At the Feet of Jesus

I used this photo yesterday at church for a song titled Feet of Jesus by Steven Curtis Chapman.  I don't know who the artist is but I think it's beautiful.  It is my desire to be a woman of prayer.  One who sits with the Word and pours out her heart.  Whether in praise or prayer, just spending time at the Feet of Jesus.

May a Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose

It wasn't a Bird of Paradise.  I'm not even sure what kind of bird it was, but it was sure flying around my living room this morning! I haven't even had my breakfast yet!   It would light on one picture frame and settle there for a moment until one of the cats saw it and took a flying leap towards it.  Then it would fly around until it found another landing spot.  And the cat chase would continue.  All the while the Little Doggie is barking his head off at all the commotion.  We have recently been thinking that he's losing his eye sight but he had no problem picking out the little bird hanging from the mirror above the fireplace.  Nor did he have a problem noticing when Bunny was brought in last night for some one-on-one time with Son.  Maybe he's just been playing on our sympathies.

I called Hubby to let him know about all the excitement he was missing.  He suggested I lock the pets in one room and open the main door to the house encouraging Birdie to fly away to freedom.  Sounded like a good plan but it didn't quite work out that way.

I finally started opening windows and he made his escape!  At least I'm hoping that's what happened because after opening the second window I couldn't find him again and the pets settled down.

Gee!  I think I'm going to go have my breakfast now.

Life without a Rainbow

Genesis 6:6 says the Lord was sorry he had ever made man.  The KJV says "it grieved Him at His heart".  Very sad.  Why?  What had happened?  Just a few chapters before God had created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. And it was good! So what happened?  Genesis 6:5 tells us the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually".  The NIV says it this way  "The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.  So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart."  Again, very sad.   This broken heartedness led to what happened next.  Verse 7 "And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them."  Only Noah found favor in God's sight.

You know the story.  Noah, his three sons, their wives and Noah's wife are all that were saved, along with some of the animals.  After the flood God told Noah and his sons "to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth" (Genesis 9:1)  God also made a promise with Noah to never destroy the earth again with a flood.  In the same chapter, verse 13 God says "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." 

But what if we didn't have a rainbow covenant?  Would the earth still be here?  Have you ever wondered what God thinks about the earth today?  How does it compare to the earth before the Flood?  Has God's heart been broken again?  Just something to think about.

Oatmeal Cookie Goodness

QUAKER'S BEST OATMEAL COOKIES

Printed from COOKS.COM

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3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (opt.)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 c. Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Preheat oven to 375°F.Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack. Store in tightly covered container.

TIP:  I use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the cookie dough.  It makes about a 4" diameter cookie that is thick and chewy.  They make a nice breakfast cookie.  Add 1/2 cup raisins for extra goodness.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
Splash Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 Carrots, shredded
3 Sweet Potatoes
1 Butternut Squash
1 Green Apple, chopped
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
Pepper to taste
48 ounce Chicken Broth
1 cup Milk
1/3 stick butter

Roast squash and sweet potatoes until tender.  Saute onion, carrot and apple in olive oil.  Scoop out the squash and sweet potatoes and add to stock pot.  Add onion, carrot and apple.  Add chicken broth and cook over medium high heat. Puree. Add milk, butter, and seasonings. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon to be fancy.

Little Yellow Button

Little yellow button lying on the sidewalk
wonder what you'd tell me,
if only you could talk.

Did you fall off a dolly?
Or a girls little shoe?
Were you once on a hair bow?
No matter!  You're not through.

You're cute and fun with life to live.
Joy and a smile you're sure to give.

Onto a bag, a blouse or skirt.
You have a purpose. 
Now get to work!

I'm like that! I'm like you.
The old is gone, on with the new!

Onward, upward, forward, be!
God's got a plan and He's
not through with me!

Mama Hommes' Tips for Raising Children

1)  You must have a relationship with the Lord!  If you don't know the Lord, you have no hope.  You have no help. What are you going to do during the tough times?  What is your future?  You NEED Him!

2)  You also need the support of your spouse.  You should agree on disciplinary issues ahead of time and in private.  Never negotiate these situations, in the middle of the situation, in front of the children.  Call a time-out, if necessary, and have a private meeting.  Then confront the children.

3)  It's not too late to change the way things are.  There were several instances when we called a family meeting to say "This is not working.  From now on, we're going to do it this way".  It's ok to do that.  Better late than never.   Regroup and move on.

4)  Start while your children are young.  They are never too young to learn respect, to learn to be obedient, to learn kindness and to learn about the Lord.

5)  Respect is a top priority.  They are never, ever to speak or act disrespectfully to anyone ever! It's typical to think that brothers and sisters are gonna fuss and fight.  You're right.  They're not always going to get along.  But they can always be respectful.  Children should never speak/act disrespectful to their parents.  Eye rolling, foot stomping, door slamming...not allowed...ever!  And screaming "I hate you!" is a big no-no.

6)  Teach them from an early age to have their own relationship with the Lord.  Teach them to pray and to read their bible.  Teach them to take their broken hearts, their worries and fears to the Lord.  Encourage them to listen for the Lord to speak to them.  Teach them to be obedient to the Lord.  If they get the last one, your job as a parent will be so much easier.

7)  Last but definitely not the least.  Tell them over and over and over that you love them. On good days and bad days.  Leave no room for doubt.  Hug freely.  Be involved in their lives.  Ask questions.  Know their friends.  Listen to them when they talk to you.  Even if they're rehashing the Star Wars trilogy for the hundredth time.  If you listen to them when they're little, they'll be more willing to talk to you when they're teens.

There you have it!  The foundation for my parenting. I didn't always do it right.  I learned most of it along the way.  But God is faithful and honors our every effort.

Eve was Deceived...or was She?

Today I read about Eve and her encounter with the serpent.  I was trying to get in her head and imagine what she must have been thinking.  Perhaps it was something like this...."hhhmmm?  The tree is beneficial?  God wouldn't want me to not have the best things in life.  Maybe I should go ahead and eat it. There's no obvious reason why I shouldn't eat of this tree.  What could it hurt?" 

We all know what it hurt. 

How often do we do the same thing?  God distinctly tells us to do a thing or to NOT do a thing.  And in our human brain we start reasoning it out.  And sometimes there's not an obvious reason for it.  It doesn't make sense or it makes perfect sense to do this thing that God told us not to do.  We think we see more benefits than harm.  We may not see any harm.  But God sees ALL!  He sees the beginning from the end.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.

So, was Eve deceived?  Or did she do like most of us and just reasoned it out in her own mind?  Either way, she was wrong.  She was disobedient.  Not only was she disobedient to the Lord, she was disobedient to her husband.

What's worse, she caused her husband to be disobedient to the Lord too.  I know he's responsible for his own actions.  But we all know what kind of influence we have on our men. 

The moral of the story? 

1)  Listen to the Lord.  Even if it doesn't make sense to us.  Just be obedient.
2)  Be submissive to our husbands.  We have to trust that what they say is for our benefit.
3)  Be careful how we're swaying our husbands.  We don't want to be responsible for causing them to stray  from the Lord.

In the beginning God...

Every January 1st I start reading my bible from cover to cover.  I love those first words...In the beginning God.  We all love new beginnings, fresh starts, do-overs.  January 1st seems to do that for us.  Sometimes a Monday will do that for us.  Sometimes it's just a matter of waking up to a new day to feel like a fresh start is on the way.

In any case, I started out reading my bible yesterday with the intent of hearing from the Lord instead of just reading.  He tells us over and over that if we will seek Him with our whole heart we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).  He never fails!  Yesterday was no different.

I read Genesis chapters one and two according to my "Read Through the Bible in a Year" plan.  You know how it goes...God created the heaven and the earth, He created man and woman and on the seventh day He rested.  I really love the rested part.

But what really spoke to me was the very end of chapter two.  Genesis 2:25 says,  "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed".    Adam and Eve were completely exposed, completely vulnerable to one another and were not ashamed.  That's how we're supposed to be.  We should never feel shame before our spouse.  Not when we're exposed physically, emotionally or spiritually.  Our spouse (and God) is the one person we should feel completely safe with.  They're also the one person that we should share our vulnerabilities with.  Girlfriends are great.  But it should be our husbands that we share our deepest, most intimate selves with.

I think this story shows us that we are not to try to hide things from our spouse.  We should strive to have a pure and wholesome relationship with the one God has given us.  We should feel free to express our feelings, share our doubts and fears without judgement, without shame.

As I progress through the new year, I will keep this thought with me.  I will treasure my husband more, be less judgmental of him and be more willing to share those vulnerable parts of myself with him.  After all,
I believe God created him for me and me for him.  Just as he created Adam and Eve for one another.