Outdoor Hour Challenge No. 12

Beginning our Focus on Garden Flowers

What wonderful timing, to start a focus on garden flowers just as we return to England in time for Spring! When we left Russia it was minus 15, and so Spring seemed very far away. But here in England the weather is warmer, and already we've been enjoying the daffodils and crocuses.

We took our nature study trip to the Garden Centre today. The kids had a wonderful time just looking around (there's nothing like this where we live in Russia!). While Nathaniel was engaged with the fish in the aquariums with Daddy, the girls and I hunted for some flower seeds and a pot of already grown flowers we could transplant. 

 There were so many beautiful baskets of Spring flowers for sale, as well as interesting garden ornaments and water features and other garden decorations. I had to explain that, no, we couldn't buy the large T Rex statue or the bag full of dead maggots for the birds, since we would have a lot of explaining to do getting those through customs on our way back to Russia in August!

In the end we chose Sweet Peas, Snapdragons, Pansies, Sunflowers and a packet that had a mixture of various types of cottage garden annuals. Our potted plant was a Primula. I also couldn't resist buying some little gardening gloves and tools :-)

We're looking forward to having Grandma and Gramps so near by. They have a wonderful garden, so the plan is for much of our nature study to take place there during the next few months. We'll plant some of our seeds here in our rented house, and others over at theirs. I'm really looking forward this study, and I think it'll be so fun for the kids being able to grow their own flowers and learn how to look after them.


Abide in Him!

Link up here to the Outdoor Hour Challenges

Join Me On My Journey

'Life is a journey', or so the cliche goes. I've certainly had my fair share of journeys. I used to love them, back in the days when I was fresh out of my teenage years and ready to take on the world with the passion and naivety of youth. Now that I'm older, and I like to think, a little wiser, I yearn instead for stability, routine, and the comfort of the 'known'. I've spent so much of my life packing and unpacking and living out of a suitcase that what was once exciting has become wearisome. OK, and I guess packing for a husband and three kids in addition makes the task a lot more daunting than it once was!

Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net / Poulsen Photo

For this last move I started packing up six weeks before we were due to leave. I did get a few comments that perhaps that was excessive, but I knew I needed to do it, for my own sanity. And now, finally, two weeks after arriving back home in the UK for our 'home leave', the suitcases are all unpacked and stowed away in various cupboards, hopefully to gather dust for a few months. I can breathe again, and relax! I love being settled.

However, God, it seems, doesn't like for us to be too settled. In my experience He likes to unsettle us, to push us out of our comfort zones, to suggest we walk that extra mile, when really we'd like to be back at home already with our feet up and a cup of tea in our hands. Jesus calls us to follow Him, and following someone involves leaving and moving and pressing onwards.

At the start of every New Year I often look back and wonder just how much I really have 'moved on' in the previous twelve months in my spiritual life and my walk with the Lord. There should be progress, there ought to be. It's part of our Christian calling. However, God also knows how important community is, and journeys are always much more fun if there's someone to talk to and share with along the way.

As the old African saying goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

My hope is, as I start afresh recording some of my life lessons on this blog, that there might be some out there who would like to join me on this journey through the potholes and hilltops and foggy patches and breathtaking views of motherhood, of 'wifehood' and of being a daughter of the King. I'm praying in faith for some wonderful walking companions so that we might be a blessing to one another. 

I would be very honoured and encouraged if you would consider subscribing to my blog, leaving comments and help me build up a community of like-minded fellow travellers here at Grace to Abide. I look forward to our journey together!

Abide in Him!

Getting a Makeover

The astute among you, my dear readers, may have noticed that the name of my blog has changed. (OK, I won't be offended if you hadn't really noticed!) Well, whilst we're in this period of transition as a family (we'll be moving back home to England for a few months soon) my blog is also in a period of transition.


After a lot of prayer recently, I felt that God was encouraging me to update and expand my blog. I'm in the process of changing the design and layout, and I hope to be posting much more regularly from March onwards.


In the meantime, please bear with me, and do come and visit again soon to see what my blog looks like after its makeover!

One Day At A Time

We're in the middle of planning a big move soon, and some days it seems overwhelming. How can I carry on homeschooling when I have so much to do? How am I going to get the whole house packed up in time? God's answer was to force me to rest for 10 days! I have no idea what I did to my back, but one day it was suddenly impossible for me to put my own socks on and far too painful to consider loading up boxes of books.

I was forced to re-examine what was going on in my head. Yep, I was trying to do everything in my own strength again instead of abiding in Him! The verse about His power being made perfect through my weakness immediately came to mind (2 Corinthians 12:9). Interestingly there was a sense of peace that accompanied it. Yes, God is in control, and yes He will help me to do all the things I need to do, but right now He needs me to slow down and submit to His timetable. He needs me just to focus on taking one day at a time.

The children of Israel were forced to take one day at a time when they had to go out and collect manna in the desert. It was a lesson in trust: trusting that God would provide for all their needs. Jesus also taught about taking one day at a time when He told his disciples just to focus on today and not to worry about tomorrow.

Now, of course, I'm not saying that God isn't pleased when we make plans and goals or buy life insurance, but when we start to worry about tomorrow and be anxious about all we have to do then our hearts and minds are no longer being guarded by His peace, that transcends all understanding. Instead, we are told to cast all our anxieties on Him and focus our efforts on abiding in Christ today...and then the next day....and then the next day...

Andrew Murray, in his book 'Abide in Christ', tells the story of a patient who had been involved in an accident. He anxiously asked the doctor how long he would have to stay in the hospital, and the doctor replied "Only a day at a time." When faced with a daunting task, like packing up our house and moving to another country for a while, we would do well to take the doctor's advice!

I encourage you right now to spend the day just focussing on 'today' and leave all of your anxieties about 'tomorrow' in Jesus' capable hands.

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net/stuart miles

Time for Reflection

Happy New Year! 

If you're anything like me then January 1st brings an opportunity to reflect on the past year and re-evaluate your priorities and goals and perhaps to set plans for the coming year. I've never been very good at keeping New Year's Resolutions, but I believe it is helpful to take a moment to reflect and to take stock at where you're at to make sure you're still on the path you want to be on and, just as importantly, that you're moving forward.

Have you read 'Holiness' by J.C. Ryle? It's an excellent book that, even though it was written over a century ago, still is very applicable to today. In fact it's often funny to read what he says about his culture and realise that not much has changed in all that time. Anyway, Bishop Ryle has much to say about growing in holiness, and here's a prayer we can use to reflect on how we're doing spiritually from year to year. I hope you find it useful...

Prayer for Growth

1) An increase in humility - that I would feel my own sinfulness and unworthiness more every year.

2) An increase in faith and love towards the Lord Jesus Christ - that I may find more in Christ to rest upon every year and rejoice more that I have such a Savious.

3) An increase in holiness of life and conversation - that I may get more dominion over sin, the world and the devil every year.

4) An increased spirituality of taste and mind - that I may take more interest in spiritual things every year.

5) An increase in charity - that I may be more full of love every year, love to Christians and to all people.

6) An increase in zeal and diligence in trying to do good to souls - that I may take a greater interest in the salvation of sinners every year.

Here's another helpful resource, from Ann Dunagan of Harvest Ministry, that helps us evaluate and plan strategically at the start of the new year.

Wishing you all a very joyful and fruitful 2012!

Finding Balance in the Christmas Season

The Christmas season is upon us! It took me a bit by surprise, with the first Sunday of Advent starting in November, but tonight I sat down and did some planning and am hoping that it'll be a fun and meaningful time for all of us.

Lots of the blogs I follow have already written about resources and tips for the festive season. Sometimes when I read them I do get a bit discouraged by how much time, energy and creativity everyone else must have apart from me. Then I remembered a verse from my Abiding Fruit Bible study that I'm doing this week with the Maximise Your Mornings challenge:

" Each of you should test your own actions. Then you can take pride in yourself, without comparing yourself to somebody else, for each of you should carry your own load." Galatians 6 v 4,5

It's hard not to compare yourselves with others, but everyone's situation is different, and everyone's stress tolerance levels are different. Here are some things to think about:

Stage of life: Perhaps some of us have very small children still, and a lot of energy is sapped in changing nappies or potty training or feeding or just mopping up messes and soothing grazed knees.
Situation: If you're like me, then you live in a foreign country far away from family. Often that means that just living daily life is more challenging and time consuming. Meals have to be made from scratch, craft materials are hard to come by, Grandma is not around the corner to help with the kids while you go shopping.
Character: Some of us are more energetic and social than others. I know for myself that, although I'd love to entertain more regularly, having guests round more than once every two weeks makes me exhausted and throws me off my schedule.
Health: Perhaps some of us have some health issues that drain our energy and make us want to retreat and sleep more.

The verses from Galatians encouraged me to stop looking at (and envying) other homeschooling mothers and just work out a happy balance in my own life that I can cope with. When the children are older hopefully we can do more things, but right now I'm in a season of life where I have to protect my energy levels.

So what are we doing for the advent season this year?
1) Advent calendars - we can't buy these here, but some friends in Germany sent us one each for the children. They love opening the doors and counting down the days.

Candle Ornaments from Truth in the Tinsel

2) Christmas crafts - I bought the amazing ebook Truth in the Tinsel, and am hoping to work my way through most of these daily projects with the children. Here's our first one from today:
3) Advent candles - we have an advent wreath, and each Sunday we light the next candle and Dh reads a relevant passage from the Bible and we talk about some aspect of Christmas.
4) Carols and mulled wine - I'm sad that we can't buy mince pies or mincemeat here, but I did bring some mulled wine sachets back from England for our now annual Carols and mulled wine evening. Some time this month we'll invite several expat families round and enjoy fellowship together whilst singing Christmas carols at the piano and taking turns to read Christmas-related Bible passages.
5) Festive spirit - the children are looking forward to helping me decorate the house this weekend, and yesterday I put on a CD of Christmas children's music and we all danced around the room.

I hope you all have a fun and meaningful advent season in your homes this year :-)

Homeschooling Overseas Part 2

It’s high time to continue with my series of posts on homeschooling. In this post I’d like to talk about our journey to becoming a homeschooling family. In the last post I highlighted some of the options that might be available if you’re living overseas. For us we only have two options here: either sending the children to local school or homeschooling ourselves. I’m not saying that one is better than the other. There are some ex-pat families here who send their kids to local school, and some who homeschool. It’s a decision that each individual family has to make. I’m just describing how we decided that homeschooling would be best for our family.

Our journey started when we came across some friends in England who had decided to homeschool. Both were Christian families, and both had different reasons for chosing that path, but I was interested to know how they were thinking about going about it. They recommended reading “For the Children’s Sake” by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, which is I think where the journey starts for many families homeschooling today! Both my husband and I read the book, and were really struck by the ideals represented there. Not only did we feel that homeschooling might be something positive and beneficial for our family, but we were also impressed by the educational methods of Charlotte Mason described in the book. As many of you probably know, Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived about 100 years ago and developed a philosophy of education based on Biblical principles and her observations of children over her years of teaching and training new teachers.

I started reading more books and doing more research, mostly on the internet. The more I read and studied the more I felt that God was calling me to do this. The thought of homeschooling didn’t terrify me, like I know it does some people, partly because I am a teacher myself by profession….a maths teacher, to be precise, which seems to be the one subject that scares off potential homeschooling mothers the most! I had a bad experience in my former life as a teacher, which put me off teaching in mainstream schools and led to my change of career that eventually brought me here, but I had always loved the heart of teaching: imparting ideas and knowledge to children and the satisfaction that comes from seeing ‘light bulbs’ go off in their heads as they make connections and finally ‘get it’. Surely it couldn’t be too difficult teaching my own children! At least I would only have a class of 3 rather than 36 to manage!

We did investigate the local kindergarten. The main advantage of sending our children to local school would certainly have been the fact that they would become fluent in Russian much more easily and quickly. We liked the school very much. The teachers were ever so friendly. We expressed concern at the long day (in Russia children typically go to kindergarten from 8am to 4 or 5pm, having breakfast, lunch, afternoon nap and sometimes dinner there from as young as 2 years old) but they assured us that it would be fine if we wanted to take Sophie home at midday. They invited us to the ‘end of year performance’ which was an afternoon of dancing, singing and poetry recital by the children to wish the 6-7 year olds well as they went off to ‘proper’ school in September (Russian children start school at age 7). We were very impressed by the seriousness with which these small children undertook the dances, and at the bravery of even quite little ones taking the microphone and reciting a poem off by heart to a fairly large audience of parents and relatives. However, I remember my main thought being “Look at those outfits the little girls are wearing. We could never afford to deck Sophie and Charis out in one of those at the end of each year!”. Indeed, these little 6 and 7 year olds looked more ‘done up’ than I did on my wedding day! Their gowns must have cost a fortune, and it looked like they’d spent at least 2 hours in hair and makeup that morning.

I think it was the dresses that swung it for me, but there were other reasons too. In this culture there are a huge amount of hidden costs behind seeing your child through school education. Teachers get paid very little and so unfortunately it's quite normal to give 'extra monetary gifts' to ensure good marks.There’s also all the paperwork and red tape that would be involved, partly because we’re foreigners but also partly because that’s the system here, and I really hate that kind of thing. Finally, Sophie’s personality is such that we didn’t think she’d do well being thrust into that kind of environment at a young age.

And so, to cut a long story…well…not very short, we started planning on homeschooling. To be honest, the more we thought about it the more we thought that this is a route we may well have taken if we’d back in England. It just seemed to fit what God had in mind for our family.

In my next post I’ll talk about how to respond to local friends and neighbours when they ask why we choose to homeschool.

Qu: If you homeschool, what was it that led you to that decision? I'd love to hear your stories.

Abide in Him!