Are you longing for home?

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

I hope Rickey will be in Heaven

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.

Children and home decorating

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!

Favourite things in my home

The other day I bumped into a friend I had not seen for a while and she told me she had heard about my home, and suggested I take photos of it and put them on my facebook! At the time I thought, do people really want to see pictures of my home? What would they want to see? It got me thinking about what I like best about my home and what I find really useful and what other people comment on when they come to my home.

So... here are a few of my favourite things.

The kids craft shelf.

This bookshelf/cupboard is located right next to our kitchen table where they do all their craft, drawing etc. I have put all their craft bits and pieces (patty pans, pipe cleaners, wooden sticks, googly eyes, glitter, ribbons etc.) into glass jars so we can see what there is. A few years ago I used to put all their bits and pieces, glue, scissors, boxes etc into a big box and let my eldest daughter just 'go for it' in the afternoons, but come pack up time she it would just get dumped back in the box and things would get thrown away and there would be a big mess all over the floor! Now when they do craft I just put a few jars on the table and let them 'create', because its all in clear jars, they can see what there is to use and its very easy to put things back in their jar when they are done!

Our collage wall. This wall is located in the hallway connecting two bedrooms, bathroom and laundry. I love displaying the kids pictures, and this wall is nice and long.

Framed kids pictures. I had bought these two silver frames from Ikea one day at a bargain price, but I didn't know where to put them or what to put in them. Two Christmas's ago I asked my then 3 year old daughter to paint me an angel to put in one of these frames to decorate for Christmas. I helped her paint the flowers. I was intending to keep them there temporarily while I searched for some nice prints, but, I have grown to love these pictures and I get a lot of comments about them, so I think they will stay there!

I just love the colours this painting!