Small

Small.  Little.  Tiny.  It's the small things.  Don't sweat the small stuff. Just a few initial thoughts.

Small is my littlest girl. Phoebe, Doodles, the rabbit. She's small. She doesn't want to be small. She wants to be big like her (also little to me!) sister. She wants to  be 4....she'll tell you she's nearly 4. She's wishing time away, always striving to be bigger, older, more like her sister.  Less small.

But small is good. It really is the small things. They are the things that make a difference.

Listening.  Really listening.....not just being there in body. That makes a difference.

Smiling at someone. Smiling a real smile. Noticing when someone needs something.

Those are small things, but they mean so much.

I'm lucky to have friends who do the small things........and also do the bigger things, but it is the small things that can make such a simple difference.  What small thing could you do for someone today?

At a very small person's dedication service today, the preacher (the fabulous Pete Phillips) spoke about shining for God. Stars look small. I know they are not (there's a scientist in me somewhere!) but they look small out in the night sky. Like a small candle flame which can give off so much light. Small but definitely not insignificant. I want to encourage my small girls to let their light shine, to shine for God. To do the small things. To make a difference.

Maybe I need to lead by example. Let's try.......

Garden

This week's post from Lisa-Jo included a surprise. A huge fundraiser for amazing things. See here for more information.

So this week's prompt is garden.

My garden is a mess. We didn't have a garden before we moved here, and we've done ok with it. In the summer it yielded mountains of vegetables. Its sheltered spot with plenty of sunshine and making sure it was well watered produced great things.  But it was all thanks to my mum who started all the plants off, whether from seed, or by nurturing the first young plants. I'm very grateful to her, and hope she will do the same this year.

I guess that's a bit like life. I want the crops, the end product, the vegetables. But I'm not so good at starting things off. I need someone to give me a kick start. Maybe I worry too much,  maybe I dont have the skills, or maybe I'm too lazy. The kickstart though, gets me going and I can see it through.

My new job is an example.  My wonderful friend Ruth found it and told me to apply.  My great friend Claire helped me fill in the application form and cheered me on my way, and the same friends and my husband encouraged me to be myself at interview,  where they offered me the job.

From the seeds God places in our hearts, great things can happen. I encourage you this week to see what seeds are being planted, and how you can nurture them and make them grow. Good luck, and let me know what's growing in your heart.

God bless x

Write

Writing. Writing's hard. I teach it all the time (well, not for much longer, but maybe that's a whole other post!), and the kids find it hard. I find it hard. I don't think I'd pass the year 6 SATs. I certainly wouldn't make the holy grail of the much coveted Level 6. I only got a level 6 in my Y9 SATs (and no, I'm not that old, I was the first year to do them!).

So apart from teaching it and writing mountains of stars and wishes on children's writing, when else do I write? Well I write text messages to friends. I write on Facebook walls. I even write notes to my husband.....shame they are things like, "Get milk", "Move the carseat", or the latest, stuck to the spare room door, "Close Me". I'm very profound.

Yet I write myself notes a lot. I have no memory. I believe I squeezed it out when I gave birth to the girls....at least it was around then that it was last seen. So I write notes to keep myself going. To remind me where I need to be, what I need to do, or of the million things I haven't done. One day I'll even reach the bottom of the 'To Do' list. Well, let me dream anyway.

Write. It's what I do here. I do it in the privacy of this blog. And then, to be honest, not many people read it. Yes, some lovely people come from Lisa Jo's blog (where this all started), and someone always comments. I'm really grateful for that. It's a fab thing to do (sign up, I dare you!). But who else reads it? Who else would want to?! The inane ramblings of a Mooble.  So today I'm going to be brave. I think. I'm going to link to it on Facebook. Oh, time's up. Hey there Facebook friends. Sorry for the randomness. But do pop back. See what I write next.

Writing's fun!