Highly Recommend

As a mom of little people and a teenager, I find myself with little time to read deeply these days. In my single days I enjoyed reading four books at a time, different topics, genres, etc. These days I am a lucky girl if I can read one book in a month. I really can't even do that. After I put the babies down at night, cook supper for the bigger people and clean everything up, I just want to get on social media and pin to my hearts to delight, while catching up on series. All things that do not require much brain activity, which any mom can tell you at the end of the day is about all the brain activity we have left. In Lent however, I have given up some social media for the sake of seeing my deeper longing for Jesus and that is opening up my evenings a bit and allowing me to allow Him to refresh my heart and mind.

In that vein, I wanted to share some good books I have read this past year(like January 2013-March 2014). These are books that refueled me or were a sheer delight to read in the midst of children, sabbatical and daily crazy ministry life.  

Desperate by Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson

http://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Hope-Mom-Needs-Breathe/dp/1400204666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395063229&sr=8-1&keywords=desperate

In the beginning of last year I was here. I was desperate to breathe and feel like I could make it to tomorrow. I had just had my second baby and was incredibly overwhelmed with immediate and extended family circumstances, forget all the ministry and church challengs we faced daily. This book became my quiet time and meditation to try to and crawl out of my spiritual pit of despair. There are helpful application sections at the end of each chapter. The book is written by a young mom and an older mom, so there is much wisdom and experience to be gained from these two lovely women. 

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

http://www.amazon.com/Emotionally-Healthy-Spirituality-Unleash-Revolution/dp/0849946425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395080948&sr=8-1&keywords=emotionally+healthy+spirituality+by+peter+scazzero


Wow. This has been a very challenging read. You can be very spiritually mature but lack emotional maturity. I think most of us do. We grow so quickly in our walk with Christ and study our bible and get involved in leadership and we think we are all set, somehow our emotional maturity is easily side lined and we wonder why at +/- 30 we feel burnt out and ready to quit lots of stuff in our lives. This book is super helpful in revealing where you are individually and gives hope that this is not all there as to be in your life, marriage or church experience. For someone like me, who was involved in a great ministry that developed my spiritual walk in incredible ways, I need a book like this. My emotional health and maturity is dwarfed in comparison. From one beggar to another, I commend this to you.

Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Wine-Letter-Around-Recipes/dp/0310328179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395081011&sr=8-1&keywords=bread+and+wine

A fun, easy read a good friend of mine lent to me while we were in the states. She tells life stories and how certain meals around their table ministered to her in different seasons of life. Honest and refreshing. Recipes at the end of most chapters, some of which are staples in our family now. Thank you Shauna.

The Church Planting Wife by Christine Hoover

http://www.amazon.com/The-Church-Planting-Wife-Heart/dp/0802406386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395081076&sr=8-1&keywords=church+planting+wife

Reading this now and wow! I am being challenged at every turn. I am not a church planting wife, but I am a wife in a college ministry. I was involved as a student and came on staff single right out of college. Being married and now with children, the game has changed dramatically for me. No matter who you are or where you are in church leadership, on a core team, helping pioneer something bigger than yourself; this book is a great help with perspective. 

I hope these are helpful for you as they have been helpful for me. Enjoy and Happy Monday and St. Patricks Day.

This season of Lent

Growing up in the Lutheran church this was a season I was familiar with each year. We gave up something we loved for forty days to grow deeper in our walks with God. After I became a Christian in highschool I kind of abandoned lots of good practices to just focus on following Jesus and loving Him with all my heart. As I have grown up in my faith, many of those good practices have found their ways back into my heart and life again. God has used them to show me my need for Him daily and I have seen how seasonally they often help me refocus my heart back on Him as I am so easily distracted by any and everything that is not Him. Lent has always been hard for me, as I imagine it is for many of us because it involves a willing sacrifice."Fasting is a tangible, physical activity that points to our spiritual longing to be rooted in Jesus alone and find our true comfort and joy in Him." (Taken from the Gospel Coalition devotional guide for Lent). As a household, we are choosing to participate in Lent this year and are all giving up something near and dear. One of our staff guys, Siyanda, lives on our property and at supper decided he too would join Jeff, Casey and I. So here we go. Forty days to be more aware of my spiritual longing to be rooted in Jesus. I am excited and scared. Lots of refining ahead I am sure of it. Thankfully He is able and He will do it in me. 

Here are some plans that were tossed my way the past few days. All are great, we are doing the one from The Gospel Coalition. Just wanted to resource those

Interested. 

The Gospel Coalition: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/files/2013/02/Journey-to-the-Cross.pdf

Ann Voskamp:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/a.voskamp/TrailtotheTree1.pdf

John & Noel Piper:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/2007/2033_Lenten_Lights/

You Version Bible reading app also has a bunch of plans for this season. Check them out on your mobile device :)

New City life

We have been in Pretoria for about three weeks now and back in South Africa just over a month and life has been busy to say the least. We set up our new house, got Casey into a new high school(which is an adventure all on it's own in South Africa) and have try to get set up for a new year of ministry on a new campus. One of my tasks has been to set up our internet in the new place and as of today we are still without it. We have been waiting on the phone company to change our line from Joburg to Pretoria and as of yesterday it still hadn't happened. I spent an hour on the phone with various people from Telkom until finally a lady who seemed to know how to help us escalated our request to urgent and said a technician would phone us to tell us when they would come out to set up the new line. When I asked if she knew if that phone call would happen in the next week, she of course could give no firm answer. So I am posting this from my phone as we continue to wait. Here are a few fun pictures of our time in PTA so far. 

I am also applying for permanent residency and will share on that experience in the coming weeks(home affairs is a beast all it's own, this should be interesting).

O Christmas Tree

Christmas season is upon us all. Merrily we go along now friends. When parents and I happened to be in the same country recently (crazy reality that we seldom are in the same time zone), my mom was showing Asher one of the ornaments I made as a tiny tot. She loves this piece of my childhood, probably because as we all get older there are very few of those tangible pieces remaining. This got me to thinking on a way to preserve such trinkets. I am not going to throw myself headlong into 500 pinterest projects for myself and the kids this holiday season, mainly thanks to a reminder I read here.

Rather, I decided we can do the Jesse Tree Advent devotionals, including the little ornaments for each day; and we can occasionally make new ornaments are artsy things in light of the season. With two boys, almost 10 months and 2 1/2 years old, I have a very small window of time to do such things and have it be enjoyable and productive, sadly I often focus on the productive instead of the enjoyable. 

With my mom's love for childhood ornaments and this desire to do something fun and seasonal with Asher mainly, I decided to recreate one of my first ornaments made as a little person, the Christmas tree.  The best part is that most of us have the construction paper already laying around somewhere with glue and string of some sort. I had to run to Michael's for the glitter and admit that we walked around for 30 minutes looking at other things before I remembered why we had gone there to begin with. Thankfully, we left with ONLY the glitter and not many other items in tow as well. 

I started with tracing the original tree onto fresh green construction paper. 

Next I cut both trees out and followed that by cutting out the ornaments for the trees.

I applied the glue to spots Asher wanted to hang his ornaments and away he went(you could place the dots where you like if the littles are too little to tell you where they would like them). 

Then I applied the glue for the glittery lights or garland, whichever you imagine and Asher helped me sprinkle the glitter (no picture due to mommy needing to hold the glitter so the whole kitchen didn't wind up sparkly).

Finally he went to town on the stars and I punched a hole in the top for the string(anything you have laying around is usable here).

Here's the finished products. 1983 vs. 2013, thirty years requires updating. Asher did both trees as Mason was napping and would've eaten the ornaments rather than placing them anywhere near his tree. I hope you feel inspired with this easy activilty. Have a great day!  

The sound of Christmas

I absolutely love this time of year. Christmas is by far my favorite season, in South Africa and in the U.S. My mom did a great job of making it such a special season and I hope to do the same with my family. One of my traditions is to buy a new CD or several Christmas-themed songs each year to add to our home playlist. I like to start playing it daily mid-November personally, just to get in the mood early. Where ever we may be living at the time, the music of this season does something extra special in my heart. Maybe it is the hope that was placed deep in me years ago that longs for days when there is no more war, pain or suffering. Some songs take me back to my childhood and others point my heart toward what I am truly longing for, my true reason for Hope in this season. The One who made the promise in the first place and gave us reason to hope after everything seemed hopeless, kept His word and made Him flesh.

However you may come to this season, I thought I would share some of my favorite CDs or compilations that I have purchased through the years. While I love chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at the nose of those in cold places, I find I need songs that take my heart back to my true reason for Hope. So here is my list of holiday favorites. I hope you enjoy ;)

Bebo Norman: Christmas

Come, Let Us Adore Him: Compilation

Shane & Shane: Glory in the Highest

Phil Wickham: Songs for Christmas

Jars of Clay: Drummer Boy



Sara Groves : O Holy Night

Upon searching for links to these CDs I discovered a myriad of Christmas albums that I think would also help our hearts in this season. Here some new ones I am adding to my wish list for future Christmas albums :)

Christmas Album Wish List: 

Glory in the Highest(Chris Tomlin)

Hope for all the world(Phillips, Craig & Dean)

Christmas in Diverse City(Toby Mac)

Christmas All Around Us (Various Artists)

Bethlehem (Kari Jobe)

Taking My South African Husband to my Texan roots

Thanks to technology, satellites and google, last Saturday night I was able to show my husband the house and neighborhood I grew up in. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I have told him stories of growing up in Houston, Texas and how much I loved those early years of my life there. I told tales of bike riding adventures to and from the neighborhood pool and the local 7-11. This was in the '80s when things were simpler and we were all vastly unaware of the innumerable dangers waiting outside your front door. Thankfully summer days and weekends were spent riding your red schwinn as fast as possible down to the pool and spending most of the day getting major sunburns and chlorine soaked bodies. I loved every minute of it. I showed him the park we used to play in and even the house where the bubble boy lived. Without leaving my parents condo in Atlanta, Georgia, we were able to travel nearly 830 miles to see my childhood home. What a great and inexpensive adventure we took. Somehow being able to show him those things brought happiness to my heart that night. 

Have you ever wished you could show the people you love the place you used to call home? Try it out on a date night; what a great way to have a deeper conversation with those you love. 

Keeping the boy busy

I am always trying to keep Asher(28 months on the 28th) busy so he doesn't become destructive in my parents house( one lamp has already been injured). I came across this idea on Pinterest(always a life saver) and tweaked it a tad for our traveling purposes. Here is the blog it is from originally:

http://walkersinc.blogspot.com/2012/08/quiet-book-update.html?m=1

My tweaks: put the laminated pages in a binder for easy transport

 

Put all the stick on pieces in ziplocs

Using prestick(sticky stuff) instead of Velcro(tried it but it was too strong for the laminated pages) or magnets.

Also added pages for random coloring at the back.

Asher is a fan and therefore so am I. Hope you find it helpful.

Fun in Atlanta...so far.

Our trip to the states this time around has been different from our last visit. Last time it was just Jeff and myself and this time we have three little people in tow(two littles and one teenager actually). This time our visit has mainly involved the condo that my parents have in Buckhead. Here are some shots of the boys enjoying life so far.

Asher enjoying one of my childhood favorites 

 

Watching some Wimbeldon

Some brotherly love or smothering depending on who you are here.

The littlest Viljoen

I cannot believe he has been with us for two months already. So grateful and blessed with Mason Viljoen.

Two years!

Yes, I have been on blog hiatus since I had our second son, Mason. Yes, I will post some lovely pictures of Mason in the next post. This post, however is about the two big kids, Casey and Asher. Casey turned 15 last week Wednesday and Asher turned 2 last week Thursday. Whew. Let's just say March is not easy on the checkbook.

Casey chose to go ice skating for her birthday and we chose for Asher to have a Mickey Mouse party to celebrate his two years of life. We also included his cousin Kiki on the birthday fun as she turned 2 only two days before Asher. Crazy!! Here are some of the fun pics from the time Saturday.

I decided to get some fun decor off of etsy for the party, which you can find here. I also got personalized shirt iron-ons for the birthday babies, also from etsy, here.

Casey & Kiki

Mom & Ash man

Family picture(Aunt Stephy is holding Mason)

Ordered the cake, will use her again. Yummy!

Birthday boy!

Dad & Ash man

Already a driver

Asher's latest escapades includes an obsession with driving. He will gladly hop into anyone's car to drive it for them. I have caught him on his daddy's lap several times, in other friends cars and lately our kombi is his main preference. He hops up into the driver's seat and starts steering the steering wheel, flicking the brights on and off and trying to change gears. Our kombi is thankfully parked at the back of our garage so there is no danger in him playing with it, other than running the battery slowly down perhaps. He sometimes likes to take Mickey Mouse with him on his adventures. Always, when I ask where he is going the answer is the same-"home." Yes my baby, indeed we are going home, slowly but surely. Asher is driving the bus, anyone wanna hop on?

One Thousand things to be thankful for

My mom recommended this book to me a while ago(over a year ago I think). As with most things moms recommend, I filed it away in my brain and forgot about it. Why do we do that? I know my kids will do that too. Sorry mom for doing that. You have much wisdom to bestow on me. Another friend actually passed it on to me late last year after she finished it as well. The book is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I am sure most of the planet has heard of it by now, the western half anyhow. I went to Ann's website and can tell it has been a hit because you can get the journal, the app, the book, etc., etc.

The thing I really am enjoying about this book is the simplicity with which she tackles subjects like suffering, thankfulness, experiencing God's presence; to name a few. She uses personal life examples on each chapter subject she engages and brings it back to God's word in a unique way.  If you haven't picked it up yet, then get yourself a copy. I put it in my Amazon list to the right so you can click and choose how you would like to get it. I am sure it is in your local Christian book store( I did see a bunch of copies at CUM here in Jozi). You can also check her website out here. She posts things on her blog a few times a week as well. Always encouraging and fresh words when I often need them most. Enjoy!

3 1/2 Weeks

This is the amount of time until the official due date of our second son. We have two other kids, Casey-our nearly 15 year old cousin/daughter who God gifted to us in a very unique way and then Asher-our first son who is 21 months(will be nearly two when his brother joins us).

About a month ago, I attended the baby shower of my dear friend Chandre(pictured below), who God gave me the privilege of mentoring(discipling) through her university life. Sidenote: I am so blessed to have walked with her as well through dating, marriage and now starting a family with her husband Mike. You don't get many opportunities like that in life.

 

Chandre is due two weeks after me, but to look at this picture you would think I was months ahead of her. We laugh about the comments people make to pregnant women. My husband recently asked me this question...why do I get so big in my belly? I can assure you I am bigger now than in this photograph and on two occasions have been asked if I am carrying twins. Let me take this moment to tell you how I answered my husband who is an amazing man and great husband and father, by the way. "God made me 5'2" and unless we want my internal organs to disappear completely, there is a small amount of space my babies have to work with in the womb. This is just the way it is for me and every woman is different." So, for all my preggie friends out there, do not fret or worry over how you look in the mirror or to the world. You have a miraculous gift from God growing inside of you, one that many women would love to have growing in them as well...and to answer that common question-no I am not carrying twins :), just one.

2013!!

Daily fun at LP!

Fun days spent with these kiddos down at LP! Morning trips down to the beach before naps. Yay for friends.(p.s. no pics of prego mama as I feel like a boat :) )

Caleb & Asher doing some excavation.

"Are we live?"

Three dolphins and a water princess.

I would like to say thanks to all my fans. I love you guys!

Casey is giving Asher some life advice.

Future model poses

Daddy & Ash

Love this happy pool boy. He is available for weekend jobs ;)

You want a piece of me?! (Thanks Josh Anthony for the good caption).