Posted in God, Motherhood
Posted on by marlytheadoptee
I’m in a weird space right now.  I work with children, babies really.  And it’s not helping my need to be a mother.  And, yes, that’s exactly what it is; a need.  A strong, burning, sense that I am meant to be a mother.  
I know it’s also a want, but it’s one that I feel deep down inside of the depths of my being.
It doesn’t help that half the parents of the babies in my room are pregnant with their second…. 
I feel empty. 
I cried last night.  And I know that upset my husband because it makes him feel helpless.  And because he feels the same way.  
His health is a big factor as to why all this is so hard.  But, I by no means blame his health.  There are plenty of perfectly “healthy” couples who walk through this barren field.  
You know the field.  Where every other fruit is being borne, but the one of new life.  
It’s in this moment of doubt and fear that I know I need to turn to God and place all  of it at the foot of the Cross.  It’s easier said than done, though.  
But, I’ll speak it out.  
In God I trust.  
I trust Him with my waking and my sleeping. 
I trust Him with my ups and downs.
I trust Him with all my life.  
He lay down His life for me 
On the Cross at Calvary.  
I can do no less. 
For God knows the plans He has for me.  Not to harm me but for me to prosper for His glory.  
Posted in Bible reading, life of Moses

Passover

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
Exodus 11:1-10
Exodus 12:14-42
Hebrews 11:23-28
Psalms 105:37-38

The Passover lamb.  The tale of God delivering His people, the Israelites, from Egypt, is a well known one.  It’s even the subject of several films.  It’s also one of my favourites.  Notwithstanding that Moses is one of my favourite biblical figures, it’s also powerful because it points to the Cross of Jesus.  
When I was working at the Jewish Childcare centre I learned (at least at the level of the children) the importance of Passover to them as descendants of Israel.  That was fascinating, but at the same time made me a little sad.
God’s gift of grace and Jesus’ blood shed on the cross that covers all our sins…. The Jewish have rejected.  Not every single one of them though; there are messianic Jews and Jewish Christians (they’re both different by the way).  But, the majority at this point reject Jesus as Saviour, Messiah, Lord.  
Notable, I think was the detail that God explained to Moses, about how His people should commemorate the Passover.  
Unleavened bread being one of the more recognisable.
Interesting point to note here, I think:  When Jesus shares Passover with his disciples and takes the first communion with them, He would’ve been eating unleavened bread.  So, in some sense, churches that use those thin wafers are probably closer to what would’ve actually been used as opposed to those that use normal bread loaves.
Just a thought. 
Another thought, there are Christians who believe we should partake in the Passover meal and commemorate it.  There are some who do that instead of celebrating Easter (as they have an issue with the pagan origin of the NAME of the festival).  I can see where it can fit, as Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb.  However, there are problems with it too.  
Instead we should perhaps celebrate and commemorate Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, if we want to avoid the label of Easter.   
Posted in Bible reading, life of Moses

Exodus 14:14

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
Being still, being quiet in the Lord’s presence isn’t always easy for me.  The life I live is often filled with noise.  The noise of the children I work with; the noise of the television; the noise of conversation; the noise of technology.  
However, I know that taking the time to sit and be still is essential to my walk with God, my journey in Christ’s plan for me.  
For me, being still in God’s presence doesn’t mean silence.  I will have music playing, not always worship music, any music will do.  But, I find that I connect with God through the notes and tones of music.  God speaks to me through the words of songs.  And maybe that isn’t theologically sound, but I feel that I can discern what is of God and what is not.  
I turn to God’s Word when I feel led, but I admit that doesn’t happen as often as it probably should.  
That’s why I’ve opened my mind to a new way of doing devotionals.  I thank God for leading me to this app, as weird as that sounds.  
Posted in Bible reading, life of Moses

Deuteronomy 20:10-18

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
I struggle with many of the passages in Deuteronomy and Exodus.  Especially where God commands the Israelites to kill all in places they conquer.  
Yes I understand God explains that they are evil and will cause them to sin if they allow them to live…but are they not sinful themselves?  
We are all sinners are we not? 
Posted in Blogging, Church, connect, life, my thoughts

In God We Trust

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
Building community; building the Church – God’s calling in my life 
The big decisions in life can only be made in light of what God has called us to do.  Without God there is no true purpose for life and I truly believe that.  Even for people in the world who are on a journey that doesn’t intentionally include God; their lives all have a purpose in God’s ultimate plan.  
In light of this my husband and I have decided to take a step of faith and lead a small group in our home.  We’ve started Connect Group training through church and we are on a journey to help edify others in their own life travels.  
In making this decision we’ve had to pray and allow God to guide us in what we needed to do to make this work for us.  One of the biggest changes we had to decide upon was stepping away from the worship team.  Not an easy decision; choosing to follow where God leads isn’t always easy.  However, a decision that I know will be rewarding in the long term.  Still not a decision made lightly.
On my end I’ve been in the Riverview worship team for almost 9 years and all that time I’ve not had a break (except for when I was sick).  On my husband’s end he’s been in worship teams on and off since he was in his late teens, so quite some time.  Going by that, I know, God willing, that we will be back in a worship team some day; it is a huge part of who we are as followers of Christ.  But, in this season of life as a newly married couple it is time to move on to the next step.  
We’ve been looking to join a small group for quite a while now, but there really wasn’t somewhere for us to fit.  I’d been in a young adults group a few years earlier and so I know and value the need for small group community within a church such as Riverview.  It’s a large church and so easy to get lost within the crowd.  And one of the most important things in ones faith journey is that we are not meant to do it alone.  We were created for relationship:  with God and with each other.  
I hope and pray that this next step in our journey will strengthen our relationship with God, with each other and the community that we will hope to form within the larger church community.  
Posted in Blogging

30 day blog challenge – Day 3

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
What are your top five pet peeves?

I guess I have pet peeves, things that really annoy me.  And I guess these would rate as my top 5.
1.  Hubby leaving his rubbish lying around (but I really can’t complain as I do exactly the same thing)
2.  People who don’t pull their weight in a team situation 
3. Perth drivers 
4. People who tell me that as a Christian I’m wrong 
5. Opinionated people….but I’m opinionated too…so…
And there it is.  
Posted in Uncategorized

30 day blog challenge – Day 2

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
Day 2 – Where would you like to be in ten years?

This is a challenging question for me as I am not the type to plan in the long term.  Especially not over decades.  I would be hard pressed to say where I would like to be in a years time.  At least not specific details.  But, I guess that’s a fair point.  So, I could probably outline a general idea of where I would want to be.
I want to be content and filled with joy.  I want a healthy husband (hopefully with a new kidney and pancreas). I want to have children; however many God wishes to bless us with, biological or adopted.  Wherever His plan leads us in that regard. I want to be secure in my profession wherever and however God leads me through that.  
Scary to think that I’ll be 40 at that point and my husband almost 50… But at the same time, I’m praying that the journey will be just as exciting in ten years as it is now.  I want my marriage to be as much a joy as it is now.  And I will endeavour to ensure that I never take it for granted.  Never take Mark for granted.  
God alone knows what the future holds for us.  
Posted in 2016, album review, my thoughts, new music, Simple Plan, Taking One For the Team, Team SP

Taking One For the Team – Simple Plan Album Thoughts

Posted on by marlytheadoptee




So, I’m finally ready to share my thoughts about an album that I’ve been waiting for since 2013.  Simple Plan just released their fifth album, Taking One For the Team and I can tell you that my initial thoughts were that overall it’s a great album.  Some of the tracks (read Everything Sucks) are a little weaker than I expected.  The ballads are really strong and I love the collabs.  (I Dream About You is so so so different but beautiful and Problem Child made me cry.)
Pierre’s vocals are showcased so well on this album, though.  
And that was after the first listen through.  Now that I’ve listened subsequent times I think I’m now ready to do a track by track review of the album.  (More an opinion piece than a proper review…but hey, that’s how I roll.) 

The opening track Opinion Overload is a great way to begin an album that has been so long in coming.  It is classic SP, pop punk, catchy with lyrics that call out those who are opinionated and like to bring us down.  It also has, I feel, a personal message pertaining to the band and their critics (including the fans who get upset about the different things that the band try; read: Saturday.). I love this track, it reminds me of Still Not Getting Any.
Boom!  What to say about this track? It’s been a while since the very first time I heard this song, but I can honestly say that I have a soft spot for this one.  The band first revealed this track live at a Simple Plan Foundation event, an acoustic version in 2014, and I loved it from the get go.  
The third track on the album Kiss Me Like Nobody’s Watching is a punchy, pop song that professes love and PDAs.  There isn’t much else to say about it, though, except I love the call and answer in the bridge of Jeff’s guitars and Pierre’s vocals.  
Farewell is a track that I had to listen to a couple of times (including when they released it during the release week before the album was released) before getting into.  This is the first track on the album that features a vocal collaboration.  Jordan Pundik of New Found Glory lends his voice to the track and it works really well.  I don’t really know NFG that well, but the bands’ genres are very similar so the collab works.  The song itself sounds lyrically like it could be about a bad romantic relationship but the band hinted that it could have a deeper meaning pertaining to the band itself.  I personally think it reminds me of Friend by Reset (which was referencing Pierre and Chuck’s falling out in their earlier band).  
Singin’ in the Rain didn’t sit right with me the very first time I played it.  It’s so different to anything the guys have done before and R City’s parts jarred as well.  But something clicked the subsequent plays.  It’s got a groove to it that I just want to bob my head along to.  And the lyrics are relatable, talking of life and how even if things aren’t going the way we want we can choose to just sing.  
I love these lyrics: I’ve got a song in my heart and I’m bulletproof/There’s nothing in the world that’s gonna kill this mood/No matter what life wants to throw my way/I’ll be singing, I’ll be singing in the rain!
Apparently the band will be filming a music video for this song this weekend, can’t wait to see what that will look like.

The band teased the next track early on in the studio process.  Everything Sucks is a track that is slowly beginning to grow on me.  It’s the weakest track on the album, but I still really like it.  I think it’s just a very safe song with rhyming lines and a formulaic lay out (you could say the same of plenty of other songs on the album, though).  It does showcase Pierre’s vocals well and the gang vocals at the end are catchy.  To be honest, knowing me, I’ll probably absolutely love this song after even more listens, but I think after hearing the tease of the chorus I was expecting a stronger song.  But, there it is. 

WOAH-OH I Refuse to accept criticism of this band by haters… This whole song is a big fuck you to the detractors in life who want to tear us down with their words.  It’s a choice that we can make to not allow them to make a difference in our lives.  This should be everyone’s anthem. I Refuse, the anthem of every bullied person in the world.  Boom! (This is a hard hitting pop punk track that I definitely want to hear live.)

Simple Plan’s collaborations with hip-hop artists have become a staple now, and so I have high expectations when it comes to these tracks.  I Don’t Wanna Go to Bed feat Nelly didn’t disappoint.  This track was released last year as the official lead single for the album.  The band filmed a Baywatch themed video for the track, which even has the Hoff himself cameoing in it.  If any song on the album is going to be labelled pop, it would have to be this one.  Pop and RnB to be honest.  Nelly’s contribution fits perfectly with the track, though on the single release he has a line right at the beginning that is cut from the album version.  Probably as it didn’t flow from the end of I Refuse. All in all a track that I actually really love.

If you haven’t been living under a rock you’d know that Simple Plan is pop punk at their roots and this track, Nostalgic, reminds me of all the pop punk bands that were around when I first became a fan of the band.  It sounds like a mix of Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Lee Harding (Wasabi era) and even Bowling For Soup.  Nostalgia eat your heart out, right?  It throwbacks to the early noughties, but at the same time sounds fresh and new.  Chuck’s drumming in this track is on point.  

Perfectly Perfect.  Apart from the corny title, I have no complaints about this track.  This song is very relatable especially as I’m married to a man who basically says this about me…that I’m beautiful, sexy etc and I really don’t see that… Maybe this song will change that.  

Horns and Simple Plan? I never thought that possible, but I Don’t Wanna Be Sad (which was first released when I was on my honeymoon last September) brought a completely different feel to a Simple Plan song.  The band is well known for their heavy (theme wise) songs being catchy and poppy and fun.  This offering was no different, except that it is very different.  I loved it from the first listen, especially as I’d been feeling a bit down at the time.  

P.S. I Hate You.  I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone…so my thoughts on this song are purely about the music itself.  This song is another quintessential Simple Plan track, in its barest form.  Enough said.

I don’t cry when listening to Simple Plan songs.  Not ever.  Not until now.  Problem Child broke something inside of me.  I don’t even know what it is really.  Is it the heartfelt lyrics? Is it the actual chords and melody of the chorus? Is it the piano in the instrumental and Jeff’s solo? Or is it the fact that even though I love my parents and they brought me up well, and I’ve reached a place where I know they’re proud of my achievements, there are moments where I felt I disappointed them and could’ve done a lot better? Whatever it is, the song has made me emotional every listen.  Every single time.  (Oh, and the key change in this song was well done.)

The final track on the album, I Dream About You, is nothing like any other song the band has ever written.  From the opening notes, and Pierre’s vocals to Juliet Simms sultry tones, to the strings this song has a dreamlike quality that may not appeal to everyone but has captured my heart.  This song is pure art, no mistake and I love that the band were brave enough to put this on the album, as the final song no less.  It really rounds out the album and leaves a lasting impression long after the final note has ended.  

Bear in mind that these are just my opinions, you may disagree with me and that’s fine, but to sum up what I’ve said here, this album is full of diverse songs that bring a fresh new sound to the music landscape.  However, at the same time remind us of where Simple Plan have come from, the pop punk arena of the late 90s/early noughties, and they haven’t forgotten that either.  

I’d hazard to say this so early on, but I believe this is the best album Simple Plan has released and that’s saying something since I’ve always placed SNGA on that pedestal.  

So, TL;DR
I give this album 9/10 – for diversity and reminding us of their roots
Best tracks: I Dream About You, Opinion Overload, Problem Child, Boom!, Singing in the Rain
Weakest track: Everything Sucks

Posted in Blogging, my thoughts

New 30 Day Blog Challenge – Day 1

Posted on by marlytheadoptee
Discuss your current relationship 
I’ve been married almost six months and sometimes it’s difficult to remember that I haven’t even been with my amazing husband for two years, yet.  That’s a scary thought, considering my previous relationship lasted only two and bit years.  At the same time my marriage is very very different to my previous relationship.  
Mark and I have a very open and honest dialogue with each other; as much is possible for me.  I’m a reserved person and find it difficult to open up to anyone, especially if I’m stressing over things that I have no control over.  My husband though is very good at drawing me out and getting me to speak out my thoughts. That’s something I treasure.  
We can go from having silly insignificant conversations to deep and serious discussions; example: We were talking random stuff tonight and then started talking about same-sex marriage and other relational subjects.  
We are compatible in so many ways and I am forever grateful to God for that.  
Posted in Blogging, blogging the important stuff, childcare, Christmas, December thoughts, early learning thoughts, home is where the heart is, work

It’s December|First Year Done|Home is Where the Heart Is

Posted on by marlytheadoptee

Some could say that the first year at a new job is always going to be stressful.  Now add on the fact that my centre was brand new at the beginning of this year.  It officially opened in January and had a dedication service in February.

And, now, we’re at the end of the first year, tracking on well to reaching capacity and running smoothly with all the staff that we need.

I don’t see my colleagues as just ‘other staff’ though.  They’re like family.  Distant family, yes…but family nonetheless.  It’s like what Tim Healy said at our Christmas service on the weekend: We can have more than one home, because home is where the heart is.  And my heart and soul and mind are set firmly at my centre.

Do you feel that way at your centre?

The families that call our centre theirs, the team, the support from the Church team…it’s been an amazing year.  Yes, I’ve been sick countless times and had to have time off…but that’s the hazard of working in my profession.  Children are germ magnets…and maybe I am too.

There have been some amazing moments too.  The little things.  Children learning my name, or reaching for me, or just wanting me to join in their play.  Children learning, developing, growing.  The first steps…the first words… the smiles, the tears, the giggling.  The spilled milk…the crying over spilled milk…all of it.

But I think for me, the defining moment was when my Director said to me, after I’d gone away for a holiday and come back, “You’re not going anywhere, we’re keeping you.”

To feel like a valued member of the team, of the family? That means more than anything.  Especially after the way I felt at my previous centre.

Home.  Home is definitely where the heart is.

So, this Christmas season, I can only give thanks to God.  Thanks that 2015 turned out the way it did.

And here’s to a just as amazing 2016.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.