Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sweet Sundays
Posted in just my thoughts
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Thought I would post this here, as I have been neglecting my blog... I wrote this on another blog in the comments: Sundays: We go to worship service, and either come home and eat lunch, or go out if we need to be in town for some reason. I love Sundays that are not filled with busyness and noise. I really love to have a quiet house, and and take a nap, either on the couch, or in bed, snuggled under the covers. Or, if it is nice out, maybe go for a walk, ALONE, and enjoy the peacefulness that comes when enjoying the great outdoors and all of HIS creation, noisy or not. There is something calming in hearing distant sounds of hogs at feeding time, dogs barking, birds singing, leaves rustling in the breeze, kids playing outside, the sound of my breathing, and the sound of my own feet hitting the pavement. There is a sense of connectedness to GOD and HIS creation that comes with the smell of fresh cut hay, or even natural fertilizer, the sight of fluffy white clouds against a blue sky, hawks gliding down to catch some prey, butterflies fluttering, cats stalking insects, the sweet scent of honeysuckle in the air...and the list could go on.....it speaks to me...it says, "you are a part of this! YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made!" :) |
Monday, December 22, 2008
icky sick, contentment/discontentment, selfishness, vicks vapor rub, halls...part 1
Posted in just my thoughts
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Whew! Who wants to continue reading after that title!? LOL ICKY SICK: Friday, I was sick. Icky sick. I vomited. Worthless all day long and and did not sleep good that night. (had a headache/backache and stuffy/runny nose all night) Bless my daughter's heart, while I lay in bed, she spent at least an hour and a half on the phone with her cousin, cleaning. Yep....they were phone cleaning buddies. They were racing to each clean two rooms in their home. The living room and kitchen looked so nice! I have a friend who is my phone cleaning buddy. Yep....we strap that phone to our heads...and clean while we chat. It must be on my cell phone, though, because I can "headband it" to my head....and I have free mobile to mobile....so, if we have time...we can get a lot done. Come on, admit it, who else has a phone cleaning buddy? I told my girlfriend about my dd and her cousin, and she replied, "Awe, they're mini us"! roflol! Saturday I felt pretty good...a little stuffy, but not bad. I cleaned the bathtub and toilet, and washed the sheets off the bed, and did a load or two of wash. Sunday, I was miserable...stuffy runny all day, and into the night.....took Alka Seltzer cold plus, rubbed vicks on my nose, and sucked a halls while blogging. CONTENTMENT/DISCONTENMENT: That topic has been on my mind for various reasons lately. Our Sunday School Teacher has asked what would we ladies would like to study on. She will do an online Bible study via Youtube. This was MY response that I commented her: "As far as something "I" would be interested in studying....what about contentment/discontentment? Is discontentment a sin? I don't "think" I am discontent, at least not for very long, or too often, or not about big things. I don't dwell on things, ya know? But I was JUST thinking about it as I was reading a family member's blog. A cousin of mine and his wife have regular date nights, and just for 2 seconds I allowed myself to think, "I wish we did that", but that is not who my hubby is. A date night with him would be helping him when he cuts wood. I'm fine with not having date nights. :) I KNOW he loves me. I have to say I am pretty well content, but what causes discontentment in our lives? Is it because in that moment we are "self-focused", not getting what we want, WHEN we want it? What are some of the consequences of discontentment found in the Bible?" ------------------------------------------- I talked to my mom a little about this. Read her blog post here. Now, if my mom can be content, I (and anyone of us) can surely be content, in any situation. (you would have to know her husband) He did not change, not in the ways she would have liked. But GOD changed her heart, and gave her peace. So I was thinking while laying in bed tonight (really last night...look at the time, but you kwim) again about what causes discontentment. I asked the question do we get discontent when we don't get our way, and I guess that is a part of it. But deeper than that is, we are discontent when our needs (or perceived needs) are not being met. (or met to our own carnal satisfaction) Who cares for us? Who clothes us? Who sacrificed his life for ours? Who feeds us? Who knows our worth? Who knows our heart's desires? Who is the Alpha and the Omega? Who is creator of all, and LORD of Lords, KING of Kings? Does HE not know best? I think sometimes in all our discontent, (whining, wishing, tantrum throwing, pouting...etc) we are "stuck in the wilderness" of what ever situation we are unhappy with. If we would all just be still, and know that I He is GOD, and cast all our cares upon him, and let HIM truly deal with the situation in his time, we will be content. Just remember how long the Israelites had to "wander in the wilderness", before they reached "the promised land". We may be in "our wilderness" for awhile......so what are we gonna do? Are we going to decide to be happy any way, or are we going to keep whining, wishing, tantrum throwing, pouting...etc, and maybe perhaps PROLONG our journey to the "promised land?" --------------------------------------------------------------- Okay...so I turned out to be long winded......I will have to continue another day...I really must get some sleep....can't breathe laying down....so I have been at the computer...not to mention that I when I DID go to sleep...my dd was being "icky sick" at 11:30, then again at 1:00. My poor kid. I gave it to her. She asked me to make it go away.....even though she knows I can't. But I did pray for her. You all say one too? I will try to get to my selfishness another day....(note to self-it involves my basic needs being met when a child, and who met them--love, food, shelter, emotional security...) Thanks~ C. Lynn |
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Reading on anger, and responding versus reacting....
Posted in just my thoughts
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Anyone here read Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman? No matter what the age of your child, it is a good book to read....and anyone can learn from it. There are a lot of great points in the book, and it is directed at changing your child's behavior by changing YOURS. Bt teaching you how to respond rather than react. You will have to read it for yourself...but I did want to share just these few thoughts with you. In the book, he (Dr. Leman) asks, "what is the atmosphere like in your house?" Is an angry person in control? A person can be loudly angry, or quietly angry. Either way, you know the person is angry, because they WANT you to know they are angry. Anger is an ACTIVE choice to control someone else. It is projecting your thoughts and emotions onto another person in an attempt to change their behavior." (doesn't usually work, by the way, and if it does get your way, the others WILL resent you for it, sooner or later) Now in the book he is talking about children using anger as a way to get their way, and it puts them in the "driver's seat" in their home.Without it, they don't have the control they crave, so the create a temper tantrum that says, "Pay attention to ME!" How many of us as adults do the same thing? Oh, we may not throw a screaming fit, but others DO know we are angry, don't they? Anger is not always bad. I heard a radio sermon once on the different types of anger. I can't recall them all, but the point the preacher was making that we need to be careful of certain kinds of anger. Jesus was certainly in the right in his anger with the money changers. (I wish I could recall the types of anger, or even the name of the preacher) Dr. Leman states in his book, it is not the anger that is wrong, it is HOW the anger is handled that is wrong or right. We can react, (blow up, have a hissy, pitch a fit...you get the picture), or we can respond...(remain calm, remain calm, remain calm, and talk about it) Remaining calm, and teaching your child to use "I" feel this way or that when this or that happens, instead of using "you" jerk, look what you did!" Using "I" statements focuses on how your child feels about what is happening, rather than pointing an accusing finger at someone else. I don't know about you, but that is hard for ME to do, and I am (almost) 39. sigh..... Anyway, I think I went rambling....here is the countdown for what Dr. Leman calls "funday" (Friday), and I think that it is just common sense parenting, and may have some carryover into other relationships as well. (not saying we should treat other adults like kids) 10)Be 100 percent consistent in your behavior. 9)Always follow through on what you say you will do. 8)Respond, don't react. 7)Count to 10 and ask, "what would my old self do in this situation? What should the new me do?" 6)Never threaten your kids ("if you don't stop pulling your sibling's hair, I'm gonna...") 5)Never get angry (yes, kids push our buttons, but we are the adults in the situation, and we decide when we get angry) If we get angry, an explosion of anger is like throwing up all over your child. (I so love that analogy) 4)Don't give ANY warnings (that's right-goes right along with not threatening) 3)Ask yourself, whose problem is this? 1)Keep a happy face on, even when you want to do something else. (like "throw up all over your kids" / It doesn't mean you have to actually BE happy....lol) Anyway....maybe someone out there could make some sense of my bedtime ramblings. Blessings~ C. Lynn |
Friday, October 17, 2008
Unbelievable!!!!!
Posted in just my thoughts
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While reading blogs this morning, I found THIS POST BY MRS. DANI Folks, we need to spread the word, and make people aware, and if you all know anyone in CA, make sure they know about this!!! Here is the LINK to the news article itself. Might as well post another news link while I'm at it.... OBAMA SAID WHAT!? Meanwhile, Barack Obama said he needed to correct some misconceptions about his background. "I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth," he said, in a reference to Superman. He also listed his great strength as "my humility" and his greatest weakness as being "a little too awesome". |
Friday, October 10, 2008
rambling thoughts
Posted in just my thoughts
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Sorry I have been gone so long. I guess I have just been feeling better, and so have been keeping a little busier around the house. Trying to get it in order for company on the 25th. Well, I thought I had some rambling thoughts to blog...however, I guess the mood must have left me. You know how you have these deep, thoughtful moments, and then later you are all thought out, and can't remember what it was you were thinking about in the first place? That'd be me. I guess part of my rambling thoughts stemmed from a conversation I had with one of my good friends today about compassion. She questioned if she had it or not, or said she guessed she wasn't very compassionate. It got me to thinking. (uh-oh) I feel like for myself, I just come by it naturally. I did not do anything to cultivate it. Not saying that in a bragging sort of way, because there are times when I wish I did not feel the way I did. It makes it hard for me to say no. Not only that, but I find my self volunteering for (some) things without even being asked. I can't help it, I truly care about others suffering. Sometimes, I try NOT to care, but it just doesn't work. So, what is your opinions, dear readers? Do you think it is something we are born with, something we learn, or something we have to work at cultivating? Can you "prioritize" your compassion? Are there "degrees" of your compassion, based on someone else's need or suffering? Okay, on to other things..... We are having a family reunion tomorrow, and Sunday is looking to be busy, too, but I still have a lot I want to get done.
Thanks for reading! blessings~Lynn |
Saturday, September 13, 2008
One of my favorite subjects....coffee.
Posted in just my thoughts
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I wonder why it is that the combination of chocolate with coffee, makes the coffee so much better? Anyone else feel that way, too? I bought a candy bar, to have with my morning coffee, (which I have not done in a long time) and it was just wonderful. MMmmmm....chocolately, smooth, warm liquid swirling around in my mouth. sigh........ Okay, on to other stuff... Anyone here intimidated by technical stuff? I can be. A friend blessed me with a computer a while back. (tower) I have had intentions of getting the stuff I want off my old (and slow) computer and putting it on the newer one. But I don't know how. The main thing I wanted to save was all my favorite book marks. Well, I FINALLY figured it out! Here's how: click on "bookmarks" then "organize bookmarks" then "file" then "export" then on the drop down menu "save in", click on "floppy" sigh...oh, well, at least I have my coffee to comfort me. Oh, and one more thing, was it just me, or my computer, or did everyone's template the same as mine turn a different color one day this past week??? Ya'll have a blessed day! Now, where's my coffee!? Oh, yeah...getting cold in my cup...gotta go save it! ~Lynn |