The Real Influencers

 

I just want to say, never underestimate the effect your online presence has on others.

I was thinking about years ago when I first discovered blogging. I’d always liked to write and to share my thoughts on the internet seemed daunting. But, I was very lonely. I’d just moved to a new town and I didn’t know anyone. We were living in a bad area. Family was distant and I had three, soon to be four, then five little ones. I had only just embraced my faith in Jesus and I felt very alone in my journey as a Christian and a mother. The internet seemed to unlock a world to me. 

Then I found a group of women bloggers who were mothers and Christians. They posted about ordinary things, the things I was going through, mundane things, hard things, beautiful things. Their faith shone through their words, giving them strength. This overflowed off the page ( screen) and into my own ordinary world transfiguring it and showing me the profound meaning in it.

I was blessed by these women more than I can say. They inspired me, encouraged me, edified me, convicted me.

My children were blessed as my own journey of motherhood was blessed. I will always hold a special place in my heart for those women.

I dearly miss those humble, earthy, homely and homespun blogs although I find similar beautiful souls on Instagram, even if it is a little more fast paced.

A few years ago, I heard that one of these women passed away. I literally went into my bedroom and wept. I had never met or spoken to this sweet, Godly woman, but my children’s childhoods would not have been the same without her generous wisdom and quiet, strong faith. That is because she guided me, as a woman and a mother into the sacredness of my vocation and role. 

We are all influencers in our way. The effects of our lives will only be fully realised in eternity.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 

-Titus 2:3-5

( I just want to thank those who have commented recently. My laptop is not working properly and I’ve just changed my phone and for some reason my replies to your comments aren’t appearing in the blog. I’m really sorry. I think it will work better through my laptop once it’s fixed. I appreciate your kind comments so much) 

Our Advent Devotions

 

Morning of Advent by Tancau Emmanuel

Happy first day of Advent.

Here is a link to our advent devotions.We read one every Sunday throughout Advent.

And here is a link to a beautiful version of O Come Emmanuel.

The Idolatry of Work

Work is important. But a certain kind of overwork that has become so prevalent and celebrated in our culture is destructive rather than creative.

Homeschooling high school age kids I often feel the pull to put aside true creative endeavour and things that matter most of all such as quiet times that cultivate our connection to each other and God in order to press on towards ticking off an ever increasing and impossible check list.

Perhaps what I’m saying is there are many kinds of work. 

The kind of work that has a marketable value may not necessarily be the most valuable work.

.

And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.

Iain Thomas

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. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 .

Why I don’t subscribe to the waldorf philosophy anymore

 

Hi guys,

I just wanted to share something that has changed for us over this past year. 

As you know, we have often loosely followed waldorf curriculum over the years.

Around a year ago I became slowly more and more aware that the actual philosophy and spirituality of waldorf is actually in conflict to my christian/ catholic faith.

Our homeschool still includes a focus on nature, art, handwork, catholic feast days, home and natural, eco friendly toys but a deeper look at the waldorf philosophy reveals things that I can’t reconcile and do I won’t be using or promoting any waldorf anymore and will also not be selling or promoting waldorf in my shop. 

I’ve seen and heard a lot of Christian Mama’s coming to a similar conclusion recently. I don’t want to share anything that could lead others to something that has occult undertones. I personally know how damaging that can be. I prayerfully encourage you to watch  Sister Emmanuelle Maillard's testimony on YouTube for some insight. This is why I’m writing this post.

I thought about simply shutting down the blog but wanted to explain things honestly first. 

Here are some thoughts. 

There are so many things that can look inviting and beautiful, so many different ideas vying for our attention. 

One thing that always appealed to me with waldorf was the beautiful scenes of playrooms and seasonal tables. The ‘simplicity’ of the curriculum also appealed. But the curriculum in terms of planning and implementation was often far from ‘simple’ or inexpensive. 

Something  that looks beautiful on the outside isn’t always good and something that is good doesn’t always look beautiful in the way the world defines beauty. Sometimes true beauty is hidden and secret, not something that can be displayed or look impressive.

I realise how little I really know and how much I need God’s wisdom and Grace for guidance and discernment. I really do get lost on my own. It’s humbling to realise how much I need my faith to keep my steps from wandering. 

False ideas, however ‘beautiful’ they look on the outside will only cause harm in the end.

That is why I want to keep things simple. I pray that our homeschool is founded on simple faith. 

Something that requires no bells and whistles, no outward show and may make no perfect pictures.

 I pray that I with all my failings and errors are not at the centre of the picture but that Jesus is.

I pray that our homeschool will be fashioned by Truth and the Love that flows forth from all that is true. 

Sending love to any and all who read this. I hope and pray any who might have been influenced by any false philosophy from my blog accept my sincere apologies. 

On Pride and Discouragment

{Firstly, I'd just like to apologise for not responding to comments. I've tried but for some reason, they've not shown up. I just want to thank those who've taken the time to leave comments. I'll try to figure the problem out in my settings as soon as I can.}

Recently, I’ve been reading a wonderful book called The Little Way of Trust By Fr. Jacques Philippe. One sentence really stood out for me today. Discouragement is pride disguised.
A few years ago I was feeling really discouraged in my homeschool/parenting/faith journey.
My eldest daughter seemed to have drifted away from the church that was once such a big part of her life, my middle girls were getting their first flush of hormones, my elderly parents began needing more care and it didn’t seem like I had enough time with my youngest daughter.
I felt like I was failing in so many ways.  Interiorly, I felt weary and burdened. I felt like I’d lost the spark and joy of life.

Derek Prince said that a dominating spirit is not a spirit of God but a spirit of the enemy.
Often we feel weary because our ‘vision’ our idea of perfection or how things should be isn’t made manifest.
We want to control or dominate all forces to bring about our idea of what life should look like or be.
For me, I wanted to mitigate all suffering, sadness, trials, struggles and pain for my children.
It seems like a perfectly natural desire, but it was driving me to live in constant fear. To wrap them in  a bubble can't protect, only stifle.
To realise that I can’t save my children, I can’t even save myself.  To understand that some disapointments and suffering are essential for the formation of the soul was the key to unlocking that prison of fear.
It allowed me to put down my burden at His feet.
Only God can save us and we have to be willing to trust Him alone with the process.

Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar
and wait for your fire - Psalm 5:3

Sometimes we feel weary because we are carrying burdens that we were never meant to carry.
Every choice is a decision  about which burden to lift up and which burden to put down.

I must ask myself, who am I serving when picking up my burden? Am I serving my own vision or God’s?

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. - Matthew 11

The opposite of pride is humility.
Humility is knowing I can’t do anything profitable without God’s Grace.
Humility gives me the freedom to surrender all to Him because I just can't do it on my own.
Humility is yielding ( the future, the past, the present, every loss, every victory, every sorrow, every grief and every joy) to God.

Humility is knowing I can do nothing of value unless I’m grafted to the vine. - John 15

Humility is knowing I can build nothing that will stand against the storms of life unless I let the master architect build it. - Psalm 127

Humility is resting in the mystery. It's knowing God's ways are higher than my ways. His thoughts are above my thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9

The funny thing is that during that time of discouragement everything, externally seemed to be optimised for joy and peace. We had just moved from a cramped council house to a lovely, new home. We were finally in a stable place financially. Everything seemed like it should have been better than ever. Yet I fretted over losing our newly aquired 'security' and these beautiful new things felt more like a prison to protect than a freedom to enjoy.
I tried to take control over everything and in so doing I dropped the very thing that mattered most, my trust in the one who had provided all that was truly good and beautiful in my life.

God is gracious, faithful and good. He is our Father and He waits for us and leads us so patiently.

Once I had come to the end of myself trying to juggle all the balls and tie up all the loose ends, make everything "right" God came to find me.
I went through some health issues which meant I really couldn't do all the things anymore. My pride took a hit. It was painful. It was a mercy.

Whenever I find myself discouraged now I ask myself which burden's I'm trying to carry that I was never meant to carry. Then I ask Him to take them. I lean into Him. I find my rest in taking His yoke rather than my own. Sometimes, this means, giving some things up. Sometimes it means saying no to some things so I can say yes to more important things.

The more I've trusted in Him, the more I've seen things work out for His purposes.
God's vision and plans are always better than our own.
They don't always mean there will be no struggles. Often it means choosing the struggle rather than the easy way. But when He is with us in the struggle we also receive the grace to accept it and grow through it in ways we’d never possibly imagined we could.

So, my eldest daughter has kept her faith. She is an amazing mother. She is an encourager and an adventurer.
My middle's are now in the midst of teenhood. There are still big emotions to navigate but they are growing in their faith and the growing pains of growing up are bonding them in their sisterhood.
God has renewed and restored my relationship with my parents in and through everything we've been through.
There are still ups and downs, but I see the grace that abounds in both. And that brings peace beyond all circumstances. A peace beyond understanding. A peace the world cannot give.
-Phillipians 4:7
- John 4:27

So, don't be discouraged. We are enough when we are in Him.

Super Mom versus Abiding Mom

Super Mom	Abiding Mom
Does	Is (Psalm 46:10)
Tries to impress others	Pleases the Lord (Eph. 5:10, Proverbs 29:25)
Is controlled by an agenda (curriculum, schedule, etc)	Is controlled by the Holy Spirit: (Gal. 5:22-26) (Uses curriculum & schedules as tools for orderliness so she's more free to follow the spirit)
Her self worth is found in her accomplishments (clean house, perfect kids, the perfect bulletin boards, etc.)	Her self worth is found in an accurate view of who she is in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10)
Her peace is found in the “perfect” environment	Her peace is found in Jesus in the midst of any storm (Is 26:3)
She is discouraged by failure	Failure reminds her that God's strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
She expects perfection from herself and others	She practices grace with herself and others (Eph 4:32)
She teaches her kids to be good	She teaches her kids to be Godly (Proverbs 22:6)
She is frustrated with her lack of spiritual fruit	She abides in Christ and bears much fruit (John 15:5)
She does things with her children	She builds a relationship with her children (Deut 6:6-7)
Her perspective is based on what is seen	Her perspective is based on what is unseen (Col 3:2)
She chooses quantity of activities	She chooses the most excellent Way (I Cor 13)

Thank you An An Abiding Mom!

Click here for a printable version!

The Advent Wreath...

 

My daughter Emmy and I wrote this little play for our Church. It is now a beautiful part of our own advent tradition. Please feel free to share these readings in your own home:)

Here is a little about the advent wreathe.

And here are some traditional scripture readings for each lighting.

 

Introduction: - 

I am the wreath and I am a symbol of advent. Advent is the time of preparation before Christmas day. I represent God himself, his eternity, love and endless mercy which have no beginning or end.

I express the hope that people have in God; the hope of newness, renewal and eternal life.

Cedar branches can be woven into me, they symbolise healing and strength. Holly berries are placed on me to represent sacrificial love and the blood of Christ which was shed on the cross. Holly leaves are also placed on me to signify the crown of thorns that was put on the head of Jesus at his crucifixion. Pinecones are put on me to symbolise life and resurrection. Laurel can be woven through me and this represents victory over persecution, suffering and death.

Finally, I hold the four outer candles. They represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of advent, which, in turn, symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ.

There are three purple candles and one pink. The three purple candles are used for the first, second and third weeks of advent, they symbolise: Hope, peace and love. The pink candle is used for the fourth week of advent and symbolises joy.

I also encircle the white candle, and that represents the light that our Lord Jesus brought into the world on Christmas day.

First Candle:-

I am the first candle. I am hope. Do you want to know why I am the most important candle? Just listen to my story.

Once, long ago in the vast stillness of a desert night three wise kings of the east noticed something shine like a diamond from the coal black sky.  It was a star; a star never charted nor gazed upon before. In that shimmering silence of the desert it shone, brighter than any star had ever done before or since.

They wondered as all men are bound to, whether they should leave their families, their work and their home to take this trip of a lifetime. Follow the call of the prophets who had spoken in ancient tongues about this sign.

Without knowing where they would end up, they mounted their camels with the barest provisions and stepped out into the night. Yes, this star had kindled something within their hearts too.

It was hope.  

And although the journey was long, the star lit their path.

When they found the child, these three wise and learned Kings took off their crowns and bowed. Then they laid down their gifts at his little feet.

It is hope that leads us through the night to the stable. Hope that finds the Christ child. I am hope. I am the most important.

Without me you can’t even begin your journey.

Second Candle:-

I am Peace. I am the most special part of the  Christmas wreathe and I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ve heard my story.

Once long ago some shepherds were watching their flocks through the night.  In those days wolves prowled and lambs could easily wander off so they needed to be carefully watched both day and night. This night was just as any other, no different. The younger shepherd boys played with the little lambs and the men told old, worn but favourite stories to pass the long night. Suddenly they could hear a rustling in the distant brush. They all fell silent. The boys held their lambs tight in fear and the men reached for their staffs.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an unknown figure drew close to their little group. The figure was surrounded by a gentle, golden light.

At first the younger boys huddled together in fear. Even the men covered their faces with their hands. Then the angel spoke.

"DO NOT BE AFRAID.FOR I BRING NEWS OF GREAT JOY. YOU WILL FIND A BABY WRAPPED IN SWADDLING CLOTHES.....LYING IN A MANGER."

And suddenly all their fear fell away like a heavy coat of armour. 

All that was left on that ragged hill was peace.

I am peace.

Peace is the gift Jesus brings. It is a gift unlike anything the world can give.

 This is why I am the most special candle of all. 

Third Candle:-

I am joy and I am the most wonderful candle of all. Please stay a while and share in my happiness.

I am the carol singing of Christmas Eve and peal of the bells on Christmas morning.

I am the feeling the three Kings felt when they reached that simple dwelling of the Holy Family.

I am the feeling the shepherds felt when they knew that out of all the great men of the world, the angel had come to bring his message to them, the poor and lowly first!

I am the party to prepare for and enjoy. I am God’s smile upon His people. I am the blessing a Father gives his child.

 I am joy.

This is why I am the most wonderful thing about Christmas.

Fourth Candle:-

I am love and that is what Christmas is all about. I am the reason for the season. I am also the # 1 gift of the season.

 I am swaddled tight and good within every human heart. 

All you’ve got to do is un-wrap me!

I am the bringing together. I make us all a family; Rich and poor, simple and wise, strangers and friends, heaven and earth.

I am Love.

And this is why I am all that matters most.

Last Candle:-

I am the Christ candle, the white candle, the light of the world.

I am the last candle to be lit.

 All the other candles were simply preparing for this moment; the moment when hope, peace, joy and love were born into the world through the first breath of a newborn baby.

I am pure white like light.

Long ago in the musty depths of a stable filled with animals and hay a young girl wrapped her first born child in simple, white swaddling bands. What must she have been thinking as she gazed into his eyes? As her heart swelled and brimmed with love. What were her first words to him?

Did she see in his little face the life that was to come?  Did she wonder at the dark and distant places his light was born to shine in? 

I am the last candle, the Christ candle the light of the world.

This is why I am the most honoured candle of all.

Wreathe:-

Dear candles! All of us signify important stages in the journey of advent.

God is eternal like the circle and each one of you is a part of that circle.

Without even one of you that circle would not be whole, would not be holy.

Look out beyond yourselves!

Friends and family have gathered around this circle that we have made. Hand in hand they are singing and praying and spreading joy outwards.

Yes! Our message is rippling in ever increasing circles, widening, embracing, enveloping, illuminating more and more of the darkness.

Replacing despair with hope, fear with peace, and hatred with love until the light of Christ shines in each one of us!

thoughts on my morning routine

 I was late to joining Facebook. I only started looking at my feed about a year or so ago. For some reason the energy I get from Facebook seems to make me feel tired and weary. I used to think it was a good way to hear about and share interesting articles, but more and more I come away from Facebook with a weary, jaded feeling. I don't like it. I can't explain it but I don't like it.

 I want to change this part of my morning routine. There is something about the morning that is sacred. The way I spend my morning colours the whole of my day.

Surely, energy emanates from our rituals, and our habits. Our rituals and habits form and in-form us. Similarly the in-formation we absorb effects us and our energy output.

"We are what we eat," in broader terms than simply nutrition. We are also the words we hear, the images we see, and the environment we live in. These things are our culture. They are the brushstrokes that create the undulations of our internal landscapes.

Tani was baptized and confirmed during the Easter Vigil Mass 7 years ago. After the Mass he told me of the incredible sense of peace that overwhelmed him for days after the event. He is an analytical person, his mind never stops. For that week he felt profound inner stillness.

But how to attain this fleeting, transitory awareness?  I cannot attest to retaining it throughout every interaction or situation. Far from it. I too easily digress into the fluctuating nature of my own emotional condition. But I have found one thing, that if I devote the beginning of my day to beauty, meditation, prayer, stillness and free thought the rest of my day is positively effected by it.

What we do grows from the energy of who we are.

After all our cells are changing all the time.

"Your body is constantly replacing old cells with new ones at the rate of millions per second. By the time you finish reading this sentence, 50 million of your cells will have died and been replaced by others. "
citation




 “Consider that you can see less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum and hear less than 1% of the acoustic spectrum. As you read this, you are traveling at 220 km/sec across the galaxy. 90% of the cells in your body carry their own microbial DNA and are not “you.” The atoms in your body are 99.9999999999999999% empty space and none of them are the ones you were born with, but they all originated in the belly of a star. Human beings have 46 chromosomes, 2 less than the common potato. The existence of the rainbow depends on the conical photo-receptors in your eyes; to animals without cones, the rainbow does not exist. So you don’t just look at a rainbow, you create it. This is pretty amazing, especially considering that all the beautiful colors you see represent less than 1% of the electromagnetic spectrum.” Sergio Toporek
 

{Soulfood Friday}

This week I have felt a little more awake and clear headed than I have for a while. I think I've been slightly depressed without even realizing it. Maybe those vitamin D tablets are finally kicking in! Or maybe it's the brighter, crisper, longer days. And sunlight, finally, sunlight! I am beginning to feel stronger and can do more than I have been able to for some time. I feel like I'm coming out of a fog and hoping that my body, mind and soul are finally overcoming the health problems of last year. 

It has been hard to blog, write and do my art and craft work over the last year or so. My energy reserves have been precious, fragile and used on the most important work of making meals, hugging kids, keeping some semblance of order, resting, you know simple things. 

I saw this quote on fb the other day and it spoke to me. Sometimes you have to readjust your focus and re calibrate your value systems to what matters most.

Yet it has been frustrating at times. I have so many ideas for my work and writing projects simmering like  good, broth concentrating, concentrating down, ready to be served up. 

I think there is something about reaching your mid thirties. You feel the culmination of years within you. Then you get a little shocked by how quickly they've passed! 

Perhaps you begin to wonder once again, what your real purpose for being here is.

I feel good about the choices I've made so far. There were times when I wondered whether the choices we made seemed rational under the circumstances. Our choices were certainly questioned by others at times. But when I look honestly at the premise behind the choices we made I see love.  I feel strong.

The choices we made were motivated by heart and soul. When we chose to have the children close together, to home school and for me to stay home without many resources at the time, it didn't feel all that logical, but it did feel deeply right. 

Plenty seem to believe poor people shouldn't have children. Yet during those leaner times God provided for us beyond that which money can buy. It wasn't easy, there were no singing choirs of angels but we grew, we learned about our strengths, we were confronted with our weaknesses, we were humbled and we learned about real joy.

In the last few years we have finally found that material form of security too. A beautiful place to live. A friendly community. A feeling of hope and possibility. 

It is hard not to become attached to the material stuff. Or feel guilty for it! It is hard to keep making choices from the heart and the soul instead of fear. 

Looking back I see that my health issues really started when Tani was made redundant. He has now found a wonderful job, but those times were a test for sure. I have never felt like a materialistic person, but I was profoundly scared of losing that which we had only just found; stability. 

It has been a process of accepting the transitory and ephemeral nature of existence. The constant letting go. The ebb and flow of life and all it's transmutations. Every change has a piece of loss in it. There is no real security. Every moment is a gift. We can't expect to be able to control every aspect of our lives. The unexpected will happen. 

When it does I hope I'll have my real home built on a rock, not on sand. 

I think what I'm trying to say is the only building that lasts, is founded in the heart or the soul. It is forged from the stone of our experiences and the choices we make. It is those little, everyday interactions and memories. It is the moments we put down the phone and stare our the window at the trees and the sunlight. It is internal. Whatever happens we can find an indwelling, a harbour, an abode within that place. 

"Jesus, Son of Mary (on whom be peace) said: The World is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day, may hope for eternity; but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen."

 A quote carved in kufic script all the way around the arch of Fatehpur Sikrithe the ruined Mughal capital built by the Muslim emperor Akbar just outside Agra at the end of the 16th century. 

Wishing everyone a peaceful and sacred Easter weekend in whichever way you celebrate it! xx

Some pictures from our walk yesterday.

Every Friday I'll be pausing to notice something from the week that has nourished my soul. 
* 
A special, sacred-everyday moment captured on camera, or perhaps a snippet from a book, a recipe still warm from the kitchen or something whimsical that simply made me smile.
 * 
Here are a few simple things that have fed my soul this week. 

What has inspired/fed/nourished your soul this week friends? 

 
*
 Feel free to link up to your own soulful spaces either at the bottom of this post or in the comments.

 
   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Soulfood Friday

While all the garden lies like tumbleweed and knotted nest, and hedgerow berries sour to prickle and thorn and the lanes mulch with wet rotting leaf, quiet, unnoticed corners somehow blossom still...

 

 Every Friday I'll be pausing to notice something from the week that has nourished my soul. 
* 
A special, sacred-everyday moment captured on camera, or perhaps a snippet from a book, a recipe still warm from the kitchen or something whimsical that simply made me smile.
 * 
Here are a few simple things that have fed my soul this week. 

What has inspired/fed/nourished your soul this week friends? 
*
 Feel free to link up to your own soulful spaces either at the bottom of this post or in the comments

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Mooring

The night I drove Emmy back to town, the moon loomed larger and redder than I've ever seen it.
She and her boyfriend Matthew are slowly but surely furnishing what was a small, empty attic room into cosy nursery. Tiny clothes are being carefully folded into drawers, her hand painted pictures cheer the walls and blankets both old and new drape the chairs.

Life moves, seasons change and we become more pliable, mutable and softer with their teaching.
Lines that were once etched in stone have been scribbled over with crayon and small mossy plants have started to take root in the cracks.

The next morning the sunlight is thin as whey.
The gangly hedgerow grasses fray.
The signs of their fading gleam gloriously in the wash.
The sky is a crisp, new canvas, poised and ready as a bird on the brink of flight.
And I have no profound words or deep insights to write, or camera at hand to capture the moment.
Just the gossamer fabric of silence which evaporates on touch.

The days are quiet. Just Boo and I.
With no fixed plans, we fill them with that which feels right and good.
I thought I'd fill these extra hours to their brim. Utilise, might be a better word.
I thought I'd utilise them, make them work for their keep and pay their rent. In other words, squeeze their freshness to dregs.  But isn't that what time is for, to be used efficiently and productively?
After all isn't this what I've always dreamt of; time in which to do the things I never get time for?
Modern life can feel a little as if you are in a boat with a leak that you constantly have to keep pailing out.
Money is a constant need as it is for everyone.
Yet keeping the water out through constant work and busyness can sometimes only mean another way of drowning.

Since my illness, I've not had the same quantities of energy that I had before. I've begun to re-evaluate the way my time is spent, literally.

Not every stillness is in want of movement. Not every silence needs to be filled with sound.

Pacing the day means that I can mindfully prepare meals and take care of the home, garden and animals without distraction or discord.
It means I can more readily carve out a peaceful and open space in which to gently welcome often tired and sometimes fractious children home from school.

I am working even if there's not too much to show for it.

In a product driven world, process, which is often hard to define, weigh and measure, can be easily rushed through, forgotten about or removed from the picture altogether.
Work which can't be compensated for in pounds and pence becomes devalued.
This doesn't mean however, that it is valueless work; an important distinction.

This afternoon we pruned the lavender bushes taking care not to break the delicate lacework of the spiders.
We preserved some more elderberries, read passages from books that we were reading in the garden and made each-other laugh.
I knitted some rows of Matilda's sweater and phoned my Dad.
I'm now going to leave early so I don't have to race down the country lanes as I pick up the girls from school.

When I feel the world biting at my heels I will go to my secret place. The one I have furnished with time spent and attention given. And I will trust as Lady Julian of Norwich said.
“All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

 "Don't spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish. Only one thing is necessary: Lift up your spirit and love God."

 Padre Pio

 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Matthew 6:33


"The Mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."
Lao Tzu



Joining Tuesday Afternoon at Spirit of Simplicity
 Little Things Thursday
nature notes
Through my lens