Marsha's Blog

This morning we attended church, as has become the norm, in our bed. Australia is still pretty much on lockdown.  This time we had at least finished breakfast, showered and had clothes on.  We’re getting good at this.  Well, there was the fact that, just a couple of hours later, Tony would be in the Facebook/Zoom saddle preaching to the Japanese church up in Brisbane, so we were motivated to comb our hair, at least.     One of the first songs we were invited to sing along with on this live Zoom session was “Oceans”.  There was a collective groan as we remembered that at the zenith of this song's popularity we’d been known to have this put to us three times in one Sunday.  The Japanese version is especially tedious since the translated words just don’t fit to the music and you’re having to do mouth aerobics just to get it out.   But this morning, I was surprised when the words really touched my heart.   Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You've never fail

Hello all,  Something has crossed my desk recently that I think needs sharing.  It may be particularly apropos if you’ve been watching all the world news lately. How many of you were forced to read   The Lord of The Flies   in school?  I don’t know about Australia, but in America, it was required reading. It’s a cautionary tale helping us all remember that when left alone, especially without adults, there’s going to be trouble. As I was a timid girl to begin with, reading this only drove home the fact that I couldn’t be trusted to take care of myself without a   Speaker’s Conch   and a lot of bloodshed.   And as much as that book impacted our lives, I remind myself that it was actually a  fictitious  story written by William Goldburg in 1951.   A few days ago, a tiny blip in the Australian newspaper, the Guardian, showcased an article written by a Dutch minister’s son, Rutger Bergman. Himself a non-believer (it happens) but somehow he still retained an intuitive feeling that m

In my life, I’ve taught a lot of English classes from University level down to bored Japanese housewives who would gather at the church under the guise of learning English. It sorta comes with the job of being light and salt to the unsaved.  One day, to get the conversation going, I asked for the class to tell me about the best birthday present they’d ever received.  Answers ranged from dinners in fine restaurants, to perfume and puppies … the usual.  And then one woman (not a believer) said happily and without hesitation, “My Life!” Her answer has come home to me this week as I enter my 7th decade!!! People say they can’t believe I’m 70, to which I reply, “Neither can I!”  In the words of Mae West, “If I’d have known I was going to live this long I’d have taken better care of myself!"   But this woman’s answer, “My Life” made me stop and think.  Of course God gave me my life, and she’s right; that was unequivocally the best present I could have asked for, to get to experience lif

Hello everyone. Again……. a pretty slow and easy week, except for winter, which is coming hard and fast. I think I actually saw   frost   outside the other morning! (But of course I was imagining it, as it doesn’t get that cold here).   Sorry all you Northern Hemispherers!  Australians have their seasons divided into four three month sections, and while I thought June 1st was a bit premature to start Winter, by June 2nd the comforter on the bed felt pretty good!    Last week I talked about calming down and settling into the life we have and the tasks we have to do.  I’m happy to say that it’s been working well, due in no small part to your prayers. Thank you! I’ve joined a Women’s Bible study that I think I’m going to like, Tony’s pouring himself into some projects (more on that soon), and the grandkids, as always, continue to be cute.  We’ve commented to ourselves on several occasions this week, “We’re living the dream.”   In fact, I’m so relaxed that I’ve actually stopped thinking abo