Clues and Signs ... Everywhere

Clues and Signs

Last Sunday saw our departure from Greens Creek to stay at (what we refer to as) ‘home base’ in Tandur for 2 weeks. It is always like coming home when we stay at this property that belongs to friends. During this stay, we will mind their French Bulldogs for a few days as they take a camping trip for a much-needed break. We love their Frenchies… they are such fun to be around!

When we arrived in Gympie from Mt. Marshall and moved into the property at Greens Creek, the clues of winter’s approach were visible. Ever lowering temps, misty mornings, yellowing leaves. It’s hard to believe how 2 months sped by.

We were aware that we had been called to WAIT! Wait, said Father God. Wait! How many times hadn’t the word come to us that we should take one day at a time, and as we wait, to strengthen our walk with Him. The clues were there that we were arriving at that place of thankfulness under all circumstances: peace that passes understanding; feeling hope, regardless of apparent gloom. Hope! That quiet confidence in His ability to work it all out for our good because we love Him and feel that we are called according to His purposes. Surety, that nothing happens without His consent and that the waiting period we were in had a reason, a purpose. Yes, we finally began to feel at peace, regardless.

However, I can be a ‘Mary’, sitting at the feet of the Lord at the start of my day for an hour or so, but I very quickly transition into a ‘Martha’ who cannot sit still and wait. So, apart from last week when I set up our new bookkeeping system, the entire period in Greens Creek was spent setting up our website store and creating content for it. I’m hoping to turn the love I have for designing stationery on Canva into a form of income that may help keep the wheels turning.

After pouring out my heart to my Father one morning in Mount Marshall, I felt that He was ok with what I intended to do. (Prov 16 v 3.) I leave it in His hands. All set to open a store on Etsy, I noticed that many creators were abandoning Etsy due to changes in the terms and conditions. I felt it best to give the platform a miss. Their problems need to be ironed out. I don’t have the energy to deal with apparent dramatic decisions to close people’s accounts and the withholding of funds on a whim. 

So, to our website I turned my attention. Hosting the store on our website means the marketing falls solely on me, whereas with an Etsy-like platform, it is all done for you. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the secret to making money online, and that part I have yet to learn and apply. But because I can’t pay someone to set this up for me, I DIY and learn as I go along. What do I know about setting up an online store? Diddly-squat! Anyhow, I hope people will look past the amateurish look of the store and check out the content that took hours to create. Perhaps someone will find something useful.

Recently, I registered LibSandy as a business for proofreading services. I then used those registration details to set up payments for digital items created by SBCreative (my pseudonym for the stationery design) on our Undeserted website. 😆This is what happens when you do things back to front! You get tangled in the details. In the end, it was all accepted and payment forms were successfully tested.

Connecting bank accounts to third-party online payment services (PayPal, etc.) was nerve-wracking! Going through verification checks; testing to see if they worked; waiting to see if said third parties had found any problems with my account and/or website. The website must comply with legal privacy requirements, but thankfully it is hosted by the reputable Wix platform which offers good explanations and help towards wording.

While at Greens Creek, AJ kept himself busy around the property. Mowing the steep lawns was a nerve-wracking idea until he began and found that the mower wouldn’t topple and handled very well. 😅 

The van always needs attention, as does the vehicle, and who better than pernickety AJ to correct things and find new ways to load our stuff?  In the interest of safety, AJ invested in and installed a new dash cam that has reverse capability too, as well as a weigh scale for the caravan and car. The scale is a game-changer! Now the guesswork is taken out of the packing and loading each time, so we can travel more safely, and IF we get pulled over by zealous traffic police, we won’t be too nervous, as we’ll know that we are within our weight limit. Weight and balance, weight and balance! That’s the secret to safe caravanning.

Surviving on one’s reserve funds makes you cringe every time a dollar is spent. But we have managed to keep it to a minimum and 10 months on here we still are, by God's grace. For our 43^rd anniversary, we decided to splurge a little and enjoyed a light pub meal at the Kandanga Hotel, originally constructed in 1914. 

Our Children blessed us with a lovely bouquet.

Five weeks into our stay at Green’s Creek, I began to feel stressed about the level of the rainwater tanks. We still don’t really know what ‘normal’ use is and we seriously try to conserve water. But when you’re using someone’s valuable water source, the responsibility runs high. I prayed a couple of times – Lord please send rain. But I shrugged off the request as fast as I made it since this is NOT the season for rain. Well, the Lord complied. "Look what I can do," I imagined Him saying with a smile. Don’t you just love it when He pulls off the improbable? We received 35 mm of rain over 5 days! The tanks were full again. Praise you, Jesus! With the rain, the temps also eased off, and instead of 1- and 2-degree mornings, we moved to 11 and 12 C. That was a blessing! One can think when it’s not that cold. 😊

Shortly after arriving at Greens Creek, we discovered a delightful walk of about 5 km along a country road winding through dairy farms. What bliss! There were two hills on this route – the kind of steep hill that makes you want to bend your back as you ascend because you can’t remain straight up. Phew! Did that get our hearts pumping. Great cardio! 

After 2 weeks we began to improve in performance, climbing without resting halfway.  On one occasion we were simultaneously discussing a political issue quite animatedly all the way up the hills. 😄 

Sadly, many a morning was just too damp and misty to walk, and by the time the sun burnt the mist away the morning was well underway with a to-do list waiting. 

With only months to go before we will no longer be housesitting but pursuing paid employment, we have also registered AJ’s business name. He will be AJ-unDESERTED at your service. 😊 At this stage, the signs are that we may move into caretaking of tourism properties, aka caravan parks and/or motels, of which there are thousands in this country. We will focus on preparing ourselves for that while we are at our next housesitting in Rockhampton. 

The next step for me is a food handlers’ course which is, thankfully, delivered online. Finally, after 43 years, I might put my Diploma training to good use. 😆 After that, I’ll need to learn to operate a few types of Reservation Software. It’s still going to be a tough walk.

We have a 2-week trip coming up (God willing) to get to Rockhampton for our 3-month housesitting. Because it’s still quite chilly and because we’re planning to divert inland to take our trip north, we invested in a diesel heater for the caravan. Delivered yesterday, it will be a welcome addition for those bitterly cold mornings when the inside temp of the van has had time to match the outside temp when it’s between 0 to 6 C. *Shiverrrrrs* (Queensland’s interior can get c-c-c-cold.) AJ's looking forward to installing it himself. Common consensus is that it is a must-have for quality of life during the winter. After spending a few winter nights in the van, we believe them!

Scriptural clues

Early in May, after the 3^rd occasion of coming across a verse or a reference to Psalm 23, I had the feeling that God was trying to say something. This made me sit up and take notice. A few days would pass, and sure enough … there was another. And another a few days later. The clues were there … God was drawing our attention to Psalm 23. I recalled a book I have in storage, “Treasures in the Psalms”, by Henry M Morris. I dug it out and AJ and I enjoyed a few wonderful reminders:

• The Lord is our Shepherd. We shall not want. (He knows best! All our needs are met.)
• He causes us to lie down in green pastures. (How real that was! There we were, surrounded by green pastures in a lovely home, and at no cost.)
• He leads us beside still waters, restores, indeed refreshes, our souls. (Finally, we were experiencing peace in our circumstances.)
• He guides us along right paths … (I love how the Amplified Bible puts it: [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. Constantly we ask Him to show us the way, and constantly we feel the return reply of ‘Have no fear’. Wait.)
• Even though we walk through the valley, (that deep dark [sunless] valley of anxiety, of fear of the unknown, of facing steep financial commitments later this year …  that valley of shadows that threatens to engulf you at your weakest moment …) we will fear no evil. (Why? The rod of protection and the staff to guide is an ever-present symbol that He is never far off … always with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.)

      

Also, what sheep spends hours in anxiety and sleepless nights wondering where he will get grass to eat the next day? No, he knows it's the shepherd's task to lead and that shepherd has never yet failed to lead. 

The writer also pointed out that if a sheep was prone to wandering off, Eastern shepherds of old would lame that prone-to-wander sheep, and then carry it upon his shoulders until it healed. After that, it would never leave, as it knew the sound of his voice, and sought to remain near the comforting, protective presence of the shepherd.

This is where we find ourselves at present … we only find comfort in His presence and His promises. Some days we feel as if we are hobbled. No, knackered! But He carries us through to the next.

• He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies … (we are not aware of any enemies, except those spiritual ones who wish to bring about our downfall. They are ever snapping at our heels. Eager to scupper the purpose that our God has for us. The enemy of doubt is the worst. Somewhere I read that the opposite of faith is not doubt … it is unbelief! God forbid that we are filled with unbelief. )
• You honour me by anointing my head with oil. (We were "marked" with the oil of His Holy Spirit the day that we placed our trust in Jesus.)
• My (our) cup overflows. (Even as we minimize our spending, we have no shortage of anything. In fact, we have recently been challenged to give up even that which we have – to cast our bread upon the waters, as it were. It’s not ours anyway … everything we have is from His hand and remains His to direct.)
• Only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me (us) all the days of my (our) life, and through the length of my (our) days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my (our) dwelling place. (How we long for that eternal home! Here, on earth, we are merely travellers passing through.)

To wrap up, a quote from AW Tozer: 

“In natural matters, faith follows evidence and is impossible without it, but in the reality of the spirit, faith precedes understanding; it does not follow it. The natural [hu]man must know in order to believe; the spiritual [hu]man must believe in order to know.”

We are constantly aware of the signs of His presence. Of blessings all around. The memory of His faithfulness in the past. The answers to our prayers of last month, last week, yesterday and today. Even the ‘No, not now’ response is still a reply.

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55, v 8.

Thanks for reading this far. Until next time. 🧡

        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Current update:

The above was written ready for me to post on the blog the minute we arrived here in Tandur 10 days ago.  

Well, we had our plan for this time, but the Lord allowed another. 😢

As we arrived in Tandur on Sunday and AJ exited the car he became aware of increasing agony. An hour later he was doubled over, unable to come upright, and in extreme pain. He had been aware of hurting his back three days before leaving Greens Creek, but we thought it was muscle spasm. (He had lifted a lawnmower and simultaneously twisted his body to put it down to stow it.)

After a sleepless, agony-filled Sunday night, it became apparent that it was worse than muscle spasm. I took him to the emergency department the next morning early. After several tests and investigation, they assured us it was muscle damage and to rest at home.

But after another night where he could neither sit, stand, walk, lie down, much less sleep, we rushed to the doctor on Tuesday. He was sent for a CT scan, and sure enough, the doctor’s prognosis was confirmed. AJ had a slipped disc.

Agony is a meek word for what he was (and still is) enduring. With heavy medication, we were told that all he could do was rest and …. wait! There is a 50/50 chance that he would heal with no lasting pain. If not, a future operation would be the way to go. We are praying for a healing touch from the Lord.

Words fail me for the turmoil of emotions that beset us in the following days. What about work prospects? What about our van life? Will he come right? Why did this happen? If only he didn’t do that activity that day …! All the usual questions and thoughts came flooding in that beset a person after an injury. 

The dogs arrived for 4 days, but they were a welcome distraction that had me running and operating to a routine. After 4 days, their owners picked them up and promptly insisted that we stay in the house until the 2^nd of August, as they were not planning to come up for the next weekend. Speechless, we accepted. This huge blessing will give AJ a chance to remain in bed as much as possible and to heal for a good 3 weeks instead of 2. God is so good to us through this couple’s generosity. 

Many more blessings abound ... the Lord is our Shepherd, right? All our needs are met! 

• We had just recently found a South African doctor, who has been incredibly supportive towards us. 
• We have State Medicare, so we have only paid small amounts for medication.
• We have friend's rallying to support and to pray. 
• AJ was able to load, hitch and tow before the worst pain kicked in. If it happened while we were at Green's Creek things would've been so much more difficult. 
• We are able to stay here where it is peaceful and comfortable, and we have all we need. (Green pastures ... quiet streams.)

It's a week on and AJ still cannot come upright and walk properly. We are assured that it will improve, but only over 4 to 6 months. I first thought that I would need to go on to the next housesitting alone. But he wants to go along. However, the van will be stored for the 3-month duration. We have a friend willing to tow the van to store it at our in-laws' property. AJ cannot drive or risk operating anything mechanical, and the van requires a lot of manual labour. 

Our two-week trip into the western reaches of Queensland will have to wait for another day. Now is the time to heal. Fortunately, the next housesitting is light work with no pets. We are solely there to care for the home. Time to heal indeed.

Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate your prayers at this time. 

AJ and Sandy 🌼

The road less travelled

Green’s Creek

This morning, we woke up to another misty morning here in Green’s Creek … the cooler weather delivers beautiful ethereal scenes in the valleys around us. We are just outside of Gympie City. We are housesitting for friends for a total of 8 weeks, while they are in Greece for missions’ purposes. We have the loveliest views all around because the house was designed with large picture windows to enjoy the views that nature delivers all day long – rolling hills, cattle pastures, creeks, forests dams and more.

We are not far from our children, so we can catch up now and then. There are no animals to take care of, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage – we love having a dog around, but it is also fine to have a break. However, now that the morning walks are not mandatory – self-discipline must be employed! But we have discovered a quiet route into the hills, which is challenging elevation-wise, and so peaceful, among cows, pastures, and open forest.

Road trip 

The road trip to Gympie was so enjoyable. In some places we tried taking the road less travelled, and on one occasion found ourselves on a narrow stretch of farm road with only enough place for the caravan. Thankfully, we had no one approach from the front. It was an example of what can happen when, one, you don’t know the countryside, and two, you trust Google Maps. 😆

We left Mount Marshall at lunchtime, and made our way to Clifton, 20 minutes away. We stayed at the Showgrounds camping ground. It was exciting to be in the van again and we enjoyed a lovely, albeit chilly night.

From there we drove through a small village called Nobby, destination Toowoomba, a bustling Southern Downs city. There too, we stayed at the showgrounds. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to explore the local attractions, so, God willing, we shall have to return at some point. In Nobby we spotted a charming old pioneer hotel with a free camp opposite it. However, most people would buy a meal in the pub as a thank you to the town. 

Lots of history and stories associated with Nobby. Have to go back sometime. 

We made our way the next morning to our South African friends’ property in Toogoolawah because we had invited them to a lunch BBQ at the van. The 90-minute drive kicked off with a steep descent into the Brisbane Valley, which we were not expecting. My nerves were frayed, considering we hardly ever drive longer than 30 minutes before stopping for the night. (I must admit the towing gets to me.) I know, I know, I can hear you laughing and saying, "And you want to live in a caravan?!" Lol. 😅

We had it all planned, but our timing was waaaay off. 🥴 Fortunately, our friends were patient, because at the time we were supposed to be serving up lunch we had just started prepping the food. I was adamant that I would stick to what I had planned …a baked potato dish, BBQ chicken, a rice pudding … I got stuck in while everyone chatted, and an hour later we were enjoying our lunch-cum-dinner. 😄 To be honest, you have never seen such a mess in the caravan … I’ll leave that there. 😆 You don't want to know.

The neighbours also came intruding 😅

To top it all, the next morning I had a sourdough bread to bake. They allowed me to use their oven at the house, and I was able to gift them a sourdough starter for their kindness. After tea, we left for the next stop which was also ‘down the road’ at the Kilcoy Showgrounds. 

There AJ discovered he had another repair job to do on the box at the rear of the van as it had shaken loose. This is a box we added to house all our water pipes.

The next morning we were on our way again. I was sweating bullets at the onset of this section of the trip, and AJ was like, yeah … bring it on. 😄 Why? We had decided to take the shorter route to Kenilworth, which involved climbing Maleny’s mountain again. Waaaa!😨 I was like a corpse, so tense I was. 

The cruiser towed like the crocodile that it is, and AJ was a champ, navigating those mountain passes, steep hills, and descents in safety. God was good to us … we had no B-doubles chasing us, and on narrow hairpin bends we didn’t encounter anything from the front.

Maleny ... on top of the world.

Did we breathe a sigh of relief on arriving in Kenilworth? Again, we stayed at the showgrounds. Many showgrounds in Australia offer budget-price camping, with power and water, so they are always a hit.

Our next stop (30 minutes away 😅) was off-grid at a golf course that offers campers a place to stop. It is situated 10 km out of Imbil, in the Mary Valley. We arrived to find a van in the only flat spot, but fortunately, they were just ready to depart. We pulled up when they left, and we had the most wonderful 24 hours in a perfect setting. We aim to go back. 

AJ played a round of golf on the challenging course, more for fun, really, with me, in tow, more interested in the frogs and butterflies, than trying to locate any lost golf balls. 

We loved the natural scenes about us with the sounds of the birds. That night we made a fire in the firepit provided, and baked a pizza to enjoy around the fire.

The following day we pulled up at our in-laws’ property in Gympie, which was only 30 minutes away. They generously gave us a spot to park, with power and water for two days, until we were due to move into this home.

Our favourite low-cost camp in Gympie has closed down. Basically, a private property that allowed vans to stop for a night, right next to the Mary River. The only other option, when you need power and water, is the caravan park; with funds tight, we are appreciative of the generosity shown by friends and family.

And so, we find ourselves in Gympie once more. We are again gobsmacked at the grace of our Lord for giving us a lovely home, with a magnificent view, and everything we need for the next 8 weeks. Home sitting is volunteer work, we don’t get paid, but we save much because we don’t have to pay camping fees, or for power, water, or gas. And we get to use Wi-Fi which is always welcomed. This time, the Wi-Fi doesn’t appear to be as reliable as it was in Mt Marshall, but I have just managed to post a ‘Where are we now?’  blog post on our website blog, if you would like to read a bit more about our new home town, Gympie.

Moving in ... again!

Here in Green’s Creek, the home’s garden is very steep. AJ will have to watch out on the mower! (On that day I’ll have to inhale a little extra lavender salts to calm myself. 🤭)  

 

There is a lemon tree and a pink grapefruit tree about to abundantly deliver. Hoping they will ripen before we leave so that we can enjoy a few grapefruit. Who doesn’t love the sweet zesty flavour of pink grapefruit, right?  The tall trees around the property attract a host of ravens (crows) who can be very noisy at times. Other birds are also plenteous.

We had initially thought that, because there were no pets, we would stay in the van so that we wouldn't have to unpack it. But on the day we arrived in Gympie, we found that our gas water heating system stopped working. Fortunately, it held while we were camping off-grid. Cold showers are never welcome. Thankfully, the repair is covered by the warranty.

So, because this house is totally off the grid and we cannot run the van’s battery system on theirs also, we carried everything into the house! Honestly, that is the bane of my life. I was thoroughly depressed on the day… up and down stairs, up and down stairs, up and down … a hundred times. Ugh! After 8 weeks one forgets about it, until you have to carry everything back again. Double-ugh!!!! 😣 

This is the reason, along with the large homes to clean, that I wish we could stop housesitting. But it may not be possible for a while yet. However, by the end of October, we complete our last housesitting agreement. We trust God to show us the path to take after that. Please keep us in your prayers.

His tender care

We think back to Mount Marshall with fondness. Recalling those morning walks now, I picture Christ walking with me while I poured my heart out to Him … Christ tending to AJ in the shed as he tinkered many a day away … Christ hovering over us as we were healing from His discipline and correction, Christ wiping both our tears during moments of anguish. Oh, we came through a refining fire! Someone has said that the dross is never fully burned off, even until you finally lay your head down on the day the Saviour calls for you.

We now have peace about the future that even we do not understand. We are sure of the Lord’s help. We are confident that He won’t leave us or forsake us. 

In an earlier blog post, I wrote how I felt that God was saying that He was 'doing something new'.

“Look I am doing a new thing.” Isaiah 43

When I looked up this verse a day ago (I had forgotten where to find it), Isaiah 43 opened up. I began reading, and then I remembered … upon our baptism in 1989, Gustav’s nursery school teacher handed me a bookmark with this verse,

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
    O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour."

Said she, “I felt that this is for you as a couple.”

I still have that bookmark, though it is weathered and torn. Throughout our lives we have turned to that scripture for reassurance. For this reason, AJ often felt that He could replace the name ‘Jacob’ with his name.  And yet here, in these circumstances, we had forgotten about it. I was speechless. Why? Because it continues …

Verse 5, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you." (Italics are mine.)

And verse 10 … 

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
    “You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
    and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God— 

Over the past few months, we have distinctly felt that God is calling us to witness for Him wherever He will send us to work. Work we must, to earn our keep. But it is sad to see how the society we live in is not partial to God. Apart from the people in our church, we have yet to meet a Christian couple/family. Many whom we speak to are openly atheist. But we do not feel that we measure up. We feel unworthy. Unequipped. And yet, are we not all called to be His witnesses everywhere we live and move and conduct our daily business and hold relationships? 

It doesn’t end there, verse 18 and 19 continues ...

“But forget all that—
    it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Could this also be symbolic of the wilderness and dry wasteland of unbelief? 

After this, there is a portion pointing to discipline and correction. But also of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. An apt description of what we experienced in Mt Marshall.

So we wait. In confidence. In trust. In anticipation. God, our Father, our Saviour, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, is doing a new thing. He is working within us to equip us, working behind the scenes, and putting the pieces in place for His purposes, according to His will. Even in this, He has us on the road less travelled. We do not know what lies ahead. 

In the meantime ...

I am at work setting up a source of passive income via our website. This also serves to keep me busy while we wait out these months until October. And I do love designing documents on Canva. If you visit our website, be sure to look out for the store. Hoping to launch soon. 

We shall see how things progress. Times may still become quite challenging, but this we know, God will not forsake us! He is for us. He is with us.

Until next time.

Blessings.🌼

April surprises, updates, and rollercoasters

April surprises

We were in Mt Marshall for a week when our daughter arrived with the grandies! Instead of staying for two nights as planned, they ended up staying for 5, and that was fun!

We celebrated my birthday and Cassie’s birthday…

We chatted our chins off…

We had pizza, pancakes and hot cross buns without end…

We played ‘nail salon’ with yours truly giving everyone a foot massage …😂

Kiddies’ mum had a chance to catch up on some rest …

And the dog had many cuddles and lots of walks!

With three days of rain, we took a few days to adjust to an empty house. We were thrilled as the water tanks were filled to overflowing again. 😃  After the rain, we got stuck into completing some chores around the house and garden for a few days.

Because we’re attempting to save funds, we are not doing much sightseeing. But the panoramic scenery all around us is a feast for the eye and calming to the soul.

We also took some time to give the van some TLC.

Website changes

First, I’d like to explain some changes regarding this blog and our website. You received notices on social media that the blog has been separated from the website, only to then receive an auto-generated email to say a new blog is posted on the website … then you see it was a post from a month ago! Confusing, I agree. 😑🥴 And I apologise.

To clarify, I felt it safer to separate this faith-focused blog from the unDESERTED website as it (the website) is registered in Australia. Religious persecution is rising, and Australia is becoming a battleground for Christians. It takes one person to report ‘hate speech’ and you are facing a potential litigation nightmare. We pray that the tide turns soon, but we are not hopeful as the two main parties, the incumbent Labour (socialist, Marxist) Party in Queensland and its opposition, the LNP coalition (supposedly more conservative), are simply two sides of the same coin. The Labour Party also holds the national government. Unless the voters boot out the same old, same old, corrupt self-serving politicians and the woke socialists, I fear Queensland, indeed the whole nation is doomed to more of the same. The ACL runs an informative website and campaigns against the draconian laws that are being put forward nationally and in individual states. I hope you find the time to click on the link and read about what is happening here; it is no different to what is taking place in the US and the UK.

But I digress … back to the website …I have brought our info up to date to reflect our current situation. However, when I removed the blog, I made a ‘Where are we now?’ page instead but found that it was harder to let everyone know when it updated. So, I created a blog page again, but this time it will be purely a travel blog. As soon as I published the Mt Marshall entry, the website remembered the previous blog settings and let everyone know that I had published a new post. 😆 

I need to knuckle down and post more regularly, as I hope to place ads and eventually monetise. I am also hoping to soon complete an online store with a few digital items (mainly with a camping/travelling focus) for sale. I’m afraid my head is still off in 100 directions daily … trying to generate a passive, diverse, income. Perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew, time will tell.

YouTube Channels

On the website are links provided to unDeserted on Youtube, where I hope to post more travel and van-life videos, as well as the Home Cook in a Van channel, where I aim to post a few easy recipes. If you like what you see (I know they're rookie videos 😆) please like, subscribe and share if you want to, to give these channels a bit of a boost. 

LibSandy Proofreading

If you explore the website, you will see a page for LibSandy. 

Some may know that I had this planned in 2019 before Covid hit. Because of Covid, I was unable to get going and the whole idea had to be shelved in subsequent years. I have now resurrected the idea to offer proofreading services and have been doing some refresher training to that end. My focus will be on websites, business docs, social media campaigns, etc. The tricky part is marketing it … while it may seem that we must have HEAPS of time on our hands, I still find the days too short to accomplish plans. My to-do list keeps growing. I would appreciate a mention here and there if you know of anyone looking for proofreading. And, no, AI (artificial intelligence) doesn’t cut it! AI is just not there yet, unable to understand nuances, style and overall tone of voice in writing. Not to mention proper grammar, picking up typos, knowing style guides and dealing with subjective errors. I rest my case, for now … 😄

So, to summarise, our website is found, as always, on https://www.undeserted.com with its own ‘Where are we now? ’travel blog page. For these entries, subscribers to our site will receive a notification email from the website when there is a new post, and new posts will be advertised on Instagram.  

On the other hand, this (Christian) blog with updates for friends and family is found at https://undeserted.blogspot.com (hosted by Google). For these, I will post 'new blog post' notices on WhatsApp and Telegram. 

Warwick

We make a trip every 14 days to Warwick for groceries. On one occasion we took the day to view the city. It is known as the rose and rodeo capital. We walked the route to many beautiful heritage-listed sandstone buildings, which are dotted about the city. 

Warwick Post Office bldg.

We viewed parks and gardens, one of which has an iron sculpture as a tribute to the many roles of horses in society. 

The well-manicured Leslie Park had hosted the ANZAC day celebrations the day before, so we visited the war memorial to view the many wreaths laid in memory of the fallen, before enjoying a KFC lunch in the park. It was a lovely day.

Glengallen Homestead

We visited nearby Glengallen Homestead and Heritage Centre, located on the northern slope of Mt Marshall. 

Side view and kitchen entrance

Fascinating to see a project underway to restore the sandstone homestead to its former glory. Thought to be only half of the dwelling as originally planned but never finished, it was constructed in 1867, and has a colourful yet sad history. It stood empty, neglected, and left for ruin well into the early 2000s.

These protruding blocks are thought to be where an
exact copy of the existing wing would have been attached.

Its heyday was during the late 1800s and early 1900s, as successive owners invested in sheep farming, particularly merino sheep. I must admit, that walking around the property brought back memories of the beautiful mansions we visited on ostrich farms in the Oudtshoorn district, South Africa, where the booming years of ostrich farming allowed owners to live lavish lives in the late 1800s, before crashing to a sad, inglorious end by the time WW1 had ended.

Drawing room, Glengallen Homestead

Various factors contributed to Glengallen’s neglect by owners and caretakers, with the property being sold in 1993 at a fraction of its value to the Glengallen Historical Trust. The latter made a case to the Queensland government for its heritage status and won. One of the interesting facts raised was that it is one of only two sandstone homestead mansions built over two storeys. With grants from the Centenary Federation Fund, restoration commenced in 2002. Restoring the balconies and verandahs alone cost over $1 million. 

Kerry Raymond, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

On our travel blog, I hope to cover the story of Glengallen a little more fully.

With 2 weeks to go before heading to Gympie, we know we will miss these views and the glorious walks in the countryside. As winter approaches it has become quite cold already. God willing, we are aiming to take a week-long camping trip back to Gympie, stopping at a few new places we haven’t visited before.

Roller coasters are fun … right?

Why do people pay to go on a roller coaster? This I read in a discussion a few weeks ago. You take the roller coaster, they said, because it gives a rush of adrenalin and thrills per second, delivers scary twists and turns, fills your gut alternately with butterflies, fear, and tremors, and ends in a rush of victory! Safe at the base station and still in one piece. It provides belly laughs to all the spectators, who provide the photos to prove the contortions in your face, eyes bulging, hands gripping wherever they can, and hair waving wildly. If only photos could capture the screams …but we have videos to thank for that. All in all, roller coasters are fun.

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

But when the roller coaster of life’s tumultuous circumstances takes you on a ride, you are not enamoured! You wish it away. With raw fear, silent screams, and real tremors in your belly, you wake up many a day wishing it was just a dream. That elusive base station is always one more bend and two more mountainous climbs away. One day you’re strong and face the wind. On another you’re down in the dip, approaching an imaginative hair-raising bend with a steep cliff at the edge of a very narrow road. Most days you know that you know that you know you are going to struggle to get through with no fuel in the physical, let alone the emotional, tank. 

And then God steps in! For the hundredth time you are reminded that you’re not alone. That He has a plan. That He is working behind the scenes on your behalf. You hear Him say that He will direct your paths. You find sudden peace amidst the storm; energy to put the next foot forward. The sun rises each morning, and the birdsong is new again. Our Lord’s brother James, in James 1 vv 2-4 encourages us with,

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.“

Oh my! Isn't that another form of thankfulness? Here is a quote from something I read last week: 

“… life is still an incredible journey. It is a gift from God, a never-to-be-repeated experience wherein we get to walk by faith and not by sight. And the key to thriving in a world that can be topsy-turvy is thankfulness.”

And this too,

“The thrill ride of life enriches us in a variety of ways. It challenges and convicts us. It develops character and intimacy through pain and perseverance. It shows us glimpses of glory beyond what we could have imagined. It takes us beyond ourselves while making us deeply aware of ourselves. All of it is an opportunity and a cause for thankfulness.” (From, The Transformational Power of Gratitude, by Yellow Balloons and Grace School of Theology.)

Hope

And then there’s hope!  Endless hope, because our Saviour, Jesus, is for us and has promised to not leave us or forsake us.

We are still very much in the ‘waiting room’ as it were. We have faced trying moments as God continues to work in us, on our fears and insecurities, teaching us to cope with disappointment as a few of our plans have fallen flat. Living remotely has helped us to think in isolation, and the Lord God has taken this time and place to put us through the refining fire.

In a devotional I read last week by Reinhard Bonnke, he was discussing having the ‘eyes of faith’ when things seemed impossible. He said, 

“We have got to get a new set of eyes first. We’ve got to have the eyes of our hearts opened, and to do this requires that we abandon our fears to our King and trust Him absolutely.” (From, “Watch With Me Series 2, on YouVersion.)

“Lord, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9 v 24

May His name be glorified at the end of this road.🧡

Well, that’s us for now. Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate each of you, your prayers, your messages and your encouraging wishes. 

Blessings, Sandy (& AJ). 🌼