ANZAC Day 2008

Each year in the Home League before ANZAC day we remember! We look at out past, our traditions, we share memorabilia from our families who went to war, we talk about those left at home, the effect when families were reunited and those who weren't but the thing that always stands out the most - is the comraderie of those days whether you were activiely at war or left behind - that real sense of community in all it's fullness.

The actual day of ANZAC our band played at Yinnar [an association we have had for over 50 years] - it is only a small town with smaller communities around - and they come from all the surrounding areas and pay their respect - a short march with a pipe band leading - wreaths laid - then into the community hall for the actual ceremony - we sing hymns - our guest speaker is a local, a VCE student - he speaks well about ANZAC what it means to him to his fellow youth - we stand in silence and remember - the last post - silence - "Lest we forget" - reveille - then 'Advance Australia Fair' - our children just love our national anthem - they sing it at the top of their voices - they are so proud to be Australian - to carry on the traditions of our diggers - to carry on the spirit of the ANZACs!

My Dad

My dad would have been 86 today!

When I was little he always called me his little 'imp' [someone who is playfully mischievious] which I guess summed me up pretty well then and still does now! He knew me well!

For a few years before I married I lived at home with just dad & mum ~ it was different with my siblings gone ~ dad & I had some great debates/discussions ~ we shared the running of the house ~ my dad had an amazing mind ~ maths came natural to him ~ he was a force to be reckoned with when it came to chess ~ in all card games he knew every card that had been played and who played it. I learnt so much in those few years!

When we had been married just over a year we moved to Melbourne and not long after that my parents moved to Queensland. After that I only saw my dad in person 3 times:

My parents came to my commissioning in 1980 which was busy and rather hectic, but we did manage to get some time together ~ he was so proud!

Then they came and stayed with us in Busselton for a couple of weeks ~ we showed them around ~ I had some wonderful walks along the beach in those weeks ~ just dad & me ~ we talked about so many things!

Then in 1993 we travelled to Townsville for their 50th wedding anniversary and they met our daughter ~ it was the only time she met her grandparents ~ during our time there dad & I were able to talk again ~ he was in the early stages of Alzheimers ~ he had things he needed to share ~ he needed to say goodbye while he was still able ~ he made some requests which we discussed ~ we came to an agreement.

As always he was right ~ his predictions of his illness ~ what the future held for him ~ my part in that future ~ everything was as he said it would be.

Then on Friday 11th February 2005 he went home to be with His Lord!

It was time for me to keep my promise ~ we had said our goodbyes over 11 years ago ~ so the day my dad was buried in Townsville ~ I spent the time alone ~ I sang his favourite song and remembered the man I called "DAD"

So today on his 86th birthday again I sing his favourite song:

1.

Life is a journey;

Long is the road,

And when the noontide is high

Souls that are weary

Faint 'neath their load,

Long for the waters, and cry:

Chorus:
The well is deep and I require
A draught of the water of life,
But none can quench
My soul's desire
For a draught of the water of life;
Till one draws near
Who the cry will heed,
Helper of men in their time of need,
And I, believing, find indeed
That Christ is the water of life.

2.

Life is a seeking,

Life is a quest,

Eager and longing desire;

Unto the true things,

Unto the best,

Godward our spirits aspire.

3.

Life is a finding;

Vain wand'rings cease

When from the Saviour we claim

All we have longed for,

Solace and peace,

And we have life in His name.

...........and I remember the man I called "DAD"

Check this out!!!!

Worth the read!

http://onematters.blogspot.com/2008/04/freegans.html

The woman with the issue

"Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak." [Matthew 9:20]

The woman described in Matthew 9:20 had faith. She believed she would be healed if she did but touch the very hem of his garment. If you understand Hebrew thought you'll understand the significance of the story.

Why did the woman touch the hem?

The hem of a Hebrew's prayer shawl is very important. The prayer shawl worn by Hebrew men is called a tallit. The fringe on the corner of the tallit is called a tzitzit. In Numbers 15 God directs the Hebrews to make fringes on the borders (also called corners or wings) of their garments to remind them of God's law!
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.39You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes." [Numbers 15: 38-39]
There are 613 actual commandments in the Torah-248 positive and 365 negative. Each tzitzit consist of eight strands and five double knots. According to one Jewish numerological tradition, the numerical values of the Hebrew letters for the word for tassel (tzitzit) totalled 600. Six hundred plus eight plus five is 613, the traditional number of biblical commandments. During the first century, a tradition associated with the tallit is that the tzitzit of the Messiah had healing powers. "The Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings" [Malachi 4:2].

The woman must have known of this tradition and in faith she touched the wings of His garment showing she believed Jesus is the Messiah!

Our Hebrew Roots

We study a Hebrew book-written by Hebrews; we serve a Hebrew Lord-who had Hebrew disciples; we desire to follow the first century church-which was first predominately Hebrew; and through Christ, we are grafted into a Hebrew family! It makes sense to study the Hebrew culture.

Much of the Bible is mysterious to most Australians. The perplexing phrases, puzzling actions, the sometimes difficult-to-understand words of Jesus, unconventional holidays, and parables are only understood with an awareness of the Hebrew culture. A Christian's roots are deep in Judaism through Christ, all the way back to Abraham!

"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)

Studying Scripture from our Australian view is like looking for gold in a dark mine with a dim pen light--we can see enough to stumble around but we need more light to see clearly. A good grasp of the ancient Hebraic customs and terminology would allow us to reexamine Scripture in this powerful flood light, exposing intricate details and treasures.

Women

I just love Wednesdays - it is a day with the women.

First - soldiership classes

Second - Bible study

Third - Lunch

Fourth - Home League

Fifth - Afternoon Tea

It is always good to spend time looking at what it means to be a soldier in The Salvation Army - to find out where people are in their thinking about soldiership - why they want to join.

Sitting with women around the word of God is amazing - one can almost see a cartoon light bulb going on just above their heads at times - the deep sharing of their history - where they stand with God - the challenge of today.

Lunch is always different - we all choose different food - different drinks - and the conversation is always different.

Home League today was "Biscuit Bonanza" - Bonanza means "a sudden happening that brings good fortune" or a good synonym would be 'manna from heaven' - and that is exactly what we had today - what a variety of biscuits - we filled our little bags with many biscuits to take home and enjoy with the family - we experienced 'chocolate ripple cake' [made from chocolate ripple biscuits] and we turned Marie biscuits into candles to remind us to let our lights shine in the world - and we can do that by sharing our 'bonanza' with others.

Unmasking the Divine

The Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where God is never mentioned. The sages explain that that epoch, immediately after the destruction of the First Temple, signalled a monumental change in the way God relates to His world. The Temple itself (and before that the Tabernacle) was a medium of Divine revelation. When the Temple was destroyed (because of rampant sin), God entered a mode of hiddenness. In fact, the Divine hand shapes the entire Purim story, but it is concealed in the guise of "coincidence," "luck," and the seemingly natural unfolding of events.
"Hiddenness" is an essential characteristic of God in this world. Even the Hebrew word for "world" -- "olam" -- comes from the root word meaning "hidden." From the time of the Purim story until today, our challenge in this world is to expose the Divine hiding behind the appearances of our everyday world.
The term for that is "Kiddush Hashem." Every time we choose generosity, truth or integrity we are revealing God in this world. We are unmasking the Divine.
Every time we choose meanness, pettiness or dishonesty, we camouflage God and add another layer to the Divine disguise. This generates a Hillul Hashem. We create a world where, for ourselves and everyone around us, God is missing.
The climax of the Purim story takes place when Queen Esther, risking her life to do so, invites King Xerxes and his viceroy, the debonair and courtly Haman, to a private dinner in her quarters. There Queen Esther reveals the plot of genocide against her and her people. The king, outraged, demands to know who is the culprit behind the plot. In one of the most dramatic flourishes in Scripture, Queen Esther points to Haman and exposes his true identity: "A vile man! An enemy! This evil Haman!"
Purim is about hiddenness, shrouded identities, and beguiling appearances. It challenges us to expose the truth, like Queen Esther did. Unlike Queen Esther, however, we point not at the villain, but at the Divine. "Here He is... behind what happened to me today." "Here He is... behind the beauty of nature." "Here He is...."
At every moment, we can reveal God either by identifying Him or emulating Him. We don't have to be an illustrious personage to reveal God in this world.

The King's Feast

The Book of Esther begins by describing a lavish feast thrown by King Xerxes for his subjects. Like everyone else, the Jewish citizens of the realm attended. The sages assert that the genocidal decree against the Jews that Haman later enacted (with the approval of the king) was the result of ordinary Jews' attending the feast.
According to the Talmud, King Xerxes was celebrating the conclusion of 70 years since the beginning of the exile from Judea. Since the prophet Jeremiah had prophesized that the Babylonian exile would last for 70 years (counting from the destruction of the First Temple, not from the initial stage of the exile), Xerxes concluded (wrongly) that the victory over the Jews could now be deemed complete and final. For his celebratory feast, he used the sacred vessels from the Temple, and came dressed in the garments of the High Priest.
The sages are quick to point out that kosher food was served to the Jewish citizens. No laws of the Torah were transgressed at the feast. Yet, the sages maintain, the punishment for attending was a decree of extermination from which the Jews only narrowly escaped. Why?
Attendance at King Xerxes' feast was a Hillul Hashem. While the Temple and its vessels were meant to sanctify the mundane constituents of the physical world, Xerxes' feast did precisely the opposite: By using the sacred vessels for mundane purposes, the party degraded what was holy. The Jews should have responded to this sacrilege by mourning and distancing themselves. Instead, the temptation to attend a party at the palace overcame them. Their attendance was an implicit endorsement of Xerxes' worldview, a world in which God was conspicuously absent.
According to the Talmud, Hillul Hashem is the hardest sin to atone for, because, by its very nature, its effect is so widespread that it is virtually impossible to undo the damage. Once the stone has been thrown into the pond, who could possibly stop the ripples?