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Series: bride blog
Series: pregnancy & parenting

Bitter & Sweet

April 12, 2012 · by gemmaruthbrown · in Uncategorized. ·

(John Newton)

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One response to “Bitter & Sweet”

graememark April 12, 2012 at 1:01 pm · · Reply →

I love how the old writers discuss the nuances and paradoxes of the faith life- Here I see the struggle with Sin that Paul talks about- And the poetry is beautiful! I procured a copy of an old hymn book recently and am loving reading the words of a tradition that I just caught the tail end of befroe my church went more modern. Thanks for posting 🙂

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#HornHead, Co. Donegal. Breath-taking.

A few days around Dunfanaghy to celebrate a big birthday? Yes please. Recommendations of things to do/see/drink/eat in the local area welcome! #RalphsBigBirthdayBash

Sitting eating a solo pizza having tucked one of my valentines into bed and awaiting the other to come home after a late shift. These two have my heart ❤️ I know today can be crappy for a number of reasons (you might even be reading this another day because it’s too hard to be online right now) - maybe you’ve loved and lost, or maybe you’re waiting for a love that feels like it is taking too long, or maybe love right now doesn’t look how you imagined it would. Why am I typing this when I have just posted about the love I hoped and prayed for? We have all had crappy Valentine’s Days - I promise. I hope I can bring you a little comfort with this: remember that today is just one day in the year (and it’s almost over.) There are 364 more days. And remember that love has so many shades...so although you mightn’t see the shade you hoped for today, I hope there are others that embolden your heart and brighten your spirit. “Listen to the voice that calls you ‘Beloved’.” #HenriNouwen

There has been lots of great conversation on these squares about sustainable living recently - I love it! Let me introduce you to the idea of #compleating...i.e. eating the whole food and not letting any parts go to waste. This morning I decided to use up some lost bits I had lying around: I found the ends of a loaf of bread (some of the most thrown-away food in the UK!), some eggs and milk that were getting close to their use-by date and some leftover blueberries who were screaming out to be eaten! The result was some delicious French toast and an empty waste bin. Voila! What could you do with the food you might usually throw away? I’d love to hear your creative ideas! #ad @lfhw_uk

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” #CSLewis

Romance looks a little different around here, these days...Dan spent the start of ‘love week’ hanging with Baby B while I caught up on some much-needed sleep, and when I woke up, the boys brought me this ❤️ Putting someone else’s needs above your own, especially when you yourself are pretty spent, is way more valuable than candlelit dinners and wordy cards (though they have their place, too!) Grateful to be loved so well.

This week, I’ve felt a bit like a hamster who can’t get off its running wheel! Shoulds and to-do’s, a constant inner monologue about what needs achieved or improved next (any other enneagram 1s out there? The struggle is real!) Motherhood has been the best teacher in learning to let go of this impossible - and suffocating - drive. Baby B and I have our best days when we forget about the lists and accept things the way they are...and then have fun with them! We found a fallen branch on our walk yesterday (getting outdoors at least once a day, come rain or shine, is such a help to me in gaining perspective!) and decided to try painting with it when we got home. We rolled up our sleeves and got delightfully messy, then swished and bashed until we had this beautiful melange of colours and strokes. The light in Baby B’s eyes once again reminded me that he doesn’t need my lists or lofty ideals. He needs me, hair on top of my head, knees on the floor, hands messy and exploring the world with him. That’s all...and it’s everything. #honestmotherhood

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” E.B. White

Brene Brown defines trusting others as extending ‘the most generous interpretation to (their) intentions, words and actions’. This has marked me strongly this week. I don’t always do this. Have been pondering what it would look like for me to take that risk. And what would it look like for it to extend that courtesy to myself, too? In unrelated news...this afternoon’s blue skies are such a welcome intermission in this bleak midwinter we’re having!

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5 WAYS TO LOOK AFTER THE PLANET TODAY
The invisible mother
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The stories we tell
An afternoon at Loaf Pottery

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