I prayed to God to fix the world

I prayed to God to fix the world. I asked when all the horror would end. When the 'war on terrorism' would become the end of terrorism. When the evil of one person to another would change to peace. When racial discrimination wouldn't even be a thing. When the world we call 'home' would actually feel like it.

I was hoping for an answer. A drastic difference in people to happen right away. For wars to end overnight. For families to be reunited and barriers broken. For evil to be gone. But it wasn't.

It hit me. None of this will end. It won't stop overnight. Situations may improve but there is always evil in this world. I realised that I can't overcome this broken, hurting and war torn world.

I was reminded over and over again, that nothing in our human strength can overcome any of this. Not even our greatest efforts or the best defence force. The only power strong enough to break the hold of evil on our world is the power that was great enough to create it in perfect harmony at the very beginning. The power that is strong enough to keep the earth on its axis. The power that is creative enough to make us all uniquely and completely different. The power that is caring enough to know our own deepest insecurities that no-one else cares about. The power that is kind enough to provide for the needy, shelter the lost, feed the hungry, love the unloveable, comfort the lonely and judge supremely and justly.

This power that I know is the power of Christ. The only power to defeat death. The only power to give life. The only power to truly forgive and restore. The only power strong enough to break the worst violence and hatred. The only power to bring complete peace.

Through tears and heartache I prayed that this power of Christ would come and set things right. That Christ would come.

And now I pray that until the day that He comes that we would learn to love one another with a love that has no boundaries. With a love that isn't based on skin colour, occupation, worth or religion. With a love that isn't based on what I can get out of it or how it makes me feel. With a love that is forgiving, compassionate, patient, kind and genuine. With a love that reflects the kind of love we have already been shown through Jesus Christ.

Two Thousand and WHAT?!

TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN! What?! 2015 is almost here already!? This past year has just skipped by almost quicker than any other year I can remember! So these past few days my husband and I have taken the time to reflect back on 2014 and plan and look forward to 2015. It seems like 2014 has been full of adventure, big decisions, excitement and challenges some of which I was and others I wasn't prepared for. But it's so amazing to be able to look back on the year that has been and really see just how clearly God has carried me and us through so much. I can see so many of my own faults and where I have lacked in my trust with God and places where I have flourished and grown in boldness in Him. My God has brought me through so much in this year alone, I do not doubt that He will continue His great work in me through this new year!

A spontaneous possible trip to Ukraine along with our church's launch of public services scheduled for March are already kicking the new year off and proving to be a year full of excitement and challenges. With this last day of 2014 I have decided that 2015 shall be the year of taking steps of faith in God (shouldn't we all be doing that every year anyway?). To really not hold back and to just jump into church, marriage, life, dreams and adventure. I don't doubt that there will be times of fear and worry but I know that I can trust God with all of that as with everything else. I'm really excited for 2015 to begin and really take the plunge! What are you looking forward to in 2015? How will you be challenging yourself to really step out there and try something new or overcome a fear?  I say, bring it on 2015!

Nanna's Orchids

Through my efforts of trying to tame the raging jungle that is our garden I now have a whole new appreciation for those who enjoy gardening and actually manage to maintain it! While I never got to meet my Nanna, dad has always told me that she was a total green thumb and has heaps of memories of her with garden hose in hand. Dad himself has now inherited her green thumb and I would say he's definitely making her proud with maintaining her gorgeous orchids! He's doing so well that now he has around 10 flowering pots! And let me just say, Nanna's orchids are absolutely beautiful!

Pass on the love

I think it would be pretty safe to say that we all love receiving those "just because" gifts. Whether it's flowers from our man, a friend shouting us lunch, a special letter in the mail or an unexpected gift at our door. To know that someone is thinking of you for no particular reason other than that they love you, brings so much joy! Recently I was the thrilled recipient of such love! A dear friend who has recently moved 7 hours out of Sydney (I feel a road trip coming on!) and a kind friend from my childhood have both unexpectedly blessed my with their love! 

Stacey and I didn't get to see each other very often before she moved, but when we did we would always have a great chat accompanied by hot tea. Her letter was one of the very first pieces of mail I had received at our new address! I did just as you told me to do my friend! 

Thoughtful Susan in Ukraine completely surprised me with her parcel. She has created this gorgeous notepad and card herself! What a clever woman! Keep an eye out as I will be sharing some more of her work soon!

So rather than just being the recipient of such love that brought me so much joy, why not pass it on? It didn't take long for some lovely women to come to mind whom I wanted to pass this love on to! For me love and flowers go hand in hand so I thought this would be the perfect combo to pass on! 

These little flower cones are super easy to make, fun and colourful! I sure hope these will brighten the day of the recipients! Bless someone else today through your creativeness, a conversation, a hug, a prayer or even just a smile. If it's something you would want to receive then why not do it for someone else? Pass on the love people!

Bambii and Dott: Encourage Letter Exchange

Ok, ok, ok, put your hand up if you do not like receiving encouragement or something in the post? If you put your hand up, turn off your computer go and eat some chocolate, then come back with a new answer! Ahem, well, the two above words of 'encouragement and post' have been combined in the wonderful creation of my mighty fine friend Sarinah at Bambii and Dott's Encourage Letter Exchange! Now, this round is for wives of those involved in church ministry (church planting, pastoring...) but Sarinah has said that this will be opened up in the future, so stay tuned! 

As a ministry wife myself, I find this absolutely encouraging! Sarinah is using her heart and love of encouragement and creativity and using it to bless others like her involved in church ministry with their husbands. I'm excited!!! Jump on over here to get signed up and have a look at Sarinah's blog Bambii & Dott for some other gorgeous creativity and encouragement. Oh, and make sure you share this with others you know involved in ministry who are in need of some encouragement! Applications close on 22nd August so get crack-a-laking! 

Meet the Neighbours

We have now been living at our home for almost 2 months and we haven't met most of our neighbours yet. It's so easy for us these days to just go about our lives and not actually meet the people who share our streets or apartment buildings. So since moving here we have really been wanting to meet our neighbours and hopefully have the joy of some new friendships. So I thought, why not do the whole old-school-cookie-introductions thing? 

With our little bundles of sugary goodness we set out to meet the neighbours! Well, unfortunately only 2 out of 8 people were actually home! Gah!!! But hey, hopefully we'll get another opportunity! 

I would love to hear how you met your neighbours! What are your creative ideas on creating community in our street or apartment buildings. Maybe you have annual Christmas bbq's or street parties? Share away!

The joys of pressie wrapping!

How great is wrapping paper?! No, really! I just love people's creativeness when it comes to wrapping presents! I often enjoy the wrapping as much as the actual gift inside and will reuse the paper or ribbons. And I get even more excited when the piece of paper I am reusing is the perfect size and needs no cutting! Score!!!

There is a video hidden in some box somewhere of my fourth birthday (or at least I'm guessing it was my fourth). My older sister and I are sitting on the floor surrounded by my wrapped birthday presents. My ever so kind and caring sister looks at me and say, "Ok, Amy. You can open the cards and I'll open the presents!" Wwwhhhhaaaatttt?!?! Well, it's safe to say I was no fazed by this at all! I was just loving all the bits of paper and ribbon I didn't even notice she was ripping into the actual gifts! True story!

So, yes, wrapping presents! Such fun! This is a little idea I saw somewhere using scraps of paper so I've adapted it a little using scraps of material. Do not, and I repeat, do not throw out your scraps of material! There is still too much fun to be had with the left-over pieces after whatever project you originally used it for!

Cut your material into strips about 1cm wide and however long you can get them. Cut out some circles of varying sizes from cardboard, I've used an empty cereal box (waste nothing!). Use a glue stick to hold the material to the cardboard and just twist the material around the circle. 

Here's some I prepared earlier! ;) No, really, I have been using these as 'bunting' on some empty wall space until it was present wrapping time!

Assemble the troops!! 

How do you like to wrap up presents? I would love to hear your tips and creative ideas! Or if you give these little guys a go, share how they turned out!