Have a Blessed Easter

RIP Squeaky

I’m so sad – our sick turkey poult has died – poor Squeaky. I think that the warm weather has played a part in “his” recent demise, or perhaps it was just that he didn’t like being on his own. We did try to re-introduce him to the other turkey poults, but they still kept picking on “him”, so we removed him, and he just seemed to lose the will to live. I cried and cried – he was just a turkey to some, but to me he was gorgeous, and he used to talk to me. I guess that I’m not as countrified as I thought I was!

All of the other four bantams and three turkey poults are doing very well – they thoroughly enjoy watermelon rind, celery, cabbage, parsley, apple, shellgrit and crushed grain; and they sure do drink a lot of water.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

The beds were all made, and my daughter had done some baking this morning, but we received a phone call from our friends who were supposed to be coming to stay to say that their children were all sick with colds – darn, I was really looking forward to this weekend. I pray that their children get better quickly, as having a cold is certainly no way to spend the first days of the holidays.

In the early hours of this morning, we had a huge hail storm and the hail was still banked up against the shed at 8:00 when my husband arose. It wakened my daughter, son and me – that’s how loud it was; it was like being in a rainwater tank with someone hammering on the outside!

Our underground tank is overflowing, the squatters’ tank is full and the new rainwater tank that we erected is three rungs from the top – each rung holds 3,640 litres of precious water. Until we moved out here, I had never realised how truly precious each drop of rain water is, as we don’t have mains water, and last summer we emptied the underground tank and the squatters’ tank. The new rainwater tank that we erected means that we will have an extra 95,000 litres of H2O, so we shouldn’t run short this year.

During the last week we have had 81mm of rain, and the garden and trees are looking resplendent after losing their layer of dust from the dust storms that we had recently. Praise God that He sends the rain at just the right time and in just the right amounts, for He knows what we have need of, before we even ask!

Families and Poker Machines don’t Mix

What do you think about Poker Machines? What does the Bible say about gambling addiction?
Firstly, let’s look at what the Bible says:~

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

1Th 4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

Ex 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

1Co 10:33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

2Co 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Why have I been absent from the internet for the last week? I have had such a difficult week, and couldn’t really have put my heart and soul into blogging, so I took a break, seeking the Lord and His guidance. This post is not written with malice in my heart, but is rather about helping others to avoid the pitfalls that our family has encountered. If, by writing this post, it helps someone else, I shall be happy.

Poker machine addicts put poker machines before family relationships, and much money is wasted on these mindless machines. How many families are torn apart because of poker machines and a desire to get rich quick? However, the only ones that are getting rich are the hotels, clubs and casinos. Poker machines should never have been introduced into South Australia, for in the years since their introduction, many families have been torn apart.

I didn’t think that gambling would ever affect our family (my mum), but it has, and I’m devastated. There is nothing that I can do, as she has to seek help herself, but it’s heartbreaking to sit back and watch someone that you love spending most of their income (nearly $5,000 in three months) on poker machines.

Senator Nick Xenophon has been campaigning for NO POKIES throughout his entire career, and I commend him for his brave stance on poker machines. I pray that God will help him to rid this state of these horrid mindless money-eating machines.

State Government are the biggest ‘Jackpot Junkies’, raking in $4 billion a year in pokies taxes and turning a blind eye to the untold harm caused.

For assistance or counselling with problem gambling, please call the Problem Gambling Helpline on 1800 060 757. The line is open 24 hours a day.

Passing it On

This post was made in response to a post from a friend and I thought that it was time that I had the right of reply. My motive is not to be vindictive or nasty, but rather to work through things in a logical way. Seeing that my emails will be bounced back and comments deleted from her blog without reading, this is more my way of dealing with a very hurtful end to a friendship.

The Ethic of Reciprocity is a Golden rule that states that one has the right to just treatment, and a responsibility to ensure the fair treatment of others.

Do I believe in the Ethic of Reciprocity?
Simple answer – no, but I do believe in passing it on!

Why? The Ethic of Reciprocity is a man-made law and has its roots in a wide range of cultures and ethnic backgrounds, but I do believe in the Biblical equivalent of it, attributed to Jesus of Nazareth, which is in:

Matthew 7:12 – Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Luke 6: 31 – And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 10: 25-28 – And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

A short while ago, a couple of friends had a misunderstanding. Number one friend thought that number two friend (me) should have given a book to another friend.

However, in making our decision, my husband and I weighed up all of the facts, and prayed long and hard about the decision that we were making. The friend (number three) that we were expected to give the book to runs her own business from home, is not short of money and could have afforded the extremely reduced price that we offered her. This friend had sold us some curriculum, in the past, at a reduced price, so we offered her the same discount that she gave us , and this seemed fair to us.

Friend number one thought that we should have given the book to friend number three, and has refused to see us, answer our emails and even walked in the opposite direction when we saw her at the supermarket on Sunday. Her daughter was most polite in speaking to my daughter, so when we had finished our shopping, we made our way to the checkout, and our friend ex-friend friend ( I don’t have a problem with her), spoke only after I said hello, and was very terse, and couldn’t even look at me. This breaks my heart after thinking of all the good times that we have had, and not having the right of reply makes it hard to even put my point of view across.

This was from a woman whom we gave a tonne of wood to when they arrived in the district, gave many buckets of tomatoes to so that she could make Tomato sauce, took Chocolate cake in to share for afternoon tea, looked after her children and gave her leeks and other veges from our garden. She also reciprocated by giving us a stove and lots of homeschooling books, which we in turn passed on to somebody who needed it more than us. We had meals with them, and played a board game with her husband and her, and visited with them and their children many times, and they visited with us and had an afternoon picnic on the front lawn with her and her children.

So, I hope that you can understand why I have made this post – when friends break friendship the way that this one was broken, it hurts. I received an email from this friend saying that she didn’t want to see me, not to bother emailing her as they would be bounced back or sending comments on her blog as they would be deleted. This would have to be the cruellest way of telling somebody that you don’t want their friendship any more, and I would never end a friendship, much less in this way. I think that any differences can be worked on and worked out. Do you ever get over the hurt – I don’t know, but it’s hard?

In the spirit of passing it on, we have passed the following on to people who are poor and needy:

1. books ( passed on to us by friend number one) – to fellow homeschoolers in Adelaide
2. clothing – a friend of ours in Adelaide gave us a trailer load of clothing to distribute to people in need in the mid-north region
3. our old stove – given to friends
4. our lounge suite – given to friends
5. my daughter’s and son’s good clothing – passed on to whoever needs it
6. fruit and vegetables from our garden – given to people in need
7. clothes dryer – given to a friend
8. washing machine – given to my mum
9. washing machine – given to friends
10. meat – full sheep slaughtered to several friends
11. give gifts of labour in painting an elderly friend’s house
12. serviced and repaired people’s cars free of charge (as my husband is a qualified mechanic)
13. repaired ride-on lawnmowers free of charge
14. fixed our friends’ trailer when their children broke the wiring on it
15. repaired two chemical pumps for friend free of charge
16. repaired truck motor for a friend free of charge
17. took morning tea to a coach load of passengers free of charge
18. renovated my mum’s home free of charge
19. my husband does emergency repairs for farmers free of charge during seeding and harvest

…and this is only things that come to mind, from recent days. We are not rich, in the monetary sense of the word, but we are rich in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we do enjoy our friends. Some people are more needy than others, and it is up to us to see their need and their ♥.

Please don’t think that this post is designed to hurt anyone’s feelings, as it was never written with that intention in mind. It is more for my sake, so that I do have a chance to express my right of reply. Friendships should never end like this, as the pain is immeasurable. Do I like the internet? I think that it has its place, but it makes it easier for people to hurt others unwittingly or otherwise.

Sometimes, I will write things several times as the meaning is not clear, and even then sometimes, it doesn’t come out just as I mean it. If you knew me in real life, you could see my facial expressions, my body language and the emotion in my voice, but on the internet, things are not quite so easy, and things can get misconstrued.

If I ever write anything that offends you, please feel free to let me know, as it is never my intention to hurt people with the written word. ♥♥♥

The verse below is one that I would quote to anyone who wants a reason to pass things on.

He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.