Tuesday, November 27, 2018


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.




Monday, November 26, 2018

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. 






Thursday, November 22, 2018

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.