Giving is receiving

All the Operation Christmas Tree shoeboxes that have been collected at my local church.
My family and I were happy to give quite a few from us.

Recently I've discovered the Pigeon Pair and Me blog written by Nell, she is embarking on a journey for a year to gift things to other people. All sorts of things. It makes for interesting reading, go and take a peek.

On 17th December she is hosting the BritMums carnival and has set the theme as a carnival of gifts and she is asking people to share where they have given something away.

This really got me thinking about the act of giving and how important it is as a biblical principle. As Christians we understand that everything we have is a gift from God and as such it is just loaned to us and we do not really own it. There is no point in accumulating wealth for the sake of it, money is to be used wisely and not stockpiled. I have to be honest and say this is a lesson that takes some getting used to when you become a Christian, as our society teaches us that if you work hard you can do well and have it all. Wealth and status are seen as indicators of success and actually this is so off the mark. Some of the most successful and content people I know are not wealthy.

Things like regularly giving other people money, putting credit on their electric meter, buying them shoes when they need them or doing grocery shopping for someone else are not the norm here in the UK, but truly they are lessons in humility and gratitude for all you have. Why should some have so much and others so little? It is easy to try and justify it by how hard you work or how lazy they appear to be but we are all Gods children and it makes Him proud to see us caring for each other. My last Church family taught me some amazing lessons in how to share what I have and I was so blessed by the progress I saw in the lives of others as the love and care we show makes a difference to them. Also just think what a great example it is showing to my children as they grow up knowing some people had very little and we opened our house to them and helped make their everyday just a little bit more comfortable.

Giving is an everyday part of my life and that is just the way I like it. I am a different person to who I was  eleven years ago before I became a Christian. I can say for sure I am a better person for all the giving I have done in that time and I look forward to finding out what else I need to give away in the future. Some might say we gave up our security when we sold our house this summer and moved to East Sussex, we now live in a borrowed house and earn just a third of what we earned before but actually the freedom we have gained has been worth it. We are now tie free and can go where God asks us to.

We are all called to be good stewards of everything God has gifted us, we must not waste the money or resources we have but discern the best way to use them. I don't always get it right but I'm learning and I'm willing and that is important.

I'm excited to see what my future holds and I know one thing for sure I receive far more than I give and in giving I receive a great deal of satisfaction.

How about you, what is your stance on giving? Does it need to be reciprocal? Or can you literally just gift it?

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Reason to be Cheerful, 1,2,3 - Week 7 - I am Extra Cheerful!

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Good evening, how are we all today?  I am feeling super chirpy today! I hope you all are as well.

I want to start by saying a big thank you to all the people who keep taking part in this linky each week, it is fabulous to see you searching really hard to find some reasons to be cheerful on tough weeks!  I love knowing that even when the going has got tough you took 5 mins to count your blessings.

Lets start with 3 great reasons to be cheerful!

1. I have a new job at work!  I went in last Monday and was approached and by 11am I had the job. I am off work next week and then I start on 28th.  I am going to be the Trainer for our new HR system. Wish me luck...
2. My hubbie has gone off to India.  Now this is not a reason to be cheerful for me but I just know the Lord will bless him immensely and also he will bless all the orphans, widows and lepers that he is going out to work with for 10 days.
3. The part that is a blessing about dh being away is that my fabulous Mummy is coming to stay with us.  Being half term we will all have a ball.  Roll on Friday....
4. I attended a wonderful ED (eating disorder) workshop last Saturday and then Church was amazing too on Sunday so I am pleased to be abstinent from compulsive overeating by the Grace of God and I have developed some super awareness about some of my character defects.  I will be posting about the first of these on Saturday!

So now it is your job to share your gratitude and joy.  What are your reasons to be cheerful this week?

Don't forget to take the blog hop code from below the linky and paste this into your blog so that new readers can jump from blog...to blog... to blog and also promote your post and the link up by tweeting with the hashtag #Reasons2BCheerful

..and before you go, I must remember to point you over to Maxabella's I'm Grateful for... link up.  Join up your reasons post there and make some new Aussie friends.

Of course Jen's Blog gems is still open too. Link up every other Sunday and air your archives.

Wishing you a fabulous week, Mich x

Due Date.... Today!

It’s 18th November 2010. Today is my due date. This is the day I was supposed to give birth to my fourth child. Of course it was not to be and I have blogged about my miscarriage here, here and here.

I always prayed before I had children that I would not miscarry as I knew it would be something really hard for me to deal with. I do think the blow of losing my babe was softened by the fact that I have already been blessed three times. Of course each child is different and I was sure that this babe would be a boy and I would have named him Samuel Noah. So little Samuel you will always have a special place in my heart, you are the beautiful babe that I never got to have.

Straight after the miscarriage I could not believe how well I appeared to be dealing with things. People kept telling me to let myself mourn but I was not listening. I was OK, well in my mind. Then over the last four or five months I have had periods of sadness and loss and I think slowly I have been coming to terms with the fact that our family is complete. 5 is a perfect number for us.

It seems a bit trite to say that I believe I am mourning the loss of a fantasy as much as the loss of my actual babe. Once I found out I was pregnant I thought how great it was that I would be on maternity leave when my girls started nursery school and how that would make logistics much easier. I also had all these little dreams about being able to breastfed my single baby and having time alone together to get to know each other and to snuggle. Sadly much of that one on one was missing with the girls as there were always two on one as well as toddler in toe. I built this little fantasy world in my head, the one where I would have the natural (don’t lynch me for using that word, I know my c-section births were natural too. I just don’t want to use the V word!) birth I had always longed for. Perhaps in water with dh at my side and definitely serene and blissful.

So here I am today in the reality and let’s be honest the reality isn’t bad at all. I have one husband I love who is hard at work earning a living to keep our family. I am sat at toddlers surrounded by loads of friends from my Church. The girls are having fun playing and I have a job that I enjoy and fits in with my family. I am blessed every day by the Lord and all my needs are met and provided for. I really cannot ask for any more!

I will not feel sad today, I will celebrate my life and all that I have.

I was prompted to post this by Josie’s writing workshop and also I wanted to support Jen at the Madhouse in her crusade to get people talking more about miscarriage.

An Attitude of Gratitude

Today is a good day, no scrap that, today is a GREAT DAY!

Right here and right now I am in a good place.

I am a lucky woman, I am loved, I have the capacity to love back, I do not feel aggrieved, I do not feel hurt, sad, bitter or disappointed. I am just simply Happy.

Today anything is possible...... the world is my oyster.

For all this love in my heart I want to do a post showing my attitude of gratitude. When I have this attitude the world is a far nicer place. Have you noticed that when you wake up happy and in a good mood your day goes much better? Wouldn't life be simple if we just made a choice each day to be happy and fulfilled and not to let the small stuff grind us down.

So here is my list of things from the last few days that have led to me being in this good place - long may it last!

1. Taking JJ to his snow ringos party and watching my little man love whizzing down the slope in -4 degrees.


2. Going to camp and just sitting there for a few hours, enjoying watching my kids play and simply chatting to other adults. How amazing to have stepped out of the rat race that is my life and just to 'be' for a few hours. Arriving Saturday I saw my handsome husband without an ounce of stress on his face after spending a day in the great outdoors with 23 kids!


3. For Miss E being a pretty good patient when she was poorly over the weekend. She tried to be a poppet even when she felt too poorly to eat or drink.


4. For all the great trainees I have on the training course I am running this week.


5. For the amazing time I had at bible study last night. For the great study led by Iris and her beautiful prayer. Also for the prayers and uplifting from all the members of my house group. It was a night to remember.


6. For the realisation that God loves me more than I could ever imagine, for the realisation that he is patient and does not anger with me, he will keep waiting on me to change and to submit myself to him so he can help me change. One day I will not be enclosed in the prison that is compulsive over-eating.


7. For my faith! I seriously wonder how people survive in this world full of so much evil and unhappiness when they do not have something true and steadfast to hold onto.
   

On the way to work today I was listening to one of my CD's and a song came on that I have not heard for ages but one that always makes me sit back and listen, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I thought I would share with you. If you are a Christian friend or you have read this blog for some time you will know this song and know that I have an 'ever so small' crush on Tim!

Blessed by a Bunch of Teenagers!

WOW, What a night!

I am just back from Church and I feel on fire. Tonight was a testimonial service from all the people who have been away to a Christian festival called Rivercamp. Sadly our family did not go this year, mostly because I was too scared to cope with 3 kids camping in a soggy field! Next year will be different - nothing will stop me going.

At least 20 different teenagers all went up the front to share their experiences from this festival. They were amazing. My heart nearly broke when I heard a young girl of about 15 tell how she had been so lonely all her life and on Rivercamp people prayed for her and her loneliness has gone and she feels part of a family, something she has never had before.

These children were a complete and utter blessing to me. Reminding me that it is not enough to encounter the Holy Spirit, we have to live as Christians every day, taking time to pray, spend time with God and help others in the way that we can. I realised I have not been hungry for God just recently. I need to step up to the plate and take on whatever Christ has in store for me.

In one way I feel worried typing this post. Most of you that read will know I am a Christian, but do I ever really talk of God or evangelise on here? No I don't and perhaps I need more of a Christian slant in my writing and in my life in general. So, no I won't be turning into a raving brain washer but I will be sharing more of my spiritual life. If that turns you off, then so be it. I do not need to be verified by the number of followers on my blog. I need to be verified for the work I do in Christ.

Lord, take me where You want me to go, Let Your will be done. Amen

Taking time to be thankful

(Above the kids having fun at the park and left my crafty collage from the weekend away).

I am in a completely different place today to what I was last Thursday, thank God (literally!).

I am extremely blessed and for today I can see that and I am enjoying all the wonderful things around me. I am remaining calm and unstressed and just enjoying having some time to myself to catch up on jobs that need doing and are so hard to complete with 3 small people in tow! The girls are at nursery, JJ is at school and I have another 1.5 hours before I collect him but instead of feeling that is not enough and worrying about that (that I normally would) today I am looking forward to seeing my boy and taking him for a hair cut and then having a play for a while before we collect the girls. Once the girls are collected we are all having a KFC treat on the way home and that means no cooking or clearing for me! yay A is at work and won't be home until about 11pm so tonight I will take the opportunity to catch up on some TV while doing the ironing and getting some ebay bits sorted and photographed.

So how have I changed so much in a few days? well as always it is by the grace of God. I went to ED last Thursday night and was able to rant and uncoil and then a good sleep does me the world of good so by the time I woke Friday I was ready to tackle the world. The girls and I met some good friends at soft play and I enjoyed sliding and crawling around with them, actually taking the time to enjoy them rather than being self-centered and just chatting with the other mummy. Then at 2pm off I went with a friend to Ely, leaving dh with the kids for the weekend. Yep completely selfish but so necessary and I have changed over the weekend. Prayer, reflection, time alone, meditation, sharing and some crafty therapy have grounded and calmed me and I have taken perspective and know my babes and A are the most important things.

I returned at 2pm on Sunday to a fab chorus of 'Mummy', then all the family went out shopping (the kids behaved just lovely) and we went to the park for the kids to run off some energy. What a fun couple of hours dh and I had, we played tag, had a walk through the woods, did piggy backs (with the kids - not each other!!! lmao), Miss M and I laid on the grass and watch ed the clouds and then JJ joined us to watch the planes. We met and petted loads of dogs and basically had a fun time laughing our socks off. errr why do we not do this more often? It cost nothing and everyone had a great time. Must make a mental note.

Being childlike....

JJ just reminded me today what fun it can be when we adults act like a kid! When away at Rivercamp last weekend we stumbled across a deserted park which was just lovely. What a strange mood I was in as I thoroughly enjoyed the swings, see saw, slide and climbing apparatus. JJ and I run and bounced around like kids (of course he actually is one!) and I laughed like I have not done for a very long time. It was excellent! That same day we had also been waltzing in a very crowded park whilst the brass band played - again I had not a care in the world and did not worry at all what people thought. Ohh to be like that all the time. For once I was just being and not doing - nothing was achieved except a sense of fun and a fab time! I think we even gave dh a laugh as he watched us chuckle away.

We went to the park today and JJ asked if we could go back without the girls and just play together again, 'as that was great fun wasn't it Mum?'. So next time dh is about we will get him to look after the girls and JJ and I can really let loose.

Jesus talks of the importance of us all being humble like children. Maybe this is a great step for me towards that.

Are you in prison?

I was reading my bible the other morning (can you believe it - I have now finally finished and can say I have read the bible cover to cover - still know nothing much about it but at least I have done it once - I will do it again!) and I came across a devotional from Max Lucado which really got me thinking.

Entitled the prison of want -
Luke 16:13 'You cannot serve both God and worldly riches'. Are you in prison? You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less. You are if joy is one delivery away, one transfer away, one award away, or one makeover away. if your happiness comes from something you deposit, drive, drink or digest, then face it - you are in prison, the prison of want. That's the bad news. The good news is, you have a visitor. And your visitor has a message that can get you paroled. Make your way to the receiving room. Take your seat in the chair, and look across the table at the palmist David. He motions for you to lean forward 'I have a secret to tell you', he whispers 'the secret of satisfaction. 'The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need' (Psalm 23:1).

I am in prison, much less than I used to be. I am pleased to say that my wants in life have subsided but I am still guilty of wanting that next thing - the extension, the garage conversion, the second car etc etc. This really got me thinking though, I am so lucky and I have so much but what I should be focusing on is the wonderful life ahead of me. Living each day one day at a time and really enjoying it and making the most of it. I must stop planning so much and just trying to enjoy myself and my precious family.

I am so blessed

I was just on my way back from an aqua aerobics session and was feeling so motivated when I realised I really ought to post about how blessed I am. All that kept coming to mind was the song 'I feel lucky'.

So for a happy post of the day - here is why I am so blessed -

• I love my hubbie and he loves me (I also fancy him too!)
• I have three Divine children, who are sparky and vivacious as well as loving and caring
• I get to work for 2.5 days per week which gives me some time to be an adult and earn a bit of money too
• I get to spend the other 4.5 days per week with my kids and doing mummy things like, school runs, coffee mornings, toddlers groups, oh and a cleaning too! lol
• There is enough time on my working days (be it early morning or lunchtime) to go to the gym, have a swim, do aqua etc
• We have found a great new Church to become part of
• I have some wonderful long term Christian friends and some great new Christian friends who all support me in prayer
• I also have some fab friends who I have now known for about 15 years and love and miss so much
• I have a great group of mummy friends who share all my parenting struggles
• My kids have fab Godparents who really bless them

and now I should be working, so that is it for now!