Finding joy in the everyday

O ft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear , 
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
 But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away, 
All tears forever over in God's eternal day. 


 It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
 Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
 One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, 
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.


 Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
 We're tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;
 But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care, 
Let Jesus solve your problem - just go to Him in pray'r.  


It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
 Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
 One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, 
So bravely run the race till we see Christ. 


Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,
 We'll cross the great div...

I know it isn't Art Friday yet but I want to share with you these 2 sculptures that say so much with no words.  These two of art works stir emotion - that is their purpose. Each piece has been created to remind us of something important. Each piece carries a strong message that the sculptor wants to share with us through this visual form. I have to say the second piece is the one I find the most disturbing and every I look at it I feel so sad.  Sculpture of the unborn child was created by a young sculptor Martin Mudaceka in Slovakia. The monument not only expresses regret and repentance for mothers who have abortions, but also the forgiveness and love of the unborn child to his or her mother. The idea of ​​building a monument to the unborn child was a group of young women (Prayer Movement of Mothers), mothers who wanted to remember all the lost babies through abortion and miscarriage. Its a beautiful reminder of the millions of babies that never made it ...

The term sandwich generation refers to a generation that is simultaneously caring for parents and children. AUSTRALIANS give $22 billion a year to their adult children to help them get established, buy property, and tide them over tough times, a study reveals.  And they give another $1 billion a year to elderly parents . . . It shows parents spend about as much on their adult children as the federal government spends on the health system . . . Dr O'Dwyer, who presents the findings today at the Australian Institute of Family Studies conference, said whether people were rich or poor made no difference to the amount of practical help they gave their elderly parents. Men and women gave equal amounts of time, though doing different chores. However mothers and mothers-in-law in the oldest generation were given more help than fathers or fathers-in-law. ( source ) There are two things of interest in this research - firstly, the amount of dollars Australian families are spen...

L ots of sunshine over the weekend which we enjoyed by going for a long walk not that far from our home (I took the above photo on our walk). It feels like winter might just be coming to an end and I even saw daffodils in the garden and blossom on a tree down the road. I am not sure if it is just me, but even the birds sound more chirpy at the moment!  Maybe they know its getting warmer.  Charlie cat and I sat in the sunshine on Sunday afternoon soaking up the rays and it was so delicious.  I didn't want it to end!  I certainly got my dose of Vit D.   Another beautiful weekend.  It wasn't a busy weekend as I had done all the grocery shopping on Friday afternoon and the house didn't need anything major done.  And thanks to the invention of the washing machine, washing is quite a simple task these days - and with the sunny weather and a bit of wind both loads dried very well.  I did get out into the garden and planted the b...

Art theme: Umbrellas and parasols Umbrella comes from the latin " umbra " meaning  shade or shadow .   Todays Art Friday is all about umbrellas (that keep you dry) and parasols (that keep your delicate skin protected from the harsh sun).  You might be surprised, the the umbrella/parasol is a very used prop in art and there are 100's of paintings containing these items. Interestedly, the the umbrella/parasol is often brightly colour and the one part of the painting that stands out, such as in most of the examples below. Here are some interesting facts about umbrellas: The Portuguese saw the umbrella as a sign of authority and status. The Portuguese ships  carried umbrellas to offer as gifts to the native royals that they encountered on these islands. John Hanway bought the first umbrella to England from Portugal in the 17th century. He had the coachmen worried that would lose business and they often abused him. The fold-up umbrella has been around...

painting by Amandah Tayler Blackwell According to a recent study conducted in the UK, a record number of 20 to 34-year-olds are still living at home – a 20 per cent increase on the figure recorded in 1997. It's the same story here in Australia, with a quarter of 20-34 year olds in Sydney and Melbourne still living in the parental home. ( link ) Once upon-a-time adult children didn't move out of the family home until they were married.  That was considered the norm and no one thought it was odd. However, as young people put off getting married so early, began earning higher incomes and were being encouraged to become more independent, they flew the nest long before they married.  When it became more acceptable to live in defacto relationships, young people left home to set up their own homes -- marriage was no longer a requirement to leave home. However, as rentals increase and become more expensive (and not always very nice) and young people wanting to save for...

Magazine Illustration of Husband Kissing Wife in Kitchen ( source ) As you know I am very interested in food. Not only do I like to eat food (don't we all), but I love home cooking! But being a statistician, I also love numbers (not quite as much as food) - but when I can combine the two, its fascinating. Here are some statistics that are all about food that I think you might find very interesting.  Australian's spend... In 2009–10, Australian households spent an average of $237 a week on food and beverages ($474 a fortnight).*   About $63 a week was spent on food prepared outside the home (restaurants and takeaways), and $32 a week on alcoholic drinks. Meat, fish and seafood collectively accounted for $30 a week on average. Of that $237 per week, most of it appears to go on restaurants and alcohol, not much on anything healthy!   If people went back to basics (more fruit and veg and less take-ways), they could probably save quite a bit each...