What is Real?

Realness, authenticity, genuineness.

These are words that all hit a chord in me.  I love people being open, and, call me creepy, but I can usually detect when they're not.

I have a read a lot of articles on being real - I've talked it, heard the songs (Stain Glass Masquerade, anyone???), seen the memes, the gifs, the videos.  I have also given it a good deal of heart and head consideration and this is what I think.

Because what bothers me is how being real is different to almost every person you meet.  Yes, we are all different, but we are all also humans.  We think, we feel, we have triumphs, and we fall.  We were all made by the One God - whether we acknowledge the point or not - and one day we will all face eternal life or eternal death.  These things are true.  They are the reality of all of us.

The thing about reality is that you cannot change what was your reality.  The past is in the past.  It is set in stone.  Does that mean it controls the reality of your future?  No.  It may have influence because actions - whether your own or the actions of others - have consequences, but the only only person on earth who has control over your reality is you.  This not to say that you can control every circumstance that comes your way, and it does not mean that if you deny the bad things that happen in your life they will go away.  What it does mean is that you can control how those circumstances affect you.

To me, being real and describing your reality is so much more than what is happening in your world right now.  I think being real goes beyond what anyone can see, what you feel, and what you think about yourself.  Let me explain.

We all have struggles.  We're human.  One of mine is that I am convinced that people don't really like me that much.  Even as I type it, I smile at myself.  It is so stupid!  Right now, I don't think much of it at all, but as soon as I am around other people, I have to fight with myself in my head constantly to avoid retreating completely so that I don't annoy anyone, or so I tell myself.

 The reality of this life is that there are two kingdoms at war - two very real kingdoms, and they both want you on their side.  In order to get to your soul, they have to get to your head first, then your heart.  These two are the pathway to your soul.  The mind is an aggressive battlefield.  Whichever kingdom - the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of Darkness - that you give ground to will eventually become your reality.  This does not mean that the other kingdom ceases to exist, but that it has a weaker and weaker influence on you as you continue to give ground to the kingdom you choose.

This is not to say that if you have discouraging or deprecating thoughts, you are not a Christian any longer, but know this for certain: God will never discourage you.  So the moment thoughts of self-deprecation and discouragement to come, shut them down and tell them Who you belong to.

Reality is made of the kingdom you choose to give ground to.  Some time ago, I was hurt and offended by something someone did to me.  For quite a long time - nearly a year - I struggled with seeing that person.  I didn't want to see them.  I could hardly stand to think of them because it opened up the wound so deeply and it hurt too much.  After a long time, I was given a word from a godly minister friend of mine - who had no idea what I was struggling with - about dealing with hurt and taking my heart to Jesus to be healed.  It took time, but nearly a year on from that moment, I can confidently say I no longer hurt from that wound.  It has left a scar, and I am reminded of it when I see this person.  But I also had to make a decision concerning how I treated the person who had hurt me.  From the very start - even when I was still angry and aching so much - I decided that my hurt was something that no one outside the family needed to know about, because I needed to treat the person with the love and grace of Jesus.  This became easier as I healed and I have been able to grow and flourish beyond the pain that was inflicted.  It was not easy - it was excruciatingly hard.  I had to lecture myself in my head, 'I refuse to inflict pain like it has been given to me.  I am a Child of God, and I love others as I have been loved by Him.'  And the funny thing is, the more you tell yourself something, the firmer you hold to it, and the more you believe it.

Because of this experience, I find that love now flows from me more freely and openly than it did before.  This is not to say that I never lose my patience, never resent someone, but forgiveness comes easier now.  Because of my determination and reliance on God - sometimes only expressed through prayers of tears because words could not come for the pain - my joy and my peace abound.  In fact I have been able to determine that this whole painful period of my life has been absolutely instrumental to my growth in God, and the Fruit of the Spirit in me.  I choose to be kind and good and gentle to those around me.   I try my utmost to be patient and faithful in all I do.  Self control guides what I say and who I say it to.  All of this is like a muscle - the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the easier it comes.

I am not claiming to be perfect, or better than anyone else.  I have struggles.  Everyday, I have struggles.  My struggles are very real.

BUT.

My God is also real.  He has done amazing things in my life and while I do have real hurts and struggles in my life, to me, my joy and peace are even more real because I have experienced the comfort and the power that occurs when I choose to operate in the fruit of the Spirit, instead of my emotions.  Emotions are so shaky and unreliable.  Love - God's love - is unfailing.  His joy is never ending, and His peace is unshakeable.  If you see me, and I look happy and confident and peaceful, it's because I am.  I might be hurting and sad inside, but the joy and peace that comes from the Holy Spirit is so much stronger than the emotions I happen to be feeling that day, so I choose to live out of His Spirit rather than how I feel.  Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4-9:

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

I have such incredible respect for the person who comes out of a difficult time and it only comes out afterwards that they have been struggling.  Apart from a few close confidants, no body else knew.  "But you were so peaceful!  How was it you didn't tell anyone?"

They answer, "I didn't need to - God's love, joy and peace sustained me.  His Spirit comforted me.  He provided a few close people to encourage me and He encouraged me Himself."

Catch-Up Post

So last week I let you all have a peek through my windows, and posted each night a diary entry of that day's events.  It was fun - I enjoyed writing it, and I trust you enjoyed reading it.  :)  Now for those who were following my week, you'll know that I got through Monday to Thursday but then Friday, Saturday and Sunday just didn't happen.  I shall attempt to fill you in on those three days - it won't be in so much detail though - and share a few things that have been happening since then.

Friday I spent flitting around in excitement, tidying up in preparation for Elizabeth to come and stay.  In the end, I didn't get everything done that I wanted to before I got a phone call from Elizabeth saying that she was at the bus stop, ready to be picked up.   It was a funny conversation...

Elizabeth: I've just arrived!
Me: Yay! Well, Mum and Dad have just ducked down town but they'll be back any minute now and we'll come and get you.
Elizabeth: *laughs* Ok.  That's all right - I can wait.
Me: Um, so where are you?
Elizabeth: *confused* At the S--- bus stop... Isn't there just one?
Me: Umm... no.
Elizabeth: Oh. Right.
Me: What is there around you?  Are there any fuel stations or anything?
Elizabeth: Ummm... there's an Agricultural Hotel.  Does that help?
Me: ... ahhh... no...
Elizabeth: Ok... um... I can see another hotel... the Albion??
Me: Ah right!  I know where you are now!  See you soon!


She made it here in the end.  XD  We spent most of the evening chatting, giggling, playing board games, looking at pictures on Pinterest and so on.  Finally we got ready for bed one by one and then each lay there reading with the lights on until about 11:30...

Saturday dawned, and we lay there sort of dozy for a while before jumping into talking and giggling again.  Mum came down stairs to our room and said that she thought she would drop us girls off at the book fair and then go grocery shopping.  That sounded fine to us, so Elizabeth and I went and had some breakfast (everyone else had already eaten) and we got ready to head down town.

Now whenever I go to the book fair down at the show grounds, for some reason, I seem to expect engilding rays to be flooding the books with heavenly illumination.  It's not like that... at all.   The fair is held in the big shed at the show grounds.  Rows of tables run up the middle of the room and against the walls.  Every table is loaded with boxes and boxes of books.  The room is not dark, but it is not exactly glowing either, and in the background over the clatter of conversation and whining children is playing old classics like Abba... (ok, admittedly, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do just happened to be the only song I recognised, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most of the music played was from that era... :P)  

When we were dropped off, Elizabeth, Joy, Elise and I all went our separate ways.  Book finding is kind of a personal thing.  Oh, of course we touched base every now and again, but when you are looking for books one must be able to wander at one's own sweet pace and run one's hand over the books, feeling the thrill of bibliophilia run up fingertips, arms and into the soul.

We spent about two hours browsing, collecting, revelling.  The fair had a deal happening that you could get a plastic bag of books for $5, or a cloth bag of books for $10.  When we all met back with our books, we decided that we were going to stuff all of our books into one bag and get them all for $10.  While we were working on this worthy achievement, a short little man with a beard and a camera stopped and asked if he could take our photo for the local paper.  We agreed and he took it right then and there.  After taking our names, he moved on.  Elizabeth started giggling.  "My first time here, and I get a picture in your paper!" she laughed.  We finished packing all our books in a single bag and went and paid for them - thirty-two books for $10.  ^_^

After lunch, we decided to watch a movie, being rather tired and not feeling like doing anything particularly vigorous.  We put on The Princess Bride because it is one of our favourites and Elizabeth had not seen it before.  After that, Elizabeth and I walked over to the shop near our place for the sake of taking a walk.  We got a milkshake each (chocolate for me, and strawberry for Elizabeth) and walked home again.  The milkshakes were really nice until we got to the bottom and there was a good layer of syrup coating the bottom of each cup.  We left that bit in the cup.  ;)

That night, after dinner, we drove Elizabeth back home.  We were tired, but it had been a wonderful weekend.

Sunday consisted of church in the morning, and in the afternoon we went to Tahlee to visit Jess.  It was a bit sad to leave her there, but it was nice to see her.  I also visited my Korean friends who are just seven weeks off welcoming their first baby!  It was only a brief visit, but it was lovely to see them.  They got me to try a Korean tea which was like a creamy nutty milk, only it didn't really have milk in it, and it had little nut bits floating in the top.  They also got me to try some of their dinner (even though I had already eaten with the family!) which was a spicy pancake.  They didn't think I would like it because it was spicy, but I don't mind a bit of punch or burn, and it certainly wasn't the hottest thing I'd ever tried.  I quite liked it.


This week - I can't believe it is nearly over! - has been busy and interesting.  Joy has been quite unwell, but is so much better now, praise God!


This week, I finally finished my cross stitch that I got for Christmas in 2012.  It's not a fantastic photo, but you can kind of get the idea.  I'm quite happy with how it came out, but I do need to put the French knots in for the eyes... I can't do French knots.  I think I need some expert help.  I also need to find a frame for it.  I'm not sure whether to buy a new frame, or to try and find a revitalised vintage frame.  What do you think?

I think I mentioned last week that I have recently re-joined town band.  Last Monday's band practise was quite amusing and I got a new nickname.  Nine senior flautists showed up that night.  (By senior, I mean, they are in the senior band, not the intermediate band.)  Because there were so many of us, we had to share folders and music stands.  I was sharing with a girl called Anna.  Next to her was Ruth, a lady my family knows from the Pirates of Penzance production and gets along with really well.  The conductor announced that we would play a piece called "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy" and so we all flicked through our folders to find it.  When Anna and I found the music, we noticed that at the end of the music was written in lead pencil Running Bird Seahorse.  Needless to say, we had no idea what that meant.  Anna asked Ruth to see if she knew.  She didn't.  So, with the sheet of paper in my hand, I flagged down the conductor.  (Being in the front row is such a handy thing!)

"What does Running Bird Seahorse mean?" I asked giving him the music.  He gazed it for a moment.
"Umm... I think it's your Indian name," he said, handing it back to me.  Anna and I giggled.
"Great!" Ruth said.  She gestured to first Anna and then me. "You can be Running Bird, and you can be Seahorse."

I have a feeling that's going to stick... I don't mind, but it's pretty funny.  If you are ever down at our band hall, and you hear someone mention Seahorse, it's probably me.  XDD

Well, it's very late now, and I'm tired, so I'm going to sign off and go to bed.  Goodnight people!!  :D

This Week: Day By Day - Thursday

Thursday is the day of the week that always strikes me because the week is nearly over.  Every week without fail, I will get to Thursday and think, "Wow!  It's Thursday already!  Where did the week go??"  Today was no different.

It kicked off with Mum waking me up again (you know staying up until midnight does not do any favours for my getting up habits...) and reminding me that we had a chiropractor appointment at 8:00.  We always like the early appointments because then it is out of the way and we can move on in the day.  I had been looking forward to this appointment for some time because it was a fortnight after the last one and I had been quite sore in my neck and back for about a week and a half but was determined to last out the fortnight.  I was also having some weird nerve twitching in my left foot where my toe would just start moving on its own accord.  Creepy, right???  I couldn't wait for Dr. C. to fix me up.

Dr. C always begins by sitting you in a chair and feeling your shoulders and neck with his hands to see what muscles are tight, or if there is anything out of place.  He spent a long time on my left shoulder today around the shoulder blade.  It was SO sore - Mum was sitting there laughing at the faces I was pulling.  She told Dr C that he needed a mirror on the opposite wall so he could see what expressions his patients were pulling.  "Oh no," he replied, "I can feel it."  He then felt in my neck and poked and prodded at the base of my skull.  That was really sore as well.  Then I had to get onto the table.  The thing pictured on the left is a chiropractic table, in case you didn't know what one looked like.  You stand on the platform-shelf thing at the bottom, and when the chiropractor pushes a button, it tips forward until you are lying flat on your stomach.  Then the Chiropractor uses his hands to feel where your neck or spine might be out of line and adjusts it all back to where it should be.  Because the table moves when he pushes down, he doesn't break anything - it just sounds worse because the table makes a terrific crunching noise with each push.  The I felt really good walking out of there today, but I have got really sore again since... will I last another two weeks until my next appointment?  We shall see...

In our Bible reading today, we read Joshua 14, about how Caleb went to Joshua to claim the lands that God had promised to him forty-five years beforehand.  It was really amazing just to see that Caleb - even in waiting forty-five years for his promise - was still confident in God.  His faith had never been stronger and although he was now eighty-five years old, he had not retired from God's work.  Oh that we would all do the same!

I got another email from Elizabeth today saying that she will be arriving on the bus tomorrow.  I am so excited!!  Apart from having a couple of families to stay where we have planned for a couple of weeks where to put people, etc., this is the first sleepover we have ever 'hosted'.  I am very much looking forward to it.  Now I have to recruit a few sisters to help me tidy up the bedroom so it is presentable for guests.  ;P  Just kidding (sort of).  It's not too bad, I guess, but it's the little corners that get out of hand and need attention now.  And it needs vacuuming.  And I will have to strip and remake Jess's bed so Elizabeth can sleep in it.  And the list is growing.  XD

 had piano students again this afternoon.  I love how God orchestrates things - I have a dream of one day adopting internationally, and here I am with three of my four students being Indian, Filipino, and Chinese!  The two Thursday girls are ten and eleven years old, and are progressing pretty well, but are still relatively at the beginning stage of learning piano.  I was really pleased with their progress this week, even if Miss-10 will forget to listen to her CD.  Grrr!  I keep telling her that it will help, but she forgets.  Every time.  Miss-11 made wonderful progress this week - I was so proud of her!  She earned two songs 'off'' and got two new ones to practise.  By the end of the lesson she already had one of them going quite well hands together, so I don't think it will take her long.

The rest of the evening just happened like normal.  I spoke to Jess on the phone.  She said it was a really busy day and she was really tired.  Please keep her in your prayers - she does tire very easily and the camps aren't always easy.

So it's another nearly midnight post!  Mum and I finished Sister Act about twenty minutes ago.  XD  One of my favourite quotes from that movie is when Deloris (aka Sister Mary Clarence) says to the nuns, "Remember, when you sing, you aren't just quacking - you are rejoicing!  You are singing to the Lord!"  (Note: in case you get the idea that Sister Act is a Christian movie, it's not.  It's set in a convent as a pop-star singer tries to hide after she witnesses a murder and awaits the time when she will be called upon in court.  There are adult references and some language, but the reason I love it - apart from the music! - is that is took a secular movie to show what the role of the church should be in the community!  It really touches my heart every tie I see it.)

I am cutting Thursday fine, aren't I???  (It's five to twelve...)

Here's a challenge for you... Or I guess it's actually one for me:  Leave a comment with a word I have to use in tomorrow's post.  I'm sure I'll regret it tomorrow, but I'll do my best.  :)

Hae a wonderful Friday y'all!  God bless!  :)

This Week: Day By Day - Wednesday

Thinking back to the morning at the end of the day hurts my brain.  I said a few posts ago that things tend to slip from my memory, and honestly there can be whole chunks of my day that I cannot account for until something triggers something else in my head and association leads me to memory.  It's weird.  However, now that I think of it, this morning's events are returning to me... now.

Mum was in a hurry to get us all up and going this morning as it was a rather busy day.  She left us all eating breakfast to go and get her blood test done straight up so she wouldn't have to do it later.  I made myself potato cakes for breakfast this morning.  I am rather obsessed by potato at the moment.  I would happily eat it every meal, but I think potato cakes are my favourite.  I shall attach a quick recipe at the end of this post so that you can partake of the goodies too.  :)

When Mum got home we got tidied up and I had a snuggle with Annie.  Poor darling!  She still wasn't very well at all.  I could see it in her eyes and her cough was getting worse.  I took her to Mum and asked if we could try to get her on my doctors appointment.  Mum rang and they slipped her in at the same time as me.

We were all a little sad this morning because Jess, Joy and Elise all had orthodontist appointments.  That wasn't sad - the sad thing was that Jess wasn't coming back.  As you would probably see on her blog Dreams Really Do Come True, Jess regularly goes over to Tahlee, a Christian camp site, to help out with the catering when the camps come in.  She had to go again today.  We all miss her so much when she is gone.  She doesn't know how long she will be staying this time either.  Last time she stayed for eight days.

I got a lovely email today though that made us all excited (except for Jess, because she won't be here.).  It was from my friend Elizabeth (not her real name) who is working about an hour away from us, but is currently living six to seven hours away from her family.  We had invited her to come and stay with us at any time, and she sent me an email this morning to say that she is coming up this weekend.  I am really looking forward to spending some more time with her.  This weekend is our town's annual Lion's Club Book Fair, so Elizabeth and I are planning to go and get some (more!) books.  We also plan to play board games chat and maybe watch a movie or two.  I think we might have a long night ahead of us on Friday night!  XD

When Mum took the girls to the orthodontist, Grace, James and I stayed at home to get some book work done.  I lit the fire, and then settled down with some chemistry and biology.  I am finding the anatomy of a crayfish harder to memorize than the anatomy of an earthworm, but then again I have never seen a live crayfish before either.  Maybe if I had seen crayfish as often as I played with earthworms as a little girl,  would have more idea... then again, maybe not...

Mum called me as she left the orthodontist and asked me to put the left over lamb and veggie soup on the stove to heat for lunch.  At the appointed time, I did so.  Because of all the fat in lamb, the soup was nearly completely solid when I got it out of the fridge and put it on the heat.

It burned.

In my defence I went to do some more chemistry while it heated.  I thought it would take longer than that to get warm, let alone burn.  Thankfully, it wasn't too bad and I was able to tip out the soup in a different pot and scrape out the bottom of the blackened pot.

After lunch Mum took me and Annie to our doctor's appointment.  We got there and sat in the waiting room, which was well named because we waited... and waited... and waited... ... and waited.

Finally we were called in and Annie was examined.  She put on her I'm-a-little-angel air and let the doctor look in her ears and mouth, and listen to her breathing.  He said she had a cold and would get over it soon.  Mum and I aren't convinced that it is just a cold, but at least it is nothing serious.  Then it was my turn.  He examined me and then gave me a script of antibiotics for a sinus infection, which (interestingly) he said would not be contagious.  That is always good news, especially when you live with nine other people, and you are out and about and have people coming and going at your house a lot of the time.  It was rather satisfying actually, in a sort of odd little way.

When we got home, Mum's piano students were already there and not long after that Dad arrived home from work.  I told him that Jess's laptop was ready to  be picked up from the repair shop, and so he and I went down town to get it.  I asked Dad if on the way back, we could stop at a chemist to fill my script.  He decided to go to the chemist in the middle of the main street.  This may not sound like a problem to you, unless you live in my town in which case you already know what I am going to say.  Our council decided that our main street could do with an up grade, and so, as a result, no one has been able to drive down the main street of our little town since January because of road works.  Eight months on and it's still going.  Dad found a park as close to the obtrusive fence as he could, and then I had to get out and walk nearly two blocks to the chemist.  It's not really a big deal, I guess - just sort of annoying and kind of pointless that nobody can use the street while they up grade it so that people can use it.  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  We are a small mining town with a lot of small businesses.  All of those businesses have suffered because of this up grade (because people can't get to the street-front shops) and some have even closed down.  With the mining economy down as it is, I think it is useless putting in fancy new street lights when the small businesses that help support the town are making less than half their money because of it.  Besides, the new street lights look really silly.  XD  Rant over.  :P

At the chemist, I found a table of nail polish that was half price.  I kind of like nail polish if it isn't too bright, so I bought a bottle of Natio nail polish.  The colour is called stardust.  I have put a picture of it here - it's not a great picture, though... it's a bit more bronzy than what you see there.  I brought it home and tried it on.  It's really nice.  In fact Mum liked it so much, she put it on too!  :)

Dad and James had a church men's bowling and pizza night tonight, but they weren't home late and everyone went to bed early... except Mum and me.  We decided to stay up and watch Sister Act.  Which is why I'm still up at ten minutes to midnight typing.  But I'm just about done in... I was going to share the recipe for potato cakes with you, but that might have to wait for another time.   I am now going to post this so that Wednesday's post is posted on Wednesday, not Thursday.  Goodnight y'all!!

This week: Day by Day - Monday

Monday

I was rather sleepy this morning... Mum ended up waking me a bit past seven.  I am usually up by that time but I can account for this morning.  Poor little Elise was rather unwell during the night and kept me awake with her coughing and shivering.  Eventually (a bit past 2:00 am) I got up and realized she was running quite a high fever.  This is not unusual for her when she gets any sort of bug, and it always hits her very hard in the form of high fevers, back aches and extreme headaches.  And it is usually in the middle of the night.  This means that I have to help her upstairs to the couch, take her temperature and wake up Mum to offer comfort to the little sufferer.  I don't mind too much (after all, I'm the one who's planning to do nursing...) but it does make me rather tired... and tired me can result in one of two versions of me:

1. The crotchety, cranky me; or
2. The giggly crazy me

The concerning thing is that not even I can say which version is going to come out throughout the day.  It can change.  I must admit that when I got up with Elise, it was cranky me.  I tried to be the sweet nurse I can envision, but maybe it takes three years uni to master that... (I wish... LOL!)

It took a cup of tea and a chorizo sausage with a couple of eggs to get me going.  That and this morning's breakfast music.  I sat down at the table next to Annie's high chair, and she asked, "Can we listen to Annie??"  (Now do remember that her name is not really Annie, so this makes much more sense in it's real context.  What she was referring to was the new movie of Annie released at the end of last year.  We love that movie - the soundtrack is awesome.  I have a movie review coming soon.  :D)  So we kids all sat around the table and between mouthfuls sand songs like Tomorrow, Easy Street, New York City, Opportunity, I Think I'm Going to Like it Here, Maybe, and so on, and so on.  It's so much fun singing together - those of us who can pick out parts do so, and it sounds really nice.

But all fun and nice things come to a close eventually and before we were ready to stop singing our little hearts out, it was time for us to all disperse and tend to our duties for the week.  I am on vacuuming this week and so I did a quick tidy of the lounge and dining rooms and vacuumed them.  In winter it is also my 'job' in the mornings to get the fire going.  James would gladly do this for me (the little fire-bug!) but it never gets going for him.  I have tried to tell him that piling the kindling on top of the logs will not ignite the logs, but never mind.  When he gives up I enjoy setting it up (properly!) and getting the house nice and warm.  This morning I got a bit of a scare when a burning stick rolled out of the fireplace on to the hearth, sending a spray of shattered burning coal bits onto the carpet and my skirt.  Thankfully, nothing actually ignited.  The carpet is somewhat scarred now with ugly black pits, but I am rather thankful that we still have a carpet and it didn't go up in smoke.

At 9:30 is our come together time where we read the Word, pray and read our read-aloud book together.  This morning's Bible reading was Joshua 11 where a whole gang of kings come together to fight Israel but in less than 24 hours, the Lord helps Joshua and his army wipe the entire lot of them off the face of the earth.  It's amazing.

Our Read aloud book at the moment is Jonny Tremain.  It is the story of an intelligent, arrogant boy whose dream of being the best silver smith in the American colonies is shattered when he is permanently injured by a spiteful practical joke.  He eventually finds himself swept up in the emotions and politics of the Revolution and meets some of the high up persons that shaped America to what it is today.

Our reading time lasted about an hour and then everyone went off to do their book work.  For me, this means biology and for this module, that means memorizing the anatomy of a crayfish.  I know.  Go figure.  A crayfish.  Last module it was the anatomy of a an earthworm.  I can't wait to get to vertebrates.

Lunch.  Lunch is getting a bit tricky for me as I seem to have become (to some extent) gluten intolerant.  I usually go digging through the fridge for some left overs.  Today that came in the form of a chicken drumstick and beans and a bit of pumpkin.  I made a mushroom sauce to go on the chicken (because if you can add mushroom to anything, why on earth wouldn't you??) and I must say it was really yum.  ^_^

Mum decided that Joy would help her do the lunch clean up today, and so Jess and I took Rosie and Annie to the park next door.  Our version of minding the girls in the park is to let them run where they want (within reason of course - they are not allowed ANYWHERE near the road) while we sit under a tree and read, glancing up every now and again to make sure we know the whereabouts of our little sisters.  When we came inside again and Mum put the little girls down for their afternoon rest, Jess, Elise and I all sat around the fire and read for a good half hour.  It was lovely.  I am currently reading several books (as you would know if you follow me on Goodreads =P) but I am concentrating on The Book Thief.  It is an amazing book.  The imagery Zusak uses is astounding.  I am really enjoying it, and am proud of myself for being well over halfway through it.  This may not sound like such a wonderful feat except that it is more than 500 pages long.  XD

At 3:00 mum had a 'music meeting' with our pastor and the other music leader (Mum being one music leader and Curtis the other).  She dropped Joy and me off at the library on the way down as we meet with a lovely librarian friend of ours every month.  And so, after hanging at the library for an hour, and then chatting with Lee for an hour, we went home with a few more books than we returned.  (Please tell me we are not the only ones who do this!!)

By the time we got home,  Grace had dinner on and before long, it was ready.  There is something rather homey about meat and veg.  Add to that the lively chatter of a family of ten and you have one of the most beautiful things in the world, in my opinion.

After dinner, we were on the go again (I told you this week would be busy!).  Mum, Dad, and Joy went to music practise at church (Grace and Elise weren't well enough to go tonight) and I went to town band.  Town band is a 'new' thing for me, as in I used to go but last week was the first time in five years.  I am really enjoying it and having an outlet for my flute playing gives me an incentive to practise.  I know a lot of the people in the band, and most of the flautists.  Tonight there were six flautists but I am under the impression that all up - intermediate and senior band combined with no people away - there would be 17 flutes.  Wow!  That's quite a number of shiny metal tubes, I can tell you!  The people down at the band are really lovely and I love playing with them.

So here I am now, typing this out for you all to read - a bit of a window into my day.  I am the only one up now and my eyes and head are begging me to put away the bright screen and go to bed.  So I think I will.  But I am going to leave you with a verse from my personal Bible time from 2 Corinthians.

Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

(2 Corinthians 2:10-11)

Goodnight all, and God bless!  :)

The Little Everyday Thrills :)

Some of the little things that give me a delight thrill from day to day are:



Playing Chopin's Prelude in C minor.  The chords are chilling and in my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.  I think (in my own delightful fancy!) that Chopin never sat down with the intention of writing that piece... I think he was improvising just for his own pleasure and then went back later and wrote down what he played.  :)


Receiving letters.  I don't know what it is about snail mail, but getting a letter in the post never fails to bring a smile to my face.  Maybe it's knowing the effort that person went to...


Ticket to Ride.  If you haven't played this board game, you need to.  It is so cool!  I have the European version.  I love how the train tracks wind around a vintage, Victorian style board... the strategy of it makes it different every time.


Mushrooms.  I know a lot of you will not relate here, but I love mushroom.  Especially the little marinated button mushrooms in the Chinese noodles we buy occasionally.  Yum!  ^_^


My piano students.  They are really such delightful little girls - they make me laugh and I am so proud of how they practise and learn so quickly!


Poetry.  Both in reading and in writing it, poetry gives me the words to describe a thing, an emotion, or an event that I could not otherwise describe in straight prose.  It's almost as though words elude me in they aren't in rhythm... I often go groping for a word when just talking to someone, but I'll think of the write words as soon as I'm writing a stanza of a poem... that always thrills me somewhat.  :)


The Piano Guys.  I need say no more.  When did those guys get so good???!!!  What is their secret???!!!  (And don't tell me it's practise - I already know that!  :P )


Babies.  We don't have any more babies in our house (Annie is three now!) but whenever I do get to hold one, I am amazed at how such a beautiful, full life can be held and sustained in such a tiny, fragile little body.  And to think that our God came down and dwelt in such a body!  Amazing!


Musicals.  I love them!  The Sound of Music and Singing in the Rain are my favourites... the stories and the songs are so funny and sweet.  :)


And last that I can think of right now - but far from being least! - is one of my favourite scriptures:

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

(1 John 3:1-3)

Liebster Award

Yep - another award.  What goes around comes around, right?  ;)

Anyway, this is not an award that I've done before, and the rules are slightly different.  It is called the Liebster Award, which is apparently German for "sweetest, pleasantest, dearest" so I assume it is for the blogs that you like the best.  I have been nominated twice for this one, so I shall kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, and do them together.

Here are the rules:

1. Post the award on your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog. (preferably their Liebster post)
3. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers.  (and if you don't know of that many bloggers, nominate less.)
5. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 11 questions.

So here goes.

Thanks muchly to +Clare Farrelly  from Clare's Spot  and +Abbey Rose  at Rosie's Treehouse for nominating me again.  (Despite my slightly sarcastic tone so far, I actually do really enjoy answering and setting questions, so my thanks really is sincere.  :D)

Eleven Random Facts about Me:

• I am nineteen years old.  I don't know how I managed to make it so old, and sometimes I forget that time keeps marching on and I have lapses of thinking I am still fifteen.  (I don't know why - fifteen must have been a nice age.  :) )
• I play the piano and the flute.
• I have been in piano eisteddfods, and despite it not being my strongest genre, I have only ever won solo 1 place prizes in the jazz and blues section.  Go figure.
• My three favourite girls and boys names are Andrea Kate, Eva Maree, Charlotte Elise, Nathan John, Isaiah Allen and Micah Bruce.  There are many, many others.  ;)
• I hate windy, blustery days.
• I plan to become a doula next year.
• At the moment, I am on a wheat-free, sugar-free and dairy-free diet.  (It's a long story...)  :D
• I have written seven facts so far.  Eight now.
• I am not an animal person.  At all. But I would love to live on a farm and have a horse (for riding) and chickens.  :)
• I have a tendency to start things, and leave them started.  Other people would call this state "unfinished" but I prefer the term started.
• I love war stories and movies.

Questions from Rosie:

1. What is an acute angle?

An acute angle is an angle that is between the measures of 0 and 90 degrees.

2. When you were young, did you dislike broccoli?

No.  I have never really disliked any food.  I have some that I would prefer notto eat, but I don't hate them.

3. When doing math, do you use a calculator?

I do for some questions.  That's the privilege of being in Advanced Mathematics.  :)

4. Of the past week, what has been your favourite memory?

I don't really know... perhaps just spending time with Elise on her 12th birthday.

5. Board games, card games, or video games?

I like all three when they are games that appeal to me.  :D

6. If you could have just one super power, what would it be?

Mary Poppin's Magic Room Cleaning Powers.  Does that count?  ;)

7. If you found $1,000 what would you do with it?

Return it.  

If I got to keep it, I would save it for my doula training.

8. Letters or emails?

Letters every time.  :D

9. What does the colour pink remind you of?

Hibiscus.

10. Do you enjoy fires in winter? Or water in summer?

Fires in winter.  :D

11. Make up your own question. I'm fresh out! XD

Can you come up with a question?
No.

Questions from Clare:

1.What series of books did you used to like but now realize is pretty terrible?

The Boxcar Children.  Man!  Did I use to love that series?!!  It is sooooooo lame.  What's more, every one of the ninty-something books is set in the summer vacation, but the children are always 14, 12, 10, and 6.  Occasionally, Benny, the youngest, would go backwards a year...  yeah - they were pretty pathetic.

2.Who's your favourite Villain/Baddie?

I don't really think I have one, unless it's coyote.  XDD

3.What is your favourite place to be? (In bed is not allowed)

I absolutely love our friends farm out west.  It is so pretty and clean and serene.

4.What is your favorite memory?

Just one???  I have a lot of 'favourites' for different emotions they envoke, but I'll say my 18th birthday party, because it was so much fun and it was really special to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while.

5.Can you solve a rubix cube?

Without cheating?  No.

6.Can you dance, if not do you want to learn?

I dance in my own fashion, but I would really like to learn tap and ballroom dancing.

7.Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone, and if so what was it?

When we were visiting friends over Easter, I was innocently doing my own little thing.  Their daughter, Bek, who is 14, is a stirrer, and likes to tease me for no apparent reason.  (Ok, exaggeration... I usually start it... ;) )  Somehow, Bek's younger sister got involved, and one night, she and I snuck into the bedroom and short-sheeted Bek's bed.  It was really funny - until Bek sewed the legs of my pj's together with a tiny machine stitch.  -_-

8.Flat tire or airplane?

Depends where I'm going.  I don't mind flying, but it would be ridiculous to fly from here to Woolworths.

9.If you could ask your future self one question what would it be?

I would ask the older me, "Have you trusted the Lord, and has He provided?"  I believe, even though it can be hard to trust God in all things, that he will always come through with the things we need, physical and spiritual, when we trust him for them.

10.When playing naughts and crosses which do you pick?

Crosses.  I don't know why...

11.Whats the last thing you drew a picture of?

*chokes*   Draw??!!  What's that?  I don't know...  ;)

I believe I will nominate three people because I do not know eleven bloggers who will do this kind of thing.  I shall nominate +Alice Farrelly , +Jane Farrelly  and +Zach S-B because his blog posts always make me laugh.  XD

Here are your questions.

1. If your home were invaded by rodents, would you prefer mice or rats to deal with?
2. Here is the word "Mozambique".  What springs to mind?
3. What is your favourite adage?
4. What are newspapers handy for?
5. What would you do with an abactor?
6. What was your favourite children's show when you were little?
7. Do you like apples or pears better?
8. Why am I struggling to think of half-decent questions?
9.  I can bring tears to your eyes, resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time, I form in an instant, but I last a life time. What am I?
10. Do you like riddles?
11. Do you prefer a more modern or rustic, vintage look?