Funnies



......May be this is next on the phone when you call the tax department.

.......Make someones day and be grateful.

.....Have a day with a child they will make you feel young again. 

.......Be a kid today!

.......And rememebr what it was like when you were a kid.

Joy is..........



.......butterfly wings



.....Beautiful kittens

...... New born babies

.........Being sisters

.........Going to church

........Being in nature

........Finding new doorways

......Seeing things from a different angle



........Having friends

Managing a home with a positive spirit

Do you have days where it feels everything is just collapsing around you?  Days where everything coming at you is negative, draining and filled with frustration. The moans, complaints,  constant listening,  and always having to be on board at your best.  If you do you are not alone. 

This picture seems like me sometimes at home trying to stay on top of things and not to get dragged down by others.

One thing I have learnt though is that........



Having a positive outlook even when things seem to beat down on you is imperative.  How can we as mum/women remain positive and have good emotional health amongst all this battering and to be able to follow your dreams.



Taking a sleep always feels like a good option :)  but unfortunately the problem is still there when you wake up.  sigh......

I have found some things that work well

• Take time out daily.  Even if it is only listening to a piece of music you love or reading a chapter of a book.  I have had to become very creative to get my reading time (as I am a book worm)  I have book on the toilet that I read 2 pages of when I use the loo.  It takes me a while to get through a book but at least I can get a little bit of time to read.
• Remember that you are the manager of the house.  Would you let your staff treat you like dirt?   I certainly wouldn't.  It doesn't matter whether it is a child or an adult in your home protect yourself.  Be direct though IE I don't like it when you talk to me like that can you please stop.  If you chose not to I will have your phone..... I will walk out the room......I will put you in time out ..... We are not punching bags but human being that need respect
• If I get a complaint for any child about a job they have been given I give them another one.  They learn fast!
• If I feel negative I read some inspiring quotes or I read a motivational book. 
• Phone someone.  A problem shared is a problem halved.
• Get out of the house on your own once a week.  I know this can be had a certain times of life but I know it can be achieved.  One thing that worked for me when I had very young children was to swap babysitting with another mum.  This meant we both got out once a week. I found I had to schedule time so I became a priority
• Take time to seek to understand before you try to be understood.   (This is one of Steven Covey's principles.) Just by understanding people your attitude can shift.
• Plan successes in your life.....don't plan to fail. Make small goals and stick to them
• Learn what drains you.  My biggest drain in being disorganised.  The more organised I am the more positive I am.  Work out what is your biggest drain in your life and make a change.
• Serve others.  I can be much more positive when I help others.
• Learn to say no to unimportant things.  Just focus on what gives true happiness and true fulfilment



What do you do to stay positive?



Christmas

This week has been lovely after a few weeks of hectic running around.  I am finally catching up on a little sleep and feeling a little more normal (if I ever am normal  he he)   I love the week leading up to Christmas.  The secret rustles,  giggling and 'hide and seek'  with gifts.  I love the genuine love of people and care. I wish this could carry on all year.  I love also the little secrets we do as a family for others.  It gives us lovely warn fuzzies and excitement for the recipients of our secrets. 



With all the commercialism of Christmas is is so easy to get caught up in the trims and trappings.  How can we remember the true reason for Christmas?   How can we get back to simplicity and celebrating the birth of Christ and spend quality time as a family?  Here are some things that work for us

• K.I.S.S Keep it simple sister.  Is is really necessary to make 20 ginger bread houses for gifts? 
• Serve others.  For our 12 days of Christmas this year we have done acts of service for each other in our home.  I.E  1st day one act,  2nd day 2 acts etc.  It has been really fun and has brought a lovely feel into our house
• Visit with neighbours
• Visits with elderly and those with no family
• Bake and drop off secretly on door steps
• Decorate letter boxes in your neighbour hood.  Maybe even tape lollipops to the boxes too.
• Play traditional Christmas music
• Have all you meals together
• Make a handmade gift. 
• Go to church on Christmas day (or as near to Christmas day as possible)
• Read or act out the Christmas story
• Sing carols
• Go carolling (lots of fun)
• Read Christmas books as a family
• Have a Christmas concert
• Go to a community carols night
• Drive around your neighbourhood looking at Christmas lights
• Sit and listen to a child or friend or family member.
• Serve as a local soup kitchen
• Wrap a couple of presents up and drop them in to a homeless shelter or woman's refuge
• Watch a Christmas movie together.  The Nativity From the Church of Jesus Christ of latterday saints is beautiful. ( lds.org )

Get your thinking caps on and think about how you can get more meaning in your Christmas. 

Merry Christmas to you all.  Have a wonderful season and day





Love Catherine xxxxx

Inspiration Saturday

Breakfast at McDonald's
This is beautiful true story

....I am a mother of three and have recently completed my college degree.  The last class I had to take was Sociology.
The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.  Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.'  The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning.
It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.
We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, even my husband did..
I did not move an inch.... An overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.
As I turned around I smelled a horrible 'dirty body' smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men.

As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was 'smiling'  His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.  He said, 'Good day' as he counted
The few coins he had been clutching... The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.   I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.
He said, 'Coffee is all Miss' because that was all they could afford.. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).
Then I really felt it - The compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.  That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging  my every action.  I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give Me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.
I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.  He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, 'Thank you.'   I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, 'I did not do this for you.... God is here working through me to give you hope.'

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son.. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, 'That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope...'  We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. 

That day showed me the pure Light of God's Sweet love.

I turned in 'my project' and the instructor read it. 
Then she looked up atme and said, 'Can I share this?
I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class..
She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed. In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my son, the instructor,and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. 

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Literature and movie review

Today's review is of a series of books well known to many.  I have read it 5-6 times and thoroughly enjoyed it each time.  It has made me want to travel to Canada to see all the beautiful places there.  It has inspired me and left me feeling enriched for reading it. 

Anne of green gables is an all time Canadian classic written by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  The series of 8 books celebrates the life of a young orphan Anne Shirley.  They take us through her childhood into her teens and as a married woman. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables and numerous sequels. (Canadian Press



Montgomery makes the books come alive through her wonderful descriptions of life on Prince Edward Island at the turn of the last century.  She creates deep and meaningful characters that many of us can identify with.....The nosy neighbour (who means well)  Over bearing adults (who really do care) loving creative children.  There are many characters and ways of life we wish still existed....the village spirit,  the love of many adults and  the freedom to roam around that children today seem not to get much of. 

The stories begin with Anne going to her new home on PEI and finding out the family (Marrilla and Mathew.  A brother and sister) she thought wanted her wants a boy.  Her wee world is shattered.  But after Mathew changes Marrilla's mind they agree to let her stay.  They soon find out Anne is a lot of work for 2 old single people but they come to love her as their own. 

Theses books are full of humour and wit.  Montgomery is a great story teller who weaves the stories so well that I have a hard time putting them down.  I would recommend them from 9 years and up but I read them for the first time as a older teen and still really enjoyed them. 

Inspriation Saturday

I want to share a story with you today about hope and love.  It is one of my favourites and everytime I read it I feel the desire to hang on and hope even when others hope has gone.

THE TABLECLOTH 

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited  about their opportunities.

When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but

postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.

The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.

The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone
at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

Based on a true Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

Keep holding on to hope.