LANAhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Lana is my youngest niece and she is such a blessing. She came onto this world around 8 weeks premature and was in an incubator for a little while. I think she was in a hurry to get here because I believe she was sent from God with a definite life purpose.  I believe she is one of Gods crystal ๐Ÿ”ฎ children, whom God has put on this earth to take good care of the planet ๐ŸŒ earth and all its inhabitants.  Lana’s life purpose definitely involves taking care of animals. Right from a young child Lana had a deep love for animals., which her parents noticed and developed

Lana as a child was a wise old soul who definitely had been here before. She would come out with comments that showed she was wise beyond her years and had a good understanding of what being a true Christian means.

Lana is quite an accomplished young lady who has lead a life less ordinary. She turned 21 during covid lockdown and my present to her was a story of my recollections of her growing up,  I entitled it The Gift because that is what Lana is to this ๐ŸŒŽ world,  a true gift ๐ŸŽ from Gos.

As she prepares for her future life with her fiance, I want to acknowledge what a fine human being she has become.  She also has discovered the delights of opshopping, which one day I would like to share with her.

The people I admire and look to for advicehttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

List the people you admire and look to for advice…

There are several people I look to for advice. To be very honest, Susanna, when she was alive, was my greatest and most loved confidante.

Other people I look to for advice are Adrian and Russell,  both are very good men and have a lot of emotional intelligence. They are the men I admire the most.

Friends I turn to are Lani, Liz , Kathryn, and Sherree, particularly when I am talking about women’s issues.  They are all compassionate and empathic. I think in female friendships there is a sisterhood that means we look out for one another and can be relied upon to support our fellow sisterhood. I totally trust these women and know their advice comes from a good place.

Yes of course I votehttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Do you vote in political elections?

Todays blog topic could not be more relevant and appropriate because today is the day of our federal election here in Australia. 

Do I vote?  A resounding YES.  I see it as a part of my responsibility as a citizen of Australia ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ.  We live in a democratic free society, and we all have a responsibility to ensure we remain a country where freedom is a large part of how Australia is seen in the world ๐ŸŒŽ.  My parents raised me well and taught me the importance of voting to be compulsory for all who value our way of life in Australia.  I proudly take my part as an Australian and definitely make the most of our democracy by voting. I voted early for todays election and am very interested to see the outcome of this election as the result will influence our way of life here in Australia ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ and I vote with both my heart โค๏ธ and head dictating which parry I support. I feel it is my duty to take part and support the party most aligned to my values and beliefs

When things go bump in the night.

I have a confession to make. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I am awake and hear strange noises.ย  The noises make me fearful, and I wonder if what I am hearing is real or am I in a strange dreamlike state when things aren’t real but I feel it could be real.

Last night I had such an experience. Around midnight, I could hear noises like someone was hammering ๐Ÿ”จ on my roof. In the quiet eeriness of the night, I was scared by that. I soon realised it must just have been noises carrying in the distance because if there was someone on the roof, Lily would’ve been the good little watchdog she is and would have been making a racket.ย ย  The fact that Lily was silent was very reassuring.

This morning, I spoke about this experience to my good friend ๐Ÿงก Adrian,  who reminded me that fear is the biggest trigger for my mental health issues and that he too occasionally hears strange noises at night. This was exactly the conversation I needed at that moment, and I know not to let what happened play on my mind because it becomes a downward spiral.  The fact that I am writing about such an experience in my blog shows the positive experience it was to talk to Adrian, and I am feeling strong and empowered,  not fearful. I have insight into my triggers, and I am not going to become scared by such things as simple sounds that we all hear at times. We should not be impacted negatively by things going bump in the night. It is all part of being human.

Barbarahttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

I’ve had more than one angelic influence in my life, such as Susanna, Michael, and my dad.

Today I want to write โœ๏ธ a tribute to Barbara.  Barbara has been a friend since the year 2000. We met both studying wekfare studies at Kangan Batman Tafe. I noticed Barbara from day one, and we both became friends very fast. Barbara was probably my great supporter amongst the students. She thought I was brave to declare my mental health issues and my desire to help people in similar circumstances.  She made it very clear to me that I need not feel shame about my issues and was insistent that I not be made to feel apologetic for such. She is warm, compassionate, and extremely emotionally intelligent, and her influence on my life has led me to become more emotionally intelligent myself.

She is probably the greatest supporter of my writing โœ๏ธ skills,  apart from Dr Ballekere. Barbara and I regularly have deep, meaningful conversations, and we can agree to disagree on certain things.  She has helped mould the woman I am today and is a good sounding board for my plans for my future. She has nursed me through more than one broken heart ๐Ÿ’” and is the least judgemental person you can meet. She likes to have her say, but she is also a deep listener and is very kind. I appreciate her place in my life more than I can express. She introduced me to angelic therapy and angel Oracle cards that have become part of my everyday life. She is a resilient lady of great faith ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฝ and I am so glad she is my friend ๐Ÿงก 

Jane Barnes. Behind every great man, there is a great woman.https://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Today I am writing โœ๏ธ a post about Jane Barnes, the wife of an Australian rock music legend, Jimmy Barnes.  To say Jane is a wonderful wife and mother is quite an understatement.  To say she has assisted in Jimmy becoming the wonderful redeemed good man he is today is also an understatement.  Their relationship has weathered many storms and controversies,  not the least being Jimmy’s womanising,  drinking drug taking ways. Without Jane in Jimmy’s life, he would have died a long time ago. His excesses would have claimed him.

It has only been in the last twenty years that I have grown to love Jimmy Barnes.  The redeemed happy, good-hearted family man he has become is infectious.  I have always loved old Cold Chisel ๐ŸŽต songs.  For a while, as a teenager, I didn’t like Jimmy Barnes because one cheap gossip paper had the headline”Jimmy Barnes, my thousands of women.”  I may have been young, but I was wise enough to know that if he had literally had thousands of women,  that wouldn’t leave much time for anything else. Thank God his marriage has survived his infidelities.  Jane is obviously one wonderful woman who is not going to let such controversies ruin her marriage. I think she is amazing because my own marriage was one where my husband unfaithfulness destroyed our marriage,  but to my own defence , my ex-husband was nothing like Jimmy.

Some friends of mine also like Jimmy and Jane Barnes and think Jane should be canonised to become The Patron Saint Of Rock Stars Wives. She is lovely and absolutely a wonderful wife and mother with many talents of her own. She actually deserves the recognition she humbly doesn’t seek and I would love to meet her and Jimmy to witness the relationship of two soul mates.  May their union continue to be blessed.

Lily is one of Gods creatureshttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

I had a frightening experience this morning ๐ŸŒ„.  My lovely little dog Lily was a victim of a dog attack in the dog park. Thank God she wasn’t seriously hurt,  but it left me trembling. She was attacked by an dog , whose owner was walking ๐Ÿšถโ€โ™€๏ธ two dogs at once and didn’t really have control of them.  In fact she had dropped the leash of the one who attacked Lily and Lily being very friendly went to appraoach it. At the first instant it went towards Lily it growled and Lily growled back, thinking it was playing with her.  It then jumped on Lily and Lily still thought it was playing until the dog wrapped it jaws around Lily’s neck. I was trying to pull Lily away from the other dog and the dogs owner was trying to pull it off Lily whilst still holding the lead of her second dog. There must have been angelic intervention for Lily because both the other owner and myself managed to get the dog away from Lily without Lily being seriously hurt.  She was lucky it didn’t break her skin, as the others dogs teeth would hsve been in the leather collar that Lily wears.

It was one scary encounter, but I sensed angelic intervention,  God wasn’t going to let real harm happen to one of his angels. Lily isn’t traumatised by what happened. She walked happily on for the rest of the walk. I don’t think she is aware of the danger she had been in. Needless to say, she has been one very spoiled little dog today. I am so grateful ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฝ to God that my little darling angel ๐Ÿ˜‡ wasn’t hurt.

Through awkwardness a chance not takenhttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?

The blog topic today has brought back many memories to me of  a time when I was a lot youngr,  very shy, and inexperienced when it came to boys.

I was 19 years old at the time and had gone to see the band Hunters and Collectors at the Old Greek Theatre in Richmond with my friend Tessa. We were both studying primary teaching at the time, and Tessa was a mature age student from New Zealand.

Throughout the concert I noticed a cute guy of about my age , and he noticed me too but because we were both shy and awkward we watched one another alot but never got further than making eyes to one another. This young man was at the concert with Steve Jacobs, a young Melbourne celebrity around my age.

I thought nothing more of this missed opportunity but happened to be watching breakfast television ๐Ÿ“บ when  the movie The Year My Voice Broke was being launched. My jaw dropped when I saw that cute young guy from the concert .it was Ben Mendelssohn,  and that movie launched his career. Had I not been a shy awkward teenager how different my life could’ve been if I had been brave,  instead of shy.  I have long followed Ben’s career, and he is definitely a good actor renowned in his younger years for playing awkward young men. It is the only thing I lament about my past,that I was too shy to strike up a conversation.  If I could go back to this time, the thing I would do differently is talk to him and take that chance.  How different my life could’ve been.

Things that make me feel vulnerblehttps://www.google.com/adsense/new/u/0/pub-3691500166505297/privacymessaging

What makes you nervous?

The last time I answered this question  I focused on my professional life and public speaking.

As a woman, particularly a woman who lives on her own, there are a few things that make me feel vulnerable, and I live within certain boundaries to keep myself and Lily safe. Things like not giving out my phone number,  address, or email address to anyone I don’t know. If someone just knocks on the door out of the blue, I don’t answer it. Lily is a good little watch dog and let’s me know if anyone is around.  She is a good judge of character and doesn’t like a lot of men. She doesn’t like the energy that some men give off.   I am nervous about some men because of some bad past experiences.  When I have been unwell and in hospital, I have had some very unwell men throw light lighters at me and start to undress in front of me.  I have always managed to keep myself safe,  and that is why I set strict boundaries for myself as a vulnerable woman and am very careful about who I let in my life. To this end,  I restrict my use of social media and am not on platforms like Facebook.