Media Monday

On Mondays, I will be sharing a bit of media-Bible verse, song, television show, movie, cartoon, news article, blog post, anything media-ish that has inspired, convicted, or encouraged me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.











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This morning I woke up a little earlier than I thought I should...my 2 1/2yo needed to go to the bathroom and I thought I could sneak him out of the bed and to the bathroom without being noticed by my 7mo.  WRONG!  When we came back in, my 7yo was on the bed consoling the baby and my 5yo was watching.  So 6:30 it was.  On a Sunday.  I decided to make good use of my time by doing dishes so that they wouldn't plague me the rest of the day.  I also decided to YouTube some praise music while doing so.  I knew I was in a bad mood, and I was hoping that I could coax myself into a good mood.  I grumbled along in my morning tasks until this one came up in my playlist.

"How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough,
How amazing is Your love?
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing."

"I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And I fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne"

I can sing in the troubled times...and really, was my morning "troubled"?  I mean, I have a house I slept in, a bed too, 4 beautiful children, a husband who loves me and has a good job, and food to feed my family.  Can any of my complaints even qualify as "troubled"?  Probably not.

Then at church this morning, we sang this song

"Why are you looking for love?

Why are you searching

as if I'm not enough?"

"Cause I'll be by your side

Wherever you fall

In the dead of night

Whenever you call

And please don't fight

These hands that are holding you."

I know sometimes that I think just 30 more minutes in the morning will make everything ok, or 5 more minutes of "me time", or one more new shirt, or whatever...but that stuff doesn't make "it" ok.  God's enough, if I let Him be.  He can fill me up if I just allow Him in.  Rather than dwell on my "discomforts" in this world, I should just give my woes to Him and feel His joy.

One more song for today

"At the cross, You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

And I am lost for words, so lost in love

I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered."

"Called me out of death

Called me into life"

Wholly surrendered...boy is that something I want to say about my life.  I want to say that God is the absolute center of my life and that little things, like missing 30 minutes of sleep is not something that affects my attitude.  I have my good days and my bad days and my great days and my awful days.  For ME, it comes down to selfishness...ME me ME me...MY needs, MY wants.  But when I put my family first, instead of feeling like a slave, I feel refreshed and joy-filled.  It seems like the devil attacks twice as hard the next day though and I struggle to serve my roll with a happy face.

Today at church we had the privilege of having the youth group music team lead worship and it was really neat.  The guy singing wrote his own song and shared it with us today and I loved that he included (and changed) this in his song-

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy, when skies are gray

I'll never know God, how much You love me

You'll never take my sunshine away"

How true is that?  I love it!  One last thing before I'm done, in our prayer time today, the man praying reminded us that when we give up the fight, God throws the punches for us.  So on those days that I'm just feeling tapped out and empty with nothing to give to my kids, I just need to let Him in and He'll throw the punches...er, uh...hugs for me.  I can draw my strength and stamina from Him.  His supply is endless.



Media Monday

On Mondays, I will be sharing a bit of media-Bible verse, song, television show, movie, cartoon, news article, blog post, anything media-ish that has inspired, convicted, or encouraged me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.






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My Garden! The inspiration for this post comes from my friend, this homesteading blog, a new friend, and Amish fiction.

I'm finally getting around to sharing pictures of my little container garden. We rent here (hopefully we'll be buying a house in about 10 months), and we have this great back "deck" (read sliver giver) that just begs for a container garden. I had it all planned out, and then I got lazy and bored waiting for the last freeze and changed my mind about gardening this year. But we made some new friends at the kids' VBS this year and they gave us some of their plants so I had NO choice but to garden.
I had planned on a 5 gallon bucket for each plant, but then while I was at the store looking around, I saw 18 gallon totes for just about the same price! You can beat 3x the container for the same price. So I got a couple, some soil, and had my husband drills some holes for me.

In this first bucket, we have one strawberry plant. I know that strawberries come back and send off shoots, so I figured one would be good and we'd just be careful with this bucket for next summer too. I also stuck some honeydew seeds in it, not expecting them to grow at all, and they did (3 of 4)! I'm sure I'll have to pull them or move the, but it was fun seeing that they would come up.


This one has tomatoes in each corner, plus a green bean, yellow bean, and purple bean in the middle. This one needs to be split up I'm sure.


This one has two tomatillos, a row of peas at the top, a row of scallions in the middle, and a row of carrots at the bottom. I think this one probably needs to be split up some too.


And our last little bucket has 2 cucmbers.


Linking with the Monday Link-up at Joy Filled Living and the Homestead Barn Hop #22.

Media Monday

On Mondays, I will be sharing a bit of media-Bible verse, song, television show, movie, cartoon, news article, blog post, anything media-ish that has inspired, convicted, or encouraged me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.





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My inspiration for today's Media Monday is this awesome book that we got my husband for his birthday. The Heavens Proclaim His Glory by Lisa Stilwell. My husband is a space lover, and our kids seem to be following in that direction too. They love talking about all things space with him. Yesterday our 7yo asked if we believe in aliens, so we had a discussion about that. My husband told him that God created US in His image with a plan for salvation, but that the Bible doesn't talk about any other self-aware creatures in space. We aren't saying no 100%, but for us we don't see the evidence. He also said that no matter where you stand on aliens, that God made the universe so vast to show how big He is...a point that my 4yo reminded me of this morning in our prayers/Bible time. She WAS listening!

"I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God." Abraham Lincoln

This book has some really stunning pictures of space, and the kids love sitting with Daddy and looking through it. Our 4yo has been sleeping with it lately too (they like to read in bed).

I love this too (just love John MacArthur anyway...my favorite Bible right now is a John MacArthur Study Bible).

Common-sense logic suggests that every watch has a watchmaker.
Every building has a builder. Every structure has an architect.
Every arrangement has a plan. Every plan has a designer.
And every design has a purpose.
We see the universe, infinitely more complex than any watch and infinitely greater than any man-made structure, and it is natural to conclude that Someone infinitely powerful and infinitely intelligent made it.
"For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made" (Romans 1:20)

~John MacArthur, Battle for the Beginning

If you've got any space lovers in your family, check this book out!  It's fabulous.

Late Monday/Tuesday post

Media Monday
On Mondays, I will be sharing a bit of media-Bible verse, song, television show, movie, cartoon, news article, blog post, anything media-ish that has inspired, convicted, or encouraged me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.



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Transparent Tuesday
On Tuesdays I want to make myself transparent and share something that God has been working on my life, whether it be small (like cleaning my Suburban so I'm not humiliated when I open the door at the grocery store and trash falls out) or big, like submitting to my husband on an issue that needed to be addressed for many years.  You don't have to share this as many of these matters may be very private, but I encourage you to participate privately if you so choose.

Psalm 51:1-4
1)Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3)For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4)Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.



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Gosh I am terrible, forgive me for not getting this done yesterday! My 6mo is teething and has gone from a VERY easy going baby to a very a clingy/cry-y baby...and my 2yo is having a rough week too! He's freshly nursed and she's asleep right now, so let's see if I can get my thoughts out.


I was reading some testimonies on Above Rubies while trying to gain some knowledge on the subject of submission. Check those out, they are so wonderful to read and very convicting. "Please Yourself, You Usually Do" had a huge impact on me. It was two fold...both in my submission to my husband, but also in my leadership over my children. Just like her, I thought I had been doing a great job submitting...let me just pat myself on the back here...but in reality, I was only submitting on the easy things. Things that weren't really a challenge to me anymore. Things that I've been willingly submitting on for years now. But there are some areas in my life that I've been letting excuses rule for far too long. Laundry comes to mind. I'm ashamed to say it, but if you just showed up at my door any given day of the week, you would see a love seat piled HIGH with clean clothes that I haven't put away. Being completely honest here, sometimes I go 2-3 WEEKS...yes weeks, not days, without putting them away. I blame it on busy-ness with 4 kids, a lack of interest in laundry, tiredness, you name it. It's just "not my fault", know what I mean? But my husband is a neat and orderly guy and I know it just drives him absolutely bonkers to look at it all.the.time. The other day he asked me to put them on the floor in the bedroom so he didn't have to look at them all the time anymore. Wow. I've just failed so big right here! So my mission right now is to submit to him in this area and do what he'd really love to see, and get those clean clothes put away in a timely fashion so our living room looks better and we can actually use that love seat.
Now for my secondary thoughts on this testimony...she said she had so robbed her husband of his place of leadership that he was reluctant and slow to take it back up when she'd submitted to him again...I feel like this is exactly what has happened with my children and I. They're just kids and kids just push boundaries and try to negotiate their way out of things...and I've really let them take over a lot of times. I just get so tired of fighting with them and standing firm that it's EASIER to just let them do whatever it is as long as no one gets hurt. But in reading the above testimony, I realized that I am not doing them one bit of good by letting them take over. I'm actually harming them. Now I'm not talking going "Nazi" on them and taking away every freedom or choice. No, I'm just talking about making my "No" a real NO and sticking to it. I've been trying diligently since I read that to impliment this...and I tell you I've already seen a difference! My 4yo especially loves to ask as she's already doing something, and when I say "no", she just continues until she's finished. And just like the woman's husband would say "Please yourself, you usually do" I'd find myself saying "why should I even bother saying no, you'll do it anyway". And boy is that wrong! I'll be honest and say that this week she's not been very fond of the new Mom who stands behind her no, but I know it will only benefit us and in time she'll find security in it. We're going to work on not doing something until asking also so that I can get a chance to actually decide if it's something I'm ok with her doing. I am hoping that this will ease my frustration too when things build up. It's really hard to maintain my cool when I'm being constantly hounded and walked on. But I'm ready to take back my position of leadership and do so graciously but firmly.
Did anyone catch "19 Kids and Counting" last week when Michelle took Josie for her big appointment? Jessa was putting Johannah down for a nap and Johannah kept getting up to plead her case (boy...when we watch Johannah she just reminds us SO much of our 4yo!). Jessa was amazing! So calm and collected and firm in her no. It was really encouraging to see. That's how I want to be.

This week...

This week I'm going to be having a combo "Media Monday"/"Transparent Tuesday" post...tomorrow. I've got a lot swirling in my head about it right now, just need to make some time to sit down and get it all out! It will be on the topic of submission, both wife to husband and kid to parent.

Media Monday

On Mondays, I will be sharing a bit of media-Bible verse, song, television show, movie, cartoon, news article, blog post, anything media-ish that has inspired, convicted, or encouraged me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.



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Monday 7/11/11

I love this song by Joy Williams, Hide.



Lyrics

I first heard this song when I was new to Christianity. I knew that I was forgiven, but I didn't really know what all that meant, and I didn't really understand that Jesus wanted to meet me right where I was, warts and all. I saw these people at church who seemed all put together and figured out. They'd been Christians for a long time, many of them since childhood, and I felt like I couldn't be "holy" like them. We'd just gotten married AFTER getting pregnant, I'd spent many years as an outspoken athiest...I didn't feel like I would ever be good enough. I knew that Jesus would forgive me, but it just didn't connect fully. This song helped me.

"And if you feel like no one understands
Come to the One with scars on His hands
'Cause He knows where you are, where you've been
His scars will heal you if you let Him."

Just wow. Obviously I'm not saying trust everything you hear in a song, but use it as a launch-point for diving into your Bible and finding the truth.

Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

So come with me, if you're scared or unsure. Crack open that Bible and look for some love verses.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Wow, it's hard to believe that someone would die for me, ME, while I hated Him. And He died for you too, whether you've loved him since your earliest memories, or if you aren't sure right now. He loves YOU.

I John 4:19
We love, because He first loved us.

John 3
16)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17)For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18)He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

"He who believes in Him is not judged"...again, just wow! I get this "free" pass. All because Jesus loves ME. No more hiding, no more wondering if I'm good enough. No more thinking others deserve it more than me or that others are better than me. Jesus picked them, but He picked me too! And He wants you too. He wants to share His never-ending, knowledge-surpassing, all-encompassing, hurt-healing love with you.

Monday Blog Link-Up at Joy Filled Living