My Dream This Morning

Early this morning, when I was still in slumberland, I dreamt I killed Abraham Lincoln. 

I'll pause here while you re-read that statement.


You still here? 

Hi, Southerners! (I'm assuming all the Northerners have gone.)

Well, it's true: I was in a room alone with Lincoln and I plunged a narrow-blade knife into his heart.


*Gulp*. (I didn't gulp in the dream. I simply waited for those who'd come to arrest me. Calm as can be.)

And then I heard their footsteps. When the footsteps reached the door of the room, the Builder walked into the bedroom with my morning cuppa.

Phew! I hadn't killed Abe! I wasn't being arrested. And the Builder was here with my cuppa (my first cuppa of the day is a cup of hot water, but that's beside the point.) It's not the first time he saved the day for me.

Please tell me that y'all think it's normal to have dreams like that. No? 

I also think I know where all most of the different aspects of my dream came from: 


* I reckon the killing-of-a-President came from having watched part of a docu-drama about JFK's assassination on Saturday night. (He wasn't assassinated on Saturday night. Rather, we watched the programme on Saturday night.)


* I reckon my choice of weapon and choice of mode of killing (I can't believe I'm writing these words) came from one of the last scenes in Conn Iggulden's series on Genghis Khan.


So before any dream psychologists seek to take me on as their dream patient, that's my dream explained. 

Except the fact that it was Abe. Why him? Well, I'll have to leave that question to the experts ...

Thank you all for listening.

Forty-seven (yes, 47) Truths about Moi

Today is my birthday, so I thought I'd write a post with some facts about myself that you may not already know. Before I even got to number one, I realized I had two problems:

1. I've been blogging for a number of years no, so there ain't too much y'all don't already know.

2. Were I turning thirty today, the blogpost would not be so much of a challenge. After all ... Thirty Things you May Not have Known about Me ... well, that sounds do-able. But Forty-Seven things ...?? Gimme strength!

There are hardly forty-seven facts about me in existence. But I need to find ones I would actually tell y'all. I mentioned this a wee while ago on the Homeschool on the Croft Facebook page, and some suggestions have begun coming in. I'll include them, telling who sent me the comment.


1. Until the past few weeks, I thought I was going to be forty-eight this birthday. This happens to me often because all year I'm thinking, 'I'm gonna be 47 this year', but by the time November comes around, I've been saying forty-seven for so long, I assume my next birthday will be forty-eight!


2. I am very logical. See #1


3. I am dreadful in my concept of passing time. In conversation, I'll often say, 'Last week, when ....'. Then my kids say, 'Mum, that happened two months ago'. No idea.


4. My dad is having a knee operation right now, so I'm in the process of baking him a cake. After all, cake is the answer to all knee problems, right?


5. I love the winter and dark nights (Thanks, Magaidh, for that one). This is true, and is unlike most folks who live in this far-north-part-of-the-world.


6. I've just finished reading Conn Iggulden's four book series on Genghis Khan.


7. I've realized that if I am able to sit and read with an hour of silence each day, this charges my batteries better than any amount of pampering would.


8. I cannot drive out to the peats without wanting to cry. (I have begun a blog post about this, but I can't quite articulate what I wish to in English.... It's odd, but what I wish to say comes out in Gaelic.)


9. I laugh hysterically at the weirdest and un-funniest things. (My sister, Marina wrote that one on my FB post). She may, or may not, be accurate in her assessment.


10. My favourite joke ever, ever, ever is this:

Q. What's white and can't climb trees?

A.  A fridge.

I first heard this joke about thirty years ago, and I cannot even write it here without laughing hysterically. Maybe #9 is accurate after all.


11. We've never had chickens (to raise, I mean. We've eaten plenty of them.) despite having ample space in which to raise them. (Thank you, Thomas, for that one!)

12. I have an unusual interest obsession with the ships that pass by the Butt. (My sister-in-law, Donna, wrote that one on fb, and reminded me of her hysterics when she realized I had a folder full of photos and information re our passing ships. That's perfectly normal, right?)


13. I have realized that my Dad will probably not have much of an appetite for cake today. That means Mum and I will have more to ourselves. Sorry, Dad :)


14.  Ever since I watched a wildlife programme on eagles in the Norwegian Fjords, I've had a longing to visit this beautiful part of the world.


15. Right now, the Wee Guy and I are reading through a series called Viking Quest, by Lois Walfrid Johnson. He is now desperate to visit the fjords too.


16.  I work from home, translating materials from English into Gaelic.


17.  We are not having turkey for Christmas Dinner this year.


18.  One of my favourite themes to hear being preached is Christ in the Old Testament sacrifices.


19.  I can not abide flavoured teas. Bleugh!


20. At times, I allow our house phone to ring out and don't answer it. This drives certain members of my extended family nuts, but if I have a visitor, I give them priority over the phone.  


21. Montana and North Dakota have a special place in my heart even though I've never been and I don't know anyone from these states. If I ever arrive in either of these states, I may never actually leave.


22. I love most soups.


23. My Mum's chicken and rice soup is probably my favourite soup ... followed by Scotch Broth.


24.Very shortly after this photo was taken, I was pregnant with the Wee Guy. My sister was married just in time. :)

Isn't Katie so, so, so, so cute? And isn't the Wee Guy a dead ringer for the Big Guy, who is ten in this photo?


25.  I was a passionate supporter of Rangers FC when I was growing up. When I say 'passionate', I mean passionate.


26.  Roses are my favourite flower.


27.  The Builder never got that memo.


28.  My right knee has a scar right across it where I had 12 stitches. I fell off my bike, heading to Primary School. I think I was about nine at the time.


29.  When I was growing up, we had a miniature Shetland Collie called Game. She was gorgeous.


30. G-A-M-E spelled backwards is Emag. If you're not from Ness, that will mean nothing to you.


31. That came to my mum in a dream the night they bought Game, and we all reckon Mum's smartest moments are when she's asleep.


32.  I often go to bed far too late because I love that time of silence when everyone else has gone to bed.


33.  I stayed in town today for ages. It was nice to visit with Mum and Dad. 


34.  My dad's operation was cancelled at the last minute because of complications the surgeon was dealing with in theatre. That meant Mum and I had to share the cake with him. 


35.  I'm quite sure mushrooms were not put on the face of the earth for human consumption.


36.  I am five foot. As in, five foot zero. The Builder is six foot. Maybe six foot something, but it's too high for me to check.


37.  Another of the Fb readers, a friend of mine, said I was 'a great listener and confidant'. It's certainly true that, although I 'blether' a great deal on the blog, I do prefer real talk, rather than chit-chat in real life.


38.  I'm now the only person in the house who's not in bed. 


39.  It is also now no longer my birthday. That means my next birthday will be my forty-eighth.


40.  The kids and I began reading through the Bible, chapter by chapter, every day quite some time ago. We're now in 2nd Corinthians. My favourite time was when we were reading through Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. I'm not kidding. The precision of the teaching concerning the Tabernacle was AWEsome. God's detail simply blew me away. Then, the differing sacrificial laws - oh, I loved reading them, and finding Christ and His work and sacrifice being typified in them. Paul's letter to the Romans is in second place for me.


41.  I know what we'd have called a baby boy, had we been blessed with another son, and I know what we'd have called a baby girl. Micah, which means 'Who is like Yahweh', would be my boy's name. The prophecy of Micah also contains one of my favourite verses: "Who is a God like unto Thee, who pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy." Micah 7:18.

I love it!

Oh, a baby girl would have been called Hannah.


42.  This photo was taken around 1977.

Can you find me in it?

43.  My maternal grandparents' grave is in our local cemetery. My granny passed away before I was born, and my Grandpa passed away in 1975. My mum has never been to the graveyard since Granny was buried.

I was named after her.

44.  I love going for walks through cemeteries. I would love to know the stories behind the words on all the plaques.


45.  At the moment, I'm doubting any reader will have reached this far. If you've dutifully read all the way to #45, please let me know in the comments. I wish I could say I had a prize to give you: you deserve it.


46.  My first car was a Ford Fiesta. 


47.  My favourite car ever was my brother's RS 2000. 


And so, there you go. Forty-seven mostly useless pieces of information that will not change your life one little bit. Thank you all for listening to my ramblings. 

Some Differences Between the Builder and Me

Some time back on Homeschool on the Croft's Facebook page, I linked to a post on The Pioneer Woman's site where she talked about some of the differences between herself and her husband. 

It got me thinking about just some of the differences between the Builder and me.

(Gratuitous use of this photo, simply because I like it.)

This photo is linked to my first point (below), so it's not being used gratuitously. Phew!

*  The Builder's dream day out would consist of walking miles across the moor with his brothers. Much as I would love to spend my time with his brothers (ahem), walking the moors is probably not my idea of a dream day. In my dream day, my feet would be up and I'd be comfortably warm in front of a peat fire.


*  I love watching sport. The Builder - nope.  


*  The Builder likes exercising. Me - nope. I do, however, like to watch him exercising, so maybe that counts ;)


*  I love discussing politics. The Builder would rather have teeth pulled.


*  I love reading about history. The Builder would fall asleep on the first page of any history book.


*  The Builder is calm. Me too.


Okay, maybe that's not quite true..  I have been known to get rather hot under the collar once or twice.

Maybe thrice.

But he calms me. Did I ever tell you about the time I was in hospital after the Wee Guy was born (I know I told you about that, but I mean this specific aspect of it ....). My blood pressure was high: really high. The readings were being taken every 30 minutes, and when the Builder came in to visit, my blood pressure went down significantly. Every single time, of every single day, this happened.


*  He has stickability. When he decides to do a thing, he will stick with it until it's done. When I decide to do a thing, the process of deciding exhausts me to such an extent that all I'm able to do is sit with a cup of tea and a cake.

~      ~      ~

There are of course some things in which we are the same.

We love our Saviour; we love each other; we love the kids. 

We both love food. And tea. And cakes. And chocolate.

Consequently, we're both looking to lose a pound or two.

So, what about you? Are you folks examples of 'opposites attract'? Or was it similar interests that drew you together?

When my Heart goes Ahhhhh ...

You know, I'm not very good with mediocrity. I tend to be moved one way or the other with most things. If I read a book, watch a movie, or listen to the news, my heart feels something. Many times, that is exhausting, but there you have it: that's me!

Some things make my heart weep. Other times, I feel anger, sorrow or even anguish. 

But there are some things that make my heart ...

... *sigh contentedly*

These things de-stress me. It's like air coming slowly out of a balloon. They calm me, and take me to a more 'Ahhhhhhh' place. (I'm good with words. It's why I'm called a walking Thesaurus. Could you tell?)

This is my #1 Ahhhh-inducer. Yep, seriously. I've had twenty years of him walking through the door after his days' work, and every single time, my heart gives a wee Ahhhh, he's home :)

This pair. Any day of the week, my boys make my heart sigh a smiling sigh.

When you add this pair to a scene of working with sheep on a calm Spring day, with the sea in the background ... yes, another Ahhhh-inducing scene.

This view from my sofa.

At the end of a busy summer day, when we finally sit in the Family Room ... tired, but with a healthy tiredness, and I look out at this peaceful scene - a scene full of such calm beauty - my heart most certainly has that Ah, Lord, truly my cup overflows feel to it.

As with my other selections, my worries seem to float away when my eyes feast on this scene

Many other scenes and circumstances make my heart feel other kinds of emotions, like anguish, joy, or sadness... But these are just some of my Ahhhhh ones.

What are your 'calmers'? Are they similar to mine? Or very, very different?

One of my Favourite Texts

One of my favourite texts in Scripture was spoken by enemies of the Saviour. 

In Luke 15v2, we're told: 

"The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, 

'This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them'."

Do you hear what they said of Christ? He receives SINNERS and He eats with them. I want to punch the air and whoop with joy when I read these words. 

I guess the reason they affect me so much is because I know they are true. I am one of these sinners that Christ received. Oh, I know we are all sinners. Every single person born since the fall of Adam has been a sinner. Noah, that man of obedience who built the ark and preached faithfully to those around him, even though he saw no encouraging conversions; Abraham, the father of the faithful; John, the beloved disciple, who loved his Saviour so much. I know they were all sinners too. 

But I was a great sinner. I knew, and was convicted of this, that I was one of the greatest sinners who'd ever lived. And what was my greatest sin? 

It was my rejection of Christ - day after day after day. You see, unlike Stalin, that murderer of millions, I knew about Christ. Unlike Hitler, that murderous man who wished to wipe out God's chosen people of old, the Jews, I had grown up with the Gospel all around me. I knew the Bible was true. I knew that one day I was stand before the judgement seat of Christ and have to give an account of everything I'd ever done, said and thought. Yet still, I rejected Christ, and the life God's Word would have me lead. I rejected Him and the life of the Believer because I loved the life I had. It's a simple as that. I loved the life I was living more that the life that was promised me if I repented and came to Christ.

Christ promised me Eternal life ... yet I chose the temporary pleasures of the life I was living. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year.

And so, do you wonder that Christ receiving sinners is such a wonderful truth to me? I thought I'd sinned any chance of salvation away. I thought there was no way I'd ever, ever find pardon. I thought I was too great a sinner.

Sinning against light is a terrible sin. And that was my sin. 

Imagine if I had to end the story there. What despair! 

But because of this text: 'He (Christ) receives sinners', that is not the end of the story, and I speak not of despair but of joy and of wonder and of praise and of thanksgiving.

Twenty-five years after that first time that He received this sinner, I am still amazed at this text. He receives sinners. He received ME!

I will never, ever stop praising my Saviour for receiving me, and eating with me. Throughout the endless ages of eternity, I will never cease wondering at what He did for ME. 

Psalm 40 says:

I waited for the Lord my God,

and patiently did hear;

At length to me He did incline

my voice and cry to hear.

He took me from a fearful pit,

and from the miry clay,

And on a rock He set my feet

establishing my way.

He put a new song in my mouth,

our God to magnify:

many shall see it and shall fear,

and on the Lord rely.

                                                  (Scottish Metrical)

What a Saviour He is!

A - Z of Me!

I saw this on Caroline's blog, The Joyful Keeper, and seeing as my own inspiration has gone AWOL, I thought I'd steal her idea.

This is the A - Z of Me!

A - Age: 46

B - Bed size: Actual: King Size. Preferred: Double giant King Henry VIII size. Yep, you guessed it ... I like space when I'm sleeping. 

C - Chore you hate: Just one? Oh, okay then. Cleaning the bathrooms.

D - Drink of choice: Tea. Plain ol' tea. With cake.

E - Essential start to your day item: The Builder comes to me every morning with a mug of hot water. That's what begins my day.

F - Favorite color: That's easy. Blue. And blue always looks especially good when joined by red and white.

G - Gold or Silver: Gold. My wedding and engagement rings are yellow gold, but I do like white gold too.

H - Height: You're having a laugh. My height simply is not. When one can't even put half an inch after five foot, then height is not something one talks of.

I - Instruments you play(ed): In my dreams, it's the piano.

J - Job: Job? Playing mum to four, wife to one. Oh, and mum to a mutt too.

K - Kids: Four. Y'all know them by now. I have:

Two boys. They're ten years apart, and having Calum is like living a replay of DR. They are so alike in so many ways.

And then I have two gorgeous girls. Do you know that both my daughters were born on Mother's Day? Who can claim to have ever been given better Mother's Day gifts than this?

Oh, okay. I also have Jackson, who takes up similar amounts of time and energy as the other four.

L - Living arrangements: In our home, built by the Builder, but provided by our God.

This was taken on a January morning last year. This year, so far, we haven't seen a flake of snow.

M - Mom’s name: Catherine.

N - Nicknames: Ummm, none, though the Builder has lots of names for me. I'd tell you some of them, but it may just ruin his reputation.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Until I had Calum, I'd never been in hospital other than one night when DR was born. After Calum was born, I spent three weeks in hospital.You can read of something of what I experienced the day Calum was born here.

P - Pet Peeve: Oh, I'm not the type of person to get annoyed at anything.

Did you believe that? Or did that last statement cause you to almost choke on your drink? 

I get seriously peeved with badly behaved kids whose parents do nothing to better their behaviour.

I get seriously peeved with our bloomin' politicians, who seem set on poking around blindly for answers to countless social ills, listening to every fad and fashion, instead of using the common sense they'd find in Scripture.

I get peeved when people moan about the weather.

You get the picture?

Q - Quote from a movie: "Mrs Bennet, life holds few distinctions, but I do believe that here we have three of the silliest girls in England.

Of course, in our frequent quoting of the above, we change the 'three' to 'two', and the 'England' to 'Scotland'.

Such fun!

R - Right or left handed: Right.

S - Siblings: One brother, who is older than I am, but looks years younger, and one sister, who is younger than I am, and who, well, looks it.

T - Time you wake up: Pass

U- Underwear: Erm ... what about it? All I can say is that they're bought in M&S. Always.

V - Vegetable you dislike: Courgette (across the Pond, they're called Zucchini). I often make courgette soup, which is nice, but courgette as a vegetable. Ooooh, they're so ... yeugh (I know - I mustn't say that for food, and that's two posts in a row in which I've done that. Bad, bad me. But really - for courgette, it's true).

W - What makes you run late: You mean there's another way to live?

X - X-rays you’ve had: None.

Y - Yummy food you make: Well, the Builder loves my Lemon Cake; I love the oatcakes; 

DR loves 

these, 

Catherine would go for Lamb Chops in any shape or form, 

and Katie makes my favourite: Victoria Sponge.

We do kinda like our food in this house.

Z - Zoo favorite: Oh, I haven't visited a zoo since I was a wee very young girl. DR and Catherine visited Toronto Zoo last summer and loved it.

Me just now to DR: "DR, what was your favourite animal in Toronto Zoo last year?"

DR: "Oh, that's a good question.... The Rhinos were pretty cool. The jaguars too. Oh ... the Lions, definitely the White Lions."


So there you go. Twenty-six useless pieces of information.

Bet y'all were dying to know these things.

Do Not Try This at Home ;)

Before....

and after ...

Yep, I cut my hair.

Let me repeat:  I cut my hair.

So you see why I chose this post's title. 

Laughter

This article, The Christian's Great Interest, on Tim Challies' blog last week, gave me food for thought.


It convicted me, but I have mixed feelings about my convictions. I am aware that we have been given different personalities, and that laughter and (outward) joy appear more easily to some than to others. I believe, looking back, that the Christians I knew as a child who had the greatest impact on me were those of a joyful personality to whom laughter came easily. I think of some of the elders who came to our home and who always had a word (and a sweetie) for me. I think of our local minister, here in Ness, who is still one of the Godliest men I know, but whose face in my mind always smiles. I think of the Christian ladies who visited us often, and I associate them with laughter and with Godliness. 


Yes, they laughed often ... but never about spiritual and eternal matters. 


And I think this is the difference. Matters of the soul, whilst often joyful - indeed, so joyful that I could almost burst - are never amusing. 


I have had times - thankfully they have been relatively short-lived - when I couldn't laugh. My providence at the time wrapped everything in a blanket of greyness. I found it difficult to look at our wonderful sunsets and see any beauty. The beauty of the sea seemed masked. The awesomeness and the wonder of the creation surrounding me didn't seem able to move me at all. All was dull, and grey, and drab. I was sad, hurt, tearful.


When these times passed, I was so thankful for joy to be my portion once again. The sound of laughter, and the ability to laugh, were such blessings to me. Had I not gone through these times, I think I would see things differently now, but I have had times like these. I feel sure that I will go through times of little-joy and no-laughter again - probably times of harder and deeper grief - but, for now, I cannot but give thanks for the times I have of joy and laughter. My laughter is almost always supplied by my children, for whom I thank God every day. I know that our children can bring heartache as well as laughter; sorrow as well as joy. For this reason, I count our times of laughter as great blessings and wonderful gifts from my loving Father.


My children, though, know that there are some things of which I can never laugh. Matters of the soul - eternal matters - are never funny. 


Never, ever, ever. 


If I laugh at sin, I pray I repent of that, and that my children are aware that this, in itself, is sinful. When I see sin in myself, in them, or in others ... I can never laugh at that. Sinning against a holy, omnipotent, omnipresent God can never make us smile. If it does, I pray forgiveness for this.


And so, back to the original article. I am glad Tim published it, and glad I read it. It is helpful for me to question myself, and to bring myself to a more 'centred' position if I have gone too far to the left or to the right. 


And just to say to you all: in all my laughter, levity and fun, there are certain things that are true, and maybe I don't speak of them often enough...


We have all been given life. One day, we will all die. We have a soul which will never die. We will spend eternity either in Heaven or in Hell. Salvation in this life, and eternity in Heaven is possible in only one way, and that is through Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth and the Life". If you don't know Christ Jesus as your own personal Saviour, I urge you to seek Him with your whole heart. The Gospel (which means 'good news') is that 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1Tim 1:15).


When Christ is your Saviour, your Comforter, your Constant in this ever-changing world, you find that the best kind of laughter - the laughter that is able to rejoice in the world and gifts God has given you - comes more easily. 


You will also find that tears come more easily: tears for those whom you love who are still outside of Christ; tears for those who mourn; tears for those whose lot in life is so different to what the sovereign God has given me.


And tears of joy - when the emotion of knowing what Christ Jesus has done for me .... 'that saved a wretch like me'; of knowing that when my time here comes to an end, the beginning of an eternity with my Saviour begins. When I think of these things, I may not laugh outwardly, but my soul overflows with joy, nonetheless.


(Today, my heart is sore for the family of a boy who passed away at the weekend. He was Catherine's age. None of us knows how we would survive this kind of heartache, and for now I 'mourn with those who mourn'. And I give thanks for the providence God has ordained for me which, today, is so different from what another mother is going through.)

More Gaelic for you to Listen to...

If you want to hear more Gaelic being spoken (without the bonus of seeing me in the flesh), you can click on this link. I was being interviewed for a short time on a Gaelic radio programme yesterday about homeschooling. The slot begins at 20:05 mins and lasts until 34:40.


Happy listening!

You Needing a Laugh?

Those of you who follow Homeschool on the Croft on Facebook will already know that we were without internet from Saturday morning until this morning.


We almost had to call 999 for our kids. After all, Saturday night had been set as a plan-the-next-holiday-to-America evening for DR and, er, someone else. And when America is on some people's minds, well, it aint the time for the internet to be dying on us.


If you follow Homeschool over on FB, you will also know that last Wednesday evening was designated split-your-sides-over-Anne's-fashion-twenty-years-ago night. 


I seriously can't believe I'm doing this, but I don't want my blog readers to be disadvantaged in any way. Just cos y'all don't do Facebook, it doesn't mean you ought not to risk dying laughing at me.


Okay, are you guys ready for this? In the following video, at 16 seconds, I'm the one wrapping the parcel. I seriously am not going to comment on the hair, nor on the fashion. 


Not. one. word.


And then at around 1:24, I am coming up the escalator.


I really oughtn't be doing this to myself. But if you need to feel good about yourself, or if you really, really need a good laugh, have a watch.