church

A few posts ago, I mentioned that we had left an amazing church in SA.  
When we arrived in NZ, hubby and I hopped around from church to church, seeking something that was similar to our home church.  No, I'm lying.  We wanted an exact replica.  And no church came even close.
We probably visited around seven different churches, spending a few weeks at each.  Always going home feeling empty, disappointed, frustrated, sad.....
And so, one Saturday evening, we prayed.  We asked God to show us where HE wanted us.  We asked Him to lead us., guide us, show us clearly where HE wanted us.  We started scouring the Internet.  And Harvest seemed like a pretty good church.
And so that Sunday morning we set off for yet ANOTHER new church.
As we walked in the door, Pieter and I looked at one another and said, "This is it".
Harvest is NOTHING like our church back in SA.  It wasn't what we were looking for.  But that still small voice in both of us said, "YES!"
We've been at Harvest for about 6 months now.  We've gotten involved.  We've spent time with our pastor.  We've spent time with other church members.  And I can say, this is home.
We love our church.  Not in the "I love chocolate and rainbows and puppies and pink" way, but in the {AGAPE} love way.
Last week, our church family lost a great man of God.  John was one of the forerunners of the International Day of Prayer.  He was a testimony to me.  He always said that his deathbed was the only thing that could keep him away from church and the fellowship of God's people.  And it did.
His funeral is today.
He was an amazing man.  A man after God's own heart.
Please say a prayer for his family today.  His wife, his children and his grandchildren.
I still have his business card up on our fridge.  He was the first person we met as we walked through the door that day.  And he is missed.

on being blessed

Some more thankfulness.  In honour of my American friends who celebrate Thanksgiving this week.

35.  Road trips.  And roadtrip entertainment.  And a MOB of bikes (there were at least 200) just for my little boy's pleasure.

36.  Roadtrip coffee.

37.  Cruel-la.  Delilah.  We have a few names for her.  When she's bad, she's very bad.  But most days we just adore her.  She was one of the VERY FIRST things we invested in when we arrived in NZ.  And we are thankful.  SO SO thankful.

38.  The fact that in NZ, you can drive for 30 minutes and not see a single petrol station or grocery store.  But there will always be coffee.  Oh yes, there will ALWAYS be coffee.  And for that I am THANKFUL!

39.  Thrift store sweaters.  And scissors.  And plastic elephants(?).

40.  And the things one can make from them!

41.  The time that we've had here and the experience hubby has gained has been amazing.  Thankful thankful thankful.

42.  The little hedgehog that was playing under our deck.  Apparently they only come out during the day if they're not well.  He was a little stinky.  I hope he's ok.  Doesn't he have the cutest ears?!

43.  This recipe.  Oh me oh my.  YUMMMMMMM!!

44.  Creativity.

45.  And kisses!  :)

 46.  And Daddy's boots.....

blessed

I am blessed.
Beyond words.
My husband is lying in hospital right now.
He was supposed to come home today.
But I am blessed.
And I am thankful.

We left an amazing church behind in SA.
We had to give up our beautiful dog.
We had to start from scratch.
But I am blessed.

We had planned on moving this week.
I haven't finished packing.
I've run out of boxes.
With hubby in hospital, I can't do much moving.
But I am blessed.

 The house we're moving into is ugly.
Really ugly.
And a bit on the small side.
But I-AM-BLESSED!

I am blessed.  I am blessed.

* In case you were wondering....  Hubby was bitten by a whitetail spider above his lip.  His face swelled up to the point that the doctors worried it would damage his eye or even worse, his brain.  The swelling has gone down, but he has been there for two nights now being pumped full of strong antibiotics.  Hopefully he will be home tomorrow.

The Well-Behaved Child by John Rosemond

I recently read "The Well-Behaved Child" by John Rosemond.  In this book the author covers the 7 fundamentals to effective discipline with the understanding that the parent takes his/her role seriously.  Mr Rosemond encourages no-nonsense parenting where children do as they are told ad parents are respected.

I really struggled to get through this book.  While I believe that children should be disciplined, I do not believe that this is the way to do it.  I found the author to be very intolerant of any other parenting methods while bashing other child experts.  I tried implementing one or two of his guidelines, but found that it did more damage than good.  I have always tried to look to the Father as my example on how to raise my son.  I don't feel that there are any Biblical principles outlined in this book.  I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

gingerbread part 2

As promised, here are the new little fella's.  Do you recognise any of them?

Take a closer look....

 Familiar?

 Blogger is giving me grief, so forgive me if things seem a bit out of place...

Just in case you were wondering, they're meant to look like the gingerbread man from Shrek.

a deep one

It's been a while since I posted something from the heart.  Partly because there has been so much going on in my life lately.  Partly because I don't really want to think too much.  But after the conversation we had at our mums' group last week though, my burden has been heavy.

As a mums' group, we have started reading "He loves me" by Wayne Jacobsen together.  We began with chapter one last week.  And then one of the ladies asked, "How does God choose who has bad things happen to them?"  And my heart broke for her.  Don't get me wrong, if you know me, then you will know that I have had my fair share of raw deals in my life.  And you will know that there were times in my life that I questioned God, that I challenged Him, that I blamed Him.

But yet I know that He loves me.  I know that His heart breaks just as much as the parents of that 2 year old that fell into a drain and drowned.  I know that regardless of the depth of my hurt or fear, He loves.  And He loves with an unwavering, everlasting love.

When I received that hurtful email two days ago, He flinched with me.  When I faced rejection two months ago, He wept with me.  When I struggled to understand my purpose in life two years ago, my Father consoled me.  And when I sat, as a teenager, with a tract and a Bible in my hands two decades ago and decided to give my life to Him, He rejoiced with me.  That was the beginning of this journey of delving into His love and knowing that regardless of my circumstances, regardless of my feelings, that regardless of any other external event that may try to deter me, He is and always will be God.  He is and always will love.  That's just His character and nature.  He will never hurt.  He will never reject.

The mum who asked the question is really struggling with understanding.  The funny thing is that nothing that any of us said made her feel any better.  Nothing we said answered her question.  It can only be answered by God.  She will only come to that place of realising that she doesn't need to understand after she has spent time in His presence.  Then she will know that we cannot ever understand the ways of God.
I don't doubt for a second, as that child fell down that drain, that His heart broke.  Not for a second.  And I don't see the bigger picture.  I see part of it.  I see a community that has joined together.  I see unity.  I see God being glorified.  But I don't see the full picture.  And I don't need to.  And it's ok.

gingerbread men part 1

We recently made gingerbread men.  This is the first, pretty boring take.  Gingerbread men and royal icing.  Nothing extra.

 

The little guy had so much fun with this!

 

This is his gingerbread man, an angel.

 

Some of my favourites

 

My absolute favourite!  I think she's cute, even though some may not agree.

 

Some clowning around.

 

Hubby's favourite.  Want to know why?  Cos she has the most icing.

 

I *heart* gingerbread men!

 

Faith, hope and...

 

Ready for work.

 

 Baking is so much fun.  Not only for me, but also for the little guy.

 By the way, I got the recipe from here, just in case you're inclined to try it out!

And stay tuned for part 2 of my gingerbread making!