Thankfulness.

Is is terrible that we sometimes have to be reminded to be thankful?

We have so much to be thankful for, the list goes on and on.

And yet, more often than not, I find myself be ungrateful.

I throw a little pity party for myself.

Yup, just me.

 No one else is invited.

Last week the Lord spoke loud and clear through my Pastors sermon.

Right to me.

God is pretty awesome when it comes to speaking directly to us and telling us exactly what we need to hear.

He spoke about the bigger picture and not losing focus on God's will.

He reminded me that I need to give thanks in the midst of any difficulties we are going through.

Seriously, you have know idea how much my heart needed to hear that on that VERY day.

God is so good.

So I go skipping out of Church ready to face anything and everything that comes my way being sure that I will smile on those things with my thankful heart.

And then it hits me.

Homesickness.

I was back at my pity party, by myself, thinking about my sister and brother, and my mum and dad.

My heart ached for them.

A bit dramatic, yes.

But this girl loves her family.

I was watching the show Brothers and Sisters.

Ok, there is so much in that show that I hate.

Yes, hate.

But..all the family stuff gets me everytime.

I don't think there is one episode that I have watched and not got teary eyed at some point.

I mean, it was such a great idea anyway.

Missing my family so I watch a show all about a family?

Yup, I'm an idiot.

Then I suddenly realised I really shouldn't be upset because I'm missing my family.

I should be thankful for the wonderful relationship that I have with then.

My sister and brother are two of my greatest friends.

I should be praising the Lord.

There are some days that I can't think of anything but sitting with my mum watching a movie, cooking with her, baking with her, making her laugh, crying on her shoulder, crawling into bed with her in the mornings.

Again, shouldn't I be praising the Lord for this sweet relationship?

So it's time for me to turn this frown upside down.

(Yes, I just said that.)

So I now smile when I think of my family. I think of all the great memories I have with them and I thank my Lord for them.

I will leave you with a verse that we all know very well but often need the reminder.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!    Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.   Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.    And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7

Always, people.

Not sometimes but always.

I am going to work hard to make sure I do this everyday, over and over.

There is so much to be thankful for.

And so that I put a picture in this post I will leave you with my new hairdo.

...and a silly face!



catch-up.

Definitely in need of a catch-up on here.

And boy is there a lot to fill you in on.

I am writing to you from sunny California.

Yup. It happened. wow.

It is very surreal. I am still adjusting to it.

I often find myself just in awe of God and all that He has done in my life.

We got the good news in March and I pretty much booked my ticket as soon as I could.

In hindsight, it was a little rushed.

But remember, I have been waiting for years for this all to happen. So when everything was finalised I was desperate to leave.

And it has really been a whirlwind ever since.

I have been here for 2 months and it already feels like 2 years in some ways!

I already love my job.

Seriously, the Lord made the perfect job for me.

I work with some of the greatest people ever.

No joke.

They are becoming very dear friends.

I feel part of the family already.

I am part of the most wonderful small group.

I look forward to it each week.

The Lord has just flooded my life with so many lovely people.

He has blessed me with some great, solid friendships already.

I am one thankful girl.

Having said all that, it feels a little different this time.

 I can't quite put my finger on what exactly is different, but it sure is.

I am missing my family.

Big time.

Especially my brother and sister.

I find myself daily longing to hang out with them.

I am fortunate that I get to speak with them pretty often.

I spoke to my sister this morning for a couple of hours.

Funny how hours can pass with sisters and you don't even realise it!

I also spoke with my mum last week.

That was wonderful.

I miss her a lot.

There are some things that only your mum can make better.

We were laughing and talking.

Nothing beats laughing with your mamma.

I can't wait for the day that we are in the same room and laughing.

So there are days when I feel pretty lonely.

In some ways I am thankful for this.

I am thankful that I can lean on the Lord knowing that He has my very best interests at heart.

I am confident that this is where the Lord wants me to be and I will strive to do my best for Him.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6

I am fully trusting in my ever faithful Lord.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

He wants me to flourish in all that I do.

My hope is in Him.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

I am still rejoicing!

Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

Her smile is contagious.

These little girls never fail to make me smile.

Having fun with my sweet friend.



My small group ladies. They are such a blessing.

I love these two lovely ladies. They are such an encouragement to me. I am so thankful for their friendship.

So there is a little bit of a catch-up and some photos of my sweet blessings.  



My big sis.

My darling big sister is in Australia just now.

Last time I saw her was 20th September 2011 when she was saying good-bye to me as I headed off to California.

There were some tears.

She is the best sister a girl could ask for.

I am missing her lots just now.

Thankfully we get to Skype it up.

Today she climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, while I had a Disney duvet day.

Both I think are equally awesome, well maybe her day topped mine a little bit.

But Tarzan, Aladdin and Hercules were pretty good company for this girl too.

Anyway. Sister, I wish that I could watch Pocahontas with you and sing along to it and laugh uncontrollably at how hilarious we are!

But we could watch any movie and I would be happy.

There is nothing quite like time with you.

I miss you more than you know and can't wait til the day that I see you again.

It is going to be one special day.

I love you, and I am so thankful for our friendship.

This photo was taken a year ago at our baby brother's passing out parade.

We had been sitting outside for about an hour, it was so so cold.

It cracks me up everytime I look at it.

I treasure it.

Linking with Emily today. You should too! Go grab someone you love and take a precious photo with them.



News.

I was doing so well with my posts, until I wasn't!

Anyhoo, here I am nearly a month after my last post.

And I have some news.

A couple of weeks ago we received the great news that my visa application has been approved!

So there has been a lot of emotions going on around here.

First and foremost, I have been praising God.

I can see His hand in all this and trust that this is His perfect timing.

But...there has also been some freaking out.

There are a few more details still to be worked out, I have to go down to London to have an interview at the U.S. Embassy where they will stamp my passport.

I have been told that I have nothing to worry about there because our case is strong.

But I am a little worry wort so that is exactly what I have been doing.

I have been reading this verse, over and over.

Praying it, asking for this peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus - Philippians 4:6-7, NIV

There have been lots of tears.

Tears of joy, and tears of me just being dumb.

Thankfully, the Lord has blessed me with so many wonderful people who have been great this past week. Telling me I'm being stupid, encouraging me and praying with me, making me laugh.

Seriously, my friends bring me such joy.

So, right now, I am waiting for some documents to get to me.

After that I will be heading down to London to (hopefully) get that stamp in my passport.

I'm praying and praying, knowing that the Lord can work out all these little details.

I am a happy, thankful girl just now.

Truly grateful for all that the Lord is doing in my life.

Excited for what's to come.

 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. - Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message.



Memories.

My brother went back to sea (not even) 2 weeks ago.

I miss him.

We had a lot of fun while he was home, as I have said many times before. 

I spoke to him a couple of days ago and it was soo good to talk to him, and laugh with him.

He is such a blessing. 

I am going to share some photos that I took the day before he left. 

He was not cooperating, as usual.

I look super, duper tired (cause I was!)

But they are fun, and they are still memories. 

...and these are the best that I got! 

One day I am going to get a lovely photo of the two of us! 

Even with all his weird, pretend-to-be-sleeping faces, I sure love him. 

Next week I am going to post photos with my sister, because I love her just as much! 

(She is in Australia this year which makes it pretty difficult to get any new photos with her!)

Linking up with Emily today. 

Delight.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with my dear friend on Skype. 

(I know I say this all the time but, seriously, it is the best) 

Anywaay. 

We were having a conversation about the future and my hopes. 

I was telling her about a conversation that I had with another friend last week 

*I hope you can keep up with me, I do have a point* 

We were talking about our future and in particular marriage and families. 

She said something that got me thinking. 

"what if this isn't what the Lord has planned for us though? and we sit here talking about it dreaming about it. I want to be happy with whatever the Lord has in store for me."

I had never looked at it in this way before. 

I have always, since I can remember, looked forward to having a family and children one day. 

What if this isn't what the Lord has planned for me? 

SO back to the other conversation on Skype.

*I don't know if I can keep up with this story so there is no hope for you!*

As I said, I was telling her about this conversation.

And she said something that really got me thinking.

"I think it is too much of a desire of your heart for the Lord not to give it to you" 

This of course lead me to this scripture. 

Delight yourself in the Lord, 

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Pretty simply. We delight ourselves in the Lord and He gives us the desires of our heart.

Except, what does it mean to delight myself in the Lord.

I have been going over and over this for the past couple of weeks.

Delight.

Here are some definitions of this word. 

- a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment, joy, rapture

- something that gives great pleasure

- great pleasure, happiness or satisfaction

This challenged me.

In everything I do, do I take great pleasure in the Lord? 

Do I portray a high degree of joy in the Lord? 

Do I seek happiness in Him?

If I am being honest, no.

This makes me sad. 

Why shouldn't I express great joy in all that I do?

I am richly blessed.

Recently I have been occupying my thoughts on LOTS of other things.

They are not necessarily things that I shouldn't be thinking about but the definitely shouldn't be coming before the Lord. 

Because I am spending time dwelling on these things they are bringing me down and this affects my attitude. 

My heart was full of joy and love for the Lord, but I wasn't always expressing this in my attitude and actions.

So all these things that I was worrying about and that were consuming my thoughts I handed over to the Lord. 

By handing over my burdens I am freeing myself up for the delighting part!

By releasing ourselves from these things we are able to work on showing our joy in the Lord. 

I don't want to delight myself in the Lord in order to get the desires of my heart. 

I want to do it because I love Him and I do find happiness in Him. 

I delight to do Your will, O God, 

and Your law is within my heart.

Psalm 40:8

We need to set our affections on Him, and desire Him more than anyone else. 

I think the key to delighting in the Lord is spending much more time in His word and in prayer.
 By doing this we learn more about Him and become more dependant on him.

So that is exactly what I am going to do. 

I am going to change my attitude and show great joy in all that I do.
I am going to seek happiness in Him, in His friendship and love. 

So this is what has been on my heart for the past few weeks. Something that I have been thinking about, praying about and working on.

Weird faces.

At the start of the week I shared that I spent a couple of days with my sweet friend.  

We wrapped up and went out for a lovely walk one afternoon and I took my camera.

I wanted to get some photos of the two of us together because I don't know if we have any. 

Actually I can think of one photo that we have. 

But one photo for 10 years of friendship is bad. 

These photos are the best that I got. 

This girl does NOT like to smile for photos. 

She is nearly always making a face. 

She cracks me up! 

They make me smile. 

And the 2nd photo was not planned. 

We just made the exact same, weird face because we are awesome like that! 

I'm linking up with Emily today. 

Go and check out what she has to say about getting in front of the camera and capturing memories!