In My Life

It may not be a pretty picture, but this is my best ever loaf of sourdough bread – light and airy – made from white and rye flour, flecked with caraway seeds.  After so many mediocre attempts, success at last. The recipe for my new starter came from an Italian guy on You Tube.  All I have from his lesson are memories and a few scribbles that I jotted down as I watched.  Still, it was enough for me to learn a new way of doing it with less precision than before – more intuition and more by sight rather than by weight.  One day, when I’m more experienced, I’ll write a recipe for how it’s done.  

Breakthrough #2

Ever since we moved to Moorooka, we have struggled with a very heavy, dragging Crim-Safe screen-door; even the repairman failed to make it slide smoothly.  Now it glides so well it almost falls off the other end when I open it.  All it took was a few frustrating hours with screwdrivers and pliers, and new runners.  Getting it down was the easy part, putting it up was a long and arduous task. Fearing I might never get it back on the rails and align its locking mechanism, I phoned for help from one of my sons.  Then, while waiting for him, I worked it out.  Before he arrived the job was done. I can’t believe how good it is and only wished I had fixed it long ago. So, if you’re about to throw in the towel with some unresolved issue, give it another go.  

Breakthrough #3

When I was re-reading Luke’s account of Christ’s crucifixion, I noticed a link between the thief on the cross and the Roman centurion who was keeping watch of the execution.  Neither of them know Jesus’ name, so they referred to him as “this man“.  Here’s what they came to see and believe.  The thief: “This man has done nothing wrong.”  The centurion: “Certainly this man was innocent.”  And, in Mark’s account of the same scene, the Roman executioner concluded, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  (References: Luke 2:41, 47 and Mark 15:39)

A quotable quote

If you are not sure what I am saying and have doubts about whether it is true, at least be sure that you have no doubt about your having doubts about this. Sometimes doubting your doubts is the beginning of wisdom.  Saint Augustine  

From a favourite hymn

You fearful saints , fresh courage take/ the clouds you so much dread/ are big with mercy, and shall break with blessings on your head.  

From William Cowper’s God Moves in a Mysterious Way.

A creation observation

The moon is full again.  What a wonder it is as it waxes and wanes, month after month, serving as a timepiece for people all over the earth.  By it, those without access to weather stations and medical centres, know when to plant their crops and when to expect the birth of a baby.  It’s a teller of seasons and signs, just as we are told in Genesis 1:14-19.  

From the soundtrack of my life

Chariots of Fire was one of the first films I saw after my conversion.  What I surprise it was to see such a positive portrayal of a Christian – standing strong in the face of opposition to his faith and principles!  As well as being a great story, it had an Oscar-winning soundtrack from the Greek musician Vangelis.  His music was an integral part of the whole experience and one I have relived many times ever after. If it’s unknown to you, catch the movie and the music on SBS On Demand, and you’ll discover why it is still so lauded. (You Tube clip: https://youtu.be/CSav51fVlKU)

Homemade yoghurt – nothing could be easier, and cheaper!

All you need is a thermometer, a carton of UHF milk, a 1litre glass jar with a lid, and a couple of tablespoons of bought yoghurt.

Heat the milk in a saucepan to 40C.  Pour it into the jar and add the bought yoghurt.  Stir well.  Replace the lid and wrap it all up in a whole newspaper.  I then put mine into an Esky and cover it with more newspaper or a towel, then the lid. Otherwise, you could place it somewhere warm.  Leave it for 12+ hours.  Voila – yoghurt. 

(If using fresh milk, bring it to the boil, remove from stove, allow it to cool down to 40C before adding the yoghurt starter.)

Quotable quotes from Augustine – an Algerian Christian (354-430AD).

I believe in order to understand.  I love in order to know.

Having eyes is not the same thing as looking, and looking is not the same as seeing.  The soul, therefore, needs three things: eyes which it can use aright, looking, and seeing.  But only healthy eyes can see, and faith restores the health of the eyes.

From These Days

Don’t confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them

Jackson Browne wrote these lyrics when he was just 16. They’ve stuck with me ever since I first heard them when I was just a bit older than that. Rather than failures, I would say failures and failings because they’re on-going.

A Prayer

Lord, help me to be aware and wise, not only to the sin crouching at my door, but also to the sin that’s still crouching inside of me.

I thank you that there’s no condemnation hanging over me for my sin, for you hung on the cross in my place. You’ve exhausted its penalty and broken its power.

How I long for the day when I’ll be rid of the very presence and the pull of sin! Amen. 

A creation observation

Have you ever counted the seeds inside a papaw?  I haven’t either, but it staggers me to see just how many there are – enough, I reckon, for an orchard of papaw trees and a bountiful harvest.

A precious moment

For weeks now my wife (who has dementia) has not been very responsive, but, yesterday, when I leaned her back in the wheelchair and kissed her upside down, on the forehead, and told her, “Glenys, I love you!” she laughed and said (in an aw-shucks kind of way), “Oh! Thank you!”

Quotable quote

The insatiability of my hunger isn’t a bug but a feature – a signal that I long for something infinite.  Wanting more isn’t the problem; it’s where I keep looking for it. James K. A. Smith – “On the Road with Saint Augustine”

A movie worth watching

“Lars and the Real Girl” – Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson A story of friendship, community, and love for a delusional misfit

A blast from the past

There’s a reason why the lyrics of Jackson Browne’s “Daddy’s Tune” have stuck all these years – they could have been written about me when I was still lost and looking.  I came across it the other day while walking and listening to my ‘iPod’ on random.

No sooner had I hit the streets/ When I met the fools that a young fool meets All in search of truth and bound for glory… Living your life day after day/ Soon all your plans and changes either fail or fall away/ leaving so much still left to say…

Creation observation

I never cease to be staggered by the little, seemingly insignificant, marvels of creation.  With the help of YouTube, I’ve learnt how to grow basil plants from cuttings.  They take just a few days to sprout roots ready for planting in pots or soil.  From one scrawny plant, I’ve been able to propagate a dozen more.  

Recipe – Buttermilk Scones

Most people like light and fluffy scones, but I prefer them dense and substantial.  Here’s what I do.  Turn on the oven to 180C.

Sift together: 2 cups of flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Mix in a small bowl: 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 cup of buttermilk.(No maple syrup, use honey.  No buttermilk substitute a mix of ½ milk and ½ plain yoghurt)

Add the wet to the dry ingredients. Knead gently.  Roll out and cut into 8 or 9 scones.  Top with a brush of buttermilk (or milk).  Leave space between scones in a small baking tray or cake tin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes – till they’re golden on top.  

These are great with sweet or savoury toppings – more like a meal than a nibble.

Hit the streets for your daily walk after 4.30pm and you’re bound to bump into half the neighbourhood.  In order not to literally bump into anyone and keep the recommended safe social distance, what you’ll find is a whole lot of zigzagging.  You see someone coming your way so you duck over to the other side of the street and once the coast is clear, you head back to the path where you were before.  The thing is, you’re not the only one, everyone else is taking the same precaution.  If a drone were hovering overhead, mapping out the paths we take, it would be a maze of almost crossed paths – a plethora of zigzags.  I guess it’s proof that we’re all trying to do the right thing.

Anniversary #1

22 years ago, on the Friday before Mothers Day, I got word that my mother had passed away – suddenly.  I remember that time well and the added sadness of it happening just two days before that special Sunday.  On Saturday, driving back to my hometown, I found my foot involuntarily retreating from the accelerator as though it wanted to spare me from facing the undeniable evidence of the awful reality. 

It’s taken 22 years, but the calendar for 2020 is back to that same configuration of 1998.  Friday 8th May, the anniversary of Mum’s death, was two days before Mothers Day.  How I wish she was still here to see all her great-grandchildren – she would love them!  There was only one when she died – Max, just 10 months old.

Anniversary #2

Back in 1971 there were three terms per year and school holidays were in May and August.  I met my wife for the first time on the first Monday after the May vacation that year.  With the help of Google I figured that it was the tenth of May.  So on that day 49 years ago I met the woman I would marry.  Earlier I had spoken to her on the phone as I was looking for accommodation and she had suggested an old farm cottage on the outskirts of the town.  After the call I remarked to my siblings, “The secretary sounds nice.”  I was wrong about that, like me she was a teacher and had only answered because her class was close to the unattended admin office.  Soon, my matchmaking students were suggesting, “Mister Byrne, why don’t you marry Miss Penman?” and hers were doing vice versa. They noticed the chemistry and electricity between us long before I did.  How perceptive those little kids were and how glad I still am for their proposal!

 

Years ago, when I first heard Cat Stevens’ Father and Son, I was young, so I heard the song from an angry young man’s perspective.  Though it’s the same singer voicing both parts, I identified with the son; not the father.  Now, as a grandfather, I find myself siding with the old man.  The song is the same, now I hear it with wisdom borne from years of painful experience. 

I have much the same reaction watching movies I first saw as a kid, with a child’s point-of-view.  As an adult, I notice nuances, glances, and motivations that I was blind to before.  What I appreciated back then is still there, but greatly enriched by fresh discoveries.  Take, for instance, Shane, one of the all-time great westerns.  I became the little boy, Joey, who was in awe of Shane the gunslinger.  Now I see myself in his dad and understand how he could miss noticing his wife’s attraction to this restless stranger, and marvel at Shane’s regrets, reserve, and readiness to lay down his life for this family.

I guess that’s one of the unexpected advantages of being older – being able to see and hear with new ‘cinemascopic’ eyes and stereophonic ears. 

Westerns – a genre out of favour, but well-worth exploring

Shane, True Grit (both versions), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Magnificent Seven, Slow West, North to Alaska, Rio Bravo, The Searchers…

What I’m currently reading

On the Road with Saint Augustine – James K. A. Smith (Brazos Press) We are less aware of his influence than we ought to be – the author illustrates how with references to current music, movies, and books.  

Jonah and Micah – Reformed Expository Commentary – Richard D. Phillips (P & R) This is not an academic publication, but a book of sermons with searching and heartwarming application regarding our walk with God.

Post Christian – Gene Edward Veith Jr (Crossway) Our culture has become – post Christian – and the writer offers guidance for those of us who want to live cross-culturally.

Piercing Heaven – Prayers of the Puritans – Robert Elmer, Editor (Lexham Press) This is a book to read and pray one prayer at a time.  Here you’ll find refreshing words to voice to the One who first inspired them. 

“There’s got to be more to life than this!” It’s rhetorical, but the speaker is hoping her friend has an answer. She’s just broken up with her lover and, feeling lonely and dejected, has reached out to her boss for solace. They’re detectives in an English series set in Holland. This comes at the start of another murder mystery. Her ‘question’ is left dangling for days, so it’s no surprise to see her just as confused as we are, when out of nowhere, 90 minutes later in our time, in the closing scene, he answers, “There is.” Mystified she asks, “What is?” He mumbles, “There is more to life than this.” Cut to credits and clips from next week’s show.

This exemplifies something that I was taught about the craft of sermon writing. Pose a pertinent question at the beginning, with an illustration, that will be answered by the end. “Many will have forgotten the purpose of the message, but returning to the opening will bring it all back home to your hearers.” It’s a bit like bookends.

The words were different but she asked the same question I did when I was lost and desperate for a reason to go on living. I waited years for the answer. I wanted to know, “What’s it all about? Why are we here? Where are we going? What’s the point of living?” How about you?

I’m pretty sure that the senior detective in the story above came to that conclusion after having convinced the murderer, an avid atheist, not to throw himself off a high-rise roof into possible utter darkness; or worse.

Something old worth watching

“To End All Wars” – starring Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle. Captured by the Japanese a group of courageous soldiers are forced to build a railway from Thailand to Burma. A story of intense internal battles as each prisoner strives to survive in the face of gross inhumanity – including believers. Be warned: some graphic torture and language.

Char-grilled capsicum – my recipe

When I was a kid one of our staple breakfast foods was char-grilled capsicums and tomatoes on toast.  They were cooked on top of the hotplate of our wood-fired stove – turned over as they became charred, then allowed to cool, peeled, salted and peppered, and drizzled with olive oil. 

Since I don’t have a hotplate like that I cook them in the oven.  Whenever I’m baking something at 180 or 200 degrees, I pop a few into a paper-lined cake-tin along with some cloves of garlic.  It’s best to pierce them on top first, but that’s it. 

When I’m finished baking I turn off the oven and leave them in overnight.  Next morning their skins are like paper and are easily peeled.  Seeds and stems are removed, then, I cut them into manageable strips and squeeze the contents of the garlic on top.  Add salt, pepper, olive oil, and a dash of balsamic glaze.  Mix it up and voila – a great topping for toast, eggs, or bacon. 

If there are leftovers, they will store for days in the fridge and can be added to sandwiches or crackers with avocado, hummus, feta, or cottage cheese.  I also add them to pizza toppings and eat them as a side dish with cold meat or salad.

A quotable quote – from On the Road with Saint Augustine

The insatiability of my hunger isn’t a bug but a feature – a signal that I long for something infinite.  Wanting more isn’t the problem; it’s where I keep looking for it. James A. K. Smith

The wisdom of Paul Simon’s lyrics

He may not have all the answers, but Paul Simon, like most of us, has deep yearnings and dreams of better things.  In the days ahead I’m going to introduce you to some of what he has written.  For example…

The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains. From Train in the Distance

I believe in the future we shall suffer no more, maybe not in my lifetime, but in yours, I feel sure. From The Cool, Cool River

Compare these words with the St Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:18-24).

COVID-19 observations

While we’re confined to our homes we need fewer and fewer clothes.  If we do have to dash out to the shops, we can slip on what we wore last time when we were out for just a few minutes.  It’s got me thinking, “It’s time to downsize the wardrobe!  What hasn’t been worn in the last 12 months must go.”

Home cooking is having a revival.  Every time I post a recipe or photo of food on Instagram, there are immediate responses.  Gardening is also making a comeback.

This is just week one of the ‘stay at home’ ruling and I’ve already sorted the pantry, cleared out the tool shed, thinned out the linen and bedding, re-potted the herbs, and begun work on the unpacked boxes in the garage.  What’s left to do after that?

Because of the danger of COVID-19, our government has instructed people in their 70’s to self-isolate as much as it is possible.  I’m one of them.  They have also restricted visits to nursing homes to one person for one hour each day – that also applies to me.  For almost four years I’ve been visiting Glenys, my wife, who has dementia.  Daily I’ve been bringing fresh homemade fruit salad for her morning tea, taking her for rides in a wheelchair, getting her outside for a wobbly walk, and sometimes playing her favourite music.  But, yesterday, I felt it was time for me to heed the warnings and stop – for the safety of other residents and the nursing staff.  She wouldn’t have known it was going to be my last visit (for who knows how long), but I said a teary goodbye.

Not only does she have dementia, she was recently diagnosed as having some kind of cancer – determined by symptoms, not exploratory procedures.  It’s that unknown that made me think, “This could even be my last goodbye!” 

A few weeks ago, when we first heard about the cancer, I asked her, “Glenys, do you want to go home to heaven?  Do you want to go to be with Jesus?”  It’s not often that she answers questions, sometimes she does in garbled words, but that day she replied clearly, “Yes, I do.”

Here’s my dilemma, do I still go on visiting her on compassionate grounds, but risk the lives of others if I’m a non-symptomatic carrier of the virus?  Or do I take my cue from some of the *last words of Glen Campbell, who also had dementia?

You’re the last person I will love, you’re the last face I will recall
And best of all, I’m not gonna miss you, not gonna miss you.

Nick Cave’s grasp of the truth

For someone who claims, **I don’t believe in an interventionist God, Nick Cave has some very biblical insights in his songs.  Last night, randomly, I came across one I’ve never heard before: ***People Ain’t No Good.  What he sings is what he could have read in the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Romans (3:10ff) in which we are reminded that there is no one good, no, not one.  We all fall short, we all miss the mark; that’s why we all need the love and grace of a merciful God.

**I don’t believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did, I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Oh, not to touch a hair on your head
Leave you as you are
If he felt he had to direct you… into my arms, O Lord.

***People just ain’t no good
I think that’s well understood
You can see it everywhere you look
People just ain’t no good, at all