School Holidays (28 June to 12 July)

Beth has decided not to sign up for the Council's school holiday program this round. She wants to spend more time at home with Mummy.

So we agreed on a sprinkling of research projects (she has written up a list on the whiteboard but I have not yet taken a look, although I know Adolf Hitler is on the list), Bible study (to reinforce her new faith), piano practice (exams in Nov) and Chinese revision.

After speaking with her teacher on Thu, CA and I have identified areas that we need to work on with her:

• Division
• Fractions
• Introduction to simple algebra
• Balancing her reading with her creative output. She reads a lot but her comprehension, vocab, speech and writing do not necessarily reflect this. So we need to work on her output.

Perhaps the most critical is her attitude. We do not feel satisfied that she has the right attitude for someone of her gifts and abilities. She is often self-absorbed, insensitive to the needs and feelings of others, whining, demanding, unloving towards J and prone to temper tantrums. I would love to blame it on junk food, sugars and food additives. Or sibling rivalry springing from a 5-year age gap. But it could just be her, which is even more scary. CA and I are agreed that this is something beyond our ability and we need God to transform her from the inside. We want her to use her gifts and intellect for God's glory, and not for her own selfish desires, ambitions and gratification. We want her to stay pure and to be a role model for other young people.

¹²Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Tim. 4:12)

It's a huge ask in a material me-first society. That is why we call on the Living God. He heard Hannah's desperate prayer and blessed her. He honored Abraham's obedience, gave Solomon wisdom and made David a covenant promise that his heirs would inherit the kingdom. He authored the earthquake that freed Paul and Silas and converted the jailer. He opened Lydia's heart to receive His message. He is the Master of transformed hearts and changed lives.

The Beginning Of The Rest Of Her Life

I have asked Beth to remember this date very carefully: 21 June 2010.

On this night, she made the decision to open her heart to Jesus.

I was sitting at the computer watching YouTube videos about endtime prophecies, Barack Obama etc, and suddenly Beth asked, "How do you open your heart?"

I can't remember how or why the question came up. Only that I felt seized by a sense that something big was about to happen.

I asked if she was ready to open her heart to Jesus, and she nodded and climbed into my lap.

So I explained about us being sinners and separated from God, and about God sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and how if we believe in our hearts that He is Lord, we will be saved and be part of God's family.

She nodded and I was satisfied that she understood.

So then we said a very simple sinners' prayer and I looked up the Navigators website. I found the Four Spiritual Laws and we went through that. I found the sinners' prayer and we went through that (by which time she was hinting that we'd already gone through it once).

I just had to make sure my 7 yo knew what she was doing, and that she was doing it with a clear mind. And of course, I didn't trust my memory of Scripture...

But of course, God had already been preparing her and speaking to her in His own way. So why should I be surprised? Why should I even doubt, I of little faith?

After all, Jesus Himself made a point of welcoming little children and exhorting grown-ups to humble themselves:

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matt. 18: 2-5

What's next?

Now I have to disciple my child so that she grows in her understanding of God and His Word. I don't even know how to do this, so God will have to show me.

My prayer is that this is just the beginning of her lifelong journey of faith, and that she will grow in wisdom and stature, in favour with God and man just as Jesus did. And as she matures, may she become a woman of spiritual depth, good works, love and purity and all the fruits of the Spirit, someone who has a heart for God and for the things above. May she use wisely and productively God's gifts to her of a sound mind, excellence at reading, comprehension, vocabulary, art and music.

May Beth be the first of many children to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour @ HXUCA.

Scripture Songs My Kids Love

I have practically raised the girls on Steve Green's Hide 'Em In Your Heart scripture memory songs.

Here is one of our faves, and you can see how it is word for word from the Bible, which makes it super effective.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
And you will be saved
You will be saved
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 16:31

Am praying that each of our Sunday School children will say yes to Jesus at some point in their faith journeys.

Delightful Ditty That J Learned At School

I'm...
Squishing up my baby bumble bee
Won't my mummy be so proud of me
I'm squishing up my baby bumble bee
Oops! He bit me!

I'm...
Wiping off my baby bumble bee
Won't my mummy be so proud of me
I'm wiping off my baby bumble bee
Eee...Dirty!

PS. It took me a couple of months to figure out the lyrics for this one. J's pronunciation as a toddler made the whole thing sound like gibberish. But as she kept singing it and as my ears got attuned to her enunciation, I finally understood her.
I'm waiting for that opportune moment to capture J singing this on video. Such moments are getting rarer as she becomes more self-conscious. She's reached the 3.5 yr mark and she's already starting to get shy on people. "I'm shy" and "I can't" are some phrases she likes to whip out when she's just not feeling that chirpy.

Hair Accessories

The Ben 10 and Zac Power-loving 8 yo has taken an interest in hair accessories.

These Forest Friends hairclips are from Precious Jade, a local business that I connected with on FB through The Mummy Tree, an FB initiative by two Brisbane-based WAHMs to help mums in business network with other mums.