Seasons

That time is upon me and mine again, time to dust off the books, retrieve the pencils, dig out the folder and dive into another Homeschooling year. With work, we're also venturing back into the timber scene, though this time with a different twist. We are quietly and cautiously stepping into this new business pursuit, earnestly desiring that our pace will be His, and that we wouldn't be lagging behind or racing ahead of that 'perfect' time.

Life is filled with different seasons, some sweeter than others,  some seem to grab you and you just flow along in the blissful current, others have the presence of an ever ascending hill; with a slippery rock to haul yourself, your loved ones and every area of your life over with each agonising step. How wonderful are the seasons of life! How precious the fruit of character that is sovereignly worked into our being as we submit to the Divine purpose in every season. I've learnt to embrace the marathons as well as the sprints, the precarious tiptoe along a fallen log bridging a crevasse , and I also embrace the days likened to the meandering along the fertile bank of a vibrant, life-filled creek. Because my Shepherd is with me every step of the way, quieting my soul, speaking words of wisdom, O faithful is He, be still my raging soul!  I am eternally and thankfully amazed that with every step of this pilgrimage called life, God is there, always, ever unshakable, ever faithful, ever consoling, ever loving, even in His rebukes. His voice is one of freedom and liberty. As His hand guides us, and beckons us onward, upward, if only we will hear His voice in each season, by His grace I am seeing that my hearing is improving.

When our children were younger we did a lot of exploring along the coastline near to where we live. My dear husband is an absolute adventurer at heart, and as much as I love the bush and the beach, the mountains and the valleys, I am a mum, and I found myself praying nearly constantly as my husband would lead his faithful followers (our precious children) down what I was sure was a wallaby track on the cliff face (he assured me it was a fishing track many times), do wallabies fish?           Yet every time he kept his family safe, he led, guided, required their trust, and willingly it was given.
In the beginning it felt like every time I would stand with winced face, not daring to look as he dangled children from one rock and swung them up to another, they were having a grand time, being swung around, waiting patiently for the next hurdle, and having dad retrieve them over and over again. It was sometimes like five steps forward and three steps back, but who was counting? The children trusted, overcame the obstacles with dad's help, and climbed onwards.
 Seasons, changes, stages, steps.
 I'm picking beans, tomatoes, zuchinni and many leafy greens at this time of year. The pumpkins are growing ever fatter on the vine. As I was digging up some potatoes this afternoon I began to think on what would go next in their garden bed, what vegetables would be in season next.
So too I wonder what this next season will hold in my life, our lives. The Homeschool year will unfold and our business will progress, and my loving Creator will undoubtedly show His sovereign will, and by His grace, Lord willing, we will trust. And walk. One step at a time.  Life is precious, and God is so very good, in every season. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Are You Chicken?

I am blessed to have been raised on a farm with a menagerie of animals. My childhood memories are woven amongst the many pets and farm animals that shared our lives and home. We had horses, cattle, cats, dogs, pigs, chooks, ducks, goats, geese, guinea fowl, budgies, finches, fish, quail and sheep at one time or another. As well as the constant trickle of native animals we would care for if injured, or keep for a short time to enjoy their company. I remember my dad enclosing the bottom of a tank stand and putting a pond in there for a long necked tortoise, whom we would feed with meat and other choice delicacies. My parents continue on with their beef cattle and a couple of dogs to this day. So, understandably, I appreciate animals, and we have a few ourselves.

The other day I was introducing our pullets into the main chook pen with the older chooks. They were quite happy at first, enjoying the extra space and the green grass to pick at. They ran around, stretching their legs in the new found freedom and space, they flapped their wings and flew low to the ground; then they saw the older chooks -they became chicken, quickly forming together as a group, and retreating to their familiar space. I gave the older chooks some feed to distract them, and keep them away from the pullets, and then I coaxed the young pullets out with the same. I then closed the door to their former pen, just leaving the younger chickens there, and making the way back inaccessible to the growing pullets (or so I thought).

I came back to the chook pen in the course of the day, to give them all some of our kitchen scraps, only to find that the pullets had forced their way under the gate and retreated back into their familiar pen. They obviously had been subjected to the 'pecking order' that chooks are renowned for, sometimes life is hard, and instead of growing up and facing the hardships of change, they had retreated, choosing to be nestled in the familiar immaturity of a chicken, rather than stretching their wings, and standing up to be the pullet they are, and learning how to walk through life as a hen or a rooster.

I was reminded of how often we too are tempted to be  'chicken', and enjoy the comforts of familiarity, rather than step up and out into the newness that God has for us every day. God is ever persistent with us, such is His love. He knows what circumstances will move us on into the plans He has for us. He is the ever-wise Shepherd. My pullets are out in the main pen today, scratching around, enjoying the grubs and grass of the larger pen. They can't return and stay securely enclosed as they were. God too will force us onwards, outwards, upwards; as we remain faithfully His. God's timing is perfect and His love is secure. What new thing is the Lord doing in your life or has He spoken to your heart that is requiring you to again put your faith and trust in Him all the more? I encourage you to not be 'chicken' and trust in Him and His Word completely. If you are not yet His, I pray you will seek The Lord's face, break up the fallow ground of your heart til He reigns righteousness upon you. Truly His desire is that we will all trust in Him, and come out of any confining space into the maturity and freedom of His Spirit.  The Lord bless your day!

                                                                                                                                                                              "And he said Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus." Matthew 14:29 KJV

Welcome to my blog, it's been on my heart for quite some time to start a blog, a conversation, about life, and what that means for me....... so first to explain the name I have given to this little glimpse into what happens in the blessed place I am graced to call home.
'Stepping On Stones' came from a vision our Lord gave me many years ago....there I was, walking along a path, it was the path of life, and it consisted of many stones - flat, well shaped and proportioned, large, stable, well worn stones. I stooped down to lift the edge of one, to see what was under it, what my life would consist of, then I stepped onto the next stone, and wanted to peek again. This time The Lord gently rebuked me, saying I needed to trust Him, and so I did, and I continued to walk........
So here I am, stepping on stones, in a beautiful part of the world called Australia. Along life's journey I have been blessed with a truly gracious husband and four precious daughters, one of whom is grown with a family of her own. By God's grace we have homeschooled all of our daughters, with the older two having already
completed their studies. Our home is not too far and not too close to a small regional centre, a hill or two away from the coast, yet nestled into bushland. God has been so very good to us, and that's the purpose of this blog, to lift high the Name of Jesus, to share some of my heart, and tell the world how blessed life is when you're stepping on stones. 👣