The hodge podge that is in my head

Alright. Where to start.

I had several plans for this blog. I wanted to write down important events in Ariah's life that I wanted to remember. I wanted to write a Bible study for women. I wanted to use this as an accountability of sorts because I honestly do love to write.

Instead I am just overwhelmed.

Ariah is growing so fast! I have so much to say and yet no words come. Being her mother is an amazing position to be in, but there is no way to remember everything. Maybe it's because remembering the past encourages ue to live in it which is unhealthy. We chould be constantly striving to grow just as our children grow. I read Titus 2 tonight and found it helpful in this area.

Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good. In this way they will train  the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, fulfilling their duties at home,  kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message  of God may not be discredited. ~Titus 2:3-5

I am not an "older woman" (I don't think lol), but look at what the younger women are supposed to be trained in. I cannot see one of those aspects that can be "perfected" in this body. We are sinful creatures and as such we are in constant battle with that nature. The battle is worth it though because by fighting we draw others' attention to God. I said that this scripture was helpful in continuing to grow because in focussing on these virtues it is imposible to live in the past.

As for the Bible study, if there was a word beyong overwhelmed, I'd be using it. Thankfully, God uses flawed people.

So much more in my mind, but Ariah's been getting up at dawn so I am exhausted! "See" you soon!

Well, I have a bible study post in the works, but I'm trying REALLY hard to get to bed at a decent hour so we're taking a break to talk about my princess :)
She is 20 months now (still can't bring myself to say a year and a half). This weekend we cut out naptime because she was more cranky with a nap than without (odd, I know, but that's how mommy is too). That means she's going to bed easily and early (which means early to rise, hence mommy's new bedtime).  She still has a quiet time, but she isn't a fan of it yet. What she is a fan of is taking walks around our block. :)

The first time we took a walk, it was quite by accident. Ariah took my old snoopy dog (like the one pictured below) on our walk to the mail box.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/64936902/vintage-fisher-price-little-snoopy

....but Ariah kept walking! I told her to stop and then considered that a walk wouldn't be a bad thing. We didn't have anything pressing to do at home. So, since she stopped when I first told her, I gave her the option to walk or go home. We walked :)

Since then walks have been at least a daily activity (weather permitting). There are days where we simply walk up and down the same street without turning a corner. Some days she pushes her doll in a stroller or pulls Minnie Mouse in a wagon. Other walks she leaves her hands free to collect treasures of leaves and rocks. Shoes are often opptional, but today she chose shoes.... Her shiny black dress shoes.

She was thrilled! The little tap tap of her feet made me smile :) So, off we went! Half way around the block we walk right by a mud puddle. She paid it no attention and kept walking; I of course breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly she stopped and turned her little wagon around so she could get a better look at it. I could have stopped her, but she washes. I wanted to see what she'd do. A couple days ago I planned and encouraged her to play in the mud, but no. She was NOT interested. This mud must have been different because she didn't hestiate to dunk her hands in and her shiny shoes soon followed.

The look on her face... She had a HUGE grin and was laughing while stomping in and out of the puddle. Falling didn't even dampen her spirits. You know, it wasn't easy to let her get muddy, especially since we were going out right after our walk. But she washes (2 part peroxide and one part dawn took care of her pants and a quick rinse saved the shoes). That experience, that look on her face, was priceless. Even if the outift was ruined, I would do it again in a heart beat.



Faith, Trust, and Patience

Once again I have neglected you…. Sigh…

I have a good excuse though! As of April 1, 2012, I am 100% done with my classes! I have earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and although it was kind of anticlimactic (I have been taking online classes, so no real graduation), I am really glad to have this accomplishment under my belt. This means that the past months were spent on classwork though instead of proceeding in my Bible studies, at least not the progress I wanted/expected.

I have a renewed determination though.

My little girl is beginning the terrible twos (she’s four months early, but insisting she’s ready for them… lol), my husband is being transferred so we have a cross country move coming up, and until then he will be gone a lot more. Needless to say, I have some challenges coming up.

While I’m not particularly stressed about any of these factors, I know that this will make us vulnerable to spiritual attack. Therefore, I am determined to be as prepared as I can be by constantly immerging myself in God’s Word.

So, here we go.

Last time I wrote about Noah’s wife. The next women in the Bible are Abraham’s wife, Sarah, and Lot’s wife.

Lot’s wife (Gen. 19:26) is another unnamed woman of the Bible. Unlike Noah’s wife who had faith and trust in her husband and God, Lot’s wife is mentioned only as having looked back as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with burning sulfur (Gen. 19:24). This act was in direct disobedience of what the angels told Lot to do, or rather what not to do. Because she was punished for looking back, I think it can be assumed that Lot must have told her the rule and she ignored it. Lot’s wife disobeyed her husband who expressed God’s direction and for this she suffered a fatal consequence.

I know this will come up later as I study Paul’s words for women to submit their husbands, but let’s think about this: Genesis 3:16 states that women’s “desire will be for [her] husband, yet he will dominate [her].” My {Apologetics Study Bible} says that this refers to the battle of the sexes. Women are not weak, but sometimes our strength is shown in our willingness to recognize our husband’s role and submit to it.

The story of Lot is evidence that God does not always speak to both parties of a relationship. We have to trust our husbands even when we don’t have the entire picture. Encourage them to pray about a situation, but if they are convicted, we have to have faith in them and in God’s guidance.

Sarah is another example of what happens when the wife does not have faith. Her story is also an example of the strength we have as our husbands’ helpmates.

 

In Genesis 12, God calls Abram (Abraham) and promises to make him into a great nation. In Genesis 16, however, Sarai (Sarah) gets impatient and gives Hagar to her husband to fulfill the promise that way. Abram goes along with what Sarai wants. Her lack of faith in God’s promise spreads to affect Abram as well. I see that as the position of the helpmate used improperly. She could have encouraged Abram’s faith, and instead encouraged doubt.

You would think she would have learned after this situation to trust and have faith, but two chapters later when angels tell Abraham that Sarah will have a son within the year, she laughs. Sure enough though, God kept His word and Isaac was born.

In chapter 21, Sarah again decides to take matters into her own hands and demands that Abraham banish Ishmael (Hagar’s son) because she doesn’t want him to be a co-heir with Isaac. Here Abraham hesitates and does not immediately follow his wife’s decision until God calms his fear. 

Thankfully, Sarah’s story gives us lessons to live by so that we don’t have to learn from experience. As wives, we have a certain amount of strength as our husband’s helper; we can encourage faith in God’s guidance, or we can sow seeds of doubt. Either way, whether we have faith and trust in God’s work through our husband or not, God will use our actions for His glory. My prayer is that I will always look to God and trust my husband. God will use me anyway; I would rather know I acted in faith.

The next lesson is one that I’m sure we’ll all face first hand: patience in God’s timing. There’s not much else to say about this. It’s the hardest thing to do, but it’s so simple. When God says He’ll do something, He will. Take a breath and enjoy watching God’s plan unfold.

Additional Thought:

I think so many women get annoyed at just being “helpers.” Do we really realize how much responsibilty we have and how much strength it takes to use it properly? I know I struggle with this position. I do not want to control my husband and take the lead in the family, but, when he’s gone so much, it’s so easy to fall into that role. It is not the role I am supposed to have though. I am his helper. I pray for him. I provide suggestions and support. We work together because we are partners, but many decisions are ultimately his.

As an example, my husband has plans to further his career (not a bad thing) and this requires relocation. He requested a transfer to North Dakota. I was not thrilled with this idea, but I could tell how much he liked that shop. He told me that he’d prayed about a transfer, and there was not an obvious no, so…. His request was denied…because instead he was being transferred to California. I did not like this idea either. He didn’t know anyone out there, so I wasn’t convinced it would be better than where we are. The air quality is terrible, the cost of living is higher, and California is not supportive of homeschooling. I could not see how this move would be better. I’m trusting in my husband and that God is putting us where we need to be though and you know what? I’m not excited, but I’m not scared either. I’ll have my family, what more do I need?

Alright. So that’s my thoughts on Lot’s wife and Sarah. Faith, trust and patience: necessary attributes of a godly wife. Thankfully, God has known from the beginning that these could be areas of struggle and has given us His Word as a guide.

Hmm.... These attributes will probably come in handy in mothering a nearly 2 year old as well, don't you think?

What a Great Week!

Well, even though Hubby had to go to Texas for training this week, the Little Lady and I had a great week! We played and relaxed at home.... It was Perfect!

"Daddy, I can come too, right?"

Here's some of the fun we got into! =)

 Ariah has really been into coloring this week and so we've had to work on what's appropriate surfaces and what aren't. Face, hands, legs... All fair game :) Even Mommy's!

Hehehe

I just love this face! Ariah decided that she and her doll (a doll my Great Grandma made for my sister one Christmas) needed to brush their teeth. So of course the doll had to join us! I have several pictures of her "brushing" her teeth, but, again, I love this face!

So, after sending this picture to the hubby, we decided it was well past time to buy a Kitchen Helper! :) I am really excited to see how it works and I'll post information and pictures on it when it arrives. We were making a chickpea salad that I found on ohsheglows.com. While I'm not a vegan, I am intrigued by how creative she gets and how yummy her recipes are. Anyway, Ariah was not a fan of the salad, but she likes humus...so into the food processor went the salad and here's my happy helper :) She ate nearly as much as I did!

Now, my newest project! I have been DROOLING over Queen B's work (on Facebook: Queen B's Boutique). She makes dresses and ruffled jeans (Super Cute....and I have my first dress in the mail right now! Eeek!) Anyway, I missed out on Valentine's day jeans mainly because I already had a shirt for Ariah and didn't see the need to buy another new outfit..... Until I went thrifting with my mom. I found this cute dress, but it is WAY too short for Ariah. Soooo.... I cut the ruffles off the bottom and sewed it on to jeans!

Before

After!

 I am REALLY happy with how they turned out :) I'm thinking of using the remaining fabric to do a decal on a shirt to complete the outfit.... but we'll see.

So, this week I got back to that 10 Minute Time Out for Moms that I mentioned in one of my first blog posts (check the Bible Study label). I forgot how much I loved her writing :) This week, on top of uplifting me spiritually, she renewed my enthusiasm for finding out WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT WOMEN! lol
I have started my study....in Genesis :) I know, that may be a strange place to start. I thought it was at least. However, there are several women who are not only mentioned in the Bible but directly spoke to God or His angels. In my opinion, that's worth a study ;)
I started with Eve.
"This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh." Genesis 2:24
Now this verse talks about becoming "one." This can mean the obvious physical oneness during intimacy, but I started thinking about truly becoming "one." If you are one with someone, then what hurts that person hurts you; what they rejoice in, you do as well. I will be looking for more verses to support this train of thought, but it strikes me that this verse also talks about the support and care one should show for another in a marriage. I'm not going to post any more thoughts on this right now because they're still milling and I don't have the verses to fully support my thoughts. Mill on this for now though and we'll come back to it in a later post :)

I found something really interesting in Genesis 6, but again I'm not quite ready to post on it yet. Instead we'll keep going to the next woman (and last for now), Noah's wife. Did you know that we aren't even given her name here? and yet....
We should all know the story of Noah. The world was so full of wicked men that the Lord sent a flood to destroy everyone...except Noah, his wife, and their three sons and their wives. In Genesis 6 and 7 we can read the conversation that ocurred between God and Noah, but Noah's wife was not, as far as we know, privy to this direct knowledge. All she knew was that her husband began building an ark because God told him to. Now, since she was saved from the flood, I think it's safe to assume that she was godly and had a certain amount of faith in God. Having faith that her husband actually talked to God and was given directions to build a giant ark is a different kind of faith though. I have faith that I am God's child and that He has saved me, but I don't always have faith that my husband is right. God is God and my husband is, well, human. Noah's wife had faith not only in her God but also in her husband and his faith. As Christian wives of Christian men, we need to show our husbands that support that comes with being "one" and have faith in THEIR faith. Reminding them to pray about decisions and praying ourselves FOR them is the first step, but after that we need to have faith.
(Quick cavaet, this next part is my own conviction. It is one of my own thoughts that I am hoping to find biblical advice on as I study. I will come back to edit if I find biblical evidence that I am wrong, but for now you can take it as a personal opinion and glimpse on how I work as a wife.)
By the way, I'm NOT saying that husbands and wives won't disagree nor that if, as a wife, you are feeling God's pull in a different dirrection you shouldn't talk to your husband. You should. In fact, I believe that if a husband and wife are being "pulled by God" in two different directions on a specific decision, it is a good sign that there should be more prayer before a decision is made.

I'm kind of surprised that a woman whose name is not even recorded could set such an example for Christian wives. There's definitely a reason all the stories are recorded in the Bible. They still have so much to teach us.

Alright! So, there's a thorough update ;) Have a great weekend!

So it's not "tomorrow"

Alright, so I said I'd write more tomorrow and now it's a week later... It's still yesterday's tomorrow though ;) lol

Well, that's what happens when you have my life. Hubby works in the oil field and is typically gone for two weeks and then home for a week. Needless to say, not a lot happens when Hubby's home. That's not true; we do a lot, but it is nearly entirely spent just the three of us. We love that time. I scrub the house from top to bottom and get all the homework I can done before he comes home so I can safely fall off the grid and be lazy with my family; which means no blogging either.

I don't put everything aside though. I've taken to writing one cute thing Ariah has done that day down on a calendar and that includes when Daddy's home. Like bringing a book with a bird on it to Daddy when he asked her for a chicken (she didn't understand chicken, so he switched to bird and hence the book that had been on the kitchen floor) or tonight when Ariah decided that mommy needed some "ink" on her arms just like her own legs. I try to read a few verses, but it usually turns into a small devotional with Dainer instead of one about women. Which is great! It's some of my favorite times actually. When I was pregnant, we were unemployed but I was determined to enjoy my pregnancy and dwell in God's comfort. We found a devotional and we read/talked/learned every single night. It was amazing! We talked. I mean REALLY talked. Devotionals and verses seem to bring that out in us :) It's an incredible feeling when you can SEE your relationship growing both ways.

Well, I know I haven't written anything amazing tonight, but that's alright. If every night was extraordinary, it would be exhausting. Now I better get to bed. I'm starting my semester routine up tomorrow and 6 am comes early when you're not used to it. I'll tell you more about that later :) Good night!!!

A Re-Evaluation.....

So, it's been a few days since I've been on.... I ran into a problem with the book that was shaking, well, everything. When I was led to this idea, I was in the search for a devotional and couldn't find one that I felt was right for me. From that I decided to do my own Bible study and write a book from my experiences. How quickly I forgot what I was being led to do.... Instead I started in on the book. I researched, don't get me wrong, which meant I was in God's Word a lot, but the rest of my life suffered and I was getting very stressed out. Thankfully, I was reminded the goal: for me to grow and then share my growth. It sounds selfish which might have been part of the problem (I rarely need "me time" and would not consider myself particularly selfish), but I feel on track now.

I have not given up on the book, quite the contrary, but I am not going to be posting how I'm writing. I'm going to be writing about what the Lord teaches me. I'm setting a little time aside every day and I'm going to read where the Lord leads in an effort to find my role as a Christian mother and wife. Today, I had a BIG shopping trip and a run to the pediatrician's (aparently it is possible for 17mo to drink Too Much water and eat Too many grapes which compound to cause diarhea) so instead of doing my own study I listened to the first two Romans lessons from Pastor Jim ( http://www.gcaarchive.com/ ). I still have a desire to write about salvation, and Romans is a great place to start, but I want to know about what I should do as a woman. So here's my new thought: I'll be listening to Brother Jim to learn more about Romans and where the key verses are I need to include while doing my own individual study on women. I think that is best and I'm really excited about it. Today was Romans, I can't wait to see where the Lord leads me tomorrow!
And now my little princess:

She's been doing this ADORABLE thing the last couple of days :) laying down, covering herself up (in mommy's bed), and giggling while playing peek-a-boo....Love That Girl!!!

See you tomorrow!


Harder than I thought.....

So, I began writing the first chapter yesterday and am working on it right now, but I was so surpsied by this revelation that I had to share. I said in a previous post that Salvation was going to be the easiest and hardest subject I tackle, but it is crucial because every relationship in a Christian's life reverts back to this one. I had no idea how right I was going to be. Yesterday, I started writing about Salvation and realized that Sin is the reason why we need Salvation, so I should back track and write a quick definition.... I've been trying to write this "quick defintion" for two hours now! The wording needs to be right.... The Biblical support needs to be there..... I wish I could skip ahead to a later chapter, but everything builds on this. So, I'm off to work on it.....again.


Less than a half an hour after I posted the above paragraph, I think I've got a workable definition. "Sin is disobedience of God. Disobedience was the first sin and is the core of all other sins as illustrated in Romans 5:19, 'For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.'"
It's amazing to feel God lead you to the verse you need.....