Multitude Monday.....On Wednesday: Gifts 289 - 306

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.

~Author Unknown

=)

289.  Finding a quote for this week's post that made me smile.......how appropriate for me ; )

290.  Leftovers for dinner.....I never have understood people who don't eat leftovers ~ I often double a recipe for the sole purpose of having a night off in the future!!

291.  5 bags of old college textbooks (and a few other things) taken to Goodwill, .....

292. ....the husband who finally relinquished them after years of effort on my part ; )......

293. ....and how beautiful my bookshelves now look because they've been jam-packed with stuff shoved every-which-way-it-will-fit.....clutter-busting is a very beautiful thing  indeed!

294. Dinner with ♥sweet♥ friends

295.  a dresser found at Goodwill for $14.99 !!  to replace a very sad-looking one for my youngest son,....

296. .....several clothing items for my kids (Gap, Old Navy, etc.) at $2, $3, $4 each,....

297.  .....a new set of Pfalzgraff everyday dishes at half the price of another set I've been looking at.....oh, so pretty!....,

298.  .....and, a new set of glassware (we had an unexpected thrift/bargain store shopping experience yesterday.....after my complaining this weekend  that all my  friends find the best treasures while thrift store shopping & I never do).....

299.  God's sense of humor =)

300.  the strangers who helped my 11-yr. old and me get #294 into our vehicle....

301.  .....and the neighbor who helped us get it inside the house

302.  a bathroom light that finally works the way it's supposed to thanks to my.....

303.  Mr. Fix-It ♥

304.  my SIL, who is back in the same city for good after a year in Ohio

305.  perspective {gratitude, thankfulness, happiness, being content where God has you.....it's all about having the right one, ya know}

306.  coffee, without which this post might not be coherent ; ) {I'm having a hard time waking up today!}

Mustard Seed Planting today.....and although riches would be nice, I'm reminded in Proverbs ~

"Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven."

Prov. 23:4-5



Lies Women Believe.....About Sin

Lie #13: I Can Sin and Get Away With It, and
Lie #14:  My Sin Isn't Really That Bad

How many of us actually think that?  Few of us would say we do.....but we do still sin.  Maybe our sins aren't "big" sins in our minds, the way we like to weigh them like we weigh the produce we're purchasing at the store.  But to God, sin is sin.  There are no big sins and no little sins ~ there is just SIN.

We tell ourselves our sins aren't really that bad, often because we have desensitized our minds with the entertainment that's available in our culture to the point that we are incapable of judging them with a Holy outlook. We hold grudges against others who have wronged us, ignoring the effects that bitterness can cause ~ emotionally, spiritually and physically.  We lose our tempers, and justify it with our circumstances.  I'll admit that my personality fits well into the "good church girl" image......I've never been drawn to much of what we, in our human minds, see as BIG sins.  But I am wretched with sin nonetheless.  That sin above.....grudges.  I don't hold them with many, but hurt me deeply ~ that grudge can be hard to let go of.  There are others, as there are for you.  Sins of envy, gluttony, pride, gossip, disrespect, laziness, selfishness......I could make an unending list of them, some blatantly obvious.....and some deceptively subtle.  We flirt with sin, thinking that the flirting isn't sin in and of itself.....but it is, and can lead to even deeper sin and deeper consequences.

We must constantly keep telling ourselves that the Enemy is a liar.  The things God calls sin, Satan tells us are fun, safe, innocent, desirable, no big deal, meeting our needs, and unavoidable.  As with most lies, there is some truth within.  Sin will often bring pleasure.....for a short time.  The consequences of sin are not so short-lived, however.

• Sin steals joy (Psalm 51:12)
• Sin removes confidence (1 John 3:19-21)
• Sin brings guilt (Psalm 51:3)
• Sin gives Satan the upper hand (2 Corin. 2:9-11)
• Sin quenches God's Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)
• Sin brings physical damage (Psalms 38:1-11; 31:10)
• Sin causes an ache in the soul (Psalm 32:3-4)
• Sin breaks God's heart (Eph. 4:30)
• Sin opens the door to other sins (Isaiah 30:1)
• Sin breaks fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2)
• Sin produces fear (Proverbs 28:1)
• Sin makes me its slave (John 8:34; Romans 6:16)

Are these prices we really want to pay?  Are these prices we can afford to pay?  Perhaps our sins won't reap consequences right away.  The consequences may wait to show themselves until the next generation.  They may wait until we stand before God Himself.  The consequences will always come eventually.

When we begin to see that every sin is a big deal, an act against God, then our view of sin will change.  When we learn to see our sins ~ each and every one ~ in the light of who God is, we will become "acutely aware of the hideousness of our sin".  And once we see the Truth, then.....we can be set free.

"One leak will sink a ship; and one sin will destroy a sinner." ~ John Bunyon

"No sin is small.  No grain of sand is small  in the mechanism of a watch." ~ Jeremy Taylor

"Unmask to me sin's deformity; that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it....Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed as in the greatness of the person sinned against." ~ Puritan prayer

My verse(s) for Mustard Seed Planting:

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior." Psalm 24:1-5 



Mustard Seed Planting: Isaiah 9:6-7

Rejoining the link-up with Mom's Mustard Seeds after being away too long:

  "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince Of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with Judgment and with Justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Linking up today with: 





Mustard Seed Planting...Philippians 1:6

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:6




.....because like many other moms I know, I often (see calendar days Sunday ~ Saturday) feel as if  I am a juggler in a circus that is life.....and that some days there should be a flashing neon sign over my head blinking "Epic Fail" due to all the "balls" I've dropped and am tripping on that are rolling around on the floor!  ; )

May this verse calm my anxieties this week over my never-ending responsibilities and to-do lists in my mind ~ in my heart, the Lord lovingly reminds me that if "He has called me to it, He will see me through it"!!!

Happily linking up again with Mom's Mustard Seeds for her Mustard Seed Planting meme!

Also hopping with these blog hops today: