Blogging Backup and the Mystery of Boys

When I looked in my drafts today I was amazed to find 19 posts in draft form! Am I alone in this ? Some are simply a title which I have noted to remind me at a later date of the riveting article I was going to write. Some are a few topic points awaiting my brain to get into gear and string them into logical sentences and paragraphs. A couple are actually complete posts which for one reason or another I have not been happy with or perhaps am awaiting a better time to publish. All that to say, that life is extremely busy at present and it is throwing up lots of challenges which are making the blogging come down the list of priorities for my time and energy. Notice that not too much depth is oozing forth from here lately. Sorry ♥

I am pondering some thoughts about boys. My own boys and my observations of others. Perhaps that post will hit the blog one day soon.

In the meantime, here is a thought picture for you to ponder....

Two similar washing detergent boxes. One opened by the female of the house ~ me. The other by a male member of the household, who will remain anonymous! Can you guess which is which. Does this happen at your place? With everything? Cereal, toothpaste, packets of pasta and rice {oow... messy!}

Isn't it wonderful how different we males and females are. Wouldn't have it any other way!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer Delights

It's Thursday, 10.30am and we are enjoying our Morning Tea break. I thought I would share these last delicious slivers of mango with you!

Especially those of you in colder places who might be craving some tropical fruit. This is a delicious Bowen Special. We don't have a tree ourselves, but we never buy mangoes as they are so plentiful in gardens here.

JJ brought this one over the other night when she came for tea and it is absolutely delicious! Cold, sweet mmmmmmm...........

Roll on Monday!

Next Monday is March 1st..... The official first day of Autumn in this part of the country.

Perhaps it will herald a cool change. {sigh} I know from many years of living in Central Queensland that the heat and humidity do not realise that it is March and continue merrily on, perhaps for another two months.

After several weeks of much needed rain and cloudy weather, we have had two stifflingly humid days. The build up to more rain no doubt.

I just love the colours in the Autumn leaves picture above. We don't ever see leaves like that here so I thought I would post them just to enjoy the beauty of it. If you are living somewhere that is very cold, may the sun soon shine for you. And to those in the sweltering heat like us, let us endure just a little longer.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. "
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The Will of God Concerning You

Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 18

The Scriptures are full of treasures to be mined, studied, memorized, loved by the people of God. Not in a lifetime can we know it all. Every reading, every day there is something new to ponder and digest. The very word of God, the words of eternal life!

Yesterday we heard a very challenging and thought provoking message from 1 Thessalonians regarding that glorious and much anticipated event, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've said before I am not courageous enough to tackle the end times on my blog, but what a wonderful chapter to read and contemplate this is.

I am thinking on the above verses this morning which come toward the end of that chapter. The Bible is full of deep and sometimes difficult teachings, but look at the simplicity of these instructions. Short, direct, clear, simple. Rejoice, pray, give thanks.

While we wait in longing and expectation for the great and terrible day of the Lord, let's apply these positives to our lives.

Have a good and productive week everyone!

Laughter ~ the Best Medicine

"Rae" of Sunshine.

Most pf you who read here regularly will have picked up, towards the end of last year, that I was struggling with a lack of motivation and encouragement in my sons' schooling. Namely, the monotony and seeming lack of progress we were making in their reading. I am pleased to say that this year has started out on a much better note. We all seem to have a better attitude and of course that is the beginning of a better outcome.

Although not entirely due to our "volunteers" I cannot speak highly or thankfully enough for the help we have received. Our dear friend "Rae" has been like a ray of sunshine each week! Her cheerful approach and infectious laughter has captivated the boys and made their boring drills and games seem like so much fun! Dare I say, they actually look forward to these sessions each week... This has changed the whole atmosphere of our learning. Thank you, Lord!

It's raining ...it's pouring.

Well, it's actually just drizzling most of the time. After a couple of weeks everything is well and truly sodden. The river is steadily rising, though at this stage not likely to be in full flood. It makes for some dreary days as far as outside activities go but has been a good opportunity to catch some of the Winter Olympics in breaks during the day. The Family Day organized for the Homeschooling group tomorrow has been postponed due to MOZZIES! They are almost driving us to distraction!

10 week old grandson. Wow! He's a cute and chubby little guy with lots of smiles and sticky beaking everywhere. He looks a litle startled here as I caught him in his car seat.

Spare a thought.

This picture, sent by my nephew currently volunteering in Calcutta, India, got me thinking about how blessed we are here in our free, rich and prosperous country. Especially as we experience a few weeks of wet weather and inconvenience one has to wonder how we would survive in the monsoon season over there.

Have a good weekend, one and all!

My Golden Childhood

Hmm.. The post which has been at the centre of all my blogging glitches is below. I don't know why, after it posted two or three times in draft form and showed up in readers and links but now when I am posting it for real it is not! Go on down and check it out!

My Golden Childhood XV

Remembering Good Times!

Last time (My Golden Childhood XIV) I posted this pic of me as a nine and a half year old. I thought I would share the whole photograph of my family with you. Aren't we a handsome mob? there is a great family story attached to this photo ~ isn't there always when you have a great family!

This family photograph was taken in June, 1972. It was Show Day and one of my sisters had organized with a photographer friend to take a family portrait to mark the end of an era. Our eldest sister was getting married in October so this would be the last family pic before the big event.

We had all come to town for the Show and then gathered that night for the photo shoot. I can't imagine the amount of teasing and hairspray that was needed to get Mum and the older girls hair to sit like that! I was nine and a half years old and I was adamant that I be positioned conspicuously to show off my new long boots. They were brown patent leather and long boots were all the rage. I had pestered my parents until Dad finally agreed to buy them for me :-) Dad was not in good humour getting ready. He insisted that the girls in the "Bum Freezers" should not be standing on the outside in those immodest clothes! Ah! 70s fashion ~ ya gotta love it. As you can see neither Dad or I got our way that day!

My Mum was always a slim woman. Ladies of her era always wore a good foundation which probably helped but Mum had a fine figure all her life ~ and still does. She normally wears blues and greens and looks good in them so I don't know why she is wearing that drabish outfit. Perhaps it was because, having so little Winter here, she only had one long sleeved outfit?

My younger brothers look so angelic! Butter wouldn't melt in those sweet little mouths. But looks can be deceiving and believe me they could be terrors! I am certain Dad would have given them some fairly stern instructions before hand, too.

So, here we all are 37 years later.

This is a repost of the pic from Mum's 80th birthday.

Do you think we have aged well? I think some even look younger in the more casual hairdos and modern clothes. Dear Mum and Dad are beautifully seasoned.

They always were a handsome couple!

(You might remember that one of my sisters died in 1969 and is not in either

of these family photos.)

As we posed for this photograph we roared laughing about the top photo. The clothes we wore and the Bum Freezers! Dad is 85 now and uses his age and patriarchy as an excuse to conveniently forget such stories!

One of my sisters called the "little boys" to sit down the front and replicate the old photo!

I thank God for the wonderful family he placed me in...

Communion Meditation

Jesus, my Prophet, my Priest and my King.

Lord, you are my everything.

My teacher by your Word and Spirit,

Open my heart that I might hear it.

My intercessor in Melchizedek's line,

Who satisfies justice divine.

Sovereign who rules me and defends,

The One on whom my life depends.

Redeemer, Savior of my soul,

Lord, keep me safely in your fold.

I bow before you brokenly,

For you my every sin can see.

Create a clean heart Lord in me,

Fill me with your Spirit free.

Then will my soul rejoice and sing,

Jesus, my Prophet, Priest and King.

The Week that Was...

I described last week as wonderful. This one has been good too but with a few dramas to liven things up !

Firstly, I have spent a good deal of time at the computer. If you follow you will know that I had all sorts of dramas with posting. It seems to have stemmed from the autosave and date/time functions, well, not functioning. I'd like to say I couldn't care less, but of course that would not be true. I spent way too much time fiddling and faddling, without any result. Strangely, it does seem to have righted itself. When I lost all the gadgets in the side bar I was very disheartened. As you bloggers know that stuff is time consuming and you need to build it up over a while. I was not looking forward to starting from scratch.

Sometimes I feel convicted about spending too much time on the net and I think this has been a good reminder that I don't need to blog so often. Thanks for all the encouraging comments during this trial everyone ♥

The other project which kept me on the keyboard was doing up the calendar for our Homeschool Group. I've done this job on and off over the years and I do enjoy being involved in this way.
We have quite a few new families over the last couple of years. With them come lots of new children and some wonderfully young and invigorated mothers! I had a friend come over at lunch time Thursday to proof read the many phone numbers and details and thought to leave the printing of the pages until after basketball last night. So of course, it was 8pm before I got to the computer, loaded a new ink cartridge and ...... nothing. Zilch, zip, zero. No response. Ooooooh no, they were to be distributed at swimming at 8am this morning! So after a panicky phone call to another friend, who assured me the group would survive without the calendar, I just had to leave it and headed to bed. It had been a big day.

So I awoke early and thought perhaps I'd give it one more try. Voila! The printer clattered into action! It then took me another hour to run them off, collate them and staple them up ~ but I delivered the goods as promised!

And in other news...

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It was another really good week of school and the boys, although not going ahead in leaps and bounds, are enjoying their work and progressing surely and steadily. :-)

We have a regular day to spend time with each of my daughters and their little families. This is special time and I marvel at them anew each time at how gorgeous and special and clever they are!!

Today I watched my eldest feeding her 9 week old, talking on the phone and still helping her little 18month old son with his clothes!!! Hey, I used to be able to do tricks like that. It just goes to show that if you are not using your skills, you just can't keep up the pace. I had trouble juggling a container of food while I pushed the stroller!

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Hmmmm...on posting I see that I have no colours which I added when I bolded in the post. I had noticed that on one or two colours since I went to this template but now I can't change any. Does anyone have a solution for that??

Test

What's Happening???
First I can compose but not post,
Then posts disappeared.
Now my composition page has partly disappeared and half of the widgets and links in the sidebar, ARGG!!! They have totally disappeared from the settings page!
Stay tuned. Moving is a possibility...

Edit

I tried another spot where I post sometimes and the posting layout has the same problem. No dodads at the top. No preview etc.
Surely it can't just be me? Unless my computer is actually gobbling them up?

Why Can't I Post?

Is anyone experiencing trouble with Blogger at the moment?
I posted yesterday, and the post comes up as published. You can read it through the reader, but it is not publishing on my blog. I have attempted several others and keep getting a message that the attempt has failed, please try later! Any one else? any suggestions?
Oh, I see it is also saying that autosve has faithed.

Okay, after fiddling and getting nowhere, my blog problem seems to have righted itse;f. Oh, it's a good thing I didn't get to frazzled over it all!!! Ho he ha ha!!!!!

Sing Praise!

The Book of Psalms reflects our every emotion. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David and Asaph, give us God's very own words to offer in praise, supplication and worship. The book of Psalms holds forth Christ! As the Old Testament saints sang with thankfulness for the Lord's tender mercies and anticipation of the coming Messiah, so we can sing with thankfulness for his fulfilled promises and yearning anticipation of his return!


Miscellanies has this post on The Psalms which I found so true of this beautiful book.

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord:
come, let us ev'ry one
A joyful noise make to the Rock
of our salvation.

2 Let us before his presence come
with praise and thankful voice;
Let us sing psalms to him with grace,
and make a joyful noise.

3 For God, a great God, and great King,
above all gods he is.
4 Depths of the earth are in his hand,
the strength of hills is his.

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.Scottish Metrical Version

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If you haven't heard the Pslams sung before and would like to,

click on the Praise box to the right.

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Thanks to Darcy Lee for posting from this beautiful Psalm in your Sunday Scriptures.

Wonderful Week

Babies, Blessings and Beautiful Weather....

What a week! I have just received the news that my niece has given birth to a little girl! She has an eighteen month old son so life is just starting to get exciting in their house!
Last Thursday, one of my friends also gave birth to a little pink one ~ her eighth daughter!!!
And yesterday, yet another girl was born to our pastor and his wife, their sixth daughter. Since they have also had eight boys perhaps not quite as dramatic as the eighth daughter family! but wonderful none the less.
What amazing blessings God has shown to these families with safe deliveries and healthy children. May each little girl be a precious treasure and delight in their own home and family.

oOo

It was also a really positive week school wise. Phew... I feel as though a great burden has been lifted this year. My very gracious volunteers are doing a marvellous job and the boys are taking it all very well. I do not know, nor am I banking on, a great breakthrough in the reading department but I am pleased to say there is a good attitude to regular book work and to the activities we are adding. Dealing with the attitudes and hurdles of confidence first will, Lord Willing, help to bring about the progress I so desire, but building their characters is still the most important. So, I am pleased that they are settling into the new year, some new school work and new routines so well.

oOo

The spin off rain from Cyclone Olga have been wonderful. We had over 250ml (the gauge ran over and no one had thought to go out and empty it!) Everywhere is green and lush looking. Under our house will take a while to dry out and the river will rise for a week or so. Further out, where my brothers have properties, there was not nearly as much rain. They need it desperately. Thankfully, many western and northern areas did receive good rainfall for which we are thankful. It is still steamy but the temperature is quite pleasant.

oOo

Many of our homeschool mums met to organize a calendar for the year. Our group has grown to forty families so this is no small undertaking. We look forward to a year of swimming, sports, educational excursions, art and craft, a concert........ I am tired just thinking about it. It is very encouraging to have new and enthusiastic families joining in each year. Bringing with them fresh ideas, energy which some of us old hands are running short of.

Have a great weekend one and all.

A Childhood Nickname!

T.H.R.

This picture above was the clue to my childhood nickname given by the carpenters working on my sister's house which I challenged readers to guess on Tuesday. Fortunately, when the house was finished the nick name was too, though my B.I.L did remind me of it ~ often!

The letters stand for

Twenty-four Hour Radio!

Thank you for all your sweet suggestions.

Never Let a Chance Go By!

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On birthdays we often give the kids a treat and take them to one of the take away places for some "bad" food!

Yesterday morning we talked about how friends were having their baby on our little boy's birthday and asked the Lord to undertake for both mother and child. We also thanked God for several recent safe arrivals and expectant ones. We praised Him for our little son and brother and thanked Him for the blessing of his life and death and the good which God has brought about through it.

My youngest, almost eleven, solemnly added his amen and then, quick as a flash he said, "Mum, since it is ................'s birthday, can we go to Hungry Jacks?"

Special Memories

Today marks the birth of my first child, twenty three years ago. I wrote about My Firstborn Son on his birthday last year. Also some of my thoughts in From a Mother's Heart, so I will link to those today. I thank God for this little boy, who we knew for such a short time but have loved so much all these years. Special memories, bitter sweet. The years have taken away the pain but not the sheer joy and thankfulness of having been his mother. ♥♥♥

My Golden Childhood XIV

Blah..Blah...Blah....

From a young, and maybe slightly doted upon, child, I was a chatterbox!
Both of my parents are rather reserved, especially my Dad, but that didn't stop me... It seems, though it is hard to imagine now (sarcasm), that I had a reputation for being able to talk under water, talk my way out of a paper bag, talk the leg off an iron pot, talk in wet cement ~ you get the picture. I guess I just had a lot to say. I'm told I drove people mad with it, but hey, I had to find out stuff , and know about stuff and tell about stuff ...... whatever!
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I do hope, that although I have not entirely outgrown a reputation for being "a good talker" that a few years of experience and the school of hard knocks has taught me to be a better listener. I still love to chatter for hours over coffee with friends and my wonderful sisters, but I love to listen to their thoughts and troubles much more than my own these days.

In Primary School my reports would usually come home with comments such as
"............. would do better if she talked less." "......... shows good progress but is very distracting in class." ".......... tends to be TALKATIVE" Again, you get the picture!

This is the priceless and heartfelt comment left by my older brother in my autograph book. Note the date, May 1973. I would have been ten and he almost eighteen.

Gotta love big brothers!

(In case the scrawl is beyond your translating skills it reads:

Adam was the first man,

Samson was the strongest.

Of all the tongues that every wagged

................ was the longest.)

This is me at nine years of age.

Shortly after this photograph was taken my eldest sister was married. She and her husband went to live on property only about 10 klms from home. This was very exciting for me as I would take every opportunity to visit them. First in their little caravan and then in their newly built house.

The building of this house was very interesting and fascinating to me, never having seen such a project before. I would perch up on a big tool box and take in all of the construction work. There were usually two or three cheerful and obliging carpenters and my new brother in law. (As a ten year old my sister's new husband was like a gallant knight to me! After 38 years I guess he still is) I would regale them with girlish stories and ply them with endless questions.

After a couple of visits I earned the affectionate nickname "THR" from the chippies!

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So...are you up for another guessing game?

See whether you can think what those initials stood for.

T. H. R

Cinquain

Beyond Blue Stockings posted on the cinquain form of poetry and asked for some examples. This is not my style of poetry but never one to shirk a challenge, here is my feeble attempt. Pop over and join in. (I have posted this beautiful sunset photograph before. It is taken just out of town and I love the look and feel of it with the wind mill and power pole.)

Sunset

glorious, painted

glowing, inspiring, magnifying

declaring the glory of God

Creation

Robert Murray M'Cheyne ~ I love the Lord's Day

"We love everything that is Christ’s. We love his word. It is better to us than thousands of gold and silver. “O how we love his law! it is our study all the day.” We love his house. It is our trysting-place with Christ, where He meets with us and communes with us from off the mercy-seat. We love his table. It is his banqueting-house, where His banner over us is love - where He looses our bonds, and anoints our eyes, and makes our hearts burn with holy joy. We love his people, because they are His, members of His body, washed in His blood, filled with His Spirit, our brothers and sisters for eternity. And we love the Lord’s day, because it is his. Every hour of it is dear to us - sweeter than honey, more precious than gold. It is the day He rose for our justification. It reminds us of His love, and His finished work, and His rest. And we may boldly say that that man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ who does not love the entire Lord’s day."

Robert Murray M'Cheyne

From his sermon, "I love the Lord's Day", preached December 18, 1841

Psalm 84

How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts, to me!
The tabernacles of thy grace
how pleasant, Lord, they be!

2 My thirsty soul longs veh'mently,
yea faints, thy courts to see:
My very heart and flesh cry out,
O living God, for thee.

3 Behold, the sparrow findeth out
an house wherein to rest;
The swallow also for herself
hath purchased a nest;

Ev'n thine own altars,* where she safe
her young ones forth may bring,
O thou almighty Lord of hosts,
who art my God and King.

4 Bless'd are they in thy house that dwell,
they ever give thee praise.
5 Bless'd is the man whose strength thou art,
in whose heart are thy ways:

6 Who passing thorough Baca's vale,
therein do dig up wells;
Also the rain that falleth down
the pools with water fills.

7 So they from strength unwearied go
still forward unto strength,
Until in Sion they appear
before the Lord at length.

8 Lord God of hosts, my prayer hear;
O Jacob's God, give ear.
9 See God our shield, look on the face
of thine anointed dear.

10 For in thy courts one day excels
a thousand; rather in
My God's house will I keep a door,
than dwell in tents of sin.

11 For God the Lord's a sun and shield:
he'll grace and glory give;
And will withhold no good from them
that uprightly do live.

12 O thou that art the Lord of hosts,
that man is truly blest,
Who by assured confidence
on thee alone doth rest.