Love in Action Journey

I can hardly believe it! Our precious baby boy is a big 1 years old today!  What a phenomenal year it has been, having the privilege of raising this treasured son of our hearts. He has brought nothing but absolute joy to all of us as a family.  He truly is an every-day reminder to us of the great love, faithfulness and goodness of our amazing God.  This little guy had such a fun day! He soaked it all in. From balloons, snuggles and pressies in the morning ... ... To a super special jungle-themed party at home ... I'm sure that finally being able to tuck into a super-yummy piece of cake ... lovingly made by Granny, was well worth the year long wait ;0) And best of all is the love of family! Once again ... from Brett and I, thank you to all of you who have walked with and cheered us on, celebrating God's amazing gift of love and restoration in our lives as a family. We stand tall in Him shouting out that "God IS good!" and th...

Christmas has always been my favourite time of the year. Even as a little girl my parents would entrust my sister and I with the privilege of decorating the tree. (Hats off to my sweet mom! I think I may just have a tad-little-ity-bittie control issues when it comes to the final look of the tree - I have to make myself step back and allow the girls artistic license on the tree ... but when they are no longer looking I confess that I can't help a little rearranging! It just HAS to look balanced, or I can't sleep peacefully! ha ha). Anyway - back to my non-controlling amazing mom who let us decorate the tree without fixing it ... I remember how my sis and I would spend hours going through those little boxes of ornaments, playing with the sweet figurines. There weren't a whole lot of them, and I don't remember us often adding to the collection, but that in itself made it such a sweet memory. Each of those little ornaments carried precious memories with them. I remember a ...

A few weeks ago, a fellow blog friend and I were writing back and forth about the wonder of seeing how applicable the Bible still is in speaking so directly into our every day life situations. God's Words of life are so specific! They are alive and carry the weight of wisdom and freedom for anything that we will ever face. A few days ago, God graciously played out the most precious demonstration of His Word for us as a family to witness. He is after all the very best story teller I know and He paints His words of life into the most precious pictures in our every day lives if we have eyes to see and take notice. Here's the passage ... "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to...

I can hardly believe that it has been exactly 2 years since Zac entered our lives and then a day later went home to Heaven. Yesterday was his 2nd birthday and today his 2nd "angelversary". These 2 days of the year especially allow me to reflect back and remember the moments that continue to impact our hearts. 2 years ago today I could barely breath. For the first time in my life I experienced what desperate longing truly felt like. My son had taken his last breath in my arms as I sang over him. It was the most peaceful, serene moment. There was no fear or panic or trauma. One moment he was looking into my eyes, and the next he was looking into Jesus' eyes. That moment was so sacred ... but it was the pain that came after when I realised that I would never be able to have the privilege of raising him this side of Heaven. There are no words for that kind of desperation. As a parent you would do anything to change things, but it is not in your hands. There are only a few ...

This time of year is a very tender time for me. I see a few heart-sore moments every now and then with my girls and hubby as we remember. The heart ache resurfaces in little ways and allows us to become honest in negotiating different layers in the grief journey. This time of year approaches the 2 year mark since our precious Zac was born and then passed on. The memories often flash through my mind in unguarded moments. I've learned to embrace the memories even with the tinge of pain that they bring. I've come to learn that being honest with the process of grief and having to negotiate pain does not in any way diminish the incredible work of healing, joy and restoration that God has so lovingly been pouring into our hearts. In fact, being honest to face it in truth with Jesus just allows deeper aspects of healing and restoration. Time with Jesus has shown me over and over again that with the pain, there is always healing and grace in His outstretched hands. As painful as some ...

Over the last week the Lord has been speaking to me about the significance of having "fresh bread" in the house. Intrigued? So was I.  It started a week ago when I was asked at short notice to share with a special group of ladies anything that the Lord had laid on my heart. I had been reading some passages earlier in the week that had spoken to my heart, so I thought I would draw on that. But that's when the Lord dropped the words "Fresh Bread" in my heart.  I started with the story of how God fed His children for 40 years as they negotiated their journey towards the promised land. Exodus 16:11-35 tells the story of their discovery of this manna from Heaven. I found God's heart in His instructions to the Israelites so fresh and telling to me in my journey with Him. Here's a little of what spoke to me in this story of God's provision ... 1) God's first instruction to them in verses 16 - 18 was for each household to gather as much manna as ...

Crazy title ... but hear me out. Lately as I have been seeking out the Father's voice for my life, I hear him pointing out the SIMPLE stuff. Take for instance this morning.  My heart's cry has always been for God to use my life for His glory, to make a difference with His love, but sometimes when I take a good look at my life I can't help but look up, arch and eyebrow and wonder when that BIG moment is finally going to arrive? What is that one BIG THING that He has called me to? It doesn't necessarily look like my life has yet to make a big impact on a world so full of hurting hearts. Ever feel the same? Well, as I was pottering about the house, the doorbell rang and a familiar homeless man was back asking for something to eat. I was in my pj's about to write a 'deep blog post' about hearing God's voice ;0) Honestly, making something to eat was the last thing I felt like doing. And that's when I heard Him. "Here's an opportunity Jan. ...