Bay Christian Church sermons

I've been wanting to share our church's sermon archive with you for a while. We attend Bay Christian Church which is just 5 minutes drive from our home. We have particularly benefited from two recent talks, "A prayer for experience" and "Kingdom prayer". These are both available on the Bible talks page. The sermon "A prayer for experience" focuses on the need to experience God's love. Last week we found the sermon "Whose Kingdom - Mine or Yours" thought provoking, and we discussed the need to stand guard against all kinds of greed. Dave will be preaching on the parable of the good Samaritan tomorrow, and we've been working hard to prepare!

Watering with Daddy

I've finally cleared my iPhoto sufficiently to be able to use it at a reasonable pace! To celebrate, I am posting these cute pics of Elnathan and Dave watering the garden.

We are loving our garden right now. We have planted beans, corn, zucchini, tomatoes, and lots more! These pictures were taken last month and it is amazing to see how much things have grown even since that time. On warm days, the little plants seem to grow before our eyes!

 

 

Dave looks forward to getting home from work to greet his wife, greet his baby, and thirdly head straight out to the garden!

Elnathan also seems to enjoy the outdoors. In the last couple of days I've placed him in his rocker in the shade of the cabbages, and he sits there contentedly while I work. Pulling off bits of cabbage leaf and trying to eat them is a favourite occupation!

When it comes to photo storage, do any of you know of a good program that can be downloaded for free? If so, I'd love to hear your recommendations. My iPhoto is quite limited, and I'd love a program that stores many photos and allows you to edit them (for example, removing red eye).

Why Kaz Cooke's Kid-wrangling is wrong about cloth nappies

Kid-wrangling is a popular book in Australia. I'm sure its lighthearted look at parenting is a pleasant relief from some of the more intense parenting materials out there. In between the amusement, Kaz is attempting to provide real information for parents. Much of it is probably sound and helpful. When it comes to cloth nappies, though, Kaz is just wrong. Before I start on why, I need to state my agreement with Kid-wrangling that cloth nappy advocates shouldn't go around making judgmental statements about those who use disposables. That being said, advocates of disposables need to do their homework before saying anything about cloth.

 I've just put my nappies on the line . . .

and it was way easier than Kaz would have us believe. We've used cloth nappies solely for four and a half months of Elnathan's life so far (excluding our overseas trip and his first two weeks). Disposables have their place, but good cloth nappies are really not that bad.

Kaz's comments are in italics. My responses follow.

They require far more labour.
If you use pocket nappies like Bumgenius it is very quick and easy. When we were in South Africa we used three different types of Huggies nappies, all with the same result: serious poo leaks that required clothing changes every time. Bumgenius have much better containment and reduce work in this way. Personally, I'd rather change a nappy than a whole outfit.

Soaking and washing them is an unpleasant, tedious task
Many modern cloth nappies don't need soaking. You just have to rinse off any poo at the time of changing the nappy, pop the nappy in the bucket, then dump them all in the washing machine when you feel in danger of running out of them.

They need to be washed with very hefty antibacterial chemical washing powders and in very hot water, and if poo stained they need savage bleaching products to look non-skid marked.
Huh? We don't own any of these products, and our nappies look OK. We rarely wash in hot water, either (shock, horror), and our baby's bot looks just fine.

It's hard to cope unless you have a whizzbang washing machine and dryer.
Our washing machine is fantastic (a Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco), but we don't own a dryer. We found it easy to get our nappies dry throughout the wettest Tasmanian winter for fifty years.

Cloth nappies are slightly trickier to fasten.
Only if you use traditional cloth squares! Bumgenius and some other pocket nappies are as easy as disposables.


You'll need:

about 30 to 35 nappies
try 20, I'm sure you'll be fine

about 6 - 8 plastic overpants
Yes, if you use nappies that need them. Pocket nappies like the marvelous Bumgenius don't.

fastners
Yes, if you use nappies that need them!

Rubber gloves
Why? Baby poo is not scary.


2 big nappy-soaking buckets with close-fitting lids
Try one, it is enough as long as you're not planning to soak your nappies (an unnecessary and annoying process).

bleach and antibacterial soaking powder
What are those things? We don't own them. The sun does the job.

a washing machine with a hot function
Handy but not strictly necessary, as long as you live in a climate where they'll get some sun.

antibacterial washing powder
Huh? We've purchased one box of ecostore powder and it is still going. With Bumgenius you are specifically required to use environmentally friendly detergent that doesn't contain enzymes, etc, and to use it very sparingly. If you don't, you're no longer eligible for the one year guarantee.

lots of clothes-line space and fine weather or a big clothes dryer
Neither are necessary. You can dry them inside if the weather is yuck. This is especially true of traditional cloth nappies, as they are thin cotton squares and dry quickly.

When I read Kaz's comments, I'm not surprised so few people use cloth. If I thought it would be like that, I probably wouldn't either. Kaz argues that using cloth is not necessarily an environmental improvement. If they are used in the way she describes, I agree. What many people forget is that you don't have to do cloth in the traditional way. Hey, it is 2009!

I chose South Africa

 

For wherever you go, I will go;

And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people,

And your God, my God.

Ruth 1:16, The Bible

I've been asked many times, "Do you think you could live in South Africa?". This is a question I attempted to answer long before anyone started to ask me. My personal perspective is that you shouldn't marry someone if you are not willing to live in their country. This is why I chose to visit South Africa before getting engaged (you can read about that trip in the travel section of my previous blog). For me, choosing Dave was choosing South Africa.

Since making that choice, I've had many conversations with ex-pats here in Australia. These people have left much that they love in South Africa due to things they find frightening and frustrating. This has led me to feel challenged about my own choice. At times I've felt judgmental and angry with ex-pats. I now see this as a result of insecurity about our own choice to remain open to living there. I now feel secure in the fact that God has every person on a different journey. He is working different things in each family, and that is OK!

I can't know what it would be like for us to live in South Africa - no one can unless they do it! I do know that I have many limitations that could make it hard. These include only speaking one language, being a cautious driver, and seemingly having a learning disability related to keys and locking up houses! I have always lived in Tasmania near my family.

Whether we live in South Africa or not, I've already lived out some of the consequences of my choice to marry someone who comes from another continent. We've spent two months in South Africa since our first trip together in January 2007, on two separate trips. We've together pursued the adventure of taking a tiny baby overseas. I've seen townships, tribal lands, bullet laden security guards, spectacular scenery, and lots of elephants! Friendships have multiplied.

More than that, the problems and joys of South Africa have captured my heart in ways I never expected when I said "yes" to my husband. I've found that I love the place, yet wondered if I am crazy for not dismissing it as a basket case. I want our son to somehow be both South African and Australian, to remain connected to both places, but wonder if it will work out like that. I've felt smidgen of the despair of yet another political disappointment, and a touch of the fear of crime that many cite as the reason for their departure from the country. We've longed to do more for those who are suffering, particularly orphans, but found the obstacles to this discouraging.

We are content in Australia, but remain willing to trade it in for a more unpredictable continent. God will be working his purposes in us wherever we go. Where we are physically is not as important as the relationship we have with God. Wherever we are there are opportunities and difficulties that we are called to make the most of, with God's guidance. God is at work in South Africa, and it is exciting to remain open to the possibility that he may have a role for us there.

Elnathan's new seat

Elnathan is six months old next week. He now enjoys trying to sit up to play, but doesn't have the balance to sit alone yet. Today I went to mother's group and saw this handy solution - the washing basket seat! Supervision is required, as unbalanced little ones can end up slumped against the sides. Some padding would also help, perhaps a blanket or quilt to soften the sides of the basket. My friend at mother's group had placed a doona over the basket for padding.

Respecting God's creation

Lindsay has written an inspiring post about caring for the environment - Free to Be Green. I love her point that respecting God's creation is demonstrating respect for God himself.

Great idea for family Bible time

It was inspiring to read one woman's account of how she included Bible reading in her day with three small children. I love reading about little ones learning from the plain old Bible - no simplification and no pictures - Wow! God's word is powerful, even for preschoolers.