Vito's Ordination Song

I was re-listening to Michigan earlier this week and was struck by how beautiful the last song on the album is. The lyrics are so great.

I always knew you in your mothers arms
I have called you son
I've made amends
Between father and son
Or, if you haven't one
Rest in my arms
Sleep in my bed
There is a design
To what I did and said

 I also made the link for the first time that it's dedicated toSufjan's friend, Vito Aiuto, who is the front man of The Welcome Wagon, whose album Sufjan produced.

Ripping the frills from this war-torn skirt

I used to think I was a no-frills kind of person. In fact, I formed my whole identity in high school around this belief. I didn't need what the world said I needed; I could live a "no-frills" life; I could cut my hair short and dye it black and say stuff you to the establishment.

I think I still like to think I'm a no-frills person. Give me a beautiful sunset and I'll be happy, I tell myself. The concept appeals to me. The kind of life where contentment reigns, where the simple things bring pleasure.

But then I look at my actual life, and so much of it is a striving for frills, for that next fun experience, that beautiful object, the next poignant sentence, the next beautiful song.

I'm actually not so no-frills after all.

But I worship a God of no-frills. Paul in 1 Corinthians shares how he chooses to live a no-frills life to give God the glory:

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

The thing I love about Cross Cultures (where I work) is it's lack of frills. Every Thursday we meet in a pretty drab church hall (not ugly, just not beautiful either), sit around old tables and chairs, eating a home-cooked meal and talking about life. We come as we are. We have bible study in small groups that gather in the basement of the church. There is no fanfare, there is just us, the words of God and the seeds of faith.

I love this.

But then part of me dreams of making pretty handouts and decorating the hall and creating engaging videos and inventing a podcast for stories of how Jesus has changed lives. I want the frills, and even think that the frills will bring more fruit.

And then I realise the foolishness of my thinking. It's not about the frills, it's about the words of life.

Of course I rejoice in the creativity of God, and the creativity he's given us. I want to be creative and enjoy others' creativity. But I so often worship the works of my hands, resting on "man's wisdom" and not God's power.

In my heart I go and distort God's good world, seeking frills. But I have to re-learn that it's when the frills fade away that his wisdom will prevail.

Brown Owls Take 2



Tonight's our second Brown Owls gathering.

For the uninitiated, it's a bunch of crafters who meet in a pub in Brunswick every fortnight to hang out and craft together.

Kris (the dreadlocked one) and I did book sculptures last week. It was good for me to learn how to do them, but didn't really suit the vibe. Every one else was doing something with wool - crochet, knitting, or making pom poms.

There's only so many books you can fold, and only so much time you can spend folding. So I did a last minute dash to the wool shop today. I'm going the lazy route and will knit a scarf.

I've made a few scarfs in my time, but none of them wearable (in my opinion). And let's face it, Sydney doesn't really get cold enough to wear a woollen scarf.

Melbourne, however...

So, I'm making a stripy scarf out of these colours. I really like the greeny/yellow wool. I don't even know what colour to call it. It's slightly more green in real life.

However, I'd forgotten how expensive wool is. This scarf better be awesome!

The least-laborious Labour Day

How to have a lovely Labour Day:

Take one good friend and drive south to the Mornington Peninsula.

Pick up one of your good friend's acquaintances at her lovely old cottage which has a well, an old cedar and a hammock.

Drive from beautiful beach to beautiful beach, wallowing in the shallows and lying on piers.

Drink coffee, eat lunch, and visit an opshop.

Do this all under a blooming sun.

Drive home at sunset. Go to a very cheap gig featuring some of your old faves. Enjoy.

Darren Hanlon



Tali White ex Lucksmiths



Sally Seltmann

Sally Seltmann (ex New Buffalo) played at a free outdoor festival by the Yarra tonight. I rode down on my bike after dinner to catch her and ended up catching some fireworks too.

Sally was charming as always. I just wish I'd had someone to go with!

Melbourne was HOT today. Sydney kind of weather - humid and 29. I'm in denial that winter is coming. I refuse to accept it.

I spent the day wandering around the city by myself - going to the art gallery, a second hand book fair and a pop-up cafe. The solitude is nice, but it gets old pretty quickly. Looking forward to making some solid friends soon...

I met a lovely girl at Sally Seltmann's merchdesk who I will hopefully see at gigs, but methinks I'll have to wait till my journalist friend from Sydney moves down here in April before I can truly say I have a gig-going friend.

As you can tell, I'm taking my camera everywhere at the moment. It probably reflects how hyper-aware I am of my surroundings. Everything is new and interesting, worth documenting. Plus I have Lightroom now, which makes things fun.

the sunlight proper

some of my new friends

crafting by pub-light

So we went to Brown Owls, despite the rain, and despite the trepidation of meeting strangers in a pub we'd never been to.

But the communal crafting was great! There were 10 of us all up. Mostly people were doing crochet, but Kris and I made book sculptures.

Here's my finished product.

It's not as neat/cool as the one Kris made me for my birthday, but suffices as a first attempt.

I got laughed at by everyone for expressing my fear of the Melbourne winter, that time when I will be able to see my breath in my own bedroom when I wake up. The mockery was so loud! Oh well... I'll have to buy a cute winter coat soon.

Brown Owls is happening again in a fortnight at the same place and same time, so if you happen to live in the inner north and want to come, just comment and I'll tell you the details.