Parenting Hour #2

Since Jeff and I agreed that Monday's we would have a regular "Parenting Hour" and had our first one, we have missed two Mondays before we sat down for our second. In part, this was because we have had visitors and our weeks have been disrupted. But another major reason was that we have been quite disorganised and haphazard, and our priorities have not aligned well with what has actually been happening in our lives. There's something in the discipline of Physics called Chaos Theory, and we've been seeing it at work in our days a lot lately! So this week, our Parenting Hour was devoted to a conversation about the way we use - and waste - the time God has given us.

I talked *at* Jeff for a while, then he responded, while I interjected. From this, you can probably gather that I thought he had a problem. Well, being honest - and after a week listening to the Holy Spirit convicting me - I am as much to blame for our time mis-management as Jeff is.

You might have noticed I haven't posted much this week. Well, our Parenting Hour was to blame. Having talked the problem through together, Jeff went to work on Tuesday and developed a general weekly Schedule for his pastoral duties (Bible reading, prayer, sermon prep, admin, pastoral visits, meetings, leading Bible studies, etc) which he will be taking to the elder with oversight for him to confirm. This Schedule will see Jeff home around 5pm most evenings, and also home for one or two afternoons as well to offset his evening responsibilities. Jeff gave me a To Do list of the things he wants me to prioritise in my day-to-day life, and surprise, surprise, blogging doesn't make the top five. My To Do list also includes a Routine for the evenings, a sort of loose, micro-Schedule.

Here's my To Do List:
1) Keep on top of the washing (clothes, towels, sheets, etc)
2) Have dinner ready to eat by 6pm each night
3) Do a weekly shop Thursday night
4) Host playdates or dinners about once a week (this requires the house to be reasonably tidy and clean)
5) Evening Routine:
5:30pm play room tidied, kids into pjs / cook dinner (one of us sorts out kids, the other sorts out food)
6:00pm dinner
6:30pm Read Aloud Story / Dishes (one of us reads, the other washes up)
7:00pm kids into bed

You know, Jeff isn't asking me to do much at all. But I really do have to be honest and admit that I struggle with doing the necessary tasks involved in home making for our family of six.

The BSF lesson this week was on the Korahite rebellion (Numbers 16-17). Korah already had a very important job. He was a Levite from the clan of Kohath, so he was responsible for the care and transport of the items from the Tablernacle, such as the altar. But this vitally important duty wasn't enough for Korah. He went to Moses and Aaron and declared that since all the Israelites were holy (set apart as God's people), he wanted to be able to act as priest as well. The problem was, God had chosen Aaron to be his High Priest, not Korah, as He made clear when the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and his fellow insurrectionists. It is God's decision of what good works we should do, and who should do them. We need to follow His will for us. I need to follow God's will for me!

I have realised this week, since we first talked on Monday evening, that I am a bit like Korah. I don't want to be! But I do tend to look at the jobs God has for me - washing, cooking, cleaning, reading story after story to the kids - as mundane. They don't seem as interesting as other tasks, mainly outside the home, where I get to think and talk and teach and be publicly known. It isn't that I want to compete with someone else's God-given ministry, but rather that I am not content with my own. Jeff and I had a "Conversation on the Couch" yesterday afternoon about this tendency of mine. He said that we both can suffer the same problem. We see a need, or an opportunity, and we begin to serve... but then, once things are going steadily, we often become discontent and start to look for new needs, new opportunities. I am struggling with the allure of The Next Good Thing. Now that we have recognised the problem, however, how do I go about solving it, before I turn into an open insurrectionist like Korah? I really do not want to follow in Korah's footsteps, right down to the earthy grave of an enthusiastic but wasted life.

I need to focus my energies and attention on the Right Here Right Now Good Thing. But how do I do that? Jeff suggested I take the Nike approach: Just Do It. As with so many elements of the Christian Life, when I know the right thing to do and do it, even if I don't want to do it, I will find that my obedience brings God's blessing of a contented heart.

I think I have been seeing that blessing already this week. Yesterday morning, while I hung up the washing, Samuel chattered to me about all the things he was imagining (mostly he likes to play being a fireman), and when they heard our voices, the back fence neighbours popped their heads over for a chat, which was lovely. We compared pea plants (theirs are several metres tall: Sandra says its the sheep manure) and Bob told me about his latest efforts to penetrate the Kokoda-like jungle of a certain corner of their back yard, which is otherwise very well maintained.

On Wednesday, knowing that I was hosting the BSF Fellowship in the afternoon, I had the girls do their penmanship before BSF, setting them part of a verse related to the week's lesson, which they then gave to their BSF Children's Leaders. It turned out that I had chosen the very verse that was the children's verse for that day: Hebrews 13:17: "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority." Abigail in particular was very pleased to be able to give Mrs Anna and Mrs Bonnie her work, and the surprise on Mrs Anna's face when she saw what verse they had written made me feel nice inside as well.
Abigail's tracework and illustration:Anna's copywork (straight from her Bible, not from a hand written example):
On Tuesday, we had chicken spring rolls (Delicious! Thanks Janine) with chips, peas and carrot for dinner, and I read a long chapter from Anne of Green Gables. Actually, I've read nine chapters from that book this week. It was quite remarkable to see how even Joshua, who is a very typical six-year-old boy, given to finding amusement in burps, calmed down and listened quietly when Anne was being read. Jeff and I have enjoyed the reading almost as much as the kids; the chapter "A new departure in flavouring" had some amusing and instructional quotations regarding the arrival of a new minister and his wife to Avonlea. The following quote shall perhaps provide an appropriate ending to this post:
"Mrs Lynde says that sound doctrine in the man and good housekeeping in the woman make an ideal combination for a minister's family."