I am one of those people who hears from God. And by that I mean I literally hear God. It isn't a voice in my head the way schizophrenic's hear them, more a voice in my heart but audible nonetheless. It's a unique experience and since I'm aware it's unusual, I vacillate between feeling very honoured and feeling like God just knows I'm too stinking dense to hear Him otherwise! I bring this up because lately He has been nudging me, none to gently I might add, to grow more of our food. We don't have a huge amount of space and all this growing will need to take place in the front yard or in containers in the back due to the fact that out entire backyard is either pool or cement. However, I've had the space not only picked out but actually partitioned off thanks to the lovely invention of the mail order raised garden bed. It's been sitting there for over a year. It mocks me every time I step onto the front porch and look to my right and see it sitting there all empty and barren.
So, for a woman who categorically refuses to make New Year's Resolutions (because, seriously, who keeps them?) I'm am, for all intents and purposes, making a resolution. I will heed God and start growing more of our food. I have a '2 in 1' apple tree coming via UPS that will be shipped on Valentine's Day (thus giving my husband a built in present to me because he will have to get it in the ground!) I have a Square Food Gardening book being delivered on Friday (New Year's Eve, see how I worked that?) I have space set aside for a lemon tree, tangelo tree and a nectarine tree which I will buy at a local nursery around the time the apple tree gets here and I have a toddler who wants to be outside as much as possible and, let's face it, what child doesn't jump at the chance to dig in the dirt?
I hope to post not only updates to how this endeavour plays out but with any luck, pictures as it progresses. Of course if I fail miserably, I'll do the only honourable thing and post about that as well.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Words of a Homemaker -Author Unknown
God, I want to do great things for you,
And speak to all the nations!
God replies:
That's well and good,
But for now
Fix your children's complications.
Lord, I want to straighten up the world,
Feed the hungry and fulfill someone's wishes!
God says:
Fine, but for the present,
You need to wash the dishes.
Lord, I want to preach, proclaim your name
And bring salvation to the earth!
God says:
Good! Then teach your children
And preach my name to those you've given birth.
At the end of the day,
I think of all I've done.
But as I look it seems,
I've accomplished nothing for the Son!
God I had no time to witness one on one,
I couldn't join my church group,
They said I missed out on lots of fun.
My household is the only thing
That managed to be cleaned,
My neighbor is the only one,
Besides my family I could feed.
The only ones I've read Your Word
Are those within my home.
God I've done so very little
And I feel so all alone!
God says:
I've seen the way you cleaned and cooked
And taught your kids My name.
Tomorrow morning at eight o' clock,
I'll watch you do the same.
The work you do at home,
Though no one really sees,
Is helping to raise little ones
To grow and worship me.
My ways are not your ways,
I don't expect you yet to see,
But the precepts that you've taught your children,
Will help others bow the knee.
Your children will reach out to others,
Your example in their mind.
They'll do great work for Me
And their children will respond in kind.
The hand that rules the world,
Also rocks the cradle.
Because of you, your children love Me,
All their hearts are stable.
Though your house is your domain,
Your tasks seem rather plain,
Your efforts will reach the multitudes,
Though from humble work they came.
I copied this from http://loveaboundsathome.blogspot.com/2010/11/words-of-homemaker.html. I actually cried when I read it because despite the fact that I know God has called me to be the Keeper of our Home, I still have this conversation with Him! It was so comforting to see what is undoubtedly His response, in writing.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Politically Correct is not the same as Actually Correct
I have raised a son and a daughter from conception to adulthood. I am currently, for all intents and purposes, raising my not-quite-two year old grandson. I have several nieces and nephews, I have friends with children ranging in age from 2 months to 45 years. I believe I have seen enough children in various stages of life to say with some authority that sexual stereotypes exist for a reason. They are generally true.
Each Monday the grandson and I stand either on the front walkway or, in inclement weather, on the front porch and watch as one by one the trash, recycling and garden waste trucks come down the street and empty each individual bin into the truck. He is absolutely fascinated with these trucks. Any truck for that matter. He is captivated by basketball or football games, has multiple balls of varying sizes that he plays with every day, and his own ride on truck is frequently being "worked on" by this little bundle of masculinity.
Now, don't get me wrong, he likes to do other things to. He loves to play with his stuffed animals and have stories read to him. He even likes to clean right along side me with his own dust mop for the floors and swiffer duster for dusting! Being able to vacuum is the treat promised if he cleans up at the end of each day. He loves to pretend to cook with the pots and pans in the cupboard that he is allowed in (because I’ve made sure there is nothing breakable in there.) Cooking and cleaning are stereotypically considered “women’s work” and, in our home at least, the woman is the keeper of the home and thus in charge of these tasks. But largely, he does things we think of as "boy things."
Girls tend to do things we think of as "girl things." Girls do things that are typically associated with boys, too. However, there is a reason we think of them as either boy or girl things. It isn't because society has thrust these roles on them. It is because they naturally gravitate to these things. God created man and woman. He made them equally important but he did not make them interchangeable. There are roles for each gender outlined in the Bible and unfortunately, over the millennia, societies have twisted those roles and made them far more rigid than I personally believe God ever intended. That, like all other forms of legalism, is a failing of humanity, not of God. This twist is the cause of so many saying that gender roles are wrong and merely a creation of those who would keep women repressed. This erroneous thought is, of course, the beginning of the evil that is feminism but that is another post.
To say that gender roles are just restrictions we force upon our children to fit some agenda of our own is ridiculous. All you need to do is watch small children at play. I think we, as a society, might do well to consider that trying to force children out of gender roles is far more harmful than just letting them do what comes naturally to them because of God's great plan. Politically correct is not the same as actually correct. Politically correct is whatever we humans decide is correct and is frequently a way to pretend God doesn’t exist and didn’t create us. Actually correct is what God has told us is correct. It isn’t difficult to figure out which is which. Actually correct is all written down in the best selling book of all time, the Bible.
Each Monday the grandson and I stand either on the front walkway or, in inclement weather, on the front porch and watch as one by one the trash, recycling and garden waste trucks come down the street and empty each individual bin into the truck. He is absolutely fascinated with these trucks. Any truck for that matter. He is captivated by basketball or football games, has multiple balls of varying sizes that he plays with every day, and his own ride on truck is frequently being "worked on" by this little bundle of masculinity.
Now, don't get me wrong, he likes to do other things to. He loves to play with his stuffed animals and have stories read to him. He even likes to clean right along side me with his own dust mop for the floors and swiffer duster for dusting! Being able to vacuum is the treat promised if he cleans up at the end of each day. He loves to pretend to cook with the pots and pans in the cupboard that he is allowed in (because I’ve made sure there is nothing breakable in there.) Cooking and cleaning are stereotypically considered “women’s work” and, in our home at least, the woman is the keeper of the home and thus in charge of these tasks. But largely, he does things we think of as "boy things."
Girls tend to do things we think of as "girl things." Girls do things that are typically associated with boys, too. However, there is a reason we think of them as either boy or girl things. It isn't because society has thrust these roles on them. It is because they naturally gravitate to these things. God created man and woman. He made them equally important but he did not make them interchangeable. There are roles for each gender outlined in the Bible and unfortunately, over the millennia, societies have twisted those roles and made them far more rigid than I personally believe God ever intended. That, like all other forms of legalism, is a failing of humanity, not of God. This twist is the cause of so many saying that gender roles are wrong and merely a creation of those who would keep women repressed. This erroneous thought is, of course, the beginning of the evil that is feminism but that is another post.
To say that gender roles are just restrictions we force upon our children to fit some agenda of our own is ridiculous. All you need to do is watch small children at play. I think we, as a society, might do well to consider that trying to force children out of gender roles is far more harmful than just letting them do what comes naturally to them because of God's great plan. Politically correct is not the same as actually correct. Politically correct is whatever we humans decide is correct and is frequently a way to pretend God doesn’t exist and didn’t create us. Actually correct is what God has told us is correct. It isn’t difficult to figure out which is which. Actually correct is all written down in the best selling book of all time, the Bible.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I AM at work!
I've been having this minor issue with my telephone lately. It keeps ringing.
I realize that telephones do that, it's just that lately whomever is calling seems to want to chat. Everyone in my life knows I am the fulltime caregiver of my 20 month old grandson Monday through Friday. However, for reasons I will never understand, there are people who don't think there is anything wrong with calling up for a chat in the middle of what is my work day. These same people, I'm sure, would never call a friend at their office in the middle of the work day and expect to chat unless it was during that person's break. Even then, because it can be difficult to know exactly when someone is on their break, you would generally start the conversation with, "Is this a good time?"
It's a simple thing and I'm probably ranting out of all proportion to the situation, but today the grandson is having a particularly difficult day and requires my full attention.
When faced with a toddler who is literally throwing himself on the floor in a screaming tantrum every other moment, there are only two responses. You can ignore him and so whatever you feel like doing at the time or you can give that child the attention he so clearly needs and try to figure out WHY this normally cheerful, obedient child is behaving like a spoiled brat. I obviously choose the latter which is why these phone calls are my current irksome issue.
That's all. No deep insights. Just my need to rant for a moment. I do, however, feel better now.
I realize that telephones do that, it's just that lately whomever is calling seems to want to chat. Everyone in my life knows I am the fulltime caregiver of my 20 month old grandson Monday through Friday. However, for reasons I will never understand, there are people who don't think there is anything wrong with calling up for a chat in the middle of what is my work day. These same people, I'm sure, would never call a friend at their office in the middle of the work day and expect to chat unless it was during that person's break. Even then, because it can be difficult to know exactly when someone is on their break, you would generally start the conversation with, "Is this a good time?"
It's a simple thing and I'm probably ranting out of all proportion to the situation, but today the grandson is having a particularly difficult day and requires my full attention.
When faced with a toddler who is literally throwing himself on the floor in a screaming tantrum every other moment, there are only two responses. You can ignore him and so whatever you feel like doing at the time or you can give that child the attention he so clearly needs and try to figure out WHY this normally cheerful, obedient child is behaving like a spoiled brat. I obviously choose the latter which is why these phone calls are my current irksome issue.
That's all. No deep insights. Just my need to rant for a moment. I do, however, feel better now.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A Theory
This is one of many, many theories I have. As someone once said, "If you have a mind, you have an opinion." In my opinion, most theories are in fact, just an opinion. So on to today's theory. Bbow and I were watching something on TV the other night. To be honest, I don't remember what because in reality he was watching it, I was reading next to him. Some female celebrity's face flashed on the screen and I remembered that her husband had cheated on her with their children's nanny.
The first theory I have is about the cheating. I believe people only cheat for one of two reasons. Either they aren't getting what they need from home or they are just morally dogs. Now, don't read that wrong. I am not saying that there is an excuse for infidelity. There never is. Period. If your relationship is lacking something then work on that aspect of the relationship and improve it! Do not go looking for a replacement. And if you are just morally a dog, then you have no business being in a relationship in the first place.
My second theory, and the one I shared with Bbow that night is why there is such a prevalance of men cheating on their wives with the nanny. The celebrity in question this night is known for being an extremely talented musician/singer and by all reports is actually a very nice person. She is also incredibly beautiful. So why on Earth would her husband be having an affair with the nanny? Here's my theory: Men are biologically wired to be attracted to the woman who cares for his home and family. Seriously. No, I'm not saying if you are a working wife and/or mother then your husband has the right to sleep with the nanny. Nor am I saying by being a working wife and/or mother you are inviting trouble or you deserve to be cheated on. What I am saying is when God created man and woman, He wired us mentally and emotionally for the roles we are born for. Men find it much easier to leave the children each day and go to work because that is the way they were created. They were suppose to be able to go out and kill dinner. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to go out and kill dinner, or go to war to protect the woman and children, if you were constantly thinking about those women and children and worrying about their welfare. Men compartmentalize the way they do because that is the ability God gave them in order to be able to do what they have to do. In the same way He wired women to find it very difficult to leave their children in someone else's care. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave women the desire to stay home, care for that home, care for her husband, and care for the children because, let's face it, someone has to do it!
Men are designed to be attracted to the woman who cares for him, his home and his children. So my suggestion? Be that woman of course!
The first theory I have is about the cheating. I believe people only cheat for one of two reasons. Either they aren't getting what they need from home or they are just morally dogs. Now, don't read that wrong. I am not saying that there is an excuse for infidelity. There never is. Period. If your relationship is lacking something then work on that aspect of the relationship and improve it! Do not go looking for a replacement. And if you are just morally a dog, then you have no business being in a relationship in the first place.
My second theory, and the one I shared with Bbow that night is why there is such a prevalance of men cheating on their wives with the nanny. The celebrity in question this night is known for being an extremely talented musician/singer and by all reports is actually a very nice person. She is also incredibly beautiful. So why on Earth would her husband be having an affair with the nanny? Here's my theory: Men are biologically wired to be attracted to the woman who cares for his home and family. Seriously. No, I'm not saying if you are a working wife and/or mother then your husband has the right to sleep with the nanny. Nor am I saying by being a working wife and/or mother you are inviting trouble or you deserve to be cheated on. What I am saying is when God created man and woman, He wired us mentally and emotionally for the roles we are born for. Men find it much easier to leave the children each day and go to work because that is the way they were created. They were suppose to be able to go out and kill dinner. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to go out and kill dinner, or go to war to protect the woman and children, if you were constantly thinking about those women and children and worrying about their welfare. Men compartmentalize the way they do because that is the ability God gave them in order to be able to do what they have to do. In the same way He wired women to find it very difficult to leave their children in someone else's care. God, in His infinite wisdom, gave women the desire to stay home, care for that home, care for her husband, and care for the children because, let's face it, someone has to do it!
Men are designed to be attracted to the woman who cares for him, his home and his children. So my suggestion? Be that woman of course!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Happy Cake
Sounds like a children's book doesn't it? Yesterday I was baking a cake from scratch. It was the first time in two years I baked anything more complicated than canned biscuits. I made a rum glazed pound cake from a Cooking Light cookbook that I am currently crazy about. As with all cakes from scratch it was a fairly labour intensive process including injecting rum glaze into the cake with a flavor injector (think large syringe) and poking holes in the top then pouring glaze over it so that it soaked in. While making this cake I lost count of the number of times I thought to myself, "I am ridiculously happy right now."
The first week after I quit my job I was very busy just disentangling myself from that job. Equipment had to be disassembled and returned, every piece of paper that had anything sensitive on it had to be burned, there were emails to field and phone calls to make. It was amazing how much work there was to stop working! This week, however, I am starting to do my housewifey things again. Little by little rooms are being properly cleaned, each night there has been a healthy meal made from scratch and no fast food has been bought to compensate from the lack of anyone having the time or the ability to feed the family. I'm starting to feel normal again. The constant stress that I was under for two years has evaporated.
Don't get me wrong. There is still stress. I have a budget to balance and then maintain, I have an 11 month old grandson that I'm very involved in caring for, I have multiple personal relationships to heal, I have menus to plan. There is stress. But it's a good stress. It's stress I can handle because it is related to my obedience to God.
In the last weeks of the emotional coma I mentioned before, I read something on Facebook that in an odd way was the catalyst for the meltdown that led to my returning to being a housewife. It said, "You were created for a purpose. Doing anything else will never make you happy." At the beginning of 2004 our entire church read The Purpose Driven Life together. It was called the 40 Days of Purpose. I learned so clearly that all the dreck my mother had tried to instill in me my whole life about women needing to get advanced degrees and have careers to be useful and worthwhile was just that, dreck. Nonsense. God created me to be my husband's helpmeet. His partner. My role was to care for him, our home, our children and our marriage. And yet without my even noticing it, the devil snuck in and for two years had me convinced I had to have an outside, paying job. It never ceases to amaze me how someone who knows just how sneaky the devil is, still doesn't notice when she is being manipulated by the father of Lies.
But now I'm seeing more clearly. I'm daily remembering that God created me for a purpose and the purpose is to be a Keeper at Home. A Guardian of my Home. Baking a cake from scratch may not seem like an act of obedience but it is. All six of us have a healthy sweet to nibble that isn't filled with chemicals or preservatives and is in fact a low fat dessert. Not a big deal on it's own but certainly a small step in my walk to be what I was created to be. And it starts with a happy cake. Well, the cake may not be happy but the baker sure is!
The first week after I quit my job I was very busy just disentangling myself from that job. Equipment had to be disassembled and returned, every piece of paper that had anything sensitive on it had to be burned, there were emails to field and phone calls to make. It was amazing how much work there was to stop working! This week, however, I am starting to do my housewifey things again. Little by little rooms are being properly cleaned, each night there has been a healthy meal made from scratch and no fast food has been bought to compensate from the lack of anyone having the time or the ability to feed the family. I'm starting to feel normal again. The constant stress that I was under for two years has evaporated.
Don't get me wrong. There is still stress. I have a budget to balance and then maintain, I have an 11 month old grandson that I'm very involved in caring for, I have multiple personal relationships to heal, I have menus to plan. There is stress. But it's a good stress. It's stress I can handle because it is related to my obedience to God.
In the last weeks of the emotional coma I mentioned before, I read something on Facebook that in an odd way was the catalyst for the meltdown that led to my returning to being a housewife. It said, "You were created for a purpose. Doing anything else will never make you happy." At the beginning of 2004 our entire church read The Purpose Driven Life together. It was called the 40 Days of Purpose. I learned so clearly that all the dreck my mother had tried to instill in me my whole life about women needing to get advanced degrees and have careers to be useful and worthwhile was just that, dreck. Nonsense. God created me to be my husband's helpmeet. His partner. My role was to care for him, our home, our children and our marriage. And yet without my even noticing it, the devil snuck in and for two years had me convinced I had to have an outside, paying job. It never ceases to amaze me how someone who knows just how sneaky the devil is, still doesn't notice when she is being manipulated by the father of Lies.
But now I'm seeing more clearly. I'm daily remembering that God created me for a purpose and the purpose is to be a Keeper at Home. A Guardian of my Home. Baking a cake from scratch may not seem like an act of obedience but it is. All six of us have a healthy sweet to nibble that isn't filled with chemicals or preservatives and is in fact a low fat dessert. Not a big deal on it's own but certainly a small step in my walk to be what I was created to be. And it starts with a happy cake. Well, the cake may not be happy but the baker sure is!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Teachable Moments
I just had lunch with a friend of mine, Issa, who is on jury duty not far from my house. I actually hadn't seen her in quite a while, mostly because of that emotional coma I just woke up from. There were five of us at lunch, Issa, Sweetpea, her friend Jess and my daughter in law Bree. It was an unexpected teachable moment with no actual teaching involved. Issa and I had a lively little discussion about waiting on God's timing. My position is God isn't necessarily going to direct your every little move. He gave us free will for a reason and, while I believe that you should always seek His will for your life, I'm not sure that every single decision or action should be postponed until you are sure you have His timing clearly in your mind. The subject was engagements. I'm of the mind that if God has given you the mate that you are sure He wants for you, what more is there to wait for? What possible benefit could there be for putting off, possibly indefinitely, getting married because you want to make sure you have His timing? God said be fruitful and multiply which you cannot do until you actually get married. Issa's position was that getting engaged and married is too big of a decision to make unless you are sure what God's timing is.
It was interesting. She and I went back and forth several times on the subject. We never raised our voices. This was not an argument or fight. It was two believing women with differing opinions and it was glorious! Sweetpea, Bree and Jess are about six years younger than Issa and obviously many more years than that younger than me. It was good for them to be able to see that two believers can believe in the same God, know the same Saviour, read the same Bible and have very different opinions on a spiritual matter. They also saw that we both were seeking our final authority from Scripture and at the same time they also saw that ultimately the major decisions are available for debate by us but are to be made by our husbands and fathers depending on which one you are living under the headship of.
It was one of those things we mothers know so well. Just because we didn't actually say "and the lesson to be learned here is....." doesn't mean that a lesson wasn't taught. More lessons than most people realize are taught by what you are observed doing than by the words that come out of your mouth. 1Peter 3:1-2 states this very clearly. Our actions more than our words reveal the contents of our hearts.
Teachable moments. Never let them pass by without taking advantage of them.
It was interesting. She and I went back and forth several times on the subject. We never raised our voices. This was not an argument or fight. It was two believing women with differing opinions and it was glorious! Sweetpea, Bree and Jess are about six years younger than Issa and obviously many more years than that younger than me. It was good for them to be able to see that two believers can believe in the same God, know the same Saviour, read the same Bible and have very different opinions on a spiritual matter. They also saw that we both were seeking our final authority from Scripture and at the same time they also saw that ultimately the major decisions are available for debate by us but are to be made by our husbands and fathers depending on which one you are living under the headship of.
It was one of those things we mothers know so well. Just because we didn't actually say "and the lesson to be learned here is....." doesn't mean that a lesson wasn't taught. More lessons than most people realize are taught by what you are observed doing than by the words that come out of your mouth. 1Peter 3:1-2 states this very clearly. Our actions more than our words reveal the contents of our hearts.
Teachable moments. Never let them pass by without taking advantage of them.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Listen or else! (part 0ne)
I feel as if I've woken up from a functioning coma. As if the last two years I've been walking, talking and interacting with the world but essentially in a coma. Quite frankly the end of this coma has been a waking nightmare. I've long believed that God will not necessarily guide you down the correct path but if you go down the wrong one He will pull you back. Sometimes forcefully. Two years ago I looked at our financial situation and made a truly stupid decision. I listened to the world and took a paying job. The first job I took was working for a reservation service out of my home. This seemed ideal for someone as committed to home as I profess to be. However, it paid very little and the hours were restrictive. More specifically the time I was "on the clock" I was tied to my desk. computer and phone. The only upside to being at home was the commute. Then I went to work for a large health insurance company. During my initial interview I was told that after six months most workers in this department were strongly encouraged to telecommute. That seemed like a dream come true! The pay was nearly three times the other job and the hours would be flexible. As long as I put in the total hours it didn't really matter when I worked. However, that six months ended up being more than a year and there were major changes in our home in that time. My son rather unexpectedly got married (and the foundling became my daughter in law) and three months later my wonderful grandson was born. Because all of this was very unplanned, they live with us until they can afford to move into their own home. Having them in the house is both a blessing and a trial as is usually the case when multiple generations share the same roof.
Around the time my grandson was born, I started hearing from God on a very specific subject. I also starting ignoring God on this very specific subject. The subject was and is Titus 2 and the eight commands God gives to women. These eight commands are in addition to the 613 commandments in the Old Testament and they are for women only. When God puts a burden on my heart I know it. It is always clear. The problem is, this time I chose to ignore the burden. Ignore God speaking to me. Ignore God nudging me. So He went from nudging to pushing to shoving.
The thing I learned most is: Listen or else! And the "or else" can be agonizingly painful. God may not punish us here on Earth (and for those of us who know Jesus as our Saviour, we will not be punished after we leave this Earth) but He will most certainly allow adversity into our lives to get a point across or get our attention.
I'm going to elaborate on this concept as I learned it in the past two years. It will probably take multiple posts but since so far no one reads this except me, so what. When I'm done writing it all down, hopefully I will find a way to use it to help other women avoid the painful, sometimes excruciating, lesson that I learned the hard way.
Around the time my grandson was born, I started hearing from God on a very specific subject. I also starting ignoring God on this very specific subject. The subject was and is Titus 2 and the eight commands God gives to women. These eight commands are in addition to the 613 commandments in the Old Testament and they are for women only. When God puts a burden on my heart I know it. It is always clear. The problem is, this time I chose to ignore the burden. Ignore God speaking to me. Ignore God nudging me. So He went from nudging to pushing to shoving.
The thing I learned most is: Listen or else! And the "or else" can be agonizingly painful. God may not punish us here on Earth (and for those of us who know Jesus as our Saviour, we will not be punished after we leave this Earth) but He will most certainly allow adversity into our lives to get a point across or get our attention.
I'm going to elaborate on this concept as I learned it in the past two years. It will probably take multiple posts but since so far no one reads this except me, so what. When I'm done writing it all down, hopefully I will find a way to use it to help other women avoid the painful, sometimes excruciating, lesson that I learned the hard way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)