Marsha's Blog

 If I were reading “Pilgrim’s Progress”, I’d think I had slipped into a “Slough of Despond” … at least if my blogs lately are any indicator. So today I’m slapping on the happy face! (Ouch! That hurt!) Here comes a happy note from a happy Marsha. Okay, so there’s a sad part as well, but bear with me. One of my heroes died this week. This calls for a huge flashback ….. fasten your seatbelts! The year was 1977.  We arrived in Monrovia, Liberia to be Dormitory Parents to our missionary kids there so they could attend high school in the capital city. The posting was a spur-of-the-moment decision, made by our mission because our visas to go to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where Tony’s parents were missionaries, had been denied.  That in itself is a loooong story, but you’ll have to buy the book for that one. Anyway, we arrived to the fresh gleaming faces of 5 beautiful kids.  We found out much much later that they’d hidden the fact that they’d been at the dorm without supervis...

 Dear Friends,  Just a few minutes after I posted this week’s blog, I came across the news about the horrific flooding in Texas and the tragedy at the Christian camp there.   I can’t believe the timing. Here I am talking about a fun camp where everyone was invited to ‘Come to Jesus’ etc.  And now we grieve with the nation about this terrible, terrible tragedy.   Who could have foreseen?  Who could have prepared? One reason we grieve, I think, is that can identify. How many of you have happily dropped (or been dropped) off children of your own?  “They’ll have so much fun,” you think, “It’s so safe!” But then this happened.   Today I join all of those who are hurting; and rejoice with those who grieve “with hope”. “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”  (1st Thessalonians 4:13).   But the good news ...

  Hello Fellow Travellers!   Isn’t it wonderful that we’ve had another week to walk with the Lord thru all the adventures of the journey.  I will say for us, it was a quiet week, although I confess we did have a lot of little ‘catching up’ jobs to do, especially after the big family weekend. But all in all, we were left on Sunday night with smiles on our faces, glowing in the fact that our grandchildren are walking with the Lord, remembering the good food, the great family and the reminders that we are SOOOO blessed. Close to home, I got news of a drama going on in a little Christian Camp in Colorado that my sister and I enjoyed going to every summer.  It’s called “I’d-ra-ha-je” which I think, is  supposed is to resemble a Native American name, but is actually short for the lovely hymn written in the 20’s and which I remember well in the 50’s, “I’d Rather Have Jesus”.  I'drahaje was a focal event in my childhood. There was always something going on, Su...

 Good Morning Faithful Friends, Well, this week a few things happened that were not expected. First of all, I didn’t get permission to write about what I promised you last week. (Now you’re interested). It’ll come maybe someday, probably when the world isn’t so touchy politically.  What DID come home to remind us, is the brevity of life.  Last week … what shall we call them? … a “power couple” in our Australian church for many years had a tragedy. Let me explain.  Shey and Mena were young people when we came to Queensland about 20 years ago.  They went from our church into an organisation that we’ve worked with in missions over the years, called YWAM.  It stands for “Youth with a Mission” and has other humorous labels like “Youth Without any Money”, or how about “Young Women After Men”?  Seriously, It was an option for my kids and we feel that it’s really admirable what they do in the lives of young people all over the world.   Life went on, ...

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...