Great (birthday) expectations

I do love parties. I like going to them, preparing for them and hosting them. At least I did. When I was a girl I hosted every year a Christmas party for my school friends. I set the table beautifully and we had a yummy meal. I decorated. They slept over, we enacted christmas morning by exchanging gifts. It was awesome. I loved every minute of it- before and during. What happened?? Something happened...

Something happened that I have observed happens to a lot of us. The things we used to be delighted by, excited to do- become drudgery- they become another thing to do on an already overcrowded schedule. There's pressure, there's expectation and there is A LOT of cleaning to do! Somewhere in there the fun can get sucked out of it all, pretty swiftly, replaced by... Stress. You feel me?

Add to that, when you have a few children and a couple of them have resulted in 'birthday clumping' (I like to call it; when their birthdates

are a little too close together for comfort!) We don't always get the adequate time and space we would like to make each special date as SPECIAL as we feel it should be made.

As the years have passed I realised I was slowly allowing birthdays to move from a source of enjoyment and delight in our lives to one of impending dread. OK maybe NOT quite dread, but it certainly wasn't FUN anymore. Or the moments of fun for me didn't seem to be out weighing EVERYTHING else.

Each time party day rolled around there was the inevitable pre-party-stress-vomit-all-over-shane-coz-its-his-fault-for-not-helping-me-more, and HOW dare you watch the footy at a time like THIS??!! Can't you see I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW??!! FAR OUT!! HAVEN'T YOU LEARNT ANYTHING ABOUT ME YET??!!!! So... Yes, we are all having a great time.

Then the guests would arrive and everything would go great and it was all fine and when it's over I see that I really didn't need to worry. It all came together they had a good time. It's not that big a deal, I should really relax more about it.


I realised I just needed a little more help. Some clarity. So, I prayed about it. I asked God to help me to enjoy parties again. To not get stressed. To do what needs doing and enjoy the process. And also to let others (ahem Shane) off the hook, at least a little bit. After all, I am the one who loves parties and plans them and throws them. It's not like WE HAVE to do it. I am doing it because I ENJOY it. And besides Shane really is a great pass-the-parcel maker and its something he can do while watching the footy. And guess what? God answered me.

Earlier this month I was put to the test as I hosted a 7th birthday party for Miss Char. I decided- what the heck? Let's make it a big one! we had 19 children attend. Charlotte requested an ice-cream cake. Thank you Charlotte. That works perfectly with my low-stress party resolutions. Honestly how many kids even eat birthday cake anyway? All those licked-clean cupcakes are testament to their unpopularity. Why bother with all that baking? Who are we trying to impress?? Not the kids that's for sure!

Life at the time of the party was pretty busy and so I knew I was only going to have the day before to prepare- do the shopping etc. I had strung up some decorations (primarily the bunting that hangs in the kids rooms year round) the paper lanterns were still hanging from christmas under the verandah. So less than half hour that part was done. Tick. I stayed firm in not stressing as I shopped and planned for the party on Saturday. Fruit platter, veggie sticks were the go. Then some favourite packs of chips and a bag of lollies. My mother-in-law was making her yummy sausage rolls and honey joys. Really thats all we would need.

I have thrown off the yoke of making butter cut out biscuits in their age as this had become my number one birthday burden! They didn't even notice I didn't make them (see my earlier post on this!). Made the food table look pretty with wrapping paper, pretty napkins and a central display of large twigs in a vase with little paper birds (courtesy of Ikea) hanging off them. It looked quite good. Now for the basic tidy up outside and inside (good excuse to get that done). And we are good to go. I had fun doing the ice-cream cake the day before too. I will confess I did give into some serious frustration and had a little wail as I realised I had put together the cake on a platter that wouldn't fit back in the freezer!!!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING??!!!! I smooshed it onto a smaller plate losing some of the outside biscuits along the way- GAH!!! the perfection of it all RUINED!!! And the new  plate was STILL too large!!! GAH!!! WHY didn't I leave it in the pan till tomorrow??!!!!! Panic was setting in as ice-cream was melting! SHANE! HELP ME!!Shane comes over with a look of dismay. Ok calm down. Whatever, let's just deal with this! I shoved it in the freezer side-ways and slammed the door. It should freeze in position and I can amend it in the morrow. It was fine. Crises averted. Just.

I had the kitchen table set up with colouring stuff and stickers as we waited for everyone to arrive. No one was allowed in the backyard as there was an egg hunt waiting to happen. When all the guests were present Shane was amazing at gathering them and playing a few games to get them into groups. Then they all got baskets and were released into the backyard to find the eggs. We played pass the parcel and had a 'present opening' time, we did some dancing games and ate doughnuts hanging from strings form the hills hoist-old school style. The kids ate the food and were happy. They loved the ice cream cake. It was a fun afternoon. And I did NO baking!! Can you believe it? (actually I lie just a little, at the last minute, when all was ready to go I quickly did a batch of gluten and dairy-free chocolate cupcakes for those with intolerances. No icing!) But I did so little of the things I usual do that make the party prep seem stressful and I realise. Kids don't need tonnes of home baked goodness. Just some fruit, and a few treats, a few good games. They love it. They are easy to please!

Seriously it was so liberating to throw off a few of those party expectations from myself and realise how great it still is. Better even. I got to enjoy myself too.

Now I certainly wouldn't conclude from my experience that everyone should follow what I have done. Everyone has a different capacity. Some people really do thrive and enjoy doing loads of baking and making it gleam! That's their happy place and they should enjoy it. I only say, if you are doing 'all this stuff' and its costing you the enjoyment of the overall experience. It's not worth it. And for the record, I really do enjoy the baking. But when you have so many things to organise for a party something has to give- and it shouldn't be mum's sanity!! :) Birthday's should be enjoyable for everyone- including Mum! And I do think it's possible. At least with a little help from above. :)

Let them eat cake!

Well from matters of life and death to something a little more light hearted! CAKE!
Thats life isn't it? We are navigating between matters of eternal significance, yet we are never to escape the everyday matters of daily life that need attending to. Nor should we. I think within our everyday practicalities we actually can find things of eternal significance... If we are looking to see them. If we have ears to hear.

That said I am not sure what cakes bring to this discussion,...nevertheless! They are a regular part of my life and I thought it would be fun to share them. Recently we have celebrated two birthdays in this household.  I was reflecting on how my cake making/decorating skills have improved over the years... We added it up and realised we have had 19 kids birthdays so far!! I am pretty sure I have baked a cake for every single one! Then throw in the odd niece and nephew cake or sibling and parents ones...And heck! No wonder I am improving!

I love surfing Pinterest for cake decorating inspiration and I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and hope to offer some inspiration of my own. I am the first to admit decorating is not my forte and it actually is not a huge interest area for me, I love investing time into the taste rather than the decorations! (I refuse to use fondant! It might look good but I can't stand the taste!)

But for kids cakes I do like to get into it a bit as it is a lot of fun to make it a treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds! So here is a little photo gallery of cakes I have made (some with a lot of help!!). Shout out credit goes to my sister-in-law Anna, who's artistry is seen in the gorgeous rainbow cake she decorated (had to share it) and Elle who came to my great aid in the phenomenal frozen cake!! Wow, she blew me away! I can't actually take ANY credit for decorating that one, though i did most of the 'conceptual' work for that ;) Thanks guys! working together on stuff like this is actually WAY more fun!  I really think blue icing tastes the best :)

Charlotte's 1st and 3rd...

Esther's 4th Jungle theme

Esther's 5th Rainbow theme! I was so stumped for ideas and I prayed in the lolly aisle and inspiration struck! So credit to the Holy Spirit here ;) - he cares about the little things!

Hudson's 2nd! Pig cake!

Esther's 7th

Kaelyn's 8th

Hudson's 4th - Octonaut cake

I can't take any credit for this like i said, thanks Elle for taking us to a whole new level!!! :)

There are many more, but its a bit of a photo hunt so I will leave it here...

And just to end... A throw back to a couple years ago.. I made this meme showing my dramatic fail- my attempt at this cool Jelly cake!! Bah! It happens to us all. Sometimes reality just can't quite hit the spot we had hoped it would! But we continue on, undeterred.. (ok maybe a little deterred!) - I have yet to retry this come to think of it, so great was the disappointment of failure! Anyway it makes for a good laugh! Don't take yourself too seriously, its meant to be fun and bring fun! Happy baking and creating everyone! :) :)

Long Live Leo!

Romans 8:10-11

¹⁰ And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life^[d] because you have been made right with God. ¹¹ The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

It’s surprising how much we rail against death. It always shocks us. Always comes like a slap in the face. It’s not right. It shouldn’t be. We can’t get our minds around it. We can’t get comfortable with it. We fight against it, we run from it, we spend our life fearing it.

But it is relentless and we succumb… inevitably to its grasp…

But why? Why is something so ‘natural’ so repulsive to us? Why is it so often denied, ignored and swept under the carpet? It’s there, right before us, waiting for an answer. It will not be ignored, not for long anyway.

We were made the slaves of death, or more to the point- the ‘FEAR’ of death. If you don’t fear something it doesn’t really have any power over you. But we do fear. If not so much for ourselves, we do for those dear to us, those we love enough to die for.  We plot, we work and worry, we calculate our plans for escape, at least for a time. But we can only hold it off for so long. It always wins, in the end…

The truth of life, if we are willing to face it; is the reality and certainty of death. Separation from the ones we love. It is pretty much the worst thing ever. Actually it is the worst thing ever.

It is at this time, as I grieve with my brother and his wife, over the recent loss of their nephew Leo, that I am filled, strangely, with hope. Leo died at the tender age of (not quite!) 4. He was afflicted with a rare and horrid type of cancer; A tumour in his bladder, which made itself known soon after his first birthday.

It’s quite the story, the story of Leo’s life - and all that filled those years. And maybe not the story one would expect. Yes there was pain and grief and heart-ache… But there was more… Much more. There was faith and hope and love and family. There was light conquering the darkness. There was fear that was swallowed up by a greater love. There were revelations in faith and dreams of better days - and better days that came!

Those better days did not continue as we had hoped and prayed they would. We grieve that Leo is not here to hold and hug and grow up into a big burly man. It's wrong that he is not here! It was an evil thing that took his life. Yet, there is hope.

We all know that our lives have an expiry. Yet death still comes as a shock. That shock is multiplied when we see the life of one so young leaving us. But let his life remind you that your life also has an expiry. I say that not to stir up the darkness of fear that lies lurking in the shadows of your mind, but to whisper hope to you. The reason we rail against death, that we cannot assimilate with it, is because it was never meant to be for us. It was never meant to be the end.

The hope that Christ offers, the VERY REASON he came to earth - Immanuel God with us!! Was to break the power of this arch-enemy. He came to smash the head of death! He came to silence its voice, its taunts and the death-grip of fear that it has over us during our lives.  He came to destroy its power. And HE HAS DONE IT!

But don't we still face death? Yes, we do. Our physical bodies still go down to the grave. But as we discover what Christ has accomplished on the cross we are filled with hope. The love of God casts out all fear. The fear of death is the first to go. We are loved! Loved enough to die for! Death on this earth is not the final goodbye. There will be no final goodbye! Death will one day be wiped out completely. For now, we still get a taste of it. Enough to know how horrid it is and how much we do need a saviour; because none of us have the power to free ourselves from its hold. But Christ came and tasted death for us all. So, as we hope in him, we are freed from it. This is the hope we have! This is life changing! This is what we were made for! Eternal life has been written into our hearts. We all long for more than this life has to offer. Jesus came to fulfil that longing!

If it’s not your hope, if fear is your master, I encourage you to look into the claims of Jesus and just why a man that was crucified 2000 years ago can manage to have the growing following that he does. I would suggest the reason is that all that he claimed is actually true. And all those witnesses who claimed to see him after he was killed were not delusional, but speaking the truth. Jesus was the first to live a resurrected life. He invites us to do the same. In his life and love we flourish and hope conquers our fears and the sting of death is taken away. There is still pain and grief but we do not despair. Jesus told us plainly, ‘in this world you will have troubles, take heart, I have overcome the world’. That pretty much says it all. Still pain, still troubles, but the promise of final victory. Its not the end yet, the end is good. Better than we could hope or imagine. 

As we lift our eyes to see the bigger picture of what is being accomplished on this earth, we are invited into a life that never ends, a life of love and family. The movies have it right with the happily ever after… We just have to wait a little longer than we’d like to get to it. But there will be the happiest reunion we could ever imagine and then there will be no more goodbyes! He will wipe away all our tears. For now, we look to him in hope and faith that his words are true, and in time we will see all that we have hoped for and more, come to pass. Long live Leo! His life is not over, its just beginning. I am so blessed to have been a small part of his family’s journey and to witness how their faith kept their hearts filled with hope even as they ached in pain. Thank you Bec and Ky for your testimony to God’s goodness. This earth is not our home and you have helped remind me that we look to something greater and our hope in him is not in vain.

Hebrews 11:13-16

¹³ All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. ¹⁴ Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. ¹⁵ If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.¹⁶ But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Transformation!!!!

I am in the transformational mood! While some may be quick  to point out that the dishes are still in the sink and the washing is on the line... Let's not deny the inspirational and motivational boost that is found in totally re-organising a 'crap-attraction' zone. I find that as I bring new life to an area in the house and give it a make-over I discover increased energy reserves within myself for tackling the other day-to-day jobs, such as the dishes and the laundry.  

Our 'craft desk' is one such area that attracts crap, like a moth to a flame. I haven't minded too much as I know without it here in the kitchen a lot of that stuff would be on the table. However, as you will agree from the photo evidence, it was high time I tackled this area with a vengeance and rethought the way I was utilising it (or not utilising it as the case may be!)

It took me a number of hours to sort through this, (longer still because I was doing it, in and around the bed time routine). But It was time well spent and it felt great to have some order at the end of it all. I had a bit of a light bulb moment. I am sure it must be a rule of organisation somewhere, or maybe it should be; that if you have open shelves, you SHOULD NOT use see-through containers for storing items as this just adds to the overall clutter. Clear storage tubs should be reserved for use behind closed doors. IN closets and such, where you already have a door hiding it from view, and when opened it is easy to see what is there and you don't have to open everything up, after already opening the closet doors. Makes sense right?! So I have taken all my clear storage items and found new homes for them in other closets (ok to be honest, I have shoved them in the hallway closet until the transformational whirlwind comes to town in there.)

Earlier in the day I had purchased a few key items from Ikea to use on my re-organised craft shelves. I already had a few black plastic paper bins from Ikea (as you can see in the photo above). So I opted for items that matched in with these. I kind of have a thing for baskets as I find them to be a beautiful way to bring order. This lovely basket had some black in it which made it a perfect match with my other storage items. I also bought a couple of cheap magazine holders from Ikea- also in black (though they aren't in this photo, you can see them in the final picture)

It was time to put everything back in a way that would make it user friendly and pleasing to the eye. The two black tubs you see in the picture I used for painting supplies and colouring/activity books (we seem to have a lot of these!!) respectively. The magazine holders are chock-full of magazines that are free to use for cutting up. Play-dough and its accesories are living in the square wicker basket. Next to that is the pot of scissors, tape dispenser and other stationary needs all housed in tubs behind. On the top shelf i have kept a few books on display and some folders, my camera bag and a few other tubs of random craft stuff...Blah, blah, blah, I am sure you get the drift!  Here is the final product! Hudson wanted in the picture too, so that is him saying 'Hi'!

It is a vast improvement as you can see. Though you will note there still remains the 'basket of crap' in the corner of the desk. Those pesky items that just seem lost, somewhat useless and yet I am unable to throw them away and giving them away to charity just seems mean. Let's face it, there is probably always going to be a few items that allude categorization, and there might as well be a basket for them as opposed to having them scattered about the house. The half-way house for objects. I may, in future purchase a few more tubs or baskets to make the overall look more ordered and crisp, but I am very happy with the improvement and it does need to remain a practical way to get at activities without digging around too much. I am particularly happy with the lovely basket which is home to our craft bits and bobs. These craft-randoms used to be housed in a clear plastic tub, which only added to the chaos as previously highlighted. Now they are beautifully hidden, yet just as accessible- in fact, more so as the basket makes rummaging through it easier. Oh bliss.

In the last week or so since doing this mini-makeover I have found it such a delight to use items and activities off the shelf and put them away. With everything having a clear home it's easy to see and access what's on offer. It was such a jumble before I rarely bothered to get any activities out as I didn't want to add any more chaos to the chaos. Order really lends itself to creativity. When all possibilities are laid out before you in a beautiful way it just makes you want to dive in and enjoy. I have often witnessed this when I have re-organised the kids room or play room. Freshly tidied, the kids can't wait to jump in there and let there imaginations come up with fun games and play with forgotten toys...And then it's back to the chaos and we start all over again!! :) 

All things new

Far out! Did I ever attack those hills! Heck! The day after my last post I was overtaken with the sudden urge to rip out the carpet in the girls bedroom. Actually it is now the 'kids' bedroom since we moved Hudson in there around Christmas time. So its pretty crowded in there. Yep. Here's a pic if you doubted me on that score. (and I took this picture when the room was pretty tidy!)

You can't tell from the photo but underneath that bright Ikea rug, is some carpet that has been there since the house was built. It is brown with some sort of rose pattern on it. It was pretty threadbare in many parts of the room. The parts that weren't threadbare felt like some kind of fuzz, reminiscent of the rough green side of sponges. You know the ones I mean. Mmmm love the feel of that underfoot in the morning. NOT. It looked hideous, felt hideous and I dare say didn't smell too good either but we try to avoid close contact. Usually pretty easy to do since it is covered in clothing, paper, shoes, bags and, did I already mention paper? Anyway, back to ripping it up :). When I woke up that morning I hadn't planned on ripping up the carpet. Even in light of what I wrote the night before about 'attacking the hills'- when it comes to housework. It just seized me, the force of the idea, the 'rightness' of it. This was the day.(it probably did help that that morning was I awoke with three nights disruption free in my favor, boy what a few good nights sleep can accomplish!) All I needed was the little nod of approval from the landlord (AKA mum), and I was in there, alongside Dad, moving out the furniture and ripping up that stuff!! Man did it feel good, though we nearly choked on the dust!

(Shane helped out a bit in his lunch break, such fun was it to rip up carpet and nails, no that is not him wetting his pants with the excitment, that stain on the ground was caused by...Let's not investigate! But Mum was able to lessen the look of it with some bleach water- go Mum!)

In went I with the vacuum (speaking of which, anyone want to buy us a new one to welcome us into the 21st century?!) to clear away the dusty remains and the nail pull  and hammer to get rid of any dangerous sharpies. Did some cleaning of walls and made plans for paint purchasing. I was caught up in a whirlwind of inspiration and motivation, perhaps precipitated by many nights of Pinterest, all that inspiration had to go somewhere. Like a volcano I finally erupted. All my pent-up decor frustrations and desires rushed out all at once and I could hardly work fast enough in pursuit of my vision. I could do this. I could have a room worthy of re-pinning!

Conveniently Charlotte's art class that afternoon was located a few hundred metres from Mitre10, and providentially- Shane still had a Mitre10 gift card for $50 that was begging to be used. Talk about destiny! With Esther in tow we trotted down to the hardware store and bee-lined it to the paint section. Esther was taken with the paint cards as I perused the aisles of paint pots and mis-tints.

'Do you need some help?' A burly bearded clerk asked. Oh yes I do.
I needed blue paint for the bunk bed, green paint for the toddler bed, grey for the walls, and white or cream for the edges and door, oh and don't forget the yellow for the floor. I found a passable cream colour in the mis-tints at half price that Mr. Helpful said was suitable. He also aided my choice of grey by pointing out the white based paint is cheaper. Ok, done. And I managed to find desirable colours for the beds in the sample pots. And the floor? Well I think he thought I was a bit crazy for wanting to paint the floor and I allowed myself to be talked out of it when he explained how much paint, that is tough enough to be walked on, costs. Ok, maybe I was getting a bit carried away...

I had foolishly hoped I would get all the painting done that evening. Well, of course I did not, but I made a lot of headway in my enthusiastic DIY rush. 3/4 of the bunk and toddler bed got painted as well as half of the bedroom. The rest could wait til morning.

Playgroup Friday morning meant I couldn't get stuck in til after lunch when Zipporah had gone down for her nap. Never mind, I wouldn't have been able to paint with miss Zealous around anyway. Hudson happily played in the living room while I got back at it. This time with Mum's help with the painting. She caught the vision and became my unlikely com-padre. Fresh wind in my sails (not that it had ever really abated) we the rest of the painting done. I even got some relunctant assistance out of Arien who painted the door and the wooden, corner thingies that go along the edge of the floor. Yay.

That evening the final job, of staining the floor. Mum didn't want my help with this and did it all for me. Thanks Mum! We had to shift the bunk bed around the room as we painted different parts as we certainly didn't want to take it a part to get it out of the room. This is probably another good reason I didn't paint the floor. It didn't matter too much if the floor was walked on straight after the stain. Went to bed taht night knowing re-assembly could take place in the morning! (excitement building!)

And here are some pictures of the final product! Who doesn't love a good before and after?!! This was such a satisfying makeover. This room has really gone from being a black spot in the house to being probably my favourite space. Such a good feeling. I am really feeling like I CAN get on top of things. Not just get by, but really make spaces beautiful to be in. Still a long way to go, but this really is a big encouragement to me and the kids LOVE it!

I am so thrilled about how it all came together! It's such a beautiful space to be in now. I even continued 'attacking the hills' that evening as I went through the piles of stuff that were on the girls desk and floor. Put heaps in the bin and sorted and put away the rest and it feels really good. Nothing like taking on those mountains and conquering to know that it really is possible. Thanks for the help Mum, Dad, Shane and Arien. Total cost of the paint etc was $170 (and $50 was on our gift card)pretty good bang for your buck I reckon.  :) :) 

All things are possible! Even housework.

Ok, how's my new year's resolution about blogging more frequently looking? Pretty unresolved. Shivers, we are half way through February already and I am lagging here. It feels like there has been a couple of months packed into the last month alone... School holidays finishing up with lots of trips to the beach and times with family. Helping to throw a biggish 70th birthday for my Dad which was truly a beautiful day. The girls started a new school year and it's already week 3 of term 1! Plus throw into the mix the fact that Shane was offered and accepted, an interim youth pastor position for six months, and I am doing my best to partner him in that role as much as possible. Life marches on!

 I am certainly finding (painfully aware after reading my last post!), despite my noble ambitions and hopes for myself and my housekeeping that there are no quick fixes. I wish I could change as quickly as I could write a lovely post about what I hope to become! I guess having a vision is a good place to start...

I have been reflecting recently though how keeping the household in order (or better put, TRYING, to keep it in order!) is something of a thorn in the flesh for me. Ok, not to spiritualise it...wait, too late I am going to do it, because that is what I do! :0

I love reading, writing, talking, contemplating all the possibilities, the future, life, spirituality all that. I could be happy just in a little cloud of reverie about all these things. But, then I have to do the dishes and sweep the floor and change nappies and answer a million 'why' questions, yes Hudson just entered that phase. I think if I didn't have this mundane, everyday life begging for my attention constantly through the day I would be in danger of, yes I will admit it, becoming a spiritual snob. Often I feel like my everyday life is getting in the way of my spiritual development... But what I am realising is that , that kind of thinking is very misled. If we think our 'enlightenment' on the deeper issues of life will happen better in a setting different to the one we are in the middle of, we are very much deceived. I didn't fully grasp one of Joyce Meyer's favourite lines until more recently; 'if you can't get authority over a sink full of dirty dishes, what makes you think you can get authority over any devil in hell?!' Gosh I love her! So profound. So simple, so TRUE! If I am feeling overwhelmed by my housework, by the dishes in the sink, if they are causing me to curl up and cry, well, then that is really the battle I need to be facing head on more than any other isn't it? And from there, we can work our way upwards onto bigger things.

I think this truth is so important. So easily missed. But I don't want to miss the vital truth that God has placed me in these exact circumstances with these exact responsibilities for a SPECIFIC purpose and that to run from these responsibilities to other things which seem more appealing, more fun, more intellectual, more IMPORTANT, means I am going to miss the perfectly set up training ground he has created for me to grow. He knows the best conditions, he knows the best way to get the best out of me. For me, right now, that means being a wife, being a mother, looking after the household, making food, cleaning up, going shopping etc. etc. Mundane, everyday, boring? Maybe not.

I am going to embrace these tasks rather than try to shirk them, to face the challenges head on. To 'attack the hills' as Shane says to me about jogging! Don't shy from them, face them head on! Become excellent at them. Do it unto God! Every little job becomes an act of worship, an act of thanks. Every job becomes something that forms my habits and shapes my character. I know He is using these things to mold me into what he has created me to be. It doesn't look exciting on the outside, but he sees the inside. And hey, its not all housework and nappy changes, I do have the great privilege of having other outlets and avenues to share and serve in outside the home, and for that too I am very grateful.

Where I am right now is the best place for me. I have a long way to go to gain full 'authority' over all the things entrusted to me, but I want to get there, little by little, with the grace of God giving me strength I know I will conquer those dishes once and for all!

'I can do ALL things (even the housework!!) through Christ who gives me strength'

Reflections

Happy new year!

I have a few little resolutions brewing in my mind for 2014. One of them is to write more regularly. I am aiming to become more disciplined and consistent at blogging. So look out! I would also like to shed another 10kg to get me down to pre-baby weight (this weight loss would take me back to where I was at when we were married, that would be novel!) though I still have a considerable amount of weight to lose, I am just going to reflect on the fact that in the past 12 months I have already lost 10kg, So I am pleased about that, halfway home! I like the slow and steady method of losing weight, I don't believe in deprivation ;) .

I also want to build on some of the successes from last year- During lent 2013 I had a Facebook fast which turned out to be a really productive time of spiritual growth for me. I invested myself more in times of bible study and really felt the benefits in my mind and spirit. I would like to continue to invest more time in the word and especially in just having quiet times alone with God, where I sit in his presence, enjoying his love for me and loving him back. Times to recharge are so vital for living well the rest of the time. I have really seen in myself the constant cycle of having good times being close to God and walking 'in step' with his spirit- I feel so good at these times that I start to forget how dependent they are on remaining focused on him. I use that fuel and run myself to empty, and then realise, after falling in a mental or emotional heap that I forgot to KEEP doing what was making me feel so great. It seems a lesson I keep repeating, but I am hoping to learn it to such a deep level that I never forget where my strength comes from. I am happy for the constant reminders of my dependence on him and I never want to have 'success' in life a part from God. So he is answering my prayer in that regard! Even if it makes me feel rather pathetic most of the time, pathetic is my true state when I am not filled with his presence.

A little reflection on my advent time with the kids; It was so fun and really worthwhile, I think we all got to thinking of others more and how we could be a blessing. Esther continues to want to take our 'tracts' and put them up places! She also used some of her OWN precious money and freely put it into one of the charity boxes at the woolies check out. It was a generous offering too! I felt so proud as it was totally unprompted on my part. She looked pleased with herself
. I am happy to see her begin to catch on to how fun it is to be generous.

As I mentioned in my previous post, December is a pretty full on time with a lot going on... Having a different activity each day was a little bit of a burden at times and we did end up with a 'bank up' of acts of kindness to do and ended up doing a lot of them on the one afternoon... Kind of making the daily 'advent' thing a bit defunct. What I am thinking for next year is to maybe come up with a list of activities, perhaps get the kids to help brainstorm too. Then we could have the list hanging up and tick them off as we get opportunities. We could then have a couple of days in the month where we really have a focused time ticking a bunch off at once, rather than dribbling it out throughout the month. I think I will keep the daily advent count down with a small treat for them and a verse from the bible to read out (perhaps in accordance with the jesse tree). We did do jesse tree for the first time this year, which was also difficult to keep on top of!! Shane was great and took over doing this with the kids. He is so much better at getting them to sit down and listen and staying calm as he shares a story with them (perhaps that is why he is a teacher and I am not?!). It was a bit over Hudson's head though... and next year Zipporah will probably want to be involved... so we might have to rethink how to do that also. It's challenging having kids at different ages and stages and figuring out how to do something that is engaging for all of them! Anyway, I will think more about it later in the year. Though I did bite off more than I could chew this Christmas, I am excited to whittle out what didn't work and make it even better next time. All a good learning experience and it was definitely really positive over all.

So bring on 2014 hey?! I am excited about this year and all that it will bring. I have learnt so much about God's love and goodness and enjoyed the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in my daily life more than ever before. I am hoping to continue on in this journey of faith and discover even more! I love that his love goes on and there is always something new to discover. I really want to have super natural help in wisdom and strategies to run my home well, be a good mother, supportive wife and friend. I know I need help daily to have the energy and strength to give to all those who need me. I want to become excellent with the 'mundane' responsibilities I have before me. Making sure I am giving the best of myself to the things that I am most responsible for. I know if I am faithful with the small God will continue to increase my capacity to help others. I want to become all of who he has made me to be. May this year you have your eyes opened to see and your ears to hear all that God is and has for you. God bless and Happy New Year!

psalm 65:11 You crown the year with Your goodness, 
And Your paths drip with abundance.