Salvation

Well, it was my foggy, pregnant brain! I am so sorry about that :(

Well, here is something new and exciting that just happened today - puts a smile in my heart.

This morning we witnessed the testimony and baptism of a gentleman from our church (hopefully photos to come). This gentleman, about 50-ish (eek - terrible at guessing ages:) has been a believer for about 3 yrs.

He shared that he had grown up in a Catholic church and having a fear of sharing with the priest his 'confession' as well as witnessing some coldness within the church decided religion was not for him. He married a sweet lady who was also a non-believer. Through the witness of a neighbour, his wife came to the Lord. This faithful prayer-warrior prayed for 30 long years for her hubby to come to know Christ. She went through a lot when he joined the police force and struggled to come to terms with what he witnessed. He took out his frustrations on his family and kids and became even harder. He later suffered a heart attack and was challenged by a friend to be ready to meet Christ (maybe a Christian police officer - not sure on specific details - only that an officer friend invited him to the Salvation Army Church). The Lord worked on his heart during a particular service there which lead to his salvation. After 30 long years of prayer he has come into a relationship with His creator! This man broke down and wept when he shared how long his wife had prayed for him.

The Lord truly cares for the lost

The prayers of a faithful, consistent wife (or Father, Uncle, friend, whoever...) are heard!

The whole event of a genuine conversion can have a bonding effect on the church. After the service I dropped a few people home and was so encouraged to hear the conversation in the van - one woman from Ghana encouraging another gentleman to see that his daughter could come to the Lord - that he should keep praying! Am encouraged to pray for this woman too - and discovered today that her baby is due on the same day as mine... will know in more ways that one how to pray for her.

Our God is an awesome God!

memories

I had planned to post these thoughts a long time ago. I wrote myself a huge list and then forgot the 'safe' place that I put it... nonetheless ... Please... don't tell me I did end up posting this? Somehow I remember writing it all out but I do believe I never posted it? OR could it be my foggy, forgetful pregnant brain?

Sometimes I wonder what things my children will remember. I wonder what stays in their mind - the pleasant memories as well as the things that really upset them or things they may feel quite strongly about having experienced them in one way or other.

I wonder what spiritual lessons they will learn easily - and those that might be harder to learn because of the particular way the Lord wired them up. Those things become more obvious as they get older...

I have some fond memories from childhood. Many are quite simple things... little memories I have. I like to reflect on them from time to time and remember to do those things that may also be precious memories for my children.

Just thought I'd share a few little things that are sweet memories for me:

• Being wrapped tightly in a towel and snuggled tight after a bath
• Going off to sleep with my Dad practicing hymns for playing at church - somehow i just attached a sense of security to it.
• When my little dolly's leg broke and my Dad glued it (it couldn't swivel anymore) but instead made a pair of crutches for it out of paddle pop sticks
• Adults at church who took the time to talk to me as an individual (and we three sisters were often inseparable - in fact were often called "Hui, Duey and Lui" because we were always sitting together)
• Sitting in our lounge, where we had prayer meeting watching missionary slide shows from missos who were back for a time (and being allowed to stay up to watch)
• Having a tea party with my Grandma and Grandpa - being allowed to put 'real' tea into the cups and having real lollies to dish out to them :)
• Sitting in our apricot tree and feeding my face with yummy Tasmanian, home-grown apricots!
• Being allowed to select a hymn to sing in Bible study time (I think I nearly always chose the same one - Hymn no. 2 - To God be the Glory...)
• Having long chats with Mum sitting on the end of my bed (right into my teens - loved those chats!)

There are other memories that come to mind every now and then. I find, in reflecting on them, I am challenged to remember to incorporate little memories into the lives of our children. I am also challenged to be more flexible (a few late nights never hurt - a hard one for me to learn!). Most importantly I am challenged to make sure the moments count - that we make the most of those incidental conversations on spiritual matters, create an open atmosphere where our children can ask questions about what they read in the Bible, where they feel loved and cared for.... and all of that amongst the noisy, chaos that happens in our house on a daily, moment-by moment basis!

Help me Lord to hear your promptings amongst the noise and chaos, the arguing and the squealing!

What are some fond memories you have?

On observation of the above - no/little money was involved in any of these memories!

Christmas Teacher Gifts

...Please bear with me... lots of crafty type blog posts lately with various projects I've been doing. Well here are some Christmas treats we made for the staff at Owen's school.

Today Owen's class does a mini presentation (I believe they are singing a song about rainbow colours as Owen has been singing about different colours around the house;)

We have been again, pleasantly surprised by the caliber of teachers at his school - their extreme patience (which, trust me, they need mountains of!!) and their commitment to helping kids learn. We do not expect them to share our value system, but are extremely thankful that to date nothing has been deliberately opposing our views, either. We are so thankful. Also so thankful that our Owen has a close friend who he just loves to be with. Whenever he is away (and according to his report that has been a massive - 23 day this year (slow recovery time with colds, etc. as well as the regular medical appointments) he gets such a welcome back from his friend - who squeals with delight when he sees Owen and tells him over and over how much he was missed. Just beautiful to see.

...Anyway, here are the Christmas treats we threw together... So glad I thought to make these a week or so ago when the weather was cooler (froze them). All we had to do yesterday was decorate them. We used mini M&Ms ...

I also found some long, red-striped notebooks which came with matching pens. I decided to add a little embellishment:

With a little note from Owen on the back:

Then packaged them:

Or rather a bunch of them:

Ready for the day...

Though I must confess that a couple of the men disappeared somewhere along the production line:

... but who could blame such a cute culprit?

Rosa had such fun handing me bags for the men, M&M's for the eyes, etc. and has been talking about the whole procedure to Grandma who came to look after the kids last night! Might have a another keen crafter in the family!

From Trash to Treasure (well to something functional anyway)

Another Before and After project I have recently finished:

I brought two of these ugly speaker boxes home from church after there was a clean out - planning to dump them in the bins at home:

Before:

I was fiddling around with them and having seen Lauren's post a while ago with her georgeous toy boxes an idea snuck into my mind...

I gutted the boxes and tossed out all the wirey junk. Then I screwed the two boxes together lengthwise and wah - la they fit just where i wanted them too in the front entrance!

Then I gave them a coat of Prep-lock (love this stuff - paint that adheres to all sorts of surfaces and acts as an undercoat/primer before applying 'normal' paint) . Then a lick of white semi-gloss. I really need to give them another coat but was so eager to see it finished I haven't gone back to give it another coat:(

I had a friend cut a sheet of MDF to the right size for me, padded the top with layers of leftover carpet underlay followed by soft wadding. Then I used an piece of checkered blue/white blanket I picked up from fabric scrap bin at Salvos and staple-gunned it onto the lid. The lid is just sitting on top because I was a bit unsure of how to work out the hinges (hubby has since filled me in (another thing I haven't fixed due to my lazy pregnant state:(

Then with hubby's help and the right type of screws for chipboard - we screwed on wheels (I deliberately chose one set of wheels with locks on them end to avoid it being wheeled into walls:) though i wanted box to be able to move when I vacuumed and to have added height. (Incidentally if you want wheels we have found Super Cheap Auto a great place )

After

The purpose of the box -

• storage
• a seat for little ones to sit on while they put their shoes on/off

There - managed to save two ugly speaker boxes from joining the scrap heap (thanks for inspiration, Lauren) and have two happy campers...

Next job... to teach Rosa which shoe goes on which foot ...

Free Christmas Gift Tags

Click here for a great selection of free, printable Christmas gift tags. They could be mounted on Coloured card. Some very cute ones... and a cutting activity for older kids in the holidays!

Mirror mirror....

Before and After photos for those who are interested.

Perhaps you like the gold edged mirror better before? I picked it up at Salvos but decided to change it to match in the bathroom for our guest room.

So here it is in the regal gold colour...

I covered the front with paper, sliding the paper under the edges of the mirrors and using a little electric tape where there were gaps (ideally you could take the mirror out altogether - but i was a little afraid to do that with this one because of the complexity inside the frame...)

Then I whipped out a can of the 'can fix just about anything' bottle of white spray paint... and wa-la....

Unfortunately i can't seem to pick up on the detail once it is white.... might be time for some lessons on my camera:)

A few more Before and After photos to come - I am even having a go at entering a competition for Salvos... who is running a competition 'Furnish with a Conscience' with prizes for who can best renovate an old piece of furniture/junk. I know I should probably ignore it and get my pile of ironing done but I just love this sort of challenge.... :(

I enjoy the challenge/outlet for creativity as well as the idea of making a useful piece of furniture for the home.

Party Boy Owen!

Owen had a blast at his friend's Birthday party recently. I was encouraged to see many kids getting involved with those with special needs - was almost an argument over who was going to wheel one boy in a wheelchair during the race. Admittedly, many of the kids there had a brother or sister with special needs so are more familiar with what to do... however, some just caught on and involved them anyway. It was beautiful to see. Talking to the Mum of A. who is in a wheelchair, it occurred to me just what what a hero she is with all the lifting, taking loads of gear, helping him through daily tasks, etc. Mums in these situations don't often get a break and definitely need a hand every now and then. Help us, as Christians, Lord to see needs more often and take the initiative. What an opportunity to share the Love and compassion of our Master of Compassion...

And you should have heard the delightful squeals from A. as he was lifted into the water in his special chair. He was having a blast, too!

Introducing Bethany Grace

Here is my beautiful fresh (born on 27th!) niece. I had the chance to duck over and see her yesterday on my own (sickness amongst kids at moment:(

Introducing Bethany Grace!

Awwwhhh - aint' she something!

Reminds me that all the uncomfortableness of pregnancy is worth it in the end!

Congrats Woodies -

Look at what the Lord has done!

Bob

T'was Book Character Day today in Owen's class. Very conveniently, a friend of Grandma's dropped into her house on Wednesday with a few bags of toys (Grandmas can never have too many toys - only Mums can:) including a Bob the Builder belt full of tools. Would you believe we had already decided to send Owen to school dressed as Bob on Thursday (minus the supply of tools) , so the timing was impeccable! And thanks Aunty Jen for the loan of Bob book ! Not a cent spent and doesn't our builder look smashing (loads more tools behind too)!

We added a bit of grub to the cheeks ... there finished! - (under normal circumstances that 'grub' appearance needs no assistance - somehow just appears there naturally:)

And for the record ... there was a Slinky Malinky, Jack (from the house that Jack built), Snow White, a Fox (from Hattie and the Fox?) A Rabbit (?) a Cat in the Hat and Owen's teacher dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood.... Lots of fun and laughs!

'Bob' with his good friend 'Slinky Malinky'

The kids each had to parade before the parents - I even scored a very passionate kiss from Bob:)

Gems

I love finding treasures - and here are a couple I have used lately...

I bought this book on the Doulos when it was in town. It is a poem written about the verses of abiding in Christ from John 15 (the vine and branches). Josh and I are attempting to memorise it as it is such a picture of life in Christ, the process of pruning and abiding...

Here's a little snippet to whet de appetite:

..."For the branches grow quickyly in every direction;

The gardener is wise as He makes His selection.

He trims needless stems with His delicate touch,

For He knows it increases the fruit very much;

And in just the same way, Jesus helps us to choose.
There's the better to gain and the lesser to lose.

For your life will be busy, but here is the test:
Can you cut something out to make room for the best?

Can you find activities dearest to Him?
He will show you the best, and He'll help you to trim.
You can ask this of Jesus: "Which way should I go?"
And He'll guide each decision and help you to know.

...And another gem. My Big sister put me onto these some years ago and I love them. We have just ordered the larger version to use with children at church. The small version are playing card size (ordered from US) and large are approx. A4 size...

They are Bible Story Cards. Fifty Cards each for Old and New Testament Stories. The simple vestion of the story is written on the back of each card. They also have a few questions on the back for kids. I particularly like the fact they are number sequenced so that the order of events can be laid out for kids to see - like a timeline. Nice way of getting a good overview of events in the Scriptures. David and I also found them helpful as an overview with the youth group back when we were involved.

Just thought I'd share...