Sorry it’s been a while

Here’s a quick update on my art! It’s going amazing! I am so happy with how well it’s going.

Lesson 8 was”Lady of Shallot”Teacher was Deanna Strachan- Wilson. Subject- John Williams Waterhouse loved it!!

I love how sad the Lady of Shallot looks my favourite poem, song and painting.

Next lesson number 9- Teacher Juna, Subject- Rembrandt and we used Charcoal.

I was a little disappointed with how she turned out until l looked at her again the next day. That chin! Beautiful!

Lesson 10- Teacher was Sharon Harkness-Dobler. Subject- Henry Ossawa Tanner, and l copied Henry’s original painting and l had a ball! I love this one!

Henry’s original painting on my computer screen, Sharon’s on the wall in yellow and mine next to it! First time doing a still life!

Lesson 11- Impressionists are here!

Teacher- Kara Bullock, Subject- Mary Cassatt, loves this lesson too and lm going to frame her!

Mary Cassatt l used her face to recreate her painting, happy with how she turned out. I almost gave up!

And then there was lesson 12- Teacher- Lucy Chen, Subject- Matisse we had to do a Fauvism style painting a selfie! Not my favourite!!

I don’t love this but l did it. I’m finding when l push past “I don’t like it” l feel prouder of myself for having done it!

So that brings us up to date on my “Let’s Face it” course!

I am currently away camping in Brim Victoria, we are doing the Art Silo Tour, it’s over a 200 kilometres stretch and the unused unloved wheat silos are being transformed as giant canvases! Here is the Brim one!

I’ll come back tomorrow and post some more of them.

Happy Easter everyone and spare a thought for the reason behind the season. Jesus died for our sins.

Early morning blog post… Using our words wisely..

Good Morning everyone (spoken in my best teachers voice) its 7:37am Friday the 5th of August, its my Brother Bill’s birthday, I hope the card I sent him will makes it in time. Its also the day Marilyn Monroe died all those years ago, no Bill I wont reveal your age, but as he came into the world, she went out of it.

I have just completed my bible study for the day, this bible study in on the Book of James with Courtney over at Good Morning Girls today we were instructed to read James 3:1-12. Then we choose a portion of the scripture that most appeals and we do the S.O.A.K method and colour code it. This morning I chose verses 3-6 and I’ll share it with you below so you know what I am waffling on about..

James 3:3-6New International Version (NIV)

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

So these verses tell us about how “things” including our tongues can be controlled. I am particularly drawn to the lines

6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Lets read it again… The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.

I am sure that whoever you are,  reading this blog post, (and whoever you are THANK YOU for taking time in your busy life to spend some time in my words.) that at some stage in your life or maybe even repeatedly you have been touched by words that have come from an evil tongue, and maybe even been the cause of the evil tongue lashing, I know I have been on both sides. We are born of men, we are all sinners, as long as we learn from the experience and ask for forgiveness its not a wasted experience.  But then you too, like me, know the power of those words and how much they sting and how once spoken they cant be retracted. It doesnt matter how many times someone says “Sorry” to you, or tries to tell you that they spoke in anger and “didn’t mean what they said” its STILL, sometimes years afterwards, those stinging words that come back and the pain is as fresh as if it happened only yesterday. I wish we knew the effect those stinging words would have on the person we said them to BEFORE we said them, before it was too late to take them back.

Yes, I have been on the end of stinging words, from people closest, whom you thought were your family. And as much as I pray for their forgiveness, I struggle to be able to mute those words. I had a discussion with my sister-in-law a few nights ago, and she wisely told me that I have to let it go because its robbing me of being truly happy and being the best me I can be. Thats very true it is robbing me of that. And everytime I think I am past it, something happens to remind me and the words are back in my head and I’m right back there again. I, on the other hand, well I am mousey, I never have the bravery to stand up and say what I think, I never have. Prehaps that is a saving Grace, maybe that is God’s plan, he puts his hand over my mouth, so I wont say the things my mind thinks! I go one of two ways, I either bite my tongue and let it go, (as a wise man once told me “Pick your fights“) I am SUPER good at that, its a wonder I still have a tongue after all these years.  Or I sit down and think it all out and then I write my scathing replies usually in a flood of tears and a world of pain. I am REALLY good at that option. But l also found out from one of those recipents that after all these years its been 16 years since I wrote that letter, it haunts her like her words keep haunting me, she kept the letter and re-reads it, so she keeps herself in that pain,  really I am NO better than she was, I just thought I was. I wonder if while she was using her tongue to SAY all those things she got as much relief as I got WRITING all those words, setting the truth free?! I wonder if she at the time, walked away feeling better that she had cleared the air and voiced her opinion. I know writing the words and mailing the letter was healing for me, I quickly forgot all about the letter until I was reminded of it a few years ago.

Today as I was working on my bible study the morning radio was on in the back ground and a caller phoned in to request a song it was a little after 7:00am and she was returning home from the gym, she said she had crossed paths with a fellow gym member who complimented her on how great she looked that day. A simple compliment made the whole difference to the caller of the radio show, she explained that in Feb. she had had surgery for a weight loss procedure and was new to the gym, but was trying really hard to loose weight and get fit, she told of the struggle to get out of bed this morning it was only 3C and its icy out there, but she forced herself to her work out, and then she receieved that compliment and it made the world of difference to her that someone was noticing. She also mentioned that since Feb. she had shed an amazing 36 kilograms of un wanted weight. Probably the Lady who made the compliment wouldnt have known any of that. It made me think about the lady who had used her words wisely and complimented the caller.. Did she feel good muttering those words as she passed by? Did she wake up this morning and decide that she would use her words wisely and start off complimenting someone at the gym? Even knowing the lady who used her wise words was running late, she took that time to make someone elses day seem brighter. I really wonder if the the Lady who made the compliment realised what a Huge difference she made to the caller? I REALLY hope the lady who made the compliment, has a super day today! i hope someone pays her a compliment so she will feel a little of what the caller felt. So the caller requested the song from Bob Marley “One love” and I stopped my bible study to really listen to the words of the song and it made me more conscious of using my words for good today.

Friday will be “Use your words Wisely Day” for those of you who are not yet in Friday won’t you join me? I am going to try and only use Good words today, wish me luck!

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog!

Art is back on…

And boy have I missed it.

So this morning I was forced to be up early, we are selling our car Heidi and the new potential buyer wanted to collect the car and take her to his mechanic, at 7:45AM!! Ok, so confession time, I am never UP that earlier, much less dressed ready for the day, except today I was.

In fact, I was so super organised I even had my morning bible study completed. Did I tell you about that? So this week with Good Morning Girls we begin the book of James. You can find out more details Here. Just reading the intro into the study I found out that James was the half brother of Jesus, go figure. Sometimes I feel so dumb about my lack of knowlege of the Bible, but then a friend told me she finds it refreshing, that I don’t have to “unlearn” stuff I might have been previously taught. Anyways so today was day 2 of the Book of James, we read the prescribed verses and then we colour code them and then we use the S.O.A.K method  (you can find out about S.O.A.K  method on the above link I shared) 

By the time we did the usual morning routine, breakfast, supervise dressing and making sure lunch and home work are in school bag, brushing SweetPea’s hair and waving and kissing Goodbye, I had also done a load of washing and hung one load out to dry, and washed the dishes and made the bed before 9:00am! Super organised.  

So I had choices… Waste time on the internet, do some crochet, I have 4 projects going at once and I HATE THAT!! Or do some art. So I chose art. 

First I started a new 30 day challenge for art journaling. For 30 days we are sent an email with prompts to use, suggested materials or themes etc, and also Allyson (You can meet Allyson Here) shows us what she’s created as an example. 

Day one was “Whats that scent?” Immediately I remembered that Pine Trees are one of my favourite scents. It brought back beautiful memories of when I was a little girl, my parents had a holiday place that Dad largely built himself, and I would wander through the nearby Pine plantations and listen to the birds and the creak and groan of the pine trees and the pine needles under my feet and the beautiful piney scents,everytime I smell pine trees I am taken back to that place. But my other favourite scent is White Sage. I did a course with a lady who became closer to me than a sister and she taught me to smudge with burning white sage and sweet grass in an abelone shell and waving it around the rooms and over myself, I love that smell. So how to choose which smell to do art about? I couldn’t so I chose both, I called it “Then and Now” then of course is Pine trees and Now is the smoking sage in the abelone shell. 

So while the Pine Trees were drying, I started on the Abelone shell with the smoking sage. Once the paint had dried I went back and did some journalling about what I’d painted.

While they were both drying I moved onto Lesson four in “Heaven In Calling” a series of Bible art lessons I am taking. Rebekah Jones to teaching this one and you can find out more about Rebekah and her course Here!

Today we did a reading from the Book of Judges and how Gabriel spoke with an Angel and was unbelieving that God would be speaking to HIM. I enjoyed learning about Gabriel, I haven’t read about him yet.

Lesson two in the “30 days Determined to Shine” challenge, the prompt was to “write a letter to our younger self” and give them some healing advice. I knew my letter wouldn’t be very nice so I had to think of a way to hide it from prying eyes. 

So I folded the letter up really tiny and stuck it underneath this die cut flower. I figured that the flower would look pretty and hide the hate filled letter. I used pink on the background page to promote love and I used some penpalling letters for the back ground page.

Final page looked like this.. Letter hidden behind the pretty flower and a statement that won’t let me forget what its all about.

So today was full of art, and housework and we went to the shops and my very pregnant daughter 39 weeks today! Came over with my Grandson so we had cuddles and played ball and he helped me sweep the back deck.

For dinner tonight, I taught second daughter how to cook Meatloaf, its one of the few meals that the whole family enjoys. She did an excellent job it was so yummy! And finally before bed, I got a few rows of cochet done, working on Grand daughter Janetzki’s blanket, in case she should arrive early! 

Plus three days in a row of blogging and two days in a row of journaling, I feel like the old me is on her way back!! 

Bible study or more than one…

Oops I did it again… I slipped and fell into another bible study… I need to slow down or risk over doing it…

Over at Good Morning Girls we are currently doing the Book of Job. Last week I was doing The Book of Acts and The Book of Job at the same time, but thankfully today I finished The Book of Acts and so I am just doing Job. Today is Job 6 and here is the question for today..

“Job earnestly wants to know what he has done wrong and the lesson he needs to pull from this” Name a time in your life when you struggled to find what God was trying to show you?

Oh boy, there have been a few times in my life, where I have wondered “What did I do to deserve this?” That was before I started studying the Lords words and even back then I kind of thought there was a God but he wouldnt know me because I didn’t know anything about him, how wrong I was back then.. He KNEW me from when he grew me in my Mothers womb, my life is written in his book.. But back then I just wondered “What did I do to deserve this?” Now I look back and I can SEE what GOD wanted me to learn from those hard times and those painful places. Therapy and journaling have helped but now I know God’s got a plan for me and everything is a learning curve I am like “Ohh that makes sense” even when back then it hurt and didnt make sense.

 

 

Then I signed up for a bible study on Love, we all need that right?! So that is over at Cooking up faith. We are spending the year doing a study on 1 Corinthians.. Here’s a teaser from the website…

* Thank you for joining us in our Love in 2016 series. We are studying 1 scripture (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) throughout 1 year, to make 1 very big difference in our lives. Come back every Monday for a new post in our LOVE series.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

So for the first week of this study, we studied

Jeremiah 14:22

“Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves bring down the showers? No it is you Lord, our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this”

Then we use the S.O.A.P method and we do a study on the Scripture.

Without sharing my whole study, I took this Gem from the scripture, “That there is only one God, he is the beginning and the end, he made everything in the world and so therefore we should not question him.”

The next Scripture we had to S.O.A.P was Isaiah 8:17

“I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his fac from the descendants of Jacob and Imwill put my trust in him”

“Isaiah trusted the Lord even when it seemed like he had turned his back on Jacobs people… Dont give up on the Lord he does things in his timing.”

The third S.O.A.P for week one was Michah 7:7

“But for me I will watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior, my God will hear me”

if you read the whole chapter Michah is talking about how people turn on each other, Im sure we have all experienced that, it says “Sons against Fathers, daughters against Mothers, wives against husbands” but the Lord never turns away from us, which is why we should put pur faith in the Lord not in the “world” ( or people)

I am looking forward to week two of this study.

Then I got invited to take part in a study group on Facebook, I had asked last year and missed out on that study group, so the Lady remembered me this time and invited me. This one is through a webpage called Love God Greatly

Each day we are given a Scripture to read and again using the S.O.A.P method. Today was day one and we had to read Acts 41-47 and do S.O.A.P on Acts 2:42 which reads: “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We were asked the question “How is prayer important to the Christian community?”

I believe prayer is important because its like our own private hotline to the Lord, so we can share our lives with him, in good things we thank and praise him, in worrying times we give him those worries and he eases the burdens. I personally often chat away to God through out the day, when the weather is nice or when something nice happens un expectedly I thank him for it all.

The verse for us to memorise this week is

” Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receieve mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:16

So thats been my Bible studies for this week. I am also working through a study guide called “Plant my feet on higher ground”  by Victor M Matthews. This is unit #4 of 144 for my Diploma of Bilical studies.

2016 Brings…..

So everyone is choosing their word for 2016…

I did that in 2014, and I did that in 2015… and I really don’t think it made much of a difference, I wonder if I am not doing it right?!

So this year I didn’t choose a word I continued on with last years word which is “Deeper” because I am still wanting to go “Deeper” with the Lord.

Since I decided to study the Bible in July 2014, I’ve read it every day I can honestly say I have not missed a day.. but I’m reading it so what?!

So I signed up for a Bible Study with Good Morning Girls It’s free and it’s online which at the time was good for me, because if I didn’t like it I wasn’t wasting money or time attending somewhere… I have to confess, I’m slightly addicted to my GMG daily study.  The new one for this year started today it’s “The book of Job“.. and I’m excited to get that started. While we were away on the Big Lap the group were studying “The Book of Acts” and I was really sick so I was late starting it and then I was too far behind, so I didn’t do it.. I am doing it now in the break to catch up with the group. I love that we read the Chapter usually one a day, and then we use the Soak method to journal about what we have read…

The SOAK Bible Study Method

S – The S stands for Scripture

O – The O stands for Observation

A – The A stands for Application

K – The K stands for Kneeling in Prayer

And then we use our colour chart to “colour” our bibles.

I found it hard to draw or colour in my bible.. life long learning about not scribbling in books.

But now I love to look at my Bible and see the coloured parts and read back over some of the things I’ve already done.

Then after I got good at doing my daily bible study and enjoying my morning ritual of waking up with God, I decided to reach out to the community and I found a real life group who meet fortnightly to study the Bible and so I joined that as well.

Then I found “ Emmaus” online study group, and they were offering a “Diploma in Biblical Studies” So I contacted them and they put me through to the Australian branch… Emmaus Queensland. They offer the same course, I have to do 144 units and every so often you get a certificate for an amount of units done, once you’ve done them all you get the Certificate for Diploma of Biblical Studies..

OK, So I know that it’s not a Diploma that I can use for very much, but it’s the principal of the thing. I want to get “Deeper with the Lord” and so by doing this Diploma course I am also learning more than I knew.. already, of course since I only started reading the bible in 2014 it’s ALL new to me.

So far I have finished three of my 144 units so I am under way, as well as I am onto my second 90 day devotional with Holly Wagner and God Chicks. The first one I did while we were away on the Big Lap, 1st December through till 29th December 2015. Each day we have a reading and in the back of the book she gives us a reading so that we can read through the Bible in a year… Currently I am started at the start, Genesis and Job, which ties in nicely with GMG’s study of Job. Love how it all comes together.

This way I spend a good 45 minutes each morning with my God Chicks, and my GMG’s study and each night I do some of my Diploma studies. I think I can honestly say “I’m going DEEPER with the Lord” in 2016!

So did you chose a “Word” for 2016? Did you pick some resolutions? let me know maybe we can buddy each other along to the finish line!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!!

Here we are at the start of another year.

I have been taking a break from blogging and journaling since I got back from our Big Lap.

So many things have been happening, I just didn’t have time or energy to blog and even my poor journal has fallen by the way side.

So here is a quick update….

We got back in November and hit the ground running…

November 21st Sweetpea turned two and we had an afternoon tea, in the meantime we started cleaning the back deck which needed cleaning and finished the garden boxes which have been nick named “garden coffins” they are that shape.. we planted them with Daphne, a tomato plant, a gardenia and an Australian native I am still to get a rose for the other Grand daughter.

We had Wedding rehearsal on the Wednesday which was the 25th and had a final look at the space where we would be setting up the reception etc. I also got my eye brows waxed and tinted and my nails done, a little bit of spoiling after roughing it in tents for two months.

Sunday 29th November 2015.

Still cant quiet believe I haven’t written about this yet, I am guessing after my Grand babies births this was so far the greatest highlight of my life. My first born got married. We still don’t have the wedding photos back yet but I’ll share a few of the ones I do have.

The Bridal party,

Left to right… Stewie, Bride-Jasmin, Groom- Brett and Ella.

My new Son-in-law Brett and my beautiful girl.

 

“Aunty Jazzy” and flower girl “Sweetpea”

I’m not sure what she was doing here but I love that face!!

 

Mother and Son dance.

 

Page Boy, and Son of the happy couple
“Squishy”

 

This is my cousin and her family and my first ever photo bomb, taken by the photographer!!

 

Escorting my girl down the aisle.

This is going to be a wall shot!! taken by our photographer Gabbie Hine.

I escorted her down the aisle and I don’t know how many people I had telling me what a blubbering mess I would be.. I shocked them all and even myself when I didn’t cry, not even during my speech which actually made a few people laugh! I made it through, my goal for the night was to do my speech without A- crying and B- inserting umm or errr in too many places In fact I didn’t stumble at all! I was so proud of myself and then my Brother Bill made me cry before the night was out but that wasn’t about the wedding so it’s not counting!!

After the Wedding we had Squishy’s 2nd birthday party and then fast came upon us Christmas.

Christmas…. hmm, if you were reading my posts in 2014 you might have read that I do not like Chrtistmas, I don’t like the commercialism of it all.. you stress and worry and within minutes it’s all over and the day goes on. But this year I decided to embrace the festive season and even suggested we have lunch at home… *sigh* sometimes I’m such a fool and this highlights it all.. Next year (or this one anyways!) I’m not having Christmas in fact plans are being made to go away for a month to Tasmania camping.

We decided to have lunch at our house, so the Bloke cooked a turkey our first ever and roast pork. My cousin and her family came and brought chickens and potato salads. We also had hot vegetables and roasted potatoes and pumpkin and gravy, and then the weather heated up to 39C and we all baked along with the food!! There was a wild fire about 1.5 kilometres away and e sat on the back deck, fighting away flies and fanning away the smoke.

The turkey and roast Pork were a huge success and we were happy with how they turned out, but the rest of it I didn’t enjoy! I find that you rush around waiting on everyone and making sure the house is clean and the presents are wrapped and then the whole day is over and you rush around doing the dishes and the floors and getting rid of a mountain of wrapping paper. I “tried” to embrace it and failed I don’t enjoy it, I’m not doing it again!!

As soon as all that was over we took off to Bel Far Niente for a few days to unwind from all that madness… which lead us to New Year EVE!

This year we went camping with some good friends to Ballarat. We have been to Ballarat a gazillion times and so I wasn’t terribly excited to go camping there, but it just goes to show be careful of judging, because we had a great time. The caravan park we stayed in “Goldmine” had a great solar heated pool which we gladly spent a lot of time in and out of. The bathrooms were clean and well cared for, there was a camp kitchen and  plenty for the kids to do, so My Bestie and I were able to sit and crochet and chatter or read our books or just lounge around, it was HOT!! We stayed there until Sunday 3rd January.

So that brings us up to now and New Years Resolutions.. I make them each year I kind of look at them as “goals” and I check back on them often. So this year I made three.. easy ones…

1. Gain my diploma in Biblical studies. (I need to do 144 units, so far I’ve finished 3)
2. Become a vegetarian ( we had raw roast lamb on 1st Jan 2016- normally I don’t mind it a little bit rare but this was too much blood and it made me feel quite ill, and then I got this thought it my head a snippet of some bible verse about God being the lamb and the blood of the lamb.. and that was enough for me.. I quit meat on the spot!)
3. Read 50 books for the year.

In 2015- I did a challenge with Reannon and Pip Lincoln  to “Read Australian Authors” and I did and I loved it I only read three non Aussie books all year, but I found I have a huge pile left still of Australian authors so I am continuing that on again this year. So I’ve made a Good reads Goal to read 50 books… here is what last year looked like.. 2015 in books

Anyways so that brings us up to date and hopefully I’ll be back into regular blogging to keep you up to date with whats new for 2016…

 

16 Ways to be a good Grandmother..

I just read this article and I wanted to be able to keep it and read it again and again so I thought I’d blog about it.. because lets face it.. being a “Good” Grandmother is not just my goal but I aim to be a “GREAT” Grandmother.. so I’m open to suggestions..

http://paradisepraises.com/16-ways-to-be-a-good-grandmother/#comment-4281

A Tribute to Grandmothers, without whom my life would have been greatly impoverished:

We all have grandmother figures whom we look up to. What can we learn from these grandmothers’ examples that will give us greater impact with our own children, grandchildren and other young people in our spheres of influence? My maternal grandmother spoiled us. Not rotten, but we definitely knew we were special. While at home we only ever got blah (i.e. good for you) cereals, Grandma always had our favorites on hand when we arrived for our summer visit, and we were allowed to choose whichever one we wanted on the next shopping trip! Her big four-poster bed was a special place reserved for reading, snuggled in luxury! From her I learned that a good grandmother

• makes others feel special without spoiling them
• makes time to read and snuggle
• shows more love than frustration

My paternal Grandma’s impact on my life extends beyond the culinary and sewing arts, in that, while teaching me those things, she also patiently taught me how to feed and dress the soul. We knew our grandparents had a date with the Lord each morning over breakfast, and often we arrived at their door just in time to hear the final Bible reading and listen to them pray through the list of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandma taught me that a good grandmother

• is joyful in serving her family and is a gracious hostess
• is meticulous in her responsibilities (Yes, there is a right way to tuck in bedsheets!)
• delights in simple pleasures and sees God’s object lessons in everyday living
• actively keeps her mind”stayed on Him”
• prays for her family regularly

I know that “blood is thicker than water”, but I also know that there may be some reading this who may not be biological mothers, and may feel like you don’t have an influence. You couldn’t be more wrong! Every woman can positively influence those God puts in your path, even if they aren’t any “blood relation”. You may never know the full impact of your example, influence, and love. Grandma Madge was a family friend whose influence made a huge impact on my young life. I still remember her guest room with one end piled to the ceiling with fabric scraps, her fabulous handmade quilts, her special raisin cookies, her gourd water dipper hung by the cool mountain stream a few yards from her house, her flower garden filled with gorgeous hydrangea and bleeding hearts, her concentrated listening to the “important things” a child wanted to share with her, and hearing her prayers for others. From her I learned that a good grandmother

• has time to listen to the joys and woes of “little people”
• inspires and cultivates beauty all around her
• selflessly loves and gives to others, speaking life into them

Grammy is another family friend who has had a grandmother’s influence in my adult life. Grammy has a way of giving straight-talking counsel without stinging, and she knows the secret of encouraging without puffing one up. Though I will never attain to her level of graciousness, hospitality, generosity and pie making excellence, (I do aim to give it my best shot), I have learned from her that a good grandmother

• holds loosely to this world’s goods
• knows how to love the unlovely
• knows how to do the hard things with joy
• Inspires and motivates others to excellence
• will stop and pray with you over anything at any time of day or night

Are You a Good Grandmother?

• What memories or qualities of your Grandmother have made the biggest impact on your life?
• I never grew up with a Grand Mother, both of mine had died before I was born.
• What legacy was left to you that you desire to replicate?
• Well since I never got to meet them, I am making my own traditions for my Grandies as I go.
• What legacy do you wish to leave behind?
• I want my grandchildren to be able to look back on their lives and remember all the happy times they spent with Grandma, the Grandma who played on the swings and rode bikes, and danced and baked with them, the grandma that played dress ups and went to kindergarten and school plays, the grandma that was always cheering on at sports days and school concerts. The Grandma that they can always come to with worries and know that I am always on their team!
• What can you do today to begin being the grandmother you hope to become?
• Everyday I tell my babies (they are only 15 months old) I love them, all the time, I kiss and hug and I always kiss them good morning and goodnight. We dance around the house, we sing along (OK, I sing and they babble) to all the play school and sesame street songs, and when I am in the kitchen and they want to join me I give them the wooden spoons and a pot or the measuring spoons and cups and let them play.
• Who has God placed in your life who needs a mother’s or grandmother’s influence?
• I believe that God doesn’t make mistakes so he gave me two Grandbabies at almost the same time (2 weeks age difference) so that we three can form an enduring love!
• What will you do to begin making a difference in that young (or younger) person’s life?
• I think I am already doing that and I know it’s working because my babies are so happy to see Grandma the look of excitement on their faces is immeasurable. When daughter #1 drops of “Squishy” he has no discomfort at her leaving him with me, in fact he’s happy to wave her goodbye!

Spiritual Sunday.. Exodus..

Hey this is like three weeks in a row that I’ve done my Spiritual Sunday actually on Sunday, yay me!

This week we were doing Exodus 21 through 25.

 Monday- Scripture- Exodus 21:12-16

Personal Injuries

 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.  But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.

 “Anyone who attacks^[a] their father or mother is to be put to death.

 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.

Application-

• These laws are to do with killing other people, it’s a pity they are not still in place today.
• Anyone who attacks Mother or Father shall be put to death (Emotional death in my case)

Tuesday- Scripture 22:28

 “Do not blaspheme God^[a] or curse the ruler of your people.

 Application-

• Blaspheme- The action of speaking against Lord our God, profanity, sacrilege, disrespect, Do not do that!
• Do not curse the ruler of your people (a solemn utterance intended to invoke supernatural powers, do NOT do that!

Wednesday- Scripture- Exodus 23:20-22

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.  If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.

Application-

• God looks after you always, even sending Angels ahead of you when he feels you need it.
• When you are a believer God supports you in good and bad times.

Thursday- Scripture- Exodus 24:15-18

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,  and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.  Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Application:

• Do not fear the Lords commands he has good plans for those who believe
• When the Lord makes commands follow them.

Friday- Scripture- Exodus 25: 1-7

Offerings for the Tabernacle

The Lord said to Moses,  “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.  These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze;  blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;  ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather acacia wood;  olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;  and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece

Application- 

• Do things as directed  and to a plan
• God gives us directions to follow them, he wants things exact.
• Tabernacle -residence or dwelling place. A portable altar for the Lord.

Blogging through the Bible

So now we are about half way through the book of Exodus, and God is telling Moses the Commandments he was us to live by.

Find out more at Courtney’s site: http://womenlivingwell.org/

Spiritual Sunday.. on Sunday! Surprise!!

Monday – Scripture- Exodus 16:28-30

“Then the Lord said to Moses “how long will you refuse my commands and my instructions?Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath: this is why o the 6th day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where thy are on the 7th day: no one is to go out? So the people rested o the seventh day.”

Application:

• The Lord says we should work hard and gather supplies for six days and on the seventh day we rest.
• Just as God created the world in six days and on the seventh he rested

Tuesday- Scripture-Exodus 17:14-16

“ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

Application;

• Keep a record of your doings, do not attempt to argue with the Lord
• The Lord is the LORD, no other discussion is needed

Wednesday- Scripture-Exodus 18:24-27

“Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.  He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country”.

Application:

• Instead of wearing oneself out doing all the chores.. delegate! Let others help with the load,
• I can be the overseer of chores!

Thursday- Scripture- Exodus 19:23-25

“Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”So Moses went down to the people and told them.”

Application:

• be faithful to the Lord and he will look after you.
• The Lord will use you to speak to others.

Friday-Scripture- Exodus 20:24-26

“‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.  If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.  And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.”

Application-

• Make an altar to the Lord, as naturally as possible… no decoration.
• Sacrifice burnt offerings in God’s name, by blessing the Lord he will come and bless you.

 

So that is my take on this week in the Bible. I am loving this new bible study method, I am Really enjoying it.

 

Blogging through the Bible

NaBloPoMo.. catch up… day 27

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Tell us about your morning routine. What is one thing you want to change?

my morning routine consists of waking up between 6.40 and 6.50 am, once my eyes can focus I start my bible studies… at the moment we are doing Exodus and so I read that and then use the S.O.A.K method… (stands for S-Scripture, O-Observation, A-Application and K-Kneel in prayer.) Thats get written in a small ring binder. Then we use a colour chart to colour in the chapter, so my bible is getting very colourful and at the start I found it to be “time-consuming” but now I am enjoying it because my word for 2015 is “Deeper” and with this method you really have to pay attention to whats written there and use different colours for different things.

What is one thing I would like to change? Maybe to have a bit more time to soak deeper.. but I get my studies done and then I have to get the rest of the household into their morning routines.