Another Christmas Down

While I want our family to enjoy the Christmas season, I want to see how much fun we can have not doing things for ourselves, "but by seeing how much greater the joy is when we focus on trying to celebrate Jesus and everything He means."
This is a quote from my blog posted on the 19th of November, when I was looking forward to Christmas. I thought it would be good to reflect back on how we went with that particular goal. The children went busking twice and raised around $220 all up, which they donated to charity. I was really proud of their willingness to do this. They also made gingerbread houses - the younger two ate theirs but Hannah made hers for our neighbours. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to taking it over so it went to grandma's instead, to be enjoyed by the extended family. They performed at a nursing home on two seperate occasions and Hannah also went carol singing to some elderly folk from our church on Christmas Eve. The other special thing they did was to make little felt christmas stockings for the majority of the kids in our church. They were all hand sewn with blanket stitch and filled with candy canes, a little christmas cracker and other lollies. Each had the recipiants initial stuck on the front and a little card also saying who it was to and that it was from Stephen, Michelle and Hannah. Here is a picture of the finished stockings.

Overall I am pleased with how Christ filled this Christmas was - there is always room for improvement but it was certainly a start. We never got past day five in the Jesse tree . Neither did we finish the Christmas book called Jotham's Story which was supposed to be read a chapter a day. I had to make a concious effort to not be upset or frustrated at the things that I did not accomplish - instead I reminded myself of what I said at the end of that "Taking Christmas Back" post "It is as much about the process as it is about the finished product."
I think I will always struggle with what I want to happen (the dream in my head) and the actual reality of what does happen. When all is said and done though, I do believe that we had a very blessed Christmas, one where God enabled us to keep our spirits gentle, our house peaceful and our hearts filled with His love.

Pay it Forward!

I stumbled across this blog this afternoon. I am not really into tags as such but I thought this was pretty special. Here is what you have to do...

Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie “Pay It Forward”.

I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange.

All the gifts will be made and posted out ’sometime within the next year’. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive!

What you need to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs.

Would you like to join in the fun? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients. So, leave your comment now!

And, if you don't have your own blog, this is the perfect opportunity to start one!

Make sure that you leave your blog and/or email address so that I have a way of contacting you!

Go on, make a difference in some one's life today!

Christmas Newsletter 2008

I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to get my Christmas 2008 family newsletter to publish here. If anyone knows how (I wrote it using Publisher) could they let me know how it is done! Instead I will just re-type it - it won't look quite as fancy but you will get the gist of what we have been up to! Here goes!

Melville-Smith Family News

One of the problems with the children doing their own newsletter every few months is that they have all the fun designing them - I'm not sure that they would call it fun writing the articles! The other problem (if you can call it that) is that the articles are written from their perspective and quite naturally about themselves. So while you have caught up with a lot of what we have been doing this year, there is a lot more to our lives than just what the children write about. I will endeavour to update you a little on what life in the Melville-Smith household looks like from the parent's perspective!

The highlight for us as a family this year has been our involvement at Tea Tree Gully Anglican Church. The time that we have spent away from the structured church environment over the last couple of years has allowed us to focus on Christ and His Word, rather than on how we fit into the organisation called the church. It has been a time of significant growth and has been a real blessing. We felt however that it was time to integrate ourselves back into a body of local believers and we have not been disappointed. We all love attending church on Sunday morning, the younger two are involved in Kid's Club once a fortnight where Hannah is also a junior leader and the girls go to Youth Group on alternate Friday nights. It is a family church where we have all made some solid friendships, a place where we not only feel encouraged but are able to have input into other people's lives also.

In October we celebrated our third anniversary of homeschooling. While I had seen many benefits from the start, this year I have begun to feel much more relaxed and happy about what we are doing. Homeschooling allows us to educate the children based on our lifestyle. We desire to disciple the children and train them in godly character using the everyday learning opportunities that surround us. Our lifestyle provides the experiences that will give them a rich education. Book learning does take place but you might be surprised at how little! And I might add that the children are not the only ones being trained in godly character. I think homeschooling is as much about educating the parents as it is about educating the children!

Another encouragement to us has been our increasing involvement with other homeschooling families. Our pastor and his wife home school their five children. We have established a good relationship with their whole family (and others) which has provided significant interaction between adults and children. It has been great seeing the children's growing respect for adults outside the home - some of whom have become real mentors (not all of these adults home school their children). We are very aware that we cannot provide everything that the children need to become well rounded adults so appreciate all the support and learning opportunities that others have offered. As an added bonus, I have enjoyed some great conversations and much encouragement over many cups of coffee.

Music has always been a focus but this year it has become somewhat of a passion. All three continues with their piano (and flute for Michelle) lessons but now Stephen and Hannah have added clarinet and trombone respectively into the mix. They have all joined a concert band program this last half of the year which has involved weekly band practices and quite a few performances. What we have loved seeing is the way that music has encouraged them to interact with each other and how willing they are to use their music, even though they are not necessarily all that proficient yet. We are treated to mini concerts almost every day as they practice. There are many opportunities within the church to play an instrument and this has led to further interaction with adults and children alike.

Hannah gained her provisional driving licence back in October. She wasn't the only one to gain some freedom - her parents have too! Fortunately Hannah enjoys being out and about so hasn't yet balked at the task of taking her siblings to many of the places that I once had to. I will have to get her a sign for the car saing "Hannah's Taxi"!

It has been an interesting year for me health wise! I don't know that I would call it the five star holiday resort that Stephen did, but if you had to be in hospital, the Wakefield wasn't a bad place to be. It can't have been too bad since I had three visits there in the space of three months! I have on-gong auto immune issues which seem to be slowing settling down. This time of enforced rest has not always been easy but I have seen God at work even in this situation. When things are going well it is all too easy to be thankful to God but not necessarily rely on Him. When we are forced out of our comfort zone, we are often forced into the arms of our loving God yet find Him to be all that we ever needed anyway!

About mid year due to poor health I resigned my job at the Children's Hospital. After doing my initial training there, it is also the hospital that I have worked in for most of my nursing career. I have found that not working, even though it was only part-time, has been a blessing in itself as I have been able to take on a stronger role in 'educating' the children. This in turn has played a part in the new found peace that I mentioned earlier. I have given myself permission to enjoy Christmas with my family and so will begin looking for work early in the New Year. It will definitely only be part-time and may be down a completely different path to what I have previously done. I am actually quite excited about where God might be leading me!

Warren continues part-time/casual work putting up plasterboard ceiling and walls. The real bonus for him is that not only does he work with his good friend Ken, they also travel to and from jobs together, enabling them to listen to and discuss sermons! He will be enjoying several weeks holiday over the Christmas break.

We wish you and your family a very blessed Christmas, one where God enables you to keep your spirit gentle, your house peaceful and your heart filled with His love.
Looking forward to hearing from your family,

love Sheena and Warren

Go to http://sheena-thingsabove.blogspot.com / if you want to read more about our family from my point of view.

Cherish the Moment

Cherish the moment - what does that mean?
It is a recurring theme in so many of the blogs that I 'frequent'. The women who write these blogs have suffered indescribable loss, the loss of their newborn infants. Many of them chose to carry their unborn baby to term even though they were not promised one minute with them alive. These mothers showed true love to their babies while they carried them in their womb, learning to cherish each and every moment with them. Once born, some of these precious babies lived only moments, minutes or hours but during their incredibly short life time, their family cherished each and every minute with them, knowing that their time was short.
Other babies lived a little longer - a matter of days and some weeks. These families knew the end was coming and made a point of cherishing the moments that they did have with their baby instead of focusing on what was sure to come. They knew that each minute spent with them was a blessing, something that they were never promised so they spent their days making memories.
Still others are living with a chronically ill child, never knowing when they will be again separated from family back in the hospital. They too, cherish each and every moment that they are able to spend together in their own home, with their family.
Marie is one such lady who has known great loss through the death of her son Elijah. She shared recently about how it is because of Elijah's passing that she tries to cherish each moment with her other children. It was a timely reminder for me. I have never known loss of the magnitude that she has and I must say that I struggle to cherish the moment. It is too easy to get caught up in 'everyday life', taking care of the family and the house, educating the children at home and all that this entails! Many times I just can't be bothered. Marie (and many others through their blogs) has reminded me how important my children (and husband) are and the importance of cherishing each and every moment with them.
No one ever said on their deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time at work. They always wish they had spent more time with their family."
As a home schooling mum I actually spend a lot of time with my children but I know that I am not always 'with them', my mind is so often elsewhere. I pray that God will help me to cherish the moments that I do have with my family, starting now!

It's Beginning to Sound a lot like Christmas!

I mentioned a few posts ago that it was beginning to look like Christmas and now it is also sounding like it.
One of our friends from church (who also happens to be Hannah's trombone teacher) plays in the Police Band. He managed to snag us free tickets to their Christmas Concert held in the City Town Hall. David's full time job is to play the trombone for this band. The concert was amazing and during intermission, David took us all back stage and then onto the stage! One of the musicians dressed in his nightshirt and night cap and narrated The Night Before Christmas while the band played certain parts. Santa and his band of elves even paid a visit. It was a very good evening - something which we don't experience very often. Thanks David!

Today the children and their cousins again headed into the city, this time so that they could busk in Rundle Mall. None of them had done anything like this before so it was a real experience for them. We had Hannah on the trombone, Jenna on the violin and percussion, Luke on the French Horn, Kira and Michelle on the flute and Stephen on the clarinet. Hannah applied for a permit at the cost of $2.50 and one of the rules was that you had to move on every half hour so that you didn't annoy the shopkeepers. They played a mixture of Australian songs from band and Christmas Carols, some of which Hannah had arranged. The children wanted to play just for the fun of it but had said that any money they managed to make they would give to charity. We were all very surprised when we added up the total of "small change" that people had placed in the pot - the grand total of $63.65! Not bad for one hours work! They will use the money to buy groceries that will be given to needy families through Anglicare.
The children had a lot of fun and are already planning to do it again! Here are some photos.

Oh what fun it is to.....

Yesterday I hosted a gingerbread house making day. We had three adults and nine children ranging in age from 3 to 17. When we were planning the event, we didn't think the older boys would be interested - silly us - why wouldn't they be since it involved lollies? I had made the house pieces the day before and one of my girlfriends made all the icing. The other girlfriend brought her expresso coffee machine - we needed it and the 2.7 meter, laminated dining room table!
We had a great day - I will let the photos speak for themselves.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Angie at Take Christmas Back had a great idea for Christmas verse books that she could give out. She generously let me borrow her idea which I then turned into my version of a Christmas Card. I used some of her verses and added in my own favourites. I have given them out to friends and family with the invitation to meditate on the verses as we approach the busy christmas season. I actually laminated mine so that they would stand the wear and tear of being in a handbag. It is too easy to become caught up in the hustle and bustle of christmas and forget where our focus should be. None of what we are doing may in and of itself be wrong but it is all too easy for me to stress and worry over the little things because I want everything to be "just right". It was great to meditate on the verses myself and pray for the recipiants as I was putting the booklets together. Here is what the finished product looked like.











Besides starting to decorate the house (and garden), the other "Christmasy" thing we did this weekend was attend a ladies function at our church where we decorated gingerbread houses. The gingerbread pieces, icing and lollies were all supplied so all we had to do was put it together! It was so much fun that we are planning to spend a day with friends doing it all over again, this time with the younger children. Here are the photos of Hannah's and my houses that we created Friday night.

Nursing Home Concert

After much anticipation and many hours of practice, today was the day - the children and their cousins hosted their Sunday afternoon concert at the Walkervile Nursing Home. There were seven children aged between 10 and 17, ably assisted by Rebecca on the piano. The concert commenced with a sing-a-long of olden songs with Rebecca. The middle section was a mixture of individual or duets on either the piano, flute or violin followed by the "band". The band consisted of Hannah on the trombone, Luke on the French Horn, Rona and Jenna on the violin, Michelle and Kira on the flute and Stephen on the Clarinet. After this bracket of Australian songs, another sing-a-long was held, this time of Christmas Carols. The residents seemed to enjoy the afternoon with many of them joining in, some quite lustily.
Despite the nervous tension, I think that it was an excellent afternoon. I was very proud of all of them as none of them are real "up front" people. They worked very hard to overcome their fear of performing in front of people. While they would say that they are glad that the afternoon is over, I think they all enjoyed themselves also.
There is no let up in practice however, as there are still several more events lined up - busking in the Mall, another nursing home (this time with folk from church), one more band performance at a school, a family carol service at church and Christmas Caroling to some elderly folk on Christmas Eve.
Just another day (few weeks) in the life of a homeschool family!

Taking Christmas Back!

This is something that has been floating around in the back of my mind for quite a few years but reading Angie's blog has brought it to the forefront. As a mother I want my children to be happy, to see their joy on Christmas morning as they open all their gifts. The dream we have doesn't always match reality however. I am usually left feeling like something is missing, never sure quite what that "something" is. Angie has shown me what that something was - I have been leaving Christ out of Christmas. Sure the children know that it is the birthday of Jesus, but it has always been more talk than action. Thanks to Angie, I am hoping that this year will be different! This year, starting the first day of December and going through till Christmas Day, I aim to do something every single day to try and remember what Christmas is really all about. While I want our family to enjoy the Christmas season, I want to see how much fun we can have not doing things for ourselves, "but by seeing how much greater the joy is when we focus on trying to celebrate Jesus and everything He means."
We have a plan for this to happen. I have read about the Jesse Tree The Jesse Tree represents the family tree, or genealogy of Jesus Christ. It tells the story of God's salvation plan from creation and throughout the Old Testament, to the coming of the Messiah. The continuity of God's love, patience and grace across the centuries to the most unlikely peeople in the midst of their failures is the focus as we hang a specific ornament each day.
The other thing we are working on is a calendar which counts the days till Christmas. Each day we will do something fun and exciting related to the Christmas season but it will be with a twist. It will be about us giving of ourselves in some way rather than participating in an event in order to receive something. The children want to try busking in the mall so we will do that but instead of asking for money, they will do it to entertain and we will also have some Christian tracts about the true meaning of Christmas to give out. One day we will bake Christmas goodies but to give away to others. We will participate in a letter box drop organised by the church. The children will perform a concert for the residents of a nursing home. These are just some of the ideas we have come up with so far. We have a few more days to fill in so any ideas would be appreciated!
As I am realising more and more, God desires to work in us as much as through us. It is as much about the process as it is about the finished product. I pray that I will remain open to what He is teaching me through this Christmas season.

Remembrance Day

At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months. In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.
On this 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, we attended a Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Banksia Park Primary School. The Banksia Park Concert Band (that both girls play in) performed and also led a sing-a-long following the ceremony. Stephen's band, the Beat Bugs, joined in on some of the songs and did very well. For most of them it was their first public performance. They looked very smart in their concert uniform as you can see in the photo.

The Adelaide Christmas Pagaent

Hannah and Michelle ventured into the city today, on the bus, on their own. Well, not technically on their own as there were (if you believe the news reports) about 300,000 other people there! It was the day of the Adelaide Christmas Pageant! Michelle did a St John's duty and Hannah kindly offered to take her. Of course she had her own reasons for going but I appreciated her doing it all the same. Hannah is obsessed with brass bands at the moment so saw the pageant as an excellent opportunity to witness first hand, a variety of brass bands up close and personal. I stayed home and watched it on the television!
When the girls came home, foot sore and exhausted, we watched the pageant on video. I have never been all that interested in either attending or watching the pageant but this year I did enjoy watching it through their eyes. Hannah managed to catch up with six people she knew that were participating in the pageant - one in a singing group, one in the police band and four in the Tea Tree Gully Redbacks, the band she aspires to join (hopefully next year!).
"Normal" people line the streets and watch the parade go past them but not Hannah. She walked alongside the Police Band for quite some distance and then looped back several times in order to follow some of the other bands. The route is 3.2 kms but I would think that she walked at least double that today.
Michelle enjoyed her duty even though she didn't have to treat anybody (I think she was rather grateful for that). After patrolling for some time, once the Pageant got under way, she managed to stand and watch the parade so I don't believe she walked nearly as far as Hannah, even though she was the one on duty!
It is another step in letting out the apron strings - they are moving out into the world without me! I'm not complaining really, as I certainly enjoyed putting my feet up at home with my cup of coffee! It's just that it is a new experience for me. I did love hearing about their day and sharing in their adventures on their return.

Birthday Party of the (19th) Century

This past month or so we have been looking at what life was like in the 19th century so for Michelle's special 13th birthday party, we decided to have a mid 19th century picnic. We addressed the invitations to the "Ladies of the Household", inviting both the mothers and daughters which meant we ended up with 25 people, including 15 girls aged between three and seventeen. We held it at a friend's property in the Adelaide Hills which was the perfect setting. Everyone got into the spirit of things, from responding to the invitation in "typical"(??) 19th century fashion, to dressing up for the occasion. We laid out picnic rugs on the sloping lawns and had a variety of games for the girls to play eg. pick up sticks, jacks, old maid cards, badminton, skipping ropes etc. The girls ate out on the rugs while the ladies ate their high tea in style in the parlour. Following family photos by the resident photographer (yes, cameras were around then!), we played some games - relay races like pass the bonnet and egg and spoon race. We had a three legged race for the girls then they convinced us that we should have a mother/daughter three legged race! That was interesting! After all the frivolity, we went inside for Michelle to open her presents. As everyone headed home after four and half hours, we realised that we had forgotten to have the birthday cake!
Michelle declared that this was her best birthday party ever and I would say it was the one that I enjoyed the most. It achieved everything that I wanted it to. It was a fitting finale to our study of the 19th century, it developed relationships both young and old and it celebrated Michelle's entry into the teenage years in style! I was especially impressed with the way that such a diverse range of ages and personalities could get along so well, for the most part without adult intervention. The majority of the girls were from our church and they all get on beautifully. It was lovely to see the older ones look after the younger ones and to see them all enjoying each others company and for the most part, making their own fun.
Here are a couple of photos from the day.





Happy Birthday Michelle!

It's a God Thing!

Well, Operation Christmas Child is over for another year. We coordinated the filling and collection of boxes for our church this year - the first time they had been involved with this project. The response was overwhelming. We collected a total of 34 shoe boxes and enough money to cover the postage for all of them. This far exceeded my expectations. Someone congratulated me on what we had achieved and I explained that it had nothing to do with me - it must have been a "God thing". Apart from doing a presentation the Sunday that we introduced the project, and obviously working behind the scenes to collate the goodies, I didn't do anything to promote it or encourage people to become involved. God worked in people's hearts and prompted them to give so freely and I have to give HIM all the glory.
God brought that concept back to mind again today as I pondered something that has come about this week. I had been trying to organise some work experience for Hannah. We had approached some members of our church who owned a business and were actually in the process of organising for this to occur. Something didn't quite gel and I felt a little unease about it but was going to ignore that feeling and go ahead anyway. God, however, had other plans! Quite by "chance" we met up with a couple that we knew during our time at Bible College many years ago. Turns out that they own a music store and offered Hannah the opportunity to do some work experience there. If you know Hannah, you would know that this is far more up her alley than the previous buisness. We have confidence that the people she will be working with are strong Christians who have her best interests at heart and will guide her in more than just the physical aspects of working in a music shop. They will take her under their wing and nurture her for which we are grateful. Hannah is very excited and I am left praising God yet again for His ability to work things out sometimes inspite of me. Another "God thing"!
When will I ever learn to let God be God and stop trying to put Him into a box? When will I step out of the way and let Him work out His plan in His way, without my intervention?

Now I really feel old!

No, I haven't had another birthday, nor have either of the girls (although they are fast approaching). The reason for the title of this blog is that my oldest daughter Hannah recently obtained her provisional licence! When she first turned 16 (the age she could sit her theory test and obtain her learner's permit), she had no inclination to do so. That stage actually didn't last long and she passed the test first time. Then came the fun part - sitting behind the wheel of the car! Nine months later - she sat her driving test and passed first time! Initially she was rather hesitant about heading out on her own but that didn't last long. This week, as an example, she is out five nights, either on her own or with her siblings, as well as having the car one full day. Scary!?! Not really - I can't lie and tell you that I don't think about where she is or how she is going, but I do trust her and what is more, I entrust her to her Heavenly Father who loves her so much more than I ever could. I also have to admit that it has been really neat to have her drive herself places that I was previously required to. Tonight we met up somewhere and I reminded her that dad was wanting to go home, completely forgetting that she had the other car and her own keys and was completely capable of making her own way home. That is why I now feel really old - not only do I have a daughter that drives but I also forgot that she can!

The Sound of Music!

This morning the girls played their flute and trombone in the Dawn to Dusk Band at the school's car boot sale. It basically provided back ground music while people shopped at the stalls, rather than it being an actual concert. I especially like the theme songs from various movies that they play. Ones like Man from Snowy River, Star Wars, Raiders March. Stephen managed to get himself a real bargain - nearly 300 Yugioh cards for $5 so that kept him busy while we were listening. Another of the Banksia Park concert bands played after the girls and Hannah was invited to play what she could with them - all sight reading but a very good experience. Following lunch of sausages and bread, we headed off to the piano concert. All the children played in this one and despite the nerves did well. No rest for the wicked - piano lessons and band practice Monday and then Michelle's flute recital on Tuesday night.

One of the piano students played the Adam's Family theme song and it reminded me of this film clip. It is so NOT the way that WE homeschool but we enjoyed it none-the-less and thought that you might also. Besides that, it gives me a good excuse to experiment with doing different things on the blog. Here's hoping that it works! (Edit: I couldn't get the video to embed in my blog but click on the link and you can watch it on You Tube.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQRlmCNC5XE

Three Years Already?!

It is hard to believe that we are about to enter our fourth year of homeschooling. It was at the beginning of fourth term 2005 that we brought the children home. It has been an adventure for sure! As I look back on the last three years, I am pretty sure that it has been me that has learnt the most but that is another post in itself! I thought I would share some of our plans for the coming months since one of my goals for this blog was to be kept accountable.

Over the last couple of months we have had Operation Christmas Child as a major focus. This will continue for another two weeks. It is a project run by Samaritan's Purse, in which people pack shoe boxes full of toys, writing materials, items of clothing, toothbrushes and soap which are then sent to children around the world who are suffering the effects of poverty, war, sickness etc. We have been busy sewing, knitting and crafting things to put into the boxes. We have presented the project at church and have been very encouraged by the response. Next week we will be getting together with some of the church folk and packing the boxes with all the lovely things that people have brought along. Then Sunday October 26 will be presentation Sunday where the Sunday School children will bring the boxes to the front of the church and we will pray for all the little children who will be receiving them. Hannah and one of her cousins are also volunteering at the local processing plant two days a week. This is where all the shoe boxes are checked before being packed into containers and sent overseas.

It will be Michelle's 13th birthday on the first of November and we have something fun planned. Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at the Victorian Era for our history studies and this will culminate in a mid 1800's picnic at our friend's property in the hills. We have already been sewing some clothes for the girls (bonnets, skirts and aprons) and have begun thinking about the type of food they ate and games they played in that time period. We have invited the mothers and female siblings of her friends also as we see it as a time to build relationships with these people, not just celebrate her birthday. We are getting quite excited about this project!

Music is a ongoing focus for our family and these next two months will be busy ones in that regard. All the children learn piano and have a concert next week. Michelle will also be sitting her first grade theory exam at the end of October. Michelle also has flute lessons and plays in a band called Dawn to Dusk. Hannah has picked up the trombone this last term and has joined Michelle's band as well as an adult beginner band on Tuesday nights. Stephen has started playing the Clarinet and has joined the junior band called Beat Bugs. They are all playing at a Car Boot Sale this coming weekend, a Remembrance Day Service and the local Christmas Pageant in November. Just for good measure, all the children will be joining their cousins for a Christmas concert at a Nursing Home. They all do items on their various instruments and this time we are also planning a "sing-a-long" of some of the older songs that the residents may remember.

Whew - I am exhausted just writing down what we are planning, let alone doing it, along with all the other things that we are involved in. Just as well we are relaxed, flexible homeschoolers!

Blessing?

We were talking with friends last night and the subject of being blessed by God came up. People tend to think that God is blessing you if you have a good job, making lots of money, a lovely family, the kids are doing well etc. etc. I sometimes think that these things are actually a trap - not that they are wrong, in and of themselves, but they can so easily take us away from what is really important. I wonder if those that are truly blessed by God are the ones who have to struggle for their health, or through the loss of a loved one etc.
The blogs that I have stumbled across and yet continue to be drawn to, are the ones whose owners have suffered indescribable loss yet they cling to God. They would be the first to admit that their path is one they would definitely not have chosen but having walked it, they know that God walked with them in a way that is almost just as indescribable as the loss. They have grown so much in their relationship with God through the hard times and they are thankful for them.
While waiting for the results of some medical tests back in July, I read from Paul's letter to the Colossions "Since then you have been raised up with Christ, set your hearts on things above...set your minds on things above, not on earthly things!"
Oh how I needed to be reminded of that - stop dwelling on the things of this earth - things that do not last, things that are corruptable. Instead, I was instructed to set my heart and mind on Christ. God met me in my feeble attempt to focus on Him and Him alone, rather than on uncertain test results. He gave me a peace about the whole thing and even a sense of excitement about what He was going to do in my life through this whole experience.
Fast forward three months - where is my focus now? I would love to say that it has stayed on Christ, that my heart and mind are on "things above". Somehow it was easier to look to Him in the storm than it is now. The hum-drum of everday life has a way of taking my focus off of Christ and back onto me. There has got to be a balance between being so heavenly minded that I am of no earthly good, and being so distracted by things of this earth that I no longer look to Him.
There are a number of health issues that are still rearing their ugly head in my life and I was forced last night to question wether I see myself as being blessed by God in my current situation. I have to admit that while I don't think of myself as being cursed by God, I definitely hadn't been looking at my situation as a blessing either.
I know that God wants more of me but I get so scared of what He will require of me. I want the benefits that come from a relationship with Him with out the responsibilities, if that makes sense. I know that God loves me unconditionally but for relationships to work they need to be two way. It is only as I allow Him to work in and through me that I will be able to see this season of my life as a blessing.
I so long for that to happen in theory, in practice it is another matter!

First Post - testing - one, two, three

I have been "lurking" around the blogging world for most of this year - and have been greatly inspired, I might add. I even started a blog but that was as far as it went. No, not quite. I did entice two of my children to create their own blogs. But as for me, I don't know what to say! Some of my "real" friends would laugh at that statement!
Talking and writing are two different things however. It is different because my thoughts are written down for the whole blogging world to see and secondly, there is give and take in conversation. There is (usually) a response whenever I speak and that becomes a guide to what or how I continue to share. If it is a good response, I will share deeper or more fully but if the interest just isn't there, well....
I think the other thing that holds me back is the perceived lack of anything important/interesting/funny/deep and meaningful enough to share. I have been encouraged, moved and inspired by the writings of other people - I want people to feel that way about what I share too. Unfortunately that just isn't me!
Nevertheless, I want to start writing some of my journey down (even if no one responds) because it will hopefully encourage ME when I look back, be a record of what WE as a homeshcooling family have been up to and keep ME accountable (even if it is only to myself!).
Now, wasn't that profound???