48 Hours Of Family

As I lay on my big sister's lap on the way to the airport tonight, I remembered how I grew up doing exactly that, every day to and from school in our big, orange school bus.

We really all have grown up, haven't we?

Even so though, I know that some things will always be the same. :)

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It's been a pretty epic past 48 hours as we decided to fly home for the weekend to surprise my dad (and mum) for his 60th birthday. The quote that stayed with us long after it settled the decision was made by Bea Che - "In the years to come, I'll forgot about how much I spent on those air tickets, but I'll never forget how we were there for Daddy's 60th. "

She was right, I will never forget this weekend. :) 

I'll remember how long we thought out our master plan of surprising the parents only to have my mum see us running out the cab outside our house and revealing everything to our dad in that moment. I'll remember papa's "aiyoooo" face as he stood at the bottom of the stairs going "I didn't even clean your rooms for you!" I'll remember our "mamarazzi" being so keen on taking pictures of us to put onto her facebook and how we managed to feed everyone breakfast Sunday morning.

I'll remember all the little things, but mostly, I'll always remember that I am so, so abundantly blessed in this world to call them family.

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Like all relationships in the world, we have our fair share of ups and downs, loving and bickering, encouraging and grumbling. But hey, that's family right? We may not be perfect, but we'll always be there for one another. This weekend, I was reminded that there is just too much goodness right here, and that family will always, always have a big, cosy, special place in my heart.

By staring right smack at the goodness that God has poured out upon my life, I am humbly reminded that I have so much to be thankful for, and reason enough to have joy, live joy and carry joy into the lives of others every day.

I will choose to live counting my blessings because I know that I can never put a finite number on them, and I will choose to live gratefully because I see how incredibly and unfairly favoured I am in this life.

So, happy 60th Papa! :) Thank you for being such a hero to me all these years, for putting me through med school, rubbing my bruises, fixing my car and broken things, buying me ice cream, eating my cookies and letting me hold your hand wherever we are. I thank God to have been able to call you my papa for 20 years now. I love you long time! :)

So incredibly blessed,

Dice

From The Broken Road

Don't be afraid to live your life. Dance with it. After all, Papa God is holding you close.

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"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
- Matthew 11:28-30

Oh, what a season it has been - of uncertainties and so much stress. If I were to sit down and ruminate, there would definitely be an endless list of things for me to worry about because the fact of it is, life is always going to be hectic. There will always be big questions in life that just need answering and numerous little tasks in a day that just need doing. It will feel like there isn't enough time or space to just breathe.

And yet, no matter what I've gone through in a day, if I can just bring my attention back to Jesus for a few moments regardless of where I am.. I always find my feet again.

And right there next to my feet.. my dancing shoes.

Maybe therein lies the secret of life- to fall in love with it every single day.
To know that life itself is such a precious gift, and that to live it out with the One who knows my heart better than anyone else really is the BEST thing. To see a hurdle as an opportunity to work towards something, to build with my hands and joy in co-labouring with God. To consider a moment's struggle as part of the intricate handiwork that is making me wiser, gentler and stronger. To recognize hardship as gain on my part, because of all the goodness I can choose to take away from it. To appreciate and savour the precious moments instead of missing out on them by rushing through life. To understand that in every second, lies the opportunity of finding real joy.

To truly, truly.. live freely and lightly.

It really is all about perspective and not at all about circumstance, isn't it?

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So.. stop it. Stop saying bleh. Stop the negativity, and the comparison of your lives to others. Stop saying "I can't". Stop believing it's impossible. Stop getting carried away by the waves of your circumstances. Stop being afraid of life, or the future, and stop letting crap into your spirit.

Stop, and breathe. Take His hand, and learn to fall in love with life once more. Move your feet to the music you create and dance to the beat.

And remember.. life IS beautiful.  :)

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
- Psalm 23:6

Love,
Dice

Breathe

"In the end, only three things matter - how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you."

- Buddhist saying

The Echoes of Barefeet Dancing

Thanks for the picture Luke!

And there came a time in my life where I knew that I knew that I knew.. that this was what God had created me to do. 

This was the calling He had always dreamt for me.

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It didn't matter that I did not live on or have much then.. I felt very, very rich indeed. :)

I feel so extremely blessed, far beyond what my words alone can express. 

Love always,
Dice