Ann Hutchison
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The New Year – Beholding Jesus!
Image courtesy of KAZITAFAHNIZEER at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Happy New Year, dear friends. Wow, 2021 has come upon us and for many of us it hasn’t been a great start with lockdowns, restrictions and political chaos. I’ve been thinking about this post for a few weeks now. In the past few years, I’ve shared my ‘word for…
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Waiting in the Dark – some thoughts on Advent
I’ve always loved December. Living in Australia, it’s summer, the end of the school year so we always had our long summer break over December/January. It’s also my birthday month and … it’s Christmas. I still recall those days approaching Christmas when the presents used to begin to pile up under the tree. Most of…
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Living an Extra (Ordinary) Life
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles and FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello, dear friends. Ian from sunny Sydney here. It’s a big few days in America with the election and we all around the world watch on eagerly with prayerful hearts. Recently, I came across a little-known Saint, Alphonsus Rodriguez, who lived in Spain in the 1500s. Rodriguez was…
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Divine Connections
Photo courtesy of Multipedia and FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello, Ian from Down Under here. I was fascinated to read Ann's Monday post about the history of SUM. And it brought back so many memories for me that I thought I'd go back in time and share my SUM beginnings. It was September 2012. I had always wanted to…
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Let’s Talk about Love
Image courtesy of Dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hiya! Ian from Springtime Sydney. Yes, we in the Southern Hemisphere are beginning to experience the blooming of flowers, the tweeting of baby birds (and unwanted attacks while walking by overzealous magpies) and longer days. I was excited to know that Ann is to be leading us over the…
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Learning to Love
Hello, dear Sumites. Ian from Down Under here. In this challenging year, it’s very easy to hop on the blame bandwagon and start griping about everything and anything. Life as we know it has been turned upside down and really the ‘new normal’ is still so uncertain. What will life be like in 2021, which…
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Faith, Hope and Love
Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net What a year 2020 has been so far! Ian from wintry Sydney here. Be assured that those of us who don’t live in America are weeping for the people of that great nation and we continue to cry out to God believing for a wave of peace to sweep…
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Persistence in Prayer
Photo courtesy of Suriya Kankliang and FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello, dear friends. Ian from Down Under, here. Another month passes, another month where the majority of us are still in some form of lockdown due to COVID-19. It’s fascinating that we are all in this experience together and that God created us for this season. This is…
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Calm in the Storm
Image Courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography and Free Digital Photos.net Hi, Ian here from sunny Sydney. Wow, who could have imagined when I wrote about supernatural happenings and wilderness experiences in my last post that a few weeks later almost the entire would be thrust into wilderness. It’s scary with how fast things have moved.…
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Supernatural Happenings
Photo supplied courtesy of imagery majestic and FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hi! Ian here. Lent began last Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. I’m observing this season once again as I enjoy being intentional about seeking more of God and Lent and Advent seem to help me do that. Yes, I ‘give up’ something (sugar and Instagram this year) as…
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Soul Care
Image courtesy of Yongkiet at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello, my dear friends. Seems ages since we’ve ‘met’. I trust 2020 has started well for you all and your hearts are in good places. My family’s had a tough start to the year. Besides the constant trauma on the TV each night as the bushfires raged through the…
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Advent – An Invitation to Go Deeper
Photo courtesy of LiturgyTools.net The Christmas season comes around every year and for many of us it’s kind of the same-old-same-old. Yes, the specialness of the season are the traditions of it and doing the same things every year. We put up the same tree and decorations, listen to the same Christmas music, have the…
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The Wonder of Lingering
Image courtesy of Chaiwat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net I arrived at a Prayer Meeting that I was leading and one of the members was already present. This was unusual for him as he typically arrived after the first 30 minutes. But I could sense something in his spirit was bursting. It didn’t take long for my friend…
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Divine Moments
Image courtesy of BlueSuedeBallroom.com Hello, dear SUMite friends. Ian from sunny Sydney here. I returned this morning from a whirlwind trip to San Antonio to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference. This is now my fourth conference and the reason I keep returning is that each time I go I experience a…
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Like a Child …
Photo courtesy of photo stock and FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello, dear SUMites. Ian from Down Under here. Spring has begun and the Lord is spoiling us with some delightfully beautiful days. It was Father’s Day here on Sunday and Fiona had organized an afternoon tea with our two sons, their partners and grandchildren at our eldest son’s…
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The Power of Prayer
Image courtesy of thepathtraveler at FreeDigitalPhotos.net We’re a praying SUMite army, aren’t we, dear friends? Ian from freezing cold Sydney here. I trust those of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the warmer temperatures and having fun on summer vacations. Prayer. It’s one of those little words that we’re all familiar with, it’s a…
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Jesus Invites us to Live a New Way
Image courtesy of anankkml via FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello friends, Ian from cold and wintry Sydney here. For a few months now I’ve been reflecting on the first words Jesus spoke to the Galileans on His return from the 40 days in the wilderness. This is what He said: “‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The Kingdom…
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We Raise a Hallelujah!
There has been much to celebrate in SUMite land in recent weeks. The SUMite Gathering at the beginning of April and our dear Lynn’s Mike coming to know Jesus as his Lord and Saviour being two BIG highlights. My family received some wonderful news this morning. John, my brother, some of you may recall, has…
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God takes our little to produce an abundance
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net I was reading the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 the other day and was challenged to reflect on it from the eyes of the boy who had the five loaves and two fish. If you wish to read along I used the version in John 6. I…
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The Heart of the Matter
Image courtesy of graur codrin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net From the beginnings of my faith journey as a teenager Romans 12:1-2 has been a favorite. It was the one I first memorized and regularly prayed seeking the Lord to help me not to conform to the world by transforming me through the renewal of my mind. Even…
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Going Deeper …
Photo courtesy of Pexels.com Hello, dear friends. Ian from sunny Sydney here. It seems ages since I’ve written. I trust the New Year has started well for you and you’re excited for what 2019 holds for you and your family. Recently, I was reading something written by Will Graham, the grandson of the late…