Thanks Titus 2 Women!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and it is a wonderful opportunity we have to thank and bless all Mothers.

Not only the biological mothers though.
I've been thinking about all the women in my life who encourage me, who exhort me, who cheer me on, who do life with me.

Friends, sisters in Christ, mentors, spiritual mothers... they have many names.

Some like to call them Titus 2 Women.

Why?

Let's look at what Titus 2 has to say about women.

"Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to too much wine, but to teach what is good.
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
- Titus 2:3-5

It seems to me to be saying that it is a woman's role to teach and encourage younger women (either in the faith or by age) in the roles they have in their lives.

What a wonderful picture that is.
For women to be encouraging, exhorting, cheering on, doing life with, other women.
So that they have someone to look to, someone to point the way, to leave footprints to follow, and to walk beside.

I'm thankful for the women in my life who do this for me.
Who let their lives shine as an example of someone following Christ.

This Mother's Day, as well as being thankful for my mother, and for the blessing of being a mother, I pray that I can encourage other women as they follow Jesus too.

A homeschooling explanation I don't really need to give, but decided to anyway...

I wrote a post yesterday, and I realise it was the first one in which I mention that my husband and I have decided to homeschool our children.

I'm trying hard to get myself out of the mindset that we owe people an explanation, or that I should tell people about it in an apologetic way, almost trying to beg our pardon for the choice we have made.

I understand there are many and varied opinions about homeschooling, and not all of them informed ones unfortunately, but we have decided that it is the best road to take for our children.

When I say decision, I don't mean we woke up one morning and said, we're going to homeschool
It is something I have been thinking about and praying about for a long time. Something I didn't quite know how to address with Michael after being interested a few years ago, but being scared off by doubts and wanting to stay 'normal' (LOL).
In the end I prayed that if this was a path we were meant to take, Michael would be the one who would begin the conversation about it. I was praying and wondering for a couple of weeks, thinking it might just be my wants.
Then Michael said to me one day, "I think we should homeschool"

You could have knocked me over with a feather, but I should have known that when something is in God's plan, He will make a way.

I believe Michael and I are to be the educators of our children.

Because education and learning is so much more than reading, writing, maths, etc... I do not want the responsibility of teaching my children to be someone else's, who I don't know, whose beliefs and background I have no idea about.

I believe that children learn best when involved in life, not in a classroom for a large amount of the day.

There are many other reasons I believe homeschooling is the best for us, which I won't go into here.

I'm not trying to convert or change anyone else's mind.

Just stating where we are at, and that we are excited about the journey that is ahead of us.
We believe God goes before us, and it is our job to follow His lead.

Autumn

This morning we had our first homeschooling adventure in the backyard.

Thomas (our eldest at four) isn't doing anything formal, so it was really just playing, which is how children his age learn anyway, having a picnic, and a bit of talking and drawing about autumn leaves.

We did a leaf rubbing. Nathan (two and a half years) had a go too.

Olivia (nearly ten months) watched us from the baby swing.

We looked at the shapes and different colours, and saw there were some still green, some yellow and some brown.
We looked at the tree they had come from.

We also saw a tree with small red berries, that we will research later to see what it is.

I find myself needing to write down lots of things I want to learn more about myself, and things that we will file away to learn when the children are a bit older.

Once we came inside, it was time for Nathan and Olivia's rest, then I did some reading aloud while Thomas played (I found a couple of short autumn stories- The Anxious Leaf and The Goose Who Tried To Keep Summer- online at Apples For The Teacher).

It will be interesting to see how Thomas continues his learning while in play now, I hear a lot come out when he is talking as he plays :)

One day at a time...

After the birth of my second and third children, I suffered from anxiety, and one thing I found hard was being home by myself with the children.
I looked at the whole day ahead of me, and wondered how I would cope through it all.
I didn't think I could do it, and so I battled my way worrying through the day.

I was talking to a friend one day who told me how she used to have to just baby step her way through. Minute by minute sometimes, instead of hour by hour or day by day.

A bit like the well known song, 'One day at a time'.

When I looked at the whole day, I couldn't cope.
But I could cope a bit easier if I tried it in bite sized chunks.

Often it was: breakfast time, then play school, morning tea, lunchtime, rest time...

Thinking, 'it's an hour 'til lunchtime' was much easier than 'its six hours 'til Michael will be home'!

It's a bit like looking at years or months, instead of just weeks or days. I know we have to plan ahead too, but there is wisdom in focusing on the day before us, instead of spending all our time fretting about what else is to come in the future.

Jesus taught about worry. He knows our nature, our tendency to worry about things, to want to plan and control our tomorrows.

"Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27)

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

I do not want to simplify the issue of anxiety, as I know how debilitating it can be, but one day (or minute) at a time is a tool I used to help me to manage each day.
One thing I realised is that I can't always expect my days to be easy, to be trouble free.
I rely on God each day, each hour to help me through. To have the patience, the grace, the courage to get through, and to try to give my best to my family.

In all things, God is showing me that when I am weak, He is strong, that I can't do it on my own, and I am learning (sometimes slowly) that this is a good thing, not a bad thing!

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:26

Where does the time go?!

Sometimes in life, I feel so busy.

Things I need to do, things I want to do, things I don't want to do but have to anyway.
I feel like I need to do an overhaul every now and then, lay it all out on the table so I can see the directions I am pulled in, and so I can see where my priorities lie.

God, my husband and my children are my priorities, so I know this should be reflected in where I spend my time. But this isn't always the case.

So again, I need to look at my time, where I spend it and where I need to let go of things so that my priorities can be seen in where I do spend my time, and what I spend my time doing.

I want God and my family to get the best of me I can offer, and if I'm not careful, I can end up so busy that no one gets the best of me, let alone the people I most want to be there for.

I need to remember to think of time as a privilege, not a commodity, and to use that time in a way that glorifies God, and that is showing good stewardship of what he's entrusted me with.

When I am wondering where the time goes, I need to look at where my time goes.
I can waste it so easily! I don't mean wasting it in the way of reading a book, because its what you do to relax of an evening before bed, or that games, tv, and other such things are bad.

But I know I need to be aware of things that drag me in so I feel my valuable time is slipping away. Like playing a game instead of folding some washing I had planned to get done.
The game isn't bad, but I want to be a good steward of my time. Not a time waster.

I think it's important to plan for some relaxing, winding down time, so you know that you have the time to look forward to, you know you're not missing out, but you are also able to use your time well during the day. This is what I am beginning to try, and I don't always do it, but when I do, I feel better about my home, and I feel more relaxed at the end of the day.

I thank God for His grace and mercy at whatever stage we are at on our journey with Him!

Hidden In My Heart

A couple of weeks ago I bought an album on iTunes called Hidden In My Heart, a lullaby journey through scripture.
I've been listening to it in the car, in my home and sometimes at night if I can't sleep.
I love listening to scripture voices put to music. It has been a real blessing, and I am finding myself memorising and having the words go through my head throughout the day. Also, praying the verses over my family.
"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might it sin against you."
God's word is powerful. Full of good things, food for our souls.
I've been challenged about what I fill my heart, and my mind with.
Sometimes I fill it with junk. In the form of music, tv etc...
I know it's not all bad, but when you ask God to examine you, to show you what needs to change, he does, and its usually hard to hear, and hard to change.
I'm not perfect, but God can change hearts, he can draw people to I self, and I am thankful for what he's doing in my life.

Building, not tearing down...

I've been challenged to think, even throughout the day, of how what I am saying and how I am saying it contributes to building up my home, not tearing it down.

I know how as a wife and mother, I can set the tone for how everyone feels and acts in the home. My mood can make people walk around on egg shells, and make my family think they are responsible for keeping me happy, or I can try to take a deep breath, pray and then respond to what is going on in my home.

I feel the need to wake up each morning and ask that God will work through me, reminding me that I am not just a mother, not just a wife, but I am, in His strength, to be an example of the love and grace of Jesus to my family.

This isn't easy, and that is why I do it in God's strength, not my own.
Of course, I don't do it perfectly, but that means having the humility to admit where I am in the wrong, to apologise, and to be thankful everyday for the grace that God has first shown me.

It is often in the small things, the seemingly unimportant moments of life, where we can have the biggest impact on our family.

It is my prayer that I show God's love to my husband and children, and that I can be Jesus with skin on to them.

May I never lose the wonder of the cross...

With Good Friday only a couple of days away, I've been thinking about what it means to me. Realising how Jesus died for all mankind - and that that means He died for me.
I struggle to grasp it.
I wonder why?!
Such love.
Such grace.
And my mind, in its humanness, cannot understand.
Yet I want it to always be this way...

May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of the cross
May I see it like the first time, standing as a sinner lost
Undone by mercy and left speechless
Watching wide-eyed at the cost
May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of the cross

Where God Leads

For a long time, I have been travelling along in my journey with God, feeling confusion and wondering what God's purpose for me is.

I have felt a stirring within, that God wants more, and for a long time I thought He wanted me to do more.

But later I have realised He wants more of me. Of my time with Him, of my desire for Him to be number one in my life.

As a wife and mother, I often feel like I am really busy, but I haven't always felt that my busyness was important work, or that it was doing anything for the Kingdom of God. I felt my work was temporary, until my children grew up.

I have had a realisation of the true importance, and the counter-cultural calling of a Christian wife and mother. To be called home, for me, is to realise that I don't need there to be something else more important that I do so I feel I am serving God.

Home is my number one calling, and it is where my heart needs to be.

God has lead my heart to where it needs to be, and I commit myself to fully being where I am, instead of following the world's call that I need to be more than a mother, more than a wife.

I have begun this blog to share the things I am learning, and I pray I am a blessing to others.

Please join me on my journey...