Saturday began with Brooke complaining of a headache and sore throat. I thought it was her sinuses, and gave her some allergy meds. I then took her to rehearsal, where she danced for around 5 hours. The show was GREAT, and I am always amazed at the ability of these young kids to get onstage and dance for Jesus the way they do. I don’t know where she gets it…because she’s absolutely beautiful! I’m so proud of her! Afterward, we went out to eat at our favorite little Mexican place, where Brooke didn’t feel like eating. (so not like her!) Then she came home and slept, a lot. Went to church yesterday morning, and she came home and slept. As of bedtime last night, I was pretty certain she would be staying home from school. I awoke at 5:30 this morning with Zach standing above me, telling me he couldn’t breathe. We went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, and let the steam go to work. After about 25 minutes he felt better, and he went back to bed with the humidifier running. At this point I’m not feeling too well myself, so I go back to bed too. Then Brian starts in with a sore throat and swollen glands as well. Matthew is running around with abundant energy. I took B and Z to the doctor, and they both have strep throat. So I say Great!! How do I keep them away from M? Why does that lump in my throat suddenly feel larger and more painful? I need to lay down… So that is my weekend and day in a nutshell. I began this post because I’ve slept so much that I thought I wasn’t tired any more, but suddenly I am. Any wellness prayers would be appreciated.
Tag Archives: life
Thankful Thursday
Another week is flying by in a frenzy of activities, both good and bad. It makes me remember how long the weeks seemed when I was a child. Where does the time go? Anyway, still have plenty to be thankful for, so here’s my list.
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Most of my house is clean today. That will soon change because the kids are now home, but it will be documented here!
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I was able to see my parents on Saturday when they came up for my birthday lunch, and again yesterday at a funeral. Not a great place, but it was an awesome funeral. See previous post. I will see them again on Saturday because Brooke is dancing and they’re coming to watch. We went from one time in 9 weeks, to 3 in 1 week!
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I’m saving money thanks to money saving mom! I’ve only been “big” grocery shopping one time this month, and the rest has been for weekly stuff like milk, bread…and that one ice cream night! I took an inventory of my pantry and freezer, and truly think we could live for a month on just that stuff alone. I can’t wait to tally up my numbers to see the savings.
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It’s supposed to be single digit temps in the morning, so we might, might, have a 2 hour delay! I’m trying to be positive about freezing, and could really use the sleep!
A tearful goodbye/celebration
I don’t know what else to call it, besides the best funeral I’ve ever been to. It sounds crazy to say that, but that’s how I feel. I was dreading this funeral so badly, but was blessed by attending it in so many ways. My dad’s cousin Jimmy died on Saturday. He was only 52 and it was totally unexpected. Married with three beautiful boys, the oldest is a teen. It’s so hard to think about sometimes, but I urge you to take the time to talk with someone about what you would like to happen when you’re gone. Jimmy and his wife did that, and I want to do it too. There were 3 songs sung by two women, and then we sang two hymns. These were songs that he had wanted. The pastor opened up the floor for people to talk, and I was amazed by the outpouring of love to the family. Everyone spoke of how much he loved his family, and how much he loved the Lord. He touched so many lives, and didn’t even realize it I’m sure. That’s just the kind of person he was. He cared. People from his church, and people from his workplace all loved him, and were blessed by the Holy Spirit within him. One woman was talking about how he always lifted them up if they were struggling at work, and then she broke out singing Wind beneath My Wings! It was beautiful! Another person spoke highly of Jim, and didn’t know his wife, but said he knew her potato salad, and to fed ex it to them every now and then if she had to. That made her laugh! There were tears and there was laughter, and I guess the difference that I felt in this funeral was this. We were a room filled with more believers in Jesus Christ than not. We know that his earthly presence will be missed, but that he is truly home with God right now. We may not understand it, but God has a plan for Jim, and it includes him at His side. The pastor then preached, because he said that’s what Jim wanted him to do. He preached about salvation, and that doesn’t mean just doing good things. We have to confess, repent, and ask for fogiveness of our sins, and He will forgive. We need to ask Jesus into our hearts and lives, and commit to follow Him. And it’s too late when we’re in the coffin. I had some family members sitting right there with me that needed to hear that, but I’m not sure they did. I don’t understand it, but I don’t need to. I just need to continue to pray for them. (Off on a tangent again!) Anyway, even in his death, Jim was witnessing to others. He planned that all out, and he knew who needed to hear it! One person that stood up said we might ask why? We should turn that around and we get YHW. That stands for Your Holy Will! Isn’t that great? WHY= Your Holy Will
I could go on and on, that’s how amazing it was! I’ll stop, but I ask for prayers for his family. I know they have a great church family that will lift them up, but you can never have too many prayers!
I have one more funeral to attend this week. A friend who passed away on Sunday, unexpectedly at the age of 36. He too has a wife and 2 kids, the oldest is 12. I just ask that these families be lifted in prayer, and that God would wrap His loving arms around them and provide comfort to them, that only He knows how.
90 day Bible Reading-1Samuel
I’m doing the single parenting thing this week as my husband is out of town on business. It happens to be a particularly busy week with dance, and the first performance coming up this weekend. There’s also a few other things going on too, so it’s about all I can do to finish my readings daily (which I am!). I just can’t seem to summarize it all to blog form! I hope to get my routine going again, but feel free to chime in with your reading input if you’d like.
90 Day Bible Reading-Day 16 – 18
We have finished Joshua, Judges and Ruth, and will start with 1 Samuel tomorrow. The weekend began with my birthday on Friday, and boy did I feel older! It was so bitterly cold here that I just wanted to pull the blanket over my head and hibernate! We had a chocolate cake with the whipped icing that I love, and it had chocolate bars on top. Too bad it’s all gone, or I’d have a piece right now. Saturday my mom and dad came up and we all had lunch. It was really good, and I really didn’t do much else after that. My dad called after they got home, and he had received word that his cousin had died suddenly that morning. He was in his early 50’s, married with three kids. It was a big shock, and I ask for prayers for his family to feel the healing love of Christ throughout the next few months.
This week is going to be busy finishing costumes and getting ready for the first dance performance of the year. I am not a sewing mom, so these costumes are kicking me! Luckily I only have one major one to finish, everything else fit really well this time. Also on the list for the week, clip coupons, work on the budget, shampoo the carpets, catch up on laundry, organize the towel closet, and a few other things that I can’t think of right now.
90 Day Bible Reading-Day 15
DEUTERONOMY 30-34
Yesterday we finished Deuteronomy with a very short read. God knew the Israelites would fall short again and turn from Him. He also told Moses that they would turn away, but that when they decided to obey Him with all their heart, He would bring them back to the promised land and bless them with more. Moses told them the offer of life or death was in their reach. Chapter 30, verse 15 says ” See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” Moses blesses the tribes and then dies, leaving Joshua to take over andlead the people to the promised land.
32:1-43 is the song that Moses taught to the people per God’s command, so that when they sang it, it was a witness for God against them. I would love to record that here for you, but I know you already read it. It’s really amazing!
Thankful Thursday
I’m thankful for the health of my family, as so many that are around us are suffering with illness.
I’m thankful for the warm house that shields me from the arctic air that’s on it’s way here.
The beautiful stillness that I discovered when I opened the door this morning and saw the snow.
Toes! I guess I have a thing for toes, baby toes that is. And my four year old still has those sweet toes. He’s sitting in the chair with me, still in his PJ’s and bare feet. I love his toes, and the way he works his feet around, hardly ever still, just like his daddy.
My oldest son got a new puppy Monday night, and I’m thankful that he’s doing very well with the clicker training and housebreaking. He’s also very cute, and loves to cuddle!
My daughter is growing more mature every day, and quick to apologize when she’s said something hurtful. She’s beautiful!
Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m thankful that God saw fit in His plan to let me have another year. Also thankful my parents are going to come up and visit, then we’ll go out to eat on Saturday. I don’t have to cook!!!! That’s always a perk! I’m not off the hook for tonight though, so I have to go make the meatloaf now.
90 Day Bible Reading-Day 14
DEUTERONOMY 17-29
“Purge the evil.” That seems to be the resounding theme in the beginning. I counted it 9 times. The Israelites were commanded to remain clean and pure by purging the ungodly from among them. Moses says in 18:15 ” The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own borthers. You must listen to him.” Everyone knows who that prophet is, but do we always honor Him? Jesus was the ultimate prophet, and He’s already been compared to Moses in our previous readings.
In chapter 20, he tells them to not be afraid when they go to battle because God will be with them. v4 “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
23:12-13 Thank you for indoor plumbing and privacy.
Chapter 27- Moses tells the people to keep all the commands he’s given when they get into the promised land, set up an altar with stones covered in plaster, and write all the words of this law on the stones. I would hate to be in charge of all that writing on plaster covered stones.
Chapter 28-The Lord will bless you richly if you fully obey his commands.
Chapter 29- The Israelites enter into the covenant that the Lord will seal with an oath, made for his people, so that He will be their God.
When I went to my study Bible to review the laws, this is what I found that helps explain the breakdown.
There were 16 major ethical concerns in the Covenant
1. Personhood- everyone’s person is to be secure
2. False Accusation-everyone is to be secure against slander and false accusation
3. Woman-No woman is to be taken advantage of within her subordinate status in society
4. Punishment-punishment for wrongdoing shall not be excessive so that the culprit is dehumanized
5. Dignity-every Israelite’s dignity and right to be God’s freedman and servant are to be honored and safeguarded
6. Inheritance-every Israelite’s inheritance in the promised land is to be secure
7. Property-everyone’s property is to be secure
8. Fruit of Labor-everyoned is to receive the fruit of his labors
9. Fruit of the Ground-everyone is to share the fruit of the ground
10. Rest on Sabbath-everyone, down to the humblest servant and the resident alien, is to share in the weekly rest of God’s sabbath
11. Marriage-the marriage relationship is to be kept inviolate
12. Exploitation-no one, however disabled, impoverishe or powerless, is to be oppressed or exploited
13. Fair Trial- everyone is to have free access to the courts and is to be afforded a fair trial
14. Social Order-every person’s God-given place in the social order is to be honored
15. Law-no one shall be above the law, not evne the king
16. Animals-Concern for the welfare of other creatures is to be extended to the animal world.
That came from my Zondervan study bible.
Tomorrow is a short reading of Deuteronomy 30-34. Any questions?
90 Day Bible Reading-Day 12-13
I knew it would be easier when the kids were home and on Christmas vacation, but I am pathetic. I’m doing my readings, but can’t squeeze out more time to blog about it in depth. So here’s another overview…
NUMBERS 27 – DEUTERONOMY 16
Continues with laws and offerings in which Joshua will have to see to it the Israelites follow, since Moses is going to be “gathered to his people.” I liked all of the sacred assemblies, festivals, and doing no regular work. That’s something I’d be OK with keeping from the OT.
They killed all of the men in the Midianite tribe with the help of the Lord, and brought the women, children and animals back to Moses. Moses ordered them to kill all the boys, and women who have slept with a man. They divided what was brought back. Boundaries were set for the land of Canaan, with a place for the Levites, where 6 of the cities were designated at Cities of Refuge. It talks about the act of murder, and if it is intentional, then that person shall be put to death. That could spark some heated debates, so I’m not touching it!
In Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people what God has shared with him. He also recants some of the happenings along the journey. How the Israelites were grumbling, and rebellious too. Moses reviews the laws and commandments. Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. God promises in Chapter 11, verse 14 to send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. Chapter 14 talks about tithes, and setting aside a tenth of all that the fields produced each year. I really like Chapter 15 also. It says that at the end of every 7 years, all debts must be cancelled. No more house payment would be pretty nice!
I hope you’ve done your readings, and can follow what I shared. Tomorrow is Deuteronomy 17-29. Happy reading, and God Bless You.
“Moore” Monday #7
Yes, I know it’s Tuesday, but my Monday was kind of hectic.
HE WHO IS UNCONVINCED OF GOD’S
FORGIVING LOVE IS UNCONVINCED THAT
HE IS MORE THAN A CONQUEROR.
Father God, You made my Savior’s life a guilt offering for me (Isa. 53:10). His death was enough to handle my guilt.
Lord Jesus, help me to accept and internalize the fact that if God is for me, who can be against me? (Rom. 8:31). It is You, God, who justifies (Rom. 8:33). Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at Your right hand. O God, and is also interceding for me (Rom. 8:34).
In all these things I am more than a conqueror through You who love me, Sovereign Lord (Rom. 8:37).
Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word Day by Day