Monday, October 31, 2011
Made it Myself Mondays: Week 21
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ragan's Creation
Ragan came home last night so excited! He had created something!
He started with a block similar to this one.
And ended with this:
A duck call!!
Well, almost a duck call. He's not quite finished with it yet. The part that goes in the center isn't there yet. But isn't it beautiful?! I love it!!
So anyone looking for some new duck calls for this coming up hunting season?? : )
He started with a block similar to this one.
And ended with this:
A duck call!!
Well, almost a duck call. He's not quite finished with it yet. The part that goes in the center isn't there yet. But isn't it beautiful?! I love it!!
So anyone looking for some new duck calls for this coming up hunting season?? : )
31 Days of Virtue: Day 28
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:3-4
Beauty. It's something we all want. To be called beautiful by that special someone is like nothing else. But we don't need to be concerned with out outward beauty; it's our inward beauty that matters. We need to adorn our inner self - our heart, our character, our values - with things that God views as beautiful. Things like the fruit of the Spirit:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Gentleness
Faithfulness
Goodness
Self-Control
Other things could be reverence, respectfulness, compassion, and helpfulness. Think of Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." If we think about these things and practice these things, then we will learn these things; and they will be in our minds and hearts. And if these are the things that are in our minds and hearts, then they will shine through us as beauty.
Think on these things...
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 27
... to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:5
"Be kind" sounds like such a simple command. It's something we tell children, 'Be kind;' 'Be nice.' Yet, here is Paul reminding adults, specifically women, to be kind. It seems so hard sometimes to be kind to those we don't necessarily get along with. But we need to just grit our teeth, smile, and bear it. No one has ever died from being kind.
Being kind shows we care. And yes, we should care for those whose attitudes rub us the wrong way. We need to set an example for our children and teach them how to be kind. We don't have to gossip about someone and find out the latest details; we don't have to start an argument over petty, non-important things; and we don't have to have the last words with our husbands.
Being kind sometimes means doing the smallest thing for someone else: a smile and warm hello to a coworker; being patient with a waitress who wrote down the wrong order; or letting someone with few items check out before you even though you are in a hurry to get home as well.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 26
... to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:5
We are now to day 26. I've been writing for 26 days, and I'm getting tired. I wonder does anyone care about this subject as much as I do? Do women even care about being virtuous, or do they just go about their day trying to accomplish what is on their lists for the day? Do they not worry about what their character is like?
Am I portraying a virtuous woman in the right way, the way the Bible describes her? A lot of what I've written about talks about a connection between a woman and how she manages her household, how she treats her husband, and how she raises her children. Is that an honest connection, or is that just my opinion?
I'll be honest, I would love to be able to stay at home taking care of my household, my husband and, one day, our children. I would love to be able to work from home. Sometimes I almost feel like I am falling short as a wife because I am not there at our home, cleaning, washing, and cooking. But I know we cannot afford for me to stay home right now. So I go to work, thinking to myself some days that I am wasting my time when I could be home accomplishing so much more.
I truly believe that a woman's place is at her home, especially when children are involved. God gave those children to us for us to raise, not someone else. I know some women can't stay home, but I think if a woman is able to, she needs to be home with her children as much as possible.
Am I completely off in this way of thinking? I am asking myself right now, "Should I even publish this post? Will people think I am crazy?"
What do you think? Should women be 'busy at home'?
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Happy Fall Yall!
To get in the Fall-ish mood, we got together with some friends to do some pumpkin carving! Check out our new fall decoration!
And here is Ragan after he carved it. You can see it a little better with the light shining through...
Enjoy!
And here is Ragan after he carved it. You can see it a little better with the light shining through...
Enjoy!
31 Days of Virtue: Day 25
... to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:5
I believe in this verse pure refers to sexual purity. In other versions a word often used is chaste which means "refraining from sexual intercourse that is regarded as contrary to morality or religion; virtuous." To be virtuous women, we must be pure; we must be chaste; we must refrain from any immoral sexual relations. These would include premarital sex, polygamy or sexual relations outside of your marriage, homosexuality, and many others. These relationships only lead to harmful consequences. They are dangerous roads which we should not even look down, much less walk down.
To stay pure we need to keep our eyes on the Lord, not at what looks good in front of us. We need to get this idea of having whatever we want, whenever we want out of our minds. And we must be patient. Anything worth having will take time and effort. Remember you are not alone in this struggle against sin. And because it is a struggle, we need to keep God and His will in the forefront of our minds and nothing else.
"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2
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Monday, October 24, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 24
... to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:5
In other versions of this verse, self-controlled is sometimes read as live wisely, to be sensible, to be discreet, to be chaste, to use good judgement, to be sober-minded. However, all of these revolve around the idea of living right, of having your actions, words, and thoughts under control.
Over-reacting and flying off the wall in rage is not having your actions under control. Gossiping about someone in the beauty shop is not having your words under control. Thinking of ugly things to do or say to a person is not having your thoughts under control. Remember a virtuous woman is someone of moral excellence, goodness, and righteousness. This is what we should be working towards; not the other direction.
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Sunday, October 23, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 23
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Titus 2:3
Teaching what is good is not just for the older women or for teachers at a school. We are all teachers. We teach people with the way we act, with our words, with the way we look, how we react to a situation. And we are not only teaching our children, we are teaching anyone who comes across our path.
When we tell our husbands how much we appreciate them, we are teaching our children to respect their fathers. When we dress conservatively, we are teaching younger women that it is more attractive to be covered up than to show so much skin. When the waiter/waitress gets our food wrong for the second time, but we eat it anyway, we are teaching the stranger at the next table that compassion and patience are the better route to take than anger and frustration.
You see, we are always teaching someone something about ourselves, our way of life, our Jesus and our God. If we relay the wrong message, then that person goes away with the wrong idea about God.
I know I've said it before, but we humans can sometimes be a little stubborn and need to be reminded over and over; we must watch ourselves. We must watch our actions, our words, what we do, who we are with, and where we go. Someone is always watching and learning from us. We need to be sure to set the right example, Christ' example.
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 22
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Titus 2:3
I think it is safe to say that being addicted to alcohol is never a good thing. Alcohol itself though can have a few benefits though. According to WebMD.com "Alcohol also can have a very powerful effect and increase HDL "good" cholesterol by 20% if used moderately and in the context of a healthy diet along with regular physical activity, says Rimm. Higher HDL levels are linked to lower risks of heart disease."
Did you catch that? If you want to drink alcohol, you also need to have a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Some people might say that drinking a glass of wine a day is okay. This website agrees that it is okay to have 1 glass a day. Moderation is the key here. It is never okay to get drunk. This website also mentions that it is more important and healthier to have fruits and vegetables than alcohol.
Now what does the Bible say about drinking?
Matthew 11:19 says, "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinner".' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
Yes, the Bible does say that Jesus drank; however, it also says in Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise."
Isaiah 5:11-12 says, "Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of His hands."
Later in Isaiah 5:22 the Bible says, "Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks..."
So, in summary, the Bible does say that Jesus drank alcohol, but more often it says that alcohol and wine is not good and can be dangerous.
Personally, I don't drink alcohol and have never really had a desire to drink alcohol. If you don't already drink alcohol, I think it is better to keep it that way than to start and take the risk of it leading to an addiction. As virtuous women, we have to keep our actions in check, and getting drunk on the weekends - either at a friend's house or in public - is not something we want to happen.
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Friday, October 21, 2011
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burp
What an amazing story! I could not put this book down! I think I read the entire thing in just a few days. Heaven is for Real is a "true story of a young boy's visit to heaven after life-saving surgery. Told by the father but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready there is a coming last battle."
I have been a Christian for 16 years now, and I look forward to heaven; but the selfish side of me wants to stay here a little longer to be married, have children, and grow old. However, after reading this book, after reading the way Colton describe heaven, I long to see it and be there! I long to see the rainbow colors and Jesus' "markers". I long to look into those beautiful eyes of Jesus that captivate you and calms your soul.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone! It is definitely worth reading! Colton has been blessed with a gift of seeing a glimpse of heaven; although, it was a tough road for this family. But I would venture to say that the greatest gifts are given after a dark storm.
*BookSneeze did provide a copy of this book for me to review; however, the opinions are 100% my own.
31 Days of Virtue: Day 21
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Titus 2:3
Slanderers. It sounds like such a terrible name to be called, and it is. Clark's Commentary on the Bible says that 'slanderers' is literally 'devils'. Who wants to be associated with Satan?
"I'm not a slanderer," you say.
You're not? What about when we gossip? What about when we get together with friends to 'pass on the news of so-and-so'. Are we really just 'passing on the news' in concern for that person, or do we just want to be the first with the juicy details and find out what everyone else knows? Is what we are 'passing on' even true?
There is a quote that says something along these lines, "A person who talks about others behind their backs will talk about you behind yours." Let's not be that person.
Just a few things to think about as you are out and about today....
Archive of 31 Days of Virtue:
There is a quote that says something along these lines, "A person who talks about others behind their backs will talk about you behind yours." Let's not be that person.
Just a few things to think about as you are out and about today....
Archive of 31 Days of Virtue:
Thursday, October 20, 2011
31 Days of Virtue: Day 20
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Titus 2:3
According to Dictionary.com, reverent means deeply respectful. Respect is esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person. Sometimes it is hard to be respectful. We've already talked a little bit about respecting our husbands here. But maybe we need a refresher. Respect is a very important part of a marriage. If you haven't read the book Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, I highly recommend it.
As I was doing a little research for this post, I started reading a few posts on the Love and Respect Blog. In one of the posts, is a story of a woman and her husband who attended a Love & Respect video seminar. The woman and her husband neither thought they needed help in their marriage, but wanted to do a little maintenance. The first night they came away with a feeling like "That's great; but we already knew that." However the second night, they learned something new.
"Dr. Eggerichs began to describe our spiritual relationship to the letter. Essentially, the wife looks to the husband for leadership, but she is fearful andapprehensive and so she asks questions and looks for reassurance. The husband interprets this as trying to take control and wear the pants of the relationship and so backs off or responds negatively to the wife and a cycle begins."
This woman realized that this is what she was doing, unintentionally of course. After she told this to her husband, he also confessed that he was doing exactly as Dr. Eggerichs said the husbands tend to do - back off.
I began to wonder, "Am I doing the same thing?" Are you? Are we fearful of something that is causing us to ask questions and look for reassurance?
We need to confess these things to our husbands, and let them know what we are feeling. Don't hold it in. Our husbands might be backing off or responding negatively just as Dr. Eggerichs explained.
Instead of asking questions, let's try to encourage our husbands. Here are a few ideas from Time-Warp Wife:
- Listen to what he has to say so that you will recognize what's on his heart.
- Make an effort to be as cheerful as you were when you were engaged to be married.
- Ignore his faults and focus on his strong points by taking note of them.
- Compliment him for the way that he looks and the good things that he does like working hard for the family.
- See him for who he is, not who you want him to be.
- Be slow to anger. Relay your frustration with love, respect, and a cool head.
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