Writing it Down!

As we begin our home school year, I've had the idea to begin a journal. It's nothing fancy at all, just a lined spiral notebook where I write about our days. I was wanting to have a written record to go with our photos of what we've been doing and learning and funny things that have happened. Big things and little things. I'm so grateful that I thought of this idea before we began, so that I can just keep adding to it right from the start, instead of having to go back and try and remember.

 

I used to be an avid scrapbooker; for ten years straight I scrapped everything. And then, when our fourth child Mr R was born, I just stopped. The other day I sat at the table with all of my scrapping stuff out in front of me, and felt a bit overwhelmed by the fact that Mr R is now five and I'm still working on little itty bitty bubby photos of him. Well, better late than never, right?

 

I knew that by starting our home school journal, I would have all the details written down so that if I ever decide to scrapbook our year (most likely) then I have all the information to go with the photos. Well, that's the plan anyway!

 

I believe its important to keep records of our family life; words that point to His goodness in our every day. Memories to look back on over the years to come; to refresh the heart and stir the mind.

 

Today we've woken up to overcast skies and a fresh, cool breeze. I love days like this. They are perfect for snuggling up with a journal, a book and a coffee after all the chores are done. I may even put a slow cooked meal on for tonight.

 

How do you record your families days? Are you a journal keeper too?

 

Blessings to you today!


"Write what should not be forgotten"
- Isabel Allende

 

Encouraging My Daughter

We woke to the most dense fog this morning. While driving my husband to his work, I was going at a snails pace as in front of me there was draped a thick white sheet which I could barely see through. It was stunning. While driving back home, I was seeing all these incredibly beautiful scenes passing me by and I was just wishing that I had thought to grab my camera! 

My eldest daughter hasn't been enjoying school very much this term and this morning my little sweetheart came undone. I don't normally allow the kids to stay home 'just because' - but today I just knew that my little girl needed some mummy time. She has very low self confidence and needed to be re-affirmed of her value and her worth by her mummy. I have been praying for some time with her and to have a way to build her confidence up.

After getting past the normal 'rush out the door to school' routine, Little Miss P and I arrived home to receive a phone call from one of my best friends. "I'm in the car, I've packed my camera, would you like me to pick you up so we can go take photos together?" (yes please!) I declined thankfully, as I knew Little Miss P needed some 'me' time, but then I thought to myself it might be a great way to build up her confidence, as she shares a love of photography too. I asked her what she thought and she very eagerly said yes! 

"Did you see that incredible fog this morning?!" my friend asked when she picked us up. I knew where she was headed, "I just wish I had my camera on me to capture the little lake with the ducks and the reeds ...". Yep, me too.

The three of us set off on our photographic adventure, stopping and starting the car to capture that elusive 'perfect shot'; reversing when we saw a gorgeous old fence or a dead tree (yes, they are beautiful!); zooming in for close-ups of tiny flowers and cobwebs; and the clouds, they were unbelievably stunning! We had a great time laughing, singing and chatting. 

I have to confess, and I am being very honest here, I'm not beating myself up or being unhappy with my own photography, but Little Miss P's photo's for this photo shoot turned out much better than mine. She has a photographic eye for sure! 

See for yourself! ...

When we got back home we headed straight to the computer to download all the photos we both took. God is just so faithful to answer our prayers! MR S and I were able to look through her photos and give her honest feedback! I could see that our encouragement on something that she achieved meant so much to her! It was her first official driving photo shoot and I am just so proud of her, and she's only nine! (next time, I'll be taking my Little Miss J out for a photo shoot!)

I love this part of being a mother ... the passing on of our loves, passions and skills to our children; seeing them persevere even if things are difficult; being able to encourage them and seeing them grow and develop individually!

I'll share my photo's with you at a later date ... but right now, I must go to bed, it's been a long and satisfying day! 

(We did watch a good long portion of BBC's Pride and Prejudice together too ... bonus!)



(Please remember that all Photographs are property of Sufficient Grace and Little Miss P, please do not copy my sweet daughters hard work without permission, thank you!)

Inherited From My Mother

As I was washing the dishes the other morning, a thought occurred to me that I have inherited a love of cleaning from my mother. I really do enjoy cleaning.

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly days where the thought of cleaning the same mess again; folding the same washing again, wiping the same table again, scrubbing the same loo again, sweeping the same floor again, really is the last thing that I want to do. But for the most part, I really love having a clean, tidy, organised and fresh smelling home. Are you the same?

I remember when I was a girl, my mother would exclaim quite happily, "Room cleaning time!". My younger sister and I would groan and roll our eyes at each other. We knew what this task entailed. 

We would have to get rid of rubbish, straighten things up, make our beds, sweep or vacuum and mop, and the most dreaded job of all ... dusting. Yuk. We had to take our ornaments and nick-knacks off our duchesses and dust that surface and polish it till it shone with O'Cedar Oil. It was so annoying.

Sometimes my sister and I would have a race to see who could finish it first. I was known to 'dust' mine at times using a shirt bound for the dirty clothes basket, but mum always knew I didn't do the job properly and, sigh, I would have to do it again!

What we also found frustrating was the fact that it didn't seem to matter how we arranged our ornaments back on our spotless surface, mum would always come back in and re-arrange them! What was the point?!

As frustrating as the whole process was, my sister and I agreed that after the job was done, we really did enjoy walking into a clean bedroom again!

Now as a mother of four, I've found it quite amusing to see that my children have a similar reaction to cleaning as my sister and I did ...

See? ...

12yr old Mr S looking very unimpressed ...

9yr old Little Miss P already daydreaming! ...

7yr old Little Miss J with an expression much the same as my sister used to give!

4yr old Mr R contemplating whether he should or not!

Still they give their best most times. It's a hard thing to teach the kids to help the family, be responsible, look after their things and others. I've found that the main reason that I love to clean is because, for me, it's showing God my grateful heart for His many blessings that we enjoy in our family home. I love aiming to keep my home in a way that glorifies Him! This is the truth that I speak about to my kids and actively show them too.

Don't get me wrong, our homes not a magazine home decorator home, in fact it's not even ours, we're renting. But it's home. It's not always as clean as I'd like it, but it's home. There are messes each day ...

See?!! ... 

Mr R scattered Lego everywhere, Little Miss J accidentally spilled
water on the carpet ... twice.

LIttle Miss J is so creative she made a cubby out of the
side dining room door, as you do, and the pegs were spilled,
and the cubby remained there for about 4 hours!

Always washing ...

A pet hate of mine ... messy bookshelves! Aaaahhhhhh!!

Did I mention more washing?!

I really do value my mothers "room cleaning times" so much more now that I am a mother with my own children to raise and train (I guess she could see that I would need to know how to do it for my family one day!) Mum has taught me so much about home keeping, home hygiene and making a home beautiful. I'm so thankful.

This is how I'd like the rooms in my home to look all the time ...

... yeah right that's never going to happen! That's not reality with a large family! 

However, I still try my best to keep our home tidy, and that's all we mums can ever expect of ourselves. We do pressure ourselves way too much don't we? I really am so incredibly grateful for the love of cleaning I've inherited from my beautiful mum. Hope fully, eventually my kids will appreciate inheriting it from me too! Time will tell! 

Leaving A Legacy ... Questions For Your Memory Book (Part Two)

Good morning! I thought that I would quickly type up the last of the questions for your Memory Book for you before I head into town to do that lovely thing called 'grocery shopping'. It's just going to be a quick little post as it's freezing here and my fingers are half numb while I type this! Here are the rest of the questions for you:

• what are your best memories of school?
• what was your favourite subject at school?
• what are some fond memories of your grandparents/great grandparents? What are their full names and birth dates?
• what was your most exciting holiday/trip? when/where/why?
• did you have any nicknames growing up?
• what are your children's full names and birth dates and where were they born?
• what are some things that you admire about your husband/wife?
• what are the most significant lessons that you have learnt in marriage?
• what have been your greatest joys in your marriage?
• what are the most significant lessons that you have learnt in your parenting?
• what have been your greatest joys in your parenting?
• is there a hobby that you enjoy/are passionate about? has God used this for His purposes?
• what is your favourite: colour/flower/season/food/author/music/scent/animal?
• do you have any favourite quotes?
• what do you like to do to relax?
• did you complete any extra studies after school? what/when/where?
• where did you go to school?
• do you have a life-long friend?
• what are your talents and abilities?

I hope you enjoy these. Add or delete whatever you like and be sure to let me know if you've started one for your family legacy!

I'm off to Sydney for Hillsong conference with the Music Team at our Church for a week, and I am very excited! I'm looking forward to hearing the speakers, the music too, but the speakers especially! Hopefully, I'll have a whole pile of God inspired posts to share with you when I get back! (When I'll be hearing Christine Cain, I doubt that I could ever be uninspired!).

Have a blessed few weeks, enjoy the small moments, and I'll see you when I get back!

Leaving A Legacy ... Questions For Your Memory Book (Part One)

Hello my beautiful readers! I apologise for my slackness in writing out these questions for you to use in your memory books if you would like too, it has gone from slow to full-pace here lately! I thought I'd take these few quick minutes to write out some of the questions below. I realised as I was typing them out that I really did ask a lot of questions, so I will do them in a two part post (that explains why my Grandfather hesitated to answer them ... he thought there was too many! Sorry Grandad!)

I hope you enjoy them!

• when and where were you born?
• what is your full name? do you like your name?
• what were your parents and siblings full names and birth dates?
• when and where did your parents marry?
• what are some fond memories you have of your parents?
• what are some fond memories of your childhood?
• what is one cheeky/annoying thing that you did to your siblings when you were young?
• what careers/jobs have you had in your life? which one were you most passionate about?
• do you have a favourite bible character? why?
• which churches have you attended?
• what's your favourite bible verse/passage?
• do you have a favourite hymn/s or song/s?
• what has been your most challenging weakness to give to God?
• do you have any regrets? If so, what would you have done differently given that time/opportunity again?
• when and where did you give your life to Jesus? What was it that made you respond to Him?
• what is the most significant lesson in faith you have learned?
• who is Jesus to you?
• have you been on any mission trips? When/where/why?
• have you been baptised? When and where?
• do you know your love language and temperament?
• what have you discovered are the most important/valuable things in life?
• who has been a consistent Godly role model for you in your life and why?
• how and when has God answered one of your most fervent prayers?

 

 

I would love to hear from you if you've started a memory book of your own! It really is a lot of fun to put together, and even more fun to read again and again, learning from those you love.

 

I'll add the rest of the questions for you at a later date. Have a great day!

 

 

 

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him,

and his righteousness with their children's children -

with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

Psalm 103: 17-18

 

Leaving A Legacy

I still see them, together, sitting on their bed. Legs stretched straight out in front, open Bibles in their laps, hand cupped to the ear that housed a hearing aid. They were listening to the Pastors message from Sunday on cassette. They never missed one sermon. Their faith was so evident. So tangible and real. Their house was permeated with the calm, quiet and gentle presence of God. His peace rested there. My heart still misses them. Almost every day.

And now I am aware that I am entering into a time in my life where, as they age, I may not have the presence of my Grandparents in my life as I do right now. Like my Great Grandparents, whose gentle, visible faith has not been in my life since my early teens, my Grandparents may not be with me much longer either. Oh how I will miss them. There will be such an irreplaceable gap in my heart.

I realise that I am so abundantly blessed to still have the amount of Grandparents in my life that I do right now.  I/we have, three Grandfathers and three Grandmothers still alive. Our children have four Grandparents, three G.Grandfathers and three G.Grandmothers (there was deaths/divorce years back so we have gained 'extra's' to love!).

I also realise the older I get, just how much they have shaped who I am right now. How much their love, care, influence and example has wrapped its way into the makeup of my person, my soul, my heart. They also hold a torch up high, showing me the person I still am wanting to become. The legacy I am wanting to leave.

How do you capture such faith and life experiences as theirs? (Although they are far from perfect) How do you pause time to forever remember the impact they have in your life? (Although the times weren't always rosey) How do you not forget? These were all questions that I couldn't ignore. I had to do something that would seize the faith of these beautiful Saints so that in years to come, when they are rejoicing in glory, we can have their words of wisdom as an added guide to know how to step out our faith. To know the truth that this world drowns out by distractions, complications, stresses and sins. To be reminded of the worth and value of a faith genuinely lived in the day to day ups and downs; the Word of God being the unmovable, firm foundation of our lives and that our God is mighty and worthy of all honour and praise and adoration for the rest of our lives!

Then, God showed me what I had to do. I created a 'Memory Book' for each of our Grandparents and Parents. It is a journal that I put together containing a pretty large amount of questions that they could answer. Questions that I wanted to remember; that I know are important. Not only ones about their genealogy, but mostly about their faith. 'Who is God to You?' 'What are the greatest lessons in your walk with God?' 'What is your favourite Bible verse/hymn/song/Bible character and why?' 'What are your lessons in marriage/parenting?' They all gave a cheeky 'grumble' when I handed the journals to them, but as they are being returned, there are smiles and comments of "It was actually a wonderful thing to do". They felt honoured, valued, worthwhile and loved - so very loved. I am still waiting to receive a couple of books back, and they know that I will lovingly 'nag' them until I have them!

The content of these journals are priceless. I can see my children and their children (Lord willing) reading over these words of truth and wisdom. Applying it to their own lives. Knowing what the faith of the ones before them looked like. Living a life that glorifies God. MR S and I are going to be completing one of these journals together sometime soon so that our children have a record of their parents faith too. I'm praying the unwavering (although tested) faith lived out so beautifully by my G.Grandparents, Grandparents and Parents before me will return full circle and be found in me. So that the circle may begin again and extend to my future generations.

Praise His Holy Name!

MR S's Paternal Grandfather and 'step'-grandmother's journal

... his Maternal Grandmother had already passed away before God gave me this idea.

Thankfully, she was an avid journal keeper.

 

My Paternal Grandfather and 'step' Grandmothers journal ...

lots of wise and cheeky answers in this one!

 

This is my Great Aunty's journal who recorded so much of my Paternal G.Grandparents,

her parents, in here for me, as well as from her own life. So precious.

 

 

These are my Nana's old Bibles - she has scrawled

her precious notes in the tiniest, neatest cursive I've ever seen!

 

 

Our piano is where I have chosen to hang pictures

of our extended families on both sides. Visual reminders

of beautiful people who I just love so much!

 

The lady in the centre collage picture is my Mother-in-love

when she was younger, wasn't she beautiful! The wedding picture on the piano

is my Mum and Dad ... I love this piano area.

 

 

 

My legacy, your legacy, our faith is worth recording. It is worth the effort. For so many reasons I hope God gives you a way to record your story too. It is such a blessing.

 

Tomorrow, Lord willing,  I will be making some 'nagging-in-love' (come on Nana! I'm really wanting to read yours!) phone calls, writing a letter or two and maybe purchasing the journal for MR S and I to begin together.

Some time this week I will try my very best to write out all the questions that I included in  the journals for you to use if you so desire.


You're welcome here anytime!

Love in Christ,
Elisha.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him,

and his righteousness with their children's children -

with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

Psalm 103: 17-18

 

 

I'm linking up with these blogs today for even more inspiration!