Author: Scott and Cathy

A day in the life of Christine’s family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 1 Comment
A day in the life of Christine’s family

A couple of months ago Cathy posted this picture on our Gospel-Centred Parenting Facebook page. This is Christine on her baptism day.

Christine and Cathy met three and a half years ago at the children’s centre play groups. It’s been a wonderful friendship whereby Christine has looked into the life and claims of Jesus and come to faith in him!

Christine actually came to our church for the first time at the dedication service of our two boys (aged 2 and 2 weeks old at the time). Cathy felt, in what she can only describe as a prompting by the Holy Spirit, to give her an invitation to the dedication, even though she didn’t really know her very well.

That Sunday marked the beginning of a journey to faith. Our church family got around Christine to love and support her through the pregnancy and birth of her little girl; the brain tumour and subsequent surgery of her partner Chris; the ups and downs of parenting her little boy Marcus (who is an utter poppet by the way!) and most importantly of all, her looking into the life of Jesus through various events, courses and 1-2-1s. Our church family is pretty awesome at including new people in our community – shout out to our amazing Grace church family. (I’m going to be corny on here, because we are social distancing! Got to get our appreciation in somehow.)

So that’s a bit of background to our dear Christine. And this is why we’re so thrilled to be sharing her story today.

Christine’s Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like under lockdown.

I have two children, Marcus is 7 and Willow who is two. They are early risers! Marcus gets up between 5-6am and Willow usually gets up at around 6am. We start the day with breakfast, then we get dressed and switch Joe Wicks on. Marcus does this while Willow bops in and out (she does some amazing squats, lol) and I get a few jobs done. Marcus then normally has a 15 minute break and then he starts either maths or English (I usually give him that choice). This usually consists of times table rockstars, purple mash, a booklet or some sheets to do. We then usually break for lunch and try to go back to it but if not I don’t force the issue! Then generally around 2/3pm we take our very excitable 4 year old cocker spaniel, Bella to the park. Marcus loves to take his bike (he’s just learned to ride it) and Willow toddles about, this is our daily exercise and to be honest I think if we didn’t have that we’d struggle.

2) What challenges have you encountered?

The challenges I’ve uncovered are, my toddler wanting Mammy’s attention when I’m trying to home school her big brother; she’s used to so much 1-to-1 time, so I think she’s struggling the most. I’m missing our playgroups and seeing my friends and my family whom we see all the time usually. I’m even missing school runs I never thought I’d say that!! My eldest also suffers with anxiety and struggles to voice things so gets angry and shouts which I’ve found challenging. It’s difficult trying to manage that and keep calm myself when my emotions are heightened because of this crazy situation we are all unfortunately in. Home schooling is hard and when it’s in essence forced upon you it’s hard to swallow sometimes. I get anxious as I don’t wanna let him down! It’s a challenge but we are getting through it!

3) What encouragements have you seen?

I have been so encouraged by everyone; seeing others on our walks sticking to the ‘rules’ set so we are all safe is so encouraging, seeing people coming together helping people less fortunate, seeing the key workers go out to work, not even thinking of themselves just thinking of the help they can give. I’m also encouraged by my friends who are parents and the amazing things they are doing with their children despite being out of their comfort zones. I’m also so encouraged by our church family, keeping in touch with daily videos, talking via zoom and so many offers of help if we need it!

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

The gospel is such good news to know we have a God who loves us, who sent his only son to die on the cross for us. To know Jesus knew this was to happen yet he still went to the cross to save us. Yes these times are hard, but it’s so comforting to know we have a God who loves us and I can speak to him whenever I feel overwhelmed. Even though I can’t do this by myself, he gives me the strength to carry on.

A huge thank you to Christine’s family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments now to pray for Christine’s family? Pray for Christine and Chris as they seek to parent a toddler and 7 year old through these challenging times. Pray for Christine as she seeks to home school Marcus and pray that Willow would adjust to having her big brother around too. Pray that their faith will grow during this time.

If you would like to subscribe to our emails then you can make sure that you don’t miss out on any new blog posts.

COVID-19 A day in the life of the Collis Family

Scott and Cathy Uncategorized 0 Comment
COVID-19 A day in the life of the Collis Family

The Coronavirus crisis has impacted families around the world in profound ways. In this series, ”Covid-19 A day in the life of…”, we can get an insight into how different Christian families are finding hope in the gospel during this uncertain and challenging time.

Some parents are keyworkers and are working hard to serve society as a whole; others find themselves having to work remotely from home while juggling childcare; others find themselves unemployed and full-time homeschooling as a result of this crisis. All of us are social distancing, all of us can only meet our church family virtually, all of us and all of our children have been profoundly impacted by this.

We are really excited about this series. Our hope is that as we hear about how other parents are living for Jesus during this time, it will encourage us to do likewise. So let’s meet Lynn’s family…

The Collis Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like under lockdown.

We have 3 little blondie boys, 5, 4 and 2 and a 4 month old baby girl. Our family picture is of us in true lockdown mood, no make up, dirty clothes, I’m sure I saw my hairbrush a few days ago somewhere. Life in lockdown is far from quiet! If I’m completely honest it doesn’t feel unrecognisable from life a few weeks ago as our eldest was in P1 but the other three were still at home with me full-time. 

Thom, my husband is a tree surgeon for Northern Ireland Electricity so has been going to work as normal. We aren’t sure how that will change in the coming weeks but I suspect it will in some way. 

Our days start bright and early (too early). The best part of the morning is taken up with a walk. We are so fortunate in that we live in such a beautiful part of the country and there is no shortage of local, remote places to choose from.  Now, when I say walk, I mean a snail paced potter! I get so much out of being outside so this has probably always been my favourite part of the day and I love the conversations it brings up as they stop and poke at everything they see. I’m also all about my mid morning snack so we usually stop somewhere along the way for that. I am such a rule keeper so I am always looking over my shoulder during this as it isn’t really exercise! However, all I ever see is sheep looking back at us! 

I’m a big believer in letting them learn through play and just letting them explore the world and awakening a wonder at what they see. I think a lot comes out of that wonder and curiosity. Because of this I try and keep worksheets to a minimum. However, at this stage of the day I do get them to write/draw a bit about their walk and what they saw. I also get my eldest to read a book at some point too. The rest of his literacy and numeracy comes through play eg.writing a cafe menu, writing notes to his toys, writing numbers in the mud! 

The rest of the day is filled with lots of stories, play and endless, endless drawing. We have a good sized garden with a fire pit which we’ve used a few times this week, it has been a real treat to get good weather to enjoy that. 

Another favourite part of my day is afternoon snack time. We sit round the table and take some time to read a bit from Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing*. It only takes a minute to read but it creates a bit of calm in the middle of the afternoon, and importantly gives me a chance to get a hot cup of tea. They are well drilled to not start eating their snack until I’m sat with my tea too! I cling to the quietness that a snack brings and want to use it wisely!!  I feel I should say that the tantrums, many fights, nappies, crying fits and ‘mmuuuuummmmmy’s are all interspersed in there somewhere! Funnily enough, not so much on our walk. 

2) What challenges have you encountered?

We have had a busy last few months, with a new baby, finishing of building our house and then moving in to it with still a lot of work left to do. So in the busyness getting broadband or sorting out our TV wasn’t a priority (kicking myself now). I’m embarrassed to say that I was relatively oblivious to the progress of Covid 19. One minute I was reading a BBC news article about a woman in lockdown in China not really seeing the connection to us, then the next my son’s school was being shut down, family members in hospitality had to stop working and I couldn’t buy any pasta or toilet roll! I think I went in to a state of shock for a few days. It’s all I could think and talk about and at times I felt very fearful. It shook me as I realised how weak and powerless we actually are in the grand scheme of things. I have progressed past that by and large, and am amazed at how people are adapting so quickly. However I do feel quite isolated. We are in the countryside which has it’s definite perks, but I feel like I am in a complete bubble without broadband, TV and limited data on my phone. It has been nice to see more families out walking past our window, but I’m worried I have scared some of them with my all too enthusiastic waving! The poor Asda delivery man and postman probably know my life story. On a side note if anyone can tell us how we can get broadband at the minute I will be eternally grateful! 

On a deeper level I am worried about vulnerable family members. It’s hard not being able to do anything for them at the moment. I also feel a sense of frustration as there will be people in our community who will be massively struggling through all this, and I’m not sure how we can reach out to them in an impactful way. I’m just praying that God raises up a sense of need for him amongst people.  

3) What encouragements have you seen?

I’ve been encouraged by how we’ve had the chance to introduce ourselves to the rest of our road. We haven’t been living here long so didn’t know them yet. This has given us a good excuse to let them know we are here to help in any way we can. 

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

I have been drawn to Matthew this week. I am loving spending time focusing on Jesus and his goodness and beauty. Fixing my eyes on him each day refreshes me in a real way. This time is facilitated by our Mr Men/Postman Pat DVDs which the boys can now recite!  I also listened to an episode of ‘ask pastor john’ in which John Piper spoke about how we can make sense of this all. It’s well worth a listen to. It was pure balm to my fearful heart to be reminded that God is sovereign and he sees all that is going on. 

A huge thank you to the Collis family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments now to pray for the Collis family? Pray for them as they settle into a new home in such strange times. Pray for their faith to grow during this time, and for them to continue to see blessings spring out of this.
P.S. You can now give thanks… their internet is sorted!

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

COVID-19 A day in the life of Lynn’s Family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 0 Comment
COVID-19 A day in the life of Lynn’s Family

The Coronavirus crisis has impacted families around the world in profound ways. In this series, ”Covid-19 A day in the life of…”, we can get an insight into how different Christian families are finding hope in the gospel during this uncertain and challenging time.

Some parents are keyworkers and are working hard to serve society as a whole; others find themselves having to work remotely from home while juggling childcare; others find themselves unemployed and full-time homeschooling as a result of this crisis. All of us are social distancing, all of us can only meet our church family virtually, all of us and all of our children have been profoundly impacted by this.

We are really excited about this series. Our hope is that as we hear about how other parents are living for Jesus during this time, it will encourage us to do likewise. So let’s meet Lynn’s family…

Lynn’s Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like under lockdown.

We are a family of four; Me, two beautiful children and an naughty, somewhat smelly, gorgeous dog. I work as a Practice Nurse in a very large doctors surgery. I leave the house every morning before the house is awake and head to meet the challenges of the day. Life at work has changed dramatically over the last couple of weeks. Work is strange. We have scaled back all non urgent work to make way and prepare for urgent covid-19 patients, with daily talk of a covid-19 hub being set up and how many beds there are available in the local hospitals. Isolation rooms are being prepared within the surgery for seeing suspected cases and we are checking to make sure there is plenty of PPE still available. I have spent my week visiting vulnerable patients at home who are frightened and just need to be reassured. We visit in masks, gowns and gloves not because we suspect them of having covid-19 but to protect them from us and the potential that we may carry the virus unknowingly.

Meanwhile at home my children socially distance themselves – at 16 &18 they are old enough to be left on their own. They fill their day with college work, craft activities, walking the dog, jogging, playing xbox , watching Disney + and cooking. It is very refreshing to come home when it’s been a long and stressful day to fresh baking and tea being cooked. My daughter is an awesome Baker!

2) What challenges have you encountered?

The main challenges I find is the guilt I feel every day thinking I could bring Covid-19 into the house. I worry that I put my children in a vulnerable position. I take every precaution I can from changing my clothes at work to showering as soon as I walk in the house, boil washing my uniforms and of course lots and lots of handwashing! My daughter follows me constantly with dettol wipes! I struggle to go shopping and sometimes finding enough food can be a challenge. I shop for my parents too who are both above the age of 70, ensuring that they do not need to go out and can stay at home . My weekends feel like they are full of just trying to get enough food for the week for everyone.

3) What encouragements have you seen?

The blessings definitely outweigh the challenges, I could fill pages and pages of a book telling you about all the individual blessings. We were saying as a family how lovely it was just to sit down to tea together every evening. Life before the coronavirus was busy busy. With everyone’s social life, we sometime would only sit down to tea together once a week.

I have loved witnessing how people are supporting each other . I have been thanked more times in the last week for being a nurse than I probably have in the last 10 years I have been nursing!! I feel so looked after not only by my lovely children but by friends too – I have had some lovely surprise deliveries to the door step.

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

I have been acutely reminded over the last week that God has totally got this and that if we look we can see his blessings in this.

I was in then garage last week looking for newspaper and wallpaper paste for a friend, who wanted to do paper mache with her children. I was looking under a garden table that was all covered up with tarpaulin. I spotted out of the corner of my eye a flower! I thought I was seeing things … as I climbed further under the table I saw there was a planter under there which had been there since we moved into the house in December. I thought the planter was empty so had left it there to use in the spring. When I pulled the planter out from under the table there was beautiful flowers growing from it. Spring bulbs that had sprung up and flowered. Even without light or water they had sprung up against the odds and these beautiful flowers had bloomed. Yes the stems were a little floppy and not as green as they normally would be, but the blooms …they were no less beautiful and vibrant.

I was reminded of Isaiah 43.19

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Gods love and blessing have been so clear to me especially over the last year. Even though the last year has been difficult and so painful for me personally and the last couple of weeks, scary and uncertain. I can see that God is doing a new thing not only in my life but that of my family too. The good news is that even though the world feels dark right now and it is scary, God is still doing wonderful things. Those bulbs are still continuing to bloom. We just need to open our eyes and look for them.

A huge thank you to Lynn’s family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments now to pray for Lynn’s family? For protection for Lynn and her children as she nurses on the front line. For their faith to grow during this time, and for them to continue to see blessings spring out of this.

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

COVID-19 A day in the life of the Van Zyl family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 0 Comment
COVID-19 A day in the life of the Van Zyl family

This blog post is part of our new series “COVID-19: A day in the life of…” where different families will give us a glimpse into their new lives during the Coronavirus crisis. In this series we will hear from parents who are keyworkers; who find themselves unemployed and unexpectedly homeschooling; who are juggling working remotely from home and providing childcare; from foreign missionaries and international families to learn about how this global pandemic is having a huge impact on families around the world.

As we see into their lives, we’ll get a chance to hear how to gospel is good news for them in the midst of this crisis.

The Van Zyl Family

  1. Describe your family and what your average day looks like under lockdown.

We are a family of 5 humans and 2 dogs! Our days are looking quite different at the moment, as we are all under the same roof 24/7. My husband used to work away quite a lot and our 2 eldest children (aged 16 and 6) were going to school each day. That meant my youngest (aged 1) and I were going to playgroups and meeting up with friends, on most days prior to lockdown.

2. What challenges have you encountered?

My biggest challenge has been managing 3 different age groups within our family. Most attempts at trying to be productive with my 6 year old daughter, are often thwarted by her little brother! My husband is mostly heard muttering that he doesn’t know how I do this every day!

3) What encouragements have you seen?

I have to say that my encouragements have far outweighed the challenges…well for now anyway! I love having my whole family under one roof and have realised that I am definitely a mother hen when it comes to wanting my children under my wings, so to speak. I am thoroughly enjoying spending time with my daughter and working through little bits of her school curriculum, as well as having time for all the other fun stuff! I have also been encouraged seeing how we are all learning to get along well and that we are handling conflict situations way better than before. The slower pace of life definitely agrees with me. I have time for the little things and I have found that I’m actually way more creative than I ever thought. I’ve also enjoyed connecting with friends, family and neighbours in the virtual realm or even as we’ve met coincidentally, during our daily exercise time, across the river near where we live!

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

The gospel is the best news for my family during this time because we have hope in something far greater than anything this world could ever offer us. We don’t need to live in fear of the covid-19 virus and we can go through our days with an assurance that God is in control of everything. It also helps me to know that our days under lockdown don’t have to go smoothly or perfectly and that’s actually okay. Every morning I give my day over to God and I rest in the peace that only He can provide and in the shadow of His wings.

A huge thank you to the Van Zyl family for taking part!

Why don’t you take a few moments to pray for the Van Zyl family right now? Pray that God will help mum, Michele, as she juggles looking after the educational, emotional, spiritual and physical needs of her three children. Pray for dad, Sheldon as he seeks to be productive as he works from home. Pray that God would help them to continue to grow in unity as a family during this lockdown.

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

COVID-19: A day in the life of the Vinall family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 0 Comment
COVID-19: A day in the life of the Vinall family

This blog post is part of our new series “COVID-19: A day in the life of…” where different families will give us a glimpse into their new lives during the Coronavirus crisis. In this series we will hear from parents who are keyworkers; who find themselves unemployed and unexpectedly homeschooling; who are juggling working remotely from home and providing childcare; from foreign missionaries and international families to learn about how this global pandemic is having a huge impact on families around the world.

As we see into their lives, we’ll get a chance to hear how to gospel is good news for them in the midst of this crisis.

The Vinall Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown.

John is an IT manager, I work in patents.  We have two children (Tirion, 7, and Nadia, 3), 3 cats and a dog. We split childcare 50/50 where we can. During the week we start the day with some exercise, then Tirion has to pick a few ‘educational’ things to do to complete the work school has given her and keep up with her writing, but mostly we take the opportunity to do fun things together, sneaking in an educational twist if we can! When we’re not ‘on duty’ we squeeze as much work as possible in. My work is mostly researching and writing reports, John spends most of the time on the phone to his team but we’re both fortunate enough to be able to do it from home. John is also an elder at our church so for him evenings often include more Skype/zoom meetings and working out how we can gather remotely and make sure those without the technology can still be included. 

2) What challenges have you encountered?

Mostly my challenge has been frustration. We’d just bought a bigger house and big table with the hope of having people over more easily, we were just getting to know our new neighbours and planning get togethers, I was supposed to be travelling lots with work, we had a uni reunion planned and the kids had lots they were looking forward to… I’ve also struggled not to get frustrated with the kids when I have things I want to get done that day and they are demanding or cross or squabbling, and they’ve not appreciated often having to just wait. We usually live on a fairly tight packed schedule and having everything cancelled has been tough to accept for all of us at times. 

3) What encouragements have you seen?

My daughter pointed out to me that none of us have ever been in a lockdown before, not even grandma, and that made me realise what a rare opportunity this is. We’re not likely to get extended time together like this again, or a time when we can reach out and help people around us in quite the same way. Life hasn’t stopped, it’s just changed and we can still be making the best use of the time we have. 

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

It’s been reassuring for all of us to know that, even though this feels very out of control and noone really knows what to expect in the future, God is in control. The Bible speaks of disasters and plagues as a wake-up call to realise everything is not fine, that we need God and that to ignore him is dangerous. We needed reminding of that, to be more aware of God in our everyday lives, to stress less and trust him more.  


 The Bible says” Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-16)

I didn’t see this coming, but God did and however baffling and frustrating and distressing it is for us, even if the worst happens, he is still in control and is still with us. My plans might have been cancelled but God’s never can be. And ultimately his plan ends in an eternity with no more sickness and death for those who will accept the offer. 

A big thank you to the Vinall family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments to pray for tbe Vinall family right now? Pray that God would sustain them as they care juggling caring for their children while working remotely from home. Pray for them as they seek to make the most of the opportunities that their new circumstances offer them.

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

COVID-19 A day in the life of the Smyth family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 0 Comment

This blog post is part of our new series “COVID-19: A day in the life of…” where different families will give us a glimpse into their new lives during the Coronavirus crisis. In this series we will hear from parents who are keyworkers; who find themselves unemployed and unexpectedly homeschooling; who are juggling working remotely from home and providing childcare; from foreign missionaries and international families to learn about how this global pandemic is having a huge impact on families around the world.

As we see into their lives, we’ll get a chance to hear how to gospel is good news for them in the midst of this crisis.

The Smyth Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown.

We have 3 energetic little boys, aged 4, 3 and 10 months! In a normal week, the two older boys have a couple of sessions at preschool and the rest of the time we spend a fair few hours in parks, in the garden, doing other activities at home, or catching up with friends. My husband, Matt, is a secondary school maths teacher and can be extremely busy during term time, especially in the evenings. We also all love our busy church family life.

Well of course, this week, with a huge portion of the nation, we have found ourselves being forced to “slow down.” We can’t even venture out to the shops, as our middle boy has decided that this is the week to inherit a cough, which puts us in the “symptomatic” category! But what does slowing down look like with 3 cute crazies?!

It certainly doesn’t mean less nappies or runny noses, or fewer meals to cook and dishes to wash. And it definitely doesn’t mean lie-ins til 10 (or even 7 for that matter!) or a couple of good nights’ sleep!

But…where we lack normally in time to spend with God and with each other, we have gained this week.

We have been able to slowly have breakfast together, without the worry of having to rush to preschool and work. We’ve had time to involve our boys in “meaningful tasks”, such as sweeping the kitchen floor after breakfast, washing up and putting on the laundry. And we’ve been able to read the Bible together in the morning, and not just last thing at night, when the boys are all tired and ready for bed. That’s not to say that we’ve suddenly become the perfect little home schooling family (very far from it, I can assure you) but we’ve just had “time” to give to our children.

Matt has worked from home for a few hours every morning this week, and in this time I have tried to keep the boys as productive as possible. So after the morning jobs and all the nappies and tedious toileting (toilet training is still a difficult one in our house…but now we have “time” to crack it, right?!), we’ve had a couple of hours to do some Easter craft, colouring, writing (their choice) and painting. I always find that the boys can focus on tasks so much more in the morning. We are also currently doing a project on “Around the World”, which we have been enjoying for a couple of months. The kids have a giant world map on their bedroom wall, and we use the Open Doors prayer guide to pray for persecuted Christians around the world in countries that are hostile to the Christian faith. This has as two-fold purpose; to learn a little about other countries around the world and their location, and to engage with and pray for fellow Christians sacrificing everything to live for Jesus. But we’ve never managed to get much further in our world study until now! This week, we looked at, France and Israel. We watched some you tube videos on the two countries and their customs, (e.g. traditional Israeli dancing and music) and learnt to say “bonjour” and “shalom”! We also made some flags to go around their map. The boys have enjoyed getting into the topic a bit more!

By the afternoon, Matt is around to do lots of running around with the kids in the garden (thank the Lord for a sunny week!) and even some fun maths games with the boys. We’ve done assault courses in the garden, a beach theme (with the beach tent, pretend picnic and sandpit) and even a bit of water play! And we break the time up with lots of reading. Our boys just love looking at books and reading stories. It’s been an incredible blessing to me to have another adult at home to help out so much; to give me little moments playing with the baby, or just having a cup of tea in the sun!

We like to keep bedtime routine pretty early to make sure we get an evening. In a normal week, that ensures that Matt gets all his work done for the following day and that I can get all the clearing up done and packed lunches made etc. But this week, that has meant WE get to have evenings together. Bedtime routine with the boys includes reading their Bible (The Jesus Story book Bible*, or The Big Picture Story Bible * or a devotional of sorts (right now we are reading Thoughts to make your heart sing * , which I’d highly recommend). We also pray together and often sing a song or two.

Other “meaningful tasks” we’ve had time for this week, include, cleaning the car, making scones and hoovering. Generally, my default is to get stuff done quickly on my own, but it’s been good to have more time to involve the boys. It also adds in extra activities to help avoid the boredom!

2) What challenges have you encountered?

I guess for me, the biggest challenge has been trying to keep the boys occupied. If our eldest gets bored, he can often be a little hard to manage, so I’ve wanted to keep things as engaging as possible, with as much variety as I can, without the ability to break things up with a walk to the park or a visit to the shops to get some gingerbread men!! This has meant me having to give my full attention, and also planning ahead, whereas I am generally used to a few hours in the week of head space, with just the baby. (So my patience is indeed being stretched and tested in all sorts of ways!!) Of course, having both of us around, has been a total blessing to ease these pressure moments!

3) What encouragements have you seen?

I think the fact that we are all having the same experiences at the moment is really helping to unify our family.

We’re also so grateful for our Community group for helping us out with bits of shopping as we “self-isolate” due to the cough!

And we are massively encouraged by our church and especially by our leaders, who are finding ways to use this situation to reach out to people and to try to bring more people into the Kingdom and into a relationship with Jesus.

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

We love the fact that God is sovereign and good! We love that he knows just where that virus has come from and just where it’s going, and that for those who love God, he works all things for good. We take comfort in knowing that nothing can separate us from His love and that he works all things according to the counsel of this will. He is Lord in this situation and for that we praise his name!

We can’t pretend to know all that He is doing through this situation, but we do know that he is giving us an opportunity of real unity in our family that we otherwise would not have. So we’re thankful for that!

Keep up the good work everyone. Whatever your “home school” looks like right now, it’s blessing your whole family to be spending this time together. Seize the opportunity if you’re able.

A huge thank you to the Smyth family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments to pray for tbe Smyth family right now? Pray that God would sustain them as they care for their three boys. Pray for energy and enthusiasm as they seek to use this opportunity of spending so much time together to grow in their devotional life together.

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

COVID-19 A day in the life of the Belford Family

Scott and Cathy COVID-19 A day in the life of... 0 Comment
COVID-19 A day in the life of the Belford Family

The Coronavirus crisis has impacted families around the world in profound ways. In this series :”Covid-19 A day in the life of…” we can get an insight into how different Christian families are finding hope in the gospel during this uncertain and challenging time.

Some parents are keyworkers and are working hard to serve society as a whole; others find themselves having to work remotely from home while juggling childcare; others find themselves unemployed and full-time homeschooling as a result of this crisis. All of us are social distancing, all of us can only meet our church family virtually, all of us and all of our children have been profoundly impacted by this.

We are really excited about this series. Our hope is, that as we hear about how other parents are living for Jesus during this time, it will encourage us to do likewise. So let’s meet the Belford family…

The Belford Family

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown.

We’re a family of 4 – my husband Iain is an anaesthetist so is working on the frontline in ICU at the moment, I stay at home with our two daughters Isla (2.5 years old) and Abigail (5 months old). At the moment we’re trying to spend as much time together as a family as possible because we expect in the near future Iain will mainly be at work and I’ll be single parenting. Our days currently consist of a lot of baking and painting for Isla, and the odd walk around our village as ‘exercise’.

2) What challenges have you encountered?

For us our main challenge is fear. As Iain sees the sickest Covid-19 patients, there’s a fear that he’ll bring it back home to us, and that we’ll get a severe form of the disease. Ensuring that the girls don’t pick up on that fear and stress is a challenge.

3) What encouragements have you seen?

We’ve been encouraged by the sense of community in our village over Covid-19. We are getting more opportunities to speak with our neighbours (at a safe distance!), where in normal circumstances we wouldn’t do.

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

The gospel helps us ground our fear in Christ – He can ease that burden when we talk to Him. We have the knowledge that God is in control right now, and we can trust Him. Ultimately, in the worst case scenario, we know that Iain and I will see each other in Heaven. I think the current events have given us time to grow closer to God, and to teach our children that we can cast our anxiety on Him.

A huge thank you to the Belford family for taking part in this series!

Why don’t you take a few moments now to pray for the Belford family? For protection for Iain. For hope and faith in the face of fear for Katherine, his wife. For their gospel opportunities in their village, and for faith to grow in their young children.

Could you take part in this series?

We would love to feature as many families as possible in this series.

If you would like to take part, then please send you answers in an email or DM, to the following questions (it should only take 10 mins or so to answer them):

1) Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown. (Some parents are key workers, some parents are juggling working from home while providing childcare, others find themselves unexpectedly homeschooling – what is your situation?)

2) What challenges have you encountered?

3) What encouragements have you seen?

4) Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?

Introducing YOUR child to Jesus – how to adapt the one gospel to your unique child

Scott and Cathy Gospel In The Everyday 0 Comment
Introducing YOUR child to Jesus – how to adapt the one gospel to your unique child

If you’re the parent of multiple children, no doubt you’ll see (as we do) huge differences between them.

One of our children has an incredibly vivid imagination – they could quite easily disappear for an hour into their own world, emerging from the other side having scaled volcanoes, travelled through the depths of space and conversed with dinosaurs.

Another of our children is sensitive. There’s nothing they love more than some quality one-on-one time, showing them you care about them, understand them and are there for them. They respond to knowing they are loved as an individual, and start to play up when they’ve not had that personal, direct affection.

Our other child is an extrovert. They get their kicks being around people, they light up when people are around, they are never happier than when getting to interact with a whole range of folk and making them laugh.

We could list a thousand more ways that our children are different to each other.

Their differences matter, and their differences should shape and mould the way we seek to introduce them to Jesus.

There is one gospel. We can’t change the content of the gospel to suit our own ends. Nor would we want to! But whilst there is only one gospel, there are innumerable ways to communicate it, and our communication of it should always be tailored to its audience. In other words – who the child is should shape how we show them Jesus.

We see this so clearly in the Bible, and perhaps no where more clearly than the book of Acts.

In Acts we see one gospel being proclaimed, but we see it proclaimed in hugely different ways, depending on the audience.

Take, for example, Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. We’re told that Peter’s audience is Jewish. And so because of that, Peter speaks to Jews – he shows them how the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the fulfilment of the messianic prophecies that they hold so dear. He leans on authorities that they recognise (the Old Testament scriptures), uses arguments that hold sway with them, and preaches the one gospel in a way that connects with the world they understand.

But if you look at Paul’s gospel proclamation to the Greeks in Athens, it’s a wholly different story. They have no understanding of scripture, so he never refers directly to it. Athens was proud of it’s philosophical heritage, so Paul leans on that authority. Taking his cue from Psalm 19, Paul knows that the book of creation causes them to have a sense that there is a God who they don’t know (as demonstrated in their altar to an unknown God), and he speaks into that and fills their void with the God of the Bible, proclaiming the gospel to them in terms they understand.

Then in Rome, at the end of Acts, Paul takes still another tack. Employing the very careful legal arguments that Rome was notorious for, Paul gains a hearing for the gospel.

C S Lewis understood the importance of proclaiming the one gospel in different ways to different audiences. In Mere Christianity*, he argues for the reasonableness of Christianity. In the Chronicles of Narnia * he appeals to the imagination to convince a different audience of the gospel. And then in the Pilgrims Regress * and Surprised by Joy * , he shows how the gospel provides the fulfilment to human longing. The same gospel, but communicated in vastly different ways to connect with different kinds of people.

All that is to say one thing – as you get to know your child better, and as you get to see how they tick, then be creative and adventurous in seeking to adapt your presentation of the one gospel to connect with the specific child in front of you. Noone (other than God) knows them better.

Let me think about how we might apply this to our children, and see if it helps you think about your own.

Has your child got a vivid imagination? Think of powerful stories that draw them in and captivate them with the wonder of the gospel. Take a parable and run with it, or help them get caught up in the twists and turns of a missionary of the past, or get great Christian books (like Narnia * !) into their hands.

Is your child sensitive, or do they value quality time? Make sure that you take the time to personally, lovingly invest in them, and take some of those precious moments to whisper to them of the God who values them so deeply, who is always there for them, whose door is never shut. Press home to them the wonder of the torn curtain in the temple that means they have direct access to God, or the sweet knowledge that the very hairs on their head are numbered by God – that’s how much he cares for them.

Or maybe your child is an extrovert – they love people, they are energised in a crowd, their passion is spending time with others. Speak to them of the community that God is forming – a heterogynous people who are deeply connected and united by the gospel. Show them how true community, true companionship is God’s idea, and how he’s creating a church that should be the best expression of shared life. Involve them as much as you can in the lives of other Christians. Envision your church to invest in them, so that the people they love are people who will point them to Jesus through their lives and words.

There is one gospel for all people, but there isn’t a one size fits all way to communicate that gospel. So why not take some time now to think about your children, and dream about how you might share the gospel with them in a way that really connects well. Then pray that the Spirit would take that and show them that it’s true.

This post was inspired by a chapter from the book ‘Mere Apologetics’, by Alastair McGrath *

Mission to Mums: where do I start?

Scott and Cathy Uncategorized 0 Comment

Let me describe what I’m like, and see if it resonates with you in any way? When I was pregnant with our first I had visions of the sort of mother I’d be.

Excellent, clearly.

As well as rocking the motherhood thing, I’d be making the most of the opportunity that maternity leave/ being a stay-at-home-parent gives you. Sharing the gospel at play group, while holding the baby on one hip and a cup of tea in my other hand. Discipling younger Christians, by reading the Bible with them while the baby cooed happily on the rug with their educational toys. And we’d have a hospitable, open home where people could come and see the familial bliss that they would one day wish to emulate. Ha! The pride. And the utter delusion.

Motherhood was and is hard. Which surprised me.

Little people often don’t what you’d like them to do in any given moment, so attending to them properly and having an intentional conversation about spiritual things is challenging. (“Sorry, what was I saying again. I’ve just forgotten mid-sentence.” The toddler catapulting off the sofa, may have had something to do with it!).

Rather than the little years being one spiritual win after the other, parents can find it a real challenge spiritually. For me, it’s felt rather like a haze of sleep-deprived, only-half-grabbed opportunities to point others to Jesus, as well as struggling to connect with him personally too.

Motherhood as a mission field

Evangelism in particular is something I’m passionate about. Before becoming a parent, my job gave me the freedom and the time to pursue evangelistic opportunities and help university students make the most of theirs too. Becoming a parent has meant that I’ve struggled with a sense of loss over spending my time that way. Of course there is the wonderful privilege of introducing my children to Jesus, but I’ve really missed having such abundant opportunities to share the gospel with peers – or thinking adults, at least.

And then on top of this I feel guilty because my limited capacity has meant that I’ve not been able to develop the relationships with other mums as I would like, despite there being spiritual interest on their side.

Motherhood in particular really bonds women together. The lamenting of sleepless nights, the swapping of birth stories, the exchange of medical advice. Motherhood is a great leveller and can create very precious friendships. Maternity leave is a small window of opportunity to reach working mothers when they have fewer time commitments. So I wanted to make the most of it – but struggled by myself to take the next step.

 We are part of a very child-friendly church, and while we have kids work during our church service, it was too big an ask for most seeking mums to commit to spending time away from partners on a weekend. And while our midweek “life groups” are child friendly because we meet in someone’s home, eat tea together and there’s lots of opportunity for children to play – the mums who wanted to engage further just couldn’t make it back for the 8pm Bible study. So, what could be done about this? How could we take the next step with these mums?

We need the Christian community to help us reach out

You may know that my husband Scott works part-time for our church. He works alongside a recent graduate called Amy. The two of them got their heads together and tried to think about how they could help me in my outreach.

And the resulting thing is just so exciting!

First, our life group decided to run a course written by mums, for mums called “Wonderfully Made.” I’ve hosted it in our home, Amy has prepped and led the discussions and Scott and a team of other volunteers have provided childcare. In our living room the mums have had a free hour to engage with some Christian content (through the lens of being a parent) while sipping coffee and eating cake. And the little ones have been happily looked after just next door in our play room. It’s been the most precious time of refreshing, of deepening friendships and of gospel conversations. Conversations that we would never have had, if our paths hadn’t crossed by being mums at the same time.

So we’re now at a point where we have to think again about the next step in serving these women and welcoming them into our church family.

Adapting to allow growth

Our model as a church has been to welcome people into the gospel community so that they can see Christian love lived out and hear the gospel through the relationships that develop. God has really blessed this, for which we’re really grateful.

So far in our life group, the way this has worked has been some mums with children coming to our home from 5pm on Wednesday evening for the kids to play, and then the rest of life group arriving at 6pm for us to share a meal together. At around 7pm the kids go to bed (the mums leave to take their children home) and then we reconvene at 8pm to look at the Bible and pray together. This works really well for teenagers, students, working professionals and retirees – but it means that single mums are the ones who miss out on the spiritual content, as they’re unable to get back for Bible and prayer.

So here’s what we’re going to try doing differently, to try as a life group community to reach and serve these mums together.

5pm: Mum’s Bible study time (starting with Christianity explored, but shifting to something more similar to what the rest of us are studying after a couple of months). While children are cared for and fed sausage sandwiches by others in our life group.

6pm: Everyone eats together (children play and come back for pudding!)

7pm: Kids go to bed/ mums leave

8pm Everyone else meets for the Bible and prayer time – this would typically be a mix of seekers and believers.

So watch this space and we’ll let you know how it goes and if it works well!

Humble interdependence

It’s been such an exciting few weeks for me. I’ve loved the mixing of passions – talking about motherhood, drinking coffee(!) and having gospel opportunities. The development in these relationships has been quite remarkable in what has only actually been 7 hours of uninterrupted conversation.

Doing this course has been humbling and thrilling for me – to see that by partnering with others in a different stage of life, I can be much better equipped evangelistically. And this is how God designed his church to work! Working together, using our different gifts in the growth of the kingdom, as a community welcoming others in together.

Wonderfully Made

If you are interested to run something similar in your home, or for your church play group, then I would recommend Wonderfully Made. The format is each week there are 2 short videos of mums talking about their experiences and there are some discussion questions for the group. It starts very gentle and slowly introduces more Christian content. It expects no prior knowledge of Christianity and every mum could feel they have something to say and contribute. In our particular group, the mums were actually ready for a bit more gospel content, and Amy was great at weaving that in during her prep time.

So there you have it.

Motherhood was not what quite what I thought it was going to be. It’s harder. But it’s made me more dependent on God and more dependent on my church family. But in the end, I’m very grateful for that, because parenting, evangelism and life are much better done in partnership with a loving church community.

N.B. We’re aware that this blog post may have raised some painful concerns for you, as you consider the lack of support you have in your local church. Please do get in touch if you’d like. But please don’t give up on the church, that is your primary place for discipleship. Our local churches will never be perfect this side of eternity, but Christ has purposed that they are there to help us grow and to persevere to the end.

Do you like what you see in the mirror?

Scott and Cathy self-image 0 Comment
Do you like what you see in the mirror?

Are you familiar of the Greek myth of Narcissus? He was the handsome son of the River God Cephisus. One day Narcissus was walking by a river and decided to get himself a drink. As he looked at his reflection in the water, he was amazed and captivated by his own beauty. Devastated that he would never be able to have the object of his desire (himself), he despairs and pines away at the riverside. Eventually his self-absorption kills him as he dies of thirst and starvation.

It’s a cheery tale!

The meaning is clear, self-love and self-absorption can lead to our own downfall. We’re not designed to be vain and inward-looking.

As Christians we know that “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). Because we know that God values character more how we physically look, we often tend to our hearts more than to our physical appearance. (Now obviously there’s a vast spectrum depending on church culture, personal upbringing, which country we were born into, our gender etc but…) Generally speaking, as Christians, we know that just as we aren’t to judge others by how they look, and we know that we shouldn’t judge ourselves according to physical appearances either.

But that’s much easier said than done!

Because of the fall, we don’t relate to God, to other people or to ourselves as we were designed to.

For many of us, that results in us taking pride in or despairing in the way that we look, or perhaps we just avoid looking in the mirror altogether.

We have a broken relationship with ourselves, and we struggle not to find our worth in how we outwardly appear.

But not so with babies!

We have three children, and all of them LOVED looking at their reflection as a baby.

Our third child, our only girl, is 9 months old at the moment. Every time she catches a glance at herself in the mirror she absolutely beams. I’ll never forget the first time she ever saw herself in the mirror – her whole face lit up!

Joy. Unbridled joy.

It made me so happy to see.

But then I felt sad too.

Because I contemplated all the times that she might look in the mirror in the future and think that her appearance is too this, or not enough of that. That one day she might compare her beautiful face, designed by God, crafted by him for his glory, to heavily made-up, filtered and edited images of what she thinks she ought to look like, and despair. Like Narcissus, her despair will also come from desiring something that she can’t have. But the difference is, what she will desire is unattainable because it is simply a deception. An illusion. A lie that her value is summed up by the size of her eyes, fullness of her lips and clearness of her complexion.

And even if it’s not an image on Instagram, it may just be the girl next door, who’s taller, slimmer or has “better” eyebrows. Comparison is everywhere. Because people are everywhere.

So, what’s the solution?

Well the gospel is good news for our little girl (and for all of us actually!), because the gospel says, 1) that we were created wonderfully by a God who loves us 2) God still loves and values us despite our sin, comparison, pride and self-absorption 3) God the Son took on a physical body and was marred for our beautification and 4) One day we will live in a world where we won’t ever struggle with body-image issues again. So let’s walk through that.

1. We were created wonderfully by a God who loves us

 Psalm 139 makes it abundantly clear that God crafted each one of us in the womb with care and love.

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place.”

How life-affirming is this? If you ever struggle with feeling like you aren’t valuable, it’s time to read these verses again. You are deeply valuable to God, your life was ordained by God, you are precious to him and he carefully created every single bit of you in your mother’s womb. And the same is true of your children. Sometimes we find it easier to believe for our children. Because if your biological children were conceived, moved about and grew inside your womb it’s hard to deny the wonder of that whole experience.

But this is true of all humanity. It’s just as true if you were adopted. It’s just as true if your children are fostered or adopted. This passage is for everyone. Every single one of us are of supreme value to God. We are his precious children, and he is our creator-father. He created us all fearfully and wonderfully.

So, for our little girl – she is extremely special, wonderful and beautiful, because she was created by a God who loves her.

2. God still loves and values us despite our sin, comparison, pride and self-absorption

Why is the story of Narcissus so powerful? Perhaps because it seems so obvious (don’t die pining after something you can’t have! Don’t be so vain and self-absorbed!). Or perhaps because it’s a shocking warning to not be exactly the way we are by nature. We know our love of self is bad, but we’re just hard-wired that way. Think about it, comparison that leads to discontentment (inferiority) or pride (superiority) is simply a problem because we are obsessed with ourselves – and obsessed with how we appear. So sometimes we go the other way, we don’t think, take care of, or even really look at ourselves. But both extremes just indicate that we struggle to relate to ourselves (and like who God made us) correctly. All of these issues are because of the fall.

But amazingly God is sympathetic towards us in our mixed-up attitudes towards ourselves, and he decided to do something about it.

So, for our little girl – even though she will struggle with sin, comparison, pride and self-absorption (because it’s the condition of humanity) God loves her despite that and in the midst of that, and he’s done something so that won’t always have to be her experience.

3. God the Son took on a physical body and was marred for our beautification

Now this is the truly brilliant bit! God – the eternal, transcendent, most beautiful being in existence took pity on us and he became flesh to put all the ugliness of sin and self-absorption  to death. Jesus the Son of God, took on a human body and experience.

It says in Isaiah 5:3 that, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him”, which means that Jesus was plain looking. Not especially handsome or notable.

He took on flesh, and even in the body that he took, he took a humble appearance.

It would have been amazing enough if God had become flesh in the most handsome body of all time, it’s even more remarkable that he took on a humble appearance, but there’s more… he didn’t just do that – Jesus’ physical appearance will be permanently marred into eternity future for our beautification.

Why?

Because Jesus was crucified for all our sin and self-absorption.

He was whipped mercilessly, pierced through the head with a crown of thorns, nailed to a cross through his wrists and ankles and once he had suffocated to death, he had a spear thrust into his side.

He did that to end ugly self-absorption, insecurity, comparison and obsession with ourselves, our appearance and how we appear to others – because he knows that it makes us miserable.

We weren’t designed to live that way. And Jesus decided to put an end to it all at the cross.

After the resurrection, Jesus’ disciples recognised him by the scars on his wrists and stomach. That means that our God will forever be in the form of a human being, but not just that, a marred human being.

So, for our little girl. Jesus can make her beautiful because he endured the cross to rid her of her ugly sin, so that she can be free from comparison, self-absorption and pride.  One day she’ll experience that completely, but she can experience that increasingly in this life too.  

4. One day we will live in a world where we won’t ever struggle with body-image issues again.

Why did Jesus endure so much at the cross? Was it just for our forgiveness in this life? No! It was also to secure our eternal life. If we trust in Jesus, we can enjoy eternal life in perfect relation to God, to others and to ourselves(!) too. Not only that, but we’ll in fact get incredible new creation, immortal bodies. What an amazing hope the gospel gives us to our body insecurities!

So, for our little girl, there will be a day when our baby girl, will not be a baby anymore. But she will still be able to look at herself in the mirror and smile with joy. She won’t dislike how she looks, she won’t compare herself to others, she won’t take sinful pride in her appearance, the thought will not enter her head, “if only”. She’ll delight in who God created her to be – she’ll praise him that he is a majestic, kind, wonderful creator and her heart will be full of adoration to the one who took on flesh and had his flesh marred for her eternal, indelible beautification. No more will she feel insecure. She will be freed up to love God, to love others and to love herself – all in the way that God intended.

If you were encouraged by this post, then you may enjoy this one which is about the gospel and post-partum bodies.

Or you may be encouraged to purchase this cute “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” baby grow for a special baby you know: