Fitting In to Our New Community (Psalm 101:6)

'My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose way of life is blameless will minister to me.'' Psalm 101:6 (NIV UK)
 

Neighbours

 



A cute little garden plaque in our new home

Now that we've moved, we are slowly but surely getting settled in to our community. We live in a small township outside a village next to a loch, and we have neighbours on either side of our house. One family have been really friendly and kind towards us, having us in their house and giving us presents, while the other have hardly spoken to us at all. It is lovely having neighbours that are friendly, and the other family open up an opportunity for us to be friendly and kind towards them even if they aren't to us (see Matthew 7:12). We decided to make Easter cards for both sets of neighbours and we are going to deliver them this afternoon.

 

Church

 

The first week we were here, we didn't attend a church because we had just arrived, but we soon tried an independent church about 50 mins. from our house, which we have really enjoyed and continued going to. The people there were so welcoming and kind, and the church services there are very relaxed and they have a good Sunday School.

     We also attend the local Free Church of Scotland Continuing once a fortnight. It is quite different to the independent church because of it being more traditional, but we still enjoy attending. It is very quiet at the beginning of the service when the congregation wait for the minister to arrive, so it is a challenge to remain quiet and still in the pews! It is a very good opportunity to practice self-control, though.

 

Local Events

 

Before we moved to our new area, we had found out that there was a local community hall nearby. It is very modern, and quite large for such a small community. Our new neighbours' daughter had told us about a youth club that was held in the hall, and we were quite interested because we wanted to get to know some more people in the community. We decided to go along one week and see what it was like. However, we have decided we will go to the local nature group instead.

     For example, Mum attends fitness classes there each week, and we are going to the Easter craft fair this month.

 

     Before I go, I'd just like to wish everyone a very HAPPY EASTER! You can make Easter cards, a salt-dough tomb, or paint eggs! Just remember to celebrate the true meaning of Easter!

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

 

(Still not found a good signature yet!!!)

Settling In to Our New Home (Proverbs 24:3)

'By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established...'

Proverbs 24:3 (NIV UK)

 

The Western Isles of Scotland

We are having a great time in our new house, a detached cottage on the Western Isles of Scotland! We have been here for a week now, and are enjoying waking up in the morning and knowing we can explore again! Yes, we (the 4 children) have been climbing the trees and crawling through the heather and scaling the fences and... well, our garden is big, and it is very fun to play in! It is a lovely garden, with a small oriental pond, large fir trees overshadowing the back of the house, and a mossy lawn. I think most children, at least at some point in their childhood, go through a phase of playing outside all the time - we certainly are! Really we play out a lot anyway, but we are just doing it a lot more than usual at the moment!

Collared Dove (courtesy of RSPB Images)

     We are in the middle of building a small den in the top corner of the garden, and

The Little Robin

Cinnamon is in charge of building the actual den, and I am taking on the job of building the screen around it. There is a little Robin that keeps coming up to the den and sitting on a branch next to it and cheeping at us - I think we must have invaded his territory! Talking of birds, it is amazing the number of Collared Doves we get here - they sit on the electricity lines, in the fir trees, on the fence posts, everywhere! (Click here to watch a video from the RSPB.) I think they are lovely birds, much smaller than Woodpigeons and Turtle Doves, with a beautiful pink eye ringlet and black collar. Well, I better go now, it's lunchtime: tuna mayo sandwiches! (Mmmm!)

Blessings,

WisdomSeekingScot.

P.S. I think I'll maybe think about a more fancy-looking signature, like Cinnamon's!

Loch Turret Reservoir Overflowing Video (Genesis 7:20a)

'The waters rose and covered the mountains...' Genesis 7:20a (NIV UK)

 

I have now added the video 'Loch Turret Reservoir Overflows' to my video page. I think it's really cool how the water just pours over the spillway. Let me know what you think by commenting below! (Anonymous can be selected from the drop-down list.) Here it is:

Loch Turret Reservoir Overflows from Wisdom Seeking Scot on Vimeo.

 

By the way, do you go for walks with your family? We enjoy doing this together because it means that we can spend time with each other and talk about stuff. Do your family enjoy this too?

Yours in Christ,

WisdomSeekingScot.

RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch (Genesis 1:22)

'God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.' Genesis 1:22 (NIV UK)

 

As I have enjoyed birdwatching so much this year, I thought that I might do RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch for 2015 this year! I've always wanted to do it, but we accidentally missed it last year due to being too busy and we didn't really know a huge amount about it before that. Basically, it is a huge survey across the entire United Kingdom to find out just how many birds are visiting our gardens and which ones are declining or not.

     To take part, all you need to do is register on the Big Garden Birdwatch homepage and the RSPB will send you a free pack. I received mine on Monday this week, and inside were:

• A small booklet telling me all about the Big Garden Birdwatch and what it was for.
• A leaflet with details of how to participate and spaces to write my results.
• An envelope so that I can post the leaflet with my results on it back to the RSPB.
• A £5 voucher for the RSPB Shop.

     You can then choose two days: either Saturday 24 or Sunday 25 January. On the day you decide to do it, get your binoculars, a timer, a pencil and a piece of paper, and sit down somewhere in your house where you can see your garden. You can make notes for yourself throughout the hour, but by the end of the hour you should write on the leaflet the highest number of each type of bird that you saw at the same time. (Don't count any birds flying over, just the ones that land in your garden).
     For example, if you see five blackbirds flying into a bush in your garden and disappear, and ten minutes later you see six flying over your fence into your garden, you can only write '6' as the highest number of blackbirds that you saw - because you didn't see all 11 of the blackbirds at the same time. If you didn't follow this rule, you might end up with a record of 250 blackbirds at the end of your hour or something!
     Anyway, it is quite fun, and I am looking forward to it, as it is also something that you can do with all the family, young or old.
     Before you go, you might want to have a look at the 'Videos' page of the website - I have added some of me playing the piano and some more of birds. I am hoping to upgrade the quality of the videos soon - at the moment you can see a lot of little boxes filling the screen! If it gets really bad, just head over to my Vimeo page - they do them in HD.

In Christ alone,

WisdomSeekingScot.

Wholesome Christmas Videos for Homeschoolers (Philippians 4:8)

'Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.' Philippians 4:8 (NIV UK)

 

Courtesy of Sheri Graham at Homeschooling Central, I know of some great Christmas videos that you can watch with all the family*. Most of them are cartoons, which are usually quite popular! This is a post where you can watch Christmas videos on for free without actually having to browse YouTube.

 



Red Boots for Christmas: 

 

 

Jesus - The Nativity:

 

 

Christmas Story (Animation Video):

 

 

The Legend of the Three Trees:

 

Jesus Christ's Life Story (Beginner's Bible for Children):

 

A Child is Born (Bible Stories for Children - New Testament):

 

 

The Nativity (Beginner's Bible for Kids):

 

 

The Nativity Story*:

 

 

  

I hope these all help, and you enjoy watching them with your families this Christmas!

 

Blessings,

 

WisdomSeekingScot.

 



*The Nativity Story: We have this on DVD - it is a PG, and some parts may be a bit frightening to small children, so maybe not best for all the family if you have small children.