Our story at the moment is that we moved from a terraced house in Derbyshire, England to a dormer style cottage in Southern Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland at the beginning of December 2018. The cottage is in a rural area and we have approximately 3 acres to play with as well as the cottage. We are in the process of doing the cottage up and although stressful at times, it is going well so far! You’ll have to read back over old posts for the details if you are interested. It’s changed a lot so far! It’s now dry for a start….
This is where we now live – a little bit different to a terraced house..
‘We’ consists of myself (Cathy), my husband Chris, and two of our children who are almost 2 and 4 (at the moment obviously). We have two other grown up children as well who are still in the UK.
We are Jesus followers who try to listen to Him and follow Him constantly. We feel that He did bring us here, but I get that a lot of people will think that’s not a real thing..(it is).
I do talk about God quite a bit and what we think He is doing in our lives and I will try and persuade you to seek Him for yourself and ask Him if He is there. The reason I do this is because as far as I’m concerned he is the cure for us all. He is who we all need and it would be very selfish of me to not to try and tell you about Him. Also, our lives are completely entwined with Him and it would be impossible to do a blog without talking about Him to be honest.
Jesus saved my life, He saved my husband’s life, He saved a lot of my friend’s lives and He can save your life…give Him a try.
I do also have a sense of humour and it is quite interesting stuff 😀
Mowing the runway.
Welcome, please read, enjoy, ask questions or whatever, I love doing this blog and I do try to be very honest and open. There were various aims of doing it, to give a realistic view of relocating to a different place/country, specifically a small holding, to tell people about Jesus, to give me an outlet (I love writing) and to keep friends and family updated. I’m hoping some people may also just find it plain old interesting!
It has been a funny old year, partly just to do with me adjusting to getting older. It’s a strange feeling and one we all go through (I can only speak for women), that’s if we actually get to middle age. I never bargained for all the stuff that went with perimenopause, all the extreme symptoms, the flips in mood, the disturbed sleep, hurting joints, crying for no certain reason, flying off the handle really easily, then feeling terrible, the sudden realisation I wasn’t ‘young’ any more, putting on weight more easily, fluctuating energy levels, not being able to think of names for normal everyday things! (brain fog). And it wasn’t as if I wasn’t warned, at least two friends did speak to me about what to expect. it just didn’t hit home until the past year or so really. I battled on for a long time and then just decided to give in and went in for the old HRT, I think it’s working a bit, I don’t feel as black in mood just before my period any more, and it was a real blackness, but it’s difficult to tell yet to be honest. Hormones are powerful things, I never bargained on them affecting me as much, although if I’m being honest I’ve always been quite up and down since being a teenager, but nothing like this. It’s sort of reassuring to know it’s hormonal though, and that I know whatever feelings I’m feeling will pass. It was so strange, a blackness and then a couple of weeks later, almost a high and then bouncing around until the next one.
It has been so good to know God in this, it’s a real amazing thing to know that He is there, no matter what, no matter how you’re feeling, what you’re doing, and He brings you back to Him and repentance if you need to do it and just the reassurance that He’s always with you, hand in hand, entwined with you, living in you and with you, if you’re a believer. He’s also there whether you believe or not. The rain, after all, falls on both the just and the unjust. (Matthew 5:45). What you believe is not the issue in many ways, what matters is, is He real? and if He is, it’s true, it isn’t just true because you believe it.
When I think about what God has done in my life, all the way through, even before I knew Him. When I think about how He has changed me through His indwelling spirit, when I think about how He has taught me and led me through all the challenging times. It really puts me in awe of Him. I was so different, before Him, and yes, you could argue that it’s due to being around different people, different expectations and all that. But that isn’t really true, If it was just about the people, you would revert, you wouldn’t stay with Him. When you’re with Him and He changes you from inside out, or when He is with you, I should probably say, you still have to ability to sin, to do things wrong, but (I’ll speak for myself here), you know it is wrong and you challenge it and you ask Him to help you. And He does. I am so aware of my fallibility in life, of the possibility of doing things wrong, sometimes on purpose that could make everything fall down around me. But then God speaks into me, and no matter how hard it feels, I go with Him. Sometimes sin beckons and feels so strong, and then I remember that I am now equipped to say no. Usually because everything in me is screaming it, or at least speaking it.
If you didn’t know me earlier in life, you will not have a clue how much Jesus changed me. And He really did. The truth is though, you still feel the pull to sin in similar ways that you did back then, but now you are equipped and ready to say no. We don’t always say no, but we do have everything we need to live a righteous life (2 Peter 1:3). That is, a life that is right with God, having confidence in Him and His mighty power. Being who He has made us to be, both because we know Him and because He dwells in us.
Lastly, forgiveness is always there, grace is always there. His ways are not our ways, He knows and sees the big picture and we can trust Him.
If you think I’m lecturing, I sort of am, but I’m giving myself a talking to really as well. It is sometimes necessary. To speak God’s truth to yourself is just so powerful. To know who He is, to trust your life to Him, it becomes easier when you read His word. Particularly when you aren’t around other believers so much.
So, I started talking about my mid life crisis, then moved on to God, again. And I always will. As I go on, it’s a bit of a cliche, but I’m forever realising how little I actually do know and it drives me forwards into learning to lean into Him and dwell in Him more than I have been. We are funny creatures, as CS Lewis said, prone to bouncing around, leaning on anything other than God, but He is constant, always.
It has been an absolutely beautiful day here today, it was on Sunday too. Cold in the shade, but in the sun… amazing. Windy too, so I’m busy getting the washing in and out and onto the line. Brilliant day. I’ve mowed everywhere today and been shopping and done various bits and bobs.
I’ve come off facebook for a short while, so if you comment on there, I won’t be able to answer just yet. If you comment on the blog site I will get it though and I am answering messages, just not going on the actual facebook or instagram site. I do this from time to time, mainly when I feel like everything and my head is getting a little busy, for want of a better expression. So I’m having a rest from all the outside noise. It’s been lovely so far, I actually always feel so much more peaceful when I come off it. I was thinking about it earlier and I think I am actually in quite a unique position here, as in I can have peace and time to myself if I want it. Yes the kids are here, but that’s fine, I mainly mean I can have space from all the world/people stuff for a bit if I so choose. It’s a lot easier to hear God too, and to spend time with him when I’m not distracted by all the shiny online toys. ‘Be still and know that I am God…’ (Psalm 46:10), is exactly the right phrase for this time in my opinion. It has to be said too, the weather really does help too.
We went for a walk along the road yesterday, the boys went on their scooters, it really does make me a little jittery, it is a country road, but there are lots of bends and people do come round sometimes at quite a pace. J (eldest boy) is generally fine now, but I (youngest), definitely has to be monitored closely. He stepped towards a car yesterday, rather than staying still and nearly gave me a heart attack. But thankfully he was fine and we went on our merry way. Praise God. The countryside around here is absolutely beautiful at the moment, everything is green and the flowers are coming out, the celandine and the primroses and some others that I need to look up! Because I don’t know what they are.
Speaking of Praise God! The words to Psalm 117 just came to mind, so here you are.
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
I’ll leave it at that.
God bless you all abundantly. May you know His love and presence and Lordship. Our faithfulness is fallible, His is not.
Hi, again I am sat in the greenhouse and this is the view:
I’m not feeling well this week, it started as a cold, now I just feel dizzy and tired and my mouth tastes baaaad. It isn’t serious but my energy has gone out of the window today. So I’ve watched a film with the youngest while eldest went on something called pixel art and then I came out to collect eggs, put the gander back in his pen and feed and water the broiler chicks that are currently housed in the greenhouse. We have 25, they are meat birds, not pets, but we do have a dozen or so eggs in the incubator too, which will be for our flock. This is one that I candled last night:
Candling is holding a really bright light up to the egg and seeing if it’s viable. The movement is the chick.
I think we might do a bit of Easter stuff this afternoon, possibly paint some eggs and eldest has a chocolate lab set we could do, I’ll see what they think. It was J’s birthday not so long back and he got an indoor mini trampoline and it’s fair to say he loves it, so anything at the moment is interspersed with going on that. I’ve decided to give up on any formality at all with the home ed for a couple of weeks. We don’t always go with the school holiday thing, but we are this time.
Despite the massively wet weather and massively wet ground, things are growing! I’ve tried planting raspberry canes in the ground twice before and they died, but I’ve planted some in a raised bed this year and they’re growing leaves. That makes me very happy. The garlic is also growing well and other things in the greenhouse that I haven’t yet planted out, onions, broccoli, peas, kale, spring onions and others like tomatoes. The cucumber has germinated too. I’m trying Cucamelon this year too, so I’ve yet to see how they’ll do.
Mud, glorious mud 😅
So I’ll leave it at that for now, I’ve got to go and see my boys and make some dinner. And fester away for the afternoon haha. God bless ya. Family I miss you ( including friends I see as family). Holiday times like Easter always make me a little homesick, for the people, not so much the place anymore. But I’d love to have a rampant Easter worship fest, hands in the air like you just don’t care! Christians go for it! 😁 You have a risen saviour!
Forgive the flow or even lack of it, I’m just going to write.
I’m currently sat at the dining room table, the room which was originally described as a bedroom, because it would have been originally. But that would mean everyone would go through your bedroom to go to the toilet, which would be awkward at times. Anyway, I’m sat here, littlest is in the bath, biggest is playing minecraft with Chris. I’m listening to worship music, Lord have your way, Lord have your way in me! That’s what is on at this precise moment. I’m yearning at the moment, yearning to just dwell in God, yearning to sit and be with Him, to do life differently, to know Him more, as this song also says, to surrender to Him. There’s always something that’s pulling at me, trying to stop me from being quiet with Him. Because you can be quiet with Him, even when you’re doing things, it’s a bit of a state of the heart I think. But more than anything at the moment, I’m yearning to worship him, to be lost in the worship of Him. Because something happens when you’re lost in the worship of Jesus. He dwells in those praises and things change. You can’t always feel it, especially at first, and then it starts to change. You succumb to Him, you surrender to Him, you give Him your all, whether it’s loud or quiet worship, there’s a click, a moment and you know you’re in His presence. Something changes. And it is Him.
I think some of it is, I’m tired and when I’m tired and worn out, He is the only one who can renew me, He is the only one who can soothe me properly and He holds me tight, He even dances with me and lets me rest my head on Him. This may sound strange, but He does. He is real. And He is there.
And that’s enough for now. I was going to write about geese, haha, but that’s enough for today.
Hello people of the reading variety. I do actually feel a little writer’s blocky, partly because it’s been so long since I blogged. I’m sure I’ll get over it though. There’s been a fair few things going on and I’ll probably forget some and think of things later, but onwards!
Well, not loads, but a few that have somewhat impacted me, so I’ll nutshell a couple of them to get them out of the way. A really good friend of mine, back in England, died a month or so ago. I knew she’d been ill, but I didn’t know how ill, this time. So that was tough, particularly thinking of her sons and family. May God bless her family completely and utterly. She was such a good friend to me over the years, it really was an enduring, beautiful thing to know her. And I keep seeing things and thinking, Oh! Caroline would like that, or oh! I must send that to Caroline, and then realise she’s gone. She was a very strong, woman who endured a lot and loved very well, particularly her family. I miss her, even though I hadn’t seen her for a while, that’s always a strange thing, to miss someone even though you hadn’t seen them regularly. I loved her though, we went through a lot together, we’d known each other for more than 20 years, since we did our nurse training together. I don’t have many friends like that. I’m glad I knew her, I wish I’d seen her more recently. But I know she had good friends around her and her family. Which is a beautiful thing. I watched her funeral via the link given by the funeral home, watched it with my boys, it was heartbreaking. It was good to be able to cry though, being far away, it doesn’t feel real somehow and that made it real. Praying she’s with Jesus now and out of pain and away from disease and the troubles of this world.
Also, I went to the docs for a routine medical so I could renew my driving license. When we changed to Irish licences you don’t automatically get everything you get on your UK one, so I decided to keep one classification that required a medical. Anyway, the doctor, good health professional that she was, saw an opportune time to check my blood pressure, seeing as she had me there captive, and it was high. She rechecked, still high. Brought back a couple of weeks later to see nurse for basic check up and bloods, still high. Brought back again for 24 hour monitoring with uncomfortable BP machine attached, recommendation then for a statin and an antihypertension med. I was gutted. It’s moderately high, not off the scale, but I was still gutted and convinced myself after the first doc’s visit that I might suddenly die from a heart attack or a stroke. You can take the girl out of nursing but you can’t take nursing out of the girl. Haha. However, I soon recovered from that mentality and decided it may have been the kick up the backside I needed. But I really, really , did not want to start the BP medication. But I have, and so far, so good. I need to lose weight, but apparently, the old depletion of Oestrogen at my age doesn’t help with that at all. Neither does it help with blood pressure, so it looks like I’ll just have to do my best! (and try to limit crisps). Thankfully, all my other blood tests were normal, apart from LDL cholesterol, hence the statin. Turns out I’m not indestructible after all!
Footnote: please, please, please, no advice. Every time you mention hypertension, or cholesterol, you get advice. I’ve had enough advice now. That’s not to diminish any advice I have been given, I’m just all adviced out for now. Fatigue has set in. Spring has come, we’ve been outside more, I’ve had plenty of exercise this very week, transfering the geese up the field and gradually moving 100 meters of netting up to the top of the field. And hauling feed and water up there etc etc. I’ve started to adjust the types of food a little, and all is well.
Speaking of which, I’ve decided to start making my own bread more again having started to look at the lists of ingredients on shop bought bread. Read them! It is a long list! And I’m going to learn how to do sourdough this year. It is one of my goals for this year. It’s meant to be better for you. I’d been buying ready packaged bread (not bakery bread) that said it was sourdough, but when you actually look at the ingredients, it isn’t really sourdough.
After a first winter with the two geese, I now know we have a goose and a gander and today we got the first egg. It’s huge! I’m really glad I managed to get it before the crows or magpies did. It’ll be interesting to see if she tries to sit on them as she gets more confident.
I need to try and get the bath up the field for them and fill it. It’s filling it that is the problem, as carrying multiple buckets of water up the field is extremely hard work. I’m thinking of extending the hosepipe but I think I’d need about another 100 metres. Maybe I should just think of water carrying as exercise, a training exercise haha. I took a bucket of water to them earlier, the gander climbed on the edge of it and promptly tipped it up, it was somewhat stressful! But up I toddled again with two more buckets.
I’ve started growing things a little earlier this year, we grow onions from seed and for the last two years have left it too late. So I’ve sown them already in trays in the polytunnel and they’ve germinated already. I’ve also sown chilli’s and peppers under lights and with heat. They’re still small, but are doing ok. I seed saved a load of peas from last year, I’ve sown them under cover and they’re germinating well too, as are broccoli plants and broad beans. I’ll start other things soon, it’s just been quite cold over the past couple of weeks. We have another raised bed too. Chris made it and it’s going to be for the early potatoes, they’re going in somewhere around St Patrick’s day. He’s also tilled a corner at the top of the field for the maincrop potatoes and they’ll be going in a little after Easter I think. Well done that man! It looked like hard work. We actually need at least another couple of raised beds, but that’ll have to wait for now.
So, I’ll leave it there for now. Don’t want to go on and on and on. Life is good, God is even better, there’s ups and downs in everyone’s lives, but He is always constant. See ya!
Ooh, I’m also currently reading a really good book on the ‘cures of Ireland’. It is really interesting, I might say a little more on that next time. It’s an interesting fact when you move here that you see and hear every so often, people asking if anyone knows anyone with ‘the cure’ for certain ailments and I’d sort of dismissed it a bit, but on reading more, a lot of it is actually faith based, so I’m having a little read and finding it extremely interesting. Not finished the book yet though, so can’t really say much more.
Oh yes! and we had some snow, but unfortunately it only lasted less than a day, but it was lovely. We went for a walk in it.
Have a good weekend!
Love, Cathy.
(Ps: You may think I overshare, but I don’t really. There’s plenty I don’t share :D)
The kids are nearly ready for bed and are busy just for a moment, so I thought I’d write a quick one and say Happy Christmas to you all. Whoever you are! Happy Christmas. I hope it goes well, I hope if it’s a hard one, you get through it in once piece and know that you are loved.
I don’t want to lecture, I don’t want to preach, all I want to do is tell you how sweet it is to know Jesus. It is sweet. I love the scripture ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ because once you taste that, once you open yourself up to Him, you realise nothing else comes close. Even when you’re on the edge of doing things which are wrong, or in the midst of it, He will rescue you, He will help you, He will hold you and tell you that He is enough.
He is enough.
May you be blessed this Christmas with knowledge of Him, of His presence, His reality, His beauty, Him.
If you had told me probably 4/5 years ago that in 4/5 years time we would be Catholic and would absolutely love going to mass. I would’ve thought you were having a laugh, and not a very funny one at that. But it’s true. We go and we love going. I can speak for Chris on this one because we talk about it and it’s almost impossible to explain why or how it happened, apart from God did it.
I never thought you would encounter God in a deep way in a place where there was a set service, where the only people who sing are in the choir at the front (although I do sing very quietly sometimes), where I was led to believe it could not be led by the Holy Spirit because it was so formal. All that was wrong. We do encounter God in a deep way every time we go. Especially in taking the bread (the eucharist), and the whole thing just fills me with such a deep joy every time we are there. I love the words, readings and prayers in the service. And the joy is from just encountering Jesus in such a deep way. And yes, life isn’t just about ‘going to mass’, it’s about living with God every single day and knowing and living with His love and presence and loving Him. About going out and being who we are in Christ. Doing our best anyway.. But… there is something so special about meeting in the mass and taking Jesus through the bread. I’m not putting down what others do, or how they meet, merely saying what happens in our experience. It’s been so surprising to me, even a few years ago I didn’t feel like this. In fact, I had a panic at the start of the year and nearly didn’t do the whole thing. But…. Chris said he still wanted to and so I did and I am so glad of that. I’m now totally convinced that it is where God wants us. Still love mad worship too though, just not all the time. Deep is good.
And yes, I still make mistakes, just like I blogged a few ish weeks ago, I make a lot actually. But the fact remains that Jesus did, does and will change me and my life in the best ways possible. And He is perfect and I am not. I am forgiven and new because of Him and so I am covered by Him and we know Him and go from there. I often battle with issues when there’s no need, I could just submit to Him, but I also think that’s often part of life with God. It’s a process, He has done everything necessary for salvation, it is done, but how you are when you are in Him in definitely a process and the best one ever, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Just a quick one, I really wanted to try and put it into words.
It really does seem that I cannot bring myself to do twice weekly blogs, so I’m going back to random ones. Although I think the regular ones only lasted a week or two anyway. Haha.
So, in the last week or so. It’s been our five year moving to Ireland anniversary. I’m not going to do a load of blogs on it or us or anything, like I did last year, just reflect a little. Chris’s back tyre on his motorbike blew up, so he’s got to fit a new one. We have the tyre, he just needs time to do it. I had to go and fetch him at the side of the road and then he had to go back later with a neighbour to pick the bike up. We also had our home education assessment and all was well. Oh yes! And Chris finished the lean to on the back of the house too.
Five years in Ireland. It’s so strange to think that we’ve been here for half our marriage now and then it just increases, obviously, after this.
Chris in our almost completely empty house, the evening before we left for the ferry.
I saw another photo on facebook this last week of when we were coming across, it was of our bags and littlest in the back of the car, and seeing photo’s just reminds me so much of what it was like. We were so excited and a little bit scared, only a little though. We were just intent on getting through the day well and getting to the house and of course managing to collect the keys from a nearby town, we had to collect them from Supervalu counter haha. Or I say we, but that was me, Chris went straight to the cottage with J to check it out before it went dark, he also had the trailer on, I didn’t. My sat nav then brought me from Ballinamore straight over the mountains on a narrow road with ditches to either side and I wondered where I was going to end up! but we got there. It was and is very beautiful! Then we had a load of work to do when we got here, cleaning, sorting, clearing, drainage and local people were so helpful in this, someone was recommended to clear the land and dig ditches, another neighbour sorted out the fence of the neighbouring field. And they were all really friendly. Then a couple of months after we got there, my dad died, so I had to deal with that and managed to get across a couple of times that year. But then there was the pandemic, a year after, which stopped us taking the kids to see relatives and all that. So people did miss out on them I think. That bit hurts. Children grow and change so quickly. but it can’t be helped now.
I really like Ireland, J even says he likes Ireland better than England now, and he really didn’t when we first came over, he just wanted to see his relatives and all of a sudden couldn’t. He was very homesick I think. But now he says he likes it a lot. He said the other day that he likes how it’s more ‘old fashioned’. Littlest can’t remember living in England. Which also is a very strange thought to me. Especially since he was so loved by our family and the people in our church. But times change and it has been such an experience and still is. And we remember it even if he doesn’t! Chris has loved being in Ireland right from the beginning. So we just keep placing ourselves in God’s hands and trying to do what He tells us. It’s never how you think it will be. I like the unexpected element though.
So onwards! Chris finished the lean to on the back of the house and it is brilliant. It also acts like a car port if the weather is especially bad. He worked so hard on it and planned it all and did all the measurements and all that as well as the work, himself. It is a very good thing to have, especially when I’m filling the log basket as it covers the log store too. But it’ll be great in the spring and summer if it’s raining and we can use it to eat under or for things like drying onions etc.
Exif_JPEG_420
The assessment. Well, there isn’t much to say really, it went well, you don’t have these assessment visits in the UK if you home educate. Here, you have an initial one and then review visits every so often. The initial one is really ensuring you are doing what you need to be I guess, in literacy, language, maths, emotionally and socially too. It was very informal really, although he was taking notes and he was very easy to talk to, so not a huge deal really. Not as huge a deal as you may make up in your head prior to the assessment. You also do not have to be like a school and do things very rigidly, that’s an aspect a lot of people who don’t know about home education get wrong. They think it has to be like school, the same format, and it doesn’t. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. I pick and choose and get ideas from different curriculums and sites and we do our own blend of stuff. A lot of creativity is encouraged and it’s often a messy house! Now, we’re having relaxed December, with a lot of play and hopefully baking and I’ve bought a wide range of wintery/Christmassy books to read together. We’ll stop any formal stuff altogether very soon, over Christmas.
Having mentioned baking, I may have to buy eggs for the first time in a very long time!!! It goes against my principles! The chickens and ducks are on strike. Freeloaders! I thought we may get a few, but no, we are not getting any at the moment. So I’m waiting a few days and then I may actually have to buy them. I need to make a Christmas cake, better late than never. 😀
Anyway, it is time to go. The boys are getting stressed with a game in the other room, so I’m off to see what’s going on.
As a society we are famished, famished for proper love. We are yearning for it. Proper steadfast, truthful, good for us, never leaving love. The only place that love is going to come from is from God. People, you and me, turning to God through salvation in Jesus Christ. Relying on Him and then loving one another. But not in a mushy, superficial way, but love in action and love that builds up and doesn’t kill, but brings life. Jesus is the one who brings life.
Then, and only then, can we know love, or start to know love, as it really should be. Full of mercy and grace but also firm and with boundaries that are good for us. Joy that comes from knowing our maker and love that is put in us, from Him. Joy that comes from Jesus coming down for us and giving us the best gift ever, himself.
Jesus gives life and life to the full, I pray for us all to know it and Him.
I’ve just re-read the blog about ‘too holy’, whilst I like most of it, the bit about we have a personality too, reads a bit strange to me. I guess I just don’t like the thing about acting like you’re ‘supposed’ to act. Whatever ‘supposed’ to is. There’s a difference I guess between learning to follow God and walk in His ways and being changed by Him and being changed by the opinion of others, which may not be proper change, just show and I don’t like show. If that sounds odd again, apologies! I know what I mean.
Onto the next bit. We (me and two boys) moved the chickens into their winter quarters today. J (eldest boy) was invaluable! He was catching the chickens in their pen and passing them to me to carry across to the winter pen. He caught all of them (14) barring the cockerel, who escaped, but then was skulking around the new pen because his ladies were in there. So I just let him in. J was so good, I’d have been all day if I’d been by myself.
The winter shed
We went to get the bale of shavings in the morning and then straight after dinner went up to them. They seem very happy, now they’re in. I’m hoping to get them settled and used to being in there again and then let them out to free range for a few hours a day in the winter, in the vain hope that it’ll mean their pen doesn’t get as muddy.
We’ve had contact from the alternative education people for our assessment regarding the home education. It’s taken a couple of years, covid put a lot of pressure on the service I think. But I’m also glad in a lot of ways, I feel a lot less nervous than I would have done two years or so ago. They come to your house, the assessment isn’t assessing the kids, or what they’ve learnt, it’s for your provision as the parent. So I should be able to say how that went very soon. I cannot wait for it to be done and dusted! We’ve started going to a forest school and a gymnastics place over the past couple of months as part of our home education and it’s been really good. Good for me and good for the kids. The boys don’t actually want to learn any gymnastics, they just run around using some of the equipment, especially the rope! It’s been a strange few years when I look back. I withdrew J from pre-school just before Covid and didn’t have any idea when I did, what was about to happen. I was very glad that I had taken him out before it happened, I think it was far better for him to be out of it.
So when that’s done, from what I gather, you might have a reassessment during the teenage years, but that’s more or less it really. Well, as long as they’re happy with what you’re doing I suppose! But I keep seeing all sorts of different families with different learning styles putting that they’ve been assessed and no one seems to have had any real problems. The parent’s role as primary educators is apparently written into the Irish constitution. I will know more soon! And will probably write a little about it. Only a little though..
So, Christmas is coming. I’ve started reading the Gospel of Matthew again, I’m a bit hit and miss with the reading at the moment. I do and then I don’t. But I have to say, I keep getting waylaid and haven’t got very far through Matthew. I feel like God keeps pointing bits out to me that I’ve never noticed before. Bits that really help me, one example is, when Jesus was led by the Spirit in to the wilderness and fasted for forty days and nights and then Satan turned up and started tempting Him. And the bit I’ve never noticed before was where it says that Jesus was ‘famished’, I think it says ‘hungry’ in the ESV, but He still used the word of God to counter Satan’s lies with the truth. And at the end having resisted and countered, told him to be gone and He was.
That word ‘famished’ kept repeating over and over and getting to me and what it spoke to me first was that we just aren’t entitled to act how we want because we feel ‘famished’. It seems a lot of us, nowadays, seem to think if we aren’t having our needs supplied by others, friends, husbands, wives, whoever, that we are almost ‘entitled’ to counter with an action that just plain isn’t right. Like if you’re starved of attention, you are entitled to have an affair, or leave or treat someone poorly or return the abuse almost. The word ‘toxic’ is bandied around a lot nowadays. And people prompted to cut ‘toxic’ people off. And it seems to be if you have a different opinion to someone, quite a lot of the time. But that’s not right, I’m speaking as a Christian now, who follows Jesus. We need to follow Him, follow His example and be so immersed in Him that our responses to worldly pulls is His, no matter how ‘famished’ we may feel. God’s love is enough. I know it’s hard, everyday life can be very hard. I’m talking to myself too, but we don’t need to fit in. We don’t need to do what isn’t right to respond to someone else acting in the wrong way, and I know this may be different to what I was originally talking about which was temptation, but it’s the way my thoughts went.. Many years ago I encountered a little girl who went after a cat no matter what the cat wanted (the cat wasn’t overly impressed) and she kept hugging it and had the most massive smile whilst doing so, she was determined to love this cat no matter what. My littlest is very like this too, he goes to hug his brother and will not give up no matter what. No, I’m not recommending you go around hugging everyone, you might get into trouble haha, it’s just a visual example of loving people. One I want to take up again. Accept, love, disagree, agree, talk, listen, be honest but most of all love and don’t be scared. Again, talking to myself.
Again, disclaimer- actual ‘abuse’ in whatever form it takes is different, and this blog is written from a very general perspective, looking at everyday relationships. It is my opinion, read and make your own mind up.
"We all have need to be trained to see and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life." - Charlotte Mason, Vol 4: Ourselves
The Shepherds Adventure 