Staying Warm

 

This is how many layers of blankets are on my bed.

Not including the fact that I am also wearing sweatpants, sweatshirt, gloves

and fuzzy socks.

 

The layer breakdown is

Sheet

Blue microfiber blanket

Heavy quilt that my great grandma Ebel made for my dad as a graduation present in the 60's (?)

Normal comforter

Quilt

The plushest, softest, most amazingly thick and fluffy purple blanket EVER

Poofy down blanket my mom bought me.

 

And sadly I still get cold.

 

Oh, summer, please come soon!!!!!

 

:)

Preparing For Purity

(continued from previous post)

One big reason all this bothers me, admittedly more than it used to, is that those seeds aren't just getting planted in my head but my husbands head and yes, my precious, innocent daughter's head.
Especially since Little Miss is very observant, smart and aware of things in her world.
 That one stops me in my tracks, folks.
My daughter. Whose 3. Has already seen those ads, those billboards, and as she gets older and exposed to more and more (no matter how much I try not to let that happen) it's gonna start planting some seeds. Again, Satan is good at what he does.
The breaking down or downright taking away of innocence starts early.
And Satan goes about his work.

So, as a parent, even of a 3 year old
I start cultivating her heart. Preparing to fill her heart with good things.
Pulling out whatever seeds I see that could possibly take root.
Trying to keep her FAR AWAY from seed planters.

But I can't always do that.

So I pray. And I prune. And I prepare the soil of her heart for purity.

I use the moments when she does see or hear something to point out the wrong and then to guide her to truth. To take out the bad and replace it with good.
BECAUSE I won't always be there to guard her heart. BECAUSE I won't always be there to shield her or redirect her or tell her it's wrong. She needs to know it and believe it for herself. She needs to know how to keep those things away from her heart so that her life will bear good fruit and not bad.

Hard to do when sex permeates are world.

But a task we as parents must be about.

Because my little girls heart, her life and her very soul is at stake.

My God-given responsibility is to guard her and teach her and train her right.
To lay before her the path to purity and pray that she may chose it and walk into the role of beautiful girlhood and womanhood that God has designed for her so that she may one day present herself to her future husband and to her God, pure and lovely and undefiled.

Purity needs to be not just the goal, but the standard of her life. Of my life.

It just down right irks me that there are so many obstacles that stand in the way.
So many distractions toward that pursuit.
So many worldly voices that would call her to fleeting pleasures.

But with that irkedness (like that word?) comes a stronger determination to do all I can to plant good, leave as little room for bad as possible, rip out what seeds and weeds I can and as she grows, to teach her how to protect her heart from allowing bad sprouts to shoot up and grow.



So, why a post on this subject? 
Simple answer.
Too many signs, advertisements and things heard on the radio in stores. Too much of saying to myself "I hope Lydia didn't see that, hear that or understand that".
I hate that I have to think that. It makes me cringe. It makes me mad. It makes me hurt.

Because I want GOOD for Lydia. God's good.
Not the worlds idea of fun, pleasure and what's cool. I want so much more for her than trifle's the world would set before her that are great for a little while but the end "leads to destruction".

I want LIFE for her. I want PEACE for her. I want the JOY of a pure heart for her.

You don't get that with sin.

And yes, it does all start in little tiny ways. Little things that entice us. Little things that pull us and draw us and call us away from the true path.
Big sin doesn't usually start out big. It just gets that way.

Here's to praying more fervently that God will give all of us parents wisdom on how to start early, protecting, guiding and pursuing a lifetime of purity for the precious little hearts God has entrusted to us.

Will Someone Get Me A Ladder?

Please excuse me while I get myself up on a very tall soapbox.
I must vent.

I am so very sick and tired of.....

sex.

Yes, you heard me. Sex. No gasping, please. Just hear me out.

I am sick and tired of the world shoving it in my face, and my families face for that matter, every where we go, or so it seems.

I want to wash the worlds mouth out with a big ol' piece of soap. A good cleaning is definitely needed here.

Here's my deal.
Sex is beautiful. Sex is good. Sex is right...in it's place.
May I just say, advertisement pictures, radio and tv, billboards and all other forms of media ARE NOT THE PLACE. Period. No exception.

The problem with it is that you can't help but see it. You can't help but hear about it. You can't help but deal with it in some form or another anywhere you go.
"Sex sells. It gets peoples attention. That's what the people want."  Or that's what they say.
And we are buying into it. Even as Christians we are slowly and very surly being desensitized to it. We don't even blink when we see the half naked woman plastered bigger than life (in more ways than one) all over ads and storefronts. We don't even pause when we hear sex talked about in a vulgar and crude way. We just absorb it and move on. Dare I say, we may even join in the fun sometimes?

Is that okay?

I say no. Because it is an offense to the original creation and design of what sex is supposed to be.
It has to offend the Creator. And anything that offends the Creator should offend us.

Satan is very good at what he does. And He's sure done a lot with sex.
He took something created beautifully and rightly and twisted it to fit his own devices. I read once that Satan can not create, he can only take what God has created and twist and pervert it. Ain't that sure the case here.
In the eyes of the world, and even in the Christian community, sex has become not only socially acceptable out of it's original context but promoted to the level that you are the strange one if you don't sleep around, talk about it, joke about it, watch it, or condone it.

Where has that view of sex gotten us? Broken lives, broken homes, broken relationships, broken hearts. Broken.
Beaten down in spirit and soul.
Because of sin.
The sin of sex outside of it's intent, offending the creator by going outside the bounds of what He created. And outside of those boundaries, brokenness...and death.

So yeah, I do pause when I see it and hear it and get bombarded with it.
Because a little here, a little there and into the heart it goes. And there it grows. And then it comes out in us. And there you have sin. Started by the little seeds planted at your local town mall.

Radical you say? Yep. Taking things too far? Nope
Look at Christ. He made no room for sin. He hated sin. Sin took Him to the cross.
Part of that was sexual sin.
Sin that starts as a tiny seed that if allowed to take root will bear fruit, from inside your heart, into your life.

Best then to just not let that seed stay there for long.

Okay, I'm going to get down off my box but I have more to say...so...there will be a part two.
I may need that ladder again.

I Forgot...

 

Oh dear

It's my birthday.

 

I forgot.

 

I didn't remember until I got my first birthday phone call today.

 

What does that say about me?

 

Birthday's just aren't what they used to be for me.

 

:(

 

Next year, I'm going to MAKE it more of a party.

I'll try real hard to remember what I'm partying for.

 

 

 

 

Jingle Bells

We walked into a store a few days ago.
Lydia stops, gasps, grabs her heart and squeals. (drama much?)
And then she starts jumping up and down.
"Mommy, they're playing Christmas songs!"

She has already developed a love of all things Christmas.
And since she loves to sing, Christmas songs are right up there on the "things Lydia loves" list.
Her favorite songs are
Joy To The World
Silent Night
and
Jingle Bells

I looked up Jingle Bells (good move?) on youtube and she has two renditions that she now LOVES.
She asks for them multiple times a day. She sings with them. She cracks up at them.
She can't get enough of them.

And then there's me.....

But they are funny and she's pretty entertaining to watch when she's watching them so Jingle Bells it is.

I posted one of the videos on FB and thought I ought not leave this one out so I'm posting this one here. Needed to share the joy I guess.

So, to kick off the Christmas season (Still wondering how it's that time already but oh well)
Let's Jingle Bell it!

That Just About Sums It Up

Okay- I admit it. I don't get Black Friday.
I am all for a good deal. You know this about me.
But to stand in line in the cold. For hours. Maybe it's snowing or raining.
And there are more than likely people around you who will be nice to your face in line but if you want what they are after once you reach the store, they are not below taking it by force. Shoving and grabbing and nasty snarls become the norm for ADULTS! (shake head and tsk)
Doesn't that sound like every one's idea of a good time?????
Oh and then there's the fact that all this takes place IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!!!
Seriously? Who thinks this is fun?????????????????????????????????????????????
I will pay extra money NOT to do this. I'll gladly fork over the extra $20 I would have saved if I would have endured that horrendous insanity- and I'll fork it over with a smile on my face.

My Black Friday tradition-
Stay in bed, wrapped up all warm and toasty and laugh at the people getting up just to stand out in the cold for a way long time so they can spend money. Probably buying things they don't need with money they don't have.

Ahh, the greed of the American people.
Greed makes you do nasty things, people!

But, I have to be honest. I did do some Black Friday shopping and I got some great deals- including A NEW LAPTOP (thank you, Babe!)
But I did this-
during the day
in the comfort of my home
in my pjs (yes, my pjs in the middle of the day)
sipping coffee
no shoving or grabbing or snarling involved.

Now THAT is how to work Black Friday, ya'll.

Why in the WORLD would you go out and torture yourself when the wonderful people of the world wide web will gladly take your money online?
This I just don't understand.



Although funny, the picture above really does sum up the American mentality doesn't it?
And then, in case you miss Black Friday we now have Cyber Monday.
Greed- it keeps going and going. Growing and growing.

This is what the Holidays have become about.
Makes me sad. And sick. And sorry.

Clean, Cute and Cheesy

 

 

After bath cuddle time

 

Life don't get much sweeter.



In Him I Have Enough

While doing family devotions today, we were talking about being content with what we have.
The focus verse was Hebrews 13:5

Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.
 

For some reason it stuck out to me and for my personal devotion time I spent time studying that verse.
I particularly appreciated this thought-

He has promised that He will never withdrawal His presence (I will never leave you) or his help (nor forsake you).
If we have the promise of God's presence and His help, what more on earth could we desire?
Only fleeting things that will never satisfy? Nay!
A heart that loves and trusts in God, desires only Him and what He sees fit to provide- content and abundantly satisfied in that alone. That soul finds joy and peace only in Him.
The things of this world become as pitiful trifles indeed.
They live their life, in all their conduct, in all their dealings, with such eternal focus. Not counting on or aspiring to temporary pleasures, seeing them as rubbish in light of a far better thing.

Prayer and Praise

Praise- To ascribe value and worth (worth-ship), to exalt

With Thanksgiving just around the corner my thoughts have turned to praise.
Specifically, praise in prayer. (Our Sunday School class is doing a study on prayer)
So often when we come to God in prayer we are so intent on our needs (or wants) that we start in there and by the time we are finished with that, it's time to get up and get on with our day. We may rush through a couple of "thank you, Lord's" but if you were to chart out the ratio of time spent in asking God for things, important as they may be, verses time spent just praising, how would it look?
                          Praise should be the start and end of every prayer time.
Without praise, I have to wonder how focused we are on God instead of ourselves.
When we start our prayers in praise we are forced to take the focus of the prayer off ourselves and concentrate on Him alone. Praise makes sure we see ourselves in light of God, keeping us humble, and placing all glory on Christ, not ourselves. In other words, praise helps us keep the right perspective on things, even on our needs, as we pray.
The very purpose of prayer is to commune with God. To leave ourselves for a while and look to Him. To turn our eyes and hearts toward Him and leave the things of this world behind.
If we pray and the focus of our prayer is, "me, me, me". We miss the point. We miss the greatness of the One we are praying to.
Even in the prayers of trial, pain and sorrow the proper focus is on God. Praise in pain is placing those things at Jesus' feet, praising His ability to take care of them and releasing self and the situation to Him.
Prayer is the humbling of ourselves before Almighty God and the acknowledgment, through the very act of prayer, that we are needy and in total dependence upon Him for all things.
The very fact that we are so needy and dependant should cause us to break out in praise because there is One we can go to, who we so desperately need and He is abundantly willing and able to supply all of our needs-and more.
To pray and not praise is to rob yourself of the joy and blessing that come as a result of praise and it is robbing God of the glory due His name. He loves our praise. It is the most glorious music to His heart. Praise is beautiful.
Praise comes from a heart that believes God. That believes God is full of love and compassion, that He is able to do mighty things. It comes from a heart that is confident that He is all He claims to be. And most of all praise comes from a heart that believes we are unworthy to stand before Him- sinful and unclean (Isa  6:1-8)- but in Christ we, the unworthy, can come boldly before the only One who is worthy of our praise, fall at His feet and cry
          "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
                   You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power!"
Truly, when we contemplate God, we can do no other thing but praise.
There is much to praise Him for!
Praise for who He is His character, His attributes, His power
Praise for who we are in Him- because of Him Redeemed, forgiven, righteous, holy, loved
Praise for what He has given blessings, grace, mercy, freedom, gifts, protection, care
Praise for what He has done He has done many things, answered many prayers- but the greatest and most praiseworthy is the work of the cross. That alone should produce a lifetime of praise and worship and wonder.
May we always, along with David in so many Psalms, praise.
May it permeate our prayers.
May it accompany our thoughts.
May it resound from our lips, our heart- and our life.


                                   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!  Ps. 48:1

A Day of Smiles

 

I can't get enough of that smile!

Secret Revealed

I have a very weird sense of humor.
As clearly revealed in the last few funny pictures I have posted.
This will continue to be revealed. And I will continue to laugh and snort.

If I must laugh alone, I must, but laugh I will!

:)
Enjoy!

Ain't It The Truth

 

 

 

 

 

Admit it, People, you have been there at some point in your life.

Maybe even now, huh? Huh?

I find this stinkin' funny because it is so very true!