Filthy Rags

I am amazed sometimes at how God literally will put a bullseye on something we need to work on. Our ladies Bible study has been dealing with the issue of anger. We have been watching S.M. Davis' series on anger. Yesterday was our study night. That morning I read my devotional and was just blown away. The verse was Colossians 3:12.


12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The NIV uses the word clothe instead of put on. The devotional I was reading was relating this passage to what people see us wearing. Not physical clothing but spiritual clothing. I can wake up in the morning and choose to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. That is what I want to do. Too often though I put on impatience, anger, wrath, and all the other things that I desire to get rid of in my life like selfishness and pride. When I put on these things I am literally putting on filthy rags. That is what I am showing my children. I am teaching them to put on filth. What an image. Whenever I get angry or impatient I am showing my children filth. I desire above all else to show my husband,my children, and my God the clothing of a follower of God. I desire to let compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience reign in my life. It is a choice I need to make each morning before my feet hit the floor. I need to choose to put on these things in the middle of the day when I am tempted to put on my filthy clothes.
I am reminded of the Febreeze commercials where the people are blindfolded. They are taken to places that are disgusting and filthy and they are asked what they smell. They smell the febreeze all over the place and none of the filth. That is how my filthy clothes of pride and anger are. I have them on a lot but no one knows. I hide and mask it. I think we are all good at covering up those parts of our life that we don't want anyone to see. The bad thing is we hide it from strangers and acquaintances but the ones we love the most see it and are often the recipients of our anger and impatience and general filth. Shouldn't the ones we love get to see the compassion and love and kindness more than the people we may not even know.
I determine to let my husband and children get the good things in my life. I want them to know without a doubt that they have my love. I don't want to be remembered for my filthy clothes. I want to be remembered by the good things I put on every day. Yes. it's hard. Especially when I have been putting on this filth for years. I am working hard to study the Bible and glean information from those who have been where I am. I want to change. Not for my husband and children, but for my grandchildren and the generation that will come after me. How will I be remembered? By my filth. I pray that this will not be the case. Pray for me as I endeavor each day to put on the clothing of love and peace and patience and understanding.

Valentines Day

Carl and I have been trying not to eat out as much. For Valentines Day I decided to make a nice dinner at home. I planned a nice breakfast of Raspberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast. All I can say is wow! They were so yummy and there were no pieces left for Carl. I decorated the table all for Valentines Day. The kids thought it was really cool. For lunch we went out to Moe's. I know I said we were trying not to eat out as much but I knew that I was going to be busy preparing for dinner so I wanted a little break. I came home and started cooking. I made cupcakes from scratch. The frosting I bought (I know - cheating right). I then made homemade foccia bread but cut it into heart shapes. I put olive oil, salt, and feta cheese on them. They were awesome and there are none left. My next thing was homemade tiramisu. It is Carl's favor tie dessert. I made homemade ladyfingers (twice actually). The first time I made them I did not beat the eggs enough and even though they tasted good they were flat. The second attempt was much better. The kids were happy because they got to eat all the first batch. It tasted okay. The coffee was too strong. I will make it again but with a weaker coffee. We had chicken alla cacciatore, green beans, roastedpotatoes, and pink lemonade punch (pink lemonade, sprite, and raspberry sherbet.) The kids loved it all. Carl got me a food processor, candles, tea, and popcorn. I know they say that appliances for presents are not good but I am very excited. When I went to Walmart last Thursday I hit the toy clearance jackpot. I got toy story 3 figurines for $1. Those were for the little guys. They also got a Cars 2 aqua doodle pad that I found for $4. The big ones got Ben 10 figurines that I found for $1. Everyone got a Cars 2 lego set that was regularly $60 but I found it for $10. The kids were overjoyed because they normally don't get anything for Valentines Day. My favorite part of the evening was when Carl and the boys joined me in reading scripture cards I had made. Each card had a verse that dealt with God's love for us printed on the back. It was a great day, one where I showed my sweet blessing how much I love them.

Catch Up

Wow! It has been a busy month. February always is. Two close birthdays and Valentines Day. Alex turned 13 on the 3rd and Carl turned 40 on the 7th. It was a great time. Alex's brithday fell on a Friday. He spent Wednesday through Saturday at my mom's celebrating with them. They came to the house on Saturday to celebrate with another family from church. That gave Carl time to set up his present. We bought him a trampoline. He has been asking for one for years. We finally decided that it would be a good investment. He was so surprised. He loved it and the kids jump on it everyday. Carl's birthday was a big one too. He wanted to have a party but with homeschooling, nursing Tirzah, taking care of eight children, and all the other things I do during the day I did not have time to plan one. I fixed him a good dinner and decorated the house. We made poster board cards for him and posted them to the garage so he would see them when he came in. I also made him two apple pies, his favorite. It was a small family affair but we had a good time. Carl and I dropped the kids off at my mom's house on Friday after his birthday so we could go out. We had a parenting seminar on Friday night so we out for brunch at the Farmer's Market Restaurant. We had a good time and Carl finally got his birthday present. He has been researching tools. He needed a neww drill and decided on a Kobalt set. He is quite pleased. It was a busy week for me with big, special meals to fix but it was all worth it to make my precious men feel special.

Menu for Alex's Birthday
Daddy's Special Hamburgers
Hot Dogs
Chips
Ice Cream Cake

Presents
Trampoline
Art supplies
T-shirts (silly, I know)

Menu for Carl's birthday
Haystacks
Rice
Black Beans
Apple Pie

Presents
Kobalt tool set

Wonderful Weather

We have been blessed with such a wonderful winter. I mean, my kids have worn short sleeves a lot this season. Right now I am listening to them play outside on the new trampoline. The trampoline has been a great motivator in getting school work done by the way. Everyone has just been commenting on how great a winter this has been. This morning though the Lord showed me that not everyone is enjoying such a blessed winter. There was an article in the paper about the cold spell in Europe. Russia especially has been hard hit with temperatures hitting 30 below zero in some places. I cannot even imagine how cold that is. The Lord just caused me to look outside my own little world and see the suffering of others a world away. I have just been praying all day for the people in these areas. Especially the Christians. I pray that the missionaries in these areas would be blessed today. I pray that they would use this time to be able to reach people for God's name. The homeless and the poor are the ones that are dying. I pray that the Christians would reach out to them and help provide for their physical needs. In doing so I pray that they would be able to meet the spiritual needs of these people as well. That is what the Lords laid on my heart this morning. I pray that if you have a moment today pray for those experiencing a drastically different winter than we are.

Such a Blessed Day

As I sit here snuggled up with my two girls I reflect upon this day where we celebrated 13 years of being blessed with Alex. I am truly thankful for every day that the Lord has given me with him. He is a blessing. We did not actually get to see Alex on his true birthday, which was yesterday. He spent the past three nights at my Mom and Dad's celebrating with them. He had a blast just being by himself. They went to the Museum of Life and Science and Dick's Sporting Goods and Toys R Us. My mom presented him with a wonderful compass that had a cross on it. It was beautiful. He also got a lot of art supplies which he immediately put to use. Carl and I added to his art supplies too. We also got him his own t-shirts which may seem like a silly gift but Carl and Alex are always getting their t-shirts mixed up. They are very similar in size. He was excited because his are different than Carl's so they will easily be identified. We also got him a big present. He has wanted a trampoline for years and we finally bought one. The kids spent the whole day jumping. We invited a family from church over. They have six boys and one girl about the same ages as ours. Their oldest turns 13 in June. Their youngest turns 2 very soon. The kids had a blast jumping on the trampoline and playing video games. Sam and Caleb fell asleep early and now Tirzah and Esther are lying next to me. I took a bath and asked Esther to watch Tirzah. When I came out of my bathroom they were both sleeping snuggled up next to each other. I am truly a blessed woman. Despite all the struggles and trials of raising children who will bring glory and honor to God I am truly blessed. Raising children who have a strong relationship with the Lord is hard work. It has its moments where you want to give up and it seems like nothing will ever get better. It is the Lord giving us days like today that give me the strength to go on. This day was not without its challenges though. The trampoline had a piece that was defective. Sam screamed most of the day and I pulled a muscle in my back. Carl and I also had a disagreement over the trampoline. Despite all those things I say that I am truly blessed. I have a wonderful husband and eight healthy children. I have a God who loves me and only wants the best for me. A blessed life I have.

My first Teenager

Happy Birthday to my sweet Alex. I finally can say that I have a teenager. In the next few years that I have with you I hope that I can show you what it means to live a life for Christ. I pray that He will be your guide your whole life long. I pray for you every day. I pray that God would reveal to you the kind of man He wants you to be. God has gifted you with a wonderful opportunity in your artistic ability. He can use you in a great and mighty way if you let him. Never lose sight of who God is and what he has done for you. May your life be blessed. Pray to Him daily and read His Word every day. Lift up His Holy Name. Bring glory to Him in everything you do. You have such a sweet, caring spirit. Never let that go. Never forget that I love you no matter what. There is nothing you can do and no where you can go that will diminish my love for you. You are my son and will forever have my love. Never forget that the love a mother has for her son is nothing compared to the love the Father has for His children. May pleasing Him be the main focus of your life. I love you.

Mom