Oh, What a Night!

Springfield Community Christmas Carols

Oh, what a night.  We had a blast Santa and I and Maurie our Elf.  The weather was not as cold as in the North Pole, but it cooled off just enough with a lovely breeze blowing.

It was so lovely to see the children tonight and they were all so well-behaved.  We had a fun time singing with Paris Morgan Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Pastors John and Deb were awesome hosts and well done to Josh Morrison's Band accompanying the songs.




Video footage of us leaving the Carols.


And then the night finished with an awesome display of fireworks.



Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas but let us know forget the real reason for the season; and that is to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus who was born in a manger in Bethlehem, the Saviour of the World.

My Creative Side

A long weekend! Ah! After a couple of busy but good days on Saturday and Sunday, Peter and I enjoyed a much deserved sleep in this morning followed by a quick catch-up call with Mom via Skype and then a lovely late brunch.  Delicious, even if I do say so myself.  Loved my Potato 
Rosti's.

My afternoon project was to finish a slide show which I had started last week.  The idea was formed one day last week when I was doing my morning cycle on my exercise bike and was listening to a song to give me inspiration.  "God I Love You" from the album "Your Name" from Garden City Church pre-Hillsong.  What a beautiful song!  I have missed singing it!  So, I have created a slide show using my photography hoping that it will also encourage and inspire others that listen to it.

Credit should go to Sharee Nield and Sloane Simpson for the beautiful melody and wonderful lyrics!



Enjoy, Be Blessed and Shalom (Peace!).

Resilience

The last couple of weeks have been a bit hard and I find myself in a bit of a slump, wondering where my resilience has gone.

I appreciate what Joyce Meyer says, that my problem is probably not really my problem, but my attitude towards my problem.  So, what is my problem?  I usually find some satisfaction from my job, but lately, it has been hard for different reasons.  

What would I like to develop - what is my dream career?  My singing, my writing or my photography or perhaps a bit of everything?

I can relate with the comment I posted on my facebook wall recently that Susan Boyle wrote in her prologue of her book the night of her audition on XFactor, "I could hear a few titters in the audience. I was aware that I was being laughed at, but I’ve been ridiculed a lot in my life so I’ve learned how to be resilient. Instead of being hurt and saying, right, I’m coming off, I thought I’d show them what I could do." because I struggled as a little kid with being teased and made fun of.  I never fit the mould.  But then, what is the mould?

So, to protect myself, I created a vacuum where I stayed and built up walls around me so that others could not get in and hurt me.  But that was not a healthy existence either.

I am so thankful for my faith in God because I know that He sustains me in the midst of tough times.  And really, I am not going through 'tough times' per se, just a rough patch I guess and I know that this, too, shall pass; besides, there are so many others that have it a lot tougher.

I know that some of what I have been feeling is related to homesickness.  Yeah, sometimes it comes in small waves and I can usually get through it without any major drama, but with a friend from work having lost her Dad recently rather suddenly, it reminds me how much I love and miss my family.  It is a hard pill to swallow sometimes because I know that I made my bed here in Australia which I love because Peter is the man God chose for me, I have no doubt of that.  In fact, just this morning, I was reminded of something a friend told me, "Guys see you and they head for the hills because you are a bit needy." lol  Yeah, I guess I am, but we all are in some ways.  And God knew that Peter was up for the challenge!

We are all broken pots as Joyce Meyer reminds us in her teachings; but it is when our pots are broken, that the light from within can shine through the cracks.  If the pot was solid, nothing would shine through.

I also read something this week that reminded me that feeling a bit down sometimes is not a bad thing; it allows us sometimes to put things into perspective, but yeah, I fall into that trap where I feel I am not supposed to have a bad day because I let people down and I do not measure up to others.  Oh dear, there I go again.  I do not need to measure up to anyone else, but be the unique individual God created me to be.  I am so thankful for my friends and family and husband that love all of me - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Resilience....hhhmmm....  I believe that I am more resilient than I give myself credit for; afterall, I shifted my whole life almost 10 years ago to pretty much start a new life for myself with a new husband and a new step-daughter.  I forget that sometimes and just need to remind myself that it is okay to have a rough patch every once in a while.  I desire to be that up beat, perky person that always has something incredibly positive and motivational to post on facebook, but alas, I am human...lol

I often wished growing up that I had been born in the "Little House On The Prairie" days because life would have been so much simpler I think.  Ah, but it would not have been without its challenges either.  God knew the generation that He would bring into the world and for that I am thankful.  A perfect example is my ability to type out my thoughts down on the page as quickly as my typing will allow me - at a speed of approximately 64 words per minute - faster than my pen will go, that's for sure and much neater - my penmanship is shocking!  God Bless You Papa, but I really reckon that I should have been a lefty!

Life is an interesting journey and I am thankful for all the turns in the roads that mine has taken and flights through the sky.  I am thankful for the present because each day is a gift and we should endeavour to live it to its fullest.  Only God knows when our number will be up.

Music is an awesome tool that God uses to encourage us and I love how songs that I have sung and heard through the years still reasonates with me.  In fact, Salvation Army Music was and remains my foundation and I was reminded of the Man Mark II Musical which was premiered at the Second International Youth Congress, Macomb, Illinois, USA, Sunday, 21 July 1985 and the song "The New Humanity" often plays in my mind, reminding me that I am God's representative and as the lyrics remind me, I want to show others God's love and mercy.  I need to give myself some, too; particularly when I am going through the rough patch.

As God's picked representatives of the new humanity,

Purified and beloved of Him,

As God's picked representatives of the new humanity,

Purified and beloved of Him.

Be merciful in action, Be kindly in heart,

Be humble in mind

And above everything else

Be loving, be truly loving.

As God's picked representatives of the new humanity,

Purified and be lived of Him.

Happy Father's Day in Australia - 2 Sept 2012

One of my friends on facebook posted a great comment on his wall today, "To all the men who may not technically be a dad, but who are an active father figure to a child - this is your day too." (Robby Stuart)  So true.

We were reflecting this week at work about the various Father's Day Art Work and Crafts that we have made for our Dad's through the years and Hand-Made Cards, too.  Precious memories.  I know that I have seen some of the gorgeous notes and pictures that Peter has received over the years, too.  No price tag can be placed on these items as they are priceless, like our memories.

Today Peter and I remember both our Dads.  Peter's Dad was taken from him too early - similar to how it was for my Dad.  While I do not know exactly how old my Dad was when Papa passed away, I know that I was seven (7) years old and unfortunately, I do not remember Papa.  I never got to meet Mom's Dad Clarence as he passed away well and truly before his time, too.

Similar to Papa (Art, Brenda's Grandpa on Dad's side), Clarence (Brenda's Grandpa on Mom's side), Eric (Peter's Dad) and John (My Dad), all four men were great men to whom we remember and honour today.  We love you and miss you.

I met a man yesterday who knew Peter's Dad Eric and spoke of the wonderful business man that he was and how he faithfully served in the church.  I would have loved to have met him.  Peter was a very young man when his Dad went to be with the Lord and Chasely never had the opportunity to meet her Grandfather neither.

We reckon that there is a huge Father's BBQ being held in Heaven today for them and all of the other Dads and Dad figures that have been Mentors through the ages.  Whilst we very much miss their being with us here today, we are thankful for the promise of being reunited with them one day.

Left to right - Eric Grimes (top and bottom), Chasely and Peter, and Papa and John (top) and John (bottom).

I must find a picture of Grandpa Clarence Culp.  I know who to contact - Aunt Barb!

Happy Australian Father's Day to Men all over the world.  God needs you!

A Bittersweet Anniversary - Dad

Today's anniversary is a bittersweet one.  It seems so hard to believe that it was one year ago that Dad went home to be with His Lord.  This year has been a whirlwind one to say the least.

Dad, there is hardly a day that goes by that I do not mention your name, remember something about you, look at something that reminds me of you.  Just yesterday for example, I was approaching an intersection and there were two big rigs (18 wheelers, aka Semi-Trailers) - one was stopped and one was coming across the bridge and I stopped several meters before the stop sign to allow the rigs lots of room to drive by and around.  The one guy gave me a big wave of thanks and I immediately thought, "Dad would be proud."

And on Sunday Mom was talking about how Dad could park our trailer in any site in the campground - the people would stand around and watch in awe of his manoeuvre skills.  An amazing Dad, my Father!  A man of many talents.

Love you Dad and miss you and in my heart forever!

Curiosity Killed the Cat

So, I am trying to get myself back into writing and blogging and I could not think of a topic.  Too many things I could write about really and could not think of any one thing and then the above expression popped into my head "Curiosity Killed the Cat" and I thought to myself, why not?


In the case of this evening, I am endeavouring to research the pluses and minuses of the Iphone vs an Android Phone and in the process, I was listening to a couple of great songs tonight and thought, hey, I really should buy these and put them on my "old" phone to motivate me when I am cycling on my exercise bike.


Oh, and the songs are Guy Sebastian's "Don't Worry Be Happy" and While I'm Waiting by John Waller from the awesome movie Fireproof  - check out the trailer here.


But I really was not sure how it would work - downloading the music I mean onto my 'old' phone.  Peter has ITunes so I bought one of the songs and managed to copy it to my notebook okay but it would seem that the sound file is not compatible with my Nokia phone.  Bummer.


This whole process is part of the bigger picture in helping me decide what 'new' phone I should get and I love how I posted a blog article on my facebook wall earlier this evening and it has attracted some interesting comments, even a suggestion about the Windows phone.


So, has my curiosity killed the cat?  Cannot say really, but I do know that my personality type according to colours by Bruce Sullivan is green - I am very analytically minded, so I need to do my research.  But alas, I reckon I need a diploma or degree in Information Technology to decipher it all...lol  And do not even get me started on working out what service provider!