Yesterday was the first official day of spring in Auckland – brilliant blue sky and warm sun! Our family enjoyed a wonderful day worshipping with our Howick Baptist brothers and sisters, and being replenished by reading, singing and hearing God’s Word together.
Fathers Day in NZ also fell on the same day, and I got given my first ever Fathers Day card. Well, actually it was less a card and more a brilliant, hand-crafted, 15-page short story complete with illustrations from my talented wife. I was quite touched by it, no one’s made anything quite like it for me before…
Had lunch with church family, then in the afternoon we took Cheryl to the Fleeners to learn how to ride a bike. Cheryl’s never learned before believe it or not, and its something we’ve put off for too long! The Fleener kids were vocal and enthusiastic encouragers, and Cheryl managed to ride unassisted (she could even stop!) a few times! We’ll have a go at riding further distances next time, if she feels up to it.
The day was capped off with a wonderful evening of hymn singing. We’ve done a few now at church and I’ve enjoyed each one, particularly as we also get to learn more about the background of the hymn writers, as well as the important doctrines the hymns help us to appreciate and apply in our lives. This time round my favourite ones were Rock of Ages, The Church’s One Foundation and A Mighty Fortress (you can see all the hymns we sang here, with detailed notes) – but they were all a joy to sing.
If every day in spring were like this!
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