A Bloggy Sabbatical

Well I am going to be taking a break from blogging for a while. I don't know if I'll be posting anymore, we'll see:0)
I'm focusing on learning as much as I can at the moment. I have learnt so much from you all. I feel privileged to have been able to find so many special and inspiring people through this little blog of mine. THANKYOU ALL for your lovely heart warming comments, I have appreciated every single one of them:0)

God Bless,


Peace



This little boats gone sailing again...


Suzyxxx

Childhood

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. ~John Betjeman, Summoned by Bells

I'd give all wealth that years have piled,The slow result of Life's decay,To be once more a little childFor one bright summer day.~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"

Funny Girl

My one year old loves to snuggle. As she snuggles down ready for sleep she has a routine of pointing at different things around the room. I am then to name the objects she is pointing at. This gives her no end of satisfaction. I don't know why:0)

If I say the wrong word for something she giggles and giggles :0)

She's so funny:0)

My little Mouse

" Mummy can I have some cheese please?"

Piped up my three year old little girl, her nose already buried in the fridge.

"No sweetie. It's bedtime now." I replied.

" But Mummy I neeeeed cheese." continued my persistent little three year old.

"Why do you neeeeeed cheese?" I ask thinking it a reasonable enough question.

"Because I'm a mouse ."

Ahh , of course :0).

The Naughty Corner

My husband and I were talking about how different only children are from later arrivals in the family.
I remember how quiet and placid my eldest daughter was. She was our world for 5 years before our second daughter came along and since then we've had two more in quick succession. The more children there are, and the closer in age they are, the feistier they become that is for sure!
My one year old has started to show the feisty side of her character more recently!
She is such a sweetheart, a real butterball. Chubby, cute and cuddly as a teddy bear but boy do we know it when things aren't ( how to put it) going her way shall we say :0).
Last week she paid her first visit to the " naughty corner". This has always worked very well in our house. My kids love to be a part of everything that's going on and being taken away from the action is just about the end for them!
Well little girl number three always seems to want the exact toy her sister is playing with even in a roomful of toys a nursery would be proud of! So off she went to the "naughty corner" head held low, face blotched and smudged with tears.
Her way of showing she's sorry is so cute. She lowers her head says's ahhh and gives kisses on the cheek. So anyway, after she had contemplated her behaviour for a little while and said her sorry she came back to play "nicely" :0) with her sister . Of course it wasn't long before their was another "toy dispute".
"Here" I saw her older sister say as she offered her a small piece of Lego in exchange for the coveted toy she wanted for herself.
Needless to say, once the trade was made and she realised she had been duped she was not happy at all and tried to find a way of retrieving her toy.
However she remembered it was wrong to grab because as soon as she went for it she looked straight at me with a look that could not be described as anything but complete resignation to her fate.
She gave a big sigh, pouted a little, gave the toy right back to her sister and toddled over to sit herself down in the "naughty corner".
I couldn't believe it!
I didn't know whether to be cross she was naughty again or pleased she was being so self disciplined already:0)!

Precious Moments

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath."

May every moment inhale life deeply.

Take the time to stop and stare and watch clouds fray the edges of the horizon.

Over spill with the wonder

and beauty of each single, stilled, second.

Silenced by the fragile, bare branches of winter trees engraving, the distant evening sky.

Painting patterns over the tidy white spaces,

Turning the prose of life into poetry.

Hearing a song in the silence.

Dancing beneath the falling leaves.

The way my little ones hair curls around her ear.

The imperfect stitches of a homemade gift.

The warmth of a coat on a cold winter day.

Bubblebath footprints whispering sofly on the carpet.

A child to small to speak holding her hands in prayer.

The curled pages of a well loved book.

A baby smiling in her sleep :0)

Let me remember to unwrap every moment like the precious gift it is

The Ant and the Contact Lens

The Ant and the Contact Lens

A True Story by Josh and Karen Zarandona

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took hold of the rope, and started up the face of that rock.

Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.

She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on it's back.

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

When Christ Dwells Within

"When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will be so filled with His love,

with the joy of communion with Him, that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten.

Love to Christ will be the spring of action.

Those who feel the constraining love of God, do not ask how little may be given to meet the requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer.

With earnest desire they yield all and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which they seek.

A profession of Christ without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery."

"Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide
with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee."

Ellen White "Steps to Christ"

Angelus

A small prayer for Christmas

My child's tears can be dried with kisses.

My child's pain can be soothed with a song.

My child's sleep is found between warm blankets.

My child's saddness is softened with a smile,

My child does not know of a hunger that can hurt.

My child does not know of walking barefoot in the dirt,

When my child is afraid, I put a light on in the dark.

When my child falls, I open out my arms.

By the grace of God there goes my child.

Lord,

Awaken my spirit, to suffering I so often choose to close my eyes to.

Lord, Open my heart to give beyond what is easy for me to give.

Christmas belongs to you Jesus.

You live within the poor, the needy, the homeless, the hungry, the oppressed and the persecuted.

For you are all who are broken and alone in the world.

And every child belongs to you.

http://www.greatgifts.org/?adid=wvxmas08hom2

http://www.samaritanspurse.uk.com/index.asp

http://www.presentaid.org/page/home&source=A003837?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Paid%2BSearch&utm_term=Brand&utm_campaign=Present%2BAid%2BChristmas%2B07&gclid=COT4iPj0uY8CFQwdEgodz2YQcw

gOD bLESS THE LITTLE BOY AND HIS SISTER IN THE PICTURE

aND ALL THE OTHER CHILDREN IN THE WORLD

SILENCE

Silence

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You and I,

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these words,

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this paper –

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Blossoms and tendrils

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on the vine of silence

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Bruce Gardiner

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Ecclesiatstes

Ecclesiastes

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“Cast your bread upon the waters,
For after many days you will find it again.”

Lord, May I give of myself abundantly, freely, recklessly, joyfully.

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“So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body.”

Lord, may I look to your kingdom first. Help me take the shackles from my hands and feet that keep me bound to the fears rooted in the soil of this world.

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“He seldom reflects on the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.”

Lord, let me see your reflection in each moment. Set my sight upon you alone.
Till I hardly notice the passing of time. Only the distance between YOU and I.

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“The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether he eats little or much
But the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”

Lord, help me to find a path of service. Let me find a way to kneel at your feet each day in the things you call me to do.

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“ God gives a man wealth, possessions and honour so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them.”

Lord, I know that all want beyond my portion is unsatiable. Make me long for nothing but YOU.

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“That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil, this is a gift from God.”

Lord, may I live a life of simplicity. May I find Joy in the ordinary and the Sacred in the everyday.
Lord help me to do all I am given to do with grace. Lord, help me to recieve anything at all I am given in the spirit of your grace.

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“ The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails given by one Shepard.
Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the mind.”

Lord, remind me not to become distracted. Keep my feet upon the small straight path toward the narrow gate. All I need is your word to guide me. All I need is your grace to feed me.

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“The sun rises and the sun sets and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round it goes ever returning on it’s course. All streams flow into the sea yet the sea is never full.”

Lord, I know nothing can be satisfied in stillness, silence and solitude without you. Even the sun, the wind and the waters are restless to reach YOU Lord.
All effort is pointless if not done for YOUR sake.
All my life is meaningless if not given unto YOU Lord.

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Take a walk in the woods with me...

My husbands parents have come over to visit and see our new baby.

We took a walk in the woods last weekend and I couldn't resist sharing a few pics!

Having a Mary heart and a Martha Mind

Having a Mary Heart and a Martha Mind

Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I’ve no time to be A saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee,

Or dreaming in the dawn-light, or storming Heaven’s gates,

Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha’s hands,

I have a Mary mind,

And when I black the boots and shoes,

Thy sandals, Lord, I find.

I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor:

Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven’t time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace;

Forgive me all my worrying, and make my grumbling cease.

Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea,

Accept this service that I do -— I do it unto Thee.—

Cecily Rosemary Hallack (1898-1938)

Building Bridges

But the world sees nothing of that inward, heartfelt devotion which makes all these actions pleasant and easy.

Watch a bee hovering over the mountain thyme;—the juices it gathers are bitter, but the bee turns them all to honey,—and so tells the worldling, that though the devout soul finds bitter herbs along its path of devotion, they are all turned to sweetness and pleasantness as it treads;

(An excerpt taken from "A Devout Life" St. Francis de Sales.)

The prayers, yearnings, stinging tears, grace filled joys, overflowing cups, trembling frailty, aching anxieties, gentle awakenings and precious moments of motherhood.


Can be captured well within the excerpt above.


Where there is "bitterness" in the world a mother trys to turn it into "sweetness" for her child.


Motherhood is all about turning, moulding, shaping and reconstructing the internal debris of ourselves into something other than ourselves.

Something more than ourselves.

Like a small candle which trembles in the air. May I be brought to life by the breath of God.

Like sunlight on the ripples of water. Shimmering in the beauty and love of God's reflection. May I shine this light into the lives of those I love. Those I know. And those I have yet to meet along the way home.


As we walk the road to calvery, one step, one moment, one choice, one thought, one prayer at a time.

We often find


An inward journey reflects and rebounds upon each step we take.

I am borrowing an idea from the excellent http://mulledvine.blogspot.com/

This is an interesting personality test based upon the Myers Briggs original.

The results seem to be pretty spot on for most people. Although I think that it is fair to say in critisism of tests like these they tend to be somewhat generalised.

I turned out to be an INFJ ( click on the link here:-http://typelogic.com/infj.html for more info on this type)

To find out your own personality type according to this test click on the link below :0)

http://www.kisa.ca/personality/

I think this just proves that despite the many differences bettween people we must look above and beyond the defence mechanisms, the habits, the conditioned responses and opinions of others and try to see the child in everyone. The part inside each one of us, that is closest to God.

ALL I ASK

I do not ask that I may steer
My peaceful bark by peaceful shores alone,
Nor that I linger, harbor-bound,
And sail no stormy seas unknown;
I only ask this boon of Thee:
Be ever in the ship with me.

I do not ask that I may dwell
From din of battle far removed,
Nor ever feel temptation's force,
Nor ever know mine armor proved;
I only ask, through Life's long fight,
Grant me the power of Thy might.

I do not ask, that I may walk
Only on smoothly trodden grass,
Nor ever climb the mountain's height
And trembling, through its dangers pass;
I only ask, on rocks or sand,
The sure upholding of Thy hand.

I dare not pray for any gift
Upon my pilgrim path to Heaven;
I only ask one thing of Thee:
Give Thou Thyself and all is given.
I am not strong not brave nor wise;
Be Thou with me - it shall suffice.

-Annie Johnson Flint

(borrowed from the wonderful and inspirational http://holyexperience.blogspot.com/

QUOTATIONS

LIFE
"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers,at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."
sT Augustine ~

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PEACE
"Peace we achieve When we do not expect anything from the world, but only give, give, and give Unconditionally what we have and what we are."
sRI cHINMOY ~

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HOPE
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
- Martin lUTHER kING jUNIOR ~~

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LOVE
“Your task is not to seek for love,but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
rUMI ~

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POSSIBILITY
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
sT. fRANCIS OF aSSISI ~

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BELIEF
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

C. S lEWIS~

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A Way through the Darkness

There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast--
The desert and illimitable air--
Lone wandering, but not lost.

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He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

William Cullen Bryant