Bless Them Anyway

A very wise friend of mine recently encouraged me to respond to a very negative situation in a different way. After sharing with her a very angry message I received by text, her advice was;

"Allow their words to fall to the ground as dead seeds that cannot take root." 

I was encouraged to look beyond the behaviour and words, to the pain these people are feeling (I was aware of their pain, but it had nothing to do with me).
As the saying goes, "Hurting people hurt people."     Isn't that the truth!

It's incredible how much my friend's words touched my heart. I was understandably deeply hurt by their message, however I chose to respond in love; I chose not to react to their anger, as it wasn't about me. Instead I chose to pray blessing on them. I chose to pray that God would soften their hearts and break down their walls of hurt. I still choose to pray blessing on them, because they need to be blessed.

 

  

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who falsely accuse you and persecute you," ~ Matthew 5:44  

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Fingal Head

One afternoon we headed south, over the border into the northern New South Wales area called Fingal Head.

Sunset meets with good friends, enthralled with the beauty of nature

Focused...

We clamber along the rocky headland

As the sun sets out west

Then I see this!

Ah... The serenity... And I am thankful for another wonderful day.

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The Northern Rivers Rail Trail (Part 1)

Late last year, my husband and I had a 5 day break at Cabarita Beach on the Northern NSW Coast. We had a few days around the beach area planned and a couple of days inland.

I had completed extensive research on the historical, but unused & deteriorating, "Northern Rivers Rail Trail" which includes 132 km of rail line, tunnels, timber bridges and truss bridges between Murwillumbah and Casino. The current vision is to preserve most of the rail line, and repair the tunnels and bridges that haven't deteriorated beyond repair, in order to convert it into a modern cycling and walking trail through some of the region's most spectacular landscapes.

My plan had been to explore as much of the rail line, including tunnels and bridges, in a 50 km radius over a couple of days. However, my car broke down after the first day of exploring so we had limited time. We will definitely go back to explore more!

This is the Mooball rail bridge, high over Crabbes Road and the nearby creek.
From above...

And below...

The old Stokers Siding station house is currently being used as a post office.

This truss bridge was extremely well hidden; discovered after extensive research via Google Maps.

We will be back for more exploring of this historical area between beach visits over the summer.

I do hope that The Northern Rivers Rail Trail gets the go ahead and funding. It is not just about a walking & cycling track; it’s about eco-tourism and host communities, festivals and events, employment, and workplace training, mental and physical health, equity for the disabled, habitat and wildlife corridors and most importantly, future legacies. It would showcase the natural environment and beautiful lifestyle of the area to the world.

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Northern Rivers, NSW

It's always a great day when my husband and I venture out on one of our day trips. We love the Tweed River area, part of the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales and just over the Queensland border.

The Northern Rivers region stretches from the Clarence River all the way up to Tweed Heads on the Queensland border. Numerous beautiful locations are all within a day's drive.

The surrounding mountain ranges are beautiful... They are even nicer on a more sunny day.

The Tweed River is a fabulous spot for morning and afternoon reflections

The iconic Mount Warning in the distance (a little covered in cloud in this shot)

Sunset reflections on the Tweed River. It was so serene!

Mount Warning can be seen a little better here (the one with the pointy top)

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Cabarita Blues

Whether you love body-surfing or serious wave riding, swimming in safe, shallow waters or long beach walks, the beaches of the North Coast of NSW are just about perfect. This is the most accessible coastline in Australia, with national parks, nature reserves and headland lookouts.

As I may have mentioned before, one of my favourite beaches on the Northern NSW Coast is Cabarita Beach.
We were blessed with the gift of 4 days away in early September for Michael's birthday. I have posted on Cabarita a few times before but mainly focusing on the headland area & the southern beach or the rocky coves & surf spot just north of the headland.

Staying 4 days at Cabarita Beach gave us the opportunity to explore even more of the area than we have during our day trips in the past.
North of the headland and the rocky coves, there is a long white sandy beach that stretches all the way to Kingscliff. This is the southern end, right near the Cabarita Beach Surf Club.

The beauty of Cabarita is that it's so peaceful.

I even managed a fence for Theresa's meme  "Good Fences".
You can see the headland of Kingscliff in the distance.

All the little coves make it a wonderful and fascinating beach!

There is something about the beach that draws me in. Blue skies, fluffy clouds and the ocean are definitely a happy place for me.
It was a perfect day!

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