The youngest one was lying all over the seat and me in church yesterday, when she realised the others were holding candles. So she jumped up and ran across the front of the church to join them just as Fr. John swung the censer towards the congregation. It missed her head by centimetres.
Do you think it's an extra blessing if the censer whacks you in the head?

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.

Morning Prayer

My girls do not like getting out of bed. No one in our household has ever been an earlier riser, (except no.1 son, who knew he had to lie still in Mum's bed until 8 - 0 - 0 was on the clock.)

I go into the girls' bedroom and kiss them on the head. When they stir they get a cuddle. I lift them out of bed. The youngest puts her little arms around my neck, the oldest feigns sleep, and I carry them to chairs in the lounge room. They bury their heads down in the cushions and put their tails in the air. I do have a photo...

I've been reading "7 times the sun," a Steiner inspired book about developing everyday rituals with your kids. There are various short rhyming verses included to say as part of a morning ritual, but to me only welcoming the sun seemed to be lacking in depth, and any true meaning. I've been half heartedly keeping my ears open for a little verse that better expressed a thankfulness to God. I couldn't work out either just when to say this verse without making it all a bit contrived. How could I make it a natural part of the morning?

This morning the girls were snuggled into their chairs, one either side of our little prayer corner book shelf. I stood in between them and started my morning prayers. I looked down and wondered. Then I read aloud, "Arising from sleep, I thank you, O Most Holy Trinity, that for the sake of Your great kindness and longsuffering, you have not had indignation against my, for I am slothful and sinful...You have shown your customary love for mankind, and raised me up as I lay in heedlessness, that I might sing my morning hymn and glorify your sovereignty..."

I did wonder if I should translate into kiddie language, but mostly I left it.

I finished the rest of the prayers silently as the girls slowly started talking.

This evening as I put them to bed (the second time. The first time I was cross at them for not putting away their game like I had asked. I thought I should go back and do it gently) they asked, "Can you say one of those prayers like we said this morning?"

It was another moment to be stuck on the fridge, this time for me, to remember that, "Yay, I did something right. I did something that impacted on them. I have helped them want to pray."

We finished our thankyou prayers, and our please help prayers, and I tried to recite the little blessing for the mother of God, "Truly it is right to bless you, ever blessed and most pure Mother of our God. More honourable than the cherubim, and more glorious than the seraphim, in purity you gave birth to God the Word; True Mother of God, we magnify you.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

God bless you.

Birthday Presents

I've always tried to impress on my kids that they don't need a lot of stuff. For presents I always request homemade things, and we put on invitations that go out from our house, "you don't have to buy me a present, but you might like to make me something nice, like a picture or some biccies." My daughter has developed a policy of making birthday presents for everyone now. Whenever she gets a birthday invitation she asks, "What can we make for a birthday present?" We've made flags with bamboo from the garden, biccies, pictures, mammoth cards, lavender sachets, given flowers from the garden, and this latest present is a wide headband made from our bag of material scraps.

I'm quite proud of it really. The pattern comes from Altered Cloth

Now of course, I've had to make one for all the kids, son included. His is narrow in plain brown. At least it keeps his hair out of his eyes. Although I don't think Dad is too keen on his boy in a headband. I might make one for me too.

Trying on wedding dresses

Emergent Kiwi tells about the grandkids trying on Granma's wedding dress and wonders if this is part of their formation, and exploration of how the importance of marriage.

Better than Bushells

Bushells is a brand of black tea that has been around for about 120 years. They have a little jingle that goes, "Is it as good as Bushells?" We'd heard the song, when no 2 daughter Miss5 said, "I know some things that are better than bushells." Hence our list.
It was just one of those spontaneous moments when you get to see God in your kids. One of those moments that should be noted, savoured, encouraged and stuck on the fridge.
When the other older children saw it, they added some notes too.

A house blessing

T is for Theophany by Kristinsdottir. Used with permission.

Last night our wonderful priest came for dinner. After our salmon and silverbeet quiche and roast sweet potato (my favourite food) he bought out his little bottle of holy water collected from the Theophany blessing of the water service a few weeks back.

We are blessed with a priest who takes an empowering approach to leadership, to equip the whole church for the work of service (Ephesians 4), who stands back, and lets us be involved as much as he can to let us grow and use our gifts and talents for the church.

He gave the girls the task of carrying candles, which they did with much care and solemnity, while the boy carried a bowl of holy water for our priest to dip his little branch of leaves into. The kidlies followed him as he prayed and flicked holy water into each room. Pretty soon they were leading him from room to room calling, "What about the bathroom?" "And the cupboard," "Now the laundry," "Don't forget the chickens."

So now we have all, cats, chickens, guinea pigs, land, house, wife, husband and children been blessed.

Theopany is one of those moments that I remember when I think of my journey to Orthodoxy. I was happily attending the Liturgy each week, learning so much about the symbolism and story behind every action of the priest and people. When a little table appeared at the front of the church covered in it's classy (I mean it, it was pretty fancy in a modern inner city way) white tablecloth, I always panicked a little. Here would be something new and strange that I would have to try to accommodate into my God view.

The first Theophany I attended, I just wasn't up for struggling to participate in things I didn't understand. Restless small children were my easy out (how often is that the case) and I 'had' to take them to the foyer.

The friend who had first invited me to the Orthodox church was there. He had rushed up to the priest after he had prayed for God to enter the water, to ask, "How can this be?"
The priest replied in his joyful, patient, understanding way, "the Orthodox believe that God can be present in matter." My friend was satisfied. I stood there, marvelling at his ability to so quickly accept that answer, as I continued to struggle, wondering just what was I supposed to do with a bottle of holy water.

The children on the other hand have no problem with it. When they're scared at night, I go and get the holy water for them to take a sip. I say, "We have asked God to be in the water, and now we ask God to be inside you, giving you his energies and protection." When they're scared of the darkness, we pray that God chains up the dark scary things and takes them away to lock up. Then we make the sign of the cross on their beds with holy water, or sprinkle it in the room.

"Mummy," they say going to bed, "bless us with holy water." So I make the sign of the cross on their heads with a finger dipped in holy water, asking God to bless them.

Theophany is the feast wherein the Church performs the ritual of the “Great Blessing of the Waters” in which we pray, “Grant to all those who touch, who anoint themselves with it or drink from it, sanctification, blessing, cleansing, and health.” The Church acknowledges that it is Christ himself who blesses the waters and all of the elements of our earth by extension. Through Christ’s Incarnation, all material things are made holy.

As Bishop Kallistos Ware explains,“This, then, is part of the meaning of Theophany: in the eyes of one who is a Christian, nothing should ever appear trivial or mean, for the redemptive and transforming grace of the Savior extends to all things, however outwardly despicable.” from byzantineimages.com