Honor what you asked for.

I was sitting here reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan… my new favorite book. Hidden in the last couple of chapters are stories of people who actually took Jesus’ calling on their lives seriously.

One story in particular made me cry. It was about a man who worked as a truck driver, who chose to live in his truck cab & used his pay to feed the homeless, in doing so he would share the gospel with these people.

Photo by TA.D

You may be thinking, why would this make me cry? I think the big thing is that I couldn’t relate in any part to this man’s choice. I could however relate to the woman who was a missionary who decided to adopt a baby & the whole process that went with that.

But it was a great reminder to me that I don’t have to the same calling this man did and that I my heart can break for people that I may never be able to reach, but praying and cheering on the people I know in my life who are able to reach different people than I can.

Over the past couple of years I have begged in prayer for a calling. If your like I am, my prayers seemed relentless & repeated, but I found that God was so gracious, the process was beautiful & I received & understood my calling. Now it’s my responsibility to honor what I asked for.

Even if I want to give up some days I know that my calling as a wife, mother, servant & founder of a magazine; may be hard, but it fuels me with a passion that overflows from me & keeps me going.

I’m encouraging you today to keep on going…

STOP & PONDER!

Just now I was asked, “If I lived my life like it was a vapor what would I choose to do?

Photo by Cuba Gallery

I thought great, that’s a fantastic thing to be asked just before I write my blog. As I thought about it more I wondered…Wow that is so darn hard to answer!!!

You have to make yourself stop & ponder it…

Take a second now..

What would you do if you believed your life was like vapor?

Would you let yourself be re-directed by the question?

I am letting this question re-direct me. Everyday, no matter what you believe you can’t compete with evidence like this..

“Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it get’s to the end the quicker it goes.”

Haha, Now I am not 80, I’m not even 30, in fact I’m only 24 so some might say I’m in no place to comment, I’m very young & I agree.

I have a toddler, a husband, a life that I love & live everyday serving a cause I love. The fact is that real evidence points out that I was born and I’m going to die at some point.

I don’t bring that up to point out what you might already conclude as an eternal question, rather I’m hoping that you might consider how you are spending your life.

Are you happy with it? If not do something about it.

Are you struggling? Ask for help.

Are you blessed? Help others find the blessing you found.

And now because I want you to get out there & do something with your life I will finish & pray that you are inspired to live a life that leads others & isn’t afraid of the end getting quicker.

In case you are wondering what I will do with that question?

I’m about to spend some time with my family, snuggled up out of the snow & in a home I’m grateful for everyday. With the added bonus of helping my little boy play the drums (leaving the tiny ukulele for me to play or spending hours making towers from blocks…you know ‘coz he’s a boy!).

That’s what the rest of my day looks like. Tomorrow, however,  holds a whole new list of possibilities that I won’t pass up with this fresh perspective!

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  James 4:14 NIV

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Random thoughts.

What a kick start to my year!

For a year that now starts with watching a ball drop on the television inside away from the cold snow instead of fireworks over the hot beach.

For a year with no resolution, but the hope of understanding how to know God deeper as a parent & learn how to parent better myself.

For a year that I choose to be a better friend & wife as I get to know myself better.

Maybe the choice’s aren’t any different than a resolution but it sure feels like I’m just leaning that way this year.

This January allowed me the chance to begin the magazine www.transformedmagazine & add all the new flare I thought you all might like. I’m so excited to see what happens in 2011 with my team & the magazine!!!

I had an unbelievable Christmas as I was really challenged to ‘be christmas’ by our church.

I also learnt a big lesson about having guests at Christmas time. You might think I’m a bit odd, as most people’s first thoughts about Christmas are to have guests from all over the planet stay & it’ll be no big deal (as was my first thought) and how amazing it will be….well it was amazing, but the underlying lesson was that my husband was serving his butt off & I was hosting guests. And this is going to be the privileged life I lead until the day I die as I believe that Christmas is the season that gives us a door opening to share the love of God with others.

I wanted to send a shout out to the many thousands of ministry leaders & especially the wives & husbands of those who stay home to allow their partner to serve whole heartedly in a season that the rest of the world expects churches to be all hands on deck, they forget about what that means for the people who serve the church & allow it to shine like the bride it is. It means that we have the busiest season of the year & were not always home.

Way to go churches for shining brightly over Christmas! I’m so thankful that we have a season that is an automatic finger pointing to the birth of the one who gave his life for us.

I made a little list today of gifts we received, just wanted to keep a little record of who gave us what & I sat there overwhealmed with the gifts we received. Not all were new & shiny, in fact some were second hand & I really understood, yet again in my life, ‘it’s the thought that counts’.

This morning my thoughts wouldn’t run away from the disaster zone in my big home land!

I awoke to a photo of the Queensland city Brisbane almost under water. Many people have been wondering how the country has been coping & my suggestion is just Google it, the picture’s your going to find there will give way more justice to the problem than I could ever do.

The main thing that I actually mis understood & my mother in law helped me correct is that:

The flooding isn’t in land like in “Australia” the movie.. it’s in regional towns and cities.. no red dirt areas at all. It isn’t that its because there was drought…its because there was too much rain that fell ….in fact it was a blessing that there was a drought in some areas as the dam was pretty empty ..its now over 198% capacity and they are having to release more water into the river systems.

With all those new things & disaster flooding Australia, I’m feeling so grateful for the love I feel in my heart. For my family in Australia being free of flooding & for friends that we spent Christmas with who made us feel like family & that family can be who you allow your heart to expand & allow to love!!!

NEW VENTURE.

It’s so great to be back on my blog again. It seems like months since I’ve had the chance to just sit and write here.

As some of you might know I have just founded a new online magazine called Transformed Magazine. http://transformedmagazine.com

It’s a small beginning starting from scratch. Two years ago I attended Summit Leadership Conference where I was so moved by people’s responses’ to the world needs.

I bought a magazine a couple of days after and felt so ‘blah’ about spending money on advertising & viewing articles & models that made me feel fat.

I then heard a soft whisper that said you could make one.

So I got to work letting God lead me into this big venture. He surrounded me with an amazing team of writers and helpers.

We still have volunteer needs for our team so if your a:

Photographer

Stylist

Writer with a passion for highlighting injustice, beauty, fashion or people

Graphic Designer

Research Assistant

Buisness Planner

Marketing Planner

Why not get in touch with us:

http://transformedmagazine.com/about/contact/

Thank you for dropping bye.

Please contact us or leave me a comment for more information.

 

 

 

Does multitasking make the world faster?

mul·ti·task·ing

noun, often attributive \-ˌtas-kiŋ\

Definition of MULTITASKING

1: the concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer

2: the performance of multiple tasks at one time

There’s something about a person who can drive and text, eat and talk, talk to a friend and know their child is playing up behind them!

The skill I most love possessing is this one!

I am often awestruck watching my husband as he plays guitar, sings, leads the band/ congregation, keeps another musicians beat with his foot and worship’s himself!! This is no simple skill.

It’salso been so fun watching as my son grows bigger, his little motor skills have developed from finding his hands, holding a tool to now drawing with a pencil. I’m secretly excited to see his first kindergarten masterpieces.

It’s amazing to think that as tiny babies we now have grow to points similar to where I found myself the other night. I was sitting at the computer typing an email, picking up my phone to answer a phone call, while half listening to a movie’s plot on the television & was putting on my son’s shirt!

I finished those few moments of complication and thought, huh! that was a little intense.

Multitasking is often helpful, but some time’s it’s just a lack of discipline. I love to multi task so much. Have you ever begun cleaning the house working on 3 bedroom’s at once & continued listening to a dvd at the same time?

I find myself doing just that every now and again and when I realize my next steps often lead me to a place where I just sit, turn all electronics off and shut my eyes.

So really being able to get multiple tasks completed quickly let me skip over the finer things in life. But some time’s I make it to the finer things in life because I have multi tasked!

The dilema friends is deciding what the finer things in life are?

If you happen to be blessed with this skill it’s time to embrace it and learn how to use it effectively.

Some symptoms of a multi tasker:

1. House is a mess and everything is always in half completion mode.

Answer: Take a day and write a list, things in front of you may help you stay on target.

2. Always burning your dinner?

Leave the dished till later. Turn off the television and enjoy the sound of the boiling water. Some time’s the process can be relaxing.

3. Too many social networks?

Is it better to have one well functioning twitter to promote your business or have 5 half maintained sites? The decision is yours.

4. Always tired or tied up?

A biggy, this could be a symptom of a complicated life. Why not prioritize the things you really want to do and say no to others. Be sure of things your called to do before you say yes to someone.

Or you may just need to eat healthier and go to sleep 2 hours earlier than normal. That ma mean stop multitasking after 11pm if you have to wake up @ 9am

These are big symptoms. And they were fun to point out in my own life.

When there is too much going on, too many bills, too many priorities or chores, never be afraid to humble yourself and ask for help.

We were made for companionship so don’t fly solo to accomplish your day to day lives. You may be more fruitfull by thinking like a team member.

So let’s try to minimise doing 3 things at once, get the job done well by enjoying the process and think about who might love the gift of being part of your life so you don’t have to multi task 24/7 & your afternoon’s could look like this.

Helpful hints:

Home cleaners, Babysitters, Organizational services and friends are often just a phone call away.

If you don’t have the cash why not get creative and see what you could trade for services?

Have a great week you little multitasker’s!

Is your neighborhood uneventful?

We just experienced an amazing afternoon this week. My family went around our neighborhood and personally invited as many neighbor’s as we could.

We didn’t just go with the goal of inviting them to Questapalooza www.qpza.com we were so exicted to meet these people who we live next door too.

We live in an apartment by a lake & would guess that there would be around 250 units, we visited about 80 (lots were not home). What was so amazing about this experience was not only that we met lots of them and that they loved the invitation we gave them to come to a big party for our city. More exicting was that we now have a relationship with them.

In Australia growing up I often got to go and play with the neighbor’s kids, we’d run to and from houses or even down the street. I remember the adults mingling and attending street party’s.

I know this still happens around the place but it seems in our technology’s growth we have let alot of relationship growth become uneventful.

So I’m here to inspire.

Weather you live in an apartment like me, a house with an acreage,  or a castle. What could you do to make a connection with your neighbor’s. Don’t be afraid to just say hello. I’m sure there are time’s when they might be in need of an egg or two after running out as they attempt to finish the last of their recipe.

Maybe the next time you see that single mum attempting to get her children, bags and groceries inside while your bored watching Days Of our lives (Okay, I take it back, Days of our lives could be eventful?!) whatever road block you find yourself behind, remove it and go and make some real face to face relationships.

One of our neighbor’s moved in 2months ago. As we greeted her and told her why we had dropped by she told us “you are the first neighbor’s I’ve met”. At her words although she was excited to have us in her home. I felt a pang of disgust as I’m at home a lot and I hadn’t noticed just how lonely people around me are and continue to stay until we have the courage to go and offer a helping hand, a home made dish or the push of a broken down car into the drive way.

I am excited to now know about 20 of my neighbor’s and hope to host a cook out very soon to get to know them better. What will you do?

Leave a comment to inspire others if you like

Financial Peace

It’s not often that you get to complete a course, but tonight I did it. I completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I made it through all 13 sessions.

Through the time Anyerin and I have embarked on a journey mostly aimed at saving. Since we thankfully began with very minor debt we have set our energy into saving!

It’s been amazing to see once you actually plan a budget and stick to it how freeing it has made our lives. Over the past few months we have saved for goals and made them and paid all our bills. Yippee!

We even attended a Global Leadership Summit and a 3 day Leadership Retreat. Which is just a testament to how well our budget allowed us to save. We now have goal’s of having an emergency fund saved and college funds for our children invested until they are needed and the dreams of retiring well!

As I left the graduating night with the feeling of ‘financial peace” Dave Ramsay had been challenging us on giving. Well I thought, since I have experienced so much more in this than just learning about how to operate in America financially, I wanted to give you this link & encourage you all to check it out for yourself:

http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/

Money is something that is able to control us if we let it, it’s a tool for building wealth that we can use for many things.

I hope to use my new attitude about money with open hands after all my money doesn’t belong to me it belongs to God and I’m just a steward. I hope you will be encouraged to seek out financial peace.

CHOSEN

The past week I went away to Quest Community’s Leadership Retreat. The theme was Chosen. I spent 3 days learning more about being a leader and eventually more about knowing God and trusting him.

It’s not a new concept to me that God chooses you, but to actually spend the time to hear why he chooses you and for what purpose; is a whole new level of intimacy with him. I’m not sure I was quite prepared for the encounter others and myself had with God as we cried hard, loved his people with humility and grasped new ways oft trusting him deeply.

Here are a few key line’s that impacted me in ways that I will be changed forever.

All these quotes are from Pete Hise.

Leaders who avoid the hard, will never live out the effective potential of their calling.

If I tell his story I’ll be overwhelmed  by who I am because of who He is.

If I’m not burning as a leader (with his passion) then no-one around me get’s lit.

God gives you fresh starts along the way.

What am I doing to develop a vibrant love in him?

Who’s rejection of you really matters?

Share the GOOD NEWS. Who have you told lately?

I can anticipate what’s coming next by knowing him and trusting him.

(end of quotes)

It’s not often that I share things I learn from Church on here. I really wanted to let you read some things that have the possibility to grow you in surprising ways. Maybe you can use them for a reflection time or your quiet time. Even if you just pick one line.

If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus some of these questions may help you discover some really deep things about yourself.

It was a simple question like this that revealed an implosion on the insides of who I was and allowed to me get close enough to Jesus and see who he was and not what others say about him. I know him for myself. That he is my leader, everlasting, timeless, my provider, truth, abundance, love, etc.

I look forward to everyday discovering more about him.

I adore the fact that I was Chosen to have a ministry of my own.

Thanks for dropping by, this is a part of my life that I love sharing with you.

What lie will time reveal?

Have you ever been desperate to speak the truth?

I remember asking  a child I used to baby sit “Did you eat that chocolate mummy said not to eat”? And the child replied with chocolate stained teeth “NO”!

It surprises me to find that kids like this sometimes never stop lying. They turn into adults who lie constantly about little things & sometimes huge things. I wonder if it ever crosses their minds about where they picked up the habit or why they’re afraid of the truth.

I don’t know what level of truth readiness you find yourself at. Weather your telling yourself that the pizza your about to eat won’t really make you gain weight.  Or your telling your boss that the qualifications you said you had to get the job now leave you working over time & wasting your time with something your unable to complete? It’s time to tell the truth!

My challenge to you is this. What are you afraid of that keep’s you from telling the truth?

I know that when I’ve faced up to a lie I’ve told it’s like I shed 30 pounds in seconds. You need to know these things when you do eventually tell the truth.

1. You will face discipline. If that pizza show’s up on your be-hind or your fired form your dream job. (You can also have hope for a pizza free body & a new perfectly suited job waiting for you on the other side).

2. Someone may remain angry or disappointed in you. But you can know that you did a great thing.

3. Storms pass and time may not heal the lie’s consequences but you will be free.

Recently I heard Jack Welch the Former Chairman & CEO of General Electric say this about his time at the company. While leading the people he knew they were always eager to hear him “speak the truth”.

Isn’t that encouraging! Even if everyone around you is telling small or big lie’s. Know that when you tell the truth out of love, it shine’s like a beam and changes lives!

In the past I have exaggerated the truth and had to tell my husband that  “I didn’t really do that…I’m sorry i lied to you”. And experienced sadness and forgiveness and the checking up he does on me when he senses exaggeration.

I also lied to my mother as a child. She told me a couple of years ago she always knew when I was lying because I put my tongue in the side of my cheek.

I think I always knew I wasn’t a good liar from the start and now it comes fairly naturally to tell the truth, purely and simply, because I know that even when I’m trying to get out of doing something I said I would do; It won’t hurt the other person if I lie to them, it will hurt me in the long run!

And if my children know I do this then they will quite easily follow my pattern of lying also. And that’s not the legacy I want to leave behind.

So take the challenge! What’s the fear behind your lying? Who’s watching you closest and following your behaviors?

Unfortunately time is more likely to reveal your lie than heal it.

The moment that’s your glue!

Way before you receive an engagement ring or take any vow and venture into the unknown partnership with, in my case ‘my now husband’, there’s this brief moment that takes your breath away you suddenly just know it will be worth it! Take a second to remember if your already married…got it??? It’s the sole reason you plan a wedding and say “I DO!” Right???

It’s that moment when you realize it’s worth it!

You may have spotted your partner doing something like, playing with your little brothers and sisters or carrying you across some mud so your new shoes wouldn’t get wet! It’s the moment that made your skin prickle and your heart flutter!

If your not married you want to watch out for this moment.

The reason this moment is important is because this moment could be the glue that helps your marriage stick together well into your married years. It’s the fond memory you can recall when your cooling down after a heated discussion!

It’s a recalled memory that can trigger the promises you made and in turn keeps your marriage together “glue”!

Why’s this all so important? Because whenever your partner does something to you anytime throughout your marriage it becomes kind of like a moral where you just need a compass to know your headed in the right direction together and this you’ll make it. This moment helps you know you love this man, want to serve him and love him through whatever your both facing. Especially when tough time’s blow in like a hurricane!

This moment I’m now sure is the reason you see 80 year old couples holding each others hand as they stroll down the street.

Now to the wives out there!

We know, being a wife isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Your time can be filled with sacrifice. Maybe something as simple as keeping the bedroom clean.

Or maybe it’s as big as putting your career on hold to raise a family full time?? The same can stand for a husband too

What ever challenges your facing as a wife…take a deep breath and know that you’re not the only wife facing a challenge!

The wives you and I know often do a fantastic job at putting on a mask to hide the challenge, we all have given into doing it at some point. It’s some times the only way we’ve made it through a day without falling apart. But my choice now is to regularly disregard the mask and choose to be honest with people so that they can be honest in return!

Hopefully you can throw away the mask now &  hear this truth as an encouragement of who you are or read it as an inspiring goal!

A wife of rich character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies! Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good not harm all the days of her life…

She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue…

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her…

You can find the whole story here: Proverbs Chapter 31 verse 10-31.

The nicest truth I have ever heard is above. It’s about the blessing it is to be a wife. Have you ever watched a family flourish, the husband is doing great, the kids are excelling at school as well as socially. When you see past all of that you can see a woman who knows her worth in the family and likely her worth in God. She never needs to assess how much her husband loves her. She simply trusts he does. You see her raise her children with discipline and hold it! And she loves on them consistently!

Some time’s her house may be just a little untidy! But their life is goal set. The wife has a compass that hold the family on a steady course. I like to call my compass Jesus. But if you find you don’t believe in him, maybe you can call it love!

Two weeks ago I attended a Wedding, where I watched a close friend make vows to a man she cherishes! Some of the most beautiful vows I have ever witnessed too!

If you find yourself struggling in the lead up to making those vows or holding fast to honor them! Know there’s hope you can make it and love one man for the rest of your life. Know that if you’ve been called into marriage you are ready to weather the storms; after all we are called ‘the help mate!’

The same stands for your husband! He is your help mate, even if his role looks different to yours all the way through life.

Be encouraged to do life with other wives, and spur on all the wives and almost wives you can. Tell them how you love your husband! We are always in need of a good refreshing idea of how to love our men! If your a mother or mother in law it’s even more important to share this!

Start a list of women you can ask about these things if you struggle with any of this. And don’t be afraid or stand alone. Learn to be a better wife so you can have a lasting amazing marriage.