Hi all!

Heya everyone,

Things are continuing to chug along for us here. There isn't too much to report to be honest. We were blest to have the opportunity to house sit last week - which is always quite nice, it felt a little like a holiday for us, and a bit of a change of scenery so that was pretty fun. 

Josh has continued to have exams - last week he had Church History, and felt that it went pretty well. I think that he still has a few more over the next couple of weeks. It's in some respects nice that they are spread out a bit so he can really sink his teeth into studying for each exam. 

I know that I always seem to talk about the weather - haha - but it's continuing to cool down over here, and I am really enjoying it! All the trees are starting to change colour and they are so pretty. And it is super nice to step outside and there is a real chill in the air. This morning it was 7 degrees (celsius) when Josh left - and I checked the weather report and it is due to get down to 2 degrees later in the week! :D Exciting. Haha we'll see how long that excitement lasts for. 

I have been continuing to teach art classes to the homeschooling kids and it has been a lot of fun. We have been learning a bit about animation, so last week we made Thaumatropes. I even did a video to show you! :D So that was pretty fun. :)

I was reading my devotional today - currently I'm using two, haha they are both really good! One is called The Quiet Place, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and the other is called 'At the Feet of Jesus' by Joanna Weaver. They are both very good I'd recommend them. Today the one from Joanna Weaver's really struck me, so I thought that I'd share it with you here:

"One of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard came from David Ring, and evangelist born with cerebral palsy. "Why Mama?" David used to ask his mother when school kids teased him. "Why did I have to be born this way?" Although exceptionally bright, he was caught in a body that wouldn't do his bidding and was constantly tripped up by a stuttering tongue. 
God gave that sweet mother incredible wisdom as she taught her son that perhaps why wasn't the best question after all. 
"Asking why is like going to a well with a bucket and coming up empty every time," she told him. Instead, she said, the question should be, "What can I become?"
What a powerful, life-changing concept for all of us, especially when we're trapped and tripped up by the whys of life. Because when it comes right down to it, life is full of questions that don't have adequate answers.
Such questions haunted my young friend Tom. Though he loved Jesus, he struggled with the whys of his difficult life. 
But one day he showed me his Bible and a verse he'd underlined. "Now I know why my life is the way it is," Tom said. Pointing to the story of the man who had been born blind, Tom read John 9:3 aloud: "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
Oh that we all might have a vision to see beyond the misery of what is to the miracle of what we can become."   ~Joanna Weaver, 'At the Feet of Jesus'

This message really struck me. My Nana lived most of her life struggling with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Although the pain she experienced from this crippling disease must have caused her more pain than she ever let on, she allowed God to use her epic ways. Her testimony to others was that she handed over her life to Him, despite the pain, despite being seemingly so physically restricted, I saw that God used her so amazingly. Especially in being a blessing to other people and caring for them. What an awesome witness of what God is capable of doing with us in spite of our weaknesses. 

Although no where near as debilitating as what my Nana faced - Josh and I have had to come to terms over the past 8 years with not being able to have children. And too often I found myself asking why on earth God would withhold this blessing from us. However, what we instead have to learn, is that "this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in our lives". I hope that will be the case! Because in writing that, it's amazing to think of what an honour it is to be called to that. :) But we are works in progress, I can't begin to tell you how long it has taken me to get to the point where I acknowledge that. Hopefully God will continue to gently teach me more and more every day - like He already has been. I'm very thankful to Him for His patience with me! I'm sure we all have burdens like this that we are struggling to bear. I hope that you can learn to find a similar perspective to this - because it really is liberating. I assure you. :)

Well, that is all for now - hopefully will get to take some autumn photos for you over the next week and see if I can get them posted up. Take care everyone!