The Abundant Life what is it and can we really have it?

It is freezing cold here, I can't get the fire to stay lit and I can't motivate myself to get out from under the blankets to do some ACTUAL house work!!! So it has left me with some time to think... The number one question on my mind recently has been about balance and how do we have it in our life. In the Bible God talks about the "abundant life" and pastors love to preach on it... but what is it? I would think those in the church who are most active in the church would be the ones with the best take on the abundant life. The problem is they are the most tired, weary, burnt out, run down, frenzied people I know. The say things like, "well this the Lord's work so I just have to make my family work around it". Abundant Life?!?! That doesn't look abundant to me!!! It looks exhausting and unfilling... So what is it? Well I really don't think the average church, even the really great ones with fantastic teaching, really teach us how to have the abundant life. God says "His burden is easy and His yoke is light", but I feel like it is overwhelming and stiffling and impossible at times, which makes me ask myself am I really caring God's load, the one that leads to the abundant life, or am I really caring all my goodie two shoes excuses for, well, LIFE and missing out on accomplishing the work that God ACTUALLY has for me? And I would have to say the answer to that question is that I'm not caring God's load at all. I am caring everybody elses good intentioned plans (including my own) some of which I really never wanted to say yes too. And all of these good intentions haven't led me to the abundant life, they lead straight to the CRAZY HOUSE, which at this point of time could be subsituted as The Henderson Home.

So I have set out on a sort of quest. I have been reading some really great books, the best of which has been a book called "Bounderies" and have been learning a whole lot about, well, ME. I am learning where I say Yes when I shoud say No, and how that being a submissive wife isn't saying "Yes, dear, that's fine with me" and inside thinking "Are you crazy!!! YOU want to add what to the schedule!!!" I am learning that having my boundaries means not letting all 3 of my kids clamour at me for their undivided attention constantly, and that saying Yes to me means having to say NO to them sometimes. I am learning that this doesn't make me a bad mum, it makes me a better one because if you don't have anything left you can't give it away. The funny thing is if you would have asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was the sort of person that has a hard time saying No I would have laughed at you and said "Oh no I have never had that problem!!!" and the reason why I have said Yes have been justified with the best of intentions. Things like, "I know that my friend is being unreasonable asking me to do this, but I love her and that is part of being a friend (never mind the fact my "friend" would NEVER do said act for me)"

In my quest for finiding balance I am finding that the biggest culprit isn't our schedule, or money, or church, or even my "job" of Tupperware... the culprit is ME!!! Yes all these other things are in the process of having a reevaluation of were their rightful place belongs, but untill I learn to say No I will chop one thing out and put two things in it's place. I want the abundant life and I am learning the only way to have it is to do what God wants me to do using His strength and getting rid of the things he doesn't want me to do and therefore He doesn't give me the strenght to do!!! I am looking forward to a less cluttered life filled with the balance, joy, love, peace, AND work that God has for me and our family... THE Abundant life!!!!

Now that I am on the road to abundant life I wonder if maybe just maybe it might include dry wood and a fire so I can warm up and get some of this house work done... or on the other hand maybe God wants me to stay cold enough to stop working and spend a bit of time thinking and praying for His wisdom...

Family Life in the Henderson Circus

So here it is, My First Blog. I am sure I was the last person in the WHOLE world who even knew what a "blog" was, but after much avoiding I finally gave in so I could make another pretty custom background :O) Ok maybe that wasn't the only reason, I thought it would be fun to have another way to update all our families and friends on the day to day without having to e-mail group e-mails where half the people aren't really that interested. This way only the interested will be inundated with the Henderson circus, instead of the blissfully unwarer who are suddenlly bombarded by our family in their "inbox".

So here it is. We are doing great here as a family. Judah is in full time school and is just thriving. That said after almost half a year I still find it hard to not see him during the day. Does that ever go away... Maybe that's why parent's cry when they take their kids to college, it's decades of bottled "I miss them" feelings shattering all over the dorm room... It's easier somedays but then other days when someone's been mean or "incidents" happen at school I just want to rip him out of there and homeschool him till he's 25 and I pick the perfect wife for him...but that's just somedays.

It's DONE!!!! Pottytraining that is... Yes after months of Heidi being ready and mummy not ready for the mess Murray stepped in and did a one week intensive training with her over his vacation while Wesley and I were up North in an aboriginal community. Of Course she did wonderful and except for pull-ups at night is completly out of nappies. Yiippppeeee!!! She might have out grown nappies but certainly hasn't outgrown the WHY? Stage.... Everyone says watch out for the terrible 2's but I say Watch out for the terrible 3's. All I hear from her is "WHY...." I usually make it to about 11:30AM before I resort to the old stand-by "BECAUSE IT JUST IS THAT WAY" or "BECASUE THAT'S JUST THE WAY GOD MADE IT" or the one I avoid but find myself falling into "BECAUSE I SAID SO!!!!" But then I remind myself how blessed I am to have a bright, energetic, curious, little girl who is full of fire and yet is as delicate as a rose, and I take a deep breath and try to be more patient with the next question.

And then that leaves me with Wesley. He is our source of laughter. His antics are a constant ammusement. Just today we went shopping and he insisted on wearing Murray's beanie, which of course is 12 sizes too big, and yet he pulls it off so naturally that you can't help but to smile. He never has to try to be funny, he just is, which makes all the more hilarious. We have had our 2 year old moments with him, but in the scheme of things he seems to be pretty good... But then we will see what he has to hold when he turns 3, that is if he follows in his sisters foot prints :O)

I think BALANCE is our word of the day recently. It is so hard to find that balance between kids and school and work and church and housework and dance classes and marriage and, and, and, And, AND.... sometimes it goes on forever. So we have been thinking something needs to go, but then you have to ask the even bigger question, WHAT? So as we spin plates, and juggle and swallow swords, and chase after clowns we are asking ourself what stays and what goes and nothing seems to make it to the chopping block. But we are fighting for it. We are fighting for our kids and our marriage and our family so I take comfort knowing that it is when we stop fighting for these things that Life has won the victory over our family and all balance has been trully lost.

So there is my first blog... hopfully the next ones won't be so wordy... but it was fun and I will definitly come back for more!!!!