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Month: June 2011

Pinterest

pinterest

I haven’t played a game on facebok for weeks… haven’t blogged much, haven’t been on AussieHomeschool but… I have been on Pinterest!

So what is this Pinterest thing all about? Basically it is your own creative, visual pin board. When you find images of anything that you like, you can ‘pin it’ to your pinterest. You can peruse other people’s boards and like their pins or add it to your own collection. Sure, I can see that some people would wonder why on earth this pinning trend is catching on but it’s really all quite natural – not much different to keeping a scrapbook. When we were first married I kept a scrapbook. No, not a fancy thing like Creative Memories book, rather just a paper scrapbook that I would post lovely images, quotes, scriptures or notes into. Come to think of it, it’s much like blogging! Well Pinterest is a little different but rather than read all about it, pop over to my (rather small) Pinterest page and see the things I like.

I am collecting images of things that inspire me or that I like.

  • Images of home decorations that I could never afford not manage in a rental
  • Clothes that I would never buy or wear
  • Colour schemes that I love but will never be able to use
  • Coffee because I love the colours and artwork
  • Scrumptious food that I simply couldn’t be bothered to make but it all looks good
  • Plants & gardens that I will never plant or grow
  • Word art and saying that I couldn’t think of myself but always nod along in agreement
  • Crafts that I’m too lazy to make

pinterestIf you’d like to join Pinterest, let me know and I’ll send you an invite.

If you are already pinning, let me know your email address/username so that we can pin together.

How not to remind teens to write thank you notes

thank you

A Mum decided she was no longer going to remind her teens to write thank-you notes. That year their Aunt never received thanks for the checks she gave the teens for their birthdays. The next year things were different. The teens each visited to thank her in person!
“What caused the change in behaviour?” a friend asked the Aunt.
“Oh, that’s easy.” the Aunt replied. “This year I didn’t sign the checks.” 🙂

The Long and the Short of Dresses

I’m confused. I just don’t get it.

Yesterday, we (Miss A and the bridesmaids) went shopping for bridesmaids dresses!  It was a l-o-n-g day and we went all over the city but returned home empty-handed. Now Miss A is not difficult to please. She has a colour range in mind and a fairly good idea of the style she wants- classic and elegant. They style in mind will look lovely on the bridesmaids as they are tall and slender.

So why is it so hard?

 

summer dresses

Summer dresses

In summer I can buy long dresses- maxi style. Ankle length.

winter dresses

Winter dresses

But in winter most of the dresses are short. What’s with that?

Are we really so odd for wanting a long dress in the colder months?

Idolizing the family

Living in a time when the family is under attack, the real danger is idolizing the family. We hear the family first and may be tempted to say amen. But Jesus will have none of this. When family is first, God plays second fiddle.
from Family Traits by Wynn Kenyon

It really is a good article and well worth reading. Lots to ponder especially when there is a tendency for the homeschool market to be unbalanced in this area.

He goes on to say:

The family is central to the biblical ethic. It is the primary image of the relationship of the saints to God. The work of Christ was required to bring about regeneration and adoption, making believers heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. And the book of Revelation culminates in the wedding feast of the Lamb. Given the significance of this concept, what does it mean to live a life “worthy of this calling?” What should family members look like? To answer these questions we turn to the biblical narrative.

Individuals were not made to exist in isolation, but in community, just as the triune God exists in community. Because we are created in the image of God, we are relational beings. The difference between God and man is that the persons of the Godhead don’t grow into perfection where humans do. Since “it is not good that the man should be alone,” God made “a helper fit for him.” God created woman and established the family, along with other significant social structures to meet this need. God designed the family to be the primary institution to give children the moral and rational tools to subdue the earth. God created the bonding that naturally occurs (that is, family ties) as well as natural instincts and declared them good…Genesis carefully balances the significance and purpose of the family.

But don’t be content to read these snippets… read the whole article. Family Traits by Wynn Kenyon

Cross centric

As you read the four gospels notice that the narration slows down as the hour of Christ’s death approaches, slowing from months and weeks to hours and minutes, reminding us that this was the hour for which he came. We are to pause and ponder every detail.

 

~C.J. Mahaney in the message “Cross Centered Leadership”

Mother's first duty

Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. Scarcely can the godly mother quit her home for a place of worship, but dream not that she is lost to the work of the church; far from it, she is doing the best possible service for her Lord. Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty. Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord, as Moses in judging Israel, or Solomon in building the temple.

~ Charles Spurgeon

Simply Small Homes

We have lived in all sorts of homes: a small house, a large house, a converted bus and even a shed! Some of our best times were when we were in the bus and the shed. Life was simpler. Naturally as we got older we accumulated more stuff, had more children and apparently our need for a larger home grew. Apparently.

In times of stress I yearn for simplicity because deep down I know that stuff doesn’t matter. I know that our best times of fun, fellowship and intimacy were when we had less stuff and less room.


This video is 10min long… so grab a cuppa and watch it. Let me know how you feel about it. It appeals to me. John and I may very well retire in a cabin as we don’t want to take out a large mortgage and be in debt. What are your thoughts? Could you live in a home this size?

Preach Christ- Spurgeon

To be prepared for the coming conflict, we have only to preach the gospel, and to live the gospel; and also to take care that we teach the children the Word of the Lord. This last is specially to be attended to, for it is by the mouth of babes and sucklings that God will still the enemy.

…

Preach Christ; preach the Word in season and out of season: and teach the children. One of God’s chief methods for preserving His fields from tares, is to sow them early with wheat.

~Charles Spurgeon

The war on truth

A sweet lady named Susan (how could she be anything else with a name like that?) visited my blog and left a comment. Over a cup of coffee, I popped over to her place and just so adamantly agreed with her words that I thought I’d quote them here and point you to her place.

Susan is a follower of Jesus The Christ, wife to fellow follower who happens to be a pastor, and mother to his eight children. You can find her blogging over at MomsHeart48.

I heard a quote from Franklin Graham the other day. He said “Truth is Provocative”. Whee! Thank you so much. I am so tired of apologizing for simply telling the truth. Shoot yes, the truth hurts. It hurts because the sting of sin is real! When truth hits sin it’s like peroxide hitting an open wound …there will be a reaction. We must let truth do it’s work. We must stop apologizing for it’s provocativeness! The fact that the truth will hurt all on it’s on is why we are warned to speak it in love. We don’t need to shout it …a simple whisper will hurt and will make it’s point because truth is a work of God. All truth is God’s truth. We must embrace it …not evade it. We must speak it …not soften it. We must let it sting the sin right out of us and then let it restore to rightness with God…Jehovah God… the eternal self existent one who hates sin but loves sinners.

The reason that her words resonate with me so strongly at the moment may have something to do with my current reading list. Have you read The Truth War by John MacArthur? Free excerpt is also available from this page.

Right now, truth is under attack, and it’s going on within the boundaries of evangelicalism. There’s a lot at stake and there’s no middle ground—no safe zone for the uncommitted in this war.

John MacArthur has written this book to unveil the enemy’s tactics and equip you to fight. Here’s what you’ll learn

  • The pitfalls of postmodern thinking.
  • The inherent flaws of the Emerging Church Movement.
  • The historic skirmishes in the truth war and their effect on the contemporary church.
  • The vital importance of truth and certainty in a postmodern age.

Childhood & the Scriptures by Spurgeon

Let us expect our children to know the Lord. Let us from the beginning mingle the name of Jesus with the A B C. Let them read their first lessons from the bible. It is a remarkable thing that there is no book from which children learn to read so quickly as from the New Testament: there is a charm about that book which draws forth the infant mind. But let us never be guilty, as parents, of forgetting the religious training of our children; for if we do we may be guilty of the blood of their souls.

~Charles Spurgeon