Dreams are funny things. I constantly have them and many are the strangest things, several are scary and often all too real. But there have been a very few select occasions when I knew that the event in the dream would happen - like when Bertie's wallet mysteriously disappeared from our living room table one night. We wondered and wondered till our brains hurt what could have happened to it until a few months later I dreamt of finding it in our suitcase and lo and behold the next morning, there it was! (We had been unpacking after a trip away and can only assume some little fingers slipped it in there!)
So last night when I dreamt that some French friends of ours crashed Bertie's brother's car because they were watching tv on the sunblinds, of course I knew it was just a dream. But when I dreamt that the computer was mended I equally knew that it would be. And so did Bertie. And so it was! Bertie was chatting to his sister on the phone and mentioned the problem, so she passed over her super duper computer husband who hmmed and hahed and directed Bertie almost in a HelpDesk kind of way and hurrah, they resolved the problem! Do you know what it was? Apparently if you press a random selection of keys you get the computer into video mode (where it will play on another screen but not the original one). Well I never!
Of course, there is the big question of why it happened. Perhaps one of those little fingers was tapping away? In any case, I would also humbly suggest that God uses such moments as a teaching time (get off that computer! what, you won't turn it off? then I shall turn it off for you!) and so it is for me to apply that lesson even now it is back again. In fact, I have been rereading a beloved R T Kendall book, Pure Joy, and one of his favourite phrases is to "dignify a trial", that is, to welcome it and consider it pure joy, and to refrain from grumbling and complaining. Well I really really missed my computer, but what a wonderful opportunity it has been to put such a lesson into practice! However, I am delighted it is back and I can safely say there are plenty of other trials for me to dignify instead!
Plenty of photos from our Easter hols coming up, bit by bit!
Showing posts with label Christian Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Life. Show all posts
Monday, 27 April 2009
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
This Is Gwada
Day 28 of the strike. This week we have moved up a gear to "cyclone force 9".
The large shops are only open when the gendarmes (army) are present...
....the additional gendarmes flown in are too busy facing militants setting up road barricades and putting cars on fire etc to assist people shopping....
....so the shops are closed and our cupboards are increasingly empty.
The LKP (grevistes) are not directly responsible for the violence of (usually) young people at night, but they do not seem to be condemning it or helping the matter at all....
...the LKP leader has even said that if any of the strikers are harmed, "il y aura des morts". Responsible leadership indeed.
The French government are certainly not helping the matter at all....
....Sarkozy has not given the crisis any time of day whatsoever....
....the agreement made with the Secretary for Overseas Departments and approved by the different players was refused by the powers that be - a real source of anger here.
We are wondering what lies ahead - another week perhaps? Another month even?
And then what? It has been estimated that 1 in 8 workers will lose their jobs as a result of this strike, with up to 1,400 businesses going under. And how will students make up over a month of lost education before their exams in June?
How timely amongst all of this that my current chapter in my book is on contentment:
"for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances". Phil 4:11.
And that includes strikes and unrest!
The large shops are only open when the gendarmes (army) are present...
....the additional gendarmes flown in are too busy facing militants setting up road barricades and putting cars on fire etc to assist people shopping....
....so the shops are closed and our cupboards are increasingly empty.
The LKP (grevistes) are not directly responsible for the violence of (usually) young people at night, but they do not seem to be condemning it or helping the matter at all....
...the LKP leader has even said that if any of the strikers are harmed, "il y aura des morts". Responsible leadership indeed.
The French government are certainly not helping the matter at all....
....Sarkozy has not given the crisis any time of day whatsoever....
....the agreement made with the Secretary for Overseas Departments and approved by the different players was refused by the powers that be - a real source of anger here.
We are wondering what lies ahead - another week perhaps? Another month even?
And then what? It has been estimated that 1 in 8 workers will lose their jobs as a result of this strike, with up to 1,400 businesses going under. And how will students make up over a month of lost education before their exams in June?
How timely amongst all of this that my current chapter in my book is on contentment:
"for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances". Phil 4:11.
And that includes strikes and unrest!
Saturday, 24 January 2009
New Year's Goals
What I like about blogging is that it is my space to put down my thoughts and happenings and both record them for the future, rather like a journal, but also share them for any interested, hopefully for their encouragement and edification. However, there is no obligation for anyone to read them if they aren't interesting or relevant. Equally, once it has gone out live (there is always a moment of trepidation before pressing the Publish button!) I am in a certain respect accountable to following it up!
So here are my thoughts on my goals, which I could have blogged about on 1 Jan but I thought I would wait a while and make sure they were going to happen! Feel free to share your thoughts or own goals in the comments field (non-family members also welcome!)
My usual practice is to have a theme for the year (I have read about some bloggers who have a word such as gratitude or communion which is also a nice idea). Last year it was "stepping outside of my comfort zone" (with baby number three as well as the move) and according to my journal my verse for the year was Zech 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit".
This year the theme is spiritual discipline and my verse goes along with that: "rather, train yourself to be godly" 1 Tim 4: 7-8. I am reading "Disciplines of a Godly Woman" by Barbara Hughes and currently working on daily prayer, bible reading and the really hard one....getting up early enough to do it! Not quite managed the last one yet! This is mainly due to having
1. a tv
2. a husband who likes watching films in the evening
3. the french system of starting films at 8.50pm so they finish ridiculously late
4. ok ok a general lack of self discipline on my part too!
In addition to that, I have also been musing on the idea of intentional parenting. (I made this term up for myself then discovered loads of people have already used it, ah well!) In fact, there is room for intentionality in all of my life but I thought I would particularly focus on this crucial area.
What do I mean by this phrase... Well, it is all to easy to drift through life without any particular focus or (to take some helpful cliches) surviving not thriving and failing to plan which of course we are told means planning to fail!! I like organising and believe it to be important, although there is of course room for spontaneity and impulsiveness in life. The problem is, if I don't have a clear picture of where I am going and what is the priority for me to get done, there is a very good chance I won't achieve the important things in life, but will get caught up in what Stephen Covey so helpfully classes as the unimportant urgent things that clamour for our attention. (7 Habits For Highly Effective People - great book!)
So the first thing to do is have a mission plan for where I am going - I enjoyed listening to Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday as it was a very clear mission plan for the American people. In effect, he was saying this is what we wish to attain, now his job is to work out the details and strategy of how to get there. And if he gets lost or distracted on the way, he can always refer back to it and check if he is focusing his attention on what he classed as his priorities.
Once I have a mission plan, I can refer all my plans and projects to it, and check them against it so to speak. Then when I have a conflict of choices and decisions to make, I can go for the ones that match with my priorities. If my time is limited, and the season that I am currently in is brief (for a great talk on this, have a look at Caroline Mahaney's talk here) then it is all the more important to use each hour wisely. Sometimes I look back and think if I had given it a bit more thought I would not necessarily have spent my time doing that (surfing the net perhaps!!) or committed myself to going to x, y or z. I have my mission plan in my head but I would like to put it in writing - my current favourite verse for it is 2 Cor 5:9 "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it".
On to intentional parenting then. Nowhere in my life am I more aware of wasted time than with the children, as we are often reminded how short our time with them is and how quickly these lovely years of being their main influence will pass. And as we are also reminded as parents, how important our job is! We are shaping children and how they turn out in years to come will be to a large extent dependent on what input they receive from us. Wow! I love that challenge, daunting as it is! Who would be a City Banker when they could be a child shaper!!!
I also notice in my own life that whilst I have the privilege of being at home all the time with the kids, if I don't pay attention and give thought to the time I spend with them, I can actually spend hardly more time really interacting with them than someone who is out at work all day, as I get sidetracked by cleaning and er, surfing the web and all the other demands or temptations that pop up.
So in choosing to be more intentional, it is a way of reflecting on what our priorities are for our family, for the characters and capabilities of the children (not to mention ourselves!) and then highlighting what will help us achieve these and prioritising these activities or times above all others. I don't mean that I have every minute and hour of the day planned out (doesn't that sound nice though! If somewhat unrealistic!) but working out what are the rocks of the day and making them get placed into the jar (I love this picture very clearly explained on one of my favourite blogs here!) before all the pebbles and sand come fill it up. And in my case, if this is not done prayerfully and basing my mission plan and goals on the Bible, it will not be done well.
Look out for the next post which gives you some practical ways that I am implementing all this.
So here are my thoughts on my goals, which I could have blogged about on 1 Jan but I thought I would wait a while and make sure they were going to happen! Feel free to share your thoughts or own goals in the comments field (non-family members also welcome!)
My usual practice is to have a theme for the year (I have read about some bloggers who have a word such as gratitude or communion which is also a nice idea). Last year it was "stepping outside of my comfort zone" (with baby number three as well as the move) and according to my journal my verse for the year was Zech 4:6 "Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit".
This year the theme is spiritual discipline and my verse goes along with that: "rather, train yourself to be godly" 1 Tim 4: 7-8. I am reading "Disciplines of a Godly Woman" by Barbara Hughes and currently working on daily prayer, bible reading and the really hard one....getting up early enough to do it! Not quite managed the last one yet! This is mainly due to having
1. a tv
2. a husband who likes watching films in the evening
3. the french system of starting films at 8.50pm so they finish ridiculously late
4. ok ok a general lack of self discipline on my part too!
In addition to that, I have also been musing on the idea of intentional parenting. (I made this term up for myself then discovered loads of people have already used it, ah well!) In fact, there is room for intentionality in all of my life but I thought I would particularly focus on this crucial area.
What do I mean by this phrase... Well, it is all to easy to drift through life without any particular focus or (to take some helpful cliches) surviving not thriving and failing to plan which of course we are told means planning to fail!! I like organising and believe it to be important, although there is of course room for spontaneity and impulsiveness in life. The problem is, if I don't have a clear picture of where I am going and what is the priority for me to get done, there is a very good chance I won't achieve the important things in life, but will get caught up in what Stephen Covey so helpfully classes as the unimportant urgent things that clamour for our attention. (7 Habits For Highly Effective People - great book!)
So the first thing to do is have a mission plan for where I am going - I enjoyed listening to Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday as it was a very clear mission plan for the American people. In effect, he was saying this is what we wish to attain, now his job is to work out the details and strategy of how to get there. And if he gets lost or distracted on the way, he can always refer back to it and check if he is focusing his attention on what he classed as his priorities.
Once I have a mission plan, I can refer all my plans and projects to it, and check them against it so to speak. Then when I have a conflict of choices and decisions to make, I can go for the ones that match with my priorities. If my time is limited, and the season that I am currently in is brief (for a great talk on this, have a look at Caroline Mahaney's talk here) then it is all the more important to use each hour wisely. Sometimes I look back and think if I had given it a bit more thought I would not necessarily have spent my time doing that (surfing the net perhaps!!) or committed myself to going to x, y or z. I have my mission plan in my head but I would like to put it in writing - my current favourite verse for it is 2 Cor 5:9 "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it".
On to intentional parenting then. Nowhere in my life am I more aware of wasted time than with the children, as we are often reminded how short our time with them is and how quickly these lovely years of being their main influence will pass. And as we are also reminded as parents, how important our job is! We are shaping children and how they turn out in years to come will be to a large extent dependent on what input they receive from us. Wow! I love that challenge, daunting as it is! Who would be a City Banker when they could be a child shaper!!!
I also notice in my own life that whilst I have the privilege of being at home all the time with the kids, if I don't pay attention and give thought to the time I spend with them, I can actually spend hardly more time really interacting with them than someone who is out at work all day, as I get sidetracked by cleaning and er, surfing the web and all the other demands or temptations that pop up.
So in choosing to be more intentional, it is a way of reflecting on what our priorities are for our family, for the characters and capabilities of the children (not to mention ourselves!) and then highlighting what will help us achieve these and prioritising these activities or times above all others. I don't mean that I have every minute and hour of the day planned out (doesn't that sound nice though! If somewhat unrealistic!) but working out what are the rocks of the day and making them get placed into the jar (I love this picture very clearly explained on one of my favourite blogs here!) before all the pebbles and sand come fill it up. And in my case, if this is not done prayerfully and basing my mission plan and goals on the Bible, it will not be done well.
Look out for the next post which gives you some practical ways that I am implementing all this.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Thanksgiving Tree
Do you remember our thanksgiving tree...well here it is in the flesh (almost!) If you are lucky (or have good eyesight!) you may even spot yourself on it...
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ok, so we are not American and I doubt I have that many American readers, but I love the Thanksgiving celebration. What an excellent thing to do, say thank you and express gratitude to God for all the good things he has given you over the past year. Definitely in line with Old Testament practice too! My two favourite passages from the OT are:
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you...remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce weath, and so confirms his covenant." Deut 8:10,18
"There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and rejoice in everyhing you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you." Deut 12:7
We started "celebrating" Thanksgiving two years ago. We don't do the food (though this would be an excellent place to make sweet potato pie, fresh from Mamie's garden!) but we do make a special time to say Thank You. The first year I borrowed the idea of making a tree and sticking leaves on it with our different thank yous. Then I thought, what a pity to not keep a record, so I got a special book and stuck them all in. The girls were little so we did it on our own.
The next year we drew around our hands and each person had to say something they were thankful for regarding that particular person, which we wrote on their handprint. LissaLou came up with her own ideas but we guessed at what CassCass would be thankful for!
At that point it struck me that we didn't need to stick to being thankful as a family once a year, so we decided to do it more often. The idea was to sit down together each Sunday afternoon and record our thanks from that week, but it has ended up being more like once a month. Here Sundays are full of family visiting so I have come to the conclusion that weekday lunchtimes will be better. LissaLou loves the time together and often asks for it, and we have also tried to learn a bible verse each time (usually as a song) but that has fallen by the wayside somewhat!
We try and get the girls involved as much as possible, so they suggest things (LissaLou always mentions her forthcoming birthday!) and maybe draw in the book. CassCass still tends to lose interest quite quickly.
Today, I hadn't really planned anything, but then all of a sudden got a creative urge this morning and decided rather than make a Thanksgiving Oak Tree (a bit like here, which is what we did previously) we should be a bit more West Indian and make a Thanksgiving Coconut Tree! After studying the one growing up by our balcony, I used some brown paper for the trunk and got CassCass to paint the leaves green. The balcony is a great place for painting, she can make all the mess she likes. Now I am waiting for the rain to come and wash it away! Then I used the spare bits of brown paper to cut out coconuts, though in all accuracy they should be green if they are still on the tree.
As the girls are still not writing themselves, I thought it would be nice to cut out pictures of things and people we are thankful for. I love the tripleprint photos for this purpose, as I just cut out the small ones I had. I also used some magazines. Bertie and I wrote on the coconuts. Then after our lunch (yummy spaghetti bolognese, using up the last of the parmesan cheese Mum brought us, sniff!) we got discussing and sticking. LissaLou had a great time, and CassCass did a few before she started playing with Happyland! It was interesting seeing how many people's names from back home she had forgotten. We have now used up all our acid free sticky stuff, so if anyone has some lying around....?! To end, LissaLou said a thank you prayer, using the pictures as a guide, and it was great to hear how many things she included. I love hearing small children pray, they are so genuine!
Our verse this year was "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you...remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce weath, and so confirms his covenant." Deut 8:10,18
"There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and rejoice in everyhing you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you." Deut 12:7
We started "celebrating" Thanksgiving two years ago. We don't do the food (though this would be an excellent place to make sweet potato pie, fresh from Mamie's garden!) but we do make a special time to say Thank You. The first year I borrowed the idea of making a tree and sticking leaves on it with our different thank yous. Then I thought, what a pity to not keep a record, so I got a special book and stuck them all in. The girls were little so we did it on our own.
The next year we drew around our hands and each person had to say something they were thankful for regarding that particular person, which we wrote on their handprint. LissaLou came up with her own ideas but we guessed at what CassCass would be thankful for!
At that point it struck me that we didn't need to stick to being thankful as a family once a year, so we decided to do it more often. The idea was to sit down together each Sunday afternoon and record our thanks from that week, but it has ended up being more like once a month. Here Sundays are full of family visiting so I have come to the conclusion that weekday lunchtimes will be better. LissaLou loves the time together and often asks for it, and we have also tried to learn a bible verse each time (usually as a song) but that has fallen by the wayside somewhat!
We try and get the girls involved as much as possible, so they suggest things (LissaLou always mentions her forthcoming birthday!) and maybe draw in the book. CassCass still tends to lose interest quite quickly.
Today, I hadn't really planned anything, but then all of a sudden got a creative urge this morning and decided rather than make a Thanksgiving Oak Tree (a bit like here, which is what we did previously) we should be a bit more West Indian and make a Thanksgiving Coconut Tree! After studying the one growing up by our balcony, I used some brown paper for the trunk and got CassCass to paint the leaves green. The balcony is a great place for painting, she can make all the mess she likes. Now I am waiting for the rain to come and wash it away! Then I used the spare bits of brown paper to cut out coconuts, though in all accuracy they should be green if they are still on the tree.
As the girls are still not writing themselves, I thought it would be nice to cut out pictures of things and people we are thankful for. I love the tripleprint photos for this purpose, as I just cut out the small ones I had. I also used some magazines. Bertie and I wrote on the coconuts. Then after our lunch (yummy spaghetti bolognese, using up the last of the parmesan cheese Mum brought us, sniff!) we got discussing and sticking. LissaLou had a great time, and CassCass did a few before she started playing with Happyland! It was interesting seeing how many people's names from back home she had forgotten. We have now used up all our acid free sticky stuff, so if anyone has some lying around....?! To end, LissaLou said a thank you prayer, using the pictures as a guide, and it was great to hear how many things she included. I love hearing small children pray, they are so genuine!
Our verse this year was "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Farewell To My Spiritual Mentors
One of the highlights of my week for the past four years has been the Thursday morning Bible Study I go to. Made up of mums, mostly stay-at-home ones, it has been such a wonderful place for delving deeper into the Bible. Us mums have difficulty getting to hear an entire sermon (or even any of it!) on Sundays so the spiritual refreshment this group provides is invaluable. It is not only a wonderful place for getting tons of practical advice on applying biblical principles to life as a mum, but also for gettng tips on potty training, weaning, what toys to buy...oh the list is endless! And as some of the mums have older children, it is great to listen to the advice for what lies ahead...
As all you other stay-at-home-mums know, it is particularly encouraging to have other folk in the same position as yourself, reminding you that you are not so odd after all, and that your answer to that constant question "So what do you do?" should NEVER be, "Well, I'm just a mum..."
So a great big THANK YOU to all those who have made it such a delightful and beneficial place to be in so many ways! Particularly of course our wonderful leader and hostess (also the best cake maker I know!)
This year we were particularly blessed to have a dedicated Creche Manager, allowing us mums to devote ourselves to the unravelling of Jeremiah, 2 Timothy, spirtual disciplines...Thank you so much!
And here are some more of our lovely members and children
As all you other stay-at-home-mums know, it is particularly encouraging to have other folk in the same position as yourself, reminding you that you are not so odd after all, and that your answer to that constant question "So what do you do?" should NEVER be, "Well, I'm just a mum..."
So a great big THANK YOU to all those who have made it such a delightful and beneficial place to be in so many ways! Particularly of course our wonderful leader and hostess (also the best cake maker I know!)
This year we were particularly blessed to have a dedicated Creche Manager, allowing us mums to devote ourselves to the unravelling of Jeremiah, 2 Timothy, spirtual disciplines...Thank you so much!
And here are some more of our lovely members and children
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