The parents move in for a week

Dad and Mum to visit for almost a whole week! We were pumped and ready. We picked them at the airport and after giving them a feed and a coffee we set off for the remainder of day one - a walk on the beach at Sandy Bay with Shadow in tow.

Thursday was our first full day out. We packed a gourmet picnic and headed up to Mount Field National Park - home of the famous Russell Falls.

Before we got to the falls there was one stop for a few photos and a stretch of the legs.


It was a 'Kodak day' and not a roll of film in sight. All four of us were armed with digital cameras


At the end of day the best was yet to come. Our good friends Rudie and Beth invited our whole family along with Dad and Mum out to a fabulous Chinese restaurant. After some discussion and much encouragement from Rudie we opted for the banquet. Some twelve courses I think in all. We ate, and ate, and talked, and ate, and taled and then ate some more. It was a fantastic night and the stuff that memories are made of.



On Friday we headed south to the peninsula. Jo and I had a pastors gathering to attend at Nubeena, and Dad and Mum went off in the car for some more sightseeing. We had dinner at a Hotel with the pastors group and then returned home tired and weary. The next morning Dad and Mum asked Jo to drop them at the market. Larry returned to Nubeena for more of the pastors gathering.



On Sunday morning we had a guest speaker from Compassion. He was excellent and of course his presence meant I didn't have to think about a sermon at all, which was nice.

After church we headed down tot he waterfront for a feed of Tassie seafood at a waterfront restaurant and then home - pack the bags and head to Bruny!

The ferry was running but down to one motor and so we were escorted by a tug boat just in case we couldn't make it across.







Rudie has a great 'shack' right on the waters edge. Thanks to his generous spirit I have stayed there many times. This time with Dad and Mum. The water was always going to be a temptation for grandma!

Now I know I've showed you before, but I always like to put it in - the view we have from the lounge room in Bruny!


Monday was going to be our only full day on the island - so we packed another gourmet picnic and headed right down south to Cape Bruny and the lighthouse








Tuesday morning we were up early to catch the ferry back to the big island and a quick trip home - visitors coming for lunch today. It was a real treat to have Graeme and Brenda Holt come over and join us for a meal.

Not long after lunch it was off tot he airport and all the farewells.

It was only six days, but we sucked the marrow out them and lived the moment every day.

Thanks Dad and Mum for the great blessing of having you come and visit. It meant a lot to us all

PS. Apologies to those who have waited patiently for this blog to appear. I absconded from work for a couple of days to spend time with the folks and then of course paid the price in catching up ready for tomorrow (Sunday)

My brother Simon quite often quotes poetry on his page. I confess I'm not a big reader of poetry, but I picked up one of Jo's books today and it kind of fell open at this little poem. Thinking of Ben and Zoe's big announcement, I thought it was worth passing on. (If you can't read the words simply click on the picture for a bigger view)

Congratulations

Ben and Zoe
ENGAGED

To Ben and Zoe

This is a GREAT day! WE have waited and we have hoped - but now it is real. Absolutely wonderful news! Cause for a major celebration. We pray God's very riches of blessings continue to fall all over you both.

THE SMALL PRINT
PS. All thanks to Dad for the great photo at the top of the page

Four things about ME!

Four jobs I have had in my life

1. Bank teller
2. Cleaner
3. Baker – selling bread
4. Pastor

Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Chariots of fire
2. Tomb Stone
3. A Knights Tale
4. Chocolat

Four places I have lived .

1. Dandenong
2. Thornbury
3. Warrnambool
4. Hobart

Four TV shows I like to watch:

1. Deal or no deal
2. 24
3. Movies
4. Footy

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Darwin
2. Perth
3. Canada
4. New Zealand

Four Websites I visit daily:

1. E Bay
2. Blog pages of family
3. Internet banking
4. Jetstar (at least it seems like it lately)

Four of my favourite foods:

1. Roast dinner
2. Tassie seafood
3. Berries and ice cream
4. Cheese cake

NOW ..... all you Holt family bloggers that have lost the incentive or just plain out of ideas for a blog entry - Try this!

The Church the Elders Built

This weekend we took the eldership and ministry team away for a retreat together. It took awhile to find a weekend that suited everyone - but we finally got there. The first task of the weekend that I gave to the elders to do was to build a new church from the ground up. I gave them a pile of materials and explained this was their opportunity to work together to create something brand new. The catch was they were not allowed to talk or to write notes. They could use hand signals and mime, but no other forms of communication were permitted.

On Friday night one of the elders was yet to arrive, so I gave them a extra resource person to assist with the project - that was Yvonne, our worship and creative arts pastor.

Well after some slight hesitation the work soon got underway. The place became a hive of activity.
It was a fascinating experience to watch and observe the process. Some became very animated communicating vision. Some gravitated to positions of strong practical leadership and others were content to sit back and see what others were doing and then help out as they could. There were differences of opinion that had to be resolved. Different values also soon emerged in the design of the building.


After some 30 minutes the project was finished. It was a grand structure that included three different features. There was a worship centre, a large youth hall with a glass atrium design and a very modern office block included.

The amazing thing with this design was that you could lift the roof and take a look inside at what was happening!

After the project was finished there was a lively discussion about the various roles people took and the frustrations they experienced in the process. Poorly understood communication was explained and different values were discussed. They complained because they thought there was a lack of resources to do the job properly! (Any of this sounding familiar?)

At the end of the project there was also a lament. They said, "We had the opportunity to something totally new and different, and yet without thinking about it we built a very conservative structure that is really very much about more of the same." Interesting observation eh!



Well we didn't make them work all the time. Saturday morning we enjoyed a walk along the beach. We were staying at a shack at Primrose Sands and the beach was magnificent.

After our morning walk we settled down to reflect on the leadership principles in the call of Joshua, we prayed together and shared our dreams and ideas of where we need to focus and what we need to do to be able to move forward as a church.