Misplaced Efforts of Manipulation

Coworkers, government officials, politicians, neighbors, husbands, children and even domestic animals . . .

There will always be someone or some behavior that we wish would change in the people around us. Our coworkers make crude sexual jokes in our presence. Our family members gossip about one another. Our neighbors allow their animals to parade around your yard. Our husbands won't fix or finish projects on our timetable. Our children are obstinate and rebellious. Our cat insists upon urinating on our couch. And these don't even begin to scratch the surface of things we would change if we could.

So we attempt to manipulate others by nagging, complaining, whining, giving the cold shoulder, expressing fear, maybe even throwing a temper tantrum. Some wives try to manipulate their husbands by withholding physical intimacy. Some husbands try to manipulate their wives by beating them. But in the end, all our efforts of manipulation are fruitless. Yes, we may win a battle or two here and there, but it will never change the person at whom it is directed.

Let's look at a common example of an unequally yoked marriage. In the case of a redeemed, believing wife and an unregenerate husband, there is nothing she can do to win the soul of her husband over to Christ. The Bible tells us that the woman, by her attitude and acts of service, her humility and chaste behavior, can be a means of grace by which the Lord might entice the heart of her husband to Christ. This is not a guarantee, but a general observation and very real possibility. If the woman tries to nag him, belittle him and otherwise tear him down by provoking him by her sinful actions, she is only perpetuating the problem. He will NEVER change. She will drive him further away from Christ and deeper into his idolatry and rebellion.

Her strategy is all wrong. She is acting out of selfishness and not out of love. She is more concerned about her reputation than she is about the soul of her husband and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very dangerous habit of sin. Not only will her actions reap judgment for herself, but also encourage the rebellion leading to eternal damnation for her husband! She is not representing Christ to her unsaved husband. The Bible tells us to "love our neighbors as ourselves." Your husband is your closest neighbor therefore, you are commanded to love him. And if you don't consider him your neighbor, but more like your enemy there is a verse for that too. "Love your enemies. Do good to them." Luke 6:27-36. Do enemies deserve love? No, they don't. But this is the commandment of God. Your faith in Christ is clearly seen by your ability to show love to unloveable people, just as Christ did. Love is not just a feeling of affection or sentimentality, but a willful, calculated decision to act on their behalf.

And consider the wife who has benefited from the love of God through Christ. "But God demonstrates his own love toward us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 We didn't deserve the love of God and we certainly didn't deserve the atoning sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. We deserve hell, eternal condemnation, the wrath of God burning in unquenchable fire forever without relent. But Christ stepped in and took that for us in obedience to the Father! How amazing is His love and commitment toward His sheep! If, after receiving such a wonderful gift of grace, we are not urged to do the same, we are above all, hypocrites.

Love includes ceasing from perpetuating a sinful lifestyle. Let's say the husband weighs 800 pounds and is bedridden because of his obesity. The wife should not bring him the 10th helping of food as a means of submissive service to her husband! She's only making it worse! This is not an act of love. We are commanded to submit to our husbands out of reverence for Christ. This means that we submit to the man as long as what he asks is not disobeying the Lord. This works in lots of circumstances: when the husband tells his wife to bring him a drink of alcohol when he's already clearly drunk; when the husband tells his wife to hide the illegal drugs somewhere in the house and lie to the police; etc. Sometimes, the most loving thing a wife can do is to let the husband get into the trouble that he's caused himself. People do a lot of thinking when they're behind bars.

The Biblical response of the believing wife toward her unsaved husband in obedience to Christ is to remain with her husband, serve him and submit to him. She is not responsible for changing him, but she is responsible for her own actions and reactions. Unless SHE is willing to change her attitude and action toward him, she can NEVER hope that he will change either. This is the best way to "manipulate" those around us, by heaping burning coals on top of their heads. We do that through love, service and respect out of a motivation to please God through obedience. Manipulation is always out of a selfish, self-centered desire for our own pleasure. But if we resolve to serve our husbands and children out of a loving obedience to Christ, the impact will be more profound, more genuine, and more enduring. Choose this day whom you will serve: yourself or the Lord Jesus Christ.

OMGG Perform California Cotton Fields

Obviously Minor Guys and a Girl

They sure look young, but they're really good.



OMGGBand.com

Truman Price, Fiddle

Reuse, Reduce: Keys to Variety within a Budget

Many of our dinners use ingredients from previous meals, saving cooking time and money. Some recipes call for ready-made ingredients, like spaghetti sauce. But if I prepare it myself, I can produce a large quantity for a fraction of the cost it would take to buy the same amount. For instance, one week I’ll prepare spaghetti. I will cook enough meat sauce to freeze at least three containers for later meals, including calzones, pizza, lasagna and chicken parmesan. Plus there is an added benefit knowing all the natural contents of the foods I prepare, taking comfort that we’re not consuming hydrogenated oils, excess salt and sugars.

Another key to feeding many mouths on a food budget and still maintaining variety is to use ingredients that are inexpensive, for example carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, dried beans and pasta. Soups also tend to cost less per serving and per pot. These cheap ingredients make a bulk of filling foods without breaking the bank.

It is also important to utilize everything: waste not, want not. For example, I bake all our sandwich bread. But no one wants the end pieces of the loaf. With my bread knife I take a little sliver off the ends and freeze them to use for breadcrumbs later for meatloaf, meatballs, etc. Just thaw in the toaster, crumble in the food processor with the seasonings of choice and add them to the meal. Voila!

Biblically, it is imperative to follow God’s command regarding gluttony. Refraining from the third, fourth and fifth helping allows the family to enjoy the meal longer, thus stretching the dollar as well. The dollar is stretched because less food needs to be prepared, but also because the waist is not expanding to require new clothing. Neither do we starve ourselves, but it is important to stop eating when satisfied and avoid overeating as is popular in the current American restaurant culture. There is always tomorrow’s lunch when you can enjoy the blend of flavors again. Exhibit self-control; it is a fruit of the Spirit. If we're truly still hungry, then we eat more side items, like rice and beans, and not the expensive main course.

There are two important items to maximize your menu potential. The first is a large freezer, which is well worth the investment as many cost less than $10 to run each month and save you hundreds of dollars in food storage power. Secondly, a very large pot to cook huge quantities of soups and sauces. This goes without saying that you would also benefit from a large or extra large baking dish and a good number of freezer storage containers that can be labeled for quick reference.

Can You Imagine a Communist America?

No, America could NEVER become a Communist Nation! Could it?!

It could very well happen. The Communist Party USA has been very successful at accomplishing their goals of making America a Communist State. Communist states are characterized by oppressive dictators and a lack of freedom. Imagine that you are not free to choose where you want to live. You are told where to live, what to eat and what to drink.

You are not free to choose what to wear. That decision has already been made for you.

You are not free to go wherever you would like. Your every move is watched. Nor can you choose what kind of car you can drive, or even if you are allowed to drive a car, ride a bike, take a taxi, etc.

You are not free to speak what you will nor are you free to hold ideology that is different from the ruling elite. Should certain words leave your mouth and it is suspected that they are credited to you, you will be fired upon. How will the ruling elite isolate persons with differing values? They will first target those public organizations and movements with contrasting goals: Right to Life organizations, The Tea Party organization, and doctrinally sound, confessional churches, just name a few. They may not even interrogate individuals from these groups before their eradication but completely obliterate anyone who is even remotely associated with them.

You are not free to choose what music to listen to, which books you can read or movies you can watch. All of these sources of information and entertainment will have to be screened prior to allowing the public to have access. Privileges to the internet would also certainly be limited and all your online activity constantly monitored.

You would not have the freedom to choose which job field to pursue. You would be told what career you must learn. If you refuse to go to work for the benefit of the collective, then you will be forced, or fired upon.

You will not have the freedom to marry whomever you choose, but parameters would be set that you could only marry someone within a certain class of people. Should you transgress, you would likely be fired upon.

You will not have the freedom to procreate as you would like. You may be sterilized by force. If you want more children than allowed, you would be forced to abort them. If you are unable to have children, you might be fired upon anyway because you cannot benefit the collective. It's already being talked about HERE and HERE.

You would not have the freedom to educate your children as you want. The state would take them by force as early as birth. Read HERE

If this does not eventually happen in the United States, imagine a conservative people attempting to collect together and create a separate state that would secede from the union and develop it's own nation. Even if secession were allowed to happen, how long would it take for our Communist neighbors to eventually seek to subdue our land and people? The goal of Communism is world domination, just as it is for Islam. And both are just as bloody. Remember Nazi Germany, Hitler & Stalin? How many millions of people, national citizens, died while the uninformed mob sat back approvingly? Something like that can very well happen here. Don't think it can't.

Learning to Count with Money

Up until January, I had taught the girls to count past 100 by single digits, to skip counting by 10's and 100's. They were also able to recognize random numbers like 57 or 86. I dropped the math for a while in an effort to focus on their reading and writing ability. Jeramy has begun to teach the girls math and counting with money. They are learning the basic coin denominations and to skip count by 5's using nickels. They really enjoy the hands-on learning and working hard with Daddy.

Obama Is a Communist. He's Bad.

President Barak Obama has been influenced by several key people throughout his life that have direct ties to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA; more details later). Twenty percent of Congress also have direct ties to the Communist Party.

Socialism
It is well known that Obama is a Socialist, to say the least. He encourages Class Warfare whereby Big Government steals from one group of people to give to another group of people. This creates a "Nanny State" with programs like, Obamacare, Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, to name a few. The goal of Socialism is Communism. Once Communism has been achieved, it is very difficult to revert back because the goal of Communism is global domination. There have been massive efforts by the CPUSA to corrupt America from within and it has been extremely successful.

Environmentalism
CPUSA has sought to kill the free capitalist market of the US economy by excessive regulations through the environmental movement. Currently it is so difficult to begin a business because of regulations, many entrepreneurs don't even start. The red tape requires an exorbitant amount of money just to get off the ground. This has killed the American Dream.

Feminism, Homosexuality & Easy Divorce
These three actually all work together to destroy the nuclear family unit. Feminism makes women feel like they are victims of a male-dominated patriarchal society and that she must "pull her own weight" and earn wages of her own outside her home. Feminism seeks to make women feel like keeping watch over their own home is as oppressive as living in a concentration camp. It causes women to desire autonomy apart from the protection and provision of a man. It provided women with the contraception they needed to be as promiscuous as they desired without the consequences of children and discouraged them from getting married and having children. It also provided abortion when contraception failed.

Divorce used to be very difficult to pursue in America. But over the past 30 years or so, uncontested divorce has made it so easy to release couples from the lifetime commitment marriage used to be that the statistics now are 1 in 2 couples will eventually divorce. The more men, women and children are parted from one another, the more strain is put upon maintaining these relationships, the more Big Government is able to step in and pick up the pieces of failed marriages. Big Government seeks to be the only one on which the mob of people rely.

Homosexuality has encouraged cohabitation even among heterosexuals. If the divorced rates remained high, then it would naturally discourage couples away from marriage toward cohabitation. The homosexual, transgender, etc. movement has also degraded the moral fabric of our conscience as it has been proclaimed to be acceptable, natural and normal. This forces people to accept that the term "nuclear family" is now pliable like plastic.

Public School Indoctrination
This is the forum by which Big Government passes down it's ideals to the next generation, at younger and younger ages. By creating and sustaining and uninformed mob of supporters, Socialism will eventually reach it's goal of making America a Communist State. Public Schools do this by controlling the quantity and quality of education in the curriculum especially the facts of history. The next generation is taught to deny the evil acts of Hitler, the bloody massacre of the Holocaust, and kept ignorant of the oppression of life in a Communist State. This generation of public school kids are denied the ability to reason and perform as an individual but forced into group learning and thus this uninformed mob of public school graduates will gladly encourage the government in all its endeavors to increase its power and wealth as they give up more and more of their personal freedom with hearty approval.

There are many other items addressed in the documentary Agenda. See the first 5 minutes HERE.

Girls Dogpile Too

A Cultivated Propensity Toward Forgiveness

"As a Christian matures, he will just naturally forgive those around him all the time. It will become an unconscious and yet true attitude. Instead of focusing on what people owe him, he will remember how much he owes Christ who forgave him of such a great debt." ~Paul Bucknell

As Christians who stand before God, we owe each other love, forgiveness and compassion. I might also commend that a Christian maintain this same attitude toward non-believers, just to make dealing with ungodly persons more bearable and to aid in evangelism.

As a Christian expectation of other believers, we should expect nothing. We should not consider that anyone owes us anything. Each of us is accountable to God for our management of responsibilities, our reactions and our attitudes. We cannot assume control over the reactions and choices of others. Imagine the freedom from anxiety this perspective creates.

Harvesting this attitude will decrease one's ability to allow bitterness to take a foothold. When a bitter thought enters the mind, immediately attach forgiveness to it and let it slip out of focus. Then you will be free to serve the other person and afterwards rejoice that God has demonstrated such a wonderful work of forgiveness and contentment in you - that you have been made more like Christ.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender - hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:31-32

Startin' to Garden

Last weekend we did a lot of work in the yard to prepare for this year's garden.

Jeramy set up a large rectangular plot with railroad ties. They cost about $8-9 each and they're about 120 pounds too! This area on the side of our house gets about 6 to 8 hours of sunlight everyday. We haven't used this spot before, but we're eager to see what it will yield.


Then he took out the individual boxes in our circular garden so that there would be more space for more plants without making the circumference any larger. Then we filled both areas with dirt. Yesterday our 7.5 ft fencing arrived and Jeramy made stakes to attach it so we could keep both the deer and the smaller animals out. This year we are trying to maximizing our space and our efforts as we garden.

He and the girls planted marigold, tomato and pepper seeds. They also left out some potatoes for future planting. After 7 days, the marigolds have already begun to sprout on the surface.

Agenda: The Grinding Down of America

This documentary researched and produced by Curtis Bowers details the Communist Party USA's agenda to make America a communist nation. This 90 minute film has won the Best of Festival Award at the SAICFF and has been highly recommended to me by several informed members from church. It is well researched, thorough and clear in its presentation. It is well worth the time to view. It explains how the American culture has dramatically changed over the past several decades in several areas. We will definitely add this one to our DVD collection. Check out the website HERE.

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold:
its patriotism, its morality and its spiritual life.
If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."
~Josef Stalin

See how this has become true by watching Agenda. Loan it from a friend or buy it online. You won't regret it.

Shiphrah's First Worm

As we have been preparing our two large garden spaces through raking up leaves and tilling the ground, we have found our share of earthworms in the moist soil. Over time Moriah and Lily have both become accustomed to picking up and holding a worm and the other day Shiphrah had an opportunity to do so also.

Jeramy was breaking up the hard clay ground when he found an earthworm. All three girls were nearby and, at that time, Moriah and Lily had not fully overcome their fear to hold one. When the worm was offered for Shiphrah to hold, she gladly held out her hand to accept this unknown gift from her Daddy. Upon taking it in her chubby little hand, she then began to open her mouth and shove the worm inside! It was the funniest thing ever! I guess you had to be there. :-D

Rest assured no worms were actually ingested during this altercation!

When Family Size Hits The Fan

Many couples since the 1960's have decided that they would take certain measures to limit the number of children they would produce. These have bought into the feminist movement's provision of birth control and the worldview that bearing and raising several children is too much of a burden for the career woman. Many of these couples hold the view that they would rather have fewer children and lavish on them attention and material possessions.

As these parents age, they need more extensive care as health continues to deteriorate. Their one or two children are now grown adults with spouses, children and careers of their own. These two adult children are unable and unwilling to make the necessary adjustments to care for their aging parents. Just as the parents, the previous generation were unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices involved in having several children. But the adult children do have money and put them up in a Nursing Home. Now these aging parents sit in adult diapers, in a lonely smelly hospital-type bedroom, watching TV and waiting for any family member to remember to visit them.

Big government has embraced the feminist agenda through a lot of legislation and taxation and has set up a "Nanny State" in which we see in programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Welfare and Social Security. One hundred years ago these government handouts did not exist. Couples relied on their children to care for them. Bearing and raising many children was their social security, retirement and medicare plan. They made personal sacrifices to raise several children and once they got older, it was much easier for their children to share the load of aging, dying parents. If you don't want to be alone as your physical needs become more extensive, have more children. Your children will be able to care for your needs much more efficiently and intimately than any big government program.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking

By Edith Schaeffer, wife of Francis Schaeffer

The first chapter, entitled, The First Artist, is really an exposition of Psalm 19. In reading it, I feel somewhat more connected with a lost generation of women for whom homemaking was taken seriously and with a degree of pride. Not the pride which leads to one's downfall, but the pride that is unashamed, as in proclaiming the Gospel. This chapter is so eloquently laced with vivid word pictures that the reader cannot help but to recall every beautiful moment of natural scenery ever once eluded to even in passing. And you reflect, "Wow! God really is magnificently majestic in all His wonders of creation!" Very few modern works will cause you to come away from such a text immediately worshiping God in your heart and attitude.

I am thrilled to continue reading such a creative and encouraging book.

What's on your current reading list?

Make-Up

Should a wife and mother wear make-up every day? Most would answer that it's up to the individual woman. Of course she has that freedom but is it practical?

The rigors of daily life can definitely wear on a made up face. Food gets splashed and thrown, perhaps she might perspire a bit, or rubs some off onto the children's clothes or her own.

About 50 years ago where Home Economics was still taught as a course in High School curriculum, the females were instructed to touch up their make-up and general appearance just before their husbands arrived home and greet him smiling at the door. The principle is to give the men someone pretty to look forward to upon entering their home.

After considering that I used to only wear make-up on Sundays for church, if I had time to do it, that I understood this homemaking premise. My husband leaves our home, when he would rather stay, to go to a job that consumes the best of his time and energy when he would rather work toward a self-sufficient homestead.

I am his wife. The woman of his choice. I am his favorite person. Shouldn't I give him something to look forward to when coming home? While he's at work, shouldn't he be thinking of me and not tempted by some other pretty young thing that walks by? Hanging on the wall in his office there are nice pictures of me and the children, all dolled up in dresses. Wouldn't it be discouraging, after seeing us at our best all day, to come home and find your mate all disheveled when you walk in the door from a long day at work? He went to work so that I don't have to leave the comfort and freedom of my home.

Besides the sacrifices made during the weekdays to provide for us, I consider that if someone important were to enter my home, I would be sure to look my best. Why not do the same for the only man who has ever called me his best friend? Even if I don't go out and my husband is home all day and we have no particular plans, why should he see me with a shaggy ponytail and sweat pants? Before getting married, would I have dressed that way knowing I would see him? No. So after being married, why should that change? I know that wearing make-up pleases him and it's my job, as his help mate, to do just that. Some days I wear less or more, but at least something that communicates that I care about my appearance for his sake. It's not a vain thing, it's a glory thing.

A 10-Year Project

This is Jeramy's gift to me for our 5th Wedding Anniversary. He designed the layout, even the script and flower design. He began this project about 10 years ago when he started looking for his future wife. He chose Proverbs 31 as the text for her character basis. He began this piece while dating one girl and when the relationship ended, he would cease from this project. Another prospective wife would enter the picture and work would resume. Likewise when that relationship ended, so did the work on this sewing project. And so on and so forth until after we married, he inserted my name. As our anniversary approached, he became determined to finish it. I asked him what his driving force behind this deadline was and he answered that in the 5 years we've been married, he has seen more of this passage to be true in my regard now than even before we married. (Sniff, sniff . . .) So then, it's finished and framed. Perhaps when we can afford to, we will have it professionally framed. But the sentiment is the most important for now.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Bach: Double Violin Concerto

Performed by Mr. Itzhak Perlman & Isaac Stern
two of the greatest violin soloists of all time.

Grandma's Girls on the Hearth