Classic movie quote!

"Jules, y'know, honey... this isn't real. You know what it is? It's St. Elmo's Fire. Electric flashes of light that appear in dark skies out of nowhere. Sailors would guide entire journeys by it, but the joke was on them... there was no fire. There wasn't even a St. Elmo. They made it up. They made it up because they thought they needed it to keep them going when times got tough, just like you're making up all of this. We're all going through this. It's our time at the edge."

This quote is from a film which was a big part of my teenage years. If you don't recognise it, I will tell you at the end of this post! 

Why am I quoting it? Because I feel like some of the angst of the past few weeks has been St Elmo's Fire. The stress levels are falling now the house is all finished and in order to keep the adrenaline levels up I whipped up a storm about nothing. But the stupid thing is, I don't want to live on my nerves. I want to be fun, lighthearted, relaxed. 

The main thing I've felt that God has been saying to me recently is 'Stop digging!' Stop looking for problems, stop poking beehives with sticks, stop looking for problems when there aren't any. Instead, lift up your head, look around, rest your dirty and battered hands in your lap and just notice where you are and how great it is.

I did some drawing in my journalling Bible about this. The story is in Matthew chapter 8, and describes Jesus and the disciples, some of whom were very experienced fishermen, in a boat in a life threatening storm. Jesus is asleep and the disciples are going crazy with panic, thinking they are all about to die. They wake Jesus up, and he is a bit surprised, asking why they are in such a panic. He then commands the wind and waves to stop...AND THEY DO!!!

Here's my picture for these verses.

I illustrated these verses because Jesus is in my self created storm. He has the power to tell it to stop, to be still. The blustering lies and thoughts, the thundering emotions are stilled because Jesus is more powerful than they are.

I'm watching the storm calm already. The air feels fresher, I feel invigorated now the danger is past, and as if I have been bought somewhere new by the storm; not shipwrecked, but to a new quay, a new fishing ground, a new beach to land on. Exciting, huh?

In the midst of this storm of my own creating, has there been some other creating going on?

Yes!

Another khaki smoothie - strawberry, banana and baby kale with almond milk

I put down some weed proof membrane for a fruit and veg container garden. Simon helped by putting little bits of soil in flowerpots and by dabbling his hands in the cold paddling pool water and the muddy soil,where I watered the plants.

I made a pork casserole type thing using the leftovers from Sunday. I added chick peas, onion, red pepper and chopped tomatoes, chucked the lot in the slow cooker (I have an instant pot which is one of the best kitchen gadgets ever, as in ever!) and 3 hours later we had pork casserole!

Oh, I nearly forgot...

The quote is from the classic 80s Brat Pack movie St Elmo's Fire! If you guessed correctly have some Brownie points...or a chocolate brownie...or a glass of wine. If you didn't guess correctly, or have no idea what I'm talking about, then have a chocolate brownie or glass of wine anyway, and go and watch the film!