I conduct funerals on a semi-regular basis. People from church, friends and friends of friends….I have also attended many as well.
One thing that strikes me is the variation in honesty and frankness at a funeral.

Some people were not nice, and despite a veneer of respectability, they were mean, selfish and bad parents. But it is so much more complex than that. Different children can describe the same parent in such a vastly different way, it is astounding…and almost monotonously regular.

One funeral I conducted was fascinating. The middle aged children sat down to talk with me about their mother. After many moments of awkward silence, they came out with it. She was not a good mother. She loved horses to the exclusion of her kids. Sometimes the children would be waiting in the rain to be picked up, sometimes for hours, because mum was down at the stables.

Interestingly, speaking to me was quite cathartic. They were then able to share some of the good things about their mum. There nearly always is something good, something we can laugh about together. I try to give freedom to laugh at a funeral, particularly if there is tension and unsaid things.

What has made me uneasy is when the person is celebrated as a ‘good bloke’ when in fact he cheated on his wife, numerous times, got drunk…a lot, and there where whispers of things in the family which are awful such as abuse. Something I am learning is the art of telling the truth, but in a gracious way that people are not offended, but still understand what you are communicating.  The alternative is to be totally frank and offensive, or dishonest. Telling the truth but in love and respect. I like to think it gives people the opportunity to celebrate what was good, while not hiding what was not. None of us are perfect. Forgiveness is about letting go of that hurt that may have been inflicted on us. Denial is suppressing the truth and pretending awful things never happened.

Either way, a funeral is nearly always a time when you discover lots of things about the person which you had not known before, even if you had lived with them for 40 years! Because we all have different perspectives on people, depending on how they treat us. It is a time for relief, for joy, for sadness. Its a time to understand regret and pain, and let it go.

What amazes me about atheists and materialists, people who only believe in biology and chemicals…is that they fail to account for the incredible spirituality we see demonstrated in the arts, in music, in theatre…in nearly every endevour of humankind there has been a striving to connect with something beyond ourselves.
But the truth is….as Christians…as people who are part of a church. How much of what we do…would continue…if the Holy Spriit was removed.

Here are some of my favourite photos from our recent trip to Tasmania

After Driving about 1300 Kilometres on the first day, and staying at Madura, we were lucky enough to make it to the Great Australian Bight for breakfast. Coco pops and milk…and a stunning view.

 

 

The road across the Nullabor is strangely fascinating. But with the Zooks average fuel capacity, I stopped at most fuel stops. Ruby enjoyed the whale!

 

We got to Melbourne quicker than expected and spent a day there. Then we boarded the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ for the 10 hour boat trip. The cabin was great. If traveling with your family I recommend traveling at night. We went to sleep at about 10pm and were woken at 6.45am. Great fun.

 

 

 

 

Tasmania produce is amongst the best in the world. Rasberries were cheap and plentiful, so were cherries, apricots and other superb fruit.

 

 

Cradle Mountain is perhaps the middle of Tasmania…in a spiritual sense. Our young family managed to climb to Marions lookout. A great sense of accomplishment. About 13 Kilometres and 6 hours.

 

 

 

The North West Coast of Tasmania is certainly our favourite part. Here we are fishing at Arthur River for ‘Cockie Salmon’. We did get some!

 

 

 

 

Love being able to drive on the beach.

 

 

 

 

The North West Coast of Tasmania, beautiful untouched coastline and a Zook? What more does a boy need?

It has been a while since I have posted anything Freo related.

This year shapes up as a defining year for the club….like the last 15.
The players all seem in shape and passionate for climbing up the ladder….like the last 15.

The big difference is our coach. Ross Lyon comes with a big reputation for strong discipline and work ethic. Already there are reports of players losing significant weight, and having renewed application to training.

They will need to, for Lyons sake. This present administration have proven time and time again that they have no sense of loyalty to anything apart from their own agenda. Lyon comes in knowing fully well that he has a short period of time before the CEO will be sharpening his knife. Like a new education minister, the club CEO has come in with a raft of changes to make sure his ‘branding’ is all over the club. I suspect the sacking of Harvey and replacing him with Lyon had as much to do with Steve Rosich ego as any plan for team success.

Watch your back Lyon, make sure that contract is water tight.

Having said all that…I support the club, not the administration, and I hope we do have a great year.

This is a great video…I don’t quite know why just yet. But there is something here about the physically powerful, the ‘attack first, ask questions later’, and frustration….