Category: 366 days of novice motherhood

Place: My desk

Poison: Green Rose Tea

Favourite Things: New discoveries

This video  which is all about small gatherings of people completely inspired me today.

kinfolk dinners

It made me think of my kinfolk. The people who I would give my hours too, without even contemplating a second thought.

Those moments we have shared beyond weddings and special events. The everyday dinner that inspires one another with our stories.

Who are your kinfolk?

Who could you share anything with?

When was the last time you went to a lot of effort to create a space for stories to be revealed?

Now I wish our house was bigger or I had a random uncle with a barn…

Take time to plan a kinfolk gathering sometime soon.

A

Place: Office

Poison: Flat White

Favorite Things: Cold enough for a hoodie

This week we went and did a big shop on Monday at a grower direct market. We filled our fridge with fruit, vegetables and meat. It was so much cheaper to go to the grower directly but also it means our week has been so much healthier because our fridge is stocked with fresh options.

We live in a society that is obsessed with consuming. Quick consumption at that. It needs to be cheap and fast. If we drive along one main artery and just count the fast food outlets you would be shocked. Often there are Mac donalds kilometre after kilometre.

I may feel quickly full when I go through a drive through, but I feel overwhelmingly satisfied when I go and pick herbs and vegetables out of my own garden.

I think we were created by a creator to be a producer rather than a consumer. When we produce something it brings deep satisfaction because it reflects a Creative God, who begins the bible with seven days of creation. He is a producer of new and fresh opportunities.

When we create new businesses, when we create new clothing, when we create something from scratch, it is deeply fulfilling.

When was the last time you made something from nothing?

A cupcake, a meal, some bread, some clothes, a scarf, a painting, a shed… the list is endless. We don’t need to be super creative to have a go. We just have to be willing to fail.

Pride often stops us from producing and we fall into the land of consumption.

We are defined by what we create, not by what we use…

What is defining you in this season?

A

Place: home

Poison: water

Favourite Things: memories of yesterday

As I reflect on yesterday I am still basking in its glow.

Why?

After years of waiting, a dream was realized.

One of the hardest parts of my journey towards mummy hood and marriage was waiting in expectation and not allowing disappointment to break my stride.

The greatest hurdle was patience. Waiting in peace for the prize.

How do we wait with patience?

From the little things, like waiting in a queue at the shopping centre, to the big opportunities in life like that car you’ve always wanted, a partner to share your life with or that book you’ve longed to publish.

How?

I’m not sure I have it down, but the bible speaks about patience being a fruit of the spirit. It grows as our relationship with the spirit grows.

Patience grows when we humble ourselves and prefer others first.

Patience grows when we silence our inner critic and be quiet in times when we want to scream, whine and whinge.

Patience grows when we listen, patience grows when we breath deeply in times of deep frustration.

Patience grows.

It’s not something that just arrives in our lap.

It grows.

In a society that thrives on the immediate, patience is not encouraged often, however in the land of the spirit patience is a language that promotes growth, character and resilience.

As noble as patience is, it bloody hurts!

Deep breath

A

Place: My desk

Poison: Cordial

Favorite Things: My mothers day dressing gown

Many shrink back from dreaming, often afraid of failure. Dreaming about a family, being a mother was one I was lost in regularly.

I dreamt about being a mother and then I chided myself for even having the audacity to dream.

It hurt my heart to dream. I was told for a long time I would never have children.

Isaiah 54 says ‘Enlarge your tent, Spread out your house and spare no expense. For you will be soon bursting at the seams. Fear not you will no longer live in shame’ I read these words and I wondered whether God could actually come good on his promise.

Today I am seeing a dream realised. I feel more excited today than any other. I am not in the haze of drugs and pain, like the day of Max’s birth. Today I am revelling in the dream that has been realised.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but I believe that hopes realised make the heart sing.

If you have hopes that you have dreamed of yet they tarry, then let hope arise.

I was told it would be difficult to conceive. In fact, year after year I thought I would never be a mummy. But today is a day of victory.

Mothers day was always difficult. It felt so awkward celebrating the thing I desired so deeply.

I smiled and tried to celebrate others. How can you be happy for others though, when you are insanely jealous of them?

Hope deferred does make the heart sick, it fills it with bitterness, jealously and envy. Allowing times of reflection and prayer to wash away these feelings and decisions is the best way to combat these overwhelming emotions.

Today is a dream realised for me.

My prayer is that you would find faith and comfort from this, not further pain.

Dream again if your heart has died a little.

You never know what tomorrow may bring.

A