Marsha's Blog

I remember saying when our son died some 27 years ago, “If anyone else around here gets cancer, I’m buying a blender!” And that’s what we’ve done.  Tony still has no definite information, just that he has aggressive prostate cancer so he needs to get fit.  Last week, we bought a blender and a treadmill. I have to say, he’s committed to both! Thankfully, he’s already lost 3 kilos (7 lbs) and is feeling better physically than he did before he was diagnosed.  It’s not been an easy time, but we’ve been blessed with an extra-ordinary sense of peace and joy, a product, I’m sure of all your prayers! This is not to say that healing is a given; just that whatever circumstances come our way, we’re confident that God is in it, and will give us what we need, when we need it. That said, I have to admit: waiting has been the hardest aspect of this whole thing.   But let’s talk about that verse I mentioned last week in Isaiah 40:31.  I’ll put it here in case you forgot it...

A great mentor of ours, Stan Nelson, had his memorial service this last week.  As I read all the emails and comments about it, one of his favorite scripture passages came up more than once. It’s from Isaiah 40, starting with verse 28,   “Do you not know?   Have you not heard?   The Lord is the everlasting God,   the Creator of the ends of the earth.   He will not grow tired or weary,   and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.   Even youths grow tired and weary,   and young men stumble and fall;   but those who hope in the Lord   will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;   they will run and not grow weary,   they will walk and not be faint.” I’ll talk more about this passage next time, but I have to confess that we’re just not ‘soaring’ much this week.   As you may have been...

For many years, maybe since we were young marrieds, we’ve had a ‘Wall of Witnesses’ hanging in our bedroom.  These are pictures of people who have greatly influenced us over the years.  Our parents, my grandmother, other couples and individuals who have helped make us who we are.  The idea behind this collection is taken from Hebrews 12:1-3. I’m sure you’re all familiar with it, where Paul says,  “ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” I’ve kept this collection of pictures in my bedroom because that seems to be where I spend most of my ‘reflective’ thought and I like to look at them occasionally to ‘check’ how I’m doing.  Unfortunately for us, 10 of these people now influence us from heaven, but how they handled their deaths (at least 4 by dementia), also factors...

Last week I mentioned the advertisement that talks about the millions of steps we take in a lifetime, followed by the quote by Hugh Jackman, “However, it’s not the number of steps that matters; it’s where they take you.” I thought about that statement at one of the churches we visited in Fiji the other day. It was in Suva, the capitol city of the country. We were met and carted around by a wonderful man who had served as Fiji’s Minister of Foreign Relations, as well as Ambassador to both Papua New Guinea and then Japan.  We had a lot of fun with him and his wife talking about all their experiences “in the service”.   But the real thrill was watching him talk about evangelism.  He’s just retired from the government, and is finding plenty of work to do with the churches around the country. He’s even helped start a new one in his home, made up mostly of international students from all over Asia and the South Pacific. As he talked about these students, ...

Recently I saw an ad for an Australian clothing company, R.M. Williams.  This name is as familiar here, particularly with men’s clothing, as Stetson or maybe Brookstone Brothers is in the States. (I don’t really know because we hardly ever buy name brands). Anyway, it’s just a man walking.  All you can see are his boots. The narration goes like this: "The average person will take 216,262,500 steps in his lifetime.  That’s 110 thousand kilometers, or 4.4 laps around the earth.  However, it’s not the   number   of steps that matters, it’s   where   they take you.” And then the camera pans up to the well-known and adored face of Hugh Jackman, complete with his “Greatest Showman” smile. But already the information has taken hold by then, “It’s not the   number   of steps, but where they take you.” Our steps have already taken us to a heap of pleasant places. This last Monday we left the Fijian churches in the capitol city of Suva ...

Thank you all for your concerns for me and my ant bite!  I’m guessing you Americans quietly put this on your list as to why you’ll never visit us, never mind that we got absolutely No Sympathy from my Aussie friends, telling me how much more horrific   their   ant stories were than   mine . Even my grandson declares that he was bitten not once but three times, and furthermore had to be brave because he was with his mates!   Truth be known, this week has had a lot more than ant bites to be concerned about. God has been doing His ‘Sovereign’ thing in the illness of several near and dear friends. Now I realize that we are, after all, circling our 70’s, and because of that, these things are going to become more common because of our predictable mortality.  Nevertheless I have to confess that it’s been hard to see God’s Hand in what our unchurched friends call “senseless tragedies”. We already know several who are doing daily battles with cancer, but this w...

Good morning all, It’s dawned on me that this is Labor Day Weekend in the northern hemisphere.  We hope you’re having a lovely last shout out to summer.   We’ve had a great day in church. It started with commissioning a lovely couple almost our age, to give up everything and travel half way around the world to be Christ’s ‘Salt and Light’ to some unfortunate refugee kids in a place where the horror continues and it isn’t even now safe to be there.  Such courage is rare and I’m more than impressed.  I’m sure you’ll pray with us for them.   Add to that, today is Fathers Day here in Australia. We had a hurried "fast food with playground" lunch with our kids and grandkids. It was so good to be reminded that we have fathers in our circle. Good ones at that.   It’s remarkable that Fathers day is on the first Sunday of Spring, in this case, September 1st.  Why isn’t it observed on the same day as in the Northern Hemisphere, you ask? After all, Mother...