Finding joy in the everyday

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...

Dear blogging friends and family,  What a year . . . it has gone so fast and I can hardly believe it is almost over. It has been a good year . . . yes, there has been few bumps and lumps along the way, tears and anger, laughter and joy but no complaints. Not everything has gone to plan, but that is what one would expect. God has said no or over-ridden some of my plans, but hey, He is writing my story and not me, so that is perfectly ok! In fact . . . they were never my plans in the first place . . . they were always His, its just that I like to tinker around the edges a bit (don't we all) and that doesn't always work out well.  And now it is almost the end of 2015 and Christmas is almost upon us.  I need a break . . . I am taking a month off work so I can visit my family, spend more time with my husband (and cat), my children and put my feet up and relax with a good book or two.  So, it is a the perfect time to take a few days off from bloggi...

Dear blogging friends and family, I do hope you read from the other day ( LINK ), even though it isn't a pleasant topic to read — sadly it is happening to many many women and it is something we all need to be aware of.  All to often people shut their front doors and pretend there isn't any pain and suffering going on elsewhere, there is and it could be in the house next door to you. And for many this is the time of the year they really struggle. It isn't just women in miserable marriages, Christmas is tough for many others too. It isn't all tinsel and presents for quite a few in our community and its important that we remember this and try and do something to help. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.  ( Mark 12:31) — the poor, who struggle to make ends meet during the year find it even harder at Christmas. Their stresses increase as they try to provide for their families and buy gifts they cannot...

Many people are swept along by the flood of frenzied gift-buying at this time of year.  They are more than willing to go into debt to buy all the presents they think they need to buy for everyone. Once-upon-a-time people either made their own gifts or bought something simple (and often very practical) and children only received one or two gifts from their parents. These days we are spending much more at Christmas, buying the latest technology and toys and we buy lots and lots. Our children have never been so spoilt and by the time they reach their teens, they have everything they want. In fact our children have a ever growing expectation of receiving gifts but are not being taught the importances of giving. When the giving is over, we find that the gifts haven't brought us any further joy or "sought-after satisfaction". Many are put away and forgotten about, others become broken, batteries run flat and for many (surprisingly) are sold on eBay and turned into cash...

The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.  And the first printed reference to a Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany. All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts. In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ. Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850. Houses have been decorated for centuries, with evergreen such as holly with its red berries where used.  The earliest known use of the phrase 'Christmas present' is from a 1663 entry in the diary of Samuel Pepys.  of Samuel Pepys. Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them. Hanging stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.Before turkey, the traditional Christmas me...

When I climbed into bed last night I thought to myself " that was a beautiful Christmas ".  Everything went smoothly, we all had a lovely time with lots of laughter, chatter and joy.  It was also a special delight to share this Christmas with my son and his gorgeous wife. We ate far too much food with ham, baked potatoes and salad for lunch followed by a mocha cheesecake (full of calories) and in the evening my DH barbecued the turkey which we had with roasted vegetables baked in lemon, butter and garlic (no room for plum pudding!).   There was also plenty of food to hand out to the sons so they could take home and share the leftovers.  We all received wonderful gifts and felt very spoilt.  It wasn't necessarily the most expensive gifts that brought the most fun. My youngest son loved his "watermelon" coloured socks and my eldest son and his wife loved the " how to be a perfect husband/wife " books I bought them (written in the 1950s) an...

To my dear fellow bloggers May you all have a heaps of wonderful fun with your family and friends thi s festive season. We all need to " hang on tight " to those we love. What do you think of this "tree" ( sourced from Facebook) ? You just need to include a dip.

My sons make me laugh sometimes. At Christmas I sometimes give them gift ideas for their father or myself - being boys they do need some guidance in this area!   This Christmas I found a lovely necklace (below) that wasn't too expensive ( I am conscious of the price as I don't want them spending large amounts of money on gifts!) that I thought would be good if they were stuck for ideas.  I showed the necklace to my youngest son (who has just started to work in a restarant) and said this would be perfect and I would have T and C stamped (their first initials) on the little tags. He said he thought the necklace was lovely.  I said it was $30, and he replied " Thats far too cheap to spend on you,  mums should get far more expensive gifts" !!!! Butterfly necklace by Flights of Fancy (Madeit.com.au) The next evening my eldest son rang and asked if I could send the link for the necklace.  He also liked it, but to echo his brother, " Mum, that's ...

Not very Australian I know!! Australians expect to spend an average $419 on presents, down 10 per cent on last year.  Thirty-five per cent plan to spend less than last year, 52 per cent the same and 13 per cent more, the phone poll of 1200 people. ( link ) I have, for the first time, almost completed my Christmas shopping.  Usually I leave some items until December, but this year I have been feeling very organised and decided to start early and get it all done by the 30th of November and I am on par to achieving this. Not only that, most are wrapped as well - a bit more yesterday noon when I came home from work.  It feels such a relief to been this organised. I have done much of my shopping online — this isn’t unusual for me — I am a fan of online shopping and do most of my everyday shopping online these days. Not only because it can be cheaper, I have a greater range to choice from (particularly with books and DVDs), I can shop whenever I want to, the parce...

Christmas Eve by Thomas H. Carlisle and Harold  Schuler Thou shalt love the Lord thy God  with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,  and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37 Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
 Let earth receive her King; 
Let every heart prepare Him room,
 And Heaven and nature sing,
 And Heaven and nature sing,
 And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
 Let men their songs employ;
 While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains 
Repeat the sounding joy,
 Repeat the sounding joy,
 Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
 Nor thorns infest the ground; 
He comes to make His blessings flow
 Far as the curse is found, 
Far as the curse is found, 
Far as, far as, the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, 
And makes the nations prove
 The glories of His righteousness,
 And wonders of His love,
 And wonders of His love, 
And wonders, wonders, of His love.   P...

I am completely ready for Christmas: The turkey (legs) are in the freezer ready to defrost on Saturday The ham is in its’ ham bag ready for baking on Sunday afternoon The veggies are in the fridge (just need to pick up a lettuce on Saturday) The plum pudding is bought (only 2 of us eat it so it isn’t worth making by hand) I have cream and ice-cream Mince pies, chocolate coated almonds and other nibbles are safely hidden And the drinks are bought I can’t think of anything I have missed. This is good as I really want to avoid the shops on Saturday morning as they will be chaotic for sure and finding a car park will be a nightmare. And as to our plans on Christmas Day—it will be very quiet indeed (all our family live interstate or overseas) with only one son in the morning who will return for dinner, so no noisy excited children this year. I might even be able to enjoy an afternoon rest! As for food—DH and I will have roasted turkey legs with roast veggies and if there is...

According to a local newspaper (14.12.10) last Christmas 6 million Australians received one or more presents they never used or later gave away, a new survey by the Australia Institute reveals. . . . unwanted presents represented a staggering $798 million waste of money, time and resources. The reason why I am mentioning this is all due to DH.  At Christmas and birthdays I provide DH with a list of things I would like (options he can consider or disregard).  However DH refuses to give me any ideas of what he would like, instead he would like me to be adventurous and surprise him.  Now my DH is not into: sport (playing or watching) cars spirits or expensive alcohol clothes (he can be quite picky) reading (he likes to read, however 1 book can last all year, he hasn't read last years book!) jewellery (he doesn't wear any) As for gadgets - he loves them, however he has bought all those he wanted - leaving me with no other gadgets he would like. So . . .  w...

We are enjoying a cool wet grey day - and even though it may sound strange, its perfect.  I love wet rainy days and as we are in such need of rain, it is the best gift to receive on Christmas Day. Heavy rains have been predicted in inland Australia (New South Wales in particular) thanks to  Cyclone Laurence and this will be very welcome as some areas haven't had rain in ages and towns are or have run out of water. Because it is cool (after a very hot week) - roast ham and veggies were very welcome at lunch time and the turkey for dinner will be ideal.

Artwork by Mary Engelbreit It is always hard getting up in the morning and staying focused at work as I near a week's Christmas holiday break.  Just like when I was a child, time travels far too slow - with my mind already thinking about all the activities I will be doing over the festive season and most certainly not thinking about the work I should be doing now. Making it worse, my husband is already on leave - which means its twice as hard going to work. Today was quite warm (32C - 89.6F) and tomorrow will be even hotter (37C - 98.6F) - but I spend all day in air-conditioning so it doesn't affect me very much.  My favourite time in summer is dusk as the sun sets and it starts to get cooler with the gully winds increasing, bringing relief after a hot summers day.  Charlie (the cat) and I have been sitting on the front step watching the parrots chat away in the gum trees - I was relaxing and Charlie was dreaming of catching one of these birds. Do stop by and leave...

13 days to go......... Very happy with myself - I have sent all my Christmas cards and this afternoon I finished my Christmas shopping (well, not quite, but only 3 gifts to buy).  I have also wrapped all the gifts, so my teenage and adult children don't try and sneak a peak!!  The only thing left to do is put up the Christmas tree - my sons, who I thought had outgrown Christmas Trees, said I had been slack......... May you all have a WONDERFUL weekend - mine is looking very good - trip to the garden shop (one of my favourite places), grocery shopping (not so favourite), then home to put my feet up with a book (I might squeeze in some housework and washing).  The weather we have been promised sounds beautiful: 28C (82F) on Saturday and 30C (86F) on Sunday - so some of my book reading will occur outdoors.  And Happy Birthday to my dad, who has a birthday on Saturday.