Every day is a gift

Eek!  Two weeks to go until the Stocking Stuffer Street Stall at church... which seems like long enough if I could be a full-time crafter, but isn't much when I only manage to make two things every day!


I have made a commitment that my family, and the general tidiness of the house, comes first.  But it seems that the washing is piling up, and the boys naptimes are getting shorter!  I need to put my skates on, but I can't find them under the increasing number of boxes being stored in my laundry (for ease of access to craft materials)!


One of the most difficult things I have found about being a mum is the 'interrupted' day.  It's hard to concentrate on a task (like writing a blog entry!), when your two-year-old is sitting on your one-year-old and they're both screaming!


But, as I realised a few days ago, God will provide the time I need to get done the things I need to do.  Remembering to 'keep it simple', I just need to keep going and see what can be achieved in another two weeks.  There are some exciting projects in the works!


I love these words from the song "Life means so much" by Chris Rice:

Every day is a gift you've been given

Make the most of the time every minute you're living

Teach us to count the days

Teach us to make the days count

Lead us in better ways

That somehow our souls forgot

Life means so much

Every day is a bank account

And time is our currency

So nobody's rich, nobody's poor

We get 24 hours each

So how are you gonna spend

Will you invest, or squander

Try to get ahead

Or help someone who's under

Have a great weekend!

Small things

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.

   Mother Teresa

Ahh, small things. Everyday things. Mundane things.

Another load of washing. Picking up the toys and books. Taking out the rubbish.  Depending on our heart attitude, these things can make us weary and annoyed, or they can be opportunities to show love to one another.

I hope your day is full of 'small things'! Be blessed!

Give all you can

I love this quote from John Wesley.  It captures the way I think about money, especially in this season of being a single-income family.


In fact, it was after a household budget meeting that I became really passionate about raising money for victims of the famine in Africa.  You see, I'm not doing so well on the two budget areas I feel most responsible for - Groceries and Gifts.  Let's just say that if I stuck to the budgeted amount, we wouldn't be eating for the last 6 weeks of 2011!  But, I've also realised that this year I'm feeding a family of four (and babies eat a lot!), and that I'm trying to be as wise as I can about the way I shop and prepare meals for our family.  


As I thought about my weekly grocery budget and looked at some figures from ALWS, I started to realise that what I was spending could be multiplied many times over:

• $2 will feed a family of six for one day
• $156 will provide 100kg of food - enough for 1428 meals!

Have a look at this short video to see some more information about the huge impact of the African famine:

And so, while we're still planning to eat, I'm not so eager to go out for takeaway, and do I really need those donuts?  Am I trying to save all I can so that I can give all I can?  It's a good challenge to all of us as we go into the 'silly season'.  May God give each of us the wisdom we need when it comes to how we make, save, give and spend our money.