Wow! Where has this last week gone? Christmas was pretty laid back and relaxed at the George house this year. Mum and Dad are visiting from central Queensland, and we pretty much sat around and enjoyed each others’ company, great food and great pressies after going off to church in the morning.

Here are a selection of photos from our day.

My favourite present of the day? My purple tool kit (don’t snicker, I asked for it…the boys kept pinching my tools…they won’t touch these ones )

The boys both got lots of Lego, so we spent plenty of time sorting blocks and building models.

Tomorrow we are setting off on an overnight hike in the mountains. It will be really nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a bit…even if I’m not a huge fan of camping. I’ll let you know how I go….praying hard to not meet any snakes along the trail.

Hope you had a great Christmas too.

Michelle

I don’t know Mark Lamberth or his family, and yet God has been putting him in my mind to pray for him. I heard about Mark over at Ragamuffin Soul, he’s a friend of Carlos’.

He had a motorbike accident last week and sustained some horrendous injuries. He needs your prayer. (You can click on the banner above to visit the blog with some details and updates for more information.)

He has a wife (Angie) and a son (Nolan) that need your prayer too.

The beautiful thing about being a follower of God is that even though I don’t know these guys from a bar of soap, I know that they love God too, and that makes us family….and family looks after family.

Please pray.

Introversion  and extroversion rarely get confused, but introversion and shyness are often mistaken (some introverts are shy, but they don’t always go hand in hand).

Let’s take a layman’s look at how each of these are defined.

Shyness — A shy person is generally someone who is lacking in confidence, self conscious, anxious or frightened in social situations, sometimes to the point where they do not function at all in the presence of other people.

Introversion — Introverts do not dislike other people, they just find them tiring. They are stimulated by their own thoughts and imaginations rather than relying on other people for motivation or stimulus. After extended times of being sociable, introverts have to take time by themselves to recharge and recover. (One guy I read about had a formula for himself…one hour of social time requires two hours of alone time to recover…that’s about right for me too) Basically, other people are good in small doses. This is not being antisocial nor is it an illness that requires treatment or medication. For an introvert, time alone in our own head is as restorative as a good night’s sleep and provides nourishment to our soul like a wonderful meal. Making sure we look after our inner health in this way is an important element of creating a peaceful and sustainable life.

Extroversion — Extroverts on the other hand are energised by other people, and often seem bored when they are on their own. They reach for their mobiles after a minute or so without human contact. Extroverts figure out who they are by talking and interacting with other people. They are like the exuberant puppy you can’t get to stop barking or quite manage to shake off your heel after they’ve latched on. Extroverts come to life when they are around other people.

Next time we’ll take a look at how introverts and extroverts can understand each other and get along :)

I got the coolest Christmas card this morning…it was a regular store-bought card, but inside my friend Eric had included a special surprise….check it out… I love it!