Still Alive!!

I am still alive oh my devoted followers...we few, we happy few...

The move is accomplished with the minimum of stress.  We now reside outside of Sydney (GASP) in a small country town.  Our home is situated on a block of land that could easily be divided into two generous blocks.  The house itself is large.  No.  Wait.  It's huge.  We're used to living in maybe 3 rooms.  Now we have 4 bedrooms, and two living areas, and nowhere near enough furniture to fill it. 

We have already begun on the backyard modifications.   We now have 4 vegetable/herb gardens with many vegetables growing in them (many of which, mind you, I don't eat).  We have also pulled out the entirety of the front flower bed, which is now ready for new and pretty flowers rather than spike/fern things...

On another topic, I have officially survived the first year of being a mother.  Bede turned 1 today!!  He is still breastfed, he eats lots and lots of everything, he sleeps 12 hours at night and two hours (ish) during the day in 2 chunks.  He walks everywhere, and is getting better at it everyday.  He askes "Dis?" as he points to things, and has finally mastered the mum mum mum sound.  He throws left handed and can stack blocks. He loves all music, making singing and dancing attempts constantly.  He loves being read to and can turn the pages of a book, knowing to begin at the beginning.  He is a very happy little boy who will smile at everyone, and will walk up to, climb on, and cuddle everyone who is friendly to him.  He is very ticklish and laughs all the time. 

If you can't tell,  may have enjoyed being a mum this year just a little bit.  I am still being asked all the time when will I go back to work.  I simply answer "Not for the forseeable future".  And I'm OK with that!

A time to speak?

I am torn.  I have a friend.  Yes I know.  I have a friend.  How did that happen?  Anyway.  I have a friend (let's call her Sophie) who has a problem.  Sophie confided in me that she is struggling with the attitudes of a good Christian friend of hers.  

He is older than her, and has been a Christian for many many years longer than she.  He is from a Christian family who love him very much.   He has the "Christian pedigree" (went to Sunday school, a Christian school, Youth group, Bible College).  But Sophie has been increasingly worried about some of his attitudes and his actions (mostly online).  

Sophie's friend is not afraid to express divisive opinions (about things upon which Christians often disagree) loudly in the company of non-believers and people who love to hear that the church cannot get it's act together.  He is not afraid to drink rather more than he should (again in the company of non-believers), and is rather less than discreet about some of his attitudes to women (joining inappropriate Facebook groups etc).  He is also not afraid to go one holiday alone with his girlfriend.

Sophie's husband has spoken to him many times in love, raising these and other issues.  But there is a problem there too.  Sophie's husband was brought to Christ by this friend and has not been a believer as long.  Her husband is younger than her friend, and takes a more conservative line on many things.  Sophie is afraid that the voice of her husband is being lost in the loud secular voices of the media and unbelieving friends. She worries that his influence is being lessened because he is telling his friend things he doesn't want to hear about things in his life that need to change, and behaviour that is blatantly ungodly, behaviour which belies his Christian professions of faith.

Sophie asked me what she should do.  Should she keep praying for her friend and the words of her husband and hold her piece about her growing frustration?  Should she raise issues with her friend directly and risk damaging the friendship of both her and her husband?  or should she put the health of his soul above the feelings of her heart and say it anyway?

Changes changes.

It has been a year of great change.  


I spent about an hour and a half last night reading back over the Facebook posts and status updates on my profile since my birthday in 2009.  It was an interesting exercise and one I plan to revisit every so often.  It really showed me a couple of things about my life.  It has most definitely been a year of great change. 


 I went from someone who worked for money (and fulfillment) to someone who stayed home full-time with a small person!  I went from someone who I thought was not that excited about having kids to someone who now has one and can admit publicly that I love motherhood. 


I noticed that I have many very supportive friends.  Some of them I see all the time.  Some of them I haven't seen in person for many years.  Yet all have been giving of themselves and their advice when requested or needed.  I know some people say Facebook has made friendship less meaningful, and I can see why that may be the case, but for me, it has enabled me to reconnect with many friends who no longer live close by.  It has meant that people who (for whatever reason) can't come and visit can still see Bede and his progress (and follow mine). 


I also noticed that (despite my many protestations to the contrary) I was actually very excited to be pregnant and loved most of it.  On the same topic, I saw many many updates (more than I ever thought I could write) extolling the positives of motherhood.  Sure there were also many many negative posts...some days the positives felt very far away.  But over all I think we can say that motherhood has been a positive experience.  


It was interesting to me to realise that Facebook is almost better than a baby book for me in that I update with almost every new skill mastered or cute expression espied.  I have a real baby book.  But I would have to check my Facebook profile to accurately update it!!


So for next year instead of a new baby, we will have a new home, a new Church family, a new geographic and social area to get used to.  Many changes.  Will my Facebook profile adequately reflect the scope and effect of all of them?  Probably not since working in ministry has its own ethical and privacy codes.  But I will certainly try to live as openly in ministry as I try to live in motherhood so that no one can say I am half-hearted in my motherhood or in my ministry or in my marriage.