Extending my house

We have recently had an amazing extension on my house, which has given us a third again on the space in our property. I'm not sure if it is just the effect that having order and routine again has had on us as a family, or if it is just having a place and space to put things, but I really feel it has transformed our lives in the brief two weeks we have enjoyed it!

I did not enjoy at all the dust, dirt and grime that came with the demolition and rebuild. I did not enjoy at all the uncertainty that came with changing completion dates (although I did very much enjoy and am very grateful for the amazing hospitality and generosity that our families and church family offered us in the difficult swop over period!)

I have also enjoyed very much the process of getting our new rooms ready for habitation and deciding what is going where; organising storage and working out the best way to fill (or not fill!) space. I have enjoyed watching and benefitting from my father in law's ability to put up shelves and see where things would fit best.   However, in all this, I wonder if I have started to think - "what on earth did we do before?" "I can never live again without the space and the things I have arranged as they are". After over a month of frantic and constant activity of trying to create a perfect (although often in my mind I just say 'liveable in'!) house I fear my eyes and heart have been removed from where I will find fullness of joy. I have been reading Psalm 16 and realising that verse 6 'the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, indeed I have a beautiful inheritance',
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have become in my mind about the things God has given me, rather than about Jesus, God given to me himself. 

It has been easy for me to find (or think I will find when everything is finished!) the fullness of joy in the completion of and the space in my house, rather than in God himself. The boundaries for me have fallen in pleasant places - I am constantly grateful  for the family and stuff that God has given to me. But fullness of joy is not to be found in these things (as soon as my rooms are painted, they become scraped; as soon as I have found a place to store everything, there will be something new that doesn't have a home) - it is in God's presence that fullness of joy is to be found. 

There is nothing wrong with me being excited, grateful and joyful about my new extension. God has given me good things - but they should lead me back to worshipping and falling in love again with the Jesus who has given me life and freedom - rather than becoming in themselves what I take refuge in (v 1) or where I can find the path of life (v 11). They should lead me to thinking about how I can use these things to worship God and serve and love others - for indeed without Him I have no good thing!

Things that go bump in the night

When things go bump in the night in our house now I don't immediately wake up Ben and get him to go downstairs brandishing a torch in the dark. I usually just roll over  - I know it's my twins getting up for their regular middle of the night play session. When they started this (back when they first got out of their cots and went into beds) I was appalled. My twin girls had always slept amazingly well and I think I thought I had got it sussed. Well, how wrong I was!

At first I was strict, I sat outside the door of their room and put them back into bed every time they got out  of bed. Sometimes this would be when they first went to bed, but soon it was just when they woke in the middle of the night - I would hear "Hope, wake up it's time to play!" and Anna would be in Hope's bed ready for whatever they decided to do! Then I tried being cross (when I say tried, I didn't need to try  - I was cross, and angry, after sitting outside a door for several hours in the middle of the night). This just resulted in their tears and my own tears and their utter rebellion against me making them stay in their bed (which actually became impossible - I couldn't keep two of them in bed!)

I asked other parents of twins I knew if they remembered this. So desperate was I that I asked total random parents of twins I saw in the park if they experienced this. I trawled internet sites trying to find what other parents of twins had done to solve this problem - and in all these cases, found virtually nothing! In some cases it seems parents were strict for a few nights and soon (within a week or two) their twins got out of the habit. But still nearly 9 months on now, my girls play (sometimes up to 5 nights week) for at least several hours in the middle of the night. So in the end I have given up and chosen to ignore it.

They seem to be having a lovely time most nights. It has changed from being completely wild abandon at first - being able to do whatever they wanted in their bedroom without adults around (one night I went in and they had taken everything out of every drawer and storage box and made a huge pile in the middle of the room, "we've tidied up Mummy!" they proudly announced) - to now being creating 'tents' on beds with the curtains and playing boats or camping with teddies. Usually they go to sleep in the same bed when they get tired, which is between 5 and 6 o'clock and then they have a few more hours sleep until 9 or 10 am. So I quite often get a quiet morning, just me and Athol eating breakfast alone! I like to think that they are learning self control (when they know they are tired early in the morning they will go back to sleep) and that they are problem solving (when they both want to play different games) and that all these things will create more rounded individuals. But often I wonder if it is just a pragmatic "I need more sleep" kind of decision.

Whatever it is has made me realise - I was full of pride that my kids slept well  - well, that's definitely been taken away! I don't want to find my identity in being a Mum to kids who sleep well  - how fickle that turned out to be! I want to find my identity in Jesus who forgives my anger, pride and need for control  - and who looks on me with grace and love despite my failings in this area!

And to all other parents of twins out there..........I don't think I can say for sure it gets better (although people assure me it will!), but I have learnt some hard lessons through this - and have (usually in hindsight!) been able to laugh a lot about the crazy stuff Anna and Hope do in the middle of the night.

Change from the Inside

I've been reading 'Centre Church' by Tim Keller and (after the initial slight shock of realising that I hadn't read anything that required me to concentrate and think quite hard for a bit!) have been challenged and inspired by his perceptive understanding of our human hearts. He talks a lot in the first section about how our sinful hearts have tainted how we understand the gospel. We can be legalists whereby we scold ourselves (but usually others!) for where we fail God's standards (or our perception of what this is) and live life by a rigid routine of works and trying to build up self righteousness. Or we can be relativists - we can claim God isn't bothered about sin and have very loose terms for what the Bible says is right and wrong.

Keller says: "In the end, legalism and relativism in churches are not just equally wrong, they are basically the same thing. They are just different strategies of self salvation built on human effort"
In fact Keller argues that 'self salvation' is our default mode.

This led me to do some soul searching about where I stand. A line in a song I've been listening to has been making me think - "I could hold on, I could hold on to who I am and never let you change me from the inside. I could be safe, I could be safe here in your arms and never leave home, never let these walls down". (All Sons and Daughters. Call Me Higher)

Do I want to spend my life trying to change myself by my own effort? Do I want to spend my life trying to impress others by changing outwardly what they see of me? Do I want to spend my life striving for God's blessing by the stuff I do?

Or do I really want God to change me from the inside?

Outwardly, people in churches can look much the same. The outward appearance of someone's life who is being transformed by God's grace from the inside and the outward appearance of someone who is striving for self salvation can be virtually impossible to separate. I don't want to make myself just look right from the outside  - I want the Holy Spirit to transform me from the inside out.

This will mean some scary stuff. It will mean giving over my need for respect, control and power over to God. I don't want my needs to overwhelm me and drive my behaviour. It will mean letting the gospel, the grace of Jesus drive down deep in my life, the gospel must train and discipline my life - I want it to destroy my pride and fearfulness which drives me to self-salvation. In short I want my actions to be motivated by Jesus' grace for me. I want everything I do to be from a desire to "know, resemble, please and love the One who saved me" (Centre Church)

Life is best done with other people

As a teacher I definitely always used to tell kids, 'learning is best done in a group, with another person' - and saw over and over again that this was true. My kids always have more fun when they are together with other kids (or even, when their not tired!, together with each other). I'm sure my twins have taught each other loads of stuff and they give each other support and encouragement when they find things hard (although they can also be horrid to each other!) Children from families who talk and do things together invariably are more likely to flourish in life. But then it seems when we get to be adults we reject the obvious  - that relationships help us flourish, grow and learn. Perhaps there are too many opportunities to be vulnerable and hurt when we 'do' relationships. They take time, they can be tricky and confusing.

Why do relationships seem to be the key to so many things? The Bible says it's because we are made in God's image, that as He is in relationship within the Trinity, we also flourish, find joy, grow and learn best when in relationship with others - and especially with Him. It's interesting that in the gospels we find Jesus with his friends the disciples - sending them out in twos. That the early apostles and evangelists travelled together in groups of two or more. One passage that shows just how much Paul thought relationships had to do with being a Christian and sharing Jesus with others is 1 Thessalonians 2 v 1-12. He talks about sharing the gospel of God, 'and also our own selves'  - because of how dear these people had become to him.

Somehow our culture has made us independent people, who live separate lives to each other. We don't share our lives with other people - really. As Christians we talk about being a family, we might share a cup of tea with people at church on Sunday, we might meet for an hour on Wednesday to read the Bible - but we never let people come close to us, we never really let them see who we really are. We're scared they'll judge us or that it will be uncomfortable to allow people access into everyday life - but in reality we are severely limiting what God does in us - and in other people!

God made us relational beings, He wants us to live life with others, honestly, sacrificially and accountably. It is through other people living out the gospel in front of me that I have learnt most of all what being a Christian means. It is through other people living out the gospel with me that I have grown to know God more, trust Him more, serve Him more and been humbled more. And I hope that through living out the gospel in front of others - loving and serving others day in and day out that others will grow to understand the gospel and love God better.

(With thanks to Tim Chester and Steve Timmis' book 'Gospel Centred Church' which has provoked many challenging conversations!)

Anxiety

I find it is the everyday, mundane things that really stress me out and make me anxious. These in turn lead to irritability, blaming other people for stuff (Ben often gets it here!) and short temperedness. Getting all the kids in the car in a short time span, trying to keep the house (reasonably!) clean and (fairly!) tidy, trying to imagine how I am going to sort out everything I need to sort out before we have to leave to go away. These are my stress points currently - not massive things as in the past (where shall I live? what shall I study? whom shall I marry? what job will I do?) and I have to say that they are at least equal in stress levels to those I experienced before, if not more. I've never been great in dealing with anxiety - I just don't really know what to do with it often. I know these things are minor and that they don't really matter in the big scheme, but at the time they really do matter to me. I want to remind myself more that Jesus does care about my little stuff, not just big things. He knows the worries of my mind and has more than enough strength for me. These two quotes have challenged me and encouraged me:

"Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centred in anything short of God and His will for us" Billy Graham
Are my anxieties focused on what people think of me and how I want to be perceived by others? Are my hopes founded on Jesus rather than anything else?

"I have a better Caretaker than you and all the angels. He it is who lies in a manger, but at the same time sits at the right hand of God, the almighty Father. Therefore be at rest" Martin Luther
No matter how much I worry, or analyse my worrying - God is in control. I can't add a single day (or tidy room, or clean bathroom, or punctual arrival!) by worrying. The creator of the universe came to earth for me  - He is my friend. I need to rest in that.

When God was a Rabbit?

Firstly let me say I am a BIG kindle fan! Never has feeding a baby at 11pm and 5am been so entertaining than with my kindle in the other hand. Since Athol has been born I have read more books than I have read in the previous year (and he is only 3 months now!). So having moved to Leeds and left my dearly beloved bookclub in Hartlepool behind, Ben and I have decided to give another one a go in Headingley. The first title we are reading is 'When God was a Rabbit' and I just finished it this afternoon while the twins were having a riotous time in the softplay area.

My thoughts are:

• I love the relationships that are shown between family and friends and how friends become family. The brother-sister relationship between Elly and Joe is beautiful (although maybe slightly unrealistic!) and the friendship that were made between Elly and Jenny Penny was very touching. It made me realise again that actually life is all about relationships - we are deeply relational beings. The fear of death that pervades the book is also a fear of relationships ending, of the finality of death. The strange mysticism and odd happenings (Jenny Penny's telling of the future, Arthurs musings about a 'greater something that illuminates inconsequence in our lives') within the book seem to be the authors attempts to explore  this. To be honest, the vagueness that surrounded this did annoy me rather! We all seek out and crave friendship and closeness with others - Elly invested heavily in Joe and when he loses his memory we realise that this could backfire - but it also made me think about why we all crave this so much, wonder me why we all fear death/disease as the end of a relationship (as I most certainly do). As a Christian I believe this is because God is a relational being  - and he created us to be so too. If I think of the joys in my life, they are all about relationships, husband-wife, parent-child, sister-sister, friend-friend. But as Elly realises in the book, nothing is perfect, everything spoils or comes to an end ('I blamed it on the coming New Year....we would start again, could start again, but I knew we wouldn't. Nothing would. The world would just be the same, just a little bit worse') - I know this all too well! 

• While I did enjoy lots of the first half of the book, some parts even made me laugh out loud ('bath time'!) it was ultimately the depression and lack of hope and joy from the main story teller  - Elly - that made this book become increasingly difficult to read (although there were other things too - the odd unexplained happenings  - 50p from a future date coming out of Jenny Penny's arm?! A coconut landing on Arthur's head and he regains his sight?! It all became too unrealistic for me when the Twin Towers were also brought into it!) I know life is full of broken relationships, awful abuses happen that mess people up for life, dreadful things happen that cause grief and life long mourning to millions - but the author for me tries to find redemption and fulfilment in relationships that last  - Jenny Penny and Joe - but they too will fail at some point. For me the hope and joy that this book lacked are found in Jesus - who came to restore my relationship with God (who a rabbit was named after in the book  - hence the title and several funny parts of the book) and who is working to make all things new - even our broken relationships and one day they will be on earth as it is in heaven. Now that is hope!

Conclusion  - this book is a good read at times, I did enjoy some of it. But if you're looking for something uplifting - this is perhaps not for you!

Prayer - what it reveals about my heart.

We've recently been thinking about prayer at Redeemer. Matthew 6 has a whole load of challenging things to say about how we approach prayer and about our priorities in approaching God. I guess the most challenging thing for me is just thinking about the amount of time and quality I give to talking to God. It's not that I don't THINK it's important, in my head I really do. I have many moments in the day when I send up arrow prayers. There are moments of desperation when the twins are fighting constantly or being deliberately disobedient when I sit down and pray with them  - I do want them to understand that the only way we can be changed is through God's grace. BUT when I think of the quality time I spend in prayer with God, in talking to Him, contemplating His goodness and grace towards me and getting to know Him - I am ashamed to say that most of my prayer life consists of a brief list of thank you's and a whole list of 'help me here!' 'help her there!'.
I'm sure that God does want us to rely on Him and ask Him for things. He loves to give us good things and provide for our needs. But so often for me these come first. I have to conclude that actually the time and quality of my prayer life reveals more about my approach to God and my relationship with Him than I care to admit. No matter what my head THINKS  - it is the actual working out in my life of prayer that shows where my true heart lies. I spend more time in activities serving God than I do talking to Him. I spend more time checking my email and sending texts to friends than in talking with Him. I want the good things that God gives, rather than God himself. In the end do I think being a Christian is about doing stuff - serving others and carrying out church activities or do I believe that being a Christian is about a relationship with God and being shown continual grace through Jesus?
If I do believe the latter then the time and quality that I give to prayer should be radically different. I should rejoice in praising God for who He is and what He has done in Jesus to save me. I should be amazed at his glory (v9) I should be praying for God's Kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven  - not a list of requests  - but a real consideration and desire to see how relationships and situations would be if they were renewed as God wants them to be.
Do I believe in earning my way into God's favour through works of service? Or do I believe in a relationship with Him through grace? My prayer life reveals this about me!