Posts

Showing posts from February, 2015

Instilling Initiative Into Our Children

Getting kids to do their chores, or any work for that matter can often be a pain. We as their parents desire to see them want to help, want to learn, want to grow in maturity, selflessness and grace. We want them to take initiative and be intuitive. We want them to develop good habits. We want to raise willful children into caring, competent adults. So when they're little, we give them chore lists according to their ages and abilities.  The list clearly states WHAT the chore is and WHEN the chore should be done. They look at them, understand what's expected and everything is rosy. When they are little, moms tend to remind them when it's time to do a chore. Even though this works, it's bad training. Why? Because the power of a law is only as strong as the penalty of the law . (Keep repeating that until it sinks in!) If you give your child a list of chores with no deadlines or penalties, where is their motivation to remember to get their rear in gear? It's

Fix a Sagging Mattress

Shopping around for a new mattress these days can be a pain. Literally. My husband and I both have trouble with back pain occasionally (and increasingly the older we get) and it's important to have a good mattress to sleep on. But the ridiculous price tags are daunting. When it was time to buy a new mattress last August, we thought we'd give IKEA a try. We spent hours at the store lying on mattresses and studying the differences between the different models. They don't do normal money back returns for mattresses and instead give you a gift card for their store. But their prices were appealing and their claims for superior durability and comfort very alluring. So after several hours of testing and deliberating in the store and thinking we found a good one we made the plunge and bought one. It was roughly $550. We got it home and within a month, it started sagging. The body grooving was causing us both increasing back pain and sleep loss. We knew that  returning it would

The Words of The Mouth

I wanted to write today about ways to express ourselves that bring honor, and not dishonor, to the Lord. The Bible says in Matthew 12:46, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." SO we're each going to give an account of ourselves to the Lord one day.  So we need to be mindful of the words and expressions we use. There are many (professing) Christians are dishonoring God with their choice of words, making them very poor ambassadors for Christ. A whole new generation of people are using God's name in vain, as though it were meaningless and they won't be held accountable. They use his holy name to express anything from surprise, joy and amazement to frustration, disappointment and sadness. Some insert filthy words along with it. Even though it has been reduced to initials (OMG) the intent is the same. They aren't trembling now, but they will one day. Such a frightening thought. T