Today we cleaned windows. Husband took down the outside venetians and I used a broom and a hose to clean the venetians, the flyscreens and the outside of the windows on two sides of the house. Dip the broom in a bucked of suds, scrub and hose down with the trigger hose attaced to the rainwater tap via a pump. We are so short of water that we may not use the town supply for this. It was raining lightly as we worked and has rained much more tonight, so, hopefully, the water will be replaced in the tanks by the morning.
The lass next door chatted while we worked. It was her birthday today, and she is six. Remember how exciting Christmas was when you were six? Now we enjoy the wonder on small faces as they open presents, and thank the Lord for all our blessings.
May 2008 be full of blessing for you all!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas
Highlights of present opening time: A little fellow with a book set which included coloured glasses. When he put them on I showed him the pictures in the back of the book and saw him move his hand to hold the 3D image of a charging rhino! A vegetarian teenager with a packet of all flavoured jelly beans -unlike the ones in Harry Potter these had a chart to tell you what flavour to expect! His delight at finding that they did not contain animal gelatine so he could enjoy them!
The ABC concert on the Christmas evening did not entirely miss out on the central message of Christmas, including an item from the Messiah, and finishing with Hark the Herald Angels Sing - a carol with wonderful words if we take the time to comtemplate them.
"Glory to the new born King". May Jesus be reborn in your hearts, may you live in constant conversation with Jesus, the king of all kings, and give him the glory! When we all do so then at last we will have peace on earth, good will among men.
The ABC concert on the Christmas evening did not entirely miss out on the central message of Christmas, including an item from the Messiah, and finishing with Hark the Herald Angels Sing - a carol with wonderful words if we take the time to comtemplate them.
"Glory to the new born King". May Jesus be reborn in your hearts, may you live in constant conversation with Jesus, the king of all kings, and give him the glory! When we all do so then at last we will have peace on earth, good will among men.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Light
Light
When it came at first beginning
Earth was dark confused and shapeless
Not a spark of life was showing
Emptiness and joyless darkness
Showed unto the Spirit’s brooding.
Oh let light burst upon creation!
Let light shine and dispel darkness
Let the plants grow upward to it
Let the joy of life be waking!
Light was born and all creation
Stretched and grew in wild profusion
Trees and vines and flowers fruiting
Making homes and making fodder
Paradise for all things living.
Now alas the light is fading
Mankind sunk in cruel fighting
Selfish, grasping, money seeking
Pushing, pulling, power hungry—
Powerful men the weak enslaving.
Oh let light burst upon creation!
Let light shine and dispel darkness
Let our spirits reach up to it
Let compassion be awoken!
Let us learn to love each other
Learn forgiveness—know the blessing
Comes from giving not from getting
Let us help the lost and lonely,
House the homeless, feed the hungry.
Oh let light burst upon creation
May it be the earth’s salvation.
When it came at first beginning
Earth was dark confused and shapeless
Not a spark of life was showing
Emptiness and joyless darkness
Showed unto the Spirit’s brooding.
Oh let light burst upon creation!
Let light shine and dispel darkness
Let the plants grow upward to it
Let the joy of life be waking!
Light was born and all creation
Stretched and grew in wild profusion
Trees and vines and flowers fruiting
Making homes and making fodder
Paradise for all things living.
Now alas the light is fading
Mankind sunk in cruel fighting
Selfish, grasping, money seeking
Pushing, pulling, power hungry—
Powerful men the weak enslaving.
Oh let light burst upon creation!
Let light shine and dispel darkness
Let our spirits reach up to it
Let compassion be awoken!
Let us learn to love each other
Learn forgiveness—know the blessing
Comes from giving not from getting
Let us help the lost and lonely,
House the homeless, feed the hungry.
Oh let light burst upon creation
May it be the earth’s salvation.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Oh, to be a bird.
To be a Bird
Oh to be a bird to fly
On joyful wings, to soar on high,
To leave behind the every-day
To loop and swoop across the bay!
No plodding walk, no daily grind
Just travel far above to find
The skies of blue, the clouds of pearl;
To dance in air, to twist and twirl.
Like pelican to water ski
To calmly rest upon the sea;
Or find a tree and slip away
To sleep at darkening of day.
Oh to be a bird to fly
On joyful wings, to soar on high,
To leave behind the every-day
To loop and swoop across the bay!
No plodding walk, no daily grind
Just travel far above to find
The skies of blue, the clouds of pearl;
To dance in air, to twist and twirl.
Like pelican to water ski
To calmly rest upon the sea;
Or find a tree and slip away
To sleep at darkening of day.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
world peace
Are wars caused by religion?
Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. The old testament says that if our enemy is hungry we must feed him, if he thirsts we should give him drink. If his donkey falls down under its load we should go and help. The Samaritan helped a man who was his traditional enemy. Jesus said, "go and do likewise."
True Biblical Christianity is the world's hope for peace. It is a tree which bears good fruit, like the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. It is the countries with a Christian heritage that are the desired goal for refugees today.
The "them and us" mentality that sometimes erupts between different factions or sects has nothing to do with real Christianity, but arises from the sinful nature of the natural person who has not received the holy Spirit of Christ.
Evolution, by contrast, is a tree that bears evil fruit. Neitzke, the German philosopher, read Darwin and built on this root to produce his theory that there is no Heaven to gain, no Hell to fear. Hitler read Neitzke and gave it to Mussolini to read. He set out to help evolution along by creating the master race. This meant elimination mentally retarded people and Jews. The concentrations camps were one of the fruits of evolution.
By their fruit you shall know them.
Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. The old testament says that if our enemy is hungry we must feed him, if he thirsts we should give him drink. If his donkey falls down under its load we should go and help. The Samaritan helped a man who was his traditional enemy. Jesus said, "go and do likewise."
True Biblical Christianity is the world's hope for peace. It is a tree which bears good fruit, like the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. It is the countries with a Christian heritage that are the desired goal for refugees today.
The "them and us" mentality that sometimes erupts between different factions or sects has nothing to do with real Christianity, but arises from the sinful nature of the natural person who has not received the holy Spirit of Christ.
Evolution, by contrast, is a tree that bears evil fruit. Neitzke, the German philosopher, read Darwin and built on this root to produce his theory that there is no Heaven to gain, no Hell to fear. Hitler read Neitzke and gave it to Mussolini to read. He set out to help evolution along by creating the master race. This meant elimination mentally retarded people and Jews. The concentrations camps were one of the fruits of evolution.
By their fruit you shall know them.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Playing Scrabble
Playing Scrabble
Jane, Dora, Margot and Anne, four grey heads bent over the scrabble board at the leisure centre.
“Well I guess I’m on the wane,” sighed Jane as she began the game, plecing the letters WANE with trembling fingers.
“Aren’t we all. That’s fourteen for you.” said Anne, writing down the score.
“Hurrah! I’ve got a bingo! Look at this y’all!” called Dora as she placed the letters SOLDIER vertically on the board, turning WANE into WANED.
Her mind went back to the smiling young American who had won her heart and been her husband for forty years. She had returned home to her birthplace, but two of the children were still in the states. She smiled happily at her companions, but met solemn faces.
“Anne, that’s a bonus fifty for Dora,” said Jane picturing her grandson, somewhere in Iraq. Oh God, keep him safe! was her silent prayer.
Anne’s pen was stationary over the paper. Suddenly she was back in Vietnam, staring at the young man with blue eyes and curly hair who had just opened his eyes. As an army nurse she had been part of the team that has saved his life, and here he was grinning up at her, not yet realising that he had lost both legs and most of his right arm.
Margot’s hand hovered over the letters on her rack. Her thoughts were back in Hungary, where, as a frightened nine-year-old, she had seen a German soldier come and take away her father, who was Jewish.
Her mother was Catholic, and Margot had found her kneeling beside the big bed weeping tears onto the rosary beads in her hands. They had locked the house but after dark there came a soft knock on the kitchen door.
Margot had opened it to find her father standing there.
“Sh!” he warned her and came softly in and closed the door.
“What happened? How did you get away?” asked her mother.
Papa’s arms were round them both. ”When we came to the wheat fields the soldier said, ‘I have a daughter just the age of your little girl. Perhaps you need to go into the wheat fields and relieve yourself.’ So I went into the wheat and just lay still until dark. I’ll go now. Perhaps if I look I may find some food in the fork of the big oak where we used to go when we were courting. Remember you haven’t seen me. We don’t want the soldier to get into trouble. Margot had better go and stay with your cousins in the North. Softly he had opened the door and was gone.
“Margot! It’s your turn!” said Dora.
“Oh, sorry! I was thinking of something else!”
She found the letters PEAC and placed them parallel to Jane’s WANE to form PEACE with the E of SOLDIER. Here in this country she had found peace. Peace for fifty years.
Jane, Dora, Margot and Anne, four grey heads bent over the scrabble board at the leisure centre.
“Well I guess I’m on the wane,” sighed Jane as she began the game, plecing the letters WANE with trembling fingers.
“Aren’t we all. That’s fourteen for you.” said Anne, writing down the score.
“Hurrah! I’ve got a bingo! Look at this y’all!” called Dora as she placed the letters SOLDIER vertically on the board, turning WANE into WANED.
Her mind went back to the smiling young American who had won her heart and been her husband for forty years. She had returned home to her birthplace, but two of the children were still in the states. She smiled happily at her companions, but met solemn faces.
“Anne, that’s a bonus fifty for Dora,” said Jane picturing her grandson, somewhere in Iraq. Oh God, keep him safe! was her silent prayer.
Anne’s pen was stationary over the paper. Suddenly she was back in Vietnam, staring at the young man with blue eyes and curly hair who had just opened his eyes. As an army nurse she had been part of the team that has saved his life, and here he was grinning up at her, not yet realising that he had lost both legs and most of his right arm.
Margot’s hand hovered over the letters on her rack. Her thoughts were back in Hungary, where, as a frightened nine-year-old, she had seen a German soldier come and take away her father, who was Jewish.
Her mother was Catholic, and Margot had found her kneeling beside the big bed weeping tears onto the rosary beads in her hands. They had locked the house but after dark there came a soft knock on the kitchen door.
Margot had opened it to find her father standing there.
“Sh!” he warned her and came softly in and closed the door.
“What happened? How did you get away?” asked her mother.
Papa’s arms were round them both. ”When we came to the wheat fields the soldier said, ‘I have a daughter just the age of your little girl. Perhaps you need to go into the wheat fields and relieve yourself.’ So I went into the wheat and just lay still until dark. I’ll go now. Perhaps if I look I may find some food in the fork of the big oak where we used to go when we were courting. Remember you haven’t seen me. We don’t want the soldier to get into trouble. Margot had better go and stay with your cousins in the North. Softly he had opened the door and was gone.
“Margot! It’s your turn!” said Dora.
“Oh, sorry! I was thinking of something else!”
She found the letters PEAC and placed them parallel to Jane’s WANE to form PEACE with the E of SOLDIER. Here in this country she had found peace. Peace for fifty years.
First try
This is my first try at making a blog. My granddaughter is showing me how.
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
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