DAY TWELVE OF CHRISTMAS ❤️
Go in Peace
Go in Joy
Go in Love ❤️

DAY 11 of CHRISTMAS ❤️

     It is nearly Christmas Day! Many people all over the world are preparing to celebrate the such very, very special Good News of the birth of our Loving Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! His love knows no boundaries of width, depth and height! He keeps us safe and secure in his hands, close to His Heart ❤️

DAY 10 OF CHRISTMAS ❤️

What a beautiful sound would have been the first cry that Baby Jesus made! God is love, so the cry would have contained much love. All through His Life in the world, He lived a life of love! Love for His Heavenly Father, Love for every person, both past present and future, Love for Mary even on the Cross, Love for everyone! May we also express love in the words we say, things we do , and most of all rejoice in our loving relationship with our loving Lord Jesus and loving Heavenly Father ❤️

DAY NINE OF CHRISTMAS ❤️
Mary and Joseph must have been so very, very tired as they travelled to Bethlehem! It would have a warm weather journey as Mary was expecting with her very,very precious baby inside her. Joseph would have been very caringly looking after her, encouraging her each step of the journey.
Sometimes we feel very weary and tired. We are in pain, and tears come to our eyes. We aren’t feeling sad ; just weary, achey and painful. Our beautiful and loving Lord Jesus and Heavenly Father know every pain have and are holding us gently in their hands ❤️

DAY EIGHT OF CHRISTMAS ❤️
Dad has a medley piece of music that he plays on the piano at Christmastime. It is a few different Christmas Carols musical pieces all joined together! It sounds very great and very melodious, as the music all flows together!
Christmas is a mixture of things. It contains huge messages of hope, joy, comfort, peace and most of all it is wrapped up in millions and millions of gift wrapping paper that are rolls/sheets of love!
Let us celebrate! ❤️

DAY SEVEN OF CHRISTMAS ❤️

Christmas trees are very pretty! They have a specialness about them, particularly when ornaments from earlier years are put on to the tree from one year to the next.  They hold treasured
memories of past Christmasses. The memories of what happened that day when our Lord Jesus was born will last eternally! The impact of His birth affects every person that has been or will be born! We  celebrate His coming into the world each day in our hearts! Thankyou very, very much Lord!

DAY SIX OF CHRISTMAS ❤️
Christmas stockings are a part of Christmastime. People hang them up, and they are often filled with fruit or gifts.
When I think of Christmas stockings, I am also reminded of the feet of little baby Jesus. Mary would have covered his tiny baby feet to keep him warm on Christmas Day night. The same feet also took him on the walk to the Cross, where our beautiful and loving Saviour died for us ❤️
The beautifullness of the feet of our lovely Lord Jesus ❤️

DAY FIVE OF CHRISTMAS ❤️
Bells  are often associated with Christmas. The bells announce the very exciting, special, joyful, encouraging and wonderful news that our Loving Lord Jesus was born in Christmas Day, and was the best news ever and forever for every person in the whole wide world!  The chimes of the Good News are such a melodious sound in our hearts and minds!  :)

DAY FOUR OF CHRISTMAS ❤️

It is so very lovely, comforting and special that when Zechariah, Mary and the Shepherds were fearful     when they saw and heard the Angel, the Lord said through the Angel : “ Don't be afraid”
It would have calmed and encouraged them when they hears those words,
Our loving Lord Jesus and loving Heavenly Father still says the same words to us today. They care sooo much for us! ❤️

THIRD   DAY OF CHRISTMAS

The Shepherds were so very, very excited on that first Christmas night! They were at first afraid when they saw the Angel appear, and them after that they had the huge privilege and joy of seeing Baby Jesus in the manger! Their delight at all that they had seen and heard overflowed from then on as they spread the great news!  Our loving Lord Jesus Who is the Good Shepherd, has the shepherds as his first visitors! May we as His sheep  take comfort from the knowledge that our Good Shepherd is always caring and looking over  us, ❤️

SECOND  DAY OF CHRISTMAS

The Manger is a very lovely bed for our loving Lord Jesus ❤️ It didn’t have fluffy cushions ,or soft sheets or an electric blanket or hot water bottle to keep it warm. But...it did have lullabies of sheep, cows, goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks, oxen  and geese to send the baby to sleep. 

I think that the animals would have sensed Who the Baby was,and would have worshipped Him  with their animal noises. May we ourselves in our hearts sing out songs of love and thanks to our loving  Lord ❤️

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
   I will be posting a Christmas themed post each day for the next 12 days leading up to Christmas Day!
  DAY ONE
Red Poinsettias are very special Christmastime flowers! Their  red leaves are very vibrant and seem quite bold! They seem to boldly shout out:
 “Hear the eternal message of Christmas, that our beautiful and loving Lord Jesus was born  as a child on Christmas Day!” 
May we take joy and encouragement through this message!  And may the redness of the leaves also link us to Easter and the precious blood of our Lord. Christmas and Easter will eternally always be linked, the reason why love brought him to the Manger ❤️

It is great that there are so many McDonalds restaurants around the world! Wherever people go, they can look out for the  big golden arches and know that they can enjoy eating a burger, have some French fries, enjoy having a drink,  or have  some other McDonalds menu item that they enjoy eating! The red and yellow colour scheme also looks so bright! 

The colour yellow is very  sunny and warming! Seeing a yellow coloured item on a day when  we may not be feeling too good, brings encouragement  to us! Yellow daffodils trumpet a loud message to us of  hope! The warmth that comes from sunshine rays on the cold day helps both our mind and our body! Of most importance though is the Son-shine love of our Loving Lord, Who is the Son of God ❤️

I think that the saying : “ an apple a day keeps the Doctor away” is a funny saying! I can just imagine a big basket of apples, and as a doctor is nearing someone, the apples jump up and form a shield wall to prevent him coming closer! Apples are very nice to eat! They are crunchy, juicy and tasty! It is quite amazing that a big apple tree can grow from a such a little apple seed! In the same way,  one little act done in love can cause a big encouraging help in the lives of another person! As we take bites of apples, may it encourage us to “ live a life of love” 

I was thinking about hankies the other day. Hankies come in a wide variety of colours, patterns and sizes!  There are large men’s hankies, ladies hankies, hankies to put in a pocket when going to a wedding, and cute kids themed hankies also! Hankies also are used for a variety of reasons and on many different occasions! When a person is upset , they will wipe away their tears with a hankie. When they are unwell with a cold and feel sneezy, a hankie is very helpful. A hankie in the top of a pocket of a suit with by men at a wedding, is worn on a very happy occasion! 

May we always be willing to offer an “ invisible hankie made of love” to all who need each day. May we caringly have a listening ear when people need to talk. When they are upset, may the words that we say with love, help them with their tears. May we caringly support others through their ill health. And just like a hankie in the pocket of a wedding suit,  may we also share their joy through their times of special happy news. 

May our love for each other be like  a very large men’s hankie ❤️

Cockatoos are such noisy birds! They do though look very nice with their white feathers and yellow head crest ! They like to gather on electricity power lines and cheerfully “squawk”! When you  say an encouraging word to some else, “ we are not squawking”!  We are showing that we are caring about them, We all wear different colours of clothes, and usually don’t wear all white, but it is good to talk over things with our loved ones and be a listening ear. The voice of a loved one saying “ hello” , or “ I care” or “ I love you” and chatting with us,  is such a melodious tune for us to hear! 

I was looking out through the side glass windows in our home today, and saw that my Grandpa’s rose bush has lovely red roses on it! I hasn’t seen them before today, and Dad kindly picked a few of them so that I could enjoy them close near me in a vase. Their fragrance is so lovely! It is not too strong that it affects my nose. The rose bush is from roses that my grandpa and grandma had in their garden when they were alive. Each petal is also a reminder of them ❤️ I send softly scented  rose petals to encircle the hearts of those who may be hurting inside today, or who are feeling weary or tired, or enduring through physical or mental pain. May their fragrance bring comfort to you and help you through all that your life is holding. You are so very, very precious and special ! I send a gentle hug too ❤️

May a beautiful sunrise and a lovely sunset with their special shades of pink, red, orange and yellow  enwrap the beginning and then the  end of your days. Through the joyful times, sad times, exciting times, and painful/achey times that each day may hold, may the caring loving support of family and friends be your encouragement and give strength as you face whatever the day holds and enjoy the quiet blessings of each day.

To see the colours of the sunrise and sunset, we need to look upwards. May we always look upwards  and be so very aware of His love ❤️

I like having tic tacs! My favourite variety is peppermint. When I eat them, they seem to help with pain. The latest version has faces on them, which is cute! They are just little in size, but when you eat them, they give a great strong taste to your mouth! It is a bit like life. What may seem to be a just little thing to do, like a smile, or a “ I’m thinking of you” message, or stopping what you are doing to listen to another one who needs to talk can have long lasting effects! They can bring a sunshine moment on a cloudy day, and help to bring caring

encouragement just when it is so much needed! 

          The new season stone fruit from local farmers are now at Coles! The peaches and nectarines are delicious ! They are also very juicy! My lovely  Mum makes fruit salad each day for me to enjoy eating! She then puts yoghurt on top of it. I like natural plain yoghurt rather than the fruity variety of yoghurt. The “ plain” everyday things in our life are very special! Being with our loved ones, just doing the normal day by day things, brings a sense of comfort, in all that our lives  are holding.

Through happy times, painful times, and sad times, it is the everyday things that are special to do with our loved ones. Just like a “dollop” of yoghurt on a bowl of fruit salad, I send a  “dollop” of love to you to spread on you in all that your days are holding this week!

       

Mr Kipling’s makes delicious and yummy  Cherry Bakewells! They look very special with the icing on them and a cherry on top! They have a plum and raspberry jam filling . They are a special treat to offer to visitors, or as an enjoyable morming or afternoon bakery  snack to enjoy on your own or with family at any time! Love is like the plum and raspberry jam in bakewells! It  holds our life together! Just like there is jam in each bite of a Bakewell tart, love sustains and encourages us through all that life is holding. The  love of our beautiful loving Lord Jesus and our loving Heavenly Father encourages, comforts and gives us the strength that we need for each day! 

A friend of ours recently went to the Floriade flower event in Canberra. It is a month long floral event, that has lots of beautiful flowers on display! She sent us some pictures that she had taken of the flowers, so that we could share in seeing the lovely flowers also ❤️

A few of them I have posted below.

The word : “ Floriade” sounds a very  melodious word! It is a gentle word, that seems to flow when it is said aloud . Flower petals are very delicate and fragile , and their beauty  brings so  much delight to all who look at them!  Life is very precious and  fragile also, but contains so much beauty in the “ everyday” blessings that we have day by day. May we take the time to “ Stop,  look,  and see” , the many blessings in  our day by day’s lives that we can be muchly thankful for!

Seeing this picture of a Birds Nest brought back many special memories of something that happened quite a few years ago. Dad was growing beans in our backyard. He had them growing on a trellis. One day, he went outside, and found that a bird had decided to make his nest in the middle of the beans! Perhaps the bird just wanted to introduce his little bird children to healthy vegetable eating from an early stage of their lives! It was very special “ peeking” at the nest when the bird wasn’t there and looking at the  eggs! Eventually, the extra special “ birth day”  arrived and the little birds are born! But then the mother bird disappeared and left the little birds as orphans! All of them except for one decided to test out their new flying abilities, and off they flew to explore their  exciting and adventure packed life in their new world! But the last little bird looked a little sickly and weak. He couldn’t fly! It wasn’t good when his attempt to fly landed him on the ground in the midst of the beans! Dad to the rescue! Dad tried not to touch the bird, so that human scent wasn’t on the little bird in case the mother bird returned, and was able to move him to a box where he put some water and even found wriggly worms! He put a protective bar screen over the top, to protect the little bird from danger. Not a good idea because the little bird got “ stuck” amidst the bars! Dad was able to fix that issue! A few days later, a very exciting and special thing occurred! The mother bird came back! Dad quickly removed the bar screen, and the mother bird “  chirped”  her thanks at Dad’s caring kindness of looking after her baby bird! She then assisted the little bird to start flying! 

A birds nest is a very comforting and warm place for a little bird to be. Our own homes are a very special place for us to live. It is not the furnishings of the home or the exterior design of the home that makes a house a home or is important in life. It is the special love  and care that is felt between family members as they support each other through all that life is holding for each of them, and as a family . Through happy times, sad times , exciting times, Ill health and times of pain

 ❤️

I think that the saying : “ an apple a day keeps the Doctor away” is a funny saying! I can just imagine a big basket of apples, and as a doctor is nearing someone, the apples jump up and form a shield wall to prevent him coming closer! Apples are very nice to eat! They are crunchy, juicy and tasty! It is quite amazing that a big apple tree can grow from a such a little apple seed! In the same way,  one little act done in love can cause a big encouraging help in the lives of another person! As we take bites of apples, may it encourage us to “ live a life of love” ! 

Spring flowers are very pretty! There are so many types  of flowers in the world! Each are so special! I send a bouquet of Spring flowers to everyone❤️. They are all sorts of colours and varieties. Yellow flowers to bring with them the warmth of a smile to cheer your heart.

Bluebells to ring out a joyful tune when you are happy and calm soothing music if in pain. The beauty of a pink flower to remind you that you are so special and and your inner beauty is so beautiful  to your loved ones,  A fragile little violet to say that each day is precious and special. They are tied with a love ribbon made up of hellos from me to you ❤️

I saw this very cute picture of the elephants and  straightaway I saved it to post as a part of my Chirpings! Even elephants like to give and receive flowers! I have read that elephants have an excellent memory skill.

They remember things very well. In our lives, what seems to us to be a small or simple gesture, or a little chat, or a kind  word, or a smile,or a caring act, or a listening ear, can live on in the hearts and minds of the receiver for a long time to encourage them and bring warmth ❤️

Hello to everyone reading this blog . All the below posts have been from Chirpings that I have written over the years. I decided to post some of them here. From now on, I will be writing new posts that I haven’t written before. I will keep “ chirping as a sparrow” here!

The sounds of early morning seem to differ every day! Shortly after I got up one morning last week, all I could hear was the very, very loud thumping down of torrential rain outside, accompanied by the "crashing" and banging" of the weekly rubbish truck van entering the court in which we live. It really was a huge amount of noise!! Then another morning, lots of magpies and other birds decided to unite together and form a "bird choir" to sing early morning tunes to us. The best sound of all is a "hello" and a "how are you going today?" loving enquiry from a family member or friend ANY time of the day. On other times, just being with other people speaks so much louder than an uttered word. May we enjoy all the sounds that we encounter through this coming week!!

Vacuums are very, very noisy machines!! They seem to make so much noise, and then when they are turned off everything seems extra extra quiet! It is good every day to have quiet times and noisy times all mixed together. May we take time to stop and reflect on all our blessings and be thankful for the love we receive and the love we are wonderfully able to give out.

And in the midst of the "noisiest" of our lives, take pleasure in all the delights that it can hold and know strength in the cares and challenges that these times can hold too.

We have some new "guests" to where we live. Their names are: Zachariah the zucchini, Beatrice the bean, and Taryn the tomato! Dad been growing the zucchinis and beans from seeds, and they have all of a sudden over this last week literally popped their heads up from out of the soil in the containers where Dad planted them, and shouted "Hello World!" . Dad is transplanting them now to our backyard garden, and has already planted some tomato plants. Dad has bought the Apollo and Mighty Red varieties of tommies so far this year. We now look forward to eating the vegies that will appear in a few months time!!

Springtime is a great time to plant seeds and seedlings, and watch them grow. But…anytime is a great time to show love and care to another. Zucchinis literally "explode" in size overnight, and for us to bring  a little bit of joy and support to someone really makes them "flourish" and keep blooming through life too!

The Melbourne Cup is being run this week. It is the "race that stops a nation" for 3 minutes! People all around the country (and sometimes Aussies around the world!) stop what they are doing to watch the tv, or listen to the radio, or actually watch it live at Flemington to see which horse wins and if the horse just "wins by nose" or by a greater distance. Perhaps the bigger the nose, the better!

May we
too each day take time to "stop" and think about all our many daily blessings. May we be thankful and encouraged and joyful…all three at the same time! What a great "trifecta"!! Horses enjoy a simple meal of an apple; may we take much delight in "everyday" blessings too! And just as many race watchers barrack for their favourite horse, may we too seek to "cheer on" our loved family and friends and all who we may come into contact with day-by-day.!!

Geraniums are such lovely flowers! They just grow wild in our garden, and are nicer and more beautifuller than any flower you could ever buy from a shop. They just seem to yell out to me "home!" From when I was very little, geraniums have always played a special role in my life. When I was very little, Mum and I would go out to the garden every few days and pick a little posy of these flowers, wrap them in foil (it was always foil! Such a homely comforting touch when I remember it.) And then Mum would bundle me into the pram/stroller and off we would go on our way as she pushed me around the different streets and up and down hills to visit my grandma/grandpa (Mum's parents) who lived not too far away, with me proudly holding my little posy of geraniums tightly in my little hands to give to Mama and Papa. They may not have looked as good when we reached our destination as when they started off from our house, but they would always be delightedly received and placed in a vase, until they needed to be "disposed off" a few days later…and then we could
again pick another posy for them! We went to visit my grandparents every day so we certainly kept their house full of these little posies! In fact, I think that originally when Mum and Dad bought our house, they planted the geraniums from an off cut from my Papa's own geranium bush, so really the flowers were returning to him!

Geraniums give out a lovely fragrance too. The scent remains on your hand when you are carrying them, and also fills the room where they are placed. When I think of geraniums, I think of homely, warm, comforting things…of family memories…of joy in the little things…just a tinge of sadness because I miss my grandma and grandpa…of how love and kindness and care leaves a beautiful
fragrance on the hands of both the giver and the receiver. May we treasure our family and friends, treasure the little homely things of life, and treasure all the fragrance that our loved ones add and give out to us in our lives!

It is just a week before Christmas Day! I have been thinking about the first Christmas Day night. I don't think that it would have been a very quiet night. I can hear the angels singing praises the most melodiously than could ever be sung. I can hear the shepherds talking to each other excitedly about what they had heard and seen. I can hear all the animals around the manger using all their animal mouths to cheer and praise and celebrate too. And I can hear Mary and Joseph tenderly and softly talking to our loving Lord Jesus. May this Christmas time be a very special time for you. I send

loving thoughts to each of you, and please know that you are all extra very, very special to me and to our loving Lord, whose birth we all celebrate!!

Many students are going back to school this week. It is a fun time filled with a sense of "newness" about it. New books, new subjects, new classmates, new teachers, new things to learn. Some students are starting school for the first time, or other ones are starting Secondary school, whilst there are also students who will now be attending a new school because their families have moved houses since last year. But every person is always a student in everyday life. Each day we learn something new, or see or read or hear something new that we never knew before or makes us think or surprises us or

encourages us. May we all continue to enjoy learning new things each day, and take delight in the little and big things of life!

I was thinking the other day about cheese slices. Every day, there must be literally thousands of cheese slices eaten by people around Australia, whether it is in sandwiches or in a salad, or used in recipes or in a hamburger or on dry biscuits or perhaps grilled on toast ! Cheese slices usually all look the same,although when you taste them they can sometimes have quite different flavours.

We are not like cheese slices, because everyone looks uniquely different and are uniquely special. We all have different likes and interests, things we prefer to do, are good at doing some things and not so good at doing other things. We are all different in many ways. But at the same time, we are all the same! We all laugh, cry, smile, get tired, feel happy, and have times of sadness. And we all want to have people who love us and whom we love. It is good to be different…it is good to be the same ...it is good to be uniquely you whom no-one else could take your important place in this world ❤️

I heard the other day someone mentioning about our "Fallsum weather". I was wondering what they meant by that? Then I realized that it referred to a mixture of Fall (American version of Autumn) and Summer weather!! It was said when we were experiencing all that very warm weather last week, but it really was officially Autumn/Fall season time. The word now makes sense! Our days and lives too

are made up of a mixture of times when we are happy, sad, tired, excited, fearful, and glad. Through it all, we are always encouraged by the love , care and support of our family and friends. Love is like air, it is a part of each and every season, and it is very great to know that we are loved and to love each other !!

Good Friday and Easter Sunday is coming up this week. I was thinking the other day about how many, many Easter hymns Dad would have played on the piano and Mum would have sung over the years!! Before Jesus and the disciples went to Gethsemane they sang a hymn. And I am sure that there would have been so very, very much singing on that first Easter Sunday morning when there was the hugely joyful occasion that our Lord had risen!! I think that the women who first saw Him would have had hearts and voices exploding into songs of praise!! And when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the room after he had risen, I like to imagine the whole room would have been filled with heartfelt rejoicing in song! And what a scene to imagine to think of the angels in Heaven looking on

and singing so wonderfully praises that "He has risen!!" We may not be able to always sing out loud, but our heart can always rejoice in "inner singing  " of songs at Easter and every day!! Christ has died! Christ has risen! Christ will come again! Rejoice!

In a brochure recently I saw advertised some bandaids. BUT…these weren't just "ordinary" bandaids. They were special ones as they were coloured and had little pictures of animals on them! They were labeled as "kids bandaids". They looked so cute! Perhaps it would make any cuts or any times that you  needed to use them make healing occur  quicker! Every time you would look at these bandaids , you would always have a little smile to yourself!  Sometimes people are hurting inside, and all you want to do is put a big happy animal colourful bandaid all over them and make things better. Of course, we can't do that. But we can throw a soft light quilt of love over people by caring about them and how they feel. A smile, a "thinking of you" word, an encouraging action, are all parts of a

patchwork quilt that can bring so much warmth to a person. Knowing that you are loved and showing your love and care to another are the most precious things in the whole wide world!!

The other day, we received a letter but the sender had accidentally forgotten to put a stamp on it! The address on the front and their own written address on the back were very clearly written…all that was missing was the stamp! The funny thing was that it was postmarked just the day before, so it had only taken the single day to reach us, and yet at other times letters can go missing for days and days even though they are correctly and clearly addressed and stamped! Names are very precious things. When we think of a person's name, it can bring so many lovely thoughts and memories and shared time remembrances into our minds. Thinking of the name of a loved is a treasured thought! And every person who we meet in our lives does leave a "stamp" on our life. Sometimes the "stamp"may be the footstep of a tiny ant, but it still is someone that we may remember years and years later. I am thankful for people who leave ant footprints, elephant footprints, teddy bear pawprints, and all other sized footprints in my life, for each print is a beautiful expression of love, joy and preciousness. Thankyou for the special stamps you make on each other's lives and hearts! ❤️

I was thinking the other day about the dilating eye drops that eye doctors put in your eyes when examining them so as to open up your eyes wider so that they can see more closely the areas of your eyes. For quite a while afterwards, your  eyes look quite wide open and bright! Perhaps we need to drop imaginary eyedrops into our own eyes each morning when we wake up, and have a look at

the world around! May we see the beauty in other people, look closely at our family and friends and people we meet that day with loving concern and seek to support them, and be ready to "stop, look and see"!

I was thinking the other day about the saying: "it is the best thing since sliced bread", and it started me thinking about all the different varieties of bread that can be bought! We can buy white, wholemeal, multi-grain, seven seeds, soy and linseed, pumpkin, white with added fibre, white with added calcium, herb, vienna, cob, sourdough, french stick... and the list goes on and on! There are lots of different varieties of breads, and they all taste differently, but they are all known as being bread. It is a bit like people! We all look differently, live in different places around the world, have different interests, likes and dislikes, have different jobs or go to different schools or unis or kindergartens. We all may spend our days differently, get up and go to bed at different times. BUT…we are all people…who love and care about others and are loved, who breathe and smile and cry and feel happy or sad or excited or fearful. We all have such special travellers with us on this journey through life. Thankyou, each one of you ,for being you, an extra extra special person!

With the cold weather now here, particularly with the low temperatures overnight and in the mornings, it must be quite a busy time for the RACV being called out to assist drivers who go outside to start up their cars when going off to work and school in the morning…only to find that their car won't start up because the battery is dead! Many RACV drivers  need to "come to the rescue" and get these cars going again!

Batteries are important to cars. In our own lives,
being loved and loving each other are what keeps us going, "motoring on" through the day and through our journey through life. Seeing a smile on someone's face is a bit like hearing a friendly "toot" of a horn as a friend passes you by in their car, and the scenery of life is always nice through life's front and side windows as we share our road trip travelling alongside of our family and
friends

We live in a very colourful world! When we look around us both outside and inside there are millions of different shades of colours that we can enjoy seeing every day! The colours of clothes, the flowers and plants outside,

the food that we wear, images that we see in a book or magazine that we are reading or see
when watching tv…all are very colourful sights for our eyes to see. We not only can say something is coloured blue, we can also see lots and lots of shades of blue, or shades of yellow, red, green, purple and other colours. May we all enjoy looking and seeing all these shades of colours. At the same time, may we be thankful so much to our loving Master Painter Whose
 paintbrush of love is beautiful in people and our surroundings

We have now started the last month of Winter which is great, because soon Springtime will be here! Springtime brings with it lots of colourful flowers, andnice gentle flower petals! As you walk down life's pathway, may you always

walk along a road of soft petals under your feet. Wherever your feet take you as you walk through each day, may the perfume of love and joy surround you as you walk on these petals. May the delicateness and fragileness of petals remind you of life, and may we all take each moment to love and care for each other!

Mum bought me a Valentine's Day balloon! It was red and had hearts on it. When she bought it, she was told by the lady who sold it to her that there was only a guarantee that it would stay up in the air for one day. It was very "floaty " when Mum brought it home... But the next day it looked very "saggy" and could only remain on the ground ! It looked very tired!

Sometimes people feel a little like this balloon... a bit tired and out of energy. A caring thought and a smile can really make the person gain strength and feel lifted up like a balloon. I send you a balloon filled with lots of special thoughts from me to you , for you to look at when you are feeling a bit tired, aching and have pain. It will never deflate like an ordinary balloon does.