Technical difficulties…
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Lyndsay got a Webkinz for Christmas. If you’re not aware, this is a stuffed animal that you can “adopt” at the webkinz website, then you can feed it, care for it, build a home for it, etc., online.
Apparently the company was not prepared for the traffic they would get on their website after Christmas because the website is currently down due to “technical difficulties”. It goes without saying that we have one very disappointed 6 year old in our house.
I was thinking today about what an awesome gift God gave us in His son Jesus. Emmanuel – God with us. What a joy it is to celebrate His birth, His life, and His gift of salvation to us at Christmas-time!
And we are even more blessed that Jesus is always with us. That God is always ready to listen to us, to commune with us, to love us like no one else can. There are no technical difficulties when it comes to communicating with Him! Praise God for His faithfulness!
What blessings has God lavished on you in the past week?
Why?
In my devotional time recently I read the account in 2 Samuel about King David having an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and then using his power to have Bathsheba’s husband killed. One verse in particular jumped out at me…
2 Samuel 12:9 “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?”
Could you imagine someone asking you this? Could you imagine God Himself asking you this?
I’ve read this story and this verse before. But I’ve glossed over it… probably thinking that my sin is certainly not as bad as David’s was. Maybe I thought in my self-righteous indignation that David deserved the confrontation.
But when I read it this time, it was as if God was speaking those words to me. Why do I not always obey Him? Why do I do my own thing? Why do I sometimes disregard what I’m learning from His Word? Why, why, why?
The fact is that even though I may not be breaking one of the ten commandments, there are lots of little decisions I might make in the course of a day that disregard something He has “spoken” to me about.
I’ve been praying about this, and searching my heart. My prayer today is that I will be more obedient in following His commandments and His nudges… because I know one day I will face Him and have to give an account for my actions.
How does this verse ”hit” you today?
What a difference 10 years makes!
This past October, Dave and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Considering the statistics on marriage these days, to be happily married after 10 years is an awesome gift from God.
The 10 years we’ve been married have brought about a lot of changes… in each of us and our marriage. Here are the top ten – in no particular order!
Ten years ago:
- I wasn’t sure I wanted kids! Look at me now… with three of them and loving being a mom!
- I never intended to be a stay-at-home-mom. Now I am and have never regretted leaving my job for one minute. What greater responsibility (and job) is there than to raise your children?
- We didn’t know how children would change our lives! As newlyweds, we slept in on Saturdays, we went out for dinner whenever and wherever we wanted (even QUIET restaurants), we left the house without planning ahead, and we pretty much always got a good night’s sleep. Obviously things are different now. But we also didn’t know the excitement of a first word, first step, or first day of school. We didn’t know the love we could have for a little person with a sticky face! I wouldn’t go back for anything!
- We spent a lot less money on photo developing (and on groceries, presents, candy, etc.).
- I thought Dave and I would be equal partners in everything (i.e., laundry, washing dishes, cooking, diapering, etc.). Well, we are certainly partners, but in reality things are more complicated than an equal division of labor. In a good marriage, there is a lot of give and take. You step up in places your partner can’t, and vice versa. Your strengths and weaknesses complement one another, and you find that serving your partner is the glue that keeps you together.
- I didn’t like the word submission. In fact, I thought it an antiquated idea from the 1950’s. Now, however, I realize that I misunderstood it. I knew a wordly version of submission, not the submission God expects from me. Now I gladly work at submitting to my husband’s God-given role as leader of our family every day.
- I didn’t really know the amazing man that Dave is. Now I see it… and appreciate it. The way he loves me. The way he loves our children. The way he plays with them. The way he supports us and is there when we need him. The dedicated and brilliant employee that he is at work. The leader of our family. I am blessed.
- We didn’t have personal relationships with Jesus Christ. We both came from religious homes… and I even “got saved” as a young teen. However, I was not living for Christ and neither was Dave. But by the grace of God, He led us to one another… and to Him. Thank you Jesus that we are saved, that we are part of your family, and that we can, and will, teach our children about you.
- We hadn’t experienced much difficulty in our lives. Since then we have had some relatively difficult times – loss of a parent, a miscarriage, a baby in intensive care – and all I can say is that I am glad I had both my faith and Dave during those times.
- We loved each other and thought we would be together forever. Well, ok, I guess some things never change!
How have you been blessed by your marriage?
Some funny truths about kids…
A friend of mine (and also a fellow parent of small children) recently wrote these “21 Irrefutable laws of parenting”.
Read them here and enjoy!
Can any of you relate to these? Do you have your own to share?
Do you have a plan?
One of the things on my Christmas list is asking for a new Bible – the NLT One-Year Bible for Women.
I am dedicated to reading the Bible daily and I feel like I may be becoming a fanatic at encouraging others to do it as well. I only committed to this about 6 years ago (even though I’ve been a Christian nearly all my life) and I can’t begin to express the difference it has made in my life. Even after I made a commitment to Bible reading, it took a few years to really make DAILY reading a habit. Now it is.
So I would encourage you to persevere! Get a daily Bible reading plan and stick with it. Even if it takes you a couple of years to get through the Bible, stick with it! It is amazing to me all the connections – and how everything made so much more sense – once I’d read the Bible all the way through.
So I’m looking forward to reading a different translation next year (it will be my fourth). It is so cool when a verse that I’ve read and re-read, for some reason (the holy spirit’s leading, I’m sure) catches my attention and speaks to me in a different way. Praise God for His faithfulness in revealing Himself to me in this way!
So what’s your plan for the coming year?
Looking forward to…
Eating!
I’m feeling silly today, so I’m going to list the top 10 things I’m looking forward to eating over the holidays. I know, I know, Christmas is not about the eating. But for some reason, there is a certain connection between celebrating Christmas and eating all sorts of yummy (and bad for me) stuff. So here it goes:
- Cookies (I’ll just leave this as one category – but we will make sugar cookie cutouts, molasses cookies, peanut butter balls, etc.)
- Egg puff and cinnamon rolls (our usual Christmas breakfast). Very easy, but I don’t usually make it except for special occasions.
- Spinach & artichoke dip – again, usually for special occasions because it has so many calories!!
- Cheese danish. Oh my goodness… crescent rolls, cream cheese, sugar, butter. Need I say more??
- Monkey bread – definitely need to invite another family over to share this or take it to church or something because we’d all be in sugar shock if we ate it ourselves.
- Reuben dip – a recipe from my friend Jessica. Yummy. Even my husband likes it (who won’t usually touch sauerkraut).
- Pecan pie. Usually made by my sister Laurie. Did you know pecan pie has like 550 calories per slice?
- Reese’s peanut butter Christmas tree. I love peanut butter and chocolate. These are definitely better than a regular peanut butter cup because the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is higher.
- Lindt truffles. Expensive, but worth it.
- German pancakes. Haven’t had any in a while – the kids usually complain but I love them.
If you didn’t know it, I am on a diet! I’ve lost almost twelve pounds since September. What are the chances I won’t gain them back in the week between Christmas and New Year’s??
What Christmas treats are you looking forward to?
