RUMOURS – DO THEY START WITH YOU

November 11, 2014 darling downs 12 Comments

Rumours – how do they start. They must start somewhere.

We have a couple at church who are now separated and there are some awful rumours going around about them.

Where do these rumours start?? Do start with the couple with the problems or do they come just out of peoples heads?

Maybe the wife shared with a friend and that friend shared with another good friend – under the guise of a prayer request.

Maybe the husband did the same, who knows, but once the rumours are out there they are very hard to get back.

I know that I have often asked people to pray for certain people and shared issues, has my motivation been correct and good.

Maybe – maybe not.

Maybe when we ask people to pray for certain situations we shouldn’t name the people we should just name the problem. God knows everything so I am sure He will know who we are praying for.

Gossip is a dreadful, terrible and hurtful sin and we should make sure that we are not a part of it.

I don’t want anyone to be hurt from my careless loose tongue. I only want people to be blessed, but it all comes down to me and my mouth.

1 Timothy 5:13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

Women (me in particular) have the ability to talk. I can talk and talk about things with my husband and my children and my friends. I just natter away about my life, what I’m cooking for tea or what I am blogging about. It just comes out, it is a natural flow like lava, but when this lava flow turns to other people and their issues it should be stopped short.

Sometimes I just talk and before I realise it I have shared things that just aren’t my business to share. I feel saddened and depressed by this and wish that I could take back the words. Unfortunately the words can’t be taken back but I can repent and ask God to forgive my thoughtless attitude and then most importantly I can ask Him to help me to strive to not do it again. I don’t want to go around that mountain more times than necessary because not only does it leave me feeling depressed and a bit dirty but it also hurts someone else.

Do you have these issues also?? Let us ask God to help us change this character trait in our lives. Let us ask God to turn our tongue to doing good, to praising Him and encouraging others in their faith walk.

Diaries of the Heart

MY HUSBAND IS THE BEST

November 10, 2014 darling downs 11 Comments

I have a pretty wonderful, handsome husband, one of the best. He takes his role as husband and father and now grandfather very seriously, actually he takes all his roles in life like that.

He endeavours to carry out his duties, his work to the best of his abilities. He wants his children to develop the same characteristics, he wants them to develop diligence and conscientiousness. He definitely shows them these character qualities.

At the moment he is an elder in our church, and at the moment there are some issues that have arisen. It is now 11pm and he is out mowing the lawn (mower has lights) thinking and talking to God about these issues. He has been known to take long midnight walks doing the same thing.

Maybe he has church issues or family issues or money issues on his mind. It seems a good way for him to find some solitude to sort things out with God.

He is also great with the children and is a joker as well, he loves to stir them up and make them laugh. He enjoys tickling them and watching them love it.

He listens to me and he has always cared for me. When I have gone to hospital to have our children (all by caesarean section) he has always been by my side. He has never left me in the lurch and he stands by me.

He puts up with my moods and my grumps and he tells me he understands but then he gently tells me I need to get over it.

He is just great and I love him and I am so thankful that God has put us together, that he gave me my soul mate at only age 20. We have had the past 26 years together and it only gets better. I love him more and more each day and can’t imagine a life without him.

Now so you don’t think that we are all perfect – my husband is just great, but he is not perfect, he has his moments just like I do.

My advice to young women looking for the perfect man – just stop, there is no such thing. Look for a Godly man who loves his mother and cares for his family and puts Gods first in his life and you’ve found the right one. Don’t get married and try and change him accept him as he is and help him be the best and greatest he can be. That’s what being a helpmeet is all about.

This song says it all about my relationship with my husband…

Kenny Rogers – Through the Years

I can’t remember when you weren’t there
When I didn’t care for anyone but you
I swear we’ve been through everything there is
Can’t imagine anything we’ve missed
Can’t imagine anything the two of us can’t do

Through the years
You’ve never let me down
You turned my life around
The sweetest days I’ve found
I’ve found with you
Through the years
I’ve never been afraid
I’ve loved the life we’ve made
And I’m so glad I’ve stayed
Right here with you
Through the years

I can’t remember what I used to do
Who I trusted whom, I listened to before
I swear you’ve taught me everything I know
Can’t imagine needing someone so
But through the years it seems to me
I need you more and more

Through the years
Through all the good and bad
I knew how much we had
I’ve always been so glad
To be with you
Through the years
It’s better everyday
You’ve kissed my tears away
As long as it’s okay
I’ll stay with you
Through the yearsThrough the years
When everything went wrong
Together we were strong
I know that I belonged
Right here with you
Through the years
I never had a doubt
We’d always work things out
I’ve learned what love’s about
By loving you
Through the yearsThrough the years
You’ve never let me down
You’ve turned my life around
The sweetest days I’ve found
I’ve found with you
Through the years
It’s better everyday
You’ve kissed my tears away
As long as it’s okay
I’ll stay with you
Through the years

Songwriters: DORFF, STEPHEN HARTLEY / PANZER, MARTIN

Through The Years lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

This post is linked up to

Thought Provoking Thursday

Christian Mommy Blogger

Casseroles

HEART STOPPER POTATOES

November 10, 2014 darling downs 17 Comments

We had some friends for dinner on Saturday night and we had a BBQ with salads. Here in Victoria where we live, the evenings can get really chilly right through summer and it was chilly last night, so I made a delicious hot potato dish to serve with our meat and salads.

This is a dish you wouldn’t want to eat every night but for special occasions it is great.

Ingredients

2.5 kg potatoes – I used the small washed potatoes
250 grams bacon
2 large leeks
600 ml cream
500 grams grated tasty cheese
olive oil spray

Method

Pre-boil potatoes, while potatoes are cooking cut up and fry the bacon and leeks together.

Cut potatoes in half or quarters and place in the casserole dish sprayed with olive oil spray. Tip in the bacon and leeks when cooked and mix together a bit.

Pour over the cream and place cheese on top. Bake in moderate oven until golden and brown – about 45 mins.

This was absolutely delicious and our guests really enjoyed it – I hope you do too.

This post is linked up here…

Five Friday Finds

Diaries of the Heart

NAVEL GAZING

November 10, 2014 darling downs 4 Comments

Are you a navel gazer?? This is the term my husband uses when people can only see their own issues.

Do all your problems and issues make you look just at yourself or can you see how others are being affected by your problems or are there others going through the same things.

Sometimes we go through such tough stuff that we can’t imagine anyone else having anything worse, due to our grief and sorrow all we can see is ourselves.

When we are going through issues my saying to myself is: “There is always someone else going through something tougher than us”. That always makes me able to handle issues a bit easier because of this realization.

When our daughter passed away at 26 weeks gestation I remember saying this to the nurse and then saying to her that I couldn’t think of any one I knew who had gone through worse. God gently reminded me of dear friends of ours who had lost a child at about the same age of our daughter only months before. The mother had then suffered from heart issues and various other medical problems and was hospitalized for some time. Then I realized that although our daughter had been birthed into Jesus’ arms, I was still well and able to care for the children I still had, not like my friend.

I hope our troubles give us understanding and sympathy towards others going through the same situations. I hope we use our knowledge and experience to help these people, to somehow deal with what is going on.

Otherwise what is the point!!

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

I believe that God allows these things to happen to us for our good and His purpose. We need to stop looking at ourselves and our problems and start thinking about God and His purpose in our lives.

Now please don’t think that I am perfect. I struggle with every issue we have and wonder what is the point, but when I get through the fog of grief or worry I try and go, oh maybe this is for a reason.

There has to be more to life than just ourselves, more to life than just worrying about how we are getting on. Let us turn our eyes toward the Lord and ask Him how we can use our situation to help others.

This post is linked up here..

Thought Provoking Thursday

Christian Mommy Blogger

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS LINK PARTY

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS #4

November 9, 2014 darling downs 12 Comments

Welcome to Good Morning Mondays #4.

What has your week been like? I must admit that I haven’t been feeling well since we returned from Canberra and I have been struggling with an ear infection. So off to the doctor I went (which I don’t do often) and I am waiting for the antibiotics to kick in now. The 2 younger children have had colds and coughs as well but all seems to be on the up and up now.

A prayer request – our dear friend Mr H is going in to hospital tomorrow to have a tumor removed from his liver. He had this operation early in the year but another tumor has been discovered. Thank God that there was a cancellation and the hospital was able to fit him in before January. We ask that God will bless both him and his wife, and keep him safe through the operation. We also pray that God will enable the surgeons to get all of the tumor and that he will recover quickly. If you have time to pray with us we would be very grateful.

Last week we had 44 link ups so thanks to all of you who took the time. I really enjoyed reading you posts.

Our top 3 links were:

This week I look forward to many more link ups and I would love to have some recipes if you have something special, or something that your family loves to eat feel free to link it up.

Please link up any posts that relate to God and christian living – especially encouraging or challenging posts, also recipes, crafts, gardening or homesteading as you call it in America and just plain old country living here in Australia.

I hope and pray that we all have a blessed week and may God challenge us to reach out to others.

Blessings.

An InLinkz Link-up

Kitchen Diary

PAVLOVA…

November 9, 2014 darling downs 4 Comments

This is a beautiful creamy, crunchy desert, easy to make and yummy to eat.

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
a pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp cornflour
300 ml whipped cream
raspberries or fruit to top

Preheat oven to 120 degrees celcius. Beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar about 1 tblsp at a time and beat until thick and glossy and sugar has dissolved.

Put a bit of mixture on your finger tips and rub your fingers together. If you can feel no sugar then you have mixed it enough. Add vanilla, vinegar and cornflour and mix until combined.

Place on a tray covered with baking paper and bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours or until hard and dry to touch,

I whipped my cream and then added frozen raspberries and mixed together and put on top of pavlova just before I served it. You can really put anything on top of it with the cream. I have even used peppermint crisp chocolate bars crushed up.

ENJOY!!

This post is linked up here…

Five Friday Finds

Diaries of the Heart

FROM OUR FRONT VERANDAH…

November 9, 2014 darling downs 23 Comments

The view from our front verandah is beautiful and peaceful and there is so much that I can see to be thankful for.

Here is our front verandah. You can just see that I hang up my washing there. It is protected from the weather when it rains and it doesn’t fade in the heat of the sun. I am thankful for this as I don’t have to rush out and get it off if it rains.

This is the paddock next to the house that I can see from our front verandah. If you look hard you can see a couple of pigs out there. The sows and boar are there at the moment. I am thankful that they provide us with meat for our table.

Here is the garden bed right in front of our verandah. When we first moved here it was a beautiful fish pond and we were quite nervous about it. Our No 2 son was only 3 years old at the time and a young boy about the same age in our local town had drowned in their swimming pool. We were concerned about this for our son so we decided to fill it in.

Over the past few years we have put stones in it but never totally filled it in, so there are pockets of water in there from when it rains. Although we were concerned about it, this pond has now become a breeding ground for frogs. Our No 2 son has enjoyed this area here so much and is out there most days checking on his tadpoles which are almost frogs now. I am thankful that he has been able to have this experience and has learnt many things about tadpoles.

Here is a picture of our driveway from our front verandah. This is where are visitors and friends drive down from the main road to get to our house. Just next to this drive is our vegetable patch this year, with tomatoes, potatoes, corn, carrots and pumpkins. I can just see this patch through the trees. I am thankful that we have the ability and land to grow our own food and hopefully grow enough to share with others and sell from the roadside.

Here is the other end of our front verandah where the roses climb up the trellis and shade the seat where I sit and gaze around at our front yard. You can see the windmill that my husband and No 1 son put up and underneath there are the flowers that No 2 daughter planted by herself and are now flowering. I am thankful for this peaceful and prosperous place that the Lord has given to us. I am thankful that our children can run freely on the beautiful green grass and learn and grow together.

So you can see I have much to be thankful for, my family, our home and land and our friends.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

What do you have to be thankful for and what can you see from your front verandah??

This post is linked up here…

Nourishing Joy

Diaries of the Heart, Kitchen Diary

TERRI’S BAKED VEG AND EGGS

November 6, 2014 darling downs Leave a comment

I was wondering what to cook for tea tonight as I had forgotten to get meat out so I came up with the baked veg and egg idea.

I had some leftover veg and corned beef in the fridge which came in handy.

Ingredients:

3 onion chopped in rough bits
10 mushrooms cut in quarters or 2 tins champignons
corned beef
cooked potatoes – I used 6
cooked cauliflower – I used half a head
cooked broad beans
2 tins canned tomatoes
eggs – I used 1 dozen
feta cheese
olive oil

Bake onion and mushrooms in the oven for 30 mins, add cooked vegetables, tomatoes and meat. Mix together and crack eggs over the top and crumble feta cheese.

Bake in moderate over for another 30 to 45 mins or until eggs are cooked.

NOTE:

You could use any left over vegetables and meat that you have left over in the fridge. We have our own chickens and they are laying quite a few eggs that why I use so many, also you could use any cheese that you like.

Diaries of the Heart

THE BEST SEASON…

November 6, 2014 darling downs 17 Comments

Which season do you enjoy best?? In Australia we are about 3 weeks of summer, when the heat descends and so do the flies.

Now I must admit that winter is my most favourite season. I love being able to start the wood stove and keep the house warm. I enjoy making hearty stews and soups to feed my family. I’m happy that I can be inside doing the crafts I enjoy.

Then comes spring, when everything seems to come alive after a long, cold wet winter. The sun comes out a bit more often and the days warm up and we peel off the layers to allow the fresh air to tingle our skin.

We get organised to grow our vegetables and the fruit trees start budding and the fruit starts to appear.

Then we ease into summer, or so we should. Sometimes summer comes with such a bang we have a hankering for winter to come back. I like it when summer comes softly, when the days start to warm up slowly.

Normally here where we live summer comes and goes. Sometimes Christmas can be cool and then New Years can be stinking hot. Sometimes we don’t see much heat until the children have headed back to school. That’s when we go to the beach – when everyone else have finished their holidays.

It does seem sometimes that summer will just go on and on and then all of a sudden it is autumn. The evenings are cooling off and the days are still quite warm and pleasant. Then it starts to get colder and colder and then we get rain.

Then it starts all over again and I am enjoying my most favourite season once more.

Sometimes these seasons match the seasons in our lives. There have definitely been times (seasons) that I have just loved. When the little ones were born, when we decided to homeschool, when God blessed us with our farm.

Then there are always times that haven’t been so enjoyable. When my parents passed away and life seemed to be so topsy turvy, trying to finalise everything from 2000 kms away and then when our little one went to be with the Lord.

But then like all the different seasons there are good days and bad days. Days when you don’t want to get out of bed and days when you bounce out ready to attack all that there is.

We can learn so much from the different seasons in our lives. God allows these seasons to bring glory to His name and to encourage us in His will.

I try to enjoy each new season although my favourite is winter. I try to be thankful for each one that comes along and to be thankful to God for what He has given us.

May God keep bringing seasons and days and years, may we be open to enjoy them to learn through them and to grow with them.

Ecc 3:1-8 A Time for Everything

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

What is your favourite season??

This post is linked up here…

Thought Provoking Thursday

Fellowship Friday

The Missional Call

Diaries of the Heart

WHEN YOU’RE NOT INVITED

November 5, 2014 darling downs 10 Comments

Our No 2 daughter (9 years old) has just been invited to a homeschooled friends birthday party. She couldn’t be more excited.

Now No 2 son (6 years old) hasn’t been invited. He has asked us to ask if he could come as well. I am sure they would say yes if we asked them, but we are not sure that this is the best thing.

My husband and I have been discussing the situation and we both remember times when we weren’t invited to things and our siblings were, we both remember the hurt we felt at these times and the lack of sympathy and understanding from our parents.

I’m sure our parents thought they were doing the best by us and that is not really my issue. My issue is our young son and his heart and feelings.

Maybe he just needs to understand that things don’t always seem fair and that he needs to ” build a bridge” and get over it and move on. Maybe he needs us to show him that we really do understand how he feels and know that we have been there.

I know he needs to understand that he doesn’t always have to have special things when his sister does and this goes for his sister as well.

He needs to show her that he can be happy for her getting a treat and he needs to be able to handle the fact that he doesn’t.

(We have never been one to give him a present just because his sister has a birthday. They need to realise that special days are just that – special days for a special person and they need to feel joy for that person.)

There are seasons in life, seasons when we have to wait at home while others go out. Seasons when we are the youngest and maturity seems to take ages to arrive.

How can we teach him to deal with this situation???

We teach him by walking through it with him, by explaining and guiding him to a point of understanding. We need to share with him how special he is to God and to us and that when the time is right special treats will come his way.

Eph 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

How do you handle these situations??

This post is linked up here…

Fellowship Friday

The Missional Call

Darling Downs Diaries

RUMOURS – DO THEY START WITH YOU

MY HUSBAND IS THE BEST

HEART STOPPER POTATOES

NAVEL GAZING

GOOD MORNING MONDAYS #4

PAVLOVA…

FROM OUR FRONT VERANDAH…

TERRI’S BAKED VEG AND EGGS

THE BEST SEASON…

Ecc 3:1-8 A Time for Everything

What is your favourite season??

WHEN YOU’RE NOT INVITED

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