Enough.

Starting week two of this new awesome year, and I am sure that many of you are feeling like me... I've already blown it.  I've not done enough, I haven't read enough, I haven't created enough, I haven't eaten well enough, I haven't been to the gym enough, I haven't been who I planned on being... enough. Enough. 

When your heart gets overwhelmed by comparing, listening to the negativity in your head, too many tv ads telling you are not enough, then we need to say "enough!".  Enough. 

Let the new day wash over you like the waves of the ocean and know that you are enough.

When you heart gets overwhelmed turn to the one who stills the seas, calms the roaring waves, and whispers... enough. You are enough. 

On this beautiful blustery winter day, quiet yourself enough to hear God whisper, you are enough... 

because you are, just the way you are.

Share the love,

M.

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I wonder...

I wonder if coffee thinks about me too... I mean, what if it's addicted to me? not the other way around. I went to bed last night dreaming of my morning cup of coffee... it makes my heart so happy to take time in the morning to brew a little cup of coffee. Ok, who am I kidding, a GIANT cup of coffee. But I do brew them one at a time, and nope not a Keurig... I'm a french press kinda girl, but here in Vietnam we have these little metal filters, it's basically the same idea as a french cup, it's a slow pour over... it takes FOREVER to filter, but it is totally worth the wait.

Don't get me wrong, if you come to Vietnam and order a Vietnamese black coffee it will knock your socks off, be as thick as mud, and taste like no other coffee in the world. Trust me. Here they brew robusta coffee- Robusta is often used as a coffee filler in canned coffee, it has less of a glorious flavour, but still tastes, looks, smells, like coffee.  Generally most coffees that we think about would be made either with a mix of robusta and arabica or be 100% arabica... Not sure how I got into this little coffee definition moment, but there you go, now you know :) Great coffee conversation if you're ever in an awkward silence at a dinner party, or work thing.

With so many things in life changing... every day something new is on the horizon, what's next, where will we be in 1 year, who will we be in 1 year... I don't really know, what I do know is that God has a plan, that His plan is better than my plan, and that I can Trust Him. Even though everything is up in the air, one thing I know for sure, is that tomorrow morning, I will be brewing Kicking Horse 454 Horsepower Coffee... and I'm already thinking about it. See I wonder... does coffee think about me too?

In a world of constant change, what do you rely on for strength? Comfort? Peace? What takes your heart rate down, slows the day, allows you to be present... in the moment?


Share the love,
M.

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Seek and Find.

I've been taking a little hiatus lately, ok-I've been being lazy and blaming it on jet lag and culture shock. In all honesty, the jet lag is real, the culture shock, well, I've been married to my Vietnamese hubby for 15 years (!!!) this August, so culture shock might be pushing it.

But I'm ba-ack... I'm feeling good and inspired and excited. It might have helped that my momma and I had a conversation this morning that changed my whole perspective. I've been feeling some anxiety lately and not wanting to adult anymore. I guess you could say I've been, what my sister-in-law calls, entertaining thoughts of escapism. Escapism, which according to google is defined as:

es·cap·ism

əˈskāpˌizəm/

noun

1. the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   And I couldn't agree more. I've been dreaming of the simplicity of childhood, you know- when parents took care of everything and we little people had nothing to worry about. I actually mentioned it to my friends that I'd like to live in a world where unicorns existed (and I was serious). But that just isn't reality. So I guess I need to buck buttercup, pull my socks up, and get back to reality and back to work.  

   
   

   I was looking for an easy way out of circumstances beyond my control, and I know that way out, I know that I need to go to God with my issues, (if you've read my previous posts, apparently I'm not learning this lesson very quickly). I had to take a few moments and repent for wasting so much time trying to find solutions for circumstances completely out of my control- Instead of casting all of my cares on Him, instead of giving it all to God, I had been trying to find solutions. If you need some encouragement about how we are to deal with anxieties and fears, here's a few: Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7,  Matthew 11:28, Philippians 4:6-7,  John 16:33, Romans 8:28, Psalm 62:8, and there are so many more.

   
   

   How is it that I am back here again? How is it that this lesson, one I know the answer too, is one that I am continually struggling with?

   
   

   So this one is for me... Missie, seek and you'll find...  

   
   

   Are you looking for peace? Seek. Are you looking for Hope? Seek. Are you looking for answers? Seek. Stop trying to find a solution and seek God, He is the solution.

   
   

   Share the love, and happy seeking.

   M.

   
   

   
   

   
   

Do I believe the Hype? + Happy Birthday To Me!

So according to studies, I'm getting old. Not studies on me, but rather on our feminine reproductive organs... by the time you are 38, you're uterus is basically a dud... all your good eggs are dead, and all that is left, is well duds... Oh and let's not mention the craziness of hair loss, weight gain, wrinkles and everything else they can throw in to scare the poop right out of you (oh and poop... ya, you'll probably never poop again!) This information used to scare me. It used to freak me out... and I'm kinda freaking out, that I am not freaking out.

Guess what... 38 is well-  just that, 38. It's a number, it's how long I've survived this crazy world of fear mongering and freak outs, love and laughter, chocolate and hugs, nieces and nephews, brothers (I got a few when I married my hubby) and sisters (my own partner in crime Sarah, plus I also collected a few more when my brothers all got married), my friends- my girlfriends, I'm not even sure this adequately describes these women who support, hold, up, pray for, and constantly bless me. It's been a sweet ride, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I wouldn't trade this body, these lines, my silver hair, or my experiences for anything... Living this life, not necessarily the one I had planned (read more), but the one that was planned for me- has given me the ability to trust, rest and rely on God to know... I don't need to know... He knows.

My mom always tells me when I'm feeling frustrated and I'm going on, and on...
 "but God, why, why me, why us... I'd really like to know!!"
She always tells me;
 "hun, you are on a need to know basis -and you just don't need to know."

So today for my birthday my wish is this... God whatever you have for me, whatever you have for us, give me the confidence to boldly go, boldly take that step, boldly believe and boldly trust in you... all the days of my life. With each passing day, and each passing year, this gets easier, less complicated, more simple, and very rewarding... Because God is good... always. 

So Happy Birthday to me! and to all of you celebrating today with me... Today is a GOOD day to have a GOOD DAY! Share the love, and your life lessons...
M.




PS. apparently someday soon, in our 40's ladies... our upper bodies actually become larger than our lower bodies?? SERIOUSLY?


and what is this little nugget of gold?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-27466/Is-woman-best-38.html

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The Whole World.

Sometimes we forget...
Let's try to remember this today.
Share the love,
M.

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It's one of those days!

It's one of those days where all I can do is just whisper a prayer, Lord, fill my cup... I'm a little homesick, I'm a little bored, I'm sure if I stopped and thought about it there would be a million things I could do... I've taken a class, I've painted a little, I've chatted with my mom, and friends... but I just can't seem to get with it today.

I need to go to the grocery store, funny thing is, at home going to the grocery store is easy, here it is an ordeal that can take me sometimes 2 hours to get 4 items... it's a hoot on days when I can handle it, on days like today it is completely overwhelming and draining.

So if you are anything like me today, than this one is for you... Fill my cup Lord... I can't do it alone, I don't want to do it alone... I need you. Period.

Share the love,
M.

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For Granted to Gratitude

Throw back to Grandma's house and a time when everybody had one of these signs... I guess I got a little nostalgic there for a minute and really wanted one in my house... couldn't find one that I liked -so I made this one, and thought I'd share it!

What is your mantra, or thought process when you are cleaning your home, tidying up after others, or even yourself (I'm the main messy culprit here for making messes- I get all excited to start a project and then I start, and I keep adding to my collection of supplies, then I get side tracked or have to get back to work work... putting supper on, loading or unloading the dishwasher... laundry - ps, I am still doing laundry from our Uganda trip, can you believe that?! ya, me neither...can you say major side track?)

What are the words you speak over your home are they positive words of appreciation?
I thank you that I have clothes, to put in the washing machine that we are so blessed to own...

or negative;
I can't believe this guy, who raised him- seriously how hard is it to put your socks in the hamper... oh these kids they have so much and they don't appreciate any of it, I hate laundry...

Change your words, speak gratitude and appreciation and see how things will change... After spending 5 weeks in Uganda and brushing our teeth with bottled water because there is no such thing as clean drinking water there... no matter how clean you think it is, if you drink it, you will get sick...
every time I turn on the faucet here in Canada I whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. There is so much stuff I take for granted...

So print this sign, frame it, and every time you see it, whisper a prayer of gratitude for the roof over your head and the people you share it with... Every time you walk by it and whisper it,  He hears...

Share the love,
M.

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Happy Saturday!

Created to go together or separately :)
Enjoy!

It's Saturday- what an awesome day, it's as though the whole world looks at life a little differently on a Saturday than any other day of the week. It's full of endless possibilities, wide open mental spaces and sheer joy. I love Saturdays. Even though my Hubby and I both work on Saturdays, there is something so inborn in me that I still love them.

When I was growing up, Saturdays were the only 'free' day. Sunday was church, Monday -Friday was school, and every second week on Saturday evenings we had church services with the elderly at the seniors home. We may or may not have races those people to the service taking corners on two wheels in their wheel chairs... they would just laugh and giggle the whole time. Who in their right mind puts eight 12 year olds in charge of going and getting the participants in wheelchairs? Apparently our parents trusted us. side note: In our free time, we would wander around the basement looking for the morgue-morbid, I know. 

But Saturdays... I still love them, I still hold them in a special place in my heart, they are the free day of the week! It's as though they are the day that I can finally cast my cares away, and truly relax... but 1 Peter says that we should be casting our cares away every day, "Cast all of your cares on Him; He cares for you." All of your cares, that includes your Monday woes, your Tuesday cares, your Wednesday stress, your Thursday frustrations and your Friday anxiety - knowing that you start this all over again on Monday.  Cast ALL of your cares on Him. He Cares for you.  This is a reminder that I recite to myself daily, I am living and growing and casting my cares daily, sometimes every moment I am saying this over and over... and then laying down my worries, placing my anxieties, my hurts, my frustrations on Him... because He truly cares for me. 


If something has you down, cast your cares on Him... He truly cares for you.
You are his favourite.

Share the love,
M.

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Sense of Wonder.

Someone reminded me recently that it isn't about the big things, it's about the little things. The sunrise, the sunset, the clouds, the colour, the changing of the sky... it's the little things that happen daily that we just ignore, move past, and don't pay any attention too...

When was the last time you saw a sunset and gave thanks? Thanks that Someone out there (much bigger than you and I)  was thinking about you and painted it just for you... The sky is a daily masterpiece that I miss often... the clouds are works of art, that I don't even see...

Help me to not lose my sense of wonder, gratitude and moments that you send my way God. Help me to be childlike in your beauty.

Share the love,
M.

ooooops, I had your, your... so here is the NEW version :)

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