Whirlwind Weeks

 Hello friends!

Finally getting back with a blog post.  It's been a busy few weeks.  A visit from Natasha from the US.  Lovely to see her but way too short...

Natasha, me, Marnie

We had terrible weather the whole time she was here (and are still having it: winds, rain,) but we did manage a walk on Pig Island amongst many visits to cafes for coffee and cake :)

The whole family hope to come for a visit next year.

Been working on Hazel's Christmas blanket.  You may have caught a glimpse of it in a previous post...

She likes pink, and bright rainbow colours :)

And I'm in crime mode with my reading.  Ann Cleeves.  I really enjoyed the TV series (Vera and Shetland) but had never read any of her books...

they are good!

And finished this pet blanket for K4C and mailed it on its way to a pet shelter in the south of the state...

I tried to get Freya to pose with it, but she was having none of it.  The bears were happy to oblige though.

My walk early this morning :)

I'll be back...

xx

Sunday afternoon...

"Sunday afternoon was clear, and the snow-covered prairie sparkled in the sunshine.  a little wind blew gently from the south, but it was so cold that the sled runners squeaked as they slid on the hard-packed snow.  The horses' hoofs made a dull sound, clop, clop, clop.  Pa did not say anything.

Sitting beside him on the board laid across the bobsled, Laura did not say anything either.  There was nothing to say.  She was on her way to teach school..."

(These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

What are you doing on Sunday morning?

 If you are in the Latrobe (Tasmania) area, come along and join us for our new 9am Sunday services at 

Bridge of Hope

Anglican Church

Morning tea after :)

We'd love to see you there!

From Be Still and Know... (devotional)

 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is (Psalm 63:1).

While David was alone in the wilderness he was evidently reminiscing of the time when God had been very real to him in the sanctuary. He still desired the reality of God's presence that he had known in the past.  He said, "O God, thou art MY God."  From the depth of his soul he cried out, "My soul thirsteth for THEE, my flesh longeth for THEE in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."

The story is told of a Thai man who came to a Thailand mission station.  They said to him, "Are you looking for some medicine?"  "No," he replied.  "I am looking for God."

There are many hungers and thirsts in the world today.  Some people hunger for position; some for power.  Others hunger for pleasure, love, or acceptance.  People are searching everywhere for things that will satisfy.  But inner satisfaction does not come through things.  Jesus assures us that the hunger and thirst of our soul can be satisfied.  "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

Inner fulfillment comes from HIM.  David said, "Early will I seek HIM."  When we read the Bible we must seek Him on its pages.  When we enter the prayer closet we must become quiet enough to hear Him speak to us.  We must not stop short of anything less than God Himself.

Today, are you seeking for inner peace?  Are you longing for something to satisfy?  You can be satisfied; you can have inner fulfillment as you seek and find it in Jesus Christ.  He said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink (John 7:37).

Tell HIM today of the longing in your heart.  Seek Him from the Word of God.  Talk to Him, and let Him talk to you in prayer.

Your inner longing can be satisfied in Him today.  "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness" (Psalm 63:5). 

"For He satisfies the longing soul, 

And fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Psalm 107:9 

Windy, Wet and ... What happened to spring??

 We seem to have returned to winter this last week.  Very cold, windy, raining...  But I managed to get a couple of wintery walks in...

Good knitting and reading weather though...

I finished these two baby blankets I had put aside to crochet Marnie's blanket...

They have gone to one of K4C August charities, Hope in a Suitcase (Tasmania), for babies and children going into foster care...

Now knitting pet blankets for one of K4C September charities...

And reading this 'so good' book.  I can't believe I've had it on my bookshelves for a couple of years and haven't read it!  

I seem to be in Amish mode at the moment.  Finished The Amish Way and will read Amish Grace when I finish my current read. (Both from my bookshelves) 

It's also good eating weather...

I picked up this sweet little (6 inches in diameter) Pyrex dish at the op shop last week for $2.50. 

So, I made apple crumble :)

And the new laptop??  Don't ask!!  I'm consoling myself with apple crumble and cream.

Have a blessed week!

xx

Morning Has Broken ...

"If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me."

Psalm 139:9-10

One Day at a Time

 

One Day at a Time

As I went through the day with its toil and care, I thought of the morrow and what I might bear.

The clouds hung so ominous, frightful, and low; reflecting my worries stacked all in a row.

Imagining sorrow and pain were my fate; anxiety built a deplorable state.

Formidable, dark the future appeared, to drown any hope and bring what I feared.

But then as the evening grew into the night, a palette of color impacted my sight.

The blending of beauty, clouds laced with pink, accented with silver, roused me to think.

This life seemed so transient at setting of sun; I regretted the worry and fretting I'd done.

The burdens most likely I never must bear - Oh, why have I wasted these moments so rare?

I missed all the blessings that I could have claimed while trusting the Savior - for this I'm ashamed.

We're not even promised tonight or tomorrow - so why should I fret over future's dark sorrow?

And then as the colors fast faded from sight, and darkness stole in, I found my heart light.

For our Savior's promise I took to be mine: "Fear not, precious child, take one day at a time."

- Anita H. Martin

Still in the process of setting up my new laptop.  Hopefully I can get back to more regular posting soon.

Have a blessed day!

xx

Birthdays, blankets, family and friends...

 It's been a couple of busy weeks as Marnie has been on holidays and that usually means extra outings :)

It was her birthday...

Which also corresponded with an overnight visit from my friend Debbie

So we started the day with morning coffee at the Little Goat café

Then met up with Tom and Denver for lunch at Anvers Chocolate Factory cafe...

And that night they had a fire pit in the backyard...

But wait... there's more...

Overnight in Launceston on the weekend and birthday dinner at Cataract on Patterson Restaurant...

she likes to get her money's worth for her birthday :))

And Yes! She liked the blanket.  I was waiting to get a photo of her with it, but I'm still waiting, so here are a couple of photos of the blanket minus Marnie...

Working on finishing this baby blanket...

while Freya supervises :)

 And then I want to start knitting a cardigan for myself with yarn I bought last year (or was it the year before?!)

And although it's not my birthday, I got a gift too!

Marnie knit herself a sweater, but it didn't fit her, so she gave it to me :)

In lovely New Zealand wool that still smells like sheep! :)

I'll never be able to wash it!! :))

 We still have a month of official winter, but we've had warm weather this past week and the garden thinks it's Spring... 

And when we were in Launceston, I bought myself a Thomas Kinkade perpetual calendar...

This is todays reading...

"Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted." - Isaiah 12:4 KJV

I'm still in the process of changing over to my new laptop due to the fact that this one is too old to take the new Windows 11, and Windows 10 will no longer be supported from October.  Hope to get it all sorted in the next couple of weeks, so posts may be a bit hit and miss until then.

Have a blessed week!

xx

Devotional

From Beside the Still Waters... 

Rejoicing in the Spirit: read Philippians 4

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." - Luke 10:21

In Luke 10, Jesus sent out seventy disciples in pairs to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  When the disciples returned from their mission, they joyfully told Jesus that even the devils were subject to them through His name.  Jesus responded by rejoicing in the spirit and thanking the Father.

Today's Bible reading tells us to "Rejoice in the Lord Alway."  What are appropriate ways to express Christian joy?  Children may jump up and down excitedly when they hear that their grandparents are coming for a visit or that they will go shopping with Mother.  But maturing Christians have put away childish things, and their responses mirror that fact.

In today's key verse, Jesus showed us by example that offering a prayer of thanksgiving is a proper response of Christian joy.  This can be done silently or audibly.  We learn from James 5:13 that if we are merry, singing is a good way to express this feeling.  It is through the goodness of God that Christian joy is possible in the first place.  Why not express it in prayer and praise?

Nehemiah made this notable statement in Nehemiah 8:10: "For the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Having strength makes us feel like tackling the task at hand.  so Christian joy finds an outlet in cheerfully doing the duties God assigns us.  It takes the boredom out of Christian service and infuses us with spiritual vigor and inspiration.  Jesus spoke two times of His disciples' joy being full (John 15:11, 16:24).  If our joy is full, we should express it in ways that glorify God and bring blessing to others and ourselves.

Dennis Martin - Smithville, TN

Rejoicing in the spirit will be a reality in Heaven too!