Finding joy in the everyday

Painting by Jessie Wilcox Smith "Women carry the puzzle of family life in our heads." Allison Pearson argues that it is not possible to be a committed mother and excel in the boardroom, because the world of work still does not accommodate for the realities of motherhood. "Every mother in this room ... runs a small country called home, she is its health minister and the secretary of state for homework and in charge of policing unsuitable boyfriends." Allison said. "Let me tell you, those women at boardroom level are not having it all, when I wrote a novel ... I spoke to hundreds of high achieving women and what did they tell me privately ... the women said that they were failing to meet their own high standards at work and at home.” ( source )  Whilst  I am a working wife and mother (to adult children), I completely agree with Allison Pearson. Women cannot run a household, raise children and be in a high-powered job. It just doesn't

What are your plans for today? On my list I have: 1. Make soup for dinner. 2. Do the washing - after raining all week, the sun has come out, but not sure for how long, so will make the most of it while it lasts.  3. Clean the bathroom. 4. Cut out three skirt patterns (yesterday I bought 2 metres of black and 1 metre of red to make winter skirts).  4. Read a little in the afternoon. 5. Talk to the cat (that is always easy). 6. Write and post a birthday card to my cousin who is having a birthday next week. 7. Start a blog post on education.  And that is about it.  Doesn't sound to bad to me!! Have a wonderful day. ****

Art Friday: Cats and Books A home must have two things - piles of books in every room and a cat or two.  And sometimes you can have them combined, especially in bed reading a book with a cosy cat curled up next to you.  So why am I doing books and cats today - because I am about to do my most favourite activity, second-hand book buying at the bi-annual lifeline book fair. My dear friend Jill and I will spend several hours looking through thousands (that cover every topic under the sun) of  books before we go off to lunch to chat about the books we have bought. Then, this weekend I will spend ages looking through my books with Ruby and Charlie keeping me company. What could be better!! I have no idea what people do if they don't like books or cats (they must be mad!!). You probably wondered about this art friday - would I find enough artwork that combined my two loves - cats and books. Of course I did. Did you ever doubt me!!

How very true.  At the end of last year I created our annual budget plan, I knew where every dollar would go in 2014 and how much we could save by December. I was pretty impressed by my handiwork. Perhaps I was feeling a little to smug. It was all going to work like clock work. Well, that is what I thought. But no, God had other plans and not even one month into the new year everything had changed.  Many things were no longer in our control and the budget, well, it was on the scrap heap. It took me a little time to realise, but God can changes a plan in an instant and He doesn't ask permission or give a reason. He decided that my plan would become His plan. I wasn't overly happy with this as mine was pretty impressive. But now that I look back, I can understand why God did what He did. From now on, I will leave the budget in God's hands. Still not sure if I'm happier with the new plan, but I will accept it. But through the process the lesson lear

Are we addicted to the news? We are surrounded by news—on the TV, radio, newspaper, via the plethora of news sites on the internet and not to forget social media such as Twitter.  We can access the news via our smart phones, tablets, computers, radios and TV. Once upon-a-time people waited until they got home in the evening to catch up on the day’s news. I can remember as a child listening to the news on the ABC national radio at 6pm. We all sat quietly so dad could listen to the evening news without interuption which went for around 10 mins followed by the weather.   Now one only needs to turn on their smart phone and there is the news — 24/7 — news  anytime,  anywhere. No matter where we are, we can catch the latest news. And the more news we get, the more we demand. We expect news as it happens and we aren’t prepare to wait — therefore we often don’t get “news”, we get ‘stories” created by journalists who are filling in the gaps. We have seen this recently with the m

Christian women work outside the home for many and varied reasons. However, whenever this is discussed on blogs, I often read the following comments: “ we are doing it tough on one income, so why can’t you do it to ” “ the Lord always provide ” I would like to address both of these comments. The problem with Blogland is that we don’t really know the situation of others, however, based on very little, some jump to conclusions that can be wrong.  Living on one income may work for one family but that doesn’t mean it will work for another (its wrong to assume "one-size-fits-all"). It would be wonderful if some didn't jump to conclusions and instead be a little more understand of other family situations. It can be upsetting to those who are doing their very best for their families (particularly single mothers) and have done all the maths and know what the situation is. Most Christian women aren’t working to create a high-powered career, trying to make loads

Artist: Henry Hintermeister  1897-1972 Born New York (father from Switzerland) American illustrator Henry Hintermeister and his father (John Henry Hintermeister)  were both illustrators and they often completed works together.  Check out the impressions on the faces of each of the characters, they are full of movement and mischief.  Each painting tells a story of adventure, some leave you wondering what antics will happen next.  What is granny up to! Do any of these remind you of Norman Rockwell? ****

Do not face the day until  you have faced God in prayer.  I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go.  And help us to be wise in times when we don't know  Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way  Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace  To a place where we'll be safe. (from " The Prayer ") Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 ****

My kitchen - the hub of the house and one of my favourite rooms. It is a simple kitchen, quite small (petite) but has everything I need and I love working in it. It is particular lovely in winter when it is warm and cosy. My sons spent many hours sitting on the stools watching me cook and eager to lick the bowl and wooden spoon when I had finished baking. Its a space full of very fond memories and one or two that aren't so good (but that's life). This is the view looking into my kitchen. I have a lovely large window at the end which makes washing up enjoyable.  No, we don't own a dishwasher - something that raised the eyebrows of the company who designing our kitchen! They couldn't understand how a woman could cope in a kitchen without a dishwasher. With only two of us, we really don't create that many dishes and I quite enjoy washing up.  Yes, red is a favourite colour of mine and I have quite a few bit splashed around my kitchen.  Red says "cheery

There is nothing wrong with having a good cry.  I don't know a mother that hasn't shed many a tear for their children.  The bible has many example of crying (weeping) such as this one " A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance " (Ecclesiastes 3:4).  Weeping is perfectly normal and is something we will all do many many times in our lives.   Even Jesus wept .  Certainly over the last few months I have shed many tears and I can guarantee that I will shed many more in my lifetime  Crying does make you feel better, even though at the time it doesn't always feel like it.   Find somewhere quiet and have a cry. It doesn't solve the problems you have but the Lord is sitting beside you, arms wrapped around you and will comfort you. You are never not alone in His presences.  So don't be afraid of crying and don't be embarrassed with sitting with someone who is crying - they need your comfort. Reaching out

Its balloon season and every morning I get to see these lovely balloons gently glide over the city. It is a very beautiful sight.  Good morning ladies, oops good afternoon as it is now 12:30pm.  Almost time to think about lunch. What plans do you have for the weekend?  I popped out first thing this morning to visit Bunnings (hardware/garden centre) to pick up 2 bags of cow mature (yes, it made the car smell!), 1 bag of composting soil and 1 bag of sugar cane mulch. All used in my raised garden bed in preparation for my autumn/winter veggie crop.  All done (and ticked off my list) and next week I am hoping to plant my first crop of Kale.  After visiting Bunnings, I thought I would visit the local charity store - love to see what they have. Picked up these 3 green glass flutes (aren't they pretty). Not sure what I will do with them - any ideas?  I do like green glass and even better at $1 per flute.  I also picked up these little pots on a tray. They look brig

Patrick William Adam " A lady in pink ", 1899 Art Friday: All about hats There was a time, not that long ago, when no respectable lady left home without her hat and gloves.  Today it is a rare sight to see a lady in a hat (perhaps only when it is very cold or they are off the races).  Once upon a time hats were worn to cover the head as per the scriptures.  However hats have had many purposes over the years including; to keep the sun off the face to keep the complexion pale and delicate, attending Sunday church (no women would ever contemplate attending church without her hat), formal occasions and for warmth.  But wearing a hat to  "finish" off an outfit was often the main reason - it was consider the final touch to any outfit - a work of art to be admired. Many of the hats below fall into this category. They aren't overly practical! As a child, my mother wore a hat and long white gloves every Sunday morning to church which matched her best Sunday