Troubles with Blogger

Does anyone else have a problem with Blogger putting in and taking away spaces between paragraphs at will? It decides to rearrange the spacing - the results of which generally appear only in the published post - and it just will not allow me to change it back. I seem to have a particular problem with this when I put photos in - even when I put the photos in first and then work my text around them. Can anyone give me a handy hint here so that it doesn't take three times as long as it ought to publish a post, not to mention a ton of unnecessary frustration?

Garden Update # 6

Well, the first thing to say is that things really do grow in this garden because take a look here - all five plants are still alive and check out the weeds!


And look at the lovely jonquils that appeared at the base of one of the gum trees in the garden. These are really lovely.


But back to the weeds. Something will need to be done about this! Methinks that would mean weeding! Ah...the realites of gardening are beginning to hit home. But when that is done I have some bags of shredded paper (free from the local library) to spread over the garden bed...

...followed by the mulch!

Next up are the two new plants.

These grow to about 80cms, whereas the other five plants in thus far will grow to about a metre, so these will look nice in the front. They have a diosma-like vibe but I think they'll be less leggy and more abundant in flowers. New plants of course come with the obligatory bag of gypsum!

Finally, the strawberries.

Last week strawberries dropped in price in the supermarket from about $5 down to $2 per punnet and they have been so sweet and delicious. Consequently we have eaten our way through four punnets of them in the last seven days. N and I decided that if strawberries were in season, then strawberry plants were in order. He saw them first actually. This will be our first foray into growing produce. How hard can it be to grow strawberries after all?

The last little bit of garden news is to show off the swing set. We took delivery of this from some dear friends who are moving house. We are the fourth family to have it. And it has been a real hit. Thanks Helen.

The Story of Christianity Volume One by Justo Gonzales

When we study the life and work of past generations, and when we interpret it, we are doing history. But we must remember that future generations will read about our times as past history. In that sense, like it or not, both by our action and by our inaction, we are making history. This is both an exhilarating opportunity and an awesome responsibility, and it demands that we do history in order to be able to make it more faithfully.
(The Story of Christianity Volume One by Justo Gonzales p. xvii)

Now, if you happen to be looking for a good church history book to read, may I recommend "The Story of Christianity" by Justo Gonzales? This work is in two volumes. The first volume covers the early church to the dawn of the reformation – about 1500 years. The second volume picks up just before the reformation and continues on to present times – about 500 years. I have recently finished re-reading the first volume and am looking forward to getting started on the second, particularly as we celebrate Calvin's 500th birthday this year!

Gonzales writes in an eminently readable style - almost like reading a novel. In fact, it is almost as though you are sitting down with him and having a chat over a cup of tea. And the chapters are short – so if like me you are having a go at finding 15 minutes a day to do some substantial reading, short chapters work!

One feature of his writing that I love is the repeated use of the phrase, "To really understand what was going on you need to put your feet in the shoes of…" You would expect this sentence to be finished with the name of one of the greats of church history – a natural assumption for one reading church history from a Christian perspective. But surprisingly, this sentence is usually completed with the name of the opposing party which is in fact very helpful - to consider for example the impact of the Christian onslaught in its very early months upon long, long, long held traditions. You begin to understand why the persecutions broke out in the first place – which is not to condone them. Although Christian through and through, Gonzales' use of this writing technique among other things results in a very even handed presentation of events.

The maps and tables throughout are excellent. There are a few photographs scattered throughout, some of which to my mind, are not all that relevant. Other glossier overviews of church history do have better photos but for readability, Gonzales' rendering of events is second to none. And I believe that it truly is Gonzales' deepest hope in penning these volumes that we will make history in a more faithful manner by studying past church history, and thus reading these books is both educative and pastoral.

So, I'm off now to read the second volume!

Five Reasons Why I Like to Read Church History

I love history. And it won't be any surprise that church history is of particular interest to me. Here are five reasons why.

1. The first time I read through an overview of the history of the church (2000 years thus far) my overwhelming thought was, "It is a miracle that the church has survived." As much as the church has been carried along, under God, by faithful men and women, so also have other men and women done their best to see its undoing. Were the church a human construct, it simply wouldn't have survived. The church is truly God's church. To read church history is to see evidence that God is sovereign. And that is a great blessing. Praise be to God.

2. Reading about periods of time when Christians were persecuted is a painful exercise. But the fact remains, there were large chunks of time when Christians endured horrendous persecution for their faith. I am reminded that by God's grace I live in a time and place where persecution is not an issue and I'm inspired to make good use of the peace I enjoy to grow in my relationship with God, to see others come to know Him, to help bring those who know Him to maturity and to pray for those who do not enjoy the freedoms I enjoy – who are enduring persecution even now as I sit here and type.

3. As I take part in a church service it is helpful to discover that many elements of the service were hard fought for in order to get them as right (that is, not heretical) as humanly possible. The words and actions that I am tempted to take for granted each have a history of their own and when I know where these elements have come from and why I am saying and doing the things I do in church, my understanding and appreciation of what happens in church each week is greatly heightened.

4. Church history is, in part, about twenty centuries of theologians working hard to keep the bar high, straight and true. I am thankful to God for their work. And I am thankful to God for our 21st century theologians who are working hard to do the same thing and who will be in the history books in fifty and a hundred years time. Good leaders and good theologians need our constant prayer.

5. Church history is also about the ordinary people. It is fascinating to read how ordinary people reacted to the big events of each century. And exciting to realise that we too are the ordinary people reacting to the big events of our times. Justo Gonzales says in the introduction of "The Story of Christianity Volume One",

When we study the life and work of past generations, and when we interpret it, we are doing history. But we must remember that future generations will read about our times as past history. In that sense, like it or not, both by our action and by our inaction, we are making history. This is both an exhilarating opportunity and an awesome responsibility, and it demands that we do history in order to be able to make it more faithfully.
If you love Jesus, reading through the history of the church at least once in your lifetime will be time well spent. If you haven't done any study in church history, be encouraged to have a tilt. It won't be time wasted.

Proverbs 14:26

I have recently finished reading through Proverbs. In amongst the multitudes of proverbs recorded within its 31 chapters, three stood out especially. The first one was Proverbs 14:26.

He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge.
This is
wonderful,
magnificent,
inspiring,
scary,
overwhelming
and then wonderful all over again.

What an amazing thing to live life with confidence and hope as though within the protection of a secure fortress because we fear* the LORD. And even more beautiful that we provide a refuge for our children because of our strong confidence** in the Lord.

I saved writing about this proverb until now. This weekend marks the first anniversary of Jesus taking a friend of mine home. Her death, from a brain aneurysm at age 49, was completely unexpected. I hadn't seen a lot of her in recent years as she lived with her family on a farm in the town of my second teaching posting. But during that era of my life I passed many happy hours in her home and in her company.

I remember at the time often thinking what a great wife and mother she was. It is significant that I should have noticed this about her because at the time I was in my early twenties, there were no prospects of marriage (and therefore children) for me, I had only been a Christian a very few years and I had done very little thinking about the role of wife and mother. And yet even though these things were not even remotely on my radar, she really stood out spectacularly as a beautiful wife and mother.

At one point during her funeral their minister looked squarely at her three children (in their mid and late teens and one in her early twenties) and said words to the effect of , "In the midst of your immense sorrow, don't ever be tempted to question God's goodness in this." And then he said it again. Kindly and gently but with conviction. And those three dear children all nodded. Not a polite nod to appease the minister. A nod that said with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength that they trusted that this dreadful tragedy in their lives was in God's control. They were not angry or bitter towards God.

Their parents fear/ed the Lord and provided their children with a secure fortress which truly was their refuge in the hour of their greatest need.

How I praised God and continue to do so for this beautiful couple, one here on earth and one with her heavenly Father, who have modelled to me Proverbs 14:26 – whose model made an impact upon me even before I was thinking about such things for my own life. And how I pray that our children will grow up just as securely anchored in their knowledge and love of God – that they will hold fast in the Lord no matter what storms may come upon them.

Her death is still a shock in many ways but God clearly called her home. In His eyes her work was done.

One of the other proverbs that stood out for me during this recent read through was Proverbs 19:21.

Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
That too seems appropriate for me this weekend. I'll save the other one for another time.

* Go here for a really good definition of "fear of the Lord" by Jean Williams.
** Go here to read a great article about Proverbs 14:26 by John Piper.

Words of Encouragement - Spiritual Disciplines

I have read Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes many times. In fact, I used to read it once a year and each year I would be affirmed and encouraged by certain chapters and receive a hearty rebuke from others. Each year the affirmation and the rebukes shifted around the different chapters as my circumstances changed.

"Spiritual disciplines" is a bit of a loaded phrase. It fills some with delight, it causes others to roll their eyes, it causes many to cross the line from grace to works and plunges the perfectionist and the legalist to despair. But this book is beautifully written – firmly founded in the grace of God, in the saving work of Christ and not in our own feeble attempts and endeavours. It is not about working our way to salvation. It is about seeing our relationship with God grow.

The following paragraph is from the first chapter and it is the first thing I have underlined in a book (except my Bible which is growing in underlinings with each passing day!) since I left university. For one whose primary love language is acts of service and who therefore often veers towards works and not grace and who could veer towards legalism if left to her own devices, I have found this framing of the spiritual disciplines powerfully helpful. To my fellow would be (or should I say, don't want to be) legalists, I hope you find these words an encouragement.

Many of us think of spiritual discipline in terms of 'living the letter of the Law' or as a series of draconian rules that no-one could possible live up to. Such legalism seems to us a path to frustration and spiritual death. But true discipline is a far cry from legalism – thank God! The difference lies in motivation: Legalism is self-centred; discipline is God-centred. The legalistic heart says, 'I will do this thing to gain merit with God.' The disciplined heart says, 'I will do this because I love God and I want to please Him.' The true heart of discipline is relationship – a relationship with God.

Whether you are a legalist or not, I highly recommend this whole book – if you are a woman. And if you are man lurking here (welcome!) Barbara's husband Kent has written the companion volume Disciplines of a Godly Man. And Disciplines of a Godly Family is also an excellent read. So something for everyone!!

Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes page 14

Lists and Letters

I'm a list writer.

Why do I write lists?

1. To remember what I need to do.
2. To help me organise the day/week and give a little bit of structure to my life.
3. To make sure things get done when they need to be done.
4. To have the pleasure of being able to cross things off when they are done.
And yes, I have been known on a bad day to write something onto a list that I'd already done just so I could strike it off and feel some small sense of achievement...I know, I know…

I've got the whole list writing thing down to a fairly fine art these days. I have a diary and a book. The diary is for keeping track of events. The book is for everything else. The book is a simple, inexpensive A5 spiral bound thing. And it serves two purposes.

Firstly it replaces scraps of paper. What used to be written onto scraps of paper – a reminder note to myself, a phone message, the address someone just gave me over the phone, the recipe, the name and number of the three roof plumbers I am going to call for quotes to get the roof fixed – all go in the book. There are no more scraps of paper in my house. Well, not any which belong to me anyway.

The second use of the book is the TO DO lists. I seem to write a TO DO list about once a week. It's not something I do at a specified time of the week. But it seems to happen about once a week because it takes about a week to clear a list (or to get sick of the sight of the old one!)

My TO DO lists include:

1. People to ring.
2. Emails, letters and (more recently) blog posts to write.
3. Things to prepare (like scripture lessons, Bible studies, meeting preparation).
4. Jobs to do (banking, trips to the post office, birthday presents to buy, specific cooking for events or people and so on).
My TO DO lists don't include

1. Domestic tasks – unless it is going to be a particularly BIG week and things need to be prioritised.
2. Things that happen every day – like making breakfast.
3. Every single little thing.
4. Things I know I am just not going to get to – like defrosting the fridge.
But I have discovered that THANK YOU NOTES do not belong on a TO DO list. After we have attended a lovely event or after being the recipient of a gift or beautiful act of service it often occurs to me that I should write a quick THANK YOU NOTE. So typically Ilook for my book and add this intention to my TO DO list.

Unfortunately in the last month I have missed several opportunities to bless someone with a THANK YOU NOTE. Yes, these opportunities make it onto my TO DO list. But by putting "Write thank you note to..." on the list (to be attended to some time later in the week) the spontaneity and immediacy is lost. And by the time I get around to writing a THANK YOU NOTE on Friday for something (for example) that happened last Sunday – when I will see that person again at church before the postman has had the opportunity to deliver my letter – the moment has passed.

And the ironic thing is that THANK YOU NOTES don't take very long to write if you have a stack of paper, a nice pen, some envelopes and stamps ready on your desk for such moments. It's not quite as quick as noting it on a TO DO list – but it's not far off. And it is far better to act on these opportunities to bless someone who has blessed you rather than seeing good intentions lost to inaction because the period between the event and the letter has become too great.

NOTE TO SELF:If it occurs to me that I should write a THANK YOU NOTE to someone then I will not put it on my TO DO list. I will just write the note – and enjoy the moment.

New Mercies Every Morning

This morning I woke up before the alarm, felt as though I'd had enough sleep and decided to put this extra time to good use. I got up, put the heater on, made a cup of steaming hot tea and had a glorious, extended time of Bible reading.

It was God's good providence - He clearly knew the encouragement I needed - as I read Psalms 73 through to 84 slowly, carefully and prayerfully. Obviously there is a lot of material in twelve Psalms but of greatest encouragement to me this morning were Psalms 73 and 84 - the bookends of my morning's reading.

Psalm 73 starts:

Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied...

Yes! I was nodding my head. This morning I knew in my head that God is good - but my feet have been slipping. The holidays (ah, the holidays!) were fun but again they saw the predictable loss of routine and my feet were slipping. I found myself envious of people in different situations and circumstances. And envy soon gives way to discontent...

The Psalm continues:

For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from the burdens common to man;
they are not plagued by human ills.

That was the Psalmist's source of envy and he took twenty verses to explain his feelings of indignation, discontent, misery and yes, envy. This may not be the issue that causes your feet to slip but anyone who does find their feet slipping could insert their own twenty verses describing their own situation and how it eats away at them.

I was nodding my head feeling some empathy with the Psalmist's "righteous indignation" and yet feeling rebuked at the same time. But from experience I knew that soon, before the end of this very Psalm, there would be a word of encouragement. And here it is from verse 23 to the end:

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me,
it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

What a beautiful encouragement to get my thoughts away from the things of the world and to turn my compass back towards God.

And so by the time I read Psalm 84 I was truly ready to read verses such as 84:1 and 2:

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

and verse 10:

Better to spend one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Amen!

When the morning started at 6am I knew in my head that God is good. By 7:20am I knew that God is good with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

O LORD Almighty
blessed is the one
who trusts in you.
Psalm 84:12

Garden Update # 5

There was a bit of time and a tiny patch of fine weather that allowed for gardening during the school holidays so small progress was made.

Firstly I repositioned the daisies and geraniums in "the patch" (a.k.a. the bed of clay as seen above in its original state) and then dug holes for each of them down to the impenetrable clay. Then I poured in the gypsum and the boys filled the holes with water.

While the water was soaking in we dug a little hole by the fence for a passionfruit vine. I had been musing about growing passionfruit along the fence but it was a long term plan. And then we had a "Bring and Buy" stall at church and someone brought some little pots of passionfruit vines. What's a girl to do but support the cause and buy one? So we popped it in.

Now I have read that passionfruit don't thrive when grown near big trees whose roots will compete and potentially win…but I am giving it a go anyway. And if it doesn't work, the "Bring and Buy" stall made $1 out of me!!

Then I raked the yard and swept the brick paving again. I have a good plan there…I rake or sweep into piles and R gets to earn some money for his piggy bank – 10c for every pile placed into the bin. It works for everyone – he likes wearing my gardening gloves and earning money (I make sure there are at least ten piles so that he gets $1 or more for his efforts) and I am spared the part of that job that I don't enjoy.

By then the water had soaked into the clay taking the gypsum with it and total amazement – five holes in the ground and not crow bar in sight. I LOVE GYPSUM. So we planted the plants and watered them in. And took a photo.

This is the start. There are plans for more plants – rosemary, lavender, and I'm thinking some diosma. But that will come in time as the promised plants and/or the dollars come available.

The boys have expressed an interest in growing corn, carrots and tomatoes. Interesting - because they haven't read my blog so they didn't know there was a vegetable plan. I seem to remember that when I was little we grew corn in the summer. I'll need to check out my timing there. And the section where the corn will go is my first target area for the composting project.

Good work.

Do Thy Work

Troubled soul, thou art not bound to feel, but thou art bound to arise. God loves thee whether thou feelest or not. … Try not to feel good when thou art not good, but cry to Him who is good. He changes not because thou changest. Nay, he has an especial tenderness of love towards thee for that thou art in the dark and hast no light, and his heart is glad when thou dost arise and say, "I will go to my Father." For he sees thee through all the gloom through which thou canst not see him. Will thou his will. Say to him: "My God, I am very dull and low and hard; but thou art wise and high and tender, and thou art my God. I am thy child. Forsake me not." Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in quietness until light goes up in thy darkness. Fold the arms of thy Faith I say, but not of thy Action: bethink thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend. Heed not thy feelings: Do thy work.

From "Unspoken Sermons" by George MacDonald.

Garden Update # 4

I've been thinking about my options given the problem with the clay.

1. Brick paving.
Well, I'll keep that one in my back pocket but it isn't my preferred option. And besides, other people around here have gardens so it must be possible to get around this.

2. Forget the flowers and get a ground cover with a shallow root system.
I don't think so. That would be boring and where is the challenge in that?? I don't want TOO much of a challenge...but I can do better than that!

3. Instead of planting into the ground, get lots more big pots and plant in pots. Arrange them in some funky way and then scatter gravel/rocks/pebbles around to fill in the gaps.
Again I am not keen. Firstly, all the trees nearby create a lot of leaf litter. I think it would be awkward to keep the area tidy. Secondly, this would be expensive to set up. Mind you, if push really comes to shove, it could be done as a gradual process. But I would need help because I think I lack the creativity to arrange things in "some funky way." Apparently there is a nursery nearby with a courtyard garden done entirely with plants in terracotta pots. I might go and have a look sometime soon by way of professional development.

4. Build up the beds.
This may end up being the answer. Takes infrastructure so this may become a slightly more long term project.

5. Buy a bag of gypsum.

And here it is...modelled beautifully by the parsley. I am going to try this in conjunction with some elementary composting. And probably borrow our neighbour's crowbar!!
I'll let you know how it goes.

Garden Update # 3

I've hit a problem. Literally!

The time came to put the daisies and geraniums into the patch!


So I raked it, cleared it, drew lines in the sand and made a rough plan for a layout...backplanting with the rosemary when it arrives and then dotting the daisies, geranuims and lavender in the front two thirds.
I placed the pots in their spots to make sure it looked OK. All OK.
And then I started to dig.
And then I realised why, when we came to this house, there were no plants in this patch.
You can't really get a sense of perspective with this photo. The grey bit is sandy soily stuff. To a depth of about 15cm. The orange bit is clay. The clay has not had a drop of water on it in a very long time. The clay is rock hard. The clay bent my (albeit cheap) shovel. There are no daisies going in there!

Mmmmm...

Downed tools and went straight next door to our neighbours, one of whom was once a landscape gardener and knows a thing or two about these things. After a short discussion with my friendly neighbour I figure I have five options.

1. Brick paving!

2. Forget the flowers and get a ground cover with a shallow root system.

3. Instead of planting into the ground, get lots more big pots and plant in pots. Arrange them in some funky way and then scatter gravel/rocks/pebbles around to fill in the gaps.

4. Build up the beds. Create some sort of mini retaining wall with bricks or sleepers and ship in large amounts of soil. Then plant. The roots of my plants, my neighbour tells me, will find their way through the clay and thrive. It is just a matter of having enough soil to put them in to start with.

5. Buy a bag of gypsum. Apparently, my good neighbour tells me (and Google has just confirmed it!), gypsum will break down the clay so that it isn't rock hard. It would still be hard work to dig through - the neighbour said he used a crowbar - but not impossible.

Mmmmm....

My New Plan

I have given up watching "The Bill" on television.

Right. I have said it. I have made a public statement. Deep breath.

It's not that I don't like it. In fact I quite enjoy it. But I do my ironing while it's on. I usually finish the ironing before the second episode is over. So once the ironing is done I finish watching the rest of the episode. It finishes at 10pm. Then I put the iron, the ironing board, the clothes brush, the bottle of water for spraying the tough creases and the ironing away. And then I have a shower, check the children, say goodnight to my husband if he is still working and pray. And suddenly it has become a late night. Every Saturday night.

Sunday morning. Feel tired. Not completely organised for church. And have you noticed this too? You can get everyone ready to be out of the door in an organised, calm and happy fashion every other day of the week but on Sunday things seem to fall apart? I am certain that Satan does his best to interfere with families trying to get to church on Sunday morning.

So I have decided that I need to work a bit harder to avoid giving him a foothold.

I will still iron on Saturday nights. (I know, it's an exciting life!) To amuse myself I will watch ONE episode of "The West Wing." I've started right from the beginning. I caught it in the last three episodes of the final series and loved it! So there is a bit of catching up to do - 155 episodes all up - so that should keep me going for three years!!

The benefit is that the process can start earlier - I don't have to wait until 8:30pm to get going - and finish earlier too. I can do my hour or so of ironing, pack it all away and still have some time to get everyone's bits and pieces ready for Sunday morning. And if all goes to plan, I can have an early night and be fully focussed on having a calm Sunday morning. And then all of us should get to church in better shape.

That's the plan.