Watery thoughts!

There is something about water - the ocean, a bay, river, even a small splashing stream - that refreshes the weary and smooths away the stresses of daily life. We were able to snatch four days away a week or so ago in the midst of an incredibly busy schedule and head to a little spot near the start of the Great Ocean Road in southern Victoria. Airey's Inlet is marked by a lighthouse, a few stores and not much else - but it is rich in atmosphere, peace, tranquility and a sense of time standing still. Which was just what we needed to regroup and prepare for the rest of Sue's time in Australia. The wonder of God's creation never leaves me - rockpools, anenomes, shells, the wheeling gulls and the endless rolling of the waves. I can never get enough of that. Which makes me wonder - does God feel the same about His final creation....about us? I suspect He does especially when we respond to His love or His correction or simply His presence. It's His presence that we need daily - spiritual water - whether in worship or prayer or as we open His Word and invite Him to speak to us.

How Far Would You Go For a Krispy Kreme????

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all our Irish friends (and who isn't?) It seems that Sue and I have Irish ancestry in common - on her mother's side but on both my parent's sides (along with a good mix of Scottish and English and whatever else). SO what did we do when we found ourselves down at Knox City Mall today? The Irish Pub was in full swing (emphasis on "full") with green beer and Irish dancers. But it was at Krisy Kreme we found our true Irish roots. We stopped to look at the GREEN donuts....and then read the fine-print. "Show us your best Irish jig and receive one FREE Irish donut". Now who could resist? I launched into a great jig, hands steadfastly to the sides...to the amazement of the barely-out-of-school lads behind the counter. I am sure they had NEVER seen an overweight woman of my age do anything this crazy before. Then it was Sue's turn - although she had looked a bit surprised at my spontaneous performance - and she too launched into a frenzy of fancy footwork and turns! We both exited munching our freebies...green and all!

T-Shirt Truths

Cambodia always impacts us - the kids, the passion of the workers, the transformed lives of the local church members - it's a great place to stop and takc stock of the important things in life. One of the young men was wearing a tshirt with the slogan: "You'll never know Jesus is all you need 'till all you have IS Jesus". Thoughtprovoking? We thought so. Many of the people here have so little - get past the western style facade that Phom Penh is hastily erecting and you find yourself in villages that have changed little. Subsistence farming, poor water supply (if any), shacks of palm leaves and bamboo, malnutrition in the children, disease and the still present danger of land mines. In some of the larger towns there is progress and many NGO's (Non Government Organisations) are doing valuable work improving living standards, equipping schools, building infrastructure. So what make the difference? How can the kids' pastor Vimean (pictured) look so happy? His office is under the corrugated iron roof of the church building - in the consistently hot climate of Cambodia the heat regularly 'melts' the computer systems in the church. But he doesn't complain. His smile says it all "I have Jesus and if I can introduce him to the kids in my city...my province...my nation I will give them the source of ALL they need." It's a challenge to me - I look at what I think I need......and all those things start to fade. As the old song says: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his glorious face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his goodness and grace."

By the way: Sue and I support Children in Crisis in Cambodia by selling woven cotton bracelets which come complete with photo card and brief history of kids being helped through this program. Each bracelet sells for US1 or $2 Australian. Let us know if you want some.