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Hello Hello!

As I sit and write today I am enjoying a glorious view of sunshine and mountains. I love the winter sun. Even on the coldest of days, catching a glimpse of the sun just makes me happy!

Anyway, this blog today has absolutely nothing to do with the sun… focus Natt!

Recently my youngest son came across a book while unpacking boxes in our shed. It is an old Readers Digest book called – Great Lives, Great Deeds.

It belonged to my grandparents who then passed it down to my mum and now it has found its way into my home.

My son knows that I love books so he gave it to me as he thought I might like to read it. Over the past week I have loved reading through story after story of amazing people such as Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, St Francis of Assisi, Voltaire & Queen Victoria.  Bearing in mind this book contains 68 biographies and I have so far read only 5 stories, I am well aware I still have a lot to get through.

The book is full of people known throughout the world for their incredible contributions. These people have inspired generations and we have many of them to thank for the world as we know it today. I can’t wait to read the account of William Wilberforce, Mozart and John Wesley to name a few.

But do you know what I love most about this book….It’s the title itself that captures my attention every time I walk past it. Great Lives Great Deeds.

What separates these people into a category that they should be written about?

After all each one of us has received the gift of life. What makes them so special?

The answer is in the second part of the books title….their great deeds.  At some point in their life they decided to stand when no one else wanted to stand. The made a choice to change when others wanted to remain in the familiar. They stood for truth & justice when others wanted to make deals under the table, the stood courageously in the midst of their circumstances regardless of the outcome.  Great Lives, Great Deeds…Indeed!

We all have the opportunity to do something great with our lives. Some people may scoff at that notion and say but my circumstances prevent me – let me encourage you now…your circumstances have nothing to do with it. We all have choice to either stand up and rise above our circumstances or shrink back and become slave to our circumstances. The circumstances these people in history had to endure were often beyond comprehension.

Speaking of Great Lives, Great Deeds….This coming weekend is a special weekend for our family. Our niece is getting married and all the family will be coming together to celebrate. I can’t wait to celebrate this beautiful occasion. But what we are celebrating on this day is so much more than two people coming together in marriage. We are celebrating a family who have against all odds not just survived their circumstances, they have flourished in spite of their circumstances.  Nothing about their life has been easy or perfect – quite the opposite. We are celebrating triumph over tragedy, we are celebrating life over death, we are celebrating courage in the midst of adversity, we are celebrating faith and hope winning over fear & doubt, we are celebrating health over sickness; we are celebrating a family who I believe are the very example of Great Lives Great Deeds.

They may never be written about in a Readers Digest publication. But those who know them can’t help but be inspired by them as they have lived their lives committed to loving, encouraging & serving others.

What will you do with your life? Sometimes the greatest deed we can do is often small and unseen. Kindness is a great deed as is generosity and forgiveness.

Can I encourage you – you have been given one life to live so make it great and make it count!

Don’t shrink back, stand tall.

Don’t let your circumstances stop you from living the great life that is waiting for you. Your life and deeds could very well be the thing that changes the course of history for your family, for a generation, for a country, for the world!

Till next time

Natt xx