Deuteronomy 6 is called "Love the Lord Your God."
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," the fifth verse says.
It goes on to say the 10 commandments are so important that we should "impress them on your children. Talk about then when you sit at home and when you walk down the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
When I am at home, I talk about work and food and friends. Walking down the road, I talk about what's going on and plans for the future. Lying down I talk about what's on TV and what time I need to get up the next day. Getting up, I don't talk about much of anything - still not a morning person.
If my conversations were more God-centered and my thoughts on his Word more I bet I would be much better off and my relationship with God much stronger.
What does it mean to love God with ALL our hearts, souls and strengths? ALL is quite the word.
I love God with part of each, but he doesn't ask for that. He doesn't ask for anything actually. He demands everything.
God wants ALL of us so much that he said we should write his commands I the door frames of our houses.
What do I need to change to give all of myself to God? What do you?
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Kids are more important
I listed to a comedian on Sirius/XM today, and the sketch was a reminder to me for how I want to be when Nate and I have children.
I don't remember the exact words, but the premise was he was yelling at his kid for messing up the paint on the walls in their home.
He told his son to stop and then realized what he was doing - he was placing the paint in front of the joy in his kid's heart.
It's good to teach children about the importance of taking care of what they have. However, it's also important to remember that we should allow kids to have fun.
Childhood isn't about perfection, it's about making memories, learning and growing. They should be able to be creative and have fun in crazy, expressive and sometimes messy ways.
I don't know how I'll feel when I see my kids messing up the room I just cleaned, but I want to make sure my kids are more important than those little things.
I don't remember the exact words, but the premise was he was yelling at his kid for messing up the paint on the walls in their home.
He told his son to stop and then realized what he was doing - he was placing the paint in front of the joy in his kid's heart.
It's good to teach children about the importance of taking care of what they have. However, it's also important to remember that we should allow kids to have fun.
Childhood isn't about perfection, it's about making memories, learning and growing. They should be able to be creative and have fun in crazy, expressive and sometimes messy ways.
I don't know how I'll feel when I see my kids messing up the room I just cleaned, but I want to make sure my kids are more important than those little things.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
A messy life
I passed a local church sign today, and it flashed a message: "Have you made a mess of your life?"
I looked at my wedding ring and thought how I'm married, am about to buy a house and thought - "I think I've done pretty well. I'm where I always imagined I would be."
Then I added, "Thank the Lord."
I guess that's what the sign was suggesting. Without my faith, without having a reason to do what's right, where would I be?
If I did everything I wanted and that sounded fun, I probably would have made a mess of my life. Thank the lord that when he is in control life is just how it should be.
I looked at my wedding ring and thought how I'm married, am about to buy a house and thought - "I think I've done pretty well. I'm where I always imagined I would be."
Then I added, "Thank the Lord."
I guess that's what the sign was suggesting. Without my faith, without having a reason to do what's right, where would I be?
If I did everything I wanted and that sounded fun, I probably would have made a mess of my life. Thank the lord that when he is in control life is just how it should be.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Homemade pillows
I love to be crafty.
I showed my friends the two pillows I made for another friend's bridal shower that I'm throwing and they laughed and said I was ridiculous.
That's because I made a felt flower on one out of petals I stenciled, cut out, traced onto felt, cut out and sewed I a fat quarter. I then made the pillows and stuffed them. Although it saved me about $60, it took about four hours.
I don't care when crafts take time. Right now I'm also working on a rug that I'm crocheting out of yarn made from old T-shirts. It's time consuming but worth it.
I like to craft because it allows me to be frugal, and it makes me feel so accomplished.
It's so much more rewarding for me to give a gift or walk into a room and go, "I made that" rather than "I bought that."
I'm so looking forward to creating a semi homemade new home with Nate. And we get to start in less than a month!
I showed my friends the two pillows I made for another friend's bridal shower that I'm throwing and they laughed and said I was ridiculous.
That's because I made a felt flower on one out of petals I stenciled, cut out, traced onto felt, cut out and sewed I a fat quarter. I then made the pillows and stuffed them. Although it saved me about $60, it took about four hours.
I don't care when crafts take time. Right now I'm also working on a rug that I'm crocheting out of yarn made from old T-shirts. It's time consuming but worth it.
I like to craft because it allows me to be frugal, and it makes me feel so accomplished.
It's so much more rewarding for me to give a gift or walk into a room and go, "I made that" rather than "I bought that."
I'm so looking forward to creating a semi homemade new home with Nate. And we get to start in less than a month!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Patience, Patience
Whew, Sunday was a lesson in patience.
Nate and I went out of town to watch his cousins' band perform, and the next day we woke up to a rain storm that had turned into almost blizzard conditions.
We hurriedly packed and set out for the three-hour drive home, but within about five minutes we realized that wasn't intelligent. We ended up staying at his cousin's house and watched the road conditions closely.
The road that we were supposed to take home ended closing completely because an accident blocked it, and then it was listed as "travel not advised" until 6:30 a.m. yesterday.
I was worried as I realized that I wouldn't make it home on time for work, and I started biting my nails as I realized I had made mistakes in preparing my girls for dance pictures tonight. I started getting nervous they wouldn't bring the right costumes and I would get in trouble at work.
I had to keep telling myself there was nothing I could do about the weather and to sit back and just the events one moment at a time.
I ended up working from my iPhone and using the Internet on that for e-mails, research and I did an interview in the car while Nate drove. I actually was quite productive today, even though I wasn't sitting at home on my computer.
Patience has never been my strong suit, but it seems like God is constantly teaching me lessons about the need to be patient. Whether it's patience at work, patience with family and friends, patience about money, patience about being late. We are almost always waiting for something.
I created a wall-hanging a few years ago that says, "One day at a time." I still have to constantly tell myself that, adding sometimes "One moment at a time." Not everything can be done this instant, so patience is definitely a key to survive everyday life.
End note: This is funny. I wrote and posted this blog yesterday, but it didn't go through for some reason. When I noticed I had to write some of it again I thought it was ironic that I had to have patience about a blog about patience.
Nate and I went out of town to watch his cousins' band perform, and the next day we woke up to a rain storm that had turned into almost blizzard conditions.
We hurriedly packed and set out for the three-hour drive home, but within about five minutes we realized that wasn't intelligent. We ended up staying at his cousin's house and watched the road conditions closely.
The road that we were supposed to take home ended closing completely because an accident blocked it, and then it was listed as "travel not advised" until 6:30 a.m. yesterday.
I was worried as I realized that I wouldn't make it home on time for work, and I started biting my nails as I realized I had made mistakes in preparing my girls for dance pictures tonight. I started getting nervous they wouldn't bring the right costumes and I would get in trouble at work.
I had to keep telling myself there was nothing I could do about the weather and to sit back and just the events one moment at a time.
I ended up working from my iPhone and using the Internet on that for e-mails, research and I did an interview in the car while Nate drove. I actually was quite productive today, even though I wasn't sitting at home on my computer.
Patience has never been my strong suit, but it seems like God is constantly teaching me lessons about the need to be patient. Whether it's patience at work, patience with family and friends, patience about money, patience about being late. We are almost always waiting for something.
I created a wall-hanging a few years ago that says, "One day at a time." I still have to constantly tell myself that, adding sometimes "One moment at a time." Not everything can be done this instant, so patience is definitely a key to survive everyday life.
End note: This is funny. I wrote and posted this blog yesterday, but it didn't go through for some reason. When I noticed I had to write some of it again I thought it was ironic that I had to have patience about a blog about patience.
Friday, March 8, 2013
The great debate
Money versus fun. Money versus fun. Money versus fun.
It seems like this is a constant battle inside my head.
We're in the process of buying a house. We have a car payment. We have school loans. We need to save money, and each time it comes up to go have some fun that costs money I immediately think about the fact we should stay home and save instead.
We took an hour's drive to a nearby city last week, and it was a spur of the moment thing. Nate said, "Yay, we're doing something fun and spontaneous."
I guess other than going to Florida, we haven't done much lately. We haven't eaten out, because I've been trying to save money by making good food at home. We haven't seen a movie or gone shopping. I've tried to put away every penny possible so we can make a nice down payment and buy the necessary things for when we move in.
We do need to not hole ourselves up just because we have bills to pay. Everyone does. I want my marriage to be fun and spontaneous. I want to create memories, not just leave behind a bank account.
I want to have fun, but I guess I'm just a penny pincher. I would rather have too much in the bank account than just enough. But that also doesn't always lead to the quality of life that spending money allows sometimes.
There's a fine line between being a good steward of what God has given you and hoarding away what you have and not living the life God has given you to the fullest.
Money versus fun. Money versus fun. Money versus fun.
I don't think that debate will ever lessen in my mind!
It seems like this is a constant battle inside my head.
We're in the process of buying a house. We have a car payment. We have school loans. We need to save money, and each time it comes up to go have some fun that costs money I immediately think about the fact we should stay home and save instead.
We took an hour's drive to a nearby city last week, and it was a spur of the moment thing. Nate said, "Yay, we're doing something fun and spontaneous."
I guess other than going to Florida, we haven't done much lately. We haven't eaten out, because I've been trying to save money by making good food at home. We haven't seen a movie or gone shopping. I've tried to put away every penny possible so we can make a nice down payment and buy the necessary things for when we move in.
We do need to not hole ourselves up just because we have bills to pay. Everyone does. I want my marriage to be fun and spontaneous. I want to create memories, not just leave behind a bank account.
I want to have fun, but I guess I'm just a penny pincher. I would rather have too much in the bank account than just enough. But that also doesn't always lead to the quality of life that spending money allows sometimes.
There's a fine line between being a good steward of what God has given you and hoarding away what you have and not living the life God has given you to the fullest.
Money versus fun. Money versus fun. Money versus fun.
I don't think that debate will ever lessen in my mind!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
"The Bible" show
Have you watched "The Bible" on the History channel?
Nate and I stayed up late the other night and watched the new biblically-based show on the channel. I was excited that people in Hollywood had decided that attention should be paid to the most important book in the world.
Although there were a few inaccuracies that made me a little nervous, all in all, I have to agree with a friend of mine who said that the show isn't perfect but it is a great evangelical tool. Not only might it reach people who don't know stories from the Bible, but it is also a way for us Christians to start conversations about the Bible. People might be more willing to watch TV than to sit down and read the Bible on their own.
It's great when Hollywood realizes the importance of putting on biblically-centered entertainment. It's up to Christians to watch these shows and movies in order to show movie-makers that we support their endeavors. If they're not making money off of it, they're not going to do it.
Hollywood puts its money into movies that talk about witches, vampires and sexual encounters, because that's what sells. Industry leaders know that shows about food, style and "real-life" drama will draw viewers, so that's what they film.
Even though "The Bible" doesn't quite perfectly compact Bible stories, it does bring in a biblical standard to television, and I do think it's important that we watch and show we appreciate when pop culture includes God.
Nate and I stayed up late the other night and watched the new biblically-based show on the channel. I was excited that people in Hollywood had decided that attention should be paid to the most important book in the world.
Although there were a few inaccuracies that made me a little nervous, all in all, I have to agree with a friend of mine who said that the show isn't perfect but it is a great evangelical tool. Not only might it reach people who don't know stories from the Bible, but it is also a way for us Christians to start conversations about the Bible. People might be more willing to watch TV than to sit down and read the Bible on their own.
It's great when Hollywood realizes the importance of putting on biblically-centered entertainment. It's up to Christians to watch these shows and movies in order to show movie-makers that we support their endeavors. If they're not making money off of it, they're not going to do it.
Hollywood puts its money into movies that talk about witches, vampires and sexual encounters, because that's what sells. Industry leaders know that shows about food, style and "real-life" drama will draw viewers, so that's what they film.
Even though "The Bible" doesn't quite perfectly compact Bible stories, it does bring in a biblical standard to television, and I do think it's important that we watch and show we appreciate when pop culture includes God.
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