As we begin this New Year, my prayer is that it will be kinder to each of us than what last year was.

I was reading about Helen Keller and heard that she once said, “Security is a myth. The reason that we do not experience security is that it does not really exist. Avoiding failure and danger in the long run is actually no safer than out right risk itself! Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all!”

I must say that I disagree with one point and that is I do believe that we can find security and peace in the Lord. But if we look for security in this world around us and in other people, then I fully agree with Helen.

So with what Helen Keller said in mind I encourage you to begin 2012 with a plan set out for what you want to achieve and where you want to head towards this year. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes us by. So take time out right now, at the start of the year, to sit down and write down your plan and your goals for 2012 and how you are going to achieve them.

Break your plan down into simple, achievable steps that you can celebrate along the way as each one is accomplished.

Then as Helen Keller said, dare to really live, dare to take some risks and see things change for the better in your life. When you do this it may surprise you, but it will not only be your life that changes, but also the lives of those around you.

I know that God has a plan for each of us and I encourage you to spend some time in His presence. Seek His face and His plan for you and your family in 2012. I know that you will be glad that you took this time out of your busy schedule. Then write down this plan, either on physical paper or on your iPad, smart phone or computer.

I wish you and your family all the very best for a happy, safe, blessed and health-filled 2012! Happy New Year!

From my heart,

Leanne <><

During this last week I was just thinking about life and the challenges and blessings that continue to come into our lives. As I was pondering these things the movie “The Help” and what Aibileen Clark (played by Viola Davis) said to young Mae Mobley Leefolt (played by the Eleanor Henry and Emma Henry twins)  came to my mind.

Aibileen learned early on in her career as a Nanny and housekeeper that she had a gift to empower the young children that she was looking after and responsible for each day.

“The Help” Movie

If you have seen “The Help” movie then you may already be aware of what Aibileen said to Mae Mobley.

With little Mae Mobley sitting on her lap, Aibileen, lovingly looked at this young girl and said, “You is Smart, You is Kind, You is Important!“

I got to thinking about this and the true power that these simple words have in the lives of others. I see Aibileen as a truly wise woman. She knew that each of us has the power to lift others up and to empower them to really be all that they can possibly be in life!

How powerful is this truth?

Can Our Words Empower Others?

I know that when I stop and look back over the years of my life, I see that it was during the periods when I had others who believed in me that I was really at my best.

I realize that each of us needs to come to a place where we can believe in ourselves and encourage ourselves when things become difficult or challenging, but at the same time I also believe that it begins by us having someone else believing in us and sharing their belief and encouragement with us.

In fact, I would say that I believe that most people at one time or another in their life need to have friends or family who lift them up and encourage them.

I believe that it is empowering to use words to those around us, such as what Aibileen lovingly spoke to Mae Mobley in the film.

So often life and the circumstances of life can be draining and if we are not careful then we can become discouraged and feel down or even depressed. But when we have positive people in our world, who speak words of life to us, then we can easily move past the difficult times and be an overcomer in life!

I seek to be an encourager of others and to look for qualities that I can use to empower them. When I see others struggle, I love to be able to look for the positives in the situation and to focus on these rather than the difficulties.

Is The Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

I guess the old adage about the glass being half full rather than half empty is what I am getting at here.

Each of us has things in our life that we struggle with in one form or another, but if we can learn to believe in ourselves and to believe in others then we can really live a life that empowers others.

I know that this is my main goal in life, to Empower, to Believe in, to Encourage, to Lift up others and to see them live lives of fullness and blessing to, not only themselves, but also to others.

Pay it Forward – Help Others When They Can’t Help Themselves

It is like the “Pay it Forward” concept.

Once we believe in ourselves (and also as we are learning to believe in ourselves!) we can show other people in our world that we do indeed believe in them and that they also can believe in themselves!

What a different world we would live in if each of us could find a person each day to bless, encourage and lift up!

I encourage you even today to go and find someone who you can impart life to. Find someone who you can empower with your words and actions. Find someone, just as Aibileen did in “The Help” film, and speak words of life, words such as “You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important!“

Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

I was living in Newcastle, NSW and was in bed asleep. I then received a phone call from my mum at around 11.20pm that night on 9/11/2001.

Mum shouted through the phone for me to turn the TV on, which I did immediately.

I was then shocked as, within a few seconds of turning the television on, I saw on live TV the second plane fly straight into the second tower of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York.

My eyes were glued to the television as I stared in disbelief and horror at what was unfolding, live on the other side of the world.

My heart was breaking for these many thousands of people who were running, screaming, and trying to live, with flames burning above them in both towers of the twin tower buildings.

I was horrified as I saw people leaping from the 2 towers as they saw no way for survival and wanted to get away from the heat and flames that were engulfing the building that they were in.

Families and lives were being destroyed and there was nothing that I could do, but watch on in terror and pray for mercy for these people.

I could not go back to bed, I stayed up hoping that there would be good news and that people would be rescued and families brought back together.

Within a short time, I saw, again on live TV, the tower that was hit second fall to the ground in plumes of dust. The horror that I had felt before this shrunk in the realization that now many, many more lives were being destroyed than I had even considered previously!

As I continued to watch, I saw the tower that had been struck by the first plan also plummet to the ground, just as the first one had.

Now there were so many people running and screaming through the streets of New York. Many of them looked like aliens, covered in the thick dust that filled the air around ground zero!

The scenes were like something out of a sci-fi movie, but what was so horrifying was to realize that these were real lives that were, at that moment, being destroyed.

Aftermath…
In the hours and days that followed I watched, with many thousands of others worldwide, in hope that survivors would be found. As the days went by without finding people still alive, the huge scale of this tragedy began to become clearer!

Children Left Behind
As months went by then I learned of the many women who were pregnant and gave birth to precious little ones, who would never know their dads.

Families were destroyed that day and I have to ask why.

As well as the attacks in New York there are also those who lost their lives on the United Airlines Flight 93 plane that crashed in Pennsylvania when the passengers fought with the terrorists for control of the plane. Then the attack in Washington D.C. was another part of this whole very sad day when flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

There is so much that I do not understand about humanity and so much that I don’t understand about this day in particular!

• Why did it even happen?
• Why were lives and families destroyed?
• What did it gain anyone?

I still do not know any of these answers.

All I can say is that I hope we can take a moment to remember the many thousands who lost their lives and those who they left behind.

• Let us take a stand together and from this moment on commit to placing Value upon those around us.
• Let’s commit to telling those we care about how we feel, as we never know which day will be our last on this earth.
• Let’s learn from this awful tragedy the importance of every day that we have on this earth and let us commit to making the world a better place for our children and future generations!

God’s Presence Comforts Each One Who Allows Him To

I know, beyond all doubt, that our Lord God was there that awful day with each one! And over these past 10 years, He has continued to be with each family member and friend who lost loved ones.

Here is a short video clip showing graphic images from 9/11/2001. Watching this video and hearing the man’s voice speaking as God, I wept. God was with each of those ones in the Twin Towers and in the planes and is still with the families who were left behind.

God is with each of those young children who never got to meet their daddies!

Watch this video and let His Holy Spirit touch and speak to your own spirit.

Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Leanne Annett <><

There are so many things that I want to do in my life and with my life. Yet each year passes by and many things remain undone.

So I am going to write them down here. Then I can update you and write new posts when I complete some of these items on my bucket list.

I would love to know that when I came to the end of my life that I had made a difference in some way in the lives of others.

I would also love to know that I had lived my dreams and done many of the things that I wanted to do.

There are a few regrets that I already have in my life. I want to make a decision to not be ruled by these or to allow my life to be limited by them.

Sometimes in life we can change things and other times we can’t. When it comes to relationships with others we can only do so much, the rest is in the hands of the other person.

So here are some things that I want to do in my life and I set up heart to achieving these over the coming months and (God willing) years.

12-Month Bucket List

• Visit my uncle and auntie in Melbourne.
• Go on a family holiday with my 2 kids and husband.
• Fly to New Zealand with my husband and kids for holiday.
• See my mum settled in a nice place to live.
• Share something of my life with others to encourage and empower them.

Five-Year Bucket List

• Take my husband and kids back to Israel for a 2-month holiday to visit friends and see where we used to live.
• Ride a camel on the beach at sunset or sunrise.
• Go in a hot air balloon in 3 different countries.
• Go on an Alaskan cruise.
• Take my mum on a cruise.
• Travel around Australia for 6 months in a camper van.
• Take Greg’s mum on holiday to Vanuatu to where she used to live.
• Remove all of the clutter and mess from our home.
• Move into a nice home with space inside to organize things and at least half an acre of land.
• Grow a lovely herb garden.
• Go horse riding more than once!
• Be able to travel and work online at the same time.

I am sure that this list will grow and change over time. I want to be able to update the list and I will do this through the “Bucket List” category on this website.

I wish you all of the very best with your own bucket list and in seeing your own desires and dreams fulfilled.

Until next time, Remember to Enjoy Life, Smile at a Stranger and Make a Difference in the World!

Your Friend,

Leanne Annett <><

In fact, she was the eldest of six children.

Each weekday she happily went to school and did her best to do well. She loved it when she got good grades and the teachers told her, “Well Done!” Somehow those words empowered her to keep going and put in more effort to continue doing well.

This young girl loved her family and always wanted to bless them. She loved her mum and dad.

She also loved her four younger brothers and baby sister, even though she did not really always know how to show them her love. Something that she wishes she could change.

This young girl grew up and celebrated her 18th birthday. She only had two months left at school and then the whole world was before her. What was she going to do with her life?

She was seeking to find the answer to that question. She thought that perhaps she might join the defence forces and have a career as an officer and serve her nation.

Then 11 days after her eighteenth birthday something happened. She was touched by her Creator and gave Him her heart. She dedicated herself and her life to His service. She was changed at this point in time from a poor young lady to the Daughter of the King. She was now a Princess.

Over the coming weeks as this young woman sought her Abba for direction for her life and future she felt that the armed forces was not the way that He wanted her to go.

In fact, within a short time of surrendering her heart to her Lord, she was introduced to the People that He treasures above all. The ones He first placed His trust in to show Him to the rest of the world.

He placed such a deep love in this young person’s heart for His people that she began to learn about them. She studied and found out more about this nation on the opposite side of the world.

During this same time she also enrolled in College and studied hard. But it was a struggle. She found the different style of teaching at college as compared to school to be quite difficult to master and so she struggled along doing okay, but not that well. It was a hard time.

After two and a half years of studying hard at college this young princess felt her Abba speak to her and tell her that the following year she was to take a year off from her studies and go over to the other side of the world and spend the year with her Creator’s treasured nation.

She began planning and was amazed at how everything fell into place. A contact person was found who could set her up with some work experience for her college course. This was a great first step.

Money came in to purchase the plane tickets and then enough to keep her going for the full year. It was amazing how this young princess was blessed with all that she needed.

She completed her third year at college and then packed for her first ever trip overseas.

This princess’ story will continue next time.