Creative Fruit from my holiday :)

I painted my Matthew playing in his favourite sand pit!

A complete original 

A Quick Word

Why I Write

When I started this blog, I thought to use it as a casual kind of space, to journal somewhat about my life since marrying an American and moving away form home and family.
In my eagerness to simply record some events, I haven't included all that the Lord has been working in me through all of these events, travels, relationships and circumstances.

I think this is remiss of me, coz, for one, it makes for a much more shallow story of My Noble Life, but also, it doesn't do justice to the grace and power of the Spirit of God at work in a soul to bring forth the fruit of His life within.

I have another blog, called The IncorruptibleSeed  and this one is more substantially centred on God's Word, but even so, I want to be sure and cover significant things that God is doing, to heal, restore, bring forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as salvation, through life's every day events.

In Brief Review

So, in-keeping with this, I would like to write just a few paragraphs.

Since I arrived back in Oz, truly uncertain of when I would return to the US, the Lord has been doing some very deep restorative work. I feel like He brought me home to still waters and green pastures to minister to my soul and help navigate me through certain shadowy places that were lurking in my heart.

Having this glorious environment and being surrounded by lovers of God and lovers of me ( :) ), has been medicinal, but not without revelation about aspects of my own heart's condition, regarding previous choices, wounds and lost dreams. God always leads us through death to resurrection life. There is no other way.

All through this time, especially the holiday, and even continuing on, there have been insights, acknowledgements, acceptance,  releasing, seeking and  healing. I've cried a lot. I rejoiced a lot. I've prayed and struggled and studied and worshiped, been desperately disappointed, distracted, scattered and sometimes, confused and heavy hearted. I have, on several occasions, wondered why I am even on earth-feeling so pointless.

I know it sounds heavy, but it is all part of coming out of the darkness, out of the wilderness, and into the true Light and freedom of eternal life in Christ Jesus. 

In all this, no matter how ineffective it seems, I turn to the Lord, reminded that His eye is on me and His ear is attentive to my prayer. That He truly hears my longing and deluded heart, and graciously grants wisdom and peace for the moment, then, the next moment. He just wants me to keep close and by needing Him in every moment- I stay close.

Thing is, we always need Him every moment. We just forget and so He allows what's needed, so that we can be reminded and be drawn in for deeper intimacy.

In conclusion for now...

The point of the noblest life is to walk with the Lord Jesus and God, our Father, by the indwelling, ever present and precious, Holy Spirit. In truth, I face no situation, circumstance or relationship without this Presence.
He is my hiding place and for more on that go to my other blog, as that is the subject for today's post.

Thanks for reading.

Lisa

Family Holiday Highlights

Hello!!

I wanted to skim across the top of the highlights of this Family Holiday that I had not completed.
It was very full and eventful, having two sons having birthdays, staying between three different homes-mum's, my brother Jamie's and in laws.

The first night was an intimate family dinner which was very pleasurable.

We went for Thai, and it was a splendid night.

From Left, Parrish, his fiance Megan, two random people in the background lol, Paulie and Matthew.

Below: is me...Possum ( Sarah) and their Dad, Dave. Rache and Kani were missing

I stayed with mum for a few days after that as the siblings enjoyed each other, their dad and their grandparents.

I had a bit of a catch up with mum, but I also had a constant longing to paint!! In watercolours, I have found such pleasure and satisfaction and altho I felt at a loss, initally ( to use them in their most unique ways), I painted along to tutorials  and developed my tool box of skills. Of course, this continues constantly and is best reflected when I can take a subject matter of my own and create an artwork. 
Funny thing! Mum was in the middle of her painting project in oils...a wedding gift for Rache and Kani, JimBoH ( as I call him! ) is deep in quite a lot of his serious series of art pieces, and then, here come I, the humble drawer with her travel pack and palette lol. But I did get a lovely prize, painting wise, out of this trip-as you will see. :)

 I believe both of these tutes were run by the frugal crafter -bubbly  girl , this one!
:)

and I have done a few with Ekaterina Smirnova too ( love her accent!)    

 
 

and this was a definite highlight for me! Oh and for my brother and I, a true-blue Ozzie Meat pie by the lake and  a local art exhibition in the colonial house!

The following Friday was my Matthew's 25th birthday!! He and Sarah and Paul ( whose birthday followed two days later) took a trip into family history. We trained to Parramatta, walked to the River Cat and caught that up the river , across the harbour and under the iconic Bridge, so dock at Circular Quay where we wold board another ferry for Watson's Bay.

Due to an urgent toilet stop we had to wait another hour, so we decided to have a light meal in a nearby park. Place very busy. Waaaay too many photos of all this, so here a couple of the journey to Camp Cove, and the actual site of all Grandma's lovely stories! ( And also the opening setting for my  novel, Escape to Ecclesia. So...a pretty special place.

And when we arrived, we ate Fish & Chips.. as you do! but instead of the Doyle's take away on the wharf, or in the restaurant, we ate at the Watson's Bay Hotel.

After which, we wandered along to 23 Cliff St, where my children met there Great Great Auntie Faye for the first time ( who also inspired a character in my book!)

It was a very brief and sweetly hospitable visit with my 92 yr baby sister of my late Grandma, with a photo and then off, to show my babes the house where their Grandma and mine both grew up- 30 Cliff St.

 "Auntie" June (daughter of Faye's big sister, Joyce) -my mum's cousin, is there now, but she was out, so sadly, we couldn't go in, but I described as much as I remembered.

This historic place...familially speaking has charmed several generations. And it was not lost on my children. We ventured on down to Camp Cove, of which I have many memories as a very young local, having visited there with mum.  We passed through a bridal photo shoot and up into the old war 'ruins'. In this way, this place reminded me very much of San Francisco and and the headlands connected via the Golden Gate. 

Like my mum, I want to paint it all. Matthew took at least as  many photos as I did. I eventually ran out of space on both phones and battery for phone and camera! 

So, to finish off, we did not exhaust all we wanted to do by any means, so we want to go back, but it was a splendid family day!

These walls had holes for guns of snipers, And here is the classic little strip of Watson's Bay beach.

The rest of this holiday's highlights will have to go in yet another post! lol

It was a GOOD family time.
I think Matt has the images of Auntie Faye. But here's one from a visit recently with mum and Steve and her great, great, great niece and nephew, Charlize and Liam.