How to be Alive

1)Galatians 5:5 – For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith

*we are saved through faith

*we are not saved through adherance to man made religious laws, rules, or rituals

Galatians 5:4 – Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

2)Galatians 5: 7-9 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

*strife producers spoil the whole group – expel them

3)Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

*what Jesus did for you do not waste on fleshly behaviors- do not do evil with your new freedom; you have a responsibility

4)Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

*Resist the temptation of fleshly behaviors and bad influences by choosing to Walk in the Spirit, because that lifestyle is the exact polar opposite of wordly/fleshly lifestyles and one cannot serve two masters or be a cafeteria Catholic. It is only possible to live one way or the other – this is the Spirit’s gift to us.

5)Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

*you are not required to follow the rules of denominational organizations in order to inherit the Kingdom of God – Jesus freed you from that.

6)Works of the flesh AKA things to avoid:

adultery

fornication

uncleanness

lasciviousness

idolatry

witchcraft

hatred

variance

emulations

wrath

strife

seditions

heresies

envyings

murders

drunkenness

revellings

*spend time with a Biblical dictionary to understand the meaning of words that may not match up with modern definitions. Revelling meant merrymaking, but I think means not to take credit for a thing well done since all glory is due to God.

*people who are guilty of these things (and I assume do not ask for forgiveness and then repent) will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

7)Fruits of the Spirit: (read a Biblical dictionary for proper meanings)

love

joy

peace

longsuffering (patience)

gentleness

goodness

faith

meekness

temperance

*I once thought these were gift given by the Holy Spirit once one dedicated themselves to Him. I now wonder if they are really the specific skill sets that God wants His followers to develop, through the course of a life led by the Spirit. When I read that we are to bear fruit I always nodded yes that makes sense but did not know exactly what that means. What fruit? How does one do it? I think this is the answer-you bear good fruit by developing these attributes successfully, and possibly by inspiring others to do the same

8)Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

*Those who truly follow Jesus literally should crucify their own desires for fleshly ways. Crucify means to torture, treat badly, ridicule. Do it! You are expected to do so.

9)Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

*Sons, methods matter. Some goals may be good, but to do things in a fleshly/wordly manner to achieve them is unacceptable. Follow God’s way in everything that you do.

So, I signed up for another challenge – this one to help me with meal planning. It is sponsored by www.Keeperofthehome.org, and  the program begins today. It is titled ‘Plan-it, don’t panic’, which is exactly how I plan dinners – 4PM and panicking!!  It runs for 6 weeks, and you read potential weekly meal plans of others in the challenge, share your own, and gain confidence. Some of these gals make a monthly meal plan – including breakfast and lunch! Wow!! After I joined the Facebook group page for the challenge, I realized that I also do not plan lunches very well – 2 preschool boys who eat A LOT! and one man working from home who ALSO eats a lot! So, I am hopeful!

While I do not have my own dinner recipe to share, I do have some snack recipes that seem to buy me time when I’m trying to cook for my hungry mob:

1)Avocado popsicles: yes, they are yummy! In a blender put one avocado, 2 cups cranberry juice, 2 huge spoonfuls of frozen orange juice (or 1 cup orange juice as substitution), whiz till smooth,then pour in popsicle molds. Freeze.  Seriously – these are good and curb hunger pangs WONDERFULLY!!!

2)Pumpkin Delight: Two options:

*Option one – Packed with nutrition, takes about 5 minutes to make, and is ready to eat immediately.  It can be eaten like a yogurt parfait, or as a topping on your favorite fruit or angel food cake.  It can even be a freezer treat – but let it thaw a little first because it will be a lot harder than ice cream.  This food is packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and protein!

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/2  cup frozen cranberries – let them thaw a little then puree them

8 ounce cream cheese (regular or fat free)

pumpkin pie spice to your liking

powdered sugar to your liking (suggest 3/4 cup)

Use a fork to mix – if you use a blender or food processor then it will turn out too thin

Expect some small lumps of cream cheese in the finished product

For variety you can add 1/4 cup or less of a sweet ground nut, like pecan, to put on top or to mix through (assuming there is no nut allergy or sensitivity, etc) – put the nuts in a coffee grinder and choose ‘fine’ – grind until there are no pieces big enough to be choke hazards

(This recipe is an adaptation of the one for Pumpkin Pie Bites from bakerella.com)

*Option two- You can further change the recipe to make mini cheesecakes like this:

1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup pureed cranberry (as described above)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

8 ounce cream cheese (regular or fat free)

pumpkin pie spice to taste (but taste test it before you add the egg!)

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, or until egg is cooked

(a mini muffin pan was used in the above recipe – using a larger container may change bake times)

What are your snack recipes?

http://www.brookemcglothlin.com/warriorprayers/21-days-of-prayer-for-sons/

My husband and I are taking this 21 day challenge (linked above) right here at home. We are working on it together, and today was Day 1.  It is a wonderful program for moms and dads to learn to focus on raising God fearing men, and that (one) key to that is to pray for God to change their hearts.   You buy the e-book ($5.97) and you can work through it on your own or you can join the challenge online when it is offered.  (We are doing a hybrid of sorts.)

I HIGHLY recommend this work.  My hubby and I spent 10 minutes this morning reviewing today’s chapter and list of prayers. That was the most fruitful 10 minutes ever!! We could clearly see our common goals and beliefs, where we differ (and see that the ‘differ’s weren’t all that important!), and make decisions about how to make God’s Word more visible in our family life – AND pray for our sons’ hearts and for our family. Not that time saving in spiritual matters is desirable – it is not – but I am amazed that we made so much progress for our boys so quickly!!!!

From today’s prayer challenge list (there are 10 total for today) I detected the following tidbits that I thought I should share with you:

Prayer:

Create in (child’s name) a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within him. (Psalm 51:10)

My tidbit:

God, please wash away all harm to their hearts that I may have done with my parenting mistakes and sinful example, and please make them new again – resilient – in the way that You intended them to be, inspite of me.

Prayer:

May (child’s name) not take idols into his heart, and set the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face. (Ezekiel 14:3)

My tidbit:

May they reject the idols offered by us and other family members (well meaning but harmful nonetheless), and please, God, show them what they are to reject (help them to recognize false idols) when we cannot see them ourselves.

***Idols=others’ opinions of us as the indicator of right vs wrong, ‘fitting in’, bribery for good behavior, comparisons, pop culture interpretation of the Bible, etc

Prayer:

When (child’s name) hears the Word of the Lord, may (child’s name)  be cut to the heart. (Acts 2:37)

My tidbit:

May they be able to hear and recognize Your Word and Your voice (like Samuel did) and be compelled to obey You and to commit their hearts and lives to You.

May God bless your steps!!!

I have decided in this life to notice things around me.  I have found that I am most alive when I am tuned in, or plugged in, to the events occuring right around me. Simple events or drama galore – being present in the moment is the means of maximizing enjoyment of one’s life and for connecting with God.  When I am successful at this practice, it is then that I hear that small voice of the Holy Spirit the most often.

Contrast that way of life with this one: I have accomplished some things in my life so far, professionally and personally, yet in accomplishing those things or in reminiscing about them I did not and do not feel life.  I am aware that I was supposed to feel life through these things, or at least that’s what everyone told me.  I was raised to believe that my life would be ’made better’ because I did x y or z.  But it was never true, and I always felt like I was a misfit because I did not have the same reaction or feelings that my peers did or seemed to have as they accomplished the same things right alongside of me. (I am really speaking mainly about my graduation from medical school.) I led a driven, exhausting, accolade chasing life for many years – for decades (emphasis on the plural!) if you include my college prep style Christian private high school.

I know now why: because I had made the pursuit of higher education into an idol.

So many of my memories are full of Godly instruction being made to take a back seat to the ‘important subject matter’ that would be required for college entrance and later professional school.  Though I made it through and became a doctor – what had I gained if my spirit had whithered from neglect in the process?

I will not do that to my sons.

I will not sacrifice their character formation or their relationship with God for anything. I will not pretend that it is ok to do things in a worldly way in exchange for the promise of a good job in their future. I do want them to know that their job, their real job, in this life is to love/serve/glorify God and to bring others to Him.  What facts etc they also learn along the way are, to me, simply the cherries on top - not the main course.

I will not, and I do not (to the dismay of my mother!), focus on reigning in normal boy behavior.  I do focus on ways to bring talk of God and God’s way into our day so as to help them to mature into God fearing men.  I want the promise for their future to be the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

I bought a 10 year old copy of the volume 1 KONOS curriculum from a friend and I began to read and prepare last night. My search is over- and I’ve been looking for over a year – for a means of demonstrating the following Proverb in our homeschool program:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” Proverbs 1:7

The first planned week in the curriculum used another Proverb as its base:

“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.” Proverbs 4:20

Ah hah! This is IT!!! My prayers are answered!! What’s even better is that KONOS will fit into our unschooling way of discipling our boys - a method that seems a great fit for energetic young men!

This prompted me to read about the book of Proverbs itself.  In Halley’s Bible Handbook is written this; “This Book of Proverbs has been called one of the best guide books to success that a young man can follow.” and that it is “a book of practical ethics”.  That’s good enough for me – the book of Proverbs is now our go to manual in instructing our sons!

PS  – Another pearl I gained from this same homeschool group was this link: http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html

It is what George Washington used as copy work in his own school days. It was written by French Jesuits many centuries ago.  Seems that we have a theme here……Godly instruction with focus on character formation equals strong God fearing men. Yep – this is the way!

Soooo much to catch up on since last post. Promised was another piece on plugging in. In a way my life since last post has been a study in the discipline of plugging in. And it is discipline – to condition the mind to operate in a new and better way, and to break old habits. Last December I remember hugging my youngest while playing in a snowdrift and my oldest making snow angels and thinking ‘this next year is going to be the best one of my life’.  And I was right – in some ways that I had expected and in other ways that I could not have forseen.  The Bible contains passages that explain suffering as beneficial to the believer – and I never understood why until now. And it is part of the plugging in concept: noticing, being watchful of surroundings, listening, being obedient to God’s whispered commands and comforts in our every living day.  This is what living in the moment is, and acting in the moment – without delay. Do what that Voice tells you to do without fear, without needing to know possible outcomes first, and without weighing the risks and benefits of the action. I can say that I have become stronger and more pure, more trusting in Jesus and God’s plan for me even in the face of impending doom. I can be joyfilled, peaceful, and comforted that God is watching out for me and my family – no matter who is against us.  God has answered my prayer this year in increasing my faith!

I am now in a group of mothers and their families who  do their best to live God’s way- and speaking to them on the phone or in person is TOTALLY different than the interactions that I have had with others. Not to say that the others were mean bad people, and yes they were Christians too. But they didn’t walk the walk. These gals do.

I am also blessed by God to have been shown some VERY wonderful Christian blogs within the last month. Read this:http://inspiredtoaction.com/2011/09/how-to-be-beautiful-rich-and-famous/.  This gal speaks of the common complaint amongst many moms that they are not appreciated for their hardwork.

God, please don’t let me ever stumble into this pit of self pity and personal lack of appreciation for the job You gave to me, Your humble servant.

The author of the blog article linked above says that moms are paid wih hugs and kisses. Yes, and laughter and comforting and teaching and most of all – those moments were a mom sees the heart that God gave to them! Oh what a rewarding life!!!

I’m going to go farther down that road though than what that author covered: It isn’t giving if one expects accolades or gifts or unending examples of appreciation for being a wife and mother.  It is to reject the gifts of one’s husband and child to claim that they didn’t do enough for YOU to have been worth your while by offering their unconditional love. Our reward as mothers, or as fathers, or as any role we fill in life for that matter, is given by God. To demand recognition is to steal glory from God. I am rewarded when I fulfill my role as wife and mother well and can glorify God through it.  Glory and appreciation and recognition all be to God, not to me.  I exist to please God. Period.

I know ladies who actually are never satisfied with what their families give in appreciation for their hard work and sacrifice as wife and mom. They have allowed themselves to become bitter and sulky,  lost in the constant pursuit of validation from others. This leaves them unable to enjoy witnessing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in themselves and their family. Oh God, please save me from that fate!

Around Christmas time my husband and I made a shocking decision: I happened to blurt out that I wanted us to stop watching TV, maybe even sell all of the equipment. Huh???!!!!

You see, 2010 was a year like no other for me personally.  I suddenly wanted to ’get back to basics’, simplify life, do things ’like they used to’ (even though I didn’t know what ‘they’ actually did, I just had a feeling ‘they’ knew how to live better than we do now!). One day I couldn’t stand to have so much stuff anymore so I bagged and boxed a bunch of it and gave it away.  All in a day.  Poof. That day was the one that let my hubby know that something was up – the cupboards and closets were real close to bare!

My husband changed in 2010 too – he wanted to learn about farming and livestock so he went with his friend somewhere and came back home with a bunch of cows and pigs.  Now listen – we are city people!!!! Kaboom – we were farmers.  And that was the day that let me know that something was up with him.

Anyway, all of that being said, me shunning TV was not entirely abnormal for us at this point. And we did it -starting that very day. Like cold turkey style.  No, we did not sell the equipment, but one of our 3 TV’s did blow up about 3 weeks after we started this thing!!! Ha!

The kids took to the new lifestyle immediately and never looked back  (like they were relieved or something); my husband and I, however, had a little bit of a struggle in the first few days (since we’ve been at the TV and movie addiction longer!), but now it’s like second nature.  I am so thankful!!! I was initially scared – afraid that I would not be able to  come up with ways to occupy our time.  But that’s the biggest lesson that I learned from this change - I realized that I had been living my life in entertainment mode.  My days were based on planning ways to ‘occupy time’.  How horrible!  After all, time is a gift. One of my grandmother’s favorite sayings was “Time waits for no man”. Ain’t it the truth.  Now it’s like the anchor is off of my neck and I can think clearly and just be alive!  Seriously!! Not watching TV actually changed my life – I’ve changed my entire attitude about time and how a real human being was meant to spend it.  Time, it turns out, is something to enjoy.  This is life ‘unplugged’. 

So here I go – unplug or plug-in?  Again – huh??!!!  What I mean is this – turning of screens (TV, DVD, internet, video games, Blackberrys, text messaging, etc) is only step 1.  Definitely I vote for unplug! But Step 2, oh step 2 – that is plugging-in to now.  Yes-I vote for plug-in too!  Without step 2  a newly unplugged person may feel lost without that old security blanket of a TV show!  Good living, intentional living, joyfilled living, healthy living  -you need both steps!  So the answer is – unplug AND plug-in!

Plugging-in: next post!

For those who know me, making the first post to this new blog of mine rightfully should happen today – the anniversary of the fateful Roe v Wade Supreme Court opinion.  I am wholly against abortion on demand. I believe that women have been convinced to consider abortion as the solution for a multitude of ‘social’ reasons so that others can make a lot of money as well as to further the depopulation agenda of certain politicians/persons.  I believe that accepting abortion on demand as legal is to place the badge of slavery on a segment of the human race – the gestating humans as a set of people who are permitted to live or sent to die based solely on the whim of thier ‘owner’.  The eugenics, or selecting and discarding of the imperfect or undesirable, aspect is horrifying – 90% of all people diagnosed with Downs Syndrome before birth are killed.  Most abortion clinics are concentrated in poor neighborhoods, and the majority of ads for abortions are geared to appeal to only certain races. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, is said to have been a eugenicist who openly voiced her goal of ridding the US of black people through abortion.  Add to this the data that shows that over 60% of all US women who abort did so against thier will – threatened, abused, coerced, etc.  The scores of physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual traumas that aborting women in general experience makes abortion a lose-lose event.

Having started off my new venture in this frank manner I would like to assure you, dear reader who may be for or against legalized abortion on demand – that this subject is MOST appropriate for a blog intended to help bring health and wellness to you.  Think about it: the cold reception and apparent deaf ear you get when visiting your health professional, the abandon of common sense in legislating against healthy foods and supplements, the pressure to make your ‘end of life’ care choices – the list could go on.  These have a common etiology don’t they? The control and dehumanization of the human race.  When a culture decides that they have the right to determine the value of another human being then there are no longer any limits to what can be done in the name of a ‘right’.  Do you see how this directly influences YOUR health? You no longer have the right to trade food with your neighbor from your home garden, you do not have the right to know which food at the grocery store has been genetically modified or irradiated, you do not have the right to more days in the hospital if your insurance says it’s time to go – even if your condition has not resolved.  Those rights that you lost were given to someone else by the ones who made those laws.  Why? Well why not?  After all, some people are better than others (born people vs preborn people), right? All due respect, but why would you think that YOU could escape this judgment?

“How to be Alive” – for starters I mean stay alive once you are alive!  :)  Soon I will begin to blog about my take on living a full and healthy life! Part of what that takes is a respect for one’s self, and I do not believe that that can be attained when one chooses to be silent in the face of injustice.