My New Challenge

I've always really loved letter writing. When I was younger, a teenager especially, I wrote lots of letters and cards of encouragement every other day. Now though? Not so much. I find it humorous that I still question why when I go to the mailbox there are no longer (well not often anyway) sweet handwritten envelopes with my name on it. Then I realise that I'm not sending those much anymore either!

It's market day today and I have a stall selling my photographic cards. It's called InkJoy. While sitting here with time on my hands to think about many things, I was looking at my products and felt very satisfied. I'm selling what is true to who I am. I love photography as it allows me to capture beauty and I also love cards and letters, and combining the two gives me joy!

After thinking about all of this and seeing people walk around the market square, gazes glued to small little hand-held screens, I decided to set myself a challenge. From now until the end of the year I'm sending at least one letter or card per week. I think that's fairly achievable don't you? People need encouragement.

As much as I enjoy using some modern technology, sometimes I think I was born in entirely the wrong era! You know the scene in Pride and prejudice where Miss Elizabeth Bennet is visiting at her Uncles house and sitting in their house with her hands full of handwritten letters? Oh, I love that scene! All through that movie they're sending and receiving letters, why can't that still be how we live today! And don't even get me started on 'brown paper packages tied up with string!'

So this is my new challenge, and I actually think that I'll end up being blessed along with the person who I write to. I think I'll start with my Great Aunty Leona. She's much like myself, old-fashioned and loves letters. She wrote to me over two months ago ... now that's slack! At least I should have a fair bit to up-date her on! I'm looking forward to this! After Aunty Leona, I think I'll pick my Aunty Jenny, she's beautiful! And then who knows?! Maybe you'd like to join me? It's always good to bless others!

Have a beautiful week!

Therefore encourage one other and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

(Linking up with the beautiful Homespun Oasis)

Encouraging My Daughter

We woke to the most dense fog this morning. While driving my husband to his work, I was going at a snails pace as in front of me there was draped a thick white sheet which I could barely see through. It was stunning. While driving back home, I was seeing all these incredibly beautiful scenes passing me by and I was just wishing that I had thought to grab my camera! 

My eldest daughter hasn't been enjoying school very much this term and this morning my little sweetheart came undone. I don't normally allow the kids to stay home 'just because' - but today I just knew that my little girl needed some mummy time. She has very low self confidence and needed to be re-affirmed of her value and her worth by her mummy. I have been praying for some time with her and to have a way to build her confidence up.

After getting past the normal 'rush out the door to school' routine, Little Miss P and I arrived home to receive a phone call from one of my best friends. "I'm in the car, I've packed my camera, would you like me to pick you up so we can go take photos together?" (yes please!) I declined thankfully, as I knew Little Miss P needed some 'me' time, but then I thought to myself it might be a great way to build up her confidence, as she shares a love of photography too. I asked her what she thought and she very eagerly said yes! 

"Did you see that incredible fog this morning?!" my friend asked when she picked us up. I knew where she was headed, "I just wish I had my camera on me to capture the little lake with the ducks and the reeds ...". Yep, me too.

The three of us set off on our photographic adventure, stopping and starting the car to capture that elusive 'perfect shot'; reversing when we saw a gorgeous old fence or a dead tree (yes, they are beautiful!); zooming in for close-ups of tiny flowers and cobwebs; and the clouds, they were unbelievably stunning! We had a great time laughing, singing and chatting. 

I have to confess, and I am being very honest here, I'm not beating myself up or being unhappy with my own photography, but Little Miss P's photo's for this photo shoot turned out much better than mine. She has a photographic eye for sure! 

See for yourself! ...

When we got back home we headed straight to the computer to download all the photos we both took. God is just so faithful to answer our prayers! MR S and I were able to look through her photos and give her honest feedback! I could see that our encouragement on something that she achieved meant so much to her! It was her first official driving photo shoot and I am just so proud of her, and she's only nine! (next time, I'll be taking my Little Miss J out for a photo shoot!)

I love this part of being a mother ... the passing on of our loves, passions and skills to our children; seeing them persevere even if things are difficult; being able to encourage them and seeing them grow and develop individually!

I'll share my photo's with you at a later date ... but right now, I must go to bed, it's been a long and satisfying day! 

(We did watch a good long portion of BBC's Pride and Prejudice together too ... bonus!)



(Please remember that all Photographs are property of Sufficient Grace and Little Miss P, please do not copy my sweet daughters hard work without permission, thank you!)

The Art Of Abundance - And A Day To Remember

As I have shared before, I absolutely love op shopping. On one of my recent trips, I found this fantastic book. It didn't cost much at all, and so I grabbed it. 

I am just so glad that I did.

It is such a beautiful book, full to the brim of the things in our lives that are abundant. You've heard me say before, that it's the little things in life that really are the big things. This book is exactly that. It is so encouraging and refreshing. I've found it has really helped me to keep changing my perspective on things and search out the things that are God's abundant blessings in my life.

You can purchase this book here.

So yesterday we had a really boring task to do as  family. MR S had to sell his work Ute as it was not worth the cost of mechanical repairs, and so we had the job of loading it onto a hired car trailer, picking up the Ute from the mechanics, which was a fair drive out of town, then driving it back in (after prepping it for sale) to town to deliver it to it's new owner.

Not very exciting.

We even had to for-go going to Church so that we could meet the deadline of returning the hired trailer - something that we really don't like doing. But sometimes it just happens that way.

I thought about how I could make this trip (that as mothers know, could end up with a car full of bored, tired and frustrated kids) more enjoyable. This book popped into my head. In a last minute dash heading out the door, I grabbed this book and scrambled the kids and myself into the car. I had a rough idea of how I could make the trip fun, but I found myself praying, 'Lord, please just make this a great day'. 

Truth be told, there's been lots of stress and tension in our home lately. It's not been the most peaceful and enjoyable environment. I think we all go through stages like this with families and parenting, as life's just not perfect, and can sometimes be a real struggle, making you feel like you're coming undone. I knew that my family just needed some time to refresh together, to just enjoy each other. Knowing that the circumstances might not change, but our perspective would, and we just simply needed our hearts filled.

As we drove along, I asked a question of my family, "Hey guys, what do you think abundance means?". My eldest answered, "Having a lot of what we need". Well answered I thought. I then went on to read some of the wonderful things written in the book out loud to my family, encouraging them to look out the window at all the beauty that God made along the country road we were travelling. 

Abundance is ... scissors, glue and construction paper.

Abundance is ... counting waves roll in on an ocean beach.

Abundance is ... breakfast in bed.

Abundance is ... fresh flowers and candles on the dinner table.

Abundance is ... zucchini! (My kids disagreed with this one!)

Abundance is ... anything chocolate.

I read out some of the scripture verses that are in the book as well.

"Know that the Lord is God! It is He that made us, and we are His; 

we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

-Psalm 100:3 (RSV)

"Consider the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they?"

-Matthew 6:26 (RSV)

I wanted to take it all one step further and write our own list of 'abundance'. The kids hesitated at first, but as we went along, they were firing things at me so fast I couldn't keep up writing them down. 

Abundance for the Wolter Family is ...

• sitting in front of a warm fire, drinking Milo with marshmallows
• sitting on a log eating chocolate (my nearly five year old!)
• visiting second hand shops
• sitting under a shady tree reading a book
• eating a red juicy apple
• seeing an adorable puppy dog
• family teamwork
• 'twirly whirlies' (these are seed pods that twirl down to the ground after you've thrown them in the air)  
• pineapple lumps
• strawberry clouds
• grandma cakes
• climbing trees
• soft green grass
• rock collecting
• watching better homes and gardens
• listening to music
• puzzles
• setting up the Christmas tree
• going to museums
• doing craft
• Christmas and Easter time
• family jokes
• The Chronicles of Narnia
• Jump on Daddy time!
• big juicy pieces of fruit
• star watching on the trampoline  

• macaroni
• fresh baking
• elephants
• family pets
• treat day
• spending time with beautiful friends
• our wonderful Church family
• having new ideas
• horse and carts! 
• fishing off a sandy shore
• family holidays
• nose suckers (the flowers to the right!)
•  little bubbling country creeks
• farms
• fire-cooked damper
• stained glass windows in a Church
• watching fire
• library's
• op-shopping
• playing sports
• winter beds
• going camping
• trips down to visit family
• 'crackadania' nuts (this is what Little Mr R calls macadamia nuts!)
• playing piktureka and Uno!
• fire-flies  
• thumb wrestles
• stacks of firewood
• fields of tall trees planted in straight rows
• sleep-ins
• going through forest fairy doors



These are nose sucker flowers!

• willy wag tails on a wire gate
• hot chips for lunch
• writing and receiving letters
• giving gifts
• ice-cream
• creaming soda
• Christmas rocky-road
• books
• autumn coloured maple trees
• finding new trees to climb 
• Forrest's and jungles
• shmores around a campfire
• long country drives with windmills and paddocks
• a little kitten to cuddle
• butterflies
• finding shapes in clouds
• juicy farm fresh mandarins
• love bites
• miniature birds in bottle brush trees
• funky eye glasses that make us laugh till our tummies hurt!

As you can see, the kids really enjoyed this! They could have kept on going! Maybe we'll keep adding to the list at a later date. While we were eating lunch, I spotted a gorgeous big maple tree that was covered in autumn coloured leaves. It was stunning ... I just had to have the kids pick up bunches of leaves and throw them in the air! 

It did all of our hearts so much good to be out in God's beautiful creation; taking it all in and acknowledging all the abundance He gives us in our lives. It was one of my favourite days we've had so far this year!

What started out as a day that could have ended negatively, became one where God answered my prayers and really did give all six of us a great day ... He is just so good!

I hope you all have a beautiful week of His abundant blessings in your lives as well.