Plans and Locusts

Thanks for dropping by, I hope all is going well in your world :-)

Have you had those moments when the lightbulb goes off?  I'm not talking about a power cut, here - I mean that second when the penny drops, the light blinds you and you suddenly come to an earth-shattering realisation.

I had a couple recently - although not quite enough to register on the Richter scale.  And I got excited. I realised that a couple of promises I was given years ago have actually come to pass. Let me explain.

Plans:

At the end of 2012, our circumstances were such that we had to move house.  The rental house we were in was sold; and with the offspring moving out, and a stack of bills/debts, we were not able to stay in the city we lived in.  Around about the same time, a small flat became available in a town about 40 minutes drive away.  My inital reaction was Nuh-Uh.  No way!  Absolutely not!!  Among other reasons, we would be going from a 3-bedroom house with gas heating, garage for storage, and a decent fenced yard, to a one-bedroomed self-contained flat with no heating.  Period.  Plus it meant longer travel time to work. And the town wasn't exactly the greatest place in the area. So, after lengthy discussions, I told Wookieeman "No", and went to bed.  And thought.

The next morning, I went out to the dining room where my hubby was, and said to him, "OK, let's do it."  His response? "Are you serious??  Who are you and what have you done with my wife??"

You see, my mind was made up that there was no way on God's green earth I was interesting in living in the small town. But the maker of said green earth had other ideas, and wouldn't let me have a closed mind about it.  

So how does all this tie in with promises? What promise am I waffling on about? 

 Jeremiah 29:11-12

That one.

We have been living in said one-bedroomed self-contained flat since November 2012.  It's been a huge adjustment for me - WookieeMan has lived here before, so it wasn't so difficult for him.  But since we've been here, we have experienced times of trials and troubles.  Such as:

Being on one income for about six months:  If we had stayed in the city, we would not have survived financially. 

Selling one car, and relying on one for both of us:  The car we sold belonged to the DP, who asked us to sell it.  While it did create an inconvenience, it was one less vehicle that needed warrants, rego, running costs, etc.  It also meant I had to start using the local bus transport, which was not always a wonderful experience.  But it left our car available for WookieeMan as he continued on his recovery journey.

Financial recovery:  When we moved here, paying the bills was a big struggle; the power bill was in the high hundreds, and the phone bill wasn't far behind.  We had to learn to cut back and live within our means.  We have awesome friends and family - including our church - who helped us occasionally, but it was a huge learning experience.  Thanks to tips and techniques we learnt through CAP Money (www.CAPmoney.org), we DID it!! And we are still heading in the right direction - praise God!  As a bonus, our power bill has been in credit, and the phone bill is also heading that way.  Woop woop!!!!

Locusts:

While I was a member of the Salvation Army, we had an interesting period where for about 4 weeks our officer (pastor) tried to deliver his sermon.  And for 4 weeks, the Spirit wouldn't let him.  It was a time of revelations, healings, teachings, etc... including, for me, the following promise:

Joel 2:25

²⁵ “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — 

 the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm..."

If you've read my earlier posts, you'll be aware that my formative years and beyond were not all laughter and roses.  Anything but.  So there was a lot of "locust damage" hanging around.  But God brought people to me to help in all sorts of ways:  not only to provide guidance, friendship and love, but also to teach me about love, respect, acceptance, judgement, honesty, truth and worth.

By far, one of the most influential people the Lord has given me ... is my husband.  We have both learnt a lot about and from each other, and about and from others.  Very recently, an incident occured that left me concerned about how he would react to it; past history with my father - not good - about a similar event was very much in the back of my mind.  But WookieeMan was wonderful.  He looked after me, and did everything he could to SHOW me that while it was a biggie, the outcome certainly could have been a whole lot worse, and that it's ok.  I was like, "huh??  You have every right to be fuming mad, but you're not.  How does that work, again?"

Friends, that right there was some major healing for a whole lot of my locust damage. And there have been other healing times with him.  He loves me for the person that God made me to be. And I am more important to him that anything else, except our Lord.  We've been married aince 2009 years.  He's 8 years my junior.  And he is more of a man than anyone I have ever known.  

I thank God so very much for the gift of my WookieeMan.  Neither of us have any doubt that God brought us together for reasons known only to Him.

If you don't believe what I say about the promises, hey - that's cool.  But you are more than welcome to find out for yourself.  I've been talking to a good friend of mine recently, who I would say is an agnostic.  But she listens to what I have to say, without giving me a slap upside the head (for which I am very grateful!)  And I'd like to share something that I shared with her:

My bible has this commentary for John 20:24-28:  "Some people need to doubt before they believe.  If doubt leads to questions, questions lead to answers, and the answers are accepted, then doubt has done good work.  It is when doubt becomes stubborness and stubbornness becomes a lifestyle, that doubt harms faith.  When you doubt, don't stop there.  Let your doubt deepen your faith as you continue to search for the answer."

Don'tcha just LOVE it when we're given the OK to explore, and question?  That's how we learn.  And when we join the flock, it will be because we know that's where we're meant to be - not because someone says we have to.

 

Now I want you to head out there, and have one of the BEST days of your life!!  And I'll see you later!!

See you back here real soon!!

 

The Years Roll Over: Bring It On, I Say!!

 

HAP-PPY NEW YEAR!!  

Thanks for stopping by again,  I haven't seen you since last year - gosh, you're looking great!

Did you have a good festive season?  It was a quiet one for us, but that was all good.  WookieeMan had a birthday a few days after Christmas, and we both worked through, except for the stat days.  

But two 4-day weekends in a row - we ain't gonna grizzle too much :-)

And, of course, there was New Year.  Again, a quiet one at home, and in bed by midnight (!) - the neighbourhood fireworks made sure we were awake at the time, though.

At this time of year, a lot of people usually make New Years Resolutions.  Have you made any?  Care to share what they are?  I used to, but they never seemed to take long to break.  So, a couple of years ago, WookieeMan and I developed "a plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a Weasley". We now have "a summit" around New Year, and discuss/decide what we want to acheive over the following 12 months - as a couple, and individually - in any area, be it socialising, health & fitness, work, hobbies, faith... you get the idea, and how we aim to acheive said goals.  I then type it up and print it on to wallet cards, which I laminate and keep in my wallet.  During the year, we check in with it from time to time, and next New Year, we review it - before starting the process all over again.  It's a great way to keep track of goals, and have accountability - not to mention, visually checking your acheivements over the year. Works for us!!

Ah, yes... challenges.  Don'tcha just... love 'em?!  They're not always good ones, but they make a difference nonetheless.  But there is one thing that I am determined about, this year:  something I started to realise and put into place over the last several months.  And that is: 

                    and

Up to this point, one of my main concerns in life was about how what I do or say affects others - dregs from the past. Did I come across as stoopid, dopey, irrelevant or worse?   But then I realised that it was impacting on my self-worth and mental health.  Then the proverbial lightbulb lit up;  maybe it's time to practice what I preach and share on Facebook.  Respect and honesty are still right at the top of my list, but now so is being true to who God made be to be, not what others think I should do.  After all,

Now I am in no way advocating just do what you want when you want, and hang everyone else.  Respect and honesty are right at the top of my list.  To my shame this has not always been the case.

In our daily devotional today, it talked about God transforming us, based on Romans 12:2:   

"All kinds of potential are locked into your spirit.  And for the Christian, transformation at its optimum is the outworking of the internal.  God placed certain things in you that must come out... and when you're tired of trying to unlock your own resources, allow Him to release in you the power to become whatever you need to be."  

"Christ empowers us to slip out of who we were forced to be, 

and transforms us into who He created us to be."  

(Bob & Debby Gass, "The Word For Today")

You may have noticed over previous posts that I possess somewhat of a sense of humour.  And that I like cutesy kinda stuff.  So in keeping with these traits, as well as living up to my newish philosopy (for want of a better word), and the New Year, let me leave you with a few little gems that tickled my funnybone (and speak volumes in the process), in the hope at least one will raise even the shadow of a smile; I would consider that a success. Loud chuckles, giggles and guffaws would be even better :-)

     

 

PS:  I'm really excited and thankful that there have been over 170 views of my little blog.  Thank you so much!!  Friends from the US of A, New Zealand, Australia, and France have stopped by.  Bonjour, mon ami, et merci.  My thoughts and prayers have been with you in light of the recent shocking events in Paris.
Please feel free to leave a comment below, if you so desire :-)

See y'all next time!!   

What To Do, What To Do?

When it comes to making decisions, I've yet to come across anyone who's a better ditherer than me.  Seriously.  It doesn't matter whether it's Do I Want A Snack With My Latte?; What Snack Shall I Have?; Do I Want This Brand, Or Shall I Try That Once 'Cos It's Cheaper?; these can be very big choices to make.

I'm sure I've frustrated (and amused) a fair few people over the years - not to mention, myself - with my wonderful indecisive skills:
"What fragrance do you like?"  That's easy - I'm a sucker for Jasmine and Vanilla - not the sickly cheap stuff, though.  Least fave?  Lavender.
"What's your favourite colour?" Now, that's NOT so easy.  It depends on the context; are we talking roses? That can get very complex - not fussed on plain red ones, but I am quite partial to pastel shades, or fiery sunsets, or deep blood red ones.
Anything else, like clothes, or just plain colours in general - nah, let's not go there just now.
A pearler of a question that gets thrown around at interviews:  "How would you react in this particular kind of situation?"  I know how I would LIKE to react.  In the past I have handled it in such-and-such a way, but I don't know for sure until I'm IN that particular kind of situation, because every time can be different.  

But in the grander scheme of things, there are other decisions to be made:  how will we choose to respond in different situations?  Such as, "I know Fred really won't be happy if I buy this little skull-and-crossbones jewellery box to go with the other 2,351 I've got at home, and we REALLY don't have the spare $350 for it... but it's just SOOO adorable!!"  So you buy it, and sure enough, Fred really isn't happy - for the stated reasons.

And then there's some biggies.  "I know my underage child's equally underage friends drink alcohol, and there's a high chance that could happen while he/she's there.  Do I let them go, or shall I be the proverbial stick-in-the-mud, and say No You're Not Going, I'm Going To Keep You Safe From The World"; "You only have your learner's licence, you are NOT going out driving with your friends at 11 o'clock on Friday night!" "But, Mum - everyone does it!!"

And there it is.  The good ol' "everyone does it" phrase that our kids love to throw at us.  But just because "everyone else" does it doesn't make it right.  That is one thing that DP (hopefully) took on board whilst growing up.

We shouldn't have to go along with the crowd, and with so-called societal values, just to make everyone around us happy, or to be cool.**  General rule of thumb:  if it doesn't feel right, and it goes against your morals and principles - don't do it.  The kids may gripe and moan, and maybe call you all the names under the sun (I have so been on the receiving end of that!),  but no matter how bad you may feel about it - it's so important that we stick to our guns - as long as the focus is to keep people safe.  "About the only thing a man can really call his own are his values" - Col. S Potter, MASH 4077.  We still need to let our kids grow, and experience life (within reason), so that they can learn to make their own good decisions; if we don't, they can tend to run riot a bit and end up in all sorts of situations. 

I have an interesting situation at the moment, where someone felt I was snubbing them - for 3 months.  It got to the stage where this person even spoke to a counsellor friend.  The thing is - I wasn't snubbing anyone!  It was a time where things were happening, and I may been distracted, or changing directions, or some such thing.  Around about the same time, a mutual aquaintance wanted to play a practical joke on this same person, but I cautioned them against it, because I knew they were not in a good place at the time.  That's all I said.  This person decided that I was blabbing about their personal business, and they'd been subjected to that too many times, and that's it - no more trusting people, thank you very much. The sad thing about it is that (a) I didn't blab - no details about anything were revealed - and (b) when they finally told me about both issues, the subject was not open for discussion. "It doesn't matter anymore, I'm over it now" was the response I got when trying to broach it.  A friendship down the tubes.

So now I'm in the awkward position of trying to figure out what to do.  From a Christian perspective, the Bible says to turn the other cheek; love your enemies; forgive and forget; and before trying to take the splinter from our brother's eye, to remove the log from your own eye.  From a human perspective, it's like "what the h-e-double-toothpick just happened here??  Did someone get the details of that tank that just ran over me??"

We're not responsible for other people's reactions.  Ultimately, I know that how this person chooses to respond is a matter of their perception, and their decision.  That doen't make it hurt any less, though. Dilemma, dilemma...

A friend of mine had a very good way of stopping me in my tracks when I was in the middle of a rant.  He'd calmly listen, and when I took a breather, he would say to me, "... where does it fit into the greater scheme of things?"  I can still hear him, and see his grin when he knew he'd taken the wind out of my sails.  But he's right.  I found it a useful yardstick many times.

But no matter what path or options we choose, there is always one thing we need to bear in mind:  we'd better be prepared for the outcomes that inevitably follow.  If I choose the piece of White Chocolate Oaty Caramel Slice to go with the Single Shot Latte with Trim Milk and 1 Stevia, then there's a good chance it will blow my healthy eating regime for the week and have an insidious weight gain (especially if I indulge in my weaknesses for PASTRY and CHOCOLATE).

When our friends/loved ones are going through trials, we can choose to get along side them and take their problems on in a personal way (been there, done that); we can distance ourselves and watch them struggle and/or sink (especially if it seems to be an on-going saga); or we can let them know we are there for them to help in anyway we can, BUT don't do everything for them - let them take the lead.


"If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got."  OR, we could dare to be different and check out what else life has to offer :-)

Y'all come back now, y'hear ?!    xoxo








(** Feel free to check out "Who Says Society Says" for more on this topic, if you haven't already)