When you are on a summer holiday in a small-ish house with a large-ish number of people and a cyclone shows up, it is time to be creative.
Barby came to the rescue, with her latest purchase from the ‘adult colouring books’ (ACBs) genre. While they were a craze a decade ago, Barby has been an even earlier advocate of the way they help de-stress and relax people, by slowing them down and then creating this community among those who are colouring together. A depth of conversation can be possible when eyes are averted, a bit like driving in a car with your teenagers!
We took out some of the perforated pages from Spiral Scopes: World Landmarks and gave them to family members. This was our daughter-in-law, Kava’s, effort with the Taj Mahal. Remarkable, eh?! Now I gotta take her there one day… Here is Barby’s Sphinx—and my Colosseum, which is likely to have received one of those ‘good effort’ responses from the teacher.
But here is the amazing thing with these books. Each image commences as a blank page (see below). The colouring starts at the center, moving ever outwards in a ‘spiralling’ manner. Gradually, the picture emerges—and, of course, the fun increases when you don’t know what the final picture looks like when you start out. All you need is a pencil—and a little patience…
When we came back home, Barby went out to buy a copy of the second book that is available: Spiral Scopes: Amazing Animals. I lie. She bought two copies! With a blog taking shaping in my mind, I asked if she would mind colouring this animal for me (after all, today is India’s Republic Day!):
As is the case with imagery, there is often a metaphor lying there as well…
Isn’t this so similar to the way the Lord guides us?
We make a small start with him—and he with us. With the help of his Spirit, we find freedom and meaning within his boundaries, given to us in his Word. As we keep walking with him, step by step, he colours our lives—and sometimes it does feel like we are going around in circles! But in time and from experience, we discover, as Dr Beryl Howie held up on a card, as our first guest speaker in my years at Carey: Solvitur Ambulando Cum Deo [“the solution is walking with God”]. I liked it so much, I asked if I could have it—and then I framed it…
When we walk with God, it is about ‘trusting and obeying’ all the way home. As we do so, we have this conviction that a full and complete picture will emerge at the end, even if it can only be glimpsed intermittently along the way.
“He makes everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3.11).
nice chatting
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Apart from the eight years in which we were based overseas, Barby has been working at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Auckland since 2002. This year she is a ‘release teacher’, spending one day each week in three different classrooms, with three different age groups. Impressive—and demanding. One day is spent with 11-13 year olds—from…
There is something pleasing about image and word working in concert together, isn’t there? I was reminded of this again with a visit from my friend—and close colleague in Langham Partnership for more than 15 years—Pieter Kwant. the son, with song Pieter and Elria, who had popped-in for three days the week before, have a…
It is clever, isn’t it? The enduring inability of foreigners to spell (and pronounce) the name of their country has led to a marketing campaign, with everything from t-shirts to coffee cups, reminding us to get our vowels right. And if that strategy proves to be unsuccessful, there is always the fallback Bart Simpson option:…
If ‘Incredible !ndia’ can headline a tourist campaign for India, what about Magnificent Mongol!a for that large land-locked country in Central Asia? Here, let me try and make a start—because there was plenty of magnificence on display when I visited last month… a walk My hotel was on a major intersection near the center of…
My records show that this is my 800th post, going all the way back to 2nd February 2006—913 weeks ago. Yes, I do think about stopping often enough and I certainly think about deleting dozens of posts, but I keep going because of three loves: (a) I love chatting away to myself, shaping-ideas and smithing-words;…
Her workplace and his birthplace are barely 60kms apart in South India—but the places they occupy in our home could not be more different. Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur takes her place across an entire shelf! … while V.S. Azariah of Dornakal looks decidedly lonely, in comparison, doesn’t he? Yes, just a solitary book—and it is…