Who will be the winner?

 

Treasures In The Garden

 

What winning means....... when it is applied at home within family life.......

 

If we equate success in business with rewards of riches, power and fame,
 What rewards do we receive for the investment 
of generosity, services, and humility,
turning the other cheek,
loving each other unconditionally,
loving ourselves?
Is our reward "prosperity of spirit"?

Beautiful things take place in our lives
 when we distance ourselves from all that is negative......., 

 

.......and only build on being positive, productive and peaceful.

From little things big things grow!

 

 

 

 

 

Pass It On



A piece of driftwood with depth of character 
 that graces my garden 



 

 

   From My Garden

When I give to others from my heart,
I know that God gives me a refill
from His heart.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.







 Yesterday did  turn out to be a really great day. After My first 2 phonecalls of the day , then a visit from my brother- in -law, I received mail from my sister, whose husband is struggling with his health, to say that his surgery for a stomach aneurysm is happening soon. They have been waiting for such a long time. And another letter from my friend's (who has dementia) husband to say that things have been progressing well and my friend has had no more falls and no more injuries in quite a while and she is talking to him more.

And.... then later in the afternoon, a phonecall from my brother... That too in itself was a reward. He has been struggling with mental illness. I hadn't heard from him in ever so long.  Some wonderful people have come into his life and things are progressing well. I can't believe how well he sounded, even joking. I am hoping and praying that these trends will continue for all of our friends and relatives who I pray for every day. Every small step is another reward for them and for me.

I finished my day  in the garden again. Seems the best way to spend the end of the day. Each little bit I do now, of course, improves my garden, but it also improves my inner self.

So on to today . I am facing this in anticipation of another positive outcome.

I hope you too with be rewarded with extra love in your heart from God for all the good things you do, get, and pass on to others. C

 If I am going to participate in the game of life, I must continue to appreciate every special moment of it.

Those precious Moments



An abundant crop of oranges. A reward
 like this makes gardening well worthwhile.



         From My Garden

Even if happiness forgets me sometimes I never give up .... I keep on keeping on.

I am responsible for making my own happiness.

Happiness is Not having things. It's inner peace, a spiritual glow, a reaching out to others, a love of self, and appreciation of the good things life has to offer.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

To wake up to sunshine today was so uplifting. After a number of overcast, raining and gloomy days, and still suffering a little jet lag, was not very helpful to my spirits. But today is so much brighter. It was nice to get back to church and catch up.

Father John is in Vietnam for 5 weeks and we have been blessed with the prescence of Father Dan, who has such a sunny disposition. He makes any gloomy gospel reading seem bright and encouraging. Today he spoke about the disciples being sent out to preach wearing sandals and only having one tunic- to travel light. aand Father Dan said......" and when the washed their tunics they sat around in their underwear while their tunics dried"...... which made us all think about how difficult it must have been for the preachers to go out to spread God's word.

And afterwards a cuppa and scone and shared conversation with other parishioners we hadn't seen for 5 weeks. A bit of lightheartedness when, after about a half hour, Bob turned up looking a little flustered, saying that he and Father Dan had spent all that time trying to get out of the church. While he and Father Dan had been deep in conversation the church had been locked up with them still inside talking. Naturally everybody thought that was quite hilarious. But Bob wasn't impressed because he had to go back in and fix the door they had broken out of.
 Even going to church can be exciting as well as rewarding.

If I am going to continue to participate in the game of life I am going to need to continue to  appreciate each precious moment and most especially the lighthearted ones............. come join me in finding and appreciating those precious moments. C

Rewards in everyday living

Some mystical creatures who grace my indoor garden.
 A cute gift from my daughter-in-law

       From My Garden

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
 I have 100% of the rest of my life to live.

Some smart employers share both profits and credit with their employees.. This is not always because it is deserved, but because the employer knows it is a way to greater success for a business and for the benefit of encouraging the employee to participate and enjoy the fruits of that success. 

I love my job.

The benefits from working where I work is not only the monetary reward, but the reward of being part of a very successful enterprise. I hear that everywhere I go, when I tell people where I am employed. I am told constantly " that place has a very good reputation". That's so great to be part of something  like that and to know I make a small contribution to it's success in my own unique way.

The other rewards that I reap are:

 that I am much older than all the people who are employed at my place of work, and I am truly grateful that at my age I can still make a contribution to a thriving business;.

my children and grandchildren are a long way away so I am lucky that I work with younger people who are around my children's ages and give me stimulating company as I work; 

 

and of course the nature of my work is with children, so while I don't have my grandchildren in my daily life I can share the joy and excitement and company  of small children as they journey through their lives unaware of the contribution they make to my life;

and the fact that I have other things to contribute to conversation at home other that my garden, housework, my pets, the weather.

So it makes life more exciting to go to a job that rewards me in more ways than with money.

I like the money too. It allows me to travel and get to see my family at least once a year.

So once again the mundane can be exciting if I look at the positives within the eveyday environment of where I live, how I live, why I do what I do, and how I make that all work.

I wish you the joy in finding excitement in the mundane of your everyday life. I know you will find it there if you just look. C.

    

Reaching Out



In door garden



            From My Garden

                   Drop a stone into the water -
                       In a moment it is gone,
                  but there are a hundred ripples
                      circling on, and on, and on.
                
                  Say an unkind word this moment-
                        in a moment it is gone
                   but there are a hundred ripples

circling on, and on, and on.

 Say a word of cheer and splendor -

in a moment it is gone

but there are a hundred ripples

circling on, and on, and on. 

Matters of the heart and soul

At the right hand entrance to my garden

           From My Garden

If I give a portion of my life to helping others, it is good for the health of my body, heart and spirit.

Enjoying the Days

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.


I am neither too little nor am I too much
I do not have to prove myself to anyone.
I am perfect in the eyes of God!


It has been quite a few days since I have blogged. I have spent a few days completing a couple of projects that I have been working on for a while or intended to complete for a long time.
 Now the first one began in September 2010 when we spent a week in Mackay with our son and his wife. We travelled there by train.  Whilst we were there we went op- shopping and second- hand shopping and we found the most beautiful standard lamp base. We couldn't bring it home on the train so our family very kindly babysat it till we could get it home.
Well.... it came home at Easter 2011 when our family came to visit. I went and bought a white lampshade for it. That's the way it stayed until last week when I worked diligently for 2 whole days and got it FINISHED! Hooray! It only took 19 months to get it to completion- and it looks great.





The finished project

My other project was a scarf, but an unusual one. It consisted of 35 knitted chains and joined together to form a double circle to wear round my neck.


It looks like this- only it's purple and bone














I didn't spend much time in my garden except to pick some basil for a salad, and roses and chrysanthemums to put in vases in the house.


Yesterday was a work day, and apart from going to work and doing a bit of housework, I did nothing too exciting. But it was still a great day. The sun was shining and the weather was frosty. We have our fire going to keep us toasty warm at night.
Today I made a chocolate caramel slice to take for our Coffee shoppe at the Art and Craft Exhibition that  begins tomorrow night with an opening night of wine and celebration at the local Cultural Centre. Then the Coffee Shoppe and Art Shoppe will be part of the next 2 days of the exhibition. I have volunteered to prepare and serve the food.for opening night.It's pretty easy stuff. We only have wine and cheese, dips and crackers and finger food.


So, there you have the story of how my last 4 days were spent. I guess one needs to spend time expressing creativity and have some relaxation.

Having a positive attitude helps me to leave the burden of difficulties behind and enlarges prosperity of spirit.

Let joy be in your heart  and go with you as you go, and let it grow within. And.... pass it on. C 

Prosperity of spirit



Autumn has come to my persimmon tree



     From My Garden

      I am a magnet for good experiences.
      Prosperity of spirit is drawn to me.