God's best gift

Was reading the other day and this spoke right into my heart. As it tends to as the Words are True and real. They are Him.

If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
   If God doesn't guard the city,
      the night watchman might as well nap.
   It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,
      and work your worried fingers to the bone.
   Don't you know he enjoys
      giving rest to those he loves?

 ^3-5 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?
      the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
   Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
      are the children of a vigorous youth.
   Oh, how blessed are you parents,
      with your quivers full of children!
   Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
      you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Psalm 127 MSG (emphasis mine)

And this is why it hurt so much not to have children. Because they are God's BEST gift. The one that He pours Himself into. I knew this while I was waiting and it killed me. I knew what a gift they would be. I blat on and on about my children and how I adore them. And I do. However there are hard times too- like this weekend, yesterday and today. My little boy is..well, challenging at times.

But I truly believe that He and his baby siter are God's best gift. I can see His Handprints all over them and I unashamedly cry when I think of that (plus I am a sookie, truth be known!)

So this is how I feel about them. I had no idea Dida was taking this photo. I love it and I want Rupi and Blossom to know that this is how I feel about them. Regardless of the seemingly endless tantrums, this will never change. And hopefully that love will point them to the One who loves them even more. Who lavishes them with Love.

Things I am Loving

♥ My Life

Things are so much easier now that Blossom is a little older. It was pretty hard there for a while, but things are on the up and up.

I love these tiny people who look at me with soulful eyes

Pretend that they are pirates

Look up at me with the sweetest expression

And drift off to sleep in my arms

I call myself totally and utterly blessed!! I love my life.

Hand made

I write so much about Rupi. The journey of adoption is new and fresh and stretching. I love it and doing it with a deep, complex and sensitive little soul makes it even sweeter. I even have another long post about adoption saved but I think this time, its about her.

She makes me slightly giddy. When I look at her I am amazed. She is a miniture, tiny woman-in-waiting. She's a little bud of a flower. She's so feminine and I see the hand prints of her Creator all over her.

She holds her own in the midst of constant wrestling and vigorous hugging. She loves her brother and is fearless in the face of all that testosterone.

She is froth and light. She is joy. With a constant smile on her face and a puff-puff as she she sticks her bottom lip waaay out as she crawls. She giggles and shrieks. Oh the shrieks! She is the loudest baby I have ever heard. Ever. Her cries wake the children sleeping 6 doors down. She goes from sounding as if her world is ending to a soft little giggle in one second flat.

I adore her. I love to hold her and curl my fingers around her little arm. Her arms are so little but still carry the required baby rolls and yes, her hands still look like they have been screwed onto her arms. Her top knot is the look of choice. Her hair is so long she can't wear it down and when it is, she grunts in irritation and tries to swipe her fringe away.

She is my girl. She is made like me and I get her. I love how she crawls up and onto me and smooshes her face onto mine. I love her, every single thing about her.

She is all girl, she's Blossom.

  

 

Wordless Wednesday- A normal wednesday

  

In Defense of the Boy

I came across a definition of a boy a while ago that I just loved:

Boy (noun) "noise with dirt on it"

Lately I have been thinking about that definition again, partucularly as I have had a couple of unpleasant experiences. Ones where Rupi has been growled by someone (an adult) for being..well, a boy. He wasn't bashing or hitting or intentionally scaring anyone, he was just being a boy.

Rupi is ALL boy. He wrestles, jumps, runs, shouts and tears his way through each day. He has an abundance of testosterone and energy. Just the way he should have. He is made that way and nothing we do can slow him down. And I don't want to. I don't see our role as confining and restraining, rather guiding and encouraging. We actively discipline him and are teaching gentleness but Rupi's expression of love is physical. And he's learning how to be tender and gentle. He's only two years old after all.

I just wish for understanding. In this feminised world, we need strong male leaders. Men who are not afraid and haven't been forced to change their male-ness for something less. Those men start out little boys who wrestle and hurl themselves off jungle gyms.

And I watch him all the time when we are out. Ask my family, I do not relax for one second. If Rupi hurts someone I am there in an instant getting him to see how it was wrong and apologise. I think it's a family joke how uptight I am when we are out!! So when Rupi is just playing and gets growled, or my nephew gets growled for the same thing, it's not right. They are boys and only playing. Loudly and boisterously, I agree, but they are not hitting and bashing, just playing.

I am sure I am not the only mother with a loud, energetic little boy- what do you do when you are out? How do you watch your boy? And what do you do when someone growls them for just playing?

Wordless Wednesday- Bug Loving

Undone

Last night the Watoto Restore tour came to our church. Watoto (they are incredible) have come alongside the Gulu community in Northern Uganda. Ravaged by civil war for 20 years they experienced a horror that defies belief. Their young were snatched from their familes and forced to become weapons of war.

Children forced to become soldiers and commit attrocities against their own.

The tour is narrated and acted by children who were child soldiers. Their stories are horrific but what rises above all their pain is Love. They know the love of Christ and His Forgiveness. The joy on their faces as they dance and sing is something I have never seen before. It's a joy that knows the depths of despair and now the heights of restoration.

I cried like a baby as I knew I would. I sat next to my friend Meg and we leaned into one another and cried. Then shouted and sang at the victory we have in Christ. It was good.

This cause is so dear to my heart and one of the reasons I started my small business. I dream of pouring resource into this region through Watoto. The founder of Watoto was there and I got to meet him! I blabbered on (and on!) and just wanted to shake his hand again and again. I am so thankful that he made a stand. I want to enable his vision and dream for restoration in Northern Uganda. The civil war is over but the scars run deep. The church is the answer and the work Watoto is doing is going to enable restoration, I believe.

The Acholi people live in Gulu. They are defined by song and dance- their values, traditions and culture is expressed through song and dance. Music is so powerful and it's a tool the enemy has tried to steal in the world. Just look at the influence on your soul music has, and see how most of it is against the word of God. I am not surprised the enemy tried to remove the ability to sing and dance from an entire culture. If he could have succeeded in destroying the children's (the future of a culture) ability to sing and dance then it would be forgotten forever.

But as always what the enemy means for harm, God turns around for good. The singing coming from the Acholi people now, through restoration in Christ, has a quality that will resonate through Africa. Uganda, once the pearl of Africa will be the most precious pearl again!

Love it. Love that my heart was broken again. Love that I am so inspired and freshly fired up. Love Him. So much.

Thrifty goodness

My Mom's friend is downsizing and gave a whole lot of house stuff away. My Mom got these little beauties for me. Love that she knows me and what I like!

One glass is a little cloudy- will try white vinegar on it and see

Five (don't you love the fact that thrifted goods are almost always odd numbers?) gorgeous crystal glasses. For wine, small margheritas or possibly chocolate mousse.... And a vintage bag. I am ditching the bag part as it's badly sewn but keeping the wooden handles. Maybe spray paint them white and make a new bag part? Can't wait!

Hope that your weekend has been lovely.

**And my prayers are with Japan and all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami. There are no words and just I pray for God's Mercy and intervention**

Things I am Loving

Things I am loving this week...

♥ My Happy Place

Every Friday morning I take the small troops here....

Heavenly gelato and sorbet eaten in a corner shop watching the world go by.

They give lots of "tastes" so you can decide on your flavour. Rupi gets two tastes each time and this time broke loose and has "Summer Dream" flavour (pavlova flavour) over his usual purple Yogi-Berry flavour. He gets sprinkles on the top but we ditched the little plastic giraffe they usually put on top as he tries to eat it, ha!

If by any chance you are lactose-intolerant we can thoroughly recommend the Mango sorbet. Loved by even the smallest people!

My most "favouritest" person to take is my Mom. I love this woman so much. She is wisdom personified and I ask her all the parenting questions I have saved up over the week. She gets me and the way I am aiming to parent and I am so grateful.

No visit to My Happy Place is complete without a visit to the tiny park at the Library close by. Uh yes, Rupi is sporting another pony tail- with a "poople esastic peez" (purple elastic please)...

 

So if you are ever in Auckland and fancy a visit to the North Shore, go to Birkenhead to this amazing shop. You won't regret it. No they are not paying me, although I would be willing to accept a tub of Hazelnut gelato in exchange for more praise. For sure.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Comfort Zone

I like being made uncomfortable. Being jolted out of my comfort zone to see things from a different perspective. Hmm. I think I have been trained this way ("arf arf"- my trained seal noise) by our church. In a good way! We are constantly challenged and pushed gently guided out of our comfort zones. It's good and I like it.

Anyway.

Today I went to see a potential client. She is a trans-gender female. I knew this before going and as I had never met a trans-gender person before I was a bit nervous. I prayed as I drove, for my mind to be non-judgemental and for me to see who she really was.

I saw.

I saw pain. So much pain. I am not even going to write that I saw broken-ness because that may imply a judgemental mindset that I don't want. I saw pain. Pain shone out from her eyes. She only wanted a female designer as men have caused her such pain that she does not want a man in her home. Wow.

This is not the forum to for me to form an opinion on what this type of chosen gender means. I know what I believe and what God intended. I believe utterly in His Sovereignty and His plan in giving us our birth gender. This beautiful child of God chose a female gender as so much harm had been done to her as a male.

It was uncomfortable. And to push me even further out, the police turned up at one point to talk to her about an ex-flatmate.... Bye bye comfort zone.

As I drove off I realised how safe my existence is. I am sheltered and secure. I don't meet people like Z, I am just not in contact with them. I thank God for the chance to meet her. And I will pray for her. That God will touch her and show her that she is loved. Where she is. Right now. As she is, she is adored by a King.

And I thank Him for pushing me out my comfort zone. It's exhilarating out here!

Things I am Loving-Simplicity

Joining in with PJ's linky: Things I am Loving:

They have to be the simple things this week. The things that are little sparks in my day, adding up to make a wondrous whole.

♥ Little Miss "Lack-of-Personal-Space" sitting on top of her brother...again. And his slight lean away as he tries in vain to re-establish a BIT of privacy while he does his business.

♥ The sheer joy of a "fort" made by Dida out on the deck. Complete with cushions, snacks, books, water and of course the ever present, slightly smelly-no-matter-how-much-he-is-washed Nanda.

♥ Blossom brushing her own teeth, thank you very much! All two of them.

♥ Reading the Lion King with Mama complete with hand gestures and noises. {Yes, Rupi still has a dummy at night. Yes, we are fine with this. No, he will not land up with buck teeth/ developmentally challenged as Plunket threaten. It drops out 5min after he falls asleep and stays out.}

♥ LOVE loving my two little buttons. Someone told me that these are the golden years and I try to treasure each day with them. It's a hard slog some days (and weeks) but these are the moments I love.

Have a wonderful weekend!