tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post535209079598569991..comments2024-02-17T17:59:25.010+10:00Comments on Christian Writers Downunder: What an eel showed meJeanette O'Haganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-27441288146181586022016-05-28T09:53:08.272+10:002016-05-28T09:53:08.272+10:00Hi Margaret, that sounds like a great group. Yes, ...Hi Margaret, that sounds like a great group. Yes, as you say, trying to stay aware is our best action, since these tend to crop up continuously. Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-75786959682639923622016-05-27T21:57:09.429+10:002016-05-27T21:57:09.429+10:00Yes, Paula, plenty of those reactions. We just dis...Yes, Paula, plenty of those reactions. We just discussed the topic pride & prejudice at our last WOW meeting (WOW = women of wisdom, or more to the point, women seeking wisdom :). Stereotyping and prejudice seem to be wired into our fallen nature, even when we know better. I shall remember to ask, "Is this one of Paula's eels?" Good pictorial. Margaret Lepkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08147233663724759684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-84628147231292626512016-05-26T16:26:52.045+10:002016-05-26T16:26:52.045+10:00The night tour sounds special. Must factor that in...The night tour sounds special. Must factor that in next time we visit :)Jeanette O'Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-68884858083535622152016-05-26T15:14:40.523+10:002016-05-26T15:14:40.523+10:00Lol, I know, of all things! I guess it's also ...Lol, I know, of all things! I guess it's also a message not to assume that we won't find inspiration in certain places :)Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-3497794251046197162016-05-26T13:52:17.131+10:002016-05-26T13:52:17.131+10:00Ha ha, Paula! Who'd have thought an eel would ...Ha ha, Paula! Who'd have thought an eel would give you a flash of revelation?Meredith Rescehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13119649437940781847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-12594845092779651902016-05-26T12:18:12.187+10:002016-05-26T12:18:12.187+10:00Hi Lesley,
Good on you for not backing down, but I...Hi Lesley,<br />Good on you for not backing down, but I don't think I could have been so brave. It sounds like the sort of delicacy people either love or hate. <br />Just last night, my daughter was out for dinner at Chinatown with her friends, who all have Asian backgrounds, and they were challenging her to eat all sorts of unrecognisable foods, which turned out to be cows' stomach lining and other offal delights. She said she wasn't game to try most of them though.Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-61563087767537117612016-05-26T12:15:05.461+10:002016-05-26T12:15:05.461+10:00Hi Rita,
I once read a pastor's book which rem...Hi Rita,<br />I once read a pastor's book which reminded us that Jesus would have been renowned more as a storyteller or bard among the common folk, rather than the sort of itinerant preacher we might think of. That changed some of the fixed ideas I had too, and helped me to see our occupation in a different light.Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-20581198567276235542016-05-26T11:17:47.599+10:002016-05-26T11:17:47.599+10:00Thanks Paula for an interesting post. I find mysel...Thanks Paula for an interesting post. I find myself being constantly challenged to think outside the box and I think that as writers we should practice that. How can we possibly learn new things or unlearn old ideas if we aren't willing to be challenged. <br /><br />A little eel story for you. Several years ago I was bragging about never being afraid to try something once. I was referring to food actually and my very English brother-in-law decided he was going to prove that I wasn't telling the truth. He challenged me. I said okay I would try anything he could come up with. Okay! With an 'evil' grin on his face he went to the refrigerator and produced a jar of jellied eels! I had to stand by what I said of course so a small serving of the contents of the jar went down the hatch. As I am still here to tell this tale I think it's sufficient to say that with a great deal of will I kept them down even but as I think back on this I think that I proved a point to myself. They weren't that bad, (she said with a grimace on her face) but I have to admit they will never be my favourite type of food and no I have never repeated the dose. My brother-I need-law was impressed. He thought he'd got me!<br /><br />The moral of this story should possibly be I shouldn't brag about such things but how would I ever know that jellied eels were not something I'd not order at a restaurant if I hadn't risen to the challenge?Lesley Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03813827759486341613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-34432196986006777432016-05-26T10:23:34.421+10:002016-05-26T10:23:34.421+10:00Loved the way you used that analogy, Paula. Little...Loved the way you used that analogy, Paula. Little boxes,indeed! We're all guilty of that and it often takes some undoing to be receptive to the new. Yes, I've come across those with a slightly superior attitude of only reading 'the truth'. Think of all the moral stories we learned as kids. And even Jesus used certain parables to illustrate spiritual truths.Rita Galiehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14586506137798711397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-7276892542025626902016-05-26T09:52:51.462+10:002016-05-26T09:52:51.462+10:00I might add that I'm glad we went when we did,...I might add that I'm glad we went when we did, and not a week later. After really heavy rains, the water levels rose too high for the up close and personal experience with the marine life we had.Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-14335759876727692402016-05-26T09:40:03.732+10:002016-05-26T09:40:03.732+10:00Hi Jenny,
That sort of surprise is my favourite. J...Hi Jenny,<br />That sort of surprise is my favourite. Just when think we've got our heads wrapped around the way something works, it's good to have things shaken up that way.<br />Yes, we saw the bats in the tunnel, and also some turtles and glowing mushrooms. We arrived in time to have a walk around in the daylight and then do the night tour as well. That was a great day.Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-91272734649013531232016-05-26T09:37:32.341+10:002016-05-26T09:37:32.341+10:00Hi Anusha,
We never know where reminders to think ...Hi Anusha,<br />We never know where reminders to think outside the box will come from, do we? That man was a true visionary, and I appreciate that even now, years after his death, the eels on his property are still challenging me. The property is mostly covered with moss and has a very nostalgic and surreal feeling to walk around in. An unexpected find in Australia indeed.Paula Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02079952414990463270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-65491556274320556712016-05-26T09:28:51.612+10:002016-05-26T09:28:51.612+10:00Fantastic post Paula - love how you point out that...Fantastic post Paula - love how you point out that boxes and labels can help us understand the world, but that we need to keep pushing past stereotypes. God' loves to surprise our normal human assumptions about people, about Him and about the world. :)<br /><br />I also love Paronella Park - wonderful place - and know exactly where you feed the fish. Do you get to see the micro-bats as well? It's a magical place :) Jeanette O'Haganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11057798704247611224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208627029605402728.post-22708802806410994242016-05-26T09:10:55.880+10:002016-05-26T09:10:55.880+10:00Loved your post Paula. Thank you. Isn't it won...Loved your post Paula. Thank you. Isn't it wonderful how we constantly are challenged to think outside the box? I loved it how that Eel changed all your suppositions by the way it acted. Reminds me that nothing in life is as simple as it seems and it does well for us to go beyond what we imagine about anything. Thank you for giving us permission as it were to surprise the world and also to allow the world to surprise us. Perhaps we writers need to take a leaf off the book of Jose Paronella and reach beyond ourselves, not listening to our pragmatic neighbours. :) Thanks Paula.Anusha Atukoralahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00859837228901127984noreply@blogger.com