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Some thoughts on trusting God...

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:37:38 GMT

I shared this on another website in response to a question, but thought it might be a good thing to repeat it here (for MY reminding).
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Trying to walk in joy and contentment in the midst of long term trials - especially trials that are caused from the foolish choices of others - is a very very hard place to be. It is hard to see the tunnel, much less the light at the end of it. When we see our children struggle in the same way, it makes things even harder to deal with.

One thing to remember is WE ARE NOT ALONE. Jesus is there with us every step of the way. He said He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. When He said that He never would, He meant exactly that. In every phase of our trials, He is right there with us in the midst of it. He has NOT forgotten us and gone off to Olive Garden or something...He is holding us in His righteous right hand.

Another thing to remember, we may that it is harder to accept when these trials are brought on by others rather than directly through God. But don't forget, NOTHING happens in our lives unless God allows it. Even the enemy's attacks against us are only allowed by the will of God. And He allows these things in our lives for His glory and for our best. I know it doesn't seem that way now, but in the eternal weight of Glory, it will be. The things He is teaching us through our suffering now will far surpass any sorrows here on earth. This is something we need to take on faith because it is so hard for us to see past our own temporal lives here...but it is truth nonetheless.

Going back and looking at "what might have been" at various turns in the road of our lives is NEVER healthy for us, nor is it where God wants us to be. Every turn, every choice made has now BECOME the path through which God's will and blessings will come, when we walk in openness and humility before Him, making sure we confess our sins openly to Him as He reveals them to us. And sometimes He calls us to walk a path of suffering in order to bring those around us to repentance for hardened hearts and sin, but that might take years to come about.

The key to it all is this: Is God worthy to be trusted even when I cannot see where this path will end or when my suffering is a direct consequence to another person's folly? And the answer is: Yes, no matter what circumstance goes on in my life, God is STILL worthy of my trust.

Menu Plan Monday

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:29:05 GMT

Well, we are beginning our family reunion this week so I'm starting my menu on Tuesday morning and will go through Wednesday of the following week, so my menus will be a bit messed up, chronology-wise. We'll be having 11 family members visiting with us (plus our 10) for 9 days. We are SOOO psyched!!

After talking with my sister-in-law (hooray for cyberspace!), we came up with the following menu which should work for all of us. I only wish I were better at menu planning...it is always so difficult for me and I'm glad that my daughter has taken it over (of course, I jumped in to help out with the reunion, that's a bit much for her to handle on her own yet). So, here is our menu for the next 9 days for the 21 of us.

Bon appetit!

Tuesday:
B: pancakes
L: fish sticks/chicken nuggets, chips, veggie tray
S: pasta w/butter & garlic/white sauce

Wednesday:
B: breakfast burritos
L: cornbread & rice, carrot sticks
S: taco soup, biscuits

Thursday:
B: muffins
L: chicken salad on croissants, cucumber slices
S: pasta carbonara, salad

Friday:
B: bagels, cream cheese, fruit
L: peanut butter sandwiches, chips, fruit
S: --out of town

Saturday:
B: --out of town
L: --out of town
S: french dip, chips, veggie tray

Sunday:
B: faye's coffee cake
L: egg salad sandwiches, rice, veggie tray
S: pasta w/marinara sauce, salad

Monday:
B: cinnamon rolls, yogurt
L: ramen, carrots/celery
S: grilled chicken, stuffing, corn on the cob

Tuesday:
B: french toast, fruit
L: mac & cheese (ham), carrot sticks
S: hot dogs/hamburgers, chips, veggie whatever

Wednesday:
B: ham & cheese omlettes
L: quesidillas, veggie tray
S: lasagna, salad

8 years ago today...

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:41:01 GMT

8 years ago today, at 2:03pm the doctor walked out of the OR and handed our little baby boy Seth into Kevin's waiting arms. I, on the other hand, wouldn't see him until I woke up from the emergency C-section about 1 3/4 hours later. He was (and still is) adorable and a sweet, loving, cuddly boy.

His birth was a bitter-sweet time for me. My mother had passed away exactly one week before and I wasn't able to make it to her funeral. We tried to induce but God had other plans. The Lord, however, flooded my heart with peace, even in the midst of my grief and Seth's precious life filled the aches of missing my mom.

The Lord has blessed this little boy with a very playful yet melancholy personality. He remembers almost everything he hears and we are always surprised at how much he DOES hear. He keeps us all laughing and comes up with some of the funniest comments, questions and reasonings of anyone in our family. We call them Seth-isms and Hannah has a blog devoted to them!!

Seth, happy birthday my darling boy. I'm delighted in the young man you are growing into and your desire to follow Jesus and be a Mighty Man of God. I love you.

Thoughts on being offended...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:07:02 GMT

This is something I wrote a number of years ago on a message board. A question came up today about being offended and I found it and re-posted it. I thought it might be beneficial to post it here as well. At the end, I'll insert some thoughts Kevin had as well. This will be long but hopefully you'll find it valuable.
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Thoughts On Being Offended

Is it ever OK for a believer to be offended or is it sin? We often hear someone say (or we have said ourselves), "You have offended me" or "I was so offended by what you said or did". Do we mean that our feelings were hurt or is this just a *Christian* cover for anger? Hmmm, let's look at a few things.

Webster's gives some of these definitions for offended: "to cause to feel vexation or resentment usually by violation of what is proper or fitting", "to cause pain to". Are we feeling vexation or resentment and calling it "being offended" thinking that justifies our sin?

I have been in churches where everyone was what I called an *offense waiting to happen*. You had to walk on eggshells and still someone would be offended by what you said or didn't say, by what you did or didn't do. A pastor was called unfriendly and therefore unloving because he didn't always say hello to certain people on Sunday morning. Hearts were so self-focused that no one was able to see beyond their own selfish lives to the possible needs of another. Every action or word was not looked upon with love and compassion toward other people but as if it were intentionally directed at ME. Is this where God wants us to be??

Are we to be making assumptions about other's spirituality based on our own selfish focus? Are we to be quick to anger, quick to take up resentment, quick to take account of a wrong suffered, quick to believe the worst about one another?

We look at our children and sibling rivalry and shake our heads in exasperation at their sinful and self-centered hearts. Where in the world do these attitudes come from, we ask ourselves. "Your dress touched my dress!!" "You are on my side of the couch!" "Mom, he's looking at me!!" Are they seeing in US the attitude of being quickly offended? "Pastor, she's doing such and such and I'm offended!" "Did you hear what so and so said? I can't believe it and I am just so offended!" "How could a true believer not see how much I am offended by such and such?"

In years past I was one of those "walk on eggshells around THAT one" type of person. I believed the worst about others and was prepared to defend myself to the death assuming that others were ready to stick a knife in MY back! And this was when I was a believer! But God in His mercy has shown me a deeper understanding of His love and mercy and grace. He has taught me a little bit (or rather I have learned a little bit) about assuming the best until I am PROVED wrong. I have seen first-hand what God means when He requires us to turn the other cheek.

And you know what? MY life is much happier and more pleasant when I focus on others with love. I have greater joy and freedom to love others because I don't feel like I HAVE to fight for #1 (as the world tells us)...that's God's job! My job is to be willing to be poured out as a drink offering for the sake of others and the glory and honor of the One who bought my life. My job is to be willing to live a life of sacrificial, unsung servanthood to those He came to save. My job is to see that "He must increase, I must decrease." OUCH!!

How often am I looking for that recognition that *I* am so wonderful! Thinking, 'Boy! didn't God get a great deal when He chose me!' Convincing myself that I and I alone have the corner on the truth market and everyone else is barely keeping their heads above water! Rationalizing my sin as *weaknesses* that others will have to put up with while pointing out every speck in the eyes of my fellow brethren. Knowing clearly how others are "so legalistic" in their convictions or "being sucked into the deception of the enemy" in the freedoms they enjoy while at the same time believing that I (and I alone again) am living the balance that God reveals to us.

I guess I've just been thinking about my heart this Christmas season. Many of us will be spending time with families or friends. Some of us will be spending quiet time alone with our husbands and children. Some of us will even be counting this as just another day. It just seemed to me a good time to reflect on our attitudes toward others as we may be spending time with others. We may be with the unsaved or with believers who don't hold the same convictions that we do. It might be a good time for us to go before the Lord and ask Him to examine our attitudes and perspectives toward others. I've been asking myself these questions:

Am I extending to others the grace the Lord extends to me?

Am I willing to be misunderstood as I seek to understand others more fully?

Am I willing to drop a contentious point without "getting the last word in"?

Am I trusting the sanctifying work of the Lord in the lives of other believers even if they seem to be going in a direction very different from my own?

Am I working to have the "goal of my instruction" be love?

Am I realizing that "knowledge puffs up but love builds up" and am I therefore pursing love above all else?

Am I working to believe the best about others and to think that major differences we seem to have are probably misunderstandings that can be put to right with loving, open and humble communication? (this is different from trying to persuade that *I* am right, but to seek unity of spirit)

Am I centering my speech on the love and grace of the Lord rather than on me?

Hard questions for me to ask myself, but necessary if I am to work to keep a divisive and critical spirit far from my heart. How about you? Are these areas that God may be touching your heart on this Christmas season? May we all seek to follow Him more completely that people will see less and less of US and more and more of Him. This is the same Lord who said from the cross, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." This thought sends me to my knees in tears; humbled and awed.
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(Kevin's thoughts)

Kate and I talked about this for awhile. I agree with her that being easily offended is not a virtue but a vice. Here are some Scriptures (New American Standard Version) that I think are relevant.

Prov. 19:11 -- A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

Often we take a sort of pride in being sensitive to offenses, but this says it is a glory for us to overlook offenses against us.

Prov. 18:19 -- A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

This reminds me that being offended is a serious thing -- not something to play around with for the sake of my ego. (And sometimes those castle bars turn into prison bars.)

Prov. 15:15 -- All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a good heart has a continual feast.

If you look for the worst in people, you'll find it. But if you always look for the ways that God uses those around you to bring His own blessing, you'll find that too.

Prov. 12:16 -- A fool's vexation is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor.

If something irritates me, do I feel that obligates or entitles me to speak up about it to anyone around? Or do I understand that usually it's simply wiser and more loving to remain silent and let it pass?

Eccl. 7:20-22 -- Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Also, do not take seriously all words which are spoken, lest you hear your servant cursing you. For you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.

So what if others around me don't treat me as they should? If I'm honest about how I myself treat people, it won't surprise me all that much!

1 Pet 4:8 -- Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

It is my responsibility to keep my love for others fervent -- that eliminates playing the martyr. More interesting is the REASON given for keeping my love fervent -- it's because my love covers the sins that would otherwise begin to damage the relationship. If at the same time they keep their love for me fervent, our relationship is going to be able to endure a lot.

Living in fellowship with other believers without fervent love is sort of like driving your car with no oil.

Col 3:6 -- Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.

I'm not sure if this verse means what I think it does, but if so, then "grace" is extending favor to others regardless of whether they deserve it. This says, then, that I should be seasoning everything I say with an attitude of forgiveness and favor whether they deserve it or not, and that by doing so I will have the wisdom to respond in a godly way to any situation that comes up.

1 Cor 13:5c -- Love is not provoked.

How could this be any clearer?

The phrase just after this says love "does not take into account a wrong suffered", by the way.

Ph'p 4:7-8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

There will almost always be at least SOMETHING worthy of praise right alongside of whatever offended me -- that's the thing I need to keep my thoughts focused on.

And, last, I can't resist this passage from Jesus' teaching about Himself and John the Baptist:

Luke 7:31-35 "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another; and they say, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep." For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, "He has a demon!" The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, "Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.

I guess there's just no pleasing some people!

I don't share these verses from the vantage point of someone who's figured it all out and never goes wrong in this area, but as a fellow struggler with maintaining a gracious attitude toward others -- and I hope that like me you are encouraged when you find actual Scriptures to hang your hat on.

Menu Planning Monday

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:19:03 GMT

One of my daughters has taken on the task of menu planning, shopping and delegating meal prep until she is able to find a full time job so I haven't posted here in awhile. But I'll be posting HER meal plans here.

Monday:
B: chocolate chip muffins
L: ramen
S: chicken & pasta & sauteed squash

Tuesday:
B: oatmeal
L: english muffin pizzas
S: meatballs & spaghetti & salad

Wednesday:
B: cereal
L: mac & cheese & ham
S: homemade pizza

Thursday:
B: homemade donuts
L: corndogs & rice
S: pasta w/white sauce & veggie tray

Friday:
B: bagels
L: popcorn & fruit
S: quiche (broccoli, bacon)

Saturday:
B: french breakfast puffs
L: peanut butter sand
S: baked chicken w/stuff/veggie

Sunday:

B: fayes coffee cake
L: quesidillas
S: leftovers/cereal

"Mawwage, mawwage is what bwings us togever, today..."

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:53:23 GMT

I recently addressed the question of "How do we know when we are being content with our husbands or just giving up, thinking the situation will never change, particularly when we think they are not willing to take a leap of faith but are stuck in fear? And how can we trust or respect a husband who 'won't have faith'" Here are some of my thoughts on this question (pardon the tense changes):

The center of contentment is joy. Am I frustrated or irritated or feeling like I am missing out on something? If so, then I am NOT content at all. If I am walking in joy, knowing that God is bigger than my husband's frailty and fears, then I anm walking contentedly before the Lord. And as simplistic as it sounds, I trust and respect my husband when he's struggling with faith the same as if he were walking in total faith...by trusting IN GOD and walking in the Joy of the Lord! My submission to my husband is not based on HIS perfection before the Lord. It is based on GOD'S choice of my husband as my head.

It is also very easy for us as wives to judge our husband's motives. But that is for the Lord to work out...not us. If my husband is struggling with fear, then I should be praying that God would do whatever He needs to do in my husband's life so that he can begin to gain victory in this area. This prayer has NOTHING to do with circumstances, now or in the future. It has to do with character and peace and joy in Christ.

Remember, God is really not all that concerned about a "better future" in terms of circumstances. He is much more concerned about hearts and lives surrendered to His sanctification - His transformation of our lives into the exact reflection of Jesus.

I don't know the issues of your home, your strengths and weaknesses or your husband's. And I don't need to know. I DO know the human heart pretty well (having lived constantly with my own these past 52 years ) and can tell you this: faith is NOT an easy thing for any of us.

It is important to remember that with our husbands, it is as if they have the sign on their hearts that says "The buck stops here." They are the ones responsible for the decisions, choices, goals and visions for their families. This is a very heavy responsibility and one that I am VERY glad is not mine!! So for some men, making some major changes (and sometimes, radical changes) is NOT an easy thing to do. It comes with trepidation and often fear. Granted, this fear is not where God wants them to stay, but God will move them forward in His timing and we can wait joyfully for His timing to be fulfilled, trusting completely in the sovereignty of God in every aspect of our lives.

It is also important to remember that we wives were created to be the #1 cheerleader in our husbands' lives! We should be the ones giving support and encouragement and leading the way to the Throne of Grace by our example of a life lived on our knees. Too often, though, we become the critics and chastisers, the ones who are telling them how much better they could do if ONLY they would listen to us and do what WE want to have done. I have seen, in my own life and the lives of many women over these past 32 years, that our lives are MUCH better off when we joyfully (key word here - JOYFULLY) seek to surrender OUR desires and goals to the Lord. And for the Lord to work in and through our husband's lives according to HIS timing.

Ahhh, timing, that is such a struggle for us (humans, not just wives). I'll tell you, I probably would have reacted more like Sarai - jumping ahead of God's timing, than like Job who patiently waited for God to lead. We think we see an "opportunity" and we JUMP on it. Another thing I've found over the years is that God very often gives a glimpse into an opportunity He has for us to the WIFE first, long before He gives it to the husband. I've always suspected it is because we wouldn't listen very well if it had come from our husbands! Just a suspicious, though! But when we get this "glimpse" it doesn't necessarily mean JUMP NOW. Very often it means, "get ready and be prepared for when I say, 'Now'". But in our eagerness, we jump long before God is ready for us to and, by jumping ahead of the leading of our husbands, we get into lots more trouble than if we had waited for GOD to bring our husband's a goal and vision. After all, since we are called to follow THEM, to be THEIR helpmates, it is better that we follow and not try to make them OUR helpmates.

One thing I do know, the only one you can change is you. You cannot change your husband, no matter what you say or do. You can help point the way to Jesus by your chaste and respectful behavior and life, but only your husband can choose to follow Him or not. In the meantime, let me share that our role to respect, honor and submit to our husbands is NOT based on their character strengths or weaknesses. It is based on GOD'S choice for our lives. Even when our husbands are paralyzed with fear, we can submit because to do so means we obey GOD. We give respect to them because their role as our husband demands it...in a sense we respect their ROLE, even if we have a hard time respecting them personally as men. Sometimes that is as good as it gets for us - as a start. But God does not want us to stay there. He desires to take us further in OUR walk of faith to trust Him in His leading of our families THROUGH our husbands.

In one sense, when we refuse to respect our husbands, we are telling God, "Your choice of my husband as the head is NOT a good choice, and I have a better one." This can turn into a heart of defiance toward God because we have our own ideas of what a godly husband is supposed to look like, and it is not the reality we see in our marriage.

So to the question of "Do I just pretend to respect him, so actions will follow?" I say, no. However, like everything else in our life walk of faith, we CHOOSE to respect our husbands and trust the Lord that, in His timing, our [I]feelings[/I] will follow. It is not pretending, it is a choice.

Remember, this is a marathon we are running with the Lord, not a sprint. We are in this for the long haul. Sometimes we run, unfettered with joy and abandon. Sometimes we stumble and fall, holding onto the hand of God to lift us up, bandage our wounds so that we can be strengthened to run again. Sometimes we just walk, trying to catch our breath or to allow our spouses to catch up with us so that we can continue to run this race of faith TOGETHER.

A few other thoughts on child training.

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:49:47 GMT

I was speaking with a very dear and sweet friend this morning and thought, in light of my post yesterday on the Proverbs passages, I would share some of the things we talked about, plus a little bit more.

When I was a young mom I really struggled with wanting well-behaved children. Now, of course, this isn't a sinful thing, it isn't even a bad thing but it CAN be a distraction from the REAL purpose God has laid out for me during these few fleeting years of raising my children. I remember feeling so much "on display", as if my family, my parenting skills (which were just beginning to grow) and my children were being watched, weighed and critiqued. And the probably were. I would stress about what others thought about me when my children did such-and-such. And, of course, they always DID do such-and-such!!!

Then I went to a marriage conference and heard the one thing that freed me up from the guilt and fear that was binding my heart up as a mother. This one godly man said, "Our parenting is not judged by what our children do. Scripture tells us, 'foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child' so we know FOR A FACT that they will do foolish things - and probably with great regularity! Our parenting is judged by HOW WE RESPOND." You know, I can't control what my children are going to do in the foolishness of their hearts prompting their own struggles with sin. But I CAN control (by the grace and power of the Spirit) how I respond!

That very week I was given a beautiful illustration of that truth. I was at the drug store with Hannah who was about 13 months at the time. She was strapped into the shopping cart and I turned to pick out an item. In those few seconds, she slipped out of her strap and was beginning to climb out and starting to tip over. I grabbed her and VERY CALMLY said, "Oh no, Hannah! You may not climb out after Momma has strapped you in. You could have fallen. It is very dangerous. You must obey when Momma says to stay sitting down." as I sat her down and strapped her back in. A woman came BOUNDING from several aisles over and I thought she was going to yell at me for *allowing* my daughter to climb out. Instead she told me what a joy it was to hear me speak so gently and lovingly to my daughter without giving in to her foolish desire to climb out. She said most moms would scream at their child to sit down but that my speaking gently to her avoided the tantrums and screaming from the child, kept her safe and taught her at the same time. She THANKED ME for speaking so well to my daughter!! I was floored! This woman understood that 'foolishness was bound up in the heart of a child', that children WILL try to climb out of their seats. She didn't judge my parenting based on what foolish thing Hannah did, but she looked at MY response and saw (that time, at least) a loving yet firm response of training and instruction.

The other thing that I learned at that conference I went to is that parenting is not PRIMARILY about teaching our children to be well-behaved. It is PRIMARILY about discipleship. I teach and train my children to behave as a forerunner to their learning to obey the Lord. I teach and train my children to surrender to my authority as a training ground for their surrendering to the Lord, first at salvation, then in sanctification for the remainder of their lives. I don't focus on child training for its own sake, but for the sake of the SPIRITUAL training that underlies all that I do and all that I am. My ultimate and final goal is for them to seek to find and obey God's will - them learning how to obey my will in these early years is the place where they begin to learn this concept. Hopefully they will also be learning from MY example as I grow in this area of submitting to the Lord's will in my own life.

Yes, child training is LONG, it is HARD, it is INCONVENIENT, it is EXHAUSTING and it is seriously TIME CONSUMING. But it only lasts for a season and then our work is done. We will have done all that we could (with where we were and what we knew) in the time we had. "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher." My goal is that, after my children are as fully trained as I am able to do, that they will be like me WHEN I AM BEING LIKE JESUS.

Child Training Tips From Proverbs

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:36:39 GMT

Kevin has been going through Proverbs in our Sunday School class and this past week he focused on child training. I thought I would just share here the list of Proverbs he shared in class.

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PROVERBS, Child training - Summer, 2009

Seeking wisdom from parents
1:8-9, 2:1-5, 3:1-2ff, 4:1-5, 4:10-13, 5:1-2, 5:7, 6:20-23, 7:1-4, 7:24, 23:15-16,19,22-26 (he didn't write these out, but read through them all one after another - they speak very powerfully)

13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline,
But he who regards reproof is sensible.

19:27 Cease listening, my son, to discipline
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Cursing parents
20:20 He who curses his father or his mother,
His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

28:24 He who robs his father or his mother
And says, “It is not a transgression,”
Is the companion of a man who destroys.

30:11,17 There is a kind of man who curses his father (“kind” might be generation)
And does not bless his mother …
The eye that mocks a father
And scorns a mother, (“scorns”:literally, despises to obey)
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

Disciplining children
3:11-12 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD
Or loathe his reproof,
For whom the LORD loves he reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

13:24 He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. (Literally, seeks him diligently with discipline)

19:18 Discipline your son while there is hope,
And do not desire his death.

22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, (Literally, according to his way)
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

23:13-14 Do not hold back discipline from the child.
Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
You shall strike him with the rod,
And rescue his soul from Sheol.

29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,
But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.
(“gets his own way”: literally, left to himself)

29:17 Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;
He will also delight your soul.

Foolish sons grieve the parents
10:1bc A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

15:20 A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man despises his mother.

17:25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
And bitterness to her who bore him.

17:21 He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.

19:13a A foolish son is destruction to his father…

19:26 He who assaults his father and drives his mother away
Is a shameful and disgraceful son.
Specific examples of being wise / foolish: 10:5 (diligence), 28:7 (gluttony), 29:3 (self-control)

Righteousness leads to blessing on parenting
13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

14:26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
And his children will have refuge.

15:27 He who profits illicitly troubles his own house …

17:26 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

The special bond between sons and fathers
17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the glory of sons is their fathers.

20:29 The glory of young men is their strength,
And the honor of old men is their gray hair.

23:15-16 My son, if your heart is wise,
My own heart also will be glad;
And my inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak what is right.

23:24-25 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

27:11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
That I may reply to him who reproaches me.

Slaves/servants
17:2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

29:19,21 A slave will not be instructed by words alone,
For though he understands, there will be no response …
He who pampers his slave from childhood
Will in the end find him to be a son.

OH NO! My nails ARE orange!!!

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:31:12 GMT

I was invited by a friend yesterday to go on a Pampering Spa Time. I got a facial massage (very relaxing and refreshing...really enjoyed that one), a manicure and a pedicure. The hot wax/parafin thing was WAAAAY cool (well, it was quite hot actually, but ... you know what I mean) and made my aging alligator skin feel soft and shiny (no wait, hair gets soft and shiny, not skin ... well and I don't have hair, so that is a moot point ... anyway) and young again!

But then I had to choose the COLOR for my nails and I never really like nail polish on short finger nails. It makes me feel like I look like Herman Munster. So I picked what *I* thought was a light, fairly neutral color. Today, my daughter and my girlfriend Julia and I went to a play to see "The Wedding Singer" and on the drive Julia said my finger nails were orange. ORANGE!!! I said, "Oh no! They are salmon!" She chuckled and said they were orange, and that wasn't salmon an orange color anyway? We discussed it and she accepted it was peach.

In church tonight, under the florescent lights THEY WERE ORANGE!!!!! My girls said they were peach, one said: orange-ish. OH NO!!! I have ORANGE finger nails! That's almost as bad as looking like Herman Munster!

Well, tomorrow this polish is coming off and a soft tan color will replace it. I knew getting a manicure was a mistake. I can't even tell orange from salmon from pink-ish. Sheesh! Who said being a female was easy????

Menu Planning Monday

Mon, 18 May 2009 17:46:36 GMT

Well, I haven't done THIS in a long time...I guess it's time to do a little planning!!

Monday:
B: donuts
L: sandwiches (lunchmeat)
S: emerald rice bake

Tuesday:
B: french toast
L: muffins & rice
S: tacos/taco salad

Wednesday:
B: cream of wheat
L: fish sticks/veggies
S: quiche (bacon & broccoli)

Thursday:
B: pancakes
L: quesidillas & carrot sticks
S: pasta w/marinara sauce

Friday:
B: waffles
L: cornbread & rice
S: pizza (homemade)

Saturday:
B: oatmeal
L: english muffin pizzas
S: sloppy joes

Sunday:
B: muffins (various)
L: mac & cheese
S: left overs/cereal