Life's Hassles

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is
more than these is from the evil one.  Matthew 5:37

Ever picked up the phone to check on the status of a bill or ask about unusual charges and get nowhere fast?  Life is full of situations where simple things become big hassles.  Recently, the phone rang and I  became very confused when I learned a few clerical errors at a company caused a huge bill and lot's of hassles. 

Do you long for the days that you could actually talk to a person, preferably one who was knowledgeable about their company and your situation?  A quick phone call or letter can immediately turn our day into chaos.  I'm sure I'm not alone with the time spent on the phone or sending faxes to clear up simple mistakes that have become big hassles.

When in the middle of this latest hassle, I thought of the verse in Matthew about speaking exactly what you mean.  Let your yes, be yes and if you say no, let it mean no.  The run around that we sometimes face when dealing with companies on the phone with confusing situations is certainly the exact opposite of what this verse is talking about.  When we deal with people in business or relationships, we should strive to be honest and not play a game with our words becoming misleading and deceiving.  Our words should bring honor to God and the way we handle ourselves in conversations should be honest and with the truth as our goal.  Our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no with no hidden intentions.  Sometimes those with this honest quality seem to stand out in our society, because we see so much of the opposite.  May we each strive to make our words a reflection of what is right!

Joy to the World

94 Days Until Christmas!

Making a few Christmas cards each week 

will certainly get me in the mood for Christmas!

Here's a few new Christmas cards 

 Cricut Cartridges:

Storybook & Winter Frolic

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

One time a year we are reminded about

the joy that came to earth when

God sent His son, Jesus to be born.

Just as the song says, "Let every heart prepare him room",
may we prepare room in our hearts for Christ not only
during the Christmas season, but all year long. 
We should carry this joy with us always and
be ready to sing..."Joy to the World"!

Christmas Gift Tags

My nickname with my family is "Christmas Kid", because I have always loved Christmas so much!  Getting a head start on Christmas preparations, I decided to begin making some gift tags to go on presents.  

Cricut cartridge:  Winter Frolic

Patterned Paper:  KI

Prism Cardstock:  Die Cuts With a View

Ribbon:  White Satin & Patterned is American Crafts

 

Of course I won't be giving anything as special for Christmas as the special gift God gave us when He sent His son Jesus to be born, live a perfect life and die to give us forgiveness of our wrong/sin so we can
have a relationship with God if we accept this gift.

 

This Christmas I will celebrate this precious gift of love!

Simple Things in Life

On my way out the door I noticed a sight that I've seen all Summer, but never really took the time to watch.  A full spiked limb shrub is nested at the side of my house and on this day it housed several bumblebees.  The bees were unaware of anyone watching them and were content on their work.  They purposely worked a flower at a time on the shrub.  I watched them doing what bees do best and thought of how intense their focus was on their task.  

Bees know what their purpose is and they accomplish it despite distractions.  My watching didn't change their busy work, nor did starting my car.  These simple things that we see each day can remind of us a truth that we can hold onto in our lives.  What is your purpose?  Are you working steadily toward that purpose or do distractions pull you away from what is really important?  

Being created by God we each have a purpose to love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.  We are to love each other the same way as Christ loves us.  Our purpose as we go through each day is to remember who we are and just as the bees were busy doing their work, we should share the love of Christ and not allow life to distract us from this goal.  It's the simple things in life that make the most difference!

Clean Up Aisle Bathroom!

Ever hear those words..."Mom, I don't feel so good"?  That phrase brings one expression to most Mother's face...panic...terror and the oh, no expression.  My first thought after hearing those words is...here we go again!

I've always teased that my bathroom was the cleanest part of my house while my son was young, because I cleaned it everyday and sometimes several times a day in accord to the latest stomach virus or potty training mishap.  Let me just say a little disclaimer here...if you have never taken care of children & their mishaps you may be offended by this next statement; however, there is just not any other way to say this, but to speak plainly.  Puke, poop and other fun events are part of Motherhood at all stages and ages of your child's life.  Most times, when these fun surprises visit the first words uttered are MMMMOOOOMMM!   

After the initial "oh no" look we dive into righting the wrong that has visited our bathroom, that is to say if they made it to the bathroom and if the answer is no, then that is an entirely different animal.  Ha.  The task of cleaning up all the mess hasn't ever bothered me much and the one thing that always melts my heart after the smelly task is done is three words that I hear from little boy...thank you, Mom.  

Thank you, Mom could right most any situation and is certainly worth a little clean up in the bathroom.  While sickness visited our house again recently, I began to think of being thankful even in the middle of the yuckies.  Are we thankful in the middle of the muck in life and do we express it to God when we make a mess of our life and ask Him for forgiveness and He gives it.  He wipes away our wrong doing/sin and makes us clean again, just like cleaning up after being sick.  Do we say, "Thank you Dad" or do we expect Him to clean up our sin and us never express our appreciation? 

My son certainly didn't have to say thank you, Mom, because I would have cleaned up anyway.  Him expressing gratitude just made my role in His life more appreciated.  I enjoyed hearing that He loved me and thanked me for caring for him.  God is the same way and He will forgive us if we are sincere when we ask for forgiveness, but enjoys hearing our thankfulness for the role He plays in our lives.  We should have love and gratitude in our hearts just as our children do and tell Him, "Thank you Dad for your love and forgiveness!"

My Feet...His Hands

Thinking back to when my son was little, I remember the times when he was sick so vividly.  Watching little ones and not being able to make them better just leaves us feeling helpless.  Other than trips to the Dr. and medicines the only comfort I could really give him was love.  I don't remember when I actually started this now tradition, but at some point I began holding his feet and pulling him close to me for comfort.

As he grew, this measure of comfort became a normal part of treating the common cold or flu.  When he grew too big to hold or his feet would drag the ground, he started putting his feet in my lap when I sat down on the couch.  Even now, as a much bigger son I can count on occasionally have feet plop in my lap when I sit down and someone is not feeling so good.  

I began to think about how we need comfort and am reminded about times when our world is turned upside down and we need someone to show us love and hold our feet.  Jesus washed His disciples feet showing His love and servant heart.  What a comfort to them to know that Jesus loved them so much that he would even touch their feet and bring them comfort by washing them.  When we need comfort, God is there and gives us love, understanding and direction through times when we are weary and need Him. 

There is a song that is very precious to me called Your Hands by JJ Heller. 

Click here to listen:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlL8LayF0uw

I feel in my heart this song describes so many hurting people who need God's hands to hold their feet!  He is ready with hands open!