Love in Action Journey

Today would have been my precious Granny's 90th birthday. She made it just past her 89th birthday so this is her first birthday in Heaven. Now that's a thought! I can just imagine the music that she is surely dancing to even as  type this. That's my Granny - always part of the fun wherever it's happening. She LOVED dancing! Now she gets to dance without any inhibitions or restrictions in her body. Her zest for life and her love for people always spoke to my heart. Granny prayed for more people than we as her family will ever know. I remember so many nights falling asleep hearing her praying over her family before she would fall asleep. Even when she was at the worst of her pain towards the end, I would hear her praying in her room for her family. She was an intercessor. Now she prays with the saint in Heaven with a strong, healthy body and is cheering us on from those great big heavenly grandstands. She had a naughty little sparkle in her eye that often made me laugh. ...

My girls are both on holiday!!! I cannot tell you how relieved I am that the exams are all over, the girls have both passed and we have weeks of sleeping-in to look forward to! I am so proud of my beautiful daughters who have faced this year with incredible faith and courage. The fact that my eldest was able to not only face her first experience of exams, but excel at them too makes me want to fall at the feet of my faithful King and just weep. She had such a hard term last term with all the uncertainties in the pregnancy, that coming back to this term she had to work extra hard to pull through. It was such a huge faith journey for me to have to trust the Lord for wisdom in preparing her for exams and filling in the gaps where she battled last term, all whilst dealing with grief at it's rawest. Well ... this little warrior princess is a champion in my books! She really worked diligently, we prayed hard and now she is seeing how the Lord brought her through. I am so proud of her. ...

My gorgeousness started something with the girls last year called "treasure box". This is one of the precious daddy-daughter times that he invests into them. They LOVE it and beg him for "treasure box". Their little eyes light up and they delight in knowing that they have daddy all to themselves :-) He chooses a verse, reads it to them, asks them questions about it, explains and answers any questions around it and then they learn it together. If time allows, either him or "little bear" writes it out and then little miss Leelee draws a picture on the card before filing it into our treasure chest (in our case a little red box that seriously needs some decorating). They usually do this before bed time if time hasn't run away with us. What a rich deposit is sown in those few short moments.  I am learning that it is often these small little moments of sowing that can reap the most beautiful harvests in our children's lives. The gift of time spent togeth...

Talking to many women I have come to realise how blessed I am to share such a special bond with my mother. I call her my "Mommy Darling". There is just so much that I admire about her. She is a mighty woman of faith; I have always seen her as fearless - willing to jump in wherever she senses God calling her; she has shown me what loyalty looks like; she loves selflessly; she gives so generously; she speaks the truth in love and most of all she has shown me the reality of a loving God by the way she worships Him in her everyday life. She is so talented and creative, writing some of the worship songs that many sing in church. She is my friend and my mother. She has shaped my life in so many ways and continues to do so with her constant love for me. Mom - this post is for you. I love you so much. As I now negotiating the beautiful calling of motherhood, I find myself drawing on the life lessons that I have learned from my experiences and adventures with my Mom. I am bl...

Brett and I are currently away with the girls in Natal for a week. It has been the best week ever!! I honestly do not remember when we went away as a family alone for a holiday (our holidays are usually going away to or with extended family which we love), so this has been such a fun adventure for all of us! I do not know how we are going to get in the car to begin the journey home on Friday! When I get home, I will write a post with pictures (having a few networking problems out here) ... but my thought today is simply about making time for the ones we love ... to do new things together ... to laugh together ... to experience new adventures and to keep growing together. I am so aware of how quickly my girls are growing up. I want to make the most of these simple years with them. One of the things that touched my heart this week was watching my firstborn in the waves with her daddy. Just as I did with my dad at her age, this holiday she has fallen in love with doing ...

It's been a while since I last wrote. My sister and I went to the U.S. for 2 weeks to spend time with my precious mom who has been there for 3 1/2 years. Wow - how much I have missed her ... and now being home after "doing life" together for 2 weeks - I miss her even more. The preciousness (a Jan word!) of my awesome God is that He has made a way for us to visit her each year that she has been there ... and with each visit, I come away with the sweetest memories. Our whole time together was coated with His great love. Thinking back on this special time together, I can't help but smile as I see how much God delights in "doing life" with us each day. He is the greatest lover - He knows just how to melt our hearts over with His precious surprises which are so unique to each of us. Each day I could not help but smile at the way He poured out His love on each of us. He surprised my sis with a babyshower from people that we are just really starting to get to know ...