Friday 25 September 2015

A thankfulness post

So I forgot to write a Thankful Thursday post yesterday…  But I really do want to get back into the habit of blogging so that you far-away-friends still get news about what I’m up to.  So I’m writing it anyway, a day late. 

Unexpected flowers
But they weren’t from J!  On Saturday we went to a friend’s birthday party.  She had planned to have a picnic outside on our community lawn but it had rained a lot in the days previous so she decided to reduce the number (family celebrations could happen another time) and move it indoors.  So we had a picnic inside her house!  She had decorated the living room with lots of bunches of flowers and told us all that we could take some home with us (she had so many that she let me take two bunches!).  I love how flowers easily brighten up a room, so it has been lovely to have some in our house.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of mine before some of them died so here’s a similar picture.

Picture from http://greeneflorist.com/blog/sweet-peas-a-fragrant-surprise-155/

Sharing friends’ joy
We have some friends who are struggling with life at the moment.  I’m not going to go into any details because that’s their business.  Recently they have experienced a blessing from God, an opened door to ease some of their struggles.  It has been wonderful to see their joy knowing the contrast with their sadness.  I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for someone else before and it’s such a wonderful thing to be able to share their joy.

Easy love
J has had (and continues to have) a very busy week this week.  I’ve ended up doing the dishes by myself a couple of times.  But he loves it, and it’s such an easy way to love him!  J hates a messy kitchen, it really stresses him out and he’s so thankful when he comes home to see the kitchen clean.  So I’m thankful that he is easy to love in this way, and that I enjoy doing it for him.

What are you thankful for this week? 

Thursday 17 September 2015

Thankful Thursday

I’ve been sitting at home this afternoon waiting for it to rain.  The weather forecast predicted a lot of rain today but I’m yet to see any of it!  I’m glad that I made it home while it was still dry.  Here are some things I’m thankful for this week. 

It’s my birthday!
It’s my birthday today!  I have to admit that I often feel a bit strange on my birthday.  More people talk to you than normal, saying ‘happy birthday’ and doing nice things.  I’m not used to the extra attention and I’m not really sure how to react to it.  But I have enjoyed the love that friends and family have shown me.  I’m thankful for these people. 

Quick crafts
On Monday I started a crochet project and I finished it today.  It was for a sock bun, I found the pattern here.  It was basically a large square that I rolled up and sewed together.  I haven’t tried it out yet but I’m looking forward to it.  I’m not sure how curly hair goes in a sock bun but I figured this would be a cheap way of trying it!  I’ll let you know how it goes. 

Rebuke and encouragement
There have been a number of instances in the past two weeks when I have felt rebuked about my Bible reading and prayer habits, but particularly prayer.  A lecture two weeks ago, a small group that I led and a chapel sermon.  I’ve been encouraged to get back into the habit, and though it has been slow, I have been more regular than before.  I’m thankful for these painful reminders and the motivation they produced in me.

I’ve got to stop there are get ready to go out for my birthday dinner!

Monday 14 September 2015

A Garden Holiday

I’m a little ashamed of how long I’ve been away from blogging.  Even my Thankful Thursday series has not been achieving it’s purpose in getting me to post regularly.  To those who wait for news from me via this blog, I am sorry that I have neglected this.  It has been a busy semester of college and I have either felt too busy to write (or think about what to write), or I haven’t know what to write about.  I know there have been things to write about but I haven’t always known how to write about them.  But we’ve just come off a week of mid-semester holidays and we did something worth writing about so here I am again!

Last week, Monday to Wednesday we went away to the Hunter Valley to get away and spend some more time together.  The Hunter Valley, for those who don’t know, is a famous wine region.  And what’s wine without some fancy food?  So there’s also some fancy cheese factories and other things as well.  I’m not really into wine or fancy cheese (give me cheddar or edam any day) but J and I still found some things to do. 

My favourite was our visit to the Hunter Valley Gardens.  Because it cost us to get in we made a day of it.  The step counter on my phone said I’d done over 15,000 steps by the end of the day! 

The Garden is set up as a number of different gardens together in one park (for example, a rose garden, an oriental garden, a formal garden, and so on).  It was a wonderful time to walk around with J and marvel and God’s creation.  So many colours and varieties and ways of shaping them together.  Here are some photos from our time there. 

I got J to imitate this bush!  We marvelled at how well many of the hedges and bushes were shaped and trimmed.  These were some of my favourites:

There was a storybook garden with lots of figures and stories from nurseries rhymes and other places.  I imagine it was a good garden for children who were bored with the rest of the Garden but I found other places much more interesting.  My favourite part was those funny bushes (above).

We also had fun at the Hunter Valley Garden village, which had lots of cute shops and things to try.  J did some wine tasting and we both had some milk and a cookie from the homemade cookie shop.  One afternoon we bought some cheese and had a little picnic of cheese and crackers and fancy spiced pear paste. 

It was a lovely time away together that I think we both needed.  Now we’re back at college and back into the swing of assignments and lectures.  Please pray for us, that we would still find time together, as we enter this busy time.