Fingerprints of God

I Believe in the Scriptures

2012-02-16T10:30:00.000+02:00

Tripp Roth

2012-01-15T16:14:00.000+02:00

http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/

1000 Gifts 28 - 31

2012-01-14T22:15:00.000+02:00

28. a gentle cooling breeze

29. the security my children feel being with me being demonstrated by them resting their heads on my chest / shoulders

30. The way my children say, "I love you this much" stretching their arms as wide as they can

31. the moment my 1yr old is watching his brothers and I catch his eyes with mine and his face lights up with the widest heart-warming smile.

1000 Gifts 21-26

2011-12-25T19:33:00.000+02:00

21. Wrinkles - I realised that I loved wrinkles when I saw a drawing of a mans face that had many wrinkles. It shows a life of laughter. A life full of life. It's beautiful to me.

22. Giving

23. Thoughtfulness of others

24. Seeing Seth's confidence build because he has achieved something he feared greatly.

25. the smell of freshly baking cookies and the taste of it

26. The raw feeling of pain in my soul that makes me turn to God and depend on Him and drink in His healing balm of peace and contentment.

1000 Gifts

2011-12-11T17:52:00.000+02:00

The reason for Giving.

2011-12-08T09:16:00.000+02:00

It has been such a long time since I blogged. I like to blog about things that make a difference to me and this blog post has. Please read it if you are serious about teaching your children that Christ is the centre of Christmas.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/when-christmas-gets-radical-whose-birthday-is-it-really/

1000 Gifts - The reason

2011-07-21T11:45:00.000+02:00

Giraffe

2011-07-20T21:54:00.000+02:00

Tonight the boys were having their usual night time conversation and Kung fu Panda was the topic.Tylon to be specific.

Josh:Tylon is a lion
Seth: No Tylon is not a lion because he doesn't have lots of hair.Tylon is a cheata.
Josh: No Tylon is a giraffe.
That was the end of all composure for Seth and I'm sure that Josh yeas a big grin on his face especially since he loves to stir the pot

1000 Gifts 16-20

2011-07-15T22:59:00.000+02:00

16. a laugh that leaves you breathless

17. the understanding of a long time friendship

18. the blessing of others seeing a need and meeting it.

19. chocolate

20. wisdom

1000 Gifts 11-15

2011-07-14T11:50:00.000+02:00

11. music

12. a warm bed

13. A good cuppa joe

14. seasons

15. theologians

1000 Gifts 6-10

2011-07-13T20:24:00.000+02:00

6. The health care system

7. Christian family

8. The comfort I get from giving comfort to my sick children by holding them close while they rest

9. Smiles

10. Barry

Pause

2011-07-10T22:23:00.000+02:00

Just to let you know if you were looking forward to reading about the 1000 Gifts posts every day, that has been put on hold becuase I have 2 sick children. One with pneumonia and his infection count is so high he'll probably be in hospital until Friday (if all goes according to plan) and the baby was diagnosed with Bronchitis just this morning. Life is super busy right now so bloggin has to be paused.

1000 Gifts

2011-07-06T22:30:00.000+02:00

On this blog this woman read a book that has somehow encouraged her to name 5 things she's thankful for each day until she reaches 1000 gifts. I decided if I was going spend time blogging this is how I would like to spend it.

I hope you enjoy this journey I'm choosing to become more thankful. Remember God commands us to be thankful for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

1. Burnt rice - the reason for this is because I burnt the rice tonight. It made me aware of time and how precious it is! It made me aware of how God can use something as simple as burnt rice to teach me that he knows all things ahead of time and provides.

A few nights ago I made extra rice and froze it not sure if I was going to need it. Then tonight when I burnt the rice I remembered the frozen rice. Thank you Lord.

2.I'm thankful for my husband who fetch the children from school today and took them out to lunch so that I could finish getting my hair done.

3. I'm thankful for grandparents who want to spend time getting to know my children as individuals.

4. Young people in our church are such a blessing in the way they love the Lord and allow Him to use them to meet the needs of others. The latest encouragement is a young woman raising money to buy blankets for homeless people.

5. Eunice is the woman that comes on certain days of the week to clean my house. She is such a gift because it free's me from house work to spend more time enjoying precious moments with my children and husband.

Lists

2011-06-25T19:09:00.000+02:00

I want to blog about:

modesty

music

photography

homeschool

my children at the ages they're at

the "flip side" of life

opinions

books I'm reading

what God is teaching me from the books I'm reading

the things I'm thankful for

my new found hobby - sewing

interesting recipes I've found

what I've learned about nursing

I wish I could find the energy just to blog regularly.

I have a photo music video that i would like to finish and post.

I want to update my blog appearance.

I want to update my blog rolls.

I want to add music.

Lets hope I get energy soon...other wise I'll regret not recording these thoughts.

Please Let Me In!

2011-04-29T20:32:00.002+02:00

Tonight I became aware of some things. Theft is okay was the underlying theme.
I had been shopping right before closing time and had something in my hand when I walked out the store. No one noticed, including myself. It was only when I was getting ready to pay for a DVD rental that I realised I still had the item in my hand. I quickly rushed back to the store and they refused to let me in because is was after closing time. The customers streaming out of the store were all telling me to take the item. I refused. The supervisor came to the door and asked what was going on and I told him that I was trying to get into the store to either return or pay for this item. He then said that they should let me in.

What was the reason I chose not to just take the item and walk away? Well God is my reason. God has commanded me in his law not to steal and so I won’t. I will not sin against God. He is the reason I can go back to a store like that and bear the consequences.

A scary thing was that they didn’t seem bothered that I was confessing that I’d stolen something. The other thing that bothered me was how everyone, even the staff at the DVD store encouraged me to just take the DVD. After all the security didn’t see you so why go back?

Let me encourage you to do the hard thing and go back, return the merchandise or pay for it. God wants you to. It’s not a suggestion from Him, its a command not to steal. If you do choose to steal you will not be accepted by God when you die. Repent and accept Him as your Father and don’t sin against Him again.

Road Kill

2011-04-21T22:14:00.000+02:00

Eli has a think about bashing insects to death. Who know's why? I hope this doesn't offend. I though it was a funny picture though.

Lead Me

2011-03-28T12:12:00.000+02:00

This was such a perfect song that my husband sent me today that i just cried from the first couple of lines. No we're not expreiencing difficulty but we are striving to be more godly in our daily lives. I love Him and him so much.

Never Alone Corrected

2011-03-03T22:27:00.000+02:00

Tonight I discovered this band called Barlowgirl. I really like their music. The music video below is one that articulates what I think when I'm going through some darker moments. I love this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QubLxJI54

31 000

2011-03-02T09:00:00.000+02:00

If you happen to be number 31 000 take a photo and send it to me, along with your blog address (if you have one) to thejamiefamily@gmail.com.

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE :)

P.S. if you want to find out if you are visitor 31 000 look on the side bar under "You Count"

Learning With 4

2011-02-23T22:04:00.000+02:00

This was the scene tonight as I was stretched to a point of learning.

At 5:00 tonight I found out that Barry was not able to make it home in time and the situation was such that without him tonight I was not going to make it to Bible study. The kids were eating a meal they were not used to eating so it was taking extra long (45 min), Zach was needing to be bathed and nurse (1.5 hrs before he was supposed to). At this moment Eli had finished his meal so I allowed him to go play outside. He removed his nappy and then came inside and pooped on the floor. So now I had fussy eaters, a crying newborn, a poop covered son and floor. I cannot find my baby sling (a new one which I love) so I'm forced to leave Zach to fuss, Seth and Jo to encourage themselves to eat and finish before the timer goes off (or they will be disciplined) and clean the poop before Elijah experiments with it any more. Thankfully when he saw I was cleaning it up he went back outside (I'm hoping he was on his way to tell me he needed to poop but didn’t get to me in time) so thankfully nothing else needed cleaning but him. I pop Zach's dummy back in because he was declaring his needs again (and this gets repeated a few times in-between everything else) and Seth and Jo are totally unaware of the timer and are playing wildly at the dinner table. I get the bath water running and start to wipe down Eli with wet wipes. Bath water has finished running and Eli is in. YES one down 3 to go. The timer goes of at that moment and I have to discipline Seth and Jo and reset the timer for another 15 min. 5 min later Seth is finished and Jo is wandering around forgetting he has to eat and I then decide this is a battle I'm not going to fight tonight. 3 boys in the bath. YESSSS. Get Zach’s little bath that fits into the big bath and bath him, nurse him and put him down to bed (6:39). Dry the floor because they've gotten out 3 times wanting to be done with bathing. I warm up the bath and they are happy again. I bath them, dress them and put them to bed as well (7:11pm). In-between all this somehow our electric gate leading into our property opened and the dog got out and I had to go get him. I had 2 phone calls which were a couple of min each.

Why do I tell you all this. Well this is how most moments are during the day. Always busy, busy stretching and teaching me. Teaching me what? Teaching me greater value of my quiet times with Christ. They are what I know I must depend on to get through. I realise that if I don't know my Christ I have nothing to draw on to represent Christ because man will fail me, Christ won't. If I don't know Christ I cannot be training my Children in His ways in every situation. Christ MUST be in every situation.

I realise that when I was putting my children to bed, that I had an overwhelming desire to know them intimately as individuals. I want to be spent for them. I want to be stretched if that means I get to enjoy them, my precious gifts from God, to the fullest. I learn how to deny myself. I learn how to put to death the flesh. I learn my weakness and deep dependence on Christ. I learn about what Christ thinks of me and what I can handle. I know that I can do this with excellence because He saw fit to put me in this situation. When we were battling with Jaundice and I was surviving on about 2-3 hours sleep a night, I felt the strength of prayer and grace in those days. I had such peace.

In the chaos of tonight I realised that I don't repent enough and if I don't learn to be more sensitive to my sin and repent I will never effectively teach my children that they are sinners that sin against a Holy God and need to repent and seek His forgiveness.

Today after I had disciplined Jo we were saying sorry to God for disobeying Him by sinning. I could see that there was no amount of reality there for Jo. I then started to examine myself and thought that I know my dependence on Christ but, am I effectively communicating that to my sons? My answer must be no. I will be battling harder for my children’s eyes and ears to be opened to the reality of Christ. Christ and His sacrifice.

Having 4 children 4 and under has made me better at "redeeming the time". I can honestly say that I don't battle with procrastination anymore. What a praise that is!

Having Zachary has made me hang on to the small things a bit more. The video camera is out more, there are more photos, greater opportunities for memories, and a greater desire for family worship of God.
I hope I never lose site of Christ’s hand in everything.

Worldess Wednesday

2011-02-23T14:29:00.001+02:00

I'm Handsome

2011-02-17T22:12:00.000+02:00

Tonight Seth looked at his muscles and said, "I'm handsome". Barry asked him who told him that and his response was, "God told him." "God told you?" Barry asks. "Yes like Handsome who killed the lion". He also added a little while later he added that "Handsome scared Noah's wife"

P.S. For those who might not know there was a very strong man in the bible called Samson who killed a lion with his bare hands. That's who Seth was refering to!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T15:03:00.001+02:00

A Worth While Read!

2011-02-10T14:16:00.000+02:00

I'm not being bias but I do believe my husband writes well. He recently wrote a poem in response to a Friend's poem, who is no longer following Christ. Both poems are HERE. The titles of the poems are "Barely Breaking Even" and "God's Reply"

No, Mr. President

2011-02-06T19:05:00.002+02:00

Zachary

2011-02-02T15:46:00.000+02:00

The Great God

2011-01-11T12:08:00.000+02:00

In this post last year I started working on solitude time. In December I came across something that is going to help me do this. It's a book called "Valley of Vision". It's a collection of Puritan prayers and meditations. I am purposely not just reading through one and then moving on. I spend as much time on each as I need and as I feel the need for solitude I pick it up and read it again. It has really helped me meditate on God.

This has been my meditation for the past few days.

THE GREAT GOD

O fountain of all good,

Destroy in me every lofty thought,

Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,

Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,

Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,

Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,

Open in me a fount of penitential tears,

Break me, then bind me up;

Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;

Then can the Father take up his abode in me,

Then can this blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,

then can the holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;

O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,

inhabit me, a temple consecrated to thy glory.

When thou art present, evil cannot abide;

In thy fellowship is fullness of joy,

Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,

By thy side no fears disturb,

no apprehensions banish rest of mind,

With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;

Make me meet, through repentance,

for thine indwelling.

Nothing exceeds thy power,

Nothing is too great for thee to do,

Nothing too good for thee to give.

Infinite is they might boundless thy love,

limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.

Let angels sing for sinners repenting,

prodigals restored,

blacksliders reclaimed,

Satan's captives released,

blind eyes opened,

broken hearts bound up,

the despondent cheered,

the self-righteous stripped,

the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,

the ignorant enlightened,

and saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

35 Weeks & 2days

2011-01-09T19:20:00.001+02:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T22:06:00.000+02:00

Failing Victories

2011-01-05T19:41:00.000+02:00

Today has been one of those day that have been filled with dust clouds from the amount of times I've fallen. I failed the most at being a safe haven from my children. I have failed so many times it's almost like I should have just stayed down. But I won't because I know that every failure is an opportunity to submit to God and gain the victory. Romans 8:28

May God take these failures and turn them into victories for my children to see Gods grace and mercy!

Homeschooling

2011-01-05T07:49:00.000+02:00

This year is starting off busier than normal. I will have all three boys home permanently and a newborn in just 30 days. This means I need to be way more organised. So at the moment I'm eating, sleeping, daydreaming about and drinking homeschool. I've spent time looking up what each child should be able to do at their respective ages and trying to put something together so that they can meet all the requirements by their next age group. Some days I wake up thinking, “Okay this is going well!”, and some days are like being in the ocean without a life jacket and a storm is happening. I like they way Shelly put it

"I tend to hold up a perfect, shiny ideal to reach for every day, only to cripple myself as I make the leap. God calls us to only hold HIM up as our goalpost and He guarantees that if we reach, He'll catch us. Striving for anything but that is actually a form of idolatry and we are certain to miss the mark."

I do have a curriculum for Seth but after doing it for 7 weeks last year I realised that there are some other foundational concepts that need to be more concrete before we can continue with it. That's the reason I'm putting my own materials together for him.

I'm going to try and be diligent in keeping a record here (mostly for myself to reflect on when I'm leaping for my own goals forgetting God). That way I can put off discouragement and put on thankfulness (1 Thess 5:18).

I guess homeschool is going to be a lot like marriage, in that only when my love is first and completely for God then my love can be unconditional, perfect, steadfast and a 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love for my husband. I MUST have my eyes on Him everyday and have my moments of Solitude count for HIS glory then I can be effective in my family's life.

By His Wounds

2010-12-29T16:27:00.001+02:00

32 Weeks & 4 days

2010-12-20T08:55:00.000+02:00

What Eli Thinks of Coffee

2010-12-12T20:36:00.000+02:00

Yahoo

2010-11-11T23:58:00.000+02:00

If you e-mail me or have in the past and use a yahoo account I will not get your mail. If you have a different account please send me a mail with that account. I have recently been chronically spammed by a yahoo account holder and have had to block all yahoo accounts to try sort out this problem :(

He's done it!!

2010-11-10T20:44:00.000+02:00

My husband has finally joined the blogging world. Click Here to have a look :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T20:07:00.000+02:00

It's been a While and it will probably be a while!! AMENDED

2010-10-18T16:56:00.000+02:00

Lately I'm so, so tired. To find the energy to sit at this computer is a mission. I have just enough energy to do Home school, house work and grow a baby!!

In this space I mentioned that I had read the "Twilight Saga" in a really short space of time. It is a set of books I did enjoy reading but would in no way say is "good” in it's content. What I mean by that is that there is a strong evil theme and the idea that drinking blood is okay because it is animal blood, is not okay. That is not blurring the line of good and evil, it is crossing over to evil. Scripture is clear in forbidding drinking of blood. One other thing is that romance novels are not something that should not be habitually enjoyed. As someone once said (and I agree) "Romance novels are for women what pornography is for men" this is the main reason I stopped reading them 14 years ago. So in short what am I saying "I'm not promoting the "Twilight Saga" in any way". I did read it to find out what all the fuss was about. I have also decided (since having some distance from it) that because of it's content of blood drinking I will not be reading the books again.

Homeschooling is going much better than I thought. Seth is learning a lot quicker than I expected. Tomorrow I start with the "hardcore" phonics that actually begins the process of teaching him how to read. I think I'm really scared to teach him. I don't want to overwhelm him and I want it to be a positive not a negative.

We are having another boy. We already have his name picked out but for those of you who are blogging Friends will have to wait for the name. Someone has to be surprised by something related to this pregnancy right? My doc wants to induce considering that my last labour lasted 50 minutes. He doesn't want to take a chance that I could deliver in the car ? On most days I am convinced this is my last child. The days when this is not my last child are days when I really long for a daughter and the ache for her is overwhelming and I think that maybe we should try one more time. I think that if I had to have a daughter I'd make an idol of her because I want a daughter so badly. In light of that I'd rather not "give it another try". In any case I will have such a blessed house hold with 4 grown men serving the Lord. I look forward to that.

That is my brain power all used up for now. Till the next time I have a burst of mental energy :)

Wordless Wednesday (Hair)

2010-09-08T20:05:00.000+02:00

(After & Before)

Is it Necessary?

2010-09-06T15:30:00.000+02:00

I am going to be starting homeschooling with Seth in October. I'm really excited and equally nervious. I'll be using Veritas Press.

I remember asking someone if it was necessary that the curriculum be Christian in it's content. The answer was yes. I then had that settled in my mind because I realised it was a discipleship of our children. I also believed without a doubt that homeschooling it God's way. I couldn't really tell you why I believed it untill I started reading a book called "Repairing the Ruins" Edited by Douglas Wilson. I've just started reading it and this statement really hit home for me and I wanted to share it with you.

"Some Christian Schools take this same basic approach by using the same fundamental curriculum as do the government schools, but then adding prayer, bible class, or chapel. Christian education is seen as distinct because of the addition of a new planet to the pre-existent solar system of knowledge. But true Christian education is a Copernican revolution which comes to see Scripture as the sun, which sees Scripture as the Centre. And that sun, that light, provides the light in which w e see everything else. Without that sun, we do not have objectivity; we have darkness." Douglas Wilson in Repairing the Ruins.

Doing Well

2010-09-01T15:33:00.000+02:00

They boys did so well after their grommets were put in. The doc said that Elijah had thick fluid in his ear and Josh's ears were pussy when he opened up. The doc also said that we'd probably be able to wait 6 weeks to remove Josh's enlarged adenoids and tonsils but if he got sick in between we'd do it sooner. Today I took Josh to the doc and he has tonsils for the 5th time this year. In three weeks we'll be taking Josh in for his adenoids and tonsils to be removed.

Elijah has started attempting more words. He's such a little noise maker I love hearing the sounds of my kids running around screaming with delight. It makes me think of a line from one of my favourite moves (Facing the Giants) where the wife is speaking to her husband about how she longs to have children and she describes the sounds of children running through the house. I cry when I hear that because I was once there. I remember being told we could not have children and they were not sure why because there was nothing indicating what could be stopping me from falling pregnant.

Now that I am pregnant with our 4th child my heart aches when i look at women who are dear to me waiting on God to give them children. These women would be such fantastic mothers. I still remember what it felt like.

Wordless Wednesday (17)

2010-09-01T15:03:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow

2010-08-26T19:42:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow Josh will be getting his second set of grommets and Elijah will be getting his first set. Josh will also be getting his adenoids and tonsils out in a months time because they are abnormally large...not infected just abnormally large and the ENT believes its the reason he's had so many infections.

One of my favourite things that Josh says right now is "I'm finished waking, can I get our of bed now?" when ever he's finished sleeping!

New blog I found

2010-08-20T10:38:00.000+02:00

One one of my fav blogs to read "Women Living Well" I saw this tag today and decided to click on it....Hillarious I tell you!! It's called "The Diaper Diaries"

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T14:32:00.000+02:00

Tips I God From A Book I'm reading

2010-08-16T20:06:00.000+02:00

I'm currently reading 2 books. "The first is Womanly Dominion - More than a gentle and quiet spirit " by Mark Chanski as part of a book club I go to on a Wednesday. Secondly a old and well known book called "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace. These books are incredibly challenging but encouraging because they give such a clear view of what the bible says a wife is and what womanly dominion really looks like. It is not someones opinion its God's instructions and guidelines. Today's excerpt is going to come from "The Excellent Wife" in a chapter titled "A wife's Understanding of Her Role"

These are "18 Ways a Wife may be the Glory of Her Husband"

1. Ask your husband, "What are your goals for the week?"

2. Ask your husband, "How can I help you to accomplish these goals?"

3. Ask your husband, "Is there anything that I can do differently that would make it easier for you?"

4. Be organized with cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, and cooking. As you fulfill your God-given responsibilities, your husband is then free to do his work.

5. Save some of your energy every day for him.

6. Put him first over the children, your parents, friends, job, ladies' Bible studies, etc.

7. Willingly and cheerfully rearrange your schedule for him when necessary.

8. Talk about him in a positive light to others. Do NOT slander him at all, even if what you are saying is true.

9. Do whatever you can to make him look good, to accomplish his goals. Some examples are offer to run errands for him, organise your day to be available to help him with his projects, pray for him to make good suggestions. Give him the freedom not to use your suggestion, and do not be offended if he does not follow it.

10. Consider his work (job, goals, hobbies, work for the Lord) as more important than your own.

11. Think of specific ways that you can help him accomplish his goals. Examples are get up early in the morning to help him get off to work having had a good breakfast, take care in recording telephone messages for him, anticipate any needs he may have in order to attain a specific goal, and keep careful records of money spent to keep up with the budget.

12. Consider the things that you are involved in. How do they glorify your husband? Ask his guidance.

13. Be warm and gracious to his family and friends. Make your commitment to him obvious to them.

14. Do and say things that build him up instead of tear him down.

15. Dress and apply your makeup in an attractive manner that is pleasing to your husband.

16. When your husband sins, reprove him privately and gently, always giving him hope and pointing him to the Lord.

17. Encourage him to use his spiritual gifts in ministry.

18. Realize that just as God is glorified when man obeys Him, your husband is glorified when you obey your husband.

Recipeasy

2010-08-15T11:13:00.000+02:00

Recipeasy is a blog I sometimes contribute to. I've just posted 2 of my favourite recipes that my family really enjoy.

So click here to go and try out some interesting recipes. I also have Recipeasy listed in my blog roll so you can always be up to date with the newest recipe posted.

Seth Says...

2010-08-12T22:53:00.000+02:00

The other day we were on our way to church and Seth very matter of factly tells us that we (Barry & I) are chapter old and he is chapter three.

Barry and Seth were working out in the garden and Barry says to Seth "Were working well as a team, hey boy!" Seth replies, "No we're not because we don't have a plan"

I recently got a new car. It is a real step up from the car I was driving and when I drove Barry's car I kept commenting on how comfortable my car is. The next morning I overheard Barry chatting to the boys at breakfast saying, "Boys you need to be quiet today when mommy's driving the car because she's going to have it tough because she's driving daddy's car" (My car was in for a service)

My New Goal

2010-06-11T20:24:00.000+02:00

This past week I received an e-mail that was very hurtful. It was one where I had character traits pointed out that were offensive and caused someone to stumble. It has taken me a few days to come to terms with it because it hurt so much but this is what I'm going to glean from it. This is the new change I'm going to make and of course it will start with a scripture verse to cling to.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.” Proverbs 31:26

I remembered this verse when I wrote my response thanking the person for pointing these things out to me and that I would be examining myself and would she forgive me for the wrong. I have listed only the criticisms’ against my character (and nothing more about where or who they came from) to an older woman in Christ to help me discern if these are true of me and if they are how to scripturally correct them. I want to have the wisdom of God not man in my mouth and I want to be kind with my lips.

One of the things I do realise many of the criticisms’ were related to my speech and so I'm going to be more positive, scripture centred and necessary. My husband reminded me that, "in many words sin is not absent."

I am holding onto the truth that even though this was not a welcomed e-mail it was ordained by God and I MUST glean from it what I can. God is merciful and kind and would never hurt me but he would chastise me because I'm His child (Hebrews 12).

Praise is to God for trials because they help us to see Him clearer and draw us closer to Him. Praise Him for forgiveness. Just praise Him.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-09T13:24:00.000+02:00

Pretend it's Wednesday

2010-06-04T14:38:00.000+02:00

This was taken in Nampula, Mozambique last week.

We were ther for our survey trip and will be praying over the next 6 months that God make His will known concerning us being or not being missionaries to Nampula.

Pray with us please.

How do they do that?

2010-05-18T21:12:00.003+02:00

Kids say...

2010-05-14T18:48:00.000+02:00

We're trying to teach our children that burping is impolite, funny but impolite so if they have to burp they must cover their mouths and say excuse me. The other day I was playing with Josh and he stopped me and said, "Mommy I burped out my bum"

Seth is so excited to have his birthday that he tells everyone every day at play school that I've bought him a big aeroplane and its his birthday and I'm going to make him a dinosaur cake to take to school. I have to try get the concept of time over to a 3.5 year old...not easy...anyway the other day the conversation went like this in an attempt to get his birthday moved forward.

Seth: Mommy can you go to the hospital?

Me: Why?

Seth: Because I want to get born!

Me: Seth you have already been born!

Seth: Then can I have my birthday now?

At least he's getting it's the day he was born.

Till we meet again :)

2010-04-02T15:49:00.002+02:00

We have bought a house and have just moved. Our telephone service provider says it could be 14 day before we get our new line and I'm really hoping this is true but if not you know what's happening.

Till we meet again :)

Life Continues Even when...

2010-03-29T21:10:00.000+02:00

Today I had x-rays taken of my chest and sinus because I've been coughing for a really, really long time. They came back clear.

When I arrived I saw a woman hooked up to a drip sitting outside smoking. I then noticed she was pregnant. I judged her.

I then went in to the x-ray department and did what was necessary to get me into the queue. When there I thought, "Wow this guy helping me has such a pleasant attitude".

I then quickly went and got some of my children’s favourite crisps that I know you can only get at hospitals and on my way back I heard the woman who was pregnant and smoking say through chocking tears, "We don't think its going to keep but we're hoping" Her husband looked bare and overcome with emotion. I suddenly wondered if this woman had given up smoking while pregnant and that the stress of the situation was so strong that she needed to smoke to cope. What if this woman did not have Jesus and the smoke was that anchor in her life. How sad. I also thought back to when we as a family were huddled in a hospital room waiting on Zoe's lifeless body to be born, while life, joy, excitement continued outside that door.

While waiting to go in for my x-ray there was a woman who drew my attention to by the way she dressed. It was not the most common combination or colours. Her husband was also significantly older which also caught my attention. She left her 4 year old son calling out for her as she left him with his dad and she went outside. I though maybe she's pregnant and he's getting x-rays done and she can't bear to hear him scream.

Suddenly I find out the man that was helping me earlier collapsed and might be having a heart attack. He has no medical aid.

I go for my x-rays.

I come out from my x-rays and land up sitting next to the woman with the older husband. I ask her if her son is okay and she says they've just received the diagnosis that her son has some sort of lymphatic cancer. He's 4 years old. We continue our discussion about how they got to this point. She proceeds to tell me that just a few months ago her daughter fell and hit her head on a piano at school and later found out that the membrane covering and protecting the brain tore in 4 different places. She had an operation 4 weeks ago to try repair this membrane, that failed and her daughter is not able to move but is just lying there connected to oxygen. She is supposed to go to a hospital in Cape Town tomorrow for her daughter but is being torn because depending on the recommendation of the doctor for her son she might have to choose between being with her son or daughter (10 years old) tomorrow.

What hit me was I greeted the lady with encouragement and left. My life continued and so did hers. My on something more positive and her on a harder path. Our lives carry on regardless of how much we want to hang onto moments. Our lives never stop even if we feel we cannot take another breath. What God has intricately planed in our lives will happen even if we don't regard God. Life continues eve if...(you fill in the blank)

I never thought this would happen and I'm glad it did :)

2010-03-27T20:01:00.000+02:00

Today I was doing my grocery shopping while my husband and children were at home. I was at my last and favourite food shop Woolworths when someone's face kept getting my attention. I thought this person looked really gentle and she in some way reminded me of Tricia Lawrenson. Not because they look similar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I forgot something and went to fetch it and when I came back "she" was standing at the queuing section and she was the only one there. With out coming across as gawking I tried to get a better look at her and then thought, "I KNOW WHO THAT IS, I think". I asked her what her name was and the first name matched up then I asked her, her surname and it matched too. Then inside I did one of those freaked-out-excited-dances but tried to remain calm on the outside. I then blurted out that I read her blog. Although the truth is I've been really bad at everything related to blogging since about November last year. But still when I was better with blogging I read her blog every time she posted. I was really excited to meet her not because she might be "famous" but because she's a miracle and I have a special place for her.

I met Alice Vosloo. She has Cystic Fibrosis and just over 2 years ago she received a double lung transplant. All I kept thinking is, "WOW", "I wonder what would be an appropriate question to ask her?", "Just looking at her you'd NEVER say she had a double lung transplant", "I wonder if she thinks I'm weird?", "Quick find something "not stupid" to say". BRAIN FREEZE. Man if I ever saw her again I would try make some time to sit and talk to her about CF, Transplant, everything in her life. She is a walking miracle. Try wrap your mind around this, " A little over 2 years ago she was at a point where her lungs were not working well and she could barely breath, then they cut her open. TOOK OUT her old sick and infected lungs. Then she had SOMEONE ELSES lungs put in her old lung space. Now she is walking around living her life about to get married in 4 months time with someone else’s lungs inside her" Just looking and talking to her you would never be able to tell.

I wanted to just grab her and give her this really tight hug but I've got chest issues myself at the moment. (I'm not sure what's up I've been coughing quiet badly for about 7-8 weeks now and my body is getting tired. I'm going for x-rays on Monday so hopefully some answers will come) and maybe that would have freaked her out. Her fiancé seemed to be curious or something about this stranger Alice was talking to.

All I can say is IT WAS SOOOOOOOOO COOL to meet ALICE VOSLOO!!

I should have gotten a photo taken with her to put on my blog :)

What also makes this cool is Blogging in South Africa is not taken as seriously as it is in countries like the USA so the fact that I met her was amazing.

Anyway, I'm going to continue on my buzz off of the blogging screen :)

Wordless Wednesday (Satisfaction)

2010-03-24T14:54:00.000+02:00

Two Thoughts and a Verse

2010-03-22T19:33:00.000+02:00

These two thoughts and one verse have impacted me tremendously this week.

"God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your 'thorn' uncomplainingly--that is, sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak—[this] is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace." J I Packer

George Muller was about to lose a piece of property that he thought he really needed for the next orphan house that he said:

"If the Lord were to take this piece of land from me" (it could have gone either way - real disappointment if it went one way or real happiness if it went the other way)"it would be only for the purpose of giving me still a better one for our heavenly Father never takes any earthly thing from his children except He means to give them something better instead."

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." Colossians 3:15

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-17T21:00:00.000+02:00

Your Higher Ways

2010-03-08T23:20:00.000+02:00

" ⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

Deut 6:4-7

One of my newest and greatest passions is homeschooling. I've spent the last 18 months working on setting up for homeschooling and it has only been since the begining of the year that I am pursuing homeschooling for the right reason. The right reason is because it is what will bring GOD the most glory. Not because I have something to prove or because we don't have money or because the public or private edcuation is of a sub- standard or because it's a non- christian curriculum.

In this chapter GOD tells the people that if they would keep His commandments he would give them everything their material heart would desire. He would give them cities that they did not build, wealth that they did not create, etc. GOD would give them everything if they would only keep his commandments and faithfully teach it to their children and live it our for their children to see.

I started out wanting to prove that I could be wise, valuable and intelligent by teaching my children at home and them succeeding. I would take the approach that I was in a top position in a company and apply the same diligence to homeschooling and make it a great success. At the beginning of last year we did not see a way to pay for public schooling and not even a possibility for private school. We were able to clear just about every bit of debt in January so we are now in a position to send our children to private school. This is when I started looking more closely at my reasons for wanting to homeschool because I now had a choice. I then vigorously started speaking to moms who homeschooled, concentrating on the finer details of homeschooling curriculum and started asking myself "What is the real difference between a Christian curriculum and a non-christian curriculum?" "Couldn't I just order a non-christian curriculum that is accredited and just add bible to it?"

My answer to these questions were answered by someone I consider to be wise. I spoke to this person on the phone for about 30 minutes and concentrated mostly on these two topics. Her answer was something like this, "it is important to have a christian curriculum because it does deal with topics like evolution from a christian perspective but what we need to realise is that everything a child needs to learn about life is not contained in those books. Homeschooling is not school at home it is teaching your children about life; it is getting them ready to be GOD-fearing, responsible adults with a GOD-centered world view"

I then went to a conference last week Saturday for a curriculum called "Love to Learn". We were there for 4 hours. Of the 4 hours, two and a half to 3 hours were about why homeschooling is GOD's way and how to deal with some really relevant questions like, "my child shows leadership skills, if I homeschool them isn't that going to suppress these skills", "I'm not qualified?", "I want my children to do professional sports?" etc

It was a really balanced talk. They said homeschooling is not for every parent but it is for EVERY child. If you are a parent that does not believe that homeschooling is the best for your child then you will not do well at homeschooling and you will rob your child.

A few things that stood out to me:

1. Homeschooling is the DISCIPLESHIP of our children for the LORD.

2. Paying a lot of money for education doesn't mean its a good education.

3. So much emotional energy is spent coping with peers that in many cases there is not enought to focus on their schooling.

4. When we loose our joy we've lost our focus. Our focus is that we are doing this for the glory of GOD.

Some of the reasons I hear mothers choosing not to educate their children is "I can't discipline my children, they never listen to me?" With love, I think you need to re-look at how you set boundaries for your children. This is not a valid reason. "I'm not qualified", YES YOU ARE. Why would God place such high importance on children obeying the 'teaching' of their mother and the 'instruction' of the father. GOD also sets it out plainly in scripture that your highest focus of teaching should be about HIM. When your goal is to give GOD the glory and direct your children at every possible moment, the rest will be the blessing of GOD for honouring him.

Love GOD with all your heart, mind and soul (Deut. 6:5). A man will devise his way but GOD will direct his steps (Proverbs 16:9) Trust in GOD with all your heart mind and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge (submit) to HIM, and HE will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6) Teach a child when he is young and he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

I am petrified that the future of my children rests in my ability to teach them well. It is an overwhelming burden but I will trust GOD. I will love GOD with everything in me. Teach my children about GOD from young. In this I will be blessed (Deut. 6)

I'm not skilled to understand GOD's higher ways but I am HIS child and I will obey HIM no matter what the cost. Our children are our first mission field. Protect them. Build them up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD. Exposing them to the sinful world is not going to make them love GOD, it will make them love sin more because they are sinners. Don't fool yourself over the power of sin.

GOD'S order of authority: GOD -> PARENTS -> CHILD. When you bring a teacher in you start placing them in authority over you. You start putting their peers over you. You bring contention into the home because you are always counteracting what they are being taught. They most likely will get to a point where they will believe the peers and teachers, who they spend more time with, than you, this is when I belive they apostasize.

Trust GOD, HE loves our children infinitely more than we do. HE ONLY, and again I say it, ONLY does the best for us AND our children. Act on a confidence in HIS character. Trust HIM with the future of your children. Trust HIM on the days of extreme exhaustion. Rest in HIM. TRUST GOD. Now is the time to put your words of unconditional love and service to GOD into action. DISCIPLE your children through homeschooling. In an a way that you never dreamed by taking this step of faith to know GOD

This is a really old song of SCC that I have always loved. It's words I cling to when I'm not sure what God is doing but I'm trusting him through it. The words are underneath the video clip. There are not chaninging images just listen and read the words underneath.

If I could only fly
I'd go up and look down from the sky
So I could see the bigger picture
And Lord if I could sit with You
At Your feet for an hour or two
I'm sure I'd ask too many questions
'Cause there's so much going on down here
That I must confess I just don't understand

BRIDGE
But I have prayed
And at your feet my whole life has been laid
So I wont worry I wont be afraid
'Cause my soul is resting on Your higher ways
Let the road ahead become unclear
I am Yours so what have I to fear
If my soul is resting on Your higher ways

CHORUS
Your higher ways teach me to trust You
Your higher ways are not like mine
Your higher ways are the ways of the Father
Hiding His children in His love

BRIDGE
So let it rain
And if my eyes grow dim with tears of pain
This hope I have will not be washed away
'Cause my soul is resting on Your higher ways

Someday I will fly and
Maybe then You will take me aside
And show me the bigger picture
But until I'm with You
I'll be here with a heart that is true
And a soul that's resting on
Your higher ways

Wordless Wednesday (The beginning)

2010-03-03T21:31:00.000+02:00

At 9 months you...

2010-03-02T20:34:00.000+02:00

are so in love with me that you cannot function if I'm not with you. I love it!!

love it when I do the "ba ba ba", and similar sounds IN your mouth

are still crazy about open mouth kisses

have fallen off the couch twice this month

get picked on by your bigger brothers

join in with the wrestling time with dad

love, love, love your jolly jumper

are very busy

are busy cutting your first tooth and you are really grouch about

love books

have an incredible appetite

have to eat whatever your brothers are eating

love cat food

are drawn to anything that has water in it

explore the house far more than your brothers did

like intricate toys

love to be with your daddy, you see pictures of him and start moaning

love eating the edible play dough I've made for you

totally spaz out with excitement when you know it's your bath time

are the only child I know to have gotten into crawling position while in a sitting ring in the bath

have incredible rhythm

love playing with my nails

love to fall asleep in the car

can go down steps on your own

are not crazy about crawling on grass

love sand

get so excited when your brothers zoom past you on their bikes

already have a thing about the steering wheel of a car

said your first word at 8 months old it was, “hot”

You started calling me "mama" at 8 months

watch my mouth intently when I talk to you

love to snuggle

still love your red, black and white picture books

tell me "no no no" when I'm dressing you

make a lip smacking noise that involves every part of your mouth (i.e. lips, gums, tongue) when you're enjoying your food

love smiling scrunch nosed

love it when I blow zerbits on your armpits

get really excited when I tickle your brothers

get goosebumps when you lie on grass

up have the cutest way of crawling

I Love this song...

2010-02-25T11:17:00.002+02:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T20:12:00.000+02:00

Heaven is...

2010-02-21T14:48:00.000+02:00

I remember when a blogger contacted me through my blog. When I went to her blog I discovered her daughter was in heaven with our loving Father and Creator. I remember at one point feeling that I had freedom to ask her very blunt and even hurtful questions, to improve my understanding of grief. My questions were something like this, "Why does heaven become all about the child / loved one that has died rather than our heavenly Father? Why is it that we almost imply that we take better care of our children than God can and we say things like, 'God is taking care of you right now till we can meet you there'? Isn't God the most perfect caregiver? Doesn't God love our children more and perfectly? Please help me understand?"

On Saturday last week we were at a swimming party and we were being very watchful of Seth because he was feeling very confident he could swim (which he can't yet). Seth was playing on the jungle gym and I was sitting on the grass nearby watching him and Barry was close by. I got up to quickly wash Elijah's hands. I think I was inside for 2-3 minutes. I came outside and heard Seth crying. I thought he hurt himself. I soon discovered he nearly drowned.

A friend of mine said that he climbed into the pool on the step and then tried to swim out to one of the older children but sank instead. My friend thought Seth was just playing at the bottom of the pool but when he was taking too long to come up he and another man rushed over and pulled him out. He was not breathing and so he was hit on his back and the water started coming out and Seth started coughing and crying. I then chose not to over react because I did not want to make this any more traumatic for Seth.

That night we were supposed to go out for Valentines. My hubby decided we should still go out, so we dropped Seth off at my in-laws. I think it was about an hour later I was back to collect my children. You see, as soon as we drove off I fell apart. In that moment I got a glimpse of heaven being the face of my little boy. In that moment all I could think of is how much I would miss him and all the tiniest things that make him so special to me would be gone. I did not like the idea that when I got to heaven I would not be concerned with him but only God. I didn't like the idea that the things on earth, the people that make this life worth living, the blessings from God they are, would mean absolutely nothing. I wanted to be with my son again. I wanted to hold him and just love him, care for him, enjoy him. The excruciating pain of knowing that God could have chosen to take my son from me was overwhelming, HUMBLING. Humbling because it revealed how little I know of God. How little I love God.

I want heaven to be a place I long to be because of reunion with MY GOD who I'm supposed to love more than anything, not for a place of reunion with a human loved one.

This revealed to me that I don't love GOD with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I love this world, the things of this world and the blessings of family and friends more than God.

Lord purify this feeble heart. Help me to love YOU more than anyone or anything. I know that only then can it start being a reflection of your love for us.

Bootcamp!!

2010-02-10T15:08:00.003+02:00

I have joined a bootcamp for the next 4 week, I also joined the bootcamp for March. I'm in pain because my muscles have not been in use for so long BUT I'm having F-U-N!! Barry rubbed some arnica oil on my muscles last night...what a help that was for today's session.

As I was driving home from boot camp today listening to Steven Curtis Chapman (Speechless)...I came up with this story from the first 8 song titles. There are many changes happening right now so “I'm divin in, I’m going deep, in over my head I wanna be, caught in the rush, lost in the flow, head over my head I wanna go, the rivers deep, the rivers wide, the rivers water is alive, so sink or swim I’m divin in” and there is a privilege to be waking so early in the morning seeing Gods sunrise paintings and to be walking this road with him and “I’m speechless, I’m astonished and amazed, I’m silenced by your wondrous grace, you have saved me, you have raised me from the grave, and I am speechless in your presence now and I’m astounded as I consider how, you’ve shown us a love that leaves us speechless”. If I am diving in and I am speechless “What about the change? What about the difference? What about today? What about the grace? What about forgiveness? What about a life that’s showing I’m undergoing the change?” I’m hoping the change is showing and there is a knowing that “I’ve been invited as a son, I’ve been invited to come and believe the unbelievable, receive the inconceivable, and see beyond my wildest imaginations! Oh I come with great expectations!!”. With these great expectations “It all comes down to right now, so right now I’m living the next 5 minutes, and these are my last five minutes, ‘cause I know the next 5 minutes may be all I have, and after the next 5 minutes, turn into the last 5 minutes, I’m taking the next 5 minutes, to start it all over again” We are all made with the “Fingerprints of God” so why not listen to the invitation, “This is your invitation, come just the way you are, come find what your soul has been longing for, come find your peace, come join with me, come rest, this is your invitation.” Then you can join with me in saying to God “Is just whatever! Whatever you say! Whatever! I will obey! Whatever! Lord have your way! ‘Cause you are my God! Whatever!”

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T20:58:00.000+02:00

Love Dare

2010-02-03T20:53:00.000+02:00

Since last week I've been doing this "Love Dare". Why? Because for the last couple of years, our marriage has been all about trying to conceive, then having 3 children in 3 years. It has been a busy time of trying to get through each day with excellence. As the load with the children is lightening up and we're getting more sleep and we are getting more time to communicate. What I've realised is we've grown over the years and have lost contact. I want to learn about my new husband and the man he's become since being a daddy. I want to put a new spark in our marriage. These are the reasons for doing this challenge.

Day 1 - This challenge was not difficult in view of me actually greeting him but it was a challenge to leave whatever I was doing to greet him at the door. The reason is because the time he usually comes home is right in the middle of "crazy time", you know the time when dinner is being made or the children are in the bath or something like that. I have managed to do it every night so far, well not tonight because I was so deep in conversation with a dear friend needing advice I didn't notice until the door to our bedroom was closed. He's teaching tonight so he'll be home later again...I'll make up for it then.

Day 2 - Giving him a hug while greeting him was a definite highlight. He loves this kind of welcome when he comes home. This was something we used to do but the kids usually give the hugs now so this was welcomed back...we've even started hugging when we say good- bye.

Day 3 - This was a bit of a challenge. We had to make his favourite meal and desert. I'm on weighless, so I just made a really colourful meal that I knew he would love. Pizza is actually his favourite. For desert I made him Lemon meringue pie. That is his favourite...he's eaten almost all of it on his own. It is incredibly tempting for me not to have a slice...I'm hoping all the resisting will melt of the weight quicker!!

Day 4 - I'm going to do this tonight when he gets home...we need to comment on his strength in some way. Either by touching his muscle, or commenting on his hands. This is not going to be too difficult because I have a 3 year old who is very big on flexing his muscles at the moment and we often talk about him being as strong as his daddy one day.

Day 5 - I actually did this automatically today...I was telling the boys how great their daddy was...the only thing was daddy wasn’t there. I'll give this one another go tomorrow.

Day 6 - Tomorrow I'll be going to hire a war movie...these are the best for him. This day gave me insight because I often say that I don't feel like we spend enough time together because when we do we are usually reading or watching something. I now realise that he's happy just to have me with him because that's the way he's wired and I'm wanting "face-to-face" time with him talking because that's the way I'm wired.

I have also bought the series recommended by Aimee, at http://www.loveandrespect.com/ I listened to the first 2 today...they are brilliant!!

Why don't you hop on over there and join in it would be great to see how this is working out for you :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-19T22:33:00.000+02:00

Stop Caressing Sin

2010-01-14T10:02:00.000+02:00

This post is probably going to offend. The intention of this post is to highlight God's viewpoint of the sin of homosexuality. It is never my intention to write posts that are controversial but when something gets my attention I want to blog about it.

Last night I was reading the children’s’ bible to them and the passage that was focused on was Titled "Lot's Wife" (Genesis 19:1-29). Just this past week I read this passage in my daily reading.

In Genesis 18 there are 2 angels that visit Abraham to tell him he is going to have a son and that they must call him Isaac. As the angels were leaving they looked over Sodom and the Lord, at that point, chose to share his plan to destroy Sodom with Abraham. "Then the Lord said, 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not I will know.'" I don't think that God needed to go and actually see but I think it was an opportunity for Abraham to intercede on Lot's behalf, which he did. The same 2 angels that had visited Abraham giving him good news were now on their way to go and "see" the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah and to rescue Lot, his wife and 2 daughters from being destroyed with these cities.

When they arrive the first person they meet is Lot. Lot knew the sins of the city well enough to make a strong enough plea for the men to stay with him instead of in the streets. After they had finished eating and before they went to bed, "...the men of the city, men of Sodom, both young and old, and all the people to the last man surrounded the house." Note that it mentions that "EVERY LAST MAN" in Sodom surrounded Lot’s house. These men then started making demands for Lot to give his visitors to them so that they "...may know them." This term refers to sexual activity. Lot then exits his house and closes the door so that no one can enter. This was Lot’s response, "I beg you brothers, do not act wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." The crowd gets more aggressive, "Stand back. This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." The angels grabbed Lot and pulled him into the safety of the house. At the same time the angels blinded the men that were surrounding the house so that they couldn't find the door. At this point the rescue plan was in full swing and when Lot told his future sons-in-law to get up quickly and leave, they didn't take him seriously. Lot knew the seriousness of the situation but he still lingered, fearing, doubting and probably caressing his love for sin in his mind. God showed mercy and made sure that they got out of the city and then gave them more instructions on which way to go but they still doubted and feared.

The angels initially wanted to be in the streets to observe all the sin that was going on but God chose only one sin to be highlighted. I think He chose this sin to be highlighted for us. This act of homosexual desire is referred to as wickedness. This sin of homosexuality was enough to have 2 cities destroyed to the point of non-existence. There was no negotiation from the angels saying, “We respect that this is the way you choose to live your life”; or “we accept that this is your sexual preference”; or “we are sorry that you think that you are the wrong gender so we won't acknowledge it as sin”. Sin is sin in God's eyes and no one can disguise it. If you walk closely with God you will also have a clear view of what sin is.

Don't be weak like Lot and caress your sin, doubt God's clear description of sin as well as its consequences. Don't let the world bully you into believing you HAVE TO accept homosexuality. A Christian answers to God as their authority. He sets the standard. He's a specific, clear, righteous, holy and just God. He requires exact obedience. Obey him and sin no more.

Happy Birthday Gwyneth

2010-01-09T21:41:00.000+02:00

The Boys @ 7 Months

2010-01-09T20:53:00.000+02:00

A Decade From Now

2010-01-01T21:34:00.000+02:00

Yes I'm feeling a bit coherent tonight but I can't guarantee that it'll make sense to you...stick with me please!

At a wedding I went to recently one of the question/statements mentioned was "Take a moment and imagine where your marriage will be a decade from now? What do you see? Imagine 20 years from now, 40 years from now? This struck me because just a few weeks before I had spoken to some one over tea about the fact that I have insecurities now at the "ripe-old-age" of 31. They're different from 5 years ago but I still have some. I then spoke to a friend who's 38 and he said that he thought at this age there would be no insecurities but there are and his wife also said that he was the exact same person he was 10 years ago. This bothered me because I don't want to be the "exact same person" 10 years from now. Then at the wedding when those statement/questions were asked it dawned on me that everything needs to have a plan, goals, teamwork.

If I want to be a different person without insecurities what should my plan be? In the words of John Piper in the book "When I Don't Desire God, How to fight for Joy" he sums it up with this, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". When my whole focus is on God, when my complete joy is in God, then I will be complete, and he will be glorified. How can I become more satisfied in Him? I can make a point never to miss a day of meeting with him. I can set up an unchanging time of prayer. I can pay closer attention when being taught about Him. These are my smaller short term goals as I achieve these I will set bigger long term goals.

I also realised that in my marriage I've been "rolling with the punches". I've not had a 10 year goal in mind. I've not had a plan to get to a goal. I've kind of just thought if I make sure that my walk with God is right and I do all the do's and don'ts I'll get to have a God glorifying marriage. I have no idea what my husband understands a God glorifying marriage to be. We are busy discussing this and starting to put smaller short term goals in place.

God is a God of order. He had a plan and it was set in motion the moment he said "Let there be light". His plan was to redeem us through His Son so that we could worship Him.

This year I'm going to make sure I seek God and KNOW who He is. I want to be "so heavenly minded that I'm no earthly good". I want to purpose to be mindful of God in EVERYTHING.

What's been happening?

2009-12-13T20:44:00.000+02:00

I've not been posting because I'm just too tired at the end of each day to do a complete post and my date feature doesn't work on my blog!! If I work on anything in MSword it some how resets the formats on my blog...go figure!! So when I blog its because I have just enough energy to put sentences together with spelling and grammar errors :)

This coming Friday I should be getting my wisdom teeth and possibly one other molar removed. I have 4 nerves in my bottom jaw. This makes taking teeth out in my bottom jaw complicated because most people have only 3 nerves in their bottom jaw and when a person has 4 nerves they don't know where to inject to numb that nerve. So basically I feel quiet a bit when they work on my bottom teeth and pulling out my molar (that hasn’t stopped crumbling since my first pregnancy) while un-sedated is NOT an option. Christmas photos should be interesting!!

I have found a program called Artisteer that puts blogs together very simply...you should try it. When I've got a bit more time I'll be reformatting my blog.

This year I stood for nomination onto the ladies committee at our church and I was elected. It is going to really stretch me but I wanted to do it considering it could be my last yearto do something like this for many, many years to come. The reason for this is because we are prayerfully seeking God's will on our family moving to Nampula, Mozambique as missionaries. If God confirms the desire for us to be there then this will probably be the last year I can drown myself in service to this part of Gods family that has become so dear to me over the last 13 years. Pray for us we need it!

Joshua had grommets put in on the 28th of October and his speech has boomed. He wants to know the name of every single picture and then he has his days when he thinks he knows better and disagrees with me about what the name of something is. The other day he was holding his little helicopter and he was insistent that it was an aeroplane. He and Seth share a room. IN the beginning it was a mission to get him to sleep but now he cannot go to sleep if Seth is not in the room.

I can't wait to get my hands on the latest SCC cd.

Last night I went to a wedding....what fun that was. I felt so young again. This group of young people are so dynamic and the groom is a young but wise pastor that has had such an influence over these young people.

This is all I have time for right now...till the next space where I'm coherent :)

Holiday Photo's

2009-12-07T22:08:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday (Hide and Go Seek)

2009-12-02T14:53:00.000+02:00

Sharing the moment...Again.

2009-11-19T23:47:00.000+02:00

I'll be gone for the next week!!! When we made the same trip last year Seth was 18 months old and Josh was 4 months old. This year Seth will be 3, Josh 23 months old and Elijah 6 months old. What fun. Seth and Josh will also be seeing sharks in real life for the first time and I'M SO EXCITED!!

Enjoy seeing this video from our trip last year!!]

The Boys @ 6 Months

2009-11-19T13:53:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-19T13:04:00.000+02:00

Not that I believe in these things!

2009-11-05T14:23:00.000+02:00

Not that I believe in fallacies but this I thought was interesting!!

We named Elijah after the person in the bible named Elijah. We know nothing of his bloodline. He appears in scripture confronting a king with boldness. In the process he tells the king it would not rain for 3 years. When the 3 years are up sure enough Elijah prays again for it to rain and it does. Elijah never dies a physical death but is taken up into heaven by chariots. He was a righteous man of God. He was also an outcast.

My little Elijah was born in his amniotic sac. Apparently this is rare. Yesterday one of my online friends mentioned that that means he’s really, really lucky. When Elijah was delivered my doctor repeated a few times that Elijah was going to be rich because he was born in his amniotic sac. When I read up in amniotic sack births there was something interesting I did come across. They said that it is possibly hereditary. My grandmother and mother were born in their sacks. They said that they would be social outcasts.... that lining up with the Elijah of the bible and this one was freaky... they have an ability to find water...just like Elijah of the bible.

This was strangely coincidental but I still don't believe in it!

Wordless Wenesday

2009-11-04T22:27:00.000+02:00

It's all about ME

2009-10-31T21:59:00.000+02:00

"Its all about ME" is one of the most successful lies we as Christians have bought into.

It's NEVER about YOU but ALWAYS about GOD. Everything is to change you from the shattered image of sin to the perfect and complete picture of Him. Don't deceive yourself into believing that if you have had a long day of pouring yourself out into another’s life that you are entitled to "do something for ME". You are entitled to SERVE. You are entitled to EXHAUSTION. You are entitled to give more even when you feel like you cannot. We have become a people that have a "love of ease". The quicker and easier the better. In exchange for the simpler, better, faster way we give up stability, security, quality, time and peace. We become consumed with greed, gluttony, self preservation and "me time".

God haters have fed us this lie over and over again and we have savoured the taste of this lie every time.

We DO NOT know GOD.

We are constantly looking for the quickest way to "know" God. We are constantly stripping away the fullness of sustaining satisfaction in God because we want to get to the things that WE want to do. We are brushing aside the fulfilment of time spent on lasting things for the instant gratification of self. To know God takes consistent time. Investing your time in His prized word will yield benefits that enable us to see God, His truth and apply it. God shaped Joseph over 22 years before he was ready to be a leader worthy of God. It was 22 years of Joseph yielding himself to God. It took time.

We feel so entitled when someone does us wrong to go and confront them. We live in a culture of instant communication. If you want to chat with someone you can IM, SMS, Facebook, Skype, pick up a cell phone, e-mail, etc If we are angry we can get hold of that person instantly and "let them have it". How much damage is done because we don't know how to think anymore? After all, we've bought into the lie that we are ENTITLED - we have rights and God protect the person who dares infringe on ANY of these at ANY time because the wrath of God would not even compare to what you will do. You will put that person in their place, you will protect that right regardless of the consequence even if it could be a sinful right. What a self-centered people we've become because of our "ability" to communicate. We have also bought into the lie that we must “let it all out and then we'll feel better”. A wise man counts his word and a foolish man speaks ad nauseum.

WE DO NOT KNOW GOD

If we knew God, would we be so ready to embrace pop psychology? The world tells us that our children are not capable of understanding their own behaviour but are fully capable of resolving a dispute properly. We are told by the world that we do not love our children if we set boundaries or create predictable consequences of choice. We are told that we are bad parents if we forbid sexual activity at any age. We are told we are bad parents if we allow our children to indulge in the debauched behaviour of homosexuality. The sin of homosexuality was one of the reasons why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. We are told that if we discipline we are going to estrange our children from ourselves and that our children will not communicate with us or they will hold a grudge. We are also told we can discipline too much. We are told that we are over protective if we choose to protect our children's hearts and minds from inappropriate visual stimulation.

When God sees sin he doesn’t excuse it. In the old testament if a child said the Lords name in vain, the child was to be taken outside the camp and stoned. Proverbs speaks of a parent that doesn't discipline their child as a parent who hates their child. God tells us that we are to use a rod when correcting our children. A rod is referring to a wooden implement. God is exact and he expects exact obedience from us and we as faithful parents are to expect exact obedience from our children. Our God DOES NOT tolerate sin so why should we because the world says we should?

If we knew God, would we be so casual about letting another day go by without finding opportunity to tell our children of God's great love for us by sending HIS only son to die for us? If we took the time to think of hell (eternal damnation and punishment), we would not be able to go another day without shedding tears that, that is where our children are destined for if they don't receive new hearts from God.

But you see we don't think like that, instead we think that children can't really be saved at a young age because they don't have the "understanding" of what salvation is. Christ said, “suffer the little children to come unto me”. He encourages us to be simple like little children in our faith. What do they need to know. They need to know that they are sinners from the day of conception and only the perfect blood sacrifice of Christ - God's son - can forgive them and give them the new heart. It is our responsibility to teach them everyday in everything we do how to be true children of God. DON'T LET ANYTHING BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH YOUR CHILDREN, IF THEY DIE THEY WILL GO TO HELL.

If we knew God, would we be so eager to be better (in our own eyes) than our husbands. I CRINGE when I see a woman speak to her husband with disdain. I sink down in SHAME when a woman belittles or strips her husband of his dignity by complaining about him. Submission is beautiful when God is the focus and not the husband. Remember God LOVES YOU, because he loves you he is doing what is best for you and that includes putting you with a man he will use to shape you into the woman he wants you to be. My husband is my prince and I will clothe him with respect, love and honour. I will not disrobe myself by selfish desires, hateful and angry speech or an “it’s all about me” attitude.

The boys @ 5 months

2009-10-31T13:53:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday #2 (The ant lived even after all this!)

2009-10-28T20:27:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday#1 (Moments)

2009-10-28T15:39:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T13:09:00.000+02:00

At 5 Months You...

2009-10-20T21:54:00.000+02:00

still chew on your thumbs (sometimes your entire fist)

still have a jigg with your leg when you’re hungry

love being on your tummy and push forward with your legs

but

can't quite get your arms to work with your legs

smile at just about everyone that speaks to you

are not keen on being held by strangers

love watching your hands

hate being board

are VERY talkative

cry only when you are hungry, overtired or have been hurt

have a really cute "wine" when you are not happy to be laid down

sleep through but wake at around 3am if you are cold

wriggle fiercely when you watch your brothers play

have fallen off of your change table twice but have landed on something soft every time so you think it's funny

still don't seem to “get” Peek-a-boo

love the sound of a plastic packet

love batting things and do it so well

watch us eating intensely

can sit for a short while at a time

love bright, high contrast things

try to mimic the sound of your toy frog

love water

were sick recently and lost 1.2 kg's in a week

had ears that were so flat against your head when you were born that they didn't have that top curl

but now

they stick out...I think its cute...you look like a pixie or elf to me.

still spit up but not as bad as it used to be

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE open mouth kisses...I cannot make the kissing sound without you opening your mouth WIDE to get the kiss

have a very tight grasp...people often comment on it and in the African culture they believe the grip of a baby represents the health of the baby...you must be super human then!!

are starting to exchange toys from one hand to the other

still hate loud noises

still love being sung too....you love it so much that you actually sing yourself to sleep sometimes...too cute

you love listening to my heartbeat

are a very hot and sweaty baby

look good in dark solid colours

your eyes are hinting to change from blue to green

love books

have watched some of "Horton Hears a Who" and seemed to like it

enjoy bathing so much that when you kick in the water is splashes your face

have not pooped in the bath

arch your back when you want to be picked up

when you sit you fall over to your left mostly

are awake for 2 hours between naps

nap for about 1-2 hrs at a time

have an over active mind that sometimes stops you from sleeping

have a long torso

are becoming a blond

have fair skin

are such a precious gift and I love you!!

The Boys @ 4 months

2009-10-15T20:02:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednessday

2009-10-14T15:21:00.000+02:00

2009-10-07T14:57:00.000+02:00

A New Way to Flatten Play Dough

2009-09-30T15:16:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednessday (Curly Jo)

2009-09-30T13:45:00.000+02:00

Free Shipping & Sale

2009-09-25T20:09:00.000+02:00

Why don't you hop on over to the MeeUp site. These are baby carriers that are designed to keep baby close and you free enough to do the things you need to get done while loving on your baby. It's not just for babies it's also for you toddler (up to two) who loves to be near you all the time.

They are offering free shipping within the US for any orders place by the 30 September AND there's a sale.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-23T18:05:00.000+02:00

A Funny

2009-09-11T19:43:00.000+02:00

Today's exercise programme

Take one Weetbix.

Take an Aero chocolate bar.

Crumble the Aero over the Weetbix .........

Voila!
AEROBIX!

A Song Sung at my Wedding

2009-09-11T17:33:00.000+02:00

I wanted people attending to get a clear view of Christ and His bride the Church. So all the songs chosen at my wedding were of that nature. I'm not keen on the song that follows and I think it takes away the power of the the first song. This song is Why by Nichole Nordeman.

Darkness

2009-09-10T14:55:00.000+02:00

I had a wonderful opportunity to teach my son something about the dominion God has given us over the creatures of the earth.

For a while now Seth has been increasing in his fear of the dark, which has been concerning me because I'm not sure how to address it at his age without putting any more reason to be afraid.

The other night he was telling me when the light was off that the wolves were coming to catch him and bite him. I then asked him why he thought the wolves would catch him and bite him? He answered that they were catching Pontchinello (this is from a dvd we have). I then went on to explain to him that God created everything and when he was finished he gave us dominion over the animals. I also told him that wolves are like wild dogs that don't have a home so when he sees one he needs to speak to them like he does to our dog Ralph. He needs to tell them "No don't bit me, sit, paw, look, eat" I added the eat on because thats what we do with out dog when he eats. We then spend the next 30 minutes discussing this.

The next night he repeated back to me what we had discussed the night before and since then he's not afraid of the dark.

2009-09-10T14:52:00.000+02:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-08T19:20:00.000+02:00

With the Snap of the Fingers

2009-09-07T11:32:00.000+02:00

I'm busy reading a book by Carolyn Mahaney called, "Feminine Appeal - Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother". Carolyn is the wife of C.J. Mahaney.

This book I would say is the most convicting, instructive and insightful books I've read on being a wife and mother.

Today's chapter she dealt with mothering. She highlights that we are to tenderly love our children. It is so easy to get caught up in the duty of mothering that we forget to tenderly love and enjoy them. After reading this chapter I got a clearer understanding that the time we have with our children does go by very quickly. Right now I have many days where I'm wishing it was 7 pm, the children's bed time. It is exhausting being a mother to 3 under 3. They cannot do anything for themselves yet. So as soon as I'm finished meeting the need of one the next one needs me and I sometimes fear the moments when they all need me at once, with equal urgency. I have become so caught up in the schedules, control, meeting their day to day needs that I've forgotten how to be phileo (tenderly and passionately) love them. She mentions that this kind of love softens them so that when it is time for instruction and discipline they are ready to receive it. It is also the one of the means to communicating the gospel. She also highlights that women are the most influential factor to children accepting Christ. She does remind us that salvation is all of the Holy Spirit.

This is the quote she uses to back this up:

"At a pastoral conference, held not long since, and at which about one hundred and twenty American clergymen, united in the bounds of a common faith, were assembled, each was invited to state the human instrmentality to which, under the Divine blessing, he attributed a change of heart. How many of these, thin you, gave honour of it to their mother? Of one hundred and twenty, above one hundred! Here then are facts, which are only selected from myraids of others, to prove a mother's power, and to demonstrate at the same time her responsibility." John Angell James in Female Piety

I was really convicted by this because lately the boys have only wanted to spend time with their daddy and cry out for him as he walks away. I've been feeling like I have absolutly no effect, influence or meaning in their lives. I have stopped praying with them as much as I used to. I have been struggling to correct them with helping them see it is as a sign of the restoration to God. In other words I've been withdrawing from spiritually raising my children. This will change now that I've been given this encouragement from God.

She ends off the chapter with this encouraging note:
"God's grace is sufficient for you. Look to the cross where Christ died. There He purchased forgiveness for our sins and power to grow in godliness. Not one of us is equal to this task of mothering, but He will help us in our weakness. God will provide all the grace we need to love our children tenderly." (I added the emphasis)