Faith as Strong as a Tree

 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his     fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:4    "Praise the Lord!!"

I liken people to trees.

If our roots of faith run deep we will remain strong through all adversity.

As a child I learnt to sing the song.

"Just like a tree planted by the water side, I shall not be moved."

That illustration is a good one.

Especially for those of us who do live near the water.

In case you don't, I am sharing the Pandanus Tree.

Note the roots of this Pandanus Tree. There are many!! and they dig down deep into the soil to hang on tightly. When the ocean roars and the strong cyclonic winds rip away the sands of the coast, that tree is secure. Nothing pulls it up or throws it away.

                                   

  

                          This one defies nature to try and uproot it.

                             It stands confident balanced and strong.

Maybe the reason we have so many of these trees along the Queensland coastline is because they refuse to be moved.

How about you and I? Can we also stand firm and strong through the winds and adversities of life? Or do we bend and sway? To be truthful I have had my times of  finding it difficult to hang tight. Yet with a God who loves me, and in whom I can find shelter, there is a refuge from the storms....

"On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand."

No other faith gives a certainty on Eternal Life.

No other than Jesus, died for us.........

  

                                                          

                                                  

Old Trains, Old Times 'Newcastle Oz'

This is Newcastle, New South Wales pictured around 1895.

Can't you just picture the man standing with his camera balanced on his tripod to get just the right snap?

  

Newcastle is a coal mining town.
This snap depicts a ceremony of sorts?

The old steam train. This one looks new, shiny and clean.

If you have never travelled in one you could not imagine the soot smudging and messing your clothes.

These proud men standing beside a piece of history they would never imagine could become obsolete.

Engine 361.

I can still remember riding to work in one of these in the 1960's.

We still have a working steam train where I now live in Queensland. They are slow and if riding for hours, extremely uncomfortable, yet a grand old timer of the yesteryear period.. 

     Our Valley Rattler still roams the rolling hills proudly blowing it's whistle and displaying it's grand old-world charm.....

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

  

Brain Differences and Changes

                                                          

                                                           

Males have a larger brain than female's yet female's can perform many tasks at once while males are limited to one.  



There really are big differences between the male and female brain.

Males tend to be better at analysing systems, while females seem to be better at reading the emotions of other people (better empathisers).


Males have 4% more brain cells than females, and about 100 grams more brain tissue. 
Yet with cellular connections, even though males seems to have more brain cells, it is reported that females have more dendritic connections between the brain cells.

Grandsons

The female brain has a larger corpus collusum, which means women can transfer data between the right and left hemisphere faster than men. Males tend to be more left brained, while women have greater access to both sides.

My son-in-law, grown children, niece and nephew.

                                       


Language is most often just in the dominant hemisphere (usually the left side), but a larger number of women seem to be able to use both sides for language. This gives them a distinct advantage. If a woman has a stroke in the left front side of the brain, she may still retain some language from the right front side. Men who have the same left sided damage are less likely to recover as fully.

Because females have a larger deep limbic brain they are more in touch with and able to express their feelings easier than males. They have an increased ability to bond and be connected to others, which is why women are usually the primary caretakers for children.
   

Young adults....ready to explore life's differences.

Antonio in the yellow shoes, sitting on a girls knee.

(now that's different)

                                                           

My grandson Antonio is preparing to sit for his final school exams and graduate from High School this year.
The Australian school year finishes in December with six weeks Summer holidays.
Antonio is striving for a high O.P. for entry into University.
He wants to study to be a physical education teacher.

And God made male and female in His image, and behold, it was very good.
Genesis 1.

Your Heart, Your Soul

In Proverbs 23:7 we read:
"For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he."

I don't know about you, but I find this interesting.
One would imagine, we think with the brain.
Yet Gods Word clearly tells us here, "as a man thinketh, IN HIS HEART!"

I'll just remind you a little about the heart.
It is approximately the size of your fist.
It pumps 5 litres (almost 8 pints) of blood around your body in one minute.
It has an electrical system that charges and fires to keep it in sinus rhythm (beating smoothly). 

Stress fear and LOVE have an effect on the heart.
What you eat, if you exercise, smoke or whether you breath properly all effect the heart.
I have written about some of this in previous postings.

This time I want to enlighten, in simple terms, on the value of magnesium.
I first recognised this myself when suffering from restless leg syndrome.
There is nothing worse than trying to sleep and your legs won't stop twitching.
One of my doctor colleagues who also believes in natural therapies explained magnesium depletion.   Apparently my leg movements were one of the symptoms.
Further research revealed other benefits from taking this Wonder Mineral.
Actually, many will be familiar with its more common name of, Epsom Salts.
It assists in healthy heart rhythm, promotes normal muscle and nerve function (also within the heart), resulting in restful sleep and calmed leg muscles.
So with better circulation there is less stress on the heart.
I hope this helps..... 
(And hey, it also assists with constipation.)
MAGNESIUM IS BROUGHT IN TABLET FORM
FROM PHARMACIES AND WAL-MART.

                                                                    

                                                          

Spiritual Sundays, Out back.

Our sunflowers about a month ago before dying off and leaving the seed for the birds to feed on.

This is a female king parrot.

           

One of my favourites is the Bird O Paradise. It grows in my side yard.

                                                                     

The taller plant is a Kangaroo paw, we have them in three different colours.

They grow up to approx four feet tall. The dark pink is a Lilly.

                                                             

                                                             

There are always visitors close by.

                                              

In the Palm tree.

                                                              


And White Cockatoo's on the overhead wires.

                                                          


Frangapani in the back yard.

With the yummy Paw Paw tree.

Its been growing about a year. This is our first crop of fruit. 

Look at the size! They turn a yellow orange colour when ripe.

 

And a little bit of America to help my hubby feel at home.

Where we lived in Tennessee was Cherokee country.

So a chief smokes his peace pipe in our garden.

                                                              

JESUS SAID.....
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

John 14:27

Children are of the Lord. 'Sepia Saturday.'

I know this photo isn't as old as most posted on here, but it is the original colour.

This is my daughter Daniella at age 9 months.

She looks apprehensive, not sure what was going on.

 

This is her again, grown-up and married with  to little boys of her own.

                                                                              

And an old fashioned look of these two same little boys taken by my elder photographer daughter.

                                                                    

Elyshah Liam is on the left and Antonio Elijah on the right.

Both boys are almost six feet tall today and tower over their mother.

Antonio, Daniella and Elyshah.

I am a proud mother and grandmother.

(just wish the boys wouldn't straighten their hair)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proberbs 3:5-6



                                  

My Tropical Bush Garden

My favourite Bush

There's great delight in a garden.

With plenty of flowers to see.

Kookaburra's keeping a close watch for snakes...

                                     Lambs tail bottle brush bush.

Pointsettia bush in my side garden.

                                    Rainbow lorakeets visit for a snack.
                        Their chatter awakens all, very early in the morning.

  A native bush, unsure of the name, but a favourite feed with the birds.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow.

So the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations.... Isaiah 61: 11

POSSIBLE CANCER CURE

Fruit of the native Blushwood Bush.

Queensland life science company EcoBiotics announced that, following very promising results in treating inoperable tumours in horses and dogs, it was fast-tracking development of the company’s lead cancer drug, EBC-46, into HUMAN clinical trials.



EcoBiotics CEO, Dr Victoria Gordon said “This decision marks a very exciting time for our company. The results from using EBC-46 to treat a range of inoperable tumours in horses and dogs are just so compelling” she said “and this gives us a great deal of confidence that the drug will also work effectively and safely in humans”. EBC-46 is a novel small molecule isolated from a Queensland rainforest plant which works very rapidly by recruiting the patient’s own immune system to destroy the treated tumours. “You can almost see the tumours shrink before your eyes – it is absolutely amazing” said Gordon. “It also has the advantage that it is relatively easy to administer causing minimal trauma to the patient, and unlike most chemotherapy agents, EBC-46 is safe and to date we have seen no significant side effects”. EBC-46 works by activating the bodies own immune system. 
When infection attacks the body white blood cells multiply to fight and kill the micro-organisms. With cancer these cells become entrapped forming a toxic unit.
EBC-46 injected into a cancer mass breaks it down enabling the white blood cells to break free and fight, killing off the cancer in a natural body eliminating occurrence.

Praise God! He gives us the remedies.
All we need to do is discover them.

"Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow
  Praise Him all creatures here below
  Praise Him above. ye Heavenly Hosts
  Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen"

GOD IS MIGHTY !!

SOME FROG....Spiritual Sundays

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind."
And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
 (Genesis 1:20-25)

Giant Cane Toad

A conservation group captured a giant cane toad in the Australian city of Darwin.
The beast weighed 840 grams (1.8 pounds) and measured 20.5 cm (8 inches).
The toad was captured as part of a publicity-seeking round up of the amphibian which is considered a problematic invasive species in Australia.
The poisonous toad has wreaked ecological havoc on native species and killed pets and livestock.

Introduced from Hawaii in 1935 at the urging of sugar cane growers in Queensland who were suffering from an infestation of crop-damaging beetles, the cane road rapidly established itself as one of the most costly alien invasive species in the history of Australia. Not only did the cane toads fail to control the beetle outbreak -- they couldn't jump high enough to eat the insects -- they feasted on Australia's rare and endemic birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals.

  
The Good News:
Cane Toads have been used as an implement to inform people of environmental problems.
And, we all need to be aware and understand this important issue.                                                          

Sepia Saturday Sisters

It's funny looking back on old photos.

In this one I am carrying a Kodak flash camera, which was quite the thing in those days.

My sister Jan had taken me on a trip to Melbourne, the State below where we lived in New South Wales. 

My other elder sister was completing her post graduate in midwifery in a hospital in that State.

It was Easter and the three of us we had a wonderful time exploring.

I loved and looked up to both of my big sisters.

Neither of them ever made me feel I was too young to be with them.

I was fourteen in these photos. 

  

Once you marry life changes, to leave these times as cherished memories.

"I will pour out my spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your children."
Isaiah 44:3

Heroines of Christ

We all have people we look up to and desire to be like. The memory of three women remain encased in my mind.
My first heroine was the writer Catherine Marshall. Catherine became famous with her second book, "A Man called Peter."
She wrote the story in honour of her famous husbands life.
Peter Marshall was a preacher in the United States Senate.
He died at a relatively young age. Catherine was devistated yet necessity demanded she earn a living to provide for her son Peter John.
Many have come to the Lord through her books.

Her message to me was, "Never Give Up.

Quoting Catherine:
"No matter how little you have. You can still give some away."


My second treasured lady was Corrie Ten Boom.
When my mother gave me the book, "The Hiding Place,"  I wanted none of it. Such sadness!
It told of Corrie Ten Boom and her Dutch family. 
During World War11 they took in, protected and hid Jewish families, helping many to escape to safety.
Due to this, the family were sent to dreaded Auschwitz.
Only Corrie survived to return home.
Yet through the terror and pain I discovered....
This lady's ability to forgive and love others.
She taught that, until the day she died.

Quoting Corrie,

"If you look at the world you will be distressed.

If you look within you'll be depressed.

If you look to God, you'll be at rest."

My third Jewel needs no introduction.
She was Mother Teresa. The devine light who walked the earth in splendid charity.
I watched a movie on her life as acted by Geraldine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter.
It was an eye opener of self denial....and a life devoted to others.
She was the hands, feet and mouth of Our Lord.
From her I learned, "Humility, Wisdom and Selflessness.

Quoting Mother Teresa,
"When a person dies of hunger it did not happen because God did not take care of them.
It happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what they needed."


Myself, "Being a Christian doesn't depend on attending meetings, but rather on loving and serving others. Walk the walk!"

Queenslands my Home.

Just thought I'd share with you where I live.
Sun sea and sky. Pineapple, avocado, mango and paw paw plantations.
School children are up early and down surfing before breakfast, then home again to don uniforms and head off to school. Its an outdoor life, shoeless with zinc spread over the nose for sun protection.
I just read the other day that the lack of Vitamin D is becoming a problem from too much cover-up protection.
Lack of Vitamin D results in early onset osteoporosis. 
The beautiful Pacific ocean with crystal clear waters beckons the body boarder to surf the waves. 
Welcome to my little part of the world.

CLICK  ON YOU-TUBE BELOW TO SEE QUEENSLAND.

Take a Trip to Queensland Australia

Spiritual Sundays...For Each Day

JESUS WAS THE 'WORD OF GOD' BECOME FLESH.

THERE IS SO MUCH POWER IN SPEAKING GOD'S WORD.

EVERYTIME I DO THIS WITH THE SCRIPTURE BELOW IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE. GOD'S WORD IS TRUTH. 

Ephesians 6:10-18           (CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE)
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

WELCOME TO THE NEST

Michele                                                                                       
Whidbey Woman
and 
Steve Finnell
Thank you for joining.

HAPPINESS IS: Receiving The Happiness Award......

   

Oh My Oh My !!!
What a Blessing...

Dearest Sister Ann Marie has bestowed 'The Happiness Award' on me.
Please visit this dear Sister at http://franciscanlife.blogspot.com/

This is wonderful encouragement, to laugh at life and see the bright side of everything.

A friend of mine passed away recently from cancer.
Her name was Carole.
I went to visit her husband Michael yesterday to see how he was coping.
At first the talk was serious.     
Then he opened up and told me about his 6 year old grandson sitting beside him at the funeral.
The discussion there went something like this..
"Is Grandma in the box?"
"Yes, Sammy, she's in the box."
"What's she doing in there?"
"She's resting.  God let her come down from Heaven to look at everything."
"Can she see us Grandpa?"
"She sure can, she's looking at us through her photo on top of the box."
"Is she happy Grandpa?"
"Yes Sammy, see how she is smiling, she is very happy...
When all the singing is over, she will go back to Heaven."
We rejoiced together at how he was able to convey God's love to his little grandson.

Carole had chosen all the Hymn's and songs to be sung at the funeral and again at the crematorium.
Her last choice was, "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life!"

I can almost see Carole smiling as I write this.
So, in memory of a true Lady, who even at the end wanted others to be happy..
I pass on the Happiness Award.

I had to choose 5 sunny people for this.
It is to go to Bloggers who truly have 'Happiness' in their heart and pass it around to share with others.
As per the example of my friend Carole, they always look on the brighter side of life.

The choice was not an easy one.
As...you are all winners in my eyes!!

1.  http://livinitupinky.blogspot.com/
2.  http://kleiindehandvandepottenbakker.blogspot.com/
3.  http://therantingsofachristianhousewife.blogspot.com/
4.  http://cassandra89.blogspot.com/
5.  http://chattycrone.com/

LETS KEEP ON MAKING THE WORLD, A HAPPIER PLACE.

Beautiful Carole, a true Proverbs:31,  Woman.