Fortnightly Update 9th November 2014

This past fortnight there has seemed like nothing huge has happened but so many small things have taken place. Life is a bit hectic at the moment as the end of year concerts are requiring extra practice, as well as the Christmas preparations beginning. Swimming squads have also increased their frequency with extra practices in a 50 m pool.

Lance Wallnau youtube: We viewed a youtube clip of Lance Wallnau explaining the 4 different types of people – lion, man, eagle and oxen. Basically explaining the differences between people who are fast paced and slower paced and task orientated and people focussed. A fantastic explanation well worth watching, only going for about 10 minutes. It is titled “Destiny Dashboard – people reading 102” Vimeo.com/83513141.

We watched it as a family and then we all rated what we thought ourselves and each other might be, rating 1-4. Princess (aged 11) drew up little boxes and graphs we could tick and collated the information all off her own initiative – hmmm, I wonder what type of person she is? A great exercise and teaching for the kids and also for us as parents to consider what personalities our kids have and what helps them flourish.

Sozo for kids: Our home church, Stairway, has commenced doing Sozo’s on children. Sozo is a form of prayer ministry that helps you deal with stuff in your life and also your relationship with God. Basically it looks at how stuff from our earthly Father can influence how we feel about our Heavenly Father, stuff from our mother – Holy Spirit, and stuff from our siblings and close friends can influence how we relate to Jesus. The kids don’t seem to have any huge issues but I thought it would be great to take them along and just clean out any junk at this stage. I believe everyone has junk, just some more than others. If we can keep as clean as possible, then that will greatly influence our life positively.

Matey (8) wanted me in the room with him whereas Princess wanted to go in alone. They both enjoyed the experience and would happily have one again. Basically for them it was a time to draw closer to God and enjoy hearing from Him.

21st Speeches: We went to a 21st the other day. The sister gave an extremely negative speech about the person turning 21, and even when she tried to frame it positively it still was negative. Most of the adults there were asking her to be positive. This episode ensured great conversation on the way home about how to give a speech, the basic elements to a 21st speech of introducing how you know the person and three great character qualities of the person together with examples. This has also meant that we are going to start practicing making speeches as part of our daily homeschooling so that the kids become fluent in public speaking.

Matey sick: Matey was sick with a very high fever for several days so that kept us out of action and just resting at home. Sometimes those ‘down times’ can be great for the whole family to rest, even though his temperature was quite a concern.

Billabong Series: In the 1940’s, Mary Grant Bruce wrote a series of 15 books about a cattle station called Billabong and the Father, son Jim and daughter Norah (the mum died just after Norah was born). I can remember reading several of these books when I was small as my mum had kept hers from when she was young. We have chased down the series and collected just about all 15 now and I am enjoying reading them again. Princess is just about to start on them.

Whilst looking in an antique shop for some, Matey came across an old telephone (the sort we had when I was a child). He had no idea how to use it and was quite fascinated by it. I tend to forget how quickly the world changes and what we take for granted can be absolutely foreign to our kids. We then went hunting for even older phones.

Gough Whitlam’s funeral: The whole family watched the funeral of Gough Whitlam. I had no idea before the last few weeks just what he changed whilst he was Prime Minister. The amount of initiatives were amazing. No wonder the Government was running out of money and he was sacked!! It was fantastic watching his funeral and hearing all the speeches. This is part of history that our kids need to know. A great learning experience for the whole family.

Times tables: I am determined that Matey will know most of his times tables by Christmas. He only has the 7’s and 8’s to learn. Basically we are doing a lot of rote learning with him repeating them to me each day. When we commence a new one, he will read it through about 5 times and then we will do something active whilst he keeps repeating it over and over. It seems to be working. I believe that it is essential for every child to learn their times tables as it helps so much with their maths.

Prophetic Words: This last week the kids have been drawing prophetic pictures every day for people coming to a workshop I was involved with. I am always amazed at how accurate and encouraging their prophetic words are. I am noticing an increased level of accuracy and depth to them and I am sure it is because we do it so much that the practice really helps. For one lady, Matey drew a picture of her reaching into a box and pulling out Bibles and giving them to a chief. He kept saying “She is a missionary”. When I gave this lady the picture, she burst into tears. She has just come to the realisation that she is a missionary here in Australia through her work, that she doesn’t have to go overseas. Also, she has a huge desire to teach the Bible and she has started a Bible study for ladies and it has grown enormously. She was lacking courage because there were some ladies with more knowledge than her in the group. This picture really encouraged her.

Almond Tree Ministry: I am involved in helping out at Almond Tree Workshops. (see www.almondtreeministries.com.au for workshop details and more info). It is a fantastic, creative workshop on helping people to dream again, their dreams to be awakened, and helping them to take the next step in their life. Princess had to come with me on Saturday and I was teaching on the prophetic. She was involved in giving prophetic words throughout the day and enjoyed herself. Matey went with hubby who was at an evangelism seminar and then baptisms at the local beach. Great experiences for both of them.

Sleep Declaration: I hadn’t realised how much good sleep was lacking in our household until this last week. The kids were always excellent sleepers when they were younger and Matey still is. Unfortunately Princess has had a lot of trouble lately with lack of sleep and so have I. We have started saying the “Sleep Declaration” each night from the Almond Tree Ministries Resource File (www.almondtreeministries.com.au and look under resources). It has brought amazing results.

Hope you are enjoying life with your children and actively seeking ways to help them grow closer to their potential. Have a great week.

2 thoughts on “Fortnightly Update 9th November 2014

  1. Kaidee

    Another great entry, Jane.
    You have so many great ideas! Thanks for sharing.
    I’ve checked out Almond Tree Ministries, they look great.

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