Thankful for the little things.

Today God showed me a different side of Himself. :) I have always known He is good, and that He is faithful, and that He cares about everything, big or little; but today I really saw just how much He listens, how much He loves me and how much He cares.. about the little things. :)

This is me a few weeks ago at Petroglyph Beach in the tiny town of Wrangell on Alaska's Inside Passage. It's so pretty there! So after travelling for the past month through beautiful Alaska and Canada, leading a tour of the most amazing people, today we flew from Anchorage to Victoria, via Seattle. Over the past two weeks, some of my dear friends have also been travelling around the USA, on a Planetshakers Tour. Now, obviously I have known we have been in the same continent, however thousands of miles apart, so the thought that we might cross paths never even entered my mind. 
(Below: supersized Dahlia in Anchorage!)

Until two days ago when I saw they were in Washington. I mentioned to my friend I would be flying through Seattle to get to Victoria and almost jokingly I asked what time they would be there. It turned out they were flying out of Seattle not long after I was due to arrive. Miles away from home, we would be there at the same airport at the same time. "What are the odds of our flights being in the same terminal though?" I thought. Anyway, I shared my secret little heart's desire with God and left it at that. :)
(Below: beautiful Fireweed)

Arriving in Seattle, I quickly scanned the crowd, hoping for a glimpse of one of them. Nothing. "Oh well" I thought, and focused on my group. Chatting away to them, I felt a tap on my shoulder. There, standing there in the middle of Seattle International Airport was my dear friend, with a huge grin on her face! Overwhelmed and slightly emotional I gasped, unable to contemplate what I was seeing! I glanced over to see 5 more of my friends standing there in a circle, just as bewildered as me! This is us at our little 5 minute reunion....

We hugged intently, took this quick pic and then in a wave of emotion we had to break free again. They had to rush off to board and I, the shepherd, had to rush to get my 17 little sheep to a train in another terminal so we didn't miss our connecting flight. In a moment, it was all over. Slightly emotional and completely overwhelmed, I shook my head and smiled in disbelief at what had just happened. I was amazed at the goodness and kindness of my Heavenly Father, that He would care so much about this secret desire of my heart, that he would orchestrate such a connection. And I love that He knew and had planned it alllll along. What a sneak! 
(Below: stunning Lilies in Ketchikan)

So faithful is our God. Full of love and kindness and generosity and compassion. So my friends... this is what we can hold on to today!

YES! He has surprises for you around ever corner, blessings for you in His hands, so delight in Him and just ask. :) May you be blessed beyond belief today! Let us all look for the little things to be thankful for. :)

From Victoria, BC, Canada... Love you guys!

nat x

Images - Natalie Box (Last image)

That still small voice.

Hi my friends! Sending you greetings from Canada! By the time you are reading this I will most probably be in the seaside town of Prince Rupert, on the north western coast of British Columbia. :) This might sound funny, but I miss you all!!! It seems like an eternity since I have written.. although I think it's just been a little over a week ha! So I am busting to know.. how are you all doing? I have really missed writing the blog and you've been on my heart this week. So after I got all my work done tonight, I just had to write. :) The above pic (stunning hey!) is Maligne Lake, I was there yesterday morning and it almost took my breath away when I first saw it. And below is Spirit Island, we took a cruise on the lake to get there. Isn't it divine?

So for those who don't know, I'm currently one week into a four week tour with Spectrum Holidays, travelling all around Canada and Alaska with an amazing bunch of people. What a blessing. Seriously, God's word is so true when He promises "superabundantly far over and above all we dare ask or think". We have travelled far and wide in just over a week. I began in San Francisco.. this me sneakily sitting on one of the steps of the Painted Ladies!

Then I met the team in stunning Vancouver, staying on the waterfront and eating delish Japanese BBQ and meandering around Granville Island Market.

Before heading off on the divine Rocky Mountaineer for two days..

We stopped off for a night in Kamloops, where I grabbed some delicious sushi and headed down to the waterfront.. before jumping back on the Rocky Mountaineer to Banff! Anyway, I will leave the trip in Banff for the moment, and write the rest of the journey in the coming days. But to finish off for today, I want to encourage you. Sometimes it can be hard to actually see the blessings that surround us. I found that this week (if you can even believe it being over here surrounded by all this beauty..) I was distracted by a few things, and before I knew it, my focus was lost. But the second I stopped, and lifted my eyes, it was at that moment I was able to hear that "still small voice", and to see from the right perspective. And everything changed. ;)

So whatever you are doing, listen out for that still small voice today. Our faithful God promises to guide you and bring you peace. Have a beautiful day :)

Sending love from Prince Rupert!

nat x

Images - Natalie Box

Dreams come true.

Last night I was blessed to have met a beautiful lady who has inspired me for many years with her unbelievable talent and incredible stage presence. I was out for dinner with a girlfriend and into our restaurant walked Idina Menzel, the stunningly beautiful, Tony Award winning Broadway musical theatre queen. I know this seems like such a little thing, but it blessed my heart so much. What are the dreams inside your heart? Big or small, our great God wants to see them come to pass :)

It brings Him great joy to give us the desires of our hearts! Dreams, no matter how big or small, really do come true.. so don't forget to ask today ;)

nat x

Images - 1, 2, 

Friday Fashionista {Stripes and more stripes}

Well how do you do this fine Friday? Hooray for the weekend hey.. :) What's everyone got planned? Isn't this sunny weather soooooo great? Keep coming sun.. we love you! Stick around a bit longer! I kinda find these early mornings (despite being freezing, and scraping copious amounts of ice off my windscreen whilst trying to juggle 50 bags!) are just so much easier when the sky is blue.. would you agree? Anyway, this weekend I thought we'd head out on the boat... girls, anyone keen on wearing this stunning red skirt?

How pretty is this skirt? 

Love how it's teamed with the casual tee and big jewellery, to dress it down a little. :)

A stripey top and fedora. The perfect shopping outfit.

Lookin' good boys.. here's one for you.

Wrist decoration.

Schmick jacket for the guys.. Nice.

This looks so comfortable don't you think?
Navy, cream and red, with a touch of tortoise shell. Fab!

Can never say no to thick stripes and leopard print!

Smart but chilled. Denim + striped tee.

And to finish off... we have a lovely glam outfit..  stunning, cream, turquoise!

So off you go to get your stripes on.. 

love nat x

PS.. remember today is a NEW day! Nothing from the old can / will hinder us from running forward... the best is yet to come!

Take it easy.

Hey friends, happy Monday :) How was your weekend? Melbourne was showing off with the bluest skies I've seen in a while.. how good was it?! Just a little reminder that winter solstice has now been and gone (hooray!) and we are now officially on the up.. and headed toward summer!

I am heading overseas in a week tomorrow (eek!) so I have had quite a full week/weekend preparing. I know it's a pretty busy time for a lot of people at the moment, so today I thought it would be a great opportunity for us all to just take it easy. What do you think?! I'm not talking about "taking a day off" necessarily.. but I mean just putting aside that 'never-ending'to-do-list' for a few minutes and just allowing yourself to take a breath.

In busy times it's easy for our minds to suddenly become filled with little thoughts, and before we know it we we're overwhelmed and not sure what to do next! It's bit like being in a traffic jam and not knowing how to get out... do you know what I mean?

But good news, there is a way out, and today is a new day. It's a fresh start. A chance to transform our thinking and renew our minds. And today we are going to take it easy.

So my challenge to you, is to take your "to do lists" and "should do lists", 

set them aside for a moment... and just do this.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. 

So today... in exchange for the busyness, there is peace for you. 

You've just got to take it. ;)

Have a wonderful Monday taking it easy!

nat x

Images - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Friday Fashionista {Loving the denim}

I've been thinking about denim lately, and how versatile it is.. would you agree? I have a French Connection denim jacket I have had for about 10 years now, and it's one of the favourites in my wardrobe. So once again this year all the stores have their denim shirts proudly dangling on their racks. There they sit, begging to be teamed with a scarf, belt, or in the case of the pic above, a fabulous  yellow jacket, navy striped top and white jeans!

Again with white jeans.. but why not try a little bit of army green here..

Love this colour palette. Stunning!

This outfit reminds me of a friend of mine, can anyone guess? ;)

Faded denim and a pop of blue..

And some more blue for the boys..

Pink cuffs and some lovely leopard print. 

Everyone loves a fedora.. Wouldn't you agree?

Cute and stripy here!

Beige, tan and denim for the guys.

Whimsical and elegant.. and I would love one of these Celine bags..

Why not add a snood to your outfit to keep you toasty warm!

Well guys, that's it for Friday Fashionista ;) What are you up to this weekend? My brother and sister are arriving back from America tomorrow night after a year away, so I am super duper excited to see them!

Have the best weekend ever!

Nat x

My French Life.

Hi friends happy Monday! How was your weekend? Did you do something inspiring? I have had a busy weekend, but it's been great! As well as preparing for my overseas adventure to Canada and Alaska (15 sleeps to go!) I have reeeeally been praying for fresh, new and exciting ideas for the blog. And guess what...?

Today I have some exciting news to announce! I am launching a brand new series called 'Inspired By...' where I will be interviewing some of my favourite writers and bloggers, and featuring them right here on The Writer's Ink. And I am super excited to announce that to launch the series, I will be chatting to one of my favourite writers, Vicki Archer. Vicki is the author of My French Life and French Essence, as well as the fabulously popular blog, French Essence.

I was given her first book, My French Life, a couple years ago for my birthday by a beautiful friend of mine. I still remember sitting there, flicking through the pages with such inspiration and delight! (Seriously, if you do not have this book, do yourself a favour, and  get yourself a copy... it is stunning).

Her home (above), in Saint Remy de Provence, is like something out of a fairytale, and both her story and her stunning eye for beauty have inspired me for years now.

Well.. what do you think?

Would you like to know more?

I have been in communication with Vicki over the weekend, confirming the interview, so stay tuned to hear from her in the coming weeks.. :)

I will be preparing my interview questions shortly, so if there is anything you would like to know about Vicki, her home, her journey, or anything else, please let me know in the comment section below and I will see what I can do!

Have a beautiful day everyone, and stir up the creativity ;)

Nat x

Image 1 - Etsy, 

Image 2 - Art, 

All other images - vickiarcher.com