Clay Jar People

No, it’s not what you think…

We have found a little house/flat to rent, in the Southern Suburbs! Yay, its in an oldish building, so its pretty big, and there is a GARDEN!!

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That image says it all!! And as my lovely husband builds me bookshelves, I have the library, but now we’ll have the garden!

We’ll be moving in on the 1st of June! Very exciting, as we’ll be much closer to church and to Chris’s work. So less mad rushing to get places on time and the best of all… my friend Cindy lives really close!

Anyway… so I’m very excited… and will be attempting to pack with a manic toddler who will likely unpack everything… but hey, what’s life without a challenge.

God is good!

home…

what does that mean to you?

do you think of a warm bed, or pretty painted walls, or maybe the people that make your house a home?

sometimes home is not necessarily the place you live, but the place you can grow, and love people. like church or even work in some cases.

in my case, church has always been a place that has to feel like home. sometimes that changes, as church leadership changes, often the beliefs or values of the church changes and then it can begin to feel less like home and less like a place you want to place your heart.

the home i had for many years until we got married was a church that was walking distance from my parents’ home, its the church we also returned to when we moved back to the area and had Elijah. its a good, pretty solid bible-teaching church. sadly things have changed and our home no longer feels like home. as i previously mentioned, we have been looking for a church that is a better fit and feels like a place we can call home.

it seems that God called us or drew us to a church, which is home… its like when you walk into a house and you just know you can live there and it will be the awesomest house ever. that’s how it was when we walked into this church. people were friendly and welcoming, the teaching is solid bible-based and yet applicable, the worship is intense, the beliefs of the church is on par with ours, and they have a heart to reach the lost, the marginalised, the vulnerable and the City of Cape Town. i have never felt so at home in a church ever. and even though i know about 4 people in the church from before going there, the people i have since met, have been so loving and caring, that it feels like i have known them for a while.

that is what church is about, showing Christ’s love to everyone who walks through the doors, and reaching out into the community to touch the lives of people who do not yet know His grace.

the first church, in Acts 2 is the ideal church, the church that really all churches should strive to be like. no church will be perfect as they are made up of sinners, but striving to be more like Christ, means working at it, daily.

this is what the first church looked like:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

the one thing that always stands out to me here is the breaking bread in their homes part… being hospitable and opening your home to people in the church or people who have not yet come to the church but who need the love of Christ and to see His grace. i love having people over to our home, even though i am no Nigella in the kitchen, i enjoy cooking simple meals for people, and chatting and getting to know them. since having Elijah that has definitely declined and i quite miss it, the fellowship and so on.

since joining up with this new church, i have been more and more convicted that God is calling me to be more open to people, to sharing my life with them, whether it be over coffee in a cafe or just telling them my story, or having them over for a meal in our house. i feel as though He is calling me to be a servant and to share His amazing grace that He has bestowed on me, with others. its like He is telling me, “Lizanne, your house is not your house, your house is Mine, I gave it to you to serve Me and My people with.” it sounds loony i know… or corny. but i am so challenged by this, that i really want to get down and start inviting people.

the biggest barrier for me at the moment is, the community and church in which we worship is 35km from our house… and anyone who lives in Cape Town knows that the Boerewors curtain is virtually impenetrable from the Southern Suburbs, only people from the North can cross to the South, not the other way around ;) this is said in jest, but in all the years i have lived here, and been friends with people from the Southern Suburbs, this has been my experience. so i am feeling a tug, to either move closer or just rely on God that He will work and show people that its far, but its not that ridiculous (ok, maybe its a bit mad driving 60km on a Sunday and the same on a Wednesday for small groups) and that He will guide us and show how we can be part of this place we are beginning to call home without being outside the community.

i really pray that home will be wherever God places us, physically or spiritually and that His peace will surround us as we seek to serve Him in our city.

Couldn’t help but repost this… this really made me think…

Gratitude…

is meeting a mountain of dishes with a silent prayer of thanksgiving for the abundance of food on our table…

it’s replacing the urge to be exasperated over the smeared windows (again) with a reminder that those little hand prints are growing quickly…

it’s picking up my husband’s dirty socks (he knows where they go) and remembering my friend who just lost her husband and would give anything to pick up his dirty socks again…

it’s training my ear to hear the melody of “Mama” repeated over and over in a day—how sweet the sound if only I’ll listen…

it’s praising God for rain because blankets and books and snuggles are life-giving moments….

it’s choosing to focus on the sweet breath of my baby in the night, and not on how little sleep I’ve gotten lately….

it’s a reflection on the privilege of taking care of the people around me–”when you do it unto the least of these, you’ve done it unto Me”…

it’s bringing into remembrance, each day, the grace that has been poured out on my life, and the Giver that gave all…

Gratitude is seeing what is in light of what could be and living thankfully on purpose.

In my reading of late, I have been drawn more and more to blogs written by moms of so-called large families. I find it interesting since I always thought that people with more than 4 kids are a bit “weird”… Now I am drawn to them, secretly praying that maybe we could join their ranks. Granted, following in Michelle Duggar’s steps might be a bit much for me… but in God’s grace I guess.

This got me thinking about Psalm 127, and looking at it a bit deeper…

¹Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
²It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

 ³Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children^[a] of one’s youth.
⁵Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127 (ESV)

This Psalm was written by Solomon, the king who was given wisdom directly from God. (leads me to think he may have something in this…)

In my understanding, “house” in the Psalm is an umbrella for your household/family, basically everything in a Christian’s life. So unless God is in control of your household/life, whatever you do, is in vain. Sleepless nights, working late and overworking is pointless unless God ordains it. He gives rest to his followers… think Psalm 23. Interesting then, that right after stating that God needs to be in control of everything in our lives… he goes on to say that children are a blessing from God himself. Not just a blessing, but a reward. Funny that, since we live in a time where children are more of a curse/frustration/unwanted problem… getting rid of them is a simple procedure in a clinical doctor’s surgery. Children are the only blessing from God that we ever tell Him we have had enough of… no one complains about too much money, health etc. But we want to control how many children we have. Anyone else think thats a bit weird and double standards?

Now you’re thinking, this woman is a loon, and needs help… Think about this… more or less until the 1960′s, birth control was not something people had access to, and so it was normal just to have any children God gave. Enter the Pill… at the same time as feminism and bra-burning. Now women have control of their bodies! Big woop!! So then we can throw the bible out the window I guess…

3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
1 Cor 7:3-5

A wife does not have authority over her own body… need I really say any more? If you have followed my blog for a while you will know my feelings about the Pill (and here). That said, as Pastor Mark Driscoll says in his sermon about Birth Control, there are special cases in which one can understand birth control being used by couples… disability of one of them or unemployment etc. BUT my feeling on it is this, does God not provide everything we need? Though out the Bible He opened and closed wombs, think Sarah and Elizabeth. Does He not them have the power to open or close wombs in times of trouble, or use babies in these times to help us cling to Him? Not every couple in history had 20 children, some only had 2 or 3, just as God ordained for them. We cannot deem to control anything in our lives. We can only be thankful for God’s blessings and then be good stewards thereof, by not wasting money on trivialities and material nonsense, but using His money, for the furtherance of His kingdom.

My friend Linnie, a mom of 8 gorgeous children, relates this story about Jonathan Edwards:

I’m thinking of the offspring of the Jonathan and Sarah Edwards family in the 1700’s.
Jonathan Edwards was a theologian, pastor, missionary and university president. He had a brilliant mind. At age ten (1713) he entered Yale College and at sixteen years he graduated at the head of his class. When he was twenty-three-years old, he became pastor of the church at Northampton, Massachusetts, which at the time was the most influential church in America. That same year he married Sarah Pierrepont, a daughter of one of the founders of Yale, and they had twelve children.
By 1900, this godly marriage had produced:

13 college presidents;
65 professors;
100 lawyers and a dean of an outstanding law school;
30 judges;
60 doctors and a dean of a medical school;
80 holders of public office including 3 United States Senators;
3 mayors of large cities;
3 state governors;
a Vice President of the United States; and
a Controller of United States Treasury

They entered the ministry in platoons, sent one-hundred missionaries overseas as well as staffing many mission boards. Members of the family wrote 135 books and edited eighteen journals and periodicals.

Another century has gone by since this study. How much more has this one family influenced the world? This happened because one husband and wife had a vision for raising a godly seed and satisfy the world!

I would be so honored if God would bless me with children that would grow up to glorify His name in all the earth… whether its 2 children or 12… His sovereign power and authority is what I want to rule and govern my life. This means giving over our finances, our daily lives, our children, and our desire to control our amount of children, to Him.

(DISCLAIMER: I am not forcing my opinion/belief/conviction down anyone’s throat, I merely wrote this post from what I have learnt from the Word, I suggest you search the Scriptures and see for yourself what God says on the subject. )

(From Above Rubies)

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The Telephone
You can waste hours of time talking and gossiping on the telephone. Not only is it time-wasted, but this is usually when your children get into trouble, or be naughty because they realize the phone has taken mother’s attention away from them.

The TV
I would rather live life than watch it! Teach your children to ‘live’ life, rather than watch it go by. Remember that the day is for work, the evening is for relaxation. A good rule for your home is to never turn the TV on during the day. (It’s still a time-waster in the evening too!)

Reading novels when there is work to be done
Don’t be tempted to read a novel during the hours of the night, only to wake up too tired to cope with your children during the day.

Self-Pity and Worry
Thinking about yourself is a deadly time-waster. You can’t adequately nurture your children or bless others while you use all your emotional energy on yourself.

Lack of organization
If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it. It is important to have long-range goals, and a goal for each day.

Lack of Discipline
Do what has to be done, not just what you feel like doing. This develops character.

Trying to do everything at once
Tackle one job at a time and finish it completely. Then start another job. Clean one room at a time. You don’t have to get everything done in one day.

Inability to say, “No.”
Stay focused. Don’t get sidetracked. Your first priority is to be a wife, a mother and homemaker. Everything else comes second.

Too Much Stuff
The more “stuff” you have in your home, the more you have to clean. The more gadgets and ornaments you have, the more you have to dust. The more toys your children own, the more you have to pick up. They only need two or three at once. Put the others away. Continually ‘de-junk’ your house. Keep only what you need.

Inefficiency
E.g. When cleaning up, don’t carry one thing to another room and then come back for something else. Put everything for one room in a box, and then take one trip to that room. Save on unnecessary movements.

I need to add Facebook here… that’s all.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I should raise my children in these times. Chris and I have been so convicted about things recently, from how we control our child-spacing to how we raise our kids.

In a world where anything more than 2 or 3 kids is seen as excessive and weird… where staying at home and homeschooling your kids is one step closer to the mad-house… where raising girls to be homemakers rather than doctors and lawyers is seen as archaic and sexist… how then are we to live and raise godly children as we are led by God?

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I don’t have a degree.

Yes, I have various diplomas and certificates, but I believe now that God has always been preparing me for my role as wife an mother. I couldn’t decide what to study so I decided to work after school and study make up artistry part time, something that I can do from anywhere. I believe its His divine intervention that led me to decide that, as well as led me to a man who encouraged me to stay at home, be feminine, teach my child(ren) and is happy to provide and accept his God-given role.

That said, I am not a perfect homemaker, and he is not a perfect man. But we believe that God put us where we are, and is leading us to make decisions about our family based on His word and His will.

This is the first week since Chris and I have been married that I actually stuck to my menu plan, and used recipes to cook our supper. Usually I just wing it, or make toast. I am often a failure as a homemaker, with piles of laundry or dishes and a messy house and no supper when my husband comes home. But through God’s grace I have seen the error of this, and am striving to amend my shocking ways and at least do the dishes, laundry and supper… Cynthia is my cleaning fairy on Tuesdays (another blessing my husband provides me in the Lord).

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The point of my post is this: God has a mandate for our roles in life, He created women to be helpers to their husbands, not to compete and fight for control of the family reins or to climb the corporate ladder. We were made to be mothers, workers at home and keep the home, teaching our children about God. Yes, there are extenuating circumstances in which women have to work, but for the most part, God is calling women to be busy at home. Not lazing around having their nails done while other people watch their kids, clean their homes and cook the supper. No, we are to be home and help our husbands.

When Chris comes home, he is hungry, so when I have not yet made supper and Elijah is not fed and ready to bath, it makes the situation really unpleasant. This is why I am now preparing my supper in the morning while Elijah plays and through out the day I straighten the house and finish the supper, usually just before Chris gets home.

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When I was a girl, my mom was at home and that is what she did, she cooked and cleaned and made sure we were all ready by the time my dad came home at night. She tried to teach me how to do these things… pity I never listened and it took me 3 years after getting married to learn it. So we plan to raise any daughters God blesses us with to be homemakers first and have a career/skillset second.

As I pondered this post I was so inspired by these three girls, young South African ladies who have been raised right, the way God intended. The first is my friend, Linnie of Back to Ancient Ways‘s daughter Heidi-mari,her friend Kelly-Anne and her sister, Nancy. If I think how I was at 14, I am so so impressed and joyful that there are girls in this country that are focussed on things other than boys, clothes and music… Focussing on learning how to be godly women for the Kingdom.

I can only pray that I will know how to raise my girls right one day…

A friend I went to highschool with found me on Facebook recently, and I saw she has her own business from home making mobiles and aprons and cute decor items. I ordered a sheep mobile from her for Elijah, just because its too cute and well priced! Here’s an interview I did with Phebe Botha of Mooi Getooi.

What did you do after school?
After school I studied Oenology and viticulture at Elsenburg for 3 years. After I finished my my studies I was a winemaker at a cellar near Rawsonville for 3 years.

Where are you based?
I’m based in Bredasdorp, but I still travel to Durbanville regularly.

What inspired you to start “Mooi Getooi”?
I recently got married and had to move to Bredasdorp. The wine industry is very small and also far from where we live, it is also usually a “one man show” at the cellars. I knew I had to do something to keep busy and decided to start doing needlework. Thank mom for encouraging me to do it when I was younger!

Where does the name come from?
I decided that I wanted something Afrikaans. I started making aprons and decided on mooi getooi because that’s how you should feel when you are wearing one of the aprons. (mooi getooi loosely translated means dolled up/dressed up)

Where do you want the business to go in the future?
I want the business to do well, but I still want to keep that personal touch that my products have.

Which of your creations is your favourite and why?
My favourite thing is the baby mobile! You can let you imagination run wild and create things with beautiful colours shapes. It lets me feel like a kid again!

Mobiles are R150, the hearts R15, Aprons R150, baby blankets R50 and the placemat boards R30.

Please contact her here.

Now for my schedule, this has to be a bit rough at the moment, as Elijah isn’t in a set routine yet, he sleeps and feeds on demand really, but the rough idea is there.

Morning: 7am-12pm
Quiet time
Pick up house
Laundry
Play with Elijah – tummy time and dance
Read blogs and check mail

Afternoon: 12pm-5pm
Cook supper
Write blogs
Errands, like shopping etc
Do dishes and vacuum etc
Naptime is in here too

Evening: 5pm-10pm
Playtime
Bathtime when Chris gets home
Read from Jesus Storybook Bible
Elijah bedtime around 7pm
Supper for us
Chill and get some quality time
Shower (unless I manage to get it in during the day)
Bedtime for me (Elijah sleeps till about 1am, so I get some sleep in)

Thats my rough schedule for now… Any other moms want to share your schedules?

I can’t believe that I am this person… the person who is happy when she cleans her house, does laundry and all that. I never would have thought it!! But I am!

I feel so much more human and like myself, having done a tiny bit of housework this morning… busy with the second load of laundry. I feel like I have a purpose now. Its THAT sad! Yes, I am a mom, but I am a housewife too! I love having a clean house, that looks nice, and that people can visit at any given moment without having to clear the crap away from the front door etc :D

I am that person… I always thought my mom was OCD… but now it seems I am just as bad… but it makes me feel good to have a tidy house. At least thats one thing I can control I guess, even if I have a manic sleeping schedule, and a crying baby, I can still have a clean house!!

Well that is my thought for today…