5 minutes with Dianne ...

Tell us a little about you ... I live on the south coast of NSW, I'm a wife, a mum, and a Nana, and I help out with the bookwork for our family business. A real joy in my life is my family, our 2 adult children and their spouses, have blessed us with 4 awesome grandchildren. I love being actively involved in our local church, especially the youth groups and scripture at our local school. Our God is good and life is a blessing. What's your favourite bible verse and why? My favourite Bible Verse is Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” This verse has taught me many times that God gives us strength in proportion to the strain.

How do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus by not taking anything in life for granted. Thanking Him for everything and staying close to Him, in thought and actions. As I said, I’m no scholar, but as Joyce Meyer says, “I know, that I know, that I know, that I know”.

What would you like the next generation of Christian women to know? I would like the next generation of Christian women to hold fast to Jesus, never let go (not from ‘Frozen’!!), never give up. Trust Him always, don’t ever turn your back on Him or blame Jesus because of the failures of man.

What's one thing that you love about your local church? Much could be said about the Uniting Church in general, we won’t go there, but here in Gerringong there are 2 things that I love about my church. Firstly the teaching is true to the Word, and secondly, the love and care of each other within our community of believers, and beyond as well.

What did you learn about God at a time in your life you found hard? What I have learnt about God, quite harshly at times, is that no amount of belief in our Lord and Saviour makes us impervious to grief, sadness and pain. It was hard to be diagnosed with MS, later with breast cancer, and more recently with heart and lung issues, but all of these have shown me my Lord in ways I would never have known otherwise. I really didn’t know how much I was running on Di power, even though I believed I had given my life totally to Jesus. I learnt how to take life one day at a time, and trust Him for whatever future I had. Don’t get me wrong, I slip back every now and then without knowing, but it doesn’t take long to realize I’m back on Di power, it’s just too hard to go it alone for any length of time.

What are you passionate about? I am passionate about spending quality time with people, one on one, over coffee and meals. I feel that this is an excellent time to be real with people, find what’s going on in their hearts, and ask God to be ever present in our conversations.

What do you enjoy doing when you rest? I love a good movie, that’s when I stop thinking and have my R and R.