Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Home sweet home
As of late, I have been positively consumed with Biblical womanhood. There is an absolute plethora of information out there on this subject! I've stumbled across TONS of really good websites that have given me much in encouragement in this area. If possible there are even more BLOGS kept by some pretty amazing women. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about their daily struggles, triumphs, heartaches and moments of outright JOY! Though, I have a fair amount of knowledge on homemaking just from my education and upbringing, I've learned much from these blogs and websites. Everything from "frugal living" to "how to make your home smell yummy." Homemaking and femininity are looked down upon in our society. The ideas of staying home to raise your children, and instilling the importance of family and God, are lost upon my generation. One blog, written by an older homemaker (I think her children are grown, and out of the nest), had helpful tips and advice for women who didn't have a "homemaking mentor".
This got me to thinking about my own upbringing. The more I get to know different people, the more grateful for my mother I become. She, taught me SO much about cooking, sewing, and making a house a home. There wasn't a formal "training", but rather, she just lived her life, and I learned untold numbers of valuable lessons from it. I remember when I was about 4 years old, I saw her sewing at the kitchen one day, and I walked up and said, "whatcha doin?". She said simply said, "sewing." Next thing ya know, I'd climbed up into one of the chairs next to her and started imitating her movements. She didn't really say anything, but rather, corrected me when I'd mess up (which was fairly often). I've been sewing ever since then. The same sort of thing happened with cooking.
I always loved to help her in the kitchen, or just to watch what she was doing. Every once in a while, she'd let me experiment by myself. Sometimes, if we'd seen some new and interesting food on TV, like an exotic fruit or new way of preparing something, she'd take me to the library, and we'd look up books about it. Then, the next time we went to the grocery store, we'd get it. The real fun when we'd come home and try it. It wasn't that my mom was a Suzy Homemaker type, but more that she just did the things she'd been taught by her mother. As for the food experiments, we did those because SHE was genuinely interested in trying new things, and wanted to satisfy her own curiosity.
When I have friends over for supper, it's so interesting to see what they do when they arrive, it says a lot about their upbringing. Usually guys will just go hang out in the living room, but the women do one of two things: 1.) They offer to help or 2.) They sit at the table, and watch me cook. Naturally, the women who grew up helping their mother in the kitchen, automatically offer to help, and the women who didn't, just sit and watch. I'm saddened that so many young women today know nothing about homemaking, because it has virtually nothing to do with being a domestic slave; it's about knowing how to manage your affairs. I guess this post is really just one, big "THANK YOU" to my mom, because as I read the blogs of these joyful homemakers and their many "adventures", I'm grateful to my mother for giving me a foundation from which to spring forth. Hopefully, someday I will be able to use my knowledge and abilities in an extended disco version way...when/if the Lord ever blesses me with a husband and a duck line of babies, but for now...I'm gonna go sit in my recliner and enjoy this tiny haven I've come to call home.
This got me to thinking about my own upbringing. The more I get to know different people, the more grateful for my mother I become. She, taught me SO much about cooking, sewing, and making a house a home. There wasn't a formal "training", but rather, she just lived her life, and I learned untold numbers of valuable lessons from it. I remember when I was about 4 years old, I saw her sewing at the kitchen one day, and I walked up and said, "whatcha doin?". She said simply said, "sewing." Next thing ya know, I'd climbed up into one of the chairs next to her and started imitating her movements. She didn't really say anything, but rather, corrected me when I'd mess up (which was fairly often). I've been sewing ever since then. The same sort of thing happened with cooking.
I always loved to help her in the kitchen, or just to watch what she was doing. Every once in a while, she'd let me experiment by myself. Sometimes, if we'd seen some new and interesting food on TV, like an exotic fruit or new way of preparing something, she'd take me to the library, and we'd look up books about it. Then, the next time we went to the grocery store, we'd get it. The real fun when we'd come home and try it. It wasn't that my mom was a Suzy Homemaker type, but more that she just did the things she'd been taught by her mother. As for the food experiments, we did those because SHE was genuinely interested in trying new things, and wanted to satisfy her own curiosity.
When I have friends over for supper, it's so interesting to see what they do when they arrive, it says a lot about their upbringing. Usually guys will just go hang out in the living room, but the women do one of two things: 1.) They offer to help or 2.) They sit at the table, and watch me cook. Naturally, the women who grew up helping their mother in the kitchen, automatically offer to help, and the women who didn't, just sit and watch. I'm saddened that so many young women today know nothing about homemaking, because it has virtually nothing to do with being a domestic slave; it's about knowing how to manage your affairs. I guess this post is really just one, big "THANK YOU" to my mom, because as I read the blogs of these joyful homemakers and their many "adventures", I'm grateful to my mother for giving me a foundation from which to spring forth. Hopefully, someday I will be able to use my knowledge and abilities in an extended disco version way...when/if the Lord ever blesses me with a husband and a duck line of babies, but for now...I'm gonna go sit in my recliner and enjoy this tiny haven I've come to call home.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
My people perish for lack of knowledge
I found this video on a friend's blog, and thought it was worth sharing:
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I've discovered this wonderful website on Biblical womanhood.
www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com
I stumbled across it when I was searching for a good recipe for homemade pizza crust (I tried the one from the website and it was fabulous). Check out the courtship story, it's incredibly sweet. I think it's well past time for courtship to make a comeback.
www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com
I stumbled across it when I was searching for a good recipe for homemade pizza crust (I tried the one from the website and it was fabulous). Check out the courtship story, it's incredibly sweet. I think it's well past time for courtship to make a comeback.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A hungry soul is all ears
I love God. I love that He opens my eyes, and provides correction when needed. I've been reading "Revolution in World Missions" by K.P. Yohannan, and it's really making me reconsider all that I thought to be right and true about mission work. Like many people, when you say "mission" I either picture going into a jungle to convert the savage natives, or setting up some sort of medical/dental clinic and/or food kitchen. In the book, Yohannan talks about how modern mission work has become more like social work...the "social gospel". The Church has lost it's focus, and become unbalanced. We'd rather make the people doomed to spend eternity in hell without God more comfortable here on earth, rather than preach the Gospel and "snatch" them from hell's fiery pits. It reminds me of the few mission trips I've been on where, if we were in a place for a week, we'd wait until the very last day to "teach" the Gospel to the people. Imagine how much more effective we could have been had we used EVERY day to share the Gospel with people. How many more souls could have been reached.
Anywho, the real revelation that I had was when I read the chapter on problems with the "social gospel". A couple of years ago, I listened to a presentation by a well known Christian organization about helping children overseas. It talked about sponsoring children and providing them with meals, because "an empty tummy has no ears". It said that once the child's basic physical needs had been met, the spiritual "self" could then be taken care of. This sounds logical and quite practical. When Yohannan said Gospel above and beyond all else, I immediately went to my Bible. You know how sometimes when you've read something before and you're going back through and re-reading it, you kind of skim over everything and assume you know exactly what's there? Yeah...next time...don't skim. I was shocked to realize, my idea of "feed the tummy, then go for the soul", was wrong. Now I understand that I'd just lost sight of the fact that Jesus is to be first and foremost ALWAYS. Not just when it's convenient, when you're full, clothed, and set up with decent lodgings. Always means ALWAYS.
First, we must come to faith in Christ; handing over every care, every worry, every unruly thought to The One who loves us, died for us, and is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Once we've got Him, everything else will come. He promises to take care of His children. "But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matthew 6:33. "These things" refer to the food, drink, and clothing; mentioned in verse 31. There is nothing wrong with building Christian schools, hospitals and other things, but "projects" like those are to be secondary to preaching the Gospel to the unreached people of the world. A hungry child does not need Christ and a hot dog. Christ is ENOUGH!
Anywho, the real revelation that I had was when I read the chapter on problems with the "social gospel". A couple of years ago, I listened to a presentation by a well known Christian organization about helping children overseas. It talked about sponsoring children and providing them with meals, because "an empty tummy has no ears". It said that once the child's basic physical needs had been met, the spiritual "self" could then be taken care of. This sounds logical and quite practical. When Yohannan said Gospel above and beyond all else, I immediately went to my Bible. You know how sometimes when you've read something before and you're going back through and re-reading it, you kind of skim over everything and assume you know exactly what's there? Yeah...next time...don't skim. I was shocked to realize, my idea of "feed the tummy, then go for the soul", was wrong. Now I understand that I'd just lost sight of the fact that Jesus is to be first and foremost ALWAYS. Not just when it's convenient, when you're full, clothed, and set up with decent lodgings. Always means ALWAYS.
First, we must come to faith in Christ; handing over every care, every worry, every unruly thought to The One who loves us, died for us, and is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Once we've got Him, everything else will come. He promises to take care of His children. "But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matthew 6:33. "These things" refer to the food, drink, and clothing; mentioned in verse 31. There is nothing wrong with building Christian schools, hospitals and other things, but "projects" like those are to be secondary to preaching the Gospel to the unreached people of the world. A hungry child does not need Christ and a hot dog. Christ is ENOUGH!
Monday, June 30, 2008
QT4ME
It's funny how friends can help you get to know yourself. Randomly, I decided to take some little online Love Language quiz, not too long ago. I was mildly surprised by the results, thinking my primary love language was Physical Touch. Its actually, Quality Time. When I mentioned this to one of my girlfriends, she immediately said, "I can see that." Curious, I asked how she could know something like that. Her response kind of took me aback. "It's what you ask for," she said, as if I should kinda have known that.
Looking back on my friendships, and how I judge the status of a friendship, and how I feel friendships grow; her reply makes total sense. Any of my friends will tell you, I always want to spend time with them when possible...preferably one-on-one. Sitting with someone one-on-one and opening up about life is how I know I'm loved/valued. The love comes from knowing that the other person has trusted me enough to make themselves vulnerable and that they want to be around me. When starting a new friendship, I absolutely ACHE to know everything about the other person, and in turn, I want to share my heart and passions with them. I love finally getting to the stage in a relationship where you can communicate tons of information with each other without saying a word.
I guess this is why it always hurts very deeply when I encounter someone who doesn't really want to share anything with me, nor do they want any one-on-one time with me. Now please don't misunderstand me in all of this. I'm not strictly talking about romantic relationships. This applies to both platonic (male or female) and romantic relationships. One thing I've noticed about myself is that quality time with a new acquaintance is the thing I'm most afraid to ask for. Given that, QT = love, it makes sense. If that person rejects me, or if the QT is compromised by lack of connection/interest, I could somewhat easily walk away from the situation feeling extremely hurt.
Understand this, quality time is not simply just being around another person. It's actually FOCUSING your attention on them exclusively for a sustained period of time. It's about sharing your life with them, and making them feel comfortable enough to share their life with you. I don't know about others, but for me specifically, it's not about sharing abstract theories/theologies, intellectual debates, and impersonal musings. It's about communicating the things you're passionate about, sharing bits and pieces of the events/moments that have gotten you to where you are, and dialoging about where you hope to be.
Looking back on my friendships, and how I judge the status of a friendship, and how I feel friendships grow; her reply makes total sense. Any of my friends will tell you, I always want to spend time with them when possible...preferably one-on-one. Sitting with someone one-on-one and opening up about life is how I know I'm loved/valued. The love comes from knowing that the other person has trusted me enough to make themselves vulnerable and that they want to be around me. When starting a new friendship, I absolutely ACHE to know everything about the other person, and in turn, I want to share my heart and passions with them. I love finally getting to the stage in a relationship where you can communicate tons of information with each other without saying a word.
I guess this is why it always hurts very deeply when I encounter someone who doesn't really want to share anything with me, nor do they want any one-on-one time with me. Now please don't misunderstand me in all of this. I'm not strictly talking about romantic relationships. This applies to both platonic (male or female) and romantic relationships. One thing I've noticed about myself is that quality time with a new acquaintance is the thing I'm most afraid to ask for. Given that, QT = love, it makes sense. If that person rejects me, or if the QT is compromised by lack of connection/interest, I could somewhat easily walk away from the situation feeling extremely hurt.
Understand this, quality time is not simply just being around another person. It's actually FOCUSING your attention on them exclusively for a sustained period of time. It's about sharing your life with them, and making them feel comfortable enough to share their life with you. I don't know about others, but for me specifically, it's not about sharing abstract theories/theologies, intellectual debates, and impersonal musings. It's about communicating the things you're passionate about, sharing bits and pieces of the events/moments that have gotten you to where you are, and dialoging about where you hope to be.
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