Those were the days....

My eldest child just turned 13!
13!!!

Wow....we have closed the door on her childhood and opened another on the wonderful world of the Teen years.... It was a day that dawned like any other,  but something had changed. My honey-eyed girl had blossomed into a young woman. It didn't really happen overnight....more a gradual metamorphosis over the last few years. When we left to travel around Australia she was just a girl, now 2 years later she is most definitely a young woman! Her Dad and I have had a front row seat, watching as she negotiates life. It is such a blessing to raise a family. There are so many side splittingly hilarious moments. More than a handful of "grrrr moments" and many powerful lessons to be learned for both the parent and the child. I think we have many more to yet to come as well. 

I remember the day I turned 13. I know it took me a while, bit of a stretch on the memory retrieval. My parents gave me a 'Pig Out' T shirt (I never said I was classy!), a 'Ghostbusters' Album on cassette, the book "The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4" and various other bits and pieces...clothing and the like. I remember Dad playing the Inspector Gadget theme song over and over again in the car....(he still plays this :) Those were the days of spiked hair, mullets, fluro socks and rah rah skirts! When Madonna dominated the airwaves and my favourite movie was 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'. When we all thought we could Dance any time, anywhere, 'Footloose' and 'Dirty Dancing' just re-inforced that belief!!! When break dancing was cool and Michael Jackson taught an entire generation to moon walk. Aaaaah the 80's! Those were the days when I rode motorbikes for fun, spent most of my school holidays outdoors and spent my school terms at Boarding School in Charters Towers. Yep...those were the days that filled my 13th year of life. I am still living down the haircut! What was I thinking..?! Crazy crazy crazy!

As I reflect on my teen years and pause to take stock of my honey-eyed daughter's teen experience thus far...I can't help but notice how different our "teen" years are. She is so much classier than I ever was. I am delighted in the beautiful young woman she is. She is so bright, where I struggled at School. She is super talented at music, specifically violin, where my musical ability was limited to what I could enjoy on cassette. She is actively involved in Scouts, where I dropped out of Girl Guides. She is so very brave, pushes herself to the limit of her comfort zone all the time, where I was often held back by my fear of what might happen. She has a close relationship with our Lord and Saviour where I didn't come to know Him until much later. She has travelled extensively around Australia and I, as a teen, had only enjoyed my home (a sheep & cattle Property) and the surrounding area in remote Western Queensland. She has lived in a tent for the past 2 years, had to go without a lot of the things other kids probably take for granted, forgone friendships and security....and yet she has experienced first hand what it means to live by faith, to sit in the presence of God, to go where He leads, to share with His people, to give the gifts and talents He has blessed us with to further His Kingdom. Yes...our teen years are very different. I don't regret my teen years, it was what it was. I didn't know there was a different way to live, but I do now. I am trying not to worry about what could have been and choose to focus on what is and what will be. I am so very blessed to be Josie's Mum. To have the privilege of witnessing this delightful young lady blossom into a woman. I praise God for her, she is such a gift to this family. There is much ahead of her....highs and lows...learning curves....so much life to be lived. Josie, my love...be bold, be strong....for you are not alone. The Lord your God is with you and will not forsake you. He has brought you this far and He will lead you on. Take hold of what He has promised and keep yourself grounded in His word. You will have so many choices to make over the next couple of years....seek His wisdom. 

Love you beautiful girl
xo

Sweet Solitude, Muffin Mix and Love notes...

Today marks an anniversary of sorts. We drove into Malanda on a Monday three weeks ago, with all our worldly possessions packed tightly into our Troopie and Camper Trailer. Three days later we moved into the timber house on a green hill overlooking Dairy Cattle country. With the children all attending school in nearby Atherton, I am relishing a little solitude. The first few days they were at school I wasn't entirely sure where I could best utilise my time. Those first few days were more about giving me a little head space than anything else. That moment when the Troopie drives out the driveway, transporting my family to school and work, and silence settles upon the house is bittersweet. Yes, I am a sook....I miss my family. After 2 years living in a one room camper trailer, in each other's pockets 24/7, who wouldn't miss them??? Yet the chance to sit and soak uninterrupted in the presence of my Lord and Saviour is so very sweet. This morning was especially lovely. Let me back track a little....I have been feeling a bit down. Nothing major just a longing for female companionship. I am blessed to have some beautiful friends who know and love me for who I am. It's just that geographically I am very much alone and lonely! (It has been this way during our travels as well, unless of course we were in a MOPS town :) This morning sitting there with a coffee, reading, praying, singing and soaking in God's presence has taken the sting out of how bereft I feel. I am not alone, He is with me....He is right here! I was encouraged as I read this morning...

"Our heavenly Father is the Creator of all, and the Giver of all good gifts. His children should bear His likeness, which means they should be creative."

I spent quite a bit of time just sitting in silence, letting it settle in upon me, listening.... It is such a cool thought that we are to be creative to emulate the Master Craftsman. I have so much mundane stuff to do today...washing, cleaning, cooking, preparing..... I asked for His help to get creative, to find joy and meaning in the works of my hands, and mostly for motivation. I was feeling so tired..... I decided that if my work was to glorify the Lord today I had better get moving. So I put on some upbeat Praise & Worship music (I started with "Make Way For The King" available through Victory Life Church, Perth  then flowed on through a Hillsong album - "Saviour King Live", and a Wow To Worship compilation CD), plastered a smile on my face and I haven't looked back! Although I have paused many times just to join in with the various songs. It has been a balm for my soul. I attacked the washing pile. I mixed and baked some chocolate mini muffins for the children to take in their lunchboxes to school. I planned Dinner : Sundried Tomato Chicken Kebabs with salad. I have re-arranged some of the minimal furniture in the house. I have hung out the washing around the house, swept and cleaned up. It's been full on! But I feel so much better for it. A lot can be said for music therapy!

Mum & Dad ROCK (from) Rosa

Mum & Dad love me (from) Rosa

I was walking through my room, pondering creativity when I discovered these two little sticky love notes from Miss Rosa. How special. She had at some point decided to pop these little notes on the swinging doors in our Bedroom. What a cutie.... It got me thinking..... Maybe I should arm myself with sticky notes and go attack the house.... Leaving random little notes here and there for my family. They should know they are loved both by their Mum and their Saviour..... 

But first, time for a cuppa, a muffin, 15 minutes of a good book and a killer view!!!

The Art and Science Of...Me

Who am I?

That The Lord of all the earth,

would care to know my name...

would care to feel my hurt...

If you really knew me...you wouldn’t like me. Do you ever catch this thought beetling through your head. Usually followed closely by the troublesome: Am I good enough? Am I worthy? Or recently thanks to the popular rock song.... Am I pretty enough?

When I was a little girl I used to spend hours pretending to be somebody else...not just anybody, specifically those I perceived to be beautiful, attractive, successful, even fascinating. I was often frustrated by my gawky self, my unruly straw coloured hair, my voice that was just lacking “something”, my freckly face, chubby body and totally un-appealing flat chest!!! I longed to be as sensual as Sandra Dee (Olivia Newton-John in “Grease”), as beautiful as Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady”), as free-spirited as Maria (Julie Andrews in “The Sound Of Music”) and I’m super embarrassed to say....as voluptuous as Dolly Parton!!! 

With these beauties of stage and screen to compare myself too, I never really stacked up! I often felt awkward and uncomfortable with my body, my singing voice, my “self” and my um lack of a bust! And then I stumbled over Psalm 139. And over time have come to accept the “me” that God made! It didn’t come easily! I didn’t wake up one morning and suddenly think “I’m gorgeous – strike a pose!” Quite the opposite actually. It took me a while. I would take all my insecurities, stinging comments (like “do you have a baby in your belly” when I wasn’t pregnant) to God and pour out my heart in prayer. There, curled up in a tight little ball in the arms of Jesus, repeating all those hurtful, critical remarks and comparing myself to someone else’s beautiful outsides....God slowly began to reveal to me just how carefully he put me together, how dear I am to Him, how He deliberately wired me for His plan and His purpose! And each time I come back and sit in His presence I am reminded that it only matters that I’m His! He knows me, He sees my very thoughts, He thinks about me more often than I can even comprehend....and He loves me just the way I am! Of course it helps that I married an Electrician, a fella that really sees me...and likes the way I’m wired!

God is with you and rescues you from your troubles. You are not alone in this world, quite the contrary actually. The one who lovingly pieced you together, who knows your very thoughts; has a plan and a purpose for your life! You are not some random collection of cells coming together unexpectedly...you are a delicate framework, put together with great care and consideration, knit together, formed in His image! I love that song that goes... “You made everything Glorious! You made everything Glorious! And I am yours....what does that make me?” He walks with you and calls you His own...How blessed are you to have God as your companion in life! Cling to that thought...God is with you! He will not forsake you! 

“even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:10

 Read through Psalm 139

Take a moment to capture your thoughts; the verses that speak to your core and the areas you feel need ACTION

1) What jumps out at you?

2) How are you wired? What specific gifts and abilities has God given you?

3) Psalm 139 speaks volumes of a Father’s love...I love the verses about how His thoughts towards you outnumber the grains of sand. (vs 17-18) Take a moment to tell your LORD and Saviour what it is you love about Him? “How do I love thee...let me count thy ways”

4) SEARCH ME: Read Psalm139:23-24 Ask God to show you where you need a little “tweaking?”

Application verses:

Joshua 1:5

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”

Psalm 103:1-5

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Psalm 103:12

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”

Proverbs 20:24

“A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?”

Proverbs 31:30

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

It's just too much...

Do you ever have those times when it's all just too much? You know, when you're just "Over It!"
I had a day like this recently.
Sometimes it seems that no matter how late I stay up just to get something done, or how many times I do the washing or vacuum the floor or clean the toilet, or get up early just to get ready in time so that we can leave that few minutes earlier....I still can't quite get on top of things. I still don't manage to get to school/work/mops/church/book club on time. Oh the stress and disappointment associated with that. It can become so depressing that I confess these words fly out of my..."why did I bother?"
Everyone struggles at some time. We can't always be upbeat and happy and have it all "together". I certainly try very hard to be "real". But occasionally the fear of what others might think of me invades my fragile head space and I see my home with critical eyes. I literally see problem areas everywhere I look, cobwebs hanging from the rafters, washing piled on the lounge chair, food on the floor, weeds in the garden, spots on the carpet, fingerprints on the windows. I enter into a manic cleaning frenzy, usually after the kids go to bed, that runs late into the night.
I remember this one time I had a bunch of women coming over for morning tea and Bible study and this feeling came over me, so I set to work like a madwoman cleaning scrubbing, hiding all the "mess" so that they wouldn't think badly of me. I rationalised these actions with comments directed to my perplexed husband like "they have babies, that need to go on to the floor, so the floors need to be clean" or "they actually need to sit somewhere so we need to clear that couch" or "we need cups for hot drinks so we need the dishwasher emptied and those dishes off the sink to make room for the next lot...." Get the picture. They sound like plausible reasons for my manic cleaning effort.
Looking at my enormous pile of clean washing, I thought...

"I know I'll move it once rather than make several trips...so thinking I was particularly clever I spread out a king sized quilt cover and proceeded to pile every last sock, jock and towel onto the cover, bundled it all together, went to throw it over my shoulder casually and walk down to pop it on my bed.
One problem that thing was heavy!
Okay Plan B, drag it.
This worked for a little while but I forgot about the hallway. doh!
At this point I was beginning to chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Plan C squish the sides into the hallway and puuuuuuuuullllllll!
Phew this is hard work.
Get to the bedroom, laughing uncontrollably at this point, squeeze through the door, pause to catch my breath....Look from the bulging bundle to the bed.
Re-assess.
Right, it can sit there on the floor. Too heavy to lift, too big....sigh....
Plan D close the bedroom door.

I think we have the same approach when we prepare to meet with God sometimes. I'll just get this done, and hide that mess and move that from here to here and push far from my mind that thing I should have done/said/dealt with... "Right there you go, now Lord come on over, how can I help you today?"  the thing is, God is interested in the whole picture. He already knows about the "messy' parts of our lives, and he loves us and accepts us for who we are. Because we are created in his image. He knit us together, He knows the thoughts we have and the words on our tongue before we do. He hurts with us and for us. He cares. It matters to him.
You know what. There are always going to be dishes in the sink to do, washing to fold, toilets to clean, lounge rooms to rediscover, gardens that need tending and children that need feeding/ bathing/ dressing/ cuddling/ disciplining/ teaching....messy parts of our lives. We need to choose to see things with some perspective. Why not ask..."who can benefit from seeing my messy house today, from seeing that I'm not all tickety boo? Seeing that I don't have it all together and that really is fine?" Being real and transparent with others might just be the blessing they need this week. Instead spend that time  sitting at the feet of the master, and open your heart to what he has to say...

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42 (New Living Translation)

Oh Lord thank you that you still cared deeply for Martha, and that you gently pointed out to her how important it is to sit at your feet.
Help me to be "real".