To be Happy

Me watching Television for the first time in months, captivated. Bodies swinging, music thudding, heartbeats rising like heat wave. She said they danced and got drunk to express their joy. To be happy. The Amish girl in the long blue drape of dress, bobby pinned, white scarf hiding long golden hair was silent a moment. Staring somewhere afar her words came slowly, quietly, assuredly... "When I want to be happy I pray to God." She said... When I want to express my joy I praise God.... And I wonder... In which flower do I find my nectar? My joy. Sometimes there seem so many to choose from. Brightly coloured, fragrant, sweet. "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' Acts 2:28 In His presence my joy is awakened and I can praise too. 

The thankfulness, dew, upon parched lips... a prayer... Till I am quenched and thirsty no more. * * * A daughter who is a friend. Quiet pre-dawn mornings spent with candlelight, tea and His words. Children that never fail to help me take off the layers of my heart. The ache that draws me closer to His feet. Being able to help my parents when the need me. The joy of walking in Him regardless of what is going on around me. Apples stewing on the stove. Lavender biscuits baked by Emmy for breakfast. Some wonderful thrift finds over the weekend. Things prayed for and found when needed. Making crafts with my girls.... a great joy. The emerald green grass sparkling in sunlight after the rain.

Thankful for Grace

Slowly, quietly I come. Along this path again. my feet tread, my heart trembles. Like a bird inside my chest. The weeds can look like flowers too you know? Pretty, useful, important. Stuff. Entangles, distracts, turns the soil of my heart to parched clay. I stumble over briers I had not even noticed, I fall and feel, the barren ground of my soul. I need to stop. Turn. Gaze. And let the silence wash over me like a wave of clear, cool, water. These things, this stuff, worthless as dead idols. And I sacrifice to them time and time again, thinking that it's important to pay attention. Plan, organise, structure. Control. And the vine I planted is dying, the fruit is drying on the branch. And all the while I'm watering the weeds and leaving my garden to ruin. But the fragrance, the fragrance of the blossoms he left me all those years ago, Somehow still lingers on the breeze. Reminding me, waking me bleary eyed and sober. So I stand to walk again, along the waters beside the green, green pastures. A little gentler, a little smaller, a little softer, thankful. Always. Thankful for grace. "But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Photo by Emmy

Multitude Monday

a
w

This week gratitude started like the podding of peas.
One by one little blessings appearing beneath broken shells. Opened shells.
Bright green sweetness popping in little mouths. And a mad scrambling under a tent, peas and all, when the sudden afternoon rain shower blew over!

Yesterday, thankfulness was a birthday cake for Daddy, that was meant to be blue but ended up green because you made the icing with yellow butter cream :) (It was even more delicious)

Then two hours alone with Tani on his birthday. Talking, opening up, sharing, shedding shells, becoming real, vulnerable, making deeper connections, walking, laughing over silly jokes that make no sense to anyone else but us. Remembering when we first met all those years ago! How did all this happen four girls and this! All within what seems to be a heartbeat of a time?

Slowly, steadily with His hand the opening of the protective shell we've built around our lives, our family, so to share more, give more, bring in more, abundantly, the seeds of His own harvest, not ours only.

Recognising deep within my soul that God brought me and him together from the very beginning.
How, really we are the missing pieces of each other. Two halves of a pod around four little peas!
How I love him for his heart, his courage, his honor and honesty, his childlike spirit,
his creative mind, the sacrifices he makes for us, some little, some very big, all given as gifts, the love he has for us, the ways he shows it in small ways and big ways every day.

Then the unveiling of beauty. As summer fades seamlessly into the velvet hems of autumn. That drape like an endless evening.

The golden, dappled light of late August. pools around and swells my heart with thankfulness.

If I could swim in the light of an autumn sunset!

Indigo blots on white linen, amethyst storm clouds set in platinum sunlight.

The flush of sudden rain. The sparkling emerald leaves, when the shower is over.

Little apples fresh picked from the branch, red as little sun blanched cheeks, bitter sweet delicious to taste.

Pots of jam, plum and damson berry. Shades of Autumn, bottled, fragrant, concentrated.
Perfect spread thickly on warm crusts.

Warm cups of tea beside a basket of knitting on a quiet evening of early bedtimes after a busy, blustery, outdoorsy day.

Trusting in God in the letting go.

As one season moves toward another.

Multitudes on Monday. How Hope Can Grow from the Debris of Dreams

I am walking home, weighed down with plastic bags that cut through my fingers like cheese slicers. Somehow they're filled to the brim with a weeks worth of shopping for £10.

On this heat worn and frayed, summer day, I'm sixteen years old and thinking, "however did country girl me ever come to be living in the middle of this strange city?"

Home is a two storey terrace shared with 5 unconnected, disconnected souls displaced in one place for a transitory period. Almost feels like a sentence we've been given, to share this one cell for and allotted time before one leaves and another inmate arrives to replace. I have discovered that one face becomes another too easily in a city.

Sometimes it seems I could be in Turkey, North Africa or even Jamaica depending upon which side of the street I'm on. Yardy boys at plantain stalls, women draped in black, serene, guarded, silent, men smoking roll ups in pool rooms and the ever lingering smell of kebabs and hot oil.

Disorrientation fills the air with a thousand unnamed voices giving different directions to the right bus I need to take home.

The heavy air of traffic clogged streets in summer time and the swirling synthetic rainbows of rain laced with petrol turns my thoughts to fog...

Two years later and I'm on the brink of leaving for another country all together.

During the intermission of this "time between", too many lines have been written, scenes been played out, lines spoken and hurts, rehashed, re-played and re-enacted on this stage.

Now all I want to desperatly do is hide in the wings for one night. Curl up into the nothingness of annonimity.

So I travel toward the heart of the city. Following the clogged ateries, mainlines and thread veins of skinny streets, pumping, faster and faster, harder and harder as I get closer to the center.
Convulsing like the strobe lights that seep from darkened doorways as stars begin to dissolve into the orange glow of street lamps.

I'm pregnant, but I don't know it yet.

Exsausted, I find myself sitting on the steps of west end musical stage show on the cusp of an evening's performance.

I hear the clink of shoes on cobble, I smell the static of excitement in foreign voices. French vowels bubble up from the dank and drenched tarmac like champagne.

It is raining heavily and I have no place to go.

I close my eyes and try to find a small corner of quiet.
My ears have throbbed with the noise of this city for so long I hear the conversations between taxi cabs and Double Decker buses in my dreams.

Slowly it comes into view....

The outline of a tree in the distance, branches tanned golden in the sun, bark gilded and shivering, leaves trembling.

It seems too far away to be real. I begin to squint, as I dare to look up a little.

Clouds part mutly. Beneath them the sky is powder blue, it seems to roll out forever.

Somewhere in the far away, I hear a child laughing and some long grass brushes against my legs as I walk.

Then, without warning, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

I turn abruptly, defensive, instinctivly.

No, no one is moving me on this time, this hand simply rests, and waits...

I don't know who it is who gently rests their hand and speaks my name.

One day years from now I will understand. Recognise the voice who called me away that day.

In the white noise of dislocated memories and fears, manifested by what I thought would numb them. A cold sea of concrete, a pavement fractured and scarred, covered with a liquid neon ointment.
Somehow I heard.
Somehow I stumbled
to my feet that day
and followed.

And somehow, now, I find myself sitting beneath tree, that was once nothing but the small seed of His hope, the echo of His voice, in my heart.

Branches tanned golden in the slender sunlight of late summer.

The storm clouds dissolved a long time ago in the blue transparency of this sky of hope. Endless, limitless, boundless, eternal...

I hear a child laughing, now two, now, three, now four.

And the sound heals the wounds that tears once furrowed. Eroding saltwater, carved out a hollow for freshwater to pool.

And I drink long drafts of thankfulness.

All the while as the long grass brushes against my legs while I walk.

I still feel that hand on my shoulder.


Thank you Lord for Summer memories ,

Each cherished moment in which to linger with my children,

The words of friends who encourage with their courage. And give me the courage to share too.

Thank you Lord, for taking my hand towards future life that heals the wounds of the past.

And the wonder of now,

Thank you for the miracle within the small seed of your own hope which you plant in hearts.

It can even grow a "forever home" where trees and blue skies and sunlight emerge from the debris of dreams of a once lost and homeless girl.

Counting Blessing,...

With inspiration from the 1ooo gifts list over at Holy Experience...

I'm counting mine everyday...
in faces of joy,
giggles,
sisters becoming best ever friends,
kicking up grass in the garden playing tag,
the laughter (and tears) that come with growing, learning and forgiving one another on a daily basis.
Seraphina's funny faces,
Matilda's funny expressions,
Bujana's sincere heart,
Emmy becoming a beautiful young lady before my eyes, strong, certain of her beliefs yet full of gentleness and compassion for everyone.
Listening to Emmy read chapters of "Little Women" or "Hinds Feet on High Places" or her favourite parts of the Gospels while I sew in the evenings.
Cuddling up in on blankets and cusions in the garden in the afternoon with Bujana reading stories and picture books.
Listening to shrieks of joy as 3 littlest girls splash in the cool of the paddling pool.
Hearing my husband read fairy stories to my youngest girls behind me right now, with gentleness and fun and silliness, giving each character a funny voice, stopping now and again to chat about the pictures... "look Tilda this princess must be you, she's all in pink"
The soft breath of a summer breeze against the curtains.
Lavender oil foot rubs for the girls after a bath time.
The girl's summery, patterned printed dresses blowing on the line in the afternoon.
The prayers and love of true friends who accept me just as I am, flaws and all.
My mother bringing sweet peas from her garden for us today on a surprise visit, as she does, , and when she does never forgetting to bring little treats for the girls in brown paper bags ( jelly babies, raisins, trail mix, white sugar mice or berries)
Emmy's maple and lemon sponge pudding with custard after Sunday dinner.
Chatting with my "little big" girl about this that and everything else, listening to her thoughts.
Sitting out in the garden in the evening with my husband, sharing the day, laughing about silly things and amazing at the blessings God has brought us.

Collecting Scraps

John Muir:

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.

Blaise Pascal

The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.

J. Lubbuck:

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time.
-

We have been collecting Scraps....
Simple words of thanks, for simple joys. This is a child's way of communion. Pieced together into a Sunday afternoon scrapbook. Pages filled with the wonderment of details. Stiched together, little by little. From the details in nature, to the familiar ways of those dear and close, or the well worn pages of a well loved book sitting cheerily uptop a pile of even more upon the table. Scraps woven together by strong, stitches. Stitches, hand sown with love and care. By His hand.
For this is a gift He gives. A gift that transcends circumstance. A simple gift for all who Hope in Him. A binding of thankfulness. A prayer that weaves in and out of the din and the clatter and the noise just in the same way as it does the peace, of silence and the glinting of icy sunlight between the branches of winter trees.

Scraps of fabric woven together to make a life. Piece by piece. A life for Him, with Him and through Him.
Fragments of beauty, love, joy, memories, voices, dreams, green grass, laughter, songs, sunlight, quiet rain, falling leaves and budding blossoms.
With a thankful heart ready to embrace a love that can turn all things to grace.

And Why not visit lovely Ann's lovely peaceful place for gentle encouragment and inspiration. And many others who are walking in the way of thankfulness over at the GratitudeCommunity...

Blessed be your Name

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.(Isaiah 35:10)

*
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.(Isaiah 55:12)

*

*

Sometimes I look at my life and I feel so overwhelmed. How did I get to be so blessed?
Everyday is filled with grace in some way or other. Yes, there are struggles and tears and trials amoungst the joys and wonders but there are gifts.... Hope, Faith and Love! Transforming and transfiguring all into a song of praise!

Praise that finds a voice to sing with even when the tears sting and the heart aches. Still and silent. A waiting praise where hope flickers once more from the dowsed embers. The ashes of all sorrow. A flame of Love brought to life by the oxygen of a faith in something greater, and more wonderful than we may ever behold. And there is beauty here.

For the whispers of clouds Bring grace and blessing in abundance. And behind them the sun still shines on and on.

All is written by His hand. All is planned " Every hair is numbered" and peace dwells in the sanctuary of His word, that formed the beautiful world, His breath that gives life to all, the children's smiles, the eucharist, the sun that rises in the morning.

There are times when life is really full and bursting at the seams... it seems! Yet droplets of joy sparkle across the whole picture, right to the frayed edges and muddy clots of running colour.
Droplets like Moments, intermissions, silences, pauses, undulations, cadences punctuating the movements of life.
And I think of this song : ( remember toturn off the blog music at the bottom of the sidebar to hear the clip :0)

For life is like a poem.

And my poem is a Poem of Praise. The hope, the mess, the crazziness, the tears, the fears, the wonder, the joy. Blessings. In. Abundance.

And I give Thanks.

Beautiful girls enjoying their books before getting ready for bed.

A new composition on a Sunday afternoon.

Trying so hard with her little wooden needles and ball of moss green wool :0)

These two are best friends :0)

And one funny little baby girl who keeps trying to take a ride on her toy cars, and trains and .... now it looks like it's this poor caterpillar's turn :0)

A few reflections before a break :0)

I am planning to take a break from blogging while so I thought I'd leave my dear lovely readers with a nice L.O..N....G ........! post to chew over lol ;0)
By the way the knitted bunny link didn't seem to work on my last post so here it is again in case you missed it! http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/bunny-pattern.shtm

Here's an extract from "Today's Catholic Family"

You are called to discover the Kingdom

The secret of adulthood.

Wordsworth once wrote:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy;

Shades of the prisonhouse begin to close

Upon the growing boy;

But he beholds the light, and whence it flows

He sees it in his joy.

The youth who daily farther from the East

Must travel, still is nature's priest,

And by the vision splendid

Is on his way attended.

At length the man perceives it die away

And fade into the light of common day.

The fading of the " Vision Splendid" into the light of common day is a loss that many adults experience. In his book How to meditate, psychologist Lawrence Leshan speaks of it as something of ourselves we once dimly and unknowingly had and have lost, without knowing what it was or where or how we lost it.

Many adults feel the loss. Once we enter the world of adult and family responsibility, life becomes work, work, work.

Life becomes the joyless burden of Adam and Eve banished from paradise.

Peace of mind and a sense of joy are what many of us really seek. We want to experience life and take pleasure in the simple things. We want to break down artificial barriers and be ourselves. We want to be real with each other. We want to live life in the vision splendid! Is there a way to regain that vision?

The vision regained

In his first letter to corinth, Paul wrote, " When I became a man I gave up childish ways." Paul was addressing a group of adults who were trying to upstage eachother by claiming they had various spiritual gifts. These Christians were so busy with their petty scheming and rivalries that they had lost sight of their original vision. They had fallen into the trap of playing games with each other - a characteristic of the adult world.

What Paul was telling them is that all this adult game playing is really "childish"

Opposed to " childish" is the radically mature vision Jesus revealed. He said: "Change and become like little children".

This strange advice sounds really foolish. And by our adult standards it is. That is the point.

The vision that is offered to us cuts through the adult foolishness that makes us unhappy.

Very simply, in Paul's words, the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

God's foolishness knows what adult wisdom does not know:

That we cannot make ourselves happy.

What the wise child in us wants is unattainable - but we can attain it by entering the world of Gospel simplicity. Kitaro Nishida a philosopher once wrote in his diary " If my heart could become pure and simple like a child. I think there can be no greater happiness than this." We can become like that. WE can experience what Saint Paul called " the glorious freedom of the children of God"

The proposal is utterly serious. Become like little children. Embrace Trust, Wonder, Innocence, Joy in it's fullest.

The family of the kingdom.

Jesus of Nazareth, the travelling preacher, had no property, no children, no steady job. You might not think such a person would be a great family man. But he was exactly that. The difference for him was that everybody was family who wanted to belong.

It all stemmed from the way Jesus saw reality. To him, home was the presence of God. He was aware of God the way you are aware of yourself - always and everywhere. In those days it was considered irreverent to speak the name of God in public. The name was too sacred. But Jesus went much further than saying God; he called God "Abba" - Beloved Father.

His relationship with God was so deep and natural that it was catching. Everyone he influenced was drawn into it.

Jesus was a rabbi, a religious teacher. But because of the way he saw reality he was not like other rabbis.

Jesus' awareness was that the father is preparing a great banquet for us in his kingdom. The strange thing about this banquet is it's time and place. The time of the banquet is now. Jesus was constantly telling people that the banquet has already begun. And the place for the banquet is not somewhere else. it is right here!

Jesus insisted that the kingdom of God is right in the midst of you.

This awareness was so deep and radical that even today people still do not grasp it very well, The banquet for the kingdom is here and now? What does this mean?

John the baptizer was a contemporary of Jesus, a visionary holy man if ever there was one. John was incredibly strict on himself, His clothing was made only of camel hair and his food was locusts and wild honey.

John told people that the kingdom is at hand and told them to repent.

Jesus said something similar, but his awareness of God was vastly different to John's. In Jesus' awareness the banquet had already begun: this was no time for strict fasting. So Jesus made the rounds eating and drinking with all kinds of people respectable and sinful.

The contrast between Jesus and John was so sharp that a saying about it appears in the gospel: " For John came neither eating and drinking and they say he has a demon; the son of man came eating and drinking , and they say Behold a glutton and a drunkard..."

Jesus was not a glutton or a drunkard, but he was very serious about the banquet. The time is now, he would say. The kingdom is in our midst and the banquet has already begun.

The Kingdom Here and Now.

No one can tell us what the banquet really is. It cannot be explained, it can only be discovered. But we do know this: God is involved in it. God is Beloved Father, and you are his Beloved Family. Your family is part of God's family. Every person in your family, respectable or otherwise, has a place in the kingdom.

No one can define the kingdom. It has no boundaries of time and place. But this much is known: for you, it is here and now in your family. The nature of the kingdom is such that you experience it through others - especially those who meant he most to you.

The kingdom is not something you can make happen. Only God can do that. It lies in your future with God. The kingdom appears in your midst to lead you forward into that future. You and your family are pilgrims traveling to a kingdom that is not of this world.

The banquet you are called to is not literally a meal.

As Paul wrote, " the kingdom of god does not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"

You cannot create this peace and joy,

But you can discover it and experience in your spouse, your parents, your children, your brothers and sisters. Through obedience, kindness, compassion and giving of self and through all the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Whenever you make each other happy, the peace and joy of the banquet are a reality you actually experience.

Whenever you forgive each other or do something to heal a wound. God is at work within you.

When you look at each other and realize that the Father is calling this person to communion with himself, the kingdom is in your midst.

The person who called us to the kingdom is very family minded. To him, his Father mans everything. Bringing people together to experience the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit was the whole point of his life. His family is everybody who wants to belong to it and his invitation to the banquet is especially for you.

You must believe that.

Otherwise, it does not mean much to say: "

The kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

Family exercise.

1) The most kingdom like quality each member of our family possesses is ( Write each person's name and personal quality)

2)The thing about our family that means the most to me is...

( Describe how you feel, and how different your life would be without his reality.)

3)The last time I experienced the peace and joy of God's kingdom here at home was when.... ( Describe what happened and how you felt about it.)

4)The happiest memories I have experienced in our family.....

5)When has my family (or a family member) really supported me, forgiven me or helped me when I needed it most........

6)When I stop and think that the kingdom of God is right here in our family, I realize that ......

************************************************************************************

I have also been thinking about the transformative powers of praise, thankfulness and gratitude

recently. Since starting my own gift list many aspects of the everyday have been "transfigured" transformed.

The bible is strewn with thankfulness, praise and gratitude...

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most high:To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night— Psalms 92.1-2

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness there

of. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice— Psalms 96.11-12

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us,and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:be thankful unto him, and bless his name.For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;and his truth endureth to all generations.— Psalms 100.1-5

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of Lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.— Psalms 136.1-9

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God.— I. Thessalonians 5.16-18

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.— Hebrews 3.15 (65 AD)

Visit this link below for mte about the gratitude community :)

http://aholyexperience.com/2006/11/gift-list-thousand-things.html

"but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." Isaiah 60:18

************************************************************************************

And here is a lovley prayer I found over at Christ's Rose

God, make me brave for life: oh, braver than this.

Let me straighten after pain, as a tree straightens after the rain,

Shining and lovely again.

God, make me brave for life; much braver than this.

As the blown grass lifts, let me rise

From sorrow with quiet eyes,

Knowing Thy way is wise.

God, make me brave, life brings

Such blinding things.

Help me to keep my sight;

Help me to see aright

That out of dark comes light.

~Author Unknown~

This is something I am embracing. The fact that I am broken and that is okay. So long as I hand all the pieces over to God, he can make me anew................................ :0)

*************************************************************

And to finish up..... some words from John Wooley

The almost instinctive speaking of My Name when life is dark and uncertain ...
the cry of a child for the One who can draw close; the cry of a child when reasoning ceases to function, when all is threatening, when human help is absent, when confidence is lost. The speaking of My Name brings into the foreground of your situation the one vital factor. My name can be said in helplessness... but said in joy and thankfulness only seconds later! Thankfulness at being brought through that state of helplessness.
The speaking of My Name ensures, immediately, the retreat of evil forces . . . acknowledging that they are defeated in their aim for your life.
My child, the whispering of My Name ... On waking ... On surrendering to sleep ... And very frequently during each day!

I will be with you when you go through deep waters.(Isaiah 43.2)

*

Everything can speak to you of My love, if only you will listen with the Spirit’s ear.
My presence with you, My love for you, are the things in which you rest…… they encircle your life. Think much of the indivisibility of the trusting child and its Maker. My gift to you is the sense of My nearness. This sense must touch every aspect of your life…..Always see, in Me, the One who has promised what no-one else could, able to convert those promises into a wonderful reality; they are not too good to be true! My promises are not lost by human failings, provided that, in sorrow over failure, My path is resolutely taken again, with a reaching-out to Me for renewal.
Tell Me at the start of each day of your intention to keep in the way which I have shown you. My way, applied to the details of that day, will then be increasingly clear to you. Make use of all that I have given you. Are you trusting My promises? It is that or nothing.

I will never forget you- your image Is on the palms of My hands

(Isaiah 49:16)

Song of GRATITUDE

Gratitude list for today:

Spending time with a special friend,

Hot tea with lemon and honey for a brewing cold,

A husband taking the early shift, making pancakes and coffee at sunrise,

A joyful smile on a little girl hugging her new ball,

The snuggle of my baby at four in the morning, finally she made it into Mummy and Daddies bed!!!

Sunshine after a rainy weekend,

Bujana becoming a really beautiful and caring big sister, setting a circle of teddy bear friends for little ones and reading room on the broom before singing songs with gusto!!!

Everybody clapping hands!

Water falling over rocks, glinting like jewels in the sunlight,

Two little sweeties on a seesaw,

Babies shreiks of glee,

Big girl winning awards, A face glowing with pride and joy!!!

My little one asleep behind me full of the dreams of a lovely day:0)

Projects waiting to be started and finished, waiting in the wings with anticipation,

Pink Welly boots put on the wrong feet !!!

The Third Song of Isaiah

Surge, illuminare
Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a, 14c, 18-19
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.
They will call you,
The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your God will be your glory.

The Thousand Gifts

ABUNDANCE in TEASPOONS

It all started with teaspoons!

This morning I realised that finally we had a drawer full of them.

Tani had gone to the shop after work to pick some up as somehow we had run out ( do teaspoons go to the same black hole that matching socks and hair ties do ?) and we had resorted to using the children's plastic play spoons (blush)

When I saw the drawer full of new shiny spoons it just felt so abundant! Positively opulent!

I started writing my gratitude journal a while back now, inspired by Ann over at Holy Experience 's Gratitude Community.

In the beginning when I actually sat down to put all I felt grateful for on to paper it started with the big things. Food, Shelter, Clean Water, Health, A Happy Family.

I'm more than aware that there are too many people who survive without many of these things, some with just a little. I am grateful that I have these basic provisions right now.

As time has gone on however I have found that my list has increased, I can hardly stop thinking of things to write down. And it's not just the big things that I am inspired to praise God in thanksgiving for.

The smallest details of life have imprinted themselves, come out into relief, been brought into focus.

The way light shines on a child's face, sparkles on the dewy grass.

The glorious mess of an unmade bed after an afternoon nap.

Freckles that have risen like bubbles to the surface of my four year olds face this Summer.

The smell of tomatoes ripening in the garden.

The wonder Tilly has at every little insect and bug she finds.

The way peanut imitates every little thing Tilly does.

Soft socks,

And yes.... teaspoons!

Gratitude is an amazing thing. by changing our perspective we also change our vision, we change what we see and how we see it. Radically it may lead to a change in what we experience and how we experience it...

"She had chosen a journey towards God's destination. To his invitation, "Come," she had stepped out along the way, and already the sights and sounds were smelling, tasting, feeling new, even those which would once have seemed mundane and commonplace."

"On the Way to Bethlehem" Hilary McDowell.

Thankful for...

I am thankful for... A surprise bloon of yellow petals as Summer gently fades into Autumn. Our sunflowers have finally decided to wake up from their gangly green stems and put the sun into the rainy days of late August here in the middle of england.
Little girls on an adventure. In the depths of Sherwood forest, Robin hood is hiding somewhere and they are determined to find him.
What's that noise? I'm sure he's just around the corner Boo!

A little girl who is growing out of babyhood way to fast! Full of sweet smiles, wet kisses and sparkling eyes for everyone she meets.

Sisters who are best friends. Who read stories to eachother, make mischief with each other, cuddle up in bed for naps together, and can never bear to see the other hurt.

Baby curls...

And wondering whatever do angels think about on their days off :0)...

Check out the GRATITUDE community @ Holy Experience