Answered Prayers

Sometimes I forget that my God answers prayers.

Sometimes I'm so ready to explain to people that he "sometimes says no or not yet" that I forget to emphasis that he says yes too.

My Bible study has been a great reminder of God's ability to answer prayers.

Last year, we had a Mum in the group who wasn't a Christian.  She was having real problems with her kids.  We prayed about it and their behavior improved. Our Bible study actually has the kids in the same room as the adults and so often it's a little distracting.  One week see said to me in exasperation: "There is no point in coming if the kids are ratty".  I asked her to please keep coming and she said she would only come on mornings when the kids were well behaved.  I said "Okay, I'll pray for them".  This was in May last year, and she didn't miss a study for the rest of the year, because the kids behaved so well.  And Praise God, she became a Christian at the end of the year.

This year we got a new Non-Christian Mum in the group.  Her prayer point on the first day was for her son.  He cried almost every day when she left him at Pre-school. She wanted us to pray that he would stop crying.  When I saw her at Playgroup then next week she said he hadn't cry since we prayed but that "It wasn't God, it was a coincidence".  Two and a half months in, he hasn't cried once.  She said a few weeks ago "I thank God and I thank you for praying.  I know that it's God who helped him not to cry".

They might seem like small things in this horrible time of earthquakes and impending Nuclear situations.  But for these two Mums, it was serious struggles that God had helped them with.

And for me it was a reminder that God can and does answer prayers with yes.  And I am reminded to keep praying.
love B

Update on how I are going

The short answer is probably better, but still not great.

Mostly myself, but with a big new dose of fragile. And sad.

Please keep us in your prayers.
love B

Thanks

Hi friends,
Feeling very prayed for at the moment- just wanted to say thanks!
love B

Update and prayer points

It's been an interesting month.

I have been very weary- but not because I haven't been sleeping or because I haven't had time off. I have.

I'm just worn out.

It is amazing how easily discouraged I get. I find myself feeling like I am not doing a very good job at my job. I know that these feelings are not based on reality, and I know that other people don't feel this way- but I find it so easy to blame on myself when things don't get done or when things don't turn out like I prayed. The discouragement is part of the weariness- and a great opportunity to think hard about how I view my work. Because if I feel pride or self-loathing about the way I do things- the problem is that I am too focused on myself and not the God who I am serving. So I am praying that God will help me to see him in everything and not me.

I am also missing Melbourne and feeling very removed from family and friends. I find myself crying every time I see the My Dog add because the dog looks so much like my parent's in-law's little Pippin! It's not about Pippin (although I do miss him)- its about everything he represents. Home. Welcome. Love. Acceptance.

God is still encouraging me in many ways- most particularly through his Word and through Tim's ever present humour and encouragement. I am growing, changing.

But I am so tired.
Please pray for refreshment and peace.
love B

How Long...

Monday wasn't a great day.

Part way through the day I was struggling with unanswered prayers and thinking about Psalms- and I started thinking about the one or two Psalms which have the line in them "How Long, oh Lord...". I decided to try to find them, so I opened up www.biblegateway.com

I found many, many Psalms which contained the words "How Long?". How often does the cry come from God's people! And it is not an incorrect thing to ask.

But something else came up too:

"This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Ex 10:3

Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?Exodus 16:27

The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?Numbers 14:11

The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 1 Samuel 16:1

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. 1 Kings 18:21

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? Psalm 4:2

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? Prov 6:9

O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? Jeremiah 4:14

God has given this cry to, when he's observed stiff-necked people. People like me.

Thank you Lord, for your patience.
Please grant me patience too.
Amen

Love B

May Madness

May is about to begin!

And it's going to be a massive, massive month.

Please pray for me, that I will get everything done- particularly this weekend where I have several things to do for church on Sunday and a very small window in which to do them!

Thanks friend,
Belinda

Please Pray

I have a friend called Rosemary who is having a Mastectomy this week.
Please pray for her.
love B

Mission time...and NZ

When its time to write a blog post- conveniently under the box where I write is a box to "label" my posts. They have suggestions of what you might label your posts, like "Vacation", "Fall" and..."scooters"?

the other ones are very American, but I can't exactly work out why enough people in this wide world would blog about scooters for it to be a "e.g." of what to label a post!

Anyway, this is just a way of introducing the fact that I am writing about two very different things today, and it will be labeled accordingly.

Mission time:
On Sunday Tim will be away for 8 days on College Mission. He is going to Pitt town (I know what your thinking, it sounds like a HOLE!!!!), where he will be helping out with various bits and pieces as well as preaching during the evening service on the 28th of July. Please pray for him and the team.

But also pray for me. I'm beginning to feel a little petty about this, particularly as some wives are having 8 days looking after kids without their husbands. But I am really nervous about it. I hate being home alone, and I'm really going to miss him. Pray for me too- particularly that I will get better at coping without him- as I'm sure I will have to do at various stages in our ministry careers!

NZ- just because until now I haven't put any photos up or talked about NZ and I think I should show you at least a few snaps. It was wonderful and beautiful and just what I needed.



Just a bit of a snap shot of the lovely scenery- and the only "selfie" I was happy with out of the 8 or so we took :)
love B

Update

Well, well, well- this blog has been pretty low on my priorities these last few weeks!

In fact, I keep toying with the idea of canning it- as the reality of things like blogs is- if you don't write regularly people stop reading, and when people stop reading...then motivation to write gets a little low. But I think I'll keep it up, for those of you who still read it, and in the hope that one day I might actually get into the habit of writing more, I'll get more people reading it, and so on.

What's been happening?
MELBOURNE!!! Times Two in fact.

Our trip down to Melbourne was lovely. Absolutely lovely. To give you a sense of how good it was, Tim had been talking it down for weeks, because he knew that often when I look forward to something I get such high expectations that when it happens I'm bound to be disappointed. But not this time. Melbourne was so much better than I expected.

It wasn't hectic, or at least, I didn't find it hectic! By other people's standards it might have been seen to been a tad people heavy! But it was perfect for me. We had some great catch ups with friends, we had some lovely family time, and we had some lovely Tim and Belinda time- including a trip down to our old favourite haunt: The Snooty Fox.

A personal highlight for me was a small but significant one. Some of our dear friends in Melbourne are a couple that got married two weeks before us, and who went to church with us for many years, and who we used to spend a great deal of time with. They have two kids, a 3 year old and a one year old- and I was a little worried that after 8 months their three year old daughter Luella wouldn't quite remember us, (just one of the prices that you pay for moving interstate and not visiting as often as you like). But while Luella was a little shy when she saw me at church, when we came to their house, she was in the bath and wanted to see me so she began to yell out across the house "BBBBEEEEELLLLIIIIINNNNDDDDDAAAA, BBBBEEEEELLLLLLIIIIIINNNNNDDDDDDAAAAAA!" So cute and very nice to know even our littler friends haven't forgotten us!

The week back was hard for various reasons, one of them being I was home sick. Tim was also stressed about his essay he had due the following Tuesday.

But bless is cleverly-hidden-until-now-academic-side, Tim has an amazing capacity to write essays very fast. He began actually writing late on Sunday and still had 2500 words to go on Monday morning. He got home at 2 and started work. One minute he was planning on missing class on Tuesday to hopefully finish it off, the next minute he was suggesting I proof read he work. He got it done so early we could spend the evening watching Stargate Atlantis. My clever, clever boy!

And then, then it was off to Melbourne to see my Sainters take on Geelong- thanks to my incredibly generous parents. It was a lovely family time- as Dad had been away two weeks before, and our time with Mum had been limited to breakfast at the airport before she joined him! It was a fantastic game- with a not so fantastic result. As Tim reminded me though, as I dejectedly dissected the game, in a world (or city at least) where sport is the main idol, it is great to have a relationship with the real God that puts everything in perspective.

And, funnily enough, after an Afternoon in the rain and cold, I find myself sick at home with the first proper cold I've had all year.
So that has been the last m0nth.
Prayer points: Please pray I get better, pray I have a productive forward thinking time as I work through the school holidays (no formal programs so good time to prepare for the term/year ahead). And pray that I trust God with my health, my future and my job.
And Thank him for a fantastic time in Melbourne
love B

Adopting a 23 year old male

Last Monday Tim and I adopted a 23 year old male.

Of course- that's not really what happened. Our friend was moving to Sydney for work- and asked if he could stay with us until he found a place to live. But to me it feels like we've adopted him.

There are real pluses to adopting one at such a late stage in life. He has already been house trained- he is a firm believer in the concept that the one who cooks shouldn't be the one to do the dishes (which as a the family cook I greatly approve of), and every time i turn my back- another surface has been whiped down. He's also a firm believer in Christ- which is a great encouragement to Tim and I as we've been prividged to witness God's work in his life from a baby Christian when we met him- to one of the most enthusiastic Christians you will ever see.

It's will be a big adjustment for Tim and I. We are so used to it being just us- so little things like having to get properly dressed before leaving our room, and having to share a television are very foreign concepts! But it is exciting too. Tim preached recently on 1 Peter 4 (have I mentioned recently that my husband is the best preacher in the world) and we were both challenged by the call to "Offer hospitality without grumbling". And a few weeks later- that is what we are doing!

Please pray that we will "offer hospitality without grumbling", that our friend will find a spiritual and physical home up here soon, and that through it all Tim and I will still have the "quality time" we need together.

Oh, and did i mention "FOUR WEEKS UNTIL WE ARE DOWN IN MELBOURNE. YAY!"
love B

Ready for a Holiday

I thought it was about time to do an update on my life.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

That's pretty much how I'm feeling at the moment. This time next week I will be well into the throngs of our Church's Kids Club- which I am coordinating- and during which i know I will have a fantastic time. Why do I feel so frazled? Not because I don't think it will be good. It's going to be wonderful. But because there is so much to get done this week when it comes to just my normal end of term week- that holiday club on top of that makes me want to bang my head against the table!

It's been a hard term.

I still love my job, and I still have many things happening that bring me great joy. But I'm so busy and so weary. And when I'm weary I am easily discouraged. And Melbourne just seems so far away at the moment! There is no trip down planned until September and no current prospect of visitors before then :(

Basically what it comes down to is I hit the point of needing a holiday about three or four weeks ago. And that said holiday is still not for another week and a bit.

And until then?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
love B
PS Prayer would be appreciated

Soul Weary

I've been feeling very soul weary lately. We drove over one of my favourite bridges in Sydney last night, and I looked out at the beautiful night sky-line and felt...strange. Not sad, not happy, and there was a bit of missing Melbourne mixed in there. But most of all just tired.

I've been sick, and had lots of things to do. I've been under a lot of stress, and found it hard to switch off my brain.

When I'm soul weary I always turn to the Psalms.

The psalms are the natural place I always want to go to when I pick up my Bible. So normally when I pick my Bible up, I try to fight that temptation and read other things as well. But during weeks like this I know that what I need more than anything is the honest, raw, beautiful Psalms.

I love God. And it seems amazing that with the kind of job I have and the life I lead that I keep having to remind myself of him. Of his grace, of his Holiness, of his majesty and power. But life takes over and I find myself forgetting. Living as if his loving hand wasn't guiding and leading my every path. Living as if the ministry I was doing was totally in my weak, helpless hands. Living as if this world is all these is and that I don't have an eternity of joyful communion with him to look forward to.

So the Psalms are great. There is my God who controls the wind and the waves. There is the God who listens t0 David's pleas. There is the just God who will not let the wicked triumph. There is the loving God who casts my sins away from me. And there is my God who will be my strength and portion long after my flesh and heart have failed.

Please Pray that I will live my life and do my ministry in light of his greatness.

love B

Do not worry

Hi Friends,
I've been thinking more and more lately about how thankful I am to my parents for the way they brought me up. I think this new found awareness relates to my job. As I think and pray about how best I can encourage the children in my church, I realise what a huge role parents have in this process, and particularly remember and appreciate things Mum and Dad did. The songs we used to sing, the little Bible studies we used to do, the prayers before bed every night. These are things that were just there for me and Sandy but now I think- praise God! How much easier is it for me to read my Bible every day when the habbit was impressed upon me before the age of ten!

This week has been a week of worries. Now that term has ended, I've found myself realing under the things I intended to get done "Once the term was over". And there are all these things that are happening this term. Good things, like coordinating a church wide effort to memorise verses of the Bible, and running a pre-evangelistic event to encourage Mum's to read with their kids. Not to mention starting up the Women's ministry side of my job! I feel tired just thinking about it. And that's on top of a whole lot of life stuff that's coming up that I have to process.

And over and over again I hear the Jenny Flack song "Do not worry" that my Mum used to sing to me when ever I got worried. At the time (and I've told Mum this) I used to get a little annoyed, feeling like "I want to worry, and singing a song isn't going to stop it anyway"! But I know that it did help, and now? Now it runs into my head and reminds me of a greater perspective.

I won't give you the whole song (though I know it word perfect :) but here is the start:

Do not worry over any old thing
The birds don't worry and hear how they sing
Leave all your worries to the King of Kings
and do your best and leave the rest to the Lord

I would appreciate your prayers this week. Just pray that I get done what needs to be done and that I trust God with tomorrow.
love B

So Long and so short!

Thursday was Tim and my 4 year anniversary. We had a lovely night away in the Hunter Valley- and despite the excitement of a little "creative" navigating on behalf of google maps- we had a wonderful time when we finally got there ;)

We were talking about how weird it seems that we are at four years. It seems both too long to be right, or too short.

Too long because four years to us sounds like so much time. Two Thirds of high school, all of Uni. Surely that much time can't have passed since our wedding day?

But then it also seems really short- because there is such a comfortable, normal, familiarity to our relationship that makes me think: "Only four years. I feel like we've been together like this forever".

I am very thankful to God for getting us through these last four years- still doing what we promised four years ago. And of course thankful for such a wonderful husband to begin with!

As to the rest of my life- my new job has started, and while I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed with new information and systems and jobs to do- I am very, very thankful that I have had God to help me through. Can't do ministry without him for some reason! Please pray for me, that I will serve him well in my new role.
love B

The Art of Overdoing exam prep

I hate being a semi-perfectionist!

I have to say semi, because though I have perfectionist tendencies- I can't call myself a true perfectionist. My house is disgracefully messy, my hand-writing in atrocious, and when I've been writing an essay forever, like your standard non-perfectionist I hand it in rather than checking and double checking because I am SO VERY SICK OF IT!

In fact, it was only a few years ago that I worked out I was a perfectionist at all. I was sitting in church and in the sermon it talked about how we tend to see perfectionism as a slight problem but really a good quality ( the kind of thing you say when asked in an interview what your weakness's are..."I'm too much of a perfectionist, I need my work to be just right!"). But that in reality perfectionism can often mask an underlying insecurity that what I do has to be perfect or people/God won't be happy with me. I suddenly realised at that moment that I was a perfectionist. I may not be in all areas of my life. But I know I avoid doing things I know that I'll be bad at- I just stick with my strengths. I set ridiculously high standards for myself academically- and it's only when I talk to other people that I realise that this isn't normal. And particularly in relationships I'm often so stressed about serving people that it becomes about "Being the perfect friend" and not about serving or caring for them.

While I think I'm getting better in all these areas, the semi-perfectionist tendencies reared their ugly heads again this week as I began to study for exams.

The reality of exams is usually that you work out what might be on the exam, and you make sure you cover enough topics in your prep to make sure you can answer most of the questions.

But this is what goes through my head "Alright, for section C of the OT exam, I'll make sure I've got Psalms and Job down. One of them has come up in every exam for the last ten years. I'll be fine. But what if they don't? What if this is the year that they don't? I really should cover wisdom literature generally? But what about if there is a question about "The writings" generally. That came up in 2002. There could be 3 questions- one on the Apocryphal writing, one on "the writings", and one on Daniel- none of my topics. Maybe I should do the writings too. I could probably wing it though- I could just work it out on the day if I had to. But what if I panic? I don't normally panic in exams. But what if this is the first, what if this is the first and I panic and I fail. I never failed before...maybe I should do the writings too".

This is the point where I come to Tim- he rolls his eyes at me, tells me that I'll be fine and I realise I'm being an idiot.

Friends, please pray for me. I want to do well, but more than that I want to learn and grow. And most of all, I want to learn not to put my eggs in the "I'm academic" basket. My eggs should all be in the "Jesus died for me" basket.
love B

Exam in two hours

I've got an exam in two hours.

I'm petrified.

Tim keeps saying "You always stress"

I say "This is different"

Tim says "You always say that too"

It all stems from a warning we got on the second last day of term "The New Testament department is known for asking questions you wouldn't expect in exams". Now, for someone who likes to be extra prepared and know what I'm getting into that is profoundly disturbing.

But, if I look beyond my (probably unfounded) terror I have to say that this is probably the best way to do exams. Because rather than researching set topics or working out answers to questions that are "due to come up" this exam- I'm actually just reading and getting to know Mark, Ephesians, and 1 Peter. It may mean not as good a mark (!!!shock-horror!!!) but it's a good reminder that I'm not here for a two digit number printed on a transcript. I'm here to learn. I'm here to know God better. And I feel like that has happened. I'm amazed at the great cosmic plan of God- and inspired by what that should mean for Christian relationship (Eph). I'm challenged to remember that being the new people of God means being different and suffering- but knowing that it is only for a little while- and that "God himself will restore you and make you Strong, firm and steadfast" (1 Peter 5:10). And I once again stare up at the Cross of Christ- amazed that the one who made bread from nothing, walked on water, and had power over demons chose to die for me.

Wow- eternal perspective really helps with nerves ;)
love B

Site worth checking out if you are a blogger/blog reader

Hi Folks,
This is a message for all of you out there who a bloggers, or who particularly enjoy reading blogs of not just people you know, but other people as well. A friend of mine Lou has started a blog called "Where the blog are you?" which is a networking blog so that Aussie bloggers can find out about each others blogs. It will feature different blogs each week and you can search to find blogs on different areas that your interested in. It's worth checking out:
The link is: http://bloggingaussie.blogspot.com/
Enjoy,
love B
PS Sorry for the silence this week-but its a good sign- its coz I've been studying instead ;). Please pray for my Greek exam (in 3 weeks time)- its going to be pretty tough (our whole class was a bit shell shocked when we looked at past exams and couldn't even understand some of the questions!) and I'll need to work hard over the next few weeks to be able to do it.

Kids Club

Just wanted to give a quick thanks and an update on how kids club went.
It was great!

God was very kind and we had a great, tiring, rewarding time. It was particularly great for Tim who had never been involved in that kind of thing before, and was inspired and encouraged by the experience. We particularly enjoying writing and performing puppet plays each day! Its amazing how a kid will listen to a rag doll with a hand stuck up its back much more readily than to a grown up!

And the kids got to learn about how great our God is. So thanks for all of you who prayed. Please keep praying for the kids that came along that they and their households might come to know God. And pray for me as I am about to become a Sunday school teacher of the 3 to 5 year olds at our church. So excited (as you can imagine)!
love B

Time in Melbourne

So sorry I haven't post much. I've been on holidays!

I love being in Melbourne. I enjoy Sydney but I enjoy it because I am there for a purpose. I love Melbourne...not because of what I can do there but simply because its home.

But there are things that I love to do in Melbourne.

I love the walks around the paddocks in the Basin, or the beautiful houses and shops of Camberwell

I love entering the Grant house to the enthusiasm of Pippen the dog and the semi-polite indifference of Celeste the cat.

I love when the Griffith cousins come over and all the Griffith grandchildren (and attachments) play crazy games!

I love playing video games with my brother-in-laws assistance (he's so much more patient with my inability to fight virtual battles that my husband ;)

I love bumming in front of Foxtel trying to find the next episode of the Gilmore girls.

I love coffees and prayers with other chicks

I love dinner and deep conversations with Melbourne couple friends.

I love seeing how much bigger babies grow when you don't see them for three months (although thats a bit sad too)

I love going back to church and the looks on everyones faces who didn't know we were coming

This second time, coming back was harder than the first. The musty smell of the hospital was frustrating more than welcoming, and I feel a bit be-grudging that the weather is so much more beautiful here. But we are here for a purpose and its nice to trust a God who can get us through difficulties such as being away from so many people we love.

Tomorrow we start running kids club at church. It should be crazy and busy. But how cool is this- we have a room set up which is the firey furnace from the story in the book of Daniel with a...real smoke machine! How awesome is that!
Please pray for kids club- what an awesome chance to share Jesus with the kids of the Chatswood community.
love B

Praying

Dear friends,
Recently I've been feeling a little helpless. I'm very aware that many people I care about are going through hard times. And there sometimes feels like there is nothing I can do. I am someone who likes doing things. Even if a situation is a wait and see situation, if there is something I can do about it, even if its only small, even if it might not make a difference, I want to do something. Sitting on my hands and waiting has never been my strong point. How hard it is when I know that if I was in the same state with people maybe I could at least do something to brighten their day, if I can't actually fix the problem.

But of course, this attitude is all wrong. Because I can pray. Praying, and placing it into the arms of our dear loving father is the best thing that I can do. Its funny how it doesn't always feel that way.

I remember a situation when I was at Monash CU. I met a girl during O-week who had grown up in a Christian home, but wasn't a Christian herself and who had been thinking about the gospel. We had a great chat, and I was really excited about the prospect of meeting with her to talk about Jesus. A week later I called on the number she left me. She had moved, and the relative I spoke to refused to give me her new number. She never turned up again, and I despaired because she needed to hear the gospel. I felt so helpless. So I prayed. For six months I prayed. After six months I bumped into her. Through a church she had joined she had become a Christian and she was so excited to share this with me. And I was reminded again that prayer is not a last resort. Its the most helpful, powerful thing we can do.

So dear friends, know that though I am far away and I can't always serve you in a physical sense, I am praying for you. And please pray for me. I need all the help God can give me to trust him, both with you and with my own circumstances and uncertain future.
love B
PS For the Sydney-siders reading- I am praying for you too, and I am thankful that I can help you in other, less crucial, but still important ways!