Sep 3, 2011 | Stories
Thanks to an observant reader (who also happens to be meeting us at the airport to buy Mr. Potato Head) I’ve realised I accidentally said we were leaving on the 1st of September. Incorrect, mis amigos! Our departure for the UK is actually on the 7th of September — we’ll be departing on a late evening flight.
And ever since we got back from Knysna, (travelling through howling wind and serious bush fire long story to get back) time suddenly feels like it’s moving like this:
{Can you guess what the Bear’s favourite toy was from his birthday? Clever badge if you can be specific!}
So, after an early brunch in Bloemfontein, we’ll be driving off to Johannesburg for our flight to London. And I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. Or typing about it. So please say a prayer for us (and Goo-Goo and Gammy especially) on the 7th!
{And if you said a prayer for us on the 1st already, well thanks. We needed that, too.}
In the meantime, I can report the wonderful news that we picked up the Tank’s passport this morning. Hallelujah! We are so thankful to have that important little document in our hands. And I’m hoping I can take a picture of the baby’s adorable mug shot on the photo page to share with you. Because it is hands-down the sweetest little baby photo you’ve ever seen in a passport. And I’ve seen ’em all. (The Bear has three right by himself!)
Now, one last dispatch from Bloemfontein for your information and prayerful consideration: it seems like the Bear is picking up a little cold, the Hubs is sick with something, and the baby is either teething or picking up a cold or both. And we have a looooong flight on Wednesday. So there ya go.
Whatever you’re up to today, whoever you need to remember to hug or thank or call or smile at, don’t forget to seize the present opportunities. For time, my friends, she flies.
xCC
P.S. Have you been checking out the Five-Star Shots of the lovely animals and scenery at Kruger National Park, which the Hubs has been posting every day over at Quiver Tree Photo? Quality!!
Sep 1, 2011 | Stories, The Good Word
I feel a little like I’ve turned a corner with regard to sharing thoughts around these parts recently. For a long time, I felt like I needed to write because there was an empty space — a few days, maybe more, where nothing new was on the docket, and it seemed to me that empty space was a bad thing. Better to just say something than to keep quiet for a while, right?
{No Bears were harmed in the taking of this photo, circa Jan. 2010}
But I began to ponder the difference between speaking {or writing} because you have to say something and speaking because you have something to say. Then verses like these began popping out at me:
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. {Prov. 15:2}
Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. {Prov. 10:14}
As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion. {Prov. 11:22}
A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him. {Prov. 12:14}
He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction. {Prov. 13: 3}
A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is! {Prov. 15:23}
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. {Prov. 16:24}
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles. {Prov. 21:23}
A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back. {Prov. 29:11)
Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. {Prov. 29:20}
and my personal favourite…
Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. {Prov. 17:28}
When it comes to a discussion of the importance of rightly wielding one’s tongue (or pen), in Proverbs alone, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Sermon in a Nutshell? Sometimes it’s better to wait until you have something to say than to speak just because you have to say something.
The New Testament provides a very good example of this principle — a before and after, two millenia before extreme makeovers, if you will — in the life of Peter, the disciple of Jesus, who may or may not have had ADHD. Hopefully I’ll be back to discuss that very topic in a day or two, but, ya know, I’m gonna make sure I have something to say first.
Do you struggle with speaking because you have to say something? (Great! You shouldn’t have any trouble commenting below!) Any tips for the rest of us?
xCC
Aug 31, 2011 | South Africa, Stories
We have enjoyed a few peaceful days in the Knysna area with Goo-Goo and Gammy, and we’ve been taking a stroll down memory lane at the same time. It put a smile on our faces to realise that this has become the one and only destination where we’ve spent some holiday time with all of our parents.
First with G-pa back in 2009…
{This is on the Knysna estuary…see how the Bear enjoyed the boat ride?}
And then we were back when G.C. visited South Africa in 2010…
and see how the Bear enjoyed another boat ride…
{he enjoyed it by pooping!}
And now we’re here with Goo-Goo and Gammy and the Tank is about the age the Bear was when we were here in ’09! {Photos to come!}
It’s hard to believe our departure from these beautiful southern shores for the UK and then the USA is just seven days away. If I don’t have lots to say over the next few days, just be assured it’s because we’re preparing for the journey and I’m soaking in these last few moments of calling this wonderful country home. {Although I’ve been figuring out what home means and that it isn’t exactly related to an address… still, you know what I mean.}
This is a season pregnant with emotion: highs and lows, joys and sorrows. Please say a prayer for us… especially next week, on September 1st, when we take off for the UK. I’m looking forward to the return to the place I called home for four years, (and of course to the final destination) but saying goodbye to this place won’t be easy.
Still, it is well, it is well with my soul.
xCC
P.S. I am hoping to have some guest posts for your enjoyment while we are travelling, in case I’m not consistently able to check in. If you are interested in guest posting, please email me at cedcollie {at} gmail {dot} com.
Aug 26, 2011 | Guest Posts, Stories
The Hubs’ folks lost a dear friend on Wednesday. We’ve made a spur-of-the-moment decision to travel down to the coast with them so that they can attend the funeral. They’ve found holiday accommodation near Knysna (pronounced Neyes-nuh — as in that first syllable rhymes with “eyes”) where we’ll enjoy one last holiday together before we depart these shores on the 7th.
(Which is like, twelve days from now? Has anybody seen the Tank’s passport?)
Funny enough, before leaving Gordon’s Bay, HH and I were sorry that we didn’t get to visit Knysna just one more time before leaving. It’s one of our favourite places in SA and holds a lot of special memories for us. Here we are at the last minute, looking forward to one more hurrah!
Life has a way of suddenly throwing a lot onto your to-do list all at once. It can take you from having a few things in mind for the weeks ahead to suddenly rushing to catch up on laundry and shop for a new pacifier (you know, to replace the one the monkey stole) and pack a few suitcases and make a shopping list and plan a few meals all at once.
And it’s when life feels busy like this that I often struggle to find those green pastures and still waters where I hear the voice that speaks peace to my soul.
Care to join me over at Signposts today, where I’m talking about listening for the voice of the Shepherd?
xCC
P.S. Did I share with you that I’m now the behind the scenes website manager over at Signposts Ministries? What a privilege…score! It’s three hours a week that I am enjoying immensely! I’ve been slowly making changes to the site and as a team we have some exciting plans for the future — I’d love your thoughts about how things look so far! (Especially if you’d visited the site before the makeover!)
Aug 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
It’s Hero Hubs’ birthday. And this post is also a new page on my website, which folks can access by clicking the new button right up there that looks like this:
You like my button? Well thanks, I made it myself.
I thought I’d share this page here today in addition to adding it to the site, instead of just going on and on about how great the Hubs is (ya know, like I did on our anniversary). Because this still talks a little about how delightful he is. And you probably don’t have all day. So here ya go:
Every once in a while, I take a picture and think to myself Dern. I think that was purty good. {My time abroad has relaxed my southern accent, but it’s still pretty strong when I’m thinking.}
But that doesn’t happen particularly often.
And I like to have a nice and at least seemingly relevant photo for each post around here.
Which creates a problem.
Because do you really want to see the same 12 photos over and over again?
So that’s where the Hubs comes in.
Because he takes pretty pictures like this
and this
and this
{hello, tiny sea shell, I love you.}
and this
{those are rhinos, in case you’re not sure}
and this
And he does so on a regular basis.
Which means I have lots more than twelve photos to choose from, with which to make the little posts around these parts more attractive than if it were just wordswordswordswords without a break, or 12 photos overandoverandoverandover again.
So I’d like to make sure the record shows that Señor Mark Collie (whose señorita I am proud to be), the mastermind behind Quiver Tree Photography, father and Hero Hubs extraordinaire, is the skilled artisan behind about 98.5% of the photos that you’ll see on this site.
And the occasional other 1.5%, well, you already know which ones they are, and we’lll call them my lucky shots.
If you see a photo you like, good news, you’ve got options. If you would like the story behind the photo, leave a comment to say so. HH regularly posts at Quiver Tree Photography, sharing a special shot and its backstory.
And if you’d like the photo to hang on a wall in your home, to beautify your computer’s desktop, to use in an ecard, or to share with a friend, there are links below each photo at Quiver Tree which will allow you to do all of the above!
So please mosey on over to Quiver Tree Photo soon. And buy a photo. Or send an ecard (that’s free!) Or just click “like” and leave a comment saying “Thanks for sharing your photos with Caroline. I’m glad she has more than 12 photos to choose from.”
You’ll make the Hubs’ day. And by the way, if you need a photog, he’s available for weddings, special events, family shoots and bar mitzvahs. But he doesn’t do funerals.
xCC
Dear Hero Hubs, thank you for sharing your talent with all of us. The world, and my website, are better places because you’re in them. Love you. {and….Happy Birthday!!}
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