Reflections on Easterfest 2010

Laetitia took me to Easterfest this year. She's a regular goer, since before it changed its name, and has been wanting to take me along for years. This year I finally let her take me along.

We camped with friends from Mackay, in a borrowed tent. Well, when I say “we camped”, actually only Laetitia camped in the tent. I found on the first night that I was getting an allergic reaction to something in the tent, so I spent the nights in the car instead. But it was good to be in the midst of hundreds of tents, with many friends around. I especially enjoyed the discovery directly across from us of the tent of Benoir (I hope that spelling's right), one of the leaders on the year 9 camp I went to not long before Easter!

I also enjoyed running into so many friends walking around at Easterfest—old friends, new friends and students. With special thanks to Lily for the warm welcoming greeting within barely a minute of entering the gate!

But the point of Easterfest is the music, so I'd better say something about that, hey?

First let me start with what I didn't like: Too much noise without musicality, mostly from one tent in particular. But there were plenty of very good alternatives. I liked Sons of Korah, of course, and Newsboys on the main stage (even though there's only one Aussie left, and he's apparently not an original member either). Also enjoyed some of the other groups on the main stage (though not all of them). But I think my favourites were the “smaller” (lesser-known?) artists in venues like the YWAM Chai Circle, with its lovely relaxed atmosphere and intimate setting, and the jazz in the Hammered Silver tent. Bel Morrison and her band made some awesome music in the YWAM tent—and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend! They played really well together, with delicacy and musicality and, well, just actually listening to each other and playing as a group instead of trying to drown each other out like so many others.

I also enjoyed sessions by Jeff Crabtree and Steve Grace in the Vision Arena. Steve Grace in particular inspired me to think quite differently about how to be generous with some of my gifts.

So, overall, a positive experience, but I'm still not sure I want to go back next year. Cold, crowds, and uncomfortable nights are less than enticing.

Making dinner

I enjoy cooking.

Today I came home already feeling a bit run down, the shopping wasn't done yet, lots to do, gotta go out at seven, time is short… One of those days. Oh, and since Laetitia's going to do the shopping, I have to make dinner too. And there's almost nothing in the fridge to make it with.

Rummage around for ingredients. Change my mind a couple of times about what to make, based on what I (don't) find. Oh, and when the shopping comes back there'll be things to put away, too.

But once I actually start cooking— I dunno, I just start to feel better. Is it the smell of the spices? The frying garlic? The soothing action of stirring the pan? The sound of the onion sizzling in the warm oil? Actually I think it's as much the creativity: God the Creator has made me in his image, and I thrive on making something out of—well, not out of nothing; out of the raw ingredients that God has made.

And by the time dinner is ready, I'm feeling much better. I enjoy cooking.

Hearing God

Some people say they hear God speaking to them as an audible voice. I don't. I've always felt confused, skeptical and even disheartened to hear people talking about God that way.

So when I was studying at CHC a few years ago, and I got a chance for a research assignment to choose a topic of relevance to my own spiritual growth, I chose “Hearing God”. For that assignment, I read a number of books and essays on the subject. One of those books was Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard. At the time, struggling to write an essay by a due date, and not yet ready for the deeper stuff later on in the book, I never got further than about half-way through it. But I knew I wanted to finish reading it some time.

Recently my wife bought me a copy, and I have now been able to read it carefully and thoroughly from cover to cover.

The book is excellent. The style is conversational and gentle, but precise and unambiguous. Firmly grounded in the Bible, most of the book is a theology of hearing God, as much about why as it is about how and when. Specific, personal communication from God is placed in the context of a life lived with God and for God. Theoretical principles are related to everyday life.

Theologically, I was most affected by Willard's profound description of “words” as being a personal expression. When you and I speak, our words are an expression of our very selves, of our desires, our will, our understanding. So too everything we call “God's Word”—the Bible, Jesus and any personal communication—is, in the same way, just an expression of God himself. And while our words are powerful enough, God's words have such authority and power that they always accomplish their intended purpose.

Practically, I have been encouraged on several counts. First, that I am not alone in struggling to recognize God's voice. Also that God's word (in the deeper sense just described) can also be heard not just in the Bible and through circumstance but from others who speak to us, and even sometimes when God speaks through us—all of which I can relate to, after looking for such occasions since I first read the book several years ago. Willard gives specific suggestions on how to practise and process living in a conversational relationship with God.

But the book is also somewhat confronting, in a very positive way. After all, if you don't actually notice and pay attention to your difficulties and faults, you will never be able to learn, correct your faults and grow. I found I had to take the last few chapters one at a time, and give myself time to digest and reflect on each before moving on.

Recommendation: A challenging but very valuable read. If you want to better understand how God communicates with his people, or you want your personal relationship with God to grow stronger, you could certainly benefit from reading this book.