So you know that I am looking at love if you read my previous post.
Praying for it. Studying it. Trying to work it out into my daily life. It is my fruit this year.
Strangely, I am finding that as I sort through identifying what this fruit/command really is, I am consistently finding myself pointed to the concept of discipline.
Which feels kind of weird to me. It just isn't the first word I would normally go to when I think the word "love".
Because I am so slow on the uptake, additional confirmation is usually not too far behind. God is so very patient with me.
Case in point:
I have been growing a little lazy in some areas of my life the past several weeks. Nothing too terrible...some housework slipping through the cracks, Bible study for the Bible Studies sake and not for my personal relationship with God, sleeping too much, eating too many yummy things, skipping some work outs. (Dude, I could keep going but I will spare you any more details!)
So God woke me up with that thought a couple days ago. Not the most pleasant way to start the day, but it is wise to not ignore that still small voice when it is so big that it wakes you up!! Yes, I definately need to live in a more disciplined way.
In an effort to nip this pattern, I woke up an hour early this morning, grabbed my tea, and I started reading Proverbs 1. Despite my sleep deprivation, I did hit verse 2 fairly quickly only to find this: "for attaining wisdom and discipline".
Yep. Another confirmation. I am concluding that one key to understanding the fruit/command of love is for me to understand the role of discipline in my life. This is really beginning to get interesting!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Love Never Fails
Love never fails. At least, that is what it says in I Corinthians 13 about half way through.
But I do.
Not so much with my immediate family, though I will not claim perfection because that would be a lie! And not with the strangers who bounce against me occasionally in rough ways on the city streets or in line at the grocery store. My love-failures, in general, are with fellow Christians.
Shocking?! Yep...but not really. I know very well that I am not alone in this. There is too much Scripture written about loving the body of Christ for this to not be an issue that many of us are forced to deal with, even daily.
What is shaking me up though is how intensely God is forcing me to face this issue in my life right now.
Each year as my "New Years Resolution" I study a fruit of the Spirit. And wouldn't you know that this year the only two I had left was love and kindness. Take a wild guess which one I felt led to focus on this year.
In addition, we are in a series at our church's women's Bible Study on the Letter's of John. You can probably guess what one of the most repeated words is in this series of letters.
And the frosting on the proverbial cake is that God has even provided me a first-hand and ongoing experience with someone who is a challenge for me to truly love as God has commanded me to love.
So I am in process. What I have learned this far is that it is way easier said then done. But more importantly, it is only through His divine power that I am going to be able to do this in a healthy, God-glorifying way. (II Peter 1:3,4)
But I do.
Not so much with my immediate family, though I will not claim perfection because that would be a lie! And not with the strangers who bounce against me occasionally in rough ways on the city streets or in line at the grocery store. My love-failures, in general, are with fellow Christians.
Shocking?! Yep...but not really. I know very well that I am not alone in this. There is too much Scripture written about loving the body of Christ for this to not be an issue that many of us are forced to deal with, even daily.
What is shaking me up though is how intensely God is forcing me to face this issue in my life right now.
Each year as my "New Years Resolution" I study a fruit of the Spirit. And wouldn't you know that this year the only two I had left was love and kindness. Take a wild guess which one I felt led to focus on this year.
In addition, we are in a series at our church's women's Bible Study on the Letter's of John. You can probably guess what one of the most repeated words is in this series of letters.
And the frosting on the proverbial cake is that God has even provided me a first-hand and ongoing experience with someone who is a challenge for me to truly love as God has commanded me to love.
So I am in process. What I have learned this far is that it is way easier said then done. But more importantly, it is only through His divine power that I am going to be able to do this in a healthy, God-glorifying way. (II Peter 1:3,4)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Free and Educational!!
All you mommies, homeschooling or not, may be interested to check out this free web site: Sheppardsoftware.com. C's geography teacher told us about it and I just went to it a few minutes ago. Fun stuff! And educational!! And it isn't just geography either.
So do you remember those days? The days of learning the capitals and the states and the rivers and the mountain ranges and the... I do remember and I must say that our kids have it really good!!
It would have been really nice to have had interactive games which addressed all learning styles to find out that Sacramento is the capital of Kansas. (Or is it Topeka?!) And to not have to learn off of a blurry-inked xerox copy taken from the map out of the classroom atlas. I don't think I ever really figured out exactly where Maryland was on that map!
Most people will agree that some things (dare I say, many things?) in education today are not as good as they once were. But there are undeniably things that are better! This website proves it!
So do you remember those days? The days of learning the capitals and the states and the rivers and the mountain ranges and the... I do remember and I must say that our kids have it really good!!
It would have been really nice to have had interactive games which addressed all learning styles to find out that Sacramento is the capital of Kansas. (Or is it Topeka?!) And to not have to learn off of a blurry-inked xerox copy taken from the map out of the classroom atlas. I don't think I ever really figured out exactly where Maryland was on that map!
Most people will agree that some things (dare I say, many things?) in education today are not as good as they once were. But there are undeniably things that are better! This website proves it!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Note to self...
This morning, D kissed me goodbye (while I was on the phone with someone) and went off to work. About an hour later I get a text message from him asking me to bring him some sweet tea. Because he is working. And he is very thirsty. And he wants some sweet tea.
Now we live about 7 minutes from his office. Not so very far really, but at 10 in the morning when I have yet to shower and dress, this is a little too far for a sweet tea run. "He has got to be kidding!", was my initial thought as I replied back to him with something along the lines of "your royal hiney"!
But he was dead serious, come to find out, so I did a quick change act, poured him some sweet tea, and told J (it is a holiday) that I would be back in awhile. (Yes, I know what you are thinking. But my main spiritual gift is service. Besides, he is very cute! I can't help it!)
About 5 minutes down the road with his sweet tea in the little cup holder, I get a call from him asking me where I was. I told him I was on my way. He laughed (bad sign) and asked for my current location. And it was THEN he informed me that he was at home in the basement at his table instead of working at the office this morning as he had originally planned.
I have to admit that I laughed almost the whole way back home. And I am SO glad I didn't get all the way to the office only to find him not there and the secretaries looking at me like I am a total nut! Of course, the secretaries would NEVER have let him live this one down, but still...
Note to self: Next time D wants a glass of sweet tea, tell him to go get it himself. Or at least verify what his current location is before taking it to him!!!
Now we live about 7 minutes from his office. Not so very far really, but at 10 in the morning when I have yet to shower and dress, this is a little too far for a sweet tea run. "He has got to be kidding!", was my initial thought as I replied back to him with something along the lines of "your royal hiney"!
But he was dead serious, come to find out, so I did a quick change act, poured him some sweet tea, and told J (it is a holiday) that I would be back in awhile. (Yes, I know what you are thinking. But my main spiritual gift is service. Besides, he is very cute! I can't help it!)
About 5 minutes down the road with his sweet tea in the little cup holder, I get a call from him asking me where I was. I told him I was on my way. He laughed (bad sign) and asked for my current location. And it was THEN he informed me that he was at home in the basement at his table instead of working at the office this morning as he had originally planned.
I have to admit that I laughed almost the whole way back home. And I am SO glad I didn't get all the way to the office only to find him not there and the secretaries looking at me like I am a total nut! Of course, the secretaries would NEVER have let him live this one down, but still...
Note to self: Next time D wants a glass of sweet tea, tell him to go get it himself. Or at least verify what his current location is before taking it to him!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Latest Pet-Peeve
I am a fairly easy-going, laid back kind of gal. Most of the time. But not always.
Here is the latest: leaving small spoons to drown in over-sized jars of grape jelly.
There! I feel better now that I have that off my chest!
Here is the latest: leaving small spoons to drown in over-sized jars of grape jelly.
There! I feel better now that I have that off my chest!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Truck's Adventures
About a month ago, Truck left home for another one of his adventures.
He has had many adventures over the last 5 years. So many in fact that I was once inspired to write a series of stories about his wanderings back in our Texas days. They mostly had to do with character issues that I wanted my kids to begin to notice in their own lives and work on. Over-turned garbage cans around the neighborhood and over-night absences were just the creative springboard for getting those points across to them in a fun way.
Don't get me wrong...the kids weren't exactly turning over the neighbors trash or running away for long periods of time, but I managed to make it work!
This latest adventure was his last for us as a family. We couldn't find him this time around.
It is a little easier knowing that this is just how he was. We couldn't train him out of that sense of adventure and the radio collar wasn't always effective enough to keep him close to home. But with his wander-lust, it really was only a matter of time.
So in this final post on the big goof ball, I just want to say that as much of a pain as he was to us, and as much pain as he caused us, he was our pain, and he is missed. His little personality quirks (digging holes, stealing little girls' mittens off their hands, marking our visitors' tires...) were all part of the story of our family's life these past 5 years because Truck was ours. Everyone was considered a friend, he hunted with D, and he was a gentle beast of a dog with our children. He was ours and he is missed.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Check it out!
Scroll on over to the left to my "blogs to check out" and take a look at the new CBC blog when you have a minute.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
These boots were made for DANCING!
Check out what I get to scoot around the floor in on Valentine's Day. My sweet man bought them for me and I LOVE them!! And they are RED!!
So Western chic!!
So Western chic!!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Blessed Warmth
This morning I woke to a sound I have not heard in months--a bird calling to one of its friends. It is actually warm enough today for birds to open there little beaks without freezing to death!
We are supposed to get all the way up to a balmy 47 degrees, not just today but for the next several days. Our 2 feet of snow will turn into several different ponds around our yard. Our icy driveway will become a mud pit, since we haven't replaced the gravel yet. And I guarantee, my kids will be outside in shorts at some point today because they will think it is so warm! Of course, D3 was snow blowing our driveway in shorts and winter boots the other day when we got our lates layer of snow so that probably doesn't mean much.
Anyways, I am so excited for blessed warmth!!
We are supposed to get all the way up to a balmy 47 degrees, not just today but for the next several days. Our 2 feet of snow will turn into several different ponds around our yard. Our icy driveway will become a mud pit, since we haven't replaced the gravel yet. And I guarantee, my kids will be outside in shorts at some point today because they will think it is so warm! Of course, D3 was snow blowing our driveway in shorts and winter boots the other day when we got our lates layer of snow so that probably doesn't mean much.
Anyways, I am so excited for blessed warmth!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
New Game for our "Cheap Yet Fun" Date Night
The name of the game is Greed!
You will need 6 dice and some pen and paper for each player.
Meld is 500 points totalled within one turn. 10,000 points to win the game.
1's - 100
5's - 50
1/2/3/4/5/6 - 1000
3 of a kind - 100 x # on the dice ( ex. 3 dice showing 4's would be 400)
3 1's - 1000
Roll all 6 dice at the same time. Count your points and then move those point-producing dice to the side. Whichever dice didn't roll points, you may now pick up and roll again (all together, whether two or three, etc.) to try and add to your total. Again, move over the point-producing dice and re-roll with any remaining dice. Or if you want to end your turn, record your point total for that roll (if you have melded) and pass the dice to the next player. If you choose to continue to try for points, and your remaining dice produce points, continue on until you are ready to pass the remaining unrolled dice to the next person. If any given roll does not produce any points your turn is over and you lose any points you may have just rolled in that turn. If all 6 dice produce points, even over the span of several rolls, keep rolling all the dice until you are ready to pass to the next person. Be careful you don't get too greedy and lose all your points!
Once you meld and once the previous player has decided they are done trying for points, you have the option to pick up the previous players unrolled dice and springboard from their points. But greed can trap you! If you don't roll any points, you lose your whole turn. But if you do roll points, you get the total points of the previous player's most recent roll (not of their total for the game) and you continue with your turn until you are ready to pass it along or until your greed causes you to lose all the points because you rolled bad numbers.
It sounds very complicated as I write this out, but it is super easy and very fun once you get going.
In addition to it being a great date game for two or four for a double date, it also is a great way to get some interesting insight into your kids personalities as a family game. We played it with our four kids the other night and I actually took notes and kept passing them over to Big D. It was seriously insightful. My oldest caught on to what I was doing towards the end and so then all the kids were dying to see what I had observed about them. It was a fun night!
You will need 6 dice and some pen and paper for each player.
Meld is 500 points totalled within one turn. 10,000 points to win the game.
1's - 100
5's - 50
1/2/3/4/5/6 - 1000
3 of a kind - 100 x # on the dice ( ex. 3 dice showing 4's would be 400)
3 1's - 1000
Roll all 6 dice at the same time. Count your points and then move those point-producing dice to the side. Whichever dice didn't roll points, you may now pick up and roll again (all together, whether two or three, etc.) to try and add to your total. Again, move over the point-producing dice and re-roll with any remaining dice. Or if you want to end your turn, record your point total for that roll (if you have melded) and pass the dice to the next player. If you choose to continue to try for points, and your remaining dice produce points, continue on until you are ready to pass the remaining unrolled dice to the next person. If any given roll does not produce any points your turn is over and you lose any points you may have just rolled in that turn. If all 6 dice produce points, even over the span of several rolls, keep rolling all the dice until you are ready to pass to the next person. Be careful you don't get too greedy and lose all your points!
Once you meld and once the previous player has decided they are done trying for points, you have the option to pick up the previous players unrolled dice and springboard from their points. But greed can trap you! If you don't roll any points, you lose your whole turn. But if you do roll points, you get the total points of the previous player's most recent roll (not of their total for the game) and you continue with your turn until you are ready to pass it along or until your greed causes you to lose all the points because you rolled bad numbers.
It sounds very complicated as I write this out, but it is super easy and very fun once you get going.
In addition to it being a great date game for two or four for a double date, it also is a great way to get some interesting insight into your kids personalities as a family game. We played it with our four kids the other night and I actually took notes and kept passing them over to Big D. It was seriously insightful. My oldest caught on to what I was doing towards the end and so then all the kids were dying to see what I had observed about them. It was a fun night!
Monday, February 2, 2009
If you think...
-there is nothing you ever could do that would bring a cuss word to yours or your spouses' mind, try taking dance lessons together.
-you are still young and hot, try taking dance lessons together.
-that you have ironed out all the control issues in your marriage, try taking dance lessons together.
-that you don't laugh near enough with your spouse, try taking dance lessons together.
-you need to have a good excuse to be held tight and gaze into each others eyes in public, try taking dance lessons together.
D and I just finished week 4 of our 6 week class on Western Swing Dancing. We have learned most of our routine, and I have to tell you, we are still pretty rusty!! My left shoulder and my left hamstring are telling me I am not as young as I used to be. The back flip over Darril's arm and the handstand into a full sit-up move is really hard!! But we are having So Much Fun. Video will be coming soon...I hope!
-you are still young and hot, try taking dance lessons together.
-that you have ironed out all the control issues in your marriage, try taking dance lessons together.
-that you don't laugh near enough with your spouse, try taking dance lessons together.
-you need to have a good excuse to be held tight and gaze into each others eyes in public, try taking dance lessons together.
D and I just finished week 4 of our 6 week class on Western Swing Dancing. We have learned most of our routine, and I have to tell you, we are still pretty rusty!! My left shoulder and my left hamstring are telling me I am not as young as I used to be. The back flip over Darril's arm and the handstand into a full sit-up move is really hard!! But we are having So Much Fun. Video will be coming soon...I hope!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)