Magnets, Pirates, and Heavy Keyboards

The magnets in the molds

A few weeks ago, Rosie turned five.  One of the presents she received was a make your own fridge magnet set, and I was nominated the plaster of Paris overseer.  So we sat down on the kitchen floor, mixed up the plaster, spread it into the molds, placed the magnets into the back of them, and left them to dry for at least twenty-four hours.  We got back to finishing them the other day - taking the molds off and painting them.  They worked out quite well, despite the fact that some of the bigger figures are too heavy for the magnets and have trouble staying on the fridge, and that the head of the horse has broken off now and has found its final resting place.....don't tell her though, we managed to dispose of it before she realized.  :)

Out of the molds...

The finished product - Rosie painted these ones...

I painted the ones on the left, and Elise did the
ones of the right (including the unfortunate
horse.)

Dad and I drove to Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon, to keep my four week check up appointment after having had my tonsils out.  Everything is going well and healing nicely, which is good.  I drove some of the way there and back, clocking up another 1 hour and 45 minutes to my driving tally.  Because the appointment was late afternoon, by the time we got out on the freeway and swapped drivers (I was NOT going to drive in peak hour Newcastle) it was getting dark enough to put the headlights on, and count the hour I did on the way home as night driving.  By the time we actually got home, it was pitch black.  It is really hard to drive in the dark!  I found it difficult to see where the road was curving, especially when cars were overtaking me and shining their headlights into my side mirror.  It was most annoying to be momentarily blinded by the reflection.

Yesterday, we went to the nursing home with the rest of the outreach group, and put on a concert for the residents there, for Australia's biggest morning tea event, raising money for cancer research.  We sang songs all together, such as How Great Thou Art, the Millennium Prayer and I will Follow Him, from Sister Act.  That is such a fun song!  Then Emily, Joy, Elise and I did Broken Vessels, and It is Well.  We borrowed the Church keyboard again and boy, is it heavy!  I am very stiff and sore today from carting that keyboard from the car, to the auditorium, back out, and into the car again.  But the actual concert went well, and I think we all want to come back and do it again one day.

On Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, Mum and Dad go to Pirates of Penzance practice.  SATS (the Theatrical Society in our town) puts on a musical every year, and this year, they are doing Pirates.  Mum and Dad are both in the band, and having been putting in long rehearsal hours.  On Thursday nights they practice for three hours, and on Sunday, eight hours, although the band members don't have to be there the whole time (only for six hours.)  The musical is coming together, and they had their first dress rehearsal the other night.  Dad said the costumes and the set looked really, really good.  We are all looking forward to going and watching the show.  

Today Dad and James are heading off to a Father and Son's Camp, at a Christian camp site called Tahlee.  The men from our Church are going down to help clean up the campsite after the massive storm which swept through the whole region about 5 weeks ago.  They are going some time after Dad gets home from work, and will be back tomorrow night.  We girls are looking forward to watching some girly movies over the weekend, I even went out and bought some more popcorn, just to be well stocked. :)  I think the first movie on the list is 'Ever After', starring Drew Barrymore, be

Part of the Tahlee Campsite

cause Elise hasn't seen it yet, and Joy only half of it.  I'm not sure what else is on our list, but that is a good start anyways.  It is quite cool here, and raining, so a movie weekend is sounds like the best plan to me.  :)

On Dragon's Skin

C.S Lewis wrote an amazing passage in his book 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader', which I'll get to in a moment.  However, if you are not familiar with the Narnia series, here's a quick run down: In the first book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) we meet the four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.  They discover a magical land named Narnia, where the white witch rules.  Her wicked reign has caused winter to come over the land, and never Christmas.  However, with the coming of the children, and with the help of Aslan, the great lion who is the true King over Narnia, they hope to set everything right.  There is just one problem - Edmund has turned traitor and betrays his siblings and all of Narnia.  Edmund is rescued from the clutches of the white witch, but she demands blood as payment for treachery.  To save the human boy, Aslan takes Edmund's place.  As the ancient prophecies foretold, the white witch got her moment of victory.  But it is short lived.  Aslan returns to life, bigger and more majestic than ever, and defeats the white witch in the following battle for Narnia.  The four children are crowned high kings and queens over Narnia.

In the second book, Prince Caspian, the children return to fight the wicked usurper king and his cohorts, and restore peace to Narnia.  Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne comes into power, and Narnia remains peaceful and prosperous under his reign.

The third book - from which following passage is taken from, is the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Edmund and Lucy return with their 'beastly' cousin, Eustace Scrub (and yes, he deserved it.) to find Prince Caspian taking a voyage out beyond any maps and charts to discover what happened to seven lords and perhaps even reach Aslan's land.  During the voyage, Eustace, most of all, learns an important lesson.

“I won’t tell you how I became a–a dragon till I can tell the others and get it all over,” said Eustace. “By the way, I didn’t even know it was a dragon till I heard you all using the word when I turned up here the other morning. I want to tell you how I stopped being one.”

“Fire ahead,” said Edmund.

“Well, last night I was more miserable than ever. And that beastly arm-ring was hurting like anything–”

“Is that all right now?”

Eustace laughed–a different laugh from any Edmund had heard him give before–and slipped the bracelet easily off his arm. “There it is,” he said, “and anyone who likes can have it as far as I’m concerned. Well, as I say, I was lying awake and wondering what on earth would become of me. And then–but, mind you, it may have all been a dream. I don’t know.”

“Go on,” said Edmund, with considerable patience.

“Well, anyway, I looked up and saw the very last thing I expected: a huge lion coming slowly toward me. And one queer thing was that there was no moon last night, but there was moonlight where the lion was. So it came nearer and nearer. I was terribly afraid of it. You may think that, being a dragon, I could have knocked any lion out easily enough. But it wasn’t that kind of fear. I wasn’t afraid of it eating me, I was just afraid of it– if you can understand. Well, it came close up to me and looked straight into my eyes. And I shut my eyes tight. But that wasn’t any good because it told me to follow it.”

“You mean it spoke?”

“I don’t know. Now that you mention it, I don’t think it did. But it told me all the same. And I knew I’d have to do what it told me, so I got up and followed it. And it led me a long way into the mountains. And there was always this moonlight over and round the lion wherever we went. So at last we came to the top of a mountain I’d never seen before and on the top of this mountain there was a garden–trees and fruit and everything. In the middle of it there was a well.

"I knew it was a well because you could see the water bubbling up from the bottom of it: but it was a lot bigger than most wells–like a very big, round bath with marble steps going down into it. The water was as clear as anything and I thought if I could get in there and bathe it would ease the pain in my leg. But the lion told me I must undress first. Mind you, I don’t know if he said any words out loud or not.

"I was just going to say that I couldn’t undress because I hadn’t any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things and snakes can cast their skins. Oh, of course, thought I, that’s what the lion means. So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and, instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was a banana. In a minute or two I just stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling. So I started to go down into the well for my bathe.

"But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh, that’s all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underneath the first one, and I’ll have to get out of it too. So I scratched and tore again and this underskin peeled off beautifully and out I stepped and left it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bathe.

"Well, exactly the same thing happened again. And I thought to myself, oh dear, how ever many skins have I got to take off? For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time and got off a third skin, just like the two others, and stepped out of it. But as soon as I looked at myself in the water I knew it had been no good.

"The the lion said–but I don’t know if it spoke–‘You will have to let me undress you,’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know–if you’ve ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” said Edmund.

“Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off–just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt–and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me–I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on–and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again. You’d think me simply phony if I told you how I felt about my own arms. I know they’ve no muscle and are pretty mouldy compared with Caspian’s, but I was so glad to see them.

"After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me–”

“Dressed you. With his paws?”

“Well, I don’t exactly remember that bit. But he did somehow or other: in new clothes–the same I’ve got on now, as a matter of fact. And then suddenly I was back here. Which is what makes me think it must have been a dream.”

“No. It wasn’t a dream,” said Edmund.

“Why not?”

“Well, there are the clothes, for one thing. And you have been–well, un-dragoned, for another.”

“What do you think it was, then?” asked Eustace.

“I think you’ve seen Aslan,” said Edmund.

Without God, we are all dragons of a sort - prickly, ill-shaped, disformed and sometimes downright dangerous.  And we cannot improve ourselves.  We can try, we can try peel back our layers of self, greed, envy, bitterness....but no matter how hard we try we cannot change.  It takes the power of Jesus to peel back all our layers and reveal our true person underneath.  It hurts to have our flaws and failures exposed and removed, and it stings our pride.  But those layers are removed, there is such freedom!  God dresses us anew in His grace and forgiveness.  The old self is gone, and 'we are in Christ a new creation.'

Psalm 23 in Kid's Church

I have decided that my aim to post daily does not apply to weekends.  :P 

At Church, I run Kid's Church for the little ones - from ages 2 to 5.  Our group is called 'NewGen' because our Church is named Generate Church, so all the kids group, youth, music etc, all has the word 'Gen' in.  The primary aged group is named 'NextGen.' 

 When you have six children, all five and under running around, it can be hard to get a message across.  To illustrate my point... One day we were learning about Samuel and I had just given them the rundown on how God talked to Samuel when he was just a little boy, and how God talks to little children as well, that you don't have to wait until you are grown up to listen and obey God's voice and so on.  I finished and there was dead silence around the table, then one little girl piped up, "There's a pencil under the table!" Right..... glad you were all listening!  :P  

Some days they are really good and other days, I'm not sure they even heard the story, but I get encouraging reports from parents on how their kids were singing the songs, or talking about the stories, so I know it must go into their minds somewhere!  

This week, we were studying Psalm 23.  We had done this last week, but had run out of time to do the craft, so I decided that it wouldn't hurt to carry it over two weeks anyway.  Normally, I make a little slide show animation using Power-point where the story is animated with characters and scenery, and I read out the story as they act it out, like an Bible story book, only on the computer.  However, since we had done that last week, I hit YouTube to try and find another animation or something that I could play for them.  I found one little video made by some Kid's Church group where a little shepherd was singing the 23rd Psalm.  I really liked the animation, but did not like the song.  It was one of those high and squeaky, this-is-for-kids-so-let's-sound-like-kids-while-we-sing-it-and-don't-worry-too-much-about-pitch-either sort of songs, which I am so not in to!  But I couldn't find anything else, so I put the video into movie maker, stripped the audio from it, and layered Keith Green's version of Psalm 23 into it instead.  I had to remove some of the footage because it was too long, and also had to chop the instrumental out of the song to make the pictures line up, but in the end, it worked quite well.  I would post it, but I think it would be breaking copyright, so I won't...just in case.  :)

After we watched the video, and talked again about how a shepherd takes care of sheep, and God takes care of us, we did a colouring picture, and then made little sheep with Psalm 23 printed on them, like in the picture.  This was the picture which gave me the idea, although our sheep weren't quite as perfect, as 3-year-old's insist on putting legs in strange places!  But they were cute.  I was going to put cotton wool on their backs, but ran out of time....and glue.  So we didn't.  :)

So next week we are going to be doing Psalm 150. I'm thinking we could do a music day, and make instruments or something.... I  might even bring my violin in, although I haven't decided yet if I want to subject my violin to at least six pairs of eager hands.....

Psalm 150 here we come!!

Miracle Maker

It has been quite busy here today, what with general life, comings and goings and final preparations for the violin eisteddfod tomorrow.  So today, I thought I would just post one of my favourite songs at the moment.

 The song is called 'Miracle Maker' by the band Delirious? and although their version is pretty amazing, I discovered yesterday that Kim Walker Smith (the lead vocalist for Jesus Culture) also does a version, which is also beautiful.

Which version is your favourite?

On this Day in History

I thought it would be fun to find out what happened on this day in history so here goes...



On the 21st of May, 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  Charles Lindbergh was the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927, five years earlier.  Amelia Earhart was the first to second his feat, as well as the first woman.  She attempted a flight around the world in 1937.  Approximately five weeks after her journey began, her plane disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and no one knows what became of her.

On the 21st of May, 1996, an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Victoria in Africa.  Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, and connects the countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.  The ferry was licensed to carry 430, there was at least double that on board.  There were 443 people on board in the first and second class, but no one knows exactly how many were in the 3rd class area.  It is estimated that between 500 and 800 people were killed, and only 114 people survived.

On the 21st of May, 1840, New Zealand was officially made part of the British empire.  New Zealand had been discovered and explored by both Abel Tasman and James Cook.  James Cook claimed the
land for Britain, but it wasn't until 1840 when the appointed governor, William Hobson, received enough signatures on the treaty between the British and the Maori chiefs to officially make New Zealand a part of the British sovereignty.

On the 21st of May, 1848, Edmund Kennedy landed at Rockingham Bay ready to explore Northern Queensland.  Edmund was a young explorer, who had been sent out from Sydney to explore the northern parts of Australia.  He planned to start his journey north of Townsville and make his way along the coast to Cape York to meet up again with his ship, Ariel.   However, he met with hostile Aborigines along the way and died at the end of their spears.

On the 21st of May, 1804, Lewis and Clarke set out for their famous journey with Sacajawea, their Indian guide.  Their goal was to find a practical and relatively safe way across to the Western half of the USA for commerce and trade.  The underlying purpose was to claim the land before the British did.  Their journey didn't end until September, 1806.






On the 21st of May, 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.  She first came across the Red Cross in Sweden, where she was taking a holiday from nursing duties.  S
he decided to found a Red Cross in America to assist with the aftermath of the Civil War.  The Red Cross grew phenomenally during the World Wars, as well as the Influenza epedemic and the depression which followed World War 1.  Today, the American Red Cross is one of the largest volunteer organisations in the world, with networks in 187 countries.





On the 21st of May, 2015, God's mercies were new again this morning, just as they are every morning since the start of time to the end of the time.  Great is His faithfulness.

Beyond Fear

Fear is a funny thing.  We can be afraid of someone, something, an event, or even ourselves.  We read in the Bible that ‘perfect loves casts out all fear,’ and that ‘God is love’, leading us to conclude that when God is in us, we should have no fear.  But as imperfect human beings, we forget that He who is in us is greater than he who is defeated in the world, and we become fearful.

As I was reading Judges one day, I came across the story of Gideon – how he defeated the Midianites with only three hundred men, how he trusted God, even when His plans seemed rather weak by man’s standards.  But something else stood out that I hadn’t noticed before.  Gideon was scared, every step of God’s plan.  (The following passages are from Judges 6 and 7)

     ...while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites

        So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

    Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”  Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.”

   So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

     Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

   It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.  But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.”

      And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped.

At every stage, Gideon had some fear, something he had to overcome.  First, it was the threshing wheat in the wine press.  He didn’t want to let anyone know that he had grain; he feared someone would take it away. 

            Secondly, he doubted he could lead Israel at all.  He claimed his family was least in the tribe of Manasseh, and he was the least of his family.  He made an excuse to cover his fear – because the Israelites have been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years.  The Midianites had driven the Israelites out of their homes, they were living in caves, and they had destroyed everything they owned.  And yet, we see that Gideon’s family had grain (Gideon was threshing it), animals (he makes sacrifices to the L_ORD), and in a later verse, God says “take your servant Purah…” indicating that Gideon ‘the least in his household’ had a servant as well.  It would appear that Gideon’s family was not doing too badly, but once again, his fear of the Midianites had overcome him, as he made excuses not to follow the Angel of the Lord’s directions.        

            Gideon speaks to the Angel of the Lord, and when he realizes who it is, he fears for his life.  This fear, however, is not cowardly.  Many other times, people have feared for their lives when God speaks to them. He is so holy that we can’t handle it.  “For no man shall see Me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20b)  Nearly every an Angel, or the Angel of the Lord, visited people, they have said, ‘Do not fear.’ It is normal to have a healthy fear and respect for our God, because He is beyond and above anything we can ever be or imagine. 

            Fourth, God told Gideon to tear down the statue of Baal and the high places his father had set up.  These were obviously sinful, and had to go, to signify that Gideon was now following God wholeheartedly.  Gideon did so, but he did it at night, so no one could see him, know it was him, and condemn him.  He was afraid to take a public stand for God.  He had convictions in his heart, but wasn't prepared to let anyone else know about them, not yet anyways.

            Next, God allows anyone in Gideon’s army who is afraid to step down.  He didn’t want men who couldn't trust in Him enough, so He allowed them to go home.  The fact that God pointed this out shows that Gideon is changing.  He still might be afraid, but his faith is growing, and when 22,000 people go home, he is not one of them.

            Sixth, God is gave Gideon an extra sign, one that will strength his faith, one that will keep him strong until the end.  But this time God also addresses Gideon’s fear, “If you are afraid to go down…”  Gideon had to overcome his fear of visiting the enemy camp before he was able to hear God’s promise on the victory.  However, he didn’t have to go alone, God provided someone who was willing to go with him, Gideon’s trusty servant, Purah.  Purah was obviously not afraid to go down to the camp with Gideon, and, by surrounding himself with people who were strong than he was, Gideon too overcame his fear of the Midianite camp.

            And finally, when Gideon heard God’s promise - heard the dream which the Midianite had had, he fell down and worshiped God.  He had no fear now.  His eyes were totally focused on God, and Gideon knew that God, not he, would accomplish the task. 

Reflecting upon this, I realized that it is okay to be frightened.  It is okay to be nervous about what tomorrow may bring because God can and will still use frightened people.  We don’t have to be brave and strong before He will use us.  If our hearts are seeking Him, then He will make us brave.  But we must not stay in that place of fear instead we need to allow our faith to be strengthened and grow strong.  If our eyes are fixed on Him, our fear will melt like snow at the sight of the Son. 

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  (Isaiah 41:10)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love.  (2 Timothy 1:7)

A Musical Day

We had a busy day today, mostly centered around music.  Coming up this weekend, Joy, Elise and I have a violin eisteddfod.  It has been about four years since we have done one, so it should be good.

However, with only four days to go, the practice is getting rather.... shall I say, intense?  I haven't decided yet what songs I am going to play in each section, and don't really want to have to make that decision!

One of the songs I am learning - hoping to pull together for the weekend - is the theme from the movie Schindler's List.  It is such a beautiful song, so emotive and sad.... it also hits some really, really high notes, which are proving to be a challenge!  But hopefully, I'll get there.

See what I mean?  It would have to be one of my favorite violin songs.   I'm going to play quite a mix of modern and classical, because I have Rolling in the Deep (by the Piano Guys) and My Immortal (Evanescence), as well as Concerto in A minor, 3rd movement, and Concerto in G minor, 1st and 2nd movement, both by Vivaldi.  I have one more song than categories, so one will have to be dropped, but I haven't decided yet which one.  :)

I helped Rosie (just turned 5) with her violin practice today as well.  And yes, she had a peg on her bow.  This is to help her keep her bow on the strings and not run it off the end of the violin.
We had violin lessons today, and Rosie did really well - she is excited to be learning ' fingers' next week, a.k.a using the fingerboard to create more notes than just the open strings of G, D, A, and E.

Our teacher was pleased with the progress I had made with my songs, and if confident that I can pull them together, which makes me feel better about the whole thing, as I am feeling a little under prepared.

A couple in our Church do a nursing home outreach.  They go into the homes and perform concerts, mixing hymns, popular 70s songs which the old people would know, and Church songs together to meet them where they are at.  Emily, Joy, Elise and I are joining their concerts, and we went around after violin to run through our song.  We are just doing one this time, and have chosen 'Broken Vessels' by Hillsong.  Joy is playing guitar, Elise the violin, I am playing keyboard and everyone is singing.  We borrowed our Church keyboard, since we don't have one of our own, and it was so nice to play! It was my first time playing it, and I really enjoyed it.

I was trying to get a nice photo of Rosie, Annie, and James but this was the best I could get...
 Annie didn't want to stop for a photo because she didn't want her 'eyes to be bright' which I think meant she didn't like the flash.  And James wouldn't give me a proper smile, just a crazy pose.  :)

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Jessica, and as of the end of last year, I am a homeschool graduate. I am the second oldest in my family and live in  NSW Australia with  my family: Mum, Dad, Emily, Grace, Joy, Elise, James, Rosie and Annie.  That's right - I have  six sisters and one brother, and yes, he copes just fine.  :)

Behind the name of this blog...

I chose 'Dreams really do come true' as the title of my blog, because I wanted to have record of how God will fulfill the dreams and promises I believe He has given me.  And whilst I am in the waiting zone of those dreams, there is still plenty to do!  I just need to realize it.

The URL of the blog differs from the title 'Dreams really do come true'.  In fact, it is 'yungundoto.blogspot.com.'  Yungu ndoto is the Swahili words which mean 'My dream.'  This is purely because EVERY title you can think of which has the name dream in it, has been used by some other blogger in the past, and therefore is unavailable.  Hence, I had to resort to a foreign language.  Swahili is one of the official languages of Kenya - along with English - and Kenya is where my biggest dream and promise lies, so the title is relevant...to me anyway.  :)

I hope to blog regularly - I would like to say daily, but I don't dare! - about ships and shoes and sealing wax, cabbages and kings. My interests and passions lie in the directions of;

                                                                             Jesus

Kenya 

Teaching 

Music 

Writing

Cooking 

Kid's Church 

I'm sure there are others, but is all I can think of at the moment, so that will do for now.  :P  

I hope you enjoy looking around and maybe even stay awhile!  

Blessings,

Jessica