Share the Joy

 I dare you not to smile....or find yourself moving a little.....

Catch some of this guy and you will be made to look at life a little differently......

                             

Being Great

 I have read some fantastic books so far this year.....

Two in particular....

One of them was Greater by Steven Furtick

 








Another one I have just finished is Days Like These by Kristian and Rachel Anderson

 


If you don't know their story you can see a bit here....

These words in the final chapter just resonated with me and I wanted to share them 

"I think that's how you become truly great. You help others. You put yourself last so that they can go first. You don't have to have a million dollars in the bank. What is it you have in your hand? What are you good at? Are you a mechanic? Does someone you know need help with their car? Are you a gardener? Is someone you know unable to tend their garden? Are you an accountant? Does someone you know need help with their tax return? Are you a stay at home mum and you cook a mean pasta? Do you know someone who could really do with some help at mealtime? Are you a cleaner? Do you know someone who needs their house cleaned every now and then? Are you a regular dude who sees a family in a restaurant and you want to pay their bill? Do it. These are the sorts of things that make you great. These are the things that change the lives of others......"

Days Like These, pg 214-215 


I feel like I am really getting the message to challenge myself to be and do GREATER things with my life. 

 Take 11 minutes and watch this....

Truly inspiring 

Having a passion about what it is we are meant to do
 
IS what makes the difference.....

Are you a gift to someone else?

After reading this post  today it made me think about the impact social media is having on our kids......
 
 I have always thought myself a little old fashioned and not "up with the times" when it comes to social media.....

Lately I have been  more sure of the decisions I have made to refrain from getting consumed by it all......

As time goes by and our children are reaching ages that they are very aware of social media and what is available I have had to really think through why I do what I do or don't do ....

I love to blog......but that's the only pace you will find me....

no facebook , no twitter, no instagram just here....

I AM so ok with that....am I missing out on something...I am sure I am.......does it matter  or are they necessarily things that will enhance my life?????

I am not saying there aren't good things about social media ...there is...I am just conscious about how much I am involved , which ultimately will determine when and how much my kids will be caught up.....

I need to model to them how to keep a balance....

I actually want them just to be a little naive for a little longer....

Be kids that have real life friends and real life exposure to their world and not so much through a computer 

It is a scary place out there with too much, too easily available....all of it  we are told that we must be apart of.......

I hope to raise kids that make good choices and learn to guard themselves from that which is a growing and untameable beast..... 

 

Underneath the greenery

Do you find that life is messy?
Twisted and tangled?
Not quite how you thought it might  have been?

  Some conversations I have been having lately....

 chatting about these things...

Sometimes we can't do an awful lot about "it" in the moment.....

Sometimes "it" needs time and hard work, patience even.

Maybe some coming to our knees......

Maybe we just need another to share the burden and help us release the valve....

 

Maybe just so we can be filled up again....maybe so we can see things a little clearer.....

Maybe to help us see the things that are right in our life.....

the juicy , tasty , fun bits.......

We all need to have a friend, that person who can give us a hug and a promise to stand with us.....

I want more than anything to be a person like that....

A friend , a strength to someone who is struggling with the tangles and twists of life.

[pics of our gorgeous and character filled weeping mulberry tree.]

Parting Ways

How long is long enough?

What is ok to have an attachment to ?

How do I let go of things?

What should I keep and what should I let go?

These are some of the things I have been grappling with these last couple of days.

We have been trying to come up with a new solution to space in our home.....it is 6 1/2 years since  our Taylor left us and we have not done much with her room ..that is until this weekend.....

We came to the idea that I should move from my purpose built space in the middle of the house down to Taylor's room..

I was fine with that as I could see myself in front of the big window looking out over the garden..I liked the idea of being able to close the door when a project was in full flight, hiding the mess inspiration....

I was even looking forward to being in her space and doing what I love best ..creating....

What I didn't expect was how hard it was going to be moving ,sorting ,packing up and parting with the last of her things.....

I found myself  in the middle of the move almost paralysed with emotion not knowing how to move ahead with this reshuffle.

Derek suggested I do a little at a time...but I had created a mess from one end of the house to the other now I needed to keep going....

I love my new space  even as small and crowded as it is  (due to the amount of stuff I have tucked in there and the things I convinced myself just had to stay in there) .

I just need to look from a different angle and see the potential for the creating with her memory around me rather from the guilt of changing her space and parting with things that were hers...

I love that the room is still purple and her butterfly's still hang around over head.....I need to remind myself that just because we change things that were, doesn't mean that we will forget what was.

I am looking forward to it being a room filled with life and productivity and a room where I have struck a good  balance between me and her.

I know that this is just a room in our house- our house of 12 1/2 years , a house where we have grown our little family and a house that will provide so many more memories for us ....

But it needs to be a home that  is not stifled by the things I tell myself I must hold on to in order to keep remembering.

For the memories are truly in my heart.

Today

Hannah Whitall Smith writes:

“This blessed life must not be looked upon in any sense as an attainment but as an obtainment.  We cannot earn it; we cannot climb up to it; we cannot win it; we can do nothing but ask for it and receive it. It is the gift of God in Christ Jesus. And where a thing is a gift, the only course left for the receiver is to take it and thank the giver.”  found via here

Now

We only have now....

so

Master Your impatience

But 

Don't  procrastinate..

Some wise teaching from our Senior Pastor tonight.

Wow

Not sure what brought me to tears more....

the fight of a little boy

or

the love of a brother.....

Simple

I am always trying to find ways to make life for us simpler...not always successful  but always trying....

Check out this list of  33 Ways to Simplify your life...

I dare you to try one or two!

One Month to Live Part Three

Check out week three of the One Month To Live Campaign
This is the inspiration and teaching we received this week in church....

One Month To Live Week 2

Check out this week's installment of our One Month To Live Programme

here

Life

Today I attended a funeral service for my Great Aunty. I went with my sister and my dad...My Great Aunty was my mum's aunty and as it is that mum is not here to go we went to represent her and the family.
It was held on a family horse stud farm and was the most perfect of Autumn days .

It was a lovely opportunity to make some lost connections with my mum's older generation family and to hear of the fond memories of her Aunty...there is something about funerals that are very emotional even if the link is distant. Hearing family members share their thoughts and feelings for another member of their family in this case a mother and grandmother brings back all the feelings of loss for my own mother...the tears I found myself shedding were in part for this dear old Aunt but much much more for the words and sentiments that could have easily been my own thoughts and words for my mum.

I follow the blog of Stephanie Nielson a woman with a miraculous God story...watch this following clip that she has made and be inspired - if you are a mother be reminded of the enormity of the precious gift that is our life that we take so much for granted.

(be inspired and challenged by Stephanie's story but know that I personally am not endorsing her pathway to a relationship with God)

ANZAC Day 2010

Organised??

I long to be organised and live life much more simpler....I just don't seem to be able to carry it through as far as I would dream for.

I read these interesting articles that I thought maybe you too would find some inspiration from them.

Allowing a new world to emerge


Setting goals for yourself as a home manager


5 reasons we love living small.

Sunday

Life isn't measured by the number of breathes we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
-Anonymous

Happy Sunday to you.

What is making me smile...

What is making me smile....
Memories from a lovely holiday...

Watching this little guy figure out all by himself his new birthday lego model...

then getting dad to check it over and help with the tricky bits...

and this.....

Monday

(the first flower on Derek's Gardenia he has tended very carefully)

Hope your Monday was not too overwhelming, filled with a little fun and full of energy ready for the week ahead.

14 Wishes

9th March 2001

14 Wishes is what we would have for today...well we really only have one......
14 is what age our big girl would have been today...The house would have been filled with Hip Hip Hoorays and much candle blowing but instead we chose to head out of town for the day and celebrate in a much quieter way together as a smaller family - smaller than we would like.
We have missed 6 birthdays now with her and there is still a strong sense of needing to stop what we would normally be doing and go in the opposite direction if not just for a few hours. To tell ourselves that she still does matter and we still do hurt at not eating cake for her instead of with her.

Happy Birthday Taylor Louise ..

Friends on Friday( and a new baby)

"...understand that to nurture and love others with the grace you desire means taking care of yourself and cultivating your own inner harmony. Inner harmony grows not by finding ways to get away from your child, but by giving yourself the gift of a hot bath at the end of a long day, reading a book of poetry, talking to a friend on the phone, taking a nap, crying, getting a massage, having a day off from cleaning and cooking, staying in your pajamas all day, swimming, going out to eat, or attending a conference. Do something for yourself as you give. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take yourself so seriously."
~ Peggy O'Mara, The Way Back Home( found via here )

We moved outside and sewed, drank tea and created together then I continued on into the afternoon all by myself with just my own thoughts and the birds to listen to .After such hot hot weather it was a refreshing hint of Autumn.

The project above was continuing on with my challenge to use up some of my already thrifted goodies. I used this tutorial as inspiration.
I made two ,to gift my two beautiful sisters with....

Oh! which my youngest has just blessed us with the PINK VARIETY!!!!!!
MYA FLORENCE OWENS.
Can't wait to see you guys in a week and a half.