Our day at the Christmas pageant

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

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?

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

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!

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'!

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

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