More of Psalm 23 book

The top two pages have cut-outs that allow each side to show through. I'm already thinking that cut-outs are a pain in the neck! However, I am pushing on with them and hoping that the pages don't look too samey when they some of the same elements.

recycling

I like to make my own journals. I also like ones that are not standard sizes and have a decent number of pages in them. This is my latest. It is 11½ x 8½ x 4in and covered using an old denim jacket. I liked using the jacket because it has allowed me to put a pocket on the front, one on the back, and utilise the buttons as a closure. Also I don't like to let anything go to waste. 

speaks for itself

Jewish proverb. 'Nuff said.

Look at these great pianola rolls that my thoughtful hubby picked up for me to play with. Now, which idea to go with....

sowing and reaping

How often do you think to yourself, 'I wish I was thinner/healthier/had a different job' etc. Too often we want the fruit without having to sow the seed.

If you want to grow something, you first have to plant it. But that's not the end - you have to cultivate it as well. That's what takes the time. As my husband pointed out in  his sermon on Sunday, you can't go into your garden and pick an apple if there is no apple tree planted there.

Lots of us would like  to be more patient, but it doesn't happen overnight. You become more patient by cultivating patience - by actually just doing it. Yes, we'd all like to wave a magic wand and become saintly in an instant, but that's not how it works. We build muscles by using them.

We grow virtues by practising them.

We need to plant the right seeds.

playing...

Have been playing with my new Copic markers. I like this Magenta stamp - it has so many colourway possibilities. Here are a few I tried out: 

holy journey

Sometimes you get to journey the furthest by sitting still.

For a while now it felt like I was resting, waiting, sitting still. Now I find that I have actually been on a long journey.

A spiritual journey.

An internal journey.

By sitting still and waiting, not rushing into all sorts of things that I could be doing, an internal fear has been smashed and I have moved forward.

Are you taking time to sit still?

blossoming

Have you ever avoided doing something that you know you should do? I'm not talking about general procrastination, but those things that are a bit scary but that you know will help you move forward, learn, develop, whatever. 

As Anais Nin said:

...and the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom...

Sometimes resisting the thing we know we should do causes more damage than facing the pain or fear of just doing it. It stops us from moving forward; from blossoming.

This is often the case when we need to forgive someone. The more we hold on to the hurt, the more hurt we become. I like to think about it as holding on to barbed wire: if we would just let it go, the pain would stop and the wound would heal.

Where do you need to blossom?

all made of the same stuff

An old Yiddish proverb:

Everyone is kneaded from the same dough but not baked in the same oven.

This is a good thing to remember, especially when entering a new relationship. Not everyone does things in the same way. Just because your family always puts the salt and pepper pots back in the cupboard at the end of the meal does not make that the 'right' way to do things. Leaving them on the table is equally valid. I don't even want to mention the 'squeezing toothpaste from the end or middle' debate...

We are all different in our habits because of upbringing and environment. But we are all made of the same stuff. Focussing on our 'sameness' is a lot healthier than getting annoyed at our differences.

So when you meet that person you find irritating today, just remember that they are made of the same stuff as you - they love, they feel pain, and they feel joy just like you do. Make sure you build them up in a way that speaks to them...

    ...which is not necessarily what would work for you.

Happiness is...

Came to this pre-prepped page in one of my journals today. What is happiness to you? I found that most of the things that make me happy are intangible. 

For me, happiness is

     spending time with my family

     a blank page waiting to be decorated

     a flock of lorikeets flying noisily overhead

These are all things that lift my heart.

This lifted my heart this week, too:

My wonderful husband bought me something that I would never have bought for myself. Now I'm looking forward to playing. Watch this space for some of my experiments...

community

I've been thinking a lot about community over the last year. We are all part of many different communities - where you live, where you go to church (if you do), people who share the same pastimes, the school community, etc. We have connections to lots of different people for lots of different reasons.

Last Sunday we had a joint service at church with our Sudanese congregation. It was fun to share together and learn a bit more about each other and find that, despite our obvious differences, we share a common faith that draws us into community together. We also discovered connections that we didn't know existed. A sort of 'six degrees' of the church. And although we don't always speak the same language - my Dinka is non-existent - we all laughed at the same things.

Our connections are important. Through them we become part of a network, meeting people we wouldn't necessarily meet in our normal sphere of life, striking up new friendships and thus having our lives enriched.

Who will you connect with this week?