A Happy Christmas Day

Here are the happy Christmas girls . . .


Here is my Daddy. He's an avid gardener, and it was hard for him to tear himself away from the book I bought him on hippyastrums - even to come to lunch.


We had a relaxing afternoon chatting, eating, chatting, and eating more. Esther got lots of exercise though . . . and Daddy joined in some of the time.

It was fun standing in the sun with the cold wind blowing, watching Esther race around laughing. We had a cold change the day before Christmas. Apparently some snow was even falling on the mountain on the 24th.

I made biscuit angels to put on the tree, since it looked somewhat bare. It is fun having decorations that people ask if they can eat :). Esther looked deeply confused and protested when I began stringing them on the tree though.

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Giving Thanks at Christmas

I can finally post some pictures of my Christmas party on 11 December. 20-30 people came along and we had a good time. We had two trees, the little one Esther is standing next to and the big one Aunty Val (my step grandmother) and I are in front of. I love to decorate, and it was fun to have a fresh pine tree.













Some friends I had not seen for a while came - including Julie and Genevieve. Julie (the one in the skirt) was one of the people I asked to share something she was thankful for from the past year. I also shared some things I was thankful for. These include how God enabled me to graduate from university in August, and secure a three day a week job in Launceston as a teacher's aid for next year. He also enabled me to learn more about his sovereignty, and the importance of being thankful, honouring my parents, and church. As well as this thanksgiving slot, I asked my friend Phil Ninness to share a short message about Christmas. He gave a five minute message on Luke 1. He has posted some of the content on it on his blog, and you can read it here The talk was very good, although it did cause a German exchange student to ask her host family "Is it normal to have sermons at Australian parties?".


I was grateful to God that I was able to make my party a spiritual time, as well as a fun time to eat lots of food, chat, and enjoy the beautiful garden my parents have created. It was a hot summer day. I also handed out small gifts of a wrapped cake and a card to my guests. I wanted to express thanks to people, so I wrote little thank you notes in most of the cards. I love the USA tradition of thanksgiving, and seeing my need to develop more gratitude, I wanted to have a theme of thanks at the party. God is so good to us - we need to express that more!

Soon I will post about the happy Christmas Day I spent with my family! I hope you had a happy Christmas too.

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The Nativity

I love this beautiful nativity scene some of my neighbours put up in a yard. The sign says "Heaven's Greatest Gift". I guess it is their way of reminding people of the importance of Christ.

I had always thought nativity scenes were a great way to remind people what the season is about, but Carmon's post on them has made me think a bit more deeply about it. I also love her approach to dealing with differences between Christians on these matters.

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Watch Your Steps

When I read Our Children are Sponges it reminded me of a story from Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steve Wilkins. This story touched me when I read it last year. I hope you enjoy it too!

A favorite maxim ofthe Puritans was, "The father is the mirror by which the child dresses himself." In spite of all that is often said to the contrary we know this to be so. The greatest influence we will ever have is that which we have on the children that God has given us.

This reality was impressed upon thirty-three year old Robert Lee one winter's day eight years after the birth of his son Custis . . . One afternoon Lee took Custis for a walk in the snow, holding him by the hand. When they had walked for a short way, Custis dropped his father's hand and fell behind. In a few minutes Lee looked back over his shoulder and saw Custis imitating his every movement. Walking as his father walked, head and shoulders erect, with all the grace and dignity the eight-year-old could muster, he was struggling to walk in the very footprints his father had left behind in the snow.

Lee said later, "When I saw this, I said to myself 'It behooves me to walk very straight, when this fellow is already following in my tracks.'"

You don't have to have your own children to know the reality of this story! When I visited my nephews in Queensland, the two year old began to copy how I carry my pillow to any chair I go to sit on (it helps my sore back). He would come to the table with a cusion and say "I need my pillow". This was very funny, but also a scary reminder of what mimics children are!

I want to keep this fact in mind as I babysit my neice and other children. I see Esther several times a week, and I'll probably be a part of her life for many years. I want to leave a good legacy, in the small things and the large ones. The fact that children are mimics is also important in relation to choosing a husband. "What sort of father and grandfather will this man be?" is an important question to consider.

Here is another picture of Esther, unwrapping her presents on her birthday. Grandma gave her a wheelbarrow and lots of little tools. I am so glad that Esther's Grandma is a great example to her (and to me!) of love for God and others.

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Returning to the Backyard?

In November I wrote in this post about meeting Dr. David van Gend. I would like to recommend to you two of his articles. The first is on a topic of great currency in Australia at the moment, the abortion drug RU486.Political will or safer pill? discusses some of the issues associated with RU486, which are important to know about if we are to make a response. Please consider sending in a short letter to the Senate Inquiry into this issue, before January 16. Include your contact details and email as a Word attachment to community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

Dr. van Gend also has a great article, Abortion Distortions, exposing the myths surrounding backyard abortions. Even many Christians I know are put off doing anything toward reducing abortion levels because they believe that women will die if abortion is more difficult to access. I have personally looked at the Commonwealth Records of Maternal Deaths covering the last century, because of being confronted with this concern so much. They clearly show that few women ever died. No coat hangers featured in any of those deaths, either. The reduction in these few deaths occured after antibiotics were introduced, and had very little correlation with making abortion more accessible. Those I have passed Dr. van Gend's article onto have been strongly impacted with the facts he presents, and annoyed that this issue as been falsly presented over and over again.

My friend Christina Sonnemann has written a great article about how in advocating RU486, those who so often raise the spectre of backyard abortions are really arguing for a return to them. I hope it will be available online soon. Women who take RU486 usually abort at home, and deal with the many complications on their own. If you are really concerned about a return to the backyard, oppose this drug becoming available in Australia.

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They Shall Vanish

When I returned from a three week holiday to Queensland in September, I was amazed to see so many beautiful flowers blooming in my garden. It made me think of how when we plant the right things in our lives, the result can be beauty. However, within a month they had almost completely died off and looked ugly! So my mind returned to what my flowers usually remind me of. Psalm 37: 20 -

But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the LORD,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

My flowers are beautiful for a while, but they are also a regular reminder that the success of the wicked is brief.

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Simple Little Pleasures

I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures following one another softly like pearls slipping off a string. L. M. Montgomery.

Last week it was lovely to stay home a lot of the time. School is finished for the year, and one of the usual church meetings is not on this month, so there were fewer reasons to go out. I love to stay at home and get more exercise done, help around the house, look at my flowers in the garden and plant a few, read, learn the Bible, pray, and so much more! I rarely get to spend more than one whole day at home in a week.

There are so many simple little pleasures to take joy in at home. The bird songs outside my window, clean dishes, a recipe that works out, music playing, the trees waving against the blue sky, a seed coming up, the sound of Esther's excited laughter, a quote or Bible verse that inspires me, the taste of a fresh strawberry, a sunset, or even Mum's neat rows of vegetables. When I came to know my Heavenly Father's love several years ago, it was like I could have joy in the beauty of life in a new way. My heart had been shuttered not only from His love, but also from the wonder of what he has given us.

It has also been good to stay home more to recover from my busy weekend on 10 - 11 Dec. I babysat Friday night and Saturday, had to do lots of preparation for my Christmas party, held my Christmas party on Sunday, and went to church. After that I let myself begin a novel, something I rarely do! I am re-reading Anne of Ingleside. I want to put pictures of my party on my blog, but I'm having problems importing photos to my computer. It was both fun and a good spiritual time.

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