Category Archives: Provision

I’m Nobody’s Child

Posted in Family, Family Friday, Motherhood, My thoughts, Provision by

I listened to a song my husband was playing on his music system.
The words go,

As I was slowly passing an orphans home today
I stopped for just a little while to watch the children play
A lone boy standin’, and when I asked him why
He turned with eyes that could not see, and he began to cry
I’m nobody’s child, I’m nobody’s child
Just like a flower, I’m growin’ wild
No mama’s arms to hold me, no daddy’s smile
Nobody wants me; I’m nobody’s child
In every town and village
There are places just like this
With rows and rows of children
And babies in their cribs
They’ve long since stopped their cryin’
As no one ever hears
And no one there to notice them or take away their fears
Written by Cy Coben, Mel Foree • Copyright © BMG Rights Management US, LLC”

Nobody’s Child sung by The Travelling Wilberys
This song was written back in 1949 when orphanages were common.  They were set up to care for children whose parents had died or had no one to care for them.  Some children were given the opportunity to be adopted into a caring family.  The above song describe an orphan’s situation clearly.

When my husband was in China, he visited an orphanage.  Most of the children were girls.  With China’s one child policy a boy was preferred to a a girl.  Many girls were left abandoned in streets or fields.  The children lay in cots that were lined up along the wall.  They had long since stopped crying because there wasn’t the people to give extra time to them.  They were fed and given shelter but were given no extra attention.

Brendan picked up one little girl and nursed her. Half of her nose was missing.  It had been eaten by a rat when she was left abandoned.  This little girl was blessed.  She was going to be adopted by an American family.

I take comfort from God’s word which says,
““See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬
If there weren’t human beings to minister to these children, the Angels would help.

I have felt perplexed and dispairing when I hear of such stories.   I chose to be open to have children and give them the necessary care as far as I was able.  A little child starts out in life trusting those around him.  When he cries he calls for food and comfort for his discomfort.  If the child has parents they will see to his needs.

There are not many orphanages in Western countries today.  Contraception is accepted to control how many children a couple have.  Immorality has increased.  If anyone has an unwanted pregnancy, abortion is available.  A test is offered to mothers to see if their baby has any abnormalities.  If the baby is found to have an abnormality an abortion is offered.  I do not agree with the world’s idea to solve the problem of unwanted children.

I have travelled in India.  On the back of lorries and on bill boards I read the caption,
“One plus one equals one.”
This idea has caught the imagination of the people in India.  Their thinking is to have one or at the most two children.

I believe in Jesus, and as I read in God’s word on page two of Genesis, it says,
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:27-28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I choose to believe that it is God’s will for a couple to be open to have children.  A child is a blessing from God, the fruit of the womb a reward.
“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭127:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My husband and I chose to be open to have children.   We have reared fourteen.  God has been faithful to help us to this day in our work of looking after our flock which has increased to eight wives and husbands and nineteen grandchildren.
I wish that people would choose to believe in Jesus.  He is the answer to people’s distresses and the need for children to be born and cared for.

Jesus took a little child and taught his disciples, grown men, a lesson.  He said,
“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV

If one receives a child he is receiving Jesus and Jesus will help.  I believe.

Washing Dishes

Posted in Family, Ireland, Motherhood, My thoughts, Provision, Restoration by

Brendan and I are visiting with our son Aaron and family.  Marta, our daughter in law has just had a new baby boy!  A new baby causes a big adjustment in any family.  Mum isn’t just as available as before to see to the other children or see to her housework.  She is busy feeding her baby and coping with the after shock of giving birth.  All the change in the family helps the other children grow up.  Another step to maturity.  Help is needed to wash clothes, dishes, shopping and cooking.  Aaron and Marta will get through this phase.  We can encourage them because we have survived child rearing to tell the tale.

Another fulfillment of the promise from Psalm 128 v 6,  “You shall see your children’s children.”

To help after dinner Brendan and I washed the dishes.  This brought back memories of the small kitchen in our first home.  There was no room for two people to stand at the sink.  The kitchen was the coldest part of the house.  I didn’t want to stay there too long after dinner.  No making wishes over dishes in the sink!

image

Brendan did some improvement to shelves and cupboards.  Dishwashers were not common in any household then.  My wish over dishes was to have a dishwasher.  I bought a second hand machine for fifty pounds!  It was a good buy at the time.  The children cheered.  No more standing in the cold kitchen washing dishes by hand.

We have always lived in older houses.  The kitchen always needed updated in each one.  Modern houses come with inbuilt washing machines, cookers, sinks and work tops.  The big bedrooms and big living rooms in the older houses compensated for the small kitchens. The dishwasher has continued to be an important item in my kitchen. It serves a great  purpose for any housewife.

In Memory of Nannie

Posted in Family, Family Friday, Motherhood, My thoughts, Provision by

I read in the local paper that Catholic missionaries are visiting each home in the parish over the next three weeks.  Attendance at Church each Sunday is dwindling.  It is twenty years since the last mission.

I remember there being a mission in our parish every few years when I was growing up.  People were encouraged in their faith by the visiting speakers.  It was an opportunity to renew one’s faith in God.

My daughter had a remembrance dinner for her Nannie, my husband’s late mother, recently.  She died two years ago around this time at the ripe age of ninety four.  Shann was telling me that Nannie, who was a widow and her sons had left home, kept a missionary every time there was a mission in her parish in Lurgan.  I never knew this about Nannie.

image

Next week Brendan and I are going on a mission to Slovakia.  Brendan has travelled to many nations.  She now has missionaries in her own family.  Who knows what blessing has come to her family because of her hospitality to the man of God.  She received her reward on the earth and in heaven.

I am reminded of the story of the widow from Zarephath who let Elijah the prophet stay with her when there was a famine in the land.  She was going to make her last meal when Elijah passed by.  He asked her to give him water and food and she did.  He said to her,

“For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”
She went away and did as Elijah had told her.
So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”  1 Kings 17 v 14 – 16.

Later the widow’s son died.  Elijah brought him back to life.  So Elijah worked two miracles for the widow because she let him stay with her.

Nannie was very generous with her widow’s pension.  Her source of provision never ran out.  Money seemed to turn up for her.  There was always a welcome in her home for the poor person.  Nannie would admit herself she was not perfect.  But she believed in what The Word of God says, ” pure religion is to look after the widow and the poor.”

When we would visit she always wanted us to pray for her before we left.  She had an overcoming spirit even though she had many sorrows in her life.  She was widowed since she was thirty years old.   She always sent our children money to help them at university.  She gave money to Brendan when he travelled.  Only God knows her sacrifices.  Our children are blessed because of their Nannie.

“but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

She is with the great cloud of witnesses looking on.

The Arctic Terns Have Arrived.

Posted in Birds, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Provision by

I drove out this morning to town.  I parked my car along the sea front and walked on the sunny side of the street.  It was too chilly on the shaded side.  Resident gulls and Brent geese on the waters below were enjoying the warmth of the early sun too.

The winter slumber of people and nature has been awakened by the warm sun and noisy gulls eager to prepare for new life.

image

The population of gulls along the shore has increased dramatically this week.  Artic terns have arrived at their usual nesting place on an island near Strangford harbor.  They are safe from intruders across a short stretch of water, but near enough for the onlooker to enjoy their activities.  They gather in the evening, bodies white against the black, sea washed rock.

image

Another attraction for many black headed gulls this morning was the presence of a farmer ploughing up a field nearby.  It is seed time.  He is busy getting the land ready.  I was reminded of the poem I Will Go With My Father A ploughing, by Joseph Campbell.

I will go with my father a-ploughing
To the green field by the sea,
And the rooks and the crows and the seagull
Will come flocking after me.
I will sing to the patient horses
With the lark in the while of the air,
And my father will sing the plough-song
That blesses the cleaving share.

Instead of horses the farmer today is using a big tractor pulling a large wide machine which grinds up the soil.  Hundreds of gulls follow the fresh upturned soil.  They dive for tasty morsels of worms and insects destrubed by the machinery.  Rooks and crows live nearby in the forest.  They join in the foray, just as the poem says.  Joseph Campbell was born in Co Down.  Perhaps his father ploughed in the green fields by the sea near where I live.

Look at the birds of the air,  they don’t sow nor reap yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.  Matthew 6 v 26
I saw our Heavenly Father at work today feeding the gulls.

Worry, Stress and Anxiety Cause Disease

Posted in Dreams, Healing, Holiday, My thoughts, Nations, Prayer, Provision, Travel by

My husband and I have just returned from Iceland.
We stayed in Rekjavik, the main city.  Fresh snow was covering the houses and mountains that enclose the harbour.  It looked like a winter wonderland.

image

Many tourists are attracted to Iceland to experience it’s many features of fire, ice and water.

There is an active volcano, many glaciers, hot springs and geysers.  A notice at the airport says “We don’t have coal we have fire.”  Hot water from under the earth is piped to heat their homes.

Some years ago Iceland went into recession. We were speaking to a lady about how the recession affected her. He lost two businesses and was in risk of losing her beautiful, big home. She shares her home with needy people. We visited with her. People appeared from different rooms as the night passed. She has a heart for the poor.

She has come through many crises. She told us she brings her bills to Jesus, and asks him to help her pay them. She continues to manage to pay them. Her house has not been repossessed.

She shared a dream with us. God spoke to her in the dream that her house would not be repossessed. To help her believe a voice said “When you go fishing you will see a rainbow, whales and abundance of fish.”  The Rainbow speakers of God’s promises.

She goes fishing often to take her mind off her troubles and get some food to eat into the bargain. The next time she went fishing she saw a rainbow, whales and fish. This dream continues to encourage her. God spoke to her and reassured he will provide for her.

I was reading this scripture this evening.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” (‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28-30‬ NLT)

We were praying for some people recently for healing.  Most of them wanted prayer to be healed from diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney failure.

Diabetes is a condition where the body does not produce enough insulin.  The pancreas is an organ in the body which produces digestive juices and insulin. These aid the digestion of food in the stomach.  I believe when one gets stressed the pancreas’ ability to produce the necessary secretions is compromised.  The result can be an upset stomach or pain around the stomach, where the pancreas is.  

When one gets anxious, worried or stressed one often feels their stomach churn.  Before an exam I used to feel nervous in my stomach.  One may be devastated at losing a job or a relative dying.  Can I pay my bills at the end of the month?  One may lose their home.  Often parents worry about their children.  I know I did.  One gets overburdened.  Anxiety and stress result.  If a person continues in a stressful situation for a long term diabetes and high blood pressure may manifest.  These conditions put pressure on the kidneys, which get overworked, leading to their breakdown.

Jesus has a solution to this condition.  He said “Come to me.”  An invitation to help.  He will take our cares and worries.  He will relieve the burdens.  He will make a way out of any difficult situation, relieve the stress and the resulting sickness one is experiencing.  He may even speak in a dream to encourage your faith.

The friend we met in Iceland did as Jesus advised.  She is believing she will not lose her home and is bringing all her burdens to him.

A Star in the East

Posted in Family, Holiday, Motherhood, My thoughts, Nature, Prayer, Provision, Travel by

Today I awoke before sunrise.  I looked out the window and saw a bright star in the East.  I don’t know if it was Saturn or Venus.  It was the only star visible in the awakening dawn.

I thought of the story of the three wise men from the east who followed a star to Israel.  Did they travel by night and rest by day?  How would they have seen the star by day?  Perhaps it was too hot to travel by day.  I don’t know but people have different reasons to set out on a journey.

Thirty eight years ago I set out on a journey.  Many people thought I was crazy including my doctor.   A friend of my husband invited our family to spend Christmas with him in England.  I was excited at the opportunity to have a holiday and our family of four to be looked after.  No Christmas shopping or cooking.

The only concern was I was due my third child on Christmas Day!  I paid a visit to my doctor to tell him about my plans.  He was surprised.  He strongly advised against me travelling such a long journey being heavily pregnant.  What hospital will I attend?  What if I start labour on my journey? He continued to persuade me to give up the idea.

He did not convince me.  I reminded him that Mary travelled on a donkey seventy miles from her home in Nazareth to Bethlehem.  She was heavily pregnant.  I would be travelling by car, a bit more comfortable than a donkey!  The joy of having a holiday outweighed any concerns I had.

The doctor did not say anything more.  He gave me a letter to give to the doctor in whatever hospital I was admitted.

Our family travelled by ferry to Liverpool and on by road to our destination.  I enjoyed the journey. My excitement kept my hopes up.  Our host took me to see his doctor.  He received me and assured me that I could attend the local hospital whenever I went into labour.  There was going to be room for me in the Inn.

Mary gave birth to her baby in a stable surrounded by animals.  There was no midwife or doctor.  No medical care, no pain relief, no comforts, only the breath of the animals to keep her and her baby warm.  Some shepherds were told by angels to go and greet the new born baby.  Some time later the three wise men from the East arrived bringing gifts for the baby Jesus.

Many women is poorer counties can identify with Mary.  Medical care may be expensive or non existent!  Having a baby is not a sickness.  It is a normal process of bringing new life into the world.

I knew for sure the same God, whose son was born in a manger, was looking after me that Christmas in England.  Our friends were very generous to our family.  My baby did not arrive on the due date, Christmas Day.  My husband, myself and two children had the finest of fare without a care in the world.

Three days later I started in labour.  My baby was on the way!  I gave birth to a healthy baby girl with no complications.  I was delighted.  We called her Nora.  She is an answer to prayer.  I already had two children, a girl and a boy.  But I had a strong desire to have another child.  I prayed and asked God for another child.  I believed God and said “I will give my life to you if you give me another child.”  I became pregnant.  God was faithful to give me another child and looked after me on my travels.

I am still travelling on a journey down through the last thirty eight years.  I have read in God’s word many other stories about how God led his people on journeys.  These stories have helped me along my path.
In that time I have reared fourteen children and been healed of fourth stage cancer.  God continues to care for me on the journey.  God is faithful.

A Promised land with Fruit Trees.

Posted in My thoughts, Nations, Nature, Provision, Restoration, Slovakia, Travel by

I am in Slovakia today.  I had bread and honey for breakfast.

The harvest is gathered from the plum, grape, apricot and apple trees.  Some trees are already pruned. Overstretched branches are loped off and dressed with white paint to protect from disease.   Winter will begin soon.  The fruitful trees can rest.

image

I glimpsed rich, red colours on the fence between my son’s garden and his neighbour.  I ventured outside to take a closer look.   Lovely apples were growing on a tree trained to grow sideways.  They sparkled in the afternoon sunshine.  The nutritious cluster outnumbered the leaves left on the branches.  Healthful fruit left untouched.  No excited child’s hand to grab them.  No careful gardener to proudly harvest and share his fruit.

Perhaps the neighbour is too old or frail.  Maybe no grandchildren squealing with joy as they chase each other between the fruitful boughs.  When I enter my son’s hallway there is a sweet smell.  Boxes of red apples are piled high, the harvest from his garden.  A bag is filled each time he visits relatives or friends.

My son Aaron moved with his family to Slovakia.  He has inherited a house he didn’t build and a garden he didn’t tend.

You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land.  Their children went in and took possession of the land.  They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness. (‭Nehemiah‬ ‭9‬:‭23-25‬ NIV)

So I have come down to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ NIV)

God is faithful to keep his promises.  When I first read the story in the bible that God wanted his people to enter the promised land I believed it.  He promised them plenty of bread, honey, fruit and houses.  Now my children are inheriting their promised land.

It’s Harvest Time

Posted in My thoughts, Nature, Provision, Restoration by

imageimageimageTo every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.  A time to plant and a time to reap.  Ecclesiastes 3 v 1 and 2
What a joy to see the results of sowing seeds, seedlings, corms or bulbs in the soil.
The farmer planted seeds of wheat nearly a year ago and he now harvested the golden crop that has grown up.
My husband enjoys flowers.  He planted one of my favourite flowers in early spring, Gladiolii.  Green shoots have been growing all summer until now when we have a array of Beauty reaching up to the sky.
I planted a courgette seedling.  Look what it produced.
My son went fishing last evening.  Here is the harvest of his labour.
We are eating the harvest of fish from the sea and plants from my garden.  We delight in the richness of colour in our garden.
God has made everything beautiful for its own time.  Ecclesiastes 3 v 11

Pheasants Come to Visit.

Posted in Birds, My thoughts, Nature, Provision by

I was sitting by my bedroom window with my feet up taking a few moments to praise and thank God for the beauty all around.  I have been writing about birds in some of my posts.  I am learning from them each time because Jesus says “Look at the birds.”

image

I was pleasantly surprised when some movement at the side of the lawn caught my eye. I watched as a mother pheasant followed by five young, walked along the side of the garden.  There is dead, brown vegetation as well as green grass there.  The five chicks spread out looking for seeds in the mixture of vegetation on the verge of the lawn.  In the photo I hope you can see the hen on the look out, a chick to the left under a bush and another to the right.  One, with coloured feathers like a necklace, ventured further than the others.  He must be a young male.  His coloured feathers were beginning to show.

I enjoyed the scene before me for some minutes.  I wanted a closer look.  I got my binoculars.  The hen stopped, relaxed and began to preen her feathers.   She stretched her wings, ruffled her feathers and scratched.  I could see the pattern on her feathers as she picked through them.  Her overall colour blended well into the background of brown vegetation.  Her chicks investigated the foliage around her.  They had no fear, as their mum was close by.

A farmer is harvesting his crop of wheat over the fence from where we live today.  Beyond the field is a forest.  They must have been disoriented today because of the noise of the farm machinery.  The wheat would be their convenient supply of food.  It is harvested today. They will have to search for seeds left on the ground.

It is true what Jesus said.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭26-27‬ NIV)

God had supplied a whole field of wheat for this family.  I can see the pheasant family are well cared for, how much more will God care for me and my family.  We are more important than the birds of the air.

What are the main things people worry about: health, lack of money, how to look after their children, what to eat, being alone, where to live.  Have faith in God, who promises if we seek him first he will add all things unto us.  I can testify to God’s provision for food, houses, and health for my family of fourteen children.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31, 33‬ NIV)

I was pleasantly surprised to see this family of pheasants cross my lawn in the early morning after we returned from holiday.  I watched as they jumped up onto the bank to the left and head back to their nest for a rest after their morning forage.  I will see them again.

image

Update, Sunday 20th September, saw family in orchard garden in the afternoon.

Saturday 26th morning at dawn family flew from neighbours garden into ours.  They played about for a while.

Refreshment in a Land flowing with Milk and Honey.

Posted in Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts, Provision, Restoration, Travel by

I believe holidays are not a luxury, they are a necessity.
In this busy world, work and other activities demand our time and energy until one is worn out. I thought it important for us as a family, even though a big family, to get away for a summer break. We had valuable time together creating memories.

Brendan and I are staying in Limerick.  It is a little bit different this year.  We are on our own, instead of eight, nine or twelve of us.  A friend offered us the use of his home while he and his family are on their holidays.  We usually take a holiday at the beginning of May to recharge our batteries after winter and work schedules.  There was no time free in May this year.  My body was weary and needing some attention.  I dreamed of travelling west in Ireland to be refreshed seeing the mountains and green valleys.  I decided to help Brendan continue prepare for people who were coming to stay with us. I continued to dream.

June was busy with guests from Alabama and India.  The day before guests arrived our friend called to offer us his home in Adare at the end of June.  When Brendan told me I was delighted.  God is faithful.  He knew my need of rest and he provided.   As we shared our home with others, God inspired another person to share his home with us.

A man reaps what he sows.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7, 9‬ NIV)

Thirty years ago, our friend offered us the use of his home.  We had eight children at the time.  It was a generous gesture.  Not everyone wants to let a big family have the run of their home.  We were able to visit the local tourist scenes and go to the beach when the sun shone.  The children played about in the fields nearby or at the beach like young calves released from the stall.  We have stayed in his home many times down through the years.  He is a blessing.

Kerry and Limerick are famous for the production of milk. Lush, thick grass grows all the year round to support the herds of Friesien cows. There are plenty of green pastures. It is a land flowing with milk like the Promised Land.

Back then people were in conflict in Nothern Ireland.  There was pressure in the atmosphere.  Everyone was under a cloud.  From that year on we went for two weeks in July for holidays to Limerick, Donegal or Kerry.  We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome wherever we travelled.  We always returned to the  North of  Ireland refreshed.