The Watering Hole: December 2013

Welcome to my Watering Hole

Years ago, I heard a man say, “You will be the same in five years’ time as you are today, except for two things—the people you meet and the books you read.” When I look back over the past 32 years of following Jesus, I would have to say that I agree. If not for the people who have come into my life and the books I have read over the years, my life would have changed very little.

The first book that I read was the Bible. I picked it up, after making a decision to follow Jesus, and to this day I have been unable to put it down. The second book I read was called Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey. I think we all struggle to find ways to understand what God is trying to tell us. For me, one of the most effective ways is through what I read. Over time I have kept a journal of quotations that have had an impact on me. Often I reflect on something I recorded years ago and see that in some areas of my life I have grown and in others there is still much work to do. Sometimes I have been motivated, encouraged and inspired by what I read, sometimes frightened and overwhelmed, but never, never discouraged or without hope.

In my conversations with men, more often than not, other than the odd newspaper or magazine, many read very little if at all. My suggestions is, before you read on, take time out to pray, ask yourself and God what are the challenges at this time in your life and then read, expecting the Holy Spirit to bring alive what is relevant to you. Don’t read for reading’s sake. See it as a watering hole where your thirst for life’s answers can be quenched. As time goes by, I will add to the site. I want it to be living.

In conclusion, I have to say that there are many things I don’t know. One thing I do know is that God would want me to share with you what He has shared with me. I pray that He will bring alive these writings and burn them in your heart. I wish you well. Life is very demanding for many, and at times it seems that society is demanding more than we’re able to give. But don’t give up. To borrow the title of Wayne Bennett’s autobiography, Don’t Die with the Music in You. That would be a tragedy.

In His name,

Grahame

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Coming Bushman

Ours is a story of Christmas

out back

when Jesus the bushman was born,

a story of Mary

and Joseph and Jesus

good folk like us from the bush.

We are the gamblers, the stockmen,

the wise

the women who battle the scrub,

the people who wear

no airs on their face

and know the price of a grave.

Years we have waited for someone

to come

born out of true country stock,

a bushman foretold

by drover of old,

a battler as straight as a die.

Late ‘round the campfire we sang

of our dream

a man who is one with the bush,

a man who would gamble

his life for his friends

and knew the silence of God.

Ours is a story of Jesus

the Bushman

born behind Bethlehem’s pub,

a boy who was born

to be a king of the bush

and die for his mates in the end.

–Norman Habel