I know that some of you have been praying for me as I begin to reduce my anti-depressant medication dosage.  I just wanted to let you know it’s working.  And to say thank you of course.  It means a LOT to me.

I also wanted to let you know that things are going REALLY WELL.  Today is day 4 and I’m feeling better than I have in a LONG time.  I know that there’ll be some days better than others but for now I’m just so relieved and THANKFUL at the direction things have been taking so far.

Earlier in the week, things were rough.  I was having trouble sleeping and recurring nightmares.  Last night I had a wonderful night’s sleep.  That helps too.

Anyway, your continued prayers would be most appreciated.

Sending God’s richest blessings out to each and every one of you.

Which is silly really because when I do, I find my day goes so much better.

And yet some days, it just doesn’t happen.

No real excuses.  It just doesn’t happen.

Some weeks I’ll go all week without actually opening my bible.

That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about music.

Rarely a day goes by when I don’t have a song or two moving through my head.

And guess what?

Most of those words are based on Scripture.

So even on the days that I don’t read my bible, I’m reminded of God’s goodness and mercy through song.

What a beautiful gift. 

One of the things I really enjoy when we’re on Sunday School is that amount that I learn through preparing lessons and children’s talks.  Over the past months, we’ve been covering a number of Kings who ruled in the Old Testament times.  It’s an area of the bible that can often get overlooked.  We all know about David and Solomon and most likely Saul.  But what of all of those who came after them.  There was quite an interesting line up of both good and bad kings in this time.  Many of them with names too hard to pronouce. 

One of the suggested activities for our group this week was to get the kids to make a Taylor Prism.  Helpfully (not), the book didn’t have any information on WHAT the Taylor Prism is all about.

Thank God for google.  :)  I found this really interesting site about the Taylor Prism.  It’s an artefact from Bible Times that has actually been FOUND.  It contains the writings of Sennacherib who was an Assyrian Kind who attacked the Jewish people during the reign of King Hezekiah.

Hezekiah prayed to God and the angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.   Doesn’t that just blow your mind????

I should just add that while the suggested activity was to make a Taylor Prism - it wasn’t to add writings like Sennacherib’s to the outside but instead to write good things about God on their prism.  A great reminder that God is able to turn bad things into good.

Hands up who has NEVER experienced a feeling of jealousy?

:)  It’s a pretty common human emotion isn’t it?

I was reading through Proverbs this morning and came across this verse:

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?  Proverbs 27:4

Jealousy is a very distructive emotion.  Destructive for ourselves and destructive for our relationships.

I remember in High School a horrible incident with my best friend.  To this day I still don’t understand her thinking.  I happened to get a higher mark than her on a Science test.  She was quite intelligent and studied hard and for the most part would get higher grades than me.  Had I known that that one grade on a test was going to destroy what was to me a very important friendship, I might have “dumbed down” on the test.

She chose to end our friendship there and then with the reasoning “I can handle it if you get all the guys but not if you beat me in tests as well”.  What?  For a start, I had no idea where she got the notion that I “got all the guys”.

To say I was devastated is probably not descriptive enough.  To this day, the pain of that experience is still very real.  I was bewildered that something like that could destroy a friendship.  I’d not once even tried to beat her on a test.  I still don’t really “get it”. 

I’ve seen the destructive force of jealousy in more recent friendships as well.  I have a friend that lives not far from here and a while back we got into a very destructive pattern of actually *trying* to make one another jealous.  It wasn’t deliberate but after many visits and trying to analyse why I always felt so ghastly whenever we visited them, I realised what was happening.

I was absolutely as guilty as she was in this exchange.  And it was wrong!!!  For a while I had to work hard to avoid certain conversations until I could find the peace of contentment in my own heart.  Now we don’t seem to get entangled in that trap.  But I shudder to think how that *might* have ended up.

Jealousy destroys our very souls.  It eats away at us from the inside.  While it is a human emotion, we need to stop it in it’s tracks.  That’s easier said than done sometimes.  Cultivating an attitude of gratitude and contentment is a constant task.  One that Satan doesn’t want us to achieve.  Therefore we’re having a constant battle against the forces of evil to ward off those feelings of jealousy and our own feelings of inadequacy.

Paul speaks about Contentment in his first letter to Timothy:

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  1 Timothy 6:6

How do we fight those jealousy demons?  By focusing on God.  By cultivating a thankful heart for all He has done and all He has given us.  And by reminding ourselves that it’s not about who WE are.  It’s about who GOD is.

I pray for each one that reads this, the blessing that contentment brings.  Oh, and I pray it for me too because this is a struggle that we all face.

Dear Lord, Please help us all to fight the demons of jealousy and discontent.  Help us to remember that possessions are simply a passing in the wind and not so important in the scheme of things.  Help us to remember that who WE are has everything to do with YOU.  You made us and love us just as we are.  Bless each person that reads these words and touch their hearts today.  Amen.

Here’s an example of the kinds of Bible Verses we liked to add to each others birthday cards:

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”  Proverbs 11:22

Solomon sure did have a way with words!!!!

There is still plenty of meaning to be gleaned from the verse - after you’ve stopped laughing at the imagery. 

I guess it’s saying that jewellery is wasted on a pig as is beauty wasted on a woman who doesn’t show discretion (I’m assuming here it’s a reference to a certain degree of modesty etc).

What do you think?  Any interesting Proverbs that you’ve come across in your reading?

I love my kids.  Have I told you that before?  Right now my youngest two are holding church in our lounge room.  I’m sitting in the office next door.  I’m out of sight but within hearing distance.  And listening to them just makes me want to cry with how wonderful they are.

Most of the songs are made up.  A moment ago my daughter was singing “dance to the glory of God”.

Hang on, it’s time for the children’s talk.  Have to listen.

Something about a heart.  And God sent His son and Jesus is important. 

I do have one question though.  Why is she singing with an American accent?  I’m pretty sure no-one at our church sings quite like that. :D  Too much TV do you think?

Now “Stephen has something to tell you” (that’s “dad” and the youngest son is playing that part).  I can’t quite hear what he’s saying.

Ooh, I just took a peak and DD has her toy laptop set up in front of her (we use a laptop at church connected to a projector).

Sounds like church is over for today.

Oh how I wish I could bottle some of this for later when they’re all grown up and left home.

Dear Lord,  Thank you for my beautiful children.  I pray that their hearts will always stay soft and open to you.  That they may grow up with a burning desire to love and serve you every day of their lives.  Amen.

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. Proverbs 10:17

Ouch! Anyone else noticed that Solomon liked to talk about the importance of discipline???

How do we go if someone tries to gently point something out to us. Do we react with pride and get defensive? I know I tend to.

My husband is an amazing man. If someone tries to point out some kind of “fault” to him, he very rarely reacts. He listens. He doesn’t always take it on board but he will listen and consider what is said.

I’m sure that’s part of why he is such a wise man. I wish I was more like that.

Now, I don’t believe that as Christians we should run around pointing out one another’s faults. In fact, the bible really stresses the opposite. That we should focus on ourselves and not get so worried about what others are doing.

So, is this talking about the gentle correction of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps someone in leadership in the church?

What do you think?

What are your thoughts on this verse?

How do you go with “heeding discipline”?

I LOVE the book of Proverbs. So much wonderful wisdom for pretty much any aspect of our lives. Over the weekend I took some time out just to browse a little through Proverbs. I find it a great book to turn to when I’m not really feeling like anything too heavy and yet want to be inspired.

I was thinking it might be a bit of fun to delve into Proverbs together.

So, here’s a little challenge for anyone who would like to participate.

1. What is your favourite Proverb (you’re allowed more than one favourite)? If you don’t already have a favourite just take a browse through Proverbs and pick out 1 or 2 that you like.

2. What is the most unusual Proverb you can find?

When I was in a young adults bible study group (back when I WAS a young adult lol), it was kind of a tradition to find the most obscure verse in the bible and write that in each others birthday cards. Proverbs was a great source for this fun.

So, leave a comment here with your answers and we’ll talk about these verses a bit over the next few days/week/whatever.

I haven’t forgotten about the chronological reading of the bible but I also haven’t gotten to it yet. :/ It happens.

One thing about attending a funeral is that it brings you face to face with the fact that life does indeed have a finality to it. At least life as we know it here on earth. There is a saying I’ve heard numerous times that there are only two things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. Well, I know some people have found ways to cheat their way out of taxes. I’m yet to find anyone (except Jesus of course) who’s found a way to cheat death.

The funeral I went to recently was for a lady with 6 children. Sadly, of the 6 children, only 1 stood up and said “I know we’ll see each other again mum”.

Funerals are a great celebration of life but they are also a reminder of our own mortality. None of us know how long we’ll be here on this earth. Do you know where you’re going when you do depart?

The Bible has this to say:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

For all that we try to complicate things, it really IS as easy as that. All the hard work is done. God is in the business of adoption. It’s not about who you are. It’s about who HE IS and what He has already DONE through the cross.

What does “saved” mean? It means when you depart from this life you go on to spend eternity with God. None of us DESERVE this. However, it is still God’s heart and passion that each one of us desire to be adopted into His family and spend eternity with Him.

You can’t cheat death. Do you know where you’re going when you depart from this earth?

My husband and I are travelling interstate for a funeral and would greatly appreciate prayer for safe travel and also prayer for strength in dealing with the funeral and the grief.  And of course that we can be a support for the family of the deceased.