Love is Patient (The Love Dare, Fireproof)

This quote is from The Love Dare, it makes us smile! Don't you like it?

"It is simply inevitable that two people living in close proximity will irritate each other a bit, maybe a lot. So unless love is laced with patience rather that based on performance, the love inside a marriage will only be as consistent as your spouse is."

The book called The Love Dare, has a movie make based on it called, Fireproof. Well worth seeing. See,

http://orders.koorong.com/search/product/view.jhtml?code=602341003698

http://thelovedarebook.com/

Make your Own Animation Movie for Free

Download Pivot.

My 7 year old, 12 year old and 14 year old have great fun doing it!

There are a few places where you can get it, try

http://www.snapfiles.com/GeT/sTiCKFiGuRe.html

or

http://pivot-stickfigure-animator.en.softonic.com/

or

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Graphic/Graphic-Others/Pivot-Stickfigure-Animator.shtml

Enjoy.

World Maths Day

My boys Joseph and Joshua are enjoying practising for the World Maths Day 2010. It takes them to competitors all over the world as they practice mental maths every day in anticipation of the big day. Each day they are ranked according to their age groups. Joseph is 12 so in the 9-13 age group, and Joshua 14 is in the 14-18 age group. Right at this moment Jo is ranking 7th in the world and Joshua 2nd. Of course it changes all the time and throughout the day as people wake up and go to sleep, take a break etc. We have figured out that the kid who won last year bearly got any sleep in 48 hours. As my kids are not allowed to do things like that it makes the competition stiffer. We figured out two boys were playing this morning at 1 AM their time and wondered if their parent knew they were awake and playing maths competitions! :-) It certainly can be quite addictive and I have Josh and Jo finishing school work in record time and with record excellence, in order to have time left over in the day to compete/practice. As it is very hot here in Brizzie at this time of the year and we do not have a pool, so it is a good way to spend time until the weather cools down again, as it is just far too hot to spend much time outside. Why don't you try it, World Maths Day might just make maths fun!

Jonathan has started his own blog!

http://profound-grace.blogspot.com/

Free colouring in pages for kids

http://www.coloring-pages-kids.com/index.php

Pampoen Sop/ Pumpkin Soup, serves at least 10!

Actually I call it "Goldilocks Soup" for my children and it cured then of not liking pumpkin. They know it is pumpkin now but still like it. Here is my recipe.


Wash and then bake a very large pumpkin in the oven on a tray. Do it well ahead of time so that you do not burn your fingers when you peal the skin off later. It should not be so well done that it collapses, rather just soft enough to eat but still fairly firm.


In the mean while peal 5 onions and 3 or more garlic cloves. Using a very big pot, start to fry your onion in olive oil alongside spices of your choice, use in generous quantities. I use something like 3 tablespoons of very mild curry, a teaspoon of ginger, three teaspoons of garlic salt ( I would not use as much ordinary salt) and then some mixed herbs ( about 3 tablespoons, fresh herbs would be nicer, but i am not that good in the garden, maybe one day!) Sometimes I use bay leaves (4-6)) and turmeric (1teaspoon) and Cinnamon (3 teaspoons) too. Don't let your spices burn! Add garlic and then 2 kg's of bacon. (We seldom eat bacon as it has preservative in so when we do it is a very special treat.) Cook until done.


Add a kettle of boiled water (about 1.7 litres) and all your pumpkin (minus pips and skin) and a bag of red lentils, 375 grams or double if you want extra protein. Cook until your lentils are soft, making sure there is enough liquid to prevent burning. (I don't usually need to add more for 375 grams of lentils) Also to prevent burning turn the temperature down once it is boiling and stir regularly.


We always burn our tongues in our eagerness to try it - so add a dash of fresh orange juice or a dash of milk to help cool it down. Of course cream would be nice but we never have it handy!


And yes, we can almost eat all of it in one meal, if my parents eat with us, it is all gone! Serve with a salad alongside it, if you like. But we usually just finish off with a lovely fresh fruit salad, for dessert. Yummy and healthy! Don't ask me how to do it in small quantities... just give some away to someone else if you want to try the recipe or save it for later. It does fine in the fridge, although I can only vouch for overnight as ours never lasts longer than breakfast the next day. I have tried to freeze it but personally prefer it fresh!
Enjoy!
Dis lekker, ne?
I have subsequently started a cooking blog, see http://quiverfullcooking.blogspot.com/

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness 2

Jonathan's baptism was very moving. People kept congratulating me but I felt really embarrassed by this (perhaps it was just a cultural way of being happy for me that I did not understand, I still find I miss things along the way, so maybe?) Anyway one thought that has come of it was that, "you have no grandchildren in Christianity!" No credit should be mine, it is by God's good kindness and grace that my son, Jonathan, has this gift of eternal life and eternal peace. Life in all it's fullness right now as he enjoys the best of life with the greatest happiness possible and only possible through belief in Jesus Christ.

Baptism is a picture/symbol of the old life dead, in the grave ( under the water) and new life with Christ symbolised as you are raised up out of the water. In itself Baptism holds no power at all, it is just a symbolic act that Jesus of Nazareth who is God, asked his followers to do something like 2000 years ago.

You can see Jonathan's testimony at his new blog and I will give you a link as soon as he is ready! He had some friends from other churches join us for this service and some some people came for afternoon tea too. It was a very good day....thank you to all who came and participated in this special occasion!

A couple were also baptised. She was from a Catholic background but had not met Jesus and was introduced to the Lord by her husband to be, when she was about 13/14. Another young man was from the Middle East and has had his family cut ties since he has come to faith. Pray for his safety and God's provision for him as he has no financial support from family now as he studies in Australia.

Here is Jonathan being baptised. My heart is indeed filled with thankfulness!