This is primarily for the grandparents, but feel free to watch. Each boy's class recited a scripture passage, poem and sang a song.
Here is Nathan rehearsing his scripture recitation. He worked very hard on this passage, and I thought that it was worth posting.
Nathan's class at Clapham recites this poem written some time before 1886.
Christmas Eve
By Christina Rosetti
Christmas hath darkness
Brighter than the blazing noon,
Christmas hath a chillness
Warmer than the heat of June,
Christmas hath a beauty
Lovelier than the world can show:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.
Earth, strike up your music,
Birds that sing and bells that ring;
Heaven hath answering music
For all Angels soon to sing:
Earth, put on your whitest
Bridal robe of spotless snow:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.
Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Away in a Manger
Sung by Nathan's class and the first grade class.
Judah's second grade class recites "The Lamb" by William Blake 1789
Unfortunately some parts are hard to hear, but you can hear Mia adding her bit :)
Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bade thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, wooly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I'll tell thee;
Little lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a lamb,
He is meek, and He is mild,
He became a little child;
I a child, and thee a Lamb,
We are called by His Name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Judah's class recites Luke 2:8-20. The kids all had to learn to whole passage, but delivered it split in parts.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David ca Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Judah's class and the 3rd grad class sing this beautiful Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872.
In the Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Showing posts with label Judah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judah. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Judah on Marriage
Was explaining to our boys tonight about how their mother is my best friend.
Judah said: "Dad, I can't wait to get married (7 y.o. - that's my boy!), because then I'll finally be able to decide who my best friend is."
Well said son. Well said.
Judah said: "Dad, I can't wait to get married (7 y.o. - that's my boy!), because then I'll finally be able to decide who my best friend is."
Well said son. Well said.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Judah's Song - God is Powerful!
God is our fun
He's our King
He's our Lord
For the Lord is our heart.
I love You Lord.
Hallelujah
God is powerful...
OK, so its a first draft, but the kid's 5! Yes, I'm a real proud dad, and super-blessed by the wonderful kids that God has given me.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
What's the point Dad?
This semester I've been taking an external subject at the University of Chicago on the gospel of Mark. This is an important part of my training because the University of Chicago is generally acknowledged as quite a liberal school, so its helping to acquaint me with the sorts of things that are said about Mark and more generally about Scripture from that perspective. Overall its been a positive experience and there have been some good discussions in class. I have a presentation to do on tuesday on the last twelve verses and was trying to explain my approach to Ange the other night after a day of work on it. Judah was listening "patiently" but broke in at one point and said "What's the point Dad?" A great question. I realised that it was a really good time for me to take a deep breath and try to explain what I was doing simply (to see if in fact there WAS a point). So I explained that while Daddy's "job" (we might use the broader term "calling" but my kids are still under the impression that I have a job like other Dads...) usually involves telling people about the bible to help them understand it better, next week Daddy will be talking to a group of people who know an awful lot about the bible but who don't believe that its God's Word in the same way that we do. He understood and I asked him how he thought I should approach the presentation. What should I tell them?
His answer: "Love Jesus." Another great answer. I pressed him for more and got the following: "The bible is God’s word. When we read the bible its God speaking not us speaking, because he wrote it. You know this. So you’d better believe it or you’ll be punished. I think they’ll believe it when they hear the punish part."
I couldn't stop grinning and affirmed him lavishly. What a refreshing end to a long day!
His answer: "Love Jesus." Another great answer. I pressed him for more and got the following: "The bible is God’s word. When we read the bible its God speaking not us speaking, because he wrote it. You know this. So you’d better believe it or you’ll be punished. I think they’ll believe it when they hear the punish part."
I couldn't stop grinning and affirmed him lavishly. What a refreshing end to a long day!
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
A bit of a brag...
Nathan and Jordan still take a decent nap each afternoon, so Judah and I will sometimes get a little quality time together if I'm not preparing dinner or cleaning up after everyone. Today we were working on Judah's reading and made some great progress. After about 20 minutes, he was starting to loose focus, so we started to play a game where I would write a word that he'd not read before based on some of the concepts that we'd just learned, then he had to draw a picture of the word that he had just read. It was so wonderful to see the delight that he had each time he worked out the word. I was so proud that I had to take a photo of it to show you all. He had a bit of trouble with 'robot' as it wasn't really working with anything that we'd just learnt. But don't you just love the pictures? I was interested with how he'd do with drawing an abstract word like 'think'. I think he did pretty well.
And here's a picture of the family that Nathan drew while we were out and about. It's on the back of a bank statement that I had in my handbag - which explains the shape of the paper and the barcode. Child psychologist and loving aunty Georgie says that the presence of hands and fat little fingers, as well as a defined body shape (rather than limbs coming off a big head) are all signs of progress in his cognitive development.
And here's a picture of the family that Nathan drew while we were out and about. It's on the back of a bank statement that I had in my handbag - which explains the shape of the paper and the barcode. Child psychologist and loving aunty Georgie says that the presence of hands and fat little fingers, as well as a defined body shape (rather than limbs coming off a big head) are all signs of progress in his cognitive development.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
"Is not fire - is only bell"
Feb 28 was Judah's birthday (well for those who remember its actually the 29th but that doesn't come around all that often). We had decided to celebrate at Chuck E Cheese's (A cross between timezone and pizza hut - always a hit with kids) with some of his friends from pre-school. We had to get away by 9.30am and while we didn't think that would be too much of a challenge, we realised that unexpected things can always pop up, so we made good preparations the night before. We had left baking the cake until the morning because Ange wanted to make a giant chocolate chip cookie for the cake and well fresh is best, but everything else was prepared and we went to bed. After a skype call to family first thing in the morning we decided it was high time to make the cookie cake, and that's where things began to go wrong...
You see, the recipe called for two cups of cookie dough, but wanting to make sure it was a winner we had bought pre-made dough in a plastic tub. A brief argument ensued as to what proportion of this tub represented two cups. I won't say who argued which position because it simply isn't important. We together decided to just dump the whole tub onto a flat baking tray and put it in the oven. What could be simpler...?
Several minutes later things were going really well. The lump of dough had spread into a nice flat and perfectly round cookie exactly as big as the (flat) tray (with no sides)...but there were still several minutes to go - it clearly wasn't yet cooked. It kept spreading. And then smoke started pouring out of the oven, because as it spread it dripped over the sides of the (flat) tray (with no sides) and down onto the base of the oven where it began to burn. Very soon the kitchen was full of smoke. The next thing to happen should not have been unexpected, but smoke alarms are designed to be shocking and this was no exception. I swished smoke vainly and visited each of the smoke alarms in turn to see if I could remove a battery or rip them off the wall or something. No luck. This is college housing and this was a college installed system and I think somebody had already thought of that. Ah - that's it. Call the college switch. I dialled the number and patiently tried to explain. "I'm really sorry, we were doing some cooking and the smoke alarms have gone off. There is no fire, but I can't turn the alarms off...(all the while I could hear Basil Fawlty in the back of my mind "Is not fire, is only bell!"). "I'll send the officer" came the curt reply. I was about to explain that we didn't want to cause any trouble and if she could only give me the clue as to how to turn the blasted things off the officer need not come - but she had hung up. Well the officer arrived (very quickly) and we patiently explained what I'd told the girl on the phone. "I'm going to have to get you to evacuate the building" he said calmly. "What?!" I said. (Now I could See Basil Fawlty in my mind's eye as well as hear him. It was all I could do to stop myself from saying "NO. Is not fire. Is only bell!") "I'm really sorry about this" the officer explained "but once those alarms go off there's nothing we can do. The fire department will be here soon and technically they own this building until they reset the alarms. Please leave the house now." I'm pretty sure he doesn't have kids. We were all in our pyjamas and it was -8 C outside. Did he want us to just go and stand in the snow on the front "lawn"? What planet was this guy on? We got into our coats and boots. I'd hate to think what would have happened had it actually been urgent. I went and started the car and turned the heater on. We evacuated the kids there. By that time the fire department had come and some very important men in very important uniforms were bustling about. Even as I picked up Jordan and took him to the car one of them brushed by me. As he did he said in a very important voice into a very important device "Confirm - cooking smoke - over." Um duh. Actually he was very nice and when they were leaving he turned and said to me. "Where are you from?" (Come on Mick bring out Croc Dundee 4 - these people are forgetting our accent!). "Australia" I answered. He brightened. "Well when I get off my shift, I'll have to go and put the wobbly boot on" he quipped with a knowing wink. You folks have a good day." And he was off. Americans, Australians - any help on that one? What the heck's the wobbly boot?!
So back to the story. The cake still wasn't cooked. Nobody was dressed and we had five minutes to leave. Incredibly we almost managed it. I say almost for two reasons. The first is that we took about ten. The second is that the last thing we had to do before we left was to grab the cake. Unfortunately, we were now in a hurry. Hastily Ange grabbed the precious cookie which wasn't quite ready to be ripped off the tray. It prompty disintegrated all over her and all over the floor. She had to change.
It could only happen to the Coombs'.
Judah's birthday was a hit by the way. He had a great time and so did his friends. Now for those who have been as puzzled about my Basil Fawlty allusions as I was about the wobbly boot - here's some context. Enjoy.
You see, the recipe called for two cups of cookie dough, but wanting to make sure it was a winner we had bought pre-made dough in a plastic tub. A brief argument ensued as to what proportion of this tub represented two cups. I won't say who argued which position because it simply isn't important. We together decided to just dump the whole tub onto a flat baking tray and put it in the oven. What could be simpler...?
Several minutes later things were going really well. The lump of dough had spread into a nice flat and perfectly round cookie exactly as big as the (flat) tray (with no sides)...but there were still several minutes to go - it clearly wasn't yet cooked. It kept spreading. And then smoke started pouring out of the oven, because as it spread it dripped over the sides of the (flat) tray (with no sides) and down onto the base of the oven where it began to burn. Very soon the kitchen was full of smoke. The next thing to happen should not have been unexpected, but smoke alarms are designed to be shocking and this was no exception. I swished smoke vainly and visited each of the smoke alarms in turn to see if I could remove a battery or rip them off the wall or something. No luck. This is college housing and this was a college installed system and I think somebody had already thought of that. Ah - that's it. Call the college switch. I dialled the number and patiently tried to explain. "I'm really sorry, we were doing some cooking and the smoke alarms have gone off. There is no fire, but I can't turn the alarms off...(all the while I could hear Basil Fawlty in the back of my mind "Is not fire, is only bell!"). "I'll send the officer" came the curt reply. I was about to explain that we didn't want to cause any trouble and if she could only give me the clue as to how to turn the blasted things off the officer need not come - but she had hung up. Well the officer arrived (very quickly) and we patiently explained what I'd told the girl on the phone. "I'm going to have to get you to evacuate the building" he said calmly. "What?!" I said. (Now I could See Basil Fawlty in my mind's eye as well as hear him. It was all I could do to stop myself from saying "NO. Is not fire. Is only bell!") "I'm really sorry about this" the officer explained "but once those alarms go off there's nothing we can do. The fire department will be here soon and technically they own this building until they reset the alarms. Please leave the house now." I'm pretty sure he doesn't have kids. We were all in our pyjamas and it was -8 C outside. Did he want us to just go and stand in the snow on the front "lawn"? What planet was this guy on? We got into our coats and boots. I'd hate to think what would have happened had it actually been urgent. I went and started the car and turned the heater on. We evacuated the kids there. By that time the fire department had come and some very important men in very important uniforms were bustling about. Even as I picked up Jordan and took him to the car one of them brushed by me. As he did he said in a very important voice into a very important device "Confirm - cooking smoke - over." Um duh. Actually he was very nice and when they were leaving he turned and said to me. "Where are you from?" (Come on Mick bring out Croc Dundee 4 - these people are forgetting our accent!). "Australia" I answered. He brightened. "Well when I get off my shift, I'll have to go and put the wobbly boot on" he quipped with a knowing wink. You folks have a good day." And he was off. Americans, Australians - any help on that one? What the heck's the wobbly boot?!
So back to the story. The cake still wasn't cooked. Nobody was dressed and we had five minutes to leave. Incredibly we almost managed it. I say almost for two reasons. The first is that we took about ten. The second is that the last thing we had to do before we left was to grab the cake. Unfortunately, we were now in a hurry. Hastily Ange grabbed the precious cookie which wasn't quite ready to be ripped off the tray. It prompty disintegrated all over her and all over the floor. She had to change.
It could only happen to the Coombs'.
Judah's birthday was a hit by the way. He had a great time and so did his friends. Now for those who have been as puzzled about my Basil Fawlty allusions as I was about the wobbly boot - here's some context. Enjoy.
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Selfish yet self-aware
Dad: OK boys. One story before bed and tonight its my turn to pick.
Both boys: Ohhhhhh!
(Ange reminds me that it is in fact Nathan's turn to pick)
Dad: New plan - Nathan gets to choose one story.
Judah: Ohh that's not fair!
Dad: OK then, you be the answer man. How would you make it fair? There's one story and two boys - and its gotta be fair for everyone. What would you do?
Judah: Well.....if I was a man...
Dad: yes...
Judah: If I was a man, then I'd say one boy gets to pick each night.
Dad: Exactly.
Judah: But if I was a boy, I'd say I get to pick every night!
What a great response! In the meantime Nathan has picked a story.
Dad: Now you know the difference between being a boy and being a man. Let's read...
Both boys: Ohhhhhh!
(Ange reminds me that it is in fact Nathan's turn to pick)
Dad: New plan - Nathan gets to choose one story.
Judah: Ohh that's not fair!
Dad: OK then, you be the answer man. How would you make it fair? There's one story and two boys - and its gotta be fair for everyone. What would you do?
Judah: Well.....if I was a man...
Dad: yes...
Judah: If I was a man, then I'd say one boy gets to pick each night.
Dad: Exactly.
Judah: But if I was a boy, I'd say I get to pick every night!
What a great response! In the meantime Nathan has picked a story.
Dad: Now you know the difference between being a boy and being a man. Let's read...
Friday, 26 September 2008
Judah
I can't believe how big my boy has grown. Just last week I had to buy him new clothes (again) because he has had another growth spurt. His wrists, ankles and waist were poking out. But Judah is growing in more ways than one. He's proving to me more and more responsible and generally very helpful and considerate. He continues to surprise me with how grown-up he is becoming.
He's loving pre-school. It seems like he's making lots of friends too. As I walk him from the car to his classroom each morning, class mates cheerfully greet him by name, "Hi Judah." Now he just needs to learn all of their names! He has a lovely teacher too Mrs. Ledbetter who just adores his cute little Aussie accent.
Here's a song that Judah came home with today.
He's loving pre-school. It seems like he's making lots of friends too. As I walk him from the car to his classroom each morning, class mates cheerfully greet him by name, "Hi Judah." Now he just needs to learn all of their names! He has a lovely teacher too Mrs. Ledbetter who just adores his cute little Aussie accent.
Here's a song that Judah came home with today.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Thank you Lord!
Just a quick update...
Judah and Nathan LOVE pre-school. I had been dreading and feeling very overwhelmed at the prospect of having one boy in a morning class, and the other in the afternoon. I really had no idea how I was going to manage. Well, God answered our prayers, with a place opening up for Judah in the morning, only in a Pre-K class (that is essentially a 5-year-old pre-school class) that meets 5 mornings a week for 2.5 hours. What a relief to have both boys dropped off and picked up at the same time! To add to the blessing of our answered prayer, Judah gets to be in a more challenging class (as he is the youngest) and gets to enjoy a more structured class (which is perfectly suited to his personality). I was a little nervous for him, wanting him to have a positive first start - nervous that he had missed the first 3 days and didn't know any of the other children. His teacher reported that he did beautifully and fit right in. Nathan loved his class too and in fact, he cried about leaving!
Feeling more and more settled and set up. Loving Wheaton - it is truly a beautiful place. Clayton and I are still feeling very tired and physically stretched as Jordan's sleep cycle is still all over the place and he is not sleeping through again.
Thank you for your prayers.
Judah and Nathan LOVE pre-school. I had been dreading and feeling very overwhelmed at the prospect of having one boy in a morning class, and the other in the afternoon. I really had no idea how I was going to manage. Well, God answered our prayers, with a place opening up for Judah in the morning, only in a Pre-K class (that is essentially a 5-year-old pre-school class) that meets 5 mornings a week for 2.5 hours. What a relief to have both boys dropped off and picked up at the same time! To add to the blessing of our answered prayer, Judah gets to be in a more challenging class (as he is the youngest) and gets to enjoy a more structured class (which is perfectly suited to his personality). I was a little nervous for him, wanting him to have a positive first start - nervous that he had missed the first 3 days and didn't know any of the other children. His teacher reported that he did beautifully and fit right in. Nathan loved his class too and in fact, he cried about leaving!
Feeling more and more settled and set up. Loving Wheaton - it is truly a beautiful place. Clayton and I are still feeling very tired and physically stretched as Jordan's sleep cycle is still all over the place and he is not sleeping through again.
Thank you for your prayers.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Reflections from our 4 year-old
Some of Judah's theological reflections:
After having read to him the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego a few nights ago, Judah stops to think about why it might be that God does not save people from getting burnt by fires anymore. He concludes that God had to save the three from the fiery furnace because they did not have fire fighters back then. Thank the Lord for our fire fighters.
Tonight Judah was talking to his Grandmother about nightmares and tells her, "Grandma, did you just know that when you have a scary dream you say 'Go away in Jesus Name.'? I think that you just don't know that yet."
Judah's reflections on family and the future:
Judah says to Clayton today - "Hey Dad. When I become a Dad, I'll have to leave you...and you'll be sad." He then started to cry - in sympathy for him. So Clayton said to him, "Yeah, I'll be real sad. But do you know what? When you become a Dad, I'll become a Pop. I'll be the Pop to your kids. And that'll make me really happy." They talked about this for a while and he worked out that Clayton would also be the Pop to Nathan and Jordan's kids. That was a bit of a concept for him cos he initially thought that when Clayton "grew up to be a Pop" that he would be Jordan's Pop. I guess that's because Jordy is so young and Clayton is 'so old'.
Judah's calculations:
He says to Clayton tonight. "Dad!" yes "Three and three is six!" (wow - breakthrough. He worked it out himself mind you). Then he said "two and two is four." "Right again" I said. "Hey Dad, Dad, Dad" (breakthrough again I suspect) "three and one is four...and two and two is four...and one and three is four - three things are four!" So he gets addition! But he also seems to be getting the idea of multiplication; he tells me, "Mum, did you know that two fours are eight and that two threes are six? "
After having read to him the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego a few nights ago, Judah stops to think about why it might be that God does not save people from getting burnt by fires anymore. He concludes that God had to save the three from the fiery furnace because they did not have fire fighters back then. Thank the Lord for our fire fighters.
Judah's interpretation of the armour of God.
Tonight Judah was talking to his Grandmother about nightmares and tells her, "Grandma, did you just know that when you have a scary dream you say 'Go away in Jesus Name.'? I think that you just don't know that yet."
Judah's reflections on family and the future:
Judah says to Clayton today - "Hey Dad. When I become a Dad, I'll have to leave you...and you'll be sad." He then started to cry - in sympathy for him. So Clayton said to him, "Yeah, I'll be real sad. But do you know what? When you become a Dad, I'll become a Pop. I'll be the Pop to your kids. And that'll make me really happy." They talked about this for a while and he worked out that Clayton would also be the Pop to Nathan and Jordan's kids. That was a bit of a concept for him cos he initially thought that when Clayton "grew up to be a Pop" that he would be Jordan's Pop. I guess that's because Jordy is so young and Clayton is 'so old'.
Judah's calculations:
He says to Clayton tonight. "Dad!" yes "Three and three is six!" (wow - breakthrough. He worked it out himself mind you). Then he said "two and two is four." "Right again" I said. "Hey Dad, Dad, Dad" (breakthrough again I suspect) "three and one is four...and two and two is four...and one and three is four - three things are four!" So he gets addition! But he also seems to be getting the idea of multiplication; he tells me, "Mum, did you know that two fours are eight and that two threes are six? "
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Update from Ange - So blessed...
If you haven't already read Clayton's last update posted before this, you might want to read that first.
God is so good.
I'm glowing...
I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant, and if I'm not glowing on the outside, I certainly feel like I have much to glow about on the inside. The baby is happy and healthy - moving around regularly, and head down - ready to go. Growing well too! Ultrasound measurements, estimate that this bubba will be bigger than Judah and Nathan. I'm physically feeling well and looking forward to meeting this little one. With so little time to go, Clayton and I had better put our heads together and come up with a name or two! Life feels like it has been so busy that we have not had much time to stop and face the reality that our lives are about to change radically.
God is so good.
I'm glowing...
I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant, and if I'm not glowing on the outside, I certainly feel like I have much to glow about on the inside. The baby is happy and healthy - moving around regularly, and head down - ready to go. Growing well too! Ultrasound measurements, estimate that this bubba will be bigger than Judah and Nathan. I'm physically feeling well and looking forward to meeting this little one. With so little time to go, Clayton and I had better put our heads together and come up with a name or two! Life feels like it has been so busy that we have not had much time to stop and face the reality that our lives are about to change radically.
Aside from feeling good about our third child's imminent arrival, I feel absolutely contented and marvellously delighted in God's love for me and my family. This past year has been the most wonderful season for us as we have been blessed beyond belief.
Blessed in our finances:
I'm learning, that God really is looking out for us and that He really does want to bless us. How is it that we were prepared to take a huge step backwards financially in moving out here for Clayton to study, and yet, a year later, we have hardly gone backwards if at all? We haven't even been living poorly either. I mean, we've enjoyed a pretty blessed existence, and have enjoyed luxuries that most people will never experience. All I can conclude is that God is a generous God and that He continues to be our provider. And what does all that mean in the context that we live in, when there are poor homeless people living on the streets that surround us? Without a doubt, God has blessed us to be a blessing, and while we have not the means to welcome each and every homeless stranger into our home to be warm and well fed, we have had the ability to do the little things to strengthen their spirits and give hope. We're glad that we have had this time to expose our children to the reality that not everyone has a warm bed to sleep in at night. We're even more delighted in the response that this reality has drawn from them. Both Judah and Nathan treat each beggar with respect. Rather than looking the other way and ignoring the man on the corner who jingles his coin collecting cup up and down, they interact with him and engage him in conversation. They bring a smile to his face and plead with their dad to have a turn to give him some money. One of the things that we have observed, is that many homeless people have a greater awareness of God and their need for Him to help them make it through each day. Perhaps this is why Jesus said "Blessed are the poor". I can pretty much say for certain that you and I will never live in such severe poverty, but regardless of how rich or poor we may be, we need to forever acknowledge our dependence on God as our Jehovah Jireh - our provider. As we face this next chapter of our lives in Chicago, we don't yet know how it will all work financially, but in the words of brother K. Conner, "If it's God's Will, it's God's bill." We're feeling a great sense of peace that He will continue to meet every need, and that he will continue to guide us with the resources and skills that He has already given us.
Blessed by community:
We've been blessed by our Fuller family. Living in this community has be the most positive experience as we have learnt more about what it means to live in community - to love and serve one another. Here we have found life long friendships and I have learnt that keeping up appearances is an enemy to authentic community and hospitality. I'd rather have an open door to a messy apartment where okay, so the dishes are piled up and the floor needs vacuuming, but conversation flows and lives connect, than have my 'closed for business' sign up because I feel the need to hide the fact that I'm not perfect at keeping my home in order. I don't mind if people see the real me, and frankly, I'd prefer it if they did. As I'm learning in the book that Clayton and I are reading together, (Abba's Child by Brennan Manning); keeping up appearances is a worthless and destructive exercise. I'll be honest and admit that I'm still human and want people to think that I have it all together, but I'm slowly discovering that there is more freedom in just being myself and being okay with that. I've been blessed to be a part of a community that considers the needs of others - where meals are prepared for families going through a tough time and material possessions are shared; where families care for not only their own children but also their neighbours, so that husband and wife can enjoy a precious night out. You know that Christ is at work, when a family who have just had their third baby, have meals 'taken care of' every night for the next month!
Blessed that God has been working both in and through us:
I'm going to be vulnerable with what I'm about to share, but I feel like the way God has been leading us has been instrumental in tearing down the 'impostor within' that Manning refers to in his book Abba's Child. By this he means the false self that we would like to project and be know by. Okay, so that explanation probably does not suffice, and you'll just have to read the book for yourself, but one of the areas that he talks about is how we start to allow ourselves to draw our identity from our achievements, and interpersonal relationships. Coming out here, we were at last no bodies. We had no reputation to precede us and no position or title that demanded honor or respect. We were here - plain old Clayton and Angela Coombs. It's been a refreshing and encouraging time. So it turns out that people seem to like us for who we are - that's nice. But not the point. We have not had to live our lives preoccupied with acceptance or approval, but have enjoyed living out of who God has made us to be. It has been delightful to see Clayton loving what he is doing and digging deep - not because he has to, but because he genuinely wants to. And I have loved being immersed in community and raising our boys - not a flashy or thrilling life, but one where I feel like I have been able to find myself. So that's right, I was going to share vulnerably with you, well I suppose that having Clayton serving in a full-time ministry position brought with it a certain degree of prominence. We walked away from that because we knew that we needed to be obedient to where God was drawing us to next, but for the longest time, I believed that we were supposed to return to full-time ministry and that that would be the next step. But it's amazing how we can have a sense of what the future holds, but be totally clueless about how it will all unfold and when. God has an amazingly natural yet unmistakable way of leading our lives and He has not led us in the way that I would have expected. Had you talked to me a year ago, I would never have dreamed that we would spend the next four or so years living in Chicago while Clayton worked on a PhD. A more likely scenario would have had us return to Melbourne to settle down and get back into serving once again in the local church. How does doing a PhD fit in with a 'life long call to ministry'? Well we had to settle the issue. Yes we ultimately feel called to serve the local church, but in what capacity? Only God knows. So this is where I get vulnerable; I think that it was my flesh that secretly sought after the prominence that came with ministry leadership, and that I felt that we needed to put ourselves forward and 'make it happen'. But we have resigned to the fact that if we were to give ourselves the permission to push or force open doors that God was not really opening, then we would only be submitting ourselves to a place of toil, putting our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So we are just going to follow God, and trust that He will open the right doors to us in His good time. He has mercifully granted us the opportunity to once again live life without prominence. I suspect that our children's lives will be all the better for this decision, as from what I have observed, seldom do children benefit from a parent's prominence, but rather they thrive on the significance that parents place on their lives by sharing the best years of their lives together.
Blessed with family:
Today we celebrated Judah's 4th birthday. For most, a 4th birthday is just like the third, and not as big a deal as the fifth. But for us, Judah being a leap year baby, was finally celebrating his birthday on February 29! It has been a wonderful week for us, as we have been reminded yet again of the love that our family back home in Melbourne has for us. The delivery man could testify that we have been thought of this week, with the number of packages that have arrived to wish Judah a happy birthday. Then there have been the phone calls, cards and emails as well. With family like that, our children will never have reason to doubt that they are loved. And speaking of family, wow I feel blessed in my marriage to Clayton and blessed at the privilege that it is to have brought children into the world with him and be able to play such an integral part in raising them together. I am convinced that my life is good.
Well it is extremely late, and I fear that this blog entry is long enough that no one will have read it. But since it has served the purpose of helping me reflect on God's lavish blessings and love, I suppose that it doesn't really matter if no body reads it.
That will do for now!
Blessed in our finances:
I'm learning, that God really is looking out for us and that He really does want to bless us. How is it that we were prepared to take a huge step backwards financially in moving out here for Clayton to study, and yet, a year later, we have hardly gone backwards if at all? We haven't even been living poorly either. I mean, we've enjoyed a pretty blessed existence, and have enjoyed luxuries that most people will never experience. All I can conclude is that God is a generous God and that He continues to be our provider. And what does all that mean in the context that we live in, when there are poor homeless people living on the streets that surround us? Without a doubt, God has blessed us to be a blessing, and while we have not the means to welcome each and every homeless stranger into our home to be warm and well fed, we have had the ability to do the little things to strengthen their spirits and give hope. We're glad that we have had this time to expose our children to the reality that not everyone has a warm bed to sleep in at night. We're even more delighted in the response that this reality has drawn from them. Both Judah and Nathan treat each beggar with respect. Rather than looking the other way and ignoring the man on the corner who jingles his coin collecting cup up and down, they interact with him and engage him in conversation. They bring a smile to his face and plead with their dad to have a turn to give him some money. One of the things that we have observed, is that many homeless people have a greater awareness of God and their need for Him to help them make it through each day. Perhaps this is why Jesus said "Blessed are the poor". I can pretty much say for certain that you and I will never live in such severe poverty, but regardless of how rich or poor we may be, we need to forever acknowledge our dependence on God as our Jehovah Jireh - our provider. As we face this next chapter of our lives in Chicago, we don't yet know how it will all work financially, but in the words of brother K. Conner, "If it's God's Will, it's God's bill." We're feeling a great sense of peace that He will continue to meet every need, and that he will continue to guide us with the resources and skills that He has already given us.
Blessed by community:
We've been blessed by our Fuller family. Living in this community has be the most positive experience as we have learnt more about what it means to live in community - to love and serve one another. Here we have found life long friendships and I have learnt that keeping up appearances is an enemy to authentic community and hospitality. I'd rather have an open door to a messy apartment where okay, so the dishes are piled up and the floor needs vacuuming, but conversation flows and lives connect, than have my 'closed for business' sign up because I feel the need to hide the fact that I'm not perfect at keeping my home in order. I don't mind if people see the real me, and frankly, I'd prefer it if they did. As I'm learning in the book that Clayton and I are reading together, (Abba's Child by Brennan Manning); keeping up appearances is a worthless and destructive exercise. I'll be honest and admit that I'm still human and want people to think that I have it all together, but I'm slowly discovering that there is more freedom in just being myself and being okay with that. I've been blessed to be a part of a community that considers the needs of others - where meals are prepared for families going through a tough time and material possessions are shared; where families care for not only their own children but also their neighbours, so that husband and wife can enjoy a precious night out. You know that Christ is at work, when a family who have just had their third baby, have meals 'taken care of' every night for the next month!
Blessed that God has been working both in and through us:
I'm going to be vulnerable with what I'm about to share, but I feel like the way God has been leading us has been instrumental in tearing down the 'impostor within' that Manning refers to in his book Abba's Child. By this he means the false self that we would like to project and be know by. Okay, so that explanation probably does not suffice, and you'll just have to read the book for yourself, but one of the areas that he talks about is how we start to allow ourselves to draw our identity from our achievements, and interpersonal relationships. Coming out here, we were at last no bodies. We had no reputation to precede us and no position or title that demanded honor or respect. We were here - plain old Clayton and Angela Coombs. It's been a refreshing and encouraging time. So it turns out that people seem to like us for who we are - that's nice. But not the point. We have not had to live our lives preoccupied with acceptance or approval, but have enjoyed living out of who God has made us to be. It has been delightful to see Clayton loving what he is doing and digging deep - not because he has to, but because he genuinely wants to. And I have loved being immersed in community and raising our boys - not a flashy or thrilling life, but one where I feel like I have been able to find myself. So that's right, I was going to share vulnerably with you, well I suppose that having Clayton serving in a full-time ministry position brought with it a certain degree of prominence. We walked away from that because we knew that we needed to be obedient to where God was drawing us to next, but for the longest time, I believed that we were supposed to return to full-time ministry and that that would be the next step. But it's amazing how we can have a sense of what the future holds, but be totally clueless about how it will all unfold and when. God has an amazingly natural yet unmistakable way of leading our lives and He has not led us in the way that I would have expected. Had you talked to me a year ago, I would never have dreamed that we would spend the next four or so years living in Chicago while Clayton worked on a PhD. A more likely scenario would have had us return to Melbourne to settle down and get back into serving once again in the local church. How does doing a PhD fit in with a 'life long call to ministry'? Well we had to settle the issue. Yes we ultimately feel called to serve the local church, but in what capacity? Only God knows. So this is where I get vulnerable; I think that it was my flesh that secretly sought after the prominence that came with ministry leadership, and that I felt that we needed to put ourselves forward and 'make it happen'. But we have resigned to the fact that if we were to give ourselves the permission to push or force open doors that God was not really opening, then we would only be submitting ourselves to a place of toil, putting our noses to the grindstone so to speak. So we are just going to follow God, and trust that He will open the right doors to us in His good time. He has mercifully granted us the opportunity to once again live life without prominence. I suspect that our children's lives will be all the better for this decision, as from what I have observed, seldom do children benefit from a parent's prominence, but rather they thrive on the significance that parents place on their lives by sharing the best years of their lives together.
Blessed with family:
Today we celebrated Judah's 4th birthday. For most, a 4th birthday is just like the third, and not as big a deal as the fifth. But for us, Judah being a leap year baby, was finally celebrating his birthday on February 29! It has been a wonderful week for us, as we have been reminded yet again of the love that our family back home in Melbourne has for us. The delivery man could testify that we have been thought of this week, with the number of packages that have arrived to wish Judah a happy birthday. Then there have been the phone calls, cards and emails as well. With family like that, our children will never have reason to doubt that they are loved. And speaking of family, wow I feel blessed in my marriage to Clayton and blessed at the privilege that it is to have brought children into the world with him and be able to play such an integral part in raising them together. I am convinced that my life is good.
Well it is extremely late, and I fear that this blog entry is long enough that no one will have read it. But since it has served the purpose of helping me reflect on God's lavish blessings and love, I suppose that it doesn't really matter if no body reads it.
That will do for now!
Sunday, 29 April 2007
Judah goes missing...
Today Judah decided that we would be playing a game of Hide and Seek, or as the Americans call it, Hide and Go Seek. Imagine the situation; we live in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment for which there is only a hand full of suitable hiding places, and since we had played hide and seek here a couple of times already, I was already pretty familiar with all of the hideout spots - or so I thought. There's the wardrobes, the pantry, and a couple of other tighter cupboards. Then there's more conspicuous places like under the rug! So you get the idea - when we play, I'm merely amusing them with my wondering around calling out "Where's Judah?" or "Where are you Nathan?" You can pretty much know for certain that their hiding places will be both obvious and unoriginal. The other thing is that when they hide, they are usually not all that focused on staying hidden, and will typically, make some noise or move around so that you can hear them.
Well, today it was different. Today our little game of hide and seek went to a whole new level. I took Nathan in to the bathroom with me (that's our counting room) while Judah went to hide. I counted out loud "One, two, three....eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!" We wondered around the apartment checking all of the usual places. Nathan looking with me saying "Where's Dudah gone?" "I don't know." I would reply. After checking all of the usual places and not having heard any movements, I started to get slightly concerned. "Judah? Judah where are you?" No reply. Could he have left the apartment? He had never done so before, and was generally the sort who would be too scared to venture off on his own. I decided that I would just need to look more thoroughly. I looked briefly under his bed, a place that we had never hidden before. No. Not there. I got Clayton involved in the search. By now, Nathan is well practised in asking and answering the question, "Dudah? Where's Dudah? - I dunno." We decided that we had better check outside in the corridor. No. "Clayton. Check the garbage disposal room. He could be in there." No not there either. Now, although not panicked, my concern is growing. He could have ventured off down the lift, and if he did that, and got out at the car park, he'd be stranded there without a key card. I ran down the corridor and checked the car park. I called out, "Judah? JUDAH? Judah are you there?" First floor, "Judah?" Still no sign.
It felt like it had been maybe 15 minutes since we had begun to play, but in reality it had probably only been 5 or 10. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. "Judah? Are you here? I've got ice-cream!" That didn't do it. A short time later he emerged. He had been so determined to stay hidden that he had accidentally wet his pants, and needed to make his way to the toilet. Where had he been? Hiding under his bed, behind a suitcase! I had looked there, but obviously not thoroughly.
We all had a good laugh and big sigh of relief. We congratulated him on his hiding skills, and thought it prudent to just remind him that he should never leave the apartment on his own. That was it for our little game today. Oh, and yes; it was not long before I was reminded of my earlier inducement for ice-cream.
Well, today it was different. Today our little game of hide and seek went to a whole new level. I took Nathan in to the bathroom with me (that's our counting room) while Judah went to hide. I counted out loud "One, two, three....eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!" We wondered around the apartment checking all of the usual places. Nathan looking with me saying "Where's Dudah gone?" "I don't know." I would reply. After checking all of the usual places and not having heard any movements, I started to get slightly concerned. "Judah? Judah where are you?" No reply. Could he have left the apartment? He had never done so before, and was generally the sort who would be too scared to venture off on his own. I decided that I would just need to look more thoroughly. I looked briefly under his bed, a place that we had never hidden before. No. Not there. I got Clayton involved in the search. By now, Nathan is well practised in asking and answering the question, "Dudah? Where's Dudah? - I dunno." We decided that we had better check outside in the corridor. No. "Clayton. Check the garbage disposal room. He could be in there." No not there either. Now, although not panicked, my concern is growing. He could have ventured off down the lift, and if he did that, and got out at the car park, he'd be stranded there without a key card. I ran down the corridor and checked the car park. I called out, "Judah? JUDAH? Judah are you there?" First floor, "Judah?" Still no sign.
It felt like it had been maybe 15 minutes since we had begun to play, but in reality it had probably only been 5 or 10. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. "Judah? Are you here? I've got ice-cream!" That didn't do it. A short time later he emerged. He had been so determined to stay hidden that he had accidentally wet his pants, and needed to make his way to the toilet. Where had he been? Hiding under his bed, behind a suitcase! I had looked there, but obviously not thoroughly.
We all had a good laugh and big sigh of relief. We congratulated him on his hiding skills, and thought it prudent to just remind him that he should never leave the apartment on his own. That was it for our little game today. Oh, and yes; it was not long before I was reminded of my earlier inducement for ice-cream.
Sunday, 22 April 2007
A word of wisdom from Judah
You remember that verse in John about Caiaphas prophesying without knowing it or intending to about the way Jesus' death should be interpreted (Check out Jn 11:51)? Well on a much smaller and less serious scale, Judah said something to me just before we left for the US, the significance of which he could not possibly have understood. It was a very innocent moment - fun too, but deeply profound. Here's how it happened:
Judah was playing with his lego, and rather than just sit there passively watching him, I decided to play with him. Actually I didn't really engage (I was thinking about something else) but I wanted him to have the benefit of thinking that I was. Perhaps externalising my frustration at just not getting activities like lego (I've never been much good at lego) I began to randomly stack one piece on another, ignoring their size, shape and colour, to see how high it would get before it toppled over. Judah was clearly put out, and kept saying 'no, NO that's not how you do it Dad!' I persisted assuming that I needed to expand his stubborn little mind to other possibilities, until in frustration he protested "It doesn't matter how high it goes Dad!"
Those words hit me between the eyes. I've often said that God seldom has any interest in revealing the 'grand plan' of our lives and frequently leads us simply by showing us the 'next step' (See Ps 37:23 - one of my favourite verses). I've actually forgotten exactly what thoughts I was preoccupied with that day that were preventing me from playing with my son, but to be honest, based on raw statistics, there is an extremely good chance I was thinking of the distant future (what's after the next step?).
For the first time Judah had my full attention. I looked down and suddenly realised what his project was and why he was so frustrated with me. He too wanted to see how high he could build, but was intent on laying a good foundation so it wouldn't fall over. He was fastidiously covering every square of the green base mat before he would allow the construction to proceed to the second level.
And then I got it. It doesn't matter how high it goes. It just doesn't matter what the distant future looks like. It doesn't matter how or even if every dream I have will come to pass. Actually there's an awful lot that doesn't matter and very little that does. What matters now is following Jesus and taking the next step of obedience. Again I felt God confirm to me the step of faith we had taken in early 06 because for us the next step is laying a foundation - not building a tower.
And then I just lightened up and played lego.
Judah was playing with his lego, and rather than just sit there passively watching him, I decided to play with him. Actually I didn't really engage (I was thinking about something else) but I wanted him to have the benefit of thinking that I was. Perhaps externalising my frustration at just not getting activities like lego (I've never been much good at lego) I began to randomly stack one piece on another, ignoring their size, shape and colour, to see how high it would get before it toppled over. Judah was clearly put out, and kept saying 'no, NO that's not how you do it Dad!' I persisted assuming that I needed to expand his stubborn little mind to other possibilities, until in frustration he protested "It doesn't matter how high it goes Dad!"
Those words hit me between the eyes. I've often said that God seldom has any interest in revealing the 'grand plan' of our lives and frequently leads us simply by showing us the 'next step' (See Ps 37:23 - one of my favourite verses). I've actually forgotten exactly what thoughts I was preoccupied with that day that were preventing me from playing with my son, but to be honest, based on raw statistics, there is an extremely good chance I was thinking of the distant future (what's after the next step?).
For the first time Judah had my full attention. I looked down and suddenly realised what his project was and why he was so frustrated with me. He too wanted to see how high he could build, but was intent on laying a good foundation so it wouldn't fall over. He was fastidiously covering every square of the green base mat before he would allow the construction to proceed to the second level.
And then I got it. It doesn't matter how high it goes. It just doesn't matter what the distant future looks like. It doesn't matter how or even if every dream I have will come to pass. Actually there's an awful lot that doesn't matter and very little that does. What matters now is following Jesus and taking the next step of obedience. Again I felt God confirm to me the step of faith we had taken in early 06 because for us the next step is laying a foundation - not building a tower.
And then I just lightened up and played lego.
Thursday, 29 March 2007
Tuesday, 6 February 2007
Judah the Chiro
Thanks to those of you who let me know that this video clip was not playing. I have tried to rectify the problem. So please let me know if it is playing ok now. This clip was taken around Christmas time.
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