This Little Light of Mine

Why God?! and a Humble Request for Prayer

2012-03-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

Hello there friends! I am so sorry about the past three weeks of silence but there's been a lot of things going on around here.

Have you ever been tempted to feel like this cartoon? "Why God?!!" "Why me?" "What have I done to deserve this?" Lately, I have felt this way... I'm ashamed to say! I guess we all do at some time in life. When life becomes burdensome and we feel overwhelmed and that cross seems to become unbearable. Sickness strikes, debts pile up, relationships become strained...whatever the problems they all seem to pile up into something we half carry, half drag around.

Sometimes we feel that God has abandoned us. We seem to be sinking into some kind of mire. We know that isn't true though. No matter how bad things are they could always be worse. We could never know how much God's grace has already averted or lessened for us.

When we sink... its because we have taken our eyes off of Him. Remember Peter? Faith is what keeps us walking on water, it is what gives us eagles' wings. The moment we focus on the problems, the situations that we face and take our eyes off of Him, we begin to sink.

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There is also the question of gratitude to God. Remember the Israelites? This mighty God removed them from slavery, parted the Red Sea, provided manna from Heaven and water to drink and yet they could turn from Him! They whined like spoiled children when the heat became intense, when they needed food or water. They complained that He had freed them so that they could die! Are we like that sometimes?

Do we fail to remember all that God has done for us in moments of trial? Psalm 103:2 says "Praise the Lord my soul and forget not all his benefits" NIV. The New Jerusalem Bible translates "and never forget all his acts of kindness". We could never merit all that God does for us, yet His love is so powerful and His mercy so unfathomable, that He continues to pour out His grace upon us. LET US NEVER FORGET THAT!

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Today, I humbly would like to request prayer for my mother in law who has cancer and began treatment last week. She's had some adverse reactions to the treatment and the family has been quite worried about her. I also want to lift up my sister in law, Francine, in prayer because she is the primary care-giver and has her own health problems. It has been a very stressful time for the family. This lady has been so strong...the backbone of the family. She has always been there for us. It has been so difficult to see her decline... not only physically, but into depression and what seemed to be a loss of will to fight.

For all of my married life (22 years), I have seen the strength of my mother in law. As I grew to learn her life story she became a pillar for me. I grew up with so much negativity and it was my mother in law who taught me to see the silver lining in the clouds. I have never known anyone who kept up a positive attitude in the midst of adversity as she has done. No matter what...she has kept a smile on her face and a cheerful attitude. It breaks my heart to see her sink so low.

Seven years ago, she was first diagnosed with cancer and she fought bravely. Her faith in God grew by leaps and bounds and she trusted Him as never before. She had faith that He would heal and restore. She has had a good seven years and we are grateful to God for her continued presence in our lives and the stalwart she has been. Now it is our time to support her. We are praying for strength and courage for her to fight this but we know how tired, weak and discouraged she is. Still, God is a God of limitless power and who knows what He will do in this situation!

Please join me my friends and pray for Joan, for healing of her heart and soul as well as her body. Please pray for the family to understand her needs and to have patience and strength to give to her. As you can imagine, when it is the one who has been the pillar that has been felled, the rest of the structure is weakened.

I want to say a special thank you to Angela and the Good Morning Girls International Group for the prayers they have been saying for the past few weeks. Thanks to you too all my friends...may God bless you all!

Linking to:

Marriage Monday - What does Submission in Christian Marriage Look Like?

2012-02-21T11:29:00.002-04:00

Today I'm linking up with e-Mom over at Chrysalis for another Marriage Monday...today's topic is a very controversial one... submission in Christian marriage. Many people misunderstand this biblical principle and the word 'submission' is like some kind of profanity and not to be uttered.

In fact, it wasn't until very late in my own marriage that I even heard about this principle. By then, I had already unwittingly started to apply some of its elements to my own marriage, but as I learned more about it, I came to understand more about myself and what I had done wrong and how to correct the patterns of behaviour, destroy the well of resentment and improve the application of submission to my marriage.

Looking back, my mother 'submitted' to my father all of the time. She never argued with him, she never contradicted him...even when he was clearly wrong. He called the shots on everything in our household and we grew up seeing our mother always allowing my father control over everything. I now know that her way of 'submission' wasn't really what its all about...it was more a way of keeping the peace, but at what expense?

Even though she never stood up to him or contradicted him, she was very vocal in her criticisms of his behaviour when he wasn't around. Unfortunately, she said it all in front of us children and it exacerbated our already brimming cup of resentment. It was clear that she didn't agree with him, didn't respect him, despite the outward show and this just added to the gap in emotional distance between us and him. I learned later on as an adult that it undermined my own respect for her as well, as I believed that she allowed things to happen in our household that could have been prevented if she had spoken up, took a stand for justice.

So what is submission exactly?

If you examine Ephesians 5:22-24 "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."

I believe that the key to our submission in marriage lies in our submission to Christ. What does it mean to submit to God? For me, submission to God looks like this: surrendering control of my life to Him. Trusting Him with my needs, my problems and looking to Him for guidance, to lead me in all situations in my life. Tough to do! Its a constant battle to relinquish my desire to plan and control what happens in my life, but I find that as I do, He gives me the necessary graces to apply the principles of biblical submission to my marriage as well.

What does submission in marriage look like?

I believe that submission may look different in each marriage. Some husbands, like my own, may be more willing to listen to their wives ideas. Some may be willing to leave a lot of the decision-making to their wives, some not. Some don't need to control every aspect of the household, some do. Some wives are not required to submit blindly, but their husbands ask for their opinions and input.

Here's what I think. As women we are called to allow our husbands to be the heads of our home. Our jobs are to be their second in command, if you will. We are called to support them in decision-making and stand by them. St Paul says we wives must submit to our husbands as the church submits to Christ. What exactly does that look like? Does that mean that we have no voice? Does it mean that we are to meekly go along with everything, never disagree with them or have ideas to submit? I don't believe so.

I don't believe that God intended for us as women to submit to injustice or violence. I don't believe that he granted us with intelligence for no reason either. We have great ideas sometimes and we also have been granted the gift of 'women's intuition'. We see things in a light that our husbands don't. Our input is often vital. Our husbands are not always going to be right about everything...like everyone else, they're human and imperfect. Sometimes our intervention is necessary. The key is to give our husbands the respect they need in our communication.

Throughout the early years of my marriage I noticed that whenever I disagreed with my husband he would get annoyed with me...that got my back up alot. I'd already come from a household where I'd had no voice at all...my father treated us girls and my mother as if we didn't have a clue about anything and couldn't possibly have an opinion to offer. Eventually, I did like my mother and stopped having anything to say...which, of course, caused a well of resentment to begin inside me. It took me many years to realise that the problem wasn't in my opinions but in the delivery of them.

After reading Dr Emerson Eggerich's book "Love and Respect", I understood that my husband felt that I didn't respect him or value him because of the way that I spoke to him. I've seen many wives speak in disrespectful and degrading ways to their husbands in front of others. While I don't think I've ever done that intentionally, I know there have been a few times, especially in the early days, when I didn't choose my words carefully enough.

Ephesians 5:33 "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." This is the biblical quotation that Dr Eggerich used to base his principle of love and respect. Basically he says that men need respect like they need air to breathe. So how do we submit as St Paul says we must do and yet disagree with our husbands?

First rule...not in front of others, especially our children. When we want to disagree with our husbands we have to make sure we aren't undermining their authority or unmanning them in front of others.

Next is the delivery. We need to make sure that our husbands understand that we believe in them and will support them, but in this particular instance, we disagree and give them our reasons. Tone is important as is timing. If you choose to talk to your husband when he's tired, hungry (they don't say a hungry man is an angry man for nothing!) or distracted, you're already racking up some points against yourself. My advice is to pray first, choose your words carefully and be as grace-giving as you can in your delivery.

Prayer is vital! I have read on other blogs this quotation "You are not your husband's Holy Spirit". I agree with this, but I also know that there are times when God will use me to gently nudge my husband in the right direction. I share what I'm learning from the Holy Spirit ...I'm not forcing things down my husband's throat and I'm certainly not taking away his leadership role, but I will suggest things that I think we could do or change and I know that my husband is always willing to listen. Sometimes I back down when I think that I may overstep my boundaries and pray instead that God will lead my husband to the right decision.

This happens very often with our children. Firstly, we have daughters and daughters can be a challenge for a father who doesn't always understand their moodiness etc. (Honestly my husband is a saint-in-training living with four menstruating women...one of whom is probably heading for peri-menopause soon!) Often times I sort of bridge the gap.

What happens if we believe our husbands are wrong about something? We pray!! We ask the Holy Spirit to convict him and to help him to see the light. Of course, we must first be certain that WE aren't the ones who are wrong.

I praise God that my husband is willing to listen to my ideas and opinions and willing to discuss things with me. This is what I believe the correct balance should look like in a marriage. St Paul says in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

I believe that the love and respect thing works both ways and that is what biblical submission should look like. Husbands love your wives, wives respect your husbands.... a husband who loves his wife should also respect her as a person, acknowledge her capabilities and knowledge and be willing to consider them and compromise if necessary. Wives must respect their husbands as the head of the home...in doing so she can give love and grace to him. In the end, we are called to give our husbands the final decisions...that is what it means to be submissive.

It isn't always easy to be submissive when you're a strong-willed, independent person and you like to be in control or take charge. Over time, however, if we submit ourselves first to God, He will give us the necessary graces to rein in our own desires. In fact, as I have journeyed closer with the Lord, the Holy Spirit often strikes a blow to my pride and I am laid bare. Where in the past I wouldn't want to apologize because I KNEW I was right...I now HAVE to because He has made me see that it is the right thing to do.

Linking to:

Thankful for 22 years

2012-02-16T08:23:00.000-04:00

It's Thankful Thursday once again and today I'm thankful to God for 22 years of marriage to my husband, my best friend, my soul mate...and I'm mostly thankful that I can say those words truthfully and meaningfully at last.

No marriage escapes the trials, the heartaches, the dark moments... ours was no exception. Today, my friends I want to share a testimony with you of the marvels and wonders God has worked in my life and in my marriage.

Like all newlyweds I went into marriage with expectations and dreams...as did my husband. Life has a way of taking care of those don't they? To cut a long story short, I found myself in my 19th year of marriage, facing middle age and feeling depressed about it.

My post here for Marriage Monday tells how I attempted to overcome this slump, what it doesn't say is that I used some not so ethical methods to begin with. Let's just say that I opened a Pandora's box of pain and disillusionment which, in the beginning, had the completely opposite effect of what I was aiming for.

My marriage looked like it was going to crash on the rocks of brokenness. I had nowhere else to turn but to my Father. As you may know I am a Catholic and so I turned to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. (The Eucharist is the main reason I will never leave my religion) There, before His Eucharistic presence I received healing, consolation and even counsel. When I would walk in there broken and wounded, ready to give up, I would leave empowered and ready to do battle for my marriage again. The Lord wrapped me up in His Sacred Heart, hid me in His Sacred Wounds and showed me that Love could conquer anything and everything.

My husband was in his own pit of despair, his auxiliary emotion, anger came to the fore alot. We were in the fires of purification.. it was like the painful pruning of the useless, old and destructive. The enemy of our souls was in full battle mode..he whispered into both our ears, but it seemed that his hold over my husband was the stronger one. With the strength that God gave me, I fought tooth and nail for him and for my marriage.

I can honestly tell you that God worked miracles for us. It was not easy, it is not over..as He continues to work in both of us, but He created new hearts for us. Our marriage came through that dark period whole and new. Our love was recreated to be what it was meant to be all along and it is beautiful. Finally, we have placed Christ at the center of our marriage and we are walking a path together... not separate as we were before. With God as the third strand in the chord, our love and commitment is stronger and more beautiful. Life hasn't become any easier...trials still exist and the enemy is constantly on the attack, but Praise God for His Love and His Grace... we not only survive, we thrive!

So, today, my friends, my thanksgiving is to the great and almighty God, the adorable and merciful Son and the powerful and charismatic Holy Spirit, Who dispenses the gifts of the Father. In God, there is hope, there is power, there is transformation and healing.

For my husband:

Twenty-two Years... some days were hard and left a bitter taste...others were sweet as honey. Some memories are overwhelmingly painful and others poignantly beautiful. Yet I wouldn't trade them for anything...because each one has brought us to this day.

To celebrate our love... a love that has been grown, smoothed by trials and polished by healing to reveal the gem that lay within ...all by the hand of God Himself. I thank God for the gift of our love, our marriage, our family, our home.

I treasure my life with you. I praise God for joining us together, binding us with His great love and for blessing us with so much.

Oh, but our story is not over yet... many many more pages to be written...together... Praise God!

I love you with all of my heart and soul and here again I pledge my life and lvoe to you for however long God ordains it. I know, even should death separate us, we will be together in Heaven to worship our Lord... together forever.

5 Minute Friday - Trust

2012-02-10T16:26:00.000-04:00

Its Friday again! I really enjoy linking up with Lisa Jo for five minutes of writing from the heart...check out the link to join in. This week our prompt is:

TRUST... a simple little five letter word that holds a wealth of meaning.

When I put my hand in yours.... when I said 'I do'... it was because I trusted you...with my heart, with my future, with my life.

When I was pregnant with our first child... I was a child myself... afraid of the future, but I trusted you to take care of us.

When I made that big decision to give up my job and be a full time mom...I trusted you would provide.

All through the years... 22 of them in all... there was a trust that we were in this together... forever

Sometimes trusting was hard... my own weak flesh and the insecurities that would arise yet we prevailed.

Broken and remade in the image of Christ... trust is more beautiful and stronger, when God is the third strand in the chord.

I TRUST YOU WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE AND MY HEART... for however long God chooses to keep us here on this earth.

ONE WEEK UNTIL MY 22ND ANNIVERSARY AND I'M WOOING MY HUBBY WITH WORDS...cause sometimes we have to do the pursuing.

Marriage Monday - Escape

2012-02-06T15:30:00.000-04:00

Do you know the 'Pina Colada' Song? It is actually called Escape and was an early 80's hit by Rupert Holmes. Basically, its about a man who's got the 'seven year itch' in his relationship with his wife and decides to respond to a personal ad in the paper. The lady in the ad sounds really interesting and he's captivated and decides to meet her. Who should it be...but his very own lady! Its a very cute story (setting aside the intention to commit infidelity of course). Check out the lyrics here.

Today at Chrysalis, e-Mom is linking us up with this topic for Marriage Monday:

OVERCOMING BOREDOM & APATHY

Tell us how you've exercised your God-given creativity to renew the intimacy and romance in your relationship.

I really look forward to reading what everyone has contributed...click on the link above to check it out.

Like, the couple in the song, we all go through that period where everything becomes routine, mundane. The excitement is gone...sometimes we even lose ourselves, we forget who we are as we take on the roles of parenthood and all the other hats we end up wearing as married folk. Are you in this place right now? Have you been there?

My husband and I will celebrate 22 years of marriage in just under two weeks. We've been there and back and I can tell you that there is HOPE! First of all, like the couple in the song, you can re-connect and find that you have so much in common still. You could discover that, even though life has wrought changes to you both, underneath all of the layers, are the same two people who fell in love..you just have to coax them out a bit.

Let me tell you about my own 'Escape' story...

A couple of years ago, I had crossed over the 40 year milestone and was approaching another birthday and I felt depressed about how my life was looking. I was now middle-aged! I had made myself promises to do things, how I wanted my marriage to be etc and nothing was as I wanted it to be. I took stock of myself and realised that I had become absorbed with my role as mother and housewife. I had stopped seeing myself as a woman first and I felt that my husband, also, didn't see me as a woman so much as a mother and housewife. How could I change things? I wanted to FEEL, to DO, to have PASSION for my husband and PASSION for life again.

Well, friends, I decided to create my own version of 'Escape'...I wanted to escape from who I'd become and show my husband that underneath it all I was still a woman of passion and someone that he could fall in love with all over again. So what did I do? I PURSUED HIM!

I started writing him e-mails telling him what a wonderful man he is, how much more I wanted for us...saying via the internet what I couldn't say face to face. I realised that, throughout our marriage, I had failed to build him up. Our husbands need to know that we think that they are 'all that', that they're all-man, that we desire them. I thought he saw me as only his wife, the mother of his children, the housekeeper, chauffeur etc. He thought I saw him as the breadwinner, the one to fix things when they were broken etc. Neither of us had stepped over the barriers created by the drudgery of life to seize something bigger and better.

Suddenly we had stripped off the layers and were actually talking to each other...sharing dreams, desires, hopes. Our marriage came alive under this transformation...a slow one but a steady one. A brand new romance blossomed via the media. I would text him, e-mail him on a daily basis and he would do the same for me. Just like the couple in the song, we discovered that lots of things that we secretly dreamed about were shared fantasies or desires or hopes.

Over the next two years, the dynamic of our relationship changed drastically. We were communicating more, sharing more...oh we fought more in the beginning too as we began to reveal our true inner selves, but there was passion again...a passion for each other, a passion for life. I used to dream of a romantic husband and I gave up... thinking he didn't have it in him and he'd probably never have it. What a shame to waste all those years...boy does my husband have it in him! He has exceeded my wildest dreams of what a romantic man could be.

Ladies...you can do this too! Don't be afraid to try something new. Put some thought and care into stirring things up a little. Try a different perfume, buy a nice negligee (or pull out the ones you've hidden underneath all your practical underwear). Try something new in the bedroom. Men are essentially sexual creatures and as wives we need to acknowledge this part of their make up. If you're in doubt...ask him. It took a few tries before I discovered my husbands actual likes and dislikes and, I will admit, I felt a bit hurt when he didn't like something, but ultimately I love his new open and honest approach...neither of us is hiding our true feelings any more.

Take a good look in the mirror. If you have been neglecting yourself, remember that men are visual creatures and he will sit up and take notice if you do something nice for yourself. That first year, I coloured my hair and got a nice cut and the look on my husband's face was worth every cent that I paid! Or course, I know he loves me whether I'm dressed up or not, overweight or not, but it sends the message to him as well as ourselves that we are desirable when we work on it a little.

Communicate! Listen up...texting is not just for our teenagers! You have the technology...use it! I can't tell you what a wonderful feeling it is to get a text message saying that my husband is thinking about me in the middle of his busy day. I know that when I send him a word of love and encouragement it brightens his day too.

Spend time alone together. If you can afford it, take a weekend away from the children, the chores, the responsibilities. Recharge your batteries, inject some joie de vivre into your relationship. Even if you can only do this once or twice for the year, it will make a difference...trust me! I'm overdue for a getaway with my husband but I'm still fueled by the memories of our weekend away together for our 20th anniversary!

If this is not possible, just spend time alone together any way you can. I'm lucky in that my husband is a rare species of man..he enjoys shopping! We often use our 'grocery shopping time' as time to connect and talk without the children present. Its a standing joke that when Mom and Dad go to the grocery they take forever! (Its really because we shop around and read labels etc., but I don't argue because I really am enjoying time with my husband and he with me). Buy him a coffee in the mall, take a walk, a drive...anything...what's really important is that you are spending quality time alone and connecting, communicating, sharing.

Pray together! My husband and I kneel together in prayer every Sunday. We try to pray every night and every morning for a couple of minutes...lately its been really difficult since we're always tired. Prayer brings the Holy Spirit into your relationship as you invite Him, as you pray for each other and lift each other before the throne of God. Believe me...God must be the head of your marriage, at the very centre of it. When the Holy Spirit is present in your marriage, He works marvels. I'm always amazed at the spiritual bond my husband and I are slowly achieving. There are times when his words minister to me in a powerful way...in a way that only God could do.

Build each other up. Train yourself to stop focusing on the negative things that he does. Nothing can kill loving feelings more than that! Instead focus on the positive, the good things, the good memories, the good feelings. Sometimes love has to be cultivated because, let's face it...he drives you crazy sometimes and you do the same to him. Husbands and wives are very vulnerable to each other and it takes courage to open up. Be tender with his heart when he does.

Sacrifice a little. So you don't like fishing...sit with him anyway. Listen to him talk about things that you don't necessarily understand or have an interest in. When you can show him that you care about the things that make him happy, he feels the love and you'll get big rewards.

So does the mundane disappear? Does life become easy street? Do the blues go away? No..they don't...I'm sorry to say, BUT, they're a whole lot easier to bear now. With an open door of communication...we both now understand each other and who we have 'grown up' to be a little better. We can extend each other grace, cultivate our relationship and, most importantly, we have discovered that we still enjoy each other's company.

Five Minute Friday- Real

2012-02-03T07:21:00.001-04:00

Once again, I'm joining in the pleasure of pure writing, no editing, for five minutes with Lisa Jo at Gypsy Mama. Come join us for Five Minute Friday. Today's prompt is...

REAL

GO

When those ugly little voices beckon in the darkness of my mind..
whispering lies into my soul

What's real is I know He loves me, no matter what

When I feel burdened under the weight of debt, bills to pay, the family's needs
feelings of failure, I'm drowning in it all

What's real is that I believe in His Provision

When I sense evil all around me, threatening and dark,
does nothing good exist anymore?

What's real is I believe in His Protection.

When life seems so burdensome and I question why I'm even here
Why do I do what I do everyday?

The answer is because

LOVE IS REAL!!

Love is the real reason for everything...
love is who I'm called to be, love is what I'm called to do

What is love but the only real thing in this world...
the only thing that lasts forever

Beauty fades....money is spent...all is decay

All except love....now that is REAL!

STOP

Thankful for Guidance

2012-02-02T17:28:00.000-04:00

It is the first Thankful Thursday of February...can you believe it? A whole month of the new year gone already. I started off this year praying for guidance from God on what His will is for me. I've been praying for wisdom and discernment.

I can honestly say that in the month of January alone, God has brought so much rich Word to me, via your wonderful blogs, the scriptures, Mass and just through other people. I truly don't believe that anything happens by coincidence...God places us where we will best serve Him and where we will also receive His Word.

This is why it is so important for us to always LIVE out our faith. We want the world to see Christ shining in and through us. Recently, I met an old acquaintance outside of church. Her daughter and mine went to school together. We stopped to chat and she blurted out how much has been weighing on her heart. She has separated from her husband and, after years of abuse, is seeking a divorce.

What totally amazed me was that God had ordained that I should be there at that exact moment for her to talk to me. She told me that she had seen me one day and thought to herself that she would like to talk to me because she remembered my faith. I had not planned on being outside of the church at that time, but there I was!

Coincidence? I think not...God saw and heard her prayer and He bent down and listened. I am truly humbled by His trust in me and by her trust as well...to open up when she has been silent all these years. I would never have guessed that she was enduring all this. As you can imagine her family is in need of much prayer and I am happy and honoured to stand in the gap for them.

I am so thankful to God for the growth and the slow unfolding of His will in my life. Proverbs 2:3-5 tells us that if we cry out for understanding and search for it earnestly we will receive it. Slowly, like the petals of a bud, His desires are unfurling before me. I praise Him and thank Him for hearing my prayers...and there are so much and so many to pray for.

May God bless your upcoming weekend and remember always...there is no room in a grateful heart for discontent. To God be the glory...forever!

P.S. Blogger is having some problems and I am unable to comment on my own blog as well as several others. Please know that I truly appreciate all of your wonderful comments, though it may seem that I am ignoring them. Where possible I am e-mailing my comments and thanks but not everyone has their contact information available. God's blessings to you all!

The Message of Salvation

2012-02-01T08:14:00.000-04:00

As we continue to study the book of Ephesians, St Paul's message of salvation unfolds. He is showing us who we are in and through Christ Jesus and it is who we were always meant to be.

The book of Genesis tells us... Genesis 1:26 "God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves..." .

We were created in God's own image.
We are regarded by Him as more important than all of His other creations, including the Heavenly angels. We were created to be with Him, in all His glory and splendour, to be in His presence and bask in His Love for all eternity.

This is who we were meant to be...but along came the serpent. The moment Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and encouraged Adam to do the same sin entered the world and sin separated us from God. We could no longer bask in His loving presence.

We were sentenced to death.

St Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-2 "And you were dead, through the crimes and sins which used to make up your way of life when you were living by the principles of this world, obeying the ruler who dominates the air, the spirit who is at work in those who rebel."

When we choose to embrace sin and choose the values of the world over God's commandments...we are spiritually dead. We have inherited the sinful nature of our ancestral blood...straight down from Adam and Eve. We will constantly have to fight against this 'natural instinct' if we choose life with God through Christ Jesus.

St Paul goes further to say Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, being rich in faithful love, through the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, brought us to life with Christ - it is through grace that you have been saved."

God loves us even when we sin.
He never turns His back on us, it is we who separate ourselves from Him by our poor choices. He is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to Him.

Jesus' sacrifice is proof of God's love for us.
We are constantly reminded throughout the New Testament that it was through Jesus Christ that we have been restored to the place that God always intended for us to be. Ephesians 1:7 "...through His blood we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins."

St Paul gives us this reminder...Ephesians 2:6-7 ...and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in Heaven, in Christ Jesus. This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how extraordinarily rich he is in grace."

God's grace is a gift.
We are told further in Chapter 2 that we are completely unworthy of God's graces. We are His creations, re-created through the blood of Christ and saved from our true and deserved destiny because of His great love for us and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The gift of salvation is the greatest gift that God has ever given to mankind. We walk among the living dead daily. We encounter them almost everywhere we go, though we may not even be aware of it. Some of us, like St Paul himself, once were living dead as well. Some of us even walk a sort of death tightrope, delicately balancing the light and the dark, not fully embracing the light.

God is love, God is light and we were made in His image and likeness. This means we were meant to give love and light, to be reflections of God in our world. We are called, through Jesus Himself, to do as He did when He walked the earth. The questions we need to ask ourselves are:

Am I walking the death tightrope by compromising with the values of the world?
Am I afraid to let my God-light shine because of what others will think?
Am I firm enough in my faith to make a stand when the need arises?
Am I a living example of Christ? Do I live out my faith?
Do I draw others to God or turn them away?
Do I choose God above all else?

That's a lot to chew on isn't it? St Paul gives us much food for thought and I find that I fall short of who I am meant to be in God's eyes, but I believe in His love for me and for us all. I have faith and trust that His Grace covers over all.

Father I pray for myself and all who read this blog and all my friends in blogland. I pray for our families and for all of our needs. Mostly, right now, as I lift them all up, I pray that you will give us the strength and courage to not sit on the fence, to not walk that tightrope anymore, but to choose to put you first above all else, to embrace who we are meant to be through Christ our Lord.
Amen

My friends may we all shine brightly for Jesus...now and always.

Five Minute Friday- Tender

2012-01-27T09:34:00.001-04:00

This week my husband told me that he enjoys my Five Minute Friday posts...which I haven't been very committed to...I'll have to change that! Five minutes of writing*...no editing, no stressing about what looks right or is grammatically or otherwise correct... STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! If you think you have the heart for this...click on the link above and join in!

This week Lisa Jo's prompt is:

TENDER

GO!

I used to be tender...when they were little and butterfly touches were all they could take

I used to be tender in my words as well, butterfly whispers on silky soft cheeks

Tender and gentle, kind and sweet...my Saviour is this and more
I long to emulate Him, but I am so weak
Instead I let myself roar

Why is it..they grow and I stop being gentle
Why is it hard to be meek and mild
Spirits of passion arise from ancestors
And all that I do is rant, harsh and wild

Give me your spirit of gentleness Lord
Let me be tender and sweet
Show me the secret, change my heart
Let me show light to all that I meet

Thank you for each little soul in my care
The ones that have grown up
And the ones still here

I give you my heart... to you I surrender
Show me how to be loving and tender!

STOP!

This was a very interesting topic and so timely for me. I've been doing the Gentleness Challenge over at Women Living Well and 'challenge' is certainly the right word. The Holy Spirit breathed this one into my heart...for a reason! Up it goes on the fridge...hopefully it will inspire me the next time I raise my voice!

By the way...the advice we got from Courtney this week...lower your voice to a whisper when you get angry. If you have a problem with this too...maybe it will help.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

*Writing the poem took five minutes...I took a little longer to do the rest :-)

Thankful For The Past Year

2012-01-25T11:23:00.001-04:00

Last week marked the one year anniversary for "This Little Light of Mine". It passed without fanfare and I didn't even do this post which I had planned on doing. I have to admit that I have wondered often in the past couple of months whether I should continue this blog or not. It has been challenging to keep it up with all the other commitments that I have.

This here is a very small blog with a few followers...but as my husband pointed out...it doesn't matter how many people are reading, but WHO is reading. He is right...if I could touch one person, the one person who needs to read what I have written that particular day, then God's work was accomplished that day.

As I look back over the past year, I am grateful to God for how much I have learned and grown as a person. I have met so many wonderful Christian women, and even a couple of men, whose blogs inspire me and who encourage me. Some I have had a connection with that makes us soul sisters...across the ocean and thousands of miles...we connect and we share, we smile and we encourage.

I thank God for each of you who read this blog. I'm still praying for direction on where the Lord wants to take me, but I don't think He brought me this far for me to quit now! His command to be his light is not one that I can set aside because of my own insecurities or sense of failure. I can compare myself to others who started the same time I did and see how their blogs have grown and mine haven't, but God's will is different for each of us. Perhaps this is the year for this little blog to grow and, if so, I know that He will open the doors...in His timing, which is always perfect.

Interestingly enough, the most popular post (or rather the post that got the most hits) was The Legend of the Phoenix... the post I wrote asking for prayer for my brother-in law and his wife's marriage. I know it received the traffic because of google searches on the phoenix or on Phoenix and I contemplated removing it after I realised that, but as my husband so wisely said, you never know who will pray for them even though they didn't go to my site with that intent. So, up it stays and continues to receive hits almost daily!

This post has completely knocked out my Fairytale Part One, first in a 3 part series, which was the most popular post I'd had before. God does work in mysterious ways!

I've had the privilege of being a part of some wonderful and affirming communities and I want you all to know that I cherish you all! You welcomed me, from a tiny island across the seas, into your midst and I have felt very much at home. It's been an interesting year. There's been so many fantastic goings-on and I'm amazed at where I've been led sometimes!

Sometimes I've been in a quandary about just what to take part in. There have been times when, as an international blogger, I have had to step back because there have been contests and giveaways which I believe I ought not to participate in. I once, inadvertently, entered a book giveaway because I didn't realise that when I commented on the blog I was entering. I actually won the book! The hostess was gracious enough to send it to my daughter's Florida campus for me, but I felt embarrassed and have been very careful ever since to read all the fine print!

Last year, I stepped out of my comfort zone and started the new year with a new blog. This year, I'm once again stepping out of my comfort zone and beginning this new year in obedience to God's command to "expand my boundaries". What exactly that means I'm not sure yet...but stay tuned and expect some surprises...God isn't finished with me or my blog as yet!

Linking up with:

We Are God's Heirs!

2012-01-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

This week in Ephesians we are learning that, not only are we chosen and anointed people, but we are God's heirs!

Ephesians 1:18-19 "May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power."

God's heirs...God, almighty and all-powerful is our Father and we are His heirs!

Isn't that mind-boggling? Can you imagine what that means? God, through Jesus' sacrifice, has made us his heirs and, through the Holy Spirit, we can tap into the power of God, we can be conduits of His power...all for His glory of course.

Have you ever been present at a place where the Holy Spirit is at work? Have you ever felt the awesome power of God at work? I have been to worship services and healing services and the Holy Spirit's presence was there, you could feel as if the whole roof would lift off the building because God's power could not be contained!

This Word comes at a particularly appropriate time for me, personally. For some time now, I have felt God's prompting to step out in faith and move out of the comfortable place that I am in. Reading these words moved something in my spirit that seems to confirm the direction that God wants me to move in.

I can tell you, honestly, that when God wants you to do something, two things will happen. Your spirit will never be at rest until you acknowledge Him and the enemy of your soul will do everything that he can to distract you from God's true purpose.

God gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit, not for ourselves, but for others. He gives us these gifts so we can use them to help to build His Kingdom. Sometimes we hold back out of fear or doubt. This Word tells me that God power is "extraordinarily great" and that He exercises this for me, His heir, in accordance "with the strength of his power".

How can there be fear and doubt in that? We serve an omnipotent God who promises us that we can do all things through Christ, who promises to be with us always. His call is for all of us...He wants ALL of His children to be with Him forever.

As His heirs we have a responsibility to help build His Kingdom. We are called in various ways...evangelical and missionary work, healing, counselling, teaching and countless other ways. The workings of the Spirit are vast and as we are reminded in 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 "There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; there are many different ways of serving but it is always the same Lord."

We use these gifts to serve Him... for His glory, not our own.

My friends, I ask you to pray for me as I surrender to the Lord and seek to be obedient to Him. I also pray for each of you that you will discern His will and, as His heir, you too will know what His call is for you in building His Kingdom.

Chosen and Anointed

2012-01-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

It's our first link-up for GMG's study of the book of Ephesians. So far, this week we have studied Ephesians 1:1-10. It has been a rather rich piece of Word to chew on and right from the beginning I felt I knew what God wanted to show me in these first few verses.

I have struggled with my self-image all my life...I have never felt good enough in many areas, looks, weight, social skills..perhaps too many if I really dig deep. I have also been timid...afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone, happy to be a little fish swimming in other people's ponds.

This year I feel God calling me to open up more, let go of the things that keep me curled up and reserved. Here's what the Lord showed me these past few days in the Word and at Mass.

Ephesians 1:4 "Thus he chose us in Christ, before the world was made, to be holy and faultless before him in love"

Ephesians 1:5 "marking us out for himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ."

We are chosen!
When God instructed Samuel to anoint His chosen one out of the sons of Jesse, Samuel looked at their outward appearances. As each one was brought before him, he thought that because of their strength and size God would choose that particular son. God, however, as we all know, does not look at the outward appearance but at the heart. God chose, instead, David the youngest son, who was delegated the lowly task of watching the sheep. David was anointed by God's Holy Spirit...David who in the eyes of his brothers and, perhaps others, was weak, puny and unworthy.

Ahh...but David had skills! While all alone minding the sheep, David learned how to defend those sheep against wild animals and we all know the story of what happens when he, a "90 pound weakling", challenged Goliath. This is one of my five year old daughter's favourite bible stories. Imagine Goliath, this arrogant giant, looking down upon this "little boy" and saying to him that he would feed his flesh to the birds and wild animals and David, bold with his anointing, defending his God and his people. He put his absolute trust in God saying to the giant, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands...and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel" 1 Samuel 17:46, and a slingshot flew and a giant fell and by his own sword Goliath lost his life. David's God triumphed and the Philistine army retreated.

A huge and courageous heart in the body of a "little boy". A boy to whom God gave the strength to kill wild animals to save his sheep and the strength to kill a giant! The picture above seems to have a deeper significance with the boy David risking his life to protect the lamb. In the New Testament it is the Lamb of God who dies to save us.

Have you seen the move "Captain America"? What I love about this movie is that the "90 pound weakling" has a heart full of courage and honour and such a love for his country and friends that he would lay down his life for them. Sound familiar?

Imagine that we are all "90 pound weaklings". WE ARE...until we go through that 'magic machine' that is the anointing of God's Holy Spirit, then we are empowered and transformed. It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside...on the inside we are bold, strong, capable...like David, like Captain America.

We are chosen! We are His anointed. Do we merit this? No, neither did David. He disappointed God and fell from grace, but God forgave him from the depths of His limitless mercy. Ephesians 1:7-8 "in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins. Such is the richness of the grace which he has showered on us in all wisdom and insight." David remained God's Chosen, His anointed. God chose David's lineage to bring about the incarnation of Jesus...despite his having fallen in the past.

So it is with us...we do not merit His multitude of graces, but we are chosen and anointed. By Jesus' blood sacrifice we are free...free of the bondage of sin, free to enter Heaven. What an awesome gift! What a great and mighty God we serve!

So the next time I look in the mirror and feel disappointed, or feel like a failure because I don't think I measure up in some way...I hope I will remember this story of David and the similarities of Captain America. On the inside I can defeat a giant, on the inside I am and will continue to strive to be who God wants me to be because I am chosen and anointed.

I pray, oh Father, that you will help us all to rid ourselves of our insecurities to see ourselves as chosen and anointed. I pray that you will help us to live lives that are pleasing to you, that we will , by our living show that we are your chosen and anointed ones.

May we all shine brightly with the light of Christ and may that light shine in all the dark places so all may come to know Him.

Marriage Monday -This is Who I am

2012-01-16T09:03:00.001-04:00

E-Mom has decided that our first post of the new year here at Marriage Monday is going to be on OURSELVES. She's had the brilliant idea of us getting to know each other better and has provided these little prompts for us to complete.

As this week marks the first anniversary of this here little blog, I think its a great opportunity for my readers to know a little something about me.....so here goes!

I am...the first of three daughters, with all the firstborn hangups and the firstborn attitude to responsibility (or is that better known as uptightness?), daughter of the Father for 44 years, wife for 22 years next month and mother to four daughter, ranging in age from almost 21 to 5 years old.

I want... to learn to 'lighten up', to let go and give more grace, do the 'gut thing' more. I want to set aside all those things that make me highly strung and easily stressed. I want to be able to make those around me happy to be in my presence (and I want to lose the unmentionable number of pounds I need to get rid of!)

I have... a lot to be grateful to God for!

I wish...we could get out of debt and that I could find a way to give my family, especially my husband who works so hard, the things that they desire.

I hate...bullies and arrogant, inconsiderate people (this includes road hogs!), injustice, dishonesty and manipulative people. May God give me the grace to not hate them!

I miss...those blissful days when I could curl up with a good book and get lost until I turned the last page.

I fear...nothing but fear itself! (at least that's what I'm working on). Fear cripples one and I don't want to be paralyzed anymore. I trust in God to get me past those little spots that I still need to work on.

I feel...exhausted! But happy in the knowledge that I serve God in the way I serve my family. Something I constantly have to remind myself of when I get frustrated!

I hear...the sounds of my girls' boisterous laughter, tv blaring, littlest one making herself heard above it all! (the only thing I can't hear is... myself think ;-)

I smell...my daughter's birthday cake baking in the oven.

I crave...right now, a 'honeymoon-type' getaway with my husband (I can think of the perfect spot), dark chocolate, maybe a glass of wine and to absorb the perfect ambiance of God's creation.

I search...for that elusive place where I can set aside my insecurities and my perfectionism, where I can just be happy with being who the Lord wants me to be.

I wonder...what this new year has in store for me, where the Lord wants to lead me and where to go with my little blog.

I regret...that I didn't before have the wisdom and knowledge that I do now and the mistakes I've made along the way as a wife, mother and person.

I love...my husband and children, of course! Dark chocolate, red wine, coffee, roses, old movies and old music, historicals, (can you tell I'm into vintage?) lazy days at the beach with my family, baking things from scratch, trying new recipes, reading and, of course, writing.

I ache...whenever something triggers memories that floor me. I know that we have to go through the dark tunnels to get to the light on the other side, but for that moment...I ache.

I care...about making others happy, how others see me and being the best wife and mother (with all that entails!)

I always...want to be on time, make sure I have gas in the car, walk with my cell phone, put my family's needs first.

I am not...comfortable in social situations at times, I'm a little socially awkward. (Maybe that's what growing up in a very sheltered environment does) That's one of the things I'm working on this year.

I believe...that faith can take us through dark places and have us emerge stronger and better for it and that love DOES cover over a multitude of sins!

I dance...seldom anymore. I always loved dancing. I even learned the steps (and made my friends do it too) to rock and roll music so that I could have a 50's style party for my 16th birthday. Hmm...something else to aspire to this year, perhaps?

I sing...because I love to. I sing in church, in the shower sometimes, in the car. I used to sing while doing my chores and I always sang lullabies to my girls when they were little (still singing for the five year old) Singing is praising God twice!

I cry...when I look at movies with heart-tugging scenes and powerful messages of love and forgiveness, overcoming trial etc. (I also cry when I look at movies with animals...since the days of Lassie and Flipper...you can imagine me taking my girls to see Lion King etc?), when my girls do something to make me proud of them or my husband says sweet words, at weddings ( and when those crazy hormones hit...anybody with me on this one?)

I don't always...keep up with everything. I think I'm terrible with organization and time management (or maybe I just don't delegate properly and I bite off more than I can chew). I'm working on this!

I fight...to raise my children with values and a code of ethics that is contrary to the world at large. It. Is. Not. Easy! I praise God that the grounding my older children received will serve them well and pray for the strength to continue the fight for the last two!

I write...from the heart, on things that God places there. Sometimes I share on marriage or parenting or homemaking, but ultimately I write of Him. This blog was born out of a desire to share His love and light with others.

I never...have enough money lol! Seriously though, I never know what to buy for the men and boys in our extended family. I grew up with girls and I have only girls. My husband is NO help at all! (I mean that in the nicest possible way honey ;-)

I listen...for the sound of God's voice of wisdom and instruction when I go before Him, to the rosary playing in the car when I drive or a station that plays a mix of old and tolerable new music.

I need...to have God first in my life. Without Him I'm nothing! He will supply all my other needs (which are too many to mention!)

I am happy...when it is quiet and peaceful, when my family spends time together, when I cuddle with my youngest and read, cuddling with my husband or when we go out alone together, watching God's awesome creation...sunsets, rainbows, the motion of the sea, the breeze moving through the trees.

So, this is me.. in a nutshell ( a rather large one!) Thank you to e-Mom for making me get in touch with the inner me...now I remember what makes me tick...what makes me happy(you do tend to forget when you're up to the neck in chores and the phone keeps ringing and the dog needs to be fed and you skipped breakfast and...)...I'm going to sing while I do my chores and do a little dance with my broom ;-)

Cry from the heart !

2012-01-15T09:26:00.002-04:00

Today, I want to share something that another blogger shared which tore my heart to pieces. I will be linking it later this week to other blogs as I try to spread this message. It would be even more powerful if sung in a little child's voice. If we aim to share this with others, how many more babies would be saved?

LYRICS

Mommy keep me safe, Mommy keep me warm,
Handle me with care, Mommy help me to form
I'm 10 weeks old and I know the time will come
when you will give birth to me.

The gift you gave to me are a pair of bright blue eyes
So someday I will see you smile and love me
I've already got my arms and a little podgy nose
And at the end of my feet I've got five little toes

I look forward to my life, ice cream and slimy snails
Teddy bears and little fairy tales
Going for walks in the park
Running home before its dark
And being tucked into bed with a kiss

Where are we going today?
Am I in a boat or bus?
Why are we lying down
Being drawn on four wheels

And we go through the door
And there's people dressed in green
Everything seems so strange and clean

Mommy, if they hurt you just let out a scream
And I know someone will come to help you and me
Mommy what's going on, I'm starting to cry
Come quickly, they're forcing me to die

They're killing me Mommy
They're pulling me apart
My arms and my legs
And now they're at my heart

And I wont see the sky or the grass or the trees
And I wont see the moon or feel the breeze

I love you Mommy dear, you know I really do
But I only wish you could have loved me too!

This pro-life song written by Father Francis Maple has saved at least 20 babies! Their mothers were considering abortion but changed their minds after hearing it.

If this video has touched your heart, please consider passing it on.

If you or someone you know has had an abortion and requires healing, there are many online resources available, here are links to just two of them:

http://www.safehavenministries.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

http://www.priestsforlife.org/postabortion/shepherdingtheflock.htm

Linking with Soli Deo Gloria, Time Warp Wife, On My Heart Tuesdays, Living Well Wednesdays

Five Minute Friday - Awake

2012-01-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

Today, I join a whole community of wonderful writers at Lisa Jo's place as we spend 5 minutes of unedited writing straight from the heart to the pen. Please visit The Gypsy Mama to join in the fun.

This week's prompt is:

AWAKE!

Awake Awake! He tells me...rise from you stupor! Clothe yourself in strength! (Isaiah 52:1)

This is a new year...a new beginning...a new chance to be a light that shines in the darkness!

Put on your armour, polish up your weaponry

Expand your boundaries...reach out...

Be my eyes and my ears, my hands and my feet...

Show love and compassion to all that you meet

Do not be afraid...for I am with you always

There is no passivity in building a kingdom

You must be bold, you must be brave, you must be strong

I am your strength and your shield...I am your consoler

Surrender your fears to me and AWAKE...make a joyful noise...

Awaken all friends and neighbours to my love

Awaken all strangers to my love

Share the peace, the joy, the love

My people are hungry and they thirst.. who shall feed them?

I am AWAKE Lord... here I am... I come to do your will!

STOP

My friends, next week, this here little blog will celebrate its first anniversary. I humbly request your prayers as I seek God's guidance on where He wants to take me and 'This Little Light of Mine' As you can see above, I sense Him asking me to expand my boundaries...just how I'm not sure. Its a little bit daunting and the balancing act is a test in itself, but as always, I must be obedient. I appreciate your prayers. Thank you!

The Gift of Grace and Gentleness

2012-01-11T03:21:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in Courtney's Gentleness Challenge, which started last week. We're now into week two and I'm re-posting excerpts from an article I did when we were studying Sally Clarkson's "The Ministry of Motherhood" last summer.

I have had to dig deep to figure out why its not easy for me to hold my tongue, be patient and extend grace. When I was doing this book study I was brought so low by the reality of how "ungentle" I really can be in my motherhood. I wrote this piece after such reflection and I can honestly say I could use the refresher course right now! When life gets so busy and we slip back into our old skins, its such a help to have the inspiration and accountability that people like Courtney give...thank you Courtney!

I am a product of my upbringing. As Sally points out in this poignant and thought-provoking video, some of us have 'harsh' upbringings. I am one of those. My own parents were the product of their upbringing and an even harsher style of parenting.

I remember constantly feeling that I couldn't do anything to please my father. He was always uptight, always quarreling about something. I thought he was an ogre and that he must have hated me to pick on me so much. As Sally said, no allowances were made for us being clumsy (we were punished if we broke something by accident), tired or little. Bottom line, I grew up feeling unloved and unlovable, unaccepted and as a teenager, unworthy of trust, stifled and resentful.

Years later I discovered that he had suffered with bad nerves all his life, having had a nervous breakdown as a young man. He did not trust easily, having been betrayed in his early life. He had also cut God from his life, even though he was raised in a Catholic home and his mother was devoted to the faith. I guess He was angry at God for the things that had happened to him in his younger life. He didn't stop my mother or us children from going to church, though he didn't want us to become involved in anything there.

I discovered that my father wasn't a bad man. Just a man who had never learned to lean on God in his brokenness. It wasn't me he didn't trust, it was the world outside that had taught him it was an evil place. His over-protectiveness was actually born of love and not because he didn't care about my happiness. When I learned all this it became easier to forgive him for his harshness, I could understand his reactions and behavior better and forgiveness came.

Unfortunately, I learned it as a grown woman and I had already taken into my marriage and parenthood the scars and patterns of behavior that I had been raised on. It wasn't easy to show love and affection to my children, to give them patience. I found that my own nerves became frazzled easily as I seemed to have inherited his nervous condition. I found myself drifting into 'becoming my father'. Reacting with intolerance, impatience, anger. Raising my voice, threatening, dishing out corporal punishment at times.

It took years for God to temper me and His work is not yet done. I still have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do on myself to become the person God intended me to be. Extending grace to others, especially to my children does not come naturally. I can only do it through the Grace He extends to me.

I am happy to say that my father found love and life in Christ before he died. We got a glimpse of what he would have been like with his new heart and mind, but it came at the end of his life. He succumbed to cancer shortly after his transformation and we were left with only the bittersweet joy of knowing that he would one day reach Heaven. Thanks to the Grace of God, years of prayers were answered, not in our time but in His.. perfect as always.

One of the biblical passages that we studied is 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" This is such a beautiful verse and one that speaks truth to me. I can attest to how loving truly as God desires us to love brings forgiveness and healing.

We cannot love truly and deeply unless we are taught to do so by our relationship with God. The beauty in loving this way is that God somehow expands your capacity to love as you open yourself to Him. As you extend the grace of forgiveness to those who trespass against you, He extends Grace to your own heart, building new heights for you to climb.

I thank God for His Grace, a grace that is merciful to me, a sinner. I thank God that He gives me strength and grace to forgive as well. I pray that I can give my own children this precious gift.

I pray that I can continue to work on myself and to let God's light shine on all my dark areas, shadows of my own upbringing, the things that come naturally to me, so that I can be the mother he calls me to be.

I also pray that my children's love for me and mine for them will be so deep that it will cover over my multitude of sins towards them as I have journeyed in this, my own ministry of motherhood and that I can rise to this Gentleness Challenge.

Thankful in the New Year

2012-01-05T20:29:00.000-04:00

Its the first Thursday of the New Year and a great day to give God thanks! I've been absent for a long time as I explained in my last blog, but I haven't participated in Thankful Thursdays for a while longer than that due to the hectic nature of life in this particular season.

I have come to realize that being intentional and purposeful about my gratitude to God keeps my heart in the right place. His graces and blessings are being poured out upon me continuously, if I would only look past the things that blind me to His Grace.

Very often, we only see the negative... the trial, the pain, the need, the suffering. If only we could also see the Hand of Grace in those situations, supporting us, encouraging us, comforting us. There are always going to be circumstances to steal our joy, exhaust us, test our endurance, drain us to the last drop, but always there is His Grace.

Today, I'm thankful that in spite of these things that weigh and burden, I know that He is there with me always. He is there with YOU always...through every burdensome thing. He tells us to come lay our burdens down , to lie beside the still waters and refresh ourselves in His living water...His Grace.

"Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest"
Matt 11:28

I thank God for another year in which to learn and grow in His Grace. I thank Him for His protection and provision. I thank God for my husband and children, for family and friends scattered all over the globe. I thank Him that under the great canopy of His Grace and mercy we are sheltered and provided for.

Dear friends, some of us begin a new year with hardship and suffering, with illness and disease, with seemingly insurmountable problems...but, even in the midst of these...give Him your thanks and praise for He is there supporting us and alleving that suffering, even if it doesn't feel so at the time. He deserves our praise and our thanks ALWAYS!!

Happy 2012 everyone...may God continue to pour out His blessings upon you!

Happy New Year and what's been keeping me busy!

2012-01-04T09:12:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends

Its been a while and I apologize for the silence emanating from this blog for so long. Christmas is an extremely busy time of year for us. We have lots of family and lots of activities and it has been impossible to write. I regret not having at least posted my wishes for you all to have a happy and holy Christmas but I hope that it was such nontheless. I have missed out on so much in my absence and have tons of catch-up reading to do.

Family is always first for me and so my poor little blog suffers... it is as God would want it. Giving love to others and showing care and compassion is ultimate, especially in this Season of goodwill, which I am constantly reminded should be year-long and not just at Christmastime. (The Season officially ends for us on January 6th...The Feast of the Epiphany, so our tree and decorations stay up until then.)

Just a few of the things that transpired since last I wrote:

My dog had pups:

This is Xena...the one we kept. The others got good homes just as I prayed for!

On Christmas Eve, after Mass, we have dinner and then sit around the tree with our Advent Wreath lit and read about the birth of Jesus. We then open the gifts that we have given to each other. We started this tradition when the children were younger and we realized that Christmas morning was so hectic that they literally tore through the wrappings and had no idea who had given them what. We wanted to make sure that they appreciated each other's lovingly selected gifts and to understand the thought that goes behind gift giving and to keep Jesus central in our Christmas celebrations.

Christmas morning (early..really early!) we open gifts, head up to my mother's for breakfast and then come back to have a late lunch with my in-laws. Here's Lillie with the Barbie doll she asked for (she also got a telescope to look at the stars per request)

We spent our New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at a beach house with my husband's family...we are a large and rowdy bunch! It was a blessing to do this especially because my mother-in-law has not been well and she was able to enjoy this time with her family all around her.

Here's Lil in the hammock (which she hogged the whole time!) and getting a ride on Daddy's back:

My children are still on vacation until next week...all except my eldest who went back to university today and my second born who went back to work today after the New Years long weekend. Blogging will still be a bit challenging until they are all back into a routine. I have missed my friends and being a part of the greater communities and the inspiration and encouragement you all provide. Thank you to everyone who has been checking up on me. I appreciate the love and concern. Being away from the blogging scene has allowed me to reassess my goals and I realize that I need to de-clutter my life a little bit. I have over 800 e-mails in my inbox, would you believe!

Its tough but I realize that I need to step back a bit and decide what I really need to keep on subscribing to. There are so many wonderful blogs to read out there. As I approach my one year anniversary as a blogger, I cannot believe how much I have grown and learnt. I remember actually commenting that I couldn't believe how many blogs some people subscribe to and where did they find the time. Hmm...I wont tell you how many I've subscribed to but you can take a guess by the number of e-mails that have accumulated in the past month (and that doesn't include the ones on my blog feed!).

There are so many exciting things to be a part of here in blogland. I usually just jump right in with the best of intentions and find myself in too deep. I guess I need a healthy dose of discipline. Darlene Schacht at Time Warp Wife has a really great article on that here. Nevertheless, these are just some of the events that I've encountered ...I think that they are worthy aspirations and, though I will not be able to do them all, I sure do need this encouragement and accountability. Maybe you'd like to check them out for yourself.

I pray and hope that each of you and your precious families will have all the blessings of God poured out in abundance upon you in this new year. May you all have homes filled with love, peace and joy and may God supply all your needs and comfort you in all your sorrows and afflictions.

I look forward to catching up and reconnecting with everyone. See you in blogland!

Five Minute Friday - Colour

2011-12-09T04:30:00.000-04:00

Today I join the Gypsy Mama for 5 Minute Friday. Click on the link to join in the fun and see what others have written.

Today's prompt is the word COLOUR:

You colour my world gold, oh Father,
the richness and splendour of You, the strength of Your arm
Your provision and protection...thank you my God.

You colour my world green...my husband, my strength
You are the sane and stable harbour I sail into from the storm, the one who walks beside me,
my love and my life.

You colour my world blue... my first born...

So much like your mama, no parties for you, bursting with words inside, ready to pour out on paper Serious..too serious but inside a heart that's waiting for love to fill it up and make it blossom.

You colour my world red...
my second born... with your passion for life and love of people
Loud and exuberant, bursting with energy...the life of the party, your mama's right hand.

You colour my world yellow.. my third and once upon a time baby..
so introverted, your quietness hides a heart of gold, your compassion and caring for others, your love for art and animals...you are the ultimate sunshine child... you light the world with your bright star.

You colour my world orange, my last born daughter
even though your favourite colour is pink ;-)
A mixture of happy sunshine and endless energy
Everyone smiles when they see you
Joy bubbles up and spills all around you.

You colour me ... like a rainbow.. you are all my promise of better tomorrows, you show me the love that keeps me going.. that circle that comes right back to me.. I give and I take and the colours explode around me and fill me to overflowing with joy and pain, passion and love..fill me with life!

STOP

The Immaculate Conception of Mary the Mother of God

2011-12-08T10:01:00.000-04:00

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady.

Not much is told of Mary in the bible and most of our knowledge of her comes from apostolic tradition...stories handed down through the ages. There have been, however, mystics and visionaries like the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich , St Bridget of Sweden, St Maria Faustina, St Elizabeth of Schoenau and Venerable Mary of Agreda who have been granted the privilege of seeing some of her life in visions.

I want to stress here that, though these women are saints of the Church, the Holy Mother Church has not approved many of these accounts and, really, how can they be proven to be accurate. I will here quote from the Introduction to 'The Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics' "Let them read (this book) as a religous novel but not as a fifth gospel". I would say that sums it up nicely.

I love reading them and imagining that the graphic details recorded could be real. It is like reading a fascinating story of a famous, beloved person, knowing that, even if it is just a story, I am transported by the author's words to that place and time. Reading them have helped to develop my love and respect for Our Blessed Lady and Our Lord as they refer to details of the 'hidden life' of Jesus and Mary.

For instance, on Christmas Eve, after we attend Mass, my family and I gather around and read an account of the birth of Jesus from either the above-mentioned book or from Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich's "The Life of Jesus Christ." They emphasize the humble and pitiable conditions that Our Lord suffered to come to us. It never fails to bring our hearts to the right place...of gratitude and a deep and abiding love for Him.

Today, though, I want to focus on the writings which refer to the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. It is no secret that the Jews were longing for the coming of the Messiah. They also watched with hope and anticipation for the Virgin, the most holy vessel that prophecy foretold would bear Him.

According to the revelations found in the above mentioned books, the parents of Mary, Anne and Joachim were growing old and despairing of having a child. In those days, to be barrren was a sign of God's disfavour and they suffered cruel taunting. They would make numerous offerings in the temple and pray for God to answer their prayers but to no avail. They trained themselves in continence and increased their charity and gifts to the poor, but eventually even the priest in the temple rebuked and insulted Joachim telling him that his offerings did not find favour with God.

For this reason St Joachim retreated with his flocks to do prayer and penance away from home. During this time St Anne, who had heard about the priest's treatment of her husband and hurt for him, also suffered the cruel taunts of her own servant girl who called her sterile and said that even her husband had abandoned her.

On this same evening, Anne went out and knelt beneath a tree praying earnestly to have Joachim return to her, for her own desire to have a child and for the coming of the Messiah. An angel appeared to her and told her to set her heart at rest for the Lord had heard her prayers. He told her that God had delayed answering them to give her much more than she was asking for. He then told her that God had chosen her to be the mother of a daughter who would give birth to the Redeemer of mankind. He told her to go to the Temple of Jerusalem and, there at the Golden Gate, she would meet Joachim.

Ven. Anne Catherine wrote many details of how she saw the couple being enveloped by holy light while separated and of anointing by an angel and that upon their meeting they embraced in holy ecstacy and were surrounded by angels and how the heavens opened and light shone done around them and at that moment the Immaculate Conception of Mary was accomplished. She wrote that she was made to understand that this is how conception would have been effected, were it not for the fall of man.

These details are too many to mention and we are warned not to get caught up in the details as God sometimes reveals different aspects in vision or revelation to different people. Please read here for an explanation of this. What struck me though, was the account of how she was given an explanation of Mary's Immaculate Conception. She saw that a Mystery for the restoration of fallen humanity was contained in the Ark of the Covenant. She wrote that she saw a shining vessel within Anne and could only describe it as a cradle or tabernacle which had once been closed but was now open and ready to receive a holy thing...that holy thing being Mary who was destined to become the new Ark of the Covenant.

It is written that the Blessed Virgin said to St Bridget of Sweden "It is a truth that I was conceived without Original Sin and not in sin. A golden hour was my conception. My Son joined my father and my mother in a marriage of such chastity that a purer union has never been seen. Sensuality was extinguished in them. Thus my flesh was formed through divine charity."

As we continue into our season of Advent, many people are remembering the Virgin who gave birth to the Saviour. We contemplate her life and we reflect on her part in the Divine Plan for our salvation. We, Catholics, firmly believe that God created her unequal to other women and made her soul pure and free from the stain of original sin to be the pure vessel that would contain His Son.

We honour God and give Him praise and thanks for the beautiful soul He created on this day, for the fulfillment of His promise through her. We thank Our Lady for surrendering to the will of God and thus becoming a mother to us all and the gate through which we received Jesus and Heaven.

Reflecting on the lives of the Saints of the Church inspires us to live holier lives, they encourage us when we read of their own trials and sufferings. No saint of the church ever was spared such and neither were the parents of Mary, Mary herself, or Our Saviour. May we, who read and reflect be inspired to live exemplary and holy lives that would give glory to God our Father.

Marriage Monday - Our Engagement Story

2011-12-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

This morning (Saturday), I opened my email and saw one from e-Mom requesting us to write about our engagement experience for Marriage Monday. I laughed out loud! Not only because my engagement story is rather strange but because just this morning I had been contemplating on writing this story for my own children.

I was thinking about starting a beautiful journal for each of them, starting with the story of the love they were born out of. Hmm.. so that got me to thinking... I'm going to write this article just as I would for my own four girls. I hope you enjoy it!

My dearest daughters

At some point in time you have, each of you, asked about how Daddy and I met and courted and how he proposed to me. Lately its been the littlest of you, Lillie...five and full of princess stories and happy endings in her precious little heart. So, I'll begin at the beginning, where most fairy tales do....

Once upon a time... there was a young girl who dreamed of a tall, dark, handsome man (well, that's how they were always described in those Mills & Boon romances I read) to sweep her off of her feet and carry her away to her happily ever after. Most young girls in my day dreamed of this… some had bigger dreams, but this was mine.

My greatest ambition was to become a wife, mother and home maker. I dreamed of the kind of life that I used to see on my favourite tv shows. I dreamed of being a great cook, growing my own vegetables and fruit and baking up wonderful things to feed my family.

Well, a girl can’t just sit around and wait for Prince Charming, so I got a job. After school I went to secretarial college for a year and then worked for two years in one company before I moved to another. I had been working there for almost a year when this tall, dark, handsome man came to join the department I worked for.

Things got a little complicated then! You see, I had, by this time a boyfriend. He was studying overseas to be a doctor. At the time, I thought I was in love and ready to wait until he finished his studies to begin my dream life. I also had very strong convictions about office romances so when in walked this giant of a man who proceeded to steal my heart, I fought tooth and nail against this budding attraction...I even used to avoid your father if I could.

Well, girls… you know me! I was completely devastated about my growing feelings for this man. I thought to myself “What’s wrong with me? Am I the kind of girl who’d have feelings for two different men at the same time?” Now, let me stress here that nothing inappropriate had gone on between us. We’d never so much as held hands or touched or kissed, yet my heart knew it was inexplicably drawn to him.

When he was around me my heart would do double time, he made me feel somehow that my happiness was important to him and he did silly things to make me smile all the time. Just being around him made me feel small and dainty...as if he could solve any problem and protect me from anything.

The clincher came one day when I went across to his office to carry some mail or something and he was huddled up in a coat, shivering (you know your father... he thrives on cold so you know he wasn't feeling well). He glanced up at me as I walked in and said, jokingly, "I'm so cold come and give me a hug." I ran out of there so fast, I don't even remember closing the door behind me, my face flaming, my heart doing some crazy tap dance. This was the moment of truth for me... it hit me like a ton of bricks that this man had captured my heart alright!

I became so depressed after that. I didn't know what to do with myself. I started thinking about leaving my job and all kinds of crazy schemes. I would dream of your father and feel so guilty because of the overseas boyfriend. I didn't know if he was just flirting with me or if there was something more. I didn't want to hurt my boyfriend, I still cared about him (I would learn later that what I felt for him wasn't really LOVE love). I just felt like running away.

I was so mixed up that I couldn’t eat or sleep properly and I was a mess. Your Aunt Gillian saw my distress and I confided in her. (So yes, you see girls, even when you’re the younger sister you can have some wisdom to share) She took me to a counselor friend of hers and he advised me to just go out with him once and see what happened. (Every now and then he'd invite me to come out and lime somewhere, very casually.. not like being asked on a date) Well, I took the counselor's advice and the next time I received a casual invitation from him, I accepted.

The rest is history my dears. The first moment your father held my hand I was lost forever. I knew there was no going back to any other relationship… somehow I was meant for him.

We had a very whirlwind courtship… a rather complicated one because we didn’t want anyone at the office to know about us and there was also the added complication of my overseas boyfriend who I now had to break up with. To add to all that was against us was your Papa. As you know, your grandfather was a pretty strict man and I don’t think he approved of my relationship with your father. My guess is he saw that something serious was going to happen there.

The six year difference in ages and the fact that at the time I had just turned 21 probably had him shaking in his shoes. He didn’t make things easy on us at all. He changed my curfew to an earlier hour, he showed his displeasure at times and sometimes he actually refused to allow me to do certain things. I think he was happier with an overseas romance because there were only a couple of months a year when I'd be actively dating and he knew I was 'waiting' so there was nothing for him to worry about.

I often wondered how your father put up with it all. He was a grown man of 27 and used to going out and staying out all night with his friends. Now here he was having to leave to take me home just when other people were arriving. Back in our day there wasn’t a lot for young people to do. We went to the movies, but there wasn’t anything like Movie Towne, so it wasn’t that nice an experience. Mostly young people went to nightclubs to get out. Dating me was not a 'normal' experience for your father at all! (I think after meeting me, nothing was 'normal' for your father any more!)

Well, he did put up with me and somehow, despite all that was against us, our relationship grew. About six months later your father invited me to his nephew, your cousin, Adam’s 2^nd birthday party. Things were strained between my father and I at this point. Every time I wanted to go somewhere he would be annoyed. I helped out with the children and after the party your father and I stayed back with the rest of the family to clean up and lime*… you know what our family’s birthdays are like!

(*lime - a local word which means to socialize or hang out.)

Darkness came and I was pretty anxious by this time. I knew your grandfather would be really angry because I’d been out since just after lunch. In those days there weren’t any cell phones as you know and I felt embarrassed to ask to borrow a phone to check in with your grandmother about Papa’s mood.

Eventually we said our goodbyes and Dad and I jumped into his car to leave. As you know, Auntie Kell used to live on the same street we live on now, Apple Blossom Avenue. He started reversing out the street and suddenly stopped the car, looked at me and said “Will you marry me?”

I was in such shock I just blurted out the first thing that came to me “You’re not supposed to ask me that now!” You know your father… he gave me his crooked little grin and said “Is that a no?” I cant remember if I thought it or said to him “I’m filthy from the party and covered in sticky ice cream and this is when you ask me?!” Only your father would give such a bizarre proposal! (Now, every time we drive up our street you can envision this little scene played out in your father's car at the bottom of the street!)

Well, of course you know what happened next… I accepted and then he drove back up the street to tell his family. Your grandfather sent Uncle Nick home for a bottle of champagne. I just remember being numb… was all this really happening to me? What was I going home to face when it was already so late (yeah I know… it was probably only about 7:30pm but in my day….)

The drive home is a blur… I remember holding Dad’s hand and feeling both afraid and happy at the same time. Being with your father has always made me feel safe and protected but I knew I was going home to face the music.

Let’s just say I’ve only seen your grandfather speechless a couple of times in my life and this was one of them. I think he had a greater shock than I did that night! We totally stole his thunder… he’d been preparing to rip into me for staying out so long and we whipped the floor right out from underneath him!

I wonder if he ever forgave us for that… he did so enjoy having the last word. Hmmm… maybe you all didn’t get that penchant from Dad’s side of the family after all! Just kidding, just kidding… darling you know I love you!

I love all of you… and this is the story of how a love came to be and you were all the fruit of that love. Living testimony, living legacies… our love will live on forever in you and your children and into the future generations. Someday you will share your own stories with your own children and you will share this one too. I pray they all end in ‘ happily ever after”

Footnote:

Now, girls, lest you be deceived… there’s a lot in between the “Once upon a time” and the “Happily Ever After”. There’s joy and there’s sorrow, there are good times and there are bad...sometimes really painful bad, but the love remains and the love loudly proclaims that it is always a happy ending.

Courtship Days

Stuffed Eggplant

2011-12-02T16:48:00.001-04:00

Today, I want to share a recipe that my mother has been making forever and is one of our family's favourites. This is from a really old recipe book. Isn't it funny how some of the best stuff comes from vintage origins?

Someone else commented recently that her favourite recipes are from a really old and battered copy of Better Homes & Gardens. I couldn't agree more.. you should see some of my recipe books! The worst one is my absolute go-to favourite, a 197? copy of a Purity Flour cookbook that I ~~stole~~ borrowed from my mother a few years back and each time I return it I borrow it again. Its so tattered that I only know the recipes on some pages because I've memorised them. I've promised myself to hunt one up on Amazon so I could give it back to her (the new one of course ;)

This recipe is from the cookbook my mother got when she bought her first New World gas stove back in 1964 (which by the way, is still working!).

My children absolutely love eating eggplant this way (in fact for the majority, its the only way they eat it!) and I wanted to share it with you.. I'm pretty sure that, barring an allergy or an absolute hatred for eggplant, there aren't many people who wouldn't like it...all that yummy cheese and its light and fluffy, almost like a souffle. That's from the gentle folding in the of the egg whites at the end.

Ingredients

2 large eggplants
2 tbs butter or margarine
2 Tbs flour
1 cup milk
11/2 cups grated cheese
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 Tbs grated onion
1 Tbs ketchup

2 eggs, separated

salt, pepper

Wash eggplant and cut lengthwise. Score around edges with a knife and make crosswise cuts then scoop out with a spoon, leaving shells intact. Cook pulp until tender in a small amount of water. You can add a little salt to the water (I omit this since we cut back on our sodium intake) Mash and drain pulp.

Melt butter and blend in flour, gradually add in milk, stirring constantly on a med-low fire. Add eggplant, cheese, onion, breadcrumbs, ketchup and egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into mixture. As mentioned before, this makes the eggplant puff up nice and light.

Fill shells and bake at 350 F for about 1 hour. Oven times may vary, check by inserting toothpick, which should come out relatively clean. It should be nice and golden brown. Sorry I don't have any pics to show you.

BON APETIT! Don't forget to let me know how you liked this one.

Reposted to link up with:

Five Minute Friday - Tired

2011-12-02T11:16:00.002-04:00

Today after reading Lisa Jo's (The Gypsy Mama) post for Five Minute Friday, I couldn't help but agree with her opening paragraph. To quote her, this week "... just hiked up its skirt and belted outta there...". Since I also agree with her sentiment about not finding five minutes to write and being thankful for it being Five Minute Friday, I decided to participate this week. Its a topic that seems to be everyone's experience this time of year. Be sure to click on the link provided to check out the rest of her very inspiring post and those of others.

Today's prompt is the word TIRED

Tired... so tired of the endless round of chores that never seem to get done. The more I do, the more there is to do. I feel that I don't have the strength for this job sometimes.

I'm so tired of this feeling of not being good enough. I look around and everyone else has their act together.. why not me? Why can't I be organised and efficient and look beautiful and put together?

I'm tired of the relentless beck and call of duty and ALWAYS putting the other first...so very tired of being overwhelmed, fatigued and a busyness that almost seems fruitless.

Yet, Lord your Word tells me that my strength is in you. Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

Your Word tells me that I am WORTHY, that you love me... just the way I am. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life".

Your Word tells me that I shall overcome and I can give to others because you live in me. 1 John 4:4 "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world".

And Your Word tells me that you are with me always.. through every heartache, every trial, through my tiredness and discouragement, through loneliness and days when I feel abandoned. I am not abandoned by You. Isaiah 40:15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, have no compassion for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you".

STOP

Ok so I cheated a little... but I had to include the video above, because this beautiful song I've sung in church since a child, sums up so well the very reason for this season.. God's awesome love for us. Let's not get so busy, tired and overwhelmed that we forget why He came in the first place.

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend and may God's grace be with you as we all prepare our hearts for His coming.

Christmas Anticipatory Prayer

2011-11-30T09:12:00.000-04:00

Hello, my friends. I hope that your Advent is shaping up to be all that you want it to be. I wanted to share another one of my own Advent/Christmas traditions with you. This beautiful Christmas Novena is one that I've been saying ever since I was a child...you don't know how many Christmas end of term exams this one got me through!

It begins today, 30th November, and ends at Christmas. It must be said 15 times per day. I know it sounds like a lot but I usually split it up into five prayers, three times a day.

This prayer is the Christmas Anticipatory Prayer but is more popularly known as St Andrew's Christmas Novena because it begins on his Feast Day.

Hail and Blessed be the hour and moment

In which the Son of God was born

Of the most pure Virgin Mary at midnight, in Bethlehem,

in the piercing cold.

In that hour, vouchsafe, oh my God, to hear my prayer

And grant my desires (here mention requests)

Through the merits of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ

And of His blessed mother

Amen

It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew until

Christmas will obtain what is asked.

You can learn more about this tradition at this link.and this one. I have also included a link to a new blogging friend, Anne's website, where she has made the beautiful bracelet you see below. Click on the picture and go visit her lovely blog for some more Advent inspiration.

Sharing today at:

Christmas In My Heart

2011-11-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Hold on to that thought... I'll be returning to it. Shopping malls are lavishly decorated, radio stations have begun playing Christmas music and advertisements proudly announce Christmas sales. Special foods my countrymen eat at Christmas are filling up the grocery shelves and people are frantically buying up fruits for our local Christmas fruitcake and ingredients for other local Christmas fare. I'll be sharing a few of our local traditions and foods in another post.

I recently went to one of the most prestigious malls in our country and there were gorgeous ceiling-high Christmas trees, giant ornaments and rotating snowflake patterns projected onto the floor. Quite impressive....oh and there was a Nativity Scene. Where? Tucked away behind one of the escalators...almost hidden from view.

There, in the main atrium, stood a lavishly decorated 40 foot tree, beside which many people posed for pictures, but Our Saviour, "the reason for the season" was set aside...a side attraction. I didn't see anyone taking a picture there!

Christmas has become another reason to eat, drink and be merry. It has become a tool to boost sales, a time of excess and insobriety. Santa has become the central figure of Christmas, the focus on receiving presents. Shopping and making sure homes are looking their best for the entertaining of friends and family has priority over anything else at this time. The paint stores do a booming business at this time of the year.

Did anyone else notice the words on that card in the first picture? "The Spirit of Christmas"...on a Christmas Tree laden with presents, with an image of Santa in the background! Is that what the spirit of Christmas is all about?

People are so focused on preparing the tangible, the homes, the presents, the food...they forget to prepare their hearts.

I have grown to dislike the phrases "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" and even "Merry Christmas". When I was a teenager, our parish priest explained the vast difference between 'merry' which suggests revelry, often the drunken kind and 'happy' which suggests joy. When someone wishes another a happy Christmas, he or she is wishing the other the peace and joy of the Infant Jesus.

He or she is reminding the other that Christmas is about the fulfillment of the promise of God to send a Saviour to redeem us... a happy and joyful occasion. Did God intend for it to be a merry one?

Are all of the ways in which we celebrate Christmas, the way God would choose for us to celebrate this historic, phenomenal event? I'm not trying to imply that there's nothing good about the way we celebrate. Certainly at Christmas time lots of people spread goodwill and help the needy and poor and provide a good Christmas for the underprivileged. Christmas time works the miracle of bringing together people of all different races and creeds and, even religions.

Its a time when the peace and goodwill of God seems to spread over the earth. We are told that on that Holy Night, all of creation worshipped God and celebrated. There is a magic in Christmas. Have you ever heard the story of The Christmas Truce that happened during World War 1? Take a little read of it here and here where some of you will be lucky enough to have the story played out on the stage in your area.

This is what Christmas is all about. I have come to learn that preparing my house and all the trappings is but secondary. I must first prepare my heart. This is the purpose of the Advent Season, beginning this Sunday 27th November...the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the time we prepare our hearts for the coming of the little babe who was born to become Our Saviour.

I have found so many little nuggets of inspiration across the blogosphere lately. I have read of so many wonderful Advent traditions of other families. I plan on adopting some for my own. You can read about some of them here and here and here and here.

This year I want to put the focus right onto Jesus...from the very beginning. I plan on decorating my tree with mostly angels and stars and things that will remind me of that Holy Night. I plan on keeping up my Advent Wreath prayers this year... the best of intentions always seem to fall through. I get caught up in the baking and fixing and shopping... just like everyone else.

Not this year! This year I'm determined to give to the Lord, the best of myself and make sure that my heart is in the right place... that my motives for doing all that I do in this busy season is for love of Him and not to impress others or out of a sense of duty to tradition. This year I will offer to the Lord a birthday gift of a bouquet of roses, each one is an act of love, some an hour spent before Him in adoration and reparation. This is something I have strived to do each year and never quite fully accomplished.

I look forward to the setting up of our Nativity Scene... a little differently this year. This year, in accordance with a new book I purchased for my youngest daughter, we will be setting it up one character at a time and we will read about that character and his/her part in the Christmas story as we place him/her in. Of course, the Infant Jesus will be placed on Christmas Eve when we usually have a special evening with a little ceremony, which I'll explain in my post about our traditions.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... in the place where it matters most.. my heart! My friends, I want to just encourage you to examine your own hearts and, while we're running around shopping and planning and making sure we're giving to our friends and family, let's make sure we're also giving to the One who matters the most in this joyful season. Let's not get too busy to remember to keep Christ in Christmas... to keep Christ in our hearts.

Linking up today with:

Celebrating Children - Universal Children's Day

2011-11-18T11:33:00.001-04:00

This Sunday, November 20th, is Universal Children's Day as decreed by the United Nations. My 5 year old daughter will be celebrating with ice lollies at school today.

I reflected on what the observance of this day really means and checked out the UN's website. Interestingly enough, as I perused the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, its 3rd paragraph states:

"Whereas the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.."

Did anyone else pick up on the last part of that sentence... before as well as after birth. Yet millions of babies are aborted all around the world. Children are starving, dying, discarded. Some are used for labour, exploited in the porn industry, sold in human trafficking. This reality makes a mockery of this declaration. All around the world adults fail to protect children...sometimes it is the children's very own parents who exploit them. So sad, but true. These precious ones lose their innocence at a very young age.. who protects them and loves them and cherishes them?

Children ought to be celebrated as a blessing from God. How sad it is that in today's world, even in so-called functional families, that is far from the norm. They are seen to be burdens and an impediment to social and economical progress. So many people, even within Christian circles, are critical of those who have more than 2 or 3 children. I could direct you to a multitude of very nasty comments made about the Duggar's who are now expecting their 20th child.

Each child is unique and brings blessings far different from any of the others. The Duggars believe that they are honouring God in celebrating each new baby they receive from the hands of God, each new opportunity to be blessed and to bless. I do recognise that this is a hot and controversial topic within even Christian circles. My own faith teaches me to be open to life, but I know that there are many who do not believe in the practice of leaving their wombs open to the will of God. This post is not about judging others' decisions. I have read so many arguments for and against that my head is spinning, but my heart remains the same, my convictions the same.

There are many who argue the irresponsibility of raising large families and the financial burdens and how unfair it is to children etc. For my own part, I firmly believe that God does not give us more than we can bear. Conception of a child is a miracle in itself and God is our partner in this new creation. I believe that these so called 'financial burdens' are based on the values of the world.

Every child does NOT need to have i-pods, laptops, expensive shoes and clothes and the latest toys and gadgets. Every child NEEDS to be loved... unconditionally, they need food, clothing and shelter. They need to be nurtured, protected and cherished. Everything else is unimportant. We want to educate our children but a tertiary education is not a NEED... in fact I am of the opinion that soon the world will have a complete glut of MBA's and PHD's. I truly believe that people who raise their children with life skills will be the ones to benefit in the long run. But.. that's just my humble opinion.

Being a parent is an awesome responsibility and I have learned it is a vocation in which you always have room for growth. Our children teach us even as we teach them. They present, daily, new learning experiences and challenges as they grow through different stages and we have to learn and grow right alongside them. These precious ones are the future of our world. How are we equipping and training them for their futures?

Today I want to applaud those women who gratefully accept each new blessing that is placed in their wombs, the ones who reach out and embrace unwanted children through adoption or fostering or those who mentor other people's children. I want to grieve with those who have lost children to heaven and rejoice with those who daily walk the arduous path of motherhood, training their children to love God and to serve Him.

It is the greatest of all vocations and our children are the ones who make it possible. Let us celebrate them this weekend and remember to say a prayer for children worldwide who are not fortunate enough to have loving parents or who are living lives fraught with suffering. Let us remember the ones who live in squalor, who are forced to grow up before their time. Let us remember the ones who were violently ripped from their mother's wombs. Let us remember.. and pray!

Let us not forget those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring messages of hope, to comfort and provide for even one child through programmes such as Compassion. May God bless their efforts and may He work on hearts so that these precious ones will find relief, comfort and hope and through the kindness of others they will see His face.

If your heartstrings are getting pulled on, please visit:

Sponsor a Child - Compassion International and thank you! :-)

Sharing over at:

Have a blessed weekend everyone and may the angels walk with you.

God's Immeasurable Love

2011-11-16T09:20:00.001-04:00

This week the GMG's study of 1 John is all about God's love and his mandate to us to love one another. St John uses some powerful words here. He tells us that if we fail to love then we cannot love God! He had said previously in Chapter 3 that whoever does not live uprightly and love his brother is not from God and that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and cannot have eternal life in him! Wow! I don't know about you but I know that it is not easy to love those who annoy me, inconvenience me or are rude and obnoxious. I wont say that I hate them... hate is such a strong word, but if I cannot find an drop of 'like' in me, is it the same thing? In 1 John 4:8 we are told that "Whoever fails to love does not know God because God is love."

When I examine my heart I know that this is true. If I claim a relationship to God, I must have God's love for all in my heart. Why is this so hard?

1 John 4:12 "No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God's love remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us" I'm no theologian, but it seems to me that what I'm getting out of this is that love needs love... the Father's love. I envision it this way... I'm like a conduit as well as a receptacle.

When I remain in God, His love enables me to give love to others, which is then returned to Him. That's a really powerful thing to read.. God's love comes to perfection in us! We are called to love as God loves us. How is that even possible? It is possible because he enables us, he empowers us to do so. The secret... to remain in relationship with Him.

Throughout every situation in my life... some of which were extremely painful... I have gone before God and received the same mandate. Love is the answer.. love more, give of yourself. This is not ever an easy thing to do when the very people that God is telling us to love are the ones who are hurting us. Yet, there it is... and I can testify that love IS the answer to all that plagues us.

Love gives us the power to forgive what to human eyes is unforgivable. Love gives us the courage to reach out and face possible rejection over and over again. Love makes us strong in ways we did not believe we could ever be. Love stretches us and makes us give what we thought we could never give and do what we didn't think we were capable of doing.

That goofy little picture above says it all... He gives us love, the kind of love we need, the righteous and Godly love. He mandates that we pass it on.. completely.. withholding nothing.. just as He withholds nothing of Himself from us. We find that when we do give love as God asks of us, He then begins to work in a miraculous way. Somehow, we, the conduits of His great love, enable Him to topple walls and crumble defenses and chip away at stone to get to the true heart of others. We then find that He comes into the very same situations that cause us pain and starts to wrought change in them, creating new hearts and minds.

I had been feeling discouraged myself lately, burdened with too much to do and too little time. I was feeling sorry for myself and listening to those little voices in my head, telling me that nobody appreciates what I do, that my almost grown children and my husband live in their own worlds and just take for granted that I take care of them and they don't 'see' my needs. You all know about those little voices don't you? They are the voices of the enemy of our souls whose purpose it is to draw us away from the love of God

I, then, did my bible study and read those powerful words and heard them echo in the stillness of my heart.. the memory of all those times the Lord ministered to me in my brokenness with that one mandate "Love and give all". The mistake I made, apart from listening to those 'voices' was to not go to God Himself, the source of all love. As Courtney said in the video in this post, there is a God-sized hole in each of us that we cannot expect anyone else to fill. When that hole is filled by God and with His love, we don't look to others to fill us up. God's love tells us to give love, not to take it.

This morning, I opened my email to see a message from someone who was reading my blog for the first time and was blessed so much by their words. It was confirmation for me that I must follow that mandate to give love.. always, despite the circumstances and my own feelings.

That cliched and much maligned little saying that 'Love makes the world go round' is exactly correct. God's love and the passing on of that love is what keeps the balance. Don't be discouraged, my friends, draw your strength from Him and keep on loving, even though it may seem that you love in vain, you give without receiving and you are completely taken for granted. Nothing we do with love and for love is ever to be discounted... God Himself is pleased to accept our every love sacrifice as a rose in the bouquet at His throne.

1 John 4:10 "Love consists in this, it is not we who love God, but God loved us and sent His son to expiate our sins." There it is... the supreme sacrifice of Jesus, proof of God's immeasurable love for us. Can we help but do as He asks.. pass it on? There within this most precious heart of God's only begotten Son lies a wealth of love and mercy for us to tap into.. if we could just do this.. we would love well and completely as He asks.

Linking today with:

Thanking Him in Every Season

2011-11-10T12:20:00.000-04:00

It is Thankful Thursday again! We are almost halfway through the month of November. In the Caribbean, where I live, we don't have the changing of the seasons to signal the passage of time. We have two seasons, half the year its rainy, the other half its dry. I have envied you the beautiful seasons and the opportunity to change and grow with them... your clothing, your decorations, your very moods. We also don't celebrate Thanksgiving.. this is probably the only American holiday I would adopt if I could ;-)

God calls me to be thankful in my own station of life, season of life, place that I live. I may not have a big celebration like you do, but I can celebrate every day in my heart.. which is how I guess it ought to be. I can thank Him when it's sunny because I can save electricity by not using my dryer. Its such a wonderful thing to see a line of clothes flapping in the breeze and drying in the sunshine. Gathering them off the line.. inhaling that one of a kind smell of clean air and sunshine.

I know that when I see the beautiful pouii tree blossoming in all its glory it is a sign that the dry season is upon us.

I can enjoy the hot weather with my family at a beach and marvel at how beautifully God creates those magnificent crests of jewel toned waves. A glorious sunset on the beach is nothing to thumb your nose at either! I can be thankful for the fruits that are available in the dry season and be thankful that I can have water when so many don't in this season.

In the rainy season I can be in awe of the display of God's power in the thunderstorms that we get. My children happen to love this type of weather...though it is best appreciated indoors, in my opinion. Its not unusual to have flash flooding, landslides, trees falling in some parts of my country. This is hurricane season... from June to January. Yet, there IS something about standing at the window and watching powerful flashes of lightning, hearing and feeling thunder rock the house and watching torrential sheets of rain soaking the garden. There is nothing like that thunderous roar of heavy rain on our roof... it drowns out every other sound... its like the voice of God Himself. When its like that it gets very dark and we snuggle up all cosy and warm and there's gratitude that we can have shelter in the face of the inclement weather. We even do goofy things like play in the rain! (In my day the purpose was to actually get wet!) We'd stand right where the guttering ended at the edge of the roof and get a bath like no other!

In any season.. in all seasons.. even the varying seasons of life, we must be thankful to God. He provides, he protects, he comforts, he empowers. Even in the midst of a storm, we can see His hand of protection and provision. In the midst of a perplexing trial, we can receive His counsel and be strengthened and guided. In the midst of the fires that test us.. He is empowering us, even as He purifies us.

I got a really powerful reminder when I visited a blogger friend's place this week. You can read it here if you like. It hit me like a ton of bricks.. how many times did I not even ask... I longed for something.. it was a thought, a wish, a sigh.. and God gave it to me anyway... without my even asking! Do I give God all the gratitude He deserves? How many things does He do behind the scenes every day of my life that go by without acknowledgement or thanks? Am I like one of the lepers who were cured but never came back? Do I take my God for granted?

Oh, please NEVER, NEVER let me forget or take for granted the favours the Lord grants daily! As Craig so aptly named his post LOVE SAYS THANK YOU 1000 TIMES... Let our hearts say thank you forever, continuously, into eternity... just as the work that Jesus accomplished on that cross continues into eternity.

As America celebrates Thanksgiving this month... let the whole world, all God's people celebrate continuous thanksgiving in our hearts. For indeed He is worthy to be praised, thanked and adored... into all eternity!

Thanking Him with my friends:

Get Service or Give Service?

2011-11-09T10:38:00.001-04:00

A fellow blogger shared this some time ago and I wanted to pass it on it because I think the message is so profound. It certainly resounded in my heart! As you know, I've been in a very busy season of life.. along with it has come moments of total impatience, lack of tolerance, irritation.. so much that is not in keeping with my role as a woman who is joyfully serving Her Lord and her family. I ashamedly and regretfully admit that I saw myself in that young man in the video. Do you see yourself too?

This 'Get Service' mentality is wide-spread and seems to infect the whole population of the world today! Everyone seems to be in a hurry, thinks no one else's time is important and it is manifested in a lack of common courtesies and respect for man or law. I see infractions of the law every day on my nation's roads. I see self-centered people bulldoze their way through life without a thought or care for anyone else. I see people cutting in line in stores, people who cannot even say 'Good morning' or 'Thank you'. People who are rude and unkind to others.

What a crazy world we live in! If we had 'Jesus glasses', like the fellow in the video... I wonder what we would see. Would we run away from the overload to our senses and emotions? How could our Saviour take that amount of pain and overwhelming suffering upon Himself?

Yet, He did! He looked through the ages and saw ALL OF US.. our ancestors, our descendents.. the good, the bad and the ugly.. and then He opened His arms on the cross and gave His life for us anyway! Where is our own compassion and tolerance? How do we so easily forget our role as Christians?

I sat with tears streaming down my face as I watched this... this reminder that we are on this earth to SERVE not to be SERVED.

We are called to do everything we do with Christ in mind, for Him and through Him.. for love of Him who came to serve us!

How easy it is to fall in with the standards of the world.." Its a dog eat dog world and I don't want to be beaten so I'll take the offensive." "Everyone is doing it... if I don't I'll just never get anywhere". "Nobody cares, why should I?" "I have my own problems.. let somebody else help."

The Good Morning Girls study of the book of 1 John has some very appropriate advice on this topic. 1 John 3:16 tells us "This is the proof of love, that he laid down his life for us and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

When we act as the rest of the world does this is what we reap: 1 John 3 :17 "If anyone is well off in worldly possessions and sees his brother in need but closes his heart to him how can the love of God be remaining in him?"

The bible is clear ... see Matt 25:31-46... we will be judged according to how we loved on this earth, how we treated others and how Christ-like we have been. Matt 25: 40 "In truth I tell you, insofar as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

Jesus' Sacred Heart is full of compassion for all.. He calls us to have His heart here on this earth. I am convicted... I hope sharing this video convicts you too.

Psst...in the spirit of this post, I just want to direct you over to my friend Kristin who has a heart for the homeless and hungry. Visit her at Ponderings and see what her latest mission is...and thank you!

Sharing today over at:

Marriage Monday - Difficult In-laws?

2011-11-07T08:43:00.000-04:00

Today Marriage Monday is tackling the delicate topic of handling difficult "in-laws". Does this subject make you want to run and hide? I will admit I didn't know if I had the courage to tackle this one, but I had to give it a try.

I think it must be a very rare thing, indeed, to enter a marriage and have a wonderful relationship with the in-laws right away. Its a bit like learning to walk all over again, in my opinion. For those of you who fell in love with the family alongside the husband... you are so fortunate. For the rest, I'm guessing its been a long road of learning, compromise and some aches and pains and bumps in the road along the way.

So, here's my little list of what I think is crucial to maintaining relationships with the in-laws.

RESPECT
Respect is crucial to any relationship... even more-so in a relationship with in-laws. Coming into marriage we are all from different backgrounds. We first need to respect the differences between ourselves and our spouses' families. While I am of the firm opinion that you marry the man and not the family, as so many others like to say, that family is important to the man you married and, therefore, you have to cultivate a respectful relationship.. even if you don't agree on everything. Respect their right to their opinions, lifestyles and in return, hopefully, they will also respect your right to be different.

STAND FIRM IN YOUR OWN CONVICTIONS
If such respect is not forthcoming and you have multiple differences in opinion, feel like you are judged constantly and, generally, cannot seem to please your husband's family, you still need to be firm in your own value systems. Within your own household you rule...you are queen and he is king. You both decide what is best for yourselves and your children.

Your in-laws may not agree with your choices, but they are your choices to make. The important thing is to be as loving and respectful in your 'rejection' of their disapproval. Let's face it.. some of us disagree with our own parents at times. Their advice or their ways of dealing with situations don't always appeal to us.. it doesn't mean we don't value their advice and we don't want to deliberately hurt or alienate them by open or angry rejection.

It takes tact to respectfully disagree, but it can be done. Let me hasten to add here that not ALL of the in-laws' advice or opinions may be 'bad' or 'wrong' for you and you have to be careful of not falling into the trap of rejecting them outright merely because of resentment at their interference.

MAINTAINING THE PEACE
Have you ever been in a situation where your husband has fallen out with his family? It is not a nice place to be. You, the wife, need to be peacemaker because, ultimately, even though he is angry, your husband needs to remain being a part of his family. In my own family, one uncle's wife was completely unaccepted by his parents and, as a result, he was torn between his wife and his family.To her credit, she never discouraged his visits to them even though she wouldn't go herself. She was wise enough to realize that a man shouldn't have to be alienated from his family to have a healthy marriage. It must have put strain on their relationship, but she encouraged him nonetheless.

Sometimes a wise wife has to compromise in order to maintain the peace. She must understand and weigh the consequences of each situation individually. Sometimes giving in bears fruit that far outweigh the negative fall out of standing her ground.

There have been many times that I have not wanted to do something that my husband's family had planned.. I didn't feel comfortable with it or it was against my own value system. Several times, though, I weighed the happiness it would bring to my husband and the opportunity for the family to bond against my own feelings and the outcome was enough to confirm that I had made the right decision.

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS
It can be exceedingly difficult to cultivate relationships with people you may feel you have nothing in common with. Coming from such different backgrounds, I never felt that I fit in with my in-laws. They are social, extroverted and strongly opinionated.. I was raised in a more rigid household with far more rules and my father did not encourage us girls to dialogue on current affairs or politics. I felt grossly provincial when in their company. It took many years for me to feel comfortable. When the children came along it became a bit easier as they created a common ground. I also discovered that my love for cooking and baking was a way to reach out to them as none of them were fond of being in the kitchen and they appreciated my culinary efforts.

Finding some kind of common ground is important and sometimes you have to be the one to reach out and make the effort. Some people are blessed with sisters-in-law who bond with them instantly and a sweet and supportive mother-in-law, others have to work a little harder. Its worth it to build relationships with the people who are important to your husband.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
It is unfortunate that some people have to deal with constant disapproval and criticism from their in-laws. I have seen that first-hand and it is not an easy thing to deal with.. the woman in question either becomes indifferent to them and maintains a cool facade beneath which lies a wealth of hurt and bitterness, or she becomes withdrawn and hides behind that wall of pain. Either way, no building of relationship takes place.

The best thing you can do to win over your in-laws is to show them how much you love and care for their son/brother.
All parents, even difficult ones, want the best for their children. They may think they know what the best is and maybe they even think that you are NOT it, but, the proof is in the happiness of that son or daughter.
If you are loving and caring for him and his happiness is shining through.. THAT is something that they cannot deny.

DIALOGUE WITH YOUR SPOUSE
This is crucial, but a little bit tough. It is important that your husband knows and understands what his family may be doing to upset you or undermine your efforts to maintain a good relationship with them. I know that there are people who are vindictive and malicious enough to try to damage their son's/brother's relationship with his wife. It is an unfortunate reality. While, the husband needs to be aware of his wife's feelings, she needs to be VERY careful how she conveys them. Remember, this is HIS family... none of us would like to hear our spouse bad-mouthing our families.

BE OPEN-MINDED
Always remember that people change and grow. I have seen so much growth in my husband's family in the last twenty-one years, in particular his mother. As I've said above, your in-laws may not agree with the way you and your husband have chosen to raise your children or your lifestyle, but, they will warm up eventually when they see how it works for you and how their son is blossoming in the marriage. Don't let past transgressions, unforgiveness or bitterness keep you from enjoying an improved relationship with the people that matter to your husband. Seeing your willingness to cross the barriers will mean a lot to him, especially if there has been bad blood between you in the past.

PRAYER
Never discount or forget the importance of prayer! Praying for your spouse's family is crucial, especially if you are struggling to forgive or battling with their rejection. When you pray with your husband for his family.. despite how rocky your relationship might be, you show him that you care about what and who is important to him. When you pray for his family you invite the Holy Spirit to wrought change to the situation. Prayer yields fruit!

MAINTAIN YOUR UNITY
The most important thing of all is that you and your husband are on the same page. You need to have his support and maintain a united front in the face of any opposition from his family. For instance, my husband and I have a very different value system to his family's and though, over the years, we have been challenged many times on our decisions, we have stood by them together. Twenty one years later, I believe that we have earned the respect of his family even though they still do not agree with our views.

Well, I guess my list wasn't so little after all :)
If you are one of those people who have to deal with difficult in-laws, I really hope that some of the above will be helpful to you. Be sure to visit e-Mom at Chrysalis to see what everyone else has to say on this rather controversial topic. Join in the conversation... I'd love to have your comments.

Thanking Him and Praising Him

2011-11-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

My friends.. I am stealing a moment to write this because it just NEEDS to be written. I've spent the last two weeks being blessed by your words and having my own tumble around in my heart and mind without the time to write them down.

I literally BEGGED God to give me time to do this because my heart cannot contain these words any longer. I have to share what marvels the Lord is working, even in this busy and overwhelming season.

Two weeks ago I wrote a Thankful Thursday piece on being grateful to God for his faithfulness and provision... even when it seems that situations are impossible and problems insurmountable. As I finished that piece, literally as I posted it, my husband came into the room and said he hadn't purchased our daughter's airline ticket for her to come home for Christmas. We just simply didn't have the money and we would have to use our credit card, which we are determined to pay off and get out of debt.

The very next day my sister asked me to pick her up because her car had gone to fix and while we were chatting in the car, she pulled out an envelope and said "Don't say anything, I just want you to have this and don't argue either.. just take it as a gift from God". Tears came to my eyes as I realized it was about half the money for my daughter's ticket home. I hadn't even discussed my situation with her.. and yet... God was providing through her generosity!

It doesn't end there my friends... oh no! There is no limit to what our gracious God can do for us. Within the next week, both my husband and I received monetary gifts from relatives that we could put onto our credit card to help pay for her round trip tickets.

Last Thursday, I offered a Mass of Thanksgiving for my husband and youngest daughter's birthdays, for my daughter Brittany for all that God has done for her in her life and for my daughter in Florida and her own special needs. That very same night... on her daddy's birthday.. Brittany received news that she had placed second in all of the Caribbean in one of the subjects she'd written at exams this year. Excitement and jubilation filled my home that night as we celebrated with our extended family. Her words to me were: "Mom, look at that...you offered thanksgiving for me and I hadn't even gotten the news yet!"

My friends, keep on thanking and praising our God... never forget what He has done and continues to do for you!

Praise Him and thank Him, even when things look bleak, hopeless and you are overwhelmed, fatigued and your faith is taking a dip.

Praise Him and thank Him even when the things to thank Him for seem small in comparison to your burdens.

Praise Him and Thank Him, even when your heart is aching or breaking or your world is falling apart.

In the midst of our praise.. the blessings will flow and flow.. and overflow .. and, like me, your cup will runneth over!

Today I'm giving thanks with my friends:

Please visit and be blessed by what others are giving thanks for.

Five Minute Friday - Beyond

2011-10-21T07:52:00.000-04:00

Today, I join the Gypsy Mama for:

Today's prompt is:

BEYOND...

GO

Beyond this present moment.. this season fraught with busyness and stress

Beyond this place of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted

Beyond this fatigued and weary spirit

Beyond this endless weary climb

There is a vista, beautiful and captivating... a place where harvests are reaped, rejoicing is done and time stands still.

I want to tell my daughter these words.. I want to hug them to my own heart and believe them too. Sometimes we have to look beyond the present to see what glorious things the Lord has planned for us. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that all we endure now is but a passing moment and beyond this, there is something greater, something better awaiting us, crafted by the Master Crafter Himself.

Beyond the pain, beyond the stress, beyond the laborious and endless trial.. He is molding and shaping, purifying and teaching and someday.. beyond this, we will be where He wants us to be, we will be who he wants us to be..

if we could just look beyond.

STOP

Wishing you all a wonderful, blessed weekend full of joy and fun times with your loved ones.

Thankful Five

2011-10-20T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!

First off, I apologize for the dead, cold silence from this site for the past.. my goodness.. its been 2 weeks already! The time is just flying by and it has been impossible to write... anything of substance that is. You deserve the best so I will not waste your time with the trivial.

The month of October is one of my busiest months. We have a total of 5 birthdays in the family and three of them are in my own household. My daughter and I usually bake all the cakes for the birthdays and this year we are planning two parties, so I also have this to add to my crazy schedule.

The number 5 is an important number this year.. my third born turned 15 yesterday and next week my youngest turns 5 and my husband 50. So, in order to keep up with the spirit of things, I am going to list 5 things that I am so thankful to God for.

His Amazing Grace I am a broken creature, flawed and hopelessly marred by original sin. I fight against the trappings of my human nature...I fall, again and again. Stress brings out the worst in me! But my God is so gracious, He stretches out his hand and lifts me out of the mire that I allow myself to be sucked into... by my pride, by my selfishness, by sinking into my old skins and allowing resentment or bitterness to wrap itself around me. Psalm 40:2 "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand" His Grace covers over like a healing balm and I am set free, washed clean to start anew.
Holy Spirit Fire! He sets me on fire...burns me in order to purify. He convicts my heart of its wrongdoing. He instructs me, empowers me and shows me His will. Psalm 25:4 "Show me your ways, Oh Lord, teach me your paths."
For His promises that last forever! The Lord is faithful to His word. He takes care of us, even when all seems impossibly lost.. He saves the day. Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore, that the Lord, your God, is God, he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands" He's my hero! We can depend upon Him, place all our hope and trust in Him.. He NEVER disappoints!
The Gift of Life. Today I give praise and thanks to God for life.. mine and those of my husband and children. I thank Him for all the years of provision, of nurturing, of protecting. His hand was with us always and He never stopped hunting us down to bring us back when we strayed. As half of my family celebrates birthdays this week, I will not forget the blessings bestowed upon us all these years and the blessings of wife-hood and mother-hood he bestowed upon me through the gift of life he gave to them.
All of You! I haven't had time to write but I've been so inspired and encouraged by reading your blogs.. I still have a lot of catching up to but I make an effort to visit and read. You are all a blessing and I'm grateful to God for this place where I can come and be refreshed. Thank you to all of you for spreading such joy and inspiration.. be encouraged and don't stop writing!

I would just like to mention...if any of you follow Darlene Schacht at Time Warp Wife, I'm sure you have been blessed by her writing. Please pray for her and her family as her father is ill and in his last moments.

Thank you and may God bless you all and your families and your writing/ministries.

31 Days of Love and Making My Home a Haven

2011-10-05T16:55:00.004-04:00

I am making today my day to be accountable for how I've been doing with both the challenges above. It may seem a bit strange but, for me, they both complement each other. In desiring to make my home a haven I have had to take a look at my heart and my true purpose in being a homemaker in the first place.

I started this journey because I fell in love with a man. I wanted to be the kind of wife to him that I saw exemplified in my favourite tv shows and in the novels that I read. Yeah, I lost my way for a while... you cannot build a marriage on something without substance. I have learned that my foundation is Jesus Christ and I am building upon Him now... I'm still a hopeless romantic, but God IS love and He is showing me a more perfect way to love I still get to be romantic though.. just in a better way ;-)

Courtney encouraged us to reflect upon what type of home atmosphere we create in this post. Am I discontented? Am I disorganized and harassed. Am I giving of my best to my family? Am I making my home environment a place of tension and my family uncomfortable as they all feed off my mood?

I have confessed before how stressful these past few weeks have been and how overwhelmed and burdened I have felt.. physically exhausted and mentally fatigued and frustrated. I have felt that there is far too much to juggle. Old resentments and bitterness have threatened to undermine all the good intentions and hard road I have travelled with my husband to build a better relationship, marriage and family life.

I have felt a strong sense of deja vu... a glimpse, an echo of those days when I was a frazzled, harassed mother, shuttling children to and from school and extra-curriculars, juggling children's homework and my own chores and errands.

That woman had a lot of bottled up feelings of resentment. She felt that she bore the burden on her own and resented her husband for not offering to help or seeing her need. She resented having no time for herself and having nothing left for herself at the end of the day. Life seemed like just an endless round of chores and responsibilities. Where was the joy? Where was the love?

The mirror image of the old me has been haunting me these past few weeks. I have slowly felt the old skin of her trying to mold herself around my heart again. There have been quite a few tense moments in my house and even an out and out fight!

Our God is gracious and merciful and he would not let me sink back into that old skin. Through the encouragement and inspiration from Darlene at Time Warp Wife and Courtney at Women Living Well...even the GMG bible study of the first book of John, He reminded me that I am a new creation.. that the old me is just a reflection of the past.. I don't have to be that person again. I don't have to make the same mistakes.

He reminded me that I am the heart of our home. My light must shine in the hearts of my family. When my light is dim, obscured by the shadows of my own selfish desires and feelings, the whole household lies under a blanket of dismal gloom. He showed me, once again, that by serving by family joyfully.. I serve HIM!

This week whenever I light my candle, I ask God for peace in my own heart. I ask Him to rekindle that flame of love and joy in my service to my family. Each time I gaze at that flame I remind myself that when my husband comes home from work tired and dejected I must be that source of light and joy to him.. no matter how tired I am myself or how much I may still have to do. I remind myself that I must offer grace to my children when they make mistakes and muster up some patience with everyone when I feel like chastising them.

I will remind myself, each time I see that candle that I must burn brightly for love of Jesus, even when I am tired, frustrated or overwhelmed and that in giving to my family I am giving to Him... the source of all love and light.

Each time the flame of my candle leaps up to Heaven I will ask God to increase my love and faith in Him and to strengthen me mentally and physically so that I can give the best of myself to my husband and my children and create a haven for them to come home to.

Making Our Homes Havens

2011-10-02T09:27:00.001-04:00

Well, Courtney over at Women Living Well has a new challenge for us. I missed this one last year because I only discovered her wonderful blog late last year. If you click on the link above you will see the introductory video that Courtney created. In it she mentions how stressed and uptight she felt she was becoming in the midst of all the schooling schedules and extra-curriculars. Man, can I ever relate!

Its been stressful for me too these past four weeks. It hasn't helped that my poor daughter who isn't even five until late October is stressed too. Imagine getting her up and out of the door by 6:30am, feeding her breakfast in the car, taking up to an hour sometimes of traffic and then having her still get to school barely on time or late some days. Then there was having to drive my other daughter to work and the afternoon pick up from school, which requires going at least half an hour earlier to get a place to park! I've spent more time in the car than anywhere else lately!

I've been one uptight mama! Its showing in my relationships with my children and my husband. Its showing in how easily I fly off the handle for the smallest of things. It shows in how I feel overwhelmed and out of control. It shows in how I am not giving of my best, firstly to my Lord, then to my husband and children and in the way I serve them, my haphazard, half-hearted way of doing everything lately.

I was so happy when I saw this Challenge. I am determined to take part. I will be lighting my big candle every day, praying for peace in my heart first of all, then in my home. I will be praying for strength and wisdom, for patience in dealing with all that's coming at me right now. I will also be praying for all of you, my friends, and your different situations.

Courtney has some really great ideas for making and keeping that sense of well-being and creating a haven in our home. Will you join us?

Thankful for the Cross

2011-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

My dear friends... believe it or not, I started writing this post last week. Its been a really overwhelming time for me. I am struggling to balance it all and sacrificing time with the Lord as well as time to write. Needless to say this has me pretty upset. Nevertheless, I am here and ready to count down my blessings.. so many... if I just look past the human and see with my spiritual eyes!

Last week, on the 14th of September, the Catholic Church celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is a day when we venerate the cross upon which our Lord died and reflect on His loving sacrifice for us. It also happened to be my birthday. I have often wondered at the 'co-incidence' (Remember friends, I stopped believing in co-incidences a long time ago!) of my being born on this feast day as well as having grown up in a suburban area called Santa Cruz... spanish for Holy Cross.

The church in which I was confirmed and married is called the Church of the Holy Cross! Hmm.. I wonder if God was preparing me from my early years to be a witness for Him and to carry my burdens for love of Him. Indeed, even as I reflect on 44 years worth of blessings and grace, I see how His hand has always been cradling me. I see how His love has formed and shaped me.

I grieve for those times when I was rebellious or disobedient to Him. I wish that I had loved him the way I ought to from very young. Nevertheless, He never leaves us to our folly. He chases after us and the Cross is a sign of that Love and Faithfulness that He bears.

Today, as I ponder these things, I want to ask you my friends.. do we always carry our burdens for love of Him, who carries ours?

Today, I'm thankful for the Cross.. my debt and yours paid in full.

I'm thankful for the way God never stops loving us and chasing after us. I'm thankful for His presence and influence all my life. I'm thankful for each blessing, big and small...

For grace to get through the tough times
For the strength that only He can provide
For HOPE that springs eternal
For the blessing of family
For birthday blessings
For roses from my husband
For a daughter's thoughtfulness
For another daughter's willingness
For blessed memories
For the blessing of friends
For powerful testimonies
For the ways He shows me His awesomeness!
For cuddling with my youngest and savouring some quiet time
For the doors God is opening in my 18 year old's life .. MAY HE BE PRAISED!
For, FINALLY.. getting some time online to write..THANK YOU LORD!
For the knowledge that I have strong shoulders to lean on
For the grace of forgiveness

Our God is awesome and I thank Him that in the midst of this crazy, seriously busy and stressful time of adjustment for me and my youngest daughter, I know that He understands. The burden of the crosses I carry is but a sliver of the one He carries for me.

Be blessed my friends as you count down your own blessings today and always... let us always remember the debt that He has paid!

God's Awesomeness Revealed

2011-09-22T16:32:00.000-04:00

I am late for linking up with the Good Morning Girls for Women in the Word Wednesday, but I just HAD to write this post. We are studying the book of 1 John for the Fall Bible Study.

I don’t believe in coincidences. When my friend Kristin posted this article, I had not even cracked open the book of 1 John as yet. I read her post on Tuesday morning and on Tuesday afternoon, as I was sitting in the car waiting for my daughter’s school to let out, I began reading my bible study.

Amazingly, these words leapt out at me:

Visible

Testimony

Declaring x 2

Revealed

1 John 1:1 “Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have touched with our own hands, the Word of Life – this is our theme." - New Jerusalem Bible

This verse tells us that the God, who has always existed, was manifested in Jesus… the Word incarnate, that He might be seen and touched and heard.. that we might believe.

Kristin’s testimony had resounded in my heart and it ties in with this study for me. What I’ve learned this week is that we have a responsibility to share these stories with others, to declare the ways in which God has revealed Himself to us, so that others may build their own faith in Him!

1 John 1:2 “That life was made visible, we saw it and are giving our testimony, declaring to you the eternal life, which was present to the Father and has been revealed to us”

The truth is that God uses our faith in Him to work miracles every day. Just as the disciples were witnesses by their testimonies of all that they saw and heard and touched and felt so that millions of people, through thousands of years, would have faith… so must we testify and make visible to others His presence.

What ways have you experienced the awesomeness of God?

Were they huge… like Kristin’s? Some of mine were… like seeing my dying father reach out and smile as if some beautiful Heavenly being had come to take him home. There was also the time I had that car accident I mentioned here.

Some were not so huge, but awesome just the same… like laying hands on my ill, young daughter in the middle of the night and praying for God to stop the awful, wracking cough that was keeping us both up. He was faithful to hear my prayer that night!

1 John 1:3 "We are declaring to you what we have seen and heard so that you too may share in our life. Our life is shared with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ."

God uses testimonies like Kristin’s to build His kingdom. I invite you to hop over to her blog, Ponderings and see what awesome fruit is being yielded by her obedience to Him. I promise you, you will be blessed!

Would you like to share a story on how you felt God's awesomeness in your own life? I'd be honoured and blessed to hear it.

Its Time to Start Thinking of Christmas Again?

2011-09-20T03:24:00.000-04:00

When I signed on to take part in this:

it seemed like a really fun thing to do.., something different. I didn't realise how busy a season this was going to be in my life, but I have made a commitment!

Ladies, we are counting down 100 Days until Christmas!

I'm a little bit late in the starting but feel free to click on the link above and check out what the other, more organised, ladies have to offer.. its beautiful! Friday was Day 100, there was a surprise linky party. When I first started writing this on Saturday we were only two days into this countdown. We are now, as of my publishing at Day 95 and you can visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup to see what lovely things were done in between. . Why don't you consider joining in the fun.. there are Christmas recipes, Christmas decor, Christmas craft.. all things Christmas.

You think its too early to start thinking about Christmas? I assure you.. its not. I usually start buying presents around this time to lay up so that it doesn't cost me a lot all at once, plus there are usually sales at this time of year as everyone starts wanting to clear stock for Christmas items.

If you are on a tight budget, like me, you might want to consider making Christmas presents. Some are not all that hard to do if you have the time. Over the years I've put together a few things. Here are just some ideas to give you a little jumpstart.

Baskets with items that have a theme related to a particular person's interests. For e.g, the lady who loves the kitchen could get some new kitchen towels, apron, oven mitts or recipe cards with some of the ingredients for a recipe or two that she complimented you on. Pretty glass jars that you can, if you have the time and some talent, label by painting or writing on in script.

Of course, there is the whole gamut of gifts that you can put in a jar. Check out some great ideas here .

If you have an artist in the family.. even a budding one.. you could get them to paint a pretty picture of something in a theme you know the recipient would like. My own, almost 15 year old daughter, painted me a picture for my birthday this year. Its a beach scene that I absolutely love. I framed it and hung it on the wall.. it may be amateur but it was from her heart.. so precious!

For the younger children, there's macaroni art, shell art.. they can simply glue together a frame for a picture. You can also paint plain clay plant pots and add a packet of seed, some gardener gloves or spade.

A great idea for teachers is to trace your little one's hand on construction paper which you can decorate with the words 'Thank you for helping me to bloom' or something similar. Stick it onto a wooden skewer or chopstick and place in the pot of an inexpensive plant or flower.

If you are handy with a needle (or sewing machine) you can whip up some cloth placemats, napkins or even small throw pillows in a Christmas theme by buying inexpensive plaid or Christmas coloured materials. This tutorial shows how to make placemats with a no-sew method as well. I've sewed up simple squares and stuffed them with batting (I'm not very experienced in the sewing arena yet) and got some pretty acceptable looking throw pillows but you can see a good tutorial here that shows how to add a trim as well.

My daughter has decoupaged unusual looking bottles and filled them with handmade paper flowers to match the colour scheme in a particular room. This can be a nice idea for a family member or close friend. We've used tissue paper, coffee filters and even paper towels which were dyed and even tie-dyed once! Click here for some instructions on how to make some awesome paper flowers. As for decoupage, if you are unfamiliar with it, check this out. You an also decoupage any box or container to make it come alive and fill it with whatever the person you are giving it to might like. An inexpensive glass vase or jar would work just as well.

My daughter recently began braiding friendship bracelets out of embroidery thread. They are beautiful and I've told her they would make great Christmas gifts for her friends. You can see how to do this here. There are so many great ideas on Youtube! My head is spinning, maybe you can figure it out. You an also make these in beads. If you have teenaged daughters they might enjoy making this craft for their friends or cousins.

The gift I give to my neighbours and a few friends is my original Christmas Bread.. the recipe for which I will be sharing as part of the 100 Days to Christmas Countdown. My cousin's wife, who has also been on a restricted budget, gives out homemade dundee cakes which she decorates beautifully. Most people give cookies as gifts, but you can be more original if you find a recipe that is fairly inexpensive to make but original.

There are so many great ideas for gift-making and giving out there. These are but a few. I hope you will come back and join us for some more fun in the countdown to Christmas.. I'm sure you'll find something to inspire you.

Pelau

2011-09-20T01:53:00.000-04:00

Today I link up with Time Warp Wife to share a recipe that is very popular in my country. I would also like to direct you to a friend who is looking for some help with recipes and ideas to bulk up meals on a tiny budget. You can visit April at My Abundant Life. and share any tips you have with her.

This dish can be made with either chicken or beef. (I've even used pork.) Traditionally, we use bone-in chicken, usually a whole chicken cut up into small pieces. This recipe is different in each home, handed down to generation after generation who modify it to suit their own tastes. There are so many variations. My mother never added pumpkin and there were times she would put in chopped carrots and potatoes instead of peas if we didn't have any. The coconut milk is also optional. We cook it in a cast-iron pot with a lid and it is a versatile and filling meal, usually served with a salad or coleslaw and sliced avocado (when in season) or some yummy fried plantain.

Photo Credit : The Naparima Girls' Cookbook

4 cups raw white rice

2 cups coconut milk
(most people put equal parts coconut milk to water.. I don't for health reasons)

6 cups water

1 large onion, chopped

2 seasoning peppers, chopped

2-3 blades of chadon beni, chopped

2 sprigs of thyme

1 cup pumpkin, cut into small pieces

1 can of pigeon peas or 2 cups cooked

(if unavailable, you can use any other firm pea or bean)

chicken or beef cut up into small pieces

(seasoned with lime, salt, garlic, black pepper to taste and 1 Tbs ketchup)

2 Tbs brown or white sugar

Traditionally a heavy iron pot is put to heat up at a moderately high temperature and about 1 Tbs oil is added (I omit the oil to make it a little healthier). When the pot is hot enough, add the sugar, it will begin to caramelize. When it is bubbling, stir it, watching it carefully so it doesn't burn. When it is a nice rich colour add your meat, reserving the marinade. Quickly, using a large spoon with a long handle, better known as a pot spoon here, stir the meat, turning it to coat it in the caramel mixture so the meat gets a nice brown colour. (Don't worry if your spoon gets caramelized sugar on it.. just let it sit in the simmering liquid for a while and it will all slide off, but remember to use a potholder to hold that hot spoon!)

At this point, I add a little water, the marinade and all of my chopped seasoning, onions, peppers and the pumpkin. I let it come to the boil, turn down the pot and cover it so it can simmer a while to let the meat tenderize and cook a bit. The time this takes will differ according to whether your meat is a tough cut or the chicken is bone-in or boneless. Sometimes I need to keep adding a little water until it tenderizes enough.

Once you are satisfied that your meat is softened enough or your chicken almost cooked, add the rice, water, coconut milk and peas. Turn up the heat and let it come to a boil and then turn down to low, cover and let simmer until rice is tender and liquid is evaporated. Taste for salt before you cover the pot, this dish tends to take quite a bit. I haven't included a measure for salt because we put very little due to my husband's hypertension

Don't go too far, this tends to cook very quickly, this is why I cook the meat partially first. If the liquid dries out too quickly and your rice is not cooked enough, simply add some more water and allow to simmer again for a while. .

It is traditional to add a whole hot pepper to the top of the mixture before letting it simmer. If you are a pepper lover, you may be fortunate enough to have that pepper burst and distribute its heat and flavour throughout the pot! In my family, there have always been too many children to do this, but the addition of the seasoning/pimento peppers adds the flavour without much of the heat.

This serves my family of 6 with leftovers. You can, of course cut back on the amount of rice you use and using the recipe of 2 cups liquid for every cup of rice, you can reduce the amount you cook. but I have to say that leftovers never go to waste around here!

The beauty in this dish is that you can add as little meat as you want or as much as you want. You can even make it vegetarian 'Rice and Peas' by omitting the meat entirely. I hope that you enjoy this recipe.

Here are some links to help you understand some of the local ingredients:

This website will help you to understand what a pigeon pea is.

Chadon beni is a popular herb here in Trinidad. Here's a small description. You can use cilantro, marjoram or any other herb you prefer.

Seasoning peppers are found all over the Caribbean and there are many varieties which can be either hot or mild. I usually taste the seeds before chopping and don't remove them if its mild.

In the words of Julia Child... BON APETIT!

Five Minute Friday.. Joy

2011-09-17T06:50:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!

Its a very busy time for me right now, trying to adjust to earlier mornings and getting my youngest to bed earlier too. I have not had time to write.. this makes me sad, of course. Thankfully, there is Five Minute Friday over at the Gypsy Mama's. I got out of bed before everyone else today.. never mind that its Saturday okay! Let's just pretend.. this week's prompt is the word JOY and I want to ask you to click on the button and hop on over to Lisa Jo's place to read her own entry which is so profound.

START

What is joy? Is it loud and exuberant.. like cheering on your daughter at a gymnastics event she's aced? Or the burst of happiness radiating from your heart when you see your husband walk out of the doors at the airport and straight into your arms?

Or is it tender-like, slowly creeping up on you.. that sleepy headed child curled up in her daddy's arms, a Skype call from a college-gone daughter or the butterflies in your tummy when he smiles at you and gives you roses for your birthday?

JOY.. it fills my heart so it spills over in tears or laughter or silly giggles. My family is my joy, my life's work a joy to do because for me:

Joy equals Love
Joy equals giving of myself to my loved ones
Joy equals contentment and peace in the giving.
Joy is the strength that I get from my Saviour to keep on doing all that He calls me to do.

STOP

Friends, I want to ask you please to pray for Lisa Jo's friend Sara who has been ill and is dying, that she may have peace and that her friends and family will also have peace and take their strength from God.

"Do not grieve.. for the joy of the Lord is your strength"

Marriage Monday - Communication!

2011-09-12T09:31:00.002-04:00

Reposted to link up with :

Welcome back to Marriage Monday! I think we're all pretty excited to be back on board after our long sabbatical as e-Mom has spent some time adjusting to her new home environment. Be sure to visit and see what gems of inspiration the Marriage Monday community has produced!

Our topic today is Communication.

Communication, dare I say, is for me, the most important tool in maintaining a loving and fulfilling relationship. You can be head over heels in love, full of passion and desire but if you cannot communicate that love your spouse does not ever receive it. Does that sound too harsh for you?

I happen to believe it to be true. Unfortunately, I've lived it! If any of you have read even parts of Gary Chapman's 'The Five Love Languages', you'd understand what I mean. In fact, do yourself a favour and do the free assessment here to discover your own love language and encourage your husband to do the same. Be sure to compare notes and you may be surprised to discover that the manner in which you have been communicating your love for each other is not the manner in which your spouse or yourself receives love.

Confusing? Let me explain. In my early marriage I craved physical affection and lots of reassuring words of love. I'm guessing it was because my own father was not very affectionate, both in his words and in his actions. My husband, also not having received this from his family, did not know how to give it or was not comfortable giving it or receiving it for that matter! The more I wanted this for myself, the more I gave it to him and in the process only managed to cause him to feel pressured to give something he thought he couldn't give and myself to feel rejected and hurt.

Later on, I understood that to him, he believed he was showing his love for me by how he provided for me. He felt that his hard work and the money he brought in proved his love. This was not how I wanted to receive love however. I guess, as all humans do, we grow and change and our love languages go through a metamorphosis too. We have both recently discovered that we have almost the same love language now and want to give and receive love in the same way.

Communicating love is just one aspect of communicating within a relationship. There are other things you MUST communicate:

your needs
your feelings and desires
your dreams and aspirations

Once upon a time my husband and I had a huge barrier between us.. one that sometimes still threatens to raise up in times of conflict. Essentially, my husband was, sometimes still isn't, a great communicator. For all of his life he has kept things close to his chest rather than share them. It is a difficult habit to break and one we are constantly working on together, but he found it difficult to share his thoughts, feelings or dreams with me.. especially if it would cause conflict.

Years later, when the doors of communication finally began to open it was as though floodgates were thrown open and I was now hearing almost 20 years worth of things I should have known about. I learned how my words or actions had hurt him.. things I had never realized had made such deep wounds. I was learning his dreams and finally learning his real heart.. it was like I had never really known him before.

You cannot imagine how I grieved for the lost years and how life could have been for us! If I had known the areas that he had struggled with.. I could have helped in some way. If I had known his true feelings about certain things.. I could have tried to work with him on them, maybe the outcome would have been a lot different. I could have apologized and have the process of healing begin. If I had known his true needs... I could have tried to supply them. If I had known his dreams.. I could have supported him in them. All these lost years because he had never communicated with me!

This may be a bit long-winded, but here are my thoughts on communication in a nutshell ;-)

You cannot be truly understood or understand your spouse if you are both not sharing your true hearts. This means being honest and forthcoming about your own needs, expectations, what hurts you, what your hopes and dreams are.
Humans are continuously growing and changing.. we are not stagnant beings. If we are unwilling to share the areas of growth with our spouses, we will be on divided paths. Our relationships need to grow and change as well.
Openness and honesty in communication is essential. I f you cannot be real with the one with whom you are sharing your life, who can you be real with? Sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking we can hide our feelings from our spouses, but they do sense them. Many times I have withheld from my husband the true reason for my moodiness or irritability and it has frustrated him as he ended up believing that he was the cause. I've also been on the receiving end of this more times than I can count. All this leads to is more tension than was ever necessary. When I am honest about what is bugging me and he does the same, we can have peace... still working on this area too ;-)
We always have to remember that there are proper ways to communicate...especially in times of conflict! My husband is constantly reminding me, as we also remind our children, that it's not what you say, but how you say it. Body language, sometimes the words we choose..they all convey a different message than the one we might actually want to say because of underlying resentment, anger, bitterness etc. Its been my own experience that there are times when my husband hears a totally different thing to what I actually said. Its a kind of selective hearing. There are times when, especially in a heated moment, that certain words are not the best ones to use. They are snatched up and the whole message is turned around. These words are 'triggers'. Apart from the usual no-no's like 'always' and 'never' the trigger words will be different in each relationship. My husband may react to the word 'I' because he thinks I'm focused on myself alone. Yours may react to the word 'you' because he believes you are always accusing him. Can anyone else relate to this?
Communication is possible without words. Sometimes a good companionable silence or hug is all that is necessary. I'm sure that many of you out there have experienced those moments when hubby just wants to cuddle. We women like to talk a lot, we use words to communicate.. I have discovered, in my own experience at least, that my husband communicates without words.. a squeeze of the hand, a certain look, a smile (or lack thereof!), an arm around my shoulder. Though its difficult for me to do, I see the value in giving in kind at times. The adage that silence is golden is pretty true!
Sometimes timing is everything. There are times when it is prudent, I have discovered, to give my husband the time and space he needs before I try to discuss anything with him. Sometimes even the little things can become blown out of proportion by the timing of the 'talk'. In addition there are times when, as I said in the point above, he doesn't WANT to talk. My trying to start a conversation or get to the root of the frown on his face just makes him withdraw and me frustrated. As hard as it is for me to do.. I need to learn when to back off and try again later.

Well, that's my rather long-winded piece on communication. This, as in most things, is a work in progress in my marriage and I'm sure in many of yours. The fact is God made us, man and woman, different yet compatible and communication is really just the secret to that compatibility.. in my humble opinion, that is! ;-)

Have a blessed week everyone and may you all shine brightly for Jesus!

Seven Quick Takes Friday

2011-09-09T16:48:00.002-04:00

Hello my friends!

Its been quite a while. I've been on a sabbatical, so to speak... not one I chose for myself, but I believe that God had it so for a purpose. I have so much reading to catch up on.. if I haven't gotten to reading your own blog yet.. its not because I don't want to. There's a lot going on in blogland and so much has happened since I last wrote. I chose to do the 7 Quick Take Fridays which Jennifer at Conversion Diary hosts to update you. Many thanks Jennifer.. its my first time linking up.

My second born daughter returned from Spain and the World Youth Day Celebrations.. she is very excited to share her experience and has promised to guest post here with the details!
We took a lovely vacation at a beach house we shared with my husband's siblings and their families and we really enjoyed the break.. the second such in three weeks. I feel very priviliged to have had the opportunity.. miles of beach to walk, sun and warm seas that felt like silk against the skin. We're all pretty baked by the sun to various shades of brown! (sorry no pics yet)
I am so happy to let you all know that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are doing well and she's told me they are making slow progress to rebuild their marriage. Please keep them in prayer!
Schools reopened on Monday and my last born (5 years old) just started 'big girl' school. Oh, how much adjustment we've had these past five days! Getting her to bed earlier, waking her earlier, getting out the door by 6:30am, facing 45 minutes of traffic.. its been quite a culture shock for her and a trip down memory lane for me. The first day my heart was broken as she held on to me and bawled for half an hour. Its gotten better, Praise be to God! She actually has walked in on her own these past two days. I have much to be grateful to God for!
I am, as usual, jumping in with both feet ;-) The Good Morning Girls are having their Fall Bible Study on the book of 1 John. We kick things off on Monday September 19th. If you're interested, you can get the details here. I've done two studies so far and I've learnt so much.. I highly recommend it.. you don't have to be part of a group, I've done mine solo, but of course you can invite friends to join you or visit the GMG to link up with some other people looking for groups. Also, Sonya at Becoming a Strong Woman of God is doing a special Date Your Husband Challenge. It seems like such a fun thing to do.. why don't you check it out?
I'd like to invite you to visit a special and beautiful friend of mine. Kristin blogs over at Ponderings and at the moment is doing a series on the homeless.. specifically giving them a voice, writing their stories. This is such an inspiring series.. you will never look at the homeless in the same way again. Kristin has such a beautiful and tender heart and I want to ask you to join me in supporting her new ministry with prayers. God is definitely using Kristin to reach the lost sheep. Recently Greg, one of the people she met and befriended was baptized at her church. You can read this amazing testimony here.
I've made it through the first week of school.. phew! All glory goes to God, without Him I could never have survived. I look forward to refreshment and family time this weekend while I recharge my batteries. Come Monday, e-Mom over at Chrysalis is hosting another link up on Marriage Monday. I hope you'll come and visit and see what the Marriage Monday community has to serve up.

Have a blessed weekend everyone! Its great to be back.. I missed you all and look forward to catching up!

Five Minute Friday-New

2011-08-19T08:44:00.000-04:00

Today I join up with the Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday:

Get a little crazy with encouragement for the five minuter who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes for the prompt:

New…

Start:

New beginnings.. how I thank God for my own!

For new hearts forged in the fires of trial and emerging beautiful, golden creations of the Father. For new minds, clothed with strength from on High, emerging from the melting pot of a gracious God.

New beginnings.. how I pray for them for my husband's brother and his wife. That God will work the wonderful miracle that He has for us.. now for them.

That they too will have new hearts and new minds, to work towards a new life together. May He weave a chrysalis around them, protecting them from the enemy while He does His work in them.

Only God can create the new beauty that emerges from the chrysalis. New, wet little wings spread to dry in His Light. We are new creations... spreading our wings to fly towards Him.. up to the Light.

May He bless every New thing that He creates.. may He help us to cope with every New situation He brings us to. May we have new outlooks on our trials.. see things through his eyes and not our own.

May we have new strength each day.. embracing all God's promises, renewed with each new dawn.

Stop

Update on Prayer Request

2011-08-18T17:58:00.000-04:00

Hello my dear friends

I just wanted to give you a quick update. I have been asking you to pray for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law as they have been planning to end their marriage. Well, today was D-Day when they planned to tell the children and I don't know all the details but I do know that their children were devastated. Their second-born child immediately began to pray...doesn't that give you goosebumps! This boy is 11 years old and his first response was prayer! He could teach a lot of people a lesson!

Since I don't know all the details I can only assume that this, along with the tears of the other children AND all of your prayers must have started chipping away at stone hearts because they have agreed to try again. Praise the Lord!!

Thank you, thank you so much for all your prayers! Please keep them up, we aren't out of the woods yet, but I wanted to share this testimony with you. Our God is great and prayers are heard!

Thank you again!

Thankful for My Husband

2011-08-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

Another week rolls by and here we are at Thankful Thursday again! This week I’m grateful for all the ways that God has blessed me in my marriage.

Its something that we can take for granted at times. We get comfortable with our spouses and our lives together and forget to give thanks for the many ways in which our husbands are blessings to us. Have we told our husbands lately how we appreciate them?

With all that’s been going on in our family, I find myself reflecting more and more on this and thanking God that He relentlessly knocked on the doors of our hearts. As our days together continue to unfold, revealing the patterns that God has intricately woven to create one brilliant work from the threads of two separate lives, I feel so blessed.

I am blessed because my husband, at long last, is my best friend and I am his. He is my brother… I can talk to him for hours about stuff I wouldn’t share with anyone else (and we fight like cat and dog sometimes) He is my father…he works so hard to provide for me.. I feel safe in his arms and I can turn to him with my problems (and he can kiss it better too). He is my boyfriend… he makes me all giggly and I still blush when he teases me (and his kiss still gives me butterflies).

The bottom line…he’s the one I want to be with, the other half of the whole and… he completes me (yeah I said it!) He is.. THE MAN! The one God created for me to spend my life with... his destiny and mine are woven together by an Almighty and Loving Father.. to whom I give all my thanks and praise.

A hand to hold…in good times and bad.

Kisses to make up after a fight.
That Beauty can still calm the Beast. ;-)

Love shining in his eyes.

Arms holding me tight.

A broad shoulder to cry on.

Walks on the beach.

Soft, warm sand and water like warm silk.

Balmy breezes and brilliant blue sky.

Watching the sun go down on a wonderful day.

Whispered prayers, holding hands all alone on the sand.

Big beautiful moon shining through trees.

For all God has wrought to make us new creations.

And for all He will do to make us even better.

My friends, tell your husbands today how much you appreciate them. Whisper a prayer of thanks to a benevolent Father who lavishes us with His blessings and please remember to whisper a little prayer for those who are struggling in their marriages, or those who are lonely, widowed or divorced. Whisper a little prayer for Nicholas and Joanna.

Thank you for your prayers ..you all shine so brightly for Jesus!

The Legend of the Phoenix

2011-08-17T15:28:00.000-04:00

Do you know the legend of the Phoenix? According to legend, at the moment of death, this mythical bird becomes engulfed in a ball of fire and is reduced to ashes. From the ashes rises a new egg or young bird. Though a pagan legend... this is so symbolic of rebirth on many levels. I pondered this today as I reflected on the past weekend and prayed and dealt with my own little demons. Let me explain.

My family and I had a little mini-vacation at the beach this past weekend, sharing a house with my husband's siblings and their families. We got back late on Monday night.. burnt different shades of red and brown.. some of us with 'shades tan', exhausted, a bit dehydrated and our hearts strangely full, yet burdened.

It was a time for lots of sun and sand, picking up shells and watching the others have fun on the beach. We watched our youngest and third daughters frolicking in the water for hours.. these two have always been 'water babies'. We laughed at the four year old's attempts to 'body surf' as she tried to imitate her older cousins.

Several people were missing, including a few of the older cousins who had to work. My two daughters on opposite ends of the globe practically.. a gaping hole in our family, quite impossible to ignore. Even while we were laughing and enjoying God's beautiful creations, we were missing the 1/3 of us to share it with.

Notably absent, like a missing puzzle piece, was my sister-in-law Jo-Anna. Her absence was a loud reminder of how deceptive and fleeting this little reprieve from daily life really is. How on the surface life seems normal and you can be playing cricket and football and roughhousing in the sea today and tomorrow your life comes crashing around you with simple words. Words that mean the end of life as you know it.. perhaps forever?

As I shared a few walks along the beach with my husband and we also shared what was in our hearts, the thing that seemed to weigh the heaviest was the situation with his brother and sister-in-law. Oh, how heavy that tugged at our hearts. We both knew and understood that we can do nothing but pray. We looked at their children having a good time, turning almost chocolate brown under the sun and our hearts were bleeding for them.

Partly my sorrow was in the knowledge that God can fix this.. will they let him? We have tried.. even there on the beach my husband tried to talk to his brother. It seems that the door is closed.. shut firmly.. even in the face of the Lord Himself?

Oh but we all know that God can open doors once sealed so firmly.. He can unlock secrets hidden behind walls of stone... and so we pray.

Oh, but for your grace God.. this could be us! Oh but for your love and the pruning and purifying.. we could both be walking different paths right now! And that knowledge floors me, wrings me dry.. leaves me in awe of your mighty works in us.

Even as I praised Him for His beautiful gifts... the warm sand, the sparkling water that was like a sauna, the breezes, the gorgeous full moon that seemed to last forever. Even as I thanked Him for the hand holding mine and the renewal and growth of our marriage and our love.. I wept inside for the little sliver of fear that threatened to spiral up inside.. what if?

What if I were less obedient, what if I did not find my strength in Him, what if the doors had remained closed and the stone wall unchipped? What if love had died forever, what if ears remained deaf and eyes blind and hearts closed? What if pain wrapped around like a shroud and death remained?

The He whispered, "Be still. I have made all things new for you, do not let fear overset you. Death and Resurrection... death is painful..it is hard to watch death.. but let it be. It must be so before rebirth...as well you know! I knock on doors relentlessly.. some day they will open to me. Even now, spirits are restless because they try to ignore my voice. Pray and wait.. my timing is always perfect. Let it go..leave it in My hands, but do not cease to pray. Even should no one else believe.. hold fast to your faith.

And so, my friends, I ask you to continue to pray for Nicholas and Jo-Anna. Today is the day they are telling their children that they plan to end their marriage. Your prayers gave us an extension of a week, time indeed for the Lord to work on hearts and I thank you sincerely for your efforts.

Pray for God's will to be done.. perhaps is IS His will for complete death of this marriage so that it will rise from the ashes a beautiful new creation... just like the phoenix of legend. We never know His purpose or understand His ways.. but we do know that there is hope.. always hope in Him.

2011-08-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

I have SO much to be thankful to God for this past week! He is still in the miracle business.. that's for sure! I believe I shared with you that my daughter had been broken-hearted to go back to university.. I was pretty broken-hearted to have to send her and bottled up my own feelings to give her encouragement and support and to tell her she has to complete what she started.. at least until or unless it truly is too much for her.

Well, believe it or not her flight was cancelled.. not once, but twice! The first time was early on Saturday morning, they rescheduled us for Wednesday afternoon. I thanked God for the extra time and she was over the moon. I vowed to spend this time speaking life into her situation and praying to God for strength for her as well as for us, her parents.

Her mood darkened yesterday as the time drew near to leave. Her father came home half day to take us up to the airport and just as we were getting ready to leave, he said that a text message had come through saying that the flight was delayed for a few hours. She was overjoyed... a spark came back into her eyes. She even agreed to go with me to visit Jesus in the Chapel. I felt that the extra time was God-given for me to fulfill a promise I'd made to Him to bring her before Him, so we went. We could only spend 30 minutes but I felt that I had received Word for her.

We got back home and I went upstairs to get the two younger girls. I heard my husband laughing out loud and when I came to investigate, he said "The flight's been cancelled." We were totally incredulous at this point! She started laughing too and the wheels in my mind just started to turn on high speed... "Lord, what does this mean.. twice? Are you trying to tell us something here?" My husband was thinking the same thing.

Especially after reading this article* that was sent to us by a dear priest, we are honestly praying for discernment. We are taking the next few precious days to pray together and try to see what God's will is in this situation. Meanwhile, my daughter says if they cancel or delay the flight again.. that's it! She says nobody has to tell her something three times for her to get the message. So, dear friends, I'm kindly asking you to pray for us as well, that God will give us the answers we seek in this.

Meanwhile I'm counting my blessings:

A mysterious rattle in the car just disappeared (it will get checked soon).
Prayers of friends.
Prayers of people I have never even met before.
That my second-born daughter could go to Spain for World Youth Day.
Watching her walk through the doors to the departure area.
Knowing this is but the first step to her new adventures as a young adult.
Tears as we part, seeing the sisterly love flowing.
The smell of freshly washed clothes.
Sun drying clothes.. me saving on the dryer and electricity bill.
Baking my own bread... the smell of it just filling the house.
Flight cancellations!
Praying with my daughter.
Time in front of Jesus.
Finally hearing from my daughter in Spain.. she's great by the way.

Lord, thank you most of all that you never abandon us, you never stop pursuing us and, even in the trials, we can see your grace and your love.

*If anyone has any thoughts they'd like to share, please do! You can e-mail me lo.supersunshine@gmail.com

God bless and lets all shine brightly for Jesus!

Look Through His Eyes

2011-08-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

I had yet another visit to the dentist yesterday. (Take note friends... this is what 12 years of NOT visiting the dentist has done!)

As I lay on the chair waiting and waiting for the novocaine to take effect, this song came on. Am I the only one who gets teary eyed looking at children's movies? I'm a real push-over.. have been since my childhood and the days of Lassie and Flipper. I cried when I took them to see Lion King and virtually every movie that carried poignant messages of faith, hope, love and endurance.

Well, this time when the tears came it was because the words struck deep and resonated within me. (I see a pattern here... its not the first time God has used music.. and secular music at that.. to minister to me.) I want to share with you what God placed in my heart.

There are things in life you learn, all in time you'll see. Out there somewhere, its all waiting... if you keep believing

He whispers: Life is constantly throwing things your way.. learning experiences, some so hard they could break you, you'll be alright...if you keep the faith.

There will be times in this journey.. all you see is darkness. Somewhere out there daylight finds you.. if you keep believing.

He whispers: The darkness of evil, temptation and the trials of daily life will give way to the brightness of hope and salvation.. if you keep the faith.

All the things you can change.. there's a meaning in everything.

He whispers: There's a purpose to everything that I allow to happen to you... a purpose to every place I bring you to. You have the power to change the world around you, the power to affect those whose lives you touch.

You will find all you need.. there's so much to understand.

He whispers: You may never understand my ways or my purpose, but I will supply all your needs. I will empower you to do whatever I ask of you.

Don't run, don't hide.. it will be alright. Trust me, you'll see... I'll be there watching over you!

He whispers: Take courage, trust in Me. I have never abandoned you and I will always be right here.. watching over you!

Take a look through my eyes.. there's a better place somewhere out there. Just take a look through my eyes, everything changes...you'll be amazed what you'll find.

He whispers: If you could only see through My eyes.. the eyes of My Spirit.. you would see things in a different light. Amazing things! You will see the hope in situations. You will see the beauty in brokenness, the joy in the sorrows, the lessons to be learnt from the trials. You will see ME in all of life, you will know My presence, feel My hand upon you, experience My Peace. You would find courage, gain strength, be obedient in all things and love as I want you to love, forgive as I want you to forgive.
Open your eyes, my daughter and see ME NOW!

My friends, I pray that we can all open our eyes and see, no longer through our own, but through His and we will see HIM in all things!

Linking up with:

Garlic Cheese Bread

2011-08-09T14:11:00.000-04:00

Today I’m going to share with you a recipe for a favourite bread in my household. (I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures.. my family gobbled them up before I could get one) ;-)

I decided to make my own bread again, after the prices of bread went up and everyone in my family felt that it just simply isn’t worth paying those prices for bread that isn’t even of a good quality.

Frankly, I only stopped because of time constraints and how hectic life became. There is just nothing like the smell of fresh bread out of the oven! I’m sure you all agree on that one… plus there is something therapeutic in the kneading of dough... especially in the quiet early morning hours.

In a most timely fashion, the Browneyed baker put out her most favourite bread recipes. They look SO good. You can check them out here.

Now on to my recipe:

Garlic Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups milk

3 Tbs margarine or butter

1 Tbs instant yeast

2 tsp salt* (if you are watching your salt intake, omit this as cheese has plenty already)

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs garlic powder

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

6 ¼ cups flour (approx.)

Method:

Heat milk until lukewarm and butter or margarine is melted. Pour into a large bowl and add sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve. Stir in grated cheese, garlic powder, salt and 3 cups of the flour, stirring well.

Gradually add remainder of flour, kneading until smooth. Place in a well-greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk away from drafts ( I put mine in a cupboard).

Punch down dough and leave for a little while until almost doubled again, then turn onto lightly floured board and divide into two* and shape into loaves. (This will give you two large hand molded loaves).

Bake in preheated oven at 375F/190C for about 30 minutes (time will vary according to your own oven… mine gets super hot really quickly)

Variation: You can add sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary or basil to this recipe to get a deliciously different flavour... the possibilities are endless!

*This recipe actually gives me three 9x5 loaves, 2 larger loaves that I braid at times for a different look or smaller, thinner ones that I turn into garlic bread. I hope you have fun baking this…I guarantee it will not stay in the kitchen for long!

Linking up today with:

Courage.. It is I!

2011-08-08T08:43:00.000-04:00

A few friends of mine link up to Graceful for the purpose of sharing what they learn at Church on Sundays or just sharing what they are learning spiritually.

I decided to link up for the first time this week because of the wonderful sermon I heard this weekend. It was a message I thought we could all benefit from hearing and so I'm going to share it with you.

The gospel this week was from Matthew 14:22-23. I don't remember all of Father George's words exactly but I'll try to recreate his homily.

After ministering to a large crowd, Jesus was tired and stayed behind to rest and to pray , He sent His disciples ahead of Him and they set out in the boat on the lake. The water became treacherous as the winds became fierce and Jesus recognized that His friends were in trouble, so He walked out on the water to meet them. Jesus never took His eyes off of His disciples.. He knew exactly what was happening to them. He never takes His eyes off of us.. He always knows what is happening to us too.

As Jesus approached on the water, the disciples cried out in fear. Their minds could not accept that anything other than a ghost could walk on water, so that is what they presumed Jesus' presence to be. Jesus cried out . "Courage, it is I!" These words are the same words Jesus tells us everyday when we are facing difficulties.

The disciples were in danger of drowning.. we are also in danger of drowning in our trials.. debt, illness, marital problems, financial instability. Sometimes we fear being shipwrecked and lost in the constant storms of life. Yet Jesus is telling us "Courage, it is I!" He is telling us to keep our eyes on Him and not on our situations. He is telling us that He sees and knows our fears and our struggles and that He is with us always.

ALWAYS... even when we sin God does not turn His eyes away from us. What an awesome thing to know! When Father said these words I felt my heart tremble at the awesome truth of it.

When Peter heard the Lord's voice, he said "Lord if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water." Peter knew in His heart that Jesus would make this possible, so when the Lord said "Come", he got out of the boat and began to walk. When the realization hit him of where he was and what danger he was in, he totally lost his courage and his faith wavered and he began to sink.

Sometimes, we step out of our boats, we step out on the limb because our faith tells us that we can do all things in Christ, but then we make a fatal error. We look down.. we look down at how desperate or impossible our situations may be and our faith wavers, we wobble on that branch or start sinking in the water.

Peter cried out.. "Lord, save me!" and immediately Jesus grabbed his hand and held him saying, "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" Jesus acknowledged that Peter had faith, but that this faith needed to grow and be made strong. Strong enough to believe in that which may be impossible, but is made possible through God.

In our own situations which may often seem hopeless.. do we cry out "Lord save me!"? Do we lift our eyes up to Him and grab for His hand? Sometimes we fail to recognize His hand, we sink, we fall because we allow our problems and obstacles to become bigger than our faith, to blind us to the power that God extends to us when He extends His hand.

I have found in my own experiences that it is the trials that have honed my faith, sharpened and expanded it. It is an ongoing process.. one that will never be finished until the day I, hopefully, meet my Maker.

Father George shared a story of faith and courage with us to illustrate his point. I will share my own with you. Nine years ago my husband lost his job. He was given renumeration that was the equivalent of about 6 months' salary. Our children were in a private school with extensive fees and we had (still have) a mortgage to pay and credit card debt. The months stretched on and we were as frugal as we could be but no job was forthcoming.

We continued to pray, trusting in God and the covenant He had formed with us. We believed that He would take care of us, no matter what. As it came down to the eighth month and the last of the money would be finished, our relatives became increasingly anxious for us, but we believed that God would take us down to the end and somehow the door He had in mind for us would open. It was HARD keeping this faith, believe me, but somehow His Grace kept us calm and trusting.

Within that last month, a letter came in the mail. You have to understand that this is VERY unusual. Job interviews are usually set up via telephone. This letter was requesting my husband to attend an interview. Down to the last wire, the Lord had come through for us! My husband got this job, and we were able to maintain the lifestyle we had had before.

God rewards our faithfulness and our faith. I truly loved Father's sermon this weekend and I wanted to share this joyful message with you. God is bigger than our problems! God is with us ALWAYS! He is the only thing that we can truly and completely depend upon.

The storms of life may rock our little boats, but if we keep our eyes on Him and have courage, we will see that His hand is always outstretched, always there for us to grab on to.

P.U.S.H.

2011-08-07T15:13:00.000-04:00

My daughter has a little wrist-band with this acronym P.U.S.H. Many of you may know what it stands for:

Pray Until Something Happens

My friends.. this is an urgent prayer request. My husband and I just discovered that his brother and sister-in-law are about to end their marriage. This marriage suffered a serious trial 8 years ago and though they have done counselling etc. it has obviously never been healed. We, therefore, go to the throne of Grace.. to the only one who CAN heal.

I want to ask you please to join us in praying for Nicholas and Joanna. A marriage of 16 years is in jeopardy, three children's hearts are going to be broken. God can do anything.. this we know and believe with all our hearts. We don't believe that He would wish ANY marriage that was blessed at an altar to be destroyed.

We will pray, however, for His will to be done in this as in all situations.

Please help us to P.U.S.H dear friends.. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

God bless!

Five Minute Friday - Whole

2011-08-05T07:42:00.000-04:00

Linking up with the Gypsy Mama today. Here's what she has to say:

I love words.

I love how you weave words together.

Your story matters. It impacts my story.

So let your words and your story breathe today. Take five minutes and just write without criticizing your words, yourself or your story. Just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Write your words without editing them.
Tell your readers you’re linking up here and invite them to come and share their unedited stories too.
And most importantly, go visit, read, and compliment the person who shared right before you.

Easy peasy. OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes for the prompt:

Whole…

GO:

Whole.. I'm only whole when He breathes on me.. when I sit and soak Him up.

I need Him as I need air to breathe.. He gives me strength to keep on doing this climb.. this hard, never-ending climb to the perfection He calls me to.

I am whole... when I can be what He calls me to be.. despite the obstacles of what is woven into my skin..my own insecurities and fears and doubts. I am whole because I have Him as my security blanket, my safety net.

I am whole... when I can reach beyond the things I can see... to see the things He wants me to see.. not with my eyes but with my heart.

I am whole... when I give what He asks me to give..all of myself.. poured out as a libation.. an offering on His behalf.

I am whole... when I can love as He calls me to love.. with everything.. my heart broken and offered on the altar of forgiveness and patience and grace.. yet healed by His loving touch.

I am whole.. because He makes me so.. no matter what I try to write for myself.. His hand holds the pen of my life.. He writes my future, rewrites my past and gives me the script for the present.

I am whole.. because I am His child.. He holds my hand as I walk through the brokenness that life causes me to experience.. he mends all the cracks and makes me whole again.

STOP.

Hop on over to The Gypsy Mama's place and have some fun reading and/or linking up your own 5 minute post. It is so liberating to just write whatever comes to mind and know you'll be forgiven any errors!

Hope you all have a blessed and happy weekend with your loved ones. Shine on shine strong for Jesus!

Time Flies.. Blessings Rain Down

2011-08-04T07:28:00.002-04:00

Here I am.. counting down days.. days until my eldest goes back to college.. days until my second born flies off to Spain.. days until the bills are due.

These days I have a love-hate relationship with the clock. Time just seems to be spinning out of control.. I look at my youngest and realize in just a few weeks she'll be in school, wearing a uniform and getting homework. I just can't wrap my mind around that!

I look at her all long-legged, lanky growing bigger, even as she spins and leaps and does her 'ballet' and 'gymnastics' moves for us. Even as she wraps up her dollies in anything she can find and puts them in the drawers of her dresser to sleep and sprinkles powder everywhere! I know the innocence wont last and I'm counting down the days.. my heart both full of pride and joy in her and sadness at what is to come.

(Has anyone noticed I deliberately did not mention how I cannot wrap my mind around saying goodbye to my eldest two? I'm sure you get it!)

I am so thankful for these days.. with all my girls at home together. You should see my husband's face when he walks in the door and gets all these girls screaming "Daddy!" I think he's just as happy with my youngest jumping on him joyfully as with the older ones' teasing and chatter.

Counting down the days and counting down the blessings:

The sound of rain falling on the roof.
Thunder and lightning and chilly darkness.
Watching birds flock to eat fruit off of the roof of my shed in the back.
Squeals and giggles.. belly laughs and all!
Road trips together.. a husband who takes a whole day off just to take a drive with his girls.
A LONG weekend.. four days together and endless to do.
Going to the movies and shopping ... girl trip!
My mother's 74th birthday celebration.. time spent with my own siblings.
My in-laws' 53rd anniversary...chats with his parents.
A 'show' put on by my youngest.. laughing until I cry.
A 14 year old playing dress up with her little sister.. priceless!
Playing card games for candy... laughing late into the night.
Precious moments spent in heart to hearts.
A sweet text message from hubby.
Going to church with all four daughters.. a miracle and my greatest blessing this week!

Thank God for grace and for His provision.. I treasure all these blessings in my heart and I'm so grateful for a place to share them with others.

May you all be richly blessed by God and may your blessings spill over so you can shine brightly for Jesus!

Linking up with the lovely ladies at:

Love Is.. Part 2

2011-08-03T20:54:00.000-04:00

Love is... loving the rainy days as much as the sunny ones.

Love is... for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in richness or in poverty.

Love is...sharing the joys and caring in the sorrows... embracing the whole.

Love is... swallowing your pride in big whole chunks.. choking back the 'self'.

Love is...laying yourself bare, faults and all, child-like and trusting and hoping for grace.

Love is... taking a risk, breathless with wonder at how vulnerable you are.

Love is.. bending and doing this little dance of give and take..maybe giving more and taking less.

Love is.. taking another's burden upon yourself, even if yours is heavy enough.

Love is... persevering, tenacious.. holding on by a thread, hoping the other threads get caught up before it can break.

Love is.. the breaking of hearts that mend into purer vessels with greater capacity to love and to give.

Love is...pouring out yourself.. all of yourself, running rivulets of sacrificial love into the streams of others.

Love is... giving grace, forgiveness, loving what seems to be unlovable.

Love is...when another's life becomes more important than your own.

Love is... laying down your own hopes and dreams so theirs can be fulfilled.

Love is...a gift.. straight from the Father's Hands.

Love is...emulating He who did all these things... for us... the broken, imperfect, ungrateful.

Today I want to celebrate what love truly is:

My friend Kristin who has a heart for the homeless and, not only is part of a blanket ministry, but is working on telling their stories to the world.

My friend Tami.. sitting at her daughter's hospital bedside, pouring out her love, praying and willing her to be well. Setting aside her own physical challenges to give to her loved one.

Women with a heart for adopting the orphaned or unwanted.

An outpouring of love and support from the Christian Community to a young mother.

Women who grieve reaching out to comfort each other.

A blogger friend taking a moment to reach out to the elderly.

Young couples who have to separate so he can do his duty to his country.

Showing kindness and compassion to another young mom. This same person has an exceptional heart for missionary work.

To all these women, ordinary moms who serve an extra-ordinary God who gives them the grace to be exceptional and to all of you my blogger friends..each unique in her own way.. I wish you a day filled with love, laughter and peace.

Shine brightly for Jesus!

The Black Hole of Cyberspace

2011-08-01T09:21:00.001-04:00

Media Monday is back again.. welcome to the month of August! Does anyone else feel like time is on power-boost? Today is my mother's birthday and reading Courtney's post brought a smile to my face. As she recounted her grandmother's accounts of how chickens used to be delivered .. I recalled my own grandmother who raised chickens and my mother's own experiences.

Let's just say that she was the one chasing down the chicken in the backyard for her brother to do the dirty work. She also had the lovely tasks of cleaning up the coops and climbing under the house to clean droppings or fetch runaway hens or stray cats (houses used to be built on pillars back then).

Well, on to the meat of this post... how does media affect our homemaking. First-off, let me say that without a doubt the things I've learned from others here have really changed the way I look at my homemaking and it could be both positive and negative.

Blogs such as Women Living Well, Time Warp Wife, Raising Homemakers and Joyful Mothering have really set the bar higher for me and I've challenged myself to do things differently. Its been great to learn new things and get tips from other mothers. On the negative side... sometimes I can feel a little intimidated when I see how well some people appear to be managing their homes compared with myself. Its easy enough to click on other blogs and see beautiful pictures and read about how other mothers are so well-organized. Its easy to get sucked into the myth that their lives are perfect and mine is not.

There is also the very real challenge of being distracted from our chores by the media...Courtney was very honest here. I also tend to read about things while not doing them. Recently I signed on for three different challenges.. hoping to motivate myself to become more organized and productive, lose weight and increase my biblical knowledge. I think you can guess what happened.. I ended up reading about everyone else's progress and having nothing much change from my end.

I've come to realize that the internet is like this black hole that can suck you in.. there's always some link to click on.. you tell yourself that you'll only read a couple of blogs and then get on to your chores. The next thing you know its almost lunch time and you've still got laundry in the washer and dishes in the sink and you start pulling your hair out to get it all done.. anyone can relate?

All in all though.. I love being part of the blogging world. I love reading other women's ideas and seeing beautiful pictures. I love getting new recipes and seeing a different perspective on things. You ladies inspire me to do better and quite a lot of you share your own struggles too.. so I know I'm not alone in my challenges.

Now, its really tempting to keep reading from my blog feed, but I'd better go get started on my mother's birthday cake! Speaking of which I saw a great recipe on browneyedbaker that I want to try out...sigh.. I'll 'see' you all later.