Finding joy in the everyday

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 1:4) **** I believe in the bible, call me naive, but I believe that the universe was created in 7 days by God —  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . .  Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. However there are those Christians who argue that ...

The Countryside: Part 2 A few weeks ago I share some photos of the countryside in the state of South Australia ( LINK ). Here are a few more of my trip to rural South Australia, this time on a beautiful sunny day. We enjoyed a picnic beside this little lake and after our meal, went for a stroll to look at another dam (that wasn't quite so pretty).  Later in the day we went for a drive and another walk in the sunshine.  Enjoy. So glad I didn't bring my 3 cats or one dog!!

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.  (1 Peter 4:12-13) It is so easy to be happy and contented on a sunny spring day when everything has gone smoothly. It is quite a different story when the children have been naughty, you are feeling sick, the bills are pilling up, dinner has burnt and you have heard bad news.  Suffering is unavoidable.  Everyone experiences suffering at some point in their lives. Some more than others.  Suffering is universal across the globe and through history.  Being a Christian does not prevent suffering nor does it reduce or limit it.  Can you imagine a life with no suffering? No more headaches, no more rebellious children, no more crime, no more cancer, no more overdue bill...

A few months before Ruth Terracini died she wrote a letter ( link ) to others so they could better understand death and dying. In her letter she included ways that we can help those who are dying, including the carers (may that be a husband or wife, siblings, extended family or friends).  "It takes energy to ask for help, and it somehow makes the situation seem even more hard to bear … "not only am I sick, and a burden too, now I have to think of jobs for people to do!" I truly appreciated it when people took the initiative. When people offered specific help and followed through I could relax, be grateful, and feel loved.   It is hard to ask for help. Imagine for a moment, that a friend or acquaintance has said to you "Oh, that's terrible, let me know if there's anything I can do"…and you respond "Oh well, um, our front lawn is around knee height, and my husband is exhausted from taking me to the emergency department, worrying about me,...

Artist: Chris Wormel Chris Wormel was born in 1955 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire (UK). He had no formal training as an artist, working as a road-sweeper, rubbish collector, postman, and a factory worker. An interest in landscape painting led him to buy a set of wood engraving tools in 1982, and to teach himself how to use them. His first commercial book, An Alphabet of Animals , published in 1990 won that year's Graphics Prize at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair.   He has published some 14 illustrated books and acted as illustrator of others' work on at least 18 more. His work has also been published as greeting cards and he designed the artwork for a series of advertisements for Adnams, a regional brewer based in Suffolk. http://www.chriswormell.com

"Home was intended to be so much more than just a place of bare essentials" Sally Clarkson To make our home truly beautiful one must have God as the centre of all activities. Guest must feel welcome and there is an air of generosity, peace, calmness and love. Your children will grow up to remember their home as a place of warmth and kindness, where all those who visit felt comfortable to gather and talk about things that mattered to them. In all likelihood, these children will grow into adults who will create the same sort of home. A beautiful home must also be free from influences that can pollute and disturb the tranquility — today this is much harder than yesteryear as we are surrounded by bad influences such as television, trashy magazines and social media (via our phones and computers). People today recognize the damaging effects that television and social media have on impressionable children, and, for that matter, on teenagers and adults.  Neither the t...

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10) We no longer know how to be still, as I wrote a few months ago, busyness has become the new norm and for some women they create busyness so they look successful to others. But God wants us to "be still", to stop what we are doing so we can hear His voice.  Sadly in this modern age, we make so much noise and distracted by some much turbulences we can't hear God when He calls out to us. We need to hear His voice as it is our guide throughout our day. The word still is a translation of the Hebrew word rapa , meaning “to slacken, let down, or cease.”  We need to be still, to let go and surrender our lives to God. We need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledging that He is in sovereign control and admit we are incapable of controlling our own lives and only God can be in control. Most people are too...

Artist: Leonard Campbell Taylor British: 1874-1969