The Factory...

Would you describe yourself as productive?

How about industrial? What about as ‘a machine’…or even dare I say it…A Factory?

Ok, ok, I know most of you are probably humble people who take a lot in their stride and are having a laugh at these descriptions…especially if you’re an Aussie chick in my neighbourhood J

I tell you, I am so blessed to know MANY hardworking multi-talented and humble Mums…but I also know that this is NOT common just here in Australia!

Mother: Nurturer, Confidant, Encourager, Nurse, Cleaner, Chef, Gardener, Tutor, Chauffer, Security Guard, Vet, Hostess, Fashion designer, Event Planner/Co-ordinator, Personal Assistant, Singer, Actor, Referee, Nutritionist, Interior Decorator, Personal Trainer, Peace Maker, Artist…

 

I hope this list makes you smile…but in all seriousness, although a mother may not always deliver, in the above roles, a professional standard, she sure does do all of them, plus more! 

AND this short list doesn’t even include many other possibilities when roles like sister, daughter, and wife are considered…

So here I am in my humble home…not feeling 100% today…tired with the beginnings of a sore throat…and to be honest feeling like an old factory that is in need of a slight rejuvenation…now you know where some of this blog has come from J

But today is definitely not the first time I’ve felt like this and I know it won’t be the last…but would I have things differently?  I’m sure you’d guess right by replying…NO!

Day in, day out, we pump away at so many different tasks…

I just had a birthday party for my son on Saturday…now let me tell you what this involved J

First I was the party planner, invites had to go out, house had to be cleaned and outside had to be prepped…

Then I was the personal assistant/chef; I had to shop for all the necessary food and drink and then bake upon request a ‘Superman’ cake.

At the last moment my son came out ‘dressed’ as Clark Kent, requesting glasses to accompany his ‘costume’, so then yes I was instant costume designer, and of course the happy, bubbly slightly exhausted hostess J  And this was just one task…a birthday party!  Oh yes, there was also the party games co-ordinator role and waitressing…

Clark Kent on Saturday

 

Sometimes I feel like a processing plant…constantly organising all the stuff that infiltrates our home!  

And then, like today I reflect upon my life as a mother and  although I feel exhausted and drained, I know that I’m not done or ready to stop, as I have oil for my plant that is good, clean and unlimited! Jesus!

Someday my prince will come...

I was born in 1977, a true ‘Aussie’…by that expression I mean that I have no real claim to any other country or heritage.  I was born in Geelong, Victoria and have a very mixed white heritage.  Another term which I could use would be ‘mongrel’…please don’t be offended by this (especially if you’re not Australian, as you may be confused as to why someone would compare themselves to a dog)…I’m not really doing this ~ it’s Aussie slang...in Australia where I’m from it’s ok for an Aussie to call themselves a ‘mongrel’…but someone else better not say it…if you get my drift J

I was my mother’s ‘baby’ for seven years until my little brother was born.

Mum enjoyed our close mother/daughter relationship as did I.

I was truly nurtured by my mother as a young girl…I did have a good early childhood…but I will admit that I did live in a bit of a fantasy world…

Imagination is fine…day-dreaming is fine too…but I think when the fantasy becomes the pursuit then there’s a problem…

Western society in general I think has gone overboard with encouraging the fantastical!

Before I go further, I need to clarify that this post is about my ideas…if you get offended…well ok…but seriously, I’d love for you to share any of your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom…we learn from sharing J

I can remember the first time I was taken to the ‘movies’.  My grandfather shouted me when he came to visit and I’m sure it was to a Walt Disney movie. I have nothing against Walt Disney or movies as such…but I did grow up watching a lot of fantasy based movies.  I was bought endless Barbie dolls and I was lovingly told by people how one day I was going to be a wonderful wife or even maybe somebody famous!  In many ways I was a pampered princess.

Well what’s wrong with that, you may ask?

I’m not saying that a bit of this is not ok…what I think the problem is, is that the pendulum has swung too far in this direction…should this idea surprise us?  I think not.  We all know what people are like when they get onto a good thing…they over indulge!!

There is nothing wrong with children being encouraged to use their imagination…but where is the balance between this, and reality?  It seems like Walt Disney and the like, have replaced moral teaching in the majority of homes…I mean let’s be honest, how much easier is it to put on a moral based movie to quieten down the kids, instead of getting alongside them and being proactive in their influences?

How many young adults do you know today who expect the world to hand them everything on a platter?  How many people leave marriages today, because their marriage doesn’t fulfil their expectations?

How many young women have replaced ‘Walt Disney’ and ‘Barbie dolls’ with influences like ‘Sex in the City’?

How does the young man cope with work place politics when all he really desires deep down is to be the courageous fire-fighter?  How does he feel, when he compares himself to his internal ideal of prince charming…who by the way definitely is no longer married to the mild Sleeping Beauty? 

What does he do when the monotonous job, tired wife and three demanding children are the reality he did not expect?

What foundation does the woman have, who has placed all her trust in a man or girlfriends to fulfil her needs?  What does she do when she becomes a single mother? What does she do when her best-friend-for-life becomes terminally ill? 

Reality is hard…

Children raised without the true knowledge of Jesus Christ are not equipped.

Human knowledge fails.

Jesus Christ is the only true firm foundation for life in our world.

When everything else around you crumbles…and it does…He is the anchor!

I’ve learnt to replace the lie of ‘Someday my prince will come’ with the truth ‘Jesus Christ the Saviour of the World has come and He is the only way to the Father and life.’

But You love me anyway...

I must admit that I'm crazy about Christian music....I love how it can connect me with God!

As I sing my heart out to the Lord in worship, I am satisfied in a most wonderful way :)

As for my all-time favourite song or hymn I'm afraid that for me, this is too hard.

However with a recent 'Christian bloggers' challenge to blog about your favourite Christian song one has come to mind, which I feel I should share...

It's called 'You love me anyway' By an American group called Sidewalk Prophets.

So much of this song is meaningful to me it's almost like some of it is my story...

You see I had a relationship with Jesus as a girl, which I deliberately walked away from.

I did so many wrong things in my life, time and time again yet He did not abandon me

He did not change and in His love and patience, He waited for me!

Oh how undeserving of His love am I…yet He loves me anyway!

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nails in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway
See now, I am the man who yelled out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking ground
Yes then, I turned away with a smile on my face
With this sin in my heart, tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life
But You love me anyway
Oh, God… how you love me
You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me
You love me, You love me
You love me, You love me
How You love me
How You love me
How You love me

It was indeed at night when God reached me with His awesome love, convicting me of my sin through His Word and Holy Spirit.

I was changed forever, Praise the Lord!

 

 

 

 

It's time to WAKE UP!!!

So I've had a huge sleep in today...although technically I've probably had my usual amount of sleep because I stayed up so late working on an assignment for my study.  I knew that I could do this and miss church today as I've recently stepped down from leading music at church.  This was so that I could allow for more flexibility as I'm a full-time student and mother and was feeling exhausted.  Personal pressures, family responsibilities, a heavy study load and irregular sleep were all taking their toll. 

Studying full-time via distance is a unique challenge as it can be quite isolating and self-discipline is a must.  However I am not willing to shirk the calling from God to complete this study.  Last night I think it was after 3:30am before I fell asleep and I must admit that although I am happy to have a large amount of work completed, I know that this schedule cannot continue.  We’re at the end of a two week break for my children’s schooling and I will be glad for some routine to re-occur this week…

So after making myself a late breakfast I sat down with my coffee and toast, and went online.  I ended up finding the following article (via another blogger) which is so awesome that I feel I must share it. 

I don’t believe in accidents when God speaks to you so profoundly through His word...enjoy :)

It's time to wake up - Roy Davidson

 

Feeling different...

Have you ever felt like you’re the odd one out?

Like you just don’t belong?

Belong to what exactly? You may be wondering…

Getting specific with this ‘feeling’ is tricky and although I have discussed it before with someone I trust, I’ve never blogged about it…because it is not easy to talk about, let alone put into words.

And because I haven’t talked about it a lot, I don’t know if anyone else feels like this…although I’m sure I’m not the only one...

Please let me clarify this feeling or unspoken sense…it is not anti-social in anyway…you see I love people and enjoy other people’s company a lot…maybe even too much according to some?   But I’m ok with that, as I accept I am whom God has made me to be.  I am a social butterfly…I am born again & love God’s people!

So with that said…let me try to explain.  To do that I need to start at the beginning…

I was the odd one out in our family from the get-go. 

As a small child no-one seemed to understand ‘Melanie’.  My name itself if spoken amongst my family members, I’m sure still to this day, would bring about mixed feelings.  In sibling conversations today if ‘Melanie’ the child is being discussed, my name is usually said in a weirdly affectionate tone that is still condescending...lol

I don’t know if my family understood me.  You see I was the ‘different’ one. My elder siblings enjoyed teasing me and even insisted I was adopted…and of course I believed them…I was so different to them.  I was the needy, timid child with strange nervy habits. 

This small girl however continued to grow and was introduced to Jesus and I knew that I wanted to be with Him.  This is probably the only thing I was ever certain of as a child.  You see I was different, I usually wasn’t accepted by all the kids and I didn’t like the ungodly things that I saw or heard about…I didn’t want that, I wanted Jesus. 

However this does not mean that I was perfect by any means.  But I was confused…As a young girl I loved people, but was confused by the awful things in our world that I learned about…

I was so very blessed to have experienced the church as God’s loving people, approximately from the age of 7-10.  My Mum & Dad divorced when I was 11 and I was no longer taken to church regularly.   In my teenage years I began making ungodly choices and ended up actively deciding to stop praying at the age of about 21.

I was sucked deeper into worldly culture and continued to make bad choices…I even got to a place where although I was unwell (I suffered terribly from anxiety) I no longer felt different anymore.  I had become numb to the ungodliness in and around my life.  It must be said though that God did not abandon me, and He did reach out to me (in ways I may speak about in blogs to come) however I still kept pursuing  MY LIFE!

But then a miracle happened in 2005 when I was 28.

God reached me in His love, through His word and I was born-again.  He reached me with His undeniable truth and love and I responded, never to be the same again.  It’s been around 8 years now, but from the very beginning of my new life I felt a change deep within beginning to take place.  I expressed this deep change to people in my life by saying…

                “I feel like I am becoming the little girl I once was who loved Jesus…”

I wasn’t sure what they’d think, and even though I didn’t understand exactly what was happening, I was sure of what I was feeling.  My relationship with Jesus was simple and pure and I had joy.  The worldly things that I had pursued for fulfilment, now no longer held any appeal!  One step at a time I kept choosing Jesus.  In many different scenarios I chose Jesus over myself and love flourished…I had more love than I could ever imagine for my family and friends.  I no longer wanted to use the world for all I could get…I wanted to work with Jesus to transform it with His love!

More recently I have felt a change in my maturity as a Christian…now I’m NOT saying that I have things all together.  I’m acknowledging that the ‘little girl’ Melanie, who loved Jesus has now moved into adolescence ;)  However this time in my ‘teenage years’ I am choosing Jesus over the world  and I am more accepting of my feelings of being the ‘odd one out’.

I am not choosing to deliberately separate myself from people as I have said I love people…but I do feel different.

 I don’t want to chase money.  I don’t want to read gossip magazines.  I don’t want to watch brain dead television.  I don’t want to get drunk.  I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on meaningless pampering holidays.  I don’t want to chase men.  I don’t want to hate.  I don’t want to lack compassion for the world and injustices.  I don’t want to harbour resentment.  I don’t want to be selfish.

This does leave me sometimes feeling odd…even lonely.

I could go on and on…but that is enough for now.

What about you…do you ever feel like the odd one out?

Melanie.

 

 

 

A Lesson I've learned...

You know the good advice to take the road less travelled?

I think the world has altered this…

Therefore the interpretation of this road can alter…depending upon the individual…and their influences…

When I was a teenager, I think there were many who believed that the road less travelled was the road that led to the fulfilment of their own individual, wildest dream…and personally I had this idea fuelled by school.

In fact there were many who were so desperate to be different.  In defiantly trying NOT to fit in they created their own groups, further enabling their defiance, rather than individuality.

In 1995 I was in my last year of high school and went to a rock event called ‘Alternative Nation’.  The culture of defiance was everywhere…in fact it was cool and therefore not very unique at all :)

There was the fashion trend of dyed black hair, doc martins, black tights and textured miniskirts…

At the other end immodest, tight, sexy clothing…it was even acceptable to swap between styles as you were still defying the oldies.

A road less travelled was any other path from the one the oldies had trodden.

It was a path that was fresh and new and exciting…therefore it had not been taken by many, you see?

It was a road where you cut out your own new model. 

It could be a challenging path with obstacles to be overcome (like negative attitudes from old people) but the reward at the end was success (wealth, comfort, power)…even fame, if you were lucky!  Hmmm…

It has almost been 2 decades since…and has much changed? I think not…

Personally however, my interpretation of the road less travelled has…you see my life changed dramatically in 2005 when I was born again in Jesus Christ.  The veil that blinded my eyes was removed and now I know that truly the road less travelled is the Christian one…

It is the daily sacrifice of taking up one’s cross and following Jesus no matter what the world says.

It is remaining humble no matter how much we’d like not to.

It is taking the time to work things through with other people, when perhaps before we would have chosen to bad mouth them.

It is choosing to invest ourselves into others and desiring no gain, only wanting love to flourish.

It is not following our passions and desires as the world says, but seeking God’s will for our life and growing in our relationship with Him.

So this is the lesson I’ve learned…

Thanks Christian Bloggers for this challenge…

 

Procrastination...

Ok, so being a full-time student again I do struggle with procrastination at times, so I thought

I'd have a play around with the word and try to write a motivating acrostic poem :)

 

Petty pursuits

Relinquished results

Obsessively opposing

Created chaos

Resisting rules

Abhorring adherence  

Suddenly Slothful

Tepidness Temperament

Ironic idiosyncrasy

Neurological Narcosis

Abandoned Ambitions

Terrible  Trap

Insane Illusion

Odd Oscitancy

Never Noble

 

PROCRASTINATION...