The great Southland of the Holy Spirit

 

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 To all my fellow Aussies, I just wanted to pop on and wish you all a wonderful 'Straya Day long weekend!! We hope your having a wonderful sunshiney time doing (and eating) all the wonderful things that make this country great! Actual Australia Day was yesterday and we must have had a truly wonderful Day as I have absolutely no photos of our day! But we definitely spent this day celebrating all that makes this country great - freedom, mateship, great weather, living outdoors and being laid back! We started off the day at church where we were again reminded of Porteguese explorer Pedro Fernandez de Quiros proclomation over Australia in 1606 as “Australia del Espiritu Santo” (the great Southland of the Holy Spirit!) 

“Let the heavens, the earth, the waters with all their creatures and all those present witness that I, Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros…..in the name of Jesus Christ ...... hoist this emblem of the Holy Cross on which His (Jesus Christ’s) person was crucified and whereon He gave His life for the ransom and remedy of all the human race…. on this Day of Pentecost, 14 May 1606….. I, take possession of all this part of the South as far as the pole in the name of Jesus…. Which from now on shall be called the Southern land of the Holy Ghost …. and this always and forever ......and to the end that to all natives, in all the said lands, the holy and sacred evangel may be preached zealously and openly.”

I just love that. It gives me goosebumps that I get to live in such a country! Seriously what an amazing proclamation and an honour bestowed upon no other nation, that our land is to be forever dedicated to God and be a nation where the word of God is to be preached zealously and openly!

In the evening we set up the backyard as an outdoor picture theatre and invited a bunch of friends over for a dessert spread + some board games. The crowning piece of the dessert table, the biggest pavlova I have ever seen - the only thing our country supersizes it seems ;) we watched The Castle and laughed all the way through (and then spent the evening quoting the movie over and over again). It was also great that our friend Bryan who is from Mississippi was able to see it for the first time (he's about to marry our sweet aussie-girl Annie and become half aussie himself, so it was only time!) I've always wanted to watch this movie with an American to see if they find it funny or if it is just our aussie humour. Glad to see he found it funny too! :)

Thank you Lord that I am part of such a wonderful nation - with so much serenity ;) !