The clarity the desert brings. Hurricanes and hard relationships. Finding reason in the middle of a ruin. Small Wonders are quiet but profound observations abou...
Welcome to a new season of Small Wonders!This is the first of a two-part series on the power of words.People read for different reasons.For some people, reading is work; for others, it's a hobby.Sometimes, reading can cause something within us to shift; we might go from wanting to read to needing to read. Our lives can suddenly - unexpectedly - become intertwined with the words on the page - and our experiences become things we might feel the need to share with authors we've never met.
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15:29
The Possible Self
Welcome to the final episode of season 3 of Small Wonders!A new year approaches - and for many, a new set of resolutions.Reading, going to the gym, travelling, lifestyle changes: all of us have a “possible self” that we strive towards.It turns out we’ve been making New Year resolutions for a very long time - at least 4,000 years in fact, according to ancient Babylonian records.Humans have always pursued personal growth.We’ve also spent millennia breaking New Year resolutions.However, it's not as dire as you might think: statistics show that most people who make resolutions keep at least part of them.The notion of the possible self is often related to both hopes - and fears - for the future.Hope and fear: the possible is connected to them both.The possible self is also a theme in the Bible, but a possible self is firmly reliant on Him through whom all things are possible.The way to the best possible self - the eternal one - comes through the humble servant, encountered in the Gospels."Going a little farther, (Jesus) fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26: 39
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16:29
Summerbell
The Summerbell Window - a beautiful stained glass window - sits in the Holy Trinity Church in Millers Point, Sydney.It's not like the other windows: it shows a stormy sea, with Jesus calming the tempest.It commemorates the loss of the Yarra Yarra - a steamer captained by William Geoge Summerbell, the namesake of the window - which disappeared on the morning of the 15th of July 1877, after encountering a terrible storm off the coast of Newcastle.Witness to the tragedy was Williams's father, Thomas.It was the following year that the Summerbell Window was erected in Holy Trinity Church.Jesus didn't calm this storm, nor did He walk on water that morning.The window itself acknowledges this."Save me Oh God, for the waters have come into my soul."The storms we face are real, and the grief we encounter can be like an unrelenting flood.A storm at sea can bring about an internal storm of pain.But knowledge of the truth - of God - can help us face this storm in a new light. The Psalms attest to this.Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths,where there is no foothold.I have come into the deep waters;the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help;my throat is parched.My eyes fail,looking for my God.Yet at the same time:I will praise God’s name in songand glorify him with thanksgiving.This will please theLord more than an ox,more than a bull with its horns and hoovesThe poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live!The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.Psalm 69: 1-3, 30-33
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16:23
Free Lunch
We will always work for food. The question is - which food are we working for?"Daily bread" has become a well-worn idiom; we all need it to get by, and without it, life wouldn't be possible.However, such a simple phrase fails to capture the complexity of actually finding daily bread.From the wheat harvesters to produce the bread, to the toil of workers to earn money to buy enough of it, much of what we do is in search of ways to provide daily bread.Throughout history, the price of bread has reflected stability.The more expensive the dough, the more unrest in society.Bread is important. It is life-giving. But it isn't the life-giver.We will always work for bread. But what type of bread are we seeking?The one where we work, and hunt, and scavenge and scrounge around for whatever crusts we can find? Or for the one that is given to us, the one sent by God. The true bread of life. The only daily bread we will ever need? "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."John 6: 27-28, 35
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14:36
Far Transfer
Transfer of Learning: To take something from one context and apply it in another.For many teachers, this is the goal of their job; to impart specific knowledge to students that they can use in the wider world.However, the transfer of learning isn't about just getting things right - it's about being able to get things wrong too.Researchers have found getting it wrong can yield a greater transfer of learning.To focus on only being right is to limit ourselves - shut ourselves off from amazing possibilities.The best learning occurs when we know what is right and what is wrong.The Apostle Paul writes about this to his "dear son" Timothy in the New Testament.Paul was willing to be treated as wrong for his answer - even though it was the right one.The transfer of learning that goes the farthest is not learning only for learning’s sake, but one that pursues the truth, specifically as communicated in this letter, the truth of God."… continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3: 14-17
The clarity the desert brings. Hurricanes and hard relationships. Finding reason in the middle of a ruin. Small Wonders are quiet but profound observations about life from Dr. Laurel Moffatt. In each fifteen-minute episode, Laurel uncovers lessons learned from broken and beautiful things that are polished to perfection and set in rich audio landscapes for your consideration.
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