Growth has to be Intentional

Gardening is therapeutic and full of lessons. Does that word "gardening" make you think of people kneeling on the earth, doing weeding? Or perhaps holding some electric shears and making shapes out of full bushes. Whatever your take on that word is, the same is true - there are lessons to be learned!

Take this pot of mint for instance. Together with a few other herbs, it was gifted by a friend, and came with instructions on the care needed. Needless to say, I have worked to ensure they are followed! Not being green fingered, I didn't want to report any deaths, so I was diligent. I even enlisted my husband in the care! As he is semi-retired, he ended up doing a much better job of making sure they thrive than I ever could. He is even able to cultivate and grow more shoots with the roots.

I am reminded Colossians 2:6,7 “As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built and built up in Him, established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding with thanksgiving”. 

One has to be intentional in growing. And passing on the information. I think they use the fancy word "mentoring" now. 

Painting Parables

Ponder fodder....

As with any project, good preparation helps with the smoothing out of bumps ahead. Doing painting is no different. Before we embarked on our painting, we first had to get rid of the loose, flaky bits. Otherwise they might break off, fall into good paint, create bumps, get stuck on the paintbrush/roller, and essentially "contaminate" and spoil the final work.

This reminds me of how we can desire to do good things... but if we don't look at the old/past, allow God to deal with whatever there is required to prevent us from finishing well, the very thing we seek to avoid will be what will happen - we will not have a good finish.

It's Just a Pencil

It's just a pencil, right? It's just a normal mechanical pencil. It doesn't cost much. It's just the run of the mill kind.

So why am I posting about it?

Well, at a meeting a few weeks ago, this pencil, my pencil was sitting at my desk. Someone asked to borrow it for the duration of the meeting. At the end of the meeting, as everyone rushed off, the pencil was forgotten. I shrugged off the loss - I don't expect to have things returned when I lend them out.

The next day however, EJ the Borrower looked for me. He apologised and said that he would return it. Not expecting much, I replied that it was all right, and walked on. The incident totally forgotten. Another mechanical pencil took the space vacated.

TWO WEEKS later, lo and behold, EJ came up to me at another meeting. My raised eyebrows spoke volumes. He smiled and extended his hand to me.

In it lay my mechanical pencil, a promise kept.

Thank you EJ. Integrity is your middle name.

In Hard Times

Spent some time in the grounds of where I work because we needed to take some photos of staff. This caught my eye. A lovely flower on the rocky ground. Spoke to me how in the midst of hardness, softness and beauty stands out. In the midst of difficult situations, God's grace and mercy is in total contrast. So wonderful are You O Lord. What delight You bring in the rocky parts of our my life. Thank You!

The Flip Side of Criticism

I am thinking ahead to my parent's wedding anniversary in a few months' time. They would have been married for half a century!

This reminds me of a story.

A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praise you for a successful marriage. Please share your secret"

The father-in-law answered with a smile, "Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."

If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

A Little Low

Hubby is sick. He's been fighting a bug for a few days. Now he's losing his voice and sleeping a lot.

Worse, my throat feels rotten and my head is heavy even as I type this.

More bad news. Tomorrow is Chinese New Year eve. We have friends coming for dinner for the customary New Year Eve "family gathering". Dinner menu is split half way and for our contribution, amongst other dishes, Hubby is supposed to do his famous crispy skin pork.

What's more, I have a batch of cupcakes to bake and ice because my children want to invite friends over. I'm glad that I managed to get two batches baked and iced for the neighbours earlier!

When Hubby gets ill, which is not very often, he doesn't complain. He gets silent and matter of fact. When he takes to his bed, you know he is in need of rest. None of this moan and groan stuff.

Earlier I tucked him in bed with some hot tea in a flask. Later I gave him some chicken soup. Now he's sleeping again.

I think we'll call it an early night....

It's More Blessed to Give ....

In case you didnt know, a piece of my work was plagiarized recently. At that time, I wanted the whole world to know about it! So I was shooting off emails to friends to complain and solicit support. I was furiously pounding on the keyboard, having my say in chatboxes. I had a sore shoulder and elbow at the end of all that!

Then I came across a fun international event where we make friends and give away something as we do so. We go to each other's sites and by commenting there, we automatically get entered into a draw for whatever prize(s) is(are) going. Some of the prizes are pretty cool! I wonder how they will ship to Malaysia if I win...

Anyway, I decided to join this! So I decided to give away two things, both purchases from my Thailand trip. This super handmade purse is one. I intend to put some surprises in there for the winner. In fact, I have some in mind already!
This is the other. Don't you love the colours? It's a classy silk his-and-her set... well, it could be her-and-her too. The purple case is for lipstick. The other is for keys.
So I decided that since it was better to give than to receive, I would give away these goodies and make some friends along the way. The results will be released on Feb 12. Hmmm I suppose it depends on which time zone you are in!

Well, if you decide to check this event out, click on the button below. Check my entries out - I'm numbers 322 and 326 on Lisa's Gypsy Caravan List. Who knows? You might want to take part too....

In the Dark

The lights were out. Our dinner was potentially spoilt (See The Hinge!)

As I got the candles out, Arrow #3 had to do her homework in the semi-darkness.

A short while later, she rushed to me and asked, "Mommy, may I have the camera please?"

As I passed it to her, I asked her if she had finished her homework. Yes was her reply. That's why she was asking me for the camera.

So I asked her what her subject was. It was, after all, very dark to be shooting images with my little camera. Or so I thought.

She said, "Oh, some thing", non-commitedly, as youths often do.

Pointing the camera to a candle nearby, I heard a soft click, which was followed by a squeal, "Oh, it's so nice!" Out of the corner of my eye, I dimly made out her figure as she jumped up and down in delight.

Then she ran upstairs.

Later, I saw the results of her work.

Who would have thought my little camera could do this?
Impressed though I was of her photography skills, I was far more touched by her irrepressible personality.

Despite the darkness and heat, and having to do her work in not-so-nice conditions, she didn't grumble. Nor did she kick up a fuss. Instead, she made the most of the situation and carried on!

That's a lesson we could all learn - never be put down by circumstances around us. Instead, we should be showing the example, like lights in the darkness around us. Especially in these not-so-easy times.