Reflection space

You make beautiful things!

2012-02-14T14:51:00.001Z

Ever feel like you could just burst?

Bubbling withcreativity,

Expression,

But the words donot do any justice to how you feel on the inside?

Perhaps a piece ofmusic or a dance could express it better?

A picture,

A sound...

The overflow of myunderstanding of the beautyof God feels this way.

For too long Hehas been put in a box..

Many boxes infact.

One marked

ANGRY

Another marked

IRRELEVANT

Another may say

FICTIONAL,

DEAD,

FRAUD,

RELIGIOUS.

My soul has no boxfor God.

He is breaking outof anything I could have ever contained him in.

His light is shining into dark places,

Turning everythingbeautiful.

He is

LIGHT

He is

ALIVE

He is

CREATING,

SPEAKING,

LIVING,

MOVING,

LOVING,

CHANGING,

A new sun isrising on a very dark world,

Shedding lightinto searching hearts,

Breaking open darkplaces

And filling themwith his

GLORY

SPLENDOUR!

I watch like achild,

As this lightgrows and moves across the wasteland,

Bringing it all tolife as it moves.

A new day....

Is dawning.

When God liveswithin you,

You cannot help tofeel a part of this.

My heart is alsobursting,

Filling with thewarmth of this

LIGHT.
"Wake up oh Sleeper...Arise!"

All the Angelsproclaim it..

Just listen hardenough...

Heavenly Per -specks - tive!

2012-02-08T20:53:00.000Z

God gave me this picture today, which
I tried to capture in the text below:

The little girl looked sad."Hold my hand" came the deep, fatherly sound of the mans voice. Her head stayed low, sulking.She reluctantly lifted her hand to his.He gripped it hard, then squeezed it once to get her attention.She looked up at him.His face smiled, his deep set eyes, wrinkled at their edges. A man of years, but his face was full with such gentleness, safety and wisdom. She got caught up in his gaze.She looked at him questioning his motive."Why are you so sad?"She shrugged."Its not as I imagined." The words poured from her mouth freely.There was no hiding here, only freedom to speak. After all, he knew every part of her heart already.He just cared to ask."I feel disappointed, let down, I wonder what I should do next?""Go on" He listened well."I guess I feel a little lost in it all. I know we are headed somewhere, on this road, that you and I are walking together, but I wonder what the past was all for?""I understand."She looked at his eyes to see if he would give her an answer. No answer came.He reached into his pocket and handed something to her."Try these on for size."He handed her a pair of sun glasses. She took them and placed the oversized frames on her small, childlike face."What are these for?" she asked curiously."They will show you what I see."She squinted her eyes, and tried to focus on the path ahead.The sun shone so brightly, even brighter through this glass. It made her stop in her tracks.She held them to her face, and turned around in a circle. Every angle of the journey was viewed differently. The path behind her, the side view, the road ahead. Suddenly she saw it..differently. It was bright, very bright. It was clear. It filled her heart with a transient peace. She let out a deep sigh and a smile followed. "I like these glasses. I like Your view on things. Can I keep them?"He smiled, glanced at the path ahead, " I would like it if you did."He looked back down at her little face. His heart brimmed with love for her.She felt it.A comfortable silence joined them as they started back on their walk..."Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction.It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this."Proverbs 3:6 ♥

Let go and let God

2012-02-08T10:56:00.000Z

Today I am using someone else's words to describe exactly what God has been saying to me,

It is taken from

a motivational page named

Daily inspiration and motivation

We all go through disappointments, setbacks and things that we don’t understand. Maybe you prayed for a loved one, but they didn’t get well. Or maybe you worked hard for a promotion, but you didn’t get it. You stood in faith for a relationship, but it didn’t work out. One of the best things you can do is release it. Let it go. Don’t dwell on it anymore. If you go around wondering why things didn’t work out, all that’s going to do is lead to bitterness, resentment and self-pity. Before long, you’ll be blaming others, blaming yourself, or even God. You may not have understood what happened. It may not have been fair. But when you release it, it’s an act of your faith. You’re saying, “God, I trust You. I know You’re in control. And even though it didn’t work out my way, You said, ‘All things are going to work together for my good.’ So I believe You still have something good in my future.”

There is power in letting go of the past and the frustration of trying to figure everything out. When you release your questions, you are saying, “God, You are in control. I trust You.” And when you put your hope in God, that’s when He can heal your heart and lead you forward into His path of blessing.

I am learning this one at the moment, It is hard to step back, and just watch God take over!

Yet is necessary.

It is Faith.

Be blessed,

Stretch and grow a little more today.

Sign posts

2012-02-07T14:24:00.000Z

Ever get one of those moments when you feel that God is using circumstances to speak to you? Last time I saw this sign and had it 'stand out' to me was just before I conceived with my 3rd child. I heard God speak to my heart about change of priorities and having to step away from some things I was involved in and prepare myself physically and emotionally for another child. Well yesterday this sign post ( not this exact one but same wording) Jumped out at me again....When God speaks, in signs, whispers, circumstances. Take the time to listen. He may only say it the once :-)
"For I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you -- an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Out of darkness into Glorious light.

2012-02-03T11:41:00.001Z

I just wanted to share this and briefly touch on what it has taught me. Imagine yourself as this bean. Shoved into the darkness, a cold and lonely surrounding, you may be forgiven to ask, "Why?" But then something happens...Out of the darkness, you start to grow. You put your roots out and find a firm grip to strengthen yourself. Then this overwhelming desire comes from your core to find a way out of this darkness. You are surprised by your determination and instinctive knowledge to find 'light.' When you push past the dirt, the rock, the obstacles, you burst forth into a new day, full of light. You rejoice in your new found freedom and stretch out your arms heavenward.
do not curse the darkness that you find yourself in, thank it, for it will bring out something beautiful, if you trust in the creator of light. ♥

We are his servants because the same God who said that light should shine out of darkness has given us light. For that reason we bring to light the knowledge about God's glory which shines from Christ's face.

2 Corinthians 4:6

Transparent

2012-02-02T20:08:00.000Z

‎'There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear is by suspicion, but he who fears is not grown up in love.'

1 John 4:18

What are you afraid of? Being yourself? Being vulnerable & transparent before others. Why are we so afraid to be this way? For FEAR of rejection? Misunderstanding...?

When you know that you are perfect in Gods love you can start to remove those layers of insecurity. You can start to Shine a bit brighter, Live a bit louder, Write a bit bolder, for fear has lost her grip..In order to be transparent, you must first be grounded in a secure foundation of perfect love. Then you will be strong enough to shine....like the stars!

Knowing that the most important person BELIEVES in you,

HOLDS you,

gives you spiritual

STRENGTH

to be

YOURSELF!

The way you were created to be.

No amount of self belief will give you the genuine self assurance that the holy Father can!

We can immitate it,

fake it,

force it....

but the real stuff is heaven sent <3

Poem

2012-02-02T18:58:00.000Z

Thank-you to the editors at Peaceful parenting who made a feature of my poem.

Many blessings.

Rest

2012-01-18T19:58:00.001Z

^{Matthew 11:28} Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

I have been going through a bit of a tough time lately. I felt overwhelmed, burdened, tired and a bit down. I've felt it before at times, but it was affecting my day to day and despite prayer I felt awful. After a long time of trying to just hold it all together I spoke to a few of my friends and sought counsel of others on the matter. As I opened up and revealed my time of difficulty and weakness I was amazed at what was revealed to me. It was so beautiful that I found myself thanking God for this hard time. I found comfort in friends, healing in confessing my weakness in coping and Gods love overflowing. Admitting that I was not 'fine' allowed others to share their similar experiences and we were able to join forces to offer advice and support to one another. We chewed over the word together, shared tips and ideas on how to alleviate stress and anxiety. God spoke to me on practical issues of resting and meditating. I was so busy trying to do it all myself, that I had missed out of a wealth of strength from others. I realised something during this time also,that God doesn't remove the pain or difficulty, but he gets in there with you. He makes you understand that he died so he could hold your hand and BE your strength in the difficulty, your LIGHT in the dark times.
Sometimes he may just get rid of the problem, but I'm learning that mainly, he walks with you through it. He shepherds us through difficult terrain and steers us to calmer waters, he leads us to higher ground where we are safe and can find rest.
To know God is not to have a trouble free life, but he has overcome the world, so will help you be an overcomer in it too. Holding his hand, as a child does her daddy.

'When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.'

Isaiah 43:2

It is important that we are real with each other, that we have courage to admit when we are struggling, to be able to lean on as well as leaned upon.

Rest in hard times and meditate on Gods faithfulness and goodness.

I found a place where you can download a few tracks of free soaking worship music here:

soaking worship for meditating and resting.

Try some of the above next time you feel overwhelmed!

Bless you.

To find more related blog entries visit:

A wise woman

The truth of it.

2012-01-03T15:44:00.001Z

My desire is to make Jesus famous.

To bring him tolife to those who may not know Him.

Or who may notknow him as He really is.

I believe that many people think that God is only found in a church.

It is possible tofind the presence of God in a church.

Yet I know thatGod can be found in the gutter,

In the poverty,

In the prison,

In the brothel,

In the heartache,

The mud,

The pain,

The blood,

The sweat,

The confusion,

The beatings,

The drunkenness,

The abuse,

The betrayal,

The anxiety,

The insecurity,

Jesus is the sameyesterday, today and forever.

He did not come tobe a doctor to the well,

But he came to thesick.

He died to bringyou back to life.

He knows everyword before it reaches your tongue.

Every thought,

Every motive..

He knows you.

There is no hidingfrom God.

He sees you.

He longs to re-connectwith you.

He has been badly miss-represented,

The only way toreally know him,

Is to seek him foryou and find him.

In raw form,

Divine holiness,

Love beyond words,

Jesus,

Saviour.

Let the truth cut through.

Selah- Think upon this.

Merry christmas!

2011-12-24T11:39:00.000Z

"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9.6

Merry christmas everyone,

from us.

God bless,

One thing.

2011-11-17T10:56:00.000Z

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

One thing.

ONE THING.

OnE ThInG...

1 thing...

If I could ask just ONE thing,

what would it be?

The psalmist echoes the cry of my heart at this moment.

I long to dwell in his house, his presence,

his love, his glory...

more than anything else.

He showed me a picture of a key, a heart shaped key and written on it were two words.

HUNGER

THIRST.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

This key opened the door to his presence & his kingdom.

Jesus opened the door to heaven to us, He tore the veil, he removed any obstacle,

yet even as christians we stand at the door and see it as a no go area. A private garden.

Jesus gave us the key...If we hunger and thirst for HIM,

we enter into heavenly realms and experience his presence.

Its so amazing.

There is peace there,

joy,

revelation,

direction,

and we can bring it back with us..

all we experience in those moments and experiences with him,

can be brought into the world we live in.

Bringing his kingdom ,

on earth,

as it is in heaven.

So why do we stand at the door and wait?

RUN,

MOVE

into his presence!

Its free,

its available.

Hes given you the keys of salvation.

You are his,

whats His is mine,

and what is mine is his!

The heart of the matter!

2011-11-04T11:25:00.000Z

I was driving my children home the other day,

when a thought grew in my mind.

"What if, I woke one day, in a different time zone?"

Much like the 'back to the future' movies.

"What if, for some unknown reason, I woke to the same life,

same household home, same car, same duties, yet with different people surrounding me?"

Perhaps a different family, similar set up, 3 girls (a baby to care for in the day,

2 girls at school) a husband. People to meet at church, school run chatter with other mums..

Yet none of them at all familiar to me.

How would this make me feel?

I realised, perhaps a thought that had been met before, that even though we are surrounded by people,

unless we have relationships with them, we can be very lonely!

What makes life have any value, purpose, joy?

RELATIONSHIPS!

I KNOW my children, I am familiar with their characters and ways,

I have connections with mums at school because our children have relationships with one another and share moments together.

Sharing, engaging, familiar, connecting...

these are the very things that make life rich.

If I was to wake and have my home, my car, my duties, my school run, my church,

but the people that I loved were no longer there to share it with me,

then I would cease to enjoy or apply myself.

My initial thought if this were to be the case would be to make friends,

get to know the new people, build friendships and relationships once more.

I just found it interesting to really think about how important relationship is to us.

We are made like God,

in His image,

so is it not also of great importance to Him?

To have relationship with us?

To love us,

share life with us,

be familiar with us and us of Him?

Selah

Hello!!!!

2011-09-15T14:17:00.000+01:00

Hello fellow bloggers!

I have been busy with James starting med school-a holiday to france and children back at school.

I plan to make time for a bit more blogging, but stay with me.

I am keen to catch up on all your news too,

inbetween the madness of life.

Things are going well.

Its a new season and I have lots to share,

but for now.

Hope you are all well,

blessed and growing in

HIM.

He KNOWS

2011-08-01T09:14:00.000+01:00

I was reading this passage the other day,
a familiar scripture,
where John baptises Jesus.
John was a prophet who had been given the task of preparing the way for Jesus.

^{Matthew 3:6} After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

But it was this scripture that spoke to me.

Many years before...when both John and Jesus were still in their mothers wombs:

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town ⁴⁰ where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴² Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. ⁴³ Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? ⁴⁴ When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

God is a God who knows every detail of our lives,
we see it in scripture all the time,
He prepared the way through prophets on many occasions.
God knew the future before mankind.
He is the beginning and the end.
The first and the last.
He knows our beginning, our end and everything in between!
Does that not bring you comfort?

John lept within his mothers womb when he came into contact with Mary,
carrying Jesus.
His whole life was a witness to Jesus and proclaiming the coming Messiah.
How could he have known this as an un born child?
God had set his future within his frame,
even before he had been born.

Take comfort in this,
recline into your heavenly Fathers arms,
put worry aside and rest in the knowledge that God
has it all in hand.

Jeremiah 1:5
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.Before you were born I set you apartand appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Fishing in the day

2011-07-12T11:08:00.000+01:00

Today I was reading the passage below,

it is the story of the disciples when they went fishing, all through the night, but had caught nothing. Then Jesus appeared at dawn, at the beginning of a new day, and he told them to cast their nets out to the right. They did so and their nets became full of fish, to the point of breaking their nets. I have been pondering over this story for about a month or two. God laid it on my heart in a time of prayer. I had the picture of this very story. I felt God was whispering to my heart, that we may be skilled at what we do, but trusting in our own strength is not going to work. These were skilled fishermen, anyone of them knew that you do not try and fish in the daytime. They would fish at night. Yet Jesus asked them to go against their own wisdom and their success was in their obedience.

I knew God was asking me, and the church to do the same. Put aside our own great ideas of building church, bringing people to events, putting on well organised events etc. He wants the multiples to come by his command, not mans good ideas. So what is God calling us to do? What ways of his spirit are we perhaps overlooking to do the job in our own way?

It also dawned on me, that Jesus was asking them to fish in the light of day.

He himself claimed he was the LIGHT of the world, and that no one can go to the father except through him. Religion and the law was not enough. Before Christs death, there was no forgiveness or entrance into eternal life, so this story was a prophetic statement of that. Fishing in the dark was like pre-death fishing, in darkness and reliant on mans efforts to stick to the law, but after Jesus' death, things were done supernaturally in his light, His power and his command.

Things have not changed, we are living after Jesus has died and been brought to life and as an added bonus that power lives within us! So why dont we ask the counsellor, the Holy spirit, for ways in which we should fish? It will surely go against our own man made ideas, for it will be supernatural! Yet, our nets may burst with people who need a touch from him...what are we waiting for?

John 21

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

¹ After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened.²Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together.³ ^(A)Simon Peter said to the others, I am going fishing. We will come with you, they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing.⁴ As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.⁵ Then he asked them,

Young men, haven't you caught anything?

Not a thing, they answered.

⁶ ^(B)He said to them,

Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some. So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.

⁷ The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord! When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water.⁸ The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away.⁹ When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread.¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them,

Bring some of the fish you have just caught.

¹¹ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear.¹² Jesus said to them, Come and eat. None of the disciples dared ask him,

Who are you? because they knew it was the Lord.¹³ So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.

¹⁴ This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.

Daughters

2011-06-27T10:34:00.000+01:00

Jessie-Jane, Ellie-Faith & Giorgia-Evie.

My daughters.

I LOVE being a mummy.

It comes with all sorts of trials and tough times,

but its all I wanted to be when I was growing up myself.

I would have the realistic baby doll toy,

known as 'Peppo' and I would dress her,

feed her, carry her with me everywhere.

Holding Giorgia and nursing her reminds me of those childhood days,

dreaming, pretending to be a mummy.

I watch my daughters now, doing the same.

Practicing to be a mumma.

Both with baby dolls and their little sister Giorgia.

Jessie confidently carries her around our home on her hip, rocks her to sleep,

helps feed and change.

I see the joy in their eyes as they greet her in the morning.

Ellies big squeeze hugs that practically squash Giorgia!

"I loooooove her!'

Its so lovely.

I read a devotion today.

"May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace." Psalm 144:12 (NLT)

May God grant me the wisdom and grace to mother my beautiful girls to know him and know who they are IN him.

be blessed!

Hungry

2011-05-11T10:18:00.000+01:00

Do you ever feel like no one is listening?

Do you ever feel like your words fall to the ground and are walked over.

precious words.

words that count as much.

words from your heart?

Words that ultimately come from Him.

within your core..

I sometimes feel this way.

I know that there is a time, a season for all things,

and that sometimes,

I have to have patience to wait on God,

to see the fulfilment of those words,

yet it strikes deep inside me.

I am hungry for more of God...

Yesterday I had such a nagging hunger-It seemed that no matter how much I ate,

I still felt hungry.

Anyone that knows me, will know I am not a big eater.

Yet yesterday, I felt like all I did was eat!

But nothing satisfied...

nothing filled me up!

I feel a bit that way spiritually at the moment..

I'm hungry,

I'm craving God, His presence,

His words, his whisper..

Yet I cant seem to find enough to satisfy.

I'm hungry,

for more of Him.

I take comfort in the fact that He listens.

He hears my cries,

my desires,

my ambitions,

my dreams,

my desires,

for He placed them within me!

God! Satisfy my hungry soul with more of yourself...

Genesis 16:11
And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.

Psalm 34:17
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.He rescues them from all their troubles.

Psalm 116:1
I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.

1 John 5:15
And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

From infancy

2011-05-10T10:17:00.002+01:00

From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus 2 Timothy 3:15

This morning in the car to school we spoke about the fear of God being the beginning of wisdom.

I explained that respecting God will make us wise in our life choices,

we had a few examples.

Then my readings this morning were surrounding being a parent,

being able to teach our children from infancy to love God.

"From infancy! If you had a godly mom that brought you into the world surrounded by faith in Jesus, stories from the Bible, and lullabies of faith, then praise God and thank her. If you didn't, then make a commitment that your children and your grandchildren will be given this head start in life. Yes, personal faith will be won in adolescence or adulthood, but beginning in infancy is such a blessing. To fill a child's world with love and hope and promise because of Jesus is the greatest gift a parent can give!

My Prayer...

Holy and attentive Father, I thank you for the incredible gift of believing parents. I pray that more of us who do believe will be active in sharing our faith with our children. Please make my family and my life a place where children and grandchildren can find it easy to believe and safe to rejoice in Jesus. In his precious name I praise and thank you. Amen."

God speaks

2011-05-06T10:43:00.000+01:00

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

This morning, in the car to school,

we tried something different.

I am trying to encourage my children to listen and recognise Gods voice to them.

We always pray on our way to school and today

I asked the girls to close their eyes,

ask God to speak to them,

give them some words

or a picture.

They each had a moment to ask and think..

Then I said,

"What did you see or hear?"

Ellie, my middle daughter had a picture of our neighbours,

they go to the same school as us and have just moved around the corner.

She saw our family and theirs.

Jessie, my eldest saw a bunch of flowers.

Later that day,

this new neighbour turned up at our door,

with a bunch of flowers for me as we had helped them out.

It wasnt until I was unwrapping them to put in a vase that jessie exclaimed,

"Mummy!! Flowers!...from the people Ellie saw in her picture!"

God is good.

Love Him and how he can speak even to the little children.

The potters hardest project.

2011-03-31T14:20:00.000+01:00

The great potter fashions hisown son.

Therugged hands held the lump of clay tenderly. Sadness filled the potters eyes. He paused before He began His worktoday.

Histhumb dug deep into the pliable shape. He let out a deep sigh, almost a groan and then He began. “Hewill grow up before them like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dryground.”

Hiswords began to bring focus to his work.“He will have no beauty or majesty to attract them to him,” he continued,reaching out for a rough piece of twig to dig into the clay and create thecontours of a man’s face.

“Nothing in his appearance that they should desirehim.” He paused. Grief filled His eyes as he looked down at his work. Agentle nod of satisfaction followed before He continued, “He will be despised andrejected by mankind” As these words escaped His lips He turned and lookedover his shoulder. Not far off, there stood Jesus, full of kindness and gentleness,full of compassion and love for the world. He was perfect in every way and yetHe would soon take on this rugged form and join with them, in the darkness, thesin and the stench.

Thepotter returned his sights to the clay face before Him. He opened his mouth to speak morewords. The pain in His voice was tangible. The words fell from His tongue,strained, bitten and painful to speak.“He will be a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one fromwhom people hide their faces,  He will be despised, and they will hold him inlow esteem.” His eyes trailed off the clay and a tear ran down his cheek.The salty taste reached his lip and he wiped His brow. “ My Son.. Surely You will take up their pain and bare their suffering,You will be pierced for their transgressions, You will be crushed for their iniquities; the punishmentthat will bring them peace will be upon You.”

The potter pulled away from the clay, the pain in His own heartwas too much. It gripped him. He saw the images before Him of Jesus beingbrutally beaten and mocked. He saw the hatred in their eyes as they kicked Himand placed a crown of piercing thorns on his head. “ My Son.” He bit his lip in an attempt to compose Himself as a gentlehand reached for His shoulder and held it.“Father.”

The potter turned, Jesuswas standing behind him, with his gaze so bright, he was shining brighter thanthe sun, He radiated warmth and love. He was majestic and beautiful and thepotter was overwhelmed. “Father, this isyour will. Let it be done, for by my wounds, they will be healed. For they arelike sheep, gone astray, they have turned to their own ways. You will lay theiriniquity upon me. Yes, I will be oppressed and afflicted, yet I will not openmy mouth;  I will be led like a lamb to the slaughter,  and as a sheep beforeits shearers I will be silent. ”

Jesus’ eyes brought reassurance back to his Father, “My Son, Greater love has no one than this,than to be willing to give up their life, so save another.” He smiled.

“Father,” Jesus continued, “ this is the only way. I will beartheir iniquities. I will pour out my life unto death, and will be numbered withtheir transgressions.  I will carry the sin of many, and make intercession forthe transgressors. I will be the bridge that carries them back into ourpresence. Let your will be done.”

The Potter gazed at Jesus; thoughts of wonder and grace filledhim.
“My will be done.” He nodded, theysmiled at one another and the potter continued fashioning the clay before Him,the form of man, the form of flesh, vulnerable, fragile, easily bruised, easilydamaged. His thoughts turned to the lost & the broken, the people below wholived in a darkened world that had no concept of heaven and Gods perfect love. Aperfect love that has the power to drive away the darkest fear. “ I must reach them.” The potterwhispered, “ I must bring them home, Imust bring them back to me.”
By R.Knight for Easter 20011
Taken from Isaiah 53.

Blessings continue..

2011-03-08T10:53:00.000Z

This week we have been blessed so much!

My husband has been accepted recently to become a medical Doctor.

He starts his studies in September.

We need a new car,

a motorcycle for him to ride to University,

fees for the entry,

and a few other things.

We did not have the money to do this..

We trusted that God would provide for all our needs and prayed it through.

Yesterday I received news that we had been left some money from an Uncle recently passed.

It covered the cost of all the above,

with a possible bit left over for a family holiday?

Thank-you Father..

and because of his faithfulness,

I know he will answer my questions regarding the paths and choices I have before me...

My mind is busy,

thoughts race around.

too and fro..

questions, longings,

The paths before me,

which should I choose?

Left or right,

I need your staff.

Holy shepherd,

lead me on,

to greener pastures,

quiet waters,

where I find purpose and your peace.

Lead me on loving shepherd.

Photos

2011-02-15T11:22:00.000Z

A friend of mine

Lindsey jones

was kind enough to offer her talent and took some cute pics of baby

Giorgia-Evie.

Check out her work also here

Photos are a wonderful way of keeping memories fresh.

I love taking and looking at them.

Giorgia-Evie is growing so fast,

its good to have snapshots of her growth.

My iphone is good for quick snap moments.

Have a blessed week!

Tidy up!

2011-02-08T11:53:00.002Z

This morning I took the girls to school,

we were running a little late.

The usual routine is this:

Get up,

get dressed,

eat breakfast,

clean teeth,

brush and put up hair,

cuddle Giorgia as we

read the bible.

Coats on,

shoes on,

in the car.

Pray.

This morning, we did all the above,

but in a bit of a rush.

The girls were tired and sleepy.

As I arrived outside Jessies school,

I turned to say goodbye to her and wish her a nice day,when I noticed her scruffy ponytail.

It was all a mess and parts hanging loose.

"You look a mess, did you brush your hair?"

I said.

"Here, let me do it..."

I took her hair and tidied it up.

Now she looked presentable.

"love you, see you later.."

She went on her day.

As this moment unfolded,
I thought to myself..

"Why do I care if her hair is a mess?"

I wondered...

"Should it really bother me? Its her hair after all.."

I felt God smiling and prompting me.

"Is it because it is a reflection on me as her Mother?"

"Yes.."

God stirred my heart.

"We are Gods children...and we are a reflection of Him..

how do we make Him look?

Are we unkempt in our walk with Him?

Loose tongues?

harsh words?

bad behaviour?

do we look like him?

Do we reflect Him or embarress Him?

It made me think...

" For in the image of God
has God made mankind." Genesis 9:6

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were makinghis appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf." 2Corinthians 5:20

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image,in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birdsin the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all thecreatures that move along the ground.” Gen 1:26

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, andwith it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9

'This shall be written for the generation to come: andthe people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.' (Psalm 102:18)

I am made in God's image! So... I must reflect God. 

Have We beenreflecting Him in our lives?

The story behind the name..

2011-01-28T12:45:00.002Z

Before I fell pregnant,

before I even thought of having more children,

before I was mildly broody...

God asked me a question.

"Will you have more children?"

I wasn't sure that I wanted to have more,

I had a little girl aged 2 and a 5 year old,

I hadn't really thought about more ..

but the question remained.

I thought about it.

I knew if God was asking me,

there was a choice.

He wasn't telling me..

My answer was something like this,

"God, I do not feel like it is something I want at this moment,

however, if it is your will for us to have more children for you,

then of course my answer is yes."

A year passed,

during that time,

I had a vision.

It was of a field of Poppies.

Beautiful, red flowers.

I asked God what this was,

he replied,

"This is a field of your harvest,

You have sown these seeds over the years and this is the harvest from it."

I was surprised.

Then I saw 3 little girls with red ribbons in their hair,

they were descending in size,

and carrying little baskets in their arms.

I wondered..

as I knew in my heart these were my children..

only,

I just had 2 daughters at this time.

"They will reap the harvest in their generation.

Where you have sown,

they will reap.."

He continued..

I watched as they collected poppies and placed them in vases on a beautiful banquet table,

that had been prepared.

Jesus smiled.

On Ellies 3rd birthday,

I cried..

and cried!

My baby was growing up and it saddened me.

I was struck with broodiness,

and it was so strong!

We decided that we would try for another baby...

James loved the name Giorgia,

"If we have a girl, I would like her to be called Giorgia"

I looked up the meaning of Giorgia,
as I am one for giving a child not only a name,
but also a prophetic statement of who they are.
I was shocked to discover that her name meant,
"Tiller of the soil-harvester of the soil"
I was reminded of the vision.

Our other girls have double barrel names,

Jessie-Jane,

Ellie-Faith,

we wanted to decide on the second half of Giorgia's name when we met her..

we had a few ideas.

The day she was born,

we decided on the name

Evie.

It wasn't one of the ones we had in mind, but it means

Life

and a

Harvester of Life

may she be!

Life with three...

2011-01-28T11:39:00.000Z

I remember wondering how I could stretch my love between 2 children,

before my second daughter was born..

Of course you do and its easy...

Theres always enough love to go around..

Now I have three daughters,

and I'm full of love for them all!

I guess that is how God feels too!

Shes here!

2011-01-17T15:53:00.000Z

Apologies for my absence!

Pregnancy and completing my counseling course took up all of my time.

I am happy to announce,

that baby,

Giorgia-Evie

has arrived,

weighing

7lb 5 oz.

4 hrs old

2 days old

cuddling big sisters

mumma snuggles

tiny hands

Dadda love

Teeny feet.

smiley dreams.

Happy sisters.

Jessie-Jane, Ellie-Faith & Giorgia-Evie.

We are very blessed and happy.

Bump and snow.

2010-12-01T13:46:00.000Z

The snow has arrived....

The girls had great fun in it,

but soon got cold and wanted to be back in the warmth..

so we made warm carrot and coriander soup for lunch.

A friend of mine wanted to give me some maternity photos,

to add to her portfolio and a treat for me...

Today is the first day of Advent- I have some ideas to do with the children,

hope you are all enjoying the count down to Christmas.

Breathe it in...

2010-11-04T14:26:00.000Z

This post will be a mixture of recent thoughts,

events,

findings and sharing.

This time of year is so beautiful,

I just went for a walk across the green on my door step,

the trees swaying in the wind,

the orange leaves falling,

in their multitudes, covering the floor like a thick blanket of

soft colour.

I was sitting inside and I had my window open and the breeze was calling me to come and walk!

So pretty!

"He walks where I walk,

He stands where I stand,

He understands.

He knows my frailties,

shared my humanities,

tempted in every way,

yet without sin..

God with us,

so close to us,

God with us Emmanuel!"

Everything I looked at,

displayed his beauty and His glory.

He is beautiful.

So close to us.

Creation speaks of His presence.

I found myself praying for friends,

family,

my unborn child,

my daughters..

that they might

KNOW

of Gods goodness,

his LOVE,

abundance!

Here is Jessie,

learning the verse,

"I have come that you might have life to the FULL!"

My prayer for sure....

Heres my other little sausage,

on stage,

singing how great it is to have a friend like Jesus,

My prayer is that she will always feel that!

I was going to post on other things,

but I think this sums up how I feel right now...

breathing in His goodness.

Be blessed.

:-)

Moving forward?

2010-11-01T11:51:00.001Z

I found myself recently asking God a question,

"What is the key to living a spiritually balanced, pleasing life?"

I knew it was a very broad question,

that had many elements,

but I am keen to know how to please God in my life,

receive His blessing and accomplish all that He has for me.

I know we are all given purpose and goals and vision,

and we can make the mark sometimes,

fail other times.

Sometimes we can be full of peace and security,

despite the darkest circumstances,

other times we can be over run with emotions,

fears,

anxiety and seem to miss God's best.

So I asked him this question.

I know that we can come to God and ask Him questions,

I remembered this lovely verse:

Keep on keeping on at God. Keep asking - you'll get it. Keep searching - you'll find it. Keep pushing the doors - you'll get through. If you don't ask, you won't recognise the answer. If you don't search, you won't remember what you're looking for. If you don't push the door, you won't know if it's been opened.

I was given a picture in my mind,

of an old fashioned cart,

motionless on a rail track.

This, I felt represented,

the foundation of the word of God.

The law of Moses,

our safety net,

our boundaries,

Gods standards for our lives.

This is the vehicle in which we travel.

But this was not enough on its own.

The vehicle was mot moving.

It contained us,

held us,

but it was not enough on its own.

Something was missing!

Then I felt God speak the answer to my heart.

His Spirit,

Our obedience,

combined,

were the motion in the wheels.

It was all very well having the foundation,

the rules,

the knowledge of His word,

but without these vital ingredients,

we were not moving forward.

Humility,

willingness to follow Him,

pliability,

Being open to His will,

willing to be soft clay in His hands.

This was the force that moved us along

in His will and purpose.

Know His word,

Know His ways,

Follow His Spirit,

all of your days.

When autumn leaves, fall by my window...

2010-10-22T18:34:00.000+01:00

I love this season,

Autumn,

the fall,

so crisp,

cold,

the reds,

oranges of the leaves,

the cold air,

cozy homes,

and family walks.

Here are some of our autumn days..

Scarecrow Ellie for her harvest festival.

Our harvest service at church..

The children doing a taste test in the service.

(Jessie trying an olive blindfold)

(Ellie's picture of me at church)

Our autumn gatherings.

Jessie got a grown up hair cut- lots off!!

It was harder for me, she was so keen!

Ellie & Jessies drawings of God.

Jessie's drawing of God, with her Nanna talking to him, in his castle!

Hope you are all enjoying this season :-)

Fill ya's in...

2010-10-11T09:50:00.001+01:00

Hello one and all!

I apologise for my absence,

I have been so busy with new schools,

being pregnant,

church events,

making a nursery,

trying to study and complete my course before this baby arrives..

the list goes on.

I'm afraid to say that blogging became a latter priority!

But a quick update.

I am 7 mnths pregnant now,

both Jessie and Ellie are settled into their new schools,

and things have been moving and changing around in expectation for our new arrival.

Baby nursery - owl theme.

Nursery incomplete, but everything we need in one place!

baby bump..

Jessie having a mamma hug with bump.

Girls on their first day at new schools..

Hoping you are all well and looking forward to catching up with you more soon.

Faint- refreshing.

2010-09-05T12:03:00.000+01:00

Jeremiah 31:25
"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

Song of Solomon 2:5
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples,

Do you ever get those days where

you are absolutely shattered,

drained,

tired and weary?

I have had a couple,

the last few days.

Partly due to the fact that I am 5 months pregnant and

daily growing!

Sleep is limited,

breathing is sometimes difficult,

and just the extra weight and strain

normal pregnancy brings.

However I knew it was deeper than that,

Somewhere in my depths,

I was crying out,

for a touch of God.

To bask in his peace,

his love,

his Joy.

Having the children home for six weeks,

a busy husband,

a new baby to prepare for..

I just felt out of energy.

I needed to get into the

secret place

and ask God to firstly,

forgive me for being away,

trying to do 'life' in my own strength.

Then to ask for a fresh touch from Him.

His refreshing!

I put on some worship music

Kari Jobe,

and closed my eyes and prayed.

I had a wonderful vision.

I was like a little girl,

in a busy crowd of people.

I was being overwhelmed by them.

I clung onto my comfort blanket and just opened my mouth.

I screamed out,

"JESUS!!"

At once, The crowds began to part,

forming an opening,

where I saw Jesus...

running!

He ran straight toward me,

cradled me in his arms like a baby,

and carried on running,

pushing through the crowds to a field beyond them.

He carried me to an apple tree,

My tree.

He lay me against the trunk and picked an apple,

saying to me,

"Eat and be refreshed!"

Then I saw a servant running toward us,

holding a golden dish,

containing water.

"Drink this"

said Jesus.

I drank.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves

of his faithfulness to us.

His willingness to

RUN

to our aid

when we feel overwhelmed.

He is faithful to meet all our

needs,

and strengthen us!

I love Him.

Wedding photography

2010-09-03T18:08:00.001+01:00

This week I got a chance to be a wedding photographer.

I love photos,

but have never done something so big before..

I shared the responsibility with a friend,

and we positioned ourselves at varying angles though out the day.

The weather was glorious,

the sun shone,

people smiled,

it was a wonderful day!

Here are some of the photos.

Camping trip

2010-08-30T14:23:00.001+01:00

A catch up of our holidays.

I am growing

LARGE!

Here is my 21 wk photo.

Jessie captured me in my pajamas,

a bit blurry but its hers ;0)

Anyhow, we decided to camping in Chichester

this year,

the sun was shining when we booked..

not so much when we arrived!

It didnt dampen our spirits though,

the girls still wanted to jump in the heated pool and have a swim.

They were toasty..

We sat and observed the madness,

from under our umbrella!

James face was for effect-but you get the picture!

We dried them off, got dressed and headed into town for some dinner.

It was lovely and warm in the resteraunt - outside the rains just

just poured and poured!!

That night was a noisy night under canvas!

I hardly slept,

partly due to pregnancy related issues,

and the rain!

The next morning, I woke really early and Ellie to,

we shared a warm cuppa and breakfast as James and Jessie slept.

The next few days were drier and we explored a bit.

Catching up on lost sleep- look at Jessies face n the netting!

Afternoon naps..

The bump in all its red-ness!

Then off for a family swim..

and very very warm showers,

that were hard to leave!!

Morning breakfast..

Morning campers!

We spent the day visiting my great aunt,

the girls great- great aunt.

They thought she was great when she opened a bag of goodies

for them each!

We had lovely weather as we explored the park.

A steam train ride..

Feeding the swans.

Climbing trees..

park fun..

All of us had a lovely time,

despite the first crazy night we had in the storm!

Baby bump and I were exhausted after it all.

Mwah!

Baby news..

2010-08-23T22:05:00.000+01:00

We had the second scan today,

This time we wanted to know the sex of the baby.

We will be adding to our

'princesses!'

Its a

GIRL!

We have a name we both like,

but just undecided on the second half.

Both our girls have 'double barrel' names.

(Two names as a first name)

Jessie-Jane

& Ellie-Faith,

So we will think more on that.

Usually when you lay your eyes on the little face,

face to face,

you have a knowing.

Here she is,

also,

they think she may be a bit older than they first estimated,

which puts us closer to christmas than we thought!

God knows! :0)

Wedding fun!

2010-08-16T16:14:00.001+01:00

This weekend we had a wonderful time at

the wedding of friends,

It was a beautiful day

and

shared by all of our church,

family and friends.

Here are some pics.

Me & the Husband!

Me and Hannah

A scottish dance!

The girls from church and the Bride and groom.

Featured author

2010-08-06T13:41:00.000+01:00

For today,

I am the featured author

over at this website:

http://writeforcharity.wordpress.com/

ABC's

2010-08-04T14:38:00.000+01:00

Jessie is enjoying her holiday club,

she's learning about trusting God.

I wanted to have a go at this scripture learning idea

during our holidays.

The idea is,

you write down the alphabet,

one letter per line,

then you choose a scripture beginning with that letter and work

through the scripture alphabet.

Here is my list of scriptures,

next the children get involved:

We wrote down the letter and then the verse,

This is Ellie's man,

" He is blind, but he's still happy mamma!"

Jessie chose to write hers in the form of a list,

This is Ellie's picture (below) of God,

his promise to be with us always.

I noted his long legs.

"Ellie I love his long legs!"

"Yes, thats because he is like a big giant"

"That is kind of true, He is a big God,

it reminds me of that song, My God is so big..."

(They start to join in)

"So strong and so mighty, there's nothing that He can not do!"

Ellie, " Ac-tully there is something He cant do...Fly a kite!"

Summer holls!

2010-08-03T14:27:00.001+01:00

Summer holidays are well and truly under way,

This week Jessie is at our Church holiday club,

Its a great event,

each morning,

children from church,

Un-churched kids from the area,

meeting to learn about God and who he is,

in a fun way!

Each summer, we set to making a

Summer board

where the girls tell me things that they want to

do over the holidays,

we find pictures and make a list,

so when we start each day,

we have a choice of activities.

Here we are making the

summer board.

One of the things on their list was to visit the local park

with pool.

We went with lots of Mums and their children,

had a picnic,

had an ice cream,

cup of tea,

and time in the park too.

Ellie and Jessie are so very excited about

having a baby brother or sister,

Ellie has told me she needs to,

'Practice hard to be a great Big Sister!'

Here she is ...

practicing!

Finally....

Summer holidays are not always a walk in the park,

I often find that,

having the girls together all day and every day,

tensions can rise and so can their voices!

I found this lovely idea on a creative blog,

We have used it a lot!

Purpose:

Learn scripture,

relevant to what you are learning at the time.

Don't shout at each other!

A soft answer turns away anger!

Each 'soft' answer is rewarded with a soft

feather in the jar...

when the jar is full,

we all get a nice treat.

Its a work in progress.....

Catching up....

2010-07-27T12:44:00.000+01:00

Hi Everyone,

its been a while and I have been busy with end of term and being pregnant.

So just going to devote a few posts to catching up.

Ok,

So, first up, Our little Ellie-Faith turned 4 years in July:

Here she is with Big sister Jessie.

She had a lovely party,

with a few friends.

Then it was nearing the end of both their school years.

Jessie will be moving up a school,

Ellie up a year.

It is a lovely small village school that they have attended and so loved and

looked after,

we made the teachers Thank-you gifts.

We took plain wooden hearts, painted them white.

Added simple gingham ribbon,

Add the word Thank-you to all of the hearts.

Then we stuck on cute polka dot wooden shapes to finish the look.

Then we put these 'hand made by' stickers on the backs of the hearts,

with Ellies name.

We also gave each teacher a rose with wrapping paper and matching ribbon

and a home made cookie.

A hand written thank-you card was made by both Jessie and Ellie,

to say how much they have loved these years in school.

It was a pretty emotional week for me,

more so because hormones were raging,

but it was the end of a lovely era.

Ellie will be starting big school in September

and Jessie onto her Junior school,

We had a talent show, end of term assembly where Jessie performed a ballet

routine by herself to the whole school and parents,

I was so proud of her.

She said she was shaking with nerves but everyone said she

looked cool as a cucumber!

They were each given a book mark from the school,

to remind them of their years at the school.

On the last day,

all the friends sat and had photos taken outside their class

before we left.

All these close friends will be going onto the next school,

so they are happily staying together.

They are all very excited for the new school and

had lots to talk about!

I however got very sentimental at the realization of my big girl,

and found comfort in the simple things.

Writing for charity.

2010-07-03T09:55:00.000+01:00

The book From the heart,

is on sale and Its up to us,

and those who contributed to

spread the word!

If you want to help us in this,

there are buttons you can add to your page,

to show your support.

(Like so)

All the money raised by selling these books will

benefit Children's Hospital and the St. Jude's Research Foundation.

To grab these buttons,

or to find out more,

please go to:

http://writeforcharity.wordpress.com/the-authors/buttons-and-more/

Thanks for the help!