Snow Day in Virginia

The snow is coming down here in Virginia. We currently have 10" on the ground! I'll post pictures next week.

I've updated my examiner page with snow day recipes including hot chocolate and snow cream, and will update tomorrow with fun things to do on a snowy day, so come by and check it out. Leave me a comment there if you have time!

Click the examiner link in the previous paragraph to go to the recipe article, or the "Tips for Moms" button below to go to my main examiner page and see all the articles. Thanks for visiting!

I'll Start My Diet on Monday!

So how are your goals going? You know the ones. Maybe you are trying to lose weight, or read the Bible in a year. Maybe this is going to be the year where going to spend less time on the computer, or keep the house straight ALL the time. And if the goals are not going well, you feel like a failure. And maybe you give up.

Being a Type A perfectionist myself, I set lofty goals. And these goals always start with a new year, or a new month, or a Monday. I'd never consider starting a diet on a Tuesday! That just doesn't make sense! You need to start at the beginning. But when you fail on a Monday, and you have to weight wait until the next Monday to begin anew, that is a whole lot of time to wallow in failure, (and chocolate.)

But God doesn't want you to wait until Monday, or next month, or Jan 1, 2011. The Bible tells us God's mercy is new EVERY day! He loves you, and wants you to dedicate your goals to him. Through His strength we can achieve. And when we do fail, because our flesh is weak, we need not beat ourselves up for days. Because His mercy is new every day.

Lamentations 3:22,23 -- It is through the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. (21st Century King James Version)

Proverbs 16:3 -- Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

The Power of Hope

Have you ever felt hopeless? Divorce, death of a spouse or child, critical illness, and job loss are all reasons that provoke hopelessness. In our failing economy, many are losing jobs, homes, vehicles and retirement value. How can we remain hopeful in bad times? What is the power of hope?

To find out, join me over at Titus 2 in Action by clicking the button below.

A Psalm by Chatty Kelly

A number of Psalms are acrostic poems where each line or verse begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 34 and Psalm 25 are two examples of this.

Edie at Rich Gifts inspired readers a while back to try to write a Psalm using that style to begin with, only using the English alphabet. Thanks Edie. Here is mine.

Almighty God
Beloved
Create in me a clean heart
Do not turn your face from me
Excellent Most High
Father
Giver of all things
Holy, holy, holy
Immanuel - God with us
Jehovah,
Knowledge comes only from You.
Lover of my soul,
My Redeemer,
Never leave me, never forsake me.
Open my heart to your word.
Prince of Peace
Quiet my mind, so I hear only you.
Restore me.
Save me from my sins, O Lord.
Teach me your ways, that they may be mine.
Understanding only comes from you.
Vanish not from me, but stay with me.
Whether in want or plenty let me be satisfied in you.
Xcellent are you, oh God.
Yahweh - I AM
Zephyr - Your voice whispers.

Why not try writing your own?

My Mess

I was talking to someone the other day, and they said the phrase "God turns my mess into HIS MESSage." Wow. I just loved that.

My life can be messy. Seems like those same issues keep coming up and I wonder if I'll ever get it right! At the same time, I can look at some of my old issues that I've overcome and see that they are now a testimony to God's sovereignty over my life.

Truth is, we all have messy things in our life. I'm not talking about housekeeping. Our sin, our mistakes, our failures make our life a mess. Yet, when we trust in God and keep working through Him on our behaviors, he can change us. And when that happens, what a testimony! A chance to witness about the difference in our lives because of Jesus.

How about you? Feel like a mess sometimes? Why not turn your mess over to God, and see what testimony comes of it. A life turned to Christ. God turns our mess into His message.

1 Thessalonians 1:8a -- The Lord's message rang out from you...your faith in God has become known everywhere.

Xenophobia

According to Wikipedia, xenophobia is a dislike and/or fear of that which is unknown or different from oneself. It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe a fear or dislike of foreigners or of people significantly different from oneself, usually in the context of visibly differentiated minorities.

As Christians, we can sometimes be so sheltered in our own little world of like-minded folks, that we develop xenophobia. Different classes, faiths, lifestyles and races make us uncomfortable. We don't want to be around them. We can even come to fear them.

I can be guilty of this at times. When I recently went to the homeless shelter I was afraid, or more accurately anxious. These folks were "different" that me. But you know what? They weren't. They were just like me, only in poorer circumstances.

How are we to be the salt and light of the world*, if we don't go out in it, if we are afraid of those different than us? The Bible tells us hundreds of times, "Do not be afraid." I've heard it is the most repeated phrase by Jesus in the Bible. Even though we are not to be of the world, we are in fact called to be in it. **

Today I reminding you, if you are already grounded in your faith, and myself to share the love of Jesus to someone "different" than you. You might find they are more like you than you thought. And you may introduce someone to Jesus who has never met Him, or has only heard judgement instead of His mercy and grace to those love Him.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (The Message) -- Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!




Referenced verses (NIV):
*Matthew 5:13 - 16 -- "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

**John 17:14-16 -- I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

Obedience Training

My dog Buddy is a Boston Terrier. Being a small (14 lb) dog with short hair, he hates the cold weather! When I take him out in the winter time, I have to catch him in the house, leash him up and drag him out. He quickly does his business and then runs for inside.

However, every time I open the front door (whether to answer the door bell, get the mail, or take one of the other dogs out) he darts out the door, regardless of the weather! Off he runs, and I cannot catch that quick dog no matter what I do. So I have to wait until he is finished frollicking, and then he comes back on his own terms. It drives me crazy!

I'm a lot like Buddy. When God opens a door for me, I'm hesistate to go through it. I don't know what God has in store for me, so I often back away. However, if I see a door open that I want to go through, I might make the mistake of dashing out without first checking to see if its really God's plan.

Just as Buddy risks getting hit by a car, or attacked by a larger dog when he runs ahead of me, I risk trouble when I run ahead of God.

Looks like Buddy and I both need some obedience training!

2 John 1:6 -- And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Proverbs 19:16 -- He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

Jeremiah 7:23, 24 -- but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.