Do you like having your sandwiches or toast cut a certain way, such as either in squares or in triangles ? Our family is mixed! Mum and I like triangles whilst Dad likes squares! Sandwiches and toast would taste totally different if cut the other way! It is interesting that we all have little differences. They don't really matter in the big scheme of things , but are just individual preferences. The big main thing is that everyone all around the world all share the one same thing : every person would like to be loved and to give their love out to their loved ones. Love sustains, encourages, strengthens and gives us the courage we need each day, whatever our life is holding. May you always be aware how precious you are to your loved ones, both family and friends

 I saw this picture of a rainbow latte cup of coffee! It looks so pretty! Rainbows are lovely to look at in the sky! They are so colourful! We need to turn our faces and  look up into the sky to see them. It is like life. Sometimes we feel a little down. Life feels a little hard and tiring. May we look upwards. We are very much  loved. There is light in the midst of all that is happening in our lives. May we always look up to the Son /sun.

Some days, we need to just take an hour by hour at a time. That is okay though, because life is made up of lots of little times and days. There will be days where we  feel better than other ones, whilst other days may bring with it times of a little inside pain. Each day brings with it a sunrise, a promise of opportunity lays ahead. In the same way, a sunset closes the day and ends what the day has held.  Whatever the days are holding, I send big hugs to you! ❤️❤️

From the 1st July, there are a lot of changes taking place connected to Norfolk Island. It has always been considered an Australian territory, but a lot of the running of it and laws were their own and separate from Australian laws. They had their own postal system. They are now bringing in Australian laws, and now any stamps issued on Norfolk Island can be used in Australia and all Australian stamps can be used there too! 

    The word " Norfolk" seems warm and homely to me! I think is it is the " folk" part of the word that evokes that feeling. Sometimes words bring more feelings when they are said, and add to their basic meaning. May our own words being help and encouragement when another person needs it, may they contain joy when they are said to celebrate something  that has happened. May they be  reassuring it times of fear. May they always be driven by inner love! 

Last week’s,  "Independence Day" was celebrated in the U.S.A. ! Americans celebrate by having fireworks, picnics and barbecues. Fireworks are so very pretty! They light up the nightime skies. It needs to be dark and night time to see the best effects of fireworks. Fireworks are a little bit like our lives. Pain, tiredness and concerns may make the skies of our lives seem a little dark. It is especially at these times that the loving care, support,words and empathy of our loved and loving family and friends light up our days like fireworks. May we bring fireworks into each other's days ❤️

We are nearly half way through Winter! Winter is not my favourite season of the year! I am not too keen on the coldness! But...there are some great things about the season! On a Winter's morning, the aroma of toast cooking smells very nice in the coolness of the air. The electric heater makes  a reassuring noise as it powers along trying to keep us warm, and it sounds odd when there is silence at night time when it is turned off when going to bed. When the blinds are pulled down in the evenings and the lights are turned on, the rooms seem cosier in the Wintertime. And the best benefit of all, is that the warmth of the love of our loved and loving family and friends gladdens, enriches and carries us through each and every day of the year and sustains  us inside!

I have a lamb that sits beside me on a table and  keeps me company when I'm using the iPad! Her name is Bethany! It is so funny because she seems to get so close to the iPad at times that it looks like she is reading the screen! She has a very gentle look on her face! Lambs are sometimes a little unsteady on their feet. They look a little wobbly on their feet and are a bit fragile. Then after a while they leap about and jump up in the air. We may feel a little bit  " wobbly" on our feet, but inside we can jump, dance and leap

about! Life can be a bit wearying and painful on our bodies at times, but inside we are still ourselves and softly scented flower petals encircle us and cushion us through all that our lives are holding.

Today, we start the first day of a new month! We wonder what the new month will told. Each new month brings with it times of gladness, sadness, thankfulness and tiredness. Each new day, a new sunrise appears in the skies and greets  us saying :  "Good Morning!Welcome to the day! " then as the day comes to an end, and we reflect on the day, the sun sets and says "Good night! I will keep watch over another part of the world whilst you get some sleep"  . Enjoy the unexpected blessings and special moments that

occur through the day. Have open eyes and ears in your heart! There is beauty in the midst of tears. Cry when you need to. Crying helps your inside very much. Always remember that you have people who  so much love you ❤️

      I  was looking at the schedule of upcoming Olympic events on one of the days last week. I saw that the men's 100m sprint was being held from

 "11:25-11:26 a.m" The 10 seconds that it takes to run the race is both lengthy and short! It is lengthy in that there can be a number of changes of the leader  positions  of the runners over that race and the most lengthiest part of these 10 seconds is the impact that lasts! People from all around the world talk for years later  about the runners who have won the 100 m sprint! The lengthy results are see in millions of newspaper articles written about it! The race time is short, in that within a " normal " day, we don't even notice that the time has passed! Sometimes what we do in a special " 10 second period" can have long lasting effects ! We may never know that what we have said or done or a smile or an action has helped, encouraged or placed a footprint on someone's heart. May we use our time in a loving and caring way ❤️

   This week Springtime begins! That is great! Spring is a very nice season of the year. We get sunnier days, flowers start to bloom, and when I think of the word " Springtime" the next word that pops into my mind is " hope". Spring is newness , but at the same time it is built on the foundation of all that has

been happening throughout the rest of the year. May hope always,  ever and ever , burn brightly in your heart and mind. Hope is firm, steady, a rock,  and we hold onto it though all that our days and lives are holding. May this Springtime be a lovely and special season for you! ❤️

Spring has arrived! 🌻💐🌻💐  I am very glad that Winter has ended! We may not feel like " Spring-ing up" out of bed in the mornings, but that is okay! We can be like a music box spring instead! When you open a music box, you hear very beautiful music. In the same way, whether we are sitting, standing

or laying, may our lives sing out lovely music from our  inner insides! We may be in pain or very tired. Sometimes that is the time when the loveliest music is heard as our heart seeks refuge from the outer pain. I send big hugs to every one who needs one today ❤️

It was Teddy Bears Day last Friday! You may have seen lots of teddies having teddy bear picnics that day?! They always make sure that they pack lots of tomato and cheese sandwiches to have at their picnics! Teddies are often a comfort to us all, whatever our age and wherever we are. We look at their  faces, and their  eyes often melt a little part of our heart! Please say hello to your teddies from me and my teddy friend Mr. Oliver from Oxford  Bear ! Teddies are often soft to touch. Our hearts also sometimes feel quite soft inside. We may be feeling a bit painful or tired or weak. When you feel a little bit soft and fragile inside, may gentle and softly scented flower petals encompass your heart. May hope like  a beautifully lit candle light up your inside as you look upwards and onwards day by day. 

On Sunday week, Daylight Savings begins! We " Spring forward" our clocks an hour. We " lose" an hour in that day very quickly! Life is very precious. Sometimes we may feel that time is passing quite slowly, then at other times it rushes quickly! Love knows no time. It is :  eternal...forever...always. ❤️Our loved ones who have left us are waiting for us to hug us. Our loved ones that remain with us encourage our hearts as we continue through our life journey together , expressing our love in a multitude of ways  and being loved. I send loving hugs to any one who needs them today ❤️

We are now into the second month of Springtime! The little birds are singing their own special Springtime tune! I would think that the birds who visit the Royal Botanical Gardens are probably enjoying scone crumbs and putting their beaks into pots of jam and cream! They may have a little bit " sticky beaks", in a literal way! Caring for others and talking to them to see how they are feeling isn't being a " sticky beak". It is showing love and kindness,and helps the other person know that they aren't alone. It is special to spread love just like jam! It " sticks" in the other person's heart and is a very special " homemade loving, sticky jam" touch! 

The AFL football season has now finished, and Australian cricket time is now here!  Go Aussies! It is great that there is always some sort of sport taking place at times through the year. Sport involves not just the sports player   people who are physically playing the game. It also involves many, many supporters cheering the players on! Many sports players have said that having people supporting them and cheering them on has helped to " lift them" and give them a boost of energy as they are playing their sport. It is just like in  life, but in a much deeper and very  important sense. We can endure through pain, tiredness and all that our daily lives are holding when we know that others are beside us in their thoughts , cheering us, caring about us  and encouraging us on. May you take strength and comfort from the caring love and support of your loved ones, both family and friends ❤️

It is funny that the ink colours for our printer are not called " yellow, blue and pink". They instead have the more formal descriptive colour names of " cyan, magenta and yellow " ! The colour shades sound a bit more " exclusive" ! 

  Life is a little like inks. Our days are coloured with glad colours, sad colours, happy colours, painful colours , but through it all the paintbrush is always painting with a very richly dense paint of love. Every strand of the paint brush itself is a  strand of love ❤️.

It has been very nice over the last couple of weeks to  have the side windows curtains closed for an hour in the morning because of the sun catching our eyes! It is a great " issue" to have! I prefer the sun shining in! After the hour has finished, we are able to open the curtains again. We can also have sunshine in our hearts. Life can be tiring, and we can be enduring through pain and weariness, and at the same time, there are " rays of love sunshine" that surround our hearts. Love will always sustain us through all that the day and our lives hold. Love is eternal, it allows us to fly, to be carried through the day when our weariness is very strong. 

As a new month begins, we wonder what the month ahead  may hold for each of us! The clock just makes a little tick as it marks the time from 11:59 p.m. on the 30th/ 31st then the next minute it is 12:01 a.m. on the  1st! As I was writing that, it sounds very funny but I all of a sudden thought about a  boiled egg! The eggs can be placed in an egg cup, the top of the egg can be knocked to crack the shell, then the top opens up to flowing yolk surrounded by whiteness, and toast or bread " soldiers' can be dipped into the yolk! Each day brings sunshine the colour of an egg yolk. Then the night time brings a night sky with white starry stars , the colour of egg whites. Whether by day or night, we are watched over by our Loving Lord and our loving Heavenly Father. May we rest in their care.

The word " Antarctica" is quite and unusual word! I can always remember when I was at primary school and we were doing a project on Antarctica.The primary school teacher was getting quite frustrated when some of the students kept forgetting to put the " c" in the word, and instead spelt the name  as "Antartica" They didn't put  an " arc" in the word!  An "arc" of love extends from our hearts to our loved ones ❤️One end of the rainbow arc is settled in our heart and the other end is nestled in the heart of our loved ones, both those who remain with us here , as well as those who have gone before us and are joyfully awaiting us in Heaven. Rich, deep love flows over these arcs, like a strong flowing river. The love connection flows on and on forever

 Egg shells are very  fragile items. It not suggested to put a brick on top of one! Also, you should not put a litre  of  milk on top of it if you are buying eggs at the same time as milk, to make a omelette! But on the other hand, I suppose that it would be a very quick way of making an instant omelette if there was a hole in the milk carton and it was a hot Summer's Day! Hello, mister omelette on the hot ground!  Life is very fragile. We don't know what each day will hold. Life is also precious. With each breath we take, the intricately detailed and wonderfully designs of our body are at work pumping blood and oxygen throughout our blood streams. May we take delight in every little blessing that fills each day and our special journey through life

Our loved one have footprints on our hearts. Sometimes we  may feel a little " heavy in the heart". It may be that is the time that we need to keep remembering that love is eternal...life and death and distance in geographical location doesn't  alter our connection with our loved ones. It  is just that they may not be visible physically. And our loved ones are still dancing over our hearts ❤️

Hello ❤
I just wanted to upload here my Christmas photos that I used for my Chirpings last year.

The Australian Open tennis tournament starts next week! It will be interesting to see which players get through to the Finals, and if unexpectedly players win their matches against more highly ranked opponents! There are always a few " Upsets " at tournaments like these! Sometimes we may feel a little bit "struggle-y"  , due to pain or tiredness , or just feel a little sad. Just like the tennis players are " boosted" by the support of the spectators who are watching the match, may we also be encouraged that we have loved ones, both family and friends , who are watching us in our daily day by day walk through life and care about us. May the knowledge that we are not alone, bring encouragement to your days. Above all, we have a loving Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus who is right beside us each step on life's pathway.

I have a teddy bear as my background picture on my home screen on my iPad! He is very cute!( Don't tell Mr. Oliver, my teddy bear,  that though! He may get jealous! ) It is great that we can choose the picture that we have as the background picture! It adds a special personal touch to the iPad. Every one is different and uniquely special! We all have special " personal touches" that we bring to the world and the people that we are in contact with each day. May we take delight in the specialness of the people that we see or are in contact with day by day, and be encouraged that we too are bringing our own uniqueness into the world in all that we do and say, day by day! 

 Happy Australia Day! I hope that you have a very nice January 26th! May a kookaburra laugh at you when you get up in the morning! May a colourful rainbow lorikeet swoop across your pathway through life and bring a touch of colour to your days. May the specialness of a platypus remind us that everyone in this world is uniquely special! May the prickles of an echidna teach us that perhaps other people are just having a hard day, and may we have the empathy to have a listening ear. The green and gold are the sporting colours of Australia. Our family and friends are worth so very, very much more than gold!