Expressions of Worship

Worship has been described as our response to all God has done for us. I love sung worship as a way of expressing who God is and my response to him, and I miss singing with others.
One of our worship leaders has encouraged us to express our worship  in creative ways, to allow us to express our worship to God and to hear from him.
I wanted to share the painting that came out of our service on Sunday.

Even in the storm we can see God, we can choose to look for  the light, to find a reason to hope.


If you would like to follow our services please do join us
https://www.c-b-c.org.uk/Index.asp?MainID=30454

New Skills

So I decided to challenge myself to knit a jumper with a fair aisle motif, and with some rather heavy hints - well a list to be exact I received a kit to produce a jumper. The key thing for me is that it was all knitted in the round  - so no sewing!

When I started I realised that along side the fair aisle design working with a chart - my original challenge to myself - I needed to learn German short rows! It was interesting and am not totally sure  I didn't make any mistakes but I have enjoyed the process








 - its not finished - obviously!! But it already looks like a jumper and I have extended my skills.

Little did I know that these were not the only skills I would be learning and re-learning this year. I am not sure I did half of the maths the girls are doing the first time round.

Lockdown has made me extend my knowledge and skills in many areas!

I have learnt that zoom is not simply something you do on a camera!! I have had to learn to communicate in new ways, in different ways and to get over seeing myself on screen!

The children too have been extending their skill set, alongside the challenge of on-line studies.




Rebecca has extended her crochet collection and is reading patterns with minimum help and is working hard on her GCSE art work.

Anastasia is learning to knit, cook and to paint with watercolour.

Sophie has learnt block printing, growing strawberries and practicing cubism as well as extending her
cooking knowledge.

Together we are learning to paint a pear with water colours!
We are about half way through but so far it is looking kind of pear like!



For us we are trying to embrace the opportunities this experience has given us. To recognise that having a task or a focus helps our wellbeing and engages our brain. Over the years rather than crafts being something I 'just' did, I have recognised their value and the positive part they can play.  Never more so than now.

A case full of cute!

Being a crafter means I spend many enjoyable hours trawling through craft sites - as a result my facebook ads often feature craft materials which to be fair is great, though I ignore most of them!!

Shortly after Christmas with one Christmas present  project on the go already an ad popped up for the cutest little knitted dolls - and with a nieces birthday in April I couldn't resist!  I wasn't quite prepared for the learning curve knitting  with a bamboo and wool mix in 4 ply on four miniature needles - something I hadn't done before.




























I was so please with the result - not perfect but very cute.




I found a case in The Works (pre-lockdown!) and knitted a blanket and mattress with some spare yarn.
















I made a sheet and pillow from some scrap fabric to finish the bedding.

















Hope a little girl has fun playing with her dolly.

BeingChurch

Locked out of our building unable to meet in person has made us revisit church. For us church was never the building but the people who met together in that building. This is where being church rather than going to church takes on real meaning. Many have learnt new skills adapted and changed.
We as a church have recorded services drawing on some of the congregations amazing technical skills, we have Zoom coffee, we meet in zoom house groups. Each day we have coffee together catching up, chatting and laughing together.
We have utilised WhatsApp to allow people a chance to chat, to ask for help and to ask for prayer

 - utilising an army of prayers lifting people to God, interceding for people.
It has been uplifting to share experience together, to be the encourager one day and the encouraged another day - to learn from each other and to help carry each other  through this crisis.
It has been encouraging to see children taking the names from our prayer board and taking them to heart praying for them each day.
For our children and young people we are seeking to engage in different ways, but for our Christian families the spotlight  has returned to where it always should have been, to the home and the way faith is lived out in their families - it is in the conversations, the insights and the witness that we are in this time of crisis that will impact the faith of our children far more then the teaching and craft we provide.

A New Normal

 There were moments before the Lockdown arrived when the thought of being quarantined with my knitting and books appeared an attractive proposition.

 Of course the reality is far different from this, this is not a holiday.  I guess many things we take for granted: freedom, social interaction, spontaneity,  meeting with friends. Even a simple coffee out, take on new significance when we are no longer free to do them.





We have all had to discover what is important for us and find new ways of doing them - we have had to let go of what is familiar and normal and discover a new normal and with it the acceptance that this time is potentially prolonged and certainly open ended at this point.

The first challenge was how we did education - what school would look like without a school! This experience has been very mixed, a sense of grief for the loss of independence and of social interaction - not simply talking to friends but shared experience, of response to each other and their environment and endless chatter about absolutely nothing at all!

The key for us is a schedule combined with the flexibility to change and adapt - we started with all three children in the same room now one works in her room - tidied for the occasion!! Whilst the other two co-exist!

There are lots of ways to approach learning from home and  to be clear I don't think there is a 'right way', it is certainly not a one size fits all experience. For us a clear schedule has allowed Keith to work effectively from home and gave the girls a defined start and finish bringing much needed structure to their day.

It also meant weekends could feel different - opportunities to sleep later, to watch movies and play on their phones. We have the opportunity to take a longer walk all together slightly later than our usual 7:30 stroll!

Sundays for us feature church, its part of who we are  and in itself help make this a different day.

School work is set by school so really to define it as homeschooling is a slight misrepresentation. What I am doing is supporting and directing, being mum rather than their teacher. What does that look like - well mostly printing, getting into programmes and forums and generally trying to keep them on track whilst refereeing the numerous disagreements!

I've learnt some new computer skills over the last four weeks, and some maths I'm not sure I even did the first time round!!

I have also learnt that being a team is about playing to your strengths and not seeing it as failure if sometimes you need to bring in the skills of others!

So happy that I married a maths teacher - even if he hasn't taught for 19 years1

Glad Game

I love the story of Pollyanna.

For those who have no idea Pollyanna is the story of a girl who placed in a difficult situation plays the glad game - seeing something to be glad about in every situation. Her life has an impact on those around her as they also learn to play the 'glad game'.


With so much fear and anxiety in a situation beyond our control one thing we are doing as a family is playing the glad game.
Before each meal we all have to find one thing we are glad for. Somethings are obviously repeated but it has helped us as a family to focus and be thankful for the things that we have rather than the things that for a season we have had to give up.

Part of our lockdown scrapbook.

It is the simple things that have become so important in our day - sunrise on a run, birdsong on our daily walk, being able to purchase food and finding new ways to cook.


Today I did not want to play the glad game. I had had a difficult day and we had not communicated well as a couple or as a family. In normal life this would have passed quickly and we would have moved on  but in this pressure cooker environment things expand far more than they would normally. Having told the family at
teatime I didn't have anything to be glad for we sat and ate almost silently (almost unheard of in our house!)  - and I realised that that wasn't true - even now there were things I was glad for and we could work through this. So we played the glad game over pudding, and whilst the children played in the garden, differences were resolved and a way forward found. It was a reminder that we constantly have to adjust and adapt, we need to forgive and move on, but mostly we need to keep talking - to keep those lines of communication open.

Home baked Hot Cross Buns

Home Baked Bread

Whilst sometimes needing to find time alone we are glad for company and friendship, and try to connect regularly with those who are on their own. A good morning to a neighbour - from a safe distance, a smile and a wave - helps to reduce the sense of isolation. There are so many things we are glad for!

.

Take a break!

With two teenagers and a pre-teen in the house I needed somethings that they could do to refocus when tensions became raised, or they had become frustrated. Both of these have occurred over the past two weeks - though possibly not quite as much as I feared!

I had seen a sensory trail on a link several months ago but the only link back to it was via Amazon where it was unavailable so I decided to make my own.

We have a relatively small space in our hall and it needed to be robust enough to survive said teenagers!! so I cut simple shapes out of felt. Circles, squares, handprints and footsteps. In addition I printed a finger maze and spiral to go on the wall.

Initially I set the trail, but as it was taken up each afternoon the following day I asked my youngest to set it up - however she chose - she made it far more physical and really enjoyed it - incorporating the stairs.
Todays version included a chair squat and the plank!

Simple things that gave them time away from their computer and a chance to re-centre.

Content

At the start of the year I was challenged to choose a word for the year - something that I would be reflecting on over the year, something that might challenge or inspire

After much deliberation I chose...

It summed up many things. That desire to be at peace where I am, in the situation I am in. Not looking at others, not measuring myself by any standard but God's

Little did I know just how challenging this would be in 2020. 
All normality swept away - my freedom gone, my choices limited.

 It wasn't supposed to be easy but seriously this is a whole new ball game !

Over this time I have been drawn back to a book I received at Christmas based on Psalm 23.

A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Deller.












Being content is to recognise my master - the shepherd who leads me  and who cares for me whether it is in the green pastures or the dark valleys. The master who seeks to lead, guide, protect and care for me whatever the circumstances. So while my circumstances may have changed God remains the same. So right now I choose, I choose to rest in the green pastures and pray for those walking through the valleys.

Lockdown

Who would have thought that we would be in this position when we began the new year.
However here we are in 2020 in lockdown, confined to our homes apart from essential trips.
Covid19  has created a global pandemic.
We have watched its progress travelling around the world not quite believing it would affect us - but here we are - and for each household it raises different questions...




How will I cope with the loneliness or being surrounded by people 24/7?

How will I manage work and supporting my children's study or what am I going to do all day?

How can I get enough exercise?

How can I prevent technology overload?

and it would appear a universal question - will I have enough toilet roll?!

For many of us we are learning new skills or to do things in new ways.

Family life and two jobs has meant that my blog has been left gathering dust over the last 5 years.
So in this time of crisis one of the things I have decided to do is to blow off the dust and start blogging again.

My aim is to record this moment in an honest way, with the good, the bad and the downright ugly!

My hope and prayer is that this will be a record of our journey as a family, trusting God in the dark times and rejoicing in the good times.

Big Shot Brooches

At the end of the felting session the girls from craft club got a chance to play with the Big Shot, putting shapes together with a brad to form a brooch.

Simple but fun!

 

Fun with Felt!

This half term we have been felting in craft club. Felt for me is a little bit of magic and never fails to impress. To begin with they were reasonably unimpressed but went with it, we started with simple felt balls, and it was so much fun to see their expressions change as the balls changed in their hands from a ball of soft squidgy wool to a felt bead.

So we then moved on to felt pictures, they loved both the process of building up a picture and then felting it.

They were amazed by it changing size, shape and texture, and for me the acid test of any craft - they wanted to take them home to show mum!

 

 

 

 

And I had fun too!

 

When you wish there was a guidebook...

Parenting is tough, every day we make decisions on behalf of our children. As babies most of these revolve around eating or sleeping, as they grow decisions of discipline and schooling, hobbies, sports, secondary school, options, university. The list is endless! It would be so much easier if there was a book "The definitive guide to Sophie" but there isn't, we base our choices on our relationship with the child and hope and pray that we at least get the big ones right! But more and more lately I have become aware of just how judgemental we can be as a society, of all parents but particularly of difficult children, children with issues, children with special needs!

As Rebecca has grown so have her challenges, and for me the realisation that we would have to fight to get the help she needed. Next term we face the challenge of getting her an educational health care plan, in order to release funding for a TA to assist her, as she prepares to move to secondary school and the challenges that lie ahead when she reaches year 7.

2016 Already!

So as I face a busy term I thought I'd catch up with my blog, only to discover a list of blogs waiting for photo's to complete them before uploading, so here's what I was upto last term, as for this term - I think it will be a case of wait and see!

Comberton Village Show

Last year, new to the village we entered the children into a couple of the classes at the village show, and enjoyed seeing all the exhibits on the day. Though it must be said we completely underestimated how serious such events are! The children wanted to stay right to the end ( we are often the last to leave places! ) and so were present for the prize giving. Sophie had wanted to know how you won trophies, so we explained the points and that the child with the most points got a trophy. " I'm going to get it next year" she declared to which our reply was probably a non committal we'll see!

So when the brochure dropped on the mat this year the kids were on it, the fact it was a busy weekend just before our holiday didn't seem to worry them! Lists were made and plans drawn up, this time they were going for it big time! Several items were started in the middle of packing.

 

Some items they had already made as homework projects, and some such as the photos were taken on holiday.

But on our return with just over a week to go after our holiday there was a lot to do if the were to complete their plans!

Sophie was a girl on a mission and worked really hard to get all she wanted done, in fact we didn't quite finish her list, the vegetable rocket and fruit bird were abandoned! But finally getting her in to bed at 9:30 the night before the shown it was clear she had done all she could. In fairness the other two worked really hard too, and I was really pleased that not only had they produced good items, but that the things they had made reflected their personalities.

 

So Sophie managed 13 exhibits! ... And yes she won the trophy!

It was a great lesson in determination!

So next year we can take it easy ......

 

Oh no ...Now she needs to keep the trophy!!