The Benefits of First Things First

Parenting is hard.
Keeping a house presentable is hard.
Keeping fit and healthy is hard.
Getting enough sleep is hard.


Now that that is out of the way let's talk about a few disciplines that really can make a difference!

Looking out at my yard this morning I could sense a wave of "overwhelmed" headed my way.  SPRING...that change of season does it to me every single year!

I dusted off the lawn mower and mowed FIRST.  
AMAZING! 
All of a sudden it did not look so big!  I've done this so many times and it's proven to make a huge difference in the rest of the undertaking. 

Your bedroom may really need some help.  Do you make your bed every morning?  It's the same principle!  Make your bed nicely (3-5 mins) and your room does not look as bad.  It may even be enough to spur you on to keep going!  Pick all the laundry up. Get rid of the piles. Put the clothes, shoes away. etc.   Think Sanctuary

How about your kitchen?  Don't leave dishes in the sink! Make sure before you go to bed to have the sink empty and everything put away.  It makes a BIG difference in the morning!  When I am cooking dinner I often will have a sink of soapy hot water ready for the pots, pans and utensils that I am using to make the meal.  By the time I'm done the dishes have soaked and cleanup really fast!  Wiping counters, tables and keeping up with the floors after every meal makes the day seem better. Yes it's work but that's beside the point.  Life is work and Life is hard so why not try to give yourself a break!

We often are simply our own worst enemies.  
I watched a baby enjoy some of those little snack puffs on the floor..
before long the container beside her was tipped over with more spilling out.
Before long she was no longer interested.
Before long people were walking through them .
And before long a 10 second fix became a much bigger clean up.  
(man I notice everything !! lol) and it comes from not only years of doing it but also the fact that I DON'T WANT TO WORK HARDER THAN NECESSARY!

Be kind to yourself!  Stay on top of these things, and when unexpected company stops in you'll be secretly smiling to yourself!

The Importance of a Schedule

Once again today I was struck with the benefits of having a schedule.

Wednesday and Saturday are shower days for mom.  Monday and Wednesday is a Big Breakfast day
Tues and Friday we go out to studies and lunch.  Thursday is the day to go to the dump, thrift store and bagel shop. Sunday church's etc

Now this certainly is flexible but I love just the "knowing".  

Now when the kids were home schedules changed often with seasons, sports, school, company, vacations etc. but the "bones" remained the same.

We sat together for dinner.  We had family night.  We went for Sunday icecream after church.  We went to the bagel shop before church.  We had "stay up night and silly supper", traditions around the holidays and birthdays that we looked forward to.  I changed sheets and cleaned on certain days

Schedules help us to stay moving and motivated.

Perhaps you say I would not even know where to start!   Email me at marnie.gileadsbalm@gmail.com and I will help talk it out.

I'm also available to speak to any moms you would like to gather on a formal or informal basis...even hosted here in my home.

Blessed!

Little Bitty Bling

Today in the bank I had an interesting talk with a young woman.
We were mentioning how the month was flying by and she commented that it was a heavy birthday month for her.  

Lots of shopping to do.  

As she listed some of her projects she said, "my cousin's 16th birthday is in a week and she wants a pair of diamond studs".........said so nonchalantly!!

After she finished I said ..."will you actually buy them for her??"  I gave her an idea of a place to go and asked if she had priced them....she responded that they were not too expensive ~ only 3-400 dollars....

WAIT                                WHAT  
                           
Did she just say what I thought she did???

I asked if she was going to buy them and she said that she had asked her husband and he responded that "if that is what she wants that's what we will get her"~~
 OK   
so maybe I was born into the wrong family...    or 
Maybe my 60 years makes me think differently....

 even this woman said  she worries that the girl may lose them....

so some thoughts here....

what will she want at 18?

If I were the parent who could not afford such a gift would I feel "less" because I had been shown up by a mere relative?

Should we allow our children to make a list of wants that way too often turn into a list of "expects" which only lead to disappointment?

Do we give attachments to our gifts???? YOU better not lose these~~

(I suggested giving her cubic zirconia  and telling her if she could show me them at 20 years old then I would give her the real thing!)

Will she want to show off?
Will she feel like she can really wear them?   

Parents....think this through.... Personally I think that children often receive too much.   We feel the pressure to make them happy and fulfill all their wishes.   That is not our job.  Our job is to love them and help them think and act correctly.

It would be an interesting round table discussion with the family don't you think?  


Blessings!

Let me know how you fare.

smile

KIDS IN CHURCH
 


KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Reese :
'Our Father, Who does art in heaven,
Harold is His name.
Amen.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A little boy was overheard praying:
'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.
I'm having a real good time like I am.'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.
His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, 'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,
and I wanted to stay with you guys.'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


One particular four-year-old prayed,
'And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service,
'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'
One bright little girl replied, 'Because people are sleeping.'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3.
The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson..
'If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,
'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'
Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,
' Ryan, you be Jesus !'


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand..
'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked.
'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
'Did God throw him back down?'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pornography

http://brandonandress.com/2013/02/01/3-things-i-want-my-son-to-know-about-porn/

3 THINGS I WANT MY SON TO KNOW ABOUT PORN…

I never thought I would ever write anything with the title- 3 Things I Want My Son to Know About Porn.

But, after being caught off guard and completely surprised nearly two years ago with my first son, the reality of him growing up in an era supersaturated in sex hit me like a ton of bricks.

Hardcore pornography is as accessible as a Google search.

Sexting is as easy as exchanging cell numbers.

Virtual sex with robots is a reality just around the corner.

And that is the world in which my son will learn to be a man.

And it makes me pause.

This is the world in which my son will begin to learn whether people have value or not.

This is the world in which my son will begin to learn whether women are beautifully created beings or objects to exploit.

This is the world in which my son will begin to learn whether relationships and commitment are valuable and worth prioritizing or if they are antiquated ideas that are not worth working for.

This is the world in which my son will begin to learn whether making God, or himself, the center of his life is more important.

After reading an article last year describing one mother’s account of how an addiction to Internet porn began to drastically change the character and personality of her 11-year old boy, I began to realize the important role I will need to play in my son’s life in how he views people, women, relationships, himself, and God.

The truth is that our sons will need godly wisdom, practical guidance, and constant prayers in order to navigate through this increasingly dangerous minefield. And they will need both men and women who will teach and demonstrate a better way that is fulfilling, abundant, and full of life.

I want to be a part of that important movement for the sake of our sons and daughters.

And this is my first contribution toward making that a reality. Although this is not what I will say verbatim to my son as he gets older, these are certainly the ideas that I plan to share with him at the right time.

Porn will make you think less of yourself and others

Porn will put you at the very center.

It will promise to give you fulfillment without requiring any sacrifice or effort on your part.

And it will sound like the best deal in the world.

But here is what you should know- It is a complete lie.

The truth is that being at the center of your own world, getting what you want out of situations or people, and thinking only about your own fleeting pleasure at the expense of others… is a place of tremendous emptiness and hollowness.

And that is the sad and unfortunate pathway of porn.

It makes you self-centered.

It gives you want you want, any time you want it, at the expense of other people and relationships.

And it makes people nothing more than objects who exist for you.

That kind of existence is completely opposite of fulfillment.

In every way that being God-centered makes you whole, reminds you that you are loved, fills you with life, and helps you see the beauty and value of other human beings… porn will fracture you, will strain or break your relationships, will make you feel hatred toward yourself and others, and will leave you empty and void.

Porn will create an ever-increasing hunger for more

Looking at porn may begin out of curiosity…and that may satisfy you for a while.

But once a small peek no longer thrills or excites you… you will hunger for more.

And this is how so many men become enslaved to porn.

And why so many men spend so many hours viewing it each week.

And why so many men spend so much money on it.

And why so many men can’t escape it, even when they get married.

It creates an ever-increasing appetite that must be fed. And unfortunately, for some men, the appetite becomes so great that not even their wives can fill it.

The truth about porn is that it will always leave you hungry and wanting more… because it is not real nourishment. And though it may appear to satisfy your appetite, it never will.

True nourishment that satisfies our every appetite comes from God alone. And it is God who then works through our committed relationships to give us fulfillment and joy and satisfaction as we have never experienced it before.

Porn creates unfair expectations for your future wife

Porn is not real life.

It is a manufactured idea of sex.

So when you view pornography, this manufactured idea of sex will become your own idea of how sexual intimacy is supposed to be with your wife.

And that is unfair.

Your wife will be compared to every woman in every video you have ever watched.

The sexual performance of your wife will be compared to every woman in every video you have ever watched.

The sexual expectations you have of your wife will be shaped by every woman in every video you have ever watched.

Plain and simple.

And I can’t think of very many things that are as objectifying and dehumanizing toward women, especially the one you love.

But that is what porn does.

It creates an unfair comparison and places unfair expectations on the woman to whom you will one day give an oath to faithfully love.

A much more beautiful relationship is one in which two people come together in marriage without expectations or comparisons.

Of course there are more than 3 things a dad, or a mom, could share with his or her son about porn. So what would you share with your son? What about your daughters?

I look forward to this important discussion.

peace…

brandon

The Holly Bibble

A little boy  asked his mom the other day, "mom do you know what the Holly Bibble is?  You know ~  they put them in hotel rooms"

Needless to say this family was not acquainted with the "Good Book" 

How about your family?   
Children are never too young to know, read and learn from the Bible.  Someone said that it stands for 
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.   
Cute huh?  Yes and oh so true!

Maybe you have a family Bible that you can dust off and gather the family around.  If not how about buying one .  There are many story book Bibles for all ages.   If you yourself are not acquainted with the Good Book why not get one and read if for yourself!   

You will never be the same!  

Blessings!

The Waltons

My mom has been enjoying the Hallmark channel.  Today I caught a bit of the Waltons.   I was AMAZED at the bold truths, clear wisdom and many life lessons that were packed into that one hour show!!!   From "talking back" to the influence of other kids and giving a good example of a couple "fighting" with respect.
Admittedly I'm not much of a tv person these days but feel quite certain that you will not find ANY show that has anything even close to this one mentioned.


While making dinner I saw a part of Family Feud.   EVERY question had a lewd connotation to it and the answers on the board listed many things with sexual overtones.  


One might ask "when did this happen"?   How did we get from there to here?


My friend ~  slowly.  It did not happen overnight.  Do you remember the first time that you swore for instance?  You may have ducked waiting for the wrath of God....soon it was easier and then it was not even a thought as your words tumbled out
This song by Casting Crowns is a favorite    Listen again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASREBVDsLk


We will stand before the Lord with no excuse as He has given us everything we need.


Think about it


Blessings!