Life’s A Weekend!

A new theme - with changing colours

Rearranged the recipes - categorised too

Here are the various parts of my life:

www.lapbooking.wordpress.com - Lapbooking - presentation folders for school projects or unit studies. Also www.lapbooking.tumblr.com resources and webquests.

www.nzhomeed.wordpress.com - general homeschooling info for NZ

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/MigraineHealth/ - forum for women who have migraines

My Husband’s site:

www.2restore.wordpress.com

My children’s (neglected) blogsite:

www.kiwikids.tumblr.com

I’m president of MOPS NZ:

www.mops.org.nz
mother organisation’s huge website: www.mops.org

MUM-e-Mail - free twice-a-month encouragement for mothers of under 6s and their supporters: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MUM-e-Mail/

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This is gathered with some other interesting sites I like
at Crayon “Banquet Times”  - click items down the LHS

Create your own newspaper : http://www.crayon.net/scripts/login.cgi?mode=create

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Keeping occupied!

I was brought up to go to Church on Sunday. That’s the first call on your time each Sunday. I have wholeheartedly believed this - til the end of last year.

Factors that have contributed to changes in my thinking about what church (small ‘c’) is, include:

• multiple migraines (and not wanting to endure teenage angst, weak songs, and poorly balanced sound during the ‘worship’ time at Church)
• busyness and lack of time ‘in the quiet’ as I home educate 2 primary-aged children
• 18 years ago doing church planting - church growth study and thinking at MISSONZ, thinking how best to ‘do’ church; how to fulfil God’s (com-)mission
• believing that overseas ‘missionaries’ get far too much attention compared to local ‘missionaries’-apostles-’set apart’-called people (which in my view should be all followers of Jesus).

I still hold the importance of observing the Lord’s Day, a Sabbath Day of Rest. 

But I now realise that ‘church’ (the Bride of Christ, people who follow Jesus on this earth)

• doesn’t necessarily have four walls,
• that it is better being thought of as ‘being’ church rather than ‘doing’ church, and
• that church doesn’t necessarily nor exclusively happen on Sunday (or your Sabbath Day of Rest).

Church is (like love) what church does. People are the church. We live fantastic lives showing God’s love and grace to people in our communities and networks. We are (like) salt and light in the world. We live a life that is visibly different from the world.

This may be able to be done within the confines of a structured, ‘institutional’ Church, but for me, for now, I highly value our home group on Wednesdays and meeting with my home educating colleagues casually yet regularly. We have spiritual conversations, share meals and communion, speak from the Scriptures, pray, correct, and generally “one another” each other. We share what God is doing in our lives and the exciting things that He is teaching us.

Followers of Jesus (Christians), what is church for you? what does it look like?

Mummy Monday
- to young children, home educating mothers

Tummy Tuesday
- recipes, healthy food

Weblinks Wednesday
links for anything that interests me - homeschool, migraines, creativity 
- or maybe Wordless Wednesday? - a picture or photo

Thoughtful Thursday
- a question, a ponder …

Fellowship Friday
- friendships, organic church …

I do not promise to post every day every week, but I thought this could put a structure on my thinking and posting.

See you soon,
Johanna
www.lapbooking.wordpress.com
www.lapbooking.tumblr.com

DH - www.2Restore.wordpress.com
chn - www.kiwikids.tumblr.com

Words - writing - gaining knowledge - research - not afraid of computers -

- “help others to help themselves” - encouragement  - give things a go -  failure is not terminal - determination - sense of humour - will ’speak the truth with love’ -

- support home education - right of parents to raise and love and train their own children - support mothers of preschoolers (MOPS) -

… to be continued …

It was great on the weekend at Pukehina to hear a friend outline his dreams that stretch out years ahead. They were clear and detailed.

I found it exciting and inspiring to hear these dreams explained. I live with one that if he has dreams I’m not a party to them. Anything extracted out of him is vague at best. I think his lack of formulating or expressing dreams and hopes-future means my hopes and dreams are not sought. I’m realising that I need to express my future wishes - but the sad thing is I’ve lost (or am losing) touch with what they are. I haven’t thought about what I’d like to do in the next 5-10 years - or before i retire - or die.

So, here and now, I’ll start the thinking out and writing down of my hopes or what I think they are - it will be a process. Things will change and evolve along the way. But a process us mothers - and mother-home educators - need to work through nonetheless.

What am I good at?

What do I think I will be good at (but maybe not had the opportunity to do)?

What skills do I have?

What do people tell me about me?

“Secret” dreams from throughout the years…

Have been distracted by stumbleupon and neglected the blog!

http://banquet.stumbleupon.com

meeting a few homeschoolers there too …

well on the way through the third of four terms for this school year

and …

spring is coming!

Blessings,

Johanna