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.

Horses, Teddy Bears and Stuffed Dogs, OH MY!

Ok... so I made the mistake of going back to what we call the "girls'" end of the house. Yep, as sad as it may seem pretty much everything past the hallway belongs to the two lovable little urchins in my life, with maybe the exception of the hallway bathroom. Then again, the toilet seat and step stool in there seem to keep most adults except for well worn grandparents out of it. Goodness knows my brother makes an awful face if he has to move the bio hazard of a potty seat....

This weekend is Taterbug's birthday. Having survived her tonsil surgery, she is hoping to be well enough to choke down some cake this weekend with whatever friends can make it here, as well as probably every living relative she has. (Our family loves us!).

This brings me to my new dilemma... the black abyss known as the playroom... (insert scary "ooohhhh" sound here).

Here is the gist of it. The room is too small for a lot, and we had to use the whole closet for our new air conditioning/heating unit, so it became the playroom. Everything that does not fit in the girls' bedrooms finds itself cast into this place. Now, not only with taterbug's birthday looming, but Boo's birthday not only a month following, and then CHRISTMAS-- yes people, some things will have to go.

It is OZ, and unfortunately I have to be the Wicked Witch that tells Dorothy and Toto that they have to part with some of the stuff they have managed to collect.

The hardest part of this for me? I AM A HUGE PACK RAT!!  That is right. I will stand up and admit it and pay attention for at least a few of the 12 steps to freedom before my mind begins to wander... what was I talking about? Oh yeah... These poor girls learned it from the best. I keep pieces of paper that I am pretty sure I will never need again, books and magazines that I may look through one day, and my filing system consists of piles-- lots and lots of piles.

I'm glad that my hubby is organized, or else we would probably live in a paper pile and plush toy prison.

But I don't like it too well when he goes through my stuff.

So it is time to adopt a new attitude. One where we do not focus on the material things, or we at least take care of the things that we do need to have. Time to purge the rooms and toy boxes to make room for the next wave that will come in this season.

My biggest solace in this is that we will be having a yard sale, and what we do not sale will go to the Salvation Army. Most of these toys are in great condition, some have never been played with. If one kid gets to have fun with something they might not have otherwise, then it is worth all of the yellow bricks in the road to me.

Hey, maybe I'll get to keep those cool striped socks that go so well with those ruby slippers.

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!

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.