Rose lipped maidens: Mothers, daughters and all things feminine

Last week I missed out on celebrating International Women's day. I had a hectic day and it all passed me by before I could think about it. This last Sunday the focus here in England was on Mothers. We hold Mothers Day in March rather than May as most of the rest of the world does. Also, today in Sydney Australia the Hillsong Colour Conference for women started.

So it seems an obvious choice, the theme for this post is focussed on all things feminine, WOMEN.

I find Mothering Sunday another of those awkward days to celebrate, rather like Valentine's day. Most people either have a Mum to celebrate or they are a Mum themselves. It is a day to look forward to being the centre of attention or spoiling someone else. Since my mother has long since passed there is no-one to send a card to or to spoil. (I have a step Mum but she is all the way over on the other side of the world in New Zealand climbing around a real live volcano with my Dad. Proud of them both! )

On Sunday I celebrated all the other Mums around me. I am fortunate to attend a church that honours

women and thinks outside the box. Last Sunday was used to raise money for refugees through selling bouquets of flowers.

Photo credits - Hillsong Guildford

I decided on Sunday to lift my eyes off myself and to raise them back to all that is good and true and beautiful.

'When God created his people, he put them in a garden. Before he gave the mandate to work, to be fruitful and multiply, he set them in the center of beauty, goodness, and life. It is almost as if he wanted them to be primarily people who beheld rather than produced. It didn't take long for the beauty of the best to be thwarted by the enemy though, and so absorption of the self instead of the Creator has been stealing our gaze ever since.' Beholding beauty in all its forms

From the blog of writer Lore Ferguson Wilbert - SAYABLE

I recommend reading Lore's blog if you like the written word as I do. She explores the issues of singleness, marrying later in life and living through and with the disappointment of multiple miscarriages. Don't forget that in the midst of the Mothers Day celebrations there are so many women out there who would have loved to have children but haven't been able to.

I had to add the photo below. I'm a sucker for a good dresser. Well done sir, you looked awesome on Sunday.

And as regards International Women's day last week, I can't think of a better example of a determined and resourceful woman who contributed something beautiful to our world birthed out of her own pain than Sugar - Shakar Jafari. (I couldn't work out how to add the link to her video, but she will come up on You Tube if you search for Innovate and Shakardokht Jafari.)

Sugar has pioneered a new tool in cancer treatment, giving up her home and family for a season to further her studies which led into her research. When she finally managed to bring her husband and 2 daughters over to join her here in Guildford, they lived in a tiny one room studio flat, with the girls starting school in a new language and the whole family dealing with a very different culture. I love Sugars spirit, she has never felt sorry for herself, she has shone like a star despite her difficulties.

Women are incredibly strong, when they set their mind to do something it will get done. The atmosphere in a home is usually set by the woman. It is her positive or negative presence that colours the house. If she allows herself to flourish, she will enrich those that her world touches.

'She wraps herself in strength and might and power in all her works ... her shining light will not be extinguished ... she will be praised throughout eternity.'

Proverbs 31 The Passion Translation

With the Colour Conference starting and all those women gathering in Sydney today I am slightly envious. This is not a feminist movement, rather a group of women who understand their power and authority and embrace it to completely turn their worlds upside down for good.

To quote a friend on mine ... "To desire a genderless world, or a world with no gender distinction, is like desiring a world without sunsets or blossoming flowers; it is to remove color and beauty from the world. The distinctions between men and women are right and good and beautiful." Jason Dees

Being a woman whatever our role and position is more than enough. And when our one life joins with many others, the power of many working together can change everything.

So far through these ladies thousands of children are currently being sponsored through schools in Uganda, drugs are being paid for to treat women fighting AIDS in the same country. Women who probably contracted the disease through a meandering husband or rape.

The current hidden slave trade and human trafficking violation over Europe is also being tackled.Did you know that human trafficking is one of the biggest criminal activities alongside the illegal drugs trade!?And with all the unrest over the middle East and Eastern Europe the vulnerable are increasing in number. The human slave trade is sadly very alive and well in 2018.

Photo credits - Hillsong church

Above, the Advent Calendar I made out of the Hillsong Colour Conference brochure. I recommend watching the current Hillsong Colour Conference promotional video FOUND for more inspiration.

So those are a few thoughts for this week. I may not be superwoman, my hair is greying and my jeans feel too tight but I am OK with that.

Photo Credit - Ann Street Studio

In the real world not many of us have bucket loads of time, money or energy to spend on looking so well groomed but in my aspirations I have been following the blog of another influential woman Jamie, photographed by her husband Kevin. Her blog Ann Street Studio is a collage of beauty and a photographical reflection on feminity. I couldn't help but steal the photo below because I absolutely love all the colours. I could never look like this but never mind, I might try out that hairstyle for a crazy fancy dress party!

Photo credit - Ann Street Studio for Chanel.

As Kris Vallotten likes to say ... ' In the beginning God breathed life into woman, shaping her, fashioning her, the pinnacle of His creation ... '

Photo credit - Baylonstoren

Photo credit - MISS MOSS BLOG - Paloma Wool Barcelona

So in celebration of all things feminine and of all the women who have made our world a better place. Thank-you.

And Mum .... THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. Especially your fiesty and fun loving spirit!

I am still wearing that sweater you knitted all those years ago!

( Not forgetting Alexander and Vikki, thanks for a delicious Sunday roast for Mothering Sunday.)

#HillsongGuildford #httpswwwsayable #AnnStreetStudio #MotheringSunday #InternationalWomensday #HillsongColourConference #PalomaWool #Babylonstoren