Marsha's Blog

While we were on our cruise a few months ago, we were in the inside room (the cheapest, because that’s how we roll) and obviously, when there’d no window and you’re tired of gazing into each other’s eyes, you end up watching TV.   The ship had only about two channels, and one was endless reels of “Antiques Roadshow”.   Mindlessly numbing, but it got me to thinking about a funny word they use a lot, Provenance. What does it mean? I’m glad you asked. The definition of Provenance is this:  The beginning of something's existence; something's origin.” For example, when a person, “tries to understand the whole universe and its provenance.” We all have a ‘Provenance”. And I’ll get to that later, but first let me tell you about Tony’s dad, (Uncle Buddy) and his gun. Many of you reading this will remember it hung as a mantelpiece over the fireplace in Jody and Buddy’s house in Holly Lake.  How he loved his gun and how he loved even more telling you all about its pro...

 Good Morning All… and for you folks in the Colonies (America), Happy Father’s Day! We don’t celebrate Father’s Day here in Australia until it’s spring, which is September. I think it has something to do with guys wanting power tools when the weather gets warm. Yes, it’s early winter here, and we’re definitely putting the layers on.  Yesterday I actually considered putting on a JACKET! I did have a wonderful birthday, thank you for all those wishes.  Tony suggested that we sneak off for a night into the nearby hinterland… We’re retired, after all, so we can exercise our autonomy.   It almost ended badly.  We arrived all flushed with excitement and anticipation at the B&B only to be told they’d never heard of us and we should go away as they were fully booked.  I claimed the high moral ground and proudly produced the verification………to be told it was for June 13, 2026!!  I’ll be calling the booking agent tomorrow…. We were torn between sneaking ...

 Good morning! I’m sure you already know this, but I came across this word, "Gaslighting" lately. I’ve heard it, but never had given it much thought. Now that I have, I think I may be a victim. When I asked Google, this is what she had to say (she tried to write this blog for me, but I told her gently and firmly to back off).  Anyway, determined to continue on my own, here's what I learned. Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse or manipulation in which the abuser attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in the victim's mind. Typically, gaslighters are seeking to gain power and control over the other person, by distorting reality and forcing them to question their own judgment and intuition. Does that sound familiar? I was thinking to myself, "This is a new thing"…  but wait, wasn't maybe Eve the first victim of gaslighting when Satan said, or should I say 'suggested' that she might be missing out on a fuller life by being 'restricted...

 Thank you for all your kind comments about my blog last week.   Unfortunately, the 'boy' I wrote about had a bad seizure which resulted in a head injury and a trip to the hospital. But he is recovering and appreciating your prayers. Poor kid, but grateful for lots of loved ones.   And, if you've seen the news, you may have noticed that the volcano I was watching over my shoulder while we were there has finally blown up! No injuries reported, and so far, no major lava flows. Last week, I asked you to pray for the people in Hawaii who struggle with their ideas of Pele, the goddess of Hawaiian volcanos. There seems to be a strong reluctance to interfere with her, and especially with her lava flows.  However, I read yesterday that German geologists have discovered that most Hawaiian lava is rich in gold deposits. This may help them lay aside their superstitions! Stay tuned …. Because I'm still sore (WHEN is she going to stop whining about her ribs?), I had a '...

Good morning to all you faithful readers out there!   I'm happy to report that we are well and truly HOME now. I realized as we meet our friends here, that they don't trust us to stay put for long.  The common greeting is not, "Oh! Glad you're back!" but often includes a more cautious, "How long are you here this time?" I was getting chided by someone who means well this morning, when I heard myself rising in defence.  "It's what we do.  When Tony's teaching and preaching, in the words of Eric Liddel from the movie, ‘Chariots of Fire’, we ‘feel God’s pleasure’.  And sometimes we need to seek far and wide for those opportunities."  Another reason we enjoy traveling is that we get to meet so many interesting people with whom we might not otherwise have crossed paths.   Today I'd like to mention some folks we just met who really are making a difference.   First of all, you may remember when I wrote about our friend Abe san in Japan who...

I don’t remember a time when ‘home’ looked as good as it did a few days ago.  Maybe it was the 29 hr ‘cheap’ flight I’d found that took us from Hawaii thru Japan before we got home to Australia, I don’t know.   Last year, we made a 4-month doin’ our thang journey, which resulted in the decision that next time we’d pull it back a notch or two.  So when it came time to gear up for this year’s discipleship workshop in Hawaii, we managed to hone it down to 40 days, squeezing in a cruise, seven flights, two car rentals, and in a bold austerity move, made use of Honolulu’s trolley system in order to get around town (with only a few cries for help to our local friends who have a car.  Now we’re thinking we may go back to the 4-month idea, with scheduled times to stop and smell the pineapple and macadamia nuts.  I have to admit this trip was hard in some ways. Tony broke his little toe and then he got food poisoning.  Then I took that swan dive on the mountain...