Desperate Measures

There are times in a preacher's life where there don't seem to be any hymns that go where you want to go.

And some of us preach in smaller churches where there is a limit on the repertoire of the congregation and/or musicians available.

And although it is possible to select some rousing hymns that everyone knows that have nothing whatsoever to do with the selected theme, it is really very nice to have at least one that deals with where you're going.

So, in desperation, I started penning my own lyrics with some assistance from the lovely and talented Givinya who ironed out a dodgy line for me and told me that it was okay to have an anacrusis if I needed it.

So we'll be singing this on Sunday (to the tune Cross of Jesus):

Follow me! Our Christ to Philip

in that distant Galilee.

Instantly he went with Jesus.

What an honour: Called was he.

Follow me! Our Saviour calls us

As he calls, so we obey.

Walking into love and learning,

faith in trusting his new day.

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

When Nathanael scoffed his doubts

Zeal for law, tradition, status -

Jesus’ wisdom found him out.

Come and See! So someone asked us

Child or parent, spouse or friend

Came to Jesus: True love, mercy,

Companionship that never ends.

Come and See! An invitation

From our lives to those we know.

Making certain we don’t veil the

King of Heav’n seen here below.

Of course, while Givinya is very good and very helpful in the improvement of verses, her strength is rhyming and rhythmic comedy. So she dash off a couple of alternative versions of the third verse, because I was having great trouble getting it to work.

An alternative version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

zeal for law, tradition, status

proved Nathanael was a lout.

The Yorkshire version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

zeal for law, tradition, status

Nathanael's questions came to nowt.

The Irish version (and my personal favourite)

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

So Nat and Phil, they filled their tankards,

Made a toast, and downed their stout.

The IT version

Come and See! So Philip phrased it

when Nathanael scoffed his doubts

Nat picked up his bag and laptop;

Went to check the Saviour out.

And how many of these alternatives are likely to be sung in church this coming Sunday (except in my head)?

...precisely

Not quite magic.

I've heard a number of friends talk about the fact that they catch up on Google Talk, so I thought I'd install it, then... abracadabra... I'd be able to chat online.

Not quite that simple.

After downloading, then fixing the anti-virus hiccup, then downloading, then establishing a separate gmail account in order to delete the new gmail account in order to register, then entering a couple of friends' addresses so that they exist in Google Talk for me. And now, two days later I haven't found anyone online anyway and so I'm left wondering if:-

a) no-one wants to talk to me, and me not being on Google Talk was a ploy to explain why they were always talking and I wasn't invited

b) their Google Talk doesn't have me listed, so they don't know I'm waiting for them to come on line so that I can talk to them.

c) it is technology. Of course it wasn't going to be simple. What was I thinking?!?

The chances that this post makes me seem anything other than a paranoid technophobe?

... Not going there!

A Great Day

Just a few years ago a group of impressionable young women from different parts of Queensland met at a University residential college. Our friendship rapidly developed during the process of escaping the various evening entertainments offered during the ritual of O-week without being caught by the vengeful O-week committee.

We each had different courses and different dreams, and despite the ones that we've already gained, we haven't finished with the world yet.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Today four of us got together. One all the way from the UK, two from rural Queesland centres and one is still located in Brisbane. We sat and ate fish and chips and caught up on each other's lives. There might have been a bit of laughter.

This was the stimulus for some of my laughter. Nothing like supporting smokers by removing their bin! Just drop your butts on the concrete here beside the entry gate.

I wanted to leave good company to come home again...

... Approximately None

A pox on all their houses

I have one major problem with the group I would usually refer to as my college 'friends'.

The thing is, they mention Stuff That Can Happen - and then it happens to me.

I lived in blissful ignorance that underwires can work their way out of bras for years before one of these college friends complained about it within my hearing. Voila, within a couple of weeks it happened to me.

Again, I had no idea that desktop computers had a battery that assisted them to store settings and things like the date. A friend complained and BANG my computer woke up next morning thinking we'd taken a little trip back to 1950-something and my screensaver was gone.

I've left college now. I should be safe from the jinx. But no, I still keep up with things going on in the lives of some of those I lived with at college. This is obviously a mistake.

My friend Givinya over at Killing a Fly complained about washing. She has two kids more than me, so her laundry pile is going to be huge. She's entitled to complain. But not when you consider the effect of the college friend jinx.

My washing used to be one load a week at college; expanded to between 1-2 when I lived by myself and had to add household linen. When we married it would probably have become more than that, but we lived out of town (i.e. rainwater tank supply, not reticulated) and I had to use the super-economical twin tub where you can wash everything you ever owned successively in one tub full of water. It's hard to get a comparison.

We recently got our greasy mits on a second hand automatic washing machine. So I've been celebrating the fact that I don't have to spend hours on a Saturday standing over the twin tub pulling stuff out of the washing tub and putting it into the spinner, rinsing it by hand, and spinning again before the next load of washing is ready for the spinner. Then rushing out to hang the last load while the next one is spinning. I did have it down to a fine art, but it is wonderful to leave the machine and come back 30 mins later to hang it out.

When I got back from Grandad's I knew I would have some washing to do for my Beloved, despite the fact I'd washed most of my stuff and some of his. I did not sign up for this amount of washing, and for some reason it feels like more when you can assign a specific number of loads to it.

How much do I hate my college friends right now?

...Approximately None (despite everything)