MOVING ON!!

Today is my one day a week I get a little bit of extra `morning' time as the school I visit is just around the corner. I get to go on a walk, without worrying about `rushing'; and after reading the Word, I sometimes get a chance to sit down and `BLOG'.

I think it is just the end of term, but I really can't wait for those `sleep in' mornings - I am just so tired. I know many people `joke seriously' about the number of holidays teachers get - but after 11 weeks of not just teaching, but `counselling, planning lessons etc; we really do need the break.

Being the recluse I am - I just need some time out from `teachers and principals'.

Recently I have been looking at why I started a BLOG. It was originally so that I could have a place to share my `writings' with others. I can't afford a publisher, so I thought maybe this way I could encourage others. I was going to transfer my original `manuscripts' - both devotionial, childrens books and educational `manuals'; but with all my journalling I haven't had time to do this.

My son asked me to write a journal - a link to him - and I have discovered at times an encouragement. He seems to take more notice of what I say now, than he ever did!! But I might find another way to do this, because my journals are a little `revealing'.

So this may be a goodbye! Maybe I am just moving on - you will still have my `links'. I am sure, that if God blesses me, I will find it very hard not to share it with you. So don't give up on me yet!!

School time!! Have a great Easter break!!

"Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world.
Let God TRANSFORM YOU INTO A NEW PERSON, by changing
the way you think. Then you will know what God wants
you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and
perfect His will really is." ROMANS 12:2

" Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord,
no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it
brings you. Patient endurance is what you need now,
so you will continye to do God's will." HEBREWS 10:13

" Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd
of witnessing to the life of faith, let us strip off
every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that
so easily hinders our progress. Let us run with endurance
the race that God has set before us." HEBREWS 12:1

"I am sure that God, who began this good work within you, will
continue His work until it is finally finished on that day
when Christ Jesus comes back again." PHILIPPIANS 1:6

"Be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work,
for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is useless."
1 CORINTHIANS 15:38



"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or
that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward
that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and
wants me to be." PHILIPPIANS 3:12

"So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again.
Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding." HEBREWS 6:1


* I was trying to find a verse. I knew it, and I was sure I knew where it came from. Oh well, during my search I found all these other wonderful encouraging words. I did finally find the verse I was looking for. Aren't Bible's wonderful!!!

What Happens When We Pray?

As I have been feeling a little miserable of late, I decided to have a look had some of the wondrous prayers that God has answered.

1) As a mother I prayed for many years that my son would find a Church he was happy in and a lovely Christian wife. (I didn't expect it to happen so soon). But we all know - God answers prayer in his time, not ours.

2)Since we were first married, 25 years ago, I have been praying that my husband would become the spiritual leader of our home. As he now reads his Bible everyday, and last night was reading a book I gave him `Praying for Your Wife', I realized that he is on the right track.

3) Since I began leading Kids Club 2 years ago, we have been praying for more leaders and helpers. Last Friday night my co-leader and I sat watching 4 young `leaders' leading the group in games. They did a wonderful job!!

4) At Church we have also been praying for new committed members, to not only come to Church, but to become involved in ministry. For the last 3 months I have not been on the Roster for reading. Although something I love doing, it is great seeing other new faces up there.

Lately I have come to Church and Kids Club worried that I am not needed anymore. This morning I woke up feeling so unspiritual, I was sure that now my husband is becoming a spiritual leader, maybe I am `losing it'. As for Aaron, he will soon have his lovely wife to look after him - he won't need Mum anymore.

No wonder I've been feeling so miserable!! I know I can't have it both ways. Expect my prayers to be answered, and then complain when they are; but maybe this is my next step to GROWTH.

In his book, "God Came Near", Max Lucado says, in his usual challenging way:

"Perhaps changes are in the air right now. It's disrupting isn't it? You like the branch. You've grown accustomed to it. You've been a pretty good branch sitter. And then you hear the call, `I need you out on the limb'...... Regardless of the nature of the call, the consequences are the same: civil war. Though your heart may say `yes;, your feet say `no'. Eventually you are lefy staring at a bare tree and a hard choice. HIS WILL OR YOURS!!"

I sing about it all the time, I pray about it all the time - but when it comes down to it - WHY IS IT SO HARD???

Appreciate your comments!!

Friendships!!

I realize it has been a while since I've written. Recently I sabotaged a really good friendship by letting my writing get away from my brain. She said it didn't matter and it was forgotten, but when I noticed that she had taken her face off my `followers' list I knew I'd `done it again'.

Mark and I are very `recluse' people. We don't get a lot of visitors, and we don't have a lot of close friends. I always just blamed it on our `army lifestyle'; but now I think it might be just ME!!

God's Word has a lot to say about FRIENDSHIPS.

"A friend loves at all times" Proverbs 17:17 (I'm pretty good at that one).

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" Proverbs 18:24 (I try hard with this one).

"Two are better than one for they have a good return for their work. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help them up." Ecclesiastes 4:9&10 (I thank the Lord for these people in my life.)

"He who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter seperates close friends." Proverbs 17:9 (This is the one we need to be careful of).

Honesty is important, but if we let our emotions get in the way, and don't ask the Lord for guidance - our words can hurt, rather than heal!!

"The tongue is a small part of the body; but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. No man can tame to tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:5&6, 8

I learnt this the hard way - don't fall into the same trap!!

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." Proverbs 12:25

THIS IS WHAT FRIENDSHIP IS ALL ABOUT!!

Who do I look like?

We have a little joke in our house - though it's not really that funny! Seeing my son's grandmother was born from an affair his great-grandmother had with a doctor, that's where Aaron must have got his brains. It definitely wasn't from his parents. We also wonder where he got his looks - Mark doesn't think he looks like him at all; and my sister said he has the `Grant nose'.

I remember always being told as a child how much like my mother I was. At the time, I destested it, because Mum had died at such an early age, and I was certain that meant the same for me. Then an old friend of the family sat down with me one day and told me all about my Mum, and what a wonderful woman of God she was. From that day on, I just wanted to be like her.

Going over some old, old photos recently I found one of my Great Uncle Jack, and he looked so much like Aaron. That's where the that `nose' comes from. My sister was right.

Seriously though, It doesn't really matter where our looks come from. I know our son has a lot of my husband's personality traits - mainly the good ones (I ignore the bad ones) ; and most importantly he has a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; a faith he may have learnt from his parents, but is his very own!!

Hey! I'm a Songwriter.

This morning it was my turn to take Sunday School. Everyone has their own style, and I always like to include a little music. But my theme was `Dinosaurs' - so what do we sing? I have learnt from experience, that if in doubt, `write your own'. This is what I came up with - actually it is an adaptation of a song I wrote many years ago.

"God made the world, oh can't you see.
God made the world, He made you and me.
If God made the world,
Then how great it must be.
GUESS WHAT!
GOD MADE THE WORLD!

God made the animals, the DINOSAURS too.
God made the sky and the sea so blue.
God made me, and God made you.
GUESS WHAT!
GOD MADE THE WORLD!"

A little 70's I know, but the boys loved it, especially when they got to shout out, `GUESS WHAT'. Here is another 70's classic. See if you can guess which Bible story I wrote this one for?

Ten men went to see Jesus
Ten men had leprosy.
Ten men were healed by Jesus
Then they went away to tell their friends.

One man went back to Jesus
One man got down on His knees
One man said `Thank you Jesus'
For healing me of my leprosy.

Jesus want us to be thankful
Jesus wants us to be His friend.
Jesus wants to know we love Him,
And we'll be with Him to the very end.

Oh, those good old days!! Today, I decided to see if I still had the knack. I took this little poem I wrote at our last Women's Retreat, and put it to music. Before long, I felt like I was worshiping the Lord. I just wish I could play a musical instrument!!

Beautiful water, wonderful waves.
These are all ways to give God praise.
Trees blowing breezes, flowers a bloom.
All help to distinguish the glum and the gloom.
Rocks in the distance, remind me of Him.
Jesus, My Saviour, my God and my King.

Songwriting! Try it ! It's a lot of fun!!

Build Your House on Solid Rock

One thing I love about teaching children the Bible, is that I always learn something myself. At the moment I have taken on the experience of teaching the younger children at Kid's Club (5-7), something I have not done for many years. I have to confess, I don't think I've got it down to an `art' yet, but at least I am learning.

This week we looked at the `Building our House on Solid Rock' - only 2 children got the idea that the `ROCK' was the Bible, but at least I did. And I can't get this song out of my mind. It is an updated version of the old, `Build Your House on the Rock', by Duggie Dug Dug, England's `Colin Buchanan'. It goes like this:

"I'm gonna build my house on solid rock,
I'm gonna build my house on solid rock,
So I don't wake up to a nasty shock
To find nothing but a pile of rubble."

Jesus said, take my words and put them into action,
Make these words He said, foundations in your life.
And when the river comes and crashed up against you
You won't get washed away, instead you'll cheer and say.

Don't you love kid's songs - simple, but challenging!!

My problem at the moment is waking up on Monday morning afraid to go to work. On Sunday I prepare lessons and stuff for Staff Meetings. Feeling in the `stretch zone', I am feeling really passionate about my `kids' and my work. Come Monday morning though, it has all gone back down to the `strain'. What should be my `energy' is now `fear'. That's the only word, I can think of to describe it.

The river is coming around me, just like the fires in Melbourne and floods in North Queensland, but instead of standing, like my brothers little `brick shack' in King Lake, I am falling apart. I am getting washed away.

So I am going to stand on the WORD, build my house on a rock, and hopefully when I leave this morning, I have the joy of the Lord.

"If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm.
Though he stumbles, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds
him with His hand." PSALM 37:23&24

I have probably used this verse before in a blog - but it is one of my `foundations',so I'll probably use it again.

Here is a promise, via Charlie:

"When God is in your circumstances and you come to a dangerous
place, He magnificiently delivers. He delivers wisdom right
when you need it. He delivers protection. He delivers relief
from discouragement and internal fortification from attack.
If you run away, you nullify faith. You panic and cut God short.
You short-circuit His opportunity to do what man cannot do.
STAND FIRM! BELIEVE HIM! Give Him an opportunity to bring those
afternoon miracles. He'll come through!!"
Charles Swindoll.

Journal - Sunday 27th February

Well, I've finished reading all my `follower's' Blogs - `thanks for the picture `Ros', though I had guessed who you were. I am still waiting for one from Aaron. I know I promised to write every week, but the last two weeks have just been a `write-off'. Hah! Hah!

Seriously I survived my time without my husband, but he wasn't impressed with the housework I'd done. The first thing he did, even before the kiss and the hug, was to look at the car. Consequently, I never got my kiss and hug! After a couple of days of `sulking' and `carrying on', as husbands often do, he bought me a box of chocolates and apologized for being such a GRUMP!!

It did say, though, there is no way I am getting a NEW CAR!! I thought after driving it himself, he'd realize that the problems are not just on the outside. He did, but he also discovered how he could fix them. So, no NEW CAR!! Not that we can afford it anyway, but a woman can dream a little!!

I have also spent a bit of time in the Doctor's surgery in the last couple of weeks. I had a cancer removed from my nose, and a little skin graft done. It was painful, but you know what was worst - those silly comments you get from people. You think they'd be a little bit more imaginative: If it wasn't - `how did you leave the other guy', it was `has Mark been bashing you again'. I can take a joke, but when you've heard it for the 50th time (I think that's about how many men there are in our Church), it becomes annoying.

Anyway, tomorrow, I will be back to normal, if that is ever possible; and to celebrate I had a haircut; which I might add, nobody noticed - not even my pastors - who are usually very observant.

Work is still pretty much the same, but I am looking forward to next week, when wonderful spiritual Mentor and I get together, not just to chat and pray, but to study God's Word together. We hope that both of us will grow a lot, as we look at an `Insight into Stress'.

According to Beverley Shepherd, there are five levels of pressure -

1) Chill out - which I think for me would be those lazy days when nothing much gets done.

2) Work out - When you are performing well.

3) Stretch - When you want to go that little bit further.

(2 & 3 are my favourites)

4) Strain - This is where I feel I am at the moment. Things are starting to go wrong - mistakes at work, failure to communicate, illness, a feeling of being unable to cope and out of control.

(Hopefully, I have caught it here, before the next stage)


5) Burnout - Feeling angry,helpless, trapped and totally depleted.

( I have been there before and I don't want to go there again. )

I hope that if you are feeling this way too, that you'll stay with me over the next months, as I share what I learn with you.

One book I suggest you read, as well as the Bible, is one that I have read a number of times since I started teaching (moving out into the big scary world). It's called `PERFECT TRUST' by Charles Swindoll.

In it he quotes a number of well known preachers, who have also gone through stressful times, maybe even leading to depression (though in their day, it wouldn't have been diagnosed).
One of these was Andrew Murray; and here was His response:

"First, He brought me here, it is by His will I am in this place: in that fact I will rest.
Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me the grace to behave as His child.
Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends for me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
Last, IN HIS GOOD TIME, He will bring me out again - how and when, He knows!!"