March Update

Well, a lot has happened over the past couple of months,

so I thought it was time for a quick update on life at the Holmeses!

At the end of February, Dave and I found ourselves

 boarding the Greyhound bus bound for Darwin

for a flight to Perth. 

 We went from the 5 hour bus ride, to a taxi ride to the airport,

to a 3 hour flight, to a shuttle bus ride to the 

motel and finally sleep!

The next morning found us being picked up by the Scania salesman

and taken to the yard where our newest member of our fleet was 

waiting for us to drive her home.

It was a short 'holiday' of sorts for us and we enjoyed the 4 day trip

home from Perth to Katherine. 

Of course, I really enjoyed getting to drive the prime mover!

We covered some beautiful country as we were able to 

travel over some roads we hadn't been on before. 

When we arrived home, Abbi and Miriam and the girls

helped us with the mammoth task of washing the truck

and trying to unstick all the bugs and insects from out of the 

grill and bug stopper mesh thingy on the front.

(not a fun job, but Mimi had a lot of fun helping Grandpa)

The truck then sat in the yard while awaiting our next

trip down south to pick up the trailers. 

But, in the meantime, I was blessed to be given the opportunity

to speak at the Mum Heart Conference again at Dundee Beach.

We had a lovely group of ladies and we all enjoyed the fellowship

and rest over the weekend. 

God blessed with beautiful weather and we were all encouraged

in the Word. The theme this year was Redeeming the Time. 

And wow! What an interesting topic and timely as well,

in light of the present circumstances we find our world in. 

This year, I decided to leave my trusty DSLR at home

and just used my phone for photos. I was constantly frustrated

with the quality, but I focused on just enjoying the scenery

thoroughly instead of worrying about camera settings. 

After returning home rested from Dundee,

we were off again on another quick road trip,

but this time to Adelaide. 

If you're wondering why there is a picture of the truck near KFC,

it's because when we got to Alice, Dave really wanted KFC.

So, we unhooked the trailers, went into town, only to find that because of the virus,

only the drive thru was open (in the truck??). So we had to install a KFC app,

then order online, then press a buzzer and wait for them to come out  and hand it to us! 

My word! The things we do??? 

We were able to meet up with a friend for coffee and donuts at 

a Krispy Kreme and truck stop on the edge of Adelaide

while we awaited our trailers arrival from Melbourne 

the next morning. (we didn't mind at all having to sit

up until midnight eating donuts and enjoying good company)

Then next morning saw us getting everything sorted with 

the truck driver who delivered our trailers (who happened to be

a friend of the family for many years, a small world),

hooking up and heading out. 

City life is not for us and we like to high tail it

out of there as quickly as possible and hit the open road. 

Once again, driving at night brought its fair share of bugs

and insects. We slept in the truck (it had a double bunk)

and once again enjoyed the scenery and each others company. 

The flies were horrendous in the Red Centre

and I swallowed a few! 

The country was beautiful and even though we'd been over this

road a few times I still marvelled at the beauty of God's creation. 

I ended up cleaning the truck on my own this time,

which was a gargantuan task, and one I don't mind not repeating. 

My trusty camera was once again left behind on

this trip, which is a new feeling for me,

but I managed to survive without it's comforting presence ;)

Well, God is so good. We don't know what God has 

instore for us with all that's going on in the world. 

We have lost business due to the downturn, there's bills to pay,

but we just keep on trusting the Lord and knowing that God is still in control and things could be a lot worse for us. 

Praise God that we have hope and we don't need to despair. 

Romans 15:13

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Katherine Gorge Helicopter Flight

and 

Monsoonal Rains 

Last week, Mum and Dad were here for a visit

and my birthday present from Dave was 

a helicopter flight over the beautiful Katherine Gorge.

I was able to take Mum and Dad along for the ride! 

It was absolutely amazing to see it from the air. 

The country is just starting to green up and the water

is beginning to turn iced coffee brown. 

We had a great pilot who took us over 5 of the gorges

(longer than our paid for flight)

and explained interesting facts along the way.

 We flew along with the doors off the helicopter 

which was awesome, as I was in the front and it 

was great to be able to see everything so clearly. 

(thankfully, my little seatbelt held me in tightly)

We know, that despite the tour guides' explanations

of the Gorge forming millions of years ago, that 

God, the creator of the universe designed this amazing

Gorge just as He planned. 

God's handiwork is so evident in His creation,

from the tiniest plant to the deepest gorge! 

In other news, we have been blessed to experience 

some monsoonal storms finally! I sat out on the verandah

the other night for quite a while watching displays of 

God's almighty power. 

Psalm 147:5a 

Great is our Lord, and of great power:

Jeremiah 10:12-13

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures

A Small Getaway

We were able to take a short 2 day getaway 

in Darwin last weekend.

One of the highlights is getting to watch

the sun set over the ocean. There are so many places 

to enjoy God's handiwork, but the waves of the ocean

and the colours of the sunset have to be one of the most 

awe-inspiring! 

Psalm 104:25

 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things 

creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

Psalm 146:5, 6 

 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, 

whose hope is in the LORD his God:

Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is:

 which keepeth truth for ever:

Psalm 107:29

 He maketh the storm a calm,

 so that the waves thereof are still.

After a very dry wet season, the monsoon has finally arrived

and we've had a couple of nice falls of rain. 

On the way home from Darwin, we drove through 

quite a few epic storms. 

Psalm 27:5 

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: 

in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

💗Adorable Alyssa 💗

13 days old !

Update on Life

Well, as you know, the biggest news around here is the birth 

of the adorable 

Alyssa Jane Hockey.

We are enjoying being grandparents again for the third time. 

Little Miriam and Lydia are growing so quickly that it's impossible to keep up. Miriam is getting to be a real little girl, definitely not a baby anymore. And now, with Alyssa coming along, Lydia no longer seems small anymore. Lydia is crawling and is a very smiley, happy and expressive baby.

James and Laine are both busy in their jobs and work hard for their families. 

We don't get to see Lauren and Cam as much as we would like to, but they are doing well and serving the Lord faithfully in Malanda. Cam keeps busy with his business and Lauren is a great blessing to all at Jubilee Christian College where she works part time. 

Chloe and Maddie and I were able to visit them in Sept/Oct and it was great to visit with family and friends and fellowship at Grace Baptist while we were there. 

As to other life, we are very busy with our business and

so life is always a little crazy. We now have 2 refrigerated trucks (not counting the old Hino

that is well and truly past it's used by date), and these run 6 days a week with Dave and our full time employee. I have my truck license now too, so I am on call for runs when they are needed. On Christmas Eve, Maddie and I did the Mataranka freight run while Dave went in the opposite direction. I also keep busy twice a week doing local deliveries in our Landcruiser ute. 

The girls are on holidays at present and are enjoying

getting to sleep in! They both work early hours, Maddie at a coffee shop and Chloe at the Day Care. Sometimes it feels like they are never home as they work very hard, with Maddie doing 6 days a week and Chloe 5. But life goes on and we carry on. 

It has been a very busy year for all of us and we are eager to see what God has for us in the new year. 

We are looking forward to a new Pastor and his family, coming in March to take the church. We are excited to see what ministries God has for us to do and how he wants us to serve. 

The fellas in the church (and sometimes us ladies), have been working on renovating the new church building which will be exciting to move into once it's done. It will be a blessing not to have to cart the chairs etc back and forth and set up each week. It will also give us a meeting place more central and in the public view that will, Lord willing, bring many opportunities for new contacts. 

Dave has been doing all the gyprocking (with the girls and I helping), and others in the church have been tirelessly working hard on all sorts of jobs needed. There is a lot to be done and although the job looks insurmountable, we know that God is bigger than it all and we can, through His strength, get the job done. 

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It has been extremely hot and dry this past couple of months and we are still waiting for the heavens to open up and shower us with rain, but on the plus side, we haven't had to mow the grass in probably 9 months! 

And, that's about it for now. 

I just wanted to remind any out there that read my articles, that this particular blog is becoming more of a Holmes update blog (with the occasional article) and my other blog "Learn. Live. Love. Share"

https://learnliveloveshare.blogspot.com/

is where I post most of my writings. So, if you're interested, you can sign up to that blog for articles and studies. 

Thanks for being interested in our family life here in the NT,

and we covet your prayers for God's direction in our lives. 

I pray that God will give you a fruitful year ahead and lots of opportunities to serve Him. 

Philippians 1:3-4 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy 

New Grandbaby!

Alyssa Jane Hockey💗

Yes, that's right! We are the proud grandparents,

once again, of a new granddaughter. 

Alyssa Jane Hockey was born 

last night at the Katherine Hospital.

7 lbs 4 ozs

She is perfect in every way. 

Emilee is doing well and Laine is 

a happy new dad! 

Looks like the strong Holmes genes won out

with another girl in the family! 

And Grandma is looking forward to the many

photo opportunities awaiting her. 

Not to mention all the cuddles, if she can fight

the Aunties off! 

Christmas 2019

Re post 

Yes, another year has almost come to an end and I find myself reflecting. What have I done with the time God gave me? What have I done with another year of opportunity? Did I waste it in pleasing self or did I use every moment in reaching out to a lost and dying world with the glorious message of salvation?

Sobering thoughts. When I stop and think about the 8760 hours I had to serve Him, how many of those hours were actually spent in service to Him.

At this time of year, more than any other time, we have the opportunity to share with others the real meaning of the season. As the world's focus is on buying gifts and eating, drinking and being merry, our focus should be on reaching out and telling others about the miracle of Jesus birth.

This time of year becomes so busy that we can't see Christ for Christmas. It's easy to get caught up in the swirl of activity and the buying buying buying. We hear the carols playing in every store, over loud speakers down the main street, hip hopped versions blared loudly as we do our grocery shopping. But does the world know the true meaning of “Away in a Manger” or “Joy to the World”?  And if they don't, is it our fault?

Is it our fault we pass people in the street and give them the customary, “Merry Christmas” instead of sharing with them the beautiful story of Jesus Christ coming to this earth to be born in a stable, humble and lowly, so that He could die for our sins?

Yes, too often I am guilty of just trying to ignore this whole time of year and wait impatiently for it all to be over. The hustle, the bustle, the frustrations of the busyness and the short attitudes that go along with it. Too often, I pass people in the shop, busy choosing that perfect gift for a loved one, filling their trolley with Christmas wrap, tinsel, lights, bon bons, without even a thought of saying something that might help to bring them to consider their eternal destiny.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas in the same way. And yes, some are quick to judge when others do things differently. But, whether you give gifts or you don't, the story of Christ's birth is still the same. The fact that God chose to send His only Son down to earth, to be born of a virgin, so that we might have eternal life, is still amazing! And the story hasn't changed.

We dash around madly, making sure the dining room is decked in splendour, while somewhere in the foggy recesses of our minds, we vaguely remember a dusty, dirty, smelly stable, where our Saviour was laid in a manger and the angels rejoiced.

Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the

heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest,

 and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Sometimes, in our efforts to witness at this time of year, we are guilty of only telling part of the story. Yes, the season is about Christ's birth, but it also brings us to the more sobering thought of His death. As the song so aptly puts it,

“Born to die upon Calv'ry, Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calv'ry, He was wounded that I might live”

Jesus wasn't just born and that was the end of it. That's not the end of the story. He was sent down to earth to die on the cross for our sins. He was born to die. The reason for His humble birth was so that He could save us from eternal damnation.

This past year has been a year of opportunity for me. The Lord has brought so many opportunities into my life to serve Him and yet I have failed many times to grab hold of them with both hands, and ask for God's strength to enable me to use these times wisely and help to make an eternal difference in someone's life. We know that it is God that does the work and He doesn't need our help, but He chooses to use us, as imperfect people, to spread the Word and be a light in a dark world.

This time of year, can be very dark, metaphorically speaking. A world blinded by consumerism and materialism and everything it can offer.  All the more reason to shine our light and shine it brightly!

We can hold our Christmas services and enjoy our festive luncheons, but if we are not out there, being a witness to the lost, telling the whole story, and testifying of God's goodness in our lives on a daily basis, we might as well stay home.

The story of a babe in a manger is easy on the ears and easy to tell, but to tell of a Saviour, suffering and bleeding on an old wooden cross for our sins, in our place, is a whole lot harder.

The shadow of the cross hung over the manger on the day of Christ's birth. It was there, that shadow, right from the very beginning. God knew what He was doing, and He was willing to give His only Son to die for us.

THIS is the real story. THIS is the story the world needs to hear. Not only the story of His miraculous birth, but the story of His sacrificial death, His burial and His resurrection.

PRAISE GOD! We serve a risen Saviour!