Thoughts on back to school 2019

Our experience of New Wine 2019

So as you maybe aware from my last post I have bought a new bible journal. I love things that are organised and my last bibles have been highlighted and written on with whatever I had to hand. This time I am starting with the hope of colour coding basically meaning highlighting certain sections in a particular colour so that reference is nice and easy. It also looks pretty! I've no idea if I'll keep it up for the whole of the bible but figure I would give it a try. If you hav

A review of the Inspire Praise Journal Bible

It seems like the latest craze and why join the bandwagon? does it serve myself or will it actually draw me closer to God? I think its good to ask why and explore this before you start... Bible journalling is being in Gods word creatively. This can be through any bible, a notebook or a purpose built journal bible. It is responding to Gods word. It does not have to be fancy or expensive. This is your journey of exploring Gods word. I have always underlined my bible and made mi

I have just purchased a new bible journal. I am so excited. It is all crisp and clean and I can't wait to get started on it. It's empty and I'm filled with ideas of how I can decorate it and draw closer to God through his word! I had a look online at all the different types of Bible Journals - Its a minefield - How can you choose? So I thought I'd share my process. Perhaps where you live there's a christian book store or just book shops that have a huge array of journal bible

Hello, yes I'm back from a break from blogging. I hope you are all well and embracing the summer season. I thought I'd start by explaining why I use the dandelion seed photo as my logo and the purpose behind the blog. If you have been following me from the start then you know the reason behind starting this blog was to share what my christian life looks like. I call them stories - they are moments of my life and I hope others will share their stories too. I don't always talk

So I kept seeing the word Enneagram popping up on social media and wondered what on earth is that? It's the latest personality test. There are free versions online and basically it tells you what kind of person you are, your strengths and weaknesses. There are paid tests which give thorough detail on your results. I quite like doing personality tests - its like a self assessment so I know what my weaknesses and strengths are. It helps you to understand who you are and what to

In the previous posts we have discussed how to make church welcoming and accessible to families with autistic children. This post we will look at the pastoral side to looking after the whole family. Out of this series, this is where my heart lies. Being a mum of 2 children with autism and 2 neuro-typical children, I know how hard this journey is, I know what its like to be on the receiving end of judgement and poor care. There is so much that I can write and so many experie

I have really enjoyed reading this blog by Jille McCormick. In particular this quote really resonated with me, which has inspired this blog post on modern day thinking, ethics and philosophy. It all sounds very intellectual and maybe you're thinking that it doesn't have anything to do with your current situation but actually just like politics, it does impact on your every day life whether you are aware of it or not. Jille McCormick I can be anything I want to be. I grew up i

How does your house run in the mornings? I often wonder how everyone starts their day and what they fit in before they go to work/school etc so today I thought I'd share mine with you. My children are all at school age (15 - 8 years old). 6.45 alarm goes off - I will get up at this time if I washed my hair the night before, if not I will snooze till 7. I wash my hair typically every 1-2 days and during the week I prefer to wash it the night before, dry it and straighten it in

Within the church context we are called upon to be humble servants of Christ. Only how does this look in the everyday? How can we make sure we are serving God rather than just people or church pleasing? Character traits of a people pleaser: Helping others first, before their own needs. Character traits of a server: Choosing to serve and honour God by helping others. These character traits can look similar, only that people pleasing is not a character trait God wants us to gr

Perhaps the children always stay with you throughout the service each week at your church or perhaps it's once a month for the family service or maybe the children are taken to their groups from the beginning or part way through the service and they are not with their parents/carers at all. Whatever way your church operates at some point in church life they may be expected to be with you during the service and knowing how to help those who naturally struggle with surrounding

Whilst lots of you are being reflective over the new year and the new possibilities - I will shortly be having a 'big' birthday. Yes this January, I'm turning 40!!! It's not too scary - I think that's because I have planned a themed birthday party to celebrate with family and friends so I've been quite distracted about that, rather than the actual physical number. I have decided to have a 1990's themed party. Whilst I was born in 1979, I have no recollection of the seventi

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of good quality training in helping your volunteers to have understanding and empathy when looking after children with autism. The children's worker can have a massive impact on whether the child with autism will stay in the church setting. It can impact whether the family will stay at the church, how they feel welcomed or if they will leave and feel rejected. Whilst an overview of autism can help understanding, knowing how this can

So I guess I'm blogging about what every other blogger blogs about at this time of year... Reflecting back over the past year but what makes this post different is that its my story, just like your reflections are your story and our stories are important. Over this past year, I imagine you would have experienced both ups and downs, disappointments & failures, happiness and success. Perhaps it lent to one side more than the other? Either way, its okay, you're through to 2019

We're so close now!!! Just days to go!!! How are we all doing with the preparations? Did you remember all your Christmas dinner, jumper, party days? Is everything wrapped and are the cards posted? and the big question did everything in your grocery shop delivery arrive? Hopefully all the prep is done so you can sit back and watch the festivities unfold! Last Week's Christmas Prep Week 7 Remember all of kids social engagements Pre-make Christmas Dinner food where possible Our

I have 1 child in a specialist school, 1 child I home educate and 2 children in primary. Around here it is typical for primary aged children (4-11) to buy teacher and teacher assistant gifts. Some also buy gifts for the school office staff too. It is not so typical for secondary school age (11-16). However, my eldest is at a specialist school for autism and they have always bought gifts for staff, escort and class mates. His class size is 5 pupils. It is not expected to g

It's nearly here!!! After today there is only one more weekend till Christmas - so exciting!!!! How are we all doing with our Christmas Preparations? Below is a recap of our goals for the week and a summary of how we got on! Christmas Prep Week 5 Plan menu for Christmas Husbands birthday (a non Christmas day) Prepping/planning/making teacher gifts Teen social Get tickets for children's ball Start on the wrapping So this week has been busy, my husband has been working away in

The church is more than just the building, as I wrote previously about creating a culture of acceptance. This time, I want to focus on the building. Whilst it would be great to add on a calm down/sensory rooms, lighting, sound boards to create less echo etc I understand this is not possible. Some of our places of worship are centuries old, or meetings could happen in a rented space where there is no control over fixtures. I'm not suggesting physical changes but there are a