Walk The Talk

Over the years Christo and I have experienced people asking our children, in our absence, about our way of living and how they feel about it. They want to know, do we walk the talk. Christo and I never need to wonder what they will answer, since they are secure and anchored in the truth we’re living in. They know what we believe, they know why we believe it, but most importantly they see us living what we believe in. With God’s grace we do ‘walking the talk’.

Recently Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies sent out this e-mail devotion, that teaches this fact:

I thought that I would share it with you.

TRAINING CHILDREN TO SPEAK

Psalm 127:4-5, "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Many times we forget the purpose of our parenting, don't we? We plod along from day to day with what has to be done and we don't see the future picture. It is good to come back to the Word of God and be reminded of what we are supposed to be doing.

God talks of our children in the context of war. This life is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. We are raising our children to be warriors for God's kingdom, to know how to face the battle and to stand strong for God.

Recently, I noticed something important in our above Scripture. We are training our children to speak! Did you notice that? We are to raise children who will speak with the enemies in the gates. In Bible times, the gates of the city were more than an entrance way. They were the busiest place in the city. It was here that the elders sat to rule and direct the affairs of the city. It was here the judges and officers judged the daily matters of the people. It was at the gates the soldiers stood sentinel to guard and protect the city.

And this is where God wants our children to speak--in the important places of the city, the state and the nation. He wants us to raise children who will be able to proclaim His truth in the gates--in the high places where decisions and laws are made. We are living in an era where "Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street and equity cannot enter." (Isaiah 59:14-15) In this hour of history, we need to raise children who know more than a few Sunday school stories, but children who understand God's truth, who have discernment and know how to execute justice. We need to raise children who are not afraid to speak God's truth, even in the face of opposition and persecution. The psalmist said, "I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed." (Psalm 119:46) I love the Knox translation which says, "Fearlessly will I talk of thy decrees in the presence of kings, and be never abashed."

Truth is not always easy to make known. People often compromise the truth because they are scared of the repercussions. But we are not raising wimps--we are raising warriors. We are raising children who are not afraid to face the enemy. We need soldiers like C.T. Studd prayed for:

Lord, send us lion-hearted men
With good courageous habits,
Who ne'er will run from the devil's gun
Like hares and bunny rabbits!

Some translations of Psalm 127:5 say, "Contend with the enemies in the gate." Our "arrows" must know how to contend for their faith and the truth.

"How do we train our children to speak?" you may ask. Perhaps Apologetics should be part of every homeschooling curriculum. Our children must learn how to give an answer for the faith that is in them (1 Peter 3:15). Of course, it will be difficult to prepare children to be truth-bearers if we are not heralding the truth ourselves. We must not be afraid to speak God's eternal truths, even when they are counter-culture. The ideologies of our society regarding family are not working. There is so much heartache in marriages and family life. Marriages are continually falling apart. God's way, although different to man's ways are the way to success if we are prepared to be obedient to them. We must not ever be ashamed of the truth. We do not have to be intimidated by our adversaries. We can speak with confidence for we know the way that works!

We should be like the apostle Paul who spoke boldly in the synagogue and in the market place, testifying, reasoning, disputing and persuading people in the truth. The psalmist and Paul both confessed, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13) What do you believe? That's what you'll speak about. What are you teaching your children to believe? What is the passion of their heart? That's what they'll speak about. Not clichés, but convictions!

Never forget--silence is surrender, but speaking the truth can change the culture of the nation.

Raise your children to be warriors for the Lord. Raise them to know the truth. Prepare them to speak the truth--anointed, not-giving-in, not-backing-down words--in the market place and in high places.

PRAYER:

"Lord, please lift my vision for parenting my children. Help me to train them to know and understand the truth and be filled with zeal and boldness to speak your truth to all they meet. Help me to also be a truth-bearer wherever I go and to never be ashamed of your timeless truths. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am raising children to be Truth Bearers.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, ABOVE RUBIES

Are you raising children who are politically correct or children who are not afraid to speak the truth in love?

The Secret to Freedom Mothering!

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2Tim 3:1)


During the past week, someone made a comment to a friend that my BLOG isn’t ‘real life’. The comment went further saying my BLOG is not real because its not possible for someone to do so much and that it is time I BLOG about the good, the bad and the ugly too, not just the good. This started me thinking – why would someone think that?

Why is it so difficult for some mothers to understand that Motherhood can be life, and living it to the full? Why do mothers feel so much bondage in Motherhood, almost like motherhood is slavery? Why is it so hard to believe a mother can be happy, satisfied, and successful and even doing things she loves and enjoys, while home schooling her children and having more babies? Why do ladies cry out to be FREE from the ‘slavery’ of motherhood?

I’m observing that mothers, and since I’m in home schooling circles, I especially speak to home schooling mothers, have “issues” that enslaves them and keep them from the free life God intended for them as “joyful mothers of children.” Ps 113:9:

Let’s throw off the stuff that enslaves us and learn the truth about motherhood, so we don’t become gullible women. It is time we as mothers get to know who we are in Jesus! It is time we get freedom to be a Mother!!

So what is Freedom Mothering?

Freedom mother is not getting out of mothering, it is getting into it!

Mothers believe they need meetings with their lady friends, to be free. They believe they need ‘time for themselves’, time alone. Not all mothers have made peace with 'twenty four hours a day' Motherhood. So often we think we can expect to be comfortable in today’s life. Life mustn’t be too hard for too long for whatever reason. As Christians we know Christ laid down His life for us and He asks the same from us, but do we really understand what that sacrifice means – the sacrifice of being a mother?
Do mothers understand that sacrificing their time, energy and resources for God, will lead to an abundant life? Love your children, love your husbands, love your houses, keeping your house - being nurturers – that is who we are.

Freedom mothering is to follow God’s design for mothers as described in Titus 2: “admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed”

The other day I was with a group of lady friends at a coffee shop to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I was so discouraged and disappointed in the conversations around the table, between these Christian mothers. They were talking about how to get OUT of mothering. We must be so careful when we as women get together that we start to envisage freedom from our calling. Here mothers encouraged each other to make sure they make time to get out, time to be alone, time for themselves.

In Job 38 we read: “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?”
Ladies, God has given us counsel in His word, but so often we encourage each other away from His counsel.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop telling your friends how hard it is to be a mother and having self pity parties.

There is more stuff that ensnares mothers to slavery:

1. Doubt about what they are doing as a mother. Mothers need to be free from fear of man that tries to impose stereotype mothering on them, trying to compare them to somebody else. Get free from keeping up with the Jones's. God has set you apart as a mother, He does not want you to mother like other mothers. Climb out of the mould of how other mothers are mothering and home schooling. You will be happier, and God will be happier too. He wants you to be the Mother He created you to be, with your unique personality.

2. Discouragement, negativity and worry. So easily when mothers feel discouraged, they run to the phone or the pastor, to a new parenting book, anything, anywhere except to God Himself. And why? Because it is so much easier to run to someone else than to God and take the time to hear from God what He has to say about their children and them.
"6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened (encouraged) himself in the Lord his God. "(1 Sam 30:6)

Countless times this is my way of dealing with hardship and discouragement – running to the Lord for encouragement and counsel. The other day someone said things to me, that made me feel so inadequate as a mother. I immediately started a conversation with the Lord: “Lord, you know me better than any one on earth. You see me mother my children, you know my personality, you know my weak points – Do you think I am a terrible mother?” That evening I got an SMS from my friend who blessed me the previous day with her domestic worker. Her SMS read: “I just want to thank you for being so good to …., she is so inspired as a mother by seeing you mothering you children.” I could not believe it! It was like God answering me directly from heaven. God is so great!! Let the Lord Himself encourage you!

3. Trying to get away from their children. Just take away the children – that can be to Sunday school, day care, extra murals, other people, giving them extra schooling or putting them in front of the TV. Anything other than dealing with the Blessings in front of them. It is all about their own lives. But these mothers do not know that when they die to their own selfish lives they will become free and joyful.
The lives of mothers, so often, become filled with wishing their children away, filled with bitterness that turns into hatred towards their own lives, calling friends that are in the same situations weekly and having pity parties together.
Replace your pity parties with a hunger towards God, seeking His freedom. We were created to nurture and mother our children NOW! And it doesn’t look like the picture books, or the ‘super’ Mom next door.

What does she look like? I love Evangeline Johnson’s description of a mother after God’s heart, in her teaching CD, Adventure Mothering:
She looks like an individual woman, impregnated since conception to bear and nurture individual destinies. Children of promise in all sorts of circumstances.

We read in Isaiah 38:17 "But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption."
Did you hear? God delivered his soul, not his circumstances? So often we are looking to God to deliver us from what He has called us to do and to be. In freedom mothering He delivers our soul, in our calling of Motherhood.

Dear Mother it is not about us. It is about being a Mother to the next generation, making princes and princesses for the King of the universe, who will overcome the principalities of darkness.

God wants us to focus on Him, to ask Him to show us how to teach our children and how to be free. He doesn't want you to run from one extramural activity to the other, attending every home school event available, because you're afraid your children won't learn social skills. He doesn’t want you to visit a lady friend once a week for an afternoon or sometimes a whole day, to have some ‘adult’ conversation. So often, in pursuit of the above, mothers are rarely at their own homes. They are afraid to be ‘home alone’ with their children, and even if there are no activities they will arrange one, just to get out.

Stop at Jesus' feet and ask Him to free you, to be a Mother. Focus on your children and bring them back to your home. Let God Himself be your motivation and encouragement in life. Let Jesus carry your burdens. And listen to what God wants you to change in your life.

Years ago when God brought me back to my children and my home, He taught us about discipline, pruning and abiding in Him as in John 15 (Secrets of the Vine by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson):

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

In this passage we learn three secrets.

First Secret: If your life consistently bears no fruit, God will intervene to discipline you. (No fruit to some fruit)

What is it that prevents you from bearing fruit with your children, in your home and as a wife and mother?
Is it some of the above ‘stuff’ that keeps you from bearing any fruit, that calls God to act with discipline? Is it being doubtful, worried, negative, trying to run away from your children and the responsibilities of keeping your home?

Second Secret: If your life bears some fruit, God will intervene to prune you. (Fruit to more fruit)

Maybe you are bearing fruit, but He wants you to bear MORE fruit, and He needs to prune some unnecessary 'things'. Did you know: Good is the enemy of Best? You can be so busy with a lot of good things; you don't have time for the best. Maybe God is pruning you by taking all these extras away, and you are fighting Him. You do everything in your power to keep these extra activities going, in the midst of total chaos when you arrive back at home. Dinner is not prepared, the baby is out of routine, the children are too tired to do their chores, they get to bed too late and cannot get out of bed on time in the morning. It becomes one viscious circle.

Third Secret: If your life bears a lot of fruit, God will invite you to abide more deeply with Him. (More fruit to much fruit)

When you listen to God's discipline or you allow Him to prune all the extras and stop at His feet, to ask Him what He wants you to do today, this week, this month, you will experience how easy it will become, how much less conflict your life and home will have.
It is then that you can move from MORE fruit to MUCH fruit. Then the MUCH fruit comes through God, not through you! Abide in the Source of life.

Is it easy to make these shifts? No way! But when you are free in Motherhood, you will have a big enough motivation to bear ALL the fruit God wants you to bear, you will be able to make the necessary changes and you will have peace to stay at home, without all the stuff that enslaves you as a Mother.

Will life then be smooth and easy? No way! Jesus told us: in this life you will have trouble, but take courage...

Yes, our family has challenges, we have hardships, we have attitude problems depending on the age, our children do have times when they don't want to do their chores, and they do have sibling rivalry. But when mother is focused, by sitting at Jesus' feet, getting her freedom from the Master Teacher and doesn't allow the outside world to influence her, she will have the time to attend to these challenges, hardships and attitude problems. And there will be time for extras in the house and around the house for you and your children.

This BLOG is my way of encouraging myself and it is my prayer that it will encourage you. This is my writing pad for wisdom and revelations God gives me during my hardships and challenges of being a home schooling mother and a submissive wife. This is not the place where I want to cry on your shoulders because life is hard and motherhood is a challenge. God is my shoulder to cry on and I share with you how I climb onto His lap, cry my heart out and receive peace, comfort and encouragement from my Dad.

So next time you think my BLOG isn’t real, this is the secret to my life, and I’m still learning.

Heidi-Mari's 12th Birthday!

On Saturday Heidi-Mari turned 12years old. My little baby girl, is transforming into a beautiful swan.

I’m entering a season where I have the joy of seeing and picking the fruit of years of hard work in my young daughter. For this birthday I didn’t buy her birthday presents, I’ve decided to make her birthday presents. I wanted her to experience my gratitude for her serving helping attitude in the house. Heidi is never too tied to help me with chores in the house. Never too tired to help a little one. Never too tired to take care of our babies. And especially when I'm pregnant, she constantly has her antennas out to pick up when I'm not feeling too well, although I try to keep my pose.

I've made her a beautiful, pink skirt and two aprons. The one apron is white with pink strawberries - her tea apron and the other a bright, multi-coloured apron, for preparing food. I've made these aprons while she was helping Daddy in his health shop and it was such a big surprise to her.












On Saturday night we (Christo and I) took her out for dinner. We started this tradition with CJ’s 10th birthday. From around the age of 8 years, they don’t have parties with lots of friends anymore; instead we took the birthday boy or girl out for dinner. The siblings stay with a babysitter and he or she has the privilege of a whole evening exclusively with Mom and Dad in a nice restaurant, enjoying delicious food and good service.

This time it wasn’t only Christo and me blessing the birthday girl, the Lord blessed Heidi-Mari and Christo and I could share in the blessing! It was the first time we visit this cosy, Italian restaurant in the middle of the Durbanville residential area and what a pleasant surprise. The restaurant is in an old wine cellar, the second oldest building in the Cape (the oldest building in the Cape being the Castle!) The thick white walls, high ceiling, big old wine barrel and the fire in the huge fire place gave it a unique, warm and friendly atmosphere. As we were half way through our meal the owner of the restaurant (an Italian in his 60’s) and an accordionist entered the restaurant and started to sing classic, Italian songs. It was awesome! He sang songs like Oh Solo Mio (my dear husband’s absolute favourite!) As he passed our table, he spotted Heidi and started to sing for her!

After the first song, he asked if there were any birthdays in the restaurant. There were three more people celebrating their birthdays, but he started with Heidi-Mari! It was so special. He sang her a beautiful Italian song, then asked her name and asked the whole restaurant to sing along, Happy Birthday. Obviously she was (more than) a little uncomfortable with all the attention and blushed tomato red, but it was so beautiful.

The food was excellent and Christo could drink a real Italian espresso – the perfect ending to a nice meal.

Then on Monday, as part of her birthday, the two of us went to the Scrapbook Shop in High Street for a whole day of scrapping. Daddy took the day off at the Health Shop (a real sacrifice) and he and CJ baby-sat the little ones. It was such a blessed day. We decided before hand on the lay out of the double page we would make and got all the photo’s ready. Heidi-Mari wanted to make a scrapbook page on how she grew up, using pictures of each birthday over the last 12 years.

We had a ball! We choose the exact paper, to fit with our theme and colour scheme from the many shelves of scrapbook paper in the shop,












and as the page progressed, we could pick and choose embellishments to beautify our double page.








Half way through the day, at 12h00 we went to the next door coffee shop and had a delicious lunch. It was a typical, cold, rainy Cape Winter day, and we had butternut cream soup and chicken pancakes with a cheese sauce. Add with it the relaxed conversation of two best friends – it was perfect.

How special to have my budding girl, becoming one of my best friends. To share hobbies, but also the business of life! With Heidi-Mari I don’t need to be someone else, to impress my friend. I can just be me, her mother. After 12 years she knows all her mothers weak points… but still loves me. I appreciate her love and friendship more and more as she’s grows up. Like a real friend she knows what stress me, she knows what makes me sad and she knows what makes me happy.

For the rest of the afternoon we scraped to our hearts desire! We almost finished our double page by 16h45,

before we headed home, to my loving, caring husband and my wild, lively boys and little girl! At home even more blessings were awaiting us. Daddy prepared us the most exotic supper! Lamb shoulder in a red wine, garlic and fig sauce, rice and spelt, a ratatouille vegetable dish and slices of butternut, brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven (CJ’s speciality).

Heidi-Mari quickly put on her apron and made us a delicious fresh salad.

This was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Thank you Lord, for such a blessed weekend, celebrating Heidi-Mari’s 12th birthday!

This is my prayer for you:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Prov 31:29,30

May the Lord grant me the wisdom to teach my daughter to fear the Lord!

Science Question of the Week Competition

Two months ago I blogged on the science we use in our home school. One of the highlights of Apologia Science is the Science Problem of the Week competition. The life skills CJ learns by participating in this competition is vast. I want to highlight three prominent life skills.

Firstly, he learns how to read a question properly with understanding. During the first series, in which he participated and got 11 out of 12 questions right, he read the one question wrong. His answer was correct for his understanding of the question, but he misread the question. That cost him the competition but was a valuable lesson.

Secondly, he learns how to research. How to research is a critical life skill and a big focus in our home school journey. You can google any subject and within seconds get hundreds and thousands of articles on that particular subject. How to quickly sift through these articles will become more and more important in our era where information doubles every day.

Thirdly, he learns critical thinking. How to look at current facts, evaluate them critically through a biblical filter and then form an opinion, based on truth.

Learning these skills is the purpose for taking part in this competition (apart from the fun) and winning the competition would obviously be a huge bonus! (And I prayed for him every single week, that the Lord will grant him wisdom to find the correct answer.)

Well, CJ just won the 27th round of the Science Question of the Week Competition together with another young boy! They answered 12 out of 12 questions correctly!

You can just imagine the joy, when Dr. Jay’s congratulations e-mail landed in my inbox, only minutes after CJ submitted his answer to the last question. He could choose between four prizes and is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of his prize.

And in the mean time…? He starts all over again! Researching the first question of the new round of questions!

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more.  You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.   In the meantime, head to SACH Carnival #5 - Science and Natural Science for this week's carnival.  We hope you enjoy the carnival as much as we have!

Daniel Started Walking!

Yesterday Daniel officially started walking, at 11months & 1 week.

For the last few days he would stand, try one or two steps and then land on his bum. We praised and encouraged him a lot and then last night, out of the blue, he took several steps from CJ to me. From there on he was on the go, walking from chair to chair, smiling and laughing, nothing short of someone who just achieved a new milestone!

Oh! He is such a joy!

Everyone adores him and cannot withhold themselves from touching, talking, playing and... annoying him! It is amazing that, although another baby means more work, more responsibilities and ‘more trouble’, siblings just love another brother or sister. So often mothers will tell me they got 'fixed' and cannot have more children, but their children pray for another brother or sister every day. It is also interesting to hear adults, coming from larger families, testify how special it was to be part of a large family.

This makes me wonder about the root of arguments like: “we cannot afford more children” or “we will not be able to give them all the opportunities we want to give them” or “we will not be able to emotionally care for many children – I don’t have the patience”.

I don't hear one of these negative comments from children of large families, whether they are still in the home or have left the nest. In grown ups, I only hear nostalgia of wonderful memory making moments of their large family and the closeness of their family – something often missing in an average sized family today. See, in the average sized family it is so easy for everyone to do ‘their own thing’ - they don't need each other. The modern day tendency is that the brother and sister are so caught up in making use of all their “opportunities” to develop into balanced adults and mom and dad is busy with their own careers and talents, also outside the house, that they don’t have time for each other. In short, in time, they grow apart.

In this big family of ours, it is not possible for one family member do live independently from his or her siblings or parents. Although you may think it is easy for a child 'to get lost’ in the crowd, there are too many of us, to make you disappear. When one of the older children are out for the day (helping at Dad's shop or working at the horse riding school) or one of the little ones is unwell, and not participating in the every day routine, without exception, the siblings will be quick to ask where their brother or sister is, or why is he or she not playing along?








Our children cannot wait to have another baby in the house. Another human being to cuddle and love, serve and protect, to grow up alongside and with whom to discover new things.

The Word is still true even in today’s modern culture: 'children are a blessing'! Why would I ever say no to another blessing? Except if I fall for the ultimate lie: it is all about ME and another child will rob me from worldly blessings … prevent me from being rich in life.

I think you will agree with me, true richness lay in relationships. And there is no lack of relationships in our family. That’s why our big family is a blessed family, full of true richness.

Above Rubies Magazines Posted!

By 21h00, Sunday night we had 3,500 Above Rubies magazines in envelopes and boxes, ready to be taken to the Post Office for posting.








The packaging of issue #76 was like always done in a record time and can only be called a miracle. My family worked so hard through out the weekend, to help me get every envelope and bulk order ready for posting.

Thank you, my dear Husband, for cutting boxes to the right size and wrapping them. Thank you for carrying 500 envelopes from the house to the car and from the car to the post office. Thank you for standing in the post office in the cue, so I didn’t need to, for an hour with little ones around me, waiting for every parcel to be weighed and prized. I appreciate you a lot!!

Look Out For the Interest of Others!

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1

Over the weekend I got an SMS from my very special Friend, E. She wanted to bless me by bringing her domestic worker to help me in the house for a day! Isn’t that a true Friend?

We decided on Wednesday, just because it is the middle of the week. But God knew Wednesday would be the perfect timing.

I had been running way behind schedule the last two weeks. It all started when Andrew developed a fever 2 weeks ago. For days he had a fever and complained that his gums that were sore. We thought it was teeth and kept the fever under control with Viburcol and rubbed Traumeel S on the gums. But by the 5th day of fever his lips and whole mouth on the inside was covered with blisters! He was crying in discomfort and brushing his teeth was very painful, ending in bleeding gums. Getting medicine down was a nightmare and eating was almost impossible. By day 8 there was a turning point and he could start eating again. BUT, on the same day David developed a fever…

He followed exactly the same pattern. Fever for days, but on occasion he would sleep for the whole day. This was a good sign and I was convinced he would not get the blisters. But today, day 6 he also couldn’t eat anything! He is crying constantly in pain (and I think hunger) and getting the medicine down is a challenge!

Needless to say the house wasn’t exactly my priority over the last 2 weeks and floors and bathrooms fell by the wayside. With Heidi-Mari’s help, I just (added by Christo, I’m an opportunist!) managed to stay on top of the laundry.

We also received 14 boxes of Above Rubies magazines on Thursday and I desperately wanted to send it out, but I was months behind on my admin and needed a few hours in front of the computer before we could start putting Above Rubies in envelopes.

How could I take care of my sick, older baby (David is actually just my older baby), get the Above Rubies admin up to date (there are currently 500 readers in South Africa and I need to check every address card to make sure there are no address changes) and stay on top of my house, while suffering a few first trimester pregnancy symptoms?

Isn’t it amazing, the Lord already knew what I was going to face this week! My Friend’s lady walked into my house at 8h30 and started to clean my house win places I seldom have time to clean. Washing my windows and cleaning my oven, and as a bonus cleaning my bathrooms and washing the kitchen floor! She had the most delightful attitude and lightened up the house with her serving attitude. And me? While Daniel was asleep, CJ and Heidi showed David and the other little ones a video and I could work for 3 hours on the computer getting a head start on the Above Rubies address labels!

The Lord is so faithful! He is never caught by surprise, with the enemy’s attempts to harm us, our temptations or the testing of our faith. Thank you my friend for being obedient to Jesus’ call. Comforting me in my time of need with your act of love!! It surely was a sacrifice for you, to put my interests before yours. I do believe you had to do some extra chores this week that your lady usually does for you. May God bless you abundantly!!