Category: July

Posted in Blogging, July, my thoughts, slow, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 8 – Slow

Today was a slow day.  Only had three babies in our room today.  And we amused ourselves with dancing, singing and reading books and cuddles and eating and sleeping (the babies) not my colleague and I.  Though we both were tired.  
We had the dinosaurs set up in the room all week which was a lot of fun.  They were in the sensory play experience tray that we set up.  
(Poor chickens and T-Rex, the brachiosaurus wasn’t impressed.)
And we also had some Australian animals as well.
(Thorny devil, dingo and red kangaroo.)
(Mr Platypus…)
It was a long day too, and I was there from 7.30 in the morning until 6.30 at night….so eleven hours straight. Long long day.   I love my work, but it can be absolutely exhausting.  I wouldn’t trade it, though.  And I don’t mind the slow days so much.  So much more one-on-one interactions can happen on those days.  I love it.

Posted in Blogging, day 7, July, life, shorter post, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 7 – Talk

Today was filled with talk.  Babies learning to talk, learning new words and just babbling and believing that they were fully engaged in conversation.  Talk of work practises at previous centres that we all worked at and tonight, talk with family and friends about everything that was possible.  From Star Wars to work, to relationships, to religion, to innuendo laden statements.
And that last talk was accompanied by tacos.
Taco and Talk was what Mark called it.
A great day.  With lots of words spoken.  
Posted in a chaos of delight, Blogging, day 6, July, seed, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 6 – Seed

I’m not a green thumb so I won’t talk about seed plants, or anything to do with actual physical seeds.  Instead I want to talk about a small thought I had during the day.  
Lately I’ve become, I hesitate to say, addicted to playing games on my iPad when I could be better served spending my time on more intellectual pursuits.  So, that’s why I picked up Geoffrey Dobson’s book A Chaos of Delight: Science, Religion and Myth and the Shaping of Western Thought.  

It’s a fantastic and thought provoking read so far.  I know I’ve probably read it before many years ago, but I thought I’d give my brain some exercise again.  It looks into how across the years humans have tried to make sense of the world through religion, myth and science and looks at the history of all these ways.  Fascinating book.  Dobson is objective in how he approaches the information in the book but does take a benevolent view toward religion etc and basically explains that we as humans need to understand that everyone has different views and that they are legitimate.  And that the most important thing is that we the fact that we have such diverse views of the world is actually essential to us as humans.  
I think that this book is one off the first where I actually paid attention to the footnotes as Dobson adds extra information in many of his.  
I love reading books like this.  It stretches my mind and that’s always a good thing.
Oh and I love learning about the history of religious belief and mythology and science, so there’s that too.  
And perhaps reading books like this will plant new seeds of thoughts in my mind.  



Posted in Blogging, July, my thoughts, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word A Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 5 – Golden

Golden is the name of the filly that Thowra, in The Silver Brumby, directs his attention to when The Man returns to the mountains.  The Man trained her up in the mountains and I know that he did it up there deliberately to try and catch Thowra.  But that backfired and Golden ended up running with Thowra’s herd and having his foals.  

The Silver Brumby is one of my all time favourite films based on one of my favourite childhood books.  

And, yes.  That’s Russell Crowe before he became famous.  He played “The Man”.  

Posted in Blogging, day 4, July, my thoughts, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 4 – Brave

Have you ever stopped to think what was the bravest moment in your life?  Or what does it mean to be brave?  In the media and society we often give awards for bravery to those who undertake death defying feats, or save others from burning buildings or go and fight wars for our countries.  And yes, there is no denying that they are the actions of brave people, or that they are acts of bravery.  But, have you ever paused to ponder how bravery looks like in your own every day life?
Let’s look at a definition of the word ‘brave’.  
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘brave’ thusly:
Adjective 
1.  Ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage
Verb
1.  Endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behaviour) without showing fear.  
I believe as soon as we see the word ‘danger’ linked with the word brave we automatically think of the most horrific situations people can be put in that they need to be courageous in.  However, I want you to take a step back and consider for a moment that perhaps, for some, that waking up in the morning is a huge step of courage.  There are those who live with a chronic illness or live in unstable domestic situations who face each day bravely and if they get through the day with not much trouble, consider it a win.  They may brush it off as how life is, but I personally think it’s a form of bravery.  
My husband is one of those people.  I honestly don’t think I could go through life the way he does with his health condition.  It’s often difficult just seeing it second hand.  He does say that having me in his life makes a difference, but…he was working and doing things even before we met.  So, brave he is.  
Bravery can show up in small everyday moments as well.  In my own world it shows up in the moment that I strike up the courage to call someone on the phone.  Or speak up about something at work.  Or even just voice my own views about a particular subject.  
Yes, viewing braveness in this way seems to be counterintuitive.  I by no means am trying to lessen the impact of the big, brave acts of the people we see as heroes.  I just think we need to understand that life in and of itself is a journey where we step out without fear and try to make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of others.  
Posted in Aus Pol, Australia Votes, Blogging, Election 2016, July, my thoughts, word a day

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly
Day 2 – Shift (Election Day thoughts)

Today is Election Day.  Australia will go to the voting polls and make a decision on who should lead this country.  One thing that needs to be clarified is that we don’t elect our Prime Minister.  The parties do that, we only vote for the candidates in the electorate that we live in.  Now that I’ve said that…
This year it has become apparent that it won’t be good enough just to vote like we’ve always done.  But that will take a huge shift in common mindsets to realise.  I’ve read several articles pertaining to how we should vote as followers of Christ (as I am a committed Christian) and several points have been brought up very clearly.  
First, that we need to be prayerful in the decisions we make.
Second, we should vote in light of what others need
Third, there are no “Christian” parties.  Though there are parties with the word “Christian” in them.  However, when you look at the policies they are wanting to put forward…some of them are not how Jesus would respond to the needs of this world.  And that’s what being Christian is truly about.  Being like Jesus.  
Four, don’t let the media or others pressure you into voting for certain parties.  
And fifth, it doesn’t matter if you don’t agree with every policy that a particular party has laid on the table.  You need to consider the pros and cons of every party and see which outweighs in each case.
But, it’s the second point that I want to stick to for the moment.  It’s a huge paradigm shift to even start thinking that we should vote, not for ourselves, but for others.  But, I will strive to vote in this way. Because, the future generations is who we are really voting for.  And those who are less advantaged and don’t have a voice.  And those who cannot vote, yet.  
Which brings me to another thought.  Hubby and I were watching Q and A the other night and someone either tweeted or commented that perhaps the voting age should be lowered.  So, 16-17 year olds could vote voluntarily and then voting would become compulsory from 18 years of age.  I think the idea is definitely worth thinking on.  There are many 16 and 17 year olds who are knowledgable enough and aware enough to actually be able to make informed decisions about political issues. They deserve a voice, they are the future after all.  And when it comes to what their generation need are they not their own best advocates?  Yes, they may still be children, legally…but it doesn’t mean they are not aware of social justice issues, or economic issues.  All these things affect them in no small measure and they deserve to have a say in what their future will look like.  
I know personally that at 16, 17, I was able to have reasoned discussions about serious topics.  Having good education does help.  But, to touch on that would be worth another blog post.  
So, in light of all that I have written…consider your vote seriously and make it count.
Posted in Blogging, journal wild, July, my thoughts

July Blogging Challenge – Word a Day

Posted on by Marly

Blossom
It’s winter in Australia and I usually don’t associate the word blossom with this wonderful and cold season.  However, I believe I can still think on the word, even in this period of time.  
To blossom means to grow, to thrive and that is something we can all strive to do every day of our lives.  I see the children at work growing into their own; learning to walk, to talk, to interact with each other.  Even I’m personally growing and learning in this season.  
I’m at a point in my life where I know where I stand on a lot of issues, social justice issues and so forth.  
Tomorrow is Election Day and I know that I am still of two minds.  One is that I will vote Liberal as that is just the way I’ve always voted.  On the flip side of that I know I’m definitely not voting Labor. Two, I want to vote as an informed Christ follower, so I won’t be voting for a party just because they have “Christian” in their title.  I really need to research parties properly this time.  And I have until tomorrow to figure it all out.  
In the end I want what’s best for the country as either way I vote I don’t think it will impact me personally too much.  At least not anymore than politics already affects me.
July 1 and I’m already growing more. 

Posted in Blogging, July, my thoughts

July 30 day blog challenge – Day 7

Posted on by Marly
If you could live any time period, when would it be and why?

Wow, that’s an interesting question.  I honestly think I’d choose my own time period because though the past fascinates me I think we’re better off overall now.  Sure that may seem like a cop out to the question but I’m just being honest. 
Though maybe I’d choose to be born in the 70s and grow up in the 80s.  Rather than in the 90s.  Just because it was before all the technological advances really hit.  
Posted in 30 day blogging, Blogging, July, my thoughts

July 30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 6

Posted on by Marly
If you could spend 15 minutes with any celebrity, who would it be and why? 

Tough question, because in a way I’ve already spent more than 15 minutes with a celebrity but then again I don’t really consider the guys in Simple Plan as celebrities.
So, maybe I would say Alex O’Loughlin of Hawaii Five-0 because he’s my favourite Aussie Actor and I would want to pick his brain about Five-0 and being an Aussie in  a U.S. dominated entertainment industry.  
Also, because I’ve got a tiny crush on him.  I cannot lie.  Haha.  
Oh and I want to know whether he prefers AFL or cricket.  😉 
Posted in Blogging, July, my thoughts

July 30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 5

Posted on by Marly
A photo of someone AND something that made my day special 
1. Someone that made my day special 

This man always makes my day special.  He doesn’t even have to do anything he just does.   Being with him makes my day brighter.  So blessed by that. 
2.  Something that made my day special 

Being at church and worshipping always makes my day special.  There’s just something about being in the presence of God especially as a fresh start for the week.  It is one way for me to recharge.  That reconnection with God. 
And being with God is the best person you could be with. Connection with God is the most important relationship anyone could have, ever. And I can’t imagine why people wouldn’t want that. 
~~~~~
I know I’m going off from the challenge, but after the late night/early morning conversation I had with Mark I feel like sharing some other thoughts.  
– Church denominations are a problem.  Don’t get me wrong.  I understand why and how they came about.  However, the differences between them often causes discontent and infighting between a group of people who really should be working together to affect change in this world.
– Jesus gave us a New Commandment.  To love one another as He loved us.  
–  it is sad that many Christians do not come across loving.  Perhaps they have good intentions, after all it’s not like any of us would wish Hell on anyone.  But, when it comes to the “sins” of this world many of us come across judgemental rather than loving and critical.  (Critical in the constructive way that looks to help others to become better versions of themselves, not to tear people down).
–  Connection is about seeing those who are on the periphery and thinking about how we influence their lives.  
–  Connection is about showing people that they are valued and that Jesus loves them.  
–  I can’t understand why people can’t believe in God.  I just really can’t.  No judgement of course.  But, I just don’t get it. 
– It seems that Christians are again in a position where we must stand firm and defend our faith.  Society is really getting on the “Christianity should be private” and “feel free to practise your religion, but don’t talk about it to us.”  
But, being Christian isn’t meant to be private.  We’re not meant to hide our faith.  We’re meant to go public with our faith.  Of course, not forcing it on people by our words, but by shining the light through our lives and our actions.  
– Christianity is a relationship with God.  And you shouldn’t hide your relationships with people.  It’s not healthy.  So the way I see that Christians must stand firm is in living their lives in light of their beliefs.  
– Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk