New Zealand National Anthem

I went to this AMAZING carol service on Sunday night and we ended up singing our entire national anthem - all the verses. It is SUCH an amazing hymn, I wanted to share it with you. I think this prayer could be prayed over every nation :)

God of nations! at Thy feet
In the bonds of love we meet,
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our Free Land.
Guard Pacific's triple star,
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand



Men of ev'ry creed and race
Gather here before Thy face,
Asking Thee to bless this place,
God defend our Free Land.
From dissension, envy, hate,
And corruption guard our State,
Make our country good and great,
God defend New Zealand.

Peace, not war, shall be our boast,
But, should foes assail our coast,
Make us then a mighty host,
God defend our Free Land.
Lord of battles in thy might,
Put our enemies to flight,
Let our cause be just and right,
God defend New Zealand.

Let our love for Thee increase,
May Thy blessings never cease,
Give us plenty, give us peace,
God defend our Free Land.
From dishonour and from shame
Guard our country's spotless name
Crown her with immortal fame,
God defend New Zealand.

May our mountains ever be
Freedom's ramparts on the sea,
Make us faithful unto Thee,
God defend our Free Land.
Guide her in the nations' van,
Preaching love and truth to man,
Working out Thy Glorious plan,
God defend New Zealand.

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/nationalanthemslyrics/newzealandnationalanthemlyrics.html

Priorities

My daily devotional was talking about prioritising your time... and it got me thinking. As a writer, I HAVE to prioritise my time. It slips away so easily and there is so much to get done, you really don't have the luxury of idling through your day. You have to be productive.


But how should I be prioritising the rest of my time? 


Because I am passionate about writing, it is so easy to let it engulf my day. When the kids are up and needing me I sometimes find it a real pain... I just want to get back to my work, but that's not the right attitude.


Jesus had two main prioritises that he wanted us to live by,


“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40


They are so simple, yet it is so easy to let the world distract us from this. 


How should I be prioritising my time... my life?


Firstly, I should be dedicating each day to the Lord and including him in every aspect.


Secondly, I should be thinking of those around me and I how I can love and serve them best.


Thirdly, I can think about my writing :)

O Holy Night

I LOVE Christmas Carols... and since it's December I've decided to post a few carols... the ones where the words are just so beautiful. I find it helps to read a song sometimes, makes me focus on what I'm actually singing.

O Holy Night is one of those carols that gets me every time. It's just so beautiful.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born.

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Everlasting Life

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
John 11:25-26

Do you believe this?

I do - wholeheartedly - and I can safely say, that it makes life so much easier. I have no fear of death, because I know what comes after it. I do fear how I might die, but at least I don't fear the death part :)

It makes me so sad for people who don't live with this knowledge... or chose not to believe it. I don't know what it feels like for them. I know everyone has their own beliefs and I respect that. But part of me can't help wondering if there is a certain emptiness to their existence... or a small feeling of hopelessness.

Choosing to believe in his Christ and his everlasting gift gives me hope everyday, no matter what that day brings. It's a liberating feeling.

So - what do you believe?

Renewing My Strength

I have been having one of those weeks - you know, those weeks where you want to pull your hair because you're rushing from one place to the next, dragging children behind you, doing things for other people and almost resenting it.

I'm not sure if anyone else out there feels that way sometimes, but I have been really struggling.
It hasn't helped that my precious baby has started screaming this high pitched scream that makes my spine rattle.

I flopped into bed last night and just thought, "I can't do this anymore. It's too hard."

But what choice do I have? I have to keep being a good mother and wife. I have to keep looking after my family and I want to keep pursuing my dreams.

And then these verses came into my head...

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40: 28-31

A sense of peace wafted through me and I just knew that I needed to stop, take a breath and remember that God is with me. He is for me... and he will renew my strength if I just take the time to let him.

My day started out much better this morning... and even though I have a ton of stuff to do. I am not going to let it get on top of me. I'm going to keep my priorities straight and my focus on the one who will get me through.