Updates from The Goslin Disasters

I realized I have been too busy to blog lately but today I thought I’d sit down and make a quick update-after all I do have family and friends who read my blog and theres the odd admirer out there. I truly appreciate you all. I am grateful for those who would spend a few moments to read about a complete stranger-sometimes I find myself glancing over blogs dipping into people’s lives even though I have never met them. There’s just so many beautiful people out there and I just love you all.

Anyways I left off with blogs about my child’s birthday bash and my husband locating his biological father. I don;t even know where to begin other than the fact the last 2 months have just been AMAZING! I’ve got stories, I have testimonies and of course no blog would be complete without a few disaster’s right? Guess I’ll start with our amazing trip to Florida to meet our family.

Florida

Florida was just WOW! We had a safe journey and I must say that there is nothing better than driving down as a family to meet a new family. You hear so many reuniting stories and ours has a very happy ending. The thing is we were all looking-they were looking for a lost son and my husband was searching for a father. It might have taken 25 years just to be united but it has been well worth it and the only thing that matter is Nick is finally united with a lost family and everyone is happy. Above is a picture of us with his dad.

We drove down in our yellow car, the entire way down was sunny. We stayed in North Carolina overnight and I must say that the folks in Carolina are just so lovely. Everyone is so nice and polite. When we entered Florida the first radio station we found was a Christian music station-talk about a sign eh? We were just so overwhealmed. We made it and family was together at last.

Nick’s father has no other kid’s. Nick’s Step Mum was unable to have children so she was thrilled to have a son, daughter in law and Grand Daughter…even though we’re all a little crazy…but I do believe we fit in just perfectly. Together at last.

Above is a picture of Missy. Aurora calls her Nana Missy 🙂

A Florida vacation just isn’t complete without a trip to the beach. Missy took us to New Smyrna Beach, the waves were huge but the water so nice. I was afraid to go in too far but I really enjoyed myself.

We got to go to Disney world twice as well. It was a wonderful opportunity being able to take my daughter to Disney World, something I have always dreamed of. Mum and Dad knew where all the good places were so our experience was phenominal. Father and son at Disney world, nobody is too old for Disney world so it does not matter that Nick went to Disney world with his dad for the very first time at the age of 25. Some of our greatest moments were Nick and Andrew (Nick’s dad) constantly playing pranks. Missy and I had ice tossed down our backs, water dumped on us etc. It was all fun!

But beyond Disney we had many memorable moments. We got to see Gators, we got to eat gator (Yes tastes like chicken) we survived Tropical Storm Andrea, Nick and Andrew almost blew up the backyard with a deep fryer frying a turkey, we got to play with a potato gun, saw the biggest Cyprus tree in the world, went to church with our Aunt and Uncle and met a wonderful church family who made us feel like we were home-they are totally Florida’s version of Norwood Pentecostal Church and that’s saying a lot because Norwood’s church family ROCKS! We got to meet many family members and were truly embraced and loved…there was just soooo much and it was all a wonderful, wonderful experience.

We had a wonderful 2 weeks in Florida, we ended our trip in St. Augustine exploring the wonderful city. We left at 5pm and some how managed to get home in Ontario by 3pm the next day…we got 2 hours sleep and EVERYONE was speeding…we just went with the flow. Oh we almost hot a deer, that was scary but other than that the trip home was good. Back in cold Ontario so that 2 weeks later we could have a heat wave.

Our new Family

So we now have tonnes of new family members and are trying to keep track of everyone…while still trying to keep track of our own.  We will meet a few family members at “Big Christmas Dinner” in September. Which by the way we managed to get a flight booked for Dad and Mum (By booked, Nana booked it, we just simply talked Dad and Mum into comming hehe) Wish we could spend Christmas down in Florida but September will have to do. Besides we love our Christmas snow.

Nick is a Ginger, most of his family are Ginger…Nick is definately part of the Rodley clan. As for me, I’ll just bring my crazyness in and add it to the family…families are good with more nuts right? I’m a walnut by the way. Or maybe a Pistacio-I like Pistacios 😀

We had a very good family day just recently and finally got to meet Nick’s Cousin Kina! We just Love her! Can not wait to meet again!

Of course storms

Good news: Our car got us to Florida and Back. Bad News, the Transmission went on it recently and now we have to fork out over $1000 to get it fixed. Good news: We are CAA members. Bad News: No vehicle right now. Good news: We can borrow vehicles and well…we’ve gone so long without one it’s no big deal right? Inconvenient yes, a need? Not really. Although why did it have to happen in the middle of a heat wave? I’ll never complain about the winter again! Cra break downs and stuff like that are just a part of life. Challenges will come, but this time I counted my blessing instead of throwing a fit fest over facebook. It is sometimes better to handle situations with grace than to just go mental. Probably good for the heart too 🙂

But then Blessings

I love how God works, it is just beyond amazing. We had our cousin’s best friend move in with us not too long ago and Nick and I got to share the Gospel. She’s kind of wondering why we’re so excited about this but it’s just refreshing to be able to share…with anyone. I feel blessed being able to have civil conversations with atheists even, any opportunity to share my faith and share about why I’m a changed person I’ll take. It has been just amazing, our room mate obviously came here for a divine reason. She walked into our church and was overwhelmed-someone who has hardly any Biblical background walked in and there was a strong spirit presense and she was over taken. Our church has been waiting for revival for so long…maybe we just need a small push, maybe we need to just snowball and turn into Azusa street all over again. God’s presense has NEVER left any church body-I was told the rain was comming and by God LET IT RAIN! (I think I have a blog entry somewhere about the rain I speak of). I would love to have our beautiful Room mate walk into the family of Jesus Christ. Be a part of a wonderful family, she barely knows anything about Baptism yet she’s got what it’s all about 100%. people don’t need a Biblical scholar background they just need Jesus. The rest will unfold. I’m so excited! We all are!

And VBS!

Kingdom Rock VBS this year was amazing. The kid’s learned to Stand Strong. The points durring VBS week was “God’s Love” “Family and Friends” “Prayer” ” Trusting God” and “The Bible” The kids had a blast and learned so much. On the first day they learned about King David and how he was a shepherd before becomming king. Day 2 we were introduced to Queen Ester and how her family helped her stand strong. Day 3 we got to pray with nehemia and build the walls of Jerusalem (Nick got to play Nehemia by the way he LOVED it and the kids enjoyed building a huge wall out of boxes) Day 4 we got to learn about the greatest love ever, God sending his Son Jesus. That was an emotional day, the stage was FILLED with kids accepting Jesus as their saviour. Day 5 the kids got to smash idols. It was so wonderful. I wasn’t a team leader this year but I got to help where needed and it was great. We all came together as a church family and had 160 children registered! Woohoo!

And that’s my Latest Goslin Disaster Report…More to come 🙂 I’m sure I’ll find time.

Day 8: Begone Satan

Before a few certain people catch wind of this post I will state right now that No, I am NOT calling YOU Satan (Few things happened last night that might make people think I’m talking about them)

I’m actually going to speak about the Devil himself.

And this is not a light topic and I know that people are afraid to speak on this topic, it’s a scary and dark topic. Many Christians try and ignore this topic. But the thing is Evil does have influence in this world.

The one thing I do know about Satan is he is NOT Omnipotent like God.  He can only be in one place and he will likely choose the place where he can do the most damage. Chances are Satan himself isn’t going to focus directly on you…but his demons will. Because he relies on his army to do his work. It seems as if Satan is present EVEYWHERE but he is not. His influence is all over the place but Satan himself is NOT.

Satan wants Christians to sit on the fence, be a lukewarm Christian. One of those people who just goes to church, lives the motions, doesn’t really apply Jesus’ teaching in their daily lives. One of those people who will argue with everyone about the Bible but not show an application to it…the type of Christian the world really hates. Satan couldn’t care less who calls them self “Christian” but he does care who starts to apply Christ’s teaching.

I made the decision to stop living the motions. I’ve had enough of fence sitting. So many people like the fence siting because I’m a Christian BUT not really…I’m Christian with other Christians but totally worldly when I am with others. Can a Christian hang out with Non Christians? Absolutely, Jesus did. Should a Christian force feed non Christians? Absolutely not. Be friends with non Christians yes, it doesn’t mean we have to do what they do, say what they say. It also doesn’t mean we should force anyone to come to church or hear about Jesus but it does mean you should leave the door open…and just be a truthful, genuine person, with a warm heart and the knowledge that you too are very imperfect.

Both my husband and I have begun to really apply the Gospel in our lives. Some people really don’t like this fact and we’ve lost some friends over it. But for the most part many are very encouraging…even our Atheist friends because they see nothing wrong with what we do. Some people just can’t tollerate a little tidbit of Jesus written over facebook or Google+ every so often and will immediately stir up a quarrel. But at the same time their posts on their own page are constantly showing hate towards any religion…but this is okay because they are expressing freedom of speech…but I’m not allowed to say “Jesus cares for you…I’m praying for you…God is awesome.” (I have people on all my social media friend’s lists who constantly tear down, express freedom of speech but won’t allow ANYONE with other viewpoints to express differently.) I’ve been called a Bigot. Know what a Bigot is? One who doesn’t tollerate someone else’s oppinion and beliefs. You know what that means? EVERYONE is a Bigot because at some point in life we will dissagree. I’m a Bigot, your a Bigot, your neighbours are all Bigots!  End of story.

People will be people, but Demons, they don’t take too kindly to anyone getting stronger in faith. They will do everything possible to tear you down. And they just about nearly tore me down last night. Filling me with anger and resentment, making me yell at my Husband when he was trying to reach out t o me and help. Bringing out my anxiety, bringing out my pessimism. I was a total wreck for a good 2 hours. I’m a pretty scary person when I’m in this state as I am literally unpredictable. I know this, I’ve had so many evenings just like this. I knew that Something was controlling me…something was really tormenting me. But this time I had enough. I’ve had it, I am sick of the attacks. What I am about to say might make some people want to toss me in a Mental institute. I stood at the mirror, looked myself in the eye, and I told the Demons exactly where to go. In the Name of Jesus and by his blood I demanded they flee and take a hike. And they did. I qite literally pulled a “Begone Satan”.

And today I’m a different person. I am still the same outgoing, loving, geeky girl who I was yesterday but I’m a different person in spirit. I will stand my ground on some things, but I know to do them lovingly and without anger.  I know better than to walk around constantly stating “Hey look at me I’m a Christian.” I don’t want to be known as a Christian because of a Lable…I want to be known as one through my actions. I just want to be a kind, loving person who reaches out and enjoys doing it. Everyone follows some sort of influence, mine just happens to be Jesus.

Day 6 and 7 of 10 week Challenge

Woohoo I have managed to blog an entire week so far. Usually I give up on stuff by the 3rd day. This includes Fasting (When I give up things for Lent) If I manage to make it to day 3 thats usually very good for me.

Day 6: Sometimes Sci Fy makes you think…

Who would have thought that God would catch my attention by using the popular TV series “Dr. Who”. Many Dr. Who episodes discuss the Divine and there has never been the denial of a supreme being. It seems as if the entire universe kind of links back to a single supreme being. There were 2 spisodes that caught my attention. The Episode where Rose and the Doctor encounter “Satan” and the episode where The Doctor and Martha end up in the future of Earth where everyone is stuck in a never ending Traffic Jam below New York City. I do not remember the names of the episodes but any Dr. Who fan will know which episodes I am talking about.

While watching the episode where they encounter Satan I came to a realization that this episode does speak truths. The devil in the episode was a mere idea and an idea can wreck all sorts of havoc. An idea can bring out the fears in people’s minds. An idea can destroy ones mind. How exactly does Satan operate? The Bible claims he is the Prince of Lies. There are so many people in this world who think that they are not good enough, who think the world is out to get them, who belive that revenge is the answer, or putting up walls is the answer. I can’t even tell you how many people I personally know who either put up walls, who are bitter all the time, who are so easily defeated and who throw pity parties every time one little issue arrises. I am someone who occassionally throws a pity party when I am defeated…but once I realize that Satan is the Prince of Lies I can come out of my state and throw him under my feet. I don’t think that a physical demon body is as scary as a horrible thought…a thought which brings out all your fears and which causes the imagination to come up with all sorts of folly. And Satan won’t always bring about fears, sometimes it will be false hopes, false promises, false beliefs. He will lead people astray by making them love things that seem harmless but in reality are harmful. “Oh a little alcohol won’t hurt you. Oh this drug will make you happy. Nobody wants you to have fun, go out there and have some fun. Money is a god thing, you need more to buy more. Mr. Jones has a nicer car than you. Sara has a nicer body than you.”

“The Devil will attack you two ways. When you are doing something right and when you are doing something wrong” Joyce Meyers. This could not be more true.

And as for the episode where The Doctor seeks out Martha in the never ending futuristic Traffic Jam a broadcast comes on where they beging to sing “The Old Rugged Cross” I had goosebumps when everyone began singing this song and having tears of hope. I kind of feel like I’m stuck in a never ending Traffic jam. Life is constantly full of stops and challenges. The characters in the episode had the hope that they would arrive at the upper city and be free from the traffic jam. That was everyone’s destination. In life today, as a Christian, my hope is that one day at the end of my traffic Jam I will see Jesus and be free of pain and sorrow. I will cling to the old Rugged cross my whole life until one day I will lay it down for a crown. It just made my day that an episode of Dr. Who played such a wonderful Hymn. A Hymn of hope.

Even the geek in me will always seem to find God’s message in things. Be it Star Trek, Star Wars or Dr. Who.

Day 7:  Prayer is a wonderful thing

I belive in Prayer, and for the last 7 days I have been talking to God and it has been getting easier and easier. I choose to discuss my thoughts and feelings and concerns throughout the day. God already knows my thoughts but stepping out in faith and praying can make a huge difference. I could go on and say “Well God already knows what I need.” But the Scripture says over and over again to pray without ceasing. To pray when we are thankful, to pray when we have needs, to pray for others and to pray words of praise.

On Sunday my husband sat down with our daughter and they prayed together about her behaviour at school. she had a rough week last week being kicked out 3 times. It takes a lot to be kicked out of school in the first grade. my husband prayed with her and they took the problem up to God asking for good listening ears, the ability to do well in class and be able to willingly have a good day. My Husband came to me on Tuesday and told me that He had prayed with her and has been praying every single day for her. I began to pray as well. For her, for her teachers. Wisdom needs to be revealed in this situation. Wouldn’t you know that so far 3 days in a row she has been listening, respectful and able to reason with the teachers when she feel like bursting out. She has been getting rewards for her behaviour and encouragement from trachers and class mates. She is even starting to learn to read with confidence where as before she wasn’t interested in trying because she could not do it. But she is such a bright wonderful little girl full of love and full of ambition.

I just thank God every day for her, and I thank him for a praise report. She knows that Jesus loves her and is with her and that just might be what gets her through the day.

And I want to thank all those who are praying for us, it means the world that you would step out in faith and do this. Thank you so so much!

Day 3, 4 and 5 of 10 week Challenge

Wooo, what a busy weekend I had, but I am keeping my promise and no matter how tired I am I am going to blog about my 10 week God Revelation challenge. I’m extreamly exhausted but here goes…

Day 3-Sometimes you just need to hear that He Loves you

When trials come your way sometimes it’s easier to just blame God for them and ask “Why would you do this to me God?”

Over the last few weeks I have faced things like my Husband being fired from a job, my daughter having a rough time at school, being picked on and challenged and just becoming down right exhausted. I was in a prison of darkness at one point, Depression and Anxiety are never fun and I had to ask the question “Why God? Why are you doing this to me?”

Does God Abandon his children? Absolutely not.

A few years ago I was in a bad place. My husband and I had just lost our business, we didn’t just lose our business we were promised a bit of money for the equipment and the lady who made an offer backed out a few days before our store closing date. We were stuck, confused, upset. We had prayed about this hoping we would be able to get at least a bit of money for our store’s equipment but all we got was $1000 from the unit’s land lord to keep most of it there. We took the offer even though it was a poor one. Wouldn’t you know that a week later that same lady who had broken her word was in that very unit with our equipment, she had just gotten it for a much better price. We were angry, how could someone do this to us? How could a woman we trust do this? We were faced with uncertainty and we had just lost a store that we had loved dearly. Those were dark times but we made it through, we’re still here and it is as if the devastation hadn’t happened. We forgave the people involved, we let it go and moved on. And today I am thankful that I did not hang on to that store as it was costing us more money to run than it was making us money. I got a job and things started to look up, no longer did we have an extra 16 bills to pay every month. It was a blessing.

Sometimes God puts us in dark places to transform us, to change our path. He KNOWS us and Psalm 139 could not say it any better. God knows us inside and out there is nothing we think that gets past him. Our thoughts matter to Him, when we stand and sit matters to him, when we toil and are tired and down in the dumps we matter to him, when everyone around us does us wrong we matter to him. God loves us more than we can even fathom. He loves us so much that he can not leave us the way we are. While correction and changed paths may suck…they tend to turn out for the better.

I have found that the deeper my roots are in God the stronger I am when a storm comes my way. Remember God never promised a perfect challenge free life for everyone, it is quite the opposite. We will face challenges, we will endure storms and we will get beaten down from time to time. Life is unfair but God is just and he keeps his word. When I lost my job I was quite upset, but within a few days I had to just trust God…there are many reasons why He allowed this, I am begining to see the picture and soon I’m sure I will have a testimony to share.

But in a time of trouble…a time of depression…all I needed was His Love.

Day4: Asking the big questions

I wasn’t the only one thinking this exact thought “Why are there signs and wonders occurring in other parts of the world but not as many here in North America?” I’ve heard of missionaries declaring amazing Miracles they have witnessed, I have heard of the revivals in third world nations, each day thousands of people in Third world Nations come to Christ. Why is there hardly any revival and signs here in this nation? I’ve heard of some great testimony, I have experienced the Holy Spirit more than once and I have seen many people cured of disease…but compared to other nations…there really isn’t too much that’s amazing…or is there?

Finally my question was answered.

Isn’t having clean drinking water a miracle? Abundant food? A safe place to worship God without fear of being killed? having the internet so I can blog and keep in touch with friends and family? Having a fair justice system, a health care system, access to vaccines and free education! Listing all the things we have here in Canada and all I can say is “Thankyou Lord.” How many lives have been saved because there is clean water and inspected food? How many lives are saved due to medical advances? Our Children do not die by the thousands because they are hungry or get sick. We are so very privileged. Just the things that Scientists discover each day is just phenomenal. I am so glad that this answer was finally revealed to me.

Day 5: Contentment

I love my early morning drives with my husband to the next town before we both go to work. We get to listen to the Christian Music station full blast at 5am and just start of our day reflecting in the Lord. For once, I had a happy morning. And as we drove into the drive through of our old workplace to get coffee…I realized “Hey, I’m not working HERE this morning.” hen we both laughed. Same pay but much more to do. It’s a blessing I got fired. I got to go to another 6am-2pm job today, one where I am beginning to know the regular customers and make their coffee the way they like it. I am a people person, and nothing makes me happier than making others happy. So when I got to my job today I smiled and knew that I was valued here, my customers love having their coffee made before they even walk through the door and the people I work for are like family. There’s no more vulgar talk at break time. There’s no having to listen to coworkers complain about EVERYTHING. It’s wonderful and it’s a steady job!

Plus on the way to work there is nothing more soothing than singing songs of praise and starting the day with God. I had such a good day. And best of all, my daughter had a great day too. I will continue to pray and I will continue to work hard as a parent. It’s so good to be able to reward you child. I’m sure God loves to reward us too…and when He dies it is just beyond words.

Day 2: Time for a Change.

One of the hardest things to be in life is a good mother and wife. The Divorce rate is high, many couples do not even choose to get married and the government is getting rid of parental rights up left and center. Now try being a Christian Mother and wife in this society…it’s even tougher. But I’m not alone and this brings me great comfort.

One of the things I pray for most often is to be a good mother. My Daughter is 6 years old and a all of energy. She also happens to have a behavioral disorder (Possibly ADHD) and the reasoning behind that is she is in grade 1 and is constantly being sent home from school as she can not listen, sit down for long and is quite sensitive to the word “No.” Her teachers are exhausted and it is quite tough to focus on 1 child, and I know from experience that my daughter can be the center of attention. This calls for some major changes in Parenting and working along with teachers, caregivers and family members. We have to be on the same page otherwise the routine is broken and we have to begin all over again. It is quite tiring but nobody ever said raising a child was easy.

The biggest thing I have had to change is actually sticking to my words and threats. Telling a Child “If you do it again you are in time out!” Ten times with no action your child will know you are just issuing empty threats and they will continue. And some may find it unfair that I do not allow my child to have candy when they offer it to her but if she has a bad day and someone offers her treats, it’s just going to set things backwards. Yesterday I had a discussion with her teachers and Principal and we have set up a routine that helps her and enables the teachers to focus on other children as well. If she gets 5 warnings (Or 5 house pieces, 5 pieces of a puzzle that is displayed on the board)  she is sent home and she does not like to go home. I have also implemented a 2 warning system after 2 warnings she is either in time out or loses privileges or rewards. Yesterday she had a great day at school up until the last 15 minutes, she acted out while I was talking with teachers. I had to threaten to take away her headphones if she did not listen and after the second warning had to follow through. She also lost out on getting ice cream as a treat after school. It really is tough not to reward your kids but I had to lay my foot down and stick with is despite the devastated look on her face.

It really is a challenge being a mom, it’s even more challenging to be a good mom.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.  This verse could not be further from the truth. And I have realized as a child of God that God has laid down some rules and although some shake their heads at those rules and call them unfair they really aren’t. Often my daughter tells me that I am being unfair. I’m sure other parents have had this said to them multiple times. But if a parent does not lay down the law at home how can their child follow the laws of the real world. Often God reveals to me why we have rules, and nothing says this better than comparing his rules to road construction. If you are driving down a road and a person holding a stop sign stops you do you stop or just keep on going? What happens if you keep driving when someone tells you to stop? You will have a head on collision with another vehicle. The same applies with God’s word. Yes you can ignore the stop sign but do not be in shock when you end up in a head on collision.

Many of my future blogs will likely revolve around parenting, I’m up for a great challenge and I am in need of a lot of prayer, patience and most of all direction.

Most of the break ups that I have witnessed among people are couples who either can not work things out or a woman leaving because she feels she is not respected or loved…many a time it’s even a case as “Well, I wasn’t being treated like a queen.” What many fail to see is that Marriage is not a one way street it is something BOTH Husband and Wife have to work on. One can not do all the work alone. There will be storms in life and both Husband and Wife will have to face these storms together.

In the Bible it says that Woman was created from the ribs of the Man. This is very symbolic. If the Woman were created from the foot then she would be made to stomp on, if she were made from the hand she would be made to wait on and if she were made from the head she would be made to rule over man. But the Woman is made from the rib so that Man and Woman may walk side by side with each other. This indicates equality.

The Bible does not say that wives are to be submissive to their husbands…the meaning of the word “Submissive” is completely different. It does not mean the wife is to be a slave. If anything I find that women are very head strong, smart and we’re pretty tough too. (Also very stubborn). The word “Submissive” means that a wife is to not pull away from her husband at every disagreement, this means both Husband and wife are to talk things over without pulling away from one another. It means healthy arguments and not slammed doors. It means having a healthy discussion without yelling “That’s it! I want a Divorce! You never listen! I’m right You’re wrong!” I’m pretty sure God knows that the woman nature is we have a tenancy to always want to get our way…and we seem to nag and complain quite a bit. Put PMS, Menopause and hormonal changes into the mix and watch out! I know very well that I can hold quite the temper and my husband has experienced first hand what I’m capable of. Angry women are scary!

One of the biggest responsibilities of the wife is to be nurturing and encouraging to her Husband. Do you really think a Husband wants to come home to a Facebook status that says “Frankie never listens to me he’s such a jerk…he did this and this and this and he’s useless!” I see it all the time on Facebook and I hear it all the time from the mouths of women. In fact I even used to complain about all my husband’s faults when I was younger. But once I realized that it was better to look at the positives and boast about my husband instead of tear him down our marriage became stronger. I can testify to having an amazing husband who dearly loves me, he is a hard worker, provides for the family and is caring and will do anything to make me happy. Why would I not do the same? If I am being built up by his encouraging words then I should do the same and it makes a HUGE difference in marriage.

For a while I had been having problems with my Husband’s faith in God. Last year I’d confront him with comments like “You aren’t strong in the faith, why don’t you want to sit down and have a Bible study with me? You are just living the motions!” I had doubts, I figured he was going to church JUST because church was changing my attitude. I asked God for help but every time I did I still ended up getting angry and had no patience. But God works in different ways. I prayed about this situation at the last Ladies Retreat I went to. I placed the situation in God’s hands I I continued to be a loving supportive wife. A few months ago my husband began to listen to the Christian Radio station regularly to and from work, I had hit bumps in the road regarding my faith and he began to lift me up…I was so used to lifting him up that it came as a surprise. He lost his job a few weeks ago at Tim Horton’s and had more faith in finding better employment than I did. I was of little faith but he showed huge faith. He is now in construction, enjoying it, gets to listen to his Christian Radio every day still AND has met another fellow Christian on the job site. Coming from a workplace where everyone is so vulgar and the talk is dark it is such a blessing to know that he is in a much better environment and the change I have seen in him is absolutely amazing. Not only is he a loving husband he is beginning a deep walk with God and it makes my heart leap for joy seeing this. God changes people, he is capable of ANYTHING we just have to be faithful, loving and watch him work.

So my journey begins, and I hope this is a new direction. I’m sick of being dragged down by the daily grind. I am sick of being a Christian on Sunday only and not living it out the rest of the week…I have been beaten down, dragged around and I am tired…it is time for a new revival, it is time to wait upon the Lord.

 

Growing Kids who Know God

In North America 80% of college kids leave the church when they hit college and go off on their own. (I was one of them)

By the time kids reach the age of 13 they have a generalized view of their world-they see what needs to be changed,  they see the hurt that the world has to offer as well as all the temptations (My 6 year old sister has come up to me and asked me if the clothing she was wearing is sexy. My 5 year old daughter hasn’t the slightest clue what’s going on in the world although she’s convinced Batman can save it…teachers say she doesn’t act her age, she’s behind.)

I’m kept awake at night by the thought of my little girl facing the world one day. I know this day will come, and I know many Christain parents as well as Kid’s Ministry Teachers dread the thought…we all know so many will be lost to the world surrounding them. The world that hates barriers, who claim that the “Rules” in the Bible prohibit freedom which is wrong.

How do we grow kids who know God?

Children must possess two things. A heart Knowledge and a Head knowledge. A Head knowledge is what kids hear, the doctrine, the written word. The Heart knowledge is taking that written word and applying it. Many Children today get one and not enough of the other. I grew up with a head knowledge, my Sunday School teachers drilled Bible into me but I never really applied it nor did I ever truly love Jesus so much that he was my best bud and I would rely on him. God was distant even though I’ve always believed in God…I have never had the sence of God being close to me.  But at the same time there are children who are taught the Love of Jesus, they apply it but do not have the doctrine to back them up-when the world comes knocking they are easily tempted because they can’t or won’t use the written word to back up their beliefs.

What happens when Children have both Head and Heart knowledge? They become Deciples of Christ, reading the word and taking action. And I know, it’s a tough thing to do as a child but I have seen so many young deciples who are just on fire for the word, they hunger for it, they talk about it…and all these kids have amazing examples to follow-their very own parents.

Making a good deciple starts at home. Sunday school crams about 80 hours a year into kid’s heads. Parents can sped over 3000 hours a year leading by example, teaching, reading, encouraging etc.

I recently went to a leadership conference where I learned the above methods. It is important to list Deciple qualities, pick one or two of those qualities (ie: giving, forgiveness, love, evangelism etc) and brain storm ways to strengthen these qualities. Also brain storm ways for parents to get involved. And not just church parents but the ones who don’t even go to church but allow their kids to attend.

Some good ways to get parents on board is to send home news letters and updates, invite them out to their kid’s class room, encourage them (even though it may be hard to talk one on one with parents…thankfully most parents use social media and email), have a blog or web page up which includes updates, resources etc…the list goes on.

My little group brainstormed Giving. How can we get kids to have a giving heart? (Children can and will give from their little hearts.) some of the things we came up with were: Getting kids involved, having adults share testimony of giving, use media-video to show kids other kids in need, having parents teach tithing, getting kids involved with fundraising, show Biblical examples…even have one of the kids make announcements up front, informing parents about what is going on, let kids dream…and the list goes on.

It’s not really that hard to grow kids who know God. You just have to start with the Bible and give them hands on experience. Let kids explore, let kids do the things adults do (Like help out, serve, fundraise, give etc). Growing the next generation of deciples starts with us, the adults and kids really are a product of their environment. So lets create that Godly environment. Get brainstorming!

Giving 15 Kids a Christmas

What would you do if you didn’t get anything for Christmas as a child? What if you never had Christmas? What if you didn’t even know what Christmas was?

This is the reality for Millions of Children world wide. While we get together with family for Holiday festivities, have a nice meal, open gifts, enjoy a work free day there are millions of kids out there who do not get a single thing for Christmas. There are children who would feel blessed if they got something as small as a single pair of socks for Christmas.

So what happens when out of nowhere and from the hearts of complete strangers some of these kids get something. And not just anything but a little shoe box filled with lots of goodies like school supplies, toys, soap, games etc? A huge wave of gratitude happens.

Every year people around the world fill up shoeboxes full of goodies to send to nations where children might not even know what Christmas is. Last Year Operation Christmas Child collected over 8 million boxes and sent volunteers to hand deliver each box to children in various places of the world. Some go to Africa, Asia, South and Central America, to cities and well as remote villiages.

So this year I thought that I would bless 15 children. The idea came to me when I was reading about a few people who do charitable acts each Christmas season on behalf of all their friends. I decided I’d give it a try. I discovered OCC when I was in grade 11 and my class got the opportunity to fill a show box. Ever since I have enjoyed filling shoeboxes. And this year I challenged my self to 15 boxes which will be sent out on behalf of 15 friends. I have already had a few friends decide to return the deed and send a box on my behalf which is amazing because I would LOVE to see OCC spread like wild fire.

Filling a shoe box is quite simple and doesn’t cost too much money. Each box costs $7 to send. And you can fill a shoe box for about $10…or even less if you hit up back to school deals where stuff costs 25 cents. I began my shopping adventures in July where I started to collect a few toys, I took advantage of back to school deals in August, collected a few more things in September and finished the last of my shopping now, which is near the end of October. Slowly buying things is my trick to a successful shoe box fill.

Above are some of the filled shoeboxes. Shoeboxes will bless kids in the 2-4 , 5-9, 10-14 year old age group and you can pick to send to either a boy or a girl. The Collection week this year is November 14th-18th and you can find a drop off location by checking out the website.

Normally I keep most of my charitable deeds to myself as I have grown up knowing that it’s best not to boast. Hopefully I’m not boasting…trying hard not to. I hope that I can be a good example to others and that acts of kindness such as these spread. Anyone can start off small or big and I guarantee that there is so much reward in doing this! Every Spring when I see the reports of Shoebox delivery I get teary eyed because there is just so much authentic gratitude in those kids faces and lives are literally changed over something as simple as a shoe box filled with stuff. Things we take for granted, things that most kids who have a traditional Christmas would just toss aside.

I feel pretty excited right now because I JUST finished filling the boxes, but I can only imagine the excitement that the kids recieving these boxes are going to feel. I’d give anything to feel their level of joy. And to the 15 people who on behalf I am sending out these boxes, I bet your pretty excited too…and probably won’t miss getting hand cream or something like that from me this year.

I also want to send out a HUGE thankyou to all those awesome people who donated stuff or funds for my boxes, it was a huge help and because of you I was able to jam pack those boxes. I’m almost tempted to do more but I’m holding back so I can dedicate time and money to a few other acts of  kindness 🙂

Norwood Fall Fair Part 2

Time for some Fall Fair fun! And I got to go twice this weekend, once with my parents and today because I was bored and thought it would be a great idea to meander around the fair grounds.

After dropping $40 on Ride tickets, Aurora and I went on some Carnival ride adventures. All day ride passes would be so awesome but they do not sell them which is very unfortunate. But Norwood still boasts of having one of the biggest Fall Fairs around. $40 got us on a total of  7 rides. We went on the Scrambler, Himalayan (The ride pictured above) the Fire Truck, Swings, Dragon Coaster, Obstacle course and flying Elephants. My Daughter was JUST tall enough for the scrambler and Himalayan and those were the two rides she had most fun on. My kid is definitely a little thrill seeker. I see Canada’s Wonderland Passes in the near future.

After the rides my daughter played a game. $5 wins you a cheap prize but I’ve seen worse quality prizes. She played the fishing game where you get the fish with a magnet on the end of a line. She was more happy to play the game than win a prize.

We then went and walked around, looking at a few crafts. We Grabbed a bite to eat, went on a few more rides and then headed home.

Day 2 at the fair was more eventful, although we did not go on any rides. It was a day to go out and enjoy the sights of the fair. Plus the Park in Town happens to be located within the fair grounds and I really wanted to take my daughter to the park as it was such a beautiful day. So we headed on over to the fair grounds. We checked out the Heavy Horse pull where big Belgians and Clydesdales  pull heavy loads as far as they can go. They were up to 7000 lbs when we showed up and some horses were able to pull them about 15 feet. The Horses are always rearing to go and really seem to enjoy the work. Draft horses are absolutely gorgeous and they put on a wonderful show.

Above the Horses pull cement blocks.

The Precision Horse team was also in attendance putting on a show. Young riders performed by getting their horses to walk in pattern. It was like a synchronized dance with Horses.

And what’s a fall fair without a petting zoo? The bunnies were being handled so much and I actually felt bad for them. This year there were no baby chickens for the kids to handle. My daughter was gentle with the baby bunny and they were quite content being handled. They did not freak out at all. There were also Miniature horses, Llamas, pigs, goats etc to pet.

Aurora went and got her face painted and got a balloon animal for free. She was quite happy with the Rainbow and Butterfly on her face. I grabbed myself a Wrap from the Wrap-it-up-and-go booth (Our local and most favorite fast food joint) and then we headed over to the park.

Aurora played at the park while I ate my wrap. Behind her in the baseball field there were helicopter rides. For an 8 minute ride I think it cost $70. But I’m sure that whoever went for the short ride felt it was worth it! I would have LOVED to see my little town from the sky.

We then went to have a look at the crafts and fall fair entries. There were HUGE pumpkins as well as tonnes of other really neat entries.

There was also this really cool owl! We got to pet the owl. 🙂

We had a wonderful day at the Norwood Fall Fair. It was time well spent. And on the way home we came across a rare vehicle. An actual working Chevette! A red Chevette! I was in so much shock I just had to take a picture of the car as proof that Chevettes are still on the road! :O

 

Wagon Wheels to Ferris Wheels-The Norwood Fall Fair

It’s Fall and that means small towns all over Canada have their annual Fall Fair festivities. Small towns all over Ontario celebrate the harvest by hosting Fairs, and one of the biggest and most popular of these fairs for a small town is the Norwood Fall Fair which is held every year on Thanksgiving weekend. Norwood has a population of approximately 4000 people (Although the sign says 1300) And every October thousands of visitors flock to this small town in Peterborough County to attend the Fair.

The Fair kicks off with a parade on Saturday at Noon, although the fair grounds open earlier in the day. The Small streets of Norwood are packed with locals and visitors to view the Parade before they enter the fair grounds. The Parade is bigger than the Town’s Santa Clause Parade. The Parade is about a half hour to 45 minutes in length and is filled with Floats, Classic Cars and Tractors, Horses, Pipe and drum bands and some really neat and funny attractions like the Hillbilly Mobile and the double sided car (The car has two front ends).

The Parade starts off with a few firetrucks, It isn’t a parade unless there are fire trucks. The Reeve comes driving past in his fancy car, as do a few other politicians. The First float holds the Norwood Fair ambassador, a new one is crowned every year.

The Pipe bands are always a big hit, Bag Pipes just have to be in every parade.  I always look forward to hearing the sound of the melodious pipe band.

The Hillbilly Mobile is always a huge hit. The vehicle is made of wood, has everything a Hill Billy needs and water is squirted out of stuffed skunks on the top of th vehicle. Yes the Skunks tail actually raises and sprays water at the crowd.

A lot of hard work goes into the creation of Floats. This year’s Theme is Wagon Wheels to Ferris wheels. The best floats win prizes. There were many spectacular floats in this years parade.

The Norwood Lions Club always makes a great float as well as put on a wonderful performance. They bring lots of laughter and smiles to the crowd.

Mini Cars, Antique cars and antique tractors were all out in full force creating many Ooohs and Ahhhs.

The Norwood Fall fair is Derrinately a great place to be on Thanksgiving weekend. I will be going to the fair grounds tomorrow to go on some Carnival rides, play some games, Check out all the attractions and eat some fair style food. There is plenty to do at the Norwood fair, lots of vendors, a huge display of local craft and agriculture entries, horse shows, livestock shows, the Hot Diggity Dog Flyball compitition, Lawn Mower races and much more. And this weekend is a beautiful weekend and it already looks like the Norwood fair might beat another attendance record!

See you at the fair!

I am a pint sized wonder…or at least I like to think so.

My ears perk up as a vehicle pulls into my driveway. I look out my office window to see a truck filled with chopped wood. I’ve never gotten this excited over logs since last Tuesday when I dropped one in the…nevermind (It was my biggest log yet)…anyway my heart raced with happiness. FREE FIRE WOOD! Wood I do not have to watch my husband saw up, wood that I do not have to chop. I might be a country gal (It’s official, 4 years in a hick town makes  me a country gal) but I still fail at wood chopping. I can, however, use the circular saw now as I was forced to use it as I sat frozen in my house glaring at those un cut branches and 4×4 planks last year. Wood my husband had intentionally left there JUST to teach me how to use the saw. And I mastered that circular saw and behold! We had fire wood.

After I was done work in my office I skipped outside. I admired the pile of wood. A face cord at least. Nice big pile of chopped wood that fits perfectly in my fire place. I was so happy with this beautiful pile that I began to move it. I started to neatly pile it up in the wood shelter (which oddly enough is reserved for the uncut wood in the shed, but since there’s uncut wood in the shed the logs had to go somewhere). I made one nice row, sat back and admired it like a thing of art. This art is going to keep my house warm in the winer and reduce my hydro bill. I felt like Wonderwoman, and within an hour and a half the entire pile was piled neatly.

I’ve come to a realization that I pride myself in a job well done, particularily if the job is a physical one. I think my pride has always been there. I’m a scrawny 110 pound female, I shoudn’t even lift a finger to physical labor yet I do. Take the job I had at a grocery store for example. Who in their right mind would hire a 110 pound scrawny thing like me to work in the grocery department? I should have been a cashier but nope, I wanted that job in the grocery department. I was hired to face the store, oddly enough facing wasn’t my strength, stocking shelves was. At first they looked at me with confusion as I picked the cleaning aisle skid, you know, laundry detergent and heavy stuff like that. I put it all away in record time then grabbed the water skid and the drink skid and anything that had heavy stuff on it. I proudly stocked those shelves which automatically landed me a job as a shelf stocker. I was too valuable to face the shelves. I eventually got trained on Cash but the grocery manager kept stealing me every time I was scheduled to be a cashier. I would even race the guys to the front to do carry outs. If I was on the floor, I had dibbs on all carry outs. Three 24 packs of water? No Problem, I’ll do it! 50lb bag of potatoes? Pft, easy! Customers even complained that I, the scrawny little girl, was doing all the heavy lifting.

When we bought our house we had a pretty wild winter the first year. My husband sat on the couch, all nice and cozy as I looked out the window. “There’s like 2 feet of snow on the driveway.” I said “I’ll shovel tomorrow.” My husband replied. “Screw that! I’m going to do it!” My husband figured I could do a quarter of it before dropping dead. Nope I shovelled for 2 hours, and when I was done I marvelled at my hard work. Then the snow on the neighbour’s roof came crashing down, I cursed, threw the shovel and stompped onside. Murphy’s law states that the snow will only fall off my neighbour’s roof IF and only IF we have JUST completed shovelling. But alas, I throw myself on snow removal duty because the guys take days to finally get out there to work.

We use industrial size garbage bags in our house because of a 3 bag per week limit. That and we have to pay $1.25 per bag so even if we only have 1 bag we want to save money. These industrial bags are bigger than me. Morning came along one bright and sunny summer day and the guys had not touched the garbage so I simply garbbed the two bags and walked down the driveway and dropped them. Normally I marvel at my work but I never do with trash, it’s just a little trek down the driveway and the neighbours might think I’m crazy if I stand there in awe of the trash.The garbage man that morning was particularily lazy. “Hey! I can’t take this bag! It’s too heavy!” Too heavy? What? I just one handed carried that bag down the driveway. There is nothing more embarassing to a man’s ego than a little girl grabbing the “Too heavy” bag with one hand, walking to the truck and tossing it inside. As he stood there with his jaw on the pavement I cutely exclaimed “I weigh 110 pounds. I take the garbage out every week, so if I can carry the trash down the driveway I’m certain you can toss it in your truck.” Needless to say, we have never had garbage pick up refusal since.

So now as I look into the future of more wood drop offs, more garbage and more snow…I smile, knowing that I could complain that the men in my house are lazy but I choose not to. After all, I am quite certain my husband sits back to let me do my labor filled jobs and I know that he is very proud of his pint sized wifey.