Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

Faith Like A Child

Matthew 18:2-4

Then Jesus called a little child to Him,set him in the midst of them
and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The setting: My kitchen. I'm doing dishes. Katelyn comes in the kitchen as starts talking all about her block creations(see pictures below) and going to a planetarium and this and that. Talking my ears off! Then suddenly she stops and we start this conversation.(Written from the best of my memory from two days ago! Ah!)

K: Mama, is Jesus going to take me to Heaven?
Me: Well, Jesus is going to take everyone who believes in Him to Heaven
K: I want to believe in Jesus so He can take me to Heaven
Me: Ok! You can believe in Jesus. All you have to do is tell Jesus you believe in Him and ask Him into your heart
K: Ok, I want to do that right now.( Then she closed her eyes, folded her hands.)
K: Jesus, I believe in you. And I want you to come into my heart and take me to Heaven. And I love you very, very much.
Me(crying tears of joy but trying not to show her so she won't be concerned): Sweetie! That's great! I'm so happy! Jesus is soo happy too!
K: Is Jesus going to take me to Heaven now?
Me: He will take you to Heaven when it's the right time.

And so the conversation went. I was so amazed and inspired by her simple, child-like faith. It was so pure and innocent. Just the way Jesus asks our faith to be. There were no strings attached. No doubts. Just pure faith that if she believed in Jesus He would take her to Heaven.

What a blessing it was to see that and be a part of that. What a great lesson to us jaded adults.

I added some videos from that day for your(meaning my mom's) enjoyment.

Have a blessed day. I hope this post blessed your heart today.

What NOT To Say When Someone Is Venting..

This post was originally going to be  a "Pet Peeve Of The Day" post but since I had more to share with it, it's a sort of  baring-(part)of-my- soul-which-includes-a pet peeve post. I have a ton of cute pictures and other stuff to post about  later but this post is going to be me, venting. I usually like to keep my blog on the "positive" side for the most part and not try to  go too negative or whiny. But, my life is faaaar from perfect, I'm far from being the happiest, most content, most put together, self-disciplined, non struggling and emotionally contained person. And sometimes, I like to share part of that person with you.

Have you ever felt like God is not answering OR currently saying "no" to the prayer requests you most want answered? I have three, what I would consider major, prayer requests right now. Things I pray for most days and things I long for with all my heart. Things that are always on my mind and that I feel affect my life the most right now.God, is, currently, not answering  any of them and I've been praying for most of them  year or more. Or should I say, God is not answering them the way I want.Now, before anyone thinks " My goodness, she has so much to be thankful for and God blesses her every day. How can she feel like God is not answering her prayers right now". Don't worry, I've beat you to it. Most days I feel guilty for being upset with God for not answering those prayers. They are requests that if God were never to answer them, I'd still be a super blessed woman. I know this. Yet, I still get angry at God and have even thrown some tantrums in His presence because He is not doing/giving me what I want. I know many people might look at the requests and think they were prayed for with a selfish,silly and even ungrateful heart. Yet, I don't see it that way. I feel the disappointment and frustration every day that those requests go unanswered and those feelings are very real to me.

This brings me to my pet peeve.

I cannot STAND IT when you're venting or even ,let's admit, complaining to someone about struggles you are having or about an issue that is currently plaguing you and their reply is something like this-

" Well, at least you're not dying of cancer like so and so, and your house wasn't hit by a tornado like so and so, and you have your health and all your limbs, unlike so and so. At least you aren't going through all of that. You should be thankful instead of complaining about what you're complaining about."

Now hear me out on this one. I am over exaggerating a bit on the reply. I don't really know anybody with any of these issues and I would never poke fun at these issues if there was someone in my life who was going through any of these things. I'm just pointing out the type of reply I've gotten, way too many times in my opinion, when I have gone out on a limb and vented to people in my life. I also know that I do have sooo much to be grateful for and I would never presume to put my issues in the same category as severe health issues, loss of children, husband, job, home, infertility, etc etc. But just because I have not had to go through any of these things doesn't mean I never have struggles that are meaningful to me. There is always going to be someone out there who's struggles are worse than mine. I have people in my life now who's struggles are worse than mine. I understand that. But, sometimes I still need to vent. And although my issues may seem small and trivial next to someone else's they don't always seem small and trivial to me. So, what I guess I'm saying is- my pet peeve is when I do a little venting and someone flippantly tries to put my attitude "in perspective" by showcasing how my issues could be so much worse.

Thanks.

All I was looking for was a nodding head, listening ear and maybe a " Hey that stinks. Sorry to hear that. I'll pray for you." When I get that response, usually, I move on, pray about it and the Lord convicts me and corrects me if my attitude needs adjusting.

Here is example:  When I had been trying to get pregnant for the first time with Katelyn and I had been trying for over a year I finally put myself on the line and shared my feelings about that issue in a ladies Bible study I was leading. I had never really opened up about it and tried to keep a "happy face"  about the time it was taking I even started crying while talking about it. My closest "friend" at the time was in this Bible study. She looked angry while I was talking. I was wondering what was up. She said to me, haughtily, afterwards- how could I complain about not getting pregnant when there was so and so in our group who was in her forties and was still looking for a husband? At least I had a husband. I was dumbfounded. And I didn't know what to think. The guilt came and then the anger came. And we had it out. As you can guess, we didn't remain friends for much longer after that.And not only because of that one comment. There were many other incidents. But I digress....

Another example: I have, on occasion, been known to complain these past 6 months about my non driving status. I've been told-

-At least it's not for a year

-At least it's not for the rest of my life

-Luckily for me, my seizures are controlled with meds unlike so many other people.

-At least my seizures are at night and not during the day like so and so's.

Again, I am super thankful and aware of all this. I really am. I have a friend who has never been able to drive and has seizures all the time. During the day. I cannot even imagine what that must be like. And she also seems to have the most amazing attitude about it. I truly admire her.

But, sometimes, I still vent about having to be completely dependent on other people to get me from point A to point B. About how I've felt closed in. Especially since I had been driving and coming and going as I pleased. I was pretty active in the driving world.

So, my point is, if someone is venting to you about a personal struggle and you consider them a close friend, and even if you think their complaint is completely trivial, nod your head, pat their arm, listen and say " Hey, that really stinks.I'm sorry to hear that. I'll pray for you."

It will do them a world of good. And if you're my friend and you have something on your heart you need to share, I promise I'll lend a listening ear and show you some love.  Because sometimes, we all need a listening ear and to have our complaints validated.

Even when they're stupid.

Of Journals and Being Who God Created You To Be

 I took out one of my old journals last night and started reading it. When I say "old" I mean, from the end of 1993 to the beginning of 1995!!! I've kept journals all these years and it's fun, and sometimes, funny, sad, aggravating and embarrassing to go back and read them. This time it was sad and kind of embarrassing. This journal was from not long after I had started high school.  The reason I mention it is because in it, I had every slight, hurt, embarrassing moment and desperate teen age girl thought written in it. It brought back memories. And anger. 

There is a point to this post, other than talking about  my journal and high school years, and it may seem like I'm going to take a long time getting  it to it. I promise you I will. 

But first, let me tell you a story.......

As many of you may or may not know I was homeschooleduntil the 6th grade. Being missionaries in Brazil that was the best way for me to get my education at the time. Once I hit the 6th grade my parent's felt it was time to continue my education in a "real" school. I got a good education at home which is what allowed me to skip 7th and half 8th when I began attending Pan America Christian Academy, or PACA, a private, American, christian school in the city where I lived. I was sooo excited to be "going to school" and has all sorts of plans for myself when I got there. I dreamed of having a "normal" school life like the girls I saw on t.v and in the books that I read. I just knew I was going to go in make a couple of best friends and we'd walk around giggling and talking about boys. We'd walk arm in arm, write notes and have sleepovers. Speaking of boys, I would, of course, pick up a couple of boyfriends along the way. I'd would be popular and do all sorts of fun things and it would all be maahvelous. Before you all start groaning, remember, I had never been to school before and only had t.v and books to base my idea on what "real" school life was. And I wanted that. In the worst way. Before I started school I was a pretty happy-go-lucky girl who had a great social life at church with all my Brazilian friends. They all thought I was pretty great. It also helped that I was American. I wasn't super concerned with my looks and was happy with my permed, short hair ( I insisted on it.Think "Annie"), huge eye glasses and very  bright and colorful clothing. You can imagine my surprise and utter dismay when school was not what I had anticipated. In fact for my first two years there, it was, in my thirteen and fourteen year old mind, hell. I  looked different, was different, awkward,friendless,insecure, picked on, made fun of and the butt of cruel pranks. My parent's told me that they would take me out anytime I wanted them to if I didn't want to deal with it anymore. But, I didn't want out. I wanted to stay and I wanted to do whatever it took to be the person that everyone liked and thought was cool. Not only did I not have a boyfriend,boys didn't seem to notice me at all! I know it hurt my parents to see me hurting and they wanted to do all they could to help me out but I was stubborn and wanted to stay and continue on. My parent's continually told me that all that didn't matter and I shouldn't care what other people thought. That in the future, all of that would be irrelevant and so would the cruel people. They insisted I was special,fun, kind and pretty( go figure!!), that God loved me just the way I was, and all those insecurities I had were unfounded. People just needed to get to know me for who I was. And it was their loss if they didn't. (humph!) Eventually I "grew into myself" and gained more confidence.But when you're in high school that is your world and you can't see past it. By my tenth grade year I did  make those "best friends" and many others, in fact. Even boys became my friends! (But I  never did pick up those boyfriends!) School got much better for me and I had fun, got into sports,drama, discovered my singing ability and made lasting, good memories to go along with the bad ones. Wast it ever what I dreamed it would be? No.  Was it ever really easy for me? Nope.

And this is where I  start to get into the real reason for this post.

After reading my journal, I got sad and wished I hadn't felt the way I felt and placed so much importance on the things that I did. I laughed at how dra-maahtic I was about my feelings and the huge words that I used. I snickered over the different boy I "fell in love with" every other day. But it hurt all over again to see the insecure and desperate- for- popularity girl I had become. I prayed to God that my girls would not have to go through what I went through in high school. That they would be happy with themselves, confident, easy going, kind, compassionate servants of the Lord. I also prayed that the Lord would give them good friends, great memories and great experiences in junior high and high school.  That, even if they chose to have a silly hairstyle or be quirky in some way they would do it proudly and with no apologies. One of the movies that has always hit home with me has been " Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion."  If you haven't seen it, it's about two best friends who were "outcasts" in high school but turned into party girls once they get into adulthood. They decide to go to their 10 year high school reunion with fake jobs and lives and make everyone believe they were way more successful than what they really were. Well, things didn't turn out well for them at the reunion and they ended up making fools of themselves because they are caught in their lie. They are then ridiculed and made fun of and Romy stomps off all upset and angry that all of those people still didn't see them any differently. Well, Michelle decides she's had enough of Romy's pouting and insecurities.

And here is my favorite part-

 Michelle lights into Romy and tells her she thought high school was a blast. She didn't know that they were considered dorks and outcasts. She had a great time because Romy was her best friend, they had fun together and they did what they wanted. It never occurred to her to be anything different than what she was.I'll spare you all the details but the movie ends wonderfully and everybody gets their just desserts. That my friends, is how I wish I had been and what I want for my girls.

***And now for the point of this post!!***

So it was a small surprise and blessing to read the chapter that I read in "The Power Of A Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian this morning. It was titled "Being The Person God Created". Her words perfectly touched upon all the things I had been thinking last night. Here is what she said

" Not knowing who God made us to be, trying to be who we are not, or even just desiringto be someone else, can only lead to a life of misery, frustration, and unfulfillment."

".....We can pray that our children have ears to hear God's voice so such misery doesn't happen to them."

"Young girls compare themselves to other girls and see them as having prettier hair, nicer clothes, a better house, greater popularity, higher scholastic achievement, or more talent and beauty. (me in a nutshell in high school!!) Young boys look at other boys and see them as taller, better looking, greater athletes, having more friends, more hair, more possessions, or more skills and ability. This day after day comparing and falling short can attack the true identity of a child. I've known far too many young people who, by the time they reach their teens, long to be someone other than who they are. Instead of appreciating who God made them to be and spending their energies trying to be their  best at that, they strive and strain to be something they can't be, doing something that will never fulfill them. Our prayers can block this plan of the enemy and give our children a clear vision of themselves and their future."

"From the time my children were small I prayed for God to reveal to us what their gifts and talents were. Along with that I asked for wisdom as to how best encourage, nurture, develop and train them to be all God made them to be. Helping them to appreciate their strengths and not dwell on their weaknesses.....

"I know they will never fully understand who they are until they understand who God is."

This, my friends, is the whole point of this long post. Even though my children are young, and not even in kindergarten yet, I can begin to pray for their futures. Their elementary school years, junior high years, high school years and even college years. I can start to pray now for a confident yet humble, godly character, friends,experiences and choices when they hit high school. And pray hard that they make the best choices possible and be all that the Lord created them to be.

And even...

 their future boyfriends. (God help us!!)

April Edition Of Serious.Life

The April edition of Serious.Life Magazine is now up and ready for                                      viewing at www.seriouslifemagazine.com. It's free and has great content.They have a great blog directory and are always open to listing more blogs. If you're interested  in listing your blog check out this link. http://www.seriouslifemagazine.com/blog_directory.asp.

 

Another Exciting Blog Opportunity.Seriously.

I'm excited to let you know about this publication I’m a part of called Serious.Life Magazine.  They just published the March issue today, and I am in their Featured Blog Directory. It’s a very high quality magazine… you’ll really like it.

The magazine includes a lot of great content from bloggers you’ll appreciate, as well as great features, photos and other content.  The magazine is owned and published by a family who have seven kids, three adopted and one who has Leukemia (www.riggsfamilyblog.com). The magazine gives away a bunch of ads to charities and ministries.  Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor… all sorts of “life” topics.

 

Again, the subscription is FREE, and I know you’ll enjoy the magazine, so take a minute to check it out and sign up to get future issues.  www.seriouslifemagazine.com 

  

 

Check 'em out!!

My Goals and Not To Do List For 2009

Where do I start?? I have so much to say and my mind is just all over the place. Bear with me as I make my way back into the blogosphere and try to do so coherently.

I wanted to share with you my goals for this coming year as well as my "Not To Do List". Then, I would love to hear what your goals/resolutions/not to do lists are.

My Goals For 2009 Are:

-To continue getting up early and reading my Bible and spending time in prayer

-To read more Christian living books. I have a couple I want to focus on. Right now I'm reading " The Power Of A Praying Wife" along with my morning Bible reading. It has been amazing.  I highly recommend this book to all wives. I want to read this book several times this year as well as " The Purpose Driven Life". I really think if I focus more on God's word and delving more into writings by godly authors I won't focus so much on my circumstances and give into depressing emotions. As mentioned before Mike and I are going to read " The Love Dare" together. I don't want to start reading too many books at once so I'm going to focus on " The Power Of A Praying Wife" right now. Then we'll do " The Love Dare". I also bought " Sacred Marriage" and would like to add it to my list. I'll keep you posted  on what I think of these books. If you decide to read any of these books let me know what you think as well.

-Along this same line, I would like to start exercising. Before you start laughing, let me explain why exercise is on my list-again- this year. Yes, exercise is great for your health and for losing weight(which I desperately need) but it's also great for emotional well being. As you all know, I struggle a bit with discontentment and letting negative emotions get the best of me. Exercise releases feel- good -endorphins and helps relieve stress. Both of which I need in my life right now. I'm also hoping to trick my brain into wanting to exercise more regularly. Maybe if I'm doing it for a reason other than losing weight I'll succeed!!

In all seriousness, I want to make Bible reading, prayer, positive reading and exercise my top priorities. The main point being my emotional health.

-To stop yelling so much. I admit, it's something I do. I'm a yeller. And I hate that about myself.

-To slowly organize and sift through the clutter in my house

-Finish updating Madelyn's baby book which I'm sadly behind on.

-Spend more quality time with my children instead of focusing on housework,errands and other less important stuff.

-I want to let more go. Dust, insecurities, hurt feelings, petty annoyances, shallow relationships

-Going to say "no" more often. Even to something good, if it's not good for my family at the time.

-I really want to come up with a good  daily schedule that helps me maintain order and make good headway  in my housework each day. Oh, and still be done by 8:00 in the evening so I can sit and relax on the couch with my hubby. Essentially clocking out for the evening.

My Not To Do List-

-Not going to let "the small stuff" get to me

- Not going to expect others/my husband/my children to give me/make me happy. Only God can do that.

-Not going to feel bad for saying "no"
-Not going to over -commit myself

-Not going to waste my time  on relationships/friendships that are shallow, frivolous and time wasting.

-Not going let my kids childhood pass me by while I stress about things I have no control over at this point.

 

So, what are your goals/resolutions/ not -to- do's this year?

I've uploaded my Christmas pictures and I'll be posting those next.

-

Lessons From 6AM:Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This(sorry this is a long post, but I hope well worth the read)

Yesterday was not a good day. Actually the past couple of weeks have not been good. As I've mentioned in previous posts I do struggle with discontentment and maybe even depression at times. I wouldn't dare trivialize true depression and anxiety that many people suffer so I will  not put myself in that category. My depression, I believe, is self inflicted. If that makes sense at all. It's circumstantially based. As in- I'm not happy with my circumstances and I REALLY want God to change them RIGHT NOW. And if things are not going the way I expected and want I feel overwhelmed, angry, and depressed. There's a lot going on in our lives right now that I don't write too much about because it's personal and it involves several facets of our lives.

A lot of stuff that bothers me. And depresses me. 

Rest assured, my marriage is fine,  my  kids are fine, our health is fine and we're struggling along financially as best we can in this economy. And with living in "Taxachussets". Which is part of my problem. Living in Massachusetts. But, I digress.

 I've had my good moments of course. I've had funny things happen, I've had my emotional ups and days where I want to weep with gratefulness to God for my wonderful husband, my children that I love so much I can hardly stand it sometimes.And then I've had days like yesterday, where nothing seems to be going right, I'm not happy with anything I want to ship my children, my husband and my house....to China. But yesterday I just wept.

A lot.

Yesterday started out fine. I took the girls to the mall to get their pictures taken at The Picture People.As anyone with small children knows, it's hard to get them to cooperate with you while taking pictures. I seemed to have forgotten this yesterday. I figured I'd get Katelyn's three year pictures done and then we'd throw Madelyn and a Christmas tree in a couple of the pictures and call it a day. I'd have my Christmas cards all done and some lovely pictures of the girls to show off. Katelyn started out doing well in the pictures and but after about 3 or 4 shots she was ready to quit. The photographer had other plans for her. On and on Katelyn's photo shoot went. Madelyn walked around getting into things and trying to get in the pictures we didn't want her in. When the time came for Maddy to be in the pictures Katelyn was in a terrible mood and Madelyn no longer wanted to be in the pictures. The photographer had me doing all sorts of things to keep Katelyn and Madelyn in the positions she wanted them. May I also point out that she did not have the best manner with children and made her frustration very obvious. Pose after pose did not turn out right. I was ready to strangle both of the girls by the time we had some good shots of them. Madelyn just did not want to cooperate at all and cried a lot. I had to continually threaten Katelyn and demand she smile for the pictures so we could get it over with. It was finally done and I was frustrated, hot, aching and sweaty. Then came the waiting for the pictures to be on the large screens so we could view them. While we were waiting Katelyn asked to go play. I said ok, go play. The PP has a large, colorful ottoman- like seat in the front and an art easel and just plenty of open space to play around in. At that point I just wanted her to go play and let me chill for a bit. She kept asking me to come with her and I kept saying I didn't need to come with her . She could go to the front of the room and play while I sad at the tables towards the back and watched her. So she said "I can go by myself?" I said "Yes, Katelyn, you can go play by yourself."

Well, turns out we miscommunicated a bit.

 What she was really trying to ask me was to go out into the mall to the Santa's Village area where Santa was taking pictures with the kids. She kept thinking that was a play area.

I did not understand this at the time.

So I busied myself with putting the girls' stuff back in their bags and giving Madelyn her juice. When I looked up, Katelyn was gone. I checked all over the big room thinking she had gone behind the counter or gone into one of the photography rooms. Nope. She was not in Picture People anymore. With mounting panic I ran out into the mall and started calling her name. I didn't see her anywhere. I ran back inside PP and grabbed Madelyn and headed out into the mall screaming her name like a mad woman. I was beginning to feel hysterical and like I was going to cry at this point. Then I heard Katelyn screaming my name. I looked to the right and she was running towards me with Santa right behind her. She had walked to "Santa's Village"(which to be fair, was not too far away from the PP) and apparently walked right inside to where Santa was. He apparently was trying to figure out who she belonged to and she realized she didn't like him as much as she thought she would. She came running and crying to me saying " IIII don't waaaant Saaaanta!!". I grabbed on to her and marched her back into the Picture People with a mixture of relief and fury that she  had scared me like that. I let her have it in front of everyone in PP and then held her for awhile. We then had to talk about her walking away from me in public. At that point I was very thankful that -

a) she is loud, can out scream the best of them.

b) was afraid of Santa

c) remembered which way to run to get back to the PP.

So, our pictures were finally ready to just bed viewed and I labored over my decision of which pictures were the best. I then let myself be talked into buying a large, expensive picture package complete with framed photo collages etc. That whole process took awhile so by the end of it we were all starving and very, very cranky. Since the PP have your pictures ready to go in about an hour I thought we could eat, I'd let the girls play in the play area and we'd look at the Christmas displays in Target since Katelyn really enjoys that. Well, little things kept going wrong and Katelyn was being a pain about everything. I was really getting annoyed and angry with her attitude and behavior. I'd finally had enough and decided we were going to pick up the pictures and leave. It's was almost 2:00 by this time. The girls fell asleep in the car on the way home and did NOT nap once we got home. So the rest of the day was frustrating and cranky. When Mike got home he was not real happy with the amount I spent on the pictures  and I almost had to take most of them back. I admit to having spent a ridiculous amount on a package that I let myself get talked into. But we did come to a good agreement by the end of our discussion. I almost didn't want to look at the pictures by the end of the evening I was so frustrated and discouraged. I got all emotional and began to cry and couldn't stop for awhile. I just felt down in the dumps about everything. Even stuff that didn't happen yesterday. Thankfully I have a caring, compassionate husband who just held me and comforted me for awhile. We had a nice talk and by the end I was feeling much better.

I woke up this morning and read Psalms and found a lot of comfort and wisdom in them.

God reminded me again that He is control.

That I'm an adult and days like this, even weeks like this happen.

That even when things aren't going exactly the way I want them, I'm still blessed way more than I deserve because I have my salvation. 

That even though I want to hide from unpleasantness, confrontation, and mistakes I need to face them. He wants me to learn from mistakes, confrontation and unpleasant things.

He wants my character to grow and reflect Him.

I can't throw little tantrums about everything and expect Him to give me what I want. He's not going to show me new things until I learn to accept what He's trying to teach me and show me now.

Today was a much better day. Praise the Lord. As much as I want this blog to be full of funny stories and cute pictures, I have to share my reality too.  I have to share what the Lord is doing in my life. And hopefully it will be an encouragement to you. I will shut it down here since this is so long.

 If you've read this far.. thank you.

 

Lessons From 6AM

 

I have been successfully getting up around 6-ish every morning to read my Bible for the past several weeks. Now I'm not looking for a pat on the back or praise of any sort. I have been struggling and trying to do this for months(years?) and had not been able to succesfully do it. Reading my Bible had become a ever-now-and-then thing when I had kids. I tried reading it at several different times of day and nothing was working. If I read it during the day I was interrupted by the kids or the noise or whatever. If I tried to read it before bed I, ahem...fell asleep. I didn't want to take the time during nap time because that is precious cleaning/paying bills/laundry and anything else I can't do while the kids are awake time. Plus, I found myself rushing my reading when I did try to read it during naptime. And my mind was on a million other things. So,I thought, what about first thing in the morning? What if I got up before everyone else? Then I also thought, what if I also used some of that time to blog, and check my e-mail etc so I'm not doing it during breakfast time? Let me tell ya, the first few days weeks were a struggle. I figured out to be able to have a good amount of time to read, spend some time in prayer,and have some computer time I would have to get up at 6:00AM. The girls start waking up around 7:00. There were days at the beginning that I would just groan and want to roll back over and go to sleep. BUT, I have come to enjoy this quiet time every so much every morning that now I'm practically addicted! What a great way to start my day. I truly can't wait for this sweet time with the Lord( and all the peaceful quiet) that I get each morning. I now get upset(and usually have a cranky day) if I don't get up for it.

The Lord has really been slapping me upside the head, speaking to me a lot on certain subjects as of late, through His Word. I feel as if every passage I turn to He touches on these subjects. I've also been learning a lot through the Ladies Bible Study I host at my home as well as through some Christian Blogs I read. Of course, they are all also touching on the subjects the Lord has been convicting my heart of.

I'm probably going to do a series of posts on this since there is a lot to write in one post.I'm going to call them "Lessons From 6AM". I hope these can be a blessing to you. I know that the Lord is definitely using my early morning quiet time to teach me some things I really needed to hear and was to stubborn to listen to for a long time. Ouch! I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

My Thoughts on Halloween

 

I'm back! And no, not with  a "Not Me Monday" post. Sadly, I did not have time this weekend to prepare or think of stuff to offer up for "Not Me Monday". Our friend Marian did not end up staying for the whole weekend but  it was still a very nice, too short visit. You are welcome back any time Marian!! :o) We were busy visiting the Harvest Fair and indoor garage sale at my inlaws church and preparing for the Harvest Fun Fest at our church Sunday night.  Since it is Halloween time I figured I'd post a few thoughts I have on Halloween. I've been reading some blogs posted by my favorite bloggers(who happen to be Christians) and the responses they are getting about Halloween. Most are not in favor of Christians celebrating Halloween. Some offer alternative ways for your children to have fun this time of year without actually celebrating Halloween or trick or treating. Others offer ways to get the good news of Jesus Christ out while trick or treating. I figured I'd throw in my two cents and your two cents are also welcome in return. I am a born- again, Christian and I grew up in a Christian home. Yet, Halloween is up there as one of my favorite times of year. Surprised? Yes, I love Halloween!! I don't know how it turned into one of my favorite times of year but it is. I love the decorations, the costumes, and the atmosphere. I love seeing little children dressed up in cute costumes. We did not celebrate Halloween growing up since we lived in Brazil. Children did not dress up and go trick or treating there. In fact, I believe that the people who did celebrate Halloween in Brazil were the ones who practiced satanic rituals.My love for Halloween started later in life. I think part of it stems from the fact that I love to dress up! I love to find a cute or funny get up and have an excuse to go out and wear it for a night. I was also a preschool teacher for 10 years and we were always allowed to have Halloween parties with the kids. I so enjoyed decorating my classroom with cute(not scary or gory) decorations, making treat bags and watching my little students come in all dressed in their costumes. The children had so much fun! That feeling has stuck with me through the years and I still look forward to Halloween every year. I must admit now that I have children I'm not quite sure how I am going to approach this as they get older. My girls are still too young for me to explain the "origin" of Halloween and how it started out as a pagan holiday. This year we are going trick or treating for the first time with Katelyn. Madelyn will be going too but she won't quite understand what's going on:o). I  do believe, however, that many Christians make such a big deal out of NOT celebrating Halloween that they bring more attention to it's pagan origins than if they had just gotten dressed up and gone trick or treating. I think there can be a fine balance and I also think there are ways to glorify God this time of year. Society already views many conservative Christians as self righteous, judgmental cooks who have no fun and look down their noses at everything. I don't want to be one of those people. God encourages us in the Bible to be "in the world, but not of it". I can't show the searching people out there the love of Christ if all they see is my nose. Some Christians are so "not of the world" their feet don't touch the ground and they aren't fit for an earthly ministry. That said, there are many things I do stay away from and don't find there can be a "balance". Halloween is not one of them. I plan on letting my children dress up every year and (safely) go trick or treating. I want to teach them that many of the children and families they are going to see out on Halloween night don't know the love of Jesus. It will be a night to remember that these families need praying for and the good news needs to be shared with them.  Our church has a Harvest party every  year where the children are welcome to wear their costumes. I think this is a great idea and can be extended to the community. How can we, as Christians, share the light of Christ if we are hidden at home with the lights off on Halloween night? When else are we going to come in contact with people willingly coming to our door and opening theirs to us? I mean no offense whatsoever to any Christian or person who believes differently on this subject. Each believer is accountable to God for their actions and beliefs and you must do what God is calling you to do. I just think there is a different way to handle this subject other than abstaining completely from it and acting like it doesn't exist. Our children are going to be faced with it each year. I don't want to be the house or family in my neighborhood who's Light is not shining on Halloween. Here are some ideas I have found. I wish I could take credit for most of them but I can't. 

• I read about one lady who had a Veggie Tales movie playing in her front lawn for the little trick or treaters to stop and watch after getting their treats from her. What a cute idea!
• How about passing out a tract with the salvation message on it with your treat?(Make sure it's a really good treat however.  You are attaching a life changing message to it!)
• One mom had her kids make a cute magnet craft with a Bible verse on it to pass out with their candy. They lady found that several of the families still had the magnet attached to their fridge and were looking forward to receiving another one the following year. What a great way to get your children involved as well.
• Some families also choose to go out dressed as Bible characters and pass out candy with a Bible message attached to it.

• I have seen many Bible themed Halloween crafts to do with your own child or to give away on oriental trading.com. Many of those crafts would be fun to do each Halloween with your child or to give away with the candy.

 Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may  see your good works, and  glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Luke 8:16
 Now  no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.

Now, what do YOU think about this subject?? Comments are welcome. Please keep them civil and polite! LOL

I think I'm a little afraid.....

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On a completely different subject- I am in the middle of tweaking my blog again. Many of my links don't work-I'm trying to fix that. I'm still trying to find a design I like. I'm also moving all my old blogs from my xanga account over. Those go back to 2006! So have patience and keep reading. Oh, and thank you!

 

Off To See Beth Moore

I'm so excited! I get to see Beth Moore tonight! This will be the first time I have ever gotten to see her speak live. I have done several of her Bible Studies and watched her speak on video. I love her. I think she is such a gifted speaker and I always come away from her studies feeling like I've grown closer to God. She is doing "New England Nights" and is coming to the University of New Hampshire so a bunch of ladies from church are going. I am off in about an hour to drop Madelyn off at my in laws, take Katelyn for her 3 year check up, back to pick up Maddy and then pick up our friend Jenn to babysit for me while I'm gone. Then we come back home, I cook lunch real quick, explain the ropes to Jenn and then I'm off to meet my other friend Jen for us to meet the other ladies for a late lunch/ early dinner. It will take us maybe an hour to get to the restaurant. THEN we go get in line at UNH since it's free -for- all seating at these events and everyone wants the good seats. All of the ladies from our church are wearing paper crowns so we can distinguish our group from everyone else.*chuckle* I will hopefully get some good pictures to share. I did end up not being able to find my ticket at 7:AM this morning and was frantic. But the lady who organized this event assured me that it shouldn't be a problem. She made copies of all the tickets and still has the receipt. Good woman! Not only was I frantic, but angry, frustrated, disappointed and flustered all come to mind. Thank God for small(and large!) miracles.

Ta ta for now. I'll have more to post later!!