Loving our Children in 14 inches of Snow!!! - A Dose of Encouragement

On 14th March 1993 our family awoke to 

14 inches of snow at our front door. 

 

Needless to say this was not in Northern Ireland, nor in Belgium but in the lovely village of Hockessin in the state of 

Delaware, USA.

The kids were young then and Fred and I were full of energy then too so as Fred dug down into the hard packed snow on the driveway and cut it away in blocks the kids and I used them to make an igloo on the front lawn.


Of course we could not form it completely to curve it in so it was an open-top igloo.

Then our neighbours (another couple from Northern Ireland) came out and we all went round to the back of our houses to enjoy sledding down the slope of our gardens which was a good distance because none of the houses had boundary fences or hedges or walls.  In fact our home garden just merged into the woods behind our neighbourhood or estate (as we call it in the UK).



We just got on the sleds and slid until we came to a natural stop, or an unnatural one where we ended up across the side cul-de-sac and up to the front door of another house (but that was mainly Fred).

That is one of the greatest memories we have of winter in Delaware.


Well last Saturday here in Banbridge, NI we had some snow and even though it made us think back to all those years ago, we could not even make a snowball let along an igloo in our front garden here.

Making lasting family memories is good for children.

Memories are great, especially when they make us smile or laugh, and they are something special that we have to share together. 


However we need to have spent time together to form these memories and these days I often look at the kids in church and everywhere else and wonder what memories they are building up with their families for the future while they are so engrossed in all these electronic games and gadgets. 

I am thankful to God for all the places we have been and all the experiences we have had as a family over the years but I'm also grateful for the fact that we became Christians before we got married and had our children so that God was a part of our marriage and family life together because that makes such a difference.


Are there any children in your neighbourhood or church who do not have the privilege of growing up in a Christian family?

Can we not find some ways of making a difference for Jesus in the lives of these children?



You may be interested in some other  Doses of Encouragement

The Devil and Our Minds - A Dose of Encouragement

There is a passage in the Bible about someone very strange.

Someone whose mind the Devil had invaded

Let's Look at Mark ch 5 v 1-17

This passage tells us about the encounter the man called legion had with Jesus.

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

Below are some questions I asked the kids in our church one Sunday morning.

I'd like to ask you the same questions:

• What was his name?
• Where did he live?
• What did he do?
• Who loved him?
• Who didn't love him?

When we think on these questions we get a picture of the circumstances of this man's life. Not a life we would like to have.  

He was tormented within and many people today are also tormented within, not perhaps in the same way as this man but still tormented within feeling unloved, lonely, no self-worth.

The answer to the last question is very important.

Satan doesn't love any of us. 


Satan wants us to

• Feel unloved
• Be lonely
• Hurt others
• Hurt ourselves
• Hate God
• Blame God for everything that happens
• Or at the very least just not think about God

Satan DIDN'T solve any of Legion's problems because 

he DIDN'T care about Legion.

Jesus DID care about Legion and deliberately went to help him.

It is the Lord who is in control over all and only His titles matter.

Above we can see just a few of the titles or names that the Lord Jesus has.  

In this passage of Scripture we are not told the names of the many demons that were trying to kill this man because their names do not matter.

 It is the Lord who is in control over all and only His titles matter.

Satan wanted to destroy Legion's mind

And he wants to destroy our minds too.

Satan wants to destroy our minds.

Jesus loved Legion.

And He loves us too.

Legion became like a new person, a new creation, when he met Jesus, and so can we when we turn our backs on Satan and don't listen to him and instead turn to Jesus and let him be the Lord of our lives.



If you enjoyed reading this post you may enjoy some of my other 

Devotional or Bible Study Type Posts

or

Encouragement Posts

or 

read more from Mark ch 5

I'm thankful that Jesus loves me and is my Lord.


Do you know that Jesus loves you too?

3 Kings & A Camel - A Dose of Encouragement

Tonight we had a puppet show at church.

We laughed so hard I nearly cried.

I wish I had taken a video clip because it will be so hard to explain the episode with the camel to someone who was not there.

The three wise men, dressed as kings, were riding along on one camel following the star.


The music had a certain beat to it that meant the puppeteers were jolting the camel & kings along forward for three beats and then flinging their heads backwards on the fourth beat.


A few times of this went okay and then one of the kings flung his head back so hard he lost his crown.


Next time one of the kings almost disappeared as the one in front head-butted him but then to "crown" it all off the next time the camel head-butted the first king which resulted in him head-butting the second king and of course he head-butted the third king making all of them look like they were falling off the camel.

We laughed so hard I nearly cried.

However the main problem lay in the fact that the camel had such a cute looking face that you had to forgive him & love him even if he may have almost killed the 3 kings.

Christmas Card I sent the Church Kids

Afterwards we came to the decision that the grown ups probably laughed louder than the kids.  We went through to have some refreshments and some of us were doing the camel dance (minus the head-butting of course) and saying how we loved the camel.

So what was the result of our Christmas Puppet Show? 

• Children & adults both had a great time.

• Laughter brought lots of smiles. 

• Easy time of chatting with guests in the relaxed atmosphere.

• Everyone saw & heard the nativity story in a way they won't forget.

• The teenage puppeteers worked together to tell others the Message of God's Love.

God is so good to us all of the time but often we don't see this and miss out on the great enjoyment we can have in our Christian walk, we forget to smile and enjoy being with others.


Of course just as the verse above says we need to have wisdom and choose good friends and companions.

Perhaps we need to see & hear God's word in a way that we don't want to forget it but rather spread it around so that everyone can hear & see God's Love because God wants us to do that for Him, 

Yes - US - the ones who know it all first-hand.

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

Here are some other  Christmas Posts

Water, Water, Everywhere? - A Dose of Encouragement

Well not quite, but most areas in Northern Ireland were getting very heavy rain yet again today after the flooding in Belfast yesterday.  
Some great pics have been tweeted around and the papers are full of them too, especially the one of the police jeep half submerged and where can the police go but onto the roof.

We drove from Banbridge to Londonderry yesterday afternoon via Belfast and the journey was okay until we got closer to Londonderry and the rain came down so hard I could scarcely see a few metres in front of me.  We laughed and said thank goodness we live at the top of a hill and so does my sister (our destination).

Great visit seeing our new great nephew only one week old and of course taking lots of pictures of everyone provided they got close enough to the baby because, of course, he was the star attraction.  


We were actually celebrating so many things yesterday that our nephew declared it was like a mini Christmas with all the cards and gifts being exchanged.  


There was a new baby, a birthday, an anniversary, and a new home.

Then came all the news about the flooding, the many roads that were closed, the damage done to homes and businesses and about the way people were helping others like the guy with the surf board, yes I did say surf board, and the guy in the canoe/kayak.  The RNLI were out helping with 2 boats as well and the Red Cross were distributing aid.

Travelling back this morning was relatively rain free but now as I write this the rain is pouring down in Banbridge again and probably elsewhere too.  As we came through Belfast this morning to drop off our son most of the roads that had been shut down to traffic last night were open again but loads of damage done that will not be fixed up as quickly as the roads can dry up.  


Most of the talk in the coming days and weeks will be of how the flooding should never have happened, the council were not prepared for it etc. and the city will be rife with criticism and the caring, helpful people will not be talked about in all the major discussions. 

I love the way these people and organisations I have mentioned above and others didn't sit back and complain but got out there and helped in there own small or large but generous way.  There were probably many other good samaritans around the city who I will never hear about but they all deserve praise for helping others.


They say there could be more flooding today and maybe tomorrow but then too there will be people who will step forward to help and show that they care for others.  This is something we should all be ready to do but usually we are too concerned with what irritates us rather than thinking about who we could make a difference for.


The Bible teaches us to look out for our neighbours and our friends and not to stop there but to care about all people.  Jesus cared for young, old, Jew or gentile.  He didn't stop and think now where do they live or who are they associated with or what did someone say about them the other day?- no He cares about everyone.    

So we are also to care about everyone and help to make a difference for good in this world.  

It's even a command from the Lord.

We don't need to wait for something like a flood to happen but there are many ways we can look out for others, we just need to notice what their needs might be.

If we follow the command from the Bible to love others then we will want to help in all situations.

We don't need to wait for something like a flood to happen

We should ask God each day to make us aware of people we can help or even needs we should be praying for.

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

And some other Posts about Northern Ireland

Which Point of View? - A Dose of Encouragement

One night in Kettles hotel near Dublin, breakfast, free wifi.  

Get to the room and tv is not easy to work, wardrobe hanging space is only high enough to hang trousers so nowhere to even hang a coat.

One of the bedside lights missing has obviously been broken off the wall.

Wifi very poor, keeps losing connection, and basically not even strong enough to show emails with pictures and takes ages to download emails on my ipad plus most apps keep saying there is no network connection.

We had got a Groupon deal so not our first choice but it had sounded better or at least read better than it was.

My husband trying to work (when he should be relaxing but as usual something had cropped up) & calls are ok but some stuff cannot be done as he can't get things downloaded.


What's the solution?

Go home the next day early and forget about actually going into Dublin City.

      

 Is this the best solution?    Yes

He needs to access the data and it can't be done tonight here so he needs to go home to a good (better connection) to do so.

We can come see round Dublin another time because we are not so far away from it and anyway after over 20 years since last being there another few weeks or months won't matter.

I don't need to get too annoyed because it will only affect me and him and that's not fair on him when he has work deadlines and stress enough from that.

I also don't need to make him stay and go around the city for hours when he will still have his mind on work so it will not be so pleasurable for either of us and will actually only be more stressful for him with a deadline approaching.



How do I spend my evening while he is struggling with the laptop?

Well it is the evening when Sandy (not named after me) is about to hit the East coast of America so I'm watching all the news on CNN (one of the few channels available in the room).  We lived in the state of Delaware for 3 years quite some time ago but because of that I know places that are being mentioned, I have been to some of the places where the reporters are actually standing & later tonight Delaware is going to be hit by the effects of this storm.

It all boils down to how we allow ourselves to view things.

So when I consider how many people are already without electricity because of Sandy and how many are going to be left homeless; I can put my couple of days into perspective and not allow myself to get distraught over our situation and certainly not put more pressure on a good, loving, hardworking husband with whom I have spent 35 years of married life and intend to share many more.

God has given us instructions which are always for our benefit and one of them is about loving others.

It all boils down to how we allow ourselves to view things.


If it is only from our point of view and not taking others into consideration then we are on the wrong track as we will never be happy and others will know how much we don't care about them.

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement

Olympic Torch Run in Northern Ireland - Xtra Special Day

On Monday 4th June 2012 we were delighted to return to our hometown of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, to see our nephew Lee Kitson carry the Olympic Torch through part of the Waterside area. 

Lee is a good fencer, coach and referee, although where he gets this from is beyond all of us as none of the immediate family are very sporty but Lee has a good talent when it comes to fencing. He also started a Fencing Club in Jordanstown, Belfast in 2011. 

Lee with his mum & dad

Well I was armed with the video camera and Fred (my husband) was armed with one of his cameras, while Lee's mum and dad and brother and sister and brother-in-law also had cameras and video cameras.  As soon as Lee was left off at his starting position with his torch in his hand he became a celebrity.  

Later I asked Fred why he had taken quite a few photos of strangers with Lee only to be told that he didn't know if Lee knew them or not because Lee just stood and smiled and let everyone pose with him.  

Friends got pictures taken, children got pictures, grown-ups got pictures and teenage girls got pictures (that bit we could understand completely as Lee is a good looking 20 year old) and even the family managed to push in and get pictures taken with him.

Lighting the Torch

Then it was his time to run and we all got very excited seeing his torch being lit and taking over in the relay from a young girl.  Getting pictures and video was relatively easy when he was standing still but much harder when he took off on the run. Now we had warned him to run slowly so we could have more time to enjoy but Lee is about 6 foot 4 ins tall with long legs and running slowly for him is fast for someone like me (being quite petite in height).  

Me keeping up with Lee but not for long

Fred (who is 6 foot tall & a bit fit) ran along one side of the road stopping and turning to snap shots of Lee and I gallantly ran off on the other side trying to keep up with lee or even get in front of him to try to take more video.  

That was a laugh for everyone as I was out of puff in no time at all, even calling out to him to run slowly just got a laugh from him in return (plus laughs from the security guys running alongside him).

Needless to say Fred got some nice shots as he could easily keep up with Lee but I just have shaky, blurry video for that part.

Front Page of the Local Paper

Lee gets to keep his torch so he will have a great momento of that "Moment to Shine" as well as all the photos the family and other friends have taken.  He even got his picture on the front page of the local paper (the Sentinel) with a little write up inside and then also discovered he was on You Tube as part of the video of the Torch Run in Londonderry.
The next day he was on the go again and raised money for a local charity by allowing more pictures to be taken of him and the torch.

Lee with Fred & I

The City of Londonderry was also in the news because some people tried to disrupt the Torch Relay but I am grateful that those who ran and completed the relay around the city where not thinking of anything political but instead they were proud to represent their country (no matter what their religion) in this once in a lifetime opportunity. 


         
         The smiles on the faces of all the runners proved that.

Here are some other  Xtra Special Days

And some Other Posts about Northern Ireland or Travel

Waiting for ..........? - A Dose of Encouragement

We have to wait for lots of things, some seem to take an eternity to happen and some not so long.  Some periods of waiting are long but seem shorter because you are in good company as you wait or you have something else to occupy you while you wait. 

 I rarely go anywhere without a puzzle to do, book to read or something to plan & a list to make when I know there might be something or someone to wait for.

I've waited for transport; I've waited for a journey to be completed; I've waited for an event to begin; I've waited for friends to arrive; I've waited for my mother while she was at hospital appointments; I've waited for my kids to get out of school or other events; I've waited for my kids to come home in the evenings; I've waited for my husband to finish a call for work so we can have lunch; I've waited for my father to come through an operation; I've waited for others when they've been busy talking to someone; I've waited for my husband to come home from business trips; I've waited at the dentist, doctor, hairdresser etc.

Then there are the things I've had to wait for that have involved a long period of months or years like waiting for Christmas, a birthday, my wedding day, each of the children to be born, a holiday time to arrive. 

There are also things that we don't consider we are waiting for but they are going to happen, the main example being the death of a loved one. 

During the past month I wasn't waiting for the month to be over but now it is over and the time, as we are always saying, "has just flown".  

          What did I do and what did I not do?  

                     What was I waiting for that happened or didn't happen?

Well we had different visitors, we went to a wedding, we visited family etc.  
Those were some of the things we waited for and they happened.  

But what about the things that didn't happen?  

I waited for a good time to restart being serious about losing more weight - didn't happen, I waited for a good time to clear out the garage - didn't happen, I waited for a good time to think more about writing this blog post - didn't happen until now during the next month. 

          Why did these things not happen?  

                    Simply because I allowed them not to happen.  

Always saying "not right now, too much else to do", or "not today, there will be another day when I feel more like doing it".  The whole month has gone and I could have done those things, but basically it was my choice not to.?????

We do not know how much time we have on this earth so what are we waiting for?

When I think of how easy it is for me to pass the month and keep simply putting things off to "another day" I can understand how many people put off thinking about the most important question in their lives - 

What will I do about Jesus?   

Putting it off to another day is not just setting it aside without a decision, like it is "pending", instead, it is the same as saying 

I don't want Jesus in my life.  

We cannot say "Jesus just hold on until I'm older, or until I have sorted out the rest of my life" it doesn't work that way.  We are really saying  "no"  to Jesus each time we put it off.


Will we follow what the Bible tells us to do?

Because this is what He wants us to do.



Because this is what makes this life really worthwhile.



Because this is what we have always been waiting for   -   what we were created for.

We do not know how much time we have on this earth so what are we waiting for?


The longer we wait to do something the harder it gets to actually buckle down and do it.

  

 Oh how the devil loves that because it keeps so many people 

just where he wants them  -  away from the Saviour.

If you want to think about this some more or see just how simple it is to believe and have faith in Jesus then please watch the short video  3.2.1  at the top of my sidebar.

Here are some other  Doses of Encouragement