Mosaic Monday - Easter Camping

We have just spent 6 days - 5 nights camping at Belgrave Heights in the Dandenong Ranges. This has been a tradition of ours now for 11 years and would not spend our Easter any other way. We had some heavy rain the first couple of evenings and ended up with mud almost ankle deep in some parts of our camp site. I turned up and had forgot to pack my shoes and only had flip flops on. I had to wait until Easter Saturday for the shops to open to go buy some Blundstone Boots. We camped with friends which made the experience all the more enjoyable...

More Easter Reflections

Thought - The only man made thing in Heaven are the scars on Jesus hands and feet...

Reflecting on Easter has brought to mind many favourite Hymns. Several years ago I discovered "I heard The Voice O Jesus Say".

Only is the last few days have I found out more about it's writer.

It was written by Horatius Bonar born on the 19th December 1808 in Edinburgh -
Bonar has been called “the prince of Scot­tish hymn write­rs.” After grad­u­at­ing from the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Ed­in­burgh, he was or­dained in 1838, and be­came pas­tor of the North Par­ish, Kelso. He joined the Free Church of Scot­land af­ter the “Dis­rupt­ion” of 1843, and for a while edit­ed the church’s The Border Watch. Bonar re­mained in Kel­so for 28 years, af­ter which he moved to the Chal­mers Me­mor­i­al church in Edin­burgh, where he served the rest of his life. Bonar wrote more than 600 hymns. At a me­mor­i­al service fol­low­ing his death, his friend, Rev. E. H. Lundie, said:
His hymns were writ­ten in very var­ied cir­cum­stances, some­times timed by the tink­ling brook that bab­bled near him; some­times at­tuned to the or­dered tramp of the ocean, whose crest­ed waves broke on the beach by which he wan­dered; some­times set to the rude mu­sic of the rail­way train that hur­ried him to the scene of du­ty; some­times mea­sured by the si­lent rhy­thm of the mid­night stars that shone above him.

Hymn - I heard the voice of Jesus say

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast.”I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad;I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give The living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.”I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream;My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light;Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright.”I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun;And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done.

Mosaic Monday - Easter Reflections

1. Easter Cross, 2. Hammer and Nails, 3. Crown of Thorns, 4. Opening of roadside tomb_0654

Marking Milestones

Last night we celebrated my husband Rob's graduation form AIFC (Australian Institute Family Counselling) - Rob completed a Vocational Graduate Certificate in Counselling and Family Therapy (3 years study) - Well done. We celebrated afterwards at an amazing Asian BBQ restaurant in Melbourne then stayed overnight in a lovely apartment.

I think it is always Important to celebrate and mark life's milestones in a special way.

Well done - Love you ♥

Blessed to be a blessing - take two

The picture below is of my husband Rob back in 2009 with our sponsor child Sandra. Sandra is an orphan and she lives at Jordan House in Kampala, Uganda. I love this photo and It is a reminder to me just how blessed I am. I have just heard from some friends back visiting Jordan House at the moment, that with the economic situation inflation has hit people in Uganda hard with the cost of rice rising many families are going hungry. The average earnings is around $2.50 per day ($12.50 a week or $650.00 a year). For $45 a month we are making a difference in Sandra's life. She has a home, food, shelter, clothing and education. Tonight I was talking to a friend who's family has been making a big difference in the lives of a whole community in Fiji (a lot closer to home). A young family has just lost there father leaving mum to care for 4 children on her own. The children are 6, 8, 9, 13 - because of the little income mum earns (about $2 per hour in a laundry) life for this family will become an even bigger struggle. My friend hoped to find enough sponsorship to send the children to school next year so I enquired how much it would cost - the three primary school children $45 each and the high school child $65. For a grand total of $200 per year (included fees, books & uniforms) these children can have the opportunity of an education and this works out to be about 55c per day for the four children to go to school. I was delighted to be able to say that Rob and I would sponsor all four Children and look at other ways we can help the family. Blessed to be a blessing indeed.

Mosaic Monday - Eric's

I love Giraffe's or as we affectionately call them in our home Eric's - that's because my husband once gave me a stuffed Giraffe who was called Eric.
1. girafe, 2. GIRAFE PELAGE, 3. GIRAFE BEBE, 4. girafes_filtered

Everything is Right about NQR (Not Quite Right)

I was out and about with my Mum today and we dropped in at NQR (Not Quite Right) - Grocery store In Newcomb. NQR specialises in grocery lines discontinued, overstocked, close to use by. You can find many well know branded lines of food, toiletries and more at greatly discounted prices and the grocery lines are always changing.

Well to my suprise and to my delight I got the groceries pictured above for a grand total of $69.36.

So here is what I got

x6 Packets Birdseye Steam Fresh Vegetables at $1.99 a pkt (usually around $3.80pkt)

2 Logan farm spinach at $1.69 a pkt

x1 Arnotts mint slice double pack at $2.99 a pkt

x1 Leggos Fresh Pasta Ravioli at $3.69 a pkt

x1 Leggos Fresh Napoli Sauce at $1.99 each

x5 Frozen Meals (leans cuisine, weight watchers etc) at $3.99 each(usually around $5.99)

x2 Original Fruit Juice at $2.49 each (usually around $4.80)

x1 750g Mamma Rosa Lasagna at $4.99 each

x1 Gourmet Salt / Grinder at $1.99 each

x1 Gourmet Pepper / Grinder at $1.99each

x2 Just Juice at $1.50 each

x1 280g Maltesers at $3.49 each

x1 McCoy Salt & Vinegar Chips at $1.99

x1 600g Licorice allsorts $2.99

I am estimating a savings of around $43.00

When the cost of food is rising and wages are not we need to look to ways of cost cutting and this has one my vote. I have decided to pick up my mum every 3 - 4 weeks and visit NQR to stockup on items.

If you are having a party it is worth a look with cheese, dips, pate and other finger food items heavily discounted. In addition I was amazed to see a 8 person pavlova shell for only $3.99.

I like the frozen meals for work for my lunch and $3.99 beats the $10 or $12 i might pay at the corner cafe.

On those cant be bothered nights when I still need my vegetables the Steam Fresh packets are a great alternative.

We rarely buy Chocolate biscuits so with the overall saving's and the discounted prices a packet or two should keep the hubby happy along with the Allsorts.

And who could pass up your favourite fruit juice at half the usual price.

So if like me you are trying to cut cost's and save a little on living expenses why not give it a try.

Mosaic Monday - Curiosity

Today's theme is curiosity - I kept thinking of what lies beyond. Looking through a window, walking through a gate, behind the door and in the case. I enjoyed creating this Mosaic and finding just the right pictures. . 1. Curiosity, 2. doorway-in-St-Ives, 3. Old wooden gate in Mayo Ireland, 4. Old Antique Chest

Blessed to be a blessing

It doesn't take much to make a difference..

I look around me and am reminded of how rich I really am. No .. I am not talking of money, If I was to measure my wealth in $ I would seem poor by comparison to many.

I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am, a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, heating for warmth, food on my table, nice clothes on my back, access to medical treatment, a car to drive, a job to pay the bills, living in a war free country, family and friends who love me, my health... Oh I could go on and on and on.

Yesterday I was to work at our Op Shop from 9am - 1pm, It was the last thing I wanted to do on my day off after working the last 5 days. I left home at 8am drove to the petrol station filled my car and then drove over town to the OP Shop, It was a slow morning until about 10.40am. I struck up a conversation with one of the customers who had her grandson with her. After saying good morning, I said to her is it Grandmas day today. Her reply was that it was grandmas day every day. As it turned out she cared for this Little boy full time. My response was to tell her that I take my hat off to grandparents today as they so often end up caring for the grandchildren. We talked for some time about her little grandson and her family. As she was about to leave I introduced myself and she herself, I then wished her a happy day and said it was lovely to meet her. She in turn thanked me and said chatting had brightened up her day and that everyone in the shop was so friendly. Blessed to be a Blessing.

Today after Church I went to K Mart to purchase some clothes to send to Africa to my two sponsor children Sandra 9 and Hamuzah 10.

In 2009 my husband Rob traveled to Africa with a team from Geelong to Uganda to an Orphanage - Jordan House http://www.operationuganda.com/ to conduct building projects, health checks and to gift the local Schools with sports equipment and school supplies. During his visit Rob had the opportunity to meet our then sponsor child George William and his mum and siblings who lived in this little shack only metres wide. We were able to assist the family to get George William to School by purchasing his uniform, shoes and bag, we provided simple cooking requirements for his mum as well as a small amount of money to set herself up to provide for her family. She purchased vegetables from the market and on sold them for a small profit to meet the needs of her family. During his time at Jordan House Rob decided that he would sponsor another child and so Sandra joined our family.

Later this week a team from here in Geelong http://www.geelong2uganda.com/ will again got to Uganda to visit Jordan House to complete health checks, dental checks, and assist in the local schools. I went shopping to get some clothes to send over for both Sandra & Hamuzah and because of the end of season I purchased 2 dresses and a set of PJ's for Sandra and I Purchased two T'Shirts and some shorts for a Hamuzah for a grand total of $26.00. So much for so little yet it will mean a great deal to these Children who themselves have so little. In addition one of my friends going over will take some extra money with her on my behalf and provide what Hamuzah's family may need as they live in the local community.

These children are blessed to be cared for or sponsored through Operation Uganda and I am blessed to be in a position to sponsor them and provide for them even in a small way. Blessed to a blessing.

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