Posted on August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

Oct 17 | Gather + Grow: Homemade Christmas Ideas

Coffee, Cake and Chats with people just like you…

Gather and Grow is not about industry professionals trying to tell you how good they are and how far you are away from their brilliance. It’s about everyday people having a go and hanging out with those who have just a little more experience than you.

“Look at what you want to change, gather a few people who believe in it like you do, and start moving forward. It’s important to remember that you don’t always need a destination. Sometimes, you just have to make forward motion. And you absolutely can.” Debby Ryan

Two years ago Amanda Viviers released a online Christmas E-book with 30 homemade ideas for Christmas presents. Bring your knitting, your crochet, your love of all things homemade and come and share ideas with other creatives, how to make Christmas just a little more affordable this year.

What: Two hours, hanging with new friends, with coffee, cake and lots of chats.

Who: Ten places only.

When: Saturday October 17 | Gather + Grow : Home Made Christmas Ideas

Book today to come gather and grow.

$25 per person including coffee and gluten free cake/ slice and free download code for one of Amanda’s E-book “30 Merry Days”.

At The Pond Barista:

10/62 Penguin Rd

Safety Bay WA 6169

Book your place today for this gathering by clicking here.

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

Sept 19 | Gather and Grow: Social Media

Coffee, Cake and Chats with people just like you…

“Look at what you want to change, gather a few people who believe in it like you do, and start moving forward. It’s important to remember that you don’t always need a destination. Sometimes, you just have to make forward motion. And you absolutely can.” Debby Ryan

Instagram | Facebook | Social Media Content | and more. Chat with some new friends over coffee and cake, casually helping each other with tips, tricks and tools to grow and pimp your social media skills.

What: Two hours, hanging with new friends, with coffee, cake and lots of chats.

Who: Ten places only.

When: September 19, 1.30pm | Gather + Grow : Social Media

Book today to come gather and grow.

$25 per person including coffee and gluten free cake/ slice and free download code for Capture 30 days of inspiration.

At The Pond Barista:

10/62 Penguin Rd

Safety Bay WA 6169

To book your place for this gathering by click here.

Posted on August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

finding the bigger picture

Have you ever been so immersed in something, that you had no idea how far you had come, only because you forgot to look at the bigger picture?

That is what the in-between can be.

A frustrating place, where you feel like nothing is changing, but when you step back, you have a look, everything is different.

C.S Lewis says it like this;

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different.”

As you wait in a hidden place, it is easy to feel the frustration rise saying “nothing is going to ever change”.

When we embrace the stretch of the in-between, suddenly we realise those dreams have begun to unlock, our hearts have shifted and changed.

Here are the two footnotes to this perspective.

Footnote number one: Embrace the stretch of the season.

If we allow the in-between, the disappointment, the misunderstanding to shrink us, no matter what has happened and what we are hoping for, the journey reduces us. Embrace the stretch my friend. The pain of patience, the wrestle with hope, the humility of letting people see that your faith has not defeated you. Take time to sit uncomfortably in that place of waiting and don’t let it take you out.

Footnote number two: Step back and look for the bigger picture.

I believe there is a bigger picture at play. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, I see that there is a greater work at play that will bring all things together for good. When the frustration takes over, look for those promises that excited you from long ago, chat with a friend that can assure you that things have changed, remind yourself of the dream.

When we step back there is a bigger call at play.

The detail in the in-between can rob us of hope, but keep walking, keep believing and take time to see that there is a greater plan in it all.

I believe my friend.

Even when your hope has been deferred.

Posted on August 20, 2015August 20, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — Leave a comment

gather with those who care…

The world can be a cold and unforgiving place.

Agenda’s thrive, people disappoint, we feel misunderstood, speak a different language and seek to be heard.

If I just post one more post, share one more thought, filter one more image, then maybe someone, anyone might notice.

Last night I gathered with a group of women.

Creative souls who have a penchant to wander.

Women in midst of transitions.

Frustrated, emancipated, unsure, belittled, hopeful, idealistic, creative souls.

Girls who have not given up hope, but the thread is unravelling.

The lonely who need to know there is someone who will listen.

An environment that is not based on competence, but founded in inspiration.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

Brené Brown

Who doesn’t want to live an inspired life?

I know I do, but inspiration leaks.

I start off so focused, then the berry stains on my new cushion trip me up and I give up on the possibility that I will ever do anything of substance again.

We all need our tribe.

We all need people in our lives that we can be completely honest with face to face.

Not through a screen, not through a speaker phone, we need to sit in complete honesty in front of someone who cares.

The kinaesthetic lover inside our souls needs to be touched.

The inspiration factory is awaiting more fuel to tick over once again.

We need each other.

Even if we are afraid to admit it.

I felt a reassurance that the purpose of last night was far beyond the gathering that was present.

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Isaiah 43: 19

Later this year we are running a retreat for creative women looking for an authentic community that will support, collaborate, love and live honestly.

Bloggers, photographers, entrepreneurs, singers, speakers, radio hosts, journalists, painters, writers and list goes on and on.

Last night we gathered to meet and greet, so that the first night of the retreat, is not full of comparison and competition.

It was sublime.

I could hardly sleep when I snuck into the shack after midnight.

Food, creativity, spoken word, honesty, original songs.

The heartfelt conversations whispered to me “welcome home.”

To gather is at the very foundation of our hope for belonging.

Step away from the computer in your in-between and find someone who cares.

Posted on August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 by Amanda Viviers — 1 Comment

finding your song

“A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a homesickness or a love sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to find fulfilment. A complete poem is one where an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”

Robert Frost

Imagine if your life was a poem for one moment.

What words would flood its structure?

What themes parade its page?

In the in-between seasons we can lose our voice because of the ambiguity of the journey. We can feel unsure, we question, we over think and we doubt.

What if we unearth a voice in this ‘season of change’ that we never knew existed?

What if there was a song in your heart, that is desperate to be released and it just needed the space of your season to rise to your throat?

I love Robert’s strength in his thoughts above.

I remember someone amazing saying to me once, “whatever makes you angry Amanda, that is the thing you are called to change”.

What causes your emotion to rise,

A lump in your throat, causing words to spill into your subconscious,

What makes you mad?

Take time today to express that emotion. Draw, write, dream or speak up.

This could be your poem,

This could be your symphony,

It could be your legacy,

your thesis,

your gift to the world.

I am not afraid of my emotions any more, I know they have been gifted to help me communicate that which burdens my soul, but I have learnt to be the master of them.

I have learnt that the way I feel does not determine the theme of my day, it is just a vehicle to express my thoughts and voice, my emotions have become my muse.

Your new could be one expression away.

A release of what is deep within your soul, that you have been do scared to admit to anyone, someone, anything.

Say that dream you have been scared to express before.

Speak out that potential that is deep within your heart.

Let go of the “what if I fail?” and step into the “what was I designed to bring?”

You were created with purpose.

There is a song that only you can sing.

Bring it forth my wandering friend.

Let the poem rise from the depth of your heart.

Start with a whisper and let it develop into a roar.

The in-between is giving you space to find it.

Look for the lump in your throat.

The homesickness calling you home in your heart.

The love that compels you to action.

Your purpose is palpable in this place of expression.

Author: Amanda Viviers