Inception

Husband & I headed out to the movies on Monday night for a treat and saw Inception.

I was a little cautious, I had agreed to see it but was not sure I would like it.

However, it was excellent. It's based on a very clever idea. I do like movies with an interesting premise and ones that make you think. It has been compared to the Matrix and I can see why. I think I liked it better.

I'm not going to say what is was about because I liked going it knowing nothing. However, I can say that there was no swearing, no nudity, and while there was violence it was pretty much bloodless and wasn't graphic. Unusual in itself these days!

So, if you feel like a night of escapism you might well enjoy this.

Reasons for a support network (3)

This series was originally posted on In Tandem, a blog for ministry wives

Our first two reasons to be part of a support network are:

1. For mentoring and modelling
2. For understanding

Our third is:

3. For encouragement & accountability

(I do realise all these three reasons are interrelated in a number of ways!)

There are time when we all need to be encouraged (or we need to be the encourager) – to persevere when times are tough. To keep being faithful. To keep trusting in God.

Accountability is a crucial aspect of a support group and should not be ignored. Very few will have the courage to ask the minister’s wife how her personal bible reading is going, whether she is honouring God with her speech, whether she is being godly as she parents her children, what her struggles are and where her sinful tendencies lie. They are probably even less likely to ask the missionary’s wife or their lecturer’s wife!

Yet we need to be asked. Sometimes we long for someone to ask, so that we can be honest. But at the same time, we also choose not to share sometimes don’t we? We don’t open up in our bible study group, because it doesn’t seem completely appropriate. We are very careful who we share with, and to what depth.* The ability to be open and honest with someone, in a way that includes accountability, is a great thing.


Next few posts: Our various support networks



* It’s worth asking the question though – do we hold back appropriately or do we use it as an excuse not to disclose? A friend of mine commented “I do wonder whether this should be challenged, and whether we should try to open up more than we actually do. After all, we are called to share our lives with one another within the body of Christ, and to be an example to one another in how we work through issues of sin. I do wonder whether sometimes we inappropriately use 'being a ministry wife' as a way of getting out of being appropriately open with others...”. I’d love to know what you think!

Reasons for a support network (2)

This series was originally posted on In Tandem, a blog for ministry wives

The first reason to be part of a support network is for mentoring and modelling.

The second is:

2. For understanding.

If you are a ministry wife, other ministry wives are likely to understand certain parts of your life in a way others will not. The same applies for missionary wives, theological lecturer’s wives, student minister wives, ministry trainee wives, etc.

It can be incredibly heartening to have someone understand what you are going through. Whether it’s a joy or a struggle – having someone who has done it already or is also doing it now means you are not alone – others understand.

Part of this can also help us to keep our perspective. Your husband may be out most nights, but perhaps he can be home for dinner, bathtime & bedtime, the way other husbands cannot. He can usually be pretty flexible with his work hours, meaning if you need him home, he can often make it happen. You do have a public role and you may feel like you are in a fishbowl, but chances are you are also prayed for and loved by your community. The understanding and perspective provided by others in similar circumstances can help us to find the positives when we need to, but also acknowledge the struggles when that is helpful. Someone who understands can also remind us of what we already know or what we have forgotten.

Reasons for a support network (1)

This series was originally posted on In Tandem, a blog for ministry wives

Why be part of a support network?

In some ways the answer seems obvious – you either want to get support or you want to provide support (and hopefully both!)

There are three reasons I think we should want to be involved in supporting one another in ministry:

Here is the first:

1. For mentoring and modelling.

Titus 2 tells us that Titus was to teach:

...the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train 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).

We have to learn & be taught these things – they do not come naturally!

1 Tim 3:11 speaks more specifically of the wives of leaders:

In the same way, their wives* are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
(*wives of deacons, but could be applied to all church leaders, and probably even more broadly)

When we read passages about wives, or about leaders and their wives, we know that it matters how we live. Yet at various times we all struggle with how we are to live the Christian life, let alone the ‘full-time ministry life’ (however it looks!). We need women to model ourselves on, women who can teach us and who we can learn from. Likewise, we know that other women are likely modelling themselves on us (scary thought that is!). Rather than fear such a thing, we can acknowledge it and use it helpfully.


A support network, whether made of 2 individuals or a group of people provides an opportunity to:

• model yourself on someone (older &/or wiser) as they live their life of ministry;
• mentor those who are younger &/or less experienced than you; and
• to do both of these with peers.

A new series - Support Networks

This series was originally on In Tandem, a ministry wives blog.

Support Networks

Being married to a man in full-time ministry has many privileges and many opportunities. We have the unique chance to be very involved in people’s lives, to be asked for advice, to be a sounding-board, to support those in hard times and to encourage people to persevere. We can share the bible with unbelievers, support our husbands in their roles, and raise our children to know and love Jesus.

At the same time, because so much is often asked of us, we can start to wonder:

• What about me?
• What about when I need help?
• Who do I talk to about my concerns, my questions of doubt, my struggles with sin, my marriage?

And, we can look at other wives in ministry around us and think:

• How is she really going?
• What struggles does she have which she can’t or doesn’t share with others?
• Is anyone asking her how she is loving & serving God at the moment?

This new series is about Support Networks. It’s going to be relevant for all of us, whether we have support around us or not, and whether we feel we need them or not.

As we go through this series, I hope that we can keep in mind 2 aspects:

1. Ourselves – what kind of support we need to sustain our ministry
2. Others – very few of us operate in a ministry vacuum, separated from any other people in ministry. If you feel well-supported, think about those around you who might not be. If you wish you had been better supported in your first years of ministry, consider finding someone who is in that position now and help them.

Next few posts: Reasons for a Support Network

Subscribe?

I have finally got around to adding a "subscribe in a reader" link and a "subscribe via email" link on musings. So, if you haven't already set up such a thing yourself - hopefully this will make it a bit easier. I just tried it and it seems to work, but if you have any problems let me know.

Modern Family

We have been watching this show on Channel 10 since it started a few months ago. It's great. It's a very funny look at modern family life. The patriarch of the family, Jay, has 2 adult children - Claire (married to Phil) with 3 kids; and Mitchell, who is gay and with his partner Cameron has adopted a baby girl from Vietnam. Jay has remarried the younger Colombian Gloria and now has a 11-year old step-son Manny.

While is sounds a little convoluted, it isn't. The characters are funny, but also very likeable. Every episode also has something positive to say about family - how much they love each other, care for each other, look out for each other, etc.

It doesn't have the same negative aspects of a show like Everybody Loves Raymond, where Raymond in the end was a pretty useless husband and father who couldn't stand up to his parents. This has much more positive relationships, while also being realistic.

Every episode I laugh out loud. Husband also enjoys it and has decided it is one of the few TV shows he would be willing to watch more than once (high praise indeed!)

A man's got to have a hobby

A man's got to have a hobby: Long summers with my Dad, William McInnes (audiobook)

As I have been trying to run lately, I find myself needing something to listen to as I go along - mainly to take my mind off the running.

Some of you will recall I have become a fan of the free downloads on christianaudio.com and in so doing I have listened to Pilgrim's Progress and more recently, Stuff Christians Like. The latter made me realise that a bit of humour is an enjoyable thing while exercising.

So off I went to the local library to see if I could find something else. I stumbled onto this treasure by William McInnes (of whom I already a fan, thanks to SeaChange & East West 101).

The highlight for me was that William McInnes himself was reading it, and because of that I suspect I enjoyed listening to the audiobook much more than I would have done reading the book.

He accounts his childhood, with a special focus on his dad and it was so funny to listen to him imitate his father than I often found myself laughing as I ran along. The first third of the book was a thoroughly enjoyable listen to his memories of the past. The middle section was a bit harsher as he reflected on some other aspects of life. The final third was a moving account of the death of his aunt and then the slow decline & eventual death of his father with Alzheimers, which was so emotional I was moved to tears.

I also liked the insight it gave me of growing up in Australia in the 50s and 60s. It was enjoyable.

Facebook - what to do?

I have now been on facebook for 3 years. In that time I have developed a love/hate relationship with it. I check it several times a day. I want to know what certain friends are up to on a daily basis. For other people, I want to read about the big events. Every couple of months, I consider cancelling my account. In fact this very week I received this email from a friend:

I thought I'd let you know that I have deactivated my facebook account. It wasn't good for me. It indulged voyeuristic tendencies (reading other people's conversations) or made me feel like I was missing things when I didn't go online. So if you would like to contact me, just use good old-fashioned email.

Sometimes, I wish I had this friend's resolve.

Another friend has commented to me they have lost respect for other Christians because of the self-indulgent time-wasting nonsense they regularly write. That certainly made me think.


Here are some of the ways I have chosen to manage facebook:

• I hide everyone who writes too much. Especially if you post about nothing. You fill up my page with your stuff and I just don’t have the energy to sift though it all.
• I hide people I don’t know well. If I don’t talk to you in person, I don’t tend to read your stuff.
• I use the privacy settings a lot. Many people can’t see all my photos, or my status updates.
• Please, if you never write anything – give us an update once a week or so. Over 75% of my facebook friends never write anything and I would love to hear what they are up to.
• I must look at it less. This has been an issue with me for almost the whole 3 years.

In the end, I don't think facebook is wrong or evil. Some things it offers are great. Yet I continue to be uncomfortable with it. It appeals to my addictive personality. I lack self-control in many things, and this is just another one of them.


My current decision is this:

1. I will keep my facebook account for now
2. I need to keep analysing why I use it and how
3. I am going to restrict my facebook time to 10mins, once per day
   
4. I am going to try some facebook holidays - a day offline every week, and perhaps even a week offline every month.

Ahhh, the dilemmas of the online life.*





* which, when compared to many people's actual lives, are nothing indeed!

Babylon's Ark

Book review: Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo, Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence

This great read is the story of conservationist Lawrence Anthony's decision to enter Iraq after the US invasion to rescue the Baghdad Zoo. I enjoy a good true story and this one has all the elements - excitement, details of a war zone, animals needing saving and people willing to help. It connected with my childhood dream to either be a vet or a zoo-keeper and held my interest throughout.

Lawrence, a South African, realised that with the outbreak of war in Iraq, the animals in the zoo in central Baghdad would be caught in the crossfire. So, he was the only civilian who entered Iraq at that time and did it to save the animals.

Once Anthony entered Iraq he discovered that hostilities and uncontrolled looting had devastated the zoo and its animals. Working with members of the zoo staff and a few compassionate U.S. soldiers, he defended the zoo, bartered for food on war-torn streets, and scoured bombed palaces for desperately needed supplies. Babylon’s Ark chronicles Anthony’s hair-raising efforts to save a pride of Saddam’s lions, close a deplorable black-market zoo, run ostriches through shoot-to-kill checkpoints, and rescue the dictator’s personal herd of thoroughbred Arabian horses. (back cover)

I'm generally not that interested in war stories, but I liked the angle on this one.

As I read it though, it did raise a number of questions in my mind. He is obviously a conservationist, and therefore concerned for animals and the planet. However, there were times when I suspect he cared more for the animals in Iraq than the people of Iraq. It is true they were kept in appalling conditions, but then again, the people of Iraq were also subjected to a tyrant in appalling conditions for years.*

It's a question that I have thought over often. As a teenager, I mostly wanted to be a doctor. However, for a couple of years, I changed my mind and wanted to be a vet. Why? Because I was so disgusted with the evil in the world and the way humans acted that I decided they weren't worth saving. Obviously, God changed my mind as he showed me what Jesus has done and that all people, myself including, are so worth saving that Jesus died for us all.

Despite that and the rant in the final chapter that we have to save the planet, the animals, and become sustainable and responsible humans (all true by the way, it was just a little contrived at the end), which included a plug for his new venture, Earth Organization - it was a great read.

Interesting, enjoyable and a different insight into a war zone.




* He does state once that he was more concerned about human lives (ie the health of the zookeepers before the animals), and that he recognised that the dangers the US soldiers faced daily were more challenging than any he faced at the zoo. Interestingly, he also does not generally support the concept of zoos, preferring animals to be in the wild. Of course, however circumstances dictate that some animals that have always been in zoos need to remain in zoos, as they are unable to be released.

10 things I hate about facebook

On Monday I shared 10 things I love about facebook. Here is the other list: 10 things I hate about facebook.

1. It’s a lazy way of sharing information – just throw it out there to everyone.
2. It’s hard to be humble on facebook – it’s all about me, my status and what I am doing.
3. You start to think in ‘status’ updates (or “how would I write this on facebook?”).
4. You have to read so much rubbish to actually get to the useful information. It is apparent that some people feel even the most mundane events of their lives are worth sharing. On this point, I truly wish there was a scoring system for news. eg. 5 stars for major life events, 3 or 4 stars for interesting things or useful thoughts that are worth sharing, 2 stars for general daily info and 1 star for the rubbish that no-one cares about (eg. what you ate for dinner or the fact that your dog is cute).
5. Every time they change the format, it becomes less user friendly and harder to sift through - I don’t want to read your comments on a friend that I don’t know. I don’t want to see one of your friend’s photos. Please people - change your privacy settings to ‘friends only’ for everything!!
6. You fall for the lie that if you weren’t on facebook there may be crucial news you would miss out on.
7. If you don’t check it every day, you can miss major news (yes, I know that this clashes with the sentiment in #6!)
8. I really wonder how private any of it is? I now get junk emails from facebook pretenders.
9. It seems to me that a massive number of people (including a significant number of people in paid ministry) waste a lot of time on facebook. And the cynic in me wonders – why are they not talking to people face-to-face about real things??
10. It is an extraordinary time waster. This is not disputed by anyone who uses it. But no-one seems concerned about it.

Conclusions to come…

10 things I love about facebook

Chances are if you read a blog like this, you are on facebook. The online life all mingles together till we spend all our lives in front of a screen instead in front of another person’s face. However, there are pros to such things.

So here, dear readers, are 10 things I love about facebook:

1. You can keep up with current friends and their daily activities.
2. You can catch up with old friends, and fill in the gaps of many years.
3. You hear about big events in people’s lives – engagements, births, etc.
4. You find out about things quickly.
5. It’s an easy way of knowing what friends are up to, without actually talking to them. (although I still wonder whether that is actually a good thing!)
6. When you catch up with someone, you often know things that have been happening because of their facebook updates, so you can be somewhat informed.
7. If you want to find someone you have lost touch with, facebook is a good starting point.
8. You can purposefully be encouraging or edifying in your status updates.
9. Sometimes you learn something important and can pass that information on to others who care to know, or should know (but aren’t on facebook). eg. your husband who ministers to young people who are all on facebook.
10. Status updates from missionaries. Almost all the missionaries we support are on facebook, and I love the insight into daily life that it gives, in a very different way than prayer points (this is also why I enjoy missionaries personal blogs).
    

But facebook and I do not have a purely loving relationship.

Come back on Wednesday to see the counter: 10 things I hate about facebook.

Through the Bible, Through the Year

Through the Bible, Through the Year, John Stott

This great book by Stott is designed as a daily bible reading guide. He has used the church calendar as his framework and divided biblical history into 3 periods, taking 4 months of the year to cover each one. Each week is devoted to a theme or a book of the bible, which are then expanded by the 7 daily readings for the week.

I am reviewing it now, because if you are interested in starting it when he starts, it is designed to start at the beginning of September.

The four months from Sept-Dec are the 1st period, which covers the Old Testament to the coming of Christ.

The 2nd period runs from January to April and covers the whole story of Jesus, arranged so that you are reading the accounts of Jesus birth soon after Christmas and the events of his death and resurrection around Easter.

The 3rd period is May to August and includes all the events after Pentecost, Acts, the letters to the churches and Revelation.

I am just about to finish it, and I have really enjoyed it. I haven't used it as my only bible reading for the year, but have read it as well as my normal bible reading plan (previously discussed here). It's often provided some extra understanding of a passage or part of the bible, or an insight that I never would have thought of.

For those who would like to get their head around the whole bible, but find actually reading it is a bit of a challenge, this might be a good starting place, as his comments help to frame everything. If you would like a preview, you can view the book online here.

Calvin - Chapter 10

Chapter X: Scripture, to Correct all Superstition, has Set the True God Alone Over Against All the Gods of the Heathen

What a lovely short chapter!* And a good one.

Calvin summarises his point so far,

We have taught that the knowledge of God, otherwise quite clearly set forth in the system of the universe and in all creatures, is nonetheless more intimately and also more vividly revealed in his Word (I, x, 1, p96)

You really know God through his Word, and his Word confirms anything that we might have learnt from his creation - but more wholly and completely.

Indeed, the knowledge of God set forth for us in Scripture is destined for the very same goal as the knowledge whose imprint shines in his creatures, in that it invites us first to fear God, and then to trust in him. By this can we learn to worship him both with perfect innocence of life and with unfeigned obedience, then to depend wholly upon his goodness. (I, x, 2, p98)

As Scripture points us to the true God, all gods of the heathen are rejected and excluded. We are not generally in too much danger of following Jupiter, Zeus or another false God which Calvin mentions. However, we have many other heathen gods - the environment, materialism, education, pleasure-seeking...

Which 'god' do you find yourself following instead of the Lord of all, who reveals himself in His word?



* on the other hand, Ch 11 is rather long - may have to work up the energy for that one!

Raising kids with God at the centre - resources

Resource List

This is the adapted list of resources that I handed out.

Books for adults:

• Leading Your Child to Jesus, David Staal (Zondervan, 2006)

• Praying the Scriptures for your Children, Jodie Bernt (Zondervan, 2001)

• Disciplines of a Godly Family, Kent and Barbara Hughes (Crossway, 2004)
  

• Treasuring God in Our Traditions, Noël Piper (Crossway, 2003).
  

• Gospel-Centred Family, Ed Moll & Tim Chester (The Good Book Company, 2009)

• Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God, Bruce A. Ware (Crossway, 2009)

This link will take you to a summary page of all books for parents I have reviewed, which include most of these above. From there you can also link to more detailed reviews.


Books for children (from younger to oldest readers):

• Learn about God series by Carine Mackenzie (God has power, God is everywhere, God never changes, God is faithful, etc)
• The Beginner’s Bible series of bible stories
• God knows all about me, Kate Toms
• God Made You Nose to Toes, Leslie Parrott (ill. Valeria Petrone)
• God Gave Us You, Lisa Tawn Bergen (ill. Laura J. Bryant)
• Lost Sheep series by Andrew McDonough. Especially Dave the Donkey (An Easter Story)
• I’d Be Your Princess, Kathryn O’Brien (ill. Michel Garland)
• Ten boys and Ten girls series, by Irene Howat (10 boys/girls who didn’t give in, who made a difference, who changed the world, etc). For confident readers.

Some bible suggestions:

• The Big Picture Story Bible (David Helm, ill. Gail Schoonmaker, Crossway Books, 2004). This is a great bible for the 4-7 age group. It is one of the few children's bibles which explains that there is one unifying theme through the whole of the bible, God's people under God's rule in God's place. The illustrations are vivid and often from odd angles, which kids enjoy. The individual story units are sometimes too long, but you can split them.
• The Jesus Story Book Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, Sally Lloyd-Jones, ill. Jago. Very good for ages 5-8. It draws attention in each story to how Jesus will or does fulfill each part of the bible, Old or New Testament. The illustrations are engaging and enjoyable. It does not shy away from details and emotion.
• The Beginner's Bible (Candle Books, UK or Zonderkidz, USA, 2005). Suitable for 3-6 years. The stories give some detail and the pictures are engaging (although not very realistic!).
• My First Bible (ill. Andrew Gleeson and Sophie Keen; Parragon, 2007). Suitable for 4-6 year olds. The illustrations are less engaging and colourful, but the stories themselves are good and quite detailed.
• When reading independently, move to a full bible (simpler translation), eg. NIrV or Good News.
• For another review of bibles see my previous post or Jean's post.
  

Bible Reading Resources:
(all distributed by the Good Book Company)

• Beginning with God - Bible discovery for pre-schoolers
• XTB (for readers, 6+ years)
• Table Talk (family bible discovery with children age 4+)

Other resources:

• Music: Colin Buchanan, Emu Music, Veggie Tales, adult Christian music – both contemporary and traditional hymns
• Bible verses to song: Colin Buchanan’s Boom Chicka Boom & Baa Baa Doo Baa Baa
• DVDs: Colin Buchanan, Veggie Tales

Christmas Ideas

• Advent calendar / set of readings about the birth of Jesus or the story of the bible up to Jesus: design your own or use another, eg. Advent Calendar Packs or XTB – Christmas Unpacked (both by Good Book Company)
• Celebrate Jesus’ birthday the same way you would celebrate any other family birthday
• Listen to good Christian Christmas music CDs, eg. carols and Colin Buchanan’s King of Christmas

Easter Ideas

• Passover Meal on Thursday night (simplified for your family. An example is here)
• Read through accounts on the days they happened
• Daily readings leading up to Easter (design your own or use another, eg. XTB – Easter Unscrambled)
• ‘Resurrection cake’ on Easter Sunday (put an cracked Easter egg on top – to show the empty tomb)

Many of these Christmas and Easter ideas are from, or adapted from, Disciplines of a Godly Family (Hughes) and Treasuring God in Our Traditions (Piper). See the books for more ideas.


Organisations / Ministries to consider supporting (there are many more!)

• Compassion (Christian child sponsorship)
  
• Tear Australia (supporting Christian relief and development work, they also have a Useful Gift Catalogue)
  
• Samaritan’s purse (for Operation Christmas Child boxes)
• Church Missionary Society (CMS)
  
• Bush Church Aid
  

Delivering for Adelaide?

As many readers will be painfully aware - we are nearing a federal election here in Australia. I have no intention of getting all political on you.

But, I have been struck by these posters in our area. I'm not sure who thought of Kate Ellis's motto "Delivering for Adelaide", but I'm not sure it was the wisest choice. Every time I pass a sign with her youthful smiling face (she is 32), I think that her motto suggests she is a midwife (or perhaps very fertile). I suspect the thought never would have struck me had she been a man.

However, it is one of the nicer posters around, so I'll cope, and continue to smile when I see them as I drive around Adelaide.

Raising kids with God at the centre - #3

Raising kids with God at the centre – #3

The first two goals for our children were that they:

1. Grow up in the knowledge and love of God as their heavenly Father, & Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour
2. Mature in godliness; including character, speech & attitude

Our third is that they:

3. Develop a life-time habit of bible reading, prayer and church attendance

Think:

• What are you modelling to your children in your habits of bible reading, prayer and church attendance?

If we want them to be learning to do these things, we have to be teaching them how – it’s modelling again. Again, let me say, I am not trying to make you feel guilty, we all find this hard. But, we need to keep trying and showing our kids that we are keeping trying

Bible reading

• Form the habit – read the bible or a bible story to your child every day. We do it at bedtime, it’s the only time that never changes.

• Have lots of bibles appropriate for each age. See here for my previous post about children's bibles, and one by Jean.

• When reading independently, move onto a full bible, with a simpler translation (eg. NIrV or Good News). Although, even once they are on a full bible, I would occasionally return to the Jesus Storybook Bible or the Big Picture Story Bible, to ensure they are grasping overall themes and concepts.

• Have accurate bibles – do they miss out key parts? Do they present an accurate picture of the whole bible message? Do they include sin (Gen 3)? The promises to Abraham (Gen 12)? How do they deal with Jesus’ death and resurrection? Do they have anything about Acts and the early church, the Holy Spirit, Paul and the letters to the churches or Revelation?

• Don’t be afraid to change /edit their bibles as you read it aloud to match the real version (obviously this is harder to do with a competent reader sitting next to you!)

• Don’t be afraid to give up on a bible when it’s not good enough (this is less important with toddlers, and much more important when they can read themselves)

• Check their understanding – especially when they are reading the bible themselves, make sure they are understanding it. Children are so literal things like parables can be hard to understand, they can get stuck in prophecy, etc.

• Use extra resources to help you (eg. devotional materials like XTB and Table Talk).

• Learn bible verses as a family (use songs, eg Colin CDs; stick them up on the wall, etc)

Prayer

Pray for your children and pray with your children.

We want to model that prayer is a normal, natural part of each day, we turn to God first in all things.

When to pray? always!

• putting them to bed
• before meals (grace)
• pray for God to take away fears / bad dreams
• for special events – starting school or kindy, birthdays, etc.
• about issues – problems with friends, when people are sick, needing help to be kind
• pray for emergency vehicles when they have their sirens on. (I got this idea from a friend – we pray for the person in trouble, we pray for the police or the doctors and pray that they will all know that Jesus loves them).

How to pray?

• Pray from prayer diaries with pictures (make your own). Perhaps a column for each day, including family, friends & ministry/others. Let older children help design their prayer diaries and who they want to pray for.
• Write out prayers for readers to read out. (eg. could make them with a thank you, sorry, please format)
• Pray with them teaching them how to pray informed and biblical prayers
• Let them learn how to pray aloud, but at the same time teach them more ways to pray
• If you are uncomfortable praying aloud – children are so trusting, they will think anything you do is right and good, and you will keep learning as you keep praying with them.
  

Church

• Go!
• Make it a family priority – a weekly commitment that is unmovable. It is more important than birthday parties, sport & family commitments.

To think about:

• Have you ever explained to your children why you go to church?
• How would you explain it?

Next post: Resources

Pre-schoolers

Things I have learnt about having pre-schoolers:

• always buy washable textas

• twistable crayons are so much better than plain crayons. They don’t break as easily and are less likely to be eaten.

• when you change the sheets, that very night someone will wet the bed or vomit in it

• never buy dark coloured sheets (eg. red or blue). They look lovely the first night, then they are constantly covered in a white sheen of dried snot and saliva.

• expect the batteries of annoying, noisy toys to last for years

• openly admit that when the batteries of said toys run out, you will not replace them

• only grandparents & people who secretly want to torture you will give noisy toys to your children (unless you are like me and for some reason a ‘musical kit’ seemed like a great Christmas present for your 3-year old son, by Boxing Day you realised the error of your ways)

• invest in a heavy, stable sticky-tape dispenser and a heavy-duty pencil sharpener that attaches to a desk

• make sure any ‘dress up’ outfits can be put on & taken off by the child on her own. When you dress her up as Supergirl for the 30th time in one day, you’ll know why! This also prevents toilet accidents when they can’t get them off fast enough

• a child that always undoes the zipper on her jumper/jacket/sleepsuit can be stymied by a child-safe safety pin.

• a 2-year old can be taught the difference between a '6' (or '5'!) and a '7' on a digital clock, especially if you cover up the last two numbers. With persistence, said 2-year old can learn to stay in their room until they can see the '7'.

• small wounds can be healed with a kiss or rub

• baby wipes can clean almost anything – on a child and around the house

• until you are 2, the wrapping is more fun that the present itself. This principle can be extended to almost age 6 if the wrapping is bubble wrap. So, how about a wrapped present of bubble wrap?

• you can re-gift presents amongst your children, so the play gym loved by #1, can be hidden one month before Christmas, wrapped up and given to #2 with no-one the wiser (especially the recipient). It’s harder to convince the older child though, and when they announce around the Christmas tree “That’s my bike!” – you must to be quick with the explanation “And now it is #2’s bike”. If well managed, the re-gifting of presents can last years, leaving everyone feeling loved and well-provided for, but with your home never actually accumulating more things.

And more seriously:

• remember – you know your child best

• trust yourself

• have fun with them – they really are very cute at this age.

A Concise Chinese-English ...

Book Review: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, Xiaolu Guo

Husband bought this for me as a present to read when I finished all my talks last term. I waited with anticipation to read it and started it the night I was finished. It looked great, as well as potentially interesting and personally relevant to us (with him being Chinese and me Caucasian). It had good reviews on the cover, etc. I was looking forward to a bit of fiction.

It started well – written in poor English by Z (actually Zhuang, but no Westerners can pronounce her name) as she first arrives in England for a year of language study. It’s her thoughts in English, even though she can’t write in English well yet. I really enjoyed reading these early chapters. Each chapter is based around a word in the dictionary which she used to translate all the English to Chinese. I really liked this, it was a clever idea – the writing continually improves through the book as Z’s English improves and she learns and understands more about living in London.

Then she meets a man. Which all seemed good to start with. Except she is 24 and he is 44. And he is bisexual. And a commitment phobe. And unimpressive on so many levels.

So what started out so promising just ended up being annoying and depressing.

Such as shame, I was so keen to judge a book positively based on its cover. So sad to be so disappointed.

[As an aside, it reminded me of a book my mum bought for me as a teenager about a man who worked in a zoo with an orangutan (or perhaps other monkey). For a daughter who loved animals and was contemplating being a vet, it seemed a perfect choice. However, it turned out that that it was actually about the man developing a very intimate relationship with said primate. Opened my eyes to some perversions of nature, and horrified my mother that she had chosen such a book!]

So, as they say, “don’t judge a book by its cover” – either with a positive judgment or a negative one – you have to actually read the book!


(Husband just finished reading it and contrary to me, he quite liked it, because it was a story of her trying to find and understand herself in a foreign country. That's probably sums up some of the differences in the way we read books. When I read for pleasure, I want a good story that preferably ends well. I can appreciate the literary qualities but that does not mean I will enjoy it more. Also, he is less critical than me!)

Calvin - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Fanatics, Abandoning Scripture and Flying Over to Revelation, Cast Down All the Principles of Godliness

In this chapter, Calvin addresses the hazards of separating the Holy Spirit from the bible. He strongly urges that any teaching of the Holy Spirit which does not point to the words of Scripture is a false teaching of the Spirit. For the Spirit points to the word of God and the word of God teaches us about the Spirit:

the Spirit, promised to us, has not the task of inventing new doctrine, to lead us away from the received doctrine of the gospel, but of sealing our minds with that very doctrine which is commended by the gospel (I, ix, 1, p94)

[God] sent down the same Spirit by whose power he has dispensed the Word, to complete his work by the efficacious confirmation of the Word. (I, ix, 3, p95).

When then do we do? Ensure we never separate the words of God from the work of the Spirit of God, and that we spend time in his word:

we ought zealously to apply ourselves both to read and to hearken to Scripture if indeed we want to receive any gain and benefit from the Spirit of God (I, ix, 2, p94)

the Holy Spirit so inheres in His truth, which He expresses in Scripture, that only when its proper reverence and dignity are given to the Word does the Holy Spirit show forth His power. (I, ix, 3, p95)

You might also want to see Cathy's post on this chapter, it was helpful.

And Meredith - hope you noted my referencing!