Welcome 2009!

Welcome to 2009 everyone :)

I've been thinking about things we can do as a family to grow closer to God and act out a life more in tune to the Bible.  There are several things that we've been challenged with over the past year that we are trying to work through and others that are long habits which continue to strengthen us and keep us close.

First up should be obvious to anyone who has dedicated their lives to Christ and strive to follow Him.  It is to pray, not only ourselves, but as a family.  

I'm continually stunned by how many Christians leave all their growth to a Sunday church service and also  how few actually spend time together as a family in prayer.  

Children  learn by example so how are they to really grasp the importance of growing closer to Jesus and daily taking up the 'cross' if parents rarely do it themselves?  I know it's hard, especially when we are often running around from sun up to sun down, what between school, jobs, grocery shopping , after school activities, homework and housework there seems to be little time for anything else.  But truth be told, we will prioritize what is most important to us.  We can find the time!  Think of how often we are shuttling our children around in a car.   What about  writing down the names of a few people who we know need prayer (maybe a missionary from your church) and pray for them daily in the car while driving to school?  If the children are young, perfect!  It will help your child get into the habit of praying for others.  What about discussing topics from church around the dinner table?  I know for many people it is difficult because we are so busy, but the effort will be well worth it!

Also, when you pray together as a family, children are learning a habit that they will carry with them later in life.

Along the same vein about taking something with them in life is finances.  I have observed and learnt several things from my grandparents.  They save money and don't waste anything!  Such a difference from today's society.  We live in a throw away world and have really confused 'want' with 'need'.  We should be striving to give regularly to our church and brining our children into that process.  Do you sponsor a child?  If so,  make it a point for your children to write letters to him or her.  Through it all, you as a family will learn about how much we have here in Canada.

Remember that none of us has it all figured out!  Despite how it appears when we're on the radio, we don't have it 'together', there are many days when life gets us and all of our 'plans' go out the window.  I understand that every family is unique and we all have challenges.

 All I'm suggesting is that we do our best.  God understands us, but he also desires that we get to know Him, intimately!

So, work on it as a family, try to simplify your life, involve your kids in helping out a charity and pray!!!

God Bless you as we all embark on a New Year :)

Virginia

  

Interruptions

I've come to realize something in the past few days.  It's that I can't seen to get as much accomplished as I'd like in a day.  Let me explain.  I am a perfectionist, and for a perfectionist to not be able to scratch things off her to do list, well, let's just say it can get discouraging.

Before kids I used to be able to sit down and without being disturbed write in my prayer journal.  I could pick up the phone and catch up friends and even plan a visit spur of the moment.  Now, days are filled with disturbances, interruptions.  Everyday I am constantly juggling 3 or 4 things at once (yes, I know this is not a unique thing, many of us are wearing many hats).  

Two days ago, as I stopped doing the dishes to attend to my crying baby and help my daughter with her school work (she is homeschooled) I wondered (with great frustration)  if I would ever again be able to complete a task without having to stop repeatedly.

Then it hit me, how often I allow 'life' to interrupt my time with God.  How often do I pick up my Bible to read it and stop to answer the phone, how often do I start praying and then get sidetracked halfway through?  It was something that really struck me, that in our busy lives God can be and sometimes is pushed aside because we're running from thing to thing.  The reality is that Jesus took time out of a busy paced life to be alone with God.  He would withdraw from people to pray.

This is a lesson I need to take to heart.  We make an effort as a family to pray and read our Bible together everyday, but I must admit, it is 'interrupted' with 'daddy, I need a drink', a ringing phone and bathroom breaks.  

What simple changes can we make in our lives to give God our undivided, non-interrupted attention?  For starters, it could be as simple as spending 5 minutes in the morning when we normally pick up the paper to read our Bible instead, it could be listening to a sermon on our iphone while we're in line at the bank or sitting at the doctor's office and meditating on it while driving home.  Why not take 5 minutes together in the car/van as you're driving to school, hockey practice or church to pray as a family and share prayer needs and concerns?  Often, I find that if I am able to spend that time in prayer, I can focus on God easier through the day.  

I know in our multitasking society, that often it is hard to even think of adding one more thing to our day, or trying to rearrange things, but in the end, it will be worth it!

I'd love to hear your ideas on what you and your family has done or does to be un-interrupted with God :)

In Him

Virginia :)

I'm a Joy Kid!

My mane is Lazarus, You should write to us and say hello.  My Mom and Dad would love to hear from you. 

C ya L8ter!

Shanarah Boreland

Our helpful co-host both live on 

stage and with JoyKids Radio.

John G.

A Blessing
and a real
good looking
kid.

Thankfulness!

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to being thankful, specifically about TRULY being thankful. How often do we thank God for all we have? Do we do it on a daily basis, at church once a week, or just at Thanksgiving when we are ready to eat a massive meal?

Sometimes it takes going through something very painful and hard to appreciate what we have. My parents divorced a few years ago, and I must admit that I hadn't truly appreciated our times together as a family until those times were 'different'.

My husband and I have gone through some health challenges over the last 3-4 years and we've become much more thankful for things like hospitals and doctors as a result of needing medical care. I know that our health care in Canada could be a LOT better, but we live in a country where we can get to a hospital and have stores stocked with medicines. We have the freedom to walk in to a church on a Sunday and to vote in an election.

All this to say that we need to be much more thankful for how God has blessed us. Often we get so wrapped up in our lives and circumstances that we forget to even thank God. Especially now with so much talk of a souring economy, we still have more than many others in the world.

I have not shared this 'publicly' before, but our son Lazarus was born in June 2008. He is a beautiful and healthy baby! A wonderful gift from God. I say this because he truly is a miracle baby. Lazarus was not expected, was not planned, but as I've learnt (and continue to learn) God has other plans for our lives!

Right from the start of my pregnancy there were complications and I spent much of my early pregnancy in bed. My doctor had trouble even hearing the baby's heartbeat and in fact I was told to 'prepare for the worst', it was suggested that I 'terminate' and that it would be a miracle if I carried the baby to term.

Those were not easy words to hear! My famiy rallied around me and got Dale, Shanarah and myself through Christmas (Dale even spent a few days in the hospital with a phneumonia over the Christmas week) and over the next several months I was given doctor ordered bed rest.

The only thing that got our family through this time was the prayers of our family. There were days it was diffiult as the physical pain was constant. Even with the bed rest order, I would go to my chiropractor weekly (thanks Dr Freddie for keeping me able to walk). People would comment 'oh, you look uncomfortable', but the truth was I could barely function. I lived with constant contractions and pain in various parts of my body because of the pregnancy, sickness was something my husband Dale and daughter Shanarah got used to. It was a tough time, I had never experienced pain like I endured during those months! Giving birth 9 years earlier to Shanarah was easier than my pregnancy with Lazarus!

But, the end result was so very worth it! Lazarus is wonderful, and I have thanked God for him everyday for his life. I would go through it all over again in a second to have him in our lives. God truly walked with our family and got us through it.

Through this all, I have appreciated so much more my family, my husband and daughter MORE than ever because of this. I appreciate being able to drive now after months of not being able to drive. I appreciate my health more, hospitals more, etc etc.

Please be encouraged this Thanksgiving! I know that everyone goes through different things and I don't want to make light of anybody going through a paintful situation, but I just wanted to share this in the hopes that it would encourage somebody. God will help you through your situation, whatever it may be! I am living proof!

If truth be told, I have struggled with this post. Exactly how to word it, what to say. People who know me well know that I am a private person. I don't like to share really 'personal' things with people I don't know (and here I am posting this on the internet!), but it was something that I felt I was supposed to do. So, please try to understand my heart in this. I want more than anything for you (the reader) to be encouraged no matter what you are going through. I want for you all to truly appreciate what we have been given, because we can in the craziness of life take advantage of all that is available to us in the Western world. Even with our economy as it is, we have a lot to be thankful for!

So, with that, I will close this 'novel'. God Bless you! Thanks to those Joykids listeners who continue to pray for us.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving :)

Virginia

Joykids

Hi there! This blog segment is for you, the Joykids Listener! Dale and I thought it would be fun to do a little post of some of the most common questions/comments that we hear about the Joykids radio show. So, here is an attempt to answer some of them...

I was thinking the other day about what we reallly do for the Joykids radio show... We continually run into people who are shocked that the radio show requires work outside of the radio station, or who wonder how we actually do the show and what do we do to plan our bantering (anyone who has listened to the show knows what I'm talking about, as we spend a good portion of the show talking back and forth with silly talking about, well, nothing).

So, without further ado, here is a short version of what goes into the show:

Well, through the week, Shanarah and I pick out the cd's (they are scattered throughout our apartment) and write up a run sheet of what order the songs come in. For a holiday such as Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving, we try to put a theme together. That can take at the least 1-2 hours and much more for the Holiday shows.

For things like jokes, fun facts and historical facts, I'm continually working on that. I will often be writing down thoughts as they come to me and Dale is continually laughing at me for ripping articles out of magazine that I want to share with listeners.

Dale will often think of things for our Joykids website (the link is listed on the right side of the page) and is the one responsible for putting together the 'tech'side of the show with making up the bumpers, music segments and computer aspect of Joykids. He will often help put the cd's together with Shanarah and I before we come into the station.

Things like Pray around the World (where we pick a country or place each week and ask people to pray for it) depends on a few things. Sometimes we get information about a country from the internet, or we use a couple of books that are wonderful teachers for children. Also, if there is a country that Dale and I have been hearing about on the news, sometimes we'll use that as the basis for the segment.

Also, for those of you wondering, we do not script out the show. It is all banter that happens spontaneously, based on articles I've found in magazines and articles I clip out of newpapers, items Shanarah has found in kids magazines and articles found on the internet.

So, there you have it! There is a lot of work that goes into the show.

We just wanted to give you a little behind the scenes look :)

For those of you who continually pray for the show, radio station and our family, THANK YOU!! It is such an encouragement to us.

Remember to listen into Joy1250 tomorrow at 8 am for Joykids!!! If you can't get it your broadcast area, you can go to www.joy1250.ca and click on the link to listen in.

Bless you~!~

Virginia

P.S. - If any of you have any questions about the show or us (maybe about our live performance show, how we got involved in radio) feel free to e-mail us at contactjoykids@aol.com with those questions, who knows, maybe in an upcoming blog we'll answer them!