Global Warming

I've been wanting to write about this, but I haven't really been sure how to bring it up. Since I've been blogging my quiet times, I thought that I'd see what God says about our stewardship of the Earth in the Bible. This will probably be a bit of an ongoing thing. I want to start with my opinion of global warming. Honestly, I don't care. I think there are other problems in this world that need to be taken care of. I don't think that God will let us destroy the earth. That's ultimately His job. However, all that said, I do believe that we need to take care of the earth. God knew what direction we would go with our natural resources, and I believe that He made provisions for that. I do not support any extremes. I think that we need to find balance. Obviously, we can't just stop using cars or airplanes, and hybrid cars aren't the most cost-effective alternative either. (Talk to my husband about that!) It wouldn't hurt to make smarter decisions and conserve. I'm not saying this is going to solve all of the world's problems, but it would help. There is a lot of waste in this country. Our lifestyles are spiraling out of control, and we need more and more.

I Corinthians 10:23-24 - You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is helpful. You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--by not everything is beneficial. Don't think only of your own good. Think of other Christians and what is best for them.

Psalm 24:1 - The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.

Job 38:4-13, 31-38 - " 'Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, "Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!" Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to night's wickedness?' "
" 'Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe and how God rules the earth? Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? Who gives intuition and instinct? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven, turning the dry dust to clumps of mud?' "

God not only made the earth, but He also continues to care for it. The verse in Corinthians tells me that just because something is allowed doesn't mean that it's necessarily good or right. It depends on the situation. We can move earth around to suit our needs and desires, but that doesn't mean we should always do that. New stores are built, leaving old stores empty. These verses give me something to chew on today.

Dear God, I praise you for your might and power to control the earth. We are still learning so much about how the world works, and You know it all already. You wrote the scientific laws that hold the world together. You are wonderful, more wonderful than I even know! God, thank you for your boundless love. You meet us where we are and keep calling us. The vastness of Your patience is unknown to me. God, please protect our soldiers overseas. Guide our leaders in government to know Your will for our country. Thank you for listening to me and answering my prayer! Amen.

Body Image

I Peter 3:3-4 - "Don't be concerned about the outward beaty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ou shoul dbe known for the beauty that comes form within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

I struggle with my own body image. I look at myself in the mirror at every angle and pick out what I do and don't like about my body. I think my husband looks great. Sure, every now and then I wish that he'd drop a few pounds and get a little more active, but he has lost some weight with some tweaking of the diet. He gained some sympathy weight while I was pregnant, but overall I've always thought my husband was good-looking. I mean, I don't sit there and critique every inch of his body. I don't have time for that.

I need to balance my desire to have the perfect body with taking care of myself and being happy with who I am in God. Since the birth of my son, I have driven my weight from 180 pounds to 146 pounds. I am so happy about that! It took some work, but I wasn't overly obsessed about it. I don't think I was anyway. Well, I guess I had moments where I obsessed about it and wasn't happy with how fast I was losing weight. I tried to stay realistic with it though. I am now at a point where I like the weight I'm at, but I'd like to tone parts of my body. I have to remember that this will take time. In the meantime, I need to focus on taking care of my body by putting good food in it and exercising. Just by doing this, I will lose those few extra pounds and tone my body. All without obsessing about calories I put in and expend. I think that sort of outlook pleases God. I am caring for the temple He created. I need to work on the inner beauty that should shine from inside. That is my mission.

Easter sunday

So it happened, almost 2000 years ago, that as the women were heading to the tomb, they little knew what they would find. The stone had been rolled away! The tomb was empty! Jesus was risen! It's something that is so crucial to the Christian faith. If Christ had not risen from the dead, then there would be nothing to celebrate. Celebrating His birthday would be useless if His death would not have ended in life.
I was thinking about telling Cate that there is no Easter bunny. She came out to the table and looked disappointed that there wasn't a lot of stuff there. I'm not sure what she expected, but it does detract from the importance of the holiday. For her, she does understand that Jesus died and rose from the dead. So I will just focus on that for now.

Quiet Time

Psalm 4:4-5 -- "Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord."

I had highlighted verse 4, but I hadn't considered verse 5 in conjunction with verse 4. I'm so good at letting my anger get control over me. Unfortunately my children and dog have seen a bit too much of my anger. When Cate and Dora run and hide during one of my tantrums, that can't be good. It means that they fear the anger may be directed their way soon! Oh dear! It seems so hard to just be silent and think about it. That's why verse 5 is so important. "...[t]rust in the Lord." I forget so often that I need to trust God and give my emotions to Him.

Psalm 39 -- David said that he was going to watch his words around the ungodly. As he was silent, he reached his bursting point. His thoughts wanted to get control of him, but he turned to God. He asks God to remind him about the frailty and shortness of human life. Apparently he is being punished for some sin. At the end of the Psalm he asks God to spare him so that he can smile again. I just think it's interesting that when David wanted to watch what he said, he even had a hard time controlling himself.

Proverbs 21:23 -- "If you keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble."

This is a good one for me to remember! All of the trouble and hurt I could have avoided if I had just kept my mouth shut!

God needs to take control of my anger, and I need to hand it over to him. When I try to handle my anger, I end up being destructive to the ones I love the most. I'm also destructive to the house.

Dear God, I am so glad that you are the almighty, sovereign God! You are much bigger than I can fathom. My temper is not too big for you. My hot-headedness can be good when it's directed in a holy way, but You need to teach me that. Please take the destructive temper that wounds my children's hearts. Forgive me for not trusting you to be able to help me. Jesus overcame death, so that through Him, I can overcome all things. Please heal my heart and the hearts of my children. Please help them to be forgiving toward me. God, I know you hear me today. Thank you for loving me so much! I love you, God. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I'm not sure what's up.

Okay. Well, I'm tired of flipping out on the kids. Poor Dora, too. She's cowering all over the place, and she peed in front of the refrigerator. I know she didn't mean to. I went out and got some vodka and cosmo mix, so I'm drinking a cosmo right now. Mmmm! So good!
I think that I'm trying to take on too much. At the beginning of the year, our internet connection was down. I got so much done at that time, because I wasn't spending all my time in front of the computer. The computer is a great tool, but it's too much for me. It distracts me and calls me to it. And it's not like I'm really doing nothing. Well, sometimes I am doing nothing, but I am doing useful things on the internet. I don't really feel like I have time to check my email and email everyone that I'd like to. I'm thinking that I'm going to need to scale back my internet involvement. I am definitely keeping this blog up, because there's so much that I want to put down on "paper." I am on SparkPeople, which has been such a great thing for me! It has helped me lose the weight that I put on from my pregnancy. I definitely recommend it for everyone. I need to scale back my involvement on there in the group I'm part of--PHAT Mommy's. I love that group, and I love the women on there! I just can't get involved in any more challenges. I'm at a good place with my weight right now anyway. I need to lose the gut, but that may take some time.
I really find myself distracted and unable to focus on anything. What is going on here?? My mom told me to take Vitamin B-6. I got some today and took it. I just seem to get stressed out about everything. I'll see how the vitamin helps. I can't keep being like this.

Frustrated

Well, here I go! I'm not sure what I'll get out of this, but I'm sure it will help somehow. I was so frustrated with my daughter this evening, and I'm sure she has no idea why. I just flipped out and sent her to bed. Maybe I should have sent myself to bed! I have still managed to get some stuff accomplished tonight. Hooray! I am so worried about damaging Cate's spirit with all of my frustrations. I don't want to do that. I'm just glad I'm not in school anymore. I really couldn't handle that!
My husband should be home from work soon, so I should get the bed cleared off. Yikes!