Robin Hood... is he really Good?

Robin Hood… Is he really Good?

Romans 2:21 (ESV) “…you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  While you preach against stealing, do you steal?”

Sometimes my kids ask me things and I am just totally caught off guard.

Later I will fill you in on the questions Bug had while reading Genesis…. that is a story for another time.  (Be afraid!)

For those of you playing along at home, Bug is now 8 ½ going on 30, and Boo is 4 ½ going on Princess and CEO of the entire world while being a Ninja Spy. Yeah, something like that.

One day last week we were just sitting in the truck and Bug was excited because she was able to ride in the front. We will just try to overlook the fact that she was in the front because I had too much junk in the back seat for both Boo and Bug to sit back there. It made her happy and I didn’t have to move my stuff, so it was a win-win.

A few miles down the road she asks one of her random “what you think I will ask and what I really want to know are different things” questions. She has had a multitude of these lately.

“Mom, if Robin Hood steals from the rich, and gives it to the poor; when the rich stole it first, is he a good person, or a bad person?”

At 8 years old she is old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong. However, sometimes even we adults get confused when we start trying to blur the lines and rationalize behaviors because they are done for the good of other people.

It is still wrong.

My answer was this:  Robin Hood had a good idea, and possibly a good heart to try to help the poor people. However, the way he went about it was not right. A better option would have been if he tried to find a different way to help them, or a way to stop them from being robbed in the first place. It did not make him a bad person. He had a good idea, but he chose a bad way to accomplish his goal, however noble the goal was.

If Robin Hood had a little Robin Hood Jr., how would he have been able to justify his actions? How can he say that “stealing is wrong!” when everyone watches him steal from others? 

In case you don't know, people watch us every single day. Our kids, coworkers, everyone. The people around us know what morals we claim to have, and sit back to see if we actually choose to live them out in our daily lives.

It is one of the hardest things to do as a follower of Christ, but he does command that we not retaliate against others.  We are to stand up for ourselves, but not to seek revenge.

Matthew 5: 43-48 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

After all of that explaining, what was the response I received? Usually this kid is full of debate, question after question.

All she said was, “Oh, ok.”

Really? 

If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to leave a comment!

Kris    

Tim Hawkins Things you don't say to your wife

New post is coming somethime this weekend.   Until then, Enjoy!! We saw Tim Hawkins this past Sunday.  He is a Christian comedian  and is so very funny!  If you would like to see his website, it is http://www.timhawkins.net/

Poem: Sins in the Sand

I have a few ideas for my next post bouncing around in my head like a 3 year old that ate too much Easter chocolate. However, I've yet to round them up yet and turn them into anything that makes a lot of sense at the moment.

Because of that, and my recent dislike of Google sites (I could probably do a whole blog entry just on what, but I really doubt anyone wants to hear me rant that much), I decided to post another one of my poems today. It lets me update, while still planning how to capture my thoughts and tame them into coherent sentences.

I hope that everyone had a great Easter! Let us remember not to let the "high" of the season wear off. God's love for us is as great today as it was yesterday!

Sins in the Sand


As ocean tides erase the sand
my sins are gone by God's hand
the Son of God, healer, my friend
He bled and died, yet rose again

Born to overthrow death's victory
So we could be born again, in thee
Eternally praising God the King
Never to face sin's eternal sting

Let the mercy waves come wash me clean
as for Christ I prepare to sing
As closer to Christ I grow and mature
let fewer sins mark my shore

and while I live let me tell
the ONLY way to be saved from hell
Ask Christ to come into your life and receive
His gift that is free to all who believe

God wants to use his loving hand
To rid the world of their sins in the sand

Easter Poem

Happy Easter! This is a short poem I wrote several years ago. I was trying to capture the love, the pain, the...everything that I feel about Easter and try to imagine what Jesus must have felt at the same time. We will never know exactly how much love; pure, honest love, that this act of grace and mercy made God feel. We can understand to the best of our human ability, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Thank God that He saved us! To come up with a plan for our salvation was wonderful. Then to follow through on it, for us, especially when it was this physically and heartbreakingly painful? Like I said, our human minds will never fully comprehend the level of love that he has for us.

Easter's Worth

Crucified on the cross

nailed down for our sins

a beaten body

hung upon a tree

We wonder, how could he be powerful?

dying as a common thief

the power that raised the dead

would not stop his own death

But his CHOICE is the difference

it is not that he did not HAVE the power

he simply chose not to use it

this is the most unselfish act ever

Human minds focus on the physical pain

a most horrific way to die

Usually we dwell on this

Was his cry of agony due to the nails?

No, sin was thrust upon the sinless

and because of this, he was separated

violently torn apart from God himself

The Holy had to turn his face from him

Jesus chose not to save himself-

not to call on angels or just walk down,

and let himself die, excruciatingly.

darkness before the light to come

Then He rose

three days later, he rose!

would it have been so beautiful

if the death had not been as horrible?

No one raised him up

He had the power, He raised himself

and unlike Lazarus, Jesus did not die again

no, He raised up forever

Death is conquered!

the creation can reach the creator once more

through a bridge made of the wood of the cross

and the eternal light of Jesus' resurrection



Bug got Baptized

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said,"Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. "

John 3: 1-7, 16-18 NIV


Hello everyone!!

I have wonderful news! Just a week or so ago my daughter, Bug (7), prayed one night with her dad to receive Christ and was baptized! So Amazing!! There are very few things, if anything, that as a parent I can compare to knowing that my daughter now knows Jesus personally; and that when our brief time on earth is over she will be with me and her father with our HEAVENLY Father for eternity, praising God.

Did I mention how extremely EXCITED I am?!?!

God works in wonderful and mysterious ways. The Sunday before she prayed, we had 5 children at our church be baptized. That really got the wheels turning in her brain. She has always loved watching whenever anyone was baptized, but I don't think she really understood what was happening.

That night, and the nights following, she asked many questions. She asked me, her dad, and her teachers at church. We wanted to be sure that she really understood what was going on, and was not just following the crowd because she thought it was something she was supposed to do.

She really understood! After praying with her dad, the first thing she did was start crying. When he asked her why, she said,"But what about all of my friends that don't know Jesus?"

Wow! I love my compassionate little girl. To develop a faith in Christ and then immediately have a heart for the lost, I am just overwhelmed!

To all of you who believe, celebrate with us! To those of you that do not, you should really read up on it and ask someone you know if you have any questions!!

God Bless!!

~Kris

Charlie Brown Christmas

I can't explain it much simpler than that... this is what Christmas is all about.

Merry CHRISTmas everyone! Enjoy your families, friends, and all of the other wonderful things God has blessed you with and brought you through this past year!

KPL

Dealing with Loss at Christmas

Loss at any time of the year is painful.

Loss during what is supposed to be a joyful season seems even worse.

Whether it is actually worse is not easy to determine. Maybe it is because our expectations of this time of year are so high, that this blow seems much worse than at other times in our lives. Whatever the reason, the loss is real, and unfortunately it will be tied with the remembrance of the holiday for years to come.

Without going into detail, I'll just share that some young people in my town lost their lives today. I ask that you pray for the families and friends: God knows exactly who they are and will comfort them in ways that we could never understand.

When faced with things like this, it can be difficult to also have a focus on Jesus, the "Reason for the Season" as all those bumper stickers call him.

However, I believe that is exactly what we must do, especially during times such as this.

Jesus is the reason we have salvation. If they believed, then Jesus is the reason we will one day again see our friends or family in heaven. Jesus is the one to bring us into fellowship with God. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit, to live and dwell in us and comfort us in only ways that he can.

Jesus is with us, not to tell us not to worry or not to cry, but to hold us while we do so, and offer us the hope of a life beyond this everyday existence that we have now.

I pray for each of you reading this that you never have to know what it is like to lose someone during this season, however the odds of that over a lifetime are slim to none. If or when it happens, just remember who to put your hope and trust in.

Cry out to Jesus.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today is a day that we try to set aside as a country to remember and honor those who have, and continue to, serve in our military to help make and keep this country what it has become today. No matter how many things our country does that are right or wrong, we must admit there are not many other places that we would have as many rights as we do here. We even have the right to complain when we do not like something, which is something many in other countries do not!

I would like to say a special thanks to anyone who served in active duty and was away from their homes and families. I do not think I could do it, but I do thank God that there are people out there who can, and do, for all of us. Words can not express the real thanks that we owe all of you.

I would also like to thank everyone else in the military. Whether you were called to serve in action or not, you were always trained to be ready, just in case, and ever vigilant. Thank you, as well.

Big thanks to both my Dad and Granddaddy, who both served in the military until they retired.

Let us all remember that today is not just about getting a day off of work, but remembering those who will fight for us, no matter what the cost.

Excuses... and More Excuses....

In the mornings my Granny and Grandaddy, who for some unknown reason to me have always woken up at a ridiculous hour before sunrise, listen to the local radio station while they eat breakfast and prepare for their day. When we lived in another city we would come down some weekends and stay with them, so I have witnessed this routine many times first hand.

First of all, I'd like to say that my Granny makes the BEST pancakes in the world. You might think that yours does, but you would be sadly mistaken. If it would not embarrass her to pieces I'd even let Granny do a cook off to prove her status as Pancake Queen. My kids love them!

Sadly for Bug and Boo, when mine aren't the frozen variety, they still come out of a box that I can just mix with water...

Anyway....

On Sundays there is one song that is almost always called in and requested on this radio station. Excuses, by the Kingmen. Here are the lyrics if you are interested:  http://www.songlyrics.com/kingsmen/excuses-lyrics/
It is basically a song about all of the excuses someone can come up with for not going to church.

Man I know how that feels! 

It is hard for me to get up and go to work, which I might add I have to be at a LOT earlier than church, but somehow in my mind work is in the "have to" column, and I seem to have put Church into the "when I can" column.

Yep, seeing that in black and white, that just ain't right folks.

So, here's to all of you people like me, who need to log off of the computer and go to sleep so that we can go and worship with our fellow believers tomorrow.  Back away from the computer... I know you can do it.... just remember to come back another day and read again.   :)

Hebrews 10: 25  (ESV)

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Old Mother Hubbard

Happy Early Halloween my peeps! Ok, don't call me out on that one, I am well aware that I am WAY too old to be using the word "peeps".... but I like the way it sounds, so I use it anyway. Grr... aren't I a rebel?

Tonight my church is having Trunk or Treat. For a lot of families it is a nice, safe alternative to going up to strangers houses and trick or treating in the dark.  We still go on Halloween, but that is only to the families' houses so that they can take pictures of the girls, "ooh" and "aah" over them, and then give them a bucket load of candy that somehow I believe I wind up eating most of.

Our theme tonight is "Once upon a time".  I am sure there will be plenty of people there with wonderful ideas of how to dress and a game they can do with the kiddos.

As for me, I am going to be Old Mother Hubbard.

Yep, that old lady that didn't have food for her dog, that is going to be me. I think I'm going to sit in a rocking chair covered up by a blanket, and have a pail for kids to toss dog treats into to feed my ceramic Scooby Doo. And yes, it is mine, most people think it is my kids but my in laws got it for me 3 years before I even had kids, because they love me and are aware of my Scooby addiction.

I have already looked up this rhyme on the internet, because lets face it, that was a long time ago and I had no idea how the words actually went. And I am now printing off dog coloring pages for the girls to color to put on my poster. Yep, free labor for the procrastinator. But hey, if it looks bad and people find out a kid did it, all of a sudden it is the cutest thing in the world!!

Bug and Boo are quite the little artists, I might add.

So whatever you are doing for this season, if anything, remember to do it in the spirit of Christ. Tonight we will have fun and fellowship with some of our wonderful church family. Life is good.

Do We Come With Spare Parts?

Here's a little quiz for you....

What functions do the following do for our bodies: tonsils and adenoids?

Do you know the answer? If not, let me help you. After many hours of exhaustive research, many antibiotics, and sleepless nights, not to mention missed days of work and school, this is the conclusion I have come to:

The sole purpose of tonsils and/or adenoids is to irritate the body they are in to death, catch every airborne/mucus born infection, and hold on to it until the body must ultimately rid itself of these burdens by having them taken out and donating a nice chunk of change to some surgeon's vacation home account.

Yep, I am pretty sure that is correct.   :o)

So, in case my bitterness has not made it apparent, the Taterbug had to have her tonsils taken out last week. We did it during Fall Break, so she wouldn't miss too much school. But the poor thing felt awful this weekend, didn't go today, and I am not sure she will be able to return tomorrow just yet. However, the offensive golf balls formerly known as tonsils are safely out of her throat.

They must have been huge. The other day she told me her throat felt empty. I thought she meant she was thirsty. She said, "no, mom. Where my tonsils used to be, my throat feels so EMPTY.".  Wow.

Another "wow" moment.... 3 days after the surgery she tells me she is sick of eating ice cream. We were eating chicken at the table and she stood over me, looking at it, drooling worse than any dog I have ever seen. I have taken to eating only foods I know she despises when she is around... It was unsettling the way she was watching my nuggets.

I mentioned getting pizza Sunday because we were all tired, to which she glared at me and replied, " I would have been jealous".  Needless to say, no pizza that night.

There are a few good parts to this though. First of all, this should severely cut down on her strep infections... hopefully, anyway. That's the goal! The second is that we have all spent more time together lately. It has been great having more time with my daughters and my lovely hubby. I thank God every day for all the blessings he has given me, even the ones that come with spare parts and hospital bills.

My Bright Side

"Thank you Lord, for the day you have given us today. For all of the gifts you have given us, not the least of which is the life we have on this earth, and the eternal life we will have with you when this earthly life is over. Thank you for all of your blessings, for taking care of us, and for working all things out for Your glory. Amen."

Ah, but life should be so easy.

I say that prayer almost every day. And I mean it, I mean it with all that is inside of me. But sometimes it is much easier to say than others. Right now for instance- my husband has no job, I work part time, and we are almost 3 hours away from our family.

But God wants us to dwell on what we have, not what we do not have. The things he provides for us, sometimes even in spite of ourselves, because there can be no way we deserve it.

Here is my bright side: so far, all of our health is good, we managed to save some money over the last few months to cushion this blow, I DO have a part time job (much better than none!), the wonderful friends that I have made at work, and I have my loving family, not to mention my loving God. No matter how bad things are, we have a roof over our head, food to eat, and clothes to wear. Shelter, food, transportation, and the hope of an eternity with God. When I can focus on these, what trivial earthly matters can bother me?

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Being Lazarus

We all have things that happen to us in our lives that we do not like. They can come in various shapes and forms, from something as small as a car that will not start and makes us late, so something as serious as a life threatening disease or death of a loved one. Or something more in the middle, like a virus that just knocks us off of our feet for a bit.

Did I mention that Bug has a tummy virus? No? Well, she does.

But that is not really what today's blog is about. This pertains more toward the more serious things that can happen to us or those we love. Sickness. Loss of job. Losing your home. Death.

So I bring you a familiar passage, but maybe we can shed a little different light on it and have you think about things from a different perspective.

These are a few excerpts from the Bible, from the story of Lazarus. The whole story is in John 11:1 through John 12:11 if you would like to read it. All scripture quoted below is from the NIV translation.

John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

John 11:14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

John 11:25 Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 11: 40, 43-44 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.

John 12: 9-11 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

I know we have probably all heard this story before. As a side note, if you have not, you should really check it out. I remember mainly thinking of this story in terms of what Jesus did for Lazarus and for his sisters. He gave Lazarus another shot at life, and he gave his sisters their brother back. Wouldn't that be amazing? To be mourning the loss of your loved one, and have them be able to come back and have a second chance! Or even more so, to have your days on earth done and be given a second chance by the Son of God himself to accomplish even more for his kingdom. How wonderful a gift!

However, if you read all the verses you might be able to tell that is not my focus this time. Jesus tried to tell the disciples, and us, the reason that Lazarus got sick and eventually died. Was it because Lazarus sinned, did something wrong, or was sick for no reason? No. Was it so that Jesus could give him and his family the wonderful gift of seeing him come back? No, although that was a nice side benefit for them.

No. God let it happen so that his Son Jesus would be glorified through it. As you read further, you will see that many people came to believe in Jesus because of this miracle and the walking testimony of Lazarus himself. So much so that when the priests started plotting to kill Jesus, they even discussed killing Lazarus because of all the people who believed because of him.

Bottom line is this. Sometimes when we go through trials and difficulties, especially when it seems things are as bad as they can get, we might be going through that very thing just so that God can be glorified. Not for us, not for our better good necessarily, but for the good of God. He will work all things out for His glory. Take comfort in your trials. God might be preparing miracle that you can give the testimony for and give all the glory to God. Sometimes to do that he has to take us to a place where there is no other hope or way out, except for him, just so that everyone will be able to see that God was the only way you could have gotten out of your trouble.

In God alone, through God alone, and for God alone

Praise be to God, that sometimes he lets us take part in his wonderful work to bring people back to him. We should all hope to be Lazarus someday. Not that we want to die, but so that we could be used for him.

Being Lazarus. A walking, talking testimony of the love of Jesus. Proof that what was once dead spiritually can now be alive. How wonderful!

Carrots vs Shells and Cheese

Bug hates vegetables. That is the 5 year old. Luckily so far the baby will eat anything that gets remotely close to her mouth and does not move. But Bug hates veggies. And she hates most fruit also. We have expanded her culinary horizon greatly compared to a year ago, but it is still like waging war to even mention what veggies are going to be on her plate at dinner time. She can have a plate full of shells and cheese - her absolute favorite - but all she sees and talks about and WHINES about are those few spoonfuls of carrots beside it that she must eat also. You would think I was making her go on a strict vegetarian diet with absolutely no chicken nuggets in sight to hear the way she acts when a few measly little veggies find their way onto her plate. It's like she doesn't even see the food she likes, she is too busy focusing on what she does NOT like.

As adults, I have noticed that we tend to act this same way about things in our life to our heavenly Father. He puts a few things in our path for us to go through to either grow, strengthen our character, or just to simply learn to rely on him instead of ourselves while we get through the mess. When these things happen we seem to instantly forget about all the great and wonderful things he has done and is continuing to do in our lives, and only see the horrible big bad obstacle that is now before us. Why are we so short sighted? We want our shells and cheese, but can't seem bear down and struggle through something we don't like long enough to eat our carrots.

Do you ever have one of those days? You know--you wake up late, all the shaving cream is gone, work is awful, the kids are in a bad mood, your spouse is having a bad day also, no one seems to care, you realize you forgot to mail a payment, you find out they are having layoffs at your work, and then the very last straw is when you burn dinner to a crisp! Ever have one of those days, or those weeks? The little things chip away at us slowly and if we do not notice and take action, when a big obstacle comes up it will tear a giant chunk of us off.

Lately a lot of things have been going on in the lives of people I know, and my personal life, that can bring on worry, doubt, and even discouragement. Fortunately, the new series our church is doing right now is on HOPE. This has been very timely for me! I am also reading a book Having a Mary heart in a Martha world, that speaks a lot about worry and discouragement.

What are we to do when it feels as if everything, and sometimes everyone, in our lives has turned against us? Should we lie down and give up, get mad and pitch a 2-year-old type tantrum, go shopping (sometimes even if we have no money), go out to eat and try to drown our problems in food? Or, worse yet, I have several people I know that just seem to "check out" of life when everything goes wrong. Their bodies are here, but their minds are not and they have no joy about anything, they just go through the motions of life.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy about your life (Amplified Bible)

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

God knows that things bad will happen in our lives. Jesus tells us that bad things WILL happen. He also tells us that we should not dwell on them. Not that we should not be concerned and do what we can, but in the end we are to realize that everything is from God. Therefore we should turn all things over to God and let him work them out and spend our time focusing on God, instead of focusing on our problems. Think through your difficulties, then prayerfully turn them and your thoughts over to God.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. (NIV)

When we spend all of our time dwelling on our problems we magnify them in our mind. Whatever we continually think about will be our perception of the world. God wants us to think constantly about the good things he has done and will do for us instead of any troubles we may be going through that will depress us. Remember, even if nothing else is going right: God sent his son to die for YOU. That is right - YOU. So that you may be redeemed. How could we let anything overshadow that simple truth?

In short, if all you see are carrots, then that is all you feel the world is. If you can hunker down long enough to eat the carrots, you can get on to the creamy shells and cheese of life.

So, eat your veggies. God wants you to have the cheese.

The Evidence We See

I don't know if I have mentioned it before or not, but I have 2 daughters. The oldest one, Bug, is five; and the baby, Boo, is 1yr. They are almost exactly 4 years apart. Most of the time you will see stuff about Bug in my entries more than Boo, just because she is older, can talk, and by those very reasons alone gives me more material to write about.

Among the many things Bug got for Christmas, one was her very first board game. It's cute, and both my hubby and I have been suckered into playing it a lot lately because Boo can't and would probably just eat the pieces. We have tried to tell Bug before that "it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game", and "just try your best", and "don't be mad at them if they win; do you want them to be mad at you if you win?". Apparently, all of this has fallen on deaf ears. She had fun while we were playing, but both times I won. The first time she didn't take it too bad, the second time she lost her "attitude coin" for today and I made her get ready for bed early. Now she says that she understands the rules of how we play and share, that she knows about being a good sport, but what do her actions show?

That may be a bit much, after all, she IS only 5 and still learning; but I want you to think about us as adults. We claim to be Christians. We claim to know right from wrong. But how do other see us? To others from the outside looking in, what do our actions show?

James 2:18-19 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder. (NIV)

Apparently we people do not change much over the centuries. "Good" people that did not believe in Christ had the same argument in Biblical times as they do today: "I am a good person and do good things, so I will go to heaven. I'm better than that such-n-such preacher on TV that claims to be all righteous but is just a hypocrite. Just look at my deeds versus his!"

There are 2 major points in these verses:

1. Deeds alone will not get you into heaven

2. If you really have faith, you will want to do good deeds out of the abundance of love and gratitude in your own heart, and that will show others the evidence of your faith.

So what about the people that claim to be Christians that backslide? Well, we all continue to sin, whether we like it or not. But the trend of our lives should be farther and farther away from sin the longer we walk with Jesus. If the trend of our lives gets farther away from him instead of closer, then we should examine whether or not we really have a relationship with him. Like the old joke of the elderly couple riding to town in the pickup truck - the wife claims there is so much distance between them as she sits by the passenger door-- her husband tells her that he is not the one who moved. People, if we used to have a wonderful relationship with God and we feel we don't now, he is not the one who moved away, we did, and we are the ones who need to move back.

A little side note here, the verse also says something about people who believe there is a God, even people who believe that Jesus came and he was the son of God. The demons and Satan know that too, but does it save them? No! Why not? Head knowledge never equals heart knowledge in God's kingdom. You can know everything possible, memorize the Bible from front to back, yet if you have not asked God to come into your heart, asked Jesus to take your place for the punishment of your sins, well then folks, you are no more a Christian than you are a car just by knowing all about the mechanics of one.

As for my Bug, she is only 5, and we still have more time to work on her character development. In a way this game was a good thing, it brought it to our attention, and maybe we can have some time to work on this before school starts. She is already good at winning, you should see her "happy dance"!

Contentment- the ugly "C" word

Let me tell you a secret you may not know about my two daughters. They are spoiled. Royally spoiled. Rotten to the core. My husband and I love to point out that this is due to both sets of grandparents, and not to us. They are my scapegoats and that is the story I am sticking with.

Apparently both sets of grandparents held up a toys r us each and brought all the goods to my house, at least that is what it looks like in here. My older girl, Bug, (not her real name.. just in case anyone thinks I actually am that crazy, I'm not), anyway, Bug got a lot of Littlest Pet Shop toys for Christmas among all the zillion of other things. The first thing she did when she opened one of the packages was to take out the paper flier that has pictures of ALL of the LPS creatures and start telling us which ones she did not have. She already had a lot on her dresser and got around 18 for Christmas! Yet all she was concerned with was getting more... having them all! I had to gently remind her that she was never going to have them all, because if she did then those Pets would have to live in the closet with the tub full of Thomas the Tank Engine and ALL of his friends, or in the large backpack that has Lightening McQeen and ALL of his friends, including 2 Mac trucks and all of the Dinoco Cars, from the movie Cars. We are running out of places to put stuff and it cost too much to throw or give away. I think we'll just hold on to it and when she is 17 I'll start auctioning it off on Ebay to pay for her college tuition.

This snippet brings me to my bible verse for today:

Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions." (NIV)

So here is what you are probably thinking: the manna verse is much better suited to a "God supplies our need" blog than a Contentment blog. And that may be so. The wonderful thing about the Bible is that many verses can be used for many topics. There is a wealth of information waiting in every word if we just stop and look for it, kind of like trying to find the last piece of good chocolate at the bottom of your kid's Halloween candy sack.

The part I'd like to focus on is "the people are to go out EACH DAY and gather ENOUGH FOR THAT DAY. In that way I will TEST THEM and see whether THEY WILL FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS." (emphasis mine).

The Israelites were only supposed to take enough of this life giving food for each day. That may not seem like a lot, but it meant that they were not supposed to keep any for the next day at all. They had to fully rely on God, and not themselves, to take care of their needs for the next day. At the same time they had to be content with what God provided for them each day to meet their daily needs. When we pray for God to "give us our daily bread", we need to know that sometimes that is manna, or bread and water, and it does not mean we will have enough money in our banking account to have a ribeye every day. Yet we must be content with what God provides. He may not give us what we want, but he will always give us what we need.

We usually have a difficult time telling the difference between "enough" and "too much". Our culture does not really help the situation, in fact, it generally makes it worse. Look at commercials very closely, who is happier? Is it the lady that is shopping at the mall, or the one wearing older clothes? Is it the family eating out every night at a restaurant or a family striving to cook something at home that no one wants to eat. Do people love their new cars or homes? Why yes they do-- until someone they know gets one better or newer or bigger... well... you get the idea.

Why do we care? Why do we want more? Even in a child as young as mine, the urge is already there to have it all. And what can we do about it? You can try to influence your own family, but you must be prepared with a backup plan because you are not the only influence they will have and you will need to weed through the others to determine what you can let stay and what you must weed out for good.

In the end, there are very few things we actually need. Food. Shelter. Water. Above all of this though, we need a relationship with God. He alone can fill our needs, our hearts, our need for a savior. Maybe if we focus more on him, and less on this world, we can learn to be more content.

In the mean time I suppose Barbie's dream house will have to build an addition to hold all of the pets that have taken over the black hole that is Bug's room.

Attitudes and Leggos

First let me tell you what has happened today; yes, all of this just TODAY, then I will get on to what I had planned to write. Plans usually don't come to fruition with me very often.

I will start with the most serious and go from there.

1. The wife of a long distance family member was found dead this morning. It may not be very close in relationship, but anytime someone dies it is important and heartbreaking. To make it worse, it appears to have been suicide, although not all details are known.
2. My mother met with a surgeon today and is going to need surgery on her arm. She has been having problems for a YEAR and they just now figured out that her tendon is torn off of her rotator cuff. As bad as that sounds she is happy just to finally know what is wrong and that it can be fixed!
3. My lovable little urchins were all smiles today, until the older one had an attitude meltdown and the small one flushed her first Lego down the toilet. Yippee for me! Does she know it's a Holiday?

Like I said earlier, the first two notes are much more important, one sad, and one happy. So goes our lives. Always something to rejoice in, but at the same time something to cry over also. The last one is basically just a tribute to my state of mind as I write tonight.

I have found two bible verses: neither of them may be where I got my paraphrase "God won't give us what we can't handle", but in a way, both of them can be seen in that light.

II Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (NIV)

In this verse I see several points, mostly about how we react when STUFF HAPPENS TO US.

• God's grace is sufficient. Doesn't this just sound like a nice neat little package to tell someone and hope they quit whining? But read the verse again, it is the truth. God is telling us that his power is made perfect in our weaknesses; and boy, do we ever have some weaknesses. I don't know about you, but God has a lot of room to be made perfect in me!
• We will have sufferings I know some people say if you love God enough or do all the right things you will not suffer. But it is just not so! God never tells us that we will not face tough times, what he tells us is that he will be with us and get us through them. We need not think God has abandoned us when things go wrong, instead, he will use that situation to glorify himself in ways we could never have imagined.

This is getting rather lengthy, so let me get to my next point. This verse is about OUR REACTION TO TEMPTATION. Let's face it, sometimes stuff happens to us because we first did something we knew we were not supposed to do. Blame it on the devil, the mailman, the mean person in traffic that cut you off, the kids for being horrible all day, the people at work for being total life draining maniacs, but when it comes down to it, we all have a choice.

I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (NIV)

• Temptation is normal See, I told you so. Everyone has temptations. And unfortunately for us our tempter has been around long enough that he knows just how and when is the perfect time to tempt us. But do not feel alone or discouraged, for you are surely not alone.
• We will not be tempted beyond our control Ok, everyone who has ever failed at a temptation may argue this one, but there it is, in black and white (ok, blue and white). All of us have failed, we are all human, but if you look back at it, especially the BIG ones, there was a way out of it if we had just taken the harder road. Which comes to the next point...
• God will provide a way out God always provides a way out. The key is to stay in his word, to stay in him, so that we can recognize it. I have done some things before that I honestly felt I had no choice, only to look back now and clearly see that God had left an escape route open for me if I had chosen to make a run for it. If you are honest, you probably have too.

So what more for tonight, on this New Year's Eve (it is already the new year now where I am). Well, I'll do a backwards countdown of my top three at the beginning of the page, and lets try to find any bright spots that we can along the way. Although #1 will be very difficult.

#3 Well, I didn't hurt any of the girls for either the attitudes or the Lego in the potty. I thought that was doing rather good for me. Actually most of this happened when my hubby was watching them so I could cook supper. As a stay at home mom that is one of the few times I get without kids around my feet, although hearing what is going on without being able to intercept or handle things MY way is sometimes difficult. If you have a hubby that parents his way, and it doesn't exactly jive with your way, let me offer some advice. Let him do it his way. It's good for him and the kids and if you just interrupt him all the time he will stop "parenting" because of nagging and be one of those guys that only gets up from his spot in his chair to feed, sleep, or potty himself.

#2 I really must praise God that my mom may have finally found the answer she is looking for and hopefully some relief from the pain she has been in for over a year. But I must admit, I am skeptical. This is not the first time someone thought they found the reason and had the "cure". So until it is over and done with I just pray that this time it is right and almost over. I guess that is why doctors "practice" medicine.... I'm just tired of my mom feeling as if she is the guinea pig.

#1 How do you find something hopeful in the possible suicide of any other person? Well, it is not easy, that is for sure. I did not know her myself, so I don't know if she had her eternal affairs in order. I pray she did. The best I can come up with right now is to pray that during whatever service is held for her and her grieving family, that someone preaches the gospel and hopefully reaches some people that might not have been reached before. And maybe someone looking from the outside in, that thought suicide might be the answer to all of their problems, maybe that person will realize that it doesn't solve anything at all, it only hurts the ones that love you.

Rejoice in life, we will get to eternity soon enough.

Happy new year to you all, and I hope you all have many, many more.

Blessings vs. Patience

Blessings abound, Patience does not.

Do you wonder what that means?

Here's how I see it- It says in the Bible (not sure where, but I will find it before Friday!) that God will only give us what we can handle. Ok, so maybe that is a large jump at me paraphrasing it. But that is the way I've always heard it used in context.

This blog will be about me, my life, my crazy family (God love them all) and all of the "blessings" we have received. Many of them did not look like blessings in the beginning, and we have honestly wondered if God really thought that we were capable of handling such traumatic events, but always later, we can look back and see God's hand at work.

So blessings do abound.

But patience does not.

Did I mention that while we are in the throes of one of these "blessings" we tend to look everywhere and to everyone OTHER than God for suggestions, reasons, or even ways to make it all just stop? Patience is much easier in hindsight, or for that matter when you are talking to someone else about THEIR problem. It is not nearly as easily found when it is you or I going through the actual pain or problem, or anyone we care deeply for. (Many of these will be about my parents and in laws, to name a few)

I try to be my own voice of reason through these time. I try to say to myself, "come on, TinaLou, you know that last time God worked everything out, and 6 months later it all made sense!"

That is true. And on more than one occasion.

Ah, but getting through the six months? That felt like eternity itself, and it does every time.

Let it begin!