Busy, busy, busy {and a home-ed freebie find!}

I just wanted to check in, to let you know I am still alive and well!  Just very busy!

This is the week we have our Holiday Bible Club at our Church.  It's crazy for the days leading up, and crazy busy the week it is on. But, such a worthwhile thing to do.  Reaching boys and girls with the news of salvation!   We had 21 Yesterday, and 29 today, so we are rejoicing in that. Praying for even more children tomorrow (and I have ordered extra craft supplies in the hope that we do!)

Please pray that the Lord would bless this week, and we would see souls saved.

I just wanted to also quickly share something with you.  With Tapestry of Grace, we sometimes have classic stories which the older ones read.  I like the younger ones to share these stories, but at their own level, so I have bought Penguin Young Classics in the past. They are also included as literature books, officially, on the way through TOG.

I had picked up one, last Christmas, of A Christmas Carol, to work on in the last week of school before Christmas.  I had googled free worksheets, and found a random page to accompany the Penguin Young Classic book. It had various types of questions to accompany the book, chapter by chapter. It was a great find, and I intended to find out exactly where this PDF had come from, but had forgotten.
Scroll forward to last weekend.  A fellow TOGster  (what we fondly call other TOG Mums! - a TOG-Sister!) had asked about literature suggestions for a reluctant reader.  I had suggested subbing in some of the classic books, with Penguin Young Classics, instead.  It then got me looking for the list, which brought me to the website, upon which I stumbled across the source of all the *FREE* wonderful worksheets and teacher idea sheets to go alongside each book!!!

FIND!!!

All you have to do is go to this page, click on "Teacher's Area", and it will ask you to register with the website.  Once you have registered, go back through that area again.  You will find a box on the left which says "Go to Penguin Readers".  Click on that, and it will bring you to a page with an orange bar down the left side, with various headings.  Click on "Downloads Area".  That will bring you the page, with the 6 levels of readers.  Click on the level you want, and it will list ALL the books available for that reading stage, and then "Teacher's Notes", "Activity Worksheets" and "Answer keys".  I was very excited about this find, as you can turn simple literature assignments into a deeper learning experience, ALL FOR FREE!!! The teachers notes give great ideas for discussion and related activities.  The Activity worksheets give you all sorts of different comprehension and deeper study questions.

Considering it is all free, I think it's a great place to find ideas to expand the experience - instead of simply reading a story, they can think about what they have learnt as well.

Having now just looked a bit deeper, whilst typing up this post, I found something ELSE!!! With that log in that you have done for the above, you can also access resources for their new range of graded reading books! They are called "Penguin Kids - Graded Readers".  Most of them are adaptations of Disney animations, with a few factual ones as well. Go HERE, log in with the same details that you registered above, and you will see a link, in a green picture box on the right, to "Teacher's Notes and Audio".  You can then find lots of great, fun ideas to expand the themes in these books, and worksheets to go alongside!! Also, the audio version of each of the books - so they can become a "read-along"!!  Again, it turns a simple reading book, into a whole literature lesson! If you don't like Disney stories, this will not float your boat.  If you do, you will be thrilled!  It would be especially great for young readers.

I would definitely say that this is my Home-ed find of the week!!!

All you need to do now is look at the lists of books available, choose one (or, maybe more....!!) and get started! You may even be able to pick them up in your local library, but if not, they are not very expensive on Amazon.

Ok.  That's all folks.  I am alive.  I am tired.  I am sharing!!!

Have fun, and I hope to get another post up later in the week.

The Patient Gardener (growth takes time)

This summer I am finally getting to see some growth in my garden.  The smaller plants that I put in last year are now filling out the borders.  Once they begin to flower, it will look fuller and more mature. There's still room for growth - for change - for adjustments.  It's takes TIME, though.  Knowing what works best in certain places is not an instant thing.  You need to watch the plants in the place you have put them, and sometimes they need to be moved.

I have bought some new shrubs for another border, that my lovely husband has cleared for me (in my opinion, if a plant has not got a)flowers, b)interesting foliage or c) pretty branches when the leaves fall off in winter, it's not worth being in my garden.....so, plants WENT!!)  I have bought a ceanothus, a philadelphus and a lilac. The philadelphus (mock orange blossom) holds distinct memories of my childhood - the heady scent of that plant brings me right back to my early years, when my Mum had one and the neighbours down the road had a HUGE one on the corner of their garden, right where we walked past! The thing is, what I would REALLY love is to have a fully grown plant of each of those, instantly appear in my garden.  I think it's possible to get much larger plants than the ones I bought, but for a MUCH larger price. So, I have to wait - wait for the plants to grow into something that is more mature and sturdy.

I don't know what your personality is like, but I have a bit of a struggle with patience.  Ok, so more than a bit.  It has taken me time (and I am STILL learning) to have patience in  life.  I'm talking about patience with others, here.  I especially struggle with others who don't "get" what I am trying to explain to them, or they just don't understand or grasp something that I find quite simple.

I tried to teach my children how to play the piano, a couple of years ago, but we kind of gave up because I struggled to have patience with them when they didn't "get it" as quickly as I thought they should.

It's a battle in my life, and I wish that I could just fix it in an instant.

How about those traits in the lives of our husband and children?  Those faults that we see, those sins that they struggle with, the character that we are trying to grow up in the children?  The "annoying" personality traits in our spouse?  Things that can irritate, or simply things that are sinful that we wish we could just remove in an instant?  Our children displaying attitudes and behaviour that are far from perfect. We pray, hope and try to encourage growth and change.

What about our OWN lives?  We see failings in others, but we are far from perfection ourselves!! I inwardly despair at times, at my own lack of spirituality - at my stumbling time and again.  The same struggles and battles seem to remain.

We want all these things to instantly mature. Like my garden, we want to see them full height straight away.  But our spiritual life is no different to my garden. It doesn't happen straight away.  In fact, we are told in the scriptures that sanctification is NOT instant.  It takes time.  It takes the Holy Spirit working daily in our lives - a continual growth  - in order for us to become more like the Lord and reach more maturity in a spiritual sense.

Just like my garden, the way to growth is time, water and food. I need patience.  I need to make sure the plants are nourished and watered in whilst they establish and grow.  So it is with those around us - and for growth in our OWN life.  We have to run with PATIENCE the race that is set before us. We need to patiently work at growing more like the Lord.  Feeding on God's Word, being watered with prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Waiting for our character to become more Christ-like, and to mature and grow.

Is there some area in our husband or children's life, that we have been praying for change in?  Change takes TIME.  We need patience, and allow the Lord to work in their lives, as it takes time in our own.  Children, especially, require our patience.  They take time to grow, develop and mature in their lives.

There's really no such thing as an instant garden.  Similarly, there is no such thing as instant and complete sanctification! Be patient whilst your "garden" grows around you.  With time, you will find plants growing, flourishing and looking healthy, strong and truly beautiful.  Just be patient!

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

II Peter 3:18

Chatting with Patrice {on the Farmhouse Porch}

Well, a good day to you Patrice!  We still have our hot weather, here in the UK.  We also had a night of ALMIGHTY thunder-storms, which kept me awake and then had me sweltering in the humidity. But, the rain made caring for the garden a bit easier the next day! *grin*

So, chatting with you today, as we finish up our shcool for the summer, and get started on summer sorting, planning and organising, ready for September to roll around.... oh, and ready for a new addition to our family. 

There won't be as much publicity about the ariival of OUR baby, as there has been for HRH George Alexander Louis Mountbatten-Windsor, but our baby will be loved deeply and dearly, nonetheless. 

So, onto our chat!

1. Do you use any type of water filter (pitcher or sink mount) 

We have a lovely, big, Brita filter "tank", that belongs in the fridge.  I am a stickler for only really enjoying water if it is COLD.  

At the moment, however, we are having fridge issues.

What issue?

The fridge is not big enough for our family's needs.  So, the filter tank had to come out. 

Sad days.

It sits, looking sad and unloved, on top of my fridge.  Waiting.  Just WAITING, for me to buy a bigger fridge, so it can go back where it belongs!

In the meantime, it's ice cubes all the way.  It's the only way to get a REALLY lovely, cold drink of water in this weather. 

2. Do you have any tips for staying hydrated in the warmer weather?

Drink lots.

Sorry, is there any other answer??....

3.  Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

Now, this is an interesting question. 

My hair USED to be quite straight.  In fact, almost completely straight, with a little bit of a kink on the way down, which was just annoying.  

Hair straighteners were not even thought of.

Then, I had lots of children.  Or, was it that I just got older?   Who knows?  One of the two, has meant my hair has got wavyier and fuller as time goes by. Now, if I leave it to dry naturally (is there any other way??  Hairdryer, you say?  Phshaw.... I have no time for such things...), without even combing it until it's dry (don't worry, it doesn't look horrendous during that time...not that I ever look at myself in the mirror to check...), then it gets really wavy and full these days!!   I wouldn't quite say it was CURLY, but it is certainly not straight!!

4. Are you on top of all the chores/work you do, or are you always running behind?

*Coughs, splutters, and nearly chokes on the drink she is not actually drinking, but if she was, she would be choking...*

On top?   Does that mean like on the summit?  Looking down below at what lies beneath?  

I am RIGHT on top of decluttering - yup, there is a huge pile of clutter to sort, and I am RIGHT on top of it, looking in despair at what needs to be sorted. Sitting, forlornly, looking down on it all. 

I have just about conquered mount laundry... for today.  That is until tomorrow, when we make more clothes dirty, and it all starts again.

To give a serious answer, there are some things that I have got more on top of lately, and plan to blog about in the very near future. Then there are other things (like that clutter) that seem to be a constant struggle. 

So, a bit of both?

5.  If you could sing a song to Wendell, what would it be?

Hmmmmm.

It would have to be a firm favourite of my children.  The regularly ask for it, and enjoy the excitement it brings....

Is this just a British thing - sitting your children on your knee and singing this song, bouncing them up and down?  Then putting them REALLY high on the "giddy up" part?  They especially love it if we also drop them down at the end!

Well, it's been lovely to chat, as ever. Hope you have a wonderful week, and I hope to chat again soon!

Family resemblance {who do our children look like, REALLY?}

The world is in waiting.

Well, OK, maybe not the whole world.  Certainly, a lot of people, and especially mothers who know what being through labour is like.

Waiting for the Duchess of Cambridge to have her baby.

We had the official announcement this morning, from Buckingham Palace, that she was, indeed, in the early stages of labour, and at hospital.  It's a first baby, and so like many other first time deliveries, it is unlikely to be swift.

It won't be long, in once sense, before the world will get to see the long-awaited "Royal Baby".  How quickly will there be the comments along the lines of "Isn't he/she like her mother/father?" We always like to be able to catch a glimpse of a particular parent in a child.

I don't know about others, but in our family we often get remarks about how much our children look like a parent.  More often than not, they see them looking like Daddy, and his side of the family.  Sometimes, they will see them looking like me, or as I looked when I was a child.  Sometimes they look like cousins, or how an aunt or uncle looked when they were wee.

This first picture is of Robert (on the right) and his brother, Edward, and his sister, Anna.  I can certainly see some family likeness here, especially with Anna, more than with Robert! I can Simeon in Anna!

My sister dug out some of our old photos recently, and I can see family resemblances quite clearly.

This Angela, David, Stephen and I. (from L-R)

(Angela, Stephen and I, from  L-R)

I can especially see Elijah looking like Stephen, in the photo above.

For those who know my children well enough, you can make up your own mind!  One thing is for sure, when my children looked at them today, they all knew who their Auntie Angela was!

But, thinking about family resemblances, got me thinking about something else.

We all want to think our children look like us - you long to see little traits that are like yourself, reflected in your children.  Eye colour, smile, dimples....

But what about how they BEHAVE?  Is there a family resemblance in CHARACTER?  Certainly, there are little things that we can chuckle about.  The same way the boys can't find things, just like their Daddy. The same way the girls "talk" with their hands, just like their Mummy.  What makes them smile and laugh. When you notice that Simeon says "hiya" and he says it because that's what I say every time I get him out of his cot. The little things that wind them up.  They just seem to somehow be "inherited" sometimes - like it's a built in character trait.

Then, there are the resemblances that make us laugh in an awkward kind of way.

When we notice them getting frustrated about things - and see that it's the the same things WE get frustrated about.

When we hear them use the same expression of annoyance with their siblings, that WE use with them.

When we hear them shout at each other over things that really don't matter, just like WE do.....

Seeing BAD things in our children, that resemble our own sinful and weak behaviour.  Not so good. No smiles about that.  Only a sad despair, that we are not passing on the right "traits" to our children.

It's so challenging.

So convicting.

So awful.

To see or hear them mirroring our behaviour.  The not-so-good behaviour.

There is good news, though.  They are still young.  With God's grace, those negative traits can be turned into positive.

It takes effort.  It takes diligence.  It takes time.  It takes us to be patient with them, and to persevere in the training that is required to guide them in right ways.

It's not just effort with our children.  It's effort in our own hearts and lives.  If our children are reflecting negative traits from us, then *WE* need to work to hammer out those imperfections in our OWN behaviour, so they are not reflected in our children's. We need to daily seek to stamp out the "old man", and seek God's help to nurture what is good and right. Firstly in ourselves, and then in the lives of our children.

Remember, God is gracious with us in our failings.  If we come repentantly, seeking His forgiveness and mercy, He is gracious.  Remember that we need to show that same grace toward our children, as they grow and learn as well.

This week, I will endeavour to make sure that the family resemblances that I see in my children, are reflected from the image of Christ that is seen in me, and not in the sinful character that I need to stamp out, by God's grace.

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

1John 3:18  

Perspective {how motherhood changes your outlook}

{warning - this post contains details about bodily functions...wooses, walk away *winks*}

Can you remember life before children?

I can barely remember such a thing. I have now been a mother for around a third of my life.

Marriage brings the first changes of adult life.  You go from "me" to "us".  Instead of thinking about only yourself, you are thinking alongside a partner, as one, new unit.

Then comes the children.

You go from "us" to "everyone".  You lose the ability to think more than one straight thought in a line.  In fact, you do well to think one straight thought AT ALL.  With children, who jump from one thing to another, it's hard to remember where you are and what you were actually DOING, before they made an enquiry.

That aside, (see, I can't even think straight in anything - motherhood, plus pregnancy, kind of has that effect....) I was also contemplating about what makes me excited in life.

Before marriage, I was excited about trips out with friends, or holidays.

After marriage, I was excited about days off work with Robert, meals out, easily planned and implemented trips to visit family, and quiet evenings playing board games and impromptu suppers with friends.

I realised how much life had changed, for the umpteenth time, this morning.

You see, I am attempting to toilet train Elijah.... AGAIN.  I tried, with no success whatsoever, last year.  Now that I am a) allowed to lift heavy things again (ie, ELijah), b) not feeling nauseous any more, c) experiencing warm weather with more outside play time, and d) aware of my increasingly large middle, and impending struggle to walk, never mind think about toilet-training, I decided that it was time to try again.  Plus, this whole "another-child-crawling-around-getting-in-the-way-whilst-trying-to-change-his-brother's-dirty-nappy" thing, was not amusing me much.

So, the forecast said "more good weather", my diary said "not going out this week", and I said "let's give it a whirl".

Monday dawned.  Conveniently, Elijah obliged with a dirty nappy, before we got as far as pants.  (Readers from the USA - from now on, read "pants" as an underwear item, ok??) *Phew*.  One less pair of dirty pants to clean THAT day.  Initially, how shall I say this?.... he was NOT keen to put on pants. (read "screamed, yelled, and made a huge fuss about it, despite them having Lightning McQueen on them"....)  Having "got over" that problem (read, "with application....") he was then keen to be a "big boy".  He squeezed very hard, and a reasonable dribble came out, on first attempt.  We went out in the afternoon, and he didn't want to take pants off, so we put a nappy over the top.  He even slept on the way home.  He was DRY when we returned.  However, he then (conveniently) did a wee outside when we got home.  Very little in the toilet all day - several accidents - but a very keen little boy, who kept coming voluntarily to TRY and do something.  Not MANY accidents, really.  I have concluded his bladder holds its contents quite well! (Or, I am not having him drink enough, or both...)

Day 2, something similar.  Day 3, same again.  Very little done in the toilet.  2 poo accidents a day.  (At least THAT is a blessing.... twice a day, I can cope with.)

Wednesday night, I was talking to Robert.  I was wondering if Elijah had an issue with knowing how to make his brain understand how to allow the wee to pass. Like he couldn't make the connection as to what to do.  I asked some friends for prayer on the issue, as I want to be a wise Mum, to know how to help and encourage him, in this vital, but hateful task.  (I really do NOT enjoy this part of child-training).

Imagine my surprise, then, this morning.  Elijah finished breakfast, and asked to go to the toilet.  His nappy was DRY!!! He had stayed dry ALL NIGHT!! Now, this alone was exciting, as my boys have not got a good track history of night-time dryness. I praised him, and told him he was a good boy.  He sat for a moment, but told me he couldn't do a wee.  I went off to put some things in the bin, and put him back on the toilet (because, of course, he had followed me, half-naked, whilst I went to the bin...).  I told him to try again.  And, would you believe it?.... he did a massive wee in the toilet!!!! I was SO excited!!! I jumped up and down, screaming in a rather high-pitched voice"you CLEVER boy", , whilst clapping !!! Yes, I looked slightly insane.  But, I was excited!!! I had only just asked for prayer, HOURS before, and here I was having it answered!  He got FIVE little sweets for his achievement, and he was SO chuffed.

I came away chuckling.  How excited can one mother get about a child WEEING, in the toilet?!?? Pretty excited, I tell you.  It made me chuckle, because to so many, it would mean NOTHING.  Why get so excited about urinary output?  It was so much more than that, though.  It was an answer to prayer.  It was a little boy mastering something.  It was me not having to clean up a mess.  SO many things.

OK, so based on the rest of my day, MASTERING, may be slightly extreme.  Doing something ONCE, may be more accurate.  Do it, he did, though! The small step forward - the positivity - my excitement over something quite weird - has kept me feeling positive for the rest of the day.

It made me think that I need to look more to the positives in life, instead of dwelling on the not-so-good stuff.  You know, the kind of stuff that happens all day, as a mother?  Bickering children.  Hurts and accidents.  Children not doing as they are told.  Disasters of all grades and descriptions.  If I can use a positive toilet-training experience to keep me joyful, I must surely be able to find something good in EVERY day??

The Lord tells us, "in everything give thanks". There is something to be thankful for, no matter the situation you are in.  Sometimes I can find it quite easily - like Elijah's major achievement.  Other days, I *MAY* have to look a bit harder.  But, the lesson I have learnt, is that it is up to me to make my day positive, by having the right attitude.  A stick-in-the-mud, who is very matter of fact about things, may not have allowed themselves to be propelled through the day, with joy, by something so mundane.  I CHOSE to have the right attitude.  Many days, sadly, I don't.  I don't stop for long enough to find those "joy in the mundane" moments, and so my day is shaped accordingly.  I get more easily frazzled, and I don't have the same positive outlook.

So, I carry on with the toilet training. I have Elijah's enthusiasm, and the joy of the Lord as my strength.   It may not work out as fast as I would like, as mess-free as I would like, or the way I would like, but we will get there in the end.

No matter how much life has changed from how it used to be, I can still choose to have the right attitude, and make my days run along smoother.

Pregnancy Update {rejoicing, with good news!}

It has come to my attention that I have not given you a recent update on the pregnancy situation.  I had such a busy week last week, that I forgot to let people know how it had gone.  BAD me.

As I mentioned at my 20 week scan, the consultant wanted to see me every 4 weeks, and for me to have a scan before I saw her each time.  It seemed rather tedious to me, but I was willing to accept the situation, if she thought it was necessary.

So, last Wedenesday, I trotted off to the hospital for my scan and appointment. I was so relieved that I didn't have ages to wait, and the appointements all ran pretty much on time. Rare!

I went in for my scan first.  It wasn't my best ever sonographer experience.  She wasn't exactly chatty, and was quite cut and dried/matter of fact.  She very simply checked the head circumference and abdomen circumference, as you would for a growth scan, whilst asking why the consultant wanted it done at all?!?  I explained about the bleed, at the start of the scan. Then, she was about to finish, WITHOUT CHECKING!!! I had to remind her to look for the area of haemorrhage.  I must admit, she was not as slow, and careful, as the previous sonographers had been, in checking it.  But, even as far as my untrained eye could see, there appeared to be no area of bleed any more! She declared the same, and printed off my report.

So, next it was in to see the Consultant. She was a nice lady, and I have been happy to see her.  She looked at the scan results, (after commenting, again, about my lovely, low blood pressure!) and stated it was all looking good and I didn't need to come and see her any more!!  I was so glad about it, as it means I get to see my lovely Community Midwife instead.  I asked her if she wanted to see me at 37 weeks, like they normally do, because I am "high risk" (multiple pregnancies, over 35, and had a previous c-section for number 5....). The answer?.... NO!! Observing that I have had 2 very good deliveries since the c-section, and always have healthy pregnancies, she saw no need for me to come in before 40 weeks. WOOHOO! As her clinic is a Wednesday, and I am due on a Saturday, she gave me the choice of the 30th of October (39+4), or the 6th of November (40+4).   I asked if it mattered, and before I got the chance to decide, she just said the 6th of November would be fine - "to give me a chance to go naturally, before even going in and discussing induction"!!

There you now have my prayer request!  To labour naturally, before I need to see her again.  Now, bear in mind that my average amount to be overdue is more like 6 days (maybe the average is actually more, since my 12 days over last time....?), then to be less than 4 days overdue may be quite an ask! But, nothing is too hard for the Lord, right? They would not induce at 4 days over, but it would just be nice to not have to go back in for that appointment.  At least I know where I will be on Wednesday morning, on the 6th of November!

I am so thankful that things that seemed so bad, humanly speaking, at the beginning of all of this, have turned out so well.  I feel incredibly blessed.

I would say that it has made me far more appreciative of every moment of my pregnancy.  We cannot take the future for granted, at all.  I still do not know what the future holds for this precious babe, but I know I need to continue steadfast in hope.  I am trusting in God alone, for the future.  I will love and enjoy every little flutter and kick from my baby, even if it is uncomfortable or at a time where I would rather be resting! These are my little connections with the precious child growing within me, that God has blessed only the mother to experience.  What an amazing privilege! I may be hot, but I would rather be hot and pregnant, than cooler and not. I may struggle as the weeks go on, but better to struggle and be pregnant, than to have a life of more ease, and not. Pregnancy is a blessing of its own, never mind the wonderful conclusion, when you get to finally hold that longed for babe in your arms. The joy of knowing a baby is growing, developing, and getting ready for "arrival", all in a fearful and wonderful way.

There we have it.  My positive update, on Cordle baby number 8.

Only about 15 weeks left.  Time flies!

(This picture is a few weeks old - I am even bigger now!!)

Praise where praise is due {saying "thank-you" to your husband}

There seems to be a concerning trend, in today's world, of being openly critical of one's husband.  People seem to think it's all ok to groan, complain, grumble and downright speak BADLY of their husband.

I don't like it ONE BIT.

I'm talking about in a very open, public way.  I know some ladies who have shared struggles and difficulties, but not in a disrespectful or nasty way.

Others, however, are not so wise and restrained.

It's not how we should be about ANYONE, let alone the husband that we have been blessed with.  Such negativity is detrimental on so many levels.  It shows a  lack of respect.  It shows a lack of self-control of the tongue.  It shows a lack of honour.  It shows a lack of thankfulness and gratitude.

On the internet, it is referred to as "husband-bashing".  I think that paints a rather accurate picture.

It goes totally against the instruction in Ephesians.

"and the wife see that she reverence her husband."

Ephesians 5:33

It is not showing that we revere and respect our husbands, if we are openly critical of them.

In a day and age like this, I think there is a simple antidote.

Praise and thankfulness.

When last did you express your appreciation for your husband.  I'm not just talking about THINKING it. I'm referring to TELLING it.

Telling your children.

Telling your family.

Telling your friends.

TELLING YOUR HUSBAND?!?!

It can be so incredibly easy to be nit-picky and negative.  To find what's WRONG, instead of being thankful for what's RIGHT.  It can happen with our children, and with other people, too - but, it's really not nice to hear women being negative about their husband.

So, how do you combat such negativity?  Decide to start being thankful and giving praise where it is due.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."

Ephesians 4:29

Edifying means to "build up", or encourage, and the grace, spoken of here, refers to gratitude.  Our words should be used to encourage and show gratitude!

I think most husbands like to hear that you appreciate them.  To know that you see, and are thankful for, the things that they do.

My lovely man has been VERY busy around here lately. He has been busy with Church things, as always, but he has been doing a lot in the home. He cleared a border in the garden.  He laid some paving slabs, ready to put a shed in the garden. He built a shed.  Not a diddy one, quite a reasonable sized one.  Before that, he treated the fence that would get blocked in by the shed, and the all the parts of the shed before he built it. It took him a lot of time and effort to do it.  The shed - was it for him to have a place of retreat and escape?  No.  It was for the children to have their bikes brought back to the house, after being away at the Church shed since before we moved house - they have not had them for pushing on 2 years. Now the shed is built, the bikes are back.  They have needed quite a lot TLC, to get them back in use.  Robert has then spent a lot of time repairing them - doing things that I would have NO idea how to do - to get them in a usable state.  He has made some VERY happy children, and another will be happy today.

It would be so easy to take all his efforts for granted.  To just watch all he is doing, without acknowledging the hard work he has put into it.  That would show an incredible lack of appreciation on MY part. Instead, I have been letting him know that I think that he is simply great! I express my thanks, for the skills and gifts that God has given him, which allow him to be so "handy" around our home.

Which one of us does not appreciated being thanked for what we do?I know Robert doesn't DO it FOR the thanks, but I am sure it encourages him, nonetheless.

I think it's also important to be an example to our children.  If we constantly receive from others, and accept their efforts and the good that they do, all without showing thankfulness, then it's not setting a very good example.  It's never good to take the gifts and kindness of another for granted.  It's certainly not how we should want to raise our children.  They should hear us express our thankfulness to GOD, first and foremost, but also to each other.

There are several outcomes from having a spirit of thankfulness and encouragement.  First of all, you will encourage a general spirit of love and kindness in your home.  If our words are filled with positives, our home will be filled with the same spirit.  Secondly,  you will help to motivate them in what they are already doing.  So, if it's a practical thing, just a few words of encouragement from you may help them to finish get the job done, because you have helped their heart! Thirdly, you will encourage your husband to carry on with what they are doing.  The more you encourage whatever good you see in them, the more likely they are to carry on with the same good. Maybe there are only glimmers of things that you feel you can give encouragement in?  The little words of praise you bring, will help that good to grow, and overflow into other areas. Fourthly, and really importantly, you are showing a spirit of Christ in your home, and encouraging a loving and generous spirit.  Generosity and giving is not simply about physical giving - the giving of THINGS. It's about giving in other ways, too - and that includes our words and our attitudes.

"provoke unto love and to good works:"

Hebrews 10:24

The key to it all, of course, is our own hearts, above all else.  Do you see what we read in Matthew?

"for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things:"

Matthew 12:34&35

It's what is in our HEARTS, that comes out of our MOUTHS.  If we do not have a heart that is LOOKING for the good -  FINDING the blessings - GRATEFUL for the good - then, it's not going to come out of our mouths.  If we are busily festering thoughts of ungratefulness, or bitterness, or negativity, then we are not going to express thankfulness and love.  If our hearts are grateful for the husband that God has given us, then we will want to first of all thank GOD for our husband, but also let our husband know about our thankfulness, too. 

We try and teach our children to say "thank-you", when someone gives them something - it should be no less ready to escape from our lips, when our husband blesses us with his time, effort, abilities and kindness. 

I pray that our hearts, and our words, will be filled gratitude today, as we express appreciation to our husbands.  (And don't forget that it applies to our children, family and everyone else, as well!....)