Religion Vs. Relationship

Did you know the bible calls us to be modest? Not just in our clothing but in our conversations and behaviors also. Did you know that just because you wear long skirts, you are not more holy than the next person? (No I'm not saying long skirts are bad) Yes the God has rules for how we should act, speak, and dress however if you are doing everything to the T but missing the personal relationship then all of your efforts are in vain. Without praying, searching out who God is, searching the heart of Jesus and knowing more about Him you are not going to get anywhere fast. Jesus said in order to know the difference between a Christian and a fake you need to look at their fruit. Ok no we are not trees, you can not pick cherries off our fingers but the fruit of our lives. You can take that literally and say their children, or you can look at it and say their behaviors and attitudes. If you are living your life for Jesus there are things you will not be doing. One of them would be dressing like a hoochie mama. (I have no idea if I spelled that one right. It doesn't seem to be in my spell check. Ha ha) Another would be lying, or stealing.

Children as fruit: You can tell a lot about how people parent by watching their children for 5 min. One thing is small children have not learned to control their tongues so things just come out. Second I firmly believe that a child will only get away with what the parent allows. I'm not saying the child will only do things that they are allowed I am saying they will only "get away with what they are allowed". If you tell a child they can not have something and they right away end up in a melted pile of mush on the ground screaming and yelling it is obvious that the parent has allowed it. Of course when this happens in public the parent is embarrassed. But what if the parent at home does not allow that behavior. The first time that child displays that type of behavior if the parent deals with it swiftly and sternly there is a greater chance of it not happening in public. I have a very strict rule in my home. It is "if it is not cute when they are 15 then it is never cute". Things like playing with food, jumping on furniture or throwing a fit. You can not allow it then suddenly ohh you are 5 now you can't do that anymore. It is much wiser to just never allow bad behavior. Ok sorry tangent. Back to fruit. If you children are obedient, helpful, respectful, and caring your "fruit" is something that will show others where your heart is. If your "fruit" is destroying things, hurting others and being a pain all the time then it is showing how you parent and the fruit is just not there.

If you are reading your bible, searching for the true heart of God, all of the fruit comes. You don't have to do anything to impress others, or try to make them believe you are holy. When you die God is not going to ask your friends if you were holy or not. HE KNOWS!!! Someone I know became a Christian a few months ago. One of her prayers were "God I'm not going to change your going to have to change me." When she told me this I laughed so hard. That is what a Christian is, someone who changes from being a part of this world in to someone more like God. Since that prayer this person has changed soooo much!!! HUGE leaps and bounds. When you seek Him you become more like Him. You will start to dislike things of this world that previously didn't bother you. If God tells you to only wear long skirts fine but don't just do it because you think you are closer to God for it.

(Yes I'm picking on the long skirts however I mean no harm they are not bad they are just my example. I do wear long skirts most of the time. They are very comfortable, and many grow with the ever changing belly every year or so!!)

We have had some big things happen in the last month or so. A child we knew something was wrong with but couldn't figure out what because she was smart, and all the behaviors didn't seem to add up has been diagnosed autistic. We are waiting on a appointment with a specialist to hopefully learn what we can do to help her function better, and help her learn easier.

We switched every bedroom in our house around! My craft room is still feeling the pain from this venture. I have many things that still need a home but God will have to provide the time to do that later, right now does not seem to be the right time.

After 14 years I found family I had been looking for. We are pretty sure of what I thought. Now we are just waiting for the DNA test results. (Did you know you can buy DNA tests at Walgreens?) This in itself has been interesting. Introducing new family after 31 years is interesting. Don't bother asking me how I feel about it cause I honestly don't know. Right now I'm just rolling with it.

The baby is crawling, waving, saying ma ma and da da. Today she got herself "stuck" again. However for the first time she crawled backwards to get herself out. She also figured out how to crawl onto the bottom part of the end table. She loves to chase people around in her walker. I think her favorite part is running over our toes!!! I don't think anyone is ever ready for a crawling baby. Crawling will soon mean walking. She is already doing good at holding fingers and walking. Her first teeth seem to be getting close to emerging also. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Yesterday my girls woke up all itchy. There were lots of bumps all over their legs. Especially in the back of the knee. We watched the bumps all day and by bedtime there were twice as many. They have the chicken pox! I have no idea where they got it from. My boys seem fine. The baby doesn't have any spots, but has been fussy. I can't tell if it is teething, or she doesn't feel good. We will be having a pox party for any and all that would like to attend. The little boy came down the stairs asking the girls "Where is the chicken pox. Give me the chicken pox!"

Last night one of my girls woke up "starving" so she made herself some bread and peanut butter. I stayed up with her and I cut up some cantaloupe while I waited for her to be ready for bed again. Then she told me she wanted to do her spelling. It was 2 am!! I informed her it could wait till morning. But she had it in her head that she HAD to do her spelling. After trying to explain it to her I could see that it was more of an internal "I have to do my spelling now" than a I want. So she did her spelling. 20 min and about 50 yawns later we were off to bed again only for it to be time to nurse the baby. I'm beginning to believe that sleep is not actualy necessary for moms. We somehow seem to have a superhuman ability to stay awake long hours, and somehow function the rest of the day. I did have an idea today. If I just tape my eyes open my children will actually think that I am fully awake!

So that is just a small update on our crazy family. In the middle of lots of changes, stressful times, and just plain crazy we are enjoying each other as a family. Playing together doing chores together, and learning together. I think the together part is the most important part. I'm off to go make some food! Food is just as good as sleep right??? =)

Perception

Many put much effort into how they are perceived. Some wear lots of make-up to hide what they feel are imperfections. Some people color their hair to look a certain way. Some people are dressed to the 9's and look perfect when they go out. The way we look, dress, speak, and behave are all ways that give others impressions of us.

No matter what you do people are going to have an impression. But what kind of impression are you giving them? I once had someone surprised when they came over that I was willing to show them my house that was untidy. I thought it was odd to be embarrassed about my house. I thought "Yes it is messy right now, I would like it to be clean but what is there to be embarrassed about? God already saw it!" I don't clean my house so others will be impressed. I clean my house because I am uncomfortable when the house is messy. I get easily agitated when things are messy. When company is coming over I prefer my kitchen to be clean at least because who wants to eat at some ones house when their kitchen is a mess. I'm not talking just dirty dishes but when the kitchen is gross, no one wants that.

No one is perfect. I have proof! God said so! Jesus was the only sinless man on earth, and even Christ didn't throw the first stone! Why as a society do we judge others so harshly. When we perceive that others do something better than us we are intimidated. Everyone is going to do something better than you. It may be cooking, cleaning, writing, crafts, or whatever. God gave us all different gifts. God made you perfect for your family. God knows you are not good at crafts, or writing, or public speaking. That is ok! You have strengths in something else. You may cook well, or play piano beautifully. You have all the tools you need to be the mom God wants you to be. So instead of picking on people for their weaknesses we should all encourage each other in our strengths.

I'm sure everyone can come up with a time when even their strengths were weak due to changes in life, or pure exhaustion. Every life has seasons. Not everyone will be in the same season at the same time. Enjoy where you are. Spend your time being who you are. Trying to impress others is time consuming, and exhausting. Plus the one you need to answer to is God and He already knows your strengths and weaknesses. He created them!