Posts tagged ‘family’

Feb 26

How biblical is the language of marriage in Tanzania (or in my own culture)?

Today we were introduced to vocab around marriage. In Swahili, there are different words for ‘to marry’ depending on whether you’re talking about a man or a woman. To simplify, you talk about a man being married in the active voice – he marries someone – but about a woman in the passive voice – she is married to someone. On one level it’s semantics and etymology, on the other, language is tied up with culture. Read more

Jul 3

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Brave: Film Review

Against the backdrop of the medieval Scottish highlands, Brave presents wild-haired, free-spirited Merida. She is Pixar’s first female protagonist and, perhaps more significantly, Disney’s first heroine without a romantic connection by the end of the film. In our world where little girls’ futures are often reduced to finding the right man, Brave offers an alternative. The focus is on Merida’s relationship with her family and finding her place in her community. Read more

Jun 2

Learning from Nanny

My Nanny died last weekend. I was in Adelaide speaking at a conference so I got to see her the night before. We’re currently in Adelaide for the funeral. My family ended the death notice in the paper with my Nanny’s own self description, that she was ‘Completely His’.

Mar 14

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On having a ‘firstborn son’

Discerning readers of this blog’s comments will have picked up that our baby, due in July, is a boy. Our first child will be a son. Earlier this week, someone commented to me about how good this is ‘because having a firstborn son is so important in the Bible.’ Deep breaths, Tam. Read more

Dec 25

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Spending Christmas with ‘family’

I’ve been thinking about family this Christmas. It’s a bit hard not to! I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard ‘Christmas is about family’. From church on Christmas morning to Christmas Eve Carols from the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, it has seemed to be the refrain of the season.

Culturally, Christmas is a time when we get together as family. It’s part of the festivities and celebration around Christmas. Families are a gift from God and it’s right to celebrate them. We do it as extended family, but the nuclear family features pretty strongly too. You could even see its roots in the nativity story: the special baby in his mother’s arms, with Joseph protectively hovering nearby. Read more

Nov 24

Offspring and brokenness

At a superficial level, the comedy-drama Offspring is like an Australian mash-up of Grey’s Anatomy and Brothers And Sisters, combining frame narrative voiceovers and tumultuous family relationships. Plus, as a bloke, I can actually relate to its characters! It’s also cleverer and funnier than its more conventional Australian counterpart, Packed To The Rafters.