On becoming me

"When I sing that song now, I think about the girl that I was. I didn't believe that I was beautiful, I didn't believe that I was pretty. I just needed somebody to keep telling me that. I was like the bottomless well of love-need. I just wanted to be told and my husband would be like, ' I tell you every day,' and I'd be like, ' just tell me one more time.' And this is a bit of history, but it is a mark in history that changed me. I remember the Lord coming into my present and speaking to me and going back and healing some wounds in my heart from decades before, when I was a little girl. And speaking to that person, speaking the truth into those places. And now when I sing that song, I think about how every day of my life now is different because I think that the salvation that He meant to happen every day has finally come, where I every day believe that I am totally and completely loved just like I am. I'm truly adopted as a daughter and I don't have to do anything - I can't do anything to really just please Him except besides just being me. And I didn't grow up with that. I grew up thinking that if you just do these things, inside of Christianity and being a good believer or whatever, then you'll please the Lord. And that is just religious crap. It's just not true, it's a lie - really.

"I just want to encourage your heart tonight, that the Father's love for you is rich and wide and deep enough to not just tell you tonight but to reach into your heart and touch the places that have believed lies for ages and set it right. And give you a new, fresh mark in your history - to be able to go,' that's the day that I became me.' " - Robyn Pasley, House concert KC IHOP, 2007.

"It's one thing to be a professional worshiper; it's another thing to be somebody who receives love." Ben Pasley, House concert KC IHOP, 2007.

At home

Right: Ulf trimming a tree that leans against the house and makes creepy noises when it's windy.

Ulf hanging out the washing...

We now have a desktop computer which we got for free! Hallelujah! Hard rubbish is the best! So that makes everything a bit easier because it's heaps faster than our laptop was.

It's been raining on and off the last few weeks, this week being a rainy one. Great for the garden, but it keeps us indoors. We've put a few seeds in - tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin, zuchinni, etc - but not many have come up, probably because it's still quite cold outside. It feels like a long winter this year!

A few weeks ago Ulf converted the rabbit cage into a chicken coop! We're just waiting on the chickens... Snowbell is enjoying the space for now. Lily and Butch went to a new home about two weeks ago.

Ulf continues to enjoy his cleaning job at the high school. He's even found some wood scraps to continue his carving with.

Emma did a new painting today. If you want to check it out, it's at http://emmajetter.blogspot.com/

Home again; Em's trip to Ballarat

After a couple of very long flights, we arrived safely home again - to spring!

Not too much had changed since we left, but it took a week to settle in again after such a long time away. It was great to see friends again and be so missed!

We've already put in our tomato seeds for the coming season and have sold our mating pair of rabbits, with the idea of getting a couple of chooks at some point.

Last weekend Emma went to Snake Valley, near Ballarat to visit a good friend Sherry and to help plant a garden at her new home.

Right: Just out of Ballarat, this sign shows the distance to Snake Valley.

Right: Sherry digging holes in her front garden so we can put the plants in.

Right: Freezing wind, rain and mud were all part of the experience, but we enjoyed it!

Right: The sun came out onthe day we finished the garden, so we went exploring. We found this cute little cafe in Buninong, south of Ballarat.

Right: Next stop was Bird World. Here's Sherry with a red tailed Black Cockatoo.

Right: This one thought I was a great perch!

Right: Sherry gets a cuddle from this Black Cockatoo.

Right: A friendly King Parrot flew over to us in the large free flight enclosure.

Right: A beautiful blue sky bade me farewell. It was really nice to see Sherry again and bless her with a garden. The countryside was beautiful.