If my mum was still on this earth we’d be celebrating her birthday and her wedding anniversary today.

I miss her every day (I know many will relate to this) and I’m thankful for her life and the affect it had on mine.

She gave her life away in so many ways and to so many people. First and foremost though, she knew that she belonged to God, and this knowledge and understanding produced a life of joy in serving Him and others.

Her life wasn’t always easy, but her heart and home were always open to any who needed a haven or a place of comfort.

Most of all, I’m thankful that through her life and her words she taught me that there is hope beyond the here and now, and because of this I know that I will see her again one day.

A warm hello/bonjour to you all,

I hope you’ll forgive me some repetition from here, but I need a constant reminder not to live by my feelings, but to actually tell my brain what to think. Sounding odd? Well, for those of you who believe that what God says about us is true, as opposed to the media, other people, ourselves, not to mention our biggest enemy, maybe it’s not so strange.

There’s a lot in the Bible about the importance of renewing our mind and patterns of thinking, and today I’m particularly thankful to be reminded that it also says that He’s singing over us – amazing! Read it here.

On a different note, I’ve just spent a great weekend in a lovely Normandy town with these two.

Father & Son

Warning: deep and reflective post coming up!

I’m not sure if it’s something to do with being away from the normal routine, but I seem to be in an even more thoughtful (as in thinking a lot!) frame of mind at the moment.

If you’re still with me, I’ve been pondering and relaxing in the freedom of some of the core truths of my faith recently, and it’s made me more conscious of the fact that I don’t have to conform to human expectations, but use this freedom not to cast off restraint and do whatever; rather to follow the One who loves unconditionally. And, after all, His opinion about us is what really matters, and we know how much worth He places in us by looking at this:

Fortunately, living a thankful life doesn’t mean that we gloss over the difficult stuff and pretend that everything is great when it clearly isn’t.

I think it’s more about perspective – being real about what’s going on and where we’re at but, at the same time, staying thankful for all the good that comes our way. Also, if we’ll let Him, God is an expert at weaving good things out of the bad that sometimes happens, and that’s definitely something to be thankful for.

On a more random note, I received a hug from one of my ‘heroes of the faith’ today!

I’m conscious that this isn’t ground-breaking or new, but as I was thinking about the ‘doing what we can’ bit of the hospitality theme over the weekend, this is how it turned out.

As I was preparing a meal on Saturday evening for Sunday lunch, I was reflecting on the fact that I should have been more organised and invited someone to join us. It occurred to me that I could just make extra and see if there was someone we could spontaneously invite back from church tomorrow.

I offered up a quick prayer that God would direct us to someone who was available, and it soon became clear who that person was.

Thank you God for the opportunity and thank you Robert for coming and for the great afternoon we had.

The extra place

Start with simple things

Here’s the challenge for me: I can put these in the cupboard or on display, or I can actually use them, and not just for myself/husband/family. I can look for opportunities to offer a drink to someone, especially someone who might not normally receive an invitation.

What’s the cost? Glasses – £1.00 each (Italian hand painted) from a charity shop. Bottle – less than £2.00 – and that was when it was full of pink lemonade! Time – maybe the biggest (but most rewarding) in this instance.

Mark 9:41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

P.S. These bottles look great with one flower in (no need for fancy vases!) and the glasses look great with tea lights in them, so it’s possible to create a welcoming space at the same time!

I don’t know about you, but when I’m invited to someone’s home it’s not about how elaborate the place is, or how many courses we’re having (if a meal is on offer). It’s more about being with people and seeing them in their home environment, where, if we’re honest, we all tend to show more of our true selves.

It’s the fact that someone is taking the time and letting you in on a part of their lives that many, for whatever reason, choose to keep separate and closed.

It can be a challenge, because we’re showing more of who we are and how we like to live, but the rewards are definitely worth it.

I’m grateful to the many people who have opened their doors over the years. As it is with friendships, with some I may have just entered the hallway, but with others I can go in make a cup of tea and put my feet up!

I’m thankful for all the invites.

A place to relax

More coming up on using our homes to bless people, while living within the constraints of a tight budget. Any thoughts appreciated…

I appreciate that we’re all gifted in different ways and that’s good, because life would be boring otherwise. However, today, I would like to specifically give thanks for those who are able to think through and communicate some of the deeper issues of life.

While I love to cook, entertain, and have a passion for all that interior design stuff, I’m actually at my happiest discussing some of the more weightier issues of life.

So today, I’d like to thank someone from my blogroll – Greg Boyd – and what’s more, the link below summarises why I’m on this discovery of thankfulness. If you have time, it’s well worth a listen.

Greg Boyd on Thankfulness

I’ve been thinking recently about poverty and thankfulness. Here’s some of what came to mind:

Poverty is not just about not having enough money for food, shelter and clothing, is it? We can be poor in so many different ways; here’s a few that struck me:

Self esteem/worth/value
Attention/time – the time of others as well as time for ourselves
Real love (not the sentimental feelings kind)
Family – time around the table over meals, etc
Social skills
Diet
Good conversation
and so many more…

This started me thinking about how thankfulness can be expressed in tangible ways to help alleviate some of this lack which we all have at different times.

More on this in another post, except to say that for me, it all starts with Jesus as the root; the stem being thankfulness and the flower is the overflow. Here’s a photo to help express it:

Expressive flowers

Unrest in Syria, fighting in Libya, injustice taking place all around, not to mention the struggles of friends and family and in our own lives. So, how does being thankful tie in with all of this?

Well, although I’m not thankful that any of this is happening, I’m glad that I can be aware and ready to pray and serve in whatever way is appropriate, and, above all, I’m thankful that one day there will be a ‘setting right’ of all injustice, but in the meantime, I am called to live a life of gratitude.

By the way, I hope you like the new-look site, which reminds me that I should thank my patient husband for his help and also for putting up with my indecision in colour changes, heading choice, typeface….etc – thank you Dave!