Life, Love and the Everyday

I was one of those girls who wanted to find true love but did not know what it looked like.  Finally, when I least expected it and wasn't actively searching - God sent me a wonderful man who has made me happy every day for the past three years.  Before my own Happily Never Ending, through media and romance novels, I had a very distorted view on what true love was like. The guys in the movies, hottest television shows and books are always the typical cliche of wash-board abs with animalistic sex appeal. In reality, these Alpa-Men would drive us crazy and we would think they are sexist and over-the-top - but in books and movies, anyone can be compromising! Especially when the leading man is any of these: - Smoldering Hot - An Honorable Gentleman with Dishonorable Intentions   -Hearts, Flowers and Chocolate - Great in the sack  - Spoils the leading lady ridiculously even though she protests there is no need... - He never, ever farts... The do...

This past week I have been reminded that being a Christian does not give me immunity against unemployment, unpaid bills and $600.00 worth of debt. Although I have chosen to follow Christ, I am first and foremost a human-being with struggles like everyone else. I have been like the Israelites, while in Egypt desperate for rescue and after being rescued, being anxious about what the future holds and where I will settle.  Although I have been shown time and time again God's grace and love, I tend to forget that when in a state of frustration and anxiety.  Being living proof that there is a God is the daily devotional of every Christian. Having that responsibility brings a lot of joy, but it is not without grief as well. Ecclesiastes 1:12-13 "I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given the children of man to be busy with....

LIFE It is 12:55pm on Friday and I am already exhausted because I have been up since 5:30am, riding buses since 6:30am zig-zagging across the southern suburbs and Logan. I am going to be honest, today I am not my usual happy-go-lucky self. Infact, I am the opposite. This past week has been a big faith test that I feel like I have been failing miserably. I have had a snarky, evil voice in my mind telling me that I should re-think the Christian thing and tell me that God doesn't really care about me. I feel yuck. Like this poisonous, thick sludge has just crept into my body is dragging me down with my thoughts. So now that I have said that, I'm going to say something else. I'm not going to let this beat me. I'm going go to bed tonight, say thanks to God and wake up to the blessings that tomorrow will bring. LOVE A. is AMAZING, STRONG, BEAUTIFUL. Everything I have ever wanted but never thought I'd get. I can't picture my life without him in it. He...

  Proverbs 15:2 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.   Sometimes we don’t have to tell each other that a relationship is over, simply dropping ‘out of touch’,  or ‘unfriending’   on Facebook and other forms of social media say it all for us these days if we need a clean break. But what if this person is someone we love? In a world which is undignified and over-reacting is a confronting (and often hilarious) scene in a week-day sit-com or a movie. Is it still possible to ‘break up’ with dignity? What does dignity have to do with parting company? Whether it is a friend or a steady relationship, sometimes things happen, stuff is said which makes us want to make certain hand-gestures and say things in the heat of the moment. In those moments it is easy to forget the good times, how you both poured effort into building love and trust which unravels with a firm pull. Whether the tango was sabotaged or one partner stood...

LIFE: When I was a little girl I would try on my Mum's shoes and swipe her lipstick across my face in an attempt to be glamorous and grown up - I wanted to be just like her. Instead I looked like a slasher victim in a horror novel but that's to be expected of a four year old experimenting with lipstick! Today at the age of twenty-five, I realise that I need more than my feet in order to fill Mum's shoes. My Mum is a beautiful example of motherhood - she wanted to give us girls a loving home, she could be the nurturer and the discipliner. Whatever we threw at her, she would sometimes get frustrated and yell but she never ran out of grace for us and she always reminded us that we are loved. Despite having her own battles to fight, Mum could still help us fight ours. When I have kids, I know that I have a strong foundation for motherhood. I love you, Mum.  LOVE: I am really proud of A. He is not just a pretty face and an incredible human-being. He is also really...

LIFE: For the past few years, my New Years Resolutions have always been the same: 1. Study my Childcare Diploma 2. Graduate from Childcare Diploma 3. Get my driver's license 4. Lose weight. Those were going to be on the agenda for 2015 too - until I realised I was constantly worried about it all and becoming discouraged. Last year I worried about the money to achieve my driving and losing weight goals. I seemed to be having more luck with the weight loss back then so I decided that something had to give - so I chose the gym and am slowly losing weight and learning to make healthy food choices. (Sometimes the hard way!) Last year I worried about those goals and going all what I like to call 'Baby Crazy'. So this year I'm practicing hands off. No worrying about the future and focusing on the here and now. No worrying about studying until I get a steady job to pay tuition, no worrying about driving lessons either. My intentions for this year is to concentrat...

LIFE: Twenty-Five years is a pretty long time to be alive. It means that you have been alive long enough to mind your manners, learn responsibility, to fall in and out of love a couple of times before finding The One.  It is also enough time to have a few pieces of wisdom from the mistakes of youth and pass them on.  I suppose now is a good time as any. 1. Love With any kind of relationship. If you give a lot of yourself don't expect less in return. 2. Yo-Yo's and Candy Yo-Yo's are people who swing to and fro, unable to make up their mind about what they want and may unintentionally take you for granted. They taste sweet but leave a sour aftertaste in your mouth and leave you feeling like you have been on a rollercoaster. If possible, distance is a good idea. 3. Don't Mistake Lust for Love A common mistake. The intense feelings and needing that physical connection are the same; but where the similarities end is this pure fact: Love is sel...