We've Shifted House

I've got a new address... and I'm excited about it!

It's just like shifting house... and I've done that a few times :)

We ('we', because all the members of my family get roped in in one way or another)  are still finding our way around and making things fit just right. It's a process that takes time, but we are functioning...'LIFE'  is happening over at the new house.

It's the same me, the same family, the same desire to find all the gifts that HE has graciously given to us each day... just a new house that's in a better location for us, with better access for all of you.

The new address, so you know where to go, is http://fruitofgratitude.com/ ... real easy! Click on this link and it'll magically transport you through the streets of cyberspace to our new place. It'd be great to have a visit with you. Click like or even better, leave a comment ... love to hear your thoughts.

If you like visiting enough and want to return, then follow with email, facebook, twitter, or networked blog, so that I come to you each day... easily!

See you soon

                                                                          LyndaJoy

3 GIFTS: SMALL, BIG, JUST RIGHT

A dear friend is struggling with depression...a struggle I know all too well! She's worried with all the advice she is receiving. Some of it leaves her feeling more depressed, hopeless, more aware than ever of the big black hole she is in. Some of it makes her insides flare up... "I'm not like that!" "If I'm not like that then what am I like... weird?" lost and confused...like she's groping in the dark for the light switch.

I remember well the day I was told I was clinically depressed and needed to get help IMMEDIATELY. It felt like playing monopoly..."Do not pass 'go', do not collect $200, go straight to jail!" There was nothing nice in it, and I did not know where to turn for help. Yet, help was the very thing I knew that I did need. I did not feel I could turn to the church we were then attending... was afraid to go and get help from outside the church (what kind of new-age 'stuff' would they try to make me swallow)... didn't have any money to be able to pay them, anyway. I turned to the best source of all. I got step #1 right and He's led the journey from there just one step at a time.

It would be a book given to us, a TV documentary, a sermon at church. A conversation with someone who had no idea of what gift they were giving me, or a series of seemingly inconsequential events that triggered something for me. It was the patience of Job displayed in my darling as he tried desperately to understand the tangled mess of beliefs inside my head, then help me see things from a different perspective. Sometimes he succeeded... other times he failed miserably, or rather, I failed to get it. But he loved me anyway, and God helped me get it some other way.

God knows exactly the right tools to use...not too small, not too big, but just right for this moment on your journey. He's the master gardener. If you plant yourself in Him, ask Him to feed and water you. Let Him be your guide. After all, He knows you even better than you do! With that kind of knowledge, you are bound to flourish!

~~~~~

"1000 Gifts"...

#88 Being woken in the morning for a great photo opportunity
#89 Friends online
#90 A cloudy day
#91 Shade under the tamarillo tree as I weed
#92 Peace
#93 A son voluntarily taking out the trash

3 GIFTS IN FABRIC

Unhurried  shopping with three generations ... enjoying the beauty of pretty things ... visiting shops for each other that we might not normally venture into ... chatting about this and that as we meander ... admiring creativity in each other ... delighting in bargains found ...

Home again, we interrupted the 'boys' afternoon with delighted cries of "Look what I found".  They all stopped to listen as we each showed off what we'd purchased. They admired... pleased that their girls had had fun ... pleased that we were happy with our finds ... quietly pleased that they had been able to stay home.

Cutting off labels...

I rubbed my hands over my new blanket... 100% cotton. I have lots of woolen blankets in the linen closet, but I now live in the tropics. Woolen blankets are way too warm, yet in the evening I often want to keep the cooler night air away. God knows... and cares. It had been a bargain at less than half price and exactly the colour I was after. I laid it over the arm of the couch ready for the evening.

Wriggling my toes, I savoured the fluffy slippers. Cotton again, rather than the wool I had grown up with. Perfect for here. I'd been disappointed that the slipper sale had not had much left in my size. I'd wondered about settling for a pair I didn't really like... tried to convince myself that they are only slippers, but, instead had decided to wait until I found something I really liked. As I'd walked away I felt Him tell me to look in the children's section. I've learnt to recognise His voice, but can't say I was convinced. Shame on me for not having more faith in His desire to bless me, for right in the front of the little kid's slippers was a large pair ... just my size ... and I liked them. God knows... and cares.

       
Finally, I folded away a new bra. Ahhhh, the joys of middle age... the changes of each new season. He knows exactly what I need TODAY. He knows just how to support me.

Changing countries, changing climates, changing seasons...
3 gifts in fabric
God knows... and cares!


I am grateful.

3 GIFTS THAT ARE DIFFICULT

We awoke to yet another blue cloudless sky in the winter tropics... one of the perks of living in this corner of the world. My darling and the older kids had gone to work. The younger kids had started their school work. A loaf of bread was baking. Morning routine was busy, but normal. Soon my parents, who are up visiting, would be arriving probably armed with a delicious assortment of iced buns and sweet treats. Time to get the kettle on...we don't see them often and I wanted to enjoy every minute of our precious time together.
Ring! Ring! ... a referred client in great pain. " Sure, I'll be right there".
Not too much later I'm in the car driving to her home, when I became aware of that 'overwhelmed' feeling beginning to rise within me. I love my job, but this morning I really wanted to enjoy time with family.
And then I heard Him speak from the deep place..."Do you trust me?"
I knew the answer. Many years have passed of continuous lessons in this class. His patient hand has brought me far  on this journey. "Yes, Lord. I trust you."
"Then dance with Me."

Oh, yes, I want that! I know instinctively that more lessons are ensuing, but I want it.

I choose to trust. I stop thinking of what I am missing and tell myself to give myself 100% to my new client. Soon I am absorbed in relieving her pain. I am grateful.

On completion I make my way home. A beautiful blue hue is still overhead. Family happily wiles away the afternoon until everyone is laughing and telling tales around the dinner table. Thinking we'd finished I am surprised when everyone starts bustling about. What's going on? Big lavish cake, presents...

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you..."

It's not quite my birthday yet, but they'd organised it as a surprise in my absence this morning. More laughing. Photos. Time with the family I love.

Is this what dancing feels like?



3 Gifts difficult...? I look back on the day and muse on how things I once found difficult are no longer such an obstacle when I choose to trust His lead.


with grateful thanks Loma Photography©

Joy Dare

JOY...I want it! I've yearned for it, struggled for it, felt it's elusiveness...

As I've exhausted each place I think it might be, I find I've been on a journey back to His feet.
Joy is found in Him!!!

He gives me so many gifts...My Daddy has made me a special, 'just-for-me' treasure hunt each and every day.

 A wagtail making the most of the garden sprinkler













with grateful thanks to Loma Photography ©

A fun game of volleyball over the passionfruit vine with friends

with grateful thanks to Loma Photography ©

 The joy of giving and receiving gifts









with grateful thanks to Loma Photography ©