Lessons on Abundance and Scarcity

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Something I discovered about myself last year is that I have a bit of a scarcity perspective when it comes to how I view our family's needs.  These are messages ingrained through  my childhood and reinforced during my adulthood.  I fear scarcity.  I fear not having enough.  Even though my experience is one of God meeting all our needs, albeit in a minimalistic fashion, my experience has also been woven in with pain and difficulty.  So when you feel like God is directing you to be like Abraham - to leave everything behind and be open to going wherever God leads you - the whole scarcity thing comes bubbling up.  Again.  Not having a job will do that I guess.

I read this post, the other morning, from Glennon Doyle Melton.  I was starting to feel quite uncomfortable about the truth she shared and being confronted with my scarcity perspective.  As I read through the comments, one reader identified exactly what had been whispering at the back of my own mind and I knew that perhaps I was in deeper trouble than I thought.  That little scarcity perspective I knew I had is actually a full-blown fear I had been hoping to ignore or cover up or, I don't know, pretend it isn't there.  Because I don't have to deal with stuff that isn't there.  Right?  Wrong!

As I have wrestled and pondered and thought and wrestled some more I began to ask myself some questions about what I really believe.  And what I really believe about me.  At the end of my ponderings I had to ask myself the question:  am I doing something wrong?  I needed God to show me his blessings over me and to give me an abundance perspective.

When you ask questions like that God shows up.  He speaks into those fears, answers those questions and shows you how to step forward; He shows you a better way.

Yesterday in church the verse upon which the service was based was Matthew 6:31-33.

"So don't worry about these things, saying "What will we eat?  What will we drink?  What will we wear?"  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

(NLT)

I knew I had to sit up and take notice when the text was about abundance and scarcity!  When it was dealing with the exact worries and fears I have been wrestling with.  This morning I spent some time looking more closely at these verses.  I had been asking what I was doing wrong.  Perhaps that isn't really the question I needed to ask - perhaps I needed to ask "what do I need to do?"  And these verses tell me exactly what to do:

Seek God's kingdom above all else.
Live righteously.

What does it mean to seek God's kingdom?  I thought about that for a good while, because believers already possess the kingdom within them.  If I have Christ dwelling within me his kingdom is already there.  Those thoughts and worries are things of unbelievers, but these verses are telling believers what they should do.  Even though believers possess the kingdom they are still told to seek it.  I needed a clearer, fuller understanding of the work "seek".  As I looked up "seek" on my dictionary app I sifted out all the meanings to do with looking for something you don't have and I found two that seemed to apply here:

"to go to", and "search or explore".

If I already possess the kingdom, when I am seeking it I need "to go to" it and "search and explore" it.  That means I need to spend time going to the Kingdom and exploring it.  I can do that by going to the Word and exploring it fully.  By doing that I will know what it means to be a citizen of that kingdom; to know what it's cultures are, how the citizens live, what the expectations are for Kingdom citizens and their responsibilities.  God's Word gives me all of that information so I need to invest myself in it and explore it above all else.

The second thing this texts instructs me to do is live righteously.  When I looked up righteous the dictionary said it means to act in an upright and moral way; to be morally right or justifiable.  When I know what it is that Kingdom citizens are expected to do and how they are to live, I am equipped to live righteously.  I am more able to embody Kingdom Truth in all that I do.

If I believe that God is a God of abundance and blessing, and that he is trustworthy to fulfill his promises every time, I need to have an abundance perspective.  In the text is instruction for what I need to do and it outlines the promise that God will give me everything I need.  Everything.  EVERY.  LITTLE.  THING.  Every time.

As I pondered that scary little challenge to this scarcity-orientated brain of mine I came across this post about abundance and scarcity.  I need to live in the truth that God has an abundance perspective.  I need to live expectant that God will show up and fulfill what he has said he will do, not in fear that he won't.  I need to steep myself in that truth and not worry about missing out.  I need to rest in the certainty that God provides everything we need and that there will be more than enough. 

When I do what I need to do, and God does what he promises to do I will have what I need:  a home, clothing, food, an incredible husband and children, precious friends, reliable transportation, work, income, profitability. 

Peace.

En Route - Launceston to Hobart

Entally House Conservatory

One of the things that has always amused me about Tasmanians is their perspective about how long a trip will or should take.  When I was 18 and Dh and I were staying with my great aunt and uncle they declared a trip from Burnie to Hobart via the west coast was a two-day trip.  We were sure it was a gently-paced, meandering kind of whole day drive.  We were right.  No need to stop overnight.

Neither was there any need to stop overnight on the drive from Launceston to Hobart.  We did take our time.  Dh met with a coffee guy he had met at a market while Miss Mischief and I hit the bookshops in town.  I hesitate to call Launceston a city - it's so small and intimate!  Then met up again and hit the historic homesteads of Entally House and then Clarendon House.  I have always adored these old homes and I was keen to share them with our kids.  The two houses are in general same vicinity just south of Launceston.

 Entally House

Clearly I'm not the photographer in the family!  I'm sure Miss Sunshine got a much straighter shot!  In any case, Entally House and Clarendon House were both built around the same time (early 1800's), both by people who were considered incredibly wealthy.  What struck me was how pokey Entally House is, inside, compared to the grandeur and space of Clarendon House.  Especially when it comes to staircases!!!  The former with a nerve-racking version that felt more like a ladder and the latter with a wide spacious staircase on which one could easily play all day if they were so inclined.

Clarendon House

These poor old houses are showing their age, especially the stately Clarendon, with water damage requiring a new roof and works going on in the basement level.  Interestingly we were not allowed to photograph inside Clarendon.  Although curious I did not enquire about the odd request.  Whilst Entally has been furnished with a number of pieces that are either original to the house or to match photographs, Clarendon House has been staged in keeping with the time period, but not necessarily pieces that match photographic evidence.  Perhaps that's why?

Once we had delved into history and enjoyed a little step back in time - and a devonshire tea for morning tea - we hopped back in the car and headed off on our two-hour drive to Hobart.  Note to self - next time, go through Richmond.  If only I'd known to look for those signs instead of the Hobart ones.  It would have saved us quite a bit of time....and having to drive through a torrential downpour.  So much for Hobart being the driest capital city in Australia!

Lessons on overcoming procrastination

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I've learned a bit about procrastination this week - for both me and members of my family.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am a list-lover from way back.  Over the last few years I have lost my list-loving ways and have been floundering about just doing the next urgent thing.  Yesterday I found a beautiful daily list template from Ann Voscamp called "The Day's Draft" and thought maybe I should try a little bit of goal-setting.  A little bit of list-writing.  A little bit of doing what I wrote down.

Did you know that writing things down can motivate you to get things done?  I wrote down all the things.  I planned when I would do all the things.  And you know what?  I got all the things done.  It's amazing what a little list-writing can accomplish.  Today I'm still on track.

One of the things on my list was to wash my whites.  Dh is the laundry guru man around here.  He gets twitchy if he doesn't get to wash stuff so I have learned not to get in his way.  He starts washing clean stuff and becomes a bit unreasonable about the whole thing about doing laundry.  But I don't let him loose on my whites.  We don't sort much around here.  I never did and he certainly doesn't.  But I don't want my whites with the blacks (which is like 99% of his wardrobe, thank you coffee industry).  I don't want new greys!  So I tend to end up with a small little load every now and then and I do it myself.

Yesterday when I was in the laundry overcoming my procrastinating ways I discovered a whole bunch of empty bottles.  You know, things like bleach and stain remover spray.  Stuff like that.  Stuff that looks a lot like other people's procrastination.

I have learned something about my boys and their laundry-ignorant ways.  Neither one of them cleans up after themselves in there.  Dh uses the washing machine but that's it.  The linen is piled up in a basket because he doesn't put it away after he's washed, hung, brought in and folded it.  Mr Busy doesn't deal with used-up bottles of things to clean toilets with.  So I gave Mr Busy a little demonstration that went like this:

Me:  When you use up the last of something you pick it up like this *demonstrated picking up bottle* and you take it to the bin like this *walked the container to the bin - about 10 steps*.  You put it in the bin like this *you get the idea*.  At some point we will ask you to empty those bins and you'll take the whole bunch out to the bins outside and then you'll take them to the curb.  The bin men will come along and voila - it will all vanish never to dealt with again.  Go it?

Mr Busy:  *grunt*

Because, you know, 14yo boys pretty much grunt when there is no answer they are prepared to offer.  I'm taking it mean acquiescence.  He probably thought "If I don't answer one way or the other she'll forget we had this conversation and I won't have to put other bottles in the bin".

He would be wrong.

So my son is a seasoned procrastinator and apparently it is my job to teach him the merits of efficiency.

Pray for me.

Tamar Valley Tourists

Low Head Lighthouse

While we were in Tasmania last month we spent a lot of time being, dare I say it, t-t-t-tourists.  We have a slight bias against tourists in this house, because we live in an area where tourists like to visit.  I'm more than happy to share this beautiful corner of the world with visitors, but just please drive at the speed limit and we'll all be happy.  Our roads do not cater for things like overtaking people who don't know where they are going and who are driving at 50kph in an 80kph zone.  I'm sorry...we want to be hospitable, but we need to get on with our day in a timely manner.

While we stayed in Launceston our time was mostly to do with my graduation.  But after that we had a few days of doing some things we had on our list.  One day we travelled up the east side of the Tamar River to the north coast, and then came back down the other side, in a bit of a loop.

We picked strawberries

We visited a dairy

The fruits of these two stops became our lunch

We visited the lighthouse and museum village at Low Head (first picture) and then we crossed the Tamar River and visited some platypuses and echidnas.

This cute little guy and his mates wandered around licking our ankles and snuffling about to see who all the strange visitors were.  We were able to stroke their backs as they waddled past - making sure you stroke in the right direction, of course.  Tasmanian echidnas, we discovered, have more fur than the mainland version.  It seemed to me they were a little bigger as well.  We often have to stop and let an echidna cross the road around here and ours just seem quite a bit smaller.

If you ever find yourself in the beautiful state of Tasmania, make sure you get out and take a leisurely wander about the place.  Your efforts will more than be rewarded.  And as you drive along you'll see plenty of poppy fields.  Apparently the poppy industry is pretty big in Tasmania - something I didn't know til we started seeing so many fields of beautiful white/blue poppies bobbing their heads at us.

Anti-Procrastination...Or...Taking Myself By the Scruff of the Neck

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I seem to have developed a little procrastination problem.  This isn't my usual MO.  I am normally an incredibly organised, planned, goal-oriented and perhaps even driven kind of gal.  I get stuff done.  I get it done before it's due as an insulator from added and unnecessary stress when life takes an unexpected turn and everything falls apart.  Or your friends invite you to do something super fun with them at the last minute.  I determined early in life I would not be the person who said "no" to being with my people because the ironing needed to be done.  OK, so I don't iron anything, but you know what I mean!

Since the middle of November, when I completed my teaching rounds, my desk has been a bomb site.  I have looked at it for no less than seven weeks and thought "I need to deal with that pig sty".  The fact that it is the first thing people see when I open the front door has contributed to the layers of guilt that go with having left that hot mess to multiply and grow.  Today I took myself in hand and dealt with it.

It took me all of a whole five minutes to toss the rubbish and return all the stuff to all the places.  Really.  Five minutes. Now instead of feeling guilty I'm feeling a little bit dumb.  I spent seven weeks looking at that stuff thinking it was too much to deal with.  Rather than getting on with it I had to deal with the emotions involved when procrastination happens.

And that's the thing with procrastination, isn't it?  We put stuff off because we think it will be too hard, too time consuming, too overwhelming or we won't have time to do it perfectly.  When we finally get around to doing the whatever-it-is-we-are-putting-off we discover it was none of those things and we had made it all bigger in our heads than it ever needed to be.  We rob ourselves of joy and contentment and we live paralysed by guilt and unworthiness.  I don't know about you but I don't want my life to be defined like that!

With that in mind I'm off to re-write my selection criteria responses for non-graduate positions.  Because although this job will take some time, it won't take as long as leaving it and feeling guilty that I haven't done it yet.

Maybe once that is done I will be able to deal with cleaning the windows, mopping the floor and getting that Christmas tree out of my living room.  I know it's only 7 January, but it's driving me insane!

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Summer Salads and New Favourites for Breakfast

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I discovered a summer dinner gold mine this morning.  See, this is what happens when your hubby leaves for work ridiculously early and you're lying in bed wide awake.  The iPad beckons and you end up delving into little known corners from your own blog list.

This morning I was clicking my way through "The Pioneer Woman" site and came across a post of some favourite summer salads.  Her Chicken Taco Salad is a firm favourite in this house, so I was certain I would probably appreciate anything that included salad ingredients and combinations that we like, in our house.  Because that's to some degree what family meals are all about.  You may come across the best recipe, but inevitably a competent, confident cook will tweak it to suit what they have and what their family will eat.  Not all of the salads on Ree's list will make it here at the Picket Fence, but many will.  I've printed off a few already:

• Panzanella
• Sesame Chicken Salad
• Quinoa with Tomato, Basil and Mozarella
• Apple, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad with Dried Cherries

Already I can see a major overhaul coming my way with the last salad.  I love the idea of fresh fruit in a savoury salad.  But I hate blue cheese.  I want to like it.  I've tried to like it.  It just tastes like vomit to me and I can't make myself push through that.  I'll be looking to see what else I could use in its place.  I'm not sure I've ever seen dried cherries, but I think dried cranberries might work for both colour and flavour.

If you're interested in summer meal salads go here and peruse at will.  I'm sure there will be something there you will enjoy.

My other recent discovery is gourmet jams from The Richmond Jam Maker in Tasmania, who happens to be Dh's cousin.  I am in jam-love.  As a jam-on-toast breakfast kind of person I'm always happy to try different jams, although raspberry is always my go-to standard.  We came home with a significant amount of jam tucked away in my suitcase from TRJM.  Thank you, Jetstar, for weighing our luggage as a family instead of individuals.  Overall we were underweight even though my case full of jam was over the individual limit.  We had tried most of different jams while we were staying with Dh's aunt and uncle, in Hobart.  I loved every single one I tasted, but I didn't taste the blackberry and fig - there were more jams than days of the week and we were only there for five mornings.  Until this morning.  I don't know what possessed Dh to pick that one up, but it is my new favourite.  It is fresh and moody and its sweetness is earthy and resiny.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I'm pushing that jar to the back of the fridge and hoping "fig" on the label will put everyone else in the family off trying it.  If you're ever in Tasmania you will be able to pick up TRJM jams and relishes from lots of different places around the State.  If not, she ships all over the world.  Do yourself a favour - order some!  The raspberry is to-die-for.  The whiskey marmalade is incredibly good.  I imagine that could go down well when you feel you need to bolster yourself for the day ahead.  She does a pineapple and melon marmalade - just amazing.  Seriously.  Pick anything.  She does more than what is listed on her website so email her and ask.  The store on the website only lists Australia as a shipping destination.  Email her and ask if you want it shipped elsewhere in the world.  And then order some.  You will not be sorry.   

Happy New Year...Dreams and Possibilities

Happy New Year!!!

Can you believe we are into a new year already?  It feels like 2014 started just three minutes ago and now all of a sudden here we are into 2015.

At the moment this year seems to stretch before me with no plans and no certainties.  While others have declared that to be an exciting adventure and assure me a teaching position will undoubtedly be forthcoming I'm not so certain about either proclamation. Anxious uncertainty seems to be a frequent visitor and that annoys me no end.  I'd much rather have some direction and be organising myself for the year ahead.  Having said that I do have somewhat of a laundry-list of things I'd love to do around the house....all of which requires an income which allows for space to save up for such things, but if I were to dream of the possibilities this is what I would do:

• Repaint the house, inside and out
• Re-varnish the floorboards
• Remove the half-wall between the meals and family room area.  It's a dumb, inconvenient thing!
• Redo the kids bathroom and toilet.  Tiles were made for these areas - not floating floorboards or plaster walls!
• Give the kitchen a facelift with a new facade and benchtop.  And switch the kitchen sink so it works in the opposite direction
• Put a wood heater insert into the fireplace

Lots of dreams and possibilities there.  Mostly though, I'm dreaming of teaching in my own classroom.

Any dreams and possibilities in your outlook?