The Eve of Australia Day

As it is the eve of Australia Day, I've been reflecting about those brave and daring ancestors who first settled our country. About six years ago, my father was researching his genealogy and writing it out by hand. He managed to delve back a long way and there were hundreds of pages, which he asked me to type out for him and give a bit of polish as I went. It turned out to be a really interesting experience. For example, one of his British grandfathers in the late 1700s (I forget how many 'greats') always wrote down his profession as 'auctioneer' and it turned out the commodity he dealt in was slaves.

I must be a thorough Aussie girl because ancestors from both sides of my family seemed to be arriving thick and fast as far back as the 1830s and 1840s, when South Australia was first settled. There were devout German Christians on my mother's side, who needed to escape religious persecution in their homeland. They were among the first to settle in the Adelaide Hills. And on my Dad's side were all sorts of respectable tradespeople from Britain who were finding it impossible to make ends meet in the old country and were lured by the stunning advertisements about the Great Southland which sounded too good to be true. Okay, there may have also been a few dodgier characters too, like that 'auctioneer' I mentioned.

Not long ago, I took my younger children to look through Adelaide's Migration Museum, which turned out to be a fascinating experience. On the wall was an old poster singing the praises of South Australia's open countryside and warm climate. Even then, it proudly advertised the place as the only convict-free state. I stood reading it, knowing that many of my direct ancestors had been desperate enough to accept the challenge.

One of the ancestors Dad had plenty of info about was a nineteen-year-old named George Peter Hammond, who'd read those adverts and decided he fitted the bill they were looking for; young, fit, able-bodied and willing to work. He booked himself passage and said goodbye to his parents and younger siblings, intending to write and let them know if the place looked any good, so they could consider coming too. Dad ended up with many details about his ship journey down south to the other side of the world, including the sharks the crew caught for everyone on board to eat.

 As I typed it out for him, I had this thought occur to me. That young man probably considered that he was acting independently, doing something off his own bat that affected just himself. Yet I wonder if he had the foresight to realise that his personal decision would end up shaping and molding the lives of literally hundreds of people still to come. I am one of them. So is my husband. So are my children and their future spouses. If that young adventurer hadn't decided to book himself passage to check out the new land, I wouldn't be an Aussie girl at all. As it turned out, the rest of his family did decide to join him down the track. And the rest of their story, for me, is now history.

When I was 20, I took a break from Uni and traveled with my parents for a driving tour around Britain. I felt a link and affinity with it, considering it our Motherland even after the passing of more than a century. It was wonderful to travel around, seeing landmarks where historical events had taken place, visiting the homes of great writers such as my beloved Bronte sisters and Jane Austen, and finding where our own ancestors had lived. But by the time our months there were over, I was happy to return to Heathrow Airport to head for home again. Because of the God-guided decisions of many people before me, something out of my control had been set in motion for me long before I was born. It is that in spite of all that ancient Prussian and Anglo Saxon blood flowing in my veins, I am an Aussie.

I wish everyone a lovely Australia Day tomorrow, as you may even take the opportunity to stop and reflect on the events that led to you being an Aussie too. Remember that the settlers who came were bold and resilient, so we have that in our DNA. And if you are an international reader, spare us a thought on January 26th and consider reading some of the excellent Australian books we've produced collectively, with their distinct flavour.

Paula Vince is an award-winning novelist who lives in South Australia's lovely Adelaide Hills with her husband and children. Many of her books are set in the same area, full of romance, mystery, suspense and adventure.

Hi. My name is Helen, and I am one of the newest additions to the Christian Writers Downunder  list of bloggers.

I never actually envisioned that I would be added to such a list; after all, I'm not exactly the epitome of Christian living at its best. Don't get me wrong, I'm not out every night breaking the Ten Commandments or anything; but I do tend to allow my circumstances to take my focus away from God more than I ought. When I know I should be praising, instead I tend to stamp my frustrated size 11 feet and throw spiritual temper tantrums.   

Some days I am overcome by an overwhelming sense of insecurity; I shrink away from both God and people, struggling to find anything likeable about me, inside or out. I doubt my character - as a mum, wife, friend and Christian - and run a personal CCTV loop of my faults through my mind, over and over again.

It can be a stormy sea of emotions to navigate; from a writing perspective I can sometimes feel like such a phony, writing on the goodness of God and his wonderful love, when in reality I feel a million miles away from both his goodness and his loving presence. But over the years the Holy Spirit has taught me a tenet of faith that has released me from questioning my legitimacy to write for God. It's a revelation that has become crucial to my life, in every aspect:

No matter how I feel, the truth of Jesus Christ will always be true. 

Aha! A rhema word indeed! God has so very gently shown me that when I write, I write from the heart. And in my heart of hearts is a deep-seeded love for God, an unshakeable trust in the truth of His Word and a delight in sharing the inspired encouragements that He whispers to me. 

So when I feel that I am being tossed around on that wretched sea of uncertainty, I can rest in the knowledge that I am safe, for His truth is my anchor - and it is unfailing, able to withstand the roughest of seas I come up against. 

What a relief it is, to know that I don't have to strive to feel holy enough to share the love of God;  to realise that my writing is acceptable to Him because of who He is, and the truth that He drops into my heart to share.

Blessings, 

Helen

My FaithWriters Profile page

Learning From Each Other

Greetings to all, in the name of Jesus. It is my pleasure to Post on here this week.
Thank you Lee for your invitation.

To introduce myself: I am Crystal Mary Lindsey

Christians down under are just the same as Christians Up Over. 
Prior going to live in America, I had misconceived ideas about Americans.
How wrong I found myself to be. 
Yes! Americans are very patriotic. So much so that in their schools they hardly learn anything about any other country accept their own. That is where their power has come from, and that is why they are the strength they are today. They unite together.


There can be good said about this, and there can be bad.
When you don't know any better, then you believe you are the best.
This is a recipe for two things.
Being positive and successful, or,  being ignorant.


My husband Ray is American. I didn't know him very well before I met him in person over there.
He knew nothing about Australia.
I told him I wanted him to come back here to meet my family.
Before he came he told everyone how backward we Australians were.
I didn't say too much in return accept, "Well,  you'll see."

From the first day he arrived, he felt the freedom of this great land. 
Then he began to tell me how more advanced we were in many things. 
Electricity was one of these.
America isn't much older in white inhabitants than Australia is.
They fought earlier in the piece to free their country from the British, while we remain united.
The size of the USA is almost the same as Australia. 

Their population is approximately  311,591,917.
Australia's population is approximately 22,328,800.  
Now that is a vast difference.
It is no wonder Americans are ahead of us in somethings, such as literature. 
There are more people experiencing it.  



That doesn't mean we can't learn, and it doesn't mean we won't improve.

In all truth, these are two things that will and are, already happening very well!

I have to say this also. Americans are hard workers. They do not shirk their responsibilities, and that is something we need to improve on, to succeed.
I speak from experience about this, because I worked there.
Instead of an eight hour day that I had worked here, it was more of a fifteen hour day there, and no one complained. They have a pride in striving for their country.

Lets not feel disheartened about them thinking they are better than us.
At the moment they are. However, we are on our way to better accomplishments.
One day we may even lead the world of literacy.

I was once invited to a church in the town where I lived in Tennessee. Excitedly I was watched for my reaction to the beautiful beach overheads, and the music.
"Well, what did you think?" I was asked at the end...
I didn't want to hurt any feelings, but I had to tell the truth.
"Well," I said as kindly as I could. "Those beaches are Australian and the songs, were from Hillsong."    It was so hard not to laugh out loud....
But then, I laugh at almost everything.
The singing in the church I attended, was fabulous, and I learned a few different songs.
   
Lets unit and grow together helping one another, and improving our world.
After all, Jesus said the most important thing we can have, is love...  
Love and Blessings to all.  CML
 

DON’T SETTLE IN HARAN!

The following was written years ago and stored as a reminder to persevere.
Ministry in its various forms can be infected with a weariness that makes the ‘Haran’ of Abraham's day desirable. Do you sometimes feel like I do about writing? There are so many out there competing for readers and modern technology produces more and more wordsmiths. What then can motivate us to break out of ‘Haran’ hit the keys again and complete the task? Simply the love of telling about God’s grace to the few or the many who may read our words!

I was day-dreaming as I gazed into the camp fire. I imagined Abraham being tempted to settle down at Haran and give the Promised Land a miss.

Perhaps he said,“I hope you understand God. ‘Haran’ is such a go ahead place. It offers trade and commercial opportunities and seems to be a great spot to raise a family. We could put aside the tent, sell the camels and settle down.

"I know it isn’t the land you promised. It may not have the ‘milk and honey’ factors but it is beautiful in its own way. Anyway, its half way to where you wanted us to be! My wife and I could set up a half-way house, be your information centre for other travellers.

"Why am I intent on storing the tent?

"To be honest I’m weary. Not being in control of my affairs, wrestling with doubts and putting up with ‘knowing’ looks has worn me down. No, you haven’t broken your word b-u-t the strain of expecting it to happen has got to me. Lord I’m getting on in years and this faith thing doesn’t get any easier. I fear that in my old age I’d be redundant to your plans. What would I have as back up then?

"What’s that? What would I like inscribed on my tombstone?

"Never thought about it! What would you write at this moment? Almost!"

The barking of a dog shattered my day-dreaming at that point.
Lord, did Abraham ever feel that way? I often wonder about things like that as I wrestle with persevering towards securing your promises. I don’t want to rot in ‘Haran’ no matter how comfortable it seems. Keep calling me to walk the way you’re pointing. You and you alone remain my goal, my joy and hope in this journey of faith.

I’m so thankful that you travel the way with me, even if you seem to be the silent superintendent. Amen.

Most of us will die un-famous but we can hold fast to 1 Corinthians 15:58 ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.’

I’m also comforted by the fact that the written word lingers long after my computer is exchanged for a ‘harp.’ May my tombstone have on it ‘Escapee from Haran!’

Retired from the Chuches of Christ ministry after 40 years, Ray, with his wife Mary, moved to Beauty Point, Tasmania. One of their three children, Craig, had settled there with Rachelle. Now Ray and Mary are grand-parents to six children.

A small Christian Fellowship has commenced at Beauty Point under Ray's leadership. Since being there he has had three devotional meditations published by EBP (Rochelle Manners) the latest out this month 'Captured by Calvary.'

Ray was encouraged to write by Mary who is a multi-published author. He had previously seen some of his devotionals used by the Upper Room magazine and also some poems and prose in Debra White-Smith's books about husbands and wives.

In his leisure time Ray enjoys spoiling his grand-children, helping at Craig/Rachelle's Sea Horse World business and being the hero in Mary's books.

http://www.mary-hawkins.com/

Waiting...

I've been waiting a lot lately. My life is changing and my travels around Australia have paused for a time. I know this is part of God's plan. It has given me time to think about all the times in my life I've had to wait. You know what I mean: waiting to go to school; waiting to finish school; waiting to get a job; waiting to get married; waiting to start writing; waiting for an answer from the publisher. These are only a few of the waiting moments in our lives. There are many in between these big events.

Sometimes I become impatient with the waiting and want it to be over. I realised yesterday how much time can be wasted in waiting if I allow myself to be idle. What do I do with my waiting time? Do I let the circumstance control my every waking moment so that I don't achieve anything in that time. When I've written a novel and have sent it off to a publisher, do I sit back and not do anything productive until I hear from the publisher or am I pro-active and throw myself into a new project? I've thrown myself into another project and feel good that I've written the first draft. My waiting time has been well spent and I feel I'm serving the Lord in the way he wants me to.

I'm in limbo as I camp here in my caravan in Mackay and I'm waiting on what the Lord has in store for us here. I've made a conscious decision to live in the moment and make sure I use every minute to do something productive because it is easy to slip into holiday mode. Others in the van park are relaxing and taking time out. I do take timeout by walking several kilometres every day or swimming. This is my creative time.

Life is too short. I don't know how long God has me on this earth, so I believe I have to do all that I can with the time I have available because in a sense I'm waiting for the end of my life, too. so I've decided to always find something productive to do while I'm waiting, no matter where or what I'm waiting for.

How about you, are you caught up in the waiting game where you sometimes feel you're dilly-dallying and not sure where to turn? I'd like to encourage you to keep your eyes focused on what God has for you and pursue his purpose for your life with all the gifts and talents he has given you. Turn your waiting time into productive time and be pleasantly surprised how much more productive you can be.

Blessings and God's grace be with you all,

Laura.