No glitches to final inspection… the house passed for living and now I live. It’s been a wonderful experience to move into my new home. So very hard to believe I have a house that’s mine (actually it’s God’s house but he’s given it to me to enjoy!).
Settling in goes slowly. The weather has been so cold that the unpacking of boxes goes slowly, oh so very slowly. The thing that’s slow is that I have to get the boxes from where they’re stored in a container further down the property up to my house (100mts or so). The car has been useful to do this but lugging 30-50lb boxes up the steps to the verandah is backbreaking when one is not so young anymore.
More recently the shed/garage has been built and yesterday cementing was finished for the garage verge, for a slab for a small annex for storing firewood, and for a path to back door. Looks good. Sadly, we’ve had so much rain in the last 6 weeks that the earth is sodden and the trucks have churned up the earth into a right royal mess. Now I’ll have to plan for some earthworks once the ground dries up enough to be graded and deep ruts filled in.
We’ve had some bitterly cold days. The wind from the southwest blows off the Snowy Mtns and is frigid this time of year. To go outside I have to rug up and wear gumboots… so, I don’t go out if I don’t have to. The wood heater keeps me cosy and provides a nice cook top and little oven.
So, that’s where it’s at for the moment.
God is so good, and he’s good all the time

Today some finishing touches were done to my new home in readiness for Council inspection tomorrow (Tues). Hopefully, there will be no glitches and the inspector will issue a certificate saying the house is ready for occupancy. Ahhh… what a thought… “ready for occupancy”.

I’ve been slowly moving boxes of stored stuff into the house, unpacking them, wondering why I have so much, wondering where to put everything, wondering and wondering some more. Each time I come down from Sydney (300kms) I come with a car stacked full of my accumulations of the last 2 1/2 years… and again wonder why I have so much stuff… sighhh… seems like it’s hard to give or throw away anything… you never know I might need it one day!

One goal of this move is to get radical about passing on stuff I do not need. Otherwise there will be no room for me in the house!

I have some boxes for things to keep for the retreat cabins. These will get stored in the garage until such time the cabins are built.

The view out the front window is wonderful. Hills and cattle quietly grazing in the late afternoon sun. Very nice, and very peaceful. Feels good!

This day has been long in coming! Too much of life got in the way, at least from my perspective… Since God’s perspective tends to be rather different to mine this move is right on schedule!!

My house is finished, just awaiting connection of electricity and final council inspections. So the first stage of a place for a spiritual retreat is almost ready. The next stage will see the building of a couple of cabins (2-bedroom & 1-bedroom) as well as a prayer room cum chapel. The whole project is really totally impossible. Yet here I am on the verge of moving into a house that God has made a reality. And, this gives me great hope that the next impossible stage of the project will soon be underway.

The place where I’m building is a little village in the southern tablelands of NSW, a place called Majors Creek. It’s an old gold mining area (and it seems as if there’s still lots gold in the hills that may cause considerable unwelcome development).

The vision I have for this retreat is a place for the rekindling (restoration) of hope in a person’s life, a place to connect with God and spend time alone with him, a place to address whatever may be getting in the way of knowing Jesus. And, this is where I expect healing prayer to play a part. However, it is a God-thing. God must be the one who moves in a person’s heart and life. I, of myself, cannot help anyone. God knows what a person needs. My desire is to facilitate in whatever way he wants to work.

Some pictures of the building process may be found at my website Hope-Today.

“…The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.” John 6:29 NCV

All roads don’t lead to London, all ships don’t sail to Australia, and all flights don’t land in Rome. All paths don’t lead to God. Jesus offers us a unique invitation in which He works and we trust, He dies and we live, He invites and we believe.

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

“His great love is new every morning. Lord, how faithful you are!” Lamentations 3:23 NIRV

God loves you with an incredible love. You can’t win it being winsome, or lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind and resist it. Don’t!

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

“All who listen to Me shall live in peace and safety, unafraid.”  Proverbs 1:33 TLB

What a gift to know that God’s peace can sustain you through the worst situations. At best, the peace the world offers gives us temporary relief; but “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.” Philippians 4:7

“Do not worry about tomorrow.” Matthew 6:34 NIV

Max Lucado says, “Worry is to joy what a vacuum cleaner is to dirt; you might as well attach your heart to a happiness-sucker and flip the switch.”

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

“Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

You can’t seize your future while you’re obsessing over your past. So learn from it and let it go. Heed the advice of author Susan Scott: “My dog and cat have taught me a great lesson in life – learn to shed a lot!”

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

“… if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.“ Isaiah 58:10

It’s a big world out there that needs changing. It’s a small world near you that needs changing too. Our world is desperate for help and hope. But take heart: your prayers and practical action make a dent. A big dent in your small world, and a small dent in the big one – Joni Eareckson Tada.