tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34422814894627824862024-03-14T04:13:04.050+13:00A Walk of Faith and TrustTamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-40657251152007903272019-10-29T23:17:00.004+13:002021-09-29T22:36:36.827+13:00A New Thing<br />
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<span face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-size: 16px;">For I am about to do something new.</span></div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-43-19" face=""Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?</span></div>
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I will make a pathway through the wilderness.</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><span class="text Isa-43-19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span style="color: blue;">I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.</span> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+43%3A19&version=AMP" target="_blank">Isaiah 43:19</a></span></div>
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God is about to do a new thing. Are you ready for it? Are you prepared? For years we have been praying for Revival. The 1960s were before my time so I have never seen this Revival everyone longs for and prays for. What I do pray for is the new thing that God is about to do and I do feel that it has already begun and that once it gains momentum it will be upon us before we can even utter the word Revival.<br />
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In 2014 at a conference in Pukekohe New Zealand, I had a vision of Ancient doors about to burst forth. The light shining from the door was blinding and it got brighter and brighter until the doors burst open. I drew this vision and got given confirmation of my vision when a guest speaker stood up and spoke my vision out word for word. This started my calling to art and creativity.<br />
A year later I received a vision of a shofar horn which I drew. When the Shofar is heard it is a call to repentance or a call to arms. It heralds and it calls and it rallies.<br />
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Over the years I have drawn and written many things that God has spoken to me such as Monarch Butterflies and swords. The one about the sword came when I realised that the sword was the shape of a cross and that my cross the I was to carry was not a burden but a weapon. The sword of the Spirit would be what I would use. My testimony and what God has done would be the thing that brought the enemy down. I have been seeing others draw these visions too. One I stumbled upon was a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/y.coombs.art/photos/a.840219702827915/1239739342875947/?type=3&eid=ARB7xZeMdPzCMZIgWx6Da7sgCKhKZ_RioZscqWFV2i5cvlk2wzhk8VnqxyIKrxL5MRfrNPOe7oZbzukK&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBIms5JNHKmPUBhpvXN7BGGbnxNahapRwtTZ-xHPG90QM5qqArJWrLf2M7LFsYv-eu9t0UrOw91wSVGeJetFzmrgBdQqXHwNc240mNI16ejZva9ErHX2ovix7z0_YAWdOlX06UxBz0VKLcdStJF0S0kCLcBw6br38SOJAdCylQ59XAt0Ohr6dSJ4Y4Ri-WZN0p3-so9wckCNnR0_HToc5Tmjpc6ExZeNmIHGT9r8t2aSbOE9Ut9fMZ06cRBKMoyaM2J7CaFn3cqKQdkLExpAOwnXxpUH5izxCxHoZ35VCnQ7r3yasDWX3-7Fex3OUbopvSihzB152vHc4tmkbyoVaKw3Q&__tn__=EEHH-R" target="_blank">beautiful painting</a> of the Ancient doors I had a vision of but from a different view point. I was seeing the doors burst open but from within the doors and there stood Jesus blowing a Shofar with a sword before Him. Jesus was about to walk through the Ancient doors that had burst forth.<br />
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Why I am sharing this with you is because I feel this new thing is going to come through the renaissance of art. God is raising up an army of artists. 20 years ago there were only a few artists here and there and it was very rarely seen in the church. The most art you saw was in the form of flags, dancing and music. Music has come a long way and so has dance. God has used new ways of expressions of music and dance. We are no longer only allowed to use a Church Organ on a Sunday we can use electric guitars, violins, drums, bass. We jump around dance and we sing loud and joyful songs to the Lord. Our expression has changed. The past wasn't wrong. Hymns are beautiful and they still hold power but with a new generation comes a new song. A new sound. I new thing.<br />
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So when we speak in tongues and prophesy and the Holy Spirit moves, where is the Art? Where are the paintings. The churches used to have stained glass windows and the ceilings and walls were painted. The floors were even beautifully done.<br />
We are missing the art and the artist. We are missing the sculptors, painters, designers, decorators, florists, creators, innovators and the list goes on.<br />
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Social Media is so popular because this generation is a visual generation. Messages are processed quicker visually than they are verbally. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and it is true. One picture can convey a message to me in a flash whereas if I were to describe that picture in my head it would take a while to express it quickly.<br />
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This is what I wrote in my journal on the 27th October 2019:<br />
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"New revival is coming from the most unlikely sources. Squash those people who don't fit in your box and you will squash the revival you were praying for.<br />
Speak negatively about art and creativity and you will stay stagnant. New Revival is coming in the form of a Renaissance renewal of art and innovation. Creativity is being released now as it was released over Bezalel. God is pouring out the Holy Spirit on all people to dream and see visions of all the things and systems they will create."<br />
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It is time to go deeper. Deeper in the Lord yes and deeper into how God sees His Creation.<br />
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Let the Creative people in. Do not be afraid. God knows what He is doing. But pray because this new thing although driven by God is also being attacked daily by the enemy. Depression. loneliness, discouragement, hopelessness and suicide are attacking creative people.<br />
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There are people who are going to come out of this new thing that will have genius ways of thinking. They will out think and out create even Leonardo Da Vinci and Albert Einstein. The dreams that they will dream the visions they will see will astound the world. Pray for them and don't miss this new thing by expecting it to come in a way that you have seen it in the past. Although all the signs were there people missed the coming of the Messiah because they were expecting something different.<br />
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This new thing will be as crazy as rivers in the desert and paths in the wilderness.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-58383203293239193252019-07-16T23:41:00.001+12:002019-07-16T23:41:23.601+12:00Go to the Mountain<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Flee to the mountains</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-475H" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-475H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> or you will be swept away!</span><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+19%3A15-26&version=NIV" target="_blank">Genesis 19:15-26</a><br />
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In Genesis we read of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham asks God to spare Lot and his family and God agrees and send angels to rush Lot out of the city so that it can be destroyed.<br />
Once out of the city the angels tell Lot, his wife and two daughters to flee for the lives, not to stop and not to look back but to flee to the mountains. Lot then pleads with the angels to let him go to a small town off in the distance instead because he felt he might be overtaken by the destruction and would die.<br />
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Lot chose a small town with very few people, over a mountain. How many times do we do that in our own lives? We choose the small and manageable over the huge and risky. We choose things just within easy reach rather than something that will take more effort and take longer.<br />
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Lot not only chose a town not very far from Sodom but one that he could see in the distance from outside of Sodom which meant that his view of Sodom would be plainly seen from the town. We too tend to move just far enough away to still see the past. We glance back on it and sometimes even long for the days gone by. Like the Israelite's in the desert who fled the Egyptian's slavery. They too thought going back was preferable. I get it. When things get tough the past always looks better. Transition and change can be unsettling and we feel uncomfortable so we feel that maybe it would be better if we went back because at least it was familiar.<br />
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What would happen if we fled to the mountains?<br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+121&version=NIV" target="_blank"> Psalm 121</a> Says: I lift up my eyes to the mountains.<br />
Where does my help come from?<br />
My help comes from the Maker of Heaven and Earth.<br />
He will not let your foot slip<br />
he who watches over you will not slumber;<br />
indeed, he who watches over Israel<br />
will neither slumber nor sleep<br />
The Lord watches over you<br />
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;<br />
the sun will not harm you by day,<br />
nor the moon by night.<br />
The lord will keep you from all harm<br />
he will watch over you life;<br />
the Lord will watch over your coming and going<br />
both now and forevermore.<br />
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When we lift up our eyes to the mountains we change our perspective from the small things in our lives to how big God is. He was not going to lead Lot out of Sodom and only protect him as far as a small town. The Lord even sent angels to protect him and lead him out but he thought that he would die on the way to the mountain. When God tells you to go His plans will work out for the good. He doesn't tell you to change without a plan. You see Lot was seeing on a one dimensional plain. He saw the small picture. Had he gone to the mountain his perspective would've been greater.<br />
In the natural we like things to be rational. We see with limited sight. When we change how we see from the natural to the spiritual we see differently. Things will be three dimensional.<br />
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Lot's wife did not have a very good ending for when she and Lot arrived in the small town she looked back longingly at Sodom being destroyed and she turned into a pillar of salt. Sodom was not a very nice place at all. It was a place filled with lawlessness and so much so that Abraham struggled to find anyone that was holy in even a small way. When we look back and long for what was, we can become hardened and bitter. Things don't always work out as we had planned. The past can be hurtful. It can hold some fond memories even. Though to grow we need to move forward and leave the past where it is. Paul says in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12%3A1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Hebrews 12:1-3</a> that we are to throw off anything that hinders us and run with perseverance the race that has been been marked out for us and fix our eyes on Jesus, who is our rock and strong mountain.<br />
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Can I encourage you today that if you are struggling with your past, I know it isn't easy to let go. The pull of who we were can be so strong but it is not impossible. We just need to resolve that the past is not in itself bad but longing for its return is not a good idea because it keeps us stuck in the small places. When we shake off the past that is hindering us we step into big places filled with promise and purpose. When we are in the mountains we go up a level, we look down on our past from a bigger perspective and it becomes small in the distance. When we have different perspective on our past we can see the bigger plan. When we are too close to our past we cannot see the big picture.<br />
God is all about the big picture and He uses the things we learn in our past to serve our future and help others run the race marked out for them. That is why we do not run this race alone.<br />
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Maybe it is time for you to leave your past in the past and embrace a new future. God will use your past for the good but let God use your past, don't work it out on your own. Maybe it is a sin that you cannot shake or a hurt that constantly reminds you of an event. Step out and flee to the big spaces of the mountain. God will not leave you or forsake you. You will not die but you will live to run the most amazing race that He has marked out just for you.<br />
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<i>Father thank you that you have so much more planned for us than our small minds can imagine. Help us to embrace your big plan for our lives even when it is scary and we are unable to comprehend it. We trust that You will guide us through just as You have done so many times before for us and others who have gone before us. Amen</i><br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-819346677984670342018-05-06T11:49:00.003+12:002018-05-06T11:49:43.539+12:00Why Have I Been so Quiet?<br />
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Noticeably I have not posted much here. The reason being is not so much that I have been busy but more like life just being hard in general. I do feel like things have turned a corner, whether I continue to post again here or start another blog is up in the air at the moment.<br />
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I am currently studying Interior Decor full-time and am looking at obtaining a Diploma in Interior Design studying part-time somehow next year while hopefully working as well.<br />
I have been updating on Instagram and Facebook the things I have been doing in my course and what I get up to if there is anything interesting. You can search for my profiles using the username thecreativekiwigirl.<br />
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It was maybe a bit of a spur of the moment decision to start studying. I wanted to get some sort of qualification but I wanted to be something I would enjoy doing without squashing my creativity. Also it needed to be correspondence so I didn't have to travel to study.<br />
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I had sometimes thought about interior design as being something I was interested in doing for myself. I wanted so badly to own my own home and do it up all lovely but we were mostly in houses that weren't ours and then when we did own our own home we were strapped for cash and had to make do with what we had.<br />
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Doing this course has helped me see what the past season was all about. The things I have learned from seeking out knowledge and improving my art, my love for geometry in school, getting more confident in drawing and seeing things differently than I used to, scrapbooking which involved a lot of mounting of photographs and presentation techniques, to my love for colour and textiles and Victorian buildings and other historical buildings. It is all tying itself up in this neat little bow. This course is like a bridge between the old season and the new season, a hand hold between the old me and the new me.<br />
Not only am I enjoying this course, even though it is a stretching experience and having to send out assignments every 2 weeks is crazy, I am acing it. At school I was mostly scraping by on about an average mark. Once or twice I have managed a high grade but really I scraped through high school. This course however, the marks are crazy good and I am simply enjoying being a perfectionist. Well not simply because it isn't simple but I am having fun and I am not even board. I can even see myself working in an actual job doing this everyday.<br />
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At the moment I am unable to write here as much and I haven't really known what to write or even if what I was going through was really something I wanted to share. When I am through this time and I can see above the clouds again I will start writing again but for now I will be posting on my A Walk of Faith and Trust facebook page with some verses and positive motivation for you all.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-6233890331385166942017-06-21T10:33:00.001+12:002017-06-21T10:44:15.807+12:00Build Up and Encourage<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+4%3A12&version=NLT" target="_blank">1 Timothy 4:12</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The biggest part of being a leader is to teach. If you don’t
think you are a teacher you are fooling yourself. You are teaching every day to
those around you even if you don’t realise it. Some mistakes I have seen
repeatedly in my life is not letting people you are leading fail. And when they
fail not giving them constructive feedback or helping them grow. How fair is it
to expect someone giving it a go to be perfect and succeed the first time. Encourage, teach, give positive feedback and
allow people to succeed in their failure. Give them second and tenth chances.
So many people have given up because of the one chance they had that they blew
and then never got chosen again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is like that one child that wants to play sports but isn’t
as great at the rest but you stick him on the side-lines because he is no good.
Does he learn to play that way? NO! You work with him and give him a little
extra help and you believe that he can do it. You echo his dream and build him
up to meet it. You allow the team to build him up to and you don’t treat him
like a failure you treat him like a learner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Failure and mistakes needs to be called learning because
that is what it is. Learning because you don’t know how to do it yet but as you
go and you see others do it you try and you try again and again until you have
learned it and you have grown and embraced your dream and it is now a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Come on people. The reason why we have a world full of
people who have buried dreams is because no one believed in them. They blew
their one chance and were never asked again. They failed which means they were
gifted or talented enough for their dream. Disqualified by lack of faith and
unbelief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We need to trust people more and see their lives as an
expression of the Creator. God made them and put that dream in them. He has
given them that desire. Why not build each other up? Why not encourage and
allow people to learn in their failure? Let God deal with the character and
attitudes. Life will teach you enough without you jumping on everyone’s
failures and faults. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People are painfully aware of their faults and the things
they hate about themselves. Why add to that? Why point out failures when we
were called to love each other and build each other up and teach, encourage,
prophecy, edify and pastor? Be very careful who you criticise and belittle
because that person has a call on their lives and could be on the verge of
quitting for good. They may just have been criticising themselves for 10 year
and your words could bring confirmation or it could break that mindset and spur
them on to good works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For years we have tried to control behaviour. Punishing
people for their misdeeds and for stepping out of line. A world of rules and
regulations that were meant to serve us has now only enslaved our minds and
hearts. We have brought the lie into our lives that we are guilty until we are
proven innocent. Yes there are some real criminals out there and my heart
really breaks for those hearts that have been so hardened that they no longer
feel anything for anyone and killing and harming is sport to them. We can only
guess the reasons why they turned bad. I don’t feel like they were destined to
be destructive and I think maybe the opposite was true that if they didn’t go
very very mad then they may have been the very very best thing that happened to
this world and maybe the enemy knew this and circumstances took over. It is
just terrible seeing God’s creation broken and not functioning as it should.
However let’s not treat each other as criminals first until they prove
themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are desperate for unity in the church but can I suggest
that we stop trying to hustle unity and start working from unity. We are all
one in Christ, brothers and sisters, family. We already in unity. It isn’t
something we need to attain but it is something we need to live.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why do you think Timothy was told not to let people look
down on him for his youth? It doesn’t matter how old you are there is always
someone older than you, looking down on you and ready to either teach you or
discourage you. Which are you going to be? There is always someone younger than
you, looking up to you to see if you will be open to teach or open to
judgement</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How will you teach and treat those around you today?
Remember that God is judge and we are called to love Him and others as we love
ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Challenge: Build up and encourage 3 people this week. Note
the difference it makes in their lives and see if they grow more and step out a
little bit more and become more courageous and brave. Come on you would want
someone to do that for you too so why not let it start with you and maybe they
will pay it forward.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-31584826720913271522017-06-05T23:28:00.001+12:002017-06-05T23:28:52.812+12:00Identity Theft<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So God created human beings</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">in his own image.</span></div>
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Gen-1-27" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">In the image of God he created them;</span></div>
</span><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Gen-1-27" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">male and female he created them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="text Gen-1-27" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A27&version=NLT" target="_blank">Genesis 1:27</a></span></div>
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We have all heard about identity theft. Where someone takes your details and tries to palm them off as their own. A person assumes your name and your identity is stolen and you are left feeling stripped of who you are.<br />
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What I am wanting to talk about today is another form of identity theft that is happening every moment of the day without you even being aware of it.<br />
It may start off with being born a girl when your parents wanted a boy. It may be that you are teased and bullied at school and called names and mocked. Maybe you are have reached puberty and no longer know who you are anymore. You could be struggling with what gender you feel you belong to. You may be depressed and the words that are playing over and over in your head are not ones that you would say to anyone else ever.<br />
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Identity can be stolen from you through words and thoughts and unless you are aware of it you are fairly powerless to stop it but I am here to tell you that you are being lied to and robbed and that you are not powerless.<br />
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The enemy has been wanting to steal the identity away from mankind since the day they were created. When he lied to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden he took their identity into question. Mankind was made in the image of God and yet that snake decided to twist and distort this. He said to them that they won't die if they ate from the tree of good and evil but that God was holding from them that they would be godlike when they ate of it and that their eyes would be opened. Funny things they were already made in the image of God so they were already godlike. They could've asked anything from God and they even walked with God in the Garden. What happened instead was a real struggle for identity. Instead of finding themselves they found shame and they covered themselves and hid. They were so stripped of identity that they were too afraid to face God who not long before they had walked with and spoken to.<br />
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What is robbing you of your identity? What lies have been whispered into your ear? Who stuck that label on you? Do you not know that you are created in the image of God and that you are worth so much more than these words and labels that have been stuck on you.<br />
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I know it is so much easier to tell you to just shake it off than it is to actually do it. Believe me I have had so much of my identity attacked that I sometimes wonder how I am still standing but God.<br />
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The only way to understand your identity is to look to the one who gave it to you. The one who created you and made you awesome. He didn't just create us to look like just anything like the monsters on Monsters Inc, some fluffy, some with 2 eyes and some with 5 and scaly. He made us in human form to resemble Himself. If anyone knows what your identity is it is the one who gave it to you.<br />
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It so annoys the enemy that you have this identity that he will try and do whatever he can to corrupt it before you can even step out into the fullness of it. He knows that once you know your true identity you will be unstoppable and you won't be able to be lied to anymore. There is a battle for you mind and soul whether you like it or not and it isn't going to take might or power to overcome it but the truth of the Holy Spirit. You can not will it away and you cannot fight it in your own strength you need to look to your Creator and who he says you are. Then and only then can you be ready to face these issues.<br />
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You can't fight a lie with will power. They only way a lie can die is if we know the truth. Only then can we truly be free.<br />
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In the past the church have been really quick to judge those who have been stolen from. People have been using fig leaves, dirt, alcohol, drugs, anger and fear to hide their shame for thousands of years. There truly is nothing new under the sun. All have been lied to and those that believe the lie repeat the lie over and over in their minds every day. We will do whatever we can to get our identity back. We will starve ourselves and mutilate our bodies and even go as far as to end our own lives. We even try and get out identity from others or groups and gangs, all because we do not grasp the wonderful miracles that we are.<br />
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What are some of the things that you have believed that aren't true? Seek the truth at the Source of your identity and believe no longer the lies of the enemy because he only comes to<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A10&version=NLT" target="_blank"> steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came to give us a rich and satisfying life</a>. You were never made to live a broken and unfulfilled life. You were created for great things. Time to rise up and find the treasure that is buried under all the lies. You have gold within you just waiting to be found.<br />
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If your identity is in Christ then live like it. God has showed us how to put on the whole armour to fend off this attack on our identity. But don't stop there show others how God sees them. Stop judging the external garbage people are doing. Love who God created them to be.<br />
I watched Wonder Woman last week and her final words were <span style="background-color: #fcfae7; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #fcfae7; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It's about what you believe. And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the world."</span><br />
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It is about what you believe and I believe in the greatest love. That the Father so loved us that He gave His only Son to die for us so that we may be reconciled to Him in our full identities. No more shame that we need to cover up. I believe in this love and it is only this love that can truly save the world. It is time to take our identities back and love the world as Christ loves.Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-50319371925806561692017-01-03T10:28:00.001+13:002017-01-03T10:28:25.060+13:00True Colours<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span class="versenum" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians+4:7&version=NLT" target="_blank">2 Corinthians 4:7</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15:32&version=NLT" target="_blank">Romans 15:32</a></span></div>
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The other day my husband and I decided to surprise our 4
daughters and take them to see the new Trolls movie. WARNING: There may be a few spoilers even though I tried not to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There were a few things that were a bit dodgy in it but
overall I enjoyed the message.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Trolls are super happy all the time so much so that the
always sad Burgens (huge ogery type characters) think that to become happy that
they need to consume a Troll to be happy. They create a holiday called
Trollstice and on that day they have a Troll feast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Without giving too much away and then spoiling the movie for
you, the overall message is that happiness is inside of every one of us. We do
not need to consume to be happy. It doesn’t come by external means.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I thought about how so many people think that when they buy
this thing or that thing then they will be happy. When they have that thing
they aren’t truly satisfied. The Burgens thought that by swallowing a Troll
that this would make them happy and it did for a while, until they needed their
next fix of Troll. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes we can feel very unhappy and really sad and slip
into depression. It is very difficult to get out of it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the Trolls had something traumatic happen to him the
result is a rather paranoid and grey looking Troll that doesn’t give hugs and
doesn’t dance or sing. He is about as unhappy as a Burgen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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His other friends help him and get him to talk about his
problems and he then gets shown how to be happy again. How to find that
happiness that was buried and hidden away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Later on the Trolls lose their happiness and turn grey and
sad. The once unhappy Troll then sings True Colours. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You with the sad eyes<br />
Don't be discouraged<br />
Oh I realize<br />
It’s hard to take courage<br />
In a world full of people<br />
You can lose sight of it all<br />
And the darkness inside you<br />
Can make you feel so small<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I see your true colors<br />
Shining through<br />
I see your true colors<br />
And that's why I love you<br />
So don't be afraid to let them show<br />
Your true colors<br />
True colors are beautiful<br />
Like a rainbow<o:p></o:p></div>
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Show me a smile then<br />
Don't be unhappy, can't remember<br />
When I last saw you laughing<br />
If this world makes you crazy<br />
And you've taken all you can bear<br />
You call me up<br />
Because you know I'll be there<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I'll see your true colors<br />
Shining through<br />
I see your true colors<br />
And that's why I love you<br />
So don't be afraid to let them show<br />
Your true colors<br />
True colors are beautiful<br />
Like a rainbow<o:p></o:p></div>
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Having friends around you that can help you up when you are
down and have lost your happiness is very important. I know that we don’t
always feel like we have friends when we are depressed. The world becomes this
small dark place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Happiness. What is happiness really? We have happiness that
comes from something funny that we saw or heard. We have happiness that makes
us feel good for a bit until a new emotion hits like sadness. The one I am
talking about is that state of being that trumps any other emotion. Joy. I know
I have written about joy before and I am still trying to figure it out. But one
thing I know is that joy is always there. I always have access to joy. I never
have to eat a troll or buy a new handbag to get joy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Life overcomes us though and sometimes we need a friend to
come beside us and remind us where to find our joy maybe even remove the
darkness that is blocking our joy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Truth is we need friends in our lives. We need people
praying for us and not judging us. People who don’t attack the way you act but
who call out the joy. People who can see past the façade and who see the hurt
and try and hug it away and take us by both hands and pull us out. People who
will fight for us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grief, loss, shame, hurt, guilt. Some of the worst feelings
in the world. They tangle through our very being. They pull at who we are and
try and unravel us. They leave us in a state of depression that we feel we will
never escape from. Just when we thought we had reached a point where we have
them dealt with we round a corner and they are there ready to assault us again.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grief. A feeling that sits under the surface of your every
day. You never know when it will come to the surface. Maybe a memory, a smell,
a favourite flower. Sometimes in the quietness of the night. It sneaks up and
pounces and goes through your heart and up out of your eyes in floods of tears.
When it has been around a while it doesn’t come out in floods, it ends up
sitting like a lump in your chest, refusing to move.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Loss. Similar to grief but disguises itself as something
innocent but really it is fuel for grief. Loss reminds you. Loss tells you, you
are alone. It tells you that you will never love again. You will never open
your heart again. Loss breaks your heart and tells you it will never be mended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shame. Shame is that little creature that lives on your
shoulder telling you that you are a terrible person for feeling bad and not
knowing how to act properly. Shame tars your soul. It moves in and makes itself
comfortable in the guise of self-improvement. Shame confuses and blinds. It
steals your identity and robs you of your joy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hurt. Cuts deep. It aches and bleeds. Hurt leaves you
gasping for air as it tries to expand in your chest. Unable to contain it you
think you may burst, until you do and tears flow. Hurt is messy. It never puts
on a well contoured, bronzed make-up tutorial with winged eyeliner. Instead it
stirs up anger. It stirs up moods you didn’t even think were possible to
express before. It makes you less likely to trust again and twists your view on
reality. Something someone did or said will replay over and over in your mind
and hurt comes back to remind you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Guilt. Justified or unjustified, guilt is the knife that
stabs you in the back. Guilt shouts ‘If only you…’ If only you had not done
that or said that. If only you had it all together and you weren’t such a mess.
If only you had told them you loved them one last time. If only you had gone
and seen your friend that day. If only you hadn’t left them alone that day. If
only. Guilt attacks your mind making you feel like you aren’t acceptable. Like
you aren’t good enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Grief, Loss, Shame, Hurt and Guilt are deadly. There is no
overnight cure. It takes time to work through these emotions. There is
forgiveness. Forgiving yourself and others. But it is a process. Sometimes it
needs to be a daily decision to forgive. There are times when you forgive and
that is it you move on but when it is 3 degrees deep even surgeons know that
you need to add extra stitches on each layer and then there is still the
healing after. Some hurt, grief, shame, guilt and loss are not superficial. It
can be layers and layers going deep down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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How do we heal these wounds? I found the only way is time,
love and understanding. Not everyone knows or can know what you are going
through just like you don’t know what others are going through but with a dose
of compassion and genuinely caring for the other person you can dive into those
dark places and bring hope to a dark situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He
brings healing and He knows the best way to do the surgery that is needed. His
hands are skilled at removing dead tissue and cleaning wounds from infection. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I know that in my own attempt to fix someone’s problems I
have gone in with a spoon and tried to dig the hurt out of them. Like a bull in
a china shop I have done more harm than good. Had I just shown love and looked
passed the person’s anger or frustration. Had I look at the heart as God does
and seen the hurt buried deep in their eyes, the grief that has lined their
face and the heavy load on their backs. Get alongside people and help them up
so they can see clearly. Find the gold inside and let it shine brighter than
the ties that bind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We all just want to be happy and have joy. Some have just
been on a journey that has smothered this. That is why God gave us each other.
To encourage when shame takes seat. To hug when grief leaves you speechless. To
fill the gap loss has left. To bring hope when hurt has harmed and to absolve
when guilt accuses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-31545727747722846072016-12-15T12:44:00.002+13:002016-12-15T13:03:52.820+13:00Why I am all for Choice<span class="text Deut-30-19" id="en-NLT-5704" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Deut-30-20" id="en-NLT-5705" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">20 </span>You can make this choice by loving the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord </span>your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, you will live long in the land the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+30%3A19-20&version=NLT" target="_blank">Deuteronomy 30:19-20</a></div>
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I have been meaning to write this for awhile. It is a sensitive topic in a way and not one I take lightly. I don't wish to condemn anyone. That is not my intention. This post is not only about this one choice but also about the other choices we make in life.<br />
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You could say I am pro-choice however I am not pro-abortion. I am pro-life. I am not against the fact that you have the right to make a choice. We all do and that is how God created us. He created us with the ability to make choices to decide for ourselves.<br />
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In order for us to understand this gift of choice we need to first understand who God is.<br />
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Firstly God is Love. Love is free and cannot be demanded. God gave us a choice to love Him. He has the power to demand that we love Him but He understands that love is far better and more genuine when given freely. He loves is freely and unconditionally so when we mess up He still loves is because His love is not based on good behaviour. I love my children even when they mess up. I love them freely and they love me freely in return. I have never needed to demand that they love me. I wonder what would happen in our relationship with our Heavenly Father when we really understand His love for us and return it freely.<br />
What would happen if we chose to love others the way God loves them, freely and without strings.<br />
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Secondly God is forgiving. He has already forgiven every one of our sins the moment Jesus took them upon Himself on that cross. Every single one of your sins. It doesn't matter how terrible or how small. We have been given a choice to forgive. We can choose to harden our hearts toward a person and suffer the consequences of unforgiveness or we can choose to forgive those who wrong us. Sometime that choice can take time and sometimes you will need to make that choice everyday until you come to a point where you have given it completely over. But you can make that choice. It is healthy for you to forgive and that is why we have been given that choice but again it is not forced upon us. We don't have to forgive but we need to forgive.<br />
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God is patient. He is so very patient with us. I am so in awe of how patient He has been and still is with me. He was patient with Moses and the Israelites for 40 years in the desert. If that were me I would probably not have been that patient after one year. Again we have been given a choice to be patient. We have been given the choice to throw a tantrum or to be patient with others. Often we look at others sins that they have been walking into over and over again and we get impatient with them while we with our so called minor sins continue to do the same. Going down the same road over and over. The same choices over and over. Patience with each other and our own individual journeys without judgement when we do not know the full story and we have not walked in the same shoes as another. Patience is a choice. If God has freely given us a choice of patience it is because He knows it is something we are capable of,<br />
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I could go on for days with who God is and I encourage you to look in your Bible for yourself all the things that God is and what He isn't.<br />
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The point is we have the choice to choose how we live our lives. We have God's Word that shows us how to live our best life. Choosing to love, forgive, be patient, extend grace, use our bodies wisely, be kind, care for our bodies and care for those who we have in our lives.<br />
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Some choices are easier than others to make. Loving my children is easy. Loving people who are nice to me is easy.<br />
Then there are the not so easy decisions. Quitting smoking. Quitting a sugar addiction. Quitting drugs, alcohol. Choosing to abstain from sex, Choosing to wait for marriage. Choosing life. Choosing not to end a life.<br />
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Making these choices are not easy but they are possible. If they were not possible they would not have been given to us as a choice.<br />
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God has set before us the choice of life or death. He hasn't done that to be mean. He has done this because He loves us and wants us to freely choose Him. Without choices we are only mindless robots that do whatever God says. No one wants to be in a relationship where we have no choice. A lot of people are in these kinds of controlling situations and we protest this kind of oppression.<br />
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Choice is a gift.<br />
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So this why I am all for choice. But I do not feel that it is God's nature that He is happy with the choice we make to end human life. He forgives the choices we make that go against His best for us but for our own good and for our own health it is wise to choose the best choices for our lives.<br />
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People in my life have chosen to end their own lives. That choice did not only affect them but it affected everyone around them.<br />
I could've chosen many times to end my life when I went through depression. I thought about it more times than I care to admit. It felt like the easy choice at the time. The harder choice was to fight for my life and do everything possible to get out of that hole. Relying heavily on God during this time was the best choice. Not easy but the best choice. There are times when the battle is to hard for people and it can send them over the edge and put them in a hole the will not survive. What happens in this is case is between them and God but He is a loving God and He looks at the condition of our hearts. He is compassionate to the broken.<br />
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A friend of min Kirk and his wife went through a pregnancy that made his wife very ill. Watch their story <a href="https://youtu.be/J2QElWvLMwQ" target="_blank">here</a>. Instead of aborting their baby, they chose, despite the circumstances to trust God and go through with their pregnancy regardless of the outcome.<br />
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I have never had to make the choice to let my child live or die so you probably think that I don't have the right to judge and you would be right. I don't judge your choices but I am concerned because I only want the very best for you. I want you to get the very best out of this life.<br />
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Sometimes the hardest choices to make are the best choices. They build character and make us better people. Maybe the very thing you have struggled with and have overcome may be the very thing someone else needs to hear and be encouraged by.<br />
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Again I am not here to condemn you but to encourage you to hear God when it comes to making choices. Look to Him and not the circumstances. Circumstances today won't be the same in years to come. Life keeps on moving. New choices to make come up everyday. If you seek wisdom to make these choices you only need to ask God.<br />
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So what if you have lived a life of one bad choice after another? Well the beauty of God is that He is also a God of Redemption. He forgives your sins but doesn't leave you as you are. He always leaves you better than you are. He created you to be a whole and unique being and that is how He sees you and what Jesus came to do was to redeem your life to restore you to the person you were created to be.<br />
But God uses everything. He turns all things to the good. What you struggle through and overcome He will use to help someone else who needs it.<br />
You are not a lost cause. You are not beyond redemption. You do not to be perfect before you come to Him. You just need to freely choose to hand all your choices over to Him understanding that He desires the best life for you. He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you if you would only choose Him and invite Him into your life and every choice you make.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-15345417941279668072016-10-27T10:21:00.000+13:002016-10-27T10:21:33.106+13:00A Compassionate Heart <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+11:35&version=NLT" target="_blank">John 11:35</a> </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Jesus wept.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I come across so many people from different walks of life, ages and conditions but when it comes down to it, right down to the person's soul and spirit these things are just labels. Age, health conditions and what has happened to you does change you but they are labels that people can look at and think they know you.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I met an elderly gentleman today who clearly had some form of dementia or health problem. He walks into the bookshop where I work and I have such compassion for this man. In his prime he must've been many great things. Admired and loved by many.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">But today he did not feel welcome or loved. His family don't want to travel with him because his condition makes it difficult for them and I could go on a rant about this but I do not understand the circumstances that his family are in but I do find it a little sad.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just felt so sad for this man, who now needs to deal with something that is out of his control. He is alone but he isn't alone because his faith is still there. In his walk of faith he met Jesus and Jesus is still there. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He quotes scripture about being the light of the world. That light being manifest through us and it being our responsibility to shine that light and be that light to others. I really hope that I was a light to him. That somehow I made his day brighter and happier. Maybe even eased his burden a little but I also pray that today he will have many more happy encounters today. That at the end of this day he will have a smile on his face and not a tear in his eye.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Compassion for others is a good way to live. Look past the exterior things of the life. The illnesses, the age, race, gender, history and look into their eyes. They eyes are the window to the soul. We do not look at a person's eyes enough. We don't really see a person for who they really are. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can learn so much from each other. There are people out there really hurting and who feel so alone but we look at the exterior of their lives and think that they either have it all together and have many friends or that they are a mess and it is because of their poor choices and it is what they deserve. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not everyone has it all together. In fact those who do look like they have this life sussed probably are struggling more than most of us to keep it all together and feel like no one really gets them. The person who is a mess and is falling apart and keeps on making the same mistakes may not listen to your advice today or even 10 years from now but one day they will remember your kindness. One day they will understand that you cared enough and didn't give up on them and that your prayers made a difference to them.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the elderly who have lived full and active lives now slowed down by age and conditions, ask them about their lives. Most of them are willing to tell you what their lives were like when they were younger. How they learned from their mistakes and what they took away from it. How they lived their life for Jesus and if they haven't maybe you can be the one to be the light in their life and give them the hope they have been seeking all their lives.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the wise Rafiki from the Lion King 1.5 said to Timon, "Look beyond what you can see" Look further, look harder until you really see it and there you will find compassion to develop your compassionate heart.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pray for someone today that you don't know so well because you are very different from each other and ask God to reveal to you how He sees them. Celebrate that person's life and decide to see others this way too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blessings to you all. </span></span>Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-73463441899818963752016-09-29T11:35:00.002+13:002016-09-29T11:35:56.829+13:00Time for an Update<br />
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Hi everyone. I am still here. I haven't forgotten about you all. My days have been full of drawing, drawing, drawing and more drawing. There are only a few pages left to go before I can compile and publish my Adult Coloring Book.<br />
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With my self imposed deadline I have had to work fast if I want this book ready for Christmas presents.<br />
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September has been a busy month with my husband being away and the girls end of term things and meeting new people. It has been a very exciting month. I got back into contact with a penpal I have been friends with for 12 years. That was great. We just picked up where we left off.<br />
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This got me thinking a lot about friendships and about God. I have many friends around the world I have not met. Some of my friends live about an hour or so away and I have never met them and I guess that is the power of the internet. You can be in contact with so many people around the world and never meet them but still have a connection.<br />
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Although I haven't met God in person we still have a relationship. He lives in me. One day I will meet God in person which will be a great day but God is never far away. He isn't an hour away and He isn't half a world away. He is right here with us. We may not see Him as we would see each other but He is more real. We can have that kind of relationship with Him if we can have a friendship with someone we have never met in person and connect with them and be best friends then surely we can have a great relationship with our Father who is always there and always hears us. If the internet is down He is still there. When the lights go out He can still see us in our darkest hour. When the battery on your phone is flat you can still dial in to Him. When you forget your phone at home or your landline is down you can still reach God. Your line of communication will always be there. It will not be down for maintenance or destroyed by the elements and you never have to wonder whether He still wants to be your friend because of something stupid you said.<br />
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Unconditional, unwavering, not distracted, not easily angered.<br />
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Yet we take this relationship for granted a lot of the time. We get stressed first instead of praying. We focus so much on a problem that overwhelms us instead of praying about it. We don't talk to Him and then wonder why we aren't getting the breakthrough we need.<br />
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Talk to Him throughout the day. I don't know about you but I love it when friends want to talk to me and are in contact with me often and are interested in me. I don't like it when people are too busy to spend time with me and I don't like being too busy to spend time with friends. I can sometimes be too much for people or not enough but with God I can never be too much and I am always more than good enough.<br />
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He accepts me as I am. Yes He is working on my character and the Holy Spirit lets me know when I need to stop doing something but as I stand here today I am accepted.<br />
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You are accepted as you are right now. You do not need to sort your stuff out first before you come to Him and talk to Him. You do not have to wait for a better connection and you do not have to wait for better conditions. Get on your knees and talk to Him as you would a friend. He is always there for you.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-75783902050736947942016-08-30T22:33:00.001+12:002016-08-30T22:33:15.131+12:00Your Calling a Blessing<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A30&version=NLT" target="_blank">Romans 8:30</a> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.</span><br />
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What is the Call anyway? I have always wanted to know what my calling was. What is it that God wants me to do? What does He want me to be? What am I meant to do now that will put me in the path of my future calling?<br />
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This way of thinking was getting me into a bind. I was asked so many times what my calling was. I didn't know and even at the age of 30 I didn't know.<br />
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Let me let you in on a secret. What you are doing now is your calling. What you will do in the future is your calling. Wherever God directs you is your calling and it may not be in just one thing.<br />
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There are many hats I wear but it doesn't make me many different people with different callings.<br />
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Our call doesn't always mean we need a qualification or certificate. God qualifies the called. He is the one that has created you and He knows exactly what your call is. Whether you work in office or at a school, at home with your kids or fight fires, if you are doing what you are passionate about and what you love and are shining your light in this world then you are called.<br />
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A call is not a mystical thing. For years I thought it was that one big thing I was created to do. I was looking at the future as a final destination. As if all my life would be leading to one great feat. What I didn't realise was that every little thing that I have done in my life has brought me to this point in time and this point in time will lead me to the next season which will lead me to the next chapter and so on until I am old and I leave this world. My call will never be done until I am called home.<br />
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I challenge you to be you. Be the you God has you at right now. By all means look to the future and don't look at your past mistakes and failings but look at what you have right now and how you can use that today to change someone else's life.<br />
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Had I not committed to Blogging I would never have had enough posts to put into a book that is now an encouragement to those who do not read on the internet. People who need hope can now read my words in their own homes as they deal with the hard things in their lives and I pray for each person that receives my book as I pray for each of you reading this.<br />
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Had I not pursued my love of art I would not have discovered that I enjoy doodling and that I can be of help to those who can benefit from art therapy or the simple joy of coloring in.<br />
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Had I not followed through with my maternal instincts and had not had my children there would be people out there that would not have met these beautiful girls and have been prayed for by them. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my daughters. Each of them are so unique and each have their own gifts and talents. They are destined to be world changers and prayer warriors.<br />
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We have been blessed to be a blessing. You have been blessed with just what you need to be a blessing to someone else who needs love and encouragement today.<br />
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If you do not know what your call is then look at your hands and ask what it is your hands have been gifted to do. If you have something on your mind, write or speak it out. If you are good at sport find a way to use that to encourage others either by joining a team or forming one. If you can draw, draw and keep going. If you can cook or bake use that to bake for someone that has been on your mind for a while. There will always be a way for you to help someone else or do something. It may not be the marvelous thing you thing a Calling may be but God cares about the small things and small things always add up to big things.<br />
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Dream big, live big but don't forget the small things in life that add up to some really wonderful things that can transform someone else's life.<br />
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You are so blessed, be a blessingTamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-89083785014005792162016-08-15T13:54:00.000+12:002016-08-19T07:46:22.025+12:00What Mary Saw<br />
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We all know the story about Mary and Martha. How Jesus came to visit and Martha busied herself in the kitchen preparing the meal alone and how she complained to Jesus that Mary needed to come help already.<br />
I always identified with Mary in a way because I am pretty bad at housework and I like to avoid it as much as possible but I also identified with Martha's frustration over the lack of help because when I do clean my house really well it is usually only me doing the hard work and then an hour later it is messy again.<br />
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However there is one thing about the story that we sometimes overlook. This is not a story about who doesn't do work in the kitchen and who doesn't.<br />
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Mary wasn't just shirking her responsibilities she was sitting with Jesus. What did she see? I don't think she would be the kind of person to purposefully avoid helping her sister in the kitchen to prepare the food.<br />
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Martha complains to Jesus telling Him to talk to Mary and tell her to help. What Jesus says to her is interesting Luke 10: 42 <span class="text Luke-10-41" id="en-NLT-25373" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">“My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Luke-10-42" id="en-NLT-25374" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">42 </span><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”</span></span><br />
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I found over the last few years I have been very busy and rushed and attending to all the details. Even my prayers were rushed or were take away meals with Jesus. Come dine with me Jesus while I attend to this thing or that thing. I was so busy fixing this and fixing that in my own life that I forgot that the only thing I was meant to be fixing is my eyes on Jesus.<br />
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I felt guilty for not reading my Bible and praying for hours. I was upset that God felt so far away from me. I didn't only want to read my Bible because others were doing it and it was expected of me I wanted to want to read it. I wanted to worship out of a place of relationship and not from trying to be something.<br />
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My busyness was mainly a way to smother the difficult and hurtful things in my life. If I only kept myself busy I wouldn't feel so bad. If I keep busy enough maybe the grief won't kill me. If I were to fully express what I was going through I didn't think I was going to recover.<br />
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I wonder what would have happened if Martha had stopped what she was doing and sat next to Mary to listen to Jesus.<br />
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What would happen if I did that?<br />
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Well I did. This year I stepped away from the things I was using to hide my troubled soul. I had reached a point where there was a lot of confusion and torment in my mind and in my soul. My soul had become starving and was trying to fill itself with doing things that kept me busy. Only these things I knew were not what God would really have me do. Now don't get me wrong I learned a lot over the last few years. God used my bad decisions and motives and turned them for good.<br />
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As I stepped away and looked closer at my motivations and my decisions, God began to peel away the hard layers of my heart. These layers of hurt, grief, fear and shame. There may still be some left for God to fix but I feel softer. The area is tender and I cry a lot easier now. I cry when I am happy now.<br />
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I sat at my Saviors feet look up into His face as Mary did all those years ago and this is what I saw, this is what Mary saw, we saw the Father's love. We saw the one thing to be concerned about about all other things. When you sit at His feet all other things pass away and become meaningless.<br />
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If you tune everything out and listen carefully, He speaks and when He speaks you will never be the same again for He speaks healing and peace into your very soul, into your very bones and into your heart. That my friends is entering into His Rest. Entering His rest is not something you do or try. It is when you become hungry for more than just a take-away meal and you hunger for a 5 course meal with Him and "just one last cup of coffee Jesus before I go about my day?"<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-29999306926236501102016-08-14T15:51:00.000+12:002016-08-14T15:51:06.248+12:00The Father's Heart<br />
Luke 15:32 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”</span><br />
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There is something amazing about answered prayer. I have so many people on my heart right now. I guess I always have but there is something different about it. My viewpoint has shifted.<br />
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The last two weeks have been a shifting time for me. I am a big sister and the eldest in my family. Most of how I see things is processed through the big sister lens. In Luke 15:20-32 Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. I would always identify with the older son. I thought it was cool that the younger son came back but could identify with the older son's frustration.<br />
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Something has changed in the last two weeks though and it can only be that I have become a mother.<br />
I have been a mother to my own kids for 10 years now and so you would think that this is strange but let me explain.<br />
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The reason why the older son was not happy when his younger brother returned is because he wasn't seeing him as his father saw this younger son. He was looking at his brother as a little brother who messed up and was getting rewarded for his bad behaviour. However the father did not care what his younger son had done or how much money he had wasted. Instead he was only happy that his son was back. If the older brother had only seen that the return of someone to the family is something to be celebrated and is of far more worth than being a good person and doing good stuff.<br />
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My Father in Heaven doesn't care what I have done wrong. If I am not near to Him He misses me terribly. When I have run away from Him He doesn't hide from me and sulk. He waits for me. He stays where I left from and waits for my return. He stores up His love to lavish upon me on my return.<br />
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I used to roll my eyes when people ran away from the good things in there life and the only thing I would wait for was the day they would come back and realise the wrong thing they did and repent.<br />
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Today none of that matters. Today I became a mother. Today I see people with the Father's heart. It is good to repent for what we have done but the main focus should always be on the return.<br />
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I pray for those that have run away from God to return to Him so they can feel love and not judgement. God wants to clothe the prodigals in your life with a ring of authority, a robe of royalty and sandals of sonship.<br />
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In our lives we compete with each other for the love of our parents. Any sibling can attest to this. Who hasn't said "mom and dad love you more than me because of xyz" I must've said it or thought it a few times. It stops mattering when we see your siblings as the Father sees them.<br />
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With our brothers and sisters in the Church how do we react? I have acted as a big sister and even as a little sister trying to win approval. My pastor last week said something that I had a good think about. He said that there are people who are looking for someone to be a father to them but what they really need is to be a father or mother to someone else.<br />
There comes a time in our life where we need to realise that we no longer need to be fathered by anyone because we now need to step into a place of being that person to someone else.<br />
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Lisa Bevere puts it well in her book Girls With Swords. She was feeling unsure about how to step into the women's ministry God was calling her to. God said to her that all she needed to do was be all the things to these women that she always want from someone to be to her.<br />
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I wanted someone to always be there for me, champion me, look over my faults, encourage, support me and love me just as I am with all their hearts.<br />
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I really hope now that that is the person I am now. I want to be that person to those younger than me.<br />
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I have graduated from big sister to momma bear and I will fearsly and fearlessly protect and love all those God has put under my wing and those He has called me to mother. I want to be Jesus to people and I want to bring the Father heart to people.<br />
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God loves me so much. It is only in loving others as a mother that I have come to see just how much He loves me.<br />
Imagine as a mother giving up your own child to save the life of one of someone else so that they can be a part of your family? The concept is foreign but that is what the Father did. He took his very Son who was part of Him and gave Him up so that you and I would know how His heart for us.<br />
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I give up my right as a sister and daughter so that I can be a mother if that is what it takes to bring you back to Jesus.<br />
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As a daughter and sister I had a right because I was the eldest and I was good and did nothing wrong. I didn't give anyone any trouble therefore I had a right to things those who mess up all the time didn't have. I would get really bent out of shape if I saw a "juvenile delinquent" get promoted over me when I tried so hard and there they are messing up all the time and now look they get a ring, robe, sandals, a fattened calf and a party! It is unfair!<br />
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There comes a time when you just want them back. You want to see them succeed and you just want to hug them again and hear their voice. There is nothing sweeter than a prodigal son worshiping the Father.<br />
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A friend came to church today. I prayed so hard over the last year for him. I saw him as a little brother. I have a little brother who lives very far away who I love very much. He isn't perfect but I miss him despite the mess. I have a few young people in church that I see as little sisters and brothers because mine are so far away but today when my little brother here in New Zealand came back after I prayed so hard for him I was so excited. I was so happy to see him again. It didn't matter that he was away for that long. I was just so happy that he was there.<br />
I got to thinking about how God saw those who come back to Him. The absolute joy that the Father has for each person that turns back to Him.<br />
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I have read in the Bible where it says there is a huge party in Heaven when one person is saved and I thought that was cool but it only full registered today just how amazing it is.<br />
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So I was in a puddle of tears today as I thought about all the people in my life I am praying for. Answered prayer is sweet, so so sweet. Unanswered prayer when done without ceasing grows your faith.<br />
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Don't stop praying for those who are far from the Father. Don't lose faith and don't lose hope. Keep pressing on and when they return love them like the Father does. Love them as if they were your own child. As you pray for them, pray for them with the heart of the Father.<br />
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I thank God for His love for me.<br />
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I wrote this bit of a song in church today as I was worshiping.<br />
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I thank you Lord<br />
I thank you Lord<br />
I thank you Lord<br />
Your love is Deep<br />
Your love is Wide<br />
Your love is Sure.<br />
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His love for you is deeper than any ocean and wider than any horizon. Above all it is sure and reliable and ever present.<br />
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My mother heart is always so much deeper and bigger than my sister heart. My sister heart always had conditions but my mother heart is unconditional.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-69684522854230602422016-08-01T14:45:00.000+12:002016-08-01T14:45:00.488+12:00Look Up Again<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+15:5&version=NLT" target="_blank">Genesis 15:5 </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Then the </span><span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 24px;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the </span><b style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">stars</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”</span><br />
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My youngest daughter has been taught about stars and is constantly looking up at the sky and spotting the stars in the sky. This got me thinking.<br />
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Children look up. Children look around themselves and experience the world.<br />
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Early this morning I had the worst heartburn. I simply could not sleep and so I decided to get up and make myself some tea. While the water was boiling I looked out of my kitchen window and saw the stars. They were so beautiful and reminded me of when I was younger when my favourite thing to do was lie on my back outside and look at the stars. It still is but I don't look up that much anymore.<br />
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It got me thinking about Abraham.<br />
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When God told Abraham to look at the stars He was making Him a promise. My God keeps His promises. He only told Abraham to look up into the sky and count the stars. God did not put a condition to His promise because when God promises something He will follow through. He does not say that He promises only if.<br />
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That night when God spoke to Abraham He gave him a dream. He planted a vision into his mind of what the future held for Abraham. He allowed Abraham to dream big. I wonder if Abraham actually sat and tried to count the stars. I can only imagine that in his excitement he might have tried. If it were me and my dream I would've been sitting there until the stars withdrew one by one with the coming of the dawn.<br />
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There is something exhilarating about a new promise. When God whispers a dream in your ear or fans that little flame burning inside. But all too quickly that first little flame and revelation of your dream becomes easily robbed away or forgotten about with the grind of daily life.<br />
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Those days of dreaming of becoming a nurse or firefighter are replaced with bills, financial trouble and responsibilities. It is almost as though a bucket of cold water was thrown on your dreams and what you are now left with is a memory of what was hoped for.<br />
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I am sure Abraham and Sarah must've felt this way. They were well past the fertile age for having children. The stars began to wink out with every year that they waited. They may have asked themselves over and over if they had heard right. Was it even real anymore. What ensued from their questioning was doubt. Doubt swallowed up the dream and they took it into their own hands and devised their own plan.<br />
But oh if they had only looked up during those dark times. If they had only counted the stars once more instead of looking down on their situation.<br />
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Does it feel as though your dream and promise from God has winked out? Don't look down and forget the promise God made you. Instead look up and count the stars. Keep on believing. It is through faith that we please God and He never forgets His promises to His children.<br />
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I guess that is why I love rainbows. I don't know if you have noticed but wherever there is a rainbow it is usually during the rain or after and always there is the sun shining. There have been storms in my life but one thing I could always count on was that the light of my God's glory was always shining with a promise. All those thousands of years ago God promised Noah that He would never again flood the whole Earth and as a sign He sent a rainbow so that we would always remember His promise. What sign has God given you?<br />
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Let me encourage you to look again at your dream and promise that God has given you. Look up at the sign of His promise. Do not let the stars wink out. Count them again. Remember the promise again and remember the excitement as though you are hearing and seeing the dream for the first time.Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-79997360285731276912016-07-25T14:42:00.001+12:002016-07-25T14:42:33.610+12:00The ProcessI have tried to write this post several times but I just can't seem to get things down quite right.<br />
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I am just so excited about things right now.<br />
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The last few years have not been easy. I can't be 100% grateful for the tough things that I have had to go through. I have really had to dig really deep to cope with things in my life. But if because of all those things I have become stronger and a better person then I am grateful to God for carrying me through.<br />
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I have never really know what I wanted to do with my life. I always love drawing and telling stories. From a very early age I have wanted to be married and have children. When it came to my final year of school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I applied to become a nurse but did have enough credits (or whatever they call it) to get in and they closed the nursing school that year. There was no one to marry and there was nothing I really felt I could pursue. I decided on taking a year off to do all things I loved to do. I painted, played my guitar and sewed. It was great but I still was looking for my calling. I was looking for my purpose. It was during this time that I fell in love with this really cute guy. Not just in a 'oh he looks nice' kind of way but I just knew I was meant to marry him.<br />
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We got married 18 months later a month before my 20th Birthday. A few months into our marriage and thinks got really intense. I learned just what I was willing to fight for and I learned a bit about myself but I also prayed for help a lot. Not many people believed me when I tried to get help and that was really difficult. I learned that I am not ever responsible for the actions of another person. It is not my fault and I am not the cause of someone else's behaviour.<br />
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I became a mommy when I was 22. It was the best day of my life. A beautiful baby girl. We sold our house a few months later and moved to New Zealand. We coped on our own for 3 years and in that time had another little girl who had silent reflux. It almost drove me crazy. when she was 8 weeks old I was at the end of my rope. Either there was something wrong with me or there was something up with my baby. When she was diagnosed and given medication things improved greatly. It was around this time that we had quite a few prophetic words spoken over us. From where I was standing I could see none of it. I could not see how God would do any of these things. In those 3 years I had a miscarriage and then fell pregnant with our 3rd daughter. We moved closer to family when I was 20weeks pregnant with her.<br />
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She was born a healthy 9lbs 2oz later that year an full 8 days late. At 3 months old she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. For 8 weeks she wore a harness that kept her legs in a froggy position. Fortunately it was only for 8 weeks and she was rolling and doing funny little things in no time at all.<br />
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When she was 10 months I found out that we were expecting our 4th little baby. My family was complete. 4 little girls and a marriage that was really good. What I had always wanted and still do. I would not give it up for anything. There was always something missing though. What was I meant to do once my children were grown and out the house. What was my calling? I was happy if motherhood was it but I had this constant pull that there was even more. I felt not to discard the words spoke over me and my husband.<br />
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I started trying to find my place. I may have done it wrong so many times. I chose things I was really not any good at and I had so many things I was carrying on my shoulders. I just couldn't sit and do nothing. I felt called to something big. There were a few things I did right though.<br />
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This process so far has been painful and stressful and I am sure that the future won't be all peaches and cream. I know that to live is to learn but I really look forward to it anyway.<br />
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As of this moment I am feeling so blessed. I really feel like I have taken a step into my call. I can look ahead and make that 5 year plan.<br />
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God uses what the small things you have to do great things. He will always multiply the meager and heal the diseased things,<br />
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I am now an author about to publish her first book (this Blog) and working on drawings for an Adult Colouring Book. I have three of my Blog posts published or due to be published in 2 different books and one of my drawings is on the cover of The Word For You Today. 25 000 copies have been mailed out to the whole of New Zealand.<br />
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When I think back I look forward to what is to come. The process brought me this far and I know that God will use the next season's process to take me further. I am so in awe and so thankful that God loves me and that He has called me to this new and exciting season.<br />
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God will use a process for you too. He will shape your character and strengthen your foundations so that you are prepared for what He has called you to do. Trust Him. He is faithful and trustworthy and really knows what He is doing. He will be with you in the dark and He will help you to switch on the light and He will be with you through the mess and He will celebrate every success with you. In your life you cannot out Party God. He loves you so much and delights in you so much.<br />
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I can just see Him right now when I got my copies in my letterbox of the books with my cover on, dancing and clapping His hands seeing how excited I was and still am.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-77140195530593563132016-07-17T14:28:00.001+12:002016-07-17T14:28:05.967+12:00I Will Trust in You<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+5%3A7&version=NLT" target="_blank">1 Peter 5:7</a> <span class="versenum" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.</span><br />
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I am going to write today about surrender. This Blog is called A Walk of Faith and Trust but have I really been trusting God with everything?<br />
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Let's see, I have surrendered my call and my gifts to Him. I have kneeled and said take it all and use me Lord as your will be done.<br />
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He asks us to give up everything and follow Him and so I did or so I thought. He also says to cast all my cares, worries and burdens on Him and He will give me rest and I thought I had done that but have I really? Have I trusted Him with my gifts, my skills, my sin issues, my offense issues, my relationship issues?<br />
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While I was away at a church conference this week I have had times of struggle within my soul but I reached a point where I didn't like what I had become and I really didn't care how God worked in my life to fix it.<br />
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Surrender is not what I thought it was. It is not about being broken before God it is about giving everything that isn't yours to carry to Him so He can make you whole. At this point I didn't care about whether I was right or wrong in a matter. I didn't care about how I got this way I was seeking a way out of it. I could've listed all things everyone had done wrong to me or I could ask God to fix me so that I am the person He wants me to be.<br />
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You see I got to the point in my life where all the small offenses had piled on and had helped build a wall. I tried to fix myself. I was trying with all my strength to figure out why I was so bad, why I was so wrong and why I was always being picked on. Why did all this bad stuff keep on happening. I was sick of it but mostly I was sick of living with me.<br />
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Yeah so people are mean, so what? You cannot please everyone and you cannot make everyone like you but it isn't about that. It is about loving anyway.<br />
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I can't do anything in my own strength. I can only do all things through Christ who strengthens me.<br />
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I have gotten frustrated with not seeing fruit in my calling. I got frustrated with not seeing what God had called me to come to pass. I strived and did a lot of things to make my call happen but what I didn't realise and what I realise now is that although God has called me to live life big and do amazing things but in order for me to be prepared for my call He was working on my character.<br />
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God didn't cause bad things to happen to me but He was watching how I reacted to them. He was building my character. He watches how I love people and my attitude as I spoke to myself about people and situations where things weren't perfect. I could blame so many things and people for the way I turned out and I would be right but what God wants from me is to surrender all these people and situations, all my imperfections and faults and ingrained sins, all my needs and wants, all of it to Him.<br />
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Faith comes through hearing and trust comes though surrender and hope is what I receive when I have Faith and Trust in God.<br />
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God is a good Father. Do you want to know how good? We have quoted John 3:16 so many times it has almost lost meaning to us. We use it as a way to show non-believers all that Jesus has done on the cross and what they need to do to be saved but read the first part. For God so loved the world. Your Father loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to reconcile you to Him. Sin kept you apart from Him. That relationship were always meant to have was broken. There was a huge wall of sin between us and our Father. When we surrender our rights to Jesus we are pulling down that wall to our Heavenly Father. Father God loves you so much right now and He wants to see you whole.<br />
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If you have an offense or want to hand over some stuff and truly trust Him and allow Him access to work on your character I ask you to bow your head now and hand it all over. Choose a different reaction, action and thought life.<br />
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When we give Jesus anything He never leaves it the same He always heals or multiplies. The 5 loaves and 2 fish didn't stay 5 loaves and 2 fish and He doesn't ever make just enough He is a God of abundantly more.<br />
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My car has been out of action for 2 months. We got rear-ended on one of our family trips. It should be fixed next week but I handed it over to the panel beaters 3 weeks ago and it still not repaired. Does this mean it will never be repaired? No. Was it going to get repaired if I kept on driving it and never handed of for repair? No. Did I decide after weeks of it not repairing it that I wasn't going to hand it over I could do I better job and fix it myself? No. Did I park it off and hope that it would magically fix itself over time? No. Then why do we think if we do these things when life bashes us up. Only God can heal your wounds so take them to Him first. <br />
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I know that I will probably mess up a few more times in my life but I pray that I will be quicker to surrender every matter to my Father first. That I will only tear down the walls of offense in me and not tear down others or myself.<br />
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I pray that God will give you the same revelation He has given me on this. If you feel tormented or cage up by your past and your present habits and offenses then choose today whom you will serve. Are you going to serve your tormentor with your thoughts and attitudes or God?<br />
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It is time to surrender our hurt, and our sins and our call to Him. It is time for us to become whole so that we can bring wholeness to others.<br />
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No matter what comes your way resolve in your heart to Trust Him because He is busy developing your character so that you will have the capacity for your call.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-27797143231338964462016-06-21T22:28:00.001+12:002016-06-21T22:43:08.938+12:00Dreaming<br />
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Dreams and visions of things you want to do and see happen don't always work out as planned. It can be very depressing and discouraging.<br />
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My dreams haven't changed so much as evolved. I don't have it all figured out exactly but it has to be bigger and more mind blowing than where I am now. It has to be because I simply cannot live what I feel would be a mediocre life for me if I stop dreaming big.<br />
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If that means I fail and look like a complete egg, so be it. I got out there and tried something. If I succeed but it morphs into something I didn't expect but it is still a failure, I will press on to the next bright idea. But oh what if I succeed and it is awesome?<br />
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Where have I been the last few months? To be honest I have been... struggling. Struggling with failure, mistakes and disappointment almost to the point of quitting dreaming altogether. I have been testing the waters of my dreams and ideas that are constant within me.<br />
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I got so angry about finding my calling and my purpose that I was resigning myself to just being a mom and wife forever. (which isn't a bad thing but stopping dreaming is not a good way to live a happy life, it will just make you resentful and bitter)<br />
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What is my biggest downfall? Dreaming big, thinking big and jumping in without a thought but guess what these are also my biggest and greatest strength.<br />
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This Blog may be in for a bit of and overhaul as I figure out where this path is leading me.<br />
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When I started this blog I had so many things running through my mind about what God was saying to me. He is still speaking to me about things but I am reconsidering how I blog about these things or even whether to blog about it at all. Most of my posts have been based on a scripture and what I felt God was saying at the time about that scripture and relating it to what I was going through. This did not mean that I had fully processed or even applied what I wrote but rather that I was putting my thoughts down on "paper" and in doing so hopefully helping someone else in the process.<br />
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I am trying to find out where I belong and to do this I have had to take giant leaps into the unknown. Sometimes I leap without considering fully every possible thing that could go wrong and the logistics of it. I kind of hope the idea would carry me through it. Sometimes I say yes to things I really shouldn't for two reasons: 1) to learn something new and see if I like it or can do it and 2) to be nice and provide a service that no one else is doing.<br />
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This year I have stepped back and tried to dream less and to leap less but honestly I suck at doing that. I am getting so antsy already.<br />
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Exciting stuff is happening with something that I thought was so plain and easy. Something I do for enjoyment that no one is meant to see. I have loads of art that I have fiddled with and perfected or fussed with. Some I hated and others I loved but it wasn't received as well as I had hoped for art I sweated and just about bled over. Some of my art I could not duplicate. My art has come so far in the last year and yet I am laughing so much right now. I think I am turning into a doodle artist. That is right Doodling.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gfaildCySqwmwhbrGCuxEGK4svLihPDafpaCEOoP50tjiTUYxUIVr4K_SxB5jr2bsxo_-Hfl1LciRoU80Rter0rkMLIUA2wi4xfPLLlrMPOaDW4b0Mk7VDA5pgnRolaLLTTFNBCKVh5K/s1600/2016-06-21+20.54.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gfaildCySqwmwhbrGCuxEGK4svLihPDafpaCEOoP50tjiTUYxUIVr4K_SxB5jr2bsxo_-Hfl1LciRoU80Rter0rkMLIUA2wi4xfPLLlrMPOaDW4b0Mk7VDA5pgnRolaLLTTFNBCKVh5K/s320/2016-06-21+20.54.09.jpg" width="180" /></a><br />
Here I am saying but but Lord? Doodling? Seriously? I was doodling before I took my art course and before I had my eyes opened to see in a new way that caused my art to jump from level 2 to level 6. Now I am doodling again and it is appearing on the cover of a youth devotional magazine and wining tickets and hanging on walls. I have been working so hard to be Leonardo Di Vinci or Vincent Van Gogh, well not exactly being them but having the same standard as them in the realism of their art but in my own style, that I was failing to find my own style.<br />
But there it was right in front of me. I don't disregard what I have learned because I feel it has helped my doodles to improve and helped me develop my own style of doodle art.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJKX0QLuREtybATf4CNB1vsC0ggNrNOEpSsjyLNJLeFM608imU4IuYFhGEfg0aMDj7v-Vr3wF9uCtRY-AsPuzyeSlzefWDDY2Vmfp4T3T4bljs9tP_3qXmc1M0Py6dPhZiiMvFKpm9aQQ/s1600/2016-04-07+14.06.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJKX0QLuREtybATf4CNB1vsC0ggNrNOEpSsjyLNJLeFM608imU4IuYFhGEfg0aMDj7v-Vr3wF9uCtRY-AsPuzyeSlzefWDDY2Vmfp4T3T4bljs9tP_3qXmc1M0Py6dPhZiiMvFKpm9aQQ/s320/2016-04-07+14.06.10.jpg" width="320" /></a>I still only have a small idea of where God is leading me. He has given me the desires to dream big, think big and do life big. I want to break the mould of the things that have been done the same way for centuries. I want to introduce the new. I want to wave my brush and pen on the world and watch vibrant colours flood everyone's souls. I want to spread love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, hope through my art. I want to teach that others can do that to and can create something beautiful too.<br />
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How this is going to happen I don't know but one step of faith and another step of trust at a time I will walk this path set before me.<br />
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My blog content may change or stay the same. I don't really know. I love writing and sharing my heart with you all. I have had this blog for many years now and have gained many lovely followers who read what I write and have been encouraged. But if you would like to see the other side of me that I keep talking about and if you would like to follow my dream all you need to do is like my two pages. Shameless plug I know but this is where I post my updates. So here they are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TamryndeLabordeArtist/" target="_blank">Tamryn de Laborde - Artist</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/A-Walk-of-Faith-and-Trust-680604878668981/" target="_blank">A Walk of Faith and Trust</a>. Make sure to like and follow so that new posts will show up in your newsfeed.<br />
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Tell me what your dreams are. God wants us to dream and imagine and create what we see in our mind. It is what He did when He thought of creating you.<br />
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Be blessed and have an awesome week.<br />
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TamrynTamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-80639755593458023742016-02-25T22:47:00.001+13:002016-02-25T22:49:48.366+13:00The Joy of the Lord<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And Nehemiah</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the </span><span class="small-caps" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 24px;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> is your strength!”</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah+8%3A10&version=NLT" target="_blank">Nehemiah 8:10</a></div>
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I have not posted in a while and I have no real excuse. I guess with everything else I have been settling into I have yet to find and commit to a time to write. Hopefully Thursday will be a good day to commit to writing.<br />
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A scripture that has been meditating on and chewing over is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah%208:10&version=NLT" target="_blank">Nehemiah 8:10</a>. The words at the end of this passage are speaking louder and clearer to me at this time. The joy of the Lord of my strength. I have read this bit of the verse over and over. I thought it meant that God is always joyful and Him being joyful is what gives me strength, which is true but not in the way I thought. I always thought there had to be something else that this verse was saying.<br />
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Let me explain. If the fruits of the Spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control and Jesus says He gives us peace and not to be afraid in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014%3A27" target="_blank">John 14:27</a> then doesn't that mean by sending us Holy Spirit we have these fruits? We have God's love, joy, peace, patience etc. inside us.<br />
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What I didn't realise was that the joy of the Lord isn't external but internal. I have His joy living in me and it is this that gives me strength to say it is well with my soul. His joy is what allows me to praise Him despite what is happening in my life.<br />
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This joy that we have gives us not only strength but courage and boldness. We can be bold, courageous and strong like lions. We need not fear or allow our emotions to rule our lives. Happiness, sadness, fear, anger are not permanent. One minute I can be angry and the next I can be sad. Today I could be fearful yet tomorrow I could be happy until I stub my toe on something. But the of Joy of the Lord is permanent. </div>
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I am thankful that God is always there for me not just when I call out to Him. Like the Lion in this picture He is always singing over me and laughing over me. He rejoices when He sees me taking my first wobbly little steps in my art. He sees me trying to puzzle out His plan for me and He rejoices over you too. He sees what you go through. He sees your successes and your mistakes but He rejoices when you get back up and try again. Success is all about using you mistakes as a ladder to your promise.</div>
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Isn't it amazing that He doesn't let us fight out fears alone but that He gives us the joy so that we will be strong enough to overcome and succeed. </div>
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Lord I thank you for your Joy in my heart. I thank you that even when I feel like there is nothing left in me I can still open my mouth and praise you and joy floods my soul and gives me the strength I need to get up and try again. I pray for joy to flood each and every one of Your people who are reading these words and bring a refreshing to their hearts and strength to every part of their being.</div>
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Have a blessed week and I will commit to writing once a week again as I enjoy it so much and I always have so much to say. </div>
Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-45885486407807414992016-01-15T10:12:00.001+13:002016-01-15T10:12:56.650+13:00Death and Hope<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,</span></div>
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I will fear no evil;</div>
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For You <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">are</i> with me;</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023:4&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Psalm 23:4</a></div>
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I am saddened by the news this week. David Bowie and Alan Rickman both taken from this world at 69 following their battle with cancer. There have been many more actors and actresses who have had cancer.<br />
I found out just the other day that Maggie Smith, who is still alive and kicking on Downton Abbey at 81 years of age, had also battled cancer while filming 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'.<br />
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Family members, friends of mine have cancer, survived cancer and died of cancer. It is so unbelievably sad. It is easy to lose hope and feel depressed and miserable and totally helpless.<br />
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I mean 69 isn't that old. These people thought they would at least live until their 80's. Alan Rickman's plan when he was 80 was to be sitting in his rocking chair reading a Harry Potter book. "Death comes to us all in the end" and that is so true. We are all going to die.<br />
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I know I am only 32 and still young but I can't help but reflect on my life and the life I have left and ponder it. I don't have 100 years left anymore if I am to live to 120 as I have planned. I used to. I used to have plenty of time. But now I can say that I remember what my life was like 20 years ago. In 20 years time I will be 52 and my daughters will be starting their families. I expect that their may even be some grandkids by then and well then it is only 17 years until I am 69. (Sorry I do the maths thing a lot)<br />
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If you knew at 32 that you only had 37 years left what would you do with it? Our lives are so short.<br />
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So where is the hope then? The hope is right there under our noses. Life may be short and we don't know how long we will have left but there is so much we can pack into that time. David Bowie has done incredible things in his 69 years. What is left behind is what people remember about him. His life, his journey, who he was that no one else could ever be.<br />
Alan Rickman has a list of accomplishments that is longer than my arm and a voice unique and one that will not be heard again. His acting was amazing both on stage and on screen.<br />
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My hope is that God is going to use me to do a whole list of amazing things that only I can do and be.<br />
I have this written at the beginning of my diary for this year. "You are useful and priceless. Destined for great things.<br />
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When I die I will die emptied out of all that I was put on this earth to do. I will pass from this world at peace knowing that I contributed to this world and made it a better place to live in at least to those who heard me and met me. Though my physical life on this earth is just a brief moment in the entire history of mankind, my spiritual life goes on forever.<br />
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Don't let the enemy cloud your thinking and tell you that you haven't accomplished anything and that you never will. I have had that nonsense poured into my thinking for far too long. I could fill a book or two with what I have accomplished and what I am yet to do.<br />
He so desperately wants you too give up and do nothing because he is so scared of you. He doesn't know what it is you will do in your life but he knows that whatever you do will be powerful and will upset his plans in your life and the lives of others. You are known and the Heavens tremble.<br />
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Here is to 2016. A year of amazing and great leaps of faith and risk taking. Stepping out into the things we have been carrying and nurturing for so long.<br />
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There is hope in death. Live your life to the full everyday. Enjoy your life and be with those you love.<br />
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2016 is going to be a great year. Probably the best year we have ever seen. I just sense that there is going to be an increase in healing and miracles, signs and wonders. God is opening up the gates of His Spirit, His power and His favour. It is time. Resist the devil and he will flee. I feel we have turned a corner but more we have done an about-face or U-turn. For years we have been running and resisting the onslaught of the enemy. Going on with our lives just trying to win ground and cope with the next onslaught but this year will be an about-face year. We are turning and facing the other direction. No longer are we on the defence we are now on the offence and the only one running away is the enemy.<br />
You will stop fighting in your own strength, trying to defend yourself against the arrows and you will take up the armour of God and turn and the enemy will flee.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-46111309309346440072015-12-17T00:12:00.002+13:002016-07-08T17:01:38.125+12:00Making Mistakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+37%3A24&version=NLT" target="_blank">Psalm 37:24</a></div>
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<span class="text Ps-37-24" id="en-NLT-14451" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">Though they stumble, they will never fall,</span></div>
<span class="indent-1" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-37-24" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">for the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> holds them by the hand.</span></span><br />
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I have not posted in a long while. Some of the reason is that I have been busy but the main reason is that at this time of the year from September to December I think about my life and what needs to change and what I need to stop doing.<br />
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So yes I took a bit of a break while I thought on these things.<br />
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2016 will be a very different year but I do feel I am stepping into something really good. The last 2 years have been really crazy. I have been trying to figure out where I fit and what God wants me to do and all I have been feeling is pushed from one corner to the other without making any head-way.<br />
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This year I spent most of my time on my art. I studied through <a href="http://120.138.28.23/School_V2/Redirect/SOTS/School/index.a5w" target="_blank">Inflame Ministries</a> through their Creative Arts Program. They have two streams, Songwriting and Painting. Although I have been a singer all my life, have written a few simple songs and play the guitar with a small amount of effort, I have also been very expressive with pencil and paper and had enjoyed watercolour paint. I decided after having painted a watercolour from a vision I had and having had a radical confirmation of this vision and painting that I might actually have something there that needs to be looked into and maybe developed.<br />
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One of the main things I have learned over the last year is about mistakes. I have learned that in my life I have learned more from making mistakes than from trying to be perfect and not make any mistakes.<br />
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I have always tried to impress and be liked through perfection and never ever making a mistake.<br />
Mistakes are frowned upon in our culture. The consequences of making a mistake is usually met with guilt and shame rather than an opportunity to learn and experiment.<br />
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The other day I was driving and made a mistake and went over the speed limit by 7ks. Ordinarily when I realise I am going to fast I immediately slow down but this time it didn't help for as soon as I realised a Policeman had put his lights on and motioned for me to pull over. School Zone and that means zero tolerance.<br />
I sat there as he went to go print out the ticket and I thought about my nice clean driving record which was now gone. I had so much pride in it and now after a mistake I had lost it. I now have to wait two years to get a fresh start. I cried because I realised the pressure I had put on myself never to make a mistake.<br />
Having made this mistake and being disciplined for it made me more aware of my speed and where I am driving. I would not want anyone else to be driving over the speed limit near a school my children go to.<br />
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How does this translate to art? Well art is all about making mistakes. Art is not about being perfect from day one. It is about learning through mistakes.<br />
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The only way my art improved was when I embraced the mistakes and worked with them. Erasers are the worst thing for an artist to have lying around. I am trying to teach my art and craft kids to not care about erasing a mistake but to rather take that mistake and work it into their work.<br />
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And that is the way it is in life. God doesn't save us from making mistakes but He uses these mistakes to help us learn from them and to grow into more mature and disciplined people.<br />
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In order for my art to improve I had to practice everyday. Everyday I made mistakes and instead of letting those mistakes discourage me I used them to improve and grow my knowledge. Playing it safe didn't do my artwork any good. By not allowing myself to make mistakes and expecting a standard of art that I had not spent any time practicing left me art stuck. I was unsettled with the level my art was at and I had no clue how to improve it. Until this year where I was taught A) how to see and B) to not care about too much about what I put down on paper.<br />
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We get better at life and whatever we put our hands to when we take a risk and do it and love it no matter how it turns out.<br />
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If you feel this is you, That you have been living the safe life and been in fear of making a mistake, then I challenge you to step out and do something small and just out of your comfort zone and if you make a mistake, embrace it and take another step forward. Mistakes are great. Make them and live life to the full. Making a mistake does not make you a mistake.<br />
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Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-16901526188341661652015-10-12T11:08:00.000+13:002015-10-12T11:08:47.913+13:00The Question<br />
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A few years ago a question was posed that I have been thinking about again in the last few days. My answer to this question remains the same now as it did then and I was wondering how others would answer it.<br />
This question was asked on a Theology Forum Board and the other answers on there were surprising and revealing. I also got a bit of black lash to my answer even though it was an IF question and involved personal opinion.<br />
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The question we maybe ask ourselves more often than we think and maybe not in the exact words but the underlying question is still the same.<br />
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If it was prove 100% that God does not exist would you still hold on to your faith. Would you still carry on living your life as you do now?<br />
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My answer? Yes. I would still believe and I would still carry on my life, worshiping and praying, loving my neighbour, dancing and painting. Why would I give up my whole way of living that I have lived for most of my life?<br />
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Santa, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy and all the other imaginery people in our lives I know they do not exist (I am sorry to break the news to those that do not know this) but it doesn't stop me from surprising my girls at Christmas and having them write letters to Santa. It doesn't stop me from putting $2 dollars under my toothless child's pillow nor does it stop me from buying Easter eggs that apparently was laid my a rabbit the size of a human being (I think, the story changes from house to house)<br />
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If God is not real then I have the best imaginary friend in the whole world. An friend that teaches me how to treat others and who speaks o me and comforts me during the hard times and is always there, He causes me to be a better person. I will worship Him no matter if He is as real as the ground I walk on or just a figment of my imagination.<br />
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But my God is real. He is more real than you or me. We are His imaginary friends in a way because He created us and He thought us and all Creation up and spoke and created us.<br />
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What would your answer be?Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-48290517077946719442015-09-12T23:16:00.000+12:002015-09-12T23:16:04.619+12:00Stop and Sense the Roses<br />
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<span class="text Phil-4-8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Phil-4-9" id="en-NLT-29412" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.</span></div>
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<span class="text Phil-4-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A8-9&version=NLT" target="_blank">Philippians 4:8-9</a></span></div>
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This month is proving to be a very jam packed month. Both my husband and I are away at different times and what with work, the kids' school, painting assignments and conferences my brain is slowly filling up with knowledge.<br />
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Last weekend I spent two days learning to see properly. It sounds a bit strange but I learned so much. I see my world differently now. Instead of only seeing a tree I see pale and dark green and shapes of each leaf, the twist and texture of the bark and the shadows that fall and the light that illuminates. I see angles of a sloping roof and the different shades in a flower. I see the silhouette of a bird in flight in the blue sky and the sun shining as a silver lining of every cloud.<br />
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When I see a face I see the shapes and rise and fall of every curve. The windows of the face revealing the deep wells of the soul.<br />
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Light illuminates form and shows up the beauty of our world.<br />
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I can't look at the world the same way I did before. The best part is that by seeing in this way my sketching has improved so much.<br />
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You see by judging a book by it's cover we miss the story inside. When we look at an insect and we call it an ant it loses it's mystery. It is an ant and from what we have learned about them in the past is what they do and how they kind of hang out together in colonies and live under the ground. When we look at this creature and really see it for the first time we will notice fine details about that creature we never saw before.<br />
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We need to start seeing deeper and wider than we have been. We are missing out by glancing at the world and not seeing it as God sees it.<br />
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We are missing the very beauty of God's creation by our business and our narrow and lazy eyes.<br />
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What else are we missing by not stopping to be still? Maybe our ears are not hearing very well. We do not understand that hearing is not an external thing but an internal once. The sound enters into your ears and onto your ear drums and sends information to your brain and from you past your brain processes what it hears and send messages to your body. Just like food enters our mouths and we taste and it nourishes so does sound, vision, sensations and scents. They all send messages to your brain about your external world.<br />
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What could we learn from life when we stop and meditate or think on the pure. lovely, honourable, lovely, true and admirable. When we stop to see what God has done and hear His voice speaking over His Creation we praise Him and He will give us peace.<br />
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We rush around in haste and busyness because we do not stop see clearly. We are going full tilt into every area of our life but we do not stop to hear the sounds around us. We do not stop to see how our Father sees or hear what our Father hears and is saying to us. We don't feel the texture of the clothes on our skin until it irritates us. Until the nails hit the chalkboard and that high pitched squeal ensues we do not hear anything. Until there is a car high-beaming and we getting annoyed we do not see. Until somethings smells like rotten fish and assaults our nostrils we do not smell.<br />
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Why is it that we only take notice of our senses when we get annoyed or uncomfortable? Maybe it is because it is far easier to keep our senses of all that is pure and lovely so dumbed down that all we end up doing is complaining and being grumpy about our discomforts.<br />
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When we value our senses and the gifts that they are we will experience His Creation in a different way. A new peaceful way of living our lives where we actually live it and not go through it limited.<br />
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It is beautiful. Every inch of it. Don't let it go by in a blur. Stop now and sense the Roses.<br />
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Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-69778494734657012232015-09-01T22:22:00.002+12:002015-09-01T22:27:21.555+12:00Sacrifice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I moved over to New Zealand 8 years ago. I moved to a first world country and for some that doesn't seem to be such a sacrifice. When people think of being called to the mission field they think of China or Africa. We still have a TV and running water from the tap and other luxuries "real" missionaries don't always have. We even have a flushing toilet (for which I am most thankful).<br />
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Does this make me any less called though?<br />
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I do not know why God didn't just leave us where we were in South Africa and use us there. I do not know why He didn't send us to Africa and China (although we may still end up there in the future). What I do know is that He sent us here to New Zealand. We heard the call and we said yes.<br />
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We never thought we would ever leave South Africa. Why would we need to leave, we had family and friends there? We had just bought a house and were about to welcome our first child into the world. We were settled and serving in a church. A small part of us decided to leave because of the crime but a large part was that we heard the call from God to leave and go to the land which He was showing us.<br />
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Stepping out was difficult but at the same time it was an adventure. God had called us and I was eager to see what He was going to do in our lives. But it came with sacrifice. I had to leave my side of the family behind and my husband left his parents behind. Not being able to be there for your sister when she was expecting her little baby boy. Not being able to comfort your brother or sister when they are having a hard time and not being able to be physically there for them is a sacrifice. It is a price I had to pay. I live in a beautiful country with wonderful people who have been there for me through the hardest times of my life and have celebrated with me through every victory and milestone. I sacrificed the familiar for the unfamiliar. I need to make things work here whereas where you have grown up you know the history and you know those you have grown up with. But hey wherever I go I will always be a stranger in a foreign land. No matter how well I learn the language and try and blend in with accents and the way I dress I am still a foreigner because my real home is with the Father. This home is only temporary.<br />
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In New Zealand we have made many many friends. Served in a few churches and supported leaders and pastors and we are still doing that today. We lead our own homegroup and we are seeing God move in the lives of those around us. We are stepping out in new areas and overcoming challenges and giants.<br />
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There was a cost. There was sacrifice. There was heartache and even today as I sit here my heart aches for my family still in South Africa who have to go through things alone. But I hand it to God. He has the best plan for all our lives and right now I am where I am meant to be. Not in China or Africa... yet but here in New Zealand with a TV and running water from a tap and a flushing toilet.<br />
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Have you weighed the cost? Do you know that there will be some form of sacrifice that you will need to offer up? Are you willing to leave family, work, friends, whatever it may be to follow where He leads you?<br />
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Listen carefully to His call. When you hear His voice calling your name, take that step and in obedience no matter the cost. There will be people who will tell you you can't do it. They will think you are crazy but do it anyway.<br />
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There is sacrifice for now but God rewards those who diligently serve Him. He rewards those who have sacrificed and paid the price.<br />
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Nothing is impossible for our God. So follow Him with your whole heart, forsaking all others.Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-66348137652920673662015-08-13T21:23:00.005+12:002015-08-13T21:46:06.217+12:00A Lot To Be Thankful For.<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+118%3A24&version=NKJV" target="_blank">Psalm 118:24</a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">This</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span><i style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">is</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">the day the</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 24px;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">has made;</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-118-24" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">We will rejoice and be glad in it.</span><br />
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I am so incredibly blessed. I don't say this to boast but rather to acknowledge what God has done in my life.<br />
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This is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice in it. It is so easy to get discouraged or upset and angry and to have a bad hair day. I have had quite a few of those in my life. Sometimes I just want to be left alone to mope. When nothing is going right in my life and my health isn't too great and I am feeling out of sorts it isn't easy to be happy and enjoy my day. I just want to curl into a ball and go to sleep for a week.<br />
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But God! Again He comes and takes me by the hand and rescues me and sets my feet upon the rock again.<br />
You see I had a revelation today as I was driving in my car and listening to my favorite Christian radio station. The verse Psalm 118:24 came up, "This is the day the Lord has made and I (we) will rejoice in it"<br />
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The first part got me. This is the day that the Lord has made. That means that today is special. It isn't just any ordinary day. It is the day that the Lord has made. If that is the only reason to rejoice then that is the best reason in the world. That God made today for me and He put me in today for such a time as this. By moping around the house (note I didn't say mopping, I don't mop, I shop) I haven't achieved anything joyful today. I didn't tell anyone about Jesus. I didn't smile at a stranger and have them smile back. I didn't extend kindness and friendliness because I was so busy being sour.<br />
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Still parts of me wants to just sulk and be miserable with the world but that is exactly where Satan wants me. He wants me to be miserable and ungrateful so that I will forget to count my blessings. He wants me to forget what God has done for me and he wants me to forget who my God is and how mighty and powerful He. The more negative I become the more I want to give up.<br />
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I love how God speaks to me. How He always finds a way to tell me how much He loves me and cares for me. He is aware of where I am and when I am far from Him He isn't very far from me.<br />
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So today, the day Lord has made in this I will rejoice.<br />
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Why don't you embrace today with me for what it is, a gift from our Heavenly Father. Rejoice me over the amazing things that will happen today and the amazing things He has done in the those days gone by that He also made.<br />
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I am coming up to 6000 views on my Blog! Even though I did not post last week the traffic to my Blog has continued and I am so thankful. Thank you all for your support.<br />
I am thankful that God has chosen to use my paintings to bless others. I am thankful that He has made me to have a lot of unique talents and has made able to adapt well to anything He has asked me to do and to apply all I learn to every aspect of my life.<br />
I am thankful that today He has laid this message on my heart to you and for myself.<br />
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If you are finding it difficult to rejoice today can I ask that you stop, take a deep breath and tell God that you are ready to hear from Him and that you are fixing your eyes on Him right now and off your situation. Then think of 2 things that have happened today that you are thankful for. It doesn't have to be big. Just that you had breakfast today and that you have clean clothes or that you are breathing and are able to come to God whenever you want. Start small and soon you will realize that this really is the day the Lord and you can and will rejoice and be glad in it.<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-47006025679063307002015-08-01T01:34:00.003+12:002021-09-29T21:59:34.238+13:00Bringing Hope to a Younger Generation<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%202:3-5&version=MSG" target="_blank">Titus 2:1-6 </a> <span class="chapternum" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; bottom: -0.1em; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; line-height: 0.8em; position: relative;"> </span><span face="'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives.</span><br />
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There is always someone watching you. There is always someone who needs to be taught what you have learned. There is always someone who has never been loved the way you have that you can share that love with.<br />
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I have probably blogged something similar before but something that has happened recently has got me thinking about my attitude and my very narrow world.<br />
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I have come across and have had people in my life who have not had the same life I have had. Basic things I have taken for granted. Born into a Christian family. The Easter bunny guaranteed every Easter and Santa every Christmas. Milestones were celebrated. My life was far from perfect and still isn't but I always had someone cheering me on and supporting me and doing their best for me.<br />
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Now that I am married and have my own children I see my life and am very grateful for what God has done in my life but it can't stop there. It must not stop there.<br />
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There are people in this world who have never learned how to care for and love their children. There are children out there who have been abandoned by their very own parents.<br />
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So what can we do about it?<br />
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This is what we can do. Don't walk out on the troublesome teen. Don't walk out on the unruly child. You might just be that very person they trust. If you walk out on them and do not value the place and purpose you have in their lives you are just going to be another person who has walked out on them.<br />
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There is always someone watching you and wanting to be like you. It may be hard to believe but I do feel we don't fully understand the impact we have on others lives. Don't you remember a time where all you wished for is someone to be on your side and come along side you and help you through the stuff of life.<br />
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What people need is hope. They need to know that you are committed and that you will be consistent and keep your promises. They want to know you care about them. You may think this is a lot of responsibility but I don't think it is. Aside from loving God we are told to love our neighbours as ourselves and by the increase of selfies I say we love ourselves a whole lot so how about we spread that love and put an arm around those that need hope and take some "groupies". Make people a part of your life.<br />
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Yes we are busy and yes we would rather not go to another youth thing where we feel awkward because we are old(er). When our week has been busy and we are tired and we don't want to go out and feel out of place with a generation that we don't have much in common with other than that we were there once a long time ago.<br />
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I pray I never forget what it was like growing up and all the teen stuff and all the feelings I went through. I am glad they are behind me and I never have to go through it again (although other challenges lay ahead of me I am sure) but I want to be able to help another girl with her journey. I want to show her who Jesus is through my actions and through my commitment to her and her future and in the way I love.<br />
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You can never know by simply looking at another person what they are going through or what their lives have been like up until that point. But if you never take the time out to reach out you will never know and you will never be able to help and give out advice that is much needed.<br />
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It is scary going through this life and you may be a child's only hope.<br />
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This may not be what God is calling you to do but I feel really strongly that I am to help young girls. I have 4 of my own and I wish that everyone had the life my girls have. I am not a perfect mother, I get it wrong, I blow it so many times a day but they do not have the worries that some children have. They do not have to worry about mum and dad being there for them when they wake up in the morning. They do not worry about what they will have for lunch that day or the fact that they did not have breakfast. They have shoes they choose not to wear and a bed and a roof over their heads, none of which they have ever had to worry about. The kitchen is always full of food, magically and they get what they ask for (within reason, candy before dinner is never an option).<br />
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It simply breaks my heart that their are kids that worry. Kids that will wait for Santa to come and he won't come.<br />
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You can't make everyone happy but I won't quit trying because of one person who really didn't want me around. I will save it for those who are desperately praying to God for an answer to their loneliness and need for guidance.<br />
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I hope someone out there knows what it is I am trying to say. If God is calling you to something do it well and with a servant heart. Don't complain about being tired and not wanting to do it (and I am like that sometimes so I am not only talking to you) My attitude has got to change from what I am called to do to the people I am called to serve and love. The responsibility I have to others is so much greater than whether or not I feel like it today or not. I shouldn't be doing things because I have to or even want to but out of a place of love. Love what Jesus loves. Love who Jesus loves.<br />
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If you kind of understood what I was trying to say here please let me know either on Facebook or in the comments below. I would really like to hear some feedback.<br />
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Almost 2 in the morning here so better head off to bed.<br />
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Blessings for the weekend.<br />
Love Tamryn<br />
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<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442281489462782486.post-20036735653073704132015-07-21T22:11:00.001+12:002015-07-23T09:48:33.878+12:00Quitting When You Need to PushJohn 16:21 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.</span><br />
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Yes I know this is a very strange title and scripture. I am going to write a bit about birth and what I experienced when I had my 4 babies and how that applies to what I am going through now and what I feel some of you are going through now.<br />
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I have 4 daughters and had 3 of them without any painkillers but for my first I did have a bit of pain before I had an epidural and even then I could feel the contractions faintly. I will spare you all the gory details but I was reflecting on this this week.<br />
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I have felt like quitting what I am doing right now. I have asked God to use me and now that He is and I am about to "birth" something new in my spiritual life I want to quit. The exact same thing happened when I was in a transition in labour with each of my girls. Baby was just a few minutes away from being born it was all going to be over very soon and I was going to feel the joy of meeting my little baby. However I had this irrational thought to get up and walk out that hospital. There was no going back at this point but I had gotten to a point where I felt I just couldn't do it.<br />
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The words "I can't do it let's just go home" came out of my mouth between contractions but it was those around me who encouraged me to keep going and I said a little prayer and I think I prayed in tongues too for extra measure. Something rose up in me and I resolved to push through (pun intended). I pushed through and very soon after baby was in my arms.<br />
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I have had some many dreams of being pregnant or birthing and as some of you know dreams about being pregnant or giving birth is about a new ministry or new thing that God is bringing into your life.<br />
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I asked God why I was feeling like quitting. Should I quit and if not what am I to do about this?<br />
This is the answer I have been getting through the week and on Sunday at church through the messages that were shared at both our services.<br />
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First question was why do I want to quit? The answer, because it is about comfort. I want to quit so that I can go back to being just stay at home mum and housewife when life was more comfortable than it is now. This is interesting because I really felt that why I was just a SAHM and Housewife that there was more to my life. Being a mum and a wife are very important but I felt God was saying I had a capacity for more.<br />
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Motherhood is great and so is being a wife. They have their challenges but I am now other things too. I have grown and been stretched. But now it is time for a new wine skin and to extend the tent pegs.<br />
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Labour is painful and it is at it's worst right before the baby is born. What I am saying is that if you feel like quitting maybe it is because you are tired and in pain and feel like you can't go on but that is because you are almost there. You may just be one last push away or one last step away from seeing the fruit of your labour.<br />
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We need to see beyond the here and now and see the more that God has for us.<br />
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So the answer to the next question "what am I to do?" I am not going to quit. I am actually quite excited to see what is around the next corner. I am going to press on a little bit longer until the anguish gives way to joy because of the new thing birthed in my life.<br />
<br />Tamryn de Labordehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538289198701501845noreply@blogger.com0