Mums I need your help

I wrote earlier about my passion for mums and the messages society is telling us. (Click here to read that post). I am curious if any of you out there feel this and do you think there is enough support from the Church and from other christian ladies for mums?

The last church I was in I felt very isolated, there was no support in place. I had just had my first child and would go from Sunday to Sunday and not see anyone, I was not the only new mum who felt this isolation. We had home group every 2nd week and that was it. I now am really aware of this and want to reach out to mums and support them even if I am just an ear to hear about their day or what their little one did.

I would like to hear from mums and learn what you need or would like to know about. Why type of support did you get and was it helpful. Would a course or a book before you had you babies have helped where you could learn things like time management, how to maintain a relationship with the Lord once you have children, how to spend quality time with your husband once the baby/s arrive.

My heart is to hear and learn from you, what I might think is useful or needed maybe not what someone else needs.

You can leave a message on my blog or email me at glenbekkayla@hotmail.com

Once I have enough answers I summarise the responses and post them.

Thankyou
Bek

Bible Study

I have moved all my bible studies to another blog address.

Internet cafe give away

The internet cafe is having a give away click here to sign up. Hurry it ends in 24 hours.

Look at all thoes goodies:) The "Time with the Lord" basket.

Deena's blog and amazing cancer testimony

I have been reading Deena's blog for 6mths now about her battle with cancer. (started out with breast cancer. Diagnosed on 10/28/2007, at first stage 3C, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, with 29 lymph cancerous & HER2Neu a 3+ , and as of 1/25/08, the PET/CT scan showed it's even in her bones, ribs, adrenals & I am in Stage 4) She is an amazing woman who has chosen to share her life and battle with us. She has had so many pray with her over the past year. Just reading her comments and seeing how many people she has touched and shared with is amazing.

I just read some great news that there is barley a trace of cancer left. God is so amazing and her testimony is one I wanted to share with you all.

http://deenasstory.blogspot.com/

Weight

Where to begin. I have all these thoughts going around and around in my head.

On Sunday 22 June 2008 after the worship part of the service I really felt God speak to me, it is hard to explain but just before our Pastor Adam Grant spoke I felt the Lord say 2 things one was to listen to the word he gave Adam and the other thing he told me was the reason why I have had trouble loosing weight is because I have never asked him to help. It came out of no where I was not even thinking of my battle with the flab. I told my husband and he looked at me and said well ask him. Boy do I feel silly how I overlooked something so simple.

When I thought about what God said I realised how true it was I ask him for help in other areas but not with this area. To give you some background I have been battling with this for years now and have tried every diet and pill. The only time I was thinnish was when I was working out 3 hours a day and ate about 6gms of fat total. My diet was this Breakfast 1/2 grapefruit lunch 2 lettus leaves and 1/4 tomato and 1/4 tin of re fried beans 99% fat free, Dinner 1/6 grilled Chicken breast on 2 lettus leaves then heaps of vitamin pills and a weight loss pill. Even while doing this I still could not reach the weight my instructor told me I was suppose to be I never to to that magic 54kgs I was aiming for. I was borderline eating disorder and would throw up anything that was fattening or what I considered bad food. I battled with this for 2 years, it was mainly because I hated myself so much and it was a way of punishing myself for being fat and such a failure. Then along came this guy (who later became my husband) and taught me that I was ok just the way I was.

Since I have had the children I have not lost the baby weight and have tried so many things but nothing works. I remember going to weight watchers with a friend and she was loosing weight every week and was not even following the diet properly. I was doing it by the book measuring and weighing all food eating exactly what they told me and nothing happened after 6 months of this I gave up. The ladies at Weight Watches said I must be cheating and doing something wrong etc... I have tried so many other things but they don't work so I figured if I do nothing I don't put on weight if I diet I don't loose weight so I may as well give in. I also have to be careful as I can get a tad bit carried away when dieting and start recording everything I put in my mouth. I could easily go into bad eating habits again as I have never had trouble with feeling hungry I can go all day and not eat an it does not bother me. All the dieting I have been doing was in my own strength and own knowledge and it has not worked.

I really felt God say that I have to hand it over to him, it is an area I have held onto and hid behind. No one really wants to know the fat girl so I can hide what is inside and put on a happy face and everyone thinks all is ok. I know that this is going to be a hard battle and that I will have to deal with things in my heart that I have been hiding and putting in little boxes. This last few months has brought me to the place where I can hand this issue over to God and now let him help. I pray that through this I can help others and by sharing this it will enable others to be set free.

I understand that I will have to work hard, I know I won't wake up in the morning and be thin (gee that would be nice). I am not expecting to loose lots fast I would be happy to loose 1kg a month as this in itself would be a breakthrough and a miracle for me. But by giving it to God I can now deal with issues and see God glorified in this.

I am also sharing this so I am accountable, usually when I diet I don't tell anyone there is nothing worse than a well meaning friend say gee you have lost weight when they know you are dieting but you have not lost any and it is hard to tell them that you have not lost any, then the feelings of failure take over etc..... But I need to be accountable to God and act upon what he has told me. I will probable go thought this post later and re-read it and make it a bit more organised. I am not going to post weights and photos at this stage, maybe a bit down the track.

Father God I hand this area over to you and ask that you guide me and lead me to the areas that I need to deal with, I give this to you and all the areas I have be holding onto and hiding behind. I make myself available to you to use me that you may be glorified.

Morning Madness

Do you and your family suffer from morning madness where it is so busy, everyone especially mum is rushing about. You are trying to get all the children fed and dressed for the day, making sure lunches are packed and that the children have matching socks on. (we have school uniforms here and my daughter goes to a private school so she has a dress code, matching blue socks and blue hair ties and her hair has to be up) Are you wanting more time to spend with your children in the morning. That is what my mornings were starting to become like. I did not want my daughter going to school rushed and flustered. I wanted us to have a calm morning where we leave each other in a happy frame of mind. Below I have written about what I did to try and change our mornings. Don't get me wrong we still have days when everything does not run smoothly, things happen, especially when you throw a 2 year old into the mix. But on a whole life is much nicer in the mornings at my house.

This year my eldest child started school. That was such a big change in our household especially in the mornings. I was finding that mornings were starting to get stressful. Having to get everyone ready in time for the school run was a challenge. You see my husband is a swimming coach and leaves home about 5 in the morning, I also have a 2 year old and a 3 year old. As you can imagine it can be a tad bit busy in the morning getting everyone ready in time.

So after lost of thinking and brain storming I thought I would try to set the breakfast table at night after dinner. I made it my daughters job, after I have cleaned up the table after dinner she is to set it for the next day. (She only has to do this Sunday through to Thursday night on weekends we don't have the same time restraints). I went looking to see what I could use to make the job easier for her and so she can do it without much assistance, she is nearly 6. I found on my bench a tray that I used for tea and coffee so I cleaned it up and put all the spreads in it and put it in the cupboard, then I went onto some auction sites looking for a cute cutlery holder and purchased one. At night she gets the bowls, plates and glasses out. Puts spoons and knives in the cutlery holder and puts out the spread tray. When she gets up in the morning she puts all the fridge spreads out like butter. (I picked up a nice ceramic butter dish, that way I can use the butter in the kitchen if needed and still know there is some on the table.)

This is what the table looks like at when she sets it at night. I picked up these little mugs for the Children last week, with winter here now I am finding they want hot milo's in the morning. In spring and summer they have glasses out for juice.

The little tray that has the spreads in it. I am thinking of painting it white to match the holder.

And my butter dish I just love this, I top it up every week.

Now in the mornings breakfast is allot quicker, and I am finding I am getting to sit down and have breakfast. Before I would not get to have breakfast at all.

Another thing I do is if I am planning to have porridge the next morning I put the oats, milk and water in the saucepan the night before and pop it in the fridge. (I use a ceramic saucepan for this) So in the morning all I have to do is pop it on the stove and stir as I am finishing making the lunches. Not only does this make the porridge creamy it also cooks faster as the oats have soaked all night.

I also purchased a cute ice cream timer for her at Christmas as she takes ages to eat her breakfast. I have made sure uniforms are always ready to go the night before, that clean socks are also in her shoes and her bag is packed with what she needs the next day for example library bag on Tuesdays.

Mornings are allot less stressful now and some mornings we even have enough time to do a devotion reading before school, this is something that I want to be able to do most mornings. It will take time to get it all organised and I am sure that once the second child starts school I will have to make some changes.

I hope you find this useful and remember that what works in one household may not work in another. The key is to take an idea and adapt it to suit you and your family's needs.

Yep God sure does speak through emails

I opened another email this morning and the word was perfect for today. I am having a meeting to work out some internal issues with a group. I won't go into details but I am praying that all will be resolved and relationships restored, and through this we can see God's hand at work. Anyway here is the email, I think it is just a good reminder not to do things in our own strength but give it all to God and let him work. He knows what the answers are and what is needed.

Are You Horizontal or Vertical?

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2,

by Os Hillman06-16-2008

"Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight" (Isaiah 5:21).
Many of us have been trained to make decisions and respond to problems in a horizontal way instead of vertical. Operating from a horizontal basis means we try to fix the problem through our own self-efforts by bringing greater pressure upon it through our reasoning or our natural skills. Operating from a vertical position means we are seeking God for the answer and waiting for him to impact the problem. Perhaps it is a spouse who fails to put their clothes away, or a boss who is overly critical, or an employee that you clash with. When we operate horizontally we attempt to shame or coerce the other to change their ways.
God knows the solution to the problem before it ever exists. Our responsibility is to ask God for help to solve the problem and to rely on Him for the outcome. The minute we take on the responsibility, God quietly stands by to let us experience failure until we decide to seek Him for the answer.
One of the best examples of the contrast between a vertical and horizontal dimension in scripture is that of King Saul and David (see 1 Samuel 25). King Saul thought the way to preserve his kingdom was to kill David. While in pursuit of him there were several occasions when David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but David chose to wait upon God's timing and await his own deliverance because he understood authority. David had such respect for those who had been put in authority by God over him that he would not take matters into his own hands.
Saul represents the exact opposite of this principle. He thought David was the problem and sought to get rid of him through force. As a result, he lost his kingdom because he chose to rule horizontally instead of vertically under God's rule in his life.
No matter what problem you face today, stay vertical with God.

Two days in a row God has used these emails and lead me to read them as I usually only check the email account they go to a couple of times a week and don't always get to reading these emails. Maybe I need to read them daily. :)

God challanges through emails

Today I read an email I had been sent don't know why I clicked on it. I usually just save them for when I have time to read them.

Here is the message

Today's Prayer

Resurrected Faith

Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman06-15-2008
"Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son" (Gen 22:10).
There are times in our lives when God brings a test to see if we are ready to put to death the very thing that God promised we would have. Such was the case in the life of Abraham with Isaac. Isaac was the promised son. Yet, God said to raise the knife to sacrifice him in obedience God.
When God brings such a test into our lives we usually have a choice. Neither choice is attractive. One choice will often salvage some aspect of the vision. The other choice will totally kill the vision from our perspective. However, that is the faith decision. That is the only decision from God's perspective.
If we choose the faith decision that kills the vision - we will witness the resurrection of the vision supernaturally by God. Our own faith will be launched into a whole new dimension. He will raise us up in order to speak through our lives in that experience. God often brings that person into a very public ministry.
However, if we choose the lesser decision, we will reside in a lesser walk with God. God will accept the decision but there will be consequences to our faith journey. He cannot trust us with a bigger vision because He sees our obedience is moveable based on our perceived consequences.
If we choose the lesser decision then God will often orchestrate other events in our lives that are designed to develop our faith to a level that will allow us to make the right decision the next time.
Do you have resurrection faith that will trust God to raise your situation from the dead?

Well what a word, at the moment I am going through this seeing if the vision I carry fits into where I am at the moment am I effective where I am, am I where God wants me. At the moment I feel like I am being tested again regarding the area I am invloved in within the church.

I pray that I make the right decision and that his will, will be done and fulfilled.

My passion is for mums

I have been pondering the vision I feel and thought it may pay to write it down.
I have a real passion for mums.
In today's society we are sent so many messages about how we should be mums/wives/homemakers. We are told how our house should look, how we should dress and conduct our selves. We are told we can have it all the top job, the family the nice home. But how are the mums really coping. I have been finding that mums are struggling they are trying to be "super mums". I use to really struggle and prob still do a bit on how I am as a mother do I do everything I am suppose to. Is my house shiny clean all the time. (no) My husband said to me once when I was complaining on what a failure I was and look how so and so has it all together. He wisely pointed out that the other ladies probably also run around the house like a mad thing cleaning up before I come around.

With our society changing and people moving further and further away from their family and support networks more and more mums are being isolated.

My passion is to support mums by providing friendship, information, resources, contacts and support to help enable them to be the best mums they can be. I want to see mums grow in their walk with the lord, I want to see mums come to know Jesus. I want to see the "super mums" walls broken down so mums can enjoy being mums and enjoy their children. This means that I have to be open and honest and share my struggles and failings. What will our children remember about us will they remember the house always being clean and mum always busy or will they remember that mum sat and listened to me and spent time with me.
Don't get me wrong I don't think we should be slobs and let everything be. Yes we need to be organised and we need to do our housework but we need balance.

I remember after having my third child a lovely lady shared a story with me that really helped me through the year. To give you some background I have 3 Children the eldest is about to turn 6 and the other two are 13mths apart. So I had just had the latest baby and she was a difficult baby, reflux, club feet etc... (I had not told anyone how tough this baby was) This dear lady took me aside one day and shared a story about her 2 children she had 2 about 15mths apart. She told me how one day they had been so clingy and whiny they were hanging off her following her, you get the picture. Sometime in the day she really had to go to the toilet but the children were being so difficult that she just slid down the kitchen cupboards and sat on the floor wet herself and cried. That story really carried me through every day until my youngest was about 14mths at the end of the day I was so exhausted I would think I did not wet myself today it was not so bad. Now this lady was someone who I looked up (and still do) to she always is well dressed and looks like she has it all together and that her life was perfect and she never would wet herself and cry.

I will be thinking more on this and adding more information and tools and insights.

Worth Remembering

"Until you settle the issue of your own worth, it's impossible to bring holiness into anyone else's life. Until you understand that your worth is already determined by the fact of your birth, everything else is an exercise in propping up a dying tree." Carol Brazo

Read this today and thought it was worth thinking about and seeing were our worth is placed. Do we hear God's voice about our worth or are we listening to the worlds voice. I know myself it is easy to hear the worlds voice because is it loud and constant. We are constantly being measured by how we act, what we wear, what we do, what our job is, who our friends are, who our family is, how much money we have what our education level is and the list goes on and on.

We need to take time a listen to the soft gentle voice of God saying we have worth and value because he made us and loves us and has a plan for each and every one of us.

Oprah

I saw this today it was very interesting and so sad that Oprah is so lost and confused.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NizojZIX7Aw

This is something worth looking into to see if it holds water.