Our Christmas in Pictures

A Rare White Christmas

I live in the deep south and snow that is worth playing in is a real rarity, but especially that kind of snow on Christmas morning. The snow definitely made travel an issue and we didn't get to do some of the things that we normally do, but we did have an absolutely amazing day. I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Pajama Pants

I used the Easy Fit Pants Pattern from the Scientific Seamsterss (I bought it from I Can Make This) for the kids pajama pants this year. I bought the pattern for 6 months to a size 10 and I LOVED IT!!! These area very wide legged pajama pant which my girls, especially, prefer.

I also made a pair of these pants for my niece to match a shirt that I made for her and I added the snowball trim to the bottom of them. It was adorable. I'll definitely be making more of these.

You can't see her pants in this pic, but you can see the shirt and her cute little face as she played with one of the caps that the guys got for Christmas. I <3 her!

Final List Update

Well for the most part I'm done. I have cut out and still have to sew 3 pairs of pajama pants. They literally take 20 min or less per pair, so those are no biggie. I also have 2 blankets to finish, but don't have to have them ready until New Years day. So, I set those aside and will worry about them after the wedding. I've also decided to worry about the wedding after Christmas. I bought all of the tableware for the rehearsal dinner and some of the cake supplies. I'll drop by and borrow some pans and get just a bit of direction on Saturday (my cousin that used to make cakes lives near my Uncle's house that we go to for Christmas). Then after Christmas (probably on Sunday) I'll start baking the cakes and on Monday I'll start icing them. I'll probably finish the icing at the church on Tuesday. Then we'll set up and get ready for the rehearsal and dinner. Then the wedding is Wednesday. Honestly, I'm more concerned with the financial aspects of it all than I am the actual getting things done. This is not an easy time of year to pay for a rehearsal dinner and this one became "VERY" fancy and we're not even sure yet what our half of the expenses will be. This is very far outside my comfort zone because I like to budget and plan. Clearly God wants to use this situation to teach me something. Hope I'm learning, 'cause I'd sure hate for all this stress to be for nothing.....

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!!

List Update #3

For some reason I can't copy my list over and I'm just not about to type it. The list actually grew because I did a favor for a friend. Last week I made a wreath for her (which definitely wasn't on the previous list) and yesterday I embroidered 4 blankets for her. I also got a key wristlet finished. It also grew because I forgot to put something on it. So I still have 17 items to complete.

List Update #3

Key Wristlets - 3
Checkbook Covers - 2
Debit Card Holders - 1
Burp Cloths - 3 (DONE)
Onesies - 1 (DONE)
Shirts - 2 (DONE)
Stockings to finish - 5 (These are about 3/4 of the way finished. Just need to do the final assembly).
Towels to embroider - 7 (DONE)
Throws to embroider - 4 (DONE. I TOOK TWO OFF THE LIST. THEY HAD A BUSY PATTERN AND WEREN'T GOING TO WORK AS WELL WITH EMBROIDERY)
Pants to make - 4
Blankets to make and embroider - 3 (I EMBROIDERED TWO OF THESE AND FINISHED ONE)

The last two days have not been nearly as productive as I had hoped. I did get some things done, but did not get my list finished. I did also take an order for and make a wreath and subsequently took an order for 4 more throws. I'll not be adding those to the list right now. I just can't bear to see the number go back up right now. I'm tired and my motivation is waining. That leaves my # at 15 for now. Hope to whittle away at a little more of it today, but we have a party to attend tonight and looks like we'll be gone most of the day tomorrow. Did I mention that I'm tired????

List Update #2

Key Wristlets - 3
Checkbook Covers - 2
Debit Card Holders - 1
Burp Cloths - 3
Onesies - 1
Shirts - 2 (DONE)
Stockings to finish - 5 (These are about halfway finished. GOT ALL OF THE CUFFS EMBROIDERED.)
Towels to embroider - 7 (DONE)
Throws to embroider - 4 (DONE. I TOOK TWO OFF THE LIST. THEY HAD A BUSY PATTERN AND WEREN'T GOING TO WORK AS WELL WITH EMBROIDERY)
Pants to make - 4
Blankets to make and embroider - 3 (I EMBROIDERED TWO OF THESE AND FINISHED ONE)

That's a total of 22 items left. I'm feeling better about this because I should be able to finish the stockings in about an hours time and the blankets my girls can help with. Everything from the onesie up are pretty quick stitch outs and should honestly be finished in a day or less. The biggest job is the pj pants and I can usually finish at least 2 pairs in an hour. I think I'm still set to finish this week. However, I'm getting my hair done tomorrow and babysitting my niece and nephew tomorrow night. Saturday night we have a party and Sunday we have church and baking at my Mom's. I may have to pull at least one late night, but I really feel like I'm in pretty good shape.

If you could all please pray for me I would appreciate it. My step-son is getting married the week after Christmas and I have to get all of the decorations and paper-goods together for the rehearsal dinner and I just found out that I'll be making the groom's cake. I'm very nervous about the cake. Please pray that God will give me wisdom on the best way to tackle that job and that everything will go smoothly. Thanks!

Tackling the List

I've been busy at the machine all day today and some on Monday. I also revised my list a little. Just no point in making it harder than it has to be, so I decided a few things could be changed or wait until the first of the year. Here is the revised list and what I have gotten done so far.

Key Wristlets - 3
Checkbook Covers - 2
Debit Card Holders = 1
Burp Cloths - 3
Onesies - 1
Shirts - 2 (I'VE FINISHED ONE OF THESE)
Stockings to finish - 5 (These are about halfway finished.)
Towels to embroider - 7 (THESE ARE FINISHED)
Throws to embroider - 6 (I'VE FINISHED FOUR OF THESE)
Pants to make - 4
Blankets to make and embroider - 3

I have a total of 25 to go. I'm coming along. My goal is to finish before the end of this week.

Christmas Sewing and Embroidery List

I just sat here and made out the list of all the sewing and embroidery that I have to do between now and Christmas. WOW is it long. I'm gonna have to tackle it hard and am really going to try to finish it up this week. Thankfully a lot of it is easy embroidery, so I can be embroidering while I'm sitting at my other machine sewing. In case you're curious here's the breakdown:

Key Wristlets - 3
Checkbook Covers - 2
Debit Card Holders = 1
Burp Cloths - 3
Onesies - 1
Shirts - 2 or 3
Stockings to finish - 5 (These are about halfway finished.)
Towels to embroider - 7
Throws to embroider - 9
Pants to make - 6 or 7
Blankets to make and embroider - 3

That's a total of 40 -42 items......oh and we're planning a rehearsal dinner and I just got elected to make a groom's cake for the 29th. Yep, I'm gonna be busy. Hopefully I'll have the presence of mind to post pics as I go. Say a little prayer for me. ;0)

Onesie Dress

I've been wanting to make a onesie dress for a while and just hadn't gotten around to it. I finally got one done this morning. I'm not sure whether I'll add embroidery or not. I think it turned out very cute and it was very easy and quick to make. I'll definitely be making more of these and I think it'd work just as well with a t-shirt for a toddler or preschooler.

I used Barefoot in the Kitchen's tutorial.

Custom Christmas Order

I got this order from a friend at church. She has two daughters and wanted them to have matching shirts for pictures with Santa. I still have to applique the second shirt, but here's the first. It turned out so cute and I especially love the hairbow.

The applique is 8 Claws and a Paw Chunky Curlz Applique.

The bow is the Basic Bow from Girlythingsbows. I added the stacked bow in the center.

Christmas Music

I finally got my playlist fixed.....so grab a cup of coffee (or tea), turn up the volume, then sit back and listen to some of my favorite sounds of the season!

Playlist Caution

When I changed my background for Christmas I also changed my playlist to the Christmas one that I had used lastyear. Thankfully, I was sitting here listening to it, hopefully before anyone else did. One of the songs I had on there had been changed to a very vulgur song. The title and artist were the same as they had been, but the song was completely different. If any of you happened to be listening and heard it I apologize, though I suspect you would have immediately realized that it was not my doing. I also noticed that quite a few of my songs were no longer available. I am currently going back and listening to each song to make sure I don't run into that again and if you have a playlist you may want to do the same.

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving festivities are now finished for my family. We've enjoyed our week and have especially been thankful to have my wonderful hubby home for 4 days straight. Here's the rundown of our week.

Saturday (20th) - My Mom's family met for our annual Thanksgiving meal at my Uncle David's house. My Mom is the 9th of 10 children, so this is a very large gathering. This was our 1st Thanksgiving without my Pappaw, so of course it was a bit bittersweet. The turnout was great. There were a LOT of people there and a lot of great food. My hubby was at home in the bed sick. I was very sad that he couldn't go with us and had such a hard time leaving him. I think he was glad for a bit of quiet time, though.

Monday (22nd) - Our homeschool group has an annual Thanksgiving feast. We were not planning to go this year because we had two appointments that morning and I was just not sure we could get there in time. However, a friend called my girls and wanted us to come to the feast and then come to their house afterward. I'm also friends with this girls Mom and she has a brother my son's age, so it's a great fit for our family and we get together whenever we can. There is a lot of time for fellowship at the feast and I got to meat a Mom that I hadn't met before and chat with her for a while as well as catch up with some Mom's that I hadn't seen in quite a while. There never seems to be quite enough food there, but there are always 2 pots of community soup. Everyone brings an ingredient for the soup and it all goes in the pot. It's actually quite tasty. There is a pie baking contest, so there are plenty of desserts. I had a piece of pecan pie and it was very yummy. There are also costume and weapons building contests as well as a skit. We left there and thoroughly enjoyed spending a couple of hours at our friends house.

Tuesday - My Mom had a cousin that babysat my older brother and I from the time we were infants until I think I was three or so. Her name was Lois and her husband's name was Bob. My brother dubbed them Mama Lois and Daddy Bob and those names stuck. That's what their grandchildren called them and most everyone else. When I was 16 she died of breast cancer, but we have remained very close to the rest of her family. Several months ago their son and daughter-in-law moved in with Daddy Bob to help take care of him and began having a Tuesday night meal for friends and family. We go once or twice a month and it is truly a highlight of our week when we get to go. They live in a cabin in the woods. It's such a neat place to be. Tuesday night we had our Thanksgiving meal with all of them and had 59 people in attendance. It was such a good evening.

Thursday - We went to my Mom's and had homemade pizzas. Very nontraditional. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled with the idea. The theory was that we had all had traditional Thanksgiving meals and might be growing tired of it, but I had actually not had much traditional thanksgiving food and we already had plans to have a pizza night on Friday night. It was really an oh well kind of day I suppose. I didn't get a vote and it's my Mom's home and if that's what she wants to do that's what we will do. So, we had pizza and cookies. I woke up on Wednesday with a bit of a sore throat and by Thursday I knew I was coming down with something so I felt pretty yucky most of the day and we decided to head home a bit earlier than usual.

Friday - I got up early and headed out to do some shopping. I usually do a lot, but I was just feeling so yucky and tired and it was rainy and cold. I got several things that we needed for the holidays and bought a gift to put up for my son's birthday (which he already found, because I'm a dork and sent him to the van for something before I remembered I had not yet gotten the gifts out of it....) I came back home and went to bed for a couple of hours. Then I got up and we got some cleaning done and watched the Alabama and Auburn football game (better known as the Iron Bowl). It was a very interesting game. Auburn was down 24-0, but we've spent most of the year being a 2nd half team and in the end we came back and won 28-27. WAR EAGLE!!! Later that evening my cousin and her family came over for a homemade pizza night. This is a tradition that we started with them a few years ago. We do it at both houses and typically only do it with each others families. It seems weird to do it with anyone else.... Their daughter is in her 2nd year of college, so we usually try to have pizza night when she is home. We made 5 pizzas and they were very good. My girls also made some cake mix cookies and those (especially the caramel ones) were a HUGE hit! We always have a ton of leftovers, so we got to have that for supper last night as well. YUM!

Saturday - I would have to say that yesterday was the highlight of my week. My husband has a son from his first marriage. Patrick and I have been married for 15 years, so Josh has been in my life for 16 years (including the year that we dated). I love him like my own and miss him terribly. Josh joined the Army in January and was recently selected for Special Forces. He will spend the next year and a half going through the training required to actually become SF. Thankfully, he is now stationed about 8 hours away and his eventual station will be about a 7 hour drive. I'm so thankful it's driving distance! Anyway, he was home for Thanksgiving and he and is fiance (we LOVE her) were able to come over to spend the day with us. I prepared a meal (Turkey, dressing, garlic and rosemary potatoes, blackeyed peas, green bean casserole, corn and cranberry sauce) and we headed over to our friends house. The provided the drinks, desserts (brownies, pumpkin pie and flan) and rolls. The meal was very yummy. Afterwards the guys and our soon to be daughter-in-law headed out for a game of volleyball (Paige is 5'11" and went to school on a volleyball scholarship. Her senior year her team won the national championship and she is now a graduate assistant coach for the team, while she gets her master's degree, which the school is also paying for.) Why the guys wanted to get stomped by her I don't know.....LOL Needless to say the team that Paige was on won and it didn't seem to matter who played with her. My very favorite moments are those when all of our children are together and having Paige here has been such a blessing to our family. She was drawing with the kids yesterday and drew a picture of all our children. It was very cute, but my favorite part was that she included herself in the picture. It was such a wonderful day.

The only negative part is that we have been fighting sickness in our home for 2 1/2 weeks now. It started with our children, then my hubby and now me. I'm fairly certain that mine is a sinus infection and I feel horrible. A "doc in the box" recently opened about 10 minutes away from my house and I do believe I will be in their parking lot when they open this morning. It's so frustrating that the only thing that seems to make me well when I get these things is a steroid shot. I've tried everything else I know to try at this point (Sinus rinses multiple times a day, herbal teas, probiotics, homemade cough syrup as well as over-the-counter meds) and I'm getting worse daily. Maybe the shot will speed up my recovery and give me the energy to get my Christmas decorations put up......

Thrifty Decor Chick Giveaway

There's an awesome giveaway at http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

A Big Fat Honkin' List

I had planned to get a lot done before thanksgiving in order to be ready for the company, shopping, Christmas decorating and crafting. However, I've had sickly people around here for about a week and a half. Needless to say that put me a bit behind. We've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the house straight, so the things that need to happen are mostly deep cleaning type things or cleaning up things that just get overlooked. I have 4 days to do that this week. I also have several goings on, so I've made a list of when I need to do what in order to not allow things to sneak up on me. The kids have a pretty good list, but they will be helping each other. If they work well without arguing they should spend an hour or less cleaning each day. That's probably about what I will spend cleaning as well. I've also got some sewing that has to be done this week. I'm making and embroidering stockings for my cousin's family (4), finishing a key fob, embroidering two burp cloths, making two hair bows and appliqueing two shirts. I'll spread that out through the week so it won't be too overwhelming. Just in case you're curious, here are my lists. For some reason I LOVE looking at other people's lists. Weird I know, but I'm a list person....

Monday -
9:00 Chiropractor
10:10 Dentist
11:00 Possibly head to homeschool groups Thanksgiving Feast
2:00 Possibly hang out with friends

Tuesday -
Make dish and go to extended family Thanksgiving

Wednesday -
Home all day; no church tonight
Begin to thaw the turkey

Thursday -
Make a dish or two and go to Thanksgiving at Mom's

Friday -
Hubby is home
I'm going shopping
Possibly pizza night with cousins (Could be Wed. night)
Brine turkey
Cook cornbread for dressing

Saturday -
Cooking
Step-son and his fiance are coming for Thanksgiving lunch; we'll be having lunch with some friends, too.



Mine
Monday - Bedroom Dresser; Kitchen Counters (Busy day. This will probably happen after the kids go to bed.)
Tuesday - Sewing Area; Laundry Room Cabinet
Wednesday - Desk Area; Refrigerators
Friday - Change Bedding and Vacuum bedroom; Check Kids Rooms

Kids
Monday - (We'll be gone most of the day, so I tried to choose the lighter chores for this day. They should be able to do most of this while I make supper.)
Living Room - Clean off tops of things and under things thoroughly
Kitchen - Wash fronts of Cabinets and Appliances (Give all three of them a washcloth and some spray and the love it! Who knew????)
Bathroom - Clean out baskets
Halls and Stairs - Organize Drawers
Laundry Room - Clean off counter; make sure laundry is sorted properly and in baskets
Son's Room - Clean off beds (He has two beds and he likes to put his laundry on one of them instead of putting it away.)
Daughter's Room - Clean off tops of everything
(Remember all three of them will be working on each of those tasks. Should take about 10 minutes per job.)

Tuesday - (We'll be home all day, gone in the evening)
Kitchen - Wash top, sides and legs of tables and chairs (see note about washcloths and spray..LOL)
Living Room - Clean out couches and chair and basket (I think half of everything ever lost in my house has somehow ended up in the couch cushions!)
Bathroom - Wash walls (there tile....we need an update!) and cabinets
Halls and Stairs - Organize school bookshelf
Laundry Room - Wash off washer and dryer
Son's room - Wash bedclothes and remake beds; Clean off tops of trunk and dresser
Daughter's Room - Pick things up out of floor (You know...a pre-teen/teenager's favorite place to store all their stuff.)

Wednesday - (No plans to be anywhere, so I put the heavier chores here.)
Kitchen - Thoroughly clean counters and backs of counters
Living Room - Clean out corner and take care of Kids Market Bags (We've been cleaning out and several boxes and bags have been piled here. Gotta make room for the Christmas tree!)
Bathroom - Clean out tub (for some reason it seems we hang on to the empty bottles...) Clean tub and tub walls
Halls and Stairs - organize large bookshelf
Laundry Room - clean up floor (the dogs hang out here when we're asleep or not home, so we have to pick up their toys and spilled dog food, plus stray clothes that may not have made it to the basket.)
Son's room - clean up floor (apparently also a little boy's favorite place to store his things.)
Daughter's Room - Clean under everything; Wash Bedclothes and remake bed

Friday- (We'll be home most of the day and Daddy is home too._
Kitchen - Clean sinks and stove top; mop (My kids LOVE to mop!)
Living Room - Vacuum thoroughly including baseboards and under things (The girls also really like to vacuum!)
Bathroom - Clean toilet, sink, counter and mirror
Halls and stairs - sweep and mop
Laundry room - sweep and mop
Son's room - sweep and mop
Daughter's room - sweep and mop

Hubby's potential list
(He's still sick , so he may not be able to get to all of this and most of it depends on weather.)
Clean his corner of the bedroom and his things in the closet
Clean off carport
Change oil in van
Clean up leaves in the yard
Bring food buckets in from storage room

That's probably more list than any of you ever wanted to see, but it's what ya got....I warned you in the title...LOL With the exception of Monday we will get up in the morning and knock out our chores right away, so we'll have most of the rest of the day for the other stuff we want to do (probably no school this week). My kids like to do chores together, it makes it feel more manageable to them. The fact that I divided the rooms up into one chore in each room per day also makes us feel less overwhelmed. Usually they will set a timer and kind of race themselves to see if they can get the chore done before the timer goes off. I think we'll get most if not all of it done. I'm looking forward to a week of accomplishments mixed with lots of family, friends and good foods!

Super Easy, Not So Greasy Boston Butt

Tonight for supper we are having shredded pork sanwiches with coleslaw and baked beans. I thought I'd share with you my method for cooking Boston Butt.

I put it in the crockpot on low overnight. The next morning I pour off all of the grease, pull out the bone and slice off the fat (once it's cooked it's easier than slicing butter). Then I put in about 1/2 a bottle of barbecue sauce (Honestly I can't tell a very big difference, no matter what brand I use) and I add 1/8 to 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. I just pour it in 'til I'm happy with it. Then I let it cook on low most of the rest of the day (My crockpot has a warm setting, so I will eventually switch it to warm). I check it periodically and use a fork to shred a little each time I check it. That's it, the whole process....I think you'll be surprised that you barely notice it doesn't have a smoked taste, like the barbecue joints have. The pork really supplies it's own flavor and it is GOOD!

Another Kitchen Creation....

I've been trying to be frugal about groceries lately and came up with another really yummy meal out of things I had on hand the other day.

I always cook my rice in the microwave. I haven't used any other method in at least a couple of years. I use one part rice to two parts water (for my family that's 2 cups rice and 4 cups water). I put it in a covered casserole dish, microwave on high for 5 minutes, then microwave on medium for 15 minutes and let stand covered for 5 more minutes.

For this recipe I put the rice on first and then begin with the rest of the ingredients. In a pot on the stove combine 2 cans blackeyed peas, 1 can rotel (can use mild or tex mex tomatoes), bell peppers and onions (I used minced dried) and smoked or polish sausage (sliced). I actually used little smokies that we had on hand. Bring to a boil, then simmer until rice is ready. Serve this over the rice and add salt and pepper to taste.

This was a hit with the whole family.

Cough Syrup

When I was growing up my parents made homemade cough syrup. They used equal parts honey, lemon and whiskey. Well, we do not have alcahol in our home. I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with using it for medicinal purposes or even drinking it (as long as you are not over-indulging). However, it is a personal conviction of ours that we do not drink. So, I was wondering how I could make similar cough syrup for my kids without the alcahol. A week or so a go a friend of mine actually posted a solution. She was very sick and nothing was helping, so her mom made her the same cough syrup, but used apple cider vinegar instead of the whiskey. I made this for my daughter last night and it seems to have worked and honestly the taste and smell is very similar to what we had growing up. It is best warmed a little. I gave her two teaspoons before bed and the nice thing is she can take it as she needs it, because none of the ingredients have any adverse side effects.

Tour of Hell

On Saturday our church had a HUGE Harvestfest and over 3000 people from our city attended. (Keep in mind we are a small church with between 150 and 200 in regular attendance). On Sunday we followed that up with an illustrated sermon entitled Tour of Hell. We had around 600 people between the two services. The sermon investigated the lives of some people in the Bible that almost made the decision to follow the Lord, basically of people that almost went to Heaven, but ended up in Hell (one example would be the rich young ruler). These two videos were used during that sermon and they are incredible.





The 2nd one is definitely hard to watch, but it is needful. We need to realize that we have a very real enemy and then we need to get in the Word of God and learn how to recognize him and how to stand firm against him.

I'm a Winner

No.....for real....I am!

There was a contest on FB to recommend that people become friends of the Camp Macoba page. I did that and I was one of two winners. I won my choice of a $50 gift card to a restaurant or Itunes. I really struggled with this decision, but they graciously agreed to let me have a $25 card to each. Hang in there for a minute and I'll explain why I wanted that.

Then on Sunday afternoon we had a Chili Fest at church. Well, I LOVE chili, especially White Bean Chicken Chili. So, my girls entered a traditional chili and I entered my White Bean Chicken Chili. I WON! (Each category had a winner.) I received a $25 gift card to Chilis.

The reason I had such a hard time deciding between the Itunes card and a restaurant card is that I wanted to buy an Audio Bible for our mp3 players and I wanted to go on a date with my hubby, but I also wanted to take my girls to Chili's with me, since we all kind of worked together on our Chilis. Since Camp Macoba is being so kind as to split it for me I now get to do all of those things. What a BLESSING!

Also, the desire for the audio Bible came about because I've been listening to Biblegateway's free audio Bible and have been loving it, but you have to be near the computer. This will give us the freedom to take it with us. I'm so excited. Maybe Daneesey's winning streak is rubbing off on me!

Brotherly Kindness

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Original Word: φιλαδελφία
Transliteration: philadelphia
Phonetic Spelling: (fil-ad-el-fee'-ah)
Short Definition: brotherly love

Word Origin from philadelphos
Definition the love of brothers, brotherly love
NASB Word Usage brotherly kindness (2), brotherly love (1), love of the brethren (3).
brotherly love, kindness

Philadelphos means loving one's brother; love as brothers

BROTH'ERLY, a. Pertaining to brothers; such as is natural for brothers; becoming brothers; kind; affectionate; as brotherly love.

My Notes : The definition of this one isn't very hard to understand. What is hard is actually doing it. No big complicated theme here. The question is are you loving your fellow Christians they way that you love your very own family? Are you kind and affectionate to them? Are you becoming like family? If not, then you need to work toward that. Ask the Father to help you see people the way that He sees them and ask Him to love them through you.

I don't Want My Children To Be Happy

I just read an AMAZING blogpost and I think you should too. Read it HERE.

Godliness

2 Peter 1:5-8
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Original Word: εὐσέβεια
Transliteration: eusebeia
Phonetic Spelling: (yoo-seb'-i-ah)
Short Definition: godliness
Word Originfrom eusebés
Definition piety
NASB Word Usage godliness (14), piety (1).
From eusebes; piety; specially, the gospel scheme -- godliness, holiness.


GOD'LINESS, n. [from godly.] Piety; belief in God, and reverence for his character and laws.
1. A religious life; a careful observance of the laws of God and performance of religious duties, proceeding from love and reverence for the divine character and commands; christian obedience.

Godliness is profitable unto all things. 1 Tim. 4.



PI'ETY, n. [L. pietas, from pius, or its root, probably a contracted word.]
1. Piety in principle, is a compound of veneration or reverence of the Supreme Being and love of his character, or veneration accompanied with love; and piety in practice, is
the exercise of these affections in obedience to his will and devotion to his service.



HO'LINESS, n. [from holy.] The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity. Applied to the Supreme Being, holiness denotes perfect purity or integrity of moral character, one of his essential attributes.

1. Applied to human beings, holiness is purity of heart or dispositions; sanctified affections; piety; moral goodness, but not perfect.

My Notes : The original Greek word means godliness or piety. It is froma Greek word that means holiness. So, I decided to add the definition of all three words. I love that in the definition of godliness it looks a little like legalism by speaking on religion and following laws, but then adds that godliness is not those things alone, but those things must procede from love and reverance for our Lord. I think so many people miss that. So many people are bound by the "lists" as I call them. We often think okay if I do these things and don't do these other things then I'll be a good Christian, but we miss that it is truly about a relationship and if we are walking in relationship with Him, we will love Him more than we ever imagined possible and that love for Him will be what drives us to keep His commands, to listen to His convictions, to want to be more like Him. Piety follows suit. It says that piety is having a reverance for Him and loving His character, that it's the exercise of these affections. In otherwise it's the outward expression of an inward relationship. My favorite part of the definition of Holiness is the part that is in specific reference to people. Obviously holiness within the Lord is perfect. He is completely perfect, but as much as we desire to be like Him we are not. I believe holding ourselves to a standard of perfection is a form of bondage, it's the quickest way to fall into a lifestyle of legalism. He is perfect and He is perfecting us, but we will not be perfect until we get to Heaven. Sure we should strive to be like Him, but we must cut ourselves a little slack. We are going to make mistakes. One of the most freeing things for me to read was about Paul struggling to do what He knew was right and what He wanted to do. If Paul who was clearly a student of the Word of God, an instructor to the churches, the author of 13 books of the Bible, struggled, then why can't I allow myself to make mistakes? I'm not at all giving us an excuse to sin, but want to encourage you all that we can live a life of holiness, we can strive to be more like Him daily, but we are not perfect and we will make mistakes and when we do we must learn from them, get back up dust ourselves off and try again...

My challenge for you is to learn more about His character. It's pretty hard to emulate someone you don't know well. Read Psalms and learn more about God and who He is , go through the gospels and learn more about the character of Jesus. A perfect place to start is with love. He is love. There are many people in our lives that we love dearly, that are easy for us to love, but we also all have those people in our lives that are more difficult for us to love. Pray that He will help you to see those people through His eyes and ask Him to love them through you.

Just want to leave off with some applicable verses:
1 Peter 1:15-16
15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]

2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Perseverance

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Original Word: ὑπομονή
Transliteration: hupomoné
Phonetic Spelling: (hoop-om-on-ay')
Short Definition: enduring
Word Originfrom hupomenó
Definition a remaining behind, a patient enduring
NASB Word Usage endurance (7), patient enduring (1), perseverance (21), steadfastness (3).
enduring, patience, steadfast
From hupomeno; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy -- enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting).


PERSEVE'RANCE, n. [L. perseverantia. See Persevere.]
1. Persistence in any thing undertaken; continued pursuit or prosecution of any business or enterprise begun; applied alike to good or evil.

Perseverance keeps honor bright.

Patience and perseverance overcome the greatest difficulties.



My Notes : I get so excited when I learn a knew thing, especially in the midst of something I already thought I knew. The study of the word perseverance gave the word such new depth to me. I think to us the word often means that we keep on trucking even when things are difficult, and it does mean that. But to truly have perseverance we must also have:


PATIENCE, n. pa'shens. [L. patientia, from patior, to suffer.]
1. The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from christian submission to the divine will.
2. A calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent.
3. The act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent.
4. Perseverance; constancy in labor or exertion.
5. The quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge.


ENDU'RANCE, n. [See Endure.] Continuance; a state of lasting or duration; lastingness.
1. A bearing or suffering; a continuing under pain or distress without resistance, or without sinking or yielding to the pressure; sufferance; patience.


STEADFASTNESS, STEDFASTNESS, n.
1. Firmness of standing; fixedness in place.
2. Firmness of mind or purpose; fixedness in principle; constancy; resolution; as the stedfastness of faith.





The word that this greek word came from also means: cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy


CHEERFUL, a.
1. Lively; animated; having good spirits; moderately joyful. This is the most usual signification of the word, expressing a degree of animation less than mirth and jollity.
2. Full of life; gay; animated; mirthful; musical; as the cheerful birds.
3. Expressive of good spirits or joy; lively; animated.
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. Prov. 15.


HO'PEFUL, a. Having qualities which excite hope; promising or giving ground to expect good or success; as a hopeful youth; a hopeful prospect.
1. Full of hope or desire,with expectation.





CONSTANCY, n. [L., to stand.]
1. Fixedness; a standing firm; hence, applied to God or his works, immutability; unalterable continuance; a permanent state.
2. Fixedness or firmness of mind; persevering resolution; steady, unshaken determination; particularly applicable to firmness of mind under sufferings, to steadiness in attachments, and to perseverence in enterprise. Lasting affection; stability in love or friendship.
3. Certainty; veracity; reality.



WOW!!!! I found this one so very convicting. I think we believe that we're supposed to just suffer through, but we are supposed to have a constant patient endurance while being steadfast, cheerful and hopeful. I could go on and on about this, but I truly believe the conviction and guidance is in the definitions. Read them well. Look at them with honesty. Where are you falling short (I definitely have a few areas). I want you to also notice that what comes after perseverance is godlinss. I think we all desire to lead a more godly life, but if we are to attain it we must first learn to persevere. In our lives through our trials we must be immovable, unshakable, counting it all joy, trusting and being willing to wait for His timing. He is faithful!

Self-Control

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Original Word: ἐγκράτεια
Transliteration: egkrateia
Phonetic Spelling: (eng-krat'-i-ah)
Short Definition: temperance
Word Originfrom egkratés
Definition mastery, self-control


TEM'PERANCE, n. [L. temperantia, from tempero.]
1. Moderation; particularly, habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; as temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or mirth. Temperance in eating and drinking is opposed to gluttony and drunkenness, and in other indulgences, to excess.

2. Patience; calmness; sedateness; moderation of passion.

He calm'd his wrath with goodly temperance. [Unusual.]

My Notes: I'm pretty sure we all know what self-control is and for the most part we all lack it in some area of our lives. There are things in this word study that I found interesting. Especially the fact that not only did the Greek word mean self-control, but also mastery. I think we should all be praying about what areas we are lacking the most self-control in and we should be seeking to master self-control in that area. Also, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. If we are allowing the Holy Spirit to live in and through us (which requires a dying to ourselves daily), then we should see this fruit growing in our lives.

Reproducing Who I Am

My pastor's wife often shares a quote that she attributes to Ronald Reagan. I hope I don't butcher it, but at least the gist of it is this..." We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are.". I've been thinking on that a lot lately.

As my daughters get older, I think on this so much more often. The recently got email accounts and in February when they have their birthday, they plan to get Facebook accounts. Facebook is a funny little thing. I often call it a blessing and a curse. I definitely see some value in it, but I also see some very negative qualites that it has. Recently I've been trying to figure out where my balance is with it. The question I'm currently asking myself (not just about FB) is how can I make sure that I'm using/doing this more for His glory than my own. I think in regard to FB, I'm finding that balance. What I haven't found is balance in the amount of time that I'm on the computer. Frankly, that is something I do not want to reproduce. So, I'm going to be doing something about that. What exactly I'm not sure of yet, but I'll figure it out and soon. The bottom line will be much less time on the computer and much more time focussed on the things that are important (My home, family, etc.).

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm gonna be working toward being more like the woman that I want my daughter's to become.

Just Give Me Jesus!

Living on the Edge

Wearin' white pants.......Drinkin' red kool-aid.....Just call me your resident risk taker....


On a less silly note....My back is TONS better today. Hallelujah!

Of Back Aches and Chicken Bakes

My back ache has gotten out of control. I finally gave in and headed to the chiropractor today. It was my very first chiropractic visit ever.... I think it helped. He seems to think we will easily be able to get it under control. Guess I shouldn't have waited so long. He did say the dreaded A-word.....Arthritis....Said that's pretty much what the pain after sleeping and the sitting means and I need to get moving if I want it to stay better.....BLAH, BLAH, BLAH....Drs. answer to everything is excercise.....JUST KIDDING! I do know I need to excercise and I have a plan to get started, so here I go....

As far as Chicken Bakes are concerned. I haven't posted a menu for a while so I thought I'd share.

Chicken thighs baked in Hot Wing Sauce (My family loves this)
Mustard and Apple Cider Vinegar Slaw
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Rolls
and BIG glasses of something to put out the fire!!!! ;o)

Birthday Week Day 7

The final day of my birthday week was Sunday.

Sunday we got up and went to church, then we went to my Mom's for lunch. I got to choose the menu, but I really only chose 2 of the items. I'm really not very picky. I decided several weeks ago that I wanted carrot cake, so my Mom made one from scratch. It was YUMMY! It took me much longer to decide on the main course. I finally decided on Buffalo Chicken Casserole. There is a Buffalo Chicken Dip that I really LOVE. I even posted a recipe for it. You can find it HERE. I didn't think it was very practical to have dip for lunch, so I asked my Mom to combine the dip recipe with her hashbrown casserole recipe and it turned out SO yummy. It will definitely be something that we repeat around here. We also had broccoli, corn, mashed potatoes and rolls. She also had a little bit of smoked chicken available for those that didn't like the spicy stuff. I got a few cards and some money and an Arbonne travel set w/some extras. It's always funny when my older brother gives me money for my birthday. His birthday is 8 days after mine and it seems our monetary gifts always cancel each other out. The guest list included my Mom, older brother, younger brother, SIL, niece and nephew, my bunch and my best friend and her two
boys. It was a LOVELy day.

I had such a great birthday week. I promise what I received this week was not the norm. I can't ever recall having such an eventful birthday week and it was certainly very undeserved, but so very appreciated. I am so very blessed.

Birthday Week Day 6

I'll go back and add this to day 5, but in case you didn't scroll down to see the change wanted to tell you that in addition to everything else that went on yesterday, my best friend ended up coming over to hang out for supper. My hubby made BLTs at my request (YUM!). Afterward we walked over to the nearby football field to watch a local high school football team. My cousin is the coach and my best friend teaches math at the school that was playing. So, I also got to sit next to my Aunt and catch up and see a few of my cousins. It was wonderful weather for football and I truly enjoyed my day.

Today, I woke up to another gift from my mom. This time it is a black and clear beaded necklace and earring set. It's very pretty.

Now we are all going to head out to watch the trail of tears motorcycle ride come through our area and then we are headed to a big Craft Show in town. Then tonight my hubby and I are going to dinner with my cousin and her husband to celebrate our birthdays (her's is the day before mine). It's gonna be such a great day.

I'm am sooooo very blessed!

It's the Little Things....

Update: Right after I finished posting this I went out to the mailbox and there was a very sweet card from my very sweet husband. What a lovely surprise....


It's not even 9:00 and I've gotten a TON of FB Birthday wishes, but the best Happy Birthdays have come from those closest to me. My hubby was first then, I opened the gift and hat the letter from my Mom, my kiddos at home, my step-son, my soon to be daughter-in-law, my sister-in-law (and niece and nephew), my brother.....The list goes on and on, but it's truly my Mother's heart that feels like it's full to overflowing. To have even my step-son who is now in the Army in another state and my daughter-in-law that is in college (getting her masters degree) in another state with her college's volleyball team, in the middle of recruiting season (she's a graduate assistant for the team and does a good bit of the recruiting) take time out to make sure they've wished me a Happy Birthday first thing in the morning. It just means more to me than I could have ever imagined. It's a good thing we have friends coming home today or I might just cry tears of joy all day long.

Lord, I am so very undeserving, so very unworthy.......but you've still chosen to bless me more than I could have ever dreamed of......Your plans are so much better than any I could have come up with ........and I'm just so very humbled.....and THANKFUL!

Birthday Week Day 5

Today is my actual birthday!!!!!......LOL.....I woke up this morning to my husband telling me Happy Birthday. Then I found a sweet letter from my daughter and another gift from my Mom. This gift contained two journals and a very sweet letter from my Mom (I had to fight back tears). The birthday wishes on FB have also begun. I'm going to make biscuits and chocolate gravy for breakfast then we have some friends coming over for lunch. We'll be having taco salad and brownies. I think I'll have my shower and then have some iced coffee and maybe I'll spend a little time on my porch before the kiddos get up. What a great day to reflect on all the Lord has done in my life over the last year. He has surely grown me and blessed me!

Updated: We had a GREAT time with our friends! Then my best friend ended up getting to come over for supper and we went to a football game that my cousin was coaching so I got to see my Aunt and Uncle and some of my cousins. It was a FABULOUS evening!

Birthday Week Day 4

I received another necklace and earring set from my Mom (It's kind of a redish-orange and orange together). I also had a homemade card from my son. I had to take the girls to dance and then we went to Hobby Lobby. We got some fabric for a fall project and I bought (with my 40% off coupon) another quilt stencil. This one is the stipling effect. We came home and did a lot of cleaning. Overall it was a pretty good day!

Reminder

I'm posting about my birthday week and my to-do list everyday. Also, I'm pulling some notes from FB and adding them hear until I get those caught up, so make sure to scroll down and see if there are posts you haven't read yet.

To-Do Today

Today's have to list is a little lighter as my day is a little shorter because I'm going to lunch with my Dad and I have a staff meeting and church this evening.

Have tos:
~School with the kids
~Pay Bills
~Cook supper (I have to do this early because I leave at 4)
~Make one key wristlet and a checkbook cover
~At least two loads of laundry
~Order more checkbook covers
~Bottle laundry detergent that was made yesterday (It has to sit overnight before bottling)

Want tos:
~Clean off my desk
~Clean off my dresser
~Straighten sewing area


Update : I've removed all of the extra sewing off of my want to list for the day. I'm having a lot of trouble with mylower back and as of yesterday my right shoulder and neck and I just cannot sit and bend over sewing right now. I'll have to leave those off until I'm feeling much better. Guess I'll keep busy with things that keep me moving. (I am on my 3rd load of laundry for the day.)

Knowledge

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Original Word: γνῶσις
Transliteration: gnósis
Phonetic Spelling: (gno'-sis)
Short Definition: knowledge
Word Origin from ginóskó
Definitiona knowing, knowledge
NASB Word Usage knowing (1), knowledge (27), understanding way (1).

Knowledge ~
2. Learning; illumination of mind.
6. Information; power of knowing.

My Notes: On the surface this word sort of speaks for itself. However, I loved some things that I found in my study of it. Knowledge is more than knowing, it's also understanding. How many things do I know because I've read them in the Word, but I don't really understand? It's also an illumination of mind. A light illuminates. There are several references to the Lord being light:

Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me, should not abide in darkness.” John 12:46
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 1John 1:5
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105
For the Lord will be your everlasting light…. Isaiah 60:20
For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
“While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” John 12:36

Through these verses it becomes very clear to us Who the light is, but what I also find very interesting is that if we follow Him, believe in Him, read is Word then He will enlighten our darkness, we will becom sons of light and that light shining through us will bring Him glory. If we are furthuring our knowledge of Him His light will shine brighter and brighter in our lives.

I also loved the part of the definition that said "power of knowing". Matthew 22:29 say, "Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God." If we want to have the power to do things that the Lord says we can do, then we must have knowledge and understanding of those things. We need to know the scriptures and the power of God. If we also receive power from the Holy Spirit ("But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8), then we need knowledge of the Holy Spirit.

I think a couple of great places to start would be Psalms and Proverbs. Proverbs will help you see the value of knowledge and understanding and will help you gain wisdom and understanding. Psalms is a great place to learn about the character of God. Just last night I was going through some of Psalms with my daughter and in the first four chapters we found at least 8 statements of who God is/what He does.

The solution to gaining knowledge is simple.....ask Him to open His word to you, to help you understand it....read it....start somewhere...It doesn't have to be some perfect Bible study. Just start somewhere.... :)

Virtue

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Original Word: ἀρέτη
Transliteration: areté
Phonetic Spelling: (ar-et'-ay)
Short Definition: praise

Word Origin of uncertain origin
Definitio nmoral goodness, i.e. virtue
NASB Word Usageexcellence (2), excellencies (1), moral excellence (2).

Virtue ~ Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law. In this sense, virtue may be, and in many instances must be, distinguished from religion. The practice of moral duties merely from motives of convenience, or from compulsion, or from regard to reputation, is virtue, as distinct from religion. The practice of moral duties from sincere love to God and his laws, is virtue and religion. In this sense it is true,

That virtue only makes our bliss below.

Virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth.

My Notes: I think these definitions make it plain to us what virtue is. I love the part of the definition that is careful to seperate religion from virtue. Good people that do not know the Lord can have virtue. They can have good morals and try to do good things, as the definition says, from motives of convenience, or from compulsion, or from regard to reputation. We need to make sure the roots of our virtue are in the Lord, coming from our relationship with Him and what we have learned from His word. I also love the idea that virtue is more than "good morals" it is moral excellence. There is no room for mediocrity. Seems that this definition would make a good measuring stick for us. Is this movie, book, song, conversation, etc. morally excellent? Proverbs 31 tells us that a virtuous (or morally excellent woman) is hard to find. Kind of made me think of a diamond in the rough....so that's my challenge for you today...From this moment on allow the Lord and His Word to begin the polishing and grinding and chipping away needed to make you that diamond.

Birthday Week Day 3

I woke up this morning to another homemade card from one of my girls a few bangle bracelets from my Mom and my dad will be taking me out to lunch today. He will be out of town for my actual birthday and birthday dinner, so I get a lunch instead. We're going to go to a Mexican restaraunt that is very near my house and I LOVE their food.

Birthday Week Day 2

You may already know from reading a previous post that it's my birthday week. Yesterday my daughter Kelsi wrote me an amazing letter and I had a lime green and brown wooden necklace and earring set from my Mom. Today my other daughter Keeli made me a homemade card and I had another necklace and earring set from my Mom today, this time it's turquoise. Tonight we will also be heading to my cousins house for dinner we do this a lot of Tuesday nights. There is always a pretty big crowd. The day before my birthday is my cousin's birthday, so the crowd will sing Happy Birthday to us tonight. I'm sure we'll have a great time and eat lots of yummy food. I've heard there may be some kind of peanut butter pie with an oreo crust. In my book you can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate. YUM!

To-Do Today

(The ones in yellow are ones I have completed)

I have got to be busy, busy today. Maybe if I share my list here I'll be more motivated to accomplish the things that are on it:
~School with the kids
~Make laundry detergent
~Make dishwasher detergent
~Make 4 checkbook covers
~Pay bills
Edited to add :
~Wash the shower curtain and bathroom rugs
~Bleach the grout around the tub
~Clean the tub and tub walls (I bleached them and wiped them and rinsed them off, but my back was hurting to bad to give them the scrubbing they needed.)
~Run oven through self-clean
~Do two loads of laundry
Those are the MUSTS.
Here are the other things I hope to accomplish:
~Make an additional checkbook cover and 2 key wristlets
~Clean off my dresser and finish cleaning my sewing area
~ Attach the border to my quilt
~Prepare my quilt for quilting
~Practice Free motion quilting

It is a lot, but the detergents take very little of my time, I can do other things while my machine is embroidering, including sewing. So, if I stay on task today I should be able to accomplish most of what is on this list.

Update : I got a LOT done. Not everything I wanted to, but a LOT. Maybe I need to post my to-do list here everyday.....

Diligence

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Original Word: σπουδή
Transliteration: spoudé
Phonetic Spelling: (spoo-day')Short Definition: haste

Word Origin from speudó
Definition haste, diligence
NASB Word Usage diligence (4), earnestness (5), effort (1), hurry (2).
haste, diligence, forwardness
From speudo; "speed", i.e. (by implication) despatch, eagerness, earnestness -- business, (earnest) care(-fulness), diligence, forwardness, haste.


DILIGENCE, n. [L., to love earnestly; to choose.]
1. Steady application in business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention; industry; assiduity.

My Notes : I've attached the meaning of the original Greek word and the definition. I think the thing that struck me the most is that diligence is not merely staying constant in working toward something, but rather doing it with haste. When we are truly diligent we are giving something due attention, with a sense of eagerness, we're in hurry! I think in our walks that diligence usually comes when we are especially hungry for Him or when we are walking through trying times. We need to be disciplined enough to stay in a state of "diligence" as it pertains to going after the things of the Lord.

The Wife's Role #7

Intercessor, Discerner - Your intercession for your husband and family brings you assurance of God's hand in their lives. Exercise authority over the enemy in the name of Jesus. Do not fear the work of the enemy; be alert to his attacks. Ask the Holy Spirit to develop discernment within you and to clothe you with wisdom.

a. Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

b. 1 Thesselonians 5:17
pray continually

My Notes - "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:3 This verse greatly convicted me several years ago. The things I was praying for my husband were rooted in selfishness. I wanted him to be the Spirtual Leader, I wanted him to make more decisions, etc., but my motives were wrong. I wanted those things because I thought they would make life easier. We should be praying for them, for their benefit. If they are walking with the Lord those other things will fall into place in God's timing. Pray for his relationship with the Lord, pray that God's Word is opened up and relevant to him, that He will hear God's voice, that God will give him the confidence, strength, wisdom, discernment, understanding, compassion, etc. Pray the fruits of the Spirit over him. The Power of a Praying Wife is a VERY good book and will open your eyes to things you haven't thought of and as walking out that knowledge will strengthen your prayer life it will also strengthen your marriage. Also, understand how beneficial discernment can be in your own life and your relationship with your husband. It is very helpful to be able to discern motives. If your husband comes in for a long days work (Mine often sits on the hot pavement in 100* weather wiring gate operators.) and is short with you or doesn't respond the way you think he should, it's very helpful to be able to realize that he's exhausted and had a rough days work. Often as women we don't search the motives, we automatically take everything personally. They don't communicate in the same ways that we do , so discernement is very important. Think of things today that you need to start praying
over your husband, also, ask the Lord to reaval any selfish motives you may have had in your prayers for him.

Submitting with a Right-Heart

I just read a good blogpost on submitting with a right-heart and thought it be good to share.

Learning as They Grow : Defiant Submission isn't Really Submission

Amazing Morning...Amazing Daughter...Amazing Mom...AMAZING LIFE

I am so blessed!

My birthday is on Friday and we've been sort of joking around here about my birthday week. My Mom used to do little things that sometimes made it feel like we had a birthday week. Nothing major or expensive just little things. I told my husband I didn't have any needs or specific wants for my birthday, but I would love for my kitchen to be finished. It only needs a few small things and it will be completely finished. On Saturday he spent his morning putting the hardware on the rest of our cabinets. I was joking with him about that being the start of my birthday week. He said weeks begin on Monday, so if I even got to have a birthday week it wouldn't start until then. So that's the preface of the story.

Well this morning I woke up and laying on the bathroom vanity I had a note from my daughter. Here's what it said:
You are an amazing mom and I hope to be a mom like you are. Thank you for everything, thank you for cooking and cleaning, listening and understanding, disciplining and loving, buying and making, rocking and feeding, worrying and praying, reorganizing and redoing, driving and walking, teaching and preparing, reading and searching, being joyful and being kind, putting up with and paying attention to, forgiving and forgetting, weeping and smiling, being there for and getting ready, giving us a roof over our head and a bed to sleep in. Your children that you love so much, you can't even put it into words (and anyone else you com in contact with) all say thank you. But most importantly thank you for following God and having a relationship with Him (we wouldn't be here if you hadn't). Happy Birthday Week!

Ummmm.....WOW!!!!! I really don't even have words....that my 12 year old daughter would sit down and come up with those words for me....seriously.....I am so unworthy of that, but so very thankful for this Amazing life He has given me!

Then to top that off I walked into my kitchen and there was a little gift bag on the counter. The card said Happy Birthday Week, Monday and it was in my Mom's handwriting. There was a really cute necklace and earring set inside.

Needless to say, I plan to spend this week, thanking Him for another year. Asking Him what He wants me to do in the next one and reflecting on and praising Him for all that He has blessed me with!

The Wife's Role #6

Reflection of Gods Creativity - Each woman has unique talents and gifts. Don't compare yourself with others, but allow God to develop what is uniquely you. You reflect a specific aspect of God's personality, and ministry flowing from you will reflect that to others. Your gifts and talents should complement those of your husband; likewise , his gifts should complement yours. Couples should flow in harmony even if you are ministering or working separately.

a. 1 Corinthians 12:7
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

b. Titus 2:3-5

My Notes: God is so very creative. He did not make us all alike. We are all very different. We see those differences the most when we look at women and men. Your husband is not like you. He doesn't think the same way you do. He's very visual, you are more emotional/relational. In most cases you probably talk more than he does. You want someone to just listen to your frustrations, he is a fixer, so he wants to do something about them. His idea of clean and yours are probably a bit different. He probably parents a little differently than you. You have a choice to make.....stay constantly frustrated about your differences or be thankful for them. The outcome of your marriage depends largely on that choice. Choose to embrace that you are different, that God made two sepearte different parts that would one day join to make a whole. Your differences do complement each other, but you must choose to see the good in that. In our ministry I have seen time and time again how helpful it is that we are good at different things. Sunday's and Wednesday's are very fast paced for us. I don't have time to accomplish it all alone and it began to flow so much more smoothly when we realized what we were each naturally good at and allowed each other to operate in our own unique giftings. Ask the Lord to help you see your husbands uniqueness today, thank Him for making your husband different than you and strive each day to appreciate those differences.

The Wife's Role #5

Lover, Companion - Your first ministry is to your husband. Do not neglect him. Remain well kept and pleasing in appearance as an honor to him. Submit your flesh and emotions to the control of the Holy Spirit. Honor and respect him, compliment him. Be the physical lover he needs.

a. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

b. Titus 2:3-5
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

My Notes: Guess I'll address these in the order in which they are posted.
~ For YEARS I put many, many things before my husband, including my children, my extended family and my church. Thank the Lord a VERY wise woman in our church corrected me and became a mentor to me and it CHANGED my life. If you're not putting him first now.....do it! It will change your marriage.
~I've been a stay at home Mom for 12 1/2 year and like most people my body changed after I had my babies, so none of my pre-baby clothes fit. That made it very easy to fall into the sweats, jeans, t-shirts rut. When I had to go somewhere nice I would dress nice, but around the house I was frumpy. A few years ago the Lord really convicted me of that. Men are VERY visual and I could not complain about my husband not being as affectionate as I would like, not telling my I was beautiful, not desiring me (he really was doing those things, but I was very insecure) if I wasn't trying to be attractive to him. We cannot expect to woo them before we are married then stop when we get married. So, I began to really work on being attractive to him and it made a huge difference! I try to wear more feminine clothes when I'm home. Nothing fancy, but shirts and pants with a more feminine cut. I dress nicer when we are going anywhere together. Anybody wonder why I'm almost 34 and have long blonde hair??? He LOVES it! Make the effort, it's well worth it!
~The last one is rather personal, so I'll try to be discreet. 1st - Pray about ALL aspects of your marriage, including the physical ones. If he desires more than you do, then pray for that desire, etc. 2nd - Don't say no. Meet his physical needs. You may be tired, you may not want too, but in the end will you really regret it? He wants to feel desired by you, too. Turning him down is a blow to his ego. You can do it...

The next video is one of my favorite excerpts from the entire movie.

The Wife's Role #4

Reflection of God's Love - Caring for your husband and family should be a joy and reflect the heart of a servant. Forgive quickly, not keeping a record of wrongs. Draw strength from the Word (ability to weather circumstances and minister healing and wholeness). Use words and actions toward your husband and family to nurture, never destroy.

a. 1 John 4:19-21
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

b. John 13:35
35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
My Notes : I think the best way to walk this out is to truly understand what love is. Ephesians 5:2 Says, "and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
So we must remember that Christ's love was sacrificial. We have got to die to ourselves daily. We cannot walk around with a Me attitude thinking about what we "deserve", etc. That's not godliness. Christ was selfless and we are to imitate Him. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Tells us what love is: "4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails." We need to all take a personal assessment and see what of those things we are not, and ask the Lord to help us fix our weak areas.

Also, I think it is VERY important to learn you husband's love language. It has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Mine is Words of Affirmation and Patrick's is Acts of Service. Which means he doesn't receive or give love the same way that I do, so if I want to show that I love him I'll get a lot farther by doing something nice for him, than by saying something nice to him. It also helped me realize that when he's doing all the things for me that he does, he's showing his love for me.
Here is a brief synopsis of what each love language is: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/learn-the-languages/the-five-love-languages/
and Here are some quizes and assessments you can take to figure out what your languages are: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

Finally, 1 Peter 4:8 says, "8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." We should not be pointing out all of their faults to them or anyone else. We need to show love to them regardless of their faults and we need to make sure to focus on the things that we love about them.

New Posts

I've been posting some notes of Facebook for a couple of weeks now. I began because the Lord laid it on my heart to share some notes that I had received at a Bible Study on marriage some time ago. I shared those points on the wife's role along with my own notes. When I came to the end I felt called to continue these notes in some capacity. I have decided to also post those here. I'm behind in doing that, so I will post a few a day until I have them caught up.

The Wife's role #3

Administrator - Skillful and godly administration will increase and multiply that which the husband has provided. As the Spirit leads, wisley invest that which is saved to produce even more. Know God's plan for you; spend time daily in the Word and prayer with Him. Prosperity comes from seeking the face of the Lord and knowing Him.

a. Proverbs 31:13-27 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

b. Luke 19:13-26

My Notes: I think this one probably looks a little different in every home. In ours I handle all of the finances, scheduling, etc. My husband jokingly calls me his secretary. Do I invest our money? No, but I do work very hard to make it go farther. I'm very frugal. I do lots of research before a big purchase and look all over until I've found the best deal possible. I'm very cautious even about our food, trying to make sure that we eat healthy, but frugally. Administrating a household requires creativity. I wouldn't call myself creative, but I serve an amazingly creative God and He will supply all of my needs, so when I need some creative influence all I have to do is ask Him.
What ways can you be more creative or more efficient in as administrator over your home?

The Wife's Role #2

Helper - Comes from Hebrew word "to surround". Not a secondary role; vital. Surround your husband with: Support, Exhortation and Comfort. Make available to him all the godly qualities within you to help him develop into the man God has called him to be.

a. Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

b. Proverbs 31:10-12 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

My Notes: I think we all pretty much know what a helper is....but what strikes me right now is that being helpful is the opposite of being harmful, so if we are meant to be a helper to him then we are also meant not to be harmful to him. The most commonly harmful thing that I can think of a wife doing to her husband is to make him feel as if she doesn't respect him. Do you question his decisions? Do you trust his opinion or do you ask it of him and then go seek the opinions of others? Are you insulting, even in small ways? Do you listen to his ideas? Again, those things that I mentioned yesterday work here : Ask him how you can help him today, what you can do for him? Think of ways to show that you respect him; listen to him, tell him that his idea was a good one, or that you appreciate his hard work, etc. Step outside your comfort zone today, say something encouraging to him even if it's uncomfortable. Maybe he'll be taken off guard, maybe it will be uncomfortable to him too, maybe he won't know how to receive the help, or the compliment.....but he'll never forget it....