A Dry Year

I never intended to give up drinking alcohol, and I certainly don't judge those that do drink, and in truth I do miss the odd tipple, but having been dry for a year today, I have to say I prefer life without alcohol.

Now before you switch off, this post isn't a rant against alcohol, rather it's a celebration of the health benefits I have reaped from going dry.

In The Dunes On The Cape

We've been feeling a bit battered of late, what with my surgery, Joel preparing to leave and then going off to Blighty, and continuing to support Eli as much as possible as he continues to spread his wings and fly.

Whilst we love what we do, and wouldn't change it for the world, the responsibilities we carry on behalf of The Gathering can become tiring, so sometimes it's just good essential to escape together. 

Go Well My Boy

Today is a strange day, and one I've know was coming for a long time, though I always hoped it never would come, but even now that the day has arrived, I'm torn in equal measure between heartbreak & excitement.

Today, Joel left home.

No Greater Joy

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4

As a Christian, husband, father, pastor & chaplain, I don't think there is a greater joy as a parent than standing in the same room as your child in the presence of God, worshipping Him in spirit & truth together.

Defeated

By the time our latest bout of Stage 6 loadshedding had finished we had exhausted five inverters of varying capacities, and had to declare a defeat.

Eskom, you won this round!

A Year In Review

Like most government run institutions in South Africa, the health service is very badly broken and on its knees, to the point that it's best avoided at all costs (treasure and fight for the NHS!).

Even trying to get our daughter's wisdom teeth seen to has been a nightmare and not an experience we would be keen to repeat any time soon!

Five Years Of Massive Change

Five years ago today, after much encouragement & cajoling, I overcame my fears and anxiety and walked in to what was then CEY Boxing Gym (now Knockout Centre).

I had decided late in 2018, that after almost ten years of doing no exercise, and with a number of health red flags which were beginning to concern me, it was time to make some changes and get fit.

Go Make Disciples

One of the many joys in leading church, is watching the ebb & flow of church life, and how some people are planted in for the long haul whilst others are with you for just a short time.

Today at The Gathering we had the privilege of sending Delena (& her husband John) off in prayer (we prayed our best prayers), and love to begin a new life in the Eastern Cape in a town called Buffels Vlei. 

2023 Reading List

2023 was another good year for reading, though I read fewer books than in 2022 (I fell short by four books).

Oddly enough, my favourite books of the year were the final four, consisting of: Russia by Antony Beevor, Conspiracy to Murder by Linda Melvern, Iran by Michael Axworthy and the most excellent Embracing Defeat by John Dower.

Merry Christmas 2022

We were quite amazed but very blessed to receive a solitary Christmas card this year, but then we looked at the envelope and realised it was posted on the 16th of December last year!

And yet, somehow it has managed to sneak its way through a very broken South African postal system (to call it a service would be to overplay its abilities), and even managed to get redirected from the Somerset West post office to our address in Strand. An impressive feat given the state of the post office.

Rescued Rocks

Recently I dug out a bit of the garden to make a new flower bed, and I was very happy with the result (see Percy Thrower, I Am Not).

A week later on a walk with Daisy, I noticed the municipality had dug up a bit of land, and had left a pile of rubble awaiting collection for the landfill.

Worship Sunday

Between the Old and New Testaments there is a 400 year gap in which the voice of God was not heard.

It must have been tough for the Hebrews to carry on in their worship with no sign of life from God.

Then the Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary and the silence was broken.

Suddenly, for those who were listening, life was full and rich with the blessings of God, and where religion may have been dry and dusty it was swept through with the awesome grace of the living God.

Meatoplasty

In answer to a few questions...

On Monday I underwent minor surgery on my ears, the procedure was an ear meatoplasty, which in simple terms involved the surgeon removing part of the meatus in the opening to the ear canal.

For several years now I've been battling with my hearing, especially in situations with a lot of ambient noise, but also recurring ear infections that were driving me insane. 

I went to see the supposed top local ENT surgeon a few years ago, but for whatever reasons he wouldn't listen to me and said I just needed the build up of wax removing. In essence he made me feel pretty stupid.

Eli's Matric Results

We are super proud of Eli and his Matric results today.

He's passed his National Senior Certificate with flying colours, getting an A equivalent in Maths and Bs in CAT & LO. 

He qualifies for university admission, but he's busy chasing his dream of joining the British Army, so maybe Plan B one day...

Swing-Seat Renovation

I am really chuffed with how my swing-seat renovation turned out!

It was looking quite sad and forlorn which just wasn't right for such a well loved piece of garden furniture, so just before we moved I set about restoring it so that it would look magnificent in our new garden, and even if I say so myself; it turned out pretty well.

A New Day...

Today truly is the beginning of a new stage in life...

Eli is now walking to school on his own and really enjoying the space and freedom of it (though Paula is missing her time with him chatting in the car). Some days he also skateboards to school just because he can. He's also enjoying the freedom of hanging out with school mates or messing about on the beach on his way home, just because he can.

Passed!

The boy only went and passed!

Just two weeks after his first attempt, and at a different testing station, Joel passed his driving test and can be unleashed on the world.

This is another step in our change of lifestyle as not only do we no longer need to do any school runs, but now Joel can sort himself out for lifts to and from work, church etc.

Thank you LORD!

Daisy Dog At The Beach

What a joy it was to take Daisy off for a sneaky walk (Rosie was asleep so didn't realise we'd slipped out) to the beach.

This was her first ever outing to the seaside and she absolutely loved it, especially once she realised she could leap into the waves and they would knock her back to the beach.

Packing Up

Today felt quite monumental as we count down the days to moving house on Wednesday.

I always knew that the garage and my workshop would be the single biggest job in terms of packing, so I was chuffed to get it all done today.

I'm feeling quite sore all over, but it's worth it for the progress and the sense of achievement.

Desperate For Power

Our power situation doesn't improve. 

We had loadshedding until 4am this morning followed by scheduled maintenance from 6am until 4pm which stretched out 'til 5.30pm. The only bright spot in this was that our scheduled loadshedding from 6pm was skipped this evening.