http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1193520/ALLISON-PEARSON-No-madam-burkha-offended-MY-values.html

humph!

Fire in my Bones by J Lee Grady

http://strangmail.com/newslettersignup/ - subscribe to his newsletter

http://charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/22308
http://charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/22308-from-the-deep-south-a-cry-for-racial-healing

excerpt:

Jesus told the Pharisees that their holier-than-thou traditions actually nullified the Word of God. They were obsessed with washing their hands and dishes to keep themselves pure; Jesus was focused on touching the untouchables of society so that God’s love and mercy could spread to everyone. We have a choice: Sterile religion or radical compassion.

I’m convinced we won’t achieve true racial reconciliation until we all become more intentional about it. Healing won’t happen if we don’t make it a priority. What will it require? If we truly want to be a prophetic people, the church must address racism from every angle:

• We must offer Christ’s healing to those who have been treated unjustly (this includes Native Americans as well as immigrant communities).
• We must challenge Christians to let go of racial offenses rather than tolerating a climate of bitterness and resentment.
• We must build multi-ethnic churches led by multi-ethnic leadership teams.
• We must be willing to feel the pain of those who have suffered discrimination so we can truly “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2, NASB). That means we have to educate ourselves about the history of racism in our own communities—and dialog with the people who have been most affected.

This week would be an appropriate time for all of us to jumpstart our reconciliation efforts. June 19 is Freedom Day, otherwise known as Juneteenth—a holiday commemorating the emancipation of black slaves (an act President Abraham Lincoln said was a response to God’s leading). Instead of viewing Juneteenth as a “black thing,” all churches that care about justice and compassion should celebrate the fact that God heard the cries of American slaves and blessed them with freedom and dignity. Then we should link arms across racial lines and work to bring that dignity to everybody.

http://www.juneteenth.com/ - more … June 19th  .. since 1865

Two of my computers ‘fried’ in the last week or so. Can you believe it?!

Sadly my collection of writing, articles, and graphics of the last ten years are no longer intact. Trojans and worms from my kids games computer (it’s a long story – this is the Reader’s Digest version here), where I stored my MOPS ’stuff’, nibbled through the documents – sniff! wah!! I’ve regrouped some folders and files from older back-up disks and hope to get more from the office computer, but there’s holes that I guess will be noticed for some time yet.

What a character-building month … Give me a break!!

But there is a happy ending … I have a new computer (to me) with plenty of RAM ROM disk space and other important computer bits!

Anyway, spent a bit of time in the last 24 hours putting updates and essential programs in, and I have some lovely friends extricating files off the other pakaru disk, so I have hope – and now I have a new thing to try out with WordPress – post by e-mail. Could this get better?

Holding onto hope!

Check out www.trademe.co.nz for bidding on a tractor in Catlins – currently at $155,000 – oh! the 8.1 ha farm is chucked in for free.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=218710429 - the Q+A are worth reading – so droll! so kiwi!

“I used to ask God why people suffer like this. Finally I came to the place where I stopped asking questions and started being the answer.” —Biju Thampy

Read More …

I’m so proud of my (coated metal) moaf baking tin.
It has 8x rectangle mini-loaf holes (business card size – 9×5.5cm).

I made some Christmas Pudds in them – usually they’re done in muffin trays, but they look so cute mini-loaf sized.

I wrapped a couple on Monday and sent them off to work with the Counsellor.

It all started when I was asking God what I was going to do with all the cards I make and He said,”Give them away!’

So, now I’ve started giving a mini-loaf and a card … tis a good thing! Cool way to bless others.
(The first recipient had been sick, tho I hadn’t known that.)

PS (Fri 1 May) :
I’ve just found that the word Moaf has unglamorous connotations, apart from Min of Ag and Fish, so I need a new catchy name for my mini-loaves. But muffin-loaf and mini-loaf are clumsy to say… aue!
Any suggestions? or should we just ‘redeem’ the word?
A muff … loafette … ‘ni-lo’ …

Feel Good about …

Homeschooling

http://classicalworld.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/why-do-people-homeschool/ - yay for dedicated teachers!

Homeschooling .. or is that feel good about not doing school in Quebec?

http://thechurchofjesuschrist.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/quebec-kills-parents-rights-to-choose-religion-instruction/

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08101703.html

Freedom of Choice …?

http://libertyvsleviathan.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/homeschool-health-and-leviathan/ - immunisation and homeschooling

http://homeschoolbenefits.wordpress.com/

Thinking Children …

http://kidswhothink.blogspot.com/ - hard boil the eggs first? what fun!

Feeling Good!

http://hnracademy.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/125/ - I call her Mummy

Children’s security

http://leaphomeschool.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/famcirexpelled1.jpg - cartoon

Having time to look at these art barcodes!

http://inventorspot.com/articles/barcode_art_from_japan_black_white_can_get_along_12735

Blessings…
Johanna

original : October 2008

… I think that emails are not the best way to disagree with or to correct someone.

Old fashioned telephones or face-to-face conversations are better. Then intonations and gestures (the para-language cues) give more information – and less chance of hurt or misunderstanding.

For MUMSense Magazine, NZ, (c) April 2009

Living Each Day of Your Life

“What a wonderful world!”

“Life is for living.”

It’s a great day, a beautiful day;
The kind of day that makes you want to say
“I’m glad that I’m alive”,
I’m happy to be me,
and that’s the way to be … (thanks, Barney).

As much as I liked my children watching Barney, that purple dinosaur on TV and videos, sometimes he and his singing-dancing friends were just too chirpy and cheerful.

At least once in the days when I was surrounded by the never-ending piles of laundry and the cleaning, wiping burping cycle of existence, I said, “I hate my life”.

I didn’t feel blessed with a home, a committed supportive husband and two lovely little cherubs. But after some hugs and kind words about being a good mum and wife from my husband, I got better, well, saw life differently.

I changed some expectations I held, especially as they really belonged to other people.

So, my house wasn’t a picture out of “Our Home and Garden”, at least the lounge had clear seats to sit on. So, shirts didn’t get ironed more than once a month and DH had to iron his own, they had been washed and hung up.

To remind myself of what I had achieved in the roundabout (or was it a Trabant, that twirling roundabout you get strapped in to that goes up and down as well!), I jotted in my diary the things I did do. There was a repetitive pattern to them with nothing noticeably startling like from my working days. But there was sufficient in those daily notes to remind myself that I was a ‘good mum’ of littlies – cleaning, playing, book time “reading”, feeding, visitors, and – a highlight in my social calendar – going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).

Life changes over the years – so do our children. And so do we as mums.

Choosing a healthy and positive perspective helps us get through.

Do what you can. Enjoy your days!
Johanna W
President, MOPS (NZ) Inc.

–

MUMSense Magazine is a great little publication. 16 pp. NZ$6 at present for 4 issues per year (for NZ addresses only).
Enquiries: info@MOPS.org.nz    ~   http://www.mops.org.nz/mumsense/ 
Or post with subscription form to : MUMSense, P O Box 12-307, Hamilton, NZ

My 9yo boy gets distracted doing workbooks, cleaning his room, doing all sorts of chores and tasks around home, but sit him in the middle of his lego or brainbox circuitry and he’s focussed for ages! So, I know he can focus in. (He’s a dreamer. I love him dearly.)

I set the stove timer beeper for 20 minutes – not always so he’s finished (though I think he could be with sustained effort), but for him to learn how long 20 minutes is.

But after an hour eg of doing 4-6 pages of maths workbook (I can’t always sit with him to focus him in to work), I stop him and we have a break and on to something else. I know that if I sit with him and ask questions, he knows it and often very well. It’s the sticking-with-the-programme by himself that’s the issue! along with getting started quickly – often he twiddles with pen and bobs up and down out of his seat for this and that.

When there’s a strong external motivation (ice cream, outing, computer time), he does much better – but I’d like him to have internal motivation to get things done smartly.

“When you have finished that, then you can …” or “You have one hour to do your maths and ride your bike. You do your maths first, but at o’clock we are then going to …(something else)”.

I think it’s a long-term training – and finding a balance (sorry no simple answer, wish I knew one!)

• awareness of time and its value
• finding different methods of working that produce learning and understanding of topics (not always written in a book)
• allowing times for their creativity and imagination to develop
• awareness of fitting in with others
• self-discipline to do work set by you/teacher
• following instruction, coming under rightful authority

9yo sped through a writing exercise the other day because of some strong external motivation and, when finished, he clearly saw that going slow actually doesn’t produce better work. His handwriting in the fast work was markedly better than his slow work – so, we learn and build on these times.

Try all sorts of methods and motivations. Build on what brings positive results. 

Lord, give me patience.

~ Jo