A simple way of explaining God

Lately my goal has been to live according to Galatians 5 V 22-23: Living out the fruits of the spirit: love, joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness and self control.

 Imagine a TREE:

He is the vine
The vine is the trunk of the plant. Its the big part that has all the roots and grows out of the ground.
The branches are us.
Believers live in him, get our strength from the trunk, the vine, Jesus.
And the vinedresser is God
He walks the vineyard and tends to the branches, pruning them, cutting them and cleaning them. The vinedressers main goal is to grow more fruit. The more the better.
Jesus says that if you live in him
　　you will bear lots of fruit.
And if you dont live in him then you arent going to grow any fruit.

Gods girl.

God, Yaweh, is the real reason i started this blog. Well, truth be told- i made the design in October- fully intending to update it during the 3 weeks of maternity leave while waiting for Hunter. But as you know- she arrived early.
God has been so good to us since then, that i feel obliged to now MAKE time to write. Please dont get me wrong- im not the type of Perfect christian who will be preaching and throwing the Bible at you. Im just an ordinary God girl, WHO LOVES JESUS SO VERY MUCH. I still make mistakes every day, but i repent at the end of the day and start again. God forgives me every time. He died at the cross to pay for my every sin.
I also want you to email me with questions, prayer requests and advice. Loedi and i will pray about it and do our utmost best to help you. You see, before Loedi and i met, he also had a road with God, with being a "celebrity", watching aids orphans die, being on the rocky road. I, on the other hand had to deal with many a heartache- as i searched for love in all the wrong places. As i met and partied with every celebrity in SA- thinking that would bring me joy. I do still have a lot of famous friends- but i treat them differently now. If they deposit into my well being, they are still my friends.
The truth is, that if you are a God girl, it is because of who you worship, not who you are or what youve done or failed to do.Its true that "there is no righteous,not even one" (Rom 3V10). So it should be no surprise that your life isnt exactly what you pictured it to be.
BUT if
you want more
more of Him
more of the real YOUH...
more FAITyou havent done too bad.
Ill be writing- giving advice and encouragement out of my own experience, that of Haylie di marco, joyce meyers, joel oesteen, rick warren, debbie pearl,hillsong conferences and of course my pastor ,PJ.
I want you to be a "satisfied-with-your-relationship-with-God girl, wife, mother, dad, guy and husband". I want you to know being a christian does not mean you have to be perfect all the time. It also doesnt mean youll always be happy with how God sculpts you or where He leads you. But believe me, when you Know its God behind the wheel, you get this amazing peace within. You learn to Trust Him and not just see Him as a last resort as you struggle with life, relationships, work and finances.
Ive said enough for one day as we begin this journey. Im ending with this scripture from Jeremiah 29V 11:
"For i know the plans i have for you " says the Lord ."They are plans to prosper you not to harm you. To give you a future and hope"

 　

sister lilian:no recipe for sleep

　
I Thought that Sister Lilian was going to give me the ultimate sleep recipe. Turns out-there is no such thing really.
Each babe is unique. Some babes have colic, some allergies, some had a dramatic entry into the world, some have a stressful home invironment and some are even diabetic- hence the drinking every hour.
I choose to believe that Hunter is not quite as bad a sleeper as some of the other babies at the workshop! Some wake up to 8 times per night!
See Hunter goes to bed at 6pm- and sleeps until 00;00. (So if she can go to bed at 8Pm- She would wake at 2Am). According to Sis L- 8 hours is the mark we should be aiming for. If sleeping through,according to many mums, is 7-7...YOURE LYING. Or your child is sick. Or underweight.
Where were we? Oh yes- Then she wakes every two hours for a few sips of milk. At 6am- Shes done sleeping for the night.
She gave me a few tips on how i can Possibly change this- even if just 30%
1-Acknowledge the problem- allergy? teething? is the mother stressed?(go to gym) did your babe have a dramatic birth experience? (this is usually solved through physio)
2-Dont disturb the Core sleep( 8-12). Unless you smell a pooh.
3- (this was our problem) NEVER PUT THEM TO SLEEP IN FRONT OF THE TV. You will receive a 50% improvement!
4- Dont be silent or close te door. Ihe feeling of abandonment may keep them awake.
5-Dont tell everyone how bad your baby sleeps (guilty again). Everyone will try to help and cause yu to stress even more.
6-Involve dad- No problem there- so blessed
7- Minimise effort at night. Pack everything next to your bed. You will learn to do things in your sleep- and not feel so tired the next day.
8- Dont clock watch- you will do much better not knowing how many times and at what time you woke up during the night. It already worked for me.
9- Relaxed mom- Relaxed baby.
She also gave the pro's of Co- sleeping
Leads to a strong bond, Feeling of belonging, ultimate touch therapy. Your baby will learn that you will always be there for her/him. Does wonders for prem babies.
Your baby can never get enough love and kisses.
They will sleep in their bed when they are ready.
Hunter is a co-sleeper.
Controlled crying is wrong because
In todays time, parents put the nursery at the end of the hall and let the babe cry it out and eventually fall asleep.
The baby falls asleep unhappy, and with a sense of abandonment. It makes sense to assume this baby will have abandonment issues at some stage in life.
Never leave a baby to cry. Hold her, Kiss her, Play her music, have a candle lit bath. Give her a sense of belonging.
Ironically- Its the one thing i havent done- Sleep training.Nothing is better than a mothers intuition.
A RECIPE WORTH TRYING:
5pm- walk with baby
5;30- physical games- incl dad
5;50- supper
6;10-bath
6;30-massage (another Very important thing: temples,between the brows, underneath the naval, between the nipples on the heart, the big toes)
6;45- quite play
7;00- story time and prayer time - even if baby does not understand
7;15- hugs and kisses and goodnight.
So basically- there are a few things i can change: i could take her to physio because she is prem and had a c-section. I can also get her tested for allergies- because she drinks a lot at night. I can also take her to bed with me and not leave her with dad downstairs (a good time to pull out that baby monitor). Also- take her to bed at 8, NOT 6.
Yes- lets try that for now.

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