Sometimes I struggle with keeping my eyes on the Lord and my ears on His voice, and I find myself unintentionally listening to the voice of the enemy. I love my job, I really do. But sometimes the thoughts that go through my head could make one wonder! I'll be having a perfectly fine morning, when suddenly the thoughts going through my head will sound something like this:
"Nobody cares how hard I work around here...I'm everyone's servant...everyone else in this house has their meals cooked for them and handed to them...I always eat last if I even eat at all!...I wish someone would cook me breakfast for a change"....and on and on and on...
Sometimes I won't even realize that I'm thinking these things. I'll listen to one voice, let satan get his grimy hooks into me, and then BOOM my thoughts are on a roll, my attitudes stink, and I'm far, far away from where the Lord wants my heart to be! Does this ever happen to you? I'm sure I can't be the only one!
The fact of the matter is that we are all called to be servants, but even more greatly so in the calling of wife and mother! I am called to a life of sacrifice. To be honest, I love this calling, AS LONG AS I constantly listen to the voice of the Lord. As long as I listen to His voice, my heart stays where it should: meek, humble, willing to lay my life down for others, as Jesus did. Contrary to what the world says, we have no RIGHTS. Jesus gave up all of His rights, and we are called to walk as Jesus walked.
Be very careful. Don't listen to the voice of the enemy that is always there, trying to taunt you and pull you into an attitude of self-pity. Listen to the voice of Jesus and walk in His steps. When I do this, my thoughts stay more along these lines:
"I love my life. I am so blessed to be able to serve breakfast to my husband and children. I'm so grateful and I love serving them. Thank you Jesus for this privilege that you gave me!"
Every thought we have is a choice. You can choose good or you can choose evil. You can choose fear or you can choose peace. You can choose anger or you can choose joy. You can listen to Jesus or you can listen to satan.
Who will you listen to today?
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Menu Plan Sunday
Happy Sunday, Ladies! I haven't been blogging much lately due to the fact that I have been completely overwhelmed with things to get done. Lots of garden work, trying to wrap up this year's homeschooling, planning out next year's homeschooling, projects projects projects around the house, Abby's birthday party next weekend, Andrew's two weeks after that, getting my high schooler's homeschool stuff organized....plus all the regular work topped off by a teething toddler! Phew! I was starting to feel like I was going to fall apart, and prayed about what may be causing this. The Lord's answer was that I'm being "Martha Martha". I tried arguing back to the Lord, explaining that all of these things that I'm doing MUST be done and that I need to do my job well, for HIM. He reminded me that yes, I have much to get done, but I'm putting my focus on that ahead of "the better thing" that Mary chose: my relationship with Him and my relationships with my husband and children...and just being...THESE things are priority over all the other things that must be done. And so today I am kicking back, and leisurely working on homeschool planning and organizing, and leaving bigger projects for tomorrow. I'm feeling refreshed already!
One more thing that the Lord showed me...I was being bogged down by STUFF. I had a well-meaning relative give me a TON of stuff recently that I really don't need (or want). I have it piled all over waiting to be organized. It hit me today....throw it out! I don't need it--it's just bogging me down. That decision lifted a huge weight off my shoulders! I do not do well with a lot of stuff. It creates mess, and it's just unnecessary. I prefer simplicity, thank you very much!
Okay, on to this week's menu!
Saturday--Burritos
Sunday--Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, corn
Monday---Chicken parmesan, baked potatoes, green beans
Tuesday--Tacos, Spanish rice
Wednesday--French dip, coleslaw
Thursday--BBQ Meatballs, roasted potatoes with garlic and parmesan, mixed veggies
Friday--Black Beans and rice, cornbread
One more thing that the Lord showed me...I was being bogged down by STUFF. I had a well-meaning relative give me a TON of stuff recently that I really don't need (or want). I have it piled all over waiting to be organized. It hit me today....throw it out! I don't need it--it's just bogging me down. That decision lifted a huge weight off my shoulders! I do not do well with a lot of stuff. It creates mess, and it's just unnecessary. I prefer simplicity, thank you very much!
Okay, on to this week's menu!
Saturday--Burritos
Sunday--Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, corn
Monday---Chicken parmesan, baked potatoes, green beans
Tuesday--Tacos, Spanish rice
Wednesday--French dip, coleslaw
Thursday--BBQ Meatballs, roasted potatoes with garlic and parmesan, mixed veggies
Friday--Black Beans and rice, cornbread
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A Giveaway at Hearts Desire!
Giveaway at Hearts Desire
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Menu Plan Sunday
Happy Sunday to my wonderful readers! You are blessed to be able to serve your families meals...did you know that? It is a blessing and a joy. Here is what I will be serving my family for dinner this week:
Saturday--Pizza
Sunday--Whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans
Monday--Vegetable beef soup, cornbread
Tuesday--Fried sole, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli
Wednesday--Hearty chicken stew, biscuits
Thursday--Biscuit-topped beef pot pie, salad
Friday--Spaghetti, salad, bread
"Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:28-30
Saturday--Pizza
Sunday--Whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans
Monday--Vegetable beef soup, cornbread
Tuesday--Fried sole, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli
Wednesday--Hearty chicken stew, biscuits
Thursday--Biscuit-topped beef pot pie, salad
Friday--Spaghetti, salad, bread
"Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:28-30
Monday, May 9, 2011
Finally--an apron!
I know this may seem so silly, but I have wanted an apron for SO long! Finally I got one for my birthday this year. The funny thing is, the purpose of the apron is to protect my clothes, but I'm finding myself not wanting to put it on because I don't want to get it dirty! So silly!! But it is pretty and feminine, and I really love it.
I also keep forgetting to post pictures of my precious little Adam's 1st birthday. I can hardly believe that it's been a year! He is growing way, way too fast. I feel like he went from baby to little boy overnight. I'm really hoping the Lord chooses to bless us with another little one sometime! Here are some pictures of him:
Isn't he adorable?
In other news, Annamarie got her top braces off today!
She went from this:
To this:
To this:
My how she is growing!
Blessings to you and your family!
I also keep forgetting to post pictures of my precious little Adam's 1st birthday. I can hardly believe that it's been a year! He is growing way, way too fast. I feel like he went from baby to little boy overnight. I'm really hoping the Lord chooses to bless us with another little one sometime! Here are some pictures of him:
Isn't he adorable?
In other news, Annamarie got her top braces off today!
She went from this:
My how she is growing!
Blessings to you and your family!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Blaspheming the Word of God???
Titus 2:4-5-"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
I am very saddened by the fact that the majority of the population today do not understand this concept. The saddest part is that this includes a lot of the church. I was led to a website the other day, that is a "christian" website. I got a postcard in the mail advertising it, and something did not sit right with me when I read it, so I went there to check it out. It is called CBE international, which stands for Christians for Biblical Equality. The whole website is dedicated to teaching that the Bible does NOT teach that the man is the head of the home, and that women do NOT have to submit to their husbands. Blech. The Bible DOES clearly teach this, and there is no way around it! I posted a couple of comments on the website refuting what they were saying, and their arguments back to me made no sense.
Anyway, my purpose of this post is not to bash that website. My purpose is to refute the lie of feminism. That's what it is...a lie straight from the enemy. A lie that has permeated the church and they don't even realize it. A lie that the enemy is continually using to destroy generations and tear down families. You see, year after year children are being born into this era of feminism, and raised up believing that it is the just the way things are done, because they don't know any better, because they weren't raised to believe differently. People don't realize that things used to be so different! God's original design for men and women was for the man to lead the home and be the provider, and the woman to keep the home and care for the children, with her first and foremost responsibility to be her husband's helpmeet. Don't believe me? Let's examine scripture...
Read Genesis 2. Take note of the following:
1) The man is the head of the woman. The word "head" in this verse comes from the greek word kephale, which means "the top, the superior". People have tried to argue that "head" in this verse means something different, but it does not. You have to go to the original greek, and here it is very clear what this word means.
2) Woman was created for man, not man for woman. We are our husband's helpers, placed in his life to help him with what he needs. He has not been placed in our lives as our helpers. Okay don't get mad! (I know some women are!) This doesn't mean that he never helps us, of course! But what it does mean is that we should be focused on what WE can do to help HIM...every day. It should constantly be at the front of our minds. Forget about how he can help you. Really! If you are in full submission to God by fulling submitting to your husband and focusing on being his helper, the Lord will bless you and you will be amazed by how well everything flows within your household!
More verses to read:
Ephesians 5:22-24: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
How much clearer can the Word get? There's no getting around it! And it's still mentioned elsewhere in scripture...
Colossians 3:18- "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. " The meaning of the word "submit" in the original greek is "to place in an orderly fashion under".
1 Peter 3: 1, 5- "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives....For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."
And now we're back to this verse:
Titus 2:4-5-"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
Wait a second...did you just read that last verse? Do you realize what it said? If we are NOT doing these things...being a keeper at home and obeying our husbands...we are blaspheming the Word of God! I don't think people realize the heaviness of this verse. I think it gets skimmed over and not really studied. That is huge--we don't want to blaspheme the Word of God.
Definition of blaspheme in the dictionary:
1. to speak impiously or irreverently of (God or sacred things).
2. to speak evil of; slander; abuse.
Ouch. Think on that one for awhile. I don't want to be guilty of such a thing, do you???
Ladies, let's obey the Word of God. We need to take it seriously. God has a plan and a purpose for women and I am so excited to be a part of it! I love my job! It's an honor to be a helpmeet to my husband, to submit to him, to stay home and be a keeper (or "watchman")of my home and care for my children. There is no place better! I do it out of obedience to my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I will have to give an account someday.
I'd like to also add on here a link to another dear lady's blog, who wrote a great post on being a keeper at home:
http://blessingsamany.blogspot.com/2011/04/keepers-at-home.html
God bless you all as you bless your families!
I am very saddened by the fact that the majority of the population today do not understand this concept. The saddest part is that this includes a lot of the church. I was led to a website the other day, that is a "christian" website. I got a postcard in the mail advertising it, and something did not sit right with me when I read it, so I went there to check it out. It is called CBE international, which stands for Christians for Biblical Equality. The whole website is dedicated to teaching that the Bible does NOT teach that the man is the head of the home, and that women do NOT have to submit to their husbands. Blech. The Bible DOES clearly teach this, and there is no way around it! I posted a couple of comments on the website refuting what they were saying, and their arguments back to me made no sense.
Anyway, my purpose of this post is not to bash that website. My purpose is to refute the lie of feminism. That's what it is...a lie straight from the enemy. A lie that has permeated the church and they don't even realize it. A lie that the enemy is continually using to destroy generations and tear down families. You see, year after year children are being born into this era of feminism, and raised up believing that it is the just the way things are done, because they don't know any better, because they weren't raised to believe differently. People don't realize that things used to be so different! God's original design for men and women was for the man to lead the home and be the provider, and the woman to keep the home and care for the children, with her first and foremost responsibility to be her husband's helpmeet. Don't believe me? Let's examine scripture...
Read Genesis 2. Take note of the following:
- God created man first. It doesn't say that He created man and woman of the dust of the ground. It says, God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Just man. Woman has not been created yet. (verse 7)
- Then God planted the garden, and he place MAN in there to cultivate and keep it. He has given man a job. Woman is still not there yet. ( verses 8, 15)
- Then God says it is not good for the man to be alone, and that he will make him a help meet for him.
- God then forms woman out of the man's rib. Woman is created from man to be a helper to him. God already gave man a job before woman arrived, and woman is created as his helpmeet.
1) The man is the head of the woman. The word "head" in this verse comes from the greek word kephale, which means "the top, the superior". People have tried to argue that "head" in this verse means something different, but it does not. You have to go to the original greek, and here it is very clear what this word means.
2) Woman was created for man, not man for woman. We are our husband's helpers, placed in his life to help him with what he needs. He has not been placed in our lives as our helpers. Okay don't get mad! (I know some women are!) This doesn't mean that he never helps us, of course! But what it does mean is that we should be focused on what WE can do to help HIM...every day. It should constantly be at the front of our minds. Forget about how he can help you. Really! If you are in full submission to God by fulling submitting to your husband and focusing on being his helper, the Lord will bless you and you will be amazed by how well everything flows within your household!
More verses to read:
Ephesians 5:22-24: "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
How much clearer can the Word get? There's no getting around it! And it's still mentioned elsewhere in scripture...
Colossians 3:18- "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. " The meaning of the word "submit" in the original greek is "to place in an orderly fashion under".
1 Peter 3: 1, 5- "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives....For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."
And now we're back to this verse:
Titus 2:4-5-"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
Wait a second...did you just read that last verse? Do you realize what it said? If we are NOT doing these things...being a keeper at home and obeying our husbands...we are blaspheming the Word of God! I don't think people realize the heaviness of this verse. I think it gets skimmed over and not really studied. That is huge--we don't want to blaspheme the Word of God.
Definition of blaspheme in the dictionary:
1. to speak impiously or irreverently of (God or sacred things).
2. to speak evil of; slander; abuse.
Ouch. Think on that one for awhile. I don't want to be guilty of such a thing, do you???
Ladies, let's obey the Word of God. We need to take it seriously. God has a plan and a purpose for women and I am so excited to be a part of it! I love my job! It's an honor to be a helpmeet to my husband, to submit to him, to stay home and be a keeper (or "watchman")of my home and care for my children. There is no place better! I do it out of obedience to my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I will have to give an account someday.
I'd like to also add on here a link to another dear lady's blog, who wrote a great post on being a keeper at home:
http://blessingsamany.blogspot.com/2011/04/keepers-at-home.html
God bless you all as you bless your families!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Menu Plan Sunday...er,Monday....
Phew...with Easter AND my birthday yesterday, I got a little behind! Here is my dinner menu for this week, and I decided to include breakfast also. I have lots of leftover ham that I'm working into both meals this week! Lunch is a rotation of different kinds of sandwiches, nachos, macaroni and cheese, etc.
Sunday:
breakfast-- Easter breakfast @ church
dinner--Ham, baked potatoes, praline yams, corn
Monday:
breakfast--scrambled eggs, ham, hash browns, toast
dinner---split pea soup, bread, baked potatoes
Tuesday:
breakfast--cereal, toast, applesauce (have to get out the door for orthodontist appt!)
dinner--Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans
Wednesday:
breakfast---breakfast casserole, chocolate coconut muffins
dinner--ham & bean soup, cornbread, salad
Thursday:
breakfast--waffles, ham, hash browns
dinner--chicken a la king, biscuits, salad
Friday:
breakfast---quiche, coffee cake, roasted potatoes
dinner--black beans & rice, corn
Saturday:
breakfast--pancakes, fried eggs, ham
dinner--beef stew, biscuits, salad
Blessings to you!!
Sunday:
breakfast-- Easter breakfast @ church
dinner--Ham, baked potatoes, praline yams, corn
Monday:
breakfast--scrambled eggs, ham, hash browns, toast
dinner---split pea soup, bread, baked potatoes
Tuesday:
breakfast--cereal, toast, applesauce (have to get out the door for orthodontist appt!)
dinner--Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, green beans
Wednesday:
breakfast---breakfast casserole, chocolate coconut muffins
dinner--ham & bean soup, cornbread, salad
Thursday:
breakfast--waffles, ham, hash browns
dinner--chicken a la king, biscuits, salad
Friday:
breakfast---quiche, coffee cake, roasted potatoes
dinner--black beans & rice, corn
Saturday:
breakfast--pancakes, fried eggs, ham
dinner--beef stew, biscuits, salad
Blessings to you!!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Letting Go of "Me"
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
So many people are searching after "fulfillment". "I have goals", "I have dreams", "I want to do this and that", "when is this going to happen for me?", "why isn't my life going the way I want it to?" Wellll....newsflash...we are not on earth for ourselves! We have died (Gal. 2:20) and we are vessels walking around this earth, filled with the Holy Spirit, here on earth to fulfill God's purposes. There is no "I" in that. It is "HE"!
Recently God revealed something to me that hit me over the head like a ton of bricks! For so many years, I looked at my children as something that God had given me in order to fulfill something in MYSELF. I kept looking at them, thinking they needed to do this and that, and act such-and-such a way, because that was my plan. One day, the Lord spoke very clearly to me, telling me that He did not give me children so they could meet some needs of mine. He gave me children for Him, for me to love and raise for His sake and His glory, to raise them up and train them in His ways. He has a purpose for them! They are HIS kids that are being entrusted into my care, and I need to be obedient in my calling. Wow! I have not been the same since that revelation, let me tell you. I look at everything very differently now. My kids are not about ME....they are about HIM. Now I get up every day thinking, "what does God want me to teach my kids today...what is in HIS plan for my day?" This is so freeing! There is no longer such stress in my days. I am totally at peace, having surrendered to Jesus, and constantly looking to Him for leading in my days. I'm not continually searching for that elusive "fulfillment". Because, true fulfillment lies in dying to self and surrending to Jesus.
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
So many people are searching after "fulfillment". "I have goals", "I have dreams", "I want to do this and that", "when is this going to happen for me?", "why isn't my life going the way I want it to?" Wellll....newsflash...we are not on earth for ourselves! We have died (Gal. 2:20) and we are vessels walking around this earth, filled with the Holy Spirit, here on earth to fulfill God's purposes. There is no "I" in that. It is "HE"!
Recently God revealed something to me that hit me over the head like a ton of bricks! For so many years, I looked at my children as something that God had given me in order to fulfill something in MYSELF. I kept looking at them, thinking they needed to do this and that, and act such-and-such a way, because that was my plan. One day, the Lord spoke very clearly to me, telling me that He did not give me children so they could meet some needs of mine. He gave me children for Him, for me to love and raise for His sake and His glory, to raise them up and train them in His ways. He has a purpose for them! They are HIS kids that are being entrusted into my care, and I need to be obedient in my calling. Wow! I have not been the same since that revelation, let me tell you. I look at everything very differently now. My kids are not about ME....they are about HIM. Now I get up every day thinking, "what does God want me to teach my kids today...what is in HIS plan for my day?" This is so freeing! There is no longer such stress in my days. I am totally at peace, having surrendered to Jesus, and constantly looking to Him for leading in my days. I'm not continually searching for that elusive "fulfillment". Because, true fulfillment lies in dying to self and surrending to Jesus.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Menu Plan Sunday
Here ya go! You may notice that a couple of meals carried over from last week to this week; that is because things came up and plans changed, so I had to bump those meals over to the next week.
Sunday--Tacos
Monday--Salmon, baked potatoes, corn
Tuesday--(Adam's birthday so I am making his favorite!!) Spaghetti, salad, bread *carrot cake for Adam's birthday!
Wednesday--Chili, cornbread
Thursday--Oven fried chicken, roasted potatoes, peas
Friday--BBQ Beef sandwiches, baked potatoes, salad
Saturday--leftovers....I must do this because I have much to prepare for Easter. Coffee cake and quiche for breakfast at church, then a ham dinner. And it's my birthday!!! My lovely daughter is making me a cake! :)
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
May God bless you this holy week!
Sunday--Tacos
Monday--Salmon, baked potatoes, corn
Tuesday--(Adam's birthday so I am making his favorite!!) Spaghetti, salad, bread *carrot cake for Adam's birthday!
Wednesday--Chili, cornbread
Thursday--Oven fried chicken, roasted potatoes, peas
Friday--BBQ Beef sandwiches, baked potatoes, salad
Saturday--leftovers....I must do this because I have much to prepare for Easter. Coffee cake and quiche for breakfast at church, then a ham dinner. And it's my birthday!!! My lovely daughter is making me a cake! :)
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20
May God bless you this holy week!
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