All about the stories…

One morning during the week I open my home up for craft.

‘BYO craft and something yummy to share’ is how I invite people as I meet them here and there.

 ‘Craft at Jo’s House’ has been happening on and off for the past 13 years at least, it’s quite hard to remember that far back. We have had a stream of babies in capsules, prams, toddlers and pre-schoolers. Now there are only a dwindling handful of children as each year more of them head off to school. The crafters are a diverse mix of mothers, grandmothers, students, teachers, nurses, sign language translators, zoologists, piano teachers, writers, swimming coaches and…..I am sure I have forgotten somebody.

Really, it’s not about the craft (knitting, sewing, crochet, scrapbooking etc…), sometimes we don’t even unpack our knitting. It’s about the stories we share. About the babies born too early, or those with extra bits and missing bits, dying parents, hurtful husbands, money worries, mental health, and teenagers freaking us out totally! Some of us are Christians and get to share about the One who forgives, heals and restores. We all listen to one another.

Do you have somewhere to share your stories?

Listen, Listen. Love, Love.

Yesterday was day 4 of an intensive Pastoral Care course. I came home shattered.

Actually, I came home via Coles where I bought chocolate, a craft magazine and bath bubbles.

It was a wonderful course, and also a very intense experience, particularly the session on grief.

I think the Kairos motto is a good one to apply to Pastoral Care. Listen, Listen. Love, Love.

 

 

 

‘this thing’

¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Acts 4:16-17 NIV

I couldn’t help smiling when I heard this read in Church on Sunday. I wonder if those leaders had any idea how far and wide ‘this thing’ would actually spread?

2000 years later on the other side of the world, a 40 year old Gentile woman has believed in ‘this thing’, this person Jesus who overcame the grave, offering healing and salvation to all.

Stability.

Stability. Staying where you are, in order to grow.

This is a vow unique to the Benedictine Monks, and as I read about it this morning in my book I feel it, making sense, causing me to inhale.

Staying where you are in order to grow.

For me this means keeping my thoughts where I am in order to grow.

I am a daydreamer, as I imagine lots of women are. Even though I am here in body, going through the motions, often my mind is not. It’s busy imagining my other life; the one where I am free to do as I please, engage in stimulating intellectual conversation all day, create worthwhile things (whatever they might be???) and nobody is constantly asking, ‘come play Lego with me mummy?’.

“We will discover our true selves as we patiently simmer in communities and relationships to which God has called us. And we will find God there as well, because if we cannot find God where we are, we will not find him elsewhere”

                                                                                                                Dennis Okholm

Do you struggle with keeping your thoughts in the right place?

More yellow…

 

So the yellow thing continues. I saw these cups today for $1.35 each and could not resist.

Weird and Yellow

What do you do when you crave some solitude yet are surrounded by children at home every day because it is school holidays?

When you live in a big brand new house near the mountains but what you think you really want is a tiny shack by the beach.

What does it mean when you can wear a yellow t-shirt for a whole day?  You leave it on even though it makes you feel weird because you usually only wear black white or grey t-shirts.

I do know one thing. I’m pretty sure there should be some commas in those sentences above.

50 Shades of White

Did you know there are over 180 shades of white paint available at my local paint shop?

I found this out when we building our house. Choosing to paint your walls white is not the easy option for those weary of making choices.

By the end of the process, our standard answer to the builder had become,

” We have 4 kids, 3 of them boys. We don’t care too much what they look like, but which taps ,tiles, toilets etc… do you think are the strongest?”

Yes, they thought we were weirdos.

I think the shade of white we chose was Milk Cloud. Or was it Princess Bling? I don’t remember.

 

My favourite shade of white comes from the book of Isaiah.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

They shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18)

White as Snow. Now that is a colour I remember the name of.

All things. Even vomit.

My husband is a man of many gifts, one being the ability to clean up vomit without so much a dry retch or heave. This is a gift I generally do not possess.

Dave is also in China until next week. Can you see where this is going?

Yes, at 1.30am this morning my littlest man came down with a gastro bug and I was on my own.

It was OK.  I did what I needed to do without a single gag or sympathy vomit. I was strong.

I was not on my own.

“I can do all things (the back patting, vomit bowl holding, PJ changing, carpet sponging, sheet changing and little boy soothing) through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Listening = Not Talking

On the dangers of talking too much, Michael Casey says,
“It restricts our capacity to listen, it banishes mindfulness and opens the door to distraction and escapism. Talking too much often convinces us of the correctness of our own conclusions and leads some into thinking they are wise. It can be a subtle lesson in arrogance and superiority”
From Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants

A couple of weeks ago during bible study one of the group members pretty much told me to’ shut up’ right in the middle of our study. At the time I was angry, embarrassed, and incredulous. She felt bad and apologised afterwards.
But, as is often the way in community, the spirit of God can work through a sister or brother, telling us exactly what we needed to hear, at precisely the right time.*

God was telling me to ‘shut up’ and listen to what others have to say.

I am an extrovert. We don’t like silence, it makes us feel uncomfortable and we feel the need to fill it up. Like if we don’t keep talking, somehow the group will drown in its silence. And in my case there is definitely a sense of arrogance; what I have to say is infinitely more interesting, funny, or spiritually insightful than what you have to say.
This is of course complete rubbish!

 

So now I am trying really hard to talk less, which will allow me to listen more.
*I am not saying that being rebuked is always easy, it’s not. In this case, I had to make the decision to be humble and accepting, and rely on the Holy Spirit to help me not let my initial anger take root.

Introductions

There is a scene in the movie Julie and Julia where Julie Powell is explaining to her husband Eric why she never finishes anything.

“I have ADD. That’s why I am so bad at housework”

It makes me smile every time because I can relate. I probably don’t have ADD, but I do love to start new projects and sometimes never finish them, maybe like this blog.

And I too am bad at housework.