20 years ago today

Mr and Mrs

I married my best friend.  What adventures we have had together over the last twenty years. Wow two decades and counting.  We were married on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at The Gereformeerde Kerk in Hoedspruit South Africa.

The date 16 November 1991 and since then our journey has taken turns I could never have dreamed of.

Here are some highlights:

1991

Engaged in Hoedspruit

Married at Gereformeerde Kerk Hoedspruit

Worked at Thornybush Game Lodge

Moved to Trackers

1992

Started working for African Realty Trust

Moved onto Richmond Game Farm

Positive pregnancy test November

Went to Zimbabwe for a wedding 

(This couple caught the garter and brides bouquet at our wedding the year before)

1993

Welcomed our first born son Mr T on my 21st birthday.

21st birthday for me.
Mr T had his first eye operation 

1994

Went to Zimbabwe for a holiday.
Mr T had his second eye operation.

Built an outward bound school center on the farm

Paul ran school camps and I did the catering for up to 65 people 3 meals a day for 5 days.
My parents and youngest two siblings immigrated to New Zealand

Second positive pregnancy test on 27 December

1995

Welcomed our second born a daughter Miss J into our home

1996

Went to New Zealand for a holiday to my parents

1997

Mr T had his third eye surgery.
Moved to Christchurch New Zealand

March Applied for permanent residency.

July received permanent residency in New Zealand.

Paul worked in three different part time jobs

December Paul employed full time as Park Manager at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

1998

Moved into our first rental property

Purchased my first Sonlight Core

Started Home Schooling Mr T and Miss J

1999

Moved to our second rental property

Paul's parents came over for a visit.

Moved into our third rental.

Second Core from Sonlight

2000

Celebrated the New Millennium with Paul's parents visiting.

Toured the whole of the south island of New Zealand on a shoe string with a van and a tent.
Discovered The Well Trained Mind
Started reading and using The Story of the World

2001

12 September became New Zealand citizens.

2002

Were blessed with 4 tickets for a trip to South Africa for a surprise trip to Paul's parents 40th wedding anniversary.

2003

Moved to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

Paul fell onto roof and hurt his back which resulted in spinal surgery and rehab

Achieved my Cert III in computer studies.

2004

Joined Advanced Training Institute and did Wisdom Books for Home School
Third positive pregnancy test

2005

Went on holiday to Anglesea in Victoria Australia with family

June welcomed our second son Sir N into our home

2006

Migrated to Australia

Back to Sonlight Core Eastern Hemisphere Explorer
Paul started work at Melbourne Zoo

Purchased our first home

2007

Paul went as a wildlife guide to South Africa with a tour group with his uncle.

Children and I visited New Zealand

Paul's parents visit from South Africa

Paul started working at Werribee Open Range Zoo

2008

Went to Tasmania for a holiday

Fourth positive pregnancy test

Paul on fishing trip to Tasmania

Lost this baby to miscarriage

2009

Mr T went to Tasmania and did two weeks work experience

Mr T went on a 4x4 adventure in the Simpson Desert

Went to New Zealand for our 18th wedding Anniversary

2010

Paul's parents visited from South Africa for three months.  (can't wait for the next visit)

Mr T started his first job

Mr T fell and hurt his back

Mr T had back surgery

2011

Mr T recovers from back surgery
Started Every Bed of Roses
Start Home Schooling Sir N

Mr T starts his second job

Miss J starts her first job
Miss J being awarded her Cert III in retail.

Miss J completed her Cert III in Childrens Services

Celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary

God Willing

2012 and beyond

Family reunion in South Africa in April / May / June

Trip to Queensland to see the solar eclipse in November

Apply for permanent residency in Australia (Please pray for us)

More of His blessings .....

It has been an eventful 20 years and I look forward to our next 20 and hope that it is a time of blessing and fantastic adventures.

What have I learned ?
I have learned so many things but the first one that comes to mind is from a song by Don Francisco : "Love is not a feeling it's an act of your will"  When I read 1 Corinthians 13 it does not speak about feelings it speaks about actions but more importantly it's about choosing to do the right thing regardless of how I feel.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Amplified Bible (AMP)

4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

    5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

    6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

    7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

    8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]

Look what my friend blessed me with in honour of our first 20 years together:

A solitaire diamond ring

May your day be as blessed as mine is today

Blessings

I would like to thank Jo Princess Warrior for the idea of a timeline of what we 've been up to as I saw this on her post 10 years of Marriage and thought wow what a neat idea I would like to do that..

This post is linked to:

Tuesdays Treasure 17

In preparation of Advent which starts in a couple of weeks I purchased a new Advent story book and I am VERY impressed with it. I have skim read it and can't wait to start reading it on the first of December to Sir N.

The Jesse Tree

• Format: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 96
• Vendor: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Publication Date: 2011
• Dimensions: 10.50 X 8.50 (inches)
• ISBN: 0802854036
• ISBN-13: 9780802854032

Quote from Christian Book.com: As Mr. Butterfield carves a Jesse Tree in an old dusty church, a curious young boy distracts him, asking about the various symbols on the tree. Against his better judgment, the old man finds himself retelling the familiar Biblical tales that trace the lineage of Christ, from the Garden of Eden to Jesus' birth. Under the carpenter's skilled hands, the Jesse tree grows--and an unlikely friendship begins to take root as well.


Blessings

I have been thinking about Tuesday's Treasures and I would really love to hear about the treasures on your shelf so I invite you to blog about them and add them in the linky below(please link directly to the post of your treasured book)

Scripture and our children.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;

do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119: 9 –11(NIV)

The above scripture got me thinking about how and why we should be hiding the word of God in our hearts and the training our children to hide His word in their hearts and thereby creating a life long store house of His goodness.

Who does God hold responsible for the training of our children ?

Parents Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord

So, what is the ultimate goal of parents in child-training ?

“To raise morally responsible children who reach adulthood knowing right from wrong, and make wise choices based on biblical knowledge. To accomplish this goal, we need to develop a moral conscience that comes from the Bible and to do this we must place it in the hearts of our children.” (Joey & Carla Link Mom’s Notes )

“We can raise our children to be successful by the worlds standards—but if their hearts are not turned toward God, we will miss the mark by God’s standards. While the world may judge our children against the standards of intelligence, appearance, money, power and fame, God will judge them by their hearts— “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” As their parents, we are raising our children for God’s approval.” (Clay & Sally Clarkson Educating the WholeHearted Child)

The Word of God says:

Matt 6:21 For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.
Matt 12: 35 The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.

Psalm 119 : 11Thy word have I treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.

Definitions:

Often times we take for granted that we understand the common words that we use every day and because of this I some times like to look up the meanings and that in itself is a tremendous encouragement as it opes up for me the depth of the word. Here are a few from the above scriptures:

• Treasure - riches accumulated, a treasure is a store of wealth
• Accumulate To become greater in quantity or number; increase
• Heart The vital or essential part, by memory, The centre of mans personal activities, the source whence the principles of his actions derive their origin.
• 
  

Why:

• Eph 6:11 Put on God’s whole armour—the armour of a heavy-armed soldier, which God supplies—that you may be able successfully to stand up against all the strategies and deceits of the devil.
• Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.

By hiding His word in our hearts we will be successful to stand against the evil one and his ways and most importantly we will not sin against the Lord.

What:

• Eph 6:17 … and the sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
• Deuteronomy 6:6-9 These commandments that I give to you today are

We need to be teaching our children the whole word of God including the old testament which contains His commandments.

Who:

• Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ...to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.

Firstly the word needs to be in my heart and then I am to impress them on the hearts of my children.

When

• Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ...Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up

By the standard of this verse its a daily everywhere you are.

How

• Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ...Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
• I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8
• And that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15

The Lord encouraged His people to have scripture everywhere before their eyes to help them remember.

Benefits of memorization:

• Memorization helps children learn what is right (wisdom) from what is wrong (foolishness)
• It encourages children not only to obey Mom and Dad but also to obey God (our highest and ultimate objective)
• It helps them realise it's not because Mom and Dad say to do this or that but ultimately it is the Lord we are in obedience to. It is His standard not ours.
• It helps them learn about our majestic God, His wonderful ways, and His unconditional love for them.

So what does this look like for us?

• 1. Start as soon as they begin to talk. Don’t underestimate your child! Before 2 years of age most children can memorize a whole verse, and before 3 most children can memorize a whole psalm such as Psalm 100.
  2. Do it consistently. Set aside time daily for new learning and for review of prior learning.
  3. We need to establish in the minds of our children the authority of the Bible, God’s written word.
  a. Teach them to respect the bible.
  b. Teach them to love the bible “ Oh how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day” Psalm 119:97
  c. Teach them to like the bible, don’t use it as a form of punishment.
  4. We need to read the bible to our children on a consistent basis. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
  a) Take your toddler and say ‘Come it’s your special time with God’ and cuddle up and read a toddlers bible with them and on occasion a verse or two together from your bible.
  b) Don’t stop reading to your children when they can read for themselves.
  c) Have family devotions. It doesn’t have to be long say 10 min after a meal before everyone goes their separate ways. When using material to supplement your devotion use books that use the Bible as it’s guide. Ask questions get family discussion going for the older students. For the younger ones use stories to illustrate the point.
  d) Teach them to have their own devotions and to use a note book to record their journey.
  5. Time spent in the Word needs to be fun.
  a) The manner in which we present the Bible to our children shapes their attitude for life.
  b) Use age appropriate bibles
  6. Have a plan for practically incorporating scripture in your family.
  a) Target a topic per month eg honesty. Plan lessons around this
  b) Don’t push beyond their capacity to learn. Be realistic in your expectations but at the same time don’t underestimate their ability either.
  7. Identify goals of personal Christian growth which you hope your child will accomplish by the time they leave home
  a) Having a consistent quiet time on their own.
  b) Knowing how to lead some one to Christ on their own
  c) Knowing how the basics of mentoring a new Christian.
  8. Identify your doctrine/beliefs which you hope your child will learn as part of the Christian life view before he/she leaves home.
  9. Identify the character values you want your child to have in their lives.
  a) Galations 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
  10. Teach your children about the history of the Christian faith.

Memorization:

• Always teach the reference along with the verse.
• Consistency is the key.
• Review is critical. Use Meal times, traditional times, creative time, child initiated times, when he is getting dressed in the morning, getting ready for bed etc.
• Affirmation and reward is critical to your success.
• The process needs to be unique to your family. Try one of the following ideas:
• Use sign language as you say your verse.
• Repetition. Some children enjoy jumping so have them jump on the tramp or skip practicing their verse.
• Write up the verse on a white board and as you learn erase out a word till all the words are erased.
• Pictorial memorization. Write the verse and substitute words with pictures eg a heart with a heart !
• Or a scripture to song music CD. Find your family’s unique way and go for it!
• Jessica over at Our Family for His glory has a great post on scripture memory: Top 10 ways to memorize scripture

Source documents:

• Creative Family Times Practical activities for building character in your preschooler by A & C Hadidian and W & L Wilson
• Mom’s Notes by Joey and Carla Link Volume 4 Using the bible in the training & instruction of your children.
• Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson.

Thy word have I treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.

Psalm 119 : 11

This post is being linked to:

Blessings