Finding joy in the everyday

We all lead a very busy lives . . . I am no different  —  I seem to be always on the run, things need to be done,  grocery to buy, parcels to collect, food to cook, washing to do, things not getting done when they ought to . . you know the story . . . and for women with small children, it is even more hectic.  To add to our daily lives, we often have extra curriculum activities such as sport, crafts, reading, photography, coffee with friends etc... that chew up our time. Sadly for many women, our worldly activities can take control and we forget to prioritizing as we should. We don't do it intentionally but with all that dashing about in every directions plus our families requiring our attention we loose track of what is most important — and life quickly gets out of balance.  We need to stop and think about what is important, sadly many find this is difficult as they find themselves on auto pilot and not quite sure where the off switch is!  Fo...

That you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.   (1 Thessalonians 4:11) There are two groups of people in this world: The quiet workers — those who go about helping others without asking for recognition and wanting no awards or pats on the back for their work.  Then there are others that make sure the media know about their work, get themselves on TV to share with the world their achievements and often make a lot of money as a result. They are also willing to expose their families as part of the package. Both Sir Nicholas Winton and Irene Sendler did amazing works during World War Two but both choose to slide into anonymity once their work was done. They got on with their lives and asked for nothing in return. Both saved many many Jewish children during the war and asked for nothing. Their achievements only became known many years after the event thanks to others who disc...

Young Australian drivers are taking part in a dangerous craze of taking "selfies" while behind the wheel, prompting harsh warnings from the police and government. There are more than 4.5 million posts on Instagram tagged with #driving, nearly 527,000 tagged with #carselfie, 20,000 with #drivingselfie and more than 78,000 for #drivinghome.  The Oxford Dictionary has named 'selfie' as its word of the year for 2013, an award given to a word or expression that has attracted a significant amount of interest in the past 12 months. Its certainly been used a lot -  an increase of 17,000% from the year before and no wonder some of us are fed up with hearing about and seeing selfies! Almost everyone has taken at least one selfie at some point. Here is one of mine.  Taking one or two occasionally is fine, however many young people are taking 100s and 100s of selfies every day, editing them (so they look better) and posting these photos on the array of s...

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.  But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22  My mother moved into a nursing home in early 2012. She is 80 years old and not in good health. She never hid from anyone her love for the Lord and that she was a Christian lady. She continued, as she would have at home, to read her Bible, read Christian literature and talk about the Lord to others. What she never expected were the snide remarks about her faith.  Some comments are mild " you are too religious " but others are far more hurtful, especially to someone who is frail and fragile.  You might think that these comments were coming from young people, no, some are said by people older than my mother. My dad and I were having a discussion about this and I mentioned that if a newspaper (online) runs a story about Christians, the number of comments that are aggressive, nasty and openly hostile towards Christians out weigh anything that is tole...

How are you feeling today? Full of aches and pains. Sadness Unhappiness Depressed Lacking in joy Cross Overworked Or like this lady, dancing through life with a smile on your face. Pop on your dancing shoes and lets go! REJOICE in the Lord,  we have NOTHING to fear.

 Brisbane River To my family in Brisbane who are being directly or indirectly affected by the floods, you are in my prayers at this very difficult time.  One cousin and her family have moved most of their belongings out of their home and now wait to see what happens.   Their street started to flood yesterday. The Queensland floods is of the magnitude we have never seen before, with 12 dead from recent torrents and 51 missing, it will be frightening days ahead for so many families.  I am sure most Australians, like myself, are struggling with the immense size of this flood and its destructive power, at present it covers the size of France and Germany and I am sure that is growing by the day.    Rockhampton We leave this crisis in the Lords hands and trust that He will protect our loved ones. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psalm 91:2 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,...

I Asked . . . . I asked God for strength, that I might achieve. I was made weak,  that I might learn to humbly obey . . I asked for health,  That I might do greater things. I was given infirmity,  that I might do better things . .  I asked for riches,  that I might be happy. I was given poverty,  that I might be wise . . I asked for power,  that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness,  that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things,  that I might enjoy life. I was given life,  That I might enjoy all things . . I got nothing I asked for -- but everything that I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all,  most richly blessed! (Anonymous) From: " Stories from the Hear t" compiled by Alice Gray