Neglected? :-(

Oh my dear Tori,

It would seem I have neglected you. Well, I must admit, I have. But all my writing time has been consumed by heaps of emails and Flickr discussion groups. I’ve been working on a little project, which I can’t say too much about it now.

However, all will be revealed in time.

But hopefully, after next weekend, things will settle down and I’ll have something to say on here.

So TORI, have a great week!! God bless!!

Journey to Who Knows Where?

Gee, it’s good to be back here. This blog has become like a very dear friend to me. In fact, I have given my friend a name, “TORI” (That One Reading It – YOU!!).

I wrote this entry as an email to another friend, then submitted to a Flickr discussion group yesterday.

G’day!!

And it sure has been!

It was one of those dreamy sort of days… felt like I was somewhere else. Even long delays in town didn’t bother me. I’d driven into town, and was stopped at the railway gates for AGES, waiting for a L-O-N-G freight train to go through… and then after it had gone the gates opened… a few cars got through and they closed again, and another L-O-N-G-E-R freight train went the other way. Yet I was blissfully enjoy the worship songs playing in the car. I was in another world. I enjoyed the little break. Normally I would have been rather agitated at the long delay.

It was all because of the discovery I made about writing. I was blown me away.

In the book where she said about writing being a journey, and letting it happen and enjoying the ride… that has blown all my ideas out of the water. To take a journey and not know where you are going?… unimaginable to me!!

Normally on a trip, I have to know the destination and the shortest route. And I have to get there as quickly as possible…. can’t waste time you know!!

I’m a planner, a goal setter! I have to know the end from the beginning. So this idea is very new for me. It reminds me of how God called Abraham. God told him to pack up and go. He would show him where to, and tell him when he’d got there.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Heb 11:8)

So, for me, writing is the same. By faith I’ll obey and go, and enjoy the journey, even though I don’t know where I’m going. Hey, what an adventure.

It also reminds me of how our mate, Bible Story Guy, Paul, has written, especially his cancer story. He wrote while he was going through it, not knowing what the end would be. He probably imagined that he wouldn’t have been around very long, and that that might have been his final legacy… his finale… the closing curtain!

But how wonderful it is that he wrote it down, so that others could read and understand what it was like to go through something like that. It sure has been a journey for him…. and now others to can appreciate it.

And for me, writing has become something I want to do, and just a “have to”. And God has given me that “want to”. Whether I write in blogs, or write emails or on Flickr…. whether it be a book or an article… it doesn’t really matter. All I know is…. JUST WRITE.

And another amazing thing is how the Internet has opened up so many possibilities for writers. Once to write and include a photograph would have cost heaps to get published. And even writing would have been an effort to get published. You’d submit your work to a publisher and wait for yonks to see if it was accepted, and then you’d have to make some adjustments and muck around until the final publication.

But NOW, you can write, with all its warts and all, and publish it straight away on the Internet. And people can be reading it within minutes. Man, that is a blowout!! Of course you end up getting some pretty raw stuff on there, but it certainly has changed the face of writing.

I am so thankful to God that this is all possible. Ten years ago, when I believe the Lord told me to write, I wouldn’t have imagined it.

It is sure an amazing journey. Thanks for being part of it!!!!

Another Love!!?

Okay! Okay!! I haven’t been around much!

But I needed to sort out some stuff. I needed to know where I was going with writing these blogs. I was starting to get a bit bogged down with it and feeling it was something I HAD to do. And seeing I was doing it EVERYday, I felt I had to keep it up…. until….

…I said, “Enough is enough! I don’t HAVE to do anything when it was I who made the rules. This blog wasn’t going to rule ME! Hey, I’m the boss here, and I choose to wait on the Lord for my direction.”

So, I’ve had a break, and I HAVE been refreshed and am seeing things in a new light. I’ve been doing some writing in other places, such as, group forums of Flickr, and emails to friends.

Anyhow, I’m back, with a NEW zeal and a fresh outlook on writing, and I’m enjoying it. So here’s what I’ve discovered…..

…. I love photography and I love art, but I’ve discovered there IS something I may love even more…. oh, no!! Unheard of!! 🙂

Well yesterday, I was waiting at the library for my daughter to find the book she was wanting for an assignment. I hadn’t been there in months, let alone borrow a book.

So while I was waiting, I decided why not borrow a book or two… but which book? How do you decide when your options are so vast? And the library is very new, so I didn’t know where to find anything.

Well I looked around at the signs to see what section would grab my interest. Way across the other side I spotted the sign “Literature”, and seeing I’d been writing a bit lately, I thought it might be a good idea to get a book to tell me how to write. Well, I came home with six.

Anyhow, at lunch time today, I picked one to read. It is called “Writing from Personal Experience” by Nancy Davidoff Kelton. In this book I’ve made some wonderful discoveries, and I’ve only just finished the second chapter.

In the first chapter, I like what she says about writing… the four truths…

1. Writing is hard work.

2. (This one I like) The rewards you will reap from writing are the greatest you could possibly know.

3. If you do it regularly and consistently you definitely get better. (Think I’m doing that!)

4. (I needed to know this.) Nothing turns out as we expect it to. Nothing turns out as planned. That’s the journey. That’s the fun. Letting our unconscious take us along while we stay out of its way…. Letting it happen and taking the ride. That’s the joy of writing.

Yeah, that last bit about the journey really grabbed me. Here the Lord has got me writing, and I don’t have a clue where I’m headed. All I know is that I AM enjoying it.

And would you believe I’m liking it MORE than taking photos.

And, praise God, He has helped me to sort my dilemma. I now have a glimpse of what my writing is to be for… why the Lord prompted me some years ago, when I didn’t have much writing in me. I did try to write back then, but it all seemed very uninspiring. Besides, I hadn’t yet lived and experienced the things I was to write about.

And now, I do have the umption to write!!! And I can’t stop it!! Isn’t our God good??? And I thank my mate Paul for helping me get going…. through MANY emails!!

Thank the Lord for emails… and thank the Lord for the Internet and blogs and communities like this! He sure is GOOD!!!

I don’t know why….

….JESUS LOVED ME!

I don’t know why Jesus loved me
I don’t know why He cared
I don’t know why He sacrificed His life
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did

He left His mighty throne in glory
To bring to us redemption’s story
Then He died but He rose again (just for me)
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did.

Where would I be if Jesus didn’t love me?
Where would I be if Jesus didn’t care?
Where would I be if He hadn’t sacrificed His life
Oh, but I’m glad, so glad He did

I don’t know why Jesus loved me (Oh I don’t know why)
I don’t know why He cared (Oh I don’t know why)
I don’t know why He sacrificed His life
Oh, but I’m glad (so glad), so glad He did
Oh, but I’m glad (so glad), so glad He did

(song by Andrae Crouch)

As I listened to Andrae sing that this arvo, in the car, it got me thinking!!

Despite how many times I goof up, or how many times I disappoint people and let them down, Jesus’ love far exceeds that!!

He loves me despite my goof-ups!!  And hey, if it wasn’t for Him, it’s hard to imagine where I’d be!  I owe Him so much, yet He still freely gives, and all I can give Him is ME!!  How amazing is that!!??

I pray it encourages you the same way!!

The Saga of Hank the Tree!

Meet Hank!!  It is a miracle that he even has leaves!!  It’s a LONG story……

 (We don’t have many deciduous trees where we live.  This is the only one we have at our place.)

Years ago, when our kids were little, I had a spot in the corner of our block, where I wanted to plant a nice tree.  I pictured in my mind one that would grow nice and bushy with low, stong branches, that the kids could climb and play in.

Anyhow, I found this tree, a White Cedar, in a pot at the nursery that seemed to fit our requirements, so I bought it and brought it home.

Now, here’s the bit of how he got his name….

At that time we were helping a young fellow who had been in jail for drug possession, and he was doing some work around the place for us.  His name was Hank.  So we got him to plant the tree.

We also helped Hank get into a rehab place.  So after he left, we were very keen for him to progress well… as we also wanted the tree to do.  So we named our tree Hank!

Well, things didn’t go too well.  Hank, our friend, busted and got out of rehab…. and Hank, the tree didn’t do too well either!!  😦

The poor thing had been in for a year, and was still a weedy little thing.  For a few years, he didn’t make much progress at all.  He looked pretty sad!

Each spring, he’d get some nice green leaves on him, and then towards the end of summer, the hairy caterpillars would come along and eat up all the green growth.

It would then recover a bit and get some leaves back, but by this time it was autumn and time for the leaves to fall.  So come winter, we’d have this puney little stick in the corner of our yard.

We threatened to pull it out, by my young boy objected…. that was their goal post for footy!!

SO…

….Hank stayed!!  He stayed through the footy… he stayed through the cricket.  He did end up being very useful!!  🙂

Anyhow, now that the kids have grown, this year, I was surprised to look at Hank…. he’d grown a real lot.  This summer, he’s had beautiful green growth, and the hairy caterpillars didn’t even come.  Now, it’s autumn here, and this is the first time he’s had a decent crop of leaves that would change colour and fall.

So this is the very first proper autumn display we’ve ever had at our place!  A real miracle!!

Box of Treasures

The things you find!!

As I said yesterday, I’m in the middle of a big clean-up at our place.  Well, while I’ve been sorting out boxes, I came across one full of magazine articles that I’d collected from Christian magazines I’d subscribed to.

A lot of the articles are sort of “old hat”… bit of the “same old, same old..”  However, in amongst all those ordinary articles, there are a number of classics.  So I am proceding (gradually) to sort through the box and keep those good old ones.  I’ll share them with you as I find them.

So anyhow, today, this is what I’ve found….

… an article entitled “Why all the Suffering?” by Richard Wurmbrand.  To the question of suffering, he writes:
“The only answer which I believe should be given is not to ask the question.  Jesus, when He was on the Cross, asked God why He had forsaken even His only begotten Son.  His question is follower only by a question mark.  All that is revealed to us is that the question exists and that we can live with it.”

He concludes with this:
“Faith in God is the sole answer to the mystery of evil.”

So what more can I say, but praise God that He knows what He is doing!!  Bless ya!!

Major Clean-out!!

I’ve managed to come out from under this pile of mess, so I can write a bit!

At present I’m in the middle of giving the house a major clean out and rearrange… reason being that, in a little while we’ll have more people staying here for a while. My sister-in-law has her house on the market. When it sells, she’ll stay with us until she finds somewhere else.

Consequently, the house looks like a bomb hit it at the moment! My goal this week is to have the whole place straightened up by the weekend. I think I can do it! So, if I don’t get to write in here as much, you know why.

Anyhow, have a wonderful weekend and week.

Blessings!!!… and heaps of ’em!!

Major Clean-out!!

I’ve managed to come out from under this pile of mess, so I can write a bit!

At present I’m in the middle of giving the house a major clean out and rearrange… reason being that, in a little while we’ll have more people staying here for a while.  My sister-in-law has her house on the market to help finances.  When it sells, she’ll stay with us until she finds somewhere else.

Consequently, the house looks like a bomb hit it at the moment!  My goal this week is to have the whole place straightened up by the weekend.  I think I can do it!  So, if I don’t get to write in here as much, you know why.

Anyhow, have a wonderful weekend and week.

Blessings!!!… and heaps of ’em!!

Learning to Cut It Out!

Hey, I guess it’s time I get back to writing something in here. I haven’t had a chance the past few days…. been busy learning a thing or two about photography.

My mate, Bible Story Guy, and I have been having great discussions about it. I had my modern art lessons a few weeks ago…. now it’s photography. Anyhow, after much debate and disagreement, I came to the conclusion that he was right!…. well mostly!! Still a couple of things I beg to differ on!!

Anyhow, all this discussion got me searching to know more about taking good photographs. One thing we’d discussed was that there were snapshots, and there were PHOTOGRAPHS!! The snapshot is more subject oriented, while the photograph has a strong emphasis on composition. Most of my pics would fall in the snapshot category, and I realized that I focus mainly on the subject.

However, the good thing is…..

…. a snapshot CAN be a good photograph, too.

All this discussion has coursed me to want to fine tune my photography.  So I did some searching on the net, and found a great site on photography tips.  It was pleasing to know that a lot things I was already doing. But, also, there was a lot I DIDN’T know, and these tips are very helpful. At least, now, I have a better idea of what makes a good photograph…. now I just have to do it!

So you want to know what I’ve learned??  Well, I’ll give you the first one now… more later!  This one I’ve found particularly helpful…. and that is….

K.I.S.S.!!! Keep it simple, stupid!! Simplicity is a key!

In other art forms, like painting, you add things to it, but in photography you take things out. Take out the clutter, either before you take the pic by zooming in, or afterwards by cropping out what’s not essential. I’ve learned, that if it’s not serving any particular purpose, AXE it!!!

I used to feel a bit goofy, because I liked to crop… and crop tight!! And I thought I was doing it too much, and maybe removing essential part of the pic. But, hey!! I’ve discovered that I HAVE been doing it right!! The right crop on a pic can work wonders, and I’ve noticed that generally, the closer I crop, the more views I get on Flickr…. people like it!!

So now, I can crop as much as I like and feel good about it!!!

And here ends the first lesson!!

Pen’s out of ink!!

Need a refill and a break from writing tonight…. get back hopefully tomorrow night!!

Bless ya all!!  Have a great weekend!!