Job's Friends

I have been reading a little of Job in the past couple of days, and a few ideas have struck me:

• Job’s friends assumed he had done something wrong to open the door for catastrophe
• Job defended his innocence, and cried out for a hearing with God to protest injustice
• Job’s friends did not believe him
• Job tells his friends to stay silent; he speaks of them as mockers and enemies when he addresses God.
• Job’s friends continue to press their case
• God is angry with Job’s friends, because unlike Job, they have not spoken rightly about God.
• God tells Job’s friends to bring animals for Job to sacrifice to God on their behalf
• When Job prays for his friends, God restores his fortunes.

Tired of Cooking?

I don’t know about you, but I regularly get tired, bored, and unmotivated to cook meals. For some reason, I don’t have this issue with housework - perhaps because I have structured it so that I have different chores each day? - but the never-ending duty of putting food on the table can definitely grate on me.

So here are the good, bad and ugly strategies I have tried when I start feeling this way:

Sally Ward: Baby Talk

When I began to suspect that my first child had a speech delay, we were placed on a waiting list for services. During this wait, a friend of a friend recommended Sally Ward's Baby Talk, which I purchased and read from cover to cover immediately.

   

Getting to know you: what's your parenting style?

I have been wondering for quite some time now about the link between personality, parenting style, and our choice and application of the parenting method(s) we favour.

Personally, I am an organised introvert who values self-knowledge. My parenting style favours structure over flexibility, and I value obedience in small children more highly than problem-solving. For these reasons, among many others, the Babywise and Growing Families materials are a natural fit.

Asking for Help: Part 3

Asking God for help when I don’t know who else or where else to turn is an easy and natural thing for me.

However, I’m embarrassed to admit that I rarely wait long enough in prayer to hear from the Helper. I am usually so full of my circumstances and my stress that there is no space or quietness to hear his voice.

Conserving Water

I live in Perth, Western Australia, where water is a scarce and precious resource. Over the past decade, our government has been steadily working to educate people on why and how we should conserve water in our homes. 

 

I thought it would be good to share some of these tips with you; even if you don’t live in an area where water is scarce, conserving water will save you money!

What if it’s true...? Part 8: I am a new creation

Which is the real me?

The one who feels the sickening despair of falling short? Of making mistakes, getting stuck in sinful habits, of failing to do the good I know I should do?

The one who wakes feeling unloved, unworthy and half-defeated, knowing that another day is before me, with the same old trials and temptations, the same opportunities to fail the way I did yesterday?

Developmental Leaps Part 2: After age 1

At the same time that I was reading up about Wonder Weeks, I came across a wonderful online resource exploring the developmental leaps in children after age one, and specifically the effect of these leaps on sleep: Bedtiming. Unfortunately, the authors are no longer posting, but the archives are fascinating reading if you are interested in childhood development.

The knowledge that there were known, predictable developmental leaps at certain ages (18-21 months, 2.5 years, and 3.5 years), and that these leaps affected specific parts of the child’s mind, has been really useful to me as a parent of my younger two children.

These posts in particular were very helpful:

Reunions

I have always stayed far, far away from the various reunions I have been invited to over the years.

Something inside me cringes at the idea of making small-talk with people whom I knew very superficially in the past, have not kept in contact with, and have nothing in common with now except a memory of a shared location such as school, work-place, etc.

What do you like about your home?

There are many 'features' of our home that I like now, after disliking them intensely for a number of years.

For example, our home is small by modern standards. When I first started entertaining family and friends, it was a shock to discover that our cosy dine-in kitchen was definitely a tight squeeze when guests were present. And once my eyes were opened, I started looking enviously at others' homes, planning renovations, researching styles in print and online, and endlessly day-dreaming about my dream home.

Jane Austen: Persuasion

There are no Jane Austen novels that I dislike. But Persuasion is my absolute favourite. I think the reason is that the plot is soooo romantic... and now you know that this is not really a serious book review at all. :-)

Getting to know you: how do you working moms find time to...

…take children to appointments?
...take yourself to appointments?
...monitor homework?
...talk with your husband?
...keep the housework under control?

I know you awesome ladies can give me the answers I need to manage the transition from SAHM to working mom!

Asking for Help: Part 2

In addition to learning how to ask my husband for help, I’ve been learning to ask friends for help.

Recently, I got stuck after a period of unsuccessful job hunting, due to my tendency to focus on details rather than the big picture. So after realising that my husband was not the best one to talk to about this problem (as we work in entirely different industries), I decided to humble myself and approach a good friend of mine who is a professional life coach.

Uses for the humble clothes peg

I thought this could be a fun list to work on together! Add your ideas in the comments, and I'll re-post the completed list later.

• pegging laundry on the washing line
• displaying children’s artwork and greeting cards
• closing partially-used food packets (eg flour, pasta, etc)
• pinning children’s capes and dressups
• improvised shower cap (peg a plastic bag over your hair)

What could you use a clothes peg for?

What if it’s true...? Part 7: God has made us righteous

Is your spirit at peace?
Do your daily mistakes burden you with guilt?
Do you set yourself goals of prayer, bible study, and love towards others, but fail to keep them?
Do you feel stuck in a cycle of "sin, repent, try again"?
Do you have trouble believing that you are righteous, accepted, or even loved in God’s eyes, when all you can see are your failings?

Developmental Leaps Part 1: Under age 1

I first came across the theory of Wonder Weeks when my third child was about 4 months old - right in the middle of WW 19. It helped to explain a LOT of the drama we had been through with each baby during months 4 to 6, and if you haven’t read about it, I encourage you to go here and learn more.

Friendship during bereavement

A classmate of my seven-year-old son passed away after a battle with cancer earlier this year. The parents as well as the children in the class were all affected by this boy’s death, as many of us had known the family for several years. I was not personally close to them, but God had led me to pray continually for him and his family.  

What’s in your freezer?

Well, we’ve explored our fridges and our pantries; now it’s time to open your freezer for stock-take in public! :-)

Here’s what I keep in my freezer: