FOR TODAY: November 10th, 2009

• Outside my window... grey and chilly looking but it's supposed to be 60 today, wish the leaves would've stayed on the trees longer!
• I am thinking... that I need to finish this and move on, that our rat terrier is spoiled.
• I am thankful for... Coffee from my hubby this morning (he's on leave)
• From the learning rooms... HAVE to get the school records caught up and College transcripts for the girls done (AAAH!)
• From the kitchen... hmmm, cereal for breakfast - chicken chili for lunch, need to make a grocery and menu list and make bread.
• I am wearing... jammies (blush) - In & Out AZ tee and flannel pants with eldest dd's slippers!
• I am creating... this post at the moment! :)
• I am going... to call Julie today and schedule Jessica's senior photos!
• I am reading... Be Still and know that I am God by Amy & Judge Reinhold which Shellie Kelly gave me at PWOC Conference this week, Inkheart and In Every Pew there's a broken heart. Learning, about Lecto Divina always have more than one book going.
• I am hoping... to get those transcripts done today! or at least most of it..
• I am hearing.... my mantel clock chime, dogs toenails on our wood floor, son taking out the trash, and computer chill pad at the moment.
• Around the house... lots to catch up on after conference!
• One of my favorite things... morning snuggles with my 9 yo
• A few plans for the rest of the week: visiting Lebanon KS so Noah can say he too has been to the center of the contiguous United States, grocery shopping, Cowboy Joe party tonight for kiddos, AWANA, babysitting gigs for the girls, scrapbooking??



• Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
  

Thanks Mandy for the link!

Simple Woman's Daybook Info:http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Prov 31:27...

"She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat."... Amplified Bible.

This verse has been coming back to me repeatedly of late. What exactly does looking well to the way things are in your household mean? Well it doesn't necessarily mean that it looks like your house - remember it says HER household - we all have different schedules, jobs,etc to manage.
Hubby's schedule and needs as a military man probably look very different from those of a pastor, or someone with a set schedule everyday, or for those who don't have a husband, etc. That's not bad, it just is.

What about the kiddos? How many you have/ages/gender and tastes will determine differences in this area as well.

I think looking well to your household means being on top of things, keeping things running smoothly and doing so cheerfully and yet it is more than that -- oh there's the budgeting,etc but i mean the spiritual side as well. Praying for said husband and children if you have them, meeting physical, spiritual and emotional needs and NOT comparing myself to Mary Jane down the road or a friend who has other needs. To often as women and particularly Christian women we tend ot think if we aren't quiet, always happy, never moody, and don't do things exactly the same as others then we are failing. The Church sometimes reinforces this idea with books on how to be the perfect Christian woman, others who say things like "if you..." or give ideas and scripture as if they were God, well meaning though they may be. Where's the grace for each other? To be sure we need to be Titus 2 women who teach and help younger women, but not in a way that makes them feel inadequate or that they somehow don't measure up.

What does the Lord require of you? That will look different for each of us, and in each season! Using store brought bread for a season if that's what you need will not kill your family, nor will eating out occasionally (notice I said occasionally :)) to use two random examples.

Ask the Lord to show you what looking well to your home's ways means for YOU

Homemaking...

Ok so it's not Friday, but I haven't posted in a bit:

Today -

managed to get a least some school done with the kiddos, making yogurt and keifer, laundry, ironing delegated, etc! Yea... first day in a bit we've been able to stay home and do stuff without places to go! We have AWANA tonight but that doesn't cut into the middle of the day so much... and it's SUNNY! yea!!!

Why do I bother?

Doesn't seem to make a diff to anyone anyhow. Everytime I think son is making progress he pulls stupid stunts, no replies on anything, really feel somedays it wouldn't matter if I dropped off the face of the earth nobody would notice...... I'm really tired of being the one to keep relationships going, etc...etc...etc....

Duty...

is action, taken after listening to one's leaders and weighing risk and fear against the powerful draw of obligation to family, community,nation and the unknown future...
- quote from "Born Fighting" by Webb.

no necessary evils....

"Equality of talents, of education or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry,economy,and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advatages artificial distinctions...to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of our society - the farmers, mechanics and laborers- who have neither the time nor the means of securing favors to themselves, have the right to complain of the injustice of their Government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses..."
- Andrew Jackson

Cherish the time

One of my biggest pet peeves is Christian women who "can't wait" for school to start! Translation -- can't wait to get rid of my kids. Now, I'm all for mommy recharge time, not saying you should never have time away to read, lunch with a friend, retreats with other women,etc nor am I saying summer can't be nuts and you need to get back into a routine, God is a god of order. BUT we are to be different from the world. To love our children and train them in the admonition of the Lord... not be looking for ways to get rid of them! (Not just picking on those who public school either). Beleive me all to soon those little arms around your neck won't be there, there is a time for everything under heaven, INCLUDING beind a Mom with little ones and not so little ones, who depend on you! Not to mention the fact that those little ears are hearing you say you can't wait to get rid of them, that they are just an imposition in your "real" life... what is that doing to their spirit? What are we saying to the world when we say that? That our God isn't involved in our daily lives, or big enough to help us have patience, or enjoy the summer?

How can we say they are a blessing from the Lord and then turn around and say we can't wait til they are old enough to ___________(fill in the blank). God sees them as a blessing the way they are NOW and we should too.

LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS

by: William Cowper (1731-1800)


GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sov'reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding ev'ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

Summer....

So summer's supposed to be lazy but ours sure wasn't this year! Between camps, 4-H, the Fair, work, Ross in AZ,etc it's been hard to keep up!

Money...

interesting what the Lord has been reminding me about lately regarding this subject. For most of us, we never seem to have enough - and it seems as though if we had more life would be easier, things would be less stressful,etc... and in some cases/ways that's true; However, I find it interesting that those who do have it, if they didn't used to, still aren't content. The Lord has shown me this in several different ways of late. Things are never more important than people, yet we often treat them thus....

More later.