Ladybird, Ladybird !!



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 When I was little ...... yes I can remember that far back !! I was at Clacton on a family holiday and on the beach there was hundreds of ladybirds and everywhere you looked you could see them. But no one minded they were just ladybirds. Pretty little ladybirds. Like most young girls if one landed on me I was fascinated with it and then said that classic rhyme of Ladybird, Ladybird fly away home ..........

Now you may be wondering why I am having a trip down memory lane. It is because when you think about it Ladybirds are beetles. Now I know some of you will think beetles are attractive but I have to say that they are not my cup of tea. In fact they scared me I used to live by Wimbledon Common and the biggest stag beetles use to fly around and I was petrified that they would go in my hair and get tangled up!!
 Anyway knowing my fear of beetles why did I use to pick up ladybirds or when they landed on me I use to smile.

Ladybirds are pretty  the colouring is nonthreatening to most humans yet  the bold colours are there to frighten off potential predators. Even the name sounds friendly ..........

OK so if the ladybird didn't have the red coat with spots and just looked like a normal beetle how many of us would like them.

God looks at us all with the same love.  He does not worry if we do not have the right colour clothes on he just looks at our heart.
The name we use will not make Him love us more or think we are cute because He loves us all the same.
Who ever you are God will love you - you just have to let Him.

I never thought I was good enough to be loved in this way. I probably would have classified myself as a beetle not quite a dung beetle but not that far away.
This never worried God He just saw me.

God loves us all it does not matter who we are.  God is Love, and His love is very different from human love. God's love is unconditional, and it's not based on feelings or emotions. He doesn't love us because we're lovable. He loves us because He is love.

So even on the days when we feel more like a beetle than a ladybird He will love us the same He doesn't need the pretty outside to see the beauty within.



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1 Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;  his love endures forever.

Welcome Mat!!

Someone once said something that stuck in my brain - which is quite an achievement for me !!!

Christians are WELCOME mats not ............. DOOR mats.

It was and is something that I think I have to remember at all times.

We all know the pressure that life can put on you it may be family, work, friends, church or just day to day living. But what I found when I first become Christian I was a bit of a yes girl  - I felt I couldn't say no as that now seemed rude.
 If God loved me then who was I to say no when He had said yes to me.

Then I found I was being pulled in all sorts of directions and getting nothing done properly.
And then when you start thinking about things and you see that people take advantage of that nature too.

It is really hard to say no I find it much easier to say yes.

I think that we all want to be liked by everyone but then another wise friend said to me that "we will all come across people that will not like us" and the energy we spend on trying to make them like us we may be missing the person that God really wants us to befriend.

Its not a case I suddenly have to turn into a hard nose moo!! I just have to be sure before I do!!

God has made us who we are - what He wants to do for us is smooth out the rough bits and make us smooth like the potters clay so He can mould us into the most effective person we can be.

And if I am so busy doing things and just saying yes to everything and everyone then when will He be able to mould me.

Now this may be quite radical for a Christian - but it is OK to say NO. I have realised this now and when I listen to other friends most of the  tiredness and stress is caused because they just cannot say NO.
We all worry that if we do, we look bad but sometimes it is so empowering to say it.

About 4 years ago I pulled back from alot of things to give myself some breathing space and in this time started to study the bible. I had always struggled with the bible people in church would read a verse then talk about in such a way that I went back and read it and got nothing from it - it was just another paragrph in a book!!
But without all the distractions around me I was able to spend more time with God and study and suddenly the word on the page became alive I actually wanted to study a passage understand the thought behind it, the history of the time to put it in context it was so exciting!!. This from the girl that was just average at school suddenly I could see a picture in those words!!
The thing is if I hadn't take time out and said no to things I would never have had the time to study and spend uncluttered time with God.
 I would also never have had the confidence to talk to people about God in the way I do now.

So I know its ok to say no sometimes ............ and yes as well!!
Because welcome mats are ok ............but a door mat gets clogged up with all the mud people tread in on it and then it cannot absorb anymore.

Psalm 46:10   He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

Traffic Lights

New Years Eve over for another year - all the build up, all the resolutions for the year ahead, all the gloom of the fact you will be another year older!!!


So this is me keeping one of my resolutions see 2 blogs in 3 days yay!!


This will slow down you will be pleased to hear but have had this thought running around in my head for ages and just wanted to share.


I was at some traffic lights a few weeks ago and it went from green to red without a amber (or if it did happen I must have blinked and missed it)
Now this was fine as I was slowing down as I approached the lights and could stop safely and also had the time to be aware of what the traffic around me and behind me was doing.
Then I was waiting for the amber  and once again  it missed amber and just went red to green !!


Ok I admit this is not the most exciting thing you have read so far but how many of us have felt sometimes our life feels like we are at a red light we are at a stop. I know this is something I go through on regular basis whether this on a daily basis or on a 5 yearly basis!!


I remember when I was learning to drive, many moons ago, the sequence for lights but the one thing that my instructor used to say to me every colour means stop except for green.
When putting that knowledge on how I look at my life through the traffic light system I am even more at stop than I originally thought!
So thinking about it what does it mean when my life feels I am at a red light, have I stopped breathing !!! No, it just means I need to look around me see what is happening, reflect on what is happening, see if I need to change anything but its not a bad place we all need this time and it can feel like ages when you are at a red light in situations but it is important time not just frustrating - think about when you are stuck at a red traffic light and you think its a major inconvenience remember before traffic lights you may have had a accident at that junction or waited even longer for a break in traffic for you to pull out!!
Now when I am at amber in my life this is time for me to get ready whether it is amber to red or amber to green.
 If it is amber to red then its time me to slow down, understand that red is not a negative but a positive time, time for me to take stock ready for when the red comes so I can rest my engine not waste energy and be grateful for the safety of the time that red will bring.
If it is amber to green then its time to learn, to read and study, to develop all the thoughts you had when you was at red when you had the time to look, get your brain buzzing with all the things that you want to achieve so when that green light comes you will be ready.


Then the green light comes, wow and you are off its a road of great discovery, a wide road that is clear but like any road it will raise obstacles, this may be bends, holes in the road, traffic police!! but the engine is running, you move forward in your day to day life but like driving you never know when the next traffic light will come, unless its a road that you have travelled before. Because there are roads in our lives that we will have to drive regular the day to day ones where the lights are just part of the routine. But there are others they come up every once in a while and probably these are the ones that are are the most frustrating but also the most exciting. When we are on one of these roads we need to be aware of the red....... amber lights so when that green comes on we are ready for what ever adventure lies ahead.



So when you look at your resolutions, ambitions hopes and dreams do not be surprised if sometimes you come to a red light or a amber. Just remember these times are for safety, and in the long run they will speed your journey.

Proverbs 16:3 Msg-  Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place.

For another interesting read on traffic lights - why not check out this blog?