R.i.P Phyllis Judd

If you feel so inclined, would you please say a prayer for my Father's-in-law mother, who died last night in her sleep. She was just shy of her 92nd birthday. She will join her husband who died nearly 10years ago. She knew Christ as our Lord, and I know He was with her at the end. Thank you.

Well, it's been such a long time since I have blogged. I'd like to say I have been really busy, and, well I have, but I'm just lazy (smile). I was spending way too much time on the computer, and this was one of the things I cut back on. Hopefully I have been able to organise my time a bit better, and should be on a bit more.

My DH and I have been having a bit of a 'tuffle' lately. He requested I go back to work, and while I have been looking and applying, Recruitment Agencies and Employers look at the fact that I have been a stay at home mum for the past 4 years and therefore 'apparently' I am not suitable to employ. On top of this to make it viable for me to return to work and cover day care fees I would need to be earning quite a bit, almost double what my husband earns, and I am extremely reluctant to take that on. I do not want him to feel less able to provide for us and...I guess less of a man...if I earn more than him. So while I have been looking, I have also been looking for him. He wants to be a paramedic, and I have found that the Queensland Ambulance Service employs Student Paramedics. So I am praying that he is successful in getting a position with them.

Fascinating Womanhood Assignment 2

This chapter was all about accepting Him.
Some rules for acceptance:
1. get rid of self righteous attitudes
2. accept him as part virtue, part fault
3 give him his freedom to be himself
4. don't try to improve him
5. don't use other men as shining examples
6. look to his better side
7. express acceptance in words.

And the assignment is 1. List his faults: Make a list of your husband's faults which annoy you, things you find difficult to accept. It is best to face this honestly. You need to know what you must accept. Save this list. Later, if your marriage becomes troublesome, refer to the list to see if you are failing to accept something.
lol...at first thought I could go on forever...but, upon further thought, there is not actually that many that irritate me
*upon discussion with my husband I have removed my list.*

2. as an icebreaker: Say something like this: "I am glad you are the kind of man you are. I can see I have not understood you in the past and that I've made many mistakes. But, I am glad you have not allowed me to push you around. You have not been like putty in my hands, but have had the courage of your convictions. Will you forgive me for not understanding you, and let me prove to you that I can be a wonderful wife?" you may feel insincere in telling him these things, for your critical attitudes may not have disappeared, but do tell him, and look to his better side. When you do, your acceptance will become easier, more natural, more sincere, and will continue to grow.
This could be difficult. I am afraid he will laugh at me, or say I've been watching Dr. Phill, or, is this the "good christian housewife". Which the latter should perhaps please me, as I am trying to become a "good christian housewife" but...
3. Love booklet: make or buy a little love booklet to write down loving things your husband says or does as you begin to apply the principles of Fascinating Womanhood. Write down any favourable reaction to the above assignment.
Ok. I can do this, I have a book that I can use. It is rather large though, perhaps I am expecting a lot :)

Rain, coffee and new friends

This week has been...well...hmmm. After a day of light spitting, the rain settled in Monday night, rained Tuesday, by Wednesday we had a swimming pool out the side of our house, and there were roads flooded everywhere. Mind you, the children loved playing out in the puddles.
I am cutting out coffee, or, well, trying to cut back on the amount I drink. I had a massive caffeine withdrawal headache yesterday that prompted my to give in and have a half strength coffee, and I have another half strength coffee now. I am hoping that this will be the last of my addiction to caffeine. I would like to be able to have a coffee every now and then, but, it became something that I had to have, and as I move toward becoming a woman of the bible, I need to remove all that goes against God's teachings. Titus 2 tells me that I should not be slave to much wine, well I'm not an alcoholic, but coffee had become my "wine". I did try stopping "cold turkey" but I had forgotten how bad the headaches were. With prayer, I resolve to not become enslaved again, and that God will give me the strength to hold to that.
I had a gentleman come around this morning. He is going to be teaching Damon and me the catechism with the view to us becoming baptized. He was so lovely, Caleb even sat on his lap without complaining. He was good the the children and very nice, and knowledgable. We have organized for him to come around each week. It really is a blessing to know that this is what God wants for my life my children. To have this fall into place, with my concerns about extra travel for classes not being able to work in my budget, and to have God answer so succinctly without me even speaking to the priest about it. God truly does have all in hand. PTL!!!!

using his strength vs looking after his welfare

I wanted to change our lounge around the other day. I asked my DH and said I would wait until he got home, but then things happened and the lounge room stayed the same. Well...I just did it! I decided that I really needed to clean behind everything, and with DH's lower back dislocated, his heavy lifting skills were not available, I just got in and changed it around.
So...I want to know, if I am trying to practice the skills in Fascinating Womanhood, should I have used his masculine strength even with a sore back, or done it myself (as I have) and looked after his welfare? What would you have done?

adultery and tv actors

I was watching tv last night - the children were in bed, and my DH has band practise, so it was just me, when something ocurred to me. I've been committing adultery. There are a few shows that I really like to watch, and not just for the storylines - Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Criminal minds, and I realized that each time I think up a story involving one of the male characters, or look at them and think they are cute, or smile at something they say...OH MY! I would never have considered that cheating before. (Now in my defence my DH just doesn't exist in these stories, but that is no better, nor does it excuse my sin.)
My DH was joking the other day after we finished watching Bones - that he watches it for Dr Brennan and Angela, and the storyline, and I watch it for Agent Booth, now we laughed about it...but it's the truth.
At no point do I wish to hurt my DH, nor do I imagine I would "act" if one of these actors crossed my path one day, but according to God's laws I am committing a grevious sin! Oh My! It just never occurred to me! I don't think that "excuse" will wash with God though. I have some serious confessing to do.

Fascinating Womanhood Assignment 1

I have been reading a book called Fascinating Womanhood by Helen Andelin. I read through it once, and now I am rereading and completing the "assignments". The first assignment is to list 25 things I like about myself and to draw an Ideal Woman (from her book) and highlight in red those qualities I have, and blue those qualities I don't have, and pick one I don't have to work on.

So the 25 things I like about myself
1. my sense of humour
2. my voice
3. that I am good at craft
4. that I am willing to learn
5. that I am healthy
6. that I am happy in myself
7. that I am prepared to try
8. that I am inovative and think outside the square
9. that I have traditional views
10. my dress sense
11. my appearance
12. my hands
13. that I am supportive
14. that I am empathetic
15. that I have a flair for decorating
16. that I am a good listener
17. that I am girly or feminine
18. my posture
19. that I am modest
20. that I can move gracefully
21. my handwriting
22. that I am intelligent
23. my faith
24. my love for others
25. my committment to seeing things through.

This list took a long while to come up with. There are some things that I feel are a bit trivial, but I really struggled to think of 25 things.

Now for the ideal woman...she is broken up into two parts - Angelic and Human.
Angelic - I don't feel that I have any of these qualities - Understands men, is a domestic goddess, I think I have: a worthy character, and inner happiness.
Human - I don't feel I: radiate happiness or am childlike, but think I am: feminine and has radiant health.

I will try to work on being childlike...lol will let you know how I go :)