AUSTRALIA DAY! THE GREAT SOUTHLAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Yesterday was Australia Day! January 26th. The day we celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788. We turn out the bunting, Aussie flags, barbecues, fireworks, entertainment (ferry-boat races, concerts, hot air balloons etc.). Many of us dress up in our national colours,  but all in all its mostly a day of celebration.

This morning I saw Rosellas in my garden. So colourful! So vibrant! God certainly brought out his palette to paint these birds.  They are a work of art.

The Australian Rosella is one of our national icons. We all grew up with Rosella Tomato Sauce and on Australia Day with barbecues everywhere – there was tomato sauce a plenty, slopped on sausages, chips etc.

Australia Day is a day of giving thanks for our beautiful country and celebrating its history,

The chorus of the song written by Geoff Bullock entitled “The Great Southland of the Holy Spirit” reminds us of our heritage:

This is the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit,
A land of red dust plains and summer rains,
To this sun-burnt land we will see a flood,
And to this Great Southland His Spirit comes.

Australia’s birds are beautiful creations, and the Bible tells us we can learn from the birds.

“…..let the birds tell you what’s going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
    ….Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree
    that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
    every breathing creature?
Isn’t this all just common sense,
    
Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,
    that you have to grow old before you understand life?

“True wisdom and real power belong to God;
    from him we learn how to live,
    and also what to live for. ” MSG

Have you noticed how many birds hang around in flocks or groups? This too, is another lesson we can learn. You don’t see too many depressed and lonely birds when they are a part of a flock or family group.

I call our bird bath – the ‘water cooler’. It reminds me of the office water cooler where everyone gathers around, to swap news and chat.

This is what the Message Bible says about needing others in your life.

^” It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!

 Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

 By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 MSG

If you are feeling isolated, find yourself a friendly church. Brothers and sisters in Christ care about each other. Loving God, leads to an overflow of love to such a degree it runs over into others. Jesus made is simple when He said:

“love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.” Mark 12:30-31 MSG

Blessings,

Marilyn

Nature photos are the work of the author

“DO GOOD AND TO SHARE WITH THOSE IN NEED”

The residents of the Quiet Side of the Great Lake are used to sharing. By the name ‘resident’ I include the bird folk and creatures of this beautiful region.

The Bible tells us: …don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:16 (NLT)

Our palm trees have excelled this year. Many trees have at least one bunch of fruit and we have nearly one hundred palm trees in our garden – it all looks very tropical. But so many bunches of fruit! Ultimately the bunches will all be cut down, but in the interim the fruit is being slowly demolished.

In the early morning the Rainbow Lorikeets dominate the bunches. They come in pairs, and one guards from the top of the bunch while the other feasts on the fruit.

At the same time the little Noisy Miners attack the bunch from the bottom. Occasionally there are skirmishes, but it is all a part of the fun. As said in the movies, “no one was hurt in the process”.

At night, the flying foxes attack the tree, and by morning we have a lot of half eaten fruit all over the ground. If we shine a torch on the tree we can see them hanging upside down swinging gently in the breeze or upright feasting away on the fruit.

It’s amazing how God has engineered His creation to sustain itself!

We have a broken branch that sits on the edge of the lake. Depending on the tide and the wind direction sometimes it is surrounded by water, other times it is part of the shore. For months the perch belonged exclusively to a pied cormorant.

What is interesting is all of the creatures share unselfishly. Occasionally there will be a friendly skirmish between the Noisy Miners and Rainbow Lorikeets, but mostly they tolerate each other. The Egret and the Cormorant don’t challenge each other for the perch. They only settle on it when it is vacant. They don’t covet.

Today’s revelation? “……do good, ….be rich in good works…be generous and ready to share…..”1 Timothy 6:18 ESV

We can all learn something from this!

Blessings,

Marilyn

Photos are the work of the author

A MOTHER’S LOVE!

You may look at this photo and wonder about it. What is it? What is the subject?

Actually what looks like three feather dusters in a tree are three sleepy Australian Tawny Frogmouths. Some people call them owls, but they do not belong to the owl family.

Here we see two juveniles and the mother together. Mum is the one closest to the tree trunk. This photo was taken at dusk on a rainy night, where the whole family are cuddled up together for warmth and protection. Like humans their youngsters obviously feel secure with their mother. There is nothing like a mother’s love. It’s never-ending.

I like this quote: “A Mother thinks about her children, day and night, even if they are not with her and will love them in a way they will never understand.”

1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible says this about love:

“Love is large and incredibly patient.

Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. V4

Love is not easily irritated…V5

Love is a safe place of shelter. V7

Love never stops loving…V8″ (The Passion Translation)

These Tawny Frogmouths are a timely reminder of a mother’s love and patience.

Mum is on the right. The other juvenile appears to have already left the family unit.

Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal animals and feed on nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails. Also small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds. I had wondered what had happened to our noisy frogs!

The male and female participate in the incubation of the eggs. The male sits during the day, but both sexes share sitting at night. We can learn from the birds. It’s good to see the dad’s pulling their weight!

Watching the mother birds feed and raise their little ones is intriguing. They are great parents. I came across a quote which says: “A mother’s job is to teach her children not to need her anymore. The hardest part of that job is accepting success.”

I wondered how mother birds go from cuddling up to their babies to see them moving away. They are certainly not helicopter parents! Within weeks the babies will all be gone and the cycle will start all over again.

However this says it all: “A Mother holds her child’s hand for a while, their heart forever.” I wonder if their offspring visit periodically and if the mothers hold fond memories of their young. As a Mum you can’t help but wonder.

Blessings to all Mum’s today!

Marilyn

Photos are all the work of the author.