April 2026 - Coming home to the Catholic Church

 Greetings!

As you see from the title, I did indeed join the church this year at Easter Vigil.

It was a beautiful moment and wonderful Easter Vigil service which I experienced for the first time along with my family.

There is quite a lot of drama during the service where we start outside the church with a fire, and then light a candle to carry into the church while a cantor sings, and then halfway through the lights all come on and the choir sings Alleluia. We were nearly blinded! It gives great context to the stories of the angels in the Bible appearing in a great light and everyone was afraid. Especially living back then when they had no experience of electric light.

It was a suitably dramatic time for me to step over the line into Catholicism, which is quite a moment if you’ve been raised Protestant.

I think I’m slowly getting used to it. But occasionally I still catch myself in surprise and say “I’m a Catholic!” With joy of course.

I was very pleased to have the whole family with me. Miles managed to make it despite being given a hard Maths assignment at the last minute due on Easter Sunday. Who does that?!

We all dressed up smart for their first experience of a Catholic Cathedral. 

Aiden said he felt like he was walking into a movie set as they walked down the aisle before everything began.

Fortunately we arrived in daylight as I had to be there early to run through the procedure, so they saw the stained glass windows with light shining through. It really did look like a movie set.

And now that’s my church! I do drive across town 20 minutes to get there. There is a local parish church I can go to, but so far the Cathedral has met my needs.

I love the choir they have on Sunday mornings with the pipe organ. I’m wondering if I could join now that I’m family. It depends on the commitment required.

I’d like to find somewhere I could serve the church and join in with everyone in ministry. We’ll see how we go as time goes on.

I’m so happy my journey of two years has finally ended, and yet in a sense it has just begun.

I say journey of two years, but really I’ve been searching ever since I left our Baptist church 20 years ago, with many different churches sampled in the meantime. So I know this is the right place.

And I’m grateful for my illness mentioned last post, that caused me to have to pause my proceedings because then I realised how upset I was, and how much I wanted it. But I had needed the extra processing time to be sure.

I was concerned about the acceptance of queer people, and although not overt, there is a presence of those who are working underground to change things. When I found that out I felt I could finally commit and join those beautiful souls.

I love all the ceremonies, the sacraments, the holiness, the beauty, the history (all the way back to Jesus!), and I’ve been surprised how Christian it is. Ha! It is the original church!

I feel the Church thinks like I think, looking for deeper meanings, thinking in a poetic sort of way.

I also love the emphasis on the body and the physical. Incarnational as we say.

No matter where I go it will be home. The Catholic Church is widespread. And for someone who has been searching for home that is huge.

And of course I had to buy myself some bling to mark the moment!

Now I am home.

Til next time,

Keep on creating! 

(And living your best life)

Love,

Jazzy Jack

2026! Sonas Mór and future plans

 Hello all!

Only one year since I said Hi :-)

I thought I’d take time to sit down and reflect how my year has gone and some of the directions I’d like to pursue in 2026.

I note that the last post I wrote was about my Advent poems of 2024. Well, since I wasn’t super well at the end of 2025 instead of writing more poems I decided it would be nice to revisit them. So every day I shared one with my family as an informal advent calendar, which was really nice and kept the story of the season in the forefront of our minds.

Yes, I am still connected with the Catholic Church. I am going to Mass on Sundays as often as I can.

I was going to RCIA (the Catholic learning about the faith class) during the year but then an illness hit me. So I had to bow out of joining the church that year. So now I have recovered somewhat I am looking forward to joining the class for 2026 and continuing on where I left off.

I am still finding Christianity to be fascinating again, and the place where I can explore my deeper side. Thinking about the world in a more poetic way. It makes sense to have a story about the world as a structure to hang my beliefs on. As this is my childhood faith that I was raised in, it makes sense to me to continue.

I wasn’t raised Catholic but having been introduced to it I find so much beauty there, and it’s such a broad group of people, I feel part of a loving family which will have a place for me, however informally.

Yes, there are parts of the belief that I struggle with, especially around queer people, women and Mary.

But I trust God to either enlighten me, or the Church. And I’ve never felt I fit neatly into any church I’ve been in, which made me leave in the past. But now maybe I’ve matured a little and can see things in a more nuanced less black and white way.

So that’s been the biggest change for me.

We also discovered a beautiful coast cabin in a caravan park which we bought with some inheritance money from Cris’ Mum who sadly died. Her name was Joy, and we named the cabin Sonas Mór which means Great Happiness in Celtic (our ancestry). Which was the closest we could find to Joy, and sounds like a place name. We have yet to make a sign, but we’ve sourced a lovely piece of driftwood for it.

Here are some images in its packed up state to give you an idea. It’s very comfortable with plenty of seating and an invaluable air conditioner!

As you can see, the previous owner was an artist and left lots of works for us to enjoy, which was a big part of the appeal. Fun to have a coastal getaway to do art.

There are multiple water experiences just across the paddock.

We’ve already had many fun times there as a family as it is a perfect halfway point to meet Miles when he can take a break from University. Recently he bought a canoe which may make its way down to the coast as well. We are just waiting for the Christmas Rush to subside a bit :-)

Recently I’ve been musing on the concept of limits which has prompted me to remove myself completely from my last social media connection, YouTube. The only access I now have is occasionally on my TV. But as there are others who live with me, it is an inconvenience for them and they keep me honest.

I’ve found over the couple of months I’ve tried this, that my nervous system is very much calmer, and my mind is not filled with external ideas to the detriment of my own. It seems that imposing limits in this case has created freedom in my life.

I’m interested to explore further other areas in my life this could hold true.

I have chosen an attribute to focus on this year. I want to focus on Grace.

Giving myself grace, or accepting grace from others or God.

And also I want to explore the peace or silence that surrounds all things, bringing that more into my own practice as I move through the world. Becoming more and more aware of the silence around me, and learning to inhabit it to calm my scattered mind. It’s still a very new concept at the moment.

Well I’ll leave it there for now.

I hope it won’t be another year until I write again!

Wishing you all well for the next turn around the sun.

‘Til next time, keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Christmas 2024 and Reflections on Advent poetry

 Greetings my friends,

We are on the other side of Christmas here and even have finished watching our traditional Sydney to Hobart yacht race which fills our Boxing Day. Having been at the finish line one year when we lived in Hobart, and Miles having seen some of the boats practicing in Sydney Harbour a few weeks ago, we were gung-ho supporters this year. Still a few days to go to get the outcome so we will be watching with interest. And with gladness that we don’t have to be on board, especially with the gale force winds predicted this evening.

We enjoyed watching from our comfy lounge room with our cheese platter and our feet firmly on the floor!

We have had a beautiful Christmas time with many gorgeous presents presented and received. We had a quiet Christmas just with the four of us, but that was just perfect for our sensitive souls.

I enjoyed my Advent ritual, writing my Advent A to Z poetry challenge. Some nights the screen got very blurry as I brought my tired self to sit at the desk. But I didn’t need to take any days off and managed to complete the course. I had given myself a double restriction, needing to fulfil the letter and the topic which in hindsight may not have been wise! But I also wanted to do something in the discipline tradition of Advent. And this way I ended up with a batch of poems I can reread and be proud of.

I may need to revisit the topic as my faith grows, as I felt I was still hedging my bets a little in the process. We’ll see what the future brings. But it certainly gave me a structure to hang my meditation on and that was very beneficial. And I learnt things along the way with my research.

We also had many fun family times as they helped me come up with ideas for words to match each of the letters. Much hilarity ensued which was gorgeous.

So enjoy a few photos which will tell the tale of our Christmas together.

Our “light” Christmas tree.

Out looking at the lights in the neighbourhood. Very unusually it was almost single figures in temperature. In Summer!

My new shoes! 

Some people are excited to learn slide rules and logarithm tables. 

Would they be an Engineering student mayhap?

Installation and admiration of the new fountain (if you zoom in)

A very happily received camping chair 

(being inspected by the resident chair inspector Winter)

Another chair inspector. 

Stool approved for kitty use (Inspector Jasmin)

Testing the new Sena. Very good!

Admiring the new camel back bum bag. 

Didn’t know they existed!

Using my new pretty coasters from a friend, 

and wearing my new pearl necklace from my sister.

A feast is being assembled very beautifully by the resident chef Cris.

And much enjoyed by all!

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Religious journey

Hi friends!

Today I thought I’d chat about something that is big in my life right now. As you can see by the title, I am making my way back to the church.

If you don’t know I was born into a family of Missionaries in PNG and so my early years were spent in the Baptist church where I was baptised as a teenager.

When we returned to Australia permanently, we changed over to an Anglican Church, where I met my husband!

After getting married and travelling to Canada where we went to a Baptist church again, we moved to Canberra. We liked the idea of a local church we could walk to, so ended up at another Baptist church.

Unfortunately after I had my first child I started to question whether God existed and ended up leaving the church.

Over the next twenty years I have had different stints at other churches including a Pentecostal church in NZ.

However nothing really felt right. 

Recently after a health scare I decided it was time to sort out my spiritual life once and for all!

And weirdly I can’t really tell you why, but I decided to try out a Catholic Church. It may be because my close friend goes to one.

I hunted around for the biggest Catholic Church in Canberra, and landed on the Cathedral. I then checked one of its services out online and it seemed pretty cool. 

When I ventured tentatively in through the doors on Sunday, I was surprised by how many people there were. But it wasn’t too formal. There were kids around and lots of age and cultural range. It seemed a friendly place.

Of course I was massively swayed by the bells ringing as I approached, and the pipe organ and choir in the loft. The sides of the church were covered in stained glass pictures of the saints but it was still very light and bright.

Coming from a Protestant background I knew nothing about how the service would run. I was quite lost as to when to stand and sit and sing, but the service seemed quite like some of the Anglican services I had been to.

The clincher was that I felt such a sense of peace as I left that no other place has given me lately.

So back I went the next week. Over and over for the last few months now.

I am now attending the RCIA group, which is the group to investigate becoming a Catholic. It’s a place to ask questions, learn the lore, and make some friends.

At the first RCIA meeting this week I was hesitant whether I would return, but something changed part way through, and by the end I left with that same peaceful feeling. So I knew I was in the right place.

I’m not sure if I will stay. I’m not sure I can wrap my head around all the teachings. I’m not sure my queer family will accept my explanations and may feel alienated.

I hope not, because I am attracted to the love and holiness in the essence of the teachings, and the lives of the mystics, not the laws laid down by judgmental humans.

I believe our journey with God is between God and ourselves and he wants to welcome us with open arms.

So I am exploring in my tentative fragile way, following the peace.

For once I have found a place to put my spiritual life which makes sense to me. I hope I haven’t alienated everyone to get here.

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

 (Even designing your life)

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Well hello again!

Greetings my gorgeous ones.

I find I have had an 18 month hiatus from the good ol’ blog, even though I really didn’t mean to.

So fingers crossed I can start a new streak with this one.

The problem when you’ve had such a long break is there is so much to catch up on. But I think we’ll just try to jump on in and summarise the most important changes.

The things that come to mind, are our kids’ study activities.

Last year Miles managed to complete a Diploma in Engineering at our local Tech Collage. So he now has a qualification under his belt. But he enjoyed himself so much and had so many questions they couldn’t or wouldn’t answer, he has now taken himself off to Uni to do a double degree Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics. Which means he no longer lives at home, and he has to do his own cooking and cleaning! He is mostly loving his new life.

This year Aiden has chosen to follow in Miles’ footsteps and is currently studying at our Tech College for a Cert 3 in Laboratory Skills. He has had some difficulties with being around others due to his OCD, but has persevered and passed all his subjects last semester. So now he only has Chemistry to go!

We are so pleased with our homeschooled boys. They are both resourceful and brave, and still love learning. They are finding a lot of their fellow students are more jaded, which we put down to homeschooling.

So never let people tell you you won’t get into University if you have to remove yourself from the school system for whatever reason. We are evidence that it is possible, even if you have to find creative ways to get there. 

This is how my gorgeous boys look now, and for those who have followed for a long time, we were at our property Heartwoods.

I will leave it there for now and let these couple of lines start me off again.

And ‘til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack

Celebration Month

 Hi folks!

Look at this, it’s not even April and I’m writing again. What?

We have had a month of big birthdays, so I thought it would be fun to record some of the festivities here in the old blog.

It began back on the 7th of March where we left off, with my 60th birthday.

Here I am with my big pressie, a magical flute. I am wearing the “Quing” crown (Queen/King said ‘Kwing’)we get as the birthday person. The Quing gets to call the shots for the day.

Cutting my birthday cake on our night picnic in our campervan ‘Brumhilda’.

The next big celebration was Aiden’s on the 19th. He turned 18. His big present was an electric mountain bike. Man, was he looking forward to this one. He had already selected it as we had to make sure he liked it, and then had to wait…………!

Still clean

Glamour shots

Look at that smile

What it was made for…all dusty.

The very next day we had our 35th wedding anniversary. Yes, Cris had to restrain himself from urging me to hurry when pushing out Aiden. He just squeaked into his own day at 11pm. I was going as fast as I could.

To celebrate our day we took ourselves to the ‘Feared and Revered’ exhibition at the Nation Museum, which was in collaboration with The British Museum. We got to see some lovely statues and historical finds relating to ancient goddesses and mythological beings.

Some of my favourites were:

Sekhmet

Aphrodite/Venus rising from her bath

You know you have seen the real thing when you have seen the back.

Aboriginal Yawkyawk (complete with baby inside). I also love the shadows they made on the wall.

And coming in fast at the end of the month on the 24th, was Miles with his 21st birthday.

Here he is (looking very saintly) with his main present, a commuter ebike complete with belt drive. Can you tell he is studying engineering?

A family tradition on my side has been to be given an engraved knife on your 21st birthday.

Which then becomes the birthday knife. Up until now we have used mine, but here is Miles with his very own golden knife.

So that night at our night picnic we used it on his cake.

Even though it took a bit to light the candles on the windy night.  (We ended up only managing

half.)

I told you he looked saintly. Even his bike can walk on water.

The day after my birthday I wrote a poem. So I will leave you with these thoughts.

Here I sit

In a little patch of sun

Hiding from the wind 

The day after my 60th birthday 

And I feel my life 

Settling back around me 

Realising how much

It has loomed large 

In the distance

And now here I am

Safely on the other side.

The sun is still shining on me

And though the wind is blustery 

I can weather the storm.

All those swirling emotions 

Of gratitude and expectations 

And fear

Can all have a seat.

Big birthdays are full

Of ‘Do people love me?’

‘Will I die soon?’

‘How can I have the perfect day?’

‘Time is running out. How can I make

the most of the time left?’

‘My family is so precious 

and lovely to me.’

‘How can I not be a burden to them?’

Only now afterwards

Can I get some perspective 

And drop back down 

Into normal life.

Ahhh…

8/3/23

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love Jazzy Jack

60th Birthday and Blue Mountains trip

 Hi all!

Can you guess what I am doing today? I am turning 60! Right this minute in fact.

Turning and turning until I’m all 60ified. By midnight I’ll be all done. 

It’s quite something this moment. Apparently if you and your spouse make it to 60, at least one of us has a 90 % chance of making it to 90, according to our Superannuation expert. So now Cris and I fight it out?

I remember turning 50 and it felt super old. Almost older than this to be honest. I’ve got used to being semiretired and menopausal and all the ailments starting to creep up. It doesn’t feel nice, but I’ve got a bit used to putting myself in the older bracket now. I think menopause really changes things, duh!

The fun part of today has been receiving a flute. I used to play quite well as a teenager, and then it was put on the back burner while I learnt the violin which I received for my 21st (notice a trend here?)

So now I get to revisit old times like an old timer does. It’s amazing how much it has stayed in my fingers.

I managed to get through the whole first book in one day, reminding myself how all the notes are played. And now I just have to become better at moving between them. My emboucher could use a little work!

Now to the Blue Mountains.

Aiden and I went off for a jaunt a few weeks ago, so I thought it would be nice to record the moment for posterity in the old blog.

I’m not sure how I will choose the photos to show because it was one of those times when you couldn’t take an ugly shot.

We stayed in a cute BnB, with leadlight doors to the kitchen (which blocked the front door, but who’s counting?)

Super cute overgrown garden (Aiden looks happy to have arrived)

Built in verandahs with mad vintage items

A toilet and bathroom down stairs. I felt like I was making a great dramatic entry every time.

And cute little ‘Adventure Island’ chairs, (as we used to call them after a favourite TV show), sitting on a pint sized verandah overlooking the bush.

While there we spent our first day at ‘The Three Sisters’. It has grown dramatically in tourist numbers since I was last there. I can’t say I enjoyed that part of it, but the scenery can’t be faulted.

We climbed down some very steep stairs to explore the first ‘Sister’. Pushing past people on a steep precipice with a back pack on is not my idea of fun. We decided to leave and move on to other areas, where we found some quieter but no less enjoyable beauty.

On our way home we explored Wentworth Falls from a lovely lookout we had all to ourselves, just arriving when people we were leaving, and leaving when people were arriving. Such a treat to feel all that majesty in silence. We may or may not have carved our initials in the railing paint. Amazing we could find a blank spot!

The next day we headed off down the end of our street to explore the pathway in our local ravine behind the house. I thought we would take 20 minutes but we arrived home three hours later!

But what views we had. We could have happily just done our local valley and called it a successful holiday.

And with that we were on our way home again.

A swift break from our daily routines which we plan to repeat throughout the year, introducing Aiden to the wider world. (At least the world we can fit in between trampoline lessons)

Til next time,

Keep on creating!

Love,

Jazzy Jack