The Impossible is Possible...

The other night my husband and I were driving home from Brisbane quite late and I was thinking about the fact that since I had written my most recent blog and had been feeling quite good about life, that there was a sudden turn around and I felt like I had been in a real battle.... isn't it always the case that when you feel like you are getting on top of things and God has been speaking to you that something else just happens to come up and you feel like you have taken about 100 steps backwards... even further back than where you started!! 

Anyway... as we were driving along I happened to look up at the sky and saw an almost full moon shining down through a scattering of cloud.  I then had this stupidest thought (stupidest...is that even a word!!?)...

I was thinking that what if there was life on the moon...

it is so far away and so big that someone (or something) up there wouldn't even look like a pin prick from way down here on earth. 

Then I thought... Imagine if you had the earth in your hand...

how powerful would you feel?? 

With all that life you would be holding and just one little squeeze and it would be gone!  

You would kind of feel like some sort of super hero...

maybe even Wonder Woman... but then again...

what about God?? 

God holds then entire universe in His hand...

not just our tiny little earth but all of creation in its entirety!! 

Whoah... hang on a minute... let me just wrap my mind around that thought!! 

If God, our all powerful, loving, caring, God is holding the entire universe in His hand then He must be pretty big huh?? 

Yep... massive, huge, incomparible...

our mind just cannot comprehend the bigness of our God.  

If it could then we would never worry or care about anything because we would

KNOW without a shadow of doubt that GOD is in control. 

He is in control of every single situation in our lives and we really have no need to worry at all.  We can just hand it all over to Him and let Him take care of it...

every single situation...

not just the small ones but also the ones that seem insurmountable to us...

those ones that seem completely impossible.

If only we could keep our minds out of the way... how much easier would it be to believe the IMPOSSIBLE! God wants us to overcome in every area of our lives, we just have to trust in Him.  So, next time I start to stumble and worry and stress... I'm going to picture God holding the entire universe in His hand...

our GREAT, AWESOME, AMAZING, HUGE, ALL POWERFUL, LOVING, CARING,

GIVING, INCREDIBLE (there are no words!)

GOD who wants to bless us and help us all to get where He wants us to be...

overcoming, blessed, abundant,

faith-filled God warriors!!

Don't give up...

In my kitchen...

So, I got home yesterday afternoon after a big day out with my little boy... we had been to Girls Church in the morning and then straight to Gymbaroo for some playtime fun for Jad...

I went to the pantry for something to eat because all I had eaten all day was a piece of chocolate cake and an apple (not good... I know!) and I discovered an opened packet of

 lovely, fresh, green rocket and thought

'What THE??!!!'

it is definately not something one expects to find sitting next to the Glad Wrap!

I'm guessing that in my seemingly perpetual state of absentminded tiredness, I must have put it in there instead of the refrigerator as I was cleaning up the night before!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks and we are entitled to make a few little mistakes aren't we??  I did need to have a bit of a laugh... that was one way to achieve that I suppose.

Anyway... along with the tiredness, I have been a little bit emotional and this week feeling quite not myself and I was thinking as I was running out the door to Girls Church that I feel like I have lost myself... all my independence and confidence seems to have dissapated into thin air... this faith journey we are on at the moment was again starting to take it's toll and I again felt like giving up.  I was saying to my husband only the day before that it's not meant to be like this... this is not what our life is about... going back to the same old, same old... back into the rat race... I want to make a difference in this world!!

Well...God must have been listening because a very lovely lady at Girls Church said that she felt someone was feeling 'fragmented' and 'crumbly'... I quietly said to God in my mind that if no one else responds to that then it must be me... and of course no one else responded... so I did. 

Isn't it just so amazing that when we are feeling at the end of ourselves, God steps in and picks us up and points us back in the right direction... the way that He wants us to go.

Then this morning... still feeling my perpetual tired self... He spoke to me again...

Hebrews 10:35-39

'So don't throw it all away now.  You were sure of yourselves then.

It's still a sure thing! 

But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there

for the promised completion. 

It won't be long now, He's on the way; He'll show up most any minute.

But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust;  

if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy.

But we're not quitters who lose out. 

Oh, no!  We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.'

I'm guessing that means 'don't give up' :)

The Cake...and I ate it...

Well, here it is... Not exactly as I had imagined it but it is a decorated chocolate mud cake

and it was definately edible!! It only took two hours to make the actual cakes,

a few hours to cool them completely and another two hours of decorating...

What a way to spend the day!!

There is definately an art to doing all this fancy stuff but I managed to fumble my way along with the help of my wonderful husband who stepped in when I was almost feeling like giving up and of course the Internet, a whole world of information...

I was very grateful for that assistance to say the least!

The entire event turned out to be a success and we all had a lovely afternoon

celebrating my son's dedication.

The next event on my agenda to tackle will be his first birthday...

So can't believe that a year has gone by so quickly...

Next thing I know and he will be off to school!

You think that's a storm...

So... you know those storms we've had over the last few days...

that's nothing compared to this...

Psalm 29

Bravo, God, bravo!  Gods and the all angels shout, "Encore!"

In awe before the glory, in awe before God's visble power. 

Stand at attention!  Dress your best to honour Him.

God thunders across the waters, Brilliant, His voice and His face,

streaming brightness-God, across the flood waters.

God's thunder tympanic, God's thunder symphonic.

God's thunder smashes cedars, God topples the nothern cedars.

The mountin ranges skip like spring colts, the high ridges jump like wild kid goats.

God's thunder spits fire.

God thunders, the wilderness quakes; He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.

God's thunder sets the oak trees dancing a wild dance, whirling;

the pelting rain strips their branches. 

We fall to our knees - we call out, "Glory!"

Above the floodwaters is God's throne from which His power flows,

from which He rules the world.

God makes His people strong.

God give His people peace.

Just saying...

'Wet Your Pants' in Style...

Years and years ago when I was about 20 years old (gosh that is a long time ago!)... I went to a weekend leadership seminar with a few other leaders from our youth group.  The one and only thing that I remember from that weekend was something one particular speaker talked about and that was to do something new and challenging every now and again... something so challenging that it scares you... something that would make you 'wet your pants'.

Now, I have to admit that it has been quite a while since I  have actually done something that scary, or wet my pants for that matter!!  Although... the last time that comes to mind is giving birth... and that literally can and did make me 'wet my pants'... lol!!  Maybe that doesn't really count...

Anyway... moving on...

I have been inspired to try something new.  I met a very talented young woman a few months before I moved away from Coffs Harbour and I have recently seen her post some gorgeous photos of her beautiful decorated cake creations... a hobby which she has apparently only recently discovered... but she is doing an amazing job of it!

So... with a very special event coming up in the next couple of weeks I thought I might give it a bit of a go.  Sure, I know how to bake... however... the decorating side is going to be a completely different story.  Not exactly 'pants wetting' stuff but hey... putting together a gorgeous cake (hopefully), catering and organising my event plus looking after an almost 10 month old is going to be a bit of a challenge to say the least!

I hoped online last night hoping to find everything that I may need without having to go out and about shopping around... and oh my gosh... is there some stuff out there!  I managed to piece it all together and work out exactly what I'm going to do and need to get and $150 later... I think I'm set.  I can't wait for all my little bits to arrive... I love parcels, even when I know what's inside!!

So... stay tuned... and here's hoping that ther will be a plethera of photos in a few weeks...

Oh and get out there and do something new...

'Wet your Pants' in style!!

If only...

This morning I was sitting on the floor enjoying playing with my gorgeous little bubba and then I watched him as he rolled and rolled around the floor on the carpet until he glimpsed my cat's paw temptingly dangling over the edge of the lounge chair.  He suddenly stopped rolling and stayed on his tummy, straining his head up as high as he could to try and look up and see the cat.  I could just imagine what he might have been thinking as he kept on looking and stretching up on his hands as much as possible... 'if only I could get up there'... 'if only I could reach up that high'

Right at this point in my life, I know that is what I have been thinking and I'm sure you know what I am talking about.  We all know what we would like for our lives... we all have many dreams and desires that seem 'just' out of reach and we think 'if only I could get there'... 'if only I could have that'...

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having those dreams but just like my bubba who obviously has a few stages of development to go through before he can climb up onto that lounge chair to harrass the cat, perhaps God needs to develop and grow us before we can achieve some of our goals and desires.

Perhaps because if we had a million dollars right now we would squander it becuase we haven't yet learnt how to be completely diligent with the thousands that we already have... or if God allowed us to have that position of authority too early we might become a bit proud because we haven't quite grasped that humble attitude He is looking for.

Whatever our dream is and whatever God is doing in our lives takes time... time to build character, time to bring change, time to make us stronger.

I know without a shadow of doubt that one day my boy will be chasing the cat around the entire house but for now he has to just enjoy watching as he goes through a few more growth spurts and as the saying goes... "We need to learn to walk before we can run!"

"There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears"
Philippians 1:6

Need a vacation...

The last few months I have been on a bit of a journey... unfortunately it hasn't always been much of a pleasurable experience... one of those journeys that at times you wish you hadn't embarked on... not at all like a lovely relaxing holiday but sometimes we just don't have much of a choice either!

It has definately had a lot of ups and downs and looking back over those few months... even though it was extremely tough at times and in some areas it still is... I must say that I am thankful to have survived this far!

It started out as one of the most joyous moments of my life... up there on that mountain top... I had just had our first baby after trying for over five years.  However, after a few months I began to feel not quite myself and had to come to the conclusion that post natal anxiety truly was a real thing in my life.  I never would have expected that after such a long time waiting to have a baby that I would be one who would experience this... but I was.  It was certainly a time of testing in mnay areas of my life.  I loved my little boy with all of my heart... there is no other love quite like it... and I didn't understand why God would allow this to happen to me.  All I really wanted was to be able to enjoy my boy... be happy... and not stress so much... surely that wasn't too much to ask!

Apart from the anxiety, my faith was also being tested in other areas as well and to this day it still is in some ways.

I was reading something yesterday which I wished I had read about four or five months ago...

"Even though I walk through the valley..."

It does say 'walk through' doesn't it??  That must mean that this isn't the end of my journey... it's not my final destination... I must keep on walking and not camp out in the valley.  There have definately been itmes when it might have been very tempting to find a nice relaxing resort and just hang out there for the rest of my life, give up and forget about everything... except my little boy of course... but God wants me and you to keep on going cause while we are 'walking through' our valley, He is doing an amazing work in our lives.  It may seem like it will never end but it will... when God is finished with us... finished doing the refining that we need to go to the next level.

I don't know about you but I want to get to the end of my valley and not have to go through it again because I tried to take the easy way.  So, I'm just going to hang onto God as tight as I can and trust inHim until I reach that next mountain top.  I also think that perhaps the resorts up there might be a whole lot better anyway!!

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"
Romans 8:28