Are You being Wooed?

 by Anusha Atukorala

The business from whom I buy travel insurance sent me an email.

“It’s been a while since you travelled with us. We have a very special offer to welcome you back. Buy now and save 10%* on your travel insurance. Let’s go somewhere.”

 

Let’s go somewhere? What a novel idea! But … with covid rampant? 

Hmm ... I don’t think so!

 

I have not been overseas or interstate since THE virus entered my world in January 2020. Fortunately, we’d enjoyed a fabulous vacation in Sri Lanka just before we were grounded, so it hasn’t been the least bit difficult for us to stay put. In fact, I feel I am on holiday when I’m home—peaceful mountain views serenade me all day long, I have a little den where I can write to my heart’s content, and our lovely backyard brings me into God’s sweet presence.

The world calls out to us on a daily basis. Advertisers seduce us to do things we don’t want to do, to buy things we do not need. Who gets our attention? Whose voice sounds loudest in our ears?

 

God woos us. Time and time again. Like children following the Pied Piper when he played his flute, we too are summoned to follow our Creator. He will lead us into a road off the beaten track, to creative paths, to scenic locations and also into rough and tough terrain, where we’re forced to learn more of Him as we lean into the unforced rhythms of grace.

 Where is God calling you to this season? More breathing? More being? More reflection? More writing? More living? More doing? The call of that advertisement to ‘go somewhere’ made me think of places I can spend time in, even during covid times.  

 

The first place God woos me is into His loving heart. He calls me to become a worshipper, to spend time with Him, to know Him more and to grow in my love for Him. The next place He woos me into is into character growth. James 1:2-4 reminds us to consider trials as joy - as pure, unadulterated joy! But … how do we find joy in hard times? Perhaps the way forward is by focussing on heaven’s perspective, and not our own! Colossians 3:1-4 is a great place to start.

 

The third place God woos me into, is to bless others. Covid may have made us a little more selfish – we’ve been forced to care for ourselves and to keep away from others. This Christmas, I felt guilty that it was a self-centred kind of season. But then, as I sought God, He showed me what I could do. I could care for one person at a time, in any way possible. It opened my eyes and my heart. I was blessed as He led me and it was a rich season, as I connected in varied ways to reach and touch others.

 

The fourth place God woos me is in my creative journey. My writing has taken a backseat in the past few years. But this year is going to be different! I will be more disciplined. I will WRITE! Every. Day. Does that sound familiar? Will you join me?

 

The final place God woos me into is a place of rest. A little girl trusts her Daddy when he leads her into difficult places, full of the unexpected and the unknown. I too likewise am learning to trust Him in the rough moments and seasons. Like a baby learning to walk who falls time and time again, I have often failed! But the beauty life with Jesus is that He never condemns, only encourages us as I get up and try again.

 

To what kind of places and spaces has God been wooing you? I’d love to hear of your journey. Like a row of skittles being struck down by a great black bowling ball, Covid has thrown us all helter skelter! However, even if you have been sent reeling into a dark corner, be assured that God has not abandoned you. From that place, He will woo you into godly spaces. He woos us gently into learning to live from the heart, to discovering more of His goodness, His grace, His love and most of all that He is enough, because He alone is the All Sufficient One. 

He alone is the One our souls thirst for!

 

Come join me as we follow the Heavenly Pied Piper into the adventures of a New Year. 

Wherever He leads us is the best place to be! 

May 2022 find us writing well, living well and loving well.

Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus.

 

Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little God stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. Her 2^nd book ‘Dancing in the Rain’ brings you hope and comfort for life’s soggy seasons. Her 3rd book, ‘Sharing the Journey’ is a sequel to 'Enjoying the Journey' and was released in March 2020.

 

Do drop in on her two websites to say G’day! She’d love to connect with you.

Dancing in the Rain - https://anusha-atukorala.webnode.com/

Light in the Darkness- https://light-in-the-darkness00.webnode.com/

 

 

Dancing in the Rain: https://www.booktopia.com.au/dancing-in-the-rain-anusha-atukorala/book/9781925380118.html

Sharing the Journey: https://www.booktopia.com.au/sharing-the-journey-anusha-atukorala/book/9780648713869.html

 

God's Plans by Julie Auld

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare (peace) and not evil, to give you a future and a hope."  (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)

God can show us so many things when  we allow ourselves to be in a place where it is only us and God.  When we allow our hearts to be still, be prepared to listen for his voice removing the distractions of this world, giving God first place that he deserves then we can hear him speaking.

Recently I did a road trip with 3 small dogs and a cat in the back seat of my 4WD from Longreach to Brisbane ( without radio or cds), taking in the amazing landscape and small country towns along the journey.  We live in an amazing country that is yet to be explored and documented.  Living in the city all my life I never understood the beauty of Australia and how we can take the small things for granted. Moving into an outback town I have seen how tough it is to really survive on drought stricken land, but I am also amazed with the colours of the sunsets and sunrises the outback can give us. 

 God had shown me that from each town I visited or drove through there is a story for me to write.  The stories that I write will be an encouragement to others that have gone through a similar journey to me.

My hearts desire is to serve God in missions, to write my book, to be able to  travel overseas and Australia.  I have  also learnt that I need to  surrender all my dreams totally to God so that it is not my doing but God's and he is the one where my success will come from.  

 I have wanted to go to bible college for several years now and in 2015 I have been accepted to study a  Bachelor of Ministries at bible college by distance.

 My road trip to Brisbane meant that I was able to meet with the bible college lecturers and other distance students. 

 The next three years will be an incredible journey as I take my walk with God to a deeper level studying the bible, understanding and trusting what he has planned for me and  be able combine it with my writing. 

I know God has a plan for me and each of us, a plan that he designed for me before I was born.

God  gave me this love for words.

God gave me the desire to want to serve him.

God gave me the desire to want to write.

My life is like a jigsaw puzzle and God is the one who will put all the pieces together the way he planned.

Right place Right timing.

Beyond our imagination and aspirations

I usually spend most of January tying up loose ends from the year that’s past, and preparing for the year ahead. I try to include a few days away from the domestic daily routine, the phone and other intrusions, so that I feel rested when February starts. By then I have my diary for the new year sorted.  I’ve scheduled and planned for various events, social and family functions, speaking engagements, projects, trips away. I have some personal goals for the year, including what I want to accomplish in my writing and what areas of spiritual growth I need to focus on.

(I’m sure I’m not the only one who likes order, who plans, sets new year resolutions and goals, so I’m assuming at least some of you are identifying with this.)

However, with the arrival of February this year, and much of the above set out as usual, I still found myself still carrying a heaviness from some losses and struggles from last year. I’ve been wondering if I’m really ready for 2014, despite my planning. As I’ve reflected on this, God has graciously reminded me of what I most need.

A few years ago I was greatly impacted by the wonder of new life after darkness and devastation. It was during January of 2001 that I visited our church conference and camping site after fires had swept through and ravaged the buildings and grounds. I was so struck by the sight of new growth that I took a roll of film – bright green shoots of grasses and shrubs, pink leaves from the blackness of charred trees – all wondrous signs of what God brings from death and destruction, yes, even in plant life. His wonderful creation. His marvellous power. There for me to be overwhelmed by. I remember that year I began February with a sense of awe and expectation, assured that whatever had been or was to come, God would be doing something beautiful. 

This January I’ve been reading daily messages from one of my favourite writers, Richard Rohr, and just this last week his focus has been on God’s divine plan for our lives; the ongoing transformation He wants to bring about in us by His Spirit, until we are formed into His likeness, until we reach perfect oneness with Him. This won’t be complete, of course, until we are in heaven with Him, but it is the divine reality which is going on in our lives even now.

The following is taken from one of Richard Rohr’s daily readings. It’s a prayer offered by one of his colleagues at the Living School for Action and Contemplation:

May each of us be so fortunate as to be overtaken by God in the midst of little things. May we each be so blessed as to be finished off by God, swooping down from above or welling up from beneath, to extinguish the illusion of separateness that perpetuates our fears. May we, in having our illusory, separate self slain by God, be born into a new and true awareness of who we really are: one with God forever. May we continue on in this true awareness, seeing in each and every little thing we see the fullness of God’s presence in our lives. May we also be someone in whose presence others are better able to recognize God’s presence in their lives, so that they, too, might know the freedom of the children of God.

These reminders have swept through my heaviness and lifted me to a place where I can surrender all my plans, goals, aspirations and struggles to Him who knows it all and has plans for my year which are above and beyond anything I can conceive or even imagine, and who also has a much bigger plan for His whole creation, which is so much greater than anything that happens in our daily lives on earth. This is a much better perspective for me to go into 2014 with.  I hope any of you who are finding it difficult to get into the work of this year, will find this encouraging.
Carol Preston

Carol writes historical novels based on her family ancestry in Australia and include the Turning the Tide series; Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets and Truly Free. Her earlier novel Suzannah’s Gold has been re-released by EBP and will soon be followed by the re-release of its sequel Rebecca’s Dream. You can see more about Carol and her novels on her website or her FB author page.

www.carolpreston.com.au 

 www.facebook.com/writingtoreach

Her novels can be found at EBP  www.evenbeforepublishing.com

Or Amazon  www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston