Taking a break

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, we had a nice day. I love going to church on Christmas morning and being reminded of the amazing gift we have been given in the birth of Jesus and the glorious hope that we have.

Anyway, I'm taking a break from blogging for a few weeks - but I'll be back with lots of photos and updates!

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of your works.

Psalm 73:28

Our Story

I haven't been blogging long, but one of the things that impressed me most about blogging is the way in which it can be an encouragement to others. It really does bridge the gap of distance and makes this world seem closer. I know from my point of view I have been encouraged, simply from reading about other people's stories, many similar in ways to mine.

I am married to a wonderful godly man who is incredibly patient and loving towards me. We have known each other for eleven years and have been married for four and a half of those years. God has been very kind in blessing me with such an amazing husband. We've always wanted to have a family of our own - growing up I always wanted to have four children, two boys and two girls. I still like the idea of four kids, but we'll see what God's plan is for us!

We started trying for a family last year around October. I found out I was pregnant at the end of November, which was quite quick - we were envisioning it to take longer. So, needless to say, we were very excited. A few weeks later, after several visits to the doctor and some less than comfortable tests, we realised that I had had a miscarriage. Someone said once, "miscarriage is not for the faint hearted," and boy can I relate to that. I would never have thought that there would be such grief related to losing a baby that I only "knew" for a couple of weeks.

A few months later, we found out that we were pregnant again! Again, we were overjoyed at the prospect of becoming parents. I was feeling fine, but in my seventh week, I miscarried again. The rollercoaster of emotion was pretty tough, feeling the absolute highs of finding out we were pregnant, and experiencing the very lows of losing two precious babies. I am so, so thankful that I know the Lord, and that despite this pain, He really has been my comfort and joy throughout it all. By God's grace, both the miscarriages were early on in the pregnancy, which I am very thankful for.

So, that brings us to now, and we haven't fallen pregnant since. I have been to several doctors, just to check things medically - and I have been given the "all clear". Everything appears to be working as it should. I am obviously pleased and thankful for that, but still, each month brings its own sadness when we find out that I'm not pregnant. The specialist that I saw about four weeks ago said (in quite a blunt way - but I was appreciative of him getting to the point so quickly!) that the second pregnancy was "doomed from the start" because it was so close to the first miscarriage. He said that often your body needs longer to recooperate fully.

I am so thankful for reading many other's stories about their path to having children. You never want other people to suffer, but it is encouraging to know that I'm not alone in my feelings or experiences. I know that there are many, many others whose stories are so much more difficult than mine, and my heart goes out to you.

So, it has been a difficult 14 months, in many ways. Some days I will get sad at the smallest thing. I seem to notice babies and families a lot more. The majority of my closest friends are pregnant or have had babies. And our church has had a real baby boom the last year, so although that has been wonderful, it is quite confronting when you are bombarded by mothers and babies when you walk out of the church hall.

Another difficult thing has been getting through the arrival dates of our two babies. July 30 and October 4 were a little sad, particularly because I didn't have another date in mind (I wasn't pregnant again).

Despite this, my husband and I can say we are thankful to our Heavenly Father, who knows best. It may sound strange, but it has been a privilege to go through these trials, because through it, it has made us rely on God more and understand his faithfulness to us on a greater level. It has made me realise that I need him more each and every minute of every day. It is only by his strength that we have been able to keep going. I think also that we have learnt to not take this amazing gift of having children lightly or for granted. My husband keeps saying to me, "Jess, it will be worth the wait."

I hope and pray that we may fall pregnant again soon and that I can carry a baby to full term. I am so thankful for people like Kelly and her story, and her concern for others. She started a prayer blog for women who are waiting for children of their own. I'm thankful for having friends and family who are praying for us - you really cannot show greater kindness than that.

Now, this is a very long post - but I want to quickly say, that I chose my blog's title for a reason - I am learning day by day that true joy comes from knowing and following Jesus. Through my life, my experiences, my trials, I hope to give God the glory. I fail on most occasions, but giving God the glory is my goal, and it is my aim as we start a new year. I love the hymn, "Take My Life and Let it Be". The words are so beautiful. I hope they encourage and inspire you, as they have me. Thanks for listening.

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

New hairdo!

Well, I had my hair done yesterday and it is a coppery brown colour. It is the darkest I've ever been. I quite like it - nice for a change. I think it is taking my husband a while to get used to it, he has only known me as a blonde!

Anyway, I've had a successful weekend of Christmas baking, a raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake, mini oreo baked cheesecakes and chocolate caramel slice - yummo! We had an early Christmas dinner with my husband's extended family tonight. It was at his cousin's place and they have their own woodfired pizza oven outside, so we put on our own toppings and cooked them all up. Delicious.

A new look!

Do you like my new photo and look of my blog? I decided it was time for a change. We are in summer in Australia and our Christmases are hot, not snowy. We go to the beach a lot, and have lots of barbecues outside. So, I thought it was fitting to make my blog look a little more like what we are used to now! I took the photo in my header in January this year when we were on holidays - this is in my state - isn't it magnificent?! My husband is on the very left and the rest of the people are friends of ours we went away with.

I'm having a bit of a change tomorrow too - I'm getting my hair done a bit differently. I've been blonde all my life, but I'm going to go slightly darker - not much - but a little. Hopefully it will look ok!

Today, I'm going to do some Christmas baking - the first thing on the list is a Raspberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake for a dinner tomorrow night - yum!

Friends

I just got home from my work Christmas lunch, it is our annual event that wraps up the year before a long holiday. I am so privileged to work with so many wonderful people. We shared a lovely meal and laughed about many funny things that have happened throughout the year. They organise humorous awards that get given to people for funny things they've said or done during the year.

So, I'm officially on holidays - and to be honest - it feels a little weird. Great, but weird. Another year is (almost) over and in a couple of weeks we will begin a new one. How time flies!

I just want to remind myself of how God has been good this year, how fortunate I am to be where I am right now - not looking behind me, and not worrying about the future, but being thankful and content now, this very moment. My work colleauges, who are my dear friends have been such a joy to me this year.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?" Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

Motivate me Monday

The last week has been a really busy one for me. Fortunately, it seems to be slowing down a little, before it starts to pick up again just before Christmas. It's funny how we can make ourselves so busy with "things" at Christmastime, when the true meaning of Christmas is to appreciate and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I'm speaking for myself when I say that my focus hasn't been on him quite as much as it should be. I want to make sure that I prepare my heart in the lead up to Christmas, so that I don't go through the 25th December, enjoying friends and family, opening presents, eating delicious food and that's it. Oh, how careful we must be to avoid that happening!

In regard to my devotions lately, I have been reading the book of Leviticus (in a read through the Bible plan). I've struggled a little, not wanting to skim over it or skip it altogether, because it is in the Bible for a reason, and it is the word of God. But it has shown me that at times when we struggle with our learning and understanding of scripture - not to give up, and also, to not be afraid to read other books of the Bible or to do things differently. Kristin Chesemore from Girltalk says of her dad, CJ Mahaney: "Growing up, Dad always encouraged us that the goal of the spiritual disciplines is to "make your soul happy in God" and to preach the gospel to yourself--not to finish a book. He wanted to make sure we didn't feel obligated to complete a book we had begun if it was not feeding our soul." I thought this was great advice. Now, in saying this, I intend to keep reading Leviticus, but I'm going to read other sections to keep my "soul happy in God" at the same time. I don't want to be discouraged or disheartened and give up my devotions because I'm stuck in a bit of a rut. I shouldn't really be surprised that we can find opposition to spending time with God in so many different ways, including this. I really liked this quote by John Owen.

"There is no duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater its enmity to it. Thus those who seek most for God experience the strongest opposition.”
John Owen, Sin and Temptation, edited by James Houston (Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House Publications, 1996), 18.

I experience opposition in many different forms - but I'm determined to "throw off the sin, that so easily entangles" and seek the Lord. I hope you'll join me.

To read more posts for Motivate Me Monday, visit Sarah Mae's blog.

What a week it has been!

Well, this week has been a busy one - no time for blogging. Today I enjoyed a bit of a sleep in and then when out for breakfast with my husband. It was a very nice morning.

Today I finished off a present for my 10 month old niece. I have made a sign to hang on her wall in her bedroom for Christmas. I bought a canvas, covered it with a pink and light green fabric , painted it with mod podge and then painted her name on it. I'm not sure whether to paint a flower on it aswell.

I also offered to make her a dress for Christmas day. Because it is summer here, it should be nice and cool for her. I'll make sure I take a photo of her in it.

Anyway, I'm off to finish watching a Christmas movie on TV. Have a great weekend.

Everyday Unwrapped

Emily, over at chatting at the sky has been talking about treasuring the everyday moments, particularly as we, "...celebrate what is, while anticipating what is to come." I know I have been insanely busy the last couple of weeks and my to do list is only increasing as we approach Christmas and New Year. It is easy to get hung up in the rush, and not really appreciate the small things. Here are a few photos that explain my week, and why I really should acknowledge the little everyday things, and be appreciative. Thanks for the reminder Emily!

Lots of exam papers to mark....but thankful for being a teacher to so many great students

A lovely husband who stayed up until 11.30pm making gingerbread with me on Monday night

So many ideas and unfinished projects, but lots of loved ones to make things for

Spending time putting Christmas decorations up and talking to my husband about the year that was on December 1st

Stopping and looking at the little things and appreciating how well my mother knows me to buy me this decoration!


Trying to remember how quickly this goes, and not to rush things but to know that to everything there is a season.

Cherishing a family

Knowing that despite all things, I can find rest here.

Christmas tags & the giveaway winner...

Yesterday I spent an hour making little gift tags for our Christmas presents. I cut out bauble shapes from white card (I just traced around a glass and added the top part) and then using my trusty Cuttlebug and alphabet, I cut out initials. One of the letters I raised. I'll punch a hole in the top and thread them through ribbon and attach to the presents.

And, the winner of my first giveaway goes to (drum roll)......JULIE!! Congratulations Julie, your name was drawn out of the hat! Please email me your address at: choosingtofollow@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who participated and stay tuned, I'll do another one of these later on.

Family photo

This morning we had a family photo with my husband's family, mainly for a surprise for his grandmother for Christmas. We decided to all wear jeans and a white shirt - I think it turned out quite well. We had over 50 photos taken. It was quite difficult getting the little ones to always look at the camera. I'm third from the left.

My first giveaway!

A couple of weeks ago I sent Lindsey a little gift pack of things from Australia (where I live). See this post if you want more details. I'm so glad you liked it Lindsey - I had so much fun putting it together. And I was pretty sure you would like the Donna Hay Kids' issue magazine - isn't it great?! Unfortunately, they only do one a year.

(photo from Lindsey's blog)

But, because Lindsey loved this magazine (apparently it is a little like Martha Stewart Kids magazine) I thought I would do a little giveaway. So, if any of you would be interested in winning a copy of this beautiful magazine, leave a comment explaining why you want to win and I'll announce the winner on Monday next week. [And because I'm quite new to this blogging world....your chances of winning are probably better, because I'm sure there aren't that many readers! :)]

The Gingerbread House Event

Well last night I had eight friends over - with one main aim - to decorate gingerbread houses. It was such a fun night, we ate as we decorated, we laughed (and almost cried when Hayley's house collapsed!) They all left with beautifully decorated and wrapped houses. Everyone loved their aprons, I think they turned out quite nicely! All in all, a great night, I highly recommend organising one. I intend to do the same next year.

The construction site

Oh no! Hayley's collapsed - she used a different recipe and it turned out a little heavy!

My creation - I made a small one

See the aprons - each had a Christmas fabric frill at the bottom

The wrapping station (we're renovating, hence the patches on the wall & ceiling)

Aren't they beautiful?!

Two little houses, don't you just love the roof tiles?!

Works in progress...

That's my pink and yellow house at the bottom

My friend Camille, posing with her creation

Photos

I love these photos so much. They were taken a couple of years ago - we were attempting (poor attempt I know - they are lousy quality - I think there was something wrong with the camera) to get a "nice" photo to frame for some family members for Christmas.

Regardless of their poor quality I love them because they seem to capture something more real. Have you ever taken a photo that was technically bad but you love it anyway?

By the way, we have since bought a new camera....a nice digital SLR, no blurry photos anymore. :)

The Gingerbread Construction Party is on its way!

Well ladies, the gingerbread is made, the aprons are finished, the Christmas tree is up, the new tablecloth is made and put on the table and only 7 hours to go until we start decorating those delicious little houses. Stay tuned for some photos!

Motivate me Monday

I'm continually amazed at the treasures that we have in the Bible. How encouraging it is - my aim is to memorize many of these verses - how helpful they are in times of trouble and anxiety - both for us and those around us.

May you be

JOYFUL

as you read this beautiful verse from Lamentations. (Click to enlarge & yes I took the photo!)

I've found it helpful (and humbling) to realise that my need for God is each and every day. I can't expect to read my Bible and pray lots one day and feel like that should "last me" the week. What a joy it is to get to know our Lord each morning! And to know that regardless of our efforts, his grace is sufficient.