Finding joy in the everyday

Artist: Brenda Cablayan Brenda is a painter living and working on Oahu, Hawaii. She started her art career as an illustrator, then turning her attention to fine art. Her most common scenes include rural and urban scenes, beaches and agricultural fields. Working from her photographs, she pulls her inspiration, first from the real image, then to the colors, abstract and real shapes in the photograph. For more of her wonderful work, check out her page: LINK

"I cannot, but God can" We live in uncertain times and the worlds continues to be a scary place—bombs being detonated in airports and marketplaces around the world, we never know where terrorists might strike next. People are maimed and killed in gun crimes, we have racial unrest, wars in places like Syria causing mass movement of humans, we have disease, moral decay, corruption in high place, trouble families, women still dying as a result of domestic violence, neglected children—pain, sorrow and suffering on all sides. At times it feels as if we are all alone in our suffering and it would be nice to crawl into bed and pretend nothing bad is happening in this world.  All things are given to us for a reason, we may not understand why, but they are and we just need to accept them — even uncertainty.  However, God doesn't want any of us to suffer and is always watching over us, which is why He says " Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I wi

In modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing (1 Timothy 2:9) There is a funny idea that dressing modesty is to dress frumpy and looking unattractive, to remove any "womanly" features so to avoid any form of sexuality. Modesty has nothing to do with being dowdy.  When one dresses modestly it simply means covering up so others don't have to see plunging necklines, lots of leg and flesh — to not dress in a manner than will attract the attention of men and cause them to lust. It has nothing to do with looking ugly and plain and it doesn't mean you can't wear colour or lace, modern designs or something very pretty.  This series of photos are of the Duchess of Cambridge on her recent tour of India — she has made modest look beautiful, elegant, graceful and feminine. Her hair is beautifully (but simply) done and her jewellery is also very tasteful (not tacky).  Notice the hemline, it is now

After years in the workforce, most people look forward to retirement with much eagerness and count down the days until they can relax and finally put their feet up. Retirement is a relatively new concept —  when the Australian retirement pension was introduced in 1910 (paid to men from 65 years of age and women from age 60) it wasn't a huge expense to the government because life expectancy was only 55.2 years for men and 58.8 years for women. Most never had the opportunity of accessing the aged pension. However, things have changed considerably and we are all living much longer — on average, men to 80 years and women to 84, therefore many people are likely to have a number of years of retirement ahead of them. Because of this increase in life expectancy and the concern of very high costs to government, current governments have raised the pension age to 67 and wanting to increase it to 70 in Australia — not allowing anyone to access the aged pension until  they reach 70. Lik

Artist: Peder Severin Kroyer Danish (23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909)

Firstly, thankyou to everyone who participated in this giveaway — it was excellent to see so many enthusiastic people.  I know you are all waiting to see who won . ..   Congratulations to Theresa   who requested the lovely pencil case.  If you are still interested in any of the options I listed, please contact Clara as she loves custom orders, her work is lovely and the costs are affordable. I particular like those tea towels, they really do jazz up the kitchen, especially when you can personalise them to suite your colour scheme and style.  A special thankyou to Clara for making this giveaway happen. She is a busy mum, wife and homeschooler but still has the time and energy to sew. 

A recent study published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly found that while females of Generation Y are more accepting of working mothers, there is an increased desire among them to stay at home, compared to the generation before. Thirty-two per cent of millennials in the US believe men are best suited to be the breadwinners and women the homemakers. This figure is up from 27 per cent in the 1990s. Women have choices and that is excellent — families can make decisions that best suit them and change their arrangements as children get older. Women are no longer tied to the home as they were in the 1950's (when they were not allow to work once married) and the sigma of staying home is lessening so women are much freer in making chooses that suit their families. Women can move in and out of the workforce as it suits them and I am all for this flexibility.  This is how it should be and women (along with their husbands) should be able to make these choices without the worry o

Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.” ( William Martin) Life can seem very ordinary at times, a bit dull, disappointing — doing the same things day in and day out. Washing the clothes, ironing, cooking meals, dusting, sweeping the floors, buying food, mowing the lawn and even going to work. Have you ever stopped and day dreamed that something exciting might happen that will break the routine of life? I think we all have from time to time.  We look at others and think their lives are far more exciting — but are they? Probably not, their lives are probably just as ordin