A Simple Twist of Faith

Love is Patient

Today, in my prayer group, we discussed the importance of the husband-wife relationship and how it relates to parenting.  We had a lively discussion, however it was what was shared at the end of the session that gave me pause to think... The leader spoke about a couple who have been married for fifteen years and have eight children. What impressed my friend is not how many children this couple had ,but the relationship the husband and wife have, and how it permeated throughout the family. She asked the wife how this occurred with all the responsibilities and busyness a large family entailed.  The wife told my friend their husband-wife relationship was not always that way.  About five years ago, she started to respond to his husband with  a different approach; with love, the love described in Corinthians 13:4-7. She made the change internally and did not discuss it with his husband. Eventually, he began to respond to her love, and transform his behavior in kind.  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." So, when my husband walks in the door tonight, what will be the tenor of my greeting to him? Patient or irritable? Kind or rude? Humble or pompous?  Calm or quick-tempered? Resentful or forgiving? Hopeful or disencouraging? I, as a wife and mother, will set the tone in our home.  

7 Quick Takes Friday Vol. 20

1. Happy Friday Everyone!  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to lead my Moms' Prayer Group.  I shared several links with this great group of Moms that would like to pass on to you.

2. People of the Bible: Life and Customs by Silvia Gastaldi and Claire Musatti.  This colorful illustrated book  shows fascinating details about everyday life in Biblical times, from family life to the temple. My girls enjoy looking at the funny pictures, and history buff that I am, I cannot put this book down.  A great resource book for any Christian family.

3.  Part of my talk, I introduced the concept of creating a Family Mission Statement. Please read this article entitled  Back to Basics: Creating a Family Mission Statement by Tsh Oxenreider @ Simple Mom. 4. Another great resource for creating your family mission statement is  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey.  This book had a profound impact on me and helped me make my decision to be a full-time Mom. 5. And here is my family's mission statement .  6. Another book I would like to recommend is A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot.  I recently read an article from Jamie at Steady Mom about this book. Yesterday, one of members of my Moms' Group let me borrow it, and I cannot stop reading it!  7. This Quick Takes is hosted by Jennifer at the Conversion Diary.  Please hop on over there for many more Quick Takes.

7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 16

I can't belive it's Friday!  This week and month is flying by! Here's some highlights of my week: 1. We have been busy with home schooling and baking.  Ladybug is on set 5 of the Bob Books.  Thursday night she read The Best Nest  to Bumblebee and me for a bedtime story.  As for baking, the girls and I are having a lot of fun with our 12 cookies of Christmas project.  Check here on Tuesday to see what we will bake next! 2.  12 weeks to Christmas, and for once in my adult life, I am not stressing about gift-giving, mainly due to the fact, we have greatly curtailed our holiday budget. It's amazing when you have less money some old worries just melt away on their own.  It is actually very freeing to me. I am looking forward to focusing on the true meaning of the holiday season, the birth of Christ.    3. This evening, my neighbor is watching my children.  Rick and I are having a date night.  We are actually staying home, I am making a simple dinner of homemade minestrone soup,  salad, and streamed shrimp with Old Bay seasoning.  For dessert, we are having a favorite of ours called Baked Chocolate Tart.  It is a recipe from Jamie Oliver of the Naked Chef fame. Jamie suggests serving it with seasonal berries, or we like it best with whipped cream and Champagne. 4. Today, will be my third week I have participated in 40 Days for Life.  I have met  a majority of wonderful people and have also witnessed a minority of people act in very unChristian ways, however  many positive things have happened over the past three weeks.  Babies have been saved, mothers have been directed to the help they need, and I have joined a cause greater than myself. 5. It is finally feeling like fall around here, well, at least, we stopped running the air conditioning.  The weather has been in the 60s and 70s this week, and no more rain in the forecast. Hurrah! 6.I would like to share this link to Mothering Styles I found at Steady Mom.  There is a quiz that uses your personality type to help discover your parenting strengths and opportunities.  I found it very helpful and thought you may too. 7. This 7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted by Jennifer at the Conversion Diary.  Please click over to her site for more!

Attitude

My husband has a wonderful  attitude. He is one of those 1/2 full cup kind of guys.  One day, he brought home this message from a training class he attended. Frankly, I think he shared it with me, because I struggle with being one of those 1/2 empty cup kind of gals. Here the quote:  " The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it...And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes." Charles Swindoll

Around the Fire

It has been awhile since this picture was taken, which tells me , husband extraordinaire and I need some time for us, and just us.  Many couples have regular date nights, a night on the town or a special weekend away.  One of the most relaxing things for my husband and I do is to share a beer around our fire pit.  After the girls go to bed, on clear, cool nights, we head outside in our backyard, sit in our Adirondack chairs, and start a fire. There is something so restful about gazing into the flames. We have our best conversations around that fire pit.  We talked about everything and nothing at all.  We reminisce about when we first met.  We remember times long ago, of our parents, of our respective childhoods.  We talk of the future: plans, and dreams of our children and for ourselves.  Looking at this picture, has given me an idea. As soon as "the great flood" ends in our part of the country, and the firewood dries, I think we will have to meet by the fire again.