4:23

 

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

I love this verse, and  for some reason it has been running through my mind a ton lately. I feel like you could interchange “your” for “their” or “his/her”. I am so blessed to be able to stay at home and literally watch Abby grow before my eyes. I love to see the wonder, the excitement, the frustration, and the awe in her eyes. I feel like as her mom it is my number one job to keep her heart and mind pure as a long as possible. We recently canceled cable and I have not regretted it since. I know that as hard as we try, we will not be able to “keep her in a bubble” as some might say, but I will try. I will try to do what I know is right for my daughter and what the Bible says is right. I will protect her heart and her mind as long as possible, so that when the day comes and she has a choice to either follow the crowd or stand up against them she will do what’s right and not for one second totter on her decision.

I am so thankful for where we live. Collin County is the fifth richest county in America…seriously think about that. We are never in need of anything, we are never without what we need. Along with the good though comes the bad. I feel like on the flip side, as a believer I find myself living like a Collin County Christian sometimes. We go to church, we pray before meals, we give a little here and there…and then? And then we complain that our ac bill is too high, that our luxury SUV needs work, and that our bill at the restaurant was too high. What are we teaching our kids with all of this? Kids are sponges and they soak up EVERYTHING. As parents we need and HAVE to set an example.

Matthew 5:8 “ Blessed are the pure heart, for they will see God”

Along with guarding our hearts and our children’s hearts, we have to remain pure. There is so much junk (for lack of better word) that we are bombarded with on a daily basis that I feel like as a society we have become numb to what is ok to watch, read, and listen to. I still cling to “ If Jesus was standing next to you, would he be happy with what you are doing,watching, reading, etc” .  Last month we went to Norman for a few days. When we were in the hotel we were flipping through channels. I literally caught a 15 second glimpse of a preview for an awful movie. That night I had a really bad dream and I was really shocked because I couldn’t figure out where it came from. It finally hit me later on that day, it was from the preview. If 15 seconds of that can effect me that way, what does a whole movie, book, or song do to our minds.

With the school season quickly upon us, we need to remember that our children are going to be influenced by many people outside the home. You want to be the greatest example in your child’s life, or someone else will be.

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow ~Casting Crowns. “Slow fade”

I Wish I Could, but I Can’t

 

The other day Dave and I realized that Abby knows all the letters in the alphabet and all their sounds. He looked at me like “ hey, great job in teaching her all this”.  Sad to say, but I am pretty certain I had nothing to do with this, however I am very certain all the credit goes to…

Yep, mother of the year here!!! She truly loves this video and I don’t mind letting her watch it a few gazillion times a day.

We use this and the Word Factory at our preschool and I really am a fan of it. It has a catchy song to help the kids remember the sounds of each letter and its only about twenty minutes long. Somehow I just fee less guilty letting her watch this, so I sleep better at night = )

My 2 cents worth

 

I am a sinner,  I know it and I accept it. I can honestly say that I try with my whole heart not to judge others and the the decisions they make in their life.

I will be thirty in October and have set a couple goals for myself. 1. I am wanting to run a 5k in a decent time. 2. I want to be both physically and mentally at my best. I want to eat better, exercise more, be more active with Abby, and I also want to be pushing myself as a Christian.

Awhile back one of the sermons at church was about making decisions that are in honor of God. As Christians we are constantly watched and our actions are not taken lightly. We are called to set ourselves apart from the world and those who conform to what society says is right rather than what God has shown us to be the truth. Our pastor explained that God has already shown us how to make good, Christ like decisions. He said when making big or little choices there are three simple steps to live by.

1. Am I biblically free to do this (i.e. having an affair, not so much. )

2. Will my actions bring myself and OTHERS closer to God

3. Am I honoring God

I have truly tried to live by this ever since I heard that sermon. I have tried to apply it to all aspects of my life…what I watch, read, and listen to.

I also feel like, for me at least, there are two other rules I should try to live by

1. Am I honoring my husband

2. Am I honoring my daughter

So, here is my view, and yes I know its not conforming with most, on the whole Fifty Shades/Magic Mike stuff going on.

I am completely against it, all of it, no questions asked. I do know lots and lots of amazing Christian women who have read/watched these and that’s fine for them. Like I said, I am trying to be mentally healthier and cleaner, so for me I know that reading/watching something like that WILL NOT bring me closer to God. I also know that it WILL NOT bring OTHERS closer to God, and I know that I am in no way HONORING God, my husband or my daughter by reading/watching those. Don’t get me wrong, there was a time when I would have been all for this. I have watched every episode of Sex and the City (plus both movies), and plenty of other movies I had no business watching. I have listened to plenty of music I would never in a million years let my daughter listen to. But that was then. I love (and try to live by) the saying “ When you know better, you do better”. I will also admit that I still have not so nice music on my ipod that I run to. I am not proud of it, but it does keep me running which is making me healthier. There are no bad words, its just not uplifting in any way. I also try to live my life by thinking “ If Jesus was here, walking with me in my day to day life, would he be smiling or hurt at the choices have made”. I know to many people this may seem lame, and not a big deal. That’s fine, and for them it may be nothing. I just get sad when I see how far we have come from making Christ like decisions. Have you heard the phrase Americanizing Jesus? Sometimes its just easier to go along with what everyone else is doing, saying, reading or watching.

Like I said, I am a sinner and will always be. I also know that God forgives me for my sins and he has already shown me the way to make better, healthier choices in my life.