The boys and I drove to Walterboro on Friday after school, and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the leaves were! I don't remember the trees ever looking this pretty down here in South Carolina. As we drove home from all of our shopping excursions, the boys were sleeping in the back, and I was just taking in all the colors of fall. I was reminded just how very much God is in control of every little detail...and that He is concerned with the things that concern His children. If he takes the time to paint a pallet of beautiful colors on each tree, how much more so is he interested in our lives, and the things that effect us.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Chores
The boys begged for a chores list today...where they could get stars for all the items they accomplished. Much to their dismay, they had to work hard for their stars....I think the fun has already worn off.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hypnotized
I have really been pondering this election outcome, and I have found myself taken aback by it all. I have a mixture of emotions as I watch everything unfolding in the world around me. I have tried to place myself in the shoes of the millions of black people that are in this country. I am thrilled that our country is becoming more and more "colorblind". What a moment in history to be alive!
I, too, know something about being a minority. I know, you are thinking, "What??" Living in San Luis, Arizona, population 25,000, and being pretty much the only white, English-as-a-primary-language resident, I got a taste of what it felt like to be odd-man-out, with little to no voice. Then I remember going to church in Mexico, and being the only American there...and when, by chance, another American would visit, I would find myself drawn to them, because of the common bond. I think that's how the majority of the black population is feeling today. I think that they are feeling empowered...that for the first time in history, they have a voice on a National scale, something they have, until now, only dreamed of. The issue that I struggle with is that sometimes, when you feel such a bond on one level, you can become indifferent to the things that really matter. I can't help but wonder how many people really looked beyond their own skin color to make this choice. I understand the power of culture...the pull that it has on humanity. I feel like many of the black people are deeply spiritual, "big faith" people. A majority have had strong Christian roots. But the excitement of this campaign has clouded their moral vision. There has been a hypnotic effect that has caused them to make choices that they normally never would have made before. I have learned through the years that we, if we truly are Christians, must not be controlled by our own human culture, but we need to be controlled by the culture of heaven...the moral standard that has been laid out before us. All of us...White, Black, Brown...need to be able to objectively look at the choices that are in front of us, and decide if we are going to be guided by the standards of the world, or the standards of the One who made the world.
The other struggle I have is that I am watching the country I love, heading in a direction that I don't like. I am watching people put the economy on a higher priority level than morality. People holding out for a hand out, rather than the satisfaction of hard work. Because of this, I am more energized then ever. I have been reminded of the urgency of the times, and the vitality of participation. We all have been given a sphere of influence. So, I am pulling my boots up, determined to let the Lord use me as He sees fit..to make an eternal difference in the world around me.
I, too, know something about being a minority. I know, you are thinking, "What??" Living in San Luis, Arizona, population 25,000, and being pretty much the only white, English-as-a-primary-language resident, I got a taste of what it felt like to be odd-man-out, with little to no voice. Then I remember going to church in Mexico, and being the only American there...and when, by chance, another American would visit, I would find myself drawn to them, because of the common bond. I think that's how the majority of the black population is feeling today. I think that they are feeling empowered...that for the first time in history, they have a voice on a National scale, something they have, until now, only dreamed of. The issue that I struggle with is that sometimes, when you feel such a bond on one level, you can become indifferent to the things that really matter. I can't help but wonder how many people really looked beyond their own skin color to make this choice. I understand the power of culture...the pull that it has on humanity. I feel like many of the black people are deeply spiritual, "big faith" people. A majority have had strong Christian roots. But the excitement of this campaign has clouded their moral vision. There has been a hypnotic effect that has caused them to make choices that they normally never would have made before. I have learned through the years that we, if we truly are Christians, must not be controlled by our own human culture, but we need to be controlled by the culture of heaven...the moral standard that has been laid out before us. All of us...White, Black, Brown...need to be able to objectively look at the choices that are in front of us, and decide if we are going to be guided by the standards of the world, or the standards of the One who made the world.
The other struggle I have is that I am watching the country I love, heading in a direction that I don't like. I am watching people put the economy on a higher priority level than morality. People holding out for a hand out, rather than the satisfaction of hard work. Because of this, I am more energized then ever. I have been reminded of the urgency of the times, and the vitality of participation. We all have been given a sphere of influence. So, I am pulling my boots up, determined to let the Lord use me as He sees fit..to make an eternal difference in the world around me.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
And the winner is.....
Being Election Day, we decided to scrap the traditional school day, and celebrate the democratic process of our land. Our little school room has been converted into a voting room. We have designed the whole day around the election, complete with voting, and electoral college maps ready to be colored red and blue as the results come in. (It's going to be a late night!) The boys have been excitedly following this election, and have learned a great deal about how it works! We'll have the "Parra District" results after Mom and Dad vote later today!
Update...5:09pm....well, the polls are closed here in our house, and the votes are in and counted in the Parra district...and McCain has won it!! It was a landslide victory, complete with jumping and cheering from the youngest voting members...Now we are getting settled to watch the real votes roll in!
Monday, November 3, 2008
It's a priviledge and a right!
"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. " Psalm 146:3-4
This scripture, that was on my blog today, seemed very fitting for the times in which we are living! As Election Day approaches, filled with campaign promises from here to the moon, I thought is was fitting to remind myself that the only one we can really put our complete faith in is God. Using that plumb line, both candidates fall so very short of living up to a standard that high. So, tomorrow, I will venture out with my boys, and cast my vote for the man who I believe lines up with the issues that concern God most, not the issues that concern my pocketbook most. After all, He promises to bless us according to His riches in Glory, and not according to the economic standards of this great country. That being said, I encourage all of you to vote tomorrow...vote your conscience...vote as if God was watching over your shoulder...because in reality, He is!
This scripture, that was on my blog today, seemed very fitting for the times in which we are living! As Election Day approaches, filled with campaign promises from here to the moon, I thought is was fitting to remind myself that the only one we can really put our complete faith in is God. Using that plumb line, both candidates fall so very short of living up to a standard that high. So, tomorrow, I will venture out with my boys, and cast my vote for the man who I believe lines up with the issues that concern God most, not the issues that concern my pocketbook most. After all, He promises to bless us according to His riches in Glory, and not according to the economic standards of this great country. That being said, I encourage all of you to vote tomorrow...vote your conscience...vote as if God was watching over your shoulder...because in reality, He is!
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