Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;

 continuing instant in prayer;

I came across this verse on the weekend, and despite having read it many times before, it really jumped off the page at me.

It's interesting how the Lord will speak to you through a verse that you've read so many times before, in a different way and really open your eyes to the promises or the truths that are held there.

In the past few months, I have gone through some very difficult times and have faced great trials that have left me in despair. Yes, the Lord has upheld me through it all, but there were times when I felt all alone and unsure of what the future would hold.

When I read this verse, it really spoke to me.

Rejoicing. Patient. Continuing.

Hope. Tribulation. Prayer.

I am to rejoice in hope. What hope? The hope I have in Christ. He is my salvation. He is my eternal security. We have a hope that the lost world doesn't have. We should rejoice in it. We should show and feel great joy and delight in this hope.

And if we are rejoicing in this hope, it is a surety that we will be patient in tribulation. Sitting quietly, when He calls us to suffer. Able to accept problems without becoming anxious.

 Waiting. Patiently.

I recently studied through Psalm 40, and in verse one it says,

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me,

 and heard my cry”

When I read this verse over and over, I was convicted by the word 'patiently'. I realized that when I go through difficult times, I wait, yes, but I don't do it patiently! Patience is not one of my strong points. I am not naturally patient. In this Psalm, we are told that David waited patiently, and the Lord heard his cry. Is the reason the Lord doesn't hear my cries to him because 

I am waiting impatiently?

Yes. Food for thought.

The next thing in this verse in Romans, is, “continuing in prayer.” Continuing. The dictionary defines this word as; 

without a break in continuity; ongoing.

The words 'continuing instant in' represent just one Greek word, meaning, literally, to persevere, be constantly diligent, to be earnest towards, ever enduring. The picture here is one of always being ready to pray. To be in an attitude of prayer constantly.

So, we are to pray continually.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Another example and command for us to pray continually.

Colossians 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the 

same with thanksgiving; 

So we are to rejoice, to be patient and to continue.

The challenge for me and for you also, is to really apply this verse to your lives and be actively rejoicing in the hope we have, to be patient in the trials that come our way, and to always be continuing in prayer, with thanksgiving in our hearts to the Lord for all He has does and will do in our lives.

God doesn't want us to live defeated lives, discouraged and despairing. He wants us to rejoice in His promises and be thankful, and bring our requests to Him, patiently waiting on His answers, letting Him lift us up above our dismal circumstances, raising our voices in worship to Him, praising Him for His abundant grace and mercy that he showers upon us.

Rejoice. Be patient. And continue.

Intermission

Wet Season and Life in General

Just taking a short break from 

the Canning Posts to give you 

an update on recent things here

in lovely, sweltering, humid, Katherine. 

Well, we are well into our wet season here

in the Territory, which means hot and humid days

that build up and hopefully rain occasionally. 

I love the clouds and the thunderstorms

that this season brings, but finding the time to 

go out and photograph them is another story. 

But, thankfully, on Saturday we had some time

to spend together as a family, with James and Abbi

and Miriam (and Laine of course), over at our

'new' depo (shed) that we have recently started renting 

for our business. 

It is only just out of town, but it is so

peaceful and quiet out there and the view of the 

clouds is better than our front verandah,

with less houses around. 

We were blessed to watch a double rainbow

appear in the sky and a little spattering of rain,

not much, but beautiful nonetheless. 

As you can see, I couldn't quite get the whole rainbow

in the photo, with the lens I was using, but it 

was so impressive. 

We were able to take some tea out to 

the shed and have a nice meal in the little

granny flat attached to the shed, 

which has air con, a definite bonus! 

No, that shed is not ours, 

that's Dave's dream shed, it's $2000 a week,

so it was a bit out of our price range! 

As to life here at present,

well, it's been very busy.

I am kept busy with wedding preparations

and normal day to day life.

Emilee is busy with wedding things and 

working for Dave doing freight, or whatever

else her and her ute are needed to do. 

She has now finished up at Brumbys but

will continue working for Dave once she's married,

as it's only 2 days a week. 

Maddy is always running back and forth

to her job at Brumbys, and running errands

for me or visiting Abbi and Miriam

(getting in lots of Aunty cuddles).

Chloe keeps very busy doing her

school work 3 days a week,

her work at the Day Care centre,

once a week,  her written work and her night classes for her

Cert III in Early Childhood Education course,

once a week, working at Brumbys after school hours a few

times a week and helping me around the house. 

Dave is very busy with the milk run

and freight and building some cupboards etc

for  a lady in the church, doing some recycling 

(with cans and also pulling apart engines etc)

and all sorts of other little jobs. 

We now have a part time employee to help 

with the milk run which frees Dave up to do other jobs. 

Dave is also teaching through the book of Revelation

in adult Sunday School, which has been very good

and everyone seems to be enjoying the good teaching and the debates

that come up occasionally.

We have finished up Teen Group for the year

and we only have 2 more Youth Groups to go before

we finish up for the holidays. 

There are only 3 weeks left to go

until the wedding! 

Where has the time flown?

Another daughter leaves the nest

and we'll be down to just 4 of us. 

Maddy and Chloe are excited

that they will finally get their own rooms,

for the first time in their lives. 

They have been busy collecting room décor

and making things to redecorate and personalize their

own little space. 

Dave is making Chloe a new bed

which she is very excited about. 

In the holidays it will be a time

for a big spring clean, declutter,

reorganize, rearrange etc. 

Little Miriam is not so little

anymore and is growing so quickly.

She is talking more and more 

and developing her own little personality. 

She has learnt to say the Auntys names

and also 'papa' and 'mama' for 

Grandpa and Grandma. 

Yes, it melts our hearts. 

She loves to draw and at the moment, 

everything she draws is a turtle. 

Well, that's about all for now. 

Of course, there's a lot more going on

but that's about the jist of it. 

Our Trip

Day Thirteen 

Day thirteen was not too 

eventful, but once again we crossed

some beautiful country.

For you non-readers,

you'll be glad to know that this

post is almost all pictorial. 

The pink cockatoos

were in the trees before we left

and chattering happily. 

That is until we started up our old

girl, then the blue smoke drove them away. 

(In the morning, the routine was: 

Our friends started their vehicle up first,

while Emilee would crank her ute over and over

and over and over until it finally started, which it

always did, never had to jump start it even once, it

just didn't like cold weather. Then at the last minute,

we'd start ours up, and off we'd go before we all 

died of exhaust fumes and any nearby campers 

started complaining!) 

So, off we went, leaving the lovely Georgia Bore

and headed for the sand dunes once more. 

Corrugations greeted us again this morning

and we bumped over them, loosening the bolts

just that little bit more. 

We (meaning the old girl),

got stuck on our first sand dune,

and then our 2nd. After letting down all

4 tyres a bit more, we carried on,

meeting some more travellers headed north. 

We came across some more flowers

for me to photograph. All so different. 

A couple more wells in ruins. 

Sand dunes off in the distance,

just waiting to be crossed. 

Even though it was up and over

and up and over, with the sand dunes,

I never tired of them. You never knew what 

you might see as you came over the top. 

Then sometimes, you got to try a couple of

times, so the suspense was even greater! 

After cresting one sand dune,

we were met with some travellers who had stopped to 

let us past but also to look at a caravan of camels 

passing by. There was even a cute little baby camel,

white and wobbly. 

 More salty flood plains

with sand dunes round the edges,

the colours were amazing. 

Soon enough we arrived at Lake Disappointment. 

A MASSIVE salt lake. 

This salt lake is 82 000 acres,

325 metres above sea level and lies on 

the Tropic of Capricorn. 

We spent quite a bit of time exploring 

on the lake. With me happily snapping away. 

And no, we did not make those tracks

out in the middle. 

The salt was like snow and stuck

to your shoes and crunched. 

And yes, of course I tasted it,

just to make sure it was salty!

It was! 

After about an hour, we came upon

Savoury Creek. 

It was strange to see beautiful, blue water in the middle

of the desert. 

We had to do a creek crossing here

to get to the track on the other side,

so I did the honours of walking across to check

the firmness of the sand underneath. 

Seemed all okay, so we, one by one,

crossed over slowly so we wouldn't 

splash too much up underneath our vehicles. 

Emilee did very well doing her first

water crossing. (I have video footage,

but you'll have to wait until the very end

of all the posts to see it)

We spent a little time exploring 

before we crossed over,

after checking to see where the best 

place was to cross. 

Once we were over, it was on our way again

to Well 19 ruins. 

Another trailer bites the dust.

The Canning is littered with

vehicles or trailers that never made it.

We got to take a photo of the 

Tropic of Capricorn sign 

(to add to my collection of other

T of C signs I have from other places in

Australia) 

Coming to Well 18, we decided 

to call it a day. This was a restored well,

so we had plenty of water, we didn't have showers

though, as we'd had one the day before! 

We had this campsite all to ourselves,

which was almost always the case.

The girls relax near the fire,

while Chloe watches Dave tighten 

the bolts on the diff once again. 

Another day ends, and we are just a 

little bit closer to the end of our epic

trip and the wild, unknown.