The Body of Christ - in Sydney and Worldwide

St. Philip's Church in Sydney reminds me a great deal of Grace Community Church. Alison's home church is an Anglican Church. The relaxed liturgy at St. Philip's has much the same feel as the services that I have attended at Church of the Apostles in Raleigh (special Thanksgiving and Good Friday services, though not a Sunday morning service). It was, as you can imagine, quite a blessing to be with brothers and sisters in Christ who love our Lord so much, and who love my dear wife, Alison, so very much, as well. Even as I enjoyed the sweet fellowship with new saints, my heart was drawn in spirit and prayer to the services at Grace Community Church that would begin some 14 hours later. The powerful preaching on the Sermon on the Mount and the friendly spirit of so many believers at St. Philips that held us for an hour after services (morning tea, you know - quite right) filled and warmed my heart on a cold Sunday morning.

It is always a joy to worship with brothers and sisters in different parts of the world. We have the common fellowship around Jesus that binds us together before we even meet one another. It is always heartening to see that the truth of Scripture that is so important to one's life (beliefs, thoughts, philosophy, worldview, etc.) are equally important to Christ-followers anywhere in the world you may find them. Sadly, I often find the level of commitment to be greater in other parts of the world than I do in the U. S. Of course, that could be a perception based on limited knowledge.

It is easy to love and enjoy new brothers and sisters in Christ, especially when you meet them in different parts of the world. The challenge is to love those same brothers and sisters 15 to 20 years later when you have lived life together all that time. Such reality is a picture of the truth found in Scripture that we are never commanded to create unity, because it is already built into the body of Christ. We are, however, strongly commanded to keep and protect unity because it can be such a fragile thing. It is surprising (or, not so, really) how much the NT speaks to this very issue, whether directly or indirectly. It is the point Peter is making in 1 Peter 4:8 when he says that we are to "love one another earnestly, because love covers a multitude of sins."

The Lord is the same everywhere. We know that, don't we? The believers in Sydney are beautiful - but, I have found them to be so, as well, in Prague, Budapest, Beijing, Chengdu, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Rome, and many other places around the world and in the States. Why? Because our Savior is beautiful! Thus, the body of Christ is beautiful, as well, and the Lord loves us deeply, regardless of where we reside.

In Australia

Alison and I arrived in Australia yesterday morning, having chased the sun out of Los Angeles on Monday night and then beating it to Sydney by about 30 minutes Wednesday morning. I just got Internet access earlier today (Thursday evening) for my computer. I have been able to access emails and the Internet via my Blackberry, but there is no way I was going to post anything from that! Besides, yesterday was a day of recovery from the flight - the most difficult I have had in a long time.

Although it was a difficult day physically, there was no let-down in the anticipation of meeting Joan, Alison's sweet and hardy Mum. Joan had a stroke two years ago while visiting her son's family in Spain. It appeared she may not ever see her home again, but the Lord brought her back from the brink and I am blessed for her resilience. What a delightful lady who loves the Lord, loves people, and loves life! I look forward to many coffee's and tea's and hours of conversation with my mother-in-law.

Currently, we are in the home of dear friends of Alison's, Barbie and Hugh. Barbie met us at the airport (along with Alison's cousin, Max, and Joan), as is the tradition for these close friends of many years. Alison has a passle of friends in the U.S., and it is becoming apparent that she has an equal number of pals in Oz. Tomorrow, we will go higher in the Blue Mountains - hopefully I will have more to report after our adventures. We may go to an area where we can expect to see kangaroos in the wild. Tonight, we may be able to hear a local wallaby from Hugh and Barbie's home on the edge of the bush.

Australia is a beautiful country, but the people are more beautiful than the landscape! Easy and fun (yet meaningful and purpose-filled) conversation is the norm, here. The bread is delicious - and that, my friends, is trouble. Oh, do pray for us!

Going Down Under

It has been quite some time since I have given serious attention to this space. I have written to announce the births of grandchildren and to announce my engagement to the lovely Alison Kasbe. She is now my wife - the new Alison Talley - and she becomes lovelier every day. We were married on June 14 at a ceremony at Alison’s Raleigh church – Church of the Apostles – in what would be characterized by all who were there, I feel certain, as a true worship service. Patrick Dominguez, lead pastor at Apostles, led us to the very throne room of God where many of our friends gave thanks for God’s beautiful grace in sending His Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to relate to God. And, our friends gave thanks to God for bringing us together, thus, blessing us immeasurably!

So, now we head to Australia to meet most of Alison’s family. Hey, I’m no fool – marry first, meet the family afterwards! I am just kidding – we have already fallen in love with one another from opposite sides of the world. Alison’s brother, David Cotton, and his incredible family (wife, Catherine and children, Sophie, Laura, and Josh – awesome missionaries in Spain, by the way) blessed us with their presence at the wedding and then were able to stay with us for a week in Fuquay after we returned from our honeymoon. I cannot tell you how wonderful that time was – well, for us, anyway! They helped us move from Alison’s house to an apartment in Raleigh, where we will be staying for a year while Sarala graduates from high school (more about our first year – I am not going anywhere, GCC!). Most of what was moved from Raleigh, though, went to storage in Fuquay, where my daughter, Autumn, and her husband, Brian Stafford, will be staying this year while we are in Raleigh (though we will be in Fuquay on the weekends and plenty more).

Waiting for us in Oz are Alison’s mother, Joan, and her sister, Heather (finishing treatment for breast cancer), her husband, John McAlpine, and children Melinda, Christine, and Matthew. I can’t wait to meet this dynamic family that is deeply committed to the kingdom of God! Additionally, we will meet a host of friends in this place that many think of as the friendliest country in the world.

So, I will stay in touch while we are in Australia. Many of you have expressed excitement with us about this trip, and a few have suggested that I chronicle the days and events while away. Our stay will be a decent one – we will not return until the end of July. Shaun Cross and David Calvert will be preaching at Grace while I am away, so please pray that I still have a job when I return!

I have been meditating on the first four verses of the book of Philippians for the last few days. I have, yet again, been struck by the Apostle Paul’s committed heart of prayer for others. My ADD mind (never diagnosed, but, hey, come on . . .) finds it difficult to sustain lengthy periods of prayer. In these last few days, I am working hard to pray for you when I think of you – and, I have been thinking about you quite a bit as I have contemplated blowing the dust off the old blog and cranking up again. You must know that Paul’s prayers focus on the spiritual rather than the physical, so that is guiding my thoughts and prayers for you. I am quite eager to share experiences with a whole new family (both those related to Alison by blood and those precious friends who mean so much to my dear wife) on this excursion, but I also want to share what God is doing in my heart and mind. I will be giving much prayer and thought to what God is doing at Grace Community Church as I interact with elders and staff back home in this marvelous age. I am certain some of those thoughts will spill over here.

Travelogue? Hardly! I wish the quality of the writing would be worthy of such a title. Experiences shared on paper? Oh, yeah! In fact, may I tell you about the 12 hour layover in Los Angeles in which we currently find ourselves? Not interested? OK – talk with you from Sydney!

Audrey Elizabeth Talley - My Fifth Grandchild!

This morning at 4:28 AM, Audrey Elizabeth Talley entered this world. Luara, my daughter-in-law, went into serious labor last night. Michael and Laura arrived at the hospital (in the snow) at about 10:30. Praise the Lord, it was not an extremely long labor, especially for the first child! We are thankful, as well, that Audrey is beautiful and healthy. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 14 oz and was 20 inches with a head-full of hair. Thank You, Father, for this beautiful new addition to our family!

She Said Yes!

This past Sunday afternoon, Alison Kasbe became my fiance when she said YES to my proposal of marriage! We both knew before Sunday that God had brought us together in His gracious, sovereign plan, but Sunday was a day of pure delight for us both. It was a day when weeping (for both of us) was officially turned to laughter and rejoicing. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that God has called her to be by my side as we, together, seek to follow His plan for our lives as we minister together in the kingdom.

The current plan is for us to be married at 6:00 PM on Monday, June 14. I say "current plan" for two reasons: 1) We have considered several other options, from a destination wedding, to a small local wedding, to a larger church wedding (the current plan); and 2) I am still holding out hope that I can talk her into eloping before that! Just kidding.

Sort of.

For those of you who don't know the Kasbe's, Alison has two wonderful children - Jonathan, a freshman at Elon University, and Sarala, a junior at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh. Jonathan and Sarala both love Jesus and follow hard after Him! In order for Sarala to be able to finish her senior year at Leesville Road High, we will live in Raleigh next year, so I will be commuting backwards. The elders of Grace Community Church have graciously granted my request for this arrangement. I am not going anywhere - I LOVE being the teaching elder at GCC, and if God will allow me to, I hope to retire at Grace. That will occur when I am 85 years old. Just kidding.

Sort of.

Alison and I plan to travel to Australia in July. I am so looking forward to my time Down Under and meeting my new friends (and, readers) in Alison's native land. What a pleasure it has been to correspond with some of you and to speak with some of you on the phone. I very much look forward to meeting many of you in Australia! Of course, there is family to meet in Oz, and I can't wait! In coming days and years, you will read more about Joan (Alison's awesome Mum), John and Heather (Alison's sister, who is battling breast cancer - please pray for her), McAlpine and their children (Melinda, Christine, and Matthew), and David (Alison's brother - missionary in Spain) and his family, though I will meet David, Catherine, and children (Sophie, Laura, and Joshua ) here this summer rather than in Australia.

OK, any more would be information overload. There is more to say, and I promise to get to kingdom matters in this space, but this is big news, and I'm not kidding! Thanks for caring! Oh, one more bit of info - for you Americans who don't know, Alison is spelled with one "l," which, apparently, is more common in Australia.

Alison

That's her name. Most of you know about Alison, but in case you don't, she is the beautiful (inside and out) Ozzie (Australian, in case you didn't know) lady that God brought into my life this past year. I tell her that she is my happy song because on the day that I met her, I stopped listening to sad music and began listening, once again, to happy music. Music is a big part of our lives. Last night, in fact, we enjoyed listening to Joshua Bell play violin with the North Carolina Symphony. He only played for about 35 minutes, so we figured it cost us about $2 per minute - each! You do the math. It was worth every penny of it! If you have not heard about the Washington Post's experiment with Joshua Bell playing in the entrance to a Washington, D.C. subway, check it out on You Tube.

Back to the topic at hand. Alison, though originally from Australia, lives in Raleigh. We share a deep commitment to Jesus, identical values, and many of the same interests, though football is a challenge for her and board games are equally difficult for me. Her smile lights up every room (and, always, my heart) and her genuine love and concern for people attracted me to her very early in our acquaintance. You will hear more about Alison on these pages, but I just wanted to introduce you to her in case you didn't know.

Thanks for hanging in there!

Is Anyone Still Out There?

Long time, no posts. That will change, soon, though, with so many kingdom matters on my heart and mind and with many interesting and wonderful events occurring in my life these days. So, in case anyone is still checking, stay tuned!