Rosilind Jukic's Blog, page 92

Does the End Justify the Means? + A Little R & R Wednesdays - a linky party #11

My kids have a number of Bible story cartoons.  I actually prefer they watch Bible-based cartoons rather than regular ones, because I like it that they are familiar with Bible stories from a young age.

But one of them bothers me greatly.


David and Goliath


In the cartoon, David's brothers go to battle against Goliath and David is left behind...

...whining and begging to join his brothers. 

His father meets every request to fight the Philistine with "No, David. You are too little."

And David answers back with a whiney "But father..."

Then as he rescues a lamb from a lion's mouth, his father congratulates his boldness, but is only met with a further manipulation of, "Can I go now???"

In the end, his father sends him to bring food to his brothers and David ends up staying and fighting Goliath.

Disobedience

Manipulation

Whining

Begging

and it's all rewarded in the end, because he defeated the enemy of the Lord.

The end justifies the means

Of course, when you look at 1 Samuel 17, you do not see a whiney, manipulative, disobedient David.  Nor was he ever forbidden to fight Goliath. 


I do not want my children learning that God rewards such negative behavior.


I do not necessarily mind a bit of creative license with Biblical cartoons.  I think Veggie Tales does this tastefully - and the core element of the story remains the same.  What bothers me is when the underlying principle of the story is changed - such as in this cartoon.



We must be careful about these small messages lodged in our children's entertainment - even in Christian entertainment. While they may be missed by small toddlers, they will be quickly picked up as they grow older.


For me obedience is crucial, and stories that teach my children that disobedience is okay as long as the end result is desirable, really make me cringe.

Why?

Because we are the first picture of God our children will see. If we insist that they learn to obey us when they are young, they will have a much easier time transferring that into their relationship with God as they grow older!

Children who are not consistently made to obey their parents will have a much harder time consistently obeying God's Word.

Does the end really justify the means?
I find it ironic that this cartoon actually portrayed David - the king who replaced Saul - as disobedient, when we find these words directed at King Saul:

"To obey is better than sacrifice, to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" - 1 Samuel 15:22b-23a"

Rebellion - resisting authority (as in David being portrayed as resisting his father's command to not fight Goliath)

Stubbornness - showing a persistent determination not to change one's attitude or position on a matter (as in David being portrayed as being persistent in his determination to fight Goliath).


No, God would not have rejected Saul from being king for his failure to obey, his rebellion and stubbornness, and then reward David for his boldness despite displaying these very same qualities.


The end does not justify the means in God's plan!

And in a day and age where behavior is overlooked as long as the end result is desirable, our children must learn that God takes into greater account our path to the destination, than the destination itself. 

For it is along that path the true worth of our character is put the test.  


****
And now for the party!!!
Link up as many posts on any subject you desire (except giveaways)
Link up those posts that you wish would have gotten more attention Come on - you know what I'm talking about.  I'll be linking up a few of my own, too.  

Link back to A Little R & R with the button or a link

Visit the post just before yours

-->Tweet<-- and invite your friends to join the party
The party runs from Wednesday through Saturday

 
So link up and have fun!

Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, C haracter Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays, Faithful Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Where Modesty Begins

"A man's eyes are automatically pulled to where the skin line and clothing line meet.  So, if you don't want a man's eyes to go there, don't place the skin/clothing line there."

This is a statement I probably heard 100 times growing up.

The battle for modesty and style kept us in a continual tug-of-war.


How short can a skirt be before it is considered immodest?

How much sleeve can we cut away before it shows too much skin?

How short can our shorts be before they are simply too short?

How "skinny" can our skinny jeans be before they are no longer appropriate?

How low can the neckline go before we are showing too much?


In order to arrive at the right answer, we have to ask the right questions.  And these questions are not the right questions.


Because modesty doesn't consist of length of fabric or the amount of skin we show.  That is only the result of modesty.

True modesty happens first in the heart.


If you have a pure heart, it will reflect in how you present yourself.  If you have a pure heart, your desire will be to partner with your brothers in Christ to ensure that they do not have to engage in a needless battle with their thoughts.


Titus encouraged the older women to instruct the younger women to remain "chaste" - pure, modest, undefiled, unblemished. 



How can we be sure that our hearts remain chaste?


1. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal our true hearts

Because moral purity first occurs in our hearts: our minds, our attitudes, our inner desires, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to shine His pure light on our hearts and reveal any hidden areas of impurity, immorality, blemish or defilement.

You see, we could quickly examine our own hearts, but Jeremiah reminds us that: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it."  


2. Allow your husband to openly share with you his feelings

Often times a woman's perception of modesty and a man's perception of modesty are vastly different.  Women do no want to look like they are wearing a tent.  They don't want to appear frumpy or fatter than they already feel.  And in our efforts to shed a few pounds in clothes, we fail to present ourselves modestly.

Ask your husband to sincerely share with you if there are times when you dress less than modest. Allow him to share why he thinks those outfits to be immodest.  Do not view this as an attack on your morality, but rather him fulfilling his God-given role to protect you.


3. Avoid rules and a judgemental spirit

 I have worked for ministries that measured hemlines, skirt slits, told you what kinds of hose were appropriate, shoes to wear...

In the end, this accomplished 3 things:

1. It bound us in fear that we were fully responsible for a man's thought life. This is simply not so.  While we should partner with them in ensuring that we are not needlessly engaging men in a battle for their thoughts, they must employ self-control because merely walking down the street will likely engage them in much greater battle. 

2. It gave room for self-righteousness to reign in our hearts.  Because we lived under severe and stringent rules about what we could wear (and we were constantly reminded that failure to maintain those rules was displaying an immodest spirit) we frequently examined those around us to see how their morality measured up. There is nothing like a self-righteous spirit to turn off the world to message of the gospel! Ultimately, that is our mission!!  Is it not?  To extend the kingdom of God on earth? 

How will the world receive the love of God when His kids are busy measuring each others' hemlines and arguing over the modesty of open-toed shoes?  Being self-righteous is just as defiling as flaunting a micro-mini!

3. It fails to address the heart.  Children who are given a long list of "what not to wear", tend to see how close to breaking the rules they can get before they actually break them. The reason is because a list does not address the heart.  A child can be made to act a role, but if the principle of matter does not engage his heart, he will cease to act that role as soon as he is out from under the eagle-eye of his parents.

If we want our daughters to be truly modest, we must speak to their hearts and from there teach them how clothing merely reflect inner desire to be modest, and then as a family decide in what way we can reflect godly modesty!!


Dear sisters, may our modesty be evident for all to see.  And may what we wear on the outside reflect the inward purity of our hearts!


Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, C haracter Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays, Faithful Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

I Used To Hate Writing + A Little R & R Wednesdays - a linky party #10

I haven't always enjoyed writing.  Fact is, when I was in school I hated writing.  But perhaps it was because I often had to write fictional stories.

I still hate that kind of writing.  I had to do this for my Croatian Language Proficiency exam, and it was torture.  My imagination doesn't run along those lines.

Somewhere in my early 30's, when going through a particularly lonely and painful time, I began to write:

poems

songs

short articles on verses I'd read


I didn't know about blogging back then.  Some of these works I shared with a group of gracious folks on a website I used to frequent. They'd give me feedback and offer advice.  

It was a great starting point for a budding writer!

It just seemed to gush out of me - it was as if the pain I was experiencing then burst a dam in my heart and all of the "stuff" I had collected over the years just came rushing out.


It was during that time I wrote my first book: Worship the Father.

I didn't have the funds to officially publish it - I was saving every dime I had to move to Croatia - so I printed it, stuck it in a three-ring binder and accepted whatever people would give me for it (and gave away several copies).

I was anxious for anyone and everyone one to read what was on my heart!


Through the years my writing style has changed - dramatically. 

Regular blogging

Reading works by great bloggers and writers

Examining others' styles

Comparing those styles with my own

"Trying on" different styles to see how they fit


All of these have helped me to "find my voice". I didn't have one when I began writing and blogging.  I didn't even know what that meant.   All I knew was that I had this urge in me to write

I had to write

Even if it meant just opening up a Word document and spilling it all out - and then saving it on my hard drive.


In February, in the face of the worst writer's block I have ever experienced, I announced a short series on 1 Corinthians 13. I called it 14 Days of Agape. I took 14 straight days and blogged through that chapter. 

It was crazy!  

I had never blogged for 14 straight days before.  

But the result for me personally was phenomenal. I began to see that chapter in a light I had never seen before! And it came alive to me in realms I could have never imagined. I would wake up in the morning, read the verse for that day, and meditate on it all day - asking myself, "What can I say about this that hasn't already been said?  What truth lies buried in these few words that begs to be uncovered?" 

At the end of those 14 days, I compiled the posts into my 2nd book - my first published book!

It now has a new cover!  You can download it for free by signing up on my right sidebard  or order it on Kindle


I had so much fun with this book, that I immediately decided to publish Worship the Father.
Because I hadn't read through it in almost a decade, I opened the file...
...and to my horror lay words of criticism and negativity.  
I can't publish this????  This isn't me!
Those 14 days through 1 Corinthians 13 had so dramatically changed my heart...
they changed how I view God
how I view the body of Christ
how I view our Christian walk

And I began to rip my first book apart and what remained were only a few passages that I felt worthy of reading.  And it was published.
Recently I gave it a facelift: new title, new cover...
I present  to you Live Worship

You can purchase this book on Kindle or in pdf...




Oh! And look what is on the way...

 I'll share more about this one next week: but you can start looking for it on July 31st... 
****
And now for the party!!!




Link up as many posts on any subject you desire (except giveaways)


Link up those posts that you wish would have gotten more attention Come on - you know what I'm talking about.  I'll be linking up a few of my own, too.  


Link back to A Little R & R with the button or a link


Visit the post just before yours


-->Tweet<-- and invite your friends to join the party
The party runs from Wednesday through Saturday


So link up and have fun!




Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays,  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, Character Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

A Woman of Discretion

I admit, there are times when I am a little shocked at what women share on social media, in public circles...in mixed company.

I have read Facebook posts of women talking about how many times they've been to the bathroom in a day...

their monthly cycles...


Perhaps I'm a prude (I consider it a compliment if I am) but I even blush in my own home, when no one is looking when I read posts by women sharing about how they take a shower or about their undergarments.

Why?

Because I know that when men read these statuses, they get a mental image.


There used to be a time when women simply did not discuss certain things in public. 

It was called Discretion.

But discretion isn't only limited to those things that used to be improper to discuss.

It also means having the wisdom to know what subjects should remain private between two individuals.


1. Arguments and conflicts between a husband and wife. Unless there is a mutual agreement that a conflict be discussed for good reason, in an instance where it could be useful, it is better that arguments and conflicts remain a private matter.  To openly share your private conflicts with others is a useless waste of conversation. Furthermore, it reflects badly on both the wife and the husband. 

When a wife shares these matters she lacks understanding about what should remain private and her husband usually not reflected in a favorable light.

Our responsibility as wives is to praise our husband's successes so much that they outshine the areas where he falls short; and to protect him from those who would use his failures as leverage against him!

2. A child's misbehavior. For some reason, many parents tend to boast about their child's lack of good behavior. In fact, I see so many Facebook statuses about children who run rampant and wreak all manner of havoc in the home or wherever else they happen to be. Sadly, because people hear more about their misbehavior than their actual good behavior, they tend to form negative opinions about these children who may otherwise be mannerly - but have had little chance to prove it.

Boasting about a child's misbehavior shows an incredible lack of discretion. Furthermore, it is gossip. We often fail to recognize this, but it is actually one of the worst forms of gossip because the child may not yet have the capability to defend himself against the continual verbal assaults waged against him!

3. Another's confidence. Has your friend shared something private with you?  Have they asked for advice?  Have they shared about something they are struggling with in their life?  Asked for prayer?

Be discreet! Do not share it with another soul. If you feel you need to seek counsel to know how to respond to their need, ask them for permission first.  Do not just share it. 
Remember:  
Keeping a secret is not telling one person at a time.
It means telling no one. At all. Ever.   

A friend who can keep a secret is a friend to be treasured, because a discreet friend is hard to find!
 
4. Maintaining decorum, composure, self-control, and an unassuming manner. This is especially important for women who are naturally more emotional. 

The ability to maintain proper decorum, good composure, self-control and a manner that is unassuming (in other words, not seeking recognition or attention) will enable us to easily maintain all of the above. 

I wish I were better in this area! For me, emotions run deep and sometimes wild. I am very expressive.  Yet there are times when expression is inappropriate.

Discretion and wisdom know when it is appropriate to be expressive and when to keep our emotions under wraps.

The only way we can accomplish this is by having a firm foundation of truth, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us, responding properly to that conviction, and allowing our husbands and mature Christian women to instruct us when we fail.  

Because we do not want to be like this proverb that says:


 
[As] a ring of gold in a swine's snout, [So is] a lovely woman who lacks discretion. Proverbs 11:22 

Linking up with some these blogs:

M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, C haracter Corner W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV Th: Thrive at Home, Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Italian Pasta Salad

I made this super-yummy salad for Independence Day.
It is super easy, yummy and healthy (lots of veggies!)

1 pkg of tri-colored spiral pasta1 pkg of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots1 cucumber1/2 zucchini2 cups of Swiss cheese cubes Several sliced black and green olives1-2 tomatoes1 pkg of pepperoni quartered
Italian Dressing
Cook the pasta until slightly tender
Lightly cook the frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (only until just thawed.  I do this because I don't find when these vegetables are raw, they detract from the salad. This way they are slightly softer)
Cube cucumber and zucchini and add with the pepperoni
When salad is cooled, add cheese, olives and tomatoes
Toss with dressing and chill.

I opted to make my own dressing.  You can find the recipe here.

My nephew was very creative and make this charcoal drawing on a rock while we barbecued
Happy 4th of July from my sister's and my families!

Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, Character Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF FridaysClick HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Prayer and Missions

Somehow I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs? - See more at: http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com...

Somehow I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs?

Read the rest of this guest post at Reading List


***


Have you ever thought of your family as missionaries?

So often when we think of missionaries, we think of people who leave their homeland for a foreign country where they can share the gospel.  Or at the very least, people who are in full-time ministry, sharing the gospel with the lost.

However, I firmly believe that “modern missions” looks very different from what it looked like 100 years ago. I believe that modern missionaries can and should be employed in the secular workplace. Modern missionaries should be creative at finding ways to bring the gospel to the lost that do not necessarily include church planting or traveling to a foreign field.

Your mission field is your neighborhood; the harvest field consists of those you come in contact with everyday.

Read about 10 fun and practical ways to turn your summer into a missions trip without every leaving your house at my guest post on Simply Helping Him.
Somehow I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs? - See more at: http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com... I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs? - See more at: http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com... I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs? - See more at: http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com... I had believed most of my life that the majority of our prayers should be focused on needs not related to ourselves or our family. After all, it is selfish to spend the majority of our time praying for ourselves and our family. Right? Shouldn’t our prayers should be more outward focused and our hearts should be more concerned with others’ needs? - See more at: http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com... HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

How Great a Price - A Little R & R Wednesdays, a linky party

The further we move away from the founding years of America, the fuzzier history becomes. Truth is replaced by a perception of truth (which often doesn't resemble actual truth at all), and sometimes is substituted with complete falsehoods by those who strongly disagree with the principles of our founding fathers.

America was founded by those who sought freedom to worship God purely in form that is found in the Holy Scriptures and not tainted by traditions of man.  They sought to purify the church of liturgy and tradition that had no basis in the Bible - which was the sole authority on which their faith rested on.

The truth that the Pilgrims sought a free land where they could worship God and teach the Holy Scriptures as they were given - salvation by grace alone - has been replaced by the fabrication that they sought "religious freedom" or a land where everyone could worship according to the dictates of their own faith.


America was founded on Biblical principle, our founding fathers were men of deep faith and their faith in Jesus Christ influenced everything they said and did.


Tomorrow we are not celebrating our freedom as a country to worship according to the dictates of our personal faith as we are not just celebrating a land that is free from tyranny:

Tomorrow we are celebrating a nation that was founded on the freedom to worship God as He dictated in the Holy Scripture; a nation whose very cornerstone is the Bible itself; a nation whose original documents contain declarations of a strong and uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone. 

May we never forget the true history of America. May we diligently teach and train our children about who our founding fathers really were, and what they really fought for. For in doing so, we preserve a remnant of men and women who know what it means to give their all for Jesus Christ.

I don't know if there remains hope that America will return to its original state of being a nation under God. After the Supreme Court ruling last week, I am rather inclined to think there is not. But, I know that we have a great responsibility as believers in Jesus Christ to raise up a generation of men and women who will not be swayed by modern philosophies that denounce the truths of God's Holy Word - a remnant of men and women who will seek God's face no matter the cost.  No matter the cost.

And I believe that our children will pay a high price for that faith.  We must inspire and encourage them to remain strong in the face of persecution - as our founding fathers did - and by doing so remind them that their true reward for such courage will greatly outshine any accolades of man they may receive here on earth."For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us." - Romans 8:18

While this is a rather sobering post, I invite you link up with me - you may link up as many posts as you'd like on any family-friendly subject; but I particularly welcome posts this week on the topic of our freedom, our founding fathers and why we celebrate Independence Day!



Guidlines:


Link up as many posts on any subject you desire (except giveaways)


Link up those posts that you wish would have gotten more attention Come on - you know what I'm talking about.  I'll be linking up a few of my own, too.  


Link back to A Little R & R with the button or a link


Visit the post just before yours


-->Tweet<-- and invite your friends to join the party
The party runs from Wednesday through Saturday


So link up and have fun!



Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays,  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, 
Character Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Be @ Home

I confess that I am overwhelmed at the response to my first post in my Keepers At Home series! It was comforting to know that so many other women face the same struggles.

A couple of wise women brought up a point that I want to quickly address.  While my post last week addressed my attitude and sin of envy - which are wrong, I want to take a few moments today to encourage us all that the longing for a break from the kids and cluttered houses and the need for alone time - even pampering ourselves, is not wrong. In fact, it is needful to keep mom sane and couples in love.

Most marriage and family counselors encourage couples to schedule weekly date nights. For some (like me) this may not be possible. So when you do have an opportunity for a moment away, enjoy - and do not feel guilty!




I ask myself: why did Titus feel he had to instruct the older women to admonish the younger women to love their husbands and children? That sort of seems odd.  Of course we love our husbands and children!  I don't know a wife or mother who doesn't love their husband and children.

And yet, there must be a reason why he felt the need to instruct them in this.

I pondered this a lot, because it really does seem almost insulting that someone should feel they must admonish you to love your husband and children. 

So, I asked myself a few questions:

"Do my husband and children know that I love them?"

"Do my husband and children feel that I love them?"

"In what ways do I openly express that love for them?"


And suddenly, I began to realize that there are times when perhaps I get distracted with all of the "doing" that must be done that I miss opportunities to just enjoy them and love them.

I think this is a tendency for most women, and I believe this happens on two fronts:

1. The Nurturing Front

As nurturers we naturally want to do everything we can to make sure our family is fed, clothed, warm, and clean. Often this leads to a bunch of "doing".  If you are like me - and are a little OCD on the cleaning-thing this can lead to an abundance of over-doing.

To complicate our natural urge to nurture, we have Pinterest to remind us that our homes no longer look like the front cover of Better Homes & Gardens and that our child's birthday party was mediocre, non-themed, and our cake was store-bought. So we spend hours and hours trying to do more because our family surely realizes how un-Pinteresty we are...and that is sooooo embarassing!

 But nurturing must go beyond the physical needs and reach the soul of our family!

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that our families were content in the pre-Pinterest world, and they will continue to be if we are meeting their soul-needs as well as their physical needs!

Our homes will survive if we fail to properly dust one week, because we chose to cuddle our babies a little longer

Our health will not suffer when we eat sandwiches for dinner, because we chose to play a game of tag with them out in the yard instead of preparing a well-balanced meal

The universe will not come to an abrupt end when we fail to change the sheets for 3 weeks, because we chose to spend a few mornings doing Wii tournaments or baking cookies together

But they will know you love them because you chose them over work; you chose to make memories that will stay with them and you for a lifetime.  And when all is said and done, we will not regret having a laundry basket that was overflowing more often than not, or a little extra dust in the house - but we will regret the moments we passed up to actively love on our families while we were so busying "doing".


2. The Social Front

Most of us crave fellowship.  While we crave alone time, we also crave adult fellowship - mainly because we don't get much of it. If you're like me, the only adults you see, besides your husband, are your church friends on Sundays and an occasional neighbor here and there.

Enter Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, ______ (insert the other myriad of social networks here):

and we have fellowship at the tips of our fingers.  You only need an Internet-capable device and you can fellowship all day long with people you probably haven't seen for years!

And this is a double-edged sword.  On one side it meets a very deep need we were all created with - a need for human contact (physical or otherwise).  On the other side it is a trap that can draw us away from those who are in our presence right now.

 And I dare say it is a trap that many women fall into on a daily basis - a trap that leaves their family craving the attention they are not receiving...feeling lonely and needy for love while we stare into our little blue screens.

Ironically, so often we are busy telling the world cute little things our kids say and do; Instagraming their latest artwork or accomplishment - and yet while we are physically with our kids, we are mentally with hundreds of other people.

And I don't think the answer is a "media cleanse" or an "unplugged" day, rather I believe the answer is learning to be at home and be with our families; learning that if we turn off our computers, televisions and cell phones the universe will continue to spin on its axis. *grin*

An perhaps we will begin actually living and loving the way we were meant to live and love:

Perhaps this is just what we need to learn to love our husbands and children.... truly love them.

By giving them the best of us:

Our full attention

Our eyes to really see them

Our arms to really hold them

Our smiles meant only for them

Our fun side that will be foolish with them

Our abandonment to give them all of us - 100% of us to them and them alone


Our Facebook and Twitter friends will be there at the end of the day when they've all gone to bed

Our blogs will not suffer if we don't reply to our comments for a few weeks (don't ask me how I know...)


Because God gave us our husbands and children first, and they deserve the best of us - not our leftovers. 
Dear friends - This post was written from a place in my heart that has been deeply and profoundly under conviction. Both of these areas are a major struggle for me. Not only do I have a tendency to get sucked into virtual fellowship, but I often hear these words from my husband's mouth, "Will you PLEASE sit down and rest for a bit" followed by THESE words from my mouth, "Just a second, I need to scrub down the stove and sink...and then put another load of laundry in....and then...." But I am trying - I really am.  And I find myself shutting my laptop and ignoring the housework more often than before to just enjoy my family - because social fellowship will go on without me and housework will always be there, but my family deserves to have me - the 100% me - without my hands busy with a vacuum cleaner or the 650 virtual friends I have.


Linking up with some these blogs:


M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, Character Corner  W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV  Th: Thrive at Home,  Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy  F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays   Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Yummy Taco Salad with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

In the summertime I prefer to eat salads.  The vegetables are often fresh from the garden, and salads require very little cooking.
Here is one of my favorites:
Taco Salad with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing
1 head of lettuce2-3 tomatoes choppedhandful of olives sliced1 can of kidney beans drained1-2 cups of cheese grated1 avocado chopped1-2 green onions chopped1 lb of ground beef1 sm onion1 pkg taco seasoning 1 bag of plain tortilla chips
Saute onion until tender and add the ground beef. Cook beef as you would for tacos and add the seasoning.  Add a bit of water and let simmer.
While meat is simmering, tear the lettuce and toss the remainder of the ingredients as a normal salad.
To serve:
On a large plate, break up chips as the bottom layer.  Top with taco meat and then with a healthy portion of salad.
Serve with sour cream, salsa and Thousand Island



My husband was introduced to Thousand Island dressing by me as a condiment for Taco Salad - and simply will not eat Taco Salad without it.  Here is my healthier, lighter, chunkier version:
3 hardboiled eggs cooled and peeled3-4 pickles finely chopped1/4 cup of ketchup1/4 cup of mayonaise3/4 cup of plain yogurt1 cup of sour cream 1 TB dried onion1 tsp garlic powder
Mix and chill.

Linking up with some these blogs:

M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays, Momma Notes  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink, C haracter Corner W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV Th: Thrive at Home, Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .

Ask A Missionary + A Little R & R Wednesdays - a linky party #8

In September I will begin a new fall series of blog posts on missions.

I will be blogging about what is on my heart for today's relevant missionary as well as hosting guest missionaries and former-missionaries!

So from now until September, I am hosting Ask a Missionary!  

This is when you can ask that question you've always wanted to ask!!

Are you interested in missions: short-term or long-term?

Are you wondering about how you can encourage a missionary you support?

Is there a burning question you have always wanted to ask a missionary?

There is no wrong or dumb question here!  You can comment below with your question or write to: alittlerandr @ oulook . com.


****
And now for the party!!!

Link up as many posts on any subject you desire (except giveaways)
Link up those posts that you wish would have gotten more attention Come on - you know what I'm talking about.  I'll be linking up a few of my own, too.  
Link back to A Little R & R with the button or a link
Visit the post just before your's
-->Tweet<-- and invite your friends to join the partyThe party runs from Wednesday through Saturday
So link up and have fun!

Linking up with some these blogs:

M: Motivation Monday, Gracelaced Mondays, Playdates at the Wellspring, Mom's the Word; Matrimonial Mondays,  T: Titus2 Tuesdays, Women Helping Women,  Mercy Ink,  Character Corner W: Women Living Well, Wisdom Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesdays, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Deep Roots at Home, My Daily Walk In His Grace, Mommies POV Th: Thrive at Home, Serving Joyfully, I Choose Joy F: Faith Filled Friday,  TGIF Fridays


Click HERE to find out how you can receive a copy of my book 14 Days of Agape for free and purchase Worship the Father and Discovering True Identity .