A + A // Dropping the meatballs + I forgot the punch line

Awkward:
- Having someone burst into the room and going, "We can't find the dog and the gate's wide open!" There's a universal groan as we all remember the many times our previous dog (we looked after him long term for someone else a few years ago. He was half beagle, half lhasa apso) escaped. Thankfully, after looking up and down the street for Baxter, he was found pretty soon.
- Starting to tell a joke and realizing half way through that you've forgotten the punch line.
- Doing the President's Welcome at your public speaking group and saying the silliest stuff because your mind just fogs and you don't have a clue what you're saying... not a good start to an evening of competition.
- That awkward moment when you realize you've been pronouncing a word wrong your entire life.
- Jana now being able to open and close doors all by herself. No bedroom is safe.
- Accidentally dropping an entire container full of meatballs at work. The lid flew off and meatball sauce went everywhere. I was completely splattered in it. It looked like someone had been killed! (the sauce is a bright red tomato-y colour). Thankfully, the container landed right side up so all the meatballs stayed inside. I would have been in trouble if it had landed upside down!!
- Deciding to be super awesome, so you throw your apple core into the colander from half way across the kitchen. And it doesn't land in the colander.
- Interjecting into a conversation a Bible verse that fit the situation beautifully, then realizing later on that day that you had the wrong reference. (Not that anyone would have looked it up or anything, but still..)
- Having a coughing fit in public and not being able to stop coughing.


Awesome:
- When people trust your judgement enough to ask you for advice (I know, I couldn't believe it either... :P)
- This song... love the chorus especially!


- Getting the giggles really bad one night when you're lying in bed because you remember something terribly funny that happened that day. You're lying there, replaying the scene in your mind heaps of times, giggling uncontrollably. 'Twas such fun.
- Fejoias. Those little fruits are incredible.
- The fact that not all silences are awkward. I've decided that not only is there such a thing as an awkward silence, but there's such a thing as a companionable silence. Would you agree?
- When you wonderful readers leave comments. Hint, hint. :P
- This adorable photo of Lydia with a seal during a day trip to Kaikoura our family did recently.

- Getting lots of good practice trusting in the Lord. :)
- The fact that sometimes there's nothing nicer than putting on a pair of gumboots and a jacket and going for a nice, long, brisk walk in the rain.
- Writing a poem again after going for quite a while without writing any. I love writing poems.
- On the subject of writing... Practicing writing with your left hand (I'm right handed) and it actually looking not too terrible. Progress!
- Smiley people in one's life. It's wonderful to have positive friends. :)

Do you go for walks in the rain?
Do you think there's such a thing as a companionable silence or are all silences awkward?
Are you a writer of poems?

What I Learned From Lunch-making

(I would use a photo of a lunch here, but I'm too lazy to go through the rigmarole of taking a photo and waiting yonks for it to upload onto the computer... so you'll have to be content with a generic scenery shot sorry! lol)

I want to tell you all a story today. :)

It started back many years ago, when I was a lot younger. I don't remember what age exactly. Somewhere in the vicinity of nine or so, I should imagine. 

I was tasked with the job of making Daddy's lunch every morning so he could take it with him to work. 

Here's a confession: I was not the most cheerful worker. Making Daddy's lunch wasn't my only chore, but for some reason it became my least favourite. It became the bane of my life.

I'm not even sure completely why that was. Maybe it was because it was neccessary to do it at an inconvenient hour of the morning. Maybe because I always had to make Daddy the same thing every day (banana sandwiches, for those who are curious!) and I got sick of it.

As I grew older, and I kept making Daddy's lunch every weekday before he went to work, I never quite managed to enjoy it. Sure, I matured a lot and stopped grumbling about it, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it. It's safe to say that making Daddy's lunch was my most hated chore.

 Right up until the end of last year.

When Daddy lost his job.

And I didn't have to make his lunch anymore.

Do you want to know something? You know how I'd been wising for years that I didn't have to make his lunch? Well, I started wishing wholeheartedly that I would be able to again. Because that would mean that Dad would have a job.

He does have a job now, it's not as good a job as the one he had before he got made redundant. But that's beside the point. He has a job now, and I have the honour and privilege of making his lunch for him every morning.

It wasn't until I stopped having to make his lunch that I realised what a blessing the chance to make his lunch was. It meant that Daddy had a job. It became a privilege, and a joy, not a burden.

Perspective is everything, isn't it!

You know what? Thankfulness is the key to joy.

Being thankful about something will make you cheerful and joyful. My chore of making Daddy's lunch became a joyful task because I realised how thankful I was that he had a job so I could make him lunch to take to it.

What do you dislike doing?

Do you dislike making your Dad's lunch? You can be thankful he has a job (and that you have food to give him!).
Do you dislike hanging out the washing? You can be thankful the sun's shining and that you have clothing to put on the line.
Do you dislike it when your little siblings get into your stuff? You can be thankful that you have little siblings. They bring such joy.

No matter how bad the situation may seem to you, there's always someone else worse off than yourself. You can always be thankful. There's always something to be thankful about.

Gratitude and joy go hand in hand.

That's what I discovered, anyway. :)

P.S. You can all now be very excited with me because I've got a couple of awesome guest posters lined up for you for the near future...

Recently: Mini Golf + Mother's Day

I was taking some photos off the camera the other day and I discovered a whole bunch of photos from a few weeks ago, when we went mini golfing. I also found all the photos from our Mother's Day afternoon outing. So I thought you might like to see them. :)

First up we have all the mini golfing photos. A friend gave us vouchers for all of us to go mini golfing as a Christmas present. It was great fun!

Danella, Sophie and Lydia

Daddy (with Jana on the back) helps Jacob

Lydia and I wait for our turn

Sophie and Danella

Caleb, Johnny and Ben

Now we have photos of everyone putting. :) I tried to get one individual photo of everyone. This is Ben.

Johnny

Danella

Caleb

Mum

Sophie

Lydia

Yours truly

Jacob

Daddy and Jana

Now we come to the photos from our Mother's Day outing to the Groynes. We had lots of fun, as you'll probably see for yourself very shortly. :)

Ben and the ducks

Lydia walking round the lake to get to the paddle boats

A little side culvert

One of the lakes - so beautiful!!

It was just gorgeous. :) I took far too many photos.

Little Jana: "What's going on?"

Johnny, Caleb, Lydia, Jacob, Ben

Paddle boating!

Sophie and Jana

Jacob at the playground

And the best for last.... my favourite photo. The two most wonderful parents in the whole entire world. <3

happy mother's day

Happy Mother's Day, Mummy!!!

I love you so much! :) You work so hard, every single day of the year...

I'm so blessed and proud to be able to call you my Mum.

Take Up Thy Cross

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 

- Matthew 16:24

"Take up thy cross", the Saviour said,

"If thou wouldst My disciple be;

Take up thy cross, with willing heart,

And humbly follow after Me."

Take up thy cross; let not its weight

Fill thy weak soul with vain alarm;

His strength shall bear thy spirit up,

And brace thy heart, and nerve thine arm.

Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,

Nor let thy foolish pride rebel;

The Lord for thee endured the cross

To save they soul from death and hell.

Take up thy cross, then, in His strength

And calmly every danger brave;

'Twill guide thee to a better home

And lead to victory o'er the grave.

Take up thy cross, and follow Christ,

Nor think till death to lay it down;

For only he who bears the cross

May hope to wear the glorious crown.

Charles William Everest

(1814-77)

I came across this hymn in one of our old hymn books the other day. I've never heard it sung, so I have no clue of the tune, but isn't it absolutely lovely? The words are so beautiful.

Many blessings!

P.S. This is sort of a 'bonus' post - I normally only post every second day... but I wanted to share this with you today. :)

Trusting God in the Hard Times

The following are the main points of a fifteen minute devotion I wrote and presented at a camp I attended recently. :) 

-----

James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Okay, so the first thing I want us to notice here is that James puts this little thought right at the start of his letter, straight after his greeting is over. Why? Maybe because it's important and he wanted us to take notice of it!

The second thing I want us to notice is that James says "consider it pure joy my brothers WHEN you face trials of many kinds" - notice it's not IF you face trials!

Trials and hard times will come to us. If you haven’t gone through any hard times in your life, don’t worry! No Christian is exempt. Trials will come, unfortunately. It's a matter of when, not if!

It's partly because we're in a spiritual battle and Satan is trying his hardest to draw us away from the faith. He doesn't concentrate on those who aren't Christians because he's already got them. We're the ones he's after, because we belong to Jesus.


I want you to imagine you’re baking a chocolate cake.

The two main processes of baking a cake are:

Blending. After the ingredients are all in the bowl, the electric beater mixes the ingredients so much that they are completely unrecognisable. The mixture becomes all soft, runny, gloopy and sticky.

Baking. The cake is subject to intense heat. It's incredibly painful. But the heat is what bakes the cake and produces something beautiful.

We are like that cake being baked. We go through the intense, difficult hard times and that's like the blending and the baking. In the blending we're mixed so much you wouldn't be able to recognize us! It's incredibly painful and hard. Then we're shoved into the oven and the heat is turned up. All the heat in the oven is concentrated on the cake, sitting there in the pan, being roasted alive.

When we're being blended or baked, we can’t see what is going on. We don't know that the purpose of the blending and baking is to produce a beautiful chocolate cake at the end of it all. Only the baker knows. He has the finished product in mind throughout the entire process.
The uncomfortable blending, and the painful heat of the baking may seem really pointless to us at the time. But what we don’t know is that we are being fashioned into something beautiful.

It’s only through the pain of blending and baking that we can become the rich, moist, tasty, beautiful creation of a chocolate cake.

When you’re in a trial it doesn’t seem very pleasant, does it? It doesn’t feel like it’s good for you.

But remember that God can be trusted. He knows what’s he’s doing. He is ultimately in control and he has in mind the cake he’s going for through all this.



I think that there are several reasons we have trials.

James 1:2 (emphasis added)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The testing of our faith develops perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that we become mature and complete, lacking nothing. 

The trials are for our good.


1 Peter 1:7 (emphasis added)
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The trials have come so that the proven genuineness of our faith may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

The trials are for God's glory.

So all the hard times we go through are for our good and for his glory.


I want you to imagine a raging storm.

There are trees, bent low under lashing wind and driving rain, and lightning zigzagging across a dark, threatening sky.

In the center of the fury imagine a bird’s nest in the crotch of a gigantic tree.

And in the nest, a mother bird sits, spreading her wings over her little brood, waiting serene and unruffled for the storm to pass.

The mother bird isn't focused on the storm. Sure, she feels it and knows it's there, alright. But she rests, peacefully, waiting, looking after her chicks, because she knows that the storm won't last and she has faith that she will be kept safe.

When we’re in a hard time it’s hard to not focus on all the lightening around us. But we can be peaceful and rest in the midst of the storm.

The safest place in the entire world for us to be is in the nest of His hand.

We, like the bird, feel the storm, but we focus on Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts you.

John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, for I have overcome the world.

I can't change the past... but....

Treasure of my heart and of my soul

In my weakness You are merciful

Redeemer of my past and present wrongs

Holder of my future days to come

(from 'Your Presence is Heaven', by Darlene Zschech)

Someone told me something recently (and I don't want to go into details, so I won't), and it related to something I'd done in the past. It was a silly thing that I hadn't even thought was major. I was really surprised to discover that someone I know who was there at the time hasn't forgotten it and has formed a certain opinion of me because of it. 

I can't change the past. Sometimes I would like to, because it would make some stuff a lot easier!! But I can't change the past.

There's nothing really that I can do about this situation, either. I can't change the past, and I can't change how people feel about me. 

So this was sort of what I was thinking about when we sang this song (at the top of the post) on Church on Sunday. And it struck me.

God is the Redeemer of my past and present wrongs.

No matter what I've done in the past, no matter what you've done in the past... God is the Redeemer of it all. You are forgiven of it all. He wipes it clean and remembers it no more. 

Other people might remember what I've done. And there are still consequences of my actions... that other person will likely always have a certain opinion of me. 

But God won't. 

Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

We are humans. We make mistakes. We say and do silly things that make us afterward facepalm and be like, "Why on earth did I say that?!?"

God is a forgiving God. 

No matter what silly things you've done in your past (I've done heaps!!!) God is able to forgive. And forget. Forever.

I'm so grateful for that.

Time for some fun

Righty-o, time for some fun, my friends!! (I've been so looking forward to posting this! Can you tell?!) I have below a number of puzzles, some harder than others. 13 in total. Your task is to see how many you can solve all by yourself. Obviously the aim is to have some fun, so don't worry if you've seen any before or if you can't work out any of them. They are all entirely possible. :)

Once you have solved them (or gotten tired of trying to solve them and want to give up), highlight the white space under the question. I've written the answers there, but made the text white, so it won't show up until you highlight it. :)

Have fun!


1. Prove that seven is half of twelve.
Write twelve in Roman numerals - XII. Halve the number by drawing a line horizontally across its center. The upper half is VII.

2. Place three sixes together so as to make seven.
The answer to this is a fraction - I would write it as a fraction but Blogger won't let me! It's 6 6/6

3. What lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its roots upwards?
An icicle.

4. Express 100 by repetition of the same figure six times over.
Another fraction one. 99 99/99 = 100.

5. What is the surest way of keeping water from entering your house?
Don't pay your water bill.

6. Five herrings were divided among five persons. Each had a herring and yet one remained in the dish. How was this managed?
The last of the five received his herring in the dish.

7. What gets bigger the more you contract it?
Debt.

8. Prove that two sixes make eleven.
This is dependent on the use of Roman numerals. One six (VI) is placed above another six, but the latter in an inverted position, the combination making XI. 

9. What speaks all languages?
An echo.

10. You undertake to show another person something which you never saw before, which he never saw before, and which, after you both have seen it, no one else will ever see again. How is it to be done?
The puzzle is solved by cracking a nut, showing your interlocutor the kernel, then eating it.

11. How many times can you subtract 5 from 135?
Only once. After that it isn't 135 anymore.

12. You undertake to put something into a person's left hand which he cannot possibly take in his right. How is it to be done?
You place in the person's left hand his own right elbow, which, obviously, he cannot take in his right hand.

13. Take one from nineteen and leave twenty.
Write nineteen in Roman numerals - XIX. Remove the I and you have XX, which is twenty.


Did you get any of them wrong?
Do you have any puzzles for me? Leave them in the comments. :)
Happy May everyone!

Are you a Bulldozer or a Broom?

Good morning friends!

Today I have a very important question to ask you. Are you a bulldozer or a broom?

Now before you start looking at me strange and saying things like, "Did you sleep well last night, Bonnie?" and "Are you sure you're feeling quite alright?", bear with me.

Don't worry, I'm not going bonkers. It's a perfectly legitimate question for me to ask and I hope you'll be able to answer it for yourself by the time you've read this post! :)

So I was thinking the other day about the whole concept of gentleness. And respect. And how easy it is to hurt other's feelings, whether it's with or without knowing it.

And it came to me that there are two different approaches to how we treat others in life.

There's the rough approach. It's the I'm-more-important-than-everyone-else approach. The proud approach. The run-everyone-else-over-and-stand-on-them-to-get-to-the-top approach.
I'm calling this the bulldozer approach.

Then we have the gentler, humbler, compassionate approach. It's the everyone-else-is-more-important-than-me approach. The servant hearted approach where we humbly seek to smooth out situations and bless others.
I'm calling this the broom approach.

Which approach do you use?

Are you a bulldozer or a broom?

James 1:19
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry...

The broom always has a listening ear.

It doesn't get angry in a hurry because it knows that an angry person will say something they regret later. The broom respects others and knows that even if they have a different opinion, the other person might be right, and so they should listen carefully because they might learn something.

Colossians 3:12-14
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

It doesn't seek the best for itself. Rather, it seeks to serve and bless and encourage. It is kind, humble, meek, patient and loving. 

It doesn't bulldoze over everyone else in an effort to get on with its own life, who cares about everyone else!

Phillipians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The broom doesn't hurt other's feelings because it always puts other's interests above it's own. Others are always more important.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 

The broom does its best to love others just as Christ loves it. 

It doesn't bulldoze others down to try and get to the top. Instead it patiently builds others up, gently sweeping and encouraging them.

You may be asking, "What's the reason behind being a broom? Because surely there are advantages to being a bulldozer? I like the feeling of being big, strong, and important."

That's a fair enough question. But tell me. Do you want to look back at the end of your life and see a trail of squished and mangled people that you've bulldozed over to get where you are?

Or do you want to look back at the end of your life and see a trail of people who have been swept clean and built up by your loving example?



Are you a bulldozer or a broom?
I can't answer that question for you. Only you can.

Book Tag

I was nominated by Christine from Everything is Blogsome for a book challenge created by Noor at A Little Bit of Sunshine. Thanks for the nomination. :)

Here are the rules:

You must answer all the questions

Repost the picture with a link to Noor's blog and the persons blog who tagged you

You may tag people if you would like, but it isn't required.

Now, for the fun part. The questions!

1. To be read in April? Haha, April's almost over! I'd been wanting to read Something More by Catherine Marshall for quite a while, and I've finally picked it up. And haven't been able to put it back down. It's seriously great. Catherine Marshall is such a good author, and she writes in a way that makes you want to keep reading. Highly recommended.

2. Overhyped book/author? Hmmm, I haven't really read any hyped-up books recently. One hyped-up book (at least it has been hyped up in our family because Mum's been reading it, lol!) is Breakthrough by Rudi Lack. Mum keeps telling us it's really good so I'm looking forward to getting the chance to read it! I can't say it's overhyped, because I haven't read it, but it has been hyped-up lots.

3. The best book series you have ever read?  Well I have to say Catherine Marshall's books. I am not sure they count as a series, but the three I've read (Beyond Our Selves, The Helper and now currently reading Something More) have been absolutely incredible. 

4. Book to movie adaption that was really bad? I haven't seen many book to movie adaptions. I can only think of one, and it wasn't that bad so I can't put it in here! We don't watch many movies.

5. Books that made you cry? The last time a book made me cry was when I was listening to the Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (we have the Chronicles of Narnia on Radio Theatre on our ipods). And the bit at the end where Emeth the Calormene soldier is talking to the Pevensie group about how much he wanted to know Aslan made me tear up a bit. Something in what he says always gets me.

6. Book you are reading at the moment? I'm starting to sound like a broken record here! Something More by Catherine Marshall.

I'm also reading Mere Christianity by CS. Lewis. This is one book that I'm not reading in normal Bonnie-reading fashion (that is, keep devouring it until it's finished!). I'm taking it slowly, in bite-sized hunks. And really rather enjoying it. He has some really good points to make and I am enjoying it greatly.

7. Book series that you just didn't like? Okay, I know you're going to shoot me for this, but I'm going to say the Lord of the Rings series. *cringes and waits for fiery darts sent from readers to cease* I know it's a great series and I'm thrilled if you like it. But for me it just didn't have the appeal. I loved the Hobbit, but the actual Lord of the Rings books just don't do it for me. Maybe it's the unneccessary length, maybe because it's really confusing because of all the people and places (too confusing for my little brain! :) )- I don't know, I just don't like it much.

8. Books you really need to read but haven't read yet? 

Breakthrough by Rudi Lack, as mentioned above.

For this one I'll also have to say the Freedom Diaries by Mark Holloway. I've been wanting to read it ever since he visited our Church and I wasn't able to attend the service! I haven't read it yet but am looking forward to it.

Christine's question for me:

What was the first book you really loved? The first book(s) I really loved were the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. Enid Blyton's an awesome author. She'll always be a favourite of mine!! 

My extra question for those I tag:

What is it about reading that fascinates you?

I tag:

Sarah from Trusting in the Lord Day by Day

Matthew from Rising Dawn

I'm only tagging a couple because I know a lot of my readers don't do tags!
However, if you're reading this and you'd like to do it, by all means consider yourself tagged. :)
Thanks for tagging me, Christine!