Monday, September 21, 2015

Diary of an Incubator: The Firstborn

Six days 'til our new bubba is due and I'm feeling a bit sad.

It's not because I don't want to welcome a new member of our family.  I can't wait to have newborn snuggles.

It's because my precious time with just my firstborn is coming to an end.  It will no longer be just me and Rory going on adventures together.  My main concerns during this pregnancy have been how he will cope with that.

I'm not regretting giving him a sibling - he will benefit greatly from learning he is NOT the centre of the universe.  I just want to make the most of these remaining days.  Sometimes they have been difficult, but they have been precious.




Thursday, September 17, 2015

Bible Verse of the Day

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Cross and the Switchblade

This is one of those books that stays with you after you've finished it.  Up there with Keith Green's biography, it will make comfortable, middle-class Christians go 'ouch'.

As inspiring as it is confronting, The Cross and the Switchblade is the story of an ordinary man - David Wilkerson, a small-town US pastor - who is enabled to do extraordinary things in God's power.  One night in 1958, Wilkerson hears about the murder trial of seven teenage boys from New York on the TV; they had been charged with stabbing another boy to death because they felt like it.  Wilkerson couldn't shake the feeling that God was leading him to New York to help the boys.  While he never got to do that, it was the start of an incredible outreach to gangs in 1960s New York, which eventually led to the development of Teen Challenge.  This residential rehabilitation ministry offers hope to those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.

While the book is an amazing testimony to the power of God, there were some parts of the story which didn't sit well with me.  Wilkerson 'tests' God's will a lot by laying fleeces, a practice which I also found irksome in Jim Elliot's biography.  Also, I disagree with the Pentecostal obsession with speaking in tongues.  While trying to get some of the teenagers in his care off drugs, Wilkerson believes they would not be free from addiction or have the Holy Spirit until they spoke in tongues.  There is a heavy emphasis on the Spirit setting young people free from loneliness, addiction, anger etc. and while I certainly believe that God heals and restores people's lives, an emphasis on sin being everyone's greatest problem seems to be lacking.

Overall, I think this is a book that must be read.  It's so easy to become a comfortable Christian, but God can use anyone.  We are all clay in His hands.  Let's pray that He uses us as He wishes, no matter how scary that may be, to change people's lives.  No-one is in the too-hard basket, no-one is beyond His grace.


Monday, September 14, 2015

Quote of the Day

A boat is safe in the harbour. But this is not the purpose of a boat.
- Paulo Coelho

Friday, September 11, 2015

Friday Funny

A YORKSHIRE TREAT

A Yorkshireman and his wife walked past a swanky new restaurant.
"Did you smell that food?" the wife asked.  "Wonderful."
Being a kindhearted Yorkshireman, he thought, What the heck, I'll treat her.

So they walked past it again.

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Diary of an Incubator: Nesting and Resting

Finally...progress in the nesting department.

Rory's new room is pretty much finished and he is now in his big boy bed.

It took me months to clean out what was my study and transform it into a room fit for a Thomas-obsessed two-year-old.  I love opshops and Gumtree for cheap secondhand stuff.

$5 opshop bargain

I'm pleased to report that the little fellow has adapted to the changes very well.

The baby will have Rory's old room.

The nesting has been slower than I'd like due to my frequent need to rest.

The journey this room has taken since we moved in:

When we moved in.

My study.


Rory's room.  We've just got to put up the $5 Thomas curtains
I got from an opshop, too.

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Time Of My Life

I had a great time at Dirty Dancing: The Musical back on the 9th August with my dear friend and former housemate, Emma.  It has become an annual tradition that we go and see a musical together.  Kid-free time and no men whinging that they're bored.....woohoo!



Tuesday, September 01, 2015

5 Favourite Wendy Matthews Songs

Another one of my favourite artists I enjoy listening to while on roadtrips (alone, of course, otherwise Duncan complains haha).

1. Ten Miles of Timber
2. Standing Strong
3. The Day You Went Away
4. Let's Kiss (Like Angels Do)
5. Beloved