Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Change

Dear Friends,

It has been awhile. Almost two years. To all those who took the time to reach out to me over this time I send you a warm thank you. Please forgive me for my lack of replying.

Typing into Blogger right now (I couldn't even remember my password!), I am feeling like a stranger in a strange land. But it does bring back memories. Blogging was a big part of my life for several years, and during that time, it was probably my biggest link to the outside world. In many ways I do miss that. I remember with fondness the online friendships formed and the kind words which were so encouraging. Several times I have written draft posts, but it just didn't seem the right time.

Thank you Stephanie, your email this week finally prompted me to get out there and have a go at posting some sort of explanation.

I guess in a way, blogging felt that it had run it's course. Life and change just seemed to take over, and for me, blogging had lost it's sparkle.

Later in the year that I posted my last post, my Father-in-law suffered a heart attack, and his life was never to be the same again. We felt we needed to be much closer than the four hour drive away. So in late 2014 we put the house on the market, sadly gave away our animals (but not our dog!)  to locals we knew, and prayed about it all. The house sold within 3 days of being on the market.

In our search for a new home, we discovered that the area we were moving to was a completely different market and far more expensive. As it turned out we could afford an old fibro house on a large town block. It was in poor condition, but had been built solidly, and still retained it's old features. A plus was that it had enough bedrooms for everyone, plus a room for sewing. At just a half hour from the in-laws and in a pretty little town, it was the answer we were looking for.

So we spent all of last year renovating (ourselves) and virtually clearing the third acre block. The renovating seems to be an on-going thing, but we do have all the bedrooms, dining and hallway done. Work is fairly slow when you are doing it yourself. Painting has become my second job to homemaker. I will admit though, that last year was one of the toughest of my life.

Nevertheless we have all settled in well to the community here. The kids have made friends, we have wonderful neighbours and we get to spend much more time with extended family.





But let us go back to the subject of blogging. I think my blogging time, in a sense, reflected the search for truth and a search for meaning in my life. I had much satisfaction in homemaking, enjoyed the challenges and was constantly inspired by the blogging community.

Yet somehow I was still restless deep within my soul. I could not find true peace amongst the balls of wool, the current dress I was sewing or in the latest batch of homemade washing powder. Don't get me wrong, these are good and satisfying things in their own right. But they did not bring me any lasting happiness.

Some of you knew that I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness and left in my early twenties. This experience had poisoned any relationship I had with God. So for 12 years I had been seeking meaning elsewhere. Not only in exploring a more simple, wholesome lifestyle, but at times I had casually looked into Buddhism, yoga and the teachings of Deepak Chopra. But I just didn't connect with it.

During 2014 something prompted me to pick up an old King James bible that I collected during my op shopping travels. I was soon reading it every day. I had never read such beautiful words as these. I soon began searching online for answers. In my quest to find out the truth I had to undo many years of false teaching.

I was so shocked that I had spent my life believing in a different Jesus. The Jesus of the King James bible was God. What a revelation that was. This was totally contrary to the teachings I had grown up with.





That was well over a year ago now, and accepting Jesus Christ as my saviour was a slow (and sometimes lonely!) process over this time. But I know now that I have found true meaning in my life. I have a found that our Lord Jesus will give us joy unsurpassed by any other source. I have seen him answer prayers and he has given me strength at very low times. At times I have opened my Bible to a particular verse that has been an answer to a prayer. That I had just been praying. None of this is possible without the work of the Holy Spirit.

Just recently my husband also came to Christ, and we are working now as a family with our lives centered around Jesus. It has been an uphill battle in some ways, but with God all things are possible.

We have started attending a friendly local Christian church. We know that this is only a small part of our worship, and have no intention of identifying ourselves with a certain denomination. It is all, and I cannot emphasize this enough, it is all about our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.




You may see why it has taken so long to post again on here. This post may not be a popular one. However I felt I owed it to my readers to finally give an explanation. I am sorry that it has taken so long. I know how some people may see this, and yet I would once have seen it in a negative light also. I used to cringe at stories such as these. And yet here I am. After much searching I have found the real Truth.




There has not been any time for sewing or knitting during all this moving, renovating and Bible reading. But I do hope to take these up these (rusty) skills again soon. I am very appreciative of all that I learnt from my readers and fellow bloggers during my time on here. I still believe that homemaking skills play a very important role in making a peaceable home for our family. Our homes need to be a place of refuge in this insecure world. I wish you all peace within your homes.




"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light".

Matthew 11:29, 30