November...Already???

Wow...in October I don't want to think about Christmas....now it's suddenly November!!!

Where did the time go??? I've already taken 2 lots of clients Christmas shopping...and I have no intention of buying any gifts YET...I'm been too busy keeping on top of my bills... I've been a debt-hater with a larger than usual credit card debt...talk about tough... I HATE debt!

Thankfully a tax cheque (which was supposed to cover the debt but didn't arrive for ages!) came through last week so I have one free credit card! Just the way I like it:) Now I have a small, manageable bit left on the other one, then I'll be much happier:)

New houses can cost a bit to start out....we needed a fridge/freezer (the old one was about 40yrs old and was dying. We were so glad it survived til we moved!), driveway and blinds... just a few necessities that added up.

Things are looking good now:)

I guess it's time to allow myself to get into the Christmas mood... we'll be celebrating Christmas in our brand new church building! It is almost complete:) This has been a good year of new beginnings!

New church....new house... new ministries...new friends...all good :)

'Evil' Reporters

This might sound a bit ...well, not sure actually...

I just want to write about Aussie media and how evil reporters are....and they get away with ridiculing Christian groups and individuals....and act as if they're saving the world from evil... and if you didn't know any better, your emotional response to them would put you on their bandwagon to 'rid the world of evil'.... when in reality, they're picking out individual groups and people and Stamping "Evil" to their foreheads with Absolutely NO idea what they Really stand for!

I was watching a show on tv on Sunday night...they 'exposed' a 'cult'. My first emotional response was, "That's such and such?!? Ok, what are they going to accuse them of?"

Of course, they were accused of being an evil cult, manipulating and dictating their women...

Well, MY experience of this couple is completely different to that shown on tv.

I've been on women's retreats and have known about her ministry since I was a child.

All I can say, is no matter what the media tells you....You can't fake Gods' presence!

I don't care what the media says about this lady, I refuse to believe she is what they perceive her to be. I have experienced her love and motherly wisdom, and I never once felt dictated or oppressed for being a woman!

I refuse to accept anything this particular reporter says about any 'religious' group without knowing the facts. I believe he is a tool of the devil. Most likely unwittingly, but a tool nonetheless. He has a huge influence in the way society thinks. It's sad...

I'm no target!

I was awoken to the realisation that I've had a "target" on my forehead this week... so I ripped it up and threw it away... so many things have been 'attacking' me...

...people on the roads think they're indestructible, so obviously I and my passengers are too.... a man literally stole my petrol pump on Monday! I parked the van at the pump- there was hardly anybody around so plenty of free pumps... I got out of the van and saw him filling up his jerry can with MY pump!! Then he had the cheek to say incredulously, 'You want this petrol IN THAT van?!" What a moron!! I didn't have the courage to fight back... I stood next to him with my arms crossed, wondering what to do...then he walked in to pay and I opened the door and told my client what was going on...he said, "Just drive off. Go to [usual place]". In the end I did. I later realised that the staff inside should have seen what was happening too, so they didn't deserve my client's money!

Lots of little things that make you wonder what's going on!

NOW I know what's going on and I am alert! (Even though right now I could easily fall asleep!)

Be on Guard! Put on the WHOLE armour of God and be reading to STAND!

October Update

July.....was quite a few weeks ago.... I didn't realise how long it has been since I've posted! (again!)

Well, we moved into our 'hotel' and it's awesome! It felt like a hotel because everything was new, clean and modern. Everything WORKS and there is no age-damage like our old place we rented - which was almost 40yrs old.

Our backyard was sludge for a while, so we didn't venture out til about a week ago... it has been raining so much this year!!!! People have been praying for the drought to break for about 10years, and we have finally begun to receive our rain! It's also now spring, the our backyard mud has had some TLC from the sun, and the mud had turned into dried up cracks...so it's easy to walk outside now... but we still need to figure out what to do with the yard.

I was disappointed after we finally had our driveway done...and it was so steep my car didn't want to reverse up....I'm a reverse parker so I was annoyed at the prospect of always reversing out....UNTIL I got a new clutch for my car....now I'm back to reversing, but still perfecting my angle. I drive in forwards when I'm tired or it's raining. There's no point reversing up when you're not thinking clearly!

I baked a cake...and burnt it slightly! YAY for a PERFECT oven! The door stays closed...it's clean...it heats up much quicker...it's awesome! I am slowly breaking myself out of the habit of cooking things for about 20mins longer than usually required! It's a good change!

We got a great deal on blinds...now we need to think about air conditioning and extra fencing... all requiring money!!!! It's nice to know there is no rush....we just do things as we can afford to.

Next projects might be an herb and veggie garden....and some kind of decking or path....

Well, that's all I can think to say about the house for the moment.

Church is going great! We love our new church (and still love the old one, but its no longer our home). I went to a 5.30am prayer meeting yesterday...it was AWESOME!!! I didn't mind getting up at 4.30am on a Saturday... things are really happening in our church!!

It's so good to be in a church where the sense of freedom is so real. Freedom and passion:)

Ok, that's all for now:)

The pot of gold is within reach!!

After a horrid bit of drama from the bank....we are FINALLY moving into our new house!!!

It's been almost a year since they began building, and we've been paying off the mortgage for some time, but when the house was finally completed...the bank turned around and said they would not do what they previously said they would do....which left us paying off a house we could not 'have'.

So of course, this is God's house, so He made a way for us to receive our property:)
We kept it quiet until we had given notice to our landlady. David did that yesterday. We didn't know when we would move, we just knew it would be soon.

It's a bit weird...it has felt like our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has been out of reach for so long, then suddenly it is almost in reach! The enemy tried to steal from us, but he never wins!
Our pot of gold will be handed over on Tuesday:)

We went to IKEA today... for inspiration....and came out without any...
Actually, any time I go there, I get a sick feeling inside when we walk around certain areas. But it's not the whole shop...I always forget until the next time I go, when I get the same feeling... (I've only been about 3 times in a few years!)
Interesting stuff... it's not easy walking around people whose negative spirits you pick up on...we need to always be on guard...and remember to love...especially when it's not your first instinct!
There are a lot of sad people in this world...but they don't need to be...

The sweetness of innocence

After a negative post about work, I have a positive one!
Today I was with my nice group of 4 clients with mild intellectual disabilities...they are just gorgeous... 3 ladies and 1 man. He took one lady aside (his girlfriend) and asked us to wait while they went back into a shop, and said "It's a secret" and left the rest of us waiting while they completed their 'secret mission'.

At lunch time, they called me into the room they were in and presented me with an early birthday card and a box of Roses chocolates. I opened the envelope to see the word "Grandpa" on the cover- then a verse they obviously wouldn't have read... it was so sweet! They chose a card together and wrote in it for me. The grandpa bit just made it all the more sweeter! They chose the card and gift with no assistance. It was so kind of them :)

The man is the one who has taken the death of our other client hard, but he is coping much better now. I'm pleased to say that he is returning to his old self...a little at a time :)

Work Rubbish

I got really angry today... and a few weeks ago... and a few weeks before that... all about one particular client... I'm so fed up with being disrespected for doing my job to the best of my ability... like being told in a client's diary that (they didn't know it was me) the staff obviously doesn't care about the client because they didn't bother cleaning her up after having diarrhoea.... talk about a load of rubbish!!! I was alone with 2 clients in the bus... one had diarrhoea...I had to find a public toilet block where I could clean her up and not leave the other client for too long... and I spent a good 20 or more minutes cleaning her up! AND to make it worse, she didn't have any spare clothes in her bag...just one piece of clothing which had to make do...then they have the nerve to say I don't care! If I didn't care, I wouldn't have bothered stopping at a toilet block...which didn't even have rubbish bins!!!

But having said that...all I can say is that I know I did the best under the circumstances, and I explained it all to the staff when I dropped her home (late), and they obviously didn't communicate the explanation very well to the other staff... who wrote the offensive note.

At least my conscience is clear.
I'm wondering if this is some kind of spiritual attack... the people seem to be targeting me without knowing it's me... it's always something I've done that gets a note in the diary... and it's never as bad as they make out... sometimes I wonder if some people only know how to stir up trouble... so I refuse to add fuel to the fire. If they want a fight, they will not get one under these circumstances.

Ok, that's out. Time to enjoy the rest of the night :)