One of Those Days
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I should have known today was going to be one of those days when I didn’t want to get out of bed, over-reacting to something, when tears welled up in my eyes before my feet ever hit the floor.
I should have known today was going to be one of those days when my day started off with wet carpet and a wet throw pillow from my new bedding set, when the weather outside was gray and rainy and promised nothing more for the day, when the mood inside didn’t look much better than the one outside.
I should have known today was going to be one of thoes days when a hot shower and brazilian hazelnut coffee and 5 chapters in Exodus didn’t lift my mood. Neither did the cinnamon toast crunch nor the watching of The Wizard of Oz with the kids.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when the day kept going the same way, when the children kept bickering, when I kept wanting to hide in a hole until the day was over and come out after the coast was clear. But I guess I’m not all that bright - because I keep asking “where did that come from??” So yeah - I guess I’m a little slow.
Obviously… I am not slow enough. Not slow enough to anger. Not slow enough to speak. Not slow enough to pause and reflect and react in the spirit rather than the flesh.
Being the mature one stinks - can I throw a fit for what I want, too?? No. Being the mature one is the right thing to do. Of course. I have to be the parent. I have to be mature. I have listen to the Spirit and seek the Word and lean on God.
I should have known. So why do I forget, why do I give in so easily? Perhaps because I had such high hopes for the day. And I tend to react childishly when things don’t go my way.
My house isn’t any cleaner (it might actually be worse.)
My errands haven’t been run.
My mood isn’t any better.
On the other hand, school is done, without too much difficulty, in a reasonable amount of time. And for a few minutes, the kids are playing together and getting along. Can’t win every battle, right? Sometimes it might be wisest to call a truce. Which translated means:
Order a pizza, make hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music (while trying to get them to dance clean and hoping for the best.)
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Free Download from Christian Audio: Desiring God
This month’s free download from Christian Audio is John Piper’s Desiring God. Not a book for casual perusal, some will find it a bit difficult to read, I found it intriguing, exciting and rich in food for thought.
For the month of November, you can download an audio version completely for free!
From the Christian Audio newsletter:
Desiring God by John Piper is the free audiobook download for November; one of the best-selling and most popular titles ever published by christianaudio!
Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe.
Desiring God Ministries was founded in 1994 by Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. Desiring God exists to say that God’s ultimate goal is to glorify himself. Everything they do aims to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. Learn how they accomplish that and how you can join in the mission at www.desiringgod.org
We went through this book in our bible study several years ago, and if you haven’t read it, I definitely recommend it. You can:
- Download the audio version here, REMEMBER to use code NOV2009.
- Purchase the print version of Desiring God
from Amazon.
This is only available until the end of November. Regular download price is $16.98. Also throughout November, all of Piper’s other audio books are for sale for only $4.98 each.
Full Disclosure: I’m not compensated in any form by Christian Audio. The Amazon link, however, is an affiliate link. Any pennies I earn supports our homeschooling on one income, my blogging hobby and my coffee habit.If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
A Lesson In Giving: Operation Christmas Child
As Christians we are called to have a heart that gives and serves gladly-all year round. Yet giving really takes the spotlight during the holidays. I try to encourage my children to be giving and to meet needs whenever they see them:
Proverbs 3:27 - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
Of course they are KIDS and often forget this admonishment; they must be frequently reminded that if they can help their sister/brother then they should go ahead and do it.
At Christmas I like to encourage my children to participate in Operation Christmas Child to not only teach my children about giving, and thinking of others, but also to try to combat some of the “gimme, gimmes” that so easily overtakes young minds (and some adult ones) this time of year. It’s harder to think selfishly while thinking selflessly.
Yesterday I took the kids to the dollar store to choose our items for their three O.C.C. boxes. They are each going to send a box to a child of the same sex and age as themselves, so they each spent some time picking out things they themselves would like to have - while bearing in mind that they weren’t going to get to keep them but rather were going to give them away.
It took Little Prince (who will be 4 in 3 weeks) a few minutes to catch on, but soon he was saying. “And THIS is for my boy! And THIS is for my boy!” Even Princess, 9 and a half, looked at me once and asked with a little longing in her voice, “Mom, can I have a Polly Pocket for Christmas, TOO?” But I was very proud of them for throwing themselves into it so eagerly and cheerfully picking out things they imagined some other child would enjoy instead of them.
Arriving home with our purchases provided new challenges. Little Prince completely attached himself to one item. At first I tried to reason with him while firmly and gently put my foot down. “No, you may not keep these dinosaurs, we bought them for the boy. If you would like some dinosaurs, you MAY ask for some for your birthday very soon. Would you like to ask for dinosaurs for your birthday?” He agreed and reluctantly added the little package of plastic dinosaurs to the box.
Minutes later, we experienced one of the worst meltdowns I have ever seen. The fury in his eyes sparkled as he wrestled over his desire for those little dinosaurs. I know that he can’t really grasp “three weeks from now”.. but I know that he has a memory like an elephant and he can hold on to the hope of that special birthday present. I also know that there is a deeper lesson in here that we can all learn from - how hard it is to let go of something we desire in order to serve and love others!
This morning he asked me about them one more time. He mentioned again that he wanted to keep them, I mentioned again that we bought them for the boy and that I agreed to get him some for his birthday– and that was the end of it. From having done this with my two older girls already, I have no doubt that next Christmas he will remember the little shoe boxes, and he’ll remember what they are for and how it works. He may or may not remember the dinosaurs but the seeds of giving have been planted and will continue to grow if nurtured.
This year we plan on including notes and pictures. We’ve never done this before, and I look forward to to seeing if we receive letters back. How exciting it will be if we do!
Samaritan’s Purse, who runs Operation Christmas Child, ministers to children and families around the world all year long. There are many opportunites to give and serve from January to December. At this point, our family has only participated through O.C.C., but it’s my hope that as our family grows, as God blesses our resources, and as He changes our hearts, I hope we’ll be able to give more often, more frequently throughout the year.
For Operation Christmas Child, Samaritan’s Purse does more than hand them a box and walk away. From their site:
If you would like to learn more about Samaritan’s Purse, or Operation Christmas Child, check out their website, http://www.samaritanspurse.org. Click here to find a drop off location near you, or here to learn more about EZ Give.
Proverbs 11
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.25 A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
I also uploaded pictures of our “operation” to the Classic Housewife fan page.
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Out of the Mouths of Babes
I enjoy listening to my six year old pray and to how she says things. While the most endearing part was definitely when she told God how much she loved him because he gave us the world and everything and added, “X-O-X-O,” this was probably my favorite “funny” line:
“I love life, because it’s FUN, and um, my mom helps me sometimes.”
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The Body, The Whole Body and Nothing But The Body
I have heard many a great sermon preached from 1 Corinthians 12:
21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
And while I have always agreed and understood the application, “Oh, sure, one little paper cut can cause misery to the whole body…” it’s hard to TRULY appreciate how important one of the smaller, “lesser” body parts is until it’s compromised. I’m not just saying this. I KNOW this. I know this well.
Take your toe, for example. People can live with nine toes, it’s true. But a tenth toe, IN PAIN, causes the whole body to suffer. At the end of July, I broke my big toe. (Watch those cast iron skillets, people, they don’t play well with big toes.) I hobbled around all day, convinced I could tough it out and make due. I didn’t really think it was broken. But after the pain and swelling didn’t go down for a few days, I suspected trouble. By the end of that week (VBS week,) it was hard to walk. My feet and legs hurt from holding my foot and leg differently to avoid putting weight on my big toe. At the end of the week I borrowed crutches so I could get around without using my foot at all. I used them correctly, for several hours on the last day of VBS, in my out of shape and not so healthy condition, and the next day… I COULDN’T MOVE. Every single muscle in my body hurt. A lot.
Funny how one little toe had caused so much trouble.
Finally after 3 months, I can walk without pain, I can bend my toe, I can stand on my tippy toes, I can walk without a limp! It has taken a long time, and it came with some setbecks. In the first two weeks I could not stand for very long at one time, and I had to sit for a long time in between before I felt like standing again. I gained 10 pounds in that two weeks because of my decreased activity, adding to the existing 50 pounds I NEED to lose. But I wasn’t able to exercise and wasn’t going to be for a while. I was very depressed about that for a couple of weeks - I now weigh more than I have ever weighed in my whole life, ever. And naturally, having a broken toe interfered with chores and cleaning house. I am still recovering from that. I told my husband that even after I felt good enough to get up and get some cleaning done, it was hard work. I had gotten lazy and I had no stamina. It was very difficult to get up and work on housework without wanting to sit down and rest after about 15 or 20 minutes. I admitted that at that point it was a struggle against laziness more than anything else, but it was…IS… still a struggle. Naturally, it also interfered with dressing, bathing, grocery shopping, intimacy, driving, cooking, and other daily tasks.
One little toe.
Of course, the lesson here is that in your church family, the church body functions like your phycial body. And that when you’re truly functioning like a church body every member is a part of that body. When one member of the body hurts, the whole body hurts with it. When one member of the body rejoices, the whole body rejoices.
This can extend beyond your local church body as well. It’s not uncommon to find the ability to connect with other members of the body of Christ–in news stories, online blogs and articles, in print via magazines and newsletters, and even visiting missionaries, etc– and be able to hurt and celebrate with them as they relay all that God is doing in their life.
Yes, we are all human, and far from perfect. So like our own bodies, sometimes the church body is flawed. Sometimes we fail. But there is also Grace and Forgiveness, just as there is healing for our physical ailments. Still, we have this picture, this example of how the body of Christ should be. A living, breathing, loving body, that hurts together through the trials and rejoices together over the praises, a body that comes together and lifts up the body member in need and carries it through in prayer and love. We have that to strive for and live out, and it takes every member.
This is one of the things that I’m currently looking for in a church. It’s at the top of my list. A functioning and loving body of Christ. Probably not perfect, but a church that can really become my family, a place to serve and grow. I really feel hopeful and positive about the church I’ve been going to. I say “going to” loosely though, as I’ve been more staying than going. I’d only attended two or three times before I broke my toe. I’ve only been back once since then. I went back about a month ago, after I felt like I could stand up on my feet long enough to navigate attending church with three kids by myself. And since then, we’ve had a variety of setbacks in going.
I really NEED to go next Sunday. I’m a toe, in need of a body. You know what happens when a toe gets cut off from a body? It’s not pretty. I need a body. I’m praying for no more setbacks. I’m praying for overcoming any hurdles that arise to prevent us from going. I’m praying for no illnesses, no sleep issues in the middle of the night before, no nothing. I. Need. To. Go.
I’m also hoping and praying that this will be the church that God uses to draw my husband back into church with me, the church that James will find appealing and acceptable. Kind of like the body with nine toes, I know I can survive if that never happens, because God will always be there, and He’ll always get me through it. But like the body with a tenth toe in pain, life would be more complete, functional, and dare-I-say less painful, if that tenth toe was happy and healthy and fully a part of the body. The toe would be happier too, don’cha know. It works both ways.
When all the members of the body are healthy and working together and functioning appropriately, the whole body is happy and healthy. And that is true of so many things, in so many ways.
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Nothing But The Blood
At the end of a long, hard day, the spray of the shower washing off more than the dirt, this hymn from my childhood came to mind, brought me comfort, took me into worship singing song after song, and led me me through repentence and finally into peace.
I couldn’t get this hymn out of my head. Over and over it reminded me that I’ve been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, free to throw off the sin that so easily entangles and cling to the cross of Christ in the midst of these struggles. I felt compelled to sit down with my Macbook and make this:
I cannot do this on my own. I need God. I need Jesus.
I came out of the shower feeling not only clean, but feeling new again.
Oh God, I seek you. Cleanse me from my sin, wash away my human nature, fill me with your spirit, create in me a clean heart, O God.
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I Visited a New Church Today
This morning the kids and I loaded up into the car and headed south. There are plenty of churches to visit in our little town,.. still,… we only live a few miles from the next town over and we have some friends who attend a church there.
Immediately we felt very welcome, and it’s an added bonus that my friend has children who are the same age as mine (and then some.) My children had a friend to feel comfortable with right off the bat.
Sunday school was good - there’s a class for young parents with young children which my friend’s husband leads. The discussion was good - and there was coffee. 
I was happy to learn they’re beginning a new book for the summer and that I came on the first day - I don’t like coming in late on things.
And today’s lesson?? Fellowship. What is it, when does it happen, why is it important. (Umm,…HELLOOO??) I’m just sayin. Or in this case, not sayin cuz it should be obvious without me sayin. So.
The service was good, too, though I’m used to (and prefer) a praise and worship type service, I grew up Southern Baptist so I’m not unfamiliar with it - and it’s good to hear some of the old hymns from my childhood sometimes.
At least the preacher opened the bible, read some scripture (they’re working their way through the book of Acts) and preached a sermon off of the text we read. I’m not a fan of the “I’m preaching on this (possibly perfectly fine) topic and I may or may not read a scripture to support it” approach. (See, I know there are terms for these different kinds of preaching, I just don’t know them.) At any rate, I believe the one I like is called expository, and while the preacher may have admitted he’d digressed from his sermon notes to hang out on one topic he felt important to discuss further, it was still inspired because of the text and it was still in agreement with scripture and that’s what I’m looking for.
The sermon? Ananias and Sapphira. The point? They had one foot in the church and one foot in the world - they were not “All In” for God. And God is not calling us to halfway. He’s calling us to be all in, to serve, to live, to go, to do, to bear fruit, to worship him WHOLE-heartedly.
I don’t think the pastor knew it, but what he was saying was a follow up of what we’d been talking about in Sunday school, about how important it is to be a part of a fellowship of believers, and about how true fellowship stems from true fellowship with God on an individual basis. You can fake one but you can’t fake the other.
And it all gave me hope because these are the things I am looking for. I don’t HAVE to have a certain music style, or a certain order of worship, or a certain way of doing things. Just like now knowing what you have until it’s gone,.. you learn what’s really important in a church when you don’t have it.
I need teaching that comes straight out of God’s word.
I need fellowship with like-minded believers.
I don’t know if this church will become our church home or if we’ll keep looking and end up somewhere else. But I know that I enjoyed visiting today, and that I’d like to go back next week.
It’s a good start.
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Lost in Transition
Last night I dreamed I was attending a church service and I didn’t like it. At all. There were some people there I liked, but the service consisted mainly of several performances - that lacked anything whatsoever to with God, worship, praise, the bible, or even a personal testimony of experience with God. I was so bothered I tried to leave, but it seemed that we kept dropping things or forgetting things and I was having the hardest time getting out of there with the three kids.
I finally made it outside and ran into somebody I knew (not from the church, just standing outside) who asked if I didn’t like it. “No, I did not.” I replied. “Where are you going now?” they asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t have a church to go to.”
Sounds like a bad dream, doesn’t it?
The church I’ve been going to (a couple times a month since December) isn’t as bad as the one in the dream, but I’m not happy there for other reasons. It’s not the right church for me. The one I went to twice before that one, I liked even less. Now I have the task of finding a different church to try.
It’s not that there aren’t any other options. Maybe it’s that there are too many options. We have at least a dozen churches, maybe two, here in our small town. We just need to start trying them out. In the meantime, without a church to call home, without a steady diet of good teaching to feast on each week, I feel a little lost.
Lost in transition.
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Progress: Quick Thinking
It’s true that practice makes perfect, and that applies to more things than handwriting, cooking and hobbies. It applies to right thinking, too.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8
It’s not easy, at first, to change your habits in thinking. The angry retorts, the selfish tendencies… they slip in so easily. We are so well rehearsed in those things, they come up immediately.
But we CAN change them. We can change our first thoughts. At first we have to practice intentional thinking, perhaps after our first or second or even third thought.
But as I said, practice makes perfect (or at least practice brings improvement) and eventually you will find yourself responding in thought with love instead of anger, selfLESSness instead of selfishess, giving instead of greed.
I can assure you that it’s possible. I surprised even myself a few days ago when my husband consulted me on a matter and before answering I thought to myself, “now what is the RIGHT thing to do here…?” It’s an isolated incident; it’s far from “perfection.”
But it’s progress.
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See the Little Things
Heart urchins, clam steinkurns, snail steinkurns, round sea urchins -- click for larger.
Yesterday found me standing in the rain, collecting garbage from a wayward bag that had gotten lost on the way up the hill to the dumpster and then had the courtesy to spill its trash all over the side of the hill.
Hubs was off on a Sunday afternoon computer call, Little Prince was napping and the girls were given instructions to “be nice” while Momma was outside getting wet and dirty. And then I was off on a trek up the hill in the light rain with nothing but me and my trashbag and my thoughts.
Collecting the trash wasn’t easy - the wind was strong and it kept blowing my trashbag shut or sideways. I asked myself several times why I didn’t think to bring any gloves along with me. And I realized I was wearing my super cute shoes and hoping I didn’t get them muddy. I didn’t, but still it would have been very easy for me to be very cross by the time the chore was over.
Instead, I realized that outside - wind and rain and all - was very quiet. And when you’ve got three kids, silence really is golden.
If you’ve got several children, you know what I’m talking about.
After lugging the bag of trash the rest of the way up the hill I threw it up into the dumpster and turned to leave. But then I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
The day before, Drama Queen had done a science fair project on fossils, most of which had been collected from the area around our landlord’s stock pond a few hundred feet away. My 6 year old is CRAZY into fossils and has been for years. She’s often bringing rocks and fossils to me with eyes wide round open and a grin across her face, “Momma, look at THIS cool rock I found!!” I’m constantly telling her to leave other people’s rocks alone - otherwise our neighborhood churches, restaurants and friend’s houses wouldn’t have any rocks left - they’d be at our house instead.
I confess that I usually nod and say, “yes, yes, now go play some more.” Usually I do look at the rock, but not very closely. I couldn’t say that I really paid any attention to it. I can say that I didn’t REALLY see it the way my daughter did.
Image collected from the internet - Shows snails (C&D), Round & Heart Sea Urchins (I&J) and Clams (H.) Click for Larger.
But that was before.
- Before learning more about different kinds of fossils with Drama Queen.
- Before finding a list and some pictures of the many different kinds of fossils that our part of Texas is loaded with.
- Before going through our collection (aka bucket) of fossils on top of the bookcase.
- Before finding some really cool fossils in there that I didn’t even know we had.
I confess that “before” I stopped to pay attention, I wouldn’t have been able to tell a difference in some of the tiny little fossils and plain boring rocks.
But that was before. And this was now. Looking back in the direction of home, I turned toward the stock pond and walked about ten feet past the dumpster where the rocky terrain began. I didn’t have to go far. I didn’t have to look long.
I stooped there for about five minutes, scanning the surface of the ground with my eyes and skimming the surface of the limestone debris with my fingers. Picking up small rocks and turning others over I worked quickly - assessing and discarding, assessing and keeping. My hands flew over the small patch of ground as I collected over a dozen small fossils, including two tiny sea urchins - something we didn’t have yet.
In five minutes. Just off the top of the ground. TEN FEET FROM THE DUMPSTER.
They’d been there all along. Undisturbed. Waiting to be discovered.
I had just never looked that closely before.
I felt so very blessed on the walk back down the hill. And this time I was the one, running up to my girls, eyes wide open round saying “Look what I found!” And I can’t help but wonder what other lessons there are for me in this. How many other details, tiny wonders of God’s creation, little blessings in my day, do I not see because I’m not looking?
These round sea urchins looks like round rocks but are covered in bumpy "spines."
About the size of a blueberry.
Amazing little finds.
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Does God Want My First or My Best?
You find the word “firstfruits” in the bible a lot, God wanting our first and our best. We’re taught in church to tithe first, off the top, instead of giving to God out of our leftovers. We’re taught to seek Him first at the beginning of the day instead of “penciling” God in somewhere later when we don’t have anything better to do. Yes, we’re also taught to seek him continually throughout the day, and to give more than just the tithe, but there’s a lot of talk about FIRST.
First, first, first.
On the other hand, we also know that God was displeased with Cain because even though he did bring an offering, it either wasn’t his best or his heart wasn’t in the right place. And we know that God instructed His people to choose the BEST lambs as sacrifices.
So God wants the first, best part of us, our day, our time, our everything.
But what if my first isn’t my best?
Now I’m not going to argue tithing to God first or making him first in my heart. What I struggle with is giving God the “first and best” part of my day. The first part of my day IS NOT the best part of my day. In fact the morning if often my worst and the last part of my day is definitely my best.
I was at my best at meeting with God daily, praying most fervently, studying His word diligently (and learning the most from it) during high school and college when I had my quiet time at the end of the day before I went to bed. You know, before marriage and kids. Getting married changed the pre-bedtime routine as you can imagine. I played around with my routine trying to find a good fit. Prompted by marriage and parenthood and encouraged by friends from church, I have tried to have a morning quiet time. I just can’t stick to it.
For years I have struggled with making my quiet time a regular habit. I keep up with it a while, I fall out of it a while. And to be honest with you, most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m getting anything out of the reading, like I need a crash course in how to study the bible because all I’m doing is reading a passage and then going on about the rest of my business. But that can’t be true because there are other times that I read God’s word and He reveals truths to me and teaches my heart and I walk away feeling FULL. I just never feel that way in the mornings.
I have tried so many things and I’ve gotten to the point of wondering, and then back, and then returned again: Do I REALLY have to do this in the morning? Am I just beating myself up over not achieving something that MAN has decided is the way things should be? Or am I just trying to justify my lack of self-discipline by claiming the morning routine is just a form of legalism and instead I should just be praying harder that God would make me a morning person?
So do I? Have to have a quiet time in the morning? Because honestly I don’t feel like my quiet times can possibly be all that pleasing to God as they stand right now - either non-existent or non-intimate. And honestly I feel like I have the best time with God when I am cleaning my kitchen in the evening and listening to worship music or a sermon online. I know that those can’t be all I do alone, that I need to read and memorize God’s word, too, but I try (or plan to) do that in the mornings and well, we see how well THAT is going. I just always feel like there’s this “pressure” to fit into this mold I don’t fit into.
Do you have any testimonies in this area, encouraging scriptures or sermons you’ve heard or books you’ve read on this topic? Inquiring minds and late night owls everywhere (or at least in this house) want to know.
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I’m Up Over At Inspired Bliss Today
Hey, y’all - Inspired Bliss has one of my articles up today! How to Love Your Husband, Head to Toe.
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Thankful Thursday ~ Winter
Winter. A time for the earth to rest before blooming in spring.
A time to bundle in fuzzy socks and favorite sweatshirts.
Sipping coffee. Or hot chocolate. Or both.
The glow of a fire, or the hum of a space heater nearby.
Indoor fun, board games, movies, crafts.
Paper snowflakes and maybe real ones, too.
Comfort foods and soups and stews.
Cold and gray and dead outside.
Inside, warm and cozy and waiting for spring.
God, how I’m thankful for winter, that every season has it’s purpose, that we have to go through winter to get to spring, but that spring comes after. Thank you for being a faithful God.
Thankful Thursday can be found at Grace Alone.
{Photo Credit: National Geographic}
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My Reading List for Edification for 2009
I’ve tried this before. Ya know, making a reading list for the new year.
It didn’t work so well.
But I’m trying again. Anyway. So there. I already have more than enough unread (and unfinished!) books on my shelf to read a different one each month. So that’s the plan.
The first one, I’m actually already a couple chapters into, so it should be an easy start, right?
- January ~ The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace *
- February ~ Praise Her in the Gates by Nancy Wilson
- March ~ Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss *
- April ~ A Mom After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George
- May ~ The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
- June ~ Teach Them Diligently by Lou Priolo *
- July ~ Desiring God by John Piper *
- August ~ The Pleasures of God by John Piper
- September ~ Battling Unbelief by John Piper
- October ~ The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life by Charles Spurgeon
- November ~ 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald S. Whitney *
- December ~ Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper *
Whew! That’s not an easy list!! We’ll see how far I can get this time.
What’s on YOUR reading list for 2009? Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?
* Begun but never finished, either by a little or a lot. **Update: How am I doing?? Horrible! It’s taking me much longer to finish a book than I anticipated between housekeeping and homeschooling and blogging and all that. I may have to, um, reconsider my list. This may end up being a list for 2009-2010. Then again.. maybe I can catch up. Who knows?? ….If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Looking Back on 2008
Looking back can be profitable if you take what you see and learn from it and grow from it. No “dwelling” allowed.
I’m just gonna say this up front: 2008 S.T.U.N.K. like a dead skunk most of the time - but I say that still with a smile on my face and hope in God. I know that every circumstance, good and bad, grows me and strengthens me.
2008 got off to a bad start with Big Daddy coming down with pneumonia and bronchitis - both - at the same time. He missed TWO WEEKS of work, and we’re self-employed! Fortunately (and I say that not in reference to “luck” but in reference to fortunes direct from GOD)…fortunately, my church family came alongside us and held a food drive. Our pantry was blessed to the brim! And it was a good thing, because even when Big Daddy got better his workload didn’t. We made so little money for January and February, the WIC office workers’ eyes got huge and their jaws dropped open. No joke.
And God provided. We didn’t end up on the streets or starve to death.
You might think that once we caught up on our bills and recovered from the bumpy start we’d be fine, right??
Nope.
Big Daddy busted his booty just to make enough to pay the bills - all. year. long. We’ve juggled and struggled and yet, God provided just enough. We didn’t end up on the streets or starve to death.
We have two older cars, which have the benefit of no car payments, and the downside of frequent car repairs. We bought my 98 Lumina in the summer of ‘06 for 1,000 dollars and it has worked GREAT until this year. And starting January ‘08, my car has been not working at least 50% of the time. We’ve hit that point where things need to be replaced and we’d have to wait several weeks to get the money to fix it. Big Daddy and I would have to share his even older vehicle - and obviously he would need it more because he’s the money maker. It’s hard sharing the one car, (which we’re actually doing at the moment and have been doing since Halloween) but guess what? Yup. We survived. I’ve always been afraid Big Daddy’s car would break at the same time my car was broke - but it hasn’t happened yet. God has provided. And even if it did happen, I know God would provide in that instance, too.
We’ve had to do without a lot of things - things we think we need at the time, some things that are needs but needs you can do without for a bit, things that we want. I’ve had to learn to budget better, and make the most of our money. I’ve had to learn to be responsible and trust-worthy. I’ve had to learn to accept help graciously (and not let my pride get in the way.) I’ve had to learn to rely on God - COMPLETELY.
So how can I learn from this and grow in 2009??
The last few months have been a refreshing change from the majority of this past year. For the first time in a long time, we have enough room to take a breath. I can stop juggling and finagling. We can take care of a few of those needs we’ve put off.
I hope I’ve learned enough to keep doing these things even though finances aren’t as tight right now:
- Budget and stick to it!
- Not change my spending habits just because there’s more money in the bank.
- Make wise purchases and make the most of our money.
- Be responsible and trust-worthy.
- Accept help graciously.
- Help others when I see a need.
- Rely on God - COMPLETELY - for everything.
After surviving this last year, I know that God provides - I’ve seen it, felt it and lived it first hand. I know that we will not end up on the streets or starve to death. And I know that when we trust him and rely on him, there is a peace and growth that comes with it.
Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.
Goodbye, 2008. Hello, 2009!
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