Back in the States

The picture above is one of down town (the CBD) of Newark. Martha picked me up from the Newark airport last might around 12:00am or early Tuesday morning.

After a total of about 33 hours travel I arrived at the home of the Lipsy family in Pompton Plains New Jersey.

In the last few days before our mariage there are a few details to take care of. Please continue to remember us in prayer.

Love through Christ,

terry

Tassie Send Off



Some good friends saw me off at the aiport in Launceston this morning. Pastor Iain Smith, his wife Mary, and Lorraine Ten Haaf picked me up from the Montifiore Manse at 4:45am and took to the airport. We had a nice but all to brief time of fellowship before I went through security to fly out for Melbourne (pronounced "Mel-bun" for some reason here in Oz).



This send off was truly rare. Iain called it, "once in a life time." Why? Because Mary Smith is known throughout the SPC as someone who truly appreciates a good nights rest. She is rarely seen at such early hour. Iain thought I should note such a rare moment by enshrining it on the Montifiore Manse Blog with a photo of his beloved, sleep appreciating, beauty.





This is the only picture I had of Mary on my laptop (I am taking advantage of the free internet connection in Melbourne airport). It was taken at Iain and Mary's vacation "shack" (cottage) in the later morning as breakfast was being grilled by Iain.

Flying Out

Dear friends & family,

I just a quick note to let you all know I am flying out in just a few minutes to go be with she whom I love 2nd best in this life.

The Lord be with you all.

terry

p.s. I just realized the plane in the picture I chose for this post says "Austrian" and not "Australian" as I had thought. I guess that is what happens when you post at 4am with very little sleep. I ask all my Oz friends to please take no offense.

Tasmanian Pre-Wedding Celebrations

The Cakes Shared at the Tuesday Night Puritan Bible Study Before the Bible Study on the Doctrine of God

The Last Single Night Party

My "Mates" Dressed me for the Party

1. A Wedding Veil

2. A Flower Lei for our Maui Honeymoon

3. A Genuine Ball & Chain Around my Ankle (I Truly Have Come to VanDiemen's Land!)

A Fine Amount and Variety of Tucker (Food) was Provided Generously by Ladies From the Church and the Wives of Some People From the Puritan Bible Study. It was Great!


Here is a Picture of Pastor Iain Smith (From the Hobart SPC Congregation) and I Having Coffee After Tucker.

The Big Party Game was "The America's Cup." It was a Game Test Which Minister Had the Most Hot Air. We Had to Race our Paper Boats Across a Pan of Water. Iain's Boat was "Hagus 1" and my Boat was "Yankee 2."

Here We are in Starting Position.

In the Midst of the Race One of the my Mates Slammed a Rolled Up News Paper in the Water and Shouted "Watch Out! STORM!"

Iain Caught Most of the Water From the Storm too.

The Books! The Books!

Dear friends & family,

I am happy to report to you that my books finally arrived Tuesday June 26th. With some help from a friend I was able to get them all on the shelves. The commentaries, creeds & confessions, worship, reference (Philosophy, Theology, Old Testament & Hebrew, New Testament & Greek, General Biblical Reference, English), Homiletic & Hermeneutics, Systems of Theology (including Biblical Theology), Pastoral Theology & Ethics, Sets of Works of Various Theologians, Puritans, and Terry's fun section (Prolegomena, Philosophy {mostly related to historical/epistemological/metaphysical worldview type issues}, and Neo-Calvinism) are all basically in order. Leaving history, church history, individual doctrinal issues, and miscellaneous yet to sort out.

Below are a few pics of the office with the books in place. As you can see their is still a lot of clutter to file away. I already filled one filing cabinet with College and Seminary papers and various research items I have done over the years.

Many thanks to all who helped work on the office and sacrificed time and money to give me such a tremendous work space. May the Lord fill it with His presence and bless the work done it to the furthering of His Kingdom!

Brief Catch Up

Dear friends & family,

Greetings from Tasmania. Things continue to roll along here. I have been busy with the various duties of the ministry. However there have been a few developments to pass on.

Winter is setting on here. It has not gotten down to freezing yet, although several people I have talked to in the shops say it is. At times it still gets warm enough to go without a coat or jumper (sweater or sweat shirt) but I am told that these days are running out. I have a little portable heater in my office, courtesy of one of the elders in the church, and it keeps the office quite comfortable to work in. The house has a heat pump (kind of like an air conditioner that pumps hot air) but I do not use it. I am usually just inside to eat and sleep. I eat fast and the blankets are warm anyway.

The church continues to grow. Since I arrived in Tasmania one family has joined the church here and Lord willing two more families will soon join. It has been marvelous to the see the Lord working in the lives of the people that have chosen to cast in their lot with the Southern Presbyterian Church. He was working in them, guiding His people in a more and more Reformed direction, and the Lord providential brought me into the mix in His time. It always rejoices my heart to see the Lord's plan continue to unfold for the good of His Kingdom and people with a force, a subtle one at times, none can stop.

We recently began a Bible study Tuesday nights at 7 pm. We are going through the 10 commandments together. Last Tuesday we considered the 4th commandment, focusing on the principles upon which practice is based. Several people attend (usually between 12-17) and we have a nice time of tea and biscuits (cookies) afterward. Lord willing, the Bible study will not only be away for us to study the Word together but that it will also help build community and fellowship.

We also began a Puritan Bible study about an hour or so North of the church in George Town. It is called a Puritan Bible study because we hope to consider a portion of the Scriptures together and consider it teachings, noting specifically what the Puritans thought of the passage and why they did. The focus is not so much on the Puritans but rather what the Scriptures teach, the Puritans usually being in strong agreement. First we get together for tea (evening meal) and then we sit in a friends living room and consider the Word of God together. Our first meeting considered who the Puritans were and what they were best known for: Experiential Christianity (seeking to consistently live out your faith). In that connections we considered portions of Psalm 19 and 139. There was about 10 of us (perhaps a couple more) who got together and Lord willing we will continue to once a month.

The wedding grows closer and as the days get tick by I become more and more eager to be wed to the marvelous Martha Julia Lipsy. The wedding planning is coming together with help from friends and family. The dresses, order of service, songs sung, reception, rehearsal dinner, photography schedule, and flowers are all coming together.

Until next time,
terry

Jill and Trevor just got engaged Friday evening, May 25. AWESOME!!! Wishing them God's blessings on the wedding and cross-continental move next year. I'm so, so, so happy for them! Woohooo!!!!!

Funny thing is, May 25 was also the day Terry and I got engaged - one year ago! It's hard to believe it's been a year already, but it's definitely been the happiest year yet, and the Lord willing this will be an even happier one! Wow, less than two months to go.

Well, I have to run - today is Memorial Day and after seeing my brother Nathanael march in the parade as a Cub Scout, we're going to a picnic with the pack. (Btw, from what I hear our Memorial Day is similar to the Aussie ANZAC Day.) Hope you are all well and thanks for your prayers and support for us.

Cornelius Van Til

Dear friends & family,

I have been meaning to post for a while. Here is just a short one.

As I am sitting in my study (yes it is done!) I decided I needed to return to listen to an old friend: Cornelius Van Til. I have a CD with the works of Van Til and among those works are several of his lectures and sermons. I have listened to these lectures and sermons several times; it was my habit to listen to them over breakfast while I was interning in Chilliwack British Columbia.

There are marvelously helpful thing in these lectures. It was in one of these lectures I finally found concrete evidence of how Van Til pushes the antithesis further then anyone else in the Neo-Calvinistic school of thinking (he went so far as to say the antithesis applies to numbers, and in so doing he goes at least one step beyond Abraham Kuyper). But what I truly enjoy in them is that I find him easy to understand. I know, I know, "Van Til is not easy to understand!" many say, and that is true for most. However I find his Christian philosophical techno speak soothing and familiar.

So why post about Van Til?

In the ministry you need to know how to rest, relax, feed, and refresh yourself. You must primarily do this through prayer and the reading of God's Word (and it is real temptation and danger not too), but secondarily everyone, especially pastors, should have particular authors that help relax, refresh, and feed them. Martyn Lloyd-Jones had a Puritan named Richard Sibbes. A friend of mine has Robert Murray McCheyene, another has John Owen, another has George Whitefield, and the list could go on. Each one of the Lord's people has individual struggles in their Christian walk and it is a marvelous idea to have a friend (an old dead author) who you can learn from and be once again be directed to Christ in greater depths.

My two greatest helpers, as far speaking to my soul consistently, have been Augustine and Luther. In times past it has been Thomas Boston and Thomas Shepard. Geerhardus Vos is never far from me but usually for redemptive historical testing on my exegesis and Van Til is actually further into the background testing my epistemology.

Who do you read, besides the Spirit inspired Word, for rest, relaxations, refreshment, and feeding?

Love through Christ,
terry

The following is my week in pictures. Enjoy!

5.4.07 - Here is the view out the back porch of our house in the morning - I love it in the spring when this tree is in bloom! By now, the pink blossoms are already replaced with vivid green leaves.There is a curious squirrel on the back porch. He was too cute for me to resist snapping a picture.It was also my last day of student teachers. We had a good day and I took pictures with some of my students. Here's one class - we are outside because right when we were taking the picture there was a fire drill!The other teachers I eat with at lunch threw a good-bye party for me. They even had sandwiches catered in! It was very thoughtful.5.7.07 The first thing I managed to do was bang my toe against the wall on Monday morning. It has been seriously bruised and I had to stay off of it most of this week. It is now okay to walk on, but it still looks funny!I had a ton of grading to do after I finished my student teaching - I had let it pile up a little so I paid for it with hours of work. I had three assignments and a test to grade for my 96 students. Unfortunately, I am a meticulous grader....My dear sister Joanna, however, knew how to cheer me up. Having finished her college semester, she was home and spent some time making a lovely and scrumptious lunch for us.I did dishes too. My sister Esther wanted to take a picture of me doing the dishes....5.11.07 Today was graduation day. Here I am by the landmark Arch at the Ramapo College of NJ.Dad and Mom both came, which was really nice. It was a long event, and we all got quite sunburnt.
Several of my siblings (L-R Peter, me, Joanna, Lydia) and Grandpa came too!
Even my good friend Jill managed to come! And then tonight, I sang with the Cheneniah Choir in their spring performance. I also played the flute with a little arrangement of Psalm 42 with my brothers Dan and Pete on piano and clarinet respectively, with our good friend Jeff on trumpet.That's about it. I'm exhausted, but it's been a good week. Hopefully, now that school's done I'll be posting more. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me and Terry. It has been such a blessing. God be with you all!

The Office


Dear friends and family,

The following pictures are of my garage and office. The pictures are arranged in a before and answer sequence and they are ordered as if you walked in the back door of the garage from the barbecue (patio) in the back of our home. I neglected to take pictures of what the garage looked like before anything was done to it at all.

The garage originally was a two stall garage. The first thing that was done was the dividing of the two stalls and then putting in the bath room ("Toilet," as we say here in Oz) in the stall that will become my office.

This is the stall of the garage that will hold the car. The second stall, the office, is on the other side of the left wall. The far right wall (which is not pictured is all red brick).

Snazzy, eh? (for all the Canadians)


To get to the toilet you turn left from the back door of the garage.

After you turn left you can walk straight through the door in from of you and go into the toilet, or you can right and go through the door into my office.

The door is in the extreme left of this picture.

I also have a great window, which I hope to put my desk under.

The book shelves are absolutely marvelous.

I can actually have almost all my books with me in the same room!

You can see the garage door (the "Roller Door" as it is called here) through the sliding glass doors. Having both doors gives me the luxury of more or less light, privacy, fresh air, and double security. Plus if someone accidentally pulls too far into my drive way they bang my roller door and not my glass door.

Here is a very rough sketch of the layout of the office and the garage.

The back entrance to the garage, which I forgot to label, would be at the extreme left of the

page, in front of the car.

When I reflect on all the hard work many different people in my congregation have done I am humbled, encourage, and amazed at the faithfulness of the Lord their love and commitment to their Pastor.

Thank you all very much!

Trip into Manhattan

Here are some pictures of my and Martha's trip into Manhattan. I have wanted to go to Manhattan, and especially Central Park, with her for a while and it was a tremendous answer to prayer we had the opportunity.

Martha on the train into Grand Central Station.

After arriving at Grand Central Station we walked through Midtown to Central Park.

The Queen of Midtown in Central Park !

Martha on a bridge in Central Park.

Terry on a bridge in Central Park.

The engaged couple on a bridge together in Central Park!

Not only on the same continent!

Not only in the same time zone!

EVEN ON THE SAME BRIDGE!

Martha outside Columbus Circle, just outside Central Park, as we wait for her brother to get out of work.

After we met up with Martha's oldest brother Dan we all got the subway and went Down Town. From there we caught the Staten Island Ferry and got dinner in Staten Island, kind of...

We found a little Sicilian restaurant. We had a great time but it was hard to get our food.

First, Dan got served the wrong meal. Second, after half an hour they told us they did not have the Manicotti Martha and I ordered. So I ordered the Salmon (knowing it could not compare with fresh Tassie Salmon) and Martha ordered the Stuffed Egg Plant. After another 20 minutes or so a big plate of shrimp arrived at our table. I told the waiter it was not ours, but then I remembered Dan was supposed to get Zucchini and Shrimp with his Pasta (he did not actually receive the dinner he ordered). I waived the waiter back over to the table and asked him if it could be Dan's Shrimp. The waiter said no it was for a separate order. So I brought the Shrimp up to the counter and informed a waitress that this was not our order. She apologized and had it taken back.

Not long after that Martha's Stuffed Egg Plant arrived. Then our waitress came to our table and told me the Shrimp was for me because they ran out of Salmon. I said that was alright and that I did not want the Shrimp. The manager came over and offered me a Tuna Pasta dish they were working on. I told him that I was fine and did not want anything. He looked like someone had stolen his puppy.

He then offered us coffee. Dan and I both thought coffee sounded pretty good and he joyfully and promptly brought us coffee. He seemed excited the restaurant actually had something they could serve us. He returned with the coffee. He then wondered if we wanted some desert. I was planning on ordering desert, when Dan and Martha were done, so I ordered the Tiramisu. The manager seemed even happier that there was actually food on the menu we wanted and they actually had. If only it were true.

He came back to our table and apologized but there was no Tiranisu. He asked if he could give us a couple cookies ("biscuits" for our Ozzie friends) instead. One was a chocolate cookie and other was a Date cookie. The cookies were delicious, but they were not quite Tiramisu.

When our bill came they only charged us for our drinks. It was a little annoying but it was a great time too, and the people did there level best to help us. It was too bad they did not have the food on their menu.

Martha on the ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island.
The Statue of Liberty is just over her right shoulder.

By the time we finished waiting for our food not to come and Dan and Martha ate what they did not order, we went back to the Ferry. By the time we got back across to Manhattan it was around 10:30pm and we missed the train out of Manhattan. So we walked the streets of Manhattan until around midnight and took the Subway to the train out of Manhattan.

Martha riding the "Bull," symbolic of the U.S. economy (we hope), not far from Wall Street.

Martha and I with the Bull.

Martha's oldest brother Dan whispering financial advice to the Bull.

We hope the Bull listens.

Martha by a sculpture of Alexander Calder in Manhattan.

Dear friends and family,

I had planned to add another post last night, with some of the wonderful pictures I have of Martha and I in Central Park, but have lost the cable I use to transfer data from my camera to my computer. I have hunted through all my things here twice over and it so where to be found. I assume it is likely somewhere in North America. The Lord willing I'll pick up another cable in the next few days, so pictures should not be too long in coming.

I feel like I am beginning to settle back into things in Launceston. I have had a few phone calls and visits from people in the church, which the Lord has used marvelously to reorient me to the work here. Though I am settling, I just do not think I will ever feel "settled" until Martha is here with me.

Everything seems strangely hollow without her presence. I cannot find the words to express it.

While time to continue on with the work here.

Love through Christ,
terry

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to quickly let you all know the Lord has given traveling mercies and I have made it back to Tas safe and sound.

Hope to post a little more later on tonight.

Terry

A Little More News

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Grand Rapids Michigan, my old home town.

I left my dear Martha and New Jersey behind this passed Monday. My days in New Jersey with her and her family were all to brief. I would like to recount some of the happenings of the previous week (canceled flights, delayed flights, given up flights, first class upgrades, had a day in Central Park with the greatest woman in the world, attempting to eat dinner on Staten Island at a Sicilian restaurant with no food, planning our wedding, etc.) but it will have to wait for a later post.

Since I arrived in Grand Rapids I have been trying to spend as much time as possible with friends and immediate family. I have had a busy couple days and more are sure to follow.

The wedding I hope to perform is Friday, DV. I am greatly looking forward to it. I had dinner with the couple last night, as it is now very early morning Wednesday April 18. It was wonderful to spend some more time with them and thank them once again for flying me back for their wedding and providing a way for me to see my dear Martha again.

I have only had a brief time for reflection so far on this trip. It had been my hope and prayer to use this time away from the SPC Launceston to reflect and evaluate the Pastoral work I have done there thus far. Though I have not had much time there have been many things passing through my mind and heart of late:

1. Some thoughts on how to improve my sermons and preaching.

2. Some thoughts on what texts to consider together with the congregation.

3. A remembering and reevaluating of what I thought were the "big spiritual
picture" and "Kingdom needs" of northern Tasmania.

4. The Dutch have been way too Theologically prideful, especially in the past 200
years, and they need to revisit the Westminster Confession, Catechisms, and the
Sum of Saving Knowledge in depth.

5. Grand Rapids and Michigan is very familiar but it is not home anymore. I do not
belong here.

6. Tasmania may not be as familiar but is home. I belong in Launceston.

7. I miss the SPC Launceston.

I could get more specific but it would take a lot more time, the thoughts are under developed, and I am not sure the Blog is the best place for the details.

I hope to depart for Launceston on the coming Monday and then it will not be too long before I marry my marvelous Martha.

Love through Christ,

Terry

Dear friends and family,

Just a quick post to let you all know that I have arrived safely in New Jersey and am enjoying some blessed time with my wonderful wife to be, however much of my mind and heart is back in Tas with the Southern Presbyterian Church of Launceston.

I hope to be posting a little more later.

God bless.

Terry

Hello friends,

I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote. I really appreciated the birthday cards that came my way a while back. It has been a busy time, but thankfully God continues to give grace for the day.

Terry is on his way to the States! I am so excited to see him, and in God's providence Terry was able to come to New Jersey the week of my spring break from school. It is wonderful to be on break and attend to some cleaning, planning, and quality time with my fiance!

It has been unusually cold for April here in the States. Last Thursday, Friday and Sunday it was flurrying tiny bits of snow during the day. Of course, we did have some really warm days before that....

Speaking (or blogging) of weather, I'd like to share a Google video that I saw recently and found intriguing. The title says it all: "The Global Warming Swindle." The Great Global Warming Swindle - Documentary Film It's long (1:15), but worth seeing. Over the course of the video, I found myself getting angry at the cruel effects of the dogmatism surrounding the issue. It also made me reflect on how little we think through issues, letting political authorities rather than true experts form our opinions on important non-political issues. Let me know what you think if you take the time to watch it.

The rest of the week will consist of (DV):
a double date with some friends who are also in a long-distance relationship
a little historic and scenic drive with my younger siblings
a few honors events at college
a midweek prayer service
a doctor's appointment
a meeting with our wedding coordinator
a day trip to NYC
lots of talking with Terry
grading and lesson planning for school

Well, I'd better get some cleaning done today before Terry comes. My desk is in an abysmal state and is not fit to be seen... or even worked on, really.

Until next time!