Thankful Thursday

Here are some things that I’m thankful for this week:

New Shoes
I’ve been looking for some black boots for a very long time and I’m very particular about what I like.  Basically I just wanted something like my old ones, but they’ve proven very difficult to find!  On Saturday we went shopping and I found a pair that was half price and real leather (a bonus that I do preferred but expected to be too expensive).  Here’s hoping that they last longer than my old pair.  I’m very thankful to have finally replaced these shoes in my wardrobe.

College Revue
Before I got to college I didn’t know what a revue was.  Here it is basically a bit of a talent night mixed with a comedy night.  It is expected that all acts will be funny.  I enjoyed the fun and laughs of last year’s revue but this year’s was even better.  There was much less of the (admittedly very Australian) humour of paying each other out which made the night feel much friendlier.  I was in two acts; one a medley of songs re-written on the theme of Jesus’ ascension (a comedy of our recent second year hymn-writing Doctrine 2 assignment), and a dance with some boys attempting ballet in the background (they were the funny ones, not the ‘real’ dancers).  One of my favourite acts was about the strange things that some people donate to our college op-shop.  It was such a fun night and I am truly thankful for the community that I am a part of at college.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

This week has been… well actually I’m not sure how to describe it.  Perhaps I’ll just tell you what I’m thankful for and you’ll get a picture of what my week was like from that.

Showing off my knowledge of the Zoo
Well perhaps that’s not the best way of putting it, but I was in charge of the map and the route we took to tour the zoo so I did feel a bit like a tour guide.  On Saturday we took three friends from church to the Zoo with us.  In our college community a number of families, including us, pool some money together to buy five Zoo membership passes and this means that we can essentially treat friends to a free trip to the zoo.  One of the girls we took on Saturday is new to our church and new to Australia so it was lovely to show her some Australian animals in particular.  I’m thankful for this opportunity to bless our friends and the fun that we had together at the Zoo.  I’m also thankful that the rain stopped pretty early on in the day so we weren’t miserably huddled under  our umbrellas the whole time.

Learning more about the Holy Spirit
This week our college has been having their annual lecture series.  This year the lectures are being given by Michael Horton, on the topic of the Holy Spirit.  I’ve really appreciated learning more about the Holy Spirit.  He’s the member of the Trinity who is spoken about the least so it has been good to look deeper into who he is and what he does.  Though there are moments when the technical terms go over my head, I’ve been pleased at what I have understood and it has shown me that I really have learnt lots over my time at college so far.  Last year I certainly couldn’t have understood as much as I did of these lectures. 

Opportunities to exercise
I’ve fallen out of my regular exercise routine, since the mid year holidays.  I haven’t been very good at getting back into it after my fitness slid downhill over the break.  Interruptions from sickness, study and being away haven’t helped, but this week I seem to be getting back into it.  I exercise with one of the other wives in our community, I play netball and I do ballet.  I’m hoping these things can help get my fitness back up and give me some more energy. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Why you don’t have to hear God’s voice in your heart

So I’ve finally gotten around to starting to write about each chapter of this book.  Sorry for the wait, I promise this book is worth it.

In this first chapter of his book Good News for Anxious Christians, Cary writes about hearing God’s voice and trusting your own hearts.  He states that you don’t need to figure out which of the voices in your heart is God’s voice, simply because none of them are.   Listening to your heart gives us self-knowledge, and this is good to have, but it doesn’t give you knowledge of God.  To know God you have to listen to God, and this means listening to a word that comes from outside yourself – the Bible. 

The Bible says that  Christ dwells in our hearts by faith (Eph 3:17), but it directs our attention outside our hearts for what we should put our faith in: Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of Christ (that is, the good news about Jesus) (Rom10:17). 

We should be confident to name the little voice of wisdom in our heart’s as our own.  But often we label this voice as God’s in order to be able to take it seriously.  We think that our own voice or feelings are unimportant or wrong and not worth listening to.  This belief undermines our sense of morality, responsibility, and self-knowledge. 

Our hearts are largely shaped by what comes from outside them so it is important to hear the word of God properly preached and to take it into our hearts.  God does speak today, but it’s not in the voice of your heart.  God speaks through the Bible, which is his word.  This word gets into our heart and we repeat the word’s of God in our hearts, but this doesn’t mean that it is God’s voice.  God’s word shapes our hearts, but he speaks externally to our hearts. It has always been this way: God in his wisdom has chosen to speak to his people externally through the words of prophets, apostles, preachers and teachers.  

Cary also has some thoughts about how this idea of hearing God’s voice in your heart has gained traction which I won’t go into, you’ll have to read the book. 

This chapter was so warming to my heart.  I realised that guilt that I have felt for not hearing God’s voice is totally misplaced.  I was encouraged to memorise Bible passages so that I have the word of God in my heart.  This chapter has implications for decision making but that will be discussed in a later chapter. 

What are your thoughts about this?  Do you have any questions?  I’m very happy to chat about it so feel free to comment below this blog post.

Next up is ‘Why you don't have to believe your intuitions are the Holy Spirit’ (probably not until the weekend).

Postponed Thankful Thursday

Again I have been lax in writing here on my blog, and particularly in keeping up with my weekly Thankful Thursday posts.  Right now I’m just thankful that I’ve finally finished my essay (which I got an extension for because of being sick the week it was due).  This may be a short post because I am also thankful to be going to bed very soon.

This week I’m thankful for:

Help at Kid’s Club
J had to fill it at Kid’s Club last minute today because a couple of leaders were away, including the one who was due to do the talk.  With little preparation J did the talk on the relevant passage, brilliantly fielded some tricky questions from the kids about eternal life, and threw himself into the games.  I love watching him interact with children and seeing how much he enjoys it. 

Netball
On Tuesday we had our first game of netball and it was good fun.  I haven’t run like that in quite a while so even though we only played two 12 minute halves that was enough for me.  It was fun to do something as part of a team again and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get to know the people in my team.  I’m thankful for the invitation to join the team, which came as a surprise for me. 

Baby cuddles
A friend who I studied with last year and who lives near our college community has just had a baby.  One of the wonderful ways our community supports those with newborns is to organise a meal roster.  Today it was our turn and when we dropped off the meal J and I both got to have a hold of the little 3 week old cutie.  I’m always amazed at how little babies start out. 

Now I’m off to bed.  What are you thankful for this week?

The long-awaited wedding

Last weekend I was thrilled to be a part of my dear friends’ wedding.  You may have seen some photos on Facebook already.  These friends have been dating for a long time, so it was wonderful to see them so happy to marry each other that day. 

There were a few things that I particularly liked about the wedding that I thought I’d share with you. 

On the Friday I helped out with making table decorations.  I’ve never done flower arranging before, but it was lots of fun.  I oiled vine leaves, cut them up and used them to cover an oasis (the green pad that you stick flowers into).  Someone else cut all the other pieces and eventually it was organised into an assembly line.  Here’s the final product:

I was one of the bridesmaids and I loved the dresses and shoes that we wore.  It wasn’t a typical ‘formal’ dress,  and I think this is what the bride was going for, something a bit different.  They were a beautiful blue and white pattern with some white stripes.  We also had orange shoes to contrast.  I liked that it was different from the typical or traditional wedding style (though my own wedding was pretty traditional).  I like that the bride and groom were happy to do things their own way.  I love that I’ll definitely be able to wear this dress again, and it will remind me of this wonderful day.

Another thing that was different than typical was that the bridesmaids didn’t have flowers.  Instead we carried large Scrabble-style letters, representing the bride and groom.  This photo was taken outside after the wedding and we’re huddling close together because the breeze was cold.  

But the best part of the wedding was seeing these two dear friends finally getting married.  They looked so happy as it was happening, and then relieved when it was done.   I am looking forward to seeing their love for each other grow and continuing our friendship with them. 

Congratulations J & E!

Thankful Thursday

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and I’m sorry for this.  Last week was also a busy week and the weekend didn’t slow down at all.  Here are some things that I’m thankful for this week:

Helping friends as they marry
Some dear friends got married on the weekend.  She was my maid of honour and he was one of our groomsmen for our wedding.  I was thrilled to be one of her bridesmaids and to be able to help her as she prepared for marriage and on her wedding day.  I’m so thankful for our friendship and that she lets me love and support her.  It was a joy to see them so happy to get married.  I’ll write more on the wedding later, but for now, here is a picture (with two groomsmen missing, I’m not sure where they were). 

My popcorn machine
I got this for Christmas from my sister because I asked for it.  Last year I tried making popcorn in a paper bag in the microwave and it failed miserably (and I was quite upset, perhaps I shouldn’t have tried to make it for a special reason; a date night movie night at home).  I’ve used it a couple of times this week so I could eat a light snack when I got home and I always love how easy it is to use, and it actually works.  I know that some people disparage one-function or ‘specialty’ kitchen items but the heartache that it has prevented is totally worth it.  Thanks sis!

The chance to play netball again
Today I was approached by a third year at college who asked if I was interested in joining a college netball team that plays on the uni campus just near college.  I haven’t played in a few years but I love the camaraderie of team sports and the fact that it’s a fun way of doing some exercise.  I can’t promise to be very good but I’m looking forward to running around on the court again.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

I don’t really want to write this today.  This week hasn’t been a great week, and it’s not going to end soon enough for me.  But as I look back there are still some things I can be thankful for, which shouldn’t surprise me.  God’s blessings are all through my life if I only look.  And part of the point of doing this Thankful Thursday thing was to remind myself of the things I can be thankful for, even when I feel like life isn’t great. 

College friends
On Saturday night we had some friends from college over: two ladies from our year who live in the residence at college.  It was lovely to have them over.  I asked for advice with my knitting, a car was washed and we played a few games after dinner.  It was just nice spending time with them.  I’m also thankful for my friends at college and enjoyed seeing them again now that semester two has started.  I had a good conversation with a friend over lunch today about why this week is stressing me out and she was lovely and gentle as we discussed together.  Thank you friend.  

Chaplaincy Group
This morning I had chaplaincy group, a group of second to fourth years who meet weekly to discuss various issues of theology and life.  This is also the group we went with on mission together.  Today we met our new male chaplain, because the one we had last semester is now away on study leave.  He is a new lecturer at college.  It was lovely to meet him and get to know him a bit, as well as be back together as a chaplaincy group and laugh together.  I enjoy our camaraderie. 

Hope
I wrote about this already in my previous post so I’ll just mention it briefly here.  I heard a wonderful sermon yesterday that was so encouraging.  I am thankful for all that God has done, who he is, and who I am because of him.  I have hope because of Jesus, so I try to look up at him. 

What are you thankful for this week?

Look up with hope

Yesterday I heard a wonderful sermon in Women’s chapel from a friend and fellow second year.  She preached from Ephesians 1:15-23 and reminded us why we need to keep hearing the truths about God and the good news of Jesus.  And she blessed us by encouraging us with these truths.

Sometimes we know things about God and we can even explain them well, talk about them and write about them in an essay.  But do we really know know them?  Do they change our lives, our hearts, our focus?  We have to keep hearing the good news because we so easily forget.  We forget that God has saved us from the evil in our hearts, that he has forgiven us for our rebellion, that he loves us.  I have forgotten this. 

Look up and know the certainty of the hope that you have in Jesus if you belong to him.

I’ve been having a tough week.  Too many things have to get done and I don’t want to do any of them.  I want to just escape.  My friend’s words as she explained this part of God’s word to us were a soothe to my soul.  I have hope in Jesus, and nothing can take that away. 

I needed to hear so much of what she said. 

And then in the afternoon I heard another encouraging sermon from a friend in preaching group (one of my subjects at college).  She reminded me that God is sovereign.  That means that he is still in control even when I feel that there is no control in my life.  I grasped at this truth in the restlessness and chaos I was feeling. 

Thank you God for these sisters.  Thank you for these truths. 

Late Thankful Thursday

I’m sorry that this one is late.  Yesterday was full of house cleaning and friends so I had no time to sit down and write this.  But here is is, better late than never.

Here’s what I’m thankful for this week:

Our time in Adelaide
We had a wonderful time in Adelaide, catching up with some family and friends.  We didn’t get to see everyone, and for that we are disappointed, but this did mean we didn’t completely tire ourselves out hopping from one appointment to another.  It was lovely to be back in our familiar places, hanging out with old friends, having meals with our families.  We are both looking forward to returning to Adelaide after we’ve finished at college. 

Being home again
But as nice as it was to be in Adelaide with friends and family, it’s also nice to be home, in our own bed, with our full wardrobe, our own bathroom.  Not that I didn’t appreciate the spaces that our parents made available to us.  There’s just something about being in your own home, where your things are packed away into cupboards and not a suitcase.  Now that we’re home I’ve been watching some TV, reading and relaxing before we go back to college next week. 

Time with friends
Yesterday we spent the afternoon with friends in town, walking through some of the Botanic Gardens and then visiting the Art Gallery.  Though we’ve been here for a year and a half, we still haven’t seen many of these things of this city.  Afterwards we had our friends over to our place for dinner.  It was lovely spending time with these friends.  They shared with us things we didn’t know about the Gardens or the Gallery.  They we’re patient with us as we finished preparing dinner, and we just enjoyed chatting and sharing our lives.  We are thankful for these friends.

What are you thankful for this week?

Learning an old skill

I don’t know if people say that knitting is dying out.  I sometimes wonder if old ladies think that it is.  It kind of seems like it’s something that only grandmas do: they knit little booties and bonnets for their baby grandchildren.  But I’ve seen enough young women knitting to know this isn’t true. 

There are a number of women at college who knit: beanies, scarves, gloves.  And finally, they have inspired me.  I’ve decided to learn to knit.  

While back home I asked my mum to teach me to knit.  I'd learn before, as a child, but it never really went anywhere.  I think I only ever knitted one square. 

Here's my practice knitting.  

Now I've decided to knit an infinity scarf.  But I haven't decided what stitch to use.  I'm hoping to get some advice from my knitting friends. 

I know that knitting isn’t dying out, but I sometimes wonder about other ‘old skills’.  I remember a pin lace artist telling me that she thought her art was dying out.  What beautiful skills are we leaving forgotten because of our fast-paced, consumerist, machine-enabled culture?  It makes me sad to think about knowledge that has been lost or forgotten. 

Now I know learning knitting doesn’t really change anything.  If I really wanted to continue the knowledge of a dying art perhaps I should have tried pin lace.  But I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment from learning the skill of knitting and I’m looking forward to having made something with it.  I won’t have relied on a machine, or someone else, to make me something.  And that makes me feel a little better. 

The faith of an old man

Today J and I visited a man who used to go to our church in Adelaide.  He now lives in a nursing home, at the age of 99, because he can't really care for himself anymore.  Visiting him was such an encouragement for me.

He was excited and surprised to see us, not knowing that we were in Adelaide, and told us that he had prayed for us just this morning.  This man is an exceptional man of prayer.  His eyesight is poor and his hearing is going so he can't really watch TV or read a book (not even the Bible.  He now listens to it through headphones).  He told us that instead he spends his evenings praying, every evening.  I suspect that he spends most of his time praying really.  I couldn't imagine concentrating on prayer for that long, but hearing his commitment to prayer was an encouragement for me to keep working on my discipline for spending time in prayer.

He is very old and is eagerly awaiting his death so that he can go to be with God.  When I asked how he was he complained that he was too well!  But he expressed his trust in God's timing and he makes the most of the time that he has left. 

Here is one example.  He told us that he spoke to one of the cleaners who works in the nursing home and asked her if she loved Jesus.  The cleaner told him that she did, and he was so pleased.  When he found out she didn't read the Bible often he encouraged her that she needed to be fed from God's word.  Later on he gave her an old copy of a Bible reading plan and commentary notes, which she found very useful and encouraging. 

I always find myself encouraged after speaking to this faithful old man.  He always encourages us to keep loving and serving God, and his faith shines through in everything he does and says.  I can only hope and pray that God would create in me such a faithful heart.

Thankful Thursday

Here are some things that I'm thankful for this week.

We're in Adelaide! 
This is one of the big things that J and I are very excited about and thankful for this week.  We're thankful that we had the money to buy flights home (and that we found cheap flights with Jetstar).  We're really looking forward to catching up with friends here.  We've already got some catch ups organised but we still have time for some more so please get in touch if you'd like to see us.  We want to make the most of our time here and catch up with as many friends as we can.

People who drive us places
Since we've flown to Adelaide we don't have a car to get around, but so far our friends and family have been lovely picking us up and dropping us off places.  A big thanks particularly to our college community friend who dropped us at the airport (and his kids for being fun in the car).  Having others drive us around makes me thankful again that we do have a car, even if it's not here.  It is a privilege to be able to drive at all, and to be able to afford owning and running a car.

A haircut
This morning I went with Mum to the hairdresser where we both had a haircut.  It's nice to go back to my regular hairdresser and catch up with them.  It's also a lovely feeling to have freshly cut hair.  I'm also thankful that they were able to fit me in while we are in Adelaide and that it's before my friend's wedding so that my hair is easy to work with for the wedding hairdresser.  It was also a bonus that Mum insisted on paying for my haircut, thanks Mum!

What are you thankful for this week?

"Good News for Anxious Christians" book 'review'

This book was recommended to my class at college this year by one of our Mission and Ministry lecturers.  I've been wanting to read it all term but never really got the opportunity until the holidays.  J read it during semester and liked it so much that we bought it. 

The sub-title of the book is 'Ten practical things you don't have to do'.  I haven't finished reading it but what I have read has been such a soothe to my heart.  I've decided that I'd like to blog through the chapters of the book and share with you my highlights.  Hopefully you will find it helpful, as I have, and perhaps are even encouraged to read it yourself. 

In his preface Cary describes his book as an attempt to 'preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to Christians'.  His introduction is about why trying to be Christian makes us anxious and how we can see God's commands in the Bible as freeing us from anxiety rather than producing anxiety. 

Cary attacks what he calls 'the new evangelical theology' which has introduced supposedly practical ideas to help us in Christian life but which are not Biblical, and actually get in the way of believing the gospel. 

These are the areas he addresses in each chapter:

1. Why you don't have to hear God's voice in your heart
2. Why you don't have to believe your intuitions are the Holy Spirit
3. Why you don't have to "Let God take control"
4. Why you don't have to "Find God's will for your life"
5. Why you don't have to be sure you have the right motivations
6. Why you don't have to worry about splitting head from heart
7. Why you don't have to keep getting transformed all the time
8. Why you don't always have to experience joy
9. Why "Applying it to your life" is boring
10. Why basing faith on experience leads to a post-Christian future

There's so much of this that I'm looking forward to reading.  I hope you enjoy learning along with me as I read this book!

Thankful Thursday

Here are some things that I am thankful for this week:

Holidays with friends
This week J and I are up in the Blue Mountains with some friends from college.  We've spent the week so far sitting in front of the fire and listening to the 'cyclonic' wind outside.  We've ventured a few trips outside: once to a gingerbread cafe, once for op-shopping, and once for a short walk (which I didn't go for because I had some work to do).  We've completed two 1000 piece puzzles, both without a picture to refer to.  We've watched a little bit of TV, enjoyed everyone's cooking (but especially S's baking).  Many of these friends are the same ones we went away with in Spring last year (you can read that post here).  I love these friends, the conversations that we have and the care that we show each other.  This has been a wonderful holiday. 

Starting the third jugsaw puzzle

Tea
Many of us have brought tea away with us on holiday so we've been able to try different teas throughout the week.  There's something so lovely about curling up on a couch with friends, sharing a pot of tea.  The weather being so cold, has made it feel even more cozy than normal. 

The internet on my phone
Since we're away on holidays we don't have our home WiFi.  I've had a few things that I've needed to do this week that require the internet, and so I'm very thankful that I can use my phone to do these things.  Technology has progressed so much, even just in my lifetime and so often we take it for granted what we can do with it.  So I'm thankful for this blessing this week. 

What are you thankful for this week?

The Bible and church

Lately I’ve been thinking about Bible reading in church.  I've posted about an aspect of this before in this post.  This week I'm preparing for service leading at church and it has got me thinking about it again.  How much Bible should be read in church? 

I’ve been in a number of church families with different styles of worship or format of service.  At my first church, a Uniting Church, we followed a lectionary, a three year cycle of Bible readings consisting of a reading (usually a whole chapter) from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a reading from one of the Gospels and one from the rest of the New Testament.  Not all of these readings were done each week at church, but at least one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament was read.  The Psalm may have also been incorporated into a prayer or some other part of the service.  One of these readings would usually be linked to the sermon.

I went to a Roman Catholic high school that followed the same lectionary in their weekly chapel service, so often I would hear the same readings twice a week.  Then in my later years of high school I attended another Uniting Church.  This church usually did two of the lectionary readings and almost always the sermon was was based on the gospel passage.

When J and I got engaged I started attending his church, a small independent church.  This church didn’t follow any lectionary.  There would be a Bible reading before the sermon, being the subject of the sermon.  Some shorter Bible passages may have been used by the leader throughout the service, but no other parts of the Bible were intentionally read.  The same is true for the Baptist church that we’re currently attending.

At college we follow our own lectionary.  We read a chapter from the Old Testament and a chapter from the New Testament each day that we have chapel.  They follow on from each other and when we reach the end of a book we start a new one (not necessarily the next book in the Bible).  We've just finished Ezekiel and 2 Thessalonians.  The sermon is rarely on one of these Bible readings so another reading is done for the sermon, sometimes read by the preacher himself. 

I don’t know if the churches that used a lectionary did so for any reason other than tradition, but I still think that reading from a lectionary is a good idea.  It gives the benefit of hearing from more of the Bible each Sunday at church.  After all, what is the most important part of the church service?  I acknowledge that people may have different opinions on this, but I want to argue that hearing the word of God is the most important.  More important than singing good songs, praying, and even the sermon.

With the lectionary you get to hear from more ‘obscure’ parts of the Bible that wouldn’t normally be preached on or talked about in Sunday school or Bible study group.  And even if your church does preach from the lesser known parts of the Bible, they don’t come up very often so reading from a lectionary means that you read more of the Bible more often. 

Of course, as the service leader I will read from more of the Bible than just the reading for the sermon.  Perhaps this is one of my responsibilities as service leader rather than anything rostered and organised by the church leadership.  But what I read is not going to be consistent with the previous and following weeks.  I could read a chapter from Zechariah but there will be no context for the people to understand it better, and it would just feel very random.  They won't have heard the previous chapter last week or the next chapter next week.  The Bible is meant to be read, it is meant to speak to us.  After all, it is where we find the truth about God.  If we sing five songs, pray three prayers and hear a half-hour sermon, surely we should read a few chapters of the Bible.  Church notices shouldn't take longer than our reading from the word of God.  So I'm working out how I can include more Bible in the service this Sunday. 

I’m not saying that my church isn’t doing things well.  I just wonder if we should be reading more of the Bible in church than just the reading for the sermon.  Because by doing this it can make it seem like the sermon is more important than the Bible reading.  This is because the reading feels like it is done for the sermon, when it should really be the other way around.  The sermon should be done to complement the reading, to expound it for the congregation.  But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that God speaks through his word without us having to say anything else.  Reading more of the Bible in church, parts that the sermon doesn’t talk about, helps to remind us that God’s word is powerful to speak to us all on it's own.  As people who base their faith on what the Bible says, do we believe this?  Do we let God speak from his word?  So let’s do this by reading more of the Bible in church. 

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

Exams are over now!
This week was exam week, and though we second years only had two exams I feel like I’ve been on the back foot the whole time.  I started study week with a cold and it lasted longer than that so my study has been slow and struggled.  So I’m thankful that now as I post this exams are finished!

Two wonderful years of marriage
On Monday J and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary.  We had an exam in the morning so we left the celebrations for the evening (and prepared during the afternoon!).  J made me a lovely dinner (chicken schnitzel and apple sauce) and dessert (salted nutella-chocolate tarts!).  He set the table with a new table cloth and placemats (all cotton, as the traditional second anniversary gift) and we exchanged presents after dinner.  I love how well he knows me, and the love and care he has shown me over the last two years.  Thanks for a wonderful marriage, my husband!

The Reformation
Monday’s exam was Church History, and we’ve been studying the Reformation this year.  I didn’t enjoy studying history at school, but I’ve loved church history at college!  I’m thankful that the church was reformed and as a result of it we have the Bible in our native languages (and we’re allowed to read it!), and we don’t trust in our own merit to save us but rely on the grace of God that through our faith we are saved.  Thank you God for the Reformation!

What are you thankful for this week?

A different type of Bible

I said in my previous post that I would share a bit more about the recommendations from our end of term Bible study group.  People recommended things such as recipes, websites, tea, apps and other things. My recommendation was for a Bible. 

Now that doesn’t really sound like anything too exciting. Why would I bother to recommend a Bible to a whole Bible study group (who already have Bibles)?  But this Bible is a little different. 

It’s called The Books of the Bible.  It’s different than other Bibles because it has no chapter and verse numbers.  It’s laid out in a single column like a regular book.  The textual notes notes are discreetly indicated by a grey dot and are listed at the end of each book rather than at the bottom of each page.  All this is to put the Bible into a form that we’re more used to reading and so make it easier to read.

I first heard about it from Tamie and Arthur’s blog, in this post.   Arthur has reviewed it there so I won’t go into his level of detail.   But I want to tell you why I recommended it. 

For me, I’ve found that without the chapters and verses I am less concerned about reading a set chunk of the Bible (such as a chapter or two) and instead I read until I get to a suitable break in the story or section.  Sometimes this means I read more than I normally would, sometimes less.  But that doesn’t really matter.  Reading the Bible has become less about ticking that box each morning.  I’m more motivated to read it because of this.  The Bible has become less of a textbook to me, and as a consequence has become more interesting to read. 

If you’re finding regular Bible reading dry, or you never really tried to read the Bible because it didn’t seem very interesting, then give this book a try.  I pray that it will help open up God’s word for you.  Because that’s what it is, and it’s worth getting to know. 

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for these things:

A hen’s weekend in Adelaide
I’ve already talked about it here.  It was lovely to go to Adelaide and spend some time with my family as well as some friends for the hen’s event.  I am thankful that we had the money to fly me there for the weekend, and that my family was so generous with picking me up and dropping me at the airport, as well as with quick dinners, gifts and hot chocolates.  I’m thankful for the friendships I have with the girls I spent the weekend with and the fun that we had together.  I’m thankful that my dear friend is getting married and that I am able to support and help her as she prepares for her marriage. 

Studying with my husband
I love that J and I are studying the same course and almost all the same subjects.  This not only means that we can study together and help each other out, but our holidays also happen at the same time and we’re both really looking forward to them! 

My women’s Bible study group
Our college organises women’s Bible studies for the female students and wives of students.  I’m in one of the groups that meets at our college community.  So I only have to walk over to the next block of units to get to Bible study!  I’ve been in one of these groups since we got here and have loved it.  It has been a great way of getting to know some of the other wives in our community here, and a great encouragement to me.  All of the women are godly and switched-on theologically.  This week was the last week that we met for this term and so we had an end of term party of sorts.  We each brought along a recommendation.  More on that later!

What are you thankful for this week?

Barossa Hens

This weekend I flew back to Adelaide for a very dear friend’s Hens weekend.  Admittedly I was a little nervous flying by myself, afraid that I would miss my flight home because the timing was pretty tight.  But it turned out that my Sunday afternoon flight was cancelled and I took the option of an evening flight which made everything much easier. 

Flying in to Adelaide was lovely.  Firstly, I was seated in an exit row so I was very glad we’d made it without me needing to operate the escape hatch!  I had a window seat so I got great views of the city lights at night as we flew over.  Though I wouldn’t necessarily be able to recognise my home city from an aerial viewpoint there was something comfortingly familiar about seeing all those sparkling lights in neat rows and straight lines.  That’s very unlike the city we live in now!  I wish I had a photo to show you but I couldn’t use my phone in the plane at that time.

My sister had taken the night off work so she could pick me up from the airport.  Thanks sis!  We had a fun night of snacks and a movie with a bit of catching up in between it all.  In the morning Mum and Dad got home from Europe, where they’d been for a month.  We caught up for about an hour, I saw photos and was given some gifts to fit into my carry on luggage, before I had to leave for the start of the hens weekend!

We started the weekend off with breakfast at the hen’s house with her mother, mother-in-law-to-be and the girls who were coming for the weekend. 

 

Then we drove through the hills to the Barossa Valley, with the hen blindfolded all the way.  She had no idea where we were going.  I tried to drive gently. 

We stopped at a few wineries for wine tasting, went to Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, had a picnic lunch in a park and pizza dinner at a local restaurant, and played pool in a pub while attempting to fulfil the dares we’d given the hen.  Our evening consisted of silly games, junk food and a Disney movie. 

In the morning we went to another winery for wine tasting and then played croquet.  That was one of the highlights for me.  I’d never played croquet before and it’s not really like anything else.  At our cafe lunch after the croquet we asked the hen some questions about how well she knew her fiancé and then called him to check.  She passed!

The hen is a very dear friend to me and I’m so excited to see her getting ready for marriage and to be able to stand with her on their wedding day.  I’m thankful for her friendship and the support she has always shown me and I so value that she trusts me so that I can support her also, particularly as she prepares for marriage.  I’m looking forward to many more years of friendship with you, my friend!

Thankful Thursday

This post is inspired by another blogger who I’ve been reading regularly.  Unfortunately I can’t link you to her blog because it seems to have moved or shut down.  But a shout out to Samara for the inspiration.

The plan is that I will write a thankful Thursday blog post each week.  I want to do this to remind myself of the things I have to be thankful for in my life, and hopefully encourage others to be thankful as well.  I don’t want this to ever turn into a space for the ‘humble brag’, so if it does sound like that to you, please pull me up on it!  I err on the side of pessimism sometimes so I want to remind myself of the things I can thank God for.  I used to have a notebook where I wrote down things to be thankful for at the end of each day, but that fizzled out a while ago.  Hopefully making this a weekly blog thing it will also keep me accountable to actually doing it.  Here it goes!

Encouragement from my husband
This week and last week I’d been feeling stressed out about getting our final assignment done for the semester.  I hadn’t left myself enough time to do it, it was making me feel guilty and worried.  J was very encouraging, reminding me about why I’m at Bible College, telling me not to worry about marks and praying with and for me. 

Kid’s Club
I have a bit of a mixed relationship with Kid’s Club.  Particularly when I have to do the talk, and that was my job last week.  I don’t like public speaking and I just wanted to stay home and work on my assignment so I didn’t really want to go to Kid’s Club.  To top it off I also left at home one of my props for the talk.  However, somehow (through God’s work I’m sure!) it all pulled together.  I thought of some different illustrations and easily-located props to use in the talk, the kids listened pretty well and were great at memorising the Bible memory verse.  “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).  Please pray with me that these kids would be God’s children by trusting and obeying him. 

Time to spare
Normally I finish my college assignments with minutes to spare.  This means I’m up until midnight on assignment nights, rushing to finish and get all the formatting correct before it hits 11:55pm, the deadline.  But this week I finished and submitted my assignment before dinner.  I was much more calm and had time to check my references conformed to the referencing style.  This was a welcome change and will hopefully help me to aim for this again next time. 

What are you thankful for this week?