The Ultimate Title

I came upon a blog the other day called Valerie At Home. I didn't spend much time reading her posts so I can't say whether it is a good source of Christian articles or not, but I just loved her blog description. It read:

"Wife, mother, teacher, house cleaner, administrative assistant, manager, personal shopper, event coordinator, counselor, chef, taxi driver, personal assistant, handy (wo)man, interior decorator, photographer, travel agent . . . SAHSM (Stay At Home Schooling Mom)"

I like her enthusiasm for the wonderful position she holds. There is no other job that a woman could have that is more important than what she is doing: taking care of her home. It is easily seen that she is not ashamed of her role.We should never be too ashamed to tell anyone that we want to be a stay-at-home wife and mother someday.

A lot of people look down on women who stay at home because they don't see taking care of their family as a job, probably visualize a woman sitting at home watching TV for hours, and can't believe that they WANT to be with their kids all day! However, if they were to try it themselves they would probably see just how much there is to do and if they were to raise their children to be obedient they would enjoy being with them. But even if there were few benifits of being a keeper at home, it is scriptual, so we should do just as God has instructed and learn to love our (future) husband, love our children, and be keepers at home. (Titus 2:4-5)

Questions

Here are some great questions that my mom came upon a while back that are great to ask yourself everyday. There are more, but I thought that since each one is worthy of much thought, I wouldn't bombard you with them all at once. So take time to soak them in and really consider each one. You may find some areas in your life that need some attention.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression thatI am a better person than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass on what was told to me in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habit?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

Siblings . . . are They a Blessing?

Siblings! I don't know about yours, but mine keep me on my toes!

Today when I got home from work I saw that no body was home . . . or I thought no body was home. So I unlocked the door, walked in, and headed for my bedroom down the hall. I was unconsciously talking to myself - an old habit of mine - and acted as if I was the only soul in the house. When I got near the two bathrooms (which are right across from each other) Bethany, Phillip, and Amy jumped out at me from both sides! I screamed, jumped, and grabbed my purse in terror! I was horrified! They all started laughing as if it was the funniest thing in the world. They were almost doubled over, they were laughing so hard! Amy acted so innocent and claimed that she didn't scare me, but we all know she could of warned me, so thus she is as guilty as the other too. Bethany was proud of herself for scaring me half to death . . . and I have to admit, it was funny! From now on, I will not talk to myself in the house (that will only happen in the car where I know I am by myself :) and I will walk cautiously down the hall, ready for any little children who might want to jump out at me.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! I'll be back to my blog in a few days.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Traditions

Our home is filled with traditions . . . especially around Christmas time! For some reason, Christmas seems like the best time to have traditions. Maybe it’s because it is one of the biggest holidays of the year, or because it’s a time when the whole family gathers together. Here are a few traditions we enjoy every year.

Open presents from our aunt and uncle. Since our aunt and uncle live up north over a thousand miles away from us, we very rarely spend the Christmas holiday together but send our presents through the mail. As little children excited about all the boxes under the tree, we would forget what our relatives gave us amongst all the gifts that we received Christmas morning. So we started the tradition of opening out aunt and uncles presents on Christmas Eve. It was always easier to remember what they gave us . . . and it was very nice to open them day early!

Pizza night. Every year on Christmas Eve we all make our own personal pan pizza with what every toppings we want. We don’t have to consider what the rest of our family may want on their pizza because it is all ours! This was started when a friend told mama that they had pizza on Christmas day every year. Mama decided that it would be fun to do something similar that is out of the ordinary. Of course, we all love this tradition because pizza is one of our favorite meals!

Cookie Baking. Normally, on Christmas Eve we all (with the exception of daddy and our oldest brother Ryan) bake and decorate Christmas cookies. They are not for Santa Clause, but for our own enjoyment. We get all the decorating bags and icing out and make candy canes, wreaths, stockings and snowmen. The cookies always look so pretty on the plate together.

Christmas morning. At 5:30 sharp, all of us five kids are awake and sitting by the beautifully lit Christmas tree that looks so pretty in the dark, admiring the beautiful presents that are piled underneath it. We are not allowed to wake up mama and daddy until 6:00, so we go through our stocking to see what treasures we can find. As soon as the clock strikes the long-awaited hour, we are in our parent’s room, jumping on their bed, and screaming “Merry Christmas!” By 6:15 all the presents are open! (This is the only day of the year that we wake up on our own will before 8:00!)

Traditions give us something to look forward to with anticipation. Christmas is always a wonderful day at our house! Some day when I have a family and home of my own I will be able to create my own traditions for my husband and kids . . . and we’ll probably still go “home” for the old traditions as well!

Dark Tunnels

"It's like going through a dark tunnel and you think your all alone. But Someones always there for you that guides you all they way. He is the king of kings and he will protect you. You might go through hard spots in life, but He will never leave. You may stray, but he will never forget you. You might try to blot him out, but he reminds you He's there. So don't get discouraged when you go through a dark and lonely spot in life. Just look to Jesus and He will guide you through."

The first few words of this encouraging composition really stuck out to me. They declared the feelings that I was going through at the time. They could not have come at a better moment.

Sometimes life is like going through a tunnel. It's dark. It's lonely. It's scary. You feel like there is no end in sight. It's not fun, but there is always a lesson at the end.

Darkness. We know that God is the light of this world. Without Him, life is . . . dark! Darkness is scary because we can't see what is going on. We stumble around, not seeing the obstacles that lay waiting for us. But there is a light for those who are Christians and anyone who wants to become a Christian. This light will guide us through life and shed light on areas that we don't understand. This light will make the journey easier . . . if we choose to apply it. If we ignore God (whether intentionally or not) this light may not be of very good use to us. Sometimes when we go through trials it is because we don't want God's help in certain areas, but want to do it on our own. If we would of asked for God's help from the beginning things might of been a little easier. Of course we do not have trials only when we are pushing our Savior aside. Sometimes God chooses to put his children through hard times to strengthen us.

No end in sight. When going through a hard time or trial, it can seem like an eternity. Like some dark tunnels, you can't see the end until you are right up to it. God is always there, and with His guidance, you can have peace. You may not know what is going to happen at the end of the tunnel, but you will know that everything will be alright.

If you are going through a tunnel in life, just remember, "You may go through hard spots in life, but He will never leave . . . so don't get discouraged when you go through a dark and lonely spot in life. Just look to Jesus and He will guide you through."

~The composition at the beginning of the post was written by my sister Bethany. She tried to give it to me for over a week, but I never found it amongst the clutter on my desk. When I did find it, it was such a blessing to me. If I had read it a day earlier I wouldn't of seen the great message that God had for me through this writing. Ironically, Bethany had no idea that I was going through a "dark tunnel." God knew just what I need!

A Lesson in Trust

In the spring of this year I started college course in the area of Medical Coding at a technical college near my home. After two quarters, the college stopped offering this course and I was left with no choice but to take online classes through another college. I had taken an online class before so I had no problem with this. I signed up for two classes (a computer class and keyboarding class) and continued in my next step toward earning my Technical Certificate. I had no idea what was in store for me.

From the very first week I had problems. I was mistakenly enrolled into two of the exact same classes but with different teachers, and was left wondering which class I was supose to use. In both my computer and keyboarding class I was presented with the wrong syllabus (course guideline) which means I had the wrong information. That was only the first week.

From there I had continuous problems from not being able to take my exams because of a computer problem, to waiting 3 weeks longer than normal for a CD that was suppose to help me, to loosing 4 page documents which took me an hour to type. I never knew a single college quarter could be filled with so many problems. I began to feel very small when I had to e-mail my instructors with excuses nearly every week. My greatest fear was that my next quarter would be the same. I was scared to death! At one point I even tried to find another technical college around that offered Medical Coding, but mama wisely talked me out of that.

The last unfortunate event really discouraged me. Again, I began complaining to myself of everything that went wrong. In tears I cried, “Lord, why haven’t you helped me with this? Why has it been so hard for me?” Then a verse came to my mind. “Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Peter 5.7) This whole time I hadn’t really put all my burdens in God’s hand. I found out that there is a difference between casually praying for God to help me with my college classes and earnestly trusting God to help me. God just wanted me to hand it all over to Him with the faith of a child. But instead I chose to handle it myself and stress over my lack of my ability to do so. This quarter would have been so much easier if I had sought God’s help from the beginning because my Lord would have helped me with the burdens.

This quarter has definitely been a learning experience . . . the hard way! Because I was so stubborn, it took nine weeks for me to figure out what God was trying to teach me. By then my quarter was almost over! After that night more problems arose, but I didn’t get discouraged because I knew that God was going to make things work out. Now I am in the last week of college and I think I am going to pass. (Yippee!) And now I am not afraid of upcoming quarters. I am ready to face them with all of Gods strength . . . not my own!

“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” II Corinthians 12.9

Old Fashioned or Biblical Principles?

Recently I had a very thought provoking discussion with one of my coworkers on morals. She was telling another girl that she can’t blame her daughter if she gets pregnant out of wed-lock, because she did it herself, and hasn’t done much to discourage her daughter from follow in her footsteps. The woman that was telling her this said, “I’m old fashioned. I believe women shouldn’t get pregnant out of wed-lock. That’s just the way I am. My mother was real strict like that too.”

As I began to think about it, I realized that is how most people see morals and standards. They think they are old fashioned, not meant for the modern day that we live in. Are they old fashioned? Should we put them aside and consider them as a thing of the past? Or are they Biblical principles that have been forgotten amongst all the wickedness that is in this world?

There once was a day when a girl was ashamed to be pregnant before marriage. In those days, married couples stayed together because they promised to “love and cherish till death do us part.” Women use to stay home to care after their husband and children. Women use to dress like ladies. There was a time when the thought of killing unborn babies was appalling.

Now it is common for young girls to have several children without even thinking about getting married. Divorce is not considered wrong at all so men and women leave their spouse without even trying to resolve the problem. When you tell others that all you want to be when “you grow up” is a stay at home wife and mother, you get a blank stare. When people see you dressed in skirts on a day other than Sunday or Wednesday they think you are Amish or Mennonites. (I have nothing against those two groups, but I simply am not one of them.) Modern society has accepted abortion, and all those who oppose are considered “to old fashioned.”

Yes, I believe morals and standards are old fashioned. But they are still Biblical principles too. They are still right, and still need to be preached all over the world, but let’s face it, it is not popular to live for God. It is not fashionable. It is not respected. Godly living is not widely practiced anymore.

How did this come about? How can a nation accept the murdering of babies and all the other sins that are going rampant? The devil is smart. He knows just how to squeeze those sins in where people will accept them. If he can get sin into a respected person’s home, no one will say anything because of who the person is. Everyone starts to see that if it is okay for that person, it must be okay for themselves as well. Once a family sees that their daughter has committed an awful sin, they make it seem like a small matter because they don’t want to think that their loved one is wrong. Everyone stops speaking against adultery, divorce, and abortion because they don’t want to offend their family member who is guilty of such iniquities. Slowly, everyone becomes accustomed to these ways.

But just because the majority of the world chooses to live opposite of what God wants doesn’t mean that we can follow them. In fact, it should give us a desire to live for him even more because this world needs to see that there are still some Christians out there who want to live for God. We need to stand up for what we believe. Don’t be ashamed to tell everyone that you want to be a stay at home wife and mother. Don’t let those around you get the impression that you think it is okay to be pregnant out of wed-lock. Even if those in high positions at your church have done wrong, you can’t overlook it as a small matter.

Sin is sin and it will always be sin. It is not fun to be opposing, but if a time comes that we have to say something, we have to say what is right . . . in love. We cannot let godly living become obsolete.

“Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:10-11