footprintsaustralia.com
Behind the scenes at Footprints magazine
“Decadence” now available at Koorong!
- November
- 2
Good n
ews peoples - our book “Decadence: treat yourself to 10 years of Footprints” is now being stocked by Koorong bookstores across Australia - just in time for Christmas!
It is great to see large bookstore chains like Koorong, willing to give the “little guy” - independent publishers - a go. Anybody who has written and/or self-published a book will know what I mean when I say, it is VERY difficult to find a publisher here in Australia for Christian books - they practically don’t exist! Self-publishing can be the only option, but then it is a matter of getting your book into the hands of either distributors (never had any luck with them myself but would love to hear from anybody who has), or the bookstores.
I still find the best way of selling books is “back of room” sales when a member of the Footprints Team (usually me, but sometimes Nicola or Melanie) is invited to be a guest speaker at a function. Speaking (excuse the pun!) of which - we are now taking bookings for 2009 so if you are interested in booking an inspirational speaker for your women’s event, feel free to email editor@footprintsaustralia.com. No group too small! In fact I love the personal atmosphere of small home/connect groups! And although based in SE Qld, sometimes I do travel further afield as the Lord directs and provides …
It is not good for woman to be alone …
- October
- 12
Our pastor spoke on “Building Community” this morning, a subject that is very dear to my heart (though it wasn’t always!). The further I go in my Christian walk, or even just in my daily life, the more I realise … it’s all about relationships!
Let me share with you some of the points I wrote down, that really spoke to me:
- THERE are a lot of Christians out there who don’t go to church, who even say they love God but don’t like Christians. That’s like telling Jesus you love Him, but you can’t stand His wife! If you said that to any other man, you wouldn’t stay friends very long!
- IF you don’t love those that you can see (ie the church), then how can you love a God that you can’t see (1 John 4:20)?
- SOMETIMES, these same Christians will tell you that they don’t need to go to church, they can worship God anywhere … at home, in the garden, in the great Aussie outdoors. It’s the invisible church! My hubby nudged me and whispered, “The Letter of St Paul to the Invisible Church” which made me giggle. But he’s right - I don’t see that in the Bible anywhere, do you?! And as my pastor said, what happens to these members of the invisible church when they are sick? When you need help? Where will you give your tithes and offerings?
- WE all know that if we love God, we should show it by our actions. Jesus himself asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Each time, Peter answered yes, and Jesus responded: “Feed my sheep”. I always thought this command was only to leadership but now I think it is an instruction to ALL believers … and church is where we feed and nurture each other.
It was a powerful sermon and has certainly given me much food for thought. Three years ago, I even wrote an assignment on the principle of Christian community for Bible College!
It is something I have struggled with for several years, and an area that I am continuing to grow in. It was like with my HEAD I knew it was what God wanted, but my HEART didn’t quite get it yet. I think that is changing … that I am changing … to be more like Him.
Only recently I re-read that oh-so-familiar verse in Genesis, “It is not good for a man to be alone” and for the first time I realised that this is not just talking about Adam finding a bride (Eve). It is not good for ANY of us to be alone, and God is not talking about just the marriage relationship here - else ALL of us would get married!
Think about it - it is not good for a man to be alone. It is not good for a woman to be alone. It is not good for ANY of us to be alone! We need each other, and that’s the way God designed us …
There’s no business like SNOW business!
- October
- 4
Just letting you all know that I’m back from holidays, and am busy finalising the next edition of Footprints (due in your mailbox in November).
We had a wonderful time in the snow! We timed our holiday just right (thanks Lord!) - it snowed the first two days that we were there, dumping approx 20cm at Perisher and Thredbo. So there was a good cover of snow pretty much until we left, though it was getting a bit thin by then in the beautiful spring sunshine!
Believe it or not, we didn’t actually go skiing! People always assume that when you go to the snow, it’s to ski. Loz and the kids learnt to ski last time we were there (in 2001) but weren’t that fussed on it, and I have problems with my knees so am not allowed to go skiing. But we still had plenty of family fun!
We did lots of tobogganing, made an awesome snowman, went for walks around Lake Jindabyne, had snowball fights, made snow angels, drank hot chocolate, took a chairlift to the top of Mt Perisher, rode the Skitube, veged out and watched telly, played games, had BBQs, saw heaps of wildlife (wombats, kangaroos, ducks, rabbits), and took heaps of photos which you can check out on my Facebook page if you’re really keen!
It was a great family holiday, good to get our teenage son away from his PS3, and the rest of us away from our computers (especially me LOL). Plus there is nothing like a holiday to clear the head … I think we’re all feeling rested, refreshed, and raring to go!
I took a notebook with me and scribbled down lots of ideas for Footprints articles, was really inspired! So no doubt over the coming months you will see stories on:
- What’s your HQ (Happiness Quotient)?
- The Gift of Poverty (yes really!)
- Mind your Manners!
- Honest talk about Mothering
- When It’s GOOD to be BORED!
- Sweet and Sour (people)
- Red Faces - dealing with embarrassment
In fact, I’ve already conducted the interviews for an HONEST TALK ABOUT MOTHERING - with a mother of tiny tots, a mother of teens, and a mother of grown children - so you should see this story in the very next edition of Footprints!
Facing up to addiction!
- September
- 7
One of the articles in the Spring issue of Footprints has been niggling at me … it’s c
alled “What’s Your Poison? A woman’s guide to addiction”. It’s a fantastic piece by our very own resident psychologist and Footprints Team member, Vivian Jarrett, but it’s gotten under my skin!
The article liss 5 telltale signs or clues that may indicate a possible addiction:
- Do you start avoiding normal routines or work
commitments to engage in the activity?
- Do you feel stressed or panicky if you can’t access the
habit?
- Do you get annoyed at others for mentioning the
habit?
- Have you started planning to increase a habit that you
know has side effects?
- Have you started hiding your habit from others?
So what is the addiction that has surfaced in my life (shock, horror!)? Could it be drugs? Alcohol? Gambling? or worse?
“Hi, my name is Janet, and I am addicted to Facebook” - well actually one particular game on Facebook, called “Scramble”!
I have tried to rationalise my addiction - “It’s harmless”, “It is good for my brain!”, “It builds my vocabulary” blah blah blah. The reality however is that it’s an amazing time-waster (especially when I am procrastinating from working on Footprints!) and steals me from my family.
But try as I might I find myself playing it again and again … yep, addiction here I come … until today!
Last night I treated myself to a set of fake nails, only to find it’s slowed my typing right down, adversely affecting my scores in Scramble - voila, addiction broken LOL!!!
Vanity achieved what all the best intentions in the world couldn’t!
Seriously though, if you are interested in reading the “Addiction” article or checking out Footprints, send me an email at editor@footprintsaustralia.com for your free first issue.
Which Bible version?
- August
- 9
At the recent Footprints meeting, we had a lively discussion about the benefits
of the various Bible versions. Mel “intensely dislikes” The Message version, while I find it sheds new light on passages which I have previously found difficult to understand. The New International Version was pretty popular, while another lady said that the Amplified Bible gave her plenty of “meat” and substance to chew over!
As a youngster, I was very involved in an AWANA youth club (AWANA stands for Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed, based on 2 Timothy 2:15). Every Friday night my sisters and I would head off to AWANA for a night of games and fun with our friends. We wore uniforms a bit like the Scouts, and could earn awards and badges for various activities - from bringing along a friend, learning crafts, and in particular Scripture memorisation. AWANA used the King James version, and although I didn’t really understand a lot of what I was reading and learning, I was storing up treasure for the future. At one stage I could recite all of Isaiah 64, or Romans 6, from memory!
Fast forward 30 years and I am still able to remember many Scriptures word-for-word, although maybe not the “address” of where they live! It has been such a help to me over the years. The Holy Spirit has been able to remind me of relevant verses when needed, or has brought to mind exactly the right passage for articles that I may be writing or messages that I speak, or even in daily conversation or when encouraging friends.
Today I enjoy a regular “smorgasbord” of Bible versions! I “carry” portions of the King James around in my head, and over the past ten years or so have used the New International Version, the New Living Translation, and The Message for my daily Bible reading as well as deeper study. Lately I am intrigued by the extra depth and meaning to be found in the pages of the Amplified version!
So I really can’t say that I have a “favourite” version. But I’d love to know your thoughts … what is YOUR favourite Bible version, and WHY???!!! Send your answer before 31 August 2008 to editor@footprintsaustralia.com, and you could win a copy of the bestselling “Australian Stories for Women”! (You may recognise one of the contributors … a certain Janet Camilleri??!)
The comp will also be promoted in the August Footprints FOCUS ezine. Don’t get the monthly FOCUS ezine in your inbox? It’s FREE! To sign up, just send an email to editor@footprintsaustralia.com with “FOCUS” in the subject line and we’ll do the rest!