What happened to my Florida weather?!?

I know many of my Northern friends will roll their eyes or threaten me with bodily harm, depending on where they're located and how cold it is in their area. Let me remind you all that I live in South Florida for the warm weather. Yesterday I got up, and it was 59 degrees and very windy the whole day. I don't think it got to the 70's (at least it didn't feel like it did). This morning it was 55 degrees at 6:00am, then the temps dropped 2 more degrees! Brrr!!! I had to bundle up my little boy, it was so cold. My daughter laughed at me yesterday and called me a wimp. That's because I was born and raised in New York, where this weather is considered "pleasant". This year it became official: I've lived half my life in Florida. Do I get to pick whether I'm a Noreaster or a Southern belle now? Because if I can, I want to switch over my citizenship to the South. I love it here, even on days like today when it's colder than I want it to be. And please don't tell me South Florida isn't really the South. It's as far south as you can get without running out of the country. I'm looking forward to staying here as long as I can, or until to the good Lord tells me otherwise. I'm also looking forward to the weather warming up to 74 sunny, non-humid degrees today. Oops, I better run and hide!

The Challenge of Godliness

Here’s an interesting question to ask yourselves: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

That’s the question we were asked this Sunday at church. As part of our New Testament Challenge, we looked at the challenge of godliness. Godliness is God’s goal for us. If we aren’t pursuing it, we’ll miss everything God has in store for us.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 tells us we must exercise ourselves towards godliness. Being godly isn’t achieved by osmosis. Godliness is the lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus. It involves our words, our actions, our thoughts and our practices.

Pastor Bob went over 4 activities for living a godly life. They are:

#1 – I need to permit God to mold me.

God wants me to be open to being molded into the person He wants me to be. Romans 12:2 tells us not to “be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. God’s will is always accomplished; whether we do it the easy way (God’s) or the hard way (our own) is up to us. How do I allow myself to be transformed by God? I need to change my worldly view. How? By changing my input. What’s going into my mind and my heart? Am I allowing myself to be influenced by others opinions, or by God’s word? Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” It’s important to evaluate whether the things we put into our minds and hearts (and consequently into the minds and hearts of our children) follow along these lines.

#2 – I need to protect myself from ungodliness.

It’s been said that we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. Look at those 5. Are they what you want to be associated with? 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits”. We want to always be guarded against walking with fools and becoming like them (Proverbs 13:20). Jesus told us to take a radical approach to sin: “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:29). Does this mean Christians should walk around with just one eye, pirate style? No, it means we must create safeguards in our lives to prevent making bad choices. Television isn’t a bad thing, but are we spending more time in front of the idiot box than with our bible? The internet has great resources; are we online seeking to get closer to God, or going into websites that we wouldn’t want anyone to know we visit?

#3 – I need to pursue godly activities.

How do I accomplish this? By getting to know Jesus better, through prayer, fellowship, bible reading, serving, giving, all these forms of worship. We can attain this relationship with Jesus through His divine power (2 Peter 1:3).

#4 – I need to plan times of evaluation.

Okay, so I’m allowing God to mold me, protecting myself from ungodliness and pursuing godly activities. Done, right? Wrong. We’re told that experience is the best teacher; in truth evaluated experience is the best teacher. Think of all the people who continue making the same mistakes over and over again. We need to slow down and ask God if He’s pleased with the road we’re taking. 2 Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.” I know I never want to be disqualified. We need to take the time to see where we are in our walk with God, always looking for ways to improve and draw closer to Him.

Let’s face it, godliness is a spiritual endeavor; we cannot do it with human strength. It takes discipline, reaching out to our Savior, and seeking godliness with our whole heart.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” – Titus 2:11-13.

So I ask you, if you were arrested today for being a Christian, would you be guilty? I hope we can all hold our heads up high and scream, “Yes, Guilty!”

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Oct 27, 2008

To join in the fun, see Peggy at http://www.thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

For Today...

Outside my Window...there is a nip in the air. It's actually beginning to feel like fall! It was 69 degrees this morning and is supposed to get down to the 50's tonight. It rained quite a bit since last Thursday but there's no humidity in the air now.

I am thinking...what a great message about godliness at church yesterday. I think I'll post about it this week.

From the learning rooms...my son E is turning in his campaign poster today. It turned out really cute.

I am thankful for...my daughter coming down from college this weekend! I've missed her so much. It was so nice to spend some time with her. Of course saying goodbye was painful, but I'm thankful for the time we had.

From the kitchen...easy chicken & stuffing in the crock pot.

I am wearing...a long sleeved gray top, capri jeans and flip flops. I know, long sleeves & flip flops seem contradictory, but this is South Florida.

I am reading...Luke and Galatians, and still haven't finished The Purpose Driven Life.

I am hoping...the weather continues to be as nice as it is today.

I am creating...a costume for Awana this week. E has to dress up as a biblical character. Still working on it though.

I am hearing...my son. He's quite the chatterbox this morning.

Around the house...most everything is done, though I have bathrooms and light cleaning. Maybe I'll get to the closets today.

One of my favorite things...is opening up the windows on cool days and airing out the house. The air conditioner is a great thing, but nothing beats fresh air.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...small groups tomorrow, and I'd like to get to the polls this week, though the lines to vote have been atrocious.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...Happy Halloween!

Have a blessed week.

Who am I voting for?

I just read this amazing post over at MandyMom.com. I hope it speaks to you the way it spoke to me.

http://hernameismandy.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-dont-write-about-politics-much-buuut.html

IMO, neither candidate will be able to fix the economy anytime soon, and both will blame the previous administration for all our financial troubles. Rather than try to decide which candidate can get us out of the money pit we're in, I'm going to look at character, and values. Ask yourself: if we weren't in the economical struggle we're in now, who would you vote for?

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Oct 20, 2008

To join in the fun, see Peggy at http://www.thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

For Today...
Outside my Window...it is 69 degrees!! We had a cold front come in Sunday and the weather has cooled off. I know my northern friends are rolling their eyes, but for us Floridians, this weather is quite chilly. Hopefully it'll last. There's hardly any humidity and the air feels crisp.
I am thinking...about the busyness of the week. So much to do, so little time!
From the learning rooms...E's teacher has given the class an assignment from the county's website. He's worked on it for over 3 hours and isn't done yet. Who knows, we may be homeschooling our children in the future, like it or not.
I am thankful for...feeling better. I don't know if I've actually passed the kidney stone, but I'm going to assume that I have, since I don't have anymore pain.
From the kitchen...stuffed chayote squash. It's something my mom used to make. The squash is light green and heart shaped. I cut it in half so that I have 2 heart shaped halves, boils them till their al dente, then scoop out the insides and cook them up with ground beef. I stuff the mixture back into the squash, add a bread crumb topping, and bake at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes. Delicious and nutritious.
I am wearing...a long burgundy housedress with yellow flower embroidery. They're made in my husband's country (Nicaragua) and are very light and comfortable. It's really early, not even 7:30am yet. I'll change in a little while.

I am reading...Mark and 1 Corinthians.
I am hoping...that these kidney stones go away and never come back.
I am creating...this blog post.
I am hearing...the hum of the computer and the ceiling fan. It's really quiet.
Around the house...Monday is bathroom cleaning day, plus there's laundry and general cleanup to be done. I'm also hoping to continue with closet cleaning.
One of my favorite things...is my neighborhood. It's a nice quiet development. My neighbors are such nice people. I think of so many who are in constant battle with their neighbors, and I consider myself blessed.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...still working on the bathroom quote (ugh!). Small groups tomorrow, urologist on Wednesday. Plus there's a big surprise for the weekend but I can't say anything yet - I'm sworn to secrecy! Guess everyone will just have to wait.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...I keep forgetting to post the pics of the boy's bedroom. It really turned out much nicer than I expected. Let's see if I get that done this week.

Have a blessed week.

Of Sisters and Stones

A little over a month ago, I mentioned feeling under the weather and suffering from a mild UTI (urinary tract infection). I’d had them before, and antibiotics would normally knock them out within a few days. I mentioned what was going on to my sister, and she said something to the effect of, “Just as long as it isn’t kidney stones!”

Famous last words.

Now, I know that my little sister loves me and wouldn’t purposefully jinx me. The reason she made the comment was because she’d recently gone through an episode of kidney stones that was extremely painful. And I would never hold it against my sister if in fact I did have kidney stones, because I love her to death and know she only has good intentions for me. Still…

After taking the round of antibiotics, I still wasn’t feeling 100%. I came home from church one evening with an excruciating pain on my left side. The pain was so intense it made me puke. A short while afterwards the pain went away, and I attributed it to a stomach virus (I’d just thrown up, the pain went away, it all made sense). About a week later I went through the same thing, only I didn’t throw up, just had the pain which was scary. The next day I went to see my doctor. After explaining all that had happened, she determined it may be a kidney stone. She immediately ordered blood work, urine tests, and an x-ray to see if the stone was large enough to be visible. I went in to have the x-ray done, but by the time the results were in (just 3 days later) the pain had subsided. There was nothing visible in the x-ray, and the doctor said more than likely it had been a kidney stone and I’d passed it. She did warn me that if it happened again I should come in immediately or go to the emergency room where a scan would determine what in fact was causing the pain.

Since then I’ve had a few episodes of minor pain. I say a few episodes, but really it was happening about once a week. I didn’t go back to the doctor because after being laid off we were getting the paperwork together to get health insurance through my husband’s job and it hadn’t been finalized yet. I just prayed the pain would go away, and if it was something serious that at least we’d have insurance before I had to go to the hospital. Pain relievers were doing the trick for the most part, and I put up with the issue as best as I could.

Monday the insurance cards came in the mail (Hallelujah!). Yesterday, the pain started again. I couldn’t find the ibuprophen so I took a couple of acetaminophen instead. As I was cooking I kept having to sit down because the pain was getting worse. I finished preparing lunch and lay down. When my hubby got home I was already in intense pain. He asked if I’d taken pain meds. I told him I had but the pain was getting worse. There were moments I’d get up, and he’d tell me, “just lay down”, but I couldn’t. There was no position that was comfortable, and I was in tears from the pain. He was on and off the phone with his sales people, and watching me squirm with pain. He asked me if I needed to go to the doctor or if I wanted to go to the hospital. At that point I just screamed, “Doctor, hospital, anywhere, I can’t take this anymore!” My oldest son R rushed me to the emergency room as hubby stayed behind (he was still working and someone had to stay and wait for E to come home from school. Hubby was on the phone with me every few minutes). The great thing is that the hospital is close by, and they took care of me right away. After explaining to the doctor what was going on, they ran a CT scan. Sure enough, there was the kidney stone, 4mm in diameter and getting ready to descend into my bladder. Okay, doc, what next? A young doctor, he smiled politely and said, “You’re going to have to pee it out.” Gee, thanks doc.

So, let’s talk about my blessings (at a time like this?!? Absolutely). Had the stone been 5mm in diameter, they would have kept me in the hospital. Not the most pleasant thought in my mind. Instead they sent me home with some coffee-like filters so as to try and capture the stone once in leaves my body. The thought of it made me gag, but the doctor explained that if they have the stone it can be analyzed and they can figure out why my kidney is forming stones in the first place. I was also prescribed more pain meds, and warned that there are more kidney stones, just a lot smaller. I think of all the terrible diseases I could be facing, deadly or even terminal diseases. In that context, kidney stones aren’t so bad. And most important, I know what it is that’s causing the pain, rather than having to stay in the hospital undergoing massive amounts of tests and not knowing the outcome. I think for me that would have been much worse. So I’m home, praise the Lord, though to my knowledge I haven’t passed the stone yet. I’ll make an appointment today to see a urologist and hopefully get to the bottom of this. Or maybe this will be a “thorn in the flesh”, as the apostle Paul calls it. I’m just thankful to the Lord that I’m alive and, for the most part, healthy. I’m also thankful for my sister; though I hope next time she’ll keep her funny little "prophetic" comments to herself ;-) (love ya sis!).

Tuesday's Small Groups

This week our small group was discussing going through difficult times and why God allows His people to suffer. The apostle Paul speaks of having a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7) which God wouldn’t take away. James writes, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3). We are made stronger when we go through difficult times. It produces character, patience, endurance, and hope. It isn’t pleasant at the time, but the lessons learned from hard times makes us who we are (Hebrews 12:11).

From this lesson we began looking at the economy and the situation not only our country but the world is going through. After examining what we know, it was easy to see what has brought us into this mess: greed.

Banks became greedy when they began giving out loans to people without first verifying if the loans could be paid off. Rather than qualifying borrowers based on the mortgage they were offering, they approved them, then advised, “Come back in three years and we’ll refinance your loan at a lower fixed rate.” Now, banks can’t afford to refinance. Why? Because people are defaulting on those very loans they couldn’t pay off. They’re losing jobs, losing homes, and the banks are losing money. All because they wanted to make more money.

Are the borrowers to blame? Certainly! My husband and I purchased our home in 2000. Prices were still moderate at the time, though the climb had already started. Still, we were able to buy our brand spanking new 1700 square foot home for less that $145,000. As home values started rising, my husband commented that we could sell our home, make a substantial profit, and purchase a bigger, better home. I prayed about this, and God showed me what kind of debt we’d be getting ourselves into. Taxes would be triple what we were currently paying, our insurance would skyrocket, and our mortgage would probably be twice what we were paying on our current house. I prayed some more before showing my hubby the numbers. Thankfully he, like me, thought this was insanity and we were just fine where we were. Unfortunately many homeowners didn’t see it this way. They had fine homes, but they wanted bigger, more amenities, more upgrades, more modern, which in turn means more expensive. When the banks offered adjustable rate mortgages and promised they could refinance in 3-5 years, their judgment was clouded by their desire to have more, and homeowners got themselves into debt higher than they could afford. Add to that the increase in our gas prices and the general cost of living increase that accompanied it, and there are now families losing their homes by the hundreds. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. For most American families, their home is the largest investment they own. Losing a home cripples not only the family but, as we now see, our entire economy. All because it wasn’t enough. All because of greed.

My prayer now is that, as people experience this hardship, they will realize what went wrong, and instead of turning to politicians to fix the problems in the economy, they will look at their own life and learn to be content with what God has given us. Because the truth of the matter is, Americans are extremely blessed to live in a free country. Our homes are larger than anywhere. We have food, clothing, hospitals and medicines. Many people around the world don’t have a tenth of what America has, yet they live more content than Americans do. We need to look at our lives and shift our priorities. What’s most important in your life?