Blogging through the alphabet {Family, Friends, Fellowship, Faithfulness and Fires}

This week has been, and will be, a full one. (Hence the quietness on the bloggy front....)

We have done school work, been to our homeschool co-op, and had my parents for a visit.

Or, as Abi said "When will Grandpa and Grandma be here for the sleepover"!!

I love it when they come to see us. They live about an hour and 45 minutes away, so not close enough for very frequent visits in either direction. We hadn't seen them since the New Year, so it was a joy to have them here. I had a couple of shopping trips out with my Mum, which was lovely. I was able to leave some children at home with Grandpa, AND I had Grandma to help ME! If you don't have children, you won't quite understand why that is meaningful. If you have lots of children, you WILL! Having lots of children is wonderful, but it does rather restrict you from having "normal" shopping trips.

Today, we had co-op.  The children learnt about different elements relating to the Great Fire of London. It's a fascinating event, and I learnt many new things in our lessons yesterday.

We had older children writing diary entries, like Samuel Pepys, we had everyone baking apple cakes, as a nod to the fire starting in a bakery, on Pudding Lane, and we had arts and crafts relating to period costume, and about the fire of London.

That was too fun NOT to share with you, so here it is..

Abi's

Elijah's

Simeon's

Susie's

My lovely SIL, Anna, led the activity, and the children had a lot of fun - and I spent a lot of time telling Simeon not to wear the paint! You begin by painting the paper like fire, then you cut out an outline of a skyline, on the black paper, and stick it over the painted page. Simple, but very effective!  I have to say, Anna also did a good job of teaching the children about the fire, because my 7 year old was busily telling me all about it on the way home!

I was responsible for teaching some scripture to the children, so I will share it with you, as it was interesting to make a connection between the Fire of London, and a Proverb!

I will begin by telling you how they managed to extinguish the Fire of London.  Due to the wooden houses being so close together, the fire had been spreading uncontrollably for 4 days. It was devised that if they set explosives and blew up a whole section of houses, the fire would lose its fuel source - the wooden houses, and could be stopped from progressing, before it got to the stockpile of explosives stored at at the tower of London. SO, that's what they did, and it worked! I didn't know that until the other night.  Then, I tried to finalise which verse to teach, searching the word "fire" and found THIS.

 "Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth."

Proverbs 26:20 

Now, how perfect is THAT verse?? Did you even know it was in the Bible?  I didn't!

It illustrated an important truth, PERFECTLY.

I talked to the children about talebearing, and what it is. Not telling lies, as my children keep thinking it means, but spreading things about others, just to cause trouble. Telling me what another sibling has done, just knowing it will get them in trouble, and make themselves look better. It can also be further applied to spreading gossip, or telling people things it's not your place to tell them. Bearing a "tale".  We ALL fall prey to being unwise about how we use our words.  Just like the fire of London, if we are mean, and talebear about others - spreading word of another's failings or sins - telling people things it's not our place to tell them - spreading information for the wrong motives - it causes strife. We cause problems, feelings of sadness and contention, by unwisely passing word around that we have no place to share.

As I told the children, there ARE times when it's important to share information - if a child is doing something dangerous, hurtful, or damaging, I NEED to know about it, to deal with it. That's different. Also, similarly, as Christian adults, it's important to pass on certain information, if needed.  Calling out false teaching, speaking to another parent about a child who is being hurtful, or speaking privately to a person in authority about sinful practice you have found.

So many other things, however, are just people not thinking, before they speak. As James says, the tongue is like a little spark of fire, that can spread and cause a LOT of damage, if used unwisely.  I truly felt my own heart needed the teaching, as much as the children's did!

This weekend heralds my "friends and fellowship" part of "F".

It's our Annual Service of Thanksgiving, in our Church.  Rather than having a "Pastor's Anniversary", we turn the emphasis upon the Lord, and what He has done for us - giving Him thanks for another year of blessing and encouragement. God is good, and we have much to be thankful for in our small fellowship. We have people who work together, and who love the Lord.  They are such an encouragement, so often, to us.  We have seen growth and change, including a youth meeting which has been really well attended (in our small Church regard!).  God has kept us and blessed us as a family - we have had a new baby, and our children are all healthy and well.  We have an amazing home, and wonderful family and friends.

People will join together tomorrow, to thank the Lord for His goodness, and hear God's Word being preached. Our good friend, Oliver Baker, will be preaching Saturday, and Sunday. The bonus is that Robert is blessed, as he gets a Sunday with a break from preaching, and is taught, instead. Extra bonus - he often sits beside me, in the "pews", which is rare!

We have many friends coming and going through our home, over the weekend, which is also a joy. I will have 31 for lunch on Saturday! Fun times!

Now, I must go - I have baking to do for after tomorrow's service - hey, that's FOOD! Another "F"! Maybe I should get around to sharing some of my favourite recipes at some point?

I trust you all have a blessed weekend, and I will try and get some more posts out next week, subject to how busy I am having fellowship with visiting friends!

You are Loved {A Good Morning Girls book study}

I have had a rather traumatic 24 hours. Yesterday evening, my cutie little Simeon got his hand caught in the hinge side of a door, and gashed his hand, and bruised it, too. It was an unavoidable accident, but was traumatic for all involved, not least of all Simeon.

I HATE it when a child gets hurt.  I desperately wanted to be the one to take him into the hospital to e checked, but I had Tabitha to care for, so I stayed at home.  After several hours of waiting, and being seen, Robert and Simeon arrived back home, at nearly 1 am. Simeon had his hand steri-stripped and glued, but there was no "major" damaged, which was an answer to prayer.

He's bounced back remarkably well today, and, in fact, we've had trouble keeping him still! Just his usual "Simeon" self! The challenge will be for us, trying to keep his dressings on!

Times like this emphasise just how much you love your children. Seeing them in pain, and not being able to instantly make it all better, is SO hard.  Seeing another child so sad, because she felt responsible for what she perceived to be her fault, and having to console her, and try and convince her hurting heart that it was an accident, with no-one to blame!  Trying to explain to the others what was happening, and reassure them it WOULD be ok.

I have also, recently, heard of some dreadfully sad situations, with children seriously ill, and dying. That, too, makes me hug my children closer, and love them all the more.

We simply don't know what a day will bring forth, and we need to just make every moment count - loving deeply, sincerely, unconditionally.  The love that you have for those closest to you, is almost indescribable.  It's a very special bond, which God has given us.

Loving our family, however, is NOTHING compared to how God loves us.  Our love is flawed by mortal imperfections, and doesn't hold a candle to the shining example of God's love.

Today, I began the latest Good Morning Girls study.  I have joined in others before now, usually based on a portion of scripture, or a book of the Bible.  This summer's one is a bit different.  It's based on the new book, co-written by Sally Clarkson, and Angela Perritt, called "You are Loved - embracing the everlasting love God has for you".

We have a question we ask OFTEN in this house.  "What's the most important thing?" to which, of course, the answer is "love".

Which one of doesn't need to remind ourselves of God's love for us?  Which of us doesn't need to learn more about love?  We are sinners, saved by God's grace, but often feel our sinfulness deeply.  It is tempting to feel that as we are so unloveable, that we are undeserving of God's love.  Yet, He DOES love us.  There may be times that we don't fully understand God, and His love for us, or how to love others, in the way God loves us. Perhaps we battle with Satan, trying to tell us we don't deserve God's love at all?

This 8 week study covers all of these issues, and more.  The chapters you read are not long, and are easy to read. There is a memory verse and a challenge for each week, a scripture portion to read daily, verses to use in a SOAP study method (as I explained here), and deeper questions to study. You can do as much or as little as your available time allows, and you will be blessed, I am sure, even if you were just to follow the reading plan.

If you want to follow along, find out more information at the Good Morning Girls page.  They will be sharing various helps and encouragements along the way, including video messages from the authors.   I will also be sharing something, every week, about what I am learning from the study.

As I have said before, reading and studying God's Word is always worthwhile.  I would also say that anything I have read by Sally Clarkson is extremely worthwhile, as she truly understnads the hearts of wives and mothers.

You can follow along very simply, or if you have more time you can be more involved.  Either way, consider joining in with this study, over the next couple of months.  I am sure your heart will be blessed.

I will finish y sharing this week's memory verse.  It's a good'un!

What blessed, precious truths!!

God is mighty - He will save - He will rejoice over you - you can rest in his love.

Resting in God's love.

, 

Letting go of all our earthly cares, sorrows, trials, and exhaustions, and simply REST, in the knowledge that we are loved by a mighty God.

I trust that you are able to join in with this study - you can buy the book as a paperback, or in Kindle edition. (If you are Amazon Prime customer, you can borrow it for FREE!)  Alternatively, you can just follow the simple reading plan each week.

Looking forward to learning and growing this summer. Will you join me?

Blogging through the Alphabet {Ecstatically Excited about things Extremely Extraneous to Men }

It's amazing how your perspective can change as a wife and a mother.

When I was younger I got excited about very different things than what I get excited by now.  Maybe it's because my life is very child-centred - caring for their needs, and dealing with their ways (all very joyfully, I add!) - that I then get rather excited over little things.

I love getting post.  Unexpected, hand-written, snail mail and  packages - expected and unexpected - bring great excitement in me. I can't wait to open them and see what's inside! I especially get excited about books arriving. I have mentioned before that our curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, regularly means I have books arriving.  *I* have ordered them - I *KNOW* what they are - but I still get excited when they arrive!

Better still, this week, was a book that arrived EARLY! I had pre-ordered a novel, by Dee Henderson (one of my all time favourite authors), and was told it would be with me in mid-June.  To my extreme joy, I got a package the other day, and THERE IT WAS!!! Earlier than I expected, and making me rather pleased! I got as far as reading the first few pages, last night, before falling asleep with it in my hands. Yes, I do that. Pretty regularly.

I also managed to squeeze in a hair appointment this week.  I love getting my hair cut, but it had been about NINE months since my last haircut! OOPS! It had got very messy at the ends (which my lovely husband doesn't seem to notice, but it bothers me!), and it was time for a tidy up.  I'd noticed, in the last year or so, that my hair had got wavier, especially in the last pregnancy.  Getting it trimmed has now made it even more so, and I LOVE IT! It has so much more volume and bounce.

(At this point, any males reading are going to be TOTALLY zoning out - sorry!)

From behind (I could have had shorter layers, but I want to still be able to put it "up")

From the front (look at those WAVES!)

Moi!

Seriously, when you've had poker straight hair most of your life, this is extremely satisfying!

Then, I had another exciting event this week.  I seem to have very few clothes for Church just now, that are in good condition, and that fit me properly.  I have lost a bit of weight, but still want to lose more.  I like very long skirts and dresses, but they are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find - new, or second hand.  I had trawled the charity shops (thrift stores) and even looked for new things online, to no avail.  No long skirts.  Well, a few, but not a fabric or style that  I liked.  I could find dresses, but when you are nursing a baby, they are not great for when you need to feed with others around.  When my friend was visiting on Monday, we came up with the idea of looking for a nursing DRESS! WE looked, and we found! I found one I liked, found out where to buy one, and went for it. I decided to go for economy shipping, even though it would leave me little time to find something else if it didn't suit. (Oh yes, I was trying to get it for a week from now, for our Service of thanksgiving at our Church!  Really organised, me....)  To my surprise, it arrived in just 2 days! I brought it upstairs to try on, telling myself,  "now, it probably won't fit, and you'll have to return it, so don't be disappointed". I have got so used to things not suiting, it's what I tell myself! Imagine my delight when it DID fit!!! I was like a small child at Christmas!!

I'm still no Twiggy, but I think it looks quite forgiving!  I will get a picture of the full outfit, once I have all the accessories.

My further excitement was to realise I would have to get some RED shoes to match! I have no navy ones, or any other colour in the dress, and I have ALWAYS wanted a red pair of shoes.  I went with one of my favourite brands, Hush Puppies.

I gazed at high heeled varieties, but the reality is, that with a small person to carry around, comfort wins!

I also bought a navy beret (we wear a head covering to Church), which I will embellish with some kind of crochet creation to tie in with the colours in the dress.

I have also bought some yarn, to make some kind of "covering" for my shoulders, but I will wait to reveal that, too!

So, there we go! An ecstatically excited grown woman, about a new haircut, a new book, and some new clothes! 

Yup, that overgrown kid is ME!

Above all else I thank God, for EVERY good and perfect gift - all that I have comes from Him, and His great goodness and generosity to me. 

Engaging boys {how to prevent unnecessary discipline}

I had a friend ask, recently, how to deal with boys, who never seem to do as they are told, and don't listen.  I meant to reply to her, but thought it would make a good blog post, as my answer may be helpful to others, too.

Now, let me start by saying that I am not a perfect parent, will never be, and still struggle to do things the best way. I am always learning, and trying to improve.  More than anything, I seek to be open to guidance and advice from others, which is how this little piece of advice came to me.

What I am sharing is my experience, and what works for me - not a hard and fast "secret to success". So, give it a go, if you don't already, and it may work for you, too. No promises, only praying that it may help!

I was talking with my husband, and my brother-in-law, Edward, a couple of years ago. I was bemoaning the fact that my boys, especially my oldest, constantly "disobeyed" me, when I gave him instructions.  It was making me feel sad, and frustrated, and I felt like I was having to discipline him all the time for his behaviour.

One of them (I think it was Edward), asked me a question.

"Do you make sure he has engaged with you, when you tell him what to do?"

Hmmmmm.

Well, that threw me.

Engage?

He gave me the example of waking my lovely hubby up from a nap, or in the mornings. (He could give this example, because he knew his brother well!) He sleeps deeply, and there have been times when I have brought him coffee, told him it was time to waken, as he had requested, but I had gone back later to find him still asleep!! ( I tell you, DEEP sleeper!) He wasn't deliberately ignoring me, I just hadn't ENGAGED him properly.

What do I mean by "engage"?

Getting him to look at me, respond, and tell me he had heard, and was, indeed, awake.

Eliciting a TWO WAY communication.  MEANINGFUL two way communication.  Not just a grunt, or "uh-huh".

He then applied it to my boys.

When I communicated with them, and they didn't obey, did I just holler from another room, hear a "uh-huh", and then hope they did as they were "told"?

Erm, yes...

Is that not enough??

Apparently, not.

You can even do it in the same ROOM, and still not engage.

With boys, particularly, it takes MORE than that.  They gave me this advice, and it helped no end.

You need to go to the child, or call them to you.  Look them in the eye, and give them VERY clear instructions.  Make sure they are listening to you, and not still looking at the DVD that's playing, or listening to the audio-book, or thinking about the book they left behind.  Then, get them to repeat back what you told them to do, and make sure they totally understand the instruction.

THEN, you have engaged.

You see, they informed me, boys, in particular, become VERY absorbed in what they are doing.  When you speak to them, they don't even hear you speaking. They may, and respond, but it doesn't mean they have HEARD you. Properly heard, and understood. They're not doing it out of wilful disobedience, just because that's how they are.

If you think about it, being focussed on something is a good character trait.  Just not when you need them to focus on you.

When I used to ask them to do things, and they didn't do them, resulting in me disciplining them, I was actually being unfair, and unkind.  *I* was the one at fault, for not making sure they had ACTUALLY heard what they were to do. I was in danger of provoking them to wrath, by not treating them fairly.

As a parent, we have to be so wise to ensure that we are not making unfair requests of our children.  I have, in the past, ended up having to discipline a child because I have not been wise when asking them to do something - whether it was not making sure they fully understood the request, or because I didn't think before telling them to do something.  For example, making an unachievable demand of a small child, and then when they didn't do it, having to tell them off for disobeying. So, if a small child is quite obviously tired, I would be unwise to push them to fulfil certain instructions. I would be wiser to take the tiredness into account, and not expect them to obey commands when they are going to struggle to follow them through.

We have to remember that children ARE children. As much as they need to be trained to obey, and to follow instructions, we have to be wise in what we ask them to do, and when we ask them to do it.  Not all misdemeanours are entirely their fault.  We, as parents, can be as much to blame, at times.

So, if you have a boy who doesn't ever seem to do as you tell them, try making sure you are engaging them fully first.  If you do, and THEN they don't obey, you know you are dealing with a heart issue, and can deal with it appropriately. If you don't YOU are really the one to blame, when they don't do as they are "told".  I look on it as *me* being lazy, really! It's usually more work to get a child to come to you, or you go to them, and take the time to get them to look at you, and listen to you! In essence, *I* am sinning, by being lazy.

*gulp*

 Food for thought.

So, if you have a boy, that you think is being disobedient, think it through, and make sure you are engaging them first, before deciding they are being disobedient.

"provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Ephesians 6:4

Tots on a Tuesday {play dough shape mat}

Today, I found a super duper activity for my tots to do. I realised, recently, that Elijah loves playing with any left over icing I have (the fondant variety) when I have been cake making. He sits for ages playing with it, making all sorts of little creations.

When I came across an idea, based on play dough, I realised he was going to LOVE it.

Better still, to capture MY interest, it included BUTTONS!

My interest is always captures by activities with the potential of teaching about mutliple concepts, and this one totally fit the bill.

It involved using a printable, from Learning 4 Kids, which you can find here.

First of all, ELijah had a turn doing it. I thought he did a really great job, filling in the shape of the bear. Then he had fun putting buttons on, too.  We talked about what colours they were, how many, which colour there were more of, what size they all were, and how many holes were in the buttons.

It's funny, because they ALL appeared at various points, wanting to play with the play-doh!

This was Elijah's completed bear (it did end up having "claws" added, after the camera was gone - a manly bear! )

ELijah "posing"

THen, Simeon had a go. He REALLY loved playing with it, and tried very intently to fill in his shape.

I thought this was a very admirable attempt, for a 2 year old!

His big brother (erm, the 12 year old) helped him a bit, then he added some buttons, too (Simeon, that is.)

Would you just look at the level of concentration?! He enjoyed trying to count as he stuck them on, and although the buttons DID end up on the floor later, they all had fun with it.

I think that the lady who shared the free printable used them for alphabet themes, this one being "b".  I was thinking, however, that I could print other shapes of my own, and make more colours of play-doh, to have some variety.  

This is one we will being doing again, for SURE! Fun had, all round!

Oh, the recipe I used for playdoh was from The Imagination Tree, but I missed out the Cream of Tartar, as I didn't have any!  I could have done with more food colouring, as it didn't come out very blue (yes, that's supposed to be blue...). . I know for next time. Cuz, there's gonna be a next time! 

<a href="www.thejoyfulkeeper.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkygLKJI_UPeCLyfkYDPmJaTPV_TxQoHCrw_-1mQz06WKjxw-AvPGZZhHpAa68N1y8t7i1TpNukWmS8zJR4_jEqiHx4Qfwk0ofHRFqk99Pw052zhC8jUDnufhgNGeM0Igf_0AX4WITI4Hv/s153-no/duplo_patterns_button.jpg" alt="TheJoyfulKeeper" width="125" height="125" /></a>

A warning against spiritual OCD {pouring out love}

Have you ever read the account, in the scriptures, about Simon the Pharisee, and the woman who washed Jesus' feet?

It heard a deeply challenging message about them, whilst on holiday, about an issue I see cropping up all too often.  I see it amongst Christians, in a general sense, and I see myself doing it as a mother, too. 

What?

Being so worried about the externals, and how things are done, that you lose the passion and heart of the Lord.

Simon, as a Pharisee, was obsessed about the outward appearance, and particularly about cleaning rituals. They had hand washing routines that were almost ridiculous. Always concerned about the outward, yet the Lord likened them to whitened sepulchres...white and clean on the outside, rotten on the inside.

Simon had huge issues with the woman who was in his home. Having let her hair down (which was culturally frowned upon in public), she cleaned his feet with her hair, watered by her tears - pure joy and emotion upon being with Jesus. Despite the fact that she was in the home of a Pharisee, surrounded by many, she "wore her heart on her sleeve" and willingly displayed her love. 

Simon didn't like it. 

Ironic, really, since (as Jesus pointed out) HE had omitted to extend the courtesy of washing Jesus feet himself, as custom dictated he should have! All his obsessions about washing, yet he hadn't done it when he ought to have.

It's so easy to hear about this incident and frown upon Simeon, and see ourselves as ever the one washing Jesus' feet.

"*I* would never have been the one that was neglectful - I would have done the right thing.  NO judgement from me, only love"

Really?

Seriously?

Oh, my sinful heart - I see myself, upon deeper reflection, as the Pharisee.

You see, it's all too easy to have spiritual OCD. To get caught up in the "hand cleaning" - rules, and rituals - in the "if you don't do it my our way, you must be wrong, because we MUST be right" attitude.  As much as Simon was ridiculous worrying about washing rituals, our judgements and legalism about the issues that we get bound up in, are equally secondary, so often.

Similarly to Simon, we tend to look at things in the light of tradition, and man made opinions, rather than carefully weighing things up beside God's Word. If the Bible clearly says something is sin, that's one thing.  If the scriptures are silent, we need to wisely make choices for ourselves, and graciously allow others to make their own choices.

Just as Simon caused a bad atmosphere, by his outburst, we do exactly the same if we start to argue, disagree, and judge, over the minutia of life.

It must be said, as much as the Internet can be a tool for blessing,  that it can equally become a breeding ground for spiritual OCD.  Pointing the finger at the differences of others, and criticising them for not following certain "rules",  instead of showing love.

Where's the love?

Look at the woman who washed Jesus' feet.

THAT'S where the love is.

Being so caught up with our love for the Lord, that all else fades away and is forgotten.  No legalism - no judging the hearts and motives of others - no bickering and complaining about the choices that are made differently from our own. Pure, perfect, love for the Saviour. Savouring His presence, and seeking His approval, over the approval of the world, and fellow believers.

The woman brought a costly box of oils, and anointed Jesus with it - she brought her best to Him. This box was one that had to be broken, in order to spill its contents.

Am I coming, BROKEN, to Jesus.  Opening up myself, to be filled up with His love, and His spirit. If I come, willing, to be broken, with that kind of love, I won't even be THINKING a legalistic thought.

Is that how I am?  Bringing my best to the Lord - the best of my attitudes and actions? Bringing the best, because I love the Lord more than I love the desire to talk other's down, and criticise and judge?

I pray the Lord would help me to be less of the spiritual OCD, and more love to Him, and those I meet in my life.

1.     More love to thee, O Christ, more love to thee! 
 Hear thou the prayer I make on bended knee. 
 This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to thee; 
 more love to thee, more love to thee! 

2. Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; 
 now thee alone I seek, give what is best. 
 This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to thee; 
 more love to thee, more love to thee! 

3. Let sorrow do its work, come grief and pain; 
 sweet are thy messengers, sweet their refrain, 
 when they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to thee; 
 more love to thee, more love to thee! 

4. Then shall my latest breath whisper thy praise; 
 this be the parting cry my heart shall raise; 
 this still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to thee; 
 more love to thee, more love to thee! 

(Elizabeth Prentiss)

Blogging through the Alphabet {Daughters and Delight}

D is for "Daughters"

I can't quite believe it, but my oldest daughter will be eleven tomorrow.

ELEVEN.YEARS.OLD

My darling, devoted, delightful, daughter.

Everyone needs a Bethany. She is SO helpful, and kind. She is diligent in so many things I ask her to do. She brings me so much joy, with her sweet spirit.

She is also a little ditsy, easily distracted and a daydreamer, but that just makes her HER, and I love her so much for all who she is.

We also find she is prone to little disasters - moments when she comes and says "Mum, I'm sorry but I (insert random disaster) " I just smile, help her sort out the problem, and think how alike to me as child she is, and  about the fact I have turned out OK, so she should, too!

Then there are my other daughters. I love them all deeply.  They are each a joy, in their own, unique ways. 

D is for "Delight"

We just had a delightful holiday, for 2 weeks, in Cornwall.  I know, I already told you about it last week, but I want to say it again. It was WONDERFUL.

I am back home, feeling refreshed, with many, many happy memories, of time with my family.

I am delighted to be back home. I love the home that the Lord has given me here, and I love the routine of our life.

I delight myself in the Lord, and everything He is to me. That He has saved me, keeps me, and gives me unmerited grace day by day.  I love Him, I love His Word.


It's just a quickie for my alphabet today, as I literally just back from holiday, but I didn't want to miss linking up.

Come back next week for my "E" post!