October 2012

from the Editor’s Desk

On Saturday 8 September we held our first Gather and Connect, 25 ladies representing 6 churches gathered. After spending time in praise and worship we each shared where we were from and something about ourselves. Then the work began we sat in groups writing on giant post-its answering questions on different topics. Topics on where each stood on a personal level, within their Church and also Conference.  There was much conversation and frantic writing as each table addressed the questions presented, much to my delight we were mostly on the same page. I am not sure if there are any answers that will tell us how to do it but the day showed that women need women that women want to gather to have those times where women can share. As I have often written when women gather even when they are two strangers within a very short time they are able to share much from their heart. I hope next year to have more Gather and Connect days as those who came intimated that it would be encouraging to bring together the women from different cluster groups/areas to share and compare. As I go through the post-its I will bring more about what was shared.

I am excited conXion now has a blog site www.conxionmagazine.blogspot.com big thank you to Renee Shibuya. So you can now access conXion whenever you like, look at past editions, link to some of our writers’ blogs and also link to Churches of Christ website. I encourage each of you to take a look and please feel free to comment, feed-back is the best tool we have.

Also the more who look at it the more popular it will become.

Girls’ Getaway – Registrations are rolling in fast for our sea-scape so don’t delay register today. We have posted Girls’ Getaway on facebook so for those who facebook search and share this event, please. Remember this weekend is a time to gather and share with each other in God’s word, make new friends and catch up with old ones. The music team are preparing their program for the weekend and I assure you there will be plenty of surprises, you will not be disappointed.

Camp Koojarewon – Plans have begun. Camp will be held on 16 – 18 March 2013, their theme is ‘Cling to the Vine’ and their guest speaker will be Donna Savill from Bundaberg Church of Christ. This camp is our tree-scape, held in Highfields, Toowoomba. Koojarewon is set amongst the gum trees and is a stunning setting. So put this weekend in your calendar for 2013.

This month’s edition is the largest we have had for quite a while. We have a new writer T P Hogan who I hope you enjoy what she has to share, as I visit and go to different events our churches hold I of course meet different women and when I say we are always looking for new writers and when I am replied with “I would love to write for you”, my heart sings. T P Hogan was just one of those women so welcome to conXion T P Hogan (Tania). May I encourage all those who love to write we welcome your stories, your advertisements for events you are holding as conXion is read by at least 3000 – 4000 women and I believe it’s growing, our readers want you!!

Andi Owen

God Moments … Psalm 23

One of the most, or probably the most famous of the Psalms, is often used at funerals. Some may think that Psalm 23 is a depressing and morbid Psalm.

But recently I have been challenged by it. I suffer with lack of sleep, waking up in the early hours and then not being able to get back to sleep, even if I move to another bed (my dear husband snores!) Then I think. And I think. I just seem to be unable to turn my mind off. I turn on the light and read my Bible or a book or magazine, sometimes even get up and try to find a movie or something to watch on television just to take my thoughts into some kind of numbness. You see, the middle of the night becomes a hugely vulnerable time. My thoughts are fully negative, which is not healthy. You know the kind of thoughts where you see yourself as an ugly person, you worry about your family, and everything becomes exaggerated. It’s awful and a struggle. Then you look at the clock and realise that you have to get up soon. How will you do this when you know you will feel so tired? It's not so bad if it happens once a week, but on a regular basis it's a real struggle.

Lately I have found myself reading Psalm 23. It started while I lay in bed trying to decide book or movie, movie or book. The words “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” came into my mind. Then I found myself saying these words during the day while driving. So of course I had to read the Psalm again, and I have found it one of the most comforting Psalms.

 I feel truly loved by God as through Psalm 23 He tells me He is with me all the way. No matter how dark my nights can be, He is with me. So, dear readers, take some time and read Psalm 23.

A Psalm of David   -  NLT

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
² He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
⁴ Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
⁶ Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Andi

Walking with Farmers - My cup is full & running over

Thank you God for little things that often come our way

The things we take for granted but don’t mention when we pray

The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful kindly deed

A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need

Oh make us more aware, dear God of little daily graces

That come to us with ‘sweet surprise’ from never dreamed of places

Just last week a precious lady was led to make it possible for me to attend a camp. What a blessing and I am sure it will be a special time of refreshing and fellowship. There are so many ways that we can show Gods’ love. Praise our heavenly father that He puts His love in our hearts to enable us to give so freely.

I was able to take a load out to Miles just lately and visit five properties with some goods, gifts and fresh fruit and veges (as prices are way above what they can afford). Then came more blessings in the form of thirty farm fresh eggs from the first farmer. Then on to the third one who also gave thirty eggs plus some fresh pork chops (as they were packing meat away when I arrived). It is just such an encouragement and so special to see them again. I was able to visit the man and his wife that had the accident off the horse. He is coming along well. I am hearing of the need of rain for cattle and tanks. The paddocks are very dry coming out of winter and no rain yet. It is a concern because drought can cause depression and also sometimes question their faith.

John had a very good trip to the east just before Father’s day. He delivered groceries and some gifts and home-made marshmallows for the dads. He came home with a bounty too. We were showered with some lovely lemons, limes, bananas, avocados and mandarins all grown in beautiful red soil. What a special surprise for us to share. I find it very humbling when these things are given so freely as the farmers see this as a way of paying for what they are given.

In closing I often say how to groups it is so important to ‘listen with your heart’ and then act upon what you feel is a need. We have so much, look for someone to reach, look for the tears in another’s eyes!! There are so many folk who need a hand up. Who is your neighbour?

Priscilla Gaston

Gather & Connect

On September 8, ‘Gather and Connect’, was held at North Brisbane Church of Christ and women from Camp Hill, Living Hope Caboolture, Sanctuary Park and North Brisbane attended and it was a very relaxed and encouraging time together. It was great to see Hazel Morris there from the AICF and she told us a couple of interesting stories. After a time of worship and morning tea, the women joined together around tables and discussions were held on various questions regarding women in the church and community, at local church level and conference level. The answers were then written up on poster sheets and when all were completed, a member of a table went to the front and told the others what their table had come up with. It was most informative and very interesting. I am sure Andi will do a report on all the answers at some time for the conXion for other women to read. At the end of the day we all came together for a time of worship and communion, thanking God for what He has done in sending us His Son, Jesus Christ to give His life for us then sending the Holy Spirit to take His place in guiding and helping us to make right decisions as women and mothers in the church and community.

I would just like to encourage more women to attend meetings such as these as they really help with ideas of what others are doing in their church and also I encourage each one to come along to the women’s camps where once again it is a time of encouragement and fellowship with other women and to also receive great spiritual food as well as delicious meals. The next camp is late October at Coolum Beach, DON’T MISS IT!!!  

Jeannie Rosendale

Prayer Page… Magnify

Many years ago, I read this piece in Tommy Tenney’s book, ‘God’s Eye View’ and I want to share it with you.

Magnify

‘Those who wait on the Lord…shall mount up with wings like eagles’

If you are soaring in His presence, then that means you are looking down on your problems. How do you wait on God? You worship Him. You anticipate divine needs and discern what the Holy Spirit wants. David, the psalmist declared under the anointing of God.”Oh magnify the Lord with me”. He was referring to worship. If worship magnifies, then does its absence MINIMIZE?

When you look through a magnifying glass at a grasshopper, you are not making the grasshopper bigger; you are just making it appear bigger. The process of worship does not make God bigger; it makes Him appear BIGGER.

Unlike the grasshopper, God is already BIGGER than all created beings, form and matter; yet the magnification of worship makes Him larger than YOUR view suddenly everything about Him gets bigger in your eyes. That means His capabilities get bigger. His power gets bigger and the force of all His promises and wonder is suddenly enlarges then you magnify the Lord.

I feel this meditation by Ian Shevil is so relevant for our world today even though it was written many years ago.

God Forgotten

Lord, how black and cruel your world can look

as each morning’s news,

brings us stories of crime, murders, fanaticisms.

You must forgive us, Lord, if we sometimes wonder

If you are still in control of this world.

Yet, Father we do know that in every faith

There are worshippers and suppliants before your throne

And You have promised

That the earnest prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

We do know the murmur from peaceful places

where simple men are praying,

easily drowns the shouting and the posturing

of agents of evil who scream and blaspheme.

Then too, there are all those arrow prayers

that Christians fire into the Heavens

from the bus, the beach, the office or the stove.

rising into the calm air of dawn or dusk

bearing a perfume so pure

that it destroys the stench of crime and evil.

And You have said that the rock of human faith

can divert the flow of human history.

Amen

Evelyn Colbran

Prayer Points:

· Thank Him for the freedom we have in this land.

· Pray that we will continue to have religious freedom here and that religious instruction can continue in our schools and for those who teach RE.

· Pray for our Chaplains as they serve in our schools

· Pray for Fathers

· Pray for the following churches within our movement

Chinchilla, Dalby, Fernvale, Garden City, Gatton, Gladstone, Gympie

Alone in the Crowd

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

Psalm 25:16

Recently at church, I had a very surreal experience.

I arrived, sang my way through the worship songs and all was as it should be.

It wasn’t until I sat to listen to the announcements that I noticed something very odd. None of my ‘church’ friends were there. One had family visiting, one was ill and one was working. Even my husband was out of town for the weekend.

A faint gnawing began in my stomach. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. The service progressed. Communion came and went. The offering bags passed by. The Pastor rose to speak.

It was only then I realised what was making a meal of my innards.

I felt alone. I was in a small crowd of about 50 people…and I felt alone.

Now our church is a very welcoming one. It is nearly habit for congregation members to greet new people and to make them feel welcome.

This day…I had a new thought.

I am a familiar face to my church, a regular attendee. And I felt alone. I wondered how often this happened. How many times I saw someone who regularly attended and gave them no more notice than a smile or a wave. How many times that familiar church member sat quietly yearning for some attention? Perhaps their friends were away, perhaps their husband was out of town.

All this time, I had done nothing but smile and wave. After all, I was confident that I had done my duty to make the newbie welcome, so now I could go and talk to my friends.

While alone in the pew sat a sad and lonely regular, silently longing, hoping someone would come and talk to them.

It is not only the new who feel lost and alone at church.

My resolution following this surreal experience is a simple one.

I will make a concerted effort to notice if that regular is still sitting in the pew at service end…and go talk to them. To seek out that regular who is standing with a coffee in one hand and a smile firmly in place…with no one else around.

My hope…is that you will too.

T P Hogan

The Great Cookie Debate

by Renee Shibuya

(our resident Master Chef!)

Growing up I was not a big fan of cookies and biscuits, I was more of a ‘decadent cake’ girl. As a result, my cookie skills have suffered badly. The biggest obstacle for me was always ‘creaming’ the butter. I hated waiting for it to soften, and it always seemed such an effort. When I was a teenager at school, there was no such thing as electric beaters, so everything had to be creamed by hand. Now my tastes have changed, I have been searching for the perfect cookie for quite some time. I have bought cookies from every shop I go to that sells them, and I have not yet come across one cookie that I thought was worth finishing. The question I began to ask myself was, “How hard is it??!!”. The answer, it appears, is “Quite hard!”. One of my favourite cookie recipes is a chocolate chip and peanut butter recipe, which comes out rather like shortbread, but the boys complain about the peanut butter, so I have endeavoured to find an equally scrummy chocolate chip cookie recipe. When it comes to favourites, we all have our own preference. Are you a soft and squishy type or a thin and crunchy?

 

After many trials of the numerous recipes I have at home from various books and magazines, I decided that there must be something better somewhere out there, so in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, I set out online to find some recipes. You would be surprised how many recipes claim to be the ‘best’! What I discovered was that the recipes differed little in their ingredients, a difference of baking powder here, soda there…more butter here, less there etc. However, what differed greatly was the method. Ranging from my dreaded softened butter/creaming method to simply melting the butter in the microwave (a preferred choice of mine!). The results were quite diverse. After tweaking the recipes to my taste, I have included here the winners of the family taste test: 3 of the most diverse ‘styles’ of cookie and their methods. 1. Soft and light 2. Thick and Crunchy 3. Thin and chewy. After eating batches of cookies I think I have decided that I would rather have shortbread after all, so I’ll let you be the judge!

*Editor’s note: please we would love to hear which one was the best 1. soft & light 2. thick & crunchy or 3. thin & chewy  -  so take the challenge and let us know - thank you

 Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft and Light: Method: Creaming the butter. A little fiddly.            

These cookies are soft and cake-like.

They flatten out on the edges and have a raised middle.

This makes a sticky batter, can be rolled by hand, but is messy.

Makes 27 Large Cookies (9 per tray=3 trays)

Ingredients:

1 block of butter (250g) 1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup white sugar 2 teaspoons hot water

1 cup packed brown sugar ½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs 2 cups chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (½ tsp cream of tartar) optional

3 cups all-purpose flour

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C (350°F).

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Dissolve the baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with the salt. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar and chocolate chips. Drop large spoonfuls onto baking trays lined with baking paper. Bake for 10 mins or until the edges are browned.

Thick and Crunchy: Method: Melting the butter. Fewer steps. Less ingredients.

These cookies are thick and have a nice crunch. I liked the flavour the most out of these 2 recipes, but others in the family differed! These cookies kept their perfect shape.

Makes 12 large cookies (9 per tray= 2 trays).

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups plain flour ½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

100g butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C (170°C fan-forced).

Sift the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl, add the sugars and the salt and mix. Add chocolate chips.

Place the melted butter, vanilla and egg in a small bowl and whisk. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Roll into balls, and place 4 cm apart on a tray lined with baking paper. Press the tops lightly with a fork (These shaped easily, like play dough). Bake for 20 mins

 Thin and Chewy. Method: Melting the butter.

These cookies were a favourite amongst family members, with references to the ‘Subway’ cookie. The chew is fantastic, but personally, I don’t like the taste of the baking soda.

Makes 18 cookies (9 per tray = 2 trays)

Ingredients.

2 cups plain flour                                              ½  tbsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking soda                                           1 egg

½ tsp salt                                                          1 egg yolk

170g butter, melted                                           2 cups chocolate chips

¾  cup packed brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

Method:

Preheat  oven to 165°C. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter, and the brown and white sugar. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Add the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough using 2 spoons to shape onto the baking tray. This makes a very wet and sticky mixture so is not suitable for using hands. These cookies spread a lot so about 8 cm apart on the baking sheet is a good distance.

 Bake for 20 mins.

Favourite Chocolate Chip Recipe    

     Now, as mentioned above, my favourite cookie recipe is the peanut butter/chocolate chip recipe. Here it is minus the peanut butter. I added some naked ginger pieces, and the boys complained again, “What’s with the ginger mum??!”. They still managed to polish the lot off! These contain NO EGGS and NO BAKING POWDER OR SODA.

Ingredients:

1 block butter (250g), softened overnight, or in microwave on low setting.

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour

¾ cup self-raising flour

1 cup chocolate chips

(or ½ cup chocolate chips and ½ cup naked ginger)

Method:

Preheat oven to 160°C (150°C fan-forced).

Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. The   colour will change to a much lighter colour when it has been beaten enough. Sift the flours over the butter mixture and use a non-serrated knife  to mix to a dough. Add the chocolate chips and ginger and mix with the knife. (This will give them a shortbread-like texture). Roll into balls (They roll easily without sticking). Place on trays lined with baking paper. Flatten the tops with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes. Ready when cooled. Yum!

For peanut butter recipe, add ¾ cup crunchy peanut butter into the butter once creamed. Adjust the flour to 1 ½ cups of plain flour and 1 cup of self-raising flour, omit ginger.