Bunk Beds and Bald Heads

Yesterday, while cutting my husband's hair, I noticed the hair on the back of his head is starting rub a little thin. It's always been so thick that it bogs down the clippers when I cut it.


"Matt!" I gasped in surprise, "You're getting a bald spot!" I tried to reassure him it looked sophisticated and manly after I realized it was bothering him so badly.


After Matt's hair was finished, it was my 5-year-old's turn. "Do I have a spot in the middle of my head too, Mommy?" he earnestly asked, hoping against hope.


"No," I replied. "Why? Do you want one?"


"Yes." came his simple reply.


"You want to be just like Daddy, don't you," I asked with a smile.


He nodded his head. "Give me a spot Mommy." It was more of a question that a demand.


"No, I can't do that," I said to his dismay. I sort of felt bad when he started to look so downcast.


He asked made his demands about three more times before his hair was done.

How much do your children want to be like you? How much do they look up to you? How much do they watch you? What are they learning from you with every passing day?


I remember when my 6-year-old was around 3 years old that she wanted a bunk bed just like her big sisters. She was always asking for one and tried crawling in the bottom bunk with Hannah almost every night.

No matter what you do, no matter how you act, no matter if you think you're worthy or not, there are little eyes on you! Watching. Waiting. Learning. And they want to be just. like. you.


What pattern are you setting forth? They say "more is caught than taught". What is your life teaching your children? They want to be just like you, you know.

You must be careful. You wonder why your 4-year-old has such an attitude? What's your's like? Is your daughter a soul-winner? Now, why do you think that is? YOU are the guidebook they read every day. Are you a good text?

You don't teach morals and ethics and empathy

and kindness in the schools

You teach that at home,

and children learn by example.

--Judy Sheindlin

Calling In Sick

I am so sick today! I have the stomach bug my 9-year-old had. Stupid sickness. Stupid me! Why wasn't I more understanding of her when she had this? She wasn't really complaining all that much, probably because of the way her Autism affects her. She didn't have a fever. I didn't know it was so bad!

I'm wishing now I hadn't made her do school work. I'm wishing now I didn't have to work. Most people just call into work. Most people have that privilege ability, but not me. No, I have to work regardless.

I still have to wash dishes. I still have to fold laundry. I still have to cook and clean. I still have to kiss imaginary boo-boos (which is a great privilege by the way). I still have to work. Why? Because I'm Mom. Moms don't have the privilege, um, ability to call in sick. No, we have to stick it out and be Mom. Dad gets to be sick. Why can't we?

The blessing of being Mom comes with many privileges... and many not so privileges. Do we find ourselves complaining about our blessings to be Mom instead of just thanking God for the opportunity we have to touch the lives of our lovely children? Be thankful regardless. Thank God you have the chance to be a mom. Thank God for that responsibility. Thank God you don't have that ability to call in sick. After all, if you did, it may mean you wouldn't be a mom today!

"In everything give thanks;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus

concerning you."

I Thessalonians 5:18

Ground Beef and Humble Pie

Sometimes it's hard to fit those bulky packages of ground beef in your freezer. Then they want to roll out at every opportunity, finding it's target every time it falls out of the freezer. Of course, that would be that one little pinky toe that you stubbed 4 times today. It's so frustrating! Shouldn't there be a better way?

There is!

I've found that if I put my two pounds of ground beef in a gallon-size Ziploc bag (Yes, we use two pounds at a time around here) and smoosh it down real good, flattening it out to almost fill the bag, it works a lot better for me. Not only does it make it easy to squeeze out all the air, but it's stackable. It doesn't take as much space up in your freezer and doesn't roll out (BONUS!!!) when you're looking for those last minute frozen veggies that you forgot to microwave while the food was cooking... Ahem... Not that I would do such a thing... Bigger bonus yet, it thaws much quicker!

We are much like that ground beef! We roll around where we ought not, rebelliously falling out of God's will. We puff ourselves up so much with pride that God finds it hard to fit us where we belong.

There is a better way!

If we let God smoosh us and squeeze the air out of our pesky little heads, we'll thrive where He places us. If we stick close to Him, we won't find ourselves rolling out of God's will... or at least not as much. 😊 Best yet, if we allow God to press us down and mold us as He wants, we'll be more pliable, useful, and useable. Time to deflate that little head and find some humility. Let God do as He wishes, and just stay out of His way.

PROBLEMS FACING THE CHRISITAN HOME

No matter how hard you try to protect your family by building a Christian home, there will still be major problems that affect it. The world’s philosophy will still seep in; the psychology of friends and family will continue to be heard—and sometimes heeded; the civil government will always interfere; the “civilization” will forever try to “help”; and the satisfaction of the flesh will still be a temptation to one and all. These many problems of our society, like it or not, do—and will continue to—affect the Christian homes we try so hard to build!

Before we ever begin our families, we are taught the philosophies of this world. Spock’s teachings are prominent in this generation, and they are engrained into the very thought process of any person raised in the public—and most private—schools. They are also confirmed to us through television, magazines, the newspapers, and much more. This is a big factor in many homes today.



After our children are born, our friends and family “throw” their psychology at us constantly. When your child is still a baby, as they lie sleeping in the crib or snuggled in your arms, you are told, “Oh, she’s so cute, but just you wait…!” In addition, your parents and friends have thei

r own ideas of how your children should be raised, and they do not mind “educating” you in that area.



The civil government seems to enjoy interfering with the Biblical family’s progress too. They set forth laws to prohibit the proper discipline of your child, naming it physical abuse, thus instilling beliefs into every citizen that contradict the proper upbringing of family and the Biblical family values. The civil government is one of the problems facing our homes today.



Another is mere civilization. Those things that seem to add to society—seem to make it a better place—literally tear apart the Christian home. The television, which you allow your children to watch, contains some of the vilest things imaginable, and, even the most innocent appearing productions, teach evolution, rebellion, violence, and other anti-Biblical principles. The Internet, when placed in your home, provides an open door to many uncanny and evil things. Time spent on these objects (television, computer, etc.) is stolen from the precious little time available to the proper “rearing” of your children; thus, they are raised by the world instead of “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”!



The desire to satisfy the flesh is the last problem that shall be mentioned. There are many ways to accomplish the fulfillment of this desire, and most of them are readily available to us and our children. These traps, baited with the false promise of success and happiness, are easy to fall into and almost impossible to break free of. This is probably the most prominent and easily attained road to the destruction of the Christian home. Remember, you must lead by example; help your children to overcome in this world by standing against the odds and raising a Christian family through the defeat of these problems that plague the Christian home.