Just Fine in '09!

Last week was a most delightful week. Visiting with friends, enjoying family. Meeting a new addition for the first time. Our Ladies' Bible Study "Break up" which was at a nice coffee place. A luxury for most of us girls.

Then this week has been just as busily delightful. A trip to the coast to see holidaying relatives. A VERY long lunch with two special friends to celebrate my birthday. (One is a mum of 9 and one a mum of 7 expecting her 8th) That means they don't have a lot of time for socializing so I appreciate them making time for us to catch up.

Yesterday marked my birthday. What a great day I had. So many lovely phone calls, cards and visits. I feel spoilt and special!
Believe me, I am exhausted. The heat has been bearable and at long last the rain has fallen! Praise God

Some special gifts from my beautiful daughters.

My GS1 is a curly haired ball of energy. ♥

He is adjusting to big brother status and finding the wet weather indoor restrictions hard to handle. Let me outa here!




A rose between the thorns!♥
My friends sweet one week old daughter came to visit!

My darling GS3.

He is growing like topsy. Very cute and so far, very placid!

GS2 loves the music.♥

Loves any noise as a matter of fact! Banging drums is a speciality.

He'll be a musician for sure.

Lots of thoughtful messages and cards.♥

One of particular interest on the right. A family history which I am really thrilled to receive and have already begun to read. Special thanks to the thoughtful sender.

God has blessed me and my family ABUNDANTLY throughout this year for which I am truly thankful. ♥

Remember the Sabbath Day

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:

but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20: 8 - 11

Many years ago the great athlete and christian missionary, Eric Liddell refuses to compete in the Olympic Games. His story is well known, loved and remembered in the movie, Chariots of Fire. Christians in our day are still standing up and declaring this day holy. Here is a link to an article about young Scottish footballer, Euan Murray, who has recently taken that same stand.

Reading his story this morning reminded me how far we fall short in making a clear testimony to the watching world, that we are the Lord's people. How many opportunities do I miss, no matter how quietly, to choose to obey God, but instead go the way of my own flesh?

Lord, give me a longing to love and serve you, to put away the foolish things of this world, and to seek wisdom.

Wishing everyone a great week - the last of 2009! In one week we celebrate our wedding anniversary, my birthday and New Year. Busy, busy.

The Highest End

Here is a link to a beautiful meditation on the first catechism. (Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism) by Reverend Matthew Winzer.

What is the chief and highest end of man?

Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him for ever.

Wait upon the Lord...

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard,

that the everlasting God, the Lord,

the Creator of the ends of the earth,

fainteth not neither is weary?

there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint,

and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary

and the young men shall utterly fall.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings as eagles,

they shall run, and not be weary

and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40: 28 - 31

Waiting on God

God often keeps his people long in expectation of the comforts he designs them, for the confirmation of their faith; but though the answers of prayer, and the performance of promises, come slowly, yet they come surely.
Matthew Henry on Genesis 15:12-16



Psalm 130.

1 Lord, from the depths to thee I cried.
2 My voice, Lord, do thou hear:
Unto my supplication's voice
give an attentive ear.

3 Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord,
should'st mark iniquity?
4 But yet with thee forgiveness is,
that feared thou mayest be.

5 I wait for God, my soul doth wait,
my hope is in his word.
6 More than they that for morning watch,
my soul waits for the Lord;

I say, more than they that do watch
the morning light to see.
7 Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with him mercies be;

And plenteous redemption
is ever found with him.
8 And from all his iniquities
he Isr'el shall redeem.

Scottish Metrical Version

And on a more thoughtful note...

The miracle of new life is a constant source of wonder and amazement! Watching my new grandson is fascinating and reminds me once again of the blessing of fruitfulness. The great blessing of being given children in the first place but also that they are healthy and beautifully formed. We take this so much for granted, don't we? those of us who have them? Think of our sisters who have the great heartbreak of barrenness... Think of those who are battling day by day with special needs children...

I sometimes ask myself whether I am supporting my sisters and friends who are in much harder situations than I am. Once at a Right to Life seminar we were challenged on this very point. Can we protest the aborting of little souls and not follow up with support to young mothers when they keep their babies. Especially the mothers of little ones who are born with physical and mental disabilities which add to the difficulty of raising them. Are we prepared to follow through and put our christian ethics into action?

I know several friends who carry the great burden of God withholding children from them. Think of Rachel who cried to Jacob, "Give me children else I die." I do not know how to reach and comfort these dear ones, but I do know that one or two of them have been a great source of strength and amazement to me and to others. While we see our children along with husbands and homes, as our calling I see these special people shining in other areas. God has brought them through this great trial and given them a special lot in life.

One older lady told me recently that when she realised God was not going to give her children naturally she and her husband looked into adoption and were later blessed with two children in this way. They are in their 70s now and love and serve the people of God tirelessly. I have never heard her whinge or complain about the hand dealt to her, only to rejoice in how good God was to them.

Another friend wrote recently, "The Lord has dealt bountifully with me." How much more meaningful these words are from one who truly has cried to God for the desire of her heart, and yet can say, "Thy will be done" when it seems these prayers are not answered. Those of us with children need to think again before we complain that they take up all our time and energy, don't give us a moments peace, cost a fortune to raise. There are some who would change places with us in a heartbeat.

My own daughter is facing the challenges of having two babies very close together and an older child in the house. I see her dealing so sweetly with them and laying down her own desires for them and thank God for her. I see my other daughter also, so young and sometimes lonely, sacrificing a work and social life for her little fellow. May God do a mighty work in their hearts♥♥
These are rambling thoughts and those of you who read here regularly will have put it together that I do go off on meandering rabbit trails at times!

To everyone ... have a great weekend!

That's the new little grandson at one week old at the top♥

Great little win, Great little name!

Amy at Blogamy Lake, ran a fun little competition a few weeks ago. She is expecting her ninth child and asked readers to suggest names for a baby girl beginning with M or E. I made the suggestion of Miranda, which is a girl's name I have liked for years and usually made my top 10 list when we were trying to name our babies.

It seems Amy and her family liked it too as I have won a little prize for my efforts!

This of course, is just a bit of fun and they are not committing themselves to any of the names which were submitting, but I am looking forward to that new bundle of pink arriving and hearing what she will be called. I received an excellent little booklet titled "Bitterness" for my efforts. It is in the "to read" queue and it looks good, so I may write a little about it soon. Thank you so much Amy, a great topic which we all need to give some thought and action to.

Bethany at Covered by His Hand has counted down to her due date today, too! Thinking of you Bethany and hoping you have a short wait now. Her baby is named after a good King of Israel so I have my guesses as to what it is. Bethany and her husband are also celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. Hi you two!

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One of my real life friends had a baby girl early this week, too. We have spent little chunks of time with my daughter and the new baby. Trying to be helpful, trying to help the "Big Boy" to know he is loved and not been usurped! Trying not to fuss too much over bubby♥

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It's been a great week. I am very tired. I haven't done some of the planned things but I am feeling very contented. Thank you, Lord.

I plan to...

Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Or do without.

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I've read this quote a few times and understood that it originated from a World War II poster. When I googled, it seemed that there are a number of claims to it.

Still, good advice. It is one of the things I am thinking about as I begin to plan for 2010.

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"She looketh well to the ways of her household..."

Ah..The Good Life.

I wondered to myself last week, whether I would spend way too much time on the internet and blog on these long holidays. I have quite a few posts "in the pipeline" and lots of places bookmarked to read - in my spare time! But now it's the second week of the break and I am actually wondering how we ever get our school work done!I am way behind in my regular reads - sorry all- and not getting my emails answered either.

But, it's all good!

Some of the view at our beautiful local Botanic Gardens. Scene of a relaxing morning with a couple of friends, and a heap of kids!

This is one of the huge, spreading banyan trees at the Botanic Gardens. The forward thinking founder of the gardens, I think his name was Thozet, planted these nearly 140 years ago. Today they spread across many meters and need to be held up in places. As you can see they naturally put down roots which hold up the very long branches.
ooOoo

Big boys shopping with GS1. Sweeeeet! He's a big brother now!

Amidst visits and shopping trips with the girls, play time with the babies, coffee with friends AND the big arrival ot the new baby, I have managed to Blitz my kitchen cupboards. Sorry, I forgot to take pics, Organizing Mommy.
I am taking the quote "If you do stuff, you get stuff done" as my holiday motto. I find I am actually more on top on things when we have the routine of the school day to follow. Everyone knows what needs doing and when. I am trying to do lots but stay flexible to spend lots of time with my family and especially the newly usurped baby, who is now a big brother. He is finding it all strange having baby in the house and is very keen to come with me when we visit. We're making time for play times with his cousin, and the uncles to give mummy a break. The early release has worked out well, but little ones are just so busy. I think young mums without family support must find it much harder to go home so early. They have been to the doctor today and all checked out fine, and the midwife has visited a number of times.

I am crashing into bed exhausted at night, but we are all enjoying the break!

Carol's Book...Take a Look!

It's here!!

Congratulations Carol.

Here is Carol (NewKidontheBlogg)'s book. Hot off the press. Read all about it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR;

"Nice girls don't yell!" Oh yeah" The author does some yelling in this book. Carol Noren Johnson is a retired English teacher who discovered that niceness gets in the way of being effective, genuine and godly. She writes truthfully about incidents in the life and her growing understanding of godliness. she lives in Plant City, Florida with her husband. Mrs Johnson holds a B.A. in Teaching Arts and English from Westmont College and M.A. in Educational Systems Development from San Jose State University. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster and is working on a Ed.D. in Counseling and Education from Whitefield Theological Seminary.

To read more about Carol and her book pop over to her website and her blog and you can also order from Carol (See her blog for her details) or from amazon.

I am honoured and delighted to have a copy already, sent to me by Carol herself. Carol has become a friend through contact, first on a Christian Forum which we both post on and later by email and our blogs. This book is her personal memoir but touches on areas which most of us can indentify with. Carol has a great desire to grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to do all things for His glory. Carol bestowed a great honour on me by inviting me to write the Forword to her book, so I am very excited to see it in hard copy right now!

May the Lord bless this work to His glory and the good of many, Carol.

What is the RPW?

The Regulative Principle of Worship is a principle presented in the Scriptures (Gen. 4:3-7; Ex. 20:4-6; 25:40; Lev. 10:1-3; Deut. 4:2; 12:32; I Sam. 13:11ff; I Ki. 12:32-33; I Chr. 15:13; II Chr. 26:16; Jer. 7:31; Matt. 15:9; Matt. 28:19-20; John 4:22-24; Acts 17:23-25; Col. 2:18-23).

It teaches that we are to worship God only in ways He commands in His Word. We are not to insert into the worship service any elements which are the fabrications and inventions of man. God is honoured only when we worship Him according to means set forth in His Word (either by direct commandment or logical implication), and when we do not add to or take away from anything set forth therein.

Westminster Confession of Faith - Chapter 21.1 The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and doth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.

ooOoo

Some argue that what is not forbidden in God's Word is permissible concerning the worship of God. How can we offer less in worship to God than what he has commanded? How can a man- imagined offering be pleasing to the Holy, Righteous Creator of all? How can we say we worship Christ, it is all about Jesus, we are honouring the Lord, when the focus is man centred and man delighting and not in keeping with God's own commands? Why do we who have the best (The inspired Word of God) want so much to imitate the world?

"Howbeit, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." Mark 7:7

Introducing...

My sweet little grandson at a few hours of age♥♥

Starting labour after mid night, my daughter rang at 2.30 am to get me to take her to hospital. Her partner staying with the sleeping 15 month old, intending to be there for the birth later in the morning. No siree!! On the 10 minute drive from her house to the hospital she had 3 contractions and this little fellow had no intention of waiting for Dad! We got there at about 3.20 and he was born just at 4.03 am.

He weighed in at 3040grams, which is about 6lb 7 so is a wee tiny mite, but he is absolutely, gorgeous and perfectly formed. Mother and baby went home at around 3.30pm. Well, that's how they do things these days!

My daughter was amazingly calm and focused♥ Her first labour was 8 hours long with about 2 hours at the hospital and no drugs or stitches. This time, about 4.5 hours and no drugs or stitches. She is such a beautiful mother and daughter.

My girls' births have been a tremendous blessing and wonderment for me. I had such un-natural pregnancies and births. I thank God that he has blessed them in this way. I also praise and thank the Lord for the dear little grandchildren he has bestowed on us. May He be pleased to use us to influence them that they may know the Lord. Especially today I marvel at this tiny miracle as I gazed at him and held him for the first time after all these months.

We've had the fun of having "Big Brother" here today!♥ He had a disturbed night, Picked up by Mumma in the dark, finally going back to sleep. Up early and a big day. Then finally meeting the baby (Not too sure about him!) What a sweetie. Lord willing, we will be able to spend lots of time with him over the next few weeks.

Truly Grandmotherhood is full of joys and blessings!♥

I have not used my families' names on the blog so I haven't divulged it here but if it is any consolation, the name they have had picked for about 6 months has been in a little doubt today, so I am not even sure of it.

Another Blue One!

Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever!

Psalm 106:1

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I am very thankful to God this morning for the quick and safe arrival of my daughter's baby about two hours ago! Another grandson - thankyou Lord.

We have been up since 2.30 but her little toddler, whom we are minding , has gone back to sleep, and it's a little early here (6am) to be ringing around. So I'll blog it instead! :-) I will head back up to the hospital later this morning and hopefully have some pictures and details later today.

The Sunshine State

150 years today since Queensland was proclaimed a State.

Our emblems

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The Cooktown Orchid

The Koala

Barrier Reef Anemone Fish

End of Year Celebration

On Friday we celebrated the end

of the 2009 school year with a day at the beach.

9am Sand Castle and Sculptures competition.

Er, did anyone think to check the tide times?

Work fast kids!

The Titanic
The entry from my boys and a few of their mates won their section.

Building a dyke to keep out the sea.

Bail Mum, bail!

Winning castle in the littlies section.

The children had to build fast as the tide was coming in. This fun competition was followed by a swim and then morning tea. One of the mums had made up a clever scavenger hunt, which the children loved. They had to "find" some very obscure things. A pirate with a wooden leg, a finger nail 10cm long, a treasure map... Some of the groups proved very creative!

After games of footy (yes Queenslanders are strange like that!) and other fun and strenuous things we enjoyed lunch together. Plenty of swimming and chatting and then the sleepy trip home. As mentioned in other posts it is only a 40min trip to the coast, so a nice day out for us all.

We are very blessed to have a large, active and supportive group of parents and children in this area. Phew! Another year down.

The Weaver

My Life is but a weaving
between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the under side.
Not til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

B.M. Franklin

Just do it!

If you do stuff...

You get stuff done.

Love it! This classic quote was a blog title I stumbled across on a rabbit trail. Sorry , I can't retrace it but I have been chuckling about it ever since. Ah, the answer to all my jobs awaiting attention. Just do it.

Introducing MamaArcher

MamaArcher is celebrating her 1,000th blog post!

Wow, that's some sort of achievement!

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This lovely Alaskan mama was one of the early blogs which I began to read when I first ventured into the world of blogs. MamaArcher, so named for her convictions concerning Psalm 127, posts on many and varied subjects and ideas.

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She is a Christian of Reformed persuasion, a Pastor's wife and mother of nine.

I enjoy her blog because she has a great mix of theology, home schooling, large family and motherly posts and very down to earth and thought provoking deeper topics.

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Pop over and check out her blog. You will be amazed at the sweet face of a sixteen year old which is the pic of this blog's author, who by all reckoning must be quite a few years older. Must be the cold weather, eh, Kristine. Here in Australia one tends to shrivel in the intense sunlight.

MamaArcher is hosting a great looking Give Away in celebration of this momentous occasion as well, so read her post and join in.

Staying Calm

Incredibly, it seems it has all gone.

In the past two days, I held my breathe, hoping...praying...that all my files would be able to be restored.

The Bad News: Apparently, you can loose the whole lot, if the C drive is cleared, which, unbelievably we managed to do. {Sob} Like many women, I learn about the computer's capabilities on an as needs basis. I now can do most of the basics with pictures, documents, emails, the blog, facebook. Who needs more? Like most men, hubby needs to know what's under the bonnet. He tinkers. This is a wonderful attribute that God has given men, to discover, to invent. Just, why , oh why, on our computer!

The Good News: In the past two days, I have been able to assemble all the disks I had backed up, and I discovered that I had hard copy of most of the documents that were going to be really hard to reproduce. PRAISE GOD. Long time readers will remember we have had similar dramas before. I had kept a lot more than I originally thought. Most of the hard work will be in recopying a few files of old photographs which I am working on. These are from originals of Mum and Dad's so at least I have the photographs to work with. A huge job, but do-able. Serves me right for waiting too long to copy to disk.

Solution? Hubby suggests I get an external hard drive. He can tinker on his things without fear of wiping me out again. This was also suggested by MommyMindy, and seems to have worked for her family.

Thanks for all your supportive comments.

I really am fine. The shock has worn off and I've had a day off reading blogs. Catch up with you all soon!

The Amazing Eye

“Presented with a word’s image on the retina, average readers of English can, within a few 10ths of a second, match it with one of 50,000 or more words stored in their mental dictionaries, comprehend its meaning in context and proceed seamlessly to the next word.”
—Susan Okie, in her review of Reading in the Brain

Marvel again at the incredible way God has created the human eye!

I read this quote at Miscellanies. Yes, I do link to that blog a bit, because he has some very linkable quotes over there!

Woe is me!

Our baby is sick!

We need to take the computer for some professional help, so just letting you know that if you don't hear from me it is really serious.

Lord willing, it will be easily remedied.

I cannot tell all the symptoms...too distraught!

Actually, it is working fine, but we have lost . poof ...gone...vamoosh, everything. Pictures, documetns, programs, all my family history and completed memoirs for our book. SOME was backed up...some not. I have been assured it can be retrieved.

Okay, I told you any how! I am off now. Bye.

Continuing in Quietness

John Calvin:

"When a fire is once kindled, it is not so soon quenched again. We imagine that when we throw ourselves into a fit of anger, we can come to ourselves very soon, and all will be calm and quiet again. But no! The devil so puts in his foot that the strife and contention turns to a deadly sting, so that men are envenomed with it more and more. Let us not think that when any trouble is stirred up, it will be pacified as soon as we could wish, continue in quietness and shun all strife and debate."

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peacably with all men. Romans12:18

Psalm 133

A song of degrees of David

--o--

1 Behold, how good a thing it is,

and how becoming well,

Together such as brethren are

in unity to dwell!

2 Like precious ointment on the head,

that down the beard did flow,

Ev'n Aaron's beard, and to the skirts,*

did of his garments go.

3 As Hermon's dew, the dew that doth

on Sion' hills descend:

For there the blessing God commands,

life that shall never end.

--o--

Scottish Metrical version

From Frog to Prince

...In twelve short years.Tomorrow is the birthday of my precious premmie boy. Actually, all of our babies were early. Our first was born at 28 weeks and died at eight days of age. The other three between 34 and 36+ weeks. But this little darling was born at 30 weeks gestation! He weighed 3lb 15oz which is pretty good for that age, and although my own health meant that his lungs were expected to be under developed, he breathed alone at birth. (later he had some dramas which meant he was ventilated for a short time) . He spent eight weeks in hospital. Took forever to get to full breast feeding. Gave us many heart stopping moments with his little seizures. We brought him home on Australia Day, 1998 and our little boy who started life like a tiny frog has never looked back.

In the picture above he is already nearly eight weeks. Don't you love his nappy? and his dear sweet face♥


Growing bonny in the first few months!

By 18 months he was as solid as a rock and already had a baby brother. He has remained a solid boy, and enjoys good health. Being born so early he has had a few developmental problems, but as a dynamic, basketball loving, PS2 playing lad, you would hardly know it.

His name means manly.

He is enjoying a wonderful weekend of activities to celebrate this birthday.

Unbelievably Easy No Fail Recipe!!!

This is one of those recipes which just always seems to come out well and the children love it! Since our home school group has swimming on Friday mornings and we have a birthday in the family this weekend I made it to share for morning tea after swimming. It is very big so ideal for the big numbers.

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Boiled Chocolate Cake

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3cups sugar

2 cups water

250g margarine

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 cups SR Flour

4 eggs, well beaten

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Boil the first 5 ingredients

Allow to cool

Beat in flour, then eggs

Bake in a LARGE cake tin in moderate oven for 40 - 45 mins

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(I actually use a baking dish or two ordinary tins)

Giving Thanks Today!

I thought today, being Thanksgiving Day for our friends in the US of A, would be a good day to ponder on the things I am thankful to the Lord for.

# My Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. ♥

# My husband, home and family.♥

#My two grandsons, my step grand daughter and the little baby soon to be born. D.V.♥

# That we live in a free country. While it seems to be becoming less and less based on a christian ethos, we still have the freedom to worship the one true God, assemble together and preach our message openly. May God continue to bless us and shed his light upon many in this dark nation.♥

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# An abundance of good gifts! More than food and clothing, God has blessed us with many material things. Help us to know how to abound and to use your provision wisely.♥

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# For both my husband's and my own parents, all of whom are living.♥

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# For wonderful family and friends. Especially for the household of faith. How much more difficult life would be if we were to travel this road alone.♥

# The end of another year of schooling. Thank you Lord, for health, strength and perseverance throughout this year. And for young boys who are progressing, no matter how slowly.♥

#For new found internet and blogging friends! Thank you one and all for your encouragement, your interesting reads, and your humour. ♥

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#For long awaited showers of rain recently fallen! May they deluge down.♥

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Praise ye the Lord,O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 106:1

Favourite Weekend Links

There were so many great posts up over the weekend and Monday to catch up on! Thanks everyone ♥


Here are a couple I recommend checking out:


At Challies I was amazed to read that Jerry Bridges, that wonderful author, is turning eighty. Say Happy Birthday to Jerry Bridges . He has many well known books of which I have read only a couple. Trusting God (Even when Life Hurts) was a great blessing to me at a very difficult time in my life.

Carolyn at Restore the Ancient Paths has posted an oldie but a goodie. Gives me a giggle every time. Well, ain't it just like this at your place, Homeschooler?
The Homeschool Family


My Puritan Board and Blogging friend, Carol has launched her book ! Getting off the Niceness Treadmill. See an early reader's comment here at April Bought my Book! Good for you Carol. May God bless the book to his glory.

Lessons from a Hard Pew

Sometimes my "Sabbath Thoughts" wander well astray from the Pastor's sermon!

Although I am well short of fifty...well short you hear! I have a few "age" problems. Most diabetics develop some of the long term side effects of diabetes. One thing I have found in recent years is that my circulation is deteriorating. I get lots of cramps, especially in my back. Okay, scrap that, now I really sound geriatric! However, it is related tot he post.

Lately I have found it very difficult to sit through our church services without some discomfort, and sometimes pain. In the morning, the place where we meet has slightly padded seats with wooden backs, so not too bad. In the evening, our place of worship has very straight, hard pews which I do sometimes find very difficult to sit for the whole time. It is tricky. I have young sons in training! I try desperately hard to sit still and attentive, but especially in the evening I struggle with these stabbing cramps! I try to shift position imperceptibly....I try to flex the cramp with as little movement as possible. Alas, the last couple of weeks I have given in and we have all moved further back. {sigh} Here I feel a little more freedom to squirm! And have once actually gotten up and walked to the back to try to un-scrunch those muscles! Oh, the pain and indignation!

Last night, I was thinking about the day's messages and ruing my aging body and less than acute mind. Then I began to ponder how absolutely trivial those back pains are when I think upon the agony and suffering my Lord and Saviour endured for his people. How small an humiliation it is to be "well short of fifty" with an obviously deteriorating body, compared to the humiliation our great God endured to come to earth in a human frame. Despised and rejected of men.

I am not wanting to be a martyr and whip myself in order to worship God! But it did strike me that we very often whine and complain because we do not enjoy a life of ease. Yet, we so often take for granted the salvation we have in Christ without remembering the great price he paid.

Thanks and Praise be to God.

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Q. Where in did Christ's humiliation consist?

A. Christ's humiliation consisteth in his being born and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life,the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross, in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 35

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Meandering Monday thoughts!

Teaching Children

Lord, Who am I to teach the way

To little Children day by day,

So prone myself to go astray?

I teach them knowledge, but I know

How faint they flicker and how low

The candles of my knowledge glow.

I teach them power to will and do,

But only now to learn anew

My own great weakness through and through.

I teach them love for all mankind

And all God’s creatures, but I find

My love comes lagging far behind.

Lord, if their guide I still must be,

Oh, let the little Children see

The teacher leaning hard on Thee.

By: Leslie Pinchney Hill.

I have copied this lovely verse from MommaMindyMoments. She posted it recently with a great story of the woman who shared this wisdom with her. Thanks Mindy

Pumpkin Soup

1 kg (2lb) pumpkin

750g 1.5 lb) tomatoes

500g (1lb) onions

pepper and salt

water

2 chicken stock cubes

Peel pumpkin and cut into pieces; skin tomatoes; peel and chop onions. Put all vegetables in pan. Add water to cover, stir in crumbled stock cubes.

Bring to boil; reduce heat, simmer until pumpkin is tender. Puree or rub through sieve. Season to taste. (Refrigerate if serving cold) Garnish with a little sour cream and chopped chives.

Serves 6 to 8. We love this as a hot soup but is nice cold as well.

I usually put the ingredients into the crock pot, with a couple of peeled, diced potatoes and slow cook until soft.

(The picture above is not mine! I have never actually served Pumpkin Soup out of the pumpkin.)

for Aussie Cooks. I have used this basic recipe from the good old Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook for over twenty years!

Golden Childhood XIII

Do you remember ...

the first sound in the morning,

Dad shaking down the coals.

"Hup hey! Hup hey!"

Thud of the engine

chips flying,

The ABC news music as we scrambled for the bus?

Don't you remember...

the monotonous "Ark, ark" of the crows,

on hot summer afternoons.

Wonderful riverlets of red

and going to the gate on the tractor

when Januarys used to be wet.

And the velvet nights, crystal clear,

silent after the engine stopped,

Just the creaking of the mill

as we drifted off to sleep.

Remember endless games in the "Two Trees"

and around the tank behind the kitchen

where a huge carpet snake lurked?

The same was my dread

if I had to go to the laundry

or turn off the engine.

Remember the swing and the big fig tree

How its roots jutted out

just where we jumped off?

I remember...

my Summer of dreadful thirst.

Hospital, needles, diet, fear.

Dad giving my morning injections

and how I began to ride Kimber

young and newly broken

and falling......

How many alarms we gave them

our dear Mum and Dad!

And don't you remember...

away at school,

the lurch in your stomach

when you saw their beloved faces
and the sinking as you waved goodbye.
Homesick....
Driving home,
Tears along the Rannes road,
a lump in the throat.
Dad on the patio
peels at his feet.
Mum running from the kitchen
wood stove warm and inviting.

Try to remember...
Rannes 15D
History lessons as we trudged along fencing,
whinging as we picked sticks.
Mustering, branding, pitching in.
Hot and dusty but content
and how Dad peered out his office window
looking for lights in the lane
when the older ones were coming home.
.
Waves of nostalgia,
jumbled recollections
but of course you remember!
It was only yesterday....

.

August 2004

To my family on the occasion of Dad's 80th birthday.

♥♥ Sweet ♥♥

Putting their heads together!

Whatcha lookin' at?

Snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails,
that's what little boys are made of!

♥♥

Where is your Treasure?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21

.

Matthew Henry: "Where your treasure is, on earth or in heaven, there will your heart be. We are therefore concerned to be right and wise in the choice of our treasure, because the temper of our minds, and consequently the tenor of our lives, will be accordingly either carnal or spiritual, earthly or heavenly. Where the treasure is, there the value and esteem are, there the love and affection are (Colossians 3:2), that way the desires and pursuits go, thitherward the aims and intents are levelled, and all is done with that in view. The heart is God's due (Proverbs 23:26) and that he may have it, our treasure must be laid up with Him, and then our souls will be lifted up to Him."

.

While it is good to plan for the future, our priority should be for the eternal things. Laying up and choosing heavenly things rather than the things which pertain to this fleeting world.




What direction is my heart going? What are my thoughts filled with? What excites me? That is my treasure... Do I put all my strength and energy into the things of God? What is my life's purpose? If the Lord is the treasure of my heart then all my thoughts, efforts, worship and witness are directed toward him.

.

In what direction is your heart going? ♥

The Friendships of Women

I really appreciated the award from Jillian, HomeSchooling4Christ, last week. I had posted this blurb in another place, early last week, before that lovely award and got to thinking about the difference between "blog friendships" and the teaching type sites. I'll let you read my thoughts, (sorry, it is longish) and I hope you will see the difference. I do think we glean a lot from our interaction over the net and make many like minded friends who build us up. Thanks to all of those who have encouraged and sharpened me.

Here is the post "The Friendships of Women" from my Jewelry Box blog in entirety.


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A lot of the blogs I read use Proverbs 31:10 - 31 or Titus 2: 3 -5 as their header or reference verses. These are such special passages to us as Christian women. We can study and experience all our lives through and still not plumb the depths of these passages, joined with many others which make special reference to christian woman hood.

If you google either of those references you come up with an endless supply of sites to examine. You can learn a lot from the wisdom recorded there in. But I have been thinking about the mentoring of women in the christian faith and the internet, lately.

I was blessed to be brought up by very traditional and conservative parents. I had the early influence of relatives and friends who were married for life, where dads were the head of the house and mums were joyful mothers of children, looking well to the ways of their households.

However, when I became a christian I was desperately looking for older women in the faith to be mentors to me. I began to read extensively and form many opinions about marriage, children, education and so on. I started to make friends, around my own age and also lacking in experience and wisdom and we talked extensively on these important matters. We subscribed to various magazines and exchanged the good, informative books we were reading. Eventually, a group of us got the idea to have regular meetings, I seem to recall it was Tuesday nights, once a fortnight. We did glean a lot from reading and discussing scripture and praying for one another's needs, but generally I look back and we were pretty much pooling our ignorance!

This little group didn't last long. Most of us remained friends, but we had so many children, husbands to attend to , busy households, home schooling that it was not very practical. We also found that though we were friends our differing doctrinal beliefs and the various wishes and opinions of our husbands, lead to a lot of difficulties.

This is going back 15 plus years ago. Since then, the Lord has brought many trials in my own life. Some of those same ladies are still my close friends. But during the hard years of pregnancies, babies, schooling, marriage, family and church hurdles I began to see that the Titus 2 women in our lives are those that God has placed in our own sphere as mothers/ mentors in faith and life. Loving our husbands and children is not something learned in a discussion group, or from an internet or magazine article, though these may help us. These, and other godly qualities are learned as we observe the godly older women in our circles and seek the Lord with our whole heart.

I was young, opinionated and clueless! (Now I am old but still probably much the same!)

I thought my ideas were so superior to the older women in my church circle who had not home schooled, or perhaps they worked, or......... any number of other things.

I was idealistic but I did not have the years of experience of walking with the Lord that some of these ladies did. As trials set in, my lack of experience began to show. I had made an idol of my family and suffered terribly because of it. It was then that these gracious older, and not so much older but much wiser, godly women, began to shine.

Were it not for the love, patience and kindness of these and the openness and willingness to learn of some of my other friends, I might well have travelled a much more rocky and painful path. They came along side. They listened and they loved. They led by example.

I remember once having a good whinge to a friend about something - someone. She listened, she nodded and hugged me. Then she looked at me ever so gently and said, "I know I would feel that way too, but what you have just said is sinful and you need to forgive and change your attitude."

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

I think we need to read with a lot of wisdom and discretion when we use the net as our "Titus" teaching tool. We cannot observe the home lives, the marriages, the relationships of the people we read about. I know my own life is a far cry from the ideal example I might wish to be. There are many lovely families using the internet as their "ministries" but sadly, like some preachers, there are also those who have set themselves up as an authority and fallen very publicly. Falls are part of the Christian walk, but sometimes followers can be severely shaken in the fall out if their faith and trust is depending on a man/ woman rather than on the Lord.

Sometimes the financial side of the "business" eg with magazines and home based businesses, or the pressure to publish, become more pressing and important than the souls which are looking in hunger and thirst for biblical teaching. While relationships are formed through the internet, they do not have the same depth and day to day reality of real friendships. We can log in each day to a favourite blog site or teacher, but we would never visit our real friends every day nor hear one mans sermons every day. Some of our reliance on the Lord can be lost and the zeal to "search the scriptures to see whether these things be so", if all the research and hard work is done for us.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 are very special portions of scripture for us women. At the time they were written there were no computers, blogs or emails. Women lived and worked closely together the older teaching the younger. Times have changed and we appreciate all the conveniences we have at our finger tips, but it seems the time honoured and biblical methods are still the best.

ooOOoo

Just some thoughts. I love some of the sites I visit regularly on the net and have made friends with a number of folk. Likewise I love my books and magazines that edify and encourage. But only God's Word is perfect and His Spirit our teacher and comforter. Only those God has placed in our real life community of believers can know us, love us, joy and grieve with us. May God bless you with many such Godly examples to help as we grow in grace.

A Special Birthday!

My little princess♥

12 November, 1990

On this day, nineteen years ago, my third child and second daughter was born. Like her siblings she was born prematurely at 35 weeks but she weighed 7lb 3oz and was fairly healthy from the get go. I spent one week in, one week out alternately in hospital from 9 weeks during her pregnancy, due to complications in my diabetic control. We considered her our special miracle, as at eleven weeks my condition was so poor it looked unlikely I would get through the pregnancy to a viable age. But our great God answers prayer! We took her home on day ten and Daddy and big sister were very pleased to finally get us home again.

A cute baby at 18 months of age.

This daughter was a fashion coordinator from a young age! She had clear ideas on what she liked and disliked and would assist me with my wardrobe. "Mummy, that shirt would look nice with this scarf." And to big sister, "You should wear these shoes with this dress." Today she still has great taste in clothing and interior decoration. Big Sister and I missed out a little in that department.

Once a princess, always a princess!

Still loves to dress up!

Both my daughters were great little house keepers. The older would do what ever was asked of her, but this daughter was always able to see what needed doing and just do it. And she did it thoroughly. Today she is just the same and keeps her own home spotless.

Today we spent a lot of the day together which was lovely. Tonight, we had a barbecue tea with her and her partner and their little son. As one of my blogging friends wrote recently, don't blink or you will miss it. (Our children's lives) Where have the years gone? Where did my baby go?

God bless you, my precious baby...