I Think I Will Take a Little Vacation Too

My oldest 2 kids have been attending Vacation Bible School at a neighboring church this week. They always enjoy going to Bible School, but they especially look forward to this one. This is a large church that a lot of their friends attend, so they learn biblical truths while rekindling friendships. Its a win win.

I have enjoyed myself this week as well. I have so much that is screaming for my attention right now that I'm having a hard time concentrating.

I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge which is overworking my creativity to post something every single day in July. I am finishing up tagging clothes for a consignment sale in a few weeks. I have over 60 hairbows to complete (this month). I need to make 2 flower girl dresses for a wedding in August. I need to finish my Virtue Training Bible so I can write my review & post my giveaway! We have started remodeling the dining room. The tin for the new roof was delivered yesterday. We were supposed to pick up a pool yesterday as well, but that fell through which means we are still on the lookout for a pool. Planning on getting the roof on tonight & tomorrow. We are going camping next week. Austin has a trip to Raleigh next week. I have a vendor show in 2 weeks. Cheer leading starts back up next week. And I really need to start planning our school year!

So with all those things to choose from, you would think I would take advantage of the "extra" time while the kids were gone. Nope! You would be wrong! Instead, I have laid Logan down for bed a few minutes early & have truly enjoyed the quiet!

Now, excuse me, I'm sure that something needs to be done!

And it All Turns to Salt

In this week's chapter of Bad Girl's of the Bible, we read about Lot's wife.

Here is another well known Bible character who is not even given a name. I have a couple thoughts about that lack of information.

How many times are you referred to as so & so's wife or Billy Joe's mom or Big Daddy's daughter? A lot of times we lose ourselves in the shadows of other people. We feel insignificant. We wonder if we are even important.

That's one theory, but dear Bad Girl, God knows your name even when others forget. God loves you through your faults and failures.

The real reason I believe God chose not to tell us any more information about some very notorious people throughout history was so we could identify with them that much more. Think about it, these no name individuals could actually be any one of us.

How many times have we looked around us & thought everything was perfect? How many pretty knick knacks bring a smile to our faces? How often do we find ourselves immersed for hours in the latest gadget? How far in debt do we continually fall just so we can keep up with that proverbial Jones family?

Now, how often, when we start bragging about how fabulous we are & what shiny goodies we have, do we take all the credit? Look what I did. Look what I have. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.

Even though we are blessed with more than we deserve, how often do we give credit where credit is due?

Lot's wife forgot about good & evil, right & wrong. She was more concerned with the here & now. When she thought everything she held dear to her was being threatened, she didn't look to God for guidance. The only thing she could think about was saving her precious existence. She wanted her home, her things. I'm sure she was concerned for her family & friends, but she was much more worried about herself to see the lasting consequences.

Have we ever fallen into this trap?

We need to get up earlier in order to make it to work a few minutes sooner. We need to work later because we need those overtime hours to pay for that thingy we bought last week. We have to swing by a drive through because we worked too late to cook supper. We need to stay up later to do one more load of laundry. Oh yeah, we have to get up earlier the next morning to try to finish that project for work that we didn't have time to do last night.

Oops, we meant to study our bible . Oops, we meant to check the kids homework. Oops, we meant to call that friend who has been sick. Oops, we meant to kiss our husband goodbye before he left. Oops, we meant to let our family know we love them. OOPS! Maybe there will be time later.

Unfortunately, later never came for Lot's wife.

Take time for what really matters. Tell your loved ones what they mean to you. Quit holding onto the material things that won't matter when life is over. Don't look back with longing in your heart at the sins of the past. Give God glory for the miracles in your life.

Don't let your life turn to salt before your very eyes.

A Little More Lovin ~ Bad Girls of the Bible

We all love to be complemented, right?

We all love to be told we look nice, right?

We all love to be desired by someone, right?

There's nothing wrong with that.......or is there?

How far are you willing to go to get that compliment?

How much are you willing to lose just to have others tell you how beautiful you are?

How much are you willing to sacrifice to feel desired?

Is our need to be desired more important than all the things we used to hold dear?

Potiphar was a man who seemingly had it all. He had a prestigious job in the palace guard. He probably lived in luxury. He more than likely had many friends. And his wife was beautiful, I'm sure. 

Potiphar's wife was a woman that many others envied. She had an important husband. She probably had every "modern" convenience available. And she had the attention of almost everyone.

Everyone except the one person she sought after the most.

Genesis 39 doesn't tell us the whole triangle of Potiphar, his wife, & Joseph, but if we can use our imagination for just a few minutes, we can see the bigger picture & the underlying problems.

I believe that Potiphar had become so important in his job that somewhere along the line, he forgot to keep his wife close to his heart. In turn, Potiphar's wife felt neglected. She had everything she could ask for, except her husband.

How many times have we been there?

Potiphar's wife started seeking attention from every possible source in an effort to repair that missing piece of her heart. But when her efforts didn't turn out the results she was looking for, she sought to destroy everyone around her.

Have any of us tried to substitute other things or people for what we were really needing?

Think about Potiphar's wife before you put on that outfit, fluff your hair a few extra times, reapply your lipstick, or bathe in that intoxicating scent all because you know there is a chance that a certain someone might see you. Especially a certain someone who is completely off limits.

Are you interested in learning more about this strange little love triangle? Come join us as we study the Bad Girls of the Bible over at Christian Momma and find out more.

God's Word in My Heart

I had the privilege to review the ebook God's Word in My Heart recently. Yeah, what fun!

Jennifer Thorson from The Purposeful Mom wrote this little treasure in the hopes of making scripture memory easier for everyone. It includes lots of fun ideas to help your children (& you) learn God's word.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:"

We, as parents, have a responsibility to our children, ourselves, & God to obey His commandments & share His word.  

Most Christian parents that I know already incorporate scripture memory into their lives, but I'm sure we could all use some fresh ideas & a little encouragement.  

God's Word in My Heart shares some of those new ideas. I LOVE how Jenn listed ABC verses. How fun would this be while teaching your little ones their letters?!  

We have actually been using one of her ideas in our Keepers of the Faith group. The kids are memorizing a few verses while adding motions to it.

My family actually uses a scripture memory box that I found out about from The Homeschool Classroom.

As you can see, we are still a work in progress, but it has helped tremendiously with my memorization skills as well as a constant reminder that we need to say our verses. I am the world's worst person to forget this part of my day!

If you are looking for a little extra encouragement in walking closer with God, check out Jenn's blog or her page on Facebook & give her book a try! 

Click here to visit The Purposeful Mom.

The Original Bad Girl

Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Do you ever think that everyone is watching your every move? Do you ever think "Why me"? Do you ever wish you could change the past?

You are not alone.

I can't see the past & I can't predict the future, but I understand a lot of things. No matter the make, model, or year, people are still people. We all feel pain. We all feel fear. We all feel disappointment. We all make mistakes that can haunt us for much longer than they should. We all hold grudges when we should just let things go.

You know how bad you feel after you have just made, what seems at the time, the biggest mistake of all time. You spend hours, days, sometimes even years, dwelling on those few moments of utter stupidity. You spend time, energy, even money trying to fix things or change the past. You cry, scream, beg, & cry some more trying to fugue things out.

Of course, we are all over reacting.

That moment where it seemed our world stopped turning, somehow, didn't stop everyone else's world from turning.

But what if it did affect everyone else? How would we react then? What if that bad judgement call changed the world as we know it?

One colossal blunder rocked Eve's world. One slip altered her very existence. One single decision changed the future for every single person.

How would you like to deal with that for the rest of your life?

Compared to her, our sins don't seem so serious.

Eve was the original bad girl. She had everything she could possibly ask for - a handsome husband, a beautiful home, the best food to eat. She lived in paradise. But somehow, she wasn't happy. For some reason, she wanted more.

Isn't that the way we all are? Even when we have more than we need, even when we have more than we could ask for, we are never truly satisfied.

I've heard it my whole life..."If only Eve hadn't eaten that apple." "If only Eve had said no." "If only Eve walked away."

We are so quick to judge other people because we KNOW that we would behave differently.

I hate to break it to you, but you have no idea how you would react in a certain situation until you have to face it.

Don't just assume the worst because someone has a less than stellar moment. Don't throw stones when someone handles things in a different way than you would.

Most importantly, don't forget we are all "BAD" at one time or another.

We will be studying the Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs over at La Toya Edwards' blog for the next few weeks. I hope you can join us. Maybe you will discover your inner "Bad Girl" & learn from her mistakes.

How Bad Are You?

All of us have a past. Most of us have more than our fair share that we are ashamed of. Some of us have made smart decisions most of our lives. None of us are perfect.

I love reading stories (whether from the Bible or where ever) about strong women with good morals, but I identify more with the prodigal daughter. Yes, I realize that in God's word, it is the prodigal son, but in all actuality, so many of us are prodigals in our own way.

I am excited about the Bad Girls of the Bible book club starting tomorrow over at La Toya Edwards' blog Christian Momma.

I hope that you can find time to join in this study either on her blog or over at her Facebook page. You might learn something about yourself that you never knew before.

How Do You Use your Training Manual

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Do you realize just how much promise is in this one verse? There are so many verses in the Bible that I LOVE. This is one of them. I love being reminded of God's promises, of the fact that He loves & cares for us, of knowing that there is more than the here & now.

After working on my training manual all summer (obviously I didn't work too hard or it wouldn't have taken me that long), I am finally done.

Some friends & I got together & decided to make our own Child Training Bible. We wanted to start  actively seeking God's face in what His Word said about certain behaviors. We all want good moral children, but do we know how to help them become that way? We can tell our kids all day long how they should act, but until we show them God's Word & He speaks to their hearts, they will continue to act in their old sinful nature. 

So to make that "job" a little easier, God impressed the idea of a "Child Training Bible" onto a lady by the name of Mindy's heart. There are 20 negative character traits addressed in the CTB that we all need to work on. Everything from anger to laziness, disobedience to wrong friendships, and then a section of Gospel as well. Thank you Mindy for minding the Lord! 

To make your CTB, all you need are a Bible of your choice (you KNOW that I am KJV, but any Bible will work), the character traits, lists of verses, colored sticky notes, & colored pens, pencils, or crayons (I personally like the Twistables Colored Pencils).

We haven't started using our CTB yet, but the kids have seen me working on it & are very interested in it. Makenzie has even asked me a few times when I was going to "train" them.

I can't wait to see how this helps our daily struggles.

Maybe you should start one too!

Let the Games Begin!

Let me just say that I LOVE to read! Give me a book & my imagination any day over a television. Have I always been that way? Maybe not, but I have loved books as far back as I can remember. When I start a really good book, it becomes an obsession with me. The world stops turning, my thoughts stay surrounding the characters & events, & I can't put it down!

With that being said....

I have been listening to all the hype surrounding The Hunger Games & have had mixed feelings on it. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what it was even about but I heard people talking left & right about it. Then the movie came out & it was surrounded in controversy about whether to allow your teenage kids to watch it (even though its supposedly written to the teen audience).

So, curiosity got the best of me & I put my name on the waiting list at the library.

I started reading it on Tuesday & I have become a believer. I was enjoying the book but then I got to the last few hours before the "Games" started & I was HOOKED! I'm over halfway through the book. If you know me, you know I DON'T have time for this, but I can't put it down for very long.

The part that really amazes me is even though this story is completely fiction & set in the future, it COULD happen! The way our crazy world is going & the control that the government is trying to have over us doesn't make this such a long shot. I LOVE those kind of books. The ones where you can actually seem what's going on.

So, yes, I'm a fan! Yes, I'm now dying to know what happens. Yes, I will see the movie. Will I let my kids watch it? Ahhhh, I don't know yet. Maybe!