Ascension celebrations

Today standing in the lovely Autumn sunshine we blew bubbles as part of our Ascension celebrations.

Our church has a deck outside, and after church we all came to be there, standing in the sunshine, watching bubbles rise in the sky.

The kids made Ascension spirals after communion. I had some thin cardboard with the outline of a circle drawn on. The kids cut out the circle, and then cut a spiral out of the paper. It works best of the spiral is thick, only going around twice. Then we poked holes in the centre, threaded some wool through the hole, and tied it onto a stick.

When the kids ran up and down the decking with their ascension spirals, they spun round and round. How lovely to hear the sound of running, laughing children in that peaceful little space between worship and rushing to make lunch, made all the better by a sun warmed face.

If the spiral is made from a foil and hung over a candle, then the air warmed by the candle will rise and cause the spiral to spiral upwards.

We had a new family at church today. Their little 2 year old followed the big kids, sitting where they were sitting, standing when they were standing, holding a candle for the gospel reading. I never cease to be amazed how still a two year old can stand when given the big responsibility of holding a candle next to the priest for the gospel reading. They seem to have such a sense of awe, of ceremony and purpose. And I never cease to be amazed how an 11 year old can have such gentleness, patience and understanding given the big responsibility of having a two year old following his every move.

Now if only I can have the same sense of awe, purpose, gentleness, patience and understanding with three little ones watching my every move as they learn how to live.

Off to school to change the world

School has started and my attached-to-my-arms baby has gone off to school for the first time with a quick kiss and a hug. She's loving it. And so am I.

My mum still remembers the first day all her children went off to school. She came home to do all her morning jobs. All finished, she thought it must be time for lunch. It was only 10am!

I'm finding I can do all those little extra things that I always left before because I knew my kids were getting tired, or hungry or had been at the baby sitters long enough. There's no real free time when you have young kids at home. You always have to be aware of their every need. Even when babysitting can be arranged that time has to be used so carefully.

Speaking to a much older friend, he warned that this is a dangerous time in my life. His theory is, I've been mothering for years, waiting for when I would be free to do all the things I used to do. Now I discover that I'm a totally different person to what I used to be, while my husband has stayed the same.

Only, I've never believed my life was on hold while I raised children. Life continues with children. Children are part of life too. I've had to change my direction, or not the direction, but certainly take a different path, and my husband has come along too.

I guess I'm lucky in that I've always believed that wherever I am, I bring the kingdom of God with me. There's always people to love, and to journey with, justice to be done, or simply jobs to be done for the glory of God. Another older friend said it took her years to learn that, and until she did, she was always unsatisfied and looking for the really big thing she could do for God.

I want my children to learn that they can make a difference in the world. I want them to learn that every person is important, every person an icon of Jesus. I want them to learn there's a whole community that needs their input, to make the world a better place. I want them to learn about the world and life. So I've taken them along for the ride.

They've seen us help at church, organise a playgroup, chat to people in the park, pick up rubbish on the street. Helped to make casseroles for people, visited nursing homes, been to funerals, stopped to help people at the side of the road, helped build a community frog bog, pulled out weeds in the bush. Actions speak so much louder than words. But words, when they come at the right time are important too. When the kids ask, "why are we picking up rubbish?" I tell them.

Of course life comes in waves or stages. Sometimes it takes all your energy just to feed everyone and try to sleep. Providing for your child's basic needs will teach them how to love too. If you can do just this for the first two years of your babies life, you will be giving a little person the resources they need to be able to love and trust, and you will make the world a better place.

The best explanation for school I've ever heard came from Tony Campolo. Paraphrased by me, he said, "If you want to change the world, then you need to learn all about it. You've got to know what you're talking about when you start presenting solutions. " I'll keep doing the real life stuff, but now I guess my little one takes a small step onto the path of learning how to find things out for herself.