KATHERINE SHOW

AND

RODEO  2017

Well, last weekend was our annual show and rodeo.

We look forward to this exciting event every year.

Dave looks forward to the show junk food,

and I look forward to an opportunity to take more

photos! Go figure??

Now that the girls are older,

Dave and I walk around the show by ourselves

and the girls hang out with friends

and ride the rides.

Being a small show, we constantly

run into each other, then we meet up at the

rodeo for all the excitement.

This year was extra special because

it was Miriam's very first show and rodeo!

She very happily slept through most of it!

Thankfully, no bulls or broncs collided with

the rails in front of her!

I love these adorable kids.

And these were bull riders in the making.

Yes, these little fellas rode!

And now, here's some random pics from the night.

 This old bull was a spinner.

He came out of the gates

and went round and round in circles.

Bet that cowboy didn't need to

go on any showrides after that!

Of course, the rides are a big drawcard

for the girls and Maddie upped the anti when

she took on the SPEED ride with a friend.

I've uploaded a video for you to

catch the action and here are some stats:

SPEED

37 metres high

13 revolutions per minute

Acceleration 3.5g on the rider

And that's all of the show until next year!

Don't Miss It

“Many a ship passes in the night,

touching at our wharf with the precious freight

which we have been praying for,

but we are not there to receive it.

Many a dove comes to our window from the

weltering waste of waters;

but we are too immersed in other things to notice its light tap.

We pray, but we do not wait;

we ask, but we do not expect to receive;

we knock, but we are gone before the door is opened.”

F.B.Meyer

James 1:6,7

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea

driven with the wind and tossed.

For let not that man think that he

shall receive any thing of the Lord.

How many times are we guilty of praying a specific prayer, then walking away and forgetting all about it. We don't stay at the foot of the cross, holding out our hands expectantly, waiting for God to grant the request with his abundance. Instead, we get discouraged, we doubt God's goodness, his provision, his protection. We go our way and while we're gone, the answer comes, but as the poem says, “we are not there to receive it.”

Often times we pray, but don't wait. We ask, but don't expect anything to come of it. We knock, then turn away, not expecting an answer.

Matthew 6:30

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,

which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven,

shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

The passage in James tells us what we are likened to when we waver in our faith. When we doubt God's ability. We're like a wave of the sea. Now, waves of the sea are beautiful, and we love to stand in the shallows and have the water lapping at our feet. In, out. In, out. In, out. But when we pray without faith, we're likened to a wave. The wind drives it. What is the wind in your life that drives you? Is it a wind of doubt? Is it a wind of fear? Is it a wind of anxiety? A wind that drives your prayers and causes your faith to waver.

God says, “let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”

If we're wavering in our faith and our prayers are half-hearted, and we pray without really expecting anything,

God tells us plainly that we won't receive anything.

Hudson Taylor once said,

“Ask great things of God

Attempt great things for God

Expect great things from God”

God is waiting and longing to give us the desires of our hearts. He is able to go above and beyond our tiny requests and overflow our lives with blessing.

Ephesians 3:20

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly

above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us

Then, why are we not waiting at the wharf, at the window, at the door?

Matthew 7:7,8

Ask, and it shall be given you;

seek, and ye shall find;

knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth;

and he that seeketh findeth;

and to him that knocketh it shall be opened

There is going to be some well-meaning people, wondering where 'leaving it at the foot of the cross' comes in. Well, I definitely don't pretend to have all the answers and I'm still on a steep learning curve when it comes to praying effectively. But I do know that God wants us to bring our problems to Him and not fret or worry over the outcome, and He also expects us to pray with a heart of faith, expectantly, hopefully and without doubt. He tells us in scripture to pray without ceasing. He wants us to bring our requests to Him continually and pray for the same thing over and over and show Him how important our particular request is to us.

It is not wrong to pray for something consistently until God opens the floodgates of Heaven and grants our desires and we see the mighty hand of God work and give Him all the glory. How many souls have been saved because a faithful Christian wouldn't give up on praying for that one to come to Christ? They weren't content to pray once, and walk away, not waiting for the answer. No, they were ready and waiting at the wharf, continually begging God and interceding on someone else's behalf until God answered.

I don't want to be so busy in life, that I don't notice those little answers to prayer. We often ask a small request of God, then don't even see the answer arrive because we're so busy doing other things,

that the blessing comes and goes by unnoticed.

I want to be at the door waiting.

Not missing a single answer!

Awwwww

Miriam Grace McKenna

6 weeks old

Territory Day

July 1, 2017

Just some of my favourites

from the fireworks show

put on by our Town Council

We've found it's funner

to watch other people blow up

hundreds of dollars, than spend

our own money on them:)

Despite a strict curfew

on the times allowed for

shooting off fireworks,

in our neighbourhood,

they started around 9am

and finished around 2 am.

Then of course, the occasional

one goes off at any time of the day,

on any given day of the week.

Makes for an interesting life.

So, if any of you has the urge

to spend a lot of money

on a bit of bang,

come for a visit on July 1st

and you can use our front yard

for your expensive thrill.

I'll even take photos for

you to take home as a souvenir,

as that's all you get to show for it,

besides a few

empty cardboard tubes.

Oh, and below is a short video
to show you what it looks
like as you drive through the
neighbourhood.
Watch out for flying fireworks!

Sunset

When I consider the work of Thy hands,The sun, moon and stars above,
What is man that Thou thinkest of him
Who is so unworthy of Thy love?

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.
Mountains, valleys, all creation tells Thy fame.
Heavens declare it; all Thy wondrous works proclaim:
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.

Heavens are telling the glory of God;
Each tree points to Christ on high.
Why would God, the creator of all
Take the form of lowly flesh to die?

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.
Mountains, valleys, all creation tells Thy fame.
Heavens declare it; all Thy wondrous works proclaim:
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.

Jesus, Creator and Ruler of all
Left heaven to die for me.
Came to earth, laid aside heaven's throne
In exchange for death on Calvary.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.
Mountains, valleys, all creation tells Thy fame.
Heavens declare it; all Thy wondrous works proclaim:
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name.

R. Hamilton

This past week saw the girls

and I headed up to Darwin

for a night to do some shopping

and run some errands.

I was able to take the girls to Lee Point

to watch the sunset.

I was almost 40 by the time I was able

to watch the sun set over

the ocean because of living on the East Coast.

Our first time was over in Western Australia,

but now, it's just up the road.

So, camera in hand,

we spent a couple hours enjoying one

of Chloe's favourite places. The beach.

There's just something mesmerizing about

watching the colours change over the ocean

and listening to the sounds of the waves coming in.

The sun drops so fast that you

can watch it moving down

toward the horizon and disappear.

Of course, I wanted to take some silhouettes,

but I had a struggle getting the girls to co operate.

Although, they did better than usual knowing that

in the photos you wouldn't really

be able to see their faces.

Going, going, going, gone.

I've put together a 1 minute video

of the sunset for you, just in case

you live on the East Coast or in

the middle of the outback, and really

want to experience the sights and sounds.

What an amazing God and Creator

that day after day, can cause us to marvel

at His beautiful creation,

just by the going down

of the sun.

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun unto the going

down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised.