Reflections on life

I started the year with good intentions of blogging weekly, but it hasn't really gone to plan. So this first blog of the year is just a short one with just one theme.

My Brother-in-law passed away suddenly and unexpectedly and so we have been spending time as a family, grieving and reminiscing of times spent with him.  Following his funeral this week, we turn to life without him and so blogging about the mundane aspects of life seemed so wrong.

We have selected a Bible verse as a family this year, that will be our prayer in this year of transformation.  Both the boys have end of key stage exams this year and so will transform in their education.  Our eldest legally became a man at the end of 2014 and so we transform into a family of three adults.  Our youngest will start sixth form college in the summer, following a trip to Japan, and so will transform into an independent student rather than a pupil at school.

I have crafted the verse into a piece of wall art, which I will hang upstairs by our bedrooms, so that it will be a remind as we begin and end each day that we are transformed through God's Holy Spirit into His image.

The Bible verse is 2 Corinthians 3:18 :

And we all, 

who with unveiled faces 

contemplate the Lord’s glory, 

are being transformed 

into his image 

with ever-increasing glory, 

which comes from the Lord, 

who is the Spirit

Our prayer this week is for all those who feel lonely, isolated and unable to reach out.  We pray that they will know that there are people they can reach out to, that love them and want to help.  Above all we pray that in their despair they will reach out and know that God is with them, that he will bless them with strength and courage to share their feelings.  We pray to for those who have lost loved ones, that they too will know God's peace and be able to speak out to prevent others suffering.

With God's blessings from my family to yours,

Jo x

Fireworks

It's been half term this week and we have enjoyed time off from work, school and college.

We helped staff the local Scout firework display, with Josh directing traffic in the car park.  Andy & I stayed warm in the refreshments tent serving burgers and hot drinks. This is always a great event and the same parents generally help year after year, so we have become a well oiled team.  This year we had some new faces, so it was good to meet and form new friendships.

Scout Fireworks, Lydiard Park - The calm before the crowds

Bonfire Night always marks the start of feeling festive for me and I have already watched my first Christmas Movie of this season -  The Santa Clause.  Its become a family tradition to watch all the Christmas movies we have in the time between October half term and Christmas Eve.

Christmas Movies - Cheneycraft selection

Christmas preparations have continued at a pace this week and my to do lists in my Christmas Planner have started.  These started out from a blog I read, handmade-holiday-organizer, about to do lists for Christmas.  I have refined mine over the years and although I have used the blank ones provided in the past I have now designed my own with headers that fit our family.

Craft this week has been for our activity day at church.  I used the harvest theme and majored on pumpkins.  We played "Beetle" but drew pumpkins as we rolled the appropriate number on the dice.  We then sent the children outside on a scavenger hunt, finding a list of articles to fit in a small drinking yoghurt bottle.  The children also collected fallen leaves ready for the craft options.  One craft used the leaves to make a hedgehog picture.  Another craft was designing paper aeroplanes to turn into balloon rockets, to be raced down the length of the church.  The final craft was "prayer pumpkins", using strips of paper with prayers written on (or drawn depending on age of child) and then held together with pipe cleaners.  We hung them on our prayer tree in church, which had flowers on from a previous messy church session.  The day finished with a movie on the large screen while the children ate toasted sandwiches.

Prayer pumpkins

This week's Bible verse reminds that we are God's people, called out of the darkness of our lives to live in, and through, His glorious light:

But you are a chosen people, 

a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 

God’s special possession, 

that you may declare the praises of him 

who called you out of darkness 

into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

Our prayer as a family this week is for those around the world suffering from the Ebola outbreak and for all those who are caring for them.  May they know God's love and protection and healing spirit.

With God's blessing from my family to yours,

Jo x



A crafty getaway

I've been away, without the family.  It was a ladies' retreat weekend with my friend Carole in Devon.

The theme was prepare for Christmas, and in past years had been in November.  This year though,  Lee Abbey, were more prepared than even I am and held it in October!

We spent all day on the Saturday making crafts for Christmas and thinking about God as our Father, a loving caring Father.  It is good to take some time for the normal things we do and concentrate on the meaning of Christmas, away from distractions and in beautiful surroundings.  The Devon countryside and coastline is a great reminder of God's amazing creative powers and that in each of us is a little bit of the creativity which we can use to express His love for us and the world.  Mine comes out, I hope, through the cards and crafts I make.

This panel will go on some calico to make a cushion cover:

Christmas Cushion cover

Felt Decoration - Christmas Pudding

Felt Decoration - Reindeer

These gorgeous decorations will probably hang on my fireplace this year.

I just loved the lamp in the lounge at Lee Abbey and thought it set off this card I made. It almost made up for the fact, that being earlier in the year, the log fire was not lit in there:

Christmas Card - Cheneycraft

I am following the Christmas Organized - House and Holiday Grand plan, and each week I am making and writing one fifth of my Christmas Cards so by the end of October they are all written and ready for posting later on.  Here are this week's:

Christmas cards - Cheneycraft

One last craft from the weekend - cake toppers.  We don't have a traditional fruit Christmas as no-one in our house, except me, would eat it.  However, this year we thought we might make cup cakes and decorate with some of these toppers:

Fondant Icing Cake toppers

This week's Bible verse we are studying is from Psalms and I think I will use it in a craft this week as a reminder:

Take delight in the Lord, 

and he will give you

 the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 NIV

Our prayer as a family this week is for all the children who are sponsored through Compassion, throughout the world.  Especially Neomi and Wildjino who we sponsor and for the preparations that are taking place for their Christmases.  We pray for all churches who are taking part in Compassion Sunday today (19 October) and we pray that more families in the UK will be moved to share their love with those less foortunate and through the letters and sponsorship, God's love will be spread around the world.

With God's blessings from my family to yours,

Jo x