Pro. 31 Challenge ~ Week 2

Week 2:  Proverbs 31:13-15 

¹³ She selects wool and flax 

   and works with eager hands. 

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, 

   bringing her food from afar. 

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night; 

   she provides food for her family 

   and portions for her female servants.

This week's challenge - I'm not doing it week by week as I'd planned - so it's ironic that this week's challenge is on planning and preparing for the day.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a planner by nature.  I find planners attractive; Barrett is a definite planner.   He's the typical Type A personality.   The old saying  "Opposites attract" must be true in our case.  We even marvel to ourselves at how funny we are to have made it thus far.  He is such an awesome man,  God has truly bless me.  I really do think Barrett got the short end of the stick.  He deserves the best & I'm  trying not to let on that I'm  not her!!!  I'm going to steal a saying from Joyce Myers..."I may no be where I need to be, but think God I'm not where I used to be!"  I really wished  I could be  the classic Suzzy Homemaker, but I can pray to God to help me be the best I can be.  Yes I do need to do a better job at planning for my home.   I need to tackle my chores and responsiblies in  a  more timely fashion.  I am trying to stick to a 2 week menu plan.  One think I really need to work on is to take advantage  the times  when  I really feel good to kind of compensate for times when I don't feel good so that maybe I won't get so far behind at times when I not able to do all I need to.

Simple Sunday

It was a very simple Sunday for the Barretts - my favorite kind!  Church was awesome.  The kids were suppose to go to the nursing home(s) to minister,  but didn't because of flu outbreaks.   Our associate pastor delivered the sermon today on the Beatitudes, mainly meekness.  Uhm... interesting that The HomeKeeper's Journal from http://christianhomekeeper.org/ this week was on being gentle and then I'm also listening to the audio version of Created To Be His Helpmeet, Debi Pearl is talking about being meek and gentle. God must be talking to me!!!  Need to pray and study on this subject this week.

Thoughtful Thursday - Staying Home in Sickness & Health

IT'S THOUGHTFUL Thursday 

       As I count my blessings today, the one that is foremost on my mind is that I'm able to stay home with my children when they are sick.  Dalton has had the stomach virus for 3 days now.    Today I realized had glad I am that I don't have to find a sitter or leave them home alone so that I can go to work.  I got to thinking about when I was in the hospital for almost 2 months when I was expecting Bobbye Sue.    Dalton had just turned 3 and had to go stay with my Mama during the week; (Barrett would go get home Friday and Mama would usually come visit me on Sunday and take him home with her.)  I would talk to Dalton every night before bed.  On more than one occasion he said; "Please Mama, let me come home.  I will be a good boy."  It broke my heart.  He was too young to understand understand what was going home; he just knew he wasn't at his home with his Mama and  Daddy.    Now I'm so thankful I get the chance to stay home and take care of the kids and Barrett.  Thank you God!

HOME KEEPER'S JOURNAL: Being Gentle

Homekeeper's Journal 2/22/11

If you would like to participate in The Homekeeper's Journal go on over to The Christian Homekeeper. 

This week's Homekeeper's Journal is about homemaking and being gentle.

In my kitchen this week... Same ole, same ole.  Trying to keep it clean.

On my mind this week... Praying, thinking and researching about homeschooling,

Gentleness is one of the Fruit of the Spirit so as a Christian … I need to pray to be more gentle and I also need to look up the definiton  of gentle:  (from marriamandwebster.com)

Definition of GENTLE

1

a : belonging to a family of high social stationb archaic : chivalrousc : honorable, distinguished; specifically : of or relating to a gentlemand : kind, amiable —used especially in address as a complimentary epithet <gentle reader>e : suited to a person of high social station

2

a : tractable, docileb : free from harshness, sternness, or violence

3

: soft, delicate

4

: moderate

When the Bible says that Moses was the meekest of all men (Numbers 12:3);  (New International Version, ©2010) ³ (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.    it reminds me that …People who are truly followers of God stand out from the rest.  We are not suppose to try to be like and live like the world

The gentle person has died to self, so when I am gentle in situations that cause others to be angry and violent (Proverbs 16:32; 25:28) … 

Proverbs 16:32 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ³² Better a patient person than a warrior,
   one with self-control than one who takes a city.

Proverbs 25:28 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ²⁸ Like a city whose walls are broken through
   is a person who lacks self-control.

       These verses remind me that it is crucial for me to be patient and have self control in my life.  I really need to work on this - especially in relationship to my husband and my kids.

Knowing that gentleness is not cowardice or lack of conviction 

1 Peter 2:22-23 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ²² “He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.”^[a]

 ²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly


    I am encouraged to …  Be strong and confident in God.    I don't need to be ashamed of being gentle.  It's a gift from God.     It's funny because I don't think of myself as a gentle person, thought I want to be.  I'm more like a bull in a china shop.  I couldn't be physically gentle if my life depended on it.  I do try.  Sometimes, it seams like the harder  I  try to be gentle; the more chaos I cause.  I think the moral of this is that whenever I try on my own  to be gentle; I will fail.  However, If I rely on God; He'll make me gentle

HOME KEEPER'S JOURNAL: Dreaming of Spring

Homekeeper's Journal 2/15/11

If you'd like to join in on The Homekeeper's Journal, visit The Christian Homekeeper for details. I hope you will!!!


Today's is on "Springtime Plans". Yep, it's dreamin' time!! :) 


In my kitchen I plan to...Clean it!  Today I went to the grocery, cleaned out the fridge & planned my menu for the next two weeks.


Plans with the children... To get outside as much as possible. They got out of school early yesterday and we played out afternoon.  Bobbye Sue wants to play soccer.  Barrett is signing her up to play at the Y tomorrow.

Plans with the husband...HAHAHAHA!!!  Basketball tournaments start tomorrow.   These go on until April;  overlapping with base ball and softball seasons.    So Barrett will be gone a lot.  We value our DVR & TV time!  

Plans for my house...Spring cleaning!!!

Garden plans...DFIL and the kids tend the garden.  I love having fresh veggies to fix!!!!!!!!  Bobbye Sue & I will plant flowers out front.


Other plans...Not much.  Would like to find a women's conference to go to.  Any suggestions?  Need to start planning for VBS and our family vacation.

Why I Blog

A couple of days ago I was sorta  attacked because of the way I blog.  I love to write.  It's my poral.  It's a way for me to express what I'm thinking and feeling.  When I was little I loved to read Judy Blume's books.  Then it hit me; I could write.  Being a kid where most of my peers were involved physically activities that I couldn't participate in. So I used writing as my outlet.  I don't write to express self-pity.  I want to share my journey with others.  No too many disabled women -not too many women period get the opportunity to marryPublish Post the true love of their life, have  two wonderful babies and get to fulfill God's will in my  life.  I know I'm blessed and I'm very thankful...I'm also very human.  I do struggle with depression  and at times   it may creep into a self-pity party.  This is a sin which I constantly battle.  I'd like  to encourage   others to live out to be who  God wants them to be.   

       I also wanted to comment on why I chose "The Crippled Mama", as a person whom I don't know. questioned  how I could possible have chosen this as my blog name.  First of all, let's define the word "cripple".  According to dictionary.com,  cripple is:

n
1.	offensive  a person who is lame
2.	offensive  a person who is or seems disabled or deficient insome way: a mental cripple
3.	dialect  ( US ) a dense thicket, usually in marshy land
— vb
4.	( tr ) to make a cripple of; disable
[Old English crypel;  related to crēopan  to creep , Old Frisiankreppel  a cripple, Middle Low German kröpel ]
Many people think of "cripple" as a very old fashioned word.  This was almost seen as a "four letter word" when I was growing up.  I hated being called crippled, disabled, handicapped are any other word they would describe me as being "not normal".  More than one of my brothers got involved in a fight because I was refereed to as "crippled".  If you'd had told me years ago I'd have a blog called "The Crippled Mama", I'd said you were crazy.  However, when I started this blog last September, I wanted a title that would invoke the main aspects of my life; my being a wife and mama and my having a disability.   When I chose the name of my blog,  I chose on that I thought would stick out and attract people,  not to gain sympathy from anyone.  As a writer,    I have a deep love for words and the power of them.  Yes words can be used to hurt people.  But words in themselves can't hurt people  The word "crippled"by itself doesn't hold a positive nor a negative stance.  I can hurt people by the way I use it and others can hurt me by the way they use it towards me.  But at the end of the day, its just a word.  How I use it and receive and choose to react to it reflects my heart and my  character.

Struggling with the Winter Blues

One of the hardest parts of my disability is dealing with depression.  Depression also run on both side of my families, so I'm not sure how much is from the CP and how much is inherited.  I let my meds run out last week (I know, I know)  I'm  not against taking the med - they do help, but I feel guilty that I even have to take them  My father-in-law refers to them as my "Crazy Pills".  It makes me feels bad, like I'm not good enough; I'm not worthy to be  married to his son or/ and especially not worthy enough to be the mother of his grand kids.  I know this is not true and I over think things!  I just wish I could be normal.

HOME KEEPER'S JOURNAL: HODGE PODGE

Christian Homekeeper 2/8/11

If you would like to join in visit The Christian Homekeeper . Let me know if you do, so I'll check out your blog! :) 

This week's Homekeeper's Journal is a Hodgepodge of Thoughts and Ideas. 

In My Kitchen this Week... Just the norm. 

Foremost in My Thoughts this week... Depression, snow & sick kids.

I have been so busy with..  Just trying to keep my head above water.

Could someone please...Help me understand an 11 year son??? Please!

I've been wanting to do this for so long... to find a group of women I can meet with weekly.


If I manage things just right... I could keep mt house clean.

Becoming a Woman of Grace - Chapter 1

What did you think about the Father and Child dialog at the beginning of chapter 1? Very compelling.  Love that God wants me to know of His grace.

What do you think of the relation of the word favor to the word grace?
When I think of favor I thing of something that I've asked for, but when I think of grace I think of something more unexpected, that I don't deserve; a gift.  But after reading this study I'm stated to realize that favor and grace or one in the same.  I think we've huamanized "favor.  I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.   I see grace more connected God and it sorta has the heavenly feel.  I think there's more exception with "grace" than with "favor.  It's hard for us sometimes, even as Christians to accept something for free, without expected to give something in return.  


Now talk about this chapter, your impressions, thoughts and any light-bulb moments ....  This study started    slow for me, but I think that's just because of where I am right now. ~ Which is why i NEED this study right now.  A coupled of things I highlighted in my book were:

~"So even before they sinned, Adam and Eve lived on grace. And God's will for them was that they live by faith in future grace ~ God's daily, fatherly care and provission." (p.11)  This tells me that grace was in the plan all along.  It's kinda like the fact th I loved my kids even before they were born, & I'll alway love them no matter what.:they don't have to EARN my love.

- God CHOOSES to be kind and compasionate. (p. 12)

~ We can even see Him in creation. (p. 12)

Pro. 31 Challenge ~ Week 1

http://lynishiskid.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-in-our-life-blog-hop-woman-of-noble.html

Week 1:  

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

 ^10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find? 
   She is worth far more than rubies. 
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her 
   and lacks nothing of value. 
¹² She brings him good, not harm, 
   all the days of her life


Proverbs 31:10-12  


  Are you a virtuous and capable wife more precious than rubies?  Does your husband trust you, and do you enrich his life?   Do you bring him good everyday?  Write a post about something you would like to change about yourself, and something you love about yourself.  How does this add to the enrichment of your husband's life?       


I LOVE studying the Proverbs 31 woman.  Although I struggle with the fact that I can never be like her.  Some how I don't see her as a disabled woman who suffered from moderate depression.  I know Barrett loves me and I think when all is said and done I do think he thinks I'm a good wife.  There are a lot of things I can do better.  Because of my disability, our life is difficult at time and some of these things won't change until God heals me or until we enter into glory.  I think my attitude affects Barrett more than what I do or don't do.


What would I like to change about my self? WOW! That's a loaded question.  The one thing I want ~ and need~ is to become more organized and to stay on top of things.


What do you love about yourself and how does it enrich your husband's life?  UHM, Ironically, I think that because Barrett's type A  and I'm obviously not.  I do think the fact that we stress over different keeps us balanced.    On I more direct note, I think Barrett and I see things in much different ways.  Through my weaknesses of my disability, I have gain a perception that he doesn't have, ~ as he has perceptions that I don't have.  I can see stuff in the home and with the kids that he doesn't get to see.    I have that extra time in my day to give them the little extra attention.  I also see how mine and Barrett personalities  and reaction effect my kids.  I think it's good for them to  see that even though we're different and sometimes have different aspects of thing that we love each other and they we want the best for our families.  We make a good team,