Yesterday I spent time with some gorgeous girls.

It made me subscribe to the thought again, doing coffee is definitely a gift from God!  

And it can be doing church, but not on a Sunday in a particular building.

The five of us sat around the table tossing ideas and subjects into the arena with great ease.

Topics were often punctuated with a verse or 'God showed me....'.

All of us have own faith story.

We go to different churches.

Our season in life varies.

The wealth of God Stuff was amazing as we vied for an opportunity to share our gem, our acknowledgement of how God leads us in all the steps we take in the valley and on the high places.

We are all GOOD chatters and so there wasn't really a moment free of talking. 

We laughed with each other, had tears in our eyes over a story or two.

And we couldn't believe three hours had slipped past.

We felt uplifted, encouraged and spurred on as we parted with hugs and hopes of getting together again soon.

Yes, we had church on Saturday in a coffee shop - no singing, but five gorgeous girls sharing what the Lord had done.

I love God's blessing of friends - doing coffee and having church, but not on Sunday.

And God's light will find us

                                              and all we have done.

I love those words.

They are inspiring and thought provoking and comforting.

God's light will find us

When I was surfing thru Facebook this morning I found a YouTube link on a friend's status.  

It was a song my friend's sister had posted to cheer her up.

With nothing much else on my schedule for today I decided to take a look and listen.

It cheered me up!

God's light will find us

...no matter where we are

...no matter how far into the darkness we have gone

But the thought provoking part of these lyrics is

                                                            ... and all we have done.

When God's light finds us in the darkness it highlights what drew us there.

There is comfort in these lyrics because it reminds me

                                                           ... God's light repels the darkness.

And God's light will find us (you and me)

I feel cheered by those simple lines from a song.  What about you?  

Let me know what you think

....make friends with me on Facebook and look out for Dianne's Books page.

Winnie the Pooh days are long gone in our home.

And it was sad to say good bye to them - I loved those little animals!

It's Piglet  who I totally relate  to,  the way he blames everything on 'society' and how his little knees shake when his words stutter out.  But all the other characters have their appeal don't they?

Tigger, now what a character he is.   I love his zest for life and adventure, talk about a throw caution to the wind sort of guy!

And while, often, Tigger ended up disappointed or disillusioned, he always bounced back from there and quickly jumped into another adventure - hmm there are some life lessons for me!

Too often the Eeyore character rises up in me when I hit a snag in life.  

With my feet firmly planted on the start line, I refuse to move, just in case there is another fall ahead.  

Much safer to stay on the start line in life and lament the disappointments of days gone by.

Even Winnie himself has an appeal, he blunders thru life with a simple uncomplicated view on everything.  

As I over analyze my thoughts and actions I can drive myself (and those around me) crazy.  

Maybe I should consider taking a more uncomplicated view on things.

When I think of Rabbit, the picture that comes to my mind is of him with his pencil and list.

Rabbit is always right, always 'ticking boxes' and following the rules.  

Often his way of life leaves him unpopular and frustrated.  

Gee there is another character trait of mine that is challenged by the furry little friends from the Hundred Acre wood.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad God has made me the person I am, but the storybook characters from A.A. Milne remind me how God is refining me.

God is developing my good qualities and helping me to shed those traits that stop me from partaking in life with the enthusiasm of Tigger and the peacefulness of Winnie.

(Maybe Winnie the Pooh days aren't quite over at our place!)

There has to be a lesson somewhere in this...

It's Saturday, 43.8 degrees in the shade, our dog - Jess, is sitting in the laundry panting like crazy.

Being the great dog owner that I am, I feel sorry for the poor old girl.

I doused her with water then offered her one of those delightful, raw hide, chewy things that the package says is good for her AND  will clean her teeth.

And man, does she need some fresh breath? ....ABSOLUTELY!!

Feeling good with myself I retreat to the air conditioned house.

I was expecting Jess would be happily chomping on her raw hide chewy thing in the laundry -  but no.

Looking out the window I see our dog - Jess, wandering around the yard in the 43.8 degree heat, with the bone shaped chewy thing....

The determined look in her eye clearly showed she was LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO BURY her raw hide chewy bone!!!!  Argh!!!!!

There are other more important things to do - REALLY - but I decide to stand by the window and watch her.

First she tried to bury it underneath the tree with an odd bending, thin trunk, in the back corner of our yard.

But after settling the raw hide bone in the shallow hole she had dug, Jess decided it wasn't quite the appropriate spot she was looking for.

Three metres away is my Agapanthus garden....and yes, our dog - Jess, waded through the garden looking for the best position possible for her raw hide chewy thing.

Thankfully the Agapanthus have finished blooming or I would have been out there in the 43.8 degree heat moving her on!

Three holes she dug - our dog Jess, and not one of them apparently was just right....after about the fourth nose full of dirt shoveled on top of the chewy thing, she decides the hole has inferior qualities to it.

I wasn't keen on another hole being dug in my Agapanthus garden so I knocked on the window and sheepishly she grabbed the raw hide bone and slunk off to the laundry.

Victory!

Well maybe not, there is no way our dog - Jess, could have chomped through that raw hide chewy bone in a few minutes.  

(I just snuck out there for a minute, I was hoping the chewy thing was doing marvelous things for her teeth and breath)

But alas she has buried it somewhere else....away from my prying eyes....in case I find it?...to take it from her? 

Funny how we like to bury things too....away from those who might find out or take it from us.

The last week of life has sped by with an amazing pace.

Last Sunday we were struggling.

Josh was discouraged - every life door he tried to open would not budge.

We were discouraged - and I was crying out "Rescue us Lord!"

And then a door flew open none of us were expecting.

Now we are empty nesters and Josh is living at Cornerstone!  (Cornerstone is a Bible College in Canowindra)

God you are so amazing and awesome! 

I listened to a CD a couple of weeks ago of Joyce Meyers

(now I am not usually a fan of hers but decided to listen to this CD so I could give it back to the lady who lent it to me and truthfully say I listened to it)

- To my great surprise I was delighted God used Joyce to remind me to put on the whole Armour of God AND to praise God before getting out my shopping list of requests.

Somewhere in her talk she also mentioned reading a chapter from Proverbs each day had enormous benefits... so I decided to try it out.

Proverbs has a big theme of 'wisdom and understanding'....two things I don't think about much.

I'm more into...'get me out of this God'' sort of prayer rather than 'what are you trying to teach me Lord''.

To my great delight I have found 'wisdom and understanding' valuable tools in my weapons kit to fight against the evil one.

Josh will need a lot of prayer support as he is challenged with a VERY different life at Cornerstone and I will be praying for him to have wisdom and understanding to meet the challenges.

Challenges like:  

* being ready to leave for working on a farm at 6. 30 am each morning (instead of stumbling out of bed at lunchtime!!)

* class time studying God's word each afternoon

* getting on with those in his new community (and not being too homesick)

* cooking, washing etc etc

I'm also praying for wisdom and understanding of this new life as an empty nester!  

2011 has sure gotten off to a big start for us as Josh jumps into life!

What does 30 Wilberforce area Anglican Ladies + 1 Caringbah Baptist Lady @ Stanwell Tops equal?

Answer: a Wonderful group of companions sharing lots of laughs and the love of our Great God!

I arrived at Stanwell Tops on Friday night to be greeted by my dear friend Karen and my new dear friend Rosemary.

(It was clear to me within a few moments of meeting Rosemary she was going to be a Kindred Spirit)

We found a fabulous little gift bag on our beds when we arrived.

The bags were filled with treats, that the gals who put the weekend together had packed.

The most precious treat was the pair of 'slippers' Rosemary's mother had faithfully knitted for all of us.

 Nice don't you think........

The wide age range of the girls that gathered didn't matter for one minute over the weekend.

We managed to take a serious look at Hebrews, eat plenty of yummy food, go to the beach or a coffee shop, play crazy card games, wear our slippers and chat and talk and laugh and chat and laugh!

What great companions we were for the whole weekend!

Hebrews 10 v 19- 25 encourages us to be great companions.  

To spur one another on to love and good works, to exhort one another as the day of Jesus return draws near.

To exhort each other means to encourage, comfort, strengthen and to warn.

And the only way to be effective in being a great companion in this journey towards eternal life is to 'draw near' to God, our great High Priest.  

We can do this boldly because of Jesus sacrifice for us.

I want to spend my life being a good companion....what about you?

The Gift.

After tossing her handbag on the bed, Suzie sat down to take off her sandals.  They were killing her!  With the Hen’s night over all she had left to endure was the wedding.  How she was ever going to get through that in these stupid sandals was beyond her. She yanked on the strap again but it still wouldn’t release.  The argument of nobody being able to see their sandals under the long skirts had been lost on Leonie, everything had to match.

Leonie was driving her nuts.

On and on the negative thoughts stacked up in her mind about her sister’s wedding.  If she was to voice them she would immediately be accused of being jealous. 

And she wasn’t! 

Was she? 

The thought of marrying Brett, let alone someone like him, sent a shiver down her spine.  But a whisper of admission to wanting to be married nudged at her heart and mind. It didn't help Leonie was three years younger.  And  why did people feel it was their duty to remind her?  Did they think she couldn't work out  her younger sister was getting married first?  Finally the sandal strap released and she was able to wiggle some blood back into the toes that had been unhappily squashed together for the past few hours.

The wedding day arrived and it was glorious.  After what seemed like hours of assault by the hairdresser and the makeup artist they were finally ready for the photographer.  Leonie was a beautiful bride.  Her blonde hair was caught up on the top of her head by the tiara her mother and grandmother had worn.  The flowing veil, the crystal encrusted bodice and swirling Cinderella skirt completed the perfect picture.  Tears welled up in Suzie’s eyes.

“Don’t cry you’ll wreck our makeup,” Leonie caught Suzie’s weak moment.

“It’s your fault you look so beautiful,” Suzie thought her comment covered her feelings well.

Leonie pulled her into a hug, “You’ll get your turn,” she whispered.

Suzie swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to blink back the rest of the tears that were gathering.

“Pastor Andrew is sick in bed,” the older pastor announced after he smiled at the Bride and Groom before him, who already knew this news.

In an effort to tune out the pain Suzie entertained herself during the service with thoughts of this definitely being her last time as a bridesmaid.  She had heard enough wedding sermons to last a life time.  So she made a promise to herself that unless it was her wedding she would never be standing up the front of a church like this again.  The legal part of the ceremony was done and the pastor had started his talk. 

Cautiously she moved her head to see if she could see the clock.

“And I firmly believe,” the pastor said loudly, jolting Suzie from trying to find out how much long it might be till the ceremony was over, “That marriage is a gift from God.”

Not my gift.

“Today, my encouragement is to recognise all of life is a gift from God.  Leonie and Brett will spend the rest of their life sharing that gift.  And we pray God’s blessing will be on them to raise a godly family.  But Leonie and Brett you are going to have to guard that gift.  There may come a time when a situation will arise to snatch it away from you.  Make sure you glorify God for your marriage.  As you serve Him with your marriage He will bless you for it, and walk with you through the difficult times.  The journey of life does bring us all different paths to travel, as we also receive different gifts from the Lord.”  He leaned forward a little for emphasis to say, “Make sure you listen to this bit,” and then stood erect again. “The real secret is being thankful for your gift.  Wanting something that someone else has will leave you feeling empty and disappointed.”

Suzie was listening just as the pastor suggested, but she didn’t hear another word he said after the part about wanting someone else’s gift.  She was lost in her thoughts. 

Is that is Lord?She asked in her heart.  Is that why I feel so empty?  I’m not thankful for what you have given me.  I do want a different gift, she confessed.

The sudden movement and laughter from those around her brought her out of her revelation.  She would have run out of there in a heartbeat if she could have. 

The questions that rose up in her heart and mind made her want to run and hide.  And just be with God.  Shaking the well hair sprayed tendrils that were framing her face gave her the opportunity to blink back her tears.  She had felt the hardness of her heart crack.   Later she would she meet with God to look for her gift and thank Him for it.  For now she would celebrate with her sister that she had found her gift in life.  When the Pastor said Amen she quietly agreed, so be it.

The experience of publishing my first book was amazing! 

Publish-Me!'s Lucie was a fantastic help.  While I was on the journey Publish-Me! were running a competition.

All I had to do to enter was write in 50 words or less why my book was important to me.

This is what I submitted:

We all want to be loved and accepted.  The opportunity to share the story of finding my significance is no longer a dream but a reality through writing and publishing this book. I believe many will find a connection, inspiration and encouragement as they read about my journey.

I won!

The prizes were a Kindle eReader and my book being made into an eBook!  So good and so exciting!

Take a look at this link....

www.smashwords.com/books/view/23880

It's our friend Crystal's 21st birthday the day before my 50th...ah Spring..what a great time to celebrate one's birthday!

Josh went to her birthday party so I cranked up the sewing machine and made this cute little purse!  Just enough room for her keys, card and lippy!

Last Saturday night I went to Sutherland Pressie's Ladies coffee night.

What a lovely group of ladies.

We sat around chatting with deliciously hot tea and coffee served with marvelous mini muffins.

I was invited to share a little devotion.  

What a blessing to share my book writing journey, and also a reminder we need to lift our eyes toward heaven.  

Whether we are skipping through the green pastures of life or travelling though valleys of pain, keeping our eyes on Jesus is what we all need to do.

I was about 8 when I started knitting.

I remember well the scarves...everyone makes a scarf to start with don't they?

Then I moved into the big time.  I made a 'v' neck jumper.  It was a very ugly green, but it was wool Mum had in the cupboard and not being one to waste anything, my mother thought I would look very nice in an ugly green jumper!  

Between my grandmother and great grandmother crocheting was my next skill to learn at their knees.  Interestingly I apparently hold the crochet hook just like my great great grandmother...to the marvel of the 'girls' that were trying to teach me.

My Barbie dolls had numerous home made crocheted outfits.  My favourites being the bikinis I made for them.  My mother stayed up long into the night at my birthday and Christmas time to make outfits for my dolls too.  Left over fabric from her own outfits often but on the rare occasion Barbie was glamorous is a glittering number from where Mum had bought some leftover pieces of fabric from the store.

I also watched my Mum make toys.  Over the years I have knitted and crocheted many toys too.  My favourite being the cute little teddy bears on my home page.  It takes me just one and half hours to make one.  Since 1987 many babies across Australia and the world have had one of these little guys as a gift from me.

When my mum first asked me to do a talk at her seniors group...I really didn't think I qualified.

Firstly I didn't think I had anything to say and secondly...I AM TOO YOUNG!  

But then I realised September 14th is my 50th birthday and suddenly I qualify as a senior!

I grew up at Mum's church.  Being a regular attender of Sunday School, Youth Group, Church and a Netball team member, my Christian foundations were built solidly there. 

I had a sojourn at another church for a few years, where I developed many skills and then returned to be the primary aged Sunday School leader.  

Paul and I married there and became the Youth group leaders.  We are still in contact with some of those 'teenagers', which is a total blessing to see them going on in their faith.

So In October I'm off to Mum's church to chat with the Seniors!  (and by then I will have been one for a whole month!!)

I love my birthday!  I start counting down in June.  

As soon as June 14th arrives I ask everyone "Do you know what today is?"  And they never do know until I tell them..."three months till my birthday".

After seven years with the same boss he was kicking himself every year when he fell for it!  (We haven't worked together for three years but  his dear wife never misses sending me a card now!)

When I was a child my mother always decorated our birthday cakes with 'Smarties'.

And when she let us help...

I think more Smarties got eaten than landed on the cake!

The tradition has passed down through the ages and now another generation of children have had the joy of Nana's Smarties cakes.

Not sure I will keep it going for myself this year...I'm fifty and thinking I need something a little more dignified....really?

I guess not....but I'm only having a Smartie cake if I can help decorate it!

Sunday afternoons are the perfect time for a Nana nap.

Having been to church and enjoyed singing, the message and friendship resting in the afternoon is a perfect way to recharge  the batteries for the week ahead.