Heart Reflections Live

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I Love Cloth Nappies!!!



I love cloth nappies!- the kind my Mum used on us when we were babes in arms. Yes, I use terry towelling fold-them-yourself nappies (diapers) on our dear little twinnies and love them!

While I've always liked doing things the old-fashioned way, there's a bit more to it when it comes to things like baby care for me. I'm no New-Age Greenie, just a Bible-believing Christian Mama, whose been thinking a lot more about Christian Stewardship and what it entails the past few years. As I become more aware of something, then it becomes my duty to act on it, especially when it comes to the welfare of my children.

Did you know that on average, a single disposable nappy takes 6 months to decompose! We do buy disposables to use while I recover from my Ceaserseans, and I'm always shocked by how quickly the rubbish mounts up- double that for twins! After my 6 week recovery we use cloth at home, saving disposables for going out, and the rubbish pile reduces dramatically! This time round we are allowing disposables for night-time changes as well, but it's a good feeling knowing that each cloth one you use saves landfill.

Now, you may ask, is this a justifiable point for a Christian who believes that God will make new Heaven and a new Earth? I believe it is. As much as we'd all like to believe that we'll be the generation to see Christ's return, we may not be, for no man knows the time nor hour, and if Christ delays His Coming, I'd like to leave as little landfill as possible for my Grandchildren.

As well as the environmental issues, I've become more aware of the issues involving the chemicals used in many baby products and paper products , including disposable nappies. This is something I'm still looking into.

Financially cloth nappies save heaps of dollars. The disposables the boys currently use cost about 35 cents ea (AUD) That quickly multiplies with 2 babies. We buy generic brand nappy liners and nappy soak, we're on tank water- God provides-it's free, and unless it's raining we don't need to use the dryer. I still have to do a cost comparison of disposables verses using the dryer for those weeks when it's raining non- stop.

We were blessed to be given 2 big bags of cloth nappies before we had the twins- lovely thick soft ones! The old ones from Talitha and Zara have become burp cloths, or hand cleaning cloths for hubby when he checks the engine- they keep on keeping on! I fold my nappies in whatI believe is called the Scottish fold- a triangle shape with very thick padding between the legs. I've never ventured into the world of prefolds or modern cloth diapers. Having to upgrade nappies to bigger sizes seems a bit of a waste to me, when I'm 41 years old and up to babies 3 and 4! The beauty of the terry-towelling squares is that when they get a bit snug, just change the fold!

I find there is minimal time difference between changing a disposable or a cloth. The only difference really is adding a pilcher or nappy cover over the nappy, and that takes seconds! I use a snappy nappy fastener ( a plastic claw)- much quicker and safer than than a pin!

Have I whet your appetite for trying cloth nappies? You could start a college or private school fund for your child with the money you save buying disposables! Try it- you might just like it- and there's nothing like a line full of nappies happily waving in the wind. Satisfaction of a happy baby in soft white fluff...

Here are some links for you: http://www.punkinbutt.com/ Scroll down the left hand side to articles and read the whole or parts of Cloth Diapering 101. This is a great study on environmental damage, health issues, saving money, laundry tips and more!

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posted by Father's Grace Ministries at 9:52 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

A Night I'll Never Forget...


Last night I came closer than I ever had to losing my husband from his heart condition...Was I by his side? No, I was on the phone to him as he has been ministering overseas in Vanuatu. When the phone rang during the night I knew it was something like this... All alone in a villa he said to me, "I'm in AF. And I don't know what to do."


Without hesitating, I told him to wake someone up, while I started to pray. God gave him strength to dress himself- something I normally have to do in an emergency- and enabled him to walk to the caretakers house and bang on the door. This lovely Christian man had him at the hospital in minutes and I "went" too on the mobile phone. He saw a nurse on arrival and I heard him explain his condition, which again made evident that God was sustaining him, as he usually loses his ability to communicate clearly due to lack of oxygen by this time. The nurse gave him oxygen- what little they had- while they/we waited for the doctor who wasn't even at the hospital. The next couple of hours were a blur of serious warfare prayer by myself and Edward, the caretaker, the Pastor arriving from the church where Max was ministering, also to pray, and Max's voice fading in and out as he came close to cardiac arrest several times.


I kept telling him to hold on, that he was there for a purpose, and kept personalizing a scripture to him that God gave me- YOU will not die but live and declare the works of the LORD! The doctor finally arrived and not being familiar with his case, refused to give him a cardio-inversion. She rang the consultant who merely recommended morphine!


We kept praying, and God every so often renewed his breath miraculasly- he had never gone this long without medication or cardio-inversion before! Then suddenly he came close to cardiac arrest again, and with the little breath he had left said his goodbyes and I love you's... How petty all the little irritations like socks on the floor seemed then... the hasty words spoken in annoyance... how I'd wished I'd bitten my tongue!... He was 2 hours plane flight away, and I couldn't even kiss him Goodbye!


I couldn't hear anything but the Pastor in warfare prayer, and Max's breath returned. He was at peace no matter what might happen, and I sensed a peace too, but wasn't sure if we'd get a miracle or not... The Doctor gave him some Djoxin( is that how you spell it?) And said he would cardio-invert him in a couple of hours if nothing happened- then the battery in the mobile died... I numbly had a coffee and watched the sunrise...


The hospital allowed him to ring me on their phone, and gave me their phone number. The phone rang early in the morning with the news he'd been cardio-inverted and was getting better, but it wasn't until he vomitted blood that they whipped out the consent forms.


We are so grateful to the Lord, Edmund and the Pastor for praying and the skeleton medical staff working there fervently with what little resources they had. It was an experience for them to treat a case as rare as my husband's and they understand more now. God worked despite ancient medical equipment, and other unknown factors to bring a positive end.


God has not finished with my husband down here yet, and guess what! He can't wait to preach about it tonight giving all glory to the ONE he serves! The Lord Jesus Christ! The great Physician!


I can't wait to have Max home! Ladies, do you know what I would like you to do? Go and kiss your husband, and your children. Tell them you love them-SHOW them you love them, and live each moment in the light of Eternity. Learn from a night I'll never forget!.

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posted by Father's Grace Ministries at 11:24 am 4 comments