Driving home today after a few days in the city, and I look across the paddocks to see the sky lit up with orange, as the sun starts to set. I point out this beautiful scene to my children. After a few excited exclamations, Amy says, "God must really love us, to paint the sky so beautiful for us to see!". My heart does a little jump for joy, to see that my kids are not only enjoying creation, but seeking out the reason behind creation. The kids and I continue to chat about creation for a few more minutes, and the creator, and why he has created this amazing world. Then Amy suddenly poses a question, which I think is "Mum, can we Pray". I'm quite astounded by my 5 yr old daughter's 'spirituality'. In fact I am so astounded that I ask, "What was that honey?", to which the much clearer question comes out, "Mum, can we play, I just wanna get back to playing now!"
That's when I'm reminded about what I have always loved so much about children and spirituality. Children in one moment can go from connecting on a spiritual level, to redressing a paper doll! They can be deep in thought about creation and the creator, and suddenly revert to a game of eye spy. The most amazing thing about all of this, is that I believe that is exactly the way God likes it to be, and I'm sure there are times he would like some of us adults to be a little that way ourselves. Why is that? because in just being themselves and doing what they do best... playing, children are able to just be loved. As they play, as they sing, as they dance, as they imagine, God is around them, watching, enjoying, loving. Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don't. But there is those amazing moments in the middle of a paperdoll party, where a child looks up at the stunning sunset, and acknowledges God's love written across the sky.
I imagine that if Jesus walked this earth today, he might come to one of us very 'grown up & spiritually mature' people and ask the question, "Do you know how much I love you?' and I think that question would get a variety of responses from us, from "No, not really", "What? me? how could you love me?, to preaching a sermon back at him on why and how he loves us so much! But if Jesus came to my 5yr old Amy Grace, or many other children, and asked the question, "Do you know how much I love you? I can imagine that she would probably say, "How much?" with a rather, large and confident grin on her face, and then I can imagine that she would skip by his side, climb a tree, play hide & seek, and just generally enjoy being loved by Him, rather than questioning, or denying or philosophising!
How I love watching a child experience the wonders of Creation, and start to look beyond that, to find the Creator, then look further to find that the very reason for creation is LOVE for them! How I love to be reminded that sometimes I need to shed my 'grown up-ness' and just enjoy the painted sky and the many other wonderful ways that my maker shows me how much He loves me.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Living with lambs
So I was standing in the kitchen yesterday, doing dishes, when I heard the familiar sound of bleating from behind me. I smiled to myself, thinking how nice it was that my hand-reared pet lambs were so tame that they came right up to the house and would play with the children. So then I turned around to watch my friendly little lambs in the garden, only to realize that the bleating was not coming from my garden but from the lounge room! My oh so tame lamb had just walked straight into the house and was bleating at me from the middle of the room, with his muddy little hoofs planted on my nice new carpet!
That was when it suddenly dawned on me just how much my life has changed over the last year. I mean, think about it, a lamb in the lounge room?! Sure I have had sheep before, and they drove me insane, getting out of the yard and eating the neighbours roses. That was in the days when I had neighbours that were within walking distance. But I can't say, I ever really saw myself as an animal person. In fact all my previous attempts at having pets have been a complete failure! The beagle that spent more time in the pound then in my backyard; the chickens that my children confused for ducks and took for a swim; the countless hens that were eaten by foxes; and then of course the runaway sheep that are possibly still wandering the Warburton Highway.
This was all before my farm days! In actual fact, apart from growing a few gourmet vegetables and attempting to keep some pets alive, the idea of a country lifestyle was a far off dream for our family. Until about 9 months ago.. when we suddenly found ourselves in a little red house surrounded by paddocks, 40km from the nearest sign of civilization.
And now! The girl who has always claimed not to be a pet person, is now surrounded by 8 chooks, 7 (very tame) lambs, 3 pekin chickens and a sheepdog. But it is much more then our little herd of animals that has transformed my lifestyle, it is:
Waking up in the morning and seeing the sun shine over fields of yellow canola,
Picnicking in the paddock with my family,
Watching my son driving around in the 'tractor' with daddy,
Driving one and a half hours just to do my grocery shopping (and dodging kangaroos on the way),
Mail that only comes twice a week (if it comes),
Going to sleep to the sound of hundreds of bleating sheep,
Trudging through the sheep yard with my 'girly little princesses' in their bright pink gumboots,
And discovering beautiful new friends to share this good old country life with us.
So here I am, living in remoteness,.. and loving it! Even if the occasional sheep does roam into my house!
That was when it suddenly dawned on me just how much my life has changed over the last year. I mean, think about it, a lamb in the lounge room?! Sure I have had sheep before, and they drove me insane, getting out of the yard and eating the neighbours roses. That was in the days when I had neighbours that were within walking distance. But I can't say, I ever really saw myself as an animal person. In fact all my previous attempts at having pets have been a complete failure! The beagle that spent more time in the pound then in my backyard; the chickens that my children confused for ducks and took for a swim; the countless hens that were eaten by foxes; and then of course the runaway sheep that are possibly still wandering the Warburton Highway.
This was all before my farm days! In actual fact, apart from growing a few gourmet vegetables and attempting to keep some pets alive, the idea of a country lifestyle was a far off dream for our family. Until about 9 months ago.. when we suddenly found ourselves in a little red house surrounded by paddocks, 40km from the nearest sign of civilization.
And now! The girl who has always claimed not to be a pet person, is now surrounded by 8 chooks, 7 (very tame) lambs, 3 pekin chickens and a sheepdog. But it is much more then our little herd of animals that has transformed my lifestyle, it is:
Waking up in the morning and seeing the sun shine over fields of yellow canola,
Picnicking in the paddock with my family,
Watching my son driving around in the 'tractor' with daddy,
Driving one and a half hours just to do my grocery shopping (and dodging kangaroos on the way),
Mail that only comes twice a week (if it comes),
Going to sleep to the sound of hundreds of bleating sheep,
Trudging through the sheep yard with my 'girly little princesses' in their bright pink gumboots,
And discovering beautiful new friends to share this good old country life with us.
So here I am, living in remoteness,.. and loving it! Even if the occasional sheep does roam into my house!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
"Are we there yet?"
I have an 18 month old who speaks in phrases. Not words, just phrases! I tend to believe that this unique trait is probably due to the fact that his mother (that would be me) speaks so fast and so often that it is difficult for him to decipher the beginning or the end of words. His very first "word" was "Herewego", and this was closely followed by a phrase well known to most parents who have ventured anywhere at all outside of the home with their children, and that is "Are we there yet?"
It really isn't surprising that Tyler learnt to say this phrase by the time he was 12 months old. The poor child was strapped into a car seat at 6 months of age and driven 3500km across the country with two sisters by his side repeating this particular phrase constantly... for 5 days! If that wasn't enough, his parents then decided to pack up the trailer again in true Hillbilly style and move the family down south to a little patch of farm in the middle of nowhere. Hence any car journey at all now involves anything from 30mins to 90mins for little people to cram in as many "are we there yets" as they can possibly muster. In fact I distinctly remember one trip to Perth in which the little guy screeched "Are we there yet?" in varying volumes and voices for approximately one and a half hours.
Atlhough this was more then slightly frustrating at the time, when I think about it, I realize that Tyler's phrases actually have a delightful way of reflecting the stage that our family is at. Most of last year, we all had that sense of wondering if we were 'there yet'. Having sold or packed up all our belongings on what seemed like a whim, and moving our little tribe over to the other side of the country, we couldn't help but wonder what 'there' was going to look like. We settled briefly in Perth, until once again opportunity arose and we unsettled ourselves again and headed out to the farm we now call home.
Now 6 months later, after a bit of painting, tiling, living with limited water and without doors on bathrooms for awhile, we have settled ourselves into this new home and are ready to stay for quite some time. I suppose you could say that we feel like for this time and period of our lives, we are 'there'. And that is a pretty good feeling really! Being in a place where we can live and grow as a family, discovering new things, spending time together, and basically just living life in this wonderful place.
And now, Tyler's new favourite phrase is "'This-is-FUN", and once again, I would probably say, that my clever little toddler is right about that one too! This IS Fun!
It really isn't surprising that Tyler learnt to say this phrase by the time he was 12 months old. The poor child was strapped into a car seat at 6 months of age and driven 3500km across the country with two sisters by his side repeating this particular phrase constantly... for 5 days! If that wasn't enough, his parents then decided to pack up the trailer again in true Hillbilly style and move the family down south to a little patch of farm in the middle of nowhere. Hence any car journey at all now involves anything from 30mins to 90mins for little people to cram in as many "are we there yets" as they can possibly muster. In fact I distinctly remember one trip to Perth in which the little guy screeched "Are we there yet?" in varying volumes and voices for approximately one and a half hours.
Atlhough this was more then slightly frustrating at the time, when I think about it, I realize that Tyler's phrases actually have a delightful way of reflecting the stage that our family is at. Most of last year, we all had that sense of wondering if we were 'there yet'. Having sold or packed up all our belongings on what seemed like a whim, and moving our little tribe over to the other side of the country, we couldn't help but wonder what 'there' was going to look like. We settled briefly in Perth, until once again opportunity arose and we unsettled ourselves again and headed out to the farm we now call home.
Now 6 months later, after a bit of painting, tiling, living with limited water and without doors on bathrooms for awhile, we have settled ourselves into this new home and are ready to stay for quite some time. I suppose you could say that we feel like for this time and period of our lives, we are 'there'. And that is a pretty good feeling really! Being in a place where we can live and grow as a family, discovering new things, spending time together, and basically just living life in this wonderful place.
And now, Tyler's new favourite phrase is "'This-is-FUN", and once again, I would probably say, that my clever little toddler is right about that one too! This IS Fun!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
"Joga Bonita"
Playing has always been a central part of my life. Not playing sport (no way!) or playing an instrument but just good old fashioned play. Playing with playdough, playing with blocks, creating a castle out of old sheets, throwing coloured spaghetti at a wall (ok that one has now been outlawed in most daycare centers as a waste of food & a bad example for children...but it was fun!!)
As a babysitter, nanny, childcare worker, then as a childrens' pastor and chaplain and now as a mum about to embark on a journey of homeschooling, play has and always will be an important part (if not all) of my day.
And so when I heard the term "Joga Bonita" used by Brazilian soccer players to describe the way they play their game, I took an instant liking to it. I love the idea that we can interact with each other, learn from each other, enjoy each other in a way that can only be described as 'playing beautifully'. So that is my aim, to play beautifully with my children, my family, my friends and everyone I meet.
And seeing as writing is one of my favourite things to play at, then I thought blogging would be a great way to take you all on my play journey with me. So if you are interested in reading about the adventures of 'schooling' (otherwise known as PLAYING) on a sheep farm out in country western Australia, then read along as we play our way through life.
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