Multitude Monday....on Wednesday: Gifts 252 - 268

Moving my Gratitude List to Wednesday again due to my commitment to the Fun in the Summer Sun Event, which is running every Monday throughout the summer......so this may not be the last time I move it.  = )

Whether on Monday or Wednesday, or any other day of the week ~ my Gratitude List will continue.....

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

~W.T. Purkiser

252.  Fresh peaches from Georgia

253.  Fresh blueberries from Florida

254.  Fresh eggs from a sewing student's sweet mom ~ from their own chicken =)

255.  A new (to us) vehicle!!!!!!

256.  Not having to be paranoid that I'll be stranded with 3 kids on the side of a busy road

257.  My kids wanting to take care of it......and doing an excellent job of keeping it clean

258.  My Granny in good spirits (a rare event these days.....so good to hear of her being cheerful)

259.  A ♥sweet♥  friend telling me of an answered prayer ~~ that I've been praying for =)

260.  A morning at the park with yet another ♥sweet♥  friend

261.  Air conditioning!!!!

262.  A new thermostat installed that is so much nicer to look at than the ancient one it replaced (it's the little things!)

263.  A comment from my ♥Dad♥ telling me he's proud of me =)

264.  The storm that brought much-needed Rain  (please send more!)

265.  A ♥sweet little girl♥ excitedly waving to "Ms. Jill" as her car passes ours

266.  3 people who experience on a daily basis just how crazy/weird/silly/nuts  I really am....and keep my secrets ; )

267.  "Mom, I love you the most out of anyone!"  (Sigh.....they melt my heart ♥.  They're only mine for a little while ~ and yet, not really.  It is to Him that they belong.  May He bless them and keep them, drawing them close to His side, every day of their lives.  And may they always let Him.)

268.  The privilege of being ♥"Mom"♥


My Mustard Seed Planting verse of the week:

"Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children."

~ Deuteronomy 4:9-10








3 Four & Under

The T-Shirt Dress....and the Mannequin that Taunts Me

A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from a friend.  Her sweet daughter had come home from school with the good news that she needed a t-shirt dress constructed for a school play......and she needed it in two days. =)

Sweet Diva to the rescue. ; )

The order:  Pink t-shirt to be transformed into a dress by adding ruffles for the skirt.  And make it cute  {well, of course! ; ) }.

Fortunately, I was planning to head to ♥Hobby Lobby♥ the very next morning anyway to purchase items needed for another order.  I searched around for inspiration on how I wanted to construct this cute concoction and found several cute tutorials:

Cool People Sew ~ I love this blog and stalk it frequently....and I sew, so I must be cool! ; )
Cut-Out and Keep ~ Make & Share Step-by-Step Craft Tutorials ~ ruffle skirt {I am So coming back to this ~ my daughter loves this skirt}
Kuky Ideas ~ tiered skirt tutorial

The finished product:

Cute, yes??

Even laying on it's side! (why does Blogger sometimes do this to me?  This photo refuses to load right side up!  Posting anyway out of stubbornness.)

Notice that although one photos is sideways, neither are laying on a flat surface!  I purchased a set of mannequins from Amazon.....a toddler size that was used to display the cute aprons I posted about yesterday, a child size, and an adult female size.  Items look so much nicer when displayed properly, don't you think?!

I must admit, however, that I have issues with this female mannequin ~ and since I'm pretty sure that about 99.9% of my readers are female, I'll go ahead with my rant.  This mannequin taunts me every time I pull her out of the box.  She has no head, no face, no arms, no legs, no hands, no feet.......and yet she taunts me.  I am shallow.  And I don't look as good as she does!!  I think she must do nothing but excercise, and she must not each very much at all.  Ridiculous, I know.  But have pity on me...........I just celebrated turning another year older and I need to go bathing suit shopping.  And I'm having a hard time lately finding time to make it to the gym......and I eat healthy, but I do like food so I think I will never be as thin as I'd like to be....and  to be honest, I don't think I've ever looked as good as she does!! 

Wretched mannequin.  I have her hidden in a box in the back of my closet. =)  I only bring her out when I need her and make sure my husband and my boys don't see her when I do.....unless she has layers of clothing on.  When she does make an appearance ~ without fail, that nagging voice, that persistent lie that inspired THIS post reappears as well.  I suppose I'll always battle with feeling like I'll never measure up { <------- pun not intended, but I just noticed it ; ) } even though I know that it really isn't what matters.  Sigh.

The fact that I know so many other women who struggle with this issue as well is the only reason I'm willing to admit it here.  Even as I'm berating myself over my inadequacies, the Lord is reminding me of His truths.  It's a constant back and forth.....this battle of the flesh and the world's ideals vs. What Really Matters.  It's in times like these I often think of and am thankful for one of the side effects of the busy-ness of Homeschooling, being a WAH mom and juggling everything else as well.  I simply don't have time to dwell on the outer shell that will never be what the world says it should be ~ this is a good thing.  I am also thankful anew for the Homeschooling lifestyle and my fellow Homeschooling moms.  It is a lifestyle that has me so immersed in focusing on what is right and lasting and worthwhile, so dependant on God, that it's literally impossible to stay in that woe-is-me-I'm-not-perfect mentality for long.  Praise the Lord for that......I don't like being there!

So, since I just had to dress the mannequin-that-stays-in-the-back-of-the-closet.....and then put her back there ~ way back ~ my Mustard Seed Planting scripture for the week is:

 "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 

1 Samuel 16:7

It may say He's talking to Samuel, but trust me......He's talking to me as well!



Blessings in Disguise....

I've been posting on Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh Demoss on Wednesdays for a while now, but I have to admit......I finished the book a long time ago. =)  Posting once (sometimes twice) a week on it is making it go on forever!  I'm finding myself wondering, "Is anyone still interested?" and "Should I continue?".

Also, to be perfectly honest, I've hit a section in the book that is a difficult area for me, and I'm finding it quite difficult to write about something that hits so close to my current hurts and struggles.  I don't know if I should continue to post without revealing too much of myself, or just let it go.........feel free to give  your opinion. ; )

In the meantime, I still want to link up with Rebecca at Mom's Mustard Seeds.

I posted last week that I was undergoing an attitude adjustment.....and part of me still is. =)  I had to write a devotion for a group that I'm in and almost bowed out ~ but due tothe fact that I feel guilty if I don't follow through with my obligations, I did it anyway.  This is a slightly altered and less personal version of what I shared with them ~ and I'm sharing it with you, too.  Because......well, I'm still kind of there ~ and I think that a lot of people are right now.  It seems like everyone I know is struggling with something and maybe I'm not supposed to act like everything is perfect in my world ~ maybe being real is what I'm supposed to be.

My personality is an encourager and I feel anything but encouraging. I am the quiet, shy one ~ and when I'm going through difficult times, my natural inclination is to become even quieter and fade into the background until I get a better grip on things. =) I am also generally happy and cheerful, and it is rare that my faith and trust in the Lord wavers, and when I get really discouraged it usually only lasts for a moment or two and I am right back to normal {or my version of it, anyway ;)}.

The past few weeks....or months, I've been drowning in drama ~ and I don't do well with drama.  If you know me and want to get rid of me, just go "Drama Queen" (or King) on me and that'll do it! ; )  It seems like the relationships that God gives us that are supposed to be our sources of support are the ones that Satan is using to discourage me the most. Add to that the fact that I haven't had a full good nights sleep in probably 2 months and have had almost contant pain from headaches, and my propensity to have a positive outlook has dwindled.

The other day, I lay in bed waiting for Excedrin Migraine to work, looking up at the skylights......and thought, "Lord, the sun is shining so brightly today.....why can't I feel your warmth?" I eventually got up and reached into my tote for something, pulled out my music folder, and a piece that my ensemble has been working on, "Healing is in Your Hands",  fell out. (I actually posted the video a couple of weeks ago for "Then Sings My Soul Saturday"). I looked at the words and then pulled it up on YouTube. As tears filled my eyes, I was reminded that His warmth never left me....it was me in my hurt that backed away so that I couldn't feel it.

I also decided to check my email before I logged off, and a friend had sent me this song......having no idea of where I was emotionally.  But Someone else did and His timing is always perfect.

(mute the auto music player below to hear the video)


How thankful I am that He hears my every prayer, sees my every tear.........and that His mercies are always there, even if we have to lift the veil of our own lack of faith to find them. How thankful I am for ♥music♥, that He uses to reach my heart and wrap His warmth around me when I am unable to feel it, and to give me hope to get me back to "normal"........until the day that I am Home.

My Mustard Seed Planting verse for the week is simple and well-known to those of us in the Faith.  But simple Truths and His promises of what's to come is sometimes just what we need.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

 Rev. 21:4



The Most Valuable and Fulfilling "Job" ~ A True Calling

Lie # 20.  "A Career Outside The Home Is More Valuable and Fulfilling Than Being a Wife and Mother"

"Women have been liberated right out of the genuine freedom they enjoyed for centuries to oversee the home, rear the children, and pursue personal creativity; they have been brainwashed to believe the absence of a titled, payroll occupation enslaves a woman to failure, boredom, and imprisonment within the confines of the home" ~ Dr. Dorothy Patterson

In reading reviews of Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss on Amazon, this is one of the lies that received the most criticism.  To suggest a woman "give up" some of her independence is not a popular concept these days.  Concepts such as virtue, chastity, submission, discretion, domesticity and modesty have been largely eliminated from our vocabulary and replaced with freedom of choice, divorce, infidelity, and unisex lifestyles, along with a demeaning view of marriage and motherhood.

We are pressured and expected to do more than just be a wife and mother, and many of us who choose to stay at home are often looked down upon and devalued, and sometimes even told that we aren't living up to our potential (yes, I have been told that.....from family as well as others).

If you've read the book, there is a long list of unintended consequences our families and children now face as a result of women's liberation from the mundane life of a homemaker {world's view ~ not mine ; ) }.  I won't list them all, but will focus more on this lie and my response to it.

In Genesis 2:18, we find the first and clearest statement of why God created the woman:  to be a helpmeet to our husbands, to complete him, to be suited to his needs.  Not popular in 2011, wouldn't you agree?  Thus, the criticisms and even anger from women who are outraged at what they see as such an archaic concept.....but God's Truths are just that.  Truth.  The popularity or current world view of the Truth does not make it more or less True.

The woman was uniquely designed and created by God to be a bearer and nurturer of life.  In so many ways, we have been the ability to add life, beauty, fullness, richness, joy, mercy and grace to the family unit.  "There is no greater measure of her worth or success as a woman than the extent to which she serves as the heart of her home."  Our lives and ministry as married women and mothers are to be centered around the home.  I don't think this necessarily means that is it wrong for a wife and mother to work outside of the home.  Ms. DeMoss even says that in her book, but I think the offended reviewers must not have seen that part. ; )
Whether we work away from home, work at home, or are blessed to make our home our work......our first priority and calling is to the home and our families. 

I have friends and know many wonderful, loving, Godly women who work full time outside of the home and would never begin to think that they are not fully committed to their first calling.  I am in awe of what they are able to accomplish.....they are able to do things and juggle what I cannot.  I often think, "They are more woman than I can ever be."  But, when I make such a comment to them, they often tell me that they cannot do it all and simply do what has to be done, doing the best they can.

Due to financial struggles, I tried working outside of the home last year and God showed me through that that I am truly CALLED to be at home.  I am also CALLED to homeschool.   I was miserable, exhausted and unhappy......and my family was unhappy as well.   No matter how I tried to force it to work, it just didn't for me.  It wasn't the job, which was a good job with wonderful employers and co-workers.  It was me, and the fact that my fears were controlling my choices and causing me to be unfaithful to MY calling.  In many ways, I am glad I went through the experience last year.  It erased any shadow of doubt of whether being at home and homeschooling was simply what I wanted to do or a true calling.

And so now, I am ♥home♥.   And now there is Sweet Diva, which helps to keep me here.  I work, I homeschool, and I do all the things wives and mothers do.  I get tired.  Honestly, sometimes I wish all I had to do was wifely and motherly duties and homeschool......not because I don't have many varied interests and abilities.  Not because I am not an intelligent, capable woman, but because that is my first calling and I happily embrace it.  I am thankful for it and consider it the most valuable, worthy and worthwhile "job" a woman could ever have.  The "job" we have been given has lasting and eternal significance and should never be looked down upon, belittled or under-valued.

"When mothers see how valuable their contribution can be, they should be overwhelmed with gratitude to God for bestowing such a good work upon them." ~ Praise Her in the Gates

Praise God that He deemed ME worthy.  I often feel that I am not.  How wonderful that He looks beyond our own views of ourselves and bestows upon us the blessings, gifts and callings that are truly immeasurable.
SN (side note) :  Two other books I recommend to remind you of how valuable and worthwhile your 1st calling is:

Praise Her In The Gates and The Fruit of Her Hands, both by Nancy Wilson.

My Mustard Seed Planting verse for the week:

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also praises her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but you excel them all. ...She will be rewarded with the fruit of her own hands; and because of her works and deed she will be praised in public places. Proverbs 31:28-29, 31



Lies Women Believe.....About Priorities

is the focus of Chapter Five of Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

.
Lie 18:  "I Don't Have Time To Do Everything I'm Supposed To Do"

How many times have I said this, thought this, whined this, cried this??  This is a lie that plagues me.  Doggedly.  Sigh.  How many of you can relate as well to the plaque above?  It's cute, it's funny.....but in the reality of my life, it's really NOT.

I know many other women who experience the same thing.  We often feel incapable of managing and balancing all of our responsibilities ~ overwhelmed by how much we have to do and how little time we have to do it all in.

We are frazzled, breathless, and discouraged.  How often do we go to bed wishing we had gotten to everything on our to-do lists?  Add to that everything that is on everyone else's to-do lists for us and it's quite literally impossible to ever see the end of it.

The Truth is that we don't have to do all those things.  We only have to do the work God assigns for us to do.  When we establish our own agenda or let others determine the priorities of our lives instead of taking time to discern what it is God wants us to do, we end up buried in mountains of work, exhausted, frustrated and feeling guilty that we can't get it all done.  God desires for us to have a peaceful, well-ordered life....not one of chaos.

There's a related lie out there that many of us who are often victim to this one have heard, and heard often:
"I can do it all."    Truthfully, no woman can do it all......and do it all well.  Eventually, someone or something is going to suffer.

"Frustration is the by-product of attempting to fulfill responsibilities God does not intend for us to carry.  Freedom, joy, and fruitfulness come from seeking to determine God's priorities for each season of life, and then setting out to fulfill those priorities, in the power of His Spirit, realizing that He has provided the necessary time and ability to do everything that He has called you to do."  ~Nancy Leigh Demoss

Lie 19:  " I Can Make It Without Consistant Time In God's Word and Prayer"

Another lie no Christian would want to admit to buying into to.  And yet, how much time do we really spend in God's Word and in talking....and listening....to Him?

Satan desires us to live our lives independently of God.  He's not as concerned with whether we "believe" in God.  If we fill our schedules with lots of "spiritual activities", if we are trying to "live the Christian life' without developing and nurturing an intimate relationship with the Lord, he knows we will be spiritually defeated and ineffective.  If we operate on our own thoughts and ideas instead of seeking the wisdom that comes from God, he knows we will eventually get sucked into the world's way of thinking and will become vulenrable to deception in every area of our lives.

Much too often, we find ourselves jumping into the tasks and details of the day without first taking time to meet with the Lord and give that day to Him, to seek His guidance and set out accordingly.  I know when I do things in my own strength, in my own will, the results are never what I had hoped for and I am often left frustrated, aggravated and with a mess to clean up.

It is impossible for me, or you, to be the woman God wants me to be apart from spending consistant time building a relationship with Him, "abiding" in Him, living in dependence on Him......and trusting Him.

My Mustard Seed Planting verse(s) for the week:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

~ Matthew 6:25-34



Picking Up Where I Left Off....."God Can't Forgive What I Have Done"....

....from "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free".

You can view Lies 1-14 by clicking on the Lies Women Believe tag at the bottom of this post or on the side of the page.

15.  God Can't Forget What I Have Done

I imagine Satan likes this one particularly well considering it is pure blasphemy of the Truth that is revealed at Calvary.  How many hurting hearts and bleeding souls remain hurting, bleeding, lost and searching due to this lie?

No matter what you have done, no matter whether or not you feel that you deserve forgiveness, is is there for the taking....at the Cross.  There is one ~ and only one ~ solution to the guilt of our sins.

A  beautiful description of Jesus and what He did for us on the cross is found in Psalm 85:10:

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."

At Calvary, Jesus paid the price for all the sin of the world.  For you.  For me.  For the one on death row, the one on the street, the prostitute, the thief, the drug addict, the alcoholic........every single one.  Nothing is to big for God to forgive.  The Cross shows the incredible cost He paid to redeem us from our huge, ugly, grotesque, unimaginable sins.....as well as our "weaknesses", our "little" sins that we trivialize in our minds.  The Cross also displays the love and mercy of God for even the "chief of sinners".

I love music, and love the old hymns.....many are so deeply embedded in my memory that they will unexpectedly pop into my mind, usually just when the words of encouragement and Truth within them are needed most.  I especially love hearing the stories of the hymn writers and what inspired their penning of those hymns.  One hymn writer's  story was provided in the book.....

"William Cowper was one of the finest English writers of the nineteenth century.  But he carried significant emotional baggage and turmoil into his adult years.  As a young man, he experienced a mental breakdown, attempted suicide, and was placed in an insane asylum for eighteen months.  It was during this confinement that he read a verse of Scripture that changed his life.  He discovered that Jesus Christ is "set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:25 KJV).

Once he saw the Truth and embraced it, Cowper entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and was granted the knowledge that his sins had been forgiven.  Years later, he expressed the wonder of that forgiveness in a hymn that has brought hope to repentant sinners for more than two hundred years."  ~ Lies Women Believe.....

♫ There is a Fountain ♫

This video contains some graphic images of Christ.  Mute the auto player at the bottom of the page to hear the video.

Linking up with Mustard Seed Planting.  My verse for the week:

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You,

That You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope."

Psalm 130: 3-5



Our Father, Who Art in Heaven.....

*Editing this post to link up with Faith Barista on 6/16/11, as with Father's Day coming this weekend,  it fits her topic this week so well......

Continuing to make my way through Nancy DeMoss's book, Lies Women Believe....and the Truth That Sets Them Free brings me to Lie # 3.  (If you're just joining in and are interested ~ or if you've been following these posts on Wednesdays and missed Lie #2 on Saturday ~ you can find earlier posts on this book by clicking on the tag "Lies Women  Believe" at the bottom of this one.)

Lie # 3 :  God Is Just Like My Father

Lie #3 is based on the fact that as women, our view of God can be largely influenced by the men we have known in our lives ~ our fathers in particular.  Our sense, or feeling, of who God is can be shaped by those men, both positively and negatively.

If your father was harsh & abusive, overbearing, unable to express love, distant or even absent, you may have the tendency to view the Heavenly Father in the same way.  If this is the case for you, you might find trusting God difficult.  Ms. Demoss puts it well when she says,

"You must believe me when I tell  you that God is not like any man you have ever known.  The wisest, kindest earthly father is but a pale reflection of our heavenly Father.  The God of the Bible in infinitely more wonderful and pure and loving than even the most wonderful father.  That is why it is so important that we not allow our view of God to be determined by other men, for at their very best they are flawed representations of God."

I do believe that her take on this relationship is true for many, but this is a lie that has never held any influence over me......and it easily could have.  Coming from the perspective of the daughter whose father was absent for much of her growing-up years, I can wholeheartedly attest to the damage it does within.  If you happen to be a father who has stumbled upon this post, let me urge you to NEVER, EVER underestimate the way your daughter desperately needs your active involvement and steadfast love in her life.  The abundance, or lack of, your involvement will shape who she becomes and will stay with her for the rest of her life.  If you are a woman, as I suspect most of those who read my blog are, encourage the father of your children and impress upon them the value they have in their children's lives.  Without that relationship, they may be susceptible to this lie.....and the door will be open to many more.

I don't know why this lie has never influenced me.....all I know is that from the first moment I truly met my Heavenly Father, this is what I found, and have clung to that peace, assurance and love ever since.  Statistically, I should not be living the life that I do.  I have an abundance of living and breathing examples all around me of what my life could have been without my embracing the love of God.  I praise Him and am overwhelmed with thankfulness for my God, my Father, who loves to overcome statistics, hurt, and pain and let his goodness wash over the wounds and scars that we all have caused by an imperfect world.  Does He completely eliminate the hurt and pain?  Perhaps for some, but for me......a part of me will always be the eight year old Daddy's Girl changed forever by a decision made by others and forced upon her.  There will always be fragments of a little broken heart that was torn to pieces by the loss of a relationship that she adored.  My Father above is a soothing balm to that broken part of me.  He took an angry, hurt and confused teenage girl and gave her what she needed most.  He taught a young mother to see that parents aren't perfect and we do the best we can.......and brought forgiveness, understanding and a new beginning to a relationship wrongly severed.  He teaches me so many things, day by day, circumstance by circumstance, and hurt by hurt.......and I love and lean on Him ~ not because I am strong, but because I recognize how weak I am and how much I need Him.  He loves me.  Perfectly.  In Him, I am made whole.

"Discomfort and unrest are impossible to souls who come to know that God is their Father........What good earthly father would not do, God who is our Father would not do either; and what a good father ought to do, God who is our Father is absolutely sure to do.

Christ has declared to us the name of the Father in order that we may discover that the Father loves us as He loves His Son.  If we believed this, could we ever have an anxious or rebellious heart again?  Would we not believe in every conceivable circumstance that the devine Father would care for us in the best possible way and meet our every need?"

~Hannah Whitall Smith

If you are struggling with hurt and healing caused by the absence of your father, I also recommend this book:

My Mustard Seed Planting verse of the week:

 "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are; For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be, We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." ~ John 3:1-3