Thank You Melbourne

I felt sad as we left Melbourne this week. I thought about the time we spent with family; time spent with friends from my husband's teenage years; and time spent with the new friends I made at my book signings.

Kooyong Bookstore - Blackburn Vic.

A very special thank you to everyone who came to my book signings at Koorong Blackburn and Koorong Melbourne CBD, and a special thank you to radio Light FM 89.9 for interviewing me. You all made my day special.

You see, I spend a lot of time behind the keyboard, or scratching with pen on paper hoping to write a saleable novel, and often I'm plagued with doubts about my work. When I have the opportunity to showcase my work it's so humbling to know that someone is going to take the time to read it.

Everyone is short of time, so to come to my book signing made me feel really valued. A special thanks again to all who came.

From the city to the bush at Eagle Point: I just had to share what happened yesterday.

A family of swans came to visit us at our camp site. I'm not sure if this is mum or dad with the cygnets, but the other adult is chasing up a wayward young one while the others watch with interest....could we get away with a bit of adventure just like our brother?

Feeling safe and secure with Mum

Best wishes to you all for a blessed Easter with family and friends.

Get Debt Free - For Free!

Can you believe you can be debt free at no cost to you? Amazing! But it's true!

Click on the link to see for yourself: www.capaust.org Christians Against Poverty is an organisation committed to changing people's lives. Please take the time to visit this website to see the work this organisation does, and if you feel led to make a donation be assured you're helping to change a life, too.

Being in debt and seeing no way out has to be one of the most depressing situations for anyone to be in: it's demoralising, stressful, breaks family relationships and can lead to deep depression and related health issues.

Thankfully, in 1996 John and Lizzie Kirkby felt God calling them to help the poor and needy in their hometown of Bradford, UK. This courageous couple stepped out in faith and today have a ministry that started in a bedroom of their home extending to Australia and New Zealand. Their organisation has helped thousands of people and will continue to help many more thousands of people who have been bound by debt.

When times are good we don't always think about the future, then suddenly, someone in the family loses their job, no income; someone gets sick and needs extensive medical care, no income to pay for the doctor's fees; and no income to pay the electricity, gas, rates, telephone and all the other bills that have to be paid.

When debt comes in the door, spirits dive to a place of hoplessness where you feel as though you are in a dark place and there's no light to guide you out of that dark place. It's difficult to admit you're in debt even though it may be because of a negative change in circumstances.

Nevertheless written by John Kirkby is an inspirational biography. It is an account of his life and his walk of faith when he heard the call of God. He committed himself to helping others get rid of debt and to restore their self-worth.

John Kirkby is an amazing man on an incredible journey that started when he was in his own hole of debt and he needed to find a way out. God took him on that journey so that he could help others who were also in need of inspiration. It started in a bedroom of his home and has grown to the organisation that owns a refurbished factory and spread across the world to Australia and New Zealand. The end result has come because of his deep faith and desire to change thousands of people's lives.

John's program is designed to help people by taking control of their debts. Officers and counsellors work together and liaise with financial institutions so the debts can be paid back over time, then they prepare a plan for the future that will keep them debt free. By the time the plan is implemented the client's self-esteem is restored and they are given enormous hope for the future. You can read the testimonies on CAP's website.

If you're in debt, and most people hit this position at some time their lives, take time now to contact Christians Against Poverty to get out of the dark and into the light and get your life back on track.

Daring To Dream Again ...

King Lake, Victoria

As I hear about the flooding in Queensland I'm reminded it has been two years since the raging bushfires swept through Kinglake in Victoria destroying everything in their path. These catastrophic events are part of the Australian life but that doesn't make it any easier for those who are caught in the middle of the events losing family and friends and everything they own, including their treasured family history in the forms of photographs and mementoes.

Both of these events have seen me in tears as I watched the destruction happening before my eyes on the television. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for the people who are experiencing every terrifying second that unfolds.

Last week we stayed in The Gum Trees Camping Area at Kinglake National Park, 65 kilometres north of Melbourne. It was a welcome break after the hectic pace of Christmas in Melbourne: a time to reflect on 2010 and what I'm expecting for 2011; and also time to think about the lives of the people who are still living in Kinglake two years on.

A walk down the main street of Kinglake showed me a close knit community brought together by life threatening events. Groups of people sat together in fellowship. The storekeepers were friendly and open to us strangers welcoming us into their community. I felt encouraged by these people who'd been through so much but could be so open and friendly to us.

Out of the town we drove along the quiet, eerie roads that had been devastated by the fire. Here we felt the oppression of lives lost and dreams that might have been. I couldn't stop the tears that rained down my face when I saw the letterboxes standing at the front of the properties that no longer held a house, and the precious lives that used to live within the homes. We drove this road for no more than a few minutes when I asked Frank to turn around. I couldn't take any more of the sadness that had crept upon my spirit. Some of the people had died and some had left to live elsewhere. Who could blame them when their past lives had been swept away from them?

Kinglake is a place of dreams damaged and dreams lost, but it's also a place of faith and hope for those who decided to stay and rebuild their lives. Hope can be seen in their faces, their new homes and the reaching out to strangers. I've decided the people of Kinglake, both those who decided to stay, and those who have moved on are courageous. Neither of these groups of people are right or wrong. They've made a choice based on their own abilities and talents, personal history and dreams. Well done to all of you!

In the forest, we saw the charred trunks of the trees standing like sentinels, a reminder of the destruction, but our hearts were filled with gladness when we saw the new growth emerging from the forest floor. Most of it was about a metre high and there was evidence of wombats and echidnas, and an increasing number of birds seemed to come in daily.

The bush was regenerating. The trunks of the burned trees had new shoots coming out of their blackened trunks seeking the food they need for survival. Soon the lower shoots will fall away as the trees become strong and lose their charred skins and grow new high branches that will give them the nourishment they need.

There is new life happening in Kinglake and the surrounding areas that were burned in February 2009. For the flooded areas of Central and Southern Queensland new shoots of hope will come for you, too. But first, I encourage you to allow yourself to feel the pain of your losses, and grieve for them, and when the time is right for you, take hold of all the courage you can muster and step out in faith. Soon hope will come to you, so that you, too, can dare to dream of a future again.

Thumbs Up to Heritage Building Society

Today, I got the shock of my life to learn someone in America had access to my credit card and used it to pay for goods worth over six thousand dollars. My financial institution phoned me this morning to inform me of this unfortunate incident. I was stunned by the fact that someone had the cheek to steal my visa details from who knows where, test it first to see if it worked by making a one dollar payment then they decided to go for the big amounts increasing the money spent each day.

Thankfully, a conscientious employee was able to see I'd spent money in Victoria at the same time as the transactions happened in America. He put one and one together and thought how could this be? I like people who think. He could quite easily have shrugged and said it's none of my business. I have high praise for this employee because his work isn't only a job to him, it's about caring for the people's accounts he looks after. When I received the phone call he gave me details of the transactions and also took the time to explain how this unfortunate incident happened and how I could best deal with the situation because I'm travelling in a caravan and don't have easy access to a printer, photocopier and a Justice of the Peace. His kindness and helpfulness couldn't be faulted.

My opinions of financial institutions have changed as from this moment because Heritage is picking up the tab for these transactions that weren't mine. Also this morning there were four other people whose cards were hit, apart from mine. One in America, one in France and he didn't tell me where the others were. Their system showed they were legitimate transactions. Someone had stolen my visa card number and stamped the details on another card possibly with a bogus logo on the front of the card. This is fraud, of course, but when the card was presented for the goods it went through the cyberspace transaction highway and according to Heritage everything was kosher so the confirmation went back to the American store and the fraudster was able to pick up the goods and take them home.

I learned today that if I can prove a transaction in dispute is legitimate, the financial institution accepts responsiblity for the transaction going through, and they pay for the incorrect transactions.

That's right no cost to me!

I was astonished to learn this because these transactions will be the first that I'm disputing in the thirty odd years I've held a credit card account. All those fees the financial institutions charge are beginning to make sense to me. They have to pay money for the fraudsters of this world who rip off innocent customers. I'm now wondering how much this type of fraud costs us customers. If we could find a way to stop these criminals, I wonder how much less we'd pay in fees. The fraudster charged over six thousand on my card, if they did it on the other four cards for similar amounts that's twenty-four thousand dollars the financial institutions have to find for today. If this happens every day .... I'll let you do the sums.

From now on I'll be less inclined to bash financial institutions because I didn't know half of what goes on behind the scenes in their day. Fraud is a huge cost the average customer has to pay for through monthly fees. Wouldn't it be great if we could stamp out the fraud, and pay fewer fees and interest?

In Melbourne

We've been away for a week and already we're meeting new people and enjoying the green countryside after the drought years the country has experienced.

Here is a photo of our home while we're on the road.

Our Home On Wheels

We spent the first night in a truck stop, a freebie which came with a bush toilet so that was okay, but all through the night the big trucks came in for some well-deserved rest, too. We met another traveller that night who camped with us. He was on his way to Coolangatta. A caring man who had provided foster care for at risk children for most of his life.

The second night we stayed in Forbes by the lake. Everything was going fine until a storm blew up and the water started rising again. A young man came up to us and said we should move out of the park because we could be flooded by morning. We wasted no time in packing up our caravan and heading for higher ground. Fortunately, the lake only rose a little, but it was better than having to move at two o'clock in the morning if the water had risen into the camping area.

Our third night we stayed in Denliquin in a caravan park which was luxury. Great to have a hot shower and some quiet time away from the trucks. We visited with friends and they showed us the highlights of Denilquin which was really interesting. Every October, the town hosts a Ute Muster which brings about three thousand visitors to the town. I can't quite imagine how this event might look, so perhaps we may need to time our next visit in Denilquin so that we can be part of the fun.

Our adventure hasn't been without a couple of problems. For some reason I don't understand, the battery in the van blew a cell and '"cooked" the battery, so we had to buy a new one; and the fridge heating element has decided it doesn't want to do the job anymore, so we have to tow the van to a caravan repairer tomorrow to have it fixed. The positive is that it happened in a major city where we can get help before we head out to somewhere more remote.

It's very cold and rainy in Melbourne. I'm glad we're staying with Frank's sister. She has ducted heating which is making our stay very pleasant.