Our boy has turned two! Reu's developing so quickly at the moment that we can't keep track. But here's an attempt to remember...
- Reu has really developed in coordination and courage. He's able to climb the big climbing frames independently at the Raby Arms pub, Ward Jackson park, Stranton school, Summerhill and now the Parker's house! The other day he was right on top of the monkey bars! Daddy ran over to retrieve him.
- Reu enjoys a little kick about. The other day he giggled lots when I kicked the ball and my slipper flew off into the air.
- Daddy and Reuben created a 'special den' with blankets the other day. Now he asks for it all the time.
- Reu goes to swimming lessons with daddy. He loves swimming and asks to go all the time. We went on holiday to a haven caravan park and made the most of the pool while we were there.
His speech has developed loads. People frequently comment on how confident and chatty he is. Reuben only really has one volume for his voice though - very loud!
Here's a list of some things he says, there are far too many to remember but here's a snippet:
- 'crumpet, no crumpet?'
- 'strawberry ice cream!'
- 'no like it'
- 'gabby' (aka dummy)
- 'incy spider'
- 'mummy help'
-'mummy/daddy cuddle'
-'change nappy'
-'Bob, Nikki, Ophie'
-'twinkle star' - he had a nightmare the other night. I went in to comfort him and through sobs he said 'no more twinkle star!' Who knows what he was dreaming about!
- He likes counting and often gets into his teens.
The other day when he was meant to be napping I could hear that he was wide awake over the baby monitor. I was treated to 2 hours of Reuben signing, counting to twelve and chattering away to himself. He sang lots of rounds of 'bye, bye daddy see you soon' with verses of 'mummy' and 'poppet' too, as well as the 'go jetters' song. I could also hear him saying 'watch fireman Sam!'
He continues to be an extrovert. He loves people, loves going round to people's houses and he likes to say their names and ask if we're going to see them today? I have to be careful to not mention people too long before we're going to visit or he gets upset that they aren't here yet. I have to be especially careful when mentioning the parkers, he tried to get out of the front door to see them!
Reuben loves singing and he's started singing more Christian songs too, 'glory, glory to our God, behold our kiiiing', 'I believe in yooou'
He's started singing along with us now and not just stopping to listen when we start singing - his timing, tune and rhythm are getting better and better.
Reu has had a few transitions recently. He moved into his big boy bedroom, stopped having a bottle of milk before bed, and transitioned from the sleeping bag to the duvet.
His bedtime routine is a bit different now, he has a bath, a bible story and pray and then goes to bed. Every night we so him what he'd like to pray about and every night he says, 'simi, timo, eke'
His first proper prayer was thanks for 'simi my friend, Apple yum yum'. V cute!
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Reu from 19-20 months
Reu 19-20 months
How time flies! Reu is learning to do new things all the time now and there's more cute anecdotes than I can recount or even remember.
-He's obsessed with 'Go Jetters' a CBeebies cartoon that is sort of action/ adventure for toddlers. It's pretty good actually! Reu asks for it 'Go go!' And he even sings along to the catchy song during the credits.
- We are expecting another baby in August! We have started chatting to Reu about his baby brother/sister. He sometimes looks for my tummy under my top and then gives it a kiss. Because we've showed him the scan photos, he now points at his own scan photos (in his bedroom) and says 'baby'. Cute :)
- Reu doesn't sleep as long at night anymore, 11.5 hours rather than 13 (which is still amazing, and we're thankful). He's pretty good and entertaining himself in the morning in his cot for 30/40mins or so. He chats to himself and this morning we could hear him giggling!
- Reu loves to 'wak' (walk) everywhere. Getting him into the pram is a bit of a battle these days because he just wants to walk all the time. Sometimes I take him into Middleton grange so he can wander freely and climb up on all the little rides dotted around the place.
- At playgroup this week, Reu was very enthusiastic about tidy up time. He efficiently cleared the kitchen table from all the toys by using his arm to swipe them into the box. It was very noisy but incredibly efficient. Lots of the parents laughed at his initiative. Then he helped me put the farm animals away, he whisked the book way from Sarah's hand as soon as she'd finished reading it and ran to the book case to put it away, then I lost him for a moment - but found him in the middle of the ball pool helping to put the balls away. I need to utilise his enthusiasm for tidying up at home!
- We had Chinese takeaway for the first time last night and he absolutely loved it! He devoured the prawn crackers, fried rice and spring rolls. Literally, the whole way through the meal he made his 'mmmm' 'yumm' noises - he couldn't have been happier!
- We took Reuben swimming at Mill House (the first time he's been swimming for 8 months, and the last time was in Cyprus - so quite a different experience). When we first went into the pool, he screamed and just clung onto us for ages. But as time went on he really got into it, he loved jumping in off the side, being passed from mummy to daddy, he even went on the massive slide with both of us and loved it! By the end of our time in the pool he was too confident! He didn't want us to hold onto him anymore, but to play with the floats all by himself. We're going to take him a few times in the next few months and then hopefully start him on swimming lessons when he turns 2.
- Reu has got into building things. He loves stickle bricks and mega blocks and he spends a long time building big towers. He's quite protective over his creations though, so occasionally I need to intervene if another toddler tries to pinch/knock over his masterpiece. He would easily get frustrated with them and shout 'mine!' or start crying. It's fairly understandable I think.
- Reu also loves colouring with felt tips (occasionally on the furniture), painting and sticking things.
- He's getting good at problem solving too, he's really improving at jigsaws, shape sorters and putting the train tracks together.
- He talks away all the time. In the car the other day he was babbling like this, 'mummy, daddy, pops, nanny!' He said this sentence to me yesterday, 'mummy, daddy gone!' Which was true, he had disappeared into the garden. He likes to finish the sentences in books, especially 'A squash and a squeeze' and he likes to do the same in songs. He's getting pretty good at saying 'please' ('peas') and 'thanks', although only when it involves food!
- Reu can say 'I ruv ooo!' ('I love you'). This is the best milestone ever.
- He's getting pretty good at actions (head, shoulders, knees and toes, and the like). And spinning around is his favourite dance move.
- Reuben loves slides. He close going down head first, he loves the water slide at the leisure centre, he especially loves climbing up them barefoot! He giggled so much when we put his socks on and he couldn't grip the slide with his feet so kept on falling down.
- Reu really recognises people now. At play group he gets excited to see toddlers and mums that he knows. The other day we taught him to say 'Athol'. He said it once. Then two days later Athol was in our house (although Reu didn't know this because I had just gotten him up from his nap). Amazingly he heard Athol's voice and recognised it instantly, and shouted 'Athol' and immediately tried to escape my arms to go and find his little friend.
Tuesday, 19 January 2016
Reu aged 17-18 months
- Reuben has started speaking. He's mastered animal noises and 'mama' 'dada' type words, and now he repeats words I say for actual things. 'Car', 'ball', 'go' 'bye!' And 'Poop' are amongst his favourite.
- Reuben is obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. He loves reading his Thomas books, he loves wearing his Thomas t-shirts, he loves playing with Thomas toys, and he is thrilled with his new Thomas slippers and Thomas advent Calendar.
- Reuben has a special friend, bunny. Or as he has called him 'Dee'. He loves snuggling bunny, playing hide and seek with bunny and playing 'sleeping bunnies' with bunny. Reu makes bunny do the actions, including going to sleep and hopping up and down. It's very sweet.
- Reuben just loves animals! Pictures of animals, videos of animals, real life animals,he thinks they're amazing.
- Reu loves autumn. Mud, puddles and crunchy leaves are a big hit. Cutely, Reu sometimes picks up the leaves and then reaches up to the tree branches (which of course he can't reach because he's tiny and the trees are very very big) and he tries to reach up to attach the leaves back on again.
- Reu and Athol are good buddies. Reu giggles lots when Athol chases him, and they both love cuddles when Athol rugby tackles him to the ground. Then it all starts over again.
- The little man has become much more independent recently, he wanders off at play groups and gets on with his own little thing. He likes collecting all the bean bag creatures and putting them in the shopping bag and then walking around with his bag. He's far less likely to tumble or put toys in his mouth these days. My baby is getting big and he doesn't really need me anymore. Although he does still bring toys and books over to me to show me what he's found :)
- Reu enjoyed Christmas (although he was a little bit ill for some of it). His speech really progressed over the holidays and he learnt some special Christmas words, 'choc choc', 'copter' 'tree' 'claws' and 'box'.
- Opening the windows in his advent calendar was a source of great excitement to Reu, although he showed uncharacteristic self control when it came to leaving the next chocolate for the next day. He would open all the windows he could, then shut them all again, and then push the calendar away and say 'bye!' Maybe he loves delayed gratification like his parents.
- He was thrilled on Christmas Day when he went into the living room and saw his presents including a Thomas the Tank Engine scooter. He exclaimed 'car!' When he saw it and immediately climbed onto it.
- We went to visit the Lintotts for a few days over New Year. He absolutely adored Owen, and would grab books and hop on his lap in expectation of a story. He copied what he did too, including a naughty trick - shaking his plate with all the food on it to watch it jiggle about!
- While we were in fressingfield we went to the play area and Reu went on the swing, we were all saying 'weeee!' and then he started saying 'poop!' The more we said 'wee' the more he said 'poop!' it was very funny.
- On the poop front, Reu started to hide behind his chair and read a book while doing his business. He would often tell us what was about to happen.... Perhaps potty training isn't too far off.
- Our boy is absolutely full of fun and energy. He doesn't do things by half measures. When he sleeps he sleeps (for 13 hours at night, and 2 hours in the day, praise God for the respite!) when he eats he eats (he doesn't get all those comments about his weight for no reason) and when he plays he really goes for it. He's an inquisitive, sociable, happy little thing. He's also strong-willed, strong and fairly wild. He's everything I've been told a little boy should be, affectionate, energetic and clingy! He is very jealous when I'm around other babies.... Something to work on.
- I love him more than words can say and he brings me more joy then I ever could have imagined. All that being said, I've never need God's grace more or needed sleep so much :) where do they get their energy from?
- Reuben is obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. He loves reading his Thomas books, he loves wearing his Thomas t-shirts, he loves playing with Thomas toys, and he is thrilled with his new Thomas slippers and Thomas advent Calendar.
- Reuben has a special friend, bunny. Or as he has called him 'Dee'. He loves snuggling bunny, playing hide and seek with bunny and playing 'sleeping bunnies' with bunny. Reu makes bunny do the actions, including going to sleep and hopping up and down. It's very sweet.
- Reuben just loves animals! Pictures of animals, videos of animals, real life animals,he thinks they're amazing.
- Reu loves autumn. Mud, puddles and crunchy leaves are a big hit. Cutely, Reu sometimes picks up the leaves and then reaches up to the tree branches (which of course he can't reach because he's tiny and the trees are very very big) and he tries to reach up to attach the leaves back on again.
- Reu and Athol are good buddies. Reu giggles lots when Athol chases him, and they both love cuddles when Athol rugby tackles him to the ground. Then it all starts over again.
- The little man has become much more independent recently, he wanders off at play groups and gets on with his own little thing. He likes collecting all the bean bag creatures and putting them in the shopping bag and then walking around with his bag. He's far less likely to tumble or put toys in his mouth these days. My baby is getting big and he doesn't really need me anymore. Although he does still bring toys and books over to me to show me what he's found :)
- Reu enjoyed Christmas (although he was a little bit ill for some of it). His speech really progressed over the holidays and he learnt some special Christmas words, 'choc choc', 'copter' 'tree' 'claws' and 'box'.
- Opening the windows in his advent calendar was a source of great excitement to Reu, although he showed uncharacteristic self control when it came to leaving the next chocolate for the next day. He would open all the windows he could, then shut them all again, and then push the calendar away and say 'bye!' Maybe he loves delayed gratification like his parents.
- He was thrilled on Christmas Day when he went into the living room and saw his presents including a Thomas the Tank Engine scooter. He exclaimed 'car!' When he saw it and immediately climbed onto it.
- We went to visit the Lintotts for a few days over New Year. He absolutely adored Owen, and would grab books and hop on his lap in expectation of a story. He copied what he did too, including a naughty trick - shaking his plate with all the food on it to watch it jiggle about!
- While we were in fressingfield we went to the play area and Reu went on the swing, we were all saying 'weeee!' and then he started saying 'poop!' The more we said 'wee' the more he said 'poop!' it was very funny.
- On the poop front, Reu started to hide behind his chair and read a book while doing his business. He would often tell us what was about to happen.... Perhaps potty training isn't too far off.
- Our boy is absolutely full of fun and energy. He doesn't do things by half measures. When he sleeps he sleeps (for 13 hours at night, and 2 hours in the day, praise God for the respite!) when he eats he eats (he doesn't get all those comments about his weight for no reason) and when he plays he really goes for it. He's an inquisitive, sociable, happy little thing. He's also strong-willed, strong and fairly wild. He's everything I've been told a little boy should be, affectionate, energetic and clingy! He is very jealous when I'm around other babies.... Something to work on.
- I love him more than words can say and he brings me more joy then I ever could have imagined. All that being said, I've never need God's grace more or needed sleep so much :) where do they get their energy from?
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Reu from 15-16 months
Reuben aged 15-16 months
- Reuben has really progressed on the walking front. He went from walking in between people, to walking from one piece of furniture to the next, to venturing out to the middle of the room, to being a fully independent little (wobbly) walky talky as I like to call him
- Reu can say 'mmm' when you ask him what a cow says :)
- He says 'mama' now! Hooray!
- He can say 'again', 'dada' and 'bye bye' (well he's actually forgotten about bye bye recently, I think when he learns a new word it pushes the old one out! lol)
- Reuben like to dance to sleeping bunnies. He lies down when the bunnies are sleeping and he jumps up and bounces when the bunnies are hopping. Very cute!
- He loves the instruments at the library, snack time at playgroup and the little play room at Middleton grange. He's very aware of what's going on around him, and he points at balloons, cartoon characters and the the little rides that you see in town. He's definitely turning into a little boy, he's not just a baby anymore.
- Reu continues to be a sociable little thing, and he's definitely most happy when he's around other people. He has a great time playing with all the kids from church, there's a fair amount of him getting passed around but he seems to love it.
- Scott has trained Reuben to expect and love a snuggle in bed in the morning. Reu used to be hyper when he first woke up, now he has subdued snuggles with daddy for a few mins first.
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Reuben aged 13-14 months
Reuben 13-14 months
- So it turns out that our Reu is quite the little performer, when the health visitor came to visit him for his 1 year check he was doing funny things to get a reaction from her. One such thing was that he lay on the floor with a toothbrush (a gift from the health visitor) hanging out of his mouth and he was squeaking the steering wheel on his pirate ship at the same time. All the while having a cheeky smirk on his face to get giggles from the health visitor. He looked so silly and it was very comical.
While on holiday in Cyprus he wad great fun being the centre of attention. Not surprisingly, blue-eyed, blonde wavy-haired, chubby Reuben was a big hit with the Turks. He completely played up to it though, pointing, smiling, clapping his hands and my favourite, waving at random passers by to get waves back. He loved al fresco dining on the roadside, there were so many people to watch and give him attention , and lots of cats to feed from his high chair too.
- Reuben likes putting things inside other things; pegs in a peg basket, the peg basket in the drawer, himself in the drawer beside the pegs in the peg basket; anything that fits into something else is worth playing with. On holiday he adored playing with wet sand, putting it in his bucket (and occasionally mouth) would occupy him for hours.
- The little man loves the Mediterranean sea, he would squeal with delight when waves splashed him.
- He also loved the pool and the slide into the pool, by the end of our fortnight in Cyprus he was so confident around the water that you had to be careful that he didn't throw himself into it (as my mum found out the wet way!)
- Reuben loves the moon and stars and likes to point at them
- in Cyprus he would walk laps round the pool with his lion baby walker - very cute
- Reu sometimes gets the giggles; his belly laugh bubbles up from inside him, it's contagious, and it's the best sound in the whole world!
- on Saturday 8th August, Reuben took his first steps (just before he turned 14 months). He did it for daddy, and to show off to big cousins kara and kian.
Reu aged 10-12 months
Reuben aged 10-12 months
- Reuben has become an expert sleeper! He now sleeps the whole way through the night and has a regular and predictable (praise The Lord!) nap. He sleeps for at least 2 hours every afternoon! It's bliss. He puts himself to sleep, no tears, no fuss. The little cherub is way more content and I am too. I think I'll be trying a strict routine like this earlier on with the next baby (there is none in existence yet, don't get excited!)
- Reu has become very good at walking while holding onto fingers or while walking with the baby walker. He goes fast!
- He responds to instructions and questions much more....
When you ask him to 'clap your hands' he does, or 'point to the... tree, flowers, ladies' (decorative ladies in our coving) he does.
- Reu initiates games of 'peek a boo' while in the bath
- He waves and says 'baba' when you leave a room, or he leaves a room, or in response to others saying it first.
- Reuben is a kisser! He loves kisses. He kisses with a pout and with a baby kiss (mouth open like a fish). He instigates kisses, he kisses teddies, he kisses pictures of animals, he kissed several of his birthday cards. He's so affectionate.
- He leans in for snuggles, he especially loves to do this with daddy.
- Reu had a lovely first birthday party with lots of friends coming to celebrate with us. He had his first taste of cake (blueberry muffin, with icing and blueberries on top). He was not really interested in the cake, he was just delighted to pick the blueberries off the top and eat them. Most of the cakey bit was thrown on the floor in disapproval!
I can't believe that our boy is a year old. What an amazing year it has been. He's brought so much joy, laughter and smiles to our lives, and we're so grateful to God for him.
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Reuben aged 7-10 months
Well I don't get time to blog any more! The ipad belongs to Reuben. When he's awake I don't get a chance to use it. And when Reu is asleep the ipad is in his room with the white noise app on. Long gone are the leisurely feeds and internet surfing! He's grown and developed so much in the last few months that it's hard to remember what he started to do when, but I can certainly tell you some cute stories!
So the most revolutionary change in the last few months is that Reuben learnt to crawl! On the 17th Feb to be exact. He's certainly enjoying being able to explore and express himself more. Now he won't sit still.
Reu has always been a sociable little creature, enjoying snuggles with lots of different people. Since learning to crawl he's started crawling to other mums and trying to get up on their laps for snuggles (little flirt!) My favourite memory is when Caitlin had her little one (Ava) on one knee and Reu on the other. Reuben always climbs all over Linda the children's centre leader and gets lots of cuddles with her.
He started crawling slowly but then got much faster. One day I was sorting out paper work in the living room and I heard the door creak. I turned round and Reu had opened the slightly ajar door and started to explore the hall way. I called out 'reuben' and I heard the scuttling sound of Reuben crawling around the place and then little chap stuck his head back round the door with the cheekiest little smirk on his face! So sweet that he came back when I called his name.
It seems Reuben had about a million milestones in one week. Soon after learning to crawl he started to pull himself up to kneeling position and then standing position. Shortly after that he learnt to walk along using the sofa as support. Then he started doing it with just one hand.... He'll be walking by himself before long.
The little chap dances now. His favourite dancing tunes are the iPhone ringtone and 'who's a beautiful baby'. He often sticks his arms out in the air and then starts to jiggle about - I think the arms out are for balance as he's toppled over a few times from enthusiastic bobbing. He often has a really happy smile on his sweet face while he does it.
He likes wrestling with daddy. He has the sweetest belly laugh.
He absolutely loves watching birds. Sometimes I take him to the pond at the park so that he can watch the hundreds of ducks, pigeons and sea gulls squawking and flying around the place.
He loves food and he can feed himself very well. He can now have entire meals of finger food. Last night be had tuna pasta followed by grapes and he managed to put loads of it away.
He points at things.
I think he's starting to learn what 'no' means and he occasionally chooses to stop sucking on the taps when I tell him not to.
He's so much fun- he's into everything and is so energetic. He loves learning new things, making a mess, and he still loves making lots and lots of noise.
He can say 'dada' and an 'arrrr-men' sort of sound. He refuses to say 'mama'. Although occasionally when he's frustrated he makes a 'mam!' sound - cheeky monkey!
It's fun seeing more and more of his personality. He's a very fun, sociable, playful, cheeky, inquisitive, smiley and hungry little boy. He's also stubborn, boisterous, very noisy (the other mums think so!) and a monkey when it comes to sleeping. We love him lots; quirks and all.
Monday, 19 January 2015
Reuben aged 5-6 months
It feels like Reuben has grown and developed loads in the last couple of months. He looks and acts less like a new born and more like a little person. He's so much more aware of what's going on around him and he's become very playful.
It's been a really fun time but also a tricky time in some ways, with teething trouble, a couple of colds, weaning, and developmental leaps leading to some trouble sleeping. He's gone from sleeping 11-12 hours every night to waking at least a couple of times in the night for for a feed and a cuddle. But when you consider all that he's been learning and doing and all the ways he's been developing over the last couple of months, perhaps it's no surprise. He's still so much fun. He's a smiley, giggly, sociable baby. He loves cuddles and he loves being the centre of attention. We love having him around.
So here's what he's been up to:
- He's got into the habit of latching on to my chin and using it as a dummy. It's very funny and cute. On Christmas Eve he got his first tooth through. A few days later he gave me a love bite on the chin and I think he will cut his second tooth any day now.
- He does this cute little monkey impersonation. When you change his nappy, he wraps his legs around your arms and holds on tight.
- He giggles when you tickle him but he also giggles when you speak to him in funny voices and pull silly faces.
- Just after the six month mark he learnt (with some help from daddy) to roll from back to front. He had been rolling front to back for some while. Just after he learnt this he just kept rolling and rolled straight off our bed and face planted onto the floor. He got quite a shock but was absolutely fine.
- Daddy also helped to teach him to sit up all by himself. He learnt to balance unsupported just after he turned six months old. It's transformed his playtime. He doesn't play with baby gyms anymore, now he just sits up and plays with (munches on) toys. Now he prefers to sit up in the bath, but when he does lie in the bath, splashing the water with his legs is his favourite thing. We get drenched!
- He's a very tactile, affectionate and cuddly baby. Just this evening Scott and I were having a little kiss (while I was holding Reu on my hip) and he squeaked then leaned right in with his mouth wide open to make sure he didn't get left out.
- Because he's tactile he loves to reach out and stroke your face. He's been struggling to adjust to sleeping in his own bed as he just loves knowing that we're next to him. He loves to have his hands held, to stroke your face or to have your cheek pressed up against his. Scott and I have cumulatively spent hours hanging over into his cot with our cheeks pressed up to his to help him sleep. Utterly ridiculous but sort of sweet. He'll cringe at the thought of this someday, so we'll just enjoy this season for what it is.
- He's now grabbing his feet and sticking them in his mouth. I noticed that he managed to munch on three toes at one time the other day!
- He seems keen to crawl. He often dives onto his tummy and reaches out for things. The sometimes moves his feet and hands in crawling-like motions. Daddy is trying to help him learn (I'm fairly keen on him staying stationary for a little longer- well, at least till we get the safety gates up!)
- The other day I glanced the beginnings of him playing/ being rivals with another baby. Alice and him were sharing(?)/ both trying to grab the same toy. There was lots of interaction between them. Alice scratched his face and he cried (and so it begins!) Alice is 5 weeks older. It won't be long till he tries to get his own back. Not that I'll encourage it of course! I got a chance to glance at what life will look like for the next few years, there will be lots of behavioural management and teaching of manners. It's a bit sad that this angelic little bundle will start to assert himself soon, although exciting too.
- Reu has started being very expressive with his crying. He doesn't just cry now, he looks at you for sympathy and he has a pet lip.
- He's started holding out his arms to be picked up. I absolutely love it! I was his preference over Sophie the giraffe the other day, and because I was thrilled, he of course got a cuddle! I'll encourage independent play another day ;)
- We started weaning when Reu turned 5 months old. It was slow initially. The first couple of weeks he just had baby rice with pear. He wasn't too fussed on that. But the night he tried broccoli and potato we saw quite a transformation! He was all smiles. We've tried a mix of purées and finger food, and I'd say that the last couple of weeks we've really turned a corner. He has a longer attention span, he looks forward to food and he often gobbles it up. He's not a fussy eater but I'd say his favourites so far are, sprout, broccoli, potato, cheese, oranges, pears, banana and Greek yogurt. With eating being a bit more of a varied experience these days, Reu will take a bottle of milk enthusiastically. He likes to help by holding the bottle with two hands- so sweet!
Sent from my iPad
It's been a really fun time but also a tricky time in some ways, with teething trouble, a couple of colds, weaning, and developmental leaps leading to some trouble sleeping. He's gone from sleeping 11-12 hours every night to waking at least a couple of times in the night for for a feed and a cuddle. But when you consider all that he's been learning and doing and all the ways he's been developing over the last couple of months, perhaps it's no surprise. He's still so much fun. He's a smiley, giggly, sociable baby. He loves cuddles and he loves being the centre of attention. We love having him around.
So here's what he's been up to:
- He's got into the habit of latching on to my chin and using it as a dummy. It's very funny and cute. On Christmas Eve he got his first tooth through. A few days later he gave me a love bite on the chin and I think he will cut his second tooth any day now.
- He does this cute little monkey impersonation. When you change his nappy, he wraps his legs around your arms and holds on tight.
- He giggles when you tickle him but he also giggles when you speak to him in funny voices and pull silly faces.
- Just after the six month mark he learnt (with some help from daddy) to roll from back to front. He had been rolling front to back for some while. Just after he learnt this he just kept rolling and rolled straight off our bed and face planted onto the floor. He got quite a shock but was absolutely fine.
- Daddy also helped to teach him to sit up all by himself. He learnt to balance unsupported just after he turned six months old. It's transformed his playtime. He doesn't play with baby gyms anymore, now he just sits up and plays with (munches on) toys. Now he prefers to sit up in the bath, but when he does lie in the bath, splashing the water with his legs is his favourite thing. We get drenched!
- He's a very tactile, affectionate and cuddly baby. Just this evening Scott and I were having a little kiss (while I was holding Reu on my hip) and he squeaked then leaned right in with his mouth wide open to make sure he didn't get left out.
- Because he's tactile he loves to reach out and stroke your face. He's been struggling to adjust to sleeping in his own bed as he just loves knowing that we're next to him. He loves to have his hands held, to stroke your face or to have your cheek pressed up against his. Scott and I have cumulatively spent hours hanging over into his cot with our cheeks pressed up to his to help him sleep. Utterly ridiculous but sort of sweet. He'll cringe at the thought of this someday, so we'll just enjoy this season for what it is.
- He's now grabbing his feet and sticking them in his mouth. I noticed that he managed to munch on three toes at one time the other day!
- He seems keen to crawl. He often dives onto his tummy and reaches out for things. The sometimes moves his feet and hands in crawling-like motions. Daddy is trying to help him learn (I'm fairly keen on him staying stationary for a little longer- well, at least till we get the safety gates up!)
- The other day I glanced the beginnings of him playing/ being rivals with another baby. Alice and him were sharing(?)/ both trying to grab the same toy. There was lots of interaction between them. Alice scratched his face and he cried (and so it begins!) Alice is 5 weeks older. It won't be long till he tries to get his own back. Not that I'll encourage it of course! I got a chance to glance at what life will look like for the next few years, there will be lots of behavioural management and teaching of manners. It's a bit sad that this angelic little bundle will start to assert himself soon, although exciting too.
- Reu has started being very expressive with his crying. He doesn't just cry now, he looks at you for sympathy and he has a pet lip.
- He's started holding out his arms to be picked up. I absolutely love it! I was his preference over Sophie the giraffe the other day, and because I was thrilled, he of course got a cuddle! I'll encourage independent play another day ;)
- We started weaning when Reu turned 5 months old. It was slow initially. The first couple of weeks he just had baby rice with pear. He wasn't too fussed on that. But the night he tried broccoli and potato we saw quite a transformation! He was all smiles. We've tried a mix of purées and finger food, and I'd say that the last couple of weeks we've really turned a corner. He has a longer attention span, he looks forward to food and he often gobbles it up. He's not a fussy eater but I'd say his favourites so far are, sprout, broccoli, potato, cheese, oranges, pears, banana and Greek yogurt. With eating being a bit more of a varied experience these days, Reu will take a bottle of milk enthusiastically. He likes to help by holding the bottle with two hands- so sweet!
Sent from my iPad
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Reuben the image bearer
Our son is made in the image of God
Human beings are made in the image of God. That means lots of things. We're creative, we rule, we're communicative, and we're relational. In the beginning, when The Lord was creating, he declared "good"over everything. That is until he made a solitary man. In all of creation, the only thing that was "not good" was that this man was alone. After the Lord had made a woman for the man, he then stood back, admired his handiwork and with satisfaction declared that the universe that he made was "very good". (Note that, feminists; God thinks the addition of women is the icing on the cake!)
This makes sense when we think about the nature of God. A triune God. A loving community. Father, Son and Spirit loving each other from eternity past. If the creator of all things is by definition a relational community, then it makes sense that human beings are wired not to be solitary creatures but to live in community too.
Which takes me to our son Reuben. Reu is six months old. He's (most of the time) pretty easy to please. He has some physical needs that he needs us to meet. He needs food when he's hungry, he needs sleep when he's tired, he needs to be bathed, changed and kept clean and dry. He's needs to be kept a happy temperature. But even if all these things have been seen to and he's perfectly content, he still needs one other very important thing, he needs company.
Reu is a little human being and he's a social creature. Nothing starts him crying more quickly then when I walk out of a room. He hates being alone. That's why he's happiest when he's playing with someone, when he's being cuddled and sung to, when he's sleeping in our bed (we're trying not to love it so much, and break the habit!) But of course he loves these things, because he's one of God's image bearers. And while he will become more independent from us as parents as he gets older, and while these years of physical affection and constant cuddling are short lived, Reuben will never outgrow his need for relationships. He will always crave them and I pray his life will be full of satisfying and loving relationships.
So as I struggle to do any housework because my little boy wants me to carry him, or as I relent and let Reu sleep in bed with me because it stops him crying, or as I flinch because as he tries to affectionately stroke my face but ends up scratching it to pieces, I just need to remember this; he's acting according to his God given desire to be in community.
It's not good for Reu to be alone. I'll remember this the next time he scuppers my plans.
Human beings are made in the image of God. That means lots of things. We're creative, we rule, we're communicative, and we're relational. In the beginning, when The Lord was creating, he declared "good"over everything. That is until he made a solitary man. In all of creation, the only thing that was "not good" was that this man was alone. After the Lord had made a woman for the man, he then stood back, admired his handiwork and with satisfaction declared that the universe that he made was "very good". (Note that, feminists; God thinks the addition of women is the icing on the cake!)
This makes sense when we think about the nature of God. A triune God. A loving community. Father, Son and Spirit loving each other from eternity past. If the creator of all things is by definition a relational community, then it makes sense that human beings are wired not to be solitary creatures but to live in community too.
Which takes me to our son Reuben. Reu is six months old. He's (most of the time) pretty easy to please. He has some physical needs that he needs us to meet. He needs food when he's hungry, he needs sleep when he's tired, he needs to be bathed, changed and kept clean and dry. He's needs to be kept a happy temperature. But even if all these things have been seen to and he's perfectly content, he still needs one other very important thing, he needs company.
Reu is a little human being and he's a social creature. Nothing starts him crying more quickly then when I walk out of a room. He hates being alone. That's why he's happiest when he's playing with someone, when he's being cuddled and sung to, when he's sleeping in our bed (we're trying not to love it so much, and break the habit!) But of course he loves these things, because he's one of God's image bearers. And while he will become more independent from us as parents as he gets older, and while these years of physical affection and constant cuddling are short lived, Reuben will never outgrow his need for relationships. He will always crave them and I pray his life will be full of satisfying and loving relationships.
So as I struggle to do any housework because my little boy wants me to carry him, or as I relent and let Reu sleep in bed with me because it stops him crying, or as I flinch because as he tries to affectionately stroke my face but ends up scratching it to pieces, I just need to remember this; he's acting according to his God given desire to be in community.
It's not good for Reu to be alone. I'll remember this the next time he scuppers my plans.
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Reuben from 2-4 months
Here are some things that little Reu is doing now, that I'm afraid I'll forget all about when he's older. They probably aren't of interest to anyone else, but it's surprising how brilliant these little milestones and personality quirks are to a parent. I'm keen to remember them.
1) Smiles. When someone's talking to him, singing to him, tickling him, reading 'that's not my lamb!' to him. He even smiles when he doesn't want to, like this morning when I woke him up and changed his nappy and he was hungry and disgruntled and crying. He still couldn't help but smile :)
2) Praying hands. Reu has got into the habit of holding his hands together like he's praying - too cute.
3) Giggles. He's a ticklish little chap and he chuckles lots when Scott dries his neck after the bath. He giggles when you give him an Eskimo kiss. He giggles when you smell his feet.
4) Using his hands.
These three were a progression
- Hitting. Reu learnt to hit the toys that hang down on his baby gym. He would lie for 15 minutes concentrating on hitting things and watching them move. Around this time Reu spotted that he has hands and feet and would spend ages looking at them and moving them in fascination.
- Grabbing. Reu then learnt to hold things in his hands and hold tight to the toys that hang on his baby gym. He also attempts to stroke textures in books. The concentration on his face is adorable.
- Putting things in his mouth. Anything at all. Toys, mummy and daddy's fingers, muslin cloths. The other day he was determined to bring the plastic toy that he'd grabbed on his baby gym to his mouth. It definitely wasn't going to reach but he has his father's determination/stubbornness - and his whole fist went white!
5) Chatting. The wee man enjoys a natter and occasionally a little monologue to get his feelings off his chest. Therapy sessions often go on mid- meal time.
6) Rolling. He's rolled over three times. Once with some assistance ('roll for the toy son!'), once when we were watching him, and once when I was out of the room and I noticed that the babe wasn't where I left him, nor was he on his tummy!
7) Sleeping. From 11.5 weeks (not that we were counting or anything!) Reu has slept through the night. Often for around 12 hours. We are so thankful to God for this and recognise that it's not a given that your babe will sleep well. I've gotta be honest though, we've loved getting sleep after those sleep deprived first few months.
8) Dramatic yawns. Reu has got into the habit of doing very loud, dramatic yawns, which always distract the people around them from what they're doing or saying.
9) Being affectionate. He often tries to grab your hands or to gently stroke your face. He just likes to know that you're there.
10) He's got much better at listening to his bible story. Instead of just crying or feeding he actually listens and smiles. V sweet.
11) Reu has started to take an interest in us eating. We put him in his bumbo and he watches us eat our tea at night. We all hold hands (Reu grabs a finger) for grace.
He's so much fun to be around at the moment (and he's pretty easy going). We're definitely enjoying him lots at this stage.
1) Smiles. When someone's talking to him, singing to him, tickling him, reading 'that's not my lamb!' to him. He even smiles when he doesn't want to, like this morning when I woke him up and changed his nappy and he was hungry and disgruntled and crying. He still couldn't help but smile :)
2) Praying hands. Reu has got into the habit of holding his hands together like he's praying - too cute.
3) Giggles. He's a ticklish little chap and he chuckles lots when Scott dries his neck after the bath. He giggles when you give him an Eskimo kiss. He giggles when you smell his feet.
4) Using his hands.
These three were a progression
- Hitting. Reu learnt to hit the toys that hang down on his baby gym. He would lie for 15 minutes concentrating on hitting things and watching them move. Around this time Reu spotted that he has hands and feet and would spend ages looking at them and moving them in fascination.
- Grabbing. Reu then learnt to hold things in his hands and hold tight to the toys that hang on his baby gym. He also attempts to stroke textures in books. The concentration on his face is adorable.
- Putting things in his mouth. Anything at all. Toys, mummy and daddy's fingers, muslin cloths. The other day he was determined to bring the plastic toy that he'd grabbed on his baby gym to his mouth. It definitely wasn't going to reach but he has his father's determination/stubbornness - and his whole fist went white!
5) Chatting. The wee man enjoys a natter and occasionally a little monologue to get his feelings off his chest. Therapy sessions often go on mid- meal time.
6) Rolling. He's rolled over three times. Once with some assistance ('roll for the toy son!'), once when we were watching him, and once when I was out of the room and I noticed that the babe wasn't where I left him, nor was he on his tummy!
7) Sleeping. From 11.5 weeks (not that we were counting or anything!) Reu has slept through the night. Often for around 12 hours. We are so thankful to God for this and recognise that it's not a given that your babe will sleep well. I've gotta be honest though, we've loved getting sleep after those sleep deprived first few months.
8) Dramatic yawns. Reu has got into the habit of doing very loud, dramatic yawns, which always distract the people around them from what they're doing or saying.
9) Being affectionate. He often tries to grab your hands or to gently stroke your face. He just likes to know that you're there.
10) He's got much better at listening to his bible story. Instead of just crying or feeding he actually listens and smiles. V sweet.
11) Reu has started to take an interest in us eating. We put him in his bumbo and he watches us eat our tea at night. We all hold hands (Reu grabs a finger) for grace.
He's so much fun to be around at the moment (and he's pretty easy going). We're definitely enjoying him lots at this stage.
Thursday, 7 August 2014
Things that I'll miss about Reuben as he grows older
My wee boy Reu is five weeks old now. Already he is doing new things and some of the cute things that did in the very early days he's grown out of.
So here's what I'll miss about the new born version of Reuben George.
1) The way he curls his body into the foetal position. It's so cute the way he crosses his legs... With his chubby tummy and thighs he really looks like a fat Buddha!
2) The cute (and at times frustrating) way that he panics when you put him down, but how he chills out and is so reassured when you pick him up to cuddle him.
3) His funny little expressions.... Shock; frowns; suspicious eyes; drunk on milk; contentment.
4) The way that he is so into us as his parents. He looks at us in a way that seems so contented and that says that he feels safe and secure. He loves us singing to him, cuddling him, feeding him and bathing him. I love how he looks at Scott adoringly with his happy big blue eyes when Scott is bathing him.
5) I love the way Scott styles his hair after bath time, he's had spikey hair, a Mohican and a comb over.
6) His skin is so so soft.
7) The fact that I often when look at him - even in the middle of the night when he's screaming - I can't get over how cute and tiny he is. I can't help but smile!
8) The way that he is so curious. Since birth he would try and throw his head back to look at my face. This was a bit terrifying but endearing too!
9) His shark impersonation, when he is keen to get his food. Funny now, perhaps not when he's got teeth!
10) The sweet little noises he makes....squeaks, sighs, hiccups and whimpers.
It's sad that he's already grown out of his new born clothes and has stopped doing some of these things. But I'm excited to get to know his wee personality as he grows older, and I'm going to really enjoy watching him explore the world.
It's taken forever to actually get round to posting this and he's now 8 weeks old! Smiles galore but no more foetal position. Each stage has joys of it's own.
So here's what I'll miss about the new born version of Reuben George.
1) The way he curls his body into the foetal position. It's so cute the way he crosses his legs... With his chubby tummy and thighs he really looks like a fat Buddha!
2) The cute (and at times frustrating) way that he panics when you put him down, but how he chills out and is so reassured when you pick him up to cuddle him.
3) His funny little expressions.... Shock; frowns; suspicious eyes; drunk on milk; contentment.
4) The way that he is so into us as his parents. He looks at us in a way that seems so contented and that says that he feels safe and secure. He loves us singing to him, cuddling him, feeding him and bathing him. I love how he looks at Scott adoringly with his happy big blue eyes when Scott is bathing him.
5) I love the way Scott styles his hair after bath time, he's had spikey hair, a Mohican and a comb over.
6) His skin is so so soft.
7) The fact that I often when look at him - even in the middle of the night when he's screaming - I can't get over how cute and tiny he is. I can't help but smile!
8) The way that he is so curious. Since birth he would try and throw his head back to look at my face. This was a bit terrifying but endearing too!
9) His shark impersonation, when he is keen to get his food. Funny now, perhaps not when he's got teeth!
10) The sweet little noises he makes....squeaks, sighs, hiccups and whimpers.
It's sad that he's already grown out of his new born clothes and has stopped doing some of these things. But I'm excited to get to know his wee personality as he grows older, and I'm going to really enjoy watching him explore the world.
It's taken forever to actually get round to posting this and he's now 8 weeks old! Smiles galore but no more foetal position. Each stage has joys of it's own.
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Baby First Aid
Today I went on a baby and child first aid course.
It was really helpful!
It was 6 hours long and run by the British Red Cross. I wasn't sure who else would be there today, but it was just a bunch of ordinary people. Two sets of grandparents with childcare duties; two parents; a woman with a messy play business and another pregnant lady.
It was really helpful that the content of the course was taught for all learning styles - there was power point, videos, card games, demonstrations and lots of trying it out yourself. How else does one learn how to put on a bandage or give CPR without trying it out?
I loved the course and would recommend it to anyone, however it made me ask the question, 'why on earth is this an opt-in skill?' It seems ridiculous that the government hasn't made learning first aid a compulsory part of school education, or a compulsory thing for all employers to get their employees trained in. I really think first aid courses should be free for the general public and subsidized by the government. Everyone should have to practice giving CPR on a mannequin.
It only takes a few hours to be taught comprehensively how to administer first aid for a whole range of life threatening and serious situations. When so much is at stake why do we think it's ok for some people to think it's not their responsibility to know what to do? Surely we have an ethical responsibility to each other to be first aid trained. Surely it would benefit the NHS and therefore the government if as a society we were prepared and equipped to help save lives?
Until that day comes however, book yourself on a first aid course. It's only £45, but, invaluable.
It was really helpful!
It was 6 hours long and run by the British Red Cross. I wasn't sure who else would be there today, but it was just a bunch of ordinary people. Two sets of grandparents with childcare duties; two parents; a woman with a messy play business and another pregnant lady.
It was really helpful that the content of the course was taught for all learning styles - there was power point, videos, card games, demonstrations and lots of trying it out yourself. How else does one learn how to put on a bandage or give CPR without trying it out?
I loved the course and would recommend it to anyone, however it made me ask the question, 'why on earth is this an opt-in skill?' It seems ridiculous that the government hasn't made learning first aid a compulsory part of school education, or a compulsory thing for all employers to get their employees trained in. I really think first aid courses should be free for the general public and subsidized by the government. Everyone should have to practice giving CPR on a mannequin.
It only takes a few hours to be taught comprehensively how to administer first aid for a whole range of life threatening and serious situations. When so much is at stake why do we think it's ok for some people to think it's not their responsibility to know what to do? Surely we have an ethical responsibility to each other to be first aid trained. Surely it would benefit the NHS and therefore the government if as a society we were prepared and equipped to help save lives?
Until that day comes however, book yourself on a first aid course. It's only £45, but, invaluable.
Monday, 21 April 2014
Wonder Woman Must Die
I've been reading a book recently called 'Ordinary Mum, Extraordinary Mission'. It sounds a bit cheesy, but I've found it really helpful for preparing me for the changes ahead.
I'm very excited about us having our first baby. As my tummy gets bigger and the baby gets squirmier, it all begins to feel very imminent! There are so many things to be excited about. It's so brilliant that Scott and I are going to get the privilege of bringing this little one up - I can't wait to get to know him/her. What will they look like? What will their likes/ dislikes/ opinions/ interests/ skills be? In what ways will they be like me? How will they be like Scott? There is so much potential and life in this little wriggly one. I'm so excited about all the special times ahead, the baby's first smile, peek-a-boo, the belly laughs, sticky fingers, their first prayer and all their questions about 'why?'
I've also had some time to think about what life will look like for me as a mother. While I've felt for some time that I wanted to be a full-time mum, I've always felt committed to the idea that I won't really be 'staying at home'. I have wanted to be out and about, getting to know other mum's in the community, blessing the neighbours around us, spending time with Scott's family, investing in relationships at church, doing some theological study, reading the bible with students, and of course sharing the gospel with people I meet along the way. In my mind's eye, the house will be tidy-ish, meals would be prepared for Scott and others coming home, and the baby will be cooing happily for all to dote on.
Now all these things are good things to aspire to. I do want to make the most of the amazing opportunities that having a cute baby give you. However, reading this book has helped me to see what a self-centred and self-reliant vision I've had of parenting.
In some ways, I'm afraid of losing my identity as a UCCF staff worker. It can be easy to find your identity in your work - and for me, the thought of not being in paid employment and of not doing 'Christian Ministry' is a bit scary. The thought of the 'glamour' of staff work coming to an end has resulted in me subconsciously trying to build a new identity on the basis of successful motherhood.
This is what Anna-France Williams says, "When I began writing this book, my idea of what a missional mum looked like was Wonder Woman, soaring around the planet rescuing troubled souls, kids in tow, changing bag slung over one shoulder, cape flying, wearing a freshly applied coat of sheer red lipstick. That was who I aspired to be. I had picked up the idea that mums who could 'do it all' and 'have it all' (running projects, groups, volunteering, baking, preparing endless creative activities for toddlers, earning money, having regular deep chats about God with strangers) were the ones who were truly bathing in the glory of God's favour and obeying the Great Commission in Matthew 28."
As the book goes on, it becomes apparent that the authors, Anna France-Williams and Joy French, have been humbled by the reality of actual parenting! The reality, it seems, is that your deep and meaningful conversations are often cut short due to a need of your child - running to stop them throwing themselves off a piece of furniture, or stop them hitting another child, or to kiss them better when they've grazed their knee. The reality is also that parenting is tiring work, and so however good the intentions of doing evening things - community projects, church meetings, even having people round for a meal - is often a battle of the will, because all you want to do is snuggle up with a book and a bar of chocolate! Also, parenting makes you realise that rather than having the natural ability and resources to serve everyone else's needs - you often really need help yourself in order to keep sane, rested and eating properly. In fact, being real about struggles in parenting can be a much better way of deepening friendships with believers and non-Christians rather than trying to give the impression that you are coping brilliantly.
So the book has been a really helpful corrective for me. I have a bit of a Messiah complex, and trying to be super mum - looking after baby, husband, and all those other needy souls out there, would absolutely play to my selfish pride. It's liberating to know that I'm justified by God's grace and have nothing to prove to my heavenly father. My identity isn't primarily in my employment (or lack thereof), or my marital status, or in how I spend my time - my identity is in Christ. I couldn't possibly be more loved by the Father then I currently am in Christ. So this frees me up to enjoy basking in his love for me, and serve others out of a place of security. Praise the Lord that my identity is found in his son and not my performance.
I'm very excited about us having our first baby. As my tummy gets bigger and the baby gets squirmier, it all begins to feel very imminent! There are so many things to be excited about. It's so brilliant that Scott and I are going to get the privilege of bringing this little one up - I can't wait to get to know him/her. What will they look like? What will their likes/ dislikes/ opinions/ interests/ skills be? In what ways will they be like me? How will they be like Scott? There is so much potential and life in this little wriggly one. I'm so excited about all the special times ahead, the baby's first smile, peek-a-boo, the belly laughs, sticky fingers, their first prayer and all their questions about 'why?'
I've also had some time to think about what life will look like for me as a mother. While I've felt for some time that I wanted to be a full-time mum, I've always felt committed to the idea that I won't really be 'staying at home'. I have wanted to be out and about, getting to know other mum's in the community, blessing the neighbours around us, spending time with Scott's family, investing in relationships at church, doing some theological study, reading the bible with students, and of course sharing the gospel with people I meet along the way. In my mind's eye, the house will be tidy-ish, meals would be prepared for Scott and others coming home, and the baby will be cooing happily for all to dote on.
Now all these things are good things to aspire to. I do want to make the most of the amazing opportunities that having a cute baby give you. However, reading this book has helped me to see what a self-centred and self-reliant vision I've had of parenting.
In some ways, I'm afraid of losing my identity as a UCCF staff worker. It can be easy to find your identity in your work - and for me, the thought of not being in paid employment and of not doing 'Christian Ministry' is a bit scary. The thought of the 'glamour' of staff work coming to an end has resulted in me subconsciously trying to build a new identity on the basis of successful motherhood.
This is what Anna-France Williams says, "When I began writing this book, my idea of what a missional mum looked like was Wonder Woman, soaring around the planet rescuing troubled souls, kids in tow, changing bag slung over one shoulder, cape flying, wearing a freshly applied coat of sheer red lipstick. That was who I aspired to be. I had picked up the idea that mums who could 'do it all' and 'have it all' (running projects, groups, volunteering, baking, preparing endless creative activities for toddlers, earning money, having regular deep chats about God with strangers) were the ones who were truly bathing in the glory of God's favour and obeying the Great Commission in Matthew 28."
As the book goes on, it becomes apparent that the authors, Anna France-Williams and Joy French, have been humbled by the reality of actual parenting! The reality, it seems, is that your deep and meaningful conversations are often cut short due to a need of your child - running to stop them throwing themselves off a piece of furniture, or stop them hitting another child, or to kiss them better when they've grazed their knee. The reality is also that parenting is tiring work, and so however good the intentions of doing evening things - community projects, church meetings, even having people round for a meal - is often a battle of the will, because all you want to do is snuggle up with a book and a bar of chocolate! Also, parenting makes you realise that rather than having the natural ability and resources to serve everyone else's needs - you often really need help yourself in order to keep sane, rested and eating properly. In fact, being real about struggles in parenting can be a much better way of deepening friendships with believers and non-Christians rather than trying to give the impression that you are coping brilliantly.
So the book has been a really helpful corrective for me. I have a bit of a Messiah complex, and trying to be super mum - looking after baby, husband, and all those other needy souls out there, would absolutely play to my selfish pride. It's liberating to know that I'm justified by God's grace and have nothing to prove to my heavenly father. My identity isn't primarily in my employment (or lack thereof), or my marital status, or in how I spend my time - my identity is in Christ. I couldn't possibly be more loved by the Father then I currently am in Christ. So this frees me up to enjoy basking in his love for me, and serve others out of a place of security. Praise the Lord that my identity is found in his son and not my performance.
Saturday, 19 April 2014
Questioning Evangelism
Hello again, after a long time of not blogging. I think I'm going to give it a try again...
The title is slightly misleading, I'm not going to chat about the importance of asking thought-provoking questions in evangelism (although this is great approach as I'm sure Randy Newman's 'Questioning Evangelism' book lays out). But rather my continuing questioning about how we 'do' evangelism.
It was really interesting to read my blog post from a couple of years ago. I still really agree that we should share the gospel out of a real sense of God's love for us personally. When we are thrilled by the gospel and feel secure in the knowledge that because we are united to Christ, the Father is utterly besotted with us, our evangelism will be warm, winsome, compelling and will sound like fantastic news! We won't share out of guilt or shame, but out of love for God and the person we are speaking to.
However, I feel like the Spirit has been challenging me recently about the content of the actual message that I've been sharing. I'm all for sharing the gospel creatively and not feeling like we need to stick to one particular gospel outline in order to explain the gospel. I definitely think that we can use a whole host of biblical imagery to explain the gospel - law-breaking/forgiveness from the judge; idolatry/ rescue from the creator; adultery/ reunion with the gracious husband; rebellion/ reconciliation with the loving father; leprosy/ restoration and cleanness from the healer, the list goes on... I don't think we need to limit ourselves to one way of explaining the gospel to feel like we've done it faithfully. I don't think that we need to talk about judgement lots in order for it to qualify as a genuinely evangelistic conversation/ talk. I don't even think we need to explain everything in one sitting, or really comprehensively, or at that very moment ask someone to respond to Jesus in faith and repentance for evangelism to be happening. But with all these caveats, I still have been challenged...
The Spirit has really challenged me about not just about the appealing, wonderful, heart-warming nature of the gospel - the perks, if you like of coming to Jesus. 'Come to Jesus, he really is brilliant! And knowing him will definitely bring joy and blessing now and for eternity. In fact your heart was created to know him.' But also the absolute necessity of the gospel.
The reality is judgement is real and deserved because we are sinful. People need to trust in Jesus' work on the cross in order to be saved. This is a critical part of the gospel to explain clearly. How can someone have a crisis moment where they turn to Jesus for salvation unless they are under no pretensions as to their current predicament?
My brother and his wife became Christians last week at Word Alive. It was the most wonderful thing ever and I'm so thankful to the Lord!
We had the great joy as a family of being involved in their journey to faith - my husband being able to answer some of their difficult questions, myself being able to give a couple of talks at the 'Just Looking' course for seekers, and my parents being able to pray with them as Jeanne gave her life to Christ. What a privilege!
However what the whole experience revealed to me was how difficult and painful I found presenting certain truths to them. It was hard to tell them about our sinfulness, Christ's undeserved death on the cross for us and God's eternal judgement for those who don't accept Jesus.
However they needed to see their necessity for Jesus, and not just that - it was so clear that the Spirit was at work in them bringing them to faith, when they responded positively to what was being said. That 'it makes sense' that we are sinful and deserve punishment, but amazing that Jesus pays it for us! It was amazing seeing the gospel message - the offensive gospel message, actually bringing conviction for sin, followed by faith and repentance, not offence and rejection. The gospel is the stench of death to some and the aroma of life to others - I really feel like I saw that firsthand last week.
So where does this leave me now?
Well I still feel committed to gentle, compassionate, winsome and creative gospel presentations - but the content does need, as a vital part of the process, to clearly present people's absolute need for Jesus, and the consequence of rejecting his offer of salvation.
What I found helpful in sharing the hard stuff of the gospel, was telling my brother and sister-in-law that I was really nervous about sharing this stuff with them, and that I personally find some of these things difficult to accept at times. I think that helped them - in fact my brother (pre-becoming a Christian) said that he understood how hard it must have been for us as a family to believe this stuff with him not being a Christian - then he gave his life to Jesus that night.
Praise the Lord that he uses our stumbling words and fearful efforts to bring people to himself. I don't suppose we need to have a sorted and super polished approach to evangelism in order to be used by God - and that's probably the whole point.
2 Corinthians 4:1-7
4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeingthe light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The title is slightly misleading, I'm not going to chat about the importance of asking thought-provoking questions in evangelism (although this is great approach as I'm sure Randy Newman's 'Questioning Evangelism' book lays out). But rather my continuing questioning about how we 'do' evangelism.
It was really interesting to read my blog post from a couple of years ago. I still really agree that we should share the gospel out of a real sense of God's love for us personally. When we are thrilled by the gospel and feel secure in the knowledge that because we are united to Christ, the Father is utterly besotted with us, our evangelism will be warm, winsome, compelling and will sound like fantastic news! We won't share out of guilt or shame, but out of love for God and the person we are speaking to.
However, I feel like the Spirit has been challenging me recently about the content of the actual message that I've been sharing. I'm all for sharing the gospel creatively and not feeling like we need to stick to one particular gospel outline in order to explain the gospel. I definitely think that we can use a whole host of biblical imagery to explain the gospel - law-breaking/forgiveness from the judge; idolatry/ rescue from the creator; adultery/ reunion with the gracious husband; rebellion/ reconciliation with the loving father; leprosy/ restoration and cleanness from the healer, the list goes on... I don't think we need to limit ourselves to one way of explaining the gospel to feel like we've done it faithfully. I don't think that we need to talk about judgement lots in order for it to qualify as a genuinely evangelistic conversation/ talk. I don't even think we need to explain everything in one sitting, or really comprehensively, or at that very moment ask someone to respond to Jesus in faith and repentance for evangelism to be happening. But with all these caveats, I still have been challenged...
The Spirit has really challenged me about not just about the appealing, wonderful, heart-warming nature of the gospel - the perks, if you like of coming to Jesus. 'Come to Jesus, he really is brilliant! And knowing him will definitely bring joy and blessing now and for eternity. In fact your heart was created to know him.' But also the absolute necessity of the gospel.
The reality is judgement is real and deserved because we are sinful. People need to trust in Jesus' work on the cross in order to be saved. This is a critical part of the gospel to explain clearly. How can someone have a crisis moment where they turn to Jesus for salvation unless they are under no pretensions as to their current predicament?
My brother and his wife became Christians last week at Word Alive. It was the most wonderful thing ever and I'm so thankful to the Lord!
We had the great joy as a family of being involved in their journey to faith - my husband being able to answer some of their difficult questions, myself being able to give a couple of talks at the 'Just Looking' course for seekers, and my parents being able to pray with them as Jeanne gave her life to Christ. What a privilege!
However what the whole experience revealed to me was how difficult and painful I found presenting certain truths to them. It was hard to tell them about our sinfulness, Christ's undeserved death on the cross for us and God's eternal judgement for those who don't accept Jesus.
However they needed to see their necessity for Jesus, and not just that - it was so clear that the Spirit was at work in them bringing them to faith, when they responded positively to what was being said. That 'it makes sense' that we are sinful and deserve punishment, but amazing that Jesus pays it for us! It was amazing seeing the gospel message - the offensive gospel message, actually bringing conviction for sin, followed by faith and repentance, not offence and rejection. The gospel is the stench of death to some and the aroma of life to others - I really feel like I saw that firsthand last week.
So where does this leave me now?
Well I still feel committed to gentle, compassionate, winsome and creative gospel presentations - but the content does need, as a vital part of the process, to clearly present people's absolute need for Jesus, and the consequence of rejecting his offer of salvation.
What I found helpful in sharing the hard stuff of the gospel, was telling my brother and sister-in-law that I was really nervous about sharing this stuff with them, and that I personally find some of these things difficult to accept at times. I think that helped them - in fact my brother (pre-becoming a Christian) said that he understood how hard it must have been for us as a family to believe this stuff with him not being a Christian - then he gave his life to Jesus that night.
Praise the Lord that he uses our stumbling words and fearful efforts to bring people to himself. I don't suppose we need to have a sorted and super polished approach to evangelism in order to be used by God - and that's probably the whole point.
2 Corinthians 4:1-7
4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeingthe light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Amazing Adoption
This is amazing! I've just read this, and I think it sums up much better than I did, what I was trying to say last time!
It is taken from the book 'Reclaiming Adoption'. This bit is written by Dan Cruver
''Few things hinder action within the Christian life
more than being unsure of God’s love for us personally.
Returning for a moment to the story of the prodigals, in
Children of the Living God, Sinclair Ferguson sheds a
particular kind of light on the prodigal son who left home.
As he was returning to his father, the prodigal planned to
say that he was no longer worthy to be called a son, which
was certainly true. Convinced that, in the depth of his
rebellion and rejection of the father, he had lost all hope of
receiving the father’s love, he intended to offer himself as
a slave, hoping merely to survive. Little does the prodigal
know, however, that his father eagerly awaits his return.
Ferguson sees something in the prodigal’s thinking
that parallels how we as Christians often think of God
and his fatherly love for us:
'Jesus was underlining the fact that—despite
assumptions to the contrary—the reality of the love
of God for us is often the last thing in the world to
dawn upon us. As we fix our eyes upon ourselves,
our past failures, our present guilt, it seems impossible
to us that the Father could love us. Many Christians
go through much of their life with the prodigal’s
suspicion. Their concentration is upon their sin and
failure; all their thoughts are introspective.'
When the prodigal son says, “I will arise and go to
my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy
to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired
servants’” (Luke 15:18-19), he is thinking in terms of
wages earned rather than extravagant love and grace
received. It’s as if he is thinking, “I ended up in the far
country by squandering my father’s wealth, so maybe I
can earn my way back into his house.”
When we as believers relate to God the Father as this
prodigal son relates to his father, we are slow to return to
God after we sin. We don’t anticipate—let alone expect—
his fatherly embrace. And when we do return to him,
we think of him primarily as our master and not our
Father. As a result, real Christian joy is absent, passionate
Christian living is lacking, and Christian mission is
severely hindered.
Christians who doubt God’s love for them will
not mobilize for mission. Unless we know the Father
delights in us even as he delights in Jesus, we will lack the
emotional capital necessary to resist complacency and
actively engage in missional living. The only people who
can truly turn their eyes outward in mission are those
who knowingly live within and enjoy the loving gaze of
their heavenly Father.
I believe that a biblical understanding of God’s
Fatherhood will cause us to be better able to look outside
ourselves in service to others. If we are not confident
of his love, our eyes will turn inward, and our primary
concerns will be our needs, our lack, our disappointment,
rather than the needs of those around us. As a result,
we’ll be afraid to take risks or do the hard things even
if they are necessary. Or we will do the externals of
missional living as an attempt to earn God’s acceptance or
to keep him and our fellow-Christians off our backs. We
will relate to him as if we are wage-earners rather than as
his dearly beloved children, the ones in whom he delights.
The logic of wage-earning does not flow out of the of
the gospel of grace. The gospel is joyful news because it
speaks to us of the Father’s love that has come to us freely
in Jesus Christ.''
It is taken from the book 'Reclaiming Adoption'. This bit is written by Dan Cruver
''Few things hinder action within the Christian life
more than being unsure of God’s love for us personally.
Returning for a moment to the story of the prodigals, in
Children of the Living God, Sinclair Ferguson sheds a
particular kind of light on the prodigal son who left home.
As he was returning to his father, the prodigal planned to
say that he was no longer worthy to be called a son, which
was certainly true. Convinced that, in the depth of his
rebellion and rejection of the father, he had lost all hope of
receiving the father’s love, he intended to offer himself as
a slave, hoping merely to survive. Little does the prodigal
know, however, that his father eagerly awaits his return.
Ferguson sees something in the prodigal’s thinking
that parallels how we as Christians often think of God
and his fatherly love for us:
'Jesus was underlining the fact that—despite
assumptions to the contrary—the reality of the love
of God for us is often the last thing in the world to
dawn upon us. As we fix our eyes upon ourselves,
our past failures, our present guilt, it seems impossible
to us that the Father could love us. Many Christians
go through much of their life with the prodigal’s
suspicion. Their concentration is upon their sin and
failure; all their thoughts are introspective.'
When the prodigal son says, “I will arise and go to
my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy
to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired
servants’” (Luke 15:18-19), he is thinking in terms of
wages earned rather than extravagant love and grace
received. It’s as if he is thinking, “I ended up in the far
country by squandering my father’s wealth, so maybe I
can earn my way back into his house.”
When we as believers relate to God the Father as this
prodigal son relates to his father, we are slow to return to
God after we sin. We don’t anticipate—let alone expect—
his fatherly embrace. And when we do return to him,
we think of him primarily as our master and not our
Father. As a result, real Christian joy is absent, passionate
Christian living is lacking, and Christian mission is
severely hindered.
Christians who doubt God’s love for them will
not mobilize for mission. Unless we know the Father
delights in us even as he delights in Jesus, we will lack the
emotional capital necessary to resist complacency and
actively engage in missional living. The only people who
can truly turn their eyes outward in mission are those
who knowingly live within and enjoy the loving gaze of
their heavenly Father.
I believe that a biblical understanding of God’s
Fatherhood will cause us to be better able to look outside
ourselves in service to others. If we are not confident
of his love, our eyes will turn inward, and our primary
concerns will be our needs, our lack, our disappointment,
rather than the needs of those around us. As a result,
we’ll be afraid to take risks or do the hard things even
if they are necessary. Or we will do the externals of
missional living as an attempt to earn God’s acceptance or
to keep him and our fellow-Christians off our backs. We
will relate to him as if we are wage-earners rather than as
his dearly beloved children, the ones in whom he delights.
The logic of wage-earning does not flow out of the of
the gospel of grace. The gospel is joyful news because it
speaks to us of the Father’s love that has come to us freely
in Jesus Christ.''
Thursday, 19 April 2012
What kind of gospel are we sharing?
I’m becoming more and more convinced that our perception of God really effects our evangelism. So if I’m serving/ witnessing out of a sense of obligation and duty, or if I’m trying to justify myself through my performance, then my understanding of God is far too weak. Most likely, I’m afraid of God.
On reflection, think that last year I served God out of a sense of obligation. This can be a particular challenge when you have a particular role or title. Last year, when I was evang sec for Queen’s CU, I wasn’t motivated by grace and I didn’t try and motivate people to share the gospel because of grace. My understanding of the gospel was that Jesus died for my sins, to secure my forgiveness. I may have assented to other truths of the gospel, but at a heart level, this was pretty much all I thought the gospel was about.
Now the knowledge of this led to me several unhelpful conclusions (this is far more crude than I actually thought and felt at the time – we are complex people, and we often only realise the error of our theological understanding once we come out of that period of time. We can know correct doctrine, but at a heart level be believing something entirely different).
Now the knowledge of this led to me several unhelpful conclusions (this is far more crude than I actually thought and felt at the time – we are complex people, and we often only realise the error of our theological understanding once we come out of that period of time. We can know correct doctrine, but at a heart level be believing something entirely different).
Firstly, I really wasn’t convinced that God could love me. Why would God love a wretched sinner like me? And if God did love me, then surely he couldn’t like me very much. I was part of the cause for the death of his son. To be honest, I didn’t like me at all, imagine doing that to Jesus!
This year, I’ve received lots of teaching to rectify this misunderstanding. Fundamentally, that this understanding of God is deficient of Christ. It polarises the trinity, it sees Christ as a reluctant sacrifice, it sees forgiveness as the sum total of salvation, it shows sinful introspection and an ironic sense of self importance.
Secondly, I felt a huge sense of obligation to pay God back. I realised that I was saved through Christ’s work alone, but that now I needed to work hard to keep being accepted by God. I was driven by guilt. I used to think to myself and probably say to other people(!) ‘look what Christ has done for us, even dying for us on the cross, how possibly can we be too lazy or disinterested to tell people the gospel? People are perishing, and here we are, keeping the message to ourselves.’
Lots was wrong here! I don’t think I really got my head around what justification by grace actually means! I got confused between justification and living in response to God’s forgiveness and acceptance. I felt like my standing before God was dependent on my performance – feeling elated when things when well, and despairing when things were going badly. No doubt, this fearfulness of God in my heart would have been translated into my evangelism, which could easily sound like ‘you need to escape!’ Rather than ‘come to Christ, he’s wonderful.’
For me to believe that when I first put my faith in Jesus, I at that moment, received forgiveness, acceptance, the very righteousness of Christ(!), the certain hope of eternity with God in the new creation, the very presence of God living inside of me, adoption as a daughter of the Father, a sister of Christ, an heir to the kingdom, and every spiritual blessing in Jesus; and to suggest that Christ was absolutely thrilled to do it out of intense love for his bride, that he is utterly devoted to us and that he didn’t want to stay in eternal relationship with his Father unless we could enter into it and enjoy it too, would have seemed utterly audacious and perhaps even heretical! And yet this is the gospel! Thanks to our older brother and saviour who has shared absolutely everything he has with us, by uniting himself to us in a unbreakable bond of love and compassion.
Now I’m more and more convinced that if our perception of Christ in God is deficient, and we are living legalistic lives, then our gospel presentations will come across the following way: God is ruler, we have broken his rules, God is rightfully angry at our sin, but Jesus has died to rescue us from sin, if we believe in him then we can be forgiven for our rule-breaking.
This is part of the gospel.
But it isn’t the whole gospel.
We want people to become followers of Jesus don’t we? Then we need to expose what Jesus our God is like. Do our friends know how intriguing Jesus is? Do they know that he called himself the prince of peace and yet he threw furniture down the temple stairs? Do they know that Jesus claimed to be the son of God, but was always accused of not being religious enough?
Do they know that Jesus turned social conventions on their head, by befriending tax collectors and prostitutes? Or that Jesus is the loving, compassionate, offensive, controversial, radical, selfless, authoritative, irresistible, crucified and risen saviour? Do they know that even though they sick and broken and insecure, that Christ came exactly to take upon himself all of their brokenness? Do they know how good the gospel is, and how good we believe it is? Have we ever called them to ‘come to Christ?’ Jesus isn’t the means to an end – he is our end goal.
I really think that our wrong perceptions of God will translate into a narrow explanation of the gospel. But what a warm gospel we have to share, and in what a warm and compassionate manner will we share it, when our heart are won again and again by the outstanding beauty of our saviour?!
I’d really recommend that you listen to this. Be amazed again at how Christ feels about you! Isn’t this a gospel that you long to share?
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