It's Your Call

Jan 1 2008 says it’s a new year. Now you have a second chance.

‘To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven’ Ecclesiastes. A time to review and set goals or let yourself off the hook and cruise into this year with a stress free attitude.

It’s usually an emotive time because you are facing a blank page. The old is gone. You can write on this what you will – it’s up to you. It’s your second chance.

About ten years ago Doug and I stood on the threshold of our new life together. It was the 1st of the 1st we happen to be at the Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road when we met another surfer who was spiritually hungry. Doug had befriended him in the water and he followed Doug up out of the surf smiling. I could see his keenness to have what we had then and as we stood there on that bright sunny day in Victoria he was brought to an encounter by his own will with one prayer to a new life in Christ. We met with God on the precipice.

His surname was Bridgewater and that was where he was headed funnily enough.

Each year is our opportunity to turn over a new leaf. So this year I see a list in the Courier Mail of resolutions people make – it’s always the same:
Be Debt free
Enjoy life more
Spend more time with family and friends
De Stress
Exercise
Lose weight
Have a Holiday
… we’re all the same aren’t we? We all seek the kingdom of heaven in effect without knowing it because the above aspirations lie in kingdom living.

So Cheers Happy New Year

The Restoring Power of a Loving God

As children my four sisters and older brother and I were compensated for any robbery at home with the our grandfather’s carnival from Christmas onward. It was a treasure trove of pure fun and a very popular place on the peninsula and we were privileged to get free rides as we worked there year after year through our entire lives. Well my last year was when I was 18. In the long summer school holidays. I thank God for this compensation which was quite needed. My grandfather was an amazing entrepreneur and he had a way of gathering tens of volunteers to the carnival with the idea that 50% of the profits would go to charity. They had an honorary badge and most were retirees. He also thought he would bless legacy boys who were on an outing to the carnival. Again I would like to thank God for this advent which taught me the work ethic, the corporate/team spirit and its rewards and the great sense of security it brought. The beach, the fun, Straus’ Blue Danube and other carnival music are in my blood. To live in tents against a beautiful backdrop of a black velvet skies and carnival lights, milling crowds and distant music, the day filled with lazy mornings or hunting for coins, community lunches, and finally running the rides, selling tickets all night was absolutely blessed.

How to Get Happy at Christmas

‘Tis the season to be jolly’ is a strange lyric. Christmas is often a very trying time for lonely people or those who have to face family they don’t click with or those who are too busy to stop. If you try some of the stuff below you may survive the tough side of this season…

Don’t be by yourself if possible
Do things for people even strangers
Pray for people. If this is a foreign concept think of the good in people
Be Proactive in any area where you feel powerless
Don’t dwell on the negatives
Count the good things up every night ‘He daily loads up with benefits.’
Ask God to help you out of despair
Pour your heart out
Forgive yourself for wrongs, God will
Look forward not back
Get some good lyrics and music that helps your soul
Tolerate family who dampen your spirit with criticism

The Reason…
Jesus thanks for coming to earth to show what God is like. Thanks for identifying with the people you created. Thanks for the way you came and where you arrived according to the prophecies. Being so vulnerable as a baby escaping Herod.

Radio Nowhere

Names are quite important things. I met a little child called Hercules the other day. He also had an interesting Greek surname to top it off and he was a robust little character to boot.

Names are important things. For example an Aussie band Gangijang came up with a great song many decades ago. One of them lamented that if only they called the song something including the word Australia it would have sold heaps but alas it had some obsure title and the sales were lost as no one knew how to find the song. I will tell you the lyrics I remember… ‘Out on the patio we sit and the humidity we breathe. See the lightning crack on the cane fields. We laugh and think this is Australia.’ We all adored that song and yet I still don’t know the name of it.

God had a way of changing people’s names to best suit their purpose in Him. He changed Simon’s name to Peter (upon this ROCK I will build this church) Sarai became Sarah Abram became Abraham (father of many nations). These all had suitable meanings for their callings. Jesus name was chosen because it meant He saves. The Old Testament prophesy in Isaiah said ‘For unto us a child is born. And his name shall be called Immanuel which meant God is with us.

Jacob’s name meant supplanter or trickster cos he stole his brother’s blessing and birthright as the first born.. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel because Jacob wrestled with God.

Saul, after his conversion became Paul. Sorry I’ll have to look up the meaning. My sister’s name is Pauline which means little Paul.

Anyone for Golf?

My husband and I have been working on a longterm project all year. He wrote Golf - Your Perfect Plan for Practice and Play and its now available through his website and also clickbank marketplace.

If anyone is interested in checking out this wonderful work go to "http://annek77.dougk710.hop.clickbank.net"

Anne K

7 Up Series

Got to watch a rerun of the Seven Up series late on SBS last night. This doco over the decades covers the lives of a bunch of children every seven years since they were seven years. Glad to see that Neil (I think that’s his name) is doing all right now after many years of being withdrawn and living the life of a squatter. He is now a Christian and went to live back in the city. He pushed himself and after a year or so became used to city life. A fellow 7 up man – a secondary school teacher let Neil stay with him for a while so he could settle in properly. Neil gave a speech at his mate’s wedding ceremony.

Neil entered local politics and was reelected again. He did say in one of his earlier episodes that he would like to do something important in politics. Now at 42 he is making a difference to the world despite his struggle with nerves etc.

Life Skills for School Leavers


I don’t know what they teach at secondary school level now but these are subjects I wish I learnt when I was at school. Under the topic of Life Skills

1. Finances and Budgeting for Life
2. Benefits of Team sports for School Leavers(theory)
3. Sharing Your Life for School Leavers
3. Nutrition for Boys and Men/Nutrition for Girls and Women
5. Different Traits of Men and Women
6. Domestics eg pet care and other life skills
7. Assertiveness Training for Win Win Solutions
8. Getting along with others (Pulling Your Weight)
9. Natural talents and Gifts Explored
10. Development of Core Values
11. Social Awareness for School Leavers eg. Alcohol

God Qualities in Man

Do you marvel at some qualities in man/wo-man? We are made in God’s image and so we see things in our family and friends that can only be described as super human. These are the same traits we find in an omnipotent God.

God has always good to me in dishing out friends. Here are some of my closest friends and their amazing qualities.

Fiona
Fiona was my best friend when I was seven to twelve. She had a sense of fun and sharp wit unrivalled. Her parents were English and quite old when they had her. She was pure sanguine but clever as well. She came first in a school beauty comp when we were 12. I came 2nd. Those were the days, politically incorrect. We were in separate grades at secondary school but always in admiration of each other. She sent me a postcard years after we left school and I was touched as I never forgot her either. I tried to introduce her to Jesus when we were both deserted by our then husbands. I think she is still childless as she didn’t want to have children after primary teaching!

Gayle
Gayle was a confident, tall blonde. She was a melancholy perfectionist who tried hard at everything. Her gift was being faithful in the little things. I wasn’t surprised when she won a truckload of money and bought a beautiful house in Donvale. I once decided to eat a toasted cheese sandwich as slow as Gayle did as we sat in David Jones, it was the best I’d ever had. I watched Gayle brush all the pulleys off her top carefully and thoroughly while we talked.. She married young and had two boys and a girl.

Erika
Erika was a sanguine full of life and love. She was tad spoilt by old parents and I met her when she was 19. She was an arts student living above a shop in Glenferrie Road Hawthorn. It was quite a big group of arty people. Erika dyed her great fair hair black and wore black. I lived a few doors up above another shop. She would cook large baked potatoes and make guacomale dip and have parties putting on her ‘china face.’ Erika decided to teach art in the outback. She was raped there and life took a turn for the worse. I sent her an invitation to see Jeff Fenholt (x Black Sabbath) testify a few weeks before she suicided. I felt like her big sister and was devastated. Men were sobbing at her funeral.

Jo
Jo, friendly and sporty. Jo and I became friends in Year 12 and were very close for the next 20 years. She was a true friend and drove me around before I drove. We had one of the best holidays I’ve ever had, driving up to Cairns and back. She also became a Christian and we shared our great faith together. She was a servant of the Lord and dragged me to church. God prepared her for a special task after her sister died in a head on car crash.

De-tox in every way

Today I met up with one of my gorgeous friends in our connect group which meets fortnightly. We both coincidentally want to start running and also do a de-tox. We are both of the funny theory that a detoxed body is a detoxed spirit. Well more like body soul and spirit all impinge on each other and if you’re healthy physically, chances are you’ll be healthy emotionally and spiritually.

Im about to look up detox methods on the net and choose one probably in a diet sense which includes Adam’s Ale H2O. It’s hard to psyche yourself into things but with the help of others it becomes easier.

Happy detox to you too.

Are you being falsely Accused?

Ever been accused of something you didn’t do. It’s something that occurs through life and even if you bothered to justify yourself you would be doubted. This happened to me when I was seven at school. I don’t even know what the crime was but the blame was put on me and another girl. Thankfully I think we were justified, I’m not even sure.

Again this happened to me when I was at my prime spiritually. I was accused of stealing an exam out of someone’s drawer on another floor and making it known to my friends.

The truth is a lot of us were about to sit an exam. I had been for an exam a year earlier and remembered some questions and wrote them out and the answers and gave them to my friends. When my friend was quizzed about me she defended me saying I was a Sunday school teacher etc and I never confronted the poor man. It was probably unwise to do what I did, but I was under false perception. I didn’t bother to sit the exam in the context of work, after finding out what happened. I would’ve been totally unaware if she didn’t tell me.

What’s our example when falsely accused? Joseph in Genesis, was falsely accused of raping Potiphar’s wife. He went to jail for this and rose to the top again after being faithful in all he was entrusted with.

So if you’re falsely accused, just ignore it. Keep an innocent attitude. God will justify you and promote you if you stay true to yourself and Him.

Australian Idol

Australian Idol was brought up on a Current affair's show a few weeks back as hosting many Christians affiliated with Hillsong. I do watch the show and was delighted to hear that. It turns out there were about four in the final 12 who were from AOG churches from around Australia. While Hillsong has the principal minister of the ACC (Australian Christian churches) of which AOG churches take part, all AOG churches are autonomous. The ACC churches have the same logo and that's about it. I used to send out the logo's.

I think it’s so great that the children brought up in these churches are taking part in worship through music and have the opportunity to develop their skills, with band practice weekly etc.

http://www.jamesbrausch.com/?p=827

Regarding this blog, I have been learning about traffic generation and internet marketing techniques from the blog of guru of the industry James Brausch.

My question to James which he invited on a recent blog post called Open Question Time at http://www.jamesbrausch.com/?p=827
Is:

If all the traffic you get is mainly from blogging and you employ ghostwriters who blog regularly for you, from you interns, how do you maintain control of the content. What checks do you put into play to make sure it is all approved by yourself, when you outsource like this? The trust you earned, do you think it grows in the light of ghost writing?

What’s right? Punctual or Late

I never thought I’d be late for my father’s funeral. My friend Jo drove many kms through the winding roads of Kangaroo ground down through Eltham to Doncaster. I thought for some reason it began at 1.30 but it was 1pm and to top it off my three year old was carsick. ‘I’m hungry’ he had said, but in fact he meant ‘I feel really sick.’ And we thought we were in plenty of time. My emotions were playing havoc as I walked down the aisle through a poised packed house, wearing Jo’s clothes, to the front seat with our old pastor patiently waiting.

I don’t like leaving people waiting. I’m glad I didn’t know I was late till the last minute. I’ve always strived to be punctual and if not I get anxious. But if there are unexpected disruptions my stress levels go through the roof. The challenge is to keep a good attitude when you feel you’re missing out.

It’s hard when I’ve always been surrounded by latees and relied on them on occasions.

But I’ll be surprised if there are clocks in heaven. Corrie Ten Boom’s old house was converted into a clock shop in Haarlem the home town of my own father. Timekeeping was very important to him and if members of his family were late to the dinner table they copped a hiding.

Jesus was often late. He left Lazarus 3 days in the grave while his sister Martha was ‘tearing her hair out.’ She had a dig at Jesus and said Lazarus now stunk. But in fact Jesus came in God’s timing and therefore he was punctual. The man Lazarus was brought to life which truly showed the glory of God.

Jesus often ‘tarried’ or was late and behind schedules (of man’s) to be in the will of God. He couldn’t be squeezed into the clock.

Though being punctual to me, would appear to be considerate and to be late, rude, that’s not the way God necessarily sees it.

Here’s an interesting Scripture to meditate on, ‘He who makes haste, believeth not.’

What do you think?

How Do you Turn the World Upside Down?

What is standing in the Gap? This is Christian speak for praying or interceding for others. It is done in private but can…

Turn the world upside down.

I just finished an intercession course which covered Bible stories on this issue. Now I am truly equipped for this fun task. My mentor was my grandmother. She was brought up by Nuns in Windsor, after her mother died when she was young. This gave her a genuine reverence for God and made her a quiet intercessor.

This sent ripples into our family extending to the 70s when all of us committed our lives to Christ. It was an easy thing because we were all ripe and ready. I had spent years searching for the meaning of life since I was 10 when my mother was picked up by ambulance and taken away to a hospital as I watched on feeling helpless and like a traitor. I grew up in that instant. But she had become violent (paranoid schizophrenic) and we were all suffering as a result.

This standing in the gap by my grandmother was handed to me like a baton. I was a similar temperament and inclined this way. You can be any temperament.

I love to pray. I love to defend the helpless, the weak, the downtrodden which funnily enough includes the environment these days and my small suburb of 5000. The greatest thing I learnt about intercession is to do it in a cluster. Over the years of praying I discovered the ‘backlash’. I want to pray in a group for the bigger things. It’s not always easy to get away but that’s where my heart is. I found a little group 1 minute away from my house which includes a couple of dedicated women from my church. I feel safe in the group and can be really creative in my praying. It’s like a blank canvas to me. We see what's weighing down our hearts, we get the will of God for a situation and in agreement believe for a change. We see the results unfold and God gets the glory.

Sincerely

Anne K

Latest Thoughts

Australian music awards the Arias saw John Butler Trio sing Funky Tonight with Keith Urban. What a great song. Doug had been playing it over the weeks and I stood up and took notice of that one. Reminded me of one song Mason Rack does too.

Last night watched Boytown about an 80s band getting back together. Glen Robbins was funny as always and it had a nice little twist. I would’ve loved to see more Melbourne settings. If I was to make a movie I’d get the MCG at twilight late autumn, where droves of people halt traffic donned in their colours through the glorious light of silhouetted trees. Mont Albert Road in full autumn with dark red and amber leaves falling from the oaks and other beautiful settings.

Retractable Needles

A friend’s little girl stood on a syringe this week at the beach. It was a deep wound. Of all people for this to happen to. I got to know her through proactive campaigning to save the environment around where we live and she has been a voice in the wilderness to be reckoned with. Now she is campaigning for retractable needles for drug users and the like. It was on front page of Border Mail. While I pray her daughter doesn’t contract hepatitis or HIV to be known in many months even years, I hope her efforts to get needles modified is heard.

Raising Boys

‘Raising Boys’ by Steve Biddulph is really interesting to me.

When thinking about Tugun youth I read this regarding 14 yr olds plus: ‘What’s needed is something that will engage the spirit of a boy – pull him headlong into some creative effort or passion that gives his life wings. All the things that parents have nightmares about (adolescent risk-taking, alcohol, drugs and criminal activity) happen because we do not find channels for young men’s desire for glory and heroic roles.’ ..They want to jump somewhere better and higher, but that place is nowhere in sight.’

The author goes on to talk about Eskimo and African societies’ methods to put the boys with other male trustworthy mentors for initiation of sorts: responsibilities and processes etc.

I think sport is one of the best answers. Music too and what about Arts.

‘God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.’

‘He gives us freely all things to enjoy.’

‘He can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.’

Drowning Man by David McDowell

Exciting news that our friend David McDowell has his book Drowning Man on http://www.arkhousepress.com Dave is a great guy and became a friend of Doug’s through surfing down the Peninsula in Victoria. It won’t be long before this true story is listed on Amazon.com

He has a great story of how he cheated death, after a fatal mishap at Snapper, as an experienced surfer. You’ll love his candid warm writing. More about Dave as the book snowballs in sales.

Seize the Day

Had a great day today, and it's only half over. Playgroup met at Palm Beach. My friend brought a broom and swept the nearly disppearing path from under sand and bark. She even got praised by council workers.

Had a chat to mums about primary schools confirming which school I would choose for Sam. Love recommendations.

Praying for youth of Tugun. Firefighters were called twice last week. When I walked to top of treed hill found a collection of branches ready for burning! Met one called Sam at park with his young brothers a few weeks ago who had a mini bike accident and had two legs braced. Tugun has lots teens who will turn 18 in a few years then left to their own devices.

Would like to laminate a sign 'You are under survellience' or something that will deter any firebugs here.

Finally on Google

Well finally was able to register my blog (after six months activity) with Google for review. When put in ‘Christian Mum’ it came up 6th. I would like to have more readership and comments and any posts I like I will put in their link. Thanks for reading my blog and sorry I have not being using commas. To make it easier to read, I will try to, from now on. Still learning bits and pieces about it all. I would like to review Christian books and put links to them probably from Clickbank Marketplace. To do this it is advised I do at least 3 posts a week.


Anne

Positive and Successful Life Style tips: Make My Day

Positive and Successful Life Style tips: Make My Day

Loving History

Been watching DVDS of the great story of Moses. And I’ve just gotta say no wonder the pyramids still stand today. Egypt was a mighty place of the Pharoahs and their rulership. Joseph got to be prime minister there saving the place in a severe 7 year drought.

Abraham, Joseph’s great grandfather was told the Hebrews would be captives of Egypt for 430 years. It turns out they were delivered to the day 430 years later when the Passover (more on this later) took place and the parting of the Red Sea by the once reluctant hand of Moses. To me the pyramids are a marvel of Hebrew slavery and Egyptian sovereignty.

Carry Your Burdens or Cast Your Cares

Jesus said ‘My Yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ We are advised to cast our cares on him.

So what’s a yoke? This was one of those wooden items two animals would wear round their necks to keep them in unison while they ploughed fields or whatever. Not talking about egg yolks here. If we walk with Jesus we’d find our troubles just SEEM to disappear.

‘Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear. Your father in heaven knows you have need of these things.’ Jesus often didn’t know where he was going to sleep that night or where he would dine. When he said to Zacheus I’m coming to your place for lunch he knew because he was filled with the Spirit, that Zacheus would be delighted.

Needs such as these are nothing compared to the important matters.

So what about real problems? They don’t really disappear but it is when we are Kingdom and other-centred that our problems – once mountains in our own minds become mole hills. Having said that we overcome our problems bit by bit as he gives us counsel.

We can’t always avoid the big things. Jesus didn’t avoid the cross - his destiny, and other kingdom giants like Moses didn’t avoid Egypt though he tried to get out of it. Moses argued with God but in the end reluctantly faced Pharoah to get them to ‘Let my people go’. Gideon faced his enemies. Joseph went to prison. Saul/Paul went to prison. Peter, while worshipping God in prison made a supernatural escape. Have a read. Many apostles were in the end martyred but with God hard things become easy.

‘With prayer …let your requests be made known to God and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds.’

Every night, I like to think of any concerns I have and cast them over to God. This helps me, knowing he will take care of things. I have to ‘let go’ of my biggest worries with conscious effort as these are the ones I tend to dwell on. Once left with God, I can leave them there and not take them up again.

Dangerous Days

Though evil has always been… in the last days it will be like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those days were pretty bad. Lot, Abraham’s nephew had to be rescued and when angels went to see him, some men wanted to have sex with them (Of course angels are beautiful) and were banging on their door! The place was about to be annihilated. Lot’s wife didn’t make it because she looked back. She must have liked the evil place. Have a read…

I was upset the other day by a story of what happened an hour away. There was an attempted abduction of a 3 year old in a house where his father was working. The door was unlocked. The father happened to turn around, screamed and the boy was dropped as the man fled. The boy’s name was Sam!

It seems these are perilous times. How do you stay protected?

You call on the name of Jesus. There are so many stories of people who have done this. I have had to many times. One day my sister was about to be assaulted. She was walking down Gore Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Vic in the dark as a nurse. She used the name above all names, the name which carries authority on Earth and in heaven and the attacker fled. As Christians it makes life easy, ‘we are hidden in Christ.’ ‘He preserves the way of the saints and the wicked are cut off’ There is a way where no harm can come. It’s like being in the Ark. Isaiah 41. ‘Underneath are the everlasting arms.’ Not in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enjoy life on the offensive knowing that ,’Whosoever calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved.’

Help for PARENTS who need a tip

A good friend told me she was concerned about all her children when they were small asking God for a tip because her husband was working very long hours. The tip was that at the dinner table kiss them on the back of the neck. It was like a blessing from God to them. She would also have to be quite strict with one of them. She would speak into his little life. ‘You will be like that tall straight tree,’ she would say as they both stared out the window. The boy grew up well and is now a neuro surgeon in the USA.

When asking God the same thing, I got the tip to smile at my little boy. Creating this approval to get down on the inside of him has revolutionalised my efforts to discipline and actually there is a melting down of the situation. So I smile at the appropriate times. (not after bad behaviour)

Another good friend, discovered that her daughter’s love language is in physical touch. So she will stroke the child’s face and this ministers to her little soul.

As Victoria Osteen says, it’s not what’s on the outside that matters. God doesn’t look at the outside. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, referring to children.

When you Smile that Smile

Put a smile on your dial they say. When I was 17 I was flattered by my friend Fiona who had been through primary and secondary school with me when she said, ‘You’re always happy.’ The same girl called a local boy, ‘Neville Smiles’ because he looked unhappy. She was a wit. I was a little surprised by what she said to me because I know I’d go home from school grumpy and ravenous.

Something not so specific, just a series of life changes wiped that smile off my face. It as though from that moment on I wanted to be more true to myself and eventually my countenance fell, like Cain’s with time as my humanity dawned on me. Even though I lean towards hope and optimism and a fighting spirit, it’s an effort to smile.

Whatever it is that wipes the smile off your face, can be changed. I remember, ‘I’ll never smile again until I smile at you,’ by Ross Wilson (lovers lament) and the reverse ‘City girls just seem to find out early how to open doors with just a smile,’ by the Eagles. A smile will open doors and give people a bit of love. Joel Osteen said he really had to work on this. He tries to smile all the time, that is even when preaching.

A smile is something we are able to give even if we have little to give. Once I gave a big smile to an old lady and she said, ‘oh,’ taken aback she said, ‘All you have to do is smile that smile.’ That was encouraging so you do smile for a season then you forget. It really has to come from the inside out but you can fake it till you make it even if it doesn’t come naturally at first.

Phil Pringle said once why not 'smile across people's lives'. I'm sure God does that. What a good thought.

Do you love the Morning?

‘Waking up strong in the morning.
Walking in a straight line’ lyrics by Silver Chair

Are you a morning person?

Joy comes in the morning… and

His mercies are new every morning

'Morning has broken like the first morning' Cat Stevens

क्नोव Your Enemy…

Who is our enemy and what does he want? John 10:10 says ‘He came to steal, kill and destroy. ‘ It seems he wants our lives.

And the book says ‘He is a liar from the beginning. He comes as an angel of light to deceive. And sometimes… he goes about like a roaring lion, ready to devour. He came to God with an idea to test Job. See Job Chapter 1… (But Job was a blameless man, and he wasn’t about to blaspheme. Job won and was restored after losing everything.)

The prophet Isaiah (Chap. 13) gives us some insight into the story of Satan or Lucifer as he was originally called. It seems he was a muso who got jealous of the boss (God) and wanted to be like him. He was top dog in the Angelic realm see this… something like Ziggy Stardust I imagine. When he fell, he took a bunch of fallen angels with him. ( I saw a car sticker today which read ‘Fallen’ I wonder where that word came from.

When Peter, was thinking of himself and wanted to argue about the fate of Jesus on the cross, Jesus replied,’Get behind me Satan.’ So from this, it appears the enemy can use our best friends sometimes in their ideas and speech. But it's not a war between flesh and blood but between spiritual powers of darkness.'

Jesus once said to Peter, ‘The devil wanted to sift you like wheat.’

Another time Jesus said to this apostles, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning.’ I will investigate this further.

Satan got to Judas, the betrayer of Jesus who went on to hang himself. And there’s other references to our enemy, not mentioned here.

When I first saw the light when I was 20, it was news to me that I had an enemy of my soul. But Jesus stays closer than a brother and God says ‘It is well with my soul.’ Whosoever calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved.

A Day in the Life…

Monday. Beautiful sunny day on the coast. It’s a typical day here, about 23 with a south easterly blowing. Today I went to Currumbin sanctuary as we have a yearly pass. Saw a couple of friends there by coincidence. It’s a small place here. Caught little train to a new playground. One high roped climbing thingo had Sam nearly fall (3 metres) but fortunately his arms were strong enough to hold him and I could catch him with another lady helping me. Inge tells me a child broke his arm there.

Then we went to new library and got some good books, and lo and behold I found one of Leone Peguero’s books! a friend of mine who started Bluecat publishing for children’s books, also my past teacher. So I look forward to reading that this week.

The sun is pouring down on my verandah from the west and I’m very happy. Some people spend time with God by song, some by nature. (Psalm 19) I just have to look out the window. And I thank God the trees of the hill on the other side of the street were saved. We won the battle. And I think of my sister in Tassie trying to save trees there.

Craving Simplicity

I wrote Craving Simplicity when I was working in the city before I moved to the small coastal town of Tugun, Queensland. How life has changed for me with the advent of motherhood.

So here's how I used to be...

I don’t know about you but I’m craving a simple life. When my husband wanted to go surfing and take me also, he convinced me to take a lap top so I could proceed with my manuscript. While he was out braving surf rage, ( I concede the earth is shrinking with the population and less waves available to generations of new surfers) the tide came in and as it dawned on me I walked ½ a km then called on someone to lift me back up to the steps lugging this $4000 dollar item on my shoulder as the waves lapped up the rocks. And this is how it is, technology and nature and us sandwiched in the middle.

And back to work - I’m sick of meaningless emails. We have thousands at home that are yet to be deleted making the computer ‘dangerously low in resources.’ 40 emails a day was enough to make me allergic to it in my next job. Mobile phones ringing with all sorts of tunes, that demand a reaction eg. The Adams Family theme invading my thoughts on the train, yuk, people talking seemingly to themselves with a cord running to their ear in the streets, ‘Ill be there in a couple of minutes,’ they say and wonder why their phone bill needs studying and interpretation. One guy tonight after five crossing Collins St was giving instructions of how to overcome some major technical disaster in someone’s computer program and I was party to it. Do I want to be – no. Home phones like ours which have call waiting, message bank, star 10 hash. Telephone banking, information services that make you mad. Memories of America. This is where I think it’s vital to have a physical exercise program in place. One day I’ll do it I promise. No more laughing at power walkers.

Pornography through internet, television and cable bombarding us breaking down boundaries in the home, even setting the standards. What about queuing in banks even a bank as beautiful as the ANZ on the corner of Queen and Collins is nightmarish, the poor tellers, haven’t they clicked yet, the new world order is upon us with the cashless society and Bible prophecy warns people will eventually be stamped to buy and sell.666 is not the Omen, it’s conceivable. I’ve found a great time to go to the Post Office is 10 to 12, just before lunch (in the city that is) Road rage is the fruit of ‘no time’ and more and more cars on the road, old people with no reflexes, invincible P Platers. Priorities have changed, gotta support this lifestyle, the bills pour in relentlessly. Changing is hard. I work in advertising with deadlines to meet and Spring coming, ads, more ads, how do you stop time from ticking. How do you put people before the task?

Football season, clubs dying through expense, complicated politics. Hospitals, - don’t go there, literally. Trains with automated messages. Satellites crash landing, cams planted everywhere.

America, our cultural daddy shows no mercy or consolation, queues 1 ½hrs long in Disneyland, oh well I was able to get to know the Aussies next to me in the queue. Processed food, we’ve got it good here compared BUT... GST – gotta learn Myob or Quickbooks now whether I like it or not. Creative people all doing admin, tutors all telling you different things. And at home more headaches with mortgage, rates, credit, more credit, tax. I know a reaction to the debauchery in Rome in the early centuries AD was the creation of the monastery starting with one man retreating to a cave and gathering 12 converts. I crave to keep it simple but not sure how to. The clutter has to go. I acknowledge there’s been highs as well as lows in technology, science, etc and that we live in the best and most advanced country in the world. But we’re also slack.

But we’ve got to guard our hearts, redeem the time somehow for the days are so short, keep them stress free somehow, spend some time alone to maintain sanity, appreciate nature, breathe fresh morning air, listen to the birds, invest in a pet, spend time in the garden, play music that calms and delights us, and probably most of all make time to see our loved ones. As I listen to Don Henly The End of Innocence on Foxtel it sums up something I’m trying to convey. I remember the days when we got milk delivered, the small grocery store on the corner, a simple lifestyle with little paperwork, the 3 channels on TV if you were lucky enough to have one. The writing of letters as a way of communicating, Orchards, creeks, muddy unmade roads with only a few cars occasionally to be seen. My mother would make sure Sundays were a peaceful family time. There were eight of us. ‘The Wonder Years’ has a point. I only wish the rest of the world would agree. I don’t want to be intolerant. I love my pen in hand with my journal which consists of paper on my lap so there’s some hypocrisy involved. I guess I better go live in the country.

As a Parent I wish I would have…

Got down on the ground with him/them

Taught him/them ‘no’ early
That way they wouldn’t argue and negotiate

Done daycare once a week. It will ‘tame’ the child
And they would learn sharing

Tried all foods all the time. They go off and on food

Not had a biscuit in the house

Done less TV, more outdoors activity

Hey but thankfully it’s never too late, according to the British ‘Nanny’

See abc.net.au for more advice and tips for certain age groups from newborn to schoolage

Play it again Sam

Tomorrow we celebrate Sam's 4th birthday. It seems a little while ago he was just a faint red line on a strip of paper. He's brought great joy to our lives. It's a learning curve being a parent and hopefully keeps us young.

I had given up on the idea of being a mother but gave up a few days work down to 2 to relieve some stress. I was 45. We went to Tasmania and were travelling down the East coast toward Hobart when we stumbled across a lovely old Christian couple who ran a resort. The lady told me of all sorts of miracles. She was really quite an amazing woman. When we left there after a bite to eat she offered to pray for us and prayed for conception and for travelling safety. We left there at night and just missed a kangaroo as it hopped past.

The next day we were in Scamander. My sister, a Tasmanian, later told me a backpacker was murdered there and another tourist. An unsolved mystery. Doug went out for an early surf and then we went onto Hobart for New Year's Eve. Turned out I had become pregnant in Tasmania!

A few months ago he said, 'When I turn 4 I want jelly, cake, fireworks and a cup of tea.'

Secret to: Long Life Guaranteed

It’s in the book both old and New Testaments and it’s as relevant today

There’s one thing we can do to obtain long life (and success also)

HONOUR your father and mother. So tell it to your children…

‘Honour your father and your mother that you may live long on the earth and have good success.’

Forgive your parents if you need to. When you’ve done all that from the heart you can take the promise. Long life and success.

Money is a Tool…

Some truths about money from the Bible and other observations

Love of money is the root of all evil…

Break through the poverty mentality by giving till it hurts

Scrooges are not rich. Even if they are they hang onto it like Easter eggs

Money is a tool to get what you want and give what you want

Make a budget. Be faithful in the little things and you will be given more.

Make money decisions using peace as your umpire

Trust not in uncertain riches

Lend freely

Give to the poor See the results (Psalm 112)

Give and it shall be given to you

Look out for simple savings

History of the World - simplified

Handel’s ‘Young Messiah’ holds a great Scripture from Isaiah, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of God’ This has not happened but is identified in a strange powerful dream by an ungodly king of Babylon BC. It was a history of the world.

Daniel a young Hebrew was able not only to describe the dream without a clue in the natural but to interpret it also by the wisdom of God.

There was a huge, brilliant statue standing before Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. This statue had a head made of fine gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly of brass, legs of iron, and feet made partly of iron and partly of clay.
In the dream, the king sees a stone, cut out WITHOUT THE USE OF HANDS. It appears and strikes the feet of iron and clay, smashing the statue to pieces until it is dust. Then the wind blows the dust away, while the stone becomes a great mountain that fills the whole earth.

Daniel’s Interpretation

After telling the king what his dream was, Daniel then tells him what it means. Nebuchadnezzar himself, king of Babylonia, is the gold head of the statue. After Babylonia will come another empire that is of inferior quality to his, represented by the chest and arms of silver. After that empire will come a third one of brass, followed by the fourth empire of crushing iron, that crushes all others. However, this fourth empire will later be divided, and end up as the feet and toes that are partly clay and partly iron.

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44, King James Version).

(This is explained as the meaning of the stone cut from the mountain without hands, that smashes the idol to pieces.)

The kingdom of iron and baked clay "feet and toes" will be divided. It will have some of the strength of iron, (partly strong and partly brittle). The toes that are a mixture of iron and clay seems to represent a mixture of peoples that will not be united.

WHILE these kingdoms exist, God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. It will crush all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end, but 'not by human hands.'

Scholars have proposed two alternative views regarding the identification of the four kingdoms in Daniel 2.

One view has traditionally been more prevalent among Christian scholars, The sequence is as follows:
1. Babylon
2. Medo-Persia
3. Greece
4. Rome
Another view has been more popular among Jewish scholars, and a few Christian scholars
1. Babylon
2. Media
3. Persia
4. Greece

He knows the end from the beginning. He is alpha and omega.

Summer Winter

In the natural we’ve had a long winter. On the Gold Coast it is a magnificent season – no bugs or snakes and the weather is beautiful. You can enjoy outdoors for six months without worrying about cold or heat. This winter, however, has been uncharacteristically cold by comparison to its wonderful history.

When people complained of a cold breeze when I first moved here it was a laugh compared to the real cold coming off the south pole.

In a single day you can feel the season change. There’s always this excitement about a new season. I remember ringing my step mother once and we agreed though it was raining all day it was the demarcation of coming winter and we both reveled in it staying home, loving it.

Yesterday for me was a glorious day though August, on the Gold Coast, it was 28 degrees and it was as though you could hear the words, ‘It’s almost summer.’ Wow.

And in God there are seasons too. Our pastor talked about winter today – not much happens in winter. It is a time of ‘storing nutrients.’ We can’t have spring everyday.

Sister Golden Hair

Maybe someone reading has met Elizabeth when she was in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia all those years. She said the city had the best transport in the world. She’d know because she was always on trains, buses, trams.

She would spend all her time convincing people of a possible salvation. With her excellent grooming and blonde bob of hair, she once recommended scrubbing your tongue when you had the most important job in the world - speaking one on one.

On this occasion she dropped off some boxes at my place. I’d asked Elizabeth to train me in the art of street evangelism and we’d go down to the highrise and meet Gisella and pray and then arm ourselves with tracts. Her boxes were full of tracts (and Bibles).She had spent all her savings on foreign language tracts. She had all from Ukrainian to Vietnamese and everything in between and she had the Scriptures to argue any case. The tracts were carefully labeled as noone would know the languages. (The Vietnamese community in the Highrises were then making way for the Ethiopians).

The single, sporty woman was off to her home town of Fallbrook California. Concerned about her boxes being stolen, I said just write Christian materials on them and a thief will leave them alone. She laughed in surprise. Why wouldn’t anyone want her precious materials. In her small room in Richmond she had only a bed, a suitcase, some bags for carrying what was in those boxes. She had to go home she felt but intended coming back to Melbourne - a melting pot of cultures where the people were polite enough. They were not put off or offended by Elizabeth because she was so sincere.

In 1995 I decided to visit Elizabeth.

Here I was at Los Angeles Grand station in the morning with some time up my sleeve. I felt safe cos I knew Elizabeth had prayed for my journey to Santiago. I was devastated when my ticket which I’d held upright with some personals had vanished. A woman had approached me earlier with some questions, maybe I was pickpocketed. I lined up for another ticket. I was in the wrong queue and was told in a robotic way, ‘I’m sorry M’am you’ll have to go to that ticket box over there.’ The ticket was not cheap either – I think $26. Phew just made the train. I was waiting for the scenery to get pretty but sadly it didn’t. The few hours were quite ‘industrial.’

When I arrived, Elizabeth gave me the option of the Santiago Zoo or Seaworld. I chose the zoo. She approached a man sitting on a bench. He was wearing sunglasses but when she said just one sentence, a tear fell from his glasses. She had touched his thirsty soul.

She went on to bring the gospel or good news here and there as I observed on this occasion. She told me Americans were harder to reach than Aussies because they considered themselves Christians already, but most had no real relationship with Jesus. Australians on the other hand were honest and in lacking were easier to win over. You knew where you stood.

We had a great day. I went to her church, Fallbrook AOG, her departed parents home, a beautiful old worldy home set on a farm of orchards of citrus fruit – oranges etc. She had a sister there - one of a few. It was a gorgeous warm day. The zoo was wonderful. Herds of wildebeests running wild on the large plains etc.

I wasn’t looking forward to the trip home. I would arrive in LA after 8 pm and get a taxi to Burbank where I was staying with a friend. I don’t know whether it was God or Elizabeth or someone else but I distinctly heard this statement, ‘Don’t go in any other taxi other than yellow.’ I arrived finally at the station and went out to the main road under the archway there. A man with a psychotic look – a mixture of excitement, shame and stuff, approached me from a large old dented blue car with a taxi top. Maybe I would’ve been silly enough to go with him as he beckoned me but I was intercepted by a large older man who barely said a word. I was hid by this man as he ushered me around the corner. There I saw rows of yellow cabs waiting. With a sigh of relief I hopped in one and was on my way home.

Sadly Elizabeth died of cancer a couple years later. Her sisters said ‘she fought the good fight of faith.’ We knew from her letters she knew the warfare but didn’t elaborate too much on the negatives as all soldiers do. I gave her special boxes to Stitches, an outreach to the Highrise in Melbourne, as Elizabeth would have thought that was a good idea.

Though we were opposites, Elizabeth was my chosen mentor and her life and lifestyle were a glorious message of hope, not being spent in vanity but in satisfying service. She always brought people to church and their souls were saved. I’d never seen such dedication, holiness and desire to please God. She had the church’s full support.
She was God’s golden girl.

On a Scale of 1 to 10 how do you rate?

Women, on a scale of 1 to 10 how did you rate on respecting your husband(remember that word) today?
Men on a scale of 1 to 10 how did you rate on loving your wife (remember that word) today? I’ll skip you guys.

Ouch that hurts. The intention is not to beat ourselves up or discourage but to take on the challenge fearlessly as this is a big fat issue in people’s lives. With all its complications marriage is a like a garden and we’re not all good gardeners. I speak for myself. Families are where our core values come from and all-important to God.

We can blame our childhood but once we’re a new creation in Christ, the Holy Spirit puts his finger on a blindspot and off you go together to correct it. It then becomes a fun exercise (gulp).

A friend described her partner as a comfy armchair but sometimes recliners can become a bed of nails. Marriages do require good maintenancerather than a backyard blitz.

My husband and I were put together by God however, marriage has been relatively tough for both of us. He lost his father in a plane crash when he was 8. My mother was paranoid schizophrenic. We were both robbed. Our parents were robbed also as you can see.

Now you can get out your violins. Discipline, security, boundary problems, a lost childhood, no mentors.

The hardwiring in our minds when traumas took place at various times, now needs to be replaced. Where one might say, ‘Life’s not fair,’ God can come in like a standard against the flood and put a line like, ‘I have a plan for you, you wouldn’t believe even if I told you.’ And if we hold fast to that belief and vision there wouldn’t be that pressure, a morbid expectation, a lie to hold us from blessing.

How does that relate to marriage you say? Well, the whole atmosphere will change with a new thought planted in the heart. The home becomes happy with a purpose, focus on a partner turns northward and things fall into proper place. Attitudes are corrected.

No our partners are not the be all and end all. Write a list of positive incentives if respect/love are implemented. Reward yourself when you can put a tick next to your list. One day the responses will become natural.

Shaun the Sheep

Shaun the Sheep is a gorgeous little show on ABC kids at the moment. Shaun is a cut above the rest – proactive and a leader with some silly antics.

Unfortunately we are referred to as sheep by our maker. We all like sheep have gone astray.

In a way it’s comforting to know from Psalm 23 that the Lord is our shepherd and he understands our waywardness and frailty. He makes us to lie in green pastures. He restores our soul… His rod and staff comfort us. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. ‘My cup runs over’… God is a good shepherd.

I think of a lamb when I read that the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. When a sheep is all alone, or on the outer, the lion or the enemy can attack with little resistance. There’s protection in staying in the flock.

I’m happy with the sheep thing.

Who do you Trust?

I remember it was a very quick work the day my father and my brother fell off their pedestals in my life. They were no longer the gods I made them to be. It was not so much by their action or my attitude but just a dawning that, yes, they were indeed human with some failings and the only one to be worshipped is God. Other various family members were also up there and had to be brought down. God is a ‘jealous God’ by his own admission.

Jeremiah 17 has a wonderful key to life. Here goes..

‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man…
he will be like a bush in the wastelands…
…dwell in the parched places of the desert

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
Whose confidence is in Him
He will be like a tree planted by the water…
It does not fear when heat comes
Its leaves are always green
It has no worries in a year of drought
And never fails to bear fruit.’

What's happening in France

The 700 Club from the ACC channel last night tells us France has set up a new law recently which could affect evangelism in that country. In an effort to crack down on cults it has brought in stiff new legislation and as much as a five year jail sentence to deal with those who try to force or coerce people into their beliefs. As a result one of the biggest churches of believers in the South are under surveillance. An Australian missionary over there has changed the name of his church from Christian Life Centre. Many churches are changing their names eg. Evangelical. Even the Catholic charismatics are under suspicion. It looks like the gospel message may have to go as it did in the days of early Apostles, underground. (See Foxes Book of Martyrs).

On another note, The 700 Club went onto show the amazing conversion of a top male model from Belgium. Jules was a young man when he went to France. He began modeling and was the face of many products and on the front of vogue and so on. In his loneliness however Jules began to drink and then got onto cocaine, then prostitutes. He really came to the end of himself far from home in every way. A woman in France gave him a book by Billy Graham. While on a plane ride he read just a few lines and then something bizarre happened thousands of feet up. The presence of God enveloped him. He responded to a question he heard while in this euphoric state. The trip was a blurr as he encountered God for the first time. His life was totally transformed. He ended up marrying the girl who led him to Christ and they have a beautiful son. It was lovely to hear him tell his sincere and open story.

Who is the One Person who Christians Rely on for Their Journey

No it’s not Jesus.

No, the one person Christians rely on for decision making, counsel, comfort and advocacy is the Person of the Holy Spirit. He was promised by Jesus before Jesus was about to ascend into heaven. ‘If I go away…I will send the Comforter… etc. He will remind you of everything I’ve said…’

The Holy Spirit was sent as a deposit for things to come. He is gentle. He convicts of sin. Without Him nothing could be changed in a person’s life because when he puts his finger on an area of your life which needs changing all you want to do is yield… it’s easier than a merry-go-round of conviction.

We can grieve Him with wrong attitudes, wrong behaviour etc. We don’t want to do that because like a dove he may take leave. We can quench him by not obeying his wooing for certain action. Every born again Spirit filled Christian loves the precious Holy Spirit.

It's my Party

Nellie Furtado writes a great song, 'why must all good things come to an end' - for me it's the forties... and then she says 'I'm whistling a new tune.' This is what I want for the start of my jubilee year today 7th 7th 2007. In the Bible, the 50th year meant freedom from all debt - wow what a grace concept. I want this vision for my year ahead. Build the Kingdom of God, seek him first and all things will be added to me - freedom from debt too would be a nice side product. I thank God today for restoring to me everything that was lost, (through dysfunction to stupidity), when I invited him to take me under His wing.

How to Get Prayers Answered:

Have you got a problem you can’t fix?
– you may need a miracle, a healing, a reconciliation but the odds don’t look good.

Don’t Try to Work it out yourself..’Lean not on your own understanding.’

You’ve Got to Mean Business

My kiwi flatmate once told me a little story. She was buying a property in Romsey Victoria. She met a Real estate agent who told her the story of when his son was diagnosed with some hideous disease, leukemia? Anyway he went to a large church in the city and poured his heart out to God in a simple statement. ‘I will give you all my money (which was round a million) if you would just heal my son.’ He cried out with all his heart. From behind him in the empty church came a voice. The man looked around to see an old lady, ‘God has heard your prayer’ she said. He was kneeling and turned back to the front. On turning back again, the old woman had disappeared, or made a unnaturally quick exit.

The miracle happened. The boy was healed. Don’t know whether the man lost or gave the money but I suspect he didn’t need to, knowing God’s grace.

‘Whoever calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved.’

Get a Word from God about your situation

Easier said than done… ask God for a specific word for your situation, the jargon is ‘rhema’ and seek and expect to find the answer. It may come through the Bible, through friends, children, TV, any number of ways.. even through nature.

‘Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.’

Keep a clear conscience. Forgive those who sin against you and God will hear you from heaven. If unforgiveness remains it’s like a barrier between you and God.

Believe that He is. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

If wanting healing. There are spiritual gifts listed in Paul’s Letters and one is the gift of healing. Look out for those with that gift and get them to pray for you. Even in a large church they’re not easily identifiable. Ask God.

Pour Your Heart out.

The following excerpt shows an example of one sentence that changed God’s mind. It also shows a relationship (from the New International Version)

1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 "Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

His Mercies are new Every Morning and …
all power is in his hand despite the mess we create

He Knows

When you feel as if you’re under siege with a spate of events that knock you one by one, read the book of Job. He is the ultimate example of suffering and he was blameless. His well meaning friends came up with their theories as to why this was happening. And they were all wrong. Job passed all the tests, nor did he blaspheme as his wife suggested. Job went on to be restored though nothing could bring back his children. Job said ‘Though he slay me yet will I trust him.’ Like in the Refiners fire Job came forth as pure gold.

Sorry it is So...

I apologise to all you blog readers out there for the fact that I am writing through my own peculiar glasses or my autobiography. I know that’s what blogs are for, but just browsing at other blogs is a stark reminder of the uniqueness of the individual.

Having a quick flick through The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People also, I had to remind myself: Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.

Listening is divine.

As human beings we may have similar basic needs and desires and spiritual vacuums seeking to be filled but the tastes and talents of the human race are infinite. Assuming stuff about you is likely to leave me with ‘egg on my face’.

I suppose that’s what comments are for. This site is not SEOd and so I don’t attract much traffic. As I am studying this subject for other reasons may be one day I will apply tricks of the trade for lots of visitors apart from content, and with it negative comments as well as hopefully uplifting ones.

How to Make Decisions

Some people are blessed with the ability to know instinctively how to make the right decisions. I had this idea today that okay if I had to choose between drinking tea and coffee I would have to use my imagination to taste both and then make a decision.

Then I thought may be decision making has a lot to do with the power of imagination. Anyway I am very decisive as a rule - does that mean I have a strong imagination? Probably. That doesn’t help those of you who are undecided and who probably hesitate for the main reason that you are wise and don’t want to make a mistake. Some mistakes are costly but then you can learn from them.

Some of us find out too late that despite everything appearing rosy the decision in retrospect was a bad one. I’ve done that with some major decisions but life is full of opportunities and by God’s grace, second chances.

One thing I have learned is that your gut feelings are the ones to go by. A feeling of chaos or unrest when considering something is a definite ‘no’ for me and, again contemplating a choice which gives me a sense of genuine peace is the way to go.

I also bear in mind this Scripture: ‘Acknowledge Him in all your ways and he will direct your paths.’

Recently I was in limbo about buying a pair of shoes. I was swinging between the idea of the bigger pair and the smaller pair. There was no in-between and they were on special! My heart said buy the smaller pair, my logic said ‘no get the bigger pair and I can put insoles in them, thick socks etc. Well I bought the larger pair, wore them once, felt like Bozo , ‘some clown from the 60s’ (George Costanza), and haven’t worn them since. As I see those shoes I sigh. I learnt a valuable lesson as there is no exchange at that shop.

Desal Disaster?

Inge Light sent me this today

Desalination No Answer to Water Crisis - WWF

GENEVA - Removing salt from sea water to overcome a worldwide shortage of drinking water could end up worsening the crisis, environmental group WWF warned on Tuesday.
Desalination, the filtering and evaporation of sea water, is very energy-intensive and involves significant emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists say are a factor in the shrinking supplies of freshwater, the Swiss-based group said. Spain, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other arid countries should rely more on water conservation and recycling and avoid huge desalination projects that have been linked to pollution and ecosystem damage.
'The quite possibly mistaken lure of widespread water availability from desalination ... has the potential to drive a major misdirection of public attention, policy and funds away from the pressing need to use all water wisely," it said.
Concerns about global warming, which could exacerbate droughts and erode the world's icecaps and glaciers, which provide 69 percent of global freshwater supplies, are expected to spur investments in the technology.
Some farmers have used water from desalination to grow "unsuitably thirsty crops in fundamentally dry areas," the WWF said, an unsustainable trend given its high energy costs: "It seems unlikely that desalinated agriculture is economic anywhere".
'Regions still have cheaper, better and complementary ways to supply water that are less risky to the environment," it said.
The WWF, or World Wildlife Fund, estimated there were more than 10,000 desalination plants around the world. It said the sector would likely grow exponentially in coming years as governments seek to supply water to fast-growing arid areas in the United States, India, China and elsewhere.
Half of the world's desalination capacity is in the Gulf area, where wealthy oil-producing nations use it for about 60 percent of their water needs.
Australian cities have also relied heavily on the technology and Spain has used it extensively to support real estate development, agriculture and even golf courses along its Mediterranean coast.
Large-scale desalination engineering could also endanger sea life, the WWF said, urging further research into the tolerance of marine organisms and ecosystems to higher salinity and brine waste, byproducts of the salt removal process.
While desalination could have important uses in some cases, such as environments with brackish water, the WWF said that big plants ought to be approved only in circumstances where they meet a real need and must be built and operated in a way that minimises broader environmental damage.

Story by Laura MacInnis
Story Date: 19/6/2007

All Contents© Reuters News Service 2007

Check out Planet Ark on the web at www.planetark.com

What Matters?

All that matters in this life is RELATIONSHIPS.

This was the first point I read in Simon McIntyre’s book, ‘Know All.’ Pondering this idea is life changing because it puts things into perspective. It’s nice to have a roof over our heads, clothes and food but that’s not what counts. When we develop healthy relationships we can achieve so much more than a lone ranger. And it’s not even about achieving.

And it’s not about us or how many friends we have but about seeing ourselves as God sees us – valuable and out of that comes respect and love for others either for a small circle or on a larger scale.

If we are in partnership with God and others there’s a better chance we will do the special things designed for us. And hopefully keep a good attitude while doing it. We are carefully placed, as in a jigsaw puzzle. Occasionally we will experience the harsh sandpaper effect certain others will have on us but it is for our benefit.

Some Legacies...

A guest speaker at a recent women’s conference, Marie Cartledge (who was married to the late great Australian faith man David Cartledge) said ‘It’s all about what you leave behind,’ the legacy. Everything else melts away.

David had brain cancer and though he couldn’t read, write or even talk in the end, out of his Spirit came songs to God on his way out. What a sweet man he was. He left a great impression in the earth. I knew him a little from brief phone conversations over 5 years when he wrote articles for Evangel/Now magazine where I worked. I had a file of his photos going back and when he formed Southern Cross Bible College, Melbourne, I enrolled.


And then there’s the wonderful lady Irene Gleeson who as a widow took off overseas sat under a tree in Uganda and drew orphans to herself. One day as she sat in a caravan some aggressive natives burst in. She called on God and was saved from what could have been. Now, what has grown from small beginnings is a phenomenal work - orphanages, water wells etc. Those beautiful children will grow into fine adults because of Irene – not by herself but in partnership with God. Of course she's still going strong. Her heart was with those orphans. We can’t all be ‘Irenes’ but find our own niche. We can all be as Rev Awdrey says ‘really useful engines’ from Thomas the Tank Engine. Sorry, couldn’t help the comparison.

Divine Connections and Widows and Orphans

I wasn’t going to put this into my blog but when Joel Osteen talked about the story of 'Ruth' last night on Austar in a message titled Divine Connections I felt it was a timely word…

When Rick Warren wrote ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ it was so popular worldwide that a by-product was fortune and also fame. So Rick asked God what was the purpose of all this and the answer came, fame (not exact wording) comes to people who then can defend the powerless and those who can’t stand up for themselves.

After Saul’s radical conversion and a name change to Paul (what a good idea considering Christians didn’t trust him after he killed a few of them), this man wrote. ‘Pure religion and undefiled is to look after the widows and orphans’ – (among the poor, bruised and broken hearted).

When my best friend I’ll call Sue lost her sister in a head on crash, she was called upon to look after two little children and to live in a remote place. God had prepared her well, living with a single mother, being a nurse. Some Christians and others scorned her when she married her brother-in-law many years later, but she had a dream some time before which was clear and interpreted easily. She would marry John and when Sue went to church on one occasion, the teaching was on ‘Ruth.’ Ruth, a widow, went to look after her widowed mother-in-law and ended up meeting Boaz as a result. Boaz was known as the ‘kinsman redeemer’. God is merciful and rewards those who do his will. Life has its storms and we don’t always know his plans but he works everything to the good of those who love him. Sue went on to have 2 boys of her own. She is very blessed.

Jesus came to do those things he read out one day from Isaiah’s scroll after a stint in the desert: Luke 4: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.’ When Jesus was on the cross he let one of his best mates, probably John, know that he should look after Jesus’ mother. He was to be a son to Mary when she was about to lose Jesus. Mary wasn’t that old at the time and had a number of other children. Jesus was merciful in his last breath, a defender of the poor, bruised, brokenhearted such as orphans and widows and I’m sure, single parents. There was a prophecy about Him in the Old Testament, ‘a bruised reed he will not break,’ such was his mercy and gentleness.

Some ways to Deal With Depression

• As Dale Carnegie says from eternity ‘Live in Day Tight Compartments’
  This is coming from the Scripture, ‘Don’t worry about tomorrow. There’s enough evil in today to deal with.’
• ‘Cast all your cares on Him because he cares for you.’ List your problems and burn them.
• ‘Be Anxious for Nothing.’ also the title of Joyce Meyer’s book
• Consider this: ‘I’m a miser, I count my blessings every night.’ A lovely old Englishman from Sherwood called Eric (94)
• ‘Resist, Reject, Replace’ negative thoughts Phil Hills, Richmond, Vic
• Look forward, not back.
• Write down some good goals and visualize them
• Consider Jesus, that is the rejection and physical suffering he endured for the prize at the end
• Think about what you can do for someone else today
• Think about those you love today
• Think about the needs of others today
• Ask someone for help
• Get someone to pray for you if you feel powerless and feel captive
• Try not to say negative things or complain
• Think: Am I getting enough exercise, sleep,vitamins etc.
• Try to ascertain what is the cause of your depression and process it logically

It Doesn’t get Much Better than this

Broadbeach Blues Festival in its sixth year was filled with casual happy family crowds, more people than I remember 2 years ago when we saw Matt Taylor from Chain sing ‘I remember when I was young.’ He sure had rhythm and rhyme sorted.

It was a very dark overcast afternoon when we arrived last Friday to witness an amazing band and I tell you if they’re not already they will be HUGE - Marshall and the Fro. I know they’ve been associated with Byron Fest. but are also at Mermaid! Just a few young guys but great voice, music which I think is original and yes a fro or two. A local young girl got up to harmonise a few songs and that was a breath of fresh air.

Our favourite local blues guy Mason Rack with Jay Conway and Ray Goddard were having a ball, throwing out T shirts etc. and did some riveting stuff with Mason’s sincere story telling and lots of their faithful fans about. Good to see them all dressed in black with white tie like Humphrey Bogart. It was lovely to see Mason’s beautiful wife there and my son and Jade, their daughter, hit it off running around and dancing together and both future musos to be sure.

Blue sky, Sat 4.30 we saw Canned Heat! A rare treat - though not all original members, (a few have died), they stayed true to songs and played some classic boogie – ‘Going up the country’ where a girl came to play flute. ‘Do you want some Woodstock?’ the main guy queried like a Californian Beachboy. A few Vietnam Vets were round about. It was received well and they satisfied the hungry crowd. The drummer, the original was incredible and he had refined his act to perfection. We thought it was funny when one guy was introduced several times as an ‘original 1985 to 95 Australian member.’ They also played the 1970 hit which inspired Bryan Ferry’s ‘Let’s Stick Together’

As the sun disappeared and we stood on the friendly, flattened grass dancing around I thought, ‘It doesn’t get much better than this.’

Please note this blog is not dated correctly. The event below happened on Tuesday night about 5pm.

Miracle at Currumbin Beach just Last night

Last night my sister rang me about 6pm. and told me a horrendous story. She and my older sister, Mary, had just been for a walk on Currumbin beach when a lady was yelling over to them, ‘Which beach are we on?’ ‘Currumbin!’ Caro yelled back.

They noticed another young girl next to her and a body lying on the sand. They promptly ran over to the scene. A young boy of about 15 with red hair was laying on the beach with leg rope and surfboard attached. He was blue in colour. The young girl, about 18, had dragged the boy from the water. A nurse had been walking by with her mother and young child and seeing the situation ordered her mother and child to 'go' as it was not a pretty sight.

A blonde boy was standing by who had assisted the girl in getting hold of the floating body. His face covered in a white froth also on the face of the victim.

Caroline had a chance to put her hands gently on the boy. She prayed quietly ‘Please God give this boy back his life.' After that she prayed unceasingly. The nurse got my sister, also a nurse, to take the 000 call and Mary relayed instruction for CPR to the nurse with encouraging words also given by the person on the end of the line. Mary is a psych. nurse.

Finally a lifesaver appeared with gadgets including pumps and applied his CPR Again to no avail. Much time had passed – about 40 mins when the ambulance came. Adrenallin was injected into the boy. Mary and Caro went behind a van agreeing he was dead and began praying rebuking the spirit of death etc. Caro looked over and the boy’s stomach began moving up and down slightly.

As the ambulance officers loaded him into the van, Caro asked him if he was alive. ‘Yes,’ the officer said. They continued to pray for the boy. Both have sons of their own.

This morning I heard the news that the boy was recovering in Tweed Heads hospital. The girl who rescued him from the water was a 20 year old hairdresser. Her mother explained that she was terrified. She didn’t know where she got the strength from. The body was so heavy she had said (in the paper) It was front page news in the GC Bulletin.

The nurse was on holiday from Coolum. The girl who normally goes to Burleigh for a walk, never Currumbin called it ‘God.’ Don’t know about the boy or lifesaver but I do know they all went into making the ingredients for the miracle! Who knows how long he was in the water after being knocked out by his board? He is now in a stable condition. Glory to God.

Twenty things you need to know if you’re making a sea change and heading North in Australia

1. Try renting for a year to get a feel for the area.
2. Make your dwelling geographically Tsunami proof.
3. Don’t leave water or buckets of water or shallow pools of water around in Summer when snakes are out and thirsty.
4. Get to know your snakes. I’ve had a carpet? snake living 2 doors down, a green snake slither across my beach towel and I’ve run over a large bush python snake elsewhere. They're all okay.
5. Get to know your insects eg. cockroaches, mossies, midges. You can get a well researched paper/PDF on midges from Gold Coast council.
6.Winter snaps bring tiny field mice who run as fast as your eye will travel. They are looking for warmth.
7.Put undercover any prams, cars, bikes and objects that will rust in salt air
8.Invest in some hats and sun cream…You will get used to the sun
9.Net fruit trees from fruit bats
10.In purchasing land look for infrastructure, you know hospitals, shopping, etc and zoning of land and future developments via council and Main Roads etc.
11.In Qld there’s no daylight saving. People are early risers and you can expect locals to call in and phone before 8am and think nothing of it. It gets dark around 6pm most days. With no daylight saving Qld can watch the same show twice on TV as the rest of Australia is on time an hour earlier between Oct and March. Near the border there can be problems with appointments and rosters with these differences overlooked between states
12. Swim between flags or perish. Stats are high with lots internationals drowning
13. Surfers should go in pairs to look out for one another as it’s dangerous out there with inexperienced surfers crashing into others and other hazards.
14. Travel booklets are available at most resorts which will have meal discounts
15. Good area maps can be found in Op shops
16. Be prepared to travel for work if need be
17. Get to know people through joining groups of like minded people
18. Don’t be disappointed or surprised when tradesmen don’t turn up in smaller populated areas.
19. If buying a house pest control is vital – termites, cockroaches etc are a common threat
20. Learn to live outdoors lifestyles ie. BBQs and picnics

I See Trees of Green

My father’s favourite personal Scripture was John 10:10. It was as though the verse was designed just for him as he changed his name from Jacques to John to be accepted more in Australia in business from the 60s. He also had a green van he called ‘the old ten ten’ when we were little.

Dad gave his life to Christ in 1978. He then relished the verse as a motto for his life – so much so that Mary my sister, and I chose Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World to sing to him on his 80th Birthday.

So he quoted the Scripture on birthday cards etc. John 10:10b says, ‘Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.’

Water, water water wanted

I love a sunburnt country
A land of sweeping plains
Of rugged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding plains...

Dorothea McKellar wrote that a long time ago. It didn't mean much to me then but it does now as Australia faces over a decade of drought. I drove through it recently and the sky was livlier than the earth in inland Australia.

It spoke loud and clear to me being a Christian.
When I had previously looked up some relevant words in my concordance I found the Scripture
"If My people which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14).

The context is drought and is associated with a form of judgement from time to time, like when Elijah called for three and a half years no rain, God was in agreement and so it came to pass.

This has been heavy on my heart for a while and since I was awakened to the fact when a desalination plant was placed in my face, without any public consultation.

While the local Hinze dam is full and will even be heightened, near me Brisbane will have 7% water next July. So why? Well if God is 'the same yesterday, today and forever' and there is a spiritual connection with the drought then may be it has nothing to do with heathens in this nation.

This Scripture could hold the key to the dire situation we have here...

'If my people who are called by my name'
My comment: Christians are called by his name

'Shall humble themselves'
Admit their dependency on him? Address pride and get rid of it?

'And Pray'
And pray

'And Seek'
Spend time in the morning preferrably seeking God in worship, asking of him, reading his word and expecting His answers. 'Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths.'

'And turn from their wicked ways'
Repent ask forgiveness for sin and waywardness.

One little bit of leaven raises the whole bread batch.



...Then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14).

Stuck in the Middle

Well just came back from trip from Vic/NSW. It was so drought stricken the other side of the Great Dividing Range. From say Parkes going South, the grass was pale and the trees sickly looking, there was very little activity and not a whole lot of cattle etc.


We were on our way down to golf tournaments when it was pitch dark on Saturday night. We were travelling down the Newall Hwy after leaving Narrandera when the car began making screeching sounds round hte left wheel and became increasingly distressed.

We were in the middle of nowhere, in fact there were not even farms visible just dreary drought conditions, dry and lifeless. We were on our way to Jerilderie which was another one and a half hours from our destination.

We were feeling sick in the stomach not knowing what to do. Sleep on the side of the road, keep pushing the car. Trucks were speeding up from behind Thankfully their lights could be seen half a Km coming behind us. We could pull over and drive ever so slowly. The brakes then started failing.

We were desperate. We needed a miracle. We called on God, our Saviour. First we started solemnly praying quietly. Sam had fallen asleep in the back seat. We prayed in tongues. We prayed quoting the scriptures such as 'YOu are the author and finisher of our faith.' 'You supply all our needs according to your riches in glory.' etc. Then we both agreed we felt we should sleep at a rest area just past the Urana/Jerilderie sign.

It was cold and the moon was just visible. It was quiet, eery and dark. I slept the back seat and got Sam to lay beside me, moving his booster seat to the front and Doug decided to sleep on a concrete slab against a wall but open nevertheless in a sleeping bag. (Glad we packed it)

Trucks came and went. I heard about 2 but when I woke there were three and another arrived. It was a long cold night with towels and a thin child's blanket but at last it was light.

We drove the car up a side road looking for a farmhouse - to no avail. Then we went to a nearby house surrounded by cars but all was still and we decided not to wake them up at 7.30 Sunday morning.

The car seemed to go all right at about 40km. So we drove and drove and drove. FInally we made it!

A relative recommended a motor mechanic in Numurkah. We saw a young man, David there and he informed us the wheel bearing disintegrated as he got to it and he thought it was an utter miracle we made it. At a playground in the town was the word Miracle on each yellow tin step.

Our faith was stretched and God met us and helped us. 'He is an ever present help in time of trouble. '

20 tips on How to Save Your Marriage

1.Pray for your spouse

2.Declare any imaginations that you hold and let go of them

3.Forgive your spouse for anything. Again let it go

4.Declare out loud that you made vows of commitment

5.Read the five Love Languages and ascertain your spouse's love language out of these five
1. Words of Affirmation
2. Time
3. Physical Affection
4. Gifts
5.

Work on these like you would in the garden.

6.Recall when you fell in love with your spouse

7.Write a list of things you like about your spouse

8.Write list of similarities

9.Write list of opposite or complimentary virtues they may have

The above things should help in tearing any walls down between you.

If there's another third party interfering in your marriage:
Pray for your enemy in this case Bless them (don't curse them and watch God move)

10.Do small things to help your marriage.

11.Leave little notes

12.Leave gifts, special things you know they like

13.Advice from a travelling evangelist:

'Woman get wild and interesting' Don't follow around

14. Man listen and acknowledge

15. Greetings are very important - a smile and kind words

16. Read 'Boundaries' if your problem relates to rescuer and rescuee.

17.Be proactive IF you need to look better, lose weight etc. make a plan

18. Appreciate Male, Love Female

19. Don't give up. There is hope.

20. Remember they married you!

The Meaning of Life

Hello

What is the meaning of life?

With this question burning in mind, I used to wake up in the middle of the night as a teeenager. I was searching and I wouldn't be able to rest till I had the answer. I believe that having a praying grandmother or Nana was the reason behind my search.

I looked in all the wrong places: occult astrology eastern religion.

When I finally became acquainted with Jesus I knew I could not believe in reincarnation because Karma meant paying for your own sins, but Jesus had clearly taken them all away. When I got baptised later I felt so clean I didn't think I needed a shower - true!