tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51722396853116917352024-02-22T05:52:40.379+13:00Bonnie's BlessingsStriving to Joyfully Serve the Lord! Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.comBlogger701125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-8474200628653502732020-03-20T11:21:00.002+13:002020-03-20T11:21:22.137+13:00A New Season of BlessingsIt's been a while since I have been here. In that time I have had a baby who is now 3.5 months old!<br />
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I have decided to being blogging again, but in a new space this time. If you would like to join my on my journey in a new season, head on over to <a href="https://anewseasonofblessings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A New Season of Blessings</a>.<br />
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I'd love to catch up with you in a different corner of the blogging world. <br />
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Otherwise, signing off here for what is most likely the last time ever....<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="left" src="http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" height="85" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-26885162940876693102019-03-31T20:19:00.003+13:002019-03-31T20:19:50.118+13:00MarriageIt seems like forever since I've popped in here. It has been quite a while. I am not going to continue blogging regularly, however I do want to let those who have been following me for a long time know of an exciting thing that happened to me on February 23rd, 2019. I married the love of my life, David.<br />
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We are both very much enjoying marriage (it's amazing - highly recommended).<br />
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I hope you all are doing well these days. Stay awesome. :)<br />
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<br />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-59729170951293187152018-05-22T06:34:00.000+12:002018-05-22T06:34:04.256+12:00Life Update!I keep thinking that one day I'll resurrect this blog and actually start posting on it more often. Yet it doesn't happen. Maybe one day life will slow down and I'll get a chance.<br />
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Life doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. But it's good busyness. Yep, lots is happening at the moment. Some highlights:<br />
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- Mum is having another baby in September (number 12!)<br />
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- I'm working 40 hours a week as a legal executive at work (I was promoted from a legal secretary which means I have a lot more responsibility. Day to day, that looks like a lot more file work, meeting with clients and document preparation). I have finished my study and am actually graduating this week.<br />
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- I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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Yes, you read that right... David proposed to me on the 9th of May and I said yes. For those of you who will ask for the story, here goes...<br />
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We went out for dinner, then we drove around a bit and then we went to the Botanic Gardens in the dark and stopped on the same bridge that we started our courtship on 9 months ago to the day..... then David got down on one knee and did this little speech about what he loves about me and said he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and then he asked me to marry him, then I hesitated for a second because I thought maybe he was joking, then I realised he was being serious, then I told him I would love to marry him...... we then drove to the mall and picked out a ring together. :)<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We are so excited about this new season of life. It has, however, plunged us into a whirlwind of wedding planning, where-shall-we-live-when-we-get-married planning, honeymoon planning and just all the general whirlwind of life. But I love it. It's so exciting and such a great reason to be busy! I’ve got the best man in the world and I get to marry him. Our wedding date is mid/late February next year.</span></div>
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<i>Engagement has a nice ring to it!</i></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">What has been happening in your life recently?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Blessings</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Bonnie</span></div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-25309458807403905582017-12-07T21:25:00.000+13:002017-12-07T21:25:39.205+13:00Our family's Christmas Newsletter 2017<div>
Greetings, friends. </div>
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I know I haven't been very active around here and I'm sorry! I keep thinking I'll do a bit of a life update post but I haven't had a chance. Someday soon, I will! <div>
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In the meantime, Mum has written our family's annual Christmas newsletter. I am posting it here like I have done in previous years. Hopefully this will serve to be a good interim update since I have been rather slack in my blogging.</div>
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Anyway, if I don't pop in again this side of Christmas, may you all have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Oh, and happy new Year. May the Lord richly bless you all. </div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-300f-23d5-67b9-c6ab30e8c9a5"><span style="font-family: Quintessential; font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glory to God in the Highest</span></span></div>
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Happy Christmas from the Smithies. How has your year been? We are looking forward to hearing from you.</div>
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A few of our many highlights from this year…</div>
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<li>Last Christmas we set up a 250m illuminated bush “time tunnel” on our property celebrating the wonder of the first Christmas, and over 1000 people from the community came through it. It was a good family project and we hope to do an expanded version this year.</li>
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<li>Shortly before last Christmas our dear border collie was run over by someone driving past our property. We were all devastated. To help with the grief, we began looking for another dog immediately. It was close to Christmas and there was nothing available. I mentioned to the Lord that a breeding pair would be ideal and the Lord sent us a Christmas miracle. We heard of someone with a dog to sell. When we made contact, it turned out that she was downsizing and was getting rid of a stunning breeding pair of pure-bred border collies. Wow! They have now produced eight adorable roly-poly puppies who have no trouble finding new homes. What a blessing.</li>
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<li>A delightful February holiday exploring Karamea. We loved the many caves, the amazing Oparara arches, jumping off the incredible sand-dunes, magic evenings swimming, kayaking and tubing in the lagoon and cooking tea on the beach before watching the sun set in a spectacular blaze of glory into the sea. We always seemed to have the beach mostly to ourselves. What a special place.</li>
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<li>Prayed about a dishwasher since washing dishes by hand was consuming a vast amount of the children’s time each day. Then we went to look at a caravan on Trademe and noticed a dishwasher sitting on the driveway. The man told us he was going to take it to the dump. He did not know if it worked or not as it had belonged to a previous owner of the property. We offered to save him the dump fee, put it on the front seat of the van (it didn’t fit in the boot!) and wedged ourselves in around it. We were thrilled to find it worked perfectly!</li>
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<li>Discovered that we had to have the house re-roofed and so got rotten cladding replaced and solar panels put on too. A rather large undertaking (but the children thought it was worth it as we got some pretty cool two-storey scaffolding up for weeks and the new game of trying to guess which builder was who based on the boots and legs appearing at the top of the windows!)</li>
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<li>We shelved our plans for house-bus accommodation and ended up purchasing a small self-contained cottage unit and have enjoyed hosting various people, especially Israeli travellers (mostly young people who are having some time-out after the stress of compulsory military service in an active war zone).</li>
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<li>Our lovely house-cow died following calving complications, but she left us a gorgeous calf to hand- raise.</li>
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<li>Roger and the boys went to Warbirds over Blenheim while we were holidaying in Nelson with Gwenda’s parents.</li>
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<li>Discovered the delights of the Richmond (Nelson) aquatic centre at night – we had the pool, spas and giant inflatables to ourselves, all under romantic subdued lighting. Very nice! We could very happily stay on a permanent holiday in Nelson!</li>
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<li>Found a nesting pair of little blue penguins in the woodshed of the house we stayed at in Golden Bay.</li>
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<li>We saw a spectacular extremely bright rainbow near our house and incredibly we could see both ends where the rainbow hit the grass and spilled rainbow colour all over the ground. We have never seen the two ends hitting the ground like that before. Sadly there was no pot of gold at either end!</li>
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<li>Our darling Grandma (Gwenda’s Mum) had a heart attack in July and has been having on-going heart issues and investigations ever since. Amazingly the week of the heart attack, Bonnie had the strong impression from the Lord that it was very important to pray for Grandma that week, so we prayed a lot for her, having no idea that she was about to have a heart attack. We were so grateful that we did.</li>
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<li>In September Grandad and Grandma celebrated their 50 th wedding anniversary. A very special occasion. They have packed those 50 years with so much love and acts of kindness, not just for each other but also for so many other people. We honour them.</li>
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<li>A treat to have Gwenda’s sister’s family back in the country (semi-permanently) after many years overseas.</li>
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<li>Had an opportunity to experience the wonders of Auckland for 3 days at an incredible price for airfares and accommodation, so we had to make the most of that. So blessed to have this opportunity to make some very special family memories. Stayed at the lovely Orewa Beach and explored Rainbows End, Kelly Tarltons, Sky Tower and Auckland Zoo. What an amazing weekend.</li>
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<li>Several dear friends passed on to the next life. One never knows how long one has. None of us is perfect and therefore none can earn the perfection of heaven on our own merits. We all need a Saviour. Christmas reminds us of the lengths God went to in order to provide a Saviour and thus make a way, for those who are willing, to live in heaven. Isn’t it amazing that when we offer to Him all that we are and have, small as it is, He offers EVERYTHING and says, “Let’s share”. What a deal! Such is His love. Such great and perfect love that it honours the decision of each individual whether they will accept or reject that offer.</li>
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Abigail (20yrs)</div>
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Blessed with an incredible array of horses and opportunities (and the many associated challenges that go with such things) Abbie has had her usual fast-paced interesting year. She was very disappointed to get appendicitis and have her appendix out in time to miss out on several very important horse events, including South Island Equidays for which she had been selected as a demo rider. But she is grateful for some very special blessings, including a wonderful month in Kerikeri working with two of NZ’s leading horse-trainers, becoming a sponsored rider for ‘Calm Healthy Horses’, the gift of a valuable special horse, and some spectacular successes training some very difficult horses that other trainers had given up on. She works up to 27 horses in one day. The problem with working with animals is that they are not always very sensible (although the same can also be said of people!) and one of her best horses managed to blind itself in one eye while another kicked a fence and tore a piece of its hoof off. The amazingly resilient Abbie always has plenty of tales of woe and wonder to keep us on the edge of our seats each day! Can you believe that she was out in winter in the pouring rain and freezing cold preparing for a horse show despite being so sick she had a temperature of more than 39 degrees and such an abnormally rapid pulse that when she later went to the afterhours doctor they said that if they couldn’t quickly reduce her pulse she would be admitted to hospital. (She jokes that she thought she was actually going to make it to the end of a year without being in hospital, after barely avoiding hospital earlier in the year following months with a nasty chest infection, however her appendix put paid to that and she clocked up yet another year with a hospital stay. Perhaps next year Abbie…)</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-300f-6fd5-2df3-60f427ea6c8b"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="207" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/aYaZ7X6Xce8oYA9wv5e7L_6A1m8DNU0YUtk6E5aM1hKjgauWD-TJTHo0lQKvy8gzWwXa0tRnS4VyW64vJReWEaZZXmI8zL-EhFkhXrgJkyxK18SGDHkNgAy9ZS9JFAS80R5xl3og2A08YwNplA" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="207" /></span></span></div>
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Bonnie (19yrs)</div>
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It has been such a happy year for Bonnie. She had a wonderful 10 weeks in the USA helping out at the Above Rubies ministry and checking out San Francisco and Nashville. Then she came home and completed her legal executive qualification and gained an excellent job which she really loves at one of the premier law firms in Christchurch. Her extra-special news is that she is in a courtship with a wonderful young man, David Sampson. He is an IT support desk analyst and the oldest in another family of eleven children! It has been a joy to have had him (and a certain brother of his!) around our home during the year. Watch this space. Bonnie continues to be involved in lots of different groups and ministries and continues to fill the house with sunshine, music and jokes. We can’t imagine our home without her grin and are making the most of the pleasure of her company before her prince whisks her away.</div>
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Danella (18yrs)</div>
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Diligent Danella, with an amazing gift for language and beautiful heart for service. Much to her joy many doors of ministry opportunities have been opened for her this year and she has helped a lot of students, particularly Asians, in their journey to God. Gentle, thoughtful, and full of enthusiasm, she is often singled out by Asians.</div>
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Despite her extensive involvement with numerous students and multiple groups at Canterbury University and her attendance at many events and conferences, she still kept up her exceptional grades in every subject. She had a regular “job” selling her beautifully written lecture notes to the University for students with disabilities to use. She was also awarded a Prime Minister’s all-expenses paid scholarship to study advanced Chinese for 6 weeks over summer at the Mandarin Institute in Taiwan. She is sad that there is only one year left to go of her degree as she has loved it all so much. Continuing as the music teacher for our family (she is completing her ATCL performance diploma in piano this year, in addition to her BA in Chinese, linguistics and maths!), and an incredible cook, she is a blessing to us all.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3010-707e-bdfb-78b05eaba226"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="185" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/9-rmwHHm7IvD2lX4ob926243DUeNN5JSciIG7aH6VqzzQxJ7W33OpClrAssK5IrLqiMapNAUMtUB1KioaT0I_S5NVZwA_TqpEm-r5274Qz5czWTl5LQjWCApGM_VCZ4T6rwIgH3vLyTr6yex1g" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="218" /></span></span></div>
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Sophie (17yrs)</div>
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Sweet Sophie, who also has a servant heart and lights up our family, has had a very special year as well. She finished some Uni papers and then became a certified bookkeeper. She also went on all sorts of interesting camps, including one to Great Barrier Island (to do the Edmund Hillary Outdoor Adventure course) and had lots of adventures. She represented the Selwyn District Council at the excellent Youth in Emergency Services camp and received training from a number of different emergency services, including Search and Rescue, Civil Defence, and St Johns. She continues with street evangelism at every opportunity and whenever she is home cheerfully helps out with anything needing doing. There is someone very special in her life too.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3010-a4e7-bd19-4a8c512be2cd"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="229" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/b6RJonAvgj14kkY7LI0QSAo1OiGEkgApSKbtOhydV9MT46qo3IVV4JPSRD5MZyvPTMQUB69Zv1NIhCShIfCbJrm_HAJPbemntWPQ4ATn6_dxFWaQzbbiwgn4QNLreI4R0oE5Lmn3k1htE_4muA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="138" /> </span></span><img height="178" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/yUvCirZgLwgIEK_QZJceSZu8OD1Ct0qTxNhsDZQ6NIwz9AhRUBanPCgbNsSVQQr2vw4rb3fUGW83HdAh7DABw9EIKTpQYrUOn6UScH_LHYWYVqP9bR04DVjkF2j65cg5kADZrau6TTZzByPa5A" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="267" /></div>
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Benjamin (15yrs)</div>
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Ben is a very good student and could have chosen anything, but he loves the outdoor life, so he has decided not to have an office-type job and instead is looking towards being a plumber. Long term he would still love to be a farmer, but is gathering another skill (ie plumbing and gas-fitting) and income source along the way. He has also been collecting up various other skills. He joined the local wood-turning club and learnt great stuff from them. We now have a wood-lathe and a metalwork-lathe so he is pretty happy! He is hoping to join the beekeeping club next year too, if he can fit it in. He absolutely loves the various camps he helps out as a leader and is wonderful with the children there. He hopes to do more of that too. And of course there is all the farm- related stuff on our property that keeps him busy. Abbie would be sunk without Ben’s capable and obliging help fixing stuff broken by horses. (She says that she wants to marry a man just like Ben!)</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3010-e3ef-b252-f5aad409d740"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="234" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/FPUE9XO7JXrXGZRiydkYRStj-5-CUSBiuX2e43h7C_AoTmjKYWvdMCWjtomGS3RWg7h0aN1J8WTokOYS2_Vcv3qPDAk27FFdtQG_Vumn_LerKbVDUJ3LHTOjx9Qg_9i1SdOfQBQxGdl-rAxoGA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="175" /> </span></span></div>
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Jonathan (14yrs)</div>
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An acrobat, a juggler, sleight-of- hand tricks, dry sense of humour, and an unbelievably speedy solver of Rubiks cubes of all shapes and sizes, including solving them blindfolded with only one hand. A member of the speed cubing association, Johnny even made it onto TV. He can solve a random 3x3 Rubiks cube in 8 seconds. Not sure how useful all Johnny’s various “skills” are except in a future career as a clown!! Johnny runs an organic egg business with Ben. He was delighted when we acquired a ride-on mower since he and Ben used to have the unenviable job of using a standard push-mower on our large grass yards and enormous road verges. Now they are thrilled when the grass grows rapidly since a ride-on mower is pretty fun – so fun in fact that Dad doesn’t get an opportunity to get near it!</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3011-5009-bba1-da85c608f606"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="244" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/oMGoUkxMea69ORosLqn9Wr4nlENg04oGVadfIMEbF1ffgJEgczcBxziHipRngHotwqjdTkjK4NGuJzEkfAMPQunRHWzvsfsNqsll-W23mXqVAgnFhHrep1R6uf5PiGhfG8LWS8HqT3FF-Uv49A" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="183" /> </span></span><img height="245" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ogTdMQ9hAUcpA9egV8wx5Cp1DQTTG8Ya6yuVTZOx5fTz7x61Z-MM7AFUxlT4UJNz9zxSUcqBLUFfuVbnKdQqS10sGztXwNxJp8LWTVbZ5ygZR1EXOfp3hMCXRr8xQ1vTpf7D7kpI9YHrqgEKuQ" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="184" /></div>
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Lydia (11yrs)</div>
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Our lovely Lydia got distinction in her ballet exam and was also awarded a trophy for ‘outstanding potential in ballet’. Some interesting things cropped up this year with her health, one of which was the discovery of what appeared to be a large lump in her neck. The doctors were concerned and it was referred to the specialist where it was diagnosed as a “rib”. Apparently around 1 in 500 people have an “extra rib” in their neck. Most people don’t know about it if they have one, but because Lydia’s was slightly larger, it was discovered. It is so uncommon to notice them that the specialist called in an assortment of other people to see this phenomenon. She felt like a celebrity! Lydia loves art, crafts, reading and animals. She is a great help which is wonderful especially now that the older girls are often out at their various jobs/activities.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3011-8799-5eab-b300563edae1"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="149" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/coWGOXWCzzHU5g0C7s5kqj9z7igwPYOeJaDTgnochBR2a8-JZiHWIJkCFxSHkzhv8vCrQInfok6WiSBetYKksVfGJv3CTZ9u6kzp4cnTSu9imqIyqHe7cGM0svHRlt8vXzPGVCux4PMZOO84Ww" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="224" /> </span></span><img height="276" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/FEyJxKOz27wtxVafFqYKZ61zg_ce3qI3RhEAgmU2qbbMJrWlOfNKsUNjl0xZxld19jwMBJcwyCiX22cO4wSXEwTp-flFtZ4SVUxFQpwTy_TmVGsuq2G3YGLRetE88APYweBz_5ffp3iBV_cGhA" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="165" /></div>
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Caleb (10yrs)</div>
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A total book-worm. Books even trump tree-huts and almost the swimming pool. He also loves Lego. And did I mention books?! When I asked him what else I could put in the newsletter about him, he said that he loved herding cows! This useful interest came in handy when we were chasing our entire herd of cattle around the neighbour’s organic market garden (which has very few fences and thus required three vehicles from the council to guard the roads so there would be no unfortunate accidents). An adventurous cow had trampled two of our fences in order to go exploring in the world and her friendly paddock mates thought they might as well join her. Caleb enjoys trampolining and is in a trampoline group. He also really enjoys playing tricks on people. And, did I mention books?</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3011-c5d9-8b9b-d34df2b467d8"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><img height="191" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/g5Q3GBA8V6amaUJPbMowzobyUGFsVvUiqaDBsoKDc_or6KWUVfKU4yo0RJkoTufrIubsiaQIRBx4S-GoMqhTVx783j8G2uT1xzPhh3JLT3GCTG-XCUjFuydZgi8SOwOnliYCxbEesayWHu_W3A" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="287" /></div>
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Jacob (7yrs)</div>
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Jacob loves ICONZ and adores listening to music on the ipod he got for his birthday. He has also discovered the delights of reading and it looks like it won’t be long before he is a serious rival for Caleb’s title of bookworm king. Lately he has been helping Daddy sort out the irrigation and hopefully this growing helpfulness will soon spill over to enjoying assisting with the dishes (which is very definitely his least favourite activity at the moment!)</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3012-06a1-bcd3-092763a919fd"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="178" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bOaNNyu5Y6ZBZPlQXfCspLCNohJ39gRQE8tYY5Zmn1F7Ij9PUZErm85iYsQ7qKOb-eWpDc5B22Px1oYvQn0Yc4kfkW7hJU4tzoz1Tsc82j_i1jH674rEnPahiD8277oiwzjvLYkaNp9b26Brvw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="267" /></span></span></div>
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Jana (3yrs)</div>
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A chatterbox who is in a hurry to grow up. As you can see from the quotes in the section below, a youngchatterbox in the family is a source of much amusement for the rest of the family. Jana is indignant if anyone does something for her that she could have done for herself. She loves following everyone around and ‘helping’. She also really, really loves animals and beaches.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3012-255c-48be-7eb4a8126a6e"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="245" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/50B6bvnzBTW4tgs_A2lteq2CnNXUio25PbubLcxUPUUwFW0UmLekI2fQOFcBL72HO5BooGuOOmFXlE8B8E_YhZNotTTLfD52ftr5eRTKS6VrQLmgunuoZAJp609EDSufdWU9Fl1_lfY_j1k5hw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="196" /></span></span></div>
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Michael (1yr)</div>
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Our little darling who is a delight to all. His favourite activity is sampling dirt in pot plants and seeing how manypiles of dog manure he can locate and examine that others have missed removing. His favourite place in the world is a beach. He has taken after his mother in that regard. In most other regards he is a very cute replica of his father.</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3012-4bb2-92f5-0e0aa7c387e5"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="188" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/3Z-9QgFahxJKt6aKArbbgTuZ-A1bbHNNUEzqeq3YnQ-q0gJIJl6ICS70C18uVVtk5LwzJYMkl7JcRy3Avjw83Jq-v0xM2We2wlSG8Pob9f92RB4S5l3tptd3xtwk51Bm1YeO6o-sfv1LKWbkDw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="282" /> </span></span><img height="257" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3ndQ2rjRqNKTsi687vwhCutBizz2qi2EmqtegtKJ8t8M1BHoqV6TbHW8oLhJvbqrWIM3YIKoa0rJqzN2WYdb9GPo6CqRH1vevoS6RrbQbIK05X29H_tDLho6JD14mq9EpEwHaUr6X5M9CcSKVg" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; transform: rotate(0rad); white-space: pre-wrap;" width="171" /></div>
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Roger</div>
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Changed jobs and is now working at Alliance Wholesale dealing with and fixing security equipment. He is enjoying the job and the interesting challenges (eg fixing a $10000 surveillance camera for the navy). He is also very happy to have finally replaced two family vehicles with more economical ones. Our previous vehicles were gas-guzzlers. He continues as an ICONZ leader, and helps out where needed elsewhere. And of course, he is the world’s most wonderful father!</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3012-954a-054a-ee034dd4e0be"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="207" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A-VpiXM0izunMH5W3bBp-d0T5Wnr4GdfggTgTjdyLjNUPy6vFbBRi4Sao6UY15sgNryto4XoVM04qYmfkCVAoZxx_niOQHHfLW2Z8zh0GlpXdLRNeKrWSniN-YLKdf7HFKhKfJhY0PzEuk7Kw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="345" /></span></span></div>
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Gwenda</div>
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Still gets a kick out of hearing the huge amount of birdsong outside our window each morning, along with the heady perfume of all the roses planted by a previous owner against the bedroom wall. She loves nurturing the large number of newly planted fruit and nut trees and trying to keep rampant pasture grass from taking over the vege garden. It is very tempting to spend all day outdoors in this delightful setting. She is also involved in lots of other projects alongside a steady stream of visitors. Given that she is an introvert, she has surprised herself by really enjoying having so many guests. Nowdays there are often extras for meals and it is a lot of fun and so interesting. We never want to be too busy to have time to love others. Gwenda continues to homeschool the children. Only seven left to launch. Oh how the years go by. May they be invested in things of eternal value.</div>
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<b>Heard Around Our Place This Year</b></div>
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(Son) “I like the old van way more than the new van. I like the rattles. How can we get the new van to rattle?</div>
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It’s too quiet.”</div>
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(Son) “Can I be a bridesmaid at your wedding?”</div>
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(Son) “I’m not wearing a singlet. A singlet is just a bra pulled down to a tummy button.”</div>
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(Son, after hearing that Bonnie was going to have three hours to fill in at the Nashville airport) “Oh why didn’t she take a Rubiks cube.”</div>
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(Toddler) “Are you real Mummy? Me is real.”</div>
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(Toddler, while looking at the new dog) “Our other dogs love God but this dog doesn’t.”</div>
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(Toddler, explaining why she wanted to wear socks outside, but no footwear over the socks) “My socks need fresh air.”</div>
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(Toddler) “I don’t like my bedroom, it is not sensible.”</div>
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(Toddler) “Bonnie is pretty. She is like me.”</div>
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(Mummy to toddler) “Do you have a younger sister?” Toddler answers, “Yes, God.”</div>
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(Toddler to a friend) “Why are you Angela?” Friend replies, “Because one day my parents had a little baby girl and thought that Angela would be a nice name. Why are you Jana?” Toddler replied, “One day my parents had a little baby girl and thought, ‘Oh dear’.”</div>
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(Toddler, when older sister who shares a room with her, creeps into the room late at night and tries to slip quietly into bed without waking the toddler. Toddler sits up.) “Are you going to bed now? Yay, let’s sing.”</div>
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(Toddler, after Mummy put the thermometer under her tongue to take her temperature) “Please heal my bugs Lord. The bugs in my mouth. Under my tongue.”</div>
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(Toddler, while riding on a merry-go- round) “Who made this?” Brother jokingly called back, “Jana did.” Toddler replied indignantly, “No, God did. This is real.”</div>
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(At the zoo looking at a pygmy monkey which was really tiny – the size of a finger) Daughter said, “It almost has a slight rat-like look, see its tail.” Mummy said, “And its face almost has a pig-like look.” Next daughter said, “You can see all animals in it. I can see giraffe.”</div>
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(Daughter who is a highly innovative chef) ”I put leftover potato in the ice-cream. I thought it would thicken it and give it a nice texture and nobody would be able to tell.”</div>
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(Small son) “Can I buy something at the shop? Don’t worry I won’t waste my money on junk like lollies. I have saved up for something bigger – a chocolate easter egg.”</div>
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(Son) “Why did you name me Caleb? I wish you had named me Sir Francis, it is such a great name.”</div>
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(Small child, commenting on artificial cattle breeding) “They inject the bull into the cow.” Older child laughed and said, “No they don’t.” Small child replied, “Well, they inject the bull’s intestines.”</div>
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(Small son overhearing that Mummy’s year of birth was 1971) “Are you 71 Mummy?”</div>
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With much love and many blessings,</div>
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Roger, Gwenda, Abigail, Bonnie, Danella, Sophie, Ben, Jonathan, Lydia, Caleb, Jacob, Jana and Michael</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-7e887787-3012-c107-9534-b83f99efb974"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="295" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wFtr6fEy6XwLSzjM6fqadvjV2vCaPgPjNPhlpYrCqTU76JN7OAI1sobgxpd9MC93J4HML4HffdqQRpp7B4ztyOjiTjXw3XjccKxBVmWbV-OzH9tnYdj2f047d0PCFgnLzB7JjTYgz8Z1x1IR9g" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="443" /></span></span></div>
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Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-84004841427993874932017-09-28T21:08:00.000+13:002017-09-28T21:08:45.397+13:00So. Um. Yes. It appears I'm not gone for good after all. (a.k.a. Story time with Bonnie)*creeps in*<br />
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*looks around*</div>
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Is anyone here? Anyone still hanging round these days?? After I went and ditched you all....?</div>
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You <i>are </i>still here? oh goody, because have I got a bit of a story to share with you all! So have a seat, make yourself nice and comfy, grab a cup of hot chocolate (preferably with one or two marshmellows) and enjoy the story. You ready? Well, ready or not, here we go.....</div>
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on with the story...</div>
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So I have this friend whose name is David.<br />
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Anyway, part way through last year, I began to get 'vibes' that he liked me.<br />
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I liked David very much as a friend and enjoyed getting to know him better over a period of several months. Eventually, in August sometime, David expressed his desire to begin a 'courtship' or 'intentional relationship'. He discussed this both with my parents and with me.<br />
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I didn't say yes.<br />
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This was because I was about to head off to the United States for 2 and a half months and I didn't want to feel like I was leaving half my heart in New Zealand. I wanted to enjoy my time over there and decided that I would revisit the idea when I came home at the end of January. Mum and Dad also thought it would be a good idea to leave the idea on the shelf for the time being.<br />
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Fast forward to when I was away. While I was in the US, I prayed about the idea of a relationship with David lots and thought about it a heap. I was still in (relatively frequent) contact with David - we facebook messaged often and video called a few times.<br />
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Throughout the time I was away, I eventually came to the conclusion that I thought it was best to say no once and for all. There were a few reasons for this decision which I am not going to go into here. Suffice it to say I didn't have peace about it (my reasons were a bit more substantial than this) and I didn't feel that the timing was right.<br />
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So sometime in January I sent David a long email telling him all about it and what I wanted to do - namely, to just be friends. I even offered to help him find someone else! We were really good friends and I didn't want to break our friendship, but I didn't want him to think I was happy to marry him, because at the time I really couldn't see that happening.<br />
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David was gutted, poor guy.<br />
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I felt terrible dashing his hopes like that (and I didn't find it easy myself!), but I justified it by telling myself and him that it was better for us to break up then than further down the track when we were both far more emotionally invested.<br />
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Then I came home to New Zealand and life resumed again.<br />
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I began studying the last paper in the Legal Executive diploma and got a full time job not too long after that. Life was really busy and I was enjoying it.<br />
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It so happened that the job I got (as a legal secretary in a law firm in the central city) was only a few hundred meters away from David's work (he's currently a service desk support person at a computer / IT company). It's true - I walk out of my building, walk down the road, turn a corner and his building is pretty much right there!<br />
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We would often bang into each other going for a walk on our lunch breaks. We also were still in contact and were in several of the same friend groups, including the camp leaders group, so we saw each other at things like that. We ended up planning kid's camp together and occasionally if my other transport options didn't work out I would get a ride in to work with David.<br />
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For months we were just good friends. I knew it was really hard for David because he wanted to be more than friends and didn't give up hope that I would change my mind. Yet I stuck to my guns and would suggest other girls that he could consider (none of whom he really seriously considered). I saw myself just as a good friend but nothing more.<br />
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I kept thinking to myself, "things can't stay like this forever". Either I needed to change my mind and decide I wanted to be in a relationship, or else David needed to change his mind and set his hopes on someone else. I hated the feeling of being in limbo, of it feeling like something had to snap. I kept seeking God and thinking about the situation. Both of us were praying that God would change one of our hearts.<br />
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And you know what?<br />
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He changed mine.<br />
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Over the last few months (probably from mid July onwards) I just kind of started to slowly fall in love with David. I'm sure it was God changing my heart. I got a few random little 'confirmations' that made me know for sure that I was making the right decision. My whole outlook on the situation changed. All the reasons why I had originally told him No were either sorted out or don't really matter that much.<br />
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And so I was left with no more excuses and a new appreciation for this man of God who kept pursuing me when I had consistently stubbornly refused him.<br />
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Let's talk about this man of God for a minute shall we! :)<br />
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He is 21 years old and lives about half an hour away from me and my family. His family (he comes from a family of 11 children as well) has been friends with ours for as long as I can remember.<br />
He has an incredibly strong faith and always encourages me in mine. Just like David in the Bible, he really is a "man after God's own heart".<br />
He's really gentle and kind.<br />
He's a lover of Truth.<br />
He is a man of integrity who stands up for what is right. I know that I never have to worry about his character.<br />
He is passionate and persistent in pursuing what he believes in.<br />
He's really good with kids.<br />
And he's really handsome too. :)<br />
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Now that you know him a bit better, I'll continue with the story.<br />
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David says he started picking up on some vibes I apparently was sending that I was starting to be a bit more 'interested' than I had been. I don't know about that, but I do know that we eventually decided the time had come to discuss where our 'relationship' (or lack of it) was at.<br />
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We went for a walk on our lunch breaks on the 10th of August and discussed it.<br />
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And after we had both shared where we were at, and talked about it all, we stopped on a bridge above a river with daffodils and blossom covered trees lining the banks. And David officially asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend.<br />
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And I said yes.<br />
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And it's that happening (and the events following) that prompted me to write this blog post.<br />
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We are officially in a relationship. Or courtship. Call it whatever you like, but we are in a relationship with the intention of marriage in the future.<br />
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And I couldn't be more happy. :)<br />
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David seems pretty happy too. Which is rather a pleasant state of affairs for everyone involved.<br />
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This is an exciting stage of life and a part of the journey that neither of us have travelled before. We are so enjoying getting to know each other better and better. And developing those little 'inside jokes'. And just really finding the whole adventure of love so exciting!<br />
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So yeah. That's where we are at currently!<br />
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Hope you all are having a great week. :)<br />
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Love to you all,<br />
Bonnie</div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-23258209947236141482017-05-10T13:44:00.002+12:002017-05-12T06:16:56.999+12:00The Hardest Post I've Ever Had to WriteDear friend.<br />
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This is, like the title of the post seems to suggest, the hardest post I've ever had to write. Why? Because ending things is hard. Bringing closure to my 'brain child', the little piece of me that sits on the Internet, is difficult. I don't want to do it.<br />
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So then, why am I doing it? Why am I writing this post to tell you that Bonnie's Blessings is being discontinued?<br />
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Because I feel that it is time for that to happen.<br />
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<em>I even filmed a little video for you which shows how committed I am to this post...watch the video above.</em> <br />
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When I began Bonnie's Blessings in January of 2013 I had no idea how long I would keep it going. I have ended up continuing it for four years and I'm amazed at how the Lord has walked along this journey of blogging with me. <br />
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I'm incredibly appreciative to all my amazing loyal readers and commenters. Each one of you is special to me. <br />
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But it's time to end this particular blogging journey.<br />
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I wish I could say that my reason for ending it is that I'm too busy currently. Yes I am super busy, but I have continued to blog for the past few weeks since I've been working full time reasonably successfully despite my busyness. The fact is, I could continue it if I wanted to.<br />
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I'm turning 19 in a couple of weeks. I don't feel like this blog was just a 'stage of my younger life', but I do feel like in some ways I am moving on. Different stage of life now, different goals and priorities, all that sort of stuff. <br />
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I don't think that my lack of inspiration to write is just a writer's block. I honestly think that, like all good things, this blog must come to an end sometime. <br />
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I am not going to permanently delete this blog off the internet, at this stage. I'd like to leave it up... then in the future if I ever feel sufficiently inspired I can just resume it. I don't think the likelihood of that happening immediately is very high however, so don't get too excited!<br />
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I love to write, and this blog has been an incredible way for me to do that. I've loved connecting with people through this forum and the blogs of many others. I don't think my inspiration will ever be dry - <em>perhaps I'll find some other way of indulging my urge to write</em>.... ;)<br />
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Anyway. I just wanted to post to say that I'm so incredibly grateful to everyone who has come on the journey with me. Whether you are a new reader or you've been here since the start (almost 700 posts ago!!), I would like to extend a heartfelt Thank You to you. <em><strong>You are amazing</strong></em>. You have inspired me and kept me committed.<br />
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Keep doing what you're doing. I'm definitely going to stay connected in the blogger community (you can't get rid of me that easily!).<br />
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Praying the Lord's richest blessings on you all. Have a nice life, won't you.<br />
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<strong>Bonnie's Blessings stats as of 10th May 2017</strong><br />
Pageviews - 169,881<br />
Followers - 54<br />
Posts - 696<br />
Comments - 3024<br />
<br />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-47263011305903478212017-04-29T21:01:00.002+12:002017-04-29T21:01:39.472+12:00Dealing with Disappointment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Disappointment is something we all have to cope with, most of us many times during our lives. We get our hopes set on something and then suddenly WHAM, that's not going to work out anymore so we go away and try to cope with the disappointment.<br />
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It's not easy.<br />
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It's incredibly hard.<br />
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Because when you let yourself hope about something, even if you're only hoping a teeny, tiny bit, you are setting yourself up for disappointment later on down the track when your hopes are dashed.<br />
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So what does that mean? Should we never allow ourselves to hope about anything?<br />
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No, I don't think so at all!<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I think we should be wise about <i>what</i> we set our hopes on, however.</b></span><br />
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Is it something that is very likely to happen? Think and dream about it more than something that isn't likely at all to happen. Thinking and dreaming about something is definitely not bad. It is best to be careful though, in case you are setting yourself up for disappointment.<br />
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Even if you were wise about what you set your hope on, you may still of course find out it won't work out and then be plunged into disappointment. What to do if that happens?<br />
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I find that allowing myself to go around with a 'poor me' attitude is incredibly unhelpful! What I tend to do is try to think about the situation through a new lens. Of course you are disappointed. You have just had your hopes dashed. Not fun at all. But letting yourself dwell in the depths of despair for an extended period of time isn't, I think, very helpful. <br />
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I try to think of the situation as being closed off to me when I think about it. Whenever my thoughts drift onto 'that' subject, I try to bring closure to it in my mind and move on to different thoughts. Yes I let myself be sad about it for a bit, but as I said above, dwelling in the depths of despair for a long time isn't good.<br />
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So how do you move on?<br />
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I think it can be good to put your problems into perspective. Consider your issue in light of what other people whom you know are facing. Consider it in light of all the starving children in Africa, if that's what helps. Think of it in light of eternity. <br />
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Ask yourself: Will this matter a week from now? A year from now? Twenty years from now?<br />
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Another good way to help deal with disappointment is to talk to someone about it. Find a friend you trust or an older person who has wisdom, and talk to them. Don't be afraid to be open and honest about what you're going through! <br />
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And be grateful. Count your blessings. Think of your situation and then think of how happy you are that it hasn't happened repeatedly in your life (<i>unless it has, in which case forget that instruction</i>). <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2017/04/positivity.html">Put on your positive pants</a></u>. Think of all the blessings the Lord has given to you and be thankful! :) <br />
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Listen to music. I know this might be cliche but music is such a lifter of the spirit. Worship music is a fantastic lifter because you are putting the focus off yourself onto God. Praise the Lord and magnify Him for who He is.<br />
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Speaking of God, talk to Him! He knows your disappointment. <b>He knows your heart and all your dreams and goals and desires</b>. He also loves it when you talk to Him and discuss what's going on. The Holy Spirit is such an encourager and you will be greatly touched by Him when you allow Him to touch you.<br />
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Be open to new opportunities. So one door has closed, maybe it's time to look around for another door. Or perhaps a window!<br />
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How do you deal with disappointment?<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-68482184304479598412017-04-22T06:56:00.000+12:002017-04-29T20:44:22.070+12:00Live it Well<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;">
<i>Life is short; I wanna live it well</i></div>
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<i>One life, one story to tell</i></div>
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<i>Life is short; I wanna live it well</i></div>
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<i>And you're the one I'm living for</i></div>
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<i>I wanna sing with all my heart a lifelong song</i></div>
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<i>Even if some notes come out right and some come out wrong</i></div>
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<i>'Cause I can't take none of that through the door</i></div>
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<i>Yeah, I'm living for more than just a funeral</i></div>
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<i>I wanna burn brighter than the dawn</i></div>
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The band Switchfoot sing about the idea of life being short in the song 'Live it Well' which I have reproduced in part up above. It's a great song - I love the lyrics and the tune is really catchy. Have a listen to it if you haven't before.<br />
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Young people reading this - do you ever kind of laugh a little in your heart when old people tell you that life is short and that it goes by so quickly? They say things like "I can't believe how fast my life has gone! It seems like only yesterday I got married and had my children, and now they are giving me grandchildren!"<br />
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I always used to secretly think to myself, "nah! Life's not short! My eighteen years haven't really flown by so why should the rest of my life fly by?"<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Friends, old people are wise. Listen to what they say!</span><br />
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I have a little piece of advice. Whether it feels to you like life is short or not, <i>treat is as if it is.</i><br />
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This has kinda come home to me while working at a law office. Two of the law staff I'm PA for work in the Wills and Estates section of law. Which means I help draft Wills and do a bit of dabbling in the administration of Estates. It's interesting work and I enjoy it, although it means I am closely involved in the subject of death (an Estate is what a person leaves behind when the die, and a Will is their instructions to the people left behind as to what they want done with it). <br />
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Working with Wills and Estates kinda makes you think, sometimes. <br />
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You don't know when you will leave this earth. Switchfoot reckon life is short and they sing about wanting to live it well. I think that's a brilliant idea. Because you know what, whether life is short or not, it is unexpected. Ecclesiastes talks about life being like a vapour. People die unexpectedly. Things like cancer and accidents happen to people when you least expect them to. You can't predict your life. <br />
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So since you don't know how long you will be on this earth for,<span style="font-size: large;"> make it count!</span><br />
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Here's my favourite verse from Live it Well again.....<br />
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<i>I wanna sing with all my heart a lifelong song</i></div>
<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;">
<i>Even if some notes come out right and some come out wrong</i></div>
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<i>'Cause I can't take none of that through the door</i></div>
<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;">
<i>Yeah, I'm living for more than just a funeral</i></div>
<div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;">
<i>I wanna burn brighter than the dawn</i></div>
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What exactly are we living for?<br />
<br />
What are <i>you</i> living for?<br />
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Does your life reflect your priorities?<br />
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Since we can't take anything with us when we pass on, what does that mean we're living for? Well I think the answer is simple. <span style="font-size: large;">We're living for God since He is eternal</span>. We can't live for anything temporal since that doesn't last. God does. He is forever.<br />
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This theme of living it well is reflected in this beautiful song, In the Time that You Gave Me, sung by a lady named Joey Feek. She has actually passed on now herself, having fought a long battle with cancer. She sang this song sometime during her cancer battle and it really is so powerful.<br />
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I'm going to repeat the question I asked a little earlier.<br />
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What are <i>you</i> living for?<br />
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PS. I won't reply to any comments immediately because I'm going to be away for a week at kid's camp. <3Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-73204543191787233182017-04-18T08:22:00.001+12:002017-04-29T20:44:08.773+12:00Bonnie's BookshelfWe are now in the 4th month of the year. Although I'm super busy right now, I've been trying to save a little squidge of time in my week for reading (this is generally latish in the day on Sunday or else in my lunch break at work). Books are amazing and if you don't read you're missing out! :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Books I've read in the last few months for the first time:</span><br />
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<b>Non fiction:</b><br />
- Love without Limits by Nick Vujicic<br />
- My Heart is a Violin by Shony Alex Braun with Emily Cavins<br />
- Devil at my Heels by Louis Zamperini<br />
- Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth<br />
- Face to Face with Jesus by Samaa Habib<br />
- No Compromise by Melody Green<br />
- Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis<br />
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<b>Fiction:</b><br />
- The Hidden Hand and The Perils of Capitola by E. D. E. N. Southworth<br />
- <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/book-launch-princess-and-i-by-rebekah.html">The Princess and I by Rebekah Eddy</a></u><br />
- Multiple Agatha Christie titles<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">- The Shack by William P. Young</span><br />
- The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart<br />
- Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James<br />
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett<br />
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<b>Christian living: </b><br />
- A- Z of Truth by Val Stares<br />
- The Power of Motherhood by Nancy Campbell<br />
- Dancing With My Father by Sally Clarkson<br />
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So as you can see there's quite a variety of books! :) I'm currently reading Be Still My Soul by Elizabeth Elliot and looking forward to starting Hospital by the River by Dr Catherine Hamlin.<br />
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All the books I listed were a worthwhile read. I would like to focus in on a couple of them, though, just to talk about them a little more and give you a mini review. Just in case you're looking for a new book to read!<br />
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Mini Review #1</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My Heart is a Violin </span></div>
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<i>by Shony Alex Braun with Emily Cavins</i></div>
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This is a Holocaust book. It tells the story of the author, Shony Alex Braun, and some of the things that happened to him throughout his life and violin career. He ended up in a concentration camp at one point for a long period of time and had some incredible things happen to him.<br />
I loved the fact that although the book told of some very dark times in the author's life, there was a golden thread of hope running throughout. It was a fascinating read.<br />
I have never read many Holocaust stories but <b>definitely enjoyed this one</b>. Loved all the violin talk through it as well since I play the violin!<br />
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(Not recommended if you wouldn't be comfortable reading about some of the things that happened in the second World War.)<br />
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<i>Mini Review #2</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Shack </span></div>
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<i>by William P. Young</i></div>
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This is an extremely controversial book. It came out a few years ago but has gathered up a bit of controversy recently since a movie based on the book has just come out! </div>
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I picked up the book since I've heard so many conflicting things about it and wanted to find out for myself what it says. </div>
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It tells the fictional story of a guy named Mack who suffers a family tragedy and spirals into a deep depression that causes him to question his beliefs. Facing a faith crisis, he ends up encountering three strangers led by a woman named Papa who are, in the book, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Mack learns some things through his encounters with the Godhead in the shack that change his life.</div>
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There are definitely some great things in The Shack. I especially love how suffering is explained and portrayed. I feel like it could be quite a helpful book for someone who has gone through some tough times and questioned where God is in suffering.</div>
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However, I don't like many things about it.</div>
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The biggest thing for me is that I don't feel God's perfect justice and abhorrence of evil was displayed in harmony with His perfect love. Both of those two qualities exist in God, you only have to read the Bible to see that. Yet only His love was portrayed in The Shack, and His abhorrence of evil and neccessary wrath and justice was explained away as "some people's false views of God".</div>
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One of the other controversial aspects of the book is that God is initially portrayed as a woman. There is a reason the author does this but I don't think making God a woman in a book is very Biblical. </div>
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If you read this book, it is important to remember that it is a <b>fictional work</b>. Like I said, I think it might be helpful for some, and I did find it extremely interesting to read, but I won't be watching the movie and <b>wouldn't recommend the book to others. </b></div>
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Mini Review #3</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Love Without Limits</span></div>
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<i>by Nick Vujicic</i></div>
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Love Without Limits is a fascinating non fiction read. The author, Nick Vujicic, is a famous motivational speaker who doesn't have any arms or legs. The book tells the story of how he met his lovely wife, Kanae, fell in love with, and married her.<br />
It was so interesting reading about love and relationships from the perspective of someone like Nick! He tells of his experiences (there are lots of hilarious moments in it - like when he knew he liked Kanae, but Kanae and her sister thought he liked Kanae's sister... so as you can imagine that made things interesting!) and along the way includes many little nuggets of advice for those thinking about relationships, in relationships, married, or with children. So there really is pretty much something for everyone.<br />
<b>Highly recommended.</b><br />
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Mini Review #4</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma </span></div>
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<i>by Trenton Lee Stewart</i></div>
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I requested this book from our local library because I had had the first book in the series recommended to me. Unfortunately our library doesn't have the first two in the series so I'm contenting myself with the third (which sadly apparently is the worst of the three!).</div>
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Anyway, if this book is the worst, it says a lot for the other two!! I LOVED this one!</div>
This book is a light-hearted masterpiece full of spies, humor, and good-natured fun.<br />
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The characters and the events of the plot come together in themes of friendship, bravery, teamwork, and doing the right thing no matter what. The characters are extremely well developed. They have fears and weaknesses just like everyone.</div>
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There aren't too many books that make you want to get in there and participate in the story along with the characters. This book made me want to do just that.</div>
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It's kind of written like an older children's story - my brother Ben who is 14 really enjoyed it - but I definitely loved it. </div>
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Not sure whether that says more about me or about the book, but look, <b>you'll love it no matter your age. </b><br />
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Mini Review #5</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Help</span></div>
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<i>by Kathryn Stockett</i></div>
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The Help was written in 2009 but it's written like it could be a classic from decades ago. It tells the story of coloured 'help' who work for white women. 12 black maids are persuaded to tell their stories of prejudice and what it's like working for white ladies, in a book written by a young lady whose eyes are opened to what's really going on in society. <br />
In the story, the book becomes a powerful force in giving a voice to the black maids and causes the community of Jackson, Mississippi to reconsider the carefully drawn lines between white and black.<br />
It's a great book. It's funny in places, witty in places, and in others makes you think. I really enjoyed it. <br />
If you're keen on accurate and well done historical novels, <strong>go for this one!</strong><br />
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And there ends my thoughts on these five books. Are you adding any to your 'to be read' list? Anything you've read recently you would recommend or wouldn't recommend?<br />
Let's discuss!<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" /></div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-81341755364679913772017-04-11T06:11:00.000+12:002017-04-11T06:14:43.989+12:00A + A // life in an office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
*sings*</div>
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Good morning! Good morning! Good morning morning morning!</div>
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Who's excited? I am! This is awkward and awesome... office edition :D Featuring some office life anecdotes and some random life anecdotes from the past few weeks. Enjoy.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Awkward:</span></strong><br />
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<strong>- </strong>Meeting forty people who work in the same office as me on my first day of work and getting told all their names, and meeting them subsequently in days after and not being able to remember what on earth their names are.<br />
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- Posting something controversial on the internet. I can't decide if it's worth it. You get too many people telling you that your opinions aren't any good and I'm pretty sure nobody's minds are changed!<br />
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- Facebook Messenger helpfully telling the other person you've read their message. Like, oh dear, I wanted an excuse to not have to reply for a few days.....<br />
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- The fact that it is possible to be surrounded by people all day and still to feel lonely.<br />
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<strong>- </strong>Forgetting to bring my phone in to work so I had nothing to do on my breaks but talk to people and study. :/ What a hard life I lead.<br />
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- When you're with a group of people you don't know incredibly well and they crack inside jokes at each other and make references to something from the past that all of them know about and then they have to keep explaining the jokes and references to you so you don't feel left out.<br />
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- Seeing someone you haven't seen for a while and going through that awkward "Do I hug them, do I not, do I maybe shake their hand?" conversation in your head. It's not fabulous.<br />
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- Noticing you overuse a word. Sorry, people in my life, I just like calling others (and myself, let's be honest) a numpty.<br />
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<strong>Awesome:</strong></span><br />
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- Cheesecake. I have recently eaten the best cheesecake I have ever tasted.<br />
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- Meeting someone who has the same sense of humour as me, and who belly laughs at all my jokes. Then proceeds to tell me many of her favourite jokes (which of course I love) so we both end up literally crying we're having such a good time. It was epic.<br />
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- Looking at a massive file at work I'd just spent a long period of time going through and thinking, "Did I seriously just wade through that monster?"<br />
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- Being able to really encourage someone. Makes your day (and theirs of course!).<br />
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- Dreading the dash out to the sleepout for bed at night when it's raining all day. Then discovering when I wanted to go to bed the rain had stopped, so I had a nice dry walk. Then when I was in bed the rain started again.<br />
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- Spontaneous random hanging out with people. Some friends and I went to a park late in the evening and had fun on things like the flying fox. Why is the flying fox supposed to be just for little kids???? It's awesome!<br />
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- Quizzes! I love them. Quizzes are amazing.<br />
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- Tidying my desk. Crazy how quick it gets piled with random files and papers and all sorts. Feels so good to have it clean. It leaves me with a great feeling about life. :D<br />
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- The fact that the building opposite my work has 'Everything is going to be alright' written on it in neon lettering. No idea how or why that got put there but it's such a nice reminder to see when walking to work! Not that I'm worried everything won't be alright, but it's just nice to see it there. :)<br />
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- Planning camp. Nothing more exciting than that.<br />
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<i>Are you a tidy desk person or a messy desk person?</i><br />
<i>What do you think - is posting something controversial on the internet a good idea? I'm thinking specifically of Facebook.</i><br />
<i>Do you overuse any words?</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also what are you all doing for Easter?</span> I'm going away to Nelson for like two days so I'm excited. :) I was gonna do a reflective post on Easter but so far I haven't had time so watch this space but don't get disappointed if nothing happens, lol.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, have an amazing Easter </span>and be nice to people okay<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-86643427830927167342017-04-03T10:23:00.002+12:002017-04-03T10:29:39.356+12:00Positivity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"I love Wednesdays!" I thought to myself as I opened my eyes last Wednesday morning. Then I sort of thought about what I had just thought to myself. And was surprised at the sudden burst of positive-ness I just experienced!<br />
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Could it be that the simple statement I proclaimed in my head had influenced my outlook for the day?<br />
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It's funny how just thinking positive thoughts can change your attitude and thoughts of your heart. I have found that forcing myself to react positively as opposed to reacting negatively makes such a difference, no matter what you are facing.<br />
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I am an optimist. I really do like to look at the bright side of things. It makes life so much happier and more pleasant to be looking for the flowers not the weeds!<br />
Yet there are still many, many times I have to tell myself to be positive. Positivity and the choice to be joyful regardless of circumstances doesn't come straight away even for us optimists! :)<br />
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I tried to think of some positive things we can say and do that influence our attitude. Here's what I came up with.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Speak positivity to yourself.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Speak positive words to yourself. A great time to start this is as soon as you wake up in the
morning. I was amazed at how my simple "I love Wednesdays!" thought
made my attitude so much more pleasant when I awoke! I don't care whether you
hate every day of the week. When you wake up, think to yourself, "I love
..........*!" (* = the day of the week you find yourself in) It really
makes a difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Speak positivity to others. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Say nice things to people. "I love you" to family
members is a great start. This is also a win-win situation for the reasons
outlined in the previous point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Carry a song in your heart. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Sing a song in your head, or better still, aloud. Singing greatly improves the joy and positivity in the atmosphere and it forces you to stop whining in order to sing! (As long as you are singing something positive and not something dodgy). Don’t know what to sing? Praise and worship is always a great start. Can’t sing? Play some music through Spotify or iTunes or the radio or a CD or any of a million different ways you can get music. No more excuses, okay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spread joy through smiles.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Give away smiles liberally. Think of smiles as little gifts you have the power to give to anyone and everyone you encounter! Smiling at the world boosts your positivity and it boosts others, too! What a win-win for everyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Say it even if you don't feel it!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Say the positive thing even if you don’t feel like saying the positive thing. For example, your cat has just knocked one of your favourite china plates off the shelf and it’s shattered into a gazillion trillion hundred pieces on the floor. This is your opportunity! Take a deep breath, say a quick prayer to God for strength so you don’t yell at the cat, and then say brightly, “I’m so glad it was just one and not the entire stack of plates.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">This Pollyanna-esque style of looking at things might seem incredibly forced and yes, it might be to begin with, but trust me, it will help you look at things in such a different way!</span><br />
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<i>Would you call yourself an optimist or a pessimist? Or neither? Why?</i><br />
<i>What are some good ways to put on your positive pants?</i><br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" /><br />
PS. Do you like my quirky headers?? </div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-88529931109409818832017-03-28T06:41:00.000+13:002017-03-28T07:39:17.077+13:00The Lord's Servant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I'd like to think about what it means to be the servant of the Lord.<br />
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A <u><a href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Servants-Of-The-Lord">quick search</a></u> for Bible verses about 'servants of the Lord' will give you a myriad of results. Scrolling briefly through those results is so interesting. You find many verses you'd never noticed before that describe one of the heroic characters of the Bible as <i><b>servants of the Lord.</b></i><br />
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<i>"'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.' Then the angel left her" (Luke 1:38).</i></div>
<i><br />"When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses" (Exodus 13:1).</i><br />
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However, one thing I love is that it's not only the Biblical people who are described as servants of the Lord. It's us, too!</div>
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<i>"Instead, in every way we demonstrate that we are God's servants by tremendous endurance in the midst of difficulties, hardships, and calamities" (2 Corinthians 6:4 ISV).</i><br />
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<i>"Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, Praise the name of the LORD" (Psalm 113:1).</i></div>
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But why does the Bible refer to us as servants of the Lord? Aren't we meant to be princesses and princes of the King, as we are so often told?</div>
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<b>Identity </b>is something a lot of people struggle with. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my place, my position in society?</div>
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We Christians know that we are royalty. We have bookmarks saying things like, "<b>daughter of the Most High King</b>".</div>
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Which is (don't get me wrong!)<span style="font-size: large;"> absolutely and completely true.</span></div>
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But where are the bookmarks saying, "<b>servant of the Lord</b>" and "<b>the Lord's handmaiden</b>"?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where is the humility of our position contrasted with the majesty of our position?</span></div>
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Where, in Christian society, are we told that we are servants of the Lord? </div>
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The Bible heroes were celebrated not, I believe, because they were sons and daughters of the King... but because they were servants of the King.</div>
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Servants.</div>
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Servants.</div>
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What is a servant? It's someone who does his master's bidding. It's someone who works for another and is at another's beck and call. It's someone whose role in life is to serve and do the will of somebody else.</div>
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I think the prophet Isaiah got this, alright. He understood.</div>
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<i>"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!</i>'<i>" (Isaiah 6:8)</i>.</div>
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There he is, saying to God, "Here am I! Send me!" That's a servant attitude if I ever saw one.</div>
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Now, don't get all upset with me and tell me how I'm going to make people all depressed because they don't know their true worth and their intrinsic value and purpose as a child of the King. </div>
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That is all completely true. <span style="font-size: large;">We are royalty.</span></div>
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But don't get all excited about that if you're going to miss the also important thing that we are servants. Some translations even put it as 'bondslaves'. That's not just an average servant. That's a slave!</div>
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I think the reason I wanted to talk about this is because it is so easy to become so fixated on one important point that you completely miss other important points. </div>
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The thing about being a servant is that your will is not your own. Your desire is to serve another. You live to do the will of another. You have a much more humble position and a more humble attitude.</div>
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<i>Give me the heart of a servant</i></div>
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<i>Tender and faithful and true</i></div>
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<i>Fill me with love, then use me, O Lord,</i></div>
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<i>So that the world can see You.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>- The Heart of a Servant // Michael Puryear </i></span></div>
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Be blessed today as you joyfully serve the Lord!<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" /></div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-35504673561595859352017-03-21T07:41:00.001+13:002017-03-21T07:43:49.759+13:00What I've Been Listening to // EXCITING NEWS!!Music is amazing. I love it so much. And since I know you all absolutely adore my inspirational music choices (I'm just kidding, okay? :P) I just HAD to share my current favourites with you. :)<br />
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And, as a special reward for listening to all the songs, I'm going to share some exciting news at the end of the post.<br />
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Ready?<br />
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Well it actually doesn't matter if you are ready or not because here comes the music....<br />
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This first one is one I heard first on the radio... and boy, it is now my jam! I just LOVE it... the start is awesome because the music is catchy and I love the beat... and the rest of the song is incredible because the words are just so great. I especially enjoy the lyrics in the bridge and in the second verse. But anyway. You'll want to hear it yourself, so here you go!<br />
This is.... 'Higher' by Unspoken.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-H9SXqzs0oI" width="560"></iframe>
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Now we have a song that has a bunch of memories attached to it. One of the first musical artists I really listened to was Don Moen. This song, 'Hallelujah to the Lamb', was my favourite of his for ever so long! Listening to it makes me feel like I'm in heaven listening to the angels sing worship to the Lamb... it really is pretty awesome.<br />
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Our third piece of music is a bit different. It's 'Red River Valley' sung by Lynn Anderson. I really do quite enjoy country music and this piece is probably my favourite specimen of that genre. If you hate country music, you might not enjoy it so much... but listen to it with an open mind and a foot ready to tap! ;)<br />
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Our final song is, once again, quite a huge change in genre! I had never really heard much Messianic music until I went to America and my lovely friend Hannah introduced it to me. Especially this one singer, Joshua Aaron. He's awesome because he sings worship songs in both Hebrew and English so you know what you are singing! :)<br />
Anyway I love this one and wanted to share it with you. This is 'Gadol Elohai (How Great is Our God)'. You'll love it!<br />
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Ok now that you've listened to my current musical choices, it's time to share the exciting news.....<br />
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I GOT A JOB!!!!<br />
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A full time job! I'm working as a legal secretary at a law firm in the central city. It's going to make my life extremely busy, but it will be rather nice to be earning and saving a bit of money. Also I'm looking forward to working in a legal environment. It will be a learning curve but fun.<br />
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Sooooo... since I'm actually still studying, and now I'm working a full time job as well as commuting, life's gonna be crazy. All that to say that I'm terribly sorry, dear friends, but I might be missing from here quite a bit more than I have been in the last month or so. I highly doubt I'm going to have much free time for blogging. But you never know. I'll aim for a post a week but we'll see.<br />
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And... that's it from me. :D Bye for now. Have a fantastic day.<br />
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<i>What style or genre of music do you find yourself gravitating towards most often?</i><br />
<i>Do you have a job (whether it's casual, part time or full time)? </i><br />
<i><img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" /></i>Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-25621956188367760602017-03-18T06:00:00.000+13:002017-03-18T06:00:02.755+13:00Bonnie's Opinion // Christians in the Public Eye<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I'd like to discuss something important. It's about Christians in the public eye who have had scandals attached to them.<br />
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I'm thinking of some in particular. I won't name them here but I'm sure you've heard of some. You know - the Christians who look like they have their lives together and the whole world knows about them. Them suddenly - scandal! They are being unfaithful to their wife or 'come out' as a homosexual or it turns out they have been secretly pocketing church money... or something equally disgusting.<br />
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The thing is, in my opinion, <i>all Christians</i> are called to be holy and to conduct blameless and pure lives.<br />
<i><br />"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'”(1 Peter 1:13-16).</i><br />
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It is laid out pretty clearly, I think! Be holy because God is holy. That is the standard we are called to live up to.<br />
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Of course, we are not perfect. We slip up and make mistakes. We are still sinful humans who haven't reached heaven yet!<br />
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That's why God's grace and mercy is always available. We can fall on our knees before our King and come before him with a repentant heart. He will forgive us.<br />
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But we must have a repentant heart.<br />
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Because as soon as we start willfully sinning without an honestly repentant heart, we have turned our backs on Jesus. We have forgotten the price he paid to purchase our freedom. We are throwing his gift back in his face!<br />
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Now we come to the Christians in the public eye who get caught out when someone discovers what they have been doing in secret.<br />
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<i>"Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).</i><br />
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The Bible says our sin will find us out. We don't get away with sin forever. It has a way of coming out no matter how hard we try to hide it.<br />
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The thing with Christians in the public eye is that THEY ARE IN THE PUBLIC EYE. (Surprise!)<br />
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The world is watching them.<br />
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The world is watching all Christians, true. But they are watching Christians in the public eye with a magnifying glass. They are scrutinizing their every move.<br />
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It's so incredibly tragic when these scandals break about these Christians in the public eye. Because the world is watching them. The Bible says that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They are Christians to the world. They are the Christ-followers, the ones who are making his name famous.<br />
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But when they are caught out doing something that isn't holy and God-honouring, what does that do to the name of Christ?<br />
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It turns our God into a laughing stock in the eyes of the nations. It makes people go, "Oh, another pathetic Christian has had their hypocrisy uncovered."<br />
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Why would people take our faith seriously when all the people they can see who *supposedly* take their faith seriously are nothing more than hypocrites?<br />
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This is why I think that Satan is desperate to 'get' the Christians in the public eye. Satan doesn't want those who aren't Christians. He already has them! It's the Christians he doesn't have! So he is after us... and what better way to do it than to discredit the name of Christ by tempting a Christian in the public eye, having them take the bait and watching them fall down amid sneers of derision from the world.<br />
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<i>"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>It's incredibly tragic, like I said before.<br />
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Yet it is nothing more than a scheme of Satan. And you know what?<br />
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We can do something about it!<br />
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The Bible talks about how we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are a city on a hill. We spread Jesus's name. We are Christians just as much as Christians in the public eye are! We can do our best, with the Lord's help, to live Godly lives that exude the fragrance of Christ wherever we are.<br />
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We all have a corner of the world in which our lives take place. The question is, are you exuding the fragrance of Christ in your corner of the world?<br />
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<u><a href="http://biblehub.com/romans/15-30.htm">Romans 15:30</a></u> and other Scriptures encourage us to pray for those in authority over us. That's our pastors and government, etc. And of course, we can be praying for Christians in the public eye that they would <b>stand strong against the wiles of Satan</b> and be able to u<b>se their lives to glorify our King to the world in which we live!</b><br />
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Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-85422733286745981732017-03-14T07:37:00.000+13:002017-03-14T07:37:43.632+13:00My Daily Journaling Journey and a brief attempt at being motivational<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the beginning of this year I made myself a bit of a resolution. I wanted to write in my journal every single day of this year.<br />
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Well, I failed. :P<br />
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I did better than I thought I would, to be honest. I was expecting it to fizzle out at some point. And I managed it! For about two months. I missed one day in mid January, I missed one day at the end of January (this one has a legit excuse - I was flying back from America and I didn't actually get an entire day because of time zones and stuff so I skipped it because that day didn't exist in my life :P) and I can't remember about February. I think I might have missed one or two.<br />
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Until March hit.<br />
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And I forgot two days in a row. :/ I remembered the third day but decided not to because I was doing other things and honestly couldn't be bothered.<br />
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It was going quite well until that point!<br />
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So yeah.<br />
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I've given up on the 'daily journaling' idea. Cos it's too hard to actually do <i>every. single. day.</i><br />
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But it got me thinking. What is in me that allows me to just give up like this? Why do I, as soon as I fail often enough, refuse to get back up, pick up the pen on a new day and continue?<br />
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I don't even know all the answers to that question.<br />
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But I think they would be along the lines of "as soon as it becomes difficult" and "as soon as I view it as less important".<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because if you have something you desire to do, you have to DO IT.</span><br />
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(that was real inspirational material right there, guys!)<br />
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And DOING IT takes time. And effort. And making it a priority.<br />
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Hmm, yeah, making it a priority. I have to actually make daily journaling a priority (a thing of importance in my life) in order to get it done.<br />
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So why am I posting this? I guess I'm posting it to encourage you.<br />
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If you are like me (that is, you get excited about a project and it lasts for a grand total of not very long before you lose interest and give up on the incomplete project) then take courage. You're not alone!<br />
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You don't have to finish every project. There is no law of the universe (that I'm aware of anyway) that says you have to finish everything you begin. I'm not going to try to continue writing in my journal every day because I just don't want to.<br />
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But if you want to finish it, and lack the motivation, here's my encouragement.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">JUST DO IT!</span><br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-44611103373010280022017-03-10T06:00:00.000+13:002017-03-21T07:43:32.076+13:00The Blue Sky Tag // Joke CompetitionGood morning, friends! (Or good afternoon, or good evening, if where you live it right now happens to be a time other than morning.)<br />
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I was tagged by <u><a href="https://rockandminerals4him.wordpress.com/">Hanne</a></u> for the Blue Sky Tag. Yay! Thank you, Hanne!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rules:</span><br />
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<i>1.Thank the person who tagged you<br />2.Answer their 11 questions<br />3.Tag 11 people<br />4.Give them 11 questions to answer</i><br />
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That seems easy enough! On with Hanne's questions.<br />
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Actually, after looking at these questions, something is occurring to me. I feel like I've already mentioned answers to pretty much all of them on my blog before. The problem doesn't lie with the questions - the problem lies with me, having shared so openly about like everything about me on my blog. Haha. Well anyway. Let's still attempt these questions. I'm going to just link a blog post if that's a relevant answer.</div>
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<i>What’s your favorite smell (if you have one?)</i></div>
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I love flower scents (a nice rose, anyone???). Also food cooking is pretty unbeatable.</div>
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<i><br />What are your pet peeves?</i></div>
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- <a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.com/2014/12/pondering-on-punctuality.html" style="text-decoration: underline;">Unpunctuality.</a> Especially when something could have been done about it. </div>
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- People mispronouncing words. I don't care when it's me mispronouncing the words, just when I know what the right pronunciation is and the person isn't using it. </div>
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- When you've just cleaned something and someone comes in and messes it up. Story of my life.</div>
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<i><br />What websites do you visit the most often?</i></div>
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I visit my own relatively frequently. Also Facebook, Blogger, Gmail and the Open Polytechnic website. </div>
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<i><br />What is something that you’ll NEVER do again?</i></div>
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I'll NEVER do the 11th year of my life again. :/ Because I just keep getting older. </div>
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<i>What’s a memory from your childhood that’s particularly vivid?</i></div>
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There's a whole bunch of vivid memories <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/memories.html">here.</a></u></div>
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<i>What’s your favorite drink?</i></div>
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Tea.</div>
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<i><br />What’s the most illegal thing you’ve done?</i></div>
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Driven above the speed limit.</div>
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<i>What is your favorite music artist?</i></div>
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I have way too many favourites. I tend to pick favourite songs over favourite artists because each song is different! :) Some of my favourite music is discussed <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/music-ive-been-loving.html">here</a></u>, <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/music-ive-been-loving.html">here</a></u> and <u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2016/10/music-tag.html">here</a></u>.</div>
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<i><br />If you wrote an autobiography, what would you name it?</i></div>
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Bonnie's Blessings. Because I'm really creative.</div>
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<i><br />What takes up too much of your time?</i></div>
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<u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/welcome-to-my-journaling-bible.html">Art.</a></u></div>
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<u><a href="http://blessingsofbonnie.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/art.html">More art.</a></u></div>
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<i><br />What place do you most want to travel to?</i></div>
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Probably Europe or Israel. </div>
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And that was that! Fun, right? :D<br />
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Here are the 9 people I'm tagging (because I didn't think any of my other bloggy friends would want to get involved :P) although if you aren't tagged and you want to be because you love my questions so much, never mind, you'll just have to content yourself with reading the responses from the people in the following list.<br />
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1. <u><a href="http://creatingpreciousmoments.blogspot.co.nz/">Ashley all the way from Precious Moments</a></u><br />
2. <u><a href="http://spreadingmyjoy.blogspot.co.nz/">Allie spreading joy at Spreading My Joy</a></u><br />
<u><a href="https://katiedeanne.wixsite.com/katiedeanne">3. Katie who hails from Katie Deanne</a></u><br />
4. <u><a href="http://kiwitsm.blogspot.co.nz/">Hannah travelling but stopping in occasionally at Kiwi Travel Stories and More</a></u><br />
5. <u><a href="http://paigespages4thelord.blogspot.co.nz/">Paige who hides out at Paige's Pages</a></u><br />
6. <a href="http://fishing4ideas.blogspot.co.nz/" style="text-decoration: underline;">Jonathan possibly needing ideas at Fishing for Ideas</a><br />
7. <u><a href="https://claredot.blogspot.co.nz/">Clare blogging at Clare's Spot</a></u><br />
8. <u><a href="http://4rmeddy.blogspot.co.nz/">Rebekah remarking at Rebekah's Remarks</a></u><br />
9. <u><a href="http://thecountrygurl.blogspot.co.nz/">Kiley the country gurl from Country Gurl</a></u><br />
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And these are the 11 questions you all can answer if you like. If you don't like, no pressure at all. JK I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAKE YOU ANSWER THEM. JK again I was kidding.<br />
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<i>1. If you could change one thing about the past, what would it be?</i><br />
<i>2. Which one of your five senses would you give up and live without if you had to?</i><br />
<i>3. What is your middle name?</i><br />
<i>4. What animal, starting with the first letter of your first name, do you like the most?</i><br />
<i>5. Would you rather have free Wifi everywhere you go or free coffee everywhere you go?</i><br />
<i>6. How do you want to be remembered?</i><br />
<i>7. Would you rather have a cat with a dog's personality or a dog with a cat's personality?</i><br />
<i>8. If you could master one skill you don't currently possess, what would it be?</i><br />
<i>9. Would you rather fight one hundred duck sized horses or one horse sized duck?</i><br />
<i>10. Which are you more likely to fight for: love or money?</i><br />
<i>11. What makes you cry?</i><br />
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Okey dokey, that's that!<br />
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Let's have a nice joke competition to finish off. Comment your entry! :) I'll pick my favourite out of the comments. Ready? GOOOO!<br />
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Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-65260403094825293972017-03-07T06:00:00.000+13:002017-03-07T06:00:15.415+13:00Those who look to Him are radiant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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You know how sometimes a Bible verse just grabs you and you can't stop thinking about it? Well, that's been happening to me.<br />
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<i>"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed" (Psalm 34:5 ESV).</i><br />
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Those who look to him are radiant! That's the bit that grabbed me. I couldn't help just continuing to meditate on it over and over and I thought maybe would I share some of my ponderings with you. :)</div>
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When I think of the section "Those who look to him are radiant" it makes me think of several things.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyone who looks to Him is radiant</span>.<br />
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Therefore, Christians who look to the Lord and seek Him and desire earnestly to get to know Him are radiant. <b>It says that they are radiant</b>. Not that they <i>will be</i> in the future. <b>But that they are <i>now</i>. </b>Anyone who looks to God is radiant.</div>
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The second thing that comes to mind is more of a question.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Am I radiant?</span><br />
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Since the verse says that those who look to Him are radiant, it seems to me that I can take a magnifying glass to myself and do a 'radiance test' to find out whether I am looking to the Lord.<br />
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Now that may seem to be a bit weird and complicated. But it makes sense to me. Bear with me and I'll see if I can explain it a bit better!<br />
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I am seeking God. I want to know him better. I desire to know him better.<br />
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Yet in the busyness of life and the things that come up, it's easy to get distracted from that. I'm sure you'd agree with me that distractions just creep in and come in the way.<br />
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<b>That's why it seems to me that a radiance test is helpful.</b><br />
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You see, when I take a close look at myself and see things in my life that shouldn't be there, I know that I have some work to do. I have more seeking of God to do. I am not in Heaven yet therefore I'm still a flawed human being!<br />
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But sometimes I say or do things that kinda surprise me. (You know, when you say something and you get surprised at what just came out of your mouth? Or maybe you are one of those people that actually thinks before you speak.... :P Anyway, I'm not.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And I look at myself very closely and see things that shouldn't be there... so I take it to the Lord. I look to Him. I see my sin reflected in His glory and am brought to my knees! </span><u><a href="http://ctt.ec/MazEA">(Click to tweet)</a></u><br />
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Well let me be honest here, I should do that every time I do the 'radiance test'. I don't. I'm definitely working on it.<br />
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And I'd like to encourage you to do the same.<br />
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Since those who look to Him are radiant, when we see things in our lives that are definitely not radiant, we should look to Him. <b>We should seek Him and come before His throne with repentant hearts! </b><br />
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David, in the Psalms, encourages us to <i>ask God to search us and try us</i>. Why don't we look inside ourselves and let God look inside us more often?<br />
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<i>"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Psalm 139:23).</i></div>
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The <u><a href="http://www.godrules.net/library/strongs2a/heb5102.htm">Strong's definition of 'radiant</a></u>' is so interesting. It comes from a primitive root that means 'to sparkle'. Isn't that so neat? </div>
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It also means to be cheerful, to shine, to beam, to light, to burn. I just love looking into the original meanings behind words! (Some translations of Psalm 34:5 actually say 'lightened' instead of radiant, for example KJV and Webster's translation.)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Those who look to him are radiant. Sparkly. Bright. Cheerful. Lightened. </span></div>
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And I think I'll leave it there!<br />
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<i>What have you been meditating on and pondering?</i><br />
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PS. Guess what! My wonderful Dad is turning the inspirational age of *cough cough* today! Yay!! Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you to the moon and back and to the moon again and back again! <3</div>
Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-28825378705703312572017-03-04T06:00:00.001+13:002017-03-04T07:10:12.593+13:00A + A // I designed and illustrated a book cover!<span style="font-size: small;">It's been wayyyyy too long since I last did an Awkward and Awesome post. Not even sure why it's been so long. It just has been ages! Hopefully this post is awesome enough (sorry for a lame pun attempt, guys) to make up for that.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, I'll allow you to make up your own minds about that! </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Awkward:</span></b><br />
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- Helping at the Christian Union stall at Clubs Day at Canterbury Uni. It was both awesome and awkward at the same time, I guess! Approaching random strangers and inviting them along to something is not my favourite thing to do but I ended up enjoying it. Also the people at the Vegan society opposite our stall were friendly. :D<br />
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- Waking up with a pinched nerve in my neck. And having every head movement for quite a few hours plague me with sharp twinges of pain!<br />
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- Coming across one of<i> Those</i> <i>Words</i>. You know those words that you just hate for no apparent reason? Well maybe you don't hate any words for no reason... maybe I'm just weird. Anyway I keep coming across the word 'bespoke' (you know, as in "custom-made" and "made to order") and cringing. I do not like that word.<br />
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- Thinking in the middle of a conversation about something you want to say so you interrupt the person speaking. I have no excuses. I know that is dreadfully rude. <span style="font-size: large;">I'm so sorry, world.</span> I honestly do try not to interrupt people! It's something I've battled all my life.<br />
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- That struggle in the morning of deciding what to wear. You know, it's that internal struggle of "do I wear this? But I wore this the same day last week and I was with the same people I'm going to be with today so I don't want to wear it again!" It gets complicated quickly. :D<br />
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- Having those big misunderstandings where everyone gets confused. Dad had arranged to take the car in to town to get it serviced and he had booked that for Monday. Then on Friday he started talking about going into work early and getting the car serviced and we (that is, Danella and I) are like, "what???!! we had planned to use the car today!" And then much confusion ensued until someone checked the calendar and discovered it was indeed booked for Monday so everything was fine.<br />
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- Getting all excited about something when you are eating and splurting out food over the table. #mylifeissoembarrassing<br />
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- Having grand ideas of projects to do and beginning them but not going back to them. Yes, I am one of those people who starts things and can struggle to finish them. *glances sheepishly around for any friends out there who can relate*<br />
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- Playing a game of squash with one of my younger brothers and losing to him. *bruised pride*<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Awesome:</span></b><br />
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- Being asked to illustrate a book cover. I'm like, "ummm... YES!" :P This was back when I was in the US. I designed and illustrated the cover of 'A-Z of Truth by Val Stares' so if you ever read it (and you totally should, it's a fantastic book) you can appreciate my art on the cover. :P Man it was so exciting though! (You can see it <u><a href="http://aboverubiesbookstore.mybigcommerce.com/a-z-for-truth-eb00k-by-val-stares/">here</a>.</u>)<br />
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- Catching up with friends again after coming home. Just so nice.<br />
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- My new violin... her name is Marianna. She has a much nicer and more resonant sound than my previous violin. She really is beyond awesome and I just love playing her! Also is it just me that thinks violins seem feminine? I saw her and said to myself, "She looks like a Marianna." So that's what I named her.<br />
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- Nectarines from our own tree! :D<br />
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- The fact that I actually took the plunge and painted my cellphone case... like seriously it was a bit scary but awesome. It's actually black and I dislike black things but I've put up with it because it wasn't worth buying another case! Anyway the other day I was like, "you know what, I am going to paint it, then it won't be black." So I painted it, and now it's not black. I know you're just dying to see how it turned out so here you go.<br />
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- Going on the Air New Zealand website and signing in to my Airpoints account on a whim, and finding that only half my flights on my America trip had gotten me airpoints so I grab my ticket and boarding passes (which I had fortunately kept because #memorabilia) and add the flights to my account and earn myself heaps of airpoints. Twas such an amazing feeling.<br />
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- Finding great clothes for ridiculously cheap prices at a local church fair / garage sale thing. We got Jana the cutest dress ever and she was over the moon when she saw it! :D<br />
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<i>Does your musical instrument have a name? How did you name it?</i><br />
<i>What does your cellphone cover look like?</i><br />
<i>I want to hear the story of the most awkward thing that happened to you in the last week or so. Do share! :)</i><br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-6739834475986519342017-03-01T06:00:00.000+13:002017-03-04T07:18:33.870+13:00BOOK LAUNCH // "The Princess and I" by Rebekah EddyWell hello hello friends! I have something special happening today!<br />
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As part of the release celebrations happening around the blogosphere at the moment to celebrate <u><a href="http://4rmeddy.blogspot.co.nz/">Rebekah Eddy's</a></u> new book, I get to review it for you all today. Wahoooooo! (It is officially being released on March 3rd.) I also have an author interview for you and more information about the book, so read on for all the excitingness!<br />
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Anyway, Rebekah very sweetly sent me a copy to review and being the dedicated person I am, since I don't have an e-reader and I didn't want to read the entire book on the computer, I downloaded it on my phone and read it on there. Well, wooooow.<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">Synopsis of "The Princess and I"</span><br />
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<i>Megan is content with her life, despite her parents' death and her brother Malcolm's job that keeps him busy at the King's castle. But when she is offered the position as Princess Christine's lady-in-waiting, Megan is glad of the change in scenery and accepts it with the hope that she can spend more time with her brother. The promise from Malcolm of lessons in swordsmanship only adds to her enthusiasm.<br /><br />However, helping keep an eye on the emotional and excitable young lady proves to be much harder than becoming her friend. As rumors of war circulate the castle, Megan strives to encourage her new friend even as she tries to settle the doubts and fears in her own heart when her responsibility in protecting the Princess is put to the test. Follow the unwanted adventure which serves to teach her that loyal friendship, true love, and God's amazing grace will always triumph over revenge, greed, and hate.</i><br />
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This is the cover, guys.</div>
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And this is the face of someone who stayed up to an unreasonable hour in order to get to the end of the book and find out how it ended: *dreamy eyes*</div>
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I really enjoyed the book.</div>
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It was fabulous.</div>
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It's been a very long time since I've stayed up late in order to finish a book! I just had to keep reading and reading and reading to find out what happened at the end!</div>
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Rebekah is a great storyteller. I loved the way the tale is from the lady-in-waiting's perspective rather than the princess's perspective herself. I enjoyed the suspenseful moments and yes, even the sad moments (although *spoiler alert* why oh why did one of my favourite people have to DIE??????). </div>
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I liked the way Rebekah included something exciting in the epilogue and didn't reveal how that ended... meaning she can write a sequel or just leave it, whichever she chooses! </div>
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I only caught one little spelling error, so the editors/proofreaders did a great job. </div>
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The epilogue, although it had something exciting in it, felt a bit forced to me (like it was trying too hard to mop up and finish the story) but it did end nicely. I would have liked more of the scenes throughout the book to be set (tell us more about the castle!) and I felt a couple of things were a tiny bit far fetched but it was still a fantastic read.</div>
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I can't leave this review without mentioning that I really really loved the romance skillfully woven throughout the book. It was perfectly clean and at the same time captivating, which makes for a very enjoyable read! </div>
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I think Rebekah did a good job of making a generally cliche sort of story interesting and also new in her own way. I reckon princess stories are hard to write because they are so overdone but I really loved this one. </div>
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<b>My rating: 4/5 (which is really high for me!) </b></div>
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Rebekah and I arranged to have a little interview that I could post along with the review. Here it goes, in all it's five question-ed glory. :D</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interview with the author</span><br />
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What inspires you to write?<br />
<i>Like all good authors, I'm inspired by EVERYTHING. There's the short, uncomplicated answer. ;) But, true to my personality, I'll go on to ramble about fresh ocean breezes, long car trips, dreams, people I know, people I don't know, other books I've read, history, news, and Pinterest. :P The list could go on for all eternity, but I'll stop now or you all will get incredibly bored.</i><br />
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Do you have plans for future books?<br />
<i>I have no shortage of ideas floating around my head...but whether or not one of them takes hold of me is yet to happen. We'll have to see. An unsatisfactory answer, I know...but it's the only honest answer I have right now.</i><br />
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How long did 'The Princess and I' take you to write?<br />
<i>Well, I STARTED "The Princess & I" when I was twelve. I wrote all of three chapters in it. ;) Then, I got distracted with other books I was writing and a few years passed (I know, cringe with me) before I rediscovered the beginning. Early last year I decided to really write it, so I polished the first few chapters and it took off from there. After a helpful three months of Camp NaNo which got over half the book finished, I was able to complete the story during the next month. The whole writing process (not counting the long break) took about six months. Editing is a whole different story...don't even get me started. -_-</i><br />
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What's your favourite part of your book?<br />
<i>Spoilers removed, it's probably any time Megan and a certain someone are together, or the fighting scene between her and the bad guy. I really just love all of it though. ^_^</i><br />
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Favorite ice cream flavor?<br />
<i>Anything with carmel. Or chocolate. Or raspberry. Or white chocolate. Or coffee. Who would have thought that THIS question would be the hardest one to answer!! Sheesh. I LIKE ALL ICE CREAM, OK?? ;P</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Meet the author: About Rebekah</span></div>
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Rebekah grew up surrounded by family members who appreciated and read good literature. First, she fell in love with the stories her parents read aloud to her from the Bible and books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Great Expectations, The Hobbit, and Anne of Green Gables. After learning to read on her own, she discovered other fantastic books which helped to build her ever growing imagination.<br />
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She completed her first written work at the tender age of eight and now uses it to humble herself whenever the need arises. The story did serve to show her that God had given her a desire to write, however, and from that moment on Rebekah has never looked back or regretted picking up her pencil and becoming an author.<br />
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This eighteen-year-old homeschool graduate lives in rainy Western Washington and is currently working on receiving her BA in English in order to further her passion for creating worlds on paper.<br />
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Connect with Rebekah via her <u><a href="http://4rmeddy.blogspot.com/">blog</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/4rmeddy/">Pinterest</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14228138.Rebekah_Eddy">Goodreads</a></u> or <u><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/101959924522864159924">Google Plus</a></u>!<br />
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Guys you really really should get yourself a copy of this book when it launches on March 3rd. You won't regret it. Purchase it <u><a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/rebekah-eddy/the-princess-and-i/paperback/product-23078209.html">here</a></u>!!<br />
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Thanks so much Rebekah for allowing me to join in the launch day celebrations! Well done on 'The Princess and I'. I'm so excited for you!<br />
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<i>What book have you read most recently? </i><br />
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Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-34350421278001930422017-02-28T16:50:00.000+13:002017-03-01T13:37:51.869+13:00Quick post with an exciting announcementThis is a quick post (breaking the schedule, sorry people who care about that sort of thing) to tell you something exciting...<br />
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I have an <u><a href="https://www.etsy.com/nz/shop/BlessingsfromBonnie?ref=hdr_shop_menu">Etsy shop</a></u>!<br />
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My shop is to sell my artwork... I have no expectations whatsoever and only have it up as a sort of trial to see whether I will continue with it. I'm not really advertising it anywhere apart from here at this stage.<br />
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Anyway, just thought I'd let you know, then you can go look at it and spread the word (which I know you'll be dying to do :P). So yep. That's it from me.<br />
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<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-37490118320237631922017-02-26T06:00:00.000+13:002017-02-28T10:30:49.187+13:00DIY // how to make a durable book cover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwW6SmmJz7I7N2-X8Zv5873epe1hUSnAGgT3gerDVqG7Xc9FteK6XsAGKIZRYAwswpWd65YSdHgSGLoGt3fJQK6nRRVayRoKAImZvnxFnsZZwBz1_N2WXdA7DNxT8vmSgUHL6Uaw1FMU/s1600/038durablebookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwW6SmmJz7I7N2-X8Zv5873epe1hUSnAGgT3gerDVqG7Xc9FteK6XsAGKIZRYAwswpWd65YSdHgSGLoGt3fJQK6nRRVayRoKAImZvnxFnsZZwBz1_N2WXdA7DNxT8vmSgUHL6Uaw1FMU/s640/038durablebookcover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Welcome to a DIY tutorial! Today I want to discuss how to make an easy, durable book cover that looks way cooler than the cover on the book / journal / diary you currently own. </div>
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<b>Materials you'll need:</b></div>
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- Book of some sort (I have a generic spiral bound diary)</div>
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- Something to cover it with (I have green card and a picture I painted myself)</div>
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- Packing tape (use the clear stuff!)</div>
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- Scissors</div>
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I'm obviously going to do this slightly differently to how you'll do it since no two people are the same, but I'm sharing how I went about doing mine anyway. :)</div>
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These are the materials I have. The long thing at the top is a paper cutter (which I got recently - it's fabulous) and I'm going to use it to cut up my painting I want to use on the cover.</div>
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Cutting the painting to size. The painting was like a two minute thing I did to use up some leftover red paint, lol! Always save leftover paint! :D</div>
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The painting is cut to size now. I'm going to glue it onto the green card (after I cut that to size first of course). This will give me the size I need and also make it a bit more interesting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpHyGegTlItHIrWJDT2FN7zlWiZyNlSMzQyENrHnYMEiXf3-FOqun_dOZ3p8Cifp3WLeDrmB04febUmkh-APyqUdHlOPUl3nzS59R3wjALUmgOYm9kRVKHCHgqn5sQ7KPIFinzf0f6Aw/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpHyGegTlItHIrWJDT2FN7zlWiZyNlSMzQyENrHnYMEiXf3-FOqun_dOZ3p8Cifp3WLeDrmB04febUmkh-APyqUdHlOPUl3nzS59R3wjALUmgOYm9kRVKHCHgqn5sQ7KPIFinzf0f6Aw/s640/029.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Lining it up to make sure everything fits</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyDIebB2ZacE_l7OwgbmrH8tC3wtBasMRJH8-eo55xeXbpdtCoGyxgeIPJXFuUVeX8OL7cHkxYKqjtSq35ZManfyon9QVJrsneZ6vZNxP_uJh-PaPnu9h7TB52Gckx5ITq-JqcmhNQ1o/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyDIebB2ZacE_l7OwgbmrH8tC3wtBasMRJH8-eo55xeXbpdtCoGyxgeIPJXFuUVeX8OL7cHkxYKqjtSq35ZManfyon9QVJrsneZ6vZNxP_uJh-PaPnu9h7TB52Gckx5ITq-JqcmhNQ1o/s640/030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mustn't forget to write on the cover what you want it to say!! I nearly did, oops. :P</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SvkQupotYTXXRReZZbCP6bMxbVWPueS3Y359COeRuCpOF-IBIvCKTzQ__InoK6q8TDvzpuCa3EmgDplRSvdHTTom3yuHGB4ppC7y299wb2eJ4AkhhgxXgjz57uzYieOhDDrAU6inuOY/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SvkQupotYTXXRReZZbCP6bMxbVWPueS3Y359COeRuCpOF-IBIvCKTzQ__InoK6q8TDvzpuCa3EmgDplRSvdHTTom3yuHGB4ppC7y299wb2eJ4AkhhgxXgjz57uzYieOhDDrAU6inuOY/s640/031.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Gluing the painted bit</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUnACVqal7oEvKZmCzYRTimGfYLN7TNaA3m_KRKBtO6zSR6qpPpLj9a_kEeojtAt9etBNlVwviH-Ten6ZFRNnwvvImch3zsYhuhtd_t6J_6X3Ytu1OGiMAmFU4uax_Tppmjw6n53fyUM/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKUnACVqal7oEvKZmCzYRTimGfYLN7TNaA3m_KRKBtO6zSR6qpPpLj9a_kEeojtAt9etBNlVwviH-Ten6ZFRNnwvvImch3zsYhuhtd_t6J_6X3Ytu1OGiMAmFU4uax_Tppmjw6n53fyUM/s640/032.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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there now it's stuck on. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9jtEi3BbWFRqckgVBzEnl8jmoBD5RsDfdkL6wL81r4Z7iu1EoOTsnYPqFFRYJkOFvrTw83zKRBCJAwo6lr9L5Mek8OqEJ3gTPetLdh5eMP1m1AswfGij7rIkYQR_XGrIcAKDBsgB6h0/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9jtEi3BbWFRqckgVBzEnl8jmoBD5RsDfdkL6wL81r4Z7iu1EoOTsnYPqFFRYJkOFvrTw83zKRBCJAwo6lr9L5Mek8OqEJ3gTPetLdh5eMP1m1AswfGij7rIkYQR_XGrIcAKDBsgB6h0/s640/033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Alright now here's the bit you need to take notice of. Once you have your cover and it's the size and shape you want and it's exactly how you like, cut a section of packing tape and just tape down one side of the cover. Having the clear packing tape over the cover will give it a nice layer of protection.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gWS3TTDZ3DUuwVrcPU9nNo4hnbNLkRtnbvD-ntEychSgo6h5CRNpVy0eJq_bTwZFs4iQcQtnuPdbCdzJH3vuJa3XJSS5tmP9aSfSCMNfVNJedJKa5NZvX7rSQTgfCT3FL3yGNWf5bYY/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gWS3TTDZ3DUuwVrcPU9nNo4hnbNLkRtnbvD-ntEychSgo6h5CRNpVy0eJq_bTwZFs4iQcQtnuPdbCdzJH3vuJa3XJSS5tmP9aSfSCMNfVNJedJKa5NZvX7rSQTgfCT3FL3yGNWf5bYY/s640/034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The inside of the cover. Just so you can see what I did there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjMMRWrPytRD8UzOq1246RFfCnwXFHCAmzz-POMaBrwhPaErCXwN3Ugq1urf3PooTzndHDQww-PrfEx_TZrjDbfrdgInWD1XFT5GwSIi6xF_QDcHkHdJMq3SP4MvWiktymfnxdiXPzYQ/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIjMMRWrPytRD8UzOq1246RFfCnwXFHCAmzz-POMaBrwhPaErCXwN3Ugq1urf3PooTzndHDQww-PrfEx_TZrjDbfrdgInWD1XFT5GwSIi6xF_QDcHkHdJMq3SP4MvWiktymfnxdiXPzYQ/s640/035.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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And the outside, with one line of tape.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Cdp2Gd8YG34mA3xsQCnii6GhZP6C9VcrzVobXnR42Cx4IpDEyaissxD48VVHwIO-ZjmYKMp4aFSIVCH3UZuUdOw-jbafnLTV5LePeMpj3wLdY7ZWVx0U7KQpY0QRcvZvNCda1Nxad0c/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Cdp2Gd8YG34mA3xsQCnii6GhZP6C9VcrzVobXnR42Cx4IpDEyaissxD48VVHwIO-ZjmYKMp4aFSIVCH3UZuUdOw-jbafnLTV5LePeMpj3wLdY7ZWVx0U7KQpY0QRcvZvNCda1Nxad0c/s640/036.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Continue putting tape over the cover, in long neat vertical strips. Overlap the tape a tiny bit so you don't have any paper or card poking out uncovered. Try your best not to let the tape wrinkle or pucker (this is really hard, good luck :P ). Push it down really firmly. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVYJykzZ5aDuq9A0T8yXsRZD8x12j8l3NRDYRriPi7O0AWe5xv-L_A7yWVxLeMtFx30qeUmNNwV7tuZGflNBxcpIsHQ5sodcaveb_KmM3SgM03wl2wz6w-WJy3aBK9lJrfCXyYW21lvo/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVYJykzZ5aDuq9A0T8yXsRZD8x12j8l3NRDYRriPi7O0AWe5xv-L_A7yWVxLeMtFx30qeUmNNwV7tuZGflNBxcpIsHQ5sodcaveb_KmM3SgM03wl2wz6w-WJy3aBK9lJrfCXyYW21lvo/s640/037.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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So you can see better the 'lines' of where the tape overlaps. I think it looks fine and the lines don't bug me. If they bug you, just get over it because I don't think there's many ways you could fix it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVkUE8Du-8Z0RgFlAVGorvxnGF8AX4ttu20gH72c64MMVAT2C1YlKle21Nv1xAwkU7Le71F-_Brvqf_o0mg0Vf6J75EAaGH3Or8XjPl3xwidemz70rQbZ8t42hch27HseXCty7_QW-BA/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVkUE8Du-8Z0RgFlAVGorvxnGF8AX4ttu20gH72c64MMVAT2C1YlKle21Nv1xAwkU7Le71F-_Brvqf_o0mg0Vf6J75EAaGH3Or8XjPl3xwidemz70rQbZ8t42hch27HseXCty7_QW-BA/s640/039.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The inside of the cover so you can see where the tape is folded over. Of course this looks a bit messy so I suggest you get a piece of paper, cut it to size and glue it there as a nice inside cover. It will hide the unsightly tape ends nicely and give you something else to do with your time. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqWGapQwPRcnCHbKmfO3YiBmDeGq3ZiP5DumAMAW7dHJjSGnDc5sF7Fdw8KjD8VJIZZ36N7AQsfHMrUMXox4IEbidpkD4ksaa1V8_8oPeagMoULv94eslpo88MyWdCcdOQLXG8Y-q4DI/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqWGapQwPRcnCHbKmfO3YiBmDeGq3ZiP5DumAMAW7dHJjSGnDc5sF7Fdw8KjD8VJIZZ36N7AQsfHMrUMXox4IEbidpkD4ksaa1V8_8oPeagMoULv94eslpo88MyWdCcdOQLXG8Y-q4DI/s640/041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And that's that! Easy peasy, wasn't it? :)<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-82224243151175152482017-02-23T06:00:00.000+13:002017-02-23T06:00:07.013+13:00Holiday in Karamea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've got the photos from our holiday in Karamea organised and if I do say so myself, there are some neat photos. You're going to love them - although the only small problem is that there are quite a few so get yourself a cup of tea and a piece of cake and make yourself comfy. :)</div>
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Also not all the photos are exactly in order... but they are all captioned so hopefully you don't get too lost! :D</div>
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On with the photos....</div>
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Jana pretending to drive at one of our stops on the way over.</div>
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We went for a walk in the drizzling rain to the river that flows down to the sea. Of course, the boys wanted nothing more than to throw rocks into the river! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUUwkxknFIi3gpaF-Q_MvtqrB83W0J1PjKsB7ctNxbmbK53305dzAUXJkjWqIQu2vxwW0RY0DU1n_g2O0mNZacYfJ1z_2KjkmvyptGFDvMybjsyEWLsVfCtBr2R1daYv56N1lCzs991Q/s1600/019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCUUwkxknFIi3gpaF-Q_MvtqrB83W0J1PjKsB7ctNxbmbK53305dzAUXJkjWqIQu2vxwW0RY0DU1n_g2O0mNZacYfJ1z_2KjkmvyptGFDvMybjsyEWLsVfCtBr2R1daYv56N1lCzs991Q/s640/019.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Two sisters sheltering from the rain. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPmihPvZONgbNz03j7QlPbnGBSRSZp3qjx7XlVg0QGIAzNts0D9k2O0UIlmxBKL_eap-D8YuD_MDexjf1DC-DZvVzt81thNUXVV9fd-_zVcJRHIzFl5uCft7bt5FCJp0Piqv7kogES-U/s1600/021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPmihPvZONgbNz03j7QlPbnGBSRSZp3qjx7XlVg0QGIAzNts0D9k2O0UIlmxBKL_eap-D8YuD_MDexjf1DC-DZvVzt81thNUXVV9fd-_zVcJRHIzFl5uCft7bt5FCJp0Piqv7kogES-U/s640/021.jpg" width="384" /></a></div>
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I love beautiful wild flowers! Especially when they match the colour of my jacket! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXflHNY97mnVpmynjSsdDtdWFv9V-GI1Pa0dpkALEJqlQ1FHW2Dc7791Jt0IABYbHW-4rP5QebNaMDuh6bSkYbXJ2Kp2inuOX__5JPDiMBg_qs3YmXcHk7reORdiQckKsiE-NYvynE8A/s1600/023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXflHNY97mnVpmynjSsdDtdWFv9V-GI1Pa0dpkALEJqlQ1FHW2Dc7791Jt0IABYbHW-4rP5QebNaMDuh6bSkYbXJ2Kp2inuOX__5JPDiMBg_qs3YmXcHk7reORdiQckKsiE-NYvynE8A/s640/023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Walking down the road....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv74J_SwRuflmHWBUxeYy31nPCY02dTXhZJxSnFpW5m71XmtADC_Sylakjt0Xiv2idmg4UFMzdHqFf4L5H8w457nZoz5-1DvfPRnbXwrXP0VBUDHFpKyn3_v0UdkrDRY0kMWHstyCTdE/s1600/028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv74J_SwRuflmHWBUxeYy31nPCY02dTXhZJxSnFpW5m71XmtADC_Sylakjt0Xiv2idmg4UFMzdHqFf4L5H8w457nZoz5-1DvfPRnbXwrXP0VBUDHFpKyn3_v0UdkrDRY0kMWHstyCTdE/s640/028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We walked up to some caves. They were so interesting to explore!</div>
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sister selfie in the caves</div>
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This is a panorama so that's why it's a bit smaller. This isn't inside a cave, it's called an arch (I think because a cave is usually a dead end?). This is the Moria Arch I believe. Same locality as the caves though. Such a cool place to explore.</div>
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There's the Moria arch again, this time behind us.</div>
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Swimming in the estuary! (Where the river meets the sea). Lydia finds balancing on the tube so easy cos she's a bit smaller. Whereas I kept falling out of it. :P</div>
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All the boring non swimmers!</div>
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Lydia, Jacob and Caleb built themselves a little hut on the beach. </div>
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We spent a good amount of time on the beach! We love watching sunsets.Here is Danella, Sophie and Caleb (I think) being artsy and playing with silhouettes.</div>
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We went for a walk to a big rimu tree and a kind stranger took this photo of us all at the base.</div>
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Jana and I playing on the beach while we wait for the sun to go down.</div>
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Mum and Dad kissing while they wait for the sun to go down.</div>
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okay that's not completely true... I asked them to kiss for the photo :P They had their wedding anniversary on February 3rd so now they have been married for 21 years! </div>
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This is a bit cute ;)</div>
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Jana fell asleep while Danella was piggybacking her on one of our many walks. </div>
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We walked out to where the river met the sea and there were some awesome sand dunes there! This is a panorama because the scene was just so gorgeous. I think if you click on it you'll be able to see it bigger.</div>
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We had way too much fun jumping and running down the dunes! Left is me, right is Johnny.</div>
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My favourite dune photo :) Look at Ben's face!</div>
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Daddy on the beach</div>
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A lovely friend of my grandparents gave us quad bike rides up and down the beach one afternoon. It was so lovely! I absolutely love speed and things like this so I enjoyed driving it. :D This is Lydia, Caleb, Jana and our friend on the bike in the photo.</div>
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Last photo, my favourite one. One of the beautiful sunsets we watched from the beach. Another panorama (because I figured out how to use the panorama setting on my phone and it. is. awesome). </div>
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And those are all the Karamea photos I'm sharing! :) Hopefully you weren't too bored by that long post with many photos. Anyway. As you can see we had a lovely time and it was so nice to be with my family again!<br />
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What have you been up to?<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-65797040073391153992017-02-20T06:00:00.000+13:002017-02-20T06:00:09.153+13:003 Everyday Problems<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNGaOiu4F63syrXQagDA8ooN3MrOuc5IGC9exI7Do6MDipmvZzrxFBPBdCLKtWYV4d_Zb-7SAO55yH4qrRzvpqamlnJSG4pf7OG2TWw90bvv20xifEck0JDx1-Oy8wVb7tgWN-GgR4d4/s1600/3everydayproblems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNGaOiu4F63syrXQagDA8ooN3MrOuc5IGC9exI7Do6MDipmvZzrxFBPBdCLKtWYV4d_Zb-7SAO55yH4qrRzvpqamlnJSG4pf7OG2TWw90bvv20xifEck0JDx1-Oy8wVb7tgWN-GgR4d4/s640/3everydayproblems.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Over the past couple of years, I've participated in competitions for christian writers. I'm involved in a group called <u><a href="http://www.nzchristianwriters.org/">NZ Christian Writers</a></u> which hold competitions every 2 months. Two years ago some of my siblings entered along with me, then last year my siblings were busy so I was the only entrant in the Under 20 category.<br />
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I love entering competitions! Since I was the only entrant in the category last year, I won the first prize. Whether you're the only entrant or there are many, entering competitions is awesome (and not just because you can win things). You gain experience and (in the Christian writing <u><a href="http://www.nzchristianwriters.org/magazine/">magazine </a></u>anyway) you get helpful comments from the judges.<br />
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Anyway, I came across some of my past entries into the competitions and I thought maybe I'd share one or two of them on my blog. This is one I wrote which was entered into the August 2016 competition called '3 Everyday Problems' and the following is the requirements for the competition.<br />
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<i>What are three everyday problems
that bother you and what can you do about them?
(Opinion piece.) 250 words.</i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">3 Everyday Problems </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">by Bonnie Smithies</span><br />
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There are many everyday problems we
face in the first world. In general, it is
our attitude towards these problems that
is important.<br />
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For example, many people complain
about not having enough hours in the
day. There is too much to do and not
enough time to do it in. The thing is,
every single person on the face of the
earth has exactly the same number of
hours and minutes as the next person!
It’s all about your attitude towards it. If
you prioritize your time by doing things
like making lists, you’ll find that you get
more done and most importantly, do the
important things.<br />
<br />
Another problem we all face is the ever increasing
epidemic of technology use.
Cellular phones and social media are a
blessing to society- but they can also be
a curse. They must be controlled or they
will control us. It is helpful to do things
like switching off your device when you
spend time with family and friends. You
are in charge of your technology, not the
other way round!<br />
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The third problem I would like to discuss
is when your icecream melts before you
can eat it. You know the feeling –
holding your icecream cone and
watching the cold treat slowly melt
before your eyes and dribble down the
cone onto your hand. As with the
previous two problems, it is all about
your attitude. It is wise to have a good
attitude towards it and calmly manage
the problem – in this situation, eat the
icecream as fast as you can.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you enter competitions? </span><br />
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<i>You can read past magazines of the NZ Christian Writers for free <u><a href="http://www.nzchristianwriters.org/magazine/">here!</a></u> My blog readers who are into writing might find them useful or interesting. </i>Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-56660712518788221232017-02-17T06:00:00.000+13:002017-02-18T17:00:19.103+13:00Michael // coming up six months old<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Several of you have been requesting photos of Michael (and I know I promised photos of him so I can't blame you:)). Well, here you go! This is the post for you. :) He'll be six months old on the 29th of February.<br />
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Allow me to first of all apologize for the quality of the photos. My go-to camera for taking nice photos is usually found with a dead battery or not able to be found at all (joys of living in a big family) so I often have to resort to my cellphone. Which doesn't take such nice photos. :/ But I'm hopeful you'll enjoy them anyway. :)<br />
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Caleb is holding little Michael here.</div>
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His smiles and giggles bring us such joy!</div>
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He's a very happy baby</div>
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this one looks like he's about to scream but I think he was actually about to chuckle believe it or not</div>
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H<span style="text-align: center;">ere I am holding him. Well like two thirds of me anyway.</span></div>
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Why so surprised, Michael??? :D</div>
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Well there are your requested photos! Hope you are having a fabulous day.<br />
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PS. I'm so sorry - I accidentally published this a day early and had to quickly retract it!Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5172239685311691735.post-52323143792444820232017-02-14T06:00:00.000+13:002017-02-14T06:00:17.407+13:00Bonnie's Opinion // I am PRO CHOICE???!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am pro choice when it comes to abortion.</span><br />
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Did that statement surprise you? Yet it is absolutely and completely true. I am utterly pro choice.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I believe God should choose.</span><br />
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So many things have to happen for a baby to be conceived. And then for it to develop fingers and toes and eyes and a heart and everything... wow, a baby in the womb really is the greatest, most incredible miracle ever!<br />
The Bible talks about God making us in the womb and knitting us together there. Isn't that cool! I love that imagery. God is the one who brings about this incredible miracle and knits the baby together.<br />
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Since he has his hand on the process, and since he is the sovereign Almighty God we reverence and shouldn't mess with, why oh why do we try to play God and take the baby's life into our own hands?<br />
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Society says things like "it's just a lump of tissue" and "my body my choice". Yet when you think about it, as soon as God conceives and begins knitting a new life inside you, it is not your body anymore. It is another body that you have no right to lay any hands on! That child, if left in the womb for nine months, will fully develop. God has chosen to create that child. It is His decision. Sometimes that pregnancy will terminate in a miscarriage (which is incredibly sad) but generally, God will choose to allow the pregnancy to continue. Which is good and right because of course He knows best.<br />
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People say things like, "well what about if it is a child conceived out of rape? Should a 13 year old girl be forced to continue the pregnancy?"<br />
Of course she should. Whether or not she keeps the baby or adopts it out is her choice but the child she is carrying is another human. Another life. She has the responsibility, given to her by God himself, to carry the child in her womb to full term. Choose life, no matter the consequences.<br />
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<i>"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live..." (Deuteronomy 30:19).</i><br />
I'm pro choice.<br />
God's choice.<br />
It has never been our choice.<br />
It never will be.<br />
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How could we be so proud and arrogant as to assume ourselves the position of our great God, the Master of the Universe, King of Kings and Creator (or Knitter) of life?<br />
<img alt="post signature" class="left" height="85" src="https://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah20/bonniesmithies/signature%20409_zpscm12feht.jpg" width="200" />Bonnie Sampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17920875696870120137noreply@blogger.com17