Most school students have now returned to school. There has been some lovely and special articles written on twins and triplets who have started school this year! The kids have the benefit of having company as they start this big exciting step in their journey through life! Although they may look very similar, they are uniquely different.  They would have some  characteristics that set them apart. Everyone in this whole wide world is uniquely different and uniquely special!  Their life is so precious and they  have  so much value. May we take encouragement that we are muchly loved for being us, and take  comfort that we are always watched over and caringly  loved by a beautiful Heavenly Father and loving Lord Jesus who never ever lose watch over us, and tenderly care for us in all that our lives are holding.

 Love is eternal . It knows no time, no space, and  has its own beautiful language. It  gives us strength when we feel weak, it comforts us when we are sad , it encourages us when life feels a little overwhelming and it is like a calming candle light that shines through days and nights ❤

It is nearly the end of Summertime. The seasons come and the seasons go, as we travel along our journey through life. Each day is in our lives is precious. On the days and in the hours of pain and tears, the tear droplets are like  little sparkling jewels. At these times especially, we seem to even more appreciate the warmth of the  love of our loved ones. And their love shines onto those jewel tears and they fill us inside with beautiful rainbow colours ❤

This week Autumntime begins! The US call the season "Fall". It is best to leave the "falling" to Autumn leaves and not fall yourself!  The letters in the word Fall reflect what our lives hold. The F stands for friends and friendliness. Friends add colour to our daily lives and when we extend friendliness  to someone, it encourages both their and our own hearts. The A stands for "all the time". Love is eternal. Our love for our loved ones knows no time or limit, whether they have passed away or are  present with us. May we seek to  do  "all things" with love. The two LL 's stand for the "Loveliness of Life" May we look for the " little" blessings that our daily lives hold! Sometimes they are a little hidden and then at other times they are very open, like a beautiful rose in bloom! Happy Autumn /Fall to everyone! 

It is interesting how we can all see colours of items  a bit differently. Sometimes some people say that an item has a certain colour, whilst another person will see it as having a different colour. Also , there can be so many shades of the one colour! It is a little bit like life. Everyone sees life and situations a little bit differently. It is good and helpful to hear other people's thoughts and views! May we all enjoy the ways we are similar as well as enjoy learning through our the way we differ too! Everyone is so very uniquely special! ❤

The aroma of toast first thing in the mornings is very nice! It is like the smell of freshly baked bread through the day! There are many smells that our noses can detect. Some are very lovely and fragrant. Others are not too nice and are odourous! May we always use our noses to detect how other people are feeling, and offer support, love and encouragement. By doing that, we ourselves are a nice fragrance ❤

I was eating some silverbeet the other night for tea. I quite like the taste of it as a vegetable! It is also meant to be good for iron levels! I think I prefer to enjoy eating silverbeet rather than be a weight lifter! The thought of iron reminds me of strength. We often don't feel too  strong, and may  feel quite weak at times.That is okay. Just rest and remember that you loved. There is a loving Lord watching over you, there are family members both who are here as well as who have gone ahead to Heaven who care so much about you and love you, and you have friends who often have you in their thoughts. There is a time to rest, just as there is a time to fight with all your strength to live your daily life amidst pain too! There are times to laugh, to weep, to smile, to frown and always a time to show love through a million different actions!❤

I  am not sure where my lovely Mum found it but she had a special Easter themed serviette for me to use for my breakfast last week!  It was placed over my toast! It had the words  : "Easter Blessings" written on it, and a nice Easter flowers themed picture. It made my breakfast meal taste extra nice! Toast is a very basic meal to eat that most people eat everyday for breakfast, and yet though it is a basic food, it  tastes yummy! On a Winter's morning, hot toast gives a great start to the day! Just like in life, it is a little everyday things and moments that add richness to each and every day! May we enjoy, take delight it, and be thankful for the little things in life! I send to each of you a serviette of flower petals to cover you through the week ❤️

 Colours are an important part of our days and lives. They can influence how we are feeling in so many ways! When we look at either real life yellow flowers or pictures of yellow flowers , they look so sunny and cheer up our days! If we look at pictures of pretty pink girls bedrooms or see little girls wearing pink fairy costumes, they make us smile. If I see a picture of an object with  polka dot colours, it makes me laugh! The world is a very colourful place! There are millions of shades of colours, and in the same way there are millions of people who live right around the world. Every single person is so very precious ❤️Their lives are worth so very, very much! There is beauty in the heart of all people, hidden gems that when harder times come and the enduring gets a little harder and more tiring, find that the light that rubs on the gem inside them, contains and even brighter light of living hope! 

Today is the first of May! I hope that you won't get into any situations this   month where you need to shout out : " May Day! May Day! " For anyone reading these Chirpings who may be feeling a little alone, I send a hug to you <3 You will never know when there is someone else in another place thinking of you, caring about you, and sending love thoughts to you.  " May Day" is.a distress code used by Pilots and Sea Captains to alert that there are problems. May we ourselves be very sensitive to the needs of others, and attentively look for when they are in  distress. Often " just " a kind word or a chat is what is needed to " steady the course" and bring comfort and encouragement . 

This coming weekend is Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to every Mum and to every daughter and son, whether your Mum is still with you here or is watching lovingly on from above, having already begun a new exciting  stage and living now in Heaven. We treasure the memories of times that we have spent with our Mums! We delight to remember fun and happy times, but perhaps we treasure even more the times spent with her when we were sick or in pain or tired. We hold these memories close to our hearts and treasure them more than the beautiful colours of opals. Life is made up of happy and sad times. Our loved ones help us through all the days and lives hold. May we always take hold of their loving encouragement, and let that strength be a raft to float on through the days! 

 My favourite variety of apples is the "Royal Gala" type. I was reading " fun facts" about the apple and discovered that "The Royal Gala strain was named to honour Queen Elizabeth II after she praised the apple during a visit to New Zealand" I wonder if the Queen eats many apple pies using this type of apple?!!

       I think that everyone  is very royal. Royalty seems to have a special quality that is a little different to other people. In the same way, every one has a  very special uniqueness that is like no one else, and brings a touch of beauty into our lives because we are in touch with them. We don't need to wear a crown or tiara to be royal. A lovely smile, a twinkling eye, a gentle touch on an unsteady arm, and an ever listening ear is so much more better than the finest royal regalia! 

 We are nearing the end of Autumn and are  heading into Wintertime! Winter isn't my favourite time of year because of the coldness!  Our heater do " overtime" in the Winter season! Just as we often need to put on extra clothing to wear for the coldness or extra blankets on our beds, may we also wear an " outfit of love" and let that affect all we do and say. It is also a special outfit that helps us to endure through all that our lives are holding. May flower petals, like raindrops on a Wintry day, fall upon you as you walk through this new upcoming month❤️

 It is very nice looking out through the windows and seeing sunshine even if the temperature is low and the weather coolish. It brightens our day! A kindly, caring and  encouraging word or smile given to another person,  is like sunshine too! It certainly warms our heart! Sometimes the headlights or brake lights in cars no longer work  due to broken /faulty globes. It is good that our inside " heart lights" are not like that! Our heart lights keep shining through good, harder, happy, tiring, and sad times, running on love ❤️

Next Monday is the Queen's Birthday public holiday. But it is not really her birthday at all! Her birthday is on April 21st instead! It is an " un birthday " !

 May we too celebrate each day! Life holds happy times, sad times, painful times, funny times...all sorts of days! But just like an " unbirthday" we can celebrate the beautiful "ordinary" blessings, the love of family and friends, a place to live that gives us warmth in Winter, coolness in Summer, a smile we receive, a friendly greeting or encouraging words  that come to each day. When we reflect on these blessings, a little " unbirthday balloon" is released in our hearts and lifts us up inside! 

The other morning was a very cold and Wintery day . ( Which it is meant to be because it is officially Wintertime! ) It was so special though, because I am sure that I heard kookaburras laughing at me outside! I could hear them chuckling! I wouldn't have expected them to come visiting on a Winter's day! It is very nice when unexpected special moments occur in our days! May we have hearts and minds awake and alert to when these occur, and take encouragement from little daily blessings ❤️

I was looking at the " Big Freeze" that was held at the MCG on the Queens Birthday Holiday footy match. Sports people were raising money for Motor Neurone Disease by sliding into water that was full of ice blocks! It made me feel so very,very cold just looking at them! It must have very chilly and icy, by the looks on their faces! The warmth of a smile or a kindly word melts icicles  that are  inside people.  Like the sunshine on a Winter's day melts the frozen ice on a bird bath and allows the little birds to come to the bath and happily splash and chirp in the bird bath, so does the warmth of a smile, a caring greeting and little chat, or a caring listening ear, lighten hearts.  

I was thinking of violets the other day. They often grow in all sorts of areas in backyards, and like to take shelter underneath other plants. They are such tiny and  gentle flowers!   But they can withstand  all the varied weather conditions that we experience from day to day. They have such a lovely scent! When life feels a bit tiring, and we are enduring pain and we feel a bit battered about , may we take encouragement from the violet and remember that we are hidden  in the loving shelter of our loving Lord and rest in the steadfast knowledge that our life is still beautifully scented ❤️

The days are looking quite grey outdoors now that is nearing the middle of Winter. The outdoors doesn't look so “cheery” ! I didn't like seeing the grey skies, so I started to think about the word “ grey” and the words that begin with those letters. I thought of *Gentle * Rest * Eternal *You.

Gentle - May we just take life gently, realising the preciousness of each new day, and caringly care for others and ourselves. Rest- May we rest in the beauty of the knowledge that we know that we have loved ones both here and who have gone before us to Heaven who love us and care so much about us. We are resting in His hands too. Eternal - life and love is eternal ! Passing away is another stage of our life! Knowing this , helps us with our day by day living now! You- You are so very, very special! There is no one in the whole wide world like you! You have so much worth,so muchmuchmuch worth more than gold! 

Last week, the US celebrated Independence Day, the 4th of July. I read that they enjoy eating burgers and hotdogs on that day, and set off lots of fireworks at night time! It is good to be independent and have our own way of doing things or own views or own ways of approaching situations. At the same time, we all rely on each as we journey through life. We are travelling along life's pathway, caring for and being cared for by fellow travellers. The scenery is  often beautiful. Sometimes as we travel along the pathway, the journey gets a little wearying and tiring, It is good to have fellow travellers who will walk along beside us and encourage us with each step we take. 

Sending hugs to everyone who needs one today ❤

I am enjoy eating silverbeet! I started eating it a few months ago, and now a few times a week, I enjoy eating it as a vegetable in my dinner. Mum cooks a little extra and Dad has the cooked silverbeet in a salad the next day for lunch! Silverbeet is coloured green though, and not silver! I was thinking about that the other day, and it reminded me of a saying. “ There are gold ships. There are silver ships. But nothing matches friend-ships” The saying is very true! May we be an encouragement to our friends, and may we at the same time be encouraged by them. True friends care, comfort , cheer and cry with you through the good and not so good times of lives. They ride the “ seas” of these four c -starting words with us , as we travel in the friendship boat! 

 I think that this Aussie picture with sign posts pointing to Aussie places is very cute! It makes me smile! The koalas , platypus, echidna , kookaburra, emu, kangaroo and cockatoo are very cute! The koala eating a banana makes me laugh! We are all on a journey travelling along the pathway of life. Sometimes , the trek is a little wearying and painful, sometimes we delight in the specialness of the beauty of a lovely sunrise or sunset, which we find in unexpected loving kindness expressed to us in caring acts or words. Love is the bottled water that sustains us on the journey! It is not bottled though, it is more like rivers and streams of water! Having a laugh, just like a kookaburra, is always a special moment in a day! Sending hugs to all my fellow travellers ❤️❤️❤️

 Dad pulled back the blinds on the side glass windows the other day, and the sun came shining through! It was very nice to see early morning sunshine on a Winter’s day. May you have many sunshine moments through your days, as you enjoy the everyday blessings that life brings.

There is a new moon on Tuesday! The night time skies will be very dark for a few days. Sometimes we may have times when all around us is a bit filled with darkness. It may be quite a painful and tiring time that we are going through. BUT though we can't change that darkness, hope, faith and love are  such beautiful shining lights in the midst of it all! They guide, help and encourage us through all that our lives are holding. They are as brilliant as the shiniest light and as warming as the sunniest sun ray. 

 I think  that this picture of the dog looks so cute! Perhaps his owner can enjoy eating a hamburger in a park whilst they are taking their dog for a walk! 

Life can sometimes be like a hamburger. The beef patty meat is the extra special important things of life, such as our loving relationships with our Lord, our family and our friends. It is what life is truly made of. The cheese is calcium, which enables our body to keep going without broken bones. This is sunshine that comes through windows in our homes, water that we drink through taps, and yummy food that we eat for meals! They help our bodies! The bread bun is love! Love surrounds and encloses our life! Lettuce is the crispy events that happen in our days! It is a happy chat with another person, or a laugh at something that we see or read.  Tomatoes are the slices of our life, divided into days, weeks, months and years! Each day brings new things…sometimes they are happy, others quite painful, saddening and tiring. We can grow through all that happens in our lives. Life sometimes leaves us feeling a little “ wrinkly” like the dog too! 

Happy Springtime ! It is a very nice time of the year, when colourful flowers start appearing in backyard gardens  ! I was thinking about this the other day, and we seem to have colourful flowers all the year around! Florists always have colourful flowers to make into bouquets , and we can always look at pretty pictures of flowers. Each day of the year, the love that we give out or receive through what is said or through caring actions, is like little colourful flowers. They bloom in the hearts of others as we give out love flowers through words, through helping others, through being a listening ear, and in it all, caring lovingly about others and how they are feeling that day. 

   It is nearly Royal Melbourne Show time! There are always so many different  showbags that people can choose from to buy at the Show! The Bertie Beetle one is always the most popular one, and is the cheapest! Beetles have 6 legs. Three legs on each side. Sometimes people say that “ things happen in three’s ”. You may not be having a good day, and three things happen throughout the day which make you feel a bit upset. It is also encouraging to think that good things can come in three’s too! Each day, when we come to eveningtime and  we go to sleep, there is always three things that we can look back on  that happened through the day we can be thankful for. It may have been a chat with someone face to face or on the phone. We may have received a letter or an email , or a lovely smile from other person. The weather may have been nice and sunny that day. Something we heard, or read or saw may have made us laugh! We may have enjoyed a tasty meal. Our loved ones may have shared happy news with us, or comforted us when we were in pain. Lots of little everyday blessings are a part of our days! 

     I bought Mum a talking clock! She presses a button and a voice tells her the time and the temperature. It is in Fahrenheit  though! The time can also be projected onto the wall!  Some countries use the Celsius form, whilst others use Fahrenheit . The temperature though doesn't alter! It is still hot, cold or inbetween! There are many, many languages around the world, but the main language doesn't have a dictionary, or grammar or “ spell checks” or nouns, verbs or adjectives! Yet, it is a central part of every word spoken, every action done, every thought that is thought, and every minute of the day! It is the language of love! May we all live a life of love, letting it affect all that we do and say, day-by-day! 

 I was reading the newspaper the other day, and saw this quote. I thought that it was very expressive. ( It also made me think of colourful iced, jam, and cinnamon doughnuts! )  

      “ I look at the doughnut not the hole” 

How we look at things does affect our lives and how we are feeling or as we endure through not- so-nice painful times in our lives, as well as happy times. May we all enjoy the “doughnuts of life” and friendships are the cinnamon! The jam in doughnuts can get very messy! Our lives can sometimes feel a bit “ messy” too! But just as jam is yummy in a doughnut, the “ jammy” experiences in our lives where we feel life is a bit messy, are special times where we grow a little more and draw on the strength of our loved ones as they help us through our days

 We have just started the new month of  October. When I think of the word “October” , I think of friendly octopuses! They have eight arms!  Offering a caring helpful hand to someone who needs it is very appreciated by the receiver! You can never have too many arms outstretched to another person in  loving kindness!  Octopuses have big eyes. May we also be ever watchful to look out for others who need an encouraging word. Sending a wave to you all with my two arms! 

 I have been doing “ Chirpings from a Strathalan Sparrow for many years” I have always ended with an encouraging paragraph. I have decided to post some of these paragraphs on this blog. I hope that they may encourage anyone who reads them