Finding joy in the everyday

How desperate are you for God? How desperate are you spiritually? How desperate are you to walk with God?  How desperate are you to know  His will for your life? How desperate are you to see your friend come to Christ?  How desperate are you for God? Funny how we become desperate for God when times are tough, but when we are sailing along without any major problems, we tend to let God slip to the back of our minds. We forget that we should be desperate for Him, at every moment, every hour of the day—not just during the difficult times in our lives.  Our lives are cosy and safe, we really don't have the struggles that many around the world have, we are not refugees on the road trying to find a new home, we don't even need to fight for our believes—sadly this has made us complacent  and we have forgotten why we need to be "desperate for God" in all aspects of our life. Perhaps we aren't as desperate (or d

Its time for some more crazy cats which hopefully give you a good chuckle today! Even big cats like small boxes

We all love to try and change others because we think they have got it wrong and of course, we think we have it right. As Nancy Leigh DeMoss wrote, some women are " born fixers " and goes on to say: " Our natural tendency is to take matters into our own hands, to fret and worry, to demand solutions, to feel responsible for changing the people around us—coworkers, spouses, children, friends, pastors—anyone who's doing things differently than the way we'd prefer they do them" With the boom in Christian blogging, we are seeing the same with bloggers trying to change women because they think that the lifestyles chosen by some women is just plain wrong and they need fixing. They often don't even have the time to listen to the stories of these women but they are still quick to judge.  We cannot change people by lecturing to them nor by being blunt and telling them they have got it wrong. Generally this can have quite the opposition affect.

Art Friday: Mothers and their children “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” — Abraham Lincoln John Morgan - A Moment of Affection Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890) The New Arrival 1861 Paul Hermann Wagner (1852 – 1937, German) Sonya Terpening Georgios Iakovidis (1853 – 1932, Greek)

Painting by  Firmin Baes Do women make sacrifices when they become mothers or do women simply switch from one dream to another? When a woman chooses to become a mother, she is making a big decision—sometimes the biggest decision of her life and the consequences are life changing. And with these changes she must rethink her priorities—what is now her MOST important priority and what is no longer as significant in her life. Things that were once her highest priority have now slipped down the ladder (perhaps a career, independence, freedom, earning lots of money, travel) and have been replaced by a child that requires her utmost attention.   Deborah at Growing in His Grace writes: "I overhear conversations between women talking about “before I had children” and what was “ sacrificed .”I see women who posts pictures of themselves in their homes celebrating a time when they were childless–the fun years." I believe that the term “sacrifice” makes women feel rese

Source: Hello magazine As you look through these photos from recent newspapers what is the first thing that strikes you about them ? MODESTY Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (in cream), Princess Mary of Denmark (in orange) and the Sophie, Countess of Wessex (in blue) are all out at Royal Ascot (the annual horse racing event in Britain) a few days ago and the first thing that hit me was their outfits.  Here are all three modern women in modern outfits that are ALL modest.  The lengths of the dresses are below the knee, the necklines are high and cuts of the dresses are elegant.  Don't they all look feminine and pretty. Their make up is minimal, so to their jewellery. They are all wearing their hair up and it looks  beautiful and sophisiticated.  We too can dress elegantly, modern and feminine and still remain modest in our entire. 

Painting by  Firmin Baes Kasey Edwards writes: The truth about raising kids is there are moments of absolute delight and wonder. The highlights of my life have come from my kids. But there are also long stretches of domestic drudgery with peaks of acute frustration and despair. This doesn't mean that we don't love or value our kids. It's just the reality of parenting.  (source:  Do we really have to love every moment of parenting ?) We need to be real and not pretend that every moment of being a mother and wife is super exciting and rewarding. As Kasey Edwards writes, there will be “ moments of absolute delight and wonder and long stretches of domestic drudgery with peaks of acute frustration and despair ” but like all aspects of life, there will also be times when you want to throw the towel in, walk away and not come back. Motherhood is not a bed of roses, there are times when it is plain horrible—I particularly found this to be the case when my sons reached the

Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo) is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Artist: Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519) Painted in 1504-19, Florence, Italy Dimensions: 77 by 53 cm (30 by 21 inches) *  The work was requested by subject’s husband, Francesco Del Giocondo. Lisa was from a well-known family known through Tuscany and Florence and married to Francesco Del Giocondo who was a very wealthy silk merchant. The work was to celebrate their home’s completion, as well as a celebration of the birth of their second son. Not until 2005 was the identity of Mona Lisa‘s subject fully understood, though years of speculation have suggested the true identity of the painting’s subject. *  The Mona Lisa is an oil painting, with a cottonwood panel as the surface. It is unusual in that most paintings are commissioned as oil on canvas, but the cottonwood

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “ Honour your father and mother, ” which is the first commandment with promise:   “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3 We are commanded to honour our mother and our father, it isn't an option or something we can to do occasionally or when we want something. Nor is it something we do when we are young and don't need to bother about it later in life. Honouring our parents starts at birth and we ALL need to do it throughout our lives.  However not all children have been raised by Godly, loving parents —sadly there are many people who have been raised by parents that have been abusive, making it very difficult to honour one's mother and father. Regardless of how you were raised, we still need to honour our parents and that can be very difficult for those who have been badly damaged in their childhood. Here are some things to help those who have not