~When I Need Love~

When I was many years younger I don’t think I knew what it was truly like to feel loved and accepted. I knew my parents loved me but I don’t think they knew how to show it. I was so desperate for love and affection and acceptance and that feeling of peace and safety that we all long for.

I grew up in a dysfunctional family and there wasn’t much peace in that house. I found this love and acceptance in and with other people that God had placed around me at that time, and although I was well into my teens by then, I was still like a little child, hungry for that love and peace, and the space to just be myself and not feel any tension or that I just didn’t meet up to certain standards.

I think this was probably the point at which I transferred my need onto the people that were close around me, not in a horrible ‘needy’ way, but in my dependence on them and feeling secure by them being in my life. And, if they were there for me I guess I felt that acceptance and love that I was craving for…

Perhaps at those times in my life when I felt people may have let me down and walked away from what they had at first given the impression that they cared then maybe that equaled me not being loved or rejection. Even if you grew up in a peaceful loving caring environment, the longing and need in us can be the same…

When the ‘balance’ in your life has been all topsy turvy, especially in the areas of love and peace and acceptance, then many times people will react in all sorts of ways, perhaps similar to how I did and as we grow up we learn the dynamics that are going on in our life, in our world and inside us and then we can ‘right the balance’…

Follow me on Facebook via Light for Life and The Answer I've Found 


~Cam Richmond~

~Motivators~

“In life you need either inspiration or desperation.”
~Tony Robbins~

What is your motivating factor? I think that both inspiration and desperation are my motivators… Hopefully more often than not it will be inspiration that will motivate me to do what I need to do, say what I need to say and be what I need to be.

Inspiration I receive from so many avenues, the greatest being God, the ultimate creator, speaking such beauty and intricacy into being and uncovering such amazing things around us in the world and I am sure there are still yet many wonders yet covered and yet to be revealled in the world. I am inspired by His love, His gift, His generosity, His sacrifice and His example to be the best I can be and be as much like him as I can.

Desperation is also a factor in my life and often leads me to finally address certain issues. God uses it to help me let go and make the changes I need to make. Desperation is also a tool in the hands of God and when we get to the place of desperation our ears are more keep to hear the voices that we have been so quick to dismiss and reject.

Sometimes when a problem has been there for a long time then we lose our inspiation about it, and how to change and what to do and that is when desperation can help us the most. Its that little boost that we need to move us off the mark.

Desperation helps me fix problems and Inspiration helps me reach goals!


Follow me on Facebook via Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam Richmond~

~Freedom’s Eve....

Freedom comes in increments and measures, inch by inch and no matter what the freedom means in real terms to you, the only way it will come in entirety is firstly in our mind, and then in our will, it may come in our emotions later on…

I have experienced freedom in so many ways in my life but as time goes on I learn that there are more areas within me that need to be freed, and even the areas I am more than aware of are still yet to find that place of true freedom.

Life is a untangling of ourselves and with each loosened knot comes a little more freedom and space.

I am thankful for God that has brought me the most freedom into my life, and each day I trust him and follow His ways it comes in increasing measures.

Whom the son sets free will be free indeed!

Follow me on Facebook via Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam~

~Journeying~

Life is a simultaneous inward and outward journey with two individual destinations… deeper and further.

The journeys should both take us along the same path if we are being true to ourselves and our beliefs, morals and standards.

We are all learning on the inward and outward journey and it is up to us how we will travel, how fast, how smoothly, how cleverly.

It will also depend on how our attitude is towards the obstacles we may encounter along the way and if we will choose to learn from the fellow sojourners along the way.

We may not have the map for every detail and we may not have all we need for the whole trip with us but no one can travel with EVERYTHING they need. You wouldnt get very far at all, maybe only an inch at a time to be able to balance all those requirements in your backpack and arms.

There's a few essential items... We need wisdom to help us make the correct choices, perhaps some binoculars for vision and clarity, a gps to see where we are on the map and the surrounding area, a blanket for keeping us warm and sheltered, a coat to protect us from the elements, some light to light the way... these elements all represent something practical in our worlds, and they may be different for each of us.

Travel lightly, travel swiftly, dont allow yourself to get stuck in a ditch, or waylaid by too many distractions but be sure to make some time to stop and smell the roses along the way!

Follow me on Facebook via Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam~

~Streamlining!~

Streamlining, deciding, shuffling, reprioritizing, rescheduling, analysing, minimising, reducing….

I had a very bad, unorganized, done nothing I was supposed to do morning, I threw the daily before work schedule out the window. I didn’t do any exercise and what a shame… the sun was shining amazingly outside and the sky was clear…. So then that doesn’t feel good! I needed to get that fresh air and exercise so I feel guilty.

If I allow this to happen even every now and again, even though that particular scenario is not that frequent, the more I don’t like myself. So this has a bad snowball effect on me.

I am continuing to think a lot about some changes and areas I want to work on in my life, and I know I need to DECIDE but I have sensed that I still haven’t really DECIDED.... I am tossing around the idea of what I need to and should do... I have to decide!!! This is a firm and not a wishy washy conclusion that I must make before I WILL do it! I am in the middle of re-jigging my life and routines and what I should and shouldn’t be doing.

The upside is this… I have started ‘re-jigging’ things, I have altered a few schedules, dropped a few commitments, made a few goals and this is the best start. I somehow think that if I go the whole thing and say I have to do this… and I have to do this…. Then perhaps I am setting myself up for failure.

Perhaps my process of gradually streamlining my life is the most wise way to go that would actually be achievable and do able!
Follow me on Facebook through Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam Richmond~

~Taming of the Shrewd!~

Sensing lately how strong my personality is sometimes, I am a pretty straightforward person really, but I do have strong likes and dislikes...

Maybe its mostly going on on the inside but I am working on the taming of my attitudes, feelings, emotions and responses. Sometimes it seems loud but its the churning of thoughts that go around and ordering them and working out which ones should not be let out.

Its a good thing to do!

~Cam Richmond~

~Decide~

To solve or conclude (a question, controversy, or struggle) by giving victory to one side. To determine or settle (something in dispute or doubt). To bring (a person) to a decision; persuade or convince. Decide, resolve, determine imply settling upon a purpose and being able to adhere to it. To decide is to make up one's mind as to what shall be done and the way to do it. To resolve is to show firmness of purpose. To determine is to make up one's mind and then to stick to a fixed or settled purpose .

NO ONE can decide for you!
NO ONE can decide for me!
I am speaking most loudly to myself here!

This is what I have got on my mind... that I need to decide somethings. Deciding is a firm thing, not a flimsy thing. Decide is a word that has strength in it, you can hear it, so why is it that when so many of us decide that it has such a huge element of doubt and flexibility?

I am working on DECIDING!

What do you think about this??

~Cam Richmond~

~Life is full of opportunities to do the right thing!~

It doesn’t matter ‘what I would have done’, because when it affects you, its what someone else did or didn’t do that you have to work our your feelings over.

This is a lesson I have got quite a bit these last few years. For some silly reason I was under the impression that everyone else was just like me and did things how I do but they don’t.

Its especially in those codes of ethic that I try to be as considerate as I can be… but my standards aren’t always going to be yours. I have to learn that, really realise it and then be ok with it. If I don’t like it then I know where my boundaries must lie and so I will move more towards them.

Its all those silly little things, that in the end seem to matter! I try my best to reply to emails, phone calls and text messages, I think that is polite, even if it’s a yes or no answer at least its and answer. I will make contact with you as best as I can if you’re someone I see regularly and I haven’t heard from you in a while… I feel that is part of friendship and relationship.

If I say something meaningful to you then I mean it and the words aren’t spoken lightly. I have expected that people that have said nice things to me must mean them but now I realise if I say something and mean it other people don’t necessarily mean it in the same way…. I like to try and be consistent and I don’t want to let you down so I will try my best not to mislead you.

I guess it comes down to this…

Mat 7:12 So then, whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this is (sums up) the Law and the Prophets.

Do unto others....

~Cam Richmond~

 

~Time for Me to Live~

It's funny how I know I'm getting old, I know it in my head but I don't feel any different. I feel as if I'm ready to go running out there and join in on some adventure.
 
I had an uncle and aunt that lived on a farm when was young and whenever I went to stay I loved every minute of it. I loved the chooks and the creek, the frogs and the lizards. I loved the bush camp fires, the huge cubby houses we built on the farm and the cows mooing in the morning and the green paddocks. I loved going down to the dam early in the morning and collecting tadpoles. If there was a tree to be cut down my uncle was the man for the job. He would come over in his Landcruiser with his chainsaw to cut it down and there was something about it I loved.
 
Being with our friends on their property this weekend thirty something years later it all comes back to me as my 18 year old son went running off down the paddock in the dark with our friend and a spotlight and rifle to get the fox that had been attacking the sheep. There I was starting to follow down the driveway but I'm in my grey flat ballerina shoes and I can't go any further. Oh what a disappointment. I'm going to go out and buy some Blundstone work boots to wear on the farm because next time I want to go with them.
 
Long story short years may pass, time may have flown but you are the same you as ever. Same person you were as a kid playing with frogs and tadpoles. These memories make me feel like a kid again, like I want to get right into it. So what stops us, we don’t always have to let our age or stage stop us. Why not just do it anyway? So I had a go! I rode a quad bike for the first time too and did all sorts of thing this weekend. I am ready to try all sorts of things!

Now is the time of our lives! Not later… Now not later! What are we waiting for… a more opportune time? Will that time come again? Embrace the minute, the day, the season and make of it what you can!

Sometimes we keep putting off for tomorrow what we can do today when today has been given to us already.

Follow me on Facebook at  Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam~

~Changing Seasons~

Looks like a season of ups and downs and roundabouts for some people at the moment!

Thankfully the seasons end and they change so we get a variety of them and also hopefully we are not too suprised when the seasons come and go.

There are the standard types of seasons and all their variations... covering everything in between.

Winter can be mild or freezing, summer can be stifling or dry, Spring can be rainy or windy.... the best thing is that they change, so if you are in a freezing winter, take heart, the thawing spring sun will come soon, or if you are in a roaring summer the autum breezes will be just the thing.

It changes so quickly sometimes and just like that overnight we find ourselves in a different place. In our lives it doesnt always happen the spring follows winter but at least we know the variety of seasons that come and go! Change might be just around the corner!

Look forward to the Spring :)
Follow me on Facebook via Light for Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam Richmond~

~Downsizing!~

A lot of us cant move very far ahead and even begin to experience our future because we are still carrying our 'life' baggage everywhere we go.

Sometimes its like a small trolley luggage bag, sometimes it’s a huge suitcase, hopefully we don’t have a porter following us around with an assortment on suitcases and bags! I think we all carry some luggage like this!

Perhaps you have that small trolley luggage case rolling behind you dragging on the ground as you go? As we deal with what is in the luggage bit by bit over time we can reduce the size of the bags, perhaps we can downsize to smaller suitcases till eventually we can get rid of them altogether and maybe we only carry a back pack or have our essentials in a bum bag! This is what happens throughout our life!

Sometimes we end up picking up the wrong luggage – somebody else’s even though it looks just like our own so we need to put it down and then sort out our own cases.

Travelling lightly is the aim when it comes to ‘life’ baggage… holding no grudges, forgiving ills, releasing bitterness and disappointment. When we travel lightly we can travel further, we can be unhindered and free, we can explore and relax as we go…

This is the aim! Reduce your ‘life’ luggage and travel lightly!

~Cam~

 

~Time Management & The Hundreds and Thousands of Life~

Life is hectic, its fast, its full of all sorts of things that we need and that we don’t need! I need to cull somethings out of my life so that I am not running all the time.

~Little Things Add Up!~

My life is just a bit crazy busy, it never seems to stop in one way or another and I need to do something about it. I am a detailed person so I like all the detailed things about life, my life and our life, but perhaps I don’t have time for all the details anymore.

I need to do some culling and when you look at that, its often hard to imagine what to cull and if you really can or want to cull something. I mean I’m not going to stop doing art or writing or doing the shopping for that matter… all essentials to me!

Anyway I came up with something this morning… there are things I am always trying to squeeze in, one of them is some daily emails I receive and I hardly ever read them. I dont have time but they are on my list in one way because I see them every morning on my computer.

Today I decided to unsubscribe from them both. My friend gets them and it they are good she will forward them to me, then I will make the time. But in the meantime that will be one less thing demanding my attention and the precious time I have.

So that is the first thing to go. I’m praying Dear Lord that you will show me lots of other little things that can go to take the pressure off me in lots of little ways!

We can have a whole bowl of sweets but perhaps we should just pick out our favourite ones so we don’t get sick!

Stay tuned for more on this!

~Cam ~

~Keeping Pace~

If we are training for something or on a mission to achieve a goal, even if we are trying to get fit, it’s a great idea to have a walking buddy. It’s the same in life. It’s great to have a walking buddy!

There is a friend of mine that we used to walk together a lot. She was fitter than me and whenever I walked with her it would encourage me to keep pace with her. She is a strong walker and her normal pace is faster than mine so it helped me to go that little bit further and faster than I would by myself.

It’s the perfect example of why walking your life journey with someone is so good. It doesn’t have to be a husband or wife, just a great friend will do, someone who is on your wavelength, someone who will push you that little bit, increase your comfort zone, someone who sees things like you do, maybe someone who knows more than you in different areas so that you can both contribute something to each other’s lives.

Have you got a walking buddy for life? If so great – walk on purpose, perhaps talk to them about the journey you are taking together. If not I pray you will find someone who you can do that with!

It doesn’t even have to be a person who is actually close to you in distance. I have made friends with people in other countries and I know we would consider each other walking buddies too.

There is no limitation to it being someone around the corner from you although that is great but if not look further afield! Seek and you will find!

~Cam~

~The Navigator~

But I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hands...

Psalm 31:14-15 AMP and Psalm 139:16 AMP

If there was someone who had seen every single day you ever lived, and they knew the beginning, the end, the middle, the end and every other day, minute and hour in between and they loved you more than anyone possibly could wouldn't you think it was a good idea to put your time in their hands?

This is the position that God occupies in all our lives whether we give him control or not. He knows every detail and He totally loves us more than anyone ever could. He is unlike any other as he has our interests 100% at heart and he knows us better than we know ourself.

Now that is one I can confidently trust in and rely on. Even if I don't understand what is happening today I know that he at least knows the big picture and He is watching over me.

I would rather my times be in his hands than my own for I know if I follow His plan for my life everything turns out for better than I could have asked for and He sees the steps that lead me to those places I need to get too.

He is pure, just, righteous, holy, faithful, blameless and he knows every obstacle and how to get through it,over it, under it or around it.... He can be my Navigator!

Follow me on Facebook via Light For Life and The Answer I've Found

~Cam~

~Stronger Not Weaker~

After having been through so many tests in my life, now I sense when I am in one. And when I can sense that I am in one then I know that I want to do what I can to get through it more quickly rather than prolonging my stay by my unwillingness to at least TRY!

I wouldn’t want to go through all those tests again but thankfully they have shaped me to be who I am and actually, I am mostly quite happy with who I am!

The tests have made me stronger and more confident rather than completely robbing me of hope and faith. Hopefully through them I will LEARN less lessons! They are rarely ever pleasant experiences mind you!

~Cam~

~A Calculated Risk~

~A Calculated Risk~

Its hard to get the balance right in so many areas of our lives. I think the thing about dreams is remembering they are 'dreams'. Of course some of them can come true, and some of them most certainly will, and there are also some that won’t.

We have to be careful to not be delusional in our dreaming but there is so much made possible by our dreaming. Dreaming expands our world and our boundaries so that's the good part and gives us something to aim for.

~Cam Richmond~

~Today~

Today....

You might think that you life is just a drop in the bucket... But to God you are a drop that counts!

You might think you're all alone but look around you and think of it like this... every drop counts. Together we are a great body that when works together can do powerful things...

Your drop is a ripple in the great pond of life!

~Cam Richmond~

~Aren't You Glad?~

                                               ~Aren't You Glad~

  

Actually I love it when I am proved wrong in quite a lot of situations! 
Aren't you?

 
Aren't you glad when you find out that person didn’t really talk about you?

Aren't you glad when you realise you didn’t make that mistake?

Aren't you glad when it was confirmed the tests were negative?

Aren't you glad!

Be glad that quite a lot of the time you are wrong and remember that when you are worrying ahead of time over so many things in your life!

~Cam Richmond~

Sonshine By Leanne Christie

This was written by my friend Leanne Christie. Its a beautiful piece of music that will go straight to your heart! We hope it blesses and ministers to you!