Categories
Christianity

13/52 On stuffing up

I don’t like making mistakes. In fact, I really REALLY don’t like it. I find it embarrassing; humiliating. Humbling. And what irks me is that I keep on stuffing up. Over and over (and over!) again! You’d think I’d know by now, how to not make the same mistake twice (or even thrice, or more, if I’m being honest) but no. I fail. Time and time again.

It makes sense, really. I’m human. Fallible. Born this way… as we all are.

Why though? Why is it human nature to err?

Well, if you ask me (and I’m going to take it as granted that you kinda did, because you’re here, after all, reading my thoughts!) it’s because my great- great- great- too- many- times- I- don’t- even- know- great- grandfather- and- grandmother made a choice.

They knew what they were choosing was ‘wrong’ but they went ahead and did it anyway (and if they were anything like me, they were probably also thinking they’d get away with it; that the rules ‘didn’t apply to them’) but no. The rules did apply. That choice, choosing their own way instead of God’s, led to their ‘fall’ out of grace, and into their own sinful life. And every human since then has been born into that same sinful nature. ‘Human nature’ we call it; ‘sinful nature’ is a truer name for it. Because we’re no longer under grace, but under the ‘sin’ of our own choices.

But praise God for His incredible love for us! He made a choice too.

He knew, even when He first created Adam and Eve, that this choice would cost Him… and it did. He chose to leave Paradise. He chose to spend thirty-something years here on the remnants of the amazing planet He created, surrounded by dirt and muck and people He created who didn’t believe He was who He said He was… and who hated Him so much that they mocked, beat, and finally crucified Him. And He let them do that!

But the story doesn’t end there. He did it because sin leads to death. That first sin, way back in great- great- great- etc- grandpa’s- and- grandma’s time, meant that all humanity would die. So he sacrificied His home in Paradise and chose to be born fully human and live a perfect life here on Earth, AND DIE, so that He could conquer death.

And He did!!!

He didn’t remain dead. And neither will we!

Death is NOT the ending! Instead, it is the transition into eternity – what was always planned, right from the very beginning!

So it’s my greatest wish to live again, in that age of ‘grace’ with which the world began. And I believe that, when my physical body finally passes through that threshold and eternal life begins, that I’ll be with my God, be with my saviour, Jesus Christ, and see him finally face to face. What an incredible day that will be!

And that’s my belief, dear Reader.

It’s also my hope and prayer that it be your belief too – and if it’s not yet, that you check it out for yourself. REALLY, intentionally, check it out. Because this life is short, and no one knows when it’ll finish.

And – just like me – we all stuff up… but the way to be free from the consequences of stuffing up is to believe in this God. To believe that He sent His son, whom we call Jesus Christ, to die in our stead so we might be reconciled to Him.

Please, dear Reader, if you gain nothing else from this blog, go read a Bible for yourself. See for yourself if Jesus is who He says He is.

I promise you now, you won’t regret it!

And here’s praying you have an amazing week 🙂 See you next Sunday!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
family anecdotes

8/52 On sadness…

Hubby and I have had dogs for many years now. Late last year, we lost our beautiful Aksel, our 14 year old German Shepherd. Like most shepherds, it was his back hips.

Last Sunday, we lost Rocky, our 14 year old Australian Cattle dog. He had cancer 🙁

Meaning we have one dog left, our kelpie puppy Kiya.

It’s been a hard week on all of us…

See you next week, dear Reader. I hope it’s a good one for you!

  • KRidwyn

 

 

Categories
Christianity

6/52 on celebrating a life

I spent quite a bit of yesterday afternoon with tears in my eyes. Together with what felt like hundreds of people, we celebrated the life of this amazing man, Richard William Whittington.

I met Richard and his beautiful wife Colleen on their return to Australia from South Africa, in 2002. We attended the same church – Chesed – on Friday evenings in Nambour, and he quickly struck me as an amazing man of God, one who ‘walked’ the talk.

It was a beautiful service, full of touching memories. And so uplifting! The thought that Richard is not dead, but alive and with our Father, whom he served so faithfully while here on earth. A true ‘celebration’ of a life well lived.

And to celebrate this life with old friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in person, in well over 18 years! What a blessing they all are to me. Sure, we’ve kept in touch via Facebook, virtually witnessing life events and the like, but to see them again and feel the warmth of their hugs was to be transported back in time again.

What a special afternoon; one which I have stored up in my heart. I am so blessed to have known Richard – and blessed still further by my God for his putting such amazing people in my life! I treasure them dearly.

I wish for you a week of remembering, and catching up with, such precious people in your own life, dear Reader.

  • KRidwyn
Categories
momentous events Random thoughts

5/52 On clutter…

This Facebook meme made me laugh the other day, so I shared it so my friends and family could laugh too. “Wouldn’t it be funny / cool / amazing to cross things off my own To Do list!” I thought to myself. “Very cheeky… but how freeing!”

And then I scrolled on, and life continued.

My thoughts kept returning to that idea though. Of how cool it would be to have that freedom.

And then yesterday, making space on a bookshelf by working out what books I’d probably never read again and deciding to donate them, it hit me.

Why not? Why shouldn’t I do that?

Most items on my To Do list are just ones that I wrote there anyway! So will the world end if I remove them without doing them? Or am I, in fact, just decluttering my life of self-imposed obligations, expectations and deadlines?

I’m a fan of the TV series Space Invaders.

In it, de-cluttering guru Peter Walsh calls ‘cluttter’ anything which gets between what my life looks like now, and what I want my life to look like (a bad paraphrase, but that’s how full my mind is right now).

Now those books I’d collected, with the idea of reading them or re-reading them at some point – the hard, physical objects collecting dust on my shelf – were clutter.

But who’s to say that clutter is just physical? Can’t mental items – thoughts, expectations and obligations which sit there, collecting dust on the shelves of my brain – be just as much ‘clutter’ as physical clutter?

So: “Crossing things off my to do list. I didn’t do them. I just don’t want them on my list any more…” I’m giving myself permission to do this. Those self-imposed expectations of ‘I want to do THIS by THIS DATE’? I’m deciding that – for me at least – it’s okay to let these things go. Maybe if they’re not helping me, they’re hurting me? I’m certainly feeling more free, just even thinking about it!

May you have a ‘freeing’ week yourself, dear Reader 🙂

[And if you’d like someone else’s permission to free yourself of self-imposed obligations and expectations, here it is: have mine!]

See you Sunday 🙂

  • KRidwyn

 

Categories
family anecdotes Life momentous events

Final milestones

Years ago, prior to children, I couldn’t imagine myself as a mum. Truth be told: I still can’t! And yet, I am. Muddling through as best as I can, and making mistakes left, right and centre. Sorry, kids.

But time passes and things get easier (or, at least, more routinized) and then you realise you can’t remember what life was like before the kids were around. Or in primary school. Or in high school. Or university, et cetera.

Me and my family? Well, Master almsot-12 – my youngest – is about to graduate Primary School. Seven scant weeks after, he’ll be the only pre-teen in my house. And just 16 months after that, all three will be teenagers (and yes, I’m already noticing the grocery bill…) and the eldest will be driving and in her last seven months of school.

Wait, what? Seriously?

Life’s going too fast!

Yup. Breathe. It’ll all happen, and it’s all survivable.

*deep breath* *take a moment*

Well, back to my point – because it’s been quite a rambling one this morning – my little man graduates from Primary School in two weeks. Hip hip, hooray!!

Well done, little man. Congratulations – you made it! I love you.

 

Categories
Life Random thoughts

Eye sight

Eye sight: mine’s deteriorating. Rapidly. I’m quite sad about it actually; I’d thought I was different from everyone else and my body wouldn’t succumb to this ageing process. Guess I was wrong.

You’d think failing eyesight would be my cue to get a move-along with this whole ‘finishing my novel’ bit, wouldn’t you. Huh. Again, something to regret.

It’s a bit of a maudlin one this morning, I’m afraid, dear Reader. Sorry about that. Here’s hoping you retain your eyesight for much, much longer!

Have a vision-filled day,

KRidwyn

Categories
family anecdotes

Angel at my place

My house is surrounded by trees. I love it! But sometimes it can be a little dangerous. When the tree which is closest to your house dies and then falls over, for example. Which is exactly what happened last week.

Fortunately, we had an angel at my place when it fell. No, we have no human witness to this fact, but I’m convinced of this fact nevertheless. The tree, you see, hit the ground.

As in, just the ground. Not the house, not the large green water tank nor the small one behind it, not the clothes line behind the tanks, not even the garden! There was one angle and one angle only at which this tree could fall and not hit anything – and this angle is EXACTLY where the tree fell.

It hit the ground in the best possible place. And our dogs and birds got to enjoy the show (and weren’t hit either!)

So, THANK YOU Lord for the angel who was at my house… and have an incident-free day yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
family anecdotes momentous events

48/52

Miss14 graduated Middle School last week. Her Graduation Dinner was a truly enjoyable occasion, honouring the efforts and achievements of the young men and women who had made this milestone in their journeys.

She wore her first ‘formal dress’ with high heels, and was wearing jewellery and perfume.

It was a beautiful evening! I laughed, I choked up, but mostly I was proud of the young lady God had given to Hubby and me to raise.

What a memorable event. I trust your own week is just as memorable, dear Reader 🙂

– KRidwyn

Categories
family anecdotes

47/52

A tale of three photos:

October 1:

November 17:

 

November 21:

Sigh.

Here’s hoping your week was more photo-worthy, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

Categories
family anecdotes Random thoughts Technology

32/52

I’ve blogged already this year about Ark. I haven’t played it since that post, but Miss14 has – and is ecstatic that she’s now tamed a griffin (several hours worth of work) and it’s in her own game, not one on a multi-player server.

Because the first one she’d tamed (note: seven HOURS of not-completing-homework and not-helping-around-the-house) had been on a multi-player server – and it had been stolen while she slept. The thief flew him around, and killed him. Big drama. Sigh.

But she’s happy now. And she’s started making videos, and that makes her happy too.

And this makes me happy.

[Lucky she’s up-to-date with her homework and the housework isn’t too onerous, is all I can say!]

Have a ‘happy’ week yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn