Weekend Words

 From Beside the Still Waters...

Jesus Said, "I Am the Way" - Read: John 14:1-14

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." - John 14:6

Jesus is the way.  The way to where?  How do we begin to travel on the way?  Why would we want to travel on Jesus' road?  What is the destination at the end of the road?

We have family members living in other states.  When we want to visit them, we make sure that we travel the road that takes us there.  We travel the road because we have a certain destination in mind.  We also follow the signs and instructions along the way.  

In today's verse, the Greek word for "way" could be translated "road" or "highway".  Matthew 7:13-14 speaks of two roads that we can travel.  One leads to destruction and the other leads to life.  When Jesus said, "I am the way," He meant that His road leads to eternal life.

We all want to live in our present life, but we know that someday we are all going to die.  Jesus said in John 11:25, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."  This means that even though we die here, we will live eternally if we have faith in Jesus.

We begin travelling Jesus' road by repenting of our sins and not living in those sins anymore.  We choose to obey the teachings of Jesus as found in the Gospels.  If we do these things, our life will be different from before.  Our heavenly Father will also send the Holy Spirit to guide us and to give us strength for victory over sin.

If we are not walking in the way of Jesus, let's make the choice to begin now.  By continuing to travel this way, we will finally reach Heaven, the place of eternal life.

Joseph Sharp - Adams, NY

There is no other way to the heavenly Father and eternal life than the way of Jesus.

Both the following devotionals are from In Green Pastures (J R Miller)...

(A little devotional book I have on my shelves, first published in 1890 under the title 'Bits of Pasture', but still very relevant today):

God's Plan for Our Lives.

God does not merely make souls and send them into this world to take bodies and grow up amid crowds of other souls with bodies, to take their chances and make what they can of their destinies.  He plans specifically for each life.  He deals with us as individuals.  He knows us by name, and loves us each one with a love as distinct and personal as if each was the only child he had on this earth.  He has a definite plan for each life.  It is always a beautiful plan too, for he never designs marring and ruin for a life.  He never made a human soul for the express purpose of being lost.  God's design for each life is that it shall reach a holy character, and do a good work in the world, fill a worthy place, however humble, and fill it well, so as to honour God and bless the world.

Making Others Happy.

The world needs nothing more than it needs happiness-makers.  There is a great deal of sadness everywhere.  The Bible is a book meant to make people happy.  Joy-bells ring all through it.  The mission of the gospel is to make happiness.  The angel's announcement of good tidings of great joy is going forth yet on every breeze.  The story of the love of Christ is changing darkness to light, despair to hope, tears to laughter, sorrow to rejoicing, in all lands.  It is the mission of every Christian to be a happiness-maker.  Each one of us has power, too, to add something at least to the world's gladness.  We can do this in a thousand ways - by being joyful Christians ourselves, making our lives a sweet song; by telling others the joyful things of the Word of God; by doing kindnesses to all we meet; by comforting sorrow, lifting burdens, cheering sadness and weariness, and scattering benedictions wherever we go.

On the home front ... (in two parts)

 I started this on the 31st of January, but rather than delete and start again (now that its 14th February!), I will leave it and add an update...

Part 1: The local haberdashery store finally got some more of the wide, dark green, bias binding in, so now I can finish the mats I started before Christmas.  I have been using the one I did get finished, but it will be nice to get the rest done...

After a beak in knitting due to the very hot weather, I got back to it recently.  I have 2 strips (of the 5) done on the blanket...

And I'm still in Miss Read mode.  Although I've had these 2 on my shelves for a while (both picked up at the op shop) I hadn't read them, so it was nice to have a new read (even though I know all the characters) rather than a re-read...

The summer weather has been horribly hot and windy, resulting in LOTS of headache days for me, but on the good days, I made a start on this little area in the garden which I will edge with bricks (brought from the Deloraine house) so I can get the plants in the ground rather than in pots.  They do so much better in the ground...

the dead one is one that Marnie brought over hoping I could resurrect it, but it was too far gone, unfortunately

Part 2: Today...

As I finished on the garden report, I'll start this part with an update, that I did this morning...

hope I can get it finished soon...

I made it to the Saturday afternoon sessions of the Mennonite conference, and I've ordered some books from them (they sell Rod and Staff books).  They had to order some from the US (that they didn't have in stock) and will let me know when they are ready to pick up.

Speaking of books...  I'm still in Miss Read mode and bought this one (secondhand) from eBay.  Another one I'd not read...

And I've almost finished the third (of five) blanket strips...

I won't have enough of the colors I've been using to do the rest, so will probably incorporate some other colors as I don't want to buy more yarn. Did I really say that!!! :))

Here's a photo from one of my recent morning walks...

I love a cloudy day...

And I'm loving these two that Natasha sent yesterday from snowy Connecticut...

While we're on a winter theme, from my Miss Read read :)

"It was Miss Clare who first pointed out that Fairacre School was one hundred years old.

It was a bleak Saturday afternoon, and we were enjoying hot buttered toast by the schoolhouse fire.  Outside, the playground, and beyond that the fields and distant downs, gleamed dully white in the fading light.  It had snowed every day since term started over a week ago, and from the look of the leaden skies, more was to come...

Indoors we were snug enough.  Between us, in front of the log fire, stood the tea tray, the cups steaming fragrantly with China tea.  The lamp glowed from the bookshelf behind Miss Clare's white head, making a halo of her silver hair.  Miss Clare knows Fairacre school well, as she was both pupil and teacher there for many years, and was serving as infants' teacher when I was first appointed as headmistress, until ill health caused her retirement..."

And speaking of hot buttered toast and tea, it sounds like a good idea...

xx 

Weekend Words

Apologies for not getting a post on last weekend. I did get to the afternoon session of the Mennonite conference, but have also had a lot of headaches, home and garden chores, appointments, etc.  Hoping for a better run this week... (photos are from my walk this morning)

From Beside the Still Waters...

Don't Be Quick to Judge - Read: Romans 2

"Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment judge, ye shall be judged." - Matthew 7:1-2

Today's Bible reading and key verse tell us to be very cautious about judging other people.  The reason is that the way we judge others is the way we will receive judgement. This is a sobering thought that should cause us to use great care in our criticism of each other.  The human tendency is to feel that if you don't agree with me, you must be wrong.  We do ourselves and others a great benefit if we always remember what the Bible says about judging.  Many people have been wounded because others were more ready to judge than to listen.

Sometimes people carry deep hurts in their heart that cause them to look or act in strange ways.  Jesus the Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep.  Are we willing to lay down our life for fellow sheep - our Christian brothers and sisters?  We need to be charitable with their faults because we love them too much to judge without knowing all the facts.  It is always best to "wear the other person's shoes" before we judge him about something.  Is it kind?  Is it true?  Would I want it to be said about me?

Often we judge others wrongly because of our biases.  We tend to show favor towards ourselves and our friends, and disfavor towards people we dislike.  If our ill-tempered neighbor has a weedy garden, we consider him lazy; but if it's our friend's garden, we reason that he must have good reasons.  Judging fairly requires a heart that is sanctified and free from ill will and bitterness.  We do well to honestly examine our own hearts first; then our brother's problems will look smaller or even disappear.

Denver Yoder - Somerset, OH

Pray, don't find fault with the man who limps or stumbles along the road,

Unless you have worn the shoes he wears or struggled beneath his load.

- Mary Torrans Lathrap

The Way Home - Read: Romans 8:1-21

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." - Romans 8:6

On December 24, 2022, blizzard like conditions developed in southern Ontario.  I have a tractor with an enclosed cab, so I decided to venture out with it and remove some snow from our neighbor's driveway.  However, I did not realize the fury of the storm.  The distance was less than half a mile, but the visibility was so poor that I simply inched along.

I finally arrived at my neighbor's driveway, but as I turned in, something very unusual and disturbing happened.  Because of the frosted windshield and swirling snow, I became completely disoriented!  I desperately wanted to head back home, but which way should I go?  If I moved in any direction, I might get further away from home and end up some place that I didn't want to be.  Finally after much deliberation, I decided to leave the comforts of the tractor cab and look for a familiar landmark nearby.  I soon found such a landmark, and only then did I feel sure of which way to travel so that I could make it safely home.

On our spiritual journey, we also run into circumstances where we can't see clearly.  The visibility becomes foggy, we become disoriented, and we hardly know which is the right way to go.  There are so many elements swirling around that we lose our direction.  What should we do?  Today's key verse gives a landmark that is very helpful.

A spiritual mind enlightened by God's word is always a faithful landmark.  Following our carnal mind may be comfortable, but it is not safe.  Let's remember this when our visibility in life becomes unclear.  The Word of God and the Spirit of God are the only reliable landmarks to give us direction and peace and to guide us safely home.

Joseph Kuepfer - Newton, ON

The way of the cross leads home.

January Bible Word and Mennonite Conference

 I wanted to tell you a bit more about my 'Bible Word for the Month'.  I've seen in previous years where people choose a Bible word for the Year and find the verses in the Bible containing it, write them out, study them...

This year I wanted to to do a different Bible word for each month.  So for January I chose 'peace'.  I looked up the concordances in three of the Bible versions I currently use (King James Version, New King James Version, and New International Version), made a note of the verses mentioned (I did not use all of them), and wrote them out.  I found 27 through the concordances, but have also been finding others in my Bible reading.  Like this one...

"for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another." - Romans 14:17,19 (NKJV)

It's been fun to do, and next month the word I chose is 'joy'.  Maybe you might like to join in, or chose a different word for yourself :)

And I also wanted to tell you about the Annual Mennonite Conference on this coming weekend (2nd - 4th February) ...

these photos from the internet are not of the Western Tiers Mennonite church, but they look like this :)

The Conference will be held at Meander Hall, Tasmania.  Here are the details...

I hope you can read the details.  If you click on the photos, it brings them up larger.  But in case you can't read it, the contact person/number for more info is: Harold Weaver; ph: 6362 3609.

I hope to get to at least the Saturday afternoon session.  Maybe I'll see you there :)

Weekend Words

 From Amish Peace...

Chasing the Wind

"Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil." - Proverbs 15:16

One of the hardest things about living a busy, modern life is that family members tend to run in their own directions.  Parents often have jobs away from home, and younger children spend their days in day care or school.  The afternoons of older children are filled with sports practices or other activities, and the evenings and weekends can be filled with sports events or other forms of recreation.  Believe it or not, the possibility of the same thing happening in their community is one reason most Amish reject machinery and choose to stay away from modern vehicles as much as they can.

Amish take a critical look at the pros and cons before they are willing to accept a new invention.  They consider the effect something new will have on their family, whether it will encourage family members to work together or cause them to drift apart, and whether the cost will force them to take jobs away from the family to pay for it.

Considering this reminds me of one of my favorite verses, Ecclesiastes 4:6: "Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind."  It makes me think about my own life and about what I often embrace without question: Will this draw my family closer or move them apart?  Will it cause me to work longer hours to pay for it?  Am I trying to fill my hands and, in effect, chasing the wind?

It's easy to think of the Amish as odd for not wanting to make their lives easier, but maybe we need to consider what's truly easier - living a hurried life or working hard with your family by your side?

Heavenly Father, my heart feels heavy when I think of all I've added to make my life easier, when the truth is, those things have become a heavy burden on me.  Give me discernment about what my family really needs.  I open my hands to You and ask You to strip away what is not necessary, what is harmful to the contentment of my soul.  Amen.

From Be Still and Know...

"For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11)

Contentment is defined as "satisfaction; the state of being happy with what one has or is."  It has been described as "that which calms you down."

Have you ever said, "If I could have that dress (car, home, or business position), I could be content"?  Yet after you obtained it, you were not satisfied.  You wanted something else.  You discovered that acquiring possessions does not bring contentment.  Someone has said, "A person's life is a constant struggle to lift his earning power up to his yearning power."

People today are searching for that which will bring contentment.  But because they seek in the wrong places for the wrong things, it eludes them.

Paul learned that there is contentment and it was not dependent on his outward condition, for he was in prison when he wrote Philippians.  Translators inserted "therewith" in this verse, emphasizing that Paul was content with his circumstances.  When we omit the word, "therewith", we discover that the emphasis is not on Paul being content WITH His circumstances, but being content IN them.

He learned that real contentment was in Jesus Christ, His sufficiency and satisfaction.  "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9).

Contentment is the inner satisfaction that enables us to live in quietness, peace, and acceptance.  "Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am" (Philippians 4:11 Amplified).

Have you learned to be content?  Possession of material things, social position, fame, talent will not give you permanent contentment.  But you can be contented daily regardless of where you are, what you are, what you have or what you do not have.  Real contentment for you can be had through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote, "[And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment - that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency - is great and abundant gain" (1 Timothy 6:6, Amplified).

Weekend Words

 From Beside the Still Waters...

January, Month of Beginnings - Read: Exodus 12:1-14, 24-28

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." - Genesis 1:1

God is before all beginnings.  That fact gives us confidence as we begin a new year.  We know that God has no beginning and does not count time as we do.  However, He knows all about the beginnings we face.  As His children, we can enter each new beginning of life with joy and expectation of His presence and blessing.

Why do we pause at new beginnings and consider them special?  It may be a new year, a new phase of life, a new child, or other new beginnings.  One reason is because they represent new opportunities to serve God.  Another reason is that from our viewpoint in the present, we can't see into the future.  We want God to be with us as we travel the untrodden path of 2024.  It's not that we know it will be significantly different from 2023, but the unknowns call for a security that doesn't come from within us.  Real security comes from the presence of God, who promised Moses, "My presence shall go with thee."  Moses felt his need so keenly that he said, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Exodus 33:14:15).

Beginnings give promise of growth, progress and maturity.  This is especially true when we begin and then go on with God.  Obviously, those who read this are engaging in thoughts of God and instruction from His Word.  That is one way to begin with God.  A second way is to share those thoughts with other people.  Then we do not need to begin alone.  A third way to begin this year with God is to engage in fellowship with other Christians in a scriptural church.  All these methods lend stability and provide depth to the foundation of a new beginning. 

Delmar Eby - London, KY

To begin with God is to set the course for a good ending.

From Amish Peace...

Pass It On

"Here is my greeting in my own handwriting - Paul." (1 Corinthians 16:21)

There is nothing like an unexpected letter or package to bring internal sunshine to a long dreary day.  My Amish friend Irene remembers her excitement as a young girl running home from the mailbox with a large manilla envelope addressed to her: a circle letter had arrived!

A circle letter is a letter chain sent among family members or friends.  Irene was part of a circle made of girls with the same first name and born the same year.  With each envelope that arrived there was a letter from all the other members, including Irene's previous letter.  After Irene read the letters of the other participants, she'd pull out her old letter, replace it with a new one, and then send the package to the next young woman on the list.  The circle letter would be sent to each person, each adding a new letter and continuing the conversation.  Through letters like these, friends and family members talked about issues important to them, shared current events, and confessed dreams for the future.

When Irene told me about the circle letter, I imagined the excitement the letters from Paul, Peter, and other apostles brought when they arrived at new churches.  But instead of adding their own words to the revered apostles' letters, the churches studied them, rejoiced over them, and then passed them on.

I'm amazed at how God uses letters and personal experience to build His body.  More than once God has whispered instruction or encouragement to me through a friend's words.

What has God done for you lately?  Pass that on to another.  What messages has he spoken to your heart?  Record and share them.  Do you remember the last time you sent someone a handwritten note?  Take a moment to write one and send it today.  You never know when the words of news or encouragement you offer another person will come back around to you.

A Joyful Song

A joyful song of praise we sing, And thankfully we gather

To bless the love of God above, Our everlasting Father.

From shades of night He calls the light, And from the sod the flower;

From ev'ry cloud His blessings break, In sunshine or in shower.

For nothing falls unknown to Him, Of care or joy or sorrow;

And He whose mercy ruled the past, Will be our stay tomorrow.

Then praise the Lord with one accord, to His great name give glory;

And of His never changing love, Repeat the wonderous story.

- A. N. Blatchford

Second Christmas...

 Jefferson and Jaya came from Canberra for a short visit earlier this month...

We had a second 'Christmas lunch' at Marnie's...

Jaya gifted Marnie and I with some of his framed artwork...

They accompanied me on my morning walk...

We spent some time at the beach...

And at the Forth river...

Eating pizza...

Visiting the goats at Denver's workplace...

And all too soon, it was time to see them off at the airport...

We hope to see them again later in the year :)

So now I'm getting back to my 'normal' routine.  I haven't really done much knitting since before Christmas, apart from not having the time, it's also been too hot, and I've had quite a lot of headaches.  But I have been continuing to savour my Teatime Discipleship book...   

From the 'Feasting on God's Grace' chapter...

"Many years ago, living as a missionary in Austria, I attended a Christmas party hosted by dear friends and team members of the organization with whom I worked.  At this event, our friends spoke to all of us about Christ as the ultimate gift.

Standing in a corner was a young Austrian woman I had invited who worked as my friend's au pair.  Claudia could hardly have looked less engaged in the message being shared.  I turned towards her, attempting conversation in my halting German.  We barely shared a language, but before we parted, I managed to invite her to a nearby cafe for a cup of tea and a pastry later in the month...  Before we left, I pressed a German Bible into her hands.  "This is a gift," I said.

The next week, I saw her again.  She came up to me with a sparkle in her eyes and showed me the Bible, already dog-eared and underlined.  "I hope I've been doing the right thing," she told me.  "I've been reading this every day.  I want to know God.  I have wanted this for many years."

...A long time ago, I came to Christ because a complete stranger took the initiative to share Christ with me.  I was a college freshman living on the tenth floor of a dorm, secretly praying, If there is a God in the universe, can You please make Yourself known to me?  I deeply longed for love and purpose.  On the outside, no one knew or observed my desperate prayers.  The meeting with the Austrian woman reminded me of this.  There are people in each of our lives who have never heard or understood the love, forgiveness, and grace of God.  How important it is that we reach out to those who have such longings.  And sharing a cup of tea, a meal, or a treat is often the way to open hearts.

Perhaps you are like me, naturally reticent or shy to share Christ with others.  But I often think how different my life would have been if the shy girl who knocked on my door had not taken the initiative to talk to me.  Extending friendship, hospitality, and love is the pathway to the opportunity to share His life-giving messages."

And I wanted to tell you about my 'Bible Word of the Month' I'm doing.  Choosing a different Bible word each month and then looking up and writing out the verses that contain that word. 

For January I've chosen 'Peace'.  So far, I've found 24 verses.  I'll tell you more next home post...

Just to finish (as this post is getting waaay toooo long), last Sunday afternoon, Denver, Sophie, Marnie and I went on a walk at Warrawee Conservation Area...

Till next time...

Stay safe and 'happy days' :)

xx