Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Blessings

I thought I would share some things I have been blessed by recently ...
(1) I love Christmas time ... it helps me to take extra time to meditate on God's tremendous love for His people! I try to write a blog on our Christmas focus on Christ - if you want to take a peek, but do find myself always running out of time for blogging. http://chritmaswithchrist.blogspot.com/ 
(2) Feel as if you are in a rut? Looking inward too much? Need to have your eyes lifted heavenward? Then I am sure this will bless you as much as it did me! Recently we have seen Giglio's DVD Indescribable, you can see it free on You Tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewKtSKbWZUI ( Not crazy about the background screamers but definitely well worth getting beyond that to be blessed by what Giglio has to say about how big and awesome our God is! And then along similar lines the DVD God of Wonders See http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7254 , if you scroll down this page you will see a link to You Tube too!

(3) Are you interested in Christian counselling? We all should be..we all have family, friends who need our encouragement (and who need to encourage us too!) I was so blessed by this excellent article! http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org/Sword-And-Trowel/Sword-and-Trowel-Articles/The-Seven-Pillars-of-Counselling

(4) Do you also grow weary of doing good and being strong? What beautiful words are found to encourage us in scriptures; what a wonderful example our Saviour is to us... it is only as Christians that we can find a supernatural strength and courage to keep going well!





I  have been so encouraged by a sermon on Romans 15! See
https://cid-ab3e9013fc969cbb.office.live.com/browse.aspx/Sermon%20for%20Sunday%2051210?Bsrc=Docmail&Bpub=SDX.Docs

Just look at these wonderful verses (ESV) Romans 15: 1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.


(5) Last but not least I have been blessed by our many recent cool weather outings in God's beautiful creation and occassions to be with friends and family. This is our seventh summer here in Brisbane and it is usually sweltering hot by this time of the year, air conditioners are usually necessary  for our family to cope. But this year God has chosen to bless with months 'of out of the ordinary' cool weather and lots of rain, this is a welcome break for us from the strain of coping with the heat and humidity of Brisbane. All these pictures were taken in friend's garden on a lovely rainy day! What a blessing rain is after years of drought! What a joy to see my friend's garden mature over the last 6 years and see her young boy grow up and become a talented choek (chicken) minder and choek house builder! Indeed friends are blessings untold too! What a treasure to have family and friends surround us making our lives beautiful and rich!

May you all know  quiet closeness to God this Christmas, love and may God bless, Joy