Frugal living: Dry Milk
28 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
I have a childhood memory of getting ready for school and having to drink or eat cereal with reconstituted dry milk. I’m not a big milk fan anyway and for some reason, I thought the dry milk was the most awful thing in the world. As an adult now, I enjoy the convenience of not having to go out for milk all the time. I buy big boxes of dry milk. I don’t drink it by itself but I have learned to use it in my cereal.
I use reconstituted dry milk for baking, making sauces and any recipes. My most recent purchase of dry milk was a huge box of Carnation for $6.00 at the discount grocery store. I also use it for milk shakes. I found Carnation Instant Breakfast at the discount grocery for $1.50. That adds more vitamins, fiber and protein. I mixed ice, milk and Carnation Instant Breakfast in the blender for me and the big boys. They thought it tasted like Chick-fil-a milkshakes. That’s pretty good. And a much more inexpensive option.
Basic White Sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I’ve also used half garfava flour and half potato starch or rice flour)
2 cups milk
Old dream vs. New dream
21 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
When I was young, I dreamed of a 40 acre farm with a big sturdy brick home with a courtyard, an outdoor kitchen and a pool. A huge barn was available to house all the animals that I wanted. It had lots of pasture, vineyards, orchards, and vegetable/flower gardens. I was energy independent. I grew all my food. I made all my clothes from natural fibers. I had a huge homeschooling family with a dozen kids. And somehow the house was always clean and the money was never a problem.
Okay, you can stop laughing. Yes, I discovered a little thing called REALITY. It’s a harsh teacher.
My dream has changed a bit. I still would enjoy eventually being able to grow a good portion of my food. But I understand that it won’t happen in a single growing season. It will take years to cultivate and grow all the species of plants and animals needed to be self sustaining. And I know from books like 2 acre Eden and sites like Little Homestead in the City that you really don’t need a lot of land to do that.
I no longer want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. The two things that bring me the most enjoyment is herbs and yarn. So that is where my focus will be. I would love to have dozens of varieties of herbs that would provide me with infinite possibilities in cooking, crafts and medicinal purposes.
So instead of having animals for food with the exception of chickens for eggs, I would like to have fiber animals; angora rabbits, sheep, alpaca and goats. What we have will be depend upon how much land we have available. I’ve thought about goats for milk. I do love the personality of goats. But if I’m really honest with myself, I have to say that I do not like goat’s milk. I got spoiled on Jersey milk with its plentiful cream. So a milking animal is probably outside of the scheme of dreaming since I doubt we would be buying a plot of land big enough for a cow.
There are a lot of possibilities for fruit. You can buy dwarf trees if you live on a small plot. Blueberries don’t take up a whole lot of space. I would love to have dwarf citrus trees that I could bring outside in the summer and bring inside when it’s too cold. Espaliering will provide a great use of space. Slow and steady. Being willing to acquire the best species for the space over many years. It’s so easy to let perfection paralyze you. Not doing anything because you can’t get it all right immediately. Life takes time.
Edible landscaping is so fascinating to me. I don’t want your traditional garden in rows. I want a more cottage feel with lettuce nestled amongst pansies and carrots with the dianthus.
Four kids is enough noise and chaos for the moment. We could eventually end up with a dozen kids but it would be through adoption through the foster care system rather than biologically. My heart is really for autistic children that need an advocate and sibling groups that need a home where they can stay together.
My husband asked if I had become a city slicker and I have to say that I really want to live in or near a city if we buy a home. It’s probably influenced a lot by gas prices and how we like to spend time as a family. We enjoy sports, museums and zoos. I don’t want to have to drive hours to do those things.
I also would like to live close enough to a Catholic church so that I could attend Mass daily or at least several times a week. Mass is so spiritually nourishing and I would like to partake of it more often.
So when we get Mike’s new job assignment, I hope to find a place between a quarter of an acre to 6 acres. I would take the time to map out how I want to use the property and tackle it just a little bit at a time. We want to enjoy our home, not have it a constant work zone.
I want to have time for our family to volunteer wherever we are. It would even be neat if we had enough land to section off a community charity garden where the community could help in growing food to donate to ministries and families in need.
I don’t really think of my new dream as downsizing from the old dream. The old one would take a massive amount of work. I would like for our family to work on projects together but not spend all our time working. I’ve just made it more realistic based on limitations of money and time. More doable instead of stuck in my head never to see reality. Looking forward to it coming true.
Which path to choose
17 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
Our house is officially up for sale. It’s been offered to family first since it is on family land. It’s been a wonderful home. These walls have seen us bond with each one of our babies. It’s seen us through the ups and downs of married life. It’s a little sad to say goodbye.
So where are we saying “hello” to? We don’t know yet. There are a few options and we’re not sure which doors God will close and which will stay open. Very exciting! A little scary. We’ve been talking about things that we talked about when we were engaged. It’s a whole lot of fun to dream of the possibilities. To look at our lives as fresh slates, ready to be prioritized and written the way that fits our family.
I love that we automatically have a church no matter where we go. That provides a lot of stability to the change that’s coming.
There will be a lot of preparation in the months to come.
1) Davy – Our son with autism has recovered from a regression that occurred three months ago. We had done our best to prepare him for the changes that were going on but a couple of unexpected situations overwhelmed him and he shut down. We got him into karate and simplified our home life a bit and he’s recovered beautifully. His interaction has improved so much. Today, he introduced himself and his baby brother to a little girl at the dr’s office. He even asked her name. Last night, Katie Rose, our 2 yr old, was begging for more ice cream by saying, “Peeze, Peeze, Peeze.” Davy laughed, patted her head and said, “Don’t worry, you’re bigger than a pea.” Great example of an autistic person’s literal visual imagery but a super cute social interaction. A move could present another regression so it’s risky. That’s why we’re really thinking about where we would desire living the most so we would be more committed to staying in our chosen area. We’re also working with a behavioral therapist on strategies to help him with all sort of transitions.
2) Home inventory – Since I’m really close to having things decluttered, I’ve decided to make a home inventory like is required for some military moves. If I write something down, I’m making a conscience decision to keep it. I imagine there is still a few loads to carry to the thrift store ministry. Especially if it comes down to paying someone to move us, less is best.
3) Food stockpile – I’ve got about half a deep freeze to work through so I’m striving to think of one thing a day that I can use out of the freezer. I’ll also need to use all my dry goods and pare down my spices before the move.
4) Limited consumption – Be careful not to buy more than can be used up within a couple of months. It could be as much as a year for us to sell our home, start a new job, find a home and close on it. Look at using up as much personal care and cleaning products before then. So look for solutions in what we already have before buying an item.
5) Research, Research, Research – There are options in multiple states. So looking at taxes, homeschool laws, other school options in case there’ s a school that could provide a better education that they are getting at home, recreation options, and of course, houses. Lots to think about.
I really want us to go with an option that we choose rather than what is most easily available. But I think God has been preparing us for this. If we hadn’t been inspired to get rid of our monthly car and student loan bills, this move wouldn’t even be an option. So I’m sure the right choice will be the door that’s wide open.
It’s exciting to look for a house. There are a lot more options with the down housing market. Hoping to find a home in a great neighborhood that is a little out of date. We can add equity-building options like granite countertops, hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances over time.
I’m more excited than anything to own some dirt. We own our home here in Mississippi but we don’t own the land. And we may be in our 80′s before we would ever inherit it. I will love owning a piece of ground whether it’s a quarter of an acre or 6 acres.
Ready to find our American dream and start living it.
Why I love being Catholic – Mary
03 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
Mary is a tough subject for many Protestants. We really didn’t speak of her other than at Christmas time. The reality is that just as Jesus made us a way to the Father, so Mary through her willing obedience made a way for us to Jesus.
Do Catholics worship Mary? A resounding NO! If anyone tells you that, they are listening to the opinions of others rather than actually studying the teaching of the Church. Our devotion is due to the saints as our Christian brothers and sisters. Our highest devotion is due to Mary who was the first disciple and the first to give Jesus a place in her heart. Our worship and adoration goes only to The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit.
What is the Immaculate Conception? This is the belief that God prepared Mary from the very beginning to be a vessel worthy of carrying the King of Kings. So while, Mary was being formed in her mother’s womb, it was made possible for her to be born without the mark of Original Sin (the sin of Adam and Eve). This did not negate her free will. She could have sinned but because Gabriel said that she was full of grace, it is believed that she did not sin. Therefore making her a holy vessel consecrated for the task of carrying the Son of God. Now if she was perfect, why couldn’t she be the sacrifice for our sins. Because she was not God and therefore could not overcome death and become a sacrifice once and for all. Now many will quote Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But obviously not ALL have sinned because Jesus did not. Mary could also be an exception to that verse.
Was Mary always a virgin? Yes. To understand this, we need to look at the Old Testament and the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant could not be touched by man. A man tried to catch the Ark of the Covenant to prevent it from hitting the ground. God struck him dead. This angered David but it was a holy vessel carrying the Word of God. Mary is referred to as the New Ark. She is a holy vessel set apart to carry the Word made flesh. Therefore, no man could touch her.
What about references to Jesus’ brothers and sisters? Tradition says that Joseph was likely a widower and had children from his previous marriage. This would be plausible because the way that these siblings spoke to Jesus was with an elder manner. A younger sibling would not dare to speak to an older sibling in such a way. Also, Jesus gave Mary to be John’s mother at the foot of the cross. John took her to his home. If she had other children, according to Jewish customs of that day, this action would have gotten her stoned to death. Jesus was a practicing Jew and would have known the consequences if there were other siblings to care for Mary after his death.
Is Mary the Queen of Heaven? In Revelations 12, there is a reference to the Queen of Heaven. Originally, it was thought that this referred to the Bride of Christ, The Church. This is why you will hear Catholics reference Mother Church. A secondary interpretation is that it refers to Mary. The other characters, Satan and Jesus, in this chapter are very obvious to the reader. Why would the mother of the male child not be literally His mother? It is also backed up by Jesus giving Mary as John’s mother. John was the only representative of the Church at the cross. So it is believed that Mary was given as Mother to the Church present and future.
This is also backed up by the Old Testament. When Solomon came to power, Bathsheba as Queen Mother heard the petitions of the people. The people knew that she had the King’s ear. Now does this mean that any of those people couldn’t go straight to Solomon? No, nor does this mean that we can’t go straight to Jesus. However, we know that Mary knows our Lord better than we ever could and obviously from the Wedding of Cana, even when it’s not a matter of eternal significance, Jesus listens to his mother. And she will always tell us as she did the servants that day, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now to the rosary. The rosary is a set of prayers. At first glance, it looks ridiculous. What is the purpose of saying Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be over and over again? Does that get God’s attention? But that’s not all the rosary is. The Rosary is set to mysteries or parts of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death and glorious victory. The prayers are simple and repetitive to allow us to stay focused in meditating on the life of Christ. It’s not easy. It’s a real discipline. But if the Bible is ever lost, those who know how to pray the rosary will have no problem keeping the faith because the entire Gospel is present in the rosary.
I decided to start praying the rosary but I didn’t know anyone that was Catholic or where to get rosary beads to help me count the prayers. You could easily just use your fingers, I know now. But I found a pattern online to crochet a set of rosary beads. So I did it. After three days, I told my husband that I was a closet Catholic. I was too far gone now. I have heard since of others that have had the same experience. Our Lady draws us to our Our Lord in a way you cannot humanly imagine. It’s so powerful.
The devil was still trying to plant doubt in my mind and I really struggled with how God viewed the rosary when my daughter had to have tubes in her ears. Our boys had tubes so we knew what to expect but it looked to be an awful day. Thunderstorms were predicted with certainty on the almost two hour trip there and back. Well I prayed the rosary on the way there and I asked for God to prove if this was right or wrong. It only drizzled rain on the trip to the surgery center. When we got there, all the other children were screaming their heads off but Katie Rose was calm. Her doctor was bragging on her. She came out of the surgery and was still very calm. It was beautiful sunshine on the way home and that afternoon you would have never guessed that she had gone through surgery that morning. I will never doubt the power of the rosary. It is a spiritual weapon. It makes us more like Christ because we can meditate on 200 aspects of his life over the course of a week of praying the rosary. It obviously scares the devil to no end because he knows that we will be more able to avoid his snares when our hearts are fixed on Christ.
Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion and misconceptions regarding Mary.
Why I love being Catholic – Infant Baptism, Purgatory and the Eucharist
02 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
The Anabaptists came along in Europe in the 16th century and began telling people that if you were baptized as an infant, it didn’t count and you must be baptized again. The assumption is that we have to make a decision to follow Christ and then he can wash away our sins in the waters of baptism. Today, it’s taken a step further and said that baptism is simply symbolic and an act of obedience rather than there being any power in the process.
I love that the Catholic Church accepts baptisms done in Protestant churches as long as they use the Trinitarian formula. Saying, I baptize you in the name of The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit. The power in baptism comes from above.
We are all born into sin. Catholics say that we have the mark of Original Sin (the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) passed onto us. This is what is washed away during infant baptism. It doesn’t prevent us from sinning in the future. But hopefully the grace passed through the sacraments of baptism and eventually the Eucharist and Reconciliation will give our children the strength to resist temptation.
In the New Testament, whole households were baptized. It’s very likely that infants and young children would be in these households. Also, if Jehovah saw fit to enter into a covenant with 8 day old Jewish boys, then I’m sure that he can have an influence on Christian children from the very beginning as well.
The Baptist view is that we have to wait til they are old enough to understand and make their own decision. But seriously, what elementary age child would dare to question what his parents, teachers and pastor tells them? They won’t. They believe it because we say it’s true. Waiting til high school for Catholic children to make their decision makes more sense. They’re old enough to try other churches, investigate the faith more deeply and arrive at a decision of their own choosing.
******
Purgatory is simply purification for the wedding feast. How long does it last? Only God knows. The important thing is to acknowledge that God is holy and sin cannot enter His presence. So it is motivation to participate in Reconciliation and examine our conscience every night and at Mass. Continually asking God’s forgiveness knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And doing penance (denying ourselves of earthly pleasures and convenience) to overcome the habits of sin that we fall into.
******
The Eucharist is the bread and wine that by the power of the Holy Spirit become the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Savior Jesus Christ. Eucharist means thanksgiving. Now at first, it sounds a little gross that we would think about drinking blood and eating flesh. But this is just what Jesus told us to do in John 6.
So Jesus said to them, ”Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
The people didn’t understand and many followers left that day. They thought that he was speaking of cannibalism. Jesus even asks his disciples if they are going to leave him too. You gotta love Peter’s response.
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.69 We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Then Jesus gives them the Last Supper and clearly states how we are to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ”Take, eat; this is My body.”27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ”Drink from it, all of you;28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins
And then after His resurrection, he sees the two walking to Emmaus and breaks bread with them.
Luke 24:30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
I believe it was Scott Hahn that spoke about Jesus vanishing because His presence was now with them in the Bread. His physical presence was no longer needed but He had made a way to be with them and nourish them from Heaven.
If there was no other reason to be Catholic, the Eucharist would be worth it all. A billion-plus people all over the world coming to the altar for more of Jesus every single day in the same manner that has been done for 2000 years.
Why I love being Catholic – Communion of the Saints
30 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Scripture
What is a saint? In one sense, saint refers to every Christian. On a grander scale, a saint (in the Catholic Church) is someone who has died, who has been rigorously investigated to uncover their merits for becoming a saint and there must be two miracles attributed to their intercession. For example, we were told about John Paul II who is no doubt one of the great saints, but who is now simply a Blessed because he only has one miracle that has been investigated as true. A nun who had Parkinson’s (which John Paul II also suffered from) asked for John Paul II’s intercession and was healed. This was investigated by doctors to determine that it was a true healing rather than a temporary thing.
Do saints have any power? Saints can only intercede for us. We ask for their prayers just as we would ask for prayers at church. It doesn’t mean that we can’t go to Jesus directly and we should pray to Jesus along with our prayers for intercession. For me, it is like a big supernatural prayer meeting.
But how can dead people hear our prayers? Because they have everlasting life. And the Bible tells us that there is a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us(Hebrews 12:1. I’m sure they are cheering us on. I’m sure they ache when we ache and rejoice when we rejoice.
The communion of saints really boils down to the definition of the Body of Christ. We sometimes hear a church referred to as a body of believers. This can be somewhat deceiving in that you have all this little groups connected to Christ. But really there is only ONE Body of Christ. There is only ONE Bride. Romans 12:5
There’s not a Baptist Body of Christ. There’s not a Methodist Body of Christ. There’s not a Presbyterian Body of Christ and so on and so forth. Catholic would be the most accurate description because Catholic means universal. There’s not a dead Body of Christ and a living Body of Christ. There is only One Body made up of those who diligently seek Christ which includes Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalian, Presbyterian and whoever else that God’s mercy sees fit to reach.
There’s a skepticism in how the saints hear our prayers. Some say that our guardian angels carry messages. But it really is easily explained in Romans. We are connected to each other over time and space and even physical death.
The patron saint that I chose for confirmation is Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was the first American born saint. She was a mother of five. She started schools for girls. She converted to Catholicism and received a lot of flack for it from her family. She and I have similar paths and when I ask for her intercession, I know that she knows just what to ask Jesus for because she knows what I need in my life.
One of my first prayers for intercession was to St. Augustine and St. Monica. I asked for their intercession for my brother and my mom. St Augustine tried every heresy he could and was a pretty shady character for the first part of his life. His mother, St Monica, prayed diligently for him and his conversion is attributed to her. I prayed this on a Monday. I told the story to my mom on Wednesday. My brother was back home to help take care of his kids on Friday. There is no doubt in my mind that it was their intercession that made it possible.
I also feel a connection to St Ann and St Martha. St Ann is Mary’s mother. She must have been an incredible mother and homemaker to raise a young woman like Mary that would be deemed worthy to carry our Lord. St Martha got overwhelmed with her household duties and had to be reminded about what is most important. But she epitomizes what it means to be hospitable.
I love the stories of the saints. There are many that have been surrounded by legends like St Patrick and St George. But they are better than any fairy tale or myth that we read to our children. There’s always something to help us build virtue and encouragement to follow Christ more fully.
Even if you don’t feel comfortable asking for their intercession, learn more about the great Christians in our past. I read a lot of Christian books but I really didn’t know much about Christians besides those in the past 200 years. There is a wealth of Christian examples in every century.
Why I love being Catholic – Are we guaranteed salvation?
23 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Scripture
My husband and I were received into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil this year. It was a special day. Since then I’ve answered questions that some have asked and learned of others that are learning more about our heritage of faith. I didn’t want to start an apologetic series because I don’t want to appear to be trying to start an argument. But I think I should share the reasons that convinced me that the Catholic Church has the soundest doctrine that I’ve found.
Let me start with an important question. If you are not Catholic, it does not necessarily mean that you are not going to heaven. Vatican II addressed that. God’s mercy and grace is limitless. So nothing that I say here is to convince anyone to become Catholic to be “saved.”
My journey began about 4 years ago. I was working overnight at Walmart and developed friendships with African foreign students who were also Christians. We had a lot of great discussions at lunch and break. One night, I was asked, “Do you believe in Once-saved, Always-saved?” Being the good Baptist girl that I was, I answered, “Of course.” He went on to explain about his father-in-law. This man had been “saved” and a great leader of the faithful in their village. Then a dramatic change occurred and this man took more wives, renounced his faith and railed against God. How would God take him to heaven against his will? I had to admit that I didn’t have an answer.
Fast forward two and a half years and I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to join a challenge to read the Bible in 90 days. I really learned a lot about where my beliefs were addressed in Scripture. But one part bothered me. I could not figure out how Once-saved, Always-saved was defended. So many verses spoke of our obligation to keep the commandments, be holy and Jesus said to even be perfect. A sinner’s prayer in no way accomplished what these verses demanded. Romans 8:38 speaks of what all is incapable of separating us from the love of God. But one thing is not addressed……free will.
I ended up speaking to two different pastors about this. One said that he didn’t like the sound of Once Saved Always Saved because of the implication that it’s a “Get-out-of-hell-free” card and we can do whatever we want. So he referred to how God’s sheep know his voice and follow him (John 10:27). So those who are really saved, will do what is right and those who don’t do what is right, were never really saved in the first place. Ok, so how do you know that you were really saved? We’ll answer that a little later.
The other pastor said that he couldn’t believe that when he was drinking and doing drugs, that he might have gone to hell. So he adamently defended eternal salvation. I asked for an explanation of Matthew 26 and how the righteous would be judged by works and the results were eternal life or eternal damnation. How can a sinner’s prayer cover that requirement? His response was that those who didn’t do the good works were hypocrites. Ok, so how do you know that you are not a hypocrite?
So both pastors acknowledged the necessity of good works and moral living. They would call it fruit rather than a requirement for salvation, but does it really matter? It’s necessary, either way. To answer these two questions of the previous two paragraphs, we have to judge our heart. But how can we do that when Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things. This idea that we can judge ourselves has spilled over into convincing us of our right to judge everyone else. Which is why people run from religion. Too many self-righteous hypocrites (of which I have been one) convinced that they know all that is right and not. Failing to see the mystery in how God works in the heart of man and the need for continued conversion.
This also results in the terrible treatment of our family and friends. If God has to put up with whatever we do, then our spouses, children, parents and others have to accept whatever we do. That is what we’ve turned love into – unconditional acceptance of sinful behavior. Even demanding participation in sinful behavior as a requirement for certain relationships. And this is what is happening in our churches and Christian families. True love doesn’t rejoice in wrong-doing as we are told 1 Corinthians 13. True love gives of it’s best – our lambs without blemish. If we can’t bring ourselves to give that to God, then how could we possibly give of ourselves to any other human being.
The Catholic faith teaches about continued conversion. The life of a Christian is a call to DAILY pick up the cross and follow Jesus. Faith, baptism, communion, repentance and following the commandments are all necessary for salvation (our Christian walk). We know that we serve a compassionate and merciful God that longs to welcome us into his presence. But He is the One True Judge of the fate of our souls. Salvation is a gift not a guarantee. We have our free will to use it or dispose of it how we choose.
So No One Notices
26 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
I’m saying this resolution every morning as an effort to make these words of wisdom part of my character. Several of them make me say, “Ouch!” because of how closely they hit home. Today I’m gonna share my thoughts on #7
Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.
Yesterday, we were walking and one of the boys stepped on my heel. Now normally, I would have said, “Owww!” and turned around to warn them to watch where they were going. But a voice in my head said, “Make sure no one notices.” Now a scraped heel is nothing. But it got me thinking about how we want people to know how much they hurt us.
Now let’s review reality for a second. If we interact with other human beings, we’re gonna get hurt. And we’re gonna deal out our own share of hurts. We are fallen human beings. We misunderstand. We prioritize our lives wrong. We are selfish. And we all hurt the ones we love.
So what comes from making sure the other person knows they hurt us? Maybe we want them to feel guilty. Maybe we want them to feel like they owe us. Maybe we want to vent our frustrations and man, they are just the person that deserves to hear it. Maybe those are some of the many possible reasons but deep down, I think we just want the hurt healed.
So what will heal the hurt? An apology? Now a good heart-felt apology can go a long ways towards restoring a relationship. But just as kissing my kids boo boo doesn’t really heal their physical hurt, an apology doesn’t really heal an emotional hurt. In fact, most aspects of our relationships will not change in any way after an apology. Because we’re still the same people after as we were before.
The moment when relationships change for the better is in my experience when we make the decision like we did with our son’s autism. To say if this is as good as it is going to get, we’ll be ok. We love you. We’ll stand with you. We’ll forgive you. Because our Savior’s love is enough to cover all our weaknesses.
The only way to heal our hurts is to take it to our Great Physician and Healer in Jesus Christ. He’s waiting for us to bring all our burdens to Him and He’s the only one with the power to heal them. So making sure no one notices saves our relationships from the unproductive confrontations, stress and time wasted looking for healing where it can’t be found.
So that’s my thoughts. My prayer is that God empowers me to put these resolutions to practice in my life on a daily basis.
Review – Scripture Typer
12 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Bible
I LOVE this website! I found this site from a blog post comment last night and I have been on it every chance I get since. I’ve added over 50 verses that I already had memorized and have added other passages that I want to finish memorizing. I’ve been memorizing Scripture since I was 5 yrs old. This site really gives it a fresh new perspective.
I like the ranking system. I have a bit of a competitive spirit and it’s motivating to try to work towards the top 100 or top 10. The top person has almost 2000 Scriptures memorized. WOW!
I love the typing. I am definitely a kinesthetic learner. Some people learn best by seeing or hearing. I learn best by doing. So typing the verses are helping to solidify them in my heart.
I set up the boys with a verse that they already knew. It’s a little slow for them because they still hunt and peck on the keyboard. It will be a great way to teach good typing skills as well as expand on the Scripture they’ve memorized.
Not Super-Mom
09 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized
I’m working on a fundraiser for St Jude so I needed the networking abilities of Facebook. So I’m spending the remainder of Lent giving up TV/Netflix. Still keeping away from Facebook games as well.
Had to go to the hospital yesterday and admit that I’m not Super-mom. Doctor’s orders are simply to get more rest. It’s hard to let things go and worry about catching up later. Especially after I have drilled it into my head that it is easier to keep up than catch up. And I hate to have the focus on my needs when Lent is supposed to be about denying self. But of course, there is a reason that nursing moms are not required to fast and abstain from meat.
How do you balance everything with a new baby and not have too much fall through the cracks?
The garden isn’t going to be added to until after Easter. Shouldn’t have to tend too much to what is already planted other than making sure they don’t get too dry.
No organization projects til May no matter how desperately needed.
The only activities outside home need to be limited to church and karate. And coordinate any other errands with those outings.
Try to keep meals as simple as possible but cooking for more than one meal at a time to have leftovers as much as possible. I have a turkey to cook for Sunday. A big job but able to get lots of leftovers from the efforts.
Sundays are for attending Mass and sleep. Take literally the day of rest.
My older boys are 8 and 7. My 7 yr old really wants the video of Robin Good and his not-so-merry men by Veggie Tales. So I’ve given them a list of ten activities to do every day. Five chores and five school activities that they earn 10 cents each for. I would normally help with picking up and putting away, taking out the trash and cleaning the table but delegating those responsibilites allows me to focus on dishes and laundry. That’ll keep things from getting too messy.
So my job is simply baby, meals, sleep, dishes and laundry. Maybe writing it down will help me stick to it.
