Poured Out

I got home on Thursday after two good flights and a great few days in Portland.  It was so refreshing and encouraging to be back at Westside for the weekend.  It was another reminder of why we miss Westside!  The men’s retreat was a good time, then Sunday morning went well, I think.  It was good to be there on a weekend with a prayer meeting too.  A couple of days to visit with friends and family, including seeing Matthew and Claire (and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, of course), was a real blessing.  I also got to enjoy lunch with one of my profs from seminary who is now thoroughly enjoying being in pastoral ministry again, not to mention a very encouraging meeting with the Westside elders.  All in all a great few days.

So I managed to sleep a full night’s worth on my second flight home (thanks to an empty seat next to me, two blankets, two pillows, an eye mask and ear plugs), but still felt jet-lagged for the last couple of days.  Yesterday I had “dates” with all the children, including swimming with Aliyah, so now I’m feeling a bit more normal again!  A rare Sunday off today, then a fairly buy week with a seminar on Tuesday, a meeting on Wednesday, then a weekend away together starting on Friday.

It’s been a good week for me – in a half-empty house with Mariah and Joel.  It has been very special to have some quality and quantity time with both of them.  I have really enjoyed the time with Mariah.  She has been so sweet and helpful – doing some of Hannah and Aliyah’s chores without being asked, seeing what she can do to help me, and writing me little sweet notes like this one – “You are very spcial Mummy and Joel Love Mariah” (including lots of backwards letter )  She is at the stage of wanting to write notes so asking me how to spell lots of words throughout the day.

I also have been able to spend some time with various friends, including my sweet friend Michelle who spent all day here on Saturday.  It is so great to be able to spend time with another homeschooling mum like her and we can encourage each other to press on!

We have been enjoying Australian singer Colin Buchanan’s cd, “Real Hope,” (a more adult one!) which has a song on it called, “Press on Mums.”  Peter and Hannah have been working on learning to play it on their guitars and we enjoy singing it all together as a family.  Whatever your position in your family – Mum (Mom), Dad or child – there are challenges every day and we all need encouragement to press on in the family roles God has given us to play.  To get personal . . . I have been struggling with misbehaviour from a certain child which has been very difficult to deal with!  I feel like I have been talking about self-control all day every day for a long time!  I hope and pray it will sink in soon – by the power of God’s spirit!  So here’s the lyrics to the song:

Press on Mums

In all the chaos

Look to Jesus through the tears

Press on, Mums

God will guide you

Through those precious, tender years

Chorus:

And in all you do, do it for Jesus

Who won you life and free forgiveness

Yesterday, today

He is the same

All you do

Do it in Jesus’ name

Press on, Dads

Love your wife

Serve your children

Set the pace

Press on, Dads

Seize the moment

Show them Jesus

Run the race

Press on, kids

God adores you

He will hear you when you pray

Press on, kids

Love your family

Honour, serve

Forgive, obey

. . . and when all your human energy is gone

Look towards your Jesus and press on

3 – will be staying at home.  Melanie and the youngest two will have a few days of special time together.  Hopefully this can be somewhat relaxed, although Melanie may be looking around and wondering where all her helpers have gone!

2 – will be going to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Bristol.  Hannah and Aliyah will have a few days to ply my parents with questions about history (Hannah’s favourite subject), although the history they remember doesn’t quite reach back to the Tudors (her favourite part of British history, currently).  My parents came last night and will drop me at the airport before heading on home with the little ladies.

1 – will be going home, in a manner of speaking.  I fly this afternoon to Portland, via somewhere else, and then have a day to recover before the men’s retreat at our church, starting on Friday evening.  Another couple of sessions on Sunday, followed by the Sunday morning service.  Then I have three days to connect with folks there before flying back to arrive on Thursday for a family reunion!

We really appreciate your prayer, especially during a week like this one.

The days keep ticking by and we are long overdue for an update.  These have been busy and often draining days.  It’s birthday season, so we took Hannah, Aliyah and four of their friends to the Science Museum on Friday, which went really well – what a blessing to look after six children who behave well, are polite, etc.  Saturday evening it was Mariah’s turn for cake and presents with a couple of her friends from church who are moving away in a few weeks – again a good time for all and these friends will be missed.  Saturday morning I spoke at a Partnership event on Encouraging New Leaders in the Local Church.  The goal was to spark some thought about the priority and strategies for promoting younger leadership within the church, as well as getting folks together to connect and fellowship.  It was a group from several churches, some coming significant distances, and hopefully it was a worthwhile time for all involved.

This week is fairly full.  I leave on Thursday for Portland.  Hannah and Aliyah head to Bristol the same day for a few days with my parents, leaving the younger two with Melanie for a few days of special time.  Before then there is plenty to do with preparation for Wednesday evening Bible study and the weekend of ministry.  We’d really value your prayers at the moment – so much is going on and we really want to handle every situation well.  Thanks.

Friday night we celebrated George and Drena Verwer’s 50th anniversary in London.  I went from there up to Coventry where I spent the next two days at a church I first visited last January.  It was great to be back and to re-connect with friends made last year.  It was a great time of fellowship around the Word during the day on Saturday, again with my very gracious hosts, then on Sunday for two services plus an afternoon with the new pastor.  Every element of the weekend was a real blessing.  On my way home I stopped off in Banbury for a late night chat with one of the trustees for Cor Deo and left some leaflets with him.  It was great to meet his wife as well and again. . . gracious hosts for a late night visitor!  So it’s been a long and busy weekend, but it’s good to be back and get settled into home-based life for the next couple of weeks now.

Tonight Melanie told the children that they will be doing a public speaking exercise at home school club tomorrow.  They can either choose a subject, or be assigned a subject, and then have to speak to the whole group for a minute.  Hannah and Aliyah (for whom it matters), did great in a practice run through tonight.  Mariah and Joel (for whom it apparently matters even more) also had a practice.  Joel’s volume went sky high in an explosion of energy.  Mariah started hesitantly, then kept going . . . through the buzzer, still going.  Five minutes later, still going strong!  I’ll look forward to hearing the report after tomorrow afternoon!