Weekend Words

From Our Daily Bread...

Artwork by Amanda Claire

Fear of the Unknown - Read: John 16:31-33

"In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Fear woke me at 3am on the first day of the new year.  The year ahead weighed heavily on me, overwhelming me with dread.  Illness in the family had long wearied me, and now, thoughts of the future made me afraid.  Will more bad things happen?  I wondered.

Jesus' disciples understood the fear of bad things happening.  Even though their Master had prepared and reassured them the day before He died, they were still afraid.  They fled when he was arrested (Matthew 26:56); Peter denied Him (John 18:15-17, 25-27), and they went into hiding (20:19).  Their fear during the upheaval of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, as well as of persecution, led them to act contrary to his command to "take heart" and His promise, "I have overcome the world" (16:33).

But Christ's death and resurrection proved His authority and power over life and death.  He has the ultimate victory.  Even though the sinful state of our world makes suffering a certainty, we can rest in the truth that all things are subject to the authority of our wise and loving God.  Jesus' presence is with us (16:32-33), just as it was with His disciples, who later confidently went on to share the gospel to the world.  May God's promise that He's in control strengthen our hearts to trust Him in this new year and be courageous even when we don't know what the future will bring.

- Karen Huang

Artwork by Shrawani Bose

From A Lamp Unto My Feet...

Fear God and Fear Nothing Else

The world is shaking with fear. "What will become of us?"  "Where will it all end?"  "What if Russia...?"  "What if cancer...?"  "What if depression...?"

The love of God has wrapped us round from before the foundations of the world.  If we fear Him - that is, if we are brought to our knees before Him, reverence and worship Him in absolute assurance of His sovereignty - we cannot possibly be afraid of anything else.  To love God is to destroy all other fear.  To love the world is to be afraid of everything - what it may think of me, what it may do to me, what may happen today or tomorrow for which I am not prepared.

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, RSV).

And yet, Lord, the truth is that I am often afraid.  I confess it.  All the weight of Your promises seems sometimes to be only a feather, and the weight of my fears is lead.  Reverse that, Lord, I pray.  Give me the healthy fear that will make light of all the others: "the fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil" (Proverbs 19:23).

- Elisabeth Elliot

Artwork by Cyndy Szekeres

The quiet life...

 Returning to my usual routine after a busy (but lovely) time with the family here.  I've received a few more photos from family to fill in some gaps so will add them now...

The wedding cake...

that Marnie made

In its bushland setting...

My four...

Jefferson, Natasha, Marnie, Ben

Hazel, Hayley and Ben...

because I didn't have any photos of Hayley in the previous wedding post

I also managed to finish the crocheted blanket I was making for Denver and Sophie as a wedding gift.  Didn't get it finished in time for the wedding, but had it ready to give to them when they returned from their honeymoon yesterday...

Now I can get back to working on Marnie's birthday blanket...

She chose the colors (which don't actually look like 'colors' in this photo), but has left me to decide on how to do the squares

I think 2025 might be the Year of the Granny Square :)

xx

Weekend Words

 From Oasis of Hope...

Call and I Will Listen

"Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you." - Jeremiah 29:12 NASB

Life in this world is stressful and not without complications.  The news is full of gloom and doom.  There's traffic to deal with.  Social media.  Hurrying to and fro, without accomplishing much of anything.  Details can become overwhelming.

There are challenges such as needing a job.  Bills to pay.  Dealing with serious illness.  Family responsibilities.  How can we manage it all?  We might feel as if we're on a merry-go-round.

Some people may go to a psychiatrist or counsellor to discuss their problems and try to find answers.  Others seek mysticism to search their inner spiritual guide for solutions.  Many of the solutions we search for don't end up being as helpful as we hope.

We all want to be heard.  We want our loved ones to listen to what we say.  Even better, we want them to hear us and the emotions behind our words.

Who is the first one you turn to when needing help?  A trusted friend?  A spouse? Are they helpful?

No matter who we go to for help, one thing we can rest upon is that God wants us to come to Him with anything.  We can call out to God.  He promises to hear as we seek Him.  We can come just as we are.  We don't have to clean ourselves up before coming to Him.  God promises He will listen to us.

Wherever we are, we can pray to Him asking for forgiveness, seeking comfort, and bringing any concerns we have to Him.  He already knows what is on our hearts.  We simply need to come.  Best of all, He is the One with all the answers.

Won't you call out to Him today?  Bring your concerns, heartaches, and needs to Him.  He already knows.  He's waiting.

- Julie Wilson Smith

From In Green Pastures...

Prayer in Busy Days

It is in prayer that God shows his face to his children, that they have visions of his beauty and glory, that the sweet things of his love come down as gifts into their hearts, and that they are transformed into his likeness.  If you would be blessed, get many seasons of prayer into your busy, harassed, tempted, struggling life.  It is in these quiet moments that you really grow.  Somewhere in every vexed, feverish day get a little "silent time" for prayer.  It will bring heaven down into your heart and make you strong for service.

Late Family Christmas celebrations and a wedding...

Had almost all the family here for some late Christmas celebrations... 

And remember these little Christmas trees I was working on before Christmas...

I managed to get them finished...

all 20 of them!!

Added some little wooden shapes...

And packaged them up for the family...

The family were also here for Denver and Sophie's wedding.  In a beautiful rainforest setting...

I don't have any of the official photos yet (and I didn't take any), these are a few the family took...

Sophie and Denver

Denver, Jaya and Sophie

Tom, Marnie and Jaya

Me, Jefferson and Jaya

And if you are wondering why Jaya is in so many, I think these are ones Jefferson sent to me :))

cowboy Ben

rice boy and rice girl (Jaya and Hazel)

I don't have any of Hayley :(( 

Hopefully there will be some in the official photos.

Or of the lovely wedding cake Marnie made!

And some random photos from their time here...

Dylan, Hazel and Jaya at Tazmazia

at Boat Harbour beach

And it was Natasha's birthday the day she and Dylan left.  I was supposed to be at the lunch too but came down with a bad migraine and a cold that morning... 

Marnie, Natasha and Sophie

Natasha, Sophie, Denver, Dylan

Thankfully the rest of the family made it special for her :)

It was a crazy chaotic time with them all here, but so lovely to see them!

Resting and recovering now :))

xx

A new year ...

I hope you all had a nice Christmas and 2025 is off to a good start for you.

I decorated my hall stand with cards and my 'tiny tree' (wooden bead necklace and a star button).  I will leave it up as the family are arriving next week for our 'family Christmas' and gift giving at Marnie's.   

She, Tom, Denver, Sophie and I were to have a Christmas lunch at her house on Christmas day, but Tom unexpectedly ended up in hospital a few days prior and has only just come home (2nd January).

  He was very sick for a time, two different hospitals, a time in ICU, and the high care medical section, but is well on the road to recovery now.

On Monday and Tuesday, the family arrive from interstate and overseas for Denver and Sophie's wedding on 11th, so we will have a family Christmas meal on Tuesday. 

I've set myself a 'challenge' to buy no new books for the first 6 months of the year.  12 months was a bit too daunting, and 3 months didn't seem like much of a challenge, so I went for 6 months.  I will still buy secondhand, and this is my first 'challenge' purchase from the op shop today ($2) ...

Went on my first 'proper' walk for the year this morning (walking to the shops and the post office doesn't count).  Saw a friend on the way...

I'm excited to start my '52-week Bible Study for Women' which includes reading through the Bible in the year...

FYI - both books were bought last year, before my 'no new books' challenge :)

I'll leave you with this thought...

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."  C S Lewis

Well...what are you waiting for... :))

xx

Weekend Words

From Oasis of Hope...

Quiet Waiting

"It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:26 ESV 

Jeremiah went through hard times.  For years he preached to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about turning back to God, but they did not bother to listen.  Enemies captured Jerusalem and Jeremiah suffered alongside the people of the city.  He experienced deep anxiety, which he poured out directly to God.  Yet in the middle of the long lamentation in Lamentations 3, his tone changed.

He said, "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3:21 ESV).  And then Jeremiah had peace.  He ended by saying that it is good to wait for God in quietness.

Jeremiah seemed to take on the idea of yet.  During affliction, God is faithful.  We can also choose to say the same.  After every difficulty, God is faithful, and so there is hope.

We have many questions for God.  Various pressures draw us in different directions.  Sometimes God takes His children into situations where questions fall silent.  We learn to wait in quietness and simply put our trust in Him.  Job stated that after his trials it was his turn to "lay my hand on my mouth" (Job 40:4 ESV), to be silent before God.

In quietness, we can let go of senseless striving and trust God to be God.  We learn that He is different from what we imagined.  We cannot define Him, and above all, God has countless possibilities to give us help, even ones that we know nothing about yet.  As a matter of fact, in the waiting we learn our secret weapon is "in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15 ESV).

There is hope yet.  the fact that we are still here, asking for help, is an indication that He has sustained our life.  Allow His quietness to be your strength today.  Rest on Him.  Trust in Him.  Spend a few minutes in silence before Him, and breathe of His peace.

- Anu Ahonen  

From In Green Pastures...

The Lord will Provide

Write deep in your heart this new year, this word of sublime confidence, JEHOVAH-JIREH.  It tells you that you can trust God always; that no promise of his ever fails; That he doeth all things well; that out of all seeming loss and destruction of human hopes he brings blessing.  You have not passed this way heretofore.  There will be sorrows and joys, failures and successes, this year, just as there were last year.  You cannot forecast individual experiences.  You cannot see a step before your feet.  Yet Jehovah-Jireh calls you to enter the new year with calm trust.  It bids you put away all anxieties and forebodings - "The Lord will provide." 

Artwork by Robin Elise