Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Haven't we all heard the phrase, "Is the glass half full or half empty?" My response used to go like this, "It depends. Did the glass start out full - and then you drank half, or did you only fill it up half way?"

Now I have a brand new way of looking at things (the older I get the more my view of life changes).  I've realized that when I look at the circumstances around me from a strictly worldy perspective, I'm going to be a glass half empty kind of gal.  But when I find scriptures that address the circumstance, it's ALWAYS a glass half full (actually overflowing).

Let me give you a Biblical example: The Israelite's were freed from the bondage of slavery in Egypt (glass half full). They came to the end of the road and found themselves in a bind - angry Egyptians on one side, and the tumultuous Red Sea on the other side (glass half empty). At this point they were faced with a decision: Do we get depressed and just surrender, or do we have faith in God? They chose a glass half full by having faith in God as their deliverer.  The result: He parted the Red Sea and they walked across on dry ground.

It's our ability to have faith in God and in His promises that can turn ANY situation into a glass half full.

Just for Laughs

Here are some Christian Cartoons being sent around via email.  I loved them and wanted to share them with you:

















A special thanks goes to Reverend Fun for allowing us to use these cartoons!

On The Go Mom

The previous week flew by with a flash!  Where did the time go?  Is it really the weekend, again?!?

I am a Stay-at-home-mom, right? Absolutely NOT!

This all started because I had to fill out a new patient form this week. When I got to the question about employment I thought, I guess I need to write stay-at-home-mom, but when am I at home?

I suppose the term came about many, many years ago when mothers DID stay at home (Think of June Cleaver). They had time to bake (from scratch!), do laundry and iron, clean (to perfection), sew a new outfit, or mend something, prepare a homemade supper, etc...As if?!?

Here's the modern mom's day (one who is not working outside of the home): Get the kids up and ready for school (with a breakfast bar), drive them to school, take dog to the groomer, get a quick work out at the gym, pick up laundry from laundry mat, go to a parent/teacher conference, grab lunch on the go, have the oil changed in the van (checking emails with your Droid while you wait), get into carpool line, take kids home and help with homework, take kids to soccer game, drive two or three other kids home and then grab Chinese food for dinner, tuck kids into bed, start another load of laundry, say "hello" and "goodnight" to your husband, pack lunches, walk the dog, fall into bed exhausted!!!

The times have changed, why not our title? So, if you are an on-the-go-mom, let's unanimously change what we write on those new patient forms, or even what we say when asked, "What do you do?" From now on my response will be, "I'm an on-the-go-mom, thank you!"

Can I get an Amen!?!

The Language of Love

The language of love is a beautiful thing, when it's being spoken. Are you and your spouse speaking love to one another?

There are several books out there about the different love languages. The five most talked about are: Personal Touch and Closeness, Words of Encouragement, Acts of Kindness, Quality Time, and Gift Giving.

While the books emphasize finding our top language and then expecting others to speak it, I've learned... To keep reading this article, hop on over to Titus 2 In Action where I am the featured blogger every other Friday.

G.I.G.O.

My dad worked with computers his entire career.  As a young girl, I remember hearing him say, "G.I.G.O."  Finally I asked him what that meant.  He told me when a computer program is not working correctly, the first thing they look for is operator error.  Another words, if the operator failed to type the sequences correctly, it will fail to perform and "crash."  So the phrase means - Garbage In, Garbage out.

Doesn't this also ring true with our own lives?  If we spend more time watching the television, or listening to unwholesome songs on our i-pods, why do we seem surprised when our reaction to a crisis is not to turn directly to God? 

Feeding our spirit's with wholesome things is not just a nice idea, it's an exhortation to the church:

Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

This is not an easy thing to put into practice in our negative world, but it's worth the effort!

Pass the Eraser, Please!

Do you remember how easy it was to correct your work when you were in grade school? We wrote exclusively in pencil, and voila! If we messed up, we'd grab those big eraser's and before long we had a blank page to work with again.

Now I'm 43 and finding the pages of my life are written in permanent marker, not pencil. My past mistakes seem to creep up when I least expect them. Please pass the eraser.

My bathrooms need the most scrubbing power on cleaning day.  They've invented this handy little all-purpose eraser (see picture above) that works wonders on the toughest bathroom stains.  Could I try this on the stains of my past?  Pass the eraser, please.

Is there an eraser that is big enough, or strong enough to erase the past mistakes I've made? No.  But God showed me this verse in His instruction book:

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalms 103:12 (NIV)

While my past may still bear occasional consequences, and it's presence is sometimes felt, I don't need to hold onto any guilt.  The blood of Jesus has cleansed me of all unrighteousness. Jesus stands at the door to our hearts, and He alone holds the magic eraser capable of erasing our pasts.