Archive | May 2016

Наблюдение за природой


Шарлотта Мэйсон была новатором в сфере детского образования. Вы может больше о ней читать здесь и здесь.

Она очень ценит время на природе для детей, чтобы наблюдать, рисовать, писать, и т.д. Я годами не знала, как это сделать. Но она как-то сама делается. Виталий любит природу, дети сами интересуются в этом….

Сегодня в парке, мы видели и наблюдали лебедей … такие смешние шеи!

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Утка с утятами

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Скайла собирает листья в тетради

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Как организовать свою молитвенную жизнь!

Последние дни, Бог учит меня из этого стиха: “Помышления прилежного стремятся к изобилию”. На англиском, написано: “Планы прилежного стремятся к изобилию”.

Помышления, планы … Я понимаю, на столько Бог хочет, чтобы я планировала, чтобы я думала на перед…. Поездка, покупка, школа, одежда, еда, домохозяйство … Если я думаю на перед, планирую, как правило, дела идут более гладко. (И если что-то спонтанно или неожиданно, то легче переносить это тоже, потому что все вокруг более-менее хорошо продуманно.)

Насколько же это важно также и с нашими молитвами!

Помышления и планы прилежного о молитве  стремятся к изобилию! 

Около 5-6 лет назад, Бог начал меня побуждать к молитве, и до с тих пор, Он показывает мне, что то что будет в моей жизни, и в жизни моей семьи, моего мужа, моих детей, и в жизни нашей церкви … это будет в резултате молитвы. И Он желает, чтоб я была тот человек который молился за исполнение Его воли.

Он хочет это для каждего из нас! чтобы мы все участвовали в совершенстве Его воли тут на земле.

Я начала использовать “Как организовать свою молитвенную жизнь” (можно скачать) около 4 года назад. За все это время, у меня была уже 3-4 дневника– жизнь меняется, и нужды и сферы меняются также. Вот они:

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Со временим, мой дневник стал более гибким. Я пишу молитвы, собираю цитаты, пишу планы и мечты.

Я собирала идеи от разных старших женщин, и я хочу вам показать тоже, чтобы вдохновить вас в молитве, и чтобы мы все стали более привязанными к молитве и к водительсву Духа Святого. Этот дневник для меня хороший инструмент, помогает мне принести много плодов и хороших изминений. И если вы делаете свой молитвенный дневник, он тоже будет уникальным!

Вот, несколько мест из моего молитвенного дневника….

Стихи для заучивания в 2016-м:

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На лево, короткий список людей и служений и т.д., для быстрой молитвы. Если в этот день, у меня нет времени глубже молиться, я хочу молиться хотя бы за самое главное. (На право, еженеделный список.)

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Файл “Как организовать свою молитвенную жизнь” начинается с:

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Потом для себя:

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Для мужа, для детей, родителей, и т.д.

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Потом, еженеделные молитвы для разных вещей, члены церкви, мамы с детьми … :

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Служение “Гармония”

Служение "МаминоСердще"

Служение “МаминоСердще”

Церковний лагерь, 2015-ом

Церковний лагерь, 2015-ом

Мои идеалы и как больше по ними жить…

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Цитаты:

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Я с радостью печатала бы этот файл для вас! Время бежит, и нам нужно помышлать и планировать, как мы будем молиться!

 

staying involved in the birth world

One thing my love of midwifery has done is open up the world of breastfeeding, pregnancy, childrearing …. so many issues that touch with birth itself.

I was chatting with my midwifery mentor the other day, asking some advice from her about my current direction and involvements. And she encouraged me to just be involved with childbearing women/families however I can. There are SO MANY ways to stay involved.

We have three new moms at church, and each had been asking breastfeeding questions. So, after the conversation with my mentor, I looked up the breastfeeding hotline here in Ukraine, located in Kiev, and looked over their website. They offer a small class about a baby’s first month of life.

I contacted them, and we arranged a little seminar at my apartment. And we had that seminar, and the three new moms came. It. Was. Awesome!

The lady who came was so well-educated, explained so much so clearly, and she helped all the moms with breastfeeding. It really was amazing.

Afterwards, we shared all our notes with the other moms from church by writing them out in our social media group. Sharing knowledge. I’m so happy the moms feel more educated and confident. And they are able to save money by breastfeeding better– the consultant was able to help them get through some struggles. (And in a really struggling economy, being able to go off of supplementation and using other things that are costing moolah, is a good thing!)

Well, it was very fulfilling for me, that even though I’m not actively involved in birth, I can still be involved with moms! It was really neat-o.

Next, Lord willing, I’ll be arranging a similar seminar for pregnant women, about preparing for and starting breastfeeding. Maybe they can skip some of these struggles. For example, two of these new moms were sent home from the birth houses with their babies not even latching normally! I was aghast. And their babies were given formula as a matter of course ….

Anyway, onward ho!!

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Hospitality Journal #6

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and advantage, But everyone who acts in haste comes surely to poverty. AMPC

The Lord has been using the principle of planning very often the last few days. How much better things go, even spontaneous things, when there is basic planning!

And this principle blessed me in the latest hospitality opportunity. … I hosted a group of moms on Tuesday for a breastfeeding seminar, and then Thursday, a young family arrived from another city to stay with us for 3-4 days while the husband graduated from seminary.

I was kind of dragging after Tues, but I made myself plan Wed and work on Thurs (they arrived Thurs night). We cleaned and straightened the girls’ room, where they’d be staying, I had Vitaliy bring a child-sized floor mattress for one of their children to sleep on, washed and changed sheets, bought allergy-friendly foods for one of their children, bought flowers to put in their room, arranged empty closet space and small table spaces, a lamp …

And what really blessed me was when I pulled down the “hospitality bags” I’d prepared for our next guests! I’d totally forgotten what I’d put in there! Clean, new, rolled up towels! extra toothbrushes and razors! shampoo and conditioner! small bags of nuts! water bottles!

Wow!

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I was so blessed and energized by my own planning!! Thank you, God! …. And before they left, the lady hugged me and said she’d not expected such hospitality, and thank you!

And as they stayed with us, and I heard of her trials and trials and trials and seeing her faithfulness … I am just moved to tears that God blessed them in my house. They blessed me, too!

воспоминания

Я хочу вспомнить сегодняшний день. Я готовила ужин, и Скайла, Вика и Юна все были со мной на кухню. И я поняла, что … это была так приятно! Мы все занимались с чем-то полезно (Юна играла с водой). И мы балакали, работали, и я наслаждалась в этом моменте.

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Mommy Wars / Mommy Peace

I was looking through my Word files, and I came across this article I wrote ALMOST FOUR YEARS AGO!! Did I ever publish it?

Current-day Preface: I am a pastor’s / missionary’s wife. I have my own strong opinions about mothering. I’m almost 11 years into this deal and in the stages where I need convictions. I love my opinions and my convictions. They are hard won. But I love more that God taught them to me. And I recognize that He still is in the process of teaching me. I love even more that God loves all His children and teaches them all in His own way. I respect that— I respect Him!

I mean, I really respect that. It hurts the ego to respect that He teaches others and in His own ways.

I have actually lived out the advice I give in this article. I have kept my mouth shut when I wanted to argue. To bite off someone’s head and prove forever that I. Am. Right. I have kept my mouth shut when I WAS RIGHT but the moment was not right. I have waited. I have prayed. And you know, …. God gives the moments to speak. He works to open hearts. He gives ears to hear. I let Him do it in His way. I try my best not to control others’ choices AT. ALL. And to respect who they are. For me, this is kind of an “old hat” topic, but it’s not old hat for everyone. And so …. here it is (from 2012):

Deactivating Bombs

Not long ago my husband and I birthed our third child at home, alone. Just Vitaliy and me. God was there. And the baby. It was one of the most memorable experiences of our life together. And it was a pretty controversial choice, but I had my reasons for choosing to birth unattended, and so did my husband.

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I just know you’re all drooling on your keyboards now, avidly awaiting the gory details about the placenta and whether or not I ate it, as more and more moms are choosing to do these days (no joke!).

Well, OK. Fear not! The fate of our baby’s external organ will remain a mystery. And that’s the end of that topic, sorry if I grossed you out. Basically, I just had to juice up this article somehow and get you reading because I want to write about a boring, usually-comment-less topic:

Peace.

Specifically, peace among Christians. And even more specifically, peace among Christian parents. (The hullabaloo around TIME magazine’s recent attachment parenting and “mommy wars” article got me thinking.)

One of my main take-away verses from Hebrews 12 is verse 10: “For they [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them.” (NAS). Today, parenting is a really personal topic, and this is both good and bad. It’s good in the sense that at least we care deeply about parenting our children—we care enough as Christian parents to want to do what seems best for our kids.

It’s bad when we hurt each other over it. I confess, it’s exciting and somehow self-satisfying to harbor stereotypes, myths, and misconceptions toward those who make different parenting choices. And it’s polarizing. . . . The titillation makes for great ratings and website traffic, that’s for sure—a lot more than say, the peaceable acceptance of others’ differences or friendly dialogue about the why’s and wherefore’s of others’ choices.

It’s easy to feel judged as a parent by other parents’ choices. And it’s easy to judge those who are making different parenting choices. (I know: I have to pour my judgmental thoughts into a humble pie crust at least once a day and eat it. By God’s grace, love will rule me fully one day. Until then, I’ll keep swallowing.)

I’ve had to think about peace and unity in the church concerning parenting choices considerably in the last few years as our very youth-oriented church now has young married couples having children. A few years back, I started a weekly group for moms of young kids. (Repeat 1000 times: Moms of young kids need lots of encouragement. Moms of young kids need …)

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A mommy group can be a minefield of pushy parenting advice (but it can also be an enormous blessing). So I’ve tried to be extremely careful not to let one birth option or one parenting style become the standard by which moms feel judged or accepted or spiritual. We don’t promote any certain parenting books. Why add more stress? We poor parents face a labyrinth of choices: where children should sleep, should we vaccinate, where to birth, how to teach children, etc. I have my personal opinions, but I don’t often talk about these things because I don’t think that they should be issues of division among Christians, and couples in our church make varied choices. And good for them.

Many parenting issues today fall into the Romans 14:16-22 arena: “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” (NAS)

So, I’m offering a few observations about “making for peace” among parents (and maybe you have more to add in the usually-comment-less-thread-after-a-boring-topic):

Guard the unity of your church—don’t promote one way for all. As hard as this is because we are so convinced in our own consciences that our way is right (and I mean right, right, R.I.G.H.T.), it’s better for the church to give freedom on these issues. I’ve come to think of it this way: that ____ is right for me and my family at this time. Other families have different living circumstances (like a 4-person family living in one miniscule dormitory room with the communal kitchen and bathroom down the hall), so they will make different choices—choices that I would also consider if I were in their place. And other families are a mixture of different personalities than my own family (shocking that not everyone is the serious “philosophic” that I am—I never get the joke, much less make one myself! And my husband and I recently discussed how we could laugh and smile more because those are things that don’t come naturally to either of us). So, for our church, for example (warning, bomb ahead), there are families who spank their children, others who don’t. Spanking children is not the Biblical command; nurturing, loving, and teaching them is. And parents have freedom to seek God about how best they should do that.

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There is a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking. Honestly, in personal, face-to-face situations, I usually refrain from speaking about my parenting choices with other parents. That’s me. Others can talk pretty freely about it. For me, it’s probably too deep, and too hard to express verbally.

However, when should we speak up? When we’re sincerely invited, when others are binding the consciences of parents with unbiblical teaching, and when children need to be protected.

Finally, evaluate advice with your sanctification in view. One of my personal acid tests for parenting advice is evaluating how incorporating this advice will lead me further into Christlikeness. For example, is doing or saying ______  promoting my personal growth in Spirit-dependence, gentleness, joy, patience, self-control, faith, sacrificial love, humility,  etc.? If yes, then I will be more likely to hold to that standard in a peaceable way before others because I will, in general, be becoming more like Christ. Remember: Acid test=encouraging Christlikeness, because we’re all parenting somehow, and it’s going to change us one way or another in a way that influences eternity.

I will now come to an abrupt end because writing about parenting is also a minefield and I’d better vamoose before the shrapnel flies J. And maybe you have some more observations of what will “make for peace” for Christian parents for the usually-comment-less-thread-after-a-boring-topic.

And here’s a funny to leave with:

“A perfect parent is a person with excellent child-rearing theories and no actual children.” ~Comedian Dave Barry

God’s personal guidance

I want to write something down somewhere where I can find it later. That means here.

With years of life and experience with God, things just get really interesting.

Someone once told me that God often has patterns of how He leads a particular person. For me, that pattern has been like this: When I have a huge, life-altering decision to make, there are usually 3 factors: 1) longstanding, huge desire, 2) this desire is unfulfilled for quite a while– the suffering purifies somewhat, 3) a moment when I know, from the Holy Spirit, with no doubt (because there are times where I think I know, but there is doubt) that this particular step is God’s will (conviction).

I was reviewing this again in my heart because last night Vitaliy and I (and 4 other couples) shared extensively about how we met, our thoughts towards marriage, steps toward marrying this particular person, God’s leading, etc. (We were talking to the singles group.)

And God talked to me a bit last night. I’ve been going through a few months where I don’t feel emotionally invested in God. I’ve been praying about how to …. “fix” this. Though I realize by this point that it’s not always something I need to fix as much as just grow through and ask God to please do His will in our relationship.

So, that’s the back story to last night.

When I got married, I deleted the third point from my future. I think/thought: oh, now that I am married, I don’t need to expect God to give me a sense of conviction/surety about something– I have a husband now, and certainly God will not personally talk to me nor lead me in this way anymore.

When I started studying midwifery (about 2009), this was a big issue for me because … studying to become a midwife is a life-altering thing. And I didn’t wait on God for that sense of conviction (even though the first 2 factors were there). I just figured God wasn’t going to lead me in that personal way any more.

After 12 years of marriage, last night, God asked me to rethink that assumption.

The thought came to me like this: I gave you a husband who lets you / wants you to hear from Me personally.

So, this might be part of my present … emotional dryness….