 | | |
| | |
|
Spaces home  Debbie JanellePhotosProfileFriendsMore |  Tools   |
Debbie Janellediscipling the young people of the rainy river district to be godly people of influence
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
May 20 And so it ends...I missed the next two weeks of Apple Seeds while 'replacing mom' (see previous posts) in BC. While I was away Miriam Mast filled in.
The second week they talked about the gospel. A beautiful, godly woman knows that she is a sinner deserving to be separated from the pefect and holy God but she also knows that through Jesus she can know God.
The third week they talked about inner and outer beauty. Each girl had a paper with her name on it on which each of the other girls wrote something they liked about that girl. We are often unaware of the things people are noticing and appreciating so it is good to go through an exercise like this to encourage each other. They then looked at beautiful women of the Bible.
The fourth week I was back. We talked about getting to know God better. How do we do that? Reading the Bible (we went through a practice, reading different different verses and writing down what they teach us about God), prayer (which includes singing) and from older Christians (parents, older students, reading biographies...). One thing I shared with them which I'm finding really helpful in my own life is to write two sentences in response to reading Scripture, one beginning with 'God is' and the other with 'I am".
The fifth week we talked about being creative with the gifts God has given us. God has given us all kinds of gifts, some creative in themselves (art, music) and some more boring (organization, academic ability). But because we are created in the image of a creative God we are called to be creative with our gifts as well. We are to use whatever He has given us to serve each other and show the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him.
The last week we talked about boundaries and goals. Although these girls are only 8-12 it is not too many years before they will be young women. If they want to become beautiful godly women they will need to decide now what is going to be acceptable and what will not. We specifically focused on sexual boundaries. With the age of those being sexually active dropping all the time it's important to bring this up now, to let them now that they need to decide whether they will save themselves for their husbands now.
April 16 His Grace is EnoughGod's grace has proved sufficient! I (and Mom) made it through the week!
Actually the kids were as good or better than could be expected. There were some touchy times, but I suppose that's just the way it is. My nephew and niece can't be perfect all the time!
It's quite surprising. I expected to come home exhausted and stressed out with all the catching up to do. Instead I've found myself happy to be home and ready for the tasks in front of me. I think the reason is that instead of vegging out on a couch and eating way to much, I was being active and 'working' (I think painting with my nephew can count as work...right?). So, instead of feeding laziness I exchanged one sort of work for another for a time. Having done something completely different I'm ready again for the 'same old, same old.'
I enjoyed being a 'mom' for a week (actually, just an auntie...I skipped out on waking up during the night!) and having done that I've learned that when the time comes I will learn how to roll with the punches. But I am willing to let that time be a ways down the road.
For one thing I realized how hard it is to intentionally be teaching a child. Both spiritual lessons and academic ones. It's so much easier to let the TV do the talking. I think it would be even easier for a mom to settle into routine and have time fly by without taking time to teach valuable lessons. Moms really do have a challenging job. I have no idea how any mom can work at the same time!
In short, I enjoyed my week with the kids and learned I have a lot more to learn!
April 03 Replacing MomSo here my mom and I are. Babysitting our two favourite little people: Theo and Zaeli, my sister's son and daughter. The week has barely begun but I've already learned a few things. For one, I'm not sure I'm ready for the self-sacrifice required to be a mom. There's not a lot of 'me' time when hanging out with a three year old. There's a lot of 'him' time. Somehow sitting and having coffee just isn't on his radar yet! Food in general isn't on his radar. And he would much rather play and race than go for a ride in the chariot so Auntie could get a walk. So yesterday I got to buy a lot of chocolate ice cream cones from Theo at the 'ice cream place' at the play ground. I paid in rocks. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with him. I'm just not used to thinking about someone else all day! Secondly, I'm quite surprised at some of the blatant ideologies that come out of Theo's mouth. When Karen was trying to get him to eat something healthy his response was "I want something that will make me feel better." "What would make you feel better." "Umm...Candy." Right. He's only three and he's already trying to feel better! And he shouldn't have to eat his breakfast. Why? What is the rationale? "I want to play with my cars for a bit." As if his desires are a justifiable reason to not do something he needs to do. He's just a kid and acting like any kid would. I just think it's amazing that we really don't need to teach a feel good message. It's already ingrained in the very fiber of our being. Hmmm. It sounds like my first and second points are quite related. Maybe I'm still a little to much like a three year old! March 28 And so it begins...
This week we began this spring's season of Apple Seeds. Over the next six weeks we are going to be imparting all kinds of wisdom to these eager 8-12 year old girls. At least I hope we will! This first week was more of an introduction. The girls started designing the pot holder they will be working on over the next few weeks. Sort of a quilted thing. They had a lot of fun with that as the picture at the bottom shows! My message to them was that the reason we're doing Apple Seeds is to follow the example in Titus 2 of teaching younger 'women' how to live a life that pleases God. This includes everything in life, not just reading our Bibles and going to church. Each girl drew a picture of the kind of woman she wants to be when she grows up. There were doctors, vets, moms, strong Christians, women who were nice, loving and look good. As we looked at the list, I reminded them that even though they are young, they can already be practicing to become these women. For example, if a girl would like to be a vet but her cat is starving, that's not very good. She can already practice caring for animals now. A girl who wants to be a mom can babysit. A girl who would like to be kind can be nice to the annoying cousin who is coming to visit. Each girl was challenged to pick one area she would like to work on through the week and one way she can practice that. I'm excited to see what the next five weeks will bring. I'll be missing the next two so you can pray for Miriam and Stephanie as they talk to the girls about the gospel next week and insecurity and true beauty the following week.
 March 05 Mentoring to MentorSpring is springing...or almost...or we hope it will soon...but spring means Appleseeds! The age 8-12 version of Apples of Gold. Appleseeds is a six week mentoring program for girls. Throughout the six weeks they will learn some practical domestic skills (cooking, baking, setting tables), some manner lessons (table manners, posture) and spiritual lessons (who God is, who we are, how to live in our culture).
I am exciting about this starting again this year. Some extra excitement for me is that I am going to get to mentor girls to mentor girls. There are some older teen girls who will be helping out in a variety of capacities, passing on what they have learned as they've gone through the teen years to girls just a few steps behind them. I think this is getting a bit closer to the Titus 2 model of women teaching younger women. Each of us are younger than someone and older than someone so we can both be mentored and mentor. I am as excited to see how the teen girls will learn and grow as the actual participants themselves!
As Appleseeds approaches I will keep you updated on some of the topics we will be discussing. Thanks for your prayers. February 07 It's TimeIt's time to shed some pounds.
The Bible says to judge ourselves soberly rather than more highly than we should so I looked in the mirror and said, "Yes, it's time."
But then I thought, do I want to lose weight just so that I look better and feel better about myself? Yeah, pretty much. But considering that losing weight isn't evil but rather eating too much is wrong, there must be a way to glorify God through weight loss. So here's my list of ways that I can glorify God by losing weight:
- Food has often been a god in my life. By eating less and when hungry I can remind myself that I am not a god to be pleased but rather that God is God.
- My body is called God's temple. He has given it to me to take care of, therefore it's important that I take good care of it.
- When I eat lots or the wrong things and am not active I get sluggish in thinking and work as well. By becoming more healthy, I will also be taking care of my mind.
What do you think? January 25 Painting for CharityThis past week a random memory came to mind.
I'm not sure how old I was. Maybe grade 2 or 3. I think I thought myself quite artistic at the time so I painted several pictures: tulips on grass with a sun in the corner and the like. I was pretty impressed with my work and thought it would be good enough to sell. So I got an egg carton where I would keep the money I made and called a friend to see if she would be willing to be my first customer.
A short time later I left her house 20 cents richer and confident that my career was off to a good start.
What is surprising about this memory is that my pupose was not to get rich but rather to make money to give to those who were less fortunate, namely my cousin who was living with us who had incured a sizeable debt in illegal activity but was on the road to reform and my sister who was working and saving for Bible school. So, when I got home I wrote a note to my cousin, took half the profit (10 cents) and placed note and dime on a table in his room. I don't remember if I made it that far with my sister.
But I do remember what happened next. My mom came home. As soon as she came inside it became clear that my sister had been listening in when I had called my friend because she told my mom what I had done. Neither were impressed and told me that I had to return the 20 cents to my friend. I did so and never again tried to pursue a career in art.
As I was thinking about this memory I was trying to figure out how I felt about it. I don't remember how I felt as a child, although I do remember looking back on it at some point and being embarrassed that I had thought that a dime would be useful to anyone. But I suppose the closest emotion I could attach to my reaction now was confusion. Why did my sister think it was a bad thing that I had done? Why did my mom tell me to return the money? If I sift through my memories this is one of few, if not the only, memory I have of doing something selfless and compassionate. And yet, rather than being encouraged I was stopped.
I want to remember this memory. I want to remember this memory so that when my kids pull some stunt like this I can encourage what's good about it. Maybe give them some direction but encourage the heart behind it. Compassion is so far from human nature that it needs all the encouragement it can get.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
Invite as friend
