TWILIGHT , NEW MOON, OR NEW DECEPTION ???

Stephenie Meyer has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit from the Book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, similar to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, as is implied by the quote from Genesis 2:17 that is quoted at the beginning of the book. It also represents Bella's knowledge of what good and evil are, and the choice that she has in partaking of the "forbidden fruit", Edward, or choosing not to see him.

There we have it THE CHOICE!!!! As with the Author of The Twilight book we have a choice , her characters in her book had a choice and so do we. Do we follow the path of deception through man , who at times is guided by Satan, or do we ask ourselves the question, that my 16 year old son put so well at the dinner table tonight.
If God was sitting beside me holding my hand , would I watch this movie with him tonight?
As in Genesis the forbidden fruit was so tempting, it was going to open the door to so many things , desires, power, . The question here however is what are you going to allow to be unleashed in your own life by feeding your soul with these supernatural images ? hat fruit will be born from this seed.
You may well say as my 15 year old daughter said "mum it's just a movie, just entertainment" but what are you feeding your spirit. what questions will this movie raise in your mind, what seeds will it sow into your heart?
Satan works through some Authors to promote himself and his darkness to the world, so why on earth would you want to be a part of this. you may as well spit directly into the face of Jesus.
Stephanie Meyer says herself in her own words that she playing on the forbidden fruit in Genesis, and the tree of life, choosing good and evil.
By getting caught up in the hype of this film you are in fact becoming partners with the very people who reject God.
Too late to say when God walks in the room " Oh God , I am with these people but I am not really WITH them, I am relay with you God" You are polluting your soul when you feed it with such trash.
Is your mind in the place spoken in Philippians while watching this film or reading this book.

Philippians 4 :8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

2 Corinthians 6 : 14-18 Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."
The Word of the Master, God.

I encourage you to ask this simple question before you read anything from this author, or watch any films promoting her works.

Where is God in what I am participating in today?

I can tell you what is forbidden fruit in our home, any books and movies from this Author. dont be afraid to forbid your children from things that you feel are against gods will for their life. If your children are not going to make right decisions for themselves then excercise your parental role and make the unpopular decision for them.

THAI TUNA SALAD

Perfect for that hot night when you are just too pooped to cook.

2 cups cooked pasta
add
2 grated carrots
1/2 bunch coriander
1 small cucumber diced
2 sticks cellery sliced
1 red capcicum sliced
1 400g can tuna in brine
3/4 cup good whole egg mayonaise
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
juice and rind 1 lime or lemon
salt and pepper
toss and serve.
you can add, snow peas, chineese cabbage, boc choy
or you can take out the tuna and add atlantic salmon that you have bbq'd and let cool
Easy easy and yummy yummy

GODS WORD IS THE ONLY TRUTH

The word of God says
"Unrighteous," immoral, idolaters, adulterers, sexual perverts, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers "will not inherit the kingdom of God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10
God is a god of grace and mercy but he is also a God of justice and he states very clearly in his word that there will be eternal consequences for those who do not repent of our sins. God says repent and live. Do not repent and face his judgement
Ezekiel 18:32
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

repent Webster dictionary means
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
Repenting by its very nature means you must change direction. If you fail to change direction then you have not repented.
Job 34:32-33
Teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.'
Should God then reward you on your terms,
when you refuse to repent?
You must decide, not I;
so tell me what you know.
Jeremiah 5:3
O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

Be very careful who you listen to in this world, there are many wolves in sheep's clothing out there and that Includes pastors and leaders. Don’t make the mistake of being led by a Pastor who is not allowing themselves to be accountable to leadership above them in your church. We are very blessed to be in a church with very trustworthy pastors who spend a lot if time in prayer and consultation with both elders, board and the AOG covering itself. Be on your guard always Satan seeks only to destroy and if he can work though churches to deceive people and twist the truth then he will. Some church leaders leave themselves wide open to this deception by their lustful hunger for power which is fueled by their own ego and pride.
There are many great Churches out there and many God appointed leaders who are working diligently on serving God and leading the people whom he has entrusted them with, but I believe that we as individuals just need to stay alert.

1 John 3:7-10
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Sin is of the world and the people in the world dangle many temptations in front of us, it can be so so easy being caught up in the delights on offer, however at every turn you need to stop and say to yourself, “what will the fruit of taking this path”be? Will God be well pleased with the outcome”
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”- 1 John 2:15-16
My message here is simple, If what you are hearing or doing does not line up with Gods word, ALL of Gods word , not just the pages that work for you , then you need to look further into it. Authors, preachers, councilors, friends, can all be deceived by Satan. but Gods word is pure and has no deception in it. Rely on that and that alone.
Job 34: 2-4 "Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food .Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.

salmon patties

a very fast family favourite...

boil 4 large potatoes
roughly mash, add 1 diced onion, 1/2 bunch corriander
1 can red or pink salmon with skin and bones removed
add 1/4 cup chopped capers, 1/4 cup lemon juice
2 eggs, salt pepper.
Roll in fresh bread crumbs and fry in shallow olive oil.
serve with green salad, yoghurt and lemon wedges

chicken rossini

Great for a hot night when you are over salads, only takes 15 minutes
feeds 6 adults
Put water on to boil add rossini when boiling
fry 1 diced onion and 2 garlic:
add 2 diced chicken fillets
add 1tsp salt, 1 tsp bush spice
add 300 ml cream
add 3 diced tomatoes
just before serving add 2 bunches asparagus.
Mix with pasta and serve.....
dinner is done

STAY ON YOUR NEST

I am often amazed as to our desire to nurture, the desire that God has placed in our hearts to nurture others , for some of us is very strong, To some degree it is a gifting that we can use to help others and direct them to God the true and perfect nurturer.
Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
I have always had a very strong desire to nurture... I have always had a strong desire to rescue things, both human and not so human.. I remember many times as a child I would bring home some poor animal that would need my help. One occasion when I was very young I rescued a bird from our pool, my mum put it in a bird cage for me to dry out overnight. It was a bit weak and was not able to sit on its perch, so she sat on the floor of the cage in a bed of straw that I put there for her. During the night I was worried that she may be cold, so I got out of bed and put her cage on top of the stove and turned on the element. To my surprise and horror we awoke the following morning to a very hot dead bird.... We were so lucky that I did not burn the whole hose down. I have many stories when my nurturing went wrong when I was a child, just as well I got better at it as I grew older.
Even in the animal kingdom, some have an incredible instinct to nurture. We have a very broody chicken at the moment, she just sits all day on anybodies eggs in the hope that one day something will eventuate. Fortunately for her a neighbour today gave us 3 fertile eggs for her to sit on, she very warmly welcomed her new charges under her warm body where she will sit and dedicate her days to these eggs for 21 days in the hope that something will be birthed. She will keep a steady eye for foxes who come to steal her babies, Crows will fly in and take her eggs clean out from under her if she looses her focus. Job 11:18 And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.
God promises us with our children that if we nurture their tender heats and sow his truth into them that he will never leave them or forsake them. Oh but if we as parents had the faith of a mother hen, to sit there diligently for no matter how long it takes to nurture what God has given us to sit on.
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

How easily do we give up and loose our patience or wish that some other mother hen will sit on our kids for a while and take over the nurturing. We can only rely on God to be our everlasting strength for the most important nurturing job of our lives . Psalm 100:2 Worship the Lord with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing!
Sow seeds of character, sow seeds of integrity, sow seeds of honor, sow seeds of love, sow seeds of persistence Proverbs 29;17 Correct your son, and he will give you comfort, He will also delight your soul.
Proverbs 19;18 Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.
I encourage you mums to stay on your nest, stay alert and vigilant to the enemy who lies in wait for his opportunity to pounce. Nurture your babies , even when they are big and seem all grown up, then they will come home to the mother who has walked by their side with them and nurtured them and then, only then will you have earnt the right to direct them to God who has walked every step of that journey alongside you and your baby chickens.

PECKING ORDER

We currently have a chook in our chook house who is not feeling too well, well actually I am not sure she will last the night. Its a funny world in chook land, every Girl for herself out there, show no mercy. If you are feeling down and out then you are probably curtains. If another girl in the pen smells any sign of weakness they will relentlessly peck you to death . Show no mercy is the chicken motto. Thankfully for our girl we will take her aside and give her a safe refuge until she is better or passes on.
I cant help but see the resemblance in this to our real world and how similar this behaviour is to our day to day living. Over the years as I have watched my kids journey through their lives there have been many occasions when they have felt on the outer, more so for my girls than my boys. There is certainly Merritt in the term "pecking order". It is no fun if you are the bottom of the chain. The worst thing about this is that if you are at the bottom then you are a prime target for the attack. Chickens will gather together and fuss about working out who is at the bottom and then they will go in for the attack.
It is so hard to rise above this and move yourself up the chain. For chickens it is all about territory, they decide in their space who is at the top and who is at the bottom based on your strengths and weaknesses. If your weakness are greater that your strengths , then guess what?? you go to the bottom. Try standing up for yourself when you feel like you are at the bottom!! It is painfully hard, I know because I have been there many a time in my youth.
We humans would like to see ourselves as so much more advanced that that but the reality is , we are not, we are very good at putting the people around us in boxes and an order as to who we give more time or respect to.
I personally had a very unpleasant time growing up, I was always at the bottom of the chain, I spent most of my youth jumping through hoops trying to fit in and be liked. I remember when I was only 8 or 9 years old . I was desperate to be part of a club of girls at school . In order to be part of this club you had to prove yourself worthy. I told the girls at school that I had fairies living in my garden, then stupidly agreed to the girls coming home after school with me to show them my fairies. Well how stupid did I look when a full search of the garden turned up no fairies. I just moved myself further down the chain that I was so desperate to climb up. I was the focus of many a joke at school for what seemed like an eternity. I felt this pain for many years well into my adult life . It had a huge effect on me when my kids were feeling bullied at school It opened up many old wounds and pain, which eventually I had to hand over to God to heal close the door on.
I tried for many years to do things that would make me feel part of the group in social circles. The reality was however that for all that time there was nothing I could do to achieve this acceptance. The answer lay in my own acceptance and confidence in myself, and the only true acceptance that I would find ultimately came from God, when I finally found myself in God I became attractive to my peers and not a scared little chicken who was always making a fool of myself trying to fit in.
There is no one who will love us like God does. If we can find our security in our salvation the battle is almost won. Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Don't allow the people around you to govern your spot in life. you only need to submit to God and then you are at the top of the only pecking order that counts. Romans 13:11 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” God will then direct your way and who you should submit to. Don't allow your happiness and peace to be dictated to from people who don't love and care for you .
As with chickens , If you get the chickens in a group they will pick on the weaker one ; people are the same , Find the confidence that God has placed in you not to be the weaker one. Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
From my experience when people are backed into a corner they come out fighting, same too with my chickens, the ones who fight for their spot in the hen house come out ok, the ones who cower in the corner and get pecked half to death Will always find it hard to establish new ground.
Interesting enough though It is not impossible to establish new ground. All is not lost if you feel beaten by the people around you . With our chickens for example , we made a new space for the hens to live in and moved the picked on chook into that new space first , the rest of the chickens think that they have moved into her new house and she had an instant spot at the top of the chain. the playing field has been altered.
For we people we just need to work on altering the playing field by allowing God to help us to feel more confidant in our own skin , and letting God show us our gifts and talents that he wants us to use in order to better our own lives and be of use to him to further his kingdom. God cant use us if we are cowering in the corner like the frightened chicken too scared to come out because we might get pecked.
If you find yourself questioning God’s true character, and your own, reassure your faith of His might and love by reading His Word. As I feel my confidence in myself and God fading, I recall accounts in the Bible when He has shown Himself strong. Often, the story of Hannah comes to mind (I Samuel 1). For years, she wanted a child of her own. She could have projected her lack of an heir on God, and seen Him as the One who ignores a poor woman’s prayers. Instead, she continued pressing into the Lord; she shared her pain with Him and asked again and again.
Ask God again and again to help you build your own character so you don't feel you are failing victim to life's pecking order.