Hmmmmm....

I just have to start with this ~ I took this photo,

and while it is a little out of focus,

I just LOVE it - and it is straight off my iPhone -

no instagram or any other app -

that is the colour of the sky the day I took it!

I've been in a bit of a blog fog lately...which is why I've probably relied so much on photos in my last few posts.

There is so much going on in my head and so much I want to write about that I'm not sure where to start, and how to make sense of it all....

Then I remembered Van Gogh's words:

"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint"...

then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced"

Wise words.

So - here I am! Maybe I'll start with some photos that I've taken recently... I'm using photography as my creative outlet at the moment ( we've all gotta have one, right???) - Plus these images just make me smile - even if they're not techinically perfect! 

As I've mentioned several times before here , here and here ...music impacts my life in a big way. Here's what's been helping me lately. We sing this at Church and I just love it.

Power Of Your Love

Sometimes I feel like I need more of a guiding hand - then I realise that it's there, I'm just not using it! I get too side-tracked sweating the small stuff...

I'm trying very hard to pull myself out of the funk that I'm in at the moment - but sometimes the magnitude of things overwhelms me and I succumb to old ways.... silly, I know.... but in the words of good old Neil Diamond

"...everyone's got rainy days

it isn't so much if, but when"

The sun has been shinig beautifully today and spring is definitely on it's way - the flowers are blooming, the weather is warming up and the kids are loving playing outside again ! So I've focused on that today!

Talk again soon - I'm writing about "Truths" too at the moment - it's pretty confronting - and I think that's where my "block" is....

Love

Danni xx

No Matter What...

Who would have ever thought that I'd be using Boyzone as an influence

or inspiration for my blog...
or at all really????

I heard/listened to/sang this song at Church the other week,

and haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since.
( see, I told you that music has a big influence on my life
-it has a way of talking to me and makes me think)

It was only after talking to my beautiful, honest
and skeptical friend ,
(who is here from overseas at the moment)
that I realised and had confirmed just how much
I love my Church,
what it represents
and how much it's helped me to grow.
So Thank You dear friend x

I'm slowly learning to have faith
in my faith

I'm slowly learning to have faith
in me!

"No matter what they tell us
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach us
What we believe is true "

I LOVE that line:
What we believe is true
My beliefs are my truths,
just as
your beliefs are yours.
Isn't that great?
Even when I'm not certain of what my beliefs are,
and even if our beliefs vary,
isn't it nice to think that they are still valid,
that they still provide comfort and peace to us,
as individuals?

Listen to the song here (click)

 

Lots of love to you ALL

No matter what

 

Danni xx

Tolerance....

I have been thinking a bit about tolerance and intolerance lately.

I have witnessed a few situations that caused me to think about it and to wonder why people think/act/react in ways that they do. For the majority there is usually a larger underlying issue, I understand that. What I don't understand is why people believe that THEIR thoughts/beliefs/practices ( or lack thereof) are better than anyone else's? It's the holier than thou attitude that I find hard to accept and understand.

People expect respect for their beliefs but more often than not - the more vocal ones are the ones with the least respect for others.. how does that work? I struggle to understand the logic behind this. My understanding is that respect is a mutual thing - a two way street. Maybe I am too idealistic and naive.

I struggle to understand a lot of things


But this concerns me.


The human races' lack of tolerance and respect for each other saddens and  concerns me .

A lot

I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson, however I can't get this song out of my head as I think of these things at the moment:  Heal the world

Not much more to say today really - other than I wish there was more tolerance in the world - at all levels - then this world might be healed a little and be an even better place for us all

I'll close my eyes, make a wish, and blow.....

Danni xx 

Is your Beacon Shining?

When I posted initially about Inspiration, I think I neglected to mention music. Music has a way of speaking to me. I have eclectic taste in music. ( That statement greatly amuses a friend of mine.... maybe more about that another time) Music can affect my moods dramatically and I love that. ( I realise that I'm not Robinson Crusoe in this, but bear with me... I am leading somewhere here) Music can make me laugh, smile, reminisce, feel like dancing, it can make me sing and make me cry ( A LOT of music makes me cry) Music and lyrics make me think too - the messages that they can send can be very powerful.

I heard a song recently - titled "You Can't be a Beacon ( if your Light Don't Shine) " I heard it on a day that I needed to and was meant to hear it. I have heard this song before, but this time,it really spoke to me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since. It's not the music with this song- I'm actually not partial to the nasal drawl or country-fied feel of the song itself - it's the message.  I guess it's reinforcing what I've talked about before - that we need to behave/think/act like we wish others to - to lead by example.

I feel this is something I really need to work on at the moment - and I guess that song was presented to me for a reason. How can I expect my kids to treat each other with patience and kindness and tenderness - when they are not seeing those around them practice this way of communicating. Lately I have been letting the little things get to me and have been reacting in a not so exemplary way - especially where the kids are concerned. How can I then reprimand them for their behaviours when they are simply replicating mine? It is a true awakening for me some days.

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

How can you ask for truth when you do not truthful live
How can you ask forgiveness when you don't forgive
I don't mean to bring you down or speak to you unkind
But you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

How can you ask a child to be honest and true
When he can only judge what's right by what he sees in you
How can you offer vision yet walk around blind
No you can't see a beacon if it's light don't shine

You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
You can't be a beacon if your light don't shine

May God's love surround you, may you find a brighter day
May He grant you the peace you seek in every way
God's light burns in each life, in yours and mine
And you can be a beacon if you just let it shine

You can be a beacon if you let it shine
You can be a beacon if you let it shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can be a beacon if you'll just let it shine

You can be a beacon if you let it shine
You can be a beacon if you let it shine
There's a little light in all of us by God's design
And you can be a beacon if you let it shine

I think we can all learn something from this - for the better we are/act/feel then the more we shine - which in turn,  then reflects in others.

You light the way.

You become the shining example.

I hope I will continue to be reminded, to grow and 
to shine much brighter

Danni xx