Fun in London {the joy of encouraging friendship}

I just logged on to Blogger to write a new post, and was reminded of the topic of a recent post - singing God's praises.  Admittedly, I have had lots of occasions in the last two weeks when singing praise was easy. Days of blessing and encouragement - joy and laughter.  In the middle of it all, we have had a trauma, where I had to FIND things to praise for. It wasn't too hard, but they weren't the things that were at the front of my mind.

I have so much to share about, and I don't quite know how to divide it all up! Fitting it all in one post may be overwhelming for YOU, the reader! So, I will split it up, and start at the start.

Two weeks ago, I hammered out my  blog post in record time. They were thoughts I had wanted to share, but my time was short.  Why?  because I was heading off for a day trip to London! I LOVE London. I love that it is jam packed full of history, waiting for me to learn about.  I love the architecture. I love the interesting places. I love the feeling of jumping betweens the centuries, as you go from place to place. Brand spanking new sky scrapers shadowing the ancient and mysterious.

LOVE. IT.

The thing is, it wasn't the city that was calling my name that day.

Nope.

It was a PERSON!

Someone whom I had I never met.  Never ever.

It was another one of these *whispers* INTERNET acquaintances.

GASP.

The good news is that we have a mutual friend, who was able to confirm we were both safe and reliable!

Melissa is Heidi St John's "virtual assistant".  (That means she assists from a distance, not that she's a computerised character - meeting THAT would be just plain WEIRD!) I had the joy of meeting Heidi, and some of her family, THREE years ago (where does time GO?), and had been in touch with Melissa when working with Heidi on the blog hop a couple of years ago.

Melissa came over to the UK on a Church missions/choir trip, to Exmouth, in Devon. When she knew I lived near London, she asked if we could meet up.

Now, I don't go out much.  I am the joyful mother of my children, and I firmly see it as MY job to care for the children full time.  Robert works outside the home, and has enough to do without me constantly asking to do this, that and the other. So, when I ask to do something it's not the norm, and I massively appreciate him saying "yes". Which he did! (I read a blog post recently which suggested you shouldn't need to thank your husband when he looks after the children, because it's his job, too, but I disagree. Something as big as this is NOT his job, and I thanked him immensely! - I digress!)

I was so excited about not only going to London, but meeting Melissa. I know you don't fully know what someone is like from the Internet, but having met Heidi, I was confident we would get along. Which we DID!

Melissa, not being familiar with London, left most of the planning up to me, but told me what she wanted to see. She requested Westminster Abbey, which I hadn't visited, and to eat somewhere that was an "experience".  So, I got planning.  I like doing that kind of thing. I got us tickets for the open topped bus tour. If you are ever in London, it's a GREAT way to see a lot of the city.  There is a live guide (a dead one would be gross, I know....) - as opposed to a recorded tour - and you can hop on and off where you want. You also get a river trip. I got mine with Tesco vouchers, which made it FREEE-EEEEE. (We all love free, right?) I researched the Abbey (note to self - next time book your ticket online and avoid the 30+ minute wait....), and then thought about eating out. I asked around and found something that was an "experience".  A restaurant on a river boat! Eat dinner, and see London where you sit. You don't get to do that just anywhere.

Having arranged where to meet, and the agenda for the day, the day dawned bright! The sun was shining, and it looked like a great day to tour London. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, Melissa and I found each other! It was a joy to finally meet, and we got chatting straight off. I know.  Strange.  ME, chatting.  I know.

Melissa's first port of call was Buck Pal.  Otherwise known as Buckingham Palace, of course. We were on our way to see the changing of the guard.  Now, anywhere else, a guard change would be some guys marching up, changing places, and marching away.  Not in the UK. Ooooooooh no.

Pomp.

Circumstance.

Grandeur.

A lot of marching up and down a  courtyard by two very hot looking standard bearers, whilst two military bands from two different regiments play a lot of music.



It was busy, and getting to the front of the fence was a challenge, but we got there. It certainly gave Melissa a snapshot of the full glory of our military in full dress. And, you've gotta love a military
 band!

Our initial view, from the wrong side of the street!

The new "guard" arriving, with their band.  This is the RAF.

These are the Household Cavalry.  They are based down at Horse Guards, at the bottom of The Mall. 

These are the two guards, marching up and down.  One from the regiment ending their guard duty, and the other from the one coming on duty.  They marched backwards and forwards in diagonals, across the front of Buckingham Palace. I am sure there was some kind of order to it, but it looked random to us! 

These bad boys were coming OFF duty.  If there is something that is iconically British, it's THESE guys! They are wearing Bearskin Caps. Yes, made from bearskin. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia....

"The standard bearskin of the British Foot Guards is 18 inches tall, weighs 1.5 pounds and is made from the fur of the Canadian black bear.^[6] However, an officer's bearskin is made from the fur of the Canadian brown bear as the female brown bear has thicker, fuller fur and is dyed black. An entire skin is used for each hat.^[7] The British Army purchase the hats, which are known as caps, from a British hatmaker which sources its pelts from an international auction. The hatmakers purchase between 50 and 100 black bear skins each year at a cost of about £650 each.^[8] If properly maintained, the caps last for decades."

They are Foot Guards from the Grenadier Guards regiment. You can identify which regiment by plumes on the Bearskin, positioning of buttons, and the badge on their collar.  In case you wondered, I am no expert. I googled it.... and found this site useful. 

This is the bands playing in front of Buckingham Palace.  We couldn't see the Grenadier Guards so well, but the RAF band was at our end. 

This is the Grenadier Guards departing. The barracks fro all these regiments is just around the corner, at Wellington Barracks. Not too far to go back "Home".  I'm pretty certain that the tour guide mentioned that all these chaps have to have served on active duty for a certain length of time, before getting to the stage of home guard duty. These are all seasoned military. 

There was a slight problem with the day, which I discovered at this point. I had my phone. I had my camera. I made a foolish assumption.  That I had brought  a spare battery that was actually charged. Nuh-uh. *face palm*  So, from this point onwards I have very few photos. Also having a phone that wasn't so full of other junk that it has SPACE to add more photos, would also have been good.  Note to self....

I did get a few snaps on my phone, outside Buckingham palace, and on the bus.

This is the Victoria Monument. I wrote a blog post about it, several years ago, which you can read here. It tells you more about it. 

This is Nelson's Column - immortalising the great military genius, who won a great victory 200 years ago, at the Battle of Waterloo. He was a pretty 'armless guy..... boom boom. Read more about him here. 

From there we walked down The Mall - the long road that connects Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square - to get on the bus.  It's a lovely tree-lined street.  I like it a lot.  The us then brought us around some famous landmarks until we got to Westminster.  We hopped off and went to the Abbey.

This was interesting to me, on many points.

I LOVE the history.  The poor lady verger showing us around found out quite quickly that I was, erm, enthusiastic about the history.  I hope I didn't embarrass Melissa too much. There are many kings and queens buried there.  It's full to capacity now, so monarchs will no longer be interred there. I believe The Queen Mother is buried in Windsor.  Knowing our current Monarch's love for Windsor, I imagine she, too, will be buried there, when the time comes.

The interesting points?

Well, the history, of course.  Buried there, and remembered there, are MANY well known Brits.  You aren't allowed to take ANY photos in there, so I can't show you. There are poets, in "Poets Corner", including authors, too. Musicians and composers - Handel has a fairly prominent spot. Then, there are scientists and explorers.  David Livingstone is there. Well, all but his heart, which remained in Africa where his "heart" was. This is one of the interesting points. The C of E verger, when I vented my interest in Livingstone, said something along these lines. "Of course, the work of David Livingstone as one who helped abolish the slave trade, is far more significant than anything else he did - he only had one convert as a missionary, and they changed their mind later".

You WHAT???

SERIOUSLY?

Melissa and I exchanged a look over that one.

A wry, shocked look.

That man laid the way for MANY missionaries to forge into countries where the people did not know the Saviour.  He did GROUND-BREAKING work. Yes, his work in abolishing the slave trade was brilliant.  To ease the suffering of this world is wonderful.  Eternal salvation? No comparison.

ANYWAY.

We moved on.

More incredible building work and detail.  Truly stunning. Until we got to two more parts that had me rolling my eyes, I'm afraid. "Saint Edward's" tomb.  So revered than he was canonised. Who are WE, as mortals, all sinners before God, to elevate ANYONE to "sainthood"?? We are all equally sinners, and none of us can do anything to merit a higher place in life. We can only claim Christ's shed blood, and atoning sacrifice, to lift us from death and judgement. We will never be anything of ourselves, and anything others see in us is Christ alone, and doesn't deserve the "sainthood" awarded by men.  Sorry.  Rant.  The Bible is very clear on this, and it drives me a little scatty.  Moving on further brought us to the Lady Chapel.  In memory of queens?? No.  "Our Holy Lady, the Mother of Christ". As much as she was chosen by God to bear Christ, the whole point WAS that she was just a woman, like any other woman. Privileged? Yes. Undeniably.  Requiring special titles and reverence, above any others, to be worshipped and given Sainthood? NO!

The other thing that had me eye rolling was the Verger's obvious dislike for the Reformation, and Oliver Cromwell. They had "destroyed" parts of the beautiful abbey.

Boo hoo.

It's a BUILDING!

Beautiful.

A testament to the creative minds that God has created mankind with. Genius of its day, in the way it was built. Skilled craftsmen put it together. But, it's NOT the Church. It's not the building that matters.

It was definitely worth the visit, although fairly pricey. Especially if you love history and architecture. and fascinating facts.

Next, we hopped back on the bus to see more of London. On the way round we THINK we saw the cavalcade of cars for Michelle Obama.

Great.

We love her.... honest.

We got off the bus at the  Tower of London. (That's a place I want to visit!)  We then got on the river cruise back up to Westminster. It interesting to see the city from the perspective of the river. Once again we had a live commentary, which was interesting.

When we reached Westminster we had a few minutes to spare, so we went and had a wee look down Downing Street. The PM wasn't at home, and as Melissa very politely observed, you can't see much anyway. Our PM's residence is slightly less salubrious than the American head of state. Not very British, really. Hey ho.

We then headed out for dinner.  Now, Melissa wanted an "experience".  When I stepped on the boat and sat down, I thought it was going to be a VERY interesting experience. I forgot I get travel sick on boats, and that boat was bobbing up and down on the River Thames!!! I had a slightly panicked moment, where I thought I was going to have to run off the boat and go to McDs instead. But, I got used to it, thankfully, and despite the odd moment where it got a bit "bobby" again, I survived!

The dinner was lovely, but that wasn't the highlight.

This was THE best part of the day. I got to have a lovely chat with Melissa, who encouraged me beyond measure, as we chatted about parenting, relationships and home schooling.  The Lord had appointed our meeting, in His own perfect way, at a time I needed it most. It was uplifting and I appreciated it SO much. Chatting with a fellow sister in Christ, and gaining the wisdom and perspective of another, was just priceless. It filled my heart and soul with renewed enthusiasm, and a sense of "things can be ok". She challenged me to think outside the box, and to be brave enough to do things differently to what I was used to. I'm not even sure she fully realised how much the whole day was a balm to my soul. I told her it was a blessing, but, really, it was a deep, full and satisfying blessing.

It was ALL of God.

HE is the great Master Planner of our lives.

He equally allows struggles and trials, but when He brings blessings? - it's like a cool drink of water in a desert.

That whole day was incredible, and in God's perfect timing. He blessed me with a day that is one of my perfect sorts. Fascinating things to see, and fabulous company. For me, it can hardly get better.

Hang on.  It could.  I forgot to mention my fun trip there...

I went on the train, and brought a book with me. I don't often get the chance to read in peace, these days. So, a train journey seemed ideal. I brought a book with me that I have "started" I don't know how many times.  I WILL finish it.  IN the mean time, it's blessing my heart every time I dig into it. It's also incredibly amusing.  It's called "Unglued", and it's written by Lysa Terkeurst. Lysa writes in a way that is so REAL! You can totally relate to what she is writing about, especially, in this instance, if you are an emotional being. I had several "laugh out loud" moments, and this one really tickled me.....

"That's what makes raw emotions so complicated.  They come from nowhere and run us slap-over.  Which is why it's so important to prepare in advance for what will surely happen during your next trip to Target - or while attending the unpredictable family reunion, driving unruly kids in the car pool, or dealing with difficult people at the office. Or when, at the next Bible study meeting, you happen to sit by the woman with the special ministry of discouragement".

I pretty much spat my mint tea out at that quote!

Boy, have I met those kind of folks in my lifetime. The special ministry of discouragement!!!

We should ALL be encouragers.  It's not some special spiritual gift.  It's what EVERY Christian should try to be.

That's what made my day so special.  Melissa encouraged me.  She built me up, and helped me to see how, by God's grace and guidance, I could do the job of parenting and wifehood that He has called me to do.

(It's a bit of a dimly lit picture, but we were trying to get the London Eye in the background!)


I wonder who you will come into contact with today, or in the next week?  Are you exercising the spiritual muscle of encouragement.  You will bless others richly, if you work at being an encourager.

I had such a precious day, and I am so thankful to God for the friendship I have forged, through God's intricate plan, of seemingly random connections, for HIS glory! I love that we are all part of God's body, and even though we don't live near each other physically, we are joined together. We can build each other up, and encourage one another, through our mutual love for the Saviour, FROM the Saviour. So, so precious.

Thank you to Heidi for the first connection.  Thank you to Melissa for being brave enough to meet the random, unknown Scot.  Thank you to God for His goodness.

Friendship {Part 1 - who ARE friends, anyway?}

I have been thinking about writing about friendship for a long time. So, today, I am going to begin a long-thought-about "series" on friendship. No promises about how long it will be, or when it will finish, but I think it's something worth considering.

It's a subject that you hear about SO much these days.

BFFs.

"Friends" on Facebook.

They are catchy titles that fly about with great regularity.

Someone suggested to me, a while ago, that "friends" on Facebook are not REAL friends.  You don't know them IRL (in real life, for those who are NOT up-to-date on such lingo...), so they can't be "real".

Then there are BFFs.  I actually had to look this up to get it right, because it's one of these "popular" phrases of the trendy, of which I am not.  I thought it meant "best female friend". Goes to show how much *I* know about it.  It means "best friends forever".  Now I know.

So, what IS friendship?  It is quite a subjective term, in many ways.  One person may classify a friend in one way, and someone else my consider it differently.

Well, according to the Oxford dictionary, it's

"a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations."

If you are someone who wants to define it in an official capacity, then your husband isn't your friend, and you can't be friends with  your family.

I have a problem with both of those premises.

For me, my husband is my BEST friend.

I know, for some, that's not the case.  I find that sad for a few reasons.  I find it sad because there is obviously a lack of "mutual affection". Affection is being fond of someone, or liking them. How can one NOT be fond of their spouse, or feel affection toward them? I guess if you have an arranged marriage, then things could be lacking in mutual affection.  That can be remedied, I suppose, if  you set your mind to it.

I would suggest, in an ideal situation, that the first level of connection you should have with your spouse IS friendship.  A serious relationship should BEGIN with mutual affection.  When we give guidance to our children about looking to marriage, it's the starting point that we would assert to be the best one.  You begin as friends. It may be that you seek someone with the design that they be  your spouse, or it may be someone you meet through the course of life.  Either way, you begin with making a connection on the grounds of commonality.  You both have the same interests.  You both have the same ambitions. You both have the same desires.  You both have the same goals. You both have the same beliefs and convictions. How can a marriage even be considered unless all of this is true?  You have no foundation for a good marriage, if friendship doesn't start first.  I would guess thaat, although I have no proof for it, other than what I have witnessed for myself, the marriages that last begin with friendship.

If you say your husband is not your best friend, I think it's ultimately a reflection of either a lack of commonality when the marriage was initiated, or a lack of effort to maintain it AFTER marriage.  Both of these situations are sad, and I feel a deep sense of pity for those who are in such a situation.

I would also say that my husband IS my best friend, BECAUSE of the added intimacy marriage affords.  Not only are you connected as friends, with mutual affection for each other and desires that are in union, but you are close in a physical and loving sense.  That combination, for me, makes him the best friend I could possibly have, because he gives me more than any other friend could POSSIBLY give! What a joy, and blessing!  Look no further than Song of Solomon, for a proof.

"he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."

Song of Solomon 5:16

As for not being friends with your family?  Again, I don't agree.

Friendship is about having a bond, and a mutual affection.  True, family is defined by the bond you have by blood, or by adoption.  However, friendship is something that goes BEYOND that, because mutual affection is something you can have WITHIN it! Without a doubt, I count my family members as some of my closest friends. Family both by birth, and by marriage.  To me, it's a sign that your family connection is deeper than a title of "sister", or "sister-in-law", or "mother" (males included, but I'm not listing EVERY family title!!) .  Family is a bond that is like no other, but family who are ALSO your friends indicates a depth of relationship that goes beyond blood ties. It's a privilege to count a family member as a friend.

So, how DO you define a friend?

If you have a mutual affection for each other, it must stem from knowing them well enough to have affection at all.  It presupposes that you have spent time getting to know the other person, and finding out what they are like.  How do they think?  How do they behave?  What do they like?  What do they love?  Then, based upon that knowledge, you build that mutual affection for each other, which leads to true friendship.

In times past, as well as in the present, friendship was most commonly established through the contact you had with people on day to day basis.  The people in your community, the place where you worked, the activities you are involved with, or those you met with day by day, were all potential "candidates" for friendship. In other words, you had to have SOME kind of contact with them in the first place, in order to begin a friendship.

Back to my "Facebook friends aren't real" statement.

(Not mine, I add.)

If a friend is someone who you have a bond of mutual affection with, knowing them in person, or meeting them physically, isn't necessary. Now, I want to add I can UNDERSTAND people's leeriness about establishing a friendship "virtually".  People can be whoever they want to be online.  I have known people who I have first met online, who I end up meeting in person, and they are NOT the person they portray on the Internet. That's not always a bad thing, I add, but often it's a huge surprise.  Those quiet online, can be chatty in person.  Those quite vocal online, can be unbelievably quiet in person.  People can come across quite normal in the world wide web, but be quite odd in person.  Undeniably, all this is true. You can't dismiss the fact that many ARE very real online, because some are not.  As with anything, you use discernment, wisdom and common sense, to establish whether someone is truly a "friend", or just an "acquaintance".  If you DO ever meet them in real life, and they are not what you expected, you can take things from there!

Undoubtedly, many of my Facebook "friends" are not really friends.  I don't particularly like the generalisation, but, hey, "acquaintances through some tenable virtual connection" doesn't have quite the same ring to it, right?  They are simply those who you have made a connection with, in some way or another.

But, without a shadow of a little doubt, true friendships can definitely be made online.  I have met some wonderful people online, more specifically, on Facebook, who have become incredibly good, and close, friends.  People with whom I have made an initial connection through things we have in common, and who, by further communication and effort, have become those with whom I share "mutual affection". I'm not going to go into the detail in this post, because it's the things I want to deal with as I look at friendship, but those ladies fit the criteria and characteristics I would count as those you would expect of a friend.. (And yes, "ladies" -  as I will expound in another post, I don't pursue friendship with men.  More to come on that subject.)  There have been those with whom the connection just "clicked" pretty quickly, and others with whom I have grown closer to, as the affection has grown from getting to know each other better.  I value them as a treasure, and I am thankful to God for them.   Many of them I may never meet this side of heaven.  I have the knowledge that they are a blessing to me now, and that we will meet "On the other side".  Some I have had the great joy and delight of meeting in person, having made the connection online first. Getting to meet them has only deepened the affection.  Many I hope to meet in person some day.  Due to the fact that the Atlantic Ocean separates us, it's not that likely.  I can live in hope, though, can't I?

I don't rank my friendships in quality according to where they exist - in person, or virtually. They are all unique, but that is because of the beautiful and individual personalities of each friend.  It's also not about how much time I spend with them - it's quality, not quantity.  Most of my friends, due to my location and busy life, are those with whom I don't get to spend a lot of time with - in real life, or online.  My main priority is my family, and I simply can't talk online all day, or always be off visiting friends, or having them come here. I'd never get anything done! But, those friends I DO have, continue to build that "mutual affection" whenever we are in contact. The time lapse between contact doesn't lessen the friendship, because that affection doesn't go away.

I am SO thankful to God for my friends.  I am a very sociable person, and the Lord knows how much I need them, and the value they add to my life. I would go stir crazy without them! I'm not someone who has a lot of friends with a shallow connection.  The friends I have I love, and love deeply.  I don't make friendships quickly, but similarly, I don't break them easily or lightly. So long as that mutual affection remains, built upon the truths that I will go on to explain, in further posts, you will be my friend for life.

So, who are YOUR friends? Thank God for them, because they are a gift from Him.

I hope you are as blessed as I am, and if you are not, I pray that the Lord blesses you, too.

  

Cake, craft and companionship {the blessing of making new friends}

Last night, I was incredibly blessed.

My lovely sister-in-law hosted an evening, which she called "Cake and Craft".

How to make many women happy - put those two things together in one sentence.

Cake.

Craft.

Ohhhhhh yeah.

I was instructed to bring some cake, and whatever craft I was working on.  So, I brought two cakes, and all the craft I am working on.

Needless to say, I was heavily laden.

I brought my faithful brownies (a bit undercooked, as I did a "lastminute.com"), and a THM inspired raspberry and almond slice.

Craft wise, I just chucked all my current projects in a bag.  That would be 4 involving yarn (not including my never ending blanket, which keeps ending up on the back burner), and one involving felt.  I had great aspirations to work on the project involving felt, but that didn't happen.

You see, the most precious part of the evening was not what we were to bring, but who brought it.  I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some of the other Mums from a home-ed group my SIL goes to, and whom I had never met before.

These ladies were all lovely.  All different situations.  All different groupings of children.  All different backgrounds.  All united in Christ.

THAT was the precious part.  Fellowship with others of "like precious faith".

Being able to share in our common interests, not least of all home schooling.  Talking about our children and families - the varying struggles and challenges we mutually shared.

That feeling and sense of not being alone in the journey.

It was such an edifying experience, and one I simply don't get the chance to do very often.

I am a VERY sociable person, and I find it hard to not have much contact with other adults, more especially women.

God created us to have companionship.  Firstly He made that perfect union of man and wife, united in marriage. From that flows family, then community, and friendships.  So much of that community amongst family, and Christians, is not the same as it was years ago.  It's not so immediate. It's not always right there, at "hands reach".  It's something that you often have to FIND.  And, like digging for treasure, in a deep, dark mine, it's worth finding.  Fellowship with other Mums is like the glistening of a diamond, dug out from the dark, grimy rock that it has been buried in. It shimmers and shines, from the darkness.

I'm not saying, for a moment, that my life is dark and dull.  I love my children.  I love my responsibilities.  But the craving for companionship can feel dark and lonely.  Finding the gem of fellowship brings beauty and encouragement.

Having spent such a blessed evening together, we want more.  It's our hope to meet together again, in order to be an ongoing help and encouragement to each other. To share experience - to lift each others spirits - to guide in spiritual matters - to laugh and bring joy.

I had thought that I didn't have much opportunity to meet with other Mums, because I don't know that many who could meet together like that.  How glad I am for a sister-in-law who thought of including me in her get together, and encouraging me in tat way.

It has made me realise that the things we need in life are not always immediately obvious.  We may have to look for them, or think of different ways to go about accomplishing things, than we originally envisioned.  It has made me realise that God answers prayers in HIS perfect timing.  The many years I have had with few opportunities to meet others were for a reason.  Those years have taught me much, and maybe now is the time to meet with others, so I can share what God has taught ME!?


I had heard Sally Clarkson talking about "Mom Heart Groups", where Mums got together to fellowship and encourage one another.  I had sighed deeply, and thought, "Wouldn't THAT be nice?"  Well, maybe, now there is  a way to HAVE that!?  A group of Mums, wanting to be the best they can be for their families, and seeking to be encouraged!  Sally's new book, "Own Your Life" points us to remember that God has given us the ability to live life fully, for Him.  It's up to us to make the best choices we can, and connecting with other people is a wonderful way in which live life fully.

I am praying that this New Year will bring the opportunity to have such a group, and share with others in our walk with God and I pray that the Lord will be able to use me to build up and encourage others, in their walk with God.

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!

Looking back

There are many who would say that we should not spend out lives looking back.  In some senses this may be true.  We shouldn't look back, continually going over mistakes or sins - dragging them up in our mind, let alone in conversation. We shouldn't look back with regrets, with a negative perspective - mulling over things we wished we had done differently.  What's done is done, and we can't change it.

However, there is great blessing in looking back over the good, and rejoicing with thanksgiving for the things that have happened in our lives.

Undoubtedly, this has been a year of great blessing to our family.  Just today, I am celebrating 13 years of marriage to the love of my life.  What incomparable years of joy they have been.  The blessings of marriage are so many, that I cannot begin to count them up in a blog post. Our love has grown, our relationship deepened, our personalities matured and our character improved  All of this adds up to a continuing love for each other, as we daily learn to die to self and give to one another. I love Robert greatly, and am thankful for him every day.  I can not imagine life without him.

We have been blessed with another child - our seventh.  I can hardly believe, 13 years on, that we have been so wonderfully blessed with these 7 children, from the Lord.  Simeon is a joy, and it is thrilling to see him develop and grow every day.  He's getting more vocal, more mobile and ever more adorable. All of the other children continue to grow, and learn.  We have many "wobbly" moments, where things don't go as smoothly, humanly speaking, as we would wish.  Balancing that all out, and tipping in the opposite direction, are the rich, moments of blessing that the children bring.  The smiles, the laughter, the tender moments, the little things they say, the precious things they do.  All a blessing. And, even in the trying times, there is always something to find, which we can still be thankful for.

We  are continually blessed and encouraged by our extended family.  Opportunities to meet up together, and have fun have been a joy.  To grow closer, to be blessed by help, and kindness, and love, and generosity of many varieties. Family is always a blessing.

Related to that has been the opportunity to open up our wonderful, new home, to have many people come to visit and to stay.  It's SUCH a blessing to now have home large enough to not only have room for our own family, but have room to comfortably accommodate overnight visitors.

We have been blessed with friendship.  Through my contacts with Facebook, we have made several new friends. Some that are more exclusive to me, in my online contacts - friends who I come alongside with, in prayer and praise, and who span all corners of the globe.  What a blessing to see answered prayer, and to be encouraged in my Christian walk by other like-minded Sisters.  Some are friends who have extended to an IRL capacity - "In Real Life".  To meet people and find they are just as you imagined, and have friendships bloom and grow.  What a blessing and encouragement. To have many come to stay in our home, and to be able to talk of the things of the Lord, laugh about many different things, and be so deeply blessed by the company of so many.  We particularly enjoyed meeting the St John family, and the blessing and encouragement that friendship has been to us.

We have been blessed in our journey in home education.  Beginning new curricula, seeing the children come on in leaps and bounds, having Susie start to read, and the general privilege of having my children with me in the home every day.  Is it hard at times.  Yes.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely!

We rejoice to keep in touch with friends who have been with us in years gone by, and now see them ministering in many ways, and in many places. What a thrill to see young men labouring for the Lord, and new families being raised for God's glory.

My heart is truly full, as I look back at the blessing that God has filled my life with.  We are contented with the many blessings which the Lord has bestowed upon us.

And, as I look back, with a full heart, I give thanks.

Thanks for the many, many wonderful gifts that God has given me.

"for consider how great things he hath done for you."

I Samuel 12:24

"The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. "

Psalm 126:3

The Writing on the Wall....a give away!

I have just had THE most wonderful few days.

The Lord knows just how to make us smile, through His blessing of friendship.

I have laughed, and talked...laughed some more, and talked some more.

I have been challenged.

I have been blessed.

I have, VERY much been encouraged.

All because the Lord set in motion a series of events that start waaaaaaaaay back.

Had I not been feeling discouraged using our old curriculum, I would not have been looking for a new curriculum.

Had I not been using a new curriculum, I would not have found out about an online conference to encourage homes-school Mum's.

Had I not signed up for the conference, I would have not heard a certain lady speaking, named Heidi St John, and started to follow her on Facebook.

Had I not signed up for Facebook, I would have not known there was a group of ladies on there who used Tapestry of Grace.

Had I not joined the Tapestry of Grace group, Tandy Hogate would not have known I lived in the UK.

Had I not offered my help to give information for Heidi St John's trip to Europe, then she wouldn't have come to stay with me.

Had Heidi not come to stay with me, I would not have met a very special "kindred spirit"...

I didn't know all of this, when my days were tough, and I was wrestling with home-schooling.  When I felt like giving up.  When I cried, and the children cried.

But...God did! He had it planned ALL this time.  He brought Heidi into my  life "for such a time as this"...at a time when I had once again felt discouraged...under spiritual attack.  He brought a couple who serve Him, by encouraging Home-schooling families, RIGHT into my home!

Never under-estimate God's providence.  You may need to wait YEARS to see why things have happened in your life, but you WILL see that God works all things together for good.

It just thrilled my heart this afternoon, as I thought this sequence of events through.

It brings utter joy, and humbling amazement.

We are told in everything give thanks.

It wasn't easy to be thankful in those trying times.

But, praise God, it's certainly easy to give thanks now...heartfelt thanks.

I am thankful that the Lord ordered that the paths of Caroline Cordle and Heidi St John should cross!  And, I pray that they not only met, but they will travel alongside one another for a looooong time, albeit on the other side of the world!

I am thankful, too, for her godly, patient (with my children who just wanted to TALK to him, ALL.THE.TIME.) and fun husband, Jay.

And for her 3 lovely girls...Savannah, Sierra and Saylor...who were here, too.  The older girls willingly, and kindly, helped with jobs on Thursday.  They are sweet, sincere and really lovely young ladies.  And, sweet, soooooo good, little Saylor - who just adapted to the whacky hours that were involved with travel and commitments.

Savannah and Saylor

The ace photographer, Sierra!

I will post a bit more about the visit another day, but I just wanted to share the blessing of seeing God's hand in the events of the past, that lead to the blessing of the present!

BUT, in a way of passing on the blessing, I am going to do a give-away!  

In order to support their ongoing ministry, which is not a salaried position, Jay has been producing beautiful, vinyl wall lettering to sell.  They VERY kindly gifted us with some lettering, which he then put up for us.

It is up on the wall in our kitchen, and I plan to put some family photos around the lettering!

Here is a close up, which shows it in more detail...

This still doesn't really show how lovely it actually IS!

So, as a give-away, I have a slightly different one to offer. This was very kindly donated to me by Jay and Heidi, to give away on here!  The one which is up for grabs, is...

I have one of these as well, and I plan to put it above our bed, with pictures of out children underneath! Had we not fallen in love, we wouldn't be blessed with our lovely children!  God is good!

Have a look at all jay's range, on his website.

So, how do you win one?

You have several opportunities.

1) Simply make a comment under this post.

2) For another entry, blog about the give-away on your own blog and share the link in the comments below.

3) For a THIRD entry, share the link for the give-away on your FB page, and post under the FB link that you have shared it!

4) For a FOURTH entry, share the website link for the lettering that Jay sells, on your FB page or blog.

So, there you have it....the opportunity to win some lovely lettering to put on your wall! There are detailed instructions on the website, about how to apply the lettering - it's really quite simple.

So, get sharing!  Better still, get buying from Jay's website, and help support them in their labours for the Lord.

And, don't forget...whatever trials you are going through today, God has a purpose for them, - and I pray they will be as encouraging as the blessings I have had this week! 

Blessings....

I have had a week of blessings.

Some have been hard work, and have caused fatigue, nausea and physical pain!

But, they are still blessings.  Because, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

It is also nice to receive!

I had the blessing of having friends to visit.  Yes, it involves effort, but the fellowship is worth it.

I had the blessing of a friend coming to help me.  She came (with her 3 weeks old baby!) to help ME! She ironed for me! She helped me make the decorations for Joshua's birthday cake (I am NOT planning on taking up sugar craft art any time soon! lol - her flowers were beautiful, mine looked wilted!)  She blessed me with her company and encouragement.  She blessed me with the promise that she would be buying me a new ironing board, as a house warming gift! (mine is about to die!...)  It was such a humbling experience, to have her come ad help me.

I had a friend from the Church come and help me make the lasagne's for today's Harvest Supper.  She SO helped make the job easier by all she did - washing up, chopping, stirring, chatting! It was a late night, but it was not as late as it would have been if I had done it alone!

I had the blessing of a lady from the Church going to Costco to get many things we needed for the Supper.  She blessed Bethany, by bringing her with her on the trip ad taking her to Hobbycraft afterwards (any young girls dream shop! although, she was fairly amazed by Costco! lol)  She saved me having to get things, by getting them there.

Then, I had the blessing of preparing ad serving the Harvest Supper.  I was blessed, once again, by one of the more "senior" ladies in the Church, who just merrily worked away at doing anything I asked her to!  I had the blessing of my sister-in-law making most of the dessert's, and doing it very well! So willing to do anything to make it easier for me!

I had the blessing of thankful people, who enjoyed what they ate.  I had the added blessing, due to me making such an excess, of having the leftovers to take home for Sunday dinner, so I don't have to work so hard tomorrow! (THAT is a brilliant blessing!)

I am tired. It's been busy.  But it's been a blessing!

I trust your day in the Lord's house is also a blessing, as I pray mine will be!  Enjoy your extra hour's sleep (for all those in the UK....unless you have children small enough not to understand the concept of a "lie in"!)!!!!

"blessed...with all spiritual blessings"

I want to invite you on a journey with me.  In order to invite you, I need to first take you on a journey back in time.  We don't have to travel very far.  Well, actually, after a bit of thought (whilst tidying up the kitchen....), I need to take you back a bit further than I initially thought.

Autumn 2009.  I was in the early stages of my pregnancy with Elijah. Easily fatigued, and hormones high.  Being a home-school Mum was wearing me out.  I realised I needed to take a different approach, namely changing the curricula we used.  I don't want to get into the "ins and outs" or the "whys and wherefores" in this post.  Suffice to say, that the Lord very clearly led us into a new direction.  We began in the January of 2010.

Upon starting out in pastures new, I discovered a whole realm of home-schooling communities online, with tremendous resources.  One such was Heart of the Matter.  It's a lovely source of encouragement for home-schooling parents.  They do a couple of different online conferences a year, and I signed up to attend the one last summer.  It was GREAT! I was so blessed and encouraged by the speakers and hostesses - particularly Sally Clarkson, and Courtney Joseph.  Through their roles in that conference, I started to really grow and learn in my role as wife and mother, and especially in home-schooling.

Through Courtney's ministry, I found out about Good Morning Girls.  It's an online accountability system, for having your quiet time.  My quiet times had really not been consistent, and as you would expect, my spiritual strength was lacking.  I tried to drum up some interest amongst friends, to join the Autumn '10 group.  I started out, but if floundered and fizzled out. Then, they announced that they would start the next one in January, studying through the book of James, using the SOAP method, that I shared about here.  I went on the forum on their website, hoping to find some others that I could join with, who also wanted to follow the study.  On the forum, there was a Scottish lady, asking about forming a group!  A SCOTTISH lady, no less.  Anyone that doesn't know a Scot, will not know the affinity shared with their fellow nationals, whether you know them or not.  (Meet a total stranger, who's a Scot?...then you WILL get chatting! lol)  Her name was Kirsteen.  (well, IS Kirsteen, I should say!)  She had another friend, Jennifer, who was going to be in the group, too.  Through one thing and another, several other ladies joined.  Heather, Ingrid and Kimberly, from the "other side of the pond", and Tanya and Grainne (sisters), from the other side of the much smaller pond (the Irish Sea!).  The latter 2 lovely ladies, live VERY near to my 2 brothers in Northern Ireland.  Their parents come from places I am very familiar with.  It was really one of these amazing moments, where a real connection is felt.  Then, we all shared pictures of each other.   Hmmmmm.  Kirsteen looked familiar, but I couldn't place how.  I mean, Scotland isn't exactly TINY - we very likely had never even met before.  Then, she emailed me asking "was your Dad a Pastor in Scotland?".  Erm, yes! Why?  "because I think i met you when I was 14, at your youth group!".  Indeed, we did!  Her Dad was Pastor of a different denomination, but they visited our youth group a couple of times.  I THOUGHT I recognised her face!  (It really hasn't changed much....I was just relieved that it wasn't that I looked like my Dad, as being the reason for her making the connection...it's happened before....*sigh*).  Isn't that amazing!  God really does some amazing things!

Well, the group got on like the proverbial house on fire.  We shared our discoveries and thoughts as we studied through the Epistle.  It was was so challenging.  God really spoke to me about many things.  I started getting up earlier, to do my devotions.  I started reading God's Word more.  I changed the way I behaved and dealt with my family.  (That's a work in progress, I hasten to add....but improvement, certainly!)  I was challenged about memorising scripture, and have now nearly finished learning the first chapter of Philippians.   We all grew, and became firmer friends, despite never being able to meet together in person.  The Lord most certainly brought us together to encourage each other "as iron sharpeneth iron".

We started the summer session, with the addition of a new members - Anne, Dawn and Rachel.  Anne and Dawn were asking to join a group, via the GMG forum.  I saw them, and realised that, yup, you guessed it, I KNEW Anne!  We met MANY moons ago, (nearly 20 years, so she must have been about 9.....*whistles and winks*), when I was only a teen, and she was about to become a mother for the first time!

ALL these friendships, developing through our GMG group and via Facebook contact, have been SUCH a blessing to me.  Finally, I get around to the title of this post.  Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3, tells us


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:"

I am blessing God.  I am blessing him for the spiritual blessing that I have in my "Good Morning" Girls.   They have have challenged me, encouraged me, prayed for me, laughed with me, empathised with me.  They have blessed me abundantly, and continue to do so, as we enter a new study together.  I am so thankful for the different blessings that each one brings to me, with their own unique God-given gifts and personality's.

The Good Morning Girls fall session will begin in September.  However, for one reason and another, we are not waiting for that to begin.  We are going to study through the Epistle to the Ephesians, which will bring us to the end of the year.  God brought us together as a group of ladies, but we now feel able to study something that fits our group, which is a blessing of it's own! That we are able to share how we feel, without judgement or condemnation.  For that I give thanks.

So, the journey I asked you to share?  It's a journey through Ephesians. Do you study God's Word, in detail and methodically.  If you don't, using the SOAP method is great.  If you want to follow alongside us, in Ephesians, then you will find the reading plan (that you can print out) here.  I will be regularly sharing about what God is teaching me, as we study through this wonderful Epistle.  Please share your thoughts with us, if you follow along.  Your heart will be blessed by studying God's Word like this.  All you need is a notebook to jot down your thoughts, if you use the SOAP method.  If you don't want to study alongside us, but would rather be blessed by following along with the official GMG (who are going to study through I John), then either gather together a group of lady's who want to join you, or find a group on their Message Board.  Your heart will  be blessed, I am sure!

So, please join us on our journey, as we find God's truths and blessing, in Ephesians!