A new love

I have fallen in love with sewing. It is so much fun and so rewarding! Admittedly, I'm only at the apron making stage, but I enjoy learning more each week. Below is my latest creation:

A weekend with the Whites

We headed to Paducah in West Kentucky last weekend to visit the Whites. Nate was there five years ago to work as an engineer. He was a new Christian and an eligible bachelor so the Whites took him under their wing. They are a wonderful, hospitable, godly family and it was a delight to stay with them and to see how a family lives out the bible.

We had some fun outside in their pool, enjoying the last of the summer days. The water felt pretty cold (25 C/75 F) but Eliana LOVED it! She was all a talkin' and a splashin'. I think her 3 hour nap and big lunch just before we dipped her in helped!

Gotta love the classic 'kid in a bucket' shot! Below, I think Daddy is taking a bit too long to put the spoon in Eliana's mouth...

Thank you, Whites, for an awesome weekend gettaway!

Soil, Sunshine and Showers

Jesus said - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

I love how lessons from the Bible sometimes come at me from all directions. Last blog entry I was thinking about how pruning and watering produces fruit in our garden and how God uses the same means to produce fruit in our lives. Since then, John 15 has again and again been laid before me this week. In particular, God has given me fresh food for thought through the biography, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret.

This quote from Taylor adds so much more depth to the desire of bearing fruit for God.

"As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in wishing to get the sap out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus will never leave me, but that I am a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit. And Jesus is not that alone - He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for or needed."

I have to hold back from quoting so much more. Please read the book. You will be blessed.

P.s. - Hudson Taylor was used mightily by God throughout England, China and the World. His "Spiritual Secret" was a devotion to prayer and Bible reading. May we not let such a lesson fall on hardened hearts!

Fruit

Nate has once again proven his green thumb this summer. Our small veranda is over run with tomatoes, bell peppers/capsicums, herbs and various plants. We have already harvested five or six tomatoes and one capsicum not to mention the many times fresh basil and coriander/cilantro have been added to our meals.



And there are more little beauties coming through...

It seems that the more I chop the basil, the better is grows. Look at that healthy fella!

What is Nate's secret to success? Watering and pruning.

As I watch our summer crop grow I am compelled to remember one of my favourite bible chapters, John 15. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

May God, our tender, loving Father, prune our lives so that we bear more fruit for His glory.

Foreign visitors

My last two years in Australia, before heading to Mozambique, were spent studying at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, a small but precious school. It was a tremendous time of God working in my life and showing me how His whole Bible points to Jesus. I was also incredibly struck by the on-campus community that I lived in while there. Everyone knew everyone and we ate together, sang together, prayed together, studied together and shared some of the funniest times in my life together! Last weekend I was so thankful to have Prilz, one of my fellow SMBCers come and visit us in KY! Prilz and I lived across the hall from each other for a semester and when I left for Mozambique she faithfully sent me postcards embellished with Aussie flora and fauna and news from home. It's amazing how refreshing and encouraging a simple postcard can be.

A year after I left for Mozambique, Prilz went to Peru as a career single missionary. She and her American husband came to visit me and they were able to tell me a familiar tale of meeting each other on the mission field. I was sad that they were only able to stay one night on their whirlwind road trip but thrilled and thankful to get a good dose of face to face Australian friendship. I forgot to take the camera out while they were here so I had to dig through our photo archives to find an SMBC shot of us.

God bless you Luke and Prilz!

Old news

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while! Nate's sister, Lisa, and her boyfriend, Chris, came to visit us back in May. It was so wonderful to have them here and to explore a little of Louisville with them.

I think Chris's favourite part was visiting the Pirate exhibition at one of Louisville's museums. Later, we introduced them to one of our favourite board games - Settlers of Catan. I think Lisa'a favourite part of the weekend was slaughtering us at it!

Eliana loved having Lisa and Chris here and was mostly in good spirits, but I just had to include the photo below because it's such a classic!

Family photos

Our good friend took some family photos for us last month. We trampled through the long grass of Louisville's Tom Sawyer Park and, despite picking up a few itchy bugs, had a lot of fun. If you'd like to view them here is a public link to my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=215410&id=543241773&l=1c44600543

And here are some sneak peeks. All the credit goes to Michelle Vantine - a genius with the camera and photo shop! :) www.michellevantinephotography.com