That's what friends are for.

Hi everyone, happy Wednesday! I hope you all had a wonderful Melbourne Cup Day yesterday! Who watched the race? Did you celebrate the day? My heart was soooo happy spending the day with some treasured friends and enjoying the sunshine. How much was everyone loving the weather?! Much needed I say! :) And today is going to be lovely too hooray! I wrote this blog post on the gift of friendship a few weeks back, and have since been thinking about how special my friends are to me. 

I don't know about you but sometimes it feels like life is a little crazy and things are up in the air, and messy, and unsettled, and really, you're not actually sure whether you're coming or going! Well, you may be going through one of those times at the moment, or you may just know from experience; but it's at these times that God is so near to us, closer than a whisper... and often he uses something very special to pour out his love to us...

He uses his kids = our friends!

Friends laugh with you...

Friends walk with you...

Friends share life with you...

And true friends always, always encourage your heart.

This is one of my most faaaavourite verses in the bible (Proverbs 17:22) and it's so true. No matter what is going on in life, what we are going through, how crazy things appear, spending time with friends is such a blessing. Friends bring such joy and encouragement. So let me encourage you today, try a few of these things and you will surely be blessed!

1. Get around your friends.

2. Tell them how thankful you are for them.

3. Make a time to catch up (and do something fun!) with one of them this week.

4. Be prepared to be filled with joy and encouragement!

5. Bless someone else!!

Love you guys and believe in you...

nat x

Images - 1, 2,  3, 4, 5 , 6, 7

The gift of friendship.

So I've been thinking... sometimes I don't really realise how precious friendship is, until I actually hang out with one of my friends. This may sound silly, but bear with me. We are living in the fastest growing technological age the world has ever seen. We are spending more time on our iPhones and iPads and less time with our friends and family. But when we finally stop (put our phones away) and spend quality time with a friend... it's actually amazing. :)

You know that feeling you get after you've had a really good chat with your friend, you jump in the car to drive home and you suddenly realise you're beaming? You know what I mean?! Well that is God's gift of encouragement to us! He's all about relationships, so this is one of His ways of blessing and encouraging us. He sends us a personalised present... all wrapped up inside a person. And there's more where that came from today my friends! 

Today I'm going to purposely think about the friendships I have, and how they bless me. Wanna join me? If so, this is our challenge for today:

1. Think of 5 friends that make you feel totally joyful when you hang out with them..

2. Write down those names..

3. Call, email or SMS them to let them know just how thankful you are for them and how special they are to you... :)

Love Nat x

Images via graybenko.com and wedbook.com and www.frostedproductions.com

Time for some fun!!!

Ok remember back with me. Summer. As a child. What are your memories? Who remembers backyard cricket? Or the sound of Mr Whippy chiming through the streets as you ran to your parents to ask for your money so you could get an ice cream? Or how about the fun of just simply playing in the puddles...

Lately I've been thinking it's a real bummer we don't do these crazy things anymore, these things we used to lovvvvve as a kid. I mean, when was the last time you played on an old wooden jetty with your dog, dangling over the edge, searching for the perfect fish?

Or how about playing dress-ups for no reason? Or holding hands and walking in your gumboots with your best friend.. chatting about life?

Riding your bike with your buddy.. complete with matching hats of course. ;)

Or one of my FAVOURITES below..... Cracking up with a friend! How much fun is it! Well, I am sure many of us do do this.... but let's endeavour to do it more!!   

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, REJOICE!!!"

I love this scripture in Philippians 4:4. And it goes so well with this pic don't you think?! Very cute. So today... that's our mission. To rejoice. To rejoice and have fun! It's time for some adventure! So, permission has been granted, let's stir it up today!

nat x

Images - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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)