Nate's eye was red and watery the other night, and before we went to bed he asked me a couple of times to look and see if anything was in it.
Other than the spidery red capillaries creeping across the inflamed eye, there was nothing to be seen.
The next day, his eye still hurt so I suggested he made an appointment at the eye doctor.
While there, the doctor also didn't see anything, so he dyed the eye. Every time Nate blinked, a line showed up across the dye, which made the doctor question what was causing it. He rolled Nate's upper eyelid back and found a small splinter was embedded in the eyelid, so every time he blinked it was scratching his cornea.
The doctor pulled the speck out, and Nate was 100 percent better. He came home and gave a sigh of relief that the pain and irritation was gone.
It was just a little speck, which came from Nate not following the rules and wearing protective eye gear on his eyes while doing a woodworking project. That little speck didn't cause him a lot of pain, but it didn't feel good and it caused his eye to swell and water to the point where it was hard to see.
Little things matter. When we have a little sin in our life, it causes some pain and irritation. It might even cause situations to swell, and we can't see clearly because of it. If we go see the great doctor, God, and get it taken out of our lives, we can get back to a peaceful life.
If we let it go though, it will continue to scratch and make matters worse. If Nate had let the splinter go, it would have continued to scratch his eye and could have gotten infected, causing possibly permanent damage. Like sin, if left untouched, the problem will grow and grow.
Plus, the speck in Nate's eye was easy to take care of when it was little. Had the problem grown, it would have taken much more drastic measures than tweezers and some eye drops to cure. When sin is little, the damages and the cure are much simpler. Don't let it fester.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Little things
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the little things matter.
Tonight, I was at a high school football game taking photos of our paper. My butt buzzed, and I pulled out my phone to read a text from my husband.
"You look cute."
I was just in jeans and a jacket with my hair pulled back, but as he stood on the sidelines — by the way he was looking handsome too — he still thought I looked cute.
I have to say it made my night, just that little statement. Because I knew that the way I feel when I see him far off, that little pitter patter that still wells up within me and the smile that comes on my face when I see my handsome man, I guess he feels like that too.
Then, earlier today, I helped him for like two minutes on a project he was working on in the basement, and he told me he appreciated my help.
It's simple, but those little words make my heart well up.
Tonight, I was at a high school football game taking photos of our paper. My butt buzzed, and I pulled out my phone to read a text from my husband.
"You look cute."
I was just in jeans and a jacket with my hair pulled back, but as he stood on the sidelines — by the way he was looking handsome too — he still thought I looked cute.
I have to say it made my night, just that little statement. Because I knew that the way I feel when I see him far off, that little pitter patter that still wells up within me and the smile that comes on my face when I see my handsome man, I guess he feels like that too.
Then, earlier today, I helped him for like two minutes on a project he was working on in the basement, and he told me he appreciated my help.
It's simple, but those little words make my heart well up.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Chicken and dumplings and apple crisp
I'm horrible about remembering to take photos of stuff as it happens, but last night I made a delicious dinner, so I thought I would share some recipes.
You'll have to use your imagination about what it looks like :)
Chicken and dumplings
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup milk
2 quarts chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken
Buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, because all the work is done for you, and it's cheaper than cooking your own whole chicken. Get all the meat off of it, and freeze half. The other half will be used for the soup.
To make the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Stir in milk until dough forms a ball. Roll out on a floured surface and use a pizza cutter to cut into squares.
Drop dumplings in boiling broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add in shredded chicken and cook until warm.
Apple crisp
4-5 cups sliced apples (I used ones I had cut and frozen this summer)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup melted butter
Layer sliced apples in a buttered 9-by-9 baking dish. Mix other ingredients and spread over top.
Bake about 20-30 minutes in 350 degree oven, until apples are soft and bubbling.
You'll have to use your imagination about what it looks like :)
Chicken and dumplings
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup milk
2 quarts chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken
Buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, because all the work is done for you, and it's cheaper than cooking your own whole chicken. Get all the meat off of it, and freeze half. The other half will be used for the soup.
To make the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Stir in milk until dough forms a ball. Roll out on a floured surface and use a pizza cutter to cut into squares.
Drop dumplings in boiling broth. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add in shredded chicken and cook until warm.
Apple crisp
4-5 cups sliced apples (I used ones I had cut and frozen this summer)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup melted butter
Layer sliced apples in a buttered 9-by-9 baking dish. Mix other ingredients and spread over top.
Bake about 20-30 minutes in 350 degree oven, until apples are soft and bubbling.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Heart matters
I've been thinking on sincerity a lot lately.
I think it boils down to whether I do things just because it's the right thing to do or because it comes from my heart. I know how to put on a good face and make a good impression, but does that really mean anything if it just makes me feel better or makes people like me?
When I talk to people at church, am I approaching them because I genuinely care or am I just doing my duty? As much as I think that it doesn't matter, as long as they feel good after the conversation, I think that they know whether I am patronizing them or am truly sincere. I know that I can tell when people genuinely care or are just taking the prescribed social steps.
When I volunteer, is it because I really want to help or just because I want to look good? I actually didn't do something recently that I was going to volunteer for, because I thought that I was just doing it to look good instead of it being from the heart.
It's similar to what I talked about yesterday with the checklist Christianity. Check — I did my good deed for the day or the week. Check — I asked about how someone was doing. That means God should be pleased with me, right?
When non-Christians do something good and expect to get into heaven because they are "basically good," we tell them their good deeds aren't worth anything. They can't clean us from sin. When we are Christians, our good deeds don't count for anything either, if we do them just to try to earn brownie points. They are only worthy of praise when we don't do them for praise.
The Bible says to lend money without expecting it to be returned. We should also give of ourselves without expecting anything back — no thank you, no return good gesture, no pat on the back from God. We do it because our hearts want to help.
I think it boils down to whether I do things just because it's the right thing to do or because it comes from my heart. I know how to put on a good face and make a good impression, but does that really mean anything if it just makes me feel better or makes people like me?
When I talk to people at church, am I approaching them because I genuinely care or am I just doing my duty? As much as I think that it doesn't matter, as long as they feel good after the conversation, I think that they know whether I am patronizing them or am truly sincere. I know that I can tell when people genuinely care or are just taking the prescribed social steps.
When I volunteer, is it because I really want to help or just because I want to look good? I actually didn't do something recently that I was going to volunteer for, because I thought that I was just doing it to look good instead of it being from the heart.
It's similar to what I talked about yesterday with the checklist Christianity. Check — I did my good deed for the day or the week. Check — I asked about how someone was doing. That means God should be pleased with me, right?
When non-Christians do something good and expect to get into heaven because they are "basically good," we tell them their good deeds aren't worth anything. They can't clean us from sin. When we are Christians, our good deeds don't count for anything either, if we do them just to try to earn brownie points. They are only worthy of praise when we don't do them for praise.
The Bible says to lend money without expecting it to be returned. We should also give of ourselves without expecting anything back — no thank you, no return good gesture, no pat on the back from God. We do it because our hearts want to help.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Check!
My best friend loves Post-It notes.
In college, she had them in multiple colors, and they were stuck everywhere. She had a Post-It for her homework, one for long-term projects, one for her daily to-do list. She loves them so much that people buy them for her as gifts and think of her when they see Post-Its while out and about.
I am not necessarily a fan of Post-Its, but I am a huge fan of lists.
My daily planner is completely full of lists. I have a list of what to do at work that day, and then I have a list of what I need to do that night. I sometimes write up a week's to-do list on the wipe board in our kitchen. I have an ongoing meals list on the refrigerator, as well as a foods-we-need list for the next grocery trip. I have a list of items that I think will be great in our garden next spring.
One of my favorite parts of having the to-do lists is I get to cross items out. My planner has a place to put a check mark for the items you have completed, but I don't use that. I love to cross tasks out so that they really look like they are done.
One of our pastors talked about check-list Christianity this Sunday. One place where I really have check-list Christianity is in my Bible reading. I put it on my nightly task list, and then I cross it off when I have read a little.
And that's on the good nights. On the good nights, I read what I am supposed to from the reading list. On the OK nights I rush to read something just so I can cross it off the list. On the bad nights, I forget the Bible reading because I'm too busy finishing up the other daily tasks.
Our other pastor is our mentor in our new Sunday School class, and he talked about the importance of us giving God our best. We shouldn't wait until the last minute of the day to cross off a task but we should really want to read our Bible and converse with God.
I have always struggled with this, and I'm not sure how to get better at it. I still haven't figured out what time of day is "best," and if I did I still need prayer to want to give that time of day to God.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Faith like a child
This might seem like a coincidence to some, but I believe there truly is power in prayer.
This week, I went to a bone and joint doctor to get my ganglion cyst looked at.
After taking x-rays to make sure it was actually a cyst and not a bone growth, the doctor said that he would numb the area and then stick the cyst with a "bigger" needle to pop it.
"Don't think about it," I said to myself, because I really hate needles. I texted Nate and told him I wished he was there with me, but he was out of town for work. I checked my e-mail on my phone and just tried to not concentrate on what was coming up next.
The nurse came in to rub the area with some kind of cleanser, and she put two needles on the bench beside my chair.
When the doctor came in and sat on a stool in front of me, I turned my head to the right as he took hold of my hand with one of his hands and a needle with the other hand.
He said he was just going to fill the cyst with lidocaine to numb it before using the other needle. I felt the little needle go in once, twice, three times.
Then the doctor started rubbing the area with the cyst.
"It popped with the smaller needle; you just saved yourself from having to use the bigger needle."
Hallelujah, thank you Lord!
I called my mom after the procedure to let her know my ganglion cyst was drained, and my wrist was back to normal. She was surprised, because she thought the appointment was an hour later than it was, but then she said that she and my 1.5-year-old niece had already prayed for me.
When my mom laid my niece down for her morning nap, Mom asked her who she wanted to pray for.
"Kiley," she said, although it comes out more "Kiwee" than anything.
They prayed for the appointment, and then it just happened to go better than I could have expected.
Just happened to, huh? I don't think so. Jesus said "Gather the little children unto me," because they have such great faith. Even a 1.5-year-old can have faith her heavenly daddy. And it worked out well for her aunt.
This week, I went to a bone and joint doctor to get my ganglion cyst looked at.
After taking x-rays to make sure it was actually a cyst and not a bone growth, the doctor said that he would numb the area and then stick the cyst with a "bigger" needle to pop it.
"Don't think about it," I said to myself, because I really hate needles. I texted Nate and told him I wished he was there with me, but he was out of town for work. I checked my e-mail on my phone and just tried to not concentrate on what was coming up next.
The nurse came in to rub the area with some kind of cleanser, and she put two needles on the bench beside my chair.
When the doctor came in and sat on a stool in front of me, I turned my head to the right as he took hold of my hand with one of his hands and a needle with the other hand.
He said he was just going to fill the cyst with lidocaine to numb it before using the other needle. I felt the little needle go in once, twice, three times.
Then the doctor started rubbing the area with the cyst.
"It popped with the smaller needle; you just saved yourself from having to use the bigger needle."
Hallelujah, thank you Lord!
I called my mom after the procedure to let her know my ganglion cyst was drained, and my wrist was back to normal. She was surprised, because she thought the appointment was an hour later than it was, but then she said that she and my 1.5-year-old niece had already prayed for me.
When my mom laid my niece down for her morning nap, Mom asked her who she wanted to pray for.
"Kiley," she said, although it comes out more "Kiwee" than anything.
They prayed for the appointment, and then it just happened to go better than I could have expected.
Just happened to, huh? I don't think so. Jesus said "Gather the little children unto me," because they have such great faith. Even a 1.5-year-old can have faith her heavenly daddy. And it worked out well for her aunt.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Cleaning with a dirty hand
People often think, "If I just have enough will power, I can change."
In some circumstances, this is true. We can change how we eat, how we react to difficult situations, our tempers. However, we can't change our insides.
On Sunday, my pastor likened people trying to become better to trying to clean the dirt off your clothes with a muddy hand. It doesn't work.
When our sinful selves attempt to clean our insides, we can't do it. You have to start out with perfection to be able to clean something dirty. Jesus' perfection is the only way to get rid of our sin.
In some circumstances, this is true. We can change how we eat, how we react to difficult situations, our tempers. However, we can't change our insides.
On Sunday, my pastor likened people trying to become better to trying to clean the dirt off your clothes with a muddy hand. It doesn't work.
When our sinful selves attempt to clean our insides, we can't do it. You have to start out with perfection to be able to clean something dirty. Jesus' perfection is the only way to get rid of our sin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)