168 hours

First day

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Elsie started school today.

She's my third child to start school and in some ways you'd think I'd be a hardened veteran by now. In fact, I think I kind of expected to be able to take in my stride this year. But it's never easy. Each time one of my kids has started school I've felt sadness for a stage of life that's over, grief for a companion that won't be by my side day-to-day any more and the inner turmoil that comes with a big change.

But on the flip side, I've felt proud of each of my kids as they faced this new step, dipping their toes into the deeper water. Children are meant to grow. I wish it didn't have to happen so fast sometimes, but it is the way God has designed things. It reminds me that my children aren't ultimately my own to cling on to but God's and I'm to raise them to bring glory to Him in the world.

So I said goodbye to my girl this morning with mixed feelings. Happy that God has given me such a delightful girl who is ready to start this next stage, sad that I won't be spending as much of my time with her this year. I'm glad that we have a father in heaven who is with my kids when they are at school.

links - 25/1/12

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:16:00 +0000

Bittersweet - Amy writes about her sister who recently died at the age of 40 from breast cancer. She became a believer in Jesus in the months before her death. A beautifully written and moving post.

Treatment of women in Vanuatu - Rachael shares her observations about the treatment of women in Vanuatu (where she is currently living).

Help for Clergy Wives - another post by Rachael, this time on the ministry wives' blog 'in tandem', reviewing a book for ministry wives. It's a good review which along the way raises some good questions about the language of 'self care', 'personal space' and 'boundaries'. A good discussion in the comment thread, too.

The Journey to five - Jenny shares her pregnancy history which, like many of ours (mine included) wasn't straightforward or painless. An encouraging read for those struggling with infertility or pregnancy loss and a good reminder that most of us don't know the details of each other's journeys in relation to motherhood.

Seminary- life or death? A new series for those starting out at theological college, written in the hope of encouraging growth not drift while there. "Our prayer is that serious students of the Bible not only avoid spiritual shipwreck, but experience what it is to thrive in the disciplined study of the Scriptures, whether at seminary or in the local church."

Melinda Tankard-Reist (anti-porn activist, pro-life campaigner) has been under attack from many sources in the media and blogosphere over the past few weeks. Here are a few articles where she is defended against the recent vilification:

- Why being a Christian gets you crucified, by Miranda Devine.

- The authentic feminism of Melinda Tankard Reist, by Renate Klein and Susan Hawthorne

- Sisterhood beware - silencing ideas stymies progress, by Cathy Sherry.

Free download of Bloodlines by John Piper - "Bloodlines is one of the most autobiographical books I have written. It tells my story from racism to the path of redemption."

Seizing the day

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:22:00 +0000

There's a blog post which has attracted a bit of attention around the blogosphere this week called 'Don't Carpe Diem'. It is written by a young mother who rails against the old ladies who stop her in the supermarket and advise her to enjoy the years when her kids are little. It's a nicely written post, well worth the read. But while there was a lot of stuff I found myself agreeing with, something about the main thrust of the post still didn't ring true.

As the mum of four young kids at the moment, including a 7 month old baby (gorgeous as she is) who by night is suddenly not so keen on sleep and by day crawls around the house on a mission to find everything she isn't meant to touch, I get what she is saying. Being a mum is hard work when they're little. Exhausting, frustrating and some days just not all that enjoyable at all. Lots of it is mundane, ordinary, repetitive, unromantic. It's easy at times to wish that there was a fast-forward button you could press, to accelerate through the bits where you're rocking a baby to sleep or folding the washing or changing yet another nappy.

But so quickly to dismiss the perspective of older women who have moved through this stage seems like foolishness to me - even if that perspective is somewhat distorted with the nostalgic haze of hindsight. Surely there is something to be learned from the fact that women whose children have grown want to tell the young (and probably exhausted-looking) mum to treasure these days?

I spend a lot of my time these days in conversations with other mums at a similar stage to me. The main thrust of the conversations tend towards the negatives of motherhood. We need to share our struggles honestly with each other, but sometimes the commiserating can just become a shared ungratefulness. I find it encouraging when an older woman reminds me that one day I'll look back and I'll remember how precious these days are. Not just the 'kairos' bits (as if by some linguistically dodgy sleight-of-hand with the two Greek words for time you could isolate certain moments as the 'God moments' and separate them out from all the rest of the ordinary 'chronos' stuff of life) but the whole package, in all its inextricable inter-connectedness.

Of course that doesn't mean 'a constant state of intense gratitude and ecstasy'. I don't expect to 'enjoy every moment' and I hope that one day in the future when I'm talking to young mums I won't pretend that I did. But I do think it's worth reminding myself - and being reminded - over and over again about how quickly these early years flash past and recede into the realm of fading memories. And as someone whose eldest child is already 9, I'm already starting to get what these old ladies are trying to say about the difference that makes to the way you see things.

with my littlest girls and my mum

links - 16/1/12

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:02:00 +0000

Cast home your cares: A helpful quote from Octavius Winslow, The Ministry of Home for those feeling weighed down with demands at the moment.

Just the Way I Am: Alice reviews Just the Way I Am - God's good design in disability - "I read this as a mother who happens to have a child with a disability. I found it moving and lovely."

Dear eight year old girl, I saw you in Typo: a post written in response to the P*rn themed 'Back to school' range Typo introduced a couple of weeks ago. Typo have now announced they are pulling these items off their shelves (although, according to Collective Shout, some are still featured on their website).

Who's Afraid of Melinda Tankard Reist?: An interesting article in the Herald from a couple of weekends ago.

T.S. Eliot reads Journey of the Magi: HT: Justin Taylor.

How to get more scripture: Jess suggests some ideas to help you read your Bible regularly.

Gifted education: Some good thoughts from Simone on gifted kids and how to teach them.

Warning passage in Hebrews: an interview with Peter O'Brien about the tricky passages in Hebrews which warn believers not to lose their faith.

The joy of books: I actually think most of the joy that comes from books is from the content and the pleasure of, er, reading them, which is why I am not anti e-book (and yes, I admit that I was given a Kindle by my parents for Christmas so I am still in my e-book honeymoon). But I still enjoyed this little clip:

thankful for forty years

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:25:00 +0000

This is a picture of my parents when they were engaged, over forty years ago. I've always loved this photo growing up. They look so young and innocent and happy - excited at what their lives together might bring them, maybe even a little naive about what lies ahead. Even more than that, I love that while they might have lost some of their naivety and innocence that they've never lost that spark and companionship and pleasure in each other. Growing up, I always felt very secure knowing that mum and dad loved each other.

Last Sunday they celebrated forty years of marriage. Lately, I've been thinking about how much their marriage means to me as a married woman myself now. The longer I am married, the more I realise what an enormous blessing it was to be brought up in a home where my parents modelled the type of faithfulness, love and respect that it takes to stay happily married. As well as learning wisdom about marriage from them throughout my life through their words spoken to me, I realise now that I also picked up healthy patterns and habits that strengthen marriages almost by osmosis, through living in their household.

Now that I've been married almost thirteen years, mum and dad continue to provide me with a model of a God-glorifying marriage. I love that they still go for walks and hold hands. No matter how busy they are or how late it is, they always sit together at the end of the day and talk about their days. They continue to enjoy each other's company and friendship, serving each other and serving God together.

I'm so thankful for the example their marriage that they have provided me. And I'm thankful to God for his grace in their lives which has enabled that to happen.

Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:28:00 +0000

We're halfway through the school holidays here in NSW and I'm finding them thoroughly enjoyable and exhausting all at the same time. Once I got it out of my head that this was meant to be relaxing for me (I still think of hours reading novels on the beach when I think 'holidays', and that just doesn't reflect reality!) I feel like I've hit my stride. Don't know when exactly I'll get to rest, but I do love having my kids home with me.

Now that Dave has gone back to work we've been a little bit more home-based, inviting others over to play rather than attempting big excursions. I'm aware that term time can get pretty overwhelming for us at the moment, so while most of our time is spent relaxing, I'm trying to use a bit of our holiday time in ways that will take the pressure off later down the track. We're doing two weeks of intensive swimming lessons, which I'm hoping will remove the need for yet another structured after-school activity. The kids are loving them and look forward to them each day.

I'm also trying to encourage them to do things they don't normally get to do enough of during term time as well - riding their bikes, playing a bit of netball or cricket, writing a journal or a piece of creative writing (thanks Rory's story cubes!), plus stuff we need to anyway like speech pathology, by making up a grid of activities tailored to each child and encouraging them to choose from that when they're looking for something to do. Half an hour of one of their 'activities' earns them a point and once they get to a certain amount of points they get a reward. It's working well so far.

Rebecca enjoying one of the less structured activities of the holidays - nursing an injured Sylvanian family mouse back to health!

Lydia, meanwhile has kept us all on our toes and like her big brother has learned to crawl before she can sit still. I remember the period between 6-12 months was quite intense with Jacob, and I'm wondering if that's what the next 6 months will hold for me with Lydia, since she reminds me a lot of him!

How about you? If you are on holidays, how are they going?

PS. Ally's blogging through some fun ideas on her blog which I'm keen to try as well.

Reflecting on the year that's been

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:34:00 +0000

"There have been seasons of my life where it has occurred to me that the end of the year is the end of my life, where I treat the end of the year as though this year were my life and it is now over: now I meet Jesus..."

The Sobering Effect of Year-Ends from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Links - 9/1/12

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

What literature owes the Bible - Marilynne Robinson writes in the NY Times about the influence of the Bible in literature.

You never marry the right person: Tim Keller - "some people in our culture want too much out of a marriage partner. They do not see marriage as two flawed people coming together to create a space of stability, love and consolation, a “haven in a heartless world.” - an extract from a book on my 'must read' list for 2012.

Rory's Story Cubes - we bought these for the kids for Christmas this year, and I highly recommend them.

To Kill a Mockingbird - One of my favourite books. Sarah recommends it as well - "Want to be a parent who raises children of empathy and compassion? Read this book. Encourage them to read it too when they reach an appropriate age. You are bound to have more than one or two discussions."

'Stingy out gets stingy in' - some helpful perspective for mothers.

Reading the Bible in a year - a recommendation for how to do this from Rachael.

Jonathan Edwards' New Years resolutions in seven categories - via Desiring God. Some good reasons to be intentional in thinking about this year: "[Edwards] shows us that a well lived life doesn't just happen; it requires intentionality. And intentionality manifests itself in certain "mechanisms" that help us maintain our intentionality. Edwards' resolutions are one example of such a "mechanism."

Pyjama craft

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:33:00 +0000

Despite my best intentions, we often don't get to do as much organised creativity around here at the moment. So I was really pleased that yesterday each child made something (and that it was something that will not end up in the recycling bin but will be kept and used, and looks fantastic!).

I basically have my mum to thank for it though. My dad had tickets to Day 3 of the Sydney test (thanks to a Christmas present) and he kindly invited Dave to come with him on the second ticket. Mum and I thought it might be nice to do something special with the kids while Dave and Dad were at the cricket; we ended up deciding that instead of going somewhere we'd stay at her house for the day and create something. She came up with the idea of appliqueing some cheap t-shirts she'd snapped up at Kmart, and after finding some bargain leggings at a sale the idea shifted to making them into a set of pyjamas. Mum went out in advance and chose the material so it matched the shirts and leggings and the whole ensemble looked good together.

On the day the kids:

- thought about what they'd like to have on the shirts, then drew their designs.

- traced their designs onto visoflex, chose which material to use for each part of their design and then helped (OK, 'helped'!) to iron them on to the t-shirt.

- after mum and I had done some of the machine and hand sewing (we did this on our own to speed things up, but I guess the kids could have done this step as well if we weren't trying to finish it in one day) they then added embellishments, sewing on buttons, making rosettes and doing running stitch to add some detail.

With three kids plus a baby, and with the goal of doing it in one day, it did require my mum and me to work hard for most of the day. I couldn't have helped three of them get them finished in one day on my own, but I'm thinking it could work in a few days if we did it again.

I love that they learned some new skills, got to enjoy designing something unique, and experienced the satisfaction that comes with working hard to create something beautiful.

PS. Jacob wasn't originally meant to do one but he started expressing interest when we said he could design his own - can you work out what he ended up doing?

Slumming it

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Dave and I stumbled upon part one of an interesting documentary calling 'Slumming it' the other night. It was about a slum called Dharavi in Mumbai (the most densely populated slum in the world, and the one which was made famous by the film Slumdog Millionaire). There are a million people who live there, within one square mile, most of them in conditions of extreme poverty and apalling sanitation, and subject to a high incidence of disease. And yet, intriguingly, it is a community that is increasingly being pointed to by town planners and architects as having found (or retained) the answers to some of our cities' biggest problems.

In this series, Kevin McCloud (better-known for his show Grand Designs) visits the slum, living within in it for two weeks, getting to know the locals and trying to understand it. Along the way he makes some fascinating observations. He struggles to comprehend the way the family he stays with manages to fit 21 people in a tiny house (five people per room, and each room has multiple functions) and finds the conditions hard to cope with (rats in the room as he tries to sleep, etc, etc). Yet he is struck by how happy the people seem to be and how little evidence there seems to be of loneliness or fear of crime. Young women walk the streets at night and feel safe. The children are (mostly) getting an education - on top of the hours many of them work in factories and sweatshops - and he sees a kind of beauty in the varied colours and textures of the slum. (Interestingly, for example, the women still wear the most beautiful saris).

I'm sure there would be people who could paint a darker picture of social dynamics in Dharavi, and a couple of weeks with a film crew and 'everybody seemed happy to me' is not exactly a scientific study! But there was still so much in the bits of the slum that I did get to see that challenged my assumptions. I was struck once again by how blessed I am to live in Australia with good health care, a warm bed to sleep in (no rats!), abundant food and clean water. But it also made me realise that there is a lot that there is a lot to be said about a community where people are always around and multiple generations live together under the one roof, the old cared for among their families and passing down wisdom to the next generation.

It just so happened the next night that I was outside at the letter box talking with my next door neighbour as the sun set and cool breeze came through. I don't know if it was because I'd just watched the show the night before, but I found myself asking more questions about what it was like on our street when she and her husband built their house back in the late fifties. She told me about a time when life wasn't so busy, mothers were at home during the day, kids could play on the street and everyone knew each other and looked out for each other...

At the end of the program last night, Kevin McCloud discovered that there were plans to demolish the slums and build a big new development in their place - Mumbai is, after all, a booming city and there is money to be made. I'm sure there will be some things about the new development that will be a whole lot more pleasant than the current slum. But I wonder at the same time whether some of the best things about Dharavi will be demolished and not replaced, and I worry about the fate of the people who live there.

You can watch the episode on iView.

(Img from BBC Knowledge)

The Nativity Story

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

This year in the lead up to Christmas, we watched The Nativity Story as a family. While there are some bits that have been embellished, and some scenes included that aren't in the Biblical accounts, we thought it was generally pretty well done and worth watching. Even the scenes that had been added weren't inconsistent with the message, they just included facts we can't know, but were mostly quite plausible possibilities anyway. Dave and I watched it with the kids and pointed out the bits that aren't in the Bible and answered any questions they had. It was interesting that seeing it on screen did bring up a few more questions and ponderings which were really helpful.

I think we all found it helped us to really meditate on the reality of Jesus' birth, think a bit about the details of the story and its context, and empathise with those involved. Often when we tell children the story of Jesus' birth it becomes a cartoon-like version with little depth. This helped to reinforce the idea that these events really occurred. Details like understanding how far Mary and Joseph would have had to travel, how an engagement worked in those days, a little bit of background on life under the Herods, and so on, helped to put the story in context. For me, the film helped me to reflect on the fact Jesus was a real baby who was born in the same way and had the same needs as my own babies. The fact that the Son of God could be born into such humble beginnings reminded me of the enormity of what He has done for us in coming to earth as a baby and made me even more thankful and amazed at his incarnation.

We did fast forward through a couple of scenes (the births of John the Baptist and Jesus and the soldiers coming for the boys under Herod's orders) and I felt it really was the sort of movie we had to watch with the kids. Doing that, it really worked as a pre-Christmas family acitivity which pointed the kids towards Jesus. I'm planning on adding it to our growing list of family traditions!

Selling Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:35:00 +0000

I know it's a bit late to be posting about Christmas now, but I wanted to share some stuff that I enjoyed reading in the latest CASE Magazine, which was a Christmas themed edition. The article I found most helpful was one by Simon Angus which was an economic analysis of the way our society approaches Christmas (it's about the gifts), with some suggestions for how Christians can interact with that. It gave me a bit to muse about and Dave and I came up with some good ideas for how we might change the way we do things next Christmas.

Here's an excerpt, taken from toward the end of the article:

First, despite what Brand Christmas would have us believe, Christians ought to push back on the notion that gifts are the sole reason for, or climax of, the traditional Christmas gathering. This would be as obviously ridiculous as if, at the first Christmas, the host of angels suddenly turned their attention and worship from baby Jesus in the manger to the precious, but ultimately inanimate and inconsequential gold, frankincense and myrrh of the wise men upon their arrival. They didn't, and nor should we.

Second, the Bible is full of instructions for how the people of God are to remember key moments in salvation history, and an emphasis of many of these rituals is to educate the young in the nature, character and deeds of God (e.g. Ex 12:26, Deut 6:20, Josh 4:21). So where Brand Christmas goes assiduously after our children's material desires, there seems an important work for Christian parents to educate their young in the true meaning of Christmas from the outset. Attending family church services, singing carols and hymns at home, reading the accounts of Jesus' birth, crafting nativity scenes, and spending time in family prayer are just a few of the ways that I have heard parents pursue this educative aspect of Christmas. Similarly, I know of several families who emphasise gift giving rather than receiving at Christmas for this reason, encouraging their children to select gifts from appropriate catalogues that will go to the poor in the world.

There is also a question concerning how Christians can proclaim the 'third way' of Christmas in non-Christian settings. Whilst Christians may not have control at times over the way Christmas is observed, this does not mean they cannot be salt and light in such contexts. Whilst some opportunities fall into the lap – the solemn silence preceding Christmas dinner, as eyes turn to the ‘senior Christian’ in the gathering to give thanks in even irreligious households – other expressions of the Christian message will take more effort: Bible verses in cards, prayerfully inviting friends and family to church, being sincerely thankful, being the first to suggest a more austere gift approach if Brand Christmas has caused the norm to get out of hand.

If you're interested, you can buy single editions of the magazine here.

Happy birthday to our five year old!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:37:00 +0000

Elsie had her fifth birthday yesterday. I'm aware that birthdays so close to Christmas can be tricky and after canning the idea of the June half-birthday, I'm determined to work hard to make her real birthday special each year. This year we had friends over in the morning (two special friends of hers, plus their families, whose children all roughly correspond to our others, made it quite the party - excellent!). When asked what type of cake she'd like, she suggested something 'strawberryish', so I did a google search and came up with a double decker strawberry-shortcake-type cake which didn't turn out the way it did in the picture and caused me a bit of distress as I watched the marscapone insides of the cake explode everywhere when I put it together, but still tasted pretty good.

cake number 1

We also celebrated with both sides of the family with a BBQ (and a visit to a local nursery to choose part of her present) last night and a picnic today.

cake number 2 ...

and 3.

I have decided that while there are negatives to a the close-to-Christmas-birthday, there are some definite pluses. For one thing, lots of family members and friends who are on holidays (some who live out of town and are visiting Sydney) are relaxed and happy and have time to spend with the birthday girl to celebrate. For me, Elsie's birth is inextricably tied with Christmas anyway - I'll never forget the long wait through the Christmas festivities 5 years ago (she ended up being 11 days late!). We even called her Elisabeth Mary because of her Christmas connection.

We're so grateful that God blessed us with her five years ago.

The Christmas spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:11:00 +0000

I came across this quote again as I read Come thou Long Expected Jesus. Still convicting:

For the Son of God to empty himself and become poor meant a laying aside of glory; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice, and misunderstanding; finally, a death that involved such agony - spiritual, even more than physical - that is his mind nearly broke under the prospect of it. It meant love to the uttermost for unlovely men, who "through his poverty, might become rich." This Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity - hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory - because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.

We talk glibly of the "Christmas spirit," rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear that the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round.

It is our shame and disgrace today that so many Christians - I will be more specific: so many of the soundest and most orthodox Christians - go through this world in the spirit of the priest and the Levite in our Lord's parable, seeing human needs all around them, but (after a pious wish, and perhaps a prayer, that the Lord might meet those needs) averting their eyes and passing by on the other side. That is not the Christmas spirit. Nor is it the spirit of those Christians - alas, they are many - whose ambition in life seems limited to building a nice middle-class Christian home, and making nice middle-class Christian friends, and bringing up their children in nice-middle class Christian ways, and who leave the submiddle-class sections of the community, Christian and non-Christian, to get on by themselves.

The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christian spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellow humans, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others - and not just their own friends - in whatever way there seems need...."You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9).'

J.I. Packer, Knowing God, pps 70-71

Links - Christmas edition

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:10:00 +0000

When Joy to the World isn't our world - "You don’t have to live many Christmases before you realize that the emotions of Christmas are not all joy. In fact, some years we may wonder if joy will ever come again." -from Noel Piper

On Lonely Christmases - another post on sadness at Christmas, this time from Wendy Alsup:

"The holiday season makes it very clear exactly what we are longing for and exactly what we are mourning. It is especially hard to distract ourselves from our losses during this season. If you find yourself in this place, with the spotlight shining on your losses so that you can not escape the pain whether sitting under the tree, singing a carol, buying a gift, or opening a present, here are some thoughts from someone who has been there before."

Sent into the World: Jesus' Mission and Ours - a helpful blog post on how Jesus' mission is his mission, not ours - "the most important part of the Christian mission isn’t the Christian, but the Christ."

Wasting Good Intentions - from Phillip Jensen:

"Each year we hear again the great news of Jesus’ birth for our salvation and enjoy singing his praise, being with his people, hearing his message and laying our burdens before him in prayer – and then the summer holidays hit. And with the summer holidays comes a disturbance in routine and a forgetfulness of all our resolutions."

Christmas questions for Christian parents - an interview with Steve and Penny Morrison about how to approach Christmas with their kids. We haven't reached all the same conclusions, but it is helpful to read how other parents come to their positions and to see people thinking deliberately about how to teach their children about Christmas.

What it meant for him

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:08:00 +0000

What Christmas is really about:

HT: Desiring God

Building more than we can see

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

I found this quote from a Christmas sermon from John Piper not only very relevant to me at the moment but also very encouraging:

There is a principle here that applies to you and me: God takes small, imperfect things and builds them into a habitation for his glory. O, how we should take courage in our little spheres of influence! And is this not the message of Advent and Christmas? What more appropriate word could God have said to Mary as Jesus was growing up: Take courage, young mother, you build more than you see. And so it is with every one of us. Nothing you do is a trifle if you do it in the name of God. He will shake heaven and earth to fill your labor with splendor. Take courage, you build more than you see.

Nativity Scene

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Cathy is doing her annual nativity scene challenge, which we had a lot of fun doing with lego last year. This year you can use any material to make the scene and I had hoped to enter with a nativity scene kit I bought for the kids to sew. When I opened the kit, however, I discovered that it wasn't a felt kit, as I had thought but a cardboard one that you had to slot together. The kids did put it together, but since it only took 5 minutes, I'm not sure if that counts!!

We did have the opportunity to be part of a real nativity scene the other day, though, which also may not strictly fit the requirements, but was a lot of fun! My friend Sarah had a first birthday/Christmas party for her little boy and decided to get the kids to act out the Christmas story. It was a wonderful idea, and relatively simple. She asked the mums in advance to bring a few things that might be suitable from our dress up boxes, and on the day we allocated parts and while one of the kids read the story from a kids Bible, the other kids acted it out. You can read more and see some lovely photos at Sarah's blog. See if you can spot all 4 of my kids!

The local carols

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 06:51:00 +0000

We had a great time at the Carols by Candlelight in our local park again this year (I wrote a post about it last year, saying why I think it works so well.) We've been attending every year for the past 5 years now. I love that every year there are more familiar faces in the crowd as we make more connections in the neighbourhood. It is a wonderful community event which is genuinely local, and Jesus is proclaimed.

Lydia Grace at 6 months

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:55:00 +0000

Our Lydia Grace had her half birthday on the weekend. I can't believe that she is already six months old. She's not crawling but she's very mobile, which is keeping me busy.

She continues to bring us lots of laughs and joy!

We're so thankful to God for her.

Colin Buchanan's Compassion trip...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:37:00 +0000

Compassion Christmas with Colin Buchanan from Compassion Australia on Vimeo.

Some links - 19/12/12

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Here are some links to posts from other blogs:

The Driscolls and Real Marriage: Tim Challies has shared some wise thoughts about the soon-to-be-released book on marriage and sex by Mark and Grace Driscoll. Among other things, he points out the inadequacy of an ethic that works from the assumption that whatever is not expressly forbidden in Scripture is 'lawful', and fails to provide any coherent theological guidance for how we might answer the question about what is 'helpful' (to use the language of 1 Cor. 6:12) and what glorifies God. You can read Challies' first post here, and his second, here.

What are you doing after high school? - school leaver Lydia Sorkness writes about a gap year with a difference.

Christmas Carol Grammar - I enjoyed this post on some of the grammatical questions which might arise in relation to the Christmas carol “What Child Is This?”.

Caring for the kids of a loved one with cancer - some helpful suggestions how to love and practially help the kids of someone with cancer.

Reading through the Bible in a year or two - Jean writes about the benefits of reading through the whole Bible in a year and shares some helpful resources to help us make that happen. A good time of the year to plan to do things like this!

Constantine Defended - Michael Jensen writes about a new perspective on Constantine in Peter Leithart's book, Defending Constantine – The Twilight of Empire and the Dawn of Christendom: "Leithart seeks to defend Constantine as a historical figure from the charges of using Christianity out of manipulative cynicism; and also to defend him as a model of Christian politics." Dave bought me this book last Christmas, and while I haven't finished reading it I've been loving it so far.

Window on the World at breakfast...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

We usually read the Bible as a family at breakfast.* This month since we are doing Advent Bible readings together after dinner, we thought we'd take a break from that and try something different. We're reading and praying through Window on the World, which works its way alphabetically through various nations around the world and gives a bit of information and some prayer points about each country and the progress of the gospel among the people who live there.

I have been encouraged by how much the kids have enjoyed it, and have listened and learned so well from it. I have learned an awful lot as well - it's highlighted how little I know about God's mission in the rest of the world. I've especially enjoyed the chance to pray specifically about a different country each day with the kids - that's been pretty special.

Although our reasons for doing this in December didn't really relate directly to Christmas, we've found it to be very appropriate to do at this time of year. It's given us a bit of perspective on the lives of the majority of people in the rest of the world which has helped us see the madness of the consumerism of Christmas a little more clearly. And it's made us even more grateful for the gift of the Lord Jesus this Christmas, and more eager to see his name made great everywhere.

* We mostly use Table Talk for our material, and we still love it.

Reinventing the routine

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Something that the arrival of Lydia has reminded me of is how much the birth of a baby can disrupt my patterns of Bible reading and prayer. It's not so much the new baby per se (though being sleep-deprived will make prayer and reading difficult!) but also the complete change in routine that always throws me. I loved this recent post by Jean (including some helpful ideas from her own life) about needing to constantly reinvent the routine to make it happen:

There are two things you can be sure of with motherhood (or life, really). The first is that God won't change. The second is that everything else will. Just when you think you've found the one, true solution - the cure for sleepless nights, or disorganization, or prayerlessness - circumstances shift sideways.

What works for me won't work for you. What works for me won't work for me. Babies wake all night, then sleep through, then - surprise! - start waking again. The morning routine runs smoothly, then falls apart. One child loves "alone time"; another craves constant attention. Sometimes there are no quiet moments. Sometimes you have to create them out of nothing.

We've just recently got back into our old method of taking it in turns when we can in the mornings, but there was an extended period of post-Lydia turbulence. How about you? What things have you done to make sure you get the time in the day to read your Bible and pray?

Some links 11/12/11

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

I have my computer back and I'm slowly working my way through the blog posts I've missed over the past couple of weeks. Here are a few that I'd like to share with you:

Presents don't make my kids happy - Cathy on how to help your kids be truly happy this Christmas.

Is Handel’s Messiah under-utilized by Christians? - A friend of ours who is a very talented musician argues that Handel's Messiah is under-utilized as a resource by Christians at Christmas.

Choosing great toys for kids - some good suggestions from my dad which may be helpful at this time of year!

Myths about introverts - As an introvert, I found myself agreeing with a lot of this post. Recommended reading for all extroverts.

Loving people at our school - Jean writes about getting to know and learning to love the other people from your children's school. She has some wonderful ideas of how to approach what can be quite a daunting task.

More links to come soon...