On burst water pipes and other such things

 After yesterday's post, I've just been feeling really horrible. It's hard, when you really start to look at some of the yuck that goes on in the world, not to feel yuck. Does that make sense?

With researching for that post, plus hearing about what happened to a poor baby in China (no I won't link it, you can find out if you want to, but it was just awful) my heart just heart a lot. I prayed about it all. But at the same time, it all just felt a bit too much.

I've been thinking about those people who picket abortion clinics, write petitions, wave flags, and march in protests, and wondering if that's what needs doing? But I've often wondered, if it's easy to let that kind of thing, become your religion, and your passion, your driving force... instead of Him? And that's not what I want. I'm not trying to put down what other people do, but at the same time I guess I just don't know that Jesus would be organizing protests, or writing petitions if He was here. He just seemed to live. And love people.

I want to be passionate. I want to help. I want to make the world a better place. I think I need to. I think we are all called to do different things, have different passions. But I think we are supposed to keep God at the very center of our focus.

Say you have a burst water pipe in your kitchen. There's water spilling everywhere and it's a huge mess. You can get as many towels as you can, and soak up as much water as you can and use up a lot of time and energy. You can devote your whole life to all that water in your kitchen. But unless you go to the source of the mess (the burst pipe), all you'll be doing is cleaning up a mess. Forever. You need to call in the plumber to fix the broken pipe. Once he comes in, and fixes the source of the problem, you're much less likely to have water everywhere. You can make the call, you can do everything you can to help the plumber in his job, and you can do your best at the damage control. But ultimately, the fix is up to the plumber and the pipe.

I think the world is a lot like that. I know there are a lot of people who have a lot of different ways to clean up the mess. You've got some people arguing about the best towel to use, some people using a towel that is clearly too small, there are some people using a towel that is too wet, some people arguing that a mop would be more efficient, and some people who are just so tired from mopping up all that water. There are people too busy arguing about the best way to help to actually help, and there are even people who think you need a special license and equipment to help, and will actively stop those who don't do it their way. There are those who really want to help, but their efforts just seem to create more work. There are those who want to help clean up, but are put off by the look of those who are, there are some people just pretending to help, some people living in their own little fantasy world where the mess doesn't exist, and some people arguing that the mess is actually okay, and that everybody should just leave it alone. Unfortunately there are an awful lot of people who ignore the plumber.

I think our primary focus always has to be on helping heal hearts. We should be mess cleaners, but we should know that the heart healing is much much more important, and act accordingly.

It's a bit like the saying Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. If you show someone that abortion is wrong, that's great. But tomorrow they might be beating their child. If you can help people change their hearts, by inviting Jesus in.... that's going to help fix so many of the problems.

And no, I'm not saying that all Christians are perfect, or even good. In fact, sometimes being Christian means you need more work done on you than most. But, I do believe that when Jesus is truly in your heart, that helps.

You kind of wonder sometimes, why God just doesn't say Enough. There is so much pain and sorrow, and we just seem to be making an awful mess of things. But... He hasn't yet. For whatever reason, He is not finished with this world. So neither should I be. And for every tear that is cried, and baby that is unloved, and person that is hurt... there is joy, and children that are adored, and people who are doing good.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10


God told us, over and over again in the bible, to be joyful, to rejoice in the Lord. I think he told us so often, because we really do need reminding. This is a big world, with big problems. But He is a Big God.

What makes a human?

I am scared. We are fostering a culture that is putting less and less value on human life. We live in a society where we have elevated materialistic goals above the inconvenience of human life, in the form a baby. We love babies, but sometimes we also resent them and seek to control them, and we will destroy them if they infringe upon our lifestyle.

I read an article on Mamamia on the weekend, This is what it's like to have a medical abortion. I felt sick. Then I read this one. And this one too.

How did we get here? Do we know where we are? Where else are we headed?

Honestly I don't see the difference between aborting a baby and putting a bullet through a person's head. I don't.

If I decided I didn't want to be a mother and calmly walked into my children's room and smothered them... I would be a murderer. Society would judge me, and look down upon me, and throw me in prison. But if I got pregnant, and decided that I didn't want to be a mother, and got an abortion... it's okay?

I'm sorry I just don't get it.

After-birth abortion

What is the difference, between getting pregnant and aborting the baby because it's not the right time, and killing your children, because you've decided it would be easier not to look after them?

I don't understand. I just don't, and really, I don't think I want to. I just want it to stop.



I guess, to some extent I do get it. I was a teenager, young and thoughtless and in love. I didn't do what I was supposed to do, although we tried hard to stay pure. I often used to run scenarios in my head. If I get pregnant, will this happen? And this? Will I do this? Will he do this? Will they think that? It is a terrifying place to be. However abortion was never one of the things I could contemplate.


But honestly, regardless of your opinion on religion or God, regardless of whether or not you think that I am religious headcase....  has this really become okay? Or do we fail to realise what is going on here? Do you know where we are headed? Do you know what is currently happening?

At the moment, Florida legislators are debating a bill that would require abortionists to provide medical care to babies that survive abortions. The fact that they are even debating... does my head in. It's an issue here in Australia too.

An estimated 80,000 - 90,000 abortions are performed in Australia each year. This equates to approximately 250 per day, or one abortion for every 2.8 live births. One in three Australian women will have an abortion in their lifetime. [source]

Abortion is legal until 24 weeks in Victoria. Legal post 24 weeks with two doctors’ approval.

And do you remember this article that came out last year?

I struggle to comprehend the reasoning of those who are currently making legislation. Because really, if abortion is legal, then why not 'post-birth-abortion'? If it's a question of a child feeling pain, why not just use anesthetic? Or maybe it's okay to 'euthanize' a child with Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIPA), after all they won't feel it? If you don't want a child, does that child not have a right to life? The problem is, the line in the sand was crossed so long ago, and they keep trying to draw a new one, but their logic is faulty.

I cannot believe that we live in a society, where people are desperate to have children, and can't. So they try to adopt, or use IVF and they have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to do so. Sometimes they can't afford to do so. Yet there are plenty of children that could be adopted into stable, loving homes.... only we choose to kill them before they are born. We have a government and a system, that makes it so much harder for adoption to occur, and so the abortion rate continues to rise, and children are the ones who continue to suffer.

I am terrified of the world I am helping create for my children. I am terrified that by the time her turn comes around, my daughter and her friends might be able to legally choose the option of infanticide. That maybe eventually in Western society one day a a mother will legally be able to sell her children to the highest pedophiliac bidder (why not, they are her children to dispose of as she wishes?). It already happens in the world, what makes us think it won't happen here? I am terrified of the society we are creating.

I can't even...

I'm not trying to place blame here. This post is not intended throw guilt on anyone who has had an abortion. I'm not trying to paint all women who get abortions as horrible murderers. I don't think they are. What's done cannot be undone and I'm not interested in hurting people. I'm also not trying my hand at scaremongering. But I do think that far too often, this issue is swept under the carpet. Or presented to the world in a sanitised, child-friendly form. Which is rubbish. There is nothing that is okay about this.

I am trying to get people to think, about the decisions they are making. I think we need to be held accountable for our decisions and our actions a lot more. Ultimately I believe we will be. I am trying to think, about the world we are creating, and the choices we are making. And if my words can help one woman make the choice not to abort her baby, or make someone with the power to make decisions pause for thought, then they are worth it.

Being Brave take two

I tried to post this on Tuesday, but after having trouble getting the clip to load properly (plus having a pretty heavy case of the self-doubts) I ended up scrapping the post. But thanks to a couple of lovely people, I am trying again. Hopefully the clip works this time!



It's been a little western front-esque here lately. I've been using the precious daytime sleep to play around with music a bit more. One of my absolute favorite bloggers, Lauren from Ninja Tales, has been raving recently about a band Bastille and their album Bad Blood. A couple of days ago I finally listened to them, and I really liked their music. I especially loved one of their songs, Pompeii, and I even found a chord chart for it that I could play! (If you knew how rudimentary my musical skills are, you'd understand just how easy that song must be!). But anyway, I ended up being able to play and sing it which was a bit exciting, (to me anyway).

I have never been super comfortable with video footage of myself. I toyed briefly with the idea of doing a vlog after someone (I think it might have been Essentially Jess, who is a vlogging queen) mentioned it. But I wasn't brave enough.

However, now I have decided to be brave (or stupid) and have recorded myself singing the Bastille song Pompeii. And I thought I'd post it, to say... Hello! Because music is a pretty big part of my life, and I loves it. I don't really read music, I just love to sing and am blessed with a good ear, and thanks to year or so of piano lessons I can tinker a bit on the keyboard. I only recorded it on my phone, so it's a little dodgy, but regardless of how good it is, I just really wanted to share it with you.

Little snippets of loveliness

A warm body to cozy up to when I curl up in bed at night. Heaters. Going to bed with a clean kitchen. The regular nightly dose of cod liver oil to help ward off winter ills, and Georgie's accompanying "Yuck!" A silent house in the middle of the night.

Charlie and his "Oh-iee! Oh-iee!" which can be interpreted as Chloe (and pretty much whatever else you like). Good coffee and my Mum.... I will never sufficiently thank God for the parents he blessed me with. [Please, please let Georgie say that one day].

Red lips. Creeping into my babies room to cover them up in the dead of night. Wood fires. Pretty hats, and scarves, and necklaces and shoes. Glorying in all the ironing being done (just ignore the baskets of folding sitting by the bed). Porridge, homemade chicken stock, and beef and red wine stew.

Having a winning-at-this-parenting-gig moment, when you realise your children just sat and ate one carrot, one cucumber, and one capsicum between them, as you gave them veggie sticks to snack on while you went for your afternoon walk. A humidifier, bubbling and chugging away, helping babies sleep. Babies that do sleep.

Music, which makes everything better. The soft glow of winter sun in the afternoon. Rain on a cold afternoon when we can stay home and potter, and don't have to do anything.  Being married to a guy who is pretty easy on the eyes, and who is a good Dad.

Blessings.

Searching for the joy

I haven't written much in a while. Partly because I've been playing around with my music a lot more. But also, probably because I haven't felt... interesting enough to share.

I'm guessing it's probably not uncommon.

Sometimes it's easy to start believing the lies. You are not important enough, not good looking enough, not interesting enough. You end up second guessing yourself, and hiding, and retreating more and more, because you're convinced you've got nothing worthwhile to share. Everything comes out wrong, and you're not really sure what to do about it. You wonder, what exactly am I playing at here? You go through the motions, but maybe the joy just gets a little harder to find.


So I'm still here. I'm just not exactly sure what I'm doing at the moment. I have words, but I can't quite figure out how to say them, or what exactly I am trying to say. Sorry about that. I'm planning to write some words down eventually. But right now I am going to try to concentrate on the little, insignificant, but oh-so-important, pieces of joy.

Born to live by the sea

I've just spent a week at the beach. It was (mostly) good. The first few days were pretty awful. Charlie got croup, I got sick, my car battery died, and I had some of the worst nights I have ever had putting my kids to bed. There was a lot of 'should we just have stayed at home?'

But eventually things settled down and we just... stopped.

And it was so nice.

Nice to have a holiday with my Mum and spend some time with her, nice to spend a little time with my sister Liz, who came up with us for a few days. It was nice to not have to do any washing for a whole week (!),  nice to do a few special things that we don't get to do often, nice to spend time with my babies and watch them enjoy themselves. It was nice to catch up with my other sister and her family for a quick stopover on the way home, it was nice to get all our winter shopping sorted.

And oh, it was nice to be at the beach!

I love the beach. Love it.

 

I was made to live by the sea. Every chance I got, I was down by the water. Maybe it's because, when I was a kid, we could only afford to visit the beach for two weeks every year, so we learned to cherish it. But whatever the reason, I just adore it, and my kids seem to as well.

There's something about the seaside that just resonates with me. I don't think I could ever tire of it. One day I will live by the sea. I will.

It was lovely to get away, but it's also been very very nice to be home, and it will be even nicer in a few hours when Shane gets home! It's our local show this weekend, so we plan to enjoy some fireworks, and maybe a few rides, and have a lovely weekend. I hope you do too.