Ok, now F is signing

Back in August, I reported that F was signing 'more'. It turned out to be a false alarm. After the post, she never did it again.

But in the last 24 hours, she is definitely signing 'finished'. As in this little conversation from the end of lunch today. 

Me: F, we don't throw food onto the floor. If you're finished, you can sign 'finished'.
F signs finished.
End of meal. 

On tonight's menu

Deconstructed cottage pie.

Otherwise known as bolognaise and mashed potato.

Masterchef may not have changed my cooking much, but it sounds better than it used to.

1 Peter memory cards

For those who are playing along, here's the text of 1 Peter in a take-along format, broken into passages to match the sermons. 

I'm planning to laminate a copy for the bathroom wall and keep another in plain paper for my pocket. 

Right click to save the 8 point version, and the 12 point version. 

Memorising 1 Peter 1:1-12

We're studying 1 Peter at church this term. And I've decided to try memorising it. If you're wondering 'Why bother?', I'd encourage you to read Jean's series on Bible memorisation.

I'd love you to join me in my little project, or keep me accountable during the term. 

My favourite method of memorising big chunks of bible is to set them to old hymn tunes. I've still got 'To God Be the Glory' in my head after my little organ adventure, so I'm using it for this week's reading: 1 Peter 1:1-12. It takes a bit of set-up, and the word-setting is often a bit clunky and awkward, but this method really works for me. 

Here's the recording (of myself) that I'll be listening to ad nauseum. Backing midi from here.  I'll aim to put one up each week as we progress through the book.

This week's passage below, if you want to follow along. I'm using the ESV. 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, 

in the sanctification of the Spirit,
for obedience to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again

to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  

In this you rejoice,
though now for a little while,
if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
so that the tested genuineness of your faith
—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—
may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. 

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him
and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible
and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace
that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating
when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them
that they were serving not themselves but you,
in the things that have now been announced to you
through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
things into which angels long to look.

Not much embarrassment, really

I had a go at playing the pipe organ for a hymn at church today. Having had one, informal organ lesson about 9 years ago. 

It went surprisingly well. Lots of fumbles & mistakes, but the congregation was kind. And the 80 year old for whom it was a birthday present was pretty thrilled. 

Turns out pipe organs are significantly more difficult to play than pianos. I have a whole new respect for those who do it regularly.

Yikes

Feels like I'm going to jump off a cliff tomorrow. 

Nothing major, just potential for embarrassment. 

I'll tell you about it once it's over. 

Praying for Husbands and Children

Excuse the dodgy photo, but this is the cupboard beside our kitchen sink. On top, 31 Days of Praying for Husbands, from The Adventure of Motherhood, which sadly seems to now be an invitation-only blog, and I don't have an invitation. . Below, 31 Days of Prayer for your Child. A good prompt to pray while I'm washing up.

I've also come across this nifty little bookmark by Susie, on praying for husbands. I'm planning to print it and stick in my Bible.

Building on the Brain

SP is having trouble playing with F without smothering her. 

I say, "We might have to make a new rule that you can't hug F until you've asked for permission."

He says, "Can I use my screwdriver to put the screws in to help you build that new rule, Mummy?"

Monthly Population Survey

We got a letter today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. They'll be interviewing us each month for the next 8 months, as part of their Monthly Population Survey. 

I had no idea such a thing existed. I now know that it's used to calculate unemployment statistics and the like. 

I love a good census, so this should be quite fun. The first time at least. I suspect that 8 will be enough. 

Happily married

Dave's sister's wedding was on Saturday. Everything was just lovely. We were so delighted to watch this generous, God-fearing couple commit their lives to each other. 

Kids' wedding washing.
Dave's mum made dresses for the bride, 2 bridesmaids
this dress and pants for F to match the bridesmaids, and a dress for herself.
And a tie for SP.
Come to think of it, where is that tie?

Sweet words

SP is in rest time, singing:

Make me wise, make me wise,
So I'm pleasing in your sight.
Lord, I want to bring you glory,
So I'm asking you to make me wise

From Sovereign Grace's 'Walking with the Wise', which I've blogged about before. So lovely. 

Blog Reading

I read a fair few blogs. Some by people I actually know, but many that I don't, at least not face to face. I organise them in Google Reader in subgroups.

'Family & Friends'

'Thoughtfulness' (mostly fellow Christian mums posting on a variety of topics)

'Kids'

'House'

I recently added another subgroup, and put it right up the top. 

'Marriage'. 

At the moment, there's just 2 blogs in that category, Elevate Your Marriage and The Generous Wife. I recommend them both. And the latter includes a couple of links to similar blogs each day, which I follow more often than not. 

I've been surprised to find that our marriage feels healthy since I've added these blogs to my diet, and apparently Dave has seen the difference too. Which actually makes perfect sense. 

Any others I should add to the list?

W is for Wedding

1 week to go...

Less for More

I'm joining Girltalk's Less for More challenge. 

Less computer for more Bible & prayer time. 

Will you join in too?

Singing with tears

For me, leading the singing in church is all about story telling. My face, my voice, my emotions, pointing the congregation to the meaning of the words. I'm challenging them to switch their brains on, to think about the words they're singing. 

Today, we were telling a hard story. One of a little boy who lived only a few hours. Of a Saviour who now holds that little boy in His arms. Of the amazing faith that this boy's parents have, in a time of immeasurable hardship. 

On these occasions, my story telling must be distanced from my emotions. To allow others their tears, I keep my voice steady and my head high. 

I'll do my crying at home. 

Ride for Refugees

We went along to Ride for Refugees yesterday. 

Dave and a couple of other guys from church (and about 150 others) did the 25km ride. SP rode around the kids' track, about 4km in total, we think. He was complaining of sore legs in the bath last night.

So much fun for our bike-loving boy. 

Show photo

LEGO Club

SP got his first LEGO Club mailout a couple of days ago. He's too young for the magazine and wanted to know why there wasn't any actual LEGO in it, but has spent many hours looking at every detail in the LEGO city pages, and asking lots and lots of questions. 

Just like his Dad, I suspect...

Good advice

from a wise friend yesterday. 

"Don't think about having a good week, or even a good day. Look for good half-hours."

We've had several good half-hours so far today :)

Moby-Duck

On Meredith's recommendation, I've just finished reading 'Moby-Duck: the true story of 28, 800 bath toys lost at sea and of the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools, including the author, who went in search of them.'

My kind of book. I love to learn through stories (eg. learning history through biographies), and this book taught me lots of fun stuff about the world. Read Meredith's review to find out more - she's said it better than I could. 

If you've ever wondered what I do...

I know my mum often wonders what it is I actually do.  Fair enough.  As an electronics engineer in a specialist niche of the industry, there are no bridges, buildings, cars, or other obvious examples of "I build that".  The closest I've come in the past is saying "we build black boxes that go into bigger boxes that people like Boeing put on their aircraft."

Well, last night I had the pleasure of watching "How to build: A Satellite" on SBS.  Absolutely fantastic.  Although I haven't had the privilege, many of my senior colleagues have been involved in satellite components, and there's a point halfway through that shows about as much of my sort of work as you're ever likely to see on TV.

So if you've ever wondered what it is I really do, take a look at the episode on SBS On Demand.  Season 1 Episode 3 if you're having trouble finding it.