Its December

Yes it is December and it has been for twenty days but it only really hit me a while ago. In my mind Christmas was still months away! I thought I had plenty of time! Turns out I only have like two shopping days left (beacause I can only get into town once a week!)and this is kinda freaking me out. In saying that however, all the fuss and traditions that go on over this season has made me realise just how much goes into trying to make one day, yes one day, perfect. Like I love all the commercialism that goes on, dont get me wrong. Im a sucker for cheesey advertisments and films that are put out every year but I'm annoyed that in a way thats all my little head thinks about at times. It can be so easy to get consumed in all the hype. The food, the music, the presents, the tree...it can all be a bit too much for ones mind. Like even as Christians we can sometimes get too caught up in the worlds portrayal of Christmas. I certainly know I can. I want my mind to be focused on Him this Christmas and for all the Christmases to come.
It can be easy to write "Remember Jesus is the reason for this season" in every Christmas card we send, but how many of us really acknowledge the birth of our Saviour? Now I'm not saying this to try and make you feel bad or whatever, I guess this is more an expression of how I'm feeling this season and it hurts me a little. I dont wanna get caught up in all the rubbish. I'm not anti. Please dont think Im just gonna disregard everything this season. I guess my plea and prayer is that we all enjoy the season, dont get too stressed, but remember as we celebrate that it's our Bridegrooms birthday. We are celebrating the birth our dear Jesus. The day should be about Him. Not about the tree, not about the money spent on all the presents, not about all the food sprawled out over the table which only causes one to become bloated and consider the next year's resolutions. Its about Him. Jesus.




Lol random photo with a few Candy Canes. Didyas know that the candy cane is representive of what Jesus did for us? The red represents His blood and the white is to show how His blood cleanses us from our sins and makes us pure.

Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive their King.



Well I wasn't sure what this entry was gonna be about but I am happy with the result. I'll do an update next time.
Love H x

Novz

Hey Lovely Folk!
Sorry havn't been blogging much. Seems the month goes too quickly and my head just has not got around to blogging!
SO this month has been a pretty regular month. There are a few things I wish to discuss but I'll save that for another day..er night I mean. For some mad reason I write much better in the midnight hours haha. So for you this evening, (Weird saying evening seeing as daylight savings has hit us and its really sun shiny outside :) I will give you very seasonal recipe :D. Seasonal for yall followers who all live in the Northern Hemisphere and are about to celebrate Thanksgiving..to be honest it feels sad that I know soo much about American folk..though you could say I am simply culturally aware ;)
Anyway enough beating around the bush. These are my babies. They were amazing, I cant tell you enough!

SPICY PUMPKIN AND CHOCOLATE MUFFINS




Now the recipe is really simple.

These are the ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of self raising flour
2tsp cinnamon
2tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
80g melted butter
1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups chopped dark chocolate (YUM)


Peheat oven to 180 degrees.

Take your pumpkin and cut her up, then puree it in a food processor. Or you could do it the easy way and buy pureed pumpkin? I've only heard about that good stuff. I'm guessing its canned.? Anyway I had to cook mine then process it up like this :) Oh and I left it to cool down. This is pretty important. You cannot put hot stuff in baking. I'm sure theres a more informative scientific reason but I just know you dont do. Dont even be tempted folks :)





Melt your butter and leave to one side.

Now put flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl.



Once the pumpkin has cooled down. You may now beat your eggs and then mix with the pumpkin and melted butter. Check out my old school hand beater. I beleive this was my grandmothers :)



Now you may mix the dry and wet ingredients together. The mixture shouldnt be runny, but a sticky consistancy. Dont forget to add the CHOCOLATE (tehe) and transport the mix to their cosy wee cupcake cups.



Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins springs up when pressed.

Enjoy. With a glass or two of milk.






Will write again soon, I promise! Bless you all!
Love yas , H x

PS I dont drink whisky, apparently the above glass is made just for that particular alcohol. Little do I know.

October

Happy birthday to my dear nephew Benjamin who turns 2! I know I can't believe it either! Time sure flies huh! Its crazy. So last weekend my brother and co came to our house for a lovely birthday party! :D It was fantastic! The amount of calories we consumed..not so great I'll admit.



Doesnt that all look soooo good! Those cupcakes in the background are a work of art, arnt they? My youngest brother Michael, is quite the wee baker. Must take after his awesome older sis :p (I wish!). He loves making muffins, cupcakes, biscuits, and cakes. Pretty much anything sweet. We make quite the team sometimes..sometimes we argue...but even so its great living with foodies.

Anyway the weekend went so quick. I just loved seeing my family. It'd been like 3 whole months! Which is crazy long for us seeing as they used to live only an hour away and we were used to seeing them on a weekly basis. Was great having the house full agin too. Our house is small so growing up with five brothers means I was used to noise and having people around all the time. I just love hearing soo many voices and going from room to room, knowing there was gonna be someone in it.

Btw its almost 12am so forgive me for my grammar, punctuation etc. Though I'm sure your used to my randomness by now :P

Now below is a photo of Benji's cake. Its a dinousaur. Just in case you didn't get that ;). My mother is an amazing cook and loved making cakes like this growing up. Unfortunately as we got older, she felt cakes like this would be a bit too much. (Wouldnt it have been funny if my brothers 16th birthday featured a teddy bear cake?! Don't think he'd like that too much ;). So of course having the opportunity to make cakes like this for her beloved grandson is any grandmothers dream. FYI I did actually do the icing. I do work in a bakery remember :)
Ps That red dot is his eye..bit of a fail I know.



Overall the birthday was amazing. On top of that my oldest nephew stayed the following week (as it was school holidays). That was a real treat. He is a feisty wee thing that knows what he wants but he is adorable and I wouldn't trade him for the world. One of the days he stayed, a new ice-cream shop opened. I would lie if I didn't say we made sure we had a wee treat of ice cream :)

The week went uber quick. Always happens eh. But oh well life goes on. I'm planning on taking a holiday soon, and will mayb (fingers crossed, or in Christian terms God willing ;) I'll head up there way and stay with them for a few days. Am praying about it..really do need a break to be honest. We'll see what happens.



Now you're probably wondering what a photo of tulips is doing in this post. Well my dear friends, that is simply just one of the new gems I've planted lately. I've officially started gardening. And I'm not just talking about pansy flowers (see what I did there? Play-on words with the 'pansy', as its also a flower but I was using it as a way to say that I'm not just settling on flowers..ya get what I mean ;) I have also got a vegie garden. Yes vegetables. Toldya that Daniel Fast did me good :).
In my garden so far, yes I even dug my own patch, I have spinach, curly kale, lettuce, an assortment of herbs, and strawberries. I plan on adding a few more things as we get further into the season but will see. I am honestly excited about it. Lately we have had massive amounts of rain and I was concerned that it would affect my plants as apparently your not supposed to plant anything until Labor Weekend (last weekend). I sowed mid September if I recall. Thankfully however, these babies of mine are tough and are standing strong. Cannot wait til harvest time :D

Hmm now onto important things :) God. He's great isnt He? His grace. His mercy. Don't get me wrong I have days where I'm not very happy and sometimes I gotta go and make myself spend time in His word and talk to Him. But I think it's in those times when it's really worth. When we're broken. When we need comfort. When we're lonely. Even when we're bored. I get bored. I won't lie. Being in my position isn't easy. Waiting for something so spetacular, it's so easy to fall into the busyness of life and take myfocus of Him and His plans. Thats when I gotta summon up the courage to go to Him and humble myself before Him.
I want share a few amazing verses with you that have touched me lately. Both are from the book of Psalms. Isnt that such a great book. Pretty much every human state of mind is covered in that book. God thank you ! :)
Anyway so verse Number One is in Psalm 118 and it reads

"The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me? "

Check out that first line. The Lord is on my side. He is on my side. He is on your side dear friends. He is on your side. He, God of the universe, is on YOUR side. Isnt that crazy cool! I don't know about you but that hit me. Like to think He is for me. Like He's working on my behalf. He's cheering me on. I'm not sure why I didn't get that. Like why is that so hard for my mind to comprehend. It is crazy.

Verse Number Two is in Psalm 126.

"Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy. "

Isn't that verse quite a wee gem. I found such encouragement in that truth. It really hit home for me. Every tear shed will eventually reap in joy. I think that there, is simply hope. For the struggles we face now only last a moment but what we'll have later is everlasting joy.

Rejoice my dear friends, the pain you may be experiencing wont last forever. God is a comforter. He is on your side. He is for you, not against you.

Anyway friends. Thats it from me. Not super long. But I will post on the weekend. I have three days. Tomorrow is a God day and then Sat or Sun you'll see some lovely cupcke pics ;)

Bless you. H x

Recipe!

Hey folks!
Happy October! I just love this month! The weather's like really starting to heat up and summer is on its way! Heck today I was like wearing a tanktop (dont worry its modest) and we had a family bbq! It was lovely! Anyway I'm gonna update again another day but first I want to upload more photos (woo!) and a recipe :)
So one day during my Daniel fast. I had a massive craving for muffins. Obviously I couldn't have sugar etc so this wasnt possible during the fast. I also really wanted banana and kumera (sweet potato in your world)..together! So I jumped on google and totally found a Banana and Sweet Potato Muffin recipe! Woo! I actually found a few I'll admit so it wasnt as uncommon and unique as I first thought :) Anyway here is the recipe and my attempts of making it :) FYI I made this after my fast :D

Sweet Potato and Banana Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2/3 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Well grease 2 dozen muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour,sugar,baking powder,allspice,salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine potatoes,melted butter, bananas,eggs and milk, blend well.
4. Add to flour mixture and stir,add pecans and stir just till blended.
5. Fill cups 2/3 full.
6. Bake 400 for 20 minutes.



I used orange kumera as I was told it is sweeter. I suppose in America you have other varieties which may work better.



These are the dry ingredients. Sugar, flour, baking powder, allspice and salt.





Now I'll admit I cheated. I put the kumera in a bowl of water into the microwave and nuked it. I doubt it makes much difference really but who am I to know, I'm just a baker ;)



I didn't have pecans on hand so I used walnuts instead :) Just as tasty :)



I laugh at this container of baking powder. It just looks so cute. Edmonds is a very popular brand in New Zealand. :)



The bowl on the right is the milk, melted butter, eggs and mashed banana. Not sure why I didnt have a photo of that mix. Probably over taking photos at that point haha.



Mix that baby up!



And voila into the cups and into the oven.



Tehe I got impatient. Honestly who can resist a fresh muffin straight from the oven. Pure bliss. Betcha wondering how it tuned out? Well if you can imagine a carrot cake yet with a hint of parsnippy goodness then that is how it tasted. I know strange right. But I kid you not thats how it went. Wont lie I may have eaten two.. thankgoodness for pilates! Woo.

Anyway lovely peeps thanks for reading and how about giving this odd treat a try. You wont regret it :)

(Credit to a chef called Shirl (J) )

September baby!!

Hey folks so here I am, offically an adult! I have left my teen life forever..okay writing 'forever' makes it a little bit scary! I am never gonna be a teen again! Mind you, I'm never gonna be a twenty year old again so I may aswell make the most of it!
Anywaay I have wrote two blogs this month, are you proud!? Now this probably wont happen every month so dont get mad! Right so on the 17th I celebrated my twentieth birthday and I'm actually gonna include pictures! Woo! I can hear your excitment! :D
I started my day arising at 6.30 am (yes on my day off!) and spent time in Word and watched the sun rise. It was gorgeous and definately worth getting up for.


This is me enjoying my birthday cake. It was devine. Mother made me a blackforest gatuex. Have I mentioned how much I love dark chocolate.


One of my dear friends Laura took me out for morning tea. I had a beetroot and cardomon cake. (I know lots of cake!). I was truelly excited. I have eyed this cake from our local restaurant for two weeks prior but was never game to buy it. Obviously the calories are shocking though in saying that, beetroot is a vegetable..tehe. Anyway heres the picture of beauty. Laura also bought a piece of banana cake :)


Then Laura and her sister Jess came over to my house and we ate lots of fruit with you guessed it, dark chocolate fondue :) Was really good. So we just hung out really. I was quite gutted to not have a guitar in the house. Usually we have a wee sing-song (my friends and I are very much into music and singing and playing and all that good stuff) but alas when my oldest brother left to Auz he took his with him. We really ought to invest in one just to have around. Obviously I dont play (I'm sure I've shared my lack of musical abilities..atleast with instruments), but having one in the house again may encourage me to learn (not likely). I'd love to learn but I know me and I know that good intentions only go so far. Atleast it's proven that way thus far. It could change ;). I mean here I am writing my second entry this month :p. Anyway as my friends were leaving my friend Rindy came over with her wee dog Scout ;) He's gorgeous. She wasnt able to come earlier as she was watching her poor nana who hasnt been well. She's much better now, thank Jesus. So that was a really lovely surprise :).





He's a golden retriever and he's kinda huge to be honest. But absolutely delightful. Where was I.. Oh yes so that night I had a lovely tea with my family. We had lots of laughs as I made my brothers video like EVERYTHING. You see I'm usually the one holding lenses in peoples faces birthdays but on mine there is no recording whatsoever. Obviously I can't record myself so I made my brothers do it. They did a pretty good job actually :)
After tea (or dinner in the US) we watched the film Karate Kid. The new one with Will Smith's son as the lead. He did a pretty good job. And my brother Joe looked into it and told me that all the stunts were actually done by him. That is pretty amazing if you ask me. That is one tough kid. I would definately reccommend this version.
So overall my twentieth was rather charming. I still very much look and act like a young child bur in all honesty who actually doesnt. It's funny looking back on life and thinking about being twenty. Heck even 18 seemed old and now I'm two years past. It's so crazy! I cannot beleive how quick these last few years have gone since finishing high school.Who knew I'd still be at home and working in a bakery. Not that I'm complaining. I know I'm meant to be here and I know there is a season coming that will be too crazy for words. (Bring on Revival whoop whoop!).
Right well I have to bid you farewell for now bloggers. This entry wasnt as long as I'd hoped but I have recipe which I'll post soon hopefully :D. The whole uploading photos thing is actually rather tricky but I'm keen as a bean to try again!
So have an awesome month!
Love H

Aug/sept

Hey blogger world.
Firstly I want begin by giving a shout out to my dear mother who is celebrating her birthday today. Thankyou mum (she'll never read this but oh well) for everything. Thankyou for making me laugh in painful situations. Thankyou for always giving me sound counsel (even when I dont want to hear it). Thankyou for picking up on my slackness (grabbing my apron for me at 5.58am after Id thrown it who-knows-where the night before). Thankyou for your kisses and hugs even when I protest. Thankyou for guiding me, encouraging me to always go to Christ, to love Him more than yourself. Thankyou for the many hours shared in my brothers room singing along to Hillsong and Misty at the top of our lungs. Thankyou for your passion, for your faith, for your leadership. Thankyou for being not only my mum, sister in Christ, but also my best friend. (tearing up now lol)

Anyway how have you all been? My sincere apologies for not making time to update last month. Life has been busy I'd admit but I know I need to make this more of a priority. Just had a thought. Isn't it funny how the things we want in life we never actually make time for? Example for me is this blog. I think its rather important to update this but I never seem to do so. I waste time doing other things (not all the time mind you, like I am a busy girl, dont get me wrong), but like I should MAKE time to write. Just a thought.
So last month was bittersweet to sum up into a word. (Im not even sure if that word really applies but meh I'm gonna use it anyway). Not sure how to really say this.
Sigh. On Friday, 19th August, I arose early and headed outside towards Bunnys cage. I found the dear thing in a wee state. He was limping and part of his right ear was bleeding. I immediatly picked him up and held him close. He seemed to be in shock and it was obvious a neigbourhood cat had somehow got to him through the netting. Bunny's neievity had gotten him into strife. He was too trusting. Even to cats. I took him inside and cleaned up his ear. By mid morning he had been returned to his cage with extra netting. Unfortunately I had to go out that day, but mum had informed me he had stopped limping and was back to his 'hyper' self by the end of day. I was so pleased.
Saturday. 10am. As I approached Bunny's cage I already felt something was up. There was no movement. This was very unusual. What I found I would rather not put into words. Our dear, sweet rabbit was no more. I stood in shock for what seemed like hours before I paced inside and informed the family. We were devastated.
So that my friends is why I put 'bitter'. Not that Im bitter about it. It was upsetting but he had a good wee life with us. And who knows mayb he'll be in heaven. I've actually read accounts about people finding beloved pets in heaven. So I can hope :)
Now the sweet part. Gotta end on a positive note. Five days later, I celebrated 5 years rocking with Jesus. Yes it has now been five years since that wonderful day I gave my life over to god. Was amazing. SO that day I celebrated. I prayed. I worshipped. I read His word. And mum made me a cake. Isnt she sweet? (ooh theres that word again tehe :) ).
So that my friends is why it was a bittersweet month :). My way of explaining bittersweet anyway haha.
What else? Well a friend and I have decided to start up Pilates. So I bought a few dvds off TradeMe and have also been using youtube. Its really good! I love it. Its easy to do. Isnt weather dependant. Not that Im overly concerned as the weather has been awesome! Its Spring now yay! And we have made goals to do it twise a week and we are having to keep each other accountable! SO yeah so good.
Anyway gtg Im kinda in a rush now haha.
Laters my lovely people. Jesus loves you as do I!
PS Last month I wrote about the Daniel Fast I was doing. I wanted to inform you all that it went well. It didnt last as long as I had hoped but it was still really good and I have a new understanding of my body and what I ought to be putting in my temple. I have Holy Spirit living inside of me and I need to respect that. Yes spiritually but also physically I need to look after myself. I have gone completely health crazy (I almost wanted to go vegan haha), but have been reading The Makers Diet which has shown me a fair bit about what is good and not so good. FYI Meat is good haha. Anyway thought Id better mention that :)
Tata

Jjjuuuuuuuuuuuullllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy

Hey folks!
Its 12.30. Am. So I thought it was time to update the ol blogger. So currently in the lounge (thats living room for most of you readers) and am trying to avoid watching whats on the television. The boys have a horror playing. Involves some guy attempting to stay in a haunted hotel room. Rather spooky. Not really my cup of tea.
So this month has been incredibly mild, weather wise. Its very odd for our July to reach like 18 degrees but it has and I am not complaining. The sun is shining. The air is warm. And the daffadols are out. Spring is seemingly on its way.Its crazy. But it kinda rocks.
This month I also began a fast. The Daniel Fast. Its kinda hard but I know I'll benefit from it. So for those not familiar, the Daniel Fast consists of drinking only water and vegetables. This includes fruits,and pulses ie seeds and grains. I got some info on it here. http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/
I'm currently on day five and to be honest it hasnt been the easiest. Instead of focusing on God I've found my self focusing on what to have for lunch the next day and what would go good with tofu, or banana or whatever. It's been really annoying. Also really hard in the beverage department. I mean this is the longest time in years that I'v been without a cup of tea. Kinda crazy. Real miss peanut butter of all things too. Because the kind we have has sugar in it and so if I was to have any I need to invest in a purely natural kind. So yeah not sure if its worth the pennies tobe honest. But I'm pressing on. God told me to do it, so as hard as it may be I'll persevere. This website has definately helped though, so if any of you dear readers, feel led to fast the 'Daniel' way then I definately reccommend taking a look.
Not sure if I mentioned in previous posts, but my brother along with his wife and children have moved house. They now reside a few hours from Christchurch City (so four hours from us). Quite a change for them as the town they're in is a small farming community compared to the city life they're used to. They have adjusted nicely however and a few weeks back my nephews came and stayed with us over a weekend. Was great having them around again. :)
Also we have a new addition to our family. A new baby. He's black. And he's a very energetic little fella. Before I confuse you all, I'm speaking of Stuart/Bunny/Rabbitat (name yet to be decided). He's a wee wild rabbit that my brother recieved from his boss. Sooo we get to keep him! Talk about exciting huh!? He's soo adorable. As soon as I get a good pic I'll post it on here. (Along with all the other photos I've promised to upload haha).
Not much else has been going on latley. Winter is coming to a close (fingers crossed). Like as much as I like winter I really cant wait til Spring, and my birthday ;). Though I'll be twenty soo..mayby I can wait a wee bit haha.
Things with God have been interesting. Been learning about putting God first in my day. Few years back I would have my prayer time really early in the morning and now my prayer time is almost at the end of the day, if that! It's been frustrating. So am trying hard to get that back on track. Really I gotta stop burning the midnight oil and just get to bed on time. Think I'll benefit alot more spiritually and definately physically.
Speaking of bed, think I'll head there. Til next time!

Im' back

Hi everyone!
I'm finally here writing a blog which I havn't done in soo long and for that I'm very sorry! But I'm back into now (here's hoping) and so hopefully I'll get back into the habit of updating every month:)
So the last six months (yeesh six months!) have been interesting to say the least. I've been going through much testing and trials but through it all I've learnt that God is faithful and even when my heart and flesh fail, He is my strength. (Psalm 73v26). Even when my plans dont work out (note: my plans), He's there to take my hand and help me through it. He's my stronghold. He's my Beloved. I have to lean on Him. Especially through the different seasons we face. I have lately gone through a season of trial and I've learnt a lot through it and in Romans it talks about how trials and tribulations are what we should glory in, as at the end of the day it brings hope. My personal situation I wish had turned out better, but I do have hope. Hope that even though things didn't turn out how I expected, that God is faithful and He knows the beginning from the end. He can take the situation and turn it out for my good. I dont want to go into detail, but I just want to encourage you readers, that God is there in the darkest seasons of your life (not that I went through a really dark season but I'm just sayin). And just like even though life seems tough and confusing and when you dont know what's around the corner (which is pretty much all the time), know that He looks out for you. You can trust Him. You can trust His leadership. When people hurt you, know that God loves you and let Him soothe your heart. Let Him comfort you. That's what I've been learning lately. God is a lover, looking for a lover and sometimes its the in the hardest situations that we learn that. It's the tough times that we go to Him. But thats the thing, thats what I'm trying to say haha, we can go to God anytime. He isn't an angry God. He doesnt get frustrated at us. He wants us. He wants us to cry to Him. He wants us to be drawn closer to Him. So be encouraged, God loves you. :)
Pretty much went on a major tangent but meh, its my blog ;).
Um so what to talk about now..lol. OH so there have been earthquakes in my country which has been rather frightening for the people in Christchurch and this nation. Please pray for the city. Please pray God has mercy and comforts those who need it.

Well think I'll keep it short today. Will update again soon though.
Love H

Happy 2011

Hey girls and guys!
Hope the first month of 2011 is going very well for you! Sorry I havnt posted in a awhile! Been busy (grr hate being busy) so havn't been able to post. So today I have a wee treat for you guys! A recipe! Yes I'm going to share with you how to make this :




This is a Gooseberry Shortcake. It was delicious! Now I actually used an apple shortcake recipe but replaced the apples with gooseberries. The recipe is found in the Edmonds Cookbook (could mayby find it on a website..?) Oh and I doubled the recipe because I have such a big family etc.

Apple (Gooseberry) Shortcake

1 1/2 cup flour
1 dessertspoon sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 apples (So I used like 3cups of goosberries..kinda just go by the look ;)
100gm butter
Approx 2T Milk
1 Egg

Rub butter into sifted flour and baking powder. Beat egg and sugar together; mix into flour to a light paste with a little milk. Cut in half, roll out one piece and place on tray. Cover with sliced apples (so here I just put gooseberries (top and tailed) over the the tray), sprinkle with sugar (I used half a cup). Now put the other half on top, cover and brush over with milk. Bake 20 to 30 mins at 350 F. Sprinkle with icing sugar and cut while hot.

As you can see I served mine with custard and icecream. Yummy! :)

Now I'm going to make a list of things I like right now. Cos I'm random and cool like that ;)
1. I like the gooseberry shortcake I made. It was delicious and my friend, whom I had over for tea, really liked it too :D
2. I like sunsets and sunrises. I once asked a good friend which one of the two he preferred. He said "Sunrises because it's quiet, and the start of something new rather than the end". He's pretty smart ;)
3. I like how when things are looking real tough in life, I can always look to Jesus and know He is there for me. (sometimes I doubt though :/)
4. I like going hunting with my brothers. Not that it happens very often but when it does it's worth it. Today we went and got 3 geese. Here's a wee photo I took of a pretty feather. Think it'll be my new bookmark :) (that probably seems kinda weird that I kept it but meh).



5.I like playing my keyboard. I dont actually play real songs, just made up melodies that sound nice. I think it's good to just chill and I can worship Jesus with those random notes ;p
6.I like spending days in overgrown lawns, making daisy chains and talking about nothing and everything at the same time. I had the opportunity of doing this the other day with one of my good friends. Gotta enjoy the little things in life :).
7.I like my job/jobs. Particularly my bakery job. I have great workmates and experimenting with different foods is fun too (Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins anyone?) :D
8. I really like peanut butter. Yesterday I had the opportunity to try peanut butter from the Philippines. It was sooo good! :D
9. I like reading books and blogs that challenge and inspire me. Check out David Wilkerson here http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/ and one of my followers, Heather here http://becomingahopefulromantic.blogspot.com/ and I recently found a blog by a woman named Jenny Powell. She is a singer in the International House of Prayer. She has a beautiful heart :) Check her out here http://jennypowell.org/
10. Last but not least, I love how God answers prayers. Like I'll be praying about something and suddenly He'll come through for me. It's so encouraging and sometimes it can be rather amusing, if you will ;)

So this month has been interesting. I've had a mixture of emotions as I learn how the Lord loves and how He yearns to be near us. He wants all my affections. He wants to take over my imagination. He wants me to draw closer to Him, even when He feels so far away. He is saying "Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely " Song of Solomon 2v13. Jesus. He is Jealous Jealousy. He is a consuming fire. And He is in love with me and you. Oh to comprehend His love. What a challenge to be honest. This is my daily struggle but I know in the end He is worth it.
Strive for Him girls and guys.
Happy 2011. :)