Footprints Diary

Well, praise God my new blog is now up and running, and I hope that you will continue to read my blog posts there.



The last couple of weeks have been extremely hectic, as we had our friend, Gwenda, sick when she arrived to stay with us, but became very ill during her stay, and was hospitalised on her return to Tumby Bay. My mum was also admitted to hospital in Adelaide, but she is also now home. Ironically, they both had chest infections, secondary to viral illnesses.

In between nursing a sick friend, visits to doctors, phone calls to hospitals and visiting my mum in hospital, the last couple of weeks have become just a blur.

I would also like to thank the people who were concerned for me. It means a lot to me to know that I have friends who really care, and I do thank you from the bottom of my ♥. I would also like to thank you for following my ramblings, which I hope are always honouring to God.

Praise God that His presence kept me going, and that my new blog, Footprints Diary is now operational. My son made this new blog for me for my birthday, and I thank him, too, for all of the hard work that he has done in getting my new blog up and running. He has done an excellent job of designing and coding this website! ☺

Please join me there, where I intend to chronicle my walk, as a Christian, a hobby farmer and a homeschooling Mum with our one true and very great God!

A Fruitful Day's Labour

Today was an absolutely delightful day - we spent the day making necklaces and bracelets while our friend, Gwenda spent the majority of the day card-making. Later on this afternoon she also took my daughter for a short walk, and when they arrived home, they spent the rest of the afternoon doing crossword puzzles and other assorted puzzles, such as word searches.

Gwenda has been and continues to be a real treasure to our family, and we praise God for her friendship. Gwenda is one of the very few people who I see Jesus mirrored in, and she works so hard for everybody else that it's wonderful to be able to give her a holiday where she doesn't have to do anything - no cooking, no dishes, no washing or ironing and no cleaning. She is just here to rest and recuperate and have fellowship with us.

Sometimes serving God can mean just providing a place where a servant of God can unwind with friends, and she's no trouble at all to have here. The Bible verse below describes our friend, Gwenda to a tee, and we love her with all our ♥.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient.

2 Timothy 2: 24

Today's Challenge - A Labour of Love

Today's challenge has been to help my daughter sort her seed beads, as the lids came off when she dropped them. It took us about two hours to sort all of the different colours, but she is so happy that they are once again sorted. Methinks that I need to buy her some more containers with screw-top lids, so that we don't have to do that again. We used tweezers to pick up the individual colours, and I guess that you could call it a labour of love.

At the moment, we have a very dear friend, Gwenda staying with us from Tumby Bay, and she is a real pearl in God's kingdom. This afternoon while my daughter and I were sorting beads, Gwenda was making greeting cards, and she finishes them to perfection - they are absolutely beautiful.

During the next week, it will be pretty hit and miss as to whether I actually get my blog posts done, but I'll be here when I can get the time to post. Gwenda usually looks after her aunty and goes to Jolly Days, where she helps out, and is a real asset to the district of Tumby Bay. We shall enjoy the time that we have together, 'cause we love her LOTS!

One Word Comment

From Therese:

Leave a ONE word comment that you think best describes me. It can only be one word. No more than one word. Then copy & paste this post on your blog so I can leave a word about you.

Praise God for...

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107: 1-8

• sending His precious Son to die for my sins and the sins of this world. May I always strive to walk worthy of Him, seeking His face and drawing into a closer and more personal relationship with Him.

• friends - real-life friends, blogging friends and internet friends who bless and encourage us in our walk with the one true God. We had friends from church here for a BBQ yesterday, and we talked about God and His Word, we swam and had lovely fellowship one with another.
  

• my husband, who works hard for this family, making sure that everything that needs to be done is done, and done to the glory of God.

• our children - may God bless them mightily in their chosen walk with Him.

• homeschooling and the ability to be able to homeschool openly - we are so blessed in Australia. In many countries it is illegal to homeschool and the authorities take a harsh stand on those who are caught. In Germany it is illegal to homeschool, so I urge you, please pray that Germany's homeschoolers will one day have the ability to be able to homeschool openly. In Sweden, Dominic Johannson was snatched from his parents, Annie and Christer, as they sat quietly waiting for their plane to take them to their new home in India, so that Annie could be near her family. There is a petition to have Dominic returned to his parents, and I urge you to sign it.

• our home - it is such a blessing, especially during the hot weather that we are having. Yesterday was over 44C, today will probably be just as hot, tomorrow the same, but Tuesday it is supposed to be back into the low 30's, and on Wednesday it is supposed to be 25C.

• air conditioning and swimming pools so that we can escape the summer heat. The pool yesterday was 27C, and that was just a beautiful contrast to the heat outside.

• trees - large, shade-giving trees that drop the outside temperature by more than a few degrees, and without them it would be like living in the Sahara Desert. Our home has more than its fair share of large shade trees, and it is wonderful to have the protection that our Creator God gave us.

New Blog Coming VERY Soon

I'm working on my new blog ... coming soon! Can you tell that I'm happy - see, smiling? :D

Gardening - Thriving and Growing

Since arriving here almost seven years ago, we have been severely challenged gardening wise.The soil here is heavy clay, and for the first couple of years we struggled, having plants continually die after we seemingly cared well for them, watering them weekly and fertilising them.

This last year, we have been taking the unusual step of removing the heavy clay soil from around the planting area and replacing it with potting mix, and yes, it really worked. It might seem a bit drastic, but when you keep losing plants, it can become really expensive and VERY frustrating.

ALL of the plants that we have planted using this method are thriving and growing really well. The difference - only the soil that they are growing in - just like us, if we are planted in the good soil - reading and acknowledging God's Word and praying, we will thrive and grow and bear much fruit.

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Mark 4: 20

This Time

These song lyrics have been speaking to me lately. God gives us one life, and only one life to be all that God wants us to be - there is no turning back, no second chances. This time is what counts, it's what life is all about and there can be no regrets. However, God reminds us that we are not on our own, and that He never leaves us alone [Hebrews 13:5].

THIS TIME

The past is behind us, what has been now is gone
But right now is with us, and we must carry on
And when regret closes in
I don't see what might have been
I see grace and I know whatever comes
He'll make a way

This time
This is what counts
This is what our life is about
This time
No backwards glance
Now is the time
This is our chance to make this time, this time, this time
All that God wants it to be

Our sins lie behind us, all the weeds we have sown
How well they remind us, what we are on our own
But we are not on our own
God never leaves us alone
All our sins are forgiven
Everyday we get to choose

This time
This is what counts
This is what our life is about
This time
No backwards glance
Now is the time
This is our chance to make this time,
this time, this time
All that God wants it to be

Music by David Meece
Copyright 1989 Meece Music (admin by) WORD Music & Ariose Music

What have I been up To?

What have I been up to? Well, in the last twenty-four hours I have signed up to Aussie Homeschool, which is run by a board of moderators, but owned by Susan of Home Grown Kids, who is also a moderator.

Aussie Homeschool is a FREE online community for all homeschoolers - enquiring, potential, current or past, and is open to all homeschoolers from every state. There are endless opportunities to share with like-minded people, to buy and sell resources, and for laughter and encouragement. Need to know something about homeschooling - the members have a wealth of knowledge that they're more than willing to share.

There is a blogroll for all Aussie Homeschoolers, and they have lots of helpful links to homeschooling resources, so why not pop on over and introduce yourself - they're a mighty friendly bunch of people, and they're sure to make you feel most welcome.

Sisters in Faith Award

Therese, from The Musings of a Mom has very kindly bestowed this Sisters in Faith award upon me, and I truly do thank her from the bottom of my ♥. Her friendship and encouragement have been very much appreciated, and her faith is truly inspirational, but seeing that she has already received the award, I felt that it would be superfluous of me to give this award to her. The originator of this award is Karinann, so please pop over and check out her blog.

This blog award is passed on to other bloggers who you feel are represented by the Sisters in Faith Award, and the instructions are:

1. To pass this award on to sisters who have been blogging with me from almost the beginning.
2. Include at least one new Sister In Faith.

So, in the spirit of friendship I would like to nominate...

Ganeida from Ganeida's Knots
Sue from Praise and Coffee
Susan from Home Grown Kids
Aliadelaide from Homeschooling Downunder
Devildogwife from Marine Corps Nomads
Gae from Cherished ♥♥♥ at Home
Ruby from Mumma's Place
Jeanne from A Peaceful Day
Sarah from Eternity in Your ♥
Therese from Aussie Coffee Shop

...for their encouragement, their ability to write thought-provoking comments and posts, so that I look inside myself to see what Jesus sees, and their genuine friendship. However, my list wouldn't be complete without adding one last, but not so least friend - this is my new Sister in Faith:~

Singingmama from Beautiful Melodies

Frugal Living

This afternoon my husband cut my hair - now don't think that I'm brave, for the first time that he cut it, I was terrified, but then I thought, "Oh well, the worst that can happen is that I need to get it cut professionally."

Where we live, a haircut can cost as much as $26.00, and for the amount of time that it takes to simply cut my hair across the back, it's really not worth it. I cut my own fringe, and my husband takes care of the back of it. Today was only the second time that he's cut my hair, and this time I wasn't scared at all.

I cut my daughter's, son's and husband's hair, and it was only through careful watching of the hairdresser cutting their hair that I learned how to cut their hair. Home haircuts save us about $100.00 a month, and I can put that money to better use than by giving it to the hairdressers. Call us frugal if you like, but money doesn't grow on trees, and God expects us to be good stewards of what we have.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Matthew 24: 45, 46

Change Your Thinking

My friend, Janice emailed this to me this morning, and this was simply too beautiful to keep to myself - I simply had to share it. I count my blessings each and every day, and I praise God for all that He is and all that He gives.

It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.


Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.


Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene. <>

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.


She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take

the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.



Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window

beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared,

is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift from God, that is why it is called ' The Present.'

Bible Reading Plan for 2010

Today I was reading my blogging friends posts through Google Reader when I noticed Richele's post about reading the Bible through in a year, so this started me thinking, and I have decided to adopt the "Read the Bible Through Chronologically in a Year" programme from The One Year Bible Online. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time. We have completed this plan as a family, but I really want to do this again.

Isn't it wonderful how blogging friends can encourage and support us in our walk with God? Thank you, Richele for your encouraging post, and may the Lord bless your Bible reading plan, too.

I am praying that God will help keep me on track with my Bible reading, and that He will open my ♥ and my mind to His Word. What about you - what are you doing for Bible study during 2010?

What Amazing Things You See at Night

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Suborder: Araneomorphae
Superfamily: Araneoidea
Family: Araneidae
Genus: Eriophora

Isn't it amazing what you see at night, especially if you go looking? My son went into the garden and photographed this Orb Weaver Spider's web - isn't he/she beautiful? This spider has made its home among the leeks, which are flowering at the moment.

Orb Weaver Spiders are incredible, for they build large, suspended wheel shaped webs that they take down in the morning and re-build every night. To think that God created Orb Weaver spiders Ex Nihilo (out of nothing) is something that continues to amaze and astound me. The ability that He placed within them to spin the silk for the web is incredible. Have you ever taken the time to watch a spider spin its web? It is a wonderful science experiment - go ahead and try it sometime.

God's creation is absolutely spectacular, and I never cease to be amazed at the wonder, beauty and perplexity of it, and I praise His name.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 150:6

Praise God for...

...His everlasting protection and granted travelling mercies yesterday, as we drove to Adelaide to visit our friend, Janice and her household companions. Ann-Marie and her children were also there, as Ann-Marie's father is very sick in hospital.

...my husband's consideration, kindness and love for our family.

...our children, who have helped without any thought of remuneration these holidays. To quote Ruby, they have "Just done it".

...friends - real life friends, blogging friends and internet friends who help us to grow in the Lord, and whose friendship is valued far above rubies.

...God's world and the beauty that is within it - the absolutely perfect weather, the trees that give such beautiful dappled shade and the wealth of flora and faunal life.

...our home, where we are safe from the outside elements, snug and warm in our beds at night and able to relax during the school holidays.

...school holidays, and the ability to relax and recharge our batteries, so to speak.

...God is our God, able to save and to keep all from harm, who heals the broken in ♥ and binds up their wounds, and that He continues to guide and protect us.

Care to see more Praise posts, head on over to Jennifer's at My Chocolate ♥.

A Proverbs 31 Woman

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31:10- 30

Today we had a productive start to the new year, with my husband and me making the new door curtain. This door makes our lounge room feel more homey and cosy, and the curtain that we had spare has now become three - now isn't that frugal???

I love making our home a more beautiful place for our family to live in, and am not happy when I am sitting around idle. God designed us for a purpose, which is to be a helpmeet for our husband, and to have our husband rule over us. Does this mean that we need to be a doormat for our husband - most definitely not, but it means (to me) that our husbands are to be revered and that they make the final decisions in all things.

A Proverbs 31 woman is:

• a good housewife
  
• a prudent manager
  
• chaste and modest
  
• law of love and kindness is written upon her ♥ and shows itself in the tongue
  
• dutiful to her husband
• is intent upon giving
  
• conscientious in her duty to God
• fears the Lord

Wisdom and beauty are fleeting, and many a man has been charmed by the beauty of a woman, but the character traits listed above make the woman more precious than rubies. The beauty that reigns within the soul and will last forever is what sets apart a Proverbs 31 woman; the ability to bear the disappointments and life's challenges are one of her hallmarks.

Am I that Proverbs 31 woman - not even close, but I'm working towards it - little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, as God changes me day by day into His glorious likeness, and I look forward to the day when God will consider me His worthy servant.