The Adventures of a Simple Life: July 2009

Monday, July 20, 2009

This Is the Day

My two year old cried for 20 min. because he wanted to say goodbye to daddy and didn't get to, One child just peed on the floor and used almost a whole roll of toilet paper to try to clean it up, while I was cleaning that up, another child decided the toilet was something to play in (at least it was flushed), You can probably smell me through the computer as I smell like sour milk as I was just spit up on for the 3rd time this am. One child woke up to early and is easily upset and another is upset he has to write his own "e" in school. My stomach is upset from something I ate I think, and there is lots of work to do around the house.

I will TRY to remember God's Word..."This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice in it and be glad..."

Just another day in the house of little ones! :)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Satisfied In Christ?

A pet peeve of mine in the church today is the prosperity message. It has creaped into many church's in a subtle way.

Just the other day someone told me that God always heals if you have faith.

Is that so? Explain to me then why a lady I know, who loves the Lord, lost her precious baby Anna. Was it lack of faith? Was it her sin?

To often this is taught in churches and it angers me.

What do we say to the persecuted christian in China, India, Bangladesh who's child or spouse is taken from them and beat almost to death for their beliefs? In front of them. Do we say, " I am sorry, Brother In Christ, for your pain but if you would just have faith this would have never happened."

God forbid!

Then there are the churches who also teach if you have faith, you will be blessed. This can be true but false also. We are always blessed for we deserve NOTHING from Christ. But they speak of it in a different way.

Have faith, sin not, and you will have a nice house, nice car, nice clothes, etc. Oh, they don't usually say it like that, they casually put in conversation or a message where it seems so innocent and true. I know, I used to go to churches who taught these things.

Two things that were said that I won't forget at these churches were the following:

During prayer requests a man made mention of another man who was sick and looked as if God was going to bring him home of having a massive heart attack. He was sad that this man was dying. "If he would just have truth faith he would make it through this" Sigh. How sad. I do hope this man did not say this to his friend or his wife.

The other instance, the church was in financial need and they were asking who had enough faith to pledge to God money they did not have to the church. "If you have faith, God will make it happen."

Sadly a sweet couple made a pledge, before God, for $10,000! They were already in debt! In the end, they wondered what was wrong with their faith and struggled for a time with this. They never did give the money. They did break their promise to God.

This prosperity message happens in all religions, yes, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Full Gospel and more.
I pray God would show these preachers and brethren in Christ their error. Some whom I know truly love God they are just brainwashed in this belief system.

Here is a video that just hits home with me.

( Remember to hit "pause" on my playlist before you listen.)

In your life, Is God the giver of cars or is He alone the portion of your life?

Are you most satisfied in Christ?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Titus 2 Lady in My Life

I want to introduce you to a lady in my life. She does not have a big house, a fancy car, clothes from upscale stores. She is not a doctor nor a lawyer. She doesn't have her own t.v. show or record label.

What does she have and why do I want you to know her?

She has a heart after God and I want you to know her because she is a blessing in my life.

Blog friends, meet Claudia.

I met Claudia at church 8 years ago. I was struck by her hunger for God and her heart for the lost.

She does not hesitate to share the Gospel with others, including strangers. I would be secure in saying that anyone she comes into contact with, whether it be a cashier or a security guard at a hospital...she has said something about Christ and our need for Him.

It is not uncommon for her to call me up and ask me to pray for someone she has witnessed to and her desire for them to come to church the following Sunday.

The past year has been difficult for me physically. I was pregnant and sick the entire time. There were days I couldn't get off the couch to take care of my kids. With a baby about to arrive and a house that was neglected for months, my house with in chaos.

Claudia came over to help in the cleaning in spite of me insisting her not. She would grab the kids and put them to work.

After Zechariah arrived she watched the kids a few days as I recuperated from my c-section playing school with them, reading books, doing laundry, washing dishes, cooking, etc.

Adjusting to having a new baby and trying to keep things in order with the house, other children, homeschooling, my relationship with Christ and my husband can sometimes be hard. Their are days I feel everything is going fine and then days I feel overwhelmed.

Claudia will call me up and tell me she wants to come over to help. I insist I am ok but she always let's me know she wants to serve the Lord in helping me. Reluctantly ( because of pride) I let her come.

She always arrives with a treat for the kids ( a book to read, shaving cream, food) and hands ready to serve me in any way, whether it be washing the dishes or keeping the kids while I make a quick run to the store.

While here, she encourages the kids to live righteously, to be servants, to seek Christ. To honor AJ and I by obeying the first time, helping without being asked. She is quick to let them know of their need for Christ.

Claudia loves me. Do you know how I know this? Because she rebukes me in love when she sees sin in me. She prays for me. And I do the same for her. We encourage one another spiritually.

I learn a lot from Claudia. Just to listen to her love for God inspires me to be more like Christ.

If Claudia knew I was writing these true attributes of her, she would insist she is nothing but a sinner who by God's grace was saved. She would say she is so full of sin and the only good in her is Christ.

She is a Titus 2 lady in my life and I thank God for her. I pray she will continue to rebuke me, encourage me and love my family for many years to come.

The Answer Is...

Last week I asked if anyone could guess what this was a picture of.

I had a few guesses online and off. 3 people got it right...

I was making a treat for my good friend, Amy. I had spilled some powder sugar on the table and left the room. When I returned, I caught Elijah and Katie Faith licking it up ( first picture). When they saw I was standing there taking a picture Katie Faith quickly jumped up as she knows they are not supposed to lick the table.

Mrs. Pat and Amy C. were correct in guessing it was the kids licking the table.

But Taryn was also correct. She asked if it was some sort of punishment. After I caught them doing this I wanted to get a picture of them. The first one did not turn out so I poured more on the table and told them to lick it up. They looked at me unsure if they really should. They did after me telling them it was ok. Well, my next two pictures did not turn out so I put some more sugar down. Katie Faith said she did not want to lick anymore because it was yucky. Elijah was sticking out his tongue wiping it. I told them to lick it again. Reluctantly they did. Later I saw that there was some shaving cream residue left over on the table from earlier play and realized they were tasting it. So yes, they did get punished for licking the sugar.

I was making peanut butter balls covered with chocolate for Amy. She loves them and I love her so I wanted to treat her.