CULTIVATING gratitude {how do I grow a grateful heart?}

I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of my journey to "Cultivate gratitude" as I go through this month - just to share what the Lord is showing ME.

I think it's a wonderful thing that although we can all read the same portion of scripture, the same book, or hear the same sermon,God applies it to each one of us as He sees we need it.

As a parent, I would guess, like me, you seek to nurture your children as individuals? You can see that they each have their own God-given personalities. Equally, they have their own traits and qualities that require training and discipline to help weed out. It's a joy to see the little people (or big ones!) that they are. It's a heartache, often, to have to deal with the not-so-pleasant aspects of disobedience, attitude or other aspects of their sinful nature.

It's no different for our Heavenly Father. Well, it is. He is infinitely more patient, kind, and good than I can ever be as a parent. Yet, His desire is still to treat us as individuals that He created us to be. Each having our own struggles that the Lord has to guide us through, and our own sinful desires that He has to point out to us.

When we spend time getting to know our Heavenly Father, by reading what He wants us to know, we will each see how we need to be moulded and shaped to be more like our Saviour.

One of the first lessons that the Lord has laid on my heart is in the title of the challenge.

CULTIVATING gratitude.

As you may know, if you have been reading my blog for a while, I love learning lessons from my garden. It struck me, today, that "cultivating" is something that I haven't been doing in my garden so much this year.

"to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) 

by labour and attention."

(dictionary.com)

I simply haven't spent as much labour and attention on my garden this year and as a result there are parts that look neglected. It's evident, to even the untrained eye, that my garden could look better. There are weeds. There are pieces of edging that aren't where they should be. The mint has overrun a border. There are plants that need to be cut back and tidied up. 

Some signs of sporadic effort are evident. A few shrubs that have been cut back, on a whim, when I was fed up with lack of sunlight to a border one day. As a result, that border is doing much better. There are some pretty, newly-planted cyclamen, brightening a previously dull border and adding colour to the plants dying back in the chill of autumn. When work IS done it is equally evident.

It struck me that my life is the same. If I CULTIVATE gratitude - if I put in work and pay attention to living it out  - then others will see it. We're not doing it to receive praise, or accolade - no, quite the contrary. We should desire to be grateful, first and foremost, to give glory to GOD! As was the consideration in yesterday's devotional from "Choosing Gratitude", our praise and worship - our THANKFULNESS - should ultimately be towards our God and Saviour. He has done SO much for us, that we cannot be anything BUT grateful. Every. Single. Day. But, as a RESULT of our praise and thanks to God, others should see our lives to be one that is filled with gratitude. One that is quick to see the ways in which we can choose joy over negativity. A heart filled with thanks, despite our trying circumstances. But ONLY if we cultivate it.

We need to pull up the weeds of discontent and plant the beautiful flowers of thankfulness. We need to cut back the deadness of  grumbling and complaint so that the blooms of gratitude are seen instead. 

Gratitude is not our default attitude. It's far easier to fall into negativity and complaint than it is to be grateful, if it's not something we are used to doing. It only becomes our "default" if we work at it. 

My all-time favourite example of cultivating an attitude of gratitude, is from "The Hiding Place", by Corrie Ten Boom. I don't know if you are familiar with her life-story, but Corrie, and her sister Betsie, were imprisoned during WWII for helping the Jews. During their incarceration, they come to one barracks that is completely flea-ridden. As challenging as the whole experience had already been, this about sent Corrie to insanity. HOW could they get through such a trial??

Betsie discovered what they needed.

"'"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus." That's it, Corrie! That's His answer. "Give thanks in all circumstances!" That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!'

"I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room…"

They thought hard, then they came up with things for which they could be thankful. They were together. They  had a Bible. They even managed to give thanks for the heaving crowds of prisoners, because they could share the gospel with them. But then, Betsie thanked God for the fleas.

"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'

"'"Give thanks in all circumstances,"' she quoted. 'It doesn't say, "in pleasant circumstances."  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.'

"And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong."

FLEAS, guys. They thanked God for FLEAS! 

But, do you know what? BECAUSE of the fleas, the guards NEVER came in those barracks! They had free reign to read their Bible and to share God's Word with their fellow prisoners! Those fleas gave them opportunity to extend God's love to those who were equally suffering around them.

THAT, my friends, is the kind of hard, messy gratitude that I want to cultivate in my own heart and that can be seen in my life. I want others to be blessed by my ability to say "thank you, Lord", in ALL situations. No matter how easy it would be to say "WHY, Lord?"

I have bulbs that I spotted on a good deal in Costco. The images on the packet were those of great beauty! I LOVE anemones, and I can't wait to see them next spring. 

At least, once I have actually PLANTED them, I hope to see them flowering. 

Yup, they are SITTING IN MY SHED. Until I plant them in the prepared soil - until I put them in the ground, where they will draw up water and nutrients from the soil, and GROW - I won't see any beautiful flowers at all. 

That's us. We need to actually plant the seed of gratitude in our hearts. We need to put into action the way we need to live, in order to be the fruitful Christian that God desires of us.

In the letter to the Colossians, in chapter 3, Paul reminds the believers of a frtuiful life that God desires of them. He lists the attributes that we should "put on".

Mercy.  Kindness. Humility.  Meekness. Longsuffering. 

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. Love. Peace. 

The list ends like this...

"and be ye thankful."

To crown off all the other things we should be, we ought to be THANKFUL. 

That's what God wants from us. Gratitude. Thankfulness for the life that HE has made new, and transformed to the image of His Son. 

As we carry on through the month of October, let's CULTIVATE gratitude in our hearts and lives and live a life that wee seek to intentionally "be thankful".

*** Don't forget about the give-away, which ends at midnight GMT, TONIGHT!  Head over to this post to enter! 

Out with the old, in with the (sort of) new {making changes in school}

A couple of weeks ago I had a rough few days.

Not that having rough days is anything spectacularly strange. Regular, more like.

I had a virus going through the house, with children dropping like flies, succumbing to a cough and a raised temperature. Wouldn't you know, but it hit the first "proper" week back to school (because every home school has a kind of "breaking it in gently" week first, right?... ).

The devil always seems to want to get in and pull me down whenever we come back from a break. I was armed and ready. I was expecting it. But, alas, my sleep deprived self didn't handle the attack very well.

I was feeling downright discouraged, and I had a morning filled with child "Ping pong" where I was going between one child and the next, trying to resolve issues in various subjects.

I wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel, but I was thinking "I can NOT go on like this - it will run me ragged".

So, I did what every self respecting homeschooling Mum does - I turned to valued friends and asked for help! I think, if nothing else, home educating teaches the parents a healthy dose of humility. Quite frankly, there's nothing so good as demonstrating that you do NOT have it all together, than to try teaching your children at home. It's less the content, and more the logistics. ESPECIALLY when you are a mum of many. Trust me. It's a leveller. Other parents are always willing to lend an ear, and give encouragement where they can. It's part of the job description. "Help and support your fellow mothers in the trenches". (Check the small print, if you didn't already realise....it's there, honest)

One of the things I was struggling with was grammar. Maths, they need to work at their own level. You can't do it any other way. Well, I certainly can't seem to. But, grammar. Could I be doing something different?

I loved the content of what we were doing, but with one child a slow reader, and needing me to read it ALL to them, and others just feeling it was hard work, I wondered if we could change it up.

To my surprise, one VERY experienced home ed Mum, who also teaches writing as a subject, said "You know you don't NEED to do grammar with younger children, right?" (Or words to that effect...)

WHAT?

SERIOUSLY?

I thought she had maybe lost the plot, but I remembered "in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom".  Wisdom. That's the application of knowledge. Her knowledge of the subject said, no, you don't need to. And, I thought it sounded wise. And I needed to apply her knowledge. Wise.

However, I wasn't quite ready to take a complete leap in that direction. *hides*  I thought, rather, that we could go down the "one room schoolhouse route". Pitch lessons at a level they could all "get" and keep it simple.

I remembered that I had previously used a book called "Fix It! grammar", written by the wonderful Andrew Pudewa, and produced by the Institute of Excellence in Writing. (Having just checked out the link, I have an older version of this, but the same principles apply). The principle is simple. It works through classic literature texts, taking sentences, throwing in errors, and getting you to fix them. It's designed to be used by individual children, with them correcting it themselves, and rewriting it with the errors fixed. You also identify certain grammatical points, such as the subject and the verb in each sentence.

I figured it was something I could do with the children TOGETHER. I could write it on the white board, and they could "fix it".

All well and good if you can FIND the Teacher's Manual you need.

Yup.

Searched high and low, I did.

Until I found it in a box, with all my other English materials, all just nicely collated together. Too organised for my own good, me.

*insert huge eye roll*

I also remembered a lovely book called "Daily Grams". This has a few short exercises for each day, again, perfect for the white board. It goes through all the grammar concepts, and gets the children to do simple exercises in identifying errors, or finding concepts in a sentence. It doesn't take long, but covers a great range of basic concepts.

Once I had it all found, I was ready to start.

And, wonder of WONDERS, the children are LOV-ING it!!!

They ask me EVERY DAY - "are we doing grammar yet?"

*jaw drop*

All three - 8, 9 and 11 - think it's SO MUCH FUN!  Yes, you heard right - FUN!

Do these children look miserable to you? No. They do not. No payment involved. No coercing. Just genuine straight up and down delight. 

We even stepped it up a notch today, and I got adventurous.

I ADDED some extra things into the lesson! 

WHAAAAAAAAATTTT?

 I know. CRA-ZEEEE.

We fixed our sentence, and then we found ways we could have written the sentence with more detail.

We had been learning about "-ly" adverbs, so we threw in a couple of those. Then we conjured up some fun adjectives to boot. 

Another thing we have been doing is listening out for grammar we have been learning about, whilst having our read aloud sessions. 

And can I tell you, C S Lewis uses a LOT of -ly adverbs. 

I regularly have children shouting them out, during my reading of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", much to the annoyance of their eldest sibling. 

"Enough with the adverbs, guys...."

I think they've "got" that part of speech....

This is a sample page of the "Daily Grams", As you can see, there is not a lot, but it covers quite a range of topics in one short lesson.

One of my favourite parts of it all?

No paper. Not exercise books. Nada. Just me an' my white board.

Sweet.

Another joy is that it requires no writing from the children. It is absolutely possible to learn a LOT without having to produce screeds of writing. I would rather get them to write when they REALLY have to, and produce something wonderful, than have them write in EVERY SINGLE SUBJECT until they are sick of school. ESPECIALLY boys, in my experience, limited as it may be. Being able to identify grammar concepts requires eyes and a mouth, but not necessarily a pen and paper. I lie not! Save your battles for the really big things. This isn't one of them, in my opinion. 

(Just to add, lest you think me completely negligent, my friend said that when they hit High School, they will turn the grammar thing up a notch, and still grasp it wonderfully.)

All my changes were confirmed to me when I then read a SUPER article put together by Sarah McKenzie, from "The Read aloud Revival".  She wrote it in 2009, and it is an overview of Ruth Beechick's teaching ideas. Ruth Beechick is a super experienced and respected veteran home educator. She has done extensive research and is someone I respect. I haven't read all her books, but what I have read I have loved. 

If you don't read anything else for your homsechool year, read this. You can find it here. It made my heart LEAP! It confirmed what my wonderful fellow home ed Mums had suggested to me. It was a real word in season, and confirmation that my changes I was making were not as "way out" as I may have first thought! 

I will share more about Sarah's own book very soon. It's another "Must read".

How about you? Are you struggling through the mire of frustration because something you have always done isn't working any more? 

BE BRAVE! "New" is sometimes EXACTLY what you need. Maybe not even new curriculum, but a new way of doing it. I am using things I already HAD, but weren't what "fit" our way of doing things more recently. Now, they are just perfect.  Don't be afraid of change. It could be just what you need to reignite the fire of enthusiasm that you have lost in your homeschooling life. 

The same could be said about ANY part of your life. Routines and schedules come and go, and we need to be willing to bend and change according to the season we are in. It's ok to say "let's switch things around, and change things up". REALLY fine. "Not working" doesn't mean failure. It just means that you need to look at things a bit differently and try again. 

Change can be one of THE most freeing things you can do. Saying "no" to one way, and "hello" to another, can turn your frown upside down. 

Truth.

Ascribe Greatness {WEEK 1 - lettering challenge}

This has been a crazy couple of weeks. Planning and tidying up school related things. Getting ready for Holiday Bible Club. A little boy having hernia repair surgery. And then, this week, the crazy, but rewarding, that is Holiday Bible Club. I. Am. Wrecked. It's 7.30pm, and if I didn't have a high maintenance 5 month old who doesn't go down for the night until silly o'clock, I would be in my BED!!!! (I think I am getting old....)

BUT....

I am SO excited to be starting off with my FIRST EVER lettering prompt series, starting on MONDAY!!! 

As long as I can remember, I have LOVED singing. I sang in the school choir. I learned to sing alto when I was quite young, just by listening to the older ladies in the Church singing. I love to lift my voice in praise to God. In Church. In the car. In the home. I love to sing. 

The words matter to me. 

If your singing of Christian praise is NOT about the words, but only the emotion or the music, then there is something wrong. You've missed the purpose of praise in song. I digress.

I was travelling with Robert to a wedding, recently, and we were, as we often are, listening to Christian praise - hymns and songs. I was thinking about some of the words that I hold very dear, and I thought "these would make great lettering prompts!"  Sometimes it was only a word or two, sometimes a phrase or line. Some hymns have whole verses that are precious to me. The wonderful thing about hymns is that, for each of us, the Lord may use different words to speak life to us, whilst we worship HIM! It's a perfect combo for lettering, I reckon.

I scoured through Instagram, but couldn't find any obvious challenges revolving around hymns and songs, so it was a perfect opportunity!

I made a list of some of my all time favourites. They are mostly traditional "older" hymns, but some are more modern. All of them have solid Christian doctrine and scriptural basis, and have an amazing depth. In some ways, they just don't write 'em like they used to! Maybe there are many you don't know at all, because you've only  known more modern worship? Don't miss out on these superb words of praise. 

Every week I will either share the words or a link to sites where  you can find the words to these hymns, so that you can find them easily if they are unfamiliar to you, or if you don't have a hymn book that has them. (I don't think any one hymn book will have them all, anyway!)

So, from August the 1st, jump in and join us on Instagram and Facebook. You  don't need to be able to write "fancy", but maybe this would make a great opportunity for you to jump in and join with learning lettering? A great way to be creative and relax over the summer, whilst dwelling on these great words of praise and worship. 

(This whole endeavour has sent me on an educational trip all around hymn copyright! It's involving maths, and working out dates and years!!!)

1. I lift my heart to thee

I lift my heart to Thee, Saviour divine;
For Thou art all to me, and I am Thine;
Is there on earth a closer bond than this,
That my Belovèd’s mine, and I am His?

Thine am I by all ties; but chiefly Thine,
That through Thy sacrifice Thou, Lord, art mine.
By thine own cords of love, so sweetly wound,
Around me, I to Thee am closely bound.

To Thee, Thou bleeding Lamb, I all things owe—
All that I have, and am, and all I know.
All that I have is now no longer mine,
And I am not mine own; Lord, I am Thine.

How can I, Lord, withhold life’s brightest hour
From Thee; or gathered gold, or any power?
Why should I keep one precious thing from Thee;
When Thou hast giv’n Thine own dear self for me?

I pray Thee, Savior, keep me in Thy love,
Until death’s holy sleep shall me remove
To that fair realm where, sin and sorrow o’er,
Thou and Thine own are one forevermore.

Charles E. Maudie (1872)

2.  When peace like a river

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought—
My sin—not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so—it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford (1873) 

3. His robes for mine

Find the lyrics here. This a new hymn, but the words are incredible. I first heard it three years ago,

 when tragedy struck the heart of a Church where I had visited in Indianapolis. The youth pastor, 

and his wife - Chuck and Courtney Phelps - their unborn baby, and a lady from their congregation,

 Tonya Weindorf, all tragically lost their lives in a coach accident, returning from camp. 

This is a hymn that was sung at their funeral, which I watched via livestream. 

The words really challenged me, especially the words at the end of the chorus. 

"Bought by such love, my life is not my own.

My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone."  Their lives were lived faithfully for the Saviour, and I want my life to be lived the same way. 

This site has many newly written hymns. They marry up wonderful words and beautiful melodies. They make them free to use and print for worship, because they desire that God should be praised more than making money. You will be blessed by the hymns you will find there. 

4. Great is thy faithfulness

Find the words here. This is one of my all time favourites, because my heart is so thankful for God's faithfulness to me. 

5. Come, thou fount of every blessing

(I've added this one as it was written, although it's not in the format I am used to singing it - we have some parts skipped out, to make three verses.)

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I’ll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothèd then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send Thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

6. When all thy mercies

(Another one that had many more verses than I am accustomed to, but I loved how it tells

 a life story of God's mercy!)

When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.

O, how shall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravished heart!
But Thou canst read it there.

Thy providence my life sustained,
And all my wants redressed,
While in the silent womb I lay,
And hung upon the breast.

To all my weak complaints and cries
Thy mercy lent an ear,
Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learned
To form themselves in prayer.

Unnumbered comforts to my soul
Thy tender care bestowed,
Before my infant heart conceived
From whom those comforts flowed.

When in the slippery paths of youth
With heedless steps I ran,
Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man.

Through hidden dangers, toils, and death,
It gently cleared my way;
And through the pleasing snares of vice,
More to be feared than they.

When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou
With health renewed my face;
And when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.

Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss
Hath made my cup run o’er;
And, in a kind and faithful friend,
Hath doubled all my store.

Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart
That tastes those gifts with joy.

Through every period of my life
Thy goodness I’ll pursue
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.

When nature fails, and day and night
Divide Thy works no more,
My ever grateful heart, O Lord,
Thy mercy shall adore.

Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise;
For, oh, eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise!

Joseph Addison (1712)

7. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

(We have just finished Holiday Bible Club. Our "Missionary story" was about John Newton! 

What a life of testimony to God's redemption and grace! I live just a few miles from where he 

ministered, in Olney)

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

Dear name, the rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place,
My never failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace!

By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.

Jesus! my shepherd, husband, friend,
O prophet, priest and king,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy name
Refresh my soul in death!

John Newton (1779)

There you have it. All the hymns for the first week of #ascribe_greatness, starting

 AUGUST THE 1ST. 

I hope you join with me, and that your heart is truly blessed by these great hymns. 

Lettering {which tools do I use?}

So, a quick second post about lettering.

The last post I told you about where I get my inspiration, so I thought I could now share about the pens/brushes I use.

It's been a journey, really. As I started off with Bible Journaling, I started off with pens for that, and progressed from there. I have two photos for you, and I will talk you through them all, and tell you where you can buy them.

1. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner

This is one of the first pens I started with. They come in a fantastic range of colours, but in order to do calligraphy type, you need to do "faux calligraphy".  For this, you need to add a second line on the downstrokes of your letters. Then, fill it in. I have demonstrated this technique on the photo. It works well, but you can sometimes end up with very tiny lines where you don't "keep in the lines". It's probably imperceptible, but I see it! lol  You can get these pens many places, including Amazon (UK) . 

2-4. Pigma Micron 

These come in a variety of thicknesses and colours. These pens, and the Staedtler Fineliners, are both pretty good for using in Bibles, as they don't bleed unless you do very thick and heavy lines. The very fine ones are great for print style lettering, or for very small lettering. All these first 4 pens don't work very well on watercolour paper, though, as they tend to gouge into the heavier weight, with their harder tips. 

This (UK) set has a good range of the nib sizes, all in black, including a brush pen (which I just don't like at all) and a thicker "graphic" tip, which is a nice thick tip for solid lines. You can also get them in sets with colours, but with that you have to decide on one nib size, as they are all the same in the multi-coloured pack. 

5. & 9. ( 9 is in the image below) Tombow Dual Brush Pens

These are a MASSIVE treat to myself. I got them for a knockdown price (with the pre-Brexit exchange rate!), and a friend who was returning to the UK kindly delivered them to me, so no postage costs!! I got the full set of 96, and have been LOVING them. I had already bought the primary set from Amazon to try them out, and had fallen in love with them. It's these pens that I have used for my entire series of pictures that went with the #animalpartychallenge on IG. Because they are water based, you can blend them on watercolour paper with a brush and water. You can also blend two colours together and create your own blends (simply just blending them on a piece of plastic)! The tips are self cleaning, so the new ink runs through and it goes back to the original colour. One end has the brush tip pen, and the other end is a finer nib. It takes a bit of practice to master using these (I initially didn't like them, because I didn't crack it as quickly as I wanted to!!! - patience.... ), but once you have, they write like silk. The textures and tones are beautiful, especially on very smooth paper. These are best for doing BIG lettering, although some people seem to be able to achieve much smaller text than I can! 

If are wanting to get serious about your lettering, the 96 box set is a very sound investment, as it's a lot cheaper per pen than buying the smaller packs. It's also massively reduced in price over this side of the Atlantic, compared to a matter of months ago when it was over £200 to buy it!!! 

6. Pentel Fude Touch Sign Pen

These pens are the ones that are able to give a lovely look to a more "normal" sized lettering. As with all the brush tips, you need to master the basic technique of modern calligraphy to be able to use them best. The ladies in my last post have videos that demonstrate the technique - think upstroke, thick down stroke. You can get practice drill sheets for this on many sites - free and "pay for" ones. 

These pens are a bit trickier to track down in the UK. The cheapest way I have found to purchase them is from an Etsy store. They come in a range of colours, and you can get the full set of 12 for £17 including shipping from Japan. You have to be patient, as it takes time to get here! If you can't wait, you can also get them here for a little more money.

I really love the gold and silver in the multi-pack, and the black is a pretty fundamental piece of kit, in my opinion.

7 & 8. Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen - soft tip and hard tip

These, like the black sign pen above, as what I would consider "essential" if you are serious about lettering. They give slightly different effects. The soft one gives a thicker line, and the hard one gives a very fine line on your upstroke.  These are available on Amazon, and are best value in a 5 pack - soft and hard are both available in these 5 packs.

10. Pentel Aquash Water Brush

I love, love, LOVE this tool!!!! This is a watercolour brush, in essence, but has a water barrel attached. You can either fill the barrel with liquid watercolour inks, or keep dipping it into liquid or solid watercolours. I just love the variation in tone that you get with each stroke. It's simply beautiful. There are three sizes available - think medium and thick brushes. Obviously you can achieve a different look with each. They aren't overly expensive, and are available as a three pack on Amazon. These absolutely work best on watercolour paper, as it's far more absorbent than other papers.

11. Paintbrush (I used a Taklon Size 3)

A good old fashioned paintbrush is also a tool you can use. This is one of the ones I found hardest to crack, and I still don't feel I have mastered it completely, but it gives a lovely effect. Again, like the Aquash brush, you have to use watercolours with it. But, you have to keep dipping it into either water then paint, or a liquid watercolour. I found I had to get my grip right with a paintbrush, moreso than other pens, and also the quality of paintbrush MASSIVELY matters. A round brush is best, and don't just use a child's cheap one. You just won't get the brush to move smoothly enough, in my experience.

So, there we have it.

Those are the pens and brushes that I use, and my limited experience with them so far! You don't need expensive pens to get lettering. You can even use Sharpies (which I have never tried!) or Crayola supertips!

Just grab a pen and start trying, and then take it from there!

I think I also need to do posts demonstrating each of these pens, just to give a better idea about how they write and look. No promises as to a time scale for doing that, but I will get started ASAP.  Any questions, just ask away in the comments below, or find me on IG @thejoyfulkeeper and ask there. I will also start trying to record which pens I have used on my IG pictures.

I am SO far from being a pro at this, so I hope this has been useful!?

You CAN fly {lessons from a bumble bee}

(This post contains affiliate links)

Yesterday I went for a walk. It was supposed to be a power walk to try and get a bit fitter. A pleasant walk in the sun, whilst also exercising. Plus, I had Ezekiel attached. He has another cold, and I thought that a walk, with him in the sling, would settle him.

Best laid plans, and all that...

He cried. He cried for most of the 1.3 miles round our village. I'm sure that people were peeping out their windows, wondering who was torturing the small person. It was certainly a motivation to power walk as fast as I could, to get home and feed him! (It was that, or plonk myself down in the middle of the pavement and feed him instantly - on second thoughts, I decided I already adequately fulfilled the criteria of "local crazy woman", with my band of 9 offspring, who are home educated, without adding any further to my qualification...)

But, in true home educating mother style, I saw something on the ground and picked it up to bring home.

Ezekiel wasn't very impressed with me bending over at such a strange angle, but I was determined to bring it home, and do some impromptu, Charlotte-Mason-esque learning with them. All in the name of education, my son.

What do I speak of?

This little guy was just lying there, sadly dead, its work on earth complete. I felt it should continue to be of benefit, beyond its days of pollination. So, home it came.

(I say "it". It's probably female, from our further studies...)

We studied it carefully. I used "Are you a bee?" to learn more about bees. The book is about honey bees, and Daniel then managed to find a dead honey bee in our garden! It's a book perfect for younger readers. (I used it with mine, up to age 9)  We did a compare and contrast venn diagram to look at differences between bumble and honey bees. Then, the children drew pictures and wrote down some of the facts we learned. It was fun, and I recommend learning about bees! 

To top off our learning experience, I remembered that my sweet friend, Jan, away over in the US of A, keeps bees! She had previously shared a video fo how they caught a swarm, so she sent me the links for us to watch.

This is them installing bees on a rooftop.

And this is the one of them catching a swarm.

capturing bees from Tessa Danielle Anderson on Vimeo.

Thanks, Jan, for educating us!

But then, I had one of these moments where *I* did some learning.

Not in an "educating the mind" sense, but a whopping "spiritual lesson" moment.

I remembered we had a book called "Bombus the Bumblebee".  I decided it would be a good book to read together, as I knew it was a book written by Christians. I, however, had never read it. The children have, but I haven't. Bad Mummy. 

So, I curled up and started to read. 

It is all about a bumblebee who doubts his purpose, because he's not quite like the other bees - the honeybees.

They tell him he cannot fly because he is big and heavy. He's not built like them, so he couldn't possibly fly like they do. 

The ultimate lesson of the story culminates with God giving Bombus this message...

"I told you to fly.  No matter what your shape or weight, you can fly because I gave you flight. Now, lift up your wings.... and FLY...... and away he flew - not like a honeybee or a dragonfly or beetle - but like a bumblebee"

The book went on to explain how God has created to the bumblebee to defy the odds, and fly - despite their body "not shaped for flight", and their wings being so short. God gave them the power to fly. 

What a message to MY heart!

How easy it is to look and listen to those around us and begin to doubt our ability to live fully for our God and Saviour. If we constantly fall prey to the comparison disease, then we will just sink into depression and misery, and never attempt to live out abundantly for Christ. I may have already told you, I can't remember, but my word for this year - the one I am keeping in my heart and mind to encourage me - is ABUNDANT. Christ came not only to give us life, but so that we could live abundantly! Fully living out our life for Christ. We can only do that if we "fly".  We need to accept who we are  - even if we aren't quite like the next person, whether it be in our skill set, circumstances, or our looks - and rise high on the wings of faith and live out our life as God intended us to.

Don't look around at everyone else. Just obediently and contentedly be satisfied with your circumstances. Don't crawl along, dragging yourself around in misery, because your situation looks different from someone else's. 

Rise.

Rise high and soar. 

Soar above disappointment, trials, negativity and comparison. 

Rise up to the heights of communion with the Lord, and acceptance of the circumstances HE has placed you in. He has given us all we need to be able to do what we are to do, in service for Him. We aren't called to do what someone else is doing, but simply what we are to do. 

Our situation may not even look like we should be able to "fly". Others may look on and think that our trials are too great, or the circumstances are overwhelming. But, if God has given us a job to do, He also gives us the ability to do it. We rise "on eagles wings" because we trust in the Lord, and receive strength from Him. We only rise because God gives us the power to do so. 

I wonder if you are feeling like Bombus today? Are others looking at your, in  your circumstances, and expecting you not to be able to "fly"? 

You CAN soar, because God created you to fly. 

Digging for gold {how to make the most of Church, when you don't always get to listen}

It was happening again.

I was at a Church meeting, and my baby needed my attention. Not just my baby, but my toddler. And then the next child up.

If you are also a mother with small children, I can guarantee one thing - when you go to Church, you don't always get to hear all of the sermon. In fact, sometimes you may do well to hear anything at all!

The thoughts of "Why do I even try?" can so easily try and push into your mind.

It would be very easy to become disheartened, and discouraged, but we mustn't allow that to happen. We need to to look at the situation with the right perspective, and yesterday I was reminded of WHY I have the perspective I have.

What is it?

Well, for a start, we don't just go to Church to benefit ourselves. We should be there, first and foremost, to worship God. It's about giving, not receiving. We also should be there to receive teaching. But, when we have children, we are also there to TRAIN them to sit. That, invariably means that we don't get to concentrate, in order to try and teach the CHILDREN to concentrate!

What I try and consider is that if I just take ONE thing away with me, that I can remember and put into practice in my life, or encourage someone else with, then it's been worth being there. In the moments between telling a child to sit quietly, and sit still, we hopefully get to hear SOMETHING of the sermon! I pray that the Lord will give me a "golden nugget". Just a little precious truth to take away with me. That's my "golden nugget" perspective!

Well, I was at a special Easter convention yesterday, where there were three sermons. One in the afternoon, and two in the evening. Needless to say, by the time we got to the third one, I heard little. I had just the baby through the first sermon, and that was my "golden nugget" moment. I actually was able to take away several things from THAT sermon.  The next one I heard even less, with my toddler there too (the first sermon my hubby had looked after the children, the second sermon was HIM preaching, so that didn't happen!), and by the third sermon my three year old had also come out the back! Quietness just wasn't happening, as they were tired and it was into the evening. I was so glad to have taken something away from the earlier sermon!

But, the moment that gave me joy was when I was able to so very quickly apply what I HAD heard. Speaking to various friends who I met at that Church, I was able to refer back to the sermon we had just heard, when trying to encourage them in their lives. THAT is what God wants. He wants us to hear and to put His Word into action - to be able to apply it to our lives, and to encourage each other with it. God's Word is LIVING! It's powerful. It's able to teach and guide us. It's certainly not something that should go in one ear and out the other, never to be thought of again.

Better still, the verse then came up in my everyday life in the days that followed. More opportunity came to apply those words to my heart and life, and the Lord engrained it further into my mind. He is faithful and good, and His word does not return void.

Take heart, fellow mother of small children.  Try and listen out for that "golden nugget" when you are in a Church service. Amidst the training of small children, which is very time consuming and can be distracting, we CAN take away precious truths and apply them to our heart and lives!

(I know this isn't a long post, but I am desperately trying to get back into blogging, even if my posts are short. Life isn't quite returning to the way I had hoped, as fast as I would like - a whole lesson on its own....bear with me, please? I trust that my words, though few, will still bless someone's heart, as much as the Lord blesses them to mine)

Never underestimate {the power of a good example}

As a mother, I love the precious little moments where you simply have to stop and smile.

They happen pretty regularly. They are truly one of the highlights of being a mother.

Moments when my heart is so full it could burst, filled with the joy of parenthood. If you are a parent, you'll understand.

I had one of those moments the other day.

Susie had been helping me in the kitchen (she's only 8, nearly 9, but one of the BEST helpers in the universe, I reckon. Yes, I am biased, but even still....), but she got called away to another job. So, I was left washing up with no-one to help me dry up.

Or, so I thought.

Until my little 2 year old, Tabitha, came up to where I was, grabbed a tea towel, and enthusiastically began to dry up!

I didn't ask her.

I didn't even show her how to do it.

She just did it, all of her own volition.

But, DID someone show her how to do it?

Well, yes, they DID! I showed her siblings how to help, and she watched ME drying up, and her SIBLINGS drying up, and she just copied them.  She learnt by EXAMPLE.

I know it can work they other way, and I often tell my children to be careful what they do, because little eyes are watching. However, this was one of those heart-throb moments when you remember that they DO see the good, and they DO copy it, too!

Our role as a mother isn't just to correct and train, but it's also to be a good example. Not just in how to keep a house, but in our other behaviour, too.

If we are loving, affectionate, caring, tender, compassionate, helpful, and the many other things we SHOULD be, then there is a high chance of that good rubbing right off on our children. Only the Lord can do a true transforming work in their hearts, but He can use our good example as a means of drawing their hearts to Him. We are called to be Christlike, and little eyes are watching to see us put that into action.

So, whatever we do, day by day - whether it be something ordinary and mundane, or something more important - we must never underestimate the power of a good example.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Galatians 6:9

Blogging through the alphabet {Totally Useless, Very Willing.... and some eXtremely lovely Yarni-ness}

I was watching a film with my hubby recently, which included a scene in a psychiatric hospital. I looked at the patients all sitting quietly - some doing jigsaws, some drawing, some just sitting quietly.

Do you know what thought crossed my mind?

"I would LOVE to be sitting quietly like that, reading or doing a jigsaw"!!!

Yes, my life is so hectic, that a scene in a psychiatric ward appealed to me.

If you are mother of small children, this concept will not be lost on  you.

I hope I am not the only one that thinks that way, anyway!?!

So, back to blogging through the alphabet.

I was doing SO well to begin with.  I kept up, in ways beyond I could have imagined.  Then, reality struck.  I ended up having a week that found me unable to join in with the letter of that week.  I managed to do a nifty little "squish two letters together" week, the next week.

Then, it happened again. This time I needed to merge THREE letters together.  Wonderful as they were, and one of my most precious posts, but still a reminder to ME of how useless I am.

Today, we hit the ultimate catch up. FOUR weeks of catch up, to be precise.

I sigh at myself, and shake my head in despair.

More than that, I look deeper into my life and see myself over and over - I start things, and I am USELESS at keeping up.  It's a character flaw for sure.  You see, I am so very willing to take things on.  I see something, and know I will love it - I see the benefits it will have.  I despair at myself, however, at how incredibly awesome I am at failing.

People often comment about how I am a "Super Mum", and other such nonsense.  I know the real me, and there's not a lot "super" about it. I just see the things that are far from perfect, and how much room there is for improvement.

I guess people just compare me to their own situation, or their own perceptions of life and how simple, or not, it should be, and reckon that what I do exceeds their own limits?

There is one thing that drags me up from the gutter of despair, as I look at my useless ability to set out what I plan to do.

God's perspective.

What I am expecting from myself is PERFECTION. I want to do things perfectly, and completely.  I am learning that I am not perfect, and never will be.

We are reminded that we are to GROW in grace. It's not something that instantly and entirely transforms us from sinner to "saint".

I've learnt that much of my feelings of failure, in life, come from trying to please others, and not God. I worry, more than most people imagine, about what other people may think. Weirdly, not in major issues - those I feel quite comfortable in. It's the insignificant little things.... the "what if someone sees", "what if someone thinks I am useless", "what if someone thinks I look silly"?

What matters most is HOW I do something.  Did I begin something, doing it "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men?".

"Whatesoever ye do, do all to the glory of God".

Was my aim to glorify God in the doing of it, not the COMPLETING of it? Beginning something, and not completing it, doesn't make me a failure.  It means that something has come up, which I hadn't envisaged, and has prevented me from doing it in the time or manner I had planned. God's plans are higher than mine.  If He has planned that something interrupts MY plans, and I can't do it the way *I* thought was best, then my way WASN'T best!!!

Learning, always learning. Learning more about myself.  Learning more about God and His grace.

And simply because I am at least consistently useless, and I have missed more letters, lets just finish on a high note!

It's kinda related, though. I started off sharing some of my crochet creations with you, and haven't kept up with it. That's not to say I haven't still been creating crocheted loveliness.  I have.  I am still loving being able to pick up my hook and make things both beautiful and useful.  It's a great hobby.  So, I shall share one of my recent, lovely, yarny creations with you, and endeavour to catch up with sharing others I have made.... at some point.  *aherm*

I give you one of the least favourite items I have made.  Well, I didn't really enjoy making it, for most of the time.  Does that sound weird? It's a shawl, and for a good part of it you only use SC/DC (US/UK terms).  Lots, and lots, of DC. Little, tiny, fiddly, DC FLO (front loop only). It seemed to take AGES to grow. The only break in the monotony was the variation between the stunning yarn from Unbelieva-wool (find her here on Facebook - FANTASTIC yarn dyer), in her "Sunset Boulevard" colour-way - it's stunning, as yo will see in a mo.  I also used the end of a purple gradient from Sam, too - alternating between the two. EVENTUALLY, I got to the border, and it got a little more interesting.  I still wasn't falling in love with the thing, and was just desperate to get it finished. Then, I locked it.  Suddenly, I decided this thing was GORGEOUS.

You wanna see?....

I rarely make myself anything with my crochet, but THIS one I decided to keep! It just looks stunning with the bright colours, and it looks just like a sunset! I have never had so many comments about something I have made, as I did when I wore this to Church last week! The chilly weather reappearing was the perfect time to wear it.

If you want to make one for yourself, you can find the pattern on Ravelry - it's called "Desperately Seeking Shallow".  You will need sock weight/fingering weight yarn, and a size 4 hook. Also, a lot of patience.  The pattern is particularly versatile, and even allows for some fluffed stitches - especially forgiving in the border.  You can make a deeper border, but you will need quite a bit more yarn, as it's a hungry pattern.  I probably used about 120g for mine.  You will also need to follow the instructions carefully regarding the stitch marker at the end of the rows, or else you won't get a nice, flat edge.  I learnt that the hard way, and had to frog quite a bit to get it right. Another bonus - it's FREE!

So, there we have it.  6 letters in one post.  Let's see if I can get the Z at the right time!?

(Editing to add that I haven't, but I must get this one published, and get a "Z" added!!!)

Tapestry on a Tuesday {Virtual Co-op}

This new term has heralded a slight change in direction for our homeschool.

Recently, I was made aware of a concept that was new to us, and which I felt would benefit Joshua, in particular.

Currently, we attend a homeschool co-op, where we get together with other families and learn together.  Different parents take turns teaching lessons, with the children in a group setting.  The children love it, and it gets in that ALL essential aspect of the "s" word..... (tongue firmly in cheek there)...

Aherm


The children love it, and it's nice for the parents to get together and encourage each other, too.

My ideal would be to meet together with others who use Tapestry of Grace, but as yet, there are still very few families using it over here.  I would LOVE to see more using it, as it's a GREAT curriculum!

The next best thing came on my radar.

VIRTUAL co-op.

It's when children get together ONLINE, and have a class together! One parent teaches, and the children all listen in, on whichever conferencing platform used by the co-op. They  have opportunity to type or speak their answers, as they enter into discussion, or even share by video.  The teacher tends to use PowerPoint presentations, whilst teaching the class.

I particularly liked the idea of Josh participating in the Dialectic level History class, because it is where they discuss their "Thinking" and "Accountability" questions.

"What are THOSE?", you may ask?

First of all, it may be a good time to explain the stages of learning, included in a classical approach to education.

Grammar  - this is the stage where a child soaks up facts. It's the foundation stage of learning, where a child will then build upon these facts in later years.  This level, particularly in Tapestry of Grace,  is all about fun and interesting books, and activities,  packed with factual information, put across in a captivating way.

Dialectic - at this stage, a child wants to question things more, and start to take a more analytical approach to learning, also applying logic. They are trying to understand what they learned, in order to apply it better. It's the starting to ask "why" about things, instead of just accepting as fact.

Rhetoric - this is when they take the facts they learnt in earlier life, the questioning and reasoning they learnt in dialectic years, and coherently express it in oral or written. It's the level at which they can demonstrate that they have learnt and understood facts, because they can explain them to someone else. Expression, hypothesising and demonstrating more abstract thought processes, are all key elements to this stage.

Having worked for several years with grammar level (TOG splits it into Lower and Upper - younger ones using more basic texts, and older using more detailed ones), I was a little apprehensive about moving up to dialectic.  However, I realised that we already, as a family, tend to do what is expected in Dialectic - ask QUESTIONS! I regularly ask them why we think something happened, or happens. Discussing and analysing, at the simplest level, the whys and wherefores of what we are learning. Dialectic just does this as a formal part of schooling. Josh has a list, every week, of Thinking Questions, which get them to, well, THINK, and Accountability Questions, which are more to make sure they have read, and understand, what they were assigned.  Getting them to think it through more, rather than just understanding facts, like grammar level.

Here is an example, of the Questions for Dialectic.

History
Accountability Questions
1. What is the difference between “superstition” and “religion”? Look up both words in a dictionary and then summarize
the difference in your own words.
2. Which were the major idols or “gods” of Egypt? List the ten or twelve deities that Egyptians considered the most
important.
3. Egyptian idols were often pictured as animal/human combinations. Prepare to share details about two of these.
(Your teacher may choose to assign you two specific “deities” to tell your classmates about in a mini-report.)
‰‰ What did your chosen “deities” represent to the Egyptians?
‰‰ What do scientists think is the most probable reason for these half-human representations?
4. Why did the Egyptians develop a pantheon of over 2,000 “deities”?
Thinking Questions
1. Were the Egyptians polytheists or pantheists? Using a dictionary, define these two terms precisely. Then answer
the question, listing specific aspects of Egyptian beliefs that support your answer.
2. Connect factors in the Egyptian environment with the development of Egyptian religion.
‰‰ What was the basis of the relationship between the Egyptians and their idols?
‰‰ Outline ways that the climate and location of Egypt may have affected their belief system. For instance, did
the Egyptians have a god of the mountains?
3. Why do you think Egyptian mythology included several versions of the stories of creation?
4. Consider the concept that the Egyptians worshipped evil gods in order to placate them. How is this different from a Christian’s reasons for worshipping God?

(On a side note, I love how Tapestry of Grace looks at mythology and false religion ALWAYS side by side with God's Word, and pointing out the error of it.)

We had been trying to fit in our discussion every week, but it was quite the juggling act for me!

Then, I learnt about the virtual co-ops! Having someone else go through it all with them, and having them discuss it together, sounded like a great idea - both for the basic aspect of discussion, and also getting to know others.  The added bonus of being accountable,  to an outside party, was also particularly appealing!

So, through the TOG Facebook group that I am on, I heard there was one commencing for Year 1, Dialectic level.

Hang on, though.  They were, of course, starting Year 1 in September.  We had begun our school year in JANUARY!

What to do?!?!

Well, I decided that the benefits of joining in with a virtual co-op was sufficient to restructure our schooling schedule.  I decided to pause our studies with Tapestry of Grace, on a family level.  Josh has re-started Year 1, for his History and Writing, leaving the other TOG subjects, so he can join in. We will all start back together, with the whole curriculum, when Josh reaches that week in his virtual co-op.

In the mean time, I have come up with a few other projects to keep the children busy, as an alternative to TOG!  Beth is working on a Unit Study, based on Anne of Green Gables, called "Where the Brook and River Meet".  (I got it from Icthus Resources, here in the UK) It covers many different subjects, all based on each chapter of the book.  It covers history of the period the book is set in, geography of the area, nature study, cooking, craft, Bible, writing, and literature studies.  There are probably others I have forgotten about, too! Beth is loving it! I am doing a Unit Study with the younger ones, based on a Classic Starts version of Swiss Family Robinson.  I will share a bit more about that in another post, and will hopefully share ALL that we did, once we have finished. I am just putting it all together myself, rather than following a curriculum or online resource.  We are reading a chapter a week, and doing activities that spring from that. So far, we have covered storms, poetry, labelling a ship, comparing and contrasting agouti and pigs, and we also have a lapbook we are doing, which answers comprehension questions.

Josh has been really enjoying his virtual co-op. He has also joined in with a Writing class, even though, initially, he only wanted to do the History. He is loving them both, and thinks his teachers are great. (So do I - truly inspiring - hats off to you ladies - you know who you are!) I think that having someone, other than just Mum, is a good thing! I am still working alongside him, and directing him in certain areas, of course, but it's working well for him, on a motivational level. He's also enjoying connecting with the other children, of a similar age.  It's amazing to think that children, from across the world, can sit and discuss history together, in real time!

Often, I will listen in, as well. I set up Josh on the iPad, and I have the laptop open, with myself signed in. I do jobs, or work with the others, and pop in and out to listen in. It helps me to keep a track on what Josh is to do for the next week, as well as flagging up anything I want to discuss with him further.

I am hoping this opportunity will both enable him to dig deeper into Tapestry of Grace and encourage him to cultivate friendships with children across the globe. That "S" word, again.... *winks*

The long and the short of it is this - we love virtual co-op, and it's just another great reason why people should consider using Tapestry of Grace!

(Yes, he is sitting on an unmade bed, in the spare room - it's called "A Quest for a place of solitude"!)