FLEMMINGS FEED N FUN WII-TH WALKERS

Six people met and had tea
at Canob'las Lake today,
last day of twenty-fifteen.
We had a swim and a play.

There was Jack, and Siri too,
swimming and "scaring" folk "in",
we swam out to the pontoon
and loved the cool of the swim.

They moved to Orange this year,
kids are now on holidays,
to Ulladulla next year#
where they will swim in the waves.

Wonder if they'll take a Wee(?)
there on their Beach Holiday?
They talked about it you see,
I was left wondering away...

How will they NOT take a wee?
Or, for that matter a poo?
I know what happens to me
when I try not to, but do!

Hope it won't wreck up their break
- if they decide not to wee.
They won't be stuffing with cake,
or having soft-drink or tea.

Well, in a few weeks we'll see
how this break goes for them all,
they might not eat or drink tea
'gain with Katrina & Paul.

#(in 2 days time)

please pray with me about a ute, to be tomorrow quite astute..

God you said if we lack
wisdom, then to ask you.
Please help Sam on this track,
about cars and cash too;

to know what to offer,
and what not to look for;
please God, bless his coffer,
in this choice to book more.

Please help him to listen
to the things that are true,
that his life will glisten
with a plain trust in you.

And make him and his stuff
a blessing to those folk
that he will have enough
even when he is broke.

Amen

a Christian lad, feeling Christmas bad

Old mate, just heard from Danny you're finding things hard, and that he asked you round for tea. Bless that dear brother, and through him you.

Thinking of you and this came out...

Old mate,     don't wait
to let             toilet
waste           taste
like shit,       spew it
to God          the bod
who loves    (not shoves).
Tell him        what lim-
-its feel        quite real
and rest       your best
and worst,   quite first,
on him          though dim
to your          mind for
we don't       (or won't)
see much.    Our crutch
for broke-    -en folk
is strong      (not "wrong"),
and we         needy
and sick       must quick
lean on         it long
& straight,    so mate
I think           your "drink"
& "food"        must crude-
-ly put          be naught
but him        whose win
is told           in cold
hard love.    Above
all, know      each flow
of life            means "knife",
not to           your new
cre-a-          -tion way,
but to           that Blue
Thing Dead which said,
(and still      it will)
"poor me",   zombie.

Christmas gift

A child has been born for us, a son has been given to us, and the government is on His shoulders. 
He is called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (PM Version)

A child has been born to us, & for us, 
a son's been given to humanity, 
and the government is on His shoulders.
He's called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty

God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince 
of Peace, with all the pieces brought to gath-
-er as does a hen call to all it's chicks
and shelter them that so they may life have,

even if she loses her own quite quick.
The mother clucking hen would loose her life
to a fox or fire, yet save each small chick.
Such governmental ways are not with knife,

but the rule of love which finds that it lays
new life very fragile into a nest,
and more protective than selfish, it pays
with it's life laid down to protect the rest.

What a "god" of a man must this ONE be(!)
who could use as symbol: lamb or mum-hen,
and ride, not on stalion but on donkey,
and look to eat some roadside fruit back then.

His rule was one of love & understanding
not domination that we normally see,
yet he doesn't baulk at strong comm-and-ing
of fever, tree, the stormy wind and sea,

as well as demon spirits/ parasites
on a person's life, he told them off strong.
And we are glad to "keep him in our sights"
to grow in us his good, save us from wrong!

(after Isaiah 9:6 PM Version) PW

Christmas Connections

May Love not grow dim,
hope Dad's phone comes to
serve God under him,
and serve both of you.

God, help them to win
at taming this thing
so it won't begin
to rule as their king.

Please give them your peace
and please keep them safe
that they be released
- in your love always.

Please bring them to us
and help us to bear
your love (with it's fuss)
when all together,

Before today has gone,
hope to see you some
time before too long,
Love you Dad & Mum.

You're at Les & Carm's
(park on a flat place).
But if caravan's
bung, come to our place.

inviting the Southern Mission Leader to Orange in NSW.

One day in twenty sixteen
the Frosties came to Orange
(wasn't to Wales where they'd been,
they didn't climb up Blorenge*).

May take a day or more ta
come to this town of colour
(especially in the Autumn),
but know now from this far-la:

you can stay more in this place
than one day; a week or two
could be good to show your face
and to let your face show you.

But in the Winter months here
hot-drums are gas and log fired;
it twice had white snow last year,
some-times mulled wine is re-quired..

Burrandong's not far away
whenever water's in it
sail-boards and some boats might play,
or swim & picnic visit...

I wonder if a visot
from Southern Mission Leader
might encourage teams a lot
and be an "ideas feeder"?

For "Prophets aren't un-honoured
ex-cept in the town they live",
and you can bet upon it
they'd take all that you can give.

* Blorenge is the name of a mountain in Wales.

Moving house - in, & out, & round about... humiliate, shows love (not hate).

Oh God of gods

please help these bods

with dis appoint-

meant by anoint-

-ted one to share

with him this care-

ful life down here

with war so near.

Please bring recall

this day (e'en small)

that helps them hold

on and be bold

since your own son

& daughter's won

the victory

in that one Gees-

-us, we're joined to

him who stayed true

'cause your love knew

him all way through...

Shell Gall.

I a bit recall
Shelley very small,
sometimes cry & shriek,
smile and gurgle quick...

God, what lovely plans
you had for your lambs
who would gambol/ play
around you all day.

Even when they're sad,
sick, or they've been "had",
they can raise their eyes
upward to the Skies

in expectation
of one who's nascent
in every good thing
(and does not mind "bling“)

I remember well
Shelley as a gall,
sometimes up to tricks,
loyalty that sticks.

Working as "partner"
with the great gardener,
(or maybe ART'ner)
who'll raise us “smartner"!

These failing bodies,
times feel like shodies,
but I s'pose we learn
patience, wait our turn,

and good things I see
which grow in Shelley
and in the compost
of good things been lost.

So I'm glad to hear
of Shell's added year.
When bad things appear,
don't think she'll be smeared...

But I know it takes
courage till she wakes
up through end of "birth"
as we leave old Earth.

Who knows how much more
time we've got for sure
having these birthdays
in our bodies/ place?

So Hip, Hip, Hooray!
It's Shelley's birthday.
Love you lots li'l sis
Hope you will get this.

Long train, short walk . . Meet in Melbourne?

Paul B.,
We've just left on time
and we're expecting
a fast (and sublime)
rail trip, connecting

nine fifty am
(or nine fifty-two),
with you (if I can
make it there to you).

What if I ring you
as the train stops,
then I run out to
Spencer Street shops...

..could walk along it
until Lonsdale Street,
or would that prolong it -
'till we fine'ly meet?

Paul (Small) Walker

New Follent pair ... Lord, this be our prayer:

Lord keep them safe
as they onward go
from these Southlands
where as belle & beau

they tied the knot
and all went to "plan",
now we'll see what
in the Follent clan

is just "special":
a daughter (not born)
borne o'r threshold
of this new-life's morn

joining fam'ly
to further the cause
of Follent-y
style, culture, and lores..

So please Father,
for so we call you,
KEEP them (rather,
help them to KEEP true)

safe from evil
and harm as they go,
make them dang'rous
to what's from below.

Give them your peace
as they move and meet
may loves release,
may their rest be sweet.

...

Thinking of Les & Carm travelling to Melbourne...

Lord keep them safe
as they onward go
to the Southlands
where their belle & beau

will tie the knot
if all goes to plan,
and we'll see what
in the Follent clan

is just "special":
a daughter (not born)
borne o'r threshold
of the new-life's morn

joining fam'ly
to further the cause
of Follent-y
culture, style, and lores..

So please Father,
for so we call you,
KEEP them (rather,
help them to KEEP true)

safe from evil
and harm as they go,
make them dang'rous
to what's from below.

Give them your peace
as they move and meet
may loves release,
may their rest be sweet.

11Dec2015AD

'Gus Godfrey* (the pizza King); it's his birthday...(PG)

An' Gus was born..
not long ago,
his hair is shorn
so folk won't know

just how many
years have gone by..
d'say there's plenty,
but I won't try

to keep a score
he might win out,
- have even more,
an' win the bout!

Good day to you
ol' friend of God*.
See that! You do
your name, that's hot!

I'll celebrate,
with Pizza here,
recall a mate,
and give a cheer.  P.


..
Good on you Paul! 
Have read your poem 
to our dinner guests, 
God bless... G.


Gladly accept
I, your blessing.
About to get 
my pizza thing.

Your age leaves all
of us guessing...
Peace! - if this small#
one bleats a thing.   P.

* "Godfrey" means "God's friend".
# "Paul" means "small".

What's going DOWN?

Lewis Brendan

Hi Paul, hi Katrina,
I spoke with Ian on the phone the other day and he told me you might have some good advice regarding an issue I've been struggling with lately...
I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for a few years, and although I'm on good medication, and see a good counselor, I still get days where I feel like life is just too hard. And then I think, who am I to say it's too hard? - I've lived a very privileged life with barely any trauma of any kind!
What kind of mind decides that a great life just isn't worth living?
I feel like I'm trying to claw my way out of this pit with a spoon but every time i get a foothold the wall crumbles away. What kind of hope of getting out do I have? They say depression is something I'll have to learn to live with, learn to beat on a daily basis. Will I spend my whole life struggling to stay positive? Unable to live life to the full because every day I have to start that battle again?
Ian said that your family has some experience dealing with this stuff. I don't want to pry, but I could really use some help.

Sincerely, Lewis


to Lewis,
cc: Katrina

We're all different in this family. Different personalities, different struggles, so I'll leave it to Katrina to answer from her perspective & experience. But I can tell you what I've experienced. Maybe I'll answer in-line below... And, thanks for sharing so candidly with us, Lewis. I have shared my thoughts candidly too.

-------
My biggest battle seems to be against the accepted wisdom of "significant" parts of my society, to "remember (before even "who i am") whose i am", - certainly not My Own! For i recall that i am a derived being & my own identity is derived, via many conduits, from another's, one who stands alone, who could say simply: "I AM". Now I remember whose ... I AM!

PauLindsaYValkeR

On  April 2014 17:19, Lewis  Brendan   wrote:

Hi Paul, hi Katrina,

I spoke with Ian on the phone the other day and he told me you might have some good advice regarding an issue I've been struggling with lately... 

I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for a few years, and although I'm on good medication, and see a good counselor, I still get days where I feel like life is just too hard.

I remember a friend (who I think has also suffered from depression) saying to another person who was down at the time: "Remember, you've been here before, & you came out of it". A good thing to remember. A good discipline to get into.

And then I think, who am I to say it's too hard? - I've lived a very privileged life with barely any trauma of any kind! Yep, sometimes that's our problem - I think we all need to grow, and that seems to come with "trauma", stress, anxiety (at least at some level). Our youngest child nearly died at birth, probably because she had such a completely stress-free term, and then was born caesar a week early, so no stress then either. No surfactant got produced in her lungs. It seems like that comes with time, but also with the stress of the labour, and the massaging and "difficulty" of being born through the birth canal.

What kind of mind decides that a great life just isn't worth living? Good question.

I feel like I'm trying to claw my way out of this pit with a spoon but every time i get a foothold the wall crumbles away. Eeek, that must be horrible.

What kind of hope of getting out do I have? Can't answer that for you, or anyone else. But it does strike me that (at least it has seemed important in my journey to check that the biggest thing in my life is NOT to get rid of this problem. I will not be defined by any lack, or difficulty {though I must say that still, very often, my first reaction is to panic & run for cover, trying to escape from any undesirable situation or condition, especially if it is confusing or I don't understand where it is coming from or why I have it}). I am learning that the important thing is that I can trust my Father in Heaven to know what he's doing when he gave/gives me my sex, family, friends (some of which might have been horrible, as well as the good ones), language, culture, birthday, place of birth, etc (most of which I didn't choose). I can trust him too for my eye sight, my hands & feet's movement, my kidney function (which leads to gout, sometimes), my height, my bone structure, my number of limbs, my facial features & number of eyes, ears, nostrils, hare-lip-ness, voice pitch, as well as my present failing eye-sight (even though for most of my life I have had 20/20 vision). Once I start on a list like this I realize

1. there is a lot of good we have from God's hand, and what is my response going to be with respect to these good gifts? [This is very key for me]

2. some of these things I can influence (like the kind of food & drink I choose seems to  influence my gout) and some of them I can't [It might be good to try to work out which category I am in with each situation, to help me see how best to respond; to not try & be responsible for something I have no control over, or visa versa].
   

3. I am responsible to be a good steward of the good gifts I have received, to learn how best to use them & then to use them well.

4.  Sometimes the "bad-gift" is even from God (and all are at least allowed by him), in which case it can be used for much greater good by our Father, my job is to trust him, to allow him to work mightily in me. As much as it looks bad, will be as much as it is really better than the other "good" looking gifts. The "bad" gifts can in fact be extra special opportunities. [I know it still doesn't answer the question of fairness. Why do others miss out on these amazing opportunities? Another thing for me to trust God in. Sometimes we just have to thank God for good gifts & see that we are good stewards of them, not trying to compare ourselves with others and their gifts all the time. Galatians 6:4-9 ]
   

e.g. (if they don't make sense, you can ask me sometime about ...)

1. Jairus, whose daughter died while Jesus stopped to ask "Who touched me just now?" & then dealt with a lady with "women's problems", that she'd had for 12 years already (so it may well have seemed to Jairus that she'd last for another 3 or 4 hours, until after his daughter was saved from death).
2. The Syro-Phoenican women with the demon-ized daughter, whom Jesus seemed to "push away" saying "It's not right to give the children's bread to the dogs"
3. Thomas missing out on seeing the risen Jesus at first, when Jesus was seen by all the rest of the apostles (apart from Judas from Kerrioth).

Sometimes a gift melts away because it has done it's job, and the person just has to stand firm, hold on, or grow through it, like the first two above. Sometimes it is taken away because a person hasn't taken up the special opportunity they've been given, and it has a time-frame, like number 3 above.

Sometimes it may be a discipline (which doesn't have to be a punishment at all), and it may be needed for a short time or a season (which will rarely be more than 150yrs). Sometimes it is a test, which is probably a small discipline as above, and when I pass it, it disappears. A friend who is an alcoholic wants to be freed from this condition; some in his condition are freed in this life-time (& can drink wine with friends - like Jesus did, - though remember Jesus also got to be whipped and spat on, made a public spectacle of, and die painfully over a number of hours on a cross), others aren't freed from being an alcoholic & just have to become teetotalers (like John the Baptist was. John could have been upset about this, or he could thank God for the role he got to play, where John got to have his head cut off & died [probably] quickly & painlessly)

Further to this, I was thinking the other day about Saul, who didn't obey God's clear command about the animals & Agag. He could have repented, and set up his kingdom for David to take over, as God's anointed ruler, and borne his punishment as discipline from God, and have been like Moses; punished, but repentant & in good relations with God as he died. But, it seems like he wasn't going to give up his kingdom for anything, at least not easily. So instead of giving the kingdom to David, he got jealous of David. It says that God sent an evil spirit to him & sounds like he got very depressed (1 Sam 16:14; 19:9; music seemed to cheer him up a bit). I thought, if that was me, I'd want to thank God for the reign he had given me, apologize and ask for forgiveness, even though Samuel had said Saul wouldn't be, or ask Samuel what should be done, to die right with God... in other words nothing is more important than a right standing with God; humble myself, grovel, stop holding on to my pride, (David knew that God's loving kindness (Hesed) was better than life itself; Saul hung on to life, to Kingdom, to honour-in-the-eyes-of-men, rather than seeking God, or his forgiveness or loving-kindness) Sometimes God hides something to help us get it, or at least want to get it, so that we'll look for it & search for it with all our heart, and then find it & get it in such a way that we prize it for what it is worth. (Remember Jesus saying about the people who stayed on the outside...otherwise (if they looked & saw, or listened & heard,  they might turn from their sins & be forgiven, horror of horrors, now we wouldn't want that would we?, well not until we did want it!)

Acceptance from God's hand of the "good"(desirable) & the "bad"(undesirable). Like Job, at first. Not accepting the "bad" just so we'll get over it more quickly, though that is probably something worth considering, because I don't think God will allow undesirable things to those who are alive as his children, more than is "necessary", but knowing that although "All things are possible with God" he might ask me to drink any particular cup (of pain & suffering - remembering that Hebrews tells us that Jesus, son though he was, "learned obedience through the things he suffered"),

{When You've read this and understood it, feel free to ask me about my experience of a "black cloud" descending on me one afternoon, unaccountably to me, and seeming to suck all meaning & purpose & joy out of life....}

They say depression is something I'll have to learn to live with, learn to beat on a daily basis.

maybe, but as mentioned above, God will know what's best for the Angels, the world, & me.

Will I spend my whole life struggling to stay positive?

In my experience, I have taken to heart 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, though, as I think I've shared with you, I have found that I can only do it in reverse order. I have to start with the "be thankful in all circumstances", then I find that I am moving towards the "pray at all times" , then although I think I tried to obey God in the "Be joyful always" bit at first, I can't help it now, I am overcome by joy.

Unable to live life to the full because every day I have to start that battle again?

Even if you do have to do that every day, I think it may be more like my daily (or many times a day) discipline of having to kill the Judas me. At first it was a bit wearing and a bit scary. I think it wanted me to just give up, putting on the air that it was invincible, and that it would always come back. But now I know that it hasn't got a chance. It can't live more than another 100yrs, and I'll be alive & growing younger & more virile & strong daily for the next million years, then I'll really get going (that's the new creation me, that God has already started, and won't stop growing younger & stronger)

Ian said that your family has some experience dealing with this stuff. I don't want to pry, but I could really use some help.

Hope some of these thoughts can be of help to you as well as they have been a help to me. (Oh, plus the paragraph above, above my colourful name, is a help to me)

Sincerely, Lewis

 Sincerely, Paul.

p.s. since this correspondence I've been meditating on (and turned it into a song to help me think about it more often, and more deeply), this passage from the New Testament: 2 Cor 4:16-20. I've learned it in the Good News Bible's translation (GNB), and it often helps me keep perspective on the "small and temporary trouble we suffer"

 

A daughter of the Most High God!

Katrina,

you are loved.

I mean a

daughter gloved

(not just out-

side gracing

clothing, but)

replacing

bones and sin-

-ue, blood, and

will that's in

you, dead and

zombie like;

with god-ess,

holy tyke,

true "poss-essed"

-by One who
(seeing 's

he) owns hu-

-man beings!

well a mate ... might be late, ... who went just ... to dentist...

God please help Danny
in this old body,
trust you when any-
thing feels quite shody,

with teeth decaying,
muscles and joints groan;
till, as you're saying
he has one - not loaned!

Amen!

aquainted today

Daan, good to spend some time with you today mate...

Once on an afternoon,
due to a friendly friend
some people met and soon
countries and backgrounds wend...

Belgium, Aust-ralia
meet for an even-ing,
odd stuff, regalia,
books, food, all weave-en-ing!

Questions & stories flowed,
and in-flu-ences shared,
places and friends were owned,
something in people cared..