Building, Growing, Health and Spiritual updates from Wild Eden on sustainable living, organics, permaculture, eco building, homeschooling and more
Category: <span>Suffering</span>

Category: Suffering

How Salty are you?

Listening to the Bible the other day and a phrase resonated and ‘irked’ me…  “For everyone will be tested with fire”  I have long believed that Christians will suffer, despite it being the opposite of what some Christians think… I have continually experienced ‘fire’ through my Christian walk, so much so, the ‘happy clappy’ life has longed seemed fake .  But when I read it in another translation… BAM!  Most translations keep it quite literal – translating word-for-word:   “For everyone will be salted with fire.”  SALTED?! Salted with fire! What does that even mean?  I started a little digging and …

Fishing | for thought | Suffering   |

Longing for my true home 

Some days are worse than others, today wasn’t great.  As far as pain goes- it wasn’t as bad as many days. Health wise it was a struggle, making simple tasks seem monumental. Relating and parenting overwhelming, let alone building or earning money.  In the physical, it really is too hard – overwhelming an understatement.  But there’s more – faced with my failure to live up to who I want to be for God. This Father who saved me from so much, who showed so much love and grace, He deserves so much better!  When I try, I fail. When I …

for thought | Suffering   | | |

I get knocked down – whinge about sickness…

Warning: personal whinge follows (I wrote it more for myself but just in case other chronic pain sufferers find it helpful… )  It’s often surprising just how demoralising small things can be on the pain management / injury recovery journey. This last week or so, a mild flu has knocked me out.  Sure the list of jobs & missed activities with family is disappointing, but it’s the weeks long set back in pain & ‘fitness’ that really stings.  Trying to build up stamina, capability and lower the overall daily pain levels, others wouldn’t be aware of how hard or painful …

Personal | Suffering  

Face to face with evil…

Recently. I watched a documentary about ‘encounters with evil’. Police investigative and psychological interviews (+ descriptions) of people who they considered evil.  Some of the acts were gruesome, the detective work to find and convict them riveting. But one particular phrase really grabbed me:  What is it like to come face to face with evil? While these heinous crimes were disgusting, there is a difference between those who do evil things and evil itself…  I remember clearly the day I came face to face with actual evil. A spiritual entity that had so much power it captivated me. A master …

for thought | Newman Trip | Suffering   | |

Everyday hypocrisy in worship

I recently read a post that talked about the hyperbole (and at times hypocrisy) of modern church ‘worship’. Essentially, songs that sing about us instead of Jesus, making empty promises and not following through.  We’ve been visiting a wide range of churches and it’s a pet hate of mine, singing about me in any shape or form: it only highlights how ridiculous I am, compared to the Great I AM.  Today, a song came on that was going around when I was first saved. In my excitement and zeal I *loved* this song. I sung it with gusto:  ?  “EVERYDAY IT’S …

Preaching | Suffering   |

Protecting life, getting strife!

Part way through a hectic and problematic week, a trip to Perth turns ‘sour’ – but it is just the beginning…   The good in the ‘bad’… Scripture(s): Psalm 32, 51 A day of prep for a long drive to the pro-life rally yesterday, didn’t quite go as planned… If there is one event of the year that I believe all Christians of all denominations and theological backgrounds should attend or be part of – it would be on the theme of defending the lives of precious children and standing against their mass, legal, murder. To say I was excited …

Culture | for thought | Suffering   | |

Beer, Cones, Spirits

Sometime early in 1999… One day in my sisters community housing flat in Balga I had a group of friends over – drinking & smoking cones in my room – I never smoked any. I had become what some would call ‘paranoid’ when smoking dope… (Some names have been changed to protect identities.) I was a chronic user to start with, dealing and having cones / buckets at every stop when selling / picking up, joints along the way and then social sessions too. To put it in perspective I remember one night after standard sessions during the day and …

for thought | Suffering   | |

Strange ways the Joy of Following comes….

Sometimes following can be…The Joy of Following Yesterday we received a sales order through one of the sales websites we run. Attached to the order was a lovely note: “We have several of your Australian laminated posters, much love and thanks!!!” It is nice to get little personal notes – especially when they are as nice as this. However, within 5 minutes we received the below email from the same person:     Subject: YUCK!!! you twisted sickos Message: after processing a payment for an item I WAS TOLD yebus is alive go to hell!! mat devils swarm upon you …

Fishing | for thought | Suffering   |

Going through a hard time? Read This!

Are you going through a hard time? A lot are right now and might not be what you think…Trials now or later? We will have them – but when and what will you embrace? Scripture(s): James 4, Hebrews 12 I am continually talking to people at the moment and hearing stories where it seems everything is going wrong. Very wrong. We ourselves seem to be just emerging (hopefully!) from such a time. If you are going through trials I want to encourage you – Embrace the One behind the Trials! Hard times can come from a lot of different places …

Faith | for thought | Suffering   |