A Mother At Home

Some posts to make you think and cry

2010-04-13T10:44:00.004+09:30

I have read a few posts over the past week which have made me think and cry and I thought I would share them.

This story about baby Ani in Africa is very heartbreaking, it's so hard to fathom how many little babies (and their mothers) around the world suffer like this little one did, praise God she is now in heaven. Here is the first post and here is the second one.

This post cut deep to my heart, I can relate to it so much, it's about losing the joy of motherhood.

This post looks at Psalm 131 and contentment, and I have decided that this Psalm is what's going to get me through these next 3 months as we do a lot of waiting on God for his provision and timing regarding our plans for America

This post I read just today written by a policeman who has a disabled son made me very teary. He also wrote a letter to his 17 year old son, it too is well worth a read.

And finally a happy post about John Piper's son and his wife.

Coming home

2010-04-10T11:35:00.002+09:30

Today ends my 10 day holiday with my dad and sister in Malaysia and Singapore. It has been such an awesome time, the food, the sights, the shopping, the exploration of different cultures, lifestyles, the world is an amazing place! I will post more about my trip in later posts.

I wanted to take the opportunity on this being my last day, to savour the time away from my beloved family. It will be a long time before I am away from them again, and its almost impossible to really appreciate and cherish them fully until we step away from the craziness of 'normal life'.

When I am away from my children what I long for is the cuddles, the questions, the happy and grumpy looks, the playing, laughing, the goodnight kisses and hugs. These things I take for granted everyday. Each day they come so often, so freely, and yet so many times I don't cherish them like I do when I am away from them. I pray that when I go back I will adore them, that I will immerse myself in the grace of God so that His grace might overflow to them. All my struggles, weaknesses and imperfections constantly turn me back to the cross and how all my righteousness and goodness comes from Him alone through His death and resurrection.

The one I have missed the most has been my husband, such an amazing friendship we have, I miss just being with him....But time away from him makes me love and adore him even more!

I am so thankful to God for this life changing time away, it has opened my eyes to a new way of life, a way of life that has always been a part of me (from my dad's blood line!).

An inspiring mother

2010-03-22T06:17:00.005+10:30

On the weekend we watched Gifted Hands the story about Ben Carson who is the the director of pediatric neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. It was such an inspiring movie for me in many ways. I have often seen the book Gifted Hands in Koorong and wondered what it was about, this movie has now inspired me to read it!

What inspired me most was his mother. Here is an interview with Ben Carson, she had such an influential role in who he is today, and he boldly testifies to that!

Here's what he says about her in the interview.

KW: This makes me think of the question Lester Chisholm had for you, namely, what can parents do to vaccinate their children against failure?

BC: For one thing, it's very important not to allow your child to adopt the victim's mentality. I think that was the most important thing that my mother did for us. And, if anybody could have felt like a victim, it was she. She was one of 24 children. She was raised in horrible conditions in rural Tennessee. She got married at the age of 13 to try to escape that environment. After moving to Detroit she discovered that her husband was a bigamist. Then, with only a third grade education, she had to raise two young sons on her own. She could have very easily felt like a victim. But she never did. Instead, she would always say, I can do something about this. She ended up working three jobs as a domestic, because she didn't want to be on welfare. She wanted to control her own destiny and ours. And she never allowed us to be victims. She always told us that if anybody can do something, you can do it, too, except that you can do it better

It made me realise just how true the words of Proverbs 1:8-9 are,

...And do not forsake your mothers teaching;

Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

and ornaments about your neck.

His mother was continually building up and encouraging him and his brother to not give up, to have faith in God, to read as much as they could even though she herself couldn't read! The movie highlights how important his mother's words were to him later on when he has sit for exams in medical school and for when he performed a significant operation of separating Siamese twins.

The movie also highlighted how important childhood faith is. She faithfully took them to church, what they learned there had an obvious impact on him. There was a significant time in his teenage life where he clung to his bible and turned to God for help and hope.

There wasn't much focus on his wife in the movie, but in the little that they showed of her, she was portrayed as an amazing support to him in his career, especially during a time of extreme personal hardship.

Once again I have been reminded of the awesome responsibility I have as a mother to train up my children in the way they should go. Only God knows what is planned for their lives, I daily need His grace, His wisdom to lead them to Him, to want to do the best they can for His glory.

Crafty ideas

2010-03-17T06:29:00.002+10:30

Whilst scrolling through posts on my blog list I came across a link to this blog. It has heaps of crafty ideas linking to other blogs (which have even more crafty ideas!).

Here are some projects I am interested in (not sure when I will get a chance to try them out..!)

Mini Easter Baskets

Denim Bible Carry case

Felt Mr Potato Head

Little girls ruffle dress

The domesticated skirt

Ruffle shirt makeover

The word humilty..

2010-03-16T06:03:00.003+10:30

The word humility for me is such a confronting word. It cuts deep into my heart and forces me to examine every intention, thought, word or action. The past couple of years I have been faced with situations and exposed to situations where I have come to the conclusion, that these people or this person needs to be more humble....it doesn't take long before I am forced to examine my own heart and how I am going at 'humbling myself under the mighty hand of God' (1 Peter 5:6). Often it is so much easier to judge others and accuse them of being proud, conceited, unsubmissive, but in my assessment of them, aren't I being proud, conceited, unsubmissive before them and more importantly, before Almighty God.

When we refuse to submit to others, to be humble before others, to consider them better than ourselves, we are really being unsubmissive to God, God after all is in control of all things, including the hearts of others.

"Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135:6".

The past few months I have been reading through 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings. I have always struggled with David but reading through these books I have gained a new respect for him and his wholehearted devotion and love fore God, he truly was a man after God's own heart. The kings that followed him, including his son Solomon didn't love God like he did, in fact most of them did evil in the sight of the Lord.

These verses concerning kings came up in my KYB study in the Psalms today,

Now it shall come to pass about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statures, that his heart may not be lifted above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or left , so that his sons may continue long in the midst of Israel." Deuteronomy 17:18-20

How does a king stay humble? By reading God's word every day, observing it, thus learning to fear Him. How does a mother stay humble and not think more highly than I ought to think of myself before my children - by reading, and meditating upon God's word so that i may learn to fear Him. The more I am confronted with who God is, who Christ is, and that my salvation is all His doing, the more I am humbled before Him and my thoughts, intentions, actions are dealt with.

I often think about how we as Christians desire to be Christlike, but how often do we consider Christ's humility, not only on the cross, but throughout his whole life on earth, the fact that

"He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:7-9)

Heart preparation for America

2010-03-10T21:30:00.004+10:30

Autumn arrived rather dramatically on the weekend with downfalls of rain and hail. Driving down the main street of Handhorf on Monday I noticed red leaves on trees, it was a reminder that the days are passing by...

Lately, at least once a day, I have to stop and take a deep breath so as to not become overwhelmed with our move to America. Things don't always unfold the way we plan them to, I thought I would have got so much more organised by now!

But I think God has been working on my emotions... We haven't made much headway so far practically with our plans, (i.e fixing up the house, sorting through stuff, visas, plane tickets, financial stuff etc.) we are in a bit of a waiting period at the moment, but lots has been happening in terms of my mental and emotional preparation!

One example is my attitude towards my children and homeschooling. I have always loved the concept and ideal of homeschooling, but deep down have felt completely inadequate, impatient, and clueless about it. Since school holidays, I have pretty much begged the Lord each day to help me to love my children, I have found it a struggle...but He has proven Himself so faithful to my endless cries for help, mercy and forgiveness!

Consequently, amongst my bad attitudes and emotional ups and downs with my children I have these nagging thoughts in the back of my mind, so how will you cope with homeschooling, in a different country, away from family, friends and the familiar?!

Well, God has been working on my heart, in so many ways, I am realising that the best preparation for homeschooling for me is to prepare my heart for it first. If I don't' have a heart and a passion for it, then there's probably not much point to it.

I have been reading a few books, reading articles, blogs and listening to talks about other people's experiences and some of the 'philosophies' behind it. These resources are starting to inspire and motivate me and I am starting to become so much more excited about the whole venture. What I am looking forward to the most, is the time I will get to spend with my children and all the things we are going to learn together!

I am so thankful that He prompted me 3 years ago to start meeting with Him 5am every morning, those times with Him are often by far the best parts of my day, and it is an awesome time to sit, listen, learn and pour out my heart before Him.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

But he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous.

And shout for joy all you upright in heart.

psalm 32:10-11

Goodbye to Alvin

2010-02-25T13:46:00.010+10:30

The reality of leaving has been setting in of late.

It especially hit home when we gave our doggy friend Alvin away to a beautiful older lady on the other side of town, I am still silently grieving over giving him away...

From the day we brought Alvin home, over a year ago, I prayed that he would be a blessing to others. To some I think Alvin was rather annoying, the barking, jumping etc. but for me I loved his cuddles and adorable face, and he was a wonderful blessing to me. And now I am praying that he will be a blessing to his new owner, a lonely older lady who has loved cocker spaniels all her life and was devastated when her last dog died a few weeks ago.

I am sure he will be very spoilt and will love being the centre of her attention, unfortunately he didn't get a lot of attention in our home (mostly lots of cuddles from me!).

So giving Alvin away is the beginning of packing up life as we know it over here in Australia and preparing for our move to the USA!

With around 4 and a half months to go, I sometimes get rather overwhelmed at what needs to be done and what we are waiting on the Lord for.

But I am learning to rest in and wait upon Him alone to provide, guide and strengthen me each day.

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.

Psalm 25:5

Parenting is not easy

2010-02-10T06:34:00.002+10:30

I have been deliberately silent on my blog for a couple of months, apart from just feeling overwhelmed with busyness, I have felt overwhelmed with my role as a mother.

I have been confronted with so many of my weaknesses, struggles, sin lately...

I am thankful though for what God is teaching me about Himself. I have come to the conclusion that motherhood is definietly not something that comes natural to me (something I mention often!) and that my struggle with it is part of how God is sanctifying me, and that I will spend every day, for the rest of my life coming to Him depending on Him totally to help me!

I was encouraged by this in, Gospel Powered Parenting - by William P Farley, under the subheading, Parenting is not easy.

First you cannot be a perfect parent. I opened with the story of our troubles to emphazise this point. If you could parent perfectly, your children might not need a Saviour. But you are not perfect. From where you sit, you cannot even see perfection. Therefore, your children will desperately need Christ.

Your sins, your failings, and inadequacies produce conflict with your children and misunderstandings with your spouse. At times you will deeply feel this inadequacy.

In addition to your inadequcies, there are external stresses. Some of your children might die prematurely, others might enter the world with congenial defects, or still others, like ours, might go through difficult stages of rebellion. Some will be bright, talented, or good-looking. Others will be slow, average, or unattractive. Some will have easy personalities. It will take all your perserverance and tenacity to love others.

...Because parenting is difficult, and becuase you are imperfect, you will need the grace that comes to you through the gospel. God will use these problems to deepen your dependance on him. You will experience stress and obstacles. They will happen so that when your child comes to saving faith, your boasting will be in Christ, not your own best efforts. Like Paul, you will say, "I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the GRACE OF GOD that is with me" ( I Cor 15:10)

You will need grace, and you will need to know where to get it. Precisely because you are so flawed, the gospel, the saving work of Christ, must be your refuge.

I have been meditiating on the gospel and grace, so much lately, I know He is teaching me to live by His grace alone, and to remember He will always give me the grace I need at the time I need it.

Being organised for Christmas does not guarentee a 'Happy' Christmas!

2009-12-21T07:44:00.004+10:30

Every Christmas I find myself saying, 'next year I want to be more organised for Christmas!'

I was doing this a few days ago while meandering around the shops trying to get my head around what else I need to buy. But after a few hours of feeling frustrated and despondent over everything 'commercially' Christmas, I came to the realisation that even if I was more organised, that doesn't guarantee a 'happy' Christmas.

I have thought a lot about being organised for Christmas this year, but honestly, Christmas hasn't been a priority, there are always more things that are more important to do or be involved in than being 'super organised' for Christmas.

I had to remind myself of that, and hand all my worries, needs, frustrations to God and simply trust Him to lead me, to grant me the peace and joy that only comes from resting and waiting on Him!

I long for a 'Happy' Christmas, that happiness can only come from God, from trusting in Him fully, and by spending time reflecting upon the amazing birth of the King of Kings.

He knows my needs, my desires and ultimately what is best for me and everyone else around me this Christmas.

So often when I am super organised for things I find that I can shut God out and take control of things the way I think they should go. I so easily forget that He wants me to come to His throne of grace, to ask Him for what I need....

I also easily forget that He has never failed me, and His ways are always good.

This morning I was humbled and overwhelmed at the birth of Jesus after I read this in the book I am reading, God in the Manger by John MacArthur.

When Christ entered the world, He came to a place that had some of the smelliest, filthiest, and most uncomfortable conditions. But that is part of the wonder of divine grace, isn't it? When the Son of God came down from heaven, He came all the way down. he did not hang on to His equality with God; rather, He set it aside for a time and completely humbled Himself (Phil 2:5-8).

Jesus did not merely humble Himself and agree to be born in a smelly stable, but He humbled Himself as a substitute for wretched sinners and bore the stench of their guilt in His own body on the Cross. He came down to the common people to bring them His glorious salvation. The picture of the infant Son of God tolerating a stables' dirt and foul odors is a fitting metaphor for the later scene of the Saviours bearing the stench of sin as He died at Calvary. What an amazing picture!

It's the grace of God that teaches us..

2009-12-15T21:16:00.003+10:30

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

Titus 2:11-12

I have been reading through Jerry Bridges, Discipline of Grace - God's role and our role in the pursuit of holiness, and these verses were at the start of chapter 5 entitled, Disciplined by grace. I read this chapter the other day, after a rather frantic and stressful week, and these verses have been plaguing my mind ever since!

I am coming to realise so very slowly, that my only hope in this life is the hope I have in the gospel of Jesus Christ! He is my only hope. It doesn't matter if I am having a good day, or a bad day, if my hope, my purpose, my understanding of all that happens in this life is not based on the gospel of Christ, everything can so easily fall apart and seem all so hopeless!

This past week I have been confronted so many times with my sinfulness, and I have easily become caught up in the trap of guilt and hardness of heart, but this chapter helped to release me somewhat, and remind me once again of where I need to fix my mind, my heart, my hope!

This chapter, and the above mentioned verses in particular reminded me that it is the grace of God that teaches me to life a life that glorifies God, the same grace that brought me salvation. And its only when I stop to consider this saving grace do I have the ability to say "no" to ungodliness, and yes to self control and godly living.

Bridges writes,

Paul said, though, that it is the very same grace - God's unmerited favor - that brought salvation to us in the first place that disciplines us. This means that all our response to God's dealings with us and all our practice of the spiritual disciplines must be based on the knowledge that God is dealing with us in grace. And it means that all our effort to teach godly living and spiritual maturity to others must be grounded in grace. If we fail to teach that discipline is by grace, people will assume, as I did, that it is by performance.

That is why we must not put the gospel on the shelf once a person becomes a new believer. he or she will have just as difficult a time believing that God saves by grace instead of by works. ...

He closes the chapter with this reminder.

Remember, the grace that brought salvation to you is the same grace that teaches you. But you must respond on the basis of grace, not law. That is why you must "preach the gospel to yourself every day."

So once again I have been challenged about my need to preach the gospel to myself everyday...I am so thankful that He is my only hope!

Christmas is all about worship

2009-12-07T11:20:00.003+10:30

Lately I have been listening a lot to Chris Tomlin's new Christmas CD, Glory in the Highest - Christmas Songs of Worship. The CD is definitely all about worship! The way he sings the carols, and other songs he has written all draw me into a heart of worship.

My favourite so far is My soul magnifies the Lord. I just love the way he has Incorporated Mary's song of praise to the Lord when she visited Elizabeth. Luke 1:46-47 says,

And Mary said:

My soul magnifies the Lord

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour....

When Mary was told about the baby she was to give birth to she worshipped God. When the shepherds were told of the birth of Jesus, they came to worship Him. When the Kings saw the star they followed it to worship Him.

This is what Chris writes about the cd,

This is a record that is a long time coming for me. I love how this music and season breaks all the walls down. Rather than just listen to a performance of songs, I hope that this recording quickly invites you to join inthe wordshp of the Savior of the world.

Jesus is the only One who has ever chosen to be born. All glory and honour to Him, for He has come to bring us peace.

The great announcement from the Heavenly host has been made, 'Glory to God in the highest!'

Christmas is all about worship, to God who came to dwell with us, and die for us. There is just so much to worship Him for. I just love the opportunity Christmas gives us to worship Him.

I saw a blow up nativity scene today in Cheap as Chips, something I was surprised to see amongst the santas, trees and reindeer's, but my heart rejoiced to see the glorious scene of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, animals gathered around a manger, worshipping the King!

I pray that you will have many opportunities to worship the King this Christmas time, and every day of the year!

Homemade Christmas gift ideas

2009-12-01T05:44:00.006+10:30

This Saturday I have set aside the whole day to help our kids make Christmas cards and gifts for their friends and teachers. I can't believe there is only less than 2 weeks left of school!

I haven't completely decided what they will be making, but I came across a few good ideas for gifts for teachers and lots of other inspiring ideas for
friends and family.

Spring Favourites

2009-11-27T11:18:00.004+10:30

Here are some things I love about Spring... that is when it is 'normal' Spring weather (not like the hot days we had last week!).

You know those low 20 degree days when the sky is blue and there are a few wispy clouds floating around and there's a gentle breeze in the air....

I love lazing on blankets and cushions in the sun,

Going for walks to the park and friends houses

and..

Going to the park for dinner and watching our crazy, cute kids play cricket...

Flying kites (this one was a really groovy red octopus my dad brought us back from China!)...

Days at home with friends....they love painting the wall with water!

And one of my favourite things is tea parties on the back lawn!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

Justified by faith alone!

2009-11-23T09:19:00.004+10:30

Justification is a word I don't spend enough time thinking about, and I am only just beginning to realise how vital it is for me to think about it more.

Recently I have had days when I feel like the worst mother, wife, friend...I have called upon the Lord constantly to help me with my attitude, my heart, but what I have failed to realise is that the reason I feel these things so much is because of my own self-righteousness.

If I were to examine my heart more honestly, I know that I am more grieved at my inadequacies rather than been grieved that God is not being glorified when my heart is not totally fixed on Him.

The cross is my only cure. The realisation that it's only by the blood of Christ that I have any worth, it's only because of what He has done that I have been made righteous before a Holy God.

The book I was reading today, Your Home a Place of Grace, by Susan Hunt reminded me of justification.

"Most of us struggle with accepting the people and circumstances in our lives and with feeling accepted by others. Our performance orientation is heard in statements as:

......If I do more for the Lord, He will love me more.
And the guilt-ridden hyperactive child of God eventually loses joy and grows weary of well-doing.

This type of thinking displays a theological problem - a failure to understand the glorious doctrine of justification by faith alone. Martin Luther said that justification by faith alone is the article upon which the church stands or falls.

...This doctrine is an essential building block in a haven of grace because our acceptance of ourselves, our circumstances, and others will be in proportion to our understanding of our acceptance before the judgement seat of God."

A few months ago, after reading The Cross Centred Life - Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C J Mahaney, I was challenged to read over passages about the cross daily, to help me keep my mind cross centred. I am starting to realise how essential this is. I have had Romans 5:1-11 pinned on my bathroom wall all this year and the times I have meditated and saturated my mind with it have been so enriching...but lately I haven't been focused on it....

I think I need to spend some more time in the bathroom!

Mahaney lists the following passages to help us preach to ourselves, that speak of God's work of salvation through the cross.

Isaiah 53:3-6
Romans 3:23-26
Romans 5:6-11
Romans 8:32-29
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Galatians 2:21

Link to great looking recipes

2009-11-17T19:18:00.008+10:30

I have come across two yummy recipes on the back of Arnotts biscuit packets in the past week, so I decided to check out their website for more recipe ideas, and there were lots of them! I am am a bit of a fan of biscuits so lots of these recipes look very appealing to me!

Here are some I liked the sound of.

Black Forest Choc Ripple Cake

Sao Vanilla Slice

Malt O Milk Chocolate Layer Cake

Apricot and White Chocolate Granita Slice

Caramelised Strawberry Shortcakes

Butternut Snap Chocolate Ganache Tartlets

Our day at the Christmas pageant

2009-11-15T19:03:00.005+10:30

We braved the heat on Saturday and went to the Christmas pageant.

I don't' have any clear memories of going to the pageant when I was a child and my husband has never gone, so this year I really wanted to go. It all seemed a lot more manageable now that we don't have prams and nappies to work around!

Another motivating factor was the possibility of us going to the USA next year, we wouldn't have the chance to go to the pageant again for another 3-4 years and our kids will be older then!

Even though the weather prediction was for 39 degrees, we went along. We managed to find a shady spot, and were thankfully in the shade for half the time, (the time we were waiting to start). When it did start we were so focused on the pageant that we didn't notice the heat too much, I had a little girl in a pram behind me who kept spraying me with water, which was wonderfully refreshing.

I am so glad we went, our kids loved it. When the nativity float went past, my son said to me quietly, "Do they know that story mummy?". Even though he knows that Christmas is all about Jesus, he is starting to realise that there are a lot of people who think Christmas is all about Santa, presents and parties!

After the pageant we went to the markets for lunch and then back to my dad's for a swim!

Here are a few snaps of the day, the kids loved writing with chalk all over the road, and the pink fluffy 'Bruto' and 'Toby the tow truck' were favourite floats!

The Young Mother

2009-11-15T15:41:00.000+10:30

Just before I was pregnant with number 1 child, I listened to a sermon by John MaCarthur called Hannah: A Godly Mother . This was the sermon that gave me purpose for having kids!

It wasn't long (only a month or two) after listening to this sermon that we decided to start trying and then got pregnant!

I decided to listen to it again because I was teaching about Hannah in Sunday school last Sunday, and listening to this message again, now that I have children has been very inspiring and challenging!

I was moved by this story he read out, its a bit long, but worth the read!

"The young mother set her foot on the path of life.

Is the way long, she asked?

And her guide said yes and the way is hard and you will be old before you reach the end of it but the end will be better than the beginning.

But the young mother was happy and she would not believe

that anything could be better than these years.

So she played with her children and gathered flowers for them

along the way and bathed with them in the clear streams.

And the sun shone on them and life was good and the young mother cried,

`Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.'

And then night came and storm and the path was dark and the children shook with fear and cold and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle and the children said,

`O mother, we're not afraid for you are near and no harm can come.'

And the mother said,

`This is better than the brightness of day for I have taught my children courage.'

"And the morning came and there was a hill ahead and the

children climbed and grew weary and the mother was weary.

But at all times she said to the children,

`A little patience and we'll be there.'

So the children climbed and when they reached the top they said, `

We could have not done it without you, mother.'

And the mother when she lay down that night looked up at the stars and said,

`This is a better day than the last for my children have learned strength in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage, today I have given them strength.'

"And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth,

clouds of war and hate and evil.

And the children groped and stumbled and the mother said,

`Look up, lift your eyes to the light.'

And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory

and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness.

And that night mother talked of Jesus and said,

`This is the best day of all for I have shown my children God.'

"And the days went on and the weeks and the months and the years.

And the mother grew old and she was little and bent.

But the children were tall and strong and walked with faith and courage.

And when the way was rough they lifted her for she was as light as a feather.

And at last they came to a hill and beyond the hill they could see a

shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And the mother said,

`I have reached the end of my journey and now I know that the end is better than the beginning for my children can walk alone for they walk with God.'

And the children said,

`You will always walk with us, mother,

even when you've gone through the gates to the Savior.'

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone and the gates closed behind her.

And they said, `We cannot see her but she is still with us,

a mother like ours is more than a memory, she is a living presence.'"

How do you enjoy your family and the ministry?

2009-11-12T16:14:00.000+10:30

Over a year ago, my husband asked Randy Alcorn this question on his blog under his question and answer of the week.

I’m a full-time youth pastor with four beautiful kids and an incredibly supportive wife. It is so hard to juggle ministry and family and do it well. As someone who has reached the other side, and now with grandkids, does it get easier? How did you find the energy and time to really enjoy the kids AND the ministry?

He wrote back an answer on my husband's blog, and just a couple of weeks ago, he used that same question and elaborated more on his answer.

Here is a link to the post.

We found his answer very helpful.

What to do with a heavy heart

2009-11-10T06:27:00.004+10:30

There are some mornings, days, weeks when whilst everything in life seems fine and rosy, but your heart feels heavy, empty, and its hard to pinpoint exactly what the problem is!

Well, I had one of those mornings...I am so thankful for God's faithfulness in drawing me to his throne of grace every morning (5am every morning!), even when I know deep down I would much prefer to still be in bed!

I started off with my bible reading, I am reading through Matthew. I am up to the crucifixion, and as I was reading I was ashamed at myself for reading over it all with such indifference, without it really impacting my heart, that was until I got to the part where Peter denied Christ 3 times and went away and wept bitterly.

I knew I needed to be on my knees praying, and that I am just as guilty as Peter of denying Christ in my heart. There was so much inside of me that wanted to resist God, I know that He hasn't been 'enough' for me these past few days, and I needed to spend time before His throne of grace, humbly asking for Him become 'enough' for me.

While I was praying I remembered something that John Piper talked about on his When I don't desire God DVD, when his heart doesn't feel right before God.

It is 4 prayers, IOUS.

I - Incline my heart to Your testimonies. Psalm 119:36a

O - Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. Psalm 119:18

U - Unite my heart to fear Your name. Psalm 86:11

S - Satisfy us early with Your mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

I prayed through these this morning, and it didn't take long for my heart to start desiring God and recognise just how far my heart had been from Him these past few days.

Almost instantly that heaviness was gone, when I willingly turned my heart to Him and focused on Him and the cross, my burdens were lifted.

You will make known to me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:11

Our plans to leave the country!

2009-11-07T07:47:00.004+10:30

So my husband announced last Sunday to our church of our intentions to pull aside from full time ministry and study full time for 3 - 4 years. Over the past year his desire to study and know the Word more has grown and our dream of going back into study for a period of time started to become a reality!

We were married 11 years ago last month, and we have been involved in full time ministry our whole marriage. And after 11 years, my we are certain we don't want to be doing anything else with our lives (ie. secular work) but we are feeling overwhelmed with the responsibilities of full time ministry and are seeking to be better equipped to withstand the coming 20 or so years more of ministry!

So what that all means for us is that we are applying to colleges in the USA because the options for study appear to be more appealing and suited to our needs and desires. We have considered options in Australia and a few other countries, but we feel more led to the USA at the moment.

For me, I have always wanted to live in another country for a reasonably long period of time. The thought of never living anywhere else except Australia is quite stifling for me. God has made this amazing world and I want to see and experience so much more of it!

These are some of the things I am looking forward to.

- The challenges of packing up and leaving the city I have lived in for the past 34 years

- The opportunity to be completely dependant on God for provision of everything

- The opportunity to home school our 4 children for 4 years

- Taking almost nothing with us and starting out new in a completely different country

- The opportunity to experience a different church

- The opportunity to meet many new people

- The opportunity to learn, from what my husband is studying and by being involved with the college we will attend

- The opportunity for all of us to depend upon each other, and God, as we will be away from the familiarity of family and friends

....and there are so many more things I could list!

People ask me if I feel overwhelmed by everything, and my response is, if I think about it too much I do! But I have chosen to not be overwhelmed by it all, to just take things one step at a time, one day at a time, to wait patiently upon the Lord to guide and provide for us.

God's will for me this day is to love Him with all of my heart, soul and mind, to love my husband and children, and to love others, I try not to get too caught up in the tomorrows!

We would appreciate your prayers for us over the next 8 months, as you can imagine there is so much to plan and organise.

I can't naturally 'love my children'!

2009-10-03T06:03:00.007+09:30

I think a lot of people know that I have never naturally been drawn to babies and kids, not like I was towards animals...!

The first time I ever really held a baby, changed a baby, dressed a baby, was when my first daughter was born. It's not that I didn't like babies or kids, I was just never really around them much to be able to gain a love, and appreciation for them!

So something that I pray, almost every day, is that God would help me to love my children, because it doesn't come naturally for me.

I have been mulling over Titus 2:4-5 a lot lately,

"that they(the older women) admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

I came across these messages by Carolyn Mahaney the other day, I listened to the one on Loving my children. She reminded me that the love referred to in this verse is an uncommon love.

Her book, Feminine Appeal is a follow up of these messages, and she writes about this love.

...Yet it's in the midst of the trials and challenges of motherhood that the command comes to love our children. Once again the Greek word phileo is used to describe the kind of love we are to show. As with our husbands, we are to love our children with a tender, affectionate and passionate love.

Although many mothers are committed to caring sacrificially for their children, they sometimes neglect to enjoy them. They fulfill the responsibilities of motherhood but overlook the pleasures. I have often erred in this way myself.

Now it is noble to be faithful to the task of serving our children. But Titus 2 calls us to something more (and definitely not less) than a sacrificial and dutiful love. We are to delight in our children.

I know that the only way I can truly love and delight in my children is if I spend time loving and delighting in God. They received the overflow I received from Him, and I know that the love I show them is sincere, genuine because it comes from His grace, His strength, His Spirit at work in me.

When we are going it alone

2009-09-28T09:35:00.006+09:30

I came across this post today and it was so encouraging for me. It is called "Going it alone", she describes a time at a church picnic when her husband was busy and not with her, and she felt like her time at the hot church picnic with two small children was a waste because she interacted with only one other person, and in general it was plain hard work!

I have been in the same situation Janelle described in her post many many times before! It was so uplifting to read about someone else who also feels the same way, and to realise that there are good reasons for sometimes "going it alone".

This is a part of the post.

Why did I even go? I wondered to myself later that afternoon. I didn’t have any profound ministry moments or evangelistic opportunities. The one guest I spoke to probably doesn’t remember our conversation. The church members we sat with at lunch are probably still laughing at us. Was that all just a grand waste of time?

No. When I stopped to think about it, many good reasons for "going it alone" at the church picnic came to mind. Here are three:

1. “Going it alone” shows my kids I love the church. It proves Daddy and Mommy really mean it when we tell them: “Sunday is the most important day of the week” and that’s true for all of us, not just Daddy. It shows them what it looks like to be committed to the church even when it is not convenient or easy. Sure, they may not understand that lesson now, but someday, by God’s grace, they will.

2. “Going it alone” shows the church I love the church. Whether we’re aware of it, or not, people are watching us. They notice when we attend and when we don’t. (Actually, sometimes, when my kids are screaming, they can’t help but notice I’m in attendance!) But simply by showing up at a picnic, the Sunday morning meeting, or any other church event, I am showing the people in the church that I care about them and that I want to be with them, even when it isn’t easy. And hopefully I’m encouraging them, (with actions, if not with words) to love the church too.

3. “Going it alone” shows I believe God is at work. God is always at work in the church! He’s always up to stuff—conforming us all to be more like His Son, building us together in unity, using our lives to display the gospel and using our words to preach the gospel. If I truly believe this then I’ll go expecting God to work, even through an overwhelmed mom with two crying, hungry children (and no sunscreen!).I may not have thought anything profound took place at that picnic. But I may be surprised one day to learn that God was using me in ways I had no idea. So, was going it alone all a grand waste of time? Not a bit!

I totally agree to each of these 3 points, and this verse came to my mind after reading them.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good,

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Galatians 6:9

Todays mercies for todays troubles - don't worry about tomorrow!

2009-08-31T05:39:00.005+09:30

There have been days of late when I have been desperately dependant upon the God's strength each moment of each day. I have learned over the past few years to not look too far ahead, to live each day as it comes.

This year has been a particularly busy one. I spent 3 weeks at the beginning of the year mulling over a timetable of my weeks, I tried to find a spot for all the things I had to do, places I had to go, and people to see. But each time I went to slot something in, I had to stop, I disliked the idea of writing anything down. The thought of having a full week, made me feel horrible, so I ended up throwing the timetable out and proceeded to live each day as it came!

The lessons I have been learning this year have caused me to be so much more dependant upon God, to humble myself before him in every area of my life, and to be so much more desperate for His glory in all that I do.

Here's something I read in a sermon I came across just this morning.

The Christan's secret to dealing with trouble

There is a secret to the Christian life here that I want you to get a handle on. If you don't - you do on desperately needing to feel today the strength for tomorrow, then is seems to me that either you will cave in under the pressure of excessive anxieties, or you will find a worldly strategy for developing immense ego strength and persuade yourself the you really are sufficient for tomorrow's troubles.

Neither of those is God's way. God's way is summed up in two passages of scripture. One is Matthew 6:24,

"Do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."

The other text is Lamentations 3:22-23,

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassion's fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness."

This has been such a timely reminder for me, that 'this is the day that the Lord has made, to rejoice and be glad in it.' Not to rejoice in yesterday, or tomorrow, but TODAY!

...As your days, so shall your strength be.

Deuteronomy 34:25b

At home and not happy

2009-08-08T19:33:00.003+09:30

I was reading a letter written into a secular magazine. It's from a father responding to an article called 'At Home and Not Happy'. I haven't read the article, but the father's response to the article was very interesting.

I read it to my husband and he could relate somewhat to the father. There have definitely been times as a mother of young children when I have resented my husband for leaving me 'stuck' at home to go to work, meetings, the occasional night out with friends.

It took me a couple of years of having children before I realised how I had placed so much expectation on my husband regarding his reponsibilities as a husband, and father.

Now having read this article it has made me realise what a devastating effect a little resentment or 'poor me' attitude can have upon a father.

Here are a few excerpts from the letter.

The words (At home and not happy) could have come directly from my wife - the same resentment and anger about being stuck at home with small children. All very understandable and explainable. There is however, another party involved: the husband and the situation impacts on him, too, particularly when his wife is so unhappy.

When our second child was born, my wife became steadily more resentful towards me. If I went away on a business trip, it was labelled a "junket" or a "holiday". Being late home from work was greeted with a frosty atmosphere. Needing time on my own (a common need for males) was tantamount to declaration of war. ....House tasks were done by her before I'd even noticed they needed to be done, then I was resented for not doing them. The tension increased steadily, and I started drinking readily to escape. I was told most days about my lack of contribution, about how easy my life was in comparison to hers, about my ever growing list of inadequacies.

One day after about 3 years all of a sudden I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand the tension, the bitterness and resentment and the constant psychological attacks. So I walked out to save my sanity and remaining semblance of self respect. Our marriage ended on that day, despite subsequent attempts to renegotiate behaviours.

I've since re partnered...My partner doesn't demand all the time, so I give willingly. If she wants me to do something, she just asks, and she doesn't expect me to drop everything and do it immediately. She treats me with respect and I love and respect her for that

...Deciding you don't like it after the fact (having kids) and taking out that anger on your 'significant other' is a great recipe for destroying your relationship. The pattern of blaming males is particularly destructive. Men tend to initially avoid the problem, which makes it worse. Then they get down and depressed. Then if pushed too far, they will eventually seek to escape- through alcohol, drugs, going on trips, having affairs or leaving their partner permanently..

...So my advice to those unhappy stay at home parents - male or female- is to mentally reframe your situation in a more positive light, and stop thinking its all about you. Don't fall into the trap of seeing yourself as a victim and lashing out at those around you...

...And don't forget your partner - people respond better to carrots than sticks, and bitter words from someone you love is far worse than a stick. Love needs kind words and actions to survive and grow, or it slowly dies and fades away.

This letter reminded me how much I need to respect my husband and be thankful and appreciative of all that he does for our family. It is so important to focus on the positive and not get sucked in to a 'poor me' attitude.

...and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:33

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:6

Marriage, humilty and the gospel

2009-07-29T11:38:00.002+09:30

These are the subjects I have been learning so much more about over the past few months. So much of what I have been reading and listening to have had these topics in them and I am so thankful for all God is teaching me about them in His Word.

There have been some hard 'cut to the heart' lessons, but God is so good and He has shown me time and time again "the path of life" and that "in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore". (Psalm 16:11)

Our book club has just finished a life changing book, The Cross Centred Life by C J Mahaney. It's one of the shortest books you'll read, but worth every page!

The following quote encompasses all 3 of the topics I have been dwelling on.

Your relationships with others must be based on your relationship to God through the cross. Ephesians 4:32 states, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you."

When I become bitter or unforgiving toward others, I'm assuming that the sins of others are more serious than my sins against God. The cross transforms my perspective. Through the cross I realise that no sin committed against me will ever be as serious as the innumerable sins I've committed against God. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, it's not difficult to forgive others.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:10-11

2009-07-21T21:01:00.003+09:30

Well, it's been quite a while since I have posted anything. I have had lots of thoughts floating around in my head, and I always find it so hard to know just what to pull out and expose for everyone to read!

So, this post is all about our 3 year old's Pretty Pony Party on the weekend!

We have parties in our family on the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 16th birthdays, and this year we will have a 3rd, 6th and possibly a 40th!

Our daughter decided she wanted a pony party about 2 months ago. When I mentioned this to my sister in law she told me she might be able to borrow a friend's pony for the day!

Well, Sasha the pony was a wonderful suprise guest at our 3 year old's pretty (girls only) pony party!

We are in a war

2009-06-23T14:31:00.004+09:30

Two weekends ago I attended a conference about Spiritual warfare. It was a life changing event and has changed my way of thinking about the Christian life in so many ways.

The speaker was Chris Mueller from Faith Bible Church in California (you can download his sermons, he has preached through the whole book of Epesians), and we went through that awesome passage at the end of Ephesians, 6:10-20.

Here are some things I learnt and was reminded of throughout the weekend.

- As Christians we are to stay dependently strong to be able to stand firm. Eph 6:10

- We battle as a church, not as an individual

- Be strong, means to be dependant totally on God

- To win we need to know our enemy.

- We battle against an army of demons.

- We need to battle evil by remaining humble. This was the the most convicting one for me. These verses have been so helpful to me over the past two weeks.

James 4:6-10 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6-9
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

- We need to be prepared by wearing the Armour GOD gives us, it's His Armour we are to put on.

- The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God refers to the bible verbally spoken to resist temptations. We need to attack temptations with the right verses. We need to know our weaknesses and be ready to fight using appropriate scripture.

- We need to lean on the word, learn the word, live the word and love the word.

- We need to be alert through prayer and purpose.

- We need to focus our prayer specifically on evangelism.

I guess the biggest thing I was reminded of was that we are in a WAR! Satan and his army are doing all they can to bring us down. We need to constantly be on guard, examining ourselves, our hearts, and devote ourselves fully to Him, and cover each other with prayer continually!

Unless theLORD builds the house...

2009-06-12T17:26:00.003+09:30

I have been striving hard lately, mostly in my mind!

Striving to keep my house clean, sort things out so everything is orderly, to keep on top of washing and ironing, to keep on my kids backs about keeping the toy room clean, to have tea ready on time, into the bed on time, to love my husband and delight in my children and to teach 'teach them diligently'.

The problem with all of this is that I have been striving to do it all and the other day it all came on top of me in an emotional heap! I had been accomplishing these tasks, but in my mind they were never good enough, I needed to keep doing more.

I so easily slip into the sins of pride, selfish ambitions, anger...which all fuel these tasks in the wrong way.

But these verses refreshed, convicted and instructed me...

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

and

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127:1

What an amazing reminder that it is God who needs to build my house, its not up to me and if I do build it, it will be in vain!

I am so thankful for the Word of God, it never fails to show me what I need to hear the most.

My hands were busy

2009-06-01T15:38:00.002+09:30

I spotted this poem on my friends fridge the other day, I have read it once before, but it was a very timely reminder for me about how quickly time goes by and how I need to cherish the fleeting moments I have with my precious children!

My Hands were Busy

My hands were busy through the day

I didn't have much time to play

The little games you asked me to,

I didn't have much time for you.

I'd wash your clothes,

I'd sew and cook,

But when you'd bring your picture book

And asked me please to share your fun,

I'd say, "A little later son."

I'd tuck you in all safe at night

And hear your prayers, turn out the light,

Then tiptoe softly to the door...

I wish I'd stayed a minute more.

For life is short, the years rush past.

A little boy grows up so fast.

No longer is he at your side,

His precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away,

There are no longer games to play.

No good-night kisses, no prayers to hear;

That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands, once busy, now are still

The days are long and hard to fill.

I wish I could go back to do

The little things you asked me to.

A special time away

2009-05-27T16:56:00.006+09:30

1 week ago I had the privilege of going away with my eldest daughter to Sydney to visit my sister. It was a big surprise for her, she knew her and I would be going away sometime (she thought next year!) but she didn't know ANY details, until the night before we left. None of our kids have been on an aeroplane that they can remember, so just going on a plane was a special event, and then to see her Aunty, and to have her all to myself for 5 days!

It truly was a joy and delight to be able to take her away and spend the time alone with her away from her siblings. To just hang out with her, away from the cooking, cleaning, washing and general busyness of life, it was a precious time and one that I hope and pray she will remember fondly. It has helped me appreciate and love her so much more. I hope to do that with each of my children every few years.

Here are some snaps from our little holiday!

I think she went up and down the steps of the Sydney Opera House about 10 times!

The best experience was feeding my all time favourite animal, a giraffe! They are so adorable close us, big beautiful brown eyes!

A tribute to my Mum

2009-05-05T07:00:00.005+09:30

Today it has been 6 years since my mother passed away and ventured into her glorious home in Heaven. This time of the year brings back so many memories of my mother, her life, her sickness and her death.

Around Easter I am always reminded of Easter Saturday when my dad rang to tell us that it wouldn't be long before she left us. She had been in and out of hospital so many times during her life, but this would be the very last time she would be in there.

It was my birthday last week, my sister's birthday on the weekend and I can recall so many birthdays when she was in hospital, unable to celebrate at home with us. Then today, the 5th May she passed away, in the week before Mother's Day.

Although my days are mostly filled with gladness, there are countless moments when I am overcome with a desire for her presence still. I am so confident there will be a day when I will see her again and share my life in eternity with her, but life here on earth is often lonely without her.

So many people who knew my mum would agree that she was an amazing selfless woman of faith. Her personality was completely different to mine in almost every possible way, yet I inherited so many of her passions for animals, flowers, craft, sewing and gardening.

I miss her most for her steadfastness, her strength despite such immense pain and suffering throughout so much of her life. I used to question why she had to endure so much suffering, but I came to realise and see how God used so much of what she went through for HIS glory and for the edification of so many of His people and those who did not know Him. She spoke so boldly of her faith to doctors, nurses, patients, family, and friends. I saw that God gave her a life of suffering for His purpose and her faith in Him inspires me to keep hoping, and trusting in a God who kept her, and used her so much for His own glory.

During the first 8 months of her intense sickness around 18 years ago, my father was saved. She lived around 15 years of her Christian life without him knowing and loving God, and it was only through her sickness that he was saved. She testifies how she would go through it all again for his salvation.

It was only last week, that I realised how her suffering and pain brought me to Christ as well. One time when my mum was in hospital and I was about 18, I was heart broken over a guy. As my mum was in hospital experiencing her own pain, I felt I couldn't talk to her about what I was going through, and I didn't have the courage to talk to anyone else. So I turned to God, utterly and completely. As I prayed and read His word so much more, I was overcome with who He is and what He had done for me.

Suddenly everything I had learned as a child and teenager came together for me, and I began to make Jesus the Lord of my life! I grew in such intimacy with Him and His word restored, lifted and completely satisfied me.

I realised only last week (on my birthday in fact!) that had she been well and available for me at that time, I would not have turned to the only One who could truly heal me and help me and who has given me an amazingly glorious new life!

There are still days when I lament over her not being here on earth. I am saddened that she never got to hold 2 of my children, but yet ever so grateful that she was able to witness our marriage and hold our first two children, something we all thought she would never have the chance to do!

So today I praise God for my mother, she will live in my heart and soul forever, and I can't wait for the day when we are reunited again.

Music for my soul

2009-04-29T07:36:00.004+09:30

This morning I had an unexplainable heaviness in my heart. I was trying to fight off random negative thoughts and my tiredness was allowing them to have victory.

Even though I know deep down that only God can truly satisfy, it is so hard sometimes to come to Him.

But something within me drew me to put on some music, and within moments my downcast soul was lifted, amazingly, and overwhelmed by my wonderfully gracious, almighty God.

I bought the CD Valley of Vision - Songs of worship inspired by the classic book of Puritan Prayers, a few weeks ago, and it has been such a blessing to me. I love the way music can touch parts of my soul like nothing else can!

These are the words that turned me to Him.

In the Valley

When you lead me to the valley of vision
I can see you in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision
It's here your glory shines so bright.
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is t o be high
That the valley's where You make me more like Christ.

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You're near with every breath.

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley's where Your power is revealed.

The last verse is what got me, I love looking into the sky during the day amazed that the stars that we see so clearly at night are still there. The only reason we can see them at night is because of the darkness, and they shine so much brighter out in the country where there are not so many lights.

Just like in my moment of darkness, the wonders, grace and love of God shine so much brighter than during the daytime, when things are going well.

A worthy biblical goal for our children

2009-04-27T10:39:00.004+09:30

I have been a bit slack in my blogging lately, I have been too consumed with many good books and projects and I haven't taken the time to sit at my computer!

Amongst all the good books I have been reading, I picked up one of my favourite parenting books the other day, Shepherding a Child's heart by Tedd Tripp and I was challenged about what my goal for my children is.

He mentions the following as unbiblical goals.

Developing social skills, psychological adjustment, saved children, family worship, well-behaved children, good education, control.

So what is a worthy biblical goal? His answer comes from the Shorter catechism.

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

He continues,

Is there any other goal that is worthy? Are you willing to start here with your children? You must equip your children to function in a culture that has abandoned the knowledge of God. If you teach them to use their abilities, aptitudes, talents and intelligence to make their lives better, without reference to God, you turn them away from God. If your objectives are anything other than "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy God forever", you teach your children to function in the culture on its terms.

How do we do this? We pander to their desires and wishes. We teach them to find their soul's delight in going places and doing things. We attempt to satisfy their lust for excitement. We fill their young lives with distractions from God. We give them material things and take delight in their delight in possessions. Then we hope that somewhere down the line they will see that a life worth living is found only in knowing and serving God.....

From their earliest days, they must be taught that they are creatures made in the image of God - made for God. They must learn that they will only "find themselves" as they find Him. Your child must grow to see that real living is experienced when he stands before God and says, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you I desire nothing on earth" (Psalm 73:25). If this is what you want for your children, then you must ensure that the content of your everyday life fits this objective.

It is so easy to get caught up with worldly goals for my children. Good behaviour and control is a big one for me. I can easily get into the mindset that if my children are under my control and are well behaved, they are doing well. But loving and enjoying God is a so much better goal and desire for my children. I long for them to know and love God with all their heart, soul and mind.

So often I focus on correcting their behaviour and telling them what God does and does not want them to do, more so than I talk to them about how glorious, majestic, loving, forgiving and sovereign our God is.

I am so thankful to God for this reminder, and I pray that He will help me to see the opportunities He gives me to talk to them about Him.

A time apart...

2009-04-14T18:38:00.003+09:30

Every now and again I take the kids down to my dad's for a few days to allow my husband some 'quiet time' at home.

The first time we did this, a couple of years ago, I dreaded the thought of being left alone with a 4 children under 5! But, it was something he needed, and as it ended up, something I needed as well!

In the past I have unintentionally depended on my husband way too much. He has been such an awesome help ever since number 1 entered the world. He does absolutely everything when it comes to babies and children (except clean up vomit!). I am so thankful for all that he does, I don't know how I would have coped without him!

But the balance between his work, family life, marriage, personal times etc. has been hard to work out and maintain, and this has overwhelmed us both at times. So our times away from each other have been so vital and necessary. Beneficial not only for us individually, but for the impact it has on our family.

The first time I left him at home alone, I had to depend totally and utterly on God to get me through. I wanted to give him that time alone, but I felt so inadequate and overwhelmed at the task of caring for our children all on my own.

But, thank God for weaknesses, as they cause me to run to Him, to depend upon Him, to find strength in Him alone, and at the end of the day, He ALWAYS hears me and pulls me through, victoriously and joyfully! Those few days ended up being so wonderful, and it was so freeing to know that I could do it on my own with His strength and grace. I really enjoyed the time with my kids and with my dad, it ended up being a wonderful time away.

So this week I am back here at my dad's enjoying a holiday away from my home! I actually have a project to complete while I am here, painting his office to accommodate more beds for when I invite all my friends over for sleepovers!

I am also enjoying time to spend with my kids, they are older now so I don't feel like I have to do as much for them. I cooked meals last night for us all, so I don't need to fuss about cooking, and it really doesn't matter if we spend the day in our pyjamas as we don't even really need to leave the house!

I love being at my dad's house, it brings back lots of wonderful memories. I love exploring in the garden, sitting by the pool, reading in the formal lounge, and the early nights!

I am looking forward to hearing all about the time my wonderful husband has spend on his own and with the Lord, and absence always makes the heart grow fonder!!

A donkey's back

2009-04-06T20:14:00.003+09:30

This week we have decided to read portions of the Easter story to our children each night leading up to Easter and then have our children draw a picture of what happened in the reading. I hope to collect the drawings each night and put them together in a book with the readings alongside the pictures.

Tonight my husband read about Palm Sunday and Jesus' welcome into Jerusalem. As our children were busily drawing donkeys, my husband informed us that all donkeys have a cross on their back.

"Really?" I said, "Yes really, I will find you a picture on the Internet." He replied.

Well he found lots of pictures, none of which I can post here as they are copyright (so if you are interested google donkeys cross and check it out for yourself!).

I was completely shocked! I can't believe I have lived 33 years (almost 34!) without ever knowing donkeys have a cross on their back. I feel rather silly, because I guess that's the kind of information EVERYONE knows, but can I just say that it was such an amazing thing for me to learn about!

I still find it amazing every time I think about it. That an animal which led Jesus as a baby inside his mother's womb into Bethlehem and that led Him into Jerusalem, the City in which He would be crucified on a cross, had a cross on it's back!

After learning about this my children all put crosses on their donkey's backs!

God never ceases to amaze and wonder me!

An Incomprehensible vision of marriage

2009-04-02T14:31:00.003+10:30

I have been reflecting upon two awesome pictures of marriage today. The first from Ephesians 5:22-32, the picture of marriage being like that of Christ and the church. Wives are to submit to their husbands, as to the Lord, as the church is subject to Christ. Husbands as the head of the wife are to love their wives and give themselves up for her as Christ have Himself up for the church.

The second picture I have been contemplating is the one found in Genesis 2:18-25, God makes a helper for the man, and the man says "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Verse 25 then says "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed".

I am trying to get my head around both these pictures of marriage, pictures that God has established and that He desires of marriage. In every day life what does it mean to submit to my husband as to the Lord, as the church submits to Christ, and what does it mean to become one flesh?

I love the word of God and I am excited about thrashing out these passages so much more so that I may have a better comprehension and understanding of God's desire for marriage.

These words from John Piper's book, This Momentary Marriage have also got me thinking.

"There has never been a generation whose general view of marriage is high enough. The chasm between biblical vision of marriage and the common human vision is now, and has always been, gargantuan......That was the case in Jesus' day as well. But ours is worse. When Jesus have a glimpse of the magnificent view of marriage that God willed for his people, the disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry" (Matt 19:10). In other words, Christ's vision of the meaning or marriage was so enormously different from the disciples', they could not even imagine it to be a good thing. That such a vision could be good news was simply outside their categories.

If that was the case then - in the sober, Jewish world in which they lived - how much more will the magnificence of marriage in the mind of God seem unintelligible in a modern Western culture, where the main idol is self; its main doctrine is autonomy; and its central act of worship is being entertained; and its three main shrines are the television, Internet and the cinema; and its most sacred genuflection is the uninhibited act of sexual intercourse. Such a culture will find the glory of marriage in the mind of Jesus virtually incomprehensible.

.....I mention this cultural distortion of marriage in the hopes that it might wake you up to consider a vision of marriage higher and deeper and stronger and more glorious than anything culture - or perhaps you yourself - ever imagined. The greatness and glory of marriage is beyond our ability to think or feel without divine revelation and without the illumining and awakening work of the Holy Spirit."

Two opportunities to share the gospel before 7am!

2009-03-25T15:49:00.005+10:30

We get up early in our household, actually make that 5 out of 6 of us get up early!. By early I mean between 5 and 6 am. I am usually the first up, then the dog, then our youngest, and then the others start coming out anywhere from 6am onwards.

The other morning during my devotions I asked God to help me be patient, self controlled and unconditionally loving towards my family.

It didn't take long before He allowed an opportunity to answer my prayer! Before we got to the breakfast table (which is around 6:30am) I gave warnings to my son who was not responding to my answers with a 'happy heart!'. This attitude carried over to breakfast time and it wasn't long before he was sent to his room to think about how he was responding. During this time, I talked to him about his heart, in particular his selfishness, and I told how this was sin, and then reminded him why Jesus came and shared the gospel message with him.

In his book Shepherding a Child's heart Tedd Tripp writes,

You need to shepherd your children in the ways of God at all times. There is, however, no more powerful time to press the claims of the gospel than when your children are being confronted with their need of Christ's grace and power during discipline. When the wax is soft during discipline, the time is right to impress the glories of Christ's redemption.

The gospel message is so powerful and I need to recognise the many opportunities I have been given as a parent to present and impress this into the hearts of my children.

It was only minutes after I had spoken with my son that I had to take my 4 year old daughter into her room and talk to her about her disobedience, another opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

All this happened before 7am!

There is such joy in seeing selfish and disobedient hearts turned into ones that have been forgiven and restored.

Needless to say I was incredibly thankful to God for granting me the patience and self control I asked for!

Pumpkin soup and beef casserole

2009-03-16T14:30:00.003+10:30

I love my slow cooker! I was thinking that today as I cut up some pumpkin to pop in my slow cooker for soup for tea tonight!

I don't know if anyone is interested but this is how I make pumpkin soup in my slow cooker.

1 butternut pumpkin
3-4 carrots (add more carrots if you want it sweeter)
1 onion
2-3 cups chicken stock

I just cut up the pumpkin, carrots and onions into cubes, and add around 2-3 cups of chicken stock, then put it on low and let it cook for the day. If you like chunky soup you can just mash it all up with a potato masher or if you like it smooth use a blender.

You can also put it on high for 3-4 hours, this always works well for us in Winter for Sunday lunch. I put it on around 8:30am Sunday morning and when we come back from church at around 12:30 its all cooked!

The other meal my husband in particular loves is a beef casserole.

500gms of diced beef
1 can tomato soup
Around cup beef stock

Put it all together in the slow cooker as is, no need to brown meat etc, and put it on low for the day. I was rather amazed at how much flavour the soup gave to the meat! You could eat this with rice, mashed potato or perhaps use the meat for a beef pie!

Scripture memory revived!

2009-03-12T21:00:00.003+10:30

We have been rather neglectful with scripture memory in our household the past year. I'm not sure why I dropped it off, just got out of routine I think. But the past few weeks I have been resurrecting verses we have learned over the past few years, and I can't believe how awesome they have been.

I lent a chart called Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman to a friend the other day. It identifies 22 behavior problems in children (such as disobeying, lying and tattling) and offers examples of Scripture passages that help address heart issues. I was going through it with my friend and I thought I hadn't used it very much, but upon review I realised how much I actually did use it in the past. A lot of what I say to my kids has come from suggestions from this chart. In particular we have learned a lot of the verses she refers to.

Seeing this again inspired me to get my kids back into scripture memory, not just so they can rattle off a bunch of verses to sound 'spiritual' but so that they can hide it in their heart and for it to help formulate their way of thinking about how they should respond to their day to day events.

I mostly did it with my older two kids who are 7 and 5 now and they remember parts of the verses, but the younger two never really got into it, they are 4 and 2 and 1/2 now. In the past I use to sit them down before going out in the morning and do a devotion and go over a memory verse together, but now I have just put them at the dinner table and try to integrate them into our conversation at the table. I try to pull the verse to bits and get them to really think about what it means and how they can apply it. I love being able to bring things back to the word of God.

We are reviewing Ephesians 4:29 at the moment,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

This verse has been great because when they talk unkindly or rudely to each other, I remind them of this verse and ask if unwholesome talk is coming out of their mouth, and encourage them to think of words that are helpful and that will build the other one up.

It's a huge challenge for me as well, I love the power of scripture, it cuts so deep into the heart!

Mice......!

2009-03-10T19:43:00.003+10:30

We have had mice trouble in our bin and pantry area, its been going on for a while now, but we have been too slack to put out traps to try and stop them. Our cat sits diligently in the kitchen every night awaiting a capture, but she has yet been successful!

The other night during dinner I opened the pantry door to get some ingredients for butterscotch pudding when I saw a grey flash, I asked my husband to come and see if it was a mouse. He pulled out everything and there it was trapped and staring at us! Not for long though, it suddenly dashed off and out of sight. We dragged everything out, but we couldn't find it. We set a trap that night, but he didn't fall for it!

Two days later on my husbands day off I did a small grocery shop. We had a nice morning, went for coffee, browsed around Big W and finally into Woolies. The checkout lady was scanning items and packing items into my reusable shopping bags. She opened one and she looked down and said in a very calm voice "Oh", I thought there might have been a spider in there, she said "It's a mouse!" The mouse then jumped out of the bag, ran under her checkout then under the checkout next door. That checkout lady said, "I think I stepped on it, someone come and take it away, I don't want to look!".

So I sent my husband over to have a look and get rid of the mess!

It all happened very quick and we were all a bit shocked by it all! I felt rather embarrassed that the mouse had come from my shopping bags but I was very glad that it was stepped on so it didn't 'freak out' any other shoppers or checkout ladies!

I am so thankful for a very calm checkout lady, she said she would have been more bothered by a spider than a mouse, I am so glad she didn't scream, and for my husband who got rid of the squished mouse!

Upon reflection I can't believe that I had spent the past 1 and 1/2 hours carrying those shopping bags around, for coffee and all around the shops, and I am glad we finally found where that mouse got to!

And just so you know we still haven't got rid of the mice, so far I know of two that have died, and there is still evidence of more in the house! My oldest wants to keep one as a pet.....maybe not!

How television affects your brain

2009-03-02T20:01:00.003+10:30

I have been thinking about the impact of TV on us as Christians lately and I googled in the phrase, 'How TV affects the brain' and came across the video.

My husband and I managed to get out of the habit of TV watching a couple of years ago, we fall back into it when we are on holidays, and I always look forward to getting back into routine and there being less TV!

This video proves to me that it does affect your brain. I just know for me that when the TV is on I don't have the capacity to think about anything else. I may not actually be thinking about what the shows about either, its like it dulls my brain. I used to just put it on to help me relax, but I found it sucked me in and I felt lazy and unproductive for the rest of the afternoon or evening.

It requires a complete change of thinking to stop turning the TV on and to instead turn on some uplifting music or to even just go and lie down if I am feeling tired, at least my brain is not going to zone out. I will often find that even though I may be completely exhausted, if I go lie down or just listen to some worshipful music, within around 30 minutes of resting I start think productive thoughts like reading a book, calling a friend, or doing the ironing! But if I was just watching TV there would be no chance for those thoughts to enter my head!

Anyway, check out this video and see what you think!

I have been thinking about these verses from Psalm 1 lately and how they relate to TV watching.

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1;1-2

When we watch something on TV and it's not from a godly perspective, aren't we exposing ourselves to the wicked, sinners, and mockers? And if we are watching TV more than we are delighting in and meditating on the word of God, we won't be like that tree planted by the waters.

I am continually challenged and convicted about Psalm 1, I pray daily that my delight would be in the word of God.

What should I really be longing for?

2009-02-26T05:52:00.005+10:30

The past two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for me. I feel like life is rushing past me.

I am a person who likes order, control, times of rest....I long for the 'perfect life' where its easy to wake up early in the morning and spend time with God, where I can go for a peaceful, invigorating 20 minute walk as the sun rises, where the before school routine runs smoothly with an element of joy in the air, where I can leave my house clean, neat, ordered, where I am so organised that I have lots of extra time to sit and read and play and have fun with my husband and children....

I also want to be readily and happily available to the needs of my family, friends, neighbours, church, community, not overwhelmed with housework....

Is it wrong to long for this perfect life?

Wouldn't having these things work out for me make me more Christlike?

There's a huge part of me that thinks it would!

But what does God think, what does He want for my life?

I strongly believe He is sovereign and in control of everything that happens in my life, that He has a purpose for everything, that He works all things together for good for those who love Him and who are called by Him.

But it is so hard and such a test of my faith when my 'perfect life' gets 'interrupted'

by helping others and by misunderstandings,
by washing machines, vacuum cleaners and dishwashers breaking down,
by unexpected guests and meetings,
by sickness and financial pressures,
by the presence of snakes and demonic activity happening within metres of our home....

How is is possible to have my 'perfect life' and be able to do the things which supposedly make me more Christlike and peaceful when these things come into my life?

Reading the following from our latest book club book, What happens when women say yes to God - Experiencing God in extraordinary ways, by Lysa Terkeurst, helped me with my attitude towards all this.

There are some things God wants us to get settled in our heart. Do we want to chase after the world's emptiness instead of His fullness? Or do we want our lives to be characterised by perfect love instead of perfect performance? Many people halfheartedly claim to be Christians, believing that because we will never be perfect on this side of eternity we have an excuse to pursue that which pleases our human longings. Why not push the limits, live for the now, and worry about eternity later? The problem is that we miss the whole point of our existence, the very purpose for which we were created. God made us for the relationship of His perfect love. While we are not capable of perfect performance this side of eternity, we are capable of prefect love. We can settle in our hearts that we will choose God's love and the pursuit of a love relationship with Him above all else, not matter what comes our way.

After reading this I spent ages pondering the fact that I am capable of perfect love towards God. I can choose to love God with all my heart, no matter what comes my way. That's what I should long for (not my ideal of a perefct life), to love God, to choose to love Him no matter what happens, no matter what He allows to come my way. He wants my heart more than my good deeds, a heart that has chosen to trust Him completely even when it feels like everything is failing apart. Later in chapter Lysa writes,

Nothing in life is certain. Circumstances roll in and out like the ocean's tide. The unknown can sometimes seem so frightening as we ponder all the tragic possibilities that we know can and do happen to people. We catch ourselves wondering what the next page of life might hold. We can't stop or control the things that roll our way anymore than we can stop the water's edge. But we can make the minute by minute choice to let our souls rest in God.
"Rest knowing all is safe in My Hands. Rest is Trust. Ceaseless activity is distrust. Without the knowledge that I am working for you, you do not rest. Inaction then would be the outcome of despair. My hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Know that, repeat that, rely on it, welcome the knowledge, delight in it. Such a truth is as a hope flung to a drowning man. Every repetition of it is one pull nearer shore and safety."

So I am choosing to love and trust. I am choosing to not be overwhelmed by the lack of order, by my dysfunctional household appliances, by threats of snakes, mice and demons, by fears of broken friendships and misunderstandings....

Its in all these times that I truly learn to know and love God, that I understand more deeply and fully about the love of God, the sacrifice He made. I am thankful for all the overwhelming things that have happened int he past two weeks, for the whirlwind I feel like I am in, because it is drawing me so much deeper into the love of God, drawing me further into that place of complete trust and surrender, deeper into goodness and treasure of His Word.

Hope in God

2009-02-17T05:55:00.004+10:30

Yesterday I got a taste of what my husband experiences as a Pastor!

Some days he comes home feeling drained, exhausted, downcast....

When you are involved in people's lives, for the sake of the gospel, you are a target.

You can expect to be misunderstood.

I don't know how he does it, I know I need to pray for him so much more, and for all the pastors and elders in our church, they carry such heavy burdens so much of the time.

I am so thankful for a God who can sympathise with us, who can lift our burdens, who truly answers prayer, who is enduringly faithful to His children.

I am so thankful that I can put my hope in God, and I am thankful for my husband who picked me up and cared for me yesterday.

So for all those out there who may be downcast, here is a verse for you.

" Why are you downcast, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God.

For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God."
Psalm 43:5

How do you show love to someone when they are suffering?

2009-02-11T11:44:00.004+10:30

I have been asking myself that question today. There are people all around me, and one very close to me, who are suffering, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

My mother experienced extreme physical pain for a lot of my childhood and most of my teenage years, early marriage and early child bearing years. I often struggled to know how to show love her.

When someone is in pain, its impossible to really understand how they are feeling. Most people are good at hiding what they are going through, so sometimes we can walk right on by without any idea what they are suffering.

I have regrets about the way I showed love to my mother when she was alive. She suffered so much pain, that she felt bad to mention it. You could just see it in her face and body language.

I remember when I was in the early stages of my first pregnancy I tried to put myself in her shoes. While I was lying on the couch feeling fatigued, nauseated, useless, I would chat to her on the phone and realise this is how she feels almost all the time!

We watched Fireproof last night and what hit home to me about that movie was the only way the husband could love his wife was when he came to an understanding of Christ's love for him. The love of Christ is unconditional, unchanging, never failing, sacrificial. Christ's love fills us and enables us to love others because we are relying upon His love and strength not our own.

So I guess to be able to love others deeply, genuinely, as Christ loves them, I need to spend more time with Him, enthralling myself in His love and all that He is.

Coming back to my question, if you have ever suffered, or are suffering emotionally, physically, spiritually, what are some ways you need to be loved?

To keep or not to keep?

2009-02-09T21:24:00.003+10:30

Ever since I got home from sunny QLD and stepped into my home, I have had the overwhelming desire to sort through and rearrange almost everything! I don't have much tolerance for clutter, everything needs a place and if it doesn't, I don't rest until I find one for it.

Due to the extreme heat we experienced last week, I wandered around my house aimlessly trying to ignore the piles of STUFF that needed to be put away. I had no energy to move, change, or sort, however I did manage to go through the kids bedrooms and the toy room and put around 10 bags of clothes, toys, bit and pieces into the Salvation Army wheelie bins!

Now thanks to the cooler weather today, I was into it again, this time my wardrobe which seems to collect all sorts of odds and ends. I managed to fill a 60 litre container full of old letters and cards. As I was going through them (and lots of other things) I couldn't help but think about all those people in Victoria who lost their homes, all their stuff in a matter of minutes from the bush fires.

I like to hold onto things for sentimental value, but I realise I cant keep everything, and when I think about how quickly it can all disappear, it makes me wonder if any of it is worth keeping at all!

But I keep thinking about the things I wish my mum kept from my childhood, and so I try to keep handfuls of mementos for my children. However, if God allows it all to be destroyed by fire, (one day it most likely will be) then so be it!

As I go through my things I can't stop thinking about all the hundreds of people tonight in Victoria who own only the clothes on the backs. Everything they owned has been destroyed by fire, I pray that they may turn to the only One who can give them the most precious thing in this world, the salvation of their souls.

Reflections and Friday nights!

2009-02-06T05:59:00.006+10:30

This year we are venturing into some changes. Mainly they are to do with my husband's role as a Pastor in the church we are at. One of the most noticeable changes are to do with Friday nights, he will be home on a Friday night regularly for the first time ever since we have been together! He is no longer running the junior youth group on a Friday night. He has been involved with youth groups in 3 different churches for the past 19 years (I have been good friends with him for around 17 of those years!)

A lot of people might read that and think, well he deserves to have his Friday's back, he deserves a break from youth, he has done his time, it's probably time for him to move on... But the truth is he has never thought of it in those ways. There have been times when he's come home late from youth group and there have been issues with kids or leaders and he feels tired, discouraged, disappointed, but he's never wanted to give up.

My husband is so very patient, faithful and committed. He may feel like he fails or gives up, he might feel weak, but I know that his heart is firmly planted in God's hands.

As tempted as he has been at times to give up the ministry, he has always pushed through, kept persevering, waiting and trusting in God to pull Him through and for Him to keep working.

I was reflecting this morning on his work at the church. Personally he has gone through some difficult times particularly in relation to his health, which has overflowed into and affected all other areas of his life! But as I look back I can see so much fruit that God has and will continue to produce through him.

At the last church we were at 7 years ago, there were doubts from the elders there about my husbands abilities and skills, but what I think they failed to look at was his heart. My husband has a heart that is full on for God and for serving him.

I often remind him and myself of this verse,

This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (pastor), he desires a good work. 1 Timothy 3:1

There are not many who desire to be elders or pastors, but my husband desires that, he longs to serve God wholeheartedly, to serve His people, to shepherd, nurture, lead, build up. The temptation for him to leave the ministry has always been overcome by his desire to serve God, sometimes the grass looks greener elsewhere, but to be where God wants you, there can be no better place.

I have so much love, respect, admiration, for my husband and for all that he has been through the past years. I am so thankful for all the trials and hardships God has allowed us to go through because they have only brought us closer to Him, to each other, they have given us wisdom and insight into the ways of God and His ministry, and built up our hope, patience, faith, character. We probably still have another 20 or so years of ministry left in us, so I am thankful for the lessons we are learning adn for what He is preparing for us in the years ahead.

We looking foward to this coming year, it has and is taking us a while to adjust to the changes, especially having Friday nights free! Although I don't think they will be free for long!

Number 2 starts school!

2009-02-03T20:14:00.002+10:30

Well this week has been rather eventful, eldest daughter back at school, year 2 - my boy started school for the first time, and no. 3 started fulltime kindy!

No. 2 was very excited to start school.

He gets just about as excited as my husband does! When I asked him if he was excited about going he looked at me with a very straight face,

'Yes I am excited about school.'

He was very adorable all dressed in his school uniform, bag on his back, hat on head, I was very happy for him.

He was very happy to say goodbye after settling in and he informed me when I picked him up that he loves school!. We shall see how long that lasts!

But what was very special today was what he told his dad in the car while I went to pick up no. 3 from kindy.

Daddy asked him who he played with today.

"E....".

Daddy said, "Is E... your best bud?"

He shook his head and pointed at Daddy,

"Am I your best bud?" He nodded his head.

He is such a special boy, such a deep thinker and just knows how to connect. I pray that he will continue to only grow in his love and respect for his father and His heavenly Father who loves him so very much!

I look forward to watching him learn and grow at school, I can't wait to have another reader in the house!

Back from the beach!

2009-01-29T10:37:00.005+10:30

We have finally arrived home from our holiday in the sun. We reluctantly packed up the car and made our way home from the Sunshine Coast early Tuesday morning and got back late last night (to a wonderfully clean house, thanks to our awesome housesitter!!).

A part of me was looking forward to coming home, but mostly I wanted to stay by the beach! I was not looking forward to coming home to the crazy heat wave here in Adelaide, QLD weather is hot, but humid so there is some relief at night, and we were right near the water, the best place to be in Summer.

I loved hanging out with my husband and kids for 3 whole weeks. I was surprised at how well we all got along, of course there were moments...but we all seemed to enjoy each others company, and it was lots of fun being somewhere else together.

The kids did so well to travel 12 and a half hours for 2 days straight. There was barely any complaining, or fighting, only a few toilet and food stops - mostly we just all sat back and cruised along listening to Colin Buchannan, Veggie Tales, some worship songs, a few sermons and a couple of dvd's in the arvo. I loved sitting in the passenger seat taking in the scenery, reading my novel and being forced to sit down for 12 hours straight! I had plenty of time to think about the coming year and mentally prepare myself for the return home!

I was so thankful for God's protection over us while travelling and while we were away. We had many wonderful experiences together, I will post a few photos and stories in the next few weeks.

Let patience have its perfect work

2009-01-11T20:46:00.005+10:30

I have decided to read the book of James for this month of January.

The first few verses start off with.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

But let patience have its perfect work,

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1:2-3

We experienced one of those trials the other night, and after reading these verses again, it made me think that sometimes trials like the one we had, may just happen to let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.

No matter how big or small the trial, they all test our faith. Am I still trusting and holding on to God even when it seems like everything is turning out wrong, or I just don't know how I will make it through.

It is comforting to know that God IS doing something, even if its just to perfect my patience.

There are so many little things that happen day by day that try my patience, my children are great instruments to teach it to me.

Sometimes when I reflect upon my day, I am rather horrified to look at the times I lose my patience over something so insignificant, and....selfish!

So often it definitely is a lack of trust thing. I have things planned out in my head the way I think they should go, when they don't turn out that way, I start to lose patience and get frustrated. Instead of trusting Him with all my heart I fall into leaning on my own understanding.

But...I am thankful for the many times the Holy Spirit has led me back to look to Him, to make the choice to trust in God and have faith in Him and His plans, they always are the best way.

And the peace that takes over is so wonderfully freeing, I no longer have to worry that we are running late, that we won't get to the toilet in time, that the kids are getting restless and fidgety while we are waiting for someone.... I just hand it over to God and He grants me the peace, and ability to be patient!

I have been meditating on this verse of late.

..being confident of this very thing, He who began a good work in you

will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

For the first time I realised that He will still be working on me until the day of Jesus Christ, which may not happen until long after I have left this earth.

So in Heaven, He will still be working on me, if I haven't learned the patience thing!

I am looking forward to that day in sooo many ways!!

This is what you do with...

2009-01-10T22:51:00.000+10:30

My kids love to colour, cut, paste, make and paint! For the past few days they have been asking me if they can paint. But I keep delaying my answers, saying, maybe tomorrow... ??

Finally I caved in and said YES you can paint after breakfast!! Well breakfast came and I was not in a painting mood, (I was actually in a sorting and cleaning mood!) I asked my husband if he could take them to the park for a while before he went out golfing for the day, I just needed time to BREATHE before the painting started!

It's amazing how much clearer you can think without 5 extra people in the house! Within 5 minutes of them leaving I came up with a great idea of getting them to paint the trampoline boxes...outside! I didn't have any large bit of paper and I didn't want paint inside, and here were these 2 plain big boxes all ready for painting!

There was hardly any mess for me to clean up, they used up all the paints and I just put all the empty containers in the bin, and they painted to their hearts content!!

So here's what you can do with those leftover Christmas present boxes!!

Snapshots from my super crazy, adorable 4 year old!

2009-01-08T18:02:00.000+10:30

Our 4 year old daughter continually fascinates and shocks me! My husband and I often look at each other after she has done something crazy and make the comment, 'Where did she come from?'.

My nickname for her is Miss Blessie, because it reminds me that she is a blessing and a gift from God, even though at times I feel exhausted from her interactions!

Just in the last 5 minutes since I started writing this post, I went to see her in the bath and noticed many green dots in the water, I asked her if she had done a number 2 in the bath, no the oldest daughter replied, they are tomato seeds!

She had a cherry tomato in her mouth and decided to spit the seeds in tot he water. She has since got out of the bath, and come to see me in the study singing the Adelaide Crows theme song, then proceeded to plead for another tomato....just 1 more tomato and then that's it!

My stress levels seem to dissipate rather quickly when she is not around, its quieter, less fighting, arguing and yelling (all from the others at her doing crazy things to them!) safer, and cleaner. But it is also not as fun, and there are no where near as many cuddle opportunities!

She was the only child who came in the middle of the night, 1:30am. I had been having contractions with her all day and finally went into hospital around 11:00pm but I was sent home, being told those contractions could go on for another week! Well I was back in there an hour later, and 1 and 1/2 hours later she came out - screaming! She was the only one who came out screaming! She was also the most active baby in my belly, and resisted any pressure I put on to her. I was so sure she would be a boy because she was so active, but she is just our super active crazy girl!

She definitely is not your 'typical' little girl. When the boys are over shes outside playing in the sandpit, playing with cars, getting dirty with mud and water, and when the girls are over she is happily playing inside with dollies, ponies and teddies! She also loves cooking, cutting and pasting, drawing, playdoh, anything creative.

She loves wearing dresses and skirt and its often a battle to encourage her to wear anything else, yet she loves to wrestle and punch, she is constantly punching her 13 and 15 year old cousins and unexpectantly throws punches as she passes her siblings (and parents) in the hallway. But I realise this is one of the ways she shows affection, she doesn't mean to hurt, she just being playful?!

All of our kids received money to spend from Christmas. Everyone else had chosen something, except number 3. No, not a toy, not a teddy, not craft, not a book, not lollies...How about lipgloss daddy said. Yes!!!! Clipcloss (that's how she says it!) I want clipcloss!! That lipgloss has followed us everywhere for the past few days and sad to say, its nearly all gone!

I can't wait to watch her grow up, she tests me, tries me, worries me, stresses me - but she makes me laugh so much almost every minute of the day, and she keeps me on my toes. I am so thankful and amazed with the way God has made her so very special, and I pray that He would continue to lead me to train her in the way she should go - in the way God has made her to be.

Striking the first blow in the battle

2009-01-05T16:43:00.000+10:30

I love holidays, but I also love routine, and sometimes those two don't go together all that well! I have been in holiday mode ever since Christmas and consequently have missed my early morning times with the Lord.

I have really felt the difference. Instead of waking up to the subtle beeping of my alarm clock, I am awoken to little voices asking if they can get up now, and then those little voices turn into louder voices as more little people wake up. And then starts the requests for milk, food, silly games, quarreling and so on.....!

When I get up early I have at least 20 minutes after showering and dressing to just sit in my comfy chair and stare into space, in absolute quiet! I then feel ready to proceed into reading my bible and prayer. But I have missed these times, the past two weeks, and I can feel myself being attacked from many different angles!!

John Piper helped sum up how I was feeling in his book When I don't desire GOD - How to fight for Joy. Under the heading, How important is early-morning prayer? he outlines 5 reasons to rise early for prayer. I related well to the first two.

"First, it signals conscience that this is of first importance in the day. That witness from our action to our conscience has a joyful effect on the Christian mind. Second, early morning prayer strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides.Third, what we do daily and do early shapes the spirit of our minds and brings us into a disposition of humility and trust that will bear better fruit than anxiety or self-reliance..."

I didn't realise how much my early morning times prepared me for the day, especially when it comes to interacting with my children. When I have not prepared for the first blow in the battle of the day, my first reactions to quarrels, demands, spilt milk are done in short temper and frustration, instead of love and grace.

I guess the good thing about holiday time is that I can still get up early and spend time with the Lord, but because we don't have to rush out anywhere, I can take it slowly and find a relaxing spot to curl up on the couch later in the day.

And, after reading a few pages of John Piper's book, I feel inspired to read it again this holiday time, that book changed my devotional life 2 years ago, and I am looking forward to being challenged once again!

O satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14

Confessions of a mother

2009-01-04T09:00:00.000+10:30

Sometimes when I read other people's blogs I come away feeling discouraged and inward focused. I realise its because I am falling into the trap of comparing myself with others, and finding that I don't match up, or I fail in a particular area. I am slowly learning to deal with those kinds of thoughts quickly, to take them captive and send them away, but sometimes they linger and it takes me a while to wake up and fight them off with thoughts that are true, noble, pure, of God.

In light of these feelings I have felt compelled to write a post about some of the things I struggle with in life, not so everyone out there can feel sorry for me, because I know that everyone has their own struggles, but so that maybe others can relate to me and see that they might not be the only one who struggles with certain things.

So here are some of my confessions!

Some of you already know that I naturally am not drawn to kids. I struggle to play and interact with them, I am much more task orientated and shamefully sometimes find more fulfillment in completing a job then playing blocks with my kids. So I have to pray often for God to help me to enjoy them and to want to play with them.

I feel guilty each time I use the television as a babysitter. While there are sometimes when I am genuinely happy to let them watch a movie, handpicked by me, there are often times when its so much easier for me just to sit them down in front of the TV to watch something just to calm them down or to distract them from asking me multitudes of questions. I do limit their viewing time, but I struggle with the guilt of letting them watch something, I feel like I am giving in and should be doing something constructive and bonding with them!

The days sometimes pass me by so quickly and I feel like I haven't spent enough time playing, talking, cuddling, appreciating the blessings God has given me. I find it hard to balance all that needs to be done in a day, washing, cleaning, tidying, meals, on top of devotions, quality time with my husband and children. I must admit that my devotions are a priority for me each day, because its the only time I know I will have time alone, generally uninterrupted, and I know that its the time God will help me prepare for the day. But even so, its hard to balance everything, to trust fully in God to lead me and equip me for all the day holds!

I often have to fight off the temptations to compare myself to other mothers, their children and their family lives. On a good day I am often inspired by others to try things differently and learn more if they seem to be succeeding, but on a bad day I fall easily into feeling discouraged and like a failure if I don't do the same or if my children don't appear to measure up. I am so thankful though for the Holy Spirit and for the way He brings me back to the truth, discouragement always eventually leads me back to God to see things from His perspective!

Sometimes when my children fight with each other or show attitude or rudeness to me or others, I get disappointed with them, and am tempted to allow my love towards them to become conditional. I have to remember that they are children, and God has given me the responsibility to lead and teach them, I need to see their weaknesses and failures as an opportunity to show them the right way to go, and to show them the love of God which is forgiving, unconditional and so gracious!

I often feel like I don't teach my children enough about our awesome God. I battle with feelings of guilt that I don't spend enough time reading to them and teaching them about God. I do love it so much when we have devotions together and they are responsive and eager to learn, but it is so hard when they are little and easily distracted. I know the best thing to show them is my living example and devotion to God, my passion and love for God will overflow into their lives. I know I need to pray for more opportunities and for the desire to talk with them along the way about a God who loves them deeply.

I find it hard to truly put my husband before my children. Practically their needs seem to dominate his, but I know its all about my attitude, I need to be willing to serve him, to make it clear to him that he is before them!

Well, there are some of my confessions, of course there are many more, but I don't want this to become a negative post, I just pray that some of what I shared might encourage others out there who struggle with the same things or for those who are doing well in these areas.

It is helpful for me to write these things down and share them with everyone out there as it keeps me accountable and helps me acknowledge my weaknesses before God.

I am so thankful to God for the way He keeps me and leads me and in His time, helps me to overcome my weaknesses, and He uses them to lead me back to dependance on Him alone!

My thankful list from 2008

2009-01-01T07:47:00.002+10:30

I woke up this morning thinking about the new year then soon realised that I had not spent anytime thinking about the year just gone by! Last year I wrote a list of all the things I was thankful for at the end of 2007, so I thought I would do the same for 2008. When I first started my mind was blank, I knew I had so many things to be thankful for, but.... what were they again?!

Here are some of them (I am sure I will think of many more as the day goes by).

The biggest thing I am thankful for in 2008 is for the opportunities to learn so much more about the amazing grace of God. Unfortunately that has come from watching and listening to many of my friends this year go through deep and and difficult hardships, I am so thankful to many of them for sharing with me, for the things I have learned from them. God desires to have such intimacy in our lives, for us to find such joy and delight in Him, yet even when we don't find that in Him He is still so gracious, so faithful, so unconditionally loving, and He never changes

I am thankful to God for giving me a deeper understanding and longing for Heaven. I have gained a perspective on eternity which has changed the way I live my life and the choices I make. It makes this world we live in feel so very temporary!

I am so thankful for the opportunity to read some great books with our book club. I have loved the chance to read and the times of discussion and edification with my fellow readers.

I thankful to God for giving me a more thankful spirit. I am learning to be thankful in all things, especially in the good things, the blue sky, the pretty flowers, good health, husband, children, friends, family, a place to live....if I develop a thankfulness in these every day things, then I have more likely to be thankful when the hard times come.

I am thankful for all the wonderful answers to prayer I have seen in my life and in the lives of those around me, all praise and glory go to God alone for His faithfulness.

I am thankful for new friendships, for depth in current ones, and for the rekindling of old ones (particularly through facebook!).

I am thankful for the years spent with our favourite wedding present, our German Shepherd Rickey who passed away a few months ago. I miss her lots, but I am thankful to God for sharing in her life!

I am thankful to God for my precious children who not only are a joy to have around, but they teach me so much about life. They test me, teach me, encourage me and accept me so much for who I am.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is ever so patient, loving, forgiving, to me. We celebrated 10 years of marriage this year, and it it only getting better! We have both changed so much in so many years, but I am thankful that we have changed together and that we have helped each other change - for the better, slowly striving to be more Christlike. He still is the one who makes me laugh every day, who understands my ways, who gives wonderful cuddles and who gives such fantastic hairbrushes and massages!

And I am thankful for the opportunity to blog, I have enjoyed writing down my thoughts and daily happenings and for the comments and encouragements along the way.

I look forward to 2009 for the opportunity to serve and worship God, it is such a joy to be His child, and how awesome would it be if this was the year we all joined Him in the air....!

Bits and pieces of Christmas

2008-12-27T18:43:00.008+10:30

Christmas day has come and gone! I have loved this Christmas time, not just the 25th of December, but the days leading up to it.

I am slowly learning and realising that Christmas is not just about a certain day, but its something we celebrate for many days and treasure in our hearts always.

While chatting with a friend last night it really dawned on me that we don't have to sit and ponder the birth of Jesus all day on the 25 of December each year to make it meaningful, that's something we contemplate many times throughout the year and so much more around Christmas time.

I remember my days before I was married I would strive hard to make Christmas day meaningful by taking time out to think about the birth of Jesus, but I would often come away from the day feeling guilty that I hadn't spent enough time pondering, but much more time shopping etc.

But this year, and come to think of it in more recent years, I have spent more time leading up to Christmas day thinking about the wonder of Jesus' birth, and the whole nativity story.

Some of the things which I have done this year which has helped me to 'focus' more on Jesus include:

Reading the Nativity Story (even though I am still not finished!);

Reading when I can Immanuel - Praying through the names of God through the Christmas Season;

Going through Getting ready for Christmas with the kids, most days!;

Listening to lots more meaningful Christmas songs and carols;

Reading other people's blogs about their thoughts on Christmas;

Going to two carols nights, plus two church services, I have been blown away this year by the depth of the words in the traditional carols.

I feel like its one of the first years I have come away from Christmas feeling like I have truly celebrated Christmas, and it wasn't because I was super organised and got everything done that I wanted to, or that I had spent all day Christmas day meditating on the birth of Jesus.

I think its because I have taken many opportunities throughout the month of December to stop and think, not just leave it all up to Christmas eve or Christmas day. I also tried hard not to allow myself to become anxious or stressed about things to do and things I just can't do!
So here are some of my Christmas highlights for 2008.

Making nativity gingerbread stables for my neighbours;

Going to carols and Elder park and watching the awesome lightening over the river Torrens - God put on a great show (most of the singing was pretty good too!)

Going to carols at our old church with our kids and friends from England who had never been to anything like it before - it's pretty cold on the other side of the world this time of year!

Watching my husband coordinate an awesome Christmas eve service and then come home and put together two trampolines!
Hosting a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas eve for 23 kids involving cake, making cookies to give away and a nativity story!

Managing to avoid any crazy shopping expeditions by choosing to shop only in the quiet times (i.e early morning or after tea!)

Lots of Christmas cooking with my kids, they love to help and watch!

Going to the Lobethal Christmas pageant with our kids, they've never been to one before and it was so nice to see so many nativity floats!

Watching our 3 girls sing a Christmas song on stage for the Christmas eve service, our 2 and 1/2 year old didn't sing, but stood there looking pretty while swinging her dress!

Now that its all over, I need to make sure I write a list of all the things I loved this year about Christmas and a list of the things I would like to try or do differently next year.

In the post Christmas sales yesterday at Koorong I picked up this book which I will have to start reading next July called, Can Martha have a Mary Christmas? - Untangling Expectations and Truly experiencing Jesus by Brenda Poinsett.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Thoughts about Mary

2008-12-19T07:49:00.007+10:30

I have been reading The Nativity Story a novelisation of The Nativity Story movie. I have really enjoyed getting into the characters, to take the time to ponder and consider what it would have been like for Mary, Joseph, their families, the wise men.

So far, I am loving the way the author, Angela Hunt, has portrayed all the characters, especially Mary. I have always been so drawn to Mary, and even more so since having children.

A few years ago I read through most of Francine Rivers, Lineage of Grace, but I chose not to read the account of Mary, I didn't want to to be caught up in the all the reality and emotions of what she may have experienced at the cross. But I have enjoyed getting to know the Mary of this story. In an interview with Angela Hunt at the back of the book she responds to this question:

Of all the women in Judea, why do you think God chose Mary to give birth to the Saviour of the World?

Angela Hunt: While I can't presume to know the mind of God, I realised something while I was working on the scenes in which Mary travelled to see Elizabeth. In my first draft, I had Mary thinking the sort of thoughts I'd think if I were her: Am I delusional? Was I hallucinating when I saw the angel? If Elizabeth really is pregnant, I'll know I didn't dream that encounter in the olive grove.

I had to strike all those thoughts when I studied Elizabeth's response to Mary. Luke 1:45 tells us that when she saw her young cousin, Elizabeth said, "You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said"(emphasis added).

While I'm sure Galilee was filled with virtuous young virgins who loved and followed ADONAI, I'm not sure there were many who had Mary's pure faith. She went to Elizabeth not to test the angel's word but fully and happily expecting to find her aging cousin six months pregnant.

Mary provides a stark contrast with Zechariah - the priest doubted the angel, but the young girl accepted Gabriel's word with unquestioning faith and obedience.

I still marvel at Mary's trust and faith in God, an unbelievable miracle was about to happen inside of her and she didn't question the angel, she chose to believe and obey. The Nativity Story Movie gave me a glimpse into what it must have been like for her, the questioning, doubting, persecution, rejection. But God chose her and she remained faithful.

I pray that I will have a faith like Mary's, so trusting and confident in her God. He was all she had to trust, no one had ever been through what she was about to experience, she knew full well how impossible it would be for her to be pregnant for she knew she had never known any man. But her faith was in God, not in anything human.

I am daily confronted with so many distractions and temptations, and I put my hope and trust in so many things, but God alone is the one I need to trust and hope in, He alone is the miracle worker, my helper, my Saviour.

I pray that your faith will be simple like Mary's, a quiet, confident trust in an Almighty God.

Our ENORMOUS Christmas tree!

2008-12-18T06:15:00.004+10:30

We started a tradition about two years ago, the boys go and find a tree and the girls decorate! Our son loves the fact that its just the boys who go, and he's not too fussed about not decorating! (Although he does add 1 or 2 decorations and then gets tired!).

They went out last Saturday hunting for a tree. After going to about 4 different places they finally found one at a Christmas tree farm, all the others they had seen were not 'good enough' for Mummy! They cut it down and dragged it to the owner, who then measured it and informed my husband of the price - probably the most expensive tree we will ever get! But it is beautiful, straight, tall, compact and wonderfully green!

The next day at church our son proudly went and told everybody about our ENORMOUS Christmas tree!

Whenever I think about Christmas trees I am reminded of Colin Buchanan's song King of Christmas.

Let the Christmas tree remind you of

the one who trusts the Lord

who walks the path of godliness

and loves to hear God's word.

Pray that as you grow up

that's just how you will be

Standing tall for Jesus

like the Christmas tree.

Christmas links

2008-12-15T15:39:00.034+10:30

Here are some Christmas links I have come across the past few weeks.

CHRISTMAS CRAFTS

Gingerbread nativity

I am hoping to make an adapted version of this gingerbread nativity to give to my neighbours. I might also use bits of this design as well. I wil post some pictures!

Christmas crackers

We always make our own crackers each year. Our kids like to make them and give them out to their friends on Christmas eve. Here is a good idea of putting bible verses inside instead of jokes.

Easy Christmas ornaments

We made these easy angel and wreath ornaments in about 10 minutes this morning. Pretty and easy for kids to do. They put them on their own Christmas tree in the playroom.

I think we will also try these paper lanterns with some of my scrapbooking paper.

These tinsel stars can also be made out of glitter piper cleaners and beads.

GIFT WRAPS AND BOWS

Here are some easy handmade gift bows.

And some pretty gift wraps and bows.

INSPIRATIONAL CHRISTMAS READING

Distracted or downcast?

If you find yourself distracted or downcast this Christmas listen to the sermon at this post.

5 Keys to joy at Christmas

Here is a series of posts about 5 keys to joy at Christmas.

Christmas books to read

The Nativity - Angela Hunt. This is a novelization of the 'Nativity Story' movie.

God in the Manger: The miraculous birth of Christ - John MacArthur. MacArthur explores the miracle and mystery of the birth of Christ.

Stories behind Christmas; Stories behind the best loved Christmas Songs; and More stories behind the best loved Christmas Songs - Ace Collins. Stories behind Christmas explains the history of the common Christmas traditions such as the origin of Christmas, the Christmas tree, advent, candy canes, Santa Claus.

Immanuel: Praying the Names of God through the Christmas Season - Ann Spangler. This book provides daily devotionals for 6 weeks over the Christmas season.

Handy shopping list

2008-12-08T11:42:00.008+10:30

I just came across this handy shopping list. I am currently in the process of listing my shopping items in the order they are located in the shop I always shop at. But it is rather tedious, so in the mean time I might try using this shopping list.

I have this strange desire to create the perfect shopping list (perfect for my needs!). One that prompts me to go check everything in my cupboards to see if I need to restock and one that I can follow easily in the shop so I don't have to keep backtracking when I have missed something in an isle.

Grocery shopping for me has always been a lengthy, drawn out process. It got more complicated as kids came along, and then as they started to talk and walk and multiply!

But since the beginning of this year I decided to make my shopping trips more structured, consistent, and more specific! I used to try and juggle shopping trips around when my husband was home, sometimes he stayed home and looked after everyone and sometimes we would all go together. I have also tried early in the morning before he leaves for work and after tea when everyone is in bed. Then I was inspired by my friend who has always done her grocery shopping on the same day, and with all 3 in tow.

I knew I needed to get into a good routine of when I do my shopping, where and how. I shop on the same day once a fortnight. I travel about 10 minutes up to Gawler and shop at Woolworths. I must admit that I was attracted to the easy access to double trolleys and pram parks right outside the front door! Its great I don't have to push a trolley right around a big shopping centre and be distracted by clothes shops etc. I just go and do grocery shopping. I feed my two youngest a bag of snacks, which last just long enough to get through the shop, and then we head over to Hudsons for a coffee (for me) and babycinos!

So grocery shopping for me is now somewhat of a pleasant experience, and of course I know it will be so much better when I one day perfect my list!

Trusting and waiting

2008-12-05T10:15:00.005+10:30

Don't you just wish sometimes that God would speak to you in an audible voice? I do. Sometimes I wish that He would sit down with me face to face and tell me exactly what I should do in situations. What to think, what to say.

But that's not how He works.

I want immediate answers and directions, and He wants me to trust and wait on Him. He speaks, directs and leads often in a way we don't expect, and He often doesn't give me immediate answers because He wants me to trust in Him, to seek Him earnestly.

The verses in this Psalm 37:3-11 tell me what I should do in times when I feel like I need Him to speak directly to me.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Trust in the Lord, dwell in the land, feed on His faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him, do not fret, cease from anger.

His way for me, the paths He wants me to take will become clear only as I am doing these things. He will give me the desires of my heart, He will bring my way to pass, He will bring forth my righteousness as the light and justice as the noon day, and I shall delight in the abundance of peace.

What amazing promises, but to get there, I need to come to that place of trusting and waiting. And not just waiting around, twiddling my thumbs, but I need to actively feed on His faithfulness - immerse myself in His goodness; delight myself in Him - meditate on and find joy in my salvation; and cease from anger and fretting - don't try and work it out in my head, leave it all up to God.

I like these words from John Piper from his book Future Grace.

"...loving God and delighting in God and drawing near to God mean looking to God as beautiful and worthy and precious. Waiting for God and taking refuge in God and hoping in God and crying out to God mean looking to him as valiant rescuer. Trusting God means counting on his trustworthiness to meet every need. And fearing God means standing in awe at the infinite chasm between his holiness and power on the one hand, and my sin and weakness on the other..."

You know before I started writing this post, my soul was downcast and heavy, but praise God for His word and way it has lifted me up and turned my focus all onto Him.

Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me;

For You are the God of my salvation:
On You I wait all the day.

Psalm 25:4-5

Getting ready for Christmas

2008-12-02T05:48:00.016+10:30

I am now officially in the Christmas mindset! I am one of those people who choose not to get too involved in Christmas until the 1st of December, at the very earliest! I think that has a lot to do with the way we did things when I was growing up. Our Christmas tree went up the day we finished school, and Christmas shopping didn't start until holidays did.

I used to love doing my Christmas shopping in the City. Seeing all the Christmas decorations everywhere, listening to the buskers in the mall. The busyness and crowds never really bothered me it all contributed to the excitement of Christmas!

But that was back in the days before I was married and had kids! Now it seems I do all I can to avoid being amongst the crowds and craziness. I think ahead about what presents to buy and what meals to cook, all to relieve myself of extra stress and pressure as Christmas gets closer.

I must admit that I do miss those school and university days when I could drive into the city and spend a day getting all my Christmas shopping done, it was fun and exciting and back then it helped me get into the Christmas spirit.

But now that I am older and have a family of my own, I enjoy creating a different Christmas spirit within our home.I don't want Christmas to be all about Santa, decorations, presents and food. We have such a wonderful opportunity at Christmas to talk a lot about Jesus and how He humbled Himself and came to earth. That's why I love advent.

You may know that 'advent' means 'coming' or 'arrival'. Observing Advent is a way of preparing spiritually for Christmas so that our celebration produces a sense of joy and hope rather than feelings of cynicism and exhaustion. Advent, then enables us to celebrate Christmas authentically. (From Immanuel - Praying the names of God through the Christmas season - by Ann Spangler)

All day yesterday, it being the 1st December, I was rather mellow and not at all inspired to get out Christmas decorations etc. My heart was distracted and grieved about other things and I was not in the mood at all. I remembered a book I had bought at the end of last Christmas, the one I mentioned earlier. I picked it up and started reading the first chapter, and almost instantly I knew that God was stirring me to focus on Him first this Christmas. Not decorations, trees, presents, food, I needed to fix my eyes on Him first. I was feeling rather overwhelmed etc at the thought of Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, Christmas cooking, Christmas presents, Christmas parties and so on. I am so thankful that it was not until I came back to thoughts of Him and what He has done for us in sending His Son to earth, that I suddenly became excited about Christmas.

So the first Christmas thing I put out was a book I got last year called Getting Ready for Christmas - A Daily Advent Prayer Book for the Family. I put it on the dining table and we did the reading for day 1 after tea. Each day there is a couple of bible verses to read, a prayer and some kind of activity to do. Last night we made angels for the Christmas tree. My two youngest had lots of fun spreading glitter all over the table! I was feeling so much more into Christmas!

After the kids had gone to bed a wonderful friend of ours gave us some cute Christmas decorations she had won in a competition. A blow up Santa Claus and a singing, climbing snowman!

I am always so amazed at how God works! I had prayed that morning that He would help me to get ready for Christmas, and I while I was so focused on getting all the decorations up, He was leading me to a place where I could put Him first this Christmas. If I wasn't feeling so mellow and uninspired I wouldn't have searched for Him, chances are I would have got caught up with the 'doing' of Christmas.

I am looking forward to spending time each day getting mine and my family's heart ready for Christmas. To gain a deeper understanding of what God has done for us by sending us His son to free us from everlasting darkness. I also look forward to all the gift giving, eating, and fellowship that comes at Christmas time.

I was thinking about what it must have been like for Joseph and Mary when they entered Bethlehem. It would have been so busy and full of people everywhere looking for a place to sleep, probably a lot like our shopping centres this time of year. But God led them out to a quiet stable, away from the crowds, for Jesus to be born.

I pray that there will be many times when God will lead you away from the busyness into a special place where you can truly meditate upon what He has done for us, and the joy of our salvation.

This Momentary Marriage

2008-11-27T06:17:00.008+10:30

John Piper has completed his book on marriage, called This Momentary Marriage. I have been eager to see it as I have listened to a number of his sermons on marriage, this book stems from some of these. Some of these sermons have significantly changed my perspective and purpose for marriage.

You can download the book for free from the Desiring God website through this link. Through this link you will also be able to download the sermons on marriage.

Here are some of the chapter headings to stir up your interest!

Staying married is not mainly about staying in love

Forgiving and Forbearing

Lionhearted and Lamblike—The Christian Husband as Head: Foundations of Headship

Lionhearted and Lamblike—The Christian Husband as Head: What Does It Mean to Lead?

The Beautiful Faith of Fearless Submission

Single in Christ: A Name Better Than Sons and Daughters

Singleness, Marriage, and the Christian Virtue of Hospitality

Faith and Sex in Marriage

Marriage Is Meant for Making Children . . . Disciples of Jesus: How Absolute Is the Duty to Procreate?

Marriage Is Meant for Making Children . . . Disciples of Jesus: The Conquest of Anger in Father and Child

What God Has Joined Together, Let Not Man Separate: The Gospel and the Radical New Obedience

What God Has Joined Together, Let Not Man Separate: The Gospel and the Divorced

Are you longing for home?

2008-11-25T06:22:00.018+10:30

I have just finished our book club book 'In light of eternity - Perspectives on Heaven' by Randy Alcorn. What a life changing book!

It has been so exciting to read about our real Home, the one God is preparing for us.

Alcorn writes, "Like a bride's dream of sharing a home with her groom, our love for heaven should be overflowing and contagious, just as our love for God should be (Revelation 19:7). Our passion for God and our passion for heaven should be inseparable. The more I learn about God, the more excited I get about heaven. The more I learn about heaven the more excited I get about God.

How it must wound the heart of our bridegroom to see us clinging to this roach-infested hovel called earth, dreading the thought of leaving it, when he has hand built a magnificent estate for us, a place beautiful and wondrous beyond measure."

When we are blown away by an amazing sunrise or sunset, or marvel at great mountains and canyons we can praise God and 'these will prove to be but rough sketches of heaven'.

When we enjoy a night of sincere Christian fellowship it's only a glimpse of the deep rich, fellowship we will experience in heaven for an eternity.

When we take a bite of a fresh home grown tomato and delight in it's sweetness it's only a small taste of the food we will one day feast on in our everlasting home.

When we participate in an uplifting time of worship with our fellow believers that too is only a glimpse of what our worship will be like when we worship Him face to face with the entire body of Christ.

This earth is not our home! I am so thankful for the foretastes and glimpses He gives us of what is to come, and the dissatisfaction of worldly possessions and experiences remind me that deep inside I am longing for another place. A place where our bridge groom will be and where there will be no more tears because there will be nothing to be sad about.

"We spend our lives longing for this person and this place. Just as people restlessly move from relationship to relationship seeking the person they were made for, they move from location to location seeking the place they were made for. Somewhere new and better. A bigger house. A different city. The suburbs. A new neighbourhood - safer, nicer, with better schools. That dream house in the country. That idyllic mountain chalet. That perfect beach cottage.

Think about it - we have the very answers the world is crying out for, yet our wrong views of God's person and God's place silence and distort our message. What a triumph for Satan that we would actually pass on to our churches, our children, and our world a dreary view of heaven - and by implication a dreary view of God. "

Our view of eternity impacts everything we think, desire, say and do.

What a comfort....
To know that God and His saints are watching, cheering, praying for us.

To know that one day we will be rewarded for sincere, humble faithfulness to Him.

To know that one day we will be reunited with our friends and family, we will meet the faithful saints of the past, matyrs from oppressed countries, and millions of unborn children who will be dancing around heaven.

To know that God is preparing a place for each of us, unique and individual to us (I can't wait to see how God has decorated mine just for me!)

To know that one day we will meet Him face to face and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, no more pain, suffering, and our deepest longings will be met in that place.

The greatest weakness of the western church today is arguably our failure to think of the long tomorrow - to take seriously the reality that heaven is our home. Out of this springs our love affair with this world and our failure to live now in the light of eternity.

I have been challenged to live so much more in the light of eternity. All I do, think, desire, say, spend, do has an impact for eternity. So expect me to be talking a whole lot more about our eternal home!

At the end of the day all that we have, our spouse, our children, our family, our possessions, our freedom, could all be stripped away from us, but what lasts forever is our eternal place in Heaven, and our eternal relationship with God.

God wants us to long for that place, to dream of it, to look up into the clouds and imagine His return. Thoughts of heaven will most certainly give us a dissatisfaction with this world, but it should also stir up a sense of urgency to tell others of a God that wants to spend eternity with them.
I will finish with some questions I was challenged by.

How about you? Are you following the example of the saints by longing for heaven (Hebrews 11:13-16; 2 Corinthians 5:2)?

Are you cultivating a passion for God's place?

Is heaven and all it represents a central object of your attention?

Have you 'set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God' (Colossians 3:1)?

Is your heart's attention there, rather than on 'earthly things' (verse 2).

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

A week without Rickey

2008-11-21T19:32:00.009+10:30

So it's been one whole week since our precious dog Rickey died. I was surprised at how miserable and flat I was all last weekend and at the beginning of the week.

There's a part of me that felt really bad for feeling really bad (hope that makes sense). Here I was feeling very sad and despondent about my dog dying when there are so many other people around me and throughout the world experiencing such greater losses and hardships...But I can't pretend that it didn't impact me in a big way, thank you Julie for sharing your story about the bond you had with your dog.

Even though it has only been a week, I have to say that we have already started talking about our next dog. I couldn't talk to anyone about it for at least 3 or 4 days after she died, but now I have been giving it some serious thought, and discussion with my husband!

We definitely do want to get another dog, there was never any question about that. Whilst it is so convenient not having to look after a dog, the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

The question we are now facing is what kind of dog should we get. I have never really had the opportunity to pick any dog I want before. Rickey was a gift to us, so we never got to choose her, and my mum chose most of the dobermans we had (and there was never any other option but doberman!).

It's something we are both researching. We both have similar qualities that we would like in a dog, we just have differing opinions in what size (sometimes), colour, fur length, facial expressions...! We have both agreed that we don't want a small dog, I am used to having reasonably big dogs around, they provide me with a sense of protection. And of course it needs to get on well with children.

So out of interest sake, what are your thoughts on what kind of dog we should get? Any recommendations or suggestions?

The story of Aggie Hurst

2008-11-19T06:27:00.009+10:30

I read this article article the other day written by Randy Alcorn.

I'd heard bits of this story before. A story of a young missionary couple who went to the Belgian Congo. After his wife died during child birth, he gave his baby away and returned home discouraged and angry at God.

Such an amazing story of how God used just one seed to reap a harvest.

Learning to walk slowly

2008-11-17T20:03:00.005+10:30

I have been learning to breathe lately, to take things slowly, to take time to smell the roses...

A couple of weeks ago I had a good chat with a friend who has been dealing with sickness and upheavals in her life. She told me she had been reading a book I gave her over a year ago called, Breathe, and she has been challenged to slow down.

I am naturally a very driven person, and much to my husbands frustration at times, I am hardly every lazy! Mostly that's a good thing, except when it hinders me from stopping! I find it hard to sit still, to dawdle along (just like my eldest daughter loves to do!). When I am walking I need to do it quickly, when I am doing the dishes they have to be done as fast as possible so I can move quickly on to the next task.

One thing I try not to rush though is my interactions with others. I hate having to rush off to meet someone else, to dash off to another appointment etc. It's my family who unfortunately have to suffer with my quickness, my desire for efficiency and organisation! It is such a retraining of the mind, I have to stop and ask myself, why are you rushing?

Moments after my conversation with my friend, I found myself rushing once again. Of course I had good reason to, if I didn't 'hurry' I would be late to pick up kids from kindy, so I had to hurry along my daughter to the car, drive as efficiently (without speeding of course!) as possible, all because I didn't want to put out the kindy teachers who would have to wait a whole 10 minutes with my children because I was late! I felt a bit trapped on this drive home and had a real battle with my flesh and spirit, my flesh would mumble words under my breath when there was a red light, whilst my spirit was saying chill out, don't worry, go slow and enjoy the moment, the drive home with only 1 child in the car!

Now 2 weeks later, my days have still been busy and full, but I am trying to go through them slowly, I am learning how to breathe, my steps are intentionally slower. I am constantly telling myself to take it slow. Especially at those times when the kids are arguing about something, or demanding something from me, I take a deep breath and remind myself that this moment, what they are doing is not an interruption, but it is part of how I need to serve them. I need to train them and teach them to interact respectfully with each other, to ask for things politely etc.

In a book called Your God is too safe I was reminded about how Jesus lived.

Jesus was slow.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, come quickly, come now! Lazarus is dying, demons are wreaking havoc; people are hungry! Jesus, do something, and do it now!

But Jesus just strolls along, talking to this blind beggar showing kindness to that prostitute, taking a nap, eating a meal. As Philip Yancey says, the one person who never suffered from a Messiah Complex - an anxiety about having to fix the world - was the Messiah. Jesus took time and took his time.

I love that last sentence, Jesus took time and took his time. When I think about how it must have been for Jesus, I can't imagine Him ever rushing from one thing to another.

I know that sometimes when I am rushing and hurrying everyone along its because I am not trusting and waiting on God. When I am waiting and trusting I seem to have all the time in the world for my daughter to stop and pick up a bug, and to listen to my son tell me a funny joke. When I am conscious that God is sovereign, that He is in control of everything, when I am trusting Him with all my heart and not leaning on my own understanding of how things are going, I am much more willing to take my time and to enjoy each moment.

So if you notice me rushing or walking fast, please remind me to breathe and walk slower and to put my trust in God.

I hope Rickey will be in Heaven

2008-11-14T18:56:00.028+10:30

Today we said goodbye to our precious furry friend and companion, Rickey.

She was given to us when she was 3 months old as a wedding present, 10 years ago

I had always lived with a dog, so I couldn't wait to get one when I was married. I had wanted a cat as well, but my husband was not so convinced.

Two weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, my husband informed me that we were going down to the animal shelter. I asked him why, and his response was that we were just going to have a look at some cats. I tried not to get too excited!

When we got down there, it didn't take me long to fall in love with a very affectionate, unusual looking cat. I went in and she was all over me straight away. I brought my husband over, and he too thought she was very special. So much to my delight we went home with a cat, and called her Mooshka.

My husband thought that if we were to ever get a cat we should get it before the puppy came, so the cat could make her standing as boss!

So 2 weeks later Rickey arrived, and the first time Mooshka saw her she went to scratch her. Rickey was about the same size as her, and she cowered!

We have so many fond memories of Rickey in our early years of marriage. For us the early years were difficult and Rickey was such a comfort to me in many ways. She was so fun and affectionate and was such a reliable, trustworthy dog.

She loved her ball and she was a great soccer and basketball player (many of our friends can testify to that!)

During our 10 years of marriage we have lived in 6 different houses for varying periods and Rickey and Mooshka have been with us each time. She was such a good dog and settled in well wherever we were.

When I fell pregnant with my first child, one of my biggest concerns was how Rickey would respond to a baby. She had never really been exposed to any before, and all those horror stories about dog attacks etc. started to worry me.

But prayer is such a blessed thing, I did lots of praying about Rickey and our new baby. And praise be to God, she has been such a wonderful dog to all of our children, she has never shown any signs of jealousy. She has been so patient, gentle, tolerant and fun to play with.

I was brought up with dobermans, 2 of them were often unpredictable. Although they never bit or harmed anyone, I learnt how to be careful, and respectful around them. I have always wanted to have a big dog around our children, it is a good opportunity to teach them how to handle dogs, to treat them with respect and carefulness, and to not be afraid of them.

Over the past 2 years Rickey has had trouble with her ears. Apparently her ear canals are very thin and dirt etc. gets blocked in them easily which then lead to infections. 2 years ago we thought she would have to have a $1500 operation to open up the canals so they wouldn't get infected anymore, but she seemed to get better with a dose of antibiotics the infections stayed away.

But a couple of months ago they got infected again, so we took her to the vet for more antibiotics, they healed up, but I noticed a few days ago she was scratching again. Each time these infections come they cause her a lot of pain, and she howls when she scratches her ears, it was so sad to see her in such pain and discomfort.

Yesterday I heard her snap at one of the younger two children, I didn't see what happened but from what I can tell one of them pushed the other accidentally into Rickey and being startled, she growled back. Thankfully she didn't bite her, but no. 4 was pretty upset.

She has been such a gentle wonderful dog, not a nasty bone in her, but I know what it's like when you are in pain, you are more irritable and can't handle surprises. She was scared when no. 4 fell into her and she responded out of fear. I spent the rest of the day observing her and noticed that she was walking very slowly everywhere and spend most of the day lying down when usually she is running up and down the fence, with the dog next door. I wondered whether she was experiencing pain all through her body, not just in her ears.

Later that day we made the decision to get her put down. She was in pain and we couldn't risk her biting one of the children or anyone else, due to her being in pain. I would have such regrets if anything ever happened, and it would be such an awful memory to have of her.

So last night and this morning we cherished our last moments with her, it was very sad to try and imagine her not being with us. She was such a cuddly dog, just like a bear. We explained what was happening to the kids and they seemed to understand.

My husband took her to the vet this morning, she could hardly climb into his car, it seemed like a big effort for her. He found it very sad and emotional, but I am so thankful to him for doing it.

I spent the whole day out, so when I got home, the backyard felt so empty. I have always hated it when she had to go to the vet and wasn't home, but now I will have to get used to it :(

But I am so thankful for her, she has been with us through so much happiness, sadness, and life changes. She has been one of the few constant, things in our life (apart from God!). I will miss her immensely.

I am comforted by these thoughts by Randy Alcorn though, this is taken from an article called Do dogs go to Heaven.

"In her excellent book, Holiness in Hidden Places, Joni Eareckson Tada says, 'If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be just like him. It would be totally in keeping with his generous character. . . Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy—utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous. . . Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness of joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on his children......'

We needn't be embarrassed either to grieve the loss of our pets or to want to see them again. If we believe God is their creator, that He loves us and them, that He intends to restore His creatures from the bondage they experienced because of our sin, then we have biblical grounds for not only wanting but also expecting that we may be with them again on the New Earth."

And I love this poem by John Piper Alcorn quotes in the article.

And as I knelt beside the brook

To drink eternal life,

I took A glance across the golden grass,

And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast

As she could come.

She leaped the stream—

Almost—and what a happy gleam

Was in her eye.

I knelt to drink

And knew that I was on the brink

Of endless joy.

And everywhere I turned I saw a wonder there.

Thank you Lord for such a wonderful dog.

My husband is an great cake decorator!

2008-11-13T19:44:00.013+10:30

When it's birthday time, I bake the cake and my husband decorates.

Child no. 3 turned 4 yesterday. Leading up to her birthday we asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and each time she gave us a different answer! She loves to change her mind!

Finally the day before her brother suggested having a crocodile cake, yes, that was what she wanted. All day she was telling people she was having a crocodile cake.

Then on the morning of her birthday, her older sister was chatting to her, and she decided that she now wanted a Princesses cake!

We said NO you are having a crocodile cake, you can't change your mind again!

It didn't take long for her to be decide she did want a crocodile cake!

I must say that my husband is very talented at creating cakes. He never uses a book, he makes up all his creations. I just ask him how many cakes he needs and what shape, make the cake, then leave the rest up to him!

So here is the crocodile cake.

And here are some other past creations.

What would it really be like to live on earth with Jesus

2008-11-07T18:57:00.005+10:30

I was chatting with a friend today about how I would respond to Jesus if I was around when He was.

It's so easy to read about His life 2000 years ago and think - if I was Peter, there's no way I would deny Him, if I was Martha surely I would have grabbed the opportunity to sit at His feet and hang on His every word, if I was one of the disciples in the garden, I would have fought off the desire to sleep realising that Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled.

It's so easy for me to think that now, just reading frivolously over the words, 2000 years after it happened. But when I think deeply and realistically about it, I would have been just like them all. I am certain of it!

My friend and I talked about the many judgements, opinions, criticisms Jesus would have faced, from all sorts of people.

But, He didn't become man to please man, He came to save them and to do the will of His Father. I know that Jesus was sinless on this earth, but in the eyes of many, he surely would not have been perfect, He would have fallen short of many of the standards of that society, because they would have been looking at Him through their eyes and standards, not God's.

As I tried to put myself in the place of someone who lived with Jesus, I wondered whether I would have judged Him or criticised Him, I have certainly been guilty of doing that with many godly men and women I know.

In my eyes they may have been living or doing things that I don't agree with, or that I think may be ungodly, but I have no right to judge, to criticise. What they are doing may be totally godly and right in God's eyes.

God is the only one who can see our hearts, He knows our desires, our motives, He is the One we serve.

While I know I need to be sensitive to others around me and be careful not to be a stumbling block, I need to be far more concerned about what God thinks rather than what men think.

I am reminded of these wonderful, amazing verses from Hebrews 12:2-3 that constantly lift me up.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

When I fix my eyes on Jesus, I am reminded that He is the one I am living for, I may be judged, criticised, persecuted, or even neglected by men, but He is the One I want to bring glory to.

A surprisingly enjoyable shopping experience!

2008-11-03T19:50:00.008+10:30

I am not usually one to take all 4 of my kids shopping by myself, with no restraints (i.e. pram or trolley) but on the way back from taking my dad and sister to the airport the other day, there were a couple of shops I really wanted to 'pop' into!

I don't usually have much patience or tolerance for shopping with kids, but today I was in a rather relaxed mood, and found it much more easier to turn a blind eye and ear to their requests - i.e.

I need to go to the toilet,

I'm hungry,

Come and look at this Mummy!

I just strolled through the store, happy for them to wander along behind me, browsing at this and that. I dragged them all into the change room and they helped me decide which top and skirt to buy.

Normally I am a pretty strict about them keeping right by my side and about touching things, but today, I was way more relaxed, and the store was not very busy - I was actually enjoying myself!

After the clothes shop I just had to go to one more shop - the shoe shop! It's more like a warehouse really, shoes and boxes everywhere! I was surprisingly still very relaxed in this shop, I was on a mission to buy shoes!

As it turned out, this shopping trip was a lot of fun for all of us, my 2 year old daughter stirred up a bit of attention trying on all sorts of ladies shoes.

At first I stopped her, but after a while I realised she was just copying me and all the other ladies in the store who were trying on shoes!

So many ladies were smiling at her and commented on how cute she was. She chose a shoe from the shelf, put it on, walked up and down and then put it back roughly where she found it!

I realised after that if I had been really strict and bossy and made her stop trying on the shoes, we would have missed out on making so many of the ladies around us smile and enjoy watching her.

I know that a lot of this surprisingly enjoyable trip had to do with my attitude!

I wasn't being neglectful, and my children certainly were not out of control, I was just way more relaxed and made the effort to enjoy my children and allow them to enjoy the experience too!

Are you working for God or with God?

2008-10-27T09:59:00.005+10:30

I was confronted with this question yesterday when reading our current 'book club' book, Just like Jesus - Learning to have a heart like His by Max Lucado.

Before I read chapter 5, Being led by and unseen hand - A God-intoxicated heart I would have said I was working with God, not for Him.

But as I kept reading I started having second thoughts.

Lucado writes,

For years I viewed God as a compassionate CEO and my roles as a loyal sales representative. He had his office, and I had my territory. I could contact him as much as I wanted. He was always a phone or fax away. He encouraged me, rallied behind me, and supported me, but he didn't go with me. At least I didn't think he did. Then I read 2 Corinthians 6:1: We are "God's fellow workers" (NIV).

Yesterday I spend most of the day in and out of bed with an upset stomach and thick head.

So if I took on the above perspective of God, I would be telling God, as my compassionate CEO that I couldn't come into work today because I was sick, I needed the day off, and I'll get back to working for Him when I am better.

I must admit, I heard myself saying this to Him.

I just can't do anything, it's too hard to speak kindly to my husband and children, to pray or do the 'little things' around the home.

I felt myself saying I'll be back to work tomorrow when I'm better. Don't expect too much out of me today God, cause I need to rest!

But I was challenged to think about what I would be saying and thinking about if I was working with God.

Instead of being somewhere in an office in town carrying on with His own work, He would be right next to me, taking care of me.

He would be filling my mind with sweet scriptures about His goodness and greatness.

As my children approached me with requests and demands, He would give me the strength I needed to respond kindly and patiently with them.

When it was time to make meals, He would encourage me to take a step towards preparing a meal and He would sustain me and keep me while I got it done.

As I started to view God in this way, I started to experience such precious communion with Him, even though I was feeling weak physically, there was an inner strength being generated by Someone most powerful.

The rest of the chapter was all about pursing an unbroken, constant, intimate communion with God. Lucado writes,

"The more we search the Bible, the more we realise that unbroken communion with God is the intent and not the exception. Within the reach of every Christian is the unending presence of God".

Communion with God is not just something I do in the mornings in my devotions, it is something I can experience throughout the whole day - but it is my choice to commune with Him, to think about Him, to worship Him.

I would love to be like Frank Laubach, whom Lucado quotes, who wrote:

It is my business to look into the very face of God until I ache with bliss.....Now I like the Lord's presence so much that when for half an hour or so He slips our of mind - as He does many times a day - I feel as though I had deserted Him, and as though I had lost something very precious in my life. (March 3, 1931; May 14, 1930).

10 years together!

2008-10-23T19:58:00.011+10:30

I have returned from 3 wonderful days in Sydney with my beloved husband!

Tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary so our time away was a kind of celebration for that and we wanted to go see Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and the Dave Crowder band at the Sydney Entertainment Centre!

Despite the cold weather and intermittent rain, it was so wonderful to have our bed made every day, our dishes cleaned, not have to cook (or change nappies!) and most importantly to have uninterrupted time together.

It is hard to believe that 10 years tomorrow we were married on a magnificent day in October.

I absolutely loved everything about our wedding day (and still do!).

I chose to have a simple wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses, and dressed them up with wonderfully colourful flowers!

Our ceremony was held at the church I had been attending all my life, and our reception was held on the grounds where the church is located.

Our reception was like a great big picnic. We wanted to invite as many people as we could, and we are not sit down dinner people, so we had a big marquee, chairs, tables, umbrellas, picnic blankets and a jazz band which set the scene.

We had a simple ploughman's lunch (breads, cold meats and salads), and the only things which was missing was the jumping castle and pony rides (which my husband desperately wanted!).

It was so lovely to have so many of our family and friends and lots of children buzzing around the place and the weather was beautiful.

I am so thankful for such fond memories of that day, and I am still so grateful for the many people who helped out on that day to make it so special

Now 10 years on, I can't believe it was so long ago! We'll both admit that the first few years of our marriage were hard, I felt so naive as a wife, I really had no clue about my role as a wife and the whole submission thing!

But as the years have gone on, things have become so much better, easier in some ways, and I have learnt so much about what it means to be a wife!

However, like with every relationship we need to put lots of time, love, sacrifice, and prayer into our marriage, every day, and we should be careful not to take each other for granted.

A few months ago I came across a list I wrote before I was with my husband (back in April 1995!) called, 'My Perfect Partner'.

Someone who loves me for who I am and all that I am
Someone who absolutely adores me
Someone who is bright, cheerful, strong and sympathetic towards others and not critical
Someone handsome with a loving smile
Someone who loves animals
Someone who is very godly and a spiritual leader
Someone who can endure suffering and pain
Someone whom I can admire and respect
Someone who is clean cut and friendly with everyone.

As I look back over that list I am so thankful that my husband has all of those qualities and so much more!

I was 20 when I wrote that list and I am so glad I did, as it helped and guided me to my husband to enabled me make a rational decision about him, not one merely based on emotion and feeling (does that make sense?!).

I am so thankful for the prayers prayed on our wedding day, and for the way they have been answered.

I praise Him for the beautiful children He has blessed us with, and I praise Him for the trials, pain and suffering we have been through together!

There are many things I regret in our marriage, but God has allowed them and used them to build us closer together and to give us a deeper understanding of Him.

Big Kindy girl

2008-10-18T07:00:00.014+10:30

My 3rd child started pre entry Kindy last week. She has been waiting for AGES to go to BIG Kindy. She has been going to occasional care, a 2 and 1/2 hour session for 0-4 year olds at the Kindy the bigger kids go to for the past 3 years, and the past few months she has been rather desperate to be on the 'other side'.

I couldn't get over just how excited she was on Friday. Every day last week as we got ready to take no. 2 to Kindy she would ask

"Am I going to BIG Kindy today?"

And each day I had to say, "No, not today, on Friday".

And every time I would get an "Oh...I want to go to big Kindy".

So it was soooo exciting to say to her on Friday, "Today you are going to big
Kindy."

I must say that I was amazed at how well behaved she was all morning as we got ready for Kindy and waited until it was time to go. I didn't notice it until I had dropped her off, but she had been so well mannered, so helpful (she watered all my plants!), there was no battle about what clothes to put on, there was no squabbling with siblings, just lots of joy and goodness coming from her! It made me think about how I am when I am excited about something, I am so much more tolerant, kind, helpful...happy! It was such a joy to see this in my 3 year old!

It was so wonderful to see her at Kindy, the place she has been waiting to go to for soooo long! She could finally put her bag on the 'Kindy side', no longer on the 'babies side'.

As soon as we got in there she joined in on group time and had no problems singing the songs, and sitting nicely. I don't like to think too much about how quickly our children are growing up, I prefer to focus on how delightful they are where they are at, and to enjoy them where they are at, not where they were or how they will one day be!

A few days ago while I was watching group time for no. 2's Kindy session, I watched one of the teachers trying to restrain a boy who did not want to sit still and quiet, he was screaming and squirming. It made me think, I am so thankful that my children are able to sit still and pay attention (most of the time!).

It hasn't been easy work though. I still remember no. 2 squirming and screaming on my lap when he was 9 months old because he didn't want to sit still, but I was determined to win the battle, and finally he gave in and sat still.

As parents we have had to battle this with all of our children on numerous occasions, so to see no. 3 on Friday sitting still and joining in with the group was a delight, and she did not bring shame to me, like this verse talks about.

“A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Prov 29:15).

So when she got home, daddy asked her what was the best thing about Kindy, and her answer was "siah", which means "Josiah", he is a friend from church!

She then proceeded to tell him how she also liked playing with the boys!

My first priority

2008-10-17T16:57:00.007+10:30

I have been challenged lately about priorities....my life purpose in general. And I have come to the conclusion, that I have not been making my husband my first priority.

It is so easy to get busy doing things, and not that they're bad things, they are just things that take me away from making him my first priority (after God that is!).

Our relationship has not been suffering or anything, but I have been starting to fill my life with other things, that are distracting me from making him number 1 in a practical way.

This week while I have been thinking through all of this, I came across this post based on Proverbs 31:12. “She does HIM good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”

Kristin Chesemore writes,

'The object of this wife’s active do-gooding is her husband.......Sad to say, I don’t always do this. Sometimes I am quick to meet my kid’s needs or to agree to do a favor for a friend without considering whether or not it would serve my husband. Serving my children and those in the church is right and important--as we see in the example of the Proverbs 31 woman. But I must remember that I am uniquely gifted and called to do good to my husband first.'

I am uniquely gifted and called to be a helper to my husband, that is such a privilege, no one else has that opportunity or calling! I am thankful for the way God grabs my attention, even though I had to go through some pain and humility for Him to get me this time.

Please feel free to remind me and encourage me to make my husband my first priority, I have the gift of mercy and I love to help others, which is OK, if it is not causing harm to my husband. My goal is to do him good all the days of his life!

When all is quiet in the kitchen....

2008-10-16T12:40:00.009+10:30

This is what happened the other morning while I was on the computer!

I noticed that it was rather quiet in the kitchen, when is should have been noisy.

My 2 year old was left ALONE at the breakfast bar after morning milks (everyone else was in the bedroom cuddling daddy, and I was on the computer).

She can't get down by herself and the milo tin was left on the bench.

You can see her pointing to the floor, she was telling me there was milk on the floor, there was no conscience about stealing milo!

So I quickly got the camera and took a snap, and then left her to finish her milk!

And then this happened.

You would think I would have been smart enough to take the milk away as well!

I must say that she got out of being told off for it all, it was funny, and I was partly to blame!!

Blog design change

2008-10-15T07:32:00.002+10:30

I am in the process of changing my blog design. I am attempting to do it all from scratch so it's a work in progress at the moment.

If you have ever been to my house you will know that I am always changing things around, so sorry it will be the same here as well!

Frustration with sin!

2008-10-12T15:10:00.003+10:30

I have been frustrated with sin today!

There was an 'episode' this morning where I sinned, regretfully, and whilst I am so thankful for God's forgiveness, His death on the cross, the hope of eternal life....

I am still so frustrated that sin exists.

I know we are being conformed to the 'image of His Son' but we will never be perfect or like Him until we get to Heaven.

It feels like sin just gets in the way of doing what I should be doing for God!

But....obviously God has sovereignly allowed sin in this life, and I know that He does use 'all things for good', I have a long heavy puritan book all about that!

I just hate it when I sin.

A friend of mine reminded me a week ago, that if our children never saw us sin or saw our faults, and if we never had to apologise to them, and their opinion of us was that we are perfect, then as they get older and realise what life is all about, they would become disillusioned, they wont know how to deal with sin, because they haven't seen us deal with it.

It's one of the hardest things, to let my children see, my weaknesses and pride.

I need to rely so much more upon the grace of God to keep me from being a stumbling block to my children, and that He truly would use all things for good, that He would be the one who saves them, protects them and keeps them.... especially from the sin of their mother!

Teddy Bear's Picnic

2008-10-10T10:33:00.009+10:30

We had the Teddy Bear's picnic on Wednesday for my 6 year old and 5 of her friends. It was such a fun day!

I spent all day Monday sewing these backpack picnic blankets for each of the girls. I came up with idea when I was trying to think of a way they could carry their teddies.

The blanket folds up into a backpack and there's a pocket on the back to hold a teddy. I have so many odd bits of material that just haven't been used for anything so I didn't have to buy anything to make them!

I found some $1 baskets from some second hand shops and put some material in them. They used these to carry their tea cups and food.

I made cupcakes and the girls iced them and decorated them.

They also made pretend cupcakes and food for their teddies. Can you tell which ones are real?

Once we had made everything we went outside and had the picnic!

After eating the girls played while Emma and I sat down and had a cup of tea!

Then we played some games with the teddies.

Push the teddies on the car;

Teddy sack race;

And their favourite was hide the teddies. We hid the teddies all around the garden and they had to try and find them!

At the end, they decided to do some more making, this time clothes and costumes for their teddies. They were so creative and came up with costumes and dresses!

I am glad I put in the time and effort to make it a fun and special day, not just for my daughters but for her friends!

I thank God for such a beautiful sunny day, despite the rain in the morning!

Being sick = resting and waiting!

2008-10-01T21:12:00.004+09:30

I love the way God always knows what I need and what is best for me.

It is so incredibly hard to trust Him sometimes, but when I do.....such amazing peace, and I wouldn't want to be in any other place (does that make sense?).

I have been sick the past few days, I always welcome sickness as a time for physical, emotional and spiritual recovery. When I get sick I see it as God's way of making me slow down, to stop and evaluate what I am doing and why, and what is most important.

I crashed emotionally on Sunday night when I was in despair about being sick!

All I could think about was all the plans I had made for the upcoming days and that my husband was going away and how was I going to cope with it all! I felt like my brain was about to explode with all the thinking whilst my body was in pain with the sickness I had.

Yet in my despair, what could I do but cry out to God, and wait on Him.

During that night of restless sleep I picked up a devotional book and I read over some familiar verses about waiting.

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the LORD;Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 39:7
And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.

Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.

I knew I had to wait patiently on God to restore my health, to guide me one step at a time as to what to do with the plans I had for the coming days, and to trust that He will take care of me, my husband, my children and my house!

As it turned out, the following day I was no better and my husband organised for the children to be out of the house all day, while I spent the day in bed, reading, sleeping, and I was able to catch up on a bit of light housework.

He heard my cries, He knew what I needed and He provided for me, and I praised Him for it.

That morning in my reading I read over another familiar, favourite verse.

Psalm 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

More cupcakes and great recipe sites

2008-09-24T19:10:00.008+09:30

The felt cupcakes I talked about in my previous post inspired inspired me to make some real ones! I googled the words 'easy cupcakes' and the first recipe that came up was from one of my favourite recipe sites.

I have been looking through all my cookbooks for an easy cupcake recipe and most of them required 5-6 eggs and beating butter and sugar together, which sounded like too much work for me! But this recipe required only 2 eggs, and no beating, the hardest thing was melting the butter in the microwave! And they turned out great, and very yummy! Check out all the comments about the cupcakes from those who have made them, there are some good tips about variations to the recipe. I am also looking forward to trying the Double chocolate cupcakes.

In the holidays I am planning a teddy Bear's picnic for my eldest daughter and her friends. I will make a batch of cupcakes (probably the small muffin size) which they can ice and decorate themselves, and then they can make some pretend cupcakes for their teddies!

My mum used to arrange craft days for my friends in the holidays, these were very memorable to me and I am sure to some of my school friends whose mums weren't very crafty!

I look forward to getting to know my daughter's friends more, and I love watching little girls create things, they come up with such beautiful things!

One other recipe I love from the taste.com.au site is a Broccoli and pasta bake. This recipe is also super easy and great for a crowd of people.

I came across another recipe site called cooking by numbers. I haven't as yet used any of the recipes, but the concept is good, you click on what ingredients you have in your cupboard and it comes up with a list of recipes that use the stuff you have. It would be great resource for giving ideas for new recipes and inspiration for when you just don't know what to cook for tea!

Felt food frenzy

2008-09-21T16:45:00.015+09:30

I have been addicted to making felt food this past weekend!

I have been in a sewing/crafty mood lately. I have seen several blogs with felt food featured, but I haven't really been inspired to try making anything until I stumbled across some pictures of cupcakes. I suddenly had to give it a try!

So here are some photos of what I came up with.

Here are the cupcakes.

I made a cake with removable decorations and candles and tea bags.

Some donuts and strawberries.

Here it all is, ready for a tea party! I want to try making a pizza next with removable toppings.

If you would like to try making cupcakes, here is a blog which had a step by step tutorial on how to do it.

Spring has sprung!

2008-09-19T21:48:00.005+09:30

Spring has always been my favourite season, here's why.

I love the way it's starting to get lighter in the mornings, I can enjoy a sunrise in quietness before my kids get out of bed!
The sun is so clear and warm, perfect for falling asleep under;
I love watching all the leaves come back on the trees, roses budding, and flowers blooming;
Its great to dig out shorts, skirts, t-shirts and sandals, to have a change from the Winter wardrobe!;
Being able to take the cover off the sandpit and watching my kids spend hours digging in the sand;
Getting stuck into the gardening, I don't mind weeding if it's an excuse to be outside in the sunshine;
Just being outside with my kids watching them playing with caterpillars, worms, and butterflies, riding their bikes, scooters, running around;
Going for walks and looking at all the gardens starting to bloom;
Celebrating our wedding anniversary cause I always wanted to get married in Spring (the best time of year for flowers!);
Revisiting places like the park and beach which have been a no go zone for a while during the cold and wet Winter;
Exploring my dad's and father in law's gardens, they are some much more interesting than my young 2 and 1/2 year old garden!
Spring cleaning and sorting!

I didn't realised how much I liked about Spring until I started writing stuff down!

I am so thankful that there are different seasons, it is so wonderful to have a change.

My husband bought two small grapevines last year and for the past 2 months we thought they were dead, I was ready to chuck them out. But the other day I saw some small green leaves start to appear.

Of course they had been dormant for the Winter, but I didn't realise how 'dead looking' they would get! But that was just for a season, now its time for growth.

I read that it's through the Winter when vines should be pruned, when they are dormant. It reminded me how sometimes in our lives when we are struggling it may appear that we are 'dead' or not going anywhere but that's probably when we are being pruned.

God is doing a deeper work within us even though on the outside it may appear that we are dormant or 'dead looking'. I shared this with a friend the other day who is struggling with their feelings about God. We may feel far away from God during this time, but He is doing a deeper work in us and its only for season that we may feel like this.

The grapevine needs to be dormant for a while so it can be pruned, so it can bear fruit in the proper season. During the Winter many of us experience times of sickness, isolation, weariness, because there is less sun, it is cold, we are more prone to illness - but God allows this season for deeper growth, to prepare us for the time when we will bear fruit.

So I am thankful for the change in seasons, and I look forward to seeing the fruit on the trees and the roses on the bushes!!

"To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Reality check

2008-09-17T06:10:00.003+09:30

Yesterday was a reality check day for me.

I was fighting with lies and thoughts in my mind which made me feel unloved. I should have seen it coming as we have just finished the book, "Lies Young Women believe". I felt attacked and struck down, but God in His great mercy allowed that time for me to take a reality check and examine my heart.

I am thankful for such a wonderful husband who, God sent to minister to me and serve me. But it wasn't until this morning after spending time with the Lord, that I realised how much I needed yesterday.

I needed to experience the victory, needed to examine my heart and confess, needed my husband to minister to me and to allow him to, needed this morning with God.

When I was feeling low, I even battled with the thought that God can't really make me happy, is He really out there, is He enough? I couldn't believe I was having those thoughts, I know the truth so well, but I pushed them out of my mind, and God sent along my husband to help me through!

Its so easy to get caught up in doing things, and if everything is all going well, there's a part of me that thinks I am doing OK and don't need God as much, but I am so thankful that He reminds me how much I need to surrender everything to Him, that when I am doing it in my strength I am doing it my way, not His!

This morning I reflected on this truth from the book I mentioned earlier.

When you want things to go YOUR way
Its not about me; it's all about Him (Colossians 1:116-18; Revelation 4:11)!
The world was not created to revolve around us. The entire universe was created to revolve around Christ. If our goal in life is to be happy or accepted or loved, than anything that threatens our well-being will be an enemy - an obstacle to fulfilling our objective. On the other hand, once we agree with God that we exist for His pleasure and glory, we can accept whatever comes into our lives as part of His sovereign will and purpose. We will not resent, resist, or reject the "hard things", but embrace them as "friends," designed by God to make us like Jesus and to bring glory to Himself.

I am thankful for this "friend" that God allowed to come into my life yesterday, it was a reminder about how much I need Him, and its all about Him.

I need to abide

2008-09-12T20:33:00.005+09:30

"I am the vine you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruits; for without Me you can do nothing."

Sometimes I get so busy, and think I am doing well...cause I am doing lots of stuff, but I am not abiding, I don't take the time to really connect with the vine, to linger at the Saviours feet.

In Bible Study today we learned about abiding, and how we are not going to bear 'much fruit' by doing more, by working longer and harder. The 'much fruit' is only produced when we are 'abiding' in Him. I need to spend less time working for Christ and more time with Christ.

That challenging passage about Mary and Martha was brought up, "And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving........'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'" Luke 10:39-42

Mary wasn't being lazy, she just knew the one thing that was needed, to spend time with Jesus, that was more important than doing things for Him, she wanted to be with Him, and the amazing part is that He wanted to be with her too!

My time with Jesus is a huge priority for me every day, each morning I delight in spending time with Him before everyone else is awake, but its through my day that I need to put that time aside for Him as well.

There are many times I hear Him prompting me.. 'just sit down and talk to Me, don't worry about folding the washing, the dishes, I will provide you with the opportunity to do them later, right now while the children are happily playing outside, sit down with Me, read My word and listen to what I have to say to you. I want to give you an abundant life, full of joy in Me...'

It is so hard to stop sometimes, but every time I do it, my soul is deeply satisfied, my strength is renewed, my heart is refreshed, I am no longer 'worried and troubled about many things'.

"Do you face seemingly insurmountable obstacles to abiding? Remember Mary's choice, the circumstances in which it happened, and the favour it brought her. Remember Susannah Wesley. A busy mother of more than a dozen boisterous kids (John and Charles among them), Susannah found a way to abide. Whenever she put a bag over her head every Wesley child knew not to interrupt - Mother was spending time with God. And the fruit from Susannah Wesley's life (she's one of the most important figures in revival history) is still being counted.

Maybe today you should go looking for an old grocery bag!"
(Taken from Secrets of the Vine devotional)

I wish the tooth fairy was real

2008-09-09T14:43:00.003+09:30

My oldest daughter lost her first tooth on Saturday! It was a rather dramatic experience, there was no lead up to it, it wasn't wobbling, it just came out - with lots of blood!

We were in the car on our way back from Ikea and she just started crying and she had her tooth in a tissue and blood coming out. The blood was what made her cry, she hates it! It was very exciting to see her lose her first tooth, but I haven't seen her cry so much for a long time!

Her brother was not so tolerant of the crying he said, 'Mummy, I just can't deal with all this crying!'

After a while the bleeding stopped, and was rather proud of her lost tooth. She looks very cute with one tooth missing.

Most of her friends at school have already lost one or more teeth, so she has heard lots about the tooth fairy. She asked her father a few weeks ago if the tooth fairy was real, and he said...no, 'but I can come and put some money under your pillow.' She has yet to believe him, that the tooth fairy is not real, and she did not want him to put money under her pillow.

She has been waiting since Saturday night for the real tooth fairy to come, today she has written a note to the tooth fairy to tell her about her tooth - I wish she was real, I hate it when my kids get disappointed. But her friends at school tell her that they have seen the tooth fairy and that she has come to their house, so she is determined to wait for her, although I can sense an element of disappointment that she has not come yet, I think she must feel forgotten.

It will be an interesting lesson for her to learn, she will keep waiting and she will not come. I am so glad though that I can pass on to her the truths about Jesus and that He is real. And to teach her about the wonder of prayer, and waiting, and that though there are not fairies, there are angels all around looking after her, fighting hard to keep away the evil that is lurking about. And that one day Jesus will come back, that when we look up into the clouds, that is a reminder that one day He will return in the clouds. I am so glad I can pass on these truths to her, I look forward to the days when she sees God at work in her life and in the life of her family, when it hits her that He really is real and that He is all powerful!

Still the idea of a tooth fairy is so nice, I wish she was real...!

The myth of quality time

2008-09-08T06:12:00.003+09:30

I came across an article I had cut out from Adelaide's Child several years ago, it is titled, 'The myth of quality time'. I was so glad to read it over again, it was a good reminder about how I should be spending time with my children. Here are a few snippets from it.

'....Time has become one of the most precious of our commodities, and as with everything that is precious, we guard it fiercely - even when it comes to relationships with the people closest to us.

When we have so little of it, how can we contemplate wasting time? And yet this is exactly what relationships need: the simple wasting of time together, the going nothing in particular, the hanging around, the sitting nearby. It can be a difficult notion to grasp and to put it into action at a time when we emphasise the importance of 'outcomes' and 'goals'. Who wants to know about the significance of quantity time - unstructured, open-ended, uncontrolled - when every moment counts most urgently?

Enter quality time. When it was introduced and promoted as an opportunity for busy parents to spend time with their children, it was embraced without question Here was a publicly sanctioned way to give relationships focused attention by scheduling 'special' time. The idea was that programming 'quality time' with those closest to you could show you cared, however little time you had for them the rest of the week.

As it turns out, quality time is not all its cracked up to be. It can be no more than a rationalisation for not spending enough time with the people we love and who need us.

Our lives have become so compartmentalised that even caring for others is being slotted into a timetable, sandwiched in between the thousand and one other things that clamour for our attention.

The reality is that there are times when designating time together is a good idea. When life is particularly demanding and we're feeling stretched and frayed, then we may need to consciously arrange a period of time with the people we love. But to make a habit of scheduling time with them is to fall into the 'quality time trap'.

It's a trap because it can fool you into thinking you are attending to your children's needs when you aren't at all. Most people believe that quality time requires an intense interaction, and parents usually feel that they have achieved something by the end of the scheduled interval.

I must admit that I have fallen into this 'quality time trap' often. Not only do I do it with my children, but also God, my husband, my family and friends. I am a very purposeful person and I find it hard to just 'waste time' with my husband and children.

I have to change my way of thinking and not see it as wasted time - although it is wasted if I have begrudged the time together and not made the effort to enjoy it and delight in my family.

When I see that we have a spare weekend, sometime I think what exciting thing can we do together, go to the movies, a big park 2 hours away, down to the beach.... those things are great, and fun, but I need to remember that sometimes its just ok to hang out at home together, play cricket in the backyard, snuggle together and read books, bake cookies and share them with our neighbours, go for a walk to the park just down the road!

',,,,The value of just being together and not doing much at all remains unrecognised as we rush obsessively towards reaching goals and amassing achievements. Think about it. How prepared are you to admit to someone, anyone, that you did 'nothing much' with your child over the weekend? As more than one parent commented to me, "I feel like a lazy mother/father if I don't do all sorts of different things with my child to keep them stimulated and involved...'

....'Children simply need a lot of contact time with their parents, but not necessarily a lot of direct attention'....Notice how a little child will often protest if you move away while they play, even though you are not involved in their activity.

The reality if that children do need to come and go, to potter here and there, to experiment with this and that - and all the while they need to know that someone who cares about them is nearby.

....Every child needs special one-on-one interaction with their parents. Whether you call it 'quality time' is another matter, because I would like to think that most time, when its given freely and with an open heart, its quality time.

Apart from such focused time together, children also need plenty of unstructured and informal time, when the true relationship is deepened. It's when people who care for each other work alongside and around, but not necessarily with, each other in an intense way. This is the process that breeds independence and teaches the joys of genuine companionship.

This finding of article again was very timely for me. Last week we had a lot of time together, hanging out in the garden. Because I was in the gardening mood (inspired by the awesome Spring weather) my kids were right alongside, digging in the dirt, helping watering, playing with caterpillars and worms. I didn't have to entertain them, or play in with their games, they were content and very happy to play right alongside me, just because I was there with them, not inside somewhere out of their view.

Last week I was thinking lots about heaven, in particular how wonderful its going to be to be able to just 'hang out' with friends, family, people I haven't seen for ages. I know we need to redeem the time here on earth, but often that may involve 'wasting time' together with our children, just being there, but talking, modeling, training along the way. That's how God wants us to tell our children about Him and His word, '...talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.' (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

A small picture of heaven

2008-09-01T14:21:00.007+09:30

I came across an article recently and as I read it I was reminded about how important a godly home is, not only to our own family, but to every person who comes into our home, Christian and non-Christan.

The author quotes from Carolyn Mahaney's book, Feminine Appeal.

"In her excellent little book Feminine Appeal, Carolyn Mahaney ecourages women to build homes in which it's "impossible to keep from thinking about God" (100). Does this seem far fetched? Consider what a faithful father, a godly mother, obedient children, and perhaps even a holy grandparent or two pictures. Is it not a small picture of heaven?"

How wonderful would it be to have a home in which it is 'impossible to keep from thinking about God!'. I love decorating my home so I don't find it hard to think of ways to put verses, pictures, reminders about God around our home, but what is a challenge is maintaining that picture above of a faithful father, godly mother, obedient children. Its the whole undertone of a house that people will pick up, the way we speak to each other, the smiles, the fun, the sense that God is in control and the giver of all things, that He is foremost amongst us. This passage from one of my favourite books, Homemaking by J R Miller also reminds me of what our home should be like, and it cuts a bit deeper!.

"There is something infinitely more important than the mere recent performance of duties. There is an unconscious influence that hangs about every day life like an atmosphere, which is more important than the words of acts of the life.

There are many parents who fail in no duty, who are deeply anxious for their children, who really strive to make their home what it should be, and whose influence is not a benediction. When the results of life are all gathered up it will probably be seen that the things which have made the deepest and most lasting impressions in our homes and upon our children have not been the things we did with purpose and intention, planning to produce a certain effect, but the things we did when we were not thinking of training or influencing or affecting any other life.

A wise writer says,

'I look with wonder on that old time, and ask myself how it is that most of the things I suppose my father and mother built especially to mould me to a right manhood are forgotten and lost out of my life. But the things they hardly ever thought of - the shadow of blessing cast by the home, the tender, unspoken love, the sacrifices made and never thought of, it was so natural to make them, ten thousand little things so simple as to attract no notice, yet so sublime as I look back at them, - they fill my heart still and always with tenderness when I remember them and my eyes with tears.'"

I remember when I first read over this passage a couple of years ago, I struggled to remember all the details of my training, discipline etc. in my childhood, but like the writer above I can clearly remember there being huge unspoken love (even if it was hardly ever said in words), many sacrifices by my father and mother, and they were always available, to help, talk, etc. It makes me wonder what things really impact my children the most!

Still I want to strive to create that small picture of heaven and grant them a childhood that they can reflect upon in joy and delight, and where people who enter our house feel welcomed and aware of the presence of God.

I love Sundays

2008-08-31T21:00:00.002+09:30

Thank you God for Sundays!

I love everything about Sundays.

Some of the things I love...

The extra sleep in
Reading and coffee in bed - with my husband
A cooked breakfast by my husband and son
Having half andhour to get ready (instead of the regular 10 minutes) while my husband dresses the kids!
Time to listen to worship music and prepare for church
Going to Church with my family (my kids love Church!)
Worshipping God and learning from His word
Meeting new people, and spending time with my church family
Having an easy lunch (hot chips is almost always on the menu!)
Afternoon sleeps
Doing no housework!
Hanging out with my husband and kids; and
Having an early night!

I am so glad God commanded us to have a day of rest!

Being thankful for bad days!

2008-08-30T19:04:00.005+09:30

As I write this post tonight I am so aware of God's mercy, His sovereignty, His kindness, love, faithfulness, ..... The past few hours have been such a struggle to truly love my children unconditionally!

It is so hard sometimes to love them when little things they do can be so frustrating! I am so glad that God is in control of their lives, and that even if I make mistakes or lose it as a parent, He forgives me and can still use my mistakes and sin for good. It is comforting to know that "all things word together for good" (Romans 8:28).

I am such a perfectionist at heart and I have these dreams of living perfect days, walking closely with God, loving my husband, children and others unconditionally, sincerely and without hypocrisy, to be stress and anxiety free able to face any trial that comes my way with quietness and meekness of heart....but I know I am far from experiencing those days. That's why I am now basking in God's forgiveness, in awe of His amazing salvation, and I am so convinced that I can't do it on my own, I need to trust Him and acknowledge Him in all I do.

I can try as hard as I like to persuade my children into being saved, into being good all the time, into working hard and being nice to everyone they meet (and to their brothers and sisters!) but if God doesn't work in their hearts, then my work is in vain. As I was reminded yesterday by a friend, all we can do is pray for them...diligently pray for them, commit them into God's care and allow Him to do the work in their hearts.

I am learning to be thankful for bad days, because they remind me of my need for God, to earnestly call upon Him in my times of trouble. They cause me to stop, confess my sins (which are many) and acknowledge to Him my dependence and trust. God knows my heart and every desire I have for my children, I need to trust in Him to bring them to pass, not try and do things my way or in my own strength.

And....I am thankful for a new day tomorrow, and I can't wait for Heaven!

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning:
Great is Your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'.
Lamentations 3:22-24

We are never alone

2008-08-29T05:46:00.004+09:30

Last night our 5 year old son reminded us of a wonderful truth. He was telling us how at Kindy he doesn't always play with his friends, sometimes he likes to play by himself, but

"I know I am never alone because God is always with me."

My husband and I looked at each other in shock! This is something he has meditated on and knows deep in his heart, that God is always with him.

When I pray for my children I almost always pray that they will know that God is with them, and that they will know that God loves them very much, no matter what they have done. It was very exciting to hear him put one of these amazing truths into practice, when he is at Kindy he is happy to play by himself, knowing that God is right there with him!

As my children get older I know that I can't be with them all the time, like I could when they were babies! They start to stay at friends houses for a few hours, then they start Kindy, then school, then one day they will be out there on their own.

When my first child started Kindy, I had to let her go willingly and with a heart that trusted God to take care of her. God is the one in control of their lives, not me!

It is my responsibility to teach them and remind them often that God is always with them, to help them have a relationship with Him so they can call upon Him for themselves in times of trouble.

I pray that our son and the rest of our children will always remember this truth, that God is always with them. So that in times of trouble, loneliness, temptation, fear, joy, sadness, suffering, or insecurity, they can call upon the name of the Lord and He will help them.

...For He Himself has said,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say:

"The Lord is my helper:
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6

Love the Word

2008-08-27T05:22:00.005+09:30

I love the Word of God. I never really used to, up until only a year or so ago, I have to admit that I found it hard to open up my Bible, it felt like a task to do, something that I should do, and when I didn't do it, I felt guilty!

But I am so thankful to God that He has given me a hunger for His Word. Over the weekend I didn't read it much at all, and I felt hungry, and somewhat weak. But the past few days I have been feeding on it again, and I feel stronger, satisfied again, in God alone.

We have just started a book club and the first book we are reading is called Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. Have you ever considered how many lies you believe? There are so many bombarding messages surrounding us that are full of lies, and our country is so materialistic that we easily believe the messages that Satan is trying to mislead us with. With so many different forms of media out there (my blog included!) we can so easily fall into the trap of thinking we need to watch TV, we need to read magazines and books, we need to go on the Internet every free moment we have. I know sometimes I go to these things when I need inspiration, encouragement, instruction, when I am down or even just to enjoy myself - there's nothing wrong with doing that, but if these places are the first place I go to, and not the Bible for answers, encouragement, inspiration, satisfaction etc. then maybe they are wrong for me.

We get trapped into thinking the lie that God's word is not enough, that its irrelevant to our current situation, that its boring and hard work! But its not, here is a list of some of what God's word does for us taken from Psalm 119.

It blesses us (v1,2)
It keeps our way pure and helps us not to sin (v9,11)
It delights us, counsels us, revives us, strengthens us (v 24-28)
It gives us life (v50)
It teaches us good knowledge and judgement (v66)
It is better than thousands of coins of gold and silver (v72)
It is faithful (v86)
It makes us wiser than our enemies (v98)
It gives us understanding more than our teachers (v99)
It makes us hate every false way (v104)
It is sweeter than honey (v103)
It is a light to our path (v105)
It makes our heart rejoice (v111)
It is pure, everlasting, truth (v129,144,160)
It is a great treasure (v162)
It gives peace (v165)
It causes us not to stumble (v165)
It delivers us (v169)
and so much more.....

Isn't the Word of God amazing! And as I was reminded when I started reading the book I mentioned above, we need to be in it so much more than ever before so we can discern what those lies are and whether they are true.

Sometimes we may not even see that we are believing a lie, until we start reading the Word, it starts to expose the lies and shine the truth, because the Holy Spirit is working through us as we read His Word. The word of God is a weapon to fight off Satan and the lies we are bombarded with.

I have been challenged lately to take more time to read the Word, I know I love reading it when I have my time in the morning, so why don't I long for it more during the day? I know for me I need to cultivate that habit and ask God to prompt me to turn to His word instead of the computer, a book, a magazine, even if its just to have some down time, how much more enriched my mind will be if I choose to meditate on the Word instead.

And for the sake of my children, I am their teacher, and the words that come from my mouth need to reflect an understanding and a delight in God's Word.

I have rejoiced in Your testimonies, as much as in all riches... Psalm 119:14

This verse reminds me that there is nothing more precious and satisfying than rejoicing in the Word of God.

If you don't have a love for the Word of God, ask God to give you a hunger for it, I am confident He will answer your prayer.

Time for some pruning!

2008-08-18T05:41:00.004+09:30

Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2b

On Friday our bible study was about pruning! We have been going through John 15, and this week we looked at how pruning is an act by the vinedresser to cut back to bear more fruit. Pruning may also be looked at as 'the testing of your faith'.

After this study I had a feeling that I was about to undergo some 'pruning'. Sure enough the next day not long after I had talked to my husband about how God prunes, the pruning started, in both of us! I was so thankful, straight away I was able to recognise it as a time of pruning, a test of our faith, to make us more Christlike, so that we can bear more fruit, for the glory of God! I must admit initially I felt crushed, hurt, somewhat angry, but once I realised that God was in control of it all, that He would use this time to prune us, I was able to relax and trust in Him.

I had to go to the shops, so took the time to listen to one of my favourite songs at the moment - Desert Song on the new Hillsong 'This is our God' cd.

This is my prayer in the desert, when all thats within me feels dry. This is my prayer in the hunger and need my God is the God who provides.

This is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain. There is a faith proved of more worth than gold so refine me Lord through the flame.

I will bring praise, I will bring praise, no weapon formed against me shall remain I will rejoice, I will declare God is my victory and He is here.

This is my prayer in the battle when triumph is still on its way, I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ, so firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life. in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship.

This is my prayer in the harvest, when favour and providence flow, I know I'm filled to be emptied again, the seed I've received I will sow.

I love the second verse which reminded me that God refines us in the flame. I had the choice to rejoice that God is working on us and even though it may seem that God is distant, I know that He is so close and is holding us tightly in the fire. I also love the lines,

All of my life. in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship.

At church yesterday, whilst I was feeling glum, I had so much reason to sing and worship such an awesome God. The joy of Him is my strength. He never changes, and He is unconditionally loving. I am confident that God will work this situation for good (Romans 8:28).

Igniting a sense of wonder

2008-08-12T05:27:00.004+09:30

I was having a discussion the other day with my husband about TV, I was trying to explain why I don't like it! I couldn't quite explain how I was really feeling and what it is about TV that I don't like. I know there are many great, beneficial and entertaining interviews, reports and shows, but in the context of our children, I am not convinced that it is always a 'good' thing for them. The next day I received a book on parenting from a friend of mine and in it was a few pages about TV, this part of a quote has helped me to work out how I feel about the whole TV issue.

"Sure, life without TV was difficult when they were all little. With five small children running around, at the time, it was tempting to turn on the TV just for a break. But the short term break would have created a TV appetite in the children that we didn't want to feed. We reasoned that once they realised that the TV does most of the imagining and thinking for them their brains and bodies become lazy.

....The sad reality is that the shows may be innocent or 'educational' when they are little but as they grow up so do their tastes. Barney may satisfy Junior when he's five, but when he's fifteen he is going to want to watch something a little more attractive than a purple dinosaur. The problem is that his habits have been established and his appetite to be entertained has been satisfied for so many years he doesn't know that to do with himself."

A TV appetite is what I don't want my children to have, and at the moment whilst my children don't watch much TV, they all love it and would easily watch it all day! That's not to say that they don't like doing other things or that they can't entertain themselves, but I just don't want to feed that appetite. I need to make an intentional effort to feed appetites that I do want them to have, and that are going to be beneficial for them throughout their life.

The biggest appetite I want them to have is for God and His word. Jesus is the bread of life, John 6:35, I want them to learn how to be completely satisfied in Him, not things in this world. For this to happen though, I need to make the time to read to them, talk to them about God, answer their questions about life, show them that He is priority in all that we do, that we give Him first place in the mornings, first place in our distribution of money, and that Sundays are the best day of the week where we go and worship Him as a family. And most of all I need to be an example of someone who is hungry for God and seeking to be satisfied in Him alone.

Another appetite I want to create within in them is a sense of wonder for God's creation. A secular book I purchased recently called The Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson, has encouraged me in this.

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood

......If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.

....If you are a parent who feels he has little nature lore at his disposal there is still much you can do for your child. With him, wherever you are and whatever your resources, you can still look up at the sky - its dawn and twilight beauties, its moving clouds, its stars by night. You can listen to the wind, whether it blows with majestic voice through a forest or sings a many-voiced chorus around the eaves of your house...You can still feel the rain on your face and think of its long journey, its many transmutations from sea to air to earth.

If I want them to love God's creation I need to be in it with them, looking for opportunities to show it to them, and tell them about God through what they can see and feel around them.

The other appetite I want to feed is one for reading. This one, requires a lot of effort on my behalf initially, I need to set aside the time to read to them, not just picture book, but words that make them think and imagine. And they need to see me reading!

So, we haven't quite booted the TV out the door, but I am making more of a conscious effort to not feed their appetite for TV, but feed and create an appetite for God, His creation and books (good ones!). I need daily, moment by moment patience, passion, and perseverance from God alone for this!

More thankful

2008-08-11T06:05:00.003+09:30

Since my last post a week ago, we have had a successful week of daily chores. Number 3 hasn't quite grasped the concept of a roster yet, she doesn't understand why she can't prepare the milks and make breakfast everyday! Number 1 and 2 are understanding it very well. Number 1 does a good job at organising everyone, she tells the others what jobs they are doing for the day, and for the day after!

I have really appreciated the help they have given me and I love seeing them serve each other. But what I have noticed most of all is at dinner time, there are so many 'thank yous' to the people who have prepared tea! A spirit of thankfulness is something I have been wanting to instill in my children, and particularly a thankfulness to the cook. My mum encouraged this within us, to always be thankful to someone who has cooked for us, taken us out, or had us over, or given us a gift.

I think because they have each been involved in helping prepare tea at one stage or another, they are more thankful to each other and to me when they eat their meal. Their thankfulness is really sincere, and it comes out spontaneously without me having to prompt them.

Little helpers

2008-07-31T16:22:00.009+09:30

The beginning of this week was a struggle for me! Most of it was due to my attitude. I could blame tiredness, hormones, busyness, but really, I know that I have struggled because there has been a battle going on with my flesh and spirit! But God is so gracious, and He directs my paths. I came across a sermon by Greg Harris called Don't Waste Your Kids which I really needed to hear!
He was looking at Psalm 127:3-4

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth." Psalm 127:3-4

I have never really thought of my children as being like arrows before. I have heard this verse many times, but not really contemplated what it is saying. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. My children are like arrows whom my husband and I need to prepare to be aimed at a target! In Old Testament days, arrows were handcrafted by warriors themselves. The arrowhead, needs to be combed and sharpened for maximum impact on the target. Greg Harris went into detail about in what areas children need to be sharpened in, and we are preparing them for the day when we will release them to the target.

The following ramblings are what I noted down from his sermon as I was listening to it.

As you release, you realise everything you have done is to release. No one stands around looking at the archer after the arrow has been taken off. Our homes are a launching pad, a bow, our contribution to our children’s future is a lifetime input. Being a good father is not at odds with being a good pastor or ministry. Family is a vehicle for ministry, not an obstacle. Everything about our lifestyle should be to influence our children. Our work, our hospitality, our tithes, offerings, they need to know the why. Our children need to be with us more of the time.

Talk with them, tell them stories, our children climb into our heart, they catch what we have, they need to be close enough to us to catch our enthusiasm. Train your children until you like them! Train them to be included in your life, preparing them to be part of the family team, God trains us in Hebrews 12 to be part of His holiness. God wants us to be part of His wonderful adventure of defeating and destroying the works of the devil. We have to train them so we won't hesitate to take them with us, to take them to important meetings, and be able to interact with other important people. Help your children meet the people that are the epitome of excellence. This partnership pays off in the long run. To succeed in child training is not to make them like you but to make them the best version of themselves that they can be.! When all of this is done the final scenario is described in Psalm 127: 5, they will not be put to shame when they are at the gates.

Listening to this sermon helped me with my attitude. I was particularly challenged to spend more time with my children. I am not very good at playing with my kids, I much rather do something with them, help them with craft, go for a walk, read them a book, or help them do a task. I know I need to include them so much more in what I do throughout my day. I will often tell them to go and play while I do my chores around the house. I know they want to be with me, but I am very task orientated, and it is so much easier to do things by myself!

But I was challenged to let them help me more, and to let them do things by themselves more. So I came up with the idea of a helping chart. 3 out of my 4 children are capable of helping at this stage so I made a list of helping chores that occur each day of the week and I rotate their names each day. Every day someone different gets breakfast ready for everyone. They ask what each family member would like and serves them before themselves. Another child helps me clean up the kitchen, do dishes etc. Then in the evening another child helps me with tea preparation, another setting the table, another kitchen and dinner clean up.

So far it has been working well - although its only been a few days! But they are so excited about helping, and alternating jobs and taking it in turns gives variety. And the best part about it, is I am spending that time with them, training them what to do, interacting with them and encouraging them in their work. I have also realised that with them doing the bulk of the work I would normally do, it frees me up to get other jobs done, and I don't feel under as much pressure, or feel guilty that I am doing tasks instead of spending time with my kids, because I am combining the two! Don't get me wrong, I don't want to treat them like little slaves and get them to do all my work so I don't have to do anything! But I do want to encourage them to help each other, to serve each other and take responsibility for each other and our home. After watching a show called the Nest, a 6 part reality show about adult children still living at home on SBS tonight, I am glad we are starting young in training them to not only be responsible for themselves, but to also serve each other. I just need to rely up on God each day to provide me lots of patience and wisdom from Him to train them in the way they should go.

Filling our bodies with light

2008-07-28T05:44:00.004+09:30

For the past 3 weeks I have been on a book fast! This was a hard thing for me to do, as I love reading books. I always have at least 3-4 books on the go, and throughout my day I will often consult my books as thoughts, issues, and problems arise. However, few weeks ago, I became challenged about what I was feeding my mind. When it comes to books, I am a rather fussy reader. I tend to only read books which have been recommended to me or that I find on the bookshelves of my friends. But I was challenged about how I will easily pick up a book over my Bible! Now the majority of books I read are Christian and are filled with scripture, so often when I consult a book for direction I am led by the Word of God. However I was challenged to be more discerning when I read that even if scripture is part of the solution to what is written in a book, I need to check it out for myself. To study the context and background and be willing to delve further into the scriptures and allow God to lead me through His word. So I decided to put my book reading on hold for a while to increase my need for the word of God and to ensure I am being governed by the word of God, not by the words of man. The other reason is, I am starting up a Book club for our young adult girls in a month and I was challenged about the need for me to lead by example and be a discerning reader!

I must admit that it has been hard for me to stay away from books! There were many times when something would come up and there was the temptation to consult a book, but when I remembered that I was fasting from them, I was prompted to consult the word of God first. I also found that the a lot of the passages I was reading in my daily readings were coming up in the sermons I was hearing at church. I had already been meditating on these passages and then I would come to church and our pastor would expand on them further!

As is so happened, my husband preached last night on the Churches in Pergamum and Thyatira in Revelation who were led astray by false teachings and philosophies, and our need to know the truth, so we can discern false teachings. Here's a quote from his message.

"Heresy in the church is alive today as it has ever been. The dangerous thing about heresy or false teaching is that it looks like it could be the truth. In fact most heresy has a strong element of truth in it and that's what makes it so dangerous. Many well meaning Christians hear something or read something that looks pretty good, that uses bible verse to prove its point, the problem comes when you take that heresy to its end point it's always a lot further from the truth than you first thought. If it looked obviously wrong right from the start, no one would fall for it, but because it has an element of truth in it many get sucked in. I remember going through Bible college and the thing that struck out about church history and the many different cults and sects of the Christian church was that most of them started out wanting to correct some error that had crept in. Unfortunately they took their stand too far and ended up just teaching heresy."

He went on to talk about the plethora of books out there that are full of heresy and so many of us easily pick them up because they look good, they have a catchy title or nice cover or they are on the best sellers list. When it comes to non-fiction Christian books my reason for picking them up should be to draw me into a greater understanding of God and His word. I don't want to be easily persuaded by the ideas and teachings of man, the word of God is what should persuade me to change an attitude or action.

Over the weekend I made the decision to pick up books again, and I didn't realise how much I missed them! But I have learned how important it is to pray over what I am reading, to question what I am reading, and to search the scriptures to see things for myself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide me into His truth.

I was reading and praying through the following prayer from Matthew Henry's "Method for Prayer" this morning.

Let our wisdom not be from beneath, which is earthly, sensual, devilish; but wisdom from above, which is first pure, than peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

O that we may always have our conversation in the world, in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God.

Lord, uphold us in our integrity, and set us before thy face for ever, and let integrity and uprightness preserve us, for we wait on thee.

Let our hearts be found in thy statutes, that we be not ashamed, and let our eye be single, that our whole body may be full of light.

All of this prayer has been based on scripture and the last line stood out to me, it comes from Matthew 6:22-23.

"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!."

These verses are a challenge to make sure we expose our eyes to that which is good so that our bodies may be filled with light so that we can be lights in this dark world.

Children and home decorating

2008-07-22T13:52:00.004+09:30

The past few days I have been fighting off very selfish desires to send my family away so I can rearrange, redecorate, sort and clean out our house (its definitely not a nesting thing!). My head is full of inspiration, ideas and projects and I have to keep pushing them away because I have a young family of 4 to take care of and they need my attention!

People who visit our house often are never really surprised when they see furniture rearranged, pictures in different locations or new lampshades and cushion covers! Ever since I was young, I have loved to paint walls, and rearrange furniture, it is inherited from my wonderful mother! Now that I have a family, who's needs seem to be constantly changing, I feel like I am forever sorting out clothes, toys, and moving furniture around. Its a good thing that I love doing it, I just get frustrated when I am too busy to do it!

Before I had children I have always been inspired by my cousin, who has 3 children several years older than me. Whenever I walk into her house it is bright, welcoming, but classy and very child friendly. It is always evident that her children were a part of their home, not just from seeing toys lying around (they were usually always hidden behind the couch!) but because of their artwork and the bright colours scattered around the house. Her house is always a friendly,comfortable house, and her style influenced the way we designed our house when we built.

I was reading an article in the August Home Beautiful last week, and some of what it says, sums up how I feel about our house.

The key to harmonious living it to embrace pandemonium. Children invariably want to be where you are and to play, create and engage in a space you share. A living zone that's laid out with areas especially for little ones (along with spots just for you!) will create a sense of calm amid the chaos. All-purpose storage, where the action happens, is also a godsend. Yes, you'll need to soften the edges, but this presents a wonderful opportunity to indulge in the latest fabrics and rugs, which are also a great tool in delineating space.

As for decorating, display the things that matter and encourage your kids to do the same. By elevating their artwork and precious things to the same level, you'll both have pride in your place. As they grow, your children will treasure key pieces, such as a handmade quilt or an antique chair, which you can hand down to them, instilling a sense of tradition and value.

If you have young kids, I would encourage you to check out the article for yourself, there are lots of great ideas to help create a 'family friendly' home.

I am thankful to God that this week is busy, so I don't have extra time to get stuck into any rearranging and redecorating ideas, it will force me to take more time to think about what it is exactly that I want to change and why. And it forces me to trust God more, to know that He knows about all the 'creative' juices I have floating around in my head at the moment, and I need to trust in Him to provide the time, at the right time to let all those juices out!

Nappy tote

2008-07-20T09:06:00.003+09:30

I mentioned in my last post, I am slowly moving out of the 'baby' stage, so this means I don't really carry a baby bag anymore, just nappies and wipes in my handbag.

I came across this good idea for a 'Nappy tote' on a blog (check out the post on 'Diaper and Wipes case' 17th July 2008) I often look at. I made one yesterday for my handbag, and it fits perfectly! If don't carry a baby bag anymore, and just need the essential baby stuff, check out this idea! And if you know me and you want me to make you one, I would be happy to!

Reflections on my 2 year old!

2008-07-20T08:41:00.007+09:30

The baby of our family turned 2 yesterday! I try not to think about the fact that she is not a baby anymore too much. I can’t believe how quickly time flies, 2 seems so old! All the ‘baby’ things of our house are slowly starting to disappear. Bibs, baby toys, high chairs, have been packed away, soon the cot, will be on its way out the door as well!

It feels like only yesterday we made mad dash to the hospital where she was born. Out the 4, her birth was definitely the best! Number 1 I had an epidural and a resulting headache, so I didn’t experience too much pain, however the pain of afterbirth took a lot out of me. Number 2 and 3 were both filled with excruciating pain, they were similar births, fairly quick so no time for epidurals, just intense pain muffled with puffs of gas! So when I fell pregnant with number 4 I was not looking forward to the birth. It was something I dreaded, hence it was something I prayed fervently about. My prayer was that it would be different to what I had already experienced, and that through it all I would be so aware of the presence of God, and that the pain would not dull me from trusting in God. This was one of my prayers 3 weeks before I gave birth to her.

“…I feel so inadequate, of giving birth to her and to care for her. I am so scared of the pain of childbirth, but I know that You are with me – every moment, please help me to not be anxious, but to have Your peace which passes all understanding, to trust in You each step of the way – to not be consumed by it (the pain).”

Well, God certainly answered my prayers. I was having labour pains on and off for 2 days. This helped me prepare, mentally, spiritually and to get my house in order. On the day she was born I had an appointment with my obstetrician at around 3:30pm. I told him that I had been having pains every ½ hour, so he checked me out and said I wasn’t dilating, so those pains could possibly go on for another week or so (she wasn’t due for another week)! So we went away convinced I was not in labour! I took it fairly easy for the rest of the day, my husband cooked tea and I rested on the couch, I was still having pains, and around 6pm they were getting more intense, longer and regular. I still kept telling myself, ‘you better get used to this, I could have this for another week yet!’. At around 7pm my husband went down to the chemist to get some sleeping pills (cause he hadn’t been sleeping well!) and when he got back he found me on the floor in intense pain, he said, "do you think I should call the hospital?” and I said “ I think so, I think I am in labour?!”. So he rang the hospital and they said to come down, he then rang his parents and asked them to come over the look after the kids. We got in the car around 8pm (the hospital was about a 20 minute drive), I started to convince myself that I was in labour now! My husband really had no idea of the intensity of the situation, he did his best to get there as quick as possible (without speeding!) while I sat in the back doing a lot of heavy breathing and fervent praying. When we got the hospital, I told him I needed a wheelchair, it was then that I think he realised how serious and close this baby was to coming out! He wheeled me up, straight into the delivery room and within 10 minutes of arrival out she came! It all seemed so quick, and because I had most of my contractions in the car, it definitely was a different labour to what I had already experienced. The pain was so much more bearable, and with no pain relief available I realised how effective deep breathing is! And I felt that God was with me all the way, I communicated with Him constantly in my head, and felt His peace which surpasses all understanding! After she was born, I just lay there repeatedly thanking Him that it was all over! That whole experience still feels so fresh, and yet my baby is now 2, walking, talking, eating starting to do so many things by herself!

People keep asking as if we will have another baby, and my response is always- talk to my husband about that!. I am very content with 4 children. Having come from a family of 2, I have always wanted more than 2 children, 3 would have been great, but my husband wanted an even number so we decided on 4. But I often struggle with thoughts of "what if God wants us to have more children, what if He wants us to raise a ‘big’ family". My desires for having anymore children are completely God related, if I had a choice, 4 would be just enough, but should God want us to have more, I always want to be willing for that – after all, we are raising them for Him, they have been put on this earth for Him, for His purposes. However, at this stage in our lives, my husband is content with 4, so that’s my answer, if you want to know if we are having anymore, you will have to talk to my husband and God about that!

God gives us richly all things to enjoy

2008-07-14T07:19:00.004+09:30

"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty,

nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God,

who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Let them do good that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come,

that they may lay hold of eternal life."

1 Timothy 6:18-19

The past week I have been meditating on the above verse, how God has given us all things to richly to enjoy. Ever since I read Randy Alcorn's book, 'Money, Possessions and Eternity', my attitude towards money and the things of this world has changed. It taught me to 'not store up treasures on earth, but store up treasure in Heaven', it taught me to be more disciplined with my money to be able to walk away from 'a bargain', to take more care of the possessions I have - but to hold on to them loosely, it caused us to put a 'no junk mail' sign on our letterbox to take away any temptations to lust over and covet 'things' that we don't need, it has also taught us to give more, to look for opportunities to give generously and cheerfully.

But sometimes I feel guilty for having things. For the nice house we have, for the modern appliances we have, for good coffee and chocolate, for the healthy children we have. When I think about the billions of people in this world who have no place to call home, who have to wash their clothes in the river, who have never smelled coffee or chocolate, whose children are starving and dying of disease.

But God has given us these things to enjoy, I always want to be so careful that I don't take them for granted, and to realise that all I have is from Him. Its helpful to remember verse 19, to do good, to be ready to give, to be willing to share.

3 years ago when we the opportunity to build a house was set before us, I struggled through the decision. I prayed and journalled so diligently about it. At the end of the day, our driving reason for taking the step and building a bigger house was to use it for God. The way our house has been designed has been to allow opportunities to serve others. I try to decorate my house in a way that makes people feel welcomed, to be a place of refuge, peace, warmth, where there is a sense of the 'presence of God'. When I choose verses to write on my chalkboards, I usually choose ones that I need to be reminded of, but I also hope others will be encouraged by them too.

There are times when its hard for me to open up my home and I am not willing to do 'good' and to 'share', like when I am tired and just want to go to bed! But God always quickly reminds me that our home, is His home and He is the one who will give me the strength to serve and use it for His purpose, for His his glory.

As I enjoy my husband, my children, my family, my home, coffee and chocolates, I constantly need to be thankful to God for them, and to be willing to share them!

I encourage you to read Randy Alcorn's latest post on his blog 'Creator and Culture and anticipating a Redeemed Earth', he provides such a wonderful insight into the things of this world.