Why I Celebrate Australia Day

Thank you for colonizing instead of wiping everyone off this island. I'm glad the British came, and not some ruthless country. They brought hospitals, schools and civilization. And did not simply destroy everything and everyone in sight. The dead cannot protest. The fact that so much culture still remains today is reason to celebrate Australia Day.

Are you a 'Lightning Rod'?

It's something all Christians should be having -- anyone who REALLY WANTS the Lord should be able to do all that. It's called being a Christian.

Your desire for God is genuine but what you really need at this point is to hear His voice in order to develop your relationship to the point of intimacy with God. I am beginning a Bible study end of Jan. It's online and on site. Happy to teach you how to hear from God and to sharpen your spiritual ears so to make it more accurate. It's important to hear Him not just on a daily basis, but 24/7.

Miscarriage after a few

Had a miscarriage after 3 healthy children. It's never easy. I guess it's harder for those who have kids because they know what it's like for this kid to actually grow up. 

It's not your fault. It's easy to think about what you might have done wrong -- don't. It's not you.

Also, this baby is in Heaven and you will meet him/her one day. This baby will never be lost but will always have eternal life. And that's what counts. You can't go wrong with this one.

Feed Wildlife

The natural way is for animals to naturally come to humans for help in times of desperation and the natural thing for humans to do is feed. We are nature. So be natural and feed. Sometimes we forget what is the natural thing to do.

Wedding Mayhem

It is in times like this that you need to pause, take a step back and restart everything. This is your opportunity to think outside the box. If no one has RSVPed, there's really nobody to please but yourselves. 

My greatest wedding regret is to have my family say they are coming and then hide in a room somewhere during the entire meal leaving the whole table empty except my parents, his parents and my godparents' family. My four siblings and their families all hid in another room because one of them told the rest that there wasn't enough food.... 

To cut the long story short, don't please anyone but yourselves on that day. You might even consider eloping.... Just think outside the box maybe? My brother had his on a cruise..

Weddings are once in a lifetime so even though it's not fun planning it now, please try to make it as fun as possible, because if it's not, the wedding can't be fun either. Sometimes it can be a reflection of how much you've enjoyed each other during the planning process. I know this sounds silly but to me, it's the little things that make everything better. Ice cream and chocolate might be some of those little things that make me happy. And when I sprinkle some of these little joys into something disastrous, at the end of the day, everything is perfect because that's what people remember and most importantly, that's what you remember.

Post-partum Depression

Feed directly and skin to skin if possible at all, and as much as possible. Also have lots of sleep whenever the baby is sleeping, and find other moms with bubs to share with.. I'm sorry you have to go through this.. try to make yourself happy and comfortable.. try to enjoy the baby -- dressing up, etc. and buying stuff for baby. If you have financial issues, family, marriage or other issues, that can worsen the experience.. it might help to seek for external help - food bank is open, churches are open, and it helps to blog and join some Facebook groups that you can open up on.

But know that you are an amazing mom. You don't have to do anything to make yourself a better Mom than you already are. You are perfect. And your baby just needs you.

Pre-marital Fears

Some men propose and then sound like they want nothing to do with the wedding, starts withdrawing and then talk about work a lot. As his fiance, you panic, thinking he is didn't really want to get married at all, and sees this as a red flag. 

Chill. It's not like that at all.

Perhaps talk to him about this but know one thing -- men often feel defeated when they feel like there is something they should be doing but unable to do it. In this case, perhaps he did not expect the cost of wedding to be this high. I am guessing he just wanted to marry you because he loved you and wanted to spend the rest of his life with you but did not expect weddings to cost this much and is embarrassed to tell you or did not want to disappoint you. Instead of being frank with you, he tries to hint and starts emphasizing about work and earning more, saying stuff like "can't take a day off". But you're so excited that you didn't get the drift... He's probably hoping you could see it from his point of view. He probably feels like he has bitten off more than he can chew and the entire weight is on him and you're not seeing that side of it when he is hoping you'll be his soulmate and can see right through him.

What's really important in a wedding is to go through wedding challenges like finance as a couple. Let him know a few things:

1. You understand the budget and will not blow it (you do have a budget, don't you?)

2. The costs are not entirely on him and you will bear the load 

3. You're willing to play down on the wedding to save for your future together if necessary

4. The wedding is not more important than him