Finding joy in the everyday

One of the most important things in my life is keeping my marriage strong and healthy. 💕 If you neglect your garden, it becomes overgrown and things start to suffer. Some plants will die and others will battle hard to get above the weeds. But overall, the garden as a whole will no longer be as healthy and as beautiful as it once was. Marriage is a bit like this. Neglect your marriage and it becomes overgrown with weeds and things start with wither and die, it become bitter and very unhappy.  As the say goes "marriage is hard work" and it is.  You can't sit back and expect it to remain rosy as it was during the honey moon stage if you don't do anything.  We all need to work on our marriages to keep them fresh, strong, healthy, loving and romantic and that takes quite a lot of investing.  As wives our main goal is to please our husbands, and likewise husbands to please their wives. Marriage isn't all about what the husband wants and nor is it abo...

I wrote a post back in 2014 about taking care of our menfolk, as for many, life has been tough recently. Many men, unemployment is real, they are seeing a decline in industries that they have worked in for decades  (i.e. the decline in the manufacturing industry) and many feel disenchanted with current politics, in fact many feel completely ignored and forgotten. They do the best they can for their families, but they are feeling the pain a great deal.  We have seen the evidence of this with the results of the current US election — of those men who voted for Trump many were white middle to older men outside of the major urban centres. These are the men who feel the most forgotten, feel as if they are no longer in control, unable to find suitable employment, having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet or seeing that their area of employment is shrinking and no one coming to their aid. They feel as if governments have abandoned them and they ha...

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764 A member of the French court and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, when she then became and remained a close friend and confidant to the king until her death.  She was born in Paris, France, and died there from tuberculosis at 42. Madame de Pompadour, though best remembered as mistress to the king, was in fact a patron of the arts, science and literature; she sponsored many painters, sculptors, architects, furniture craftsmen, interior designers and writers, including Voltaire. She facilitated the development of Sèvres, which soon became one of the largest manufacturers of porcelain in Europe and provided many high-paying jobs to its district.  She exerted a strong influence over the development of the Rococo style, and advised the King on matters ranging from art to foreign policy.  Portrait by François Boucher , 1756 Francois Boucher...

This year I am writing a series on the women of the bible — we can learn so much from each of these women, many ordinary like us making the same mistakes that we make.  The first post is all about Sarah. Sarah (originally named Sarai) was one of several women in the Bible who were unable to have children when she expected to. That proved doubly distressing for her because God had promised her husband Abraham that he would be the father of the Jewish nation, with descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky. After waiting many years of no baby, Sarah convinced Abraham to sleep with her handmaiden, Hagar, to produce an heir.  Like many of us today, Sarah struggled to trust God and was sceptical that He would  fulfill His promise. Instead  she plunged ahead with her own solutions thinking her way would work best. It never does.  Sound familiar, I think we have all done this from time to time (or far more frequently) and we always end in a muddle an...

No matter how small, weak, insignificant or unimportant you may view yourself, you are IMPORTANT to God.  “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7) If God remembers five insignificant sparrows sold for such low value, how could He possibility forget you?  While others may forget you or too busy to spend time with you—God is NEVER too busy and will never forget you —  EVER .  He created you and made you unique—one of a kind, special.  He  gave  you the bread of life. He  designed   your  DNA. He gave you  special gifts and abilities He provides for your daily needs He has a purpose for your life He chooses to remember you because He loves you and will NEVER FORGET YOU. Today is the start of 2017— do not be...

The end of the year has arrived and in a few short weeks 2017 will be here. What a year it has been — I have written over 150 blog posts and numerous Facebook entries covering many different topics from looking after our home, contentment in whatever situation we find ourselves, coping with death, the importances of friendships, leaning on the Lord, understanding our bibles better, modern modesty (which was very popular), dealing with fear, bringing up children, motherhood and a number of current affair topics including politics. And each week I have included a variety of art which I hope you have enjoyed. Its now time to take a break and enjoy Christmas with my family. But before I go, I would like to thank the many wonderful people who have left comments, or just stopped by to read what I have written. It humbles me greatly to know that there are those of you who find my blog interesting and useful.  I read each comment that is left and try to response as quickly as I c...

. . . . It could be any suburb near the city. Bird droppings smear footpaths already stained with spilt food and drink and spit. Discarded papers and cigarette butts swirl in the gutter. Amid all this, a frail, elderly woman, well dressed with a big floppy hat, edges a shopping trolley loaded with groceries painfully slowly along the path, battling the wind and a body sapped of strength.  It's awful to watch. A couple of high school kids accidentally bump the trolley and snigger. A trade (tradesman) leaning against a wall gnawing on a kebab catches my eye and looks away. I'm walking two dogs who are straining at the leash, intoxicated with the smells on the ground and in the air. No one is willing to help the woman. And so for the next 20 minutes she grabs my offered arm and we inch our way to a cab rank two intersections away, wrestling with the trolley, the dogs and dozens of passers-by who couldn't give a toss. At one stage a taxi rolls by. I plead with the driver, ...