Merry Christmas

Its been a funny old lead up to Christmas this year. Still all the madcap craziness, but also there's been in me an enormous sense of peace.
We've been on holidays since midway through the month and so have had time for the usual preparations, and also a few lovely days camping by the seashore, with my darling family. That was the most important time for me. The days were just glorious, perfect sunshine, warm water, good company. It gave me time to clear my head and have a little chat with my Father.

Its taken me a long time to realise that the inner monologue that i have in my head every day, whenever i'm awake is me chitter chattering to God. And I always have! People would say that Linda is such a worrier" and I couldn't understand it. I'm not fretting over something , i'm processing it. Those times when i feel a nudge to do something, even when its stepping out of my safety zone, making me uncomfortable; I know its a nudge from God. I have learnt to trust that sometimes i don't know best.

When I see someone who is struggling and my God nudges me to go over, start talking , give a hug, say the uncomfortable words, I generally do. I fret when i miss that nudge, or I'm too chicken to act on it. (rest assured this works in reverse too, stay away, back away, disengage can also be my instinctive prompt and my personal favourite that comes to me very very often "be quiet, just Listen!" Its taken me years to heed that one. LOL)

I relish those moments when my world is quiet around me. Here I am early early Christmas morning , i've popped the turkey into the oven and I have time to sit and give thanks for all i have been blessed with. I won't list them for you, you can imagine as they will be similar to yours.

Time to go, the house is stirring.

I'm very grateful to you my dear friends. I wish you all a blessed Christmas. Remember to celebrate his birthday. Its our yearly reminder of how much God loves us and wants us back.
God Bless
Love Linda XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ps Don't try and steer the rollercoaster, God is doing that; sit up the front and throw your hands in the air and go wooooohoooo!

How to "comment" on this blog.

Mind you I'm still a novice at this!!!!
When you've read the post
click on the words "comment" at the bottom.
A text box will come up for you to write what you need.
Under that its gonna ask you how you want to be seen.
Just choose the button that says Name/URL (there's no need to register or anything)
then click on publish this comment.
It gets sent to me first for proof reading then i okay it for the blog
Simple!
X Linda

With a sigh of relief...

Today I've had a series of lightbulb moments, where the little lightbulb appears over my head and suddenly it all makes sense. Apologies for my tardiness with the bloggy business. Considering that I love to write so much its been puzzling why i tend to avoid this.


Now I know...





Yep I took the plunge.
Surrounded by my friends and family I was baptised on the 23rd November. Yep I'm born again!
(This is my friend Alison giving me a big hug of congratulations and my mad mate Janet looking on!)

Russell and the boys were there which made it even more special. High 5 for Jesus!

Thanks so much Belinda for the fantastic photo's!!!!!!!!!!

And this is where I need to say thanks to John our Pastor who spoke today at church about what does God want me to do with my life which made me think about am I working to his purpose?. And thanks to my friend Margie who talked to me today about my blog and that she had trouble commenting on it ( yes I did have a funny setting accidentily set to make it hard) which made me come and look at it again. There's my light bulb moment!

I know what I have to be writing about now!

I think what held me back is that as I write in my blog I've been editing what I say so that i don't offend anyone. Hello? From now on its about what I'm thinking, my journey of faith,being a new Christian, what I'm reading and also some translations.

I'm in a pretty exciting place with my faith.

I'm too new to "talk the talk" with confidence, but I can also rememeber what it was like to hear the Gospel read in that alien bible-speak and how confronting the language Christians use can be to people who are ever so gingerly, turning toward our God and starting to listen and ask, "is there something more than this?"

They are very nervous, "if I reveal myself they'll "get me" and before you know it I've handed over all my money and I'm happy clapping on street corners where my friends will see me! Shock Horror!

This is where I give a warm chuckle. No no dear ones, your on the wrong wavelength...

I'm so excited to be able to share my journey with you.If ever you have questions you know where to find me.

I've got to go as apparently I've been using all the internet speed to upload the photo's. Sigh!

More tomorrow...............

Love ya, Linda :)

For those of you interested here is my testimony.

" In Nambour, on the other side of the road from the salvation army, on the corner of Maud and Sydney Street there is a sign that reads:
Jesus said “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
And about 3 years ago I noticed it.
I noticed it because I was burdened and weary. For all of my life I had carried not only my own worries, but everyone else’s. I could remember every hurt, every wound, and every harsh word that had ever been said to me.
With my mental cataloguing system I could pull out each memory and know all the detail, refresh that anger and hurt, and they never ever healed.
I could also remember every time I had done something or said something that I was ashamed of. I could remember it in detail. And the combination of all that hurt and shame was grinding me to my knees.
You can imagine what a heavy load that was to carry around in my heart. But that was me; that was how I operated.
So three years ago I finally was bought to my knees. My health had ground me to a halt. I had been battling arthritis for so long, and finding it very hard. You see I looked okay.
There were family tensions that had been bubbling away for a long time that finally came to a head.
For the first time I was filled with such a sense of despair it overwhelmed me. I looked at where I was in my life and considered how hard it had been to that point and the thought of another half a lifetime of the same was just too much. That’s exactly where God wanted me. Looking outside of me for help.
I work with a lovely group of ladies and I was lucky enough to be hanging around with Christians. Its amazing the things you absorb just by listening.
I started to think about going to church. It was like a domino effect. As soon as I had the thought, Di at work was talking about her church and before I knew it, I was sitting beside her at the Sallies in Nambour singing my little heart out with tears streaming down my face.
I welcomed Jesus into my heart a few weeks later, and then continued to have a good old bawl each Sunday much to the delight of Diane’s daughter; who would peep around her mum each week to see if I was blubbering.
And just like when you are carrying a really heavy basket, and someone comes and grabs the other side, my load has lightened. I have no burdens on my heart, because my Jesus is carrying them for me.
Russell and my boys are cautiously supportive. I know Russell was worried that I might swap everything we own for some magic beans, and Ben, Jake and Alex are worried I might embarrass them in front of their friends “Hi Five for Jesus” But they love me and know I’m not a fool.
I have now been surrounded by my spiritual family. I love the Riverwalk Church, it feels like home. Our New home group who have welcomed Russell and I so warmly.
And of course I love my dear friends at Daisychain, especially Barbi, Janelle, Sue, Norma and Dawn and the special work we do. And my scrapbooking friends who I have tucked in next to my heart. I feel Jesus working in my life daily. I feel different than ever before. Different to three years ago. Different today, to even a month ago. And why do I want to be baptised.
This is the same quote from the bible that I started with but, its from “The Message” the bible in contemporary language, by Eugene Patterson."

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep Company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”