A good book

After a busy day with my family... tonight I agree with Robert Browning...

'I am grown peaceful as old age tonight.  I regret little, I would change still less'...

because this evening I find myself alone, with a mug of tea and my book 'In the company of others', which is like a peaceful put-your-feet-up kind of a date with a friend. I began it recently after saving it on my bookshelf for winter. Lovely.

A tree lesson

I love the character of deciduous trees at this time of year.  The seasonal cleansing that they have.  A reminder that it's necessary to clean out, assess, reflect before the growth and focus of a new season. They are so beautiful, willing you to pause!

Vegetable Stir-fry

3 spring onions, chopped
3 leeks, julienned
3 carrots, julienned
1 pkt courgettes (+-300 - 400g), julienned
+-2 heaped cups of finely sliced cabbage
+-2 heaped cups of chopped spinach
l large red pepper, julienned
1/2 a large green pepper, julienned
1 cm root ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil and add all the vegetables to a wok or large frying pan, with the garlic and ginger.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes. 

Then add the following to the pan
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Cook for a further 4-5 minutes making sure the vegetables still slightly crisp.  Stir in 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  Serve with about 250g cooked Chinese egg noodles.

We are not alone

I love how the Lord wakes us morning by morning and reassures us that we are not alone.  That He is with us and that others get us! I woke up this morning with the words streaming through me of the old hymn  'How Great thou art'- there was a beautiful choir in my head.

And last week on 21st of June, I had a similar experience with the hymn 'Amazing Grace'...
"When we've been there 10 000 years, bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we'd first begun... Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound"

The funny thing is that I haven't thought on these hymns for many moons and then on the same day that  I mediate on this hymn and how full of praise and grace the old hymns are... my sister tweets https://twitter.com/#!/ManuelaDeFaria1 about the old hymns! On the same morning!  A small but significant connection. How cool.  God is all the while joining the dots in our life.  All things are significant and safe with Him.

This week

was a week of celebrations!

It was our church's 4th birthday! Hillsong CT



and it was my our girl's birthday! Cousins and Brownies - awesome. 

Golden eggs

I thought it strange that our hen hadn't been laying and then by accident I found her stash... it felt like I had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

A decade big

'Today is fun but tomorrow is going to be fun-er!' she said yesterday.  My girl is 10 years old.  Bittersweet -  it has been a wonderful journey but it has gone far too quickly! She was beside herself to be two digits old.

 

Happy Birthday Princess!

Snood?

'May I please have the tan scarf?' I asked the sales assistant as they were hanging behind her, at the till.  'Its a snood' she smiled politely, trying to educate me on current fashion matters.  'Yes, the snood.' I laughed, not bothering to tell her that a snood use to be a hair piece back in the day. 

Weekends are for

Celebrating our Hero... an awesome dad and the fun person in our group, always 'in' for the jobs I'm 'out' like fast games and faster rides, and the cable car that goes up up up in the sky! Happy Fathers Day.

Stealing a day

We decided to 'steal' a day yesterday... no appointments, no schedule, no cleaning (well, we made beds and washed a few dishes, nothing major) - just a day of leisure, what made it feel luxurious was that it was in the week!!  You need to stop running and just be still every now and then.

Wayne took me for a lengthy breakfast overlooking this pretty picture, in the Autumn sunshine.



The necessary first cappuccino of the day! Beautiful.

as I have done

He had just finished.  The bath water was still hot.  I was too tired... it was pajamas and bed.  I climbed into bed with sore, achy feet.  "Come, let me wash your feet, rub the ache away."  Why do we always resist.  "No" I said, knowing he was more tired that I and feeling immediately like Simon Peter... 'Lord, are You going to wash my feet?'

He asked again.  I went.  Why do I resist? If you are a doer this part is not always easy, letting others also do - but necessary.  Hot water and a good rub... wonderful!

'I have set you an example that you should do as I have done'
'Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them'
~ John 13

Readin' rots the mind

We misplaced the book for a while and then Rebecca tucked into the Malory Towers series, (had to wait for her to go through the whole series twice) so we only just finished Rabbit Hill...



Rabbit Hill -
Tim disagrees with the new Folks - he wants them to set traps for the little animals (rabbits, beavers, birds, foxes, mice) as he fears they will eat up all their plantings... but the new lady of the house says...
"You couldn't.  They're beautiful, so beautiful.  And they must be hungry too."
"You're right ma'am, I sez "They're hungry all right, as you'll learn to your sorrow," I sez, "when them vegetables come up."
So Tim tells his friend Louie about this... 

Tim shook his head sadly.  "Seems a shame, nice folks too, pleasant-spoken and all - but queer.  Nuts, some might say.  Comes of readin' books too much, I guess.  Grandpa had the right of it. 'Readin' rots the mind,' he used to say"

In the plain

"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." Christ's teaching was not that there is something in us to fit us for the kingdom, and that a certain number of years may make us capable of receiving grace.  His teaching all went the other ways - namely, that we are to be nothing, and that the less we are and the weaker we are, the better; for the less we have of self the more room there is for His divine grace.
Do you think to reach Jesus up the steep hill of experience! Come down, dear climber; He stands in the plain.

~ Come Ye Children by C H Spurgeon

Atmosphere

She was not in the frame of mind to continue her practice, so I made up a tea tray and we took a breather.

After that she played for double the amount of time she usually sets aside for practice.

"Education is an atmosphere"  ~ Charlotte Mason

Happy Birthday

It's my sister's birthday today!!! That's her on the right, (with my cousin) - lovely ladies.

Manuela is faithful, protective, sensitive, funny and buckets more.  She is also the talker in the family - and she wakes up with a spring in her step.  Early morning car trips with her are astonishing...  she throws information and questions at you, I just can't bat that many balls first thing!  What do you do... laugh or cry! She is beyond special!  I love her!

Garden happiness

Yesterday morning was spent ambling around the local nursery and then we found a quiet corner for a chat over a pot of tea. 

There wasn't much in my trolley, just a few things to give my patio pots a little colour through the winter.

Fruit that will last

Rebecca and I were talking about exam marks yesterday and I reminded her that even if she got all "A's" but had a poor, deprived character... that would mean that I had focused on the wrong thing.  I want her to work hard but more importantly she must know who she is outside of a mark.



There is fruit that remains and fruit that rots... everyday I need to remind her to keep her eyes fixed on the right vision and her heart feeding on the richness of the Word.