5 Minute Vacation :: Positano, Italy

Ok pack your bags, this weekend we are off to Positano. :) Situated on the Amalfi Coast in Italy's Campania Region, we'll fly into Naples, catch the train to Sorrento, then onto Positano.  Don't you just love this pic above. Ah divine. Poolside dining at it's best.

This is the hotel lounge, serving complimentary refreshments throughout your stay. We'll have breakfast here each morning before heading down to the beach all day. :)

Please note: The Italians KNOW how to do the beach. Please be prepared to have turned into a total beach-babe (or boy) by the time you leave!

On a day of your choice we will charter a yacht and head to the Isle of Capri, where we will have an early lunch before taking a row boat to the famous Blue Grotto.

You'll have some spare time to go for a stroll and get lost in the gorgeous streets and laneways.

This will be the view from your bedroom. Quite impressive isn't it! You can have afternoon tea here and watch the sun set behind the mountain before heading out to dinner.

I adore Italy. It's been twelve years since I was here, but it's still very much in my heart. :) Stay tuned, I will be working on the Italy chapter of my book very soon. In the meantime enjoy these pictures and have a beautiful weekend everyone. :)

Have you been to Italy? If so what was your favourite part?

Happy weekend!

nat x

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Summer :: The Countdown is ON!

Guess what! There are just 2 days until Spring and only 93 days until Summer. Yippee!! Did you feel something different in the air this week? Particularly on Monday.. it was just beautiful wasn't it? And that feeling of change.. it carries with it such a wonderful hope, excitement and joy.

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping..

Summer is coming. We can trust in that. We know that is true. So we must learn to carry this unwavering and beautiful trust into all areas of our lives. :)

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful!

Have a gorgeous day today friends!

nat x

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Resting.

I wasn't very well yesterday and spent the day in bed. I sometimes think the days you are unwell, as yukky as they are, can actually be blessings in disguise. You stop. You breathe. You rest.

Even the sound of that word is so peaceful isn't it. Rest. So today I'm going to continue to do just that. And while we are on the topic, I give you permission to rest today too. :)

Hope you have a beautiful day.

nat x

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Don't grow weary.

Look at this little guy, so cute. He's just sitting there still, faithfully waiting. I wonder what he is waiting for? Are you waiting for something at the moment? When we wait, we grow. So we are always growing something. Even if it feels like we are not, we are.

Whatever we feed grows. If we feed beauty and joy and hope, it grows. However, following the same principle - if we feed weariness, it grows.

Let us not be discouraged in the waiting. And let us see every day as a new chance at pressing in and continuing on in this great battle we are in. You are doing a great job!!

Sometimes it can be hard to even see the path we are on, let alone walk it. But let me assure you, whatever it is, wherever it is, it is beautiful. So today, make sure you stop and smell the roses. Ok?

We are doing well. We are doing a good job. We have come so far. So let us not grow weary in doing good, because the harvest is coming. And we have a God who is with us and who is cheering us on today. :)

Be encouraged!

nat x

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Hope abounding.

Yes... today is a BRAND new day! A fresh start. And today we have the chance to renew our minds and begin again! Yesterday is over and today is a new day. :)

After an incredibly inspiring weekend, I was challenged this morning not to focus on the 'not-so-good' things going on around me, but to lift my eyes, renew my mind, and let HOPE arise.

So whatever we are facing today, let us not focus on what it might look like in the natural. Instead let us look up, and call those things which do not exist as though they do! Our words are powerful and they can move mountains.

One of my favourite verses in the bible says: "Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping.. He never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises."   
Look at this harvest! Talk about abundance. And this is what is coming for us. So, today's challenge is: write out 5 things you are believing for and begin to call them in and thank God for them as if they are yours!

Have an amazing day. :)

nat x

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Hide and seek.

Remember when you were little and you played hide and seek? Or did an easter egg hunt? How much fun were they! We had an idea in our heads of what we wanted to seek and we just went for it..

Yesterday I was seeking something. I was praying for a certain situation and really needed an answer. It says in the Word: "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find".. so I did. I prayed for wisdom and then at the end, I simply asked for God to bless me! So like a little kid, I began cheekily thinking of the blessings God might want to hide for me! :)

Anyway, as I went about my morning, I opened my back door to let the warm air in (yippee, Spring is just 8 days away peeps!! Woo!!) and there on my back step was a gift bag! My auntie had dropped off a little present for me with a gorgeous note! Talk about instant blessing!!!

I giggled to myself as I read the note and opened the gifts, still surprised as it was totally unexpected!

And this is what is coming for us. Unexpected blessing. Out of the blue abundance and favour. It's coming your way so get ready for it!

We carry beauty with us. You are carrying it right now. As we open the eyes of our hearts, we will see that although these little gifts and blessings along the way are great, the best reward is God Himself. To know we are loved, cherished and believed in, that's the real blessing. :) God promises to each person walking this earth, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart". So I challenge you, if you don't know Him, simply seek Him and you will find.

Have an AWESOME weekend!!

nat x

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Eyes to SEE.

What did you wake up thinking about this morning? Was it a feeling of hope and freedom? Or perhaps your mind was fixed on a situation you may be facing. What do your eyes see today?  Are you looking at what's happening around you, or are you looking up? :) 

Isn't it crazy how sometimes we can be soooo switched on, overflowing with joy and totally full hope... "ok I have my eye on the bullseye and I know where I'm headed". But then other times we find ourselves in a difficult circumstance, and our eyes become unfocused. It's then we need to purposely open our eyes, and really look for that target, even when it might seem hard to find.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened..
in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen..

but on what is unseen.

So go ahead, open your eyes and look around you today. There is sooooo much beauty to see! And once you see beauty around you, you'll start to appreciate it. And thankfulness opens the to the miraculous.

Have a fab day everyone!

nat x

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What do your eyes see?

I've been thinking a lot about the things that we see and how they can affect us. And how life these days seems to be so focused on the amount we can see and know, with everything and everyone on social media more than ever before. Everything we see with our eyes, we take in, and these things then act as filters and slowly begin to affect the way we think.

I love beautiful things, in case you hadn't noticed. ;) For those who know me well will know I'm always taking photos, capturing "moments", imagining each photo in a frame one day. Our eyes are like cameras. Every day they take millions of photos and these are stored in our minds. What we are exposed to affects us. Every movie we watch, every website we view, every scene we allow our eyes to see, will either uplift us, or pull us down.

Have you ever had a nightmare after watching a horrible movie? It's because by watching those violent images, we have opened the door to them, welcoming them in to invade our minds.  And so each day we are faced with hundreds and even thousands of choices. What do we really want to see?

But the good thing is we can choose what we see! We can purposely choose what we are exposed to. We can and we must determine what is permitted in through these incredibly miraculous and supernaturally complex sight-giving organs. Our little eyes!

Your eyes are windows into your body. 

When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is.

So let us be consciously aware of what we are seeing, making adjustments where needed. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things and be purposely looking out for these things. Look out for the beauty today! And let me know what beautiful things your eyes see!

Have a beautiful day :)

nat x

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Be brand new.

I love the fact that despite what might have happened yesterday, this morning you turned a page, and now you're onto a new, fresh, blank page, ready and waiting to be written on. Today is a new day. :) I wonder what is in store for you!

I love thinking about this: if today were your last twenty four hours, what would you do? For one thing I bet we'd all forget everything from the past and make the most of every second wouldn't we? Well, we actually have a second chance, and we have an opportunity to do this today. :)

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning!

So today is a NEW day. The old has gone and the brand new has come! 

And something EXCITING is coming your way today!!

Have a fab day!

nat x

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Fear is a liar.

A few unexpected things came up over the weekend, taking me a little by surprise. Before I knew it, within five seconds, I had believed lies and my mind had already raced out the door and half way around the block with thoughts and ideas of how this particular situation would end up. Although it sounds crazy, maybe you can relate? 

It reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. Remember in one of the last scenes, when they all finally met the Wizard, and he was huuuuuuge they were totally petrified of him?! Then all of a sudden, Toto the dog ran behind the curtain only to expose a tiny, little man behind trying to scare everyone and make them afraid of him... but all he was using were smoke and mirrors!

That's what fear does. It tries to scare us and intimidate us, pretending it's telling the truth. But it's a liar! It tries to pull us into the future, to make us think of a 'worst-case-scenario' situation, then suddenly we've agreed with the thought, and then before we know it the thought has grown and a false reality has formed! And then we end up freaking out  at something that actually ends up being totally amazing. :) 

Fear is lack of trust. BUT.. we have been given the power to say no to fear and to trust. :) Who do you put your trust in?

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. :)

We must purpose to realise that fear is a liar. Let us recognise it when it comes and tell it to go, and clothe ourselves with the love that removes fear and releases us. :) So today is the day to run free! Take your shoes off and twirl in the rain today, because God has evvvvvvverything under control. :)


Happy Monday peeps!


nat x


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