Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Weekend Wanderings

To the Little Red Tractor Farmer's Market on Saturday morning for our dose of greens...



Out to dinner on Saturday night...

 
 Amy, me
Marnie, Denver
(Jefferson was our photographer this time)




A 2 hour bushwalk to Westmorland Falls on Sunday afternoon...



Oh...and I'm reading a really good book!  And guess what...it's fiction!!  Guess I have to eat my words in my previous post about never being able to find a good fiction book :)  I did say there were some, they are just few and far between!

Anyway...I've found a brilliant one!!   'A Man Called Ove'  by Fredrik Backman (he's Swedish).

Read it and see for yourself...
 
god dag
 
xx

Thursday, July 24, 2014

More Yarning

Joining Ginny again for Yarn Along.

Am enjoying crocheting blanket squares for charity.  I'm not in knitting mode at the moment, so thought I'd crochet the squares instead of knit.

Also reading and enjoying this book ...



Couldn't quite get into the book I mentioned last week.  It was fiction (why do I persist) and I thought it might be a bit different, but it proved as shallow as most fiction.  Not all...I have read some really good fiction books, but they are few and far between.

Postscript:  some of you know I was waiting on settlement on a house Natasha and Jefferson were buying for me here in Deloraine.  After 7 months of negotiating, we have terminated the contract.  Too many current and ongoing problems with boundaries/council.  I was a bit disappointed at first, but am now just glad it is over.

So...they now want to buy land and built me a house.  It will probably mean another 12 months of waiting, but if that's what they are happy with then I am content to wait...

Jefferson is here from Sydney for a few weeks.  I had wanted a new car and was going to wait till the house was finalised, but as that has fallen through, we will probably go car hunting now rather than later.

Think I'm getting the flu :((  Denver and Jefferson have had it and they have generously shared their germs with me!!

Hope your week is going well :)
 
xx

Friday, July 18, 2014

Yarning

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along.

Finished crocheting the baby blanket I've been working on.  Reading this book.  So far it's good...

 
 
 
 Had the ladies here yesterday morning for out charity knitting get together.  We watched a couple of DVD's from some charities we support (Wrap with Love and Fistula Hospital Ethiopia).

 
 
They brought in knitted strips (for blankets) beanies (for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes) and baby bootees, that they had made over the past month.
 
A beautiful winter's day here...
(taken from back deck)
 
 
Snow on the mountains and a very strong, cold, wind blowing on my walk early this morning.
 
We've had lots of rain and the river is up, but I'd best get out with the lawn mower while the sun is shining.
 
Hope the sun is shining on your day too :)
 
xx 
 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Paying the Price



Today's Free Devotional from Ellel Ministries International 

Paying the Price

"Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector´s booth. “Follow me”, Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him."
Mark 2:13-14, NIV

One person´s life and experience is never the same as another person´s. We’re all different, we all have our own individual walk. Listening to the testimonies of others can be very encouraging, touching or thrilling. But it can never be a model for us to copy. We all have our own individual walk, because God leads us differently, in ways He’s prepared for us.

When Levi was called to follow Jesus, his experience of Jesus` call was different from that of Simon, and from that of Philip. By comparison, it might seem easier for Levi to make the decision to follow Jesus than Simon Peter. He had no boat or fishing nets to leave. Rather, he was let out of a narrow office, freed from boring routines, and he got to see wider horizons. That must have been an easy choice, don’t you think?

But when disaster struck the disciples, as Jesus was crucified, Simon had an easy way out. He just got back to his boat, to the nets and his business. But where could Levi go? He couldn´t go back to the tax collectors` office and say “Hey, I want my job back!”. It was gone, and he was long since replaced by someone else who felt very happy to have received the privilege of a secure job. Levi was redundant.

When Levi was called, he didn´t know things would take such a turn, but must have known
it was a possibility. He certainly gave up a secure employment, even if it wasn’t one with the best reputation in town. As he prepared to leave, for his future as a disciple of this man from Nazareth, he was giving a farewell party to his friends. That band of man weren’t of the best reputation, ‘tax collectors and sinners’, but they were his friends. People of doubtful reputation sometimes develop very strong friendships. They hang on to what they have. But Levi chose to leave the friends he had.

We sometimes think it is easier for those who have little to leave it all and follow Jesus. I’m not so sure about that. Having just a few belongings can make those belongings so much more precious, so much harder to give up. Having only a band of rough and tough comrades can make the sense of belonging that much stronger, that much more difficult to give up.

Levi counted the cost, made his decision and followed Jesus. And there was no way back. Come what may, he’d given his life and future to Jesus. And the price he paid may not have seemed very high to others, but to him it was everything.

To be radical for Jesus doesn’t always mean giving up a huge amount, but it always means being prepared to give up everything. And when you can´t trust in secure wages or employment, it means placing your future in God´s hand, and trusting that He’ll be faithful.

Levi´s choice meant a life of doing the work of Jesus, and the joy of seeing the Kingdom of God break forth. But it also meant martyrdom and death at the hands of unbelievers. This scenario is becoming more and more a real possibility to many Christians. Knowing this, may we too count the cost, pay the price, and follow our Master wherever He leads!!

Today's Writer : Goran Andersson Goran Andersson , together with his wife Roswitha, worked as missionaries in Japan from 1967 – 1985. They then pastored a church before moving to Kåfalla Herrgård, Sweden where Goran became Director. They have worked with Ellel Ministries since 2004 and are now part of the team of Ellel Ministries in Sweden.

Wannabe?

Back to working on my crocheted baby blanket...

 
...and continuing to read Ira Wagler's book.  I started it awhile ago, then put it aside for other reads, but picked it up again yesterday and am powering through it and really enjoying it. 
 
 I can relate to so much of what he is saying as he vacillated between the Amish and the world.  I was only with the Mennonites for 6 months, yet it took me another 6 months of agonising decision making before I decided it wasn't for me. 
 Even now I still have yearnings for that way of life and miss the folk there (had a visit from one of them yesterday), but know that I could not make it in the long term. 
I am ever grateful to have had the opportunity to fellowship with them and see what it is really like on the inside.
 
Here's Ira's blog post for Amish Wannabe's.  Read the comments too as they are very interesting.
 
And for those of you who haven't read it, here is my post about Why I'm not Mennonite.
 
I seem to be in Amish/Mennonite mode in my reading at the moment, and in this post I've listed some books relating to the subject that I have purchased recently and am looking forward to reading.
 
Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along.
 
The sun is shining and it's a beautiful winter's day here :)
 
xx

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Woe is me...


...or more to the point...Woe is my credit card!!

I've discovered  Book Depository!!  Thanks to my friend ex-friend Debbie :)  who told me about it when she visited recently.  Bad move...

I'm a sucker for a good book :)

These books I ordered have arrived already...


 
Won't tell you how many more are on the way :))



And just so Amazon wouldn't feel left out, I also had this one arrive which I bought from them (second-hand)...
 
I actually ordered this before I discovered Book Depository ( who don't have it anyway), but with free postage to Australia (and most other places) plus many of their books are discounted, they are still cheaper than I can get here (if  I can even get them here in Australia) or second hand on Amazon (once postage is included).
 
Jefferson is coming on friday to stay for most of July.  He is driving down from Sydney and bringing his vehicle across on the car ferry.  We hope to finalise settlement on my house on Friday (after 6 months of hold-ups) so he is here to help with the move and organise a few work/repair projects he wants done to the house/garden.
 
Making more chicken soup today.  Cold, wet, chicken soup weather here!
 
Keep warm (or cool... depending on where you live) and be happy...
 
xx  


Friday, July 4, 2014

Think about it...


Just read a very interesting post on Danny Coleman's blog.

He's a Quaker...but we won't hold that against him :))

Go read what he has to say about The Parable of the Mustard Seed HERE. 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

This is the day...


...for my Yarn Along post...


 
Continuing to work on my crocheted granny square poncho from last week (the square is now 19 inches.  Not much progress...but some).
 
Still reading The Amish Way (between other reads) and enjoying it. 
 
Also reading (from my own library collection) Wild Men, Wild Alaska by Rocky McElveen.  Really interesting, entertaining and informative...but I'm biased...you know me and Alaska :))
 
And from the town library...  What the Amish Can Teach Us About the Simple Life by Georgia Varozza.  Basic... but some interesting recipes for cleaning products, gardening and livestock tips and other frugal hints.
 
 

 
 I've been tagging and pricing more items  (crocheted baby blankets and pincushions) to take to the Alpaca Shoppe tomorrow.
 

 
And I took this photo of an unusual sunset cloud formation the other evening.
 
That's it from me...
 
xx

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Treasure Within


Today's Free Devotional from Ellel Ministries International The Treasure Within

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:7-9, NIV

New covenant servants (followers of Jesus) are ‘earthen vessels’ (ordinary clay pots). Yet, in the container of their redeemed humanity dwells ‘this treasure’ (the Son of God Himself). This fact is reason enough to entirely trust and glorify the treasure within (Jesus) and not the vessels (you and me): ‘that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.’ According to Romans 8:11 and 1 Corinthians 3:16 God dwells within us through His Holy Spirit, with all His glory and power.

And God has also set up a process that magnifies this treasure within. This process involves the everyday pressures of life, which come from all sides. ‘We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed.’ As His treasured possession God Himself will keep us and sustain us, as it is written in Isaiah 43:1-2. Clay pots can’t withstand much pressure, but the treasure within us (Jesus) is able to keep us from being crushed or smashed. ‘Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 2:1)

The process involves us going through many troubles. ‘We are troubled but not in despair.’ We face challenging circumstances, difficult decisions and impossible issues, but our wonderful Counsellor protects us from hopelessness. For Him nothing is impossible and He can enable us to tackle and overcome every hurdle, even the ones the enemy puts on our way. Our God is able to do this, because in Him ‘are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2:3).

Persecutions are included in the process: ‘persecuted, but not forsaken’. People accuse us, misunderstand us, or lie about us. Still, we know we’re not abandoned by our Lord who lives within us. For He Himself has promised us in Hebrews 13:5, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. Even catastrophes are a part of the process, magnifying the treasure within us: ‘struck down, but not destroyed.’ Circumstantial upheavals and overwhelming heartaches occur, but the Lord strengthens our soul and our spirit, so we don`t `tip over` under the weight of circumstances. Whether we’re going through the dark valley, or whether the enemy is pressing in, Jesus is with us to comfort and to protect us (Psalm 23).

At times life comes at us like an overpowering military tank, ready to flatten us. There’s no natural hope. Clay pots can’t handle tanks. Yet, as the dust clears, the flower pot of our lives can remain intact if we’re trusting in the able and faithful One who lives in our hearts. And where the enemy’s been able to crush us, or to even break us, Jesus is able to restore us, as a potter restoring a clay pot. There’s no attacking tank that can overcome the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You’re my indwelling treasure. You live within me, with all Your glory and power. When pressures, troubles, persecutions, or catastrophes come my way, teach me to trust in You, and not to lean on my own understanding. You’re far bigger than any of my circumstances and you’re able to make a way through any of them. When I’m weak You’re strong. When others ask how I’m sustained through these difficulties, remind me to give all glory and honour to You. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Today's Writer : Andreas Hefti Andreas Hefti leads the work of Ellel Ministries in Germany. In 1998 Andreas did the 9 Week School with Ellel Ministries in Glyndley Manor and then joined the team at Ellel Grange. He was responsible for setting up the German Modular School for discipleship, healing and deliverance in 2003. Since 2008 he has led the work in Altensteig, Germany (Black Forest). He married Ria in 2011 and it’s their hearts’ desire to prepare the Body of Jesus for the coming days, and to be the Bride of Jesus.