Praying for Sue in Japan

I'm praying for my real life friend, Sue in Japan after the massive earthquake that hit Japan earlier today. Won't you pray for her too?

Thanks.

Checking in

Hello, my friends,

It is nice to have a little bit of time to be able to check in with you all. So much as happened since I last wrote, and yet I struggle now to know what to say. I do know though that I want to thank each and every one of you for your caring words and prayers through the past week. I so appreciate your friendship.

Things are really hard here. I know that there are some Christians who display incredible strength by their up-beat and positive witness during times of calamity. I'm afraid I am not among their number. Don't get me wrong - my faith, and that of my husband - is strong and secure, but we are really hurting, and I am sure that that shows. It is hard for us to comprehend the utter decimation of our home and business, and one of the great calamities of this natural disaster is the lack of flood insurance that affects many of its victims - us amongst their number.

More than 400 homes - 80% of our Peaceful Town - were inundated by the flood waters that broke the banks of the Avoca River last Friday night. The destruction has to be experienced to be believed. We have all seen the television images of flood affected streets, but the smell and the feel of the river mud cannot really be appreciated until you have actually been through it yourself.

The massive clean-up began when the river waters receeded last Tuesday. We have been overwhelmed by the help we have received from members of our RPCA Church family. More than 35 people have made the 3 1/2 hour journey from Geelong, Frankston and McKinnon to help, and many, many, more have helped with meals, and with washing and ironing mountains of clothing and household linens. Together they have helped us remove carpets and floor boards, wash mud from walls and furniture and unpack miles of books from shelves. They've gurneyed paths, set up computers, replaced electrical sockets, washed out cupboards, pulled out dead plants and more. They've been incredible.

My husband and I have, as yet, no idea what the future holds for our family. In the short term we are working towards having Jemimah return to be with us next weekend. As for other plans, you, like us, will need to wait and see. We would appreciate your prayers.

Thanks for caring.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Psalm 18: 16-19 NIV

The weather

Suzzy thinks I should talk about the weather. Funny really, that's all we're talking about in real life over here, and yet I've been struggling to find the words to write about it on my blog. Not that I haven't tried, but I just don't know what to say. Sorry Suzzy - it's not that I don't care - it's that I care too much.

Right now, there are flood warnings in four Australian States.

75% of the State of Queensland is under water. That's an area twice the size of Texas, four times the size of Japan, and six times the size of the UK. 15 people are dead and another 61 are missing. 100,000 homes in the State Capital, Brisbane, are without power. 26,000 homes are affected by the water and another 5000 businesses.12, 000 homes are completely flooded - up to their roofs. Whole towns are being evacuated. My friend, Ruby's city of Rockhampton has been flooded for more than a week.

Closer to home down here in Victoria, the Avoca River that runs through our Peaceful Town has broken its banks for the third time since last September's floods. It is currently at 7 metres and is expected to peak sometime tomorrow morning. I feel somewhat despondent as I consider the damage another inundation will do to our beautiful garden and to the structure of our Peaceful Home, and yet the are so many people so much worse off than we are.

Our God is an awesome God, isn't he? The floods and the rains are completely out of the control of man, but Luke 8 tells us that even the winds and water obey him. As we pray that people will be kept safe (and, selfishly, that our home might be spared) we need to also pray that people might recognise the mighty power of our great God.

Behind all the loss and heartbreak the all Australians are feeling right now is his merciful hand. We may not understand why, but it is all part of his wonderful plan.

And that is where I gain my comfort.

In him.

Prayer for Sudan

Please pray for Sudan today as the people of Southern Sudan vote on whether or not to become a separate country.



For more about the Reformed Presbyterian Church mission in Sudan: Cush4Christ:

Flood progress report

Thought you might like to take a look at the water. Pretty impressive, isn't it?

I'm glad to say that so far there is no danger to homes, although my hubby has just had to cancel this afternoon's journey out of town because the road was closed.

Thanks for all of your prayers.

PS My phone takes a pretty decent pic, doesn't it?

Totally Awesome!

Would you look at that flexibility...wow!

If you have time to pray for us today we would appreciate it. You may recall the terrible floods that hit our small township back in September. Well, we are again under threat today. The river level is expected to peak sometime this afternoon, and while we are not expecting levels as high as last time, all the water catchments are full to overflowing already, and we are preparing for the significant possibility that we may be underwater again by tonight.

• Please pray that the river might be contained within its banks.
• Give thanks for the tireless work of the CFA and SES volunteers as they fill and distribute sand bags.
• Pray that people might be able to remain in their homes.
• Praise God that the although the rains and rivers are not under our control, they are still under His control.
• Pray that He might be glorified.

Sigh - what a weekend...what a year!

Of droughts and flooding rains

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.

from My Country by Dorothea Mackellar

Could you please pray for us today as we sandbag our peaceful town.

The river is currently at 7.9m, and is expected to peak at 8.3m later this morning. The High Street is already under water.

Our home should be safe for the moment, but the property we supply fully furnished to one of our senior staff members is expected to be flooded soon, as the waters continue to rise. It is currently 10cm below floor level. We will be moving as much as we can from there this morning.

Thank you for caring. It is certainly far from boring here this weekend!

One of the bad times

Tonight while my homegroup were here eating my sponge cake and studying Titus 2 I stayed in the living room talking on the telephone. I spoke to my sister. Then my mum. Then my brother. Then my sister. Again. Then my mum. Again. Then my dad. Throughout it all I drank Champagne. So did my parents and sister. My brother had to settle for Glenmorangie. Shame. Our conversations were really quite silly by the end.

Today our minister called in on Mum and Dad to say hello. He found my parents and sister drinking a bottle of Yellowglen.

" Hello! Are we celebrating here?" he asked, naïvely.

" Andrew," said my mother, "we Grants drink Champagne in the good times and in the bad. This is one of the bad times."

My dear Dad is sick. Really sick. I may be away a while. Maybe. Maybe not.

Would you pray for us while I'm gone? Please? I would really appreciate that.

This weekend we will be drinking Dom Pérignon.

Cyclone Aila

Thank you everyone who prayed for us during our recent holiday.

Cyclone Aila claimed many lives in Bhutan during those few days, including a number of children. One family from the village of Bumthang where we were staying lost six members when a land slide destroyed their car. Only two survived.

I thought you might like to see some photos and videos...

Tang River Bumthang

The river rises at the back of Bumthang's main shopping street.

A new road is created around a huge landslide.

The main road beween the Capital, Thimphu, and Paro where the Country's only airport is situated. (Look at the road, not the water... )


A land slide - and an opportunity for you to listen to our accents...


More of the Tang River


At least someone was having FUN...

Bushfire Prayer Points

Some prayer points from Rev Ed Blackwood, minister at the Frankston RPCA:

• Thank God for the many lives spared, some incredibly, some miraculously.
• Thank God that although we face bushfires year after year, it is not on this scale of horror.
• Thank God that although the fires are out of our control, they are still under His control.
• Pray for God to spare many from these deadly fires, and to spare many who may be closely affected by them from the greater fires of hell.
• Pray that Christian people, both those in the fire areas, and those of us watching from a distance, might help as we can and proclaim our Gracious Saviour to many.

Bushfires

Mountain Bushfire

Full moon. The brazen eye of midnight scans
the black and swollen mountains oozing fire
high over the indifference of the sleeping plains
hazed with the perfumed smoke of death and fear
under the radiant zenith. It is not far
from here to the wild flags of havoc flying
out of the doomed and bannered trees before
the west wind, hilarious hunter plying
nets and whips of flame, the trumpet playing
a ghastly fanfare.

Kenneth Ivo Mackenzie 1913 - 1955

Victoria has burned this past weekend.

• 108 people confirmed dead so far;
• Over 750 homes burned;
• 31 fires still raging;
• MMM mission headquarters burned down;
• ESA country ministries camp site destroyed;
• RPCA (Our church) Dixon's Creek Campsite under threat - possibly burned;
• One Christian man we know of has lost his wife and two children to the fire;
• Over 50 homes destroyed in Bendigo, our nearest Provincial City - 1 1/4 hours away...

Funny, I've got nothing else to say.

May God bring us all closer to him through this tragic event.

Supermum!

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Thank you to all of you who have thought to ask how my Mum is - and an even greater thank you to those who have prayed for my family. God has promised great rewards to those who pray in secret.

...Your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6

Many of you have stepped in to help in practical ways too, and we have really appreciated that help, but it has been the grace of God that we have needed most during the past two weeks, and this grace has been poured out upon us in ways that we never imagined. We have felt his love surrounding our family, and that presence has given us the strength we have needed most.

Mum was able to return home from hospital last Monday, and she has spend the past week relaxing (rare for mum!) and allowing her damaged heart muscle to recover. She is finding the breathlessness particularly troubling, and is unable to walk very far, but she is improving every day, and we trust that our heavenly Father will soon restore her to full health once more.

I was blessed to be able to spend the majority of the past two weeks in Geelong where I was able to help out practically in many ways, as well as be an emotional support to both of my parents. As I departed on Friday afternoon, Mum handed me a large package. You can see what was inside the box in the photo above...she had knitted it herself over the past few months, and had managed to stitch the final (blue) wise man together when I thought she was relaxing!

Wow! Now you can see why we think she's superhuman!!

My Times are in Your Hand

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley

Robert Burns 1785

I am a dreamer...a planner...an organiser. I had our Stir-up Sunday planned down to the last detail weeks ago.

We would travel to Geelong for Church in the morning. There was to be a morning tea after the service at which we were to celebrate the 10 years that our wonderful minister and his family have been in Australia. My mother had played a significant role in organising the event. She had put together an amazing hamper of treats for the family to enjoy, and was to make a speech during the proceedings. Afterwards we would head to Dad and Mum's home to begin the baking, excitedly chanting the traditional lines,

Stir up, we beseech thee, the pudding in the pot;
And when we'll get home we'll eat the lot!

We would prepare Christmas Pudding, the Christmas Cake, shortbread and maybe a White Christmas slice. All the family would be involved in the stirring - clockwise, of course, and from East to West, and we would all make a secret wish. We would add the pudding charms - a threepence, a sixpence (two chances for wealth in our pudding!), a silver thimble for a lucky life and a silver ring to fortell marriage. We would drink champagne, laugh a lot and generally have a wonderful beginning to our festive season for 2008...

The day began well. The morning tea was fantastic. Mum's speech was incredible - her voice was strong and clear, she remembered what she wanted to say and everybody congratulated her on her hitherto unforeseen public speaking skills. Her hamper was well received.

The frivolities in the car lived up to expectation too. Stir-up Sunday signifies the beginning of Christmas - everyone was eager to get started...

Only we didn't...

Less than half and hour later we were on our way to Geelong Hospital, lunch sitting on the stove, pudding ingredients languishing on the bench. We were painfully reminded of the letters "D.V" and their meaning - Deo volente , God willing.

The combined stress of the past few weeks - both organising Sunday's celebrations as well as the dinner to raise money for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital that she organised a couple of weeks ago (I blogged about that one here) had just been too much, and mum was suffering from what is called Transient Global Amnesia.

As the name suggests, and the linked article explains, this is a transient loss of memory function. Immediate recall ability is preserved, as is remote memory; however, patients experience striking loss of memory for recent events and an impaired ability to retain new information. In some cases, the degree of retrograde memory loss is mild.

Mum was admitted to hospital on Sunday night with the full expectation that things would resolve and her memory would return.

Now my mum doesn't get sick. She's a superhuman - normal human frailty is not part of her genetic make-up. Her body didn't like this feeling of being out of control. This stress - added to the heavy load of the past few weeks pushed her over the edge. Yesterday she collapsed after undergoing a CT scan to rule out any brain pathology. Her heart began showing irregularities and an urgent echocardiogram helped diagnose a second unrelated condition, Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy.

This stress-induced disease is a sudden temporary weakening of the the muscles of the heart. (Because this weakening can be triggered by emotional stress, such as the death of a loved one, the condition is also known as broken heart syndrome!) You can read as much as you like about the condition in the linked article.

We are confident that (D.V.), mum will be coming home fit and well - although possibly not quite so superhuman - in a few weeks, but the whole event has been a stark reminder to us all of the need to trust in God. Our times, our interests, our salvation, are all out of our hands - out of the hands of man. Our lives are supremely and safely in his alone.

We trust God implicitly for the future. He will bring no sorrow without comfort, no affliction without sympathy. In his grace we will have all we need.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:12

TIME, HOW SWIFT!
While with ceaseless course the sun
Hastened through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here;
Fixed in an eternal state,
They are done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little―none can know.

As the winged arrow flies,
Speedily the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind.
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.

Thanks for mercies past received,
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us, henceforth, how to live
With, eternity in view.
Bless your word to young and old,
Fill us with a Savior's love;
And when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with you above.

Time, with an unwearied hand,
Pushes round the seasons past;
And in life's frail glass the sand,
Sinks apace, not long to last.
Many, who, as you and I,
The last year assembled thus,
In their silent graves now lie;
Graves will open soon for us!

Daily sin, and care, and strife,
While the Lord prolongs our breath,
Make it but a dying life,
Or a kind of living death.
Wretched they, and most forlorn,
Who no better portion know;
Better never to have been born,
Than to have our all below.

When constrained to go alone,
Leaving all you love behind,
Entering on a world unknown,
What will then support your mind?
When the Lord his summons sends,
Earthly comforts lose their power;
Honor, riches, kindred, friends,
Cannot cheer a dying hour.

Happy souls who fear the Lord;
Time is not too swift for you;
When your Savior gives the word,
Glad you'll bid the world adieu.
Then he'll wipe away your tears;
Near himself appoint your place;
Swifter fly, you rolling years,
Lord, we long to see your face.

John Newton 1774

broccoli and rain

We have a broccoli glut.

Now we love 'trees' in our family, but its time to find some new recipes.

Tonight we're going to try this recipe posted at TeacherBritt's site, Joyous Blessings.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews

Prep: 4 minutes Cook: 15 minutes

1 kg fresh broccoli cooked until crisp
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 tab brown sugar
3 tabs soy sauce
2 teas white vinegar
1/4 teas pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup salted roasted cashews

Melt butter, add brown sugar and next 4 ingredients.
Bring to boil; remove from heat. Stir in cashews.
Pour sauce over broccoli, and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings, Kj 700, (cal 168) Fat 13.8g, Cholesterol
28mg, Sodium 688 mg

This looks yummy! Thanks, Britt!

While you're visiting Britt's site listen to the beautiful song by Nichole Nordeman called Gratitude. These are the lyrics:

Gratitude

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...

(Chorus)
We'll give thanks to You With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...
(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste
that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need
So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case...
(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please...

We live in one of Australia’s main broad acre cropping and grazing zones - the Wimmera Southern Mallee Region in north-western Victoria. This area is currently experiencing the worst drought since records began. Twelve years on, the situation looks worse - not better.

The hopelessness that some farmers feel, and their complete inability to govern (or even predict) the weather, has led to some of them suffering from significant depression – it is only likely to get worse with time.

• Pray for the rain that the farmers so desperately need.
• Pray for wisdom for rural support workers: clergy, doctors, mental health counsellors, family and friends to counsel depressed farmers and prevent the increase in suicide. It is estimated that one Australian rural farmer commits suicide every four days…
• Pray that farming families will be able to withstand the stress that ongoing financial crisis brings, especially teens and adolescents, who are less able to cope with this stress.
• Pray for God’s Spirit to move the hearts of Australians wherever we are, in cities, towns, communities, and churches, that we may discern God’s will in all this and act on it.
  Pray that Christian farmers will retain their trust in God and know that He is good and He is in control.
• Pray that they will be able to encourage those around them and bring hope where everything seems hopeless.
• Pray that God might enable Christian farmers to demonstrate their love for God in tangible ways – theirs is Christian Witness at great cost. “Though he slays me, yet will I hope in him.” Job 13:15