On Fire

Not too much to tell this past week. I got hit by the flu truck and spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday resting, recovering and essentially being a big sook. During that time Kylie looked after the children and I. And I laid in bed or on the lounge. Hmmmm. I told you it was a quiet week.

I was finally back to it on Friday, and put in a reasonable day at uni. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with some friends that evening. And when we awoke on Saturday morning Kylie suggested that she was feeling a little unwell. Oh no! There’s no way I could do everything Kylie does. In order to nip it in the bud, I took the children out for the day. We left around 9am and returned just after 2pm.

First stop was Ella’s preschool, where I spent a little over an hour weeding “the jungle”. The children played and had loads of fun. Ella painted – mostly on her hands, face, and clothes! Then I took them down to the harbour. It is so beautiful there. We walked along the pier, with Ella flirting dangerously close to the precipice all the way along. That girl scares me so much! My nerves were frazzled by the time we got a safe distance from the water.

As we headed off to do some exploring, Ella came running to me holding her hands out. She had been playing with something brown and gooey. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I had my suspicions. And I wasn’t going to let her touch me with THAT on her hands. We walked to the boat ramp and Ella used the sand to wash her hands. Rinsing them off was a challenge, and as you might expect, Ella ended up a lot more wet than she should have. She splashed through the waves as they raced up the sand beside the ramp! At least her hands were clean. A bit of anti-bacterial gel and we were back in business.

We climbed to the top of a huge, grassy hill. The girls rolled down, giggling and squealing delightedly. Ella chose to join the fun, but from a different starting point. She laid down in the scattered grass clippings instead of the clean grassy patch that Chanel and Abbie had begun their downward journey.

An hour later and after a few tantrums, Ella was finally in the car with the other girls and we were off to buy some lunch. I couldn’t decide on which fish and chips shop, and ended up making a very bad choice.

The kids had a quiet afternoon at home while I prepared dinner with Kylie. Then, just as dinner was being served, Ella came into the kitchen saying “Sorry” and holding out her finger telling us it was burnt. We thought she must have burned her finger on the gas heater. We were trying to kiss it better when…

we smelled something…

It was in the lounge room...

And it smelled toxic.

FIRE!

Ella had put her little foam lounge chair over the top of the heater. It was burning and filling the house with toxic fumes. Kylie raced outside with the chair while I turned off the heater and ran around the house opening doors and windows. It was icy cold as the breeze began to remove the smoke and smell. Dinner got cold. But Ella was safe, and so was the house. Phew! What a day.

Just as the children were fading off to sleep, the phone rang. It was one of the members of the bishopric from church. He had to race off to Launceston in Tasmania and couldn’t give his talk in church. Would I give one instead?

So I spent a couple of hours putting together a 20 minute “sermon” before finally collapsing into bed a little before midnight (You can read it in the blog post below).

Today it’s Sunday. The talk went well. We had a terrific day at church. This afternoon we had pasta for lunch and I took all four kids for a 2 hour walk. It was terrific. As I contemplated the way we walked I chuckled at what it said about the children’s personalities.

Out in front by at least 100m was Ella. She is 100 mph all the time. And she runs her own race. Half an hour after I observed her forging the path ahead, she was lagging behind smelling flowers in people’s yards.

Chanel pushed the pram with Annie. She is the organiser, the protector, and the responsible one. We see it in everything she does.

Abbie was content to walk beside me, holding my hand. She is the soft, compassionate, caring child. And Abbie loves to be with people, and to feel safe and protected.

Of course all of the children possess these attributes and we see them at various times, but it was illustrative to consider their behaviour as we walked in the broader context of their characters.

After walking up and down 3 klms of some of Wollongong’s steepest hills Kylie picked us up so we didn’t have to traipse home. And another week has vanished, leaving us to remember the joy of last week, look forward to the possibilities of a new week, and extract every bit of experience out of the moment we’re now in.

Upon This Rock

At the climax of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ gave this counsel: “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matt. 7:24–27.)

My children love to go to the beach. During the warmer months of the year we spent considerable time at Port Kembla, our favourite beach. We enjoy playing games and swimming, and the girls are particularly fond of building in the sand. Typically we create a fortress. We begin to dig a hole at a point along the shoreline where the waves can just reach. As we dig the hole, we pile sand in front of it to act as a protective “breakwall” to keep the water out.

As we dig we watch for incoming waves. Those waves have varying levels of impact depending on the strength of the foundations of the breakwall. When the foundations are solid, thick, and all encompassing, the waves have little effect on the wall. When the wall is too thin, short, or when it fails to surround our hole, the water washes over it and destroys our efforts.

Interestingly, when we build a solid wall it still only lasts for a limited time. Incessant destructive efforts from the ocean eventually cause it to crumble without our ongoing work to solidify and build and strengthen the foundations of that wall.

When the Saviour spoke of building a house, he was metaphorically describing the lives we build.

It is within our power to build a house of faith, a house of righteousness, a house of salvation. We can build a happy home, full of joy and love. But to do so, when so much of life’s adversity attempts to wash over us, requires us to build upon a Sure Foundation.

So what is the rock – the sure foundation – that we should build our homes, and lives upon?

That foundation, that Rock, was identified by the Lord Himself as he spoke with His disciples. He questioned them, asking who men say that he, the Son of Man, is. (See Matt. 16:13.)

The disciples responded by stating that some say He is the Baptist whom, it was claimed, had risen from the dead. He was also being touted as Elias who should restore all things; or Elijah who should come before the great and dreadful day; or Jeremiah, of whom it was also falsely claimed would prepare the way for the Messiah.

Then Jesus asks a far more important question.

“But whom say ye that I am?” (Matt. 16:15.)

The question is more important because it cuts to the heart of the matter. It’s interesting to know what others are saying and thinking, but what do YOU think?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all answer as Simon Peter. I imagine him leaping to his feet and without the slightest hesitation exclaiming: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16.)

The critical lesson in this interaction comes from the Lord, following Peter’s assertion. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona.” (Matt. 16:17.) Why is Peter so blessed? “For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

It is not because Peter has witnessed miracles. He has witnessed the blind receive their sight, lepers made whole, the deaf hear, the mute talk, even the dead raised. But this is not how he knows who Jesus is. There were thousands who also saw what Peter saw, and they failed to accept Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour of the world. It is because he knows by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Lord; the Holy Spirit has confirmed the divine Sonship of this Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus continues, and this is the critical point in my talk today, by stating: “And upon this rock”—the rock of revelation—“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18.) REVELATION MEANS TO MAKE KNOWN, OR UNCOVER.

This is a critical issue. I am what some might call an “academic”, at least in training. I balk at that suggestion, but ultimately I guess I fall loosely into the category of scholar. At the very least I am a scientific researcher. Science is held up in our community by some as the source, the gold standard, of all truth.

Yet the Lord does not say, “Upon the rock of science and empiricism will I build my church.” He doesn’t state that if we do enough studies, or investigate the galaxies, or the cells of the body, that we will find Truth. His statement is that the rock of revelation will lead us to Truth. It should be our foundation. He also promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against that Rock.

Having established what the Rock is that we should be using as our foundation, I wish to use the remainder of our time to discuss how our church is build upon the Rock of Revelation, and how our lives, likewise can be built upon the sure foundation.

The Church

At the time of Joseph Smith, there were two dominant views of Christianity. The Catholic view, and the Protestant view. These religious parties, and those that flowed from them, essentially agreed on certain characteristics of God and what He was like.

Trinity: Father, Son, & HG of the same substance.
He can be our father by adoption—if we accept Him.
He made us out of nothing. No pre-earth existence.
He is different in kind from us.
He is unknowable, a mystery. To know Him is to diminish Him.

One of the greatest revelations in the history of the world, and certainly in the past couple of thousand years is one upon which our Church builds its foundation. Joseph Smith, aged 14, was confused by the creeds of religions in his hometown. Creeds that explained God just as I did a moment ago. After study, pondering, and seeking answers, Joseph Smith sought to know more – from God, through prayer.

In answer to Joseph’s inspired prayer, revelation came. Knowledge, Truth, and Light were made known; uncovered, as it were. Joseph spoke, in person, with God our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. What was revealed? How does it compare with the philosophies of men adopted over the past centuries?

Three separate and real Beings (physical)
He is our literal Father.
He begat our spirits. We have always lived - with Him!
We are like Him and can become more like Him.
He is our Father, Friend, Advocate
Our first duty is to know God & His character. To know Him is to be changed by Him.

Our church is built on revelation – making things known and uncovered

Common Christian views of how God leads people include:

Catholics: Through the Pope and through the debate and politicking of early councils
Protestants: Through the Bible
Protestants: Through the body of believers

The LDS view is somewhat different.

Through a living prophet (Amos 3:7)
Through the Bible and additional revelation (unlimited!)
Through message of HG in mind and heart

Our Own Lives

I will briefly highlight three ways: Obedience, reading the scriptures, and prayer.

Personal Righteousness… we must be worthy if we are to receive revelation from God. It comes from His Holy Spirit, and the Spirit does not dwell in unclean temples.

Reading the Scriptures… We are commanded to “feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell [us] all things [we] should do” (2 Ne. 32:3). As we obtain the words of the Lord, we receive revelations. Things are uncovered. We are made aware of His will.

Prayer... Our scriptures abound with endless examples of revelations which come to us from our Father because of faithful prayers, and righteous desires. Sections 8 and 9 identify keys we don’t have time to discuss here and now to help us comprehend the revelations we receive. Miracles are manifest, we are recipients of revelation, as we live worthy lives, study, and pray.

Elder Eyring, in a superb address on Faith in October Conference, 2005, added that when we have done these things we could sit back and say that we have built a strong foundation, upon the Rock. We might say “I have done well, and created a strong foundation “by starting early and being steady in obedience. I will store it away against the times when I will be tested in storms.” However, this may be unwise because “faith has a short shelf life.” Just like the foundations of the sand fortress we built on the beach. Instead, he counsels, we will do well if we persist in strengthening that foundation, and “Go back and drink deeply and often” from the sources of strength.

Helaman counseled his sons, Nephi and Lehi, to “remember that it is upon the Rock of our Redeemer that we must build our foundation.” This can only be done when revelation confirms that He is our Redeemer.

My life is blessed, and my foundation strengthened as I reflect and acknowledge the revelations, answers to prayers, that I have experienced. They help me know that God hears our prayers and reveals truth to help His children.

I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is built upon the Rock of Revelation in accordance with Jesus’ instruction to His disciples, with a living prophet receiving revelation from our Head, Jesus Christ, in steering our course. Joseph Smith received a great revelation to commence the complete restoration of Christ’s Gospel to the earth. And I witness that I have received revelation through the Holy Ghost, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my Saviour and Redeemer, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His Church, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Good Friends are God's way of Apologising for Family

This is going to be a little longer than usual… we’ve had a huge couple of weeks and some exceptional experiences.

Last time I wrote we were having a wonderful time in Brisbane. We had a superb trip. Our Sunday (which commenced after I wrote the last entry) was wonderful, visiting friends and enjoying great company. We spent the morning relaxing because Kylie was not feeling 100%. Then we left early for church. We arrived at the meetinghouse at midday, an hour early for our meetings, but on time to say hello to our old congregation, who were just concluding. We have never felt so welcome in Camp Hill! It was wonderful to see our old friends!

Church was ok, although I was a little restless, wanting to be social more than reflective. I think the children were feeling similarly. We left at the end of the sacrament meeting and visited a few more friends. Warm conversations, kind words – happy memories.

Our final day was to be Monday. We wished we could have stayed longer. I didn’t think I would ever feel like that about Brisbane. More wonderful visits with friends. Kylie caught up with a lovely lady and her children who was a friend we met through swimming lessons. As we arrived at their home, their daughter saw Chanel and came running. Chanel dived out the door and we smiled as they embraced with fervour! It was really beautiful. The kids had so much fun playing. It was an exercise in the most diplomatic and tender negotiations to get them back in the car at the end of their visit. Our day concluded with a family dinner at the park, which abruptly terminated after Adele’s little boy put his teeth through his lip. Ouch.

Tuesday (the 6th of May) we left Bris-Vegas for the ‘Gong. It was so wonderful to fly! In typical Coulson fashion we barely made it to the airport on time to catch the flight. The traffic on the Gateway was as terrible as ever – at 5.30 am! I can’t believe that so many people get up at that time. As we travelled to the airport I had my mobile phone on my lap. I had been talking to Kylie (in her mum’s car) about alternate routes because of the voluminous traffic! I jumped out of the car when we arrived, forgetting all about my phone. It bounced once on the asphalt, and splashed into the storm drain beneath my feet! I removed the grate and, ignoring the worried glances from passers-by and airport security, climbed into the drain to rescue my adventurous phone. It doesn’t rain in Brisbane, but there was still an inch of water in the bottom of the drain – enough to drown my phone and render it inoperable.

The girls looked fashionably cute walking into the terminal. They were all rugged up in their huge coats because of the cool morning, and the fact that we knew it would be 10 degrees colder in NSW than QLD. Each of them was dragging their little suitcases behind them and wearing their carry-on backpacks. They were so excited to catch the plane – but not nearly as excited as Kylie and I. And then we found that our flight had been cancelled! We were fortunate to be able to fly just an hour later on the next flight. Instead of 14 hours in the car, we were in Sydney 90 minutes later. The children were so exhausted following the 4.30 am start that they slept most of the way home. Ahhh, peace and quiet. Kylie and I savoured the silence.

Arriving Home

We had left our house key with a good friend from church while we were gone. She had told us she wanted to give us one of her old lounges, and was going to look after things while we were gone. We picked up the key from her on the way home. Our visit was brief, and concluded with her handing Kylie a letter. It was titled “The Arctic Chateau”.

As we began to read we laughed gratefully. It was so funnily written, and detailed how the “maids and room service staff” (our friends) had gone through our home from top to bottom to make it ready for our arrival. Curtains had been hung, beds remade with under-blankets, lounges installed (as well as a few other furniture items), the fridge and fruit-bowl had been stocked, flowers purchased, some odds and ends for bathrooms etc had been bought, and the house had been cleaned from top to bottom. All this while our friend was unwell!

Kindness like that is impossible to repay. We have some wonderful friends.

The following day, Wednesday 7th May, Chanel was unwell. No school for her… but she went with Kylie to drop Abbie off. Waiting at the gate was one of Chanel’s best friends with a big “Welcome Back” sign, hand-made, for our family. Paige and her mum had done it as a craft project in anticipation of our arrival. They were so sad that Chanel couldn’t stay at school.

On Thursday I rang the motorcycle shop to discuss a deal I’d been working on with them. I traded in my big black Honda. It was hard to do, because the bike looks so good. There’s a lot of status tied up with it. I traded down to a much smaller bike, but much newer. My Honda had been 11 years old and had lots of things about it that were going to cost me money. It had not been looked after well by previous owners, and I felt that it had already cost me too much. So I swapped it for a 10 month old Yamaha commuter (called a Scorpio). It only has 3,500 kms on the clock, and is still under warranty. So I’ve lost the status of the big one, but I’ve got the reliability and economy of a newer, smaller bike. Still, it was hard to say goodbye.

Little else occurred between Friday and Sunday. Of course, Sunday was Mother’s Day. Another big day in the Coulson home! We were up early, wishing Kylie a breathtaking, magnificent day. I cooked her favourite brekky. Bacon, eggs, tomato, pineapple, toast and baked beans, all washed down with fresh juice. Then reality hit as we prepared lunches and things for a long drive to Gosford.

We darted off to church, just arriving on time. At 12.30 we were on the road again, heading north. Two and a half hours later we pulled into Daleys Point. The evening wasn’t quite as “happy” as we’d have hoped. But there were several pleasant moments, including the whole family laughing around the table as we sang Disney songs. Oh, and the food was delicious – and abundant. Each of the children prepared part of the meal. We stayed far too long though, not leaving until after 9pm. So, after fighting to stay awake for far too long, we finally arrived home at 11.30 Sunday night.

I’m pleased to say that this week just gone has been much quieter than the previous couple. Routine has been re-established, and things have hummed along at a comfortable, even rate. On Wednesday evening Chanel was on the local TV news. Her classroom was featured as part of the coverage of national school testing (of which I am heavily opposed – but that’s for another conversation). It was exciting to see her, and no doubt her class talked about it with excitement all the next day!

Abbie loves talking to us about all of the good things we have in life. Every night she makes sure we discuss highlights of our day as we eat our evening meal. I had a really funny conversation with Abbie on Friday. She told me that she remembered how my mum (Nanny Coulson) had given her some pencils. She explained how grateful she was for them, and then stated, “It fills me with great joy Dad.” Priceless!

Yesterday (Saturday), little Ella had to have a blood test. We are having her comprehensively assessed by a psychologist in the coming weeks to ascertain the degree of challenge we face with her cognitive development. We’re hoping that we’ll be told that Ella is fine, just temperamentally difficult, and the main challenge she has is her speech and language. But the doctor wants to go over her physical health in detail too. Ella was so brave. She sat up on the bench and put her arm out. Then she cuddle Kylie. As the prick entered her skin she quietly said, “It’s hurting me too much mummy.” She is so precious. Kylie told her to count to ten and it would be over. They only got to 4 and it was finished. Ella savoured the lollipop the pathologist rewarded her with, and wore her little bandaid with pride.

After the needle, we took the kids to a Country Fair/School Fete where we paid too much for rides and fairy floss, but got good value in laughs and time together.

It has been a magical few weeks and we feel privileged to be able to enjoy it all so much.

Brisbane

I’m sitting in warm, sunny Queensland as I type this out. And it’s nice to be here.

Last week concluded after Kylie did a wonderful job speaking in front of over 1000 people at our Stake Conference for church. I was really sick though, and the day was uneventful. I remained in bed all day Monday and Tuesday (though I raced into uni to teach two classes on Tuesday afternoon). I also took Wednesday off. Each of those days was entirely uneventful for our family. In my time off I essentially did nothing although I spent some time helping Kylie around the house. (I didn’t realise just how big our house is until I had to clean it).

Chanel has been learning her multiplication tables and we bought some cards that turn the tables into a game. We have gone from struggling with the tables to knowing all of them inside out (including 8’s and 9’s) in 3 days. She has done amazingly well.

Thursday morning we piled into the car and drove to the airport to fly to Brisbane. The kids were full of anticipation, perhaps more for the chance to be with family than to actually fly on a plane. In typical Coulson style we arrived at the airport with moments to spare, checked in, and boarded the plane. After some confusion about seating – we weren’t given a seating allocation together! – we managed to take our place and enjoy getting to Brisbane in 90 minutes instead of 14 hours (which is what the drive would have been).

Disembarking at Brisbane saw us all express identical sentiments – “Wow it’s warm in QLD!” Jumpers and all of those warm clothes were shed in favour of t-shirts, shorts and thongs. It is an entirely different climate. We were surprised at how dry it still is up here. We have become accustomed to green surrounds in Wollongong.

Some friends were kind enough to loan their car to us, and, after picking up Kylie’s dad (who the kids were so thrilled to see again) we drove to the Gold Coast to visit with Nan & Auntie Jan. It was going to be a short visit but we had a great time and ended up staying a few hours. We ate an unexpected, but tasty, dinner on Nan’s best crockery and had a genuinely enjoyable evening. Then back to Brisbane as we fell into an exhausted slumber.

Friday was a genuine highlight for us. Chanel spent the day at her old school: Cannon Hill State School. She was invited in to her old class with her teacher and spent the day with all of her friends. She got to order lunch, and after school she went to Netball training with her old team. So much fun! Abbie enjoyed her day playing with her best friend, Elissa Thayer. They spent around 6 hours together. Abbie was satisfied, and had a contented smile as they exchanged farewells. She is beautiful. Ella also got to play with friends while Kylie spent the morning catching up with several of her best friends at a morning tea. I spent the morning finalising paperwork associated with my old Management Training job. It is now finished, and I can send in my final invoice.

The other interesting event for Friday was visiting our old house in Morningside. We wanted to check on it, and therefore have the opportunity to claim the associated portion of our trip as a tax deduction. The place looked terrific. There were more weeds than I would have liked to see but, generally speaking, we seem to have good tenants. As we toured our old home Kylie and I couldn’t believe that we ever squeezed into the place. We left there after a quick visit to our old neighbours, feeling very satisfied and confident that things will work out well there, at least for the short-medium term.

Saturday Kylie indicated that she was coming down with what I’ve had. I’m still not fully recovered, but it appears that Kylie has caught it. Oh dear. Nevertheless, Kylie enjoyed time with another good friend who gave her a gorgeous gift. A couple of years ago, this friend took Kylie out for her birthday. They had a wonderful day, and Kylie received a list of 10 things this friend loved about her. It was quite special. On Saturday, this same friend gave Kylie a gift that she has been working on for two years. It is a beautiful, ten-page foldout scrap-booked card that describes the ten things this friend loves about Kylie. Such a special gift.

Kylie also watched her sisters play soccer during Saturday afternoon which I think she really enjoyed, although I’m not sure if Kylie will be looking up the local club in Wollongong to join up.

We were supposed to have fish ‘n chips for dinner, but I suggested that it would be cheaper (and tastier) to cook a roast. We ate in style! But it took an hour longer to cook than we expected because I wasn’t used to the oven. I was quite proud of myself though. I cooked for 8 adults and 4 children: roast chicken (x2), about 30 potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, corn and broccoli. Kylie made the gravy as only she can (the best gravy comes from Kylie’s pan). Yum. Of course, since cooking a roast is messier than fish ‘n chips, I also had to clean up. But it was worth it.

So far the holiday has been terrific. We return to NSW on Tuesday morning. We’re hoping that the rats in the ceiling will have moved out…