Sunday, Sunday.

What I wanted most for my daughter was that she be able to soar confidently in her own sky, whatever that may be. Helen Claes.



Sunday was not a day of rest. Far from it. I can't even blame the kittens who, while not asleep when I rose from my bed, were not bouncing off our walls either. Nope it's all Liddy's fault.



Liddy needed to be on a 7am boat because this is the week she spends in Melbourne for her pre~field training. This is the last of the first things. If this goes well & according to plan then Chile is definitely on! It is a scary thought.



Anyway I made Liddy drive because the airport is across one of those 13 bridges that decorate the Brisbane River, which means driving through town on the highway & that is just not something I enjoy at any time & particularly not early in the morning. Besides, as I pointed out, I had to drive back. I know there is parking at the airport but we were destined not to find it & having driven round the circuit 3 times Liddy pulled over, I threw her out & abandoned her on the side of the road to sort herself out & headed home. Liddy is very competent & is now safely in Melbourne [another city I do not like! sorry Jeanne.] doing goodness knows what in order to go to the ends of the earth.



I was home in time for church. Now we have been seeing a shift in dynamics with our little church & as always when things have to be dealt with it is uncomfortable & because I am a woos Dearest is at the forefront of the firing line [which is how it should be scripturally anyway] but I hate upset. It upsets me, don'tcha know.



Now one reason amongst many for pulling out of our island church was leadership tolerance of blatant sin by a member been given leadership positions. Scripture speaks very strongly about such sin & how it will destroy the church, especially if that sin is a sexual sin & there is no repentance. Dearest & I felt very strongly that if we must go the home church way we wanted to be with Christians who wanted more of God & were willing to die to their flesh in order for that to happen. We are tired of nominalism. We also discerned very clearly from God that we were to judge people by their fruits. How else are we to discern their walk with God? By what they say? I hardly think so!

Now I want to make it very clear: I am not a wowser. I am all for people having a quiet drink or two in their own homes. Invite friends if you like. Party on! Not my thing. One small glass of wine & I'll be snoring under your table. I know that about me & rarely indulge. Liddy, who began having the occasional drink when she was legally of age, now rarely indulges either. Like me a drink or two brings out the aggro & we don't like who we become. We don't like that our Christian witness goes down the gurgler faster than a bomb. I appreciate that for some people a glass of good wine with a nice dinner is one of the delights of life. I also think this is an area where Christians have to tread very, very carefully. We are God's witnessness. If our witness is poor we jeopardise our ability to draw people to the One who saves.

Although not drinkers ourselves we did not object when those who are had a glass or two at our meals. They brought their own wine. They even brought their own glasses. BUT. Oh dear, oh dearie me! Over time the one drink became two, then three or four & what had begun as a pleasant evening became fueled by alcohol. This made us uncomfortable. It made others uncomfortable. A spirit other than Christ's was at work.

There are other issues, even more serious issues because again they are leadership issues. If you lead people into sin you are accountable for that! Dearest & I distressed & stressed about it & while we would not refuse fellowship we have made it very clear certain issues need to be addressed, that we will not tolerate the blatant mocking of God's law in our fellowship. If that means they will no longer fellowship with us, I can live with that. If they want to start up their own fellowship, I can live with that too. I won't be held accountable for what they choose to do under their own roof. It is very clear from God's word that those who presume to teach will be held to a higher accountability. It should be enough of a warning to make any right~minded person tremble in fear.

The fallout is bitter. Other people have been shocked & distressed by the behaviour. God is good. We still have people to fellowship with who feel as we do ~ & who were totally delighted that the kittens chose to join us for worship. We band~aided as best we could but only God can deal with unrepentant hearts. *sigh* The ravening lion is still doing his work & Christians are still cheerfully feeding themselves to him.

Then it was back to the mainland to pick up Ditz ~who was late, her driver having put his steering lock on while failing to bring his key with him! One destroyed steering lock later they arrived! Ditz is very sunburned & very tired & very... well very much her Ditzy self. She had a lovely time but we had agreed to pick up Dino for mainland church & both Ditz & I barely made it! I was well & truly fading half~way through the sermon, a sermon that did not make any of us happy. Yes, we are hard to please. Yes, we have exacting standards. Yes, the Lit major gets out her red pencil & starts editing. lol. We like the regular guy but this was the new senior pastor & I just felt he was trying a little too hard & he repeated himself way to much. I got it the first time, thanks, & my bed needs me. No, I'm not at my most tolerant once I get over tired. Dino, who cut his baby teeth on the theological arguments going on over his head, got grumpier & grumpier, having got his sermon in a nutshell while waiting for church to begin. [Mama's take on the new testament implications of Leviticus! Well, what do you talk about while you wait for church to begin?]

We missed the 8.15 home & waited nearly an hour for the next boat where Ditz got flirted with by TWO! yes, two, different boys!!! Ditz got creeped out & her mother was ready to hand her a burkah on the spot! Her father will once again consider bricking her in her room until she turns 45! Oh my!

I walked in my own door with relief, thinking I'd slump in my chair & tease my kittens before heading to bed but Dearest had been waiting 7 hours for me to reappear, desperate for computer help. All that church must have had some effect. I didn't grump. I barely sighed. Eventually I opened my Facebook page to find Liddy, thoughtful child that she is, had left me a message assuring me that yes, she's arrived safely; yes, she got picked up; no, no strange man has run away with her yet; yes, her host family is totally wonderful & hasn't God got a great sense of humour because her host's sense of humour is just like ours & no, she's not picking up pointers for dad; he has enough bad jokes of his own! Thanks, Lid.