Friday Fill-Ins 2011-7

And...here we go!

1. New experiences and possibilities are happening in my life right now.

2. The rain was an unexpected turn on a daily walk (or would be if I took a daily walk).

3. I'm looking forward to bed.

4. I never could have imagined that life would be so hard, crazy and mixed up.

5. Try to find something to smile about each day.

6. My smile is what's extraordinary about me.

7. And as for the weekend, I have no idea what will happen.

Ahhhhh ...

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On My Soap Box

I have just started studing Children's Services, but today I got really frustrated at what my teacher was saying.

We were talking about bias and how we need to educate the children in our care to be accepting and respectful of people from other cultures and include things from their culture in the activities we present for them to engage in.

One thing that came up was how prevelant gender bias or stereotypes are present in the books that we read. While this is true, and it is also true that these days it is not always the Dad who goes to work and the Mum stays home, that can still be part of our culture - it was certainly part of my culture as a child.

What I get frustrated about is that we are so mindful of being politically correct and tolerant of everyone else's culture, that we are not allowed to present the culture that we grew up in. This means that children aren't learning about our history and what it was like for us.

I'm concerned that if they don't learn about history, that our culture will be lost to political correctness and the meshing of all of the other cultures introduced to our country via imigrant families.

Teaser Tuesdays - Feb 15

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Bible by God

'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' Psalm 46:1 (NKJV)

Teaser Tuesdays - 8 Feb 2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

'Baker's Fatal Dozen' by Lisa Harris

'"In the rearview mirror. It's the stranger who fought with Ezri the day of the funeral." She pulled the car against the curb, this time slowing to a stop. "He came out of the alley beside the bakery. I think it's time to add another suspect to my list."'

Water, water EVERYWHERE ...

... and now we have a lake!

This was Lollipop Creek earlier today. It usually has very little water, just a few billabongs along it, but after all the rain we had yesterday and last night, this is what it looked like.

In the narrow areas, it was flowing very fast, but in other areas it widened out to look like a natural lake.

As my sister and I observed the area around the road we drive on, a local resident told us that there is a flood like this every 6-10 years.

It's not surprising. Our rain gauge registered 127 mm of rain in less than 24 hours. That was the same amount of rain that we had for all of last month, and as much as we had for January, February and March combined last year.

These photos were taken in the middle of the day, so the water had gone down a little. Now we just need it to go down more, so that the roads are clear and we can get to where we need to again - like church tomorrow.

It has started raining again, but only a little.

Friday Fill-Ins 2011-5

And...here we go!

1. We are on this earth because that was God's plan.

2. In my experience you should be careful who you share your heart with because they may not care for it as they should.

3. One of the hardest things for me to learn is to be patient.

4. Facebook has got me connected with people who I haven't seen for years.

5. I remember summer days as a kid when we would run around under the sprinkler.

6. Childhood is one of the best parts of my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I ended up mopping up water from the rain that got into our house, waiting for the power to come back on and having a scary drive through floooded roads to pick up my sister from work, tomorrow my plans include watching movies, reading books and maybe a little cross stitch and Sunday, I want to enjoy church and have a relaxing afternoon!

My Favourite Things - BUTTERFLIES

BUTTERFLIES

... have been one of my favourite things for a long time.

I have them all around my room - I have butterfly stickers on my wardrobe door; butterflies on my curtain fabric; butterfly magnets feature on my magnetic notice board.

My favourite type of butterfly is the glorious Ulysses Butterfly found in far north Queensland. They are black and iridescent blue!

For me, butterflies are a picture of how our lives change as we accept Jesus into our heart as our friend.

Before we accept Him we are like horrible little catapillars - we don't look good (on the inside). But when we do accept Him we become "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17) - beautiful and changed (on the inside).

Contenment Reading Challenge 2011 - January

Well, the first month of 2011 is now history, and that means it's time for my first update on how I'm going with the Contentment Reading Challenge 2011.

Of the 19 books I read for the month, 10 of those were for this challenge.

I really am 'diving' in, but that's because I don't have the financial resources to add to my library.

The books I read were:

1. A Penny for Your Thoughts by Mindy Starns Clark (#1 Million Dollar Mystery series)
2. Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels by Mindy Starns Clark (#2 Million Dollar Mystery series)
3. A Dime a Dozen by Mindy Starns Clark (#3 Million Dollar Mystery series)
4. A Quarter for a Kiss by Mindy Starns Clark (#4 Million Dollar Mystery series)
5. The Buck Stops Here by Mindy Starns Clark (#5 Million Dollar Mystery series)
6. Dawn of the Morning by Grace Livingston Hill
7. Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill (#1 Miranda Trilogy)
8. Pheobe Deane by Grace Livingston Hill (#2 Miranda Trilogy)
9. Miranda by Grace Livingston Hill (#3 Miranda Trilogy)
10. A Gown of Spanish Lace by Janette Oke
    

Teaser Tuesdays - 1 Feb 2011

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills

'A sharp bang startled her. A blowout. Bella lifted her foot from the gas pedal and gripped the steering wheel while maneuvering the car to the right side of the roaad. The left rear wheel bumped metal to the pavement as the car slowed to a stop, and she turned off the engine.
"Someone just shot out your tire." Vic pulled his weapon from his pocket.
Another bang leveled the front left tire. "A rifle." She leaned toward the right side of the car and retrieved the Glock 26 from her ankle holster. She lowered her windows and strained to her ears, listening for more rifle fire. Only the quiet sounds of birds and insects met her.'

I'm enjoying what I've read so far in this book, however I do have to point out a mistake. Right at the bottom of page 39 a particular type of dog is mentioned. In the book they are called 'Australian cow dogs'. The correct term is 'Australian cattle dogs'.