tantrums

Well this week has seen a marked increase in tantrums in my household. It appears we have lost ground with our 7 year old who is apt to throw a spaz at the drop of a hat. Her portfolio includes the "huff and drop" manouver which is closely related to the "spin, whine and drop" routine. The latter including a little more arm flapping and zig zagging before she hits the deck.

It is quite a routine to witness; and noone is more shocked or surprised than I, her mother. Looking on helplessly as my sweet child of grace is transformed into something ....else!

I can only hope that these transformations are short -lived and that she will learn more effective ways of expressing herself. Although thus far they have been very effective.... Hmm...

I can only hope that these episodes are short - lived and that I can find more effective ways of communicating with her that don't include the "holding of the breath and barking whilst swinging arms wildly" manouver, or the "shaking the head and eye rolling routine"

Lord Give me the strength to change the things I can and let you deal with everything else.

What Next

I am soon to be retrenched without severance pay as my place of work is closing. After 25 years of maternity care for Gold Coast families, the unit is to be traded for orthopaedics and cardiac services, which are more profitable.

19 Midwives with a combined service record of over 300 years will be in the same situation, some of who are a few years off retirement. It a great travesty against new mothers and their families who will have no choice in the short term but travel to Brisbane or NSW to have their baby.

The atmosphere at work was initially one of shock and disbelief, then anger and now numbness. The Midwives are suddenly faced with how hard they have strived over the years to build something good and worthwhile.

Their strength is gone as the hopelessness of their situation becomes apparent. They express great weariness and now they have nothing left to fight with or for.

This whole process reminds me of my own personal struggle before I was saved.
How hard I worked striving to be good; to create a life of meaning. Then one day it became meaning less. I could no longer keep the pretence of “having it all together’ my stamina and strength were failing and there seemed to be no point; no hope for a future, no depth to my life or the things I was creating. I had nothing left and then Jesus found me. He gave me hope, depth substance and restored my life.

If he did it then he can do it again!

Heavenly Father as the doors close on this chapter of my life I wait in eager anticipation of your provision. I will not submit to fear, I will not submit to worry for they are tools of the enemy and he is defeated. You are my protector, my provider my rock and my salvation in you I trust in Jesus’ name AMEN.

A quiet moment

Ah! A quiet moment. Sitting on my bed reading psalm 23, breathing in the nourishing promise of God.
"Can I read too asks Bethany”(7) suddenly appearing;
“You read one verse and I’ll read the next” she instructs.
So we begin but we keep losing our place.
“ I’ll go and get my bible” she chirps as she heads out the door.
She comes back with not one but two bibles and a childs daily prayer book.
We turn to psalm 23 and we take turns.
“ Yours is different to mine" she says. "Lets see what this bible says” as she cross references with bible number two.
We discuss the different versions of the same psalm and see if the gospels are different too.
At this point Ari ( 13) flops on the bed and watches us with interest, he mumbles as he gets up to leave and moments later is back with his teen magazine bible. He joins us reading verses and comparing text.
Suddenly I have “ a moment” you know that moment in time where you suddenly see yourself from the outside looking on.
It was neat; here I was doing bible study with my kids , they saught me out and joined me in my sanctuary with God. God is good!

HOW IT SHOULD BE VERSUS HOW IT IS

To wake up in the early hours before the light breaks, feeling refreshed and full of joy. Another day unfolds and I hear Gods’ small still voice calling me to prayer and reflection. I reach for my bible that is still open on the bedside; my husband and I having read together and prayed before we slept. I ask God for direction and he speaks to my heart in gentle encouraging words.. “Mummy I’m hungry, can you make me breakfast?”

I open my eyes, I am still in bed and it is early. I feel tired, in spite of falling asleep with the children. I brace myself for the day, there is so much to do, I feel anxious and overwhelmed. At least the kids are back at school and I’ll make time after they’ve gone to sit and read my bible.
My son repeats his request as I pull myself out of bed. I look for my bible it is under a pile of washing that has to be put away, I’ll do it later!

As we reach the stairwell my daughter tells me she is sick and needs to stay home. My day off is being redefined, lost to piles of washing, and other chores. I have a headache and I am very tired. I ask God for direction.

“Will you drive me to school today it’s raining?” says a voice from above.

My teenage son calls from his room above the sound of the Gorillaz the fav music band.

Lord God I don’t have time for you today, please find me in the midst of all this chaos. Help me to prioritise and delegate, to be patient and organized. Help me to be still, to sit with you in the “still point” the “eye of the storm” where there is calm and peace. Find me Lord! seek me out! rescue me from self destruction and worldly concerns for I am weary; unworthy but for your grace.
In Jesus name AMEN.

CAN LIFE GET ANY BETTER?

Can life get any better? I am stoked with my work; I am a midwife and it’s a cool job. One of the few areas of nursing where you get to take care of healthy people!

I work with three great Obstetricians, one especially, who strives to get it right and has so far a “zero mortality rate!” I love the buzz of being part of bringing a new life into the world and nurturing the fragile family unit.

I belong to a neat Church, of about 7 families. I feel valued and part of something really special. We have experienced real miracles of healing from cancer and other illnesses, provision of resources and people being blessed through relationships and finance. For a small Church we are giving in big ways to our community, through prayer, ministry and teaching. We have a big vision for a vibrant youth theatre, a boys group, kids dance club and a young womens’ ministry.
We already have a great band and weekly puppet theatre and a heart to share with our community and lead our young to Jesus! Keep us in your prayers.

Family life is bubbling, we have three teens, one primary and one preschooler. When you add friends into the mix it’s not uncommon to have eight or ten kids at any one time. The best thing is watching them play and create. This weekend we had the juniors x 2 painting posters while the teens x3 made a movie and the toddlers x4 played adventures in the garden. The movie was a hit with all the kids, and the teens learnt a lot about using a camera, scripting, lighting, and sound as well as team work and having fun.

Well I spent this afternoon having a well deserved nap listening to the humming of activity and squeals of joy from the kids.

My husband is relaxing for a while now (we take turns) after his excellent puppet performance in church with our revamped Pastor Jock puppet, a caricature of our real Pastor, Pastor John Brown who are both on fire for Christ!

So yes life is Good and God is Good ….ALL THE TIME AMEN !!!!!!

music for every occasion.

“That’s it I’m telling Mum! Mummy Bethany hurt my feelings!”
And so my day starts, as I reach out with open arms to console my four year old who between stilted sobs explains the exact offence that bruised his feelings.

It turns out that Bethany wanted to play a music CD and Ethan wanted to listen to some “Cool” music. Bethany’s choice was
‘Shrek’.
Ethan did not consider that cool.
“So what’s cool, baby? “ I prompted.
After a moments contemplation he replied ”Elvis”.

How very contemporary.

So Shrek is playing upstairs to Bethany’s self choreographed dance routine, while Ethan mimes to Elvis in the lounge!

Fortunately Ari is away on camp otherwise Black Sabbath would be reverberating through his room, while he strums out the base rhythm on his guitar, again self taught.

I wonder where they get their performance orientation from?

I remember as strains of Sinatra waft from the kitchen. My husband Grant is crooning as he makes stir fry “come fly with me” or is that an invitation? “ come fry with me”

Thank you Father God for my talented family thank you for music that is diverse for all tastes. And thank you for my husband who by the way is an excellent cook.

In Jesus name Amen.

THINK GLOBALLY ACT LOCALLY

I have been very inspired by a friend who goes ‘above and beyond’ to help those around her to feel loved. I began to evaluate my own efforts in this area of hospitality and caring.
I realized that I was thinking locally and acting globally.

In other words I was overlooking the people in my immediate sphere of influence and reaching out to strangers; always looking for opportunities to “connect” with new people and find ways to bless them.~ A recipe for feeling thinly spread and ineffective as there were rarely any relationships established. One can’t grow or maintain a relationship that hasn’t been established, or nurture several relationships at once that are built on token interest.

So watch out you may be the next person on my list to be encouraged!