KONY 2012

Since my post of a couple of days ago there’s been a lot of criticism of KONY 2012 zinging about online. Before I say anything else, here’s a short clip –

Now, I’m not an expert. I’ve not been to Uganda, I don’t personally know anyone from Invisible Children. I have heard about the issues there from other sources, including testimony from a rescued child (now a woman) of the horrors she endured. That was through Watoto, another worthy charity to take a look at….

I don’t think anyone is claiming that bringing Joseph Kony to justice is going to suddenly end all war, and cause Uganda to become a utopian place of rainbows and lollipops… I do think that the basic issue here is one of awareness. How many people had even heard of Kony before this? Evil flourishes in darkness…
I am not ashamed to stand by my decision to post this/sign the pledge… even if it’s just one little drop in a massive ocean. Rather a drop than nothing.

Still wondering about the various issues raised by critics? Here’s some answers... You can also find financial records on the site.
Here’s a tumblr post  that probably says things better than I could… 😀

… and here’s a clip to remind us that Kony is one part of a bigger problem –

Above all, search out what’s right, what’s true… research with open heart and mind. And then – Do Something. Even if it’s just a tiny drop in a very big ocean…

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Published in: on March 9, 2012 at 10:38 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Make Him Famous…

… for all the wrong reasons…
Help bring a war criminal to justice.

Please watch this.

You will be confronted.
You will be brought to tears.

But… please watch.

And then go here to sign the pledge.

It’s been too long…

http://vimeo.com/invisible/kony2012

Published in: on March 7, 2012 at 8:25 pm  Leave a Comment  

A Blessed Day

… on Bribie Island..
Today I was privileged to be present when a friend was baptised at the beach. It was a beautiful day; the water was fine, the sun not too hot, and God was smiling as one of His precious daughters took a step of faith. He was well pleased today, and we all got to share in the blessing 😀

Published in: on February 29, 2012 at 9:20 pm  Leave a Comment  

Thoughts…

… on death.

Not to get too maudlin or anything…

I was reading a magazine (a health/exercise one, strangely enough) and came across an article about “green” burials. I occasionally think about (my) death, and the ramifications of it… I don’t fear death itself (I know where I’m going 😀 ) but I’m not looking forward to the actual process of dying. I figure there’s not much I can do about that, though, so I just have to stop stressing and leave that bit up to God…

I’ve never really wanted an elaborate funeral, so the green type of funerals appeal to me. My Mum is going to have a cardboard coffin (white) which we will apparently be able to decorate in any way we choose, when the time comes. I’d be happy to be buried under the nearest tree, but I suppose there’d be all sorts of health and safety issues. And the neighbours might complain…
I think, though, that I’ll be past caring what happens to the shell by the time my spirit has left it.

I’ll probably go for the cardboard coffin when it comes down to it… but here are the options in the magazine –

1- Resomation – Scotland. Alkaline hydrolysis, where the body is liquified in a special pressurised chamber, then used as fertiliser.

2- Promessa Organic – Sweden. Body is frozen in liquid nitrogen, then vibrated to break down into powder, then purified and buried. Can be used as compost within a year.

3- Eternal Reefs – U.S.A. This one I disliked at first glance, but now I can see the attraction in it.. The body is encased in a ball of concrete, then lowered into a coral reef to support the existing reef structure. It will encourage the growth of more coral and microorganisms.

 

Having said all that, I’d like to say that I’m not planning on having to use any of these methods in the near future..
Do you know of any other possibilities out there?

Published in: on February 24, 2012 at 9:35 pm  Leave a Comment  

The Shed

So, we’re settling in here, learning the ropes, chilling out….

To be honest, I’m enjoying the simpler life at the moment. I’ve never been that much of a “happy camper”, but it seems like we’ve got the best of both worlds at the moment. It’s still a bit strange not having running water/bathroom/toilet right there in the building with us, but they’re just a quick walk away in the house… just takes a bit of planning 😀

Here’s the shed –
We even have a verandah! There’s been a few storms since we moved in, and the front stays pretty much dry… we have a camping stove outside for gourmet cooking 😀 and loads of potted plants (purloined from my garden at the house) There was a bit of a problem with flies and mosquitoes when we came, so I have a pot of basil each side of the door (supposed to repel flies; also good with the bolognese we had tonight) and a big pot of citronella on one side (for mozzies- smells lovely, too) I’m not sure whether they’re working… I think the citronella is more likely to be doing what it’s supposed to…

Our view… quite nice 😀 The curtains are from the old house – I always liked them… It’s almost like we’re in a little holiday home..

This was taken from one end of the inside space. We’ve partitioned off an area for the boys – littlest bean’s bed is a folding one, so there’s just enough space for it at night, and it folds back against the wall in the day. Biggest boy has a desk underneath his bunk, where he has his computer and does his schoolwork. He’s hung blankets around part of the area, so we often don’t see him all morning…
The bookcase beside the rocking chair holds all manner of things… we’re pleased with the way we’ve found a place for everything… it’s just a case of consistently putting things back where they belong… hubby did the mowing/weeding today, and brought me in a small flower he’d found… I didn’t have a vase for it, but there was space to twine it into the spine of a plastic display book, where I can see it as I type..
😀

Here’s the room from the other direction –
The kitchen is at the far side, and all the crockery/linen is in the dresser at the left. The futon is our bed – it gets folded up each day (we “unmake” our bed every morning…) There’s a washing basket on the other side of the futon – the sheets/pillows are put there in the morning, the cushions at night. It normally lives on top of the plastic containers over on the right, which are our movable pantry. The desk holds cutlery, coffee making facilities (necessary for sanity) and the big water container, and littlest bean uses the desk for his schoolwork. As you can see, there’s also a space for all the guitars!
I’ve been enjoying homeschooling here. There’s a certain amount of housekeeping to do, but not much. There’s no other rooms to escape to 😀 so I generally read while the boys work and mark what they’ve done as they finish (not something I’ve consistently done before) I’m always on hand to help… it’s easier to read our book together in the evenings as well (We’re on the last book of Lord of the Rings) It feels like we’re in a season of grace at the moment.. I’ve no idea what tomorrow or next week will bring, and whether our days will move faster. Right now, I am content.

A final photo, taken just after we moved in – little boys making themselves at home!
😀

 

Published in: on February 13, 2012 at 8:43 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Last Time….

Today we went to the bank to hand in the keys to the house. We were there longer than we thought we would be – no-one at that branch had done that sort of thing before, so there was a lot of to-and-froing and phone calls. We were doing OK, but the girl who did the paperwork looked like she was going to burst into tears at any second… it was all a bit surreal…

We were meant to hand in the keys yesterday, but there was still a bit of cleaning to do (it’s amazing what you find under a fridge that’s been there a few years!) So, yesterday was The Last Time we will be in that house. I’ve been trying to analyze how I feel about it all… I’m not sure…
When we first bought the house, I thought we’d be there forever. I thought the boys would grow up and leave, but the grandkids would come to stay from time to time… there’s a sort of mourning that goes with those dreams being impossible. On the other hand, I think God has been working on my heart to separate me from holding on to transient things (often while I’ve not been looking!) I still have a long way to go… but I am content with where we are, and I feel excited about what the future holds….
Having said that, I do tend to become attached to places I have lived… I took lots of photos yesterday, just to keep as memories. I was channeling ABBA while walking through the empty house (sing with me – “In these old familiar roo-ooms… children would play-ay…. now there’s only emp-ti-ne-ess…” 😀 yeah, different scenario, I know…) I will walk forward, looking ahead… but for now, today, here is my tribute to our home..

I like to think everyone was welcome in our home. I’ve left the sign up for the next person who moves in…

The lounge room, looking into the dining room/kitchen… a beautiful, large, airy space… it looks a lot bigger with nothing in it..

Our bedroom… a nice space, cosy… the built in wardrobe had mirror doors, which made everything look bigger.

The backyard, minus the massive trampoline…

Under the house – the far right corner was supposed to be my creative area (lovely light from the windows) and the space to the left of it was to be the schoolroom, but we were never able to get it built in… I hope whoever gets it next can  fix up all the little bits and pieces we couldn’t do…

One of the sadnesses is leaving behind the plants we have grown, and trees we loved (my jacarandas! 😦 ) I’ve tried to pot a variety of things… time will tell if they survive.

I didn’t have a proper strawberry planter, so here’s the homemade improvisation 😀

We were able to harvest some vegies…

chillies, cherry tomatoes, spring onions and sweet potatoes. The potatoes weren’t ready for harvest… 😦

So that’s it… another chapter closing in our lives.

Goodbye house. And thank you. You sheltered us well.

Published in: on February 7, 2012 at 9:39 pm  Comments (2)  

For Today

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup,
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Psalm 16:5-6

Published in: on February 4, 2012 at 8:53 am  Leave a Comment  

Godsmiles

I’ve posted before about the hearts I find in various things, and how I feel it’s God blessing me just when I need it most… we’ve spent the afternoon scrubbing, vacuuming and otherwise de-griming the house, in preparation for the final move tomorrow. Cleaning is not my favourite thing… combined with the fact that we’ve lived here just over seven years, and there are some areas that have rarely seen a cleaning cloth, I had not been looking forward to today.
It all went OK, the major things are pretty much done, but there was a period today where I was pretty much over it, and could have (literally 😀 ) thrown in the towel. I was cleaning the kitchen at the time (oh, joy!) and had a sink of hot soapy water. I looked down, and this is what I saw…

😀

Published in: on February 3, 2012 at 11:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

The Artist Preaches

On Wednesdays we have a sort of home group in the afternoon, where friends come over, we talk, pray, spend time together and with God. Every week is different; every week is good…

Normally hubby has something to talk about, we open the Bible and discuss the topic of the day. Today he didn’t have anything… but that wasn’t a problem, as littlest bean decided to share with us what he had read in his morning devotions. He actually read us two readings, and both were just right… He often just has to read us a verse, and it always fits with whatever we’re talking about 😀 This afternoon he blessed us with God’s word for us today…

Later we were praying for one of our group…. littlest bean prayed, then suddenly ran off to his room, where he grabbed his sketch book and a pen. He diligently scribbled for a bit, then came up with this –

It’s a cup overflowing – very significant for the person being prayed for… it’s also a cocktail glass, so we figured there must be Spirit in there 😀

He then kept on drawing….

Trees bursting with fruit (also significant…) The first one has a lovely deep root system… the second is just about to get rained on…

We all got one of these at the end –
I love my little preacher boy! 😀

Published in: on January 25, 2012 at 10:49 pm  Leave a Comment  

A City With Foundations

“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. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
– Hebrews 11:8-10

It’s encouraging to remember that this house is not our final home – that God is the final architect of my life, and that I can trust Him to steer me straight, even though I don’t know where I’m going, or often how to get there…. We didn’t know where we would settle when we came back to Australia, and He brought us to this city. That seems to have worked out pretty well, so far…

I don’t particularly want to spend the next few generations living in tents, though… 😀

Another verse I liked today –
“You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.” – Psalm 65:11

Published in: on January 19, 2012 at 9:23 pm  Leave a Comment  
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