Bring Back

This subject has been weighing in my heart and mind for quite some time now.  Bringing back old-time things.  Could my family survie if we couldn't get clothing, blankets and food from a store?  You know those conveniences that we have today compared to way back when.  Back when people had to grow their own food, canning, homemade meals, sewing clothing, making blankets, knitting, writting to family far away, etc.

I have been wanting my girls to read Little House on the Prairie books for a few months now and one day while at our library I noticed they had the 1st season on DVD.  We rented the DVD's so the girls could see what it was about and in the hopes that they would really get into it.

As I sat watching the movies I realized just how close families were back then and how people all around would help one another.  People back then were just glad to be together even during the holiday season.  As we watched one of the episodes were the girls received a wooden animal figure and a tin cup for Christmas gifts, they were so excited too.  I wondered how many kids these days would be happy to receive those gifts.  I figure not too many, myself included.

That night it hit me just how materialistic we can be.  How we want things done right away and how we take little things for granted.

I have always been one for homemade things.  While I love store bought items, I really enjoy getting and giving homemade items the best.  I love cooking, knitting, crocheting, sewing, crafting, basically being proud of the things I have because I know I have worked hard at making them with the gifts and talents that God has given me.  However over the past few years I have noticed how people react towards those kinds of gifts.  While a few have really enjoyed them, most do not.  They are polite and say "Thank you", but it is more of a "Oh thanks what the heck am I going to do with this?" kind of thank you.
You also notice those are the gifts at the end of the night that are left behind, of course I swear to myself I will never make another thing again , but find myself doing it again year after year.  However the last couple of years I have not made homemade items, with the exception of a wall hanging quilt.

So as I sat watching these shows it all came back to me how I loved making homemade items and that is who I am.  A person that gives from the heart not from a store.  This also goes for all aspects of my life - giving from the heart, not because someone tells me to or in order to get something in return.  I do not do things at a cost,  I do them out of the kindness of the heart.

I thought about it and figure I was looking at this in the wrong way.  While it may look as though most do not care for homemade it isn't that at all.  Its the fact that they may be feeling that their gift in fact wasn't thoughtful at all or that when they do things its at a cost to the person they are helping. They are expecting something in return.  Yet this person that is giving from the heart is showing them the true meaning of kindness.

I have thought about this time and time again and I want to teach my childeren what it means to give from the heart and how it can impact a person, or even a whole community.

Who will you show kindness from the heart to today?  How will it impact your day and the people around you?

Changing for Honor

 

This summer was a summer of change for our family.  We decided to get healthy and connect as a family and set our priorities straight.

It started off with myself wanting to figure out how to eat healthy and more foods in their natural state instead of all these processed foods.  With all these fad diets and people telling you eat this way or that way how is one to know what is right?  I have tried most diets out there and like always if you stop them you gain the weight right back.

I have been praying for the last two years to lose weight and this was basically in order to have a baby, as I was told that if I lost weight it may help the fertility drugs to work and we could possibly have our 3rd child that we have been wanting since 2009.  Something in me kept telling me to look toward the bible in order to see how you should eat to be healthy and lose that weight.

Then I came apon this book called "Holy Cow -does God really care about what you eat."  This book was about what the bible says about what God has given us to eat. (I will stop for a moment and say this- If you want to debate this issue with me then I ask this that before you do so you must read this book then we can debate.) As I read this book I thought to myself "Oh lord, my family will never go for this" and "well, there are a couple of things here that I don't know if I can give up myself".  However I was wrong and after my husband and I finished the book and I looked into the subject a little deeper we said this is the right thing to do.
At first we thought of how our families will react to this, but then quickly realized why we are doing this again.  It is not to upset our families or to please them.  We are doing this to honor God.  We also know that you are not going to be saved just because you eat a certain way, you are only saved through Jesus.  Some may say we are not Jewish- no that we are not, but do you know a time during the year that certain people do not eat meat only on fridays, or a time where people will give something up for a period of time, or people who fast.  Why do these people do all these things, because they thing that by doing these thing they will be saved- NO it is because they are honoring God.  This is the same thing that our family is doing.  For God gave us life and our bodies we need to take care of ourselves.

While also getting healthy we wanted to connect as a family within our own four walls and we gave up our TV.  I wrote about this last month and have to say we are doing quite well.  We also set Sundays as family day and church day.

As we have made these changes and taken our faith to the next level proclaiming that we are willing to submit to the Lord's will and honoring him we have noticed our changes have made a few people around us a little uncomfortable.  As my husband and I talked one night I asked him why is this so.
It is as though our changes have made people think about their own lives and what are they doing to step into their faith more and honor God. 
This is not something that we as sinful people want to think about.  If challenged to do so we become uncomfortable and in a way try to make this go away by whatever means possible.  Myself included- I could tell of plenty of times when I would or still do shy away from friends that honor God in some way that I would not be willing to do.  After I sleep on it though,  I do realize I was the one looking at it the wrong way and try to make a better effort to change.

 People who are making changes for the better need to remember why they are doing so and no matter what others say  you must hold strong and continue to work towards honoring God and doing what is right.

I am not saying to do all the changes that our family did. What I am saying is set your foundation and hold to it no matter what others around you think.  Also to be mindful of a little respect, just remember when faced with change that you are mocking or makes you uncomfortable probably means you are faced with the Truth.


Just a little added note I am even training for my first 5K run this fall. 

Think about what you can do to take your faith to the next level.  This is an unknown path that is not easy but so worth it.