These are some of my favourite things

These last couple of weeks have been busy but satisfying. I really have had a chance to do a lot of my favourite things.

We have entertained friends from Australia & Hong Kong

As you can see Fuzz Kitto from Australia really does live up to his name.

Last weekend we flew to San Diego to work with Solana Beach Presybterian Church. For me it was a little like going home to Australia – not only was the weather like Sydney (sun and surf all around) but it seemed to me that San Diego had imported all of my favourite trees & shrubs too – eucalyptus (commonly called gums in Australia) bottle brush & one of the most unusual flowers you will ever see – the kangaroo paw (see photo)

We also spoke at three church services, taught a perspectives class and met with church leadership over meals. I also had the chance to reconnect to people I had not seen since I was in Mercy Ships. It was a wonderful treat.

This weekend began with another party – Tom organized a luau with lots of wonderful Hawaiian style food. Anneke who lives in our downstairs flat even taught us to do the hula. In his book The Challenge of Jesus Tom Wright says “Everywhere that Jesus went there was a party. Seems like good theology to me & certainly something that we have taken to heart.

Saturday we spent on the land we own of Camano Island working on prayer trails in order to have the site ready for our Celtic prayer retreat in August. It was wonderful to be up on the land again – the smell of cedar & fir, the beauty of the forest and just the joy of being out in the midst of God’s wonderful creation is one of the most refeshing things I know.

I have even had time to work out in the garden. As you may know one of our commitments is to sustainability and one of the best ways to achieve this is by growing as much of our own food as possible. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to go out into the garden and pick vegetables to use in the meal you are about to prepare. This year I have gone a little wild with new varieties – purple, yellow and green cauliflowers have to be seen to be believed and they taste every bit as good as the white ones.

And in between times there was plenty of work to do on the Seed Sampler and upcoming MSA events. Somewhere soon I hope to find time to work on another book, or maybe just another reflection video – I love being able to incorporate my photos in what I do. It is the first time in my life I have been able to use this creative gift in this way.

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