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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

RUTH AND NAOMI

I've been studying the book of Ruth and want to share with you what I've discovered. Did you know that there are similarities between Ruth and The Virtuous Woman from Proverbs 31?
                                   
                                                                          Reference in Ruth             Reference in Proverbs
  • Her family commitment is noted by others.        2:11, 12                        31:11, 12
  • She provided sustenance for her household.      2:14, 18                       31:15
  • She gave attention to her appearance.               3:3, 5                           31:22
  • Her selfless lifestyle drew praise from others.     2:11; 3:10; 4:15            31:28
  • She committed herself to Yahweh as God.         1:16                             31:30

Here are some other key points that really stood out to me today:

Commitment is the foundation for every relationship, whether earthly or heavenly.

Ruth willingly accepted an unsettled future and bound herself by solemn oath not only to Naomi but also to the God of Israel. I think of all that Ruth left behind; her family, her home, friendships, her entire life as she knew it. It makes me think of my own life, how God called us to another state and we obeyed His voice. We didn't understand His plans at the time, but through our obedience, we have been so blessed by God. He gave us many new friends and we found out which of the people in our old state were in our lives for the long haul. It also brought me and my family closer together. Instead of stopping by for just a few minutes on their way home, now my parents come to visit and we fully cherish every single second we have together. We talk more and take lots of pictures. When we lived only a mile from them, it's like we just took our lives together for granted. 

Don't take your precious time together for granted!

Who are your true friends? They are the ones who are committed! They don't turn their backs on you and forget about you when you move away. They check in on your when they know you are feeling down or are sick. They make time for you! Sure, everyone is busy, but if someone tells you that they won't have time for you for a few months, you should probably re-evaluate that friendship. I've had to do this recently and it's a very painful experience, but what's even more painful is trying to hold on to a one-sided relationship. I'm not saying that you don't continue to reach out to that person and love on them, but make sure you are spending the bulk of your time on the ones who make the time for you.

Naomi

A couple of things stood out to me about Naomi, Ruth's Mother-in-Law.

  1. Naomi models the way God works through a woman who moves forward, even in the midst of tragedy and trial, actively seizing every opportunity God provides rather than waiting passively for events to happen.
  2. By focusing on the negative, Naomi became so bitter (Ruth 1:20) that she could not see the good and positive plans God was working on. 
Of course these two things happened at two different parts of Naomi's journey. The first one just made me think about what I would do if I lost my husband. I know I would be devastated and I just can't imagine trying to continue on with life as normal. She made the best of her situation and returned to God. She was such a role model for Ruth.

In the second example, Naomi just didn't feel worthy to be called Naomi, which means Pleasant. She felt like her suffering was God's punishment for her own sins. Do you ever feel like that? I know I sure have! So many times when I begged God for something and didn't see it manifest, or when I've had to deal with any other kind of suffering or tragedy, I would think God was mad at me and I deserved whatever happened. But that's not who God is! He's a God of mercy and grace. He loved us before we even knew Him. He doesn't sit around waiting to punish us. No, He's our daddy! He wants to give us His best. But first, we have to believe that! Yes, you may reap what you sow, but if you realize that you have done wrong, ask Him for forgiveness. He will cast your sins as far as the east is to the west.

I hope you have enjoyed this post. I hope to share more with you about whatever I am reading each morning so that you may be blessed by it too!

Be blessed my friends!


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I LOVE WATCHING HIM GROW


Baby Boy at Six Months

X

I can't believe that you are already a half a year old.  You have brought such joy into our lives. You are mostly a happy baby. You usually only fuss if you are very tired or hungry.  You started crawling at just 5 1/2 months. You still do the army crawl though,  not yet crawling on all fours. You will get wherever you want to go by either crawling or rolling.  You love being down on the floor to explore. You usually take a nice, long nap in the afternoon. This has been such a blessing to me because it allows me to spend that time homeschooling your brothers. You currently weigh about 15.4 pounds.  You are showing more interest in eating more food. I was just feeding you a small jar or two of food each day, but I think I need to start giving you food with each bottle.  As always, I love you with all my heart and I'm thoroughly enjoying watching you grow up!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Stinky Face's New Style

As afraid as I was, I cut my little Stinky Face's hair. He had such beautiful hair, but combined with his long, pretty eyelashes, he could've easily been mistaken for a girl. I was also getting a little tired of his older brother harassing him. Stinky Face said he was ready for a short cut. I have cut my boy's hair off and on over the years, but this was a major change so I was extremely nervous. Honestly I lacked the confidence on the inside, but just faked it on the outside. Little by little, the hair fell to the floor (and on him and the chair). What a mess we made! It took some serious getting used to and at first I really didn't like it, but now I love it. He looks like a totally different kid. I'm trying to take on a completely new attitude about things too. It's just hair! It will grow back if I really don't like it. So what do you think about it? Should I keep on cutting my boy's hair and saving that money, or should I take them to a professional next time? 


BEFORE
AFTER
Be blessed my friends!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

My Favorite Part of the Day

Today was freezing cold. I think it only got up to around 35 degrees outside. I was really dreading having to leave the house, but I just HAD to get groceries. The kids did a little bit of schoolwork, I got myself ready, then got Stinky Face ready, and finally gave the baby a bath and got him ready. It was going on noon and we hadn't had anything to eat yet, so I decided that we would have lunch together. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Raising Canes. They have really yummy chicken, fries, and Texas toast, and the best sauce to dip it in.

Sitting there in the restaurant with my 3 boys was absolutely my favorite part of the day. It was worth the effort to get them all ready and go out into the freezing cold. I still spent way too much money at the store, but now hopefully I won't have to go out again for quite some time.

Be blessed my friends!

My Little Basketball Star

 

My little stinky face started basketball. He absolutely loves it and has the best attitude. The basketball rim is set at 8 feet high. That's SO high for these little guys. Stinky Face is getting closer and closer to it though. He made it about a foot short at his last game. I know that by the end of the season, he's going to be one of the best players on the team because he practices all the time and he's so determined to get better. He runs down the court with a smile on his face. He's made this momma super proud! He got to pick the number he wanted for his jersey and he picked #1. He's definitely number one in my book!

Be blessed my friends!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Right-brained or Left-brained

I found a neat website where you can take a really short test to determine if you are more right-brained or left-brained. I scored 72% right brain. If you take the quiz, let me know your score.
 Gehirn
Click HERE to take the test!


Be blessed my friends!

Mesothelioma Awareness

I was contacted by a woman named Heather who asked me to share her story on my blog to raise awareness about Mesothelioma, a disease that happens because of exposure to asbestos.  Asbestos is not banned in the US, yet it’s the only known cause of mesothelioma. Once diagnosed, most patients die within 2 years. Heather is one of the few survivors who openly share their story to spread awareness of the dangers caused by asbestos exposure. She was diagnosed at age 36, just 3 months after giving birth to her daughter. She has overcome the odds and has been a mesothelioma survivor for almost 8 years now. Please take just a few minutes out of your day to read her story.

 

You can read more about Heather and mesothelioma awareness by going to her blog. Just click HERE!

Be blessed my friends!

Monday, November 4, 2013

THE WEIGHT HAS BEEN LIFTED, THE FOG HAS CLEARED

I feel like God has heard my cries and He's reaching down and wiping away my tears and setting me back up on my feet. I haven't taken any medicine for about 4 days and I'm doing fine. Whew! I will keep doing fine. 

So what has changed?

The biggest thing that I believe is making the greatest impact is that I'm trying so hard to stay off of social media. Even though I still go there once or twice a day, I'm not wasting hours of my life, obsessed with what everyone else is doing and then feeling inadequate about myself because I'm not doing all the things they are. 

I've realized that I am ME! There is no other me. God has called me to be a mom and to homeschool my kids. I am extremely blessed with 3 beautiful, healthy boys. I may not parent the way other people do, but I know that I am making a kingdom impact in my kids. I need to be healthy in order to be able to be here for them.

I've stopped watching as much television as I was. This too can have such a negative effect on our lives; even shows we watch with good intentions. I was watching at least 3 episodes a day of 19 and counting. This is a family with over 19 children and they all homeschool and seem like such sweet, wonderful people. Not only was this show taking time away from my own children, but once again I found began to compare myself to them. I am NOT Michelle Duggar! lol  I'm just not and I never will be. If I talk in such a sweet tone, I'm just being a fake person. Not that I talk rudely, but I'm just not soft spoken.

I've also began to read more. I'm reading wonderful books on topics like postpartum depression, being successful at being me, and finding God's purpose for my life. These books have been so helpful.

Lastly, I've reached out to more people. If the first set of people I reached out to didn't seem to be helpful, well, maybe they just didn't know how to respond. We invited some friends over yesterday and we had such a wonderful time. We all need to make more time to build the relationships that are important to us.

I hope opening up about depression has been helpful to someone. If so, please let me know in the comments.

Be blessed my friends!