Lately the Husband and I have been doing this experiment of getting the kids to fall asleep in their own little beds, while Mom and Dad sit in the next room doing...Mom and Dad things. It's refreshing.
(No, it wouldn't have worked until now. Miss Boo had to attain to the ability to reason through "I have to stay in bed now. Mom will still help me if a sea monster comes in the window or bats sneak into my closet. And in the morning I can have a story." We just got there, like last month.)
Anyway, we can only do the sort of Mom and Dad things that the kidlets can overhear while they fall asleep so, you know, watching Alien vs. Predator is pretty well out. Instead, we've been having fun recording the Agatha Christie Poirot mysteries on Masterpiece Mystery on our local PBS. I know, I know, we have a DVR and we use it for PBS, but really, the costuming is beautiful.
Anyway again, Poirot's little catch phrase is to talk about his "little gray cells", a.k.a. his brains. And brains are important.
This is a lady Grammy and I discovered through T-Tapp, who happens to be a Christian and a mother of 12 (!) kids. Her "getting smaller" story is inspiring, but more so are her thoughts on homekeeping and especially the mental battle that women face. What struck me today was her note that unhappy people think and talk mostly about what they don't have.
Now we're not preaching some stupid, "think it and get it!" theology or The Secret or anything like that. What I'm talking about is taking every thought captive for Christ. Did you know you're the boss of your thoughts, as Miss Boo would put it? In other words, you don't have to be irritated, upset, saddened, hurt, offended, mad, or any of those other unpleasant feelings.
That's right. Just because your alarm didn't go off and you had to rush this morning, you don't have to stay irritated and frazzled all day. You can decide you're not going to think that way, and use your will to set your mind on other things. (Failing all else and unable to remember any other passages, you can always use "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, {edit: FAITHFULNESS} goodness, gentleness, and self-control." Thank you, Steve Green, for your kid Scripture-memory songs, and Grammy, for painting it on your cabinets. :) )
Just because your kids have emptied an entire bag of rice on the floor or painted the dog's toenails or puked in the clean sheets you don't have to feel desperate and overwhelmed and angry. You will still have the mess to deal with, yes, but you can decide to speak kindly even when you don't feel kind.
Remember Corrie Ten Boom, meeting the guy who was the concentration camp guard? It was at a conference or something long after the war and he said something along the lines of, "Praise God, Miss Ten Boom, Who offers us such great grace" and held out his hand to shake hers. Corrie said she was sure he didn't remember her--who had been one of thousands, to him--but she remembered him and for a moment couldn't move. Certainly couldn't feel forgiveness. So she prayed, "Lord, I don't want to forgive him. So I'm just going to act as though I do forgive him, and You will have to supply the feelings" and shook the man's hand. She said that God then gave her the emotion of forgiveness--after she performed the action.
Remember when Israel was coming into the Promised Land? The priests had to step their feet into the water of the Jordan River before the river was dried up. The Lord waited for them to demonstrate faith--then did the miracle.
Now forgiving a concentration camp guard or crossing the Jordan might seem much bigger things than overcoming the temptation to feel resentful toward your husband or children, but the same principle holds. If you consistently find yourself in a snit, maybe it's time to admit that you can't maintain the right outer attitude while continuing to fondle your selfish, negative thoughts.
Change what needs to be changed--i.e., if it's your laundry that's discouraging you, then get up your gumption and do the dang laundry--but if it's something that can't be changed, i.e., that your husband's job just dictates he doesn't have a reliable home-getting time, then change the way you think about it or you will be miserable and it will be your own fault.
And think about Corrie, if you're not sure how to do that. How would you act, in our little example, if your husband got home in the manner you want? Just do what is right, and God will provide the miracle.
Cheers,
Breanna
(No, it wouldn't have worked until now. Miss Boo had to attain to the ability to reason through "I have to stay in bed now. Mom will still help me if a sea monster comes in the window or bats sneak into my closet. And in the morning I can have a story." We just got there, like last month.)
Anyway, we can only do the sort of Mom and Dad things that the kidlets can overhear while they fall asleep so, you know, watching Alien vs. Predator is pretty well out. Instead, we've been having fun recording the Agatha Christie Poirot mysteries on Masterpiece Mystery on our local PBS. I know, I know, we have a DVR and we use it for PBS, but really, the costuming is beautiful.
Anyway again, Poirot's little catch phrase is to talk about his "little gray cells", a.k.a. his brains. And brains are important.
This is a lady Grammy and I discovered through T-Tapp, who happens to be a Christian and a mother of 12 (!) kids. Her "getting smaller" story is inspiring, but more so are her thoughts on homekeeping and especially the mental battle that women face. What struck me today was her note that unhappy people think and talk mostly about what they don't have.
Now we're not preaching some stupid, "think it and get it!" theology or The Secret or anything like that. What I'm talking about is taking every thought captive for Christ. Did you know you're the boss of your thoughts, as Miss Boo would put it? In other words, you don't have to be irritated, upset, saddened, hurt, offended, mad, or any of those other unpleasant feelings.
That's right. Just because your alarm didn't go off and you had to rush this morning, you don't have to stay irritated and frazzled all day. You can decide you're not going to think that way, and use your will to set your mind on other things. (Failing all else and unable to remember any other passages, you can always use "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, {edit: FAITHFULNESS} goodness, gentleness, and self-control." Thank you, Steve Green, for your kid Scripture-memory songs, and Grammy, for painting it on your cabinets. :) )
Just because your kids have emptied an entire bag of rice on the floor or painted the dog's toenails or puked in the clean sheets you don't have to feel desperate and overwhelmed and angry. You will still have the mess to deal with, yes, but you can decide to speak kindly even when you don't feel kind.
Remember Corrie Ten Boom, meeting the guy who was the concentration camp guard? It was at a conference or something long after the war and he said something along the lines of, "Praise God, Miss Ten Boom, Who offers us such great grace" and held out his hand to shake hers. Corrie said she was sure he didn't remember her--who had been one of thousands, to him--but she remembered him and for a moment couldn't move. Certainly couldn't feel forgiveness. So she prayed, "Lord, I don't want to forgive him. So I'm just going to act as though I do forgive him, and You will have to supply the feelings" and shook the man's hand. She said that God then gave her the emotion of forgiveness--after she performed the action.
Remember when Israel was coming into the Promised Land? The priests had to step their feet into the water of the Jordan River before the river was dried up. The Lord waited for them to demonstrate faith--then did the miracle.
Now forgiving a concentration camp guard or crossing the Jordan might seem much bigger things than overcoming the temptation to feel resentful toward your husband or children, but the same principle holds. If you consistently find yourself in a snit, maybe it's time to admit that you can't maintain the right outer attitude while continuing to fondle your selfish, negative thoughts.
Change what needs to be changed--i.e., if it's your laundry that's discouraging you, then get up your gumption and do the dang laundry--but if it's something that can't be changed, i.e., that your husband's job just dictates he doesn't have a reliable home-getting time, then change the way you think about it or you will be miserable and it will be your own fault.
And think about Corrie, if you're not sure how to do that. How would you act, in our little example, if your husband got home in the manner you want? Just do what is right, and God will provide the miracle.
Cheers,
Breanna
1 comment:
Don't mean to be THAT snot but...
you forgot faithfulness in the Fruits of the Spirit. Just sayin'.
Kindra
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