhaps older (or at least less peer based) group for us. It’s not an end point. It might be a mid-term thing, it might be a long mid-term thing. We do like how Ranges try things out. I like feeling a bit more at home despite still getting very slowly get to know people. I can feel the heartbeat at Ranges. YVV’s is hiding from me, which is as much my own fault and not really to do with them at all.
There are some other spin off things that will potentially happen via some of the people we know at Ranges, things that will land closer to our locale. A chance to try some stuff out with some others.
I am not after a perfect church, I am after one that acknowledges imperfection and maybe doesn’t care if things aren’t exceptionally done, where everyone is responsible. Small suits who I am or at least the starting point for getting me closer to thinking about things and doing things.
I need to come away from church encouraged. I like to come away from church thinking. And I am scared about it but would be better off coming away from a church where I am doing things and pushed to do things.
And the whole ‘doing things’ bit is not at all same as ‘being in ministry/leading youth’ but I can’t quite explain it.
By the way: changing churches is not the cure-all nor is it meant to be the cure. Simply speaking, I think I need to learn again how to be a part of the Church.
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On a slight shift, I was poking around the Ranges website and the blogs listed on there and thought this post Walter Brueggemann on View from a Room was worth sharing.