Another week

Marnie and I had a day trip to Wynyard (and the sea) last week...

 Fossil Bluff beach

from Table Cape lookout

Bought fish and chips at the wharf for our lunch...

Inglis River

And on the home front...

Tried a new fruit cake recipe.  It's good, but next time I will add more fruit and spices...

tea and fruit cake anyone??

Working on the border rows on this blanket...

and picked up this lovely Herbs book at the op shop for $1

Have laid out the squares for this blanket I started last year.  Need to sew it up now...

just as well I have a large lounge room because my crochet projects invariably end up on the floor

My next project is an autumn toned crocheted blanket...

which colour co-ordinates beautifully with my new book that I'm eager to get started on

And sunrise from my kitchen window this morning...

Hoping your day brings you some unexpected pleasures!

xx

Weekend Words

a (Connecticut) walk in the woods... Thanks Natasha!

"Silence is where you find it.  Or at least it can be.

Some of us have particular places where the silence and stillness are most apparent to us.  A walk in the woods, perhaps, or through a park near the place where we live.

Some would choose a great cathedral or a quiet little chapel.  Still others, when you mention the word silence to them, fix their minds on a corner in their home or in their own backyard.  Or a favourite spot on a hillside or near a stream that they love.

Some of us remember times of day or seasons of the year.  Times when we noticed that the world was a quiet place and that it welcomed us into its stillness.  And that we felt at home there somehow, in a way that we had not before.

Even those of us who claim to enjoy the silence the least, or whose lives are the most filled with hustle and bustle and noise, have within us a longing to be still and to be quiet.  It is a part and parcel of who we are and how we are made.  And it is a part of us that calls out to be claimed and cherished and nurtured and fed.

Our consumer society urges us to go and do as often as we can.  And sometimes it seems as though every step we take leads to another step or six or seven, and before we can make one or two in that direction we are going further and doing more and trying to be something else.

Sometimes I am a little afraid that the world is going so fast that it will pass me by.  Other times I worry that I cannot get the world to go away even on the days that I want it to.

But if the way in which I live does not have some silence and solitude and stillness and rest, then there is only one person to blame in the end.  There is only one person who can, in fact, get me to do less and not more, to stop moving and be still, to slow down instead of speed up.  And I am that person."

(from: A Good Life - Benedict's Guide to Everyday Joy - Robert Benson)

Inglis River, Wynyard, TAS

Weekend Words

A Solitary Place

Scriptures: Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose up and went out, and departed into a desert place, and there prayed."

Reflection: It is imperative that Christians retreat from the noise of their busy lifestyle and get alone with the purpose of seeking God. If Jesus retreated, surely we must follow His example. If Christians would stop regularly to commune alone with God, we would share fresh insight right from the heart of God. To be still is imperative!

I believe the time that the apostle Paul spent in prison alone with God gave him deeper spiritual insight. If he would have had more free time to go about as he pleased, we might not have had the letters of Paul today. That journey of solitude gave him an open door to reach the world. God knows what He is doing even when we do not seem to have a clue.

We could also call on Moses, Elijah and David to give us testimonies of their times of solitude with God.

Moses was on the back side of the desert when God spoke to him through the burning bush; David was out in the field watching sheep and writing Psalms; Elijah discovered God tends to whisper, as he was at the entrance of a cave. Those who walk with God will tell you, God does not ordinarily shout to make Himself known.

In our seclusion from the many sounds of the world, we can definitely hear the sounds of heaven. Yes, God can speak anywhere, but it is imperative that we get away and retreat from the busy lives most of us have chosen to live. Just find a quiet place and be still! If you do not linger long enough, you might hear Him say, "Don't go yet!" God loves for us to spend time with Him. 

The two years my family and I spent in Alaska has proven to be much more profitable than I ever thought it would be.

My memories are still so vivid about my personal experiences while there. I have had to ask God to forgive me for the times I complained about being so far away from the rest of my family. I found myself at times crying and saying, "God, I feel like I am in a foreign land and totally isolated from my children and grandchildren."

Today, I still share my experiences learned while in Alaska.The stories are fruitful to those who hear what God taught me about solitude. My point is, "do not despise the times of isolation." God will do whatever He must to get the attention of His children. God wants us to reflect His image. The one you spend the most time with is the one that you will imitate. If we commit to times of silence and solitude with God, our discipline will soon become our desire and our desire will turn into our delight.

When storms of life are around me beating,
When rough the path that I have trod,
Within my closet doors retreating,
I love to be alone with God. (Cowman)

Jesus, our example:

Matthew 14:13; "When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

Matthew 26:36; "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."

Mark 3:7; "But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.."

Luke 4:42; "Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.."

Luke 6:12; "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."

Luke 5:16; "So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed."

Matthew 6:6; "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly

Joan Buchanan
http://godshearttoyours.org/

October Yarn Along

Better late than never!!

Spring in the garden has been keeping me more than busy.  The apple tree has blossomed and the weeds are flourishing...

 But I'm finally here to get a late Yarn Along post on.  And in case you only visit for Yarn Along, I am reposting the photo of the finished blanket I was working on last time...

Recently finished reading Educated.  It was a page turner and very well written...

Have started Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening.  Not sure about this one.  I find her style of writing a bit too...What?  Self-focused? Flowery? Wordy?  I don't know what it is, but something about it just 'niggles'.  Maybe it's her attitude?  Has anyone else read it?


And a new crochet project...

Didn't have enough of the blues/browns I started with, so had to improvise...

Now edging the squares in grey, which I think will tie it all in together...

And down at the river, the willows are adorned in their bright green spring leaves...

I hope whatever 'season' you are in, you are enjoying it.

xx

Weekend Words

Presbyterian Church, Stanley, TAS

"I believe it is a fine thing to go to church regularly.  Our village news sheet says "Attend the church of your choice." 

There are many reasons to go to church, aside from the inspiration of the sermon and the music.  First of all, it gives one a chance to step aside from the problems of life for an hour and sit quietly, and reassess values.  Daily worries and anxieties suddenly reduce themselves to a fair proportion.  And then it is good to gather people together who believe in the power of God - or good - and all bent on a serious hour of worship.  People gather incessantly for political rallies, club meetings, committees, all full of controversy.  How blessed to spend an hour thinking about the meaning of life.

Not all communities are as fortunate as ours.  We have a federation church, which means that as long as you seriously believe in God and intend to lead a Christian life, you are eligible to be a member no matter what sect you belong to.  I think the church would be a greater force in this age if it were a single united congregation.  Minor theological differences should not separate men of good faith.  

On this particular Sunday, our young minister had preached about the brief period when the carpenter's Son called the fishermen on the shore of Galilee to pick up their nets and follow Him.  I fell to thinking that the greatest miracle in the history of man is that all over the world even now, people are still trying to "pick up their nets and follow Him".  In spite of wars, oppression, dictatorships, nobody has ever been able to permanently get rid of God.  This is a comforting thought in this atomic and satellite age."

Stillmeadow Sampler - Gladys Taber (p107)

Church of Christ, Caveside, TAS

Weekend Words

Leisure is a rare commodity in this time, and we need it.

Nobody fritters away any time, and of course time is too valuable to fritter away. 

But the spirit needs renewing and what a renewal a little quiet time can be!  One needs to look at the sky, at the countryside.  Or in the city, one needs to sit on a park bench half an hour or an hour and just not be doing anything.  A good many problems solve themselves if one is quietly looking as the stars come out.  Fatigue blows away in the stir of evening air.  Even grief is lessened when one sits quietly in the dusk as the fire-flies light the meadow.

We busy ourselves too much.  Now and then the well of our spirit needs time to fill up so that we can draw from it again.  And when someone says to me that he or she cannot bear to be alone, I always feel sad for it means the level in the well is so low that no bucket can reach it.  Also the people who skim like water bugs over the surface of life are in a bad way when they need spiritual depth to sustain them.  But those who are able to have a quiet time for a small piece of day always find an amour against trouble.  

In June I find it easy to drop everything and sit in the garden and watch the butterflies and admire the opening roses.  Suddenly I feel the wideness of the universe and gain a new sense of well-being.  My thoughts are not profound.  I think about how much the lemon thyme has spread over the flagstones.  I think, without anxiety, that we ought to do something about the rose canes next fall.  I think the wasps should not gather right under the arm of my chair.  But chiefly I am absorbed in just being.

Then, restored, I am ready to shell peas again!

Stillmeadow Sampler - Gladys Taber (p98)

Quick

Spring has arrived in full force and I am needing to spend much of my time trying to keep up with the garden work.  Still getting out at least once a day for my river walks...

The blanket is finished...

I am enjoying Educated.  It's very good...

you can see a close up of the crocheted edge I did around the blanket

Started a new crochet project...

probably for charity

Been baking (and eating) Anzac biscuits...

We have been having some beautiful sunrises this week...

The differences in colour are amazing...

both taken from my kitchen window

That's it!  Short and sweet...

Will try and get back next week!

xx