Love, light and strength for the journey

I had a good day with Sandra today. We were off shopping again for Christmas and I know that she bought my gift, I just don't know what it is, although she told me I should know, because I told her what I wanted a while ago now...but I don't know. I think it might be a DVD, but I can't be sure. The fun is in the surprise anyway. I will just have to wait and see!

We also shopped for my kids, but I came up empty handed this time out. I won an item on ebay for Kaylah, and I hope she will like that. I still need to get her a couple more things to make up the same value as I have spent on her siblings, but those will be easy to get and I can buy them online.

We went to Borders as well, where I purchased two books at half price. They are:

 

I am looking forward to reading these. I read Alison Dubois last two books "We Are Their Heaven" and "Don't Kiss Them Goodbye" and really enjoyed them. The other book is by an author I discovered online by accident when I was researching some spiritual stuff. Her website is great and her explanations of Spirituality really ring a chord with me, so this book has gone to the top of my to be read pile!

You can check out Joan Borysenko's website at: http://www.joanborysenko.com/index.cfm

After shopping we had some lunch KFC (Very naughty! but only an occasional treat) and then we went to my kids' home and spent some time with James and Kaylah. Hannah was at work, but she came home just as we were about to leave. She was tired from a long shift, and headed upstairs to take a shower and go to bed, poor thing!

We made the drive home, stopping on the way for more fast food for dinner as we both felt we'd be too tired to cook when we got home.

I am loving the new sense of closeness between Sandra and I the past couple of days. Maybe we are finally going to emerge from the dark days that fell over us when her Dad died earlier this year. I pray it will be so.

Tomorrow we have weeding and house keeping to do and on Monday finally I am getting my hair cut! It's a straggly mess atm. Once it is cut, Sandra will color it for me, and then, I might feel brave enough to post a photo of my new, skinny self!

I feel loved.

 

Love and Light,
Meg

 

So yesterday I had an appointment for a scan on my heart. This is a routine thing which my doctor arranged to be done just to check on the small murmur I was diagnosed with quite some time ago now. It was diagnosed 22 years ago and has never given me any trouble at all, but my GP told me that the thinking on how these things are managed has changed since I was diagnosed and he wanted to check if the murmur had gotten any worse or if it was still the same.

The doctor who did the scan was a very pleasant gentleman and explained everything he was going to do and made me feel very at ease. I like it when doctors have that attitude, it helps me to just relax and not worry. So he did the scan and the murmur I was initially diagnosed with has not changed at all, so that's very good. He also detected another very small murmur on the aortic valve, this, again is what is called in medical circles "an innocent" murmur. 50% of the general population has these type of murmurs and don't even know that they have them. I will need to go back to my GP to find out what he wants to do about things like Anti-biotic cover for dental work, etc, and I should also have cardiac scans every 4 years or so, just to keep an eye on things.

After the scan was done, Sandra and I went Christmas shopping. I managed to get the second half of Hannah's gift, and actually found gifts for Kaylah on Ebay after we got home.

We ended the day with ice creams at McDonalds and then came home, tired but statisfied with our day.

Today, I have the house to myself as Sandra has gone to her mum's house to finish of the DVD of her father's memorial service. This has been a project of the past 6-7 weeks and they're finally happy with it and ready to start making copies to send to friends and family overseas who could not attend the actual service.

I've been reading a really good book "The 100 Year Lifestyle" which is very interesting and am up to a chapter on how to make sure that I am always full of energy for the next 54 years of my life. God willing, I will live to be 100 as has always been my belief/hope ever since I was a child.

Other than that, I have been listening to music, chatting online and reading blogs. I have such an exciting life!

Tomorrow we're going to Brisbane to check out Borders Books, and to visit with my kids.

Love and Light,
Meg

Today has been a great day! We started out early and went to get our grocery shopping done in time to get home for lunch with my daughter Hannah who has finished her exams for the year and wanted to come up for lunch today. We got home, unpacked the groceries and the breadrolls and chicken we'd bought to share for lunch and just flopped down onto our chairs when Hannah's car pulled up in the driveway.

The first thing Hannah said, after hello was "It's way too hot! It's insanely hot!" She wasn't kidding. I think it must have been 32c easily today and very humid with it.

Sandra unpacked a brand new fan which we'd bought a few weeks ago, but had not yet unpacked from the box. Sandra assembled it while Hannah and I prepared coleslaw and got the cold chicken ready. We also had a second new fan, which Sandra decided to assemble as well and then we ate our chicken rolls and had cold soft drinks (Soda) and chatted about University, the weather, James and Kaylah (my other two kids), computers and whatever else came to mind.

Time flew past and before I knew it, it was 3pm and I knew I was going to need a nap if I was to be at all capable of going to my Tuesday night "Girls' night" I asked Hannah if she would mind if I went to lie down for an hour or so. She said that was fine, as she had brought her laptop with her, and she would just go on the internet while I rested.

So, taking the other new fan with me, I went off to the bedroom and settled down to read some of my book "The 100 Year Lifestyle" which I'd picked up from the Library just this morning. I didn't read much more than the introduction though as I was quite sleepy from the heat.

I put the book down, and dozed a while, having snatches of very vague and confused dreams, but eventually was driven out of the bedroom by the heat.

Hannah had been considering whether she'd stay till the evening and go with me to my girl's night, but Sandra had told her that we often go quite late and since Hannah was still in post exam mode, she thought she was too tired to make a late night of things, so she would just head home. She mentioned that the tail lights on her car had blown the bulbs and asked for help in replacing them. So Sandra went out to the car with Hannah and I followed a short time later, having had to put on some shoes. (I love the cool tiles in our house under my bare feet when it is hot!) I was immediately dispatched back inside again to fetch a torch (flashlight) as it was getting a bit gloomy with storm clouds and they couldn't see what they were doing.

I fetched my little LED torch and went back outside where the tailight mountings were taken out of their slots only to discover that Hannah had purchased the incorrect globes.

Sandra showed Hannah what she would need to do to replace the globes and told her where the nearest garage was so she could buy some. Hannah headed off home, and Sandra and I had more chicken and bread rolls for dinner.

The storm was getting closer by now, and lightning lit the sky at regular intervals as we ate, and watched the news.

I have always been afraid of thunder storms, and especially when there is a lot of lightning around. I was getting worried as the time for me to leave approached, but I had promised the girls I would bring something special to show them so I forced myself to leave.

Wow, the lightning was tremendous! Great forks of it split the sky and raced across the clouds in brilliant streaks of yellow, white and blue. I was a bit tense, driving through that, but had to appreciate the awesome beauty of it, as well.

This is just another way for nature to whisper (or SHOUT) the name of God to you, I thought, as I drove along the country roads to Wendy's home. The further I drove, the fiercer the lightning seemed to get! I felt I was facing a test of my faith and trust.

I got to Wendy's place without incident and gathered my things to go inside. Now I had to walk right across the yard to her front door with lightning flaring, and thunder muttering all around me. *gulp*

I forced myself out of the car and willed my legs to walk at a normal, sensible pace and not run--much as I wanted to, I also didn't wish to fall and injure myself.

Just as I reached the shelter of Wendy's front porch a sizzling streak of lightning shot across the sky, but I didn't duck (as would have been my reaction, even a month or two ago) Instead, I smiled and turned to watch the light show for a moment or two before knocking. I pulled my mobile (cell phone) out of my handbag (purse) and sent atext message to Sandra to let her know I had arrived safely and then knocked on the door.

Wendy let me in, and I breathed a sigh of relief stepping into the cool, airconditioned comfort of her beautiful home.

The storm raged outside, with lightning, thunder and heavy rain, but we chatted, laughed and enjoyed ourselves inside, impervious to it's racket.

The time flew by once more and suddenly, it was 11:30PM and time for me to head home. The storm had long since blown itself out, and I walked to my car through cool, moist air and drove home, light of heart and bouyed by the memory of a day spent in sweet communion with family and friends, and gladdened that I had faced my fear of lightning head on, and gone to the girls' night anyway.

I recalled the words of a hymn from my morning reading:

"O perfect Life, be Thou their full assurance,
Of tender charity and steadfast faith,
Of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,
With childlike trust that fears nor pain nor death."

It was the perfect signature to a day of love, light, and joy.

Love and Light,
Meg