The Joyful 5

I've seen a new light

2008-03-18T09:39:00.001+01:00

Sorry to be so out of touch, I have found a new love...
FACEBOOK
See you there?

Thinking outside the box about missions!!!

2008-02-06T10:14:00.000+01:00

I hope this works

bonnée année et bonnée santé

2008-01-15T14:41:00.000+01:00

salut tout le monde
pour la nouvelle année, mon espérance es ce que j'écrira quelque temps en français!
si vous êtes un francophone je prie que vous me pardonnez? si non, peut-être vous m'aidez?

Noël était très actif... il y était des visiteurs, beaucoup de rendez-vous et souvent nous avions de faire les courses!!!

Comme d'habitude, le temps passe vite, et la veille de la nouvel an a arrivé. Notre église (français) a fait le fête pendant les petits heures.

maintenant, nos quotidiennement ont les routines, l'école, l'académie de musique, l'église, le ménage, les études....
c'est la vie.... ce sont nos vies!

je vous souhaite les meilleurs voeux pour l'année, pour votre santé, votre bonté et votre bonheur.

Voilà, j'ai fini!

Gros bisous

November?

2007-11-05T11:06:00.000+01:00

We have just got back from our field conference.
it was a good time of soul searching, field planning and reconnecting with team members, we are a growing team, glorie à Dieu, but with growth comes diversity!!!

The kids had their own programme which they enjoyed very much and we all had bit of a hoot on the fun night.
Madeleine came and helped with the childrens work, she rang us up a couple of weeks ago to see if she could come to see us over toussaint (Halloween holiday in France!) we said we would be at conference for that time... but we REALLY needed another helper... how timely! God provided us with an excellent helper, experienced and qualified, plus we got to see Madeleine during coffee breaks, meal times and in the evenings! Hurrah!

Now we need to finish the post conference washing, sort through the issues that were raised and put into place the things discussed, discided, recommended...

Something that I learnt.

One of the morning devotions was around the Biblical character Peter.
John 21
After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were out fishing, after fishing all night they had caught nothing, Jesus appeared to them on the shore (though they didn't recognise Him, he asked if they had any food, when their reply was negative, Jesus told them to throw their nets on the right side, they did this and their nets were full.
Peter immediatly recognised this was the work of Jesus, and said as much, he grabbed his outer clothing and launched himself into the shallow water to get to Jesus.

The point made was this...
Last time Peter saw Jesus, before He was crucified, was after the 3rd denial when Luke 22 says that Jesus turned to look at Peter; Pete must have felt ghastly, Luke says he went out and 'wept bitterly'.

A week or so later, Peter is running to Jesus, had he forgotten the denial? the pain he went through? the look in Jesus eyes when he saw him before? what was in Peter's mind, how could he ever say sorry enough, how could he look into Jesus' eyes again, surely Jesus would want to talk about it, bring up the past, seek a healing...

NO.

Jesus did not use Peter's mistakes to teach him a lesson, or rake over painful scars to prove a point, he affirmed his love and confidence in Peter and re-commissioned Peter with the task of fishing for men, feeding His sheep.

How lovely is that.
I know my past isn't the best (it's not the worst either I know!) But often I will think that I cannot be fully useful because of something I once did, said, or thought... that the next person is more experienced or qualified for the job...

NO.

God has checked that my heart is in the right place NOW; My focus is on Him, my vision is in line with His and my desires are His desires... to see souls touched and saved for His kingdom.

Be encouraged as I am, God doesn't bring up the past to make a point, to say "look what you did then... how can I trust you", He affirms our hearts and recommissions us time & time again.

Have a great day, be blessed.

Anyone for Pancakes?

2007-10-10T12:24:00.000+02:00

We often have pancakes @ chez nous...
The girls are quite the professionals now at making, tossing and eating them...
Check out the advanced flipping technique... it's all the rage here...

Have a super day

Lessons learnt!

2007-10-05T22:19:00.000+02:00

This week has been another long one. There seems to be so much to do and no time to do it! I ended up doing the things that have needed doing for a long time...like defrosting the freezer and reorganising the basement...
Who will notice that?
~I realised how much I like the praise and feedback when something has been done, to have everyone around and not a comment made about my 3 hours work was a bit discouraging!
I did let them know what I had been doing so they could admire it and say how much better things looked.

Made me think about what I am doing here...with the work I am trying to do... with the choir... the ladies meetings...the Sunday school...the language learning...

Why am I doing it?
Who am I doing it for?
What do I want as a result of it?

To be honest, there is a big ME element in some of them, I love doing what I am doing, but at times the focus is a bit fuzzy. It really is for the glory of God and to further His kingdom. I want to be able to say like Paul...

1Co 10:33 just as I try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

My challenge is to do something just to please God, to be a witness to others and to store up my treasures in heaven.

Have a great weekend, thank you for the encouragements and prayers.

Wet Wednesday...

2007-09-26T09:42:00.000+02:00

It has been an interesting week,
one where nothing seems to happen but when you look back, the days seem to have shot through!!!
Last Thursday, Pete decided to tidy up some loose ends in the kitchen... this involved a brick wall and a circular saw. What was meant to be a study morning turned out very different
... NO, there was no accident involved
... relax.

In true 'male fashion', he decided on a job then "went for it!!!"
he put a sheet around the workarea to act as a dust sheet, then fired up the saw. The whirring blade caused a super draught which straight away blew away the 'dust sheet'... ah well, he thought, probably was a bit excessive (read useless)
He has thought ahead (really????) and got the vacuum ready to suck up the dust as he works, he commissioned me to hold the nozzle of the hoover under the saw...
And we're off... the saw touches the concrete and brick at a phenomenal r.p.m... grey cement dust and red brick dust goes flying all directions except up the hoover nozzle, within seconds the wall was out of sight, Pete can see the wall because 1. he was wearing goggles, 2. The whirring saw was blowing all the dust out of the way and 3. He was reasonably close to the work project...
On the other hand, I had disappeared in a cloud of dust as had the house!!!

I would have taken a picture to post if I could have found the camera... We literally couldn't see one end of the house to the other :-(

To say I was not happy that day was bit of an understatement. Once the sawing had finished and he had moved onto plastering and painting, I ditched all hopes of my projects for the day, and began systematically cleaning ALL the ground floor rooms. I began at 10.00 and kept going throughout the day, we had a dusty lunch and gritty cups of tea!!!

Once I had finished cleaning and dusting, it was time for round 2, every day so far it has needed doing, and 6 days later another dust layer is visible!!!!

I know sometimes we need to disrupt in order to progress, but why then? We were expecting house guests for a week from Sunday, and I hate beginning with an apology. Apart from that, I already had cleaning and preparations for their arrival on my agenda!!!

I am now pleased it was done, if not then, it would have been sometime. and the kitchen is getting better each time.

It's the half wall to the right of Carey as you look at the picture that was modified.

Moving on...

Tonight we have our ladies meeting, I am meant to be sorting out some songs to take and play on the guitar, as someone who has been self taught at the age of around 15, and NEVER played outside the confines of the house when empty, this evening should be a challenge (not to mention the songs are all in French...)I know God loves to hear us worshipping Him, he made us to worship Him, if He had wanted perfection in that, He would have left it to the angels and not the mortals!!! So with that in mind, I will sign off and pick up the guitar, the song book and a French/English dictionary, so I know roughly what I am singing. LOL

Have a great week.
Don't forget, once the dust settles on the rough spots of our Christian lives, we will see the work that God has been doing on us through the disruptions.

The latest news...

2007-09-10T09:23:00.000+02:00

Where did summer go?
One minute I was sitting in the garden with a cup of tea and reading my book through my purple tinted sunglasses, the next minute I'm frantically trying to get the washing in and wringing out my book!!! is that the total of the summer?
To be fair, we have had some good days, been able to get most of the washing dry on the line!!! We spent the summer in Belgium... would sound like a long holiday if we didn't actually live here! We had quite a string of house guests over that time, some family, some new friends from uk, Ireland, Australia, America... had a few of the girls school friend and church friends over... Lost Elsie to 'Les Alpes' with a school friend and her family for 2 weeks, throw in 3 trips to Holland for Pete with various attending parties and you have the sum of our summer!
I am currently putting together our latest newsletter and as many of our friends are in other countries with poor internet conections, they cannot get the photos... so had had a MASSIVE brainwave, and thought I could use my blog site as a communications place.... good one eh?

So the purpose now is to update regularly so that tout le monde can read/seewhat is going on here.
The family
We have enjoyed several family trips With our visitors and some as just us.This was on a trip to Brugges with Madeleine and my parents.

The kitchen has reached its final phase... the tiles are up and cupboards in place, just one more part of worktop to go in then we should be done. Mum helped construct the cupboards which was a 1st for her, it was me that needed the help from Dad having put in a piece upsidedown!!! doh! Here I am demonstating the base unit. It's so nice having such a HUGE kitchen now, it really it the focal point of the house.

Church.
A family (Dad, Mum &daughter 8) at the church opened their butchers shop last Friday for the 1st time. It has taken the months to wade through the mountains of paperwork in France, but finally they achieved what they felt is their dream AND their vocation. They want it to be used as an evangelical outreach tool. Isn't God good, the first day he was open, he was 1 1/2 hours late closing because the customers kept coming. When we chose to follow God's will there will be mountains to climb, but the blessings will be there, the view is always best from the top. This is the new boucherie where we are now regulars also. Please keep them in your prayers. He and his brother work in the shop, his wife does the admin.

Another church thing, please pray for a building that we have found to be our new meeting place, it is expensive by our budget standards, but we as a church feel it is a good place. Please remember us in your prayers, that the money will be found and that we get through the mountain of paperwork that the French love!
Home

When the house was at its fullest 5 family plus 5 extras staying, we had a couscous evening, 4 more came over to teach us how to prepare a proper couscous meal from scratch.

I hope we were good students... We did show our appreciation by eating it all! This is the meat and vegetables cooking in my, what I thought was massive but turned out to be not quite big enough, biggest pan called a couscoussiere.
We have had many a meal cooked in our new kitchen, but this machine taked the 1st prize...

Madeleine bought it for us and you can do anything in it, so far, that I can recall, we have done pizza, toasties, waffles, heated pitta bread... Madeleine has a longer list, she does ALL her cooking in theirs!

Thank you Madeleine, looking foward to you coming back again to use it together again.

I hope this brief update finds you all well. The goal is to update it weekly, well see.

Meanwhile, I need to continue with my French studied, although I am not progressing as much as I had hoped or wanted, I am still going in the right direction, my goal is to find a teacher who can teach me on a 1 to 1 basis, a good prayer request.

On Wednesday I am singing with the BIGC (Belgian International Gospel Choir) at a football match in a Brussels stadium, I think it's Anderlecht will let you know next time!

The girls started back at school wit no problems, they continue with their music studies twice a week after school. They continue also in their various church activities and it is encouraging to see them so happy there.

Pete is having a short time out to catch up with home developments and plan the next step, which is too develop some discipling courses to be used in small groups or on home visits. He wants to study and teach the bible to encourage personal growth and development in the new Christians coming to our church.

I will catch up with you all soon

Be blessed

Zanne

bad, bad blogger!!!

2007-06-11T11:18:00.000+02:00

Time flies...it's incredible...
By the time I can sit at the computer, having fought off kids on msn (grrrr) husband on spider (double grrrr) sorry, that should read - kids doing homework & husband researching for his French class- lol
then I am faced with the problem of trying to remember passwords!
takes another 2 days to get back to the confounded machine and to have to admit defeat by clicking on that humiliating button 'forgot your password?'
Here I am to say I am still alive and kicking, holding out for the holidays!!! 3 weeks to go and counting!

Studying and the house have taken up a lot of my time recently and will continue to do so... have had a big ( but nice) dose of visitors since February and have more booked in :-) This is my excuse for being a bad, bad blogger...

Hope to pop back soon

Happy Easter

2007-04-05T08:46:00.000+02:00

Sorry I've been such a useless Blogger recently, the kids are on hols at the mo. and to get on the computer, I am up at the crack of dawn to beat them!!!
House renovations are going well, we now have a loo room and a shower room fully functioning (still needs final touches but they come later i guess) old bathroom has been knocked down, with the help of my Dad, cheers, He also helped Pete put up a new ceiling and wired in the new lights and sockets... huge thanks... and today we have a French handyman friend to help Pete do the walls :-)
Then my brother arrives with his family this afternoon for the Easter weekend, followed by 6 members of Pete's family for the weekend after then someone else for 2 weeks then... and it goes on until Summer.

So, the long and short is? I have'nt forgetten you all, just struggling to find time and do the other stuff... house, studying, entertaining... I'm sure you've all been there

Have a great Easter, time to reflect on the Greatest Sacrifice ever.
and as C.T.Studd said,
"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him"

Typical eh?

2007-02-01T11:28:00.000+01:00

Having had problems posting, the grumble got through!!!

Thought you might like to see the new kitchen as it is so far.

This room used to be the sitting room and here it is now turning into a kitchen. The original kitchen is gradually becoming a bathroom, progress is happening... time and money permitting.

Other stuff...

We are running out of t-bags this time, so I will be over to England in February for another trolley dash round Tesco's, having said that, I smashed our teapot the other day, so perhaps that should go on the shopping list too.

rubbish things I say?

getting some more words muddled, they may look similar on paper, but when going for rapid recall mid sentence, I invariably opt for the wrong word... who wouldn't?

chèvre et chauve (goat and bald)

enceinte et enseignante (pregnant and teacher)

chevaux et cheveux (horses and hair)

A teacher friend of ours helped out with the 2nd muddle by getting pregnant, I can talk about her without beginning rumours now, but as to the others... I am just out to shave all goats...

Have a great day, will try to post again soon, I am really having problems leaving comments on some of your sites, I do visit often and enjoy reading them all, I love my weekly world tours.

aaaaahhhhhh!

2007-02-01T11:21:00.000+01:00

I am so much NOT enjoying the new 'improved' blogging...
every time I want to do anything I have to tap in codes, addresses, passwords... beginning to wish I hadn't upgraded, this is the 2nd time in writing this as there was a 'problem' with the previous, so here goes mark 2!

will blog more if this gets through.

2007! when did that happen?

2007-01-20T10:15:00.000+01:00

Since my last blog we have had Christmas, my daughters birthday, many house guests and a new year came!!! I am a bad, bad bloggette!

I hope you all are having a happy new year, ours has been none stop, the girls started back at school on the 8th January, it is soooo hard getting them (and me) up in the morning when it still looks like the middle of the night outside! Pete started back at uni. on the same day and I took up my home studying with renewed enthusiasm... this lasted about half an hour when the feeling wore off and it became the normal challenge... is it the imparfait one uses here or the passé simple? conditionnel or future? what is a plus-que-parfait? the suggestion is that we use it in English too but no-one told me... so far, all my French happens in the present, if I venture into another tense I am beginning to use the just happened or just about to happen method, I will build from there. My immediate challenge is to practice speaking out, I don't like to talk if I know I am saying it wrong, so I tend to listen more than talk (always a challenge for me) I need to try to talk more without worrying about the tense, the grammer...

The latest blunder...
there are 3 words that sound very alike...
cou (ku) =neck
queue (k as in look) = tail
cul (pronounce queue in English) = not nice word for ones bottom

I was giving a lift home to a French lady, after our prayer meeting, my eldest daughter was in the car, I was driving, it was dark, it was raining... and to top it all the conversation was in French; that's an awful lot for me to concentrate on!!! To top it all, there was a Frenchman driving on my bumper- this is something I totally dislike even in daylight hours in the dry, but the present conditions added a danger element...
I, in my frustration at the driver behind, said-in French-
The car behind is driving up my tail-
or so I had meant to say.

My 2 passengers' reaction said I hadn't,
my daughter was appauled at what I had said, my newly converted, being taken home by the missionary, fellow Christian passenger sat with her mouth open looking aghast!!!

It transpired that her surprise was 2 fold, 1. she was astounded that I said that because 2. it is actually a French expression (albeit a vulgar one)

And a neck was not mentioned!!!

Safe to say, when I do dare to speak it's true I don't need to worry about the tense, the grammer... as I said, but it would be good to work on the prononciation.

I like this.

2006-12-04T21:57:00.000+01:00

You Are Big Bird

Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around.

You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy.

You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you.

How you life your life: Joyfully. "Super. Duper. Flooper."

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Did you miss me?

2006-12-04T10:29:00.000+01:00

Just a quicky to say our server is better now!!!
Not sure what was wrong, if it had anything contagious or not...
What happened was, we switched servers to one that was 'quicker and cheaper' a month later and plenty of phone calls, we still had no ADSL...
but voilà, here I am!

If I don't get back, or if it decides to be silly again, I want to say Happy Christmas to you all, and have a brilliant new year.
And happy Easter etc... You never know with technology these days quite what will happen next!!!

This sums me up...

2006-10-19T14:25:00.000+02:00

I am having fun finding things out about myself... it's ok, I know it's not real!!!
The 'what language should you learn' suggested French.... once I had doctored the answers 3 times, the first 3 times it said Japanese! should I be worried... my baby name should be Avalon Arquette, and my brain is 60 percent female\40 percent male, such facts I did not know!!!
This one saidm 'How much do you know about blogging'

It really made me laugh and warrented a posting, try it out, there's loads to choose from.

Do You Even Know What a Blog Is?

You got 1/8 correct!
What the heck are you doing at Blogthings?

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

Flower power...

2006-10-17T12:06:00.000+02:00

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

How the process works...

2006-10-16T13:15:00.000+02:00

The mornings are usually dedicated to getting the house sorted... Monday's are the busiest by nature because they are right after the weekend, and Sunday's are so full I usually inherit washing up, tidying etc. from then!
After the house is sort of presentable, I try to do some studying, French is so complicated!!!
Once I have had my lunch, I turn to the computer, check the mail...
Habitually I check my blog for comments... I click on the links and enjoy reading the writers pages, make a comment, click on a link, I usually have a round trip from Belgium to UK, onto USA, off to South Africa, occasionally a trip to Australia... might stop off somewhere unexpected on the way home... ended up in Holland the other day!!! Such a lovely way to pass the afternoon.

Trouble is
I sat down to update my page...

It is soooo lovely to see such a wide family out ther, so many Christian women blogging, so many thoughts, ideas, events... I feel so rich for the new friends I read about, and it is so exciting to see God working all over the world, I am so absorbed with compassion, empathy, happiness... for all my Christian sisters out there, I keep running out of time to Blog!!! How do some of you find the time, I need to join the 2am club that I have read about!!!!

Thank you for stopping by, I love having visitors, and I love visiting!

I will update soon!
At the mo. I am enjoying running around the blog land.
See you soon
Zanne

It only takes a sparky, to get the current flowing...

2006-09-23T10:16:00.000+02:00

Its happening...
As I tap away here, the electrician is actually on the train heading to our house...
It seems a dream coming true to think that this time next week we could be wired!!!
It really is a prayer answered...

We are still chasing up the previous electrician, 13 months later' for our refund, he ows us alot of money but is not complying... we could do with this money to buy materials for the work this coming week, but we do know, when God plans something, he plans the whole event, including finances, so AMEN to that.

This guy is sacrificing a week to come and help us, his wife is staying at home with their 3 kids doing school trips, breakfasts, putting to bed, the disputes, the 'i don't want to' and 'she started it' things for a week... thank you, as a mum of 3 I really do appreciate the sacrifice you are making.

All this has again bought home to me how the Christian family pulls together in times of need, making sacrifices to help a brother or sister in need, sharing of skills and resourses to help each other; it is humbling to be on the recieving end, but it does challenge me again to see what I am doing to help my brother or sister in need!

The founder of our mission organization, C.T.Studd, captures a phrase that has become the motto,

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him"

Have a great weekend

add a splash of colour...

2006-09-07T00:24:00.000+02:00

et voila!

Just to show that some progress is happening...
As Elsie is showing, I have been painting some stripes on the chimney breast of the top floor room, over the summer various people helped, the beams were painted dark purple, the spaces between the beams were papered and the walls got a coat of colour, you can see the purple wall, the oppsite is the same and the other two are/will be turquoise... the stripes are still to be finished but I am getting there, (by the way, the pink stripes are flourescent!!!)
It is a fun project, but I will be more than happy when the girls can move in.

Do you want to hear about an answer to prayer?
We have an electrician coming on the 18th September, for a week, to wire the house... Big smiles.
He is a friend from UK and his wife volounteered him for the job. She was really pleased with her idea until she realised that she was going to get to look after her 3 girls on her own for that week!!! aged 8, 6 & 4. Thank you Ruth, we pray that they will be angels for you for the week, and God bless you for volunteering your man.

Will keep you posted as to progress, in the meantime, we are trying to get back into the swing of early mornings, homework, school runs, music clubs... La rentrée happened, the day when all schools start back in this region, September the 1st-regardless of what day of the week it is; concequently, the girls started back at school, after a 2 month break, on a Friday!

Have a good day

Sun, sand and Sussex

2006-08-16T18:58:00.001+02:00

I am sitting here at my brother-in-laws computer.
The husband is in my sister-in-laws kitchen cooking steak for tea,
The kids are...
wait for this...
camping!
With my brother and sister-in-law and their 4 children, while we have their beautiful house in the heart of Sussex for a week.

What a great break for us, a real rest after the 6 weeks hosting summer mission teams in Belgium, they were a good 6 weeks, there were lots of outreach missions, many contacts made, plenty of new experiences for the short termers and for the locals and a lot of hard work put in from all parties...
...but now, it is a time of rest and catching up, I can relax in the sun, or at the computer, or at the beach... the choice is ours for a week.

We have some deputation work to do later, but for the moment we really thank God for this short break.
We can drink our beer, listen to our music loud, stay out late and eat what we want when we want... I think after a week of this down right kick against institutionalisation we will be glad to have the kids back and a touch of reality...

So for now, from the heart of Sussex, I will sign off, drink my beer and eat my lovingly prepared steak dinner with my lovely husband whom I am spending some quality time with, thank you God.

Back again?

2006-07-25T22:53:00.000+02:00

We are heading back to the mother land in a few weeks time and it's not the marmite forcing the visit this time! The kids are all excited and champing at the bit...or wheel in Molly's case!!!

We have 2 teams from America with us at the moment, working in our ministry region in France, evangelisation events, working with the missionaries and church workers to offer practical, spiritual and at times physical support. It is great to get to know them, and to host some of them at our house, in return they are helping with decorating (and demolition) work around our house...
They all leave the beginning of August, which is when we head down to Strasbourg for a week. There is a 2-fold purpose, 1) To see Madeleine, a dear friend, and her family, plus visit others we know there, and 2) To present our mission, work and vision at a conference, hosted by one of the organisions that one of these U.S. teams are with... Got that?

We leave the Alsace on the 13th and stay in Calais for a night in a formula 1 motel, those that have ever stayed in a F1 will appreciate my trepidation...It is a necessary 'evil' as we take the 07:50 train the next morning!

We will drop the girls off at Pete's brother's, they will camp with their 4 cousins, Aunty & Uncle for a week leaving Pete & I to amuse ourselves for the week.

We will be sorting out a schedule for the 2 weeks we are in UK and hope to get to each of our parents, churches and families, also our mission H.Q. plus some friends; what is a holiday for after all?

The rough outline is;
-Pete & I will have a few days recluse in East Sussex to catch up, then try to do some deputation work 'sans enfants'...
-a trip to our HQ in Gerrards Cross and hopefully to Luton for the 1st weekend via Chelmsford. -Back to East Sussex to collect the kids then off to Hereford for a few days.
-On to Essex for the 2nd weekend, Ingatestone Elim on Sunday morning and Chelmsford Elim in the evening.
-We catch the train again on the 28th and head back to Belgium.

plans are always fluid, but we hope to see as many people as possible without caving in!!!

Hope to see some of you.

Sad day

2006-07-20T07:56:00.000+02:00

Without any warning, Poppy died on Monday.
We were still feeding her mornings and evenings with milky water in a syringe, she enjoyed this and had gotten quite proficient drinking this way. She would take too much sometimes and end up sneezing and blowing milk bubbles through her nose!!!

On the day in question it had been really hot, she was a bit warm so we had been encouraging her to drink water more during the day; after one session she was sneezing alot, and by the evening she was not really right. I gave her the evening feed and she sneezed more then started 'bouncing'. Within an hour she had died.
I think the sneezing burst something and she suffered a cerebral bleed causing her to fit.
Poor little thing, she is now buried with her mum in our garden.

Hopefully there will be happier blogs to follow,
enjoy the summer

Bubbles and Poppy

2006-07-09T12:45:00.000+02:00

The Bubble got too big!

2006-07-09T11:30:00.000+02:00

On Friday morning I got a shout from Pete to say that my guinea-pig (Bubbles) had given birth... normally it takes me ages to get up in the morning during school holidays, but on Friday I was up tout suite.
Sadly, of the 6 she had, only one was alive, and only just.
Pete, with his baby nursing background, was giving the tiny baby a warm bath to bring up it's temperature, it was the runt of the litter so concequently the tiniest, it was small, weak and closer to being dead that alive, it didn't even have the energy to squeek but was making a popping noise in it's nose/throat, we've heard it before in other dying guinea-pigs when they couldn't clear air passages... not a good sign, we called her Poppy.
I rubbed Poppy dry then gave her a small syringe full of warm milk with sugar, then gave her back to Bubbles.
Bubbles herself was really weak and rejected this tiny baby, she refused to eat or drink anything and was still losing blood following the births.
I neglected all else to be an intensive care nurse for these 2 weakening pets of ours, Bubbles didn't want to know the baby and Poppy, following all her instincts, followed Bubbles round faithfully.
The first night was the biggest challenge, if they were alive in the morning then there was a high chance of survival. Friday night, we all gave them what we thought might be our last cuddles and said goodnight.
The next morning we were elated to see them both snuggled up together, breathing.
Poppy has stopped popping, has stronger legs so doesn't wobble anymore, she can climb over the hay rather than it causing her to fall over, she now nibbles at the food we put in the cage and has a tiny squeek...
Bubbles, on the other hand, had given up, she was probably bleeding internally from having had so many babies, and couldn't get better, despite our best nursing efforts she died Saturday afternoon, so sad, she was such a beautiful and gentle piggy. We buried her in the garden and Molly made a twig cross to put in the place...
Just to get this in context...
We have had 2 American girls staying for a week, the day they left another arrived for 2 weeks, Pete bought a little girl from our French church round to stay the night, and I was preparing tarte flambe for the 14 guests we were expecting that evening, I was also making a cake, salad, etc for the meal, and rearranging the downstairs to accomodate us all... to throw a guinea-pig funeral into the equasion seemed about right.
Thank you Bubbles for being such a lovely piggy, and thank you for Poppy, she will be loved and looked after well.
piccies to follow

It's all gone mad

2006-06-27T21:40:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, 6 Americans descended on our house, ripped out an interior ceiling spreading dust and rubble throughout the whole house... (Before the event, the house was presentable, lived in but presentable all the same,) after 2 hours of intense demolition they left; leaving me with the dust, hungry kids to feed, dusty kids that needed showering before I could put them to bed, total chaos and did I mention the dust? will post pictures sometime!

The other thing they managed was to cover the fridge, hide the microwave and fill the kettle with...dust!!! Jst when I really wanted a cuppa and my supper!

Today they came back, they washed the walls in the attic rooms (they were a bit dusty!) in preparation for papering, they did some painting and cleaned the glass in the skylight in our living room, they were dirty and, what's that fine powdery stuff called again? oh yes, DUST!

Thought you might like to share in my experience...

Got to go now, got to scrape dust off the furniture so I can do some dusting,
ironic really!

Hang in there!

2006-06-13T14:23:00.000+02:00

There she was... hovering above the ground precariously (not that you can see in this picture, but she was!!!)
...clinging to the rail with weakening fingers, the grasp loosening with the passing time... Could she make it to the end? Could she get off the first rung?? Could she hold on any longer??? There was no going back, the only other way out was DOWN!!! For a few seconds she hung on, clinging to the bar like it was life itself, then the thoughts crept in; the kids had managed it... she used to do it when she was younger... why is it so difficult now?
The pressure was mounting, what was she to do?
The crunch time came, with a deliberate and willful act she released her tentative grip of the bar and descended, landing gracefully making it look as though that was the intention all along...
We are talking about my sister here... always graceful and in control!!!!!

This is a reflection on how I feel @ the mo.
I feel as though my grip on life isn't really strong enough, lots seem to be pulling me 'down' and trying to loosen my grip. But the difference here is, that unlike the monkey bar, it's not me holding the bar, but the father is holding me. I may feel stretched by all that is making demands on me, my time, my energy... etc... but ultimatly God has me in the palm of his hand.

I once wrote a poem about this sort of thing, how the grip of the world can hold someone, when tempted by the world the person replied;

My life is my own, I do as I please,
I feebly tried to resist.
But the way of the world is hard to let go
when it has hold of your wrist.

I'm glad God has hold of me, I know I would have let go long before now!

So, be encouraged,
when swinging on the monkey bars of life, letting go is a good thing.

flip-flop weather

2006-05-13T13:53:00.000+02:00

What gorgeous weather we are experiencing, really is time to break in the silver bauble encrusted purple flip-flops that I got for my birthday... I feel in a unique catagory as I parade around in these beauties, I love them.

Well, I am feeling a bit more in touch with life at the moment, I know God has ultimate hold of the controls, but I feel less flung around and as though it is going too fast!

My daily plod is taking shape, and the focus is...
learning French,
surprise, surprise!

On Mondays I study; this could be comprehension work, letter writing, translation stuff, bible studies... anything in French or to help learn it.
On Tuesday's I go to Glenda with what I did on Monday, she goes through it with me, correcting where needed (normally in lots of places!) then we go through the text to work on, I read it while she laughs at my pronounciation!! then explains what it is all about...
Wednesday I study in the morning as the girls have a half day school and finish at 11.15. then in the evening I go to a ladies meeting(In France), a time of sharing & praying for each other.
Thursday morning I prepare for the English lesson I give in the afternoon, I now have 3 in my group!!! and when I get them 'fluent' (who am I kidding?) there are others wanting me to teach them!!! I can see potential here!
Thursday evening is choir practice (I sound so old!) I prefer -répétition pour 'renaissance', sounds a lot classier!
Friday morning is spent with a couple from our church, the aim is on speaking, they will help us improve hopefully, and correct us on pronounciation and grammer... Saturday is a rest day, then...
Sunday morning is church in Belgium, and in the afternoon we have church in France!

So, this is my week, a plan has taken shape, my emphasise is on being with French speaking people as much as possible to build up my confidence to converse more... even last night at the monthly ladies soirée at the Belgian church, a lady came up to me, told me she lived nearby and would like it if I could go round to hers next week.

The lesson I have learn through this is, God knows our needs, desires, fears, limits, potential...

Psalm 37 gives sound advice, don't fret, trust in God, delight in Him, commit your ways to Him... if we do all he asks, the promises are phenomonal... He will show us security, give us the desires of our heart, he will be our advocate... He has helped with the everyday worries that I have been experiencing, and the assurance is, He isn't going to stop.

So, have a great week, enjoy the flip-flop weather, before we need to wear flip-flops because of the weather (to get through puddles etc!) Enjoy this Psalm too,

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his ways, though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

I'm back

2006-04-26T16:09:00.000+02:00

Sorry I've been away for so long!
What with school holidays then Pete's holidays... I feels as though I have been on the go all the time!!!

During the holidays we had 2 trips to the zoo at the citadale in Lille, it is free and there are plenty of animals to see, 1st time I took the girls on my own, the 2nd time was with Pete's brother and his family. It is a great day out, and as you an see, the weather was great...

The rest of the time has been filled with housework, pre & post visitors, shopping, mainly visitor related!!! trips to the fair, the cinema, school friends parties... It was a good break for the kids, hopefully they enjoyed it.

Pete has been busy in the attic rooms, concreting, plastering... soon we can paper and paint... no the electrician has not been, we are working around that issue...

On Tuesday I had my first session with my language buddy (She doesn't know thats what she is... but she is committed to meeting with me weekly to help me with my French) the 2 hours flew by, which is a positive thing.
On Mondays I will study French at home, and on Tuesday she will help with what I have been working on... a plan is coming together.

So, life plods on here, Robyn comes on Saturday with 2 Other Elimites, for the long weekend, should be fun... thanks for missing me Tracie, I'm ok, just not back into the blog swing yet!

School holidays!!!

2006-04-04T11:21:00.000+02:00

It's that time again,
schools out, for 2 weeks and a day.

This means that I don't get near the computer... that's ok though 'coz I hav'nt time for it, I have to be in the kitchen producing an endless quantity of meals, snacks, drinks... how do they cope at school? they must starve all day!

Pete breaks up in 2 weeks time for Easter, the girls have a weekend and the Monday off together (with our visitors...) then the girls go back to school and Pete is off for 2 weeks!
great co-ordination!

Easter is in 2 weeks time and Spring madness is in the air...
The easter bunny is wreaking havoc in the shops leaving little round, brown reminders everywhere of his visit... chocolate eggs...
The easter chicks are appearing everywhere, in Belgium there is an added dimension, la cloche, the bell which does something with the eggs too...

The message of Easter really is getting lost,
We are sinking into a society that knows less and less about the real meaning of Easter,
sad eh?

I want to wish you a very happy Easter,
enjoy the chocolate, and thank God for the greatest gift that anyone could ever give us, salvation.

what a weekend...

2006-03-27T08:24:00.000+02:00

I'm not sure how we managed it, but we are through the weekend!!!
Some of the busy-ness was self inflicted, but even so, it was continuous!

Saturday was a slow start for the girls, lie-ins for those that wanted it, quiet telly for the others...
Pete was up early as he was preaching on Sunday and still had to prepare.

I surfaced at about 9.30 and started on the usuals...cuppa tea, breakfast, cleaning the animals cages, washing up... later we went for a walk;
a) to get everyone out the house so Pete could study,
b) to get some sausages for lunch
c) to go to the bank to get some money to get some sausages for lunch; We had found a toad in the hole recipe and I agreed to do it... with Molly as my assistant.
Lunch done, Molly had a party in the afternoon @14.00, Carey & Elsie spent the afternoon at the park with the neighbours kids.
Pete studied for Sunday's sermon around periodic 'naps', he's tired 'coz he got up early!
I tidied the house as we have visitors tomorrow.

Collect Molly at 17.00. How's this, all the parents were invited to a drink and gateaux while waiting to collect their kids, it took 40 minutes to pick Molly up. An idea for the next party!!!
Fairly calm evening, prepared veg. etc. for tomorrow and more cleaning, tidying.

Sunday, not only do we get an hours less sleep, Pete has to be at church early to go through the sermon with his translator; set alarm for 08.00.
Dinner on, all fed, hair brushed... out the door by 09.05!!!

Home by 12.20, visitor due @ 12.30, put veg. on, do dessert... Naomi arrives; at 4 and a half, she is our youngest guest. She is dropped off to eat with us, She is Belgian but her parents want her to improve her English, so voilà.
At 15.00 she is picked up by her Dad along with Molly, and the 3 of them go to a kids concert in Lille.
Pete and the other 2 go at 16.00 to a North African concert in Roubaix, followed by church.

Once they are all out the door I rearrange the downstairs, the living room is now the dining room and visa-versa!!! Good chance to really spring clean...

2 hours later, at 18.00 Molly is returned, and the Dad comes in for a drink while the kids play a bit more, if they has been 20 minutes earlier, I still had a sideboard in the middle of the room!!! Fortunatly things were in place and fairly sorted.

Pete et-al returned at 20.30 to the re-vamped house... a total change, Elsie has found 1 item that wasn't moved, out of 2 rooms, that's not bad!!!
So; it was good to put my feet up for 10 minutes last night with a cuppa before retiring to bed.

Good job I did have that 10 minutes 'coz we hit the ground running this morning, I forgot to re set my alarm!
we got up at 08.00... By 08.15 everyone was dressed, hair done, shoes on, had a drink, had a pot of something to eat in the car, had school bags and were out the door...all that was left for them to do was wake up!

My unbirthday...

2006-03-21T09:37:00.000+01:00

On Thursday, still nursing a cold, we ventured forth for my unbirthday family celebrations.
Carey spent the day with a school friend, but this was ok, she was happy doing that. The rest of us went exploring deeper into Belgium.
We found our way into Tournai, just 20 minutes from us, but we managed something that is fast becoming a Joy tradition!!!
On the continent, it seems that all businesses cllose for lunch, from 12:00 'til 14:00!
One of the main purposes for going out as a family, was to have a meal out. We plodded round Tournai's main streets searching for a place to eat, we actually found a restaurant called 'Le Marmite', how cool is that? Bit too expensive though, sadly.
We plodded around for about 15 minutes, all this time it is trying to snow, Molly is crying she is cold and hungry; Elsie says she is fed-up just walking round and we all want to get out the freezing wind!
Finally we stumbled across a chinese restaurant; there was a set menu at a good price and it was open...before you could say chicken chow mein, we were in and sat down trying to defrost.

To summarise, we had a lovely day, we ate well, took piccies, found some open shops to browse round out of the wind, and we managed to find the car again, not bad for us! I was glad to get home again though for a hot cuppa!

I quite like unbirthday's, I think I will have another one...will check the diary!

Just to finish, you need to hear this, it's a true story...
Yesterday I had my 1st English class. 2 ladies from the choir want to learn, and I guess I was the favoured option to teach!
I started with the alphabet as so many sounds are different... a-apple, b-bed...p-pet...
'what is pet?' they asked, they looked confused, bemused...I'm not sure what that expression was! I did explain that a pet was a domestic animal, but as soon as I got home I looked it up in the French dictionary; Pet = FART!
ah! I understand the look now....
Have a good day
;¤)

Look what I found...

2006-03-15T15:32:00.000+01:00

Our guinea-pig, Bubbles, has just popped!
She has had 5 darling piglets.
She birthed them all in 1 hour!!!!!!!!
They are now 3 hours old, have all had a cuddle from me and are doing well.
The dad, Dougal, is on the left and Bubbles is on the right, taken about 5 days ago, looking as though she was going to burst then! Her girth measured 18cm! She's usually such a petite piggy.
The babies are an assortment of colours and there are some rosettes there too.
They are gorgeous.
Got to go and have another look,
BYE

40 something...

2006-03-15T09:55:00.000+01:00

You will be pleased to know, the cold is going...
Still some residual, but looks as though we are on for Thursday!

Thank you for your thoughts and wishes for my birthday, it's great to know there is a big family out there.

Robyn managed to find the most used present...a box of tissues,
Pete-the long term element...a game,
My family-the most girly-a gorgeous bunch of flowers (I can now smell the fressias!)
and Jo-the most Marmitey (not pictured...)
There was a significant purple theme in the cards and pressies, and Robyn managed to get pink into the bouquet!

So, from a 40 something in Belgium,
YMerci tout le monde, je suis heureuse que vous ^etes mes amis.Y

40...and counting!

2006-03-13T08:27:00.000+01:00

40...
I got there!
Not quite what I expected... bit of an anti-climax actually, the whole day was taken up with appointments and things that the birthday element kind of got overlooked!

What did I do?
I was bought a cuppa tea in bed by the family, plus my presents. After that the rush starts and the nagging... get dressed now, eat your breakfast, find your shoes, do your hair...(directed at the kids, not me...) then off to church for 10:00. Some people knew it was my birthday, so I had a few 'bonne anniversaire's sent my way, which was nice.
After church I took the eldest, Carey, to a birthday party of a school friend, then returned to church where a meal was being prepared for the Christmas Choir, as a thank-you. Families were invited so it was a jolly (French) event, about 50+/- in total.
From there, at 5pm, we went and collected Carey, then headed straight to our French church meeting... unfortunatly no-one turned up, so we sat there for an hour before coming home again!!!
I had various texts and phone calls during the day from friends and family, but the whole event was spoilt a bit with the busy agenda (Not a good idea having a birthday on a Sunday), plus the fact that I have a stinking cold,a silly cough, my sinuses are making my face ache and I am not sleeping well 'coz I can't breathe!!!! I spent the day drugged up to the eyeballs with pain killers and anti-cold stuff, even the wine at the meal did nothing...
So, Sarah had the right idea, get away from it all and make the day special!
With this plan in mind, I'm going to have an unofficial birthday on Thursday and Friday (I figure I can have two days now I am 40)
The girls have a day off school on Thursday, as does Pete; so I hope to do something nice...A day out, a meal, a fun time, then on Friday I propose to veg. out at home and do nothing (hopefully I will be cold free then too)
Now I am going to have a cuppa tea and go back to bed!
tough life being 40 eh! :-)

Amen to that...

2006-03-07T08:44:00.000+01:00

I love the verse of the day thingy, todays is I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

How great is that?
I can learn French because I know I am doing it for Him, with Him and through Him, He gives me my daily strength, Amen to that.

I am told that it is harder to learn something new after you are 40, so if you excuse me, I have 5 days to learn a new language!!!

At the moment I am still in my 30's and cherishing it, I filled out a questionaire yesterday, and it had a tick which age group you are in...20-29, 30-39, 40-49... yipeeeeeee I haven't gone up a box yet, if it had arrived next week I think it would have ended up in the bin instead of the post box!

Thought you might appreciate another French puzzle...

le seau = Bucket
Le sceau = Seal (as in ...of approval)

both are pronounced the same!!!! c'est bizarre non?

Have a great day, I'm off to study a seau load of French before the weekend before my brain is sceau ed off!!!

That was the week that was...

2006-03-05T23:03:00.000+01:00

I did it!
I managed to get to England and back again without losing any of the children!
The marmite stock at Tesco's has been reduced, and my worries of a life without the fragrant nectar have been averted :-)
It was a busy few days including visiting 3 churches, (in Luton, Ingatestone and Chelmsford) a trip to our mission H.Q. in Gerrards Cross, roller-blading in Hylands park...I didn't, I walked round after the kids with my Mum, visiting friends and family...
A highlight for me was meeting some fellow bloggers.
On Thursday it was lovely to meet up with Sarah for a hot chocolate, with cream! at Starbucks. It really felt as though I had known her for ages and we spent a happy time in the purple armchairs in the window! The kids got a bit bored and took themselves off shopping! Thanks Sarah for your encouragements, being 40 looks OK!
The journey home was fun... Pete rang to say that he had watched the weather forcast, and there was 80 m.p.h winds expected through the channel at the time of our voyage...Having requested many to pray, we were pleased with the milpond that the ship set sail on, the only meteorological thing we experienced was snow!
However, we were stranded in the middle of the channel for an hour as our ship was involved in a search and rescue operation, exciting stuff, another passenger ferry had reported a man overboard, so all other vessels in the shipping lanes were immediatly called to S&R... Turns out it was a false sighting, they think it was a seal...still a bit exciting!

So we are home now, with marmite, mission complete.
It was great to meet up with some of you and put face to blog:-) Must do it again sometime, here or there...

Uh Oh!

2006-02-21T08:53:00.000+01:00

Today is a day of national red alert... Iv'e had to break into my emergency mini marmite.
Desperate times call for drastic actions, I am getting hot and cold sweats just knowing that I am on the final scrapings of my marmite... I need to return to the source of the black nectar, England.

I know it's a case of 'either you love it or you hate it', but I am disappointed that I can't buy marmite over here! We could for a while, in the stocks and gravy section, but that was old and now not stocked!!!

So, with withdrawal symptoms lurking in the shadows, I venture over the waters, to raid the Chelmsford Tesco's of it's ample supply of mega jars of marmite, potentially a situation averted, but will the mini pot last the remaining few days?

I come over on Saturday with the girls for 6 sleeps; anything to avoid carnival week here! The aim was to be out the house while the electrician did the wiring, but the latest excuse was not his key was broken but his FOOT!!! will it ever get done?

Can't think about that right now, got a marmite crisis on the horizon!

Do you like the mixture in the picture, this is Molly's (aged 7 1/2)favourite sandwich.The photo was taken by a French friend who cannot see a redeeming feature in marmite, let alone mix it with Chocolate spread and ham (or salami if no ham available!)

Hope to meet you soon, should be there Sun. pm. coffee is an option, or a soirée à Robyn's????

The Joy Journal

2006-02-17T14:37:00.000+01:00

About 4 times a year I send out a newsletter, entitled the Joy Journal.
The purpose is to keep in touch and to update our supporters, those who are behind us in prayer, encouragements, finances... as to what is going on in our lives, it at times contains prayer requests etc. that are personal, so not suitable for a blog site. We send it to the Keep in touch team at Elim, but if you want it e-mailed direct to you, could you give contact addresses (or just 1 if someone will distribute/send on)to Robyn; we love people knowing what we are doing because, as ambassadors, we are working on behalf of those who send us, and in the power and strength of the one who called us. Spiritual warfare is won on a spiritual level, and this is only possible through prayers, therefore, the more pray-ers there are... WAY HEY :-)
God is good - all the time.

And again...

2006-02-15T10:29:00.000+01:00

Don't you think, when you see the same message repeatedly, that you are meant to remember something, like algebra formulas or road signs or bible verses?
This picture was given to us when we left our church in Holland, it hangs just inside our living room so, so every time we go out the house we see it. It is a picture of clogs with spikes on, used for walking on ice, so the wearer does not slip.
The verse is the same as todays verse telling us to stand firm, to let nothing move us...to give ourselves fully to God's work, because when we work for God our work is not in vain. This is a good verse to memorize, so when the devil tells us that what we are doing is useless and a waste of time we can tell him the truth, because we know the truth will set us free.
Just so we don't stand firm in our own strength, there is another verse;
1 Corinthians 10:12

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall.

(Read verse 13 too it is a promise I cling onto when things seem to be pushing me too far.)
We always need to rely on God fo all things, even support when we think things are going well and we are standing firm.

I love todays verse, my picture of the clogs is a good image and I want to stand firm

Have a great day

We all need families

2006-02-13T11:16:00.000+01:00

On Friday I went to a ladies meeting at our church in Belgium. About 30+/- attend and it is all in French. I didn't want to go as it was the 3rd evening out in French, and my brain was stretched to capacity!
I was feeling the odd one out anyway, and usually feel lonely at these gatherings...
So I really didn't want to go.
Pete has his men's meeting in France on Fridays, but this was no excuse...a lady(Nadine) from the church told me that she would pick me up when she dropped her husband off to babysit, they are lovely, God-fearing grandparent, and my kids love them. So all excuses gone, I went.

Nadine has a passion to know God's heart, towards the end of the evening she asked the ladies "Do you know Suzanne?" (Easier than Zanne in French!!!)
They pointed me out...
Nadine continued,
"She is here in Belgium, and her family is not, We are now her family."

How much did that touch me? The tears were out, the weeks of frustrations, loneliness and sadness flowed, the ladies hugged me (not cultural I might add, they normally just bissous = kiss on the cheek) and bissoussed me, told me they loved me, called me little sister, their daughter...fortunatly no one called me mother...I was so blessed and came away knowing that God does see me, he does know the pains that hide in my heart; and at the right time, he sends a hug :-)

I talked to my sister last night,

I had an e-mail from a friend,

I had a skype message from my Christian school friend in America,

Had a comment on my blog site,

The family is bigger than you think, but sometimes we just need a reminder.

We all need families, that is why God put us together.
Thank you

Slightly wierd!

2006-02-10T09:33:00.000+01:00

I am a member of a choir, the rehersals are held at our church every other Thursday in French, and the members are from various neighbouring churches in France and Belgium (Flemmish & Wallonian). We are about 25 +/- in total.
At Christmas we put on a 'Gospel Concert', a Mark Condon creation called Magnify, truely rousing stuff, loadsa carols, solos, narratives... Most of the songs remained in English (Which is how I came to be invited to join the choir; to help with pronounciation...)about 4 were translated into French, always good to have a challenge.

The 3 evening performances in December went brilliantly, The first was a charity concert in Tournai, the others in our church in Mouscron where about 250+/- came each night.It was great that my parents could be over for that too :-)

The slightly weird thing is this...
Last night, we all hopped into various cars and flew over the border to France to perform an abridged version of the Gospel Concert... before an audience of about 30...In a restaurant!

I miss out alot as to the where, why, when etc. things, as everything is in French, I really do follow the crowd. Turn up when I'm told and when, and sing what I am told to sing.
Oh if life was always this simple.

We finished at 21:30 and where all given a glass of fruit juice or Champagne, then presented with a basket of goodies (valentine boxes choccies, paté de foie gras, biscuits and a photo frame(? is this cultural?) as we walked out the door.

I am totally bemused.

Is it a coincidence?

2006-02-06T08:11:00.000+01:00

Today's verse is the same as the key verse we had in church yesterday.

Solomon had finished building the temple, God came to him after the rites of dedication etc. had finished, and told Solomon that He had chosen the temple to be His house, where offerings were to be made.

v.6, For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. (KJV)

Does this apply to me?
Answer; YES, I am God's temple.

2Co 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

But as Christians, we cannot entertain wordly attributes/habits/views.
So why is it so hard for me being here, in another culture, struggling with the language, family and life in general? Surely God sees me sinking? Or is this just me giving into something that is not of Christ; a wordly view? can a Christian feel low, depressed, pressured?

1Co 3:9 (TCNT) For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's harvest field, God's building.

I need to be humble, pray and seek God's face during this time; He will hear me and will forgive my self doubt, feelings of worthlessness and insignifigance, and give healing and restoration.

Eph 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

That was not meant to be another sermon, not sure what happened really!!!
Anyway,now I have given myself a Monday morning kick, I will press on...(I once heard it said, when you get a kick, do you let it kick you down or kick you on?) I hope and pray that this kicks me on, and I hope you feel kicked on too :-)
Have a great day.

It's gone!!!

2006-02-04T12:22:00.000+01:00

How do I get my blog link back at the bottom of my profile page? Just when things seem to be tickety boo, something else appears or disappears... bizzare eh?

A little insight to our week.

on Monday's and Thursday's after school all three girls have 'solfege'(studying music notes..)at the music Academy in town; up to the age of 12, music lessons are free, but they have to complete the solfege course first before, or alongside, instrument lessons, they have regular exams and assessments.
Carey has piano lessons on Tuesday evenings, she has her exam at the end of Feb.
On Wednesdays the 2 younger kids, Elsie & Molly, have flute lessons. They had their 1st flute exam this week and both passed :-) clever beans.

On Tuesday's they have a homework club where they get help with their French homework, Dutch homework is not so difficult for them now, as it is a fluent language for them, (I am quite envious of their abilities!) but French needs a little help at times.

Wednesday evenings I go to a ladies prayer/share meeting with our church plant in France (There's 5 adult women in our church, and 4 go to the meeting! brilliant ratio eh?) it is all in French so I do more praying than sharing!!! and I pray in English! The men meet Friday night, all the men go, all 5 of them. They do more discipling and planning for the church, it is a N. African context, so the men are the organizers, the women are the supporters and bring the goodies to nibble. There are 8 children in the church, Carey and Elsie look after them during the meeting on Sundays, at 11 and 9 1/2 they are the eldest; any ideas or left over material would be gratefully accepted!

Thursday evenings I have choir practice... I sound so old! it is another oppertunity for me to be submerged into a French context. One of the organizers once asked if I understood what was going on each week. I replied saying

You know when you put your head under the bath water and listen to something? You hear things but it is muffled, you know something is being said but you can't understand it... Well, it's like that!

He thought it quite funny and told the whole group... they all had a good laugh... but it did have an effect, now they ask if I understand things and encourage me to try talking... Having said that, my head is still under the water!

Sunday @ 10 we have church in Belgium, a lovely place (but all in French!) with brilliant times of worship, and I'm assured sound teaching, Songs are a selection of Exo stuff, Chris Bowater plus others... some we know in English, but Exo is new to us (brilliant songs though, worth a listen details on www.exogroupe.com/) At 5pm we go to France for the other 'church', at the moment we meet in a house but are praying for a building. This time we sing in Kabele sometimes, or French!

This is our week, add a sprinkling of Pete's trips to university and shopping... no wonder the house is dusty! oh yes, and the workmen...

Have a good week, continue to lift each other up in prayer, give encouragements and praise through what we say and do,
and enjoy chocolate or marmite!

Thursday's thought

2006-02-02T15:42:00.000+01:00

why are there always odd socks
when you do the washing?

I had 3 the other day!

It's Friday... It must be Crackerjack?

2006-01-27T09:16:00.000+01:00

It's Friday, it's 08:30... what is it?
It's crackerjack!!!!
No, that was a long time ago!
Pete has taken the girls to school on his way to Uni. The kitchen is sorted (not difficult, it is the size of a postage stamp) and the breakfast stuff is away. The study books are open on the table and I am the other end of the house at the computer
What is it?
~ It's a struggle.
It is in my best interest to learn the language. Church is difficult 'coz I only get 20% of the sermon, worshipping is something else when you have to keep one eye on the overheads as you don't know the songs AND they are in French I needs understanding. To give/recieve encouragements I need competence and clarity with the language... the Spirit is so evident in our church and that is a blessing; God's love transcends language barriers, but I crave a deeper move with God.
~ It's scary.
I've always not liked not knowing what is going on around me in case I am missing out on something! I also don't like it when my name is mentioned followed by laughter and I haven't understood the topic. I especially don't like it when someone says...You don't understand, and I am most hurt when I am excluded from a group because I am different.
~ It's humbling.
We are told to come before our Father as children. Children are dependent on their parents/carers for all things, they come with no expectations, they don't assume, (I'm talking little children!!!!!! I could hear some comments in the camp)they don't judge, they are happy to be near you, they accept what you say without having 'better' ideas, they are vulnerable, they are submissive, they love you for no reason whatsoever, just because. I am reminded that this is where God wants me, I need to rely on Him in all situations. I heard it said that God didn't put me here because I was the best person for the job, but this was where He could best work on me!
~ It's frustrating.
I am like a babbling baby, People at church see my frustrations, my efforts, my failings and want to help; This is the basis for a balanced relationship, helping and needing each other.
~ It's crackers jack!
There is no logic to what we are doing; moving to a country where we don't speak the language, are different culturally and are motivated by faith!!! It is crackers. It is a step of faith, the first step is the hardest there is a lot riding on it, but it is right. Stepping out does not mean stepping away, but stepping in Jesus' footprints.
So, I am going back to those study books and tackle them, I am going to thank God for putting me here and ask for the strength to persevere. I am going to be victorious, because God is in it with me and I have his purposes to fulfil in my life.

Ga 6:9 (TCNT) Let us never tire of doing right, for at the proper season we shall reap our harvest, if we do not grow weary.

I pray that we will each find strength for the daily chores, to do them willingly and as a testimony, that we don't grow weary and that we will be victorious.

2006-01-24T14:53:00.000+01:00

Why do we spend so much time keeping our house in order in case someone comes, and neglect to keep God's Temple in order when we are expecting Jesus to come?

I am sooooooooooooo excited.

2006-01-23T09:14:00.000+01:00

Thank you for noticing me... I feel so blogged :-)

A cup of tea doesn't fix everything!

2006-01-23T08:19:00.000+01:00

This revelation may come as a bitter pill to some hardened Brits, but it is true, hard for me to say as a tea lover and an ethnocentric!!!
Much as we love our tea, we have had to change our approach to offering refreshments when guests turn up, fresh coffee is the order of the day, and it is to be presented in small cups, preferably with it's saucer, thank goodness for Ikea!
You can imagine the surprise when we gave the workmen fresh coffee (got that bit right) in this pictured mug, caused bit of a laugh... seems we do that bit well at least...

What did we learn from this?
Everyone has their own way of showing hospitality, no one way is right. I have had to learn a new way as a cuppa and a piece of cake does not make the visitor feel welcomed (unless they are from UK!)
Often when someone has a problem, or is feeling down, we can sit them down with a cuppa, for a chat, and sort things out. A cup of tea can assist in fixing things. Not anymore!
Firstly there is no chatting in this camp if the problem is in French, then the cup of tea causes more problems that it's worth!!! What can fix things?
Not what, Who?
Taking the problems to our Father is what we are to do, he can ease the problem, heal the hurt, mend the broken hearts... This can be done in any language with any beverage and snack. He can bridge the cultures and barriers and He can use us if we are willing to be used.
I see myself as the cup for the tea, an empty vessel! I am willing to be used but unable to do it on my own. I need to be filled with compassion, gentleness, understanding, self-control... (the list goes) on to be effective,on my own I am incapable!

This is my prayer, that I will be emptied of myself and full of the Spirit, so that I will be used by God in the work he has prepared for me to do.
Ephesians 2: 10.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Word muddles
dent and don (pronounced the same)= tooth and gift or talent (in a sentence beginning'God gives us all d....' I didn't know the latter, so was on the tooth theme!!!)
Vis and vis = 'je vis' means I live, I lived in Holland for 3 years before coming to Belgium, and 'vis' is Dutch for fish... I am so easily confused...
Attendre and entendre = To wait and To listen. I am still learning that you don't attend venues here you have to go to them When I was little I went to Moulsham school I didn't attend it any more coz' that only means I waited it and that is nonsense wouldn't you agree? Although we have to do both before God :-)

Talk soon

2006-01-20T11:23:00.000+01:00

Do you know how addictive blogging is? I have been reading all about friends back home and the strange thing is, they don't know I'm here!!! Weird eh?

I have finished a 12 week language course in French and not sure how much I actually progressed!!! Our whole life outside our house is in French, but I still feel as though my efforts are as a babbling baby, I need a Pentecost experience in French!

my motto for life is to see problems as challenges, this is what Paul did (I think) during his missions in Acts, he faced the challenges and knowing that God was with him in all situations, he tackled the challenges as a team member...
I know God has put me here for a reason and I will fulfil that task, the challenge of learning French is a big one, and many times I feel it is too big for me, I am clumsy in pronounciation, hopeless in sentence structure... clueless when it comes to conjugating... but God is with me, he can make all things possible, His purpose is to build me up so I can serve Him, and this is my goal.
Having given myself bit of a pep talk I will plod on...

I hope some of you find my page, it isn't too exciting at the moment, I can post a few verbs I have studied, or a list of words for the day... might help me but not sure if it is read worthy!!! I could tell you about the efficiency of our Belgian electrician but I would be lying and I don't approve of that! I could tell you about the progress made to the renovations of our attic (French word = grenier) rooms...but that would be an unfinished story...

I will tell you about what I have learnt, kind of a thought of my day...

If you don't try you wont know... This used to be said to me when I said I didn't like some food, now I apply it to life,
~ If I say I can't learn French and don't try, I wont...
~ If I say I can learn French and don't try, I wont...
~ If I say I can learn French and try, I might look an idiot and become the source of many laughs... but I stand a greater chance of achieving the goal.
He who dares wins, as they say.

Just had a thought for another daily posting...

my blunders...
Heres one from yesterday (Fr=hier)
while talking to a friend, I told her I had finished my French course...I thought...
Here's how it went
Me: 'J'ai fini mon cours' (pronounced caw)
B: 'ton corps?' (pronounced coor)
Me: 'oui, mon cours de francaise!'
B: 'Ah! ton cours, tu dit ton corps!' ha! ha! ha!

Was there a joke? in response to my blank look betraying lack of understanding she explained...
you said your body (corps) was finished you meant your course (cours) hence the laughing!

laughter is a gift
humility is a fruit

other confusing words I have muddled...
bougie and bouger ~ (candle and the verb to move)
pecheur (circumflex on 1st e) and pecheur (accute acent 1st e) ~ fisherman and sinner
salut and salut (a greeting and salvation...need to know the context to know which one is used...bit of a problem when you only know one meaning for the word!!! makes a sermon really baffling!)

Enough for now, I'm sure there will be plenty more the way I am progressing... trial and error is definate method!

Watch this space :-)