Then God said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ (Exodus 3:5)

There is a place that the first white farmers did not find value in, so they let it be. We call it the Stony Rises. It is near Mount Porndon. It is a place where the flat land suddenly becomes many small hills, one following from the other. The hills are many volcanic rocks, with just enough soil between them for life to flourish. Manna gums and blackwoods grow there, kept safe by the volcanic rocks. It is a sanctuary. Continue reading “18 | stony rises | djargurd wurrung country #Lent 2023” →

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life … (Matthew 6:26)

I first encountered the risen Christ when He lifted His head from the golden crucifix that had him nailed there, girded only in a white, unstained, loin cloth, and looked at me. On his face was a smile. I was ten years old. His smile told me I was welcome. I didn’t need more than that. Continue reading “17 | the fruitful garden | peek whurrong country #Lent 2023” →

Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10-29-31)

This is a song I wrote a very long time ago. I remember walking at Stingray Bay early one morning. The sun was shining, there was no-one else around, and the beauty of that place just resounded. Continue reading “16 | stingray bay | peek whurrong country #Lent 2023” →

And he told them many things in parables … (Matthew 13:3)

The middle of winter in Cudgee sees southwest winds, grey skies and lots of rain – sometimes horizontal!! – but occasionally a day or stretch of days so still and sunny. It’s the time of year for winter fruit tree pruning; and it’s in our orchard and the grasses in the paddock beyond our fence that I see and delight in tiny spreading webs. I’m not sure which insect creates them, but they stretch and shimmer from branch to branch, from bush to grass, from fence to vine. I catch my breath and often get a bit caught up watching and looking for more. Continue reading “15 | cudgee paddock | kirrae whurrung country #Lent 2023” →

I’m confident that I’ll see God’s goodness in the land of the living! O dawdle, and await God’s pleasure. (Psalm 27:13-14a) 

For me it is the wooden bridge that goes over the Merri River next to Woodford Primary School. It’s so luxious and beautiful and green. There is also a lot of wildlife that lives around that area so I feel like they are drawn to the presence of God. Almost everyday, I walk across this bridge to get to school, but the sight never gets old. There is this little area / pond in the river that is surrounded of rocks.  That is really the main attraction. I just love this place and it holds a special place in my heart. Ω Continue reading “14 | wooden bridge, woodford | peek whurrong country #Lent 2023” →

When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars that you have established: what are humans, that you are mindful of them? mortals, that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

‘Not the middle of nowhere but the centre of everywhere.’ Cameron Corner, where the borders of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia meet, is not an exciting place. The only reason for going is so that you can say that you have been. It is, after all, the conjunction of lines somewhat arbitrarily drawn on a map by old blokes many years ago. Continue reading “13 | cameron corner | malyangapa country #Lent 2023” →

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

This piece is a conversation with one of our older folk. You can listen to our conversation here, or read the transcript below:

https://sanctuarybaptist.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/baptism-at-quinns-rocks.mp3 Continue reading “12 | quinns rocks | whadjuk country #Lent 2023” →

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15-16)

When I drop my daughter at the stables, I look across the wetlands to the dunes. Between the weathered, flattened dunes are two perky dunes side by side. For all the world, they look like a young woman’s breasts. I prayer-dream a woman lying across the landscape. Her hair streams like kelp into the sea; her breasts rise among the dunes; her womb encompasses the fertility of the wetlands. Continue reading “11 | kelly’s swamp | peek whurrong country #Lent 2023” →