Great Ocean Road cycling trip

300km of cycling over 3 days. Luckily, I was just accompanying my husband by car. I felt a bit tired driving all that way but I felt I really shouldn't say so, not in front of the cyclists! They did an amazing job raising funds for children's charities, see http://www.25000spins.com/adventures/great-ocean-road.html

It really is a beautiful stretch of coastline.

After the ride, we had a serene 2 days in Lorne.

We had a pit stop in Apollo Bay and I wished we could have stayed longer.

My daughter Evie interacting with a Cockatoo.

While I was driving on my own, I had to stop and get petrol. We had a hired 4WD and I wasn't sure how to even open the fuel thingy or whether the car was unleaded or diesel.

"Pretty sure it's diesel, it's a 4WD, trucks and 4WD's use diesel, don't they?" 

I was going to just go diesel but then I thought to double check with the guy working at the petrol station. Well, lucky I did. He basically told me that it's most likely unleaded and told me to call the hire company just in case. He told me there have been many a hired vehicle that had to have the wrong fuel sucked out of them. And, if they couldn't get all the fuel out, the car had to be towed...all the way back to Melbourne, usually! What a way to end the holiday for some poor soul!

(this is a sample image and may not reflect the actual 4WD I was driving on my trip ;)

It made me think- what if this had happened to me? Would it have been reasonable of me to say, "Oh I'm cursed, I'm just so unlucky!"  I don't think so. 

There are quite a few verses in the Bible where God talks about curses and punishment. Putting the discussion about justice/punishment aside, I believe a lot of the suffering in the world is not a 'curse'  in the sense that God has said, "Oh, you're not obeying me so I'm going to make you pay!" as much as it's a case of putting the 'wrong fuel in the car.' God made us and so He knows our 'manufacturing design'. His commandments are there to help us live according to our 'design'. If we put the wrong things in, then we don't function at our optimum level (or we don't function at all). How is your 'engine' going? What are you 'putting in', when it comes to your physical/spiritual/emotional/mental health? 

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." 1 John 5:3

God made us then saved us and is coming soon to take us home. He has invested so much into us and we have no reason to ever doubt His good intentions towards us.

"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!” 

Ezekiel 18: 31, 32

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

(check out the Great Ocean charity cycle video, by 25000spins (started by my awesome brother-in-law!) and also the advert for next years one http://www.25000spins.com/adventures/great-ocean-road.html )

Rainbow

I love rainbows! I saw a really amazing rainbow today @the beach and it looked just like the photo at this link (check it out, it's the best photo ever!):  http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwangsa/452128709/

(except in a beach setting. There wasn't a nice photo on google images of a rainbow AND a beach so i put two photos. Just imagine it as one haha!!!) The sky was kind of stormy but the sun was also out and so this rainbow happened! (I didn't have my camera and who am I kidding- even if I did, wouldn't have been able to take such an awesome photo!).


1st image from : http://photo-help.com/77-beautiful-cuba-pictures-photos-images-of-cuba/

Sermon on the Mountain

A lot of the words Jesus spoke were spoken in reply to questions or accusations. The Sermon on the Mountain is one of the rare times were Jesus had the liberty to talk on a topic of His own choosing. This is a message straight from God's heart and mind! 

One of my favourite portions from the Sermon on the Mountain is the following:

"...And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye...

..Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven...

 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you give to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

(From Luke 6)

Why do we focus on the faults of others (and often these faults are imagined or exaggerated) instead of focusing on what we actually have control over- changing our own faults?

Why do we find it easier to do good to those who do good towards us? Why is it so hard to be kind to someone who is not kind to us, even if it's just an impolite stranger?

God can help us to change from loving others with a reactive/responsive love (i.e. "I'll love you only when I think you are being good and loving towards me) to a creative love (i.e. "I can love you even when I don't feel like it"). 

The greatest realisation we can come to is that God loves us with a creative and original love- i.e. It's not in response to our performance but rather it originates with HIM. And because God never changes, neither does His love for us. 

"Nothing can separate us from the love of God." Romans 8: 38, 39. 

Only once we realise this can we have that same sort of love towards others in our life. 

The Rock of Gibraltar, famous for being an impenetrable natural fortress of protection. The phrase 'Rock of Gibraltar' is used as an expression to indicate something that is unshakeable and reliable. May God be your Rock, Fortress and safe Refuge this week.  Have a happy week!

time, money & priorities

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also..." Matthew 6:21

Have a look at how the world spends money. It definitely reflects certain priorities. What about us personally? How does our spending compare?

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Cosmetics in the United States	8
Ice cream in Europe	11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States	12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States	17
Business entertainment in Japan	35
Cigarettes in Europe	50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe	105
Narcotics drugs in the world	400
Military spending in the world	780

And compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in alldeveloping countries:

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Basic education for all	6
Water and sanitation for all	9
Reproductive health for all women	12
Basic health and nutrition	13

(Source: The state of human development, United Nations Human Development Report  from http://www.globalissues.org/issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism     (Great website! Check out the whole article if u have time).

"Be content with such things as you have." Hebrews 13:5a

"For we bought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 1 Timothy 6:7

"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" 1 John 3:17

"The eyes of man are never satisfied." Proverbs 27:20

The world sends us certain messages about what will make us happy. And yet the best that this world has to offer will pass away one day- the world's most fascinating entertainment, most glorious buildings and whatever other material goods exist. Are you investing in eternity? Are you investing in people or things?

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life more abundantly.." John 10:10. The life Jesus calls us to sometimes seem illogical due to the conflicting messages from society and even our own sinful desires. But take it from the world's wisest man, who said that,  "Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them, I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure....then I looked on all the works my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind." Ecclesiastes 2:10, 11.  Instead, King Solomon came to the conclusion that the main duty of man is to keep God's commandments. And what are God's commandments based on but a love of God and others? 

The way we use our money and time shows who has our heart. Do we live for ourselves or do we love and serve God and others?


Images: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2012/01/03/a-world-designed-for-freedom/

Do we have to keep God's law

Do we have to keep God's commandments? Can we be saved if we don't keep them? Do they matter at all?

Before sin and suffering entered the universe, God didn't necessarily need to have a written code of 'conduct' (i.e. law) because everyone loved God and loved others and so naturally kept the law. However, here on this sinful planet, we are naturally inclined to think first of ourselves, often to the detriment of those around us. Selfishness is the root of all sins and it is the opposite of God's law of love. Because we have failed and fallen far short from God's perfect standard of love, we need the forgiveness that Jesus' sacrifice has made available to us! Can we be saved by keeping the commandments? No, because that would require us to have lived a life that not only exhibited the most perfect conduct but also would require us to have a heart that was always perfectly loving and filled with the purest motives. Can anyone claim this as a description of themselves? 

We cannot be saved by commandment-keeping. In Ephesians 2: 8,9, Paul says:  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast."

However, it is crucial to understand that God's plan of salvation encompasses not only freedom from the guilt of sin but also from the power of sin in our lives. God doesn't just want to forgive us for the wrong things we've done, He also wants to help us to live a new life- He wants to replace our impatience with His patience, our insecurities with His confidence, our laziness with His energy, our resentment or anxiety with His peace, our anger with his self-control and so on! There is so much He wants to give us...His plan of redemption is so much greater than we realise!

When we make commandment-keeping about our efforts and try to keep the law to elevate ourselves and make ourselves feel that we are ' a good person', then we have missed the point. Commandment-keeping is a work that GOD does in us, it is He who gives us a new heart that desires to walk in His ways and it is HE who gives us the power to follow through.

^" I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. " Ezekiel 36: 26, 27

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Only do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh (i.e selfishness) but instead serve one another in love. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, " you shall love your neighbour as yourself." " Galatians 5:13, 14

"Love does no harm to others, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Romans 13:10

" And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13.

"I will put my law in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Hebrews 10:16

It is the Lord who does a miraculous work in our lives- our role is simply to cooperate with Him and to trust Him enough to let Him lead our lives according to His will.

I will be thankful!

Hey dear friends/family! I've restarted Monday Manna again after an extremely extended xmas/new years break (we did move from Brisbane to Gold Coast though and we spent last week at the Great Ocean Road for Wayne's charity cycle www.25000spins.com   - Craig did an amazing job organising this again).

A verse that stood out to me yesterday:

"Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would almost have settled into the silence of darkness.

When I said, "My foot is slipping,' Your mercy, oh Lord, held me up.

In the multitude of my thoughts and anxieties, your comforts delight and cheer my soul."

Psalms 94:17-19

We often kind of run on 'automatic', dealing with things our old way, the way we know best. But God has a better way..He wants to teach us new things, so that we can experience greater joy, peace and fulfillment in our life. He wants to enlarge our hearts and our perspective on life. He wants to free us from the little things that rob us off peace and joy each day. Though God has a specific plan for our lives, I know that something He wants for each of us is to have a new attitude in life so that even though we might still be doing the same job/work and having the same relationships, it will all be transformed by having God's love, patience, strength and wisdom living in us. One of the things that God is helping me to 'relearn' is to be free from a complaining attitude.  I am so used to complaining and being stressed out and I do tend to exaggerate things and be dramatic. I was really challenged by what I read in an amazing autobiography recently (check it out, you can read a short bio about Nick Vujicic, who is one of two people in the world to survive being born with tetra-amelia, a condition that causes you to be born without limbs: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/    ... you can also order his book online).

In his book, Nick says, (paraphrased) "If you complain to others, at best they will pity you and at worst, they will try to avoid your company."  Do we want to inspire pity in others or hope and faith?

Considering that we can claim for ourselves the advantage of having the God of the Universe as our personal Saviour and Helper each day, is there really reason to complain? 

"Be anxious for nothing but pray about everything, with thanksgiving." Philippians 4:6 and 7 (abridged).

Even in the most difficult circumstances, we can have a transforming positive attitude by saying to God, "Thank you that I know you care, thank you that I know you will help me to get through this without losing my faith. Thank you that this is making my character more like Yours- thank you that you are preparing me  to live in Your Heavenly courts above!"

Next time I want to complain to someone, I'm going to strive to turn to God instead and pour out my worries and concerns to Him. Though my circumstance might not change, I know that the power of a positive attitude/perspective will transform the situation for me.  Nick is an incredibly inspiring example of that! 

God bless and have a happy week!

Anger management

Are you an angry person? 


How often do you get angry?


How do you get angry?  Do you just 'let it all out' or do you bottle it up until one day you have a massive breakdown? Or perhaps you let your anger seep out in a passive-aggressive way, making snide remarks or behaving sulkily, hoping the other person will notice?


Here's some things I've learned about anger, both from God's Word and also practical life experience. P.s. No, I am not the Hulk. 



(the emotional, impulsive, raging monstrous alter-ego of Dr. Bruce Banner in the Marvel Comics Universe. How do I know this? Let's just say that me and my friend M once made an unwise decision that led to an afternoon spent watching the Hulk in a theatre filled with 13 year old boys). There is always room for imrovement as far as managing our emotions goes, the history of humanity indicates it's an area we struggle with. Here's my top 3 tips:


1. Decrease Pressure.
At least for me, stress=getting angry/irritated more easily.  Of course, you can't eliminate all of life's stresses and annoyances and shut yourself up in a comfortable little bubble. However, (and especially if you struggle with anger), it's a good idea to really rethink your schedule, time management and priorities if you are habitually getting angry and irritated. Pray to God and ask for wisdom to cut out any unnecessary burdens/stresses from life. Sometimes we think we have no choice but we do- there is nothing we have to do (except pay taxes and die, right?).


2. Be flexible-   If things don't go your way or as you had hoped/planned. 


3. Ask yourself, "Why am I angry?"
This is a dangerous question to ask because if you start asking this, you may just learn some things about yourself that you didn't want to know (but probably need to know).  Firstly, just asking a rational question can help get you thinking at a time when angry emotions are completely clouding your logical/rational thinking. And then you can start using rational thinking to problem solve yourself out of whatever has gotten you upset. Secondly, asking yourself why you are angry is a reminder that you are responsible for your emotions, regardless of who/what triggered it. Have a look at this verse where God uses this strategy with Cain, after Cain becomes angry at God and his brother Abel:


"Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at your door and it's desire is to have you but you must rule over it."  Genesis 4:6


God said, 'your anger wants to control you but you must rule over it!' God would not tell us to do something if it wasn't possible to do it! It's a command but also a promise: "You can rule over it!"
If we are in a right relationship with God, He will help us to be in control of ourselves at all times, no matter what our circumstances are or how other people may behave towards us.


* a great online resource for Bible verses about anger and also some helpful articles. http://www.dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-irritationandangermanagement/whatgodsaysinthebibleaboutanger.php