God's Word

I am finding it difficult lately to keep my mouth closed (and several times I haven't) when people choose to follow a god of their own making and call him Jesus. I am seeing it more and more. They don't go to their Bible for answers, they just use the verses that they know. They may use then out of context quite a bit. They use a lot of "I feel like god tells me..." No matter that the thing goes directly against what His word says. I am seeing a lot of people who say that they are Christians living in a constant rebellious state in regards to choosing their sin over God because their desire for that sin is so strong. Don't misunderstand, we all as Christians still sin. But we don't live in constant sin. Do you see the difference? You can make a wrong choice and sin, truly repent of that sin and move on. It's a different thing all together if you continue in that sin as a lifestyle.  A good example of this might be a person letting a swear word slip when they stub their toe. Yes. It's still a sin but not at all the same as if a person chooses to use that language as often as they speak. The first person runs to God and says, "Lord please forgive me for saying that. Help me to never say it again, give me a different way to express my pain". The second person says " God gave me free will and I can say whatever I want, God knows I don't mean it personally at anyone". Do you see the difference there? I hope you do. The difference is repentance. Repentance means to turn away from something, sin in this case. As Americans we are woefully ignorant of God's word. I am too. I admit it and I'm making an effort to remedy this in my life. Can you say the same? I hope you can. How can we ever teach the next generation to do and be better if we don't know ourselves that things that we are to be teaching them? Open up your Bible today, read it, study it. Learn about who God is and who He wants you to be.

Happy Birthday Husband

Today is Husband’s birthday! So please join me in wishing him a happy one!

   Have you started working on your Christmas projects yet? This year I'll be doing a little less than I had in previous years.  It's hard to find time to sit and do crafts when you have a toddler climbing on you! I am excited for the day when she will be old enough to sit and stitch beside me. But I love this "everyday is a discovery" time too. She said "Apah" for apple today. You know it is the little things like this that make my mother heart soar above the clouds.
    Some of the things that I am taking the time to make for Christmas is a pillowcase doll for Sparrow. It was a kit that I'll have to look up the name on. but she is a real pretty little thing. I'm embroidering little butterflies and flowers on the skirt of the dress. Another project is petit point bookmarks. The tiny motif is just under 2 inches - the whole thing! The last thing that I have planned for this year is to make and send sachet's with each package. They aren't difficult and they aren't expensive.
   What are you making for Christmas? Have you started on it?

Did you ruin your stainless steel pot?

   That is one scorched on mess! But not to worry. It can be easily cleaned up - with the help of a dryer sheet (of all things!) Even if you don't use dryer sheets in the dryer it's handy to keep a cheap box of them to rescue pots and pans. They are inexpensive (you can get them for $1 at the dollar store or sometimes cheaper at the grocers if they are on sale or if you have a coupon - or bonus, on sale and a coupon!)
     
  Here's what you do... 

Put a dryer sheet in the pot and add some water. If it's really thick burned on muck, use two. Add a few inches of water. Enough to cover anything burnt on the sides. the dryer sheet will float for a while and that is okay, normal even.

 Then just set it out of the way for a while...

 You can watch the rain fall because (ahem) you have nothing better to do, right? *wink*

  ...or star gaze because you're leaving it overnight. 

After a few hours (at least) you can rinse the pot and amazingly most of the yuck simply comes off with the water. Use a dish cloth for any remaining bits - they wont be bad - really! Then as Sparrow is fond of saying "all done"!

Peace vs Clutter or Too Much Stuff!

As I try to make our home a peaceful, serene, joyful place one thing keeps getting in the way... Clutter. We folded 5 garbage bags of clothes, and household items this weekend. It's not that I wait to do laundry all at once, I do some everyday. So, clearly something is wrong. We just have too much of it. No one needs as many clothes as we have. We've decided to pack up all except 3 work outfits. 2 comfortable outfits and 1 dress outfit. (the baby is the exception to this) I have found that I am much more comfortable in skirts than pants. I actually only have 2 at this time so I'd like to have one more. If that isn't enough, I'll make our clothing pile even smaller.

   There are 3 of us, so we should only need 3 towels, 3 wash cloths and 1 hand towel for each bathroom. With the exception of the day that the dog and cat get baths. We really need only one set of sheets. In the kitchen, I haven't yet thought of a way to eliminate linen in there. We use cloth napkins, cloth "paper"towels, dish cloths and tea towels. The kitchen is a busy place!
   We have huge plans for re-arranging things very soon. the clothes we aren't going to use currently will be packed in plastic bins to be used as our current clothes wear out. Mike and I will share a dresser. Adelaide will have what is now my dresser and the plastic drawers that Adelaide used for a dresser since she was born will be used to organize crafts and office things.

   Books are another area in our home that we are trying to thin. Last spring our library system had a huge book sale. We went overboard! It was without a doubt a blessing. As we take the time to read them we are finding that they don't all capture our attention or, entertain or, teach us. So we are weeding them out. Last night I sold 10 books for $5 on Craigslist.
Ultimately, this is not just a lesson in organization but also frugality, stewardship, and self discipline.
   The peace of not being overwhelmed with things is worth seeking. 

 

another seizure?

   We think Sparrow may have had another seizure, not witnessed. Thursday (Aug, 25th) when I went to get her up for her morning Keppra dose, she was already awake just laying quietly in her crib (7:30 am). She had been running a low grade fever for a few days and had not been eating much. She is teething and those are all normal things. I took her to our room and changed her diaper on our bed. Brushed her teeth and carried her back into her room to rock her for a little while. Her room is fairly dark (we purchased blessedly thick curtains because Mama isn't a morning person). Jack, our sheltie began sniffing around her crib so I knew to look more closely. Dried vomit. I stripped the sheet and took Sparrow down for some breakfast. She drank her milk but would not eat. She crawled up next to me on the sofa and sat quietly. She asked for a movie, I indulged her. I checked my e-mail and glanced at her. She was asleep. Hmm. She slept for the next three hours. I'd been warned by several Dr.'s and nurses that fevers could cause break through seizures. She was a nice pink color and since I couldn't prove a seizure and you can't do anything for a virus, I decided to just observe her rather than calling a Dr who wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. She was sleepy most of the day and after noon she slept for another hour. We noticed she stopped saying "up" and went straight to "please" to be picked up. She would put her arms in the air and say "ease, ease".  Saturday she was trying really hard to make a sound and it dawned on me that she was trying to say "up". We'd been trying to get her to say it but but she either wouldn't or couldn't. After I figured out what she was doing I had her watch my mouth as I would say "up" and then she would say the short u sound "u". Finally she said "up" followed by a huge grin and multiple "up pease" sentences. She was already in Husband’s arms through out this episode so it was not from a desire to be picked up. From what I can gather she had indeed forgotten how to say "up". I don't know and probably never will know if she had another seizure, but I really suspect that is what happened. I'm so thankful for her. She is such a mild little girl. Oh, she plays like all little ones do, and gets into things that she shouldn't but, there's just something about this girl. This girl who more often than not sits with her little hands folded together in front of her or on her lap. I love her. She seems to be back to normal now, all except her appetite. We'll just keep praying about that one.