New Bible study, and home life...

 

HOME...

Every morning when I step into the garden, the sounds that greet me are both chatter and songs from a myriad of birds in all shapes, sizes and colours. They know me, and I know them. Those that have visited for a long while are not bothered when I walk up close to say good morning and ask how they're doing. Whether hanging around in the elder tree, or busy having a breakfast of stale bread and mango leftovers, they seem to be quite at ease with my delight in their company, and my own chatter or song as I pass them by and head towards the pool for my daily exercises and to feed our 15yo cat, Sophie, who took up residence in the pool enclosure when we adopted Kelly-dog last April. Since then I have placed things there solely for her comfort and the other day I remarked to hubby that her 'enclosure' looks a bit like a feline holiday resort. Though Kelly-dog is never welcome in the pool enclosure (they are mortal enemies, sadly) Sophie does quite enjoy the visiting birds who drop by.

It is mango season again, and most homes around us have huge mango trees laden with fruit. There's quite a bit of fruit sharing generosity abounding, so neighbours or work friends will gladly drop a bucket or two or three or four (!) in for others to enjoy! The father of one of my husband's co-workers came to the car yard with a trailer load for the employees, and hubby gladly accepted this delicious bounty on Monday night.

Some of the mangoes are almost as large as a football, while others are 'normal size'. We found a couple of ripe ones immediately and enjoyed them, but the rest are not ripe yet. I intend making jars of mango chutney, dehydrated slices to keep for use in cakes and muffins until next season, and frozen pieces for hubby's breakfast smoothies. Shall also try a green mango salad tomorrow. 

We decided to purchase a large order of organic spelt grain last week, as our regular health food & bulk food supplier is closing down and they had a few bags left on the shelf. I placed the seven kilos we bought in the freezer for a week, as in our hot and humid tropical climate it is so easy to have any grains inundated with bugs. The bug eggs are in the organic grains, so at this time of the year the weather is perfect for them to hatch out. Placing the grain in the freezer for at least 48 hours kills the eggs, but I choose to leave them in for a week just to be sure, and have not had an outbreak of bugs since starting this practice. Milling the whole grains into flour is quite exciting to me and I never tire of it.

I baked this loaf at the weekend and it is delicious, especially when toasted. I love the crunch of a wholegrain slice when it is toasted, then spread with avocado or peanut butter. Let me know if you'd like the recipe.

SORROW...

I imagine nearly all of you have heard of, or seen footage of, the terrorist massacre here in Australia by now. I will never grasp the mindset of evil that can set out to kill and destroy innocent lives, whether it be children, or the elderly and all ages in between, because their belief and faith is not the same as their victims. 

I shall say no more, and really want to avoid a clash in politics or ideaology here on the blog, but what I do hope we can all do, is pray for those families who now need comfort, and for those who were injured in the shooting and are still recovering or fighting for their lives in hospital. 

Fifteen innocents dead, over 40 innocents shot and recovering. Lives forever changed. 

Lord be with them. Lord heal them. Lord comfort them. Lord, teach us to follow your commandments and live lives worthy of Christ's sacrifice. Lord thank you for those brave people who stepped in and risked their lives to save others. Amen.

BIBLE...

Early this year in my diary I listed some deep dive Bible studies to do throughout 2025. First in my list was Abigail, who became a wife to King David (1 Samuel 25). I wrote some basic notes about her character, before studying the Scriptures for the ancient Hebrew meanings of the words used. You know, it didn't take long for me to recognise a similarity to the Proverbs 31 woman we studied throughout 2024, except, as I wrote back then, the Proverbs 31 woman wasn't an actual person. King Lemuel's mother listed those beautiful attributes as a description of the kind of wife the King should look for, the wife she would be proud to have her son marry. That's why I said at the time that the entire Proverbs 31 chapter should be taught to boys and young men, so that they would know what to look for in a spouse, and choose wisely when the age of marriage came upon them.

But with Abigail...she was a real woman, a humble and courageous woman. And that's what stood out to me when I began looking closely at her life, almost right on the heels of the previous year's P31 study. 

Just before I said goodbye to you all in June this year, I had written in the previous post about sharing a study of a woman from the Bible, but as you know, I decided to close blogging from my life - and despite what some of you dear ladies have said in comments, it was indeed the Lord who led me to stop when I did. He had many lessons for me to learn, and they could only be fully understood and applied if I thought my blogging days were at an end. His timing is perfect, and always for reasons that may not be understood right then and there, but sometimes, not always, He gives us the revelation and all becomes clear. 

I have that clarity now. I know what needed to be learned (and is still being learned I should add), and it's an honour to be loved so much by our Saviour that He will not allow me to stay the same, but will continue to smooth off my sharp edges until the day (God willing) He takes me home. 

So...back to Abigail.

I like to decorate the pages of my notebooks when I'm studying a topic or person in God's Word, and maybe you do that too? Then I thought, as I was pretty much bound to a chair these past few days with my knee and arm injuries, that I could make up some pretty notepaper for you to print out and use if you'd like. I do everything very slowly at the moment, and it would be easier to sit in a chair or lay on the bed and just rest through the pain, but God never made me that way. So as long as my mind is able to function I will find a way to create something lovely, even if it takes way longer than before these injuries.

Here's the notepaper which you can download and use to write your own notes on Abigail. Use the link below to download the file. They are a free gift. 

Just be sure to choose 'actual size' or 'do not scale' before printing the file. 

DOWNLOAD the Abigail sheets for your own personal study notes

I advise you to read 1 Samuel 25 first, then pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your understanding and read it again. Write down the things that stand out to you. Something I always do when it comes to a Bible study, is to go through the book, or passages about the topic or person, and take my own notes before I ever read or listen to anyone else's teaching on the subject. 

With this relaxed, unhurried, and intentional study of Abigail's character and life, I'll write a little bit in each blog post, and REALLY look forward to your own thoughts as we go along. Early next week I'll begin with my notes on the background at the time in Israel, and the first three verses of 1 Samuel chapter 25.

For now, I need to rest. It has taken all day to write this post thus far, but it has brought joy to my heart to connect with you again, especially with so much sadness in my country this week. Bless you for all your comments, and the insights into your own day to day lives. Soon I hope to be able to write back in the comments or in email, but for now, I ask for continued grace as I put my numb and tingling fingers to work writing here. 

God bless dear ones, and may you be ever assured of the love our God and Saviour has for you, for the tears you shed and which He catches in His own hand, and for the open arms with which He waits to welcome you when you have strayed from Him and gone your own way. Lift up your eyes, my dear ones, for our redemption draws near! Luke 21:28

My free newsletter is back. Just sign up HERE and you'll receive it every couple of weeks.