Being Thankful for Your Spouse

I think we’ve all heard friends or family members make critical comments about their spouses, and I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of that ourselves. Sometimes it’s easy to fall in the trap of fault-finding when life gets stressful and things aren’t going our way. But as we contemplate our blessings at this time of year, I’d like to encourage each of us to spend some time thinking about the wonderful qualities our spouses possess that make us thankful we have them in our lives. Right now, I’m particularly thankful for my husband’s thoughtfulness. I had a little outpatient procedure … Continue reading

Only a Prayer Away

Recently my darling husband went through a lot of my 78s inherited from my Mom. In the process of putting them onto CD he picked up and played several I’d forgotten about. One such was ‘Only a Prayer Away.’ This song was later recorded by Elvis but the 78 was around long before that version. I particularly like this song because it talks about thanking the Lord for everything and counting your blessing each day. As you all know, I’m being on giving thanks to God and counting our blessings. And it’s such an easy thing to do. Once you … Continue reading

“Is Something Wrong with My Child?” Expert Advice from Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman

Readers: The following is an interview with Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, Founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development. She is an expert in the field of early childhood development, and her insight and wisdom is tremendously valuable. Hello, Dr. Tiegerman. Introduce yourself, and tell us a little about the school you founded. Hi, everyone. I am the Founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development (SLCD) which provides educational services for children 18 months to 21 years with language and autism spectrum disorders. I started this program in 1985 when I was … Continue reading

A Time for Resolutions

New Year is a time for resolutions. Many are made but not so many are kept. So what is the point of resolutions? Resolutions are helpful if they focus our attention on areas that need to be changed. For example, last night, New year’s Eve here in Australia Mick and I resolved to get back into the habit of our regular bible study and prayer time together. When family is here or other things are happening, sadly it is all too easy for it to get pushed aside. So we’re looking at a study that focuses on different passages to … Continue reading

Christmas Joy

On Sunday we want to our sister church- the other church that belongs to our parish. We were greeted the door by children dressed as Mary, Joseph and shepherds and what was, with a bit of imagination,a donkey. In reality he was a huge grey shaggy Irish wolfhound, the size of pony and sporting a pair of gray donkey ears. But what a charming and well behaved donkey he made, as he walked in with the children to be part of the nativity scene up the front near the Christmas tree that with its central branch and two large branches … Continue reading

‘Tis the Season for Fighting

While Hallmark and Kay Jewelers commercials may try and lead us to believe this is a season of receiving romantic gifts and creating peaceful memories, anyone involved in a real-life relationship knows this can be a season for anything but blissful moments. The holidays add stress. There are extra errands to run, gifts to buy, parties to attend, and schedules to shuffle. Yes, amidst the chaos there are happy times or else no one would sign up for the seasonal celebrations year after year, but there’s also the potential for plenty of chaos and short fuses –and I don’t just … Continue reading

A Blind Date Leads to Love and Years

I never went on a blind date, although I tried (unsuccessfully, I might add) to arrange one or two. But for one couple a blind date turned out to be just the beginning. That blind date was over 50 years ago. This year the couple, Nancy and James Hibbert of Australia, achieved something statistics show only about five percent achieve – they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. When asked the secret to a long and happy marriage the Hibberts, who live at Culburra Beach, replied ‘give and take.’ And really, that sums it up in a nutshell. That’s exactly the … Continue reading

Evidence of the Holy Spirit

The other day at our church ladies’ breakfast, one of the women had a locket around her neck. ‘Does it open? And does it have a photograph inside?’ I asked. She admitted it didn’t. I have a large silver locket my mother bought for me many years ago. Inside it for years were two photos of Mick and me when we were both about eighteen and ‘going steady.’ Then one day I decided the engraved silver was tarnished and needed a clean, so I left the locket closed, got the silver cleaner out and cleaned the outside. I never thought … Continue reading

The Blessing of Prayer

How wonderful to know others are praying for you! One of the great things about family and friends is they way they jump on board when I am doing something. Like this morning I was the speaker at our ladies breakfast. As of Wednesday night I had no idea want I was going to talk about. The only thing I had written was in my opinion a disaster. I was starting to panic. At bible study I raised it as a prayer point. The next day I was still no further advanced and resolved to go and play tennis and … Continue reading