Lighter Locks

Us girls are all feeling quite light now. Today was the designated hair cut day. I had mine done late this morning and then took the girls back for their appointments after school. Ahhhh the bliss of less hair. It's been 15-18 months since any of the three of us have had trims so you can only imagine how very long our hair had gotten. Miss Mischief was no longer able to brush all the knots out! She's not happy at the loss of such fine length, but Miss Sunshine and I are ecstatic!

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I'm very pleased to say that I finished 'Michal' by Jill Eileen Smith this afternoon ~ with plenty of time to spare. Beautifully written and as always, illuminates a little portion of the Bible that perhaps we otherwise overlook. I can't wait for our discussion tonight, about the book.

Now I just have to go back and write the review for the book I hastily finished on Monday night so I could get 'Michal' read in time!

The Helter Skelter at Our Place

I realised I haven't posted much this week. You know what? I go to post something and stare at a blank screen and end up walking away again. What have I to say, when I've had little time to think a leisurely thought, let alone something post-worthy?!

I'm afraid you'll have to put up with petty ramblings today.

• Mr Busy is front and centre on page 3 of the school newsletter in all his chefly glory. Cute boy that. I should take him home to live with me! And he cooks. What more could a mother want?!
  
• Our Secondary school is having a 'Soiree' tonight. Musical, artistic, creative entertainment and performances. I've got someone else's secondary daughter here and her family have Miss Mischief for the evening....Girls Brigade and assessment weighted performances just don't mix! We have a swap to do later on tonight. Should've thought further....we could just done a sleepover swap. Now why didn't I think of that before now?!
• My pace-y reading of 'Michal' this week is on track. I'm taking over the running of Book Club for the evening tomorrow so that Rel can spend some time with her extended family. I'm loving the book ~ Biblical Fiction is always a sure favourite for me and this one is no different. I just need to get it finished before we meet LOL.
  
• My College work is going well. Today my Prep boy and I played a maths game I had to create. I went without a hitch and he loved it. What 6yo wouldn't want to get as many hoppy frogs into a pond. The fact that he won sweetened his opinion of my creation.

Dinner is on the boil, so I need to go and finish off before we can get going this evening!

9 in 9

This was an agenda item for our staff meeting this afternoon. We sat there before the meeting pondering what '9 in 9' might be. As it happened, we were asked to think of 9 things we were thankful for in 2009. My list looked like this:

1. Recent 'girls' weekend away.
2. Our family camping trips.
3. Celebrating birthdays ~ we earned ourselves a 13yo this year!
4. Having my days at school increased from 1/week to 4/week.
5. Working with my Prep and Yr 3 boys.
6. Reading LOTS of books...many of them freebies :)
7. Facilitating 'Starting Points'. I'm loving the current group a lot.
8. Watching 'Home Improvement' DVD's with Mr Busy.
9. Being involved in worship/music team at church.

Then we were asked why. Why indeed!!!!! My only somewhat less-than-brilliant response was because some of those things feed me and give me joy. Some of those things are situations where I am able to give out of my skills and gifts and leaves me feeling very satisfied.

As well as things that have given me joy this year, I'm excited about next year. There are some good things happening.

For right now I'm just praying that my Prep student's parents will continue to value sending him to school for the remainder of the year. We started a new schedule this term and it seems to have thrown him a little. I hope it all settles down and he remembers that school is fun. He surely does have fun when he's there!

Beware The Summer

I'm feeling a little bit cranky about all the bushfire warnings that have started already via a government advertising campaign. I'm cranky because I think that the current approach to fire safety is a lot of media and government hype. Last year, no doubt, made a lot of people rethink their fire plan...and with good reason. But must we hype things up into a fear-frenzy in the process?

I live in a high fire-prone area. This is a threat that we take seriously each and every summer. Not just because all of a sudden the government says we should. We have a fire plan and we know the five routes we can take away from home, depending on which way a fire might be coming from. We're as prepared as we can be. Having the Premier and the media going on and on about the upcoming summer simply makes people afraid. Afraid to live in their own homes and carry on their normal lives.

We have a early warning messaging system up and running now. Let's just leave it at that and stop the scaremongering. Those of us who live in fire-prone areas are quite sufficiently aware without people in high places trying to scare our children out of their wits and unsettle us in the process.

Cry wolf too many times, and the community will begin to roll their eyes and ignore the powers that be. Is that not more of a danger than allowing people to sensibly respond to the situations that might arise this summer? Put the advertising money into educating those of us who require them, to prepare well thought out fire plans and then let us live the way we always have. Being aware and sensible!

Faith 'n Fiction: Christian Fiction - Escapism?

My Friend Amy regularly hosts these Faith 'n Fiction Saturday spots. And while I missed it for Saturday (my time!) I thought this week's was an interesting question.

Here's what Amy has been pondering this week:
I love Christian fiction. Lately I've been realizing my favorite kind of book is a book that deals with faith in all of its reality..doubt, wonder, joy, and pain. Unfortunately, I find these books are too few and far between. Even with so much fantastic Christian fiction, the books that dig into the deepest parts of faith seem hard to come by.

I was reading a review on a general review blog of a Christian fiction title. The reviewer was frustrated by the ease with which complicated situations were resolved. It reminded me of several reviews of another title I love that is Christian fiction that had an ambiguous ending. Many people were frustrated and I read some reviewers say they just wanted a happy ending.

Which brings me to today's question...is Christian fiction too often characterized by escapism? And if it is..do you think it's truly healthy for Christians to constantly take in messages of faith that are light or too easily resolved? Is it okay to have a less than happy ending in a Christian fiction book?

My Response:

I think by its very nature, fiction is often escapism. Fiction is not real. It is a story written by someone with a fantastic imagination and the ability to write. Christian fiction is no different in that respect. I don't necessarily think that Christian fiction is characterised by messages of faith that are too light or too easily resolved. Of course, there are plenty of books like that, but there are plenty that are not. There are plenty of books that challenge your faith deeply and touch your heart in ways that you hadn't imagined. There are those books that end quite surprisingly and take you off guard. I think both have their place. There are also those books that take you through the whole journey, from the trials that cause deep pain, through the journey that God takes you on, and out the other side to ~ you guessed it ~ that happy ending.

Often, after reading a really challenging book where I have cried my heart out for pages and pages, all I want is something light, easy and happy and I'm glad I have both available to me. The same happens in life. When you're going through a really deep dark valley, it's good to revel in the sunshine at the top of the mountain and delight in its warmth and the joy it brings to your soul. So perhaps in looking across the bredth of Christian fiction, we get a snapshot of faith life whereas looking at just one or two books doesn't give an accurate picture.

In real life, God challenges us. He allows us to go through the hard stuff....but He never leaves us there. In my own life, I've found that how I wanted things resolved hasn't happened. But wow, God's resolution has been way better than I thought it could be, even when I thought I didn't want that particular ending! Shouldn't Christian fiction be able to show us that journey without being accused of being too light and happy ending-ish?

Having said all that, yes, it is perfectly OK for a less than happy ending in a book. At the end of the day though, publishing books is a business and if the market that business services doesn't like the product, they won't buy it.

My 2c worth at the end of this subject? Read widely across various genres within the Christian Fiction Market and you will find a little bit of everything. The light and happy and the deeper faith issues.

Home Corner

Today I'm unveiling the Home and Reading Corner. This little alcove space used to be where we would sit for 'mat time'. We had our little whiteboard, show and tell table and Star of the Day chair in here. But I like it much better like this. The kids love getting into that little reading nook. The other day so many of them were trying to squish in that I had to ask them to start sitting at the table right behind where I was standing to take this picture.

Doesn't this corner make you want to run straight to the kitchen and have a really good play?! Or snuggle up on those big fat cushions with a good book. Something like 'Olga the Brolga' or 'Eddie the Emu'....perhaps some Dr Suess...

I love our new sitting spot too...where all this stuff used to be. It's so light over the other side of the room, with high-up windows letting in heaps of natural light.

Menu Plan and Other Stuff

I think it's OK to talk about what happened the other day, now. I didn't want to say much lest the news be somewhat private...but it's not. My Prep student's family will be moving to Darwin at the end of the year. That has some huge implications for me and, as a result, our family. We'd started to dream dreams that had previously been impossible. I've loved being so involved at school, even when my job has been more challenging that I ever though imaginable. Even on those days, I love just being at school. I feel sadder than anything about not having the opportunity to work in MrsB's Prep classroom next year. I love Prep and I love working with MrsB. So I grieved and cried and now I'm back to being more philosophical about the whole thing....even though 3 out of my 4 days of work will fly off to the far north!

I had lunch with a fellow non-teaching staff member today and she asked what my favourite thing to do would be...now that my options are wide open. I think working as a general classroom assistant for 3 days a week in lower primary would be the best job ever. In fact, keep me in Prep and I'd be like a pig in mud. What a shame the school does not have the funds to indulge me! Truth is, I actually have skills now, that I've worked hard to learn and build. I find it hard to believe that God would develop in me a passion for education, drop a job in my lap, show me the way to become qualified that works with my schedule and family and then say "nah, let's not do that after all". So I'm claiming all those promises that tell us to ask for whatever it is we want, in God's name, and the desires of our heart will be granted according to His will. I'm not above being specific with God!!!!! Another friend suggested I could work in another school. Technically, yes I could. Practically there's no way I can see that it would work. I have three children who need me to be the one who is available for their needs.

So there you have it...that's what has dominated my week quite significantly!

The other thing that dominates our week is food. Are you surprised?! Here's the plan:

Friday: Pork Roast, vegies
Saturday: No idea...maybe the three of us left at home will eat out :)
Sunday: Potato & Corn Chowder
Monday: Spicy Pork Spare Ribs, rice, stir fried vegies
Tuesday: Ricotta Fritters, baked potato, vegies
Wednesday: Chicken Parmigana, vegies
Thursday: Pasta Bolognaise

Actually, I can tell you know we're not having pork roast tonight. Maybe I'll swap that one with Sunday. I have a parent/teacher interview to attend with my Prep student's parents and I've got to be out the door by 6.15pm with a little bit of preparation to do for the parenting session I'm running tonight. Now that I think of it, I think Dh has to have the girls dropped off at 6.00pm to go to camp this weekend with their Girls Brigade Company! Uh oh!!!!!! Dinner is sounding like a pipe dream LOL.