Five Minute Friday [9] - His Yoke is Easy, His Burden is Light

Hand it over to the Lord. Those things you’re stressing about, those failures you feel weighing down on you, all the things you still need to tick off your list, the decisions you have to make- just give it all to Him. You may think you need to handle it alone, but don’t you know that you wouldn’t even be able to handle it alone? Stop relying on the lack of your might and turn to the strength of His. Don’t let yourself sit around feeling helpless and hopeless when your only Hope is offering help to you. Don’t let yourself think on all the terribleness of this world, but rather Him who does not desire that any should perish. Don’t let bitterness, doubt or un-forgiveness trickle in. Stand on the Rock, seek nearness to Him and allow Him to steady you.

(A note from myself to me. And to you, if you like.)

Five Minute Friday [8] - Bowing Low

I stand here in awe, over and over again

The strength of Your hand, the sound of Your name

You have once again saved me from sin and saved me from shame

And I will praise You, healer of souls and healer of pain

You feed with more than bread and breathe life into dry bones

You're the only strong safe hold and the only true home

You are the one I want to praise and to make known

For You have never let me down or left me on my own

You did what I doubted and proved my fickle mind wrong

How was I so blind to see the work You were doing all along?

You humble the proud and You make the weak strong

I will bow low with my knees and proclaim with a song:

You are my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in You

Change me, revive me till I bring You glory in all I do

-t.h.
written: 17/01/20

December Days | 2019

So here we are, on the first day of 2020. Wow, 2019 must have come and gone while I wasn't looking. It feels like last year's Christmas season was only a month ago- I'm continually marvelling at how time seems to pick up speed the older I get. But I am also learning more and more that there's no end to God's grace, love and provision, no matter what dark or scary place one might find themself in. He's the only light and the only hope, and throughout this year, I've been having full on prayer conversations with Him, asking Him why some things have been happening the way they have, telling Him I'm confused, breaking down in His presence, falling apart and then being picked up again by Him, being held by Him. I guess you could say I've been clinging to Him.

I will continue to cling to Him for this year and all years to come. And going into 2020, some of my heart's biggest desires are that He will teach me to be more grateful, more loving, and always prayerful.

But, getting back to the reason for this post- since I missed Five Minute Friday, I decided to compensate with something a little different. Below is a collection of snapshots/snap sentences of December goings-on. It's been a (long) while since I've done a month recap post, but here it is. I hope you enjoy it :)

---

this month, I've been...

+ celebrating the gift of Jesus Christ, our Savior, coming to this world

(one of my Insta stories during the week of Christmas)

+ doing loads of Christmas gift shopping (I absolutely love gift shopping! And the best part is that I have so many different people to shop for)

+ loving the warmer weather and the blue skies (Southern Hemisphere Christmas vibes)

+ having Christmas lunch with an abundance of friends and family (what a blessing!)

+ finally getting a new photo with all fourteen members of my family!

+ dressing up all vintagey for our themed end-of-year church function

+ celebrating my Nana's 70th and taking loads of photos while I was at it (how beautiful is she?)

(My Oupa giving his speech)

(They're the sweetest)

+ celebrating three of my brothers' birthdays :)

(Reilly, who is on the left, turned 11 on the 18th of December, and Levi turned 8 on the 14th of December)

(Jacob, on the left, turned 26 on the 8th of December. In this photo he is holding Benjamin, the youngest in our family, and sitting next to his girlfriend, Mamo. The three of them make for a gorgeous photo!)

+ swimming again for the first time in ages

+ going to the beach and on random walks

+ being extremely grateful for the absolute privelege of being able to purchase and enjoy my first camera (Canon 80D)

(Aaaahhh! You guys, this was/is my dream camera. Every day I wake up and I am still excited about it)

+ taking lots of photos of and with my beautiful family (you could probably already tell)

(More pics of the lovable youngest. He'll be a year on the fourteenth of February, 2020. Pure adorable)

+ being blown away by my chef sister's talent and creativity

(Cookies pizzas! You can't tell by the size of these pictures, but they were the sizes of actual pizzas)

(These two cakes were such hits! And the talent and patience that went into them is admirable)

+ feeling so thankful for my best friend and all the good things he adds to my life ♥

+ creating a fun, summery citrus pop art pattern for a challenge run by a company I work with

+ relying. On. The. Lord.

---

And...that's it. I had hoped to post this post yesterday already- since I had already written it and uploaded most of the photos, but oh well, it turned out to be my starter post for 2020. Let's do this year. I'm praying I'll keep up with the blogging, no matter the obstacles ahead.

But how about you? What was your December like? What are your hopes for 2020, and do you reckon you'll be writing dates down wrong for a long time still, or is that just me?